English Touring Theatre Announces Richard Twyman's Inaugural Season As Artistic Director
By: BWW News Desk Jan. 10, 2017
In the Spring, English Touring Theatre joins forces for the first time with Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory on Twyman's production of Othello which, following a run at the Tobacco Factory Theatre, tours to venues in the UK beginning at Wilton's Musical Hall.
This is followed by two autumn shows - firstly, ETT works with Simon Godwin, Associate Director of the National Theatre, to present the first tour of Sam Holcroft's comedy Rules for Living which premièred at the National's Dorfman Theatre in 2015. The show reunites ETT with co-producers Royal & Derngate, Northampton and Rose Theatre Kingston, with whom they created the critically acclaimed, award-winning revival of Peter Whelan's The Herbal Bed in 2016. It opens in Northampton on 12 September before touring.
Secondly, the autumn sees another new partnership as ETT co-produces with Mercury Theatre Colchester on the Regional Touring Network production of Conor McPherson's The Weir, twenty years after its world première at the Royal Court. The show, opens at Mercury Theatre Colchester on 14 September before travelling to Harrogate, Cheltenham, Doncaster, Barnstaple, Exeter, Oldham, Warwick, Poole and Huddersfield.
Richard Twyman said today, "I'm delighted to announce our new season of work and my first as Artistic Director. In this time of complex and extraordinary change in the country, ETT's role as a national touring company has never felt more important. This season sees us tour to 21 theatres throughout England, bringing audiences together to explore the conventions and fears that shape our national identity and govern our experience of contemporary life.
"Othello, a co-production with Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory, is one of Shakespeare's plays that speaks most directly to our world today. This production interrogates one of the burning tensions of our age, the fear of the 'other' and the perception that their identity may threaten our own.
"In the autumn, we tour the deliriously funny Rules For Living by Sam Holcroft with Simon Godwin making his ETT debut as director. Playful and theatrical, Rules for Living explodes the instantly recognisable dynamic of the family unit at Christmas, laying bare the conventions and anxieties of contemporary society.
"Autumn '17 also sees year two of the Regional Touring Network, a three-year partnership with nine regional theatres to develop new audiences, it continues our commitment to tour top quality drama as widely as possible. This year we are staging a major tour of the 20th Anniversary production of The Weir by Conor McPherson. One of the great pieces of theatrical story-telling, I'm proud we can share this moving and seminal play with new audiences throughout England."
Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory, Tobacco Factory Theatres and English Touring Theatre present
Othello
By William Shakespeare
Director: Richard Twyman; Designer: Georgia Lowe; Lighting Designer: Matt Graham
Sound Designer: GiLes Thomas; Creative Advisor: Abdul-Rehman Malik
16 February - 1 April at Tobacco Factory Theatres
And then English Touring Theatre co-produces the tour to Exeter Northcott Theatre (9 - 13 May) and Wilton's Musical Hall (16 May - 3 June. Public booking opens 27 February).
Cast includes: Abraham Popoola (Othello), Mark Lockyer (Iago), Norah Lopez Holden (Desdemona) and KaTy Stephens (Emelia).
One of Shakespeare's most startlingly contemporary plays, Othello is a masterful depiction of a life torn apart by racism and the destructive nature of prejudice.
Venice, a western colonial power, employs Othello, a Muslim general, to lead their army against Turkish invasion. Forced to assimilate in order to succeed, Othello's life is unraveled by a society divided by race, religion and fear.
Richard Twyman is Artistic Director of English Touring Theatre. He was Associate Director (International) at The Royal Court Theatre between 2013-2016, where his directing work included Torn, Harrogate (also HighTide and UK tour), You For Me For You, Fireworks, The Djinns of Eidgah and PIIGS. His other theatre credits Henry IV Pt II (RSC), Ditch (Old Vic Tunnels/HighTide), Dr Marigold & Mr Chops (Theatre Royal Bath & UK Tour), Sixty-Six Books (Bush Theatre) and Give Me Your Hand (Irish Rep, New York - nomination for the Drama Desk Award 2012 for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Experience). Between 2003 and 2008 he worked at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was Associate Director to Michael Boyd on the multi-award winning Histories Cycle for which he directed Henry IV Pt II. The production, alongside the Histories, was honoured with three Olivier Awards (2009 Best Revival, Best Ensemble, Best Costume), the Evening Standard Editor's Choice Award.
