Octagon Brochure Sept 09 - July 2010

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Patrick Stewart 20

092010

Ticket Office 01204 520661

www.octagonbolton.co.uk

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SEPTEMBER 2009 – JULY 2010

SEASON

8 shows for just £88Save £85 £60 on full price tickets,plus bonus card worth £25 • Mixed Up North

• All My Sons

• Ghosts

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream

• And Did Those Feet (or Oliver Twist)

• Comedians

• Rafta Rafta

• The Hired Man

Benefits: • 2 weeks priority booking

• Any performance, includingSaturdays (8 Show Season Ticket only)

• Best available seats

• Flexibility to change dates

• Tickets transferable to friends and family

+ FREE Bonus Card:

• Half price programmes

• 10% off drinks at the Bar

• 10% off pre-booked evening meals at the Café

(one evening meal per Bonus Card, per visit)

• 10% off a full price ticket for all other Octagon events

4 shows for just £54Save £37 £12 on full pricetickets, plus bonuscard worth £25• Choose any four shows (excluding Oliver Twist)

• Please note the 4 show Season Ticket does not include Saturdays

Call: 01204 520661Click: www.octagonbolton.co.uk

4 5

season

tickets

8 shows for just £88

save £85

“Don’t miss any of these shows”Patrick StewartPatrick Stewart as Vladimir in Waiting for Godot.

Based on real events, Mixed Up North is a fiercelyfunny and moving new play about the difficultiesof uniting divided racial communities in theLancashire mill town of Burnley.

Trish leads a youth theatre group designed tobring Asian and White teenagers together. As theharassed director Bella struggles to share herartistic vision with a cast who think acting is“gay”, the compelling stories of the young starsand their dedicated community workers unfold.

It's the final dress rehearsal. Tensions rise andbonds fracture. Can Trish and Bella bring thisutopian dream to a triumphant conclusion?

Performance TimesEvenings: 7.30pmMatinees: Sat 12 Sept, Sat 19 Sept & Wed 23 Sept, 2pm

Special Diary DatesBargain Nights: Thurs 10, Fri 11, Mon 14 Sept (tickets £9.50 & £12.50)Meet the director and cast: Tues 15 Sept (free, post show)

Audio Described:Wed 23 Sept, 7.30pm BSL: Thurs 24 Sept, 7.30pm

Please note this play contains strong language throughout.

Ticket Prices £9.00 - £18.50Discounts available INCLUDING SEASON TICKETS,groups, schools and young person’s free tickets and£4 standby tickets

Auditoriumseatingplan

10 – 26 SEPTEMBER 2009

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Octagon Theatre Bolton and Out of Joint present

www.octagonbolton.co.uk/MixedUp.asp

mixed uP

north World Premiere

By Robin SoansDirector: Max Stafford-Clark

“HHHHH – the latest superb piece of verbatimtheatre from those masters of the form: thedirector Max Stafford-Clark and the writer RobinSoans…shot through with rueful humour and asense of the quirkiness of fate- unmissable”The Independent on Out of Joint’s Talking to Terrorists

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All My Sons brings to a climaxthe Octagon’s exploration ofArthur Miller’s most famousplays, following A View Fromthe Bridge, Death of a Salesmanand The Crucible.

Joe Keller is accused, thencleared, of having suppliedWorld War II fighter planes withdefective engines, leading to thedeaths of innocent pilots - acrime for which his businesspartner, Steve, was convicted.

One of Keller's sons, himself apilot, is missing in action and hismother is desperately clinging tothe hope that he is alive.

The Keller family is thrown intoturmoil by the unexpectedarrival of George, Steve’s son,whose revelations unleash a sequence of events that sendthe play hurtling towards itsdevastating conclusion.

Arthur Miller’s first major play is an unbearably moving andpowerful family drama, abouttruth and denial, integrity andcorruption, and personalresponsibility during the extremes of war.

This production is directed byDavid Thacker, who has directedmany of Arthur Miller’s playsand had a close workingrelationship with him.

1 – 24 October 2009

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Performance TimesEvenings: 7.30pmMatinees: Fri 2, Sat 3, Mon 5, Wed 7 Oct and Sat 17 Oct 2pmSchools matinee: Wed 14 Oct 1.30pm

Special Diary DatesBargain Nights: Thurs 1, Fri 2, Mon 5 Oct (tickets £9.50 & £12.50)Meet the director and cast: Thurs 15 Oct (free, post show)

Audio Described: Thurs 15 Oct, 7.30pm BSL: Thurs 8 Oct, 7.30pm


www.octagonbolton.co.uk/AllMySons.asp

“The play is dynamite”Tennessee Williams

“A remarkable evening at thetheatre - lucid, bold, modern and emotionally wrenching.”Time Out New York

Octagon Theatre Bolton presents

By Arthur MillerDirector: David Thacker

The play is presented by special arrangement with Josef Weinberger Plays Limited, London and Spark Productions, New York.


Performance TimesEvenings: 7.30pmMatinee: Fri 30 & Sat 31 Oct,Mon 2 Nov, Wed 11 Nov and Sat 14 Nov. 2pm

Special Diary DatesBargain Nights: Thurs 29, Fri 30 Oct, and Mon 2 Nov (tickets £9.50 & £12.50)Meet the director and cast: Thurs 12 Nov (free, post show)

Audio Described:Wed 18 Nov, 7.30pm BSL: Thurs 19 Nov, 7.30pm


29 October – 21 November 2009

10 11www.octagonbolton.co.uk/Ghosts.asp

Written in 1881, Ghosts wasdeliberately sensational. Ibsen'scontemporaries regarded it asshockingly indecent. An Englishcritic described it as ‘a dirtydeed done in public’.

