Alan Ayckbourn’s THE NORMAN CONQUESTS  to be staged in-the-round

Casting announced for Blanche McIntyre’s production

18 September – 28 October, Festival Theatre

The cast has been announced for Alan Ayckbourn’s trilogy THE NORMAN CONQUESTS, which – in a first for Chichester Festival Theatre – will be staged in-the-round.

Forming the ensemble company for Blanche McIntyre’s production, which runs from 18 September – 28 October, are Jonathan Broadbent, Trystan Gravelle, Sarah Hadland, John Hollingworth,Hattie Ladbury and Jemima Rooper.

This will be the Festival Theatre’s first ever ‘in-the-round’ production. A bank of seating on what is normally the rear part of stage will allow the play’s action to be seen from all sides.

THE NORMAN CONQUESTS is a trilogy of interconnecting plays – Table Manners, Living Togetherand Round and Round the Garden – which look at the events of one family weekend from hilariously different viewpoints. Each play can be enjoyed as a single performance or seen as one event in any sequence, either over different days or on trilogy days.

With pungent wit and sparkling ingenuity, Alan Ayckbourn fashions the thwarted desires and bittersweet absurdity of family life into a comic masterpiece.

An English country house. A summer weekend. A family gathering. Norman would like to seduce Annie, though he’s married to her sister, Ruth. He’s also got his eye on Sarah, though she’s married to Reg – who is Annie and Ruth’s brother. Tom, from next door, isn’t married to anyone: though he too nurses secret hopes beneath his stoical surface.

Table Manners

Saturday. 6pm. The dining room. Where no-one is looking forward to Annie’s limp salad, or her mother’s lethal home-made dandelion, parsnip or carrot wine.

Living Together

Saturday. 6.30pm. The sitting room. With a wind-up gramophone, a pouffe, magazines, and a very, very inviting fur rug.

Round and Round the Garden

Saturday. 5.30pm. The garden. It’s not the only thing that’s looking wild and very, very tangled.

Alan Ayckbourn is Britain’s most prolific and popular contemporary playwright with over eighty plays to his name. Recent productions at Chichester include Way Upstream, Absurd Person Singular and Surprises. His new play The Divide will premiere at the Edinburgh Festival before transferring to the Old Vic this autumn.

Jonathan Broadbent (The Tempest/RSC, My Night with Reg/Donmar Warehouse) plays Reg.

Trystan Gravelle (Mr Selfridge/ITV, Aliens/E4, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire/National Theatre) plays Norman.

Sarah Hadland (Miranda, The Moonstone/BBC, Canvas/Minerva Theatre) plays Sarah. John Hollingworth (Poldark/BBC, The Power of Yes/National Theatre) plays Tom.

Hattie Ladbury (Holby City, Call the Midwife/BBC, The Importance of Being Earnest/Festival Theatre) plays Ruth.

Jemima Rooper (One Man Two Guvnors/National Theatre, West End & Broadway, Fearless/ITV) plays Annie.

Blanche McIntyre directs at Chichester for the first time; her recent work includes Titus Andronicusand Two Noble Kinsmen (RSC), As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Seagull (Headlong/UK tour), Anouilh’s Welcome Home Captain Fox! (Donmar Warehouse) and Stoppard’s Arcadia (ETT).

The Norman Conquests will be designed by Simon Higlett with lighting by Johanna Town, music by Olly Fox and sound by George Dennis.

The Norman Conquests is sponsored by Conquest Bespoke Furniture and Irwin Mitchell.

EVENTS

Pre-Show Talk with Blanche McIntyre      Monday 2 October, 5.45pm

Free but booking essential.

Post-Show Talk                                            Monday 16 October

Stay after the performance to ask questions, meet company members and discover more. Free.

Theatre Day                                                   Wednesday 18 October, 11am

Join the creative teams and technical crew for 90 minutes of insight, demonstration and discussion on the making of the production. A Theatre Day ticket can be combined with the matinee performance for an immersive day at the Theatre. Tickets £5 (+ optional performance ticket).

BOOKING INFORMATION

Box Office 01243 781312

Online cft.org.uk

Tickets from £10; Norman Conquests Saver for all three plays available.  Prologue tickets for 16 – 25 year olds for £5.

