PRESS RELEASE: LEMN SISSAY OBE WILL COLLABORATE WITH FRANTIC ASSEMBLY ON A BOLD NEW PRODUCTION OF KAFKA’S METAMORPHOSIS.

[Jan McNulty]

Wednesday 30 November 10am
PRESS RELEASE
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A Frantic Assembly Production, co-produced with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

                                       

 

• LEMN SISSAY OBE WILL COLLABORATE WITH FRANTIC ASSEMBLY ON A BOLD NEW PRODUCTION OF KAFKA’S METAMORPHOSIS.
   
• DIRECTED BY SCOTT GRAHAM, METAMORPHOSIS WILL PREMIERE AT THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH IN SEPTEMBER 2023 BEFORE EMBARKING ON AN EXTENSIVE TOUR INCLUDING FOUR WEEKS AT THE LYRIC HAMMERSMITH THEATRE.
   
• A STRIKING NEW IMAGE (CREATED BY PEROU AND PAUL REARDON AT PETER AND PAUL) IS RELEASED TODAY HERE

 

Frantic Assembly will collaborate with internationally celebrated poet, playwright and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE on a new adaptation of Franz Kafka’s shocking tale of cruelty and kindness.  Metamorphosis is a visceral and vital depiction of humans struggling within a system that crushes them under its heel. 

 

Directed by Frantic’s Artistic Director Scott Graham (Othello, Lovesong, Beautiful Burnout,) the new production will premiere at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 12 – 16 September 2023, followed by an extensive tour including Leicester’s Curve 19 – 23 September 2023, MAST Mayflower Studios 26 – 30 September 2023 and a four week run at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre from 1 February – 2 March 2024.  Further tour venues to be announced soon.

 

This is Frantic Assembly’s first new production since 2019’s I Think We Are Alone and is a co-production with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.   Frantic are renowned for their use of physicality and movement in their work and Metamorphosis will be no different.  

 

Metamorphosis sits aside Frantic Assembly’s Othello as the second production in their Iconic strand of work. Iconic sees the company take on titles that bring with them so much history and baggage, love and opinion and create vital, thrilling contemporary theatre.

 

Kafka’s Metamorphosis has burnt itself deep into our psyche. It is absurd and horrific. It is tragic and heart breaking. Gregor Samsa finds himself transformed from bread winner into burden. It is a devastating portrayal of a man trapped and crushed under the heel of a system that no longer finds him useful.  Metamorphosis is an inherently visceral production. It is about the limitations of the body and the mind, of our imagination and aspiration. It has such a rich and intense physicality that extends far beyond one character’s sudden transformation. It aches with the desire to break free and the violence of its suppression.  All of this, coupled with the fluidity and lyricism of Lemn Sissay’s adaptation and the uncompromising physicality of Frantic Assembly, promises an exciting and dynamic show.

 

Frantic Assembly are thrilled to be working with Lemn Sissay on the adaptation of the Kafka novella. 

 

Talking about the collaboration Lemn Sissay said: “This will be my second adaptation after Benjamin Zephaniah's Refugee Boy in 2013.  Words make movement, words precede movement and words (spoken or written) are movement.  Frantic Assembly is the theatre of movement.  My aim is to move the audience and to be moved. Metamorphosis is iconic.  I am nervous, like an olympian, a long distance runner, the starting gun has fired, dust plumes beneath my feet, the end is a long way away. I pace myself, I focus and I concentrate...”

 

Scott Graham said: “I am absolutely buzzing to be collaborating with the wonderful Lemn Sissay. The potential of this project to spin physical and lyrical poetry around this classic story thrills me. This is a meeting of minds, ready to play and explore and find out what we can bring to this iconic title.”

 

In response to Metamorphosis’ run at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, Young Lyric in collaboration with Frantic Assembly, will deliver a schools’ response project for West London secondary schools. Using devising and physicality taken from the Frantic Method theatre students will explore the production themes over a series of FREE in school workshops. The response will culminate in a new schools performance at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre as part of a collaborative sharing of learning and ideas between theatres and educational institutions.

 

Metamorphosis will follow Frantic Assembly’s current touring production of Othello which has played to packed houses across the country this autumn and will run at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre from 19 January – 11 February 2023.

 

The full creative team will be announced in the new year.

 

 

LISTINGS

METAMORPHOSIS

A Frantic Assembly Production, co-produced with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

Creative Team

Adapted by                                         Lemn Sissay OBE

Director                                              Scott Graham

Tour dates

Theatre Royal Plymouth                  12 – 16 Sept

Curve, Leicester                                19 – 23 Sept

MAST Mayflower Studios                26 – 30 Sept

Lyric Hammersmith Theatre           1 Feb – 2 Mar

Full tour dates to be announced in the new year.

 

BIOGRAPHIES

SCOTT GRAHAM

Scott is Artistic Director of Frantic Assembly, co-founding the company in 1994. He has received nominations for his work on Beautiful Burnout (Drama Desk Award, New York), Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Olivier, Tony and Fred Astaire Awards). With Steven Hoggett he won the TMA Award (now UK Theatre Awards) for Best Direction for Othello.

 

He has provided movement direction for shows at the Royal National Theatre, National Theatre Wales and National Theatre of Scotland. He has developed and written extensively about The Frantic Method. With Steven Hoggett, he has written The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre (Routledge) and Frantic Assembly is the subject of a book in the Routledge Performance Practitioners series. 

 

Scott is passionate about creating opportunities for people who might see theatre as a challenge or alienating, and believes that these new voices and fresh perspectives are vital to the health of the arts sector.

 

LEMN SISSAY OBE

Lemn Sissay OBE is a poet playwright, memoirist performer and broadcaster.

 

Lemn has read on stage throughout the world, from The Library of Congress in The United States to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, from the Opera House of Dubai to London Palladium and finally  to the heady hights of Wigan library in… Wigan.   Lemn was awarded The Pen Pinter Prize in 2019  when his memoir ‘My name Is Why’ reached number one in The Sunday Times bestseller list.  In 2021 it won Indie Book Awards non-fiction prize.  If you google the name ‘Lemn Sissay’ all the returning hits will be about him. There is only one person in the world named Lemn Sissay.

 

Lemn  is Chancellor of The University of Manchester. He is trustee of The Foundling Museum and  The Christmas Dinners.  He is   patron of Twenty Stories High , The National Association for the  Teaching of English Theatre and Ambassador for Place2B.  University of Manchester runs The Lemn Sissay Law bursary.  University of Huddersfield established and runs the first Lemn Sissay PhD scholarship for Care Leavers.   He is artistic advisor to The Manchester International festival and was the Guest Director of Brighton Festival 2020 and 2021. 

 

In 2021 he was made Honorary Professor at The University of Manchester. In 2021 he was made Visiting Fellow at Jesus College Cambridge. In 2021 he was also made an Honorary Bencher of The Inner Temple.

 

His Television documentaries have been nominated for Griersons BAFTA and RTS awards 2020 and  2021. In 2021 Imagine made and broadcast a documentary about his life.    His work in radio has been nominated for Sony and Palm D’Ors.    In 2021 he helped select the work for Hold Still a project spearheaded by The Duchess of Cambridge. Hold Still is a Sunday Times Bestseller.   

 

His Landmark Poems in public spaces can be seen throughout Manchester and London at venues such as The Royal Festival Hall.   His Landmark poems can also be found at The British Council in Addis Ababa.   In 2021 alongside Hans Ulrich Obrist of the Serpentine Gallery  Lemn co-curated the acclaimed exhibition Poet Slash Artist which included artists and poets such as  Lubaina Himid, Tracy Emin and Imtiaz Dharkar for Manchester International Festival 2021.   

 

Lemn has worked in music over the years.  In 2021 his poems are part of a concerto performed at the BBC Proms in  The Royal Albert Hall.  He featured on the Leftfield album Leftism. On the 20th Anniversary of the album in 2018 Leftfield toured the country to a sell-out tour from Brixton Academy to Manchester’s Apollo. In 2017 he featured on Traveller by Baaba Maal.  A violin Concerto at The BBC Proms was inspired by his poem Advice For The Living.  Another poem ‘Spark Catchers’  featured in the 2017 concerto by Chineke at The BBC Proms written by Hannah Kendal!  It was the most viewed concert in the history of BBC Proms.  

