PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AWARD-WINNING ONE-MAN SHOW COMES TO LONDON’S ARTS THEATRE BEFORE NEW ZEALAND RUN The UK, 2014, The Civil Partnership Act is ten years old, same-sex marriage passes into law, it is a criminal offence to stir up hatred against people on grounds of their sexual orientation. After years of struggle, the final stigmas are being removed. It is okay to be gay, being out isn’t an issue. And yet, homosexuality remains a taboo subject in English football. Not one of Britain’s 5,000 professional performers is openly gay. The national sport is leagues behind. To this day, not a single Premier League footballer has come out while in the game. In this climate, and in the wake of the World Cup, Hartshorn - Hook Productions and Working Progress Theatre Company have toured a visceral new play, tackling the issue of homophobia in the beautiful game. The show has been performed everywhere from London’s Jermyn Street Theatre to the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, visiting The Lowry, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe the Brighton Fringe, the York Theatre Royal, Derby Theatre and Megalomania, Frankfurt on the way. It comes now to new studio Upstairs at the Arts in the West End’s Arts Theatre, before embarking on an international tour at the Auckland Fringe. Kyle is comfortable with his life as a male escort until the day he is hired by a premiership footballer and finds himself falling in love. But can Kyle maintain a relationship with a closeted footballer in a country where not one pro player is out? Can he cope with love when, for him, sex has only ever been a transaction? Can he ever tell his friends - and his family - the truth? Away From Home is an edgy, moving and subversive one man show laced with sharp humour, going in for a hard tackle on football’s last taboo. The show premiered in 2013 when it was granted the great honour of opening the 24:7 Theatre Festival, Manchester’s annual new-writing extravaganza. It is co-written by Rob Ward and Martin Jameson, who, with three decades experience in theatre, TV and radio (Casualty, Emmerdale, Holby City and numerous radio dramas for BBC Radio 4), also directs. Ward, taking the part of Kyle, is a founder of Working Progress Theatre Company. Playing to packed houses, garnering rave reviews and receiving standing ovations, Ward won the Audience Award for Best Actor at 24:7 and the work took the North West Equity Vicky Allen Memorial Award for Best Production. It has also been awarded Best Play at 24:7 and Best New Play at the Manchester Theatre Awards 2014, and for his performances at Jermyn Street Theatre, Ward has been nominated for a 2015 Off-West End Award for Best Actor. Upstairs at the Arts is London’s newest studio space, opening in December with The Flanagan Collective and Hartshorn - Hook Productions’ Beulah, based on the poetry of William Blake. All creatives and cast are available for interview. For press tickets, images and further information please contact: Paul Virides, Assistant Producer | +44 (0) 7725 978133 | [email protected] PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Notes to Editors Listings Hartshorn - Hook Productions and Working Progress Theatre present AWAY FROM HOME Upstairs at the Arts Theatre, Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JB Tickets: £18 | www.artstheatrewestend.co.uk | 020 7836 8463 (10am - 7pm) 30th January - 8th February 2015 Performances: Friday 30th January, 19.30 Saturday 31st January, 19.30 Sunday 1st February, 18.00 Friday 6th February, 19.30 Saturday 7th February, 19.30 Sunday 8th February, 18.00 Cast and creatives: Performed by Rob Ward Written by Martin Jameson and Rob Ward Directed by Martin Jameson LX Design by Louis Hartshorn Produced by Hartshorn - Hook Productions and Working Progress Theatre Previous Reviews “A bravura one man performance from Ward. A theatrical tour de force delivered with immense technical skill and expert precision…” ★★★★ Independent “A high-octane acting masterclass” ★★★★★ What’s On Stage “An incredible script, a moving narrative and a powerhouse performance” ★★★★★ Broadway Baby ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ The Skinny So So Gay West End Frame 4ManchesterWomen The Public Reviews Plays To See All creatives and cast are available for interview. For press tickets, images and further information please contact: Paul Virides, Assistant Producer | +44 (0) 7725 978133 | [email protected] PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Company information Hartshorn - Hook Productions Hartshorn - Hook Productions was founded in 2007 by Louis Hartshorn and Brian Hook, shortly after they met; working on the national touring production of The Producers. Their first production was West Side Story in collaboration with the Manchester Consort and the Royal Northern College of Music in 2008. The venture, directed by Stefan Janski and conducted by Gregory Batsleer, was staged to mark the 50th anniversary of Sondheim and Bernstein’s masterpiece. Since then Hartshorn - Hook has produced over fifty productions from the UK, Europe and the USA, including Away From Home (UK and international tour), A Tribute to the Blues Brothers Live (Lowry Theatre, Manchester and Arts), Beulah (UK Tour) Some Small Love Story directed by Noreen Kershaw (UK Tour) and Woody Sez (Arts), which was nominated for the Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical in the 2011 Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Working Progress Theatre Working Progress Theatre Company was established in 2011 and is currently run by Rob Ward and Jo Kirtley. The company has produced two multi-award winning theatre productions, both of which started life at the 24/7 Festival, Loaded (2012) - adapted for a tour of schools in Salford - and Away From Home (2013) which has toured nationally and internationally since January 2014 in co-production with Hartshorn - Hook Productions. Working Progress were also co-producers with House of Orphans on the site specific Halloween chiller Lamp Oil set in a traditional Salford pub. In 2014 the company worked alongside The Christie charity on The C Project at The Lowry - a night of seven short new plays - with all proceeds going to Manchester's specialist cancer hospital. The Arts Theatre The Arts is an independent 350-seat theatre in the heart of London’s West End, situated directly between Covent Garden and Leicester Square. It is currently booking Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s Ghost Stories until January 2015, and recently hosted Denise Van Outen’s solo show Some Girl I Used To Know. In November, Hartshorn - Hook Productions presented a one-off gala performance of The Rat Pack - Live, their perennial favourite Edinburgh Festival show at the theatre, and went on to co-produce a new adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Beulah, based on the poetry of William Blake, alongside The Flanagan Collective. Relevant social media handles: Twitter @hartshornhook | @WorkingProgressTC | @AwayFromHome14 | @ArtsTheatreLDN Facebook /hartshornhook1 | /WorkingProgressTheatreCompany | /artstheatrewestend All creatives and cast are available for interview. For press tickets, images and further information please contact: Paul Virides, Assistant Producer | +44 (0) 7725 978133 | [email protected]