Paines Plough’s Roundabout venue announces Brixton summer run

Paines Plough’s pop-up theatre the Roundabout will base itself in Brixton for a London run this summer, as the company announces it will not premiere work in Edinburgh this year.

Roundabout 21 will feature four world premieres, including work by Chris Bush, Chinonyerem Odimba, Phoebe Eclair-Powell and Frankie Meredith.

The pop-up venue, which usually presents work at Summerhall during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, will premiere its four shows in rep at the Belgrade Theatre as part of Coventry UK City of Culture, from July 27 to August 8.

It will then tour to Northern Stage in Newcastle, before being based in Brixton from August 19 to 29.

The in-the-round auditorium will then tour UK cities including Salford, Ramsgate, Doncaster, Lincoln and Bournemouth throughout the autumn.

Odimba’s musical Black Love, with music by Ben and Max Ringham, will be co-directed by the author and Paines Plough co-artistic director Katie Posner.

It will play in rep with Bush’s new play Hungry, and Eclair-Powell’s family show Really Big and Really Loud, both directed by Posner.

Meredith’s May Queen, described as a coming-of-age story about a young woman from Coventry on a quest to find her place in her city and in the world, is directed by Belgrade Theatre co-artistic director Balisha Karra.

The rep cast includes Nathan Queeley-Dennis, Leah St Luce and Eleanor Sutton, with Yasmin Dawes joining as the central character in May Queen.

The 10-day Roundabout: Brixton programme will also include performances from visiting companies and artists including RashDash, Bonnie and the Bonnettes, Sukh Ojla and Sindhu Vee.

Paines Plough is planning to partner with food banks throughout the Roundabout tour to support those most affected by the pandemic.