Red Bridge Arts/Traverse Theatre Company's BLACK BEAUTY Blends Storytelling, Music And Puppetry

Red Bridge Arts & Traverse Theatre Company's BLACK BEAUTY, a "five-star triumph" (The Guardian), gallops into the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts with a story of hope, friendship and courage from Friday, April 26 to Sunday, May 5, 2019, in The Wallis's Lovelace Studio Theater. Created by Andy Manley, Andy Cannon and Shona Reppe, this re-telling blends storytelling, music and puppetry, offering fun and adventure for fans of the book, the UK's classic TV show and those brand new to the tale. From the cozy horsebox they call home, Andy and Andy take the bit firmly between their teeth to weave the classic tale, as it has never been seen before. The production, which includes audience engagement, is recommended for families with kids ages 5 and older.

According to critics, Black Beauty is "fun, joyful and touching... a worthy recipient of the Black Beauty baton," (The List) and "very funny and deliciously unique" (Sunday Herald).

""We are fortunate to welcome back the talented Black Beauty team that delighted our audiences several years ago with White, their winner of three Edinburgh Fringe Festival awards," says The Wallis' Artistic Director Paul Crewes. "They are among Scotland's most experienced makers of theater for young audiences, having produced highly regarded and internationally renowned work."

Tickets, $25, are on sale now and available at TheWallis.org/Beauty. The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills. To purchase tickets and for more information, please call 310-746-4000 or visit TheWallis.org/Beauty.

About the Artists:

Andy Manley (Wee Andy, Co-Creator and Co-Writer) is a theater artist based in the U.K. who specializes in creating theater for young audiences. He creates performances largely through devising, though he has also worked on several written projects. He directs or performs depending on what feels right for the show. His work for young audiences includes: Stick by Me with Red Bridge Arts; Night Light with Teater Refleksion (Denmark) and Red Bridge Arts; White, Martha, Kappa, The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk with Catherine Wheels Theatre Company; Potato Needs a Bath and HUFF with Shona Reppe; Little Light and My House with Starcatchers; and Rudolf and Mikey and Addie with Macrobert Arts Centre. His directing credits include work for Catherine Wheels, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne, Macrobert Arts Centre, M6 Theatre Company, Polka Theatre Theatre, Barneteatret Vart (Norway), Theater o.N (Germany), and Theater Junge Generation (Germany). Manley has previously been seen at The Wallis in White.

PAUL CURLEY (Older Andy) As an actor and devisor, Curley has collaborated with a wide range of companies in Ireland and the UK and has toured extensively throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North America, and South East Asia. Some recent work includes: White (Catherine Wheels); Black Beauty (Red Bridge Arts); Creating Gods (Mingo Rajandi); Happily Ever After (Action Transport Theatre); The Bockety World of Henry & Bucket, Jack, Boy with a Suitcase (Barnstorm); How to Keep an Alien (Sonya Kelly & Rough Magic) CARE and FARM (WillFredd); An Ideal Husband (The Gate Theatre); Assassins (Rough Magic SEEDS); Plaza Suite (Rough Magic); Snow Mouse (Travelling Light/The Egg); Mr Benn, Monster Hits, Twinkle Twonkle (Tall Stories, London); Bake!, The Dig (Paul Curley & Ger Clancy). Originally from the West of Ireland, he is an alumni member of Six in the Attic, an Irish Theatre Institute resource-sharing initiative.

ANDY CANNON (Co-Creator and Co-Writer) is a writer, performer and professional storyteller based in Scotland. He founded Wee Stories Theatre for Children in 1996 and during his time as Artistic Director of the company, he was the lead or co-artist of many acclaimed productions-including the award winning productions of Labyrinth and Arthur. Since leaving Wee Stories in 2012, he has been creating and performing his own work, Scota-land for the 2012 Imaginate Festival and the London 2012 festival, Tales of a Grandson, Black Beauty and Space Ape. In 2014, he was the Creative Performance Director of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.

SHONA REPPE (Designer and Co-Creator) studied Theater and Art History at Glasgow University, followed by a postgraduate degree in Stage Design at the Welsh College of Drama in Cardiff (1992). In 1994 she attended The London School of Puppetry Summer School and established Shona Reppe Puppets in 1996. Shona's own work for young audiences includes Cinderella (winner of the Total Theatre Award and IPAY's Victor award), Potato Needs a Bath and The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean (nominated for a Total Theatre award and winner of the TMA Theatre U.K. Award for Best Kid's Theater Show). Collaborative work includes designing the show White with Andy Manley and Catherine Wheels and co-creating HUFF, (winner of Herald Angel and a Critics Award for Theatre Award 2014).

Ian Cameron (Creative Collaborator) trained as a visual artist at Central School of Art and Design in London before going on to study in the field of physical theater and puppetry with teachers including Lecoq, Gaulier, Monique Pagneaux, Pierre Byland, Théâtre du Movement and Desmond Jones. He has been a director, co-creator and performer in various award-winning productions such as Shona Reppe's Cinderella, Magnetic North's A Walk At The Edge Of The World and Catherine Wheels Theatre productions of White and The Voice Thief. Most recently he co-directed Magnetic North and Traverse Theatre's co-production Our Fathers and directed and co-created Stick by Me with Andy Manley.

DAVID TROUTON (Composer and Sound Designer) is a musician and composer best known for his work in theatre for young audiences. His long-standing collaborations with Wee Stories, Catherine Wheels, Visible Fictions and many other independent theatre companies have resulted in numerous award-winning shows, many of which tour internationally. David is also well known for his work in music education, exploring emotional literacy through music with pre-school and primary pupils, designing and delivering crosscurricular learning projects and developing creative resources for teachers. His most recent books Music and Me and Music in Transition set out to develop pre-reading and emotional literacy skills in the nursery using music and creative play.

SIMON WILKINSON (Lighting Designer) designs lighting for theatre, opera and dance in all shapes, sizes and locations. For Robert Lepage and Ex Machina, Simon lit The Magic Flute as part of the Quebec City Opera Festival. For the National Theatre of Scotland, he lit The 306: Dawn, Dragon (with Vox Motus and Tianjin People's Art Theatre, China), The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, Roman Bridge, Truant and A Sheep Called Skye. For Vox Motus, his designs include Flight, Dragon, The Infamous Brothers Davenport (with the Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh), The Not-So-Fatal Death of Grandpa Fredo, Bright Black and the multi-award winning Slick. Simon has won the CATS Award for Best Design three times - for Flight in 2018, Black Beauty in 2017 and Bondagers in 2015. Over the years, his lighting has created a Guinness World Record, brought 30,000 people to a windswept Highland Forest, and caused reports of an alien invasion. For details of Simon's other work visit his website: www.simonwilkinson.net/biog

RED BRIDGE ARTS (Producer) is a producing company with a focus on creating work for young audiences and supporting artists' development. The company's mission is to nourish creativity and encourage curiosity. Since its establishment in 2015 Red Bridge has worked with some of Scotland's most exciting and experienced artists to develop, create and present performances for audiences of all ages. Performances include: Black Beauty in co-production with Traverse Theatre; Night Light created by Andy Manley and Teater Refleksion; Stick by Me by Andy Manley and Ian Cameron; Tales of a Grandson by Andy Cannon; Mikey and Addie by Andy Manley and Rob Evans, and Titus (English version) by Oliver Emanuel (winner of Victor Award).

TRAVERSE THEATRE (Producer) is Scotland's new writing theatre. Formed in 1963 by a group of passionate theatre enthusiasts, the Traverse was founded to extend the spirit of the Edinburgh festivals throughout the year. Today the Traverse nurtures emerging talent, produces award-winning new plays and offers a curated program of the best work from the United Kingdom and beyond, spanning theatre, dance, performance, music and spoken word. The Traverse has launched the careers of some of the UK's most celebrated writers - David Greig, David Harrower and Zinnie Harris - and continues to discover and support new voices - Stef Smith, Morna Pearson, Gary McNair and Rob Drummond. Traverse frequently tours internationally and engages in exchanges and partnerships- most recently in Quebec, Turkey and South Korea.

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