Posts

More Sea Shanties than you can shake a stick at in World Premiere of FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL

FISHERMAN'S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL

FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL, a new musical based on the true story of the Cornish singing sensations and the hit 2019 film, will premiere at Hall for Cornwall in Truro this Autumn for a strictly limited season. The world premiere will reopen Hall for Cornwall after a period of closure for a multi-million-pound transformation.

When a group of Cornish fishermen came together to sing the traditional working songs they’d sung for generations, they hoped to raise a few quid for charity.  Nobody, least of all the fishermen, expected the story to end on the Pyramid stage of Glastonbury.  Packed with sea shanties, FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS is a feelgood voyage about friendship, community and music.

The real Fisherman’s Friends said of the musical, “Blimey me how did that happen! We are so proud that that Musical based on our unexpected voyage will be launched down here in the heart of Cornwall.”

Featuring hit shanties made famous by the band including Keep Haulin’, Nelson’s Blood, No Hopers Jokers & Rogues, Sweet Maid Of Madeira and many more.

Julien Boast, Chief Executive and Creative Director of Hall For Cornwall, said: “We think there’s no better way to raise the curtain on Hall for Cornwall following our major transformation. Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical is a perfect tonic to lift us from recent events which have impacted all our lives and a great celebration of people, passion and possibilities which are at the heart of our new theatre. The show will form the foundation of our inaugural launch season, with more details being announced in the spring.”

FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL is directed by James Grieve (former Joint Artistic Director of Paines Plough and former Associate Director of the Bush Theatre) and written by Brad Birch (Tremor, Black Mountain, The Brink, Gardening for the Unfulfilled and Alienated, The Endless Ocean, Tender Bolus).  It is designed by Lucy Osborne with musical supervision from David White.

The hit 2019 FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS movie delighted fans across the world. The sequel to the film begins shooting later this year.

FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL is produced by Royo, in association with Hall for Cornwall’s new in-house producing company, Cornwall Playhouse Productions.

Website:  www.fishermanonstage.com

Facebook: @FFonstage

Twitter: @FFonstage

Instagram: @FFonstage

LISTINGS INFORMATION

FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL

Strictly limited season, Autumn 2021. Tickets on sale soon.

Hall for Cornwall

Back Quay

Truro

TR1 2LL

www.hallforcornwall.co.uk

Dates, schedule and performances to be announced.

 

/by
, ,

Paines Plough announces Later Programme and Daniel Kitson at Roundabout at Summerhall 2019

Artistic Directors of Paines Plough James Grieve and George Perrin have today revealed the full LATER programme for ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019.

The programme includes; gig-theatre in an abundance of pop-philosophy from Just Club – STANDING TOO CLOSE ON OUR OWN IN THE DARK, VIOLET, a new play from Bebe Sanders and award-winning company Poor Michelle about human connection and inter-generational friendships, Dirty Protest’s IF THAT MAKES ME A BITCH, OK showcasing six of Wales’ most exciting writers with six short plays in one late night extravaganza, THE WARDROBE ENSEMB-WHEEL OF FORTUNE,a one night only combination of all your favourite gameshows and an actual real-life three-dimensional wheel of fortune and fresh from their extended sell-out run of SEX SEX MEN MEN Pecs Drag King’s PECS: SOFT BOIS in their Edinburgh debut.

Today Grieve and Perrin have also announced Daniel Kitson’s new experimental work SHENANIGAN as part of Roundabout 2019.

Just Club
STANDING TOO CLOSE ON OUR OWN IN THE DARK

Standing Too Close on Our Own in the Dark is a gig-theatre event which is as vibrant and hopeful as it is melancholic – a romantic tragedy which sees its performer labour over a journal of original poetry and comedic monologue with encouragement from a live band. Part-gig, part-spoken word ramble, part-stand up set, Standing Too Close effervesces with the endearing awkwardness of early-20s social discomfort, delivering an abundance of pop-philosophy with live music, understated wit and a charming poet who waxes lyrical about the cosmos, bike locks and ex-girlfriends’ dads.

Time: 22.35
Age guidance: 12+
Running time: 50 mins
Dates: 19 August
@JustClubTheatre

Poor Michelle Productions
VIOLET by Bebe Sanders

“There’s no bullshit with Violet. She’ll say something blunt like, ‘life can be lonely’ and I’ll be like, ‘yeah it can’ and that’s it. Then we just crack on. It’s nice”

From new playwright Bebe Sanders and award-winning company Poor Michelle, Violet is a new play about human connection and inter-generational friendships. It quietly explores themes of mental health, dementia, and loneliness without forgetting the often funny and absurd moments of ordinary life.

Time: 22.35
Running time: 50 mins
Dates:  21 August
@poormichelle_

Dirty Protest
IF THAT MAKES ME A BITCH, OK.

Six of Wales’ most exciting writers. Six short plays. One late night extravaganza.

Come join the Dirty Protest gang for a night of plays in response to Madonna’s famous 1992 quote about being a strong and ambitious woman.

Join us to see what this means to us in 2019. Grab your beer, sit back and let us entertain you.

Time: 22.35
Age guidance: 14+
Running time: 50 mins
Dates: 22 August
@DirtyProtest

The Wardrobe Ensemble
THE WARDROBE ENSEMB-WHEEL OF FORTUNE

Join us, The Wardrobe Ensemble, for ONE NIGHT ONLY as we bring to you… The Wardrobe EnsembWheel of Fortune! A night combining all your favourite gameshows and an actual real-life three-dimensional wheel of fortune.

Part pub quiz, part performance, with live music, highly desirable prizes and an original theme tune. Would be nice to see you, to see you…

All proceeds donated to charity.

