PRESS RELEASE

7 July 2014

Space residency programme supports

Peter Oswald andthe Abyss Theatre Company 

Playwright Peter Oswald and his Abyss Theatre Company are among a number of well established artists to benefit from the residency programme at Space, Dartington.

Dartington Space is fast becoming the place to be for theatre companies and individuals who want to develop significant new works and collaborations. Belarus Free Theatre, Bristol Ferment, Fanshen, Fuel Theatre, Hannah Silva, In Between Time and Melly Still, have all developed or rehearsed work in Dartington Space recently before presenting it nationally or internationally.  

Dartington Space provided The Abyss Theatre Company with a rehearsal location for two weeks for a work in progress to develop a production of the verse play Lucifer Saved by Peter Oswald, under new director Ray Shell.

Peter Oswald explains: "The company was fairly new in its present form and it was a boost to our confidence to be offered the residency - it's a great place for me to develop different strands of my work.

"It provided professional rehearsal space and the opportunity to show a new director, with many years' experience in the West End, what Devon could offer and the perfect environment and space for a cast of seven to perform an extremely physical play including circus skills."

Dartington Space also provided the opportunity for two public showings of Lucifer Saved, sharing with a live audience before going to London. The second was a full dress rehearsal which provided important feedback.

Originally performed in 2013 Lucifer Saved attracted London and New York-based director Ray Shell to take the production to a new level of professional excellence. The residency at Space brings the production full circle, as Lucifer Saved was originally developed by means of a reading at High Cross House when Peter Oswald was writer-in-residence at Dartington Hall, and later a rehearsed reading in the Barn Theatre at Dartington.

Peter Oswald says, "We are devoted to developing a practise of contemporary verse drama and we are excited to be able to take it to a new level with this production. Our residency at Dartington Space reflects our aim to promote and enhance theatre practise in the South West".

Immediately following its residency at Dartington Space Lucifer Saved played at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre, London. They recently performed at the international Tagore Festival at Dartington.

Ray Shell describes the play as a nightmare morality tale about guilt, loyalty, jealousy, possession and the scars of war that can almost never heal. The play deals with the effects of war on the psyche and on society. Ex-army Chaplain, Lucian Willow, lost his memory in Berlin in 1945, just after the end of the war. He stands accused of raping a German woman. His ex-Commanding Officer, Lord Brook, looks after Lucian on his country estate in England. To the estate comes a circus, including a bearded woman. In the circus lies the truth of what really happened in Berlin.

Peter Oswald says: "We feel that in 2014, the centenary of World War 1, it is extremely important for people to reflect deeply on the causes and effects of war in modern times".

Located on the beautiful Dartington Hall Estate in Totnes, in the heart of Devon, Dartington Space offers a range of world-class studio facilities to support established artists and emerging talent. It attracts internationally renowned visiting companies, artists and producers who come to immerse themselves in their own practice, whether that's the research and development of new work, or a testing ground for new ideas and collaborations.

Bill Gee, Artistic Director at Space, says: "Our vision is to create a vibrant hub for the south west region and visiting national and international artists. A space where emerging talent can work alongside established artists at the top of their profession. A space in which we offer first class facilities for a range of art forms and which enables and encourages interdisciplinary collaboration.

"Dartington Space is not only the largest collection of high quality arts spaces available for hire in the South West, it provides an internationally unrivalled facility."

A creative centre of international significance, Space includes eight purpose built large performing arts studios, a large multipurpose makers' studio and workshop space, a gallery and two smaller rehearsal studios and meeting rooms, and can accommodate live performances, film and sound recording and catering for specialisms including music, dance, performance, and craft.

To hire a studio in Space at Dartington Hall email:bookingspace@dartington.org
or telephone:01803 847074.For residency bookings in Space, telephone:01803 847075www.dartington.org/space

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The Dartington Hall Trusthas an 80 year history of supporting artists from diverse backgrounds to produce work. Through Space it opens its facilities to a wide range of creative organisations and individual artists who wish to make new work. Dartington is a place of learning and experiment addressing some of the significant issues of our time.In its charitable activities, Dartington works to create social change in collaboration with pioneering thinkers, artists, entrepreneurs and activists in the UK and around the world. Its enterprise activities include The Shops at Dartington with 15 boutique shops, a conference centre with accommodation and the award-winning White Hart restaurant and bar. Over 1 million visitors annually come to visit Dartington.www.dartington.org.

Peter Oswaldwas writer-in-residence at Shakespeare's Globe from 1998-2005. Three of his plays have been performed there, two at the National Theatre. His version of Schiller's Mary Stuart, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, went from the Donmar Warehouse to the West End and Broadway. It is performed all around the world. The Abyss Theatre Company began in 2002 - under a different name - when Josephine Larsen and Peter Oswald formed a company to perform his works. They produced two of his large-scale verse plays, and developed a third - Lucifer Saved. The company is unique in being committed to the development of contemporary verse drama. English actor, theatre director and playwright Mark Rylance says: "Peter Oswald is devoted to verse drama. I worked on three original verse dramas with him at the Globe and hold him in the highest esteem."Peter Oswald is co-writer on Parzival, an epic quest for the Holy Grail in the dramatic landscape of Sharpham House from 15-20 July 2014.

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