Ashmita Shanthakumar talks us through the company’s exciting performances and plans for this year.
The National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) has announced their 2022 season which includes world premieres of new productions, major tours taking place across Scotland, film and school programmes. Here are some of the productions you can look forward to attending in the upcoming year:
The world premieres and live productions coming soon include Burn, a dance theatre piece celebrating Robert Burns by Alan Cumming and Steve Hodgett. Regarding the play, Alan Cumming said: “Robert Burns has always fascinated me. Through his work, I feel he tells us the absolute truth of who we are as Scots, but the more I researched him the more I realised I didn’t know the absolute truth of him. Burn is my attempt at trying to tell more of his story using my whole body.”
Other premiering productions include the Greek classic Medea, Exodus, a play by upcoming writer Uma Nada-Rajah and James IV: Queen of the Fight, a continuation of the first three James Plays written by Rona Munroe and directed by Laurie Sansom. Orphans, a dark-comedy musical about family will also premier, and Enough of Him, the true story of Joseph Knight, an African slave who challenged his status in court.
NTS On Screen projects include portrayals of true stories such as Lament For Sheku Bayoh – a true story responding to the death of Sheku Bayoh who died in police custody. Alongside this, Adam, a story about Adam Kashmiry, a young trans man and Carry Me Home, which celebrates Scotland’s western isles will also be featured. Also premiering is The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, a special live screen project adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, using cinematic and theatrical experiences to tell a new story.
Creative engagements include the newly launched Education Portal which will have specially filmed projects and curated educational resources. These include: Reflecting Value: Creativity in Lockdown, a podcast focusing on creativity during the lockdown, Like Flying, a project inviting 12-14-year-olds to learn aerial performance methods, and Theatre in Schools Scotland.
Jackie Wylie, Artistic Director and CEO of NTS said: “As we emerge from this pandemic that has shaken our world and the theatre industry, we want to create unforgettable bold theatre experiences for audiences to immerse themselves in. We believe that theatre can help us navigate some of the burning issues of our times.”
For more information, visit the official NTS website here.
