Steve Forrest for The New York Times Mike Bartlett“Bull,†a drama about office politics by the British playwright Mike Bartlett (“The Cockfight Playâ€), will have its New York premiere in the Brits Off Broadway festival at 59E59 Theaters, the theater is to announce on Monday. The play, which is to begin performances on April 25, recently completed a run at the Crucible Studio in Sheffield, England, where it received good reviews.
Mr. Bartlett’s “Cockfight Play†(the actual, monosyllabic title i unprintable here) ran Off Broadway in a well-received, extended run last year. (Ben Brantley of The New York Times included the production on his 2012 Top 10 list.) “Bull†was initially intended as a companion piece to “The Cockfight Play,†Mr. Bartlett said in an interview with The Sheffield Telegraph last month, and both plays were inspired by his experience watching a bullfight in Mexico. But while “Cockfight†is about a love triangle, “Bull†is about the often brutal and bullying world of office politics: Three workers know that one of them is about to be fired, and as they await the arrival of their boss, two gang up on the one who seems to be the weakest of the group.
“Bull,†directed by Clare Lizzimore, joins the prev! iously announced Brits festival lineup, which is to include “Good With People,†by David Harrower; “Bullet Catch†by Rob Drummond; a revival of J. B. Priestley’s “Cornelius,†starring Alan Cox; and several other productions. The festival runs from March 27 to June 30.
