Theatre by the Lake’s co-production of The Other Place and final piece in their acclaimed Summer Season, is shortly to transfer to Keswick after its popular run at London’s Park Theatre. The production garnered fantastic reviews and audience feedback following its opening in September and the production images of the UK premiere have also just been released.
The psychological thriller sees a brilliant neurologist marketing a new drug for dementia become suddenly overwhelmed by a series of bizarre events. Directed by Claire van Kampen and written by Sharr White, with the cast including Karen Archer, Eliza Collings, Neil McCaul and Rupinder Nagra, it plays in TBTL’s Main house from 1 to 10 November.
Confident, intelligent and highly successful neurologist Juliana Smithton is at the top of her game. But while delivering a lecture to a roomful of doctors, she’s interrupted by a series of disturbing episodes. With her husband filing for divorce and her health in the balance, Juliana’s life suddenly starts unravelling.
As details emerge of a ten-year-old mystery, fact blurs with fiction, the past collides with the present, secrets are spilled and slowly the elusive and shocking truth is revealed. Nothing is as it seems in the UK Premiere of Sharr White’s brilliantly crafted and emotionally charged play.
The Other Place has been a huge hit in America where it received its world premiere Off-Broadway with MCC Theatre. It subsequently received its Broadway premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club with Joe Mantello directing Laurie Metcalf who received a Tony nomination for her role as Juliana. The Other Place was also a recipient of the 2010 Playwrights First Award; the 2011 Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation’s Theatre Visions Fund Award; and was an Outer Critics Circle Award nominee for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.
Sharr White’s plays have been developed and produced at theatres across the United States, Europe, Australia and Brazil. Most recently he’s been both writer and co-executive producer on Showtime’s The Affair featuring Dominic West and Ruth Wilson.
Director Claire van Kampen most recently directed husband Mark Rylance in Othello, which is currently playing at Shakespeare’s Globe. Other recent productions include Nice Fish, as director, and Farinelli and the King, as writer and composer, which was nominated for six Olivier awards and five Tony awards following its Broadway transfer.
She said, “Sharr White brings into focus the fear that most of us dread; what happens when everything we think we know is questioned and our sense of reality is shaken to its very core. The Other Place is an extraordinary bravura piece, a play that almost exists in its own dream. It invites us to question everything; our memories, our relationships, our realities, our illusions and even our sense of self. Yet at the same time, it’s also a searing, tender and incredibly moving story.”
Theatre by the Lake’s Associate Producer, Zoe Bailey said: “We are really thrilled to be co-producing the UK premiere of this brilliant play which has captivated audiences across the pond – and even more thrilled to be working with such an incredible cast and director. We don’t normally extend our Summer Season this far into November, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to present this play in Keswick as the final piece in the 2018 season.”
The Other Place plays in Theatre by the Lake’s Main House from 1 to 10 November. Tickets range from £10 to £36; for more information and to book tickets visit www.theatrebythelake.com or call the Box Office on 017687 74411. The show was performed at Park Theatre in London from 19 September to 20 October before transferring to Theatre by the Lake.