Royal Court Theatre Productions and Ambassador Theatre Group present a Royal Court West End Season

JUMPY

Written by April De Angelis
Directed by Nina Raine
Starring Tamsin Greig

‘You're having some kind of crisis.’
‘It's called being 50. You must be having it too.’

A mother, a wife, and fifty, Hilary once protested at Greenham. Now her protests tend to focus on persuading her teenage daughter to go out fully clothed.

A frank and funny family drama.

Following the recent success of Jerusalem and Clybourne Park, the Royal Court returns to the West End with these shrewdly perceptive and razor sharp new plays by some of the UK's finest writers with Posh by Laura Wade, Jumpy by April De Angelis, and Constellations by Nick Payne - three of the biggest sold out hits in its history.

Jumpy at the Duke of York's Theatre is the funniest new play the West End has seen in ages. The Telegraph

Please, please, PLEASE go see terrific Jumpy - we'd go back every night if we could! Heat

Jumpy is a sharp-witted play about midlife crisis and parental angst Evening Standard

A keenly observed study of midlife crisis in the liberal middle classes Daily Express

A timely and heartfelt comedy of misunderstanding, not to say breakdown, between the generations Whatsonstage

It's perfectly done and written, with a teasing triple climax and layers of emotional truth. The Times

Tamsin Greig joins the forefront of our finest stage actresses. The Daily Telegraph

We literally laughed so much that it hurt. Heat

So well timed for right now. The Huffington Post

Sensational. Think Patsy from Ab Fab fused with maneater Tanya from Mamma Mia! and you get the picture, absolute comic genius. Heat

Press quotes from the original production:

The Royal Court on a roll with Jerusalem now enjoying a second run in the West End has another hit on its hands with April De Angelis’s new play, Jumpy. The Daily Telegraph

Tamsin Greig is a superb comic performer, and in this new play by April De Angelis she’s on top form. The Evening Standard

Jump to it, this one will be a hit. The Daily Telegraph

Tamsin Greig is perfect. The Times

The play is bang up to date and will make any parent with a teenager in the family laugh with recognition, wince with horror and, if you are as soft as I am, cry a little too. The Daily Telegraph

A compassionate, very funny and finally moving play about modern living. The Financial Times

Jumpy made me snort with laughter. The Daily Telegraph

Continually makes you writhe with recognition. The Independent

Hits a thousand nerves and makes the audience giggle, gasp and groan in painful recognition. It must transfer to the West End. The Mail On Sunday

Adults do know best. Pity they don't say so The Times - Click to download full article

Comedy is what I can do. It's who I am The Sunday Times - Click to download full article

Jumpy at the Duke of York's Theatre is the funniest new play the West End has seen in ages. The Telegraph - Click to view

Jumpy is set to be another massive, stonking hit! Heat - Click to view

Jumpy is a sharp-witted play about midlife crisis and parental angst Evening Standard - Click to view

A keenly observed study of midlife crisis in the liberal middle classes Daily Express - Click to view

A timely and heartfelt comedy of misunderstanding, not to say breakdown, between the generations Whatsonstage - Click to view

Tamsin Greig revisits mid-life meltdown in Jumpy BBC News - Click to view

Mackichan gets Jumpy in the West End Official London Theatre - Click to view

Full Cast Announced for West End Return of Jumpy Playbill.com - Click to view

Video: Tamsin Greig interview on This Morning (ITV) This Morning, ITV - Click to view

Tamsin Greig & Doon Mackichan return for Jumpy West End transfer Whatsonstage - Click to view

Cast Announced for West End Jumpy Broadway.com - Click to view

Tamsin Greig Hilary, Seline Hizli Lyndsey Join JUMPY At The Duke Of York's Theatre Broadway World - Click to view

Tamsin Greig, Doon Mackichan, Bel Powley Set for Royal Court's West End Production of Jumpy Theater Mania - Click to view

Has the Legacy of Feminism been betrayed?

Prior to the performance of Jumpy, April De Angelis' frank and funny family drama there will be a special discussion chaired by former GMTV presenter and journalist Penny Smith. She will be joined by Immodesty Blaize; the UK's Number 1 Burlesque dancer; Dr Rebecca Johnson, women's peace activist and former Greenham Common inhabitant, April De Angelis, award winning playwright and Olivia Grant, a graduate in creative writing from the University of East Anglia.

Jumpy explores the life of a Greenham Common feminist 30 years on. But did the idealist dreams of a generation of women who are now turning 50 actually change anything? Did they even change themselves let alone the lives of their daughters and granddaughters?

‘We should be living those ideas, I don’t know if I lived them.’

Join the debate on Tuesday 25th September at 6pm at the Duke of York’s Theatre before the evening performance of Jumpy. The discussion is free but general admission tickets need to be reserved in advance.

Panel Bios

Penny Smith is an English television presenter and newsreader. She has worked on the breakfast TV show GMTV, for Sky News and for Classic FM and has also written for a number of national newspapers and magazines, including a beauty column for "Femail" in the Daily Mail and articles in Essentials magazine, Good Housekeeping, and Woman and Home.

Immodesty Blaize is Europe's top showgirl and burlesque queen...with an extensive list of credits. Immodesty has starred across the world in historic theatres such as Royal Opera House London, State Theatre Sydney, and Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, became the only European artiste to win the title of “Reigning Queen of Burlesque” in 2007 at Las Vegas’ Burlesque Hall of Fame.

Dr Rebecca Johnson is passionate, in her own words about 'women and peace'. She has worked tirelessly for the cause of women all over the world, living at the Greenham Common women's peace camp from 1982 - 87, as well as founding the Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp(aign) in 1985, she also drove aid trucks for women’s groups and refugee camps during the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia, supporting Women in Black in Jerusalem and Belgrade, and co-founding the first UK Women in Black group in London.

April De Angelis' work at the Royal Court includes Catch and Wild East. Her credits elsewhere include A Gloriously Mucky Business (Lyric Hammersmith); Calais (Paines Plough/Oran Mor); A Laughing Matter (Out of Joint Theatre Company, National Theatre); The Warwickshire Testimony (RSC, The Other Place) and The Positive Hour (Out of Joint Theatre/National Tour).

Olivia Grant is a graduate in creative writing from the university of east anglia, and year abroad in gender studies from UC Berkeley. She works as a film producer's assistant.

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The Royal Court and ATG Creative Learning offer bespoke production workshops for Jumpy for your school or group, aged 14+.

Please contact Zoë Briggs, Creative Learning Officer at ATG by email zoebriggs@theambassadors.com or by phone 0207 534 6100.

Get the Jumpy Resources Pack here!

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