Jack Johnson with wife Irene
The 2015 knock out hit returns!
But it’s 1905 and, in the racially segregated world of boxing, his chances are as good as knocked out.
Told in six rounds and set in a boxing ring, The Royale is inspired by the often overlooked story of Jack Johnson, a boxer who – at the height of the Jim Crow era – became the most famous and the most notorious black man on Earth.
Written by award-winning American writer Marco Ramirez (Sons of Anarchy, Orange is the New Black), The Royale returns following a sell-out run in spring 2015.
The running time of The Royale is 90 minutes (no interval).
The Tabernacle is a grade-II listed former church in Notting Hill. It has lived through the many changing faces of west London, from slum empire to swinging sixties hang-out and the birth of Notting Hill Carnival. In 1973 the Tabernacle was opened as a community centre and soon became the focal point of the local black community. In the ‘90s, the North Kensington Sports Academy trained young boxers at the Tabernacle, and the building continues to host amateur boxing matches today.
For audiences joining us for the audio described performance on Sat 19 Nov, 2.30pm there are pre-show notes available to listen to here.
Annelies Henny works as a Costume Supervisor for Theatre and Costume Assistant for Commercials. Most recently she has been assisting costume supervisor, Ed Parry, on the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2016 production of The Tempest in collaboration with Intel.
She graduated in 2009 from Dartington College of Arts with a first class degree in Theatre and Visual Arts. After graduating she lived in Bristol for four years working as a designer and maker for outdoor performance, experimental theatre and festivals. Her collaborations have included Original Spinners, Invisible Circus and her work has been part of festivals including Beatherder, Shambala and Secret Garden Party. Since moving to London, she has worked as a costume supervisor and collaborating as designer with Motley Collective.
Ed Clarke has previously worked at the Bush Theatre on The Royale, The Invisible, Perseverance Drive and Fear.
His other theatre credits include: All We Ever Wanted Was Everything (Middle Child Theatre); A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad); (Silent Uproar), A Christmas Carol and A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian (Hull Truck Theatre); Showboat (New London Theatre); The Infidel (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Orpheus (Little Bulb Theatre at BAC and worldwide); Baddies (Unicorn Theatre); The Realness, Politrix, Phoenix, KnifeEdge and Babylon (The Big House); Beauty and the Beast (Young Vic and worldwide); Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein (Olivier, National Theatre – Olivier Award nomination 2012); Backbeat (Duke of York’s Theatre); The Mysteries and The Good Hope (National Theatre); The Railway Children (Waterloo International Station and Roundhouse Theatre Toronto); Fatal Attraction (Theatre Royal Haymarket); His Teeth (Only Connect Theatre); Baby Doll (Albery Theatre); Alex (Arts Theatre, UK and international tour); Old Times, A Doll’s House (Donmar Warehouse).
Jaimie’s previous designs at the Bush Theatre include Disgraced and Perseverance Drive.
Theatre design credits include: The Lady Goes To War, Fever Pitch, Blue Remembered Hills, The Alchemist (National Theatre) and Children Of Eden. He also designed a bi-lingual version of Tale Of Two Cities, which toured England and France; The Trestle At Pope Lick Creek, Pretend You Have Big Buildings, Christmas Is Miles Away and Things OF Dry Hours for Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre and Aces And Jacks for Guildhall at the Bridewell. Jaimie has completed five touring Shakespeare productions including Macbeth, Romeo And Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest and Hamlet and seven productions for Y-Touring Theatre Company. Jaimie also designs for the Centrepoint Theatre in Dubai: Sweeney Todd, Cats, West Side Story, Hairspray. Other credits include Sticks And Stones, House Of Blue Leaves, Memory Of Water and Be My Baby. He continues to assist other designers on productions in the West End and abroad.
Madani took over as Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre in 2012. He directed the critically acclaimed UK premiere of The Royale in 2015 which was revived in 2016. In 2013 he won the Groucho Club Maverick Award for the theatre, following the most successful season in the theatre’s history which played to 99% capacity. Also for the Bush Theatre he has directed The Principles of Cartography as part of Black Lives, Black Words, Zaida and Aadam as part of This Place We Know, Perseverance Drive and Chalet Lines.
Madani is currently working as a member of the Mayor of London’s Cultural Board.
Prior to his appointment at the Bush Theatre, he was Artistic Director of Freedom Studios in Bradford, Yorkshire where his work included the site-specific work, The Mill – City of Dreams. He has also worked nationally and internationally as a theatre director, writer and practitioner. He was previously Director of Red Ladder Theatre Company’s Asian Theatre School where he directed included Silent Cry, Free World and Streets of Rope.
He originally trained in film, and his debut short film Ellabellapumpanella, commissioned by the UK Film Council, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007. He was the recipient of the Decibel Award at the South Bank Awards show in 2006.
Marco Ramirez has had plays produced at Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles), The Old Globe (San Diego), The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (DC), and Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival of New American Plays. He’s currently an artist in residence at Atlantic Theatre Company, and is under commission at both Playwrights Horizons and Center Theatre Group. On television, he’s been nominated for WGA and Emmy Awards, and his writing credits include Sons of Anarchy (FX), Da Vinci’s Demons (Starz), Orange is the New Black (Netflix), and Marvel’s Daredevil (Netflix).
