Shakespeare Globe

The Frontline

A new play by Ché Walker
Until 17 August

**** 'Matthew Dunster's boisterous production... Ensemble exuberance and individual performances... Jo Martin as the rough-tongued club manager, Golda Rosheuvel as the ex-druggie Bible-basher, Beru Tessema as the beleaguered Ethiopian, Paul Copley as the sad daughter-seeker and Trystan Gravelle as the desperate thespian are all outstanding' The Guardian

**** 'The best of the new plays I’ve seen yet at this address... Matthew Dunster’s superbly orchestrated production and an all-electric cast of 23... Lively, funny, extremely well written and with serious, combative moments' The Times

**** 'Walker’s play spills joyfully across the Globe stage... Big hearted and amusingly philosophical' Daily Mail

'An exhilarating night... Matthew Dunster’s production snaps, crackles and pops with energy... The performances of an outstanding ensemble have an excitingly raw and edgy authenticity' Daily Telegraph

'What better tribute to that theatre's history than a frank and funny London play. Fuelled by Olly Fox's music, powered by Matthew Dunster's fluid production, The Frontline gloriously fits the bill' The Observer

'The cast bring great zest and personality to a play that swings between hip street-cred and a haunting sense of present day London' The Independent

'Walker has both a genuine, comic flair and a gift for individualising types... Matthew Dunster's first-rate edgy production, beautifully acted' Evening Standard

'Lively and littered with hilarious and startlingly touching moments' Independent on Sunday

Saturday night outside the tube; god, strip bars, weed, crack, lost old men, unemployed actors and vegans all collide in a riptide of chaos on the streets of London. There’s Beth the reformed Christian and Erkenwald the hot-dog seller, old Ragdale on a quest to find his daughter, Mordechai Thurrock the actor-playwright and egomaniac, and Cockburn, Elliot and Carlton the dealers and junkies, whose trade both sustains and destroys the lives of those around them.

In this vibrant and blackly comic new play, a dozen private stories emerge, and their voices give utterance to a storm of subjects and feelings: pop culture and sexual fantasy, the ruins of empire and the delusions of religion, foreign oil and prehistoric London. Ché Walker, winner of the George Devine Award and playwright for the Royal Court, brings to the Globe stage a panorama of contemporary London, encompassing the cruel and the tender, the gutter and the stars.

Contains bad language, and strong content.

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