Theatre companies from across the country will take over spaces at Leicester’s Curve when the theatre holds its annual New Work Festival.
It will begin on Thursday 9 March at 2PM with a directing workshop delivered by Relish Theatre’s executive director Rob Ellis. In the evening, there will be a rehearsed reading of Fool’s Gold, a comedy about economics, family and how thinking differently can change the world. It is written by Matthew Gabrielli and directed by Curve resident creative Samson Hawkins. It will also be available to stream.
Hawkins said, “the festival has given me the opportunity to work on a piece of new writing by an exciting local talent. It's a hard time for the development of new plays, and without opportunities for playwrights to have their work in front of audiences, it's impossible to progress their craft. I think Fool’s Gold has a vital current political heartbeat throughout with genuinely relatable characters, so I'm excited to see how audiences react.”
Curve’s chief executive Chris Stafford and artistic director Nikolai Foster added, “the sheer diversity of work taking to our stages across the New Work Festival reflects the ambition and talent of our incredible East Midlands artists. The ingenuity and imagination inherent in all these new works, across a variety of theatrical forms, represents the very best of the next generation.”
Curve resident creatives The Gramophones will present Take Flight, “an exploration of aerial theatre for babies”, on Friday 10 March. At 2PM that day artists can find support on applying for National Lottery grants with a workshop delivered by Arts Council England relationship manager Joanne Blunt.
At 8PM, Ugly Bucket will stage Good Grief, a paranormal, physical performance of loss and the memories left behind, in Curve’s Studio.
Foster will hold a question-and-answer session on musical theatre on Saturday 11 March at 11AM. At the same time Ugly Bucket will deliver a workshop designed to boost participants’ confidence in clowning, movement, and comedy.
The festival will close on Sunday 12 March with Mass Movement, showcases of youth dance talent from across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
The full programme is available at the Curve web site.