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Matthew Lenton

MATTHEW LENTON

  
Nationality:    Scottish
email:    n/a     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    n/a

Matthew Lenton's plays including theatres, agent, synopses, cast sizes, production and published dates

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below is a list of Matthew Lenton's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, The         Blackout         Brief History Of Time, A         Circles Of Fifths, The         Destroyed Room, The         Glimpse         Home         Interiors         Last Stand         Legend Of Captain Crow's Teeth, The         Little Otik         Lost Ones         Lovers Unlimited         Saturday Night         Sightless, The         Sleeping Beauty         Snow Queen, The         Subway         Tomorrow

Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, The

Synopsis:
You are the centre of your little world and I am of mine. Now and again we meet for tea, we're two of a kind. This is our universe, cups of tea. We have a beautiful cosmos, you and me. The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler is a musical and visual journey based on the songs, stories and poems of one of Scotland's most iconic exiles. A Jewish, Scottish, Londoner, Ivor Cutler was a wholehearted eccentric whose music and words range from the whimsical to the disturbing; had he been born in Russia he'd perhaps be a Daniil Kharms or a Gogol. Here, Mr Cutler stands alone. A true maverick, Ivor Cutler was the only artist to have been played on Radios 1,2,3 and 4. He was signed by all the major record labels, influenced the Beatles and was championed by John Peel. The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler weaves together the music, prose, poetry and biography of Ivor Cutler to tell the story of a remarkable life, from birth, through boyhood, to old age and death.

Notes:
Conceived and directed by Matthew Lenton. Created by James Fortune, Sandy Grierson and Matthew Lenton. Text by Sandy Grierson, with the Company.

1st Produced:
Inverness: Eden Court     04 Apr 2014

Organisations:
Vanishing Point and National Theatre of Scotland

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
biographical musical play

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  musicians

Further Reference:

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Blackout

Synopsis:
a boy arrives in the city shut in his father's suitcase and begins a dark and surreal journey through life. This is his story. a remarkable journey involving refugees, a stolen moon, disputed ownership, inept policemen and a revolt among the dead. Strange landscapes and figures, comic and tragic, materialise and disappear like stories drifting through the imagination.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Piece

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Brief History Of Time, A

Synopsis:
Based on Stephen Hawking's bestselling book, a Brief History of Time is about the universe, time and the urge to explore that leads humankind on a potentially infinite search for knowledge and ultimate answers. embarking in groups of twelve, audiences begin a visceral journey around the spaces of Tramway. they encounter performance, animation and a sound and video installation, before indulging in a sinister game of cards which separates winners from losers. Winners are led one by one into the vast pitch darkness of Tramway 1, where faint images emerge from the darkness, before being led blindfolded into a nearby church. Here they are reunited with the losers, who have been on a journey of their own, for the final sequence.

Notes:
Text by Kai Fischer, Matthew Lenton, Norman Gray, Paul Johnson. Original Music by Malcolm Lindsay

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Devised Piece

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Circles Of Fifths, The

Synopsis:
It's snowing heavily and the roads are closed. The gymnasium of the village school has become the shelter and sleeping quarters for the tired, stranded travellers - displaced and dispossessed for the night and relying on the hospitality of the locals. Between the twilight and the dawn, the headmaster, the ghost of a lorry driver, the woman with a missing husband and even Father Christmas himself, are forced to confront each other and themselves. As the magic hour of the dawn arrives, the snow is still falling. The Circle of Fifths is a dreamy, discordant and haunting adaptation of the Polish novella by Szymon Bogacz.

Notes:
Adapted and directed by Matthew Lenton, Based on the book by Szymon Bogacz, Polish Text Adapted by Aleksandra Poplawska, Literal English Translation by Agnieszka Lenton

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Destroyed Room, The

Synopsis:
The Destroyed Room takes its inspiration from Jeff Wall's famous photograph, which shows a ransacked room, where every item of furniture has been torn up and destroyed. What happened? It begins with what seems to be the recording of a debate, as guests gather to digest world events. They sit among potted plants and standard lamps, discussing the things they have witnessed and debating the ethics of watching. Around them, cameras film their every word and every reaction, beaming them live onto a big screen. As the debate intensifies, slowly and as if in a dream, the atmosphere begins to change. The Destroyed Room is about the profusion of lenses, which bring the world right into our rooms but also keep it at a distance. It's about what we see and what we turn away from. And what's coming.

Notes:
Conceived and directed by Matthew Lenton, created by Vanishing Point

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Glimpse

Synopsis:
Glimpse was created through six weeks working with dementia patients and their carers at a day centre in the Scottish borders. Glimpse is the story of an archaeologist who has forgotten her greatest discovery. affected by dementia, she lives in a world where her television talks to her and flowers grow from the walls of her room. Four hundred years before, an old woman is stranded with her son in the bleak wilderness of Sutherland, surrounded by the peat bogs that eventually claim her life. as the dawn emerges, so does the connection between these ghostly figures, centuries apart but strangely linked by an umbilical chord that spans the ages.

