PRESS RELEASE 11.05.17
www.painesplough.com / @painesplough / #PP2017 / Theatre. Everywhere.
PAINES PLOUGH ANNOUNCES FULL PROGRAMME FOR ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL 2017
PROGRAMME 2017 TRAILER CAN BE VIEWED HERE
IN CO-PRODUCTION WITH ORANGE TREE THEATRE AND THEATR CLWYD, ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL FEATURES THREE WORLD PREMIERES BY BRAD BIRCH, ELINOR COOK AND SARAH MCDONALD-HUGHES
ALL THREE WORLD PREMIERES WILL STAR HASAN DIXON, KATIE ELIN-SALT AND SALLY MESSHAM
PAINES PLOUGH WILL ALSO WELCOME EIGHT VISITING COMPANIES INCLUDING MIDDLE CHILD, DIRTY PROTEST, NABOKOV AND ROYAL COURT THEATRE
ROUNDABOUT’S LATER PROGRAMME WILL FEATURE COMEDIANS, MUSICIANS AND PERFORMERS TO BE ANNOUNCED AHEAD OF THE FRINGE
TICKETS ARE ON SALE TODAY HERE
IMAGES FOR ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE USERNAME: PP2017 | PASSWORD: PP2017
Co-Artistic Directors of Paines Plough James Grieve and George Perrin today revealed the full programme of new writing filling ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL, kicking off at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before a UK tour in Autumn 2017.
This year, Paines Plough in co-production with Orange Tree Theatre and Theatr Clwyd will stage three World Premieres from Brad Birch, Elinor Cook and Sarah McDonald-Hughes who will treat audiences to a tense psychological thriller, a thirty-year friendship between two childhood friends and a lesson in how to not grow up. All three productions will star Hasan Dixon, Katie Elin-Salt and Sally Messham.
Joining the three world premieres will be Middle Child and Hull UK City of Culture’s All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Luke Barnes; Monsay Whitney’s new play Box Clever produced by nabokov and The Marlowe; the Royal Court Theatre’s sold-out production of MANWATCHING; Dirty Protest’s Sugar Baby penned by Alan Harris; and Nilaja Sun’s latest show PIKE ST.
Paines Plough will also welcome back Sam Steiner’s Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons following its sell-out run at Roundabout in 2016; Stacey Gregg’s Fringe First
winner Scorch; Jonny & the Baptists with a celebration of their silliest and most satirical songs; and Duncan Macmillan’s universally acclaimed Every Brilliant Thing.
James Grieve and George Perrin said today:
“We're proud to present our ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL line-up for 2017, packed with outstanding new plays from around the UK.
Our Roundabout rep features three world premieres with Brad Birch's edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller BLACK MOUNTAIN, Elinor Cook's sublime story of female friendship OUT OF LOVE and Sarah McDonald-Hughes' magical, moving HOW TO BE A KID. All three plays will be performed by an ensemble of superb, shapeshifting actors Hasan Dixon, Katie Elin-Salt and Sally Messham.
We’re also welcoming some of the UK's most innovative and exciting new writing companies and playwrights to Roundabout. Our Associate Company Middle Child present Luke Barnes’ ode to growing up and dancing in Hull ALL WE EVER WANTED WAS EVERYTHING, nabokov and The Marlowe present the World Premiere of Monsay Whitney’s BOX CLEVER, the essential MANWATCHING, written by an anonymous woman, joins us direct from it sold-out run at The Royal Court and Cardiff's Dirty Protest present Alan Harris' new play SUGAR BABY. From across the Atlantic, we're proud to present the UK Premiere of PIKE ST. by celebrated New York writer Nilaja Sun.
We’ll be welcoming back old friends Sam Steiner with LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS, Stacey Gregg with last year's Fringe First winner SCORCH and Jonny & the Baptists with the best of their brilliance. And for one week only our worldwide smash hit EVERY BRILLIANT THING is back in ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL.
Our LATER programme returns with an eclectic mix of electric new work from the very best companies, comedians, musicians and more throughout the Fringe so keep an eye on our social channels for announcements.”
2017 marks the fourth year of Roundabout, Paines Plough’s award-winning plug-in-and- play theatre. The Roundabout season will preview from 24 June to 22 July at Theatr Clwyd before once again taking up residency at Summerhall during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 4 – 27 August.
