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Press Release: balletLORENT & Carol Ann Duffy's Rapunzel, Sadler's Wells, 29 & 30 March


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A Sadler’s Wells & New Writing North Commission

balletLORENT - Rapunzel

 

Friday 29 & Saturday 30 March 2013

Performances at 2.30pm

Tickets: £15

Ticket Office: 0844 412 4300 or www.sadlerswells.com

 

 

After sell-out performances of Underneath the Floorboards at the Lilian Baylis Studio last year, balletLORENT returns to Sadler’s Wells Family Weekend - the annual two-day festival of activities and performances for families - to perform a new version of the Brothers Grimm fairytale, Rapunzel, written by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

 

Best-known for her cascading hair and entrapment within a tall tower, the story of Rapunzel is narrated with a voiceover from Lesley Sharp and shows the darker beauty of this classic tale. Rapunzel is directed and choreographed by Liv Lorent, with music by Murray Gold and costumes by Michele Clapton. The set is designed by Phil Eddols, with lighting by Malcolm Rippeth.

The production marks Carol Ann Duffy’s first collaboration for dance, following previous experience of writing for the stage. She comments; “Fairy tales are both strange and familiar, frightening and reassuring, and provide a map of childhood which we can still use as adults to remember who we are. Their re-telling and reinterpretation is part of the lifeblood of literature”

Liv Lorent’s theatrical, narrative dance work has previously been presented at Sadler’s Wells predominantly in the Lilian Baylis Studio, and this co-commission marks her first production for the main stage, and the realisation of a long-cherished idea.

She says; “Most of us remember Rapunzel’s hair and the tower, but we’re a bit hazy on the rest of the story. It has been told again and again and reinterpreted for children of today through versions like Disney’s Tangled, but we’re telling an older, slightly darker version, more akin to its Grimm tale origins. We’ve included a part of the story which is usually neglected and will be telling it through the eyes of different characters.”

 

During Sadler’s Wells Family Weekend there will be an array of exciting games and activities throughout the building, including family dance workshops on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 March at 12.30pm & 4.30pm (£2).

 

Rapunzel by balletLORENT is co-produced by Northern Stage and commissioned by Sadler's Wells and New Writing North, in association with Durham Book Festival. Research for the project was supported by Jerwood Studio at Sadler's Wells.

Rapunzel is one of the first beneficiaries of a generous donation of £600,000 from The Monument Trust, a Sainsbury Family Charitable Trust, to support Sadler’s Wells’ commissioning of new work, which enables the theatre to plan a range of new projects over a three year period.

Age Guidance: 7+

 

 

Notes to editors

Choreographer/Director Liv Lorent is balletLORENT’s award-winning Artistic Director. Since establishing the company in 1993, she has toured works nationally and internationally, also receiving independent commissions from Scottish Dance Theatre, BalletBoyz, National Youth Music Theatre and Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

 

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy is Creative Director of the Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University. She became Poet Laureate in 2009, and her many awards include the Costa Poetry Award and the T.S. Eliot Prize, both in 2011 for her latest book of poetry, The Bees. She recently received the 2012 Pen Pinter Prize.

 

Composer Murray Gold has been the music director for the BBC’s new series of Doctor Who since 2005. He has been nominated for a BAFTA four times in the category Best Original Television Music, for Vanity Fair (1999), Queer as Folk (2000), Casanova (2006) and Doctor Who (2008).

 

Costume Designer Michele Clapton is known for her designs for film and television which have included Sense & Sensibility (Best Costume Design for a Television Mini Series 2009), The Devil’s Whore (BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design 2009), and Casanova. Most recently she has worked on the HBO hit Game of Thrones (nominated for a 2011 Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Series).

 

Set designer Phil Eddols has worked nationally and internationally across indoor and outdoor opera, film, theatre, music and carnival events. One off commissions include the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the 2004 Olympic Games opening ceremony and the 2009 Metropolitan Opera Gala in New York. Winner of the 2003 Best Designer TMA Award, Eddols has recently designed for Bristol Old Vic (Treasure Island outdoors), the Science Museum (Science Museum Live) and Angelmoth for balletLORENT.

