The first production in over 120 years of AFTER DARK; OR, A DRAMA OF LONDON LIFE by Dion Boucicault is on at the Finborough until 6 July, directed by Phil Willmott.
“It’s hardly the place to take a gentleman. The night- birds of London roost there…”
The spectacular West End hit of late Victorian London, and unseen since, Dion Boucicault’s sweeping melodrama, involving train crashes, river rescues, dastardly villains, plucky heroines, salacious scandal and dark secrets, crackles with the energy of a London of fresh peril and opportunity.
The new underground railway is a thing of wonder, the early Salvation Army shines a light on the grinding poverty of the East End, and high and low-lifes frequent gambling dens and revel in the illicit sex of the music halls.
All the while Scotland Yard struggle to police increasingly sophisticated financial fraud and marauding bands of ex-soldiers lately discharged into destitution and a life of crime…
More information on dates and tickets here
As one would expect from any Willmott production the staging of the piece is absolutely superb. He really is one of the unsung heroes of British Theatre. London Pub Theatres
Considering the size of the space Willmott’s dynamic staging managed to create not only the river Thames but a speeding train hurtling into the audience. Hugely effective. London Box Office