This week saw a workshop to further develop the show Mugabe, My Dad and Me with Tonderai Munyevu (writer and actor), John R Wilkinson (director), Nicolai Hart-Hansen (designer) and Millicent Chapanda (Mbira player).

Millicent Chapanda holding an Mbira

Tonderai, John, Nicolai and Millicent all put their heads together and explored questions and ideas around the script, the staging, design and music – and how all these fabulous ingredients might work together.

We’re looking forward to seeing the progress the show makes from this brilliant creative process with this brilliant creative team.

Check out more info on this co-production with York Theatre Royal in association with Alison Holder here.

Mugabe, My Dad and Me is written and performed by Tonderai Munyevu. Tonderai is an actor, writer and director for theatre, screen and radio. Born in Zimbabwe and raised in London. As well as comedy and drama he has also written prose (fiction and non-fiction) including the short stories Bullets (Black and Gay In The UK Anthology, Team Angelica Publishers) and A Dispatch From Zimbabwe: The Visiting Hours for The Johannesburg Book Of Reviews.

He is a founding member and co-artistic director of the international Shakespearean troupe Two Gents Productions renowned for their mix of new writing and classical adaptations including the acclaimed Two Gentlemen of Verona, Kupenga Kwa Hamlet, Magesti and The Importance of Being Earnest. His latest play Mugabe, My Dad and Me was shortlisted for The Alfred Fagon Award 2019 and will premiere at York Theatre Royal in a collaboration with English Touring Theatre.

English Touring Theatre today announce their 2020 Programme.

This year begins with the UK première of Kate Attwell’s Testmatch, a co-production with Theatre Royal Bath exploring power, history, colonialism, gender and sexuality – all through the lens of women’s cricket. The creative team, today announced, includes Nicole Charles (Director), Camilla Clarke (Design), Jess Bernberg (Lighting Design), Max Pappenheim (Sound Design), Chris Whittaker (Movement Director), Amy Ball (Casting Director) and Aysha Kala (Assistant Director). Charles directs Komal Amin, Subika Anwar-Khan, Bessie Carter, Sally Messham, Lotte Rice and Tripti Tripuraneni.

In addition, The Alfred Fagon Award shortlisted play, Mugabe, My Dad & Me written and performed by Tonderai Munyevu will open in York on 15 May, with press night on 19 May before touring to Newcastle, Guildford, Glastonbury, Colchester, Poole, Leicester and Canterbury until 4 July – in a co-production with York Theatre Royal and in association with Alison Holder.

Also announced are full tour dates for two co-productions this autumn – Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof directed by 2019 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award winner Anthony Almeida, which opens at Curve from 17 September, with previews from 11 September, and touring to Alexandra Palace, Rose Theatre Kingston, Liverpool Everyman, Oxford Playhouse, Bristol Old Vic and Theatre de la Ville, Luxembourg until 20 November.

Gatsby, adapted by Maria Aberg and Joel Horwood, opens at Bristol Old Vic on 17 September, with previews from 12 September and tours to Northern Stage, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Royal & Derngate Northampton, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Oxford Playhouse until 6 March 2021.

Richard Twyman, Artistic Director of ETT said, “Today we announce a programme of work that is all about inviting audiences across the UK to experience stories from all around the world. Travelling from Lord’s Cricket Ground today to 18^th century Calcutta, from contemporary Zimbabwe to the 1950s American Deep South – ETT in 2020 continues to be committed to exploring storytelling that looks at England’s place in a wider global context.

This year is all about celebrating the range and breadth of the work we make, and the theatre-makers we collaborate with: pioneering new plays balanced with freshly reimagined productions of the classics; exceptional artists with unique perspectives on our world. 

We have two brand new plays in our season: Kate Attwell’s explosive debut play Testmatch investigates questions of power, history, colonialism, gender and sexuality – all through the lens of women’s cricket. Tonderai Munyevu’s beautiful piece of autobiographical fiction Mugabe, My Dad and Me is a deeply personal play all about diaspora, identity and how inextricably enmeshed the personal and the political become when you are the first generation born in a newly independent Zimbabwe – “born free”.

We are also working with visionary artists to bring new life to the classic canon: RTST Sir Peter Hall Award-winning director Anthony Almeida will be re-envisioning Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning Cat on A Hot Tin Roof. Maria Aberg and Joel Horwood are radically re-imagining F Scott Fitzgerald’s Gatsby for a new era.

At the heart of our mission is a deeply held belief in the creative power of collaboration, and a drive to entertain, challenge and inspire. We are delighted to make work for and in partnership with over twenty cities across the UK and Internationally.”

We are proud to be an associate company on this production of The Little Prince, produced by Fuel Theatre, written by Inua Ellams and directed by Femi Elufowoju Jr.

A magical, Afrofuturist version of The Little Prince which opens at Stratford Circus before heading on tour.

Huge congratulations to the wonderful Shelley Maxwell who has won Best Choreographer at the Black British Theatre Awards for her outstanding work on Equus, our co-production with Theatre Royal Stratford East, directed by Ned Bennett.

We love working with Shelley and she has done incredible work on our productions of Cougar, Dealing with Clair, A Streetcar Named Desire and Rules for Living.

