Press Information


[ NEW YEAR | NEW PLAYS SEASON ]
January to March 2010 at the Finborough Theatre
Rogue State Theatre Company in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre presents
A DAY AT THE RACISTS
The world premiere of a new play by Anders Lustgarten.
Directed by Ryan McBryde.Designed by Mila Sanders. Lighting by Dan Hill.

Sound by George Dennis. Produced by Charlie Payne.

Cast includes: Zaraah Abrahams. Vanessa Havell. Nick Holder. Thusitha Jayasundera. Julian Littman.
Gwilym Lloyd. Sam Swainsbury. Trevor A. Toussaint.

“Cos we made the Labour Party, do you know what I mean? Froze our bollocks off on picket lines, went on strike and lived off fresh air and fuck all for six months at a time. And now we’ve turned to dust in their eyes, ain't we? We’re the fuckingproblemnow: chav scum, ASBO meat. A source oflaughter. Prime time TV entertainment. I hate them for it. I bloody hate them for it.”

The world premiere of a stunning new piece of political theatre from award-winning playwright Anders Lustgarten –A Day at the Racists, adevastatingly timely examination of the rise of the BNP in London, opens for a four week run on Tuesday 2 March 2010 (Press Night: Thursday, 4 March 2010), as part of the [ NEW YEAR | NEW PLAYS SEASON ], celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Finborough Theatre.

Pete Caseused to be something – a leading Labour Party organiser in the local car factories. Now he struggles to get by as a decorator as immigrant workers undercut his best mate’s firm, his son Mark can’t get a job or onto the housing list and nobody, from his Labour MP to his granddaughter’s teacher, seems to care.

Then Pete finds unexpected hope: Gina is young, mixed race and standing for Parliament on a platform of helping the local community. She is standing for the British National Party.

As Pete’s rage and despair gradually overcome his longstanding loathing of the BNP, he is drawn into the world of Gina’s campaign andfinds himself entangled in a nightmare of political machinations that pit his closest relationships – son, best mate, lover –against his longest-held beliefs and newfound aims.

Set in the very Barking constituency that BNP leader Nick Griffin is to stand for in the forthcoming General Election, A Day at the Racists is a uniquely brave and perceptive piece of political theatre that both attempts to understand why people might be drawn to the BNP and diagnoses the deeper cause of that attraction – the political abandonment and betrayal of the working class by New Labour.

Supporting the play, twohotly topical post-show discussions will take place on 18 and 24 March, probing issues raised by A Day at the Racists. Drawing on the play, each post-show discussionwill explore the function of political art in the 21st Century,in relation toBritish identity, nationalism and working class voices,attempting to questionthe underlying social and cultural issues behind the rise of the BNP in London. The discussions will be chaired by playwright and lecturer Dan Rebellato and Anders Lustgarten, with panellists including Margaret Hodge MP, Patrick Neate, Karena Johnson, Justin Baidoo and members of the cast.

Dan Rebellato is a playwright and Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London and has published a number of works on contemporary theatre and society including 1956 and All Thatand British Theatre since the Seventies: Playwriting, Art and Politics,Theatre & Globalization. Margaret Hodge MP has been Labour MP for Barking since 2004 and is currently Minister of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport; Nick Griffin announced in November 2009 that he will be contesting her Barking seat in the General Election. Patrick Neate is an award-winning writer, journalist and playwright, having written widely on culture seen from alternative perspectives. Karena Johnson is Artistic Director of the Broadway Theatre Barking, having previously worked as Head of Programming at Oval House, where she was then Britain’s only black arts programmer and was nominated for the Carlton Multicultural Awards. Justin Baidoo is an activist, and is a key member of the Hope Not Hate anti-racism campaign working in Barking and the South London Anti-Fascist Group.

In an unique and significant collaboration with the Broadway Theatre Barking, A Day at the Racists will transfer to the theatrefor a one-off performance on Friday 16 April, as a core part of a festival of arts events coinciding with the run-up to the General Election, including a youth-led political debate by local young people entitled Silenceis Not Golden and a concert organised by charity Love Music Hate Racism.

