2013 Productions

 

My Perfect Mind

Produced by

Told by an Idiot, Young Vic and Theatre Royal Plymouth

Written by

Kathryn Hunter, Paul Hunter and Edward Petherbridge

About

Acclaimed classical actor Edward Petherbridge rehearsed for the role of King Lear – then a major stroke left him barely able to move. As he struggled to recover, he made a discovery: the entire role of Lear still existed word for word in his mind.

Directed by Kathryn Hunter and performed by Edward Petherbridge and Paul Hunter, this is a moving and comic exploration of the resilience of the human spirit through the prism of Shakespeare’s great tragedy. My Perfect Mind celebrated Told by an Idiot’s twentieth anniversary as one of the UK’s leading and most inventive touring companies

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Thursday 14th February – Saturday 2nd March 2013

Young Vic, London
03 – 27 September 2014

Tobacco Factory, Bristol
30 September – 04 October 2014

West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds
15 – 18 October 2014

Unity Theatre, Liverpool
21 – 25 October 2014

Birmingham Repertory Theatre
04 – 08 November 2014

Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough
11 – 15 November 2014

Teatre Lliure, Barcelona
20 & 21 November 2014

Reviews

"Like watching a masterclass on King Lear under the influence of LSD"
Daily Telegraph

"Bonkers, borderline offensive... highly amusing"
Time Out

"Hilarious, haunting, superbly directed by Kathryn Hunter"
The Independent

Cast

Paul Hunter

Edward Petherbridge

Creative Team

Direction
Kathryn Hunter

Design
Michael Vale

Lighting Design
Alex Wardle

Sound Design
Gregory Clarke


Forever House

Produced by

Theatre Royal Plymouth

Written by

Glenn Waldron

About

In a terrace house in the city, three different couples are cautiously looking to the future.

Teenager Richard is plotting his escape to art college, just as lecturer Graham is settling in. Mum-to-be Laura has big plans for her forever home – if only Becci will sell it to her. And in the middle of the night, marine expert Mark has an unexpected visitor, a young woman with more than paddleworm samples on her mind…

A story of buried secrets and new beginnings, Forever House is the debut play of Westcountry-born writer Glenn Waldron. It’s a pitch-black comedy drama that asks the question: can you ever really start again?

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Thursday 21st March – Saturday 6th April 2013

Reviews

★★★★
"Despite the serious material, author Glenn Waldron’s dialogue between the characters maintains the humour throughout, while Joe Murphy’s direction keeps the pace”
Public Reviews

★★★★
“A well observed piece, dark in essence but with plenty of humour tightly directed by Joe Murphy.”
Whatsonstage.com

Cast

Mark
Tom Andrews

Becci
Becci Gemmell

Richard
Dylan Kennedy

Lucy
Joana Nastari

Graham
Tom Peters

Laura
Leah Whitaker

Creative Team

Author
Glenn Waldron

Director
Joe Murphy

Set & Costume Designer
Hannah Clark

Lighting Designer
Malcolm Rippeth

Sound Designer
Isobel Waller-Bridge

Assistant Director
Bethany Pitts

Casting Director
Charlotte Sutton

Dialect Coach
Mary Howland


Fight Night

Produced by

Theatre Royal Plymouth, Ontroerend Goed, Richard Jordan Productions and Vooruit in association with Adelaide Festival

Written by

Alexander Devriendt
Angelo Tijssens & the cast

About

Five performers. Five Rounds. Your vote. One survivor.

Belgium’s multiple Fringe First-winning company Ontroerend Goed and Australia’s The Border Project put the power into your hands to vote for your favourite candidate amongst our five actors in an immersive exploration into the intricacies and traps of voting systems and mediatized democracy. Fight Night makes elections a theatrical game.

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
26th September – 12th October 2013

Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney
20th March – 13th April 2014

Ekerse Theaterzaal, Ekeren
12th May 2014

Frascati, Amsterdam
13th & 14th May 2014

Theater Malpertuis, Tielt
15th May 2014

CC Berchem, Berchem
16th May 2014

Kunstencentrum De Werf, Bruges
18th May 2014

Grand Theatre, Gronigen
20th – 22th May 2014

Minardschouwburg, Ghent
23th – 25th May 2014

Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam
15th January 2015

Stadsschouwburg Utrecht
20th January 2015

Hong Kong Arts Festival
26 February 2015 - 1 March 2015

Unicorn Theatre, London
16 April 2015 - 3 May 2015

Roeselare, Belgium
15 May 2015

Tilburg, NL, De NEW Vorst
December 2015

Reviews

★★★★
"Without even a single political reference, Ontroerend Goed’s ‘Fight Night’ makes a precarious analysis of  the consensus politics our democratic system has fallen into. That’s impressive."
De Morgen, Evelyne Coussens

★★★★
"A cross between Big Brother and an Italian general election."
The Independent

★★★★
"‘Fight Night’ develops into a vital exploration... into why we cling to our democratic institutions despite their failures, and what the alternatives might look like; and how, in the end, we deal with dissent, in a big society or a small room where the majority have decided, but a large minority beg to disagree."
The Scotsman

Cast

Charlotte De Bruyne

Sophie Cleary

Maria Dafernos

Valentijn Dhaenens

David Heinrich

Angelo Tijssens

Roman Vaculik

Creative Team

Director
Alexander Devriendt

Scenography, lighting design & production
Lilith Tremmery

Costumes & scenography
Sophie De Somere

Music
Cameron Goodall & David Heinrich

Technical
Jasper Taelemans


Solid Air

Produced by

Theatre Royal Plymouth

Written by

Doug Lucie

About

Look, here we are with time to kill, enough hash brownies to get the entire population of Oxford high and two guitars. Let’s just jam, man, like the old days.

An Oxford College Ball, June 1973. Genius folk musician John Martyn is on the bill and he’s brought along his equally brilliant friend, Nick Drake. Despite their wildly different natures – John is a maverick; charming, brash and reckless, whilst Nick is shy and pensive – the two are close friends. But whereas Martyn’s career has taken off with the release of his groundbreaking album, Solid Air, Nick’s has stalled after his last effort, Pink Moon. And he doesn’t want to talk about it.

Backstage, between sets, the two musicians hook up with an unlikely crew – Ball Committee Rep, Anthony Blair, his date Sarah (who has dreams of joining the RSC), anti-ball protestor Dave (who isn’t supposed to be there) and off-duty Special Forces squaddie, George. Fuelled by hash brownies, crates of alcohol, lobster and crisps, the party spend a reflective night bantering, bickering, making music and singing.

Exploring themes of artistic purity vs commercial realism, social mobility and friendship, Solid Airis a funny and moving play echoing sentiments of today’s social disparity

Performances

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Thursday 7th – Saturday 23rd November 2013

Reviews

★★★★
“Solid Air is a superb, beautiful, thought provoking piece of new theatre that rewards the audience from the moment they walk in until the final applause has died away”
The Public Reviews

★★★★
WhatsOnStage

“…a theatrical treat, well written and brilliantly acted. An absolute triumph which stays with you long after the lights go up”
Western Morning News

Cast

Sarah
Alice Bailey Johnson

John Martyn
Sean Biggerstaff

Nick Drake
Tom Clegg

Anthony Blair
Phil Elstob

Dave
Jim English

George
Joe Sims

Creative Team

Director
Mike Bradwell

Set and Costume Designer
Bob Bailey

Sound Designer
Gregory Clarke

Lighting Designer
Jason Taylor

Assistant Director
Jennifer Tang

Casting Director
Lucy Jenkins (McShane Casting)