Traverse Theatre announces Breakfast Plays will go ahead as a series of podcast episodes

The Traverse is delighted to announce that one of the most-loved elements of its annual Traverse Festival programme, the Breakfast Plays, will be produced this year as a series of podcast episodes.

Article Source: Traverse Theatre
Last Updated: 6 August 2020 15:40

TRAVERSE THEATRE BRINGS NEW WRITERS FROM SCOTLAND INTO EARS AROUND THE WORLD WITH NEW APPROACH FOR ITS ICONIC BREAKFAST PLAYS

Breakfast Plays: New Tracks are five new short plays, four from writers who are Traverse Young Writers Group alumni, which will receive their world premiere as podcast episodes.

All plays will be available on demand and for free for listeners around the world for the very first time

The plays tackle what happens following an earth-shattering event

A new play will be released each day at the traditional Breakfast Play time of 9am from 24-28 August

The Traverse is delighted to announce that one of the most-loved elements of its annual Traverse Festival programme, the Breakfast Plays, will be produced this year as a series of podcast episodes, Breakfast Plays: New Tracks.

ABOUT BREAKFAST PLAYS: NEW TRACKS

Traditionally taking place at 9am during the Traverse Festival (and enjoyed with a breakfast roll), the bite-sized Breakfast Plays are a key element of the Traverse’s talent development programme for writers, bringing brand new short plays by early career writers, who are often alumni of the theatre’s Young Writers Group, to the world and showcasing the best new Scottish writing talent to the international audiences who flood Edinburgh in August.

Each writer is provided with dramaturgical support from the Traverse’s Artistic Team to evolve their play, which is then directed by a professional director and performed by professional actors. As well as receiving the opportunity to share their work with an international Festival audience, writers also receive invaluable audience and industry feedback to help them develop their skills even further.

Though a selection of previous Breakfast Plays have been broadcast on the BBC World Service, 2020 marks the first time that the plays have been written specifically for an audio format and been made available to global audiences on demand, so that Breakfast Plays: New Tracks can become the Lunch Plays, or Dinner Plays, or be enjoyed at any other time the listener would like.

As in 2018 and 2019, several of the 2020 plays will be by writers who have previously been part of the organisation’s acclaimed Young Writers Group programme. Each will tell a different story of the next step after an earth shattering event occurs, ranging from a former cult leader whose past comes back to haunt them, a murdered young woman who seeks revenge from the afterlife, and the very breakdown of time itself, amongst others.

WHO’S INVOLVED

The five writers of this year’s Breakfast Plays: New Tracks, who are based throughout Scotland, are Jamie Cowan (Carnock), Rebecca Martin (Inverness), Amy Rhianne Milton (Edinburgh), Uma Nada-Rajah (Kirknewton) and Conor O'Loughlin (Glasgow).

The plays are directed by the Traverse Theatre’s Co-Artistic Directors Gareth Nicholls and Debbie Hannan. Sound design is by Kim Moore, Oğuz Kaplangi and Mwen and the sound engineer is Richard Bell. The cast are Karen Fishwick, Robbie Jack, Reuben Joseph, Bhav Joshi, Helen Katamba, Laura Lovemore and Anna Russell Martin.
One play will be released via the Traverse’s website and wherever you get your podcasts each day at 9am from Mon 24 – Fri 28 August and each play will be available to listen to on demand and for free for 14 days after it has premiered.

Eleanor White, Literary Associate at the Traverse said:

“I am thrilled that we will be able to share the brilliant and visionary work of the writers involved in our 2020 Breakfast Plays: New Tracks with the entire world! The Breakfast Plays are a crucial part of our talent development programme, and there was never a question of them not happening this year. We are proud that the skills many of the writers have developed through their involvement in our Young Writers Group programme mean that they can tell compelling and thought-provoking stories in formats far beyond what we might consider conventional theatre. Delivering this year’s plays in an audio format is a natural progression and has allowed the writers to grow new skills in multiple areas of storytelling. Listen out in August – and remember to have a breakfast roll ready for the true Breakfast Play experience!”

Conor O’Loughlin, Breakfast Plays: New Tracks writer said:

“The Breakfast Plays offer a dream provocation to any writer, practically demanding a response primed with enough adrenaline to see Festival audiences through the rest of the day. It’s a testament to the Traverse’s own reserves of energy and resilience that this year not only continues that tradition, but does so on an even grander scale and with unlimited scope. It may be a new form and platform, with rehearsal Zooms in place of rehearsal rooms, but the artistic team has at every turn provided the same incredible levels of support and bespoke development that make the Traverse the new writing haven it has always been. I knew my play was in the safest of hands thanks to brilliant collaborators who devoted endless time, patience and expertise from the first draft right through to the recording. It is a real thrill to be part of the Digital Festival and contribute to an exciting collection of plays that capture this moment in time while also breaking new ground, both for myself as a playwright and for my favourite theatre in the world.”

Uma Nada-Rajah, Breakfast Plays: New Tracks writer said:

“Participating in the Breakfast Plays gave me the opportunity to take a new and experimental idea from its conception to a second draft. It is a welcome opportunity to put raw, of the moment work in front of a virtual audience. I received meticulous notes and had the joy of working with a cracking artistic team.”

LISTINGS INFORMATION

The Breakfast Plays: New Tracks will be released as individual podcast episodes, with one premiering each day from Mon 24 – Fri 28 August at 9am – the traditional starting time of our Breakfast Plays performances.

Each episode can be listened to on demand and for free for 14 days after its premiere.

Episodes can be listened to on the Traverse website, Spotify, iTunes and Soundcloud.

ABOUT THE PLAYS

Contemporary Political Ethics (or, How to Cheat) by Jamie Cowan

A failed politician and carer are showing Kev, a young lad on academic probation, the in’s and out’s of running a polling station. The splendour of democracy in action! Except no one’s coming to vote, so there isn’t much in the way of action, that is, until they discover a forgotten ballot on the floor.

Rabbit Catcher by Rebecca Martin

Dead in the woods, Ren of Ord clears her windpipe of soil, earth and rot. Sworn to enact vengeance, she rises to protect her land and her sisterhood from the fate that befell her that day upon the hill. Rabbit Catcher is a lyrical, mythical lore set within the dark, dense woods of Ord Hill, Inverness.

Matterhorn by Amy Rhianne Milton

A cathedral at the edge of time, at the end of the world. A few hundred cling to life within its thick, safe walls. Humanity’s final outpost. The cathedral bells ring out in the hopes of finding more lost souls to bring to sanctuary but is there anyone actually left to save?

The Watercooler by Uma Nada-Rajah

Two co-workers meet in the staff room of non-descript corporate office. As one colleague struggles with current events across the Atlantic hitting home, the other is tasked with assessing her mental fitness. Uma Nada-Rajah’s The Watercooler addresses racism with a searing streak of surrealism.

Doomsdays by Conor O’Loughlin

21st December 2012, the day the world was meant to end. The day a cult leader’s apocalyptic predictions failed. Faye and Felix devoted themselves to a doomsday that didn’t come and now, having seen the world get continually worse over the past nine years, they’re confronting their former leader with their findings.

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