The Lyceum has just announced their 2023 season of theatre made by creative teams led by women. The new season promises stories told with music and drama. From vivid reinterpretations of classics to new writing that aims to expose stark truths about our changing world.
The season starts with Zinnie Harris’ retelling of Macbeth. Zinnie is well known for reworking classic texts – creating space for their female characters to shine – and Macbeth (an undoing) promises to do just that. This is the Macbeth we know, but with a twist – Lady Macbeth takes centre stage this time around.
Macbeth (an undoing) is followed by one of the new plays being shown this season. Winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2020, Ahlam brings us You Bury Me, a story about six young Egyptians navigating life after the Arab Spring.
In April, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) writer and musical supervisor duo Isobel McArthur with Michael John McCarthy are working together with the National Theatre of Scotland to bring us Kidnapped – a swashbuckling rom-com adventure. A reimagining of Robert Louis-Stevenson’s classic. This Kidnapped is packed full of 20th century pop music and 18th century romance.
May sees a radical reworking of Tolstoy’s masterpiece of love and power, Anna Karenina. This version, created by Russian-born director Polina Kalinina and Scottish playwright Lesley Hart stays true to the grit of the original, and steers well clear of the English tradition of ‘well-behaved’ Russian classics.
Finally, The Lyceum will be showing Castle Lennox by Linda McLean created in collaboration with Lung Ha Theatre Company, Scotland’s leading theatre company for actors with learning disabilities. A play with songs by Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) composer Michael John McCarthy, Castle Lennox is a celebration of the strength, wit and resilience of people made to live in the appalling conditions of one of Scotland’s most infamous institutions.
This season, The Lyceum will be continuing their Pay What You Can Preview scheme, in a bid to allow more people from Edinburgh and beyond to come to the theatre – no matter their income.
For more information, visit: The Lyceum
Header picture: David Greig, The Lyceum’s Artistic Director. By: Mihaela Bodlovic
