Announcing the cast of 80 professional actors who will premiere 10 funny and bawdy new comedy plays by Mark Ravenhill
The titles of the plays are also revealed with three featuring all-female casts!
Rehearsed readings will take place over a marathon 48 hours
at Wilton’s Music Hall on 9 & 10 May
The 10 plays are revealed today:
Friday 9 May
Play 1: 12noon – 13.30 – Run At It Horny
Play 2: 14.00 – 15.30 – Run At It Babies
Play 3: 16.00 -17.30 – Run At It Backstage (all female company)
Play 4: 18.00 – 19.30 – Run At It Toothless (all female company)
Play 5: 20.00 – 21.30 – Run At It With A Plan (all female company)
Saturday 10 May
Play 6: 12noon – 13.30 – Run At It Twins
Play 7: 14.00 – 15.30- Run At It In Disguise
Play 8: 16.00 -17.30 – Run At It Feuding
Play 9: 18.00 – 19.30 – Run At It In The Countryside
Play 10: 20.00 – 21.30 – Run At It With A Vengeance
A world where everyone is a fool. Identities are mistaken and swapped. Misunderstandings abound. Sex and money are on everyone’s mind. And somehow everything works out for the best .
Bawdy, farcical and humane, Run At It Laughing is an epic celebration of comedy and our shared humanity.
Based on scenarios first published in Italy in 1611, Run At It Laughing is a cycle of 10 90-minute new comedies presented as rehearsed readings over two days. Each play can be enjoyed by itself or as part of the sequence.
Playwright Mark Ravenhill – Shopping and F-ing and The Cane (Royal Court), Mother Clap’s Molly House and Citizenship (National Theatre), Ben and Imo (Royal Shakespeare Company) – wrote a new play every month in 2024, working alongside professional actors at Run At It SHOUTING workshops. He also directs the readings.
He said: “During the workshops, one of the actors said: ‘It’s a bit like a Carry On film written by Shakespeare’. That’s the sweet spot I’m aiming for, Matron!”
The casts for each play are:
Play 1
Run At It Horny
Omar Aga, Olsen Elezi, Michelle Charvez Grant, Gary Lammin, Chris Gallagher, Fiona Spreadborough, Mariella Dickhoff, Rebecca Snook, Ting Fung, Kay Boggett, Anna Tammela, Kasper Faulkner.
Play 2
Run At It Babies
Kathryn Pridgeon, Duncan Hess, Matthew Dunlop, Pascal Orzabal, Sasha Brooks, Sophie MacDonald, Charlie Ryall, Ron Shah, Josie Dee, Alistair Rowley, Claire Monique Martin.
Play 3
Run At It Backstage (all female company)
Sedona Rose, Nasia Ntalia, Lisa Blackwell, Sophie Marlowe, Jodyanne Richardson, Eleonora Andronaco, Katie Carlton, Krista Larsen, Phoebe-Ray Levene, Sascha Latoya, Dorthea Darby.
Play 4
Run At It Toothless (all female company)
Amanda Waggott, Claire Monique Martin, Cheryl Storer, Philippa Casares, Hannah Van Der Westhuysen, Lesley Lemon, Victoria Turnbridge, Georgina Hart, Alex Kristoffy, Rebecca Harland.
Play 5
Run At It With A Plan (all female company)
Lottie Graham, Cheryl Stapleton, Emma Wilkinson Wright, Marta Carvalho, India Thain, Lucrezia Galeone, Scout Black, Bridget Fry, Anna Farthing, Tess O’ Shea, Laura Craus.
Play 6
Run At It Twins
Seughter Michael Lorchir, Elise Williams, Emma Stannard, Brandon Burke, Tallula White, Barbara Mariposa, Alec Watson, Vaibav Sharma, Finlay McGuigan, Eloise Sheffield, Sarah Cribdon.
Play 7
Run At In Disguise
Michael Knighton, Lucas Hopgood, Georgia Polly Taylor, Lowri Evans, Sophie Karmal, Dom Czapski, Abigail Hunt, Karl Kennedy Williams, Michael Tcherepashenets, Laura Rose Barrett.
Play 8
Run At It Feuding
Bradley Stephen Lewis, Jun Noh, Rachel Heritage, James Anthony, Meg Coslett, Jessica Cochrane, Charlotte Touboulic, Danny Schienmann, Jasmine Yeoh, Laura Davey, Amy Thorpe, Ben Willows, Thomas Whitcomb.
Play 9
Run At In The Countryside
George Bamden, India Shaw Smith, Stephen Longstaffe, Ingrid Werner, Gavin Stewart, Claire Monique Martin, Angus Roughley, Mexx Grunwald, Kim Reichsteiner, Rowland Stirling.
Play 10
Run At It With A Vengance
Dionne Neish, JT Stocks, Pete Picton, Alice Gold, Lisa Day, Bianca Tornea, Smith Love, Oliver Moriarty, Ben Watts.
