Francesca Moody Productions announces the return of Tim Crouch’s landmark production An Oak Tree. The acclaimed play will run at Wickham Theatre Bristol from 8 – 10 June, Festival d’Avignon 6 – 11 July and The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh from 4 – 27 August.
When it opened in 2005, An Oak Tree changed the rules of the game, bringing into the centre of its action an actor who has neither seen nor read the play. It went on to be performed in 19 different countries, winning an Obie Award for its Off-Broadway run in 2007. Some of the greatest performers in the world have played the second actor including Laurie Anderson, Alan Cumming, Sharon D Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kathryn Hunter, Frances McDormand, Alanis Morissette, F Murray Abraham, Sophie Okonedo and Geoffrey Rush. The second actors for performances at the Wickham Theatre Bristol and The Lyceum will be announced soon.
When I say sleep, you’re free again.
A man loses his daughter to a car accident. Nothing now is what it seems. It’s like he’s in a play – but he doesn’t know the words or the moves. The man who was driving the car is a stage hypnotist. Since the accident he’s lost the power of suggestion. His act’s a disaster. For him, everything now is exactly what it is. For the first time since the accident, these two men meet. They meet when the Father volunteers for the Hypnotist’s act. And, this time, he really doesn’t know the words or the moves…
An Oak Tree is a remarkable play for two actors. In a performance of controlled virtuosity, the playwright guides the actor through a story of loss, suggestion and the power of the mind. No two shows are the same. This is an audience experience like no other. A rare chance to see the play that shaped a theatre landscape.
An Oak Tree will be performed at the Wickham Theatre in Bristol to mark the 75th anniversary of the University of Bristol Drama Department where Tim Crouch is a graduate. The three performances will feature three separate second actors – all alumni of the department. Crouch will also be working with undergraduates in the week leading up to the performances in Bristol.
Tim Crouch is taking work to Festival d’Avignon for the first time in 2023, with An Oak Tree being performed in the open air followed by a run of Truth’s A Dog Must To Kennel produced by The Lyceum – these two shows being created 17 years apart.
An Oak Tree marks Crouch’s return to The Lyceum following his 2022 sell-out and Fringe First Award winning run of Truth’s A Dog Must To Kennel, which saw Crouch tackle the character of King Lear’s fool questioning the power of representation.
An Oak Tree is directed by Tim Crouch, Karl James and Andy Smith, performed by Tim Crouch and a different second actor at each performance, with music by Pete Gill.
