Traverse Theatre Announces Spring/Summer 2017 Season

The Traverse announces its Spring/Summer 2017 season today, December 12. The work presented has been selected to directly address a mix of both long-existent and emergent social, political and technological challenges, and comes from some of the most exciting companies in the UK. The programme additionally seeks to elevate the voices of those often left on the margins of our rapidly-changing society, and tell stories at risk of being overlooked.

Speaking about the new season Traverse Artistic Director Orla O'Loughlin said, "In turbulent times theatre becomes more vital than ever. This season the Traverse remains a place for artists and audiences to gather, examine and debate the pressing issues of the day. At these tipping points in history, new writing offers a uniquely urgent, challenging and heartfelt response to the rapidly evolving world around us. It's time to take stock, take action and stand up for what we believe in and there is no better place for that to happen than right here at the Traverse."

Traverse Theatre Company

Girl in the Machine

Wed 5 - Sat 22 Apr

The Traverse Theatre Company will present a full production of Stef Smith's Girl in the Machine. Originally performed in an early version, script-in-hand, as part of Breakfast Plays: Tech Will Tear Us Apart (?) series during Traverse Festival 2016, Girl in the Machine's near-future dystopia presents a bold and compassionate take on our potential digital future, and what it might mean for 'life' as we know it.

Polly and Owen both have successful careers and are in love. Life is good. But soon a new technology promising escape from the daily grind creeps into the world around them and the lines between the physical and digital world begins to blur. Part love story, part prophecy Girl in the Machine is a timely exploration of technology in a world that's falling apart.

The play will be directed by Traverse Artistic Director Orla O'Loughlin who also directed Stef Smith's Festival hit Swallow. The production is part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival 2017, with wraparound activity in partnership with Edinburgh International Science Festival and the University of Edinburgh.

Locker Room Talk

17 & 18 Feb

Traverse Theatre Company also presents Locker Room Talk by Gary McNair (A Gambler's Guide to Dying, Donald Robertson is Not a Stand Up Comedian). This work in progress, directed by Traverse Artistic Director Orla O'Loughlin, tackles the issues raised by US president elect Donald Trump's comments as captured on a hot mic. He made little apology for his misogyny, dismissing his comments as 'locker room talk'. So can such sexually abusive rhetoric really be accepted - or even expected - in certain environments? Is our world not as progressive as we might think? Gary McNair wants to think we're better than this, and so is having honest conversations with men about women to see if he is right or wrong. The words of these men will be performed by a cast of women in this quick-response verbatim piece.

Black Beauty tour

27 Jan - 19 Feb

Following a critically acclaimed run in Edinburgh, Red Bridge Arts and the Traverse Theatre Company take Black Beauty cantering onto stages around Scotland and the North of England in early 2017. Blending storytelling, music and puppetry, this vibrant re-telling of Black Beauty offers fun and adventure for fans of the book, classic TV show and those brand new to the tale, and is sure to warm your heart during chilly winter nights. Performed by Andy Manley (White, My House) and Andy Cannon (Labyrinth, Arthur), with design by Shona Reppe (White, Huff), it was a huge hit with families during its Christmas run at the Traverse.

A Play, A Pie and A Pint

4 Apr - 6 May

The ever-popular A Play, A Pie and A Pint returns from 4 April - 6 May with Ding-Dong (a bit of a farce) by Hilary Lyon,a darkly comic piece which centres around a domestic crisis of epic proportions between Edinburgh neighbours. Channelling Jabez by Giles Croft begins on Tuesday 11 April and examines the life of Jabez Wolffe; Channel swimmer, variety artist and international sporting hero who received obituaries in papers as important as the New York Times. Tuesday 18 April sees His Final Bow by Peter Arnott in the lunchtime slot, a play which explores the story of John Wilkes Booth - best known for his assassination of Abraham Lincoln - but who also had a life as a Shakespearean actor. Voices in Her Ear by David Cosgrove brings the season to a close on April 25 with the story of Betty who talks to the dead for a living and isn't finding retirement as easy as she thought

Festivals

Manipulate:

27 Jan - 5 February

Manipulate returns to the Traverse to celebrate its 10th birthday from January 27, underscoring Scottish based artists as being at the forefront of visual theatre and animation. This year sees festival newcomers Company of Wolves and Jordan & Skinner programmed alongside old favourites Sita Pieraccini, Al Seed and Tortoise in a Nutshell, who will be presenting their most ambitious work to date. Companies from Belgium, Canada, England, France and Spain will explore themes as varying as politics, mental health, sexuality, intimacy, architecture, romance and memory, through physical theatre, dance and immersive multimedia performances.

