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Museum of Austerity Announced as Part of Nadia Fall’s Inaugural Season at the Young Vic Theatre

Posted on: May 14th, 2025 by ettEditor

The Young Vic Theatre has today announced the inaugural season from new Artistic Director and CEO Nadia Fall – a programme of timely reimaginings of classic work, UK, European and World premieres and creatively bold, inventive productions from internationally acclaimed theatre makers and exciting new voices.

Museum of Austerity will run from 5 December – 16 January in The Maria.

Nadia Fall, Artistic Director and CEO of the Young Vic said:

“Museum of Austerity is the creation of master craftswoman Sacha Wares together with John Pring, Founder of Disability News Service. An installation that unlocks real-life testimonials from people who have lost disabled family members due to changes to the benefit system. The multitude of stories appear as audiences move around the space, it’s an emotional and necessary work.”

 You can book tickets HERE.

Museum of Austerity Visitor Information for 2025

Posted on: May 14th, 2025 by ettEditor

We want to welcome everyone to Museum of Austerity and to make your visit as easy as possible.

This document includes information about what to expect within the experience, the headsets themselves, and support we can offer, before, during and after the experience. We hope the information below is useful.

Key Information

  • You can ask the Young Vic any questions about this experience by contacting  boxoffice@youngvic.org and 020 7922 2922.
  • Access provisions can be provided at all showings by notifying the host and letting the Young Vic know in advance.
  • If there is particular content you feel you don’t want to see, this can be filtered out by the host before the experience starts

What is Mixed Reality?

Museum of Austerity offers a promenade gallery experience that uses a Hololens 2 mixed reality headset.

This is a relatively lightweight, adjustable headset with a glass screen that enables you to see the room you are in at the same time as seeing holographic images inside the room.

You are invited to wear this headset along with a set of headphones that will deliver a multi-layered soundscape including testimony and original music.

Content Warnings

Museum of Austerity contains distressing and challenging material including:

  • ●  Still holographic depictions of death and mental distress
  • ●  Audio references to mental distress and death, including three instances of suicide*
  • ●  Audio references to domestic violence, alcoholism, self-harm, eating disorders and dementia

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*Note: One story includes a detail relating to the method of someone’s death by suicide. There is an option to have this story and any others you may have concerns about removed from your experience in advance.

Age Recommendation: 18+

The Experience

 

Before the Experience

Before entering, a host will ask you about any access requirements you have and will help you put on and adjust your headset and headphones.

If there is something in the content warnings you may find especially challenging, please let your host know as we can filter some specific content based on individual preference.

During the Experience

You can expect to be in the room with a maximum of 10 people at once, as entrances to the experience are staggered

A host will be near throughout the experience. If you need any assistance, at any time, including to request a portable seat or to remove your headset, just raise your hand and the host will come immediately to assist you.

There will be a place within the experience that you can sit to take a break from listening to the narratives, where you’ll only hear music.

The experience lasts approximately 35 minutes but you are able to leave at any time. There is a quiet seated area next to the gallery.

If you do leave, there is unfortunately no readmittance to the space due to the nature of the experience.

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After the Experience

You are welcome to stay in the lounge area after the experience for a short while to look at the wall displays or to have a rest on one of the sofas.

Get Involved

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John Pring, co-editor of Museum of Austerity, invites you to explore the Deaths by Welfare timeline, co-created with Dr China Mills at Healing Justice Ldn. www.deathsbywelfare.org

Access

Access members of the Young Vic can receive tickets at 50% off the original ticket price. This same offer applies for companion tickets.

Please let them know your access requirements in advance: You can set up a Young Vic account to let them know your access requirements. This will ensure you receive useful support every time you visit the Young Vic, as well as giving you access to access ticket prices and seats.

Log in to or create an account at https://www.youngvic.org/my-account and fill out the access requirements form in the Other Preferences section.

You can also email or call Young Vic Welcome Team at boxoffice@youngvic.org and 020 7922 2922.

Museum of Austerity is accessible to wheelchair users and can also be experienced walking and standing as a promenade experience. Portable folding stools can also be provided.

