Lyric Hammersmith Announces New Season

The Lyric Hammersmith has announced its new season running May 2017 to January 2018 including three major new productions: a UK premiere, a new adaptation of a classic and the return of the now traditional Lyric pantomime.

In June, the Lyric will present the UK Premiere of Ferdinand von Schirach's Terror in a translation by David Tushingham, a gripping and timely play that has been stirring debate around the globe. The audience are at the centre of this courtroom drama, voting to decide the verdict at each performance. Guilty. Not Guilty. You Decide.

In the autumn, Lesley Sharp takes to the Lyric Stage playing Irina Arkadina in a vibrant new adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull by Lyric Associate Artist Simon Stephens.

The festive season will see the return of the much loved Lyric pantomime with a brand new production of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Before then, the previously announced Paul Auster's City of Glass will extend its run at the Lyric Hammersmith by a week running until Saturday 20 May.

In May, Amici, the Lyric's resident dance theatre company which integrates able-bodied and disabled performers, will reprise two past productions Tightrope and 35 Amici Drive, playing in repertory for the first time as a company.

The Lyric Hammersmith's Artistic Director Sean Holmes said:

'This Lyric season offers a unique series of audience experiences. From the groundbreaking visual imagery of City of Glass to deciding the fate of the accused in Terror; from Chekhov as it's never been seen before to the glorious communion between actors and audience that is the hallmark of the Lyric panto. This season has it all.'

Paul Auster's

City of Glass

Adapted by Duncan Macmillan

from the first novel of The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster

and the graphic novel by Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli

A 59 Productions, Lyric Hammersmith and HOME production with Karl Sydow

Thursday 20 April - Saturday 20 May 2017

City of Glass, the first part of Paul Auster's landmark series of novels, The New York Trilogy, will be brought vividly to life on the Lyric Stage in an original stage adaptation by Tony Award-winning 59 Productions and Olivier Award-nominated playwright Duncan Macmillan.

In 2017 Auster turns 70 and The New York Trilogy, his first ever work of prose fiction, marks three decades in publication.

"It was a wrong number that started it." When reclusive crime writer Daniel Quinn receives a mysterious phone call from a man seeking a private detective in the middle of the night, he quickly and unwittingly becomes the protagonist in a real-life thriller of his own. He falls under the spell of a strange and seductive woman, who engages him to protect her young husband from his sociopathic father. As the familiar territory of the noir detective genre gives way to something altogether more disturbing and unpredictable, Quinn becomes consumed by his mission, and begins to lose his grip on reality. Will he be drawn deeper into the abyss, or might unmasking this dark story of familial abuse and religious conspiracy provide the purpose and meaning he needs to rebuild his shattered life?

Featuring design inspired by the acclaimed graphic novel by Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli, this brand new production will feature cutting edge projection-mapping, which combined with stagecraft, magic and illusion will immerse audiences into Quinn's increasingly dystopic and fragmented world.

Written by Paul Auster

Adapted by Duncan Macmillan

Directed by Leo Warner

Set Design by Jenny Melville

Video Design by Lysander Ashton

Lighting by Matt Daw

Movement by Kim Brandstrup

Sound by Gareth Fry

Original music by Nick Powell

Costume, hair and make-up by Molly Einchcomb

Casting by Julia Horan CDG

Cast

Vivienne Acheampong

Mark Edel-Hunt

Chris New

Jack Tarlton

Paul Auster, Writer

Paul Auster's City of Glass, written in 1981/2 and first published in the United States in 1985, appeared in the UK as the initial volume in The New York Trilogy (1987). One of the great masterpieces of contemporary American fiction, it has been translated into more than 40 languages and has never been out of print in the past three decades. Auster is the best-selling author of Winter Journal, Sunset Park, Man in the Dark, The Brooklyn Follies, The Book of Illusions, The New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006 he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature and inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Among his other honours are the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke and the Prix Medicis Etranger for Leviathan. His latest novel, 4 3 2 1, an epic story of America in the 1950 and 60s, is just published in January 2017.

59 Productions is the multi award-winning company of artists behind the video design of the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games, the Tony Award-winning An American in Paris, globe-trotting smash hit, War Horse, and the design of record-breaking David Bowie is exhibition. 59 Productions combine technology and art to tell amazing stories. Led by Directors Leo Warner, Mark Grimmer, Lysander Ashton and Richard Slaney, they are world leaders specialising in design for stage and live events. Since 2006, 59 Productions has been involved in more than 150 productions across the world at venues including the National Theatre, Royal Court, Young Vic, the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, New York's Metropolitan Opera as well as at theatre festivals in Edinburgh, where they are Associate Artists to the International Festival until 2018, Salzburg, Berlin and Avignon.

