Traverse Theatre Announces Cast Of GUT

The centrepiece of the Traverse Theatre's Spring/Summer 2018 season, produced in association with the National Theatre of Scotland, Gut is the world premiere production of Frances Poet's debut full-length original play. Set to start rehearsals at the end of March, the Traverse is excited to reveal the four actors who will make up the cast.

A taut, 'stop you in your tracks' psychological thriller exploring our instincts when it comes to who we can trust with our children, Gut centres on parents Maddy and Rory (played by Kirsty Stuart and Peter Collins respectively), who are devoted to keeping their three-year-old son happy and safe. But when an everyday visit to a supermarket café with his Granny, Morvern (Lorraine McIntosh), involving a helpful stranger (George Anton), turns into a far more troubling incident, their trust even in those closest to them is shattered.

Fear and doubt consume the new parents, until they reach a savage breaking point. A tense and emotionally provocative work, Gut ultimately explores the idea that if we as parents succumb to our anxieties, we could become a more significant and tangible threat to our children than the faceless strangers of our nightmares.

Written by award-winning playwright Frances Poet (Adam) and shortlisted for the 2015 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, Gut will be directed by Traverse Associate Director Zinnie Harris (Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland's 'Best Director' 2016-17).

Get an exclusive first look at the trailer: here.

Frances Poet, playwright, says, 'One of the most enjoyable things about developing Gut so far has been the conversations it has provoked from the various creatives involved. The questions the play asks about parenting seem to divide people and everybody has their own child-rearing anecdotes to share, whether as children or parents. It's going to be thrilling to get into the rehearsal room to dissect the themes more thoroughly and to hone this thriller into a really exciting and stimulating piece of theatre. Then I'll be positioning myself in the bar after the show hoping to catch more of these conversations, debates and anecdotes, this time from the audience.'

Zinnie Harris, director, says, 'I am delighted to be working with the Traverse to bring Gut to the stage. Frances Poet has written a wonderful play, about modern parenting and how we view risk. I'm hoping it will provoke debate for the audience, particularly when we are constantly reminded of danger to children in the media. The play is complicated, thorny and theatrical like all the best plays and it's such a treat for me to be working on it with Frances and this wonderful cast.'

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