Newcastle’s Northern Stage has announced its autumn 2015 season, following its Summerhall season at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The season opens with The Tempest (25 September to 10 October), a Northern Stage co-production with Improbable and Oxford Playhouse, directed by Phelim McDermott (Shockheaded Peter with the Tiger Lillies for The Lyric Hammersmith, A Midsummer Night's Dream for Deutsches Schauspielhaus and Satyagraha and The Perfect American by Philip Glass for English National Opera).
“Bringing Phelim to Northern Stage to direct The Tempest is part of our ongoing commitment to getting some of the finest directors in the world to direct for the company and to present work here,” said Northern Stage’s Artistic Director, Lorne Campbell.
McDermott commented, “of all Shakespeare's plays, it is great to return to direct the first play I was ever in as a teenager! We have a strong ensemble of actors who will work in our unique Improbable style. We will be aiming to bring the text alive making a show that will be different every night yet true to the heart of this magical and unusual play.”
The second in-house production commemorates the 10th anniversary of the death of Newcastle poet and playwright Julia Darling, a revival of her witty and uplifting musical play, Manifesto for a New City (15 to 17 October). Inspired by the city she loved and the events surrounding her, she worked with Jim Kitson to set her series of poems to music, creating what was to be both her first ever musical and her final work.
As ever, there are two Northern Stage productions for the festive period: Caroline Bird (Chamber Piece, Secret Theatre) is writing a brand new version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (28 November to 2 January 2016) for kids over 7 and their families.
“This is The Wizard of Oz with a heart transplant,” Bird said. “As a child, I absolutely loved the story. However, being a ten-year-old know-it-all bookworm who could spot a moral sleight of hand at a hundred yards, I hated the final bit when the horrible, lying Wizard gives them life-lessons. I thought, ‘Hey! He’s a humbug, living in Emerald luxury while Munchkins get enslaved, and now we’re taking his advice? No thanks very much!’
“So this is inspired by that childlike anger: Oz is a troubled land, Dorothy the Brave is there for a reason—she lands in a mysterious country of tiny people and wicked witches, where the trees carry bazookas, the crows recite slam poetry, and a mouse can blow your head off. In just one day, this little girl revolutionises an entire nation. She brings freedom, and colour.”
And, for under 6s, Up and Out, Christmas Sprout (14 November to 2 January 2016) is written by Laura Lindow (Heartbreak Soup, Live Theatre) and directed by Unfolding Theatre’s Annie Rigby who said, “I’ve admired Laura’s writing for many years, so it’s a delight to collaborate with her this Christmas and we’ve got a great team working to create a magical world for Northern Stage’s youngest audiences.
"It’s such a privilege to make theatre for children—for many, it might be the first time they’ve come to see a show and we want to make the whole experience very special.”
In addition to the in-house work there are a number of visiting productions:
- Into Thin Air (15 and 16 September)
Precious Cargo explores the increasing pressure on everyone to succeed at everything. An exploration of how we cope in an increasingly pressurised world. - You, Me and Everything in Between (24 and 25 September)
A science-fact love story from Camisado Club (formerly NORTH14). Two ordinary people do an extraordinary thing. Two ordinary people look out into the universe and find the most human thing: love. - Curious Monkey: Beats North (29 September to 1 October)
Two young northern lads explore the soundtrack to their lives in this double bill by Luke Barnes and Ishy Din featuring DJ Mariam Rezaei. - Zendeh: Cinema (15 October)
19 August, 1978. Cinema Rex fire, Iran. 422 Dead. Who will remember them? Shahrzad—a feral cat—bargains with death for one more life. - balletLORENT: Snow White (16 and 17 October)
A young woman with beauty as pure as feathered snow and a mother’s wicked jealously meet in this new family show with magical mirrors, poisonous apples, love and deception. Written by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. - Kneehigh: Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) (20 to 24 October)
Mayor Goodman has been assassinated. Contract killer Macheath has just married Pretty Polly Peachum and Mr and Mrs Peachum aren't happy. Not one bit. Based on The Beggar’s Opera, John Gay’s classic musical satire. - Daniel Bye: Error 404 (29 and 30 October)
He lost his best friend in a terrible accident and, when his mum brings home an unusual parcel, things start getting weirder and weirder. Join him on a roller coaster of laughter, tears, music and games—you might even change the ending.