To celebrate Manipulate's 10th birthday there is a programme of free events at the Traverse on Saturday 28 January and Thursday 2 February, kicking off with work-in-progress performances as part of Snapshots: Artists@Work programme. It will feature Claire Willoughby & Isabel Sharman of Plain Sight, Tiffany Soirat of Eve Klein & Son, and ensemble Choral Jam.

National Theatre Connections:

22-25 Mar

We are thrilled to welcome to the Traverse for the first time, the National Theatre Connections festival - a celebration of young people, theatre-making and the importance of access to the arts. Each year the National Theatre commission ten new plays for young people to perform, bringing together some of the most exciting writers with the theatre-makers of tomorrow. With 29 local festivals taking place across the country, Connections is an unforgettable feast of theatre made by and for young people.

Imaginate:

27 May - 4 Jun

Imaginate festival bookends the season and promises a week of excitement and wonder. offering a unique opportunity to see the world's best theatre, dance, multi-media and puppetry performances made for children and young people. A full list of the events and performances in 2017's event will be published in the new year.

Visiting Companies

Fisk

9 - 11 February

On a vast ocean, a tiny boat is tossed through rolling waves and thundering storms. Rowing forward is a fisherman, sailing to nowhere with all his worldly possessions. He looks out at the darkness and prepares to leap. Fisk is a story of a man and a fish, and the unexpected impact they have upon one another. Multi-award winning Tortoise in a Nutshell combine immersive soundscapes, captivating visuals and puppetry to create a poignant moving piece of theatre.

Made in India

16 - 18 Feb

Made in India is a thrilling new play about motherhood and blood ties, between women and across nations, in a brave new world. In a surrogacy clinic in Gujarat, three women meet. Londoner Eva is in motherhood's last chance saloon. For village girl Aditi, surrogacy is a lifeline out of poverty. For clinic owner and businesswoman Dr Gupta, it's all just another transaction. Against the backdrop of profound global forces these three women's stories show in microcosm one of the great unexamined quandaries of our time and the implications of financial inequality across the globe.

Pink Mist

12 - 25 Feb

Pink Mist tells the story of three young men deployed to Afghanistan, their experiences on the battlefield and in their heads. As the physical and psychological aftershocks of war take their toll on the loved ones they left behind, Arthur, Hads and Taff find their journey home is their greatest battle. Owen Sheers' Pink Mist was inspired by 30 interviews with returned servicemen and first staged at Bristol Old Vic in 2015 to great critical acclaim.

Heads Up

23 - 25 Feb

Multi award-winner Kieran Hurley explodes back into Traverse 2 with an image of an apocalypse. A teenage girl boils up in rage in a toilet cubicle. A finance worker preaches doom in a busy train station. A paranoid stoner stares blankly at the endless disasters on the TV news. He weaves a picture of a familiar city at its moment of destruction, asking what would we do if we found ourselves at the end of our world as we know it. Heads Up was a Fringe First Award winner in 2016.

The Calman Before the Storm

1 Mar

Susan Calman comes to the Traverse Theatre in her tenth year in comedy and with a brand new show. You may have seen or heard her on shows like QI, HIGNFY, News Quiz, Listomania or Mock the Week, now you have the opportunity to see her in person on the Traverse 1 stage. This veteran of the British comedy scene promises to tackle topics as diverse as sticking it to the man, batman, fine wine and kittens in her 90 minute performance suitable on for those of 16 and over.

If I Had a Girl

2 - 4 Mar

If I had a girl... is a groundbreaking verbatim production that provides startling insight into the experience of honour-based violence in ethnic minority communities around Scotland.

In their own words, survivors and perpetrators of violence show how the choices we make, the families we are born into, and the expectations of others can shape our lives irrevocably. If I had a girl... speaks for those whose voices are silenced or stolen.

Dreamers / Tutumucky

3 - 4 March

Scottish Dance Theatre are back with another double bill combining a firm favourite with a new work. Dreamers is developed around the unique physicality of the performers, highlighting the beauty and power of the moving body intertwined with his quirky and humorous style. In new work TutuMucky London-based choreographer Botis Seva uses different physical foundations to create 'post hip-hop theatre' with a strong contemporary sensibility. Expect a fresh, rhythmic, and explosive exploration of the form.