Time: 22.35
Running time: 50 mins
Dates: 23 August
@WardrobEnsemble

Pecs
PECS: SOFT BOIS

Soft, sensual and fresh from their extended sell-out run of SEX SEX MEN MEN at The Yard Theatre, the one and only Pecs bois are making their Edinburgh debut, bringing you some new feels straight from their aching hearts.

Get ready for some serious softness and sensitivity this summer.

“It’s a space to be silly. It’s empowering. It’s liberating. It’s f***ing sexy.” Evening Standard

Time: 22.35
Age guidance: 18+
Running time: 50 mins
Dates: 24 August
@pecsdrag

Daniel Kitson
DANIEL KITSON: SHENANIGAN

On most Tuesdays, I go to a café before football for lunch with my friends Tim and Isy. Last week, the café had a really appealing special on the board which involved roasted cauliflower, pickled cabbage and babaganoush. The lady behind the counter referred to it as “The Shenanigan”. Which I very much enjoyed.

This show will have absolutely nothing to do with that meal, that lady, that café, those friends, playing football or Tuesdays but I have to call it something otherwise they can’t put it in the system.

Something new, vaguely experimental, unfinished and frankly, quite unlikely to ever be finished, by Daniel Kitson.

Time: 22.35
Age guidance: 16+
Running time: 90 mins
Dates:  4 , 5 ,7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17 ,18 August
Tickets only available via the Summerhall website

LISTINGS

Roundabout @ Summerhall
www.summerhall.co.uk
Box Office: 0131 560 1580

Press Performance for ON THE OTHER HAND, WE’RE HAPPY at 14.15 on 4 August and 11.2oon 5 August
Press Performance for DEXTER AND WINTER’S DETECTIVE AGENCY at 11.2oon 4 August
Press Performance for DAUGHTERHOOD at 14.15 on 5 August

 

/by

Paines Plough announces full programme for Roundabout at Summerhall 2019

Paines Plough

Artistic Directors of Paines Plough James Grieve and George Perrin today revealed the full programme for ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL, kicking off at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before a UK tour in Autumn 2019.

Paines Plough in co-production with Theatr Clwyd will stage three World Premieres from Daf James, Nathan Byron and Charley Miles. All three productions will be performed in rep by Charlotte Bate, Charlotte O’Leary and Toyin Omari-Kinch, directed by former Paines Plough Associate Director, and nabokov Artistic Director, Stef O’Driscoll.

Visiting company productions in ROUDABOUT will be: ISLANDER, from Helen Milne Productions, a new musical with a contemporary Scottish folk-inspired score about a mysterious stranger and island on the brink; Tim Cowbury’s absurd and quietly shattering response to stories of those seeking refuge in the UK, THE CLAIM; Dirty Protest’s HOW TO BE BRAVE, Siân Owen’s one-woman love story to Newport, the city that made her about keeping the magic we arrive into the world with, finding out what we’re made of and learning to be brave when your world’s falling apart; PARAKEET from Brigitte Aphrodite and Quiet Boy produced by Boundless Theatre and Boom Shakalaka Productions, a new musical about a young woman finding her voice with the help of a gang of exotic birds; Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner Richard Gadd’s chilling story about obsession, delusion, and the terrifying ramifications of a fleeting mistake in BABY REINDEER from Francesca Moody Productions in association with the Bush Theatre; Middle Child return with THE CANARY AND THE CROW, brand new gig theatre about the journey of a working class black kid who is accepted to a prestigious grammar school.

Francesca Moody Productions’ Fringe First winner SQUARE GO penned by Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair will also return to Roundabout, following acclaim in 2018.

James Grieve and George Perrin said: “We’re immensely proud to present our ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL line-up for 2019, jam-packed with outstanding new plays from around the UK.

Our Roundabout repertory features a company of shapeshifting actors in three extraordinary world premieres from three of the UK’s most exciting writers and we’re welcoming thrilling, trailblazing new writing companies, playwrights and artists to Roundabout. From the return of our Associate Company Middle Child with an all new gig theatre show to the chilling debut play from Richard Gadd, this is a programme that showcases the very best new talent in British theatre. We can’t wait to welcome audiences to Roundabout @ Summerhall for a sixth consecutive summer at the Fringe.”

Paines Plough and Theatr Clwyd present

ON THE OTHER HAND, WE’RE HAPPY by Daf James – World Premiere.
DEXTER AND WINTER’S DETECTIVE AGENCY by Nathan Bryon – World Premiere.
DAUGHTERHOOD by Charley Miles – World Premiere.

Roundabout 2019 Visiting Companies

ISLANDER by Amy Draper, Stewart Melton & Finn Anderson. Helen Milne Productions.
THE CLAIM by Tim Cowbury. Tim Cowbury, Mark Maughan in association with James Quaife Productions.
HOW TO BE BRAVE by Siân Owen. A Dirty Protest production.
PARAKEET by Brigitte Aphrodite with music by Quiet Boy. A Boundless Theatre & Boom Shakalaka production.
BABY REINDEER by Richard Gadd. A Francesca Moody production.
THE CANARY AND THE CROW by Daniel Ward. A Middle Child production.
SQUARE GO by Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair. A Francesca Moody production.

*
A Paines Plough and Theatr Clwyd production
ON THE OTHER HAND, WE’RE HAPPY
By Daf James
Directed by Stef O’Driscoll

A single Dad meets his adopted daughter for the first time. Then he agrees to meet her birth mother. When their two worlds collide, will what they have in common outweigh their differences?

A one-off meeting. But three lives will be changed forever.

ON THE OTHER HAND, WE’RE HAPPY is a tender, funny, hopeful play about being a mum when your name is Dad.

