14 SEPTEMBER - 13 NOVEMBER 2010

6 Edward Bond plays from 6 decades of British Theatre

"Edward Bond: I still get letters written in blood." BBC.CO.UK

"One of London's theatre events of the year."
WHAT'S ON STAGE

"All power to the Cock"
LYN GARDNER, THE GUARDIAN

"The tiny, enterprising Cock Tavern Theatre in Kilburn has pulled off a coup." THE INDEPENDENT

As described by Michael Billington in The Guardian, Edward Bond is "one of Britain’s most, shocking, uncompromising playwrights". Bond was one of the first contemporary British writers to discard theatrical convention, forget pretty sets and a tight structure, rip down the conventional walls of theatre and present stark, truthful drama presenting the human condition. Bond has been writing now for six decades and we’re celebrating this by presenting a season containing a play from each decade of Bond’s writing career. We have decided to mount a season of work that has only been presented once in this country or that has been produced in Europe but never in Britain. Edward Bond is also writing a new world premiere especially for us.

The question is, why are we doing this? There are of course the obvious reasons: to celebrate the career of one of Britain’s greatest living playwrights and to have the privilege of staging a piece of new work by him. Beyond that, we would like to give a platform to Bond’s work that has been largely ignored by the major theatres in this country for several decades. It is baffling why a writer of such distinction and influence has been denied the platform he surely deserves. It’s now 6 decades, and Bond’s consistent voice cannot and will not be ignored. There is something in that itself, a lifetime committed to examining the human condition through his art: drama and the written word.

The chosen plays are:

OLLY'S PRISON
THE POPE'S WEDDING
THE UNDER ROOM
THE FOOL
THERE WILL BE MORE (NEW PLAY)
RED, BLACK & IGNORANT

We are excited to premier the exclusive new commission ("There Will Be More") and have no doubt that once again we will be presented a work that challenges and resonates within our consciousness. Our hope is that the season will highlight the enormous skill of Bond as a writer who jumps between theatrical forms, a chameleon who always retains that human truth but presents it in varying ways and re-imagines the future as we never expect it to be.

Adam Spreadbury-Maher
(Artistic Director of the Cock Tavern Theatre)

TICKETS: £12/£10 concession
ALL PREVIEWS: £10
Limited number of £5 tickets available.

SEASON PASS: £58/£48 concession
This includes access to all 6 shows & a free programme for every show in the season.
Limited number of season passes available!
Only bookable in advance and dates need to be selected at the time of booking. Passes go on sale on 20 August and sales end on 27 September.

You must let us know by e-mail at info@cocktaverntheatre.com which show dates you wish to attend.

"3 FOR 2" OFFER: £24/£20 for 3 shows
Offer does not apply for the new play.
Only bookable in advance and dates need to be selected at the time of booking. Offer on sale from 20 August and valid until 20 September.
"3 for 2" tickets must be purchased at the same time, proof of purchase and ticket stubs need to be produced before entry.

Box Office: 08 444 77 1000 (booking fee applies)
Select show below to book online.

26 October - 13 November 2010
THERE WILL BE MORE (2010)

Directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher
Produced by Berislav Juraić
Designed by Julia Berndt

FINANCIAL TIMES CRITICS' CHOICE

An eagerly awaited new world premiere by Edward Bond, especially written for Good Night Out Presents.
Edward Bond's new play is a harrowing portrait of a world gripped by endless war, and of the toll this takes on personal and social relationships. A heroine, Dea, has committed a terrible act and has been exiled; and when she meets someone from her past she is forcefully confronted by the broken society that drove her to commit her crimes. The play simultaneously presents a forceful challenge to contemporary drama: examining its progress, its place and what it does for mankind. It is part of a longer drama in which Edward Bond argues that western drama has exhausted its patrimony and no longer serve a human purpose and it has to return to its profound origins in human need.

