Traverse Theatre Announces Spring/Summer 2018 Programme

The Traverse Theatre today reveals its Spring/Summer 2018 season, taking in a range of Traverse-produced work - including brand new and returning productions, as well as exciting playwright and educational projects. It will also see us build new relationships, and strengthen existing ones, with various visiting companies, to present the very best new theatre on our stages.

The centrepiece of our Spring/Summer season will be the world premiere of Frances Poet's Gut, produced in association with National Theatre of Scotland - a thought-provoking piece exploring the psychology of fear and our instincts when it comes to who we can trust with our children. We also welcome back Gary McNair's Locker Room Talk following its autumn performance at the Scottish Parliament to a gathering of political decision-makers - a confronting piece bringing together hundreds of hours of interview material with real men, speaking about women.

Introducing young people to the theatre lies at the heart of our Creative Learning activities, so we are also thrilled to be taking our flagship education project, Class Act, to India in January 2018. Working with the Mumbai-based Rage Theatre Productions, Class Act Mumbai will see Scottish writers and directors collaborate with Indian artists to develop the playwriting skills of students from the city - opening the eyes and minds of even more young people to playwriting and theatre-making, as well as promoting cultural collaboration and advocating for access to the arts for all.

Gut - World Premiere. Traverse Theatre Company in association with National Theatre of Scotland.
24 April-12 May
A psychological thriller exploring our instincts when it comes to who we can trust with our children, ultimately asking the question of whether it is perhaps more dangerous not to trust at all. Written by Frances Poet and directed by Zinnie Harris.

Locker Room Talk - Traverse Theatre Company
4-7 April
Following overwhelming response from previous runs at the Traverse Festival, Abbey Theatre, Latitude Festival and Scottish Parliament, Gary McNair's Locker Room Talk returns to continue a conversation about misogyny and masculinity which has become even more urgent since its premiere. Directed by Traverse Artistic Director, Orla O'Loughlin.

Mind Your Head - Lyceum Youth Theatre and Traverse Theatre
8-10 Mar
Lyceum Youth Theatre and Traverse Young Writers present Mind Your Head, a double bill of performances examining the hot topic of mental wellbeing for young people today - taking in Brainstorm, exploring the complexities of the adolescent brain; Mr Blue Sky, a devised drama exploring happiness; plus a selection of short scenes by the Traverse Young Writers.

Class Act Mumbai
11-24 Jan
Working with the Mumbai-based RAGE Theatre Productions, writers Nicola McCartney and Stef Smith, along with directors Gareth Nicholls and Emma Callander, will collaborate with Indian artists to develop the playwriting skills of students from the city and put their creations on the stage.

Traverse Young Writers
Starts 5 Mar
Ten-week young writers' course of one-off workshops with leading professional playwrights, plus playwriting skills and development work with the Traverse Theatre Artistic Team, culminating in a Scratch Night of the group's work (12 May, 8pm).

Orla O'Loughlin, Artistic Director, says 'I am delighted that our Spring/ Summer 2018 is packed full of timely and exciting theatre. Gut by the brilliant Frances Poet sits at the centre of our programme and is a razor sharp thriller that explores the challenges of contemporary family life. Following its incredible journey throughout 2017 and unprecedented interest around its recent performance at the Scottish Parliament Locker Room Talk by Gary McNair makes an ever more relevant return and our flagship education project Class Act heads to Mumbai marking yet another thrilling stage in its increasingly global evolution. Alongside our own projects we welcome a rich body of wonderful visiting productions continuing our commitment to not just making but seeking out and forming vital relationships with the very best artists and companies out there.'

This season sees us welcome a selection of new visiting companies, as well as deepening our relationships with a number of others. We are thrilled to again be working with the National Theatre of Scotland, not only on Gut (see above), but on a five-night run of their Festival 2017 hit How to Act, as well as Ma, Pa and the Little Mouths - a Tron Theatre, in association with National Theatre of Scotland, world premiere telling a darkly absurdist tale of the reclusive Ma and Pa and the unseen 'Little Mouths'.

Other world premieres include returning company Lung Ha Theatre Company (the leading theatre company for people with learning disabilities in Scotland), in co-production with The Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts (Helsinki), presenting Three Sisters - a story of three women longing to escape life in provincial Russia. While Strange Town bring a cast of young performers aged 14-18 for the world premiere of The Darkness or Else The Light - a timely story of surviving in a world where everyone's data has become public.

We also look forward to a return visit from comic Mark Thomas for Showtime from the Frontline - a funny and touching story of setting up a Comedy Club in the Palestinian city of Jenin. And the ever-exhilarating Scottish Dance Theatre return with a double bill, TuTuMucky/RITUALIA. Blending hip-hop, ballet and contemporary dance TutuMucky returns having wowed festival audiences in 2017, while RITUALIA is the world premiere of a new work made for the company by visionary choreographer Colette Sadler.

Elsewhere, brand new Edinburgh-based company Wildfire Theatre present their first developmental piece, Project #1 - a work-in-progress using individual experiences to shine a spotlight on the perceptions and expectations of working class women. And lunchtime Traverse favourite A Play, A Pie and A Pint returns with a selection of five new plays - including new work by Rob Drummond and Val McDermid - served with a pie and a pint.

The Match Box
13-17 Feb
Scottish Premiere. Firebrand in co-production with The Byre Theatre, St Andrews and Heart of Hawick.
The award-winning Firebrand presents the Scottish premiere of an acclaimed new monologue by one of Ireland's greatest dramatists, Frank McGuinness. Directed by Richard Baron.

