SHEFFIELD THEATRES’ ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ROBERT HASTIE ANNOUNCES HIS FINAL SEASON OF PRODUCTIONS SPANNING JULY 2024 – MARCH 2025
Sheffield Theatres today announce Robert Hastie’s final season as he steps down after eight years as Artistic Director, with new productions running from summer 2024 to spring 2025 in the Crucible Theatre and Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse.
CRUCIBLE
· Artistic director Robert Hastie will direct a new production of Chariots of Fire by Mike Bartlett, celebrating the 100th anniversary of record-breaking races at the 1924 Paris Olympics and the true story of two athletes’ support of each other’s beliefs.
· A brand new version of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is adapted by Chris Bush and directed by Elin Schofield – reuniting after their previous success with ROCK / PAPER / SCISSORS.
· A new Sheffield Theatres production of Little Shop of Horrors, the out of this world rock musical, will be the 2024 winter musical, with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken.
· In 2025, a new co-production with Utopia Theatre to present Death and the King’s Horseman, by Wole Soyinka and directed by Mojisola Kareem.
· Passions ignite and illusions are shattered in Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Josh Seymour
TANYA MOISEIWITSCH PLAYHOUSE
· Sheffield Theatres and Theatre Centre collaborate again presenting Dizzy, a fantastical teenage odyssey of grief, love, unexpected heroes and street art by Mohammed Zain-Dada.
· Western, true crime and music come together in KENREX, from the makers of Olivier-nominated hit Cruise.
· Malorie Blackman’s award-winning book Pig Heart Boy, adapted by Winsome Pinnock, directed by Tristan Finn-Aiduenu, and co-produced with Unicorn Theatre and Children’s Theatre Partnership comes to Sheffield.
Robert Hastie, Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, said: “It has been an honour to lead this wonderful group of theatres for the last eight years, and to work alongside such a committed, talented and kind collection of people. There is nowhere like it – the range of theatre spaces, and the multiplicity of local and national relationships Sheffield Theatres enjoys, make this place a whole cultural ecosystem, and it’s been a joy and an education to work at its heart. The bumper season we announce today reflects the variety and quality of great nights out and opportunities to join in that our audiences rightly expect of us.
I have loved working here. I will miss crossing Tudor Square and bumping into actors on a break from rehearsal, young artists on their way to an R&D workshop in our Talent Development space, lines of schoolkids queuing noisily for a matinee in the Lyceum, passers-by keen to stop me and tell me what they thought of last night’s show in the Crucible. The immense privilege of working in a city that loves its theatre is something I will never forget. Every time I’ve introduced a new director, actor or designer to our stages, it has been with an enormous sense of pride in the warm welcome I know they’ll receive from our staff and audiences. It’s inspired me to programme adventurously and eclectically, to invite world-class talent whose work I admire, to make productions of my own that I’m hugely proud of, and to dedicate resources to nurturing the next generation of local artists who are already beginning to make their presences felt on stages in Sheffield and beyond. Above all to see no useful distinction between the value we place on work that connects with our local neighbourhoods and that which achieves national and international acclaim. I’ve had the great good fortune to have been supported in all these endeavours by a dedicated board of trustees chaired by the great, much-missed Bob Kerslake, and by successive Chief Execs Dan Bates and Tom Bird and Deputy CEO Bookey Oshin, true champions of the theatre who have taught me so much about compassionate leadership, and who have become dear friends. I’m beyond excited to see where Tom and the splendid senior team take the theatres next, as they begin the search for a lucky Artistic Director who is about to discover that this is one of the best jobs in British Theatre.
For now, I’m looking forward to a thrilling final season that mixes bold new voices with global classics, risk-taking work for younger audiences with innovative new musical theatre, and family entertainment with chances to get involved in an inclusive participatory programme. I’m delighted to fire the starting pistol with a new production of Chariots of Fire, adapted by Mike Bartlett from the iconic film about the Paris 1924 Olympic Games, as we countdown to Paris 2024. It will be an epic way to say goodbye to the stage – the best of its kind in the country – that I’ve been lucky to call home for the last eight years.”
