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2008 season highlights:
FOUR NEW HIGHTIDE PLAYS
Four premiere productions from the best emerging talent around the country. Stovepipe by Adam Brace >> Switzerland by Nick Payne >> I Caught Crabs in Walberswick by Joel Horwood >> Certain Dark Things devised by You Need Me >>
HIGHTIDE SHORT FILMS
A daily programme of short films from the emerging filmmaking talent in the UK. Short Film Programme >>
SIR TOM STOPPARD: A RETROSPECTIVE ON STAGE AND SCREEN
Sir Tom Stoppard talks to Mark Lawson, Guardian Columnist and presenter of Radio 4's Front Row about his career on stage and screenTom Stoppard>>
BREAKFAST SHORTS
New plays by Owen McCafferty, Laura Wade, Chloe Moss and Rebecca Lenkiewicz performed by the HighTide company Breakfast Shorts >>
AKENFIELD AND AKENFIELD REVISITED
Screening of the film by acclaimed theatre director Sir Peter Hall, based on the best-selling novel Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village Akenfield >>
THE WARRIOR
Screening of the multi-award-winning film The Warrior by British-Indian director Asif Kapadia The Warrior >>
MICHAEL PALIN'S EAST OF IPSWICH
Screening of Michael Palin's BBC Drama 'East of Ipswich', followed by a Question and Answer session with Michael Palin East of Ipswich >>
SCENES OF A SEXUAL NATURE
Screening of Scenes of a Sexual Nature, starring Ewan McGregor and Catherine Tate, introduced by Director/Producer Ed Blum and followed by a Question and Answer session Scenes of a Sexual Nature >>
WUNDERKIND
Halesworth Middle School pupils have their poems turned into theatre by the HighTide Company Wunderkind >>
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| HighTide 2008 was:
Miren Alcala, Joseph Arkley, Steven Jon Atkinson, Matthew Austin, Sebastian Born, Adam Brace, Christian Bradley, Jack Bradley, Naomi Brooks, Harry Otto Brunjes, Emily Louise Bull, Beth Byrne, Suzanne Carter, Molly Clarke, Sarah Nadine Fletcher Cleave, Shaun Dooley, Nick Hardwick, David Hartley, Kate Hewitt, Sam Hodges, Tom Hodgson, Joel Horwood, Matti Houghton, Laura Howard, Emily Watson Howes, Lucy Kerbel, Veronica Kimbell, Javier Lavin, Mark Letheren, Michael Longhurst, Niall Macgregor, Rosamund Martin, Inigo Martinez, Eleanor Matsuura, Steve Mayo, Emma McKie, Tom Morris, Fran Moulds, Mark Rice Oxley, Nick Payne, Fernanda Prater, Matt Prentice, Dan Rainsford, Roger Ribo, Mark Richards, Lee Ruette, Kate Sarley, Alex Segal, Judith Scott, Jennifer Simpson, Catherine Skinner, Luke Swaffield, Takis, Paul Trussell, John Tucker, Sargon Yelda, Kate Wasserberg, Nikki Williams, Syreeta Wootton |
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STOVEPIPE
'When a diver's goin to the depths, he has to go slowly. On the way down he stops for a minute or two, treads water. Lets his body get used to the conditions.
That's what Amman is for contractors.
After Iraq. And before. We tread water.'
When a private contractor goes missing in Iraq, one man embarks upon a hunt across the post-war Middle East.
Writer: Adam Brace
Director: Michael Longhurst
Design: Takis
Lighting: Matt Prentice
Sound: Steve Mayo
Dramaturge: Jack Bradley
Voice Coach: John Tucker John Tucker Webpage >>
Stage Manager: Jennifer Simpson
Cast:
Alan: Shaun Dooley
Eddy/Harry: Niall MacGregor
Carolyn/Masha/Sally: Eleanor Matsuura
Andre/Grif: Christian Bradley
Saad/Marty/Rami: Sargon Yelda
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production photos >>
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SWITZERLAND
'We choose the way we live, Jenny. Why shouldn't we be able to choose the way we die?'
A kaleidoscopic and heartfelt look at the impossibilities of having to let the one you love go.
Writer: Nick Payne
Director: Kate Wasserberg
Design: Takis
Lighting: Matt Prentice
Sound: Steve Mayo
Dramaturge: Sebastian Born
Voice Coach: John Tucker John Tucker Webpage >>
Stage Manager: Emily Louise Bull
Cast:
Nicola: Catherine Skinner
Rob: Mark Letheren
Jenny: Laura Howard
Mike: Mark Rice Oxley
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production photos >>
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I CAUGHT CRABS IN WALBERSWICK
A co-production with Eastern Angles
'I remember thinking maybe love's like a mad holiday romance in- Mexico or Hunstanton, right? But it's more like a rainy, a long rainy year in Suffolk and that's all.'
