A GROUP of Southampton University graduates have launched a new theatre company which plans to bring original writing and an innovative visual style to the city's The Stage Door this July.

Based in Southampton and founded by Amy Whitington, Rhiannon Creffield and Thomas Joy, Gauntlet Theatre won the Nuffield Theatre’s 2015 Graduate Company Scheme.

They are just starting the rehearsal process for their first production, ‘The Night Blogger’.

The production is an original horror anthology, comprising of five tall tales of dislocation, paranoia and personhood. A group of teenagers play a drunken game of truth or dare; a father and son clock making team struggle with the limits of their craft; a little boy starts talking to the woman who lives in the wires; the forces of evil try to adapt to the modern age, and a surgeon takes us through his latest project.

Founding member Thomas Joy said: ‘We're seeing an exciting cultural landscape developing in Southampton and it's thrilling to be a part of that change. Gauntlet Theatre was formed to bring contemporary theatre and new writing to the heart of the city, and by bringing together such a range of artists, we're hoping to really challenge our audiences' conception of the everyday.’

Nuffield Theatre producer Hannah Bevan, overseeing the scheme, says: ‘The Graduate Scheme was launched in 2015 and we’re delighted that Gauntlet Theatre are our inaugural company on this scheme as recent graduates from Southampton University. We’re extremely excited and committed to providing opportunities for emerging companies and talent from the region and are looking forward to the possibilities that the new arts complex may provide for supporting and expanding on the graduate scheme in the future.’

‘The Night Blogger’ will be performed at The Stage Door from the 26th- 29th July 2016.