We had a ball partying with our friends at the UK Theatre Awards on Sunday, and we’re absolutely thrilled that Equus , our co-production with Theatre Royal Stratford East, directed by Ned Bennett, won the 2019 UK Theatre Award for Best Play Revival! A huge thank you to the phenomenal team who worked on the show, our co-producers Theatre Royal Stratford East, and all of t he venues on tour who worked with us to share this ground breaking production across the UK and in London’s West End.

Cast
Frank Strang / Horse Robert Fitch
Harry Dalton / Nurse / Horse Keith Gilmore
Alan Strang Ethan Kai
Dora Strang / Horse Syreeta Kumar
Hesther Salomon / Horse Ruth Lass
Jill Mason / Horse Norah Lopez Holden
Young Horseman / Nugget Ira Mandela Siobhan
Martin Dysart Zubin Varla

Creative Team
Director Ned Bennett
Designer Georgia Lowe
Lighting Designer Jessica Hung Han Yun
Composer and Sound Designer Giles Thomas
Movement Director Shelley Maxwell
Assistant Director Denzel Westley-Sanderson
Casting Director Anne McNulty CDG
Casting Associate Lucy Casson
Costume Supervisor Natasha Prynne
Voice Coach Rebecca Cuthbertson

ETT in partnership with Digital Theatre have created a filmed version of Othello for Digital Theatre Plus – the award-winning education arm of Digital Theatre. The production, directed by our Artistic Director Richard Twyman, was filmed live at Warwick Arts Centre during its critically-acclaimed UK tour this autumn and is now available on Digital Theatre Plus for an audience of over 3 million students.

“We’re delighted to announce a new partnership with Digital Theatre on the digital capture of our production of Othello. Othello is one of Shakespeare’s most contemporary and immediate plays and is widely studied in the UK and internationally. We’re thrilled that this initiative will give students and institutions around t he world access to this production, after the completion of its UK tour, as well as additional resources we have built around the production.”

Othello will play at the Great Theatre of China in Shanghai for 5 performances from the 18th July – 21st July.

We are joined by a majority of the Othello in Dubai company with some new additions to the cast and crew.

Richard Twyman’s vital production of  Othello was brought to the stage by UK Theatre Award-winners English Touring Theatre in a co-production with Oxford Playhouse and Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory. To find out more about the critically acclaimed UK tour, London run,  and international tour, check out Productions.

We are excited to announce that Richard Twyman’s pioneering production of Othello won Time Out Dubai’s 2019 Best Theatrical Performance Award for its  run at the Dubai Opera House.

The 2019 production of Othello was the first time the Opera House presented a piece of drama, and we played to an audience of over 9000 people across its week of performances.

We were re-joined by the majority of the UK tour company, with some new additions including Michael Gould as Iago and Katy Stephens as Emilia.

Richard Twyman’s vital production of Othello was brought to the stage by UK Theatre Award-winners ETT in a co-production with Oxford Playhouse and Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory. To find out more about the critically acclaimed UK tour, London run, and international tour, check out Productions.

What is one of your earliest theatre memories? 

As a child growing up in Jamaica, I was first exposed to theatre through the world of dance. I would both attend and participate in dance concerts, formal and informal, and fell in love with the feeling of journeying into a place that was beyond the everyday and was instead some place quite magical. 

What was your route into the industry? 

Dance was my chosen route into the world of theatre making. Though it’s debatable as to whether I chose it or it chose me. I studied and honed my craft as a performer and maker in that world, later making my way on stage into musical theatre and subsequently into movement direction. 

What advice would you give to emerging artists? 

I think following one’s passion is always a positive attribute and by doing that you guarantee that there is a constant desire and fire to keep pushing forward. I believe having a strong sense of self-belief and resilience is helpful as an artist, as art is subjective. You can’t please everyone but you can strive to remain true to yourself. 

What has your journey been like from performer to movement director? 

For me it was somewhat a natural progression as, from a very young age, I was practicing the craft of choreography in the world of contemporary dance. I balanced this alongside my performance career and when I decided to retire from stage an opportunity came my way to delve into the world of movement direction. The big difference being I was now working with actors instead of dancers and the huge revelation for me was how much I absolutely loved doing it. The rest as they say is history. 

Who or what inspires you? 

I am constantly being inspired by those I work with. Directors, actors, voice coaches, fight directors – the list is extensive. Every job gives me a new insight into different methods of practice. It’s an eye opening and humbling journey where I get to admire the talents of my peers which in turn keeps pushing me to strive to be better. 

What advice would you give to someone starting out as a Movement Director? 

I think the idea of growing your network is essential. If people don’t know who you are then THEY DONT KNOW WHO YOU ARE. So working on projects whether assisting or shadowing is great in terms of a learning experience but also in terms of putting your face out there. 

What has it been like working on Equus? 

Equus has proven to be a very collaborative experience. The director is very open to exploration and the actors have followed suit by also being very active in the process of devising. It’s been wonderful stepping into the rehearsal room each day not really knowing what might be conjured up. 

What’s next for you? 

Aah the infamous ‘what’s next for you’ question. I’ll answer that more from the stand point of human being and less so from movement director. On my to do list after opening night are my three Rs: Rest, Relaxation and some Reading.