See trio of plays on at Octagon
THE first four months of 2018 sees the Bolton Octagon putting on three new productions of very diverse but equally enticing plays.
First up is a new production of the Brontë classic, Jane Eyre, adapted by Janys Chambers and Lorna French.
It is directed by Elizabeth Newman and features Jessica Baglow (of Educating Rita) as Jane and Michael Peavoy (the tenant of Wildfell Hall) as Mr Rochester. The show will be on from Thursday, January 18, to Saturday, February 10.
Jane Eyre is followed by Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s bestknown tragedies.
David Thacker returns with a cast of 13 talented actors, including David Ricardo-Pearce, Eric Potts and Jessica Baglow, to tell the gripping story of Hamlet in a fresh production.
For the uninitiated, in the play Hamlet returns from his life studying abroad to find his home utterly changed and his place in the world uncertain.
His father is dead and his mother remarried to his uncle, who is now the king.
Torn apart with grief and suspicion, Hamlet must decide on what to do. Should he act upon what he suspects and take revenge or accept the way things are?
In an increasingly uncertain world, Shakespeare’s great tragedy resonates as never before.
The show will be on at the Octagon from Thursday, February 15, to Saturday, March 10.
Following-on from Hamlet is East to East, directed by Ben Occhipinti.
Ayub Khan Din’s comedy about clashing cultures and family drama has won multiple awards, become a Bafta award-winning film and is now being brought to life back at the Octagon in a new production.
For those who haven’t seen the film or caught a production before, this is the story of George Khan, proud Pakistani and chip shop owner, and his seven children, for whom life is just one long compromise.
George’s children, who were born and brought up in Britain, increasingly see themselves as British and reject Pakistani customs of dress, food, religion and living.
They adopt Western traditions, such as tomboy Meenah, who prefers playing football to wearing a sari and hippy Saleem, who pretends to be studying engineering when he’s really at art school.
For George, life is an uphill battle to get his family to conform to traditional Pakistani values.
When the Khan kids begin to oppose their father, their English mother is forced to make a choice between her love for her husband and the right of her children to make their own ways in the world.
See the show at the Octagon from Thursday, March 15, to Saturday, April 14.
Tickets are priced at £13 to £28.50, call the box office on 01204 520661 or email boxoffice @octagonbolton.co.uk.