The following options and equipment are also available:

  • BSL Introduction on iPad, which you can watch here.
  •  Captions which appear within the headset
  • Dialogue only version (reduced background sound)
  • Silent version
  • Large over-ear headphones which can encompass a behind-ear hearing aid
  • A volume control allowing independent control of volume in the left or right ear
  • A 3.5mm mini-jack socket for hearing aids with direct input cable
  • A personal induction loop for hearing aids with a T-setting
  • Transcript available on request
  • Headphones free audio
  • Audio description (Introduction and Through Description). Audio Description Introduction for the Young Vic will be available here 2 weeks before the performance. The full text guide to the written materials in the Museum of Austerity can be listened to here.
  • Stationary, seated, audio only version
  • Sighted Guide host support (arranged in advance). Our sighted guide can assist someone who is blind or visually impaired in navigating the environment safely.
  • The mixed reality headset can be worn over most glasses and contact lenses
  • Headset brightness adjustment
  • Large print version of brochure, signage and audio description transcript available in paper or digital form on request and via VocalEyes
  • Guide dogs welcome
  • Headset Safety
  • Touch points on headsets, earphones and iPads will be sanitised between use.
  • The HoloLens 2 Safety Warnings and Instructions are available here. Printed versions of this can be provided by your host. They are also available on coloured paper or in large print.

We recommend you read the full guidance before making a decision to enter. This is particularly important if:

  • You have an electronic medical device fitted (e.g pacemaker)
  • You or any of your relatives have a history of seizures or epilepsy
  • You have a pre-existing vision condition, as a small percentage of people have a pre-existing vision condition that may be aggravated when using HoloLens 2.

Some people may experience discomfort such as nausea, motion sickness, dizziness, disorientation, headache, fatigue, eye strain, or dry eyes when using mixed reality. If you experience discomfort, alert your host and rest until you feel better. If symptoms persist, consult your doctor.

Facilities at the Young Vic

There are toilets located on the ground and first floor at the Young Vic, via The Cut Bar. We have ladies and gents toilets on the ground floor and gender-neutral toilets on the first floor, as well as accessible/baby changing toilets. Sanitary bins are available in all facilities.

Building Accessibility: All indoor venues are accessible with lifts & ramps and toilets provided.

More information about accessibility at the Young Vic can be found here. Helplines / Further Support

For every showing of Museum of Austerity there will be a host present should you need support.

If you have found the content challenging, you may choose to listen to the audio breathing exercise resource prepared by the production’s Wellbeing advisor. You can listen here.

Healing Justice Ldn Aftercare menu – offers some approaches to care for yourself in the way you might need following engaging with their timeline: https://healingjusticeldn.org/resources/aftercare-menu-2/

Disability News Service: For details of organisations that provide free advice and support to disabled people, on issues such as benefits, housing, independent living, and how to become involved in disability rights campaigning visit: disabilitynewsservice.com/advice-and-information

If you or someone you know are feeling emotionally distressed, the following organisations offer advice and support.

Samaritans call 116 123, for a free listening service 24 hours, 365 days a year. samaritans.org

Calm call 0800 58 58 58 5pm – midnight, 365 days a year. thecalmzone.net

Mind call 0300 123 3393, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm. mind.org.uk

Feedback

We welcome feedback. If you have any suggestions about how we could have improved your experience of Museum of Austerity, please email admin@ett.org.uk or pop a message in our exhibition postbox.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Young Vic and the Museum of Austerity soon.

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Behind the Scenes at Marie & Rosetta – Up Above My Head

Posted on: April 23rd, 2025 by ettEditor

Watch Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu sing Up Above My Head HERE.

Marie & Rosetta opens at Rose Theatre on 2 May until 24 May, then moves to Wolverhampton Grand Theatre 27 – 31 May, then Chichester festival Theatre 25 June – 26 July.

You can book your tickets HERE.

 

Full Casting Announced for Marie and Rosetta

Posted on: March 24th, 2025 by ettEditor

To mark the 110th anniversary of the birth of American singer and songwriter Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Rose Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre and ETT today announce the full cast and creative team for the UK premiere of George Brant’s (Grounded) critically-acclaimed Marie and Rosetta, the roof-raising play with music telling the true story of Tharpe and her protégé Marie Knight. Directed by Monique Touko (The Boy at the Back of the Class; School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play), this production featuring gospel and blues hits is an electrifying portrait of the godmother of rock ’n’ roll. 

