New writing, new musicals and revivals come to Southwark Playhouse

Southwark Playhouse has revealed its programme of shows for the first half of 2019, ranging from new writing and new musicals to revivals of modern plays.

It will include the world premieres of All in a Row, a new play about autism by Alex Oates, and new Celtic musical The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, based on F Scott Fitzgerald’s short story. New one-man musical Stay Awake, Jake will also have its first full-length run.

The list also features revivals of American play Other People’s Money by Jerry Sterner, Bodies by James Saunders and The Rubenstein Kiss by James Phillips.

Anna Girvan will direct a new production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night as part of the theatre’s Shakespeare For Schools programme, running from 17 January to 9 February, aiming to reach young people in Southwark and Lambeth through special matinee performances in The Little.

The 2019 programme opens on 7 January with the transfer of the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Aspects of Love from the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester, running until 9 February in The Large.

Kelly Price (Rose) and Felix Mosse (Alex) in Aspects Of Love

Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, the new, intimately reimagined production will star most of those who appeared at Hope Mill this summer including Kelly Price as Rose Vibert, Felix Mosse as Alex Dillingham, Jerome Pradon as George Dillingham, Minal Patel as Marcel Richard and Eleanor Walsh as Jenny Dillingham. Also in the cast will be Julia J Nagle, Jason Kajdi and Jack Churms. Further casting is to be announced.

Bodies by James Saunders follows from 13 February to 9 March in The Little, marking the first production of the comedy since 1979. Directed by Tricia Thorns, it is a portrait of sexual and marital relations in the 1960s and 70s, delving into these questions with bitter humour. It is presented by Two’s Company and Karl Sydow in association with Master Media.

All in a Row from 14 February to 9 March in The Large is a new play by Alex Oates, directed by Dominic Shaw, the team behind the triple Off West End Award-nominated Silk Road. It follows the challenges facing Tamora and Martin as they care for their son Laurence who is autistic, non-verbal, low-functioning and occasionally violent. It is presented by Paul Virides Productions and Evelyn James Productions.

Stay Awake, Jake is a new one-man musical with music, lyrics and book by Tim Gilvin, presented by Rachel Kraftman Productions. Running from 13 March to 6 April in The Little, it charts the journey of Jake, who is driving through the night from London to Carlisle. Over the course of this intimate and intriguing song cycle, we gradually discover why.

Stay Awake Jake is a musical in close-up, boldly and beautifully telling the story of guilt, of change, of hope and what it means to be a man in the modern day. This production marks its first full-length London run after a short run at The Vaults in 2016. It won the 2014 S&S Award for New Musicals and the Origins Award for Best Original Work. It has previously been performed by Norman Bowman and Jamie Muscato.

Dead Posh Theatricals revives Other People’s Money by Jerry Sterner from 17 April to 11 May in The Little, directed by Katharine Farmer. Since opening off-Broadway in 1989, the darkly savage comedy won an Outer Critics Circle Award for best Off-Broadway play and was adapted into the 1991 Hollywood film starring Danny DeVito.

It follows the arrival of Larry-the-Liquidator at sleepy family-run business The Wire and Cable Company of New England. With a jam-today approach to both doughnuts and investments, Larry is accustomed to grabbing life by the assets. But CEO Jorgy has a different approach. Will his small town ideas stack up against booming Wall Street?

A new Celtic musical based on F Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, runs in The Little from 15 May to 8 June. Presented in association with Hall for Cornwall theatre in Truro, the show has a book by Jethro Compton, music by Darren Clark and lyrics by both Compton and Clark.

Set in a sleepy fishing harbour at the end of the First World War, it tells the story of Benjamin Button who starts his life as an old man and lives his years in reverse. The short story has also been adapted into a film starring Brad Pitt.

Compton’s credits at Southwark Playhouse include The Bunker Trilogy and, with Belt Up Theatre, The Boy James, Quasimodo and The Tartuffe. He is an associate artist of Hall for Cornwall and writer and director of White Fang and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, both at Park Theatre. Clark, who won the MTI Stiles & Drewe Mentorship Award, also wrote the music for These Trees are Made of Blood. Click here for more details about the revival of The Rubenstein Kiss, which runs in The Large from 14 March to 13 April.

Casting for all the shows apart from Aspects of Love is still to be announced.

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