When Actors Touring Company’s English language version of Winter Solstice received its world premiere at the Orange Tree Theatre in London early 2017, it received rave reviews and played to sell-out audiences. To kick off the company’s 40th anniversary, in early 2018, the company takes Roland Schimmelpfennig’s startling drama to the road for a national tour of the UK, opening at HOME in Manchester, Tue 13 – 17 Feb 2018.
Winter Solstice tells the story of what appears to be a normal family. It is Christmas, in a Western middle class home. Bettina and her husband Albert aren’t happy. Bettina’s mother is staying for the holidays. Which is awkward. Not least because Bettina’s mother met a man on the train. A charismatic, mesmerising man. Whose words carry echoes of a sinister past…
As a new – or maybe old? – kind of politics rises up around the world, this razor-sharp comedy exposes the betrayals at the heart of family and society, shedding light on the insidious shifting of the boundaries of acceptable political discourse. Roland Schimmelpfennig is the most performed playwright in Germany, and one of the country’s most original voices, with productions of his work staged in over 40 countries.
Winter Solstice (Wintersonnenwende) was premiered to great acclaim at the Dramaten in Stockholm in 2015. Schimmelpfennig’s previous plays include The Golden Dragon and Arabian Night, both presented by Actors Touring Company. Other plays performed in the UK include The Woman Before and Push Up at the Royal Court. Winter Solstice is a co-production between Actors Touring Company and the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond.
PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
Tue 13 Feb 2018 – 19:45
Wed 14 Feb 2018 – 14:15, 19:45 (press night performance)
Thu 15 Feb 2018 – 19:45
Fri 16 Feb 2018 – 19:45
Sat 17 Feb 2018 – 14:15, 19:45
TICKETS
£12.50 (concessions £10.50, £5)
