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Original artwork by John Couzens
Unicorn Theatre
2008 – A Year Of New Work for Young People
Including
Four World Premieres and a Japan-themed mini-season
With details of the Spring Season 2008 below.
In 2008 the Unicorn places new writing at the core of its own programming, premiering plays it commissioned on moving into its new theatre 18 months ago.
The move into its new home has enabled the Unicorn to expand both the range and amount of work it commissions, building relationships with writers, workshopping and developing plays and co-producing with other theatre companies.
It will also continue to expand its relationship with children’s theatres worldwide by presenting work from leading international theatre companies for young people. A Japanese mini-season in 2008 follows Danish company Gruppe 38 in 2007, and a three-week festival of Swedish theatre in 2006.
Unicorn will also host many UK companies who perform work for young people, enabling companies from all over the UK to showcase their work.
The first World Premiere of 2008 is a Unicorn/Theatre Rites co-production called Lighten Up, opening in February. Five performers take young audiences on a mesmerising journey of discovery about light. Rope lights, fibre optics and stage lights create radiant characters, becoming performers themselves in a world of fabric painted colour.
Oha! Japan is a mini-season of Japanese-themed plays and associated events which opens with the European Premiere of Kazenoko Theatre’sHello Maru-chan - created in collaboration with Australian puppet-master Peter Wilson, about a little girl made of paper - and the World Premiere ofThe Twin Stars, written by Mike Kenny and directed by Tony Graham. This new play beautifully intertwines the life story of one of Japan’s leading children’s writers – Kenji Miyazawa – with the fantastical world of his first storyThe Twin Stars.
The World Premiere of The Flying Machine by Phil Porter opens in May. Directed by Rosamunde Hutt, this thrilling Unicorn commission is set on the children’s ward of a hospital, where a group of children armed with a set of blueprints and a cunning escape plan make a daring bid for freedom from their tyrannical Head Nurse.
In October, the Unicorn stages its fourth World Premiere of the year with 1491, written by Carl Miller and directed by Tony Graham.
Below are full programme details for the first 5 months of 2008.
Full Spring 2008 Season Information
Theatre Rites and Unicorn Theatre World Premiere
Lighten Up
Directed by Sue Buckmaster
9 February – 9 March 2008
Press Performance: Tuesday 12th February 2008 at 1.15pm
Puppeteer-performers and a dancer play in the darkness with puppets made of light before being thrust into the spotlight. In this Theatre Rites/Unicorn co-production, Theatre-Rites Artistic Director Sue Buckmaster collaborates with sound artists Sally Rodgers and Steve Jones (better known as club DJ’s A Man Called Adam), lighting designer Aideen Malone and five multi-talented performers to entice young audiences on a journey of discovery about light.
For ages: 5+
Apples and Snakes present
School of Dark
Written and performed by Charlie Dark
6 February – 17 February 2008
Charlie Dark is a dynamic part of the UK’s spoken word performance scene. A hyperactive poet, DJ and master of lyrics, his interactive poetry workshop combines sound and live performance to help you discover the secret ingredients for writing fantastic poems.
For ages: 8+
National Theatre presents
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
By William Shakespeare, in a version by Carl Heap
19 February – 1 March 2008
Press Performance: Thursday 21st February 2008 at 5pm
Following the success of Pericles and Romeo and Juliet, which recently toured primary schools, Carl Heap returns to direct his own version of Shakespeare’s
A Midsummer Night’s Dream for younger audiences. The production will tour to London primary schools from January 2008, and then play for two weeks only at the Unicorn Theatre.
For ages: 7+
Tamasha and Rewrite present
Lyrical MC
6 March – 7 March 2008
In a single school, with a world of cultures and the din of a dozen dialects, how does one voice make itself heard? Created from student’s real-life stories and performed by young actors from Southwark, Lyrical MC offers a rhythmic, multi-lingual journey through a typical school day and allows us to eavesdrop inside the classrooms and corridors of Britain’s secondary schools.
For ages: 11+
Kazenko Theatre (Japan) presents
European Premiere
Hello Maru-Chan
11 March – 30 March 2008
Press Performance: Wednesday 12th March at 1.45pm
Maru-Chan is a little girl made of paper, born into an exquisite paper world. In this beautiful and heartwarming story about growing up, Maru-Chan explores the earth, sea and sky around her and meets many fantastic creatures and objects along the way. Kazenoko, one of Japan’s best known children’s theatre companies, reveal the many wondrous possibilities of paper in this captivating performance featuring a mix of actors and puppets.
For ages: 4+
Unicorn Theatre presents World Premiere
The Twin Stars
By Mike Kenny
Directed by Tony Graham
14 March – 6 April 2008
Press Performance: Tuesday 18th March 2008 at 7pm
World Premiere performance of Mike Kenny’s play, commissioned by the Unicorn. Part-biography, part-fantasy, The Twin Stars investigates the early life of one of Japan’s foremost children’s writers – Kenji Miyazawa – and his first story, The Twin Stars, an exhilarating galactic adventure about two stars who become embroiled in a cosmic battle between constellations.
For ages: 7+
Puppet State Theatre present
The Man who planted Trees
By Jean Giono
8 April – 27 April 2008
Press Performance: Wednesday 9th April at 2.30pm
An inspiring and unforgettable blend of comedy, puppetry and storytelling with a positive environmental message. Jean Giono is a celebrated French writer whose semi-autobiographical works are drawn from the Provence countryside of his upbringing. This short story is one of his best known, a very funny and charming true story about a French shepherd who sets out with his dog to transform a bleak landscape.
For ages: 7+
Unicorn Theatre presents World Premiere
The Flying Machine
By Phil Porter
Directed by Rosamunde Hutt
2 May – 1 June 2008
Press Performance: Tuesday 6th May at 7pm
Phil Porter’s Unicorn commission is an adventure story in the best prison-break tradition. In the children’s ward of a hospital, three children decide to escape from the tyrannical regime of Nurse Cakebread using a hidden set of blueprints for building an extraordinary flying contraption. Phil Porter won the Arts Council’s Children’s Award 2003 for excellence, inspiration and innovation in children's theatre writing
For ages: 7+
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