Bonneville Announced As National Youth Theatre Patron At Launch Of West End Season

By: May. 14, 2013
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Paul Roseby, Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) today announced that the company's 2013 season would see the creation of a new Rep Company for 15 young actors, who will perform in all three shows in rep at London's Ambassadors Theatre.

The 'West End Season' includes Tory Boyz by James Graham, directed by Thomas Hescott, Prince of Denmark by Michael Lesslie, directed by Anthony Banks, and an adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet by Olivier Award-nominated writer and actor, and former NYT member, Lolita Chakrabarti, directed by Paul Roseby.

The season also features the world premiere of Louise Brealey's Pope Joan, at St James' Church, Piccadilly.

The NYT REP Company - following a pilot programme in 2012, fifteen of the NYT's most talented performers aged 18 - 25 were selected from auditions to form the NYT's Rep Company. They will perform Tory Boyz, Prince of Denmark and Romeo and Juliet at the Ambassadors Theatre from 22 September to 1 December 2013 as part of eight months of free practical training with NYT and leading industry professionals.

Originally commissioned by the NYT, and performed as part of their 2008 season, Tory Boyz is a bold and astute political comedy that goes behind the scenes of the corridors of power at Westminster where saving face and avoiding scandal is the order of the day. James Graham, author of the current National Theatre hit This House, has updated his original script to make this an even more explosive and poignant play. As the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill divides the Conservative party of 2013, the subject matter of Tory Boyz has rarely been more topical.

Prince of Denmark by Michael Lesslie is a prequel to Hamlet, set a decade before the events of Shakespeare's play. There's romance, rivalry and rebellion in the air as teenagers Hamlet, Ophelia and Laertes rage against their parents' expectations in royal Elsinore. Prince of Denmark was previously performed at The National Theatre in 2008 before performances of Hamlet with Rory Kinnear in the title role.

Romeo and Juliet has been adapted for the NYT by Lolita Chakrabarti, author of the Olivier Award-nominated Red Velvet. The adaptation is set in the Skamania/New Wave era of the early 80s, against a back-drop of youth unemployment and economic recession. This version of Romeo and Juliet was originally created for the BBC 2 documentary When Romeo Met Juliet.

An atmospheric church in the heart of London, St James's Piccadilly is the perfect setting for Louise Brealey's new play which tells the story of the legend that is Pope Joan - the first and only female to achieve Papal status, according to 15th Century myth. Controversial, moving and enthralling, audiences can witness an unfolding of unbelievable and prescient events that have profound modern parallels, especially given the current debate about the ordination of female bishops in the Anglican Church.

Louise Brealey is an acclaimed actress on stage and screen, with recent credits including The Stone (Royal Court), Sixty Six Books (Bush), The Government Inspector (Young Vic) and The Trojan Women (Gate), as well as the role of Molly Hooper in BBC TV's Sherlock. This is Louise's first play.

St James' Church, Piccadilly, is the parish of Rev Lucy Winkett, formerly Canon Precentor of St Paul's cathedral, and a vocal supporter of the introduction of female bishops. The show will be directed by former NYT member and former Resident Assistant Director at the Donmar Warehouse, Abbey Wright.

Romeo & Juliet and The Prince of Denmark can be enjoyed separately or as a fast-paced, daytime double bill whilst Tory Boyzplays matinees and evening performances individually throughout the run.

James Graham, author of Tory Boyz, said: "Tory Boyz, which I wrote five years ago, was my initiation into writing a Westminster saga with a huge cast that really pushed, challenged and provoked me as a young writer, for which I am so grateful. I see within it all the seeds of my future obsessions, particularly my recent national play This House. The reaction to it first time around surprised and delighted us all, and I can't wait to throw myself back into it again."

Louise Brealey, author of Pope Joan, said: "When the NYT asked me to write a play about Pope Joan, my first instinct was to run like the clappers. But the moment I began to read about the Joan legend, I fell in love with the idea of such a woman existing in a world where a woman of any learning was considered a dangerous freak. I wanted to have a stab at telling her story and find out what she might have to say to a 21st century audience. For me it doesn't matter whether Joan really existed. It matters that so many people wanted her to exist. Having read everything there is to read about her, I want her to have existed too. She sounds amazing. My Pope Joan is the story of a lonely, clever, ambitious woman who has more enemies than friends and who risks her life daily for the cause she believes in. She wants to change medieval Christianity, and if she had succeeded, she would have changed the world."

Paul Roseby, CEO and Artistic Director of the NYT, also announced that former NYT member Hugh Bonneville had been named as a Patron of the National Youth Theatre. Bonneville said: "I am delighted to become a patron of the National Youth Theatre. I'd not be doing what I do now were it not for this fantastic organisation: it opened my eyes to what was to become my career. It is an environment which, through theatre, celebrates individuality, demands collaboration, dedication and discipline and engenders mutual respect among its members, skills that are invaluable for any future walk of life. I look forward to waving the National Youth Theatre flag with pride."

Paul Roseby said: "Building on the success of our 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Team Welcome Ceremonies, I'm delighted to announce our new NYT REP Company, an ambitious season of work in the West End and that the brilliantly talented NYT alumnus Hugh Bonneville is joining our illustrious list of Patrons.

"Hugh attributes a lot of his success to the National Youth Theatre and we're delighted to be welcoming him back as he'll be a great champion for our cause as we make the case for the valuable social and economic benefits the National Youth Theatre has given to the UK over the past 57 years."

Paul Roseby was appointed Artistic Director of the NYT in 2004. He is also a former member of the NYT Acting Company.

Outside of the West End in 2013, NYT will stage a dark devised musical retelling of Red Riding Hood at Latitude Festival directed by NYT Associate Director Anna Niland on 20 and 21 July. Its members will perform in the premiere of a co-commission between NYT and Bristol Old Vic Young Company of the first stage adaption of Stephen Kelman's award-winning novel Pigeon English. Adapted by NYT alumnus Gbolahan Obisesan and directed by Miranda Cromwell, Pigeon English will premiere at Bristol Old Vic 7-10 August before transferring to Underbelly Cowgate: Big Belly at the Edinburgh Festival 12-25 August. The conclusion of NYT's Environmental Trilogy FLOOD by Rory Mullarkey will be filmed in Bristol and screened in London in the autumn.

NYT will also stage two separate plays about career options for young men and women at Bedford University written by NYT alumni Karla Crome (star of BAFTA winning drama Murder) and Luke Barnes (Bottleneck and Chapel Street).



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