A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT Returns to Traverse Theatre

The ever popular A Play, A Pie and A Pint series is once again on the menu at the Traverse Theatre this spring. Presenting five plays over five weeks, A Play, A Pie and A Pint invites lunchtime theatre-goers to see a new play with a pie and pint included in the ticket price.

This Spring, the series features three plays first heard as part of the 2014 Traverse Breakfast Plays from former Traverse Fifty writers, Martin McCormick, Alison Carr and Tim Primrose. New work comes to the Traverse Theatre this season from Wales with Leviathan by Matthew Trevannion in collaboration with Sherman Cymru and Take the Rubbish Out, Sasha from Ukrainian playwright, Natalia Vorozhbyt in association with the National Theatre of Scotland.

Traverse Theatre Artistic Director Orla O'Loughlin said: "A Play, A Pie and A Pint at the Traverse Theatre has a reputation for presenting some of the most exciting, raw new writing. With more established writers like Matthew Trevannion and Natalia Vorozhbyt making their Traverse debuts alongside emerging writers Martin McCormick, Alison Carr and Tim Primrose, all discovered in the Traverse Fifty, this season offers fresh, funny, vibrant work for our lunchtime audiences to enjoy."

Leviathan, in collaboration with Sherman Cymru, gets the season underway with a new play by Welsh playwright, Matthew Trevannion (Bruised). Three generations of women soak up the last of the sun's rays in their back garden in the Welsh Valleys, where underlying tensions between the three of them are brought to boiling point in this rich poetic drama. Leviathan is directed by Sherman Cymru Artistic Director Rachel O'Riordan.

Martin McCormick takes the audience to deserted Croy of 1982 in his play, The Day the Pope Emptied Croy. Two local boys are out to cause some trouble while everyone else has gone to see the Pope, but their adventure doesn't turn out quite as expected. The Day the Pope Emptied Croy is directed by Traverse Theatre Associate Director Emma Callander.

Presented in association with the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS), Take the Rubbish Out, Sasha by Ukrainian playwright Natalia Vorozhbyt is part of the NTS' International Plays from Ukraine and Russia. Set on the outskirts of Kiev, two women prepare a funeral meal for their beloved Sasha. Husband, stepfather, Army colonel, Sasha was all these things until he dropped stone cold dead on the bathroom floor. But Sasha isn't going without a fight. The curator of the NTS International Plays from Ukraine and Russia season, Nicola McCartney, directs Take the Rubbish Out, Sasha.

Presented in collaboration with Aberdeen Performing Arts, the penultimate week of the season sees Fat Alice by Alison Carr take to the Traverse stage, directed by Joe Douglas. Moira and Peter have been having an affair for a decade and the pressure is mounting. Something's got to give. And it does, when a crack in Moira's ceiling gives way to something no-one could have imagined.

On taking part in the project, writer Alison Carr said: "It's a real thrill to be part of my first A Play, A Pie and A Pint season. Traverse Breakfast Play audiences reacted brilliantly to Fat Alice last August. I'm looking forward to getting back to it and seeing the play fully realised. Alice is a big lass, it's not all as straightforward as it first seems, and I'm excited for audiences to meet her!"

The season closes with Tim Primrose's Broth set around an Edinburgh kitchen table, directed by Andy McNamee. Grandpa is unconscious on the kitchen table, while Grandma happily nibbles on a biscuit. This wild family comedy is a sharp take on the pressures of family life.