The City - Royal Court Theatre
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
BENEDICT Cumberbatch returns to the Royal Court Theatre to appear alongside Hattie Morahan in Martin Crimp’s darkly comic mystery, The City, which runs from April 29, (previews from April 24) to June 7, 2008, in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.
In The City, three characters fight to make sense of a surreal and collapsing world – Clair who wants to be kissed – but not now – and certainly not by her husband; Chris who wants to celebrate his new job by driving into the oncoming traffic; and Jenny who arrives to complain about the screaming children – but the garden is empty and the key to the playroom has disappeared.
Cumberbatch’s theatre credits include The Lady from the Sea, Hedda Gabler, Period of Adjustment and, for the Royal Court, Rhinoceros and The Arsonists which ran in repertoire only last year.
His TV credits include Hawking, for which he was BAFTA-nominated, and the visionary new thriller The Last Enemy which is currently airing on BBC One. He has also appeared in the films Starter for Ten, Amazing Grace, Atonement with James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, and The Other Boleyn Girl (as William Carey) with Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman.
Morahan’s theatre credits include The Seagull and Iphigenia at Aulis, both at the National Theatre and both directed by Katie Mitchell who also directs The City; while on screen, she has appeared in The Bank Job (film) and BBC’s recent production of Sense and Sensibility (as Elinor Dashwood).
Crimp’s Attempts on her Life premiered at the Royal Court in 1997 and was recently revived at the National where it was directed by Katie Mitchell. Crimp and Mitchell’s other collaborations include The Country and Face to the Wall (Royal Court) and The Seagull (National Theatre). Crimp also created the new translation of Rhinoceros for the Royal Court.
The City is designed by Vicki Mortimer, with lighting by Paule Constable and sound by Gareth Fry.