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HIT MUSICAL
'REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL'

LAUNCHES NATIONAL TOUR AT THE NEW WOLSEY THEATRE, IPSWICH
Thursday 9 to Saturday 18 February

 

Following a hugely successful run in Ipswich and London in 2010, Graeae and the New Wolsey Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of Reasons To Be Cheerful will hit the road in Spring 2012. Kicking off a 1633 mile national tour on 9 February at the New Wolsey Theatre, the show will go on to play Cornwall, Hull, Watford, Dundee, Hackney and Nottingham.

Written by Paul Sirett and directed by Graeae’s Artistic Director Jenny Sealey, this high-energy coming of age tale set in 1979 celebrates the infectious music of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Featuring classic songs including Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick; Plaistow Patricia; Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll; Sweet Gene Vincent; Spasticus Autisticus and the titular Reasons to be Cheerful, this new musical was first performed in Autumn 2010 at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich and Theatre Royal Stratford East.

As the original disabled activist and musician, Ian Dury was a patron, staunch supporter and advocate of Graeae. The extraordinary wit and wisdom of Dury’s music and lyrics are brought to life by an exceptional cast of 13 actors and musicans. Almost all of the company will reprise their roles for the 2012 UK Tour. Paula Faircloth will join the company on drums.

Part gig, part play, this gritty production is set in 1979 when Labour lost to the Tories, strikes rocked the nation, and Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ Reasons to be Cheerful (Part 3) climbed the charts. Die-hard fans Vinnie and his mates are desperate to see Ian Dury and the Blockheads at the Hammersmith Odeon, except the gig sold out weeks ago. However life has a habit of throwing strange things at you, and one night of frustration becomes something else entirely...

Graeae is a force for change in world-class theatre - breaking down barriers, challenging preconceptions and boldly placing Deaf and disabled artists centre stage. Artistically led by Jenny Sealey, Graeae’s signature characteristic is the compelling creative integration of sign language and audio description, which engages brilliantly with both disabled and non-disabled audiences. Championing accessibility and providing a platform for new generations of artists, Graeae leads the way in pioneering, trail-blazing theatre.
Jenny Sealey has recently been appointed Co-Artistic Director of the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony 2012.
Reasons to be Cheerful will offer workshop programmes to groups that visit the show. Suitable for: Participants aged 14 and above. Workshops can be adapted to suit students at BTEC, Diploma, A Level, and Higher Education degree level. For more information, or to book a workshop please contact Nadine Renton on 020 7613 6900.

All performances include captioned dialogue, BSL-interpreted songs and audio description.

www.reasonstobecheerfulthemusical.co.uk

Tickets for performances at the New Wolsey can be booked online at www.wolseytheatre.co.uk or by calling the Box Office on 01473 295900.

CARYL CHURCHILL'S 'TOP GIRLS'
DIRECTED BY OUT-OF-JOINT'S
MAX STAFFORD CLARK
COMES TO THE NEW WOLSEY THEATRE, IPSWICH
Tuesday 21 to Saturday 25 February 2012


Caryl Churchill’s inventive and groundbreaking play Top Girls will tour from January to March 2012, following its sell-out run at Chichester Festival Theatre and triumphant West End transfer.

It’s Thatcher’s England and hard-nosed, go-getting businesswoman Marlene is hosting a dinner party to celebrate her promotion to MD of the Top Girls Employment Agency. Her guests are all powerful and eccentric women from myth and history, making for an extraordinary gathering and one of the most famous and colourful openings of any play. As Top Girls takes us back in time through Marlene’s story, it becomes a provocative study of success, the compromises Marlene has made and, chillingly, what happens to those who get left behind.

Caroline Catz will play Marlene. She is well known from playing Louisa in five series of Doc Martin, with other long-term roles on The Vice, Murder in Suburbia and All Quiet on the Preston Front and appearances in Marple and Hotel Babylon. West End theatre work includes Out of Joint’s Shopping and F***ing, and Six Degrees of Separation. The cast also includes Helen Bradbury, Alix Dunmore, Esther Ruth Elliott, Victoria Gee, Emmy Sainsbury and Kirsten Hazel Smith.

Out of Joint’s Artistic Director Max Stafford-Clark returns to Top Girls having directed its premiere at the Royal Court in 1982. He has been Artistic Director of the Royal Court and Traverse Theatres and co-founded the Joint Stock Theatre Group. He also collaborated with Caryl Churchill on Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, Cloud Nine, Serious Money and Blue Heart. Other projects for Out of Joint include Shopping and F***ing by Mark Ravenhill, The Permanent Way by David Hare, Talking to Terrorists by Robin Soans, a world-touring Macbeth, and recently A Dish of Tea with Dr Johnson, Richard Bean’s The Big Fellah and Stella Feehily’s Bang Bang Bang.

Tickets for performances at the New Wolsey can be booked online at www.wolseytheatre.co.uk or by calling the Box Office on 01473 295900.

 

 

 

 
       
 

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