Theatr Clwyd Announces 2017 Summer and Autumn Seasons

As she completes her first year as Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd, Tamara Harvey today announces the 2017 Summer and Autumn seasons for the company. These include four world premières; BoHo, a co-production with Hijinx Theatre which features both learning disabled and non-disabled actors, and, after a successful collaboration on the production of Love Lies and Taxidermy, Theatr Clwyd reunites with Paines Plough to open the 2017 Roundabout Season with co-productions of Black Mountain, Out Of Love and How To Be A Kid in collaboration with the Orange Tree Theatre. The Theatr Clwyd and Sheffield Theatres co-production of a new adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, by Welsh Playwright Peter Gill, will be directed by Harvey and will open at Clwyd from the 21 September ahead of transferring to Sheffield Theatres as part of Robert Hastie's inaugural season.

This summer will see the second annual Family Arts Weekend take place as Theatr Clwyd gives access to all areas of the building with performances, workshops and adventures for children of all ages and their families. Following on from this, the Summer Schools for children aged 6-18 will run from 31 July - 18 August and from October 5 Kate Wasserberg returns to Clwyd to direct a new production of The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright.

Highlights of the visiting programme include Theatr Clwyd hosting the National Theatre's My Country; a work in progress by Artistic Director Rufus Norris and Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Welsh pianist Llyr Williams and international renowned clarinettist Emma Johnson and the Castalian String Quartet present a programme including Mozart and Brahms clarinet quintets. In June, Kneehigh's acclaimed Tristan & Yseult will be at the theatre and tells a great celtic love story in an show which blends comedy and live music for an irresistible night of love.

Tamara Harvey said today "Celebrating homegrown talent is at the forefront of what we do at Theatr Clwyd and we are privileged, in this forthcoming season, to be working with world renowned and emerging Welsh and Wales-based artists, including playwrights Peter Gill and Brad Birch and director Kate Wasserberg. And I'm very proud to be welcoming back Hannah Noone to direct the world premiere of 'BoHo' in our co-production with Hijinx, featuring actors with and without learning disabilities. As I begin my second year in the role of Artistic Director, I'm looking forward to building on the inspiring relationships we've formed with some of the UK's most creative individuals and companies. We're particularly honoured to be co-producing Paines Plough's 2017 Roundabout season and opening all three new plays on Theatr Clwyd's beautiful hillside. Already this spring we've co-produced three premières - Scarlett, Junkyard and Sinners Club, the latter created by our first Writer in Residence, Lucy Rivers, whilst she was with us at Theatr Clwyd. As the Writers in Residence scheme begins its second year, my hope is that the relationships we build will further establish us as a home from home for emerging writers as they take centre stage at the heart of our work."

ROUNDABOUT 2017

Roundabout is the world's first pop-up, plug-and-play theatre. It flat packs into a lorry and pops up all over the country in theatres, school halls, warehouses, sports centres, car parks and fields. Theatr Clwyd are proud to hold the press night for How To Be A Kid on Thursday 29 June and Out Of Love and Black Mountain press nights will be held in Edinburgh. Artistic Director of Paines Plough, James Grieve, will direct three world première productions that will appear in rep on Theatr Clwyd's hilltop throughout July.

OUT OF LOVE

By Elinor Cook

A Theatr Clwyd, Paines Plough and Orange Tree Theatre co-production

Director: James Grieve

Monday 10 - Saturday 22 July

From the award-winning writer of Pilgrims, which was co-produced with Theatr Clwyd, HighTide and Vicky Graham Productions and directed by Tamara Harvey, Out Of Love is a tale of friendship, love and rivalry over thirty years.

Lorna and Grace do everything together and share everything. But when Lorna gets a place at university and Grace gets pregnant they suddenly find themselves in starkly different worlds. Can anything bridge the gap between them?

Elinor Cook won the 2013 George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright for Pilgrims, directed by Tamara Harvey, and her play The Girl's Guide to Saving the World was produced by HighTide as part of their festival in April 2014, directed by Amelia Sears. Her other plays include Ten Weeks (Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama at Gate Theatre), Microwave (short-listed for the Old Vic/Theatre 503 Award for new writing), The Boy Preference (National Theatre Connections), The Circle Game (Old Vic New Voices Time Warner Ignite 3 recipient and performed at Latitude Festival) and This is Where We Got to When You Came In (co-written with non zero one and Bush Theatre). She wrote an episode of The Secrets, which was directed by Dominic Savage on BBC One.

