''Earthquakes in London'' is a play by Mike Bartlett. It received its world premiere at the Royal National's Cottesloe Theatre on 4 August 2010, following previews from 29 July 2010. The production was directed by

Rupert Goold Rupert Goold (born 18 February 1972) is an English director who works primarily in theatre. He is the artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, and was the artistic director of Headlong Theatre Company (2005–2013). Early years Goold was ...

in a co-production with Headlong. The play was also published in 2010.

Plot

The play centres on the lives and loves of three sisters, abandoned long ago by their doom-mongering father. The father is a prominent climate scientist played by Bill Paterson who predicts environmental apocalypse. The eldest sister (

Lia Williams Lia Williams (born 26 November 1964) is an English actress and director, known for stage, film, and television appearances. She is noted for her role as Wallis Simpson in ''The Crown''. Theatre career Williams's breakthrough performance came ...

) is a cabinet minister who plans to halt all airport expansion, choosing environment over economy. The middle sister (

Anna Madeley Anna Madeley (born 1 October 1976) is an English actress. She performed for three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has appeared in three off-West End productions. She has starred in productions on each of the main British televisi ...

) is heavily pregnant and growing increasingly depressed about the uncertain future her child is being born into. The youngest sister is a rebellious teenager and frequent nuisance to her career-minded eldest sister. As the three women attempt, in their own different ways, to come to terms with the fact that their father's pessimistic forecasts may be right, Freya, the middle sister, contemplates suicide to avoid bringing her child into an apocalyptic future and an opportunity presents itself for reconciliation with their estranged misanthropic father.

Original cast

The original cast includes Lucy May Barker, Gary Carr, Brian Ferguson,

Polly Frame Polly Frame is a Scottish actress who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and is best known to children as Pinky Pinkerton, the hyperactive sports announcer on Disney Channel's pre-school television series ''Bunnytown''. She moved to Galashiel ...

Tom Goodman-Hill Tom Goodman-Hill is an English actor of film, television, theatre and radio. Early life Brought up near Newcastle upon Tyne, he qualified as a teacher before turning to acting. During his time in Newcastle, he regularly acted in amateur perform ...

, Michael Gould,

, Bill Paterson,

Jessica Raine Jessica Raine (born Jessica Helen Lloyd; 20 May 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Jenny Lee in the television series ''Call the Midwife'' (2012–2014) and Verity Lambert in the television film '' An Adventure in ...

Geoffrey Streatfeild Geoffrey Streatfeild (born 1975) is an English actor in film, television, stage and radio. He is a member of the Streatfeild family. Career His notable film and TV roles include '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' and '' Kinky Boots''. He also appea ...

and

.Earthquakes in London Cast Credits
/ref> Jessica Raine and Tom Goodman-Hill met while performing the play and later married.

Reception

The National Theatre/Headlong production received generally positive reviews, with ''The Guardian'', ''The Independent'', ''The Telegraph'' and ''Time Out'' all awarding the production four stars. Rupert Goold was "longlisted" for the 2010 Evening Standard Theatre Awards for his direction of the original production.

Miriam Buether Miriam Buether is a German stage designer who primarily works in London theatre. She was born in Germany and studied stage design at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in London and costume design at the Akademie für Kostüm Des ...

received the set design award, and she was also shortlisted for the 2011 Laurence Olivier Awards.

Trivia

In 2013, one of Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School's performances of ''Earthquakes in London'' was cancelled due to earthquake activity in New Zealand. Hours before the show opening (16 August) there were two 6 magnitude earthquakes, along with several 4 and 5 magnitude earthquakes. It was decided to cancel that evening's performance. http://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/review.php?id=6177 In May 2015, one of

Yateley School Yateley School is the largest secondary school in North East Hampshire. The school teaches over 1500 students aged 11 – 16, and the attached sixth form college caters for ages 16–18. The school had its latest Ofsted Report in 2018, where th ...

's AS Drama groups performed the play. The next day, a
earthquake was reported in Kent
In October 2019, the Trafalgar Theatre Group performed the play in Gibraltar. The next day a 4.5 magnitude earthquake was reported in Andalusia 30 miles away.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earthquakes in London 2010 plays Climate change plays Plays by Mike Bartlett