Royal Northern Sinfonia marks centenary of groundbreaking North East premiere with The Soldier’s Tale in collaboration with Live Theatre
Royal Northern Sinfonia presents Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale in an intimate, staged performance at The Glasshouse’s Sage Two on Saturday 21 March. Led musically by The Glasshouse’s Artistic Partner Maria Włoszczowska, the production will be directed by Live Theatre’s Artistic Director Jack McNamara with Scotland-based choreographer Roberta Jean. It will feature a virtuoso physical performance by North East rising star Scott Turnbull with live narration by the legendary actor Toby Jones. It marks exactly 100 years since this groundbreaking work received its UK premiere at Newcastle's People's Theatre in 1926.
The People's Theatre built a reputation for championing radical, avant-garde work that wouldn't be performed elsewhere in Britain. Their 1926 production of The Soldier's Tale preceded the London premiere by over a year, placing the North East at the forefront of experimental, cross-artform programming.
Now, a century later, Royal Northern Sinfonia brings this work back to the region in a production that honours that pioneering spirit combining exceptional musicianship with theatrical staging in an intimate, in-the-round setting. Royal Northern Sinfonia’s long-standing commitment to both musical excellence and creative experimentation makes it well placed to return this landmark work to the North East.
Live Theatre is one of the country’s leading new writing venues, known for cutting edge, political work rooted in the region. It has recently presented theatrical projects with musicians ranging from Lindisfarne and Jimmy Nail to MeLostMe and Gazelle Twin.
Stark, sarcastic and bitingly brilliant, The Soldier's Tale tells of a soldier who deserts the army and sells his soul to the devil. Created during World War I, Stravinsky's score for just seven instruments is spare, sardonic and infused with jazz influences - a lesson in how powerful small-scale music-making can be.
The project sits within Maria Włoszczowska’s wider Artistic Partnership with The Glasshouse, which explores chamber-scale classical work that brings musicians and audiences into closer connection.
The production brings together two of the region’s cultural organisations in a collaboration rooted in the North East and shaped by a shared interest in ambitious, cross-artform work. Presented in association with Live Theatre, the performance is led by Maria Włoszczowska, directing a small ensemble of Royal Northern Sinfonia musicians, with Jack McNamara and Roberta Jean directing the staged elements.
Maria Włoszczowska, Artistic Partner at The Glasshouse said:
“I'm thrilled to be working on Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale with RNS, the phenomenal Toby Jones, Jack McNamara from Live Theatre, and choreographer Roberta Jean. This is where the most curious artists of music, theatre and dance meet, and discover something new through this one-of-a-kind collaboration. It's a creative team beyond my wildest dreams. Come along and you're sure to be in for a fresh, original, unforgettable experience.”
Jack McNamara, Artistic Director, Live Theatre said:
“We are thrilled to be working with The Glasshouse and Royal Northern Sinfonia on this project. Our venues are right across the river form each other (albeit of quite different sizes!) and I have long hoped we would join forces. It’s particularly exciting to be working with Maria with her vast experience, and to bring our own theatrical slant to the proceedings. Choreographer Roberta Jean is a favourite artist of mine, who first worked with me on Live Theatre’s production of Saint Maud, and I can’t wait to collaborate intensively with her on this rich and complex project with the sublime Scott Turnbull. And the cherry on all this is to be reunited with Toby Jones, who really can do no wrong and is sure to give audiences a night to remember.”
Tickets are priced £5-£23.50 and can be purchased here https://theglasshouseicm.org/whats-on/stravinsky-the-soldiers-tale/
