I, Daniel Blake stage adaptation premiere to lead Northern Stage’s 2023 season

Northern Stage has announced its 2023 season which includes the stage premiere of I, Daniel Blake.

The This is Family season is the third in a trilogy of ‘This is…’ seasons from Northern Stage Artistic Director Natalie Ibu.

Leading the season will be a brand new stage adaptation of I, Daniel Blake (26 May – 10 June) that exposes the reality behind the cost-of-living crisis headlines. The first stage adaptation of Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or and BAFTA award-winning film will premiere at Northern Stage before touring (dates to be announced).

Actor and comedian Dave Johns who won the Best Actor award at the British Independent Film Awards and Best Newcomer at the EMPIRE Awards for his role in the film, will adapt the movie for the stage.

Ken Loach said: “This story is more relevant now than ever. And who better to put it on stage than Dave Johns, the original Daniel Blake?”

Dave Johns commented: “I was thrilled to be asked to adapt Paul Laverty’s screenplay. But I didn’t just want to put the film on stage, I wanted to update the story for 2022, making it contemporary and exploring more of single mum Katie’s journey and the family unit she forms with Daniel. To show the kindness, compassion, humour, and hope that can help us through the toughest of times. Sadly, during my research it was disheartening to find not much had changed at all since the film’s release. The story is still as relevant as it was in 2016; maybe even more so now with the cost-of-living crisis making it even harder for those who are already struggling to find a way out of poverty. Daniel and Katie’s story could be anyone’s.”

Director Mark Calvert added: “When we first started to think about how to adapt I, Daniel Blake for the stage we knew that we needed to honour the film while giving audiences a fresh perspective on the ramifications of the last 12 years of government on people’s lives. This is one of the most extraordinary moments in the history of the country and I, Daniel Blake frames the working-class experience in modern Britain. Inspired by activists Led By Donkeys, Cold War Steve and Cassette Boy, the production will feature factual interviews, speeches and social media output showing the impact of government decisions on real people’s lives. Because with 14.5 million people now living in poverty in the UK, this is not fiction. It is reality. And it’s a story that affects even more people than when the film was released in 2016.”

Designed by Rhys Jarman (Gecko) with movement direction by Martin Hylton (Gateway Studio and Phoenix Dance), I, Daniel Blake is a co-production between Northern Stage, Birmingham Rep, Oldham Coliseum, English Touring Theatre, and tiny dragon Productions, in association with Cardboard Citizens who make theatre for social change with and for homeless people.

The season also includes new play Protest (27 April – 6 Ma) by award-winning poet and playwright Hannah Lavery, directed by Northern Stage Artistic Director Natalie Ibu, Co-produced by Fuel, Imaginate and Northern Stage, in association with the National Theatre of Scotland, the production will tour after its premiere at Northern Stage.

Meanwhile the venue’s festive show for 2023 has been revealed as a new production of Sally Cookson’s Olivier award-nominated Cinderella: A Fairytale (2 December – 6 January), co-directed by Katy Weir and Jake Smith.

For more information on the season and tickets, visit northernstage.co.uk

Natalie Ibu says of the season: “This is Family is about community, tribes; how we gather and how we define ourselves. Whether that’s celebrating youth activism and uniting to take a stand against racial prejudice, the patriarchy and the climate crisis in Hannah Lavery’s Protest; the unlikely bond an ailing Geordie carpenter and a struggling single mum from London form to take on a system that’s stacked against them in I, Daniel Blake; or an intimate new show created by our Young Company that delves into connection and the ways in which the world we are living in can make us feel lonely; it’s about doing life together. And as a producing theatre company, a venue, and a charity that collaborates on creative projects in our communities, that’s exactly what we’re here for.”