CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR THE RSC’S UPDATED STAGING OF DAVID EDGAR’S SEMINAL PLAY MAYDAYS
Casting for the RSC’s timely new staging of David Edgar’s powerful play Maydays is announced today. First staged by the RSC at the Barbican Theatre in 1983, the new production will be performed as part of the Autumn Mischief Festival in The Other Place in Stratford-upon-Avon from 27 September to 20 October 2018.
The cast is: Geoffrey Beevers (Trelawney/Pugachev), Gillian Bevan (Mrs Glass/Weiner), Richard Cant (Jeremy), Sophie Khan Levy (Clara/Judy), Chris Nayak (Phil/Korolenko), Lily Nichol (Amanda/Erica), Mark Quartley (Martin), Christopher Simpson (James Grain/Paloczi), Liyah Summers (Bryony/Tanya) and Jay Taylor as Lermontov.
Edgar’s award-winning and epic play - revived in the 50th anniversary year of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy’s assassination, the student-worker uprising in Paris and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia - tells the story of the idealistic young who came of age in 1968 and were drawn into revolutionary politics.
For some, this commitment defined the rest of their lives. For others, the experience was one of disillusion and betrayal. A story of defection from east to west as well as from left to right, Maydays tells the interlocking stories of a vicar’s son turned student radical, a young Communist who becomes a Conservative ideologue, a single mother and political activist, and a Soviet army officer who ends up as a dissident.
Fiercely topical when first premiered, Maydays is now relevant again, in a new age of radical leftism and global politics, providing startling parallels to the political revolution of the Millennial Generation.
The production is directed by Owen Horsley who was last at the RSC in 2017 directing Salome in the Swan Theatre. Prior to that, he worked as Gregory Doran’s Associate Director on the King and Country cycle of Shakespeare’s Henry IV and Henry V which toured to New York, China and Hong Kong. He also directed the Chinese version of Henry V in Shanghai as part of the RSC’s Chinese Folio Translation project.
Joining Owen on the creative team are: designer Simon Anthony Wells, lighting designer Claire Gerrens, sound designer Steven Atkinson and movement by Polly Bennett.
There will be three performances of David Edgar’s one-person solo show Trying It On at The Other Place on 18, 19 and 20 October 2018. Aged 20 in 1968, Edgar was caught up in the student revolt of the time, which defined his politics and gave focus to his playwriting. In Trying It On he confronts and is confronted by his 70-year-old self today. Do they still share the same beliefs? Has the world changed, or has he? Why did his generation – supposedly so radical in its youth - vote Brexit? Has he sold in or sold out?
The text for Trying It On has been developed through interviews conducted by the playwright with activists, past and present, and marks David’s professional debut as a performer after 50 years of writing. The production is directed by Christopher Haydon and produced by China Plate as part of their new partnership with Warwick Arts Centre. It premiered at the Warwick Arts Centre in June 2018 before transferring to the Birmingham Rep, and then – following its three-day run at The Other Place - to the Royal Court in London in October. On two days at Stratford it will be possible to see Trying it On in the afternoon and Maydays in the evening.
On Saturday 6 October at 5.45pm at The Other Place, David Edgar will take part in a special panel discussion called Theatre and Political Change. The discussion will explore ways in which theatre and the arts can reflect and effect change. Other speakers will be announced soon.
In his 70th birthday year Edgar sees a number of revivals of his work. As well as Maydays and Trying It On, there are revivals of his adaptations of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and his new adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, which returns to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre this December.
David Edgar’s plays have been presented by the National Theatre (including The Shape of the Table, Albert Speer and Playing with Fire), the Royal Shakespeare Company (including Destiny, Nicholas Nickleby, Pentecost, The Prisoner’s Dilemma, Written on the Heart and A Christmas Carol) and The Birmingham Repertory Theatre (including Mary Barnes and Arthur & George).
He is the RSC’s most produced living playwright.
Further information about the RSC’s current Mischief Festival of new work at The Other Place https://www.rsc.org.uk/mischief-festival/
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information, please contact Philippa.harland@rsc.org.uk 0207 8450512
For press tickets, please contact dean.asker@rsc.org.uk 01789 412660
BOOKING
To book call 01789 403493 or online at www.rsc.org.uk
BP £5 tickets and BP Shakespeare Pass for 16-25s
The BP £5 tickets and BP Shakespeare Pass for 16 – 25 year olds gives access to £5 tickets for all RSC productions whether we are performing in Stratford-upon-Avon, London or on tour. The pass enables 16-25 year olds to see five shows in Stratford-upon-Avon for £20 – the cheapest way to enjoy shows at the RSC. Tickets can be booked in advance on the phone, online or in person with some available for sale on the day of the performance. This programme is supported by BP
Supporters
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and THE KOVNER FOUNDATION
The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by THE DRUE HEINZ TRUST
The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England
ABOUT THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world. We produce an inspirational artistic programme each year, setting Shakespeare in context, alongside the work of his contemporaries and today’s writers.
Everyone at the RSC - from actors to armourers, musicians to technicians - plays a part in creating the world you see on stage. All our productions begin life at our Stratford workshops and theatres and we bring them to the widest possible audience through our touring, residencies, live broadcasts and online activity. So wherever you experience the RSC, you experience work made in Shakespeare’s home town.
We have trained generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future. We encourage everyone to enjoy a lifelong relationship with Shakespeare and live theatre. We reach 530,000 children and young people annually through our education work, transforming their experiences in the classroom, in performance and online. Registered charity no. 212481 www.rsc.org.uk.
Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk
Mischief Festivals - Every year the RSC’s showcases new work in two Mischief Festivals at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon
https://www.rsc.org.uk/mischief-festival