Patrick Redmond
Summ er 201 6
Support young artists making exciting new work with ArtsLab – see page 15
Hello Welcome to our summer season. Our exciting programme of upcoming events showcases our commitment to doing what we do best: We programme and create new work that is bold and relevant In July, I’m particularly proud to host Queens of Syria (p.13), an adaptation of Euripides anti-war tragedy, The Trojan Women. Part of a national tour, the play will be performed by an all-female cast of Syrian refugees. These are voices that should be heard. We provide opportunities for young emerging artists to develop their voice and their vision Our ArtsLab summer residency (p.15) gives 18-25 year olds the chance to work with professional artists over the course of three weeks, culminating in a public sharing of the work. This year, we will be working with OperaUpClose on our first opera residency: Bluebeard’s Castle. We support established artists and companies in the creation of new work I’m delighted to welcome Theatre Ad Infinitum back following their residency last year, with a work-in-progress of their new show, Bucket List (p.14), ahead of the show’s premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. There is much to enjoy this season; new writing, children’s theatre, dance, sculpture, music. We hope to inspire you, our audience, to think in new ways. To enjoy the arts. Young and old. And in-between. I hope to see you here in the months ahead. Lucy Maycock, Artistic Director
Programme design: white space | www.white-space.net The North Wall photography: Colin Willoughby, Philip Vile
April Highlights
Steve Ullathorne
2 3
FRIDAY 15 APRIL OperaUpClose
Music Oft Hath Such A Charm
OperaUpClose mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with a performance of songs, operatic arias and ensembles inspired by his plays and poetry, performed in the company’s engaging, intimate and theatrical style. Spectacular show-stoppers from Verdi’s Macbeth and the quick-witted wordplay of Much Ado About Nothing and Falstaff rub shoulders with wellloved songs like Schubert’s Who is Sylvia? and lesser known operas inspired by the Bard. www.operaupclose.com Performance: 7.30pm Tickets: £22 (concessions £18)
TUESDAY 19 – WEDNESDAY 20 APRIL
Mark Thomas: Trespass With his usual odd mix of theatre, stand-up comedy, activism, a dash of journalism, and a dollop of mayhem, Mark Thomas asks the question: if the ramblers of the 1930’s were here now what would they do to open up the cities? How do we turn the skyscrapers and corporate squares into our playgrounds?
“A consummate comic and crackerjack storyteller with heroically undimmed principles” ★★★★ The Scotsman www.markthomasinfo.co.uk Age suitability: 16+ Performances: 7.30pm Tickets: £16 (concessions £13)
// Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenor // Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
SATURDAY 30 APRIL – MONDAY 2 MAY
National Theatre Connections 500 New plays performed by young people The National Theatre’s Connections festival celebrates the talent and passion of young theatre-makers. This year, NT marks the 21st anniversary of Connections: 500 youth theatre companies, 10,000 young people, 44 partner theatres will take part. As part of our commitment to the artists of tomorrow, The North Wall is delighted to be hosting this exciting festival once more. As well as watching each other’s performances, company members take part in a range of workshops across the weekend. Come and support these young companies as they explore new scripts from some of the best writers in the business. Saturday 30 April 4pm St Edward’s Oxford Bassett by James Graham
Sunday 1 May 11am Headington School Blackout by Davey Anderson
Monday 2 May 11am Thame Youth Theatre Takeaway by Jackie Kay
8pm Marlborough Connections Woodstock I’m Spilling My Heart Out Here by Stacey Gregg
3pm Theatretrain Reading It Snows by Bryony Lavery & Frantic Assembly
3pm Bloxham School Blackout by Davey Anderson
7pm OP & MCS Young Company Citizenship by Mark Ravenhill
7pm Stage-Fright Youth Theatre Wokingham Eclipse by Simon Armitage
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/connections Performances: Saturday 4pm & 8pm, Sunday – Monday 11am, 3pm & 7pm Tickets: £4 (concessions £3) per show. All subsequent shows £2
// Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
Susan Hay
4 5
WEDNESDAY 4 MAY Company Chordelia
Nijinsky’s Last Jump Created, directed and choreographed by Kally Lloyd-Jones
Nijinsky’s Last Jump combines theatre and dance to evoke the legendary 20th century dancer’s journey from global success to the desolate isolation of mental illness. This sharp and tender show portrays a poignant intimacy of genius and madness, youth and age, and both the performing and private self. Inspired by the rhythmic obsession of Nijinsky’s diaries, Young and Old Nijinsky consider their life together, on and off stage, trying to make sense of the loss of self.
