Lingua Franca at 59E59 from 9 - 28 Nov 2010

The 2010 Brits Off-Broadway festival presents the US premiere of Peter Nichols' comedy Lingua Franca, produced by the Cherub Company, opening at 59E59's Theater A on 16 Nov 2010, following previews from 9 Nov and running through to 28 Nov 2010.

Lingua Franca follows innocent abroad, Steven Flowers, as he travels from National Service in South-East Asia to 1950's Florence. He soon finds himself working for a chaotically-run language school, together with a cosmopolitan muddle of six foreign misfits killing their post- war nihilism in the cafés of Florence, the cradle of Renaissance high culture.

The Brits Off-Broadway production marks the play's New York premiere. Nichols' last play in New York was the critically acclaimed A Day in the Death of Joe Egg at the Roundabout Theatre Company in 2003, which was nominated for a Tony Award for Outstanding Revival.

Directed by Michael Gieleta, Lingua Franca is performed by Anna Carteret, Enzo Cilenti, Ian Gelder, Abigail McKern, Chris New, Charlotte Randle and Natalie Walter.

The comedy features set design by James Macnamara and costumes by Emily Stuart.

Playwright Peter Nichols' (born 1927) many plays include 'A Day in the Death of Joe Egg' (revived in the last decade in the West End and on Broadway with Clive Owen, Eddie Izzard and Victoria Hamilton), 'Passion Play '(recently seen at the Donmar Warehouse, directed by Michael Grandage), 'Privates on Parade '(also revived at the Donmar Warehouse with James McAvoy as Steven Flowers), 'The National Health,' 'Forget-Me-Not-Lane,' 'The Freeway,' 'Chez Nous,' 'Born in the Garden,' 'Blue Murder' (later 'Fig-Leaves'), 'So Long Life' and 'A Piece of My Mind.' His awards include a Tony Award, four Evening Standard Awards, an Olivier Award for Best Comedy and two Ivor Novello Best Musical Awards.

Director Michael Gieleta combines work in theatre and opera internationally. His London credits include Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams by Pulitzer-Prize winner Nilo Cruz a the Finborough Theatre, the recent acclaimed revival of Artist Descending a Staircase by Tom Stoppard (Old Red Lion Theatre), Mimi and the Stalker by Glyn Maxwell (Theatre 503), David Lescot's Le Mariage and Tena Stivicic's Fragile! (Arcola Theatre). He recently debuted at the Wexford Opera Festival with Smetana's Hubicka. Michael is a former Associate Director to Franco Zeffirelli.