From Manchester theatre company Box of Tricks, the producers of the award winning Narvik, and their recent acclaimed productions of Plastic Figurines and SparkPlug, comes Under Three Moons, Daniel Kanaber‘s new play that explores how men relate to each other today, who they are and how they live - and the spaces between.
Spanning half a lifetime, Under Three Moons takes place on three nights across three decades of two friends’ lives. From a school trip to France as teenagers, to a surf shack in their twenties, to Christmas in their thirties, Mike and Paul meet up and talk into the night. From boyhood to manhood to fatherhood, these are the nights they share.
Under Three Moons will open at The Lowry, Salford from the 24-28 September and then tour till the 2 November 2019.
The production is directed by Box of Tricks’ Joint Artistic Director and co-founder Adam Quayle (Plastic Figurines, Box of Tricks) and is designed by award-winning designer Katie Scott (Narvik, Box of Tricks and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Studio Design Prize). Casting will be announced shortly.
Playwright Daniel Kanaber has had plays performed across London and in festivals in America, Canada and Croatia. His first full-length production, Shiver, ran throughout February 2014 at Watford Playhouse. He was selected by High Tide to be part of their Escalator scheme; an early extract of the play was performed at High Tide Festival 2015. In 2011 his play Heart in Mouth was toured by Box of Tricks.
Kanaber said about his new play:
“Under Three Moons is about a male friendship, two men growing together, a relationship that’s close but often unarticulated. And how that lack of lack of direct expression can become the defining trait in a life.
“But it’s also about society’s shifting view of male identity, how we’ve gone from talk of ‘lad culture’ to the ‘metro-sexual’ and now ‘toxic masculinity’. Male mental health has become much more understood if not discussed enough. The way men relate to their friends and to themselves, is complicated and emotionally obtuse. At least I know I can be.
“I suspect how my friends will respond. Love it or hate it, they’ll rip the piss, and then never discuss how they felt about it. Coz anything else would be awkward or uncomfortable. And that’s what I wanted to write about, how men learn or try to unlearn this emotional obliqueness. And how despite it, there’s a tenderness in it too.”
Director Adam Quayle added:
“Every so often, a play comes along that resonates absolutely. For me, Under Three Moons is one of those plays. Unassuming yet truthful, it’s a beautiful, nuanced piece of writing that perfectly captures the shifting sands of male friendship. At turns funny and tender, the play explores how two men relate – or rather fail to relate – on three nights across three decades. Quietly, it asks big questions: how to live a life, how to be a good man, how to reach out to others. The big stuff we all face. Addressing everyday mental health indirectly, it asks what impact men’s emotional inarticulacy has on their lives and their relationships. In a sense, Under Three Moons is a platonic love story where neither of the characters can say how they really feel. I can’t wait to share this funny and moving story with audiences.”
Box of Tricks makes plays. We champion playwrights and empower them to tell the stories they want to tell. Together, we go on a journey to uncover new plays that reflect the world in which we live today. We create heartfelt theatre that resonates, inspires and entertains. Under Three Moons will be the company’s sixth national touring production.
Under Three Moons will open at The Lowry, Salford from the 24-28 September and then tour to Huddersfield, Liverpool, Crewe, Hull, Ormskirk, York, Newcastle, Mold and Whitehaven.
For further information on Under Three Moons and Box of Tricks, visit www.boxoftrickstheatre.co.uk.