 

Lighting designer Malcolm Rippeth has worked with balletLORENTsince 2002. He has worked on Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Kneehigh, West End), Kin, Spur of the Moment (Royal Court), Tutti Frutti (National Theatre of Scotland). His design for Brief Encounter (Kneehigh, West End and Broadway) secured him a nomination for an Outer Critics Circle Award. His awards include a Village Voice OBIE and the Theatregoers’ Choice Award.

 

Award winning British actress Lesley Sharp, who provides the voiceover narration for Rapunzel, has performed in an extensive and eclectic range of productions across television, film and theatre. Her numerous leading roles include: BBC drama Clocking Off, ITV’s comedy drama Bob and Rose, mystery dramas Afterlife and Scott & Bailey, as well as Sky 1’s new family comedy The Starlings. She has also made a name for herself in film and received a BAFTA nomination for best supporting actress in 1998 for her role in The Full Monty. Her theatre appearances include Harper Reagan at The National Theatre, Ghosts at the Duchess Theatre and numerous appearances at The Royal Court Theatre.

 

About The Monument Trust

The Monument Trust is one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts. It is one of 18 grant-making trusts established by three generations of the Sainsbury family. The trusts' donations to charitable causes over several decades represent one of the leading examples of sustained philanthropy in Britain.

The Monument Trust makes grants in the following areas:

•Health and Community Care, substantial HIV/AIDS projects in the UK and Africa, social exclusion, the sexual health of young people, and hospices

•Arts and Heritage projects of national or regional importance, including galleries, museums, and historic houses and gardens.

•Criminal justice including prisoner resettlement, advice and mentoring, and alternatives to custody

About Jerwood Studio at Sadler’s Wells

The Jerwood Studio is a pioneering dance research programme, funded by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation and launched by Sadler’s Wells in 2006. It currently includes two strands: the Sadler’s Wells Summer University, a four year course for younger artists run with award-winning choreographer Jonathan Burrows, and the Cross Art Form Collaborations, which focuses on practical, studio-based research with experienced creators used to working on the large scale. This second strand provides paid time and space for artists to test drive ideas and/or work with new collaborators at the very start of a project, before anything is committed towards a new production.

Over the years approximately 75% of these projects have gone on to be commissioned, produced or programmed by Sadler’s Wells. Past Jerwood Studio projects have included Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Maria Paqes, visual artist Martin Creed, Matthew Bourne, Clod Ensemble, Jasmin Vardimon, Pet Shop Boys and Javier de Frutos, puppeteer Sue Buckmaster and Arthur Pita, and Hofesh Shechter. Recent projects include visual artist Mark Wallinger, video artist Tal Rosner and New York choreographer Andrea Miller, Richard Gregory from theatre company Quarantine, and Australian choreographer Lucy Guerin working with UK theatre director Carrie Cracknell.

The Jerwood Charitable Foundation is dedicated to imaginative and responsible revenue funding of the arts, supporting artists to develop and grow at important stages in their careers. It works with artists across art forms, from dance and theatre to literature, music and the visual arts: www.jerwoodcharitablefoundation.org

 

About balletLORENT

balletLORENT was established in 1993 by Artistic Director Liv Lorent, and is one of the UK’s most distinctive dance companies, constantly touring the UK with an exciting range of work for audiences of all ages. Based in the north east of England, balletLORENT’s works include cross generational, site-specific and theatre productions which have toured to much acclaim extensively throughout England, the UK, and internationally to Europe. balletLORENT’s purpose is to offer high quality dance experiences through performance and interactive encounters. For further information please visit www.balletlorent.com.

 

About New Writing North

New Writing North is the writing development agency for the north of England, and was established in 1996. Since then, staff have worked with writers across the region to develop career opportunities, new commissions, projects, residencies, publications and live events, including Durham Book Festival. More information can be found at: www.newwritingnorth.com.

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