Barbarians
By Barrie Keeffe
Produced by Rachel Edwards for Tooting Arts Club
In association with Soho Theatre and Jagged Fence Theatre
With kind support from Soho Estates
Last chance to see Tooting Arts Club’s acclaimed production of Barrie Keeffe’s Barbarians at the Former Central Saint Martins School of Art in Soho
The show must close on 7 November 2015
There are only two weeks left for audiences to catch Tooting Arts Club’s acclaimed revival of Barbarians by Barrie Keeffe. Staged in the birthplace of UK punk, this hard-hitting production has been widely praised, not least for the performances of its three young actors. The final performance will be on Saturday 7 November 2015, at the former Central Saint Martin’s School of Art in Soho.
There are a limited number of tickets available at £10 for under-26s, students and the unemployed.
In 1977, Britain had just emerged from a worldwide recession. It was the Queen’s silver jubilee year but Paul, Jan and Louis had little to celebrate. With widespread youth unemployment and little opportunity on the horizon, there was anarchy in the air. Barbarians follows the fluctuating fortunes of its three male characters on a journey that is as humorous as it is brutal, to the soundtrack of The Clash, the Sex Pistols and The Jam. This venue provides the perfect setting, steeped in the punk culture of that time, to revive this acclaimed production which is as relevant now as it was then.
“I have mixed feelings about seeing it again in two new productions: proud that the play is on in London for the first time in twenty years but also a sadness that it’s a tale of a generation without hope or prospects who leave school only to join the dole queues” Barrie Keeffe.
The production is directed by Bill Buckhurst (Sweeney Todd) with design by Simon Kenny, sound design by Joshua Richardson and lighting design by Rob Youngson.
Cast: Thomas Coombes (The Father, ITV series Jekyll and Hyde), Jake Davies (Yen, X+Y) andJosh Williams (Lord of the Flies, Love and Information).
Tooting Arts Club’s most recent production was the acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim’sSweeney Todd in Harrington’s Pie and Mash Shop, Tooting, transferring to a found space on Shaftesbury Avenue.
Barrie Keeffe, who wrote the film The Long Good Friday, and whose other works for the stage include Sus, Not Fade Away, A Mad World My Masters, Only A Game, My Girl and King of England, was born and brought up in the East End of London. He was an actor with the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and worked as a journalist before becoming a playwright.
Barbarians is directed by Bill Buckhurst, who also directed Sweeney Todd for Tooting Arts Club (Harrington’s Pie and Mash Shop and West End). He previously co-directed the international touring production of Shakespeare’s Globe’s Hamlet alongside Dominic Dromgoole. Also for Tooting Arts Club, Bill has directed Tinderbox in 2011, Barbarians in 2012 and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2014. His other directing credits include The Vegemite Tales in the West End and numerous touring productions for Shakespeare’s Globe.
Barbarians is produced by Rachel Edwards for Tooting Arts Club.
LISTINGS INFORMATION:
Barbarians
by Barrie Keeffe
Venue: Former Central St Martins School of Art, 111 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H ODU
Dates: Tuesday 29th September – 7th November 2015
Monday-Saturday, 7.30pm; Saturday and Thursday matinees 3pm
Press nights: Saturday 3rd October, Monday 5th, Tuesday 6th
Tickets: £10 (under-26s, students and unemployed), £26 and £32 (plus booking fees)
Book via Soho Theatre
Online www.sohotheatre.com
Phone 020 7478 0100
In person Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE
Cast
Paul: Thomas Coombes
Jan: Jake Davies
Louis: Josh Williams
Producer: Rachel Edwards (for Tooting Arts Club)
Co- Producer: Hilary Williams
Director: Bill Buckhurst
Designer: Simon Kenny
Sound Designer: Joshua Richardson
Lighting Designer: Rob Youngson
Casting: Marc Frankum