Tessa Walker – The Theatre Playbook

Orange Tree unveils That Face for 2023/24 programme

The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond has unveiled its first full year of programming under new artistic director Tom Littler, with world and European premieres and the first major London revival of Polly Stenham’s That Face.

Niamh Cusack will make her OT debut in the autumn with That Face. Mustapha Matura’s Meetings follows, with Kalungi Ssebandeke directing this first major UK revival.

This year ends with Tom Littler and Francesca Ellis directing the 250th anniversary production of Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer; alongside the OT’s annual family show, Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol, based on Charles Dickens’ novel, adapted and directed by Becca Chadder.

In January, Zoe Cooper (Jess and Joe Forever, Out of Water) returns to the Orange Tree with her new play Northanger Abbey, inspired by Jane Austen’s novel, directed by Tessa Walker – in a coproduction with the Octagon Theatre Bolton, the Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough and Theatre by the Lake.

The turn of the year will bring a production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn; the UK premiere of Kate Attwell’s Testmatch, directed by Diane Page, a coproduction with ETT (English Touring Theatre) and Octagon Theatre Bolton; a rediscovery of Noël Coward’s Suite in Three Keys, directed by Littler; and completing the season, the European premiere of Lucas Hnath’s Red Speedo, directed by Matthew Dunster and co-produced with David Adkin.

The new season opens this summer with Orange Tree’s inaugural Greenhouse Festival showcasing the theatre’s OT New Artists programme and marking a new collaboration between the OT and the drama school LAMDA, including the creation of a new Associate Director position.

Headlining the Greenhouse Festival will be four productions by graduating LAMDA students, directing modern classics with their fresh and exciting takes on Ross Willis’ Wolfie (directed by Martha Barnett), Enda Walsh’s The Small Things (directed by Robert Elwood), Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal (directed by Anna Hampton) and Eugène Ionesco’s The Chairs (directed by Saniya Saraf).

Polly Stenham’s THAT FACE
Directed by Josh Seymour, September 9 – October 7, 2023
When Mia is expelled from boarding school, her mother Martha isn’t interested. Martha prefers to hang out with her son Henry. And now her estranged husband Hugh, who’s runoff to Hong Kong with his new girlfriend, is charging back threatening to sort things out. What is there to sort out? Everything is fine.

Mustapha Matura’s MEETINGS
Directed by Kalungi Ssebandeke, October 14 – November 11, 2023
Suited, booted, and stuffed with American burgers and fries, Hugh walks out of a meeting and buys a mango on the street. To the bemusement of his high-flying wife Jean, Hugh becomes obsessed with the foods of his Trinidadian childhood and hires a cook, Elsa, to indulge his nostalgic passion. Mustapha Matura’s razor-sharp comedy is about identity, belonging and the cost of progress.

Oliver Goldsmith’s SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER
Directed by Tom Littler with Francesca Ellis, November 18, 2023 – January 6, 2024
Christmas at Hardcastle Hall, where guests are assured of a hearty welcome. The gramophone is playing a Charleston, cocktails are in the shaker, and romance is in the air. Kate Hardcastle can’t wait to meet her intended iancé, Charles Marlow – but when Marlow finally turns up, he’s not the shy and retiring man anyone was expecting. Wily Kate soon realises that faint heart never won fair husband…

Becca Chadder’s TINY TIM’S CHRISTMAS CAROL
An adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, adapted and directed by Becca Chadder, December 18, 2023 – January 6, 2024
When Bob Cratchit takes over the company from his old boss Ebenezer Scrooge, he discovers it’s tough at the top. In fact, he works so hard that this year he might cancel Christmas. So now it’s up to Tiny Tim to remind his father of the story of Scrooge and the true meaning of Christmas. Charles Dickens’ much-loved Christmas story is reinvented for families with children aged five to ten.

Zoe Cooper’s NORTHANGER ABBEY
From the novel by Jane Austen, directed by Tessa Walker, January 24 – February 24, 2024
Catherine Moreland knows little of the world, but who needs real-life experience when you have novels to guide you? Catherine seizes her chance to escape her claustrophobic family and join the smart set in Bath. Between balls and parties, she meets worldly, sophisticated Isabella Thorpe – Iz, to her friends – and so Cath’s very own adventure begins.

Anton Chekhov’s UNCLE VANYA
Adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn, March 2 – April 13, 2024
Sonia and her Uncle Vanya lead an uneventful life on their country estate, animated only by visits from the dashing local doctor. But when Sonia’s famous father and his glamorous new wife unexpectedly turn up, old grudges return, and new desires ignite. In the heat of summer, tempers boil over and forbidden lusts threaten to end in catastrophe. 

Kate Attwell’s TESTMATCH
Directed by Diane Page, April 20 – May 18, 2024
Lord’s, present day. The Women’s Cricket World Cup: England versus India. There’s a rain delay. Stuck in the same locker room together, tensions mount, ambitions are laid bare and a whole new tactical game begins. Calcutta, 1800. Two British administrators encounter challenges on the field of play that threaten the entire regime. In this game of integrity and power, past and present collide.