 

Lemn read at Sir Paul McCartney’s Book launch at Queen’s Theatre in The West End.  Lemn performed as Scully in Jim Cartwright’s Road at The Royal Court.   In 2018 Julie Hesmondhalgh read his psychologists report for a court case he was bringing against the government.  The report at the royal Court  sold out in 24 hours and became national news.  Lemn has written a series of plays. ‘Something Dark’ won a race in the media award. On  the national curriculum as a choice text  his stage adaption of Benjamin Zephaniah’s Refugee Boy is published by Oberon Books. 

 

He has been  shot by many great photographers including Steve McCurry, Rankin and Aida Muluneh. His painting once hanged in The National Portrait gallery.  In 2020 he was the sitter for the final of Sky Arts Portrait of the year award 2020.  He was writer in residence at The Southbank Centre under the artistic director Jude Kelly from 2006 to 2012.    He was the first poet commissioned to write for the London Olympics 2012.  

 

He has judged many literary competitions including 2020 Booker Prize, The Gold Man Booker Awards, The National Poetry Competition, The Forward Prize, The Ted Hughes Prize, Cardiff International poetry competition, The Creative Future Literary Awards, and the Bridport Prize. 

 

In 2015 he brought a legal case against the government for critical mistakes in the first eighteen years of his life. The government settled out of court in 2018.  His  books of poetry are published by Canongate Books. His children’s book ‘Don’t Ask The Dragon’ is to be published by Canongate Books in 2022. 

 

Lemn Sissay  was named MBE for services to literature by The Queen in 2014.  In 2021 he named OBE for services to Literature and Charity .  He has honorary doctorates from Universities of Huddersfield, Manchester, Brunel, Kent and Essex. Lemn has been Chancellor of University since 2015. His chancellorship ends in 2022.

 

He lives in London and Manchester.

 

FRANTIC ASSEMBLY

Award winning theatre company Frantic Assembly’s method of devising theatre has been impacting theatrical practice and unlocking the creative potential of future theatre-makers for over 25 years. One of the most exciting theatre companies in the UK, Frantic Assembly is led by Artistic Director and co-founder Scott Graham and Executive Director Kerry Whelan. It has toured extensively across Great Britain and worked in more than 40 countries internationally, collaborating with some of today’s most inspiring artists. 

 

Frantic Assembly is currently studied as a leading contemporary theatre practitioner on five British and international academic syllabuses. The success of the company’s distinct approach has influenced contemporary theatre-making and foregrounded the use of movement directors and choreographers in new dramatic works. With a history of commissioning writers such as Simon Stephens, Abi Morgan, Bryony Lavery, Anna Jordan and Mark Ravenhill, the company has been acclaimed for its collaborative approach.

 

Frantic Assembly’s flagship initiative Ignition, a free nationwide talent development programme for young people aged 16-24, seeks out under-represented talent and provides opportunities for young people to discover what is possible, increasing involvement in and access to the arts in places of low cultural engagement. 

 

Frantic Assembly productions include Othello (UK Tour), I Think We Are Alone (UK Tour), The Unreturning (UK Tour), Fatherland (Manchester International Festival 2017 and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre 2018), Things I Know To Be True (UK and Australia), Beautiful Burnout (UK, Australia, New Zealand and New York), Lovesong (UK and Australia) and The Believers. They are also the Movement Directors on the award-winning National Theatre of Great Britain, production The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (West End, Broadway, UK & International Tours). Television credits include Movement Direction on BAFTA winning British - American series Humans (AMC, Channel 4 & Kudos). 

 

Frantic Assembly is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
www.franticassembly.co.uk.

 

CURVE

Curve is one of the UK's leading producing theatres. We believe everyone who lives, works or learns in our city should have access to great art and culture. Each year over 750,000 people engage with Curve through performances and projects at our home in Leicester, across the UK and internationally. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster, Curve has developed an international reputation for producing, programming and touring a bold and diverse programme of musicals, plays, new work, dance and opera. All of this is presented alongside a dynamic mix of community engagement, artist development and learning programmes, which firmly places audiences, artists and communities at the heart of everything we do.  

 

Curve-originated productions are frequently seen in London's West End, including On Your Feet! (London Coliseum), Sue Townsend's The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 - The Musical (The Ambassadors Theatre) and White Christmas (Dominion Theatre). 2022 sees a number of Made at Curve productions flying the flag for Leicester in London, around the UK and beyond, including Grease (Dominion Theatre), Sister Act (Eventim Apollo Hammersmith & UK tour), Beautiful - The Carole King Musical (UK tour), Akram Khan's Jungle Book reimagined (international tour), Maggie May (national tour) and The Color Purple (national tour). 

Other recent Made at Curve productions and co-productions include The Wizard of Oz, Frantic Assembly’s Othello, the ‘masterpiece' (The Times) new UK production of Billy Elliot the Musical (winner of Best Musical Production at the UK Theatre Awards), Finding Home - Leicester’s Ugandan Asian Story at 50, the ‘world class' (Daily Telegraph) A Chorus Line, Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and English Touring Theatre, supported by the Royal Theatrical Support Trust), The Music Of Andrew Lloyd Webber, acclaimed streamed productions of The Color Purple and the ‘game-changer' (The Telegraph) Sunset Boulevard, Giles Andreae and Guy Parker Rees' Giraffes Can't Dance (with Rose Theatre Kingston), West Side Story, Hanif Kureishi's My Beautiful Laundrette (with Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham and Leeds Playhouse), John Osborne's The Entertainer (with Anthology Theatre), the WhatsOnStage Award-winning ‘Best Regional Production’ of Alice Walker's The Color Purple (with Birmingham Hippodrome), the world-premiere of Dougal Irvine's adaptation of Riaz Khan's Memoirs Of An Asian Football Casual, the Curve Young Company and Community production of Joseph Stein's Fiddler On The Roof, the world premiere production of An Officer And A Gentleman, Leslie Bricusse's Scrooge, the world premiere of Amana Fontanella Khan's Pink Sari Revolution, adapted by Purva Naresh (with Belgrade Theatre Coventry, English Touring Theatre and Leeds Playhouse), the Manchester Theatre Awards ‘Best Musical’ and WhatsOnStage Award-winning ‘Best Regional Production’ of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, the world premiere of Ravi Shankar's opera Sukanya (with the Royal Opera House and London Philharmonic Orchestra) and the 50th anniversary production of Joe Orton's What The Butler Saw (with Theatre Royal Bath).  

 

LYRIC HAMMERSMITH THEATRE

The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre produces bold and relevant world-class theatre from the heart of Hammersmith, the theatre’s home for more than 125 years. Under the leadership of Artistic Director and CEO Rachel O’Riordan, it is committed to being vital to, and representative of, the local community and to being a major force in London and UK theatre, resulting in the creation of adventurous and acclaimed theatrical work. The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre has a national reputation for ground-breaking work to develop and nurture the next generation of talent, providing opportunities for young people from all backgrounds to discover the power of creativity. The theatre is West London’s largest creative hub working to deliver life-changing creative opportunities for thousands of young people. Right in the heart of Hammersmith, the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is here for everyone.

 

MAST MAYFLOWER STUDIOS

MAST is a multi-art form cultural hub presenting and producing theatre, dance, musicals, music, comedy, circus, cabaret, spoken word, visual arts and family shows. They are community-led, with engagement and consultation at the heart of everything they do. MAST work with the best touring companies and local artists to present a diverse, vibrant, high-quality artistic programme, alongside their own MAST productions and co-productions. Their community and outreach programme - Engage - works throughout the community giving opportunities and developing both future audiences and theatre makers. This work leads into their Artist Development programme. Their Creative hub has 7 resident companies from different art forms whom they work with closely to create exceptional cultural opportunities for the region.

