Performed by a cast of Deaf and disabled actors and non-disabled actors, an exciting and dramatic retelling of Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding will be staged at the Everyman, breathing new life into this classic play. Co-produced by Graeae Theatre Company, Derby Theatre and Dundee Rep Ensemble, Blood Wedding runs from Tuesday 21st April until Saturday 25th April.
Graeae’s Artistic Director Jenny Sealey, who previously directed the London 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony, directs David Ireland’s modern day retelling of Blood Wedding, which is fuelled by searing lust, love and rebellion. When young lovers are overrun with passion and defy their families, the consequences are fatally heartbreaking as a wedding party turns sour and two families are torn apart.
All performances of Blood Wedding include a creative combination of BSL interpretation, captioning and audio description.
Theatre is entering an exciting new phase where people who identify as having an access requirement or disability are taking centre stage and dynamic and diverse culture is continuing to develop, growing from strength to strength each year.
This is no more evident than in the work of Graeae; a driving force in disability arts and accessible theatre. Both past winners of the TMA’s Promotion of Diversity Award, the Everyman and Playhouse and Graeae are forces of change in world-class theatre.
Jenny Sealey said, “Someone once said to me ‘Lorca did not write Blood Wedding for people like you (Deaf and disabled actors) to be in it’. Graeae, Dundee Rep and Derby Theatre beg to differ and challenge that statement with our adaptation by David Ireland, placing a glorious diversity of people centre stage, all of whom have a right to be there to claim their stake in the narrative.”
Gemma Bodinetz said, “We have long admired the artistic quality of the work produced by this remarkable company but sadly the old Everyman was not fully accessible and meant we could not programme Graeae productions. At the heart of the design process for the new Everyman was the assertion that it would truly be an Everyman for everyone and that its physical structure and ethos would be fully inclusive. The arrival of Graeae’s production of Blood Wedding is another beautiful milestone in the realisation of this vision”.
Tickets for Blood Wedding are priced at £12-£20*. Tickets are available from the Everyman and Playhouse Theatre’s Box offices, by telephone on 0151 7094776 or online at www.everymanplayhouse.com.
*A singletransaction fee of £2 applies to all phone, counter and internet bookings. Cash payments and tickets £6 or less are exempt from any transaction fees.