rock 'n' roll
BY tom stoppard
DIRECTED BY nina raine
6 dec - 27 jan
HAMPSTEAD THEATRE PRESENTS
ROCK 'N' ROLL
By Tom Stoppard
Directed by Nina Raine
Running time: Approximately 2 hours 40 minutes, including a 20 minute interval
If I was English I wouldn’t care if Communism in Czechoslovakia reformed itself into a pile of pig shit. To be English would be my luck.
Main Stage
6 Dec 2023 - 27 Jan 2024
Box Office: 020 7722 9301
★★★★★ The Times
★★★★ The Telegraph
★★★★ Daily Mail
★★★★ Time Out
1968: Russian tanks have rolled into Czechoslovakia, and Syd Barrett has been dumped by Pink Floyd. Jan, a visiting postgrad at Cambridge, breaks with his old professor Max, a Marxist philosopher, and heads home to Prague with his suitcase full of “socially negative music”. Rock ’n’ Roll covers the ensuing 21 years in the lives of three generations of Max’s family while Jan is caught in the spiral of dissidence in a Communist police state. But it’s a love story too - and then there’s the music…
Tom Stoppard returns to Hampstead after the triumphant revival of Hapgood (2015). Winner of eight Evening Standard, three Olivier and five Tony Awards, Stoppard’s plays include Leopoldstadt; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Arcadia.
Director Nina Raine also returns to Hampstead where her directing credits include her own play Tiger Country (2011 & 2014) and William Boyd’s Longing (2013).
“Triumphant! Rock ’n’ Roll is arguably Stoppard’s finest play.” The New York Times.
We are grateful to the Rock n Roll Giving Circle who have kindly supported this production:
Ken & Lin Craig
Melanie J. Johnson
David & Carole Warren
DIGITAL PROGRAMME
Click below to access the digital version of the Rock 'n' Roll programme.
This download is free, if you can, please consider making a donation to #HampsteadAhead.
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The Times
A stunning revival shows Tom Stoppard at his best"Tom Stoppard’s wild-at-heart account of the collapse of communism in his home country is an epic wrapped in a love story, a passionate debate about individualism versus collectivism contained in a celebration of rock’n’roll"
"Seventeen years after the Royal Court premiere, Nina Raine’s poised, intelligent production reveals again that this impassioned, linguistically agile investigation into the crushing of personal liberties represents Stoppard at his best."
"The politics are beautifully offset by the story of Jan’s friendship with Max’s daughter, Esme, whose older incarnation is played with wit and sensitivity in a tour de force performance by Nancy Carroll. This is an evening as dazzling as it’s profound, a reminder that when Stoppard is on form he’s unbeatable."
Rachel Halliburton, 13 December, 2023 -
The Telegraph
Stoppard's electric minor masterpiece still rocks"It’s a play that pits the machinery of repression against the siren call of optimism, but which finds the most resounding manifestation of its own ideas in the electric physicality of rock and roll. One would never accuse Stoppard of being a hippy, but there is something about this play – getting its first major London revival from director Nina Raine – that argues for the life-affirming music of the human soul over any intellectual orthodoxy."
"Raine, directing with clarity and verve, allows the play to roll through the years quite naturally, with bursts of music – Pink Floyd, the Velvet Underground, U2, the play’s residing spirit Syd Barrett – accompanying each leisurely scene change."
Claire Allfree, 13 December, 2023
Artistic team
WRITER
TOM STOPPARD
DIRECTOR
NINA RAINE
DESIGNER
ANNA REID
LIGHTING
PETER MUMFORD
SOUND
TINGYING DONG
ASSOCIATE & DIRECTOR OF MOVEMENT
JANE GIBSON
VoiCE & DIALECT
HAZEL HOLDER
CASTING DIRECTOR
AMY BALL
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
JOANNA WOZNICKA
ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER & PROGRAMMER
DANNY VAVREČKA
PRODUCTION MANAGER
TOM NICKSON
COMPANY STAGE MANAGER
JERRY GUNN
DEPUtY STAGE MANAGER
JULIET HAGUE
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
GIULIA MAZZOCCANTI
COSTUME SUPERVISOR
EVELIEN VAN CAMP
Cast
ELEANOR / ESME
NANCY CARROLL
FERDINAND
HASAN DIXON
JAN
JACOB FORTUNE-LLOYD
YOUNG ESME / ALICE
PHOEBE HORN
LENKA
ANNA KRIPPA
GILLIAN / MAGDA
GEORGIA LANDERS
CANDIDA
EMILY MYTTON
THE PIPER / POLICEMAN 1 / STEPHEN / WAITER
BRENOCK O'CONNOR
MAX
NATHANIEL PARKER
MILAN-AS-INTERROGATOR / MILAN / POLICEMAN 2 / NIGEL
COLIN TIERNEY
HAMPSTEAD THEATRE ANNOUNCES FULL SEASON OF EIGHT NEW PRODUCTIONS
Hampstead Theatre today announces a full season of eight new productions beginning on 7 September 2023 and running until 16 March 2024.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH INTERVIEWS GREG RIPLEY-DUGGAN
When funding was withdrawn, all seemed lost for the off-West End venue – but now star names are stepping in to save it.
Previews
Full Price: £25/£35/£45
Under 30s/Students: £10
Access ½ price
Groups: For every 9 tickets get the 10th free
*Ages 60+
Monday – Saturday
Full price: £35/£45/£55
Under 30s/Students: £10
Access ½ price
Seniors*: (matinees only): £26/£36/£46
Groups: For every 9 tickets get the 10th free
All prices are subject to change. Book early for the best price.
CONTENT WARNINGS - ROCK 'n' roll
This production contains:
Strobe lighting and flashing lights.
The smoking of herbal cigarettes
Strong language
Sexual references
The depiction of cancer.
Balloons made of latex are used in this production.
Please note that our content warnings evolve as the production does throughout rehearsal and previews, so there may be changes made between booking and attending the theatre. If you would like to speak to a member of our team about specific themes or concerns, please call the Box Office on 020 7722 9301 or email boxoffice@hampsteadtheatre.com
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