From Freedom Studios, the producers of the acclaimed Brief Encounters at Bradford Interchange and When We Were Brothers comes Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile, award-winning screenwriter Lisa Holdsworth’s new stage adaptation of Adelle Stripe’s compelling novel which recounts the brief and defiant life of the celebrated playwright Andrea Dunbar.
The Beacon, Buttershaw, Bradford, 1990. Andrea Dunbar, acclaimed writer of Rita, Sue, and Bob Too, mum, sister, best friend, is struggling with her latest work. Her aching head is full of voices, stories from her past which have to be heard.
Adapted for the stage by Screenwriter Lisa Holdsworth (Ackley Bridge, Waterloo Road and Call the Midwife) Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile, will open at The Ambassador in Bradford from the 30 May-8 June and then tour until the 30 June.
Andrea Dunbar was raised on the Buttershaw council estate in Bradford, one of eight siblings. Her first play, The Arbor, which premiered at the Royal Court in London when she was just 18, originated as a CSE English assignment. She was, according to one tabloid newspaper at the time, ‘a genius straight from the slums’. Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1982) was also a hit at the Royal Court and was subsequently filmed by the director Alan Clarke. Dunbar wrote one more play, Shirley, and died of a brain haemorrhage in 1990. She was 29.
Author Adelle Stripe said about the forthcoming adaptation of her novel:
“I am absolutely delighted that Freedom Studios will be adapting my novel, transforming Andrea Dunbar’s story from the page to stage. Lisa Holdsworth is one of the region’s most respected screenwriters and is a loyal and outspoken supporter of Andrea’s work. I couldn’t think of a better person to adapt Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile. Kash Arshad is a ferocious talent, and under his stewardship I have no doubt that Andrea’s life and work will receive a dynamic retelling in venues across the north. As one of Yorkshire’s greatest female writers, Andrea’s legacy is finally being recognised, and this new production, which will be cast in the city that made her, is finally bringing Andrea back home.”
Playwright Lisa Holdsworth added:
“It is both a great pleasure and privilege to be writing this play. It will not only be a celebration of the life, work and unique spirit of Andrea Dunbar, but also of Adelle Stripe’s extraordinary book which brings out Andrea’s humour and bravery.”
Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile is directed by Kash Arshad ((Airplays, Leeds Playhouse and Memories of Partition, Royal Exchange) and designed by Hannah Sibai (When We Were Brothers, Freedom Studios). Casting will be announced in the coming weeks.
Bradford-based Freedom Studios is an award-winning intercultural theatre company, which connects different people and communities through story-telling and making theatre. Engagement is intrinsic to their work, and communities are at the heart of what they do. Their recent site-specific productions include The Mill – City of Dreams; Brief Encounters at Bradford Interchange; Home Sweet Home, North Country and most recently When We Were Brothers.
Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile will tour from the 30 May – 27 June 2019 including performances in Buttershaw, Harrogate, Doncaster, Leeds and Oldham.
To book tickets and for more information on Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile visit www.freedomstudios.co.uk
OPENING VENUE LISTINGS
Dates: 30 May – 8 June (no performances 2 June)
Venue: The Ambassador, 90 Sunbridge Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD1 2AQ
Times: 7.30pm (Mat perf on 1 & 8 June at 2pm)
Tickets: Pay What You Decide £3, £6 or £12 (with a free drink)
To book: go to www.freedomstudios.co.uk
TOUR DATES
Thursday 13 June at 7.30pm - Constitutional in Farsley
Date TBC -Buttershaw Youth Centre - (Pay what you decide, all proceeds going to the Youth Centre.)
Thu 20 June at 7.15pm - Cast, Doncaster
Box Office: 01302 303959 / www.castindoncaster.com
Saturday 22 June at 7.45pm – Harrogate Theatre
Box Office 01423 502116www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/Black-Teeth-and-a-Brilliant-Smile
Wed 26 (sold out) – Thu 27 June at 7.30pm -Oldham Coliseum
Box Office: 0161 624 2829/www.coliseum.org.uk
Sun 30 June at 5pm – The Holbeck, Leeds
Box Office: www.slunglow.org/upcoming-holbeck-events/
BIOGS
Lisa Holdsworth - Playwright
Lisa has been writing professionally since 2001. Her first commission was an episode of the ITV series Fat Friends. She went on to Emmerdale where she spent three years. She moved on to write for New Tricks, the top-rated BBC police series. She won the RTS Yorkshire Best Writer award for one of her episodes.
She also wrote extensively for Waterloo Road and on the final series of the BBC’s Robin Hood. She moved on to write ITV’s perennial Midsomer Murders including the fan favourite “Death by Cheese” episode. Recently she has written episodes of Ackley Bridge for C4 and Call The Midwife for the BBC. She also writes and produces fringe theatre in Leeds for Slung Low Shorts which is now in its fourth year.
Adelle Stripe – Author
Adelle Stripe was born in 1976 and grew up in Tadcaster. Her debut novel, Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile, received the Society of Authors’ K Blundell Award for Fiction and was shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize. She has published three poetry collections and has appeared in various anthologies in the UK and US. Her most recent poem, The Humber Star, was performed at Hull 2017 for John Grant’s North Atlantic Flux and was described by The FT as “a work of fantastic depth and poignancy”. Adelle is a lecturer in Creative Writing at York St John University and lives in the Calder Valley.
Kash Arshad – Director
Kash is currently Trainee Artistic Director at Freedom Studios, Bradford, and is Associate Director on their tour of When We Were Brothers, (dir. Aisha Khan). His most recent directing credits include Airplays (Leeds Playhouse, BBC)) We Are Ninja Division (Slung Low Shorts), The Tempest (ALRA North), Selfies Kill More People Than Sharks and Making Love (Rogue Bones), Memories of Partition (Royal Exchange Theatre), Free Fall (Rogue Bones), The Big Reveal (Abooo Theatre) and Street Voices (Freedom Studios). He was Assistant Director on Threepenny Opera (Octagon Bolton, dir. David Thacker), Handbagged (Theatre By The Lake, dir. Liz Stevenson), North Country (Freedom Studios dir. Alex Chisholm), ChipShop The Musical (Freedom Studios/Octagon Bolton dir. Ben Occhipinti) and Assistant Trainee Director on Romeo and
