Royal Court Theatre New Season Announced

Vicky Featherstone has announced her first season as Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre. (Public booking opens 11 July 2013).

In the theatre Downstairs...

The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas by Dennis Kelly, directed by Vicky Featherstone , 5 Sep to 19 Oct 2013. A dark morality tale: From the early promise of the 70s through to unrelenting capitalism of the 80s and 90s, follow Gorge on the journey from innocence to savage greed and knotted honesty, as he invents three golden rules for success, whatever the cost.

Let the Right One In a stage adaptation by Jack Thorne, based on the novel and film by John Ajvide Lindqvist, directed by John Tiffany, from 29 Nov to 21 Dec 2013. (Produced by The National Theatre of Scotland with Marla Rubin Productions Ltd and Bill Kenwright, in association with the Royal Court Theatre). A vampire myth and coming-of-age love story: Oskar is a lonely, bullied teenage boy living with his mother on a housing estate on the edge of town when a spate of sinister killings rock the neighbourhood. Eli is the young girl who has just moved in next door. She doesn't go to school and never leaves the flat by day. Sensing in each other a kindred spirit, the two become devoted friends. What Oskar doesn't know is that Eli has been a teenager for a very long time.

Not I/Footfalls/Rockaby by Samuel Beckett, directed by Walter Asmus, starring Lisa Dwan, from 9 to 18 Jan 2014. (Produced by The Royal Court Theatre and Mighty Mouth) Not I is an intense monologue, set in a pitch-black space lit by a single beam of light. A disembodied female mouth floats eight feet above the stage and delivers a stream of consciousness, spoken, as Beckett directed, at the speed of thought.
Rockaby explores loneliness and features a prematurely old woman dressed in an evening gown, sitting on a wooden rocking chair that appears to rock of its own accord.
Footfalls features May, wrapped in tatters, pacing back and forth like a metronome, on a strip of bare landing outside her dying mother's room.

The Mistress Contract by Abi Morgan, from the transcripts and the books, directed by Vicky Featherstone, from 30 Jan to 8 March 2014.She and He are the pseudonyms of a real-life couple who live in separate houses in the same city on the west coast of America. She is 88. He is 93. For 30 years he has provided her with a home and an income, while she provides 'mistress services' - 'All sexual acts as requested, with suspension of historical, emotional, psychological disclaimers.' They first met at university and then lost touch. When they met again 20 years later, they began an affair when She - a highly educated, intelligent woman with a history of involvement in the feminist movement - asked her wealthy lover to sign the remarkable document that outlines their unconventional lifestyle: The Mistress Contract. Was her suggestion a betrayal of all that she and the women of her generation had fought for? Or was it brave, honest, and radical? Then - on a small recorder that fit in her purse - this extraordinary couple began to tape ttheir conversations about their relationship, conversations that took place while travelling, over dinner at home and in restaurants, on the phone, even in bed. Based on reams of tape recordings made over their 30 year relationship, The Mistress Contract is a document of this unconventional couple, and the contract that kept them bound together to this day.

In the theatre Upstairs...

Peckham: The Soap Opera Lead Writers: Bola Agbaje and Rachel De-lahay, directed by Ola Animashawun and Debbie Hannan, from 2 to 14 Sep 2013. The lives and loves of Peckham locals will be played out in an omnibus of 10 five minute episodes. Each episode will be performed by actors from the local community. Somewhere between Peckham High Street and Rye Lane: after an immigration raid at Lashanna's underground hair salon, Ravi encourages her to relocate to the basement beneath Amir's corner shop (unbeknownst to Amir of course). Above ground Ed scouts for a job, though Amir puts him off the scent. Across the way Glenda, co-worker Elaine at the Job Centre and Joey make a discovery which may force them into a morning commute to Lewisham. While over at the station, Linda loses her cat, but falls for a dapper stranger whose pin-striped garms are new to the Rye.

Routes by Rachel De-lahay, directed by Simon Godwin, from 20 Sep to 12 Oct 2013. Looking at immigration and exile, and finding where you belong. Ali and Siar want to get out of where they are. Anka got in and is here for good. Olufemi is being coached to break back in. Bashir has been here forever but he's just been sent to limbo. Lisa wants to send them all home. Welcome to England.

The Djinns of Eidgah by Abhishek Majumdar, directed by Richard Twyman, from 18 Oct to 9 Nov 2013. Interweaving true stories and testimonies with Islamic storytelling, the play paints a portrait of a generation of radicalised kids, and a beautiful landscape lost to conflict. Ashrafi and Bilal are orphaned siblings stranded and defined by the troubles in Kashmir. 18 year old Bilal is the pride of the region, part of a teenage football team set for great heights, and pushed to the limits by the violence around them. Haunted by hope, his sister is caught in the past, and Bilal is torn between escaping the myths of war and the cycles of resistance.

Gastronauts Conceived by the writers of Open Court. Writers include: April De Angelis and Nessah Muthy, directed by Wils Wilson, 21 Nov to 21 Dec 2013. (Public booking opens in September). A theatre adventure with food. An edible performance.