God in Ruins
02 October 2007
Written and directed by Anthony Neilson, God in Ruins has been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company. It will run at the Soho Theatre in London from 29 November 2007 to 5 January 2008.
This is the first of three new plays commissioned by the RSC which are soon to open in London. The other two are Leo Butler’s I’ll Be The Devil and Roy Williams’ Days of Significance which both open at the Tricycle Theatre in February and March 2008 respectively.
Neilson is one of the major voices in contemporary British theatre. His critically acclaimed The Wonderful World of Dissocia enjoyed a sell-out run at the Royal Court earlier this year.
For God in Ruins, Anthony Neilson has been working with eleven male actors – members of the RSC ensemble – on a funny and seasonally new play. His distinctive and instinctive working method has involved getting to know the actors, discussing ideas, scripting them, seeing how they work and gradually working towards a finished play. There were two rehearsed readings of a work-in-progress during the company's residency in Newcastle upon Tyne in early September.
The themes which have arisen out of the process include elements of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, online technology, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, and men becoming gods in their own bedrooms as they try to recreate themselves in virtual worlds like Second Life*. But at the heart of the play is a human story as a father attempts to communicate with his daughter.
* Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, this vast digital continent has become populated by nearly 10 million online residents from around the globe. Residents can build their own houses and businesses and they can sell and trade. Commerce is handled with the in-world unit-of-trade, the Linden dollar.
An Appeal from Anthony Neilson:
‘This Christmas, spare a thought for all the thousands of single men out there, for who Christmas is not such a joyous time. Every year, hundreds of these poor suicidal souls are slaughtered by about 10 pm on Christmas Eve. Bereft of any useful military purpose or belief system and often excommunicated by their families, they have little to look forward to on the day itself but several hours of self-recrimination, internet surfing and first-person shooting. Despite scrutinising Nigella Lawson’s programmes, many of these men are still unable to cook anything but pasta with pesto. Even less will have remembered to buy parmesan; it is a very grim picture indeed. Yes, Kylie Minogue is in the Doctor Who special but otherwise these men will spend Christmas Day totally alone.
I understand that purse strings are tight at this time of year, but amidst the Christmas cheer please spare a thought for these genetically-hamstrung individuals and come see God in Ruins at the Soho Theatre, which stars eleven such men attempting to address the aforementioned social issue through comedy, drama and song.
God bless you, one and all.’
The acting company is: Jude Akuwudike, Richard Atwill, Sean Kearns, Sam Cox, Brian Doherty, Ryan Gage, Emmanuel Ighodaro, Jason Nwoga, Patrick O’Kane, Mark Theodore and Joel Trill.
Joining Anthony on the creative team are: Hayley Grindle (designer), Steve Marmion (associate director), Chahine Yavroyan (lighting) and Nick Powell (sound and music).
Further information
Soho Theatre, London
29 November 2007 – 5 January 2008
Press Night: Wednesday 5 December, 7.30pm
Box Office: 0870 429 6883
For more information please contact:
Philippa Harland
020 7845 0512
philippa.harland@rsc.org.uk
Nada Zakula
01789 412622
nada.zakula@rsc.org.uk
Press tickets from Dean Asker
01789 412660
dean.asker@rsc.org.uk
An image for God in Ruins is available on www.epo-online.com or from the RSC Press Office. Production images will be available from 30 or 31 October.
An interview with Anthony Neilson will be available on www.rsc.org.uk/whatson from Wednesday 3 October. A transcript is available from the Press Office.
2 October 2007/NZ