Daf James is an award-winning writer, composer and performer working across theatre, radio television and film in English and Welsh. Having trained in the Lecoq pedagogy at the London International School of Performing Arts he went on to earn a doctorate in Theatre Studies from the University of Warwick.  His first full-length play LLWYTH[Tribe] became a Welsh-language cultural phenomenon, ‘a water-shed play that changed the landscape of Welsh language theatre forever.’

Time: 11.20 – 12.30 / 14.15 – 15.25
Age guidance: 14+
Running time: 70 mins
Dates: 01, 05, 08, 10, 12, 15, 19, 22 – 11.20am – 12.30pm
31, 02, 04, 07, 09, 10, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23 – 14.15pm – 15.25pm
Ticket prices: £9 – £17
Press performance: 14.15, 4 August, 11.20, 5 August

*
A Paines Plough and Theatr Clwyd production
DEXTER AND WINTER’S DETECTIVE AGENCY
By Nathan Bryon
Directed by Stef O’Driscoll

When Dexter’s mum is sent to jail for getting mixed up in a jewellery robbery, it’s up to Dexter and Winter to get her out. On their journey to uncover the truth and free mum, their detective work leads them to some surprising discoveries.

A mad-cap adventure story for all the family from one of the writers behind CBeebies hits RASTAMOUSE, APPLE TREE HOUSE and SWASHBUCKLE.

Nathan is a writer and actor, who grew up eating as much Uxbridge Road Caribbean food as his bank balance would allow. He is best known to viewers for his role as regular character Jamie in SOME GIRLS and BENIDORM’s sunniest holiday maker, Joey Ellis. Nathan has written for critically acclaimed CBeebies’ animation RASTAMOUSE, BAFTA award winning SWASHBUCKLE and on all three series of BAFTA nominated APPLE TREE HOUSE (CBeebies) alongside BAFTA winning GIGGLEBIZ. Last Year Nathan’s one-man show MIXED BRAIN about his mixed heritage premiered in ROUNDABOUT at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Nathan has secured a 3 picture book deal with Penguin Random House. His first book LOOK UP! will hit shelves in the US and UK in June 2019.

Time: 11.20 – 12.10
Age guidance: 5+
Running time: 50 mins
Prices: £8- £28
Dates:  03, 04, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25 – 11.20am – 12.10pm
Press performance: 4 August

*
A Paines Plough and Theatr Clwyd production
DAUGHTERHOOD
By Charley Miles
Directed by Stef O’Driscoll

One sister stayed at home to care for Dad, the other set out to ‘make a difference’,

Reunited under their childhood roof, Pauline and Rachel unearth more than the 10 years between them.

It’s a huge gap. Almost insurmountable.

And each is determined to let the other know exactly who has done things right.

DAUGHTERHOOD is a beautiful, ferocious play about the bonds that tie us, and how we sometimes need to break them.

Charley is a playwright from rural North Yorkshire. She has written plays for the Royal Court, Leeds Playhouse, and Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She has been attached to Paines Plough as their Playwright Fellow in 2018 and Leeds Playhouse as their Channel 4 Playwright in Residence in 2017. Her debut play, BLACKTHORN, was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn prize in New York in 2017. Her new play, THERE ARE NO BEGINNINGS, will premiere at Leeds Playhouse in Autumn 2019. She has original television dramas in development with Buccaneer Media, Mam Tor Productions and Entertainment One.

Time: 11.20 – 12.30 / 14.15 – 15.25
Age guidance: 14+
Running time: 70 mins
Dates: 31, 02, 07, 09, 14, 16, 21, 23 – 11.20am – 12.30pm
01, 03, 05, 08, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22, 25 – 14.15pm – 15.25pm
Ticket prices: £9 – £17
Press performance: 14.15, 5 August

*
Helen Milne Productions present
ISLANDER: A NEW MUSICAL
Concept and direction by Amy Draper
Book by Stewart Melton
Music and lyrics by Finn Anderson

Eilidh stares out to sea and dreams of a new life beyond her lonely island. Myth and reality collide when the tide washes a mysterious stranger onto her beach, changing her life forever.

Epic storytelling, intimately staged with a contemporary Scottish folk-inspired score. The cast live-record and layer their voices to create an ethereal adventure for the ears and imagination.

Originally developed in association with Comar. ISLANDER: A NEW MUSICAL is part of the Made in Scotland 2019 showcase.

Time: 10.00 – 11.00
Age guidance: 8+
Running time: 60 mins
Dates: 31, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14,15,16,17,18,19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 (not Tuesdays)
Ticket prices: £8 – £15
BSL signed performance on 12 Aug
Captioned performance: 21 Aug
Press performance: 10:00, 4/5 August

*
Tim Cowbury, Mark Maughan in association with James Quaife Productions present
THE CLAIM
By Tim Cowbury
Directed by Mark Maughan

A comically absurd and quietly shattering journey to the heart of our tolerant and fair A comically absurd and quietly shattering journey to the heart of our tolerant and fair society.

Serge stands before us. He has a performance to give. But why is he here? What is he claiming has happened to him? And what has Willy Wonka got to do with it?

A bold, imaginative response to the stories of those seeking refuge in the UK, The Claim asks what happens when your life is at stake and all you have to save it are your words.

Part of the British Council Showcase 2019

Time:12: 50
Age guidance: 12+
Running time: 65 mins
Dates: July 31, August 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
Ticket prices: £9 – £15
Press performance: 12:50, 4/5 August

*
A Dirty Protest production in association with Chapter
HOW TO BE BRAVE
By Siân Owen
Directed by Catherine Paskell

Produced by the award-winning Welsh company behind Fringe hit Sugar Baby, this one-woman play is about what we’re made of and learning to be brave when your world’s falling apart.

When Katie was little, she was brave: climbing trees and riding bikes too fast. Now Katie’s a mum, she must be brave in a new way.