Oswald is a young artist whohas come back home to be withhis mother after a long periodabroad. His mother is aneducated, Victorian woman,whose radical views are in sharpcontrast to the prevailingattitudes in this conservative,northern town.

Oswald’s return and thedisturbing news he brings leadsto a chain of events that revealsthe underlying corruption of thisapparently respectable societyand leads to a shocking climax.The power and depth of this playhad a profound influence onArthur Miller’s development as aplaywright.

Ghosts is gripping, deeplymoving and astonishinglymodern.

This production is set inLancashire in the late 19th Century.

“Skeletons are not somuch rattled asviolently forced out.”The Independent

“What is shocking is itsperpetual relevance tothe present.” The Guardian

Octagon Theatre Bolton presentsghostsBy Henrik Ibsen

Director: David Thacker


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Performance TimesMornings: 10.15am* Matinees: 2.15pm* Evenings: 7.15pm**Performances vary daily; for details see performance diaryon page 37

Special Diary DatesAudio Described:Mon 18 Jan. 7.15pm BSL: Sat 19 Dec. 7.15pm

SEASON TICKET HOLDERS

SAVE 10% ON FULL PRICE TICKETS

Ticket Prices £8.50 - £15.95Discounts available including Season Tickets, groups, schools and familiesFamily tickets: £41 [peak] / £38 [off peak] up to £5 cheaper than last year! Family saver: book by 31 July and save an extra £5 on your family ticket price

27 November 2009 – 23 January 2010

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OliVer

12 www.octagonbolton.co.uk/OliverTwist.asp

TwisTHot on the heels of the record-breaking, universally loved AChristmas Carol, we aredelighted to present aspectacular, brand new versionof Oliver Twist. Dickens’masterpiece of storytelling takesus through suspense,heartaches, joys and fulfilmentin Victorian London.

As with A Christmas Carol, theproduction will feature originalsongs and music to enhance thenarrative and atmosphere andwill be complemented by a castwhich includes local children.

Come and meet some of themost memorable and enduringcharacters in all of fiction;Fagin, Bill Sikes, Nancy, MrBumble, the Artful Dodger, theboys of the workhouse and, ofcourse, Oliver Twist himself.

You’ll need to book early toavoid disappointment. Suitablefor ages 5 and over.

By Charles Dickens New Version by: Deborah McAndrew


“Dickens’ novel is not page to stage proof, but unlikesome other Christmas stories its innate theatricalitymeans it is a winner in the theatre.” The Guardian

“The Octagon has done it again: this could be the show to beat this Christmas.” What’s on Stage about the Octagon’s A Christmas Carol


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Performance TimesEvenings: 7.30pmMatinees: Fri 5, Sat 6, Mon 8, Wed 17 and Sat 27 Feb. 2pm School matinees: Wed 24 Feb and Tues 3 Mar. 1.30pm

Special Diary DatesBargain Nights: Thurs 4, Fri 5, and Mon 8 Feb (tickets £9.50 & £12.50)Meet the director and cast: Thurs 25 Feb (free, post show)

Audio Described: Thurs 4 Mar, 7.30pmBSL: Thurs 25 Feb, 7.30pm

Ticket Prices £9.00 - £18.50Discounts available INCLUDING SEASONTICKETS, groups, schools and youngperson’s free tickets and £4 standby tickets

www.octagonbolton.co.uk/MidsummerNights.asp

This ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ oflovers, workers, aristocracy and fairies is one ofShakespeare’s finest creationsand best loved comedies.

Theseus has conqueredHippolyta and plans a statewedding. In a magical woodoutside Athens, inhabited bywild and malevolent spirits, localworkmen rehearse a play for thewedding celebrations.Meanwhile two pairs of loverstake flight to the wood, to escapethe tyranny of Theseus’ regime.

An evening of utter confusionfollows. Under the influence of alove potion the lovers fall in andout of love with each other, andTitania the fairy queen falls inlove with Bottom the weaver,one of Shakespeare’s greatestcomic characters, who has been transformed into apassionate donkey!

David Thacker is renowned formaking Shakespeare accessible tonew and existing audiences. He isthe winner of two Olivier awardsfor his work on Shakespeare.

This witty and imaginativeproduction is set in Athens in 1968.

“A magic playground of lostinnocence and hidden fears.When Shakespeare’s people lovethey are all but consumed withpassion.”New York Times

"I had a fantastic time workingwith David on Romeo and Julietand Measure for Measure at TheYoung Vic – and I have a lot tothank him for as I’m still withmy Juliet! Because of the clarityand spirit of his productions hemakes Shakespeare amazinglyrelevant – this is Shakespearefor the people!" Clive Owen

4 February – 6 March 2010

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By William Shakespeare Director: David Thacker


A Midsummer Night’s Dream


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Performance TimesEvenings: 7.30pmMatinees: Fri 12, Sat 13, Sat 27, Wed 31 Mar and Sat 10 Apr. 2pm

Special Diary DatesBargain Nights: Thurs 11, Fri 12, and Mon 15 Mar (tickets £9.50 & £12.50)Meet the director and cast: Thurs 25 Mar (free, post show)

Audio Described:Wed 31 Mar, 7.30pm BSL: Thurs 18 Mar, 7.30pm


www.octagonbolton.co.uk/DidThoseFeet.asp

11 March – 10 April 2010

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And did Those FeeT By: Les Smith and Martin Thomasson

iT’s bAck!“And Did Those Feet was a real joy and it made me proud to be Boltonian.”Manchester Evening News

“This football drama winds the clock back to the Wanderer’s finest hour… It remains the stuff of legend… This is a Bolton Wanderers play that evenBlackburn Rovers fans might enjoy.” The Guardian

“I felt like running on. It was like really being there. Wembley stadium, 1923and all that.” The Bolton News

