Finborough Theatre announces reopening season
Photo credit: Douglas Mackie
The Finborough Theatre has announced details of its reopening season, running from September- December 2021.
The season opens with the final two weeks of the production that was playing to sell-out houses when they closed down last March – the first new UK production for 40 years of Paul Kember’s Not Quite Jerusalem, an award-winning comedy-drama running from 14-25 September.
The UK premiere of Jordan Hall’s romantic comedy for the end of days, How To Survive An Apocalypse, plays from 28 September-23 October 2021. Jen and Tim are a successful urban millennial couple who become convinced that the end of the world is coming. As they start hoarding supplies and learning to hunt, both are forced to imagine the apocalypse without the love of their life. A tender, hilarious, and touching story about dreams, love and the desire to survive.
The season continues with the European premiere of Alana Valentine’s The Sugar House, the UK debut of a multi-award winning Australian playwright, which plays 26 October–20 November 2021. Focusing on three generations of remarkable women, The Sugar House is a deeply moving family drama that distils the conflict of how we are raised against what we choose, and how embracing the future sometimes means losing forever what created us.
The season comes to a close with a UK premiere from David Ireland, the multi-award-winning author of Cyprus Avenue. Coinciding with the centenary of the partition of Ireland and the foundation of Northern Ireland, Yes So I Said Yes runs from 23 November – 18 December and is a blackly comic, ferocious, dystopian satire about what it’s like to feel alone in a place where everyone else is conspiring to erase you and your history.
Artistic Director Neil McPherson says: “After a closure of sixteen months, we are thrilled to announce our first season of live theatre in 2021, featuring – as always – vibrant new writing and unique rediscoveries that you can’t see anywhere else. This season, we rediscover an award-winning play from 1980, the year that we opened; introduce UK audiences to new female playwrights from both Canada and Australia; and premiere a stunning black comedy from one of Northern Ireland’s most acclaimed recent playwrights.
“During lockdown, we have built back better. Literally. The Finborough building was purchased earlier this year by entrepreneur and property investor Jason Collins – who has been and continues to be hugely supportive of the theatre. During the past six months, the entire building has been extensively renovated and refurbished. We now boast an entirely new roof which will end the water leaks which made backstage life a misery; the staircase to the theatre has been transformed including the addition of a stunning skylight; all the windows in the theatre have been completely replaced with double glazing, substantially reducing noise from the street during performances; and our electrics have been upgraded and replaced, with the support of The Theatres Trust, enabling us to be far more ambitious in the future with the technical needs of our productions. We are also very happy to report that a new management for the pub will shortly be announced, and that the pub’s disabled toilet will be fully reinstated.
“On a more personal note, both myself and our Executive Director Livvy Perrett would like to profoundly thank all of you who have contributed to our fundraising appeals during lockdown – it is the magnificent support of our audiences that has allowed us to survive lockdown. With your help, we have managed to survive, but we also want to do more than that. In January 2022, we will be announcing a new business model for the theatre with a primary focus on making our theatre even more accessible to emerging artists, and finally delivering disabled access to our 150 year old building.
“We look forward to seeing you all again.”
For more information and to book tickets, please click here.
