Summer production 2024: Jez Butterworth, "The River"

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Jez Butterworth: The River

A man has invited a woman to join him for a few days at his fishing hut. On the night of the new moon, the nearby river teems with sea trout, promising a big and easy catch. However, after a while, strange things begin to happen and reality seems to go awry. Who is the woman with the red dress? What’s the secret of the old hatbox hidden away under the bed in the bedroom? Whose are the earrings that turn up in the soap dish in the shower, and whose is the red dress in the wardrobe? Do the characters always tell the truth? And finally: how many women has the man invited to his hut in the course of time? And how many of them has he actually been in love with?

Jez Butterworth is one of the best-known contemporary British playwrights. His stage plays include Mojo (1995), The Night Heron (2002) and Winterling (2006), both of which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, Parlour Song (2009), which opened in New York in 2008; and the multi award-winning comedy, Jerusalem (2009), starring Mark Rylance as Johnny Byron. The Ferryman won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Play. -- Butterworth’s screenwriting credits include Birthday Girl (2001), starring Nicole Kidman; he co-wrote the James Bond film Spectre, (2015).