Highlights of the season include:

• Counting Stars by award-winning playwright Atiha Sen Gupta
• David Greig’s drama Glasgow Girls
• A triple bill of Ballet Black
• The world première of Bonnie Greer’s new play The Hotel Cerise
• Artistic Director Kerry Michael directs this year’s panto – Sinbad the Sailor
• The UK première of The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin

Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Stratford East, Kerry Michael today announces the theatre’s forthcoming season launching this September. The season opens with Counting Stars by award-winning playwright Atiha Sen Gupta which will transform the stage into a studio format nightclub installation for this funny yet heart-breaking tale directed by Associate Director at Stratford East, Pooja Ghai.

This is followed by the drama Glasgow Girls, conceived and directed by Cora Bisset with book by David Greig which returns to the theatre as part of a UK tour.

Following a sold out run at the Barbican, Ballet Black returns in a new partnership with Theatre Royal Stratford East. A professional ballet company for international dancers, they aim to bring ballet to a more mixed audience with this Triple Bill.

October brings the world première of Bonnie Greer’s new play The Hotel Cerise, inspired by Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard which comes as part of the theatre’s focus on commissioning new work and adaptations. Femi Elufowoju, jr jrdirects.

Theatre Royal Stratford East’s well-renowned annual pantomime will this year take the form of Sinbad the Sailor by Paul Sirett.

Concluding the season is the UK première of Kirsten Childs’ award-winning musical, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin which marks the return of celebrated director and actress, Josette Bushell-Mingo to London.

Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Stratford East, Kerry Michael said today, ‘We are immensely proud to present our new season of world class theatre and dance. We feel the season provides quality theatre that stirs debates about who we are in a modern, changing and complicated world and offers a platform for new and unheard voices. This includes a snapshot in to immigrant life in Counting Stars and David Greig’s Glasgow Girls which is now more relevant than ever as we retreat from Europe. The season also celebrates new writing and new associations – we are pleased to announce the world première of a brand new play by Bonnie Greer, The Hotel Cerise which considers what life will look like in a post-Obama United States. In addition to this, we welcome back Ballet Black, with whom we begin a new partnership – both of us passionate about getting diverse audiences into see our work, and continue our Christmas pantomime tradition with Sinbad the Sailor. Completing the line-up is the UK première of Kirsten Childs’ The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds her Chameleon Skin, another show never seen before by UK audiences in a season of contemporary new stories that need to be told.’

Theatre Royal Stratford East also announces the appointment of a new team of Associate Artists. These are: actor and writer Alex Andreou (The Black Album at National theatre, Theatre Royal Bath, Liverpool Playhouse), writer and actor Cosh Omar (The Battle of Green Lanes and The Great Extension at TRSE), director Daniel Bailey (Resident Director at Birmingham REP), actor and campaigner Martina Laird (Moon on a Rainbow Shawl and The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder at National Theatre), director Ola Ince (Resident Associate Director at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and Genesis director recipient), writer and actor Rani Moorthy (Curry Tales at Edinburgh festival and Library Theatre, Manchester and Just Add Water? At Royal Opera House), writer and director Rikki Beadle Blair (Bashment and Familyman at TRSE and Creative Director of Team Angelica), producer and director Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway (founder of Artistic Directors of the Future), actor and activist Simon Startin (Government Inspector at TRSE), and designer and director Ultz (Jerusalem at Royal Court and Pied Piper - A Hip Hop Dance Revolution at TRSE).

Also announced today is a new Writer in Residence, Atiha Sen Gupta (writer of Counting Stars) as well as two new Associate companies: Artistic Directors of the Future (the UK’s first organisation dedicated to creating change at leadership level in mainstream theatres. They work with a wide range of culturally diverse directors at varying levels of experience to inspire, prepare, support and empower the next generation of artistic leaders giving them the leverage they need to progress to the next step) and Team Angelica (who draw collaborators from every social background and are dedicated to creating thought-provoking entertainment).

Theatre Royal Stratford East presents
Counting Stars
by Atiha Sen Gupta
26 August – 17 September
Press night: 1 September 8pm

Director: Pooja Ghai; Designer: Diego Pitarch; Lighting Designer: Laura Curd;
Sound Designer: Chris Murray

Inside the toilets of a nightclub, Sophie and Abiodun are Nigerian immigrants who work as attendants for no wage, subsisting on tips alone. This is where they first met and soon they will celebrate their one-year anniversary. Sophie is optimistic and obsessed with horoscopes and Cosmo. She sees herself as a “PA to the stars” and pampers her customers like they are celebrities. Abiodun has a degree in physics. He is charming, smart, and increasingly frustrated with how they are being treated by management. He sees this all as “class warfare”.