Noël Coward’s SUITE IN THREE KEYS
Directed by Tom Littler, May 24 – July 6, 2024
In a luxury Swiss hotel suite, three separate stories unfold. In the full-length A Song at Twilight, an elderly writer faces blackmail at the hands of an ex-lover threatening to expose his secret past. Shadows of the Evening and Come into the Garden, Maud form a perfect double-bill, combining a late-life love triangle and a fizzing comedy about Americans abroad.

Lucas Hnath’s RED SPEEDO
Directed by Matthew Dunster, July 13 – Aug 10, 2024
Ray lives to swim. He is within touching distance of Olympic glory and a life-changing sponsorship deal. But everything changes when performance-enhancing drugs are discovered in the club’s refrigerator. As tensions run high, Ray’s brother wants them destroyed, his coach wants to call the authorities, his ex-girlfriend doesn’t want to know, and Ray wants the drugs back. A thriller played at the breakneck pace of an Olympic sprint, Red Speedo tackles the unforgiving weight of success in a world where the only crime is getting caught.

Hampstead Downstairs sets spring casts

Hampstead Theatre has confirmed the casts for three shows set to play in its Downstairs venue.

The world premiere of Sea Creatures, by Cordelia Lynn and directed by James Macdonald, will feature Geraldine Alexander, Pearl Chanda, Thusitha Jayasundera, Tom Mothersdale, Grace Saif, Tony Turner and June Watson. It runs from March 24-April 29.

Set in a cottage by the sea, four women live in a house made for five. Meals are prepared, stories are shared and the tide breaks on the shore. When only one of their two guests arrive for the summer, it isn’t quite the reunion they were all hoping for.

Another world premiere, Biscuits for Breakfast, by Gareth Farr and directed by Tessa Walker, will feature Boadicea Ricketts and Ben Castle-Gibb. It runs from May 5-June 10.

A tender story of dreams and survival, it introduces Joanne and Paul, who aren’t an obvious match – she is spiky, defensive and a survivor, while he is quiet, considered and hiding profound grief for his father. The pleasure Paul takes in cooking – and the astonishing food he prepares – creates a bond between them. When the hotel where they both work closes and they start to spiral into poverty, it throws everything up in the air – first the dreams of a cookbook and a restaurant, and, eventually, even the dreams of a future together.

Finally, Stumped, by Shomit Dutta and directed by Guy Unsworth, will feature Stephen Tompkinson and Andrew Lancel. It plays from June 16-July 22.

Before Samuel Beckett became the playwright universally known for Waiting for Godot, he was a cricketer. He is still the only Nobel prize-winner to feature in the pages of Wisden as a first-class player. His friend and fellow Nobel prize-winner, Harold Pinter, whose best-known works include The Birthday Party and Betrayal, described cricket as ‘the greatest thing that God created on Earth’. Exploring what the friendship between these two playwrights may have looked like, Stumped, was first streamed online as a digital only production in 2022. Now, Dutta has extended it into a full-length play and its stage premiere production at Hampstead Theatre coincides with the Ashes test match at Lord’s, a stone’s throw from the theatre.

Hampstead invites Sea Creatures, Biscuits for Breakfast and Stumped downstairs

Hampstead Theatre has unveiled three new plays for its Downstairs space for spring 2023.

Sea Creatures, running from March 24-April 29, marks the world premiere of Cordelia Lynn’s play, directed by James Macdonald.

Set in a cottage by the sea, four women live in a house made for five. Meals are prepared, stories are shared and the tide breaks on the shore. When only one of their two guests arrive for the summer, it isn’t quite the reunion they were all hoping for.
Lynn is an award-winning playwright whose other work includes Love and Other Acts of Violence (Donmar Warehouse), Three Sisters (Almeida) and One for Sorrow (Royal Court).

A second world premiere is Biscuits for Breakfast by Gareth Farr, directed by Tessa Walker. It will run from May 5-April 29.

A tender story of dreams and survival, Joanne and Paul aren’t an obvious match – she is spiky, defensive and a survivor, while he is quiet, considered and hiding profound grief for his father. The pleasure Paul takes in cooking – and the astonishing food he prepares – creates a bond between them. When the hotel where they both work closes and they start to spiral into poverty, it throws everything up in the air – first the dreams of a cookbook and a restaurant, and, eventually, even the dreams of a future together.
Farr’s play Britannia Waves the Rules (Royal Exchange Manchester) won the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2011.

Stumped, by Shomit Dutta and directed by Guy Unsworth, will have its stage premiere from June 16-July 22.

Before Samuel Beckett became the playwright universally known for Waiting for Godot, he was a cricketer. He is still the only Nobel prize-winner to feature in the pages of Wisden as a first-class player. His friend and fellow Nobel prize-winner, Harold Pinter, whose best-known works include The Birthday Party and Betrayal, described cricket as ‘the greatest thing that God created on earth’.
Exploring what the friendship between these two playwrights may have looked like, Stumped, was first streamed online as a digital only production in 2022. Now, Dutta has extended it into a full-length play and its stage premiere at Hampstead Theatre coincides with the Ashes test match at Lord’s, a stone’s throw from the theatre.

Full creative teams and cast for all three plays will be announced in due course.