“Why do we love football? Bolton’s Octagon, spurning the convention thattheatre people pooh pooh ‘footy’ offers answers with a funny, inventive andmoving new play.” The Daily Mail

“You can smell the chips and hear the clogs, in this breath-takingly cleverworld premiere. And don’t imagine for one second that you need to be afootball supporter, or trotters fan, to appreciate it all” Lancashire Evening Post


Performance TimesEvenings: 7.30pmMatinees: Fri 16, Sat 17, Mon 19, Sat 24 Apr and Wed 28 April. 2pm

Special Diary DatesBargain Nights: Thurs 15, Fri 16, and Mon 19 Apr (tickets £9.50 & £12.50)Meet the director and cast: Thurs 29 Apr (free, post show)

Audio Described:Wed 28 Apr, 7.30pm BSL: Thurs 29 Apr, 7.30pm


www.octagonbolton.co.uk/Comedians.asp

15 April – 8 May 2010

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Comedians By Trevor GriffithsDirector: David Thacker

It’s 1975 in a schoolroom nearManchester. Eddie Waters, arespected northern comedian,runs an evening class forwould-be comedians.

Tonight is the last lesson beforethey present their acts in frontof a traditional northernaudience.

A London agent has arrived toassess their acts and open thedoor to fame and fortune for thelucky few. But at what price?

What is a legitimate subject forcomedy? What are theboundaries and when can youstep over them? What should bethe responsibilities of thecomedian or the artist?

Trevor Griffiths is one of theUK’s major playwrights. In thecontext of the heated publicdebate about humour,censorship and the freedom ofexpression, this is an importantrevival of one of the greatestcontemporary plays.

“The play has beenregarded as aforerunner of thecontemporaryalternative comedyscene” What’s On Stage

“It is intelligent and daring” New York Times


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Performance TimesEvenings: 7.30pmMatinees: Fri 14, Sat 15, Sat 22 and Wed 26 May. 2pm

Special Diary DatesBargain Nights: Thurs 13, Fri 14, and Mon 17 May (tickets £9.50 & £12.50)Meet the director and cast: Thurs 27 May (free, post show)

Audio Described:Wed 2 Jun, 7.30pm BSL: Thurs 20 May, 7.30pm


www.octagonbolton.co.uk/RaftaRafta.asp

Following the Octagon’s hugesuccess with East is East, weare delighted to present theregional theatre premiere ofAyub Khan-Din’s Rafta, Rafta, a hilarious and warm-heartedplay, set in Bolton's close-knitAsian community.

The wedding feast is over andthe young couple moves in withthe groom’s parents. But howcan they live happily ever afterwhen the groom feels inhibitedby the intrusive presence of hisparents in the bedroom nextdoor, his father’s constantdisapproval and his brother’schildish pranks? His beautifulvirgin bride remains just that.How will the family live withthe shame?

Rafta Rafta is based on BillNaughton’s play All in GoodTime, made into the film TheFamily Way, starring John Millsand Hayley Mills. This is ourtribute to Bolton’s own greatplaywright in his centenaryyear. It follows Bill Naughton’sSpring and Port Wine, theOctagon’s most popularproduction ever.

“Khan-Din's successlies in integratingNaughton's plot into avivid portrait of Indianfamily life”The Guardian

13 May – 5 June 2010

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By Ayub Khan-Din raftarafta



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Performance TimesEvenings: 7.30pmMatinees: Fri 11, Sat 12, Mon 14, Wed 23 and Sat 26 Jun. 2pm

Special Diary DatesBargain Nights: Thurs 10, Fri 11, and Mon 14 Jun (tickets £9.50 & £12.50)Meet the director and cast: Thurs 24 Jun (free, post show)

Audio Described:Wed 23 Jun, 7.30pm BSL: Thurs 17 Jun, 7.30pm


www.octagonbolton.co.uk/HiredMan.asp

This is the story of anemotional love triangle thattakes us right to the heart ofCumbrian life during thecataclysmic events that tookplace at the turn of the lastcentury.

The Hired Man tells thetimeless, moving story of ayoung married couple and theirstruggle to carve a living fromthe land, just as the gatheringstorm of war in Europethreatens to disrupt their lives.

The working-class rituals ofhunting, drinking and hiringfayres are set to Goodall’smusic sung by the actors and acommunity choir creating ahaunting and arrestingatmosphere.

The Hired Man is acclaimed forits epic, nostalgic and beautifulscore. Based on the novel byMelvyn Bragg, it became anaward winning musical when hecollaborated with HowardGoodall, a renowned composer ofchoral music, stage musicals, filmand TV scores (Blackadder!). He isa Classic FM's Composer-in-Residence for 2008-9.

“A lot of the magiccomes from a brilliantmusical score” The Independent

“It is written in achoral style and thesinging soars, reachinganthemic proportions”British Theatre Guide

10 June – 3 July 2010

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By Melvyn BraggMusic by Howard Goodall Director: David acker

the hired man


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The most pervasive influence ontheatre over the last 10 years hasbeen journalism and it has led to aparticular kind of theatre which hasbeen called verbatim. To anyonefamiliar with the history of 20thcentury theatre, documentary theatreisn’t news. Erwin Piscator’s LivingNewspaper; the instant theatre of theTheatre Workshop pioneers; PeterCheeseman’s documentaries; RolfHochhuth’s historical excavations;Anna Deavere Smith’s one-persondramatisations; the work of ChrisHoner at Chester in the 70s (Cheshire

Tales and Cheshire Voices) and DavidThacker at Lancaster (The RoseBetween Two Thorns) and at TheYoung Vic (The Enemies Within);contemporary documentary theatrehas a rich heritage to draw on.

