Bridge Theatre Press Briefing

SIMON RUSSELL BEALE, PATSY FERRAN AND EBEN FIGUEIREDO IN

CHARLES DICKENS’

A   C H R I S T M A S   C A R O L

A Christmas Carol didn’t just invent Christmas as we know it. It’s also scary, joyful, spooky, hilarious, furious, beautiful, and a triumphant declaration that even the hardest hearts can melt.

Simon Russell Beale, Patsy Ferran and Eben Figueiredo will play all the parts and share the story telling in this exuberant new version devised by Nicholas Hytner.

The show will be suitable for all ages and runs 90 minutes without interval.  Performances are from 27 November 2020 to 16 January 2021 with evenings at 7pm and matinees at 4pm (on 24 December the matinee will be at 2pm).

Set designs are Bunny Christie with costume designs by Rose Revitt who also acts as set design associate. Lighting is by Jon Clark, sound by Gareth Fry, video design is by Luke Halls and music by Grant Olding.

Simon Russell Beale was most recently on stage in The Lehman Trilogy at National Theatre, in the West End and on Broadway.  His previous collaborations with Nicholas Hytner include The Alchemist, Much Ado About Nothing, Major Barbara, Collaborators, London Assurance and Timon of Athens, all at the National Theatre.  As well as the recipient of multiple theatre awards, in 2003 he was made a CBE and for his services to the Arts and in 2019 he was made a Knight Batchelor.

Patsy Ferran was last on stage in New York at the Booth Theatre playing Honey in Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf. Her other theatre credits include Three Sisters and Summer and Smoke for the Almeida Theatre for which she won the Olivier and Critics’ Circle Best Actress awards, My Mum’s a Twat at the Royal Court, Speech and Debate at the Trafalgar Studios, As You Like it and Treasure Island for the National Theatre, The Merchant of Venice for the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Angry Brigade for Pains Plough and Blithe Spirit at the Gielgud Theatre. Her film credits include God’s Own Country, Tom and Jerry, How to Build a Girl, Darkest Hour, Tulip Fever, Keepsake and The Devil’s Harmony. Her television credits include Jamestown, Will and Guerrilla.

Eben Figueiredo returns to the Bridge having previously played Schram in Nicholas Hytner’s production of Young Marx. His other theatre credits include Cyrano de Bergerac at the Playhouse Theatre, Primetime at the Royal Court, Ross for Chichester Festival Theatre, Peter Pan at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and Pitcairn for Out of Joint. His film credits include Solo:A Star Wars Story and Daphne and on television his credits include The Attack and Scatooney.

SIMON AMSTELL:

W O R K   I N   P R O G R E S S

TEN PERFORMANCES ONLY

Comedian, writer and director Simon Amstell will perform for ten performances only from 10 – 21 November 2020 each at 9pm, for audiences aged 16+.

Simon Amstell hones new stand up material for a possibly forthcoming tour. Some thoughts will be more developed than others

Simon Amstell’s previous shows include Do Nothing, Numb: Live at the BBC and his recent Netflix special, Set Free.

ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES OF YOLANDA MERCY’S

Q U A R T E R   L I F E   C R I S I S

 Last month The Bridge presented Yolanda Mercy’s one woman play Quarter Life Crisis as part of a season on one-person plays.  Directed by Jade Lewis and performed by Mercy, following a sell-out run additional performances will now take place on 10 – 14 November 2020 all at 7.15pm.

Alicia is a hot mess. She doesn’t know what she’s doing with her life. Swiping left, swiping right to find the perfect match. Even though she’s a Londoner, born and bred, the scent of Lagos peppers her existence in the ends. Everyone around her seems to know where they’re going in life, but she’s just trying to find ways to cheat growing up and keep her 16-25 railcard.  What does it mean to be an adult and when do you become one?

London based writer and performer Yolanda Mercy’s first play was On the Edge of Me presented at Soho Theatre where she is currently on attachment (as a Soho Six).  Earlier this year saw her television writing debut with BBW, a comedy drama for Channel 4 as part of their BAFTA nominated anthology – On the Edge.  She is a published author with Oberon Books for Quarter Life Crisis.

Previously seen in London at Soho Theatre in 2017 and 2018, Quarter Life Crisis was adapted for radio and broadcast on BBC Radio 1xtra.

FIVE PERFORMANCES ONLY OF OSMAN BAIG’S

F A K E   N E W S

The Bridge will present five performances of Fake News written and performed by Osman Baig and directed by Oliver Stephens.  Performances are on 17 – 21 November 2022 all at 7.15pm.

A budding young journalist lands a dream internship at the country’s biggest online news organization. There, he stumbles on an earth-shattering story and – against better judgement – decides to click publish. There’s just one problem: the story is completely untrue.

Whatever you think about the news or those who make it, prepare to think again – in this one-man show that will force you to ask if there really is such a thing as bad publicity.

Osman Baig is an actor, journalist and playwright. As an actor his theatre credits include Our Big Love Story for Hope Theatre, Julius Caesar and Coriolanus for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Richard III for the Almeida Theatre and Ulysses Theatre, Croatia and Boy also for the Almeida Theatre.  Journalism includes staff roles at CNN, Sky News and Al Jazeera, as well as BBC News and Bloomberg.  Baig was formerly a George Viner Scholar at City University, after graduating in Law from the Universities of Manchester and Burgundy.  He trained at Drama Studio London.  

Fake News is his first play, which premiered at the King’s Head Theatre in 2018 before transferring to venues including Theatre 503, Tara Arts & Waterloo East Theatre, then selling-out at the Edinburgh Fringe 2019 with Assembly.