The Frontline

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by Che Walker

  • Director: Matthew Dunster
  • Designer: Paul Wills
  • Composer: Olly Fox
  • Songs by: Arthur Darvill, Olly Fox and Ché Walker
  • Choreographer: Georgina Lamb

Saturday night outside the tube: God, strip bars, weed, crack, lost old men, unemployed actors and vegans all collide in a riptide of chaos on the streets of London. There’s Beth the reformed Christian and Erkenwald the hot-dog seller, old Ragdale on a quest to find his daughter, Mordechai Thurrock the actor-playwright and egomaniac, and Cockburn, Elliot and Carlton the dealers and junkies, whose trade both sustains and destroys the lives of those around them.
In this vibrant and blackly comic new play, a dozen private stories emerge, and their voices give utterance to a storm of subjects and feelings: pop culture and sexual fantasy, the ruins of empire and the delusions of religion, foreign oil and prehistoric London. Ché Walker, winner of the George Devine Award and playwright for the Royal Court, brings to the Globe stage a panorama of contemporary London, encompassing the cruel and the tender, the gutter and the stars

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Discover the play

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Cast

Naana Agyei-Ampadu Babydoll
Ben Bishop Jayson
Sally Bretton Donna
Kellie Bright Casey
Paul Copley Ragdale
Peter Hamilton Dyer Kurt
Kurt Egyiawan Salim
Huss Garbiya Carlton
Trystan Gravelle Thurrock
Robert Gwilym Cockburn
Fraser James Roderique
Danny Lee Wynter Benny
Paul Lloyd Seamus
Kevork Malikyan Mahmoud
Jo Martin Violet
Jodie McNee Polish Jodie
Matthew Newtion Jimmy
Ashley Rolfe Elliot
Golda Rosheuvel Beth
Mo Sesay Marcus
John Stahl Erkenwald
Lorraine Stanley Val
Beru Tessema Miruts

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Reviews

**** 'Matthew Dunster's boisterous production... Ensemble exuberance... Jo Martin as the rough-tongued club manager, Golda Rosheuvel as the ex-druggie Bible-basher, Beru Tessema as the beleaguered Ethiopian, Paul Copley as the sad daughter-seeker and Trystan Gravelle as the desperate thespian are all outstanding' The Guardian

**** 'The best of the new plays I’ve seen yet at this address... Matthew Dunster’s superbly orchestrated production and an all-electric cast of 23... Lively, funny, extremely well written and with serious, combative moments' The Times

**** 'Walker’s play spills joyfully across the Globe stage... Big hearted and amusingly philosophical' Daily Mail

**** 'Ché Walker’s new play is a great laugh, fast-paced and buoyantly acted, making its heavier points briefly and sincerely' Sunday Times

'An exhilarating night... Matthew Dunster’s production snaps, crackles and pops with energy... The performances of an outstanding ensemble have an excitingly raw and edgy authenticity' Daily Telegraph

'Walker has both a genuine, comic flair and a gift for individualising types... Matthew Dunster's first-rate edgy production, beautifully acted' Evening Standard

'What better tribute to the theatre's history than a frank and funny London play. Fuelled by Olly Fox's music, powered by Matthew Dunster's fluid production, The Frontline gloriously fits the bill' The Observer

'The cast bring great zest and personality to a play that swings between hip street-cred and a haunting sense of present day London' The Independent

'Lively and littered with hilarious and startlingly touching moments' Independent on Sunday

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