Tom Bird, Chief Executive of Sheffield Theatres, said: “Rob’s contribution to Sheffield over the past 8 years has been colossal. He has brought to Sheffield Theatres a rare combination of electrifying ambition mixed with a warm and humble personality. Rob’s achievements here are too many to mention in full, but they range from the intrepid ROCK / PAPER / SCISSORS, to the deeply human The York Realist, to a gorgeous Guys and Dolls. With Standing at the Sky’s Edge, he led the team that crafted a theatrical holy grail: a show that simultaneously empowers a specific place and achieves astonishing commercial success elsewhere. In line with the values of craftsmanship and friendliness that Sheffield holds dear, Rob is both a master of his art, and absolutely lovely with it. He leaves these theatres in rude health, and the city with an even bigger heart.“
Robert Hastie joined Sheffield Theatres as Artistic Director in July 2016, having previously started his career as an actor by performing on the Crucible stage in Edward Bond’s Lear. His time in post has seen Sheffield Theatres produce 72 new productions and welcome hundreds of guest productions across its three auditoria. Theatre made in in the city has been experienced by hundreds of thousands of audience members, in Sheffield and around the world.
Hastie’s tenure has enhanced the organisation’s reputation for being a top producer of new work. The last eight years have seen several landmark productions that have gone from sold-out runs in Sheffield to successful futures in the West End and beyond. Standing at the Sky’s Edge, first staged in 2019 and revived in co-production with the National Theatre in 2022 transferred to the Olivier and then to the Gillian Lynne (co-produced by Various Productions), where it recently opened to stellar reviews, carrying multiple awards in its wake. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (2017) and Life of Pi (2019) both started life at the Crucible before moving on to the West End and major UK tours with commercial producers; Pi subsequently crossed the Atlantic to Broadway, and Jamie became a feature film distributed by Amazon in 2021. Last year Sheffield Theatres’ production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist transferred to the Lyric Hammersmith and then into the Theatre Royal Haymarket, featuring an award-winning performance from regular Sheffield Theatres leading actor Daniel Rigby.
During Hastie’s leadership, shows started in Sheffield have collected a total of 9 UK Theatre Awards, 7 Olivier Awards, 3 Tony Awards and 3 Stage Debut Awards, and Sheffield Theatres has twice been named Theatre of the Year by the Stage, as well as winning the Stage Award for Achievement in Technical Theatre. In addition to UK Theatre and Olivier Awards, Standing at the Sky’s Edge won the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Theatre, and was presented with an honorary degree by Sheffield Hallam University.
His first season began with his own acclaimed production of Julius Caesar (2017), which transformed the Crucible auditorium into the Roman Senate; he followed this up with a companion piece, Coriolanus, with Tom Bateman (2020). As well as Shakespeare, Hastie’s programming for Sheffield Theatres has included plays by Moliere, Brecht, Ibsen, Chekhov, Miller, Sowerby and Tolstoy; the regional premieres of modern classics by Caryl Churchill, Nina Raine, debbie tucker green and Peter Morgan; and major musical revivals of The Wizard of Oz, Kiss Me Kate, Guys and Dolls, She Loves Me and White Christmas. Hastie’s production of The York Realist starring Jonathan Bailey and Lesley Nicol, co-produced with the Donmar Warehouse in 2018, earned an Evening Standard Award nomination for Best Director. Other co-productions have included work with Theatr Clywd, ETT, Paines Plough, Clean Break, the Unicorn, Lyric Hammersmith, the Bush, Stockroom and Theatre Centre, with whom Sheffield Theatres annually produces a new play for young audiences which tours schools across the UK. Especially important have been the producing partnerships developed with Sheffield-based companies Utopia Theatre and Roots Mbili.
New work has been a central strand of Hastie’s tenure, with world premieres or new adaptations from writers including Chris Thompson, Peter Gill, Lolita Chakrabarti, Kate Bowen, April de Angelis, Chloe Moss, Oladipo Agboluaje, Steve Waters, Ryan Calais Cameron, Kieran Knowles, Ray Castleton, John Rwothomack, Charlie Josephine, Tom Basden, Nina Segal, Eve Leigh and Hannah Morley. A key relationship throughout has been with Chris Bush, appointed by Hastie as an Associate Artist of Sheffield Theatres, who has worked extensively across all three stages with professional and community companies. Following several large-scale Sheffield People’s Theatre projects, Hastie commissioned her first full length play for professional performers, Steel, which was directed by Rebecca Frecknall in 2018. This was followed by Standing at the Sky’s Edge (2019), lockdown musical The Band Plays On (2021), and the ambitious trilogy ROCK / PAPER / SCISSORS (2022). Commissioned as the centrepiece of the Crucible’s 50th anniversary season in 2022, these three plays by Bush were performed simultaneously in the Crucible, Lyceum and Playhouse in a theatrical first that saw cast members racing between venues.
