Bolton Octagon's 60th anniversary new season
Bolton's Octagon Theatre has announced the first part of its 60th anniversary season, marking six decades since the theatre was conceived by five students and their drama lecturer Robin Pemberton-Billing.
The season opens with the previously-announced Cinderella: A Fairytale (November 20-January 9), directed by Sarah Punshon; and the season highlight comes in April with the also recently-announced, scaled-down and "intimate" new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard (April 2-May 1, 2027, see here), a co-production with York Theatre Royal and the Royal and Derngate in Northampton.
The season opens with Iqbal Khan - no stranger to the Octagon - directing Romeo and Juliet, (February 4-27) a co-production with Derby Theatre and Hull Truck Theatre. Khan's early career included directing Oleanna at the Octagon in 2009.
Kimberley Sykes, who began her career as an assistant director at the theatre, makes her main stage directing debut there with Willy Russell’s Educating Rita (June 3-July 3).
New writing includes the Bolton Trilogy - three world premieres: The Forger by Ben Weatherill (September 9-October 2); Egging by Adam Kotwal (June 16-26), and A Totally Unbiased History of The Wanderers – According To My Best Mate, by Becky Prestwich (August 19-21).
The first of the three will again be directed by Wakeham and is the story of famous artist and former forger Shaun Greenhalgh, whose forgeries were accomplished in his garden shed in Bromley Cross, Bolton, sold with the help of his family, and are reckoned to have brought them anything from £800,000-£1.5m until the law caught up with them in 2007.
The second play of the trio, by Adam Kotwal (June 16-26), is a one-person comedy following bridegroom Haris on the day before his wedding as he attempts to avoid being egged. Kotwal won the inaugural Lancaster Playwriting Prize and this is his professional premiere.
The Octagon Young Company presents the third premiere, written by Becky Prestwich, which explores the football community and Bolton Wanderers - always a popular subject at the Octagon - which opened to the public in November 1967 with its highly-adaptable, fully-flexible performance space.
Wakeham said: “As artistic director of this extraordinary theatre it was always my intention to stay true to the ethos set out by its founders. The tenacity of those five students and their drama lecturer was the beginning of a wonderful creative journey for Bolton.
“Not only did this ground-breaking team have a unique vision for a theatre that would serve their artistic ambitions, they also knew that without the support of local people their dreams would be a non-starter. The two had to go hand in hand, and I hope that we are keeping that vision alive, 60 years on."
More info and tickets here
