Europa Scenes presents
In the Solitude of Cotton Fields
by Bernard-Marie Koltès, trans. Jeffrey Wainwright
image by Marco Zaffino

17 April - 12 May
Tuesday-Saturday, 8pm & Sundays 4pm
Tickets £14 / £10 concessions

Elegant, brutal, ambiguous and sensuous, French playwright Koltès’ seminal work of modern European theatre is an extraordinary duologue between two men who meet randomly on the street and who find themselves locked in a struggle between life and death.

Young British director Kimberley Sykes brings a physical, dynamic new approach to the dense, sumptuous text as the tension escalated between 'Dealer' and 'Client' as they engage in a war of words, wills and desires.

Produced by new company Europa Scenes, dedicated to promoting modern European playwrighting, the production will also feature workshops and Q&As looking at the work of Koltès and other leading contemporary European writers.

'A creator of a mythology of the underworld, a champion of the underdog and the lone wolf, and a pioneer of a wholly new style of dramatic writing' - The Times

Reviews

'A creative and energetic tour de force from actors and director alike...piercing a complex, cerebral text with illuminating physicality...razor-sharp' Exeunt Magazine

'Like an abstract painting...fascinating to watch...Kimberly Sykes' intriguing spin on In the Solitude of Cotton Fields is successfully sparse, experimental and risqué' OneStopArts

‘A telling indictment of a world where anything, even human life, may be bought or sold...Kimberley Sykes’ direction is both focused and fluid...superlative performances’ The Stage

Special Events

24th April 2012
Post-show Q&A with the creative team chaired by Dr Clare Finburgh, Senior Lecturer in Modern Languages at the University of Essex and expert on 20th century French and British drama. Free for ticket-holders to that evening’s performance.