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Camden News - by SIMON WROE
Published: 13 November 2008

Michael Frayn at the launch of Hampstead Theatre’s 50th anniversary programme

Golden days: Theatre set for 50th year

ONE of Britain’s foremost literary talents, the author and playwright Michael Frayn, will lead Hampstead Theatre into its 50th year.
The award-winning writer of Copenhagen and Noises Off heads an illustrious list of West End names announced this week who will present new or revived works from the Swiss Cottage venue in the coming year.
Plays by Pam Gems, Frank McGuinness and Noel Coward will represent the theatre’s eclectic output over the past five decades.
Challenging work on race, gender and sexuality – first seen at Hampstead during the 1960s and 1970s – and a largescale community piece are also planned.
At the season launch on Tuesday, Mr Frayn said he was “delighted” the theatre had decided to stage his 1977 comedy Alphabetical Order from April-May next year.
“The Hampstead Theatre and I have something in common – we both began our careers 50 years ago exactly – although I hated and despised theatre at the time,” he said.
Alphabetical Order will be followed by Amongst Friends, April de Angelis’s play about New and Old Labour, to be helmed by Hampstead’s artistic director Anthony Clark. Mr Clark said
he hoped to see the theatre’s downstairs community project “erupting” on to the main stage in 2009. £40,000 in funding is needed to make the play a reality.
The programme for the second half of the anniversary year will be announced in spring 2009.

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