I was searching through my many notebooks yesterday when I came across some scribbled thoughts about a show about the sea. The page was dated 2013. I wanted to do a sea-themed piece, inspired by shipwrecks. In 2019, that show is becoming a reality. At the end of February, we, Up The Road Theatre, are opening our national tour at the Square Tower in Old Portsmouth. Even you’ve not been in, you’ve probably seen this building. It’s stood there for over 500 years and has had a great many uses. It’s latest is as a venue for New Theatre Royal Portsmouth’s the Festival of the Sea, and its location couldn’t be more apt. We couldn’t perform closer to the beach unless we were actually on the beach, which we didn’t really feel like doing in February…

In 2017 I started research for Peril at Sea at the Mary Rose Anniversary Lectures. It’s fair to say that Portsmouth’s Dockyard has been pretty inspirational for this production. Around that time, NTR Portsmouth came on board (no pun intended), and the project really took off. I slowly developed an outline for the show and started to gather fellow artists to work with me.

Peril at Sea has a cast of three: Andrew Forbes, Káitlin A Feeney and Alex Scott Fairley. Both Andrew and Alex emailed me while Up The Road’s first show was on tour, expressing interest in our work and now here they are! Káit responded to an open call for actors and completed our team. We’re also working with designer Charlie Cridlan and Thomas Vowles, our company stage manager. A small team, but perfectly formed.

It’s down to you, good people of Portsmouth, to give us a rousing send-off!
Once we’ve opened in Portsmouth we’re heading to the Isle of Wight and Poole, then over to Sussex and our home county of Kent. That’s where I grew up so it’s really important to me to take our shows there. Then we’re stopping off in London, before carrying on down to the south-west, then heading up to the north-west. We finish in East Anglia in the last week of March. I am really hoping it doesn’t snow this March… Maybe we should put a shovel in the van.

The show itself is a number of things. It’s a journey into our seafaring past and present. It’s a chance to remember those who have risked their lives to save others, and celebrate those who still do. It’s a way of exploring what life was like in coastal communities of the past, and what happens when you find yourself caught up in a maritime disaster. It’s also a chance to hear a few sea shanties, which is always fun.

Living in Portsmouth, how can you not notice the sea. How can you not experience the effects of it from time to time. The sea is the reason Portsmouth exists. A Festival of the Sea is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate and explore that untameable force and all its wonders. So we’ll see you at the Square Tower to do just that.

Wednesday 27th February at 7.30pm and Thursday 28th February at 2pm and 7.30pm. Book at the Box Office on 023 9264 9000 or click here to book online.

PS. There is heating, I’ve checked.

 

Written by Up The Road Theatre Company Founder and Artistic Director, Nicola Pollard.