2 boys, a girl, and a car - coming of age on a road trip in Suffolk
Writer: Joel Horwood
Director: Lucy Kerbel
Design: Takis Lighting: Matt Prentice Sound: Steve Mayo Dramaturge: Beth Byrne Neal Street Productions webpage >> Voice Coach: John Tucker John Tucker Webpage >>Movement Director: Fernanda Prater Stage Manager: Emma McKie
Cast:
Fitz: Joseph Arkley
Wheeler: David Hartley
Dani: Matti Houghton
One: Paul Trussell
Two: Judith Scott
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production photos >>
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CERTAIN DARK THINGS
'I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul'- Pablo Neruda.'
A young boy is living with his family under Franco's dictatorship in 1960s Spain. One day he comes home and tells his mother he's gay. His mother calls the police. Staged in the round with live music.
Devised by: You Need Me
Director: Emily Watson Howes
Design: Takis
Lighting: Matt Prentice
Sound: Steve Mayo
Mentor: Tom Morris
Voice Coach: John Tucker John Tucker Webpage >>
Stage Manager: Naomi Brooks
Cast:
Miren Alcala
Kate Hewitt
Javier Lavin
Fran Moulds
Rosamond Martin
Inigo Martinez
Roger Ribo
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production photos >>
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HIGHTIDE SHORT FILMS
Honeymoon | Dir Miranda Bowen | UK Fiction | 30 mins
A bride seemingly abandoned in a motorway service station begins to wonder how well she really knows her new husband.
What do I know Dir Sejla Kameric | Bosnia-Herzegovina Fiction | 15 mins
In a house and around it, love stories interlace. The ghosts of love remain to seek the answer to the same question: "What do I know about love?"
Lady Margaret Dir Deborah Haywood | UK Fiction | 10 mins
Danny and Joe drive Sadie into the woods, where things go wrong for all three of them.
Antonio's Breakfast Dir Daniel Malloy | UK Fiction | 15 mins
Unable to dress, eat, move or breathe on his own Antonio's father depends on him for everything.
City Paradise Dir Gaelle Denis | UK Animation | 6 mins
When Tomoko arrives in London, she has no idea that soon she will discover a mysterious secret hidden beneath the city.
Mercy Dir Candida Scott Knight | UK Fiction | 5 mins
What would you do if you were an eleven-year-old boy in a bad situation? How far would you go to save yourself?
The Girls Dir Sebastian Godwin | UK Fiction | 10 mins
A late autumn afternoon. Two sisters are playing in the garden when their late father returns. As dusk falls the atmosphere darkens.
Player Dir Mary Nighy | UK Fiction | 20 mins
The story of a claustrophobic relationship between a single mother and her piano prodigy son. Arriving in a tight-knit rural community, the pair become embroiled in local romances which push their own relationship to boiling point.
True Colours Dir Barney Elliott | UK Fiction | 10 mins
A social drama about a loving father with a propensity for violence and his struggle to earn his family's trust.
One Hundreth of a Second Dir Susan Jacobson | UK Fiction | 5 mins
Kate is a talented photojournalist. She risks her life to deliver powerful images to the waiting world until a photograph of a Girl changes her life forever.
Youth Dir Jane Linfoot | UK Fiction | 20 mins
Youth is comprised of three observational vignettes. Filmed in a naturalistic style, this short focuses on the minutae of adolescence.
Peter and Ben Dir Pinny Grylls | UK Documentary | 10 mins
Man and sheep 'leave the flock' and form an unusual and lasting friendship.
Soft Dir Simon Ellis | UK Fiction | 14 mins
A father rediscovers his fear of confrontation, at the worst possible time.
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| Honeymoon |
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| Antonio's Breakfast |
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| City Paradise |
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| Mercy |
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| The Girls |
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| True Colours |
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| Peter and Ben |
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| Soft |
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TOM STOPPARD
Tom Stoppard: A Retrospective on Stage and Screen
HighTide welcomed one of the world's greatest living playwrights to the stage to look back at his career. His most well-known plays include 'Arcadia' (Olivier award winner), the Coast of Utopia (Tony award winner), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Tony award winner) and Rock n' Roll. His screenplay 'Shakespeare in Love' won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and his screenplay 'Brazil' was also nominated.
