A CO-PRODUCTION BETWEEN

LUNG HA’S THEATRE COMPANY (SCOTLAND) & UNGA KLARA (SWEDEN)

MEDEA’S CHILDREN

A journey into the real world of children, how they think and what they talk about at night

Medea’s Children, one of the most significant plays in Swedish theatre history is a co-production by Lung Ha’s Theatre Company and Unga Klara and will be playing at St. Georges’s West from Saturday 13 to Monday 29 August. Written by Suzanne Osten and Per Lysander, and translated by Christer Dahl it tells the touching story, in a light hearted and humorous fashion, of a family who manage to go through divorce realising that life must move on in spite of all the traumas and heartbreak involved.

The first production of Medea’s Children was in 1975 and was ground breaking in the way it featured and presented children’s everyday life on stage. Today, when a third of Swedish children are living with divorced parents, it has become a classic in Swedish Theatre and has also been performed in several countries around the world from Mongolia to South Africa.

The story unfolds and is told through the eyes of five year old Jason Junior, his sister nine year old Little Medea, their ex hero father Jason, Medea Jason’s wife and mother of the children and Anna the nurse. When dad is seeing someone else, hearts and feelings explode and nothing will, or can ever be, as it was before. The children shouldn’t need to be adults but when emotions run wild and the world is turned upside down and inside out anything can happen.  In the middle of this chaos is the big sister Little Medea with her little brother Jason just doesn’t understand, “what do you mean divorce?”

Maria Oller, Artistic Director of Lung Ha’s Theatre Company, who recently directed Around The World in 80 Days, returns to the stage as an actor playing the nurse. Other cast members are Mark Howie, Katrina Merrilees, Stephan Tait and Nicola Tuxworth. The production is directed by Unga Klara’s Artistic Director Suzanne Osten.  The original music has been composed by John Kielty who will be performing in person. Set design and costume design is by Becky Minto who recently designed the stunning sets and costumes for Around the World in 80 Days.

www.lunghas.co.uk  & www.ungaklara.se

Venue:  Remarkable Arts, The Studio @ St. George’s West

Venue No: 157

St Georges’s West, 58 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh EH2 4RT

Dates: Sat 13 – Mon 15, Thu 18 – Mon 22, Thu 25 – Mon 29 August

Time: 10.30am

Box Office: 0131 226 0000 www.edfringe.com

From August: 0131 226 6522 www.remarkable-arts.com

Tickets: £8/£6

Lung Ha’s Theatre Company

Lung Ha’s Theatre Company exists to provide and inspire opportunities for people with learning disabilities to become actively involved in the performing arts.  Since 1984, Lung Ha’s Theatre Company has been one of the leading professional Theatre Companies in Scotland providing such opportunities.  It has produced nearly 37 original stage productions and collaborated with a wide array of arts professionals from across Scotland and beyond. The Company distinguishes itself not only by the quality of its work, which marries a successful blend of theatrical invention, technological creativity, and poetic writing, but also by the way it succeeds in challenging its audience whilst still being accessible to all. Lung Ha’s Theatre Company maintains contacts with similar organisations throughout Scotland, UK and Europe, as well as further afield.  In 2010 Lung Ha’s Theatre Company won the CATS award for Best Ensemble production for Huxley’s Lab – a coproduction with Grid Iron.

Unga Klara

was formed in 1975, as a division of Stockholm’s Stadsteater, which led to world-renowned explorative activities in the dramatic arts with a focus on the conditions of children and young people. From the start the Artistic Director has been Suzanne Osten.  Unga Klara has explored what constitutes dramatic art from the approach that a young audience is naturally entitled to the same high level of artistic quality as an adult audience. Based on the conviction that we can best express a positive outlook on life by speaking truthfully about its complexity, Unga Klara has tackled serious topics in a playful form, and has combined the heavy with the light, has explored, examined and developed ideas with test audiences. The past 35 years of meetings, exploration, and purposeful effort have resulted in giving Unga Klara a unique position nationally and internationally.