CALLISTO: A Queer Epic Returns To Arcola Theatre this December

Following a sell-out run last year, Forward Arena today announces the return of Hal Coase's Callisto: a queer epic to Arcola Theatre as their final production this year, before the company embark on their most ambitious programme to date in 2018. Callisto: a queer epic opens at Arcola Theatre on 8 December, with previews from 5 December and runs until 23 December.

Callisto: a queer epic is a swirling constellation of remarkable queer stories. In London, 1680, opera star Arabella Hunt has secretly entered into the first recorded gay marriage in UK history. In Worcester, 1936, Alan Turing pays one final visit to Isobel Morcom, mother of his lost first love, Christopher. In the San Fernando Valley, 1979, Tammy Frazer arrives at Callisto Pornographic Studios, searching for the love of her life. And on the Moon, 2223, Lorn is building a paradise to sleep in, but Cal, his A.I. companion, is determined to keep him awake.

Executive Director of Forward Arena, Ellie Keel said today, "We're so excited to re-mount this very special new play at the end of a year which has seen a plethora of queer work across London and national stages. Ahead of a very busy 2018 for the company, we are delighted to be presenting a play which goes some way towards celebrating the breadth and rich history of queer experience."

Artistic Directors of Forward Arena, Thomas Bailey and Emma D'Arcy added, "We are delighted to be bringing Callisto: a queer epic, one of the most surprising, precise and moving new plays we've ever read, back to its spiritual home at Arcola Theatre. New writing with epic scope in intimate spaces is exactly the kind of theatre we get excited about."

Hal Coase's work has been performed at Camden People's Theatre, Arcola Theatre, Pleasance Theatre, Ashmolean and North Wall Arts Centre. He has just finished work on a stage adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway for the National Youth Theatre.

Thomas Bailey directs. His credits include The Games We Played (Theatre 503), Roost (North Wall Arts Centre) and Callisto: a queer epic (Pleasance Dome, Arcola Theatre). He is currently directing Mrs Dalloway as part of National Youth Theatre's West End season. He is also Joint Artistic Director of Forward Arena.

ABOUT FORWARD ARENA

Forward Arena makes theatre that is culturally and politically awake, without ever forgetting theatre's responsibility to be an impressive and stimulating feast of liveness. The company was formed in 2016 by co-Artistic Directors Emma D'Arcy and Thomas Bailey and Executive Director Ellie Keel.

ABOUT ARCOLA THEATRE

Arcola Theatre is one of London's leading off-West End theatres. Locally engaged and internationally minded, Arcola stages a diverse programme of plays, operas and musicals. World-class productions from major artists appear alongside cutting-edge work from the most exciting emerging companies. Arcola delivers one of London's most extensive community engagement programmes, creating over 11,000 opportunities every year. By providing research and development space to diverse artists, Arcola champions theatre that's more engaging and representative. Its pioneering environmental initiatives are internationally renowned, and aim to make Arcola the world's first carbon-neutral theatre.

To post a comment, you must register and login.