fingersmiths to Tour John Godber Classic UP 'N' UNDER with BSL and Spoken English
By: BWW News Desk Dec. 05, 2017
The ground breaking fingersmiths, in co-production with New Wolsey Theatre, today announce that fingersmiths' Jeni Draper will direct John Godber's classic comedy Up 'n' Under on a UK tour in Spring 2018, as part of an innovative partnership with EDRU.
The tour will open at New Wolsey Theatre on 7 February 2018. The national press night will take place on Friday February 16, 7.30pm at Canada Water Cultural Centre, London.
The Wheatsheaf Arms rugby team, the laughing stock of Castleford's Amateur Rugby League Seven-a-Side tournament have never won a game, don't have seven players and spend more time in the pub than on the pitch. With just 5 weeks to go, our hero coach Arthur has to convince them they can beat the mighty Cobblers Arms, but first he has to work out how to communicate with them!
This production will see a cast of Deaf and hearing actors use BSL and spoken English to bring fingersmiths' exciting visual and physical theatre style back to the stage, following their critically acclaimed production of Frozen in 2014. Every performance will also have live audio description.
"The combination of the two languages on stage accentuates the visual humour in the everyday banter of the characters and the physical storytelling sections become bolder. Our performance style has been likened to watching HD television. The pictures are sharper and you see the detail with greater clarity! I'm very excited about directing Up 'n' Under, staying true to all the characteristics expected and loved in a Godber play but adding a soupçon of Deaf culture and language to make this a fingersmiths production," said Jeni Draper, Artistic Director, fingersmiths.
"The partnership with England Deaf Rugby Union, headed by EDRU and World Deaf Rugby Chairman Tony Stoyles, is a first time collaboration to promote the awareness of, and develop Deaf participation in, sport and the arts across the country.
"All rugby clubs should be encouraged to join forces with their local theatres, it's definitely a pathway to associate the Arts with Sports, which may create opportunities within the local communities. Already England Deaf Rugby are seeing the benefits on a national scale," Draper added.
The production opens at New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich and will then tour to The Key Studio Peterborough, Canada Water Cultural Space London, Harrogate Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, Cast in Doncaster, The Lowry Salford, Derby Theatre Studio, Birmingham Repertory Theatre Studio, Sheffield Theatre Studio and Exeter Northcott Theatre.
The full cast has been confirmed as: Adam Bassett, Stephen Collins, Willie Elliott, Matty Gurney, Nadeem Islam, Wayne Pickles Norman and Tanya Vital.
For fingersmiths, Jeni Draper has directed War Crimes for the Home (R&D commission Pulse Festival), Frozen (Birmingham Rep co-pro and national tour), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (R&D) and In Praise of Fallen Women (co-creator with Kaite O Reilly and Jean St Clair).
Her other directing credits include Invisible Women (Writer: Nicky Werenowska in development 2018), Don't Leave Me Now (rehearsed readings ongoing), War Crimes for the Home (tour), Inheritance (R&D), Merry Wives of Waltham (London fringe), Silence (R&D Mercury Colchester) and Counting the Ways (Face Front Theatre, national tour). Jeni has also worked as a consultant for Tommy (Dir: Kerry Michael for Ramps on the Moon), Moxie Brawl (ongoing), Blocks (Oxford Playhouse continues 2018), Tribes (Sheffield Crucible) and Prime Youth Theatre Swindon (Associate Artist ongoing).
Jeni is a qualified sign language interpreter and trainer.
TOUR DATES:
New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich February 7 - 10
The Key Studio, Peterborough February 12 - 14
Canada Water Cultural Space, London February 15 - 17
Harrogate Theatre February 19 - 24
Oxford Playhouse February 27
Cast in Doncaster March 1 - 3
The Lowry, Manchester March 6 - 7
Derby Theatre Studio March 9 - 10
Birmingham Rep Studio March 12 - 14
Sheffield Theatre Studio March 16 - 17
Northcott Theatre, Exeter March 23 - 24
fingersmiths is a project funded company creating high quality theatre with a multi-layered approach to language and physical expression. Their work engages primarily, but not exclusively, with Deaf/disabled audiences, through the integration of BSL, and spoken or written English, presented equally on stage.
They present work from the 20th Century canon of classical work, previously not available to Deaf audiences in their own language. All performances are accessible to Deaf BSL users; captioned performances are provided for non-BSL Deaf audiences with audio description for visually impaired audiences.
Learn more at www.fingersmiths.org.uk/who_we_are.
England Deaf Rugby was created in 2003. In 2005 Tony first got involved with England Deaf Rugby as a player, having played against Wales Deaf twice and Japan Deaf. He was elected as Director of Rugby in 2006/7 season, which succeeded onto the Chairman's role.
The organisation has gone from strength to strength since its formation, and has become a registered charity which heads up Deaf Rugby for All in the local communities for all ages, and now works with premier level clubs across the country. Recently, England Deaf Rugby hosted New Zealand Deaf Rugby in a 3-Test Series and won 3-0, an amazing success.
Visit www.englanddeafrugby.com.
With a 400 seat main auditorium, and 100 seat studio, the New Wolsey Theatre is nationally renowned for the quality and diversity of its productions. Recent musical revivals have included an actor-musician version of Sweet Charity, Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, and Made in Dagenham in co-production with Queen's Theatre Hornchurch. Previous brand new musicals have included 20Th Century Boy, Mods and Rox, and most recently the punk musical Oxy and the Morons. They have joined forces with six other mid-scale theatres and Graeae to create Ramps on the Moon, an Arts Council funded strategic touring project, with the aim of increasing the engagement and participation of D/deaf and disabled actors, artists and audiences. 2017 saw their own production of The Who's Tommy open in Ipswich before embarking on a national tour.
As a not-for-profit organisation and a registered charity, they are funded by the Arts Council England, Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Borough Council as well as through the invaluable donations, individual giving and corporate support of their many friends, patrons and sponsors.
Go to www.wolseytheatre.co.uk.
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