ROYAL & DERNGATE AND ENGLISH TOURING THEATRE present ‘Two Trains Running’ written by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright August Wilson (1945 – 2005), the production comes to the UK for the first time directed by the acclaimed Nancy Medina.
The story: There’s a controversial new president in the White House, and racial tensions are on the rise. It is Pittsburgh, 1969, and the regulars of Memphis Lee’s restaurant are struggling to cope with the turbulence of a rapidly changing world. The diner is in threat of being torn down, a casualty of the city’s renovation project that is sweeping away the buildings of a community, but not its spirit. Wilson’s Two Trains Running paints a vivid portrait of everyday lives in this defining moment of American history.
Directed by 2018 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award winner Nancy Medina, this major revival will introduce this Pulitzer Prize shortlisted modern classic to UK-wide audiences for the first time. Nancy is the recipient of the 2018 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award, this year hosted by Royal & Derngate, to enable an emerging director of exceptional potential to direct their first regional mainstage production.
The full cast include: led by Geoff Aymer (West), Ray Emmet Brown (Wolf), Derek Ezenagu (Hambone), Andrew French (Memphis), Leon Herbert (Holloway), Michael Salami (Sterling) and Anita-Joy Uwajeh (Risa).
The production opens at Royal & Derngate Northampton on September 4, with previews from August 31, and runs until September 14, before embarking on a UK tour to Nuffield Southampton Theatres (September 17-21), Oxford Playhouse (September 24-28), Cast Doncaster (October 1-5), New Wolsey Theatre (October 8-12), Yvonne Arnaud Theatre (October 15-19) and Derby Theatre (October 22-27).
Nancy Medina was the 2018 winner of the RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award and the 2017 Genesis Future Director Award winner for the Young Vic. She is an acting tutor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and Course Leader for a post-16 Professional Acting Diploma at Boomsatsuma. Her directing credits include Strange Fruit (Bush Theatre), Half God of Rainfall (Kiln Theatre), Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), When They Go Low (NT Connections/ Sherman Theatre),
Two Trains Running is supported by a production grant from The Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST). The production is part of Royal & Derngate’s Made In Northampton season, sponsored locally by Michael Jones Jeweller.
We have teamed up with the ETT (English Touring Theatre to give one lucky reader two tickets. Please check tour dates and venues and state preferred venue. Check here for tour dates and venues.
TO WIN ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION. WHAT YEAR WAS THE AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHT WILSON BORN.
SEND ALL ANSWERS TO THE EDITOR NO LATER THAN FRIDAY 5TH OCTOBER 2019. EMAIL: EDITOR @ ALT – AFRICA (DOT) COM
