Sunday, January 12

NEWS

York Theatre Royal want love letters for its grand re-opening
NEWS

York Theatre Royal want love letters for its grand re-opening

York Theatre Royal wants love letters from poets, writers, performers, singers, dancers, digital artists to help celebrate its re-opening on May 17th. Under the umbrella title Love Bites the 20 five minute pieces will be performed on the opening night of The Love Season. The commissions on the theme of love will then be presented across the following fortnight as a prelude to the theatre production playing each night. The successful artists will be offered £1,000 a commission plus £150 every time it is performed. “We want local artists working in any form or medium and currently living in York to join forces with us in celebrating the start of live performances when restrictions lift in May,” says Creative Director Juliet Forster. “We are looking for artists to create lo...
Tim Minchin is back Encore Tour 2021
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Tim Minchin is back Encore Tour 2021

Tim Minchin, award-winning comedian, actor and composer, has confirmed new UK dates of his BACK tour this autumn heading to the Opera House Blackpool on Saturday 20th November 2021. Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10am Friday 12th March at www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk BACK is billed as “Old Songs, New Songs, F*** You Songs”, with a set list of material from all corners of Minchin’s eclectic – and often iconoclastic – repertoire. First performed in the UK in 2019, BACK was Tim’s first UK tour in 8 years and the 80,000 tickets sold out over a year in advance. The long-awaited return to the stage received rave reviews and saw Tim pick up a prestigious Helpmann Award for Best Australian Contemporary Concert. Picture: Damian Bennett Minchin has been celebrated glob...
St Helens Theatre Royal Announce Their Easter Streamed Pantomime
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St Helens Theatre Royal Announce Their Easter Streamed Pantomime

St Helens Theatre Royal has announced that its Easter pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk will be streamed online to watch at home. Producers Regal Entertainments had previously announced that Goldilocks would be staged during half-term for audiences visiting the theatre. However, given the Government’s recent roadmap to ease restrictions, plans to stage the panto have now been revised as it is not yet permitted to open the venue’s doors to the public. Instead, Jack and the Beanstalk will be filmed and streamed online during the Easter break, enabling families to still enjoy the experience of pantomime during the school holidays but from the comfort of their own home. Jack and the Beanstalk will be streamed online for 17 performances between Friday 2nd April and Sunday 11th April ...
The curtain rises again at Birmingham Repertory Theatre
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The curtain rises again at Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Birmingham Repertory Theatre has become the first major venue in Birmingham to announce the return of live performances this May.