Fram

A new play by Britain's foremost theatre poet, Tony Harrison.

Fram takes us from a contemporary Westminster Abbey to the Arctic ship Fram - or Forward - specially built by the famous Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen who, with his suicidal companion, Johansen, makes a bid on foot for the North Pole in the 1890s.

Though incompatible, they share a bear fur sleeping-bag through the long winter. Nansen, still haunted by Johansen's ghost, is appointed to the League of Nations. As a figurehead of Russian famine relief in 1922, he conducts the first celebrity campaign, searching for means, however shocking, to make people care.

Directed by Tony Harrison and Bob Crowley, with set design by Bob Crowley, costume design by Fotini Dimou, lighting by Mark Henderson, choreography by Wayne MacGregor, music by Richard Blackford and video by Jon Driscoll.

The cast includes Mark Addy (as Johansen), Jasper Britton (Nansen), Viviana Durante, Jeff Rawle and Sian Thomas.