RET Invite you to A Play, a Pie and a Pint

Òran Mór’s theatre programme A Play, a Pie and a Pint comes to Manchester’s Royal Exchange Studio from Wednesday 19 October to Saturday 5 November 2011 to present three world premieres whilst serving audiences a tasty pie and a refreshing pint.

Dig by Katie Douglas follows Glaswegian brothers Tommy and Dean; brothers trying to make it big in an unstable world and a falling economy. Tommy’s just been laid off but Dean’s got a plan to make big money. When it’s every man for himself, will it be pride or providing that proves to be more important?

Katie Douglas writes extensively for theatre, film and television; and has worked with the RSC, Paines Plough, Ignition/Tristan Bates, Soho and Southwark Playhouse. Her credits include Fly (Everyman Liverpool, 2004), Ignition (Tristan Bates Theatre, 2008), Waterloo Road (BBC1, 2009-10) and After You’ve Gone (BBC1, 2008). Katie’s works have also been shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

Dig will run in The Studio from Wednesday 19 -22 October, 2011.

You Cannot Go Forward From Where You Are Right Now by David Watson – It’s lunchtime. You buy a pint. You listen to… a father and his estranged daughter trying to find a connection… radio DJs, Gaz and Gary, gabbling on and on… a man with his dog in the pub… the voices in your head… In a society where communication is easier than ever before, have we forgotten how to talk?

Using an evocative soundscape, this is described as a thought-provoking piece that inhabits the subconscious of a man – a man at odds with himself, and with the technology that has taken over his life.

David Watson with recent successes Any Which Way, based on the testimonies of ex-prisoners, with whom David work-shopped the script had an acclaimed run at Only Connect Theatre. David is under commission to the Royal Court Theatre and the National Theatre, whilst also writing a musical for Only Connect Theatre and working on a new series of L8er for Hi8tus / BBC.

You Cannot Go Forward From Where You Are Right Now will run in The Studio from 26 -29 October, 2011.

Juicy Fruits by Leo Butler –  Lorna and Nina haven’t seen each other since a drunken wedding reception six years ago. Fast-forward to the present day and whilst Lorna’s been journeying through the urban jungle and reached destination housewife, Nina’s been running wild in the jungles of Borneo. Now reunited over lattes and pastries, their friendship is tested to the limit as they confront the different phases of their lives.

Leo Butler has been the Writers’ Tutor for the Royal Court’s Young Writers Programme since 2005, mentoring over a hundred aspiring playwrights each year, many of whom have since had their plays produced. His stage plays for the Royal Court include Made Of Stone (2000), Faces In The Crowd (2008), Lucky Dog (2004) and Redundant (2001, winner of the George Devine Award). Leo’s first feature film, Self-Made, a part-documentary/part-fiction directed by Turner Prize winning artist Gillian Wearing, was screened at the London Film Festival 2010 to great acclaim.

Juicy Fruits will run in The Studio from 2 – 5 November, 2011.

A Play, A Pie and A Pint began in Glasgow in 2004 and Òran Mór now commissions 37 new plays a year across a range of genres from tragedies and monologues to comedies and musicals. It continues to produce the work of some of the UK’s most well known writers as well as profiling the work of new and exciting theatrical voices. The company regularly co-produces nationally and internationally, with this tour being the second year in a row that it has collaborated with Paines Plough.

Paines Plough’s previous credits at the Royal Exchange Theatre include the multi-generational drama Love, Love, Love by Olivier-award winning playwright Mike Bartlett, which has just been nominated for Best New Play at the newly named Theatre Awards UK 2011.