Press performances: Tuesday 3 October at 11am, 3pm & 7pm

King’s Head Theatre 10th, 11th & 13th July. Reviewed By Jessica Brady 

Wet Bread is an exploration of what it means to have a cause, to follow that cause even if you’re not really sure why you believe it, is it to distract you from facing struggles and reality in your own life? Is it to make a difference? Or is it to prove a point that you have the power to change things that others can’t?

Adele [Played by Morag Sims] is an extreme left wing labour campaigner, going door to door in the lead up to the election where it is likely that there will be a Tory Majority. She is quick to criticise anyone who has different opinions to hers or of attitudes that will be the downfall of society in her mind. She is not open to failure or admittance that she alone cannot make a difference to the World and the declining of a people who are struggling whether its refugees, the homeless or being a vegan crusader! We follow Adele and the many that appear to doubt, question or simply don’t really care for her quest to success in her many causes. Her friend challenges her to give up the politics and join her in learning conversational Italian instead as it is much more useful. This rubs Adele up the wrong way and a pledge is set between the two, the friend will learn her Italian and Adele will change the World single handily in one year or give up politics for good.

What transpires is Adele’s struggle to find that one cause which makes her feel accomplished, be it taking in an alcoholic tramp into her one bed flat in an attempt to ‘save’ him, finding a man who matches her ideals completely or organising protests when she isn’t exactly sure what she is protesting for but knows that if she gets enough media attention and arrested then she is to be taken seriously almost like a martyr for good. What Adele fails to realise before it’s nearly too late is that the battles she needs to face are much closer to home when her mum gets the news that her cancer is terminal.

Morag Sims is an exceptional performer who commands the stage with strength and has such talent to play a multitude of characters and interchanges between, having conversations as two characters, sometimes three and as an audience we are invested and completely believe it. Sims is certainly one of the best actors I have witnessed at storytelling in its purest and simplest format, without an elaborate set, masses of props or costume changes even, she manages to take you on a journey of so many people which is an incredible skill. I applaud her and her director Tom Latter for bringing Tom Glover’s marvellous script to life in a wonderfully comic, clever and beautiful way! Catch Wet Bread at the King’s Head Theatre and keep an eye out for Morag Sims, she is a performer to watch out for in the future!

 IMAGINE IF presents

YOU FORGOT THE MINCE

AT THE PLEASANCE COURTYARD, EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE

FROM 7 – 28 AUGUST 2017

Following a hugely successful 2016 tour to theatres and prisons in the North of England, You Forgot the Mince, presented by Imagine If and written by Francesca Joy, will run at The Pleasance Courtyard during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 7 – 28 August 2017 (excl. 21 August). This will be followed by a London run in September and an Autumn tour of prisons and theatres (details to be announced).

Inspired by real life events and set in Leeds, this gritty piece of new writing tells the story of a modern day abusive relationship: ‘Rosa lives with her grandma Lily. She’s just finished college and she can’t wait to leave Yorkshire and all the people in it … until she meets Niko. They fall head over heels in love, and the future’s looking bright. But their love for each other is tested to the limit; Rosa leaves for London, Niko ends up in prison and Lily won’t stop baking cakes. Everyone’s world is falling apart, but no-one’s talking about it. How are they going to get their lives back on course?’

Francesca Joy conceived, researched and wrote You Forgot The Mince supported by dramaturg Mark Catley (BBC). Francesca, who is also Founding Artistic Director of Imagine If, grew up in care from the age of 15, and she has experienced various forms of abuse throughout her life. As a trained actor, writer and producer, Francesca uses her first-hand experience to inform the art which Imagine If creates and she is passionate about working with those underrepresented in the arts. She says:“You Forgot the Mince is a story about what we do to protect those around us and how we fuck them up in the process. It is about real people and the journeys they choose to go on in life. How we love and how we hurt. The characters came to me long before the story did. I was inspired by my own relationships with those close to me, those around me, and the people I passed on the street. I am inspired by people and the ability they have to change their own behaviour. I hope You Forgot the Mince inspires others to change too.”

You Forgot The Mince is performed by Francesca Joy, Ursula Mohan and Prince Plockey. It is directed by Stephen Whitson (UK Associate Director on the West End transfer of the Broadway hit show Hamilton and currently Associate Director of 42^nd Street at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane). Movement is by award-winning choreographers Errol White and Davina Givan, of White & Givan, and sound by Ed Clarke.

