sign in sign up
<<
Home , Bryony Lavery, Melly Still, The Lovely Bones

PRESS RELEASE

A Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Royal & Derngate, Northampton, and Northern Stage co-production in association with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse

WORLD PREMIÈRE By Adapted by Directed by

 ALICE SEBOLD’S GLOBAL BESTSELLING BOOK, THE LOVELY BONES IS BROUGHT TO LIFE ON STAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME

 THE LOVELY BONES RECEIVES ITS WORLD PREMIÈRE IN A CO-PRODUCTION BETWEEN BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE, ROYAL & DERNGATE AND NORTHERN STAGE IN ASSOCIATION WITH LIVERPOOL EVERYMAN & PLAYHOUSE

 ADAPTED BY BRYONY LAVERY, DIRECTED BY MELLY STILL AND COMMISSIONED BY BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE

The world premiere of The Lovely Bones, one of the bestselling novels of the 21st century and now adapted for the stage by Bryony Lavery and directed by Melly Still, will open at Royal & Derngate, Northampton on 1 September 2018 before transferring to partner theatres Everyman Liverpool, Northern Stage, Newcastle and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. The show will also tour to The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich.

Alice Sebold’s unique coming-of-age tale captured the hearts of readers throughout the world when it was first published in 2002. An uplifting story about life after loss, The Lovely Bones, achieved critical acclaim and became an instant bestseller across the world. It won the Indies Choice Book Award for Adult Fiction 2003 and was on Oprah’s Book Club list for 2010.

The Lovely Bones tells the story of young girl Susie Salmon, who is just like any other girl. She wants to be beautiful, adores her charm bracelet and has a crush on a boy from school. There’s one big difference though – Susie is dead. Susie can only observe while her family cope with their grief in their different ways. Her father, Jack is obsessed with identifying the killer. Her mother, Abigail is desperate to create a brighter future. And her sister, Lindsay is discovering the opposite sex with experiences that Susie will never know. Susie is desperate to help them and there might be a way of reaching them.

Alice Sebold today expressed her excitement to “see The Lovely Bones as a play and to see its characters come to life on stage” whilst Bryony Lavery spoke of her passion for this “rich, funny, tough, healing book” saying that “I've found that the huge story is very, very happy to change its medium and reveal its treasures on the stages at five of the UK’s leading theatres. I am a most fortunate playwright!"

Bryony Lavery’s acclaimed work includes the Tony Award-winning Frozen (due to be revived in the West End this spring) Stockholm (Frantic Assembly), Kursk () and Beautiful Burnout (National Theatre of Scotland and Frantic Assembly).

Bringing The Lovely Bones to life on stage is director Melly Still, whose credits include the acclaimed Olivier and Tony Award-nominated production of (National Theatre and Broadway), My Beautiful Friend () and several recent productions for Glyndebourne, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

#LovelyBones18

ENDS

For more information, images, interviews and press tickets please contact Amanda Howson on 01604 655719 or email [email protected].

Listings Information:

Royal & Derngate, Guildhall Road, Northampton NN1 1DP National Press Night: Wednesday 5 September at 7pm Dates: Saturday 1 to Saturday 22 September 2018 Times: Evenings 7.45pm (except Wednesday 5 September 7pm) Matinees – Thursday and Saturday 2.30pm (excl. Saturday 1 September) No performances on Sundays Tickets: On sale in March Box Office: 01604 624811 or online at www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Everyman Liverpool, Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BH Dates: Tuesday 25 September to Saturday 6 October 2018 Press Night: Wednesday 26 September Tickets: On general sale from 19 March Box Office: 0151 709 4776 or online at www.everymanplayhouse.com

Northern Stage, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RH Press Night: Tuesday 9 Oct, 7.30pm Dates: Tuesday 9 October until Saturday 20 October 2018 Times: Evenings 7.30pm, Wednesday 10 October, 6pm Matinees Saturday 13, Wednesday 17 & Saturday 20 October 2pm No performances on Sundays Tickets from £10 Box Office: 0191 230 5151 or online at www.northernstage.co.uk

Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EP Dates: Tuesday 30 October until Saturday 10 November 2018 Times: 7.30pm Monday – Saturday, apart from 7pm on Wednesday 31 Oct. Matinees at 2pm on Thursday 1, Saturday 3, Thursday 8 and Saturday 10 November Tickets: From £10 (subject to availability) Box Office: 0121 236 4455 or online at www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

New Wolsey Theatre, Civic Drive, Ipswich IP1 2AS Dates: Tuesday 13 November until Saturday 17 November 2018 Times: 7pm Tuesday, 7.45pm Wednesday to Saturday, 2.30pm Matinees Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 and Saturday 17 November Tickets: From £10 (subject to availability) Box Office: 01473 295900 or online at wolseytheatre.co.uk

Royal & Derngate, Northampton

Royal & Derngate, Northampton, is the main venue for arts and entertainment in Northamptonshire, with audience members and participants last year numbering more than 474,000 in Northampton and beyond. As one of the major producing venues in the country, Royal & Derngate was named Regional Theatre of the Year by the inaugural Stage 100 Awards in 2011, an accolade for which it was nominated again in 2016. The theatre also won the Management Award for Best Presentation of Touring Theatre in the 2015 UK Theatre Awards for its Made in Northampton work. The Herbal Bed (a co-production with and Rose Theatre Kingston) won the 2016 UK Theatre Award for Best Touring Production. Other recent highlights include nationwide tours of The Jungle Book, Death of a Salesman and King Lear, starring Michael Pennington, and Soul, a new play by Roy Williams about Marvin Gaye. Previous acclaimed touring productions have included Shakespeare’s King John, world premieres of Arthur Miller’s The Hook and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. The theatre also runs a wide-ranging Get Involved participatory programme which reached over 26,000 people last year, through projects in schools, within the community and at the theatre.

Made in Northampton is sponsored locally by Michael Jones Jeweller. www.royalandderngate.co.uk @royalderngate

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company is one of Britain’s leading producing theatre companies. Its mission is to inspire a lifelong love of theatre in the diverse communities of Birmingham and beyond. As well as presenting over 60 productions on its three stages every year, the theatre tours its productions nationally and internationally, showcasing theatre made in Birmingham.

The commissioning and production of new work lies at the core of The REP’s programme and over the last 15 years, the company has produced more than 130 new plays. The theatre’s outreach programme engages with over 7000 young people and adults through its learning and participation programme, equating to 30,000 individual educational sessions. The REP is also committed to nurturing new talent through its youth theatre groups and training for up and coming writers, directors and artists through its REP Foundry initiative. The REP’s Furnace programme unites established theatre practitioners with Birmingham’s communities to make high quality, unique theatre. birmingham-rep.co.uk

Northern Stage

Northern Stage, in Newcastle, makes ambitious, intelligent, enjoyable theatre. The company has a reputation for reviving classic plays in fresh adaptations and creating bold new work. It has been one of the UK’s most popular national touring companies for the last 20 years. Alongside its own work, Northern Stage presents the best regional, national and international theatre. Its extensive Creative Residencies programme supports local and national theatre-makers to develop their work at Northern Stage and a year-round programme of projects and events encourages people of all ages and backgrounds to take part in making theatre. northernstage.co.uk

Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Two Great Theatres. One Creative Heart.

We are two distinct theatres, almost a mile apart, which together make up a single artistic force.

For over 10 years we have been driven by our passion for our art-form, our love of our city and our unswerving belief that theatre at its best can enhance lives. While our two performance bases could hardly be more different, they are united by our commitment to brilliant, humane, forward- thinking theatre that responds to its time and place.

Our mission is to reflect the aspirations and concerns of our audiences, to dazzle and inspire them, welcome and connect with them, nurture the artists within them and fuel their civic pride. Wherever these connections happen – whether in our theatres, in the community, in schools, or outside Liverpool – we hope to ignite the imagination, explore what it is to be human and always to exceed expectation.

To find out more about the Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse work, both on and off stage, call 0151 709 4776, visit everymanplayhouse.com or follow @LivEveryPlay on Twitter.

Supported by Liverpool City Council and the Arts Council