Following ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL, Roundabout will embark on a UK tour with Black Mountain, How To Be A Kid and Out of Love. Visiting Salford, Kendal, Margate, Lincoln, Darlington, Poole, Stoke and Luton in Autumn 2017, the three plays will also run at the Orange Tree in London in Spring 2018.
Paines Plough presents
Black Mountain by Brad Birch. A Paines Plough, Theatr Clwyd and Orange Tree Theatre production – World Premiere How To Be A Kid by Sarah McDonald-Hughes. A Paines Plough, Theatr Clwyd and Orange Tree Theatre production – World Premiere Out of Love by Elinor Cook. A Paines Plough, Theatr Clwyd and Orange Tree Theatre production – World Premiere Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe. A Paines Plough and Pentabus Theatre Company production.
*
Roundabout 2017 Visiting Companies
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Luke Barnes. Middle Child and Hull UK City of Culture Box Clever by Monsay Whitney. nabokov and The Marlowe – World Premiere Jonny & the Baptists: The Best of 2012 – 2017. Supporting Wall Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons by Sam Steiner. A Walrus production. MANWATCHING, written by an anonymous woman. Presented by Royal Court Theatre. PIKE ST. by Nilaja Sun. Barrow Street Productions – European Premiere Scorch by Stacey Gregg. Prime Cut Productions. Sugar Baby by Alan Harris. Presented by Dirty Protest.
Paines Plough presents ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL 2017
A Paines Plough, Theatr Clwyd and Orange Tree Theatre production BLACK MOUNTAIN By Brad Birch
Rebecca and Paul are running away. Away from memories and mistakes.
They’re trying to save their relationship. They need time and space. An isolated house in the country is the perfect place to work things out. They set themselves rules: they have to be honest, they have to listen and they have to be fair.
But you can’t run forever. Especially when you’re being followed.
Black Mountain is a tense psychological thriller about betrayal and forgiveness by Fringe First winner and recipient of the prestigious Harold Pinter Commission, Brad Birch.
Time: 1.25pm (70 mins) Dates: 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, 26 August.
PRESS PERFORMANCE: 7 August *
A Paines Plough, Theatr Clwyd and Orange Tree Theatre production OUT OF LOVE By Elinor Cook
Lorna and Grace do everything together. They share crisps, cigarettes and crushes. That's what happens when you're best friends forever.
But when Lorna gets a place at University, and Grace gets pregnant, they suddenly find themselves in starkly different worlds. Can anything bridge the gap between them?
A tale of friendship, love and rivalry over thirty years from award-winning playwright Elinor Cook.
Elinor Cook is the Winner of the George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright (2013).
Time: 1.25pm (70 mins) Dates: 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27 August.
PRESS PERFORMANCE: 6 August
*
A Paines Plough, Theatr Clwyd and Orange Tree Theatre production HOW TO BE A KID By Sarah McDonald-Hughes
Molly cooks. Molly does the dishes. Molly gets her little brother Joe ready for school. Molly is only 12, but she doesn't feel much like a kid anymore.
Now Molly's Mum is feeling better, maybe things will get back to normal. Can you help Molly learn how to be a kid again?
Join Molly, Joe and her Nan for a larger than life story of family, friends and fitting in by Sarah McDonald-Hughes, twice nominated for the Best New Play at the Manchester Theatre Awards.
Warning: Contains dancing, chocolate cake and an epic car chase.
Time: 10.45am (50 mins) Dates: 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 August.
*
A Paines Plough and Pentabus Theatre Company production EVERY BRILLIANT THING By Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe
The worldwide smash hit is back for one week only.
You’re seven years old. Mum’s in hospital. Dad says she’s ‘done something stupid’. She finds it hard to be happy.
You make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world.
Everything worth living for.
1. Ice cream 2. Water fights 3. Staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TV 4. The colour yellow 5. Things with stripes 6. Rollercoasters 7. People falling over
A play about depression and the lengths we go to for those we love.
Based on true and untrue stories.
Time: 12.00pm (60 mins) Dates: 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 August.
*
Middle Child and Hull UK City of Culture 2017 ALL WE EVER WANTED WAS EVERYTHING By Luke Barnes
Meet Leah and Chris; raised on Harry Potter, New Labour and a belief they would be special. But what happens when dreams don’t become reality? Set over three decades, from Cool Britannia to Brexit Britain, this is gig theatre from the award-winning team behind Weekend Rockstars.