As previously announced, celebrating her professional play debut as Rosetta Tharpe, is multi award-winning singer and actress Beverley Knight, whose many West End performances include Memphis, The Drifters Girl, Sylvia (for which she won an Olivier Award) and Sister Act. 

Joining Beverley Knight is Ntombizodwa Ndlovu, an up-and-coming talent making her London stage debut as Marie Knight, Rosetta’s protege and musical partner. Her recent theatre credits include, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, The Space Between Us, Mixtape, Nothing, and The Mountain Top (Royal Exchange Theatre).

The creative team joining Touko includes Lily Arnold (Set Designer), Jodie-Simone Howe (Costume Designer), Kloé Dean (Movement Director), Liam Godwin (Music Supervisor, Arranger & Orchestrator), Matt Haskins (Lighting Designer), Tony Gayle (Sound Designer), Bethan Clark (Intimacy Director), Joel Trill (Voice & Dialect Coach), Jacob Sparrow (Casting Director), Jordi M. Carter (Associate Director), and Teresa Nagel (Associate Lighting Designer). 

Marie and Rosetta runs at the Rose Theatre in Kingston 2 – 24 May (Press Performance: Friday 9 May ) before transferring to the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre 27 – 31 May and Chichester Festival Theatre 25 June – 26 July (Press Performance: Wednesday 2 July). 

Full Casting Announced for Macbeth at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

Posted on: January 21st, 2025 by ettEditor

ETT today announce full casting for Artistic Director Richard Twyman’s version of Macbeth, which is excitingly reworked for 2025 for a limited run at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. Joining the previously announced Alex Austin (Macbeth) and Lois Chimimba (Lady Macbeth) are Gabriel Akuwudike (Banquo), Bella Aubin (Malcolm), David Colvin (Lennox), Ammar Haj Ahmad (Macduff), Daniel Hawksford (Duncan), Bianca Stephens (Lady Macduff) and Sophie Stone (Ross).

Macbeth opens on 5 March, with previews from 28 February and runs until 29 March 2025.

Artistic Director Richard Twyman and Executive Producer Sophie Scull said today, “We feel very lucky to have been able to put together such an extraordinary team for our reworked Macbeth. It’s a real thrill that audiences in London will have a chance to see this production and the work of the brilliantly talented people involved in it. Audiences can expect a Macbeth that’s surprising, exciting, dangerous and playful. We’d like to thank all of the partners, actors, creatives, artists and freelancers involved in making and realising it for audiences across the UK, internationally, digitally and now in London.”

Rachel O’Riordan, Artistic Director and CEO of Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, added “I am thrilled to be welcoming English Touring Theatre’s production of Macbeth to the Lyric. We are delighted to bring this compelling and thought-provoking production to our stage in West London.”

UK Premiere of Marie and Rosetta Starring Beverley Knight

Posted on: January 14th, 2025 by ettEditor

AN ETT, ROSE THEATRE AND CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE CO-PRODUCTION

ETT, Rose Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre today announce the UK premiere of George Brant’s (Grounded) critically-acclaimed Marie and Rosetta, the roof-raising play with music telling the true story of American singer and songwriter Rosetta Tharpe and her protégé Marie Knight. Directed by Monique Touko (The Boy at the Back of the Class; School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play), this production featuring gospel and blues hits is an electrifying portrait of the godmother of rock ’n’ roll.   

Celebrating her professional play debut as Rosetta, is multi award-winning  singer and actress Beverley Knight, whose many West End performances include Memphis, The Drifters Girl, Sylvia (for which she won an Olivier Award) and Sister Act. Full cast and creative team to be announced.

Marie and Rosetta runs at the Rose Theatre in Kingston 2 – 24 May before transferring to Chichester Festival Theatre 25 June – 26 July. 

Beverley Knight, said: “It is a great honour to be cast in the role of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, one of the unsung architects of rock ‘n’ roll. I am and have always been a storyteller, whether it be in a purely music form or in a theatrical setting. I’m excited to be able to tell the Sister Rosetta story in this important play about her life, trailblazing career and her relationship with the legendary gospel singer Marie Knight. This will be my first role in a professional play; I have performed many times in plays at an amateur level and I’m so thrilled that I get to tell HERstory as my debut. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, with her powerful expressive voice, her electrifying guitar and her Gospel message laid the foundations on which Chuck Berry, Ike Turner, Elvis Presley and literally everyone else has walked. The Godmother of rock ‘n’ roll deserves to be celebrated and remembered”.

