As part of the theater's grand celebration marking its 20th anniversary, An Oak Tree, a revolutionary play written by Tim Crouch, will return to London's Young Vic Theatre for a limited engagement from May 6 to May 24, 2025. Every night will have a different artist performing without any kind of rehearsal or knowledge of the text, promising to bring an absolutely different theatrical experience.
Originally staged in 2005, the one-act drama presented a guest actor stepping into the play without preparation to the audience for the first time. All the experience-involved guests included celebrities, friends, and other actors such as Frances McDormand, Geoffrey Rush, Sharon D Clarke, Alanis Morissette, Sophie Okonedo, and Peter Dinklage in what was fully triggered by more than 350 guest performances in the last 20 years.
This story is about a father who lost his daughter through the act of a stage hypnotist in a car accident. His path to traversing the tragedy and into normal life begins with this, taking him to one of the hypnotist's ends, where he volunteers for the show. The plot delves into loss, memory, and suggestion.
Tim Crouch, the playwright and original performer, won't be doing it all alone since he will be performing with an illustrious cast of guest artists. Previously mentioned were Sope Dirisu (Gangs of London), Michele Terry (Tribes), Luke Thompson (Bridgerton), Russell Tovey (Being Human), and Indira Varma (Game of Thrones). Maisie Smith and Adjoa Andoh have also been added to the cast, with Jessie Buckley (Cabaret), Arthur Darvill (Doctor Who), Mark Gatiss (Sherlock), Julie Hesmondhalgh (Punch), and Alex Lawther (The End of the Fing World).
All the above-mentioned special guest artists would remain a surprise for their act on that night, adding to the spontaneity and unpredictability of the performance. This element of surprise made An Oak Tree live the most worthy of theatrical experiments for all time.
Presented by Francesca Moody Productions, the Olivier Award-winning team behind Fleabag and Baby Reindeer, associated with the Young Vic, adds again to the commitment to theater that promises to be provocative and innovative.
As stated by Tim Crouch, the play held an interesting history for him - as he put it, "Exactly 20 years ago, An Oak Tree began as an experiment in a tiny pub in South London. All performances are one-time events: exhilarating, unpredictable encounters between actor and audience."
Tickets to the much-awaited An Oak Tree are open to booking through the Young Vic's website for priority members, starting January 27, 2025, with general sales thereafter. There are accessible performances, including BSL, captioned, and relaxed, throughout the whole run.
At long last, an oak tree embodies the theatre's continued legacy of innovation: setting a 2025/26 season with new Artistic Director Nadia Fall offers audiences a chance to experience a live, raw, and communal theatre that still reverberates two decades on.
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