James Graham's Political Drama THIS HOUSE to Tour the UK in 2018

James Graham's critically acclaimed and prescient political drama THIS HOUSE which played to sold-out houses at the National Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre and in the West End will begin its first ever national tour at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds 22 February - 10 March 2018 (press night tbc) before visiting Cambridge Arts Theatre (12 - 17 March), Theatre Royal Bath (19 - 24 March), Edinburgh Festival Theatre (27 - 31 March), Nottingham Theatre Royal (10 - 14 April), Birmingham Repertory Theatre (16 - 21 April), The Lowry, Salford (24 - 28 April), Theatre Royal Plymouth (1 - 5 May), Norwich Theatre Royal (7 - 12 May), Malvern Theatres (14 - 19 May), Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (21 - 26 May) and Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield (29 May - 2 June). The tour is supported by the Arts Council of England Grants for the Arts.

Directed by Jeremy Herrin, the production is designed by Rae Smith with lighting design by Paule Constable, music by Stephen Warbeck, choreography by Scott Ambler and sound by Ian Dickinson. Cast to be announced.

1974. The UK faces economic crisis and a hung parliament. In a culture hostile to cooperation, it's a period when votes are won or lost by one, when there are fist fights in the bars and when sick MPs are carried through the lobby to register their vote. It's a time when a staggering number of politicians die, and the building creaks under idiosyncrasies and arcane traditions.

Set in the engine rooms of Westminster, This House strips politics down to the practical realities of those behind the scenes; the whips who roll up their sleeves and on occasion bend the rules to shepherd and coerce a diverse chorus of MPs within the Mother of all Parliaments.

James Graham won the Pearson Playwriting Bursary in 2006 and went on to win the Catherine Johnson Award for Best Play of 2007 for Eden's Empire. His recent plays include Ink (Almeida), Monster Raving Loony (Theatre Royal, Plymouth), The Vote (Donmar Warehouse), Finding Neverland (American Repertory Theater), The Angry Brigade (Theatre Royal, Plymouth and The Bush) and Privacy (Donmar Warehouse). He has two new plays opening this year Quiz (Chichester) and Labour of Love (West End).

Jeremy Herrin is Artistic Director of Headlong, for which he has directed Junkyard (Bristol Old Vic/Theatr Clwyd/Rose Theatre Kingston), Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (UK Tour), The Absence of War (UK Tour) and The Nether (at the Royal Court and in the West End). For the National Theatre his directing credits include Common (A co-production with Headlong), The Plough and the Stars (co-directed with Howard Davies), People, Places & Things (A co-production with Headlong which transferred to the West End, begins a major UK tour in September and opens at St Ann's Warehouse, New York in October), This House (Olivier nomination for Best Director), which transferred to Chichester Festival Theatre and the West End in a co-production with Headlong, and Statement of Regret. For the RSC he directed the world premiere of Hilary Mantel's Man Booker prize-winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, which transferred to the West End in May 2014 and Broadway in March 2015 and for which he won the Evening Standard Award for Best Director and was nominated for an Olivier and Tony Award.

Jeremy will direct James Graham's new play Labour of Love, a Headlong and Michael Grandage Company co-production, opening in the West End in September.

THIS HOUSE is produced on tour by Jonathan Church Productions and Headlong. For more about the tour, visit headlong.co.uk/productions/house-uk-tour.

THIS HOUSE TOUR DATES:

West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds 22 February - 10 March 2018

on sale date to be announced www.wyp.org.uk

Cambridge Arts Theatre 12 - 17 March 2018

on sale 10 July www.cambridgeartstheatre.com

Theatre Royal Bath 19 - 24 March 2018

on sale date to be announced www.theatreroyal.org.uk

Edinburgh Festival Theatre 27 - 31 March 2018

on sale 5 July www.edtheatres.com/thishouse

Nottingham Theatre Royal 10 - 14 April 2018

on sale 7 July www.trch.co.uk

Birmingham Repertory Theatre 16 - 21 April 2018

on sale on 7 July www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

The Lowry, Salford 24 - 28 April 2018

on sale 30 June www.thelowry.com

Theatre Royal, Plymouth 1 - 5 May 2018

on sale 18 July www.theatreroyal.com

Norwich Theatre Royal 7 - 12 May 2018

on sale 21 August www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk

Malvern Theatres 14 - 19 May 2018

on sale 4 July www.malvern-tickets.co.uk

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford 21 - 26 May 2018

on sale date to be announced www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk

Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield 29 May - 2 June 2018

on sale date to be announced www.sheffielddtheatres.co.uk

Headlong creates exhilarating contemporary theatre: a provocative mix of innovative new writing, reimagined classics and influential twentieth century plays that illuminate our world.

Headlong is one of the most ambitious & exciting theatre companies in the world. We make bold, innovative productions with some of the UK's finest artists. We take these industry leading, award-winning shows around the country & beyond, in theatres & online, attracting new audiences of all ages & backgrounds. We engage as deeply as we can with these communities & this helps us become better at what we do.