Hastie collaborated on this epic undertaking with co-directors Elin Schofield, one of the first directors in The Bank Supported Artists programme, and Anthony Lau, with whom he has enjoyed a close working relationship since his appointment as Associate Artistic Director in 2020. The three were named joint Best Directors at the UK Theatre Awards in 2023. Hastie and Lau also shared directing duties on the first major reimagining of Boublil and Schönberg’s Miss Saigon, in 2023. Hastie and Sheffield Theatres have also benefitted from the work and support of Artistic Associates Caroline Steinbeis and Wendy Spon, Resident Associate Director Javaad Alipoor, and returning directors Mojisola Kareem, Paul Foster and Kate Hewitt, casting director Stuart Burt and designing artists Ben Stones, Janet Bird, Jessica Hung Han Yun, Mike Walker and Georgia Lowe, along with the talents of so many brilliant casts and creative teams.
Beyond the stages, talent development has flourished, most especially with the opening of The Bank in 2019, a new space dedicated to nurturing local artists, generously enabled by a donation from Jo and Chris Hookway. Each year a new cohort of artists are supported, with alumni now forming a significant part of the Theatres’ programme. Participation has also grown over the past eight years. Sheffield People’s Theatre, the multi-generational participatory company has broadened its reach, having regularly featured alongside professional casts on the Crucible stage – most memorably in Standing at the Sky’s Edge – whilst also breaking new ground with their own productions, and expanding into groups for younger members and adults with learning disabilities and/or Autism. A new strand of community co-created work – born out of a major push to connect beyond the organisation’s walls during the pandemic – continues to enrich Sheffield Theatres’ spaces over the year.
Sheffield Theatres’ work to improve access and representation for deaf and disabled audiences and artists has accelerated in the last eight years. A co-production with fingersmiths of My Mother Said I Never Should (2019) rendered the play simultaneously in spoken English and BSL. Training programmes to develop better BSL integration in performance, and collaboration with ground-breaking Audio Description company Hear the Picture, have pointed the way to more creative accessible performances. Most recently, Sheffield Theatres’ six-year collaboration with Ramps on the Moon partners culminated in Hastie’s 2022 production and tour of Much Ado About Nothing, with fully integrated BSL, Audio Description and captioning.
Chariots of Fire opens the final season in the Crucible. Adapted by Mike Bartlett from the 1981 film based on the remarkable events of the 1924 Olympics and directed by Sheffield Theatres’ Artistic Director Robert Hastie, this production marks the 100th anniversary of the true stories of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, and their record-breaking achievements. From Sat 6 – Sat 27 Jul 2024.
Then follows A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. A powerful drama exploring a happy home built on false foundations, this new adaptation is by Chris Bush and directed by Elin Schofield – who worked together on SCISSORS in Sheffield Theatre’s 50th anniversary production ROCK / PAPER / SCISSORS. From Sat 21 Sep – Sat 12 Oct 2024.
This festive season, Sheffield Theatres produce Little Shop of Horrors staged in the Crucible and directed by Amy Hodge (Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World, Henry VIII). This killer rock musical with plenty of bite features the songs Little Shop of Horrors, Suddenly Seymour and Skid Row (Downtown). From Sat 7 Dec 2024 – Sat 18 Jan 2025.
Into the new year, Sheffield Theatres and Utopia Theatre present Death And The King’s Horseman, written by Wole Soyinka, and directed by Mojisola Kareem. Set in 1940s Nigeria, a thought-provoking, resonant theatrical experience deeply rooted in the culture and spirituality of the Yoruba people. From Mon 3 – Sat 8 Feb 2025.
In spring 2025, Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire is directed by Josh Seymour. In the sultry back streets of New Orleans, two sisters must choose between fantasy and reality as past truths begin to resurface. From Saturday 1 – Saturday 29 March 2025, with tickets going on sale later in 2024.
In the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, Sheffield Theatres and Theatre Centre collaborate again after the recent success of Wish You Weren’t Here, presenting Dizzy, a fantastical odyssey of grief, love, unexpected heroes and painting the town red (literally). Written by Mohamed-Zain Dada and directed by Theatre Centre’s Artistic Director Rob Watt. From Wed 25 Sep – Sat 12 Oct.
Part Western, part True Crime, with a foot-stomping Americana soundtrack, KENREX is presented by Sheffield Theatres and Aria Entertainment. By Jack Holden and Ed Stambollouian, performed by Jack Holden with music by John Patrick Elliott. From Sat 26 Oct – Sat 16 Nov.
Is it better to have a pig’s heart that works, than a human heart that doesn’t? Malorie Blackman’s award-winning book Pig Heart Boy, adapted by Winsome Pinnock,is a Sheffield Theatres, Unicorn Theatre and Children’s Theatre Partnership co-production, directed by Tristan Finn-Aiduenu. From Thu 27 Feb – Sat 15 Mar 2025.
