The cast for Biblical Tales comprises Anthony Barclay, Sarah Chamberlain, Matthew Clancy, Mark Frost and Alex Giannini. The play sees the stories of Adam and Eve, Samson and Delilah, David and Goliath and Moses and Pharaoh given a 21st-century interpretation. In a press statement, Berkoff commented, "The Old Testament myths are so mysterious and compelling that they lend themselves to all sorts of interpretations. Working on my adaptations it became obvious how relevant they are to our attitudes and values in modern times. It was the recent Gaza war and the appalling flack that Israel received that prompted me to investigate ancient Jewish values."
Berkoff has previously worked at the New End on the original productions of Decadence in 1981 and Sit and Shiver in 2006. His other original plays include East,Messiah: Scenes from a Crucifixion, The Secret Love Life of Ophelia, West, Greek, Harry's Christmas, Lunch, Acapulco, Sink the Belgrano!, Massage and Sturm und Drang. He has also directed and adapted many other stories, including Kafka's The Trail and Metamorphosis, Aeschylus's Agamemnon and Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. He has also directed and toured productions of Shakespeare's Coriolanus and Richard II (for New York's Shakespeare Festival), and Oscar Wilde's Salomé that was seen at the National. He was last represented in the West End by his production of a stage version of On the Waterfront, which transferred from the Edinburgh Festival to the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.
To book tickets, contact the box office on 0870 033 2733, or visit www.newendtheatre.co.uk.