Anders Lustgarten is Pearson Playwright-in-Residence at the Finborough Theatre, where his first two plays – The Insurgents (2007), a comic drama about Kurdish immigration and political resistance to globalisation, and Enduring Freedom (2008), a powerful portrayal of the Bush years – were produced, while Torture Comedy, a satire on rendition and the War on Terror, was part of Vibrant! – A Festival of Finborough Playwrights in 2009. From 2007-8, Anders was on attachment at the Soho Theatre. He is taking his new play, You Cannot Escape Our Love, about Zimbabwe after Mugabe, to the Harare International Festival of Arts in April 2010. Anders is under commission to the Bolton Octagon. Other work includes The Punishment Stories, about black prisoners and Islam (shortlisted for the 2007 Verity Bargate Award), and an adaptation of Slawomir Mrozek’s The Police (BAC 2007). Anders works as a political activist; he has also taught on Death Row, been arrested by the Turkish secret police, and holds a PhD in Chinese politics from the University of California.

Director Ryan McBrydehas directed the German premiere of The Full Monty (Frankfurt English Theatre), Hamlet! – The Musical (Apollo Theatre) Terry Johnson’s Hysteria, Hair – The Musical, Ira Levin’s Deathtrap(Frankfurt English Theatre), Maria Stuart(Union Theatre), Tonight – The Musical (Royal Concert Hall, Oslo), Marry Me A Little(King’s Head Theatre), andTerje Vigen (Arts Theatre). He was Associate Director on The Common Pursuit (Menier Chocolate Factory), and Resident Director on Billy Elliot – The Musical(VictoriaPalace) and on Bat Boy – The Musical (West Yorkshire Playhouse and Shaftesbury Theatre). As Assistant Director, he worked on Driving Miss Daisy (National Tour) with John Harris and Cinderella (The Old Vic) with Fiona Laird. Heco-founded Rogue State Theatre Company in 2002 and has produced and

directed four of their productions – Heart of a Dog (The Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh), The Adding Machine (Courtyard Theatre), Gogol’s Underdogs(Edinburgh Festival) and The Jabberwocky (Arcola Theatre).

Designer Mila Sanders trained at the University of Wales and Wimbledon School of Art. Designs include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (National Theatre), All The Little Things We Crushed (Almeida Theatre), Ruckus in the Garden, Who You Calling a Superhero?, I’d Like to Thank the Judges (Hampstead Theatre), Double Dutch Expresso (Tristan Bates Theatre), Jelly Bean Jack (Little Angel Theatre), This to This (Union Theatre) and The Juniper Tree (National Tour). As Costume Designer, Twelfth Night, Macbeth (National Theatre), Tombstone Tales and Boothill Ballads (Arcola Theatre), Ten Suitcases (Half Moon Theatre and National Tour), Jason and the Argonauts (BAC), St George and the Dragon (Warwick Arts Centre), Unfolding Anderson (British Library),The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (National Tour) and Pinocchio and The Little Mermaid (Arts Depot).

Lighting DesignerDan Hill’s credits include Spam and Beans: The Wedding (Roundhouse), Me, As a Penguin (Arcola Theatre), Woyzeck (Embassy Theatre), Love of the Nightingale (Embassy Studio), Jake’s Women (White Bear Theatre), Holiday Romance (Etcetera Theatre), A Dublin Carol (Bridewell Theatre), Closer (Barbican Theatre, Plymouth), Die Fledermaus (Drum Theatre). Assistant lighting designs include The Rake’sProgress and Il Signor Bruschino, La Scala di Seta (Peacock Theatre, Sadler’s Wells), Mrs Warren’s Profession (Theatre Royal Bath), The Full Monty (Frankfurt English Theatre) and Sweet Charity (Menier Chocolate Factory). Dan won the Michael Northern Bursary Award 2009 for his lighting design for Woyzeck (Embassy Theatre).

