HORSE TRADE THEATER GROUP PRESENTS NO TEA PRODUCTIONS PRODUCTION OF POPPYCOCK

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY JEREMY MATHER

APRIL 8-24 @ UNDER ST. MARKS

POPPYCOCK is a contemporary farce about the various ways we lie to people in order to prevent them from discovering how much we’ve been lying to ourselves. At a remote bed & breakfast in the northeast, the owner, Fred, is frantically trying to avoid losing the house to his rival and former friend, Barney. When an eccentric family accidentally ends up stranded at the house for the night, Fred finds an unlikely ally in Poppy, a troubled but confident 25-year-old who has never left home and is eager to escape her controlling sister Hailey, and Hailey’s suspicious boyfriend Howard, both of whom seem to suddenly want a piece of the bed & breakfast for themselves. As Fred and Poppy form a sketchy partnership to assist each other, the house comes under constant threat from Barney, Hailey, Howard, an uncompromising building inspector, and Fred’s mute assistant Claudia (who speaks only in a sign-language of her own invention), culminating in one hilarious night full of nonsense and poppycock.

POPPYCOCK will feature Alicia Barnatchez, James Patrick Cronin, Daiva Deupree*, Sabrina Farhi, Michele McNally, James Richard, and Jeff Sproul. *Appearing courtesy of the Actors’ Equity Association

The production, presented by Horse Trade Theater Group and No Tea Productions, will play at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and Ave A) April 8-24, Thursday through Saturday at 8pm. Tickets ($15) are available by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444 or online at www.horseTRADE.info

JEREMY MATHER (Writer & Director) is a filmmaker and comedian who has been involved with No Tea Productions since it was formed in 2007. He previously performed multiple roles in Plucking Failures Like Ripe Fruit, as well as Already in Progress and Liars, both of which he co-wrote, and was he featured as Collin in The Artistical Process of Mark and Andy. In addition to his work with No Tea, Jeremy has written, directed, and edited numerous short films, including In Transit, Straphanger, and Au Revoir, Malady, which was included in a special screening series at Sundance. Poppycock is his first play as both writer and director.

NO TEA PRODUCTIONS exists as an outlet for creative expression, especially through original works, and to bring new voices to the independent theatre community. With each show the company strives to be funny and entertaining, but also to always present a larger truth.

“…This young production company kicks out a tremendous show with an equally powerful ensemble… a company to look out for.” nytheatre.com

“Here’s a good rule of thumb for your future New York theater ventures: if the show is a product of No Tea Productions, you’ll almost certainly be entertained, and maybe even moved…this is a company that’s on a roll right now, and has nowhere to go but up.” BlogCritics Magazine

“Quirky…[Jeff] Sproul delivers an impressive performance…staged nicely.”
Anita Gates, The New York Times (Liars)

“A delightful piece of theater, chock full of comedic tales; complex and not so, that cuts to the core of how people connect, disconnect and sadly never connect.”
Lee Bines, Retrovision Media (Plucking Failures Like Ripe Fruit)

“Wickedly smart, skillfully executed, and unflinchingly honest…That a play this minor could succeed so greatly even in New York is a reason for hope for American theater.”
Ethan Stanislawski, Blogcritics.org (The Artistical Process of Mark and Andy)

“This production is a good reason to go out and see some short plays that you may already know but love to see done well. The cast really makes it.”
Richard Hinojosa, nytheatre.com (The Pigeon that Cries in My Heart)

HORSE TRADE THEATER GROUP is a self-sustaining theater development group; with a focus on new work, it has produced a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater. Horse Trade’s Resident Artist Program offers a home to a select group of Independent Theater artists, pooling together a great deal of talent and energy. It is also the home of FRIGID New York – the first and only festival of its kind in New York City.