How to be Immortal - A preview

How to be Immortal - A preview

Penny Dreadful Theatre present a brand new show about love, death and science:

How to be Immortal
By Mira Dovreni







Comes to Live Theatre Newcastle Friday 21 & Saturday 22 February, 7.30pm

Directed by Kirsty Housley
Created with the Cast: Clare Perkins, Anna‐Helena McLean and John McKeever
And with scientists Gareth Ackland (UCL), Anna Gutierrez‐del‐Arroyo (UCL) and
Duncan Wilson (Manchester)
Designed by Angela Simpson
Lighting Design by Matt Haskins
Music and Sound Design by Barnaby Race
Animation Artist: Gemma Burditt
From the creators of highly acclaimed, innovative shows including The Bitches Box, The Missionary’s Position and Penny Dreadful’s Etherdome, comes a new show exploring one of the great moments in scientific discovery – the eternal human cancer cells.
In Penny Dreadful Theatre’s new show, How to be Immortal, writer Mira Dovreni weaves together two different stories contemplating immortality. They are set in different centuries: the true story of Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cancer cells in the 1950s, and a young couple in the present who derive a smidgen of hope from her story.  A third story explores one of the most extraordinary advances in science: the mapping of DNA.
Created in collaboration with scientists from UCL and Manchester University and with original music based on a sound code interpreting DNA, this show blends science and human emotion in a unique exploration of the theme of coping with life after losing a loved one.
Rosa has fallen in love with Mick the decorator. She plays the cello, he plays the squeezebox – an unlikely combination but they sound great together. Trouble is she’s pregnant and he’s about to die.
Henrietta Lacks died in West Virginia in 1951, but her cells are still alive, dividing endlessly in laboratories all over the world.  It’s taken Deborah years to come to terms with her mother’s death.  Now she’s got to deal with her immortality.
If we didn’t have bodies would we live forever?  Its 1950 and Doctor George Gey and his wife Margaret are about to make a mind‐bending discovery using homemade apparatus and some calves liver puree. All they need is the right biopsy…
Writer Mira Dovreni is one of the founders of Penny Dreadful Theatre and her extensive performing credits include The Bitches Ball and The Missionary’s Position. This is her debut as a playwright.  Actor Clare Perkins has just finished season in EastEnders, playing the popular character Ava Hartman. Director Kirsty Housley’s extensive credits in theatre include working on the recent international tour with Complicite.
Penny Dreadful Theatre’s past productions have achieved critical acclaim and sold‐out houses. The company explore forgotten figures from history, telling stories that are more complex and fascinating and definitely stranger than fiction.
For more information or to buy tickets for How to be Immortal visit www.live.org.uk or contact the box office on (0191) 232 1232.

DATES: Fri 21 & Sat 22 Feb, 7.30pm
LOCATION: Main Theatre
DURATION: 90 mins
SUITABILITY: 13+
TICKETS: £14-£10, £12-£8 over 60s, £5 concs