Press acclaim for ‘Remembrance Day’ at the Royal Court Theatre

Tuesday, 12 April 2011

Remembrance Day by Aleksey Scherbak, translated by Rory Mullarkey, sold out towards the end of its highly successful run at the Royal Court Theatre. The play was part of the International Playwrights Season and was supported by the Genesis Foundation who celebrate 15 years of pioneering international work with the Royal Court Theatre in 2011.

Since 1996 the Royal Court Theatre has travelled the world, running long-term play development projects and building relationships between playwrights, directors, actors and translators. They have now worked with hundreds of international playwrights from more than 60 countries, with the support of the Genesis Foundation and the British Council.

Remembrance Day was written by Aleksey Scherbak and developed as part of the Royal Court’s Moscow workshops in 2008-2009. Scherbak lives in Latvia and is the author of 11 plays which have been performed in Belarus, Latvia, Russia and Sweden.

The Independent 5*
“The play is, by turns, heartbreaking, beadily satiric and humorous… Unreservedly recommended.”
Paul Taylor

The Sunday Times 4*
“If the prospect of a play about Latvia overwhelms you with gloom, think again. This one has a sombre wit, and Michael Longhurst’s production is anything but a chore.”
Maxie Szalwinska

The Times 4*
“The rewards of small-scale theatre can be huge. You turn up in dutiful willingness to spend 90 minutes learning about contemporary social tensions in Riga, as seen by Aleksey Scherbak. What you get is a little masterpiece of power, wit, and heart relevant to everywhere, its bitter clarity echoing Sean O’Casey’s cry of ‘Time we had a little less respect for the dead, an’ a little more regard for the living!’… Pure, brilliant theatre.”

The Daily Mail 4*
“Political hot-potato handled with care”
Quentin Letts

Time Out 4*
“Michael Longhurst’s production is first rate and, once again, Elyse Dodgson’s excellent international department persuades us to see the world from a different perspective.”
Jane Edwardes

The Guardian
“Scherbak offers a vivid portrait of a deeply divided country… His play is persuasively translated by Rory Mullarkey, beautifully directed by Michael Longhurst for the International Playwrights season, and admirably designed by Tom Scutt in the Theatre Upstairs…”
Michael Billington