“ Impeccably researched and beautifully performed” ★★★★★ The Guardian “ A memorably tender but unsentimental portrait” ★★★★ The Times
FRIDAY 6 MAY Unlimited Theatre
Am I Dead Yet?
Two friends, talking (and singing) about what happens when we die, how we think about dying, and most importantly, how some of us might be brought back. Performed by Unlimited founding members Jon Spooner and Chris Thorpe, Am I Dead Yet? is filled with stories and songs about death and dying and about how we don’t talk about it enough. Inspired by research into contemporary developments in resuscitation science and made in collaboration with Emergency Care professionals.
“ Vibrantly theatrical and typically absorbing” ★★★★ Independent “ An hour of heart-restarting performance” ★★★★ The Stage
www.chordelia.co.uk
www.unlimited.org.uk
Age Suitability:12+ Performance: 8pm Tickets: £16 (concessions £13)
Age Suitability:14+ Performance: 8pm Tickets: £14 (concessions £12)
// // Booking: Booking: 01865 01865 319450 319450 or or www.thenorthwall.com www.thenorthwall.com
THURSDAY 12 – FRIDAY 13 MAY
Fake It ’til You Make It by Bryony Kimmings and Tim Grayburn
Award-winning artist Bryony Kimmings’ heart-breaking and life-affirming new show about clinical depression and men. Bryony is an outrageous, hilarious and fearless performance artist from London. Tim is an outrageous, hilarious and fearless account manager from a top advertising agency. Bryony and Tim are a couple. Bryony spends most of her life on tour, trying her best to change the world. Tim spends most of his life at a desk trying his best to sell the world. Six months into their relationship, Bryony found out that Tim suffers from severe clinical depression. He had kept it a secret for a very long time. Fake It ’til You Make It is Bryony Kimmings’ new work about clinical depression and men made in collaboration with Tim. A wickedly warming, brutally honest and heart-breaking show about the wonders and pitfalls of the human brain, being in love and what it takes to be a ‘real man’.
“ Deeply affecting” ★★★★★ Evening Standard “ Warm and illuminating… it could even save lives” ★★★★ Telegraph “ This is a life-and-death love story, done with a lot of imagination and self-deprecating charm” ★★★★ The Times www.bryonyandtim.com
Performances: 8pm Tickets: £16 (concessions £13)
// Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
John Cairns
Richard Davenport
6 7
SATURDAY 14 MAY
Save The Male!
A gig in support of The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) featuring Duotone + Jess Hall + Richard Neuberg + Matt Chanarin. A night of live music to raise awareness of CALM and the issue of male suicide. Being silent isn’t being strong. Duotone is the alias of songwriter, Barney MorseBrown, cellist with multi-platinum artist, Birdy and BBC Folk Award winners the Imagined Village, Chris Wood, Eliza Carthy and Jackie Oates. Jess Hall grew up near the coastline of North Devon and started writing songs about the quirks of love and life. Since moving to landlocked Oxford she has established herself with her simple stunning clarity of voice and images of coastal love and loss. Plus performances from Richard Neuberg + Matt Chanarin www.thecalmzone.net
Performance: 8pm Tickets: £14 (concessions £10)
// Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
SUNDAY 15 MAY
THURSDAY 16 JUNE
Old Saw
SS Philip and James Primary School
Meadow
Created by Little Angel Associate Artist Greta Clough The grass remembers. It remembers you. It remembers me. And it remembers the animals that called the meadow home. Time changes everything. In a post human world, only the grass remembers the way things used to be. Meet the animals and insects that lived in the meadow, and see their stories come to life. Told with handcrafted puppets and a stunning original score by Paul Mosely.
There’s No Way of Knowing
www.oldsaw.co.uk
November 12th, 1990. Roald Dahl is set to leave his home for the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, never to return. Tired and in discomfort, he enters his writing hut for the last time. That is to retrieve the beginning of his latest story. Only to discover it’s vanished! And then there’s a knock at the door… Full of songs, humour and a magical poignancy, There’s No Way of Knowing is a play for all ages performed by the children of SS Philip and James Primary School.
