News
What's going on in the life and career of Kathy Burke
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Shepard’s delight
The Quare Fellow has opened and is in the middle of its run. It’s got positive reviews in the FT, The Guardian and The Stage. Meanwhile, Kathy’s next play has been announced. She’ll be directing the European premiere of Sam Shepard’s The God Of Hell at the Donmar Warehouse, Covent Garden, between 20 October and 3 December. The black comedy, described by Shepard as “a take-off on Republican fascism”, follows dairy farmers Frank and Emma, who led an uneventful life until a mysterious man starts hiding in their basement and a government official knocks at their door. Sam Shepard has written 45 plays (11 of which have won Obie Awards) including True West, Fool for Love and A Lie of the Mind (Donmar)…
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Behan on your bike
Some more details on the upcoming re-run of The Quare Fellow at The Tricycle in Kilburn, courtesy of the Oxford Stage Company. Running from 25 May to 2 July, as previously mentioned. Directed by Kathy, obviously. Original music by ex-Pogues guitarist Philip Chevron. Actors are (big cast): Sean Gallagher (TV’s Linda Green), Sean Campion (Stones in his Pockets), Jason Kavanagh (Brookside), Kieran Cunningham (Speed the Plow at Contact), Tony Rohr (TV’s The Lakes and The Weir), David Ganly (John Bull’s Other Island), Noel McAlley, Ciaran McIntyre (Dancing at Lughnasa – UK tour), Nick Danan (This Lime Tree Bower, Belgrade Theatre Coventry), Matthew Dunphy (The Lieutenant of Inishmore), Gary Lilburn (The Weir at the Royal Court), Patrick Lynch (Juno & the Paycock, Abbey Theatre Dublin), Paul Lloyd (The Cripple of Inishmaan at Leicester Haymarket), Christopher Logan (professional debut), Gerard Rooney (Rough Beginnings at Lyric Theatre Belfast), Jay Simpson (Mother Clap’s Molly House at the…
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Second run on Tricycle
Kathy’s production of Behan’s The Quare Fellow is to get a second run at the Tricycle Theatre, Kilburn, London. She took the classic play about prison on a UK tour between February and May last year to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Now, a year on, it’s back at the Tricycle from 25 May to 2 July. Tickets will be on sale from midnight tonight.
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Orange on tour
Blue/Orange is to finish its Sheffield run this weekend and then move onto Northampton, Brighton and finally Cambridge, full details below. Coincidentally, a televised version of the play featuring the terrific John Simm, Shaun Parkes and Brian Cox was shown last night (23 Feb) at 9pm on BBC4. It is pretty good, although you always lose something when plays are put on TV because the immediate connection with the actors is lost. 1-5 Mar Northampton Theatre Royal 01604 624811 www.royalandderngate.com 8-12 Mar Brighton Theatre Royal 08700 606 650 www.theambassadors.com/theatreroyal/ 22-26 Mar Cambridge Arts Theatre 01223 503 333 www.cambridgeartstheatre.com Links to reviews of Blue/Orange has been added to the Career/Directing section, and an article in…
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Off your trolley
Kathy is the main voiceover on a Tesco ad at the moment which is being heavily played on ITV. She stars as Carrie the shopping trolley [geddit?] who warns the other shopping trolleys that Tesco is now offering a credit card. The idea is that somehow that the trolleys should fear for their jobs, although that logic only stands up to about two seconds scrutiny, but hey in ad world… David Jason and Penelope Keith voiceover two other trollies but our Kath is the lead. There’s another two in the £10 million campaign apparently. One about the supermarket’s personal loans and the other covering its car insurance services. It won’t…
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Orange concentrate
Dates are out for Blue/Orange at The Crucible in Sheffield. Kathy is directing the play from 2 to 26 February. You can find out more and book tickets on the theatre’s website. Set in a London psychiatric hospital. Christopher claims he is the son of the late Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin and that oranges are blue. Set against the backdrop of a crumbling National Health Service, this edgy comedy examines the unspoken politics of institutions, challenges assumptions about ‘normality’ and questions whether ‘sanity’ is dependent on the colour of your skin.
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Love bites
Kathy is directing the new play by Nick Stafford, Love Me Tonight, at the Hampstead Theatre, London from 21 October to 20 November. Starring Amanda Abbington, Linda Bassett, Hugh Ross and Nicolas Tennant, the play is about a family trying to find lost love with one another after the funeral of its youngest son. For more information and to buy tickets, go to the Hampstead Theatre’s website here. To promote the play, Kathy has embarked on another press tour and a new piece by the Telegraph has been added to the media section in which she reveals that the acting bug has still to bite her, years after she gave it up to concentrate…
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Going mental
Kathy is to direct the regional premiere of psychiatric drama Blue/Orange at the Sheffield Crucible in the New Year. The play, by Joe Penhall, is set in a London mental hospital, and stars an enigmatic patient who claims to be the son of exiled African dictator Idi Amin. As the play progresses, this apparent delusion becomes unnervingly plausible. It’s an incendiary tale about race and madness and has won three awards for Best Play since it was first aired in London in 2000 – the Olivier Award, Critics’ Circle award and Evening Standard award.
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Back to her roots
Media section updated with an interesting interview with Kathy about The Quare Fellow and her approach to directing, posted on the York Theatre Royal website. Plus an Observer piece written by Kathy herself about the project got off the ground (note the imaginative subs who used the same headline “Kathy comes home” as an Observer feature almost exactly two years ago).
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Happy anniversary
Kathy is touring the country with her direction of Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellow. Starting at the Liverpool Playhouse on 12 February and ending at the Tricycle Theatre in London on 8 May, it is a 50th anniversary production of Behan’s classic comedy-drama. Set in an Irish prison, the play follows the inmates, wardens and the quare fellow as his hour approaches. Performed by the Oxford Stage Company, it is the first time in 20 years that this masterpiece has been on the stage. Full details below. Click on the theatre website for more details and to buy tickets online: 12-21 Feb Liverpool Playhouse 0151 709 4776 www.everymanplayhouse.com 24-28 Feb Oldham Coliseum 0161…
