The Faction Theatre Company

"it's a bold, brave enterprise' - The Guardian[1]

The Faction is an award-winning theatre ensemble, reinventing the classics for the 21st Century. They are known for their stripped-back aesthetic, placing the actors at the centre of the empty space. They use their ensemble's innovative and dynamic physicality to create the world of the play.

"The Faction is beginning to develop a real signature in imaginative, contemporary and visceral versions of the classics. Amid the current debate between the rise of new writing and lack of classical work on London stages, this enterprising and determined company is doing us all a service." - The Stage[2]

The Company

After seeing the Schaubühne Berlin at Edinburgh International Festival in 2004,[3] Mark Leipacher created The Faction theatre company in 2008. The Faction became a registered charity in 2011.[4] Their first production was Richard III at the Brockley Jack Theatre, London in October 2008. The Faction is now led by two Artistic Directors; Mark Leipacher and Rachel Valentine Smith, and is supported by a core ensemble of eleven actors and associate artists.[5]

The Ensemble

Alex Guiney

Amelia Donkor

Anna-Maria Nabirye

Christopher Hughes

Christopher York

Clare Latham

Gareth Fordred

Jude Owusu

Kate Sawyer

Lachlan McCall

Natasha Rickman

Associate Artists

Gareth Jandrell - Playwright

Emily Juniper - Playwright

Suzie Foster - Stage Manager

Max Pappenheim - Sound Designer

Chris Withers - Lighting Designer

History

During The Faction's formative years, they toured across the UK, played studio theatres across London, and established an open-air season in Brockwell Park. They were then invited to be an Associate Ensemble of the New Diorama Theatre. With the support of their 5 year relationship at The New Diorama, The Faction we able to trial a more permanent model of working in rep, with a core ensemble.

Since 2012, The Faction have produced five, annual sell-out repertory seasons, engaging with over 26,000 audience members and 4,000 students. In 2016, The Faction partnered with Selfridges to create an auditorium in their iconic Oxford Street store for Shakespeare 400 celebrations, where they produced a version of Much Ado About Nothing to critical acclaim.[6] The Faction took their work even further afield later that year, in partnership with The British Council, and The American University Beirut, producing and co-directing an Arabic premiere production of King Lear.[7]

In addition to Shakespeare, The Faction have produced work by other classic writers such Cervantes, Euripedes, Gorky, Lorca and Schiller. They also bridge the divide between classics and new writing by engaging some of the UK's most exciting and emerging writers. To date, this has included Ranjit Bolt (THREE SISTERS), Gareth Jandrell (THEBES, published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama), Emily Juniper (MISS JULIE & VASSA ZHELEZNOVA[8]) and two unique projects: REPTEMBER and DEMETRIUS.

REPTEMBER is an Off West End award-nominated project, consisting of 12 classic texts adapted for solo performance by some of our most promising playwrights, including Jessica Sian and Will Gore.[9]

DEMETRIUS is an ongoing portmanteau project to complete Schiller's final unfinished work. Established writers such as April de Angelis, Glyn Maxwell and Simon Reade complete a 'unit' before passing the baton to up and coming writers like Jon Brittain and Daniel Kanaber.

List of Productions[10]

2008

Richard III - Shakespeare

2009

Macbeth - Shakespeare

Twelfth Night - Shakespeare

2010

The Tempest - Shakespeare

Intrigue/Love - Schiller in a version by Mark Leipacher & Daniel Millar

Canterbury Tales - Chaucer

The Robbers - Schiller in a version by Mark Leipacher & Daniel Millar

2011

Strindberg's Apartment - Strindberg adapted by Simon Reade

The Odyssey - Homer

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare

Arabian Nights - Folklore

2012

Twelfth Night - Shakespeare

Mary Stuart - Schiller in a version by Mark Leipacher & Daniel Millar

Miss Julie - Strindberg in a version by Emily Juniper

Othello - Shakespeare

2013

Fiesco - Schiller in a version by Mark Leipacher & Daniel Millar

Three Sisters - Chekhov in a version by Ranjit Bolt

Blood Wedding - Lorca in a version by Gareth Jandrell

2014

Hamlet - Shakespeare

Thebes - Aeschylus in a version by Gareth Jandrell

Shakespeare's Lovers - Shakespeare

Reptember: Solo - Various

2015

Romeo & Juliet - Shakespeare

The Talented Mr Ripley - Highsmith in a version by Mark Leipacher

Joan of Arc - Schiller in a version by Mark Leipacher

2016

Richard III - Shakespeare

Reptember Reloaded: Solo Season - Various

Vassa Zheleznova - Gorky in a version by Emily Juniper

Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare

King Lear - Shakespeare (Arabic language premiere, Lebanon)

Awards

The Faction have been awarded the Peter Brook Ensemble Award and won the OffWestEnd award for Best Ensemble. In addition, they have been nominated for OffWestEnd awards in the following categories;

Best Director / Best Actor (3 nominations) / Best Supporting Actress / Best Supporting Actor / Best Lighting Design and Most Promising New Playwright. The Faction were also nominated for OffWestEnd's TBC Award - for the productions that defy traditional categories.

In addition, The Faction were nominated for Best Artistic Director at the London Theatre Awards, and for the Individual Award at the National Stage Management Awards.

References

  1. ↑ Billington, Michael (2014-01-30). "The Robbers – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  2. ↑ "The Faction’s 2015 rep season: Romeo and Juliet/The Talented Mr Ripley/Joan of Arc | Review | Theatre | The Stage". The Stage. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  3. ↑ "THE FACTION THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-06.
  4. ↑ "Charity overview". Retrieved 2017-03-06.
  5. ↑ "thefaction". thefaction. Retrieved 2017-03-06.
  6. ↑ "Much Ado About Nothing At Selfridges". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  7. ↑ "AUB - 2016 - ‘Al-Malik Lear’ adds Lebanese twist to Shakespearean tragedy". www.aub.edu.lb. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  8. ↑ Saner, Emine (2016-06-13). "Rewriting classical theatre: ‘Female characters are sad, have babies or talk about men’". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  9. ↑ http://feastcreative.com, Feast Creative |. "New Diorama". newdiorama.com. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  10. ↑ "The Faction > Hello". issuu. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
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