Frantic Assembly Turns 30 And Announces Collaborative New Programme

Internationally acclaimed theatre company Frantic Assembly celebrate 30 years with the  announcement of a dynamic new programme of work. Over the last three decades Frantic  Assembly has redefined the landscape of contemporary theatre-making, foregrounded the  role of movement directors and choreographers in new dramatic works and inspired  writers, actors and dancers to embrace new creative processes. Frantic Assembly’s innovation continues to shape theatre by amplifying the stories of marginalised voices both onstage and off, and empowering artists from often-overlooked communities through  its groundbreaking Ignition programme. 

Scott Graham, co-Founder and Artistic Director of Frantic Assembly said: “I am not sure how to feel about Frantic Assembly turning 30! That seems like quite a  large number to capture what essentially feels like a blur! But when I stop to think about  it there is much to be proud of. I like to think there has been a positive impact upon how  theatre is made, who gets to make it, and how our young people are invited to engage with  it.  

Our productions, outreach and accessible training have spawned a methodology that  invites and supports creativity from those who might have found theatre distant or elitist.  I am proud of that. But I am not going to spend too long celebrating the 30th birthday. I  am more interested in ‘what’s next?’ It can be fun to look back but it is much more exciting  to look forward.” 

THE NEW PROGRAMME:  

LOST ATOMS  

A highlight of Frantic Assembly’s 30th anniversary programme announced today is the  world premiere of new play Lost Atoms by Anna Jordan (Succession/ Killing Eve, Yen, We  Anchor in Hope), directed by Frantic Assembly artistic director Scott Graham. The new  production will tour for 17 weeks from September 2025 with full dates and venues to be  released soon.  

Lost Atoms tells the story of a relationship: an extraordinary, transformative love. Or is  that only in hindsight? Perhaps it was just typical? Or toxic? Or doomed from the start?  One thing’s for sure: It changed their lives. Two people plunge deep into their shared pasts  and propel themselves into multiple imagined futures.  

At times hilarious, at times devastating, Lost Atoms explores how memory impacts the  way we look at love, and asks what makes a truly ‘successful’ relationship?   

Commissioned and Produced by Frantic Assembly, Lost Atoms will be a co-production  with Curve, MAST Mayflower Southampton and the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. The  creative team will also include set designer Andzrej Goulding, lighting designer Simisola  Majekodunmi, sound designer Carolyn Downing, music supervisor Julie Blake and  Costume Designer Alice McNicholas.  

THE HOUSE PARTY  

Following its run at Chichester Festival Theatre in May 2024, Headlong’s hit production  of The House Party by Laura Lomas, co-produced with Chichester Festival Theatre in  association with Frantic Assembly, returns for further touring dates in 2025, presented  by Leeds Playhouse and Rose Theatre, Kingston with Bristol Old Vic. 

Written by Laura Lomas (Metamorphoses, The Blue Woman, Chaos), The House Party is  a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation, directed by  Headlong’s Artistic Director Holly Race Roughan (The New Real, A View from the Bridge,  Henry V) with movement direction by Scott Graham.  

When The House Party premiered at Chichester Festival Theatre it featured six Ignition  graduates as ensemble members, many making their professional debut. All six will now  reprise their roles in the new tour: Amaia Naima Aguinaga, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor,  Micah Corbin-Powell, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.

A wild party. A friendship. A cherished pet. And a night that changes everything. It’s  Julie’s 18th birthday, and she’s throwing a party in her father’s extravagant townhouse.  Her boyfriend has just dumped her and her long-suffering Best Friend Christine is trying  to pick up the pieces. As the revellers pile into the booze, down in the kitchen Christine  and her boyfriend Jon – son of Julie’s cleaner – clear up and dare to dream of the future.  But as the volume goes up and the shots go down, Julie concocts a twisted cocktail of  privilege, desire and destruction. 

Presented by Leeds Playhouse and Rose Theatre, Kingston with Bristol Old Vic The  House Party is at Leeds Playhouse 21 February – 1 March 2025, Rose Theatre Kingston  4 - 22 March 2025 and Bristol Old Vic 23 April – 3 May 2025.  

