Theatre News

Greig, Crouch & Crowe feature in Unicorn’s autumn/winter season

6 July 2012

Children’s theatre the Unicorn has announced its autumn/winter season, which will feature work from David Greig, Chris Goode, Tim Crouch and EV Crowe, among others.

The season marks Purni Morell‘s second since becoming artistic director in September 2011. Speaking to Whatsonstage.com earlier this year, she said one of her aims was to programme “a larger volume of work for a wider variety of ages” – an ambition reflected in the new season, which caters for audiences aged 2 to 21.

Major productions include a new staging of David Greig‘s Dr Korczak’s Example (23 September-13 November), directed by Iron Shoes’ Ria Parry. Set in the final days of an orphanage in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw, the play is aimed at children aged 11-13 and talls the story of the courageous Korczak through the eyes of two of the orphans in his care.

Tim Crouch‘s solo show I, Malvolio, a reimagining of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for ages 13 upwards, runs from 3 October to 11 November.

Morell will direct a production of Ignace Cornelissen’s A Winter’s Tale (19 September to 16 November), a play within a play based on Shakepeare’s comedy of Kings, Queens and bears in a forest, suitable for ages 7-10.

Chris Goode‘s latest show Monkey Bars, based on interviews he conducted with 30 children aged 8-10, runs from 25-30 September following its premiere at the Traverse as part of the Edinburgh Fringe.

And Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy’s book The Tear Thief will be “magically brought to life” in a co-production between Little Angel theatre and the Royal Exchange, running from 21 November to 2 December for ages 4-7.

The Christmas show will be a major staging of Mark Twain’s fable The Prince and Pauper, adapted by Jemma Kennedy. Set in a Tudor London “so vibrant you can smell the potato-peelings”, poor Tom Canty has a chance meeting with the young heir to the throne, Prince Edward – and by pure coincidence they find they look almost identical. Running from 25 November to 13 January, the production is suitable for all the family.

This will run concurrently with Oily Cart’s In a Pickle, “a voyage of discovery through the landscapes of Shakespeare’s imagination for the very young” (ages 2-5).

And looking further ahead, Blanche McIntyre will direct EV Crowe’s new play Liar Liar (31 January-6 March 2013), a contemporary tale about a young girl who knows the truth can be dangerous, suitable for ages 13-16.

More information on the Unicorn’s new season, which also features work from John Donnelly, Mike Kenny and Travelling Light, can be found at www.unicorntheatre.com