Chris Foxon's Adaptation of Robert Westall's THE WATCH HOUSE Will Embark On UK Tour

Papatango has announced a new Autumn tour of Chris Foxon's adaptation of The Watch House, based on the novel by Robert Westall. This will follow the opening of Some Demon by Laura Waldren – this year's winner of the Papatango New Writing Prize, at the Arcola Theatre in June.

The 12-venue engagement opens at Alnwick Playhouse on 24 October, touring to Poole, Dorchester, Swanage, Lyme Regis, Plymouth, Exeter, Leeds, Marsden, Hexham, and Middlesbrough before completing its run at Cullercoats Watch House on 16 November, with a special staged reading as a fundraiser for the Grade II listed life brigade look out, now community hub, part of the local Tyneside maritime network which inspired Westall's novel.

 

Chris Foxon said today, “Robert Westall was the first writer to win two Carnegie Medals, yet he often seems to be overlooked. Too Geordie? Too working-class? I firmly believe he should be regarded as a national treasure - so a national tour feels only fitting. I can't wait to visit the people and places touched on in his story of a seaside haunting.”

 

Published by Methuen, The Watch House premiered at Laurels Theatre in Westall's native North Tyneside in December 2023, enjoying a sold-out run. The production was made with support from Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade – an iconic heritage centre and setting of the story, which has a significant place in the UK's maritime history as the forerunner of today's Coastguard.

Once a coastguard station renowned for daring rescues, the old Watch House is now all but abandoned. Just like Anne, dumped here while her parents sort their divorce. She's never felt more alone. But she isn't…

Sunk deep in the past is a secret which threatens everything. Only Anne can stop it. Catapulted on an adventure through graveyards, discos and shipwrecks, she and her eccentric crew must uncover the truth before it's too late.

Olivier Award-winners Papatango present a funny, thrilling adaptation of Robert Westall's classic ghost story.

Robert Westall (1929 – 1993) made his debut with The Machine Gunners in 1975 – winning the Carnegie Medal and establishing his name internationally. He won the Carnegie Medal for a second time in 1982 with The Scarecrows, becoming the first writer to win the award twice. He also won the Guardian Award in 1990 for The Kingdom by the Sea and a Smarties Prize in 1989 for Blitzcat. His books have been translated into many languages and adapted for television. The story of his childhood is told in his autobiographical writings The Making of Me.

Chris Foxon co-runs the multi-award-winning Papatango Theatre Company. In 2022 he was named in The Stage 25 list of leading theatre-makers; in the same year Papatango won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre. As a writer, Foxon was published in the 2023 Crossing The Tees short story anthology, and is the co-author of the bestselling book Being A Playwright: A Career Guide For Writers (Nick Hern Books). As a producer, he has staged acclaimed world premières including Old Bridge - winner of Olivier, Critics' Circle and two OffWestEnd Awards (Bush Theatre), Some of Us Exist in the Future, The Silence and the Noise and Ghost Stories from an Old Country (UK tours), Shook (Southwark Playhouse/UK tour, also broadcast on Sky Arts), The Funeral Director (Southwark Playhouse/UK tour), Hanna (Arcola Theatre/UK tour), After Independence - winner of the Alfred Fagon Audience Award (Arcola Theatre/BBC Radio 4), The Transatlantic Commissions (Old Vic Theatre), Donkey Heart (Old Red Lion Theatre/West End), The Fear of Breathing (Finborough Theatre/Akasaka Red Theatre, Tokyo), The Keepers of Infinite Space (Park Theatre), and Happy New (West End), and the forthcoming Some Demon (Arcola Theatre). He has lectured at universities including Oxford and York. He is a trustee of November Club, a performing arts charity in his native Northumberland, and lives in North Tyneside, where The Watch House is set.

George Turvey co-founded Papatango in 2007 and became its sole Artistic Director in January 2013. In 2022 he was awarded the Genesis Foundation Prize and was also named in The Stage 25. As a dramaturg, he has led the development of all of Papatango's productions, including the Olivier Award-winning Old Bridge. Direction for Papatango includes Here (Southwark Playhouse, nominated for 3 OffWestEnd Awards), The Silence and the Noise (UK tour), Shook (Southwark Playhouse/UK tour, nominated for 7 OffWestEnd Awards including Best Director and Best Production, also broadcast on Sky Arts), Hanna (Arcola Theatre/UK tour), The Annihilation of Jessie Leadbeater (ALRA), After Independence, winner of the Alfred Fagon Audience Award (Arcola Theatre/BBC Radio 4), Leopoldville (Tristan Bates Theatre), and Angel (Pleasance London/Tristan Bates Theatre). He has appeared on stage and screen throughout the UK and internationally, including the lead roles in the world première of Arthur Miller's No Villain (Old Red Lion Theatre/West End), and Batman Live World Arena Tour. He is the co-author of Being A Playwright: A Career Guide For Writers.

Tour Dates

Alnwick Playhouse

24 October

https://alnwickplayhouse.co.uk/ / 01665 660550

 

Lighthouse, Poole

26 October

https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/ / 01202 280000

 

Dorchester Arts

27 October

https://www.dorchesterarts.org.uk/2024/04/16/sun-27-october-the-watch-house/ / 01305 266926

 

The Mowlem Theatre, Swanage

29 October

https://themowlem.com/ / 0333 666 3366

 

Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis

30 October

https://www.marinetheatre.com/the-watch-house/ / 01308 424901

 

Barbican Theatre, Plymouth

1 – 2 November

https://barbicantheatre.co.uk/

 

Barnfield Theatre, Exeter

5 – 6 November

https://exeternorthcott.co.uk/get-creative/barnfield-theatre/ / 01392 72 63 63

 

Leeds Playhouse

8 – 9 November

https://www.leedsplayhouse.org.uk/ / 0113 213 7700

 

Marsden Mechanics

12 November

https://www.marsdenmechanics.co.uk/ / 01484 844587

 

Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Hexham

13 - 14 November

https://www.queenshall.co.uk/whats-on/the-watch-house / 01434 652477

 

The Crypt, Middlesbrough Town Hall

15 November

www.middlesbroughtownhall.co.uk/event/the-watch-house / 01642 729 729

 

Cullercoats Watch House

16 November

https://cullercoatswatchhouse.com/

 

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