HighTide Announces Steven Atkinson's Final Season As Artistic Director

Steven Atkinson, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of HighTide, has today announced his final season for the company, which includes a full season of new writing at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019, and the return of HighTide Festivals in Aldeburgh and Walthamstow.

Steven Atkinson said: 'For my last season at HighTide we're disrupting how we make theatre by combining three productions that we have commissioned ourselves written by Sophie Ellerby, Kenneth Emson and Eve Leigh, and we're now inviting emerging artists to create two further productions with us that will develop what a HighTide show can be.'

In August as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019, HighTide has partnered with Assembly Festival to present: Disruption: the future of new theatre, co-curated by HighTide and Assembly, exclusively at Assembly Roxy.

Running July 31 - August 26, the season will be formed of nine shows, each piece demonstrating HighTide and Assembly Festival's shared vision for new writing as a space of political, contemporary and provocative work, created by new, diverse artists. The centrepiece production is Rust by Kenny Emson, a HighTide / Bush Theatre production directed by Eleanor Rhode. Rust will then transfer to HighTide Festivals Aldeburgh and Walthamstow.

Disruption references the type of shows in the season, and the approach to producing them. Unlike the traditional process of play commissioning, HighTide are now welcoming applications from independent theatremakers to co-produce two productions in the season with HighTide, followed by transfers to HighTide Festivals Aldeburgh and Walthamstow. Full application details on are hightide.org.uk, and the closing date is Friday January 4 2019.

HighTide Festivals will return to Aldeburgh and Walthamstow with LIT, a world premiere by Sophie Ellerby (THREE, Arcola), directed by Stef O'Driscoll (Artistic Director of nabokov), ahead of transferring to Nottingham Playhouse. A co-production between HighTide / Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company, LIT explores the turbulent teenage years of a girl looking for love in all the wrong places. The spark of LIT came from Sophie's experience studying young women and mothers in the prison system. Director Stef O'Driscoll, director of Paines Plough Roundabout 2018 Season, is a leading innovator in British theatre; 'Creates an alternative experience for people who don't think theatre is for them.' The Stage.

LIT joins Rust as the headline productions for HighTide Festivals Aldeburgh and Walthamstow. HighTide Festival Aldeburgh will run September 10 - 15 2019. The full festival programme will be announced in May 2019 when tickets go on sale. HighTide are fast developing their plans to secure the return of HighTide Festival Walthamstow 2019 as part of the first London Borough of Culture. The full festival programmes and details will be announced in May 2019 when tickets go on sale.

Finally, full touring dates are now confirmed for the previously announced opening production of HighTide's 2019 Season, The Trick by Eve Leigh, directed by Evening Standard Awards 2018 nominee Roy Alexander Weise. Following its premiere at the Bush Theatre 19 February - 23 March, the production will tour the UK for three weeks, opening 26 March at the North Wall Oxford and concluding 13 April at York Theatre Royal. The tour includes performances in HighTide's home venue in Aldeburgh, and also in East Anglia in Lowestoft.

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