Lyric life

Vivienne Acheampong, Mark Edel-Hunt, Chris New and Jack Tarlton will star in the first stage adaptation of a Paul Auster novel in the UK, City of Glass, a brand new production by Tony Award-winning 59 Productions in a co-production with HOME, Manchester (04-18 March) and Lyric Hammersmith (20 April – 13 May).

In 2017, as Auster turns 70 and The New York Trilogy, his first work of prose fiction marks three decades in publication, the first part of this celebrated trilogy which has captivated the imaginations of readers across the worldwill be staged in Manchester and London ahead of its international tour. City of Glasswill be brought vividly to life in a dazzlingly original stage adaptation by 59 Productions (An American in Paris, War Horse, David Bowie Is) and Olivier Award-nominated playwright Duncan Macmillan (Every Brilliant Thing, 1984, People, Places and Things).

Mark Edel-Hunt and Chris New will play Daniel Quinn, the reclusive crime writer who unwittingly becomes the protagonist in a real-life thriller of his own after receiving a mysterious phone call in the middle of the night from a man called Peter Stillman, played by Jack Tarlton, who islooking for a private detective. Quinn soonfalls under the spell of Virginia played by Vivienne Acheampong, a strange and seductive woman, who engages him to protect her young husband from his sociopathic father.As the familiar territory of the noir detective genre gives way to something altogether more disturbing and unpredictable, Quinn becomes consumed by his mission, and begins to lose his grip on reality.Will he be drawn deeper into the abyss, or might unmasking this dark story of familial abuse and religious conspiracy provide the purpose and meaning he needs to rebuild his shattered life?

Vivienne Acheampong wrote and performed the one-woman show, Rainbow Class, a hilarious look at inner-city school life, which premiered in 2015 at the Camden Fringe, and went on to play at the Bush Theatre’s RADAR Festival and in Edinburgh at Assembly Hall. Further stage credits include: Monster Raving Loony (Soho); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (West End); Julius Caesar (St. Ann’s Warehouse) and Titus Andronicus (Edinburgh Fringe).

Mark Edel-Hunt trained at RADA. Recent performances on stage include Tim Crouch’s Adler and Gibb (Royal Court Productions), Red Velvet (West End) and The American Plan (St James’ Theatre). Further stage credits include: Chariots of Fire (Hampstead/West End); The Importance Of Being Earnest (Riverside Studios); The Syndicate (Chichester); Swimming with Sharks (West End); Bronte (Shared Experience); The Importance of Being Earnest (Rose Theatre Kingston UK Tour); The Importance of Being Earnest (New Wolsey, Ipswich); Northern Star (Finborough); Quiz (Soho); The Great Irish Elk (Theatre 503); Vincent in Brixton (Original Theatre Company) and See How They Run (Royal Exchange). His roles on-screen include Brideshead Revisited, Mistresses, Episodes, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, White Princess, Against the Law and Call the Midwife.

Chris New trained at RADA and was nominated for an Evening Standard Theatre Award and What’s On Stage Award for London Newcomer in 2006 for his performance as Horst alongside Alan Cumming’s Max in Bent at the Trafalgar Studios. Further stage credits include: Lingua Franca (Finborough/Brits Off Broadway); Smallholding (Nuffield, Hightide, Soho); The Pitchfork Disney (Arcola); The Glass Menagerie (Nottingham Playhouse); Pictures from an Exhibition (Sadler’s Wells); Prick Up Your Ears (West End); Edward II, Hay Fever (Royal Exchange); Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors (RSC); The Reporter (National Theatre) and Arden of Faversham (White Bear). His film debut, Weekend, scooped numerous awards including the Audience Award at South By Southwest and Toronto’s Inside Out LGBT Film Festival, the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film at Nashville Film Festival, and Best British Newcomer nomination at the BFI London Film Festival. As a writer and director, his work includes the short film Ticking, and the feature film Chicken, A New Play for the General Election and The Precariat at the Finborough Theatre.

Jack Tarlton trained at LAMDA, and is the Joint Artistic Director of Presence Theatre. His work in theatre includes:  BRENDA (HighTide/Yard Theatre); Hedda Gabler (Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh); Pitcairn (Out of Joint/Chichester Festival Theatre/Shakespeare’s Globe); CHORALE: The Animal (You); The Holy Ghostly, The War in Heaven (Presence Theatre/ATC); From Morning to Midnight, Coram Boy, Once in a Lifetime (National Theatre); A Dolls House, Rats’ Tales (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester); Beasts & Beauties (Bristol Old Vic/Hampstead); The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Propeller/UK Tour/International Tour); The Deep Blue Sea (Theatre Royal Bath/UK Tour/West End); The Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents (Gate Theatre); Romeo and Juliet (Chichester Festival Theatre); An Inspector Calls (West End), Troilus and Cressida, A Month in the Country (RSC). He played Mozart in BBC Two’s drama-documentary, The Genius of Mozart, as well as the role of Tom Hitchinson in Doctor Who. Further screen credits include: The Imitation Game, Nora, Dead Ringers, Hearts and Bones, Wings of Angels and The Cater Street Hangman.

City of Glass marks the first theatre production originated by the multi award-winning company of artists, 59 Productions. Renowned for creating visual content and technical design for many of the world’s greatest venues, including the National Theatre, Royal Opera House, The Metropolitan Opera New York, Lincoln Center, Salzburg Festival, Schaubühne Berlin, and the Sydney Opera House, as well as for countless productions in London’s West End and on Broadway, 59 Productions won a coveted Tony Award in 2015 for their design work on An American in Paris.