Ian Hislop And Nick Newman's Satirical Play THE WIPERS TIMES Will Tour The UK

Following sold-out UK tours in 2016 and 2017, and a critically acclaimed hit run at the Arts Theatre in the West End in 2017, The Wipers Times will once again tour the UK this Autumn. It opens at Nottingham Theatre Royal on 28 August 2018, and visits Oxford, Exeter, Malvern, Leicester, Eastbourne and Birmingham before returning to the Arts Theatre in London for a 7 week season. Full tour dates at www.wiperstimesplay.co.uk with casting to be announced.

Ian Hislop and Nick Newman's The Wipers Times - a stage adaptation of their award-winning BBC film - tells the true and extraordinary story of the satirical newspaper created in the mud and mayhem of the Somme, interspersed with comic sketches and spoofs from the vivid imagination of those on the front line.

Ian Hislop and Nick Newman said:

"The Wipers Times is on manoeuvres again around Britain. We look forward to sharing the remarkable trench humour of the Wipers Times with new theatre-goers around the country. We are delighted it is not Journey's End but the tour will all be over by Christmas. "

In a bombed out building during the First World War in the Belgian town of Ypres (mispronounced Wipers by British soldiers), two officers discover a printing press and create a newspaper for the troops. Far from being a somber journal about life in the trenches they produced a resolutely cheerful, subversive and very funny newspaper designed to lift the spirits of the men on the frontline.

Defying enemy bombardment, gas attacks and the disapproval of many of the top Brass, The Wipers Times rolled off the press for two years and was an extraordinary tribute to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity.

The production originally launched one hundred years after the Battle of the Somme and publication of The Wipers Times. This current run coincides with the commemoration of the end of WW1.

The Wipers Times is directed by Caroline Leslie, designed by Dora Schweitzer, with lighting design by James Smith, sound design by Steve Mayo. The composer is Nick Green, and Musical Director Paul Herbert. It is produced by Bob Benton & David Parfitt.

The Wipers Times is the second collaboration between The Watermill Theatre and Trademark. A Bunch of Amateurs, also by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, was produced at The Watermill in 2014.

Trademark Touring is a new co-venture between David Parfitt of Trademark Films and Bob Benton of Bob & Co.

David is an Oscar and BAFTA winning Film Producer who worked as an actor before co-founding the Renaissance Theatre Company with Kenneth Branagh. Between 1987 and 1991, the company was involved in various celebrated Shakespeare productions including Twelfth Night, Much Ado about Nothing, Hamlet, As You like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear and Coriolanus. Other theatre credits include Elling (Bush and West End) and A Bunch of Amateurs with The Watermill Theatre.

David's film credits include Henry V, Peter's Friends, Much Ado About Nothing, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, The Madness of King George, The Wings of the Dove, Twelfth Night, Shakespeare in Love, I Capture the Castle, Chasing Liberty, A Bunch of Amateurs, My Week with Marilyn and Loving Vincent. He produced Tom Stoppard's adaptation of Parade's End for the BBC and HBO and, also for the BBC The Wipers Times, Glyndebourne: The Untold History and The Birth of An Opera.

David founded Trademark Films in 2000, served as Chairman of BAFTA, 2008-10 and as Chairman of Film London, 2010-17.

Bob Benton, the founder of Bob & Co, has played a pivotal role in various aspects of the media industry for over 20 years.

He has held a number of investment positions in theatre projects over the last three years including Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (both on Broadway and in the West End), Skylight (Wyndham's), Hetty Feather (Duchess Theatre), The Play That Goes Wrong (Duchess Theatre), The Ladykillers (Vaudeville), The Importance of Being Earnest (Vaudeville), The Wind in the Willows (Vaudeville), Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense (Duke of York's) and The Comedy About A Bank Robbery (Criterion).

He recently served as Chairman of HandMade Films and his career includes many years' experience in investment banking and stockbroking; positions held include Managing Director and Head of Media at Canaccord Adams, Chief Executive of Ingenious Securities and Chairman of Bridgewell Group, the stockbroker that he founded in 2002 and floated on the AIM in 2007. Bob was also Chairman and CEO of Charterhouse Securities, Global Head of Sales at ABN Amro and Managing Director of HSBC Securities Services (formerly HSBC James Capel) before becoming Chief Executive of the Company aged 34.

The Watermill is a local theatre with a national reputation. From a converted watermill in rural West Berkshire seating just 220 people, The Watermill creates award-winning work that is recognised throughout the UK and abroad, with a bold artistic ambition to present a range of work from Shakespeare, classic plays and new writing to the reimagining of large-scale musicals. Alongside West End and Broadway transfers, and national tours, The Watermill also creates productions for small-scale touring, ensuring that those living in rural isolation are able to enjoy high quality theatre on their doorstep. Attracting the very best artists and creative teams, both established and at the early stages of their careers, The Watermill has earned itself a reputation as one of the most successful producing theatres in the country.

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