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Patrick Marber’s critically acclaimed production of Tom Stoppard’s Travesties Transfers To The West End

Saturday 29 October 2016

The production broke box office records at the Menier, becoming the first play in the company’s history to sell out ahead of its first preview. Patrick Marber directs Tom Hollander as he returns to the stage to play Henry Carr. Hollander is joined by the full company from the Menier - Freddie Fox (Tristan Tzara), Peter McDonald (James Joyce), Forbes Masson (Lenin), Clare Foster (Cecily), Amy Morgan (Gwendolen), Tim Wallers (Bennett) and Sarah Quist (Nadya). Priority booking for Menier Chocolate Factory supporters goes on sale at 9am on 31 October, with public booking opening on 2 November.


‘Patrick Marber’s near miraculous production of Travesties… A tremendous production that I shall not soon forget.” 

International New York Times


Tom Stoppard’s dazzling comedy of art, love and revolution features James Joyce, Tristan Tzara and Lenin as remembered -- and misremembered -- by Henry Carr, a minor British diplomat in Zurich 1917.


When Gwendolen and Cecily wander in from The Importance of Being Earnest, Henry’s mind wanders too. He knows he was Algernon in a production in Zurich. But who was the other one?


‘Tom Hollander is sensational… Travesties is, in its anarchic and magical exuberance, a tonic from start to finish.’
Observer


Travesties opened at the Aldwych Theatre in 1974, directed by Peter Wood. It won the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy, and a Tony Award and New York Critic’s Circle Award for Best Play for its Broadway run at the Ethel Barrymore Theater.

‘This production, directed by Patrick Marber, is a playful joy, full of life, song, limericks and even (shimmy shimmy) a hint of burlesque’
The Times


Tom Stoppard is a playwright and screenwriter, and is one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation. He has written prolifically for stage, film, television and radio. His most recent play is The Hard Problem. Other plays include The Real Inspector Hound, After Magritte, Jumpers, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (with André Previn), Dirty Linen, New-Found-Land, Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth, Night and Day, The Real Thing, Hapgood, Arcadia, Indian Ink, The Invention of Love, The Coast of Utopia and Rock’n’Roll. His many translations and adaptations include Tango, Undiscovered Country, On the Razzle, Three Men in a Boat, Parade’s End and Ivanov. He co-wrote the screenplays for the films Brazil, Shakespeare in Love and The Russia House. He has received an Academy Award, Olivier Award and four Tony Awards. He was knighted in 1997.


Tom Hollander returns to the stage to play Henry Carr. His theatre credits include A Flea in Her Ear (Old Vic), The Hotel in Amsterdam, The Threepenny Opera (Donmar Warehouse), The Judas Kiss (Playhouse Theatre and Broadway), The Government Inspector, Tartuffe (Almeida Theatre), Mojo (Royal Court Theatre), Don Juan (Sheffield Theatres), The School for Scandal (National Theatre) and As You Like It (Cheek by Jowl). His television credits include Doctor Thorne, The Night Manager, A Poet In New York, Rev. (co-created with James Wood), Ambassadors, Any Human Heart, The Thick Of It, Desperate Romantics, Gracie!Headcases, John Adams, Cambridge Spies, The Lost Prince, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby and Absolutely Fabulous. For film, his credits include Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, The Riot Club, Muppets Most Wanted, The Invisible Woman, About Time, Hanna, The Soloist, In The Loop, Valkyrie, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, A Good Year, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pride & Prejudice, Enigma and Maybe Baby.


Freddie Fox plays Tristan Tzara. His theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet (Garrick Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Southwark Playhouse), Romeo and Juliet (Sheffield Crucible), The Judas Kiss (Duke of York’s Theatre), Hay Fever (Noel Coward Theatre), Cause Célèbre, A Flea in Her Ear (Old Vic) and The Last 5 Years (Barbican). His television work includes Russell T Davies’ Cucumber and Banana; The Mystery of Edwin DroodThe Shadow LineAny Human Heart, Worried About the Boy and Parade’s End; and for film, Pride, The Riot Club, The Three Musketeers, St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, Frankenstein and the forthcoming Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur and Fanny Lye Deliver’d.


Peter McDonald plays James Joyce. His theatre includes The Weir (Donmar Warehouse/ Wyndham’s Theatre), The Veil, Greenland, Exiles, The Aristocrats (National Theatre), Red Bud (Royal Court Theatre), The Caretaker (Liverpool Everyman/Trafalgar Studios), Dancing At Lughnasa (The Old Vic), Nocturne (Almeida Theatre /Traverse Theatre), Glengarry Glen Ross (Apollo Theatre), Days Of Wine And Roses, A Lie of the Mind (Donmar Warehouse) and The Lieutenant Of Inishmore (Garrick Theatre). His television work includes The Last Kingdom, Thirteen, Virtuoso, Murder, No Offence, May Day, Moone Boy, Titanic, City Of Vice, The Family Man, Green Wing, Sea Of Souls, The Plot To Kill Hitler and Paths To Freedom; and for film, Steven, Fanny Lye Deliver’d, The Stag, Wreckers, The Damned United, The Henchman’s Tale, Nora, Saltwater, The Opportunists, Some Voices, Felicia’s Journey, An Inch Over The Horizon, I Went Down and November Afternoon.


Forbes Masson plays Lenin. His theatre work includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theatre Royal Bath), Doctor Faustus (Duke Of York’s Theatre ), Mr Foote’s Other Leg (Theatre Royal Haymarket/Hampstead Theatre), The Ruling Class, Richard III and Macbeth (Trafalgar Studios), The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe (Kensington Gardens), The Life Of Stuff (Donmar Warehouse), as well as extensive work for the RSC. For television, his credits include Catastrophe, Shetland, Dead Boss, No Holds Barred, Fun At The Funeral Parlour, Monarch Of The Glen, A Young Persons Guide To Becoming A Rock Star, Is It Bill Bailey, The Creatives, Rab C. Nesbitt, Hamish Macbeth, The High Life (writer and creator with Alan Cumming), Paris and Red Dwarf.


Clare Foster plays Cecily. Her theatre credits include Merrily We Roll Along (Menier Chocolate Factory and Harold Pinter Theatre),Guys and Dolls (Chichester Festival Theatre), Separation and Duet For One (2015 Winner of Manchester Theatre Award for Best Actress, Bolton Octagon), Finding Neverland (Leicester Curve), Crazy For You (Novello Theatre, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Avenue Q (Noel Coward Theatre), We Will Rock You (Dominion theatre), The Far Pavilions (Shaftesbury Theatre), The Master and Margarita, Out Of This World (Chichester Festival Theatre), and Sweet Charity (Sheffield Crucible). For television, her work includes Sherlock, Galavant, Taboo, The Crown and Ripper Street; and for film, Black Forest and Les Miserables.


Amy Morgan plays Gwendolen. Her theatre work includes Red Velvet (Garrick Theatre), The Beaux Stratagem (National Theatre), The Broken Heart (Shakespeare’s Globe), An Ideal Husband (Chichester Festival Theatre), Once A Catholic (Tricycle Theatre), Trelawny Of The Wells, Inadmissable Evidence (Donmar Warehouse), The Country Wife (Royal Exchange) and Hay Fever (Noël Coward Theatre). For television, her work includes Mr Selfridge, Modern Medicine, Love Matters, Father Brown, Baker Boys, Crash and The Great War; and for film, Pan and A Way Of Life.


Tim Wallers plays Bennett. His theatre work includes Dead Sheep (Park Theatre), Yes Prime Minister (UK tour and West End) and The Lady in the Van (Theatre Royal Bath). For television, his work includes A Very British Deterrent, The Windsors, Doctor Thorne, Babylon, Count Arthur Strong and Sherlock; and for film, The Have Nots, Grimsby, Generation Z, Remainder, RocknRolla and Mamma Mia.


Sarah Quist plays Nadya. Her theatre work includes The Merry Wives of Windsor, Wind in the Willows (Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre), A Mad World My Masters (RSC/ETT), The Amen Corner (National Theatre), The Bacchae (National Theatre of Scotland), and Hecuba, Alice in Wonderland and The Tempest (RSC).


As a director, Patrick Marber’s work includes Steve Coogan/John Thompson in Characters (Edinburgh/Purcell Room/Touring), and his own plays Dealer's Choice (National Theatre/Vaudeville Theatre), Closer (National Theatre/Lyric Theatre/Broadway), Howard Katz and Three Days In the Country (both National Theatre).  Other productions include '1953' (Almeida Theatre), Blue Remembered Hills (National Theatre), The Old Neighborhood (Royal Court at Duke of York's Theatre), The Caretaker (Comedy Theatre) and I Remember (devised piece at Royal Court). For television, he directed After Miss Julie and The Curator (both for the BBC). As a writer, his other work includes The Musicians (NT Connections), After Miss Julie, Don Juan in Soho (Donmar Warehouse) and The Red Lion (National Theatre). For television, his work includes: co-writer The Day Today, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge, Paul Calf Video Diaries, The Curator, Natural Born Quizzers (all BBC); for film, Closer (dir. Mike Nichols), Notes on a Scandal (dir. Richard Eyre) and Love You More (dir. Sam Taylor-Wood); and for radio, Hoop Lane (BBC Radio 3) Bunk Bed with Peter Curran (BBC Radio 4).

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