For Summer 2020, we are thrilled to have the fierce and exciting smash-hit Hot Brown Honey (3-6 Jun), presented by Quiet Riot and Traverse Theatre Company, returning to the capital for the first time since sell-outs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016, 2017 and 2018 and marking the only Scottish dates on its 2020 tour.
Elsewhere, Traverse Theatre Company present the world premiere of Donny’s Brain (14 Apr-2 May), by acclaimed Scottish playwright Rona Munro (Iron, The Last Witch, The James Plays) - bittersweet tale about forgetting love and losing yourself.
The ever-popular A Play, A Pie and A Pint, Òran Mór (presented by Traverse Theatre) continues with Rose (14-18 Apr) by Lorna Martin; The Storm (21-25 Apr) by Owen Whitelaw; Exquisite Corpse (28 Apr-2 May) by Conor O’Loughlin; Mary and Ada Set the World to Rights (5-9 May) by Jane Livingstone; The Silver Superheroes (11-16 May) by Morna Young; and Milkshake (18-23 May) by Rob Drummond.
Developed over ten weeks with the support of playwrights James Ley, Isobel McArthur, Frances Poet, Hannah Lavery and Douglas Maxwell, Traverse Young Writers’ Scratch Night(16 May) presents fresh new writing talent script-in-hand by professional actors and directors.
Following the launch of our new ticketing initiative last season, £1 Tickets will be available across every performance of every production in our Summer 2020 season.
May
Nudging into May is Traverse Theatre Company’s Donny’s Brain (14 Apr-2 May, see above); followed closely on a comedic note with Juliette Burton’s Defined (7 May), looking at how we label ourselves; the same company is also presenting comedian Richard Stott’s heart-wrenching funny Right Hand Man (21 May) later in the month; Fledgling Theatre present the Scottish premiere of surrealist comedy Neck or Nothing (13-15 May) by Christopher Neels (who also directs) and Callum Cameron; world premiering as part of the 2020 Scottish Mental Health Awareness Festival (SMHAF) is the semi-autobiographical Black Year (16 May) by creator and composer Craig Peebles; on the same night is new writing talent from Traverse Young Writers’ Scratch Night(16 May); rounding off May is The Spinners(21 & 22 May) from Scottish director Al Seed and Australian choreographer and dancer Lina Limosani.
June
Following their sell-out show last season, Tandem Writing Collective playwrights Jennifer Adam, Amy Hawes and Mhairi Quinn return with And Then What...?(3 Jun); turning up the heat is the return of Hot Brown Honey (3-6 Jun, see above); arriving in town for its Scottish premiere is Stephen Laughton’s tender two-hander One Jewish Boy (5 & 6 Jun); another Scottish premiere, James Fritz’s LAVA (10-12 Jun) is a funny, tender, necessary story about human connection in the face of the inexplicable; returning Traverse favourites Strange Town present a world premiere double bill over two nights – Beneath the Surface, by James Beagon and Caravan Crush, by Catherine Exposito (12 &13 Jun), both Traverse Young Writers scheme alumni.
July
Write Lines (2 July) offers a selection of plays inspired by a newspaper or media headline, the culmination of workshop development with playwright and producer, Lisa Nicoll; rounding off the season as a whole is the world premiere of Scottish Youth Theatre National Ensemble’s Once You See The Smoke (10 & 11 Jul), a new touring production taking on the greatest challenge of our time – climate change.
Plus, returning for 2020 is a special extended Edinburgh International Children’s Festival (20-31 May), showcasing some of the world’s best theatre and dance for young audiences (full programme revealed on 24 Mar). While Soundhouse has exciting news – the Traverse will now be the official nightly hub for its Edinburgh Tradfest 2020 (2-11 May), before returning to the usual Soundhouse calendar of acclaimed weekly gigs in the Traverse Bar Café (various dates, 18 May-15 Jun).
Tickets on sale now: by phone 0131 228 1404, in person at Box Office and right here on our website.