Frozen

By Bryony Lavery

This page refers to a past event.

Frozen explores our capacity for forgiveness, remorse and change after an act that would seem to rule them out entirely.

Frozen tells the story of three people affected by the disappearance of 10 year old Rhona. Nancy, her mother, Ralph who abducted her and Agnetha, a psychiatrist who is studying what causes men to commit such crimes. The three people’s stories intertwine over a period of 25 years as the play explores grief, emotional paralysis and forgiveness

Frozen is a Birmingham Repertory Theatre and fingersmiths Production, produced in Spring 2014.

"Sharpens your hearing by making you see language." — The Guardian

"Compelling, moving and thought provoking." — Whatsonstage

Partners

We’re proud to be working in partnership with the following organisations for this project:

NSPCC
Hackney Empire
Signs in Vision

Video

Frozen by Bryony Lavery. A fingersmiths and Birmingham Repertory Theatre co-production which toured nationally in Spring 2014. Filmed at The Albany, Deptford by Ted Evans and Bim Ajadi www.fingersmiths.org.uk www.tedevans.co.uk

Cast

Nancy
Jean St Clair
Hazel Maycock

Ralph
Neil Fox
Mike Hugo

Agnetha
Deepa Shastri
Sophie Stone

Appearing on film
David Ellington
Tyrone Huggins

Creative Team

Writer
Bryony Lavery

Director
Jeni Draper

Designer
Jo Paul

Lighting Designer
Ian Scott

Sound Designer
Becky Smith

Video Designer
Benjamin D Cooper

Company Stage Manager
Patricia Davenport

Technical Stage Manager
Charlie Lee

Meet the Writer

Bryony Lavery’s plays include Her Aching Heart (Pink Paper Play Of The Year 1992) and A Wedding Story (2000). Her play Frozen, commissioned by Birmingham Repertory Theatre, (TMA Best Play, Eileen Anderson Central Television Award), was produced on Broadway where it was nominated for 4 Tony awards. Stockholm won the Wolff-Whiting award for Best Play of 2008. Recent work includes Beautiful (Fringe First at Edinburgh), Kursk with Sound and Fury, Cesario for The National Theatre, Dirt (3 Helen Hayes nominations – Washington DC) and Thursday for Brink/ETT at The Adelaide Festival. Bryony is an honorary doctor of Arts at De Montfort University and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature. She is currently Bruntwood Associate Playwright at Manchester Royal Exchange.

FROZEN was first presented by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, England, 1st May, 1998. Presented at the Cottesloe Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London opening on 3rd July 2002.

FROZEN received its New York premiere at the MCC Theatre on 25th February 2004

Artistic Directors Robert LuPone & Bernard Telsey Associate Artistic Director William Cantler. This production of FROZEN transferred to Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre 4th May 2004

Roy Gabay, MCC Theatre, Harold Newman, Zollo/Paleologos & Jeffrey Sine, Lorie Cowen Levy & Beth Smith, Peggy Hill, Thompson H Rogers, Swinsky/Filerman/Hendel, Sirkin/Mills.Baldassare & Darren Bagert

The author wishes to express her gratitude to Marian Partington, for her words and her courage.

See “Salvaging the Sacred: Lucy, My Sister” by Marian Partington, first published in The Guardian Weekend, May 18th 1996, subsequently The Guardian Year ’96, Fourth Estate Ltd., 1996 ISBN 1-85702-551-2 and now published by Quaker Books ISBN 0852453531.

The author wishes to acknowledge the inspiration of Dorothy Otnow Lewis, M.D., and her work with Dr. Jonathan Pincus, concerning the neuropsychiatric characteristics of murderers as profiled in Malcolm Gladwell’s article “Damaged” (New Yorker, February 24, 1997). Anyone wishing to read further about it should see Dr Lewis’s book GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY (Ballantine, 1998).

Anyone wishing to learn more about the psychology explored in this play should go to www.gladwell.com.

Copyright agency for Bryony Lavery – www.unitedagents.co.uk