Winter is coming to London and Dublin this September and October as Landmark Productions and Galway International Arts Festival hit the road with their co-production Woyzeck in Winter, which wowed audiences at this year’s Galway International Arts Festival.
The co-producers will begin rehearsals on Monday September 4 ahead of Woyzeck in Winter’s run at the prestigious Barbican in London from September 13 to 16 and Dublin Theatre Festival from October 3 to 8.
Woyzeck in Winter, which was co-commissioned by the Barbican, is an electrifying fusion of two masterpieces: Büchner's Woyzeck and Schubert's Die Winterreise. Starring Patrick O'Kane and Camille O'Sullivan, and a cast of extraordinary Irish actors - including the legendary Rosaleen Linehan.
It tells the story of a poor soldier, who earns extra money for his family through menial jobs and participation in bizarre medical experiments. Brutalised by society and consumed with jealousy, he is driven to the far side of alienation and despair – and finally to a desperate, violent act.
The play had its world premiere at GIAF 17, where audiences described it as “phenomenal”, “epic”, “brutal”, “poetic”, “absolutely stunning”, “devastating”, “powerful”, “fast-paced”, “thought-provoking”, and “unmissable”.
The Guardian described the production as "brilliant … a pioneering piece of music-theatre" in its four-star review, while the Sunday Independent called it a "dazzling achievement".
Thrillingly re-imagined by Conall Morrison and a leading creative team, the production is sung in English, with the music played live at each performance by musical director Conor Linehan. The phenomenal Irish cast also includes Stephen Brennan, Peter Coonan, Susannah De Wrixon, Rory Nolan, Shane O'Reilly, and Barry McGovern.
The startling story is set amid a terrain of 103 upright and grand broken pianos (the set design is by award-winning set designer Jamie Vartan ), and vivid scenes flow seamlessly into raw, passionate, songs, translated into English by Stephen Clark.
Woyzeck in Winter opens the Barbican’s new theatre season as part of a programme that also includes performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Michael Clark Company, and Ivo van Hove’s Toneelgroep Amsterdam.
While best known for its two-week festival in July, Galway International Arts Festival also produces and tours productions nationally and internationally and will be active outside the festival in 2017 for over 12 weeks.
Already this year, Landmark Productions and Galway International Arts Festival productions Arlington and Ballyturk by Tony Award winning playwright Enda Walsh opened the Abbey Theatre’s new season, while Arlington travelled to St Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, in May for a three-week run. The Galway International Arts Festival production Rooms, also by Enda Walsh, had a concurrent run at the new home of the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan.
For more information, see http://www.woyzeckinwinter.com.
