That side of town. July 2005. One blistering night. One blazing day. T labours over hot-plates cooking up the final ingredients for his mission while his mother labours over a hot stove, cooking up his final meal. Wearied by staring into all-consuming retribution, T reaches out to her seeking fresh insight. Desperate to be folded into her bosom once again, instead he’s thrust onto a course of his own design, but with a force far greater than his alone.

"Sometimes all you can do is make them see what it is they're doing to you. What they've done to you. What they've turned you into. Sometimes that's all you have left to show."
 

Taufeeq 'T' Sultan | Ragevan Vasan
Amma Sultan | Bharti Patel
Mary Brennan | Nicola Duffet
 

Ragevan Vasan’s television credits include Cuffs (BBC).

Theatre credits include Selfie (Ambassadors Theatre/NYT), Private Peaceful (Ambassadors Theatre/NYT), Macbeth (Ambassadors Theatre/NYT), Handmade Tales (Arcola Theatre) and Our Land (Bristol Gradfest).

Ragevan has appeared in short films Cargo, The Real Thing and Idle (Third Eye Productions).
​

Bharti Patel proudly hails from Coventry. Bharti has worked nationally and internationally with theatre companies, her most recent works include Behind the Beautiful Forevers at National Theatre, Spellbound for Walk the Plank. This is Bharti’s first time at Park Theatre.
​

Nicola Duffet was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire. She remains best known for two long-running soap opera roles. After appearing as Debbie in Eastenders. from 1993 to 1995, she went into the role of boozy floozy Cat Matthews in Family Affairs. Cat first appeared in Family Affairs in late 1998, and was a key character in the show’s story lines until the series ended in December 2005.

Film work include the role of Mrs Bast in Ismail Merchant and James Ivory’s 1992 film adaptation of Howards End. In 2008, she played Big Mo in the BBC film Dustbin Baby as well as appearing in Made in Dagenham, Spider and Set Fire To The Stars.

Her stage credits include Simon Gray’s Simply Disconnected (Chichester Festival); as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Helen of Troy in Troilus and Cressida (The Open Air Theatre, Regents Park). More recent television credits include Coronation Street  (ITV), Torchwood (BBC) and Doctors (BBC).
​

Plawright | Avaes Mohammad
Director | Rod Dixon
Producer | Chris Lloyd (For Red Ladder)
Set and Costume Designer | Rhys Jarman 
Projection Designer | Victor Craven
Lighting Designer | Joules McCready 
Sound Designer | Jaydev Mistry 
Fight Directors | Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown of RC-ANNIE Ltd
Assistant Director | John Ward
Company Stage Manager | April Lindsay
Assistant Stage Manager | Kelsi Lewis
Assistant Stage Manager | Bethany Roberts
Casting Directors | Lucy Jenkins CDG and Sooki McShane CDG

---

 

Avaes Mohammad was born in Blackburn, Northern England. It was whilst completing his Chemistry Doctorate at Manchester University that he found his voice as a poet, playwright and performer. Inspired by or even in spite of the Asian riots of 2001 and the events of 11th September, Avaes committed his work to being an instrument of social reform and shared experience.

Artist-Alchemist, Avaes has since performed his poetry on stages across the UK, Denmark, India, Pakistan and South Africa. Appearing extensively on Radio, his poem Bhopal was commissioned by BBC Radio 4, going on to win an Amnesty International Media Award.

In 2003, Avaes expanded into playwriting and has since been commissioned by BBC Radio and several theatre companies across the UK with his plays Bhopal (2003), In God We Trust (2005), The Student (2007), Shadow Companion (2008), Crystal Kisses (2010/2011), Fields of Grey (2012) and Of Another World (2014).

Committed to the evolving landscape of British Arts, Avaes has directed the British South Asian Theatre Memories Project in partnership with the Foundation of Indian Performing Arts (FIPA) and SOAS, archiving the collective journeys of British South Asian Theatre through the narratives of its practitioners.

Avaes Mohammad is currently Associate Artist with Red Ladder Theatre Company, Fellow of the Muslim Institute and Trustee of the Bhopal Medical Appeal.

 

Rod Dixon has been Artistic Director of Red Ladder since 2006 and made the bold statement that he wanted to put the red back into Red Ladder. Since 2008 Red Ladder shows have all had one clear aim – to engage a wide audience in theatre which is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Rod’s work has added to the company’s national reputation with shows such as Big Society!, The Thing About Psychopaths and We’re Not Going Back. Hurling Rubble at the Sun is the latest of a long list of productions which ask difficult questions but leave audiences to find their own answers.

Rhys Jarman was one of the winners of the 2007 Linbury Biennial Prize, for his designs of Varjak Paw for the Opera Group. New work includes Institute for Gecko and Adriano in Syria for The Classical Opera Company.

