Kneehigh Theatre

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Kneehigh Theatre is one of the most high profile theatre companies in Cornwall, England.

Kneehigh was started in 1980 by Mike Shepherd. Early productions were performed in village halls, marquees, cliff-tops and quarries. Their productions are often based around mythological tales such as the Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tale The Red Shoes, The Bacchae and the Cornish legend Tristan and Yseult. Their artistic director Emma Rice won Best Director 2002, Barclays Theatre Awards.

Their productions often have a nightmarish, surrealist, mythical feel and are often performed outside in locations such as Restormel Castle, the Minack Theatre and the Eden Project.

In the autumn of 2007, Kneehigh toured village halls in Cornwall with Blast! A Cornish Expose Performed by 3 Complete Idiots! and presented Noël Coward's Brief Encounter in Birmingham and at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Brief Encounter is currently being performed at the Cinema Haymarket in the West End.

[edit] Productions

The Bacchae - 2004, won the TMA Theatre Awards for best touring production of 2004.(The Stage review [1])

Tristan and Yseult - 2004, toured internationally in conjunction with the National Theatre (The Stage review [2])

Nights at the Circus - 2006, tour co-produced with the Lyric Hammersmith and Bristol Old Vic. (The Stage review [3])

William Shakespeare's Cymbeline, (The Times review[4]).

Rapunzel at BAC - 2006/07 Christmas period. (The Stage review [5])

A Matter of Life and Death - From May 2007, at the National Theatre. The play is based on the film of the same name by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. (The Observer review [6]).