The Diana Tapes, by James Clements directed by Wednesday Sue Derrico, is the true story of one of the greatest media scandals in British history – the publication of Andrew Morton’s book about Princess Diana, “Diana Her True Story in Her Own Words”, which ended her marriage and shook the monarchy to its core.
Based on the real transcripts from the Princess’s tapes, the show moves between Morton’s office, the sitting room where the Princess recorded her darkest secrets onto audio cassettes, and the dingy West London cafe where one of her best friends surreptitiously handed them over. The subterfuge and deception are brought to a scorching climax that changed celebrity, privacy, and the Windsor family forever. The question remains: who was the victim, and who the victor? The production gives voice to a woman so often defined by images and archetypes, and instead presents her complex and multifaceted reality. It tells her story in her own words.
The Diana Tapes, a co-production between New York-based What Will the Neighbors Say? company and Stockwell Playhouse, will get its New York premiere at HERE (145 6th Avenue) from May 24 - June 10 before transfering to London.
It was first workshopped at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival ehere it was also shortlisted for the Holden Street Theatre Award. Subsequent workshop runs in Providence, New York and Toronto were met with acclaim, with critics calling the production “intricate and compelling, (BroadwayWorld) “entrancing,” (Motif ) “tense and provocative,” (The Providence Journal ) and “timely and relevant”
(Mooney on Theatre).
Cast: Ana Cristina Schuler (Diana, Pincess of Wales), James Clements (Andrew Morton), Jorge Morales Picó (James Colthurst), Sam Hood Adrain (Michael O’Mara)
THE DIANA TAPES CAST Left to right James Clements (Andrew Morton), Jorge Morales Picó (James Colthurst), Ana Cristina Schuler (Diana, Princess of Wals), and Sam Hood Adrain (Michael O'Mara) Photo credit: Pablo Calderón-Santiago
Creative team: Director Wednesday Sue Derrico, Sound Design Adam Welsh & Jorge Morales Picó, Set, Props and Costumes Mairi MacInenns. Full creative team to be anounced..
James Clements (Playwright)
James is a Scottish interdisciplinary theatre maker and actor based between New York and Glasgow. His techniques merge voice, movement and text to create socio-cultural dialogues on stage and between creatives. Clements has worked with a diverse range of artists, including Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Kate Whoriskey, and the Talking Band, and has appeared at
venues including La MaMa, IRT, and WOW Café Theatre.Clements has been on the creative team for projects at Lincoln Center LCT3, the Public Theatre, and the American Theatre of Actors, and his original plays have been performed in cities across the United States, Canada and the UK. He is an affiliated instructor for Drama at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and Co-Artistic Director of What Will the Neighbors Say? a new theatre company with a mission to provoke questions through untold stories. In 2015, Clements received a grant from Donn Russell of the Peg Sandvoort Foundation for the development of new work.
Wednesday Sue Dericio (Director)
Wednesday is a director, performer, producer, and arts manager based in New York. Recent credits include co-directing HVMLET, an original adaptation for the She NYC Arts Festival, producing Sophie Amieva’s Medusa at Happy Lucky No.1, and producing/casting/art directing the independent feature film Santamaria directed by Alex Cherney. She has appeared and created at venues including the Park Avenue Armory, IRT Theatre, the Connelly Theater, and WOW Café Theatre. Derrico, who is the Co-Founding Artistic Director of production company Experimental Bitch Presents (www.experimentalbitchpresents.com), dedicates her life to personal, political art and establishing platforms for diverse creators from all walks of life.
What Will The Neighbors Say?
WWTNS? is a new theatre company based in New York City with a mission to provoke questions through untold stories. WWTNS? creates theatre that examines historical, social, political and economic narratives that have been disregarded, misrepresented, or otherwise untold in order to provoke discourse in our audience and community. WWTNS? maintains a consistent commitment to diversity, arts education, community outreach, and artistic experimentation.
www.wwtns.org
Stockwell Playhouse
Stockwell Playhouse is a lively theatre and arts hub only ten minutes by public transport from the West End and the heart of central London. Building on the eight successful years of LOST Theatre, Stockwell Playhous e continues a tradition in producing professional and amateur work, integrating community classes and projects with professional touring work, co-productions and groundbreaking new writing.
www.stockwellph.com
THE DIANA TAPES
by James Clements
Stockwell Playhouse
208 Wandsworth Road
London
SW8 2JU
Box office: 020 7720 6897
June 26 - July 13
Press night:
Tuesday June 26 at 7.30pm
Tuesday - Saturday 7.30pm
Saturday 4.00pm
Sunday 6.00pm.
Tickets: £14 / £12 conc
Performance:
60 minutes with no intermission.
www.TheDianaTapes.com
