Frantic Assembly has announced plans for the new year and beyond including an autumn UK tour for their landmark production of Othello revisited for 2022 and more relevant than ever, a thrilling new take on Kafka’s Metamorphosis to open in 2023, and the launch of Frantic Assembly STUDIO, an innovative new digital resource platform for teaching drama in secondary schools.
This autumn, Frantic Assembly will tour its award-winning and electrifying take on Shakespeare’s tragedy of paranoia, sex and murder. As relevant today as it ever was, Othello exposes the tension, fear and paranoia buried beneath the veneer of our relationships and how easily that can be maliciously exploited.
Frantic Assembly takes Shakespeare’s muscular and beautiful text, combines its own bruising physicality, and presents an Othello firmly rooted in a volatile 21st century.
Directed by Frantic Assembly’s artistic director and co-founder Scott Graham and designed by Laura Hopkins, this is a world of broken glass and broken promises, of poisonous manipulation and explosive violence. Othello’s passionate affair with Desdemona becomes the catalyst for jealousy, betrayal, revenge and the darkest intents.
Originally presented to great acclaim in 2008 and 2014, this updated version in co-production with Curve Theatre Leicester, will tour the UK from autumn onwards. Kicking off at Curve Leicester from 19 September, it will visit Liverpool Playhouse, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Theatre Royal York, Yvonne Arnaud Guildford, Oxford Playhouse, The Lowry Salford Quays, MAST Mayflower Studios Southampton and the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre London.
Othello is directed by Scott Graham, designed by Laura Hopkins, with lighting design by Natasha Chivers, sound design by Gareth Fry, music by Hybrid and casting by Will Burton CDG.
Frantic Assembly takes this iconic novella, with all its twisted physicality and heartbreaking family dynamic and promises a thrilling, powerhouse re-telling. Exploring the devastation of waking to find yourself, in the eyes of others, hideously transformed, Metamorphosis is both timely and timeless. Directed by Scott Graham, Metamorphosis is a co-production with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve Theatre Leicester, MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London and will tour the UK in Autumn 2023. More details to be announced soon.
FRANTIC ASSEMBLY STUDIO
Launching with schools in September 2022, Frantic Assembly STUDIO is a brand-new online subscription platform designed to support teachers and students in the study of contemporary theatre-making and, in particular, the Frantic Method, Frantic Assembly’s celebrated approach to collaborative and physical theatre making.
A new aspect to support their enduring commitment to training and education, Frantic Assembly STUDIO will house extensive filmed and written resources including workshop formats, warm-up exercises, creative tools and exercises, masterclasses and interviews with leading practitioners and creative artists. With Frantic Assembly currently studied as a leading contemporary theatre practitioner on five UK and international academic syllabi, this will be a vital resource for teachers and students exploring the devising process. Frantic Assembly has been liberating the potential of future theatre makers for over 25 years, and now Frantic Assembly STUDIO will provide even greater insight and understanding of the many roles within the industry.
Scott Graham, co-founder and Artistic Director says: “The Frantic Assembly STUDIO is a really exciting opportunity to bring the drama studio and the realities of the professional rehearsal room closer together. It is vital that our worlds stay relevant to each other and can continue to inspire each other. As well as providing an unparalleled insight into the Frantic Method, I want to give teachers access to the convictions and doubts in the minds of contemporary theatre makers. This is all a crucial part of the creative process, and it is seldom shared. Our ambition is that Frantic Assembly STUDIO encourages and empowers creativity for both teachers and students.”
Frantic Assembly STUDIO will launch in the UK in summer 2022, ready for the start of the academic year in September. Schools can find out more and register their interest to subscribe at www,franticassembly.co.uk.
Frantic Assembly STUDIO is supported by the Garfield Weston Cultural Fund.
