A new production of the musical comedy Legally Blonde, a commissioned play examining the contribution made by South Asian soldiers in World War I and the première of Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Pixie Lott as Holly Golightly are highlights of the spring 2016 season at Leicester’s Curve.
It is the first season under the new leadership team of chief executive Chris Stafford, artistic director Nikolai Foster and commercial director Alister de Ternant.
As previously announced, Foster will direct Richard Greenberg’s adaptation of Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which will mark Pixie Lott’s acting debut in a theatre play. It runs at Curve from 3 until 12 March before going on a national tour and then transferring to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in the West End.
Foster will also direct Legally Blonde, which will be his first musical at Curve. Nick Winston is choreographer. It runs from 11 April until 14 May.
Foster said, “this is an ambitious programme of work, introducing more plays to our repertoire than ever before. Through an eclectic programme of drama, dance and musicals we hope to continue to diversify our audiences, offering theatre which entertains, challenges, inspires and is reflective of our communities.”
Curve, Coventry’s Belgrade and Watford Palace Theatre are to co-produce Wipers by Ishy Din, inspired by the story of Khuddadad Khan, the first South Asian soldier to be awarded a Victoria Cross for his bravery at the first battle of Ypres.
Directed by Curve associate director Suba Das, Wipers honours the contribution of the one million South Asian soldiers who fought alongside British troops during World War I. It runs at Curve from 8 until 23 April.
Zoonation Dance Company and Curve have together commissioned Into the Hoods: Remixed, a revamped version of the award-winning West End production (14 and 15 March).
Visiting work includes Mike Bartlett’s “future history play” King Charles III starring Robert Powell (26 until 30 January), the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of William Golding’s Lord of The Flies (9 until 13 February), Emma Reeves’s adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s Hetty Feather (16 until 20 February), Green Day’s musical American Idiot which opens its national tour at Curve (19 until 26 March) and Kali Theatre with Aamina Ahmad’s The Dishonoured (10 until 12 March).
Meanwhile, Curve has announced that Akram Khan and Mel Knott are to become associate artists.
In just over 15 years, Akram Khan has created a body of work that has contributed significantly to the arts in the UK and abroad. Choreographer Mel Knott leads the Curve Young Dance Company, a youth group for dancers living in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, with whom she has created a number of dance pieces for both the stage and in site-specific environments.