LETTERS TO MORRISSEY to Receive World Premiere at Traverse Festival 2017

Award-winning playwright Gary McNair returns to the Traverse Theatre after his sell-out hit A Gambler's Guide to Dying, and pioneering verbatim work Locker Room Talk, with the World Premiere of Letters to Morrissey, presented by the Traverse Theatre Company in association with Tron Theatre, as part of Traverse Festival 2017. Reunited with director Gareth Nicholls (now Associate Director at the Traverse), McNair has written, and will perform in, this new one-man show.

Letters to Morrissey is the third in a trilogy of often darkly comic works drawing on the joys and struggles of growing up in working class Scotland, explored through letters written to renowned singer-songwriter Morrissey at the turn of the millennium by a conflicted teenager from the outskirts of Glasgow. It's a thoughtful play, riddled with secrets, considering our human desire to be understood, and about finding potentially false kinship in an icon you don't actually know. Spanning a timeframe from the late '90s to now, our protagonist is prompted to confront embarrassing teenage memories, brutal truths, and those letters and ask, as Morrissey did: "... is evil just something you are. Or something you do?".

Letters to Morrissey will mark McNair's fourth festival run at the Traverse, following A Gambler's Guide to Dying (2015), Donald Robertson Is Not a Stand-Up Comedian (2014) - both directed by Nicholls - and Born To Run (2012), directed by McNair. A Gambler's Guide to Dying won McNair and Nicholls a Fringe First and a Holden Street Theatres' award, enjoyed a subsequent world tour and stint at Adelaide Festival 2016, and has just completed a successful off-Broadway run in New York.

During Traverse Festival 2017, the Traverse will also present the World Premiere of Locker Room Talk, written by McNair, with a special two performance event on Monday 21 August.

Letters to Morrissey is presented as part of the Made in Scotland showcase.

Gary McNair, Writer, says:

"I am delighted to be sharing Letters To Morrissey at the Traverse - it's a piece that I've wanted to make for many years and I believe it opens up a new side of me I don't often get to share, so I'm very excited to bring it into the world. The Traverse curate the most vital work from incredible artists from near and far and they attract a passionate, international audience to the space, so to be opening new work there, especially in August, is a great feeling. It's a pleasure to work with Gareth again; we've been making work together since we left drama school over ten years ago, when he became my most trusted collaborator. It also means a great deal to be selected for the Made in Scotland showcase again. Being a part of it in 2015 gave me the opportunity to take my work across the world, to places I never could have otherwise. It's a fantastic programme and I'm proud to be included."

Gareth Nicholls, Associate Director, Traverse Theatre says:

"Letters to Morrissey will be the third show Gary and myself have opened at the Traverse Festival and we feel very proud to be back again. The Traverse during the festival is a unique place with eclectic audiences, packed houses and artists from all over the world sharing their passions, fears and hopes. It's an environment we adore and the perfect place for us to present this new show. Having worked together for years we hope this piece will build on our existing work, bringing together Gary's unique blend of humour and heart, whilst pushing forward down some new artistic avenues. We're very excited and looking forward to sharing the results."

traverse.co.uk

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