Press Contact: Chris Baker
chris.baker@theatreroyal.com
Specialising in the production of new plays, and with a national reputation for presenting the best and most innovative new work and collaborations, The Drum offers a multitude of exceptional experiences and performances for theatre-goers of all ages.
The venue will play host to various productions this season, from children’s shows to comedy, as well as some that have come straight from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022.
Tickets for the following shows are currently on-sale via the TRP website.
The Snow Beast, The Drum, 08 – 10 February 2023 (6+)
Welcome to the Seldomberg Science Fair,
Lab coats – check!
Goggles – on!
Ideas are bubbling in the air!
In the snowy town of Seldomberg test tubes bubble, experiments explode and new inventions whirr for the Science Academy’s Final Exams. But Faina’s got a problem… her project has unexpectedly burst into flames!
Desperate to pass her Final Exams, Faina sets off on a perilous expedition to find the legendary Snow Beast. With help from her owl assistant Maude, they encounter extraordinary spectacles and mountainous obstacles as they battle through the wild, wintry wilderness in search of the truth.
Can you help Faina and Maude overcome the scientific puzzles along the way? Does the Snow Beast even exist?
This show is a captivating collision of storytelling, original music, puppetry and interactive science experiments, inspiring budding scientists of all ages.
The Snow Beast is a collaboration between critically acclaimed theatre company Scratchworks and award-winning writer Jack Dean. Originally developed in association with Barbican Theatre, Plymouth.
Learning to Fly, The Drum, 21 – 25 February 2023 (14+)
A new show from James Rowland featuring his captivating mix of theatre, comedy and music.
Learning to Fly sees James tell the story of a remarkable friendship he made when he was a lonely, unhappy teenager with the scary old lady who lived in the spooky house on his street.
It’s about connection, no matter what the obstacles; about love’s eternal struggle with time; about music and its ability to heal.
It’s also about her last wish: to get high once before she dies.
Uplifting, big hearted and hilarious, this brand-new show is touring following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh festival.
Fanboy, The Drum, 02 – 04 March 2023 (12+)
Joe has always been a nerd.
In his teens, he hid it. In his twenties, he owned it. Now in his thirties, Joe is still obsessed with Star Wars, Nintendo and The Muppet Christmas Carol. But he’s started to sense something: a great disturbance in the fandom… Alone, sorting through his old things, Joe finds an old video tape, in an old VCR, long forgotten. He presses play – and something amazing starts to happen…
Fanboy is a love-hate letter to pop culture and nostalgia. Award-winning writer-performer Joe Sellman-Leava (Fringe First, Labels) explores our relationship to our past and future selves and asks why his generation is so obsessed with its childhood.
Help! I Think I’m a Nationalist, The Drum, 06 – 08 March 2023 (16+)
From Seamas Carey (creator of The Reason Why podcast), comes the controversial sell-out comedy show on identity, second homes, xenophobia and bagpipes.
Who am I?
Where do I belong?
And who should I vote for?
Cornwall is at a tipping point. House prices soar, the population shifts, tensions rise.
Some people see it as a separate nation; others see it as a prime holiday destination and playground for the rich.
Seamas Carey is confused.
He is desperately trying to understand.
He’s watched a wave of gentrification sweep through his rural hometown. There’s nowhere to live, yet second homes stand empty. He wishes Cornwall was more welcoming and inclusive, but watches “up country” money sow division and suspicion.
Could closing borders and nationalism be the answer?
Where’s the line between pride and power?
What happens when it all goes too far?
Seamas needs help. He needs your help.
Birds and Bees, The Drum, 09 – 11 March 2023 (14+)
“The whole system needs a reboot, refresh, restart. Revolutions’ possible, hear me share from the heart. See us youngers? Online scrolling, always visible. But the Truth is I feel invisible. The youth of today have got so much to say but no-one’s listening.”
Leilah is wondering if her Instagram is more of a burden than ‘living her best life’. Billy’s queer and proud but ignored by the education system; they’re tired of feeling invisible.
Aarron is learning how to be a man online and it’s starting to feel toxic. And Maisy, well Maisy’s not that into sex, thank you very much.
Thrown together, these four confront their differences and realise their power to create change.
On Track, The Drum, 16 – 18 March 2023 (12+)
“[The bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel” – Susan B Anthony, Women’s Rights Activist, 1896
March 2020. Dynamic single mother Kit’s world suddenly shrinks. Staying at home to save lives means a retreat back to the role of mother and homemaker. With the walls closing in, the garage and 2 wheels become her sanctuary…
On Track is a new play drawing on true stories and using RedCape’s trademark blend of comedy and visual, physical theatre. The audience follow Kit’s journey of discovery through the shocking history of women’s cycling. Riding at night, disguised as men, these cycling pioneers powered over Victorian ideals of the genteel, house-bound woman and opened up new worlds.
On Track explores mental health and tells the story of how, during lockdown, a simple bicycle became a vehicle to freedom once again.
As Kit pumps up her tyres and ventures out, we hope you will leave confident and inspired to ride out on your own too.
Yippee Ki Yay, The Drum, 20 – 23 March 2023
Acclaimed retelling of classic film Die Hard from Richard Marsh – Fringe First-winner, London poetry slam champion, BBC Audio Drama Best Scripted Comedy Drama award-winner and New York cop (one of these is untrue). This joyfully funny show heads out on tour following rave reviews for its premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe, which also won it a London transfer.
When gunmen seize an LA skyscraper, off-duty policeman John McClane is the hostages’ only hope. This uplifting action romp (and unauthorized parody) pays affectionate tribute to the iconic 80s festive fan favourite. Essential viewing for Hans Gruber superfans and newcomers alike.
Cake – The Marie Antoinette PLAYlist, The Drum, 4 – 8 April 2023
Cake combines rap and RnB with 18th century France to retell a story that sparked a revolution. When Marie Antoinette married King Louis, her reputation was already tarnished by gossip. But when she is implicated in a crime to defraud the crown jewellers of a diamond necklace, it is not just her reputation at stake, but the monarchy and France itself.
This brand-new musical, come gig, come ballet is from some of the most exciting figures in modern British Theatre. Including Olivier Winner’s Drew McOnie (In the Heights & Jesus Chris Superstar) and Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Emilia – The Globe)
Cake was originally commissioned by Paul Taylor-Mills (Heathers & In the Heights) and promises to re-define our expectations of what a musical can be.
Attenborough and his Animals, The Drum, 11 – 15 April 2023 (6+)
The magic of David Attenborough live!
A blue whale swims through the depths. Racer snakes pursue an iguana across the desert. Two hapless fools recreate wonderful scenes of the natural world.
Catch this award-winning, five-star show for an epic display of clowning, physical theatre and the largest range of animals you will ever see on stage.
A must see for the whole family.
Wampanoag Takeover, The Drum, 25 – 27 April 2023
The Wampanoag have been stewarding their land for over 10,000 years across several of the Eastern States of the USA including Massachusetts. Their land was the land the Pilgrim Fathers landed on and colonised, creating settlements that established modern America to the detriment of the Wampanoag nation.
The voice of the Wampanoag was silenced. Following We Are The Land in The Lyric auditorium, the Wampanoag Takeover is an opportunity to understand their relationship to the soil, how it was taken away and how the tribe have re-established themselves written and performed by the tribe, for the first time in history.
Take a look at the schedule for the takeover: https://theatreroyal.com/whats-on/wampanoag-takeover/