Time: 8.45pm (75 mins) Dates: 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 August.
* nabokov and The Marlowe BOX CLEVER By Monsay Whitney
“Ever get the feeling you’re going round in one big circle? Ten years. Back and forth between a trio of arseholes and nothing to show for it except a baby, an Argos ring and a busted nose. At the refuge they call that a pattern.”
Moving, truthful and darkly comic, Box Clever by nabokov’s associate-playwright Monsay Whitney, with music performed by Avi Simmons, is a new play about one woman’s experience of a refuge and a mother’s commitment to do the best for her daughter.
Time: 4.40pm (60 mins) Dates: 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 August.
*
Supporting Wall JONNY & THE BAPTISTS: THE BEST OF 2012 – 2017 By Jonny & the Baptists
Celebrate five years of silly songs and satirical anthems from the multi-award-nominated musical comedy stars. Six performances only – advance booking essential!
Stars of Radio 4’s The Now Show and the BBC’s Live at Television Centre.
★★★★ 'Wickedly amusing' (Times). ★★★★ 'Rallying… broad, daft and punchy' (Guardian). ★★★★ 'Uproarious satire… a double-act at the height of their powers' (Stage) ★★★★ 'Superbly crafted… very funny' (Metro). ★★★★ 'A triumph' (Chortle).
Time: 19.25pm (55 mins) Dates: 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19 August.
*
LATER Paines Plough and Friends Paines Plough curates a series of one-off shows from the hottest companies and artists on the Fringe.
Round off your day in Roundabout with exclusive new theatre, comedy, music, spoken word and more. Previous guests include the Royal Court, Josie Long and Torycore.
Roundabout is the place to be. And yes, you can bring drinks in.
Full line up TBA on www.painesplough.com
Dates: 09-27 August
*
Walrus LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS By Sam Steiner
Walrus’ award-winning show returns to Paines Plough’s Roundabout for two weeks only.
The average person will speak 123,205,750 words in a lifetime. But what if there were a limit? Oliver and Bernadette are about to find out. This two-person show imagines a world where we’re forced to say less. It’s about what we say and how we say it; about the things we can only hear in the silence; about dead cats, activism, eye contact and lemons, lemons, lemons, lemons, lemons.
Time: 12pm (60 mins) Dates: 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 August.
*
Royal Court Theatre in association with Farnham Maltings MANWATCHING Written by an anonymous woman Performed by an unprepared man
“So I think it’s fair to say that most women almost definitely do masturbate. We just wait to discuss it until we’re in an oddly anonymous but public situation like this one.”
A funny and frank insight into heterosexual female desire, read out loud by a man. MANWATCHING begins with a male comedian being given a script they have never seen before. They read the script out loud, sight unseen, in front of an audience. This is a show about what one woman thinks about when she thinks about sex with men.
Time: 7.25pm (60 mins) Dates: 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 August.
*
Paines Plough and tiata fahodzi MIXED BRAIN By Nathan Bryon
"Playing football. A kid shouts 'let’s do black v white'. Another yells: 'Nathan what team will you be on? You’re mixed..."
Star of Benidorm, writer for Rastamouse, 50% Jamaican, 50% British, 100% reppin’ Shepherd’s Bush. Nathan Bryon is many things. Mixed. Welcome to his world. Part story, part stand-up, a show fusing Afro-Caribbean flair and British awkwardness in a searing, searching exploration of what it means to be mixed-race and mixed-experience today. If you live in the middle does anywhere feel like home?
Time: 10.30pm (60 mins) Dates: 17, 18, 19 August.
*
Barrow Street Productions PIKE ST. By Nilaja Sun
Award-winning Nilaja Sun (No Child...) breathes life into a vibrant mix of Lower East Side residents in her latest solo show.
At the heart of PIKE ST. is Evelyn. She’s balancing welcoming her Navy SEAL brother home, keeping her eccentric father out of trouble and providing electricity for her daughter on life-support. All this before a hurricane hits NYC. Originally produced Off-Broadway by Epic Theatre Ensemble, PIKE ST. is one of 2017’s unmissable shows.
“Nilaja Sun is a conjuror and an athlete, a raucous comedian and a poet of hidden pain, a virtuoso at seemingly every skill the stage requires.” (Hilton Als, The New Yorker).
