The Attic Collective founded earlier this year is a unique talent development initiative from the Festival City Theatres Trust, and over the course of each year, it will present three productions, a classic work, a new play and a music theatre piece.
The themes in the first season are Cash, Capital, Women and War and for two nights only in January, Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre will host the Collective’s first production of Lysistrata by Aristophanes.
After two decades of war the men are dying and the women feel powerless to stop it. Lysistrata gathers together women from every state to enact her plan. The men will be denied what they desire the most. To get it back, they must agree to peace. First performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, this early exposé of sexual relations in a male-dominated society will be re-imagined in a 21st century setting.
Director Susan Worsfold says, “Our production of Lysistrata is a contemporary take on the original text, where clean aesthetic lines offer space to make a mess and Aristophanes ‘low comedy’ is welcomed with open arms. We've had huge fun rehearsing the gags, nudging at politicians and the ego of patriarchal power that brokers wars. Aristophanes' Lysistrata speaks to our time and our next generation of young political thinkers.’
Lysistrata will be followed by the world premiere of Jo Clifford’s previously unperformed play War in America in May 2017, and a new adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera in September 2017.
Creative Producer Cat Sheridan says, “We are delighted to be able to offer this level of opportunity and access to this group of incredibly talented emerging actors. As the largest independent theatre organisation in Scotland, we are in a unique position. Able to offer not only main stage shows supported by a world class team, but unprecedented access to visiting companies, professional development workshops and mentoring. We hope that this collective will pave a way to more free development and training for emerging artists throughout Scotland.”
Friday 27 & Saturday 28 January 2017