Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play
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Thursday 20 May, 7.30pm, Monday 24 May, 2pm & 7.30pm Tuesday 25 May, 7.30pm Mr. Burns, a post-electric play By Anne Washburn Directed by Chelsea Walker Guildhall School of Music & Drama Milton Court Founded in 1880 by the Situated across the road from Guildhall City of London Corporation School’s Silk Street building, Milton Court offers the School state-of-the-art Chairman of the Board of Governors performance and teaching spaces. Milton Vivienne Littlechild Court houses a 608-seat Concert Hall, a 223-seat theatre, a Studio theatre, three Principal major rehearsal rooms and a TV studio suite. Lynne Williams Students, staff and visitors to the School experience outstanding training spaces as Vice-Principal & Director of Drama well as world-class performance venues. Orla O’Loughlin Vice-Principal & Director of Production Arts Andy Lavender Please visit our website at gsmd.ac.uk Photographs of the final year acting company are by: Dave Buttle (Charlie Beck, Lily Hardy, Isla Lee, Noah Marullo, Umi Myers, Felix Newman, Jidé Okunola, Guildhall School is part of Culture Mile: Sonny Pilgrem, Alyth Ross, Dan Wolff), Robert Harper culturemile.london (Kitty Hawthorne), Harry Livingstone (Nia Towle), Wolf Marloh (Zachary Nachbar-Seckel), Clare Park (Grace Cooper Milton), Phil Sharp (Genevieve Lewis, Sam Thorpe-Spinks), Michael Shelford (Levi Brown, Guildhall School is provided by the City of London Sheyi Cole, Aoife Gaston, Brandon Grace, Conor McLeod, Corporation as part of its Hassan Najib, Millie Smith, Tara Tijani, Dolly Webb), contribution to the cultural life David Stone (Justice Ritchie), Faye Thomas of London and the nation (Caitlin Ffion Griffiths), YellowBelly (Hope Kenna) Mr. Burns, a post-electric play By Anne Washburn Chelsea Walker director Tarek Merchant musical director Camilla Clarke designer Michela Meazza movement director Tyler Edwards-Tagg lighting designer Anja Urban sound designer Thursday 20 May, 7.30pm, Monday 24 May, 2pm & 7.30pm Tuesday 25 May, 7.30pm Live performances broadcast from Milton Court Studio Theatre Recording of this performance by any means whatsoever is strictly prohibited. This amateur production of Mr. Burns, a post-electric play is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk Please note Mr. Burns, a post-electric play contains strong language, depictions of violence, and use of strobe lighting, sudden lighting, haze and gunshot noises. The Play Though hardly the most life-changing Mr Burns starts in much the same way. event of last year in the grand scheme People, gathered around, telling stories, of things, and perhaps understandably remembering a story collectively. This is given events across the country, live theatre a play that speaks to 2020 and the damage was hung out to dry in 2020. Over the it will have done for years to come. In this course of three(!) enforced shutdowns and ragtag, schlocky collective of characters, despite this battering, bruising, shattering we find evidence of the need to tell stories, year, theatre has survived. to share our lives with culture serving as the great unifier – the principal thing that brings After all, you’re here. us together as humans. Something to share. Well, possibly not right here. More than If that sounds pretentious, not to worry. likely you’re not in the room. But we are I can prove it in a much more pedestrian sharing this together. way. Think about the last time you saw Rehearsal image by Samantha Liquorish someone you hadn’t seen in a while. Maybe What actually happened was the start you called them, maybe you organised of a new race back to the top that is creative, a Zoom call to catch up, maybe you live innovative, forward thinking and, most in Cornwall and had a pint as normal. obviously, digitally connected. 2020 marked Whatever way you contacted them, I’d be the start of a brand new culture and a new willing to bet you touched base on what you way of sharing stories. have been watching. What you have been listening to. What you are looking forward Mr Burns isn’t a piece of science fiction, to. Culture is the ubiquitous and basic it’s a prophesy. And we are going to live appetiser for all modern conversation – the it in 2021 and beyond. box set conversation. Have you seen Succession? How about Schitt’s Creek? I’m all about Bake Off. These are stories written to be shared and bonded over, and we all do it. Mr Burns takes 2020, triples the intensity of the situation, turns the heat up to 11, and then examines the potential outcomes of a world where culture, as we know it, is gone. What do the humans do? They share it and, from that sharing, create a new culture. This is where we’re at in 2021. You are most likely in your living room or kitchen, maybe you’re fully focussed, maybe you’re cooking dinner, maybe you’ve found