Nigel Lindsay Joins Sarah Ridgeway in HighTide's Production of Al Smith's Debut Play: HARROGATE

Casting was announced today for the HighTide production of Al Smith's debut play Harrogate. Nigel Lindsay joins Sarah Ridgeway, who starred in the original production at HighTide Festival 2015, for the London premiere at The Royal Court Theatre from 20 - 29 October and UK Tour. Richard Twyman, the newly appointed Artistic Director of English Touring Theatre, returns to direct Harrogate, which had an acclaimed sell-out run at the influential annual HighTide Festival in Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

"I dream about you young. When I'm asleep you're as young as the girl I met."

Time passes. Roles Change. People become different versions of themselves.
From lover, to father, to husband, one man craves the past but knows his desire for it will destroy his family.

"Each one of us is gonna sit down one day and not be able to stand up, like we've disappeared to ourselves."

Harrogate is Al Smith's debut professional production. His other credits for theatre include: Diary of a Madman (Traverse, Gate Theatre); Enola; Radio; The Bird (Underbelly); The Astronaut Wives Club (Soho Theatre). He is currently under commission to The Royal Court Theatre and the Traverse Theatre. Writing for television includes: Shakespeare Live!; The Coroner; Father Brown; The Cut; Africa; Holby City; EastEnders. Writing for radio includes: LifeLines; Duchamp's Urinal; Everyday Time Machines; Life in the Freezer; The Postman of Good Hope; Radio. Al was awarded the BFI / Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Prize for Halflife, and was a recipient of the Pearson Playwriting Bursary at the Finborough Theatre.

Nigel Lindsay plays Him. Theatre credits include: Guys and Dolls (Phoenix, West End); Bull (Young Vic); Speed-the-Plow (Playhouse); A Small Family Business; The Pillowman; London Cuckolds; Blue Remembered Hills; Dealer's Choice (also Vaudeville) (National Theatre); Richard II (RSC); The Same Deep Water as Me; The Real Thing (also Albery and Broadway); Morphic Resonance (Donmar Warehouse); Shrek the Musical (Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Olivier and WhatsOnStage nomination for Best Actor in a Musical); Broken Glass (WhatsOnStage award for Best Supporting Actor); Anna Karenina (Tricycle Theatre); Sucker Punch; The Woman Before; Push Up; King Lear (Royal Court); Under the Blue Sky (Duke of Yorks); The Homecoming; Awake and Sing; The Earthly Paradise; Romance; The Tower (Almeida); Guys and Dolls (Piccadilly); World Music; Hamlet (Sheffield Crucible); The Tempest (Old Vic); Bedroom Farce (Aldwych); Katerina (Lyric Hammersmith). Nigel's film credits include: Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa; Four Lions (nomination for Best British Comedy Performance in Film); Scoop (directed by Woody Allen); Rogue Trader; and his television credits include: Victoria; You, Me and the Apocalypse; Poirot; The Tunnel; Rome; Spooks; I'm Alan Partridge; Waking the Dead. Future productions include: White Gold (BBC); Innocent; Unforgotten II (ITV).

Sarah Ridgeway plays Her. Sarah's TV credits include: Miss Marple (ITV); The Crimson Petal and The White (BBC); The Suspicions of Mister Whicher (ITV); Call The Midwife; Making of a Lady; Holby City. Theatre credits include: The Acrington Pals; You Can't Take it With You (Royal Exchange); Sucker Punch (The Royal Court) Days of Significance; Titus Andronicus; A Mad World My Masters; Candide (RSC), The Cherry Orchard; (Young Vic); Forget Me Not (HighTide, Bush Theatre); Fury (Soho Theatre).

