What Director Emma Rice is Watching on Marquee TV

Crowned Standard Issue Magazine’s Woman of the Year in 2016 and named one of Sky Art’s Top 50 Most Influential British Artists in 2022, Olivier Award-winning theatermaker and director, Emma Rice is a force to be reckoned with.

Known for her riveting adaptations that fuse theatrical magic with bold social and political commentary, all wrapped up in a cabaret-like extravaganza, Rice has redefined the boundaries of modern theater. From her years at Cornwall’s Kneehigh Theatre, to her tenure as Artistic Director of The Globe, Rice has forged her path in the theater world. In 2017, she founded her touring company, Wise Children, bringing fresh, fearless productions to stages across the UK (and straight to your screen on Marquee TV). 

What sparks the imagination of such a visionary? We caught up with Emma Rice to find out what she’s watching on Marquee TV. 

Betroffenheit

A favorite of creatives everywhere, Betroffenheit is a boundary-stretching hybrid of theater and dance, created by Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young that gets to the core of what it means to experience grief. 

‘‘Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite is, in my opinion, one of the greatest artists working today. Her work is completely unique, there’s just nothing else like it out there, and the laws of physics just don’t seem to apply to her dancers! Betroffenheit is the first piece of hers I ever saw, and this hilarious, horrifying, tender but brutal meditation on grief and trauma – a collaboration with writer Jonathon Young – has stayed with me for years. It’s a real pleasure to be able to revisit it on film.’’

Touching the Void

A thrilling plunge into the depths of human resilience. Touching the Void is an adaptation of Joe Simpson’s bestselling memoir, directed by Tony Award-winner Tom Morris (War Horse), that tells the harrowing true story of Simon Yates and Joe Simpson’s treacherous experience climbing Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. 

 

‘‘I’ve worked with Touching the Void’s director Tom Morris over many years, in many guises, including when he ran London’s Battersea Arts Centre and then the beautiful Bristol Old Vic – two theaters which have played an important part in my history.

Touching the Void is a feat of physical storytelling, in which Tom and his team manage the seemingly impossible, conjuring the world’s highest mountain range out of little more than chairs, tables, and their bodies.’’

Amy Winehouse: Other Voices

Between fascinating interviews with Amy, this unique concert documentary offers a rare opportunity to experience Amy Winehouse’s 2006 performance in Ireland’s annual Other Voices festival-  performed for a small audience inside Dingle’s St James’s church. 

 

‘‘I’m a huge fan of Amy Winehouse, and I’d heard about the gig she played in Dingle but getting to see and hear it in this film is extraordinary. It’s such a small venue and I can only imagine how electrifying the event was. I love to imagine I was one of the few people lucky enough to be there that night.  

The wider documentary also includes clips from some of Winehouse’s biggest influences and there’s some great stuff in there, from the righteously rollicking gospel of Mahalia Jackson to the gorgeously bombastic teen balladry of the Shangri-Las.’’ 

In Search of the Brontës

For all the literary fans, this two-part dramatized documentary series reveals the fascinating story of the gifted yet ill-fated Brontë family. Each episode offers deeper insight into their lives and works by challenging long-standing misconceptions surrounding the family that gave us Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

 

‘‘I adapted Wuthering Heights in 2020, and, in the course of writing the script, I visited the Brontës’ home in Yorkshire as well as staying at the house that is said to have been the inspiration for the Heights itself. 

Since then, I’ve taken every opportunity to learn more about this extraordinary family, and this dramatized documentary gives an excellent insight into their world, capturing their frustrated passions and the inspiration that seemingly sprung from nowhere, as it tells the story of three literary geniuses (and one boozy brother) cooped up under the roof of a Yorkshire parsonage, charting new paths for storytelling.’’

Akram Khan’s Giselle 

In Giselle, Akram Khan reimagines the classic romantic ballet, fusing contemporary ballet with notes of traditional Kathak dance. In this story, Giselle belongs to a community of outcast garment workers under the control of the wealthy factory Landlords.

 

‘‘Akram Khan is another living legend, and this show was one of his absolute best. The music, the design, and above all the most breathtakingly beautiful choreography are what make this show iconic.

I have to admit to finding the story a bit frustrating – it explores some of the same territory as my beloved Wuthering Heights but without the possibility of hope and redemption which that story offers at the end – but with Khan in the driving seat, you forget about that and are just swept away by the intoxicating love story.’’

Cymbeline 

In Melly Still’s groundbreaking 2016 production of Cymbeline with The Royal Shakespeare Company, Cymbeline is not a King, but a powerful Queen. This strategic gender swap gives new depth to Shakespeare’s complicated character, she is not just a wise monarch but also a mother hoping to reunite with her children.  

 

‘‘Shakespeare’s Cymbeline has a chequered reputation: many dismiss it as the work of a playwright past his prime. But it’s a play with a special place in my heart that somehow keeps coming back into my life. We created a version of it at Kneehigh, and I’ll always remember the response we got when we toured to Colombia. It had a particular and powerful resonance with people whose loved ones had been forcibly disappeared, and their reactions made me see it through different eyes.

It was also a great success at Shakespeare’s Globe: Imogen, Matthew Dunster’s grime-inflected reinvention of the play, stands out as one of my favorite things I programed during my time there. This production by the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by the always-brilliant Melly Still, locates the action in a post-apocalyptic world, giving it yet another provocative twist.’’

Blue Beard 

Blue Beard is Emma Rice’s wildly inventive reimagining of Charles Perrault’s 1667 horror tale. Dreamlike, music-fuelled, and wickedly murderous this production boldly celebrates female empowerment while blending disco music, sharp comedy, and tender truths.

 

‘‘And how can I resist including my own Blue Beard, the show I wrote and directed in 2023 as a roar of protest? Haunted by the regular chime of real-life women being attacked, murdered, and abused, I felt I needed to tell this story – not to understand Blue Beard and men like him, but to breathe life into the women he tried to control. I needed to express the rage, grief, and heartbreak so many of us experience and yet feel powerless to change.

 At this point in history, Sarah Everard had been murdered, and the ensuing chaos of her vigil had captured the public’s imagination. However, for me, it was the murder of Zara Aleena that really brought home my anger and my loss. She was just walking home. A week later her family, friends, and people she would never know, met at the spot where she was killed and walked her memory home, in silence. I cannot even write about this without weeping. This was the moment that I knew I wanted to walk Blue Beard’s victims home. I wanted to use my craft, my platform, and my experience to make a small difference.’’

Whether drawing inspiration from music, theater, or finding fresh ideas from the world of dance, Emma Rice’s love and passion for the arts shines through in everything she does. The next time you’re looking for something to watch on Marquee TV, take a cue from Emma Rice. You might just discover the spark that ignites your next creative adventure. 

Watch Emma’s favorites on Marquee TV.