"There is a bit that’s gonna blow your mind. I’ll let you sit down and tell ya”

An explosive exploration of life, death and justice, The Listening Room features the true stories of five people whose lives have been transformed by a violent crime.

Years after trial and punishment, each one of them was given the chance to meet the person on the other side.

This is what happened when they said yes.
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“You’ve gotta really think about… hang on a minute, what do I wanna say? Do I wanna tell em I wanna strangle you, what do I wanna say?” ​

By Harriet Madeley
Directed by Max Barton

Sound by Jethro Cooke
​Design by Georgia De Grey
​Produced by Mark Knightley, Harriet Madeley and Lucy Curtis

​Previous performances include
November 2016 - Pleasance Theatre (scratch night) 
​February 2017 - Old Red Lion
September 2017 - Theatre Royal Stratford East 
December 2017 - HMP Grendon, HMP Wormwood Scrubs, Bethlem Psychiatric Hospital, the National Theatre (extract), the Mayor of London's Victims' Summit (extract)
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REVIEWS

The Spectator

"Anyone with an interest in drama should see this show because it delivers all the perfections great theatre aims for... It drags the audience to the very limits of human endurance... You emerge with your consciousness altered, your conception of human beings elevated and amplified... A painful, shocking, vital, uplifting experience. Quite unforgettable." 

​East London Radio - 5 Stars
“A completely new way of experiencing theatre. Kind of like a 3D virtual reality documentary” 

​Colourful Radio - 5 Stars
​"Compelling and raw"

​Breaking the Fourth Wall - 5 Stars
​"Elicits that most fragile but precious quality - hope"
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TimeOut - 4 Stars
"Bags of innovative flair"

LondonTheatre1 - 4 Stars
"...as unconventional as it is inspirational"

The cast

           Archie Backhouse                             Cathy Tyson                                 Mark Knightley                           Harriet Madeley                             Bruce Kitchener

​Cast at the Old Red Lion in February 2017: Charmaine Wombwell, Bruce Panday, Tony Hasnath, Kathryn Worth, Mark Knightley.

Cast at Theatre Royal Stratford East in September 2017: Cathy Tyson, Ryan Gerald, Mark Knightley, Neran Persaud.