CARNIVAL  

Another highlight of the upcoming year is Carnival a ground-breaking new collaboration  with the Aurora Orchestra, pioneers of memorised orchestral performance, which  premieres at the Southbank Centre on 3 May 2025. Featuring Saint-Saëns’ vibrant  introduction to orchestral instruments The Carnival of the Animals, this new staging will  be performed from memory and infused with dynamic movement by Frantic Assembly alongside design, lighting and new text by Kate Wakeling.  

From the virtuosic flight of the flute to the demon speed of the pianists, and from the floor shaking footsteps of the double bass to the soft glides of the cello, prepare to be dazzled  by this spectacular carnival parade.  

In a playful twist, the second part of Aurora’s Carnival takes us behind the curtain to see  what happens to the performers when the show is over. Specially commissioned for this  production, Richard Ayres’ new work Dr Frompou’s Anatomical Study of an  Orchestra introduces madcap scientist Dr Frompou, who keeps the instruments of the  orchestra captive in a laboratory, performing musical experiments and finding new ways  to make strange and powerful sounds.  

Carnival is an Aurora Orchestra/Southbank Centre co-production developed in  collaboration with Frantic Assembly. It will premiere at the Queen Elizabeth Hall,  Southbank Centre, London on 3 May, before touring to Snape Maltings, Suffolk on 11 May as part of a special weekend marking Aurora’s 20th Anniversary, and The Apex, Bury St  Edmunds on 23 May. More details and tickets via www.franticassembly.co.uk 

IGNITION – CHRISTMAS BIG GIVE  

Following the announcement earlier this year that Frantic Assembly’s flagship  programme Ignition would not go ahead for the first time in 15 years owing to a lack of  funding, a fundraising campaign was launched. Frantic Assembly has since raised over  50% of the £75k running cost of the project, needed to bring the vital programme back  next year. 

Ignition is an innovative, free vocational training programme for young people aged 16- 24, designed specifically to discover and nurture under-represented talent in communities  where access to the arts is limited or non-existent. 

As fundraising efforts continue, Frantic Assembly will be taking part in this year’s Big  Give Christmas Challenge an annual nationwide public giving campaign that runs for 7  days between 3 – 10 December. For every pound raised towards the Ignition target, the  Big Give matches that with another pound, effectively doubling the donation. The Big  Give match-funding is supported by the Julia Rausing Trust.  

Artists including Lenny Henry, Guy Garvey and Ignition alumni Paapa Essiedu were  amongst those who attended an Ignition Fundraiser in October and are lending their  support to the Christmas Big Give campaign in aid of Frantic Assembly’s nationwide  talent development programme. For further details https://biggive.org/christmaschallenge/. 

FRANTIC MIRRORS  

Frantic Assembly’s Chair Duets, a task-based devising process for creating choreographed  movement, became a global phenomenon when it went viral. Versions of the task have  been shared and uploaded to YouTube and 100,000s of people have taken part or viewed.  To celebrate turning 30, Frantic Assembly will release a new viral challenge for 2025.  Frantic Mirrors will give people across the world an opportunity to explore their creativity  and share their take on the simple step by step creative task. Further details will  announced in early 2025 at https://www.franticassembly.co.uk/. 

FRANTIC ASSEMBLY BOOK OF DEVISING THEATRE  

Frantic Assembly is studied as a leading contemporary theatre practitioner on five British  and International academic syllabuses. To mark 30 years of work, the much-loved and  well-used Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre will be released in an updated, third  edition with new content from Scott Graham. A uniquely personal and authoritative 

account of the history and practice of Frantic Assembly, breaking down the Frantic  Method and how it can be applied. The book includes sections on ‘Warm-Ups and  Preparation’, ‘Practical Devising Processes’, and ‘Presenting Work – How our work is  made and how those processes can be used in the classroom and drama studio’ and ‘Tips,  advice and processes for collaboration’. The third edition of Frantic Assembly Book of  Devising Theatre will be published by Routledge and released in late 2025.

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