Posted on November 28th, 2018
HighTide Festivals 2019 Announced: Edinburgh, Aldeburgh
Steven Atkinson, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of HighTide, has today announced his final season for the company, which includes a full season of new writing at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019, and the return of HighTide Festival in Aldeburgh.
Steven Atkinson said: ‘For my last season at HighTide we’re disrupting how we make theatre by combining three productions that we have commissioned ourselves written by Sophie Ellerby, Kenny Emson and Eve Leigh, and we’re now inviting emerging artists to create two further productions with us that will develop what a HighTide show can be.’
HighTide Festival Edinburgh 2019 – July 31st– August 26th
In August as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019, HighTide has partnered with Assembly Festival to present: Disruption: the future of new theatre, co-curated by HighTide and Assembly, exclusively at Assembly Roxy.
Running July 31st– August 26th 2019, the season will be formed of nine shows, each piece demonstrating HighTide and Assembly Festival’s shared vision for new writing as a space of political, contemporary and provocative work, created by new, diverse artists. The centrepiece production is Rust by Kenny Emson, a HighTide / Bush Theatre production directed by Eleanor Rhode. Rust will then transfer to HighTide Festival Aldeburgh.
Disruption references the type of shows in the season, and the approach to producing them. Unlike the traditional process of play commissioning, HighTide are now welcoming applications from independent theatremakers to co-produce two productions in the season with HighTide, followed by transfers to HighTide Festival Aldeburgh.
HighTide Festival Aldeburgh 2019 – September 10th– 15th
HighTide Festival will return to Aldeburgh with LIT, a world premiere by Sophie Ellerby (THREE, Arcola), directed by Stef O’Driscoll (Artistic Director of nabokov), ahead of transferring to Nottingham Playhouse. A co-production between HighTide / Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company, LIT explores the turbulent teenage years of a girl looking for love in all the wrong places. The spark of LIT came from Sophie’s experience studying young women and mothers in the prison system. Director Stef O’Driscoll, director of Paines Plough Roundabout 2018 Season, is a leading innovator in British theatre; ‘Creates an alternative experience for people who don’t think theatre is for them.’ The Stage.
LIT joins Rust as the headline productions for HighTide Festival Aldeburgh. HighTide Festival Aldeburgh will run September 10th– 15th 2019. The full festival programme will be announced in May 2019 when tickets go on sale.