Our productions have included Common (National Theatre), Junkyard (Bristol Old Vic, Theatr Clwyd and Rose Theatre Kingston), This House (Chichester Festival Theatre and West End), Pygmalion (UK tour), Boys Will Be Boys (Bush Theatre), People, Places & Things (National Theatre and West End), 1984 (UK and international tours and West End), The Nether (Royal Court Theatre and West End), American Psycho (Almeida and Broadway), Chimerica (Almeida and West End), and Enron (UK tour, West End and Broadway).

Jonathan Church Productions was formed in 2015 in association with Delfont Mackintosh Theatres to produce and general manage high quality theatre in the West End, on tour and internationally.

Recent productions include Fracked (UK tour); Sand in the Sandwiches (Theatre Royal Haymarket, London and UK tour); Loves Labours Lost and Much Ado About Nothing (Chichester, Manchester, Theatre Royal Haymarket London); This House (Chichester and Garrick Theatre London); The Dresser (UK tour and Duke of York's Theatre London). General Management projects include Strictly Ballroom the Musical (Toronto) and North By North West (Toronto).

Jonathan Church is currently Artistic Director of Bath Theatre Royal's summer season. He was Artistic Director of Chichester Festival Theatre (2006-2016); Artistic Director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre (2001 - 2006); Associate Director of Hampstead Theatre (1999-2001); Artistic Director of Salisbury Playhouse (1995-1999); Associate Director of Derby Playhouse (1994-1995) and Assistant Director of Nottingham Playhouse (1992 - 1994).

Jonathan's West End productions as a Director include Hobson's Choice, Taken at Midnight (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Singin' in the Rain (Palace Theatre), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Duchess Theatre), Of Mice and Men (Savoy Theatre and The Old Vic), The Witches (Wyndham's Theatre), A Busy Day (Lyric Theatre), The Life and Times of Nicholas Nickleby (Gielgud Theatre). He is currently directing Racing Demon for Bath Theatre Royal.

The National Theatre is dedicated to making the very best theatre and sharing it with as many people as possible. We produce productions on the South Bank in London each year, ranging from reimagined classics to modern masterpieces and new work by contemporary writers and theatre-makers. The National's work is seen on tour throughout the UK, in London's West End, internationally (including on Broadway) and in collaborations and co-productions with regional theatres.

National Theatre Live, which broadcasts live performances to cinema screens internationally, is now celebrating its 7th year and has been experienced by over 6 million people worldwide in 200 countries. For more information, visit NTLive.com

The Clore Learning Centre at the NT is committed to providing programmes for schools, young people, families, community groups and adult learners. The nationwide youth theatre festival Connections and playwriting competition New Views engage thousands of young people around the country. Further, over 2,600 secondary schools have signed up to the free streaming service, On Demand in Schools since its launch in September 2015.

In 2015-2016 the NT:

- Staged 34 productions and gave 3,057 performances in the UK and internationally.

- Reached audiences of over 787,000 on the South Bank, and over 3.7 million worldwide (South Bank, West End, touring and NT Live).

- Broadcast, via the NT Live programme, to nearly 6 million people around the world.

- Engaged with over 189,000 participants through the NT Learning events programme.

Current and upcoming tours from the National Theatre include: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Jane Eyre touring the UK until September 2017; War Horse begins a second UK tour in September 2017 and Hedda Gabler begins a UK tour in October 2017. Visit nationaltheatre.org.uk for more.

Chichester Festival Theatre is one of the UK's flagship theatres, renowned for the exceptionally high standard of its productions as well as it's work with the community and young people. Situated in a cathedral city in West Sussex between the South Downs and the sea, the Festival Theatre's bold thrust stage design makes it one of England's most striking playhouses; a Studio Theatre, the Minerva Theatre, sits nearby.

The annual summer Festival season runs from April to November, during which productions originated at Chichester reach an audience of over 200,000. Year-round programming continues through the winter with the Theatre presenting high-class touring productions, as well as a traditional Christmas show mounted by the renowned Chichester Festival Youth Theatre.

Recent West End transfers from Chichester (as originating producer) include Half A Sixpence (Noël Coward Theatre), Young Chekhov (National Theatre), Running Wild (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre), Guys and Dolls (Savoy Theatre), Stevie (Hampstead Theatre), Taken at Midnight (Theatre Royal, Haymarket), Gypsy (Savoy Theatre), Private Lives (Gielgud Theatre) and Sweeny Todd (Adelphi Theatre). Christmas 2015 saw the television broadcast of Gypsy with Imelda Staunton, shown on BBC4. Filmed during its West End run at the Savoy Theatre, the broadcast was watched by over half a million viewers and is now available on DVD.

Rooted firmly in the community, the Theatre runs a Learning, Education and Participation (LEAP) programme that is a beacon of excellence and inspiration to its local audience, as well as being home to one of the country's largest youth theatres with over 750 members.

Daniel Evans and Rachel Tackley joined the organisations as Artistic Director and Executive Director respectively in the summer of 2016, appointed with a mandate to build on the success of the past and take the theatre into its next exciting chapter. Go to cft.org.uk.

Photo Credit: Johan Persson

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