Yes, I’ve got the inside scoop on the next project from Butterworth, author of the mega-hits Jerusalem and The Ferryman!
Lutèce, or Paris Lost, starring Mark Rylance and Laura Donnelly
Jean Lecoq, once a Tour de France winner, now resides in a micro-bidonville in the Bois de Boulogne with a motley crew of foul-mouthed orphans (“Fuck me bleu!”) and a Holy Fool.
He spends his days ingesting drugs with local beauty Melusine and debating whether the composer of the 1960s yé-yé hit “Zou Bisou Bisou” is more deserving of defenestration or keel-hauling—but this idyllic existence soon begins to crumble.
Lecoq’s moneymaking scheme of producing hallucinogenic foie gras goes awry when the goose “does one,” and friends no longer believe his tale of jumping a 1979 Peugeot “Super Sport” over a 45-meter shark tank.
Meanwhile, vicious rivalries in the world of cyclisme resurface, as does Melusine’s husband, drowned years ago by his outraged vélo teammates for switching to pétanque.
As the civic authorities close in to tear down the bidonville, the Holy Fool has an apocalyptic vision of Caesar battling Astérix, and Lecoq prepares to make his last, desperate stand…
Linnet Moss 
Never mind the next play – this has just reminded me that it might be worth-while watching The Ferryman when I am in London next week. No tickets yet (because expensive), but I *did* book “Girl from the North Country” as well as “Against”. Will I spend more money on another play???
Personally, I wasn’t that enthusiastic about “The Ferryman”, which was one of the plays that brought me to London for a week in July. I saw “Hamlet” with Andrew Scott, “GftNC” (multiple times), and “The Ferryman”, which I liked the least. I found it to have a few good perceptions but on the whole to be somewhat glib and stereotypical. My recommendation: if you want another play consider Scott’s amazing “Hamlet:.
Thanks for your recommendation, Karen. I’d fork out big money to see ‘Hamlet’ – but unfortunately it ends before I get to London 😦
Oh, too bad! I forgot to say that “Against” sounds really interesting. Anything Ben Whishaw does is bound to be good.
Andrew Scott is going to win the Olivier!!
The Ferryman is such a big deal that I don’t think you’d want to miss it. But if I had to choose between Girl and Ferryman, I would definitely go with Conor McPherson!
That’s what I thought. The theme is obviously right up my street. Yet I am hesitating a tad because the tickets are pretty expensive… there are cheap tickets available – but the view would be seriously restricted (back rows, or grand circle back & side where half the stage is obstructed)…
I’d go for the back rows rather than have so much of the stage obstructed. But Hariclea can best advise!