Preview: Brave New World at Darlington Civic Theatre

BRAVE NEW ADAPTATION OF A CLASSIC

Brave New World

Darlington Civic Theatre

Tuesday 10^th to Saturday 14^th November 2015

Photo: Manuel Harlan

Darlington Civic Theatre will soon welcome a brand new stage adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s ground-breaking novel Brave New World, presented by Touring Consortium Theatre Company and Royal & Derngate Northampton which will run from Tuesday 10^thto Saturday 14^th November 2015.

Brave New World, widely considered to be one of the finest and most prophetic dystopian novels of the twentieth century, bursts into life on stage in an adaptation by award-winning playwright Dawn King, directed by James Dacre, with original new music by the ground breaking British band These New Puritans.

Olivia Morgan (Lenina) &

Samantha Pearl (Polly)

Photo: Manuel Harlan

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World was first published in 1932, and is widely seen to be one of the most important novels of the 20th century, anticipating developments in reproductive technology, psychological manipulation and behavioural conditioning. Set in AD 2540 human life has been almost entirely industrialised, and humans are created and conditioned in a lab according to a strict caste system, in a World State whose motto is “Community, Identity, Stability”. Monogamy, the family unit and the ‘natural’ process of giving birth, are considered horrific and unnatural, and material comfort and physical pleasure - provided by the drug soma - represent society’s highest good.

Photo: Manuel Harlan

Dawn King said, “Huxley's novel is over eighty years old, but his vision of the future is shockingly familiar. In many ways, we already live in Brave New World: a glittering dystopia built on inequality, where people keep themselves distracted with empty pleasures, chemical stimulants and consumer goods. Adapting this huge work for the stage has been as tough and stimulating as anything I've ever done and a huge pleasure.”

Sophie Ward

as Margaret Mond

Photo: Manuel Harlan

Sophie Ward stars as ‘Margaret Mond – the Regional World Controller for Western Europe’, which in Huxley’s novel is a male character. Dawn King said, “I took this decision primarily because as a feminist, I wanted to increase the gender equality of the show. I also felt that having a female world controller of Western Europe is more representative of our world today, and of a world of the future. In the novel the character is called ‘Mustapha Mond’, but in my adaptation I chose the name Margaret, for its obvious allusions. I think Sophie Ward is a great choice to play the role because ‘Mond’ is a person who has had to make hard decisions, has a strong sense of her own personal morality, and has real steely authority.”

Tickets:

Brave New World is at Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 November. Tickets* are priced from £17.40

*All ticket prices include a £1 restoration levy.

To book contact the Box Office on 01325 486 555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk

 

Preview: Brave New World at Darlington Civic Theatre

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Full Cast Announced For Brave New World

Brave New World

Darlington Civic Theatre

Tuesday 10^th to Saturday 14^th November 2015

The full cast and creative team has been announced for the world premiere of a brand new stage adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s seminal novel Brave New World, presented by Touring Consortium Theatre Company and Royal & Derngate Northampton which comes to Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 November.

Brave New World, widely considered to be one of the finest and most prophetic dystopian novels of the twentieth century, bursts into life on stage in an adaptation by award-winning playwright Dawn King, directed by James Dacre and designed by Naomi Dawson, with original new music by the ground breaking British band These New Puritans.

Sophie Ward - Photo: Gemma Betts

Sophie Ward, whose extensive screen credits include TV series Land Girls, Heartbeat and Holby City, and films including Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Young Sherlock, will play ‘Margaret Mond’, the Regional World Controller for Western Europe (a character that was the male ‘Mustapha Mond’ in the original novel),. Her theatre work includes One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Go Back For Murder and Private Lives. Olivier Award-winning Abigail McKern, last seen in Northampton in A Tale of Two Cities and fresh from Shakespeare in Love in the West End, takes the role of ‘Linda’. The ensemble cast also includes Olivia Morgan (Macbeth, West End, The Taming of the Shrew,

Shakespeare’s Globe), William Postlethwaite (King Lear, Bath Theatre Royal, Collaborators, National Theatre) as John the Savage, Scott Karim (The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare’s Globe, Great Britain, National Theatre) as Helmholtz Watson, and Gruffudd Glyn (Three Sisters, Young Vic, Hamlet, RSC) as Bernard. The cast also includes Theo Ogundipe as Benito, Samantha Pearl as Polly, James Howard as the Director and David Burnett as Henry.

The play is directed by Royal & Derngate’s Artistic Director James Dacre (The Body of an American, King John, Arthur Miller’s The Hook) with original music by These New Puritans, whose last album was described by Record Collector as “arguably the musical achievement of the 2010s so far.” It has been adapted for the stage by Dawn King, whose credits include the plays Ciphers and Foxfinder, and the BAFTA-nominated short film The Karman Line. The production is designed by Naomi Dawson, whose recent credits include The Roaring Girl, King John and As You Like It for the RSC, with Frantic Assembly’s Eddie Kay (The Pass, Royal Court, Othello, Frantic Assembly) as movement director. Lighting design is by Colin Grenfell (Black Watch, National Theatre of Scotland, The Mother, Theatre Royal Bath) with sound design by George Dennis (Regeneration, Royal & Derngate/Touring Consortium Theatre Company, Liberian Girl, Royal Court).

Video designer Keith Skretch also joins the creative team, with fight direction by RC Annie.

Tickets:

Brave New World is at Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 10^th to Saturday 14^th November 2015.

Tickets* are priced from £17.40

*All ticket prices include a £1 restoration levy.

To book contact the Box Office on 01325 486 555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk