The Traverse Theatre Announces MOUTHPIECE And ARCTIC OIL

The Traverse Theatre announces the two centrepiece Traverse-produced productions of its Autumn/Winter 2018 programme - Mouthpiece and Arctic Oil - which go on sale today, alongside details of a refreshed Class Act programme for 2018 - Scotland's Year of Young People.

The latest full-length play from multiple Fringe First award-winner Kieran Hurley, Mouthpiece (1-22 Dec), produced by the Traverse Theatre in association with HighTide, tells the story of two unlikely lives intertwined - Libby, a onetime writer who whiles away her days in trendy cafes, and Declan, a talented young man struggling with a volatile home life defined by poverty. As they form an uneasy friendship, complicated by class and culture, Libby spots an opportunity to put her writing career back on track, and for once tell a story that really matters.

Surprising, darkly comic and at times shocking, Mouthpiece takes a deeply personal look at the different Edinburghs which often exist in ignorance of one another, and examines whether it's possible to tell someone else's story without exploiting them along the way. The Traverse's Artistic Director Orla O'Loughlin directs.

The second Traverse production to be revealed is Arctic Oil (6-20 Oct), which tells the story of a mother/daughter relationship pushed to breaking point, as they battle against each other - and their environment - to save the ones they love. Set on a small island in the North Sea surrounded by oil rich sea beds, daughter Ella fights to protect her young son from the effects of fossil fuel on climate change. Meanwhile, her mother, Karen, frightened by Ella's activism, goes to overly-protective lengths to keep her daughter close.

Written by IASH/Traverse Creative Fellow 2015 winner Clare Duffy and directed by Traverse Associate Director Gareth Nicholls, Arctic Oil uses a fractured island community setting to get under the skin of what climate change could make us do to the people we love.

Orla O'Loughlin, Traverse Artistic Director (and director of Mouthpiece), says, "Clare and Kieran are two of Scotland's most exciting writers whose work speaks with an urgency and vibrancy about the issues of today. Both Arctic Oil and Mouthpiece explore the beauty and brokenness of intimate relationships against a backdrop of contemporary society's impossible pressures. Each play combines a deep humanity alongside a rallying call for change and take us from the urban centre of Scotland's capital city to a remote island community. We are thrilled to be working with both Kieran and Clare for the first time in bringing these politically charged and big-hearted premieres to our stages."

This year, after a successful iteration in Mumbai in January 2018, our flagship education programme, Class Act returns to Edinburgh schools in a refreshed format. Working with four selected City of Edinburgh Council Schools, Class Act 2018 will match professional playwrights with young people aged 15-18, mentoring them to create their own mini play to be premiered on the Traverse stage this Autumn.

In celebration of the Year of Young People, the participating Class Act schools will also be included in Class Act Connect - which gives Class Act pupils an opportunity to engage with the Traverse on an even deeper level over the school year. Class Act schools will have access to additional theatre skill workshops and free tickets for Traverse Theatre Company productions across the Autumn and Spring season.

Schools can apply to become involved in Class Act Connect here.

Alongside Mouthpiece, a play that explores how the people of Edinburgh connect with and have ownership of their city, we will embark on an embedded creative learning project with the young people of Edinburgh, provoking them to share their Edinburgh stories and asking who is really listening.

Additional educational resources for both Arctic Oil and Mouthpiece will be available to attending schools.

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