Determined her daughter will keep the fierce magic she arrived into the world with, Katie sets off on a mission around Newport with the help of a stolen BMX, a policewoman with bad hair, and a pigeon in a bag.

Time: 15:45
Age guidance: 14+
Running time: 60 mins
Dates: 31 July, Aug 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
Captioned performances: 7, 14, 21 August
Ticket prices: £9 – £15
Press performance: 15:45 4/5 August

*
A Boundless Theatre & Boom Shakalaka Productions production
PARAKEET
Words by Brigitte Aphrodite and music by Quiet Boy
Directed by Laura Keefe

In Margate, an isolated teenager forms a band and find her voice with the help of a gang of exotic birds. A new musical about finding your flock and ruffling feathers, Parakeet is a feast for the ears, eyes and heart told through irresistible song, poetry and electronic sounds where empathy is the new punk.

Time: 17:05
Running time: 60 minutes
Dates: Wednesday 31 July – Sunday 25 August 2019
Captioned performance: 7, 14, 21 August~
Age guidance:  14+
Ticket prices: £9 – £15
Press performance:  17:05, 4/5 August

*
Francesca Moody Productions in association with the Bush Theatre
BABY REINDEER
Written and performed by Richard Gadd
Directed by Jon Brittain

‘I looked at her, wanting her to laugh. Wanting her to share in the joke. But she didn’t. She just stared. I knew then, in that moment – that she had taken it literally…’

Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Richard Gadd has a chilling story to tell about obsession, delusion and the terrifying ramifications of a fleeting mistake. An unmissable debut play directed by Olivier Award winner Jon Brittain and produced by 2018’s double Fringe-First winning Francesca Moody Productions in association with The Bush Theatre.

Time:18:25
Running time: 65 Minutes
Dates: 31 July, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
Ticket prices: £9 – £14
Age Guidance: 14+
Press performance: 18.25, 4 and 5 August

*
A Middle Child production
THE CANARY AND THE CROW
By Daniel Ward
Music by Prez 96 and James Frewer
Direction by Paul Smith

The award-winning Middle Child present brand new gig theatre about the journey of a working-class black kid who is accepted to a prestigious grammar school.

This lyrical, semi-autobiographical piece from writer and performer Daniel Ward uses grime, hip hop and theatre to tell the story of the struggle between a new environment that doesn’t accept you and an old one that has no opportunity.

Time: 19:50
Running time: 65 mins
Dates: Jul 31, Aug 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
Ticket prices: £9-£15
Age Guidance: 14+
Press performance: 19:50, 4 / 5 August

*
Francesca Moody Productions in association with SEARED
SQUARE GO
By Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair

The unmissable, Fringe First Award-winning show from Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair. Max spends his days daydreaming and hanging out with his weird wee pal Stevie. But when Max is called for his first Square Go – a fight by the school gates – it’s his own demons he must wrestle with first. A raucous play about playground violence, myths of masculinity and the challenge to step up or run. Starring Game of Thrones’ Daniel Portman and River City’s Gavin Jon Wright and featuring an original soundtrack by members of Frightened Rabbit.

Time: 21:15
Running time: 60 Minutes
Dates: 31 July, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
Ticket prices: £9 – £17
Age Guidance: 12+

ENDS

For further information about Paines Plough please contact
Maisie Lawrence at The Corner Shop PR: maisie@thecornershoppr.com / 0207 831 7657

 

LISTINGS

Paines Plough and Theatr Clwyd present
ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL

Roundabout @ Summerhall
www.summerhall.co.uk
Box Office: 0131 560 1580

Press Performance for ON THE OTHER HAND, WE’RE HAPPY at 14.15 on 4 August and 11.2oon 5 August
Press Performance for DEXTER AND WINTER’S DETECTIVE AGENCY at 11.2oon 4 August
ress Performance for DAUGHTERHOOD at 14.15 on 5 August

Access
Closed captioning available for all Paines Plough productions.

ROUNDABOUT UK TOUR

29 June – 20 July Mold with Theatr Clwyd
05-08 September Salford with The Lowry
12-15 September Ramsgate with Creative Civic Change
19-22 September Doncaster with CAST
26-29 September Bournemouth with The Lighthouse, Poole
03-06 October Lincoln with Lincoln Performing Arts Centre

/by

Paines Plough announces Programme 2019

Paines Plough
  • Roundabout 2019 features three world premieres by Charley Miles, Nathan Bryon and Daf James in co-production with Theatr Clwyd
  • Sam Steiner’s new play You Stupid Darkness! Opens at Co-Producer Theatre Royal Plymouth on 12 February
  • London Laureate and Roundhouse Slam Champion Zia Ahmed’s debut play I Wanna Be Yours embarks on a national tour with Tamasha
  • Turbines, a world premiere from Sarah Mcdonald-Hughes in Cardiff and London
  • A new play from Ifeyinwa Fredrick in partnership with Soho Theatre
  • Bruntwood Prize-Winner Anna Jordan’s Pop Music returns for a live online broadcast
  • Come To Where I’m from celebrates its 10th year with new live dates and 160 plays available free on the app
  • Paines Plough’s new podcast series launches

Artistic Directors of Paines Plough James Grieve and George Perrin today announced the company’s Programme 2019, marking the final season from the pair who will step down later this year after nearly a decade at the helm.

The programme celebrates some of the most exciting, distinctive, observant and entertaining voices in British theatre with commissioned writers including:Charley Miles, Nathan Bryon, Daf James, Sam Steiner, Zia Ahmed, Sarah Mcdonald-Hughes, Ifeyinwa Fredrick and Anna Jordan. Their brand new plays will tour across the length and breadth of the UK to city centres, seaside towns and village halls.

