THURSDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2018 Press Release DONMAR WAREHOUSE ANNOUNCES TWO DONMAR DEBUTS BY RISING DIRECTING TALENTS TO COMMENCE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JOSIE ROURKE’S FINAL SEASON ● Donmar Warehouse’s outgoing Artistic Director Josie Rourke announces today two new productions as part of her final season, both with rising directorial talents at the helm: The UK premiere of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat, directed by former Donmar Resident Assistant Director Lynette Linton; and an original stage adaptation of Peter Strickland’s chilling film Berberian Sound Studio, written for the stage by Joel Horwood, marking the directorial debut for Donmar Associate Artist Tom Scutt and starring actor Tom Brooke. Josie Rourke’s final production at the Donmar will open in April 2019 and will be announced later this year. ● Lynette Linton will make her Donmar debut as director in December with the UK premiere of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat. Nottage spent a number of years with the inhabitants of Reading, Pennsylvania - one of the poorest cities in America – to write Sweat. It powerfully chronicles the story of how the USA has reached its current political and cultural situation. Lynette was previously a Resident Assistant Director at the Donmar, working on productions including Belleville, The Lady from the Sea and The York Realist. The Resident Assistant Director scheme supports artists early in their career to develop their skills and alumni include Artistic Director Josie Rourke, Rupert Goold, Jamie Lloyd, Sacha Wares and Simon Evans. ● Donmar Associate Artist Tom Scutt will make his directorial debut in February with an adaptation of Peter Strickland’s chilling film Berberian Sound Studio, written for the stage by Joel Horwood. In this darkly comic visual and sonic feast, the company will recreate the world of an Italian sound studio on the Donmar stage each evening. Actor Tom Brooke, recently seen in the BBC’s popular drama Bodyguard, will play the central role of Gilderoy. Further casting also includes Enzo Cilenti and Tom Espiner. ● Donmar on Design will return to the Donmar’s Dryden Street creative hub for a second year, featuring designers in residence within an Open Studio, workshops for schools, a new series of podcast interviews with designers, and a programme of talks and discussions. The 2018 edition will again be curated by Tom Scutt and include discussions on developing audiences through design, design and criticism, and design and identity. ● Announced earlier this week – the Donmar Warehouse production of Conor McPherson’s chilling play St Nicholas, starring Brendan Coyle and directed by Simon Evans, which is currently being performed at the Donmar’s Dryden Street studio space, will extend performances when it transfers to the Smock Alley Theatre as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival, playing until Saturday 20 October. THURSDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2018 ● The Donmar’s free ticket scheme for those aged 25 and under, YOUNG+FREE, will continue to offer seats for performances across the new season with tickets released on the final Friday of every month. YOUNG+FREE is funded through the generosity of audiences via the Donmar’s PAY IT FORWARD scheme. These donations have allowed the Donmar to allocate more than 12,000 free tickets to those aged 25 and under. ● KLAXON tickets will also continue across the season. Starting from £10, KLAXON tickets are released for sale every Monday for performances in the following three weeks. Tickets will be available across the auditorium at every price band. Audiences can sign up to receive information about tickets on the Donmar’s website www.donmarwarehouse.com Artistic Director Josie Rourke said: “Sixteen years ago, I began my career as a director at the Donmar. I had trained under Sam Mendes, who was then Artistic Director. At the end of my year as the Resident Assistant, Sam then invited me to direct my first professional production at the Donmar. That's one of the reasons why this stage is - to me - the most special, and most memorable of all stages in London. Within my final season at the Donmar, I wanted to reflect on the place it had at the start of my directing career. I have asked two people at the beginning of their own careers as directors to stage a production for the Donmar. They have both been instrumental in creating some of our recent work and love the Donmar's stage. Former Resident Assistant Director Lynette Linton will make her debut in December with the UK premiere of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat. Lynn’s play was crafted while spending a number of years with the inhabitants of Reading, Pennsylvania - one of the poorest cities in America - and powerfully chronicles the story of today’s America. Following Sweat, Donmar Associate Artist Tom Scutt will make his directorial debut in February with an adaptation of Peter Strickland’s chilling film Berberian Sound Studio, written for the stage by Joel