Associate Artist of The Lowry

Monkeywood have become Associate Artist of The Lowry, Salford Quays. Following a relationship that began in 2008, The Lowry have committed their support to Monkeywood’s professional development and exciting new production to be premièred there in autumn 2015.

As a local Manchester-based new writing company, Monkeywood will join national companies of critical acclaim, Theatre Ad Infinitum, Kill The Beast and Idle Motion on the Associate Artist scheme, which is supported by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.

Martin Gibbons, Co-Artistic Director of Monkeywood, said “We’re delighted to see our relationship with The Lowry progress to that of Associate Artist. We’re a Manchester-based company excited to be making work in the north west and feel lucky to have the support of one of the country’s most visionary arts venues. We look forward to developing and creating our most ambitious production yet at The Lowry and can’t wait for audiences to see it and get involved.”

In 2008 Monkeywood first produced A Song For The Lovers to sell-out audiences in The Lowry Studio, followed in 2010 by the northern tour of Maine Road, funded by Arts Council England, which graduated to the Quays Theatre. As one of four companies in the inaugural programme of ‘Developed With The Lowry’, Monkeywood developed and produced Once in a House on Fire, a new play based on Andrea Ashworth’s memoir. In 2001 and 2012 that production played to sell-out audiences in The Lowry’s Studio and Quays Theatre and was nominated for Best New Play and Best Studio Performance at the 2011 Manchester Theatre Awards. It also formed part of Northern Stage’s ‘Made in the North’ programme at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Matt Eames, Associate Studio Producer at The Lowry, said: “Monkeywood have a great reputation for producing new and exciting work and we look forward to seeing what they bring to our programme in 2015.”

For more information on Monkeywood’s future productions follow @monkeywood on Twitter, Facebook page Monkeywood Theatre or website: oldmonkeywood.holdenandyou.com

Find our more about The Lowry’s artist development programmes on their website: www.thelowry.com/developed-with/thestudio/welcome/

Image credit: Ian Fenton