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Preview by Jack Foley
AFTER 12 months of building work and £2.6 million of fundraising,
the Lyric Hammersmith is looking forward to opening its new front
door.
To celebrate, the theatre has put together a season of exciting,
bold work which promises to fill the theatre with extraordinary
images and powerful stories.
Meanwhile, the Studio is presenting seven new pieces from the
rising generation of theatre-makers.
The stunning new glass extension, by Rick Mather Architects,
re-orientates the Lyric Hammersmith to form a new public entrance
that opens directly onto Lyric Square, adjacent to the current
building.
The new frontage is designed so that it is clearly and distinctively
illuminated at night providing a focal point to the new square.
The extension will also provide the theatre with a much-needed
new rehearsal studio and an education and training room.
An official opening weekend takes place on Saturday and Sunday,
April 3 and 4 , with a celebration involving 20 artists from around
the country and around the world, who will be filling every available
space in the building with a continuous programme of free performances,
installations and happenings.
The new season then follows...
l Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens
and adapted and directed by Neil Bartlett - February 20 to March
27
In this powerful new adaptation of Dickens' classic novel, Neil
Bartlett brings back to the theatre one of the angriest, funniest
and most deeply felt stories about childhood
ever written.
Taking their inspiration from the vivid world of Victorian music-hall,
a company of 13 actors conjure up a host of unforgettable characters
- Fagin, Nancy, Bill Sikes, the Artful Dodger and, of course,
little Oliver himself.
Dickens' original words bring the dark underbelly of 19th-Century
London back to thrilling life - a city teeming with images of
danger and fear, of innocence and of hope - all seen through the
eyes of an astonished child.
Design: Rae Smith Lighting design: Paule Constable Sound design:
Nick Manning
Music: Gerard McBurney and Simon Deacon Movement: Struan Leslie.
Cast: Nicholas Asbury, Ryan Early, Michael Feast, Nicholas Goode,
Gregor Henderson-Begg, Paul Hunter, Derek Hutchinson, Jordan Metcalfe,
Owen Sharpe, Kellie Shirley, Thomas Wheatley, Louise Yates, Brigid
Zengeni
Suitable for ages 10 to adult
l Shockheaded Peter - A Cultural
Industry Project, produced in collaboration with West Yorkshire
Playhouse and the Lyric Hammersmith, from April 8 to 24
The legend returns to Hammersmith. To celebrate the opening of
the Lyric's new front door, the theatre has reunited The Tiger
Lillies and the original cast for the last ever London
performances of Shockheaded Peter - the scrumptiously gruesome
and wickedly ghoulish Olivier award-winning junk opera.
May not be suitable for children under 8
Featuring The Tiger Lillies; Music and lyrics by Martyn Jacques;
Directed and designed by Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott.
l May 11 - June 5 - Shared Experience
presents Gone to Earth, a play with music by Helen Edmundson,
and based on the novel by Mary Webb
Hazel Woodus runs free, living closer to nature than to society.
Her innocence and beauty attract two men who struggle to possess
her. Their obsessive pursuit threatens
to tear her apart, as the stark brutality of the First World War
rages in the distance.
Set in the heart of the English countryside, this lyrical, passionate
tale explores eternal
themes of love, human frailty and the attraction of violence.
Helen Edmundson's award-winning versions of Anna Karenina and
Mill on the Floss have moved the hearts and minds of audiences
around the world. This new collaboration
with director Nancy Meckler brings their distinctive brand of
physical storytelling to a haunting tale.
Shared Experience return to the Lyric after their recent success
with Madame Bovary: Breakfast with Emma and After
Mrs Rochester.
Director: Nancy Meckler Designer: Niki Turner Composer: Olly
Fox
Songs: Helen Edmundson Lighting: Jonathan Clark Movement: Liz
Ranken
l ¡COMO NO! by Astrid
Hadad and Los Tarzanes - June 15 to 19
Bursting onto the stage with tequila on her lips and shooting
from the hip, Astrid Hadad is one of the most extraordinary performers
to have broken out of Mexico City's dynamic performance scene.