ROUNDABOUT will once again host an Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme and bring mini-festivals to each stop on its nationwide tour. Paines Plough will broadcast Anna Jordan’s POP MUSIC live online and celebrate 10 years of COME TO WHERE I’M FROM with new live events and the CTWIF APP featuring more than 180 short audio plays available to download free from the App Store and GooglePlay. They will once again be holding open auditions as part of their pledge to actors. A new series of podcasts, INSIGHTS, offers a look at the playwright’s experience of life inside the rehearsal room.

James Grieve and George Perrin said: “This programme epitomises what Paines Plough has always been about for us: urgent new plays from original new voices featuring top new talent on wide-ranging tours the length and breadth of the UK. We’re hugely proud to be presenting the best of a new generation of British playwrights. We’re celebrating 10 years of COME TO WHERE I’M FROM and another three years of ROUNDABOUT funding. Graduates of our Playwright Fellowship and Trainee Director Bursary headline the programme. Loyal venue partners reaffirm their commitment to the importance of new plays. Our newly launched podcast series INSIGHTS aims to make us ever more open and accessible, joining existing initiatives like OPEN AUDITIONS, our Casting Pledge and our UNSOLICITED SCRIPT policy. It’s everything we think a national theatre of new plays should be.”

*

Paines Plough and Theatr Clwyd present

ROUNDABOUT 2019

Following another critically acclaimed season in 2018, ROUNDABOUT, Paines Plough’s award-winning portable in-the-round auditorium, will return for a sixth consecutive year in 2019. The programme will include World Premieres from Charley Miles, Nathan Bryon and Daf James co-produced with Theatr Clwyd and performed in rep, directed by Stef O’Driscoll. The productions will open at Theatr Clwyd and tour to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe andsix partner venues across the UK.

ROUNDABOUT will also host a programme of visiting companies, comedy, music and local community events.

Full listings will be announced in due course.

Charley is a playwright from rural North Yorkshire. She is currently the Paines Plough Playwright Fellow. Her debut play, BLACKTHORN, was produced in 2016 and went on to become a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn award in New York in 2017. She was the Channel 4 Playwright in Residence at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2017, and has recently written plays for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the Royal Court, and Leeds Playhouse. Her original television drama, IN MEMORIAM, is in development with Buccaneer Media.

Nathan is a writer and actor who is best known to viewers for his role as regular character Jamie in SOME GIRLS and BENIDORM’s sunniest holiday maker, Joey Ellis. He has written for critically acclaimed CBeebies’ animation RASTAMOUSE, BAFTA award winning SWASHBUCKLE and on all three series of BAFTA nominated APPLE TREE HOUSE (CBeebies) alongside BAFTA winning GIGGLEBIZ. Last Year Nathan’s one-man show MIXED BRAIN a show about his mixed heritage premiered in Roundabout at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  He also has a 3 picture book deal with Penguin Random House. His first book LOOK UP! will hit shelves in the US and UK in June.

Nathan has recently co-written a Sky Arts short NEW BLOOD starring Samson Kayo and Jane Horrocks. One of Nathan’s passions is creating his own work about his black British experience. He created REALITY, a comedic social commentary ethnology series, which has had two solo premiers at the BFI in NFT1. REALITY has also screened and won various awards around the world at film festivals. Nathan is currently writing series 3.0. Nathan has various TV projects in development as well as a feature film.

Daf is an award-winning writer, composer and performer working across theatre, radio television and film in English and Welsh.  His first full-length play LLWYTH [Tribe] was described in Contemporary Welsh Plays as ‘a water-shed play that changed the landscape of Welsh language theatre forever.’ Past work includes: REPUTATIONS (BBC Studios); NURSERYLAND REVOLUTION (Let’s Play/National Theatre); MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME HOW TO SING (Radio 4); TIGER BAY (WMC/Capetown Opera); CITY OF THE UNEXPECTED (National Theatre Wales); ALL THAT I AM (Richard Burton Theatre Company/Gate); WONDERMAN (Gagglebabble/NTW); MOTHER COURAGE (NTW); YURI (August 012); CRACKANORY (Tiger Aspect/Dave); PSYCHOBITCHES (Tiger Aspect/Sky Arts, Rose d’Or Award Winner); HERITAGE (NT Connections); SUE: THE SECOND COMING (Soho Theatre and UK tour);  TERRACE (Radio 3); GWAITH/CARTREF (10 episodes, Fiction Factory); THE VILLAGE SOCIAL (NTW); DEFFRO’R GWANWYN (Theatr Genedlaethol) and MY NAME IS SUE (Total Theatre Award Winner). Current work includes: BRITHDIR (Triongl/S4C); GANOL GAEAF NOETHLWM (Cwmni Da/S4C), MARGARET & CLIVE (Fiction Factory); THE DIANA CHRONICLES (Royal Court, Sherman Theatre and Theatr Clwyd) and TYLWYTH (Theatr Genedlaethol/Sherman Cymru).  His TV pilot BEAST (Scott Free/Channel 4) was on the 2018 Brit List.

Stef is a theatre director and the Artistic Director of Nabokov Theatre who most recently directed ISLAND TOWN, STICKS AND STONES and HOW TO SPOT AN ALIEN for the Paines Plough Roundabout season, which were all well received at the Edinburgh Fringe 2018. She will direct the Roundabout season again this year and other current projects include LIT, at the Nottingham Playhouse, as well as BOX CLEVER by Monsay Whitney at the Bunker Theatre. She also directed WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LUCK for BBC Radio 1 Xtra, a celebration of UKG music and the club scene of the early noughties, with a compelling coming-of-age story woven through it and was previously the Associate Director at the Lyric Hammersmith and Paines Plough. Stef was the original director of WHEN WOMEN WEE, now the feature THE POWDER ROOM, and was selected for the Old Vic New Voices New York Exchange scheme. She was assistant director to Phyllida Lloyd on HENRY IV both the London runs & NY transfer. She trained at St Mary’s University where she obtained a BA in Drama.