Notes:
Text by Matthew Lenton, with Anthea McKinlay And John Killick

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Show

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Home

Synopsis:
two women in an old folk's home with a fragile grip on reality

Notes:
part of ten new pieces to launch the National theatre of Scotland

1st Produced:
Caithness Glass Factory, Wick     2006

Organisations:
Grey Coast Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Pieces Piece

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Interiors

Synopsis:
Behind a window, in a cosy room, a group of friends sit down for a meal. the food is being cooked; the lamps are on, everyone is happy. Talk begins and soon stories unfold around the table, stories about the living and the dead, about missing necklaces and what happens when people get hungry

Notes:
Conceived by Matthew Lenton. Based on Interior by Maurice Maeterlinck. Interiors is A co-production with Napoli Teatro Festival Italia, Mercadante Teatro Stabile di Napoli And Traverse theatre in Association with Lyric Hammersmith And Tron theatre. Interiors was developed with the support of the National theatre Studio.

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Piece

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Last Stand

Synopsis:
In a distant country, a man dreams of walking barefoot on the grass for the last time in his life. Back home, his estranged brother receives a parcel from death row containing stories of surreal but strangely familiar incidents. these incidents relate to a past they both remember and to a photograph taken years ago, in which they stand side by side. Last Stand is a distinctively visual show about brotherhood, memory, time and reflection, in which light paints amazing pictures and stories materialise out of thin air.

Notes:
Text by Matthew Lenton

1st Produced:
Gilmorehill G12 In Glasgow     1999

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Piece

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Legend Of Captain Crow's Teeth, The

Synopsis:
Based on the novel from the popular best-selling children's author eoin Colfer, creator of the artemis Fowl series, the Legend of Captain Crow's Teeth is a funny and lively adventure of ghostly pirates, sibling rivalry and terrifying school discos

Notes:
Based on the book by eoin Colfer, directed And devised by Matthew Lenton

1st Produced:

Organisations:
a Unicorn production

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TYA

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  4 boys

Further Reference:

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Little Otik

Synopsis:
tells the story of a couple desperate for a child but unable to conceive

Notes:
adapted by Matthew Lenton with Sandy Grierson And the Company. Adaptation of Jan Svankmajer's incredible cult film Little Otik

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Lost Ones

Synopsis:
Lost Ones is a surreal, fantastical adventure about a man whose unusual past is coming back to haunt him. Strange creatures are emerging from his body and disappearing through a hole in the skirting board. each carries a bag in which something valuable is being smuggled to the void on the other side. It all goes back to an incident at the top of a mountain, a class outing years before. a group of extraordinary children at the notorious academy, St Peter's On the Hill, are taken on a day out by their teacher. Only one child comes back, but what happened on that mountain? and why has it come back to haunt our hero now? Based on a series of extraordinary short stories by Matthew Lenton, Lost Ones is a strange, beautiful and ever so slightly twisted piece with performance, extraordinary design and anarchic live music.

Notes:
live songs by Alasdair Macrae. Conceived And text by Matthew Lenton

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Devised Piece

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lovers Unlimited

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Paisley Arts Centre     2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Saturday Night

Synopsis:
We are watching through the windows of a house, with a garden: different rooms, different people. What unfolds within is a mystery to be pieced together. Who is the young couple recently moved in? What is he doing in the bathroom? Who is that strange presence up above? and what is it that's moving in the garden? Saturday Night is the darker, dreamier and more surreal companion piece to Vanishing Point's innovative and award-winning show, Interiors. Saturday Night is about the environments we create for ourselves and call home, the dreams we build together, the secrets we keep from each other. It is about the creeping force of nature and the respite we find in the smallest of pleasures.

Notes:
Conceived And directed by Matthew Lenton

1st Produced:
Teatro Nacional Sao Joao, Porto     15 Sep 2011

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  extras

Further Reference:

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Sightless, The

Synopsis:
In a place, which not a single shaft of light penetrates, a group of men and women, blind to their surroundings, sit separated from each other. abandoned by their sighted leader they grow ever more afraid of the darkness that envelopes them. the Sightless, performed in total darkness, is an unnerving thriller about perception, prejudice and the extent to which the fears that haunt us come from within.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Maurice Maeterlinck. Written And directed by Matthew Lenton

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sleeping Beauty

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Carnegie Hall - Dunfermiline     2008

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Snow Queen, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Carnegie Hall - Dunfermline     2009

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Subway

Synopsis:
the future. Today's politics has become tomorrow's reality. an odyssey featuring stunning live music from a six-piece Kosovan band and inventive visual theatre from the creators of 2005 smash hit 'Lost Ones.' Co-produced Tron theatre, commissioned by Lyric Hammersmith.

Notes:
text by Vanishing Point, conceived by Matthew Leyton

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Vanishing Point

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Piece

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Tomorrow

Synopsis:
This new work from Vanishing Point explores what it is to grow old and be cared for, in a world where myth and spirituality have been subsumed by what we all know to be true - that we are born, we live and we die. Using its distinctive visual imagination, Vanishing Point explores this subject through the dreamlike scenario of a young man who suddenly finds himself in an alarmingly unfamiliar place. A place where everyone seems to know him and where strange rules apply. Where everyone seems to have his best interests at heart, but he is not at liberty to leave. A major international co-production, Tomorrow is a striking meditation on growing old, dementia, needing care and needing to care.

Notes:
conceived by Matthew Lenton, text by Pamela Carter

1st Produced:
Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, Brighton Festival     21 May 2014

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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