Press & Media Releases
Please find Media Releases for upcoming shows in this section.
Some Like It Hotter
18 Jun 2013
Fresh Glory Productions presents
Thurs 11 – Sat 13 July 2013 7:30pm
Sat Matinee 2:30pm
Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis reunite for musical comedy
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Welcome to the most surprising comeback in entertainment history.
It's April 2013. Funny man Jack Lemmon and the incomparable Marilyn Monroe are reunited with Hollywood heart-throb Tony Curtis. But where exactly are they and what the hell is going on? This fast moving, fantasy comedy whisks the three screen icons back to their most beautiful, sexy and hilarious selves in a once-in-an-(after)-lifetime’s opportunity to rub shoulders with the stars.
Daring dialogue, razor-sharp wisecracks and sparkling musical numbers make a snappy musical comedy that looks wryly at the power of celebrities over the public – both in life and death.
…now that’s entertainment!
“They have a real hit on their hands with this new fantasy musical comedy."
BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE
The dialogue is sparkling, the wisecracks are spot-on and the musical numbers just keep coming... a perfect evening's theatre."
HERTFORDSHIRE LIFE
Tickets: A £20.50 B £17.50 C £15 D £12.50
Matinee: £12.50
Concs: £2 off
Schools: £7.50 for groups 10+
Student Standby: £8
Age: 8yrs+
Running Time: 2hrs 10mins
Book Online: www.exeternorthcott.co.uk
Box Office: 01392 493 493
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For more information, please contact Jenny Hogg on 01392 223 989 or email her
Notes to editors
Interviews are available upon request with Sarah Applewood who is one of the UK's leading Marilyn Monroe impersonators
Fresh Glory Productions is a theatrical producing & management company based in London, producing their own shows as well as co-productions with other theatre companies.
For more information on Flesh Glory Productions, please visit www.fleshglory.com
Dressing up takes centre stage as Exeter Northcott Theatre launch their autumn 2013 season
17 Jun 2013
Exeter Northcott Theatre have launched their new look autumn 2013 season brochure.
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As well as being packed with great drama, dance, opera, family theatre and comedy, the brochure features stunning images throughout by local photographer Matt Austin.
Inspired by the family Christmas show, The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr Benn, dressing up is very much the theme this autumn. The Exeter Northcott Theatre invited members of their audience to delve into their magical dressing up box whilst Matt Austin took a fantastic set of photographs.
Amongst the many highlights of the new season is the world première of Dawn King’s new play Ciphers, (Weds 16 – Sat 19 October) which begins a national tour at Exeter Northcott Theatre and is a co-production with Out of Joint and the Bush Theatre. With Ciphers, King has written a smart and provocative thriller about spies, double agents, and the opaqueness of the human soul.
Kate Tyrrell, Executive Director, comments “Exeter Northcott Theatre has a rich history of supporting new writing and we are delighted to be able to do this once again by joining forces with Out of Joint and the Bush to premiere this new work”.
The family Christmas show sees the return of the renowned theatre company Tall Stories with The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr Benn (Wed 11 December –Sat 4 January). The show is full of catchy songs and astounding magic and will also inspire a visual arts project in partnership with DAISI and Devon primary schools whose work will decorate the theatre during the festive season.
The new season also sees the launch of the theatre’s ENGAGE programme, to provide opportunities for those with itchy creative feet to get more involved. From a story-telling group for the very young to play-reading session for adults, there is a broad range of ways for people to take centre stage. ENCORE is the theatre’s new fundraising programme which sees the launch of a new members scheme and business club as well as a backstage club for families. More information on both ENGAGE and ENCORE can be found in the new brochure and on the Exeter Northcott website.
Other highlights of the autumn season include:
COMEDY:
The theatre hosts two brilliant comedians in Andrew O’Neill (Sat 5 October) and the godfather of alternative comedy, Alexei Sayle (Sat 26 October). Also in October, Fascinating Aïda ( Fri 25 October) return with their Charm Offensive. Other treats for comedy fans later in the season include the razor-sharp observations of Jo Caulfield (Sun 10 November) and Chris Ramsey (Sun 1 December), who wonders whether he is The Most Dangerous Man on Saturday Morning Television. In ‘yet another farewell’ tour, Barry Cryer (Sat 25 January) seeks to bring a ray of sunshine amid the dark clouds of life.
