FROBISHER'S GOLD | GAUGLEPRIXTOWN | TWO INTO WAR | HARD SELL | THE CULL
MICHELLE & THE LANDLADY | YELLOW BOAT | WORK IN DEVELOPMENT

------------------------------------------------------------------ Correspondence   A new play by Claire MacDonald. Directed by Patrick Morris A man and a woman board a train together.  She pours coffee.  He drinks brandy.  She smokes for the first time in years.  He smiles.  Through the night, they exchange memories, stories and secrets.  When the sun rises, everything has changed forever…    With nods to film noir, winks to French romantics and pouts at the surrealists, Correspondence is a stunning exploration of intimacy, betrayal and the borders we cross to reach someone else.   Correspondence is our new production for 2008. It opens at The Edinburgh Fringe and then goes onto a national tour in the autumn (including Cambridge). The production is designed by Stefanie Müller, Lighting by Nigel Edwards and sound composition by Andrew Lovett.  The performers are two fantastic actors new to the company; Jeremy Killick and Stefanie Müller. EDINBURGH FRINGE: Pleasance Two: July 30 – Aug 25, 5.50pm.  Tickets: 0131 556 6550 For more details see  www.correspondence.com to follow the progress of the show with a director’s blog, snapshot images of the rehearsals, more about the creative team and up to date performance information.    NATIONAL TOUR DATES   30th July-25th August: Pleasance, Edinburgh. 29th September-3rd October: Plymouth Theatre Royal 8th-10th October: The Junction, Cambridge 20th-21st October: Exeter Phoenix 23rd-25th October: Bath Theatre Royal 6th-8th November: Manchester Royal Exchange     ------------------------------------------------------------------ Out Of Your Knowledge   A journey in search of the poet John Clare By Steve Waters

 Performed by Patrick Morris

 Directed by Paul Bourne

 Live Music by Denise Neapolitan

Unbounded freedom ruled the wandering scene

Nor fence of ownership crept in between

To hide the prospect of the following eye

Its only bondage was the circling sky

Inspired by the feverish, homeward walk of the 19th century English poet John Clare from a lunatic asylum in Essex to his home village some 100 miles north, Out Of Your Knowledge is a topical and engrossing journey through our green and pleasant land!

Having re-traced John Clare’s journey himself, Waters has crafted a unique theatrical treat full of humour and passion. Illuminated by Clare’s own verse and prose, Out of Your Knowledge is a play that questions our changing attitude towards the landscape whilst revealing some surprising secrets that lie within the A1 Corridor!

  Waters' absorbing and spellbinding play...

   (Peter Lathan, British Theatre Guide)

read full review

Edinburgh Performances: 2008

1st - 25th August 2pm: Pleasance Above

Tickets: 0131 556 6550

RE: Design is a fascinating dramatisation of the 30 years of correspondence between Charles Darwin in Kent, England and Asa Gray in Boston, USA.

Adapted exclusively from their own words - including previously unpublished letters – RE: Design offers a window onto the minds and worlds of these two groundbreaking 19th century naturalists as they debate the consequences for religious belief of Darwin’s new theory of evolution by natural selection.

Intellectual debate around science and religion is interwoven with gossip, opinion and anecdotes about everything from war and slavery, to family incidents and unfortunate gardening accidents!

Commissioned by the Darwin Correspondence Project at the University of Cambridge, Menagerie is delighted to be producing RE: Design as part of the Cambridge Science Festival.

Click here to see extracts of the show and find out more about the development of the piece.

By Fraser Grace

Directed by Paul Bourne

A heart of ice, a glimmer of gold, love, betrayal... and the perils of bad teeth!

'Peerlessly acted by a superb cast... the play dazzles with its wit and wordplay' The Guardian

When pirate-turned-explorer Martin Frobisher discovers a new land in the

Arctic filled with riches, Elizabeth I glimpses a golden future of wealth, prestige and influence. Charmed by tales of the exotic singing ‘Esquimaux’, the Queen invests heavily to bring ‘civilisation to the natives’, and their assets home to England.

Written by Fraser Grace (Breakfast with Mugabe, West End/RSC), Frobisher’s Gold blends history, comedy and politics in a tale of imperial desire, improbable coincidences and bad dentistry.

'Janet Suzman in a role she seems born to play' Time Out

Andrew Muir

Gaugleprixtown
Where Monsters Live

Gaugleprixtown
Where Pirates Rule

Gaugleprixtown
Where Innocence Is Lost

Combining dark humour and haunting poetry, Gaugleprixtown is a stunning new play from Andrew Muir (Push; Time Out Critics Choice), commissioned by Menagerie Theatre Company and directed by Paul Bourne.

“Look at us. We're two adults, out at sea, having a fish.
Our voices have broken. Normal Life.”

Gaugleprixtown ran at Theatre Workshop, 34 Hamilton Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5AX during the Edinburgh Festival in August 2005.

Originally developed as a 20 minute piece for Hotbed 2004 (see below for more details about Hotbed), Gaugleprixtown was developed with Menagerie into a full length one-act play.

See our Press section for reviews of this production.

THE SYRINGA TREE

Fraser Grace
& Naomi Wallace

Conflicting views, as two award-winning playwrights, one British and one American, combine for two rare and powerful insights into the most compelling and enduring issue of our time: WAR.

Gifts of War by Fraser Grace
Leave Troy to the boys, let's party...! Ancient tales and modern dilemmas, in this moving, often hilarious account of the aftermath of the battle of Troy.

The Retreating World by Naomi Wallace
I remember. I remember... everything we say these days begins with 'I remember...' An ex-Iraqi soldier pauses to share his humour, passion and wisdom on conflict... (and pigeons!).

"Taut and beautifully written... an inspiration..."
Kate Kellaway (The Observer 'Pick of The Week')

Two Into War toured the UK in Spring 2005 with stops at Birmingham Rep, Riverside Studios in London and Bristol Old Vic along the way.

See our Press section for reviews of this production.

Craig Baxter

It all started with a joke: "you like my wife? £70,000 and she's yours..."

Hard Sell is an inventive and absurdly theatrical black comedy focussing on the nature of power and those that abuse it as two police officers take the law into their own hands.

Hard Sell ran at Theatre 503 in December 2004, Cambridge 2002 and 2004.

"acerbic and full of dark wit... a cracking production"
Sam Marlowe (The Times)

See our Press section for reviews of this production.

Steve Waters

Three characters are observed through a night of enforced proximity as the realities of the meltdown of the British countryside fuse with a deeper struggle of sexuality, class hatred and nationalism.

A tense, moving and darkly comic new play commissioned by Menagerie in 2002 which toured across the East of England.

Caroline Forbes

Menagerie showcased Michelle & The Landlady at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2002 prior to a regional tour.

Michelle & The Landlady is the story of a friendship between two different women, spanning the generation gap. A skilful and assured piece of character-driven writing whose acute observations and gentle humour will warm your heart and lift your spirits. Previously broadcast on Radio Four's 'Play of the Day', this stylish and innovative treatment for the stage is both funny and moving. Suitable for any member of the family with an eye for the wry and quirky aspects of life... and death!

David Saar

Yellow Boat was Menagerie's first full production bringing together the team that have gone on to discover, develop and produce new work over the last five years.

Yellow Boat tells the harrowing yet strangely uplifting story of a young boy, artistically-talented yet doomed by the HIV virus. The story is true; the author is the boy's father, David Saar. The play follows the child's progress through his short life and illustrates the actions and reactions of all those around him.

Other Work In Development

Through our Writer Development programme, Menagerie are constantly working on new plays. Check back here for details of upcoming projects.

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