 

*

A Paines Plough and Theatre Royal Plymouth production
YOU STUPID DARKNESS!
by Sam Steiner
Directed by James Grieve
Design by Amy Jane Cook
Lighting Design by Peter Small
Sound Design by Dominic Kennedy
Movement by Annie-Lunette Deakin-Foster
Assistant Direction by Freddie Crossley

Paines Plough and Theatre Royal Plymouth present YOU STUPID DARKNESS!, a World Premiere from Sam Steiner (Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons; Kanye the First), directed by Paines Plough Joint Artistic Director James Grieve. Set in a call centre for Brightline helpline, four volunteers spend a few hours every Tuesday night on the phone to strangers telling them everything is going to be ok. A hopeful play about the struggle for optimism and community amid the chaos of a collapsing world. The cast includes David Carlyle, Andrew Finnigan, Becci Gemmell and Lydia Larson. The production marks the continuation of a long-standing relationship between Paines Plough and Theatre Royal Plymouth and follows the success of Love, Love, Love and The Angry Brigade.

YOU STUPID DARKNESS! runs at Theatre Royal Plymouth 7 – 23 February with an Opening Night on 12 February.

Sam is a playwright and screenwriter from Manchester. Sam’s debut play, the award-winning LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS, was produced by Walrus Theatre (a company he cofounded). It has had three sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and toured nationally. The play has since been produced all over the world in seven different languages. Sam’s second play, KANYE THE FIRST, was commissioned and produced by Hightide Theatre and premiered at the festival in September 2017. Other pieces of Sam’s work have been showcased at the Royal Exchange, Soho Theatre, Southwark Playhouse, Sala Beckett in Barcelona and the Cannes and London Film Festivals. He completed an attachment at Paines Plough as their Playwright Fellowship and holds an MA in Screenwriting from the National Film and Television School. Sam is currently under commission at Paines Plough and is developing television projects with Drama Republic and Euston North.

James is Joint Artistic Director of Paines Plough.

*

A Paines Plough and Tamasha production
I WANNA BE YOURS
by Zia Ahmed
Direction by Anna Himali Howard

Ella is from Yorkshire. Haseeb is from London. They order a pizza. House red for Ella. Hot chocolate for Haseeb.

“I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Meet in the middle. Meet the parents. Meet the friends. Meet the aunties. They say opposites attract, but can they stay together?

A tender, funny, lyrical play about finding love and holding onto it with everything you’ve got. I WANNA BE YOURS is the debut play from London Laureate and Roundhouse Poetry Slam Champion Zia Ahmed. In partnership with Tamasha, it will tour around the UK, directed by former Paines Plough trainee director Anna Himali Howard. Dates to be announced.

Zia is from North West London. He is a London Laureate, having been shortlisted to be the Young Poet Laureate for London 2015/16. He is a former Roundhouse Poetry Slam champion. Zia was Paines Plough’s Channel 4 Playwright in Residence 2016/2017.

Anna is a director and theatremaker. She was Paines Plough’s Trainee Director in 2016. She is also an Alumni Artist at the Gate Theatre and an alumnus of the Birmingham REP Foundry.

Her work as a Director includes A SMALL PLACE by Jamaica Kincaid (Gate Theatre), ALBATROSS by Isley Lynn for NEW (RWCMD/Paines Plough/Gate Theatre), LIFE IS NO LAUGHING MATTER by Demi Nandhra (Birmingham REP/mac Birmingham), 20B by Jane English (Birmingham REP/CPT).   As a theatremaker work includes MAHABHARAT/A by Anna Himali Howard and Zarina Muhammad (Camden People’s Theatre), THE BEANFIELD by Breach Theatre (New Diorama, National tour 2016).   Anna was Associate Director on FLEABAG by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Drywrite/Soho Theatre international tour) and Assistant Director on OTHELLO, directed by Ellen McDougall (Shakespeare’s Globe) and IN THE NIGHT TIME (Before the Sun Rises) by Nina Segal, directed by Ben Kidd (Gate Theatre).

I WANNA BE YOURS was developed with support from the Channel 4 Playwrights’ Scheme.

*

A Paines Plough, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and The Gate Theatre production
TURBINES
By Sarah McDonald-Hughes
Direction by Emily Ling Williams

Once again for 2019 Paines Plough will partner with Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and The Gate Theatre to showcase the world premiere of Sarah McDonald-Hughes’s TURBINES, directed by Paines Plough former Trainee Director Emily Ling Williams. Sarah returns to Paines Plough following her award-winning play for young people HOW TO BE A KID.

Sarah is an actor and writer from Manchester.  Her plays include:  SHERBET (Octagon Bolton), HOW TO BE A KID (Paines Plough); BLACKOUT (Dukes Lancaster) THE MANCHESTER PROJECT (Monkeywood Theatre/HOME/National Theatre), TRIAL, MULTI STORY (Octagon Bolton/Monkeywood), WONDROUS PLACE (Northern Spirit/Liverpool Unity/Sheffield Crucible/Northern Stage/Royal Exchange), FLESH (Monkeywood Theatre/Royal Exchange), BY FAR THE GREATEST TEAM, ONCE IN A HOUSE ON FIRE, MAINE ROAD (Monkeywood Theatre), THE TREE, NIGHT TRAIN (Action Transport Theatre), OUR PALS and THE NORTH (Royal Exchange Studio).  Radio includes: THE ARCHERS, BLIND SCHOOL, A ROOF OVER OUR HEADS, DAD, TAKE ME TO REDCAR, MAINE ROAD (BBC Radio 4).  Television includes numerous episodes of DOCTORS for BBC1.  Sarah works regularly as an actor in theatre, television and radio and is Co-Artistic director of the award winning Monkeywood Theatre.  She is currently part of THE ARCHERS regular writing team. Sarah won the 2018 Writer’s Guild Award for her play HOW TO BE A KID and the 2017 National Octagon Prize for her play SHERBET, co-written with Curtis Cole.

