Spotlight on theatre

Theatre producer Orla Flanagan tells us what’s in store on stage at Brighton Dome

Hilarious childhood memories, heart-rending love stories, masterful puppetry and a new direction in artistic strategy mark out Brighton Dome’s autumn theatre season as an eclectic and adventurous one.

Our first season includes the latest work from Hoipolloi’s Hugh Hughes in his latest show, Stories from an Invisible Town (you'll even get to meet Hugh's family); and national new writing company Paines Plough present two urban tales in London by award-winning playwright Simon Stephens. There's handmade magic and epic storytelling in The Paper Cinema's Odyssey; and an excursion to a life-drawing class at the Phoenix Brighton in Still Life, written and performed by Brighton-based artist Sue MacLaine .

The new theatre programme has been ushered in under the direction of Theatre Producer, Orla Flanagan. Developing relationships with exciting and prolific companies is a major part of her vision, promising a menu of quality and vibrancy, where audiences can build a relationship with a number of companies’ work through regular performances season after season at Brighton Dome.

We spoke to Orla about the coming season: “I am very excited about all of the theatre programme. One that I am very pleased about is London by Simon Stephens as I am delighted Paines Plough are becoming 'regulars’ at Brighton Dome, following Kate Tempest's Wasted at Brighton Festival 2012 and Come To Where I'm From in June). I have heard such great things about Seawall which is one of the two short plays which form London and it was such a hit in Edinburgh. Having read the scripts of both Seawall and T5, I think these two heart-rending plays about difficult choices will really resonate with Brighton audiences.”

The autumn season also plays host  to Wordsmith (28 Oct - 4 Nov), a series of interdisciplinary artistic endeavours overseen by Orla and Music Producer Laura Ducceschi. From the punk poetry of the ‘Bard of Salford’ John Cooper Clarke to the intuitive folk of musician Diane Cluck, the range of events aims to celebrate work that has come to embody the term ‘wordsmith’ in all its glory. 

The mini-festival also includes Hannah Jane Walker’s intimate, confessional This is just to say, Propeller’s Pocket Sized Henry V, arts salon Speaky Spokey and a range of workshops including a Playwrights' Industry Day presented in partnership with New Writing South.