RET stage Miller, Coward and Fraser’s 5@50

The Royal Exchange Spring – Summer Season includes revivals by Noël Coward, Arthur Miller and William Shakespeare and a world premiere of the latest Brad Fraser (pictured, left) play.

The season opens with Noël Coward’s stylish comedy Private Lives from Wednesday 23 February to Saturday 9 April.
In this elegantly witty tale of love and hate, Elyot and Amanda accidentally find themselves honeymooning in the same hotel with their new spouses. Old passions are re-ignited and quarrels and chemistry abound.

Guest director Michael Buffong – who directed the hugely acclaimed A Raisin In The Sun at the Exchange earlier in the year – takes the helm for this new production.

The season continues with the world premiere of 5@50 by Canadian playwright Brad Fraser from Wednesday 13 April to Saturday 14 May. This quirky look at the lives of five women about to turn 50, is directed by Royal Exchange founding Artistic Director Braham Murray and is the latest offering from a writer who has forged a hugely successful relationship with the Exchange over the last 13 years.

His explicit style has attracted acclaim and controversy in equal measure, his most recent work was the well received True Love Lies.

Following this, Royal Exchange Artistic Director Sarah Frankcom directs Arthur Miller’s powerful drama A View From The Bridge from Wednesday 18 May to Saturday 25 June. The play centres on Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone who takes in two illegal immigrants. His cosy family life begins to crumble when his niece falls for one of the men. There’s more to Eddie’s familial love than he can admit, which takes him on a tragic emotional journey towards the ultimate act of betrayal.

Frankcom’s recent RET successes include the mult-award-winning Punk Rock (recently revived at the Lyric Theatre prior to a national tour) Blithe Spirit and The Lady From The Sea.

And the season concludes with a new production of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It from Wednesday 29 June to Saturday 6 August.

This exuberant combination of concealed identities, verbal jousting, reconciliations and multiple weddings sees romance blossom when Rosalind is banished by her uncle and flees to the Forest of Arden where here father holds court. Dressed as a boy to avoid discovery, she encounters Orlando, the man she loves.

The production is directed by Royal Exchange Artistic Director Greg Hersov, whose recent RET credits include  Pygmalion and The Entertainer.

For further details on the new season, please visit the Royal Exchange Theatre website.