Perth Theatre Subscription Season 2011/2012

From shipwrecked shores to Glasgow tenements, Beirut bunkers to the glamour of Hollywood, with a short stopover in Pantoland, the new season at Perth Theatre will take audiences on an exciting journey with tears and laughter all the way.

The 2011:2012 Perth Theatre season is the first at the helm for Rachel O’Riordan, Horsecross Arts’ new creative director for theatre.

Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Twelfth Night which Rachel sets in 1920’s Scotland with live music launches the season on 30 September. A host of well loved characters weave laughter and mischief through this tale of love and loss, creating a bittersweet comedy - one of Shakespeare’s best loved plays.

National Theatre of Scotland brings a major new production of Ena Lamont Stewart’s Men Should Weep to Perth from Tuesday 15 November. Directed by Graham McLaren, set amid the Glasgow’s tenements in the 1930s, this Scottish classic charts the misfortunes of the Morrison family as they try to get by in the worst of circumstances in a thought provoking account that also manages to find humour in the depths of poverty.

It’s panto time again from 9 December! This year’s show in Perth Theatre, Jack and the Beanstalk, directed by Andrew Panton is fee fi fo FUN for everyone with all the slapstick, singing and silliness that make Perth’s traditional pantomime an essential part of the perfect family Christmas.

Rachel then directs Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me by Frank McGuinness from Friday 10 February. This award-winning play is dedicated to Brian Keenan who was held captive with fellow hostage John McCarthy in Lebanon. Set in a prison cell in Beirut, this moving testament to the human sprit tells the tale of how three men held prisoner in the bleakest of situations find small escapes in their imaginations and friendships.

And it’s a different kind of imprisonment altogether in madcap comedy Moonlight and Magnolias by Ron Hutchinson directed by Rachel O’Riordan from Friday 16 March. Based on the alarming true story of the making of Gone with the Wind, Moonlight and Magnolias tells the farcical tale of move mogul David O. Selznick and two colleagues locked in an office with only bananas and peanuts as they desperately try to turn around the fortunes of the first ever Hollywood blockbuster – and the rest, as they say, is movie history!

Other shows to look forward to in Perth Theatre this autumn/winter include Owen McCafferty’s The Absence of Women, a funny and poignant play about two Belfast labourers facing the end of their lives, directed by Rachel O’Riordan, a new play based on Roger Hutchinson’s Calum’s Road presented by National Theatre of Scotland and Hull Truck’s raucous and insightful comedy about a colliery choir group; Glee Club.

Unveiling the 2011:2012 Perth Theatre Subscription Season brochure, Rachel O’Riordan said “Our thriving theatre subscription scheme shows that the people of Perth love theatre and this is one of the things that make our venue so special. I can’t wait to get stuck into the new season which presents a range of brilliant drama from a fresh take on the familiar to the new and exciting - all stories selected for their ability to entertain and enthral.”

Subscription to Perth Theatre is free to join with members enjoying a range of benefits including up to 20% discount on tickets, preferred seat selection, free ticket exchange and 10% discounts on non-subscription season theatre shows and in the restaurant.

For full details, pick up the 2011:2012 Theatre Subscription Season brochure from Perth Concert Hall or Perth Theatre or...

Click here to download a copy!

	Horsecross arts present twelfth night by William Shakespeare fri 30 sep - sat 15 oct 7.45pm, sat matinees 2.30pm "arguably the greatest comedy ever written" The Guardian
	national theatre of scotland presents men should weep by ena lamont stewart tue 15 - sat 26 nov 7.45pm, sat matinees 2.30pm "Ena Lamont Stewart's remarkable play... a landmark in British drama" The Guardian
	horsecross arts present jack and the beanstalk directed by andrew panton fri 9 Dec 2011 - sat 7 jan 2012 7pm, matinees 2pm Fi, Fi, Fo, Fun - get ready for an adventure of GIANT proportions...
	horsecross arts present someone who'll watch over me by Frank McGuinness Fri 10 - Sat 25 Feb 2012 7.45pm, sat matinees 2.30pm "it's startling how much McGuinness crams into this little room..." The Observer
	horsecross arts present moonlight and magnolias by ron hutchinson fri 16 - sat 31 mar 2012 7.45pm, Sat matinees 2.30pm "Ron Hutchinson's fast, sharp and funny play catches the heart-stopping uncertainty principle of the Hollywood system" The Telegraph