NEW SHOWS ANNOUNCED FOR 2024 AT NEW VIC TO INCLUDE GRIPPING GOTHIC HORROR THE COMPANY OF WOLVES

The New Vic Theatre has added three new plays to its 2024 programme. The eagerly-anticipated adaptation of Angela Carter’s gothic horror The Company of Wolves, spine-tingling ghost story The Haunting, and riotous comedy One Man, Two Guvnors will all take to the stage.

A new production of the rip-roaring comedy One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean will be performed in-the-round from Friday 12 April to Saturday 11 May. One of the most renowned British comedies of the 21st century, this cocktail of mistaken identity, mayhem, music, fast-paced physical comedy and silliness follows the adventures of Francis Henshall who, after being fired from his band, finds himself with not one, but two new dubious employers. With money to be made and a love interest to woo, can Francis keep himself, and his new bosses, out of trouble long enough to bank some cash and win the hand of the love of his life? Director Conrad Nelson (The Card, Brassed Off) returns to direct the show guaranteed to have audiences grinning from ear to ear.

In The Haunting from Friday 24 May to Saturday 15 June, two men stumble across a dark secret that will change their lives forever. Hearing what appears to be a woman’s cry for help, one man and his employer journey to the very edge of terror to discover the truth behind terrifying visitations and mysterious phenomena. A gripping adaptation of Charles Dickens’ spine-tingling Victorian ghost story by Hugh Janes, directed by Eleanor Taylor (A Play For the Living in a Time of Extinction), The Haunting will have theatregoers on the edge of their seats.

In September, the New Vic’s eagerly-anticipated stage version of Angela Carter’s renowned gothic horror The Company of Wolves will bring the iconic fantasy story of Red Riding Hood to life through a combination of thrilling drama and contemporary circus action. Co-directed by New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins and Artistic Director of Upswing Vicki Amedume, following on from their hugely successful collaborations on Astley’s Astounding Adventures, Dracula and the Olivier award-winningThe Worst Witch, audiences can expect imaginative staging, evocative soundscapes and spectacular aerial acrobatics in a tale filled with danger, desire, and suspense.

New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins said: “For my entire career I’ve wanted to bring Carter’s dazzling story The Company of Wolves to the stage. It’s taken me a long time to realise how to do it. The live Foley sound effects combined with dynamic circus content, which we pioneered in Dracula to sinister and sensual effect, will allow us to bring to life this impossible-to-stage tale of werewolves and danger.  It feels as though this is just the right time for Carter’s ahead-of-her-own-time brand of rule breaking, provocation, and power politics to hit the stage. It’s inspiring to once again be collaborating with circus choreographer Vicki Amedume. We’ve been developing a fusion of theatre and circus which is now the foundation of a major partnership programme between the New Vic and Upswing, aiming to push the boundaries of this combined artform.”

The new productions join the New Vic’s previously announced spring shows for 2024 -  A Leap in the Dark (Friday 9 February to Saturday 2 March) celebrating the 100th anniversary of the UK’s first ever radio play; Ladies Down Under (Friday 8 to Saturday 30 March), the follow-up to last year’s hit Ladies’ Day; and family circus fairy tale The Princess and the Pea (Wednesday 19 to Saturday 29 June), a co-production with Upswing and the Unicorn Theatre. Plus ‘Eric’ celebrates his 25th anniversary with a series of concerts from Tuesday 14 to Saturday 18 May, and there’s revivals of Strictly Eric (Monday 22 July to Saturday 3 August) and Eric’s Full Monty (Monday 25 November to Tuesday 10 December).

Tickets for these newly announced shows go on sale on Friday 8 December. For more information and the full line-up of the theatre’s 2024 season so far, visit newvictheatre.org.uk or call the Box Office on 01782 717962.