The production features an amalgamation of verbatim text, original text and physical theatre accompanied by an original score. The interactions between the characters poignantly highlight the stark reality of control and coercion, interlaced with humour and normality.

Imagine If is a Leeds-based theatre company and charity, founded in 2014, which tours new writing to theatres and prisons across the UK. Its productions are based on the world around us comprising real stories from real people, placing those without a voice at the forefront of each Imagine If production. As well as theatre productions, Imagine If runs a range of drama-based workshops across the UK with offenders, ex-offenders, those with mental health issues, recovering addicts, young adults in the care system and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. You Forgot the Mince had an extensive research phase including drama workshops in HMP Leeds and with ex-offenders within the community.

You Forgot the Mince runs from 7 – 28 August (exc. 21 August) at the Pleasance Courtyard. Tickets, priced £6.50 – £10 (‘2 for 1’ tickets on 7 and 8 August), are available from the Pleasance Box Office: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/you-forgot-mince and Telephone Booking: 0131 556 6550.

Website: www.imagineiftheatre.co.uk

Twitter: @imagine_if_co / Facebook: @imagineiftheatrecompany

Show trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hh8yL6xQdI&t=1s

LISTINGS

Show: You Forgot the Mince

Theatre company: Imagine If

Dates: 7 – 28 August (no performance 21 August)

Times: 1.00pm

Venue: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33), 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh EH8 9TJ

Duration: 60 minutes (no interval)

Suitability: ages 12+.  Performance contains brief depictions of violence

Prices (standard/concession): £7.50/£6.50: Mon 14, Tues 15, Tues 22, Mon 28;  £9.00/£8.00: Weds 9, Thu 10, Weds 16, Thu 17, Weds 23, Thu 24; £10.00/£9.00: Mon 7, Tues 8, Fri 11, Sat 12, Sun 13, Fri 18, Sat 19, Sun 20, Fri 25, Sat 26, Sun 27

(Concessions available – valid for anyone under 18 years old, registered students, registered unemployed, registered disabled, or over 60 years old. ID required).

7 and 8 August: ‘2 for 1’ ticket offer available

Imagine If are supporting young adults in care with four free tickets available for every show

Box Office: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/you-forgot-mince / 0131 556 6550.

Mayflower Theatre Southampton  – 10th July.  Reviewed by Jo Gordon

Since being formed in 2008 by former LAMDA Drama School Students, Mischief Theatre has grown and grown into the incredibly successful beast whose productions are now loved worldwide. The Play That Goes Wrong began its humble begins above a pub in 2013 but now has an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, The Whats on Stage Award for Best New Comedy and The Broadway World award for Best New Play.

Set in a quintessentially English country manor, members of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society have written, directed and starred in a production called “Murder at Haversham Manor”. From the very start when crew are frantically searching amongst the audience for missing dog “Winston” and a Duran Duran CD, you know you are in for a comedic treat. The set starts to fall apart almost immediately and the over acting portrayal of the plays characters are very amusing as we all know someone who declares to a be serious thespian but is more hammy than that tinned meat your Nan keeps in for emergencies!

Inspector Carter (Chris Bean) is called into the house after Charles Haversham  (Jonathan Harris) is found dead at his own engagement party to the beautiful Florence Colleymore (Sandra Wilkinson). The manor is put on lock down whilst the Inspector begins to piece together who the culprit may be, aided by Florence’s brother Thomas (Robert Grove), the Butler Perkins (Dennis Tyde) and Haversham’s Brother Cecil (Max Bennett).  As the mystery starts to unfold while the scenery collapses around them, lead actors are rendered unconscious, meaning the stage manager (Annie Twilloil) and the lighting and sound operator (Trevor Watson) are given their chance in the spotlight with hilarious consequences. With the frantic slapstick pace quickening and the cast and crews stress levels at an all time high will, will we get to the end to see the big reveal of who the dastardly murderer is?

I have never been to a production filled with so much raucous laughter , snorts and unidentifiable sounds coming from the audience whom were of ages across the board. I will leave you with a small piece of advice, do not drink large volumes of liquid otherwise it will not only be your face left damp with tears!

THE ONLY LEARNING DISABILITY THEATRE COMPANY AT THIS YEAR’S EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE

Yorkshire’s Mind the Gap Theatre Company Takes Mia to the Festival

Mind the Gap, England’s largest learning disability theatre company, is delighted to announce it is taking its production of Mia to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe next month.

