Three Dramas at the Arts Theatre Autumn 2011

The Arts Theatre has announced three plays under the title 'Drama at the Arts' this autumn.

1 to 24 Sep 2011
A Dish of Tea With Dr Johnson, adapted from James Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson and Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides by Russell Barr, Ian Redford and Max Stafford Clark. Directed by Max Stafford Clark. Starring Russell Barr (plays a host of characters from James Boswell and Joshua Reynolds to King George III and Bonnie Prince Charlie's saviour Flora Macdonald), Ian Redford (Samuel Johnson), Trudie Styler (Mrs Thrale, the society hostess who was Johnson's final, unrequited love.) Irritable, generous, depressed, witty and wise - meet Samuel 'Dictionary' Johnson: poet, essayist and lexicographer. In a show of stories and conversation, celebrating Johnson's unique take on life.

5 to 29 Oct 2011
The Killing of Sister George, by Frank Marcus. Directed by Iqbal Khan. Starring Meera Syal (June Buckridge), Belinda Lang (Mrs Mercy). Sister George is no nun, but a fictional character in a popular BBC radio soap about English village life. To boost ratings the character is axed and Mrs Mercy confronts June Buckridge who has played the part for some 2000 performances. June has a domestic relationship with Alice McNaught, who shares her home and her bed. With the impending catastrophe of June's job lost the insecure relationship is taken advantage of and carnage and loss ensue.

2 to 26 Nov 2011
A British Subject,by Nichola McAuliffe, directed by Hannah Eidinow. Starring Nichola McAuliffe. A true-life tale of international politics and the media colliding with justice, civil liberties and ultimately, faith. At the age of 18, Mirza Tahir Hussain, a British Subject, arrived in Pakistan. 24 hours later a taxi driver was dead and Tahir was tried for his murder. Condemned to hang in the Criminal Court, he spent 18 years on Death Row. Don Mackay of the Daily Mirror was the only journalist to visit him in that time.