Park Theatre is delighted to announce their first six openings for 2025, including dark comedy and drama, venue favourite companies and artists, and a show where the audience decides the outcome.
Ivo Graham will be returning to Park90 with a full run of his theatre show Carousel: A Theatre Show by Ivo Graham (14 – 25 Jan) following previews in 2024 and a critically acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Ivo steps away from the frivolity of his stand-up and invites audiences onto his own carousel: around and around, backwards and forwards, to the places he aches to go again.
The first opening for Park200 will be a six-week run of The Gift (22 Jan – 1 Mar), a comedy that unashamedly dives into the murky waters of past transgressions and modern-day vengeance, all-the-while fully prepared to get low down and dirty in the process. When Colin receives an anonymous package, he immediately finds himself battling all-new levels of existential angst. Who would send him such a thing – and why? His instinctive response is to trawl through his entire life – turning everything over – convinced that he can channel Poirot and unmask the offending sender. But it isn’t long before Colin’s list of possible suspects has gotten way out of control and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to smoke the culprit out.
Using Sophocles’ tragedy to examine media influence on fate, Antigone [on strike] (30 Jan – 22 Feb) is inspired by the real stories of the young women who became the so called ‘ISIS Brides’. Set in an interactive media studio where audiences vote and affect the story’s direction, the play follows Antiya, who launches a hunger strike to bring her sister Esmeh home. Esmeh’s been stranded in a refugee camp after she ran away from her East London home at the age of 14 to join the Islamic State in Syria; now she’s the centre of a media frenzy. Developed through student workshops in East London, this immersive theatre piece looks at the effect of behaviour-predicting technologies on freedom of choice and democracy.
One of France’s most successful and long-running plays, and a winner of four Molière Awards, Farewell Mr Haffmann (6 Mar – 12 Apr) makes its London premiere following a critically acclaimed debut at Theatre Royal Bath. Set in 1942 in Nazi-occupied Paris, Jewish jeweller Joseph Haffmann faces imminent danger as Jews are being rounded up across the city for deportation. Desperate, Joseph turns to his trusted employee Pierre Vigneau for help and makes a risky and unconventional deal, with an unexpected condition: In return for hiding him from the Nazis, Pierre requests that Joseph enter into a particular arrangement with his wife, Isabelle. Blending dark humour and suspense, against the background of unprecedented times, this play shines a light on human resilience in the face of impossible choices.
Scott Le Crass (Rose, Park Theatre and West End) directs Jab (2 – 26 Apr), which ran in 2024 at Finborough Theatre. Inspired by true events, it follows NHS worker Anne and her lazy, sexist husband Don, who have been together twenty-nine years when COVID plunges the country into lockdown, forcing them to isolate together. As the world falls apart outside, Anne and Don’s marriage slowly falls apart inside. Jab is a black comedy drama exploring power, gender, domestic violence, conspiracy theories, ignorance, and the limits of love.
Finally, How to Fight Loneliness (16 Apr – 24 May) is from the producers of Park Theatre hits Clybourne Park and The Shape of Things, a UK premiere of a new Neil LaBute play directed by Lisa Spirling. In a house in the suburbs, with a nice car, and fully stocked bar, Jodie and Brad are a couple faced with a devastating crisis, and must enlist the help of a mysterious acquaintance from Jodie’s past. The show takes an unflinching look at how we navigate our lives when time is running out.
Artistic Director Jez Bond said, “There’s something for everyone in this next season of work across our two spaces. With a slate that includes a world premiere, a UK premiere, a London premiere and a revival we continue to bring exciting works to the stage and - with the emphasis, as ever, on accessible stories well told - we expect there’s something for all palates, including the comedy fans. We look forward to welcoming audiences new and old in 2025.”
Park Theatre presents exceptional theatre in the heart of Finsbury Park, boasting two world-class performance spaces: Park200 for predominantly larger scale productions by established talent, and Park90, a flexible studio space, for emerging artists. In eleven years, it has enjoyed eight West End transfers (including Rose starring Maureen Lipman, The Boys in the Band starring Mark Gatiss, Pressure starring David Haig and The Life I Lead starring Miles Jupp), two National Theatre transfers, 14 national tours, seven Olivier Award nominations, has won multiple OffWestEnd Offie Awards and won a Theatre of the Year award from The Stage.