 

MAST’s vision is to be nationally recognised in providing Inspiring Experiences

 

THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH
Theatre Royal Plymouth is a registered charity providing art, education and community engagement throughout Plymouth and the wider region. We engage and inspire many communities through performing arts and we aim to touch the lives and interests of people from all backgrounds. We do this by creating and presenting a breadth of shows on a range of scales, with our extensive creative engagement programmes, by embracing the vitality of new talent and supporting emerging and established artists, and by collaborating with a range of partners to provide dynamic cultural leadership for the city of Plymouth.

 

Recent productions and co-productions include Waldo’s Circus of Magic & Terror (with Extraordinary Bodies and Bristol Old Vic), HAPPY MEAL by Tabby Lamb (with Roots), Still Floating by Shôn Dale-Jones, Every Word Was Once An Animal (with Ontroerend Goed, Perpodium, Kunstencentrum Vooruit and Richard Jordan Productions) Breathless by Laura Horton, Delicate (with Extraordinary Bodies and Nordland Visual Theatre), Today I Killed My Very First Bird (with Voodoo Monkeys), Sorry, You’re Not A Winner by Samuel Bailey (with Paines Plough), MUM by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (with Francesca Moody Productions and Soho Theatre, in association with Popcorn Group), NHS The Musical by Nick Stimson and Jimmy Jewell, Amsterdam by Maya Arad Yasur (with Actors Touring Company and Orange Tree Theatre), I Think We Are Alone by Sally Abbott (with Frantic Assembly), The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel (with Told By An Idiot), One Under by Winsome Pinnock (with Graeae), The Unreturning by Anna Jordan (with Frantic Assembly) and You Stupid Darkness! by Sam Steiner (with Paines Plough).

 

Theatre Royal Plymouth specialises in the production of new plays alongside the presentation of a broad range of theatre - including classic and contemporary drama, musicals, opera, ballet and dance. We have three performance spaces – The Lyric, The Drum and The Lab. TRP has a strong track record of presenting and producing international work from companies and artists including Ontroerend Goed, Big In Belgium at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Robert Lepage and the late Yukio Ninagawa. In March 2019, TRP unveiled Messenger, the UK’s largest lost wax bronze sculpture created by the artist Joseph Hillier.

[Jan McNulty]

More information:

Thursday 23 March 11am 

PRESS RELEASE

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A Frantic Assembly Production, co-produced with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

 

      

• FULL TOUR DATES AND FURTHER CREATIVE TEAM ARE ANNOUNCED FOR KAFKA’S METAMORPHOSIS, A BOLD NEW FRANTIC ASSEMBLY PRODUCTION IN COLLABORATION WITH LEMN SISSAY OBE.

• DIRECTED BY SCOTT GRAHAM, METAMORPHOSIS WILL PREMIERE AT THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH FROM 12 SEPTEMBER 2023 BEFORE EMBARKING ON AN EXTENSIVE TOUR.

• STRIKING NEW ANIMATED ARTWORK IS RELEASED TODAY HERE.

Full tour dates have been announced for Frantic Assembly’s new adaptation of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, a collaboration between internationally celebrated poet, playwright and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE and Frantic Assembly’s artistic director Scott Graham (Othello, Lovesong, Beautiful Burnout).   The new production will premiere at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 12 – 16 September 2023, before touring to Curve Theatre Leicester (19 – 23 September 2023), MAST Mayflower Studios Southampton (26 – 30 September 2023), Connaught Theatre Worthing (3 – 7  October 2023), York Theatre Royal (10 – 14 October 2023), Liverpool Playhouse (17 – 21  October 2023), Northern Stage Newcastle (24 – 28  October 2023), Mercury Theatre Colchester (7 – 11  November 2023), The Lowry Salford Quays(14 – 18  November 2023),Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford  (21 – 25  November 2023), Bristol Old Vic (10-20 January 2024), Belgrade Theatre Coventry (23 – 27 January 2024) and a four week run at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre from 1 February – 2 March 2024.

 

A new animated version of the Metamorphosis artwork featuring photography by Perou, design by Paul Reardon at Peter & Paul and music by Stefan Janik can be downloaded here.

 

Further creative team are also today announced. Metamorphosis will be adapted by Lemn Sissay, directed by Scott Graham, designed by Jon Bausor, with video design by Ian William Galloway, music composed by Stefan Janik and sound design by Helen Skiera.  The associate director is David Gilbert, the casting director is Will Burton CDG and the producer is Kerry Whelan. More creatives to be announced soon.

 

Kafka’s Metamorphosis is a powerful and vital depiction of humans struggling within a system that crushes them under its heel.  Gregor Samsa finds himself transformed from bread winner into burden in this absurd and tragic story.  Frantic Assembly are renowned for their use of physicality and movement and Metamorphosis will be an inherently visceral production about the limitations of the body and the mind, of imagination and aspiration. All of this, coupled with the fluidity and lyricism of Lemn Sissay’s adaptation, promises an exciting and dynamic show.

 

Metamorphosis sits aside Frantic Assembly’s Othello as the second production in their Iconic strand of work. Iconic sees the company take on titles that bring with them so much history and baggage, love and opinion and create vital, thrilling contemporary theatre.

 

Metamorphosis is a co-production with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.  

 

 

LISTINGS

METAMORPHOSIS
A Frantic Assembly Production, co-produced with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

 

Creative Team

Adapted by                                         Lemn Sissay OBE
Director                                              Scott Graham
Designer                                             Jon Bausor
Video Designer                                  Ian William Galloway
Composer                                           Stefan Janik
Sound Designer                                 Helen Skiera
Associate Director                             David Gilbert
Casting Director                                Will Burton CDG

 

Tour dates

2023

Theatre Royal Plymouth                                  12 – 16 September
Curve, Leicester                                                19 – 23 September 
MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton        26 – 30 September 
Connaught Theatre, Worthing                         3 – 7 October 
York Theatre Royal                                          10 – 14 October (On Sale Soon)
Liverpool Playhouse                                         17 – 21 October  
Northern Stage, Newcastle                              24 – 28 October (On Sale Soon)
Mercury Theatre, Colchester                           7 – 11 November (On Sale Soon)
Quays Theatre, The Lowry, Salford                14 – 18 November
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford                 21 – 25 November 

 

2024

Bristol Old Vic                                                 10 – 20 January (On Sale Soon)
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry                           23 – 27 January (On Sale Soon)
Lyric Hammersmith Theatre                         1 Feb – 2 March 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

In response to Metamorphosis’ run at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, Young Lyric in collaboration with Frantic Assembly, will deliver a schools’ response project for West London secondary schools. Using devising and physicality taken from the Frantic Method theatre students will explore the production themes over a series of FREE in school workshops. The response will culminate in a new schools’performance at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre as part of a collaborative sharing of learning and ideas between theatres and educational institutions.

 

BIOGRAPHIES

Lemn Sissay OBE - Adaptor

Lemn Sissay OBE is a poet playwright, memoirist performer and broadcaster.

Lemn has read on stage throughout the world, from The Library of Congress in The United States to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, from the Opera House of Dubai to London Palladium and finally  to the heady hights of Wigan library in… Wigan.   Lemn was awarded The Pen Pinter Prize in 2019  when his memoir ‘My name Is Why’ reached number one in The Sunday Times bestseller list.  In 2021 it won Indie Book Awards non-fiction prize.  If you google the name ‘Lemn Sissay’ all the returning hits will be about him. There is only one person in the world named Lemn Sissay.

 

Lemn  is Chancellor of The University of Manchester. He is trustee of The Foundling Museum and  The Christmas Dinners.  He is   patron of Twenty Stories High , The National Association for the  Teaching of English Theatre and Ambassador for Place2B.  University of Manchester runs The Lemn Sissay Law bursary.  University of Huddersfield established and runs the first Lemn Sissay PhD scholarship for Care Leavers.   He is artistic advisor to The Manchester International festival and was the Guest Director of Brighton Festival 2020 and 2021. 