What does verbatim mean? It means,in this instance, that most of the wordsthe actors at the Octagon will bespeaking in Mixed Up Northare wordsthat have been spoken to us at somepoint during the research andrehearsal period.

Mixed Up North started from a chanceremark made by David Edgar at aforum on racism at the Royal Society -it was difficult to persuade membersof a particular ethnicity to join anexisting institution already dominatedby members of another ethnicity; theanswer seemed to be to create a newinstitution open to all. He cited thework of a youth theatre group calledBreaking Barriers in Burnley that drewits membership from the white andBangladeshi communities. A month orso later we found ourselves in Burnleytalking to, not only the charismaticdirector and producer of this youthgroup, but also to the young peoplethemselves and to social workers, taxidrivers, restaurateurs, and footballclub chairmen in Burnley. What wefound out forms the substance ofMixed Up North.

David Hare comments perceptivelythat people are more willing to givetheir stories to a group of actors thanthey are to a journalist. Somehow they believe that the ambiguities,contradictions and eccentricities of their experiences will be morecomprehensively expressed. Forexample, a newspaper reporter wouldonly want to interview the Chineseman who stood in front of the tank inTiananmen Square. We would want totalk to the tank driver as well, and thetank driver’s girlfriend. We aimed to beas wide-ranging as possible indiscovering all the facets that governthe situation; and while being mindfulthat it is a difficult and complex time inthe town’s history, to be equallyprepared to embrace the courage andtenacity of those committedindividuals on the ground who aredetermined to do something about it.We owe a great debt to all the peoplewe talked to both in Burnley andelsewhere. It is their stories you willbe hearing.

Max Stafford-Clark and Robin Soans

Mixed Up North

All My Sons was evidently adangerous play. It was banned bythe American military from occupiedEurope as anti-capitalist, and bannedin the Soviet Union as insufficientlyanti-capitalist. An FBI agent secureda copy of the movie script andcastigated it to his Washingtonsuperiors as anti-family. It could besaid that they all rather missed thepoint. If it does reflect something ofMiller’s 1930s belief thatresponsibility extends beyond thefamily (equally to be found in JohnSteinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath),Miller had more on his mind thanthat.

It is true that the crime at its heart isone in which an industrialist putsprofit or, more accurately, personal

commitments above human necessities butMiller, heavily influenced by Ibsen (in earlydrafts several of the characters are givenNorwegian names), was concerned to pressbeyond the social world in an attempt to makesense of the ambivalent nature of men andwomen struggling to make sense of themselvesand the world they inhabit.

All My Sons is a play in which no one is innocent.The idealist, as in Ibsen, can be blind to humanneeds while even love can turn a blind eye toculpability. Starting on the quiet of a Sundayafternoon in a suburban garden, it edges step bystep towards a darkness that is moral rather

than simply literal. Betrayal and denial – thosetwin Miller themes – are in evidence as all thecharacters can be seen to serve their owninterests, even as they seek to justifythemselves. Here, even the truth can seempitiless.

This was Miller’s last throw of the dice as far astheatre was concerned. For six years afterleaving university he failed to break intoBroadway and when, finally, he did in 1944, itwas with the unfortunately titled The Man WhoHad all the Luck. It closed after fourperformances. He switched to the novel andscored a considerable success with Focus, awork about American anti-Semitism, publishedin the last year of the war. Then he decided tohave one more try at the theatre. He took two-and-a-half years but the result was All My Sons.It ran for 328 performances, won a Tony Awardand launched one of the most distinguishedcareers in American theatrical history.

Christopher Bigsby

Professor of American studies and Director of the ArthurMiller Centre at the University of East Anglia and author ofthe new biography of Arthur Miller

Season Overview

Max Stafford-Clark is the ArtisticDirector of Out of Joint and previouslyof the Royal Court Theatre, and a co-founder of Joint Stock. Robin Soansis an actor and writer, whose previousplays include Talking to Terrorists, A State Affair, The Arab-IsraeliCookbook and Life After Scandal.

All My Sons

Christopher Bigsby and Arthur Miller

Ghosts & All My Sons

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Arthur Miller often told me howmuch he admired Ibsen. AsChristopher Bigsby has pointed outin his biography, Arthur Miller, Ibsenhad only been dead for 30 yearswhen Miller wrote his first play. AfterThe Man Who Had all the Luck hedecided to attempt a realistic play,modelled on Ibsen’s work – All MySons. It would be like peeling awaythe layers of an onion, finallyrevealing the ‘life lie’ at the rottencentre.

There was much in Ibsen thatinspired the young playwright, mostparticularly his radical and fearfulexposure of hypocrisy and corruptionand his conviction that theatreshould bring change. Ibsen believedthat theatre was a public art formwhich should deal with publicconcerns. The young Arthur Millerwas fascinated by the way in whichIbsen dramatised the ‘sins’ of thepast leading inexorably to tragedy.All My Sons and Ghosts are bothplays in which, as Arthur put it, ‘Thechickens come home to roost’.

Both deal with apparently respectfulfamilies which are covering up pastwrong-doings. Mrs Alving and KateKeller are in denial as their sons(Oswald and Chris) seek to confrontthe lies that fester at the heart of theirhomes.

Ibsen and Miller both knew whatthey were doing. ‘Ghosts willprobably cause alarm in some circlesbut that cannot be helped. If it didn’tthere would have been no necessityfor me to write it.’ Reactionaries sawAll My Sons as an attack oncapitalism which partly led to Millerbeing summoned to the HouseCommittee on un-American activitiesin 1956. Testifying, he said, ‘Greatart, like science, attempts to see thepresent remorselessly and truthfully’.The house voted 373-9 to cite Millerfor contempt. He was convicted.