Duncan Macmillan, Director

Duncan is a writer and director. Theatre credits include: People Places and Things (National Theatre/Wyndham's Theatre); 1984, adapt. George Orwell (Headlong/Nottingham Playhouse/Almeida/West End and international tour, co-adapted with Rob Icke); Every Brilliant Thing (Paines Plough/Pentabus Theatre/Edinburgh Festival/UK and international tours); 2071, co-written with Chris Rapley (Royal Court Theatre/Hamburg Schauspielhaus); The Forbidden Zone (Salzburg Festival and Schaubühne, Berlin); Wunschloses Unglück, adapt. Peter Handke (Burgtheater Vienna); Reise durch die Nacht, adapt. Friederike Mayröcker (SchauspielhausKöln, Festival d'Avignon, Teatertreffen); Lungs (Roundabout season at Paines Plough and Sheffield Theatres/Studio Theatre, Washington DC, US) and Monster (Royal Exchange). He was the recipient of two awards in the inaugural Bruntwood Playwriting Competition in 2006. Other awards include the UK Theatre Best Director (with Robert Icke), 2014; Best New Play at the Off West End Awards 2013 and the Nestroypreis for Best German Language Production, 2013. He has twice been nominated for an Olivier Award in the Best New Play category. His work with director Katie Mitchell has been selected for Theatertreffen and the Avignon Festival, and continues to run in rep and tour the world.

35 Amici Drive and Tightrope

Amici Dance Theatre Company

35 Amici Drive - Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 May

Tightrope - Friday 26 May and Saturday 27 May

Back by popular demand and in the great tradition of English repertory theatre, Amici Dance Theatre Company will reprise their spectacular shows Tightrope and 35 Amici Drive in one week at the Lyric.

Tightrope

'Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls the circus is about to begin!'

Tightrope, Amici's 30th anniversary show, is a touching story of an old circus company who have stuck together, struggling against the odds to survive, but will this be their final performance?

35 Amici Drive

'Sound the trumpet, Bang the drum, We're not moving, Let them come!'

In Amici's 35th anniversary show, first staged in 2015, the residents of 35 Amici Drive are under threat of eviction from their homes. Will they overcome in their struggle to stay or will they face the wrecking ball?

The Lyric's resident dance theatre company, Amici, integrate able-bodied and disabled artists and performers to challenge conventional attitudes to disability and the arts.

Artistic Director and Choreographer Wolfgang Stange
Director and Set Design Michael Vale
Original Music Composition Nao Masuda
Live Music Nao Masuda and Jenny Adejayan
Assistant Choreographer Colm Gallagher
Costume and Design by Tina Bicat
Lighting by Phil Supple
Devised, Written & Performed by Amici Dance Theatre Company
Additional Script by Michael Vale and Chrissie Kugele
Produced by Turtle Key Arts

Terror

By Ferdinand von Schirach

Translated by David Tushingham

A Lyric Hammersmith production

Wednesday 14 June - Saturday 15 July 2017

Guilty. Not Guilty. You Decide.

Enter the courtroom. Hear the evidence. Make your judgement.

A hijacked plane is heading towards a packed football stadium. Ignoring orders to the contrary a fighter pilot shoots the plane down killing 164 people to save 70,000.

Put on trial and charged with murder, the fate of the pilot is in the audience's hands.

The Lyric presents the UK Premiere of Ferdinand von Schirach's thrilling courtroom drama. A worldwide phenomenon that has been stirring debate across the globe. The production is directed by the Lyric's Artistic Director, Sean Holmes and designed by Olivier Award-winner Anna Fleischle.

Written by Ferdinand von Schirach

Translated by David Tushingham

Directed by Sean Holmes

Set Design by Anna Fleischle

Costume Design by Loren Elstein

Lighting by Joshua Carr

Sound by Nick Manning

Casting by Stuart Burt CDG

Casting to be announced

Ferdinand von Schirach, Writer

Ferdinand von Schirach is a German lawyer and writer. Theatre includes: Terror (Deutsches Theatre, Berlin/national tour/international venues including Japan, Denmark, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Hungary). Books include: Crime, Guilt and The Collini Case. Short stories and essays include: Carl Tohrberg's Christmas, The Girl Who Wasn't There and The Dignity is Violable.

