PRESS RELEASE – Thursday 19 April 2018 Twitter/ Facebook / Instagram / website HIGHTIDE IN EDINBURGH, ALDEBURGH AND WALTHAMSTOW HIGHTIDE TO PRESENT FIVE BRAND-NEW PRODUCTIONS AT EDINBURGH FRINGE 2018 BEFORE TRANSFERRING THEM TO ITS FESTIVALS IN ALDEBURGH AND WALTHAMSTOW THE PREMIERES MARK THE LAUNCH OF HIGHTIDE: EDINBURGH, A NEW ANNUAL MENTORING SCHEME WHICH FINANCIALLY AND CREATIVELY SUPPORTS NEW WRITERS AND PRODUCERS BRIDGE THE FRINGE AND A PROFESSIONAL CAREER HIGHTIDE WILL BE IN EDINBURGH FROM 1-27 AUGUST, ALDEBURGH FROM 11-16 SEPTEMBER AND WILL RETURN TO WALTHAMSTOW FOR THE SECOND YEAR FROM 18-30 SEPTEMBER. Steven Atkinson, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of HighTide, has today announced that the company will present five world premiere productions at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, before transferring them to its Aldeburgh and Walthamstow Festivals, as part of a brand-new mentoring scheme for new playwrights and producers. The launch of the programme marks the company’s commitment to creating a bridge that supports new theatre makers starting out on the fringe and is indicative of festival’s proven ability in providing a platform for launching professional careers with the UK’s leading theatres. Steven Atkinson said: ‘The fringe remains the key development ground for new writers and producers, so HighTide helping these artists to make the most of it artistically and as a launch pad is an exciting new element of HighTide’ s unique work in championing new talent. In then presenting the plays at our Aldeburgh and Walthamstow festivals, HighTide can both further support the artists in their career development and also ensure a wide range of audiences see the work.’ Over more than a decade HighTide has built a reputation for commissioning and producing the country’s best new playwrights at its festival in Aldeburgh, and in theatres across the UK. Last year the company launched the Festival in London’s Walthamstow, recognising both the opportunity for new plays to be seen by as wide an audience as possible, and the lack of performance venues in the borough. The ten-day event welcomed over 6,000 new audiences and following this year will return in 2019 as part of Waltham Forest’s London Borough of Culture programme. HighTide’s centrepiece production, co-produced with their associate company DugOut Theatre, is a song-laced coming of age tale by Aldeburgh-based writer Tallulah Brown called Songlines, and features live folk music from the award-winning band TRILLS. HighTide’s associate productions selected through an open script submission process are: Sparks; Jessica Butcher’s two-hander musical about the brain's response to grief; Danusia Samal’s gig-theatre piece Busking It, drawing on a decade of busking on the tube; The Extinction Event from David Aula and Simon Evans an examination of what happens when science starts thinking for itself; and finally, Harry Blake’s fierce, fabulous new comedy musical about Norse gods Thor and Loki. In a new partnership for HighTide, four productions will be presented by the Pleasance. The partnership is part of a wider commitment by both organisations to increase support to new writing across the Fringe and wider Festival circuits. Songlines, Sparks, Busking It and The Extinction Event will run at Pleasance throughout August. Thor and Loki will run at Assembly. Songlines by Tallulah Brown, directed by George Chilcott, will be presented by HighTide and DugOut Theatre. Interwoven with live folk songs from award winning band TRILLS, Songlines follows Stevie and Stan, in a coming-of-age love story in all its awkward teen glory. Tallullah is part of the Channel 4 Screenwriting Scheme and recent theatre includes: Seafret, After the Heat We Battle for the Heart and Staring at You. Songlines is Tallulah’s first commissioned full length play. George is Artistic Director and Founder of DugOut Theatre, and formerly an Associate Director at HighTide. Sparks by Jessica Butcher, directed by Jessica Edwards, will be presented by Michelle Barnette Productions and Flipping the Bird with HighTide. Sparks is a two-hander musical about the brain's response to grief. This will be Jessica’s debut play. Jessica recently directed Denim World Tour and has been associate to Jamie Lloyd on The Maids and Doctor Faustus. Busking It by Danusia Samal, directed by Guy Jones, will be presented in association with HighTide and Shoreditch Town Hall. Drawing on a Danusia’s decade busking on the tube, this piece of gig-theatre gives voices to passers-by, blending chance encounters with live music. Danusia is has performed at theatres including the Royal Court, RSC, The Globe, Soho Theatre and Manchester Exchange. She is a Resident Playwright with Tamasha. Guy’s directing credits include Mayfly (Orange Tree) and Spokesong (Finborough). He is Literary Associate of the Orange Tree and has been an Associate Artist of Company Three. The Extinction Event written and directed by David Aula and Simon Evans will be presented by SEDA and Glynis Henderson Productions in association with HighTide. After 60 minutes, mankind will vanish. Hypnotist magicians David Aula and Simon Evans present an examination of what happens when science starts thinking for itself. Not the story of a magic trick. The story of real magic. David’s previous work includes The Cement Garden which headlined VAULT, Personal Enemy – 59E59 NYC and Meat. Simon’s work includes The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at the Donmar Warehouse and Bug and The Dazzle both at Found 111. The pair most recently collaborated on The Vanishing Man. Thor and Loki by Harry Blake, directed by Eleanor Rhode, and created with award- winning cabaret duo House of Blakewell, will be presented by Vicky Graham Productions in association with HighTide and Something For The Weekend. Thor and Loki is a fierce, fabulous new comedy musical rooted in Norse mythology. War rages and the apocalypse approaches, but an unlikely friendship emerges as audiences follow Thor and Loki’s quest to change the world. Harry is an award-winning composer, lyricist and sound designer. He was Resident Composer at West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2017 and was the first composer appointed to the OLD VIC 12. Eleanor is an Associate Artist for HighTide, recent work includes: Teddy (currently at the Vaults) and Boudica at Shakespeare’s Globe. Full details for HighTide’s 2018 festival programmes in Aldeburgh and Walthamstow will be announced in June. -ENDS- For further information please contact Maisie Lawrence at The Corner Shop PR on 020 7831 7657 LISTINGS LISTINGS HighTide and DugOut Theatre present Songlines by Tallulah Brown Pleasance Courtyard, Beneath Wed 1 - Sun 26 August 15:15 (1h) Press performance: Sat 4 August, Sunday 5 August Michelle Barnette Productions and Flipping the Bird in association with HighTide present Sparks by Jessica Butcher Pleasance Courtyard, Beneath Wed 1 - Sun 26 August 11:30 (1h) Press performance: Sat 4 August, Sunday 5 August Coin Drop in association with HighTide and Shoreditch Town Hall present Busking It by Danusia Samal Pleasance Courtyard, Upstairs Wed 15 - Mon 27 August 12:45 (1h) Press performance: TBC SEDA and Glynis Henderson Productions in association with HighTide present The Extinction Event by David Aula and Simon Evans Pleasance Courtyard, Above Wed 1 - Mon 27 August 15:40 (1h) Press performance: Sat 4 August. Sunday 5 August Vicky Graham Productions in association with HighTide and Something For The Weekend present Thor and Loki by Harry Blake Assembly Roxy Wed 1 - Sun 26 August 19:15 (1h15min) Press performance: Sat 4 August, Sunday 5 August BOX OFFICE DETAILS Website: https://tickets.edfringe.com/ Telephone: 0131 226 0000 Prices from £6 HighTide Aldeburgh Tues 11-Sun 16 September HighTide Walthamstow Tues 18- Sun 30 September NOTES TO EDITORS About HightTide HighTide is theatre company and charity based in East Anglia that has an unparalleled eleven-year history of successfully launching the careers of emerging British playwrights. Our alumni speak for themselves: Luke Barnes, Adam Brace, E V Crowe, Elinor Cook, Rob Drummond, Thomas Eccleshare, Theresa Ikoko, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Anders Lustgarten, Joel Horwood, Ella Hickson, Harry Melling, Nessah Muthy, Vinay Patel, Nick Payne, Phil Porter, Beth Steel, Al Smith, Sam Steiner, Molly Taylor, Jack Thorne and Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig. We have staged productions with the highest quality theatres across the UK, from the Traverse in Edinburgh, to the Royal Exchange in Manchester, Theatre Royal Bath and the National Theatre in London. We discover new talent, provide creative development opportunities for playwrights and other creatives, and stage high quality theatre productions both in our region and nationally through our festivals and touring. We enable new and underrepresented playwrights to express their visions of contemporary politics and society, demonstrate their creative potential and therein showcase the future of theatre. HighTide: new theatre for adventurous people. www.hightide.org.uk About DugOut Founded by a group of comedians, writers, musicians and actors, DugOut create new work that is often funny, sometimes sad, usually hopeful and almost always musical. It warms your heart, moves your feet, treats your eyes, lightens your load, tickles your fancy and swells your heart. Taking our joyful, popular plays around the country, we perform in a range of intimate spaces – from studio theatres to country pubs – and believe in bringing our unique brand of theatre magic to audiences everywhere. DugOut shows have been