 

In 2021 he was made Honorary Professor at The University of Manchester. In 2021 he was made Visiting Fellow at Jesus College Cambridge. In 2021 he was also made an Honorary Bencher of The Inner Temple.

His Television documentaries have been nominated for Griersons BAFTA and RTS awards 2020 and  2021. In 2021 Imagine made and broadcast a documentary about his life.    His work in radio has been nominated for Sony and Palm D’Ors.    In 2021 he helped select the work for Hold Still a project spearheaded by The Duchess of Cambridge. Hold Still is a Sunday Times Bestseller.   

 

His Landmark Poems in public spaces can be seen throughout Manchester and London at venues such as The Royal Festival Hall.   His Landmark poems can also be found at The British Council in Addis Ababa.   In 2021 alongside Hans Ulrich Obrist of the Serpentine Gallery  Lemn co-curated the acclaimed exhibition Poet Slash Artist which included artists and poets such as  Lubaina Himid, Tracy Emin and Imtiaz Dharkar for Manchester International Festival 2021.   

 

Lemn has worked in music over the years.  In 2021 his poems are part of a concerto performed at the BBC Proms in  The Royal Albert Hall.  He featured on the Leftfield album Leftism. On the 20th Anniversary of the album in 2018 Leftfield toured the country to a sell-out tour from Brixton Academy to Manchester’s Apollo. In 2017 he featured on Traveller by Baaba Maal.  A violin Concerto at The BBC Proms was inspired by his poem Advice For The Living.  Another poem ‘Spark Catchers’  featured in the 2017 concerto by Chineke at The BBC Proms written by Hannah Kendal!  It was the most viewed concert in the history of BBC Proms.  

 

Lemn read at Sir Paul McCartney’s Book launch at Queen’s Theatre in The West End.  Lemn performed as Scully in Jim Cartwright’s Road at The Royal Court.   In 2018 Julie Hesmondhalgh read his psychologists report for a court case he was bringing against the government.  The report at the royal Court  sold out in 24 hours and became national news.  Lemn has written a series of plays. ‘Something Dark’ won a race in the media award. On  the national curriculum as a choice text  his stage adaption of Benjamin Zephaniah’s Refugee Boy is published by Oberon Books. 

 

He has been  shot by many great photographers including Steve McCurry, Rankin and Aida Muluneh. His painting once hanged in The National Portrait gallery.  In 2020 he was the sitter for the final of Sky Arts Portrait of the year award 2020.  He was writer in residence at The Southbank Centre under the artistic director Jude Kelly from 2006 to 2012.    He was the first poet commissioned to write for the London Olympics 2012.  

He has judged many literary competitions including 2020 Booker Prize, The Gold Man Booker Awards, The National Poetry Competition, The Forward Prize, The Ted Hughes Prize, Cardiff International poetry competition, The Creative Future Literary Awards, and the Bridport Prize. 

 

In 2015 he brought a legal case against the government for critical mistakes in the first eighteen years of his life. The government settled out of court in 2018.  His  books of poetry are published by Canongate Books. His children’s book ‘Don’t Ask The Dragon’ was published by Canongate Books in 2022. 

 

Lemn Sissay  was named MBE for services to literature by The Queen in 2014.  In 2021 he named OBE for services to Literature and Charity .  He has honorary doctorates from Universities of Huddersfield, Manchester, Brunel, Kent and Essex. Lemn was Chancellor of Manchester University from 2015 - 2022.

 

He lives in London and Manchester.

 

Scott Graham – Director

Scott is Artistic Director of Frantic Assembly, co-founding the company in 1994. He has received nominations for his work on Beautiful Burnout (Drama Desk Award, New York), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Olivier, Tony and Fred Astaire Awards). With Steven Hoggett he won the TMA Award (now UK Theatre Awards) for Best Direction for Othello. He has provided movement direction for shows at the Royal National Theatre, National Theatre Wales and Singapore Rep. He has developed and written extensively about The Frantic Method. His recent directing credits with Frantic Assembly include Othello, TOUCH, I Think We Are Alone, Sometimes Thinking, Fatherland, Things I Know To Be.  

 

With Steven Hoggett, he has written The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre (Routledge). Scott is passionate about creating opportunities for people who might see theatre as a challenge or alienating,  and believes that these new voices and fresh perspectives are vital to the health of the arts. 

 

Jon Bausor – Designer

Jon Bausor is a multi-award-winning international stage designer and creative director. 

He designed the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games in London and the kinetic sculpture to light the flame for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. 

 

Originally trained as a classical musician, Jon retrained on the Motley Theatre Design Course and was a Linbury Prize finalist in 2000. Since then he has designed extensively in dance, opera and theatre for companies worldwide. 

 

His work is known for its large-scale visual impact and transformational concepts with strong dramaturgical narratives. Theatre includes: Bat Out of Hell (London/ Germany/ Toronto/ New York); WICKED (Stage Entertainment, Hamburg); True West (West End); Knight’s Tale (Tokyo); Fatherland (Frantic Assembly/ Manchester International Festival); Tree (Young Vic/ Manchester International Festival); The Band - The Take That Musical (West End/ UK Tour); The Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic/West End- Best Design UK Theatre awards ); The James Plays (National Theatre/ National Theatre Scotland/ World tour); Ghost Stories (West End/ Toronto/ Moscow); Lord of the Flies (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); MAMETZ (National Theatre of Wales- winner best design UK Theatre awards and Wales Theatre awards); You For Me For You (Royal Court); I am Yusuf (Shebbahurr, Palestine/ Young Vic, London). 

 

As an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he has designed numerous productions including Hamlet, King Lear, The Winter’s Tale and the entire 2012 Shipwrecked season. 

His extensive dance collaborations include designs for Rambert, the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera House, Norwegian and Finnish National Ballets, Netherlands Dans Theater, and English National Ballet. 

Opera design includes: Die Walküre (Bordeaux National Opera); Cendrillon (Glyndebourne); The Knot Garden (Theatre an der Wien); The Lighthouse (Teatro Poliziano, Montepulciano) and Agrippina (Grange Park Opera). 

 

www.jonbausor.com 

 

Ian William Galloway – Video Designer

Ian is a video designer and director working with all forms of video and projection for live performance. 

As a theatre designer, he has created productions in the West End and on Broadway, for the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre Wales among others. In opera, he has designed for the English National Opera, Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala (Milan), the Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg), Opera de Lyon, Scottish Opera, Bremer Oper and The Opera Group. 
 
He works extensively in immersive and interactive productions, mixed media, virtual and online production and large-scale public events with Secret Cinema, at Disneyland and for Manchester International Festival. 
 
He is a creative director of Mesmer, a creative technology studio whose clients have included Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton, the V&A Museum and many others. 

 

Stefan Janik – Composer

Ever since getting his hands on a set of belt-driven Numark turntables at the age of 12 for Christmas, downloading a fruity production software shortly thereafter, and having always curiously toyed with the piano and other instruments to make strange sounds – Stefan Lawrence Janik has been enraptured with the world of music and art ever since he can remember. Be it attending daily dance and theatre school in Glasgow throughout his teen years, DJing on BBC Radio One at 15 and as a consequence; Ibiza’s notorious Westend and Cafe del Mar when he was 16, to then going on to play to a crowd of 5000+ at Scotland’s late T in The Park festival three years in a row, and supporting dance acts like Annie Mac, Example, and Hannah Wants across the country: he has always straddled a loving but deeply contrasting dichotomy: these electronic hard-hitting techno and housey disco hardcore DJ roots, and that of the softer more emotive and expressive contemporary classical and ambient or theatrical side; spurred on by his discovery of artists like Nils Frahm, Philip Glass, and Olafur Arnalds at around age 17 as well as his earlier training in musical theatre. It was the later (encouraged by his piano mentor) that led him to pursue a BMus Undergraduate Composition Degree at the London College of Music (finally graduating from the Conservatorio of Rovigo, Italy, in March 2023 after transferring abroad. In this time, he has also worked on several film, theatre, and commercial commissions outside of his studies around the UK and in Europe. He has started a Masters in Film Composition, or “Musica Applicata” at the same Conservatorio “F. Venezze di Rovigo” now studying under prominent composer and maestro Marco Biscarini (former student of Ennio Morricone).  With plans to move to Berlin in the summer of 2023 and continue blurring the lines between drum machine and orchestra, dancefloor and playhouse, the future ahead looks set to proceed for Stefan as powerfully as a distorted 909-kick drum or a delicate Chopin prelude at dawn.

www.stefanjanikmusic.co.uk.

