Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company presents

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

By Erich Maria Remarque

Adapted for the stage by Robin Kingsland

Director: Giles Croft

Designer: Phil Brunner, Lighting Designer: Richard G Jones, Sound Designer & Movement Director: Matthew Bugg

Saturday 11 to Saturday 25 February

Box Office: 0115 941 9419

www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk

Kicking off the exciting spring/summer season at Nottingham Playhouse will be the world premiere production ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.  Adapted by Robin Kingsland from Erich Maria Remarque’s celebrated novel, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT will be performed at the Playhouse from Saturday 11 to Saturday 25 February and will be directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Giles Croft.  ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT has been enjoyed as a novel, a film and as an opera; the Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company production is the first time the story has ever been told in theatrical form.  The designer for ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT is Phil Brunner, a winner of the Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design 2005.  Remarque’s internationally acclaimed novel was first published in 1928.  The book quickly transferred to film, and even today the story of the loss of youth and innocence is still a powerful reminder of the human dimension behind enemy lines.

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT tells the story of Paul Baumer, a young butterfly collector fresh from school who volunteers to fight in the WW1 German army in a rush of patriotic fervour.  As the petty brutalities of basic training give way to the greater brutalities of combat, patriotism becomes the first casualty of war.  Baumer is cast into one of the greatest nightmares in history, and his innocence, optimism and drive are soon lost as the reality of life in the trenches becomes apparent.  Their true enemy emerges as the military machine itself, and while they see fierce action and suffer terrible loss and injury, it’s the privations and monotony of life at the Front that challenge their morale on a daily basis.  The atrocities of war and the loss of his closest school friends are reported to the audience first hand through the eyes of this tortured fighter.  Hard-hitting but humane, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT is an inventive new adaptation that brings the soul of a soldier to the stage.

Almost eighty years after its first publication, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT has lost none of its power or its relevance. At the age of eighteen Remarque fought in WW1, and in WW2 Germany Remarque saw his great novel burned and banned by the Nazis, and was forced to flee his homeland.  Today the book is still admired – in a recent poll of the nation’s book groups, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT featured in the top ten.  The story’s gripping plot inspired Robin Kingsland to create an adaptation that was first aired at the Playhouse in a special play reading in October 2004.  Robin Kingsland is well remembered for his role as Peter Lawford in Giles Croft’s acclaimed production of RAT PACK CONFIDENTIAL.  Robin is also a well-respected writer who has written and illustrated over 30 books for children including PROSPERO’S CHILDREN and a play dealing with bullying SEA OF SILENCE.  He has written for numerous children’s TV series including DIZZY HEIGHTS, SPACE VETS, CARTOON CRITTERS, THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE and ENGIE BENJY.

The inventive split-level set for ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, designed by Phil Brunner, takes its inspiration from a bombed-out munitions factory.  With two tracks crossing the stage, cast members move flat-bed trucks to create differing landscapes.  Cast members, who remain onstage for much of the time, use boxes in a versatile way to store belongings, and as scenery.  The metal set will be used by the actors to create a soundscape for the play: corrugated iron and metal walkways will recreate the ear piercing sounds of warfare.  Through the Linbury Biennial Prize for Stage Design, three designers were selected to present finished designs for ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, which were recently exhibited as models at the National Theatre.  Phil Brunner’s set was selected as the winning design for the production of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.  Phil Brunner studied architecture at Glasgow School of Art for two years before moving to London to study design for performance at Central St Martins.  Following graduation in 2004, Phil has assisted stage designer Stephen Brimson Lewis, resident stage designer for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Speaking of the award, Giles Croft said:

“We’re so excited that Phil Brunner is our designer. He has challenged both the writer Robin Kingsland, and myself as the director, to re-imagine how we will approach our production. It has been an exhilarating experience and we couldn’t be happier about it”

Director Giles Croft is Artistic Director of Nottingham Playhouse and a Vice President of the European Theatre Convention.  Giles’s last production for Nottingham Playhouse was the celebrated revival of Arnold Wesker’s CHICKEN SOUP WITH BARLEY, which ran at Nottingham Playhouse in April 2005 and then transferred to London’s Tricycle Theatre in the autumn.  In 1985 Giles was appointed Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre, London and in 1989 joined the National Theatre as Literary Manager.  Giles took up the post of Artistic Director at The Palace Theatre, Watford, before taking up the position at Nottingham Playhouse in 1999.

The cast of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT comprises: Mark Dempsey (Paul Baumer), Robin Harvey Edwards, Daniel Rabin, Daniel Rigby, Marc Jordan, Simon Sanchez, Paul McGreevy, Jim Tomlinson, Sara Poyzer and Rachel Edwards.

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