Emily was Trainee Director at Paines Plough in 2017 and is currently part of the Fresh Direction group at the Young Vic. Directing credits include LUNGS(Extract) (Young Vic). Assistant directing credits include THE MEETING (Chichester Festival Theatre) THE CHALK GARDEN (Chichester Festival Theatre), THE APOLOGY (R&D) (NT Studio), BLACK MOUNTAIN (Paines Plough), OUT OF LOVE (Paines Plough), HOW TO BE A KID (Paines Plough), THE ISLAND NATION (Arcola Theatre).

*

A new play by Ifeyinwa Fredrick
Co-commissioned by Paines Plough and Soho Theatre

Paines Plough are co-commissioning a new play by Ifeyinwa Fredrick, one of the 2019 Soho Six, a yearlong attachment programme for artists run by Soho Theatre. Full details to be announced.

Ifeyinwa is a writer and entrepreneur, using both writing and business as creative outlets. Writing alongside her full-time job as co-founder of Chuku’s – the world’s first Nigerian tapas restaurant – she has been featured in Forbes’ list of 100 Women Founders in Europe. She began writing in 2016, joining Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab. Supported by the programme, she wrote her debut play THE HOES which received a full production at Hampstead Theatre in 2018. The play was shortlisted for the 2017 Tony Craze Award and Character 7 Award and longlisted for the 2017 Verity Bargate Award. Her stories explore the intricacies of people and the dichotomy between how we really are and how society or we portray ourselves to be.

*

A Paines Plough and Birmingham Repertory Theatre production
POP MUSIC
by Anna Jordan
Direction James Grieve

Anna Jordan’s POP MUSIC returns for a one-off live stream after an acclaimed national tour in 2018. Turbo charged by non-stop pop hits from the past 30 years of chart toppers, POP MUSIC is a euphoric, nostalgic, poptastic theatre party for anyone who’s ever been a dick on the dancefloor. Details to be announced.

Anna won the 2013 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting for Yen (Royal Court) after having been twice longlisted for her plays MARIANNE and CHICKEN SHOP.YEN has had productions at Manchester Royal Exchange, the Royal Court and MCC New York as well as several international productions. It was also shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize 2015-2016.   Her current projects include THE UNRETURNING (Frantic Assembly / Theatre Royal Plymouth) and a new adaptation of MOTHER COURAGE (Royal Exchange / Headlong). She is also under commission to the Royal Court Theatre.  Other theatre includes WE ANCHOR IN HOPE (Royal Court – Beyond the Court), A SERIOUS CASE OF THE FUCKITS (Central School of Speech and Drama) CHICKEN SHOP (Park Theatre) and FREAK (Theatre503 / Assembly Studios). She was recently part of the writers room on HBO’s new series SUCCESSION, created by Jesse Armstrong, and has written episode 4. Film includes THE IVORY YEAR (LAMDA).

*

A Paines Plough production
COME TO WHERE I’M FROM

Since 2010, Paines Plough’s nationwide project Come To Where I’m From has seen over 160 playwrights from across the pen plays about the places they call home.

Each play is performed for one-night only and then becomes part of the free Come To Where I’m From smartphone app which houses all the mini-plays that have been performed since the project began to create a vivid patchwork quilt of accents, experiences and impressions of the UK.

In 2019 Paines Plough will showcase live sessions of COME TO WHERE I’M FROM with the first taking place in Salisbury on 20 February with Wiltshire’s writers Veronica Dewan, Harry Blake, Barney Norris and Hanna Treadaway.

*

INSIGHTS
A podcast by Paines Plough

Paines Plough’s new INSIGHTS podcasts chart the writer’s experience of life inside the rehearsal room.

The series will be released during the rehearsal period of Paines Plough productions, with the playwright and the director discussing the week’s progress and inviting in different guests from the cast and creative team. The first series, YOU STUPID PODCAST!, is led by James Grieve and Sam Steiner and is currently available to download from Podbean.

/by

George Perrin and James Grieve announce that they are stepping down as Artistic Directors of Paines Plough

Paines Plough

Ahead of launching their 10th annual programme of new plays on tour, George Perrin and James Grieve have announced that they are stepping down as Artistic Directors of Paines Plough. Since 2010, the pair have produced 45 World Premieres by writers such as Mike Bartlett, Penelope Skinner, James Graham, Sabrina Mahfouz and Vinay Patel, touring them to hundreds of villages, towns and cities across the UK and around the world.

Their playwright development initiative THE BIG ROOM, has launched the careers of a new generation of playwrights including Tom Wells, Kate Tempest and Zia Ahmed.

The pair revitalised small-scale touring whilst at the organisation and launched celebrated initiatives like Open Auditions to ensure that Paines Plough meets actors from all backgrounds across the whole of the UK.

In 2014, Perrin and Grieve built their own pop-up theatre ROUNDABOUT for Paines Plough to reach those communities least engaged with the arts, a pop-up space which is now recognised as a fixture of touring theatre across the country.

George Perrin and James Grieve said: “We are honoured to have been the custodians of this essential organisation and are proud to now pass it on to a new generation of artists and producers. It’s been a joy to travel the country and traverse the globe bringing the best new British plays to the doorsteps of our audiences. We’ll leave as we arrived: die-hard fans of the best new writing touring company in the world.”

