Sheffield Theatres Announce Further Programming To Complete Current Season

As Robert Hastie's new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream opens at Sheffield Theatres, he announces further programming to complete the current season.

Joining the previously announced co-production with Out of Joint - Kate Bowen's Close Quarters; the Christmas musical Kiss Me, Kate directed by Paul Foster; Caroline Steinbeis' production of Rutherford and Son; Debbie Tucker Green's hang and the world première of Standing at the Sky's Edge with book by Chris Bush and music and lyrics by the internationally acclaimed musician Richard Hawley; are the world première of a major new stage adaptation of Yann Martel's Man Booker Prize winning Life of Pi by Lolita Chakrabarti, directed by Max Webster; and Third Angel's The Department of Distractions - a co-production with Northern Stage, produced in association with Sheffield Theatres.

Also announced today is a new initiative - Sheffield People's Theatre Residency Season, where members of the local community will have the opportunity to hone their theatre making skills working with some of the leading theatre companies in the UK, culminating with a sharing on the theatre's stages.

Robert Hastie said today, "When I first read Life of Pi, back when everyone was telling each other to read this wonderful new book, I remember thinking that it could make for an awesome piece of theatre if someone had the ambition and imagination to bring it to the stage. Max Webster, Lolita Chakrabarti and Finn Caldwell of Gyre and Gimble are those brave and brilliant people, and I'm absolutely thrilled that we have such an ambitious and exciting team joining us to realise this epic story.

Alongside new writing, the city of Sheffield also sits at the heart of the next season. Sheffield's history is powerfully brought to life through the writing of Sheffield-born Chris Bush and the music of Sheffield icon Richard Hawley in Standing at the Sky's Edge; Third Angel, one of the city's finest theatre companies, bring their brilliant Department of Distractions to the Studio; and Sheffield People's Theatre embarks on a new chapter in its development with three fantastic residencies. "