Natalie Abrahami and Carrie Cracknell are to step down from their positions as joint-Artistic Directors of the Gate theatre in January 2012.
The two directors, who have led the Notting Hill venue since March 2007, are leaving to pursue freelance work. They will end their tenure with a season that includes classic adaptations from playwrights Anthony Weigh and Anna Ledwich, plus a new American comedy.
Abrahami and Cracknell commented: “After four years running the Gate we are thrilled to announce our farewell season, which celebrates new talent, new writing and new interpretations of international classics that have been the signature of our tenure. We are honoured to welcome back so many familiar collaborators on stage and behind the scenes and we hope that the repertoire continues to delight and surprise in equal measure.”
Following Nick Payne’s version of Sophocles’s Electra, which opens this month, the final programming under Abrahami and Cracknell will include Arthur Schnitzler’s Dream Story, adapted and directed by Australian Anna Ledwich. This new take on Schnitzler’s examination of sexual jealousy, obsession and desire, which plays from 9 June to 16 July (press night 15 June), follows Ledwich’s adaptation of Lulu, which played at the Gate theatre last year. The director has also previously worked with Theatre503, BAC and Trafalgar Studios (Lovely And Misfit).
The season continues with the European premiere of American playwright David Davalos’s comedy Wittenberg, directed by Christopher Haydon from 24 August to 1 October (press night 1 September). Davalos’s play imagines a battle of wits between the radical Doctor Faustus and the conservative Martin Luther, whose philosophical and religious arguments aim to help their student, a certain Prince Hamlet, make a decision about a crucial dilemma.
Playwright Anthony Weigh, whose work is often presented at the Bush theatre – including Like A Fishbone and 2,000 Feet Away – moves over to Notting Hill to present a new version of Federico Garcia Lorca’s Yerma from 9 November to 17 December (press night 11 November). Abrahami directs this tale of one woman’s longing to have a child in a land where a barren woman is a wasted woman.
The season also emphasises the duo’s continued commitment to dance through a collaboration with Dance Umbrella during October. A new work co-commissioned by the Gate and the dance festival, The Difference Engine, is teamed with the UK premiere of Logobi 05, performed by Richard Siegal.
Commenting on the news of the pair’s departure, Jonathan Hull, Chair of the Gate Board, said: “The strength of their final season is a testament to their unique artistic vision. While we are sad to say farewell to Natalie and Carrie, the Gate has a strong future ahead of it, particularly given the recent confirmation of Arts Council funding through to 2015, and we are excited to see the direction in which a new Artistic Director will take the company.”
The announcement adds to a period of change in London theatres. The Bush theatre is also looking for a new Artistic Director after Josie Rourke announced her appointment to the Donmar Warehouse, where she will replace departing Artistic Director Michael Grandage in January.
CB