Celebrations continue in Tron Theatre Company's 35th year and after a brilliant spring-summer season, they're delighted to announce their programme for the autumn. Highlights will include:
. Original Tron Artistic Director Faynia Williams directing
Richard Crane's award-winning Brothers Karamazov.
. The world premiere of high-camp co-production with Birds of Paradise, Blanche & Butch, written by Robert Softley Gale.
. Magnetic North and Traverse Theatre Company's co-production Our Fathers, with atheist sons of clergymen, Nicholas Bone and Rob Drummond on a quest to find out how we disagree with someone we love.
. The amazing RashDash with their award-winning, genre-defying hit Two Man Show about gender, language and humankind.
In 1984, Faynia Williams became the Tron's first ever Artistic Director, with her husband
Richard Crane the dramaturg. This autumn, the pair return with Brothers Karamazov (12-28 Oct, Press Night: Friday 13 Oct, 7.45pm), Richard's dramatization of the Dostoyevsky novel with questions of faith and immortality at its core, which Faynia will direct. With wit and compassion and underscored by haunting a cappella harmonies sung by the four brothers, Crane's adaptation is a brilliant distillation of the murder, mystery, madness and redemption in Dostoyevsky's original epic text.
Tron Theatre Company pantomimes have become synonymous with irreverence and mayhem and this year promises to be no different. Alice in Weegieland (1 Dec '17 - 7 Jan '18, Press Night: Tues 5 Dec, 7.30pm) penned once again by Johnny McKnight comes complete with a Mad Bad Hatter wae all the patter, a maniacal power-hungry queen and a mysterious white rabbit speaking an incomprehensible language (aka the Glesga-banter).
In the main auditorium, a number of exciting co-productions sit alongside award-winning touring shows. Dogstar Theatre Company present Matthew Zajac's new work, The Sky is Safe (1 & 2 Sept, 7.45pm), a love story, a war story and a microcosm of our time. Utter in association with The Byre Theatre, St Andrews present Stand By (7-9 Sept, 7.45pm). Written by former police officer,
Adam McNamara, this unique story, told using single-piece headphones, lays bare the modern-day Police Service. With original songs and high camp Blanche & Butch (14-16 Sept, Press Night: 15 Sept, 7.45pm), is Robert Softley Gale's new piece for Bird of Paradise Theatre Company about the lives, loves and losses of three disabled drag queens who formed the sensational Heelz n Wheelz and Team Viking (20 & 21 Sept, 7.45pm), a runaway hit at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival, is the heart-lifting and incredibly moving story of James Rowland's best friend and the Viking burial that was his last request.
All the Things I Lied About (22 & 23 Sept, 7.45pm) is
Katie Bonna's fearlessly honest show that unpicks how everyday lies can lead to a world of Trump and Brexit. From the same producer, we also present Heather (26 & 27 Sept, 7.45pm) a short, sharp play by
Thomas Eccleshare about language, prejudice and the power. RashDash have garnered a formidable reputation and we're delighted they are bringing their genre-defying hit about gender, language and humankind, Two Man Show (28 & 29 Sept, 7.45pm), to the Tron. Our main house programme is concluded with Our Fathers (1-4 Nov, 7.45pm), Magnetic North and Traverse Theatre Company's co-production in which Rob Drummond and Nicholas Bone, both atheist sons of clergymen, are on a quest to find out how we disagree with someone we love.
Our Changing House programme opens with previews of a new Vanishing Point double bill Striptease/Out At Sea (21 & 22 Sept, 8pm), two bizarre, politically-charged and hilarious pieces by master of The Theatre of the Absurd, Slavomir Mrožek. Using an interactive blend of storytelling, poetry and science The Coolidge Effect (27 - 30 Sept, 8pm) examines how pornography affects our mental health, relationships and sexual experiences.
There are two pieces of work for younger audiences in this season: At A Stretch (23 Sept, 12pm & 2.30pm), Jordan and Skinner's poignant and playful LGBT show without words about two women who meet, get stuck together with elastic and despite their best efforts, fall in love and The Story of the Little Gentleman (7 Oct, 11.30am & 2pm), Catherine Wheels' energetic two-hander celebrating friendship and acceptance.
Bijli have recently been appointed NTS Company in Residence and Tron is delighted that they will present the world premiere of One Mississippi (13 & 14 Oct, 8pm) this autumn, a hard-hitting verbatim play exploring the impact childhood experiences have on men's adult lives. The Changing House programme closes with Tron Theatre Company's own charmingly festive production for very young children, Tinsel Toon (30 Nov-31 Dec) written and directed by Lisa Keenan.
The Tron Creative programme goes from strength to strength, fostering wide-reaching conversations between artist, community and audience. Outside Eyes (31 Oct, 7.45pm), the twice-yearly scratch platform presents a selection of brand new ideas from theatre-makers and live artists; the Mayfesto Award celebrates Scotland's Year of Young People in 2018 with a cash prize and script development package awarded to one writer aged between 18 and 25 and the LabWeek residency is back for winter, where we're partnering with Imaginate to champion new work intended for young audiences. In the Vic Bar, we've got Sunday Jazz, The Seven Song Club sponsored by Makar Gin, Poetry Slams, work-in-progress performances of Progressive Playwright Award winner Jo Lennie's work Lily, the ever-popular Christine Bovill and a new An Evening with. session celebrating Americana, the sound of the Californian coast and blue-eyed soul.
Andy Arnold says of the new season:
'It's fitting that in our 35th year we welcome back Faynia Williams and
Richard Crane to head up the creative team on Brothers Karamazov - it promises to be a fitting centerpiece to the season given the politically and spiritually tumultuous times we are living in. Exploring diverse themes, we're delighted also to be able to present such an eclectic selection of visiting work, including many world premiere performances from companies whose award-winning creative output is powerful, hard-hitting and relevant to our times.'
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