The Playhouse is also a co-creating platform for local theatre-makers with three new productions created and performed by communities of Sheffield, through Sheffield People’s Theatre (SPT), the intergenerational company for anyone aged 12+; SPT Young Company, for anyone aged 18 – 25 looking to develop a career in the creative industries; and Launchpad, a group for adults with learning disabilities and/or Autism. Total Ripple Effect by Laura Guthrie and the Launchpad Company plays on Friday 7 June. Then Urgent! A Timely Play, by Nicole Joseph in collaboration with SPT Young Company, runs on Saturday 29 June. Finally, Something Old, Something New runs from Wednesday 14 – Saturday 17 August, performed by Sheffield People’s Theatre, written and directed by Tess Seddon.
Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre continues to host some of the UK’s best plays, musicals and dance with an exciting host of touring productions also going on sale:
Join Mouse on a daring adventure through the deep, dark wood in Tall Stories’ magical, musical adaptation of The Gruffalo, from Tuesday 2 – Thursday 4 July. Celebrating 25 years of the classic picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, expect songs, laughs and monstrous fun for children aged 3 and up and their grownups in the much-loved show that’s toured Britain and the world!
For the first time ever, all of Dolly Parton’s biggest hits can be experienced together in a rollicking and joyous new musical comedy; Here You Come Again runs from Tuesday 17 – Saturday 21 September. Packed with the iconic songs Jolene, 9 to 5, Islands in the Stream, I Will Always Love You, Here You Come Again and more, this lively and touching new musical tells the story of a diehard fan whose fantasy version of international icon Dolly Parton gets him through trying times.
Due to phenomenal demand, the sell-out hit show Uncanny: I Know What I Saw with Danny Robins is back on Saturday 1 June! Join a team of experts for chilling real-life stories of the supernatural. Part of Crossed Wires Festival.
Spend an evening in the extraordinary company of ‘the world’s greatest living explorer’ with Sir Ranulph Fiennes: Mad, Bad and Dangerous on Tuesday 29 October as he goes beyond his record-breaking achievements to explore the man behind the myth.
Greetings and salutations! Heathers the Musical is back from Tuesday 1 – Saturday 5 October. Welcome to Westerberg High where Veronica Sawyer is just another nobody dreaming of a better day. But when she joins the beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers and her dreams of popularity may finally come true, mysterious teen rebel JD teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it is murder being a somebody…
Art runs from Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 October. The multi award-winning, smash-hit comedy returns in a brand-new production for 2024. Named best comedy at the Olivier, Tony and Molière Awards, Art played a historic nine years in London’s West End as well as travelling around the globe to entertain audiences worldwide.
One magical night. Three mysterious ghosts. The spirit of the season will be overflowing in Northern Ballet’s A Christmas Carol. As the clock strikes midnight join Ebenezer Scrooge on the journey of a lifetime to discover the true meaning of Christmas. Dickens’ timeless tale is reimagined through dance, music and storytelling which will transport you to Victorian England and leave your heart aglow. From Thursday 7 – Saturday 9 November.
A rich-boy-meets-hometown-girl romantic comedy, Crazy For You is presented by STOS Theatre Company in an amateur production from Tuesday 19 – Saturday 23 November. With an entertaining book by Ken Ludwig and Gershwin tunes including I Got Rhythm, Naughty Baby, They Can’t Take That Away from Me, Embraceable You, But Not for Me, Nice Work If You Can Get It and Someone to Watch Over Me, this is one show not to miss. After STOS’ success of Barnum, Crazy For You which will bring the audience to its feet – Who Could Ask For Anything More?
Ready to thrill you with fun and naughty moments, Richard O’Brien’s legendary rock ‘n’ roll musical The Rocky Horror Show returns from Monday 25 – Saturday 30 November 2024. Having been seen by over 30 million theatregoers. The Rocky Horror Show is the biggest party and features timeless classics, including Sweet Transvestite, Damn it Janet, and of course, the pelvic thrusting show stopping Time Warp.
Into 2025:
Room on the Broom flies into Sheffield from Thursday 23 – Saturday 25 January 2025. Jump on board in Tall Stories’ fun-filled adaptation of the best-selling picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The witch and her cat are travelling on their broomstick when they pick up some hitch-hikers – a friendly dog, a beautiful green bird and a frantic frog. But this broomstick’s not meant for five and – CRACK – it snaps in two… just as the hungry dragon appears! The magical, Olivier Award-nominated show for everyone aged 3 and up.
Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago returns to the Lyceum from Tuesday 28 January – Saturday 1 February 2025. Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer, murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today’s tabloids.
