Our first Studio Theatre production this Autumn is a double bill of hard-hitting dramas exploring the downside of modern life.
“We don’t want to talk about that”
Northumberland-born Shelagh Stephenson’s play Five Kinds of Silence tells the story of a family’s attempt to escape from life beneath the shadow of the vicious Billy, who physically, emotionally, and sexually abuses his wife and two daughters.
Can there ever be a new life without Billy haunting their nightmares?
Described as “unflinchingly honest and deeply insightful”, this dark drama pulls no punches, but retains a sense of hope in the human spirit.
“Fact is better left to fiction”
According to director Maggie Watson, Edward Albee got his source material for The Zoo Story from his days as a mail man walking the streets of New York city.
The resulting one-act piece made the playwright’s name in 1959, packing themes of isolation, social disparity and dehumanisation into a single, emotionally intense hour.
The action unfolds in front of the audience in “real time” as strangers Peter and Jerry meet on a bench in Central Park.
Both plays are unflinching in their often disturbing view of a distorted world. Stephenson and Albee broach their subjects with brilliance, truthfulness, and glimmers of ironic humour amidst relentless dramatic suspense.
Audiences are advised that these plays contain very strong language and content that is suitable for an adult audience only.
LISTINGS INFORMATION:
DATE: Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 October 2015
TIME: 7.30pm
VENUE: The People’s Theatre (Studio Upstairs), Stephenson Road, Newcastle upon
Tyne, NE6 5QF
TICKETS: £13.50 (Concessions £11)
TELE: 0191 265 5020
WEBSITE: www.peoplestheatre.co.uk