Horwood. Tom's stunning designs for previous Donmar productions, which have included Belleville, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Elegy and The Weir, promise a visual and sonic feast each evening as the company recreate the world of an Italian sound studio on our stage. I am also delighted to welcome actor Tom Brooke who is making his Donmar debut in Berberian Sound Studio. It is also wonderful to see the Donmar’s KLAXON and YOUNG+FREE ticket schemes continue to grow in popularity, ensuring that our venue remains accessible to new audiences, particularly young people. YOUNG+FREE is made possible by the generosity of the public through PAY IT FORWARD. We have been delighted by our audiences’ ongoing support for PAY IT FORWARD and are excited to be working with them to prioritise young people's access to the arts. We are also grateful for the significant support we receive from corporate partners, individual philanthropists and the Arts Council which makes the Donmar's work possible, both on our stage and beyond.” Members Priority Booking for Sweat and Berberian Sound Studio: Steel members from 10am and Copper members from noon on 25 September 2018 Friends from 10am on 27 September 2018 Public Booking for Sweat and Berberian Sound Studio: THURSDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2018 From 10am on 2 October 2018 ENDS For further information, please contact: James Travis-Lever and Tess Shennan at Jo Allan PR [email protected] | [email protected] |020 7520 9392 NOTES TO EDITORS NEW SEASON: SWEAT By Lynn Nottage Friday 7 December 2018 – Saturday 26 January 2019 PRESS NIGHT: Wednesday 19 December Director Lynette Linton Designer Frankie Bradshaw Lighting Designer Oliver Fenwick Sound Designer and Composer George Dennis Movement Director Polly Bennett Casting Director Amy Ball CDG In 2011, Lynn Nottage began spending time with the people of Reading, Pennsylvania: officially one of the poorest cities in the USA. During the following two years, she dug deep into the forgotten heart of middle America, finding a city divided by racial tension and the collapse of industry. Sweat is the Pulitzer Prize-winning play that Lynn Nottage wrote following her experience. Her tale of friends pitted against each other by big business and the decline of the American Dream receives its UK premiere at the Donmar, directed by former Donmar Resident Assistant Director Lynette Linton. Lynn Nottage (Playwright) is a playwright and a screenwriter, and the first woman in history to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. Her plays include Sweat (Pulitzer Prize, Tony Nomination, Obie Award) which moved to Broadway after a sold out run at The Public Theater, Mlima's Tale (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Lilly Award, Drama Desk Nomination), Ruined (Pulitzer Prize, Obie Award), Intimate Apparel (American Theatre Critics and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Play), Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine (OBIE Award), Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Las Meninas, Mud, River, Stone, Por’knockers and POOF!. In addition, she is working with composer Ricky Ian Gordon on adapting her play Intimate Apparel into an opera. She has also developed This is Reading, a performance installation at the Franklin Street, Reading Railroad Station in Reading, PA. She was writer/producer on the 1st season of Netflix’s series She's Gotta Have It directed by Spike Lee. Nottage is a member of the Dramatists Guild, an Associate Professor at Columbia University School of the Arts, and the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship, Steinberg "Mimi" Distinguished Playwright Award, Doris Duke Artists Award and PEN/Laura Pels Master Playwright Award among others. THURSDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2018 Lynette Linton (Director) returns to the Donmar Warehouse after being Resident Assistant Director, assisting on productions including Knives in Hens with director Yaël Farber, The Lady from the Sea with director Kwame Kwei-Armah, The York Realist with Robert Hastie and Belleville with the newly appointed Donmar Warehouse Artistic Director Michael Longhurst. Lynette recently worked with Michael Grandage as Associate Director on The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Noël Coward). As director her productions include This is (Arts Ed), Assata Taught Me for which she received a Stage Debut nomination (Gate Theatre), Indenture (Dark Horse Festival), And Where There Once Were Two (Arcola Theatre), Assata: She Who Struggles (Young Vic), Chicken Palace (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Naked (The Vault Festival) and This Wide Night (Albany Theatre/Stonecrabs). Lynette will soon co-direct Richard II (Shakespeare’s Globe) and direct Function (National Youth Theatre). As a writer her credits include Hashtag Lightie (Arcola Theatre), Chicken Palace and Step (Theatre Royal Stratford East). Lynette was Associate Director at the Gate Theatre from 2016 to 2017, she is also a co-founder of production company Black Apron Entertainment.