FIRST LOOK! REHEARSAL IMAGES RELEASED FOR THE WORLD PREMIERE OF HOLY FOOL AT PARK THEATRE
- ely01123
- 22 hours ago
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REHEARSAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK DOUET
DOWNLOAD THE FULL SELECTION OF REHEARSAL IMAGES HERE
AWARD-WINNING CARDUCCI QUARTET ANNOUNCED FOR SPECIAL SHOSTAKOVICH CONCERTS ALONGSIDE THE RUN
WRITTEN BY ROSALIND ADLER AND LEA SELLERS
DIRECTED BY KATE FAHY
PARK THEATRE, LONDON 27 AUGUST – 10 OCTOBER 2026
HOLY FOOL IMAGERY AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD HERE
Park Theatre and Wild Yak, together with co-producer Alexander “Sandy” Marshall, today release first-look rehearsal images for the world premiere of Holy Fool, a gripping new play by Rosalind Adler and Lea Sellers inspired by the extraordinary true story of legendary Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich and his battle to preserve his artistic voice under Stalin’s brutal regime.
Directed by Kate Fahy, the production runs at Park Theatre, London, from Thursday 27 August to Saturday 10 October 2026, with a national press night on Thursday 3 September.
Benjamin O’Mahony (Stu Hale in the BAFTA-nominated Kajaki; Hollyoaks; Ripper Street) stars as Dmitri “Mitya” Shostakovich. He is joined by Jenna Augen (Kyoto - RSC and West End; Leopoldstadt - West End and Broadway) as ‘Nina’, Phoebe Pryce (The Merchant of Venice - Shakespeare's Globe; The Importance of Being Earnest - Royal Exchange) as ‘Katya’ and Fergus O’Donnell (RSC, Shakespeare’s Globe, I May Destroy You) as ‘Izaak’.
Alongside Holy Fool, the award-winning Carducci Quartet will present Shostakovich in Seven Parts, a 45-minute journey through the extraordinary world of Shostakovich’s string quartets, bringing together seven contrasting moments from across the composer’s fifteen quartets.
A 45-minute journey through Shostakovich’s extraordinary string quartets.
Across fifteen quartets written over nearly four decades, Shostakovich created one of the twentieth century’s most remarkable bodies of chamber music – playful and grotesque, tender and lyrical, fiercely energetic and profoundly tragic.
Shostakovich in Seven Parts brings together seven moments from across the quartets, offering a vivid portrait of the composer and the many faces of his music. From youthful exuberance and biting satire to haunting introspection and the devastating intensity of his late works, each part reveals a different aspect of Shostakovich’s unique musical voice.
The concerts will take place in Park200 at 6.00pm on Saturday 12 September and Friday 25 September, with further performances to be scheduled, subject to demand. Tickets are £15.
Audiences booking for both Holy Fool and a concert in the same transaction can save 20% on their order using code SYMPHONY20 at checkout. Existing Holy Fool bookers can receive 20% off a concert ticket using code QUARTET20.
The concerts are performed by the internationally acclaimed Carducci Quartet – Matthew Denton and Michelle Fleming (violin), Eoin Schmidt-Martin (viola) and Emma Denton (cello) – whose long association with Shostakovich includes an acclaimed complete cycle of all fifteen quartets.
Shostakovich’s music has long been central to the quartet’s identity. In 2016, they won a Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Shostakovich15, a global cycle of his quartets including a marathon one-day performance at Shakespeare’s Globe. During the 2024/25 season they presented a five-concert Barbican cycle pairing Shostakovich with female Soviet composers.
One of the twentieth century's greatest composers. One wrong note could cost him everything.
At the height of Stalin’s reign of terror, celebrated composer Dmitri Shostakovich walks a perilous tightrope. One wrong note could topple him; one perfectly judged crescendo might save his life. Under the constant threat of torture and death, he must appease a brutal despot – while quietly resisting him.
Outwardly compliant, inwardly defiant, Shostakovich composes in code: music that conceals as much as it reveals.
Inspired by remarkable real events, Holy Fool is a tense, darkly witty and moving portrait of an artist who fought oppression not with weapons, but with music.
Exploring the impossible choices faced by those living under authoritarian rule, the play asks urgent contemporary questions about censorship, propaganda, compromise and the enduring power of art to challenge tyranny.
Producer Oliver King said: "Shostakovich's story feels astonishingly relevant today. Across the world, artists, journalists and writers continue to face censorship, political pressure and persecution. Holy Fool isn't simply a play about history; it's about the courage it takes to keep telling the truth when the consequences become unbearable.
Rosalind Adler and Lea Sellers have created an intensely theatrical, witty and profoundly moving play, and we're thrilled that Kate Fahy is bringing it to life with such an exceptional cast at Park Theatre."
Director Kate Fahy said: “This is a play for today. We know that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, artists and intellectuals have been sanctioned for their criticism of the war. They walk the same tightrope that Shostakovich walked, trying to get their message out subversively without losing their life or that of their loved ones.
Holy Fool is a funny and humane play which examines one man’s challenge, when to express his authentic self and when to comply with a brutal regime in order to stay alive and put food on the table. And keep writing his sublime music so we can marvel at it nearly a hundred years later.”
About the Production
Drawing on one of the most remarkable artistic lives of the twentieth century, Holy Fool combines sharp humour, psychological suspense and the electrifying music of Dmitri Shostakovich to tell the story of a composer whose greatest acts of defiance were hidden in plain sight.
The production reunites acclaimed director Kate Fahy with a creative team including Will Fricker (Design) alongside lighting designer Oliver Fenwick and sound designer Julian Starr.
