A VERY EXPENSIVE POISON
by LUCY PREBBLE
15 August – 16 September 2023
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
“To turn the truth into justice – which I’m sorry to say are not the same thing – one has to tell the story.”
London, 2006. A brazen political assassination is carried out in broad daylight. Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy, drinks green tea laced with radioactive poison.
Subsequent investigations uncover a conspiracy generated from the very heart of the Russian government, and a murder probably approved by President Vladimir Putin.
In this award-winning play, based on the facts as laid out by the investigative journalist Luke Harding in his book of the same name, acclaimed writer Lucy Prebble (Succession, Enron) tells a complex story of espionage and mystery.
On a whirlwind journey from Moscow to Mayfair, it follows Litvinenko as he investigates his own death, and his wife Marina’s quest for justice, in the face of Russian corruption and British vacillation.
With a dazzling mix of vaudeville, thriller, romance and tragedy, the play deep-dives into the terrifying world of the new Cold War.
Winner: 2020 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
“As tender as it is clever, as incensed as it is inventive.” The Times
creative team
Director Margaret Thanos
Movement Director Diana Alvarado
Assistant Director Jess Zlotnick
Production Designer Aloma Barnes
Composer Sam Cheng
Lighting Designer Jas Borsovszky
Stage Manager Lulu Barkell
Assistant Costume Designer Sabry Beshir
cast
To be announced
dates/times
Preview Tue 15 Aug 7:30pm
Opening Night Wed 16 Aug 7:30pm
Thu – Sat 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
Final performance Sat 16 Sep 2pm
Running time: to be advised
Please note: latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance
tickets
Full $35
Concessions, Groups (6+) $30
New Theatre Members $25
Thrifty Thursdays $25
Preview $20
Patrons please note: New Theatre is gradually phasing out
cash payments at Front of House, with a view to being EFTPOS-only
by the beginning of July. This will apply to both ticket and bar sales.
COVID- Safe protocols:
QR code and vaccination checks are no longer required.
Face masks are not mandatory, but recommended.
Main image: © langdu/Canva