About the Company
Macready Theatre is best known as a receiving venue for touring professional work, but importantly, it is also a theatre which creates its own in-house productions. Many of these are educational and we work closely throughout the year with young actors from Rugby Free School, Rugby School, Harris Academy, Eastlands Primary and many other local schools to deliver workshop and performance opportunities for young people from all backgrounds in our studio and main theatre spaces, as well as at our flagship annual Festival on The Close and further afield at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Bloomsbury Festival and National Theatre Connections Festival.
One important part of our output is our two youth groups: Macready Theatre Young Actors’ Company and Rugby Connected Youth Theatre. Our programme runs as part of a year-round offer in conjunction with Rugby School, Rugby Free Secondary School and in partnership with Macready Theatre, Bloomsbury Festival as well as other local primary and secondary schools. Our focus with both groups is on new writing and we regularly commission new work. These opportunities attract talented young writers and actors from all backgrounds to join the company and offers them the chance to develop new work with professional directors, choreographers, musicians, producers and technicians. Generous financial support is available for those who need it in order to widen access to the programme. The groups work with a range of practitioners, agents and others throughout the year as part of the programme and our older members go on to perform in our touring company Square Pegs which works in partnership with London’s Bloomsbury Festival to co-commission young and emerging writers to develop a brand-new play for the Edinburgh Fringe and Bloomsbury Festivals each year, whilst our younger members take part in National Theatre Connections programme.
2024 Production
Macready Theatre Young Actors’ Company presents
A Square Pegs Production
3 Couples, 2 Breakups, 1 Barbie and The Berlin Wall
by Georgie Dettmer
Writer: Georgie Dettmer
Director: Tim Coker
Movement Director: Ellen Finlay
Technician: Kyle Arrowsmith
Seven teenagers (and a Barbie doll) invite you to a joyfully absurd play about love – in all its weird and wonderful forms. Square Pegs ask lots of questions about what it means to be human in their life-imitating-art play about growing up and in its own inimitable, absurdist fashion, offer absolutely no answers whatsoever! Offie-nominated Macready Theatre Young Actors share tales of breakups, heartache and what it’s like to fall in love with the Berlin Wall with fast-paced, fun-filled story-telling. ‘A short spectacular showcase’ ***** (MumbleTheatre.net). ‘Joyous’ **** (BroadwayBaby.com)
The play was created following a series of initial workshops between the actors and writer, Georgie Dettmer; the script going through a 3 month R&D process with the cast before being finalised for rehearsal in March 2024. It is therefore entirely bespoke and has the voices of the young people for whom it was written woven into the writing.
The stories in the play are either true, or are based on real-life experiences.
1-10 August at 12:55
C Venues: Aquila, Edinburgh
2023 Production
Macready Theatre Young Actors’ Company presents
A Square Pegs Production
2nd Picture of Dorian Gray
by Vyte Garriga
Nine teenagers, one baritone saxopone and an accordian invite you to a surreal cabaret of a play about trying to find yourself in a unfathomable universe. This life-imitating-art comedy asks lots of important questions about what it means to be human and, in fine absurdist fashion, offers absolutely no answers whatsoever.
3-12 August at 15:50
C Venues: Aquila, Edinburgh
Past Productions
Recent productions include: 7 Seventeen-Year-Olds in a Screwed-Up World (pictured left) Tim Coker, C Venues Edinburgh; 21 FuturesOlly Hawes, Pleasance Theatre Edinburgh; 1 Singular SensationNick Cassenbaum, C Venues Edinburgh; Every Brilliant Thing Duncan Macmillan, Macready Theatre; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change by Joe DiPietro, C Venues Edinburgh.
Recent workshops and masterclasses include: Vyte Garriga, Christopher Haydon; Joanna Riding; Josh Dylan, Waring & McKenna Agents; Motionhouse; Gecko; Wildcard; Stomp; Bloomsbury Festival; RADA; LIPA.
Cast
Manvir Bawa, Oliver Butler, Tabitha Denham, Ginny Edwards, Emily Finnegan, Izzy Fry, Paige Jordan
Creatives
Tim Coker – writer, director, composer/sound design
Faye Miles – technician, movement coach
Joanne Maroun – production assistant
Kim Thompson – production assistant
For more information about the show and to book tickets please click here
With thanks to:
