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Tuesday, 01 June 2010 11:21

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists opens at the Everyman Featured

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Howard Brenton’s glorious new stage adaptation of Robert Tressell’s The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists takes to the stage at the Liverpool Everyman on 17 June

Celebrated playwright Howard Brenton has created a major new adaptation of Robert Tressell’s famous novel, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists - a story that has changed countless lives and remains as vivid and as relevant as when it was written almost a century ago. This co-production between Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Chichester Festival Theatre will be directed by Christopher Morahan. The production premiéres at the Liverpool Everyman from Thursday 17 June to Saturday 10 July before moving to Chichester.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is the story of a group of working men who are joined one day by Owen, a journeyman-prophet with a vision of a just society; a masterpiece of wit and political passion and one of the most authentic novels of English working class life ever written. Now one of our greatest playwrights, Howard Brenton, adapts it for the stage in a new production.

Tressell was a decorator who wrote about his surroundings and fellow workers. He died in 1911 and was buried in Liverpool in a pauper’s grave. Three years later his famous novel was published in a shortened form; over the next 30 years it achieved a special status, becoming an underground text as more and more of the original became available.

As the political landscape in Britain undergoes some of its biggest changes in over a quarter of a century, perhaps never since that time have the words of Tressell resonated so loudly with the place we find ourselves in this moment of history.

As well as penning such classics as Romans in Britain, Brassneck and Pravda, throughout his career Brenton has continued to adapt major classic texts, including The Life of Galileo(National Theatre) and Goethe’s Faust (RSC). With his first new work to be stage since Never So Good two years ago, he now adds Tressell’s famous text of working class awakening to his considerable cannon of work.

Christopher Morahan returns to the Everyman after the success of The Caretaker, which has recently finished a three month run in the West End, to direct a large ensemble in a vital production filled with energy, humour, passion and music. In addition to his relationship with the Everyman and Playhouse, Morahan has also directed a number of productions for Chichester Festival Theatre including The Handyman and The Importance of Being Earnest.

The ensemble cast of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists includes, Dean Ashton (Mixed Up North), Will Beer (Gosford Park), Louise Bush (Demons and Dybbuks), LarryDann (Oh What a Lovely War), Tim Frances (Never So Good), Finbar Lynch (Three Sisters on Hope Street), Des McAleer (War and Peace), Thomas Morrison (The History Boys),Laura Rees (Twelfth Night), Paul Regan (The Winter's Tale), Gyuri Sarossy (Romeo and Juliet), Nicolas Tennant (Dr Faustus).

Tickets are available from the Everyman Boxoffice www.everymanplayhouse.com

Read 2239 times Last modified on Tuesday, 01 June 2010 12:00

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