Live theatre will return to Leicester Curve next month for the first time since the venue closed its doors to the public in March with the launch of an autumn season that will feature two re-imagined, socially distanced concert versions of two Made at Curve productions.
Launching on 12 November 2020 with an exclusive event which will be live-streamed from the theatre, the season will include special concert presentations of The Color Purple and Sunset Boulevard featuring original cast members.
Running from 23 November until 3 December, The Color Purple In Concert will feature returning stars T’Shan Williams and Danielle Fiamanya as sisters Celie and Nettie.
The 2019 award-winning co-production (with Birmingham Hippodrome) of the Broadway version of Alice Walker’s much-loved novel has been re-imagined by the original creative team of director Tinuke Craig, musical director Alex Parker and choreographer Mark Smith.
A Christmas season of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard In Concert will follow from 14 December 2020 until 3 January 2021 with original leads Ria Jones and Manchester Theatre Award-winner Danny Mac reprising their performances as Norma Desmond and Joe Gillis. Featuring a 16-piece orchestra, the concert version of 2018 award-winning production will be directed by the production’s original director, Curve’s artistic director Nikolai Foster.
Both The Color Purple In Concert and Sunset Boulevard In Concert will be staged with the support of music licensing company PPL PRS Ltd.
The two concert productions will be followed by a revival of the 2018 Made at Curve production of the play Memoirs Of An Asian Football Casual. A homegrown drama based on the life of former football hooligan Riaz Khan, the award-winning production will return under the direction of Foster from 25 January until 6 February 2021.
With full casting for all three productions will be announced soon, the casting director for The Color Purple and Memoirs Of An Asian Football Casual will be Curve associate Kay Magson. Casting for Sunset Boulevard will be by David Grindrod.
By raising the walls between its theatre spaces, Curve will reopen as a 533 seat socially distanced auditorium, with audiences enjoying live performances from all four sides of the stage in line with architect Rafael Viñoly’s original design. The re-configured space makes use of a triple-revolve donated by Cameron Mackintosh.
Curve’s reopening plans have only been made possible by grant funding received from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund and the ongoing support of Arts Council England and Leicester City Council.
In a statement unveiling the season, Curve’s chief executive Chris Stafford and Foster said: “Covid continues to have a devastating impact on our industry and we are indebted to Arts Council England and DCMS for the Culture Recovery Fund which will help us plan a future for Curve.
“Although we have a long road to recovery ahead of us, we are delighted to announce a new programme of work which will reopen our theatre after seven long months of closure. The team at Curve have worked tirelessly on plans to enable us to safely reopen our theatre with social distancing.
“Curve’s unique architecture has always demanded a bold response in whatever we do, and we are proud to present these performances in our newly configured, socially-distanced, in-the-round theatre which merges our Studio and Theatre into one performance space.
“The Color Purple, Sunset Boulevard and Memoirs Of An Asian Football Casual celebrate all that is great about Leicester and our theatre: community spirit, resilience and the irrefutable transformative power of culture and theatre in all of our lives. Alongside these performances, we look forward to welcoming our Curve Youth and Community Companies, associate artists and resident creatives back into the building.
“We couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who donated and supported Curve during this temporary closure, in particular our principal funders Leicester City Council and Arts Council England. We would also like to extend our grateful thanks to Cameron Mackintosh for the loan of the revolving stages used in this special autumn re-opening season; Cameron and his team have been incredibly generous and supportive throughout the lockdown and we are most appreciative to all of them for their support.
“Curve plays an important role in the life of our city, and in reopening our theatre we will be able to play a part in helping revitalise Leicester from the continued impact of this pandemic. We look forward to welcoming our audiences, participants, staff and 100s of freelance artists back to Curve and the City Centre this autumn.”
Curve will begin welcoming audiences back with a socially distanced Family and Community Day on 14 November featuring a range of low cost and free workshops, performances and activities.
Angela Thomas
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