'I have the choice to continue.  I have the choice to stop.'

Settle back into the warmth of the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs.  Relax as the story unfolds. For you. With you. Of you. A story of hope, violence and exploitation. Laugh with the actors, tap your feet to the music, turn to your neighbour. Youâre here.

Tim Crouchâs new play is about the abuse carried out in the name of the spectator. His previous plays include England, An Oak Tree and My Arm.

âTim Crouch is a peach of a theatre maker: conceptual without being obscure; experimental without losing the plot, or indeed faith in the power of words to move you.â Time Out

23 Sept - 24 Oct

7:45pm

Running Time: 1hr 15mins

Tickets: Â15 (Â10 Monday or Conessions until 3 Oct).

Directors Karl James & a smith
Lighting Matt Drury
Music and Sound Ben Ringham & Max Ringham

Cast Tim Crouch, Adrian Howells, Vic Llewellyn, Esther Smith

Contains material that may be disturbing.  Recommended for ages 18+.

On St George's Day, the morning of the local county fair, Johnny Byron, local waster and modern day Pied Piper, is a wanted man. The council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his children want their dad to take them to the fair, Troy Whitworth wants to give him a serious kicking and a motley crew of mates want his ample supply of drugs and alcohol.

Jez Butterworth's new play is a comic, contemporary vision of life in our green and pleasant land. His previous plays for the Royal Court include The Winterling, The Night Heron and Mojo.

Cast includes Jessica Barden, Tom Brooke, Greg Burridge, Lewis Coppen, Mackenzie Crook, Alan David, AimeÃ-Ffion Edwards, Lenny Harvey, Gerard Horan, Danny Kirrane, Charlotte Mills, Lucy Montgomery, Sarah Moyle, Dan Poole, Harvey Robinson, Mark Rylance, Barry Sloane

20 May - 27 June

We all remember a favourite aunty, uncle or grandparent, someone who, in our childhood, told us tales that made our toes curl and stories of wonder. For Lemon, it was Aunt Dan. A brilliant, intoxicating but dangerous woman who shared all the most intimate and daring secrets of her decadent, exotic adult world...

Jane Horrocks, Paul Chahidi and Dominic Cooke talk about rehearsals for Aunt Dan and Lemon.

"And there's an amazing moment: each day, before the market opens, before the bidding begins, there's a moment of confusion. The money is silent, it hasn't yet spoken."

A traveller from a privileged background visits an impoverished foreign country and suddenly becomes ill. As her temperature begins to rise, she becomes emotionally unsettled and contemplates with lacerating frankness the impact her life has had on the world.

The Fever turns up the heat on individual responsibility and the balance of power. Can we, should we, make the world a fairer place?

Clare Higgins delivers The Fever, Wallace Shawn's seminal play.  

Director Dominic Cooke

Lighting Jean Kalman

Cast Clare Higgins

OFF THE WALL: a season of new plays about Germany

60 years since the foundation of the Federal Republic and 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Royal Court presents Off The Wall, a season of new plays about Germany. This includes Over There by Mark Ravenhill (Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat, Pool (No Water), Shopping and F***ing) and a series of readings of new plays by German writers.

The Stone

Written by Marius von Mayenburg, Translated by Maja Zade

5 - 28 February

International Playwrights: A Genesis Project  

* * * * 'Mesmerising'.

Evening Standard

As a house passes from owner to owner, and from generation to generation, the secrets buried in the garden and seeping from the walls reveal themselves.

Over There

Written by Mark Ravenhill

25 February - 21 March

International Playwrights: A Genesis Project

"I found you. You're here. And I was over there. But now I'm over here. I'm here. You're my brother. I love you"

When Franz's mother escaped to the West with one of her identical twin boys, she left the other behind. Now, 25 years later, Karl crosses the border in search of his other half. As history takes an unexpected turn, the brothers must struggle to reconnect.

"In this gossamer- laced reality there is never a moment to be without your face, to not be together. One false move and you'll get chopped. One night can leave you legendary or a subsidiary."

Enter the legendary House of Light, a hyper-glamorous, uber-competitive drag queen refuge where a daughter who was once a son, can find a family.