 

David Gilbert – Associate Director

David Gilbert is a director and theatre maker from Zimbabwe based in London. David has worked on projects and shows with Kiln Theatre, National Theatre, Young Vic, Unicorn, Almeida, Halfmoon, Jackson’s Lane, Southwark Playhouse, (Oval House) Brixton House, Cambridge Junction, Soho and Trafalgar Studios. He is a recipient of the 3 Month Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme at Cambridge Junction; working on a range of productions by companies including Unit, New International Encounter and Dancing Brick. In 2018 & 2019 David directed shows in Brighton & Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. In 2019 David took Young Vic's Parallel production of The Convert to Zimbabwe. David works with Talawa Theatre as a New Work Producer; and directed their 3rd short film as part of their series called ”Tales From The Front Line" about profiling black key workers during the pandemic. Recently, David finished a tour with Frantic Assembly’s remount of Othello production as Associate director. David started out as an Ignition graduate. Now has come back to work as part of Frantic Assembly's Learn & Train Practitioners.

 

Will Burton, CDG – Casting Director

Will is one half of Grindrod Burton Casting and was the casting director of Olivier Award-winning shows Matilda, In the Heights and Jesus Christ Superstar. Most recently he worked on both Disney’s Disenchanted and the Netflix adaptation of Matilda. Will has just been appointed as company casting director for The McOnie Company. 

 

West End Theatre includes:  

The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (Gillian Lynne), Be More Chill (Shaftesbury), Heathers (Haymarket), Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Apollo), Matilda (Cambridge), Ghost (Piccadilly). 

 

London Theatre includes:  

Origin (Almeida), Evita (Regent’s Park), Jesus Christ Superstar (Barbican & Regent’s Park), Ground Hog Day, Jekyll & Hyde, High Society (Old Vic), Othello, I Think We Are Alone, Fatherland (Frantic Assembly), Leave To Remain, Bugsy Malone (Lyric Hammersmith), Millennials, Be More Chill, Heathers, The Wild Party, (The Other Palace), Ghost Quartet (Boulevard), The View Upstairs (Soho), But I’m a Cheerleader, My Night With Reg, High Fidelity, Torch Song (Turbine), In the Heights (Kings Cross) Five Guys Named Moe (Marble Arch), Working, Xanadu, Carrie, Casa Valentina, Side Show (Southwark Playhouse), The Etienne Sisters (Stratford East), Paper Dolls (Tricycle) and bare (Union). 

 

Tours & Regional Theatre includes: 

My Fair Lady (UK Tour), Bugsy Malone (UK Tour), The Cher Show (UK Tour), The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (UK Tour), Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (UK Tour), Priscilla Queen of the Desert (UK Tour), RENT 20th Anniversary (UK Tour), Lizard Boy (Hope Mill & Gilded Balloon), Talent, Kiss Me, Kate, The Wizard of Oz, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Sheffield Crucible), Piaf, Sweet Charity (Nottingham Playhouse), Insane Animals (HOME), The Assassination of Katie Hopkins (Theatr Clwyd). 

 

International Theatre includes: 

Cabaret (Lido, Paris), Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles), Matilda (International Tour), Ghost (International Tour). 

 

TV & Film includes:  

Disenchanted, Mary Poppins Returns, Beauty & the Beast (Disney), Matilda (Netflix), Greatest Days (Elysian), The Voice, So You Think You Can Dance, Over The Rainbow (BBC) and Superstar (ITV). 

Will is a full member of the Casting Directors Guild of Great Britain.  

 

Frantic Assembly

Award winning theatre company Frantic Assembly’s method of devising theatre has been impacting theatrical practice and unlocking the creative potential of future theatre-makers for over 25 years. One of the most exciting theatre companies in the UK, Frantic Assembly is led by Artistic Director and co-founder Scott Graham and Executive Director Kerry Whelan. It has toured extensively across Great Britain and worked in more than 40 countries internationally, collaborating with some of today’s most inspiring artists. 

 

Frantic Assembly is currently studied as a leading contemporary theatre practitioner on five British and international academic syllabuses. The success of the company’s distinct approach has influenced contemporary theatre-making and foregrounded the use of movement directors and choreographers in new dramatic works. With a history of commissioning writers such as Simon Stephens, Abi Morgan, Bryony Lavery, Anna Jordan and Mark Ravenhill, the company has been acclaimed for its collaborative approach.

 

Frantic Assembly’s flagship initiative Ignition, a free nationwide talent development programme for young people aged 16-24, seeks out under-represented talent and provides opportunities for young people to discover what is possible, increasing involvement in and access to the arts in places of low cultural engagement. 

 

Frantic Assembly productions include Othello (UK Tour), I Think We Are Alone (UK Tour), The Unreturning (UK Tour), Fatherland (Manchester International Festival 2017 and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre 2018), Things I Know To Be True (UK and Australia), Beautiful Burnout (UK, Australia, New Zealand and New York), Lovesong (UK and Australia) and The Believers. They are also the Movement Directors on the award-winning National Theatre of Great Britain, production The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (West End, Broadway, UK & International Tours). Television credits include Movement Direction on BAFTA winning British - American series Humans (AMC, Channel 4 & Kudos). 

 

Frantic Assembly is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

www.franticassembly.co.uk.

 

Theatre Royal Plymouth

Theatre Royal Plymouth is a registered charity providing art, education and community engagement throughout Plymouth and the wider region. We engage and inspire many communities through performing arts and we aim to touch the lives and interests of people from all backgrounds. We do this by creating and presenting a breadth of shows on a range of scales, with our extensive creative engagement programmes, by embracing the vitality of new talent and supporting emerging and established artists, and by collaborating with a range of partners to provide dynamic cultural leadership for the city of Plymouth.

 

Recent productions and co-productions include Waldo’s Circus of Magic & Terror(with Extraordinary Bodies and Bristol Old Vic), HAPPY MEAL by Tabby Lamb (with Roots), Still Floating by Shôn Dale-Jones, Every Word Was Once An Animal(with Ontroerend Goed, Perpodium, Kunstencentrum Vooruit and Richard Jordan Productions) Breathless by Laura Horton, Delicate (with Extraordinary Bodies and Nordland Visual Theatre), Today I Killed My Very First Bird (with Voodoo Monkeys), Sorry, You’re Not A Winner by Samuel Bailey (with Paines Plough), MUM by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (with Francesca Moody Productions and Soho Theatre, in association with Popcorn Group), NHS The Musical by Nick Stimson and Jimmy Jewell, Amsterdam by Maya Arad Yasur (with Actors Touring Company and Orange Tree Theatre), I Think We Are Alone by Sally Abbott (with Frantic Assembly), The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel (with Told By An Idiot), One Under by Winsome Pinnock (with Graeae), The Unreturning by Anna Jordan (with Frantic Assembly) and You Stupid Darkness! by Sam Steiner (with Paines Plough).

 

Theatre Royal Plymouth specialises in the production of new plays alongside the presentation of a broad range of theatre - including classic and contemporary drama, musicals, opera, ballet and dance. We have three performance spaces – The Lyric, The Drum and The Lab. TRP has a strong track record of presenting and producing international work from companies and artists including Ontroerend Goed, Big In Belgium at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Robert Lepage and the late Yukio Ninagawa. In March 2019, TRP unveiled Messenger, the UK’s largest lost wax bronze sculpture created by the artist Joseph Hillier.

