THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY ANNOUNCES AN UPDATED STAGING OF DAVID EDGAR’S SEMINAL PLAY MAYDAYS FOR THE AUTUMN MISCHIEF FESTIVAL AT THE OTHER PLACE IN STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
Alongside Maydays, for three Performances only, Edgar will perform in an autobiographical one man show Trying It On, directed by Christopher Haydon
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, David Edgar’s powerful and timely play Maydays is being revived. First staged by the RSC at the Barbican theatre in 1983, the new production will exploit the opportunities of the Studio Theatre at The Other Place.
Winner of the 1983 Plays and Players Best Play Award, Edgar’s epic play 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.
The cast will be announced in due course.
David Edgar’s one-person solo show Trying It On also relates the events of 1968 to the turmoil of today and serves as a companion piece. 20 in 1968, Edgar was caught up in the student revolt of the time, which defined his politics and gave focus to his playwriting. Now 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 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 will be directed by Christopher Haydon and produced by China Plate as part of their new partnership with Warwick Arts Centre. It will premiere at the Warwick Arts Centre in June before transferring to the Birmingham Rep and then – following a three-day run at the Studio 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.
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 (UK Tour until 19 May) and his new adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, which returns to the RST 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
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
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.
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.
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Issued: 10 May 2018