Time: 3pm (75 mins) Dates: 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 August.
*
Prime Cut Productions SCORCH By Stacey Gregg
For those who don’t feel like they’re in the right life, on-line is a place to be yourself. Out in the real world though, things can be very different. A story of first love through the eyes of a gender-curious teen Scorch examines how the human story often gets lost amidst the headlines.
Scorch has played to critical acclaim across Ireland, the UK, Sweden, Germany and Adelaide winning the Adelaide Fringe Theatre, Critics Circle Choice Awards (2017), a Fringe First, Holden Street Theatre Award (2016) and Best New Play: Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards.
Time: 10.45am (60 mins) Dates: 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 August.
*
Dirty Protest SUGAR BABY By Alan Harris
Being a small-time drug dealer in Cardiff and living up to your family’s expectations is tough. Marc avoids his mum, disguises his cannabis plants with fake tomatoes at the allotment, and now has to bail his old man out of £6,000 owed to local loan shark Oggy. When he meets Lisa for the first time in years, things get even messier. Oggy wants Lisa. Lisa wants Marc. Marc wants to survive the day.
A one-man comedy from critically-acclaimed writer Alan Harris (Paines Plough, National Theatre Wales) and award-winning Welsh company Dirty Protest.
Time: 6.05pm (55 mins) Dates: 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 August.
ENDS
For further information about Paines Plough please contact Sara Sherwood at The Corner Shop PR: [email protected] / 0207 831 7657
LISTINGS
A Paines Plough, Theatr Clwyd and Orange Tree Theatre production
ROUNDABOUT @ SUMMERHALL
4 – 27 August Roundabout @ Summerhall www.summerhall.co.uk Box Office: 0131 560 1580
Press Performance for Out of Love: 6 August, 1.25pm Press Performance for Black Mountain: 7 August, 1.25pm
ROUNDABOUT UK TOUR
24 June – 22 July Theatr Clwyd www.theatrclwyd.com Box Office: 01352 701521
7 - 10 September The Lowry www.thelowry.com Box Office: 0843 208 6000
14 – 17 September Brewery Arts Centre www.breweryarts.co.uk Box Office: 01539 722833
21 - 24 September Theatre Royal Margate www.theatreroyalmargate.com Box Office: 01843 292795
28 September – 1 October Lincoln Performing Arts Centre www.lpac.co.uk
Box Office: 01522 837600
5 – 8 October Darlington Theatre Town Box Office details will be announced in due course.
12 - 15 October Lighthouse, Poole www.lighthousepoole.co.uk Box Office: 01202 280000
19 - 22 October Appetite Stoke www.appetitestoke.co.uk Box Office: 01782 717962
26 – 29 October Revoluton Arts www.revolutonarts.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
ABOUT PAINES PLOUGH
Paines Plough is the UK’s national theatre of new plays. The company commissions and produces the best playwrights and tours their plays far and wide. Whether you’re in Liverpool or Lyme Regis, Scarborough or Southampton, a Paines Plough show is coming to a theatre near you soon.
Paines Plough was formed in 1974 over a pint of Paines bitter in the Plough pub. Since then they’ve produced more than 130 new productions by world renowned playwrights like Stephen Jeffreys, Abi Morgan, Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, Dennis Kelly and Mike Bartlett.
In 2016, Paines Plough visited 77 places across the UK and toured internationally to three continents.
Paines Plough Limited is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity.
Registered Company no: 1165130 Registered Charity no: 267523 www.painesplough.com @PainesPlough www.facebook.com/painesploughHQ
#RoundaboutPP
ABOUT ORANGE TREE THEATRE
At its home in Richmond, South West London, the Orange Tree Theatre aims to delight, challenge, move and amaze with a bold and continually evolving mix of new and rediscovered plays in our unique in-the-round space. We want to change lives by telling remarkable stories from a wide
variety of times and places, filtered through the singular imagination of our writers and the remarkable close-up presence of our actors.
Over its forty-five-year history the Orange Tree has had an exceptional track record in discovering writers and promoting their early work, as well as rediscovering artists from the past whose work had either been disregarded or forgotten. The Orange Tree presented the world premieres of Brad Birch’s The Brink and Elinor Cook’s adaptation of Extra Yarn in 2016.
