PRESS RELEASE

Nathan Osgoodpresents:

Ditch Digger

Written by Nathan Osgood Directed byAdam Maher and Nathan OsgoodSound designed by Nick Adams

Arcola Theatre, 20th November 9th December 2006

PRESS NIGHT: Tuesday 21st November 2006

A boy running away from his past is haunted by a ‘voice’…

Star of the recent In Praise of Love at Chichester (June - July '06) and The Exonerated at the Dublin Theatre Festival (October 06), Nathan Osgood brings the stage adaptation of his film of the same name,accepted for the 2007 Sundance Festival. The mystical story is part road movie,part moving tribute to the memory of friend Ed Bishop, star of UFO, and part of Osgood’s own experiences. Set in the Mojave Desert and accompanied by a sound-track of original Blues,Ditch Digger introduces a young hitch-hiker who himself picks up an unlikely companion that seems to know too much about him and just won’t go away.This allegoricalexploration of forgiveness and redemption cuts to the core.

Ditch Digger is dedicated to the memory of distinguished actor Ed Bishop, whose career spanned four decades and included numerous successful Film, Televsion and Theatre Credits including 1967 James Bond filmYou Only Live Twice 1973's Diamonds Are Forever. Perhaps his most famous role was that of Colonel Straker in 1960’s television series UFO. Ed Bishop’s voice plays ‘The Voice’ in Ditch Digger.

Ditch Digger has also been adapted into a feature length film of the same name, shot in the Mojave desert, which will be released at 2007 Sundance Festival.

Nathan Osgoodis an actor, director, and writer. He recently appeared in In Praise of Love at Chichester Festival Theatre and His Girl Friday at the RNT. He has worked seasons at The Royal National Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre among many others. His film credits include Sahara, Piccadilly Jim, Velvet Goldmineand Mission Impossible. He won 'Best Actor' from the British advertising awards in 1998. He recently directed the London Premier Of Sam Shepard’s States Of Shock at The Arcola theatre, All Men Are Whores by David Mamet (The Kings Head in London), and the political satire The ballad of Bony Lairt Ronald Frazier Munroe's (critics choice BAC, London). He directed Blithe Spirit for the Stella Adler theatre in Hollywood, and Lady Macbeth for the Henry St. Theatre in New York.

Adam Maher trained at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, having previously studied bachelor degrees in Music and Drama at the AustralianNationalUniversity. UK Theatre credits include: Paradise Bound (Assistant director, Everyman Theatre Liverpool), Masterclass with Steven Pimlott and Fresh Kills (Theatre Royal Haymarket), At the End of the Earth (Assistant Director, Ivy House Hampstead). In 2004 Adam won the Australian Critic’s Circle award for his production of Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing.

Nick Adams is a renowned Hollywoodsound designer who was recently nominated for a Bafta for his work on the blockbuster The Constant Gardner starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz.

Cast

Nathan Osgood Frank

Stuart Mackie Ashley/Frank 2

Ed BishopThe Voice

Listings Information

Venue: / Studio 2, Arcola Theatre
Address: / 27 Arcola Street, LondonE8 2DJ
Dates: / 20thNovember– 9th December 2006
Times: / 8.15pm, Mon to Sat. Running Time: 60 mins
Price: / £12, £10. Tuesdays ‘pay what you can’
Box Office: / 020 7503 1646 /
Transport: / Highbury and Islington (Victoria Line), then Silverlink to Dalston Kingsland BR. Buses: 38 from West End, 149 from LondonBridge or 30, 67, 76, 277.

Press enquires: Jenny Paton /0203 205 0000