Lyric Confirm Line-up for 2012 Season, Bond Returns

Newly announced productions include Spymonkey’s Oedipussy, written by long-time Kneehigh collaborator Carl Grose and directed by the company’s artistic director Emma Rice. The production will run from 11 to 21 April (previews from 10 April) at the Lyric as part of a UK, co-produced with the Royal and Derngate, Northampton.

Terrified of the curse of a father-killing, mother-loving son, Oedipus’ parents abandon their newborn
son in the wilderness. Found and raised by adoptive parents, he returns to Thebes upon coming of age,
only to unwittingly murder his father and marry his mother. Unaware of the full horror of his actions,
Oedipus is led towards the truth by the blind Tiresius who reveals to him an unimaginable reality.

Dates were also confirmed for the previously announced revival of three one act plays by Edward Bond, whose controversial 1965play Saved was revived by Lyric artistic director Sean Holmes for the first time since 1984.

Bond himself will direct two of the short “Chair Plays”, The Under Room and Chair – a piece which will receive its professional stage debut, having previously been performed on BBC Radio 4 in 2000. Holmes will direct Have I None which will play in rep with The Under Room from 23 April (previews from 19 April) to 26 May 2012. Chair will run from 14 to 26 May (previews from 11 May 2012).

Also announced was the return of Vivienne Franzmann’s acclaimed Mogadishu which will play a week’s run at the Lyric Hammersmith from 27 to 31 March 2012 as part of a UK tour. Matthew Dunster‘s production is co-produced with the Royal Exchange, Manchester. Franzmann was inspired to write the play by her time working as a teacher in inner-city schools, going on to win the Bruntwood and George Devine playwriting awards.

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Other previously reported productions which make up the Lyric Hammersmith’s 2012 season include:

Lovesong, 12–28 January 2012 (previews from 11 January) Frantic Assembly returns to the Lyric Hammersmith following its award-winning production of Othello, to present Lovesong – a third collaboration with writer Abi Morgan. Morgan, who previously worked with Frantic Assembly on Tiny Dynamite, wrote the forthcoming Meryl Streep film Iron Lady and BBC drama series The Hour.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 16 February-17 March 2012 (previews from 11 February) Ferdy Roberts and Ollie Dimsdale‘s Filter return to the Lyric Hammersmith to “remix, rework and revitalise” Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Previous soundscape-heavy collaborations have included Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle for the National Theatre.