Recommended age: 3+ Performances: 11am & 2pm Tickets: £8 (concessions £6)
Performances: 3.30pm & 6.30pm Tickets: £7.50 (concessions £5.50, children £3.50)
// Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
8 9
THURSDAY 19 MAY Theatre Re presents
Blind Man’s Song
While a blind man walks around his room with unsteady steps, a story of love, hope, courage and unquenchable vision unfolds. Ahead of an international tour and following sell-out runs at the 2015 London International Mime Festival, Latitude and the Edinburgh Fringe, critically-acclaimed Theatre Re presents a wordless tale about the power of imagination, blending physical theatre, mime, illusions and a live musical score.
“ Superb… like a Beckett play designed by Magritte” ★★★★ The Stage “ A superbly smooth, nuanced production…beautifully evocative choreography” ★★★★ The List www.retheatre.com
Performance: 8pm Tickets: £14 (concessions £12)
// Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
WEDNESDAY 25 MAY Fishamble: The New Play Company
Underneath Written and performed by Pat Kinevane Directed by Jim Culleton Sticks and stones didn’t break Her bones, but words and pointing crushed Her. Is Beauty really only skin deep? Does Ugliness hide somewhere deeper? This stunning new play is a blackly comic, rich and vivid tale of a life lived in secret, a testament to the people who live on the fringes, under the nose of everyday life. It explores the surface, and what lies underneath. WINNER: Scotsman Fringe First Award 2015
“ Brilliant...striking...excellent” ★★★★ Irish Times “ Extraordinary…ninety of the most perfect minutes you’ll spend” ★★★★★ Scotsman “ Sheer brilliance” ★★★★★ The Skinny
Patrick Redmond
www.fishamble.com
Age Suitability:14+ Performance: 8pm Tickets: £16 (concessions £13)
// Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
Ludovic des Cognets
10 11
WEDNESDAY 1 – SATURDAY 4 JUNE
WEDNESDAY 8 – SATURDAY 11 JUNE
MercuryMouth Productions
The Oxford School of Drama
“All I want to ask is what lies behind the screen? Behind her uneasy smile? Beneath the flowers in her hair?”
Vienna. Against a background of lawlessness and political sleaze, the pleasures of the flesh are common currency. As chaos threatens to engulf the city, the Duke decides measures must be taken.
Colin and Katya
East meets west. Essex meets Ukraine. Colin meets Katya. In a world of online profiles and international relationships, can love conquer all against a backdrop of desperation and kitsch? From the winner of the OUDS 2016 New Writing Festival and a Runner Up of the National Theatre’s NewViews competition 2013, Jack Clover’s new play is a documentary, music and physical theatre extravaganza delving into the colourful world of the Ukrainian online bride industry. MercuryMouth Productions is a student company from the University of Oxford. Age Suitability:12+ Performances: 7.30pm Tickets: £10 (concessions £8)
Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure is a great opportunity to see emerging talent from one of the UK’s top drama schools. Recent graduates of the School have had leading roles in BBC’s Wolf Hall & The Musketeers, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in the West End, and RSC’s Oppenheimer and Wendy and Peter Pan.
“The Oxford School of Drama is in the top rank of British drama schools.” Nicholas Hytner, former Artistic Director, National Theatre Part of Shakespeare Oxford 2016 Performances: 7.30pm, 2pm matinee Thurs & Sat Tickets: £14 (concessions £12)
// // Booking: Booking: 01865 01865 319450 319450 or or www.thenorthwall.com www.thenorthwall.com
TUESDAY 21 JUNE Sue MacLaine Company
Can I Start Again Please Through a poetic script performed in English and British Sign Language, Can I Start Again Please unravels its story slowly, heartbreakingly, through inference rather than straightforward narrative. The piece dissects childhood trauma via an exploration of the power and failings of language - language that tells and hides truths - sparring across the heard and the unheard, the spoken and the unspoken. Performers Sue MacLaine and Nadia Nadarajah spark off each other with an effortless and flowing energy that is a joy to behold.
