Pinter’s gripping portrayal of deception and desire, Betrayal, was inspired by his affair with BBC presenter Joan Bakewell and won an Olivier Award for Best New Play in 1979. It will be directed by Salisbury Playhouse Associate Director Jo Newman.
A hilarious new version of The Ladykillers has been adapted for the stage by Graham Linehan (Father Ted, The IT Crowd) and is being co-produced with Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich.
Salisbury Playhouse will again bring the best UK touring productions to Wiltshire including gripping thriller Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott (Dial M for Murder), Around the World in 80 Days featuring a cast of eight playing more than 125 characters and A Princess Undone about the life of the late Princess Margaret inspired by actual events. Salisbury Playhouse will also welcome the return of Ian Hislop’s and Nick Newman’s The Wipers Times,direct from a West End run and following a sell-out run in Salisbury last year.
The Christmas pantomime this year is Jack and the Beanstalk from the creative team behind recent panto hitsCinderella and Aladdin. For younger theatre goers, new musical Little Robin Redbreast, in which Robin links advent calendar pictures in a magical quest, comes to The Salberg from the writers of last year’s The Night Before Christmas.
A varied and exciting programme in The Salberg includes a trampoline acrobat, tap dancing, a one-man show from Michael Mears (The Recruiting Officer, The Magna Carta Plays) about conscientious objectors and a new show from local theatre company Two Destination Language about a woman missing the one thing she values most: her father.
At the start of the season, in August, Stage 65 Youth Theatre will create a special outdoor theatre performance,A Sublime Feeling, in the beautiful garden at Salisbury Museum, inspired by the Museum’s British Art: Ancient Landscapes exhibition. Stage 65 will work with Kazzum, a London-based arts organisation that specialises in creating productions for young people in non-traditional venues.
The autumn/winter season also features a day of spoken word workshops followed by a poetry slam with UK Slam Champion and third ranked slam poet in the world, Sara Hirsch, at Bemerton Heath Community Centre on Friday 27 October.
In October Salisbury Playhouse will host a free exhibition documenting the project we’re here because we’re here, which saw thousands of volunteers dressed as First World War soldiers to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 2016. The project was produced by the National Theatre with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and 23 regional theatres including Salisbury Playhouse.