CityLife

Royal Exchange announces Autumn/Winter programme

Royal Exchange Theatre

CITYLIFE spent all lunchbreak looking into its crystal ball, and can now firmly assure you that we'll all be spending the last three months of 2009 at the Royal Exchange Theatre. Don't believe us? Just take a peek at their fantastic Autumn/Winter programme.

From September 2 to October 3, Moliere's The Miser kicks off the season with a riotous comedy of manners about love, marriage and the extent parents go to to make cash from their kids. (Some parents, that is.)

The world premiere of Punk Rock by exciting young playwright Simon Stephens runs from October 7-31. Set in the library of a Manchester grammer school, Punk Rock follows a group of students as they study for their mock A Levels - and looks sure to build upon Stephens' growing reputation.

From November 4 until December 5, acclaimed stage, TV and film actor David Schofield returns to the Royal Exchange to play failed song-and-dance man Archie Rice in John Osborne's 1950s classic The Entertainer.

Perfect for Christmas, Noel Coward's frothy comedy Blithe Spirit revolves around the unexpected haunting of a socialite by the ghost of his first wife, and runs from December 9 until January 23.

The season closes with a revival of iconic American drama A Raisin In The Sun. Guest director Michael Buffong brings this powerful story of a struggling African-American family in Chicago to the Exchange from January 27 to February 20.

And Fiona Peek, joint first-prize winner of the Bruntwood Playwriting Competition, will debut her winning play Salt in The Studio from February 3-20. The Studio will also, over the course of the season, be transformed into a working pub with space to showcase many of the performances which have defined it over the years.

The Royal Exchange Theatre is in St Ann's Square, Manchester. For tickets or further info, visit www.royalexchange.co.uk