While the House are primping and preening for a catwalk showdown with the other houses, drag queen Nina is wooing the delectable Eric as Wilson, a de-camped, make-up free 'straight' gay man. How can Nina/Wilson strut the thorny divide between opposite genders and differing worlds?

With sassy music, killer costumes and performed in a club cabaret setting, Wig Out! brings to glorious, vivid life, a riotous, defiant drag queen sub-culture.

Mondays - All tickets Â10

Tuesday to Saturday - Â25 Â18 Â12

For information on concessions go to http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whatson_calendar.asp?play=526

by Alecky Blythe

âWe have Tessa, curvy dress size 14, very bubbly, offers most services. We also have Suzie, curvy dress size 18 to 20, very passionate lady, offers the full girlfriend experience.â

Tessa has set up a business; a brothel by the sea where mature women specialise in the Girlfriend Experience, a surprisingly caring and sympathetic service.

As the women stoically strive to make a living in a competitive market, their personal lives start to crumble. Will they ever have loving relationships outside work and enjoy being girlfriends themselves?

This extraordinary play is created entirely from edited conversations recorded inside an actual brothel.

"I don't think we should give up our values to find common ground.

Then it's not common ground, it's their ground and we're just standing on it."

Election night in the US, and things are looking rosy for the Democratic Party. Holed up in a hotel watching the results flood in are the likely President-elect, his wife, advisors and 20 year old son John Jnr. Every speech, interview and photocall has been carefully controlled and meticulously orchestrated, all leading up to this big night.

At the same time controversial photos of John Jnr are gathering momentum on the internet. Whilst his father's advisors work against the clock on damage limitation, it's up to father and son to try and reach an agreement.

Christopher Shinn's searching new play examines religion, freedom of expression and personal responsibility. His previous plays include Dying City, Four, Where Do We Live and Other People.

Director Dominic Cooke

Designer Hildegard Bechtler

Lighting Charles Balfour

Sound Ian Dickinson

Cast includes Nancy Crane, Domhnall Gleeson, Adam James, Matthew Marsh, Pamela Nomvete, Eddie Redmayne

2008 Olivier Award Winner for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre

Nigeria, England, America, Jamaica; are you proud of where you're from? Dark skinned, light skinned, afro, weaves, who are your true brothers and sisters?

When two brothers from different continents go down the street to buy a pint of milk, they lift the lid on a disunited nation where everyone wants to be an individual but no one wants to stand out from the crowd.

Bola Agbaje's comic, vibrant and perceptive play about identity, history and culture depicts a world where respect is always demanded but rarely freely given.

''A joyous, irreverent energy and a fresh, winning playfulness.''

Times  

''It has such energy, humour and sharpness... displays such a feel for street-slang, and deftly unpicks the confused impulses of young adults trying to work out their identity in multicultural Britain.''          

Financial Times   

Director Bijan Sheibani

Lighting Jon Clark

Sound Ian Dickinson

Choreography Aline David

Cast Zawe Ashton, Tobi Bakare, Maria Charles, Ashley Chin, Phillip Edgerley, Munir Khairdin, Tunji Lucas, Ricci McLeod, Bunmi Mojekwu, Marcus Onilude

www.royalcourttheatre.com

0207 565 5000

Upstairs Downstairs: Free Outgoing

Written by Anupama Chandrasekhar

2 - 19 July

Following their sold-out success in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs,

Just one text message. That's all it took for Deepa to be hated by the nation.

''Anupama Chandrasekhar's debut cleverly exposes several contradictions at the heart of 21st century Indian society.'' Metro     

When a well-behaved Indian girl is filmed having sex in her classroom, the video clip spreads like a virus. Transmitted from person to person and across the globe it infects firstly the local community and then seemingly the entire world with a burning moral outrage.

Free Outgoing sets the rampant technology of the modern world against the conservatism of an ancient culture.

''Chandrasekhar writes with both economy and power... Lolita Chakrabarti gives a deeply unsettling performance''. Daily Telegraph   

''A gripping and insightful story''. Time Out Critics Choice      

Director Indhu Rubasingham,

Designer Rosa Maggiora

Lighting Mark Jonathan

Sound by Christopher Shutt

Cast includes Ravi Aujla, Lolita Chakrabarti, Raj Ghatak, Shelley King, Shaheen Khan, Amit Shah

International Playwrights: A Genesis Project

Tickets â Â25, Â15, Â10. Mondays all seats Â10. Concs Â10. Group discounts available.

