King Arthur’s Night
An upside-down world. A betrayed love. An unwanted child. Animals learning to walk and talk. A revolt by the subjugated masses. A kingdom come undone. This isn’t the King Arthur you know.
Commissioned by Luminato, and the result of a years-long collaboration and deep friendship between playwright/actor Niall McNeil, Neworld’s Artistic Director Marcus Youssef, theatre practitioner James Long (also Artistic Director of Theatre Replacement), and composer Veda Hille, King Arthur’s Night is epic in scale and radically inclusive. It features a fully integrated professional cast which includes actors from Burnaby, BC’s Down Syndrome Research Foundation plus a live band and a 16-person choir.
Refined, brutal, crude and tender, King Arthur’s Night tests what we know about the limits of theatre, language and our collective understanding of the narratives that are permitted to shape our world. It invites audiences to reject the idea that some experiences are inherently marginal, and instead witness those stories front and centre on stage.
- “…original, poetic, and full of surprises.” – The Georgia Straight
- “…after watching King Arthur’s Night I flat out sobbed. This show speaks so concretely—and so skillfully—to isolation and inclusion.” – Colin Thomas
- “With a neurodiverse cast and an emphasis on text and metaphor deconstruction, King Arthur’s Night is a compelling, comedic, and critical take on cultural myths and dynamics of power.” – alt.theatre
- “[McNeil & Youssef’s] creative combination of memory and imagination has given birth to something so unique that our perception is altered and our assumptions are punctured.” – Al Etmanski
Details:
Luminato, Toronto ON (World Premiere)
June 15-18 2017
Canada Scene, National Arts Centre, Ottawa ON
June 24-26 2017
PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Vancouver BC
January 31-February 04, 2018
No Limits, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hong Kong
March 19-20, 2019
Supporters
Written by Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef
Original Music Composed by Veda Hille
Directed by James Long
Produced by Neworld Theatre
Choreographer Josh Martin
Costume Designer Christine Reimer
Set & Prop Designer Shizuka Kai
Lighting Designer Kyla Gardiner
Sound Designer Nancy Tam
Video Designer Parjad Sharifi
Technical Director Andrew Pye
Assistant Technical Director Jeremy Vreeken
Stage Manager Dorothy Jenkins (2017), Yvonne Yip
Assistant Stage Manager Geoff Jones
Performers Amber Funk-Barton, Andrew Gordon, Nathan Kay, Tiffany King, Nicola Lipman (2017), Anton Lipovetsky (2017), Billy Marchenski, Niall McNeil, Lucy McNulty (2017/18), Kerry Sandomirsky (2018/19), Matthew Tom-Wing, Sophia Wolfe (2019), Marcus Youssef
Artist Support Lucy Cairns
Musicians Veda Hille, Christine Fellows (2017), Barry Mirochnick (2017, 2019), Skye Brooks (2018)
Sound Technician Neil Griffith
Scenic Artist Christian Lovell
Company Manager Jennifer Swan (2017), Genevieve Fleming (2018/19)
Producers Matt Moreau, Sandra Henderson (2018/19).
Commissioned by Luminato, Co-produced by the National Arts Centre, with the major support of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff Playwrights Lab, Stratford Festival, Bard On the Beach Shakespeare Festival, and Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. Community Partners: Down Syndrome Research Foundation of BC, Kinsight, Inclusion BC, Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion, and PosAbilities. Neworld Theatre acknowledges the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the BC Arts Council, the Province of British Columbia, the Vancouver Foundation, the Hamber Foundation, the Koerner Foundation, Vancity, and our many individual and private donors. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia. Developed in part through The Collaborations at Canada’s National Art Centre.
