Rust Theatre & Performing Arts

Rust is about pushing the boundaries of trust, love and lust to the limit in this ultra-contemporary, sexy and funny production.

The six pieces chosen demonstrate HighTide and Assembly Festival’s shared vision for new writing as a space of political, contemporary and provocative work, created by new, diverse artists. HighTide is renowned for the discovery of new playwrights, including Ella Hickson, Nick Payne and Vinay Patel, and the Disruption season sees HighTide writers premiere at the world’s largest arts festival ahead of performances at HighTide Festival Aldeburgh.

From HighTide’s home county, East Anglian writer Kenny Emson’s Rust is the centrepiece of HighTide’s programme, following performances at London’s Bush Theatre who co-produce the production. Also headlining will be Collapsible by Irish writer Margaret Perry, Pops which sees Charlotte Josephine return to Edinburgh with her first piece solely as a writer and a double bill of shows presented with The Queer House from writers Teddy Lamb and Mika Johnson. Finally, demonstrating Assembly’s commitment to supporting Scottish new writing, Kevin P. Gilday’s Suffering From Scottishness completes the curated programme.

Disruption references the type of shows in the season, and the approach to producing them through an open call. Disruption shows HighTide’s continued commitment to supporting exciting theatre makers and providing them with the very best platform to be heard.

Steven Atkinson, Artistic Director of HighTide, comments, I am thrilled to be concluding my Artistic Directorship of HighTide by championing this outstanding group of six bold new artists; Kenny Emson, Kevin P. Gilday, Mika Johnson, Charlotte Josephine, Teddy Lamb and Margaret Perry. We're collaborating with our partners Bush Theatre, Ellie Keel Productions, Live Theatre, Jake Orr Productions, The Queer House and Sonnet Youth to present a unique programme of ambitious new writing at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019 as part of Disruption at Assembly Roxy.

Artistic Director Assembly Festival, William Burdett-Coutts adds, We are delighted to be partnering with HighTide to present this programme of contemporary work during the Festival. Assembly recognises the value of showcasing new work in Edinburgh in August, and we hope that our support will ensure that these contemporary theatre makers are given the best platform to present their work to the world’s media, and the hundreds of thousands of people who come here to enjoy the best arts festival in the world.

In addition to the six productions, Disruption will feature a programme of events throughout the month in keeping with the season's commitment to contemporary and provocative work. These additional events will be announced at a later date.

Rust is about pushing the boundaries of trust, love and lust to the limit in this ultra-contemporary, sexy and funny production from Kenny Emson (Plastic, Old Red Lion) and directed by Eleanor Rhode (King John, Royal Shakespeare Company, Boudica, Shakespeare’s Globe). Nadia and Daniel have just signed for a flat. Under a pseudonym, naturally. After years of married life, this is their chance to start again. But, as much as they redefine the rules, the outside world is closing in. Rust is a love story about two people who didn’t expect to fall in love again. It’s about the societal pressures that can sometimes trap us, preventing us from chancing something or someone new.

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