Sheffield Crucible re-opens with socially distanced season including a pantomime

Photo credit: Craig Fleming

Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre will kickstart its new socially distanced season with a world premiere and a spot of panto.

The city centre venue will reopen on 30 October with Here's What She Said to Me, its first live performance since the pandemic forced theatres to close. Running until 14 November, the show is described as a ‘kaleidoscope of music, ritual, poetry and movement’. Written Oladipo Agboluaje and directed by Mojisola Elufowoju, the story follows three generations of Nigerian women and deals with themes of family, migration and identity. Here's What She Said to Me is part of the Crucible’s socially distanced ‘Together Season’, announced by Sheffield Theatres this week.

In separate news this afternoon, transferring from the Bridge Theatre, Imelda Staunton and Maxine Peake will star in two of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads monologues at the venue: A Lady of Letters (directed by Jonathan Kent) and Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet (directed by Sarah Frankcom) respectively from 9-11 November.

Next up in the ‘Together’ season line-up is the critically acclaimed Operation Crucible by Kieran Knowles, from 17-28 November. The show chronicles the bombing of Sheffield’s steel works in WW2, some 80 years on from the raid commonly known as the ‘Sheffield Blitz’.

Then, on 3 & 4 December, one-man-show Far Gone, by Ugandan Sheffield artist John Rwothomack, returns for two nights.

And finally, it wouldn’t be Christmas without panto! Damian Williams brings the sparkle this year as he puts on family show Damian’s Pop-Panto!, with dates yet to be announced.

For the Together Season’s ‘cost-saving’ programme of shows, organisers have drafted in Ben Stones for set duties, whilst Lucy Carter is on lighting.

In a statement, the Crucible said it would also be running an ‘Open Submissions programme’, where local artists are invited to submit their work and take it to the stage early next year.

New Associate Artistic Director, Anthony Lau, also joins the Crucible team, as part of the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme.

Members’ tickets for the Together Season go on sale on 30 September, whilst the general release date is 6 October.

Artistic Director, Robert Hastie, said: “This season offers a huge welcome back to the Crucible for the audiences, artists and staff we’ve missed so much this last six months.

“Together is a celebration of theatre, in all its glorious forms, with drama, music, comedy and pantomime all taking to the stage over the coming months.

“We know that being together means taking a little extra care at the moment.

“We’ll be drawing on all that we learned as the host of one of the government’s pilot events in the summer, when we welcomed hundreds of people for the World Snooker Championships, and ensuring that everyone is offered a warm, relaxed and safe welcome back.

“We’re hugely grateful to the audiences who’ve shown us such support and solidarity, and we know that we’ve now got an important part to play in the recovery of our great city and region.

“I can’t wait for us to be together again, safely socially distanced, to experience incredible work once more on the iconic Crucible stage.”

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