Earthquakes in London
By MIKE BARTLETT
An epic rollercoaster of a play that takes us from 1968 to 2525 and back again
10-14 July 2018
It's cabaret, we've got our heads down and we’re dancing and drinking as fast as we can. The enemy is on its way, but this time it doesn't have guns and gas it has storms and earthquakes, fire and brimstone.
An all-pervasive fear of the future and a guilty pleasure in the excesses of the present drive Mike Bartlett’s epic rollercoaster of a play from 1968 to 2525 and back again.
Earthquakes in London includes burlesque strip shows, bad dreams, social breakdown, population explosion, and worldwide paranoia. It is a fast and furious metropolitan crash of people, scenes and decades, as three sisters attempt to navigate their dislocated lives and loves, while their dysfunctional father, a brilliant scientist, predicts global catastrophe.
Mike Bartlett’s contemporary and direct dialogue combines a strong sense of humanity with epic ambition, as well as finely aimed shafts of political comment embedded effortlessly into every scene.
Earthquakes in London was first performed on 4 August 2010 at the National Theatre, in a co-production with Headlong Theatre. The Telegraph called it "the theatrical equivalent of a thrilling rollercoaster ride".
CAST
COLIN | Marcus Ezekiel
FREYA | Kimberly Barker
JASMINE | Izzi Richardson
PETER/EMILY | Helena Bumpus
SARAH | Carrie Pennifer
STEVE | David Pearson
ROBERT | Paul Francis
TOM | Hassan Govia
ENSEMBLE
Sarah Berryman
Matt Hudson
Nadira Hussain
Olivier Namet
Lois Savill
Lloyd Smith
Graham White
PRODUCTION TEAM
DIRECTOR | Chris Davis
TECHNICAL PRODUCER | Oliver Levett
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR | Olivier Namet
LIGHTING DESIGN | Oliver Levett
SOUND DESIGN | Adam Lockett and Adam Coppard
COSTUME DESIGN | Thekla Bollinger
CHOREOGRAPHER | Tom Leonard
PROJECTION & MARKETING DESIGN | Olivier Namet
STAGE MANAGER |Jade Bull
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER | Wing-Ho Lin
COMMITTEE LIAISON | Matt Gould
It is unfortunate that for too many people, the epithet “amateur” in relation to theatre remains redolent of inexpert performance in draughty church halls by well-meaning performers of limited talent. The reality is that for many groups nowadays, there is an almost invisible line between so called professional performance (ironically not necessarily of the highest quality) and other productions which are only amateur in the sense that participants have not been paid. Sedos specifically states in its programme notes that they “strive for professional standards in both performance and production values” and it is fair to say that they have a well-established reputation in achieving that ambition which has once again been reinforced by this production of Earthquakes in London.
All told, this is another great production from Sedos that makes you stop and think about what we are doing to the earth and if we shouldn’t be trying something different so that by the year 2525, man will still be alive.
The absolute bravery, or maybe insanity, of director Chris Davis to stage this play in an amateur production makes it all the more incredible. And that mention of amateur is the only time it should be raised, because believe me, there is absolutely nothing amateur about this production.
Bridewell Theatre
- Tuesday 10 July 2018 7.30pm
- Wednesday 11 July 2018 7.30pm
- Thursday 12 July 2018 7.30pm
- Friday 13 July 2018 7.30pm
- Saturday 14 July 2018 1.30pm
- Saturday 14 July 2018 7.30pm
