Dead Man's Cell Phone

PRESS RELEASE
Dead Man’s
Cell Phone
By SARAH RUHL Directed by SUSAN WILSON

A captivating romantic comedy.

The latest new play from American playwrighting sensation, Sarah Ruhl (The Clean House), this delightfully quirky comedy follows the adventures of one woman’s accidental quest to make a few people feel just a little bit better about themselves.

The New Zealand première of DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE opens in
CIRCA One on Saturday 10th April at 8pm

An incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet cafe.
A stranger at the next table who has had enough.
And a dead man – with a lot of loose ends….

So begins Dead Man’s Cell Phone – a highly imaginative voyage of discovery with wonderfully surprising and theatrical twists.

Jean is sleepwalking through her life until she answers that ringing cell phone. It turns out to be a wake-up call that sends her on a date with the dead man's brother, a drinking binge with his wife, and a mysterious rendez-vous with his mistress. Not to mention trips to the afterlife and the black market. In this beguiling modern adventure, Jean re-connects to her own spirit and learns that life is for the living.

Sarah Ruhl is one of the hottest and most acclaimed young writers working in the theatre today. She has received numerous honours. The Clean House, won the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Award, given to outstanding female playwrights, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2005. In 2006, she was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship (nicknamed the “genius grant”), a $500,000 award given to individuals who “show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work.” Celebrated for its distinctive aura of magic and whimsy, its transformation of space, time, and atmosphere, her work has been hailed by Charles Isherwood of the New York Times as “devastatingly lovely—and just plain devastating.”

Ruhl’s world is a moving and magical place where even the smallest things can be charged with unexpected meaning. And Dead Man’s Cell Phone is her most popular play yet. It’s funny, charming, beautiful and uplifting – the perfect night out for these longer autumn evenings!

Starring Donna Akersten, Christopher Brougham, Mel Dodge, Rachel More, Jessica Robinson, Gavin Rutherford.
DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE

“It’s a joyride! Ruhl is an extraordinary writer and her brilliance rings through Dead Man’s Cell Phone” - San Francisco Chronicle

“Endearingly original – deftly blends absurd comedy and magical realism in this funny, affecting and often otherworldly exploration of modern life.” – SF Exam

“Full of astonishments, surprises and mysteries” – John Lahr, New Yorker

“Satire is her oxygen. . . . forever vital in her lyrical and biting takes on how we behave.”—The Washington Post

“Watching a Ruhl play ... is like being whisked into a smartly observed fun house. Give yourself over to it, and it’s a helluva ride” - The Herald

“Sarah Ruhl is deliriously imaginative and fearless. She is an original.”- Arena Stage

“Ruhl’s exacting mastery of language lends her work a haunting beauty” -TheatreO

“Ruhl’s writing is so surreal and spare, so full of wonder, and truth. The woman is magic. And such intelligent magic at that.” – Tina Howe (playwright)

DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE

10th APRIL – 8th MAY
1 Taranaki Street, Wellington

$20 SPECIALS - Friday 9th April – 8pm, Sunday 11th April – 4pm.

AFTER SHOW FORUM – Tuesday 20th April

Performance times: Tuesday & Wednesday - 6.30pm
Thursday, Friday, Saturday - 8pm
Sunday - 4pm

Ticket Prices: Adults - $38; Concessions - $30; Friends of Circa - $28
Under 25s - $20; Groups 6+ - $32

BOOKINGS Circa Theatre 1 Taranaki Street, Wellington
Phone 801 7992 www.circa.co.nz

en
ds

© Scoop Media