Derby Theatre is delighted to announce, as its first professional produced show, the raucous, fast-paced, and yet deliciously dark, comedy, Cooking With Elvis by Lee Hall (writer of Billy Elliot and The Pitmen Painters) which will play from Fri 26 April until Sat 18 May.
Set around the lives of four people: Jill, a fiendish cook who whips up one exotic dish after another; Mam, a troubled anorexic alcoholic; Dad, an Elvis impersonator forced to watch life from the sidelines; and Mam’s lover, Stuart, who has his cake and eats it! With Mam’s appetite for sex, Jill’s obsession with food and Stuart’s fascination with the family, these are all the ingredients for trouble.
Lee Hall's Olivier Award-nominated play blends together all the essentials for comedy success: a dash of witty dialogue, a dollop of fantastic performances and a good glug of bawdy humour. Cooking With Elvis will be directed By Mark Babych. Mark is an experienced and award-winning director working across theatre, film, and Trans-Media projects. He has directed a wide range of classic and contemporary theatre, new plays and Shakespeare and over 100 professional productions. His work has been seen throughout the UK, Republic of Ireland, and Europe. He has twice won prestigious fringe first awards at the Edinburgh festival and several Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards. For 10 years Mark was the Artistic Director of the Octagon Theatre, Bolton, where he directed over 47 productions.
Cooking With Elvis is currently in the process of being cast – with more details to follow.
Mark Babych said: "I'm really pleased to be working with Sarah Brigham and the team at Derby Theatre on Cooking With Elvis and honoured to be asked to direct the inaugural show of Sarah's first season. It's a brilliantly told, intelligent and edgy comedy that boldly deals with issues of family and relationship challenges in both familiar and surprising ways - it is thought-provoking, entertaining and occasionally outrageous and an evening that’s sure to delight and excite audiences about the ambition that Sarah's inspirational leadership will bring to this superb theatre".
Sarah Brigham (Artistic Director, Derby Theatre) said:
“I saw a number of Mark’s productions whilst he was Artistic Director at Bolton Octagon, and subsequently during his successful freelance career, and I like his bold theatricality coupled with his ability to really develop performances which reach out to audiences.
Whilst selecting our first produced show I was looking for something that would sit well alongside the rest of the programme. I'd already agreed we would not just programme but also support the development of Headlong's production of The Seagull and so it seemed to me that a good summer offering to go alongside that would be a modern comedy. Cooking With Elvis does that magical theatrical trick of moving you immeasurably but also giving you some real belly laughs. I think our audiences will really enjoy it.”
WARNING! Elvis has not left the building!
This play contains scenes of a sexual nature, strong language and ‘The King’ in all his glory! The play was a huge success at the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in the West End and now you can see it produced by Derby Theatre in our first ever professional produced theatre season.
Contains strong adult content and sexual references.
Tickets: £10 - £25, concessions £10 - £23. For more information and to book tickets call the Box Office on 0 or online at www.derbytheatre.co.uk
