CHRISTMAS AT THE EXCHANGE BRINGS A FAIRY TALE….OF SORTS
A Royal Exchange Theatre production
THE STRANGE UNDOING OF PRUDENCIA HART
Written by David Greig
Directed by Debbie Hannan
4 December – 15 January 2022
Scottish actor Joanne Thomson takes on the role of the exacting academic Prudencia Hart whose unbelievable journey begins as the snow starts to fall and the vodka shots flow. A riotous mix of rhyming couplets and stunning live music from composer Michael John McCarthy and award-winning folk musician Malin Lewis (as musical director), the production embraces evocative folk melodies and the latest and greatest pop-tunes in a rebellious, mesmerising mash-up. An enticing glimpse into the underworld THE STRANGE UNDOING OF PRUDENCIA HART is a raucous, unruly and ultimately unforgettable Christmas party running from 4 December until 15 January.
It’s the winter solstice and lover of old things and traditional ways, Prudencia Hart, fresh from her PhD, is conference bound. In a hot stuffy hall on the borders, she shares her theories on Hell in folk literature. But, as the snow falls thick and fast the small-town flings off its folk traditions, dumps Robert Burns for a bit of Kylie, and grabs the karaoke mic with both hands. The night gets increasingly raucous and it's astonishing what Prudencia will discover and most of all what she will find out about herself as her night is turned on it’s head.
Making their Royal Exchange debut Debbie Hannan is an international director for stage and screen. They trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and at the Royal Court. Credits include: OVERFLOW (Bush Theatre); PAH-LA (Royal Court Theatre); THE UNEXPECTED EXPERT (Headlong, BBC); LITTLE MISS BURDEN (The Bunker), CUCKOO, THE SESSION (Soho Theatre); THE PANOPTICON (National Theatre of Scotland); THE UGLY ONE (Tron Theatre); GIRL MEETS BOY (National Theatre of Scotland and The Yard); SHIELDERS (Traverse Theatre); PANDORA (Etch, Pleasance); THINGS OF DRY HOURS (Young Vic); MY MUM’S A TWAT (Showroom); NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND (Citizens Theatre, Glasgow); LATIR (Compañia Nacional de Teatro, Mexico and Royal Court). As Associate, credits include: CONSTELLATIONS (Donmar); OUR LADIES OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR (National Theatre of Scotland); A PACIFIST’S GUIDE TO THE WAR ON CANCER (Bryony Kimmings and Complicité); LITTLE ON THE INSIDE (Clean Break). They will be directing a short film for Film4 written by Matilda Feyisayo Ibini in 2022.
Making her Exchange debut as Prudencia Hart is actor, writer and director Joanne Thomson from Glasgow. Since graduating with a BA in Acting from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, she has worked across the UK in both television and theatre. Her theatre credits include work with the National Theatre of Scotland, Bristol Old Vic, Birmingham Rep, Royal Lyceum, Traverse, and the legendary Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. Joanne played DS Lisa Harvey in BBC One drama THE VICTIM which was nominated for a BAFTA in the 2020 ceremony. Her performance in ITV’s BAFTA-nominated IN PLAIN SIGHT won her nominations for 2 Best Actress categories at the IARA awards and her recent BBC prime-time drama THE SUFFRAGETTES won a BAFTA in 2019. In 2020 Joanne was selected as a BAFTA Los Angeles Newcomer, a 4-year long cross-discipline initiative for British Film & TV professionals across the pond.
The cast is completed by Lawrence Hodgson-Mullings, Amelia Isaac-Jones, Paul Tinto and Oliver Wellington with Musical Director Malin Lewis performing alongside.
BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2022 Finalist, Malin Lewis, is a piper, fiddler, composer and instrument maker from the West coast of Scotland. Malin's music is inspired by everything they are exposed to in life. Recently they have been studying folk music in Helsinki at the Sibelius Academy and learning the traditions of the extinct Finnish Bagpipes. Malin creates an eclectic mix of sounds with original compositions and traditional tunes from all over Europe as well as exploring the more abstract with the help of electronics and signal processing.
David Greig is a multi award-winning playwright who became the Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum Edinburgh in 2015. David’s most notable plays include The Events, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, Midsummer, Dunsinaneand Europe. More recently, David’s new stage adaptation of Solaris, based on Stanislaw Lem’s 1961 soviet science fiction novel, was co-produced by The Lyceum, Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne Australia and The Lyric Hammersmith. In 2019 David teamed up with original creators Bill Forsyth and Mark Knopfler to adapt the international hit film Local Hero for the stage which premiered in Edinburgh. David’s new stage adaptation of Joe Simpson's best-selling 1988 memoir Touching the Void, which was co-produced by The Lyceum and Bristol Old Vic, enjoyed a run at The Duke of York in London’s West End in 2019/20. His other adaptations include Strindberg’s Creditors (2018) and Aeschylus’ The Suppliant Women (2016) The Lorax (2015). David wrote the book for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which opened in the West End in 2013 and then transferred to Broadway in 2017.
The creative team includes Lighting Designer Amy Mae, Composer, Arranger & Sound Designer Michael John McCarthy, Movement Director DK Fashola and Assistant Director Maria Zemlinskaya
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