Ibsen’s plays, like Miller’s, revealcauses, actions and theconsequences of actions. Millerwrote: ‘Ibsen’s profound source ofstrength is his insistence, his utterconviction, that he is going to saywhat he has to say and the audience,by God, is going to listen.’ And

audiences have listened. Theyconnect deeply with both playswhich are gripping, deeply movingand profoundly shocking as theyhurtle towards their climax.

Both plays provoked strikinglycontrasting reactions when they firstappeared. Of All My Sons, onecontemporary screamed, ‘The play isone of the filthiest things ever writtenin Scandinavia’, whereas a stunnedyoung actor wrote ‘this is thegreatest play our age will see’. JackWarner, head of Warner Brothers,testifying to the HUAC fumed, ‘Theplay disgusts me’ while the youngTennessee Williams wrote ‘The playis dynamite’.

In the context of the lies and cover-ups over Iraq, the internationalscandal of Aids and the consistentfailure of public figures to face up tothe consequences of their actions,the plays are as explosive now aswhen these two giants of theatrewrote them.

David ThackerArtistic Director, Octagon Theatre Bolton

‘Great art, like science, attempts to see the present remorselessly and truthfully.’

Season Overview

Arthur Miller in rehearsal with David Thacker (The Last Yankee at The Young Vic)

Photographer: Inge Morath

“Not I alone, but theatre itselfowes much to David Thacker.”Arthur Miller

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Charles Dickens’ second novel, OliverTwist, was published in 1838, theyear after Victoria came to the throne.But it remains as fresh and relevantas ever, with many of its charactersattaining folkloric status, like thedemonic Fagin, corrupter of children,or the vicious Bill Sikes, with hisequally nasty dog, Bull’s Eye; andthen there are the more likablerascals, like the Artful Dodger. OliverTwist also has some of the mostmemorable lines in literature, suchas, ‘Please sir, I want some more’, theplaintive request of a poor underfedwaif for a second helping of gruel(not a burger, not even fries!).Oliver’s remark is all the moreeffective for being addressed to thecorpulent Mr Bumble, who towersover him, overfed and dyspeptic. MrBumble, though, at least has theconsolation-prize of later deliveringthat other famous line: ‘the law is aass – a idiot’.

The book certainly exposes the idiocy– indeed the hypocrisy – that lies atthe heart of Victorian society, whereorphaned children were condemnedto a life of poverty, and probably earlygraves, too. Of course, there was analternative: if charity didn’t work, ifthe wealthy didn’t give of their ownvolition, then why shouldn’t the poorseize what they wanted? Oliver

Twist brilliantly explores each ofthese options. Needless to say,honesty wins, but Dickensemphatically makes the point that itdidn’t necessarily deserve to: whatwas needed was more compassion inthe first place.

What makes Dickens’ novel continueto be so popular, though, is that itrings true 170 years later. We still livein a world of underfed children withempty bowls, whether victims ofpoverty, shifts in capital, ethnic andreligious ‘cleansing’, or of naturaldisaster. Somehow, Oliver Twistopens up these dark issues whilealso giving us hope that innocencewill ultimately triumph.

David Rudd

Professor at The University of Bolton

Oliver Twist

“This green plot shall be our stage, this hawthornbrake our tiring-house, and we will do it in actionas we will before the Duke”.

‘Good Peter Quince’ is right. The ‘green plot’ under ‘the Duke’s oak’ turns out ‘a marvellousconvenient place’ for the actors to prepare the play they will later put on ‘before the Dukeand the Duchess on his wedding day’. Not only can they rehearse it there, as Bottom says,‘most obscenely and courageously’, before performing it in the city, but they can get carriedaway – ‘translated’ – by the magic of this ‘western valley’. And under ‘the mountain’s top’yet beside ‘the beachèd margin of the sea’, with bog, bush and brier ‘at every turn’, thehaunted hill, dale and forest of A Midsummer Night’s Dream are enough like Lancashireto suggest Shakespeare was thinking of his own experience at the time, when his actingcompany regularly tried out plays in the experimental theatre of their patron WilliamStanley Earl of Derby, at Knowsley in Liverpool, before they staged them in London.

Shakespeare’s comedy about a wedding was written, scholars believe, for a real royalwedding. Yet from the instant Duke Theseus orders his master of revels to ‘stir up’ theyouth to a play, the stage actors are terrified of execution if their show seems too realistic.They had reasons for nerves if, as many think, the Dream was played at the wedding ofthe Earl himself, on January 26 1595 in the palace at Greenwich. William’s older brotherFerdinando had just been poisoned to stop him succeeding his aunt, Queen Elizabeth – thejealous ‘old moon’ of the play. Now he was forced into a shotgun marriage with agranddaughter of the assassin, the chief minister Lord Burghley. No wonder there is a lotof blood in the Dream. But no wonder, either, that this blood is all safely in the play-within-the-play, where actors can get away with mocking ‘Old Moonshine’ by explaining that ‘Ifwe offend, it is with our good will’.

After the wedding the Earl was soon ‘busy penning comedies for the common players’. Hiswife told her grandfather running a theatre kept him out of politics. So it probably savedhis life. None of William Stanley’s own plays survive. But A Midsummer Night’s Dream tellsus what ‘our good Will’ took from this play-loving lord in that ‘marvellous convenient place’in Lancashire. ‘The play’s the thing’, Shakespeare discovered there, ‘To ease the anguishof a torturing hour’.

Richard Wilson

A Marvellous Convenient PlaceA Midsummer Night’s Dream in Lancashire

Richard Wilson is Professor of English Literature at CardiffUniversity and the author of Secret Shakespeare, a book that discusses Shakespeare's Lancashire connections.

