the end of history...
by Jack Thorne
Originally produced at Royal Court Theatre, London, UK
June 27 - August 10, 2019
About the Premiere Production:
Synopsis: “No talent at all when it comes to cooking – as you will discover – but when it comes to pissing off my children – immense talent – Olympian talent.”
Newbury, 1997. Sal is attempting to cook dinner for the family. She and husband David have pulled off a coup and gathered their brood back home for the weekend. Eldest son Carl is bringing his new girlfriend to meet everyone for the first time; middle daughter Polly is back from Cambridge University for the occasion; and youngest Tom will hopefully make it out of detention in time for dinner.
Sal and David would rather feed their kids with leftist ideals and welfarism than fancy cuisine. When you’ve named each of your offspring after your socialist heroes, you’ve given them a lot to live up to…
“When I was your age I wanted to be in a band and sleep with Mick Jagger – and Jimi Hendrix – so who am I to judge the choices you’ve made so far?”
Artistic Statement: the end of history… is a funny and heart-breaking play which follows Sal, David and their three children Carl, Polly and Tom – named after their parents’ socialist heroes, but not quite (Karl Marx, Thomas Paine, Polly Hill) – across three decades. As parents Sal and David are politically idealistic and have high expectations for their offspring – expectations which weigh as a burden on each of the children in different ways. It is about the failure of socialism, about the optimism of activism and about lost potential. It is written with Jack Thorne’s signature sparkling dialogue and warmth. Jack Thorne and John Tiffany are now regular collaborators and most recently led the creative team who brought Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to the West End and Broadway. Here at the Royal Court, they created the critically acclaimed Let The Right One In in 2013 and we are incredibly excited to welcome them back onto our main stage. I have no doubt the play will engage, enlighten and entertain.
Grant Statement: the end of history… is one of the most ambitious productions in our spring/summer 2019 season and, as such, will benefit hugely from the Edgerton Foundation’s support. The Foundation’s generous grant towards an additional week of rehearsals will help ensure we can give the production its best possible chance of success, and we are enormously grateful.
Director: John Tiffany
Set Designer: Grace Smart
Lighting Designer: Jack Knowles
Sound Designer: Tom Gibbons
Cast: Zoe Boyle, Laurie Davidson, David Morrissey, Kate O’Flynn, Lesley Sharp and Sam Swainsbury