Luxembourg City Theatres Unveil Multilingual Season with Focus on Adolescence

On Thursday 16 May 2024, the Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg unveiled their programme for the 2024/2025 season at a press conference held at the Grand Théâtre in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg.

Tom Leick-Burns, Artistic Director and General Manager of Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, delivered an energetic, multilingual presentation in which he announced that the new season would have a special generational focus, namely shining a spotlight on adolescence. Within this, the theatres are hoping to "build bridges" both between generations and particularly with young people in Luxembourg City. There is also an emphasis once again on multilingual and multidisciplinary creation with the upcoming season set to showcase both local and international talent. Accessibility and inclusion are key too, with the extension of audiodescriptions and surtitles (e.g. in English on selected Fridays).

Programme highlights for those looking for English-language productions include:

- Stolen Ground, a play by local poet / novelist Anna Leader which tells the story of a friendship put to the test when the colonial past of one girl's grandfather comes to light. Directed by Richard Twyman; commissioned by the Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg. Performances will take place at the Théâtre des Capucins on 9, 11-12 and 15-17 October 2024 at 20:00 and on 13 October 2024 at 17:00. 

- Link In My Bio, an opera by Charlotte Marlow and Dirty Freud which will have its world premiere at the Grand Théâtre in December 2024. This "ambitious" (and interactive) project is about a bus being hijacked by Alt and Far-Right radicalists in South London - and how a diverse group of young people try to resolve the situation. Music provided by the United Instruments of Lucilin. Performances are scheduled for 7 and 8 December 2024 at 20:00.

- Picture a Day Like This, George Benjamin and Martin Crimp's one-act opera about a mourning mother. Music provided by the Orchestre de Chambre du Luxembourg. Performances will take place at the Grand Théâtre on 28 February 2025 at 20:00 and on 2 March 2025 at 17:00.

- Gypsy, a musical in French and English loosely based on the memoir of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee. The tale of an overbearing stage mother. Music provided by Les Frivolités Parisiennes. Performances will take place at the Grand Théâtre on 30 April, 2 May and 3 May 2025 at 20:00.

- New Beginning, a play by UK artist collective Variable Matter (helmed by David Shearing) which features the participation of local youth. Features "multidimensional video projections", a "dramatic sound score" and "lyrical prose". English-language performances will take place at the Grand Théâtre on 16 May at 20:00 and on 17 May 2025 at 15:00.

- Noises Off, a co-production between the Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and British theatres based on Michael Frayn's farce of the same name. Commenting on the humorous play (directed by Douglas Rintoul), Tom Leick-Burns said: "Giggles guaranteed". Performances will take place at the Grand Théâtre on 13-14 June at 20:00 and on 15 June 2025 at 17:00.

Other highlights include: Anne Simon and Isaac Bush's immersive movement piece Lone Wolf (in Gibberish, with a pre-performance introduction in English) in October 2024; Rambert's stage adaptation Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby in November 2024; performances of 4/4 by Australian dance company Chunky Move in December 2024; Northern Irish dancer and choreographer Oona Doherty's award-winning Hope Hunt and the Ascension Into Lazarus and newer creation Navy Blue in December 2024; Birth, a wordless production by English theatre company Theatre Re in January 2025; Spring Awakenings, a multilingual project commissioned and produced by the Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, to be performed in April and May 2025; dance performances of Until We Sleep by Oliver award-winning choreographer Botis Seva and Far From The Norm, in June 2025.

For New Year's Eve this year, a family-friendly, acrobatic, musical version of Le Petit Prince is on the agenda.

Ticket subscriptions for the new season are already available, with the regular ticket sale starting on 8 July 2024; from this date, the Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg will also operate its own box office, via email: tickets@theatres.lu or via tel.: 4796-3901. Further information regarding the new season programme and ticketing is available online at https://theatres.lu/.