In the last two years, the OT has been recognised for its work with sixteen major industry awards, including ten Offies (Off West End Awards), three UK Theatre Awards, the Alfred Fagon Audience Award and the Peter Brook Empty Space Award.
In 2016 the Orange Tree’s work was seen in 24 other towns and cities across the country.
Artistic Director Paul Miller Executive Director Sarah Nicholson
The Orange Tree is a registered charity (no. 266128) and is generously supported by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. www.orangetreetheatre.co.uk Twitter @OrangeTreeThtr Facebook/Instagram OrangeTreeTheatre
ABOUT THEATR CLWYD
‘One of the hidden treasures of North Wales, a huge vibrant culture complex’ The Guardian
Theatr Clwyd is one of the foremost producing theatres in Wales – a beacon of excellence looking across the Clwydian Hills yet only forty minutes from Liverpool.
Since 1976 we have been a theatrical powerhouse and much-loved home for our community. Now, led by the new Executive team of Tamara Harvey and Liam Evans-Ford, we are going from strength to strength producing world-class theatre, from new plays to classic revivals.
We have three theatres, a cinema, café, bar and art galleries and, alongside our own shows, offer a rich and varied programme of visual arts, film, theatre, music, dance and comedy. We also work extensively with our local community, schools and colleges and create award-winning work for, with and by young people. In our fortieth year we will have co-produced with the Wales Millennium Centre, Sherman Theatre, Gagglebabble and The Other Room in Cardiff, Paines Plough, Vicky Graham Productions at the Yard Theatre, High Tide, Hampstead Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, The Rose Theatre, Kingston, Headlong and Sheffield Theatres.
Over 200,000 people a year come through our doors and in 2015 Theatr Clwyd was voted the Most Welcoming Theatre in Wales.
01352 701521 www.theatrclwyd.com
ABOUT ROYAL COURT THEATRE
The Royal Court Theatre is the writers’ theatre. It is the leading force in world theatre for energetically cultivating writers – undiscovered, emerging and established.
Through the writers, the Royal Court is at the forefront of creating restless, alert, provocative theatre about now. They open their doors to the unheard voices and free thinkers that, through their writing, change our way of seeing.
Over 120,000 people visit the Royal Court in Sloane Square, London, each year and many thousands more see the work elsewhere through transfers to the West End and New York, UK and international tours, digital platforms, residencies across London, and site-specific work. Through all our work they strive to inspire audiences and influence future writers with radical thinking and provocative discussion.
Royal Court plays from every decade are now performed on stage and taught in classrooms and universities across the globe.
Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone Executive Director Lucy Davies www.royalcourttheatre.com Twitter @royalcourt Facebook The Royal Court Theatre Instagram @royalcourttheatre
ABOUT BARROW STREET PRODUCTIONS
Barrow Street Productions was founded by Scott Morfee and Tom Wirsthafter in 2003 at its home in New York’s historic Greenwich House, where they operate the 200-seat Barrow Street Theatre. They have produced and presented numerous award-winning shows, including the Tooting Arts Club production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Effect by Lucy Prebble, Annie Baker’s The Flick, Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe (with Paines Plough), Buyer & Cellar by Jonathan Tolins, Daniel Kitson’s After the Beginning Before the End, Colin Quinn’s Unconstitutional; Killer Joe, BUG (both by Tracy Letts), Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, Tribes by Nina Raine, Orson’s Shadow by Austin Pendleton, Nilaja Sun’s No Child…, Mistakes Were Made by Craig Wright, Hit the Wall by Ike Holter, Fiasco’s Cymbeline, Capsule 33 by Thaddeus Phillips, Gone Missing by The Civilians, Tim Crouch’s an oak tree, TJ & Dave, Bunk Puppets – Swamp Juice and Stick Stones, Broken Bones; Nina Conti: In Your Face, Josie Long: Something Better, HoiPolloi’s Floating, Des Bishop – My Father Was Nearly James Bond, and Made in China; Robert Townsend: Living the Shuffle, Mike Daisey, Josh Schmidt’s Adding Machine: a musical, Underneath the Lintel by Glen Berger, Sara Jones: bridge & tunnel, Eat the Taste by Greg Kotis, Waterwell’s The King Operetta, Die Roten Punkte; Hip Nos, The Parting Glass (with Axis-Ballymun), Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp, Stolen House, Jimmy Carr, Mike Birbiglia’s My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, Pigpen Theatre Company, Drew Droege’s Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, John Leguizamo, Stano’s In Between Silence, Baby Wants Candy, det Andre Teatret’s Almost Ibsen, The Pajama Men, Improvised Shakespeare Company, Belfast Blues by Geraldine Hughes, Riding the Midnight Express with Billy Hayes, New York Neo-Futurists – The Complete and Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O’Neill, New Yiddish Rep’s Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (in Yiddish), Two Men Talking, Red Bull Theater’s Coriolanus, One Year Lease, Brian Dykstra. Also, many musical artists, including Fernando Otero, Pablo Aslan, Todd Almond, Joshua Schmidt, Mare Winningham, Asylum Street Spankers, Kenny Vance & the Planetones, A Night of 1000 Guitars featuring Fiasco, Pigpen, and Michael Cerveris with Loose Cattle; and in concert: the original cast of Caroline or Change. At Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Two Men Talking (Paul Browde & Murray Nossel), Baghdad Burning: Girlblog from Iraq by Riverbend with Six Figures Theatre Company, Flesh and Blood & Fish and Fowl by Geoff Sobelle & Charlotte Ford, No Child… and PIKE ST. by Nilaja Sun, and Finer Noble Gases by Adam Rapp.
