In a press statement, Hall commented, "I’m very happy to be able to bring Shakespeare to Hampstead for the first time and to bring together the two most important theatre companies in my life for this limited season. New writing should be treated like a classic and classics like new writing: I hope I’ve been able to do just that with these two Shakespeare plays."
According to press materials, Propeller's production of Richard III creates a diabolical adventure, taking Hammer Horror and Grand Guignol as its inspirations. The production is the sixth and final chapter in Hall's staging of Shakespeare's complete Wars of the Roses cycle. Propeller's production of The Comedy of Errors is intended to emphasize the light and laughter of the play.
Propeller is an all-male Shakespeare company which seeks to find a more engaging way of expressing Shakespeare and to more completely explore the relationship between text and performance. Hall's previous productions for the company include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice, amongst others. In 2002, Hall directed Rose Rage, a two-part adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV trilogy. Propeller's tour is presented in association with The Touring Partnership.
The productions are currently playing at Newcastle's Theatre Royal (through Feb. 5), then touring the UK to Coventry's Belgrade Theatre, Norwich's Theatre Royal, Edinburgh's King's Theatre, Cheltenham's Everyman, Salford's Lowry, Newbury's Watermill Theatre and Plymouth's Theatre Royal. Internationally, they will also visit BAM in New York (with The Comedy of Errors only, for a run March 16-27), The Power Centre at Ann Arbor UMS in Michigan, for a run March 30-April 3, and Boston University in association with the Huntington Theatre Company at the Boston University Theatre (May 18-June 19), prior to their London season. After London, they will also visit the Neuss Festival (July 13-16) and Galway Festival (July 19-23).
For more details and tour dates, visit www.propeller.org.uk.