A HAMPSTEAD THEATRE PRODUCTION

Raving

By SIMON PAISLEY DAY
Directed by EDWARD HALL

£15 - £32 (See ticket information)

I sometimes wonder how on earth people as pathetic as you and me are allowed to start a family. It’s far more dangerous than driving a car, and yet there’s not a single test...

Main Stage

17 Oct - 23 Nov 2013
£15 - £32

Box Office: 020 7722 9301

Details

Briony and Keith are not finding parenthood easy so their friends, the delightful Ross and Rosy, engineer a relaxing weekend away in Wales: intelligent adult company, good food and drink, complete rest – and absolutely no children.

But making up the numbers by inviting the unpredictable Charles and Serena doesn’t make things restful. Add an uninvited anarchic adolescent and a fanatical farmer and Briony and Keith’s idyllic weekend erupts into total chaos…

Simon Paisley Day makes his Hampstead Main Stage debut. His new comedy is an uproarious study of modern parenting and matrimonial tribulations. Previous theatre credits include Spike (Nuffield Theatre, Southampton), The Country Doctor (National Theatre Platform) and a translation of Bruckner’s The Pains of Youth (BAC).

Hampstead Theatre’s Artistic Director Edward Hall directs following the sell-out hitChariots of Fire last year (Hampstead and West End).

Sarah Hadland reunites with Robert Webb following three series of That Mitchell and Webb Look. Other television credits include Miranda and Burton and Taylor. Previous theatre credits include Canvas (Chichester Festival Theatre) and Decor Without Production (Royal Court).

Tamzin Outhwaite (EastEnders and New Tricks) returns to Hampstead following the critically acclaimed Di and Viv ad Rose last spring. Other theatre credits include Sweet Charity and Boeing Boeing (West End).

BAFTA winner Robert Webb makes his Hampstead Theatre debut. He is best known for his comedy work as writer and actor, including Peep ShowThat Mitchell and Webb Lookand Fresh Meat. His stage credits include Fat Pig (West End).

Reviews
  • Daily Mail

    Simon Paisley Day’s new, adult comedy Raving made me laugh as hard as One Man, Two Guvnors did.

    Just like that hit show, this one set off my wheezy chest. Oxygen for the man from the Mail in row K, pronto!

    Raving is quite rude. There is lots of swearing, stuff about sex, and a breast-milk scene which may have you gagging.

    At one point a Hoorayish ex-SAS officer (played brilliantly by Nicholas Rowe) relieves himself in a kitchen sink, blithely dismissive of other people in the room. That was the moment my asthma kicked in.

    A minxy 17-year-old girl (Bel Powley) keeps flashing her boobs at the back wall. Add jokes about a disabled boy losing his virginity, a dollop of anti-Welshness, plus a certain levity about drugs.

    It is not a show you would automatically want to select next time you are looking to entertain Sister Wendy for the evening — or, for that matter, your sub-teen children. But this play is fresh, witheringly cruel about London professional couples, and honkingly funny.

    Mr Paisley Day, until now better known as an actor, uses the old device of a weekend in the country. Wales. Remote Wales, moreover.

    The city types who gather at their rented weekend cottage find that mobile phone coverage is patchy. In a moment of life imitating satire, people either side of me checked their mobiles during the first half. Londoners really are wedded to their darn BlackBerries.

    Back to the plot. London PR man Ross (Robert Webb) and his taut-bottomed wife Rosy (Sarah Hadland) have booked the cottage. Ross and Rosy pride themselves on being a perfect couple. Ghastly people often do.

    Their weekend guests are Left-wing losers Briony (Tamzin Outhwaite) and Keith (Barnaby Kay), plus howling Hoorays Serena and Charles (Mr Rowe).

    Serena is played by Issy van Randwyck. Hello, I thought at first, Miss van Randwyck is the wife of Edward Hall, who runs the Hampstead and directs this show. The Hall family has sometimes been a bit prey to nepotism.

    But Miss van Randwyck, with her Felicity Kendal voice and startled-Womble hairdo in the second half, is an utter treat as boozy, politically-incorrect Serena. She and Mr Rowe are comedy gold.

    This is a play about the self-destruction of control freaks (i.e. Ross) and the life-enhancing possibilities of libertarian loonies such as Serena and Charles.

    The emotionally and sexually constipated couple, Briony and Keith, slowly have their anxieties ironed out by, well, the chaos of everything. It could almost be Sir Alan Ayckbourn’s answer to Withnail & I.

