(AGENPARL) – gio 05 dicembre 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 5, 2024
“A comedic tour de force!” – The Guardian
“A bracingly funny, brutally efficient satire of modern love,
it has all the hallmarks of a contemporary classic.”
– TheaterMania
Audible Theater
and Chase This Productions’
New York Premiere of
Strategic Love Play
Must End Limited Run
This Saturday, December 7
at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre
A person and person sitting at a table
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Audible Original Releases April 10, 2025,
Commissioned and Originally Produced by Paines Plough, Soho Theatre, and Belgrade Theatre
Starring Heléne Yorke and Michael Zegen
Written by Miriam Battye
Directed by Katie Posner
NEWARK, NJ and NEW YORK, NY – December 5, 2024 – Audible, Inc., the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, and Chase This Productions’ Strategic Love Play starring Heléne Yorke (“The Other Two,” “Masters of Sex”) and Michael Zegen (Notice to Quit, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), must conclude its limited engagement, New York-premiere run this Saturday, December 7 at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre (18 Minetta Lane, between MacDougal & 6th Avenue), Audible’s creative home for live performances in New York.
·      Thursday, December 5 at 7:30pm
·      Friday, December 6 at 7:30pm
·      Saturday, December 7 at 5:00pm and 8:30pm
Written by Miriam Battye (“Succession,” “Beef”) and directed by Katie Posner, Strategic Love Play arrives in New York following a sold-out run at the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a UK tour, and two sold-out runs at London’s Soho Theatre. Strategic Love Play was originally produced by Paines Plough, Soho Theatre, and Belgrade Theatre, in association with Landmark Theatres.
After matching online, two strangers – Heléne Yorke and Michael Zegen – meet in real life. The vibe is off, and the conversation is a mess. Yet something is keeping them in their seats. What begins as a typical date off the apps spirals into something unexpected in a bold new production of Strategic Love Play, the show that sold out in London and took the Edinburgh Fringe by storm. From “Succession” writer Miriam Battye and director Katie Posner comes the New York debut of the award-winning, razor-sharp “comedic tour de force” (The Guardian) that The Evening Standard calls “as gripping as a friend’s rapid-fire texts from a disastrous first date.”
The creative team includes Arnulfo Maldonado (scenic design), Dede Ayite (costume design), Jen Schriever (lighting design), Tei Blow (sound design), Elizabeth Allen (production stage manager), Jackson Berkley (properties), and Taylor Williams, CSA (casting). Technical supervision is by Beacon Theatrical Services with general management by Baseline Theatrical’s Jonathan Whitton. The company understudies are Katie Broad and Sebastian Beacon.
Biographies
HELE?NE YORKE was most recently seen as the co-lead ‘Brooke Dubeck’ in the HBO Max series “The Other Two,” produced by Lorne Michaels and created by SNL head writers Sarah Schneider and Chris Kelly. She previously starred opposite Lizzy Caplan & Michael Sheen as ‘Jane Martin’ in Showtime’s “Masters of Sex,” opposite Nick Nolte as ‘Olivia Graves’ in the Epix series “Graves,” and as ‘Amanda’ in CW’s “Katy Keene.” She recurred on HBO’s “High Maintenance,” Hulu’s “Future Man,” and CBS All Access’ “The Good Fight.” In addition to film & television, Hele?ne is an accomplished theater performer, originating the roles of ‘Olive Neal’ in Bullets Over Broadway, ‘Evelyn’ (Reese Witherspoon in the original film) in American Psycho opposite Benjamin Walker on Broadway, and playing ‘Glinda’ in the national tour of Wicked. She is classically trained with a BFA from the University of Michigan.
MICHAEL ZEGEN can currently be seen as ‘Alberto Falcone’ in HBO’s “The Penguin” starring Colin Farrell and as the lead of the independent film, Notice To Quit, directed by Simon Hacker, which is in theaters now. He most notably starred as ‘Joel Maisel’ in the Emmy-Award winning Amazon series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, for which he earned consecutive Best Ensemble SAG Awards. He can next be seen in Lena Dunham’s upcoming series “Too Much” for Netflix. Michael has recurred on some of TV’s best shows including HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” “The Walking Dead,” “Girls,” and all seasons of “Rescue Me.” Michael’s film credits include Michael Mayer’s film adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull, opposite Elisabeth Moss and Saoirse Ronan; Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha, opposite Greta Gerwig; and memorable roles in Greg Mottola’s Adventureland, as well as John Crowley’s Oscar-nominated Brooklyn. On stage, Michael made his Broadway debut in the Tony-Winning A View From The Bridge for visionary director Ivo Van Hove, originated the role of ‘Liam’ in the smash hit Bad Jews, and starred as ‘Ted’ in The New Group’s production of The Spoils, written by and co-starring Jesse Eisenberg for director Scott Elliott.
MIRIAM BATTYE (Playwright) is a writer from Manchester. Plays include Strategic Love Play (Paines Plough/Soho Theatre), Scenes with girls (Royal Court). She is the recipient of the Harold Pinter Award 2020. For television her credits include “Dead Ringers” (Amazon), “Succession” (HBO) and “Beef” (Net?ix).
