Frankcom announces 2014/15 Exchange season

Published: 25 April 2014
Reporter: David Upton

Maxine Peake

Sarah Frankcom has announced details of her first season as Manchester Royal Exchange’s sole artistic director.

It follows a successful past year for the Exchange with the company’s work playing to audiences across the country and more than 90,000 people seeing work at the venue during the autumn / winter 2013 season—an increase of 13.4% year on year.

Talking of the new autumn / winter 2014 / 15 season that launches in September with Maxine Peake starring in the title role of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Frankcom said: “It's vital we continue to reinvent the way we make, develop and deliver our artistic programme. Alongside some bold, inclusive and popular shows we continue to open the Exchange up to new ideas and new artists.”

In addition to Hamlet, the season also includes new productions of the Tennessee Williams classic Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, the hit musical comedy The Little Shop Of Horrors and the world premiere of Rona Munro’s new play Scuttlers about gangs in 19th century Manchester.

Maxine Peake will also be joining the company as an associate artist this autumn. Her new role will draw on her talents as one of the nation’s best-loved actors and also as a writer. It will include opportunities for her to get involved in the theatre’s pioneering work with community groups and young people—and work with young actors from across the city.

Full details of the new season in The Studio at the Exchange will be announced soon but a highlight will be the world premiere of Crocodiles by Lee Mattinson.

The drama of this new play finds Cornelia busy knitting a world for herself in a sleepy seaside town. Punch and Judy are playing by the pier, witches are being burnt in the town centre and crocodiles lurk in the shadows.

*Some links, including Amazon, Stageplays.com, ATG Tickets, LOVEtheatre, BTG Tickets, Ticketmaster, The Ticket Factory, LW Theatres and QuayTickets, are affiliate links for which BTG may earn a small fee at no extra cost to the purchaser.

Are you sure?