James Grieve directs all three Roundabout productions and is Joint Artistic Director of Paines Plough. For Paines Plough his credits include Broken Biscuits, Jumpers For Goalposts, The Angry Brigade, An Intervention, Love, Love, Love, Hopelessly Devoted, Wasted, The Sound Of Heavy Rain, You Cannot Go Forward From Where You Are Right Now, Tiny Volcanoes and Fly Me To The Moon. Other directing credits include a new production of Les Miserables (Wermland Opera in Karlstad) Translations (Sheffield Theatres/ETT/Rose Theatre Kingston), A NOBODY (66 BOOKS) by Laura Dockrill, The Whisky Taster and Psychogeography (Bush Theatre), and The List (Arcola Theatre). Grieve has also directed comedians and poets including Isy Suttie, Simon Brodkin (Lee Nelson), Luke Wright, Martin Figura and Aisle16.

ROUNDABOUT THEATRE

HOW TO BE A KID

By Sarah McDonald-Hughes

A Theatr Clwyd, Paines Plough and Orange Tree Theatre co-production

Director: James Grieve

Saturday 24 June - Saturday 22 July

Press Night: Thursday 29 June 7pm

From Manchester playwright Sarah McDonald-Hughes, How To Be a Kid is for children 7 or over and is a larger than life story of friends, family and fitting in and tackles some big subjects with extraordinary lightness of touch and a lot of joyous dancing.

Molly cooks and does the dishes. She gets her little brother Joe ready for school. Molly is only 12, but she doesn't feel much like a kid anymore. Now her mum is feeling better, maybe things will get back to normal. Can Molly learn to be a kid again?

Sarah McDonald Hughes is an award-winning playwright. Her work includes Multi Story (Octagon Bolton), Wondrous Place (Northern Spirit/Liverpool Unity/Sheffield Crucible/Northern Stage/Royal Exchange), Flesh (Manchester Royal Exchange), By Far The Greatest Team, Once In A House On Fire, Maine Road (Monkeywood Theatre), Salisbury Street(Liverpool Everyman), The Tower (Paines Plough/Royal Exchange Studio), The Tree, Night Train (Action Transport Theatre), and Our Pals and The North (Royal Exchange Studio).

ROUNDABOUT THEATRE

BLACK MOUNTAIN

By Brad Birch

A Theatr Clwyd, Paines Plough and Orange Tree Theatre co-production

Director: James Grieve

Saturday 8 - Friday 21 July

Black Mountain from Welsh playwright Brad Birch is a tense psychological thriller about betrayal and forgiveness.

Rebecca and Paul are running away. They're trying to save their relationship. An isolated house in the country is the perfect place to work things out. But you can't run forever. Especially when you're being followed.

Brad Birch is an award-winning writer. His plays include This Must Be The Place (Poleroid Theatre/ VAULT Festival),The Brink (Orange Tree Theatre), The Protest (The Old Vic), Selfie: The Modern Day DorIan Gray (Ambassador's Theatre), Tender Bolus (Manchester Royal Exchange/Schauspielhaus), Gardening For The Unfulfilled and Alienated(winner Fringe First Award 2013) (Undeb Theatre/Edinburgh Festival), Soap Opera, Where The Shot Rabbits Lay, Permafrost (Royal Court Theatre), Even Stillness Breathes Softly Against A Brick Wall (Soho Theatre Upstairs), Want For Nothing-For Waifs And Strays (Lyric Hammersmith), Light Arrested Between The Curtain And The Glass (Sherman Cymru) and Sunflowers, The Snow Queen (Theatr Prowys).

Roundabout is part of Paines Plough's Programme 2017. Following Theatr Clwyd, Roundabout will tour to Salford, Kendal, Margate, Lincoln, Darlington, Poole, Stoke and Luton in Autumn 2017. Orange Tree Theatre dates, Edinburgh dates and casting for Roundabout 2017 will be announced in due course.

Emlyn Williams THEATRE

BoHo

Devised by Hijinx Theatre Company

A Theatr Clwyd and Hijinx Theatre co-production

Director and Composer: Hannah Noone

Thursday 22 - Saturday 24 June

Press Night: Thursday 22 June

Devised by the company with a score by Hannah Noone, the world première production of BoHo is a dystopian musical misadventure.

Hannah Noone has previously worked at Theatr Clwyd as Assistant Director on Tamara Harvey's first two productions,Much Ado About Nothing and Pilgrims. She is a member of the JMK Sherman Cymru's Directors Group, Resident Director for Opera'r Ddraig and Artistic Director of Welsh Youth Performance Academy. Directing credits include Die Fledermaus, The Beggar's Opera, Carmen, Hansel & Gretel (Opera'r Ddraig), Cinderella (Bute Park Opera) and Venus & Adonis (Opera Mint).

Emlyn Williams THEATRE

UNCLE VANYA

By Anton Chekhov; Adapted by Peter Gill

Director: Tamara Harvey

Thursday 21 September - Saturday 14 October

Press Night: Tuesday 26 September 7.45pm

Chekhov's comic tragedy about polite people going crazy in the middle of nowhere, drinking too much and not having enough sex. Can people ever take a leap and change their own lives?

