Stay Alive, Eye of the Storm, Status, Composed, Gaslight, Hornsey Road
Reasons to Stay Alive – tour starts 13 September
The world première of the stage adaptation of Matt Haig’s bestselling memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, is being presented on tour in a co-production by English Touring Theatre and Sheffield Theatres.
The work has been adapted for the stage by choreographer Jonathan Watkins with text written by April de Angelis and is directed by Jonathan Watkins.
Reasons To Stay Alive visits Sheffield Theatres, Bristol Old Vic, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Northern Stage, HOME Manchester, York Theatre Royal and Leeds Playhouse.
Eye of the Storm – tour starts 17 September
Multi award-winning new musical Eye Of The Storm is to tour for the first time.
The show delivers a message on climate change for young people through the music of Amy Wadge (co-writer with Ed Sheeran of Grammy Award-winning "Thinking Out Loud" and writer of BAFTA-winning soundtrack to BBC One’s Keeping Faith).
Wadge’s soundtrack is played live by a cast of eight actor-musicians: Rosey Cale, Llinos Daniel, Barnaby Southgate, Caitlin McKee, Keiran Bailey, Dan Miles, Dan Bottomley and James William-Pattison.
Written and directed by Geinor Styles, Eye of the Storm won Best Show for Young People at the 2018 Wales Theatre Awards. The musical director is Barnaby Southgate and movement is by Maggie Rawlinson.
It is presented by Theatre na nÓg and visits Kings Theatre Edinburgh, Grand Theatre Swansea, Theatre Royal Portsmouth, Birmingham Hippodrome, Riverfront Newport, Pontio Bangor and Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
Status – tour starts 13 September
Last year, Status picked up a Fringe First, remaining topical as Brexit continues to dominate the news.
Looking at personal and political identity, it asserts that feeling like a citizen of the world and having a specific national identity are not mutually exclusive.
Status is presented by China Plate and visits Hightide Festival Suffolk, The Brewery Arts Centre Kendal, Royal Exchange Manchester, Northern Stage Newcastle upon Tyne, The Holbeck Leeds, Marlowe Theatre Canterbury, Macready Theatre Rugby School, Square Chapel Theatre Halifax, The Core at Corby Cube, Corsham Pound Arts Centre, Bedales School Theatre Petersfield, Warwick Arts Centre, Tobacco Factory Bristol, ARC Stockton-on-Tees, Cambridge Junction and Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Composed – tour starts 17 September
Performance artist, dramaturg and producer, Rosa Postlethwaite performs her 'site-responsive' work Composed on tour.
As Master of Ceremonies, her announcement investigates what it means to work in the arts, deconstructing a night at the theatre and looking at gatekeeping in cultural industries and their paternal attitudes towards “hard to reach” communities.
This witty work will change through the tour, responding to the audience and the theatre’s building.
Captioning is by Joanne Naughton and the audio description consultant is Michael Davies.
Composed visits Northern Stage Newcastle Upon Tyne, Theatre Deli Sheffield, Exeter Phoenix and Camden People’s Theatre London.
Gaslight – tour starts 17 September
Lucy Bailey directs Martin Shaw in a new production of Patrick Hamilton’s psychological thriller Gaslight which tours prior to a West End run.
Shaw takes the role of retired Detective Rough with Charlotte Emmerson as Bella Manningham, the part played by Ingrid Bergman in the 1944 film adaptation.
Alongside them is James Wilby with Mary Chater and Georgia Clarke-Day completing the cast.
Bill Kenwright presents this tour which visits Theatre Royal Windsor, The Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford, Theatre Royal Bath and New Theatre Peterborough prior to West End.
For those unable to see this production on tour, London's Playground Theatre also presents Gaslight next month, reworked to focus on emotional abuse and giving the play a feminine perspective.
Hornsey Road – tour starts 18 September
Leading Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn marks 50 years since the release of the Beatles’ multi-platinum album Abbey Road with new show Hornsey Road.
It tells the stories behind the songs of the band's last album which held the top spot of the NME album chart for 18 weeks and the Billboard Top 100 album chart for 11 weeks and has estimated worldwide sales of 35 million copies.
Using rare music, photos, films and artefacts, Lewisohn looks at the lives of the band members and the break-up that was to occur following the recording of this album.
Hornsey Road visits Theatre Royal Northampton, Redgrave Theatre Bristol, Bloomsbury Theatre London, Lakeside Nottingham, Neptune Theatre Liverpool, Cornerstone Arts Centre Didcot, Lowther Pavilion Lytham St Annes, Gulbenkian Theatre Canterbury, Performing Arts Centre Lincoln, The Junction Cambridge, Town Hall High Wycombe, Gala Theatre Durham, Nuffield (city venue) Southampton, City Varieties Leeds, Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, Wyvern Theatre Swindon, Haymarket Basingstoke, Theatre Royal Margate, The Point Stockport, Norden Farm Maidenhead and HOME Manchester.