In the space of a dozen costume changes, Astrid and her troupe
Los Tarzanes
combine their unique take on Mexico's ranchero song tradition
with a dissection of the bleeding heart of contemporary Mexico.
This is musical theatre like you've never seen before. You'll
laugh so you can't hear yourself crying.
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The Next Generation - Lyric Studio
l Feb 24 - March 6 - Stan's
Cafe / Good & True / Be Proud of Me
Directed by James Yarker
Stan's Cafe, landing in London for the first time after
an acclaimed European tour, create gripping devised theatre with
a comically dark heart.
Good & True - Fast, strange and very funny, four idiot
detectives blunder from a simple fit-up into worlds of philosophy
and psychology that they are hopelessly under-qualified to deal
with.
Be Proud of Me - With a script drawn from dozens of tourist
phrase-books, this is the psychotic tale of a mysterious killing.
l March 9 - 27 - Dende Collective
/ Piranha Lounge
By Mark O'Thomas
Directed by Andre Pink
The Piranha Lounge is a seedy after-hours club where audience
members meet the strange inhabitants of this late-night shebeen.
Hear the tales of Barbosa, the lascivious Kangaroo; of Barbara,
the insatiable growing woman; and experience Petunia, the sadistic
card dealing M.C.
You will be amused, enthralled and ultimately touched by the extravagant
melancholia of the Piranha Lounge.
Tickets: £9, £12
Concessions: £7, £5 (16-25s). Schools £6.50
Evenings 8pm
l April 14 - May 1 - Pauline
Goldsmith in Bright Colours Only
Written and directed by Pauline Goldsmith
Fresh from wowing audiences from Belfast to Brazil, Pauline
Goldsmith arrives with Bright Colours Only, her smash-hit
show that resurrects the Irish wake tradition. You are cordially
invited to a reception and vigil with plenty of tea, sympathy
and a free dram or two.
So get on your glad rags, grab a hanky and celebrate life and
death at this hellishly funny funeral delight!
This show is suitable for people who are dying to live.
Mondays all tickets £7
Tickets: £9, £12
Concessions: £7, £5 (16-25s) Schools £6.50
Evenings 8pm
l May 4 - 15 - John Hegley Special
Two newish shows from comedy's poet laureate
Packed Lunch
Journeys: Arbroath to Zanzibar. Yarns and yearnings. All sandwiches
with crusts retained.
Warning - includes table dancing.
Evenings: 4, 5, 6, 13 May 8pm.
Family Fridays: 7, 14 May 7pm.
Saturday matinees: 8, 15 May 4pm.
The Sound of Paint Drying
A trip to France to recreate a painting done by dad 20 years distant.
Romance and
blancmange. Warning - contains rhyming language.
Evenings: 8, 10, 11, 12, 15 May 8pm
Mondays all tickets £7
Tickets: £9, £12. Double Booker for both shows £20
Family Ticket: £34 for 4 seats.
l May 18 - June 19 - Peepolykus
Mindbender
Welcome to the world of Michael Santos - Psychic contortionist!
Visionary! Spirit guide! Spirit level! Whatever. Your mind is
his playground. Somehow he'll get inside you.
His powers are not only uncontrollable, they are also unbelievable.
In his most controversial live shows to date, he will face his
greatest challenge - his own future.
This show marks the return of Peepolykus to the Lyric after the
success of Goose Nights,
Let the Donkey Go and Rhinoceros.
Directed by Darren Tunstall
Devised by Javier Marzan, John Nicholson, David Sant and Darren
Tunstall
Design and lighting by Charles Camm.
Mondays all tickets: £7.
Tickets: £9, £12.
Concessions: £7, £5 (16 - 25s).
Schools: £6.50.
Evenings: 8pm.
l Please note: Good Samaritans
- Due to unforeseen circumstances, the world premiere of Good
Samaritans, presented by New York City Players and the Lyric
Hammersmith, and directed by Richard Maxwell, has been postponed.
The show was due to run from April 29 to May 8.
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