Winter 1934 and an avalanche stops The Orient Express dead in its tracks. One murderer. A train full of suspects. An impossible case. Trapped in the snow with a killer still on-board, can Hercule Poirot crack the case before the train reaches its final destination? Murder on The Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s greatest literary achievements. Gripping, tense and masterfully cryptic, this brand-new production directed by Lucy Bailey (And Then There Were None, Witness For The Prosecution) is guaranteed to keep you guessing until the end of the line. From Tuesday 4 – Saturday 8 February 2025.
The most fantasmagorical musical of all time, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang flies into the Lyceum from Tuesday 18 February – Saturday 1 March 2025. The Potts family’s adventures to far off lands in their magical motor car makes a fun-filled hit for all the family. This brand-new production of this much-loved favourite is bursting with unforgettable songs by the Sherman Brothers including Toot Sweets, Hushabye Mountain, Truly Scrumptious and of course the Academy Award-nominated title song, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
There’s a Monster in Your Show… and he can’t wait to meet you! From Monday 31 March – Tuesday 1 April 2025, Tom Fletcher’s interactive adventures for big imaginations are leaping from page to stage, as the beloved ‘Who’s in Your Book?’ series makes its debut as a brand-new musical show. Expect plenty of fun for your littlest ones as their favourite characters, including Monster, Dragon, Alien and Unicorn, come to life in a show that is packed with playful moments to enjoy together.
Packed with some of the biggest musical theatre songs of the last decade, Dear Evan Hansen runs from Tuesday 8 – Saturday 12 April 2025. Meet Evan: an anxious high school kid who wants nothing more than to fit in. The thing is, on his way to fitting in, he didn’t tell the whole truth. And now must give up on a life he never dreamt he’d have. As events spiral and the truth comes out, Evan faces a reckoning with himself and everyone around him.
Direct from London’s West End, the Olivier award-winning & Juliet runs from Tuesday 20 – Saturday 31 May 2025. From the writer of multi award-winning Schitt’s Creek, & Juliet is fabulously fresh and riotously funny, exploding with dozens of pop anthems by legendary songwriter Max Martin, including Britney Spears’ …Baby One More and Katy Perry’s Roar. There is life after Romeo!
Over in the Playhouse, touring productions include:
Described by The Times as a “one-person music festival”, SK Shlomo: Breathe plays on Saturday 1 June 2024. International non-binary beatboxing star SK Shlomo presents their award-winning gigtheatre solo show. A rollercoaster loveletter to the lifesaving power of beats, bass and breathing.
Thatcher-rite plays on Saturday 8 June 2024. Welcome to Mrs. Thatcher’s very own traditional English tea party. An interactive performance exploring the personal and political legacy of Margaret Thatcher. With lip-sync, clown, and verbatim theatre.
From Monday 10 – Tuesday 11 June is Dead Girls Rising. Katie and Hannah love murder. They go to bed listening to podcasts about serial killers. Silent Uproar’s twisted coming of age story is about our deepest fears and how we seek to control them.
Created by electronic musician, An-Ting, and creative technologist, Ian Gallagher, Lost Communications runs on Friday 21 June. A live audio-AI-visual performance immersing the audience deeply into the light and darkness of nature.
Finally, visiting the Crucible this year:
The return of the World Seniors Snooker Championship for 2024 plays from Wednesday 8 – Sunday 12 May. Following on from the professional championships, defending champion Jimmy White will lead a stellar field of the world’s best senior snooker players.
Beyond Sheffield, the Olivier Award-winning new musical which started life at the Crucible Theatre and wowed audiences at the National Theatre, Standing at the Sky’s Edge, has transferred to the West End’s Gillian Lynne Theatre – written by Chris Bush, with the music of Richard Hawley, and directed by Robert Hastie skysedgemusical.com. Two hit shows which also started life in the Crucible Theatre are entertaining audiences on tour around the UK with the Olivier and Tony Award-winning stage adaptation of Life of Pi, continuing its UK and Ireland tour lifeofpionstage.com, and the West End hit musical, which was originally developed by Sheffield Theatres, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie continues to delight audiences around the UK throughout 2024 everybodystalkingaboutjamie.co.uk.
New productions will go on sale to Centre Stage Members at 10am Saturday 16 March and on general sale at 10am Saturday 23 March, with A Streetcar Named Desire going on sale later in the year. Accessible performances are available on the majority of productions. Tickets can be booked through the Box Office in person, over the phone on 0114 249 6000 or at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.
Recruitment for the new Artistic Director will begin this month, please see website and social media for further announcements.