Secret terror cells, political conspiracy, police bungling, state-sponsored bomb plots... This is London, 1896. Inspired by Joseph Conrad's classic novel, The Secret Agent is theatre O's heartbreaking and hilarious chronicle of passion, betrayal and terrorism. Set at a time of social upheaval and growing disparity between rich and poor, at the heart of this tale is a woman fighting to protect her young brother from exploitationand violence. In their trademark highly imaginative style, described by The New York Times as, "vivid, enlightening, inventive and compelling", music halland early cinema collide in theatre O's return to the stage after five years away
Hurt, Matthew: - "Matthew's writing has been produced across the UK and Europe, as well as in America, Australia and South Africa. His most recent play, The Man Jesus, opened at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, and was nominated for an Irish Times Best New Play award. It has since toured the UK and been translated into Afrikaans (Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees, South Africa), Italian (Rome and then on tour) and Xhosa (tour of the Eastern Cape townships, South Africa). Other writing for theatre includes Sailing Somewhere (Theatre on the Square, Johannesburg), Believe (Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh; New End Theatre, London & UK tour; Adelaide Festival, Australia; Norrbottens Teatern, Lulea, Sweden) and Singing! Dancing! Acting! (Soho Theatre, London; La Foire Saint-Germain, Paris; Theatriki Skini, Athens). Adaptations for the stage include Conrad's The Secret Agent, created in collaboration with theatre O (Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh; Young Vic, London; UK tour) and Emmanuel Darley's Tuesdays At Tesco's, co-adapted with Sarah Vermande (Assembly Hall, Edinburgh - Fringe First award; 59E59 Theaters, New York; various UK productions). He has written two plays for the radio: Kingdom Of Cloud and Phumzile. Both have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4. More information can be found on his website: www.matthew-hurt.com"
O, Theatre: - Joseph Alford is Artistic Director of Theatre O. He studied at the Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq and has a BA (Hons) in Drama and English from the University of East Anglia. His directing work includes Delirium at the Barbican and The Abbey Theatre, Dublin; The Bridge at the Laban Centre and on tour; Arsenic and Old Lace at Derby Playhouse; Astronaut at the Barbican and international tour; The Argument at the Barbican, Mexico, Pittsburgh, Edinburgh Festival and UK tour; 3 Dark Tales at the Barbican, New York, Sao Paulo, Berlin and Edinburgh; Bond at BAC and Edinburgh; and What If...? in Barcelona and Edinburgh. His movement directing work included A Woman Killed WIth Kindness, Beauty and the Beast and Cat in the Hat (also Young Vic) at the National Theatre; Play House at Orange Tree Theatre; The Trial of Ubu at the Hampstead Theatre; Idomeneo at ENO; Clemency at ROH2 and the Edinburgh International Festival and Blackta at the Young Vic.
