Round-up of news and treats and other interesting things

A tempting looking trailer has been released for Late Company, the Finborough's forthcoming drama

Canadian drama about restorative justice, online bullying & more #LateCompany comes to @finborough later this month https://t.co/4yPUh2BuUu pic.twitter.com/RyITRltJvH
— TheatreDotLondon (@TheatreDotLDN) April 13, 2017






Octagon Theatre Bolton have announced full casting for their forthcoming world premiere production of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s new play Winter Hill.


The production’s all-female cast will feature Cathy Tyson (BAFTA and Golden Globe-nominated Mona Lisa; Band of Gold, ITV and most recently onstage in Nikolai Forster’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest, Birmingham Rep) as Irene; Denise Black (Denise Osbourne in Coronation Street and Joanie Wright in Emmerdale, Both ITV; Cucumber and Queer as Folk , Channel 4 and onstage in Pack at the Finborough Theatre and as Mother Superior in the UK tour of Sister Act) as Dolly; Louise Jameson (Doc Martin, ITV; Doctor Who, EastEnders and Bergerac, BBC) as Beth; Fiona Hampton (Of Mice and Men, The Glass Menagerie and Private Lives, Octagon Theatre Bolton) as Emma and Janet Henfrey (Wolf Hall, The Singing Detective and as Mrs Bale in As Time Goes By (all BBC) as Felicity

Joining them will be Souad Faress (Linda in Brief Encounters, ITV and Bridget Jones Diary, Bhaji on the Beach and My Beautiful Laundrette) as Vivian, Eva-Jane Willis (Magnificence, Finborough Theatre And We Really Should Do Something, Bush Theatre) as Alex and Susan Twist (Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Octagon Theatre Bolton) as The Fury.

Directed by Octagon Theatre’s Artistic Director Elizabeth Newman, Timberlake Wertenbaker’s new play explores how a group of seemingly ordinary women endeavour to protect their local community, no matter the cost and questioning the lengths people go to for a cause they believe in and at what point does the fight for freedom become terrorism?


Winter Hill will be playing at the Octagon Theatre Bolton between Thu 11 May – Sat 3 June





Also in casting news, the Old Vic announced that Jade Anouka will star alongside Charlie Fink in Cover My Tracks, their next late-night show interweaving live music and theatre.  Telling the story of an idealistic young songwriter who sets out to write a pop masterpiece and vanishes without a trace, this show plays the late slot from 5-17 Jun. Tickets are just £12-£17.50.


As a teaser, they've shared Charlie Fink performing ‘Firecracker’, the first track from his newly announced album, on stage at The Old Vic. Cover My Tracks will give the exclusive chance to see Charlie perform songs from his new solo album of the same title, his first since Noah and the Whale.






Thinking outside the box as ever, the Royal Court have announced a new  temporary theatre space The Site curated by Royal Court Associate Designer Chloe Lamford.

The Site is a workshop and rehearsal space situated next door to the Royal Court and rented from Transport for London. Chloe is transforming the space and is offering audiences an invitation; an experiment in design, collaboration and process. She has designed a space where language, form, the body and instructions are the materials and where both artists and audiences are invited to rethink how we create, present, and watch plays.

This series of works is an experiment, exploring performance through language, physicality and the power of the imagination, created by five playwrights in response to Chloe Lamford’s provocation.

The programme includes new work from writers EV Crowe, Stacey Gregg, Theresa Ikoko, Nathaniel Martello-White and Deborah Pearson. With Creative Direction by both Chloe Lamford and Royal Court Associate Director Lucy Morrison.

As well as being a leading theatre designer of her generation Chloe is now well known for her extraordinary collaborations with leading European artists such as Lies Pauwels, Katie Mitchell and most recently Wanda on a pop gig. She has collaborated with the Tate Modern and as Associate Designer at the Royal Court is in a constant conversation with the writers to help them challenge form and question the image-based and visual dramaturgy of their work. It is in this spirit that she is leading this project.


The work:

LIGHTS OUT by Stacey Gregg
In 2017 Gregg began to examine strategies used to bridge the gap between socio-economic backgrounds.
The project takes place in the context of Lights-Out manufacturing, which refers to factories that are fully automated and require no human workers, thus no need for light.

It's All Made Up by Deborah Pearson
Deborah Pearson isn't very comfortable writing fiction. To her, it feels like lying. As a result, she's made her career in theatre by telling real stories about her life or her performers' lives. Chloe has challenged Deborah not to do that. Deborah has been asked to write a made-up story that takes place in a real life place - The Site.
Deborah will only start making up the story as soon as she first walks into the Site, always writing from and in The Site. She hopes that what ends up being performed is a string of pathological lies and made-up magic.

A new work by Nathaniel Martello-White
A provocation
What happened.
Did we see what we think we saw?
What are the facts?
Is a square really a square? Or a triangle posing as one?
Or has our capacity to discern a square perished
Truth is in the eye of the beholder
So it's beauty
So is murder
Or maybe it isn't
Did we just have that conversation?
In this new unknown space, Nathaniel Martello-White explores the post-truth era where facts have become irrelevant and we are forced to question the ‘reality’ that surrounds us.

The Unknown by EV Crowe
There are four basic principles:
1) They are not willed by the individual self
2) They reflect social reality
3) They are public rhetoric
4) They are collectively interpretable
EV Crowe's real life dreams will be shared as a play and interpreted by an audience.
Quote source: Nocturnal Omissions: Steps Toward a Sociology of Dreams (pages 95–104). Gary Alan Fine and Laura Fischer Leighton

A new work by Theresa Ikoko
“From creators Chloe Lamford and Theresa Ikoko comes The Site, the brand new, state-of-the art venue of The Space Between.
Welcome, the 107,683,902,202nd contestant will join us shortly.
I will be your host. Life points are under your seat. Feel free to use them today. Or save them for your turn. Maybe soon...
---
The final level.
What's next?”

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