#travfest15

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A saint or a sinner? What will you make of our protagonist in Andy Duffy’s gripping psychological drama, Crash? Take a sneak peek into our Traverse 2 space in our production gallery, as Jamie Michie takes to the stage for his captivating solo performance. Image credits: Mihaela Bodlovic. For full details visit the Traverse website.

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..a courageously feminist production." ★★★★★ (The Guardian) "...a tough watch, but superbly shaped in Ryan’s Corn Exchange production and Duffin’s quite remarkable performance." ★★★★★ (Financial Times) "Not half, but newly-formed, brittle and intricate." ★★★★ (The Irish Times) "Aoife Duffin’s powerhouse performance is a festival triumph.” (The Observer’s Top Ten Performances of 2014) "One of the best adaptations of a novel you are likely to see.” (The Sunday Times) "...it's an extraordinary, sorrowful and illuminating performance from Aoife Duffin as the nameless girl, directed faultlessly by Ryan in a memorable evening of pure theatre." (Sunday Independent).

A handful of the glowing reviews A Girl is a Half-formed Thing has received. Catch it for its only Scottish performance this August at the Traverse Theatre. Starring Aoife Duffin, and directed by Annie Ryan for The Corn Exchange. Full details available on the Traverse website.

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Blog: Week Two of Crash Rehearsals (20 July - 24 July) by Sunniva Ramsay, Assistant Director of the production.

Assistant Director Sunniva Ramsay takes us back into the rehearsal room, to see how preparations are progressing...

As we manoeuvre into the second week of Crash rehearsals, everyone in the rehearsal room has a head full of questions. Over the past week we’ve worked closely with the text, examining how the narrative evolves and shifts throughout the play. By its very nature, the monologue form demands that the audience are active players in the actor/audience relationship, embarking on a journey with the character, whilst cross-examining his actions. Different audiences, from different places, at different times across the month of August, will reach their own contrasting conclusions about the world and the story this character invites us in to.      

Over the week, we have split the play into different ‘arcs’ of action.  Within the way Andy Duffy has written the play, there are several different narrative episodes. However, we have discovered as the play translates from page to stage, the motivations of the character carry across these episodes, into a wider trajectory. In order to fully explore the tensions and conflicts within the play, it has been incredibly useful to reconsider where the narrative arcs, sparks and ignitions may lie.    

We’ve also had the brilliant addition of Jamie’s costume arriving into the rehearsal room this week. It’s interesting to see the effect costuming can have on the physicality of the character. We’re beginning to see the significance of every movement and the effect that even the slightest twitch or gesture brings to our understanding of the character. As the week continues, we’ll move across to Traverse 2 and into technical rehearsals, where with the addition of set, sound and lighting, we’ll create an entirely new physical world for this character and his story, to live and breathe. 

Crash previews on Saturday 1 & 6 August.

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Am I Dead Yet? - Production Gallery 

Unlimited Theatre return to the Traverse with their humorous, light-hearted late-night offering Am I Dead Yet?, as two friends talk (and sing) about what happens when we die. Join Chris Thorpe and Jon Spooner as they combine theatre and science for an inimitable live experience. Enjoy our production gallery for a taster. Credits: Richard Davenport.

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Fake it ‘til you Make it - Production Gallery

Fringe First Award winner Bryony Kimmings brings Fake it ‘til you Make it, a wickedly warming, brutally honest and powerfully heartbreaking show to us as part of #TravFest15. Enjoy their production shots here first. Credit: Richard Davenport

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Blog: Week One of Crash Rehearsals (13 July - 17 July) by Sunniva Ramsay, Assistant Director of the production.

Crash Assistant Director Sunniva Ramsay takes us behind the scenes as the first day of rehearsals begin.

“The first day of rehearsals is a bit like the first day of school. There’s a room full of new people to meet, both in the real world and in the world of the play.  

For our first day of rehearsals on Crash, this was a little bit different than usual.  Crash first appeared on the Traverse stage as part of our Autumn 2014 A Play, A Pie & A Pint season and whilst the director (Emma Callander, Traverse Associate Artist) and actor (Jamie Michie) are old friends of the play, some things have changed over the past 9 months. Writer, Andy Duffy, has been working on further drafts and changes – the play has developed; it’s come back with a growth spurt after the holidays and everyone in the room needs to get used to the new rhythms, words and textures in the piece.

