L-R: Mel Beswick (The Other Woman), Simon Darlington (The Man) and Nicola Detheridge (The Woman)
Jez Butterworth is probably best known for his smash hit play Jerusalem, which received rave reviews after it opened at The Royal Court Theatre in 2009.
It has since gone on to be described as ‘the greatest British play of the 21st Century’.
This January, Butterworth’s latest play The River is coming to Wilmslow.
The River twists and turns from one reality to another and at the very moment the audience think they have grasped and understood the man and the woman’s love affair, it’s all pulled away from them as one reality evaporates and another more seductive and mysterious one takes its place.
The play is set in a remote cabin beside a river belonging to ‘The Man’, a dedicated fisherman who has invited his new love ‘The Woman’ to share his passion and excitement for catching sea trout.
The staycation couple are there on a mysterious moonless night, a once-a-year occurrence when folklore has it that the fish can be caught in abundance.
It’s described as an intimate and surprising play, well-suited to the close confines of The Green Room’s unique studio theatre space.
The play’s many twists and turns will leave audiences trying to work out quite what it is they are watching – is it a parable, a gothic thriller or a ghost story?
Director Mike Rogerson comments: “Jez Butterworth’s plays are infused with beautiful, poetic images.
“In The River, he has created a bewitching story which keeps the audience on tenterhooks in which the fisherman’s love affair with the secretive trout who elude him is likened to the elusive and transitory nature of human love.”
The River runs at The Green Room Theatre in Wilmslow from 21st to 28th January 2023. Performances start at 7.45pm (plus a matinee on Saturday 28th January at 2.30pm).
Tickets are on sale now at the theatre’s website: www.greenroomwilmslow.org.uk
Tickets can also be booked via the box office phone line (01625 540 933) or in-person on Saturday 21st January, between 11am and midday at the theatre.
Tickets cost £10 for members or £12 for non-members.
Fans of Jez Butterworth can also see his play Jerusalem at Tarvin Community Centre this February
