Gareth Nicholls for Traverse
New associate director for the Traverse
Gareth Nicholls will be joining the Traverse’s artistic team as associate director from 8 May 2017.
Nichols joins artistic director Orla O’Loughlin and fellow associate director Zinnie Harris. He has already directed two fringe shows for the company and is slated to direct another for this year’s fringe.
Gareth Nicholls. Photo: Traverse Theatre
Nicholls’ duties will include working on the dramaturgy of in-house commissions, overseeing open submissions, directing a range of ambitious new work, contributing to a range of creative learning projects and assisting in both year-round and Festival curation.
Previous shows at the Traverse include by Gary McNair: Donald Robertson is Not a Stand-Up Comedian in 2014 and A Gambler’s Guide To Dying in 2015. Last year saw his A Play, A Pie and A Pint production of Prom in the lunchtime theatre slot.
Nicholls has just finished a two year stint at the Glasgow Citizens as the main stage director in residence from 2014-16 where he directed the new production of Trainspotting which is to be revived and will tour to the King’s Theatre in November. His productions of Blackbird and Into That Darkness both received Critics’ Award for Theatre in Scotland nominations.
This year has seen him direct the Scottish Premiere of Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage at the Tron Theatre, whilst A Gambler’s Guide to Dying continued its ongoing world tour with a stint at New York’s East 59 East.
vibrant and uncompromising
In a statement expressing his delight at the role, Nicholls acknowledged the Traverse historical role in developing Scottish theatre and emphasised its ability to embolden artists to say what they want to say in “vibrant and uncompromising new ways”.
He continued: “It champions the strongest voices and supports the brightest talent to tell stories that cut straight to the heart of what it means to be human.
“I’m looking forward to contributing to a theatre that has such a rich history; to directing bold and ambitious new work on its iconic stage, to collaborating with the very best of Scotland’s new writing talent and to building on the stellar work that’s already taking place at the Traverse.”
Orla O’Loughlin added her welcome to her new associate saying that Nicholls: “not only brings a track record of deeply considered, stylish and sophisticated directorial work but a reputation as a supportive and collaborative practitioner.
“His excellent reputation both as an artist and as a champion of other artists makes him the perfect fit to work alongside myself and my team to ensure the Traverse continues to develop talent, engage new audiences and create powerful and relevant contemporary theatre with international impact.”
The Traverse’s fringe programme for 2017 is due to be announced in early June.
ENDS
Comments (1)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
Sites That Link to this Post