DRAMA:
The season gets off to a great start with Willy Russell’s Educating Rita (Wed 25 – Sat 28 September), followed by Michael Morpurgo’s Toro! Toro! (Tues 8 – Sat 12 October) which brings the Spanish civil war to Exeter. Toro! Toro!, originally produced by Salisbury Playhouse, was nominated for the TMA Award for Best Show for Young People. Filter Theatre in association The Royal Shakespeare Company returns by popular demand to the Exeter Northcott with Twelfth Night (Tues 5 – Sat 9 November) after their sell-out show in 2010. A great introduction to Shakespeare, this production of Twelfth Night is one of the freshest and most acclaimed Shakespeare productions of recent years. Finally, Salisbury Playhouse’s wonderfully English comedy The Recruiting Officer (Tues 3 – Sat 7 December), brings bawdiness, bed-hopping and meddling servants to the Northcott stage.
FAMILY EVENTS:
Grandpa in my Pocket: Teamwork! (Wed 7 – Sat 10 August) comes to the Exeter Northcott stage for a whole new ‘Grandpa’ experience for young fans of the hugely popular CBeebies televisions series. A brand new story told by a young ensemble who bring all your favourite Sunnysands characters and places to life before your eyes. Direct from Australia, Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo (Fri 13 – Sun 15 September) brings these awesome prehistoric creatures to the stage as you’ve never seen them before. Squashbox Theatre are back in October with Curious Creatures (Sat 5 October), using puppets, comedy, slapstick and live music to uncover the mysteries of the magical kingdom. Combining games, songs and heart warming elephant antics is The Elephant Bridesmaid (Sun 3 November), and later in November, Travelling Light and Bristol Old Vic presents BOING! (Sun 17 November), an enchanting mix of comedy, acrobatics and breakdancing.
DANCE:
The Mark Bruce Company of ten exceptional dancers bring Bram Stoker’s haunting tale Dracula (Tues 1 & Wed 2 October) to life in a heart wrenching and magical dance theatre production. Sadler’s Wells presents the Russell Maliphant Company ‘s Still Current (Tues 22 & Wed 23 October) which features newly created duets, trios and solos danced by this remarkable company of dancers including Dickson MBI, who recently stunned audiences with his strength and unique popping style in the Lucozade Revive commercial. Shobana Jeysasingh Dance (Thurs 14 & Fri 15 November) celebrate their 25th anniversary with a double bill of Strange Blooms, a new piece featuring early baroque music with all its exuberance and contrast, and Configurations, Jeyasingh’s seminal 1988 piece celebrated for its exhilarating speed and stunning detail. The phenomenally popular BalletBoyz® (Tues 26 & Weds 27 November) make their Exeter Northcott Theatre debut with two stunning dance pieces by internationally celebrated choreographers Russell Maliphant and Liam Scarlett.
OPERA
Inspired by the wit and humour of the Venice carnival season, English Touring Opera present a trio of Opera’s in November:Cavalli’s Jason (Wed 20 November); Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea (Thurs 21 November) and Handel’s Agrippina (Fri 22 & Sat 23 November).
COMMUNITY SHOWS:
Exeter Northcott Theatre continues to offer up its facilities to local companies and welcomes Stage by Stage’s production of the classic musical, Annie (Tues 29 October – Sat 2 November) and Chance to Dance return for a fifth year with a showcase of work featuring local dance schools.
MUSIC:
Australian guitarist, Craig Ogden (Sun 8 December) is one of the most exciting artists of his generation and both of his Classic FM albums have shot straight to the top of the UK Classical chart. Graffiti Classics (Fri 20 December) bring their 16 strings, 8 dancing feet and 4 voices to Exeter with the aim to make classical music wickedly funny and exhilarating for young and old alike.
BUYING TICKETS:
Tickets for the autumn 2013 season go on general sale at 10am on Friday 21 June. Call the Exeter Northcott Theatre box office on 01392 493493 or book your seats online at the Exeter Northcott Theatre website. Alternatively buy in person from Exeter Northcott Theatre, Stocker Road, EX4 4QB
For further press information and to request interviews, review tickets and images, please contact Jenny Hogg on 01392 223 989 or email her at j.l.hogg@exeter.ac.uk
Costume extravaganza to celebrate past and present
10 Jun 2013
Exeter Northcott Theatre awarded charity status
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Exeter Northcott Theatre is delighted to announce its new status as a registered charity. To celebrate, the theatre will hold an exclusive evening on Friday 14th June for invited guests featuring costumes and images from the theatre’s extensive archive.
