The Barrier by Sally Llewellyn at Park Theatre

THE BARRIER

by Sally Llewellyn  

at the Park Theatre

25 September – 20 October

Evenings: Tues – Sat 19.45

Matinees: Sat & Sun 15.15

Prices: £19.50 Concessions: £16.00

Earwig Arts Productions present the world première of The Barrier – a contemporary tale of neighbourhood tensions.

Directed by Kirrie Wratten; designed by; Anna Hourriere; lighting design by: Claire Childs; sound design by;Jo Walker

Kirrie Wratten directs the world premiere of Sally Llewellyn’s play The Barrier in the Park90 space of Park Theatre. The cast includes: Jeremy Bennett (Harry), Antonia Davies (Cas), Dominique Gerrard (Malka), Luke Harrison (Mussolini, Nikos), Toby Liszt (Shalev), Jack Pierce (Sam) and Tessa Wood (Roxy).

Set in modern Stamford Hill,  home to Europe’s largest ultra-orthodox Jewish community, The Barrier tells a story of neighbours with very different  world-views living side-by-side.  Shalev and Malka are Hasidic Jews, whose wish is to be separate from the rest of society in order to focus on God’s commands. Their secular neighbours find their own liberal values challenged by what appears to be a simple request.

Sally Llewellyn developed her playwriting skills at Player-Playwrights and on Chelsea Theatre’s writing course. Her full-length play Edward’s Presents was produced in 2004 at the Union Theatre in Southwark.  While writing The Barrier, Sally also developed and played the character Angie in Arcola Theatre’s Faces in the Window (Arcola 2010), and  wrote and played the character Bet, a Victorian prostitute, in the Dickens-inspired The Uncommercial Traveller  (Arcola and Punchdrunk collaboration, 2011).

Kirrie Wratten has been directing plays, ranging from Shakespeare to new writing via Chekhov and Noel Coward, for the past fourteen years. Kirrie previously worked with Earwig Arts Productions on Sally Llewelyn’s previous play, Edward’s Presents, which was produced at the Union Theatre, Southwark in 2004. Other directing credits includeMuch Ado About Nothing, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Cherry Orchard, Present Laughter, The Dresser by Ronald Harwood and Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker, (all Trinity Theatre in Tunbridge Wells). London fringe, productions have included Drinking to Remember by David Varela, W;t by Margaret Edson and Romeo and Juliet, in a promenade performance in the crypt of St Andrew’s Church, Holborn. Last year she directed The Crucible for The Wateryard Group in Mayfield, East Sussex, and In Remembrance, an evening of poetry, prose and songs for Remembrance Day.  She is currently planning a production of Twelfth Night with the same company. Kirrie won the Best Director Award at the Lion and Unicorn’s Solo Festival in 2008. she is a member of the Young Vic’s Genesis Directors project.

Jack Pierce plays Sam. Theatre credits include: S-27 (Finborough); A Streetcar Named Desire; Frozen; Powerbook; Sparkleshark (all Royal National Theatre); Othello (National Youth Theatre). Television credits include: Midsomer Murders (Bentley Productions); Eastenders (BBC); Silent Witness (BBC); Doctors (BBC); The Bill (ITV);Footballer’s Wives Extra Time (Shed Productions); The Eleventh Hour (ITV); Holby City (BBC); Ultimate Force(Bentley Productions); Murphy’s Law (BBC); London’s Burning (ITV); Back Home (ITV); Coupling (BBC); Black Books (Assembly). Film credits include: Clubbed; Shooting Dogs; Alien Vs Predator; Gangster No 1.

Antonia Davies plays Cas. Theatre credits include: Lady Julie (Finborough Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream(Oxford Shakespeare Festival), Macbeth (Kent’s Cavern, Devon), Lulu (Hen and Chicken, Bristol). Film credits include: Hichestan, Meeting Place and The Lords of London (winner of the New York, Hell’s Kitchen Film Festival and Abbruzzo Film Festival, Best Film Award). Most recent Short Films: Tiggily Taggily and Arthur Cant selected by BUFF and shortlisted by Limelight Film Awards for best comedy, winner of Best Film at Troubador Film Event.

Toby Liszt  plays Shalev. Toby trained at The Guildford School of Acting. Theatre credits include: The Picture of Dorian Grey (Second Skin Theatre), The Hang of the Gaol (Brockley Jack Theatre), Fiddler on the Roof (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre), The Comedy of Errors (Sell A Door Theatre Company), After Mrs Rochester (Electric Theatre),The Hollow (Nuffield Theatre). His television credits include: A Touch of Cloth (Sky 1). His film credits include: Say A Little Prayer, It Happens So Fast and Like Spinning Plates.

Dominique Gerrard plays Malka. Dominique trained originally with The Actors Company and subsequently specialised in The Meisner Technique with The Impulse Company. Credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Abney Park Cemetery), Yellowing (Theatre 503), The Women’s War (Finborough Theatre), I Can Get It For You Wholesale (ArcolaTheatre), Dancing At Lughnasa (Actors Centre), Euler`s Circles (Brockley Jack Theatre) and London Falls (Rosemary Branch Theatre). She is also a Director and runs Endpaper Theatre which produces new works inspired by literature.

BOOKING INFORMATION

By phone: 020 7870 6876

Online: www.parktheatre.co.uk

Twitter: @ParkTheatre

£12.00 tickets are available on Tuesdays only for under 24s and locals living in the N4 postcode

Nearest Tube and mainline station: Finsbury Park*

*PLEASE NOTE – take the Wells Terrace exit

Bus routes: 4, 19, 29, 106, 153, 210, 236, 253, 259, W3, W7

Night Buses: N19, N29, N253, N279