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Playing now...
A Hampstead Theatre production
Enlightenment
By Shelagh Stephenson, directed by Edward Hall
30 September - 30 October 2010
Overview
'A seat-gripping ride' Times ****
A gap-year student travelling in the Far East disappears, and his parents are suddenly in limbo. Unsure who to turn to, or even whether he's alive or dead, they frantically seek clues, comfort and strength. But as the truth emerges, a net of lies and deceit - darker than anything they had imagined - begins to close in around them.
Shelagh Stephenson's mesmeric thriller, Enlightenment, is directed by Hampstead Theatre's new Artistic Director, Edward Hall.
Shelagh Stephenson's plays for Hampstead Theatre include The Memory of Water - 2000 Olivier Award for Best Comedy, An Experiment with an Air Pump and Ancient Lights. She also wrote Mappa Mundi for the National Theatre and most recently Northern Odyssey for Live Theatre.
Edward Hall is a director of theatre, film and television, with recent work including The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream for Propeller, Strike Back for Leftbank Pictures and Spooks for the BBC.
ENLIGHTENMENT IS SUPPORTED BY THE PETER WOLFF THEATRE TRUST
Prices & Times
PRICES:
Previews (30 September - 6 October) £18
Mondays/Matinees £22
Tuesday - Saturday £29
Advance Tickets £22
(a limited number of £22 advance tickets are available for all performances)
Student, Under 26, Jobseekers, Senior Citizen and Access concessions available. More info.
TIMES:
Running Thursday 30 September - Saturday 30 October (previews 30 September - 6 October)
Monday - Saturday evenings at 7:30pm
Wednesday 6 October at 7pm
Saturday matinees (9, 16, 23, 30 October) at 3pm
Wednesday matinees (13, 27 October) at 2:30pm
Captioned performance and post show discussion with speech to text transcription Wednesday 20 October
Audio described performance Saturday 23 October (matinee)
Running time: approx. 2 hours 15 minutes. There will be one interval.
ENLIGHTENMENT IS SUPPORTED BY THE PETER WOLFF THEATRE TRUST
Cast & Creative Team
Designer: Francis O'Connor
Lighting: Peter Mumford
Composer: Simon Slater
Projection: Andrzej Goulding
Sound: Matt McKenzie
Fight Director: Terry King
Casting: Suzanne Crowley & Gilly Poole
Cast:
Daisy Beaumont
Richard Clothier
Paul Freeman
Julie Graham
Polly Kemp
Tom Weston-Jones
ENLIGHTENMENT IS SUPPORTED BY THE PETER WOLFF THEATRE TRUST
Gallery
Daisy Beaumont and Julie Graham in rehearsal
Edward Hall and Paul Freeman in rehearsal
Julie Graham in rehearsal
Richard Clothier in reheasal
Tom Weston-Jones in rehearsal
Julie Graham and Polly Kemp in rehearsal
Julie Graham and Richard Clothier in Enlightenment
Polly Kemp, Julie Graham and Richard Clothier in Enlightenment.
Paul Freeman in Enlightenment.
Daisy Beaumont in Enlightenment
Tom Weston-Jones in Enlightenment
Daisy Beaumont and Tom Weston-Jones in Enlightenment
Richard Clothier and Polly Kemp in Enlightenment
Tom Weston-Jones, Polly Kemp and Julie Graham in Enlightenment
Julie Graham in Enlightenment
Tom Weston-Jones and Julie Graham in Enlightenment
Reviews
'These two strange, tense, funny and unsettling hours - directed by the boss himself - mark the dawn of Edward Hall's reign at Hampstead Theatre, and bode well for its renaissance... Shelagh Stephenson's play is simultaneously recognisable - granola, telly, middle-class absurdity - and wonderfully odd, referencing chaos theory, non-locality, and Jungian synchronicity with casual brio... It's a seat-gripping ride'
Times ****
'entertaining and stylishly done... a play that puzzles and teases the brain'
Guardian
'an acerbic mix of emotional pain, sharp one-liners and metaphysical speculation... there's a twisted emotional knot in the very guts of this satirical and intensely likeable work... stunningly relevant and contemporary.'
The Arts Desk
'Enlightenment is generous with entertainment – clever comedy, attractive and accomplished actors, a sparkling production'
Independent
'Sleek, spooky and well performed, it's Edward Hall's first production as artistic director of Hampstead Theatre and it bodes extremely well for the future.'
Mail on Sunday ****
