The Cement Garden
By Ian McEwan
28th January – 8th March 2014
VAULT Festival
“I did not kill my father, but sometimes I felt I had helped him on his way. And but for the fact that it coincided with a landmark in my own physical growth, his death seemed insignificant compared with what followed. I am only including the little story of his death to explain how my sisters and I came to have such a large quantity of cement at our disposal.”
The Heritage Arts Company and FallOut Theatre present a headline production for VAULT Festival 2014. In the relentless summer heat, four children retreat into an isolated world left to them by their parents, and attempt to create their own version of a family. In Ian McEwan’s first novel, The Cement Garden explores coming of age, burgeoning sexuality and the distortions of a 14-year-old mind.
David Aula and Jimmy Osborne’s stage adaptation approaches the horror of the story through the innocent eyes of children, and encourages an audience to remember the games, irreverence, and shadows of their youth: to remember and reinvent their sense of invincibility.
“As sharp as can be… rancid, beguiling and playful.” ★★★★
The Sunday Times
“Leaves you effectively shaken.” ★★★★
Metro
“Adventurous and youthfully energetic” ★★★★
The Times
“Gloriously inventive, playful and full of heart” ★★★★
Fourthwall Magazine
“Experimental and adventurous.” ★★★★
The Public Reviews
David Annen as Tom
Ruby Bentall as Julie
Georgia Clarke-Day as Sue
Victoria Gould as Mother
George Mackay as Jack
Christopher Webster as Derek
Adapted by Jimmy Osborne and David Aula
Directed by David Aula
Designed by Georgia De Grey
Lighting Design by Stuart Webb
Sound Design & Composition by Edward Lewis
Company Stage Manager Sarah Wilson
Production Manager Clíona Ní Mhocháin
Produced by Mat Burt for The Heritage Arts Company
