59E59 Theaters has announced the lineup for the 13th Brits Off Broadway, the annual showcase of new British theatre. The slate includes comedies from J.B. Priestley and Torben Betts.
Brits Off Broadway’s season starts April 4 and will run through July 2 at 59E59 Theaters, located at 59 East 59th Street.
Priestley’s The Roundabout is a 1933 play centered around Richard Kettlewell, a man facing a failing business and the return of his daughter, ex-wife, and mistress. The comedy takes a closer look at the social structure of England. The production will mark The Roundabout’s New York premiere.
Betts’ Invincible is a new comedy that takes place over the course of a hilarious evening. Unfamiliar to their new neighborhood after moving, Emily and Oliver invite the couple next door into their home and disaster ensues.
Tickets can be purchased by calling (212) 279-4200 or online at 59e59.org.
Full details of the 2017 Brits Off Broadway lineup, as outlined by the theatre, are listed below:
A Gambler’s Guide To Dying
Written and performed by Gary McNair, directed by Gareth Nicolls
Produced by Show and Tell in association with the Traverse Theatre Company
April 4–April 23
This is the story of one boy’s granddad who won a fortune betting on the 1966 soccer World Cup and, when diagnosed with cancer, gambled it all on living to see the year 2000. An intergenerational tale of what we live for and what we leave behind.
Angel & Echoes
Written and directed by Henry Naylor
With Avital Lvova, Serena Manteghi, and Rachel Smyth
Produced by Redbeard Theatre Ltd with Gilded Balloon Production
April 11–May 7
Henry Naylor returns to this year’s Brits Off Broadway with a double bill of provocative theater. Angel is inspired by the story of a modern legend: a female sniper who struck fear in the hearts of jihadists and held ISIS in check for over a year in war torn Syria. Echoes, back by popular demand after its sell-out too-short run last year, tells the parallel stories of two women born 175 years apart: a Victorian pioneer woman wants to build an Empire and a present-day Islamist schoolgirl wants to build a Caliphate. These two staggering stories will continue to haunt long after the curtain goes down.
The Roundabout
Written by J.B. Priestley, directed by Hugh Ross
With Steven Blakeley, Lisa Bowerman, Richenda Carey, Charlie Field, Derek Hutchinson, Annie Jackson, Ed Pinker, Brian Protheroe, Hugh Sachs, and Carol Starks
Produced by Cahoots Theatre Company, The Other Cheek & Park Theatre
April 20–May 28
Richard Kettlewell is an old Etonian whose business ventures are failing. Over a crowded weekend, his daughter Pamela, whom he hardly knows, returns from Russia, a passionate communist; his ex-wife and mistress both turn up; and his butler has a big win at the races. The Roundabout is funny, touching, highly perceptive look at England in the 1930s, when it looked, just possibly, as if the social order might be changing. This delightful comedy by one of Britain’s most prolific playwrights J.B. Priestley was first seen in 1933, and this production marks its NYC premiere.
Fossils
Created by Bucket Club, directed by Nel Crouch
With Adam Farrell, Luke Murphy, and Helen Vinten
Produced by Bucket Club in association with Farnham Maltings
April 25–May 14
Vanessa’s life is science. Fact based, evidence led, no nonsense, no monsters. But when a
photograph surfaces showing something in Loch Ness, she must embark on a very personal research project.
Iphigenia In Splott
Written by Gary Owen, directed by Rachel O'Riordan
With Sophie Melville
Produced by Sherman Theatre
May 9–June 4
Effie’s life is a mess of drink, drugs, and drama every night, and a hangover worse than death the next day – till one night gives her the chance to be something more. Inspired by the enduring Greek myth, this urgent new play makes its debut in New York following performances at the National Theatre, London.
Rotterdam
Written by Jon Brittain, directed by Donnacadh O'Briain
With Anna Martine Freeman, Alice McCarthy, Ellie Morris, Ed Eales-White
Produced by Hartshorn - Hook Foundation Ltd
May 17–June 10
It's New Year in Rotterdam, and Alice has finally plucked up the courage to email her parents and tell them she's gay. But before she can hit send, Fiona reveals that he has always identified as a man and now wants to start living as one named Adrian. Now, as Adrian begins his transition, Alice must face a question she never thought she'd ask...does this mean she's straight?
Invincible
Written by Torben Betts, directed by Stephen Darcy
Original direction by Christopher Harper
With Elizabeth Boag, Emily Bowker, Graeme Brookes, and Alastair Whatley
Produced by The Original Theatre Company & Ghost Light Theatre Productions
June 1–July 2
With the recession biting hard, Emily and Oliver have decided to downsize and shift their middleclass London lifestyle to a small town in the north of England. One night, they open their doors and invite next door neighbors, Dawn and Alan, into their home. Over the course of a disastrous evening of olives, anchovies, Karl Marx, and abstract art; class and culture collide where the consequences are as tragic as they are hilarious.
My Eyes Went Dark
Written and directed by Matthew Wilkinson
With Declan Conlon and Thusitha Jayasundera
Produced by 107group in association with Traverse Theatre and Cusack Projects Ltd
June 7–July 2
An electrifying new drama about a Russian architect driven to revenge after losing his family in a plane crash. Matthew Wilkinson returns to Brits Off Broadway (Sun Is Shining, 2004 and Red Sea Fish, 2009) with another searing new play, inspired by real events, which was nominated for three Off West End Theatre Awards and enjoyed an acclaimed run last year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Underground
Written by Isla van Tricht, directed by Kate Tiernan
With Michael Jinks, Bebe Sanders and one more actor TBA
Produced by Shrapnel Theatre and Hartshorn - Hook Foundation
June 13–July 2
Claire and James take the same Tube to work at the same time every morning. Claire and James drink at the same pub with their same friends every night. Claire and James have never met. But all that is about to change. After matching on a dating app, they meet for an awkward first date. On their way home together, the brand new Night Tube breaks down. Then, things start to get weird.
