Omnibus Theatre announces new season
Omnibus Theatre announces its new Autumn/Winter programme.
The new season includes four new plays, three reinterpretations, two national touring productions, a mini Irish season, Perception Festival plus a Christmas show.
In chronological order:
Federico García Lorca’s BLOOD WEDDING opens the season with a fresh and modern reimagining exploring cultural divisions and the power of community, with original live music presented by George Richmond-Scott 4 – 23 Sept. See full details here
Award-winning playwright and songwriter Lizzie Nunnery launches TO HAVE TO SHOOT IRISHMEN, a new play with songs. Inspired by the murder of Irish pacifist Francis Sheehy Skeffington by a British soldier during the Easter rising in Dublin in 1916, this stirring tale of militarism and rebellion stages its national premiere at Omnibus Theatre followed by a UK tour. 2 Oct – 20 Oct. See full details here
Strange Fish Theatre company breathes new life into Owen McCafferty’s award-winning play QUIETLY in this its first London revival since 2014. This timely production about truth, forgiveness and confronting the past forms a poignant dialogue alongside Nunnery’s piece, both shows coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and form part of our mini Irish Season. 9 Oct – 27 Oct. See full details here
The theme of Isolation is explored in all its forms in our fourth annual PERCEPTION FESTIVAL, a collage of theatre music and movement animated by over ten dynamic shows with different points of view. Highlights include acclaimed Volcano Theatre’s re-developed MACBETH: DIRECTOR’S CUT, the return of Creation Theatre with a binaural reimagining of THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, ARC Stockton Arts Centre’s inventive and fast-paced writer and performer Scott Turnbull returns for a short residency, three nights, three pieces of work, including his new play THE SMOG. Closing the festival, three strong female performers stage arresting and deeply personal pieces, two of which are new plays; FRAGMENTS OF A COMPLICATED MIND by theatre-maker Damilola ‘DK’ Fashola and THE REAL DEAL by award-winning poet and playwright Katie Bonna. From 30 Oct -24 Nov. See full details here
Critically-acclaimed children’s theatre-maker and Omnibus Associate Artist Tessa Bide and Soap Soup Theatre present an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s short story THE SELFISH GIANT, a five week Christmas show for all the family. 28 Nov – 24 Dec. See full details here
Tickets for the new season are now on sale: Omnibus_theatre – 0207 498 4699
Commenting on the Autumn/Winter programme, artistic director Marie McCarthy said:
“The value of stories and communities in all their forms is seared into Omnibus Theatre’s DNA. Our venue, on the edge of Clapham Common, was opened in 1889 as a public library – it now houses a living collage of theatre and connection that continues to introduce our audiences to undiscovered points of view. Our 2018 Autumn/Winter programme is no exception, dynamic work, presented by daring artists, telling stories that demand to be told.
We kick start the season by shining a light on London’s Spanish community with a modern reimagining of Federico García Lorca’s tragedy Blood Wedding, an urgent and timely response to their experiences. I’m also excited to announce a mini-Irish season with two productions that create a striking dialogue and poignantly coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement; UK Theatre Awards winner Lizzie Nunnery’s To Have To Shoot Irishmen and Owen McCafferty’s multi-award-winning play Quietly. Nunnery’s thoughtful and painful exploration into national identity, British militarism, pacifism and feminism, a true story based on events in 1916, also resonates strongly with current conflicts. I’m thrilled to launch it here first before it embarks on a national tour.
Isolation and questioning the notion of belonging and the nature of loneliness has been at the forefront of my mind as the startling shift in the social-political climate of our world continues to divide and isolate us; our fourth annual Perception Festival is our direct response. Ten arresting productions, staged over the course of three weeks are performed by dynamic artists and theatre companies; Edgar Allen Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum is transformed by Oxford based Creation Theatre into something sharply relevant for a modern audience, Volcano Theatre Company’s Macbeth: Directors Cut and Scott Turnbull’s The Smog scrutinize isolation in its many different guises, and I welcome the uncompromising voice of theatre-maker Damilola ‘DK’ Fashola and award-winning poet and playwright Katie Bonna with Fragments of a Complicated Mind and The Real Deal.
Riding high on the success of our 2017 Offie-winning winter production, associate artist Tessa Bide and Soap Soup Theatre present a magical world of grumpy giants and everlasting winter in a contemporary retelling of Oscar Wilde’s beloved short story The Selfish Giant.
This November marks our 5th anniversary. Since opening our doors I have been especially proud of our commitment to developing the theatre-makers of tomorrow. Through our scratch night Engine Room, we have offered over fifty artists dramaturgical support, free rehearsal space and an invaluable platform to present original work. Investing our knowledge and resources in the next generation of theatre makers is also at the heart of our new initiative for young people Routes. I look forward to the next five years continuing this work and presenting unforgettable theatre that’s yet to be discovered.
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