Cast and
creative team announced for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
27 November - 31 December
Northern Stage will produce a magical new adaptation of
family favourite The Sorcerer’s Apprentice this Christmas (27 November - 31
December). Set in the streets of Newcastle but not quite as we know it,
audiences will be treated to live music, puppetry, magic and illusion as they
follow the adventures of Hatty Rabbit and her friends after a mysterious letter
arrives inviting Hatty to an interview for a sorcerer’s apprentice…
Maria Crocker will direct her first main stage show for
Northern Stage. Maria trained on the theatre’s first NORTH programme in 2013
where she met her fellow founders of The Letter Room, and has performed in
several Christmas productions at the Newcastle theatre including The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz adapted by Caroline Bird. An associate artist at Headlong, Maria’s
credits include associate director on the Tony Award-winning Hadestown for the
National Theatre and Local Hero for The Lyceum. She says, “It’s thrilling to be
making a show for the epic space, having trained on Northern Stage’s NORTH
scheme in 2013. This Christmas is all about making the normal feel magical. We
have a fantastic team of creative wizards working tremendously hard to bring
this Newcastle story to life in the most enchanting, sparkly way, and to spread
some much needed festive joy.”
Adapted by Laura Lindow (The Snow Queen/Northern Stage, Key
Change/Open Clasp), The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is designed by Amanda Mascarenhas
(Run It Back/Talawa Theatre Company, Cuttin’ It/Royal Exchange Theatre), with
lighting design by Jai Morjaria (Wuthering Heights/National Theatre &
Bristol Old Vic), sound design by Matthew Tuckey (Wolf!/Kitchen Zoo, Repeat
Signal/November Club), movement direction by Gavin Coward - a performer, member
and collaborator with balletLORENT, and original music by Katie Doherty who has
created music for the Royal Shakespeare Company, five family Christmas
productions for Northern Stage and the award-winning musical Beyond the End of
the Road. Molly Barrett-Manasseh will design and make the puppets, with
puppetry direction by Thomas Walton, and associate director is North East
dramaturg and director Rachael Walsh - one of two recipients of the 2021 JMK
Victoria Wood Bursary.
Magic is a key part of the production, so Dr Will Houstoun
has been enlisted as illusion designer and director. As well as numerous
theatre credits with the Royal Shakespeare Company, West End shows, Northern
Ballet and the Royal Opera House, he has worked on film and TV shows including
Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, award-winning BBC drama series Wolf Hall starring Mark
Rylance, and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind for Netflix. He
says, “I’ve missed theatre enormously during the pandemic, so I can’t wait to
be back using magic to help share astonishing moments in magical stories. And
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is full of magic, so I can’t imagine any illusionist
who wouldn’t want to try and bring some of that to life on stage!”
Beth Crame from Newcastle will play Hatty Rabbit, the little
girl who has a big job to do after she receives a mysterious letter inviting
her to an interview for a Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Beth said, “I grew up in the
North East and went to Newcastle College to study Musical Theatre so it really
is a dream to perform at Northern Stage! Hatty Rabbit can find the positive in
every situation, even if things aren’t going her way which I think is a magical
power of hers.”
She is joined by Talia Nyathi - a South African born
Zimbabwean native, Talia is making her stage debut having trained at Manchester
School of Theatre where she won a Laurence Olivier Bursary and was nominated to
be a Spotlight Prize finalist in 2020; Nick Figgis (War Horse/West End) who
played Scrooge in Northern Stage’s 2019 production of A Christmas Carol;
Jessica Johnson - most recently seen starring in the 40th anniversary tour of
Educating Rita with Stephen Tompkinson, Jess first appeared at Northern Stage
in 2007 while studying at Newcastle College in a Christmas show directed by
Erica Whyman; Hong Kong born, British-Thai Patrick Munday (West Side Story/BBC
Proms); Heather Dutton (Treasure Island/National Theatre, Primetime/Royal
Court); and Alice Blundell (The Winter’s Tale/Royal Shakespeare Company, The
Wizard of Oz/Northern Stage).
The show will be filmed by award-winning North East
filmmakers Meerkat Films for Northern Stage at Home enabling audiences to watch
online, and there will be BSL, captioned, relaxed and audio described
performances.
Writer Laura Lindow says, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice has
made 2021 a really magical year for me already; Christmas is a chance to make
dreams come true right in front of us. To tell stories that can really enchant.
To create characters who can really live. Adventures that can really play out.
It’s an honour and a privilege to play a part in so many peoples’ Christmases
and hopefully offer even more festive sparkle to take away.”
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice runs from 27 November – 31 December. Tickets start from £10. Book online at www.northernstage.co.uk or call the box office on 0191 230 5151.
No comments:
Post a Comment