Season Overview

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The most familiar journey in our lives,we two writers, is the one alongManchester Road to Burnden Park.We travelled that path throughoutour childhood, towed along by ourfathers, and the ghosts ofgrandfathers and great grandfatherswho carried Bolton Wanderers intheir blood and made sure to pass theinfection along, generation togeneration.

We grew up with stories of theWanderers. We learned early onabout the first game at Wembley,about the huge crowd, the whitehorse and David Jack. We heard talesof the men of legend, the glories ofthe cup teams of the 1920s and 50s.David Jack, Joe Smith, Nat Lofthouse.Saturday was for the match. The restof the week waiting for it.

It never leaves you – some of us carrythat childishness around all of ourlives. It’s a noisy burden, a joyful one,a despairing one, a triumphant oneand a mind-numbingly tedious one –and sometimes all five in the samematch.

We wanted to tell that story; not justthe story of the football club and itsplayers, but the story of our town andits people at a golden moment intheir history. We wanted to tell astory that would reveal two classicsecrets to the uninitiated – a story toexplain to theatre-goers the passionof football and to football fans thepassion of theatre.

Two places of passion, and we havehad the privilege of inhabiting both.

And this is the play we wanted, morethan any other, and this the theatrewe hoped would produce it, and thisthe audience we wanted to see it.

We feel privileged at returning to theOctagon with this play and so happyat the chance to see BoltonWanderers win the FA Cup six nightsa week and a couple of matinees aswell. It is 51 years since 1958 andBolton Wanderers last winning theFA Cup. But we are still dreaming.

Les Smith and Martin Thomasson

Senior Lecturers in Creative Writing at theUniversity of Bolton

And Did Those Feet

1975: Harold Wilson is PrimeMinister; Margaret Thatcher beatsEdward Heath for the leadership ofthe Tory Party; the Americans sufferhumiliating defeat by the Vietcong inVietnam – and Manchester Unitedwin promotion from the old SecondDivision, leaving Bolton Wanderersstranded in mid-table. Meanwhile, inManchester six students gather forthe final session of an evening-classcourse in stand-up comedy run by aretired comedian, Eddie Waters, the‘Lancashire Lad’ once famous as thehardest hitting act on the halls. Allshare the ambition to go professionaland escape from their dead-end jobs.As Sammy Samuels, the Jewishowner of a small club, says: ‘I wantthe tops, I want TV, I want thePalladium.’

But first they must satisfy the agencyman, Bert Challenor, twenty yearsthe ‘Cockney Character’, now upfrom London and staying in style atthe Midland Hotel. His view of stand-up is simple: ‘We’re servants, that’sall. They demand, we supply . . .We’re not missionaries, we’resuppliers of laughter.’ Whereas forEddie Waters, ‘A real comedian –that’s a daring man. He dares to seewhat his listeners shy away from,fear to express.’

So which of the two will the aspiringcomedians follow? We find out whenthe action shifts to a small club andthe bingo is briefly suspended foreach to perform. But it is we who arethe audience, we who laugh at jokesthat provoke our responses, p.c. orotherwise. And laugh we certainlydo, even though as Trevor Griffithssays, ‘Why do I laugh until my frameshakes at something as ugly as thisjoke?’ Comedians is guaranteed tochallenge the audience’s sense ofhumour but equally to divide it likeno other play, as it has done since1975 in Nottingham, London, Leeds,Milan, Shanghai, Chicago, New York,Hamburg and numerous othervenues around the world.

Edward Braun

Edward Braun is Emeritus Professor of Drama atthe University of Bristol. He has published widelyon Russian theatre and British television drama,particularly Trevor Griffiths. His best known workis The Director and the Stage, acknowledged asthe standard work on European directors.

Season Overview

Com

edians

I came across The Family Way (thefilm version of All in Good Time) onewet afternoon in Salford. It was afamily tradition to sit and watch theSaturday 3.30 matinee on BBC 2. Theimages and emotions I felt on thatfirst viewing have never left me andlater, when I saw Spring and PortWine I realised why both films weresuch popular viewing with mysiblings. There was no getting awayfrom the fact that there were so manyaspects of the fathers that resembledour own.

Bill Naughton had perfectly capturedthat patriarchal tyrant of our family.My Dad laughed along with the restof us though I think the irony was loston him.

It was not until many years later,having become an actor then a writermyself, that I came across the filmagain. I was a member of the BAFTAfilm committee and it was during an

event celebratingthe work of SirJohn Mills.Amongst the clipsthere was TheFamily Way, thescene with theparents discussingtheir strategy.Suddenly I wastransported back

to a terraced house on a wetafternoon in Salford. Though now inthe plush surroundings of BAFTA´sPrincess Anne theatre on Piccadillythe clip was producing exactly thesame reaction; people laugheduproariously at the antics on screen.The sign of great writing.

After some research I discovered thefilm was based on Bill´s play All inGood Time and when I wasapproached to write something forthe National Theatre I suggested anAsian version of the play.

As a writer you sometimes comeacross a piece of work that leavessuch an indelible mark on your lifethat it makes you think "God, I wishI’d written that". Well luckily for me,in getting to adapt this great piece ofwork, it’s allowed me to have done so.

Ayub Khan–DinAuthor of Rafta Rafta

32 33

The Hired Man is based on the fewfacts I knew about the first half of mygrandfather’s life. He was born about1890. I got to know him well duringthe second war when my own fatherwas away and I would go down tohis house as often as I could. Hemeant a lot to me.

He had a family of nine childrenthrough two marriages - his first wife(my grandmother) died in her earlythirties having given birth to fourchildren and I became a sort of add-onwhich was tremendous for someonewho was an only child as I was.

I saw him a few months before hedied and could see that he wasfailing. This was the first time I hadever seen any change in him of anykind. Though slightly built and ofmodest height he was extraordinarilystrong, active and vivid.

