Frantic Assembly, Theatre Royal Plymouth Production And Curve Release Rehearsal Photos For I THINK WE ARE ALONE

REHEARSAL IMAGES RELEASED FOR FRANTIC ASSEMBLY’S
I THINK WE ARE ALONE

A Frantic Assembly and Theatre Royal Plymouth Production,
co-produced with Curve

Frantic Assembly have today released rehearsal images for I Think We Are Alone a major new play by Sally Abbott (The Coroner, Vera), co-directed by Kathy Burke (Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Retreat) and Scott Graham (Fatherland, Things I Know to be True).

The work will premiere at Theatre Royal Plymouth on 3^rd February before touring to venues including Liverpool Playhouse, King’s Theatre Edinburgh, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Leicester Curve, Nuffield Southampton Theatre, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford, Northern Stage Newcastle, Bristol Old Vic, Oxford Playhouse and The Lowry Salford. The production sits at the centre of a year of programming celebrating 25 years of Frantic Assembly.

Chizzy Akudolu (Edmond De Bergerac, Holby City), Charlotte Bate (On The Other Hand We’re Happy, Daughterhood), Polly Frame (Solaris, After Edward & Edward II), Caleb Roberts (She Ventures and He Wins, Richard III), Simone Saunders (Hang, Jane Eyre) and Andrew Turner (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Coronation Street) will perform in this delicate and uplifting new play about our fragility, resilience and need for love and forgiveness.

Two sisters (Charlotte Bate & Polly Frame) are estranged and bicker over text. Their brittle and aggressive language is pushing them further apart when what they really want is to meet, clear the air and talk about the events that happened when they were young girls and haunt them still.

Josie (Chizzy Akudolu) is not allowing grief to get in the way. All of her focus is on what is best for her son, Manny (Caleb Roberts). She desperately wants him to fly but can she let him go?

There is a person shaped hole in Graham’s heart (Andrew Turner) and it is driving him to some dark places. When a stranger returns an act of kindness both find themselves opening up and connecting in a way that might just bring a bit of light in.

I Think We Are Alone is a bittersweet and funny take on our ache to connect with those voices we need to hear again, those arms we need to feel around us and those faces we need to see again. It is about letting go and holding on to what we love the most.

The production is designed by Morgan Large with lighting by Paul Keogan, sound by Ella Wahlstrom and casting by Will Burton.

LISTINGS

Frantic Assembly and Theatre Royal Plymouth Production, co-produced with Curve
I THINK WE ARE ALONE

I THINK WE ARE ALONE
By Sally Abbott
Co-directed by Kathy Burke and Scott Graham
Designer – Morgan Large
Lighting Designer – Paul Keogan
Sound Designer – Ella Wahlstrom
Casting Director – Will Burton

Josie – Chizzy Akudolu
Ange – Charlotte Bate
Clare – Polly Frame
Manny – Caleb Roberts
Bex – Simone Saunders
Graham – Andrew Turner

03 – 8 Feb 2020 Theatre Royal Plymouth
11 – 15 Feb 2020 Liverpool Playhouse
17 – 21 Feb 2020 King’s Theatre, Edinburgh
25 Feb – 21 Mar 2020 Theatre Royal Stratford East
24 – 28 Mar 2020 Curve Theatre, Leicester
31 Mar – 4 Apr 2020 Nuffield Southampton Theatres
14 – 18 Apr 2020 Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
21-25 Apr 2020 Northern Stage, Newcastle
28 Apr – 02 May 2020 Bristol Old Vic
04 – 09 May 2020 Oxford Playhouse
12 – 16 May 2020 The Lowry, Salford

@franticassembly

Photos © Tristram Kenton

About FRANTIC ASSEMBLY
Award winning theatre company Frantic Assembly’s method of devising theatre has been impacting theatrical practice and unlocking the creative potential of future theatre-makers for 25 years. One of the most exciting theatre companies in the UK, Frantic Assembly is led by Artistic Director and co-founder Scott Graham. It has toured extensively across Great Britain and worked in more than 40 countries internationally, collaborating with some of today’s most inspiring artists. 

Frantic Assembly is currently studied as leading contemporary theatre practitioners on five British and international academic syllabuses. The success of the company’s distinct approach has influenced contemporary theatre-making and foregrounded the use of movement directors and choreographers in new dramatic works. With a history of commissioning writers such as Simon Stephens, Abi Morgan, Bryony Lavery, Anna Jordan and Mark Ravenhill, the company has been acclaimed for its collaborative approach. In 2016 the company started delivering practical modules on a new Collaborative Theatre-Making MA created with Coventry University (UK Modern University of the Year 2014, 2015, 2016 and UK University of the Year 2015). Frantic Assembly runs Ignition, a free national training programme for young men and women aged 16-24, increasing involvement in and access to the arts in places of low cultural engagement. 