Performed by four learning disabled artists and created and directed by Mind the Gap’s Resident Director Joyce Nga Yu Lee, Mia explores the truths and myths about learning disability and parenthood in today’s society.

“The issue of learning disability parenthood is complex,” explains Joyce. “Having kids is not an easy decision for any of us. Can I afford it? Have I got enough room? Will I screw it up? Imagine making these decisions if you have a learning disability.”

It was when speaking to one of the artists about a family member’s pregnancy that Joyce decided the story needed telling; Mia is based on real life accounts.

“Medical experts, geneticists, social workers, council officers and advocates have all been involved in the creation of this piece,” Joyce continues. “But the most important people involved are the learning disabled parents who have shared their stories with us.”

Cast member Alison Short says: “I think Mia is important because it gives some insight into the challenges that learning disabled parents can face which most parents wouldn’t even know existed.”

Mia originally toured studio venues around the UK in autumn last year receiving outstanding reviews.

“I’m thrilled that the piece will reach a larger and international audience at Edinburgh,” Joyce concludes. “This is a project about humanity – it aims to resonate with everybody, with or without a disability. It is fast moving and raw, funny and bold – in short Mia is wild ride!”

Mind the Gap present Mia at Edinburgh’s Summerhall Old Lab

from Tuesday 8^th to Sunday 27^th August

Performances are at 2.45pm from Tuesday to Sunday inclusive

Tickets are available from www.summerhall.co.uk

Mia will tour in autumn 2017 and spring 2018 with performances confirmed at Hull Truck Theatre, Hull, The Gulbenkian, Canterbury, and Square Chapel Arts Centre, Halifax

For more information on Mind the Gap visit www.mind-the-gap.org.uk

NEW ADVENTURES ANNOUNCES

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES

AND CASTING

for

USA PREMIERE

of

MATTHEW BOURNE’S

Production of

Based on the film by MICHAEL POWELL and EMERIC PRESSBURGER

and the HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN fairytale

Music by BERNARD HERRMANN

US TOUR LAUNCHES ON 15 SEPTEMBER 2017

New Adventures are delighted to announce North American tour dates and casting for Matthew Bourne’s double OLIVIER AWARD winning production of THE RED SHOES. The production will make its American debut as part of a World Premiere tour, starting at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles on Friday 15 September 2017; and continuing to the Kennedy Center, Washington DC; Blumenthal Performing Arts, Charlotte and New York City Center. Full tour dates are below.www.new-adventures.net.

The World Premiere tour of THE RED SHOES opened at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in November 2016 ahead of a sold-out eight-week Christmas season at Sadler’s Wells, where it opened to rave reviews. The performances at Sadler’s Wells were the fastest selling in New Adventures history. There are just two venues left on the UK tour. Due to popular demand, following sold out dates earlier this year the show is returning to The Lowry, Salford (11 July – 15 July) and Birmingham Hippodrome (18 July – 22 July).

The original award-winning cast returns to recreate their critically acclaimed performances in these iconic roles.

The role of “Victoria Page”, the girl who dreams of being a great dancer, immortalised on screen by Moira Shearer, was created by New Adventures leading lady, Ashley Shaw, in a career defining performance. New Adventures rising star, Cordelia Braithwaite, who has also received great praise for her interpretation will return for the USA Tour. For the run at New York City Center only, New York City Ballet star, Sara Mearns, will also play the role of “Victoria Page” making her New Adventures debut.

Sam Archer who created the title role of Edward Scissorhands in 2005 and who has starred in Cinderella, The Car Man and Play Without Words returned to the company to create the iconic role of Svengali-like Impresario “Boris Lermontov” Having recently made his debut in the role, Jack Jones will also play Lermontov at some performances.

The role of “Julian Craster”, was created by one of New Adventures most popular dancers, Dominic North, who was last year nominated for his second National Dance Award. Joining him, we are delighted to welcome back American Ballet Theatre star, Marcelo Gomes, who will be making his debut as Julian at all venues during the USA Tour. Marcelo was last seen with New Adventures inThe Car Man at Sadler’s Wells in 2015 having previously danced “The Swan” in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake in Tokyo in 2014.