Thanks to a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, researcher Dr Erin Walcon and Dr Jerri Daboo of the University of Exeter’s Drama Department have begun the huge task of cataloguing and investigating Exeter Northcott’s wonderful collection of photographs, posters, programmes and press cuttings. The collection offers a unique view of the life of the theatre, and is a great resource for charting the history of not only the Northcott, but regional theatre in Britain as a whole.
Images from the archive will be brought to life and reunited with the actual costumes as part of this glamorous one-off event and will see the theatre be transformed into a cabaret style catwalk for the night.
With money generously funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, four permanent panels will display the results of this first foray into the archive in the theatre for public view from Friday 14th June.
Part of the display will feature many images of now- famous film, television and West End performers, including Robert Lindsay, John Nettles, David Suchet and Imelda Staunton, all of whom began their careers in repertory at Exeter Northcott Theatre.
As Exeter University Drama graduates showcase their work on the Northcott’s stage this week (RAW: Emerging Artists Platform, Tues 11 – Thurs 13 June), there couldn’t be a better time to celebrate the rich history of careers that started at Exeter Northcott Theatre.
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For more information, please contact Jenny Hogg on 01392 223 989 or email her
Notes to editors.
Archive photographs are available.
Photocall: A photocall will be held at the Exeter Northcott Theatre on Friday 14th June at 4pm for photographers to photograph the stage, costumes and archive displays. Please let Jenny know if a photographer will be attending.
Kate Tyrell, Executive Director of Exeter Northcott, and Dr Erin Walcon, researcher, are available for interviews on Friday.
Dr Erin Walcon’s Exeter Northcott archive blog: http://northcottarchive.wordpress.com/
More information about the RAW Platform can be found here: http://www.exeternorthcott.co.uk/raw-platform
Birdhouse
06 Jun 2013
Tues 25 June, 7.30pm
Jammy Voo explore the far edge of madness, in a homage to Hitchcock’s iconic classic The Birds
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Bringing to the fore the unsung stars of Hitchcock’s infamous avian horror, Jammy Voo tell the story of four holidaying ‘twitchers’ caught up in the terrible events of the film’s suburban setting, through a blend of physical theatre, puppetry, live music, high drama and surreal comedy. The performances, created in collaboration with Bush associate director Omar Elerian and Dark Clown consultant Peta Lily, signal the company’s third return to the Edinburgh fringe following their critically acclaimed hits A Corner of the Ocean (2011) and Something Blue (2009).
In the setting of the old Coronet Cinema in California’s Bodega Bay, we meet Mrs Smith, Ms Schiffer, Miss Spoke and Miss Shire; Hitchcock ‘background artistes’ and sole survivors of the bird attack that wiped out the population of the town. You may remember Mrs Smith crossing the street, or Miss Shire in the petrol station? Perhaps not. Years on, the women remain camped out in the auditorium in a permanent state of post-traumatic shock. Will they now survive their own personal apocalypses?
Founding member and musical director of Jammy Voo Emily Kreider said, “In any horror film, it is certain something bad will happen. Perhaps even multiple times. Without question you are waiting and watching for the next horrific moment. You just don’t know when, where or to whom it’s going to happen. But it will. That is certain. In making Birdhouse we wanted to look at the anticipation of horror. What would it mean to live expecting and preparing for horror at all times? We found this notion to be hugely absurd, comic and tragic all at once. We liked that the subject of horror offered space for high drama, the surreal and the ridiculous. But there was also room for the poetic and heartbreak as well”
Jammy Voo was formed in 2006 by Lecoq Theatre School graduates Yngvild Aspeli, Kate Edwards, Emily Kreider and Eliza Wills-Crisp. They received funding from Arts Council England to make their first show Something Blue, which took place in pubs, theatre bars and an old cinema in rural Devon. Something Blue and their second show A Corner Of The Ocean have since gone on to receive critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe and have toured both nationally and internationally. Their work blends physical theatre, sublime puppetry, arresting visuals, live music and song
Commissioned by Beaford Arts with support from Jacksons Lane Theatre. Funded by Arts Council England.