"It's alive, and it's dreadful, and it's challenging." -Michael Coveney, WHAT'S ON STAGE

"Hard, unfliching writing." THE GUARDIAN

"There really is very little I can say that is not a compliment to this play, its writer, the director and the actors." ****THE PUBLIC REVIEWS

"Helen Bang, Timothy O'Hara and Stephen Billington are all superb... Spreadbury-Maher's direction was right on target." ****REMOTE GOAT

"What Bond has to say is as important now as it ever was.  His work shocks – the audience was breathless... The actors are perfectly cast and handle the material brilliantly." ****HAM & HIGH

"There Will Be More fit perfectly. The result was powerful... thrilling and unexpected." ****LONDON FESTIVAL FRINGE

"This starkly eloquent play stretches credulity to snapping point... The excellent Helen Bang conveys the woman's eerie impassivity... Timothy O'Hare is both creepy and touchingly vulnerable." ***THE INDEPENDENT

"Adam Spreadbury-Maher’s production is full-on, uncompromising, difficult to stomach... A modern Medea." ***WHAT'S ON STAGE

"Bond's writing goes to the darkest places you can imagine... Spreadbury-Maher's production does not shy away from the raw violence: the set is minimal and the only soundtrack is the audience's gasps." ***KILBURN TIMES

"This is a tragedy of Greek proportions... The cast handle the subject matter well and pull off some remarkably tough theatrics on stage under the watchful direction of Adam Spreadbury-Maher." THE STAGE

"From Bond’s script to Spreadbury-Maher’s vision to the actors’ interpretation, we have characters that are fascinating to watch... Bond is a consistently brilliant playwright... Helen Bang is phenomenal." EXTRA! EXTRA!

"Playwright Edward Bond... has delivered a darker than dark view of humanity in his new play." CAMDEN NEW JOURNAL/ISLINGTON TRIBUNE

"Adam Spreadbury-Maher’s production gives this bleakness a close-up claustrophobia."
REVIEWS GATE

PREVIEWS
Tues 26 Oct -
Sat 30 Oct 2010
7.30pm

SEASON
03 - 13 Nov 2010
Wed - Sat 7.30pm
Sat/Sun 4.00pm

CAST
Helen Bang ... Dea
Stephen Billington... Johnson
Glenn Hanning ... Louise's Boyfriend
Hatty Jones ... Louise
Timothy O'Hara ... Oliver

Director ... Adam Spreadbury-Maher
Designer ... Julia Berndt
Lighting Designer ... Steve Lowe
Fight Movement ... Lawrence Carmichael
Assistant Director ... Julie Osman
Observational Director/Assistant Producer ... Robyn Winfield-Smith
Producer ... Berislav Juraić
Production Manager ... Phil Richardson
Stage Manager ... Samantha Woolard

31 October -13 November 2010
RED, BLACK & IGNORANT (1980's)

Directed by Maja Milatović-Ovadia
Produced by Berislav Juraić
Designed by Julia Berndt & Vanda Butković

"Red, Black & Ignorant" is the first of Edward Bond’s War Plays and this production is yet again the first revival since original production in 1984. Depicting man and his decline into greed and despair, this is short piece, chronicling scenes from the life of a charred, blackened monster who was never born – his life destroyed before it was ever lived. Exploring issues of corruption and violence, this is a complicated, moral tale, Bond’s frightening vision leaving the audience “imagining the unimaginable”, where cries for help go unheard and conflict eventually brutalises everything.

