Tron Theatre Reveals Autumn-Winter 2023 Season, Artistic Director Andy Arnold's Final Season After 16-Year Tenure

Tron Theatre has enjoyed another successful and busy season, delivering some of the most exciting new work being staged in Scotland at the moment, including a blistering re-mount of Eilidh Loan's Moorcroft in July, which will go out on tour across Scotland with National Theatre of Scotland this October; and the 5-star production of Cyprus Avenue by David Ireland, which will return for a week-long run in Glasgow's Pavilion Theatre in early 2024. 

The theatre is now introducing their new programme for Autumn-Winter 2023, and announces that it will be Artistic Director, Andy Arnold's last season at the venue as he stands down from the role after almost sixteen years at the artistic helm.

Shereen Nanjiani MBE, Chair of the Board of Trustees says of Andy's time as Artistic Director, 'In his time at the Tron, Andy Arnold has given us so many exciting, provocative - often downright absurb - but always entertaining theatre experiences.  Throughout even the toughest of times, he's remained passionately committed to the Tron's vital role in the theatre eco-system and a vocal advocate for the sector as a whole. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I thank him for everything he's done for the Tron.'

Says Andy of his last-ever season with the Tron Theatre, 'I have such mixed emotions about introducing this programme for Autumn-Winter 2023 - a great and very typical Tron season, but also, alas, my last. I originally saw my post at the Tron as a short-term venture to round off my Glasgow theatre work following my lengthy tenure at the Arches, but instead, fell in love with making and staging work at the Tron and built such strong relationships with the brilliant team there as well as with all the artists who have passed through our doors over the years, that the short-term venture has lasted over fifteen years! The time is right for me to move on and I'm extremely proud to be closing out my role as the Tron's Artistic Director with such a full and vibrant programme.'

Irreverent, but still faithful to the original, Tron Theatre Company's Nae Expectations (19 Oct - 4 Nov, Press Performance: Tuesday 25th October, 7.30pm) is Gary McNair's fresh look at the Dickens classic, with a Glasgow tongue and a gallus spirit. This will be the very last Tron Theatre Company production to be directed by Andy and he's assembled a brilliantly comedic ensemble including Gavin Jon Wright as Pip, Karen Dunbar as the extraordinarily strange Miss Havisham and Gerry Mulgrew as Abel Magwitch.  Andy says of his final directorial outing for Tron Theatre Company: 'I'm thrilled that my last main stage production will be another collaboration with Gary McNair, who I worked with on The Alchemist in 2019. I've drawn together a brilliant cast - some of whom have worked with me on productions throughout the decades - making this staging as absurdist and theatrical as you've come to expect'.

Continuing on the Dickens theme, the theatre's pantomime this year is a refreshed version of Aganeza Scrooge (29 Nov '23 - 7 Jan '24, Press Performance:  Friday 1st December, 7pm) - Johnny McKnight's first ever panto for us, staged way back in 2011. Sally Reid played Tiny Tim in the original version and she returns this year in the role of director - working alongside glitter-king designer Kenny Miller, musical maestro Ross Brown and a few other well-kent faces, for this unforgettable spin on the classic 'bah humbug-to-festive-generosity' transformational story, A Christmas Carol.

The company's small but mighty visiting programme opens in the main house with Mark Thomas in Ed Edward's England & Son (14-16 Sept), a kaleidoscopic odyssey where disaster capitalism, empire, stolen youth and stolen wealth merge into the simple tale of a working class boy who just wants his dad to smile at him; followed by writer/director Andy McGregor's Battery Park (28-30 Sept), a play with live music about Britpop, glorious defeat and working class dreams. In our Changing House, Katie Barnett  and James Siggens of AyeTunes! present a Doric jukebox musical, My Doric Diary (26-28 Oct) about what it means to love and what it takes to let go; and we support our friends at A Moment's Peace Theatre Company with their Women's Creative Company performance of We Incite This Meeting (13-14 Sept), an evening of storytelling created by ten women with strong voices, bold ideas and a serious love of tea.

Tron CREATIVE, our year round Artist Development programme aimed at providing opportunities to encourage and develop the talented community of creative practitioners making theatre in Scotland, has a busy season of work ahead. With a new LabWeek residency and an exciting BUILD programme of workshops, talks and social activities, highlights this season include a 3-day residency with founder of ThickSkin, Neil Bettles on Devising Physical Theatre (7-9 Sept), a session on Harnessing Queer Joy (13 Oct) with James Ley and The Direct Approach (20 Nov) with Becky Hope-Palmer, three directors workshopping one scene with six actors.

Tron Participation will continue to deliver their extensive programme of work, in situe at the Tron and out in the community. The brilliant, outdoor Walking Tall Tales sessions will continue in Toryglen and Tollcross Park for families and pre-schoolers. Community Skillshops and Tronversations will take their Great Stories, High Expectations drama workshops to primary schools and community groups across Glasgow, linking in with our own production of Nae Expectations; a range of supporting materials for Nae Expectations will also be made available to secondary school students and teachers attending a performance; and Tron Ambassadors, our work experience programme for 14-19 year olds will see a new host of recruits learn about non-performance routes into the arts.

The Autumn-Winter 2023 season will go on-sale on Tuesday 25th July at 11am with all performances, workshops and classes available to book online or by telephone.