To book tickets please call the box office on 020 7565 5000 or click here.

The Royal Court Theatre presents 

Upstairs Downstairs: The Ugly One

Written by Marius von Mayenburg

Translated by Maja Zade 

10 - 28 June

Following their sold-out success in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, three Royal Court productions return in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.

Lette thought he was normal.

When the extent of his ugliness is revealed he turns to a plastic surgeon for help. But after the bandages come off, Lette soon learns that there is such a thing as too beautiful.

"A drop-dead gorgeous play."  Independent

The Ugly One is a scalpel sharp comedy on beauty, identity and getting ahead in life.

"A delectable black comedy... I have not seen a more imaginative, inventive or disturbing theatrical vision."  Evening Standard  

"A viciously comic assault on the warped values of pop-culture-fed modern society."  The Times   

Director Ramin Gray

Designer Jeremy Herbert

Lighting Charles Balfour

Sound Nick Powell

Cast includes Amanda Drew, Michael Gould, Frank McCusker, Simon Paisley Day

International Playwrights: A Genesis Project

Tickets â Â25, Â15, Â10. Mondays all seats Â10. Concs Â10

To book tickets please call the box office on 020 7565 5000 or click here.

The Royal Court Theatre presents

Oxford Street

Written by Levi David Addai

2 - 31 May 

"I donât want to work here much longer, I got bigger plans than dis place... I gotta make it. Canât be living in my forties and still working in retail. Canât be living in the struggle no more."

At Total Sports, security guard Kofi and his workmates are making sure everything runs smoothly, easing the daily grind with plenty of jokes and chat about the future. Young or old, they all want more from life. The only difference is how they'll go about getting it.

This boisterous and comic new play from Levi David Addai (93.2FM & House of Agnes) looks beyond the glossy facade of the high street at the stories and ambitions of the workers within.

Director Dawn Walton

Designer Soutra Gilmour

Lighting Philip Gladwell

Sound Carolyn Downing

Movement Ann Yee

Cast Reece Beaumont, Preeya Kalidas, Daniel Kaluuya, Kristian Kiehling, Amelia Lowdell, Nathaniel Martello-White, Cyril Nri, Ashley Walters, Shane Zaza

Tickets â Â15. Mondays all seats Â10. Concs Â10

To book tickets please call the box office on 020 7565 5000 or click on the link below:

http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whatson01.asp?play=507

The City by Martin Crimp

24 April â 7June

"And I know what you're thinking: you're thinking it must be pretty easy to kill people who are simply clinging on to life. But the people clinging on to life are the most dangerous people of all."

Clair wants to be kissed - but not now - and certainly not by her husband. Chris wants to celebrate his new job by driving into the oncoming traffic. Jenny arrives to complain about the screaming children - but the garden's empty, and the key to the playroom's disappeared. Just what strange game is being played here?

Three characters fight to make sense of a surreal and collapsing world in this darkly comic mystery.

Martin Crimp's Attempts on her Life premiered at the Royal Court in 1997 and was recently given a new production by Katie Mitchell at the National Theatre. Their previous collaborations include The Country and Face to the Wall at the Royal Court and The Seagull (National). Martin Crimp also created the new translation of Rhinoceros for the Royal Court.

Director Katie Mitchell

Designer Vicki Mortimer

Lighting Paule Constable

Sound Gareth Fry

Sound Associate Sean Ephgrave

Cast

Matilda Castrey

Benedict Cumberbatch

Ruby Douglas

Amanda Hale

Hattie Morahan

Tickets â Â25, Â15, Â10. Mondays all seats Â10

For more information and to book, call 020 7565 5000 or click on the link below.

http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whatson01.asp?play=504

To listen, please click on the POD symbol above or the link at the bottom of this page.

Death never used to be for the young.
An urgent new play by debbie tucker green

You get up.
You go bout your business.
You expect to come back.

Cast  Nadine Marshall
Director  Sacha Wares

Our latest podcast offers a unique insight into random, an urgent new play by debbie tucker green. Hear excerpts from the play, commentary from the Director and responses from those who have seen it.