David Tushingham, Translator

David Tushingham is a dramaturg and translator. He has worked extensively as a curator for European festivals including the Wiener Festwochen, the Ruhrtriennale, Theater der Welt and the Salzburg Festival, commissioning or co-commissioning works by artists as diverse as Forced Entertainment, Ivo Van Hove, theatre-rites, Lemi Ponifasio/MAU and 1927.

As a dramaturg he has been responsible for such high profile world premieres as Simon Stephens's Pornography, directed by Sebastian Nübling (Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg/Festival Theaterformen) The Book of Disquiet by Michel van der Aa with Klaus Maria Brandauer (Linz 09) and The Forbidden Zone directed by Katie Mitchell with text by Duncan Macmillan (Salzburg Festival/Schaubühne Berlin) as well as Julian Crouch/Brian Mertes's new production of Jedermann for the Salzburg Festival in 2013, which is still in the repertoire today.

As a translator, David Tushingham specialises in the work of contemporary German playwrights. His most recent translation of Roland Schimmelpfennig's Winter Solstice (ATC/Orange Tree) was a sell-out hit earlier this year. His other translations include Idomeneus (Gate), The Golden Dragon, Jeff Koons and Arabian Night (ATC), The Woman Before, Mr Kolpert and Waiting Room Germany (Royal Court), Innocence (Arcola), Nordost (Company of Angels), Land Without Words (Edinburgh) and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (Southwark Playhouse). He has also adapted Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories for the National Theatre.

Sean Holmes, Director

Sean is Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith. For the Lyric: Shopping and f-ing, Bugsy Malone, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Herons, Secret Theatre Shows 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7, Cinderella, Desire Under the Elms, Morning, Have I None, Saved, Blasted - winner Olivier Award 2011, Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre, A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky, Ghost Stories (also Duke of York's/Liverpool Playhouse/Panasonic Theatre, Toronto/Arts Theatre), Three Sisters and Comedians. In 2016 Sean directed The Plough and the Stars at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin (also Irish/US Tour). Sean was an Associate Director of the Oxford Stage Company from 2001 to 2006 and has also worked at the National Theatre, RSC, Tricycle, Royal Court, Donmar Warehouse, Chichester Festival Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.

The Seagull

by Anton Chekhov in a new adaptation by Simon Stephens

A Lyric Hammersmith production

Tuesday 03 October - Saturday 04 November 2017

Unrequited love. Creative jealousy. Guns. Vodka and Art.

Chekhov's celebrated masterpiece is given vibrant new life in this dynamic new adaptation by Olivier-award winning playwright Simon Stephens directed by Sean Holmes and starring Lesley Sharp as Irina Arkadina.

Switching effortlessly between the ridiculous and the profound The Seagull forensically examines the transcendence and destructiveness of love. The burning need to create Art and how harshly that need can be crushed permeates this classic play.

Written by Anton Chekhov

Adapted by Simon Stephens

Literal Translation by Helen Rappaport

Directed by Sean Holmes

Design by Hyemi Shin

Lighting by Anna Watson

Sound by Pete Malkin

Casting by Stuart Burt CDG

Further casting to be announced

Lesley Sharp, Irina Arkadina

Lesley Sharp's extensive career has seen her work across television, film and theatre. Her film credits include Slapper and Me, Inkheart, Vera Drake, Cheeky, From Hell, The Full Monty BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress, Naked, Priest, Close My Eyes, The Rachel Papers, Rita, Sue and Bob Too and The Love Child. Her television work includes Three Girls (BBC), Scott & Bailey (ITV), Capital (BBC), Starlings (Baby Cow), The Shadow Line (Company Pictures), Whistle and I'll Come To You (BBC), Cranford (BBC), Poirot (ITV), Moving On (BBC), The Diary of Anne Frank (BBC), Dr. Who (BBC), Afterlife (ITV) RTS Television Award for Best Actress, Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, Planespotting (ITV), The Survivors (ITV), Carla (ITV), Carrie's War (BBC), Bob and Rose (ITV) Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress, BAFTA nomination for Best Actress, Clocking Off (Red Productions), Great Expectations (BBC), Playing The Field (Granada), Common as Muck (BBC). Her work in theatre includes A Taste of Honey (National Theatre), Ingredient X (Royal Court Theatre), Ghosts (West End), Little Voice (West End), Harper Regan (National Theatre), God Of Hell (Donmar Warehouse), Mother Courage and her Children (National Theatre), Uncle Vanya (National Theatre) Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, Murmuring Judges (National Theatre), Top Girls (Royal Court Theatre & Tour), Playing With Trains (RSC), Mary and Lizzie (RSC), Summerfolk (Chichester Festival Theatre), Our Country's Good (Royal Court Theatre), A Family Affair (Donmar Warehouse) Olivier Award nomination for Best Comedy Performance.

