Celia, a beautiful young English teacher has started a new life in Paris. But when she takes on a French-Congolese pupil, a relationship develops that starts to unravel dark truths from her past.

Brimming with humour, rage and longing, this gripping play is both a minute exploration of an increasingly hazardous romantic entanglement and an insight into the tensions around class, race, language and identity that lie at the heart of present-day South Africa.

An international collaboration between Live Theatre, The Market Theatre in South Africa and Citizens Theatre Glasgow, Craig Higginson’s powerful new play premiered for the first time in the UK as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

‘We have worked closely over the last year with both Craig and Malcolm and our colleagues at the Citizens in Glasgow to develop this superb piece of new writing. We are delighted to welcome this landmark new production to Live Theatre as part of our commitment to national and international cultural collaboration.’
Max Roberts, Artistic Director at Live Theatre


‘Compelling’
Financial Times ****

‘Knife-edge watchability’
Daily Telegraph ****

‘Beautifully performed’
Scotsman ****

'Fascinating'
The List ****

‘Spell-bindingly tense’
The Journal

Sponsored by Dicksons & Foster's 

Five World Premieres

Five brand new plays by the UK’s leading writers Marie Jones, Gary Owen, Linda McLean, April De Angelis and David Harrower will tour to five venues – with a pie and a pint thrown in.

In collaboration with Òran Mór where the plays will begin, leading new writing company Paines Plough has commissioned new 45 minute plays that will tour to Edinburgh, Newcastle, Dublin and Belfast. Every week for five weeks, a new play rolls into town. Simply choose your brew, pick a pie and feast on the finest new theatre in the land.

Òran Mór’s groundbreaking A Play, A Pie & A Pint programme began in 2004 and now commissions and
produces work by some of today’s most important writers. This autumn sees Paines Plough touring the season, for the first time, to Scotland, England and Ireland.

The Plays

Play 1: Fly Me To The Moon by Marie Jones Monday 13 September to Friday 17 September
Play 2: In The Pipeline by Gary Owen Monday 20 September to Friday 24 September
Play 3: The Uncertainty Files by Linda McLean Monday 27 September to Friday 1 October
Play 4: Calais by April De Angelis Monday 4 October to Friday 8 October
Play 5: Good With People by David Harrower Monday 11 October to Friday 15 October

‘A real theatre phenomenon of our time – fun, informal, buzzing with creativity.’ The Scotsman

£10 – ticket price includes a drink (lager, wine or a nonalcoholic drink) plus a meat or cheese & onion pie.  Food will be served 30 minutes before each performance.

The first play will be performed in the Studio Theatre; the other 4 plays will be performed in the Main Theatre.

After the hugely successful collaboration with the RSC last year, two playwrights have been asked to each write a new forty-five minute piece to be performed as a double-bill by the members of the RSC ensemble. Following on from last year’s Tyneside Stories two exceptional writers Rosalind Wyllie and Ali Muriel have been asked to create two new plays.

About the Writers

Ali Muriel
Winner of Soho Theatre’s Westminster Prize in 2006 and Channel 4’s 4Talent Award for dramatic writing in 2008 Ali has had work performed at venues including the Globe Theatre, Soho Theatre, Glasgow’s Òran Mór and Live Theatre.

His full length play Ashes won him a place on the Paines Plough/Channel 4 Future Perfect ‘08 scheme for emerging writers. His plays include The Poet of Elswick Park (Live Theatre/Royal Shakespeare Company), Under My Skin (Òran Mór/Paines Plough), Ashes (Edinburgh Festival) and Parasites (Edinburgh Festival/Hen & Chickens).

Rosalind Wyllie
Rosalind is a Newcastle based writer. Previous stage plays include Green Beans (The Customs House), Smoke & Mirrors (NTC), Trust (Old Red Lion), You Didn’t Stop, Free & Polaroids (Theatre 503), Blood & Money (Prague Fringe Festival), Been Up All Night (PLAYlist Latitude), The Stone In My Shoe (RSC/Live Theatre). Also for Live Theatre: Watershed (Studio Theatre), Dream A Little (24/7), Going Loco; Twin Telepathy and Mothers & Marzipan (Short Cuts).

Harry’s had some bad news from the doctor and he’s worried.  Worried that, because of his life-long political convictions, he hasn't got anything to leave to his sons and grandchildren. So, by joining the property owning democracy, Harry thinks he's helping everyone out.  Then the economic downturn gets in the way.

Inheritance is a timely, comic and poignant exploration of how a worldwide recession impacts on the lives of ordinary people.

This premiere production is the first for Live Theatre from this artistic team: Mike Packer is the writer of the hit comedy The Dysfunckshonalz (soon to be a feature film and set to open shortly in the West End). Lisa Goldman is the former Artistic Director of The Soho Theatre and new writing company The Red Room, which she co-founded.

‘I’m really pleased to introduce two new creative associates to Live Theatre: writer Mike Packer and director Lisa Goldman. With Inheritance, we aim to re-affirm Live’s commitment to developing new creative partnerships with some of the country’s most exciting theatre practitioners and to help to produce a piece of work that is both personally affecting and universally resonant.’
Max Roberts, Artistic Director at Live Theatre