Drip Drop Theatre to stage premiere of Close Knit in Knaresborough
Close Knit to premiere in Knaresborough and Ripley during tour
Knaresborough and Ripley are two local venues chosen to host the premiere tour of ECR Roberts' musical Close Knit.
Drip Drop Theatre will perform the show from October 22-30, telling the story of British couple Charlie and Sophie who travel north of the Arctic Circle to live on the remote Norwegian island of Skogeuken for ten months.
Before long, Sophie becomes enmeshed with Norwegian tales and legends and begins to develop an obsession with the nation’s favourite pastime, knitting.
As the midnight sun gives way to the polar night, elements of Charlie’s and Sophie’s lives begin to unravel. Then, in the depths of the bitter cold and dark of winter, events take an unexpected turn.
Writer, Emily Roberts, explained: “I liked the idea of a show in which knitting featured and so Close Knit evolved with that at its core.
"However, this isn’t a story only about knitting, it has various threads running through it: adventure, Arctic art, extreme cold, folklore, fear of failure, deception, loyalty, community and more besides."
Emily’s previous six musicals have covered a range of stories from office romance to widowhood to farming to Eurovision to lidos to tennis.
She added: “This is the first musical I’ve written in which the lighting plays a very significant role.
"We need to create the atmosphere for scenes such as the campfire, the pitch-black woods with only torchlight, and the Northern Lights.”
Local lighting expert Dave Robinson has joined the Drip Drop Theatre crew to ensure that the lighting hits the spot throughout the show.
There is also the need to create the Skogeuken troll who resides somewhere deep in the woods. A local team who go by the name of “The Troll Trio” will be creating the troll for the show.
When asked about the choreography, Emily said: “it’s a very enjoyable job putting choreography to the songs.
"Two firm favourites in this musical are the knitting themed songs ‘All We Ever Do Is Knit’ and ‘Needle Fever’.
"In the first, the focus is very much on the rhythm of the needles, and in the other, it’s all about the balls of yarn.
"The choreography in the songs ‘Velkommen’ and ‘Midsommar’ evokes a sense of tradition and location, and the moving lanterns in the song ‘Folklore’ evoke a sense of mystery and magic.
Close Knit stars Alex Davison as Charlie and Danielle Little as Sophie, alongside the nine Norwegians: Autumn Wray, Ava Reeves, Christopher Williams, Edward Tadd, Florence Gaughan, Helen Crompton, Mike Wray, Sally Haywood and T J Anderson.
There is a live four-piece band comprising Andrew Bodey, Darren Hornsey, Emily Roberts and Rachel Smith playing a mix of piano, violin, cello, bass guitar, glockenspiel and cajon.
The show, which also visits Kirkby Malzeard, Northallerton, Grassington and Otley, is sponsored by Upstage Academy, Ripon and Platinum Print, Harrogate. Visit website: dripdroptheatre.com.