After that meeting I went on to writeThe Hired Man. Racing to get itdone as if somehow to commemoratehim although as happens elsewherein my novels what began asbiographically based soon swam outinto fiction. Nevertheless the stagingposts remain. He began life (from afamily of 16 children) in menial workon a local farm – work whichincluded Hardy-esque crow scaring.

After some years as a farm labourerhe went down the mines. Thesewere pits on the west coast ofCumbria which drove out under thesea in search of extremely rich seamsof coal. With several of his brothershe went through World War I afterwhich he returned to the mines andsurvived a pit disaster which injuredhim for life. About that time his first wife died and he went back tothe land.

The Hired Man

Photograph courtesy of ITV plc

Rafta Rafta

That is more or less the trajectory ofthe novel and of the musical.

It was composer Howard Goodall whobounced me into the musical. Hisenthusiasm and insistence quelled myfears that 25 years of working class lifemight not be the stuff of musicalglamour. But Howard was on amission to extend the range of themusical and after listening to themusic I gladly went along with him.

What we attempted to put togetherwas a strong private family storywhich was played out within GreatScenes of the life most people in thiscountry led at that time. A pageant ifyou like or a chronicle of the lives ofthe many who found great qualitiesand richness in poor pickings andoften turned what seemed a grimexistence into a courageous andintelligent response. It astonished metalking to people, how they made somuch of so little and what they gotout of and gave to a life which couldso easily have defeated them. In myview Howard Goodall’s music whichis English to the core gives to thepiece the spirit and depth to thosewho deserve it.

Melvyn Bragg

© Melvyn Bragg 2009 TheHired Man is published bySceptre. Melvyn Bragg’smost recent novel isRemember Me

Season Overview

Ayub Khan–Din Bill Naughton

34

activ8 Get involved. Call 01204 556501www.octagonbolton.co.uk/activ8.asp café bar

• Family friendly • Breakfast • Daytime snacks• Lunches• Afternoon teas• Halal sandwiches

Pre-theatre dining from just £6.95 – price frozen Pre-booking is essential

Mondays to Saturdays 10am -3pm and from 6pm on performance eveningsTel: 01204 556500Visit our website for current menus and moreinformation. www.octagonbolton.co.uk/Spotlight.asp

We support Fairtrade

With beautiful views over Le Mans Crescent,the William Hare Bar offers the perfect locationfor a pre-show, interval or post-show drink.

From 6pm each performance evening. From 1pm for matinees

Group Bookings: Order a buffet or children’sbuffet and we’ll reserve a private area for you.

Tel: 01204 556508

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Schools Youth Theatre Community Discover Develop Use Celebrate Your Creative Potential Explore Express Engage with the world around you

35

Under 26? You could be eligible for free theatre tickets. Call us now on 01204 520661

36 37

corporate sponsorship

octagon patrons

FRI 27 NOV – SAT 23 JAN

diary dates

Friday 27 Nov 7.15Saturday 28 Nov 2.15 7.15

Monday 30 Nov 10.15 2.15Tuesday 1 Dec 10.15 2.15Wednesday 2 Dec 10.15 2.15Thursday 3 Dec 10.15 2.15Friday 4 Dec 10.15 7.15 Saturday 5 Dec 2.15 7.15

Monday 7 Dec 10.15 2.15Tuesday 8 Dec 10.15 2.15Wednesday 9 Dec 10.15 2.15Thursday 10 Dec 10.15 2.15Friday 11 Dec 10.15 7.15Saturday 12 Dec 2.15 7.15

Monday 14 Dec 10.15 2.15Tuesday 15 Dec 10.15 2.15Wednesday 16 Dec 10.15 2.15Thursday 17 Dec 10.15 2.15Friday 18 Dec 10.15 7.15Saturday 19 Dec 2.15 7.15

Monday 21 Dec 2.15 7.15Tuesday 22 Dec 2.15 7.15Wednesday 23 Dec 2.15 7.15Thursday 24 Dec 2.15 7.15Friday 25 Dec No ShowSaturday 26 Dec 2.15 7.15

Monday 28 Dec 2.15 7.15Tuesday 29 Dec 2.15 7.15Wednesday 30 Dec 2.15 7.15Thursday 31 Dec 2.15 7.15Friday 1 Jan No ShowSaturday 2 Jan 2.15 7.15

Monday 4 Jan 2.15Tuesday 5 Jan 10.15 2.15Wednesday 6 Jan 10.15 2.15Thursday 7 Jan 10.15 2.15Friday 8 Jan 10.15 7.15Saturday 9 Jan 2.15 7.15

Monday 11 Jan 10.15 2.15Tuesday 12 Jan 10.15 2.15Wednesday 13 Jan 10.15 2.15Thursday 14 Jan 10.15 2.15Friday 15 Jan 10.15 7.15Saturday 16 Jan 2.15 7.15

Monday 18 Jan 7.15Tuesday 19 Jan 7.15Wednesday 20 Jan 2.15 7.15Thursday 21 Jan 7.15Friday 22 Jan 7.15Saturday 23 Jan 2.15 7.15

Ticket prices:

Family Tickets now cheaper than last year! Cheapest Family Ticket nowavailable for £33

Family Saver: Save £5 off family ticket prices,book by 31 July

Off-peak (27 Nov – 19 Dec / 4 Jan – 23 Jan) Adult Full Price - £13.95Adult Concession - £11.95 Child - £8.75Family Ticket* - £38

Peak(21 Dec – 2 Jan) Adult Full Price - £15.95Adult Concession - £13.95Child - £9.75Family Ticket* - £41

*Family ticket = 2 full price and 2 concessions

Schools & groups of 10 or more: Reserve now, pay later£9.50 adult / £8.50 child (1 adult free per 8 childtickets) Pay by 31st Julyand receive a 10%discount All reservationsto be paid in full 60 daysin advance of performancebooked.

Coach travel discountsavailable directly withcoach companies. CallOctagon ticket Office on01204 520661

Children’s buffets, intervaldrinks and ices are allavailable and can be pre-ordered. Sweets are alsoon sale pre-show andduring the interval. We request that patronsdo not bring their ownrefreshments.

For Oliver Twist production information, please see page 12 and page 28

OliVer TwisT

Many thanks to the continued support of our corporate members and sponsors.

Principal Patron Sue Hodgkiss, DL

Principal Sponsor

and

Gold Sponsor

Production Sponsors

Corporate Members:

Thanks also to: Jane Harrison and Zonya Marsh

Monica AliEmma AtkinsStephen BeckettLynda Bellingham Anna Brecon Mark Charnock Brigit Forsyth Nicholas GleavesShobna Gulati Mike HardingJane Harrison Julie Hesmondhalgh Jeff HordleyDr Brian Iddon MP Matthew Kelly Ruth Kelly MPNoreen KershawAyub Khan-DinWyllie LongmoreRita MarklandJohn McArdleMaxine PeakeAlan Plater Robert Powell Lesley Sharp Dave Spikey Peter TongeJulie WaltersBernard Wrigley

"My first jobwas at theOctagon and itwill always beclose to myheart. It’s awonderfultheatre foractors and

audiences and the new seasonlooks amazing!"Maxine Peake

“The Octagon isa very specialtheatre – warm,friendly,intimate forboth actors andaudiences. Iloved working

there and can’t wait to see thenew season – and hopefullyreturning one day soon.”Sue Johnston

© Com

pany Pictures.

Maxine Peake in Faith, BBC, directed by David Thacker

Sue Johnston

Barlow Andrews CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

38 39

A: Octagon carpark B: Octagon surface carparkC: Bus Station D: Train Station

The Octagon is situated in the heart of Bolton,within easy reach of all main train, bus androad routes and just 5 minutes walk from thebus and train station.

Car Parking – Next door to the Octagon

APCOA secure multi-storey car parkGreat Moor Street, Bolton, BL1 1SW. Tel: 01204 361722

Octagon Theatre patrons may park withAPCOA Octagon for a special discounted rateof £2 per evening, after 6pm. Just see theparking pal in the Bar.

(Please note – the car park closes early on ChristmasEve and New Year’s Eve, and is closed on Boxing Day)

Information isavailable inlarge print andon audio CD

wheelchair DisabledAccess / Blue Badge

Holders:

The Octagon has a flat foyerentrance with lift access tothe Main Auditorium andBar. Please book wheelchairspaces in advance. Anaccessible toilet is situatedin the foyer.

Guide dogs can staywith you in the

auditorium or be lookedafter by a member of staff.Please let us know whenbooking.

Hearing Aid InfraredSystem Receivers must bereserved when booking.

Audio Described

BSL interpreted

Please see show pages for details.

Please discuss allrequirements you have withTicket Office whenbooking: 01204 520661

The Octagon Theatre’s flexibleauditorium can be used indifferent arrangements.

In-the-round

Thrust

End-stage

Stalls – No seat is morethan 9 rows from the stage

Gallery –A 2-row balconywhere you can see the playfrom an elevated level

Family Tickets – Prices frozen since 2007

£45 (2 full price and 2concessionary tickets)

Available Mon – Fri eves.

Concessionary tickets are available to:

• People under 16

• Full-time students

• Retired people over 60

• Jobseekers

• Disabled patrons and their companion

(Essential carers for disabled patrons are entitled to a free ticket)

Schools – prices frozen since 2007

Evenings: £9.50 (side stalls and gallery)

Non-school matinees: £8.50 (side stalls and gallery)

Schools matinees: £8.50 (all seats)

Available all performancesexcept Sat eves and Bargain Nights

1 free adult ticket per 15 tickets.

Reserve now and pay later (allreservations to be paid in full 30days in advance of performancebooked)

Catering options anddiscounted travel options areavailable. Please ask whenbooking

For all ticket prices and specialdiscounts for Oliver Twist,please see page 37

Ticket Office: 01204 520661

Performance days:10am – 7.30pm (until 7pm on the phone)

Non-performance days (except Sunday) :10am – 5.30pm

We accept cheques and majorcredit/debit cards. A £1charge applies to bookingsmade by credit/debit cards.Tickets are posted out to you.

24hr ticket bookings:www.octagonbolton.co.uk(booking fee applies)

Theatre Gift Vouchers: any occasion. Any value

Data protection: the OctagonTheatre Bolton collects datain accordance with the DataProtection Act.

find your theatre access ticket pricesfrozen since 2007

seating plans tickets booking

Sat Eves Mon - Fri eves Bargain MatineesNights (First Thurs, Fri & Mon)

Stalls £18.50 £16.50 full price £11.50 £11.50 full price£13.50 concs £9 concs

Gallery £13.50 £11.50 ful price £9.50 £11.50 full price£9.50 concs £9 concs

University of n/a £12.50 stalls n/a £8 all seatsBolton staff / £8.50 gallery students

Young people n/a £4 all seats n/a n/a(under 26) (max 2 tickets.

Available 3 days in advance)

Remember, you could be eligible for free tickets. Ask us how.

Groups of 10 n/a 10 – 20 people: n/a 10 or more : or more £12.50 per ticket £8.50 per ticket 1 free organiser ticket all seats all seats

21 – 50 people: £11.50 per ticket all seats

51 or more: £10.50 per ticket all seats

OctagonBolton

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Octagon Brochure Sept 09 - July 2010

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Transcript of Octagon Brochure Sept 09 - July 2010