ALPHABETTI THEATRE & LIVE THEATRE PRESENT
THE READING ROOM
The Reading Room is a monthly play-reading group co-hosted by Alphabetti Theatre and Live Theatre for theatre makers, playwrights, creative freelancers, and theatre enthusiasts based in Newcastle and the North East.
We meet once a month, alternating between Alphabetti and Live. In each session, we focus on a 21st-century play that has had a significant impact on the UK or international theatre landscape.
This Month's Play: Yerma
Writer: Simon Stone (after Federico García Lorca)
The Reading Room has been created to offer up space and time for North East creatives to engage with notable playwrights and their work. As such, we gently request that you come to the session ready and willing to discuss the play. This is not a seminar or classroom, and there are no right or wrong answers. But we are very keen to hear all of your thoughts on the play and look forward to an engaging creative discussion.
The sessions are led by JD Stewart and Ed Cole. Alongside reading and discussing the text, we encourage participants to bring their creative brains into the room: to interrogate the writing, the form, the production context, the politics, and the craft. You don't need specialist knowledge, just curiosity, generosity, a willingness to think out loud with other artists, and a love of plays.
The sessions are informal, welcoming, and discussion-led. Whether you're a seasoned theatre-maker, an aspiring writer, or simply interested in contemporary drama, you're very welcome.
Sign-up is free, but places are limited.
YERMA
In Simon Stone's radical reimagining of Lorca's classic tragedy, a successful young professional finds her longing for a child becoming an all-consuming obsession. Set in contemporary London, Yerma explores the collision of love, ambition, identity, and societal expectations with devastating emotional precision. Since its premiere at the Young Vic in 2016, Stone's adaptation has become one of the defining plays of contemporary British theatre.
This month's Reading Room will take place at Live Theatre on Wednesday 28 October at 5.30pm.
As part of The Reading Room, Forum Books are offering an exclusive discount on Yerma by Simon Stone via the link below:
Purchase Yerma from Forum Books