At the Traverse, we begin every rehearsal process with a read through of the script, where all staff members are invited to attend.  As Crash takes the form of a monologue, this is a particularly useful process for both Jamie as an actor and Emma as a director, as understanding and exploring the connection with the audience will inform the intentions behind Jamie’s performance. Within the play, the audience are almost another character, the sole witness to this character’s interpretation of his story – so we need to ensure they are given the space to process the information, and reach their own conclusions.

After the initial read through, we’re joined by playwright Andy Duffy and begin another table read, pausing to ask questions of Andy and revisit how the path of the character may have changed through revised drafts. Within the rehearsal room we have the opportunity to interrogate these questions further, mapping out the tensions of the play and exploring the journey both the character and the audience will navigate through. For more information about Crash, and to book tickets to the performance, visit the Traverse Theatre website for more.

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Meet Crash’s Leading Man

Jamie Michie Jamie is a native Scotsman and consummate screen and stage actor. Feature film credits include In The Heart Of The Sea (Ron Howard), The Selfish Giant (Clio Barnard), Route Irish (Ken Loach), Chavez (Diego Luna), Hector (Jake Gavin) and Sunset Song (Terence Davies). For television, Jamie played Steelshanks in Season 3 of HBO’s juggernaut success Game of Thrones. Other recent TV projects include Shetland 3, Humans, Chickens, Top Boy 2, Vera, Midsomer Murders and Skins. 

Jamie is delighted to be returning to the stage this summer with Crash, in which he gives a captivating solo performance.

“A compelling tour de force”, says The Herald. And they don’t lie!

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Meet the Swallow Cast

Meet the three actors who will bring Olivier Award-winning writer Stef Smith’s searing new production Swallow to life this August. Directed by Traverse Artistic Director Orla O’Loughlin.

Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Sam)

Previous theatre credits include: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Liverpool Everyman), Hope (Royal Court Theatre), The El Train (Hoxton Hall), Yerma (The Gate Theatre), The Swan, There is a War (National Theatre, London), Tiger Country (Hampstead Theatre), Detaining Justice, Seize the Day, Category B, Let There Be Love, Fabulation, Playboy of the West Indies, (Tricycle Theatre), The Horse Marines (Theatre Royal Plymouth), The Bacchae (National Theatre Scotland), Black Crows (Clean Break/Arcola Theatre),The Magic Carpet (Lyric Hammersmith), Blues For Mr Charlie (Tricycle/New Wolsey), Dirty Butterfly (Soho Theatre), Peepshow (Frantic Assembly/Plymouth/Lyric Theatre), Keepers (Hampstead Theatre), Crave (Paines Plough), So Special (Royal Exchange), Yard Gal (Clean Break/Royal Court), The No Boys Cricket Club (Stratford East Theatre Royal) and Babies (Royal Court Theatre).

Anita Vettesse (Rebecca)

Previous theatre credits include: In Time Of Strife, Men Should Weep, Macbeth and Wolves in The Wall (National Theatre of Scotland), The War Hasn't Started Yet, Perfect Stroke (Óran Mór), Beowulf, Talk To Me Like The Rain, Suddenly Last Summer, Monaciello (Tron Theatre/Napoli Teatro Festivali), Blithe Spirit, Sabina, Educating Rita (Perth Theatre), Fleeto/Wee Andy (Tumult In The Clouds), The Infamous Brothers Davenport (Vox Motus/Lyceum), Slab Boys, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, While The Sun Shines (The Byre Theatre), Freefall, Private Agenda, Can't Pay Won't Pay (7:84), Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Chooky Brae (Borderline), Smalltown, (Random Accomplice), West Side Story/Romeo and Juliet (Courtyard Theatre Hereford) and Last One Out (Scottish Opera).

Emily Wachter (Anna)

Previous theatre credits include: From Morning to Midnight (National Theatre, London), Julius Caesar (Royal Shakespeare Company), Caucasian Chalk Circle, Britain’s Best Recruiting Sergeant (Unicorn Theatre), Bedroom Farce, Separate Tables (Salisbury Playhouse), The Humans (Avignon Festival), Rats' Tales (Royal Exchange Theatre), The Master Builder (Chichester Festival Theatre), Pride and Prejudice (Theatre Royal Bath), Origins (Edinburgh Festival/Pentabus), Blithe Spirit (Watermill Theatre) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Ludlow Festival).

To learn more about Swallow visit the Traverse website.