Kingdom Come at The Other Place
KINGDOM COME
The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon
7 – 30 September 2017
For the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Mischief Festival this autumn, Gemma Brockis and Wendy Hubbard present a new devised piece, Kingdom Come. Running from the 7 – 30 September with a press performance on Monday 11 September at 7pm, Kingdom Come is accompanied by a series of talks and events.
The company includes; Nigel Barrett (Cyrano de Bergerac/Northern Stage and Every One/BAC); Emmanuella Cole (Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again./RSC); Lucy Ellinson (A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play for the Nation/RSC); Solomon Israel (What Country Friends Is This?/RSC and The Pulverised/Arcola); Tom Lyall (Associate Artist Shunt) and Madeleine Worrall (The Tempest/RSC and Peter Pan and Jane Eyre/National Theatre).
Deputy Artistic Director, Erica Whyman said: “I am delighted that the RSC has had the opportunity to collaborate with Gemma, Wendy and their team. They are theatre artists whose work I have known and admired for a long time, and Kingdom Come looks set to be properly ambitious, rich, visceral and thoughtful and quite unlike anything else you will see here this Autumn. They are true Mischief-makers.”
Kingdom Come is conceived and created Gemma Brockis and Wendy Hubbard, and devised with the company, with designer Charlotte Espiner and sound artist Melanie Wilson. It is set in 1640, at the bitter end of one political order and in the struggle towards something new. Parliament is rebellious. There are mobs on London’s streets. England, Ireland and Scotland are on the brink of a devastating civil war. In Whitehall, supported by the newest theatrical machinery, King Charles I is playing a god. As the world turns upside down women preach, poor men lead, and radical ideas illuminate the carnage. But the puritan state starts to tighten its grip, and making theatre could soon be a capital offence.
Gemma Brockis is a founder member of pioneering immersive theatre company Shunt. She is also a director, writer and performer. Recent projects include the lead in the feature film No Light and No Land Anywhere (2016). Wendy Hubbard is a director and dramaturg., whose recent directing work includes Chris Goode’s Men in the Cities (Royal Court 2015).
TALKS AND EVENTS
Play On - Thursday 7 September, after the show
Susie’s Café Bar, FREE
Local musicians perform in Susie’s Bar at The Other Place.
Writer and Director talk - Saturday 9 September, 5.15pm
Events Space @ The Other Place, £5
The team behind Kingdom Come discuss the production.
Bright Smoke - Friday 15 September, 7.30pm
Susie’s Café Bar, FREE
Spoken word night with headline guest poets, in collaboration with Apples & Snakes – this month the theme is ‘ranting’ inspired by the Ranters, a group of dissenters that emerged during the interregnum in the 1600s.
Unwrapped - Saturday 16 September, 10.15am
Rehearsal Rooms, The Other Place, £5
An insight into the devising and rehearsal process for Kingdom Come, looking at excerpts from the show with the Assistant Director and members of the company.
A Conversation: The Interregnum - Monday 18 September, after the show
Events Space, FREE
Director Gemma Brockis in conversation about the period of history that inspired Kingdom Come.
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. The scheme is supported by Project Partner, BP.
Notes to Editors
Press Contact information
For further information: amy.belson@rsc.org.uk / 01789 412622 / 07843483146
To book press tickets: dean.asker@rsc.org.uk
Images for media use
Media can download images by registering at www.rsc.org.uk/press-images
The Other Place
Originally built in 1973, The Other Place was home to the RSC’s developmental and new work, housing many landmark productions with RSC alumni such as Judi Dench, Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren, and research and development of major productions such as Les Miserables and Matilda, The Musical. The theatre closed in 2006 to make way for the temporary Courtyard Theatre, where the RSC performed during the transformation of the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres.
After a 12-month building project, the new Other Place opened on 21 March 2016. It includes a 200-seat flexible studio theatre, built within the external steel structure of The Courtyard Theatre, two new rehearsal rooms, and a new home for the RSC’s 40,000 piece Costume Store, giving people access to the Store for the first time via a new theatre tour. A new café bar is open throughout the year.
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 Other Place was generously supported using public funding by ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND, and with grants from THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, BACKSTAGE TRUST and J PAUL GETTY JR CHARITABLE TRUST