ABOUT DIRTY PROTEST
Dirty Protest is Wales’ award-winning new writing theatre company.
‘Sugar Baby’ by Alan Harris launches Dirty Protest’s 10th birthday celebrations in August 2017, with a year full of other events to be announced.
Launched in 2007, the company has produced over 300 new plays by over 200 established and emerging writers, including Welsh writers Katherine Chandler, Gary Owen, Brad Birch, Alan Harris, Dafydd James, Ed Thomas, Kelly Jones, Tim Price, and Meredydd Barker and British playwrights including Duncan Macmillan, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, James Graham, Joel Horwood, Chloe Moss, Lucy Kirkwood, and Jack Thorne.
Dirty Protest stage sell-out plays in theatres and alternative venues, from pubs and clubs, to music festivals, kebab shops, hairdressers and a forest. Alongside full length productions, Dirty Protest stage regular short play nights where established and emerging writers are presented on the same platform, providing opportunities for writers, directors and actors. These nights present a shot of theatrical tequila without the paraphernalia, all for the price of a pint.
Dirty Protest have worked with partners including the Royal Court theatre, the Almeida theatre, Traverse Edinburgh, Soho Theatre, Chapter Cardiff, Theatr Clwyd, Galeri Caernarfon, Camden Roundhouse, Wales Millennium Centre, Sherman Theatre, Latitude Festival, Festival No.6, and many more. Dirty Protest’s annual new writing festival, ‘Dirty, Gifted & Welsh’ is produced in partnership with National Theatre Wales.
In December 2016, Dirty Protest produced their hit one-man show ‘Last Christmas’ by Matthew Bulgo at the Traverse theatre in Edinburgh. This followed an acclaimed run at the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with a 5 star review from the Scotsman, and a transfer to Soho Theatre.
“ ***** There’s a real humanity to ‘Last Christmas’, a truth in the writing and playing that makes it one of the best things on the Fringe this year. Don’t miss it” (The Scotsman).
Dirty Protest also won Best Production at the Theatre Critics of Wales awards for the premiere of Katherine Chandler's ‘Parallel Lines’ (Wales Drama Award, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist).
“‘Parallel Lines’ is a significant production in the history of Welsh theatre” (British Theatre Guide).
Dirty Protest Board are: Matthew Bulgo, Branwen Davies, Claire Hill, Catherine Paskell, Tim Price
“There are few people making theatre this exciting in Wales today” (The Guardian on Dirty Protest)
Contact and read more about Dirty Protest:
Website: dirtyprotesttheatre.co.uk
Twitter: @DirtyProtest Facebook: @DirtyProtestTheatre Instagram: @DirtyProtestTheatre
ABOUT JONNY & THE BAPTISTS
JONNY & THE BAPTISTS are among the hottest musical comedy acts in the UK, regularly appearing on TV, radio, at Festivals and most recently a 50-date UK tour of their hit show Eat The Poor (premiered at Paines Plough's Roundabout @ Summerhall, Edinburgh Fringe 2016). From silly songs to satirical anthems, their riotous live blend of joyful comedy and toe-tapping rock gig has won adoring fans and rave reviews across the country.