this by accident, maybe you know someone who’s worked on the show. By being here at all you are like the characters you are about to engage with. You’re here to be a part of it, to share stories and to be part of creating a new type of culture. A culture where storytelling remains true, a culture that will grow out of the dumpster fire that was 2020. A year when a global pandemic prompted the firing of the starting pistol that began the flushing away of an entire industry. Programme Notes by Andy McNamee Anne Washburn playwright Anne Washburn is a New York-based playwright. Anne’s plays include Mr Burns: A post-electric play (New York Times Critic’s Pick; recently listed fourth on the New York Times “The 25 Best American Plays Since ‘Angels in America’ (nytimes.com)”), 10 out of 12, Antila Pneumatica, A Devil at Noon, Apparition, The Communist Dracula Pageant, I have Loved Strangers, The Ladies, The Internationalist, The Small, an adaptation of The Twilight Zone, and transadaptations of Euripides’ Orestes and Iphigenia In Aulis. Her work has been produced nationally and internationally and has premiered with; 13P, Actors Theater of Louisville, the Almeida, American Repertory Theatre, Cherry Lane Theatre, Classic Stage Company, Clubbed Thumb, The Civilians, Image by Beowulf Sheehan Dixon Place, Ensemble Studio Theater, The Fogler, Playwrights Horizons, Soho Rep, Two River Theater Company, Vineyard Theater and Woolly Mammoth. Honours include a Guggenheim, a Whiting, an Alpert Award, a PEN/Laura Pels award for artist in mid-career, a NYFA Fellowship, a Time Warner Fellowship, and residencies at MacDowell and Yaddo. She is an associated artist with The Civilians, Clubbed Thumb, New Georges, Chochiqq, and is an alumna of New Dramatists. Cast Matt Noah Marullo Jenny Isla Lee Maria Hope Kenna Sam Dan Wolff Colleen Alyth Ross Gibson Brandon Grace Quincy Millie Smith Mrs Krabappel Kitty Hawthorne A listing of CVs for Guildhall School Final Year Actors may be viewed on the School’s website: gsmd.ac.uk/finalyearactors Final year actors 2020/21 Charlie Levi Sheyi Grace Aoife Beck Brown Cole Cooper Milton Gaston Brandon Caitlin Ffion Lily Kitty Hope Grace Griffiths Hardy Hawthorne Kenna Isla Genevieve Noah Conor Umi Lee Lewis Marullo McLeod Myers Zachary Hassan Felix Jidé Sonny Nachbar-Seckel Najib Newman Okunola Pilgrem Justice Alyth Millie Sam Tara Ritchie Ross Smith Thorpe-Spinks Tijani Nia Dolly Dan Towle Webb Wolff Production Team Wardrobe Manager Stage Manager Additional Production Staff Lucy Rodgers Rose Dayan Staff Costume Supervisor Costume Assistant Deputy Stage Manager Kinnetia Isidore Emily Robertson Samantha Liquorish Lighting Programmers ASM Book Cover Georgie Bottone Pete Reavey Rosie Roberts Assistant Stage Managers Production Manager & Alex Rincon Production Electrician Amy Hill Natalya Scase Production Assistants Emma Peace Chloe Rushbrook Production Sound Engineer Molly Barron Sound Operator Eve Clayton Special thanks to the following for their contribution to this production Annemette Verspeak Simon Money A listing of CVs for Guildhall School Final Year Production Arts students may be viewed on the School’s website: gsmd.ac.uk/finalyearPA Biographies Chelsea Walker director Tarek Merchant musical director Chelsea was the winner of the RTST Director Tarek holds a Starred First Class Degree in Award 2017, and directed a revival of Music from York University, a First Class A Streetcar Named Desire in 2018 for a UK Degree in Actor-Musicianship from Rose tour in a co-production with English Touring Bruford, and a DipABRSM on Piano. He Theatre, NST City and Theatr Clwyd. She has is a Composer and Musical Director whose twice been a finalist for the prestigious JMK work for theatre and radio has seen him Award and was awarded the runner up prize collaborate on projects across the UK and in 2016. In 2017 she was a director on the Old internationally. Most recently, Tarek MD’d Vic 12 and was nominated for Off West End the new Bret McKenzie musical The Brief awards for both her production of Low Level and Frightening Reign of Phil, co-produced Panic and Cougar. by the National Theatre and Wellington International Festival, as well as the West Credits in Theatre as director: Hedda Gabler End revival of Girl From the North Country (Sherman Theatre); Cougar (Orange Tree at the Gielgud Theatre. Other work for Theatre); A Streetcar Named Desire (UK the NT includes Mr Gum and the Dancing Tour); Shudder by Jodi Grey (Soho Theatre); Bear and Pericles. Tarek is also a regular Yous Two by Georgia Christou (Hampstead collaborator with the RSC, where credits Theatre); Low Level Panic (Orange Tree include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Theatre); P’yongyang by In-Sook Chappell Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich, Miss Littlewood, (Finborough Theatre); Klippies by Jessica and Don Quixote at the Garrick Theatre.