Girls Like That

9 - 11 Mar

With all new technologies come a new set of issues and considerations. One of the most topical of these is central to Girls Like That which the Lyceum Youth Theatre will present at the Traverse in early March. A naked photo of Scarlett goes viral, rumours ricochet from smartphone to smartphone, her reputation is trashed and her friendships turn sour. When the same thing happens to a boy he's just one of the lads. Girls Like That explores gender inequality in the digital minefield of young people's online lives. As a collaboration between Lyceum Youth Theatre and The Traverse Theatre, Girls Like That will be presented as a double bill with brand new short plays written by the Traverse Young Writers group, performed by members of the LYT.

Expensive Shit

10 - 11 Mar

Following its hugely successful, award winning run during Festival 2016 at the Traverse, Expensive Shit is back. One toilet attendant. Two sets of toilets. One night. Worlds apart.

The story of a Nigerian nightclub toilet attendant, working in the toilets of a fictional club based on the Shimmy Club in Glasgow. Written and directed by Adura Onashile, produced by Scottish Theatre Producers, Expensive Shit was previously presented in association at the Traverse Theatre as part of Made in Scotland showcase 2016. Developed with support from the National Theatre of Scotland, SoHo Theatre London and Southbank Centre, London.

Transit

14 - 15 Mar

After her parents split up, Darya chooses to move to Iran with her mother. She grew up in a war zone: surviving air raids; caring for her mother; and falling in love for the first time. The legacy of war means that as she becomes an adult she is living through trauma. Transit explores her first meeting with her father for 10 years. As they reach out to one another, their past choices impact their reconciliation.

Citizen

17 - 18 Mar

Identity and belonging lie at the heart of Citizen, a darkly humorous look at how we bring our identity with us wherever we go. Created with four dynamic dancers by Glasgow-based, Irish-born choreographer, Chrissie Ardill Citizen features an electronic music score mixed live by Newcastle-based composer Mariam Rezaei. This hour-long production is suitable for audiences of all ages.

The Red Chair

17 - 18 Mar

The Red Chair is a contemporary take on folk and fairy tale storytelling traditions. Sarah Cameron's towering solo performance is a surreal ballad populated with larger than life characters. Told in a rich and saucy Scots dialect with physical verve, a wee dram of whisky to oil the way and a musical score that rolls in like mist over the hills, The Red Chair lies somewhere between a Grimm's Tale, an absurdist ghost story and a parent's guide on how not to bring up children.

Offside

30 Mar - 1 Apr

Four women from across the centuries live, breathe, and play football. Whilst each of them face very different obstacles in pursuing their dream profession, the possibility that the beautiful game will change their future - and the world - is tantalisingly close. Offside, by Sabrina Mahfouz and Hollie McNish, is told through lyrical dialogue, poetry, and punchy prose, placing the audience on the touchline of the game of a lifetime.

Brewband

6 May

Marc Brew Company has created Brewband- Scotland's new super band -that blurs boundaries and challenges people's perceptions of identity.?Created by award winning disabled choreographer Marc Brew, this inclusive music and dance performance brings together top Scottish rock artists Graeme Smillie (Unwinding Hours, The Vaselines, Emma Pollock, A Mote Of Dust),? Jill O'Sullivan (BDY_PRTS, Sparrow And The Workshop),?Peter Kelly (Galchen/The Kills/ Jonnie Common) with talented?dancers Martyn Garside (San Francisco Ballet, Balletboyz), Marta Masiero (Scottish Dance Theatre) and Alice Sheppard (Axis Dance Company).?

My Country: A Work in Progress

11 - 13 May

In the days after the EU referendum, the National Theatre began a nationwide listening project. A team of interviewers spoke to people around the country to hear their views of the country and town they live in, their lives, their future, and the referendum. Using exact words taken from the interviews, My Country: A work in progress puts those conversations centre stage. Rufus Norris, Director of the National Theatre, collaborates with Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate, to create this new performance which runs at the Traverse as well as touring all over the UK.

Scorch

11 - 13 May

Scorch is the acclaimed Stacey Gregg work that won a 2016 Fringe First and the Holden St Theatre Award. This was in addition to Best New Play - 2015 Irish Times Theatre Awards and Best Theatre Script - Irish Writers Guild Awards. A story of first love through the eyes of a gender-curious teen Scorch examines how the human story often gets lost amidst the headlines.

Pass Out 2017

17 - 18 May

Performing Arts Studio Scotland at Edinburgh College once again bring their unique take on showcase performances for graduate actors to the Traverse on 17 - 18 May. Students will work for two weeks with cutting edge European directors including Aleksander Ivanovski (National Theatre - Macedonia) and Laurentiu Blaga (National Theatre - Romania) to create new pieces on the theme of "leaving". Leaving college, leaving Europe, leaving home, leaving youth behind.