Sound Designer George Dennis trained at The University of Manchester. His recent designs include Generous and The December Manat the Finborough Theatre.George is also a composer and performer and gained international acclaim by winning the Música Viva competition in Lisbon in 2008.

The cast includes Zaraah Abrahams, Vanessa Havell, Nick Holder, Thusitha Jayasundera, Julian Littman, Gwilym Lloyd, Sam Swainsbury and Trevor A Toussaint.
Zaraah Abrahams extensive television credits include Waterloo Road, Coronation Street, Girls in Love, Teen Species and Viking in My Bed. Film includes Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. In 2008, Zaraah took part in ITV1’s hit show Dancing on Ice and placed third out of twelve contestants. She subsequently joined Torvill and Dean on the Dancing on Ice Live Tour and then competed in the Dancing on Ice Christmas Special.
Vanessa Havell’s theatre credits include The King and I (BAC), White Folks (Tricycle Theatre), Property (National Theatre Studio), The Set (Old Vic), The Dark Dark (Theatre 503), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Watford Palace and National Tour), A Chorus Line (Jersey Opera House), This Is My World (Bridewell Theatre) and A Homage Behind (Criterion Theatre).Television includes Crooked House, Ladies in Waiting and Dead Ringers.
Nick Holder’sstage credits include Little Fish (Finborough Theatre), South Pacific, Sweeney Todd, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui, L’Assommoir, The Wind in the Willows, The Miser and Wolfpit (National Theatre), The Drowsy Chaperone (Novello Theatre), Into the Woods (Donmar Warehouse), Jesus Christ Superstar (Lyceum Theatre), Les Miserables (Palace Theatre), Antony and Cleopatra, The Beggar’s Opera, As You Like It (Royal Shakespeare Company), Miss Saigon (Theatre Royal Drury Lane) and Richard III, The Music Man (Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park).Film includes Clubbed, Lady Godiva: Back in the Saddle, Sex Lives of the Potato Men, Four Feathers, The Final Curtain, The Criminal and Evita. Television includes Psychoville, Respectable (Fallen), HolbyCity, Planespotting, Born and Bred, Doctors, ‘Orrible, EastEnders, London’s Burning and The Fast Show.
Thusitha Jayasundera recently appeared in War Horse (National Theatre). She has worked extensively with the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. Other theatre credits include As I Lay Dying, Twelfth Night (YoungVicTheatre) and Dreams of Violence (Soho Theatre). Film includes The Tempest and Signal to Noise. Television includes House Across The Street, Goodnight Sweetheart, HolbyCity, Doctors, Above Suspicion and The Bill. Radio includes Midnight’s Children, Arabian Nights and A Broken Nest.

Julian Littman’s theatre credits include 125th Street (Shaftesbury Theatre), We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre), Dreams of Violence (Soho Theatre), The Hot Mikado (Watermill Theatre, Newbury), Peer Gynt (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester), The Man Who Had All The Luck (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield), Return to the Forbidden Planet (Cambridge Theatre and Japan Tour), Face, The Comedy of Errors, Sweeney Todd (Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch), Kafka’s Dick (Salisbury Playhouse), Time’s Up (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford) and The Pianist (New Vic Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent). Film includes Evita, Mad About Mambo, Al’s Lads, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and Running Scared. Television includes HolbyCity, Doctors and The Bill. Radio includesThe Truth About Walter Legge.

Gwilym Lloyd’s theatre credits include The Time Of Your Life (Finborough Theatre), As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe), Wired (King's Head Theatre), Black Light and After Everything (Union Theatre), The Bear (Lion and Unicorn Theatre), Bacchaefull (Area 10 Project Space), Measure for Measure (Rosemary Branch Theatre), Caesar (Broadway Studio Theatre, Catford) and The Odyssey (London Tour).
Sam Swainsbury’s theatre credits include The Rivals (Southwark Playhouse), Burial At Thebes (Nottingham Playhouse and Barbican), Slope (Tramway Theatre, Glasgow), The Merchant of Venice (Watermill Theatre, Newbury), Hysteria (Birmingham Rep).Television includes Harley Street and Jekyll.
Trevor A Toussaint’s theatre credits include 125th Street (Shaftesbury Theatre), Lost in the Stars (BAC), I Can Get It For You Wholesale, Kismet (Arcola Theatre), Rebellion (Hackney Empire), One Dance Will Do, The Harder They Come (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Threepenny Opera (Pimlico Opera), Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (Bridewell Theatre), The Jungle Book (Bloomsbury Theatre), Ska Ba Day, An African Cargo (Greenwich Theatre), Club Kangaroo (The Brunswick Centre), and The Palace In The Sky (English National Opera).Television includes Sofia’s Diary and Crisis Control.

