DEATH OF A COMEDIAN
BY OWEN MCCAFFERTY
DIRECTED BY SOHO THEATRE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR STEVE MARMION
Tue 14 Apr – Sat 16 May, 7.15pm (Matinees 3pm, Sunday 5pm)
Tickets £15 – £20 (£10 Previews Tue 14 & Wed 15 Apr)
Meet Steve Johnston in Death of a Comedian, a man who covets the spotlight despite the compromises, in Soho Theatre’s major new collaboration with Ireland’s theatrical powerhouses the Lyric Theatre Belfast and the Abbey Theatre.
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BY OWEN MCCAFFERTY
DIRECTED BY SOHO THEATRE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR STEVE MARMION
Tue 14 Apr – Sat 16 May, 7.15pm (Matinees 3pm, Sunday 5pm)
Tickets £15 – £20 (£10 Previews Tue 14 & Wed 15 Apr)
Meet Steve Johnston in Death of a Comedian, a man who covets the spotlight despite the compromises, in Soho Theatre’s major new collaboration with Ireland’s theatrical powerhouses the Lyric Theatre Belfast and the Abbey Theatre.
Written by Lyric Theatre Belfast’s Artist-in-Residence Owen McCafferty and directed by Soho Theatre’s own Steve Marmion, this funny and brilliant new play has its London premiere season – 14 April to 16 May – following its critically acclaimed world premiere season in Belfast and Dublin.
For Steve Marmion, this collaboration between the theatres’ artistic and creative teams has been a long time coming.
“When I first moved to London, one of the
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first shows I saw was Owen McCafferty’s Scenes from the Big Picture. It was amazing. Ten years later, as Artistic Director of Soho Theatre I sat mesmerised by the same writer, with the Abbey Theatre and Jimmy Fay’s production of Quietly. We went on to collaborate and present Quietly here at Soho Theatre, and when Fiach (Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre) sent Owen’s new play to myself and Jimmy (Executive Producer of the Lyric), they had us at “hello”. To co-produce a play with the three powerhouses of new writing - the national theatre of comedy and the two national theatres of Ireland - all with a track record of making plays, is really very exciting.”
Starring Brian Doherty (God in Ruins - RSC, Aristocrats – National Theatre) as the Comedian, Shaun Dingwall (Spooks, Doctor Who, Silent Witness) as the Agent and Katie McGuinness (Mary Broome – Orange Tree Theatre and TV’s The Borgias) as the Girlfriend, Death of a Comedian is set across four separate stand-up gigs. As Steve Johnston’s career takes off the stages get bigger, however, his choices begin to prove costly as he is thrust into the limelight. Said Owen McCafferty, “Death Of A Comedian is the story of a man who compromises his art in the pursuit of success, and pays a heavy price for being funny.”
Adds Steve Marmion: “The play itself is not about stand-up comedy. In the same way Anthony and Cleopatra isn’t about Romans. It is, as ever with plays, about something much bigger. We have approached this story as a Faust or a Macbeth – anyone who takes on a noble ambition or has a good idea, and finds it gets corrupted or changed en route to its realisation. It’s the first play I’ve ever done where I’ve not had to do a second of research, which has been lovely, as we have every literal location in the play in this building other than the stadium stage.”
As election day looms closer, Death of a Comedian forms part of a wider Politics season at Soho Theatre. Sarah Cameron, Philip Ridley, Em Hussain and Anders Lustgarden are all on their theatrical soapboxes in different corners of our theatres.
“There’s a sense that in his new play, Belfast writer Owen McCafferty has moved his writing up a gear…his most accomplished work to date.” ★★★★ Belfast Telegraph
“Steve Marmion’s slick, assured direction is splendidly supported by Ben Ormerod’s lighting, Tom Mills’ perfectly judged soundscape and Michael Vale’s deceptively simple conceptualised set…” ★★★★ The Stage
For Steve Marmion, this collaboration between the theatres’ artistic and creative teams has been a long time coming.
“When I first moved to London, one of the
Starring Brian Doherty (God in Ruins - RSC, Aristocrats – National Theatre) as the Comedian, Shaun Dingwall (Spooks, Doctor Who, Silent Witness) as the Agent and Katie McGuinness (Mary Broome – Orange Tree Theatre and TV’s The Borgias) as the Girlfriend, Death of a Comedian is set across four separate stand-up gigs. As Steve Johnston’s career takes off the stages get bigger, however, his choices begin to prove costly as he is thrust into the limelight. Said Owen McCafferty, “Death Of A Comedian is the story of a man who compromises his art in the pursuit of success, and pays a heavy price for being funny.”
Adds Steve Marmion: “The play itself is not about stand-up comedy. In the same way Anthony and Cleopatra isn’t about Romans. It is, as ever with plays, about something much bigger. We have approached this story as a Faust or a Macbeth – anyone who takes on a noble ambition or has a good idea, and finds it gets corrupted or changed en route to its realisation. It’s the first play I’ve ever done where I’ve not had to do a second of research, which has been lovely, as we have every literal location in the play in this building other than the stadium stage.”
As election day looms closer, Death of a Comedian forms part of a wider Politics season at Soho Theatre. Sarah Cameron, Philip Ridley, Em Hussain and Anders Lustgarden are all on their theatrical soapboxes in different corners of our theatres.
“There’s a sense that in his new play, Belfast writer Owen McCafferty has moved his writing up a gear…his most accomplished work to date.” ★★★★ Belfast Telegraph
“Steve Marmion’s slick, assured direction is splendidly supported by Ben Ormerod’s lighting, Tom Mills’ perfectly judged soundscape and Michael Vale’s deceptively simple conceptualised set…” ★★★★ The Stage
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