“ Gracefully intelligent” Sunday Times “ Challenging, devastating, and devastatingly good” ★★★★ The Guardian ★★★★★ The Stage
Matthew Andrews
www.suemaclaine.com
Age suitability: 16+ Performance: 8pm Tickets: £14 (concessions £12)
// Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
12 13
MONDAY 11 – TUESDAY 12 JULY Developing Artists present Refuge Productions
Queens of Syria
‘I have a scream I want the world to hear’ First staged in Amman in 2013, and the subject of an award winning documentary, Queens of Syria is an adaptation of Euripides anti-war tragedy, The Trojan Women. Performed by an all-female cast of Syrian refugees, the production skilfully amalgamates the women’s own narratives of bitter exile and ferocious war into the ancient Greek text. Footage from the documentary is fused with the stage play for the first time to create a powerful, extraordinary and unique piece of theatre. These are not the voices of political commentators or journalists, but of ordinary women whose lives have been turned upside down by the turmoil of the Syrian conflict. The stories of these women need to be heard. Queens of Syria comes to the UK for a three week run in 2016. This will be a lifechanging opportunity for the refugees themselves, and an eye-opening experience for British audiences who will hear first-hand the harsh realities of life as a refugee. www.developingartists.org.uk Age Suitability:16+ Performance:8pm 7.30pm Performances: Tickets:£20 £14(concessions (concessions £10) Tickets: £15)
// Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
SATURDAY 25 JUNE
THURSDAY 14 JULY
International Brecht Society Symposium 2016
Theatre Ad Infinitum
Fatzer: Downfall of an Egoist The North Wall hosts the premiere of an English translation of Brecht’s dramatic fragment: Fatzer: Downfall of an Egoist. The work, in a new version by Tom Kuhn, follows four deserters from the First World War, who make their way back behind friendly lines. They eke out a life underground, daring only to make occasional forays out in search of food.
Bucket List Bucket List tells the story of Mexican orphan, Milagros, her journey from the sweatshops of Cuidad Acuña to New York University, and what happens when the promise of a better life begins to unravel. Part rags-to-riches, part revenge story, Bucket List utilises an extreme style of physical storytelling, live instrumental music and song, to explore themes of social mobility, neo-colonialism and freedom versus fate in modern Mexico.
The social and psychological tensions played out within the group, and the contrary pulls between collaborative action and extreme egotism, give unexpected hints of Beckett and Sartre, rather than the more traditional Brecht.
See this work-in-progress performance of Theatre Ad Infinitum’s latest production before its premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in August.
Performance: 7.30pm Visit: http://brecht.mml.ox.ac.uk/ ibs-symposium to book tickets
Age Suitability:14+ Performance: 7.30pm Tickets: £10 (concessions £8)
// Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
ArtsLab
14 15
FRIDAY 12 – SATURDAY 13 AUGUST
Summer Residency Showcase Every summer, The North Wall auditions hundreds of young theatre artists from across the UK to take part in ArtsLab, our residential programme for emerging talent. Over the course of three weeks, the participants are partnered with a team of professionals to explore new ideas and sow the seeds of new work. This year, we are running two projects simultaneously, including our first ever opera residency.
Olivier award-winning OperaUpClose will lead a group of young singers, dancers, designers and musicians to create a genuinely frightening and suspenseful version of Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle – combining opera with elements of the horror film genre, re-invented so that it interacts excitingly with audiences in small theatre spaces. At the same time, an ensemble of young actors will work with the in-house artistic team at the North Wall on the development of a new piece of contemporary writing. Come and see a work-in-progress performance of both shows.
Performances: 7pm Tickets: £5
// Booking: 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
WEDNESDAY 27 APRIL – SATURDAY 21 MAY
WEDNESDAY 25 MAY – SATURDAY 11 JUNE
Hugo Powell
Clive Wright:
Shapes and Meanings: A Retrospective Powell’s sculpture explores themes of spirituality, symbolism, nature and form, working in stone, clay, wood, bronze, and using found objects. This retrospective brings together work from his whole career for the first time, from early abstractions in wood, through to the magnificent bronze “Dancing Phoenix” completed two weeks before his death in 2014, aged 94. Exhibited alongside the sculpture are sketches from his time as a field nurse and conscientious objector in the Second World War. Powell’s work has been selected for the Henry Moore Institute’s archive and is represented in several respected private collections, including an early self-portrait in the Ruth Borchard Collection. This exhibition showcases the career of a dedicated and passionate sculptor.
A Sideways Look
This is Clive Wright’s fifteenth solo exhibition. Over time the look of his pictures has inevitably changed, although his core interests remain unaltered. The bold paintings in this exhibition give an immediate impression of exuberance; closer examination of the large canvases often reveals a more complex and unsettling picture. Clive regularly depicts the somewhat quirky events and people that he sees in the town where he lives. He regards these as little celebrations of local character. Other works reflect his interest in national and international events. Occasionally the two themes fuse but, whatever the subject, the viewer is always aware of his love of seductive colour and lively composition.
