With the likes of The Office and Horrible Bosses, workplace politics has become an increasingly popular topic in TV and cinema, and in Mike Bartlett’s Bull it’s about to break into the world of theatre too. However, unlike Ricky Gervais’ uneasily funny self deprecation and Seth Gordon’s dark humour, Bartlett is a vicious comedy that focuses on the narrow line that splits office politics from the more serious bullying that all too often makes its way to the workplace directly from the playground of yesteryear.
The play will be opening at the Young Vic in London on the 8th January 2015 with a month long run that takes it up to the 7th February 2015, just before the opening of Alan Bennett’s Happy Days on the 13th. Tickets to see the play during its preview opening between the 8th and the 14th of January are just £10, making it a good opportunity to see a West End play relatively I expensively, and full price tickets after that are £19.50 between the 16th and 28th of January (concessions and standing tickets just £10) and £25 between 29th January and the 7th February (again concessions and standing tickets are just £10).
Bull is the story of three co-workers, Isobel, Tony and Thomas, who find themselves competing with each other of their jobs as the three of them wait to be seen by their boss, Carter, who will be ruthlessly deciding which of them to fire. With distinct similarities to the real life concept of The Apprentice the three face off in a no-holds-barred grudge-match showdown as they stop at nothing to keep hold on to their jobs.
It’s a brutal affair as the three repeatedly lay the boot into their colleagues in the modern-day survival of the fittest story of corporate back stabbing. It asks some pretty hard questions of the audience in terms of empathy and sets out to investigate our perceptions of winners and losers in the cut-throat world of business.
At a little under an hour of run time, it’s a very short and snappy play and it’s length seems to be matched only by it fast pace and brutal depiction of animal nature inside the confines of our own, super intelligent species. Having picked up pretty good reviews from its debut run at The Crucible in Sheffield back in 2013, we’re expecting Bull to be a hit in the corporate heat of London’s West End.
The play will be directed by Clare Lizzimore with design from Soutra Gilmour, lighting by Peter Mumford and sound from Christopher Shutt. It’s the second outing for playwright Mike Bartlett’s take on the ups and downs of the workplace, and his second West End transfer in as many years with the success of King Charles III early in 2014.
Show times are 7:45pm for evening performances Monday to Saturday, with the exception of Friday nights, which opens at 7pm. There are also Wednesday and Friday matinee shows, which open at 2:45pm.
