Sheffield Stages Jackson's History, Hare SeasonDate: 14 May 2010
As well as a Christmas revival of Me and My Girl (See Today's Other News), Daniel Evans' second season as artistic director of Sheffield Theatres will include the world premiere of DC Jackson's My Romantic History and a 'major retrospective' on the work of David Hare, featuring revivals of Racing Demon, Plenty and The Breath of Life.
It was also announced today that Michelle Dockery will play Ophelia in Paul Miller's season-opening production of Hamlet, which runs from 22 September to 23 October 2010 (previews from 16 September) starring John Simm in the title role.
While Hamlet plays in the Crucible, Scottish playwright DC Jackson's My Romantic History will run in the Studio (from 15 September to 2 October), a co-production with London's Bush Theatre in association with Birmingham Rep.
Originally written as a radio play, it explores the phenomenon of the office romance, centring on Tom and Amy who get together after an office social, and soon find themselves living in each other's pockets. Directed by Sheffield associate Lyndsey Turner (Posh, A Miracle), casting is still to be confirmed.
David Hare season, February 2011
In the Crucible, Studio and Lyceum, three productions will provide a retrospective on the work of one of our most prolific and respected living dramatists, David Hare.
In the Crucible, from 10 February to 5 March 2011, Daniel Evans will direct Racing Demon, Hare's 1990 Olivier Award-winning play centring on a team of eccentric vicars working in a poor inner city parish.
From 3 to 26 February in the Studio, Thea Sharrock (Equus, The Misanthrope) will direct Plenty, first seen at the National Theatre (which has premiered 16 of Hare's plays) in 1978. The play's protagonist is Susan Traherne, who must adjust from living a life of danger in Nazi occupied France to a string of dead-end jobs and destructive relationships when she arrives back in Britain.
Finally, Peter Gill will direct The Breath of Life in the Lyceum, from 16 to 26 February. Written in 2002, it takes place over a single night and is a witty, brutal and poignant portrait of two women who are united by their love for the same man.
David Hare said of the season: “For the whole of my theatregoing life, Sheffield has been one of the most vibrant and exciting theatre cities in the county. When I ran touring companies, it was high among the gigs you most relished. I can't think of a greater labour of honour for a living playwright than to have three plays simultaneously performed in its three different theatres.”
Additional programming includes: Frantic Assembly and the National Theatre of Scotland's tour of Bryony Lavery's Beautiful Burnout (3-13 November 2010); What I Heard About the World (13-30 October 2010), “an attempt to map a spherical planet onto a flat piece of paper” from local company Third Angel; and Jilly Murphy's Whatever Next!, adapted as a play for young children by Juliet Foster (15 December-8 January).
- by Theo Bosanquet
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