Completing the principal cast are the leading dancers of the Lermentov Company. Prima Ballerina, “Irina Boronskaja” is played by Michela Meazza, who returns to New Adventures where she has danced and created many leading roles (Los Angeles and New York only). She is joined by Company favourites Anjali Mehra, most recently seen as both “The Queen” and “The Girlfriend” inSwan Lake and Nicole Kabera, who most recently played “Queen Eleanor” in Sleeping Beauty.

“Ivan Boleslawsky” the role made famous by Robert Helpmann has been created by one of New Adventures finest young dancers, Liam Mower (the original West End Billy Elliot but now taking on his seventh principal role with New Adventures). Also playing Ivan is popular company dancer,Danny Reubens, who scored a great personal success recently as “Jack” in Lord Of The Flies and rising star, Will Bozier.

Lermontov Company choreographer and ‘character dancer’ “Grischa Ljubov”, has been created by veteran company dancer, Glenn Graham, who as well as playing “The Swan” in Swan Lake has recently been seen as “King Benedict” in Sleeping Beauty. Also playing the role of “Grischa” will be Leon Moran recently seen in Sleeping Beauty, The Car Man and as “Jim” in Edward Scissorhands.

Completing the New Adventures cast as the leading dancers and creative team behind the Ballet Lermentov are Steph Billers (cover “Irina Boronskaia”), Jackson Fisch, Joshua Harriette, Daisy May Kemp, Phil King (cover “Julian Craster”), Dominic Lamb (cover “Grischa Ljubov”), Katrina Lyndon (who also plays “Victoria Page”) Kate Lyons, Andrew Monaghan (who also plays “Julian Craster”) Joe Walkling, Katie Webb (cover “Victoria Page”) and Seren Williams.

Long time company dancer Chris Trenfield, who co-created the roles of “Julian Craster” and “Boris Lermontov” will be retiring from New Adventures at the end of the UK Tour. His final performance will be at the matinee at The Birmingham Hippodrome on Saturday 22^nd July.

A beloved fairy-tale and Academy Award-winning movie, THE RED SHOES has seduced audiences and inspired generations of dancers with its tale of obsession, possession and one girl’s dream to be the greatest dancer in the world. Victoria Page lives to dance but her ambitions become a battleground between the two men who inspire her passion.

Matthew Bourne’s magical new adaptation of the legendary Powell and Pressburger film reunites him with his regular collaborators and New Adventures Associate Artists and the team that brought you the world wide hit, Sleeping Beauty; Lez Brotherston (set and costumes), Paule Constable(lighting) and Paul Groothuis (sound).

This World Premiere is set to a new score arranged by New Adventures Associate Artist, Terry Davies using the mesmerizing music of golden-age Hollywood composer, Bernard Herrmann (most famous for his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and Martin Scorsese), whose work ranges from the witty and playfully robust to the achingly romantic and bittersweet.

An intoxicating drama where life imitates art with fateful consequences; THE RED SHOES will dazzle your senses and break your heart.

THE RED SHOES is supported using public funds by Arts Council England.

The North American tour dates will be supported across the continent with a program of workshops; curtain raisers and masterclasses for young people and emerging artists led by Re:Bourne, the charitable arm of New Adventures.

For more information please visit: www.new-adventures.net

Facebook /MBNewAdventures    Twitter @New_Adventures     Instagram @MBNewAdventures

THE WORLD PREMIERE TOUR OF MATTHEW BOURNE’S PRODUCTION OF THE RED SHOES 2017

www.new-adventures.net

REMAINING UK TOUR DATES 2017

TUESDAY 11 JULY – SATURDAY 15 JULY

THE LOWRY, MANCHESTER www.thelowry.com

WEDNESDAY 19 JULY – SATURDAY 22 JULY

BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME www.birminghamhippodrome.com

US TOUR DATES 2017

FRIDAY 15 SEPTEMBER – SUNDAY 1 OCTOBER

AHMANSON THEATRE, LOS ANGELES, CA www.centertheatregroup.org

PRESS NIGHT – TUESDAY 19 SEPTEMBER

TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER – SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER

THE KENNEDY CENTER, WASHINGTON, DC www.kennedy-center.org

PRESS NIGHT – TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER

TUESDAY 17 OCTOBER – SUNDAY 22 OCTOBER

BLUMENTHAL PERFORMING ARTS, CHARLOTTE, NC www.blumenthalarts.org

PRESS NIGHT – TUESDAY 17 OCTOBER

THURSDAY 26 OCTOBER – SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER

NEW YORK CITY CENTER, NY www.nycitycenter.org

PRESS NIGHT – THURSDAY 26 OCTOBER

SHEFFIELD PEOPLE’S THEATRE TAKE TO THE CRUCIBLE STAGE IN WHAT WE WISHED FOR

A cast of 71 local performers aged 12 to 89 bring a spectacular upside-down fairytale world to life on the Crucible Theatre stage from Wed 19 – Sat 22 July in What We Wished For by Chris Bush.

