66 Books
The Bush Theatre welcomed audiences into its new premises, in the old library building on the Uxbridge Road, with a project of considerable ambition - 66 playwrights, poets, and musicians, of all faith backgrounds, were invited to supply a response to the books of the King James Bible, from Genesis all the way through to Revelations.
A scene from 66 Books at the Bush theatre, London Photo: PHILIPVILE.COM
The resulting cycle, featuring the work of 23 directors and a cast of 130, is being staged in an initial 24-hour marathon, and then subsequently shown in selected groupings, with a 12-hour performance to be held in Westminster Abbey on the October 21.
What’s striking about the new space is how warm, welcoming and versatile it is. People entering from the street will find an attractive bar area next door to a library of play texts which has been furnished with recycled props from previous Bush productions. Earlier in the year public feedback was sought through a project called Where’s My Seat, during which people were asked how best the unfinished space could be turned into the working theatre. The results of this process are evident in the new auditorium - previously the library’s reading room - which seats 144, a near doubling of the previous theatre’s capacity. There’s also a garden area overlooked by the arch of Shepherd’s Bush Market, an attic rehearsal room and a currently unused roof space that seems ripe for development. The library, built in 1895 by John Passmore Edwards, has always played a significant role in local community life and this is something outgoing artistic director Josie Rourke hopes will continue to be the case.
In the auditorium, 66 votive candles flicker against the bare brick wall and there’s a real sense of excitement in the air. The cycle begins with Jeanette Winterson’s response to Genesis, Godblog, in which a white-suited Catherine Tate plays God as a tech-savvy Joan Rivers figure, tweeting her thoughts on the establishment of Earth.com via an angel with a laptop. Tate is suitably charismatic and commanding, bringing some zing to a piece that is intermittently funny but a little over-stretched.
The standard of writing is high throughout and while monologues dominate at first, the pieces become more texturally varied as the night goes on. The highlights of the first two chapters are Tom Wells’ Beardy, a witty, spirited response to the tale of Samson in the Book of Judges, winningly portrayed by Obi Abili, and a moving, potent two-hander by Stella Duffy, The Book of Ruth (and Naomi), which is tenderly played by Nikki Amuka-Bird and Kate Duchene. The second chapter ends with Malcolm Sinclair’s resonant reading of Andrew Motion’s poem, David and Goliath.
This is the point at which some depart (myself included), but for those in it for the full 24 hours it is only the beginning. Those staying put will be treated to Kwame Kwei-Armah’s uplifting gospel response to the Psalms at 3am and the throwing open of the shutters at sunrise in time for Billy Bragg’s contribution. The cycle concludes at 7pm the following evening with Kate Mosse’s Endpapers, her response to Revelations, and the closing chapter in what - for everyone involved, performers and audience members alike - will have been an epic journey. The production has a real sense of event about it, something people will value having been a part of, and it makes for a memorable introduction to the Bush Theatre’s new home.
