Trafalgar Studio 2 | Tuesday 2 June – Saturday 27 June
Hatch It presents
The world premiere of an hilarious new West End comedy
Stop!…the Play
by David Spicer
Former Reduced Shakespeare Company members John Schwab and Tim Beckmann are to present the world premiere of Stop!… The Play, a madcap, theatrical comedy by David Spicer, in which the worst night in the theatre becomes the most hilarious play in town.
Stop!… The Play will open in the West End at Trafalgar Studio 2 for a 4-week season from Tuesday 2 June – Saturday 27 June.
Act 1 is set in the rehearsal room as five neurotic actors, one inexperienced director and an overworked stage manager, battle with the task of mounting what is surely the world’s most terrible play. Act 2 is the hysterically chaotic first night.
The production starts out as a worthy (if slightly dull) English kitchen sink drama, The Dark Heart of Art, about a struggling artist. But then daily rewrites start arriving from the persistently absent writer. Characters are cut, new characters are introduced… everything changes from day to day. The cast battles to keep up. But instead of making the play better, the rewrites make it worse, and crazier. The Dark Heart of Art becomes a shockingly sexual pseudo-psycho drama called Banksy Ain’t Gay – a masterclass in appalling modern playwriting. (Anyone who has ever sat through anything which describes itself as ‘edgy’, ‘experimental’, ‘controversial’ or ‘shocking’ will recognise it with a shudder).
Laughs come thick and fast as the worst night in the theatre becomes the most hilarious play in town.
David Spicer has written stand-up and TV material for comedians including Jasper Carrott, Armstrong & Miller and Michael Barrymore. His extensive radio writing includes the acclaimed sitcom Double Income No Kids Yet with David Tennant and Kind Hearts & Coronets with Alistair McGowan. His first stage play, God Save the Mad Parade, is out on national tour early next year.
Cast
Adam Riches as The Leading Man
James Woolley as The Seasoned Veteran
Tosin Cole as The Hollywood Cameo
Hatty Preston as The Leading Lady
Hannah Stokeley as The Perennial Co-star
Charlie Cameron as The Stage Manager
Ben Starr as The Director
Creatives
Director John Schwab. Producer Tim Beckmann for Hatch It.
www.stoptheplay.com
The show will preview in The Studio at Fairfield Halls, Croydon Tuesday 26 May – Saturday 30 May 2015 at 7.30pm Box Office: 0208 688 9291 www.fairfield.co.uk
Booking Information
Trafalgar Studios 2 | 4 Whitehall | London | SW1A 2DY
Tuesday 2 June – Saturday 27 June
Performances:
Monday – Saturday at 7.45pm
Thursday and Saturday at 3.00pm
Box office:
0844 871 7632
Tickets: £15.00 – £25.00