Western Morning News (Saturday)
Theatre Royal is ready to greet audiences again
THE Theatre Royal Plymouth will be reopening on May 27 – with social distancing and digital tickets only.
Its first show will be the UK premier of Rambert’s Draw From Within. Social distancing restrictions will still be in place, with ticket bookings still limited to household groups and support bubbles.
The theatre will not be issuing physical tickets. An e-ticket will be emailed prior to the performance and theatre goers will need to show this to the front-of-house team on arrival on a digital device, or as a physical print-out.
Tickets are already being sold for a forthcoming programme which includes major shows in the main Lyric auditorium.
These include Hairspray, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Welsh National Opera and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, with School of Rock already pencilled in for 2022.
The theatre described ticket sales as “steady” and is predicting demand to increase as lockdown restrictions are eased.
Adrian Vinken, who is stepping down as chief executive, said in December last year the theatre attracted “good-sized” audiences to the three Christmas shows it was allowed to stage before the UK was pitched into a third national lockdown.
A theatre spokesperson said: “Ticket bookings are steady, which is a really positive sign, and with each easing of restrictions we are seeing further confidence in people booking tickets
“We cannot wait to welcome people back to TRP. We have had such overwhelming support over the last year and people are sharing with us how excited they are to be back with us when we reopen.”
The live stage premiere of longstanding partner Rambert’s Drawn From Within, created by Wim Vandekeybus, is being described as “the start of the recovery for the South West’s principal home for performing arts”.
Stuff & Nonsense will also present a revival of The Gingerbread Man for May half-term family audiences live in The Drum, the secondary performance space.
Plymouth theatre troupe Le Navet Bete presents a month-long residency across The Lyric and The Drum from June 9, with three productions including the Mayflower 400 commission 400: A Comedy.
The programme of live theatre in The Lyric is set to continue through to 2022. It includes the opening of Hairspray on June 24, 2021, prior to a UK tour, and the welcome return of long-standing partners Birmingham Royal Ballet, Welsh National Opera and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures.
On October 29 and 30, Funky Llama, Theatre Royal Plymouth’s creative platform for disabled adults, will present a festival in a big-top tent in Plymouth’s Central Park.
Also in the pipeline are new commissions from writers Bea Roberts, Laura Horton, Marietta Kirkbride and Luke Barnes, and, in a new partnership with leading
The Messenger statue outside the Theatre Royal Plymouth family theatre makers Stuff & Nonsense, year-round engagement activity for Plymouth audiences and a co-produced Christmas show for families that will premiere in The Drum in 2022.
Nessah Muthy is also co-commissioned by ATC and Theatre Royal Plymouth for a new work that examines right-wing grooming and radicalisation in the online gaming community.
The theatre has also recently announced a new Summer Lab Season of shows from local artists. Sufrajitsu by Jade Campbell, Gold Crest? by Claire Calverley and Nhair by Conny Hancock will be staged this July as the theatre reopen their creative space for developing and showcasing new talent.
Meanwhile, on September 30, the theatre’s creative programme will see Francesca Moody Productions and Soho Theatre, in association with Popcorn Group, premiere in The Drum a “thought-provoking, funny and honest” new play about early motherhood. Tickets for MUM will be released in June.
Additionally, thanks to a recent award from the Weston Culture Fund, Theatre Royal Plymouth will create a new production of NHS THE MUSICAL by Nick Stimson and Jimmy Jewell for The Lyric that will open on September 17. Tickets are released in June.
Mandy Precious, director of engagement and learning at Theatre Royal Plymouth said: “As we begin to build back after an incredibly difficult year for everyone, it is great to focus on creating new work in Plymouth again to reconnect with our audiences.”