Simon Stephens, Writer

Simon is an award-winning playwright. For the Lyric: Herons, Morning (also Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Three Kingdoms (also Tallinn/Munich), A Thousand Stars that Explode in the Sky and Punk Rock - winner 2009 Manchester Evening News Award for Best Production (also Manchester Royal Exchange). Other theatre credits include: Fatherland (Manchester International Festival); The Threepenny Opera (National Theatre); Heisenberg (Manhattan Theatre Company); Obsession (Barbican/Toneelgroep Amsterdam); Song From Far Away, The Cherry Orchard, I Am The Wind (Young Vic); Carmen Disruption (Deutsches Schauspielhaus/Almeida Theatre); Nuclear War, Birdland, Wastwater - winner 2011 Theater Heute's Award, Motortown - winner 2007 Theater Heute's Award, Country Music, Herons, Bluebird (Royal Court); The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time - Winner Oliver and Tony Awards for Best New Play (National Theatre /Apollo /Gielgud /Barrymore Theatre, Broadway); A Doll's House (Young Vic/Duke Of York's); Pornography - winner 2008 Theater Heute's Award (Deutsches Schauspielhaus/Edinburgh Festival/Birmingham Rep/Tricycle Theatre); Sea Wall (Bush Theatre); Harper Regan, Port - winner 2001 Pearson Award for Best Play (Royal Exchange/National Theatre) and On The Shore Of The Wide World ­- winner 2005 Olivier Award for Best New Play (Royal Exchange). Film and television credits include: Dive, Pornography and Cargese. Radio credits include: Five Letters Home to Elizabeth and Digging. Simon is Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith and Associate Playwright at the Royal Court. He was also on the board for Paines Plough between 2009 and 2014, and was a Writers' Tutor for the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court between 2001 and 2005.

Jack and the Beanstalk

By Joel Horwood

Co-directed by Jude Christian and Sean Holmes

A Lyric Hammersmith production

Saturday 18 November 2017 - Saturday 6 January 2018

Join us as Jack and the Beanstalk gets the full Lyric treatment with anarchic humour, talking animals, songs for all ages, magic, sweets and snow.

Written by Joel Horwood

Co-directed by Jude Christian and Sean Holmes

Design by Jean Chan

Lighting by Tim Deiling

Sound by Nick Manning

Casting by Will Burton CDG

Casting to be announced

Joel Horwood, Writer

Joel is Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith. For the Lyric: Aladdin (2016), Secret Theatre: A Stab in the Dark, A Series of Increasingly Impossible Acts, Cinderella (2012) co-written with Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Dick Whittington (2010) co-written with Morgan Lloyd Malcolm. Other theatre credits include: Othello (dramaturgy - Sam Wanamaker Playhouse); The Little Match Girl (Shakespeare's Globe); I Want My Hat Back (National Theatre); The Little Mermaid (Bristol Old Vic Theatre); The Planet And Stuff (Polka Theatre); I Heart Peterborough (Soho Theatre);The Count Of Monte Cristo (West Yorkshire Playhouse); I Caught Crabs In Walberswick (The Pleasance/UK Tour/The Bush); Is Everyone OK? (Latitude Festival/UK Tour); Stoopud Fucken Animals (Traverse Theatre); Food (Traverse Theatre); and Mikey the Pikey (The Pleasance/UK tour).

Jude Christian, Co-Director

Jude is Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith. For the Lyric as Associate Director: Aladdin, Shopping and f-ing Theatre credits include: The Darkest Corners (Transform); Split/Mixed (Summerhall); Nanjing (Yard Theatre); Blue (RWCMD); Lela & Co. (Royal Court); I'd Rather Goya Robbed Me Of My Sleep Than Some Other Arsehole (Gate Theatre/Boom Arts Portland) and Bwyta Eliffant, Sut Mae Gwneud Hynny Dwedwch?/How Do You Eat An Elephant? (National Youth Theatre of Wales).

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