English Touring Theatre, Rose Theatre Kingston and Royal & Derngate, Northampton present
Rules for Living
By Sam Holcroft
Director: Simon Godwin
8 - 30 September at Royal & Derngate, Northampton
Edith must clean to keep calm. Matthew must sit to tell a lie.
Everyone creates their own rules for living. But what happens when an extended family gathers for a traditional Christmas dinner, and each of them rigidly follows those rules?
Christmas day will never be the same again. As the drinks flow and the obligatory games intensify, family resentments rise and relationships are pulled apart with a bang - like oh so many Christmas crackers.
This darkly funny play is produced in collaboration with the producing team who recently won the 2016 UK Theatre Award for Best Touring Production for The Herbal Bed
Sam Holcroft recently adapted Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox for Nuffield Southampton Theatres. She was the Writer-in-Residence at the National Theatre Studio from 2013-14 and was the Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Traverse Theatre in 2009-10. In 2014 she was a recipient of the Windham Campbell Prize for Literature in the Drama category and in 2009 she won the Tom Erhardt Award for up and coming writers. Her other plays include The Wardrobe, Edgar And Annabel, Dancing Bears, While You Lie, Pink, Vanya and Cockroach. She is currently under commission from The Royal Court Theatre.
Simon Godwin directs. He has worked previously at Royal & Derngate, Northampton on Regeneration (also tour), The Seagull, Habeas Corpus, Relatively Speaking and The Quartermaine's Terms (with Salisbury Playhouse). He is an Associate Director at the National Theatre, where he has directed Sunset at the Villa Thalia, The Beaux Stratagem, Man and Superman and Strange Interlude. His work for the Royal Court includes Routes, If You Don't Let Us Dream, We Won't Let You Sleep, NSFW, The Witness, Goodbye to All That, The Acid Test and Wanderlust. For Bristol Old Vic, he has directed The Little Mermaid, Krapp's Last Tape, A Kind of Alaska, Faith Healer and Far Away. His other credits include Hamlet and The Two Gentlemen of Verona (RSC), The Cherry Orchard (Roundabout, New York), Richard II (Shakespeare's Globe), Candida (Theatre Royal Bath) and The Winter's Tale (Headlong with Nuffield Theatre & Schtanhaus/UK tour).
English Touring Theatre and Mercury Theatre Colchester present
The Weir
8 - 16 September at Mercury Theatre, Colchester
Winner of the 1997 Olivier Award for Best New Play, Conor McPherson's chilling, modern classic The Weir embarks on its first ever UK tour in Autumn 2017 in its 20th Anniversary year.
In Brendan's remote bar in rural Ireland, the locals nurse their pints while telling tales of local folklore - old and new. The desire to impress a stranger takes these tales of confessions to a new level, but none of them could be prepared for the one they are about to hear.
TOUR DATES
Mercury Theatre Colchester
8 - 16 September
Box office: 01206 573 948
19 - 23 September
Box Office: 01423 50116
Cheltenham Everyman
26 - 30 September
Box Office: 01242 572573
Cast, Doncaster
3 - 7 October
Box Office: 01302 340422
The Queen's Theatre, Barnstaple
10 - 14 October
Box Office: 01271 324242
Exeter Northcott Theatre
17 - 21 October
Box Office: 01392 726363
Oldham Coliseum Theatre
24 - 28 October
Box Office: 0161 624 2829
Warwick Arts Centre
31 October - 4 November
Box Office: 024 7652 4524
Lighthouse Poole
7 - 11 November
Box Office: 0844 406 8666
Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
14 - 18 November
Box office: 01484 430528
ENGLISH TOURING THEATRE
English Touring Theatre is one of the UK's most successful and influential touring companies. The company works with leading artists to stage an eclectic mix of new and classic work for audiences throughout the UK and overseas; theatre that is thrilling, popular and engaged in the contemporary world. At the heart of everything ETT does is the passionately held belief that everyone, wherever they are in the country, deserves to have access to the very best work. Upcoming tours include Sandi Toksvig's Silver Lining which opens at Rose Theatre Kingston in February and the Olivier Award winning Shakespeare's Globe production of Nell Gwynn, starring Laura Pitt-Pulford.
