The Original Theatre Company & Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds

Present

Invincible

by Torben Betts

 

The Original Theatre Company and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds will present the first national tour of Torben Betts’s INVINCIBLE, directed by Christopher Harper.

 

With the recession biting hard, Emily and Oliver have decided to downsize and shift their middle-class London lifestyle to a small town in the north of England.  One night, they open their doors to their next door neighbours, Dawn and Alan.  Over the course of a disastrous evening of olives, anchovies, Karl Marx and abstract art, class and culture collide, resulting in consequences that are both tragic and hilarious.

Cast

 

Alastair Whatley as Oliver,
Emily Bowker as Emily, (interview here)
Graeme Brookes as Alan and
Kerry Bennett as Dawn.

 

“I’ve always been impressed by Original Theatre Company. I’m delighted they are touring INVINCIBLE this year. It is, amongst other things, a play about the North/South divide so it will be interesting to see what audiences away from and north of London make of it.” Torben Betts.

 

INVINCIBLE had its world premiere at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond in 2014 and transferred later that same year to St James Theatre, London. It received great critical acclaim.

 

Director Christopher Harper is an Associate of the Original Theatre Company and directed their 2011 production of See How They Run. As an actor, he recently finished playing Benedick on a world tour of Much Ado About Nothing for the Globe, and starred as Victoria Wood’s son, Cliff Last, in the television film Housewife 49.

 

“In 2009, I was in a very dark and edgy play of Torben’s about a man and wife moving in together, just as my wife and I first moved in together. And she was cast as the wife! INVINCIBLE is lighter and a brilliant, fast-moving story, but Torben’s uncanny ability to depict life and find both the dark and the hysterically funny hasn’t changed. We all know people like the four in INVINCIBLE. When you watch you’ll have your head in your hands, you’ll cover your eyes, you’ll grip your seat and punch the air. It’s a masterpiece of comic timing, one-liners and heart-breaking loss.” Christopher Harper (director).

 

INVINCIBLE will be designed by Victoria Spearing, with sound by Dominic Bilkey. The national tour is produced by Tom Hackney for The Original Theatre Company and Adrian Grady for Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds.

 

“Theatre Royal is delighted to be co-producing with Original Theatre again following our successful collaboration with Three Men in a Boat.  Torben Betts’s play is a great piece of new writing from one of the UK’s most talented contemporary playwrights and we are really excited about touring it nationally.” Karen Simpson, Director of Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds.

 

www.originaltheatre.com / www.theatreroyal.org

 

 

Invincible | Tour Dates 2016

 

[ezcol_1half]

30 March – 2 April
Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds
01284 769505

5 – 9 April
Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford
01483 440000

12 – 14 April
Hull Truck Theatre
01482 323638

19 – 23 April
New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich
01473 295900

26 – 27 April
South Hill Park, Bracknell
01344 484 123

28 – 30 April
Mercury Theatre, Colchester
01206 573948

2 – 4 May
Gala Theatre, Durham
03000 266600

[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]

6 – 7 May
Stamford Arts Centre
01780 763203

10 – 14 May
Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne
01323 412000

17 – 21 May
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
0121 236 4455

23 – 24 May
Theatre Royal Winchester
01962 840440

26 – 28 May
Key Theatre, Peterborough
01733 207239

7 – 11 June
Exeter Northcott Theatre
01392 726 363

14 – 18 June
Festival Theatre, Malvern
01684 892277

[/ezcol_1half_end]

Read Sammi’s Interview with Emily Bowker here

Production Shots here