In association with Naked Productions and BBC Radio 3, The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Pitlochry Festival Theatre are thrilled to announce the cast listing for Sound Stage’s first production; Angela, a new autobiographical piece by Mark Ravenhill airing March 26th – 28th.
Constructed and written during lockdown with the medium of a radio drama in mind, Angela centres on Ravenhill’s mother looking back over her life, now in her mid-eighties and suffering with dementia. The production depicts the struggles with depression and trials of her aspirations, on becoming a mother, set against Mark’s experiences of beginning to learn ballet in his fifties. Lacing together Angela’s memories, her old age and mind failing her, the play will also incorporate Angela growing up, moving away from her foundations, and being welcomed into the world of drama.
On creating their first autobiographical piece, playwright Mark Ravenhill says: “With the death of my mum in 2019, I was drawn for the first time to write an autobiographical play. I was particularly interested to explore the way culture high and low had impacted on Mum’s life and our lives as a family. The play is constructed around a series of encounters with children’s literature, classical ballet, amateur theatre and popular song – encounters that shaped my mum’s sense of self and her relationship with me. Both my parents are from working class backgrounds which gives a specific turn to their relationship to culture and to me. As I thought about a form that could move swiftly in time and location and between inner thought and outer action, I realised that this was best written as a radio play. I feel it’s the most ‘radio’ of the radio plays that I’ve written…”
Timely, intimate and brutal in honesty, Ravenhill’s play is a poignant exploration of working-class motherhood in the 1960s, told by one of Britain’s best-loved dramatists in a way we’ve never heard before.
Angela bolsters an exquisite cast of the nation’s finest, and a few friendly faces for those familiar with The Royal Lyceum and Pitlochry Festival Theatre: Pam Ferris, Matti Houghton, Toby Jones, Jackson Laing, and Joseph Millson.
Completing the cast are: Nadia Albina, Dermot Daly, Raj Ghatak, Olivier Huband, Alexandra Mathie and Kirsty Stuart. The production will be direct by Naked Productions’ Polly Thomas.
The brand-new series of digital audio theatre, Sound Stage will premiere eight audio plays throughout its first season:
Angela by Mark Ravenhill – March 26th – 28th
Tennis Elbow by John Byrne – April 30th – May 2nd
Hindu Times by Jaimini Jethwa – May 28th – 30th
The Mother Load by Lynda Radley – June 25th – 27th
Black Diamonds & The Blue Brazil by Gary McNair – July 23rd – 25th
Sophia by Frances Poet – August 27th – 29th
TBA by Roy Williams – September 24th – 26th
TBA by Timberlake Wertenbaker – October 29th – 31st
Tickets for Angela, along with the remaining seven Sound Stage productions, go on sale on Sunday 14 February and can be purchased through The Lyceum and Pitlochry Festival Theatre websites priced from £10 per play across the season.