How The World Began

Susan, a science teacher from Manhattan, starts work in a small rural Kansas town that’s been ripped apart by a tornado. When one of her pupils – the damaged, articulate Micah – takes offence at an off-the-cuff remark about how life on Earth began, Susan is thrown into an ethical storm about science and faith that leads to her fearing for her safety. Sharp, thoughtful and mysterious. How the World Began is a powerful story about an outsider in a close-knit, devastated community.

Produced by Tom Atkins, and supported by Out of Joint and the Arcola Theatre, How the World Began had it’s European Premiere at the Arcola in 2011.

REVIEWS

“Sparks fly. A scorching production. Gripping, disturbing and relevant”
-The Times

“Catherine Trieschmann’s gripping three-hander. Anna Francolini is superb”
-The Guardian

“There is a thrumming undercurrent of menace to How The World Began… A thought-worm of a play to be mulled over hours after the applause has stopped”
-Whatsonstage.com

CAST & CREATIVES

Cast: Anna Francolini, Ciaran McIntyre and Perry Millward.

Director: Des Kennedy
Designer: Alison Cummins
Lighting Designer: Mark Howland
Sound Designer: Paul Millen
Video Designer: Ben Gutteridge

PERFORMANCES

How the World Began ran at the Arcola Theatre, London from 15 Nov to 10 Dec 2011.