In a sleepy retirement community on the outskirts of Sheffield, a group of ex-fairytale heroes put their feet up after distinguished careers battling dragons, wolves and bears. The world is a much safer place thanks to their sacrifice. But when rumours of wolf attacks start to circulate, they prepare to face their nemesis once again. To stand any chance of success, they must join forces with their grandchildren, a generation who have never faced anything like this before…

Over the course of 237 rehearsal hours, the 71 cast members and six technical volunteers have worked alongside a professional creative team at Sheffield Theatres to create an exuberant, lively show about the lessons different generations can learn from each other. With over 120 characters this huge production wittily weaves together favourite fairytale characters in a contemporary Sheffield setting.

This is Yorkshire-based writer Chris Bush’s third collaboration with Sheffield People’s Theatre, following last year’s critically-acclaimed Shakespearean mash-up A Dream and The Sheffield Mysteriesin 2014. Sheffield People’s Theatre have now staged five productions, including Camelot: The Shining City, and members of the company have also taken part in other Sheffield Theatres productions, most recently Julius Caesar.

Tickets for What We Wished For are on sale now and can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres’ Box Office in-person, by phone on 0114 249 6000 or online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk and are priced from £15.00.

Ovalhouse receive £3 million grant from The
Arts Council and offer as National Portfolio
Organisation for their move to Brixton
Ovalhouse, 52-54 Kennington Oval, London SE11 5SW

As Ovalhouse prepare to move from their current small-scale theatre in Oval to a new building in Brixton, this latest good news takes them several steps closer to their opening in late 2019.

The Arts Council has announced that they will confirm an award for a total of £3 million to be invested in the new theatre which comes in tandem with the news that Ovalhouse has secured an offer as a National Portfolio Organisation with a revenue grant for 2018-22. This incredible contribution will allow the company to build an exciting range of activities towards the opening of the new building as they plan to ‘arrive and thrive’.

Designed by Foster Wilson Architects, the building will have seven rehearsal studios and two studio theatres. It will allow disabled users to access all areas and will be built to a high sustainable standard. The balance of the cost of the building will be paid from proceeds from the sale of Ovalhouse’s current site, and additional fundraising.

Ovalhouse has an impressive history; Pierce Brosnan discovered his love of acting in the Youth Theatres and developed his talent as a professional actor with his first performances at Ovalhouse. Additionally, Sanjeev Bhaskar was commissioned by the BBC after a small show upstairs at Ovalhouse and Paulette Randall, the first black woman to take a show into the West End, was a regular as a young person. Ovalhouse alumni also include Jenny Sealey, Director of  Graeae Theatre and co-Director of the 2010 Paralympic Games opening. All these artists are supporting the ambitious move to a new building in their role as patrons.

Ovalhouse’s Director, Deborah Bestwick, comments, We have always known that this is an ambitious project – to build a new theatre in hard times, but we look at the work of our artists, and know that we are investing in the future. This grant unlocks that future.

Joyce Wilson, London Area Director, Arts Council England, said, The Arts Council is pleased to support Ovalhouse’s move to Brixton. The company does excellent work for the development of diverse artists and young people, and this represents a strong opportunity to develop a cultural hub in south London. We welcome the match funding from the London Borough of Lambeth: it is an investment not just in the project, but in a future of arts and culture for their community.

Cllr Sonia Winifred, Lambeth Cabinet Member for Equalities and Culture, added, Having seen first-hand both the quality of work and the social value that Ovalhouse add to our community, I very much welcome news of this significant investment.

Supporting a steady stream of up and coming artists who define a generation, Ovalhouse also welcomes a wide range of community members, from young refugees to the elders of Stockwell Good Neighbours, all working on cutting edge inclusive theatre.

In January 2016, The Arts Council England awarded Ovalhouse a Stage 1 development award of £130,600 and have just received a Stage 2 grant of £2,869,400.