14 November 2018
Newsdesk
Following three critically acclaimed runs in London and a highly successful transfer to New York, Donnacadh O’Briain’s Olivier award-winning production of Rotterdam will now embark on an extensive UK tour.
Written by acclaimed playwright Jon Brittain, co-creator of Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho, writer of A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) and staff writer on The Crown, Rotterdam is a bittersweet comedy about gender, sexuality and being a long way from home.
It's New Year in Rotterdam, and Alice has finally plucked up the courage to email her parents and tell them she's gay. But before she can hit send, her girlfriend Fiona reveals that he has always identified as male and now wants to start living as a man named Adrian. Now, as Adrian confronts the reality of his transition, Alice faces a question she never thought she'd ask... does this mean she's straight?
Hartshorn – Hook Productions are committed to ensuring Rotterdam has equality and gender diversity among the cast and creatives. The full cast and more venues will be announced in early 2019.
Director Donnacadh O’Briain comments, We are delighted to be taking Rotterdam on its first UK tour. It’s a privilege to be able to share this funny, moving and beautiful story with audiences around the whole country.
Brittain was inspired to write Rotterdam after several of his friends transitioned in the late 2000s. He became aware of the absence of transgender stories in pop culture and wanted to address this on the stage. Through writing this show, he researched and consulted widely including talking to trans people and their partners, conducting a reading for members of trans communities and discussing the show with various organisations, including Trans Media Watch who then endorsed Rotterdam, and the charity Gendered Intelligence, who the company dedicated their Olivier award to.
Rotterdam was recently co-produced in Los Angeles by Hartshorn – Hook Productions and Skylight Theatre where the production won the top award at the Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Awards jointly with Hamilton.
Running time 2 hours plus interval
Twitter @RotterdamPlay, @hartshornhook
Box Office Tickets are available from the individual theatre box offices
Notes Ages 14+
Writer Jon Brittain
Director Donnacadh O'Briain
Designer Ellan Parry
Lighting Design Richard Williamson
Sound Design Keegan Curran
Associate Director Roxy Cook
Producer Louis Hartshorn and Brian Hook, Hartshorn - Hook Productions
Performance Dates
4th – 6th April Rose Theatre
24-26 High Street, Kingston upon Thames KT1 1HL
8th – 10th April Theatre Royal Brighton
New Road, Brighton BN1 1SD
11th – 13th April York Theatre Royal
St Leonard's Place, York YO1 7HD
29th April – 4th May Leicester Haymarket Theatre
1 Garrick Walk, Leicester LE1 3AF
9th – 11th May Glassbox Theatre
Harlow College, Velizy Avenue, Harlow, Essex CM20 3EZ
16th – 18th May Northcott Theatre
Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QB
20th – 22nd May Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EP
23rd – 25th May Malvern Theatre
Grange Road, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 3HB
27th – 29th May Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
Millbrook, Guildford GU1 3UX
3rd – 5th June Theatr Clwyd
Raikes Ln, Mold CH7 1YA
6 – 8th June Nuffield Southampton Theatres
NST Campus, University Road, Southampton, Hampshire SO17 1TR
10th – 12th June Devonshire Park Theatre
Compton Street, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4BW
Jon Brittain
Jon Brittain is a playwright, comedy writer and director. His critically acclaimed play Rotterdam earned him a nomination for the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2016 and won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre in 2017. It was adapted for Radio 3 this year. Other work includes the cult hit shows Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho and its sequel Margaret Thatcher Queen of Game Shows, and the Scotsman Fringe First Award-winning musical A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad). He directed John Kearns's Fosters Award winning shows Sight Gags for Perverts and Shtick and the follow-up Don’t Bother, They’re Here, and Tom Allen's shows Both Worlds, Indeed and Absolutely. He is currently working on a musical adaptation of David Walliams' book Billionaire Boy, commissions for HBO and the National Theatre, and is a staff writer on Netflix’s The Crown.
Donnacadh O’Briain
Donnacadh is a new writing specialist whose productions have played at The Royal Shakespeare Company, in the West End, and internationally. His acclaimed production of Rotterdam by Jon Brittain won the 2017 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. He recently directed Electrolyte by James Meteyard and Maimuna Memon at the Edinburgh Fringe and Mother Christmas by David Lewis for Hampstead Theatre Downstairs and is preparing several productions for 2019 including new work by Bea Roberts, Amy Ng and Eva Magyar and Bella Heesom, as well as tours of Rotterdam and Electrolyte. Favourite productions include: Always Orange by Fraser Grace for the RSC, which reopened The Other Place Theatre; My World Has Exploded a Little Bit developed with and written by Bella Heesom; PEEP at Edinburgh and Latitude festivals; a major Irish production of King Lear staring the late great Gerard Murphy; and as an Assistant director to Michael Boyd, the RSC’s multi award-winning Histories Cycle (The Guardian’s ‘Production of the Decade’).