Tickets: £12.50
Concs: £2 off
Schools: £7.50 for 10+
Student standby: £8
Age: 14yrs+
Running Time: 1 hr
Book Online: www.exeternorthcott.co.uk
Box Office: 01392 493 493
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Notes to editors
Since 2010, Jammy Voo have collaborated with musician and composer Greg Hall, to provide a live musical accompaniment to the company’s work. He also currently performs and co-writes with acclaimed silent film accompaniment band Minima and has worked with artists including Ted Barnes (Beth Orton), Ali Friend (Red Snapper), Dan Michaelson (Absentee), The Veils and The Lucinda Belle Orchestra. Two of his songs featured on Shane Meadows’ 2009 film Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee (Warp Films). Some of the theatre and dance companies that Greg has worked with include Tiat Moo, Qualia Theatre, Frontline Dance and Wired Aerial Theatre.
www.jammyvoo.com | @JammyVoo | www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_2WzPB57kk
RAW: Emerging Arts Platform
03 Jun 2013
Tues 11 – Thurs 13 June
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Exeter Northcott Theatre is delighted to be teaming up with the University of Exeter Drama Department and Arts & Culture team to present RAW: Emerging Arts Platform.
In a new initiative from the two organisations, RAW is a platform for emerging choreographers, live artists and playwrights. It is an opportunity for Exeter Drama graduates to show exciting new work to a range of audiences, professional artists, programmers and organisation representatives; a place to share knowledge, skills and ideas.
Tuesday, 11th June will showcase two works of new writing.
Notes on Some Persons, Starting to Crack, written and performed by Gareth Morgan,tells the story of David, who has something to say about love, loss and glaciology. ‘Notes...’ is one man's struggle with being alive and how to embark on a journey without an actual destination.
If it's Not One Thing, it's Another, written by Adam Foster,is an unusual and moving coming-of-age story about dealing with the terrifying prospect of change. Rosie has lived in the same house all her life, with her Dad, by the train tracks in rural Devon. But when her dad dies she becomes obsessed with the online community and grows isolated from the outside world.
Wednesday 12th June will present mixed performances.
The protagonist in Attempt, written and directed by Viki Browne, can’t cook, can’t build flat pack furniture, and can’t really tell jokes. But she can make lists! Using some text from The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and poetry by Anne Sexton, she attempts to convey her experiences to other people.
Sleep When You Die, co-directed by Hannah Kamen and Kirsty Proffitt , devised and performed by Laura Doble, Hannah Kamen, Takehiro Kawase, Kirsty Proffitt and Verity Richards, combines physical theatre with testimony speech, in order to address some of the myths and facts about sleep. Should we be worrying about a ack of sleep? We spend a third of our life being unproductive, unsociable and keeping others awake by snoring. Perhaps more appropriately we should concentrate on the fact that, thanks to sleep, we are life deprived.
Thursday 13th June will showcase physical theatre shows.
The Summit, directed by Alice Higginson & Sian Keen, takes a fractured view of an athlete's life from training on a rainy morning, to intrusive media interviews and memories of childhood grazes from falling off her tricycle. Follow 'The Athlete' through the blood, sweat and tears that come with the drive to win, the pressure to succeed, the fear of failure and the suffering family life that simmers away in the background.
Natasha Lushetich, University of Exeter Drama Lecturer, said
“I am thrilled that RAW, a collaboration between the Northcott Theatre and the Drama Department, University of Exeter, is taking place. This is an excellent opportunity for our graduates to show exciting new work to wider audiences and exchange ideas with other professionals in the field.”
Additionally on Wednesday 12th June, the University of Exeter Drama Department and Exeter Northcott Theatre are delighted to present Funding Not Drowning: The Crisis is Regional Arts Funding. Professor Christopher Frayling, theChairman of Arts Council England from 2005 until January 2009, will discuss the future of funding of the arts, with a particular focus on the problems of allocation of funding between regional and national organisations.
This will be followed by a conversation about arts funding, led by Professor Frayling and Professor Helen Taylor, University of Exeter Arts and Culture Fellow, where there will also be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions and share their views.
