Leicester’s Curve has announced that five of its own productions and co-productions will form the centrepiece of its fifth year anniversary celebrations.
Chief executive Fiona Allan commented, “I’m thrilled and proud with the plans for our fifth birthday season—a time for us to renew and continue the creative partnerships behind the successes of our programming so far.
“We welcome Martin McDonagh back to Curve for a third time, when we stage his masterpiece The Beauty Queen of Leenane. This also continues our collaboration with the Mercury Theatre Colchester after our co-production this year of The Hired Man.
“We mark our birthday on 4 December with a new production of the musical Chicago, continuing the tradition of staging a large-scale musical over Christmas.”
She added, “on 7 September we throw open our doors for a birthday open day: we’ll be mounting a photography exhibition curated by our production photographer Pamela Raith; and we’ll be asking our audiences to share their memories and experience of the theatre as part of a digital mosaic.
“I have to pay special thanks to the extraordinary team here at the theatre whose hard work, determination and passion have given the company a strong start, and a secure and firm basis on which to grow in the future.”
David Rudkin’s new play The Lovesong of Alfred J Hitchcock runs at Curve from 27 September until 5 October in a co-production with New Perspectives Theatre Company.
Curve will again team up with innovative theatre company 20 Stories High on Melody Loses Her Mojo, a “newly devised piece of hip hop theatre, fusing spoken word, music, dance and puppetry”, which will be in the Studio from 8 until 12 October.
Artistic director Paul Kerryson will direct the The Beauty Queen of Leenane in Curve’s Studio from 18 October until 9 November.
Curve will as usual be celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, with a programme of theatre and free events to mark 100 years of Bollywood. It will be staged from 28 October until 2 November and will culminate in Diwali Hangama, a co-production with Sabras Radio hosted by Kash Kurmar and Raj Baddhan.
Paul Kerryson will direct Chicago at Curve from 29 November until 11 January.