Frantic Assembly and Theatre Royal Plymouth announce co-production of world-premiere play with Curve

Tue 4 Jun 2019

Curve is joining with the teams at Theatre Royal Plymouth and internationally acclaimed theatre company Frantic Assembly on a world premiere production.

The play, I Think We Are Alone, is written by Sally Abbott (The Coroner, Vera) and co-directed by Actress, Writer and Director Kathy Burke and Frantic Assembly Artistic Director Scott Graham. The production forms the centrepiece of Frantic Assembly’s 25th anniversary year.

The production will play at Curve 24 – 28 Mar 2020, as part of a tour which includes Theatre Royal Stratford East, The Lowry, Nuffield Southampton, Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Plymouth.

From those electric moments of discovery and connection to the dark hours of isolation, we all seek community and resolution. But sometimes what connects us is what we need to escape from. I Think We Are Alone is a delicate and uplifting play about our fragility, resilience and our need for love and forgiveness. The production will be designed by Morgan Large (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat [London Palladium], Wonderland [Nottingham Playhouse]) with lighting by Paul Keogan (Lady Windermere’s Fan [Vaudeville Theatre, London], The Plough and The Stars [Lyric Hammersmith/Abbey Theatre Dublin]) and sound design by Ella Wahlström (Peter Pan Goes Wrong [Apollo], Jellyfish [The Bush]).

Previous Frantic Assembly productions to have appeared at Curve include The Unreturning and Things I Know to be True. Curve and Frantic Assembly also worked together to co-produce a physical take on Shakespeare’s Othello in 2014.

Chris Stafford, Chief Executive and Nikolai Foster, Artistic Director, Curve said: “We’re delighted to be working once again with the teams at Frantic Assembly and Theatre Royal Plymouth, having previously collaborated on Shakespeare’s Othello in 2014. Sally Abbott, Kathy Burke and Scott Graham are a formidable team and we are excited to discover what they create together.”

Artistic Director Scott Graham said: “This is an incredibly exciting time. Looking back on 25 years makes my head spin! How on Earth did that happen? But by far the most thrilling bit is the anticipation of what is still to come! I will be collaborating with brilliant artists to make work that is vital and exhilarating and seeking new voices to ensure a theatre that is robust, relevant and powerful. I leapt at the opportunity to work with Kathy Burke, a woman whose opinion and work I hold in the highest regard. Our collaboration will be a dialogue into the unknown and is all the more exciting for it! There is much to learn and I cannot wait. Within Frantic Assembly we have a motto of Always Forward, Never Backwards. This year we will allow ourselves a brief indulgence of looking back as we celebrate 25 years of leading the way in making new work, new writing, movement direction, direction through movement, workshops and training, etc. but that focus will very quickly move to an exciting future of bold and ambitious projects to take the company to the next level”

Kathy Burke said: “Having been a fan of Frantic Assembly for many years I’m really looking forward to working with them as a co-director as it’s something I’ve not done before. It’s good to try new things when you’re a groovy oldie.”

Tickets for I Think We Are Alone at Curve go on sale wekk commencing 10 Jun and can be purchased online at www.curveonline.co.uk, over the phone on 0116 242 3595 or in person at Curve’s Box Office.

Creative Team

Written by Sally Abbott
Co-directed by Kathy Burke and Scott Graham
Designed by Morgan Large
Lighting by Paul Keogan
Associate Director Jessica Williams
Producer Peter Holland