KATIE POSNER (Director) joined Paines Plough as Joint Artistic Director with Charlotte Bennett in August 2019. For Paines Plough, Katie has most recently directed Fringe First award winning play Strategic Love Play by Miriam Battye; You Bury Me by Ahlam (winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting) which premiered at Bristol Old Vic, Edinburgh Lyceum and the Orange Tree; Hungry (Soho Theatre/Roundabout Edinburgh); Really Big and Really Loud and Black Love (Co-Director for Roundabout); and You Bury Me staged reading for the Edinburgh International Festival (Paines Plough/Ellie Keel Productions/45 North). Katie is an experienced and award-winning director. She has worked across a wide variety of productions both overseas and on national tours, including multiple productions with York Theatre Royal and Pilot Theatre with whom she was Associate Director from 2009 until 2017. Her work encompasses both intimate pieces of new writing and larger-scale community pieces. In 2019, Katie received a UK Theatre Award nomination as Best Director with her production of My Mother Said I Never Should at Theatre by the Lake.
Her productions include: Richard, My Richard (Shakespeare North Playhouse/Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds); My Mother Said I Never Should (Theatre by the Lake); Mold Riots (Theatr Clwyd); The Seven Ages Of Patience (Kiln Theatre); Swallows & Amazons (Storyhouse), Babe (Mercury Theatre); Playing Up (NYT); Finding Nana (New Perspectives); Made In India (Tamasha/Belgrade/Pilot); Everything Is Possible: The York Suffragettes, End Of Desire (York Theatre Royal); The Season Ticket (Northern Stage); A View From Islington North (Out Of Joint); In Fog And Falling Snow (National Railway Museum); Running On The Cracks (Tron Theatre); York Mystery Plays (Museum Gardens York); Blackbird, Ghost Town, Clocking In, A Restless Place (Pilot Theatre).
KATIE BROAD (Understudy) made her Broadway debut this year in the Tony-nominated An Enemy of the People. Other credits include Oblivion (Westport Country Playhouse), Karen O’s Stop the Virgens (St. Ann’s Warehouse, Sydney Opera House), Complicity (New Ohio Theater), Animals & Plants (NY Premiere) and most recently Lucky Breaks (The Brick). Katie hails from Huntsville, Alabama, and is a proud graduate of the Circle in the Square Theatre School. http://www.KatieBroad.com
SEBASTIAN BEACON (Understudy). Originally from London and based in New York City, Sebastian made his Broadway debut in 2022 in Martin McDonagh’s Tony-nominated play Hangmen. He has worked extensively in film and TV, including Taking Woodstock (Ang Lee), “Law and Order,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Elsbeth,” “Bull,” and starred in National Campaigns for Mercedes Benz opposite Willem Dafoe, Nespresso with Penelope Cruz, Vogue with Jessica Chastain, and has appeared at the Williamstown Theatre Festival (2022), The Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals.
About Audible Theater
In May 2018, Audible announced that the Minetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village would serve as its creative home for live performances in New York, with Audible members receiving exclusive access to discounted tickets and related audio content. Since then, Audible has hosted and produced a wide variety of live performances at the Minetta Lane including dramatic plays, comedic shows, original musical performances, and more.
About Chase This Productions
Chase This Productions was founded in 2024 by Jessica Chase, an independent producer and creative consultant working across theater, television, and film. The company launched with the Off-Broadway production of Pre-Existing Condition by Marin Ireland, Directed by Maria Dizzia. Previously, Jessica curated and launched the commercial theater arm of Mark Gordon Pictures. For Broadway, she served on the lead producing team of Life of Pi, and the co-producing teams of POTUS and The Piano Lesson. She produced the UK debut of Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play with the Lyric Hammersmith, Francesca Moody Productions, and Idris Elba. She also developed several plays/musicals including Teeth by Anna K. Jacobs and Michael R. Jackson, as well as developed multiple projects for film and television.  Jessica is also the former Artistic Producer of MCC Theater. During her time there she oversaw the development of new work, programming, and production, producing 37 plays/musicals by writers that include Jocelyn Bioh, Matthew Lopez, Jen Silverman, Simon Stephens, CA Johnson, and Anna Jordan.
About Paines Plough
Paines Plough is a touring theatre company led by Joint Artistic Directors Charlotte Bennett and Katie Posner. Dedicated entirely to new writing, we discover, develop and empower writers and share their unique new stories with audiences all over the uk and beyond. Founded in 1974, we have worked with over 500 playwrights including James Graham, Sarah Kane, Nathan Bryon, Kae Tempest, Vinay Patel, Mike Bartlett, Chloë Moss, Dennis Kelly, Zia Ahmed and Anna Jordan. We tour our shows to over 30,000 people annually, including in Roundabout – our award winning, in-the-round pop-up theatre – which takes residency at Edinburgh during the Fringe Festival, hosting a curated programme of the best in new writing throughout August.
About Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre is London’s most vibrant producer of new theatre, comedy and cabaret. Opened in 2000, bang in the creative heart of London, we are one of the country’s busiest venues with a buzzing bar and a year-round festival programme, broad based and accessible with a queer, punk, counter-culture flavour. Work extends far beyond our home with a UK and international touring programme and connections; presenting shows and scouting talent. We are UK’s leading presenter of Indian comedians from the burgeoning scene there.
About Audible, Inc.
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