White Rabbit Red Rabbit

White Rabbit Red Rabbit

5 performances, 5 actors, 1 totally unique show

It is often said of theatre that each performance is a unique event. Never will that have been more true than in the Mercury Studio Theatre from Tuesday 23 to Saturday 27 October at 7.45pm, where members of the Mercury Theatre Company will performWhite Rabbit Red Rabbit by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour.

Each performance will see a different Company actor do the bravest thing of their professional lives and step on to the stage to perform a script they have never seen before!

Tomos James, Emily Woodward, Tim Treslove, Tony Casement and Kelly Williams are the Company actors in question, each of whom knows nothing more about the play they are about to perform than the audience themselves.

Imagine being 29 and forbidden to leave your country. Nassim Soleimanpour dissects the experience of a whole generation in a wild, utterly original play from Iran . Forbidden to travel, he turns his isolation to his own advantage with a play that requires no director, no set and a different actor for every performance.

This is theatre at its most live, exciting and urgent and writer, Soleimanpour becomes a very real presence in the room, yet he’s miles away in Tehran …

In a change to usual Mercury Theatre policy audiences, will be invited to Facebook and Tweet about the show at designated points.

Tickets, priced £11 / £6.50 concessions, are available from the Mercury Theatre Box Office by calling 01206 573948 or online at www.mercurytheatre.co.uk

The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles

A howling comedy take on Holmes classic

Seasonal scares and silliness abound in Steven Canny and John Nicholson's hilarious version of The Hound of the Baskervilles, at the Queen's Theatre,Hornchurch from 26 October – 17 November - just in time for Halloween!

Featuring the Queen's permanent company of actors cut to the chase..., this most famous of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's mysteries is revamped into a hysterical fast-paced romp!

On his lonely Dartmoor estate, Sir Charles is found dead with a look of terror on his face and gigantic paw prints next to his body. It looks like the legendary curse of Baskerville Hall has struck again! Can Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson solve the mystery of the demon hound before another Baskerville comes to a gruesome end?

Just three actors juggle an astounding 16 roles between them in this pacy celebration of slapstick and quickfire wit, a version of which was recorded by the BBC in March for the More than Words Festival. 

Steven Canny, who is a director, writer and radio producer, won the Sony Gold Drama Award in 2009 and 2010 for two comedy plays on Radio 3 and 4 - Mr Larkin's Awkward Day by Chris Harrald and People Snogging in Public Places by Jack Thorne. John Nicholson is one of the founding members of Peepolykus, one of the UK's most exciting touring theatre companies.

This production of The Hound of the Baskervilles stars members of the cut to the chase… company Jonathan Markwood, Simon Jessop and Greg Last withSteven Markwick on pianoforte. Direction is by the Queen's Artistic Director Bob Carlton, with design by Norman Coates and lighting design by Christopher Howcroft.

The Hound of the Baskervilles is performed at the Queen’s Theatre, Billet Lane, Hornchurch from 26 October – 17 November. Tickets are £16 - £24.50. To book, call the Box Office on 01708 443333 or book online at www.queens-theatre.co.uk