Theatre: Winter Solstice

When Actors Touring Company‘s English language version of Winter Solstice received its world premiere at Orange Tree Theatrelast year it received rave reviews and played to sell-out audiences.

To kick off its 40th anniversary, this year, the company takes Roland Schimmelpfennig’s startling drama to the road for a national tour of the UK, including Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre.

Winter Solstice tells the story of what appears to be a normal family Christmas in a western middle class home. Bettina and her husband Albert aren’t happy. Bettina’s mother is staying for the holidays. Which is awkward.

Not least because Bettina’s mother met a man on the train: a charismatic, mesmerising man, whose words carry echoes of a sinister past.

As a new (or maybe old?) kind of politics rises up around the world, this razor sharp comedy exposes the betrayals at the heart of family and society and sheds light on the insidious shifting of the boundaries of acceptable political discourse.

Directed by Ramin Gray, the cast of Winter Solstice comprises David Beames, Kirsty Besterman, Felix Hayes, Gerald Kyd and Marian McLoughlin. .

Author Roland Schimmelpfennig is the most performed playwright in Germany and one of the country’s most original voices, with productions of his work worldwide in over 40 countries.

Winter Solstice (Wintersonnenwende) premiered to great acclaim at the Dramaten, Stockholm, in 2015.

Winter Solstice can be seen in the Round at 7.30pm on Wednesday March 28 and Friday March 30; at 1.30pm and 7pm on Thursday March 29, and at 2.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday March 31. Tickets are priced from £10, and can be booked now.

Tickets: 01723 370541