Tamara Harvey directs this poignant comedy in a heartbreaking new version by Peter Gill, which was commissioned by Theatr Clwyd. The production will be performed in the round.

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian playwright and short story writer. His principal works for the stage includeIvanov, Platonov, The Seagull, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.

Peter Gill (b.1939) is a Welsh playwright, theatre director and actor. As a playwright, his works include, The Sleeper's Den, Over Gardens Out, Small Change, Kick for Touch, Cardiff East, Certain Young Men, The York Realist, Original Sin, Another Door Closed, Versailles and As Good a Time as Any. His adaptations for the stage include A Provincial Life, The Merry-Go-Round, The Cherry Orchard, Touch and Go, As I Lay Dying and The Seagull.

Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd, Tamara Harvey directs - which sees her return to Sheffield Theatres following her recent production of Pride and Prejudice. She has directed in the West End, throughout the UK and abroad, working on classic plays, new writing, musical theatre and in film. Her inaugural production for Theatr Clwyd was Much Ado About Nothing, followed by the première of Elinor Cook's award-winning new play, Pilgrims and Skylight by David Hare. Her previous credits include the world premières of From Here To Eternity (Shaftesbury Theatre), Breeders (St James Theatre), The Kitchen Sink, The Contingency Plan, Sixty-Six Books and tHe dYsFUnCKshOnalZ! (Bush Theatre), In the Vale of Health (a cycle of four plays by Simon Gray), Elephants, Blue Heart Afternoon and Hello/Goodbye (Hampstead Theatre), and Plague Over England (Finborough Theatre & West End). Other theatre includes Kreutzer vs Kreutzer(Sam Wanamaker Playhouse/Royal Festival Hall), Bash (Trafalgar Studios), Whipping It Up (New Ambassadors), One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Gielgud & Garrick Theatres), Educating Rita and Smash (Menier Chocolate Factory & Theatre Royal Bath), Romeo and Juliet (Theatre of Memory at Middle Temple Hall), Much Ado About Nothing(Shakespeare's Globe), Dancing at Lughnasa (Birmingham Rep), Bedroom Farce (West Yorkshire Playhouse), The Importance of Being Earnest (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), Closer (Theatre Royal Northampton), Tell Me On ASunday (UK Tour) and the UK première of Tennessee Williams' Something Cloudy, Something Clear (Finborough Theatre). Harvey directed the Shakespeare scenes that form an integral part of Anonymous, the feature film by Roland Emmerich; has twice been on the panel of the George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright, and is a Trustee of the Peggy Ramsay Foundation and of the National Student Drama Festival. She was Associate Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre in 2010-11, overseeing the move to the Bush's new home and directing the first three productions in the new theatre.

Anthony Hopkins THEATRE

THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE

By Jim Cartwright

Director: Kate Wasserberg

Thursday 5 - Saturday 28 October

Press Night: Tuesday 10 October

In a northern town in the 1980s Little Voice hides in her room with her favourite records, away from the chaos of the world outside, with a secret that could change her life - a voice that could make millions. But will she sing? Little Voiceis an award-winning comedy about mothers, daughters and finding a voice of your own.

Jim Cartwright is an award-winning writer and his plays have been translated into over 35 languages. His plays includeBed (National Theatre), Two (Octagon Theatre/The Young Vic), Eight Miles High (Octagon Theatre) and Rise and Fall of Little Voice (National Theatre/The Aldwych Theatre). He made his directorial debut with Road at The Royal Exchange Theatre and as a director his credits include I licked a Slag's Deodorant, Hard Fruit (Royal Court Theatre), Prize Night(Royal Exchange Theatre), A Christmas Fair (Milton Rooms), Mobile Phone Show (National Theatre), The Ancient Secret of Youth and The Five Tibetans, Two2 (The Octagon). His television work includes Road, Vroom, Wedded andJune.

Kate Wasserberg is the Artistic Director of The Other Room in Cardiff, where her directing credits for the company include Blasted, The Dying of Today, Play/Silence, Sand and Seanmhair. She returns to Theatr Clwyd where as an Associate Director her credits include Aristocrats, Salt, Root and Roe, Glengarry Glen Ross, Roots, Gaslight, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Glass Menagerie and A History of Falling Things and other credits for the company include All My Sonsand Insignificance. Other credits include The Barnbow Canaries (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Ten Weeks (Paines Plough), The Knowledge (Dirty Protest at the Royal Court) and Last Christmas (Edinburgh Festival). As Associate Director of the Finborough Theatre, her credits include Mirror Teeth, The Man (National Tour), Sons of York, Little Madam, The Representative, I Wish to Die Singing and The New Morality.

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