In 2016 Everyman & Playhouse will stage a new adaptation of Madame Bovary with Peepolykus at the Everyman, while at the Playhouse there will be a major revival of Frank McGuinness’ Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme. The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary! is directed by Artistic Director Gemma Bodinetz in a co-production with Bristol Old Vic, Southampton Nuffield and Royal & Derngate, Northampton. Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme is co-produced with the Abbey Theatre, Dublin and Citizens Theatre, Glasgow and Headlong and is directed by Jeremy Herrin.
The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary! is lovingly adapted by John Nicholson and Javier Marzan of Peepolykus from Gustave Flaubert’s seminal Nineteenth Century novel. The production runs at the Everyman from the 5th to the 27th February before being presented by Bristol Old Vic, Southampton Nuffield and Royal & Derngate, Northampton.
Played by a cast of just five – with a fair amount of doubling – this absurd take on the traditional tale includes mesmeric love scenes featuring a stupendous collection of devastatingly handsome men, questions the impotence of women in a Victorian patriarchal society, and you’ll even marvel at how many parts a Spanish man with limited English can play with only one moustache.
It is directed by Gemma Bodinetz who last collaborated with Peepolykus on No Wise Men in 2010. Peepolykus (Spyski, The Hound of the Baskervilles) is one of the U.K.’s most exciting touring theatre companies, creating comic theatre with proven national and international appeal. Over the last nine years, it has exported its particular brand of humour to over 100 towns and cities across four continents.
Everyman & Playhouse Artistic Director Gemma Bodinetz said,“My first encounter with Peepolykus was many years ago in the Bristol Old Vic studio where their show Let the Donkey Go was playing at the same time as my production of Hamlet. I was immediately won over and have remained a fan and sometime collaborator ever since, culminating in our collaboration on the Christmas Playhouse show No Wise Men. I am delighted that we will be creating a hilarious /powerful interpretation of Madame Bovary together. There have been many interpretations of this great 19th century novel but I think it is safe to say that none will have been more faithful to the original nor less like it. We are thrilled at E&P that our friends at Bristol, Southampton and Northampton are partners in this comic/tragic exploration of Flaubert’s masterpiece.”
At the Playhouse from the 8th to the 25th June, Jeremy Herrin, Artistic Director of Headlong, directs Frank McGuinness’ iconic war play Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme. On the 1st July 1916, the 36th (Ulster) Division took part in one of the bloodiest battles in human history: the Battle of the Somme. 100 years later this modern classic is presented by the Everyman & Playhouse in a major co-production with the Abbey Theatre, Dublin – where the play debuted in 1985 – and Citizens Theatre, Glasgow and Headlong. Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme is supported by the British Irish Chamber of Commerce.
Frank McGuinness’ last play, The Match Box, was performed to critical acclaim at the Playhouse Studio in 2012 before transferring to the Tricycle in London. His other well-known works include The Factory Girls (the Abbey Theatre, Dublin) and Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Hampstead, West End and Broadway). For Headlong, Jeremy Herrin has directed The Absence of War and the European Première of The Nether at the Royal Court. He recently directed the world premiere of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies for the R.S.C. ahead of transfers to the West End in May 2014 and Broadway in 2015.
Tickets for The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary! will be on sale from Tuesday 1st December and tickets for Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme will be on sale in Spring 2016.