Kim Grant, Chair of the Paines Plough Board of Trustees, said: “George and James have led Paines Plough through nine years of outstanding achievement, unrelenting progress and unforgettable theatre experiences for audiences across the UK. Throughout their stewardship the company has remained true to its roots as the leading national touring theatre company for new plays and with ROUNDABOUT now firmly established as a unique and sophisticated flexible  pop-up theatre space, they leave us and their successors a wonderful legacy.”

Programme 2019 will be announced later this week. James and George will leave Paines Plough in the summer to pursue new projects.

The board of Paines Plough will begin their search for new artistic leadership in February.

/by
,

Behold: Paines Plough 

Paines Plough are one of theatre’s secret weapons. The touring new writing company has  and are continuing their extremely brilliant partnership with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Gate Theatre in fostering talent by staging Hush by Alison Carr.

For the past three years, they have supported emerging writers has penned a short play for the graduating class of the college which is then staged in Cardiff and London for a short run. Previous playwrights who have taken part in the partnership with Paines Plough, RWCMD and Gate Theatre are Elinor Cook and Brad Birch who are both debuting full length new plays at Paines Plough Roundabout later this year.

I caught up with Hush writer Alison Carr and Paines Plough’s Artistic Director James Grieve to chat about new writing, the amazing new season, mainstream criticism and more.

Basically, it’s a really good chat.

Alison Carr

Alison Carr

Hi Alison, Paines Plough have a solid reputation for nurturing young theatre talent – how does it feel to be part of that?
It’s great. I first worked with Paines Plough about seven years ago when I took part in Come To Where I’m From at Live Theatre in Newcastle. I met James and George; I really liked the company and what they were doing. I wanted to be part of it. We’ve kept in touch and when I got the call to write their co-commission with RWCMD I was thrilled. And a bit daunted. A cast of eight, you say?! But they’ve been really supportive and encouraging throughout the process and I’m really proud of the play and excited for people to see it.

Last year you completed The Traverse Fifty – a 6-month attachment with Monkeywood Theatre. How helpful was that experience?
They’re actually two separate things. The Traverse Fifty was a year-long attachment with the Traverse that I was part of in 2013. It was incredible; I’d definitely say one of the most important experiences of my writing career so far. I was actually on the verge of packing-in writing when I entered to be part of it – it was a real make or break moment. The attachment with Manchester’s Monkeywood Theatre a couple of years ago was an opportunity to be supported over a 6-month draft process, culminating in a development day and a reading. It’s always good to have structure and support when you’re writing – I need deadlines and pressure – and then the chance to hear the play read by actors, work with a director, it’s all invaluable with a new work.

What is your play ‘Hush’ about?
There’s a question. There are three strands to the story – a young woman who comes back to the town she grew up in and left under a cloud, her former best friend who has stayed in the town and tried to live a good life, and a young man who waits in limbo for the return of his missing brother. So, broadly speaking, it’s about coming home, leaving vs staying, guilt, identity and loss. There are some jokes in there too, though.

CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS FOR HUSH  (Cardiff)
CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS FOR HUSH  (London)

Are there any writing tips that you live by?
It’s not exactly a pithy quote, but ‘just get on with it’ would be the main one. The amount of time I waste on worrying and procrastination, whereas when I just sit down and do something I feel so much better. Also, small achievable goals are key and time off is allowed.

JAMES GRIEVE

James Grieve

James Grieve

Congratulations on the wonderful Paines Plough season. What are you most excited about?
All of it. But particularly our Roundabout tour because I get to direct three outstanding new plays by Brad Birch, Elinor Cook and Sarah McDonald-Hughes with an ensemble of actors and go on tour in our beautiful pop-up theatre to lots of great places around the UK. We built Roundabout to give people amazing theatre experiences in places where there isn’t usually any theatre and it’s one of the things I’m most passionate about doing.

CHECKOUT MORE DETAILS – ROUNDABOUT 2017

Paines Plough doesn’t just develop exciting new writing but also cultivate directors and mentor them in producing bigger work. Why is that important to the company?
Great new plays need directors who understand and genuinely love playwrights and possess the particular skills and sensitivity needed to deliver a world premiere production of a new play. Developing directors with those skills and forging relationships between directors and playwrights is very important to us. John Tiffany first worked with Gregory Burke, Enda Walsh and Jack Thorne at PP and those lasting relationships went on to make BLACK WATCH, ONCE and HARRY POTTER. Our former Artistic Directors now run The Royal Court and Birmingham Rep. Our Associate Companies are run by the leading Artistic Directors of the future. New talent is following in the footsteps of Ian Rickson and Katie Mitchell as PP assistant directors. Developing great new writing directors is essential to PP now and vital to the entire theatre industry in the future.

You are continuing your partnership with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Gate Theatre in nurturing young talent. What makes this partnership so special?
The NEW season is the visionary brainchild of RWCMD’s head of acting Dave Bond. With the college we co-commission and co-produce a new play written for and performed by the graduating actors as the final show of their training. It’s a fantastic challenge for playwrights to write big cast, ensemble plays with equally weighted roles. It’s a wonderful opportunity for a playwright and director to develop a relationship. It’s an incredible, unique opportunity for the student actors to bridge training and professional life by originating roles in a world premiere by an outstanding contemporary playwright, working with a professional director and performing in both Cardiff and London. It’s a completely brilliant project. And the plays sometimes go on to have a professional life – Ali McDowell’s POMONA and our own Luke Norris’ GROWTH began life as NEW productions.

With the Guardian cutting the extremely brilliant Lyn Gardner’s theatre blog – the big question is: will all mainstream critics end up on Theatre’s rocks, being eaten by crabs?
No, Lyn is far too vital to be marginalised. She will continue to be an essential read wherever she posts her reviews and analysis. I’m sad at the loss of the Guardian blog, but I’m equally excited by the emergence of new platforms and publications and the vitality of theatre writing and criticism online.

/by