Theatre News

Traverse Theatre announces winter season

The venue continues to promote Scottish talent and encourage new generations to watch theatre

The Traverse Theatre
The Traverse Theatre
© STV Photos/Flickr

While the Edinburgh Festivals ended last week, the Traverse Theatre has announced its plans for the remainder of 2017.

The autumn will see choreographer Gary Clarke's dance theatre piece Coal run from 14 to 16 September, as well as Bruce Guthrie's adaptation of Manfred Karge's Man to Man, from 11 to 14 October. The show, based in Nazi Germany and telling the story of one woman's survival, debuted at the Scottish venue 30 years ago.

Dive Queer Party will host Halloween- and Christmas-themed party events, celebrating queer performance and identities.

The main Traverse space will be transformed into a courtroom between 3 to 7 October for Jury Play, a co-production with Grid Iron theatre company. From 21 to 28 October Traverse associate artist Rob Drummond and Magnetic North artistic director Nicholas Bone will present Our Fathers, based on Edmund Gosse's Victorian memoir about growing up in an evangelical household.

From 8 to 23 December, Gareth Nicholls directs Morna Pearson's award-winning play How to Disappear in what will be his first main stage production at the venue since joining as associate director in June. The show tells the story of the consequences of austerity, particularly for mental health care.

Nicholls says: "With food banks in full use and a forgotten many increasingly falling through the cracks, How to Disappear is a uniquely theatrical play that asks vital questions about the world we live in."

The Traverse have also announced that they will extend their concessions bracket to all under-30s, aiming to increase young people's attendance at the theatre and promote the arts for new generations. The season will also see a new Writers Group on 23 September, hosted by Zinnie Harris.