Evening at the Talk House - National Theatre (Dorfman)
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
A NEW play by Wallace Shawn, Evening at the Talk House, receives its world premiere at the National’s Dorfman Theatre, where it runs from November 24, 2015 (previews from November 17) to January 23, 2016, with additional performances to be announced.
Directed by Ian Rickson, the cast includes Anna Calder-Marshall, Josh Hamilton, Sinead Matthews, Stuart Milligan, Joseph Mydell, Wallace Shawn, Simon Shepherd and Naomi Wirthner.
A reunion at the almost legendary club, The Talk House. Still presided over by the kindly Nellie, there’s the same genteel atmosphere, the familiar drinks and the special snacks. The playwright, the composer, the actress. The former television star brutally beaten up. The possibility of a pleasant night.
Wallace Shawn’s last play to premiere at the National Theatre was The Designated Mourner in 1996. His other stage plays include The Fever and Aunt Dan and Lemon. He has also written the screenplays for My Dinner with André and Vanya on 42nd Street, both of which he also appeared in.
His many acting credits include Manhattan,The Princess Bride, Clueless, The Good Wife and the voice of Rex in the three Toy Story films.
Ian Rickson has previously directed The Red Lion, currently playing in the Dorfman, The Hothouse and The Day I Stood Still for the National Theatre. He was Artistic Director of the Royal Court from 1998 – 2006. His recent productions include Electra and The Cherry Orchard (Old Vic), The River (Royal Court and Broadway), Old Times and Mojo (West End), Hamlet (Young Vic) and Jerusalem (Royal Court, West End and Broadway).
Evening at the Talk House will have set designs by The Quay Brothers, costumes by Soutra Gilmour, lighting by Neil Austin, music by Stephen Warbeck and sound by Ian Dickinson.
Also in the Dorfman: Duncan Macmillan’s People, Places and Things, a Headlong and National Theatre co-production (August 25 to November 2, 2015).