Photo by Marc Brenner.
By Sam Holcroft
Originally produced at Almeida Theatre, London, UK
August 15 – September 23, 2023
Synopsis: "I do solemnly declare, of my own accord and without coercion, according to the constitution of this country, and the oath I have sworn to its people and its leadership, that I know not of any lawful impediment why I Joel may not be joined in marriage to Leyla.
With great pleasure Leyla and Joel invite you to celebrate their marriage. Dress code is smart casual. Doors at 7.30pm, followed by the exchange of vows. And at the signal, the entertainment will begin.
(This performance is being staged without a licence from the Ministry. We recognise the risk that each and every one of you is taking by attending, and we salute your courage.)
Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting), Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education) and Micheal Ward (Top Boy) feature in the world premiere of Sam Holcroft’s (Rules for Living) elusive and explosive new play. Interrogating censorship, authorship and free speech, A Mirror is directed by Jeremy Herrin (Best of Enemies).
Artistic Statement: A Mirror, written by Sam Holcroft, has been one of the Almeida’s greatest success stories of the year. Through Sam’s distinctly provocative and playful approach to form, the play interrogated censorship, free speech, and authorship. Set within an unsettlingly non-descript society controlled by the state, the world of the play echoed real life dictatorships, both current and historical. Her work, brought to life by the brilliant Jeremy Herrin (Best of Enemies), made audiences question not only what they were seeing on stage, but whether the lessons we’ve been taught about what makes good drama, are in fact, the tools of oppression. The power and endurance of this play is already evident – with the West End transfer scheduled for January 2024. We are incredibly grateful to the Edgerton Foundation for continuing to champion groundbreaking new work at the Almeida Theatre. - Rupert Goold, Almeida Theatre
Grant Statement: Crucially, the Edgerton Foundation gave us two additional weeks of rehearsal time to fully explore the themes, and realise the potential of this new piece of writing. Jeremy and Sam were joined by Tony and Oliver Award-nominated sound designer, Nick Powell, as well as new and longstanding collaborators such as Max Jones and Azusa Ono.
Creative team:
Director: Jeremy Herrin
Set and Costume Designer: Max Jones
Lighting Designer: Azusa Ono
Composer and Sound Designer: Nick Powell
Fight Director: Jonathan Holby
Casting Director: Jessica Ronane CDG
Intimacy Director: Clare Foster
Voice Coach: Alice White
Costume Supervisor: Cáit Canavan
Assistant Director: Molly Stacey
Associate Designer: Ruth Hall
Assistant Designer: Anna Niamh Gorman
Assistant Designer: Alistair Turner
Casting Associate: Abby Galvin
Casting Assistant: Poppy Apter
Casting Assistant: Mary Clapp
Cast:
Sara Houghton
Jonny Lee Miller
Aaron Neil
Tanya Reynolds
Geoffrey Streatfeild
Miriam Wakeling
Micheal Ward