 

Curve

Curve is one of the UK's leading producing theatres. We believe everyone who lives, works or learns in our city should have access to great art and culture. Each year over 750,000 people engage with Curve through performances and projects at our home in Leicester, across the UK and internationally. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster, Curve has developed an international reputation for producing, programming and touring a bold and diverse programme of musicals, plays, new work, dance and opera. All of this is presented alongside a dynamic mix of community engagement, artist development and learning programmes, which firmly places audiences, artists and communities at the heart of everything we do.  

 

Curve-originated productions are frequently seen in London's West End, including On Your Feet! (London Coliseum), Sue Townsend's The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 - The Musical (The Ambassadors Theatre) and White Christmas (Dominion Theatre). 2022 sees a number of Made at Curve productions flying the flag for Leicester in London, around the UK and beyond, including Grease (Dominion Theatre), Sister Act (Eventim Apollo Hammersmith & UK tour), Beautiful - The Carole King Musical (UK tour), Akram Khan's Jungle Book reimagined (international tour), Maggie May (national tour) and The Color Purple (national tour). 

Other recent Made at Curve productions and co-productions include The Wizard of Oz, Frantic Assembly’s Othello, the ‘masterpiece' (The Times) new UK production of Billy Elliot the Musical (winner of Best Musical Production at the UK Theatre Awards), Finding Home - Leicester’s Ugandan Asian Story at 50, the ‘world class' (Daily Telegraph) A Chorus Line, Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and English Touring Theatre, supported by the Royal Theatrical Support Trust), The Music Of Andrew Lloyd Webber, acclaimed streamed productions of The Color Purple and the ‘game-changer' (The Telegraph) Sunset Boulevard, Giles Andreae and Guy Parker Rees' Giraffes Can't Dance (with Rose Theatre Kingston), West Side Story, Hanif Kureishi's My Beautiful Laundrette (with Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham and Leeds Playhouse), John Osborne's The Entertainer (with Anthology Theatre), the WhatsOnStage Award-winning ‘Best Regional Production’ of Alice Walker's The Color Purple (with Birmingham Hippodrome), the world-premiere of Dougal Irvine's adaptation of Riaz Khan's Memoirs Of An Asian Football Casual, the Curve Young Company and Community production of Joseph Stein's Fiddler On The Roof, the world premiere production of An Officer And A Gentleman, Leslie Bricusse's Scrooge, the world premiere of Amana Fontanella Khan's Pink Sari Revolution, adapted by Purva Naresh (with Belgrade Theatre Coventry, English Touring Theatre and Leeds Playhouse), the Manchester Theatre Awards ‘Best Musical’ and WhatsOnStage Award-winning ‘Best Regional Production’ of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, the world premiere of Ravi Shankar's opera Sukanya (with the Royal Opera House and London Philharmonic Orchestra) and the 50th anniversary production of Joe Orton's What The Butler Saw (with Theatre Royal Bath).  

 

MAST Mayflower Studios

MAST is a multi-art form cultural hub presenting and producing theatre, dance, musicals, music, comedy, circus, cabaret, spoken word, visual arts and family shows. They are community-led, with engagement and consultation at the heart of everything they do. MAST work with the best touring companies and local artists to present a diverse, vibrant, high-quality artistic programme, alongside their own MAST productions and co-productions. Their community and outreach programme - Engage - works throughout the community giving opportunities and developing both future audiences and theatre makers. This work leads into their Artist Development programme. Their Creative hub has 7 resident companies from different art forms whom they work with closely to create exceptional cultural opportunities for the region.

 

MAST’s vision is to be nationally recognised in providing Inspiring Experiences

 

Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre produces bold and relevant world-class theatre from the heart of Hammersmith, the theatre’s home for more than 125 years. Under the leadership of Artistic Director and CEO Rachel O’Riordan, it is committed to being vital to, and representative of, the local community and to being a major force in London and UK theatre, resulting in the creation of adventurous and acclaimed theatrical work. The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre has a national reputation for ground-breaking work to develop and nurture the next generation of talent, providing opportunities for young people from all backgrounds to discover the power of creativity. The theatre is West London’s largest creative hub working to deliver life-changing creative opportunities for thousands of young people. Right in the heart of Hammersmith, the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is here for everyone.

[LinMM]

I was so wowed by Metamorphosis at the Royal Ballet …in the Linbury ..with Edward Watson in the main role that am not sure that level of intensity with it not being pure dance could work as well but might give this a try as have always loved Kafka’s story which I read as a student. 

 

[Jan McNulty]

Wednesday 28 June 11am 
PRESS RELEASE

 

Metamorphosis

A Frantic Assembly Production, co-produced with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
 

• CASTING AND FULL CREATIVE TEAM IS ANNOUNCED FOR KAFKA’S METAMORPHOSIS, A BOLD NEW FRANTIC ASSEMBLY PRODUCTION IN COLLABORATION WITH LEMN SISSAY OBE.
   
• DIRECTED BY SCOTT GRAHAM, METAMORPHOSIS WILL PREMIERE AT THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH FROM 11 SEPTEMBER 2023 BEFORE EMBARKING ON AN EXTENSIVE TOUR.
   

                                                               
 

Frantic Assembly is delighted to announce casting and the full creative team for its new adaptation of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, a collaboration between BAFTA nominated poet, playwright and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE (author of bestselling book My Name Is Why and soon to be published new poetry collection Let the Light Pour In - out this September) and Frantic Assembly’s Artistic Director Scott Graham(Othello, Lovesong, Beautiful Burnout).  Metamorphosis premieres at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 11 September (Press Night 14 September) before embarking on a major tour cultimating with a 4 week run at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre from 1 February – 2 March 2024.

 

Following their acclaimed performances as Iago, Roderigo and Bianca in Frantic Assembly’s recent sell-out tour of Othello, Joe Layton (Young Wallander, Netflix; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Marvel) will play the Chief Clerk/Lodger, Felipe Pacheco (The Responder, BBC; Brassic, Sky One) will play Gregor and Hannah Sinclair Robinson (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, UK and Ireland Tour; Rockets, Blue Lights, both National Theatre) will play Grete.  They will be joined by Troy Glasgow (The Wife of Willesden, Kiln Theatre/Boston/NYC; A Streetcar Named Desire, Young Vic/ St Ann’s Warehouse NYC) as Father and Louise Mai Newberry (Romeo and Juliet, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre; All’s Well That Ends Well, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse) who will play the role of Mother.

 

Metamorphosis will be adapted by Lemn Sissay OBE, directed by Scott Graham, designed by Jon Bauser, composed by Stefan Janik, with lighting design by Simisola Majekodunmi, video design by Ian William Galloway, sound design by Helen Skiera, and costume design by Becky Gunstone, the associate director is David Gilbert and casting director is Will Burton CDG.

 

Kafka’s Metamorphosis is a powerful and vital depiction of humans struggling within a system that crushes them under its heel.  Gregor Samsa finds himself transformed from breadwinner into burden in this absurd and tragic story.  Frantic Assembly is renowned for its use of physicality and movement and Metamorphosis will be an inherently visceral production about the limitations of the body and mind, imagination and aspiration. All of this, coupled with the fluidity and lyricism of Lemn Sissay’s adaptation, promises an exciting and dynamic show.

 

Metamorphosis is a co-production with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve Leicester, MAST Mayflower Studios and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. 

 

The new production will premiere at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 11 – 16 September 2023, before touring to Curve Theatre Leicester (19 – 23 September 2023), MAST Mayflower Studios Southampton (26 – 30 September 2023), Connaught Theatre Worthing (3 – 7  October 2023), York Theatre Royal (10 – 14 October 2023), Liverpool Playhouse (17 – 21  October 2023), Northern Stage Newcastle (24 – 28  October 2023), Mercury Theatre Colchester (7 – 11  November 2023), The Lowry Salford Quays(14 – 18  November 2023), Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford  (21 – 25  November 2023), Bristol Old Vic (10-20 January 2024), Belgrade Theatre Coventry (23 – 27 January 2024) and a four week run at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre from 1 February – 2 March 2024.