Daphne Oram's Wonderful World of Sound

23 - 24 May

Live-scored by electronic sound artist Anneke Kampman, Daphne Oram's Wonderful World of Sound is a journey through the amazing life of one of the great, unsung composers of the twentieth century. In 1942, a séance inspires seventeen-year-old Daphne Oram to found the world-famous BBC Radiophonic Workshop and shape the entire development of electronic sound, cutting a trailblazing path through uncharted musical territory. This is her incredible story.

Music is Torture

25 - 27 May

Music Is Torture is a jet-black comedy set in Limbo Recording Studios, featuring live music and new songs from A Band CallEd Quinn. It tells the story of Jake who owns a recording studio. He's been recording the same album with the same band for the past fifteen years but now a potential windfall could be heading his way. He might just have to make a few compromises.

Shackleton

7 - 9 June

In the Scottish and UK premiere, Ireland's longest running theatre ensemble, Blue Raincoat Theatre Company, return to Traverse Theatre to perform Shackleton the story of, and about, Endurance on the Antartic's icy Weddell Sea. Directed by Niall Henry and designed by Jamie Vartan, with lighting by Barry McKinney and sound by Joe Hunt this devised piece was acclaimed when it ran in Ireland.

Crossing / Last Night Me

10 - 11 June

Strangetown are back with more new plays performed by young people aged 14 to 18 from 10 - 11 June. Crossing is devised by the company and is an exploration of journeys using text and movement to find ways forward and trace the way back. Last Night Me is a new work by Alan Gordon which asks what happens when Last Night You does something This Morning You never thought possible?

Arctic Oil / Stuff

10 Feb & 20 Apr

Village Pub Theatre is a new writing theatre company based in Leith who had a sell-out run during Festival 2016 at the Traverse. In this mini festival present work-in-progress readings of new plays currently in development from four of the writers in the collective will be open for audiences to attend. This is an opportunity to see new plays, Arctic Oil by Clare Duffy and Stuff by Sylvia Dow, as they are still being formed. Each evening will be slightly different with fresh new plays ready for an audience.

Traverse Engagement

Words Words Words

19 May

Words Words Words is the Traverse's scratch platform for writers to test, experiment and discover. We're offering selected writers slots of up to ten minutes each. The work can be brand new, a bit rough, rather unpolished - but the emphasis is on development of work in progress... with bigger things in mind for the future. Scripts will be brought to life by a professional company of actors after a day's rehearsals. As ever, audiences are urged to give feedback to the writers and be part of the discussion in the Traverse Bar Café afterwards. Submissions for Spring/Summer 2017 will open on Mon 3 Apr and will close on Fri 21 Apr.

Traverse Young Writers

6 February

Traverse Young Writers starts again on February 6. Traverse Young Writers is aimed at 18-

25 year-olds who wish to develop their playwriting skills. It offers the opportunity to be part of a creative network, where aspiring playwrights can discuss, debate and create great new work. This season, the Traverse Young Writers will participate in one-off workshops with 5 leading professional playwrights, whilst working with the Traverse Theatre Artistic Team. The course will culminate in a Scratch Night of the group's work. Each member of our Traverse Young Writers group will have a short slot to try out an idea, which will be developed and presented as a script in hand reading with professional actors and director

Masterclasses

Dates Announced January 2017

Traverse Masterclasses offer the opportunity for artists and audiences to engage with critically acclaimed Traverse directors, playwrights and associated artists. Masterclasses introduce and develop skills, offering participants the opportunity to work with experienced theatre practitioners to explore question, uncover possibilities and think outside the box.

Schools & Teachers

The Traverse Theatre offers a number of opportunities for schools and teachers to get closer to the action on stage and uncover the possibilities of theatre. From free backstage tours to discounted tickets, classroom resources and workshops - the Traverse Theatre offers an opportunity for pupils to explore their creativity and learn from professional theatre makers.

To discuss tailor made options for your students, please contact sunniva.ramsay@traverse.co.uk.

Soundhouse

The hugely popular Soundhouse gigs will once again be bringing an eclectic mix of musical acts to the Traverse bar on a Monday evening. In addition this season there will also regular Sunday evening gigs and a Burns night special on Wednesday 25 January. Along with a host of brand new bands and performers a few favourites from previous years will be returning between January and June. A full list of upcoming acts can be seen at www.traverse.co.uk.

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