Interviewed by Mark Lawson
Mark Lawson is the main presenter of Front Row, BBC Radio 4's nightly arts programme, and his interview series Mark Lawson Talks To... runs on BBC4. He is a Guardian columnist and feature writer and theatre critic for the Tablet.
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| Sir Tom Stoppard |
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| Mark Lawson |
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BREAKFAST SHORTS
HighTide invited leading playwrights to contribute unperformed short plays to be performed exclusively at the HighTide Festival. At the start of each festival day, HighTidefeatured premiere performances from the HighTide company of these short plays.
Extra Ordinary by Laura WadeBelfast by Owen McCafferty Directed by Kate Wasserberg
No Dad by David EldridgeFlowers by Rebecca Lenkiewicz Directed by Michael Longhurst
Lawrenny Hall by Gary OwenUntitled by Chloe Moss Directed by Lucy Kerbel
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AKENFIELD AND AKENFIELD REVISITED Akenfield (1974) was directed by the acclaimed theatre director Sir Peter Hall, and based on the best-selling novel 'Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village' by the historian Ronald Blythe. The film was the first British film to be selected to open the London Film Festival. The film stars local residents of the small Suffolk village, who act out the stories of their lives and the lives of their parents and grandparents. Thirty years after the release of Akenfield, the original producer and editor Rex Pyke returns to Akenfield to see how life has changed for those featured and to recall the making of the production.'
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| Akenfield |
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EAST OF IPSWICH
HighTide were honoured to have Michael Palin host an exclusive screening of his film East of Ipswich. Best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries, Michael Palin is a rare British Institution.
East of Ipswich was a BBC television drama from 1987 written by Michael Palin, based on his own memories of dreary holidays in English coastal towns in the 1950's. Loosely based on the real-life story of how Michael Palin met his future wife, Helen Gibbins, on Southwold beach in 1959 - The plot revolves around Richard, a seventeen year-old only boy, and his rebellious holiday romances in Southwold, Suffolk, leading to his sexual initiation by a promiscuous Dutch girl named Anna. Its a wonderful coming-of-age tale that shamefully neglected, deserves a new audience and a place on the cultural history curriculum.
The screening was followed by an interview of Michael Palin by acclaimed BBC presenter Mark Lawson, followed by an exclusive Question and Answer session.
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THE LAST POST and SCENES OF A SEXUAL NATURE
Acclaimed Director/Producer Ed Blum was in attendance at HighTide to introduce the screening of two of his films, followed by an exclusive Question and Answer session.
Sex and love. Some seek it, some need it, some spurn it and some pay for it, but we're all involved in it. Set on one afternoon on Hampstead Heath, London, the film investigates the minutiae of seven couples. What makes us tick? The Last Post (1995) is Ed Blum's BAFTA nominated eight-minute comedy.
Scenes of a Sexual Nature was made for only £260K but starred amongst others Ewan McGregor, Sophie Okonedo and Catherine Tate. From a standing start the film went into production just six weeks after the script was finished and was shot over a period of eighteen days entirely on location Hampstead Heath, North London.
Working also in theatre - an exclusive Question and Answer Session will present an opportunity for the audience to discuss how Blum had to navigate a circuitous route to the big screen - and indeed the dialogue in working between the film and theatre industries.
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| Scenes of a Sexual Nature |
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THE WARRIOR
HighTide was proud to welcome multi-awarding winning director and writer team Asif Kapadia and Tim Miller, who will be hosting the screening of the Hindi-language debut feature 'The Warrior', previewed by the short film that preceded it 'The Sheep Thief'. In feudal India, a warrior (Khan) who renounces his role as the longtime enforcer to a local lord becomes the prey in a murderous hunt through the Himalayan mountain. The Warrior was chosen by the BAFTA to represent the UK in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2003 Oscars, but did not qualify as British since "Hindi was not a language indigenous to the UK" Nevertheless, The Warrior went on to win Best British Film at the British Academy Awards the following year. An exclusive Question and Answer session will give the opportunity to discuss these extraordinary films with the filmmakers and to talk of their successful genesis into the industry.
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WUNDERKIND
"Wunderkind"
1. From German "miracle child".
2. A child prodigy who masters one or more skills or arts at an early age.
Wunderkind exists to source, develop and produce school-aged talent in Suffolk.
At HighTide 2008, leading emerging actors and directors from the devising company You Need Me transformed poetry written by pupils from Halesworth Middle School into innovative theatre.
A collaboration with The Poetry Trust.
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