Richard Twyman has been appointed Artistic Director for English Touring Theatre, where he will start in November 2016. Previously, Richard was Associate Director (International) at The Royal Court Theatre from 2013 - 2016, where his directing work includes Torn, You For Me For You; Fireworks; The Djinns of Eidgah and PIIGS. His other theatre credits include Harrogate (HighTide), The Djinns of Eidgah (Rage, Mumbai/Writers' Bloc Festival), Henry IV Pt II (RSC), Ditch (Old Vic Tunnels/HighTide), Dr Marigold & Mr Chops (Theatre Royal Bath & UK Tour), Sixty-Six Books (Bush Theatre) and Give Me Your Hand (Irish Rep, New York - nomination for the Drama Desk Award 2012 for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Experience). Between 2003 and 2008 he worked at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was Associate Director to Michael Boyd on the multi-award winning Histories Cycle for which he directed Henry IV Pt II. The production, alongside the Histories, was honoured with three Olivier Awards (2009 Best Revival, Best Ensemble, Best Costume), the Evening Standard Editor's Choice Award, and named by Michael Billington as his productions of the decade 2000-2010. Richard also works as a dance dramaturg, where his credits include Bayadère-The Ninth Life (Shobana Jeyasingh Dance, Linbury ROH), Please be Seated (New Movement Collective, Royal Festival Hall), Nest (New Movement Collective, Stone Nest) and Who Killed Bambi (Renaud Wiser Dance Company).

Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is the writers' theatre. It is a leading force in world theatre, finding writers and producing new plays that are original and contemporary. The Royal Court strives to be at the centre of civic, political, domestic and international life, giving writers a home to tackle big ideas and world events and tell great stories. The Royal Court commissions and develops an extraordinary quantity of new work reading over 3000 scripts a year and annually producing around 14 world or UK premieres in its two auditoria at Sloane Square in London. Over 200,000 people visit the Royal Court each year and many thousands more see our work elsewhere through transfers to the West End and New York, national and international tours, residencies across London and site-specific work, including recent projects in Peckham, Pimlico and Tottenham. The Royal Court's extensive development activity encompasses a diverse range of writers and artists and includes an ongoing programme of writers' attachments, readings, workshops, and playwriting groups. Twenty years of pioneering work around the world means the Royal Court has relationships with writers on every continent. The Royal Court opens its doors to radical thinking and provocative discussion, and to the unheard voices and free thinkers that, through their writing, change our way of seeing.

HOUSE
house supports venues across South East England by improving the range, quality and scale of theatre presented, and exists to build the audience for Contemporary Theatre throughout the region. house is developing the theatre ecology of the South East by hosting training and networking opportunities, brokering conversations between companies and venues, and developing the house website as a digital resource for the professional theatre sector. It is funded by Arts Council England and is delivered by Farnham Maltings. housetheatre.org.uk

HIGHTIDE
HighTide is one of the UK's leading producers of new plays, and one of the few professional theatres focused on the production of new playwrights. Now in its tenth year, HighTide has premiered more than sixty productions by now major playwrights including Ella Hickson, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, Nick Payne, Adam Brace, Beth Steel, Sam Holcroft, Luke Barnes, Vickie Donoghue, Anders Lustgarten, Jack Thorne and Joel Horwood. www.hightide.org.uk

Royal Court Theatre
20 - 29 October

Performance schedule:
Thursday 20 October 7:45pm
Friday 21 October 7:45pm
Saturday 22 October 3:00pm
Monday 24 October 7:00pm (Press Performance)
Tuesday 25 October 7:45pm **
Wednesday 26 October 7:45pm
Thursday 27 October 3:00pm
Thursday 27 October 7:45pm
Friday 28 October 7:45pm
Saturday 29 October 3:00pm
Saturday 29 October 7:45pm

** THE BIG IDEA
Al Smith in conversation
Tuesday 25 October post-show
The playwright talks with Royal Court Associate Director Lucy Morrison.
Free with a ticket to that evening's performance.

Tickets: £20
www.royalcourttheatre.com

UK TOUR
1 - 16 November
Farnham Maltings - 1 November - 7:30pm
artsdepot, London - 2 November - 7:30pm
Harlow Playhouse - 3 November - 8:00pm
The North Wall, Oxford - 4 November - 8:00pm
The Marlowe Studio, Canterbury - 6 November -8:00pm
The Garage, Norwich - 10 November - 7:30pm
Didcot Cornerstone - 11 November - 7:30pm
Theatre Royal Bury St. Edmunds - 14 November - 7:30pm
Cambridge Junction - 16 November - 7:30pm

Tickets: Pricing differs with each venue.
www.hightide.org.uk

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