Pomona (stage play)

Summary

Pomona is a play by Alistair McDowall[1] that was commissioned for The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2014 and performed at The Gate Theatre in London as part of the NEW festival of plays.[2] It then went on to the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, South West London, in November 2014.

Pomona
Poster with imagery by Stuart Burgess advertising the 2015 National Theatre production of the play.
Written byAlistair McDowall
Characters4 female, 3 male
Date premiered2014
Place premieredBritain
Original languageEnglish
GenreThriller
SettingManchester

The play centres on Ollie who is searching for her missing sister in Manchester. In desperation, she finds all roads lead to Pomona, an abandoned concrete island at the heart of the city. Here at the centre of everything, journeys end and nightmares are born. The play's structure is episodic and non-chronological, suggesting that Ollie's sister may not exist.

The production was directed by Ned Bennett, designed by Georgia Lowe, lighting by Elliot Griggs and sound by Giles Thomas.

It was a critical success and featured in Lyn Gardner's Top 10 Theatre of 2014.[3] The production transferred to the National Theatre and the Royal Exchange Theatre in Autumn 2015.[4]

Characters edit

  • Ollie
  • Fay
  • Gale
  • Keaton
  • Zeppo
  • Charlie
  • Moe

References edit

  1. ^ Billington, Michael (17 November 2014). "Pomona review – dark, compelling play brings to mind Poliakoff". the Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Royal Welsh College: First London Season of New Writing" (PDF) (Press release). Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  3. ^ Gardner, Lyn (16 December 2014). "Lyn Gardner's top 10 theatre of 2014". the Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  4. ^ Wieg, Chris (10 March 2015). "Alistair McDowall's Pomona transfers to National Theatre and Royal Exchange". the Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2015.

External links edit

  • 2014 audio interview with Alistair McDowall for TheatreVoice about Pomona
  • Audio recording of a post-show discussion with Alistair McDowall after a performance of Pomona at the National Theatre in 2015
  • Article written by Alistair McDowall for the Guardian Theatre Blog which mentions his influences when creating Pomona