Listings information
Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP
www.parktheatre.co.uk | 020 7870 6876*
* Telephone booking fee of £3 per transaction applies. All ticket prices are inclusive of a £1.50 building levy.
Park90 14 – 25 Jan
Carousel: A Theatre Show by Ivo Graham | Presented by Off The Kerb Productions in association with Park Theatre
"Teddy told me that in Greek nostalgia literally means the pain from an old wound. It’s a twinge in your heart, far more powerful than memory alone." Ivo Graham, who has watched this Mad Men clip approximately 100 times, steps away from the frivolity of his stand-up and invites you onto his own carousel: around and around, backwards and forwards, to the places he aches to go again. A searingly direct, exquisitely soundtracked story of a life: good luck at your next meeting.
Running time 60 mins
Tues – Sat 7pm | £18 I Previews 14 & 15 Jan £16 I Access £9.50
Park200 22 Jan – 1 Mar | Press night: 28 Jan 7pm
The Gift | Presented by Postscript Productions in association with Park Theatre
World Premiere
Directed by Adam Meggido | Written by Dave Florez
When Colin receives an anonymous package he is bemused and appalled by what he finds inside.
He should just ignore it… But who would send him such a thing – and why did they put it in a cake box?
Colin immediately finds himself battling all-new levels of existential angst. He’s really not built for this sort of scrutiny, and his instinctive response is to trawl through his entire life – turning everything over – convinced that he can channel Poirot and unmask the offending sender. But as his sister Lisa and her husband Brian desperately scramble to save him from heading down this particularly murky rabbit-hole it isn’t long before Colin’s list of possible suspects has gotten way out of control and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to smoke the culprit out.
The Gift is an irreverent comedy that unashamedly dives into the murky waters of past transgressions and modern-day vengeance, all-the-while fully prepared to get low down and dirty in the process. Because what should you do when someone tries to seriously upset your applecart? Should you take it in your stride? See the funny side? Or rest at nothing until the perpetrator is found and made to pay?
Running time 125 mins inc interval
Mon – Sat 7.30pm, matinees Thu and Sat 3pm I £47.50 - £22.50 (standard), £26.50 - £20 (65+ Mon eve and Thu mat), £18.50 (access), £10 (Park Up 16-26 years Band C throughout the run) I Previews 22 & 23 Jan, £15 - £29.50
Park90 30 Jan – 22 Feb | Press night: 3 February 7pm
Antigone [on strike] | Ferodo Bridges in association with Park Theatre
World Premiere
Written and directed by Alexander Raptotasios
Are the choices we make today ours or already predetermined?
When Esmeh was 14, she ran away from her East London home and joined the Islamic State in Syria. Now the war is over, she finds herself stranded in a refugee camp and her citizenship cancelled by the UK’s Home Secretary. Antiya launches a hunger strike to bring her sister home and a media frenzy engulfs her and the Home Secretary’s family in a dangerous PR game that no one is sure how to play.
Set in an interactive media studio where audiences vote and affect the story’s direction, this is a new play inspired by Sophocles’ classic tragedy Antigone and the real stories of the young women who became the so called ‘ISIS Brides’.
Developed through student workshops in East London, this is a challenging immersive theatre piece that looks at the effect of behaviour-predicting technologies on freedom of choice and democracy.
Running time 90 mins
Mon – Sat 7pm, 3.15pm matinees Thu & Sat | £25 - £15 (standard), £9.50 (access), £10 (Park Up 16-26 years, throughout the run) I Previews Thu 30 Jan – Sat 1 Feb £15
Park200 6 Mar – 12 April | Press night: 10 March 7pm
Farewell Mr Haffmann | Presented by Norel Productions & Adam Blanshay Productions in association with Park Theatre
London Premiere
Written by Jean-Phillipe Daguerre, adapted by Jeremy Sams | Original Director Lindsay Posner
One of France’s most successful and long-running plays, and a winner of four Molière Awards, this gripping drama makes its London premiere following a critically acclaimed debut at Theatre Royal Bath.