âIt really opened my eyes and left me feeling very emotionally attachedâ I felt like Iâd actually met the characters, like they were talking directly to me. I would recommend people of all ages to see it because it affects everyone.â?
Response to random from a pupil at Sion-Manning Girls' School, West London

random is playing at the Royal Court 7 March â 12 April.

Tickets Â10, Â15
Mondays all seats Â10

For more information and to book, call 020 7565 5000 or click here.

Nadia Blye knows exactly what her stance is on Iraq. A former war reporter and Professor of International Relations at Yale, she has advised the President and seen action in Sarajevo and Baghdad. She is sure of her place in the world and her opinion of it.

Until, that is, she meets an equally opinionated and lethally charming man - her boyfriend's father - over a weekend in Shropshire. His intervention has far-reaching consequences for them all.

David Hare's play, pitting personal philosophies against global politics, premiered on Broadway in 2006, and now receives a new production and its UK premiere at the Royal Court.  His best known plays include Plenty, Skylight, Racing Demon, Via Dolorosa and Stuff Happens.

In our first podcast of 2008, Ola Animashawun (Associate Director at the Court) interviews David Hare and Vertical Hour director Jeremy Herrin.

To celebrate the launch of the first book to tell the story of 50 years of the English Stage Company at the Royal Court, an illustrious panel of playwrights, actors and directors were invited to share some of their favourite memories of working at the theatre.

The panel is; Nicholas Wright (Joint Artistic Director of the Royal Court, 1975-77), Vikki Heywood (Executive Director of the Royal Court, 1996-2001), playwrights Roy Williams and Stephen Jeffreys, and actor Kenneth Cranham.

RHINOCEROS

When a rhinoceros charges across the town square one Sunday afternoon, Berenger thinks nothing of it. Soon, however, rhinoceroses are popping up everywhere and Berengerâs whole world is under threat. What will it take for him to stand up to the increasing menace of rhinocerisation?

Ionescoâs iconic satire on apathy and conformity is given its first major UK revival since its Royal Court premiere in 1960, which was directed by Orson Welles, starring Laurence Olivier.

1 November-15 December

THE ARSONISTS

Fires are becoming something of a problem. But Biedermann has it all under control. A respected member of the community with a loving wife and a flourishing business, surely nothing can get to him. The great philanthrope, he is happy to meet his civic duty and give shelter to two new houseguests, and when they start filling the attic with petrol drums, heâll help them wire the fuse. 

Frischâs parable about accommodating the very thing that will destroy you is given its first major UK revival since its Royal Court premiere in 1961, which was directed by Lindsay Anderson with Alfred Marks and John Thaw in the cast.

An interview with cast members Jasper Britton and Zawe Ashton, Director Ramin Gray, and Production Manager Paul Handley by Steve Pidcock.

13 September - 13 October

The Ugly One

Lette thought he was normal. When the extent of his ugliness is revealed he turns to a plastic surgeon for help. But after the bandages come off, Lette soon learns that there is such a thing as too beautiful.

The Ugly One is a scalpel sharp comedy on beauty, identity and getting ahead in life. Marius von Mayenburg's previous plays include Fireface, which premiered at the Royal Court in 2000, Parasites and The Cold Child. This is the British premiere of The Ugly One.

An interview with the cast of The Ugly One (Amanda Drew, Michael Gould, Mark Lockyer, and Frank McCusker) by Ola Animashawun

An interview with Elyse Dodgson, Head of the Royal Court's International Writers' Programme, plus four of the eleven writers who took part in this year's International Residency.

Since 1989 the Royal Court Theatre has collaborated with emerging playwrights from all parts of the world. The International Residency offers a unique opportunity for international writers to meet and work with leading British playwrights, directors and performers. This year included Michael Billington, Martin Crimp,David Hare, Harold Pinter,Simon Stephens and Tom Stoppard. At the same time, the four-week Residency provides a studio for emerging playwrights to share and develop their own work and methods.

Many of the writers whose plays will be presented in the Royal Court's 2007 Autumn International Season were discovered and developed through the Residency. To find out more about about the International season, visit www.royalcourttheatre.com.