Toronto Premiere: Bryony Lavery's Stockholm Opens Tonight to June 3 in Toronto

From a media release:

Seventh Stage Theatre Productions in association with Nightwood Theatre proudly presents the North American Premiere of
STOCKHOLM
Written by Bryony Lavery
Directed by Kelly Straughan
Starring Melissa-Jane Shaw and Jonathon Young
May 11 to June 3, 2012 at Tarragon Theatre Extra Space

• Tickets are available by calling (416) 531.1827 or online


“Lavery’s needle-sharp script toys with the audience like a horror movie…this is a terrifyingly erotic and haunting 70 minutes.”- Guardian, UK
“Thrilling exploration of form, Stockholm is provocative and unsettling, leaving you with questions buzzing in your head.” - Sunday Telegraph, UK


Toronto, Ontario - Seventh Stage and Nightwood Theatre is thrilled to present the North American premiere of Bryony Lavery’s STOCKHOLM at the Tarragon Theatre Extra Space from May 11th to June 3rd 2012. Passionate,poetic, raw and physical, Stockholm was a critical success in London England and Sydney Australia, and is now making its exciting North American debut for Canadian audiences this spring.

Winner of the Wolff Whiting Award, Stockholm invites us in on an evening with Todd and Kali, the perfect self-styled couple. They’re beautiful, have a fabulous sex life and live in a designer home. But under the surface is distrust and desire so potent that even a much-anticipated holiday to Stockholm is threatened. Probing into the psychology of Stockholm Syndrome, Lavery transports us into a lovers’ dance that is at once destructive and euphoric. Stockholm leaves us questioning the fine lines betweenlove and lust, aggressor and victim.

British dramatist Bryony Lavery has written more than 20 plays and began playwriting with the goal of creating better parts for women. Her play Frozen was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play and won the TMA Best New Play Award.

Written in verse and intensely physical, Stockholm is an extraordinary fusion of dance and text, unraveling into a 70 minute thriller. Playing the role of Todd is Jonathon Young (multiple Jessie Awards, Electric Theatre Company co-founder, Nikola in SyFy show Sanctuary) and playing Kali is Melissa-Jane Shaw (9 Parts of Desire, Melancholy Play, Resident Choreographer Rose Theatre Brampton). At the helm is Seventh Stage Artistic Director Kelly Straughan (Director of Dora Award nominated 9 Parts of Desire and Red Queen Effect, shortlisted for the Gina Wilkinson Prize for directing) and choreographer Susie Burpee (Dancemakers, Le Groupe Dance Lab, Dora Awards for Outstanding Choreography and Performance). Shaping up the rest of the team is Kimberly Purtell (Lighting Design), Lindsay C. Walker (Set & Costume Design) and Verne Good (Sound Design and Original Music).

Kelly Straughan, Artistic Director of Seventh Stage and director of Stockholm says, "I am thrilled to be directing the North American premiere of Stockholm. It's an exciting piece of dance theatre that pushes the boundaries of form and style by weaving choreography and dialogue to stunning effect; the words are powerful and the movement matches that power."

Bryony Lavery, PLAYWRIGHT
Bryony Lavery’s plays include Her Aching Heart (Pink Paper play of the year 1992, Last Easter and A WeddingStory (2000). Her play Frozen,commissioned by Birmingham Rep, won the TMA Best Play Award, the Eileen Anderson Central Television Award and was produced on Broadway where it was nominated for 4 Tony awards.  Her Frantic Assembly piece, Stockholm, won the Wolff-Whiting award for Best Play of 2008.  Beautiful Burnout received a Fringe at Edinburgh.

Her recent work includes Beautiful Burnout for the National Theatre of Scotland/FranticAssembly; Kursk with Sound and Fury at The Young Vic UK and Sydney Opera House; A Christmas Carol at West Yorkshire Playhouse and an adaptation of The £1000000bank note for BBC Radio 4. Future plans: Because for ETT/Brink; Cesario for The National Theatre and an opera 57Hours in The House Of Culture, with John Keane, Peter Wyer and Phyllida Lloyd. Bryony is an honorary doctor of Arts at De Montfort University and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature.

Images:
• MJ Shaw. Photo by Tanja-Tiziana, doublecrossed.ca

• Bryony Lavery by Gordon Rainsford

STOCKHOLM
Written by Bryony Lavery
Directed by Kelly Straughan
Starring Melissa-Jane Shaw and Jonathon Young
Set and Costume Design by Lindsay C. Walker, Lighting Design by Kimberly Purtell, Choreography by Susie Burpee, Sound Design and Original Music by Verne Good, Stage Manager Sandi Becker

DATES: May 11 to June 3, 2012
SHOWTIMES: Tuesday to Saturday at 8:00 pm, Wednesday at 1:30pm,Saturday and Sunday at 2:30pm
LOCATION: Tarragon Theatre Extra Space, 30 Bridgman Street
TICKETS: Tickets are available by calling (416) 531.1827 or www.tarragontheatre.com
Prices range from $15.00 to $30.00

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