Theatre in the round at Buxton Fringe

PRESS RELEASE: For immediate release May 18th 2017

Much excitement around this year’s Fringe is centred on the Rotunda, a new pop-up venue in Pavilion Gardens, and the theatre scheduled there will also create a stir.

Highly anticipated is The Unknown Soldier which has scored rave reviews for the intensely moving story of Jack who stayed on after the war to search the battlefields for those that could not go home, for he has a promise to keep and a debt to repay.

Several shows bring a fresh perspective on historical figures. Mrs Roosevelt Flies to England explores the life of one of the 20th century’s most extraordinary women - an unhappy child, an unconventional wife and ‘First Lady to the World’. Another iconic American figure features in Call Mr Robeson highlighting his pioneering political activism as a forerunner of the civil rights movement: expect fiery oratory and a dramatic rendition of ‘Ol’ Man River’. The Empress and Me tells the amazing true story of Princess Der Ling raised in France as every bit the Victorian lady, who suddenly finds herself in the Forbidden City entangled in Chinese court politics. Just an Ordinary Lawyer mixes politics, music and cricket in its tribute to Tunji Sowande, who arrived in London from Nigeria in 1945 and became a barrister, and then the first black judge in Britain.

More music is to be found in I Found My Horn, adapted from Jasper Rees’ renowned book; the Guardian called it ‘A wryly funny, infinitely touching account of the joys and hazards of making music’. For plenty of energy, the South African Gumboot Dance is an international phenomenon that has swept across the globe like a tidal wave of soaring voices and stomping feet.

The Taking Flight Showcase comes from the perspective of the British East Asian, South Asian, and South East Asian communities, promising to be funny, poignant and entertaining. And a fringe wouldn’t be complete without a unique take on Shakespeare; in Gratiano, a challenging sequel to The Merchant of Venice, the character is forced to revisit his Fascist past. He was never the hero, but never thought he played the villain.

Bookings for all Rotunda shows can be made via www.rotundatheatre.com

The Fringe wishes to thank its sponsor The University of Derby as well as financial supporters The Trevor Osborne Charitable Trust and High Peak Borough Council, its Fringe Friends and the town’s many Fringe supporters and venues.

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