// Gallery: Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm 01865 319450 or www.thenorthwall.com
Exhibitions
16 17
TUESDAY 14 JUNE – SATURDAY 2 JULY
TUESDAY 2 – FRIDAY 26 AUGUST
St Edward’s Summer Exhibition and Leavers’ Show
Sonia Boué, Claudia Figueiredo and Rose Wallace: RE:collections
The grand finale of a year’s work by the students of St Edward’s School celebrating the successes of every year group from the Third to the Sixth Form in this extravaganza of creativity. Showcasing everything from portraits to prints and ceramics to still life, this intimate Summer Exhibition will leave you just as awe-inspired as its London big brother.
Three artists whose practice explores narratives. Recovering memory through artefacts and presenting contrasting responses in paint, ceramics and print. Sonia Boué: Story telling around objects allows Sonia to be both autobiographical and to comment on the wider picture as she sees it. Disparate fragments of experience, memory and observation become ‘fixed’ on a surface in a work providing layers or snatches of meaning. Claudia Figueiredo paints and collages on wood, appropriating old and making new surfaces. Colour and form and texture are captured on the flat plane, memories are jogged and new narratives made. Rose Wallace CPA: These unique ceramic figures are crafted from casts of contemporary packaging and discarded domestic ephemera. Quietly narrative, they capture the minutiae of modern life.
// Gallery: Mon-Fri: 10am-4pm, Sat: 12pm-4pm // www.thenorthwall.com
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OXFORD CITY CENTRE 1 mile
Parking: Two public car parks are five minutes’ walk from the North Wall (see map). There is limited on-street parking in South Parade. Park and Ride: from Pear Tree or Water Eaton until 11pm, Mon-Sat.
By train: Oxford and Oxford Parkway stations are both two miles away from The North Wall. By bus: Buses run frequently to Summertown from Oxford City Centre. The bus stop is South Parade. For more info on travel and parking visit www.summertown.info
Access: The North Wall has full disabled access and facilities. We also have infra-red and audio-loop systems for people with hearing difficulties.
Booking Information Groups One ticket is free with every ten purchased. Concessions Where indicated, these apply to schoolchildren, full-time students, UB40s, over 60s and registered disabled. The carer for a wheelchair user receives a free ticket.
School Groups £7.50 tickets on selected shows. Accompanying staff members go free. Portabello Bar and Grill South Parade
Exclusive to North Wall ticket holders ….why not take advantage of a great offer from our friends and partners at Portabello Bar and Grill on South Parade. Receive 25% off the food bill when you present your tickets for the evening’s performance. Give them a call
01865 559653 to book your pre- or post- theatre meal. www.portabellorestaurant.co.uk
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Open: Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm and from 5pm on performance days. Saturdays 12pm – 4pm. Closed Sundays and Bank Holidays.
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The North Wall Arts Centre
Box office: 01865 319450
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The North Wall Arts Centre South Parade, Summertown, Oxford OX2 7JN
Online booking: www.thenorthwall.com Email: contact@thenorthwall.com
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For North Wall theatre-goers Present your tickets to receive 25% off your food bill on the day of your performance.
To book, call 01865 559653 or visit portabellorestaurant.co.uk 7 South Parade, Summertown, Oxford, OX2 7JL
At a glance event guide DATE Apr 15
EVENT Music Oft Hath Such A Charm
CATEGORY PAGE Opera 3
Apr 19 - 20
Mark Thomas: Trespass
Comedy
3
Apr 30 - May 2
NT Connections
Community
4
May 4
Nijinsky’s Last Jump
Dance
5
May 6
Am I Dead Yet?
Theatre
5
May 12 - 13
Fake It ’til You Make It
Theatre
6
May 14
CALM: Save the Male!
Music
7
May 15
Meadow
Family
8
May 19
Blind Man’s Song
Theatre
9
May 25
Underneath
Theatre
10
Jun 1 - 4
Colin and Katya
Theatre
11
Jun 8 - 11
Measure for Measure
Theatre
11
Jun 16
There’s No Way Of Knowing
Community
Jun 21
Can I Start Again Please
Theatre
12
Jun 25
Fatzer: Downfall of an Egoist
Theatre
14
Jul 11 - 12
Queens of Syria
Theatre
13
Jul 14
Bucket List
Theatre
14
Aug 12 - 13
ArtsLab Summer Residency
ArtsLab
15
Exhibitions
8
Apr 27 - May 21 Hugo Powell
16
May 25 - Jun 11 Clive Wright
16
Jun 14 - Jul 2
St Edward’s School
17
Aug 2 - 26
Sonia Boué, Claudia Figueiredo and Rose Wallace
17