Production information
- Management:
- Bush Theatre
- Cast:
- Obi Abili, Geraldine Alexander, Emma Amos, Nikki Amuka- Bird, Helen Anderson, Jade Anouka, Philip Arditti, Ian Bailey, David Bark-Jones, Samuel Barnett, Hannah Barrie, Mark Bazeley, Alex Beckett, Sasha Behar, Oliver Birch, Billy Bragg, Louise Brealey, Niall Buggy, Kate Burdette, Nicholas Burns, Nathan Bryon, Sean Chapman, Pandora Colin, Philip Cumbus, John Cummins, Arthur Darvill, Peter De Jersey, Shaun Dingwall, Patrick Drury, Kate Duchene, Daniel Easton, Caroline Faber, Leonard Fenton, Harold Finley, Abby Ford, Phoebe Fox, Andrew Frame, Philip Franks, Mariah Gale, William Gaunt, Nicholas Gleaves, Linal Haft, Amanda Hale, James Hillier, Siu Hun Li, Kelly Hunter, Bettrys Jones, Aidan Kelly, Gareth Kieran Jones, Beverly Klein, Nitin Kundra, Divian Ladwa, John Light, John Lightbody, Ralf Little, Syrus Lowe, Alex MacQueen, Dominic Mafham, Katie McGuinness, Joshua McGuire, Pauline McLynn, Charles Mnene, Hattie Morahan, Peter Moreton, Alan Morrissey, James Northcote, Rob Ostlere, Katherine Parkinson, Bill Paterson, Samantha Pearl, Bailey Pepper, Kathryn Pogson, Claire Price, Javone Prince, Prasanna Puwanarajah, Laura Pyper, Carrie Quinlan, Miranda Raison, John Ramm, Christopher Ravenscroft, Richard Rees, Ben Righton, Sian Robins-Grace, Christian Roe, Ryan Sampson, Jamie Samuel, Peter Sandys-Clarke, Helen Schlesinger, Amit Shah, Owen Sharpe, Nav Sidhu, Hugh Skinner, Robin Soans, Sarah Solemani, Rafe Spall, Shannon Tarbet, Michelle Terry, Ony Uhiara, Indira Varma, Anjana Vasan, Zoe Waites, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Rick Warden, Leo Wringer, Sophie Wu WRITERS: Jeanette Winterson (Genesis), Anne Michaels (Exodus), Caroline Bird (Leviticus), Neil Bartlett (Numbers), Maha Khan Phillips (Deuteronomy), Daisy Hasan (Joshua), Tom Wells (Judges), Stella Duffy (Ruth), Andrew Motion (1 Samuel), Wole Soyinka (2 Samuel), Roy Williams (1 Kings), Sam Burns (2 Kings), Salena Godden (1 Chronicles), Tim Rice (2 Chronicles), Naomi Foyle (Ezra), Mandla Langa (Nehemiah), Jackie Kay (Esther), Neil LaBute (Job), Kwame Kwei-Armah (Psalms), Toby Litt (Proverbs), Nancy Kricorian (Ecclesiastes), Carol Ann Duffy (Isaiah), Luke Kennard (Jeremiah), Owen Sheers (Ezekiel), Jack Thorne (Daniel), Nick Payne (Hosea), Yemisi Blake (Joel), Michael Rosen (Amos), Nancy Harris (Obadiah), Nick Laird (Jonah), Adam Foulds (Micah), Moira Buffini (Nahum), Trevor Griffiths (Habbakuk), Helen Edmundson (Zephaniah), Suheir Hammad (Haggai), Elinor Cook (Zechariah), Molly Naylor (Malachi), Laura Dockrill (The Gospel according to St Matthew), Steve Waters (The Gospel according to St Mark), Billy Bragg (The Gospel according to St Luke), Rowan Williams (The Gospel according to John), Lachlan Mackinnon (Acts), Amy Rosenthal (Romans), Matt Charman (1 Corinthians), Wena Poon (2 Corinthians), Deirdre Kinahan (Galatians), Marks & Gran (Ephesians), Chris Goode (Philippians), Zukiswa Wanner (Colossians), DC Jackson (1 Thessalonians), Christopher Shinn (2 Thessalonians), David Edgar (1 Timothy), James Graham (2 Timothy), Anya Reiss (Titus), Kamila Shamsie (Philemon), Anthony Weigh (Hebrews) Brian Chikwava (James), Helen Mort (1 Peter), Suhayla El-Bushra (2 Peter), David Eldridge (1 John), Nathalie Handal (2 John), Enda Walsh (3 John), Anne Carson (Jude) Kate Mosse (Revelation). DIRECTORS: Hannah Ashwell-Dickinson, Philip Franks, Peter Gill, Chris Goode, James Grieve, Titas Halder, Tamara Harvey, Robert Hastie, Olly Hawes, Christopher Haydon, Alice Lacey, Michael Longhurst, Roisin McBrinn, Joe Murphy, Nessah Muthy, Gbolahan Obisesan, Mark Rosenblatt, Josie Rourke, Richard Twyman, Charlotte Westenra, Philip Wilson, Abbey Wright, Madani Younis
Production information can change over the run of the show.
Run sheet
- Bush London
- October 14-29 2011
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