Fresh New Programme Unveiled
for Spring 2012 at Theatre Royal Winchester
The new spring season programme for 2012 brings
in fresh new writing to the stage (Invisible, Thirsty,
What I Heard About the World) as well as a selection
of high quality, theatrical revivals from Edward
Bond (The Children), Terence Rattigan (Less Thank
Kind) and Kafka’s Monkey, along with three
professional opera classics (Barber of Seville,
Cosi Fan Tutte, The Merry Widow), a wide range of
children’s shows, uplifting music and lashings
of comedy.
The Young Vic’s touring
production of Kafka’s Monkey (25-28 April)
stars Olivier award-winner Kathryn Hunter in the
only UK performances before
an international tour.
Another un-missable treat is
Terence Rattigan’s Less Than Kind (12-17 March)
starring James Wilby (Maurice,
Gosford Park) and Sara Crowe (Calendar Girls,
Four Weddings and a Funeral) in a sparkling comedy
of manners cum
psychosexual drama,
and there is a rare chance to see A-list actor
Simon Callow up close and personal when he presents
excerpts from his new book Charles Dickens and the
Great Theatre of the World (8 Feb)
.
Waiting for Godot (27-31 March) is a new production
of Samuel Beckett’s funny and poetic masterpiece
performed by an all-black cast and there is new
writing with Invisible (27 Jan), the deft, physical
drama from Complicité associate Douglas Rintoul,
who directs Transport Theatre in an intriguing play
about immigrant workers in the UK. For contemporary
performance at its most cutting edge, What
I heard about the World (8 March) is a conceptual
new piece of devised theatre by Third Angel theatre
company. There are a number of pre- and post- show
discussions to accompany many performances in this
season’s drama programme. For details, see
the theatre’s website: www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk.
Theatre Royal Winchester is delighted to collaborate
with The University of Winchester in staging Theatre
Now (6 March), a day-long festival of talks and
discussions from the university’s academic
community, culminating in a performance by the university’s
Depthcharge Theatre company of Edward Bond’s
The Children. Thirsty (7 Feb), also brought to TRW
by the University of Winchester,
is the engaging drama from the award-winning company
The Paper Birds, with a script based on real interviews
and confessions from ordinary women and their drinking
habits.
For children aged 7+ and their families, the page-to-stage
dramas The Phoenix and the Carpet (25 Jan), E Nesbit’s
classic children’s adventure story and Michael
Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful (29 Feb –
1 March) are set to captivate young imaginations,
and the Science Museum Live on Tour (10-11 Feb)
return to TRW with some brand new experiments to
inform and inspire.
For younger children 3+ and their families, The
Enormous Turnip (10 March) is presented by the same
team that brought us Little Red Hen and Tiddler
and other Terrific Tales (13 April) is the charming
show based on the children’s picture book by
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
Comedy meets drama with Turn Back The Clock (11
March), celebrating the wit and wisdom of the irrepressible
Joyce Grenfell . Two other grandes dames of
the silver screen are brilliantly parodied in Bette
& Joan: The Final Curtain (23-24 March) and
the bumbling and verbose BBC Radio 4 character creation
Count Arthur Strong brings his hilarious Command
Performance (10 April) to the stage. Russell Kane’s
new show Manscaping (9 March) and Stewart Lee’s
Carpet Remnant World (17 April) are also guaranteed
to administer welcome doses of comic medicine
for those with strong taste-buds.
There is opera for aficionados,
experts and novices alike, when Opera della luna
make a welcome return with their version of The
Merry Widow (26 Feb), Swansea City Opera present
Cosi Fan Tutte (20-21 March) and OperaUpClose make
their debut at TRW with The Barber of Seville (20-21
April). Irish folk singer Cara Dillon
(24 Feb) presents songs from her award-winning new
album, Hill of Thieves, winner of folk Album of
the Year, and catch Maddy Prior in concert with
Giles Lewin and Hannah James (14 April). Over the
Rainbow -The Eva Cassidy Story (22-23 Feb)
is the uplifting award-winning musical starring
Sarah Jane Buckley (Hollyoaks), Pauline Fleming
(Corrie) and Rob McVeigh (BBCs Any Dream Will Do).
For further information or to book
tickets
please contact the box office on 01962 840440
or visit www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk.
