Five Reasons to See … Many Moons
Alice Birch‘s first full-length play Many Moons opened at Theatre503 on 20 May (previews from 17 May 2011). Delicately weaving together the paths of four people in Church Street, Stoke Newington on a single, sweltering day it stars Esther Hall (Blue/Orange), Jonathan Newth (Zorro), Edward Franklin (Punk Rock) and Esther Smith (This Child).
1. Support fearless new writing
Theatre503 continues its commitment to new writers in with the UK premiere of Many Moons. Simon Stephens calls Alice Birch “one of the most exciting young playwrights in British theatre. Her work is witty and frightening by turns,” whilst joint artistic director of Theatre503 Paul Robinson said he found Birch’s script to have, “breathtaking lyricism and gripping dramatic narrative.” Many Moons represents all that Theatre503 advocates: fearless new writing that has to be produced for the stage.
2. See theatre company paper/scissors/stone
Paper/scissors/stone is a theatre company whose process is driven by a shared obsession with story, space and sensation. Director Derek, designer James and lighting designer Sally collaborate to develop narrative alongside visuals. The strength of their work lies in a ‘feedback loop’ of creativity, where the lighting and set design ideas feed into how the play is directed as strongly as the direction feeds the design. Many Moons was developed by the three in a wholly collaborative nature leading to a beautiful amalgamation of set, lighting and narrative.
3. Witness a stellar cast
When one actress named Esther just won’t do… First up is Esther Hall, whose credits include Blue/Orange at the Arcola for which she was nominated for best actress in the Offie Awards, and of course her much loved role as Jane to Kris Marshall’s Adam in the BT adverts. Esther Smith has recently returned from touring The Author by Tim Crouch, Jonathan Newth joins us having previously worked in everything from Zorro – The Musical to numerous RSC productions and Edward Hall completes our cast, fresh from Punk Rock at the Lyric Hammersmith, and with a burgeoning fan website (13 followers on twitter so far!).
4. Explore London
Many Moons was developed in London and focuses on London life, in particular Stoke Newington. Alice Birch delicately weaves together the lives of four neighbours and shows flashes of city dwelling that we can all recognise. How many friends have you got on Facebook? And how many of your neighbours do you know by name?
5. Everybody’s talking about it
The Guardian called it Many Moons a “meticulously written play, elegantly performed (particularly by Esther Hall as the flinty Meg), that slowly turns you inside out,” and we’ve also garnered three Offie Award nominations for James Perkin’s set design, Best New Playwright, and Best New Play.
Many Moons opened at Theatre503 on 20 May (previews from 17 May) where it continues until 11 June 2011.
