Carthage Must Be Destroyed
ENGLISH PREMIERE OF A NEW USTINOV PRODUCTION
By Alan Wilkins
Directed by Lorne Campbell
Saturday 29th November – Saturday 20th December
Winner of the Best New Play, Scottish Theatre Awards 2007
Carthage Must Be Destroyed is a heady drama of bloody real-politick, double-dealing and sex – a brilliant new play which is Ustinov’s latest in-house production.
It starts with a whisper. In the baths, In the street. Delenda est Carthago, Carthage Must Be Destroyed. What is a, ‘situation’ can become a, ‘crisis’, might become a war.
As taxes rise, as the cost of grain and oil creeps up, a recession looms on the horizon.
Cato, leader of the civilized world, sees his grip on power loosening. He is in need of a creative solution. Meanwhile career politician Gregor is most comfortable in the shades of grey, adept at whispering the right thing in the wrong ear. I’ll scratch your back and you’ll…well we can talk about that when the time comes.
Amidst the sweat and steam of a Roman bath-house, two powerful men, with very different agendas, meet to broker a subtle deal between the moral minority and the immoral majority. This is a compelling portrayal of the fickle nature of power itself.
War may provide a powerful political distraction, provided the people think it was their idea. Carthage seems to have a booming economy and is stockpiling weapons. Carthage is a threat to Rome. Carthage Must Be Destroyed!
Lorne Campbell, recently Associate Director of the much-acclaimed Traverse Theatre, directed the original, award-winning production in 2007 and now comes to Bath to direct this brand new production and English Premiere.
The cast of Carthage Must Be Destroyed is Paul Blair, John Stahl, Clifford Samuel, Andrew Scott-Ramsay.
Paul Blair
John Stahl
Clifford Samuel
Andrew Scott-Ramsay
Winner of a Scottish BAFTA, PAUL BLAIR is one of the finest Scottish actors of his generation, with tile roles including Macbeth, Casanova and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. He was a leading member of Dominic Hill’s award-winning Dundee Rep ensemble and is known also for roles in Anthony Neilson’s Realsim and Penetrator, television leads in Sea of Souls and Scottish BAFTA award-winning comedy Dear Green Place and starring alongside David Tennant in Takin’ Over The Asylum.
Winner of The Stage Best Actor Award, JOHN STAHL is a company regular with the National Theatres of Scotland and England, the RSC, Oxford Stage Company and the Globe Theatre, where he is currently appearing in The Frontline, following roles in We, The People and Othello. He was part of the original production of Gagarin’s Way by Blackwatch writer Gregory Burke, which also won many awards and toured internationally.
CLIFFORD SAMUEL has appeared for the National Theatre in Statement of Regret, in Julius Caesar for the Lyric Hammersmith and The Changeling for Cheek By Jowl. He recently appeared in the British film drama, Shoot on Sight.
ANDREW SCOTT-RAMSAY’s theatre credits include Man of La Mancha for Lyceum Theatre Company and the multi-award winning Yellow Moon, written by David Grieg (author of previous Ustinov production, Outlying Islands) for TAG Theatre Company.
“Engrossing … his grasp of the way politics works – the dripping of poison into the ears of the chattering classes, the jockeying for tiny advantage – is both persuasive and chilling… If you find the theatre of politics hard to resist, this production is highly recommended” - Times ****
“The most accomplished of recent attempts to wrestle with the political mindset” - Guardian ****
“Alan Wilkins’ adroit and profoundly observant political play… a tough talking and tautly narrated drama” - The List
“Lorne Campbell’s tight and knowingly ironic production” - Sunday Herald
Tickets: £15/£10 discounts
Monday: all tickets £2 off
Special reduced price previews Thurs 27th & Fri 28th Nov: all tickets £8
Performance Times
Evenings: Monday – Saturday 8pm
Matinees: Thursday & Saturday: 2pm (except 27th Nov)
Contains nudity and scenes of an adult nature
LITTLE/ustinov
LITTLE/ustinov is: A collaboration between the Little Theatre and the Ustinov in which a classic or contemporary film is specially chosen and screened at the Little to complement a Ustinov performance. Each film is introduced by Ustinov Director, Andrew Smaje. Present your ticket for the relevant show and see the film at the Little for a reduced price.
23 November – THE LEOPARD
Visconti’s masterpiece about the last days of a sicilian dynasty stars Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale and Burt Lancaster. Fully restored, this is one of the great films of all time.