Wise Children today announces the world première of Artistic Director Emma Rice’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, which she also directs, as part of their 2020 season of work. With her trademark musical and visual style, Rice brings new life to the classic story in this elemental stage adaptation. This co-production with the National Theatre, in association with York Theatre Royal, opens at the Lyttelton in autumn 2020 before touring the UK, with venues to be announced.
Emma Rice said today, “I loved Wuthering Heights with a passion as a teenager. I thought it was a love story, a wild romance. I now find little love within its pages, but these multi layered readings are what makes it such a fascinating story. My Wuthering Heights promises to be a revenge tragedy for our time – but it will also be about hope. I want to wrestle hatred to the earth and let a new story grow. Wild and fierce, elemental and true – I cannot wait to start work on this timeless classic. And that is theatre romance, right there!
“It is a privilege and a pleasure to be returning to the National Theatre after 12 years – and even more exciting to be returning with my new company Wise Children! This is an ambitious project with creative roots in Yorkshire and the South West – the National Theatre is the perfect place to nurture, create and home this special work. Even more thrilling to me is that this production will perform both on the South Bank and in venues across the UK. It is vitally important to both the National Theatre and Wise Children that we take work on the road and entertain audiences across the UK.”
Wise Children’s production of Malory Towers is currently touring the UK, with performances at York Theatre Royal (until 14 September), Exeter Northcott Theatre (17 – 21 September), HOME, Manchester (24 – 28 September) and Oxford Playhouse (1 – 5 October); and their inaugural production of the critically acclaimed Wise Children will be screened in cinemas across the UK and Ireland from 3 October. Further plans for 2020 will be announced shortly.
Created and led by Emma Rice, WISE CHILDREN launched in April 2018 and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. Based in Bristol, the company makes ground-breaking work with exceptional artists, and tours across the world. Alongside shows, it runs a unique professional development programme, The School for Wise Children, training a new and more diverse generation of theatre practitioners.
