Emma Rice’s ”Blue Beard” announces world premiere tour

A world premiere production of Blue Beard, adapted and directed by Emma Rice, is set to embark on a UK tour next February.

Rice is the artistic director of Wise Children, who co-produce the piece alongside Birmingham Rep, HOME Manchester, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and York Theatre Royal.

Rice commented: “Not wanting to add to the number of dead women that are scattered throughout our literature and media, I have always avoided the gruesome tale of Blue Beard. However, haunted by the regular and painful chime of murdered women in the news, I woke one morning with the story knocking powerfully at my dreams. I pulled my copy from the shelves and with some trepidation, unlocked the door of Blue Beard’s castle. What I found hidden in those pages was a story not about dead women but about vibrant, flawed, joyful living ones. Here was a story about female friendship, intellect and survival.

“It is also a story in which, by working together, the aggressor is vanquished. And this is precisely why I want to tell Blue Beard now. In my middle years, I want to join forces with those I love and take down the ones who threaten us. I, for one, have had enough, and for Zara Aleena, Jack Taylor, Bibaa Henry, Nicole Smallman, Daniel Whitworth, Sarah Everard and the thousands and thousands of others who have died at the hands of violent men – Blue Beard is my defiant and hopeful answer.”

The show will open at Theatre Royal Bath from 2 to 10 February 2024, with a press night set for 8 February. It will run at HOME Manchester from 13 to 24 February, with further dates still to be announced.

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