By Steve Cooke
The Octagon Theatre will open their doors for their Warm Up season soon and now have announced the cast for their first production.
See You at the Octagon will open their highly anticipated Warm Up season, coming to the stage from Wed 26 May – Tue 15 June.
Bolton based actor, writer, and theatre maker Pegeen Murphy will star in this specially commissioned monologue.
Pegeen has an impressive string of theatre credits to her name and is no stranger to the Octagon stage, previously appearing in Cartwright Cabaret in 2018. Her other stage credits include Guess What? as part of Vignettes at Hope Mill Theatre, Life Up ‘Ere for Up Ere Productions and Trollope at Oldham Coliseum.
She was also the recipient of one of the Octagon’s Artist Incubation residencies earlier this year, which provided three local theatre artists with rehearsal space, bursaries and support from the Octagon’s artistic team to develop new work.
See You at the Octagon is a wonderfully heartfelt, funny and moving new one act play, by local stage and screen writer Becky Prestwich (One Night in Bolton, Octagon Theatre, Holby City and Doctors BBC One), directed by the Octagon’s Artistic Director Lotte Wakeham.
Inspired by the public responses to the Octagon’s Eight Questions questionnaire, it is a story about the people and the town of Bolton, which draws on memories shared of the past year and hopes for the future.
See You at the Octagon captures the laughs, friendships, and overwhelming community spirit that has touched people’s lives and celebrates audiences coming together to experience live theatre.
Artistic Director Lotte Wakeham said: “I’m thrilled to announce that Pegeen will be starring in our opening monologue, See You at the Octagon. I got to know Pegeen through our annual auditions for locally based actors, and I think she’s the ideal performer to tell this Boltonian story. We are currently in the second week of rehearsals which are going wonderfully – it is a real joy to be back in person in a rehearsal room after so long. I cannot wait for our audiences to see this superb new piece of writing on the Octagon stage, in our reimagined building.”
Forming part of the Octagon’s Warm Up season, tickets are on sale now and can be purchased on a Pay What You Decide basis, with prices starting from £5.
Visit: octagonbolton.co.uk
Phone: Box Office 01204 520 661