World Premiere of Fever Dream: Southside at the Citizens Theatre
The world premiere of a new play set in Glasgow’s Southside will take
place on Sat 25 April at the Citizens Theatre. Fever Dream: Southside,
a surreal comic thriller by Douglas Maxwell and directed by Dominic
Hill will preview 23 and 24 April and run until 9 May.
Fever Dream: Southside follows a hallucinatory journey to unravel the
tangled lives of a disparate group of recognisable Glaswegian characters set
against a backdrop of familiar Southside landmarks. A colourful representation
of the Citizens’ own neighbourhood, the play gives an account of the trials of
bringing up children today and the tensions, conflicts and community spirit
that come from living in a city.
Artistic Director Dominic Hill discussing the play,
said: “2015 is the 70th anniversary of our company’s first production in the
Citizens Theatre and in this season we wanted to present work that celebrates
our position as an important cultural provider for the whole of Glasgow, and
particularly for the Southside. With Fever Dream: Southside, Douglas has
created a wonderful, unusual, intriguing and very funny play that, with the
Southside as its setting, explores universal themes of parenthood,
responsibility and community. It is my first commission of a new play for the
Citizens and the first time I've directed Douglas' work. I hope it will be a
terrific event for audiences.'
Playwright Douglas Maxwell is a Southside resident
whose work includes the award-winning Decky Does a Bronco. Speaking about his
first major play at the Citizens Theatre he said: “I first began the process of
writing Fever Dream: Southside a few years ago just after the birth of my first
daughter. Despite the title, Fever Dream: Southside is not a portrait of the
Southside of Glasgow - it’s a self-portrait. The Southside is in the
background, warped and distorted. It’s a reflection on how I felt at that
time, not what was actually happening. I had worries and anxieties about
raising my new family in the city and was struggling with my need for community
while at the same time facing a fear of community.”
Tickets for Fever Dream: Southside are on sale now and available from citz.co.uk or
by calling the box office on 0141 429 0022.
