Hytner ‘High’ on Delayed SHUNT???

Alternative theatre company SHUNT have run into a little snag with Tropicana, the follow-up to its 2003 award winner Dance Bear Dance. The devised, site-specific piece is the first production as part of a three-year residency at the newly entitled SHUNT Vaults, a 70,000 square foot labyrinth of railway arches under London Bridge railway station. It was meant to open this past Friday 24 September 2004, but the press performance has been delayed by nearly a month, to 22 October. A statement says that: “Licensing of the venue took longer than anticipated therefore delaying the start of the technical period. As a result, there has not be sufficient opportunity for the company to work with their audiences who form an integral part of the show, and to ensure the smooth running of this element of the production, SHUNT have decided to schedule more previews than originally planned.” Despite the delay, expectations are still running high. Tropicana is presented in collaboration with the National Theatre, which is providing marketing and other assistance. At a recent press conference, NT artistic director Nicholas Hytner explained that, “I got completely high on Dance Bear Dance. I just wanted to help.” SHUNT’s new production is three nights a week – Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays only - running to 16 January 2005.

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