Catch-22 – a stage adaptation of Joseph Heller’s iconic novel on the absurdity of war and bureaucracy – runs at The Nuffield from June 3-7.
Published in 1961, the novel has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, and is often cited as one of the greatest of all time, ranking 11th in the 2003 BBC survey The Big Read.
Northern Stage’s production of the war time satire is directed by two-time Obie award-winning and Drama Desk nominated director Rachel Chavkin.
Set in the closing months of Second World War, a bombardier named Yossarian is trapped in the absurd world of an inescapable war. Frantic and furious as thousands of people he has never met try to kill him, Yossarian is stalked and thwarted by the merciless Catch-22 (from which, as many will know, the famous phrase originated).
“Heller's stage adaptation really captures the heart of the book, and this production will aim to further breathe that air: absurd comedy, deadpan horror, and an amazing hero/antihero at the centre,” says Director Rachel Chavkin. “Audiences can expect period music, some jitterbugging, purgatory antics, and moments of quiet at the end of the world. And humour of course: Heller's, and mine!”
Prescient
Northern Stage Artistic Director Lorne Campbell says: “It’s the story of a man caught in the belly of the beast, of an individual looking at the system that runs the world around him and recognising it for the lunacy that it is. The book says some incredibly prescient and relevant things about the corrupting influence of capitalism on human endeavour and about the tension between what you have to do and what you know to be right. It’s one of those rare pieces of truly great art that manages to be complex and simple at the same time.”
Details
Catch-22 written and adapted by Joseph Heller
Dates June 3 – 7, 2014, 7.30pm
Matinee Saturday June 7 at 3.00pm
Venue Nuffield Theatre Main House
Tickets £10.50 – £20.00
Box Office: 023 8067 1771
AGE SUITABILITY GUIDELINE: ages 14+
Pic: Geoff Arnold, Daniel Ainsworth and Philip Arditti in Catch-22 at Northern Stage