New revival of Barney Norris’ play Visitors to open at Watermill Theatre

A major new UK revival of Barney Norris’ play Visitors will open at The Watermill Theatre this spring.

Barney Norris (The Wellspring – Royal and Derngate, Nightfall – The Bridge Theatre) will also direct the production which runs from 31 March – 22 April 2023.

The piece first premiered at the Arcola Theatre in March 2014 before a national tour and transfer to Bush Theatre, picking up a number of awards and nominations.

Making up the cast for the new revival are Nathalie Barclay as Kate, Tessa Bell-Briggs as Edie, Christopher Ravenscroft as Arthur and Patrick Toomey as Stephen.

Edie’s mind is starting to falter and Arthur’s legs aren’t what they were but, from the comfort of their armchairs, they dive into a kaleidoscope of memories from their life together. In their sleepy farmhouse at the edge of Salisbury Plain, they await the arrival of a young visitor and a reunion that will expose a family whose closeness is fraying at the seams.

The production will feature design from Good Teeth, with lighting design by James Whiteside and with sound design and composition from Anna Clock. The stage management team are Caitlin Ravenscroft (DSM), Gracie Adlington (ASM) and Natalie Toney (ASM).

Barney Norris said: “VISITORS is a story about love, the way that love shapes a life, the way that love extracts a toll, the way that love defines us. It’s also a play about people clinging on to ways of life, trying to make the world work for them as it seems to be trying to fall apart. And a play about what it’s like to live in the country. I wrote it fifteen years ago, a love song to the world I come from, and with this production I am bringing it home. The play’s set outside the north Wiltshire village of Pewsey, and the Watermill, I think, is the closest producing theatre to the play’s actual landscape. When Paul Hart, the Watermill’s artistic director, asked if I’d like to do it there, I jumped at the chance.

“Revisiting stories as we go through our lives is a pleasure nearly all of us know – we all see multiple productions of the same Shakespeare, re-read our favourite novels, re-watch our favourite films. Returning to a play I wrote as a younger man has been a fascinating way of marking the passing of my own time. When I first staged this play, nothing had ever really gone wrong in my life. Now, a decade older, having survived some difficult times, and been a carer myself – care and caring are central to the vision of love offered in VISITORS – I look back at this play and I can see how I have changed. That’s exciting and intriguing – it will lead to a different production, and I can’t wait to see how it develops.”

For more information and tickets, visit watermill.org.uk