Recent theatre work includes You Have Been Upgraded for Unlimited at the Science museum, Kicking and Screaming for Tangled Feet, The Nutcracker with The Nuffield Theatre directed by Blanche McIntyre, Holes written by Tom Basden and Threeway written by DC Jackson both directed by Philip Breen.

Recent outdoor work includes Burntwater and One Million for Tangled Feet and The Greenwich and Docklands International Festival and Cycle Song, an opera for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Recent work for opera includes The Fairy Queen for Temple Music foundation, Hot House (Royal Opera House Education, main stage); The Barber of Seville (ETO); Ludd and Isis (Royal Opera House Education); The Sleeper (WNO MAX) and The Bear (with the Jeanette Parker Young Artists Programme in the Linbury Studio Theatre).

Theatre projects include Missing and Number 5 (Gecko Theatre); Diary of a Nobody (Royal & Derngate Theatre); Money The Game Show, Mission to Mars and The Moon, The Moon (Unlimited Theatre); Romeo and Juliet (Night Light Theatre); Time for the Goodlooking Boy with Iqbal Khan and The Country with Simon Godwin.

Designs for television include set designs for Peter Pan and A Christmas Carol for CBeebies, series 5 of Dr Who and Young, Autistic and Stagestruck, for Channel 4.

Twitter: @rhysjarman
​www.rhysjarman.com

 

Victor Craven's projection designs for theatre includes Dylan Thomas Gala Centenary Concert (Queen Elizabeth Hall; SouthBank Centre); Sleeping Beauty (Park Theatre); Titanic (Southwark Playhouse); These Shining Lives (Park Theatre); Enron, On Religion and Calendar Girls (Bridewell Theatre); The Beekeeper (The Space); The Cause (Old Vic New Voices) and Frankenstein (Shunt Vaults).

Victor has collaborated with world leading orchestras to create Projection Designs for live concert performance, including Candide, West Side Story, Romeo and Juliet, Pétrouchka, The Firebird, Short Ride in a Fast Machine, The Unanswered Question and The Fairy’s Kiss (London Symphony Orchestra); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment); The Planets (Orchestra Philharmonique du Luxembourg) and Carnival of the Animals (Scottish Ensemble).

 

Joules McCready's Lighting Designer credits include Ken Campbell’s History of Comedy: Part one – ventriloquism, The Menu (National Theatre); Oliver! (Oxford); I Have Been Here Before (Palace Theatre Watford); Risk Everything (Old Red Lion); Canaries Sometimes Sing (Old Red Lion & King’s Head); Hyperlinx (Citizen’s Glasgow, Pleasance Dome and Tricycle); Wild Raspberries (Citizen’s Glasgow and Pleasance Dome); Adult Supervision, Sleeping Beauty, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance and The Vertical Hour (Park Theatre).

Julian also lights and designs art installations including several large scale projects on the sides of hills using natural materials combined with lighting.

As Chief Electrician at the National Theatre until 2011, Julian has headed up the lighting departments in all three theatres and toured numerous productions across the world. Re-lights include Elmina’s Kitchen, Closer, Private Lives, Betrayal, Mike Leigh’s 2000 Years, Antony Sher’s Primo and Katie Mitchell’s The Waves.

As a freelancer he worked on the London 2012 Olympics as well as a number of arts festivals and corporate events – and has consulted on the technical installations at theatres both in the UK and abroad, including Park Theatre.

Julian is a professional member of the Association of Lighting Design.

Jaydev Mistry is an award-winning composer, guitarist, percussionist and music technologist who has collaborated with artists such as Nitin Sawhney (session 72 Contact Theatre).

The Kaliphz and The Timeless Love Orchestra and performed in national and international venues which include The Pompidou Centre Paris, The Bridge Water Hall, The Royal Exchange Theatre, and The Hackney Empire, to name but a few.

Jaydev has also designed sound composed music for many theatrical production for companies such as Red Ladder Theatre Company, Contact Theatre, Aajkal Theatre.

Jaydev was also awarded the prestigious 2005 Amnesty International Media award in collaboration with Avaes Mohammad for the development and composition of the BBC Radio 4 documentary drama Bhopal.


RC-ANNIE Ltd, established in 2005 by Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown, is the UK’s leading Dramatic Violence Company, choreographing action for Theatre and Film.

Theatre credits include Way Up Stream (Chichester Festival Theatre); King John (Royal and Derngate and Shakespeare’s Globe); The Famous Victories of Henry V (RSC); Animals (Theatre503); Playing for Time and Blasted (Sheffield Crucible); Blasted (The Other Room); Operation Magic Carpet (Polka Theatre); The Merchant of Venice, King Charles III (Almeida Theatre); Girl Fights (RSC); Peter Pan (Polka Theatre); Kill Johnny Glendenning (Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh); The James Plays (National Theatre Scotland, Edinburgh International Festival/National Theatre of Great Britain); Garw (Theatr Bara Caws); Bakersfield Mist (Sonia Friedman Productions); Y Negesydd (Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru); MOJO (Sonia Friedman Productions); Once a Catholic (Tricycle Theatre); Aristocrats (Clwyd Theatr Cymru); Bracken Moor (Shared Experience/The Tricycle Theatre); Salt, Root and Roe (Clwyd Theatr Cymru); Paper Dolls and Red Velvet (The Tricycle Theatre); Snow Queen (Trestle Theatre) and Dunsinane (National Theatre Scotland and RSC).

