Nottingham-born Dame Rosemary Squire has become the first patron to join the East Midlands touring theatre company New Perspectives. Known for touring cutting edge international work to venues ranging from theatres to rural village halls, New Perspectives have firmly established themselves over more than forty years as a leading force in the small-scale touring. Rosemary Squire’s endorsement of New Perspectives comes swiftly after their highly successful staging of the hit Nigerian play The Fishermen in the West End.
Three times topping the Stage 100 list, Rosemary Squire, along with her husband Howard Panter, is largely considered one of the most influential people in British theatre. They co-founded ATG, and recently started their new venture Trafalgar Entertainment.
Speaking about her new involvement with the company, she said: “Having grown up in the East Midlands and discovered my life-long passion for theatre in Nottingham, this region remains close to my heart. Becoming a Patron of New Perspectives enables me to maintain that link and to support a company that uniquely brings diverse, high quality work across this area.”
New Perspectives’ Artistic Director Jack McNamara said, “From touring a cult Finnish film adaptation to rural village halls to opening a new Nigerian play in the West End, our work aims to bring disparate cultures together and redress age-old imbalances. To have someone of the stature and experience of Rosemary Squire recognise the value of what we do and want to promote our work is a major marker for us as a company. We are humbled by her support and greatly looking forward to drawing from her expertise to make more noise about the dynamic new work being made in the East Midlands.”
This support comes as New Perspectives prepare to announce a new season for 2020, with new commissions focussing on global women’s voices and mental health. The year will include four world premieres:
- The Spirit A live art trilogy performed at Battersea Arts Centre by radical disabled artist Thibault Delferiere about the triumph of the spirit against adversity
- Miserable Aunt Bertha a special reading at the Words Weekend exploring mental health in children’s literature
- Convenience Store Woman the Japanese best-selling sensation brought to the stage for the Edinburgh Festival 2020
- An Angel At My Table a staged autobiography of the extraordinary life of New Zealand’s most famous writer, Janet Frame, to tour rural and regional venues across the UK.
