Leading cultural figures support emerging talent for second year

Patrons Sinead Cusack, Sally Greene OBE, Sir David Hare and Bill Nighy support HighTide for second year

Festival runs between 1 and 5 May and will feature short films, music, comedy, talks and masterclasses by industry professionals including Tom Stoppard

Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Laura Wade to present professional premières of short new plays

Full productions from Joel Horwood, Nick Payne and Adam Brace and devised theatre company You Need Me

With the support of patrons Sinead Cusack, Sally Greene OBE, Sir David Hare and Bill Nighy, HighTide returns for a second year to New Cut Arts in Halesworth between 1 and 5 May with a packed programme of theatre, film, comedy, talks and masterclasses by individuals including Tom Stoppard.

Following a hugely successful first year, which saw packed audiences enjoying new productions developed by HighTide with the most exciting young writers and directors, HighTide 2008 will continue its commitment to supporting new work.

This year, the HighTide creative team, led by Artistic Directors Sam Hodges and Steven Jon Atkinson, have had expert support from Artistic Advisors Robert Fox, (leading film and theatre producer) and Tom Morris, (Associate Director of the National Theatre).

The core programme of the festival remains new writing. For 2008’s festival, HighTide will be premièring three new plays:

Stovepipe by Adam Brace,
set in a post-Iraq Middle East.

Switzerland by Nick Payne,
where a woman journeys to Zurich to finally escape her Motor Neurone Disease.

I Caught Crabs in Walberswick by Joel Horwood,
a coming-of-age story set in Suffolk. Horwood’s play will be a co-production with leading Suffolk-based theatre company Eastern Angles.

Alongside these new plays, for the first time HighTide will be developing a new devised production with:

You Need Me, a new young international company.
The piece, Certain Dark Things, explores the delicate relationships within a family living in Spain under the Franco regime. It will be performed in the round with live music.

In a new addition to the festival’s line up, The Breakfast Shorts will see acclaimed high-profile writers such as Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Laura Wade present professional premières of new short plays performed by the HighTide acting company. Performed as rehearsed readings at the start of each day of the theatre and film festival, these new plays will sit alongside full length productions from emerging young writers and theatre makers.

“It is crucial to have a festival like HighTide to give new writers, directors and actors a place to start, and the overwhelming success of our first year was one of the most satisfying things I have been involved in.”
Bill Nighy – Patron

“HighTide is driven by and supports talented young voices in British theatre and film. It enables writers, directors, producers and performers to create bold new work in a vibrant, creative environment where it has the opportunity to flourish. HighTide is an important new voice on the cultural stage.”
Robert Fox – Artistic Advisor

“Hightide ran a fantastic festival in 2007 – we are really excited by the prospect of working in collaboration with them”
Ivan Cutting – Artistic Director, Eastern Angles

“It has been such a privilege to be involved in collaborations between theatre and film makers from the inaugural Hightide Festival company, a collective of talent that look set to be the next generation of British directors and writers. I can’t believe I get to do it all over again.”
Sam Hodges – Founder and Artistic Director

“Following a nationwide search with resulted in over 450 script submissions, we’re confident that these three unproduced scripts represent the very best in emerging undiscovered talent. With devising company You Need Me, HighTide promises to present the leading theatrical talent of the future”
Steven Jon Atkinson – Artistic Director

For further information, to arrange an interview or request photographs, please contact Matthew Austin on 07989 500732 or [email protected] or Suzanne Carter on 07841 903 539 or [email protected]