Film credits include Genesis (WSG FilmGenesis Ltd); Arthur and Merlin (Myrrdin Ltd); Howl (Silver Bullet Films); Cryptic (Next Level Films); Down dog (Apropos Productions); Suspension of Disbelief (Content Film); The Seasoning House (Sterling Pictures); City Slacker (Tornado Films); Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (Yellow knife); Deviation (Silver Leaf pictures) and iLL Manors (Microwave).

John Ward is an Associate Director for Red Ladder and Artistic Director of DumbWise, which is an Actor Musician Theatre Company.

As a Director his credits include Nicobobinus (UK Tour) which he adapted, Faust (UK Tour); The MatchGirls (Wilton’s Music Hall); Twisted Christmas (Liverpool Playhouse Studio) and Faust (Greenwich Theatre).

His Assisting credits include Dead Heavy Fantastic (Liverpool Everyman); Big Society!’ (Leeds City Varieties); Carmen (Leicester Square); Lawrence of Arabia (Alexandra Palace – Secret Cinema) and The Misanthrope (Theatre Royal Drum).

He trained at Rose Bruford College, graduating in 2008. John is also an Artistic Associate for Greenwich Theatre and teaches Actor Musicianship at Rose Bruford and Mountview Academy.

www.dumbwise.co.uk
 

April Lindsay trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has enjoyed working in all aspects of theatre including plays, musicals, opera and ballet.

April is the resident Company Stage Manager for FTG Productions Stage management credits include Under Construction for FTG (St James Theatre); A Soldiers Tale & Renard (The Bloomsbury Theatre); Stand and Deliver (Kings Head); Contact.com (Park Theatre); Cinderella (Qdos); Jacque Brel (Charing Cross Theatre); Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet (Riverside Opera); Mad Man (Theatre Royal Plymouth); Christmas Carol the musical (UK tour); Been on Broadway (Duchess Theatre); 27th & 28th Season (National Youth Ballet of Great Britain); 2013, 2014 & 2015 Season (Buxton Opera Festival); The 8th Fold (Duchess Theatre); Forever House (Theatre Royal Plymouth); Helios Collective (UK tour); Dido and Aeneas (Opera in Space) and Top Hat the musical (Adelphi Theatre).

April is delighted to be returning to the Park Theatre and joining Red Ladder for this production of Hurling Rubble at the Sun.
 

Kelsi Lewis graduated from ALRA in 2011, with an FdA in Stage Management and Technical Theatre.

Her recent credits include Batboy (Southwark Playhouse); Norma (Opera Holland Park); The Magic Flute/King Priam/Paul Bunyan (English Touring Opera); Get Happy (Barbican Theatre); Pechers de Perles (Opera Holland Park); Forever House (Theatre Royal Plymouth); La Fille a la Mode (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Idina Menzel at the Apollo (Apollo Theatre); The Lion In Winter (Theatre Royal Haymarket) and The Dark Philosophers (National Theatre Wales).
 

Bethany Roberts graduated from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama studying Stage Management in July 2014. During her study in drama school, she worked on large scale theatre productions including Too Clever By Half, and toured down to The Minack Theatre in Cornwall during the summer. Whilst in her third year at University, she worked on various fringe theatre productions, including The Keepers of Infinite Space, and World Enough and Time in Park 90. Most recently, she worked on Kill Me Now in Park 200.

Hurling Rubble… is the name given to an overarching theatre project, co-produced by Park Theatre (London) and Red Ladder Touring Theatre Company (Leeds).  Comprising two new play commissions, a programme of community outreach work and a series of debates, exploring extremism and its impact in Britain today.

The two complementary plays that sit at the heart of the project explore our nation's most critically contemporary subjects through a nuanced, rounded lens by committing to the human stories at the heart of extremist ideologies that are followed by some in our British Muslim and White communities.

Playwright Avaes Mohammad, born in Blackburn and now living in Finsbury Park describes the two plays:

"Set in the same post-industrial town, each world is attributed its own play, sharing characters that bleed from one story into the next. Hurling Rubble at the Sun and Hurling Rubble at the Moon work together to not only deliver needed understanding of these worlds and their causes, but also to highlight the symbiotic, conjoined dependencies existing between them."

The plays open at Park Theatre on 13 May and run through to 16 June.