Cast announced for Plastic by Kenneth Emson
Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 St John Street, London EC1V 4NJ
Tuesday 3rd – Saturday 21st April 2018
Louis Greatorex (Safe, Netflix; The Last Post, BBC1; Last Tango In Halifax, BBC1), Madison Clare (The Dark Things, Linbury Studio Theatre; War Whores, Courtyard Theatre; Close, Landor Space), Mark Weinman (Captain Amazing, Soho Theatre/Live/UK Tour; The Gamechangers, BBC2; Press, BBC1) and Thomas Coombes (Barbarians, Tooting Arts Club – winner of Best Male Performance at
the Off West End Theatre Awards; Hatton Garden, ITV; Him & Her, BBC Three) will star in Plastic by BAFTA-nominated playwright Kenneth Emson. This powerful new play explores how the insecurities of childhood can follow us into later life in this unflinchingly honest drama about time, memory and escape.
Directed by JMK 2017
Directed by JMK 2017 award winner Josh Roche (My Name Is Rachel Corrie), this poetic and unflinching production is an extraordinary mix of drama and performance poetry set in an Essex school which tells the story of four young people who are forced into adulthood. Through its innovative verse, Plastic examines the creation of urban folklore and the sealed world of adolescence with all its unique pressures – how hard it can be to survive, and how hard it is to be left behind
Remember the moment you became an adult? Or did you miss it? Kev used to have a girlfriend called Lisa – she wore a fitted blazer and reebok classics and lit up the school yard. Kev used to be the captain of the school football team and he scored the winner in the All-Essex schools cup final. Ben used to get beaten up most days. He stole money from his mum’s purse to pay off ‘Wicksy’. Now he’s an accountant. But Ben always had Jack. His loyal, unbreakable mate Jack. Adults are the kids that survive school right? But what if some kids don’t?
Essex playwright Emson comments, I’m delighted to bring Plastic to the Old Red Lion. It’s a theatre with a rich history of new writing and produces some of the most exciting and idiosyncratic voices in theatre. I’m proud to be added to that list. Plastic is a play that means a great deal to me personally, it’s set within the community I grew up in and the characters formed from the people I knew there.
For this story and those characters to occupy a London stage is incredibly exciting
Plastic is generously supported by Arts Council England, Royal Victoria Hall Foundation, Blyth Watson Charitable Trust and The Old Vic Theatre.
Plastic will also be touring to the Mercury Theatre in Essex from 26th – 28th April 2018