 

Lemn Sissay’s new collection of poetry Let the Light Pour In will be published by Canongate on 21 September 2023.  For the past decade, Sissay has composed a short poem as dawn breaks each morning. Let the Light Pour In is a life-affirming and witty collection of the best of these poems fueled by resilience and defiant joy.

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

LISTINGS

METAMORPHOSIS
A Frantic Assembly Production, co-produced with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

Creative Team

Adapted by                                         Lemn Sissay OBE
Director                                              Scott Graham
Designer                                             Jon Bausor
Lighting Designer                             Simisola Majekodunmi
Video Designer                                  Ian William Galloway
Composer                                           Stefan Janik
Sound Designer                                 Helen Skiera
Costume Designer                            Becky Gunstone
Associate Director                             David Gilbert
Casting Director                                Will Burton CDG

 

Tour dates

2023

Theatre Royal Plymouth                                  11 – 16 September 
Curve, Leicester                                                19 – 23 September
MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton        26 – 30 September
Connaught Theatre, Worthing                         3 – 7 October
York Theatre Royal                                          10 – 14 October
Liverpool Playhouse                                         17 – 21 October  
Northern Stage, Newcastle                              24 – 28 October
Mercury Theatre, Colchester                           7 – 11 November
Quays Theatre, The Lowry, Salford                14 – 18 November
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford                 21 – 25 November 

2024

Bristol Old Vic                                                 10 – 20 January
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry                           23 – 27 January
Lyric Hammersmith Theatre                         1 Feb – 2 March 

 

BIOGRAPHIES

Lemn Sissay OBE (Adaptor)

Lemn Sissay OBE is a poet, broadcaster and author. Lemn won the RIMA award from the Commission for Racial Equality in 2005 for his one-man radio drama Something Dark. He has published extensive plays and radio dramas, including Lemn Sissay’s Origin Stories for the BBC, The Report at the Royal Court, a one-off show about the effects of a psychologist’s report as he was observed as a child and an adaptation of Benjamin Zephaniah’s Refugee Boy for West Yorkshire Playhouse.   Lemn has made multiple award-winning documentaries, including Lemn Sissay: Memory of Me for BBC One’s Imagine strand, and Superkids: Breaking Away from Care for Channel 4. From 2007, he became the artist-in-residence at the Southbank Centre. Beyond this, his work has featured at the Royal Academy and the British Film Institute. In 2012, he was the official poet for the London Olympic Games. He was chancellor of the University of Manchester from 2015 – 2022 and his poems are permanent installations across the city and in London at locations including Royal Festival Hall and Olympic Park.  In 2015 he featured on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. Lemn became a trustee of the Foundling Museum in 2017, and in 2019 he was awarded the PEN Pinter Prize. In that same year, he published his memoir My Name is Why to great critical acclaim. In 2022, Lemn took park in television programmes such as BBC’s Live Lessons, curated poems for BBC Radio 4’s Poetry Season and Team GB’s 10th Anniversary, and wrote and presented his own podcast series with the British Library called All About Sound. 

 

Scott Graham (Director)

Scott is Artistic Director of Frantic Assembly, co-founding the company in 1994. He has received nominations for his work on Beautiful Burnout (Drama Desk Award, New York), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Olivier, Tony and Fred Astaire Awards). With Steven Hoggett he won the TMA Award (now UK Theatre Awards) for Best Direction for Othello. He has provided movement direction for shows at the Donmar Warehouse, Royal National Theatre, National Theatre Wales and Singapore Rep. He has developed and written extensively about The Frantic Method. His recent directing credits with Frantic Assembly include Othello, TOUCH, I Think We Are Alone, Sometimes Thinking, Fatherland, Things I Know To Be.  

 

With Steven Hoggett, he has written The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre (Routledge). Scott is passionate about creating opportunities for people who might see theatre as a challenge or alienating, and believes that these new voices and fresh perspectives are vital to the health of the arts. 

 

Troy Glasgow (Father)

Theatre credits include:  The Wife of Willesden (Kiln Theatre/Boston/NYC), DNA/Babygirl/The Miracle, Harper Regan (National Theatre); There’s Only One Wayne Matthews (Crucible Theatre); A Streetcar Named Desire (Young Vic Theatre/St Ann’s Warehouse NYC); Fatal Attraction (UK Tour). 

Film/Television credits include: The Bill, Holby City, Doctor Who, Skins, The Day of the Triffids, Adulthood, London’s Burning, MI High, Mr Harvey Lights a Candle, Shoot the Messenger, Piggy, World War Z.

 

Joe Layton (Chief Clerk/Lodger)

Theatre credits include: Othello, The Unreturning, The Fear: Ignition (Frantic Assembly); Partial Nudity(Fandango Productions); A Level Playing Field (Jermyn Street Theatre); Sam Wanamaker Festival (The Globe); Animal Farm (West Yorkshire Playhouse).

Television and Films credits include: Young Wallander, Liberte: A Time to Spy, The Trouble With Maggie Cole, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, A Moving Image, Thirteen, Casualty, Father Brown, New Worlds. 

 

Louise Mai Newberry (Mother)
Theatre credits include: The Good Person of Szechwan (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre); The Climbers (Theatre by the Lake); The Smeds & The Smoos (U.K. Tour); Romeo and Juliet (Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park); Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory); Plenty (Chichester Festival Theatre); All’s Well That Ends Well (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse) Lampedusa (Citizen’s Theatre); Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Pericles (Factory Theatre); Evelyn’s Roots, Adventures in Wonderland, Twelfth Night (Teatro Vivo); The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie (Arcola Theatre); Any Means Necessary(Nottingham Playhouse); The Snow Dragon (U.K. Tour / U.S. Tour); The Gruffalo (U.K. Tour / Ireland Tour); The Long Life and Great Good Fortune of John Clare (Eastern Angles Centre); Dim Sum Nights, Wave, Boom(Yellow Earth Theatre, U.K. Tours); Pick-Ups, The Sacred Nymphs of Natterjack (Bush Theatre); Not The End Of The World (Bristol Old Vic); Transmissions (Birmingham Rep); The Good Woman of Szechwan (Leicester Haymarket); Noah’s Ark (Walk The Plank); Hecuba (Theatro Technis); King Lear (Orange Tree Theatre); The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Royal Shakespeare Company).

Television credits include: Doctors, Doctor Who (BBC One); Blacklist (NBC); Goal! (BBC Worldwide); The Bill(ITV); Dream Machines (SyFy); Future Makers (Discovery Channel); Clifford’s Puppy Days (PBS Kids).

Radio credits include: Inspector Chen, The Good Listener (Radio Four).

Film credits include: Go Back Home, The Shape of Things, Screentime, My One and Only, Fluid, Christie, Foreplay, The God Game, Fracking Regent’s Park, Put It On the Map, Tsuppari, La Jalousie.

 

Felipe Pacheco (Gregor)

Felipe is a Brazilian-British actor and movement artist who grew up in the North-West. He first trained at Columbia College Chicago and then the University of Surrey (GSA), graduating in 2019. Most recent screen credits include Patterns (Amazon Prime 2023), Brassic S4 (Sky One 2022), and The Responder (BBC One 2021), as well as music videos for The Chemical Brothers (2022), Emeli Sandé (2021) and Rojaz (2020).

Recent stage credits include Pistol in Henry V Schools Tour (Donmar Warehouse 2023), Roderigo in Othello (Frantic Assembly 2022/23) and the lead in Peter Pan (Alban Arena 2021).

Felipe has been a practitioner for Frantic Assembly since 2019, engaging and exploring the Frantic Method with performing arts students nationally and internationally. He is also a co-founder and Artistic Director of physical theatre company Buried Thunder and was part of New Adventures’ Overture cohort 2020/21.

 

Hannah Sinclair Robinson (Grete)

Hannah Sinclair Robinson is a London based actor and trained at East 15 Acting School and Bath Spa University. Her work in theatre includes: Bianca in Othello on the 2022 UK Tour for Frantic Assembly, Mrs Shears/Mrs Gascoyne in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time on the 2021/22 UK & Ireland Tour for NTP; Rockets and Blue Light sat the National Theatre; Helena in A Midsummer Nights Dream for Shakespeare in the Squares, Mandela in Water, Bread and Salt for Tangle International, Annette in Timothy at Vault Festival for Joyous Guard and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet for Shakespeare in the Squares.TV includes Doctors, Eastenders, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Killer Cops. Films include Urban Decay.

