England People Very Nice

NATIONAL THEATRE:

ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE Travelex £10 Tickets, Olivier Theatre

Previews from 4 February, continuing in repertoire

ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE, a new play by Richard Bean, opens the seventh Travelex £10 Tickets season in the Olivier on 11 February. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, with a cast including Jamie Beamish, Paul Chequer, Olivia Colman, Rudi Dharmalingam, Sacha Dhawan, Trevor Laird, Elliot Levey, Aaron Neil, Fred Ridgeway, Sophie Stanton and Howard Ward, the production will be designed by Mark Thompson; the Director of Animation is Pete Bishop; with lighting by Neil Austin, music by Grant Olding and sound by John Leonard.

ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE is a riotous journey through four waves of immigration from the 17th century to today. As the French Huguenots, the Irish, the Jews and the Bangladeshis in turn enter the chaotic world of Bethnal Green, each new influx provokes a surge of violent protest over housing, jobs, religion and culture. And the emerging pattern shows that white flight and anxiety over integration are anything but new.

Richard Bean’s great sweep of a comedy follows a pair of star-crossed lovers amid cutters’ mobs, Papists, Jewish anarchists and radical Islamists across four tempestuous centuries.

Richard Bean’s plays include The English Game (UK tour), In the Club (Hampstead & tour), Harvest (Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play), Honeymoon Suite, Under the Whaleback and Toast (all for the Royal Court) and The Mentalists (National Theatre).

Olivia Colman makes her NT debut; her extensive television work includes five series of Peep Show, That Mitchell and Webb Look and Green Wing.

Sacha Dhawan was last seen at the National as Akthar in the original cast of The History Boys, a role he also created on film. His theatre work also includes Free Outgoing (Royal Court) and Pornography (Edinburgh Festival and Birmingham); his screen work includes Wired, Bradford Riots and Splintered.

Since he became Director of the National in April 2003, Nicholas Hytner has directed Henry V, His Dark Materials, The History Boys, Stuff Happens, Henry IV, Southwark Fair, The Alchemist, The Man of Mode, The Rose Tattoo (with Stephen Pimlott), Rafta, Rafta… , Much Ado About Nothing and Major Barbara.

Travelex continue their sponsorship of £10 Tickets for a seventh year. Half of all the tickets for the 2009 Travelex £10 shows in the Olivier Theatre are £10 (the rest are £15 and £30).