The Press on Ryan McBryde

“Directed with creative flair by Ryan McBryde.” The List on Heart of a Dog
“Using puppetry, mime, African song, a set that twirls around the stage and plenty of subversive humour, Rogue State has created a show as enjoyable as it is peculiar.” Metro on Heart of a Dog
“The staging by Ryan McBryde is clever, combining physical elements with broad verbal comedy and something more sinister.” The British Theatre Guide on Heart of a Dog

“Ryan McBryde’s production…very nearly achieves sublimity.” Time Out on Maria Stuart

“Inventively directed by Ryan McBryde…A fascinating production.” What’s On on Maria Stuart

“Ryan McBryde’s production for RogueState is bold, brave and imaginative. A real discovery.” The Guardian on The Adding Machine

“Cunningly contrived…brutally realised…smoothly executed. The way RogueState do it, I could watch for hours.” Time Out on The Adding Machine

“Star of the show, however, has to be McBryde who has made this a showcase not only for his own impressive technique but also for his sensitivity to writer, performers and audience. And so the result, for hardly the easiest of plays to stage, is a textbook production for this welcome revival.” The Stageon The Adding Machine

PRESS NIGHT: THURSDAY, 4 MARCH 2010 AT 7.30PM

PHOTOCALL: TUESDAY, 2 MARCH 2010 AT 1.00PM-1.30PM

Finborough Theatre, The Finborough, 118 Finborough Road, LondonSW10 9ED
Box Office 0844 847 1652.
Tuesday, 2 March – Saturday, 27 March 2010
Tuesday to Saturday Evenings at 7.30pm. Saturday Matinees at 3.00pm (from 13 March 2010). Sunday Matinees at 3.00pm.
Prices for Weeks 1 and 2 (2-14 March) – Tickets £13, £9 concessions, except Tuesday Evenings £9 all seats, and Saturday evenings £13 all seats. Previews (2 and 3 March) £9 all seats.

£5 tickets for Under 30’s for performances from Tuesday to Sunday of the first week when booked online only. £10 tickets for residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on Saturday, 6 March 2010 when booked online.

Prices for Weeks 3 and 4 (16-27 March) – Tickets £15, £11 concessions, except Tuesday Evenings £11 all seats, and Saturday evenings £15 all seats.

Performance Length: 2 hours with one interval.

Post-Show Discussions

The post-show discussions are free to all same-day ticket holders and take place after directly the 7.30pm performance.

Thursday 18 March (Anders Lustgarten with Patrick Neate, Karena Johnson, Dan Rebellato and Justin Baidoo)

Wednesday 24 March (Dan Rebellato with Margaret Hodge MP, Justin Baidoo, Anders Lustgarten)

For more information, interviews and images, please contact

Neil McPherson on e-mail or07977 173135or

Susie Safavi on e-mailor 07875277913

Press releases and images are available to download from
(Go to ‘Contact’ in the top right hand corner of the home page and follow the links)

118 Finborough Road, LondonSW10 9EDTelephone +44 (0)20 7244 7439 Fax +44 (0)20 7835 1853

e-mail Artistic Director Neil McPherson

The Finborough Theatre is managed by The Steam Industry. Registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee, no. 3448268.

Registered Charity no. 1071304. Registered address: 118 Finborough Road, LondonSW10 9ED. A member of the Independent Theatre Council.