Following on from the successful run of Ordinary Days (which has been nominated for an Off West End Theatre Award for Best Musical Production), London Theatre Workshop is delighted to announce its next show will be a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s classic play, Ah, Wilderness!.
Eugene O’Neill described Ah, Wilderness! as a wistful re-imagining of his youth. Written during the Great Depression, this comedy takes a nostalgic look back to a fondly-remembered time-gone-by, the 4th of July, 1906; when both O’Neill and America were full of promise. Richard, a variation on a young O’Neill, is on the cusp of adulthood, and brimming with ideas and desires of his own, in spite of all the adults in his life who try to control the way he thinks and behaves. In an attempt to defy the rules and conventions of the time, Richard finds that he has compromised his own future, and perhaps has even lost his one true love.
London Theatre Workshop’s production will explore the nature of nostalgia and memory as a way of forming a narrative around one’s life. Bursting at the seams with youthful vigour, wit, and humour, the play stands in a marked contrast to O’Neill’s other semi-autobiographical pieces; further illuminating the classic Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Perfect for O’Neill aficionados and those wishing to find out more about America’s first great playwright, Ah, Wilderness! is certain to delight and amuse and will no doubt remind us of our own youthful follies and first loves.
Ah, Wilderness! features an eleven strong, ensemble cast, and is directed by Brandon Force, who recently directed the Tennessee Williams play Interior:Panic as part of London Theatre Workshop’s Four By Tenn repertory celebration, at the Drayton Arms Theatre, and previously has directed “The Laramie Project” in the pre-renovated space at the Eel Brook pub.
Ah Wilderness! is at the London Theatre Workshop from 8th April – 19th April 2014. Tickets are now on sale, priced at £12 (£10 concession). Book online at londontheatreworkshop.co.uk.