SHAKESPEARE AT THE TOBACCO FACTORY (stf)
Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory (stf) is an international touring ensemble based in Bristol, producing Shakespeare and other classic work. The Company was founded in 1999 by Andrew Hilton who has directed 37 of its 39 productions to date. Guest directors have included Jonathan Miller who directed Hamlet in 2008, Polina Kalinina who directed Romeo and Juliet in 2015 and Richard Twyman whose forthcoming production of Othello will be seen in 2017. Stf has produced 29 Shakespeares, 3 Chekhovs, the Molière/Tony Harrison The Misanthrope, Middleton & Rowley's The Changeling, Alan Monkhouse's The Conquering Hero, Sheridan's The School For Scandal, Tom Stoppard's modern classic, Arcadia, and the 2015 co-production with Tobacco Factory Theatres of Brian Friel's Living Quarters.
ROSE THEATRE KINGSTON
Founded by Sir Peter Hall, and modelled on the original Elizabethan Rose Theatre on London's Bankside, Rose Theatre Kingston is the largest producing theatre in South West London. Since opening in 2008, the Rose has collaborated with a range of directors, playwrights and producing partners to create vibrant, engaging and inspiring productions. Recent works include Zach Helm's Good Canary directed by John Malkovich, Shakespeare's trilogy The Wars of the Roses directed by Trevor Nunn, David Hare's The Absence of War directed by Jeremy Herrin and Jacqueline Wilson's Hetty Feather (West End transfer and Olivier Award nominee) directed by Sally Cookson. With over 150,000 visitors a year, the Rose enjoys artistic and critical acclaim from its own productions and co-productions as well as from hosting the work of renowned theatre companies including Royal Shakespeare Company, English Touring Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Propeller and Northern Broadsides. With an auditorium that lends itself to both intimate and epic scale productions, the Rose has established itself as one of the most exciting theatres in the UK.
ROYAL & DERNGATE, NORTHAMPTON
Royal & Derngate, Northampton, is the main venue for arts and entertainment in Northamptonshire. Last year more than 314,000 people saw shows and films at Royal & Derngate, and another 180,000 saw its co-produced work across the country. Recognised as one of the country's leading regional theatres, Royal & Derngate won the Management Award for Best Presentation of Touring Theatre in the 2015 UK Theatre Awards, and was nominated again in The Stage Awards 2016 for Regional Theatre of the Year (which it won in 2011). Its acclaimed Made in Northampton work has included Arthur Miller's The Hook (world premiere adapted for the stage by Ron Hutchinson), Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (world premiere adaptation by Dawn King) and Festival Of Chaos (Cultural Olympiad 2012). The Herbal Bed (a co-production with English Touring Theatre and Rose Theatre Kingston) won the 2016 UK Theatre Award for Best Touring Production. The theatre also runs a wide-ranging Get Involved participatory programme which reached over 21,500 people last year, through projects in schools, within the community and at the theatre.
MERCURY THEATRE COLCHESTER
The Mercury Theatre Colchester is the most active producing theatre in East Anglia, and is a vital centre of excellence in the East's growing creative economy. The Mercury exists to put theatre at the heart of the community it serves and to make work in Colchester that reaches audiences and generates critical attention regionally and nationally.
Comments
Videos