    Jonathan Fensom’s set offers us the occasional glimpse of Welsh countryside — when the rain is not pelting down outside.

    There is a repeated joke about the lack of space in one of the bedrooms — a door which you can open only a few inches before it hits a bed. Anyone who has rented a cottage in Pembrokeshire may recognise this habitual truth.

    Raving is, at one point literally, a blast.

    Saucy but sensational
    ,
Cast

Artistic team

WRITER

SIMON PAISLEY DAY

DIRECTOR

EDWARD HALL

DESIGNER

JONATHAN FENSOM

LIGHTING

RICK FISHER

SOUND

MATT MCKENZIE

COMPOSER

SIMON SLATER

CASTING

CARA BECKINSALE

Cast

News

Extra matinee added for sold-out Raving

Posted on 8 November 2013

EXTRA MATINEE ADDED DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND FOR RAVINGWednesday 20 November 2.30pm

Raving: ★★★★★ from Daily Mail

Posted on 25 October 2013

It’s rude, crude and absolutely hilarious By Quentin Letts, Daily Mail

Edward Hall introduces Raving

Posted on 14 October 2013

I vividly recall reading Simon Paisley Day’s lively first play, Spike which I thought a really exciting debut.

YOUR interview with Raving's Robert Webb

Posted on 11 October 2013

We gave our online followers the opportunity to ask Robert Webb any questions they wanted – and the tweets came in thick and fast!

Raving: Behind the scenes at the photo shoot

Posted on 3 September 2013

We go behind the scenes at the Raving marketing shoot to see Robert Webb, Sarah Hadland, Issy van Randwyck and Nicholas Rowe in action and speak to Head of Marketing, Jess Woodward, and Creative Director, Shaun Webb, about the the thought and process towards capturing the perfect picture.

Raving: Full casting announced

Posted on 3 September 2013

Hampstead Theatre is delighted to announce an outstanding cast for Raving, Simon Paisley Day’s writing debut.

Tickets

Tuesday – Saturday evenings 
Full price: £32/£29
Concessions: £18* 
Groups: For every 9 tickets get the 10th free
Access: £14.50

Monday, matinees and Previews 
Full price: £25/£22
Concessions: £15* 
Seniors (matinees only): £18/£15
Groups: For every 9 tickets get the 10th free
Access: £14.50

*Under 26, Jobs Seekers allowance and Student concession seats will be allocated in the front row of the stalls and back row of the circle (indicated by pink seats with an ‘i’)

Audio described performance:
9 November at 3pm, with a touch-tour at 1.30pm

Captioned performance:
12 November at 7.30pm, with a transcribed post show discussion

Video and Image Gallery

Tamzin Outhwaite (Briony) Tamzin Outhwaite (Briony)
Issy van Randwyck (Serena) Issy van Randwyck (Serena)
Robert Webb (Ross) and Sarah Hadland (Rosy) Robert Webb (Ross) and Sarah Hadland (Rosy)
Issy van Randwyck (Serena) and Nick Rowe (Charles) Issy van Randwyck (Serena) and Nick Rowe (Charles)
Robert Webb (Ross) Robert Webb (Ross)
Sarah Hadland (Rosy) Sarah Hadland (Rosy)
Sarah Hadland (Rosy) and Robert Webb (Ross) Sarah Hadland (Rosy) and Robert Webb (Ross)
Bel Powley (Tabby) Bel Powley (Tabby)
Sarah Hadland (Rosy) and Tamzin Outhwaite (Briony) Sarah Hadland (Rosy) and Tamzin Outhwaite (Briony)
Ifan Huw Dafydd (Mr Morgan) Ifan Huw Dafydd (Mr Morgan)
Nick Rowe (Charles) Nick Rowe (Charles)
Barnaby Kay (Keith) and Tamzin Outhwaite (Briony) Barnaby Kay (Keith) and Tamzin Outhwaite (Briony)

KEEPING YOU SAFE AT HAMPSTEAD

1 Social Distanced 1

RESPECT PERSONAL SPACE

2 MASKS REQUIRED 1

FACE MASKS ENCOURAGED

4 STATE OF THE ART VENTILATION 1

STATE OF THE ART VENTILATION

5 ENHANCED CLEANING 1

ENHANCED CLEANING

7 CONTACTLESS TICKETS 1

CONTACTLESS TICKETS

8 HAND SANITIZING STATIONS 2

HAND SANITISING STATIONS

9 CASHLESS PAYMENT 1

CASHLESS PAYMENT