Jonny & the Baptists have appeared on BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show, The Infinite Monkey Cage, and Sketchorama; and recently on the BBC TV event Live at Television Centre. They have previously topped the iTunes Comedy Chart with single ‘Farage’, supported Mark Thomas on tour, performed at major festivals from Latitude to Green Belt, and had their 2014 Edinburgh show live streamed into 30 Odeon cinemas nationwide.
They have been nominated for five major awards including the Leicester Comedy Festival Awards, British Comedy Awards and Musical Comedy Awards – though they have never won anything. Their
UK tours Stop UKIP (2014), Rock The Vote (2015) and The End Is Nigh (2015) have played to packed theatres, arts centres and comedy venues up and down the country.
Alongside, Jonny Donahoe has been nominated for a New York Drama Desk Award for hit one-man show Every Brilliant Thing (Paines Plough/Pentabus) on international tour, now also an HBO movie special; while Paddy Gervers has grown a cult following for acclaimed podcast ‘Podshambles’.
Praise for Jonny & the Baptists:
'Wickedly amusing' The Times, 2016 ‘Spirited comedy... gigglesome wordplay... broad, daft and punchy’ The Guardian, 2016 ‘Uproarious... a double act at the top of their game’ The Stage, 2016 'Superbly crafted... as witty as they are clever' Metro, 2015 ‘Beautifully written & expertly crafted' ThreeWeeks, 2015
Award nominations (they've never won one):
Nominated – 2014 Leicester Comedy Festival Awards Longlisted – 2014 British Comedy Awards Nominated – 2013 Amused Moose Edinburgh Awards Nominated – 2013 Musical Comedy Awards Nominated – 2012 New Act of the Year Award
More information at www.jonnyandthebaptists.co.uk
ABOUT MIDDLE CHILD
We are Middle Child, theatre that makes a noise.
We are a Hull-based company creating gig theatre for the gig economy. Our work captures the electrifying moment when the beat drops, mixing original live music with bold new writing.
Our events explore what it means to live in modern Britain while recognising the importance of theatre as a social event, giving audiences a reason to come early and stay late. We prioritise liveness in our work, acknowledging this audience in this space at this time. We will always have a strong northern voice and are committed to ensuring that theatre is affordable and accessible for all. At a Middle Child event you are as likely to meet the love of your life as you are to be told a great story.
ABOUT NABAKOV nabokov are reinventing theatre to reflect the diverse experiences and stories of our time, with a 15-year history of discovering, developing and producing new talent and creating award-winning productions and distinctive theatrical events. Under the leadership of Stef O'Driscoll and Liz Counsell, the company has a bold artistic vision to champion diverse voices to reach new audiences with new theatrical forms that reflect their experiences.
ABOUT STACEY GREGG
Stacey is a Belfast and London based writer, performer and director. For television Stacey is currently writing an episode of Netflix original series THE INNOCENTS (New Pictures producing/Hania Elkington & Simon Duric show running), alongside developing three original TV shows: HARVESTER with Two Brothers; SCORCH (adaptation of her hit stage play) and THE OCULARITY (both with Kudos). For screen Stacey has recently finished shooting a NI Screen funded short film called MERCY that she has written and is directing with Out of Orbit producing. NI Screen are also funding the development of her feature BALLYWALTER which is set to shoot next year with Prasanna Puwanarajah directing. Her first feature HERE BEFORE is set to shoot this year with Rooks Nest producing. For theatre, Stacey is currently developing a show with Deborah Pearson for Clean Break and a project for the Royal Court Theatre. The Abbey Theatre Dublin will be producing her
play JOSEPHINE K this Autumn. Her many plays include SHIBBOLETH, PERVE, COWS GO BOOM (all at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin) and SCORCH which won a Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 2016 and which Prime Cut is currently touring and will be coming into the Soho Theatre in August 2017.
ABOUT WALRUS
Walrus is a new writing company comprising director Ed Madden, writer Sam Steiner, and performers Beth Holmes and Euan Kitson. Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons premiered at Warwick Arts Centre in 2015 and has since played two sold-out Edinburgh Fringe runs and a major UK tour. The company’s style is formally innovative, theatrically intimate, and concerned with finding new ways to stage our relationship with the world around us.