Frantic Assembly productions include The Unreturning (UK Tour), Fatherland (Manchester International Festival 2017 and Lyric Hammersmith 2018), Things I Know To Be True (UK and Australia), Othello (UK), Beautiful Burnout (UK, Australia, New Zealand and New York), Lovesong (UK and Australia) and The Believers. They are also the Movement Directors on the award-winning National Theatre of Great Britain, production The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (West End, Broadway, UK & International Tours). Television credits include Movement Direction on BAFTA winning British - American series Humans (AMC, Channel 4 & Kudos). 

About 25@25 Fundraising Campaign
25@25 is a new fundraising initiative launched today to help Frantic raise £25,000 to support the work they do on stage and with young people across the country. By giving £10 a year, audiences can become a Frantic Champion, receiving regular news updates from the Frantic team and messages from Artistic Director Scott Graham, as well as advanced notice of shows and events. They will also be recognised on the Frantic website for their support.  Being a Champion of Frantic Assembly also means joining a family of like-minded theatre fans and the knowledge that they are helping support their work and talent development legacy. Frantic Assembly also welcome single, one-off donations at any level which can be made via the company’s website.

Frantic Assembly is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

About Theatre Royal Plymouth
Theatre Royal Plymouth is a registered charity providing art, education and community engagement throughout Plymouth and the wider region. We engage and inspire many communities through performing arts and we aim to touch the lives and interests of people from all backgrounds. We do this by creating and presenting a breadth of shows on a range of scales, with our extensive creative engagement programmes, by embracing the vitality of new talent and supporting emerging and established artists, and by collaborating with a range of partners to provide dynamic cultural leadership for the city of Plymouth.

Recent productions and co-productions include God Of Chaos by Phil Porter, The Kneebone Cadillac by Carl Grose, You Stupid Darkness! by Sam Steiner (with Paines Plough), The Unreturning by Anna Jordan (with Frantic Assembly) and One Under by Winsome Pinnock (with Graeae).

TRP has a strong track record of presenting and producing international work from companies and artists including Ontroerend Goed, Big In Belgium at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Robert Lepage and the late Yukio Ninagawa. In March 2019 TRP unveiled Messenger, the UK’s largest bronze sculpture created by the artist Joseph Hillier.

About Curve
Almost one million people annually engage with Curve through performances and projects at our home in Leicester, across the UK and internationally. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster, Curve has developed a reputation for producing, programming and touring a bold and diverse programme of musicals, plays, new work, dance and opera. All of this presented alongside a dynamic mix of community engagement, artist development and learning programmes, which firmly places audiences, artists and communities at the heart of everything we do.

This year, three Curve originated productions play in London’s West End; On Your Feet! (London Coliseum), Sue Townsend’s The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ - The Musical (The Ambassadors Theatre) and White Christmas (Dominion Theatre).

Recent Made at Curve productions include Hanif Kureishi’s My Beautiful Laundrette (co-produced with Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham and Leeds Playhouse), John Osborne’s The Entertainer (co-produced with Anthology Theatre and Simon Friend), A Curve Young Company and Community production of Bollywood Jane, a new UK tour of Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey’s Grease, Alice Walker’s Tony award-winning musical The Color Purple (co-produced with Birmingham Hippodrome), Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s On Your Feet!, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat (& UK tour) the world-premiere of Dougal Irvine’s adaptation of Riaz Khan’s Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual, the Curve Young Company and Community production of Joseph Stein’s Fiddler on the Roof, the world première production of An Officer and a Gentleman (& on national tour), Leslie Bricusse's Scrooge, the world première of Amana Fontanella Khan’s Pink Sari Revolution, adapted by Purva Naresh (with Belgrade Theatre Coventry, English Touring Theatre and West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds); a major revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard (& UK tour), Winner - Best Musical, Manchester Theatre Awards and  Best Regional Production, WhatsOnStage Awards; the world premiere of Ravi Shankar’s opera Sukanya (co-produced with the Royal Opera House & London Philharmonic Orchestra) and the 50th anniversary production of Joe Orton’s What the Butler Saw (with Theatre Royal Bath).