A haunting new play, a comedy classic and Shakespeare’s darkest thriller make up Perth Theatre’s three play spring season offer; on sale on Tuesday 5 November.
The Original Theatre Company presents bold and haunting new production The Croft from Tuesday 4 until Saturday 8 February. Two women arrive at a former Crofters Hut in a deserted village in the remote Scottish Highlands. 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. Based on a true story, The Croft stars national treasure Gwen Taylor (Barbara, A Bit of A Do, Coronation Street, Heartbeat) and Caroline Harker (Middlemarch, A Touch of Frost).
Lu Kemp directs Perth Theatre’s production of Oscar Wilde’s “trivial comedy for serious people” The Importance of Being Earnest from Thursday 5 until Saturday 21 March. Jack and Algernon are best friends. Jack is Ernest in town. Algernon is Ernest in the country. But can two friends ever be Ernest at once? When Gwendolen and Cecily each declare they can only ever marry a man called Ernest, a vicar and a christening are in order. With the added complication of a mother-in-law, a governess, and a baby in a handbag, being truly Earnest has never been more important. The Importance of Being Earnest is sponsored by Bright Spirits with match-funding from Culture & Business Fund Scotland.
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Derby Theatre present Shakespeare’s spookiest thriller, and ever popular Scottish play, Macbeth from Tuesday 31 March until Saturday 4 April. Three witches on a heath have a disturbing prophecy for a victorious warrior. Macbeth will be king of Scotland. As this wicked seed is planted, daring Macbeth and his determined wife Lady Macbeth draw bloody daggers and set out on a fateful path. But seizing the crown comes at a terrible price, as guilt grows, enemies draw close and the fight for survival hurtles towards a tragic conclusion…
Theatre goers can claim a 20% discount when booking all three Perth Theatre season productions at the same time.
Lu Kemp, artistic director for Perth Theatre said:
“Our audiences tell us they are looking for comedy, thrillers and classics, and, of course, high-end production values. This season brings together all three from the ridiculous to the supernatural – with a touch of the sublime thrown in. Based on a true story, The Croft is a truly evocative thriller about the experience of two stranded travellers, set in an isolated village in the Scottish Highlands. The enduring comedy of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest lies in his shallow, judgmental characters with all the wrong priorities. Always a popular choice with our audiences, this production of Macbeth is a large-scale, authentic show crackling with energy throughout.”
Other theatre shows for the new season on sale now include Girls' Night OOT! from Friday 31 January until Saturday 1 February. To prepare for a marriage all a girl needs are her friends and a guid old hen night! Banterous and Bootyliciously good fun! Scottish Ensemble & Untitled Projects and Perth Theatre collaborate for We Are In Time from Tuesday 25 until Wednesday 26 February. Unfolding through song, words and a visionary live score for strings and electronics, We Are In Time tells the extraordinary story of a transplanted heart.
Shows on sale when the new season brochure for Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre is launched in December include Heroine in Perth Theatre’s Joan Knight Studio on Wednesday 29 January. Danna was the only woman in her company and a survivor of military sexual trauma. When she led a mission into the Middle East, she and her assailant were two of the few survivors. Heroine is a story about one female soldier's experiences, and what healing and forgiveness really mean.
Thick Skin, Elastic Heart in Perth Theatre’s Joan Knight Studio on Friday 7 February is a collection of monologues and group poems giving voice to a generation, often referred to in mass media as ineffectual, lazy, oversensitive “snow-flakes”. The piece plays like a frenzied scroll through a social media feed – with seemingly disconnected pieces running into one another at speed, woven together with athletic physical delivery.
Cloud Man in Perth Theatre from Tuesday 7 until Saturday 11 April introduces young people aged 4 to 7 to the charming puppet world of Claude, a cloud expert who has always dreamt of seeing a Cloud Man, an extremely rare creature who lives a quiet life high up in the sky.
And, two local voices will tell a local story as Ken Alexander directs Tom McGovern in a Perth Theatre production of The Signalman. The show, originally produced by A Play, A Pie and A Pint and Traverse Theatre, about a signalman who sent the Edinburgh/Burntisland train onto the Tay Rail Bridge the night of the historic disaster, will run from Wednesday 29 April until Saturday 9 May in the Joan Knight Studio, then tour to venues across the area.
Tickets and info for The Croft, The Importance of Being Earnest and Macbeth, and other shows on sale now can be found at www.horsecross.co.uk, or by calling Horsecross Arts Box Office on 01738 621031.