 

Frantic Assembly

Award winning theatre company Frantic Assembly’s method of devising theatre has been impacting theatrical practice and unlocking the creative potential of future theatre-makers for nearly 30 years. One of the most exciting theatre companies in the UK, Frantic Assembly is led by Artistic Director and co-founder Scott Graham and Executive Director Kerry Whelan. It has toured extensively across Great Britain and worked in more than 40 countries internationally, collaborating with some of today’s most inspiring artists. 

 

Frantic Assembly is currently studied as a leading contemporary theatre practitioner on five British and international academic syllabuses. The success of the company’s distinct approach has influenced contemporary theatre-making and foregrounded the use of movement directors and choreographers in new dramatic works. With a history of commissioning writers such as Simon Stephens, Abi Morgan, Bryony Lavery, Anna Jordan and Mark Ravenhill, the company has been acclaimed for its collaborative approach. 

 

Frantic Assembly’s flagship initiative Ignition, a free nationwide talent development programme for young people aged 16-24, seeks out under-represented talent and provides opportunities for young people to discover what is possible, increasing involvement in and access to the arts in places of low cultural engagement. 

 

Frantic Assembly productions include Othello (UK Tour), I Think We Are Alone (UK Tour), The Unreturning (UK Tour), Fatherland (Manchester International Festival 2017 and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre 2018), Things I Know To Be True (UK and Australia), Beautiful Burnout (UK, Australia, New Zealand and New York), Lovesong (UK and Australia) and The Believers. They are also the Movement Directors on the award-winning National Theatre of Great Britain, production The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (West End, Broadway, UK & International Tours). Television credits include Movement Direction on BAFTA winning British - American series Humans (AMC, Channel 4 & Kudos). 

 

Frantic Assembly is supported by the Arts Council England

 

www.franticassembly.co.uk.

 

Theatre Royal Plymouth
Theatre Royal Plymouth is a registered charity providing art, education and community engagement throughout Plymouth and the wider region. We engage and inspire many communities through performing arts and we aim to touch the lives and interests of people from all backgrounds. We do this by creating and presenting a breadth of shows on a range of scales, with our extensive creative engagement programmes, by embracing the vitality of new talent and supporting emerging and established artists, and by collaborating with a range of partners to provide dynamic cultural leadership for the city of Plymouth.

 

Recent productions and co-productions include Waldo’s Circus of Magic & Terror (with Extraordinary Bodies and Bristol Old Vic), HAPPY MEAL by Tabby Lamb (with Roots), Still Floating by Shôn Dale-Jones, Every Word Was Once An Animal (with Ontroerend Goed, Perpodium, Kunstencentrum Vooruit and Richard Jordan Productions) Breathless by Laura Horton, Delicate (with Extraordinary Bodies and Nordland Visual Theatre), Today I Killed My Very First Bird (with Voodoo Monkeys), Sorry, You’re Not A Winner by Samuel Bailey (with Paines Plough), MUM by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (with Francesca Moody Productions and Soho Theatre, in association with Popcorn Group), NHS The Musical by Nick Stimson and Jimmy Jewell, Amsterdam by Maya Arad Yasur (with Actors Touring Company and Orange Tree Theatre), I Think We Are Alone by Sally Abbott (with Frantic Assembly), The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel (with Told By An Idiot), One Under by Winsome Pinnock (with Graeae), The Unreturning by Anna Jordan (with Frantic Assembly) and You Stupid Darkness! by Sam Steiner (with Paines Plough).

 

Theatre Royal Plymouth specialises in the production of new plays alongside the presentation of a broad range of theatre - including classic and contemporary drama, musicals, opera, ballet and dance. We have three performance spaces – The Lyric, The Drum and The Lab. TRP has a strong track record of presenting and producing international work from companies and artists including Ontroerend Goed, Big In Belgium at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Robert Lepage and the late Yukio Ninagawa. In March 2019, TRP unveiled Messenger, the UK’s largest lost wax bronze sculpture created by the artist Joseph Hillier.

 

Curve

Curve is one of the UK's leading producing theatres. Each year over 750,000 people engage with Curve through performances and projects at our home in Leicester, across the UK and internationally. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster, Curve has developed an international reputation for producing, programming and touring a bold and diverse programme of musicals, plays, new work, dance and opera. All of this is presented alongside a dynamic mix of community engagement, artist development and learning programmes, which firmly places audiences, artists and communities at the heart of everything we do. We believe everyone who lives, works or learns in our city should have access to great art and culture. 

 

Curve-originated productions frequently tour the UK and are seen in London's West End. This year, our productions of Grease and The Wizard Of Oz play London's Dominion and Palladium theatres respectively and Curve scores a hat trick when 42nd Street travels to London and visits Sadler’s Wells. On Your Feet! (London Coliseum), Sue Townsend's The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ – The Musical (The Ambassadors Theatre), White Christmas (Dominion Theatre) and Sister Act (Eventim Apollo Hammersmith) have all recently flown the flag for Leicester in London. 

 

Other recent Made at Curve productions and co-productions include Frantic Assembly’s Othello, the ‘masterpiece’ (The Times) new UK production of Billy Elliot The Musical (winner of Best Musical Production at the UK Theatre Awards and Best Regional Production at the WhatsOnStage Awards), Finding Home - Leicester’s Ugandan Asian Story At 50, the ‘world class’ (Daily Telegraph) A Chorus Line, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical (and on UK tour), Akram Khan's The Jungle Book (and on UK and international tour), Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (and on UK tour), The Music Of Andrew Lloyd Webber, acclaimed streamed productions of The Color Purple and the ‘game-changer' (The Telegraph) Sunset Boulevard, Giles Andreae and Guy Parker Rees' Giraffes Can't Dance, West Side Story, Hanif Kureishi's My Beautiful Laundrette, John Osborne's The Entertainer, the WhatsOnStage Award-winning ‘Best Regional Production’ of Alice Walker's The Color Purple (and on UK tour) and the world-premiere of Dougal Irvine's adaptation of Riaz Khan's Memoirs Of An Asian Football Casual. 

Curve is supported using public funding by principal funders Arts Council England and Leicester City Council. 

 

MAST Mayflower Studios

MAST Mayflower Studios (MAST) is Southampton’s leading creative producing theatre. It exists to provide a warm welcome and creative space for everyone, whether it’s those who have never been to the theatre before or those who want to be challenged or involved themselves.

MAST is bound by a common purpose, to provide inspiring experiences for everyone, whether that’s individuals or families who are new to theatre or for those already steeped in theatre’s culture and all that it offers.

MAST, which opened in 2021, is open to all even if it’s just for coffee or to meet in the city centre location and is deeply connected to its long-established sister Mayflower Theatre.

 

Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre produces bold and relevant world-class theatre from the heart of Hammersmith, the theatre’s home for more than 125 years. Under the leadership of Artistic Director and CEO Rachel O’Riordan, it is committed to being vital to, and representative of, the local community and to being a major force in London and UK theatre, resulting in the creation of adventurous and acclaimed theatrical work. The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre has a national reputation for ground-breaking work to develop and nurture the next generation of talent, providing opportunities for young people from all backgrounds to discover the power of creativity. The theatre is West London’s largest creative hub working to deliver life-changing creative opportunities for thousands of young people. Right in the heart of Hammersmith, the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is here for everyone.

 

In response to Metamorphosis’ run at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, Young Lyric in collaboration with Frantic Assembly, will deliver a schools’ response project for West London secondary schools. Using devising and physicality taken from the Frantic Method theatre students will explore the production themes over a series of free in school workshops. The response will culminate in a new schools’ performance at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre as part of a collaborative sharing of learning and ideas between theatres and educational institutions.