A heart-felt and funny portrait of immigrant life.

Atiha Sen Gupta has been writing plays since the age of 14 for the Heat & Light Company (a drama youth group based at Hampstead Theatre) and Anna Scher Theatre. For theatre her credits include What Fatima Did and State Red (Hampstead Theatre). Counting Stars previously played at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015. She is currently under commission to the Bush Theatre. For television she co-wrote an episode of BBC1's medical drama Holby City and was one of the writers on E4’s drama Skins.

Pooja Ghai is the new Associate Director at Theatre Royal Stratford East. Previous theatre credits for Theatre Royal Stratford East include The House of Inbetween, Selfie Rules, Rugged Rock (Angelic Tales), Home Theatre, Guess Who’s Coming and assistant director of The Infidel The Musical. Other directing credits include Tamasha 25, Shakti & Seva and Mother India (Rich Mix), As You Like It (Ellen Terry Theatre), The Accordion Shop (Leicester Curve), The Tune is Always Better on the Outside, Oysters, Mirad a Boy from Bosnia (The Bedford) and The Difference (Soho & Rich Mix). Ghai has also acted in numerous productions at Theatre Royal Stratford East, National Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, Soho Theatre and Finborough Theatre; and for television her credits include EastEnders and Grease Monkeys.

 

Pachamama Productions, National Theatre of Scotland, Theatre Royal Stratford East & Regular Music in association with Citizens Theatre & Richard Jordan Productions presents
Glasgow Girls
conceived by Cora Bissett, book by David Greig
20 September – 1 October
Press night: 21 September 7:30pm

Director: Cora Bissett; Set Designer: Jessica Brettle; Lighting Designer: Lizzie Powell     Choreographer: Natasha Gilmore; Composers: Cora Bissett, Kielty Brothers, MC Soom T,

Patricia Panther; Sound Designer: Garry Boyle

Originating Musical - Director & Arranger: Hilary Brooks; Additional Arrangements 2016: Gavin Whitworth, Michael “Mikey J” Asante of Boy Blue Entertainment;

Glasgow Girls is a life-affirming, song-filled Scottish drama based on the true story of seven teenagers, whose lives change forever when their school friend and her asylum-seeking family are forcibly taken from their home to be deported. The young women are galvanised to take a stand and fight for the life of their friend, her family and, ultimately, for the rights of all children of asylum-seekers.

A celebration of the power of teenagers and a community with a cause, the freshly re-imagined production returns to the stage, with a new design, cast and a highly charged musical score.

David Greig (Book). In addition to Glasgow Girls (NTS/ Theatre Royal, Stratford East) his theatre credits include The Events (ATC), Dalgety (Theatre Uncut, Óran Mór), Fragile (Theatre Uncut), Kyoto, Brewers Fayre and Being Norwegian (Óran Mór), Outlying Islands (Traverse Theatre, The Royal Court), Letter of Last Resort (Tricycle Theatre, Traverse), Midsummer, Damascus, The Architect and Europe (Traverse Theatre), The Miniskirts of Kabul (Tricycle Theatre), The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (NTS), Dunsinane (RSC/NTS), The American Pilot (RSC, Stratford and London), Pyrenees and The Cosmonaut’s Last Message To The Woman He Once Loved In The Former Soviet Union (Paines Plough, Tron Theatre), San Diego (Edinburgh International Festival, Tron Theatre), The Speculator (Edinburgh International Festival, Grec Festival, Barcelona, Traverse Theatre) and Stalinland (Citizen’s Theatre). Translations and Adaptations include Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane) Creditors, Caligula and Albert Camus (Donmar Warehouse), Tintin In Tibet and Herge (The Young Vic, The Barbican), Battle of Will and Laurent Gaude (National Theatre Studio).