Background To The Plays by Mark Ravenhill
“In 1610, the Italian actor and impresario Flaminio Scala published a huge collection of scenarios for comic plays, drawing on his experience as a performer in the Commedia dell’arte from the 1580s onwards. In 1611, after a long career in the theatre, he published a volume of 50 full-length plays. There were no written scenes or dialogues in the volume. Simply a four page outline for each of the plays. The plays had been improvised, using the scenarios, in the 1570s and 1580s by an Italian troupe. These were the first fully professional actors in Europe and the first to include women as equal members of the company. One of these female actors, Isabella Andreini, became the most famous performer of her day. The company played an annual season in Paris, where they were seen by an international audience. These 50 plays, and Scala’s published scenarios, formed the foundation of much of the theatre that followed. Elements of plot and character appear in Shakespeare, in his Spanish contemporary Lope de Vega and in Moliere. But, being improvised, the influence of these plays has mostly been forgotten. Scala’s scenario’s became the ‘pattern book’ for the next generation of playwrights. The majority of the plays outlined are comedies. They are sexually frank, with the women given as much agency as the men. They are socially acute, depicting the newly rich mixing with the urban poor and new migrants from the countryside. They are grounded in money, sex and the body. Above all they are generous: it’s a world in which we are all fools and we all need to find a way to get along.
“My aim has not been to make a historical reconstruction. I was drawn to the scenarios’ generosity of spirit and their comic energy. It seemed to me to be something which we need in these divisive times. My aim has been to write plays that allow contemporary audiences to laugh and to celebrate our shared humanity.
“Each of the plays puts the same characters in different situations. While it’s enjoyable to see one of these plays, there’s a cumulative pleasure in seeing several. Or even 10 of them. As you get to know the characters, there’s an extra level of comedy and recognition. Much as there is with contemporary sitcom. This is why I’ve decided to present a marathon rehearsed reading of the plays over the two days of May 9/10 at Wilton’s Music Hall. A total of 15 hours of new comic writing, involving dozens of actors who’ve been involved in the workshops.”
Mark Ravenhill is a playwright and theatre maker. He has been an Associate Artist of the National Theatre and Playwright in Residence for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is currently a trustee of the Royal Court Theatre. Mark Ravenhill made his playwriting debut with Shopping and F-ing at the Royal Court Theatre in 1996. His other plays include Mother Clap’s Molly House and Citizenship (National Theatre), The Cane (Royal Court), Ben and Imo (Royal Shakespeare Company) and Pool No Water (Frantic Assembly). His plays have been widely produced internationally including the Schaubuehne and Berliner Ensemble, the Market Theatre Johannesburg and New York Theatre Workshop. Mark has been an associate artist of the National Theatre and writer in residence for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has led workshops across the world in cities including Madrid. Istanbul, Krakow, Mexico City, Venice and Honolulu. His plays are published by Methuen.
Run At It Shouting, led by actor and producer Charlie MacGechan, is one of the UK’s leading
platforms for creating and producing affordable industry workshops, entertainment and events. Frances MacGechan named Run At It SHOUTING after the iconic cult movie ‘Withnail and I’ written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Bruce is now a Patron of the company. Featured events have included Mike Leigh, Lesley Manville, Rupert Goold, Amma Asante, Bruce Robinson, Douglas Hodge, Charlie Cox, David Bradley, David Castaneda, Stacy Martin, Eve Best, to name but a few…
Wilton’s Music Hall
Wilton’s is a Grade II* building of international significance as it is the only surviving Grand Music Hall in the world, the foremost arts venue in the East End, Wilton’s welcomes world-class artistic talent to the East End all year-round. Wilton’s programmes and produces extraordinary music and theatre, which speak to the magical space of Wilton’s and are enhanced by it. It is home to over 300 performances and over 80 productions each year. Wilton’s has been home to the first East End BBC Prom, hosted the London International Mime Festival and championed new writing including plays by James Graham, Patterson Joseph, Chris Thorpe, and Joy Wilkinson. It has hosted international work from Hong Kong to Canada and the team of artistic associates have kept diversity at the heart of all they do. Recently named the fifth most iconic building in London by Time Out, Wilton’s has a unique spirit that has captured the imagination of generations of artists for over 160 years. Wilton’s invest in the next generation of actors, directors and musicians through its Heritage and Artistic Engagement programmes.
LISTINGS INFO
Run At It Shouting presents
Run At It Laughing
Wilton’s Music Hall
Graces Alley,
London
E1 8JB
Performance schedule:
Friday 9 May
Play 1: 12noon – 13.30 – Run At It Horny
Play 2: 14.00 – 15.30 – Run At It Babies
Play 3: 16.00 -17.30 – Run At It Backstage
(all female company)
Play 4: 18.00 – 19.30 – Run At It Toothless
(all female company)
Play 5: 20.00 – 21.30 – Run At It With A Plan
(all female company)
Saturday 10 May
Play 6: 12noon – 13.30 – Run At It Twins
Play 7: 14.00 – 15.30- Run At It In Disguise
Play 8: 16.00 -17.30 – Run At It Feuding
Play 9: 18.00 – 19.30 – Run At It In The Countryside
Play 10: 20.00 – 21.30 – Run At It With A Vengeance
Tickets:
£12 for first episode
£8 for subsequent episodes
£40 for Weekend Pass
(strictly limited number)
Tickets go onsale
11.00am on Thursday 13 February
Running time:
Each play is 90 minutes
Age Recommendation: TBC
Venue Website http://www.wiltons.org.uk/
Box Office: 020 7702 2789
Social Handles: @runatitshouting
Website: www.runatitshouting.com
Profits from this event will be donated to the
Nia Project, which delivers cutting edge services
to end violence against women and children.
