Theatre News

Scoop Serves Up Eighth Season of Free Theatre

22 April 2010

The Scoop festival of free theatre at More London will return for its eighth season this year, featuring four months of free performances between 2 June and 1 October 2010.

Performances take place in the sunken, 1000-seater open-air amphitheatre next to City Hall on the South Bank, and this year’s line up features theatre, film and music.

Since Scoop’s launch in 2003, over 200,000 people have attended theatre productions at Scoop Festival, including last year’s double-bill of Medea and The Adventures of Jason and the Argonauts. In 2006, the Scoop won the prestigious Peter Brook Empty Space Award for up-and-coming theatre of the year (See News, 7 Nov 2006).

This year’s programme includes:

2-25 June – Free Fringe: The Pantaloons return to Scoop with a production of Macbeth. Three unique choirs entertain including the Norton Rose Choir (formed by a law firm of the same name), the London Gay Men’s Chorus and the Unexpected Opera Company returns with Offenbach’s Orpheus Down Under.

30 June to 23 July – Free Music: Lunchtime and evening performances from session musicians The AllStars Collective, while Ola Latina honour the sounds and dance moves of Latin America.

5 August to 5 September – Free Theatre: Returning for their eighth season, Scoop’s resident theatre company The Steam Industry presents Toad Hall! adapted from the original story The Wind in the Willows and featuring a cast of young people from Southwark. Comedy and swash-buckling adventure with Don Juan in Love – from the play by José Zorrilla – completes the Free Theatre season.

15 September to 1 October – Free Film: An eclectic mix of classic, cult and contemporary films screened every Wed/Thur/Fri from 7.30pm. The nine films being screened over the 3 weeks are – Up in the Air, The Kite Runner, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Hurt Locker, North by Northwest, Pretty Woman, Invictus, Dirty Dancing and Up – the festival’s first animated film (non 3D version).