A RAW DEAL Day Pass is available to buy which provides entryto see all performances on Wednesday 12 June, attend the Sir Christopher Frayling lecture, and enjoy a buffet supper.
For more information and to book tickets, please visit exeternorthcott.co.uk
Tickets: £3 per show; £5 for 2 shows.
There will be feedback sessions at the end of each performance.
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For more information, please contact Jenny Hogg on 01392 223 989 or email her at j.l.hogg@exeter.ac.uk
Notes to editors
Exeter University Drama Department is an internationally-renowned centre for practice, research and teaching. Our teaching grows out of our wide-ranging research interests and we provide a supportive and high quality environment for learning.
For more information about the drama department, please visit http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/drama
Wren Band
28 May 2013
Folk band hopes werewolf songs will be a howling success …
Sun 2 June 7:30pm
A concert of songs about legendary tales of English werewolves is being taken on tour by South West-based folk act the Wren Band – starting right here at the Exeter Northcott Theatre.
The band – formed specially by the eight musicians of Wren Music to mark the folk music charity’s 30th anniversary – is taking the show on tour this summer and is hoping the popularity of all things werewolf and vampire will bring a new audience to traditional English folk music.
The concert, which premieres at Exeter Northcott Theatre on 2 June, features 21 songs and two stories – all about legendary creatures.
“It’s a very werewolf and canine-influenced show,” said Marilyn Tucker, artistic director of Okehampton-based Wren Music.
The concert uses stories in Sabine Baring-Gould’s folklore writing including his famous work The Book of Were-wolves as the inspiration for the show. Story-collector Baring-Gould (1834-1924), who lived in Devon, researched the tales and wrote them down in his books, capturing the legends for future generations.
The band looked at the stories and then sifted through the archive of traditional folk songs to find those which matched the tales. They have also penned new songs about some of Dartmoor’s best known folklore stories.
Marilyn says that although most of the stories are old, they will resonate with a 21st century audience: “There is a whole new generation of people who are really interested in folklore and we are hoping they might like to explore the music as well because the two go together. And references from Baring-Gould’s folklore writings are now appearing in popular culture such as Harry Potter.
“We felt that this was too good an opportunity to miss, with our knowledge of folklore and folk songs, and this new-found interest in the whole area of werewolves. So we’ve put the two together.
“One thing that we did find out is that in English culture, there aren’t many werewolves – but there are a lot of werefoxes.”
Hounds also play a part in the concert, which is entitled When The Moon Is Full, as Marilyn explained: “We do know that Baring-Gould corresponded with Arthur Conan Doyle when Conan Doyle was researching The Hound of the Baskervilles, which was obviously based on Dartmoor. And here in Okehampton, we think we’ve got the genesis of The Hound of the Baskervilles with Lady Howard’s Black Dog.”
The story goes that each night, the ghost of Lady Howard travels from Tavistock to Okehampton Castle in a coach made of the bones of her four husbands - with a huge black dog running ahead of the coach. Baring-Gould collected a song from his nurse, called My Lady’s Coach, which has been newly-arranged for the concert.
“Some of the famous stories of Dartmoor didn’t make it into folk songs, so we’ve written some. Another song that we’ve created is The Hairy Hand, which is the story that most children around here and particularly in Plymouth know very well.
“This is a very interesting piece of folklore because it’s a 20thcentury myth. It’s the story of how the hairy hand comes across the handlebars of a motorbike and takes it off the road. For me, this bridges the gap between older folklore and urban tales.”
The tour is a rare chance for the musicians at Wren to get together and play; usually, they work separately on musical projects in communities across the South West: “This is the first time all eight of us have done this together,” said Marilyn. “The whole process has been really exciting. We’re working entirely as a team and it is a fabulous way of working.”
The eight members are co-founders of Wren Music Paul Wilson and Marilyn; bagpipe player David Faulkner; vocalists Sarah Owen and Rosa Rebecka; mandolin player and story-teller Matt Norman and duet Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll on fiddles and vocals.
The tour takes the band from Exeter to Poole, Derby, Bristol, Islington in London, Penzance and Falmouth.
“It’s lovely to be able to get out there and play at venues where there is a strong following in folk music but at the same time we want to bring the stories and the music to a new audience as well.”
For more information about Wren Music, please visit: www.wrenmusic.co.uk
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