"The Cock Tavern Theatre's is a thought provoking, impacting production; it is right and appropriate that they revive it now... The play still has an eerie resonance."
**** REMOTE GOAT

"You are in for a brutal voyage led by an able and unforgiving performer... frightening in its plausibility for a future in this world." ***THE PUBLIC REVIEWS

"This 65 minutes of elusiveness takes us in yet another new direction... as slippery as an eel and indefinable as a phantom." ***WHAT'S ON STAGE

"Maja Milatovic-Ovadia’s direction flows easily despite the short scenes, and production values here are much greater than the rest of the season, particularly Jess Harling’s burns make-up for Monster." THE STAGE

"Edward Bond wants to write about challenging images and ideas, questioning whether ‘British intuitions’ aren’t as brave as they once were. The Cock wins."
LONDON FESTIVAL FRINGE

PREVIEWS
Sun 31 Oct &
Mon 01 Nov 2010
7.30pm

SEASON
02 - 13 Nov 2010
Sun - Tues 7.30pm
Sat 13 Nov 1.00pm

CAST
Russell Anthony ... Teacher/Buyer
Martha Dancy ... Girl/Woman
Alex Farrow ... Boy/Son
Andrew Lewis ... Monster
Melanie Ramsay ... Mother/Wife

Director ... Maja Milatović-Ovadia
Set Designers ... Julia Berndt & Vanda Butković
Costume Designer ... Julia Berndt
Fight Choreographer ... Lawrence Carmichael
Assistant Director ... Vanda Butković
Producer ... Berislav Juraić
Production Manager ... Phil Richardson
Stage Manager ... Hannah Tottenham

14 September - 02 October 2010
OLLY'S PRISON (1990's)

Directed by Gareth Corke
Produced by Berislav Juraić
Designed by Rachel Szmukler

"Gareth Corke's production brings out vividly the cryptic viguor of Bond's language. And no praise is too high for Ewan Bailey as the tormented Mike, Elicia Daly as the devoted Irish domestic and Robin Berry and the obsessive cop." -Michael Billington, THE GUARDIAN

"This resourceful, snappily-organised production is more than worth a close-up look... The climactic fist fight is one of the best, and most upsetting, I've ever seen." -WHAT'S ON STAGE

This production has concluded.

19 September - 02 October 2010
THE POPE'S WEDDING (1960's)

Directed by Conrad Blakemore
Produced by Sam James
Designed by Nancy Surman

"The cast is uniformly excellent, with exceptional contributions from the main couple." ****WHAT'S ON STAGE

"Fight arranger Lawrence Carmichael has given it one of the most unpleasant beatings up you are likely to have seen." BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE

"...brooding, threatening atmosphere..." CURTAIN UP

This production has concluded.

The Under Room marked the opening of a new performing space, The Cock Tavern Cellar.
05 - 24 October 2010
THE UNDER ROOM (2000's)

Directed by Hamish Macdougall
Produced by Roxanne Peak-Payne
Designed by Katie Bellman

“Superb acting, fine use of the very intimate space, and pushing of the boundaries between audience and performance... Bond’s work is complex, psychological and thrilling and this excellent company of performers brings it completely to life.” ***** FRINGE REVIEW

“As shocking and brutal as anything Bond’s written, an indication that his powers are far from waning.” -Simon Thomas, ****WHAT'S ON STAGE

“Was moved, humbled, awed and troubled by Edward Bond's The Under Room at the Cock Tavern. This is essential viewing.” -Mark Ravenhill

“The acting in this play was superb .... Bond’s look into this place of fear and reactions to it... is what continues to make his plays relevant and performances of them electric.”
THE PUBLIC REVIEWS

"This is a powerful and gripping piece of theatre." BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE

This production has concluded.

10 - 23 October 2010
THE FOOL (1970's)

Directed & Designed by Edward Bond
Produced by Berislav Juraić & Sam James

“Such is the rigour of Bond's direction that he raises the Cock's festival to a new height... undoubtedly a highlight of the season so far.” **** Simon Thomas, WHAT'S ON STAGE

“Electric, filled with pain and raw emotion... A success on all fronts.”
**** THE PUBLIC REVIEWS

“The Fool is a play full of laughter - grotesque, cruel, mocking laughter... Bond, as ever, creates a memorable and thought-provoking evening.” *** KILBURN TIMES

“An engaging and somewhat prescient piece.” THE STAGE

This production has concluded.