Finborough Scales Back THE WALLACE to Staged Reading, Sept 15

Finborough Theatre regrets that, due to funding issues, they have had to cancel the planned full production of The Wallace. Instead, Finborough will be presenting a staged reading of the play for one performance only on Monday, 15 September 2014 at 7.30pm.

The English premiere of THE WALLACE, A Triumph in Five Acts by Sydney Goodsir Smith, will be directed by Jamie Jackson and presented by Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre.

"What is this Scotland? Why does it elude me?
Her armies conquered, her strengths taken,
Her king in exile, and her nobles tamed,
And one man at large. One man."

Commissioned by the Finborough Theatre as part of its Scotland Decides/Tha Alba a'taghadh2014 season to coincide with the Scottish Independence Referendum on Thursday 18 September 2014, a Scottish theatre classic, unseen in England, the English premiere of The Wallace.

A country without rule. A radical young freedom fighter. An elderly king. A thrilling and emotionally charged account of one of Scotland's greatest heroes.

At 27, William Wallace is a little known outlaw. Within a year, having defeated an English army at the battle of Falkirk, he is appointed guardian of Scotland. Barely five years later, he is captured by the English army and put on trial in London as the most wanted man in the British Isles.

The Wallace tells the story of William Wallace's radicalisation as an ordinary man is transformed through the love of his country into a leader and warrior, and offers a unique interpretation of his final days - culminating in an explosive and devastating confrontation with the King of England, Edward I.

Using a richly poetic vernacular Scots, The Wallace was written in 1960, and originally premiered in the Assembly Hall at the Edinburgh Festival, Sydney Goodsir Smith's spectacular retelling of William Wallace's final years receives its English premiere at the Finborough Theatre. Goodsir Smith presents his version of a life previously dramatised in Mel Gibson's film Braveheart.

Playwright Sydney Goodsir Smith (1915-1975) was a poet, artist, dramatist and novelist. Born in New Zealand, Goodsir Smith moved to Edinburgh as a young child, this would provide the inspiration for his development as a writer in scots, and a prominent figure in the Scottish Literary Renaissance; publishing a variety of novels, plays and poetry.

Director Jamie Jackson has is currently directing Alice Through The Looking Glass (Iris Theatre) and is working with Poleroid Theatre on a production for Wilderness Festival. Previous direction includes Life on a Plum (Nabokov), Bangin' Wolves (Theatre Renegade at the Bush Theatre Attic) and Coal Eaters (Theatre503). Assistant Direction includes The El Train (Hoxton Hall), co-directed by Sam Yates and Ruth Wilson, and The Act (Trafalgar Studios and Ovalhouse).

The reading will take place at Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED. Box Office 0844 847 1652. Book online at www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk. FOR ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY! Monday, 15 September 2014 at 7.30pm. All tickets £10.

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