The Traverse Theatre Company, Theatre Royal Bath Ustinov Studio and the Bush Theatre announce that former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Michael Boyd, will direct their co-production of Right Now in Spring 2016. Written by Québécois actor and playwright Catherine-Anne Toupin and translated by Royal Court Literary Manager Chris Campbell, Right Now is a disquieting exploration of one woman’s crisis and darkest desires. It walks a delicate line between playful laughter and deep trauma, teasing and thrilling audiences from beginning to end. Right Now was originally written and performed in French asA Présent and presented by Théâtre de la Manufacture at Théâtre la Licorne, in Montréal.
The English language translation of Right Now was first heard as a script-in-hand reading at the Traverse in November 2014 as part of New Writing from Quebec, a cultural exchange between the Traverse Theatre and Théâtre La Licorne, home of La Manufacture Theatre Company in Montréal. La Licorne mirrors some of the key passions of the Traverse Theatre, commissioning and producing some of the best new writing from Québec and beyond, and presenting a significant number of Traverse plays in translation.
Michael Boyd said, "My first professional show was with the Traverse in 1980, directing Marcella Evaristi's Hard to Get, with a baby Maureen Beattie, and Peter Kelly. It's great be returning now with Catherine-Anne Toupin's intriguing, funny, and unsettling play, and it's also great to be working on my first show with the Bush Theatre, ….”
Traverse Artistic Director Orla O’Loughlin said, “I am delighted that Catherine-Anne Toupin's play Right Now, will now have its full UK premiere in a Traverse co-production with the Bush Theatre in London and the Ustinov Theatre in Bath. The production is testament to our ongoing collaboration with Québécois artists and our absolute commitment to ensuring our stages maintain an international as well as national focus. We are especially delighted to be welcoming Michael Boyd back to the Traverse as director of this compelling and timely play and are thrilled by his ideas and vision for it.”
Right Now will open at the Theatre Royal Bath Ustinov Studio on Thursday 18 February and run until Saturday 19 March. It opens at the Bush Theatre in London on Wednesday 23 March and performances will continue until Saturday 16 April.
Traverse dates are from Tuesday 19 April and there will be seventeen performances, including two matinees, before the run ends on Saturday 7 May and tickets go on sale at the Traverse and Bush theatres from 11am Monday 9 November.