NOT QUITE JERUSALEM
Finborough Theatre pre season round-up.
Slowly but surely theatre and live entertainment is coming back into the light.Maybe no one is really sure how to proceed but proceed we must, not just because we must resume some sort of normality for the human spirit to flourish but for our industry to find its feet again in this new world and the tell the stories both new and old. A world that will be different I am sure but it is pleasing to report that the same sense of enquiry, knowledge and imagination is still bubbling away with the Finborough Theatre creatives – and it is about to pop very soon.
Artistic Director Neil McPherson: “After a closure of sixteen months, we are thrilled to announce our first season of live theatre in 2021, featuring – as always – vibrant new writing and unique rediscoveries that you can’t see anywhere else.’
This season, Finborough Theatre rediscover an award-winning play from 1980, the year the theatre opened; Not Quite Jerusalem by Peter Kavanagh. The play will allow us to recap on the optimistic, if naive, gap year buddies who flee from the fall out of the Thatcher’s Britain in search of something new down on the kibbutz.
The Australian playwright,Alana Valentine has her family drama, set against industrial districts of Sydney and Sugar House directed by Tom Brennan, plays from 26th October to 20th November. Then there is the premiere of a stunning black comedy from one of Northern Ireland’s most acclaimed recent playwrights. David Ireland’s,Yes So I said Yes, directed by. Max Elton will run from 23rd November to December 18th – definitely one to put in to the diary.
In many ways lockdown has been very productive time for the Finborough Theatre; exciting online theatre performances that were free-to-virew and kept their new work ethos firmly in focus. Then there was the upgrade of the theatre itself – the entire building has been extensively renovated and refurbished.
An entirely new roof will end the water leaks which made backstage life a misery; the staircase to the theatre has been transformed and all the windows in the theatre have been completely replaced with double glazing, substantially reducing noise from the street during performances; even the electrics have been upgraded and replaced. Finborough Theatre always packed a punch but with their new facilities and an eclectic mix of drama the season promises to be better than ever.
In all this flurry of exciting activity directors Livvy Perrett and Neil McPherson are not forgetting all the good people of Earls Court , Theatre Trust, and beyond who have supported them through these Covid times. Financial contributions allowed them to stream and keep new and exciting works in the mix and even their new landlord, Jason Collins who purchased the building earlier this year. has stepped up. Collins is an entrepreneur and property investor with a sympathetic view of the arts and he has been, and continues to be, crucially supportive of Finborough Theatre and will over see further developments that will facilitate, for the first in 150 years, disabled access.
So with new horizons, things, in this case, are not going back to normal as it looks like it will be bigger and better than before. Check out the season and getting booking.
Full details of upcoming season: finboroughtheatre.co.uk
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