Today, the Traverse Theatre announces a Festive Feast of shows, films and events to round off 2020 in Traverse 3 throughout December.
New productions and events which are part of the Festive programme are:
• A Gambler’s Guide to Dying by Gary McNair, a theatrical capture premiere
• The Traverse Podcast - new podcast episodes with Jess Brough, Harry Josephine Giles and Bea Webster
• Happenings: Until the Flood with Dael Orlandersmith - a special piece from writer and performer Dael Orlandersmith
• Happenings live Q&Awith Dael Orlandersmith, Natasha Thembiso Ruwona and May Sumbwanyambe
Returning shows:
• Shielders by Matilda Ibini
• 2020 Breakfast Plays: Second Helping featuring plays by Jamie Cowan, Rebecca Martin, Amy Rhianne Milton, Uma Nada-Rajah and Conor O’Loughlin
The Traverse will also be one of the venues through which the National Theatre of Scotland's Rapunzel will be made available to stream - booking details to come soon.
Many of the events are available for free, with others on a Pay What You Can basis.
Executive Producer, Linda Crooks, says:
“As we near the closure of the most challenging of years for us all, we felt it important to reflect on the times and what we know within the programme. Since the onset of the crisis, we at the Traverse were determined to lean into the challenges, which undeniably have been tough. Undaunted, we have sought to create and deliver an inventive and international programme of new and reimagined stories in whatever way we could – with Traverse 3 being the torchlight, our virtual alternative.
And now we seek to bring a Christmas cornucopia for our audiences, brimming with real(ish) and fantastical stories of hope, joy, triumph over adversity - and a dollop of reckoning.
We have attempted to highlight and explore what connects us to each other and to our communities, makes us strong and resilient, empowers and disempowers, embrace humility and ultimately brings us to give a damn.
To this end, we invited our Associate Artist, Glasgow’s Gary McNair, to work with us to reimagine for Traverse 3 his hit show A Gambler’s Guide to Dying - a timely, heartwarming story about the relationship between fortune and fate and betting on what none of us can control. And from New York the titanic writer and performer Dael Orlandersmith gifts us her astonishing, gripping drama Until the Flood, the ugly truth about racism in the United States and beyond.
At the moment we can’t control our theatre spaces but along with a range of exceptional creatives from Scotland and beyond, we can bring you brilliant stories and give you something to mull over.”
Browse the full Festive programme here.
The Traverse is funded by Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council, with additional support from The Scottish Government Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund.