SIZE OF COMPANY
5–9 on the road

SCALE OF VENUE
Small- to middle-scale

PERMANENT STAFF
Artistic Director
Mark Murphy

ARTISTIC POLICY
Mark Murphy is a writer, director, filmmaker and movement specialist. As founder of Vtol Dance Company, he directed seven major shows – touring the UK and Europe. He co-directed two acclaimed theatre productions for Northern Stage – A Clockwork Orange and 1984. Mark Murphy has written three plays and two screenplays, including the award-winning The Night Shift, and directed site-specific shows for the opening of the Manchester and Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Recently he has directed two shows for the National Theatre of Scotland. 2008 sees him directing the opening outdoor show launching the Liverpool European Capital of Culture.

REVIEW EXTRACTS
'Controlling diverse elements is what the director does so well… the layering of images works beautifully.' Independent on Sunday (The Night Shift)

'Its fascinating, nightmarish interlayering makes for a slickly polished, very theatrical package.' Sunday Times (The Night Shift)

‘Inventive and impressive.’ Herald Sun, Australia (On The Case)

CURRENT PRODUCTION
The Night Shift Ever dreamt you were dreaming? We each spend 25 years asleep, yet no one really knows why we dream. A visual play about one woman’s fight not to find her father. (90 mins, 2 on stage, 5 on the road.)

FUTURE PRODUCTIONS
A Wing and a Prayer Two worlds, one mid-air collision. An air traffic controller, a pilot and one catastrophic crash. A wife, a husband and one almighty breakdown. (4 on stage, 7 on the road.)

Vertical Arena (working title) Five climbers lie trapped in a blizzard at 26,000 feet. While they contemplate probable death, tempers fray and their private thoughts spiral into hurricane force winds. A large-scale outdoor show for aerial performers/climbers/actors and projected film, music and voice-over, staged on a specially constructed vertical surface. (30 mins, 5 on stage, 9 on the road.)

WRAP-AROUND
Post–show discussions, workshops and residencies.

RECENT INTERNATIONAL WORK
2006 Australia, Singapore

TOURING AVAILABILITY
The Night Shift from March 2008.
A Wing and a Prayer and Vertical Arena from late 2008