From Lear to Martin Luther King Jr, ghostly goings on to recording studio blues with Quadrophenia reimagined for good measure too… what will you see in June.
With Moulin Rouge’s mammoth run at The Playhouse continuing until the 14th of June, and the King’s Theatre still undergoing its transformation, there are far fewer titles touring to the Capital this month than in Junes gone by.
I have to admit, it leaves me ever more eager for the reopening of the Old Lady of Leven Street. Its closure has certainly highlighted just how many mid-scale touring productions currently have no Edinburgh stop on their schedules.
Adding to the dearth of new shows to see, that Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop at the Royal Lyceum also sneaked into last month’s Must See Theatre column as it opened on the last day of May, doesn’t help. However, it continues to run until 21 June so still worth a plug.
If you need a reminder what it’s about, here goes: April 3, 1968. Room 306, the Lorraine Motel, Memphis. It’s Dr Martin Luther King Jnr’s last night on Earth. Exhausted from a life on the road, hoarse from testifying day after day, all King wants is a coffee and some cigarettes. Room service arrives in the form of Camae, a motel maid with the face of an angel who smokes, drinks, and curses like a sailor while giving King a run for his money.
This production imagines the man behind the legend on the eve of his assassination. Pulling away the mask of his public facade and revealing private turmoil it reveals the conflict of the family man and the martyr, desperate to finish what he started. Set during the height of America’s Civil Rights Movement, this Olivier award-winning play confronts life, death and the idea of legacy.
Running time 90 minutes with no interval. Tickets £15-£35 here
Now onto the new for this month, starting with The Bard. Yet another new take on the works of Shakespeare comes to The Traverse, this time in the form of Ramesh Meyyappan’s Lear (5-7 June). Directed by Orla O’Loughlin, the production from Raw Material in association with the National Theatre of Scotland is the story of a man, a father and a fool.
In his dark and claustrophobic world, Lear is the all-powerful patriarch, but he is also his own fool. Being a fool is one thing. Having power and being a fool is quite another. What happens when the power we hold is taken away?
This contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare’s King Lear brings together Meyyappan’s visual storytelling with O’Loughlin’s insightful direction and a cast of four, touching on the universal themes of escalating madness, loss of power, betrayal and trust along the way.
Running time 1 hour. Tickets £1-£20 here
The world of dance changed forever when Sir Matthew Bourne first unleashed his ground-breaking New Adventures dance theatre company on an unsuspecting world in 1986. The world of ballet would never be the same again.
Today we have become used to watching contemporary stories told through dance, not long ago Capital Theatres brought Rambert’s (they seem to have dropped the Ballet from their branding some time ago now) TV drama inspired Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby to the stage of the Festival Theatre. This month, it’s the turn of Sadler’s Wells to follow suit, with Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet (10-14 June).
In 1973, Townshend wrote Quadrophenia. Recorded by The Who, proved an iconic and multi-million selling album, defining a generation and inspiring the 1979 cult film of the same name starring everyone from Phil Daniels to Lesley Ash, Ray Winstone to Trevor Laird, Sting to Adam Ant and not forgetting Toyah and Gary Shail. If that cast seemed like an incendiary mix at the time, now Sadler’s Wells, with Townshend, have reimagined it as an explosive dance production.
A large cast of exceptional dancers will introduce new audiences to troubled mod Jimmy’s story, while remaining true in spirit to the much-loved original. Steeped in the mythology of the 1960s – sharp suits, soul music, vespas and parkas – Quadrophenia’s themes of lost youth, rebellion, search for belonging and hunger for social change are just as urgent today.
Scored with an orchestral version of the album by Rachel Fuller, choreographed by Paul Roberts and directed by Rob Ashford, Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet promises to bring a whole new dimension to one of the UK’s most iconic rock albums.
Running time 2 hours including interval. Tickets £26.50-£59.50 here
Staying at the Festival Theatre, something very different heads there later in the month and if you like a good old-fashioned scary story, then be afraid, The Croft (25-28 June), a new thriller by Ali Miles, is coming.
Based on a true highland story, the past refuses to be silenced in The Croft. In the remote Scottish Highlands two women arrive at a former Crofter’s Hut in the deserted village of Coillie Ghille. When suddenly the weekend getaway takes an unexpected turn. Cut off from the modern world, Laura and Suzanne find themselves drawn into the dark history of the Croft and the lives that passed before them. In this haunting piece the present interweaves with the past as ancient tales surface and the terrifying truth lurking in the Croft is revealed.
Watch out for a familiar face leading the cast, that of Liza Goddard, known for her roles in Doctor Who, Bergerac, of course, popular game show Give Us A Clue which ran from the ’70s through to the ’90s, as well as Caroline Harker of A Touch of Frost fame, and returning to Edinburgh after his starring role in Rebus: A Game Called Malice, Corrie and Casualty favourite Gray O’Brien.
Running Time 2 hours including interval. Tickets £22.50-£46.50 here
Finally, if you are heading to London for a theatre break? My West End Must See for June is Stereophonic, the critically acclaimed new play by David Adjmi, with original songs by Grammy Award winner Will Butler of the band, Arcade Fire.
The highly anticipated transfer of Stereophonic to the West End after the success of its Broadway run, brings the Tony Award-winning play to the Duke of York’s Theatre.
Stereophonic mines the agony and the ecstasy of creation as it zooms in on a music studio in 1976. Here, an up-and-coming rock band recording a new album finds itself suddenly on the cusp of superstardom. The ensuing pressures could spark their breakup, or their breakthrough. As the band strives to perfect each track of their make-or-break album, the cast of actor-musicians will play their instruments and sing live on stage each night, echoing the exacting process of the recording studio, inviting audiences to immerse themselves, with fly-on-the-wall intimacy, in the powder keg process of a band on the brink of blowing up.
Portraying an ambitious rock band struggling to record their new album are: Zachary Hart as Reg the bass player, Lucy Karczewski as Diana the charismatic lead singer, Jack Riddiford as Peter the guitarist and Nia Towle as Holly, the keys player. They join previously announced Andrew R Butler, Eli Gelb and Chris Stack all of whom are reprising their roles, Charlie, Grover and Simon respectively, from the acclaimed Broadway production.
Running time 3 hours 10 minutes including interval. Tickets £48-£84 here
Until next month, happy theatre-going and remember, you can find all my latest reviews from Edinburgh, London and beyond at www.MustSeeTheatre.com
Bests
Liam
