The play, about a Geordie shoe shop salesman who discovers he is the descendant of a famous Samurai warrior, was given sustained applause after its two performances at the prestigious festival, which featured music, poetry, film, literature, cabaret and theatre.
Gareth Hunter, of Ion Productions, who produced the show, explained: “Ross took time out from preparing for his own show to see Samurai. He really enjoyed it. He said, in his own inimitable way, ‘I only caught the last ten minutes but it was the best ten minutes of comedy I’ve ever seen in a tent!’”
South Shields-based Mr Hunter continued: “We kicked off the festival’s theatre programme on the Friday morning and got a great response.
“The organisers were really impressed with our levels of production, the professionalism of the actors, the excellent direction and the quality of the writing.
The actors, Dylan Mortimer (from Whitley Bay), Jill Dellow (Gateshead), Steven Stobbs (Sunderland) and Wayne Miller (South Shields) were tremendous.
“Given other companies there included the RSC, The National Theatre and The Bush Theatre, we were particularly pleased when we were told we had raised the bar so high it meant these other groups had to be on top form to compete with us!”
He continued: “The initial show attracted around 250 people, many of whom stood outside the tent to hear the show. However, word went out about “the Geordie play” and how good it was, so by our second performance on Saturday evening there were around 500 people in and around the tent.
“The response was brilliant; sustained applause, cheers and some people gave it a standing ovation.”
Son of Samurai will be performed at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal from Thursday, September 25, to Saturday 27. Other dates include the Customs House, South Shields (September 4 to 6) and the Stockton Arc (September 18 to 20).
Ends
Photos:
Latitude 20082: The first show – crowds built up steadily as the show progressed, many of whom sat on the grass outside the ten
Latitude 20084: The Saturday evening show – as well as a packed tent, hundreds sat outside – the audience stretched back to a path 30 yards behind the tent
Latitude 20085: The cast do some pre-show warm ups (Left to right: Steven Stobbs, Dylan Mortimer, Wayne Miller and Jill Dellow
Latitude 20086: The cast, production crew and writers: Left to right (back): Jane Harker, Jill Dellow, Keir Waugh, Steven Stobbs, Chris Corkin, Wayne Miller and Gareth Hunter. Front: Ed Waugh, Dylan Mortimer and Trevor Wood
For further details contact Gareth Hunter via email or mobile 07736687678
