Groundbreaking new season at The Drum

SPACE FOR SMALLER THEATRE COMPANIES TO SHOWCASE THEIR WORK

- By ANDY PHILLIPS

IT can only seat 120 people and is expected to be loss-making, but another season of ‘extraordinary’ work has been unveiled for The Drum at Theatre Royal Plymouth. And bosses are hugely excited about it.

The younger sibling of TRP’s main Lyric stage ~ which can seat 1,200 people - The Drum is tiny by comparison, yet is to get a new season of groundbreaking shows featuring everything from gritty dramas to poetry, comedy and even a half-term dinosaur-themed music show.

The role of both stages has been reevaluated since the arrival of chief executive and artistic director James Mackenzie-Blackman, with The Drum now programmed as a space for smaller theatre companies to showcase their work at the same time as TRP focuses efforts on establishing itself as a production house on a larger scale.

That not only throws a financial lifeline to smaller artists, but offers a space for creativity which TRP bosses are hoping might even uncover the ‘next Hamilton:

At an event for media last week, TRP Associate Director Tom Jackson-Greaves unveiled the lineup of shows for The Drum, and explained howit fulfils a core role for theatre in the region.

He said: “Since James [Mackenzie-Blackman] has been here we've been on this big journey and we are producing a lot more on Lyric stage - the big stage - which is super exciting, but it means that the heritage of our stages has changed.