Dominic Cooke's first season at Royal Court

Dominic Cooke's first season at Royal Court

Dominic Cooke has announced his first season as Artistic Director of The Royal Court. At a press conference he outlined his vision for the coming year, and explained the core principles - emerging writers, internationalism and experimentation - which will drive the theatre's programming and activity.

Dominic Cooke said, "At the Royal Court we are in the business of asking questions - questions about the world we live in and questions about theatrical form. My hope is that everything we produce here will address one of those questions; be it a new play on an unexplored subject or a revisited classic that engages with an experimental past. I want to encourage eclecticism and surprise, balanced by a clear commitment to key principles - nurturing emerging writers, an international perspective and a spirit of experiment"

In the Theatre Downstairs...

28 March - 21 April 2007
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISSOCIA
Written & directed by Anthony Neilson
Design by Miriam Buether, lighting by Chahine Yavroyan, sound by Nick Powell. Produced by National Theatre of Scotland
Cast includes: James Cunningham, Christine Entwisle, Alan Francis, Amanda Hadingue, Jack James, Claire Little, Matthew Pidgeon, Barnaby Power. Lisa Jones is on a journey. It's a colourful, magical and thrilling off-kilter trip in search of one lost hour that has tipped the balance of her life. The inhabitants of the wonderful world she finds herself in are a curious blend of the funny, the friendly and the brutal.

3 May - 2 June 2007
MY CHILD
By Mike Bartlett
Directed by Sacha Wares, designed by Miriam Buether.
Faced with losing his child in a custody battle, a desperate father discovers that being a good man seems to count for very little.

14 June - 21 July 2007
THE PAIN AND THE ITCH
By Bruce Norris
Directed by Dominic Cooke
A cosy family Thanksgiving dinner for six. Someone - or something - is leaving bite marks in the avocados. Clay and Kelly's daughter Kayla has an itch and Carol can't remember who played Ghandi.

21 September - 15 December 2007 (In repertory)
RHINOCEROS
By Eugène Ionesco, in a new translation by Martin Crimp.
Directed by Dominic Cooke.
(Performed in repertoire with "The Fire Raisers" and features the same cast)
When a rhinoceros charges across the town square one Sunday afternoon, Berenger thinks nothing of it. Soon, however, rhinoceroses are popping up everywhere and Berenger's whole world is under threat. What will it take for him to stand up to the increasing menace of rhinocerisation?

1 November - 15 December 2007
THE ARSONISTS By Max Frisch, in a new translation by Alistair Beaton
Directed by Ramin Gray.
(Performed in repertoire with "Rhinoceros" and features the same cast)
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 could 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, he'll help them wire the fuse.

In the Theatre Upstairs...

14 March - 7 April 2007
LEAVES
By Lucy Caldwell
Directed by Garry Hynes, design & costumes by Francis O'Connor, lighting by Ben Ormerod, sound by John Leonard. Produced by Royal Court Theatre and Druid
Cast includes: Fiona Bell, Alana Brennan, Conor Lovett, Daisy Maguire, Penelope Maguire and Kathy-Rose O'Brien
Lori is coming home from her first term at university. It's only been a few weeks and already things have gone badly wrong. But none of the rest of the family knows, or understands, what really happened. Three teenage girls struggle to define who they are, and why, and where they might be going. (This is Lucy Caldwell's first play)

20 April - 19 May 2007
THAT FACE
By Polly Stenham
Directed by Jeremy Herrin
Mia is at boarding school. She has access to drugs. They are Martha's. Henry is preparing for art college. He has access to alcohol. From Martha. Martha controls their lives. Martha is their mother. (This is Polly Stenham's first play)

24 May - 23 June 2007
ALASKA
By DC Moore
Directed by Maria Aberg
Frank is an ordinary bloke who likes smoking, history and playing House of the Dead 3. He can put up with his job on a cinema kiosk until a new supervisor arrives who is younger than him. And Asian. Alaska is a play about race, sex and purity. (This is DC Moore's first play.)