Nigel Harman is to head a first class creative team when he directs a major West End season of Steven Berkoff one-act plays, Lunch and The Bow of Ulysses at Trafalgar Studios for five weeks from Thursday 6 October – Saturday 5
November.
Lunch (1983) and it’s sequel The Bow of Ulysses (2002) are two of Berkoff’s finest small pieces, examining the relationship between a couple when they first meet and have, what appears to be, an abortive one-night-stand; and how they are years later after two decades of marriage.
The creative team includes Olivier Award-nominated sound designers Ben & Max Ringham, designer Lee Newby (Grand Hotel, Dogfight), lighting designer Joshua Carr (Hangmen, West End) and Offie Award Best Choreographer Alistair David as movement director.
Cast to be announced.
Nigel Harman said: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity of working on two of Steven Berkoff’s rarely performed short plays, When I first read them I was struck by the caustic beauty of the writing. Berkoff manages to amuse, horrify and move all in one sentence. And his instinct for the human condition, with all it’s flaws and wonders, is unique. I’m intrigued to put these plays on stage and see how an audience will react. They are a challenge to watch. Some people will laugh and enjoy the theatricality of them. Others may find them uncomfortable in the way they hold a dark mirror up to relationships. One thing’s for sure, they don’t pull any punches.”
As director Nigel is currently under the umbrella of The Michael Grandage Company. He is working on bringing a musical over from Broadway with ATG, and also creating a new theatre piece with Neal Street Productions. Previous credits include Shrek The Musical (UK tour). Nigel is also widely known as an actor having won an Olivier and several Television Awards. Theatre work includes, I Can’t Sing, A Chorus of Disapproval, Shrek The Musical, Guys And Dolls,Three Days Of Rain, The Caretaker, Privates On Parade. Television includes: Downton Abbey, Mount Pleasant, Miss Marple, Eastenders, Larkrise To Candleford, Hotel Babylon, The Outsiders, Plus One. Films: Blood Diamond, Telstar.