Press performance:
Thursday 26 September at 8pm, The Lowry, Salford
Social media details
Website – www.boxoftrickstheatre.co.uk Facebook – www.facebook.com/boxoftrickstheatre
Instagram - @boxoftrickstheatre | Twitter handle - @bottc / Hashtag #UnderThreeMoons
Tour dates
24 – 28 September at 8pm - The Lowry, Salford
(Matinees: Parent & Baby Performance Weds 25 Sept 11am | Sat 28 Sept 2pm)
Box office: 0343 208 6000 https://thelowry.com
1 – 5 October at 7.30pm - Lawrence Batley Cellar Studio, Huddersfield
(Matinee: Sat 5 October 2:30pm)
Box office: 01484 430528 https://www.thelbt.org
9 – 12 October at 7.30pm - Unity Theatre, Liverpool
Box office: 0151 7094988 https://www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk/
15 October at 7:30pm - Crewe Lyceum Studio
Box Office: 01270 368242 https://crewelyceum.co.uk/Online/
16 – 17 October at 8pm - Hull Truck Studio
Box office: 01482 323638 https://www.hulltruck.co.uk/
21 October at 7.30pm The Arts Centre, Ormskirk, Edge Hill University
Box Office: 01695 584480 https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/artscentre/
22 October at 7.45pm - York Theatre Royal
Box office: 01904 623568 www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
25-26 October at 7:30pm -Live Theatre, Newcastle
Box office: 0191 2321232 https://www.live.org.uk/
28 – 30 October at 7.45pm - Theatr Clwyd, Mold
Box office: 01352 701521 https://www.theatrclwyd.com
2 November at 8pm - Rosehill Theatre, Whitehaven
Box office: 01946 692422 https://www.rosehilltheatre.co.uk/
Creative Team
Daniel Kanaber
Playwright
Daniel has had plays performed across London and in festivals in America, Canada and Croatia. His first full-length production, Shiver, ran throughout February 2014 at Watford Playhouse. He was selected by HighTide to be part of their Escalator scheme; an early extract of the play was performed at HighTide Festival 2015. He has taken part on invitation-only groups for Paines Plough, Soho Theatre and Royal Court. In 2011, Box of Tricks toured his play Heart in Mouth nationally, including Theatre503, Oxford Playhouse, Tobacco Factory.
His short film Strays, produced by NFTS, was shortlisted for a BAFTA in 2012 and screened at Dinard and Karlovy festivals, and on Channel 4 last year as part of their Shooting Gallery series. We Were Awesome produced by Work Productions, was screened at HollyShorts, Raindance and Denver festivals. Ape, produced by Rogue Films, premiered at the BFI. He wrote Filmore, a short film produced by Academy Films. His work has been shortlisted for Coming Up in 2014 and BBC/NFTS Development in 2012, and he was selected by the BBC for their Continuing Dramas Residency.
Adam Quayle
Artistic Director & Director
Adam is Joint Artistic Director of Box of Tricks and trained as a director at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. For Box of Tricks, he has directed Chip Shop Chips (Northern and National Tours); Plastic Figurines (National Tour); Word:Play/NWxSW (Regional Tour); Picture a City (Everyword 2012, Liverpool Playhouse); My Arms (24:7 Theatre Festival, Lowry and Northern Tour); London Tales (Waterloo East and Nu:Write Festival, Zagreb); Head/Heart (national tour); Word:Play 4 (Arcola); True Love Waits (Latitude, Pulse, Nu:Write Festivals); Word:Play 3 (Theatre 503); Letting in Air (Old Red Lion Theatre); Word:Play 2 (Theatre 503); Word:Play (Union Theatre); A Hole in the Fence, Streetlights and Shadows (Time Out Critics' Choice: Show of the Week) and Beyond Omarska (White Bear).
Katie Scott
Associate Artist: Designer
Katie is an award-winning theatre designer based in the North-West. Upon graduating from LIPA, she was the inaugural winner of the Liverpool Playhouse Studio Prize for Theatre Design. She has since worked extensively designing for various forms of theatre and was shortlisted to be a member of the Old Vic 12 in 2017. Katie’s credits include: Searching for the Heart of Leeds (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Blackout (The Dukes, Lancaster); Narvik (Box of Tricks – national studio tour); Plastic Figurines (National Studio Tour 2015 and New Diorama 2016); Chip Shop Chips (Box of Tricks – national tour 2016 and 2018); Under The Market Roof (Junction 8); Held (Liverpool Playhouse Studio – winner of Liverpool Daily Post Arts Award for Best Design 2012); We Are The Multitude (24:7 Festival – MTA nominee Best Fringe Show); Gargantua (NT Connections – Lowry Young Company); The Ballad of Rudy (Goblin Theatre – Royal Exchange Studio); Bluestockings (ALRA North); The Grid (Young Everyman Playhouse Company – Liverpool Everyman); Clybourne Park (Said & Done Theatre Company – Unity Theatre Liverpool).
UNDER THREE MOONS
A new play by Daniel Kanaber
Director: Adam Quayle
Designer: Katie Scott | Associate Producer: Max Emmerson
Movement Director: Luke Rigg | Production Manager: Jack Opie
Lighting Designer: Louise Anderson | Sound Designer: Chris James
Composer: Chris Hope
PRESS PERFORMANCE:
Thursday 26 September at 8pm – The Lowry, Salford
Touring: 24 September – 2 November 2019
