THE STAGE EDIT: THE FUNFAIR // PREVIEW

It is that time of year again where I bring to you a stage production that has caught my eye. If you are a regular around these parts then you will have heard that the Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre Company merged and have risen like a phoenix in the form of HOME - Manchester's new hub for all things art, film and literature - which opened a few weeks ago. HOME's opening theatre production,  The Funfair, is the one I shall be sharing with you today.

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'The Funfair' // Source: Photo Courtesy of HOME

Adapted from Ödön von Horváth's play 'Kasimir and Karoline' by the Olivier-Award winning playwright Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night;Punk Rock;Harper Regan), The Funfair, which runs from the 14th May - 13th Jun, is a tale of two lovers on the cusp of parting ways in a world riddled with economic despair. I must admit I had not heard about the original play which was written in 1929 and shed light on the political, social and economical issues of that era - that are not too unlike those of today - but a chance to be thrown into a world where there is a promise of funfairs, drama and a touch of realness is one I am more than willing to take. There is a chance to tune into a Google hangout session with Simon Stephens on the 21st of May at 1 pm to find out more about his creative journey and thoughts on this play which I am looking forward to. You know me and my obsession for learning more about and sharing life stories of people whose work I admire (see 'And That's My Story' series).

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Simon Stephens - Playwright // Source: Photo Courtesy of HOME

There are a few familiar names that make up the list of the crew for this project. Walter Meierjohann, whom you may remember from my post on the staggeringly good unique version of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet that was performed last year, takes on the role of the director for The Funfair. Ti Green, who won the Manchester Theatre Award for Best Design for HOME’s production of Romeo & Juliet due to the beautiful transformation of the Victoria Bath, is the designer for The Funfair.  And Petra-Jane Tauscher is the dramaturg for this project; she also worked on HOME’s Romeo & Juliet. Taking on the role of the modern day Kasimir, who will now be known as Cash, is Ben Batt (The Go-Between; Captain America; Shameless) and Karoline a.k.a Caroline will be played by Katie Moore (The Paradise; Doc Martin; Misfits). I cannot wait to see how the space to be used to act out this play will be transformed with the help of all those on board this project. And based on the success of HOME's Romeo & Juliet, it seems like we'll be in for a treat.

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And there you have it folks! If this sounds right up your street then you can grab a ticket here. There are also quite a number of fun events that are related toThe Funfair that you can get involved in such as An Introduction Directing: The Funfair, Approaches to Acting: The Funfair, Intro: The Funfair and Post Show Panel: The Funfair. And you can read about what  Walter Meierjohann's thoughts are on the play in an interview he did here. Oh and keep your eyes peeled for an And that's My Story post as I had the chance to interview Ben Batt and will be sharing that later on this week.

Until next time!

Mo x

Note: All images used in this post are courtesy of HOME. If you would like to use them please contact them here.