Newcastle’s Northern Stage has announced its spring 2018 season of in-house productions.
In addition to the UK première of Sting’s musical The Last Ship (see our separate story), the theatre will present a full range of in-house and visiting priductions with theatre for adults and children as well as dance.
In a new departure for the NORTH actor training programme this season, four emerging actors from the region will perform The War of the Worlds from 31 January to 10 February before setting off on tour. This adaptation of H G Wells’s novel is written by Laura Lindow (Key Change for Open Clasp) with sound design by Mariam Rezaei (A Song for Ella Grey) and is directed by Elayce Ismail, the recipient of the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme’s pilot Associate Directorship which prepares directors for artistic leadership.
This production is set in Newcastle in 1898. “Setting the story in the North East,” said Ismail, “has given us a brilliant opportunity to reveal the secrets of this area and delve into its rich and evocative past.”
From 2 to 10 February, Third Angel and Northern Stage present The Department of Distractions, a consipiracy theory documentary for the 21st century. The Department of Distractions is an organisation so clandestine you may have never heard of them. They say their job is to plant stories in the world “to make life more interesting.” Others would argue that their job is to get us to look the other way. But things are starting to unravel…
From 25 to 28 April, the Northern Stage Young Company (which produced A Song for Ella Grey) returns with Where Do We Stand? which, through the eyes, ears, spirits and minds of Generation Z, illuminates the untold stories and unheard voices on what it is to live, work and dream in Newcastle in 2018.
The play has been collectively written by a team of professional writers and co-produced and co-authored by young people from across the North East.
Then, from 21 May to 2 June, Northern Stage Associate Director Mark Calvert (James & the Giant Peach) directs a revival of Terrence McNally’s 1987 romantic comedy Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. Casting will be announced in the New Year.
Please see our separate article on visiting productions in the new season.