by Bryony Lavery, adapted from the novel by Graham Greene. Directed by James McKendrick.
Heaven was a word: hell was something he could trust
Wednesday 11 – Saturday 14 February and
Tuesday 17 – Saturday 21 February at 7.30pm.
Matinées on Saturdays 14 and 21 February at 3pm.
Brighton Rock is based on a murder thriller novel by Graham Greene. Set in 1930s Brighton, it follows the psychopathic teenager and gang leader Pinkie Brown as he sets out to avenge the death of his former boss, leading to an escalating conflict with Ida Arnold – an adversary who seeks the truth. Pinkie then manipulates a young, innocent waitress named Rose, drawing her into his criminal world and, as Ida gets closer to the truth, he takes increasingly desperate measures to elude the police and maintain control, culminating in a truly dramatic ending.
Bryony Lavery’s adaptation for the stage was written in 2018. When asked why she wanted to take on the project, she explained “because it is such a treasure chest of narrative delights. It’s a love story, a revenge tragedy, a small-town murder mystery, an array of small-time gangsters and a middle-aged woman who knows no fear and who will stop at nothing to do right. In the poisoned relationship between Pinkie and Rose, there is one of the best accounts ever of what it is like to be 16 and 17 years’ old in a terrible, violent, adolescence.”