PRESS RELEASE
Two acclaimed National Theatre of Scotland shows to tour internationally in 2016
The James Plays to tour to New Zealand
Supported by the Scottish Government International Touring Fund
The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart to return to the United States of America
THE JAMES PLAYS by Rona Munro and directed by Laurie Sansom, presented by the National
Theatre of Scotland, the Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre of Great Britain
will tour to Auckland Festival in New Zealand, in March 2016. Blythe Duff and Peter Forbes, from the
original cast, will return to reprise their roles in the trilogy.
This is the company’s fourth visit to New Zealand, having previously toured to the Auckland Festival
with The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart in 2011, and to Wellington with Black Watch in 2008
and Beautiful Burnout (co-produced with Frantic Assembly) in 2012.
The James Plays are also touring throughout the UK in 2016, visting Edinburgh, Leicester, Inverness,
Glasgow, Northampton, Salford, Newcastle, Sheffield, Norwich, Canterbury, Plymouth, and
Nottingham from 3 February to 3 July 2016. The international dates of The James Plays tour are
supported by the Scottish Government’s International Touring Fund. Additional international tour
dates to be confirmed.
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs says: “The James Plays were
one of the highlights of the Edinburgh International Festival in 2014 and they deserve to be enjoyed
by audiences across the world. We recognised this great potential for the plays’ success by investing
in them first time round through the Scottish Government Expo Fund in 2014. This year we are
pleased to invest in a touring production in order to take this fantastic set of plays to new audiences
internationally.”
David Greig and Wils Wilson’s folk theatre fable has proved popular with audiences from Govan to
Rio. The production has been part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s touring repertoire since
2011 and has travelled extensively across the UK and internationally, spanning four continents, nine
countries and 47 different venues.
In 2016 the production will tour from 9 February to 7 May, taking over theatre stages and nontraditional theatre spaces in Virginia, Richmond, Illinois, Vermont, Winchester and Arkansas.
Additional USA dates and a full Scottish tour will be announced later this year.
The actors from the 2014 tour are all returning to join the ensemble cast. The full cast is
Annie Grace, Melody Grove, Alasdair Macrae, David McKay and Paul McCole.
International tour information – The James Plays
ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre: Saturday 5 March – Sunday 13 March 2016
International tour information – The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart
Shenandoah University at Brewbakers Restaurant, Winchester: 10 to 14 February 2016
Modlin Center at the Rare Olde Times Pub, Canterbury Shopping Center, Richmond: 17 to 21 Feb
Krannert Centre , University of Illinois: 24 to 27 February 2016
Flynn Center, Burlingon, Vermont: 8 to 10 April 2016
Virginia G. Piper Theatre, Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts: 19 to 24 April 2016
Starr Theater at Walton Arts Center, Northwest Arkansas: 6 to 8 May 2016
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Creative team for The James Plays: Design by Jon Bausor, Lighting Design by Philip Gladwell; Sound
Design by Christopher Shutt (James I and II) and Nick Sagar (James III); Movement Director Neil
Bettles; Original music composed by Paul Leonard Morgan (James I and III) and Will Gregory (James
II).
Creative team for The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart: Created by David Greig (Writer) and Wils
Wilson (Director) with Designer Georgia McGuinness, Composer Alasdair Macrae and movement by
Janice Parker.
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Join the conversation: #jamesplays #prudenciahart
For further information please contact:
Emma Schad, Press Manager
Tel: +44 (0)141 227 9016 / +44 (0)7930 308 018 E: emma.schad@nationaltheatrescotland.com
Joe Blythe, Press Officer
Tel: +44 (0)141 227 9497 / +44 (0)7500 258 404 E: joe.blythe@nationaltheatrescotland.com
You can follow the National Theatre of Scotland’s press office on Twitter @NTS_press
Please contact the press office for images.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The National Theatre of Scotland is dedicated to playing the great stages, arts centres,
village halls, schools and site-specific locations of Scotland, the UK and internationally. As
well as creating ground-breaking productions and working with the most talented theatremakers, the National Theatre of Scotland produces significant community engagement
projects, innovates digitally and works constantly to develop new talent. Central to this is
finding pioneering ways to reach current and new audiences and to encourage people’s full
participation in the Company’s work.
2. With no performance building of its own, the Company works with existing and new venues
and companies to create and tour theatre of the highest quality. Founded in 2006, the
Company, in its short life, has become a globally significant theatrical player, with an
extensive repertoire of award-winning work.
The National Theatre of Scotland is supported by the Scottish Government.
www.nationaltheatrescotland.com
3. The National Theatre of Great Britain is dedicated to making the very best theatre and
sharing it with as many people as possible. We produce up to 30 productions at our South
Bank home each year, ranging from re-imagined classics – such as Greek tragedy and
Shakespeare – to modern masterpieces and new work by contemporary writers and
theatre-makers. The work we make strives to be as open, as diverse, as collaborative and as
national as possible. We want to inspire artists and audiences to think in new ways, to
constantly re-imagine the act of making theatre.
The National’s work is also seen on tour throughout the UK and internationally, and in
collaborations and co-productions with regional theatres. Popular shows transfer to the
West End and occasionally to Broadway. The National’s production of The Curious Incident of
the Dog in the Night-Time is currently on tour around the UK, with forthcoming visits to
Southampton, Truro, Oxford, Liverpool, Bristol, Sunderland, Glasgow, Leeds, Aberdeen,
Norwich, Sheffield, Dublin, Belfast, Bath, Milton Keynes and a return visit to Salford.
The National Theatre Live programme of cinema broadcasts, introduced in 2009, is now
regularly available in 1500 venues in 40 countries; forthcoming broadcasts include Everyman
(16 July), The Beaux’ Stratagem (3 September) and an encore screening of the Donmar
Warehouse’s Coriolanus (24 September). From September, National Theatre: On Demand In
Schools will make three acclaimed, curriculum-linked productions free to stream on demand
in every secondary school in the country.
4. About the Edinburgh International Festival - Every August, the giants of the arts gather in
the stunning city of Edinburgh for the International Festival. For three exhilarating weeks the
city becomes an international cultural epicentre with the finest creators and performers
from the worlds of classical music, theatre, opera and dance from around the globe offering
intense, personal and exciting experiences to those who come from Scotland, the UK and
overseas.
As a vibrant, innovative and energetic organisation, involved in commissioning and
producing new work from the very best artists working internationally, while also nurturing
grass roots arts engagement on its doorstep, the Festival contributes to many aspects of life,
be it culture, economy, education and society, and enhances the lives of people not just in
Edinburgh and Scotland, but around the world. The 2015 Edinburgh International Festival
runs from 7-31 August. Find out more at eif.co.uk
The Edinburgh International Festival is supported by The City of Edinburgh Council and
Creative Scotland. Scottish Charity Number SC004694.
ENDS