Line-Up for HIGH TIDE FESTIVAL 2014 Announced, Including Michael Gambon, Harriet Walter, and David Hare

Today HighTide Festival Theatre's Artistic Director Steven Atkinson announces the complete line-up for the eighth HighTide Festival, taking place April 10 - 19 2014 (Press Day Saturday April 12) in the idyllic Suffolk market town of Halesworth. Tickets are on sale now.

Atkinson commented: "Our Face to Face series is a beloved Festival highlight, and this year we are thrilled that such masters as Michael Gambon, David Hare, Kate Mosse and Anthony Horowitz are coming to Halesworth, and with interviewers as gifted as Michael Billington and Libby Purves, Festival audiences are in for a unique treat."

Face to Face Series

David Hare (Interviewer: Kate Mosse). Saturday 12th April, 16:30

David Hare is one of Britain's greatest living writers. His recent work encompasses his Oscar nominated screenplays for The Reader and The Hours, his acclaimed BBC drama Page Eight and play The Power of Yes.

Kate Mosse and Anthony Horowitz (Interviewer: Libby Purves). Sunday 13th April, 13:00

We're delighted to welcome Kate Mosse OBE back to Halesworth, the No 1 bestselling author of Labyrinth, The Mistletoe Bride and Citadel,as well as Chichester Festival Theatre at Fifty and three plays. Anthony Horowitz is the author of over 40 books including the bestselling teen spy series Alex Rider and the Sherlock Holmes novel, The House of Silk. Anthony is also the creator and writer of some of the UK's most beloved and successful television series, including Foyle's War.

Michael Gambon (Interviewer: Michael Billington). Saturday 19th 16:30

Michael Gambon is one of the great actors of our time. His work on stage and screen is as unforgettable as it is diverse, ranging from the plays of Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett, Alan Ayckbourn and Shakespeare, to Professor Albus Dumbledore in the final six Harry Potter films.

HighTide Festival Readings of new plays

Boa by Clara Brennan, performed by Olivier Award winner Harriet Walter and her husband Guy Paul, and directed by Hannah Price (co-Artistic Director Theatre Uncut).

I'm Not Here Right Now by Thomas Eccleshare (Pastoral) will be performed by Valentina Ceschi and directed by Soho Theatre's Artistic Director Steve Marmion.

Escalator Plays, Friday 18th April 12:00

HighTide are delighted to announce that the six playwrights who have been selected as our Escalator Writers-on-Attachment for 2014 are:Georgia Christou, Vickie Donoghue (Mudlarks, HighTide/Bush), Marcelo Dos Santos (Lionboy, Complicite), Daniel Kanaber (Shiver, Watford Palace), Nessah Muthy (Gastronauts, Royal Court) and Sophie Stanton (Cariad, Clwyd Theatre Cymru). Extracts from their commissioned plays for HighTide will be performed in Escalator Plays. Full details to be announced in the coming weeks.

Casting completed for The Big Meal

Diana Quick returns to HighTide following her performance in Adam Brace's Midnight Your Time at HighTide Festival 2011 and at the Edinburgh Festival. Directed by Michael Boyd, she is part of an outstanding ensemble cast including Kirsty Bushell and Jo Stone-Fewing, who memorably played opposite one-another in Headlong's stunning production of Angels in America.

The cast, who all play multiple roles, includes:

Diana Quick (Midnight Your Time, HighTide Festival 2011 and Edinburgh Festival; The American Plan, Ustinov Studio and St James Theatre;Aristos; Single Spies; the title role in Mother Courage and Her Children; and Sir Peter Hall's West End production of You Never Can Tell).

Keith Bartlett (Romeo & Juliet, Headlong; New World, The Globe Theatre).

Jo Stone-Fewings (The Winter's Tale, RSC; Heartbreak House, Chichester Festival Theatre; King James Bible Reading, National Theatre).

Kirsty Bushell (Disgraced, Bush Theatre, Semi-Monde, Trafalgar Studios; Punk Rock, Linbury Studios);

Lindsey Campbell (A Christmas Carol, Royal Lyceum Theatre; Purple, Cottesloe Theatre).

James Corrigan (Love's Labour's Lost, The Willow Globe; A Streetcar Named Desire and The Odyssey, Oxford Playhouse).

The children's roles will be played by Jeremy Becker, Zoe Dolly Castle, Courtnei Danks, Robbie Whittock.

The Big Meal, a co-production with Theatre Royal Bath Productions, opens at the Ustinov, Bath on March 6 before transferring to the HighTide Festival on April 10.

Full casting for Nick Payne's Icognito and Elinor Cook's The Girl's Guide to Saving The World will be announced in the coming weeks.

Music

Ronnie Scott's return to HighTide Festival, this time with Award-winning jazz vocalist, Georgia Mancio, (Ian Shaw, Liane Carroll, Bobby McFerrin) who will lead a late night session accompanied by stellar pianist, Dave Newton. Featuring music from the Great American and Brazilian bossa nova Songbooks.

Tickets up for grabs

As part of our commitment to young people in the East, The Garfield Weston Foundation have made a charitable donation, allowing us to give away 400 tickets to the region's young people at absolutely no cost. We anticipate the demand for tickets will great and we suggest that you book early.

HighTide Festival 2014

As previously announced, HighTide Festival will present four premiere productions by Elinor Cook, Harry Melling, Dan LeFranc and Nick Payne. Also readings of new plays by Benedict Andrews and Chris Thorpe. And Mike Daisey's epic 29-part monologue cycle 'All The Faces of the Moon', will be presented as a play for headsets.

For more information, please visit www.hightide.org.uk.

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