Jeremy Herrin's (That Face) new production of Hare's The Vertical Hour will open on the Court's mainstage Jan. 22, 2008, following previews that begin Jan. 18. The play received its world premiere on Broadway last November in a production directed by Sam Mendes that starred Julianne Moore in her Broadway debut. The Royal Court's production will star Indira Varma (The Vortex, The Skin of Their Teeth) in the role of Nadia Blye.
The season will continue with Debbie Tucker Green's (Stoning Mary, Dirty Butterfly) new play Random: "You get up. You go 'bout your business. You expect to come back." The play, directed by Sacha Wares, opens on March 10, following previews that begin March 7.
Described as a darkly comic mystery, Martin Crimp’s new play The City begins performances on April 24 and officially opens on April 29. The City will reunite Crimp with director Katie Mitchell, who recently revived the author's 1997 work, Attempts on Her Life, at the National. The play features "three characters (who) fight to make sense of a surreal and collapsing world."
Following Cooke's stated commitment to experimental theatre, Mark Ravenhill's trilogy Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat, first scene at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2006, will each be performed in different, off-stage spaces in the Royal Court building in April.
And following Mike Bartlett's acclaimed 2007 debut with My Child, the Court will find an "unusual space" for Bartlett's Contractions in May 2008. During the summer the Court's mainstage will see transfers of successful works mounted at the venue's smaller Theatre Upstairs. Following the Rough Cuts program of staged readings, that season kicks off with Bliss, the Caryl Churchill-translated new play by Quebec writer Olivier Choinière.
Bliss is described as a "play about celebrity and fantasy" and will be followed by Levi David Addai's Oxford Street (May 2-31) and an as-yet unnamed new play by Anthony Nielson (The Wonderful World of Dissocia), which will be written while working with the cast in the rehearsal room.
For more on the Royal Court's 2008 season, call (0)20 7565 5000.