Arcola Theatre to reopen its doors with Barney Norris world premiere

The Arcola Theatre in east London has announced plans to reopen its indoor space for the first time since March 2020.

While its outdoor venue has hosted shows over the intervening 26 months, the indoor theatre will welcome back visitors with the world premiere of Barney Norris' We Started To Sing, which follows a family across three decades as it spreads across the country – with distance and life changes separating them.

Cast and creative team for the production are to be revealed, with the show running from 19 May to 18 June.

Artistic director of Arcola Theatre, Mehmet Ergen, said today: "We are delighted to reopen our much-loved indoor space this spring with We Started to Sing. We can't wait to welcome audiences back to a place so many regard as home. Seven years after making his name at Arcola with Visitors and Eventide, Barney Norris' autobiographical new play about family and memory, seems like the perfect way to bring our audiences back to celebrate our past and imagine our future together."

Norris added, "This is a play about family and home, and I am fortunate to be able to make it with the Arcola, who have made me feel part of the family ever since they let me stage my first play, Visitors, there. It was at the Arcola that I first started trying to write plays out of love, in order to connect audiences with what they love in their own lives; We Started To Sing is an attempt to come home to that idea, and welcome audiences back from the isolation of the last few years. I am happy to be home."

There will be two relaxed performances on Wednesday 8 June 2022 at 3pm and 7.30pm with a tour touch on 25 May 2022. Further pieces in the season are to be announced.

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