Set in 1942 in Nazi-occupied Paris, Jewish jeweller Joseph Haffmann faces imminent danger as Jews are being rounded up across the city for deportation.
Desperate, Joseph turns to his trusted employee Pierre Vigneau for help. In a risky and unconventional deal, he transfers ownership of his jewellery shop to Pierre in exchange for being hidden from the Nazis.
But the deal comes with an unexpected condition: In return for hiding him from the Nazis, Pierre requests that Joseph enter into a particular arrangement with his wife, Isabelle. This unusual request raises the stakes, as the three of them find themselves struggling with the dangers and moral complexities of their situation.
A Matisse painting and an art loving Nazi officer and his flamboyant wife complicate matters further for Pierre, Isabelle and Joseph. As the marital pressures and absurd demands pile up, their deal teeters on the edge of collapse.
Blending dark humour and suspense, against the background of unprecedented times, this play shines a light on human resilience in the face of impossible choices.
By arrangement with Bath Theatre Royal.
Running time 110 mins inc interval
Mon – Sat 7.30pm, matinees Thu and Sat 3pm I £47.50 - £22.50 (standard), £26.50 - £20 (65+ Mon eve and Thu mat), £18.50 (access), £10 (Park Up 16-26 years Band C throughout the run) I Previews 6 & 7 March £15 - £29.50
Park90 2 – 26 Apr | Press night: 3 April 7pm
Jab | Presented by Sue Pomroy in association with Park Theatre
Written by James McDermott | Directed by Scott Le Crass
Cast includes: Kacey Ainsworth, Liam Tobin
Anne is tired. Tired of menopause. Tired of working in a dying NHS. And tired of her lazy, sexist husband Don. But they’ve been together twenty-nine years. They know each other inside out. They’ve survived so much.
Then COVID plunges the country into lockdown, forcing them to isolate together. After all, the home is a place of safety… isn’t it?
As the world falls apart outside, Anne and Don’s marriage slowly falls apart inside. But soon there will be a solution. Won’t there?
Jab, inspired by true events, is a black comedy drama exploring power, gender, domestic violence, conspiracy theories, ignorance, and the limits of love.
First performed at the Finborough Theatre London (Neil McPherson, Artistic Director) where it received five star reviews and OffWestEnd Award Nominations for Best New Play, Best Director and Best Duo Performance, Jab is written by James McDermott (Time & Tide, Park Theatre), directed by Scott Le Crass (Rose, Park Theatre) and stars Kacey Ainsworth (Leaves Of Glass, Park Theatre) & Liam Tobin (Boys From The Black Stuff, National Theatre).
Running time 75 mins
Mon – Sat 7pm, 3.15pm matinees Thu & Sat | £25 - £15 (standard), £9.50 (access), £10 (Park Up 16-26 years, throughout the run I Preview Wed 2 April £15
Park200 16 Apr – 24 May | Press night: 22 April 7pm
How to Fight Loneliness | Presented by Trish Wadley Productions in association with Park Theatre
UK Premiere
Written by Neil LaBute | Directed by Lisa Spirling
“No Hollywood end to this. No last minute rescue. This... right here... with you... is the best chance I’ve got…”
Jodie and Brad seem like they have it all. The house in the suburbs, the nice car, the fully stocked bar. But when the couple are faced with a devastating crisis, they must enlist the help of a mysterious acquaintance from Jodie’s past.
In this timely, dark, and dazzling UK premiere, Tony Award nominated Neil LaBute takes an unflinching look at how we navigate our lives when time is running out.
LaBute’s most shocking and tender play yet is directed by Lisa Spirling (Cardy v Rooney:The Wagatha Christie Trial), from the producers of the 5 star Park Theatre hits Clybourne Park and The Shape of Things.
Running time 140 mins inc interval
Mon – Sat 7.30pm, matinees Thu and Sat 3pm I £47.50 - £22.50 (standard), £26.50 - £20 (65+ Mon eve and Thu mat), £18.50 (access), £10 (Park Up 16-26 years Band C throughout the run) I Previews 16 – 21 Apr, £15 - £29.50
Dementia friendly performance 24th April, 3pm