Showtime from the Frontline
Lakin McCarthy in association with Theatre Royal Stratford East.
14-17 Feb
Mark Thomas's story of how he set out to run a Comedy Club for two nights in the Palestinian city of Jenin, told alongside two of its actors and aspiring comics, Faisal Abualheja and Alaa Shehada. Directed by Joe Douglas.

The Last Bordello
Fire Exit in co-production with Tron Theatre.
21-24 Feb
In Fire Exit's biggest production to date, writer and director David Leddy tells a story of the last bordello left in a brutal warzone - an x-rated and fiendish tale that gets more suspenseful and provocative with every wrong turn.

Project #1 - Work in Progress. Wildfire Theatre, developed with support from the Traverse Theatre and the University of Edinburgh.
23 & 24 Feb
Brand new Edinburgh-based company Wildfire Theatre - formed by Molly Innes, Pauline Lockhart, Wendy Seager and Natalie Arle-Toyne - present their first developmental piece, a work-in-progress that aims to change the perceptions and expectations of working class women.

The Return - World Premiere. Eden Court Theatre
28 Feb-1 Mar
A gripping play about the mystery of identity and the survival instinct, asking whether we can ever truly know even those we love the best. Inspired by the true story of Martin Guerre. Directed by Philip Howard.

TuTuMucky/RITUALIA - Scottish Dance Theatre
3 Mar
Double bill from returning dance favourites, Scottish Dance Theatre. TuTuMucky is a fresh, rhythmic and explosive piece, choreographed by Botis Seva, while world premiere RITUALIA is visionary choreographer Colette Sadler's interpretation of Stravinsky and Nijinska's 1920s ballet Les Noces.

Three Sisters - World Premiere. Lung Ha Theatre Company in co-production with The Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts (Helsinki, Finland)
16 & 17 Mar
The leading theatre company for people with learning disabilities in Scotland, Lung Ha Theatre Company presents a story of three women longing to escape life in provincial Russia, taking in themes of life, love, loss, dreams, whimsy and hope. Adrian Osmond's new version of Anton Chekhov's classic play. Directed by Maria Oller.

How to Act - National Theatre of Scotland
13-17 Mar
A Festival 2017 hit exploring the contemporary realities of personal, cultural and economic exploitation through two individuals drawn together in the world of theatre - both believe in truth, but each has their own version of it. Written and directed by Graham Eatough.

Winter Solstice - Scottish Premiere. Actors Touring Company and Orange Tree Theatre
21-24 Mar
Family, betrayal and the inescapable presence of the past reverberate in this razor-sharp comedy about the rise of the new right across the globe, penned by Germany's most performed playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig (translated by David Tushingham).

The Duke - Hoipolloi
3-5 Apr
Writer and performer Shôn Dale Jones explores kindness, generosity and the value of what we do, in a tale of the tragi-comic fate of a family heirloom. Produced in aid of Save the Children's Emergency Fund, for which it had raised over £46,000 to date.

A Play, A Pie and A Pint - Produced by A Play, A Pie and A Pint, Òran Mór. Presented by the Traverse Theatre
2 Apr-5 May
A popular feature of the Traverse programme, A Play, A Pie and A Pint returns with five new lunchtime plays, served with a pie and a drink - McGonagall's Chronicles by Gary McNair; Eulogy by Rob Drummond; Rachel's Cousins by Ann Marie di Mambro; Bubblewrap by Hilary Lyon; and Margaret Saves Scotland by Val McDermid.

Anatomy: Finest Cuts - Anatomy Arts
10 & 11 May
Edinburgh-based performance cabaret artists Anatomy take a cleaver to the renowned international archives to carve out a selection of their finest cuts - celebrating the popular and the weird, the joyous and the disturbing, the comforting and the bizarre.

Ma, Pa and the Little Mouths - World Premiere. Tron Theatre Company in association with National Theatre of Scotland
16-19 May
Tron Theatre, in association with National Theatre of Scotland, present the world premiere of Martin McCormick's darkly absurdist new work about the reclusive Ma and Pa and the unseen 'Little Mouths'. Directed by Andy Arnold.

Forbidden Stories - UK Premiere. Ludens Ensemble and European Capital of Culture Pafos 2017
17 & 18 May
A multimedia performance that explores the theme of borders in the separated island of Cyprus, based on interviews conducted with members of the Greek and Turkish communities. Directed by Philippos Philippou.

Pass Out 2018 - Performing Arts Studio Scotland (PASS), Edinburgh College
23 & 24 May
Edinburgh College's Performing Arts Studio Scotland (PASS) returns to the Traverse with their unique take on showcase performances for graduate actors, this year creating new pieces on the theme of 'Revolting!'.

The Darkness or Else The Light - World Premiere. Strange Town
8 & 9 Jun
A cast of young performers aged 14-18 tell a timely story in which an anonymous hack - an act of sabotage or revenge - kicks off a chain of events that changes the whole of society. Directed by Catherine Exposito.

Dive Presents The Miss Annabel Sings Show: Pride March
15 & 16 Jun
Edinburgh's finest purveyors of show-stopping weirdo cabaret present a very special dose of anarchic entertainment in celebration of LGBT Pride.

Our Spring/Summer programme also sees the return of a number of festivals. First up is Manipulate (27 Jan-3 Feb) - now in its eleventh year, 2018 will take in 25 innovative and captivating theatre and film events over seven days. National Theatre Connections (23-31 Mar) also returns - a celebration of young people, theatre-making and the importance of access to the arts. While Edinburgh International Children's Festival (26 May-3 Jun) takes in a selection of the world's best theatre and dance for young audiences.

Finally, Soundhouse continues its musical evenings in the Traverse Café Bar - a programme of jazz, folk, world and Americana on Mondays (and the occasional Sunday), plus four stand-out gigs as part of Tradfest.

Full information and ticket links online here.

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