London's Hampstead Theatre to Host New Plays by Sebastian Barry and Jonathan Harvey

By Mark Shenton
15 Dec 2009

Hampstead Theatre is to host the London runs of Sebastian Barry's Andersen's English and Jonathan Harvey's Canary, which the theatre is co-producing with Out of Joint, and English Touring Theatre/Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse respectively.

Barry's Andersen's English will premiere at the Theatre Royal, Bury St. Edmunds in February, prior to a U.K tour, culminating in a run at Hampstead Theatre that begins performances April 7, 2010, prior to an official opening April 8, for a run through May 8. Co-produced with Out of Joint, with whom Hampstead Theatre previously collaborated on Alistair Beaton's Feelgood and King of Hearts, it is directed by Out of Joint's artistic director Max Stafford-Clark, who0 has previously also directed Barry's plays The Steward of Christendom, Our Lady of Sligo and Hinterland for the company. Designs are by Lucy Osborne, lighting by Tim Bray and sound by Carolyn Downing. The cast includes Niamh Cusack, Lisa Kerr, Rose Leslie, Alastair Mavor, Kathryn O'Reilly, David Rintoul and Danny Sapani.

According to press materials, the play is set in the imagined home of Charles Dickens as celebrated children's writer Hans Christian Andersen arrives unannounced. To the lonely and eccentric guest, the members of Dickens' household seem to live a life of unreachable bliss. But with his broken English, Andersen fails to recognize the storms brewing within the family.

Harvey's Canary will premiere at Liverpool Playhouse, which is co-producing the play with Hampstead and English Touring Theatre from April 23 to May 15, before coming to Hampstead Theatre to begin performances May 17, for a run through June 12. It will then embark on a tour.

The play is directed by Hettie MacDonald, who previously directed the original stage and subsequent screen versions of his play Beautiful Thing. The new play is described as a hard-hitting tale of forbidden love that could tear families and lives apart. Set in Liverpool and London, and spanning five decades, it explores the changing attitudes towards homosexuality in contemporary Britain.

Public booking for Andersen's English and Canary opens Jan. 14, 2010. To book tickets, contact the box office on or after this date on 020 7722 9301, or visit www.hampsteadtheatre.com