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7/7 Play Pornography Receives London Premiere

Last August, Simon Stephens’ play about the London Tube bombings Pornography received its world premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe; this August, it comes “home” to the capital with a limited season from 4 to 29 August at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn.

Set over that one week in July 2005: Live 8, the G8 Summit, the 2012 Olympics bid ... and then 7/7. Britain feels like the centre of the world. Big events are happening and everyone is talking about them. In schools, offices, streets, shops, parks and homes - there’s a buzz in the air. You can feel the sense of anticipation. The world’s eyes are focused here and you can feel the energy and possibilities. In less than an hour in central London, everything will change.

Through six snapshots into the lives of a collection of people who detail their experiences as the week progresses, Pornography charts the nation’s journey as it crashes from the euphoria and promise of the 2012 Olympics announcement into the devastation of the terrorist bombings the very next day.

Despite it the London bias of its subject matter, Pornography has yet to receive its London premiere. Following its run at the Traverse Theatre during last year’s Edinburgh Festival, it transferred in September 2008 to Birmingham Rep. The Traverse / Birmingham Rep co-production is directed by Sean Holmes, now artistic director of west London’s Lyric Hammersmith, where Stephens’ latest play, Punk Rock, premieres in September (See News, 3 Jun 2009).

Simon Stephens other plays - at the Royal Court, National Theatre and elsewhere - include Motortown, Harper Regan, On the Shore of the Wide World and, as part of the Tricycle’s recent Great Game Afghanistan season, Canopy of Stars. Casting for the London run of Pornography has not yet been announced.

- by Terri Paddock

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