Richard III, Bess, Trainspotting, Dorian Gray, Funeral Director, Barber Shop Chronicles
Richard III – tour starts 1 March
John Haidar directs a new staging of Shakespeare's Richard III, which has sound and composition composition by George Dennis.
Tom Mothersdale takes the role of the notorious and complex villain, Richard III.
Richard III is a Headlong, Alexandra Palace and Bristol Old Vic co-production with Royal & Derngate Northampton and Oxford Playhouse.
The play opens at Bristol Old Vic Theatre then visits Alexandra Palace Theatre, HOME Manchester, Oxford Playhouse and Royal & Derngate Northampton.
Bess the Commoner Queen – tour starts 2 March
Bess the Commoner Queen, written by Kevin Fegan, was first seen in 2017 when it enjoyed a sell-out run (he spoke to us about it for the BTG podcast).
The play, a mix of theatre and film shot on location at Hardwick Hall, now goes on tour with Michelle Todd in the title role.
On film, there are performances from Seth Morgan, Tom Dussek, Matt Weyland and dancer Delphine du Barry.
Bess of Hardwick was a close friend and Lady-in-Waiting to Elizabeth I and also confidante to Mary Queen of Scots, making Bess a first-hand witness to the political intrigues of Elizabethan England. She rose to become the richest woman in Elizabethan England.
The play is directed by Rikki Tarascas, has film and projection design by Will Simpson and composition by Rod Adams.
Bess the Commoner Queen tours to The Pavillion Arts Centre Buxton, Djanogly Theatre Lakeside Arts Centre Nottingham, Drill Hall Lincoln, Old Library Theatre Mansfield, The Lowry Aldridge Studio Salford, Key Theatre Studio Peterborough, Theatre Royal Walker Studio Wakefield, Gatehouse Theatre Met Studio Stafford, St Nicholas Chapel King’s Lynn, Guildhall Theatre Derby, Marlowe Kit Theatre Canterbury and King’s Head Theatre London.
Trainspotting Live – tour starts 5 March
Trainspotting Live is a "full-throttle" adaptation of the Irvine Welsh now classic novel from which came Danny Boyle’s generation-defining globally successful film.
Under the direction of Adam Spreadbury-Maher with Greg Esplin, in Harry Gibson's award winning adaptation of the book, the audience is part of the action, including the notorious ‘Worst Toilet in Scotland’ scene.
The King’s Head Theatre and In Your Face Theatre production is presented by James Seabright.
Trainspotting Live visits Northern Stage Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Loco Klub Bristol, Mayfield Manchester and The Core at Corby Cub with further dates to be announced.
The Picture of Dorian Gray – tour starts 7 March
Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray has been adapted for the stage by Séan Aydon, who also directs this production.
Jonathan Wrather will play Lord Henry Wotton. Wrather's television credits include the role of Pierce Harris in Emmerdale and of Joe Carter in Coronation Street.
Amongst those joining Wrather on stage are Daniel Goode and Kate Dobson.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is presented by Tilted Wig Productions in conjunction with Malvern Theatres and the Churchill Theatre Bromley.
The Picture of Dorian Gray opens at the Churchill Theatre Bromley and then visits Palace Theatre Southend, Devonshire Park Eastbourne, Darlington Hippodrome, New Wolsey Ipswich, Theatre by the Lake Keswick, Richmond Theatre, Capitol Theatre Horsham, Malvern Theatres and Lyceum Crewe.
The Funeral Director – tour starts 7 March
Iman Qureshi won the 2018 Papatango New Writing Prize with her play The Funeral Director, which prior to this tour was seen at London's Southwark Playhouse where it premièred.
Aryana Ramkhalawon, whose credits include The Tempest, The Hijabi Monologues, Ode to Leeds and Glasgow Girls, reprises the role of Ayesha, the titular funeral director who must decide who she is, no matter the cost, in this story of sexuality, gender and religion in 21st-century Britain.
Also in the cast are Edward Stone, Assad Zaman and Francesca Zoutewelle.
English Touring Theatre and Papatango present The Funeral Director which is directed by Hannah Hauer-King.
The play visits Traverse Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, The North Wall and HOME Manchester
Barber Shop Chronicles – tour starts 7 March
Inua Ellams’s Barber Shop Chronicles now tours the UK with Maynard Eziashi, Mohammed Mansaray, Anthony Ofoegbu, Jo Servi and David Webber who have taken the show on its international legs.
Michael Balogun, Tobi Bamtefa, Adé Dee Haastrup, Emmanuel Ighodaro, Demmy Ladipo, Rudolphe Mdlongwa and Elander Moore are joining the cast.
The action moves between barber shops in Peckham, Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, and Accra in over the course of a single day, revealing insights into the men who gather there as they share their secrets and concerns.
The show is directed by Bijan Sheibani.
Barber Shop Chronicles has previously been seen at the National Theatre and on tour. This tour is a co-production between Fuel, National Theatre and Leeds Playhouse.
The tour visits Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester, Leicester Curve, Bristol Old Vic, Sheffield Crucible, Roundhouse, London, Leeds Playhouse, Oxford Playhouse and Nuffield Southampton Theatres with further venues to be announced.