Monique Touko, Director, said: “It is truly an honour to stage the UK premiere of Marie and Rosetta by George Brant. Returning to both Rose and Chichester with this needed and powerful story feels very timely.  This play allows us to not only celebrate the incredible lives of two trailblazing Black female musicians, but to immerse ourselves in their world, blending song and spectacle to bring their legacy to life. We’ll zoom in on the moments of their lives, big and small, and amplify their voices—both literally and metaphorically. It’s a privilege and a responsibility to depict these women in their full glory, ensuring they receive the recognition they so deeply deserve for their monumental contributions to music and culture.”



Lead Cast Announced for Macbeth 2025

Posted on: November 22nd, 2024 by ettEditor

Following the UK and international tour in 2023 and 2024, ETT today announces Macbeth will return to the stage for a limited run. Artistic Director of ETT, Richard Twyman will direct Alex Austin in the titular role as Macbeth and Lois Chimimba as Lady Macbeth in the 2025 production at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.

Macbeth will open on 5 March, with previews from 28 February and runs until 29 March 2025 at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.

ETT’s Artistic Director Richard Twyman and Executive Producer Sophie Scull said today, “Following a UK and international tour in 2023/2024, seen by more than 40,000 people, we are delighted to be bringing our production of Macbeth to the Lyric Hammersmith, with the exciting talent of Alex Austin and Lois Chimimba playing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. We can’t wait to introduce you to the rest of the cast and hope that audiences in London will find something both familiar and provocative in the story and society that unfolds on stage.”

Full cast to be announced shortly.

Production Shots for Abigail’s Party

Posted on: September 26th, 2024 by ettEditor

New photography by Pamela Raith taken at Northern Stage in Newcastle upon Tyne, ahead of our national tour.

Full tour dates HERE.

Cast announced for RTST National Tour of Mike Leigh’s Cult-Classic Abigail’s Party

Posted on: July 31st, 2024 by ettEditor

A sparkling new production of Mike Leigh’s cult-classic comedy, Abigail’s Party will premiere at Northern Stage in September, then on to Mercury Theatre, Blackpool Grand and Rose Theatre.

Jack Bradfield, winner of the prestigious RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award presented by Sir Ian McKellen, will bring a fresh new perspective to Leigh’s ground-breaking play which garnered cult status following the 1977 BBC TV Play for Today starring Alison Steadman.

An award-winning playwright and director, Jack is Artistic Director of Poltergeist and is currently Associate Director on Player Kings in the West End and on tour. He said, “I’m thrilled to be reviving Mike Leigh’s savage suburban comedy. We’re ratcheting up the awkward, the inappropriate, the unbearable and the plain strange, and staging the play in a whole new way. At Northern Stage and across the country, our incredible cast and creative team are going to light a fire under this classic and bring it bright and burning into 2024.“

ETT and Office of Everyone Announce Groundbreaking, Free Augmented Reality Project Bringing the Magic of Theatre and Untold Queer Stories to New Audiences

Posted on: June 26th, 2024 by ettEditor

ETT and Office of Everyone announce the cast for In Time which is the first series launched on their newly created augmented reality app Through the Cracks. Co-created by Office of Everyone’s Jack Hardiker and ETT’s Artistic Director Richard Twyman, the instalment is written by Sonali Bhattacharyya. Jennifer Bakst directs Ian McKellen(Narrator), Sophie Melville (Milly), Annabel Baldwin (Patricia/Pearl), and Dorothea Meyer-Bennet (Maggie).

This brand new free Augmented Reality app which shares untold stories of people whose tales have fallen – both figuratively and literally – through the cracks. Using the app on their smartphones or tablets, audiences will see a virtual crack appear on the physical floor beneath them. Through this crack, they will watch and listen to a story unfold beneath their feet. This method of presenting stories through Augmented Reality has the quality of an intimate performance that can be experienced anywhere.