Cora Bissett directs. Her directing credits for Theatre Royal Stratford East include Janis Joplin-Full Tilt (previously Óran Mór, Glasgow and Edinburgh Fringe) and Roadkill (previously Edinburgh Fringe where it won 9 awards, and then subsequently an Olivier Award for Outstanding Production). The production then toured to Paris, London, Chicago and New York. Additional directing credits include Whatever Gets You Through the Night (Arches, Glasgow) and as an Associate Director of NTS - Rites which she also co-created (NTS and Contact Theatre Manchester and tour). Her theatre acting credits include A Streetcar named Desire, Miseryguts, Sunset Song and Comedy of Errors (Royal Lyceum) and David Greig’s rom-com hit Midsummer (international tour). For television her acting credits include Rab C Nesbitt, Taggart, River City; and for film, You Instead, Red Road, Not another Happy Ending and God Help the Girl.

Ballet Black in a new partnership with Theatre Royal Stratford East present
Ballet Black: Triple Bill
6 October – 8 October
Press night: 6 October 8pm

Ballet Black, a company for international dancers has collaborated with three bold and inventive choreographers to present this critically acclaimed triple bill.

At the centerpiece is Christopher Hampson’s Storyville: set in 1920s New Orleans we follow Nola, a young farm girl who falls prey to unscrupulous characters and secret desires, set to the haunting music of Kurt Weill.

The programme also includes two newly devised pieces, Christopher Marney’s To Begin, Begin, fresh from McQueen, and a duet Cristaux by recent Olivier Award Winner Arthur Pita, who previously choreographed a hit version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Ballet Black’s eight-strong ensemble.

British-Trinidadian Artistic Director Cassa Pancho has attracted a loyal following for her classically trained troupe, reinvigorating ballet with energy and imagination as well as making world class original new work.

Theatre Royal Stratford East presents world première of
The Hotel Cerise
Inspired by Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard
by Bonnie Greer
20 October – 12 November
Press night: 25 October 7pm

Director: Femi Elufowoju Jr; Set Designer: Ellen Cairns

As the leader of the free world ends his eight years in office, a black middle class family risk losing their beloved hotel and cherry orchard, where Martin Luther King once rested and Miles Davis played.

The Hotel Cerise was a famous retreat for affluent black people during the time of segregation - a landmark and symbol of Black America. A place where they were welcome and safe.

Can it be saved? Should it be?

Bonnie Greer OBE is an award winning author and playwright, born in Chicago. Her theatre credits include Yes (Royal Opera House), 48:Greco/Davis (London Jazz Festival), Marilyn and Ella (Apollo Theatre & Edinburgh) and Jitterbug (Arcola Theatre); and for film, White Men Are Cracking Up. Her novels include A Parallel Life, Langston Hughes: The Value of Contradiction, Obama Music, Entropy and Hanging by Her Teeth. She was awarded an OBE for services to the arts in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2010. She has had over a dozen plays produced over BBC Radio including a translation and adaptation of The Little Prince, and her documentary In Search Of The Black Madonna. On BBC2 in 2002 her influential documentary Reflecting Skin charted the presence of the African In Western European art. She has also been a regular contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review and Question Time.

Femi Elufowoju, Jr is the first theatre director of African descent to establish a national touring company in the UK - Tiata Fahodzi. He artistically led the company for 13 years, directing and presenting over 30 plays for the company including his production of Oladipo Agboluaje’s Iya-Ile, and The First Wife (nominated for an Olivier Award). For Theatre Royal Stratford East his credits include the critically acclaimed Tickets and Ties. He has also worked as a Guest Director for Salisbury Playhouse, Southwark Playhouse and National Theatre; and as Associate Director for Royal Court Theatre and West Yorkshire Playhouse. He was Michael Attenborough’s Associate Artist at Almeida Theatre between 2010 and 2014. As an actor his work includes The Ghost Train (Royal Exchange) and LionBoy (Complicite). For television, his acting credits include Borgen, Moses Jones, Supply and Demand, Wire in the Blood, Little Miss Jocelyn and The Knock; and for film, Hush Little Baby, The Legend of 1900 and the forthcoming Mechanic: Resurrection and The Saint.

Theatre Royal Stratford East presents
Sinbad The Sailor
Book and Lyrics by Paul Sirett; Music and Lyrics by Wayne Nunes and Perry Melius
28 November – 21 January
Press performances: 8, 9 or 10 December 7pm

Director Kerry Michael; Designers: Jenny Tiramani & Harriet Barsby; Lighting Designer: David Plater

With a tradition of featuring original music, hilarious audience participation and comedy for all ages, it’s no surprise that a Theatre Royal Stratford East pantomime is one of the best in London.

With heaps of surprises along the way, join Sinbad and his friends on a voyage to mysterious places as they strive to successfully complete their perilous quest.

Paul Sirett is an Olivier-nominated, award-winning playwright, dramaturg and musician. Sirett has a long association with the Theatre Royal Stratford East where many of his plays have been produced including hit musical The Big Life which subsequently transferred to the West End. He has also worked extensively as a dramaturg for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Soho Theatre, Royal Court, National Theatre and for West End and Broadway producers. He is currently Associate Dramaturg of the Ambassador Theatre Group. Sirett is also an Associate Artist of Soho Theatre, an Associate Teacher of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and an Associate Fellow at the University of Warwick.

Theatre Royal Stratford East presents UK première of
The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin
Book, music and lyrics by Kirsten Childs
1 February - 11 March
Press night: 8 February 7pm

Director: Josette Bushell-Mingo

A life-affirming and funny coming-of-age story which follows Viveca, a bright girl from a black middle class family in LA, who dreams of becoming a dancer.

Choosing to face the conflicts of a changing era in America with optimism rather than anger and revolution, she learns to reconcile the realities of racism and sexism with hope and faith - and by doing so discovers her self-worth.

This musical is a sassy and satirical look at how women have been defined by others and themselves throughout the 1960s - 1990s with an original score of jazz, pop, Motown and lots of R & B.

Kirsten Childs (Book/Music/Lyrics) As well as The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, Kirsten Childs is the award-winning writer of the musicals Miracle Brothers (Vineyard Theatre), Fly, Funked Up Fairy Tales and Bella: An American Tall Tale which receives its world première this season in a co-production between Dallas Theatre Center and Playwrights Horizons. She is the recipient of Obie, Kleban, Larson, Richard Rodgers, Audelco, and Gilman/Gonzalez-Falla Awards, as well as Lortel and Drama Desk nominations. She recently collaborated with Charlayne Woodard on the musical Grace for Inner Voices: Solo Musicals. Childs has written for Disney Theatricals, the American Songbook series at Lincoln Center, the New Electric Company, Works and Process at the Guggenheim Museum and City Center Encores!

Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE is a Swedish-based English theatre actress and director of African descent. She is currently the Artistic Director for The Swedish National Touring Theatre Tyst Teater ensemble. Her production of The Odyssey, performed in Swedish Sign Language received huge critical acclaim in Scandinavia. In Britain she has previously directed Langston Hughes's classic Harlem musical Simply Heavenly at the Young Vic and West End, and The Wiz at West Yorkshire Playhouse. She was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in 2000 for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Rafiki in the London production of The Lion King (musical). In 2001, she founded a black-led arts festival called PUSH at the Young Vic.

Theatre Royal Stratford East
Listings

Gerry Raffles Square, London E15 1BN
Box Office: 020 8534 0310
www.stratfordeast.com
Facebook: theatreroyalstratfordeast   
Twitter: @stratfordeast

Access Performances: Signed, Audio-description & Captioned performances available

Performance times

Counting Stars
26 August – 17 September
Press night: 1 September 8pm

Ticket prices
Newham Discount Night: £2.50
Previews: £12
Mon – Sat: £15, £12
Counting Stars is sponsored by Fresh Wharf Developments Ltd

Glasgow Girls
20 September – 1 October
Press night: 21 September 7:30pm

Ticket prices
Newham Discount Night £2.50
Previews £12, £15
Mon - Sat £8-£25, 
Concessions from £6

Ballet Black
6 October – 8 October
Press night: 6 October 8pm

Ticket prices
Thur - Sat £10-20
Concessions from £7

The Hotel Cerise
20 October – 12 November
Press night: 25 October 7pm

Ticket Prices
Previews £12, £15
Tue - Sat £8 – 25
Concessions from £6

Sinbad the Sailor
28 November – 21 January
Press performances: 8, 9 or 10 December 7pm

Ticket prices
Newham Discount Night £2.50
Mon - Sat £10-£25.50
Concessions from £8

Sinbad the Sailor is sponsored by Galliard Homes

The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin
1 February - 11 March
Press night: 8 February 7pm

Ticket prices
Newham Discount Night £2.50
Previews £12, £15
Tues-Sat £8 - £26
Concessions from £6

For further information contact:
Kate Morley 07970 465 648 / kate@katemorleypr.com
Amy Bramman 07944 539 520 / amy@katemorleypr.com