Lyceum 2023 Spring Season
Lyceum announces four-strong Spring season
The Lyceum has announced a Spring 2023 season of four female-led productions with shows written or adapted by Zinnie Harris, Ahlam, Isobel McArthur and Lesley Hart.
The season features two world premieres, a world premiere tour and a Scottish premiere. It follows a hugely successful festival season for the Lyceum. However its Autumn season is curtailed, to just the previously announced return of Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) and An Edinburgh Christmas Carol which replaces the anticipated Snow Queen.
David Greig. Pic: Mihaela Bodlovic
Announcing the season, Lyceum artistic director David Greig said: “In 2023, we are presenting a bold new season of transformative live experiences, all made by creative teams led by women. These are big, exciting stories. Stories told with music and drama that will suck you in and have you pinned to your seat.”
The season opens with Zinnie Harris turning her hand to Shakespeare with Macbeth (an undoing) (Sat 4 – Sat 25 February 2023), an adaptation of the Scottish play in which she focuses on Lady Macbeth.
You Bury Me (Tue 7 – Sat 18 March 2023) is about six young Egyptians, coming of age in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. This Paines Plough co-production is an explosive, political debut from Ahlam about a generation emerging from a national trauma determined to live and love freely.
The National Theatre of Scotland’s new touring production of Kidnapped – a swashbuckling rom-com adventure (Tue 11 – Sat 23 April 2023) is a typically vivid reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure tale by Isobel McArthur, with Michael John McCarthy along for the musical ride.
This vivid reimagining of RLS’s classic is packed full of 20th century pop music and 18th century romance.
Anna Karenina
The final show of the season is Anna Karenina (Sat 13 May – Sat 3 June 2023). Lesley Hart collaborates with director Polina Kalinina for this adaption of Leo Tolstoy in a Lyceum production.
When her brother’s affair is discovered, Anna Karenina crosses the country by train to help save his marriage – the last thing they all need is a family scandal. But on her arrival at the station, a charged encounter with a dazzling young cavalry officer sends Anna on a course of action that could destroy her own marriage and tear her life apart.
Isobel McArthur and MJ McCarthy get into the mood for Kidnapped. Pic: James Chapelard
As an added bonus but not part of the season as such is Castle Lennox (Thurs 30 March – Sat 1 April). The Lung Ha Theatre Company ensemble finally get to take on the world premiere of Linda McLean’s new play with songs by Michael John McCarthy, which was due to play in May 2020.
Greig adds: “Theatre is ephemeral. It can be documented, recorded and witnessed more than once – but never truly repeated.
“Theatre is a unique, shared experience between strangers. It is created by a particular group of people, in a particular place, at a very particular moment in time, and then never again. Theatre is alive.
“From vivid reinterpretations of classics to new writing that exposes stark truths about our changing world – this is a season for everyone. A season for people who love theatre; people who think they might like it but have never tried it; people who think theatre is dry and dusty – we invite you all to come and take your seat.”
Full details of season ticket deals will be published later.
See Lyceum website for further details: lyceum.org.uk
ENDS
