The National Theatre of Scotland and Live Theatre’s co-production
OUR LADIES OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR Dorfman Theatre
Previews from 8 August, final performance 1 October
Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, the critically-acclaimed stage adaptation of Alan Warner’s cult Scottish novel The Sopranos, by Lee Hall and directed by Vicky Featherstone receives its London premiere at the Dorfman Theatre on 8 August.
The production premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2015, and enjoyed a successful sell-out run at the Traverse Theatre, earning critical and audience acclaim, and picking up four awards before embarking on a sell-out Scottish tour and run at Newcastle’s Live Theatre. The full cast includes Melissa Allan, Caroline Deyga, Karen Fishwick, Kirsty MacLaren, Frances Mayli McCann and Dawn Sievewright with musicians Amy Shackcloth, Laura Bangay, Becky Brass and Emily Linden.
Music Arrangement and Supervision is by Martin Lowe, Design by Chloe Lamford, Lighting Design by Lizzie Powell and Choreography by Imogen Knight.
Alan Warner’s novel and Lee Hall’s musical stage play tell the story of six girls on the cusp of change. Love, lust, pregnancy and death all spiral out of control in a single day. Funny, sad, rude and beautifully sung, Our Ladies…. is a tribute to being young, lost and out of control, featuring a soundtrack of classical music and 70s pop rock, with music by Handel, Bach and ELO including the songs Mr Blue Sky, Don’t Bring Me Down, Long Black Road and more. Vicky Featherstone, Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre, collaborates with Lee Hall, (Shakespeare in Love, Billy Elliot and The Pitmen Painters), to create a wild and tender play meets gig about singing, sex and Sambuca and suitable for those aged 16+
Our Ladies marks the National Theatre of Scotland’s return to the National Theatre in London, following the sell-out co-production of The James Plays in 2014 which is currently touring. The production also marks Vicky Featherstone’s directorial debut at the NT and a return for Lee Hall whose Live Theatre’s The Pitman Painters was co-produced by the National Theatre of Great Britain in 2009.
Rufus Norris, Director of the National Theatre of Great Britain says “We’re delighted to be welcoming Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour to the National – not simply to give London audiences the chance to see this exhilarating play, but also because it reunites us with so many friends and neighbours: the National Theatre of Scotland, Live Theatre, Lee Hall and Vicky Featherstone. It will be a joy to have the uproarious Ladies at the Dorfman.”
Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour arrives at the National Theatre following a UK and international tour, in 2016. Full tour details available from www.nationaltheatrescotland.com
Listen to the Spotify playlist here
Join the conversation: #OurLadies
The Dorfman Partner is Neptune Investment Management.
- Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour is directed by Vicky Featherstone and adapted by Lee Hall from the novel The Sopranos by Alan Warner. The show will feature design by Chloe Lamford, musical arrangement by Martin Lowe, choreography by Imogen Knight, Lighting Design by Lizzie Powell and sound design by Mike Walker. The cast includes Melissa Allan, Caroline Deyga, Kirsty Findlay, Karen Fishwick, Kirsty McLaren, Frances Mayli McCann, Joanne McGuiness and Dawn Sievewright. The band is Laura Bangay, Becky Brass, Emily Linden and Amy Shackcloth.
- The production will run for 63 performances between 8 August and 1 October.
- The Platform event with Vicky Featherstone and Lee Hall will take place on 1 September. There will be an In Focus event on Cult Fiction on Stage on 12 September.
- Captioned performances will take place on 12 and 21 September at 8pm. Audio Described performances will take place on 9 & 10 September at 5.30pm. A pre-show Touch Tour will take place at prior to the 5.30pm performance on 10 September.
Artists biographies
Vicky Featherstone– Director of Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour
Vicky is the Artistic Director at the Royal Court Theatre. In this role her directing credits have included Dennis Kelly’s The Ritual Slaughter of George Mastromas, Abi Morgan’s The Mistress Contract and Molly Davies’ God Bless the Child, Zinnie Harris’ How to Hold Your Breath, Alistair McDowell’s X, and David Ireland’s Cyprus Avenue at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. She opened her first season at the Royal Court Theatre with Open Court – a festival of plays, ideas and events, chosen by over 140 writers. At National Theatre of Scotland, her credits included Enquirer (co-directed with John Tiffany), Appointment with the Wicker Man and 27.
Vicky Featherstone was the inaugural Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland (2004 to 2013) and was previously Artistic Director of Paines Plough (1997 to 2004).
Lee Hall – Adapter of Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour
Lee was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1966. He studied English Literature at the University of Cambridge and has worked as a writer in theatre, TV, radio and film. He has been writer in residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company and Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Previous theatre work includes Shakespeare In Love (Noel Coward Theatre), The Pitmen Painters (2007- 2013), Live Theatre/ Royal National Theatre, Broadway, West End, UK Tours (winner Evening Standard Best Play Award, TMA Best New Play Award); and Billy Elliot – the Musical, London 2004, Australia 2006-7, Broadway, 2008, Chicago, 2010 (Olivier Award – Best Musical, 9 Tony Awards including Best Book). Film and television credits include War Horse (2011), DreamWorks; Toast (2010); and Billy Elliot (2000), Working Title Films (Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay).
Alan Warner – writer of The Sopranos
Alan Warner was born in Oban in 1964 and grew up there. He is the author of eight novels including Morvern Callar which was made into a film starring Samantha Morton in 2002, These Demented Lands, The Man Who Walks, The Worms Can Carry Me To Heaven, The Stars in the Bright Sky which was longlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize and The Deadman’s Pedal which won the 2013 James Tait Black Prize. His latest novel is Their Lips Talk of Mischief, published by Faber in 2014. His novel The Sopranos was first published in 1998.
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