The Assassination of Katie Hopkins, a new musical from Chris Bush and Matt Winkworth inspired by the controversial tabloid columnist and conservative provocateur, will receive its world premiere at Wales’ Theatre Clwyd, running in the Emlyn Williams Theatre from 20 April to 12 May 2017, with a press night on 26 April.
The new musical was announced today as part of the 2018 spring season at Theatr Clwyd, under artistic director Tamara Harvey. The season also included the first collaboration between Clwyd and the National Theatre: the co-production of Laura Wade’s new comedy Home, I’m Darling, starring Katherine Parkinson. Harvey directs and the production will premiere in the Emlyn Williams Theatre, running from 25 June to 14 July 2017, before transferring transferring to the NT’s Dorfman in July.
Also in the Clwyd season will be a re-imagined The Great Gatsby, directed by Alexander Wright, opening at The Dolphin Hotel in Mold from 22 February to 25 March 2017 and, soon to be announced, a co-production with Southampton Theatres and English Touring Theatre, directed by Chelsea Walker, winner of the Royal Theatrical Support Trust Sir Peter Hall Award.
There will also be over 30 visiting touring shows including West End hit The Play That Goes Wrong, Out Of Joint’s cult classic Rita, Sue and Bob Too and the Shakespeare’s Globe production of The Little Match Girl directed by Emma Rice.
The Assassination of Katie Hopkins
A shocking crime divides the nation. Fingers are pointed, sides are drawn, facts are hard to come by. Why did this happen? How do we move on? What must we remember?
It’s easy to have an opinion online, safe behind the anonymity of a keyboard, just like, share and subscribe. But as the digital mob polish their pitchforks, the world starts to question just how free should free speech be.
The Assassination of Katie Hopkins is a smart, witty new musical about truth, celebrity and public outrage, with words by Chris Bush and music by Matt Winkworth. It’s directed by James Grieve and designed by Lucy Osborne, with musical supervision by David White.
Bios
Chris Bush is a Sheffield-born playwright, lyricist and theatre-maker. She was the 2013 Pearson Playwright in Residence for Sheffield Theatres and is currently an Artist in Residence at the Oxford Playhouse. Past work includes What We Wished For, A Dream, The Sheffield Mysteries (for Sheffield People’s Theatre at the Crucible), A Declaration from the People (National Theatre), Larksong (New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme), ODD (Royal & Derngate, Northampton: concert performance), Sleight & Hand (Summerhall, Edinburgh/Odeon Cinemas/BBC Arts), TONY! The Blair Musical (York Theatre Royal/Tour), Poking the Bear (Theatre503), The Bureau of Lost Things (Theatre503/Rose Bruford), Wolf (National Theatre Studio: reading), Dickensian, Goodwill to All Men, We’re all in this Together and 20 Tiny Plays about Sheffield (all Crucible Studio). She has won the National Young Playwrights’ Festival, a Brit Writers’ Award, the Perfect Pitch Award, two Spotlight Emerging Artists’ Awards and a Kevin Spacey Foundation Artist of Choice Award.
Matt Winkworth is an Oxford-born composer and was the 2016-2017 artist-in-residence at The Oxford Playhouse. Credits include includes Elves And The Shoemaker (Jacquline du Pré, Oxford); High As Sugar (Brighton Fringe, Kings Head Theatre, Arts at the Old Fire Station); Attempts On Her Life, Under Milk Wood, Animal Farm (Oxford Playhouse); The Bureau Of Lost Things (Theatre503); ODD (Perfect Pitch/Royal & Derngate Northampton: concert performance). He has won the Perfect Pitch Award and the Kevin Spacey Foundation Artist of Choice Award.
James Grieve directs and is joint Artistic Director of Paines Plough, the UK’s national theatre of new plays. Credits for the company include Out Of Love, Black Mountain and How To Be A Kid (Roundabout) Angry Brigade and Jumpers For Goalposts (Bush Theatre), Hopelessly Devoted (Tricycle Theatre, UK Tour) Wasted (Latitude Festical), Tiny Volcanoes (Liverpool Everyman) You Cannot Go Forward From Where You Are Right Now (Traverse Theatre). Other credits include award-winning Translations (Sheffield Theatres), The Whisky Taster, Psychogeography (Bush Theatre) and The List (Arcola Theatre).
