Traverse Springs delights

Jan 22 2023 | By More

New play and six PPPs added to Traverse’s Spring season

The Traverse has announced the first new productions of its sixtieth year in operation and a new season of lunchtime theatre, along with the appointment of a new Chair and two new trustees to sit on the board.

The Traverse company will be staging a new play by Laurie Motherwell, Sean and Daro Flake It ‘Til They Make It, directed by Robert Softley Gale, in April. A six week season of popular lunchtime theatre, A Play, a Pie and a Pint opens on February 28th, running into April.

A Play, A Pie and A Pint has announced a six-show season at the Travese this Spring.

The Traverse has long been seen as Scotland’s centre for new writing. It says that this year it will be putting additional focus on its creative engagement activities to “develop both upcoming generations of talent, and cultivate future audiences for culture”. Adding: “Whilst life may be more difficult than ever before for many, we know that stories and the communities they build, will endure.”

The main Traverse production – Sean and Daro Flake It ‘Til They Make It (Sat 15 – Sun 23 April 2023) –  tells the story of Sean and Daro, a couple of likely lads who reckon they’ve got it licked with making a fortune in the ice cream van business. However, they quickly discover it will be anything but a sundae stroll…

As the bills, admin and brain freezes build up, the pals are put to the test and their relationship gets frosty. Will they stay solid, or melt under the pressure?

Directed by Birds of Paradise’s Artistic Director, Robert Softley Gale, Sean and Daro Flake It ‘Til They Make It is said to draw from landmark Traverse productions Midsummer and Passing Places, to tell a contemporary story of hustle, friendship and Flakes in Glasgow.

lunchtime theatre

The six week PPP season includes five new plays, which will open at Glasgow’s Oran Mor before transferring to the Traverse, with the addition of Morna Young’s Babs, which played Oran Mor last November with Bethany Tennick in the title role.

Until It’s Gone by Alison Carr (Tue 28 Feb – Sat 4 Mar) is a dark comic drama that explores a world without women, and what that means for the men left behind.

Burning Bright by Áine King (Tues 7 – Sat 11 Mar) looks at the climate crisis from the view of three separate people experiencing first-hand the impacts of our rapidly changing world.

Babs by Morna Young (Tue 14 – Sat 18 Mar) is a musical adventure about self-discovery and a hag-turned-hostess, drawing on Slavic folktales and the indomitable Baba Yaga.

Write-Off by Aodhan Gallagher (Tue 21 – Sat 25 Mar), a comedy-drama exploring the conflicting beliefs and biases of two equally stubborn gay men from very different generations.

Variant by Peter Arnott (Tue 28 Mar – Sat 1 Apr), Arnott’s 50th professionally produced play, in which a man and a woman are on stage and there’s something going on between them…but what is it?

The Spark by Kathy McKean (Tue 4 – Sat 8 Apr) about the ability to suddenly fight back and the ways in which a woman can and cannot remake her life and her world.

New chair

Behind the scenes, Helen Forsyth, formerly Chief Executive of Berwickshire Housing Association, is appointed as Chair of the Traverse’s Board, replacing John Elvidge who held the position for eight years.

Joining the board as new Trustees are Zakia Moulaoui Guery, founder of social enterprise Invisible Cities that trains people who have been affected by homelessness to become walking tour guides, and May Sumbwanyambe the librettist, radio dramatist, academic and playwright whose Joseph Knight recently toured with the NTS.

Commenting on the sixtieth anniversary year, Traverse Executive Producer Linda Crooks said: As the Traverse moves into its sixtieth year we are operating in some of the most challenging circumstances theatre, culture, and society more widely have ever experienced.

“But as an organisation founded on boldness, and which has constantly celebrated change and reinvention, we are excited about what the future holds, and thankful to all of those whose critical support at this precarious moment will ensure we are able to discover the adventures yet to come.

“We are particularly delighted as part of our 60th anniversary activities to reveal our national expansion of Class Act, an active expression of our hope for the artists and audiences who will grow to create the work which grips the hearts of the next generations.”

See full details on our Traverse Theatre page here: Traverse Listings.

ENDS

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