NEXT year, Sam Mendes (Skyfall, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) will direct Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman, which runs at the Royal Court (Jerwood Theatre Downstairs) from April 24 to May 20, 2017.
The Ferryman is set in rural Derry in 1981. The Carney farmhouse is a hive of activity with preparations for the annual harvest. A day of hard work on the land and a traditional night of feasting and celebrations lie ahead. But this year they will be interrupted by a visitor.
Butterworth returns to the Royal Court following The River and the multi award-winning Jerusalem.
The Ferryman is part of the Royal Court’s new season which also includes:
A Profoundly Affectionate, Passionate Devotion to Someone (-Noun), written and directed by debbie tucker green. A play about three couples, it runs in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from February 28 to April 1, 2017.
The Kid Stays in the Picture. Directed by Simon McBurney, it runs in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from March 7 to April 8, 2017.
In the 1960s and 70s, Robert Evans became one of the most powerful figures in Hollywood. He saved Paramount Pictures from collapse and produced films including The Godfather and Chinatown. However, by the 1980s he was broke, with his personal and professional life spiraling at epic proportions.
McBurney explores the rise and fall of the legendary film producer against the backdrop of a changing America through the second half of the 20th century.
Nuclear War, written by Simon Stephens (Birdland, Wastwater, Herons, Motortown) and directed by Imogen Knight. A series of suggestions on desire, death and time, it runs in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from April 19 to May 6, 2017.
Imogen Knight’s previous work for the Royal Court as movement director includes Linda, God Bless the Child and Pests.
Manwatching. Written by an anonymous woman and performed by an unprepared man, it runs in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from May 10 to May 20, 2017.
Described as a funny, frank, and occasionally explicit insight into heterosexual female desire, Manwatching is read out loud by a man.
Each show begins with a male comedian being given a script they have never seen before. They then go onto read said script for the first time live in front of an audience which explores what one woman thinks about when she thinks about sex and men.
Manwatching was developed in collaboration with the Royal Court and first performed as a work-in-progress at the Edinburgh Festival 2015 at Paines Plough’s Roundabout.
Killology. Written by Gary Owen and directed by Rachel O’Riordan, who previously collaborated on the award-winning Iphigenia in Splott, it runs in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from May 25 to June 24, 2017.
Killology is about a controversial new gaming experience in which players are rewarded for torturing victims.
Anatomy of a Suicide. Written by Alice Birch and directed by Katie Mitchell, it runs in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from June 3 to July 8, 2017.
Three generations of women. For each, the chaos of what has come before brings with it a painful legacy.
Writer Alice Birch (Revolt. She said. Revolt again, We Want You To Watch), continues her collaboration with director Katie Mitchell (2071, Ten Billion, Cleansed) following Ophelias Zimmer earlier this year.
Road. Written by Jim Cartwright and directed by John Tiffany, it runs in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from July 21 to September 9, 2017.
A Road, a wild night, a drunken tour guide, a journey to the gutter and the stars and back. Jim Cartwright‘s seminal play, gives expression to the inhabitants of an unnamed northern road in Eighties Britain.
John Tiffany’s most recent work includes Harry Potter and The Cursed Child. His previous work for the Royal Court includes The Twits, Hope, Let the Right One In (and National Theatre of Scotland) and The Pass.
B, by Chilean playwright Guillermo Calderón. Directed by Sam Pritchard, it runs in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs in September 2017 (dates tbc).
For more information visit royalcourttheatre.com/.