The New Vic Theatre’s summer season will feature a regional première, a new adaptation of a classic comedy and a spectacular play that’s a bold celebration of circus, set to be the theatre-in-the-round’s most ambitious production to date. Announced today, the summer season will also feature a host of events to mark the 250th anniversary of the invention of circus as the theatre celebrates Newcastle-under-Lyme born Philip Astley – father of modern day circus – in Circus Past, Present and Future, before completing the year with a heart-warming adaptation of children’s classic, The Wind In The Willows.
Opening the season, the New Vic will co-produce a new adaptation of Compton Mackenzie’s Whisky Galore (Wed 16 May – Sat 2 June) by Philip Goulding with Oldham Coliseum and Hull Truck Theatre. Partly inspired by the true story of the Osiris Players, a troupe of female actors who toured the British Isles from 1927 to 1963, this new production is a tribute to the feisty, fearless all-female touring companies of the post-war years.
New Vic Associate Director Zoë Waterman (Playhouse Creatures, New Vic Theatre; Sleeping Beauty, Theatr Clywd) will then direct the regional première of Tanya Ronder’s Table (Fri 8 – Sat 23 June). First produced at the National Theatre, Table is a moving drama about belonging that explores how people remain connected through centuries by the stories, and possessions, passed down by their ancestors.
As part of the theatre’s Circus Past, Present and Future programme, New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins will direct the theatre-in-the-round’s most ambitious show to date – Astley’s Astounding Adventures (Sat 7 – Sat 28 July), written by Staffordshire born Frazer Flintham. Filled with fast-paced action, humour, gripping drama and breathtaking circus skills, this bold, colourful play charts Astley’s extraordinary story – from humble beginnings in Newcastle-under-Lyme to becoming the international impresario who invented circus as we know it today. Co-directed by Upswing’s Vicki Amedume, Astley’s Astounding Adventures will combine theatre with circus for a production set to ignite audiences’ imaginations.
Also as part of Circus Past, Present and Future, the Victoria & Albert Museum will collaborate with the New Vic and the New Vic led Appetite programme for CIRCUS!, an outdoor photography exhibition presented in the heart of Newcastle-under-Lyme until Sat 4 August that will showcase the V&A’s archive collection of original prints, drawings and photographs to chart the progress of circus as it developed.
Internationally-renowned NoFit State Circus stage the world première of LEXICON (until Sat 21 April), a brand new production commissioned by the New Vic as part of Circus Past, Present and Future. Following this, the New Vic-led Appetite programme will bring Circolombia – the inspirational Colombian circus company – to Newcastle with Acéléré (Thu 10 May – Sun 13 May) as part of their world tour.
Completing the Circus Past, Present and Future programme are a host of events and productions including Cabinet of Curiosities, an immersive performance created by the New Vic and Hikapee Theatre Circus for younger audience members (Wed 18 – Fri 27 July) and Roll Up Roll Up (Sat 4 August), a professionally-led community performance developed and delivered in partnership with The Philip Astley Project (led by Staffordshire University) which will take place as part of AstleyFest in Lyme Valley Park, Newcastle-under-Lyme.
For Christmas 2018, the theatre-in-the-round will close the year with a new adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s classic family story The Wind In The Willows (Sat 17 November 18 – Sat 26 January 19), which will be adapted by New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins and directed by Peter Leslie Wild. Featuring all of the familiar characters from the classic children’s story, including Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger, this beloved tale of adventure, courage and the value of friendship will be brought to life in the theatre’s trademark style and is a heart-warming story all ages of family members can enjoy together.
The summer season will also feature a host of one-night events including Bellowhead’s Jon Boden (Mon 23 April) and a special evening with local favourite and World’s Strongest Man, Eddie Hall (Thu 10 May), plus David Graham Productions return with the loveable character of Eric and all the greatest hits from the ’60s in Diamonds are for Eric (Mon 20 Aug – Sat 1 Sep).
Theresa Heskins, New Vic Artistic Director, said: “The New Vic aims to have both local and national impact, and this programme of work demonstrates that in bucketloads. This year, we bring together artists from all over the UK and further afield in a season that combines the regional première of a play about a Staffordshire family which was first seen at the National Theatre; an international celebration to shine a light on our local hero Philip Astley and his astonishing legacy and a Christmas production which will be seen by one in ten local people, many of whom are children attending their first ever piece of theatre”.