An acclaimed circus theatre company will present “a bold new vision” of Thomas Hardy’s classic novel, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, at The Lowry this January.
The production by Ockham’s Razor will come direct from its London run to the Lowry on Wednesday January 14 to Saturday 17 2024.
Co-commissioned by The Lowry, Tess uses the original text combined with the physical language of circus, “allowing the performers to retell the well-known story of power, loss and endurance through a feminist lens.”
Tess of the D’Urbervilles has been depicted for its extraordinary relevance for contemporary audiences “as it explores questions of privilege, class, consent, agency, female desire and sisterhood.”
Tess features an ensemble of circus performers from diverse backgrounds, five women and two men and includes a female actress and a female circus performer who both portray the character Tess.
Ockham’s Razor – a partner company of The Lowry – has a long experience of working with reframing the female body with circus, looking at strength, capability and agency.
Tess weaves together acrobatics, aerial, dance, physical theatre and the distinctive simple, evocative design of Ockham’s Razor to create Hardy’s world.
Tess is Ockham’s Razor’s first production based on a novel, the script has been written by Ockham’s Razor using Hardy’s own words, with advice from Anne Marie Casey, an acclaimed novelist and screenwriter who has previously adapted Little Women and Wuthering Heights for the stage.
Directors Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney comment: “Tess of the D’Urbervilles has been adapted before for TV and film but it always struck us that the poetry of the book, the radical nature of it and the strength and heroism of Tess was often lost in translation.
“Over time we became increasingly convinced that circus, and all the physicality of it, would be the perfect medium for capturing all the many elements of the novel.”
For tickets and more information click here.
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