Lyceum Announces Ambitious 09/10 Productions

The Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh today announced an ambitious line up for 2009/10. With two world premières and involvement from celebrated playwrights and authors, the theatre’s aims to reaffirm its commitment to celebrating exceptional drama and continue to position itself as one of Scotland’s premier producing companies.

The season opens with a collaboration between Vanishing Point Theatre Company and Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. Director Matthew Lenton’s unique storytelling style will re-imagine The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay to create a radical and contemporary new version of the 1728 ballad opera for the Lyceum. It will feature live music, cutting edge projection design and a large cast of leading performers.

The Lyceum also celebrates two world premières this season with specially commissioned works by Jo Clifford with Everyone, which takes its inspiration from the medieval morality play Everyman, and John Byrne’s new and updated version of Chekhov’s masterpiece The Cherry Orchard.

John Dove returns to direct his fourth Arthur Miller play for the Lyceum, The Price. Jemima Levick also returns to direct the Christmas show Peter Pan. Other highlights for the season include Mark Thomson’s adaptation of Confessions of a Justified Sinner and BAFTA award winner Martin McDonagh’s renowned The Beauty Queen of Leenane.

This autumn a touring production of Spike Milligan’s Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall visits the theatre. The Bristol Old Vic bring Milligan’s celebrated war memoirs to anarchic life in this hilarious new stage adaptation.

Artistic Director Mark Thomson said: “I’m very pleased to present a season of work including two premières that combine great contemporary writing and the re-invention of classic plays and stories to be your companion at this junction we find ourselves at, to keep you entertained and elevated by acts of original and passionate theatre.”

– Joseph Pike