Alasdair Craig (War Horse, National Theatre; Not About Heroes, tour/Trafalgar Studios; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, UK/World Tour); Katy Brittain (Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Apollo Theatre; The Deep Blue Sea, National Theatre; Handbagged, UK Tour/Vaudeville Theatre); Fiona Skinner (Taboo, BBC One; Our Girl, BBC One; A Royal Night Out, Feature Film); Annabel Smith (The Last Ones, Jermyn Street Theatre; The Lighthouse, The Space Theatre; Black Sheep, Soho Theatre); Tamlyn Henderson (The Wind In The Willows, Kew Gardens; Ladies in Black, Queensland Theatre; Les Misérables, Austalian/International Tours) and Paul Adeyefa (Ransom, CBS; DCI Banks, Leftbank Pictures; Henry VI, Union Theatre) will bring Angela Betzien’s intricately layered psychological thriller to life. This exciting run at Theatre503 is the UK premiere of this award-winning play.
The Dark Room takes a sober look at one of the devastating issues of contemporary Australian discourse - the abuse of defenceless children. The show serves as a timely reminder that no matter how far apart we are in distance and time, we are all responsible for each other’s lives.
Deep into the night, in a run-down motel somewhere in central Australia, six lost souls collide in a distant tragedy of lovesickness and social breakdown – only it’s not the same night. A teenage boy from a nearby country town longs for a stranger. Pregnant Emma longs for her husband, a country cop, drunk after his best friend's wedding. Anni, a government youth worker accompanied by a withdrawn and violent fourteen-year-old girl, longs for the dawn. As the night draws on, each of them become trapped in a dark and dangerous territory, all searching for a way out.
Director Audrey Sheffield comments, The Dark Room is a real gift of a play - it immerses us in a richly atmospheric, disturbing and far-away world, which is also instantly recognisable and frighteningly familiar. It’s a joy to have this rare combination of complex characters - beautifully and warmly drawn - whose compelling stories are so ambitiously and intricately played out. Angela’s play is brilliantly suited to the intimate immediacy of Theatre503, and it’s a privilege to be working with such an exceptional and exciting company of actors. I can’t wait to get into the room with everyone, and to start bringing this extraordinary play to life.
Performance Dates Wednesday 8th November – Saturday 2nd December 2017
Tuesday – Saturday, 7:45pm
Saturday, 3pm
Wednesday 22nd November, 12pm – parent and baby
Wednesday 29th November, 3pm – chilled performance
Running Time 90 minutes
Twitter @theatre503, @paperbarkco, #thedarkroom
Writer Angela Betzien
Director Audrey Sheffield
Producer Paperbark Theatre
Designer Jemima Robinson
Lighting Designer Will Monks
Sound Designer Jon McLeod
Movement Director Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster
Anni Katy Brittain
Grace Annabel Smith
Stephen Tamlyn Henderson
Emma Fiona Skinner
Craig Alasdair Craig
Joseph Paul Adeyefa
Location Theatre503, The Latchmere, 503 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BW, https://theatre503.com/
How to get there Theatre503 is located on above the Latchmere Pub on the corner of Latchmere Road and Battersea Park Road. The nearest underground stations are Sloane Square (on the Bakerloo and Northern lines then bus 319), South Kensington (on the Bakerloo, Northern, Circle and District lines) then bus 49 or 345, and Vauxhall (on the Northern and Piccadilly lines) then bus 34. The nearest rail station is Clapham Junction.
Box Office Tickets are available priced £15 (£12 concessions)
Previews are £10
Pay What You Can, Saturday matinees
Available from Theatre503 Box Office and https://theatre503.com/, 020 7978 7040.
Paperbark Theatre
Paperbark Theatre produce the best of new Australian writing for international audiences. They strive to find the best new Australian plays from the most exciting Australian playwrights and produce them internationally. Their work reminds artists and audiences alike that no matter where in the world we find ourselves, we can always connect through story. Their previous production, This Is Where We Live, won the Best Overall Play award at the New York Fringe and was Time Out New York’s Critics’ Pick.
Theatre503
Theatre503 is an award winning theatre which supports and stages more first time writers than any other theatre in the country. At the heart of this commitment is a belief that the most important element in a writers’ development is to see their work on a stage, in front of an audience, performed to the highest professional standard. Over 100 new pieces of work are staged at 503 in a year, ranging from 1-2 night short pieces to full length 4 week runs. Careers started at 503 include Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer), Anna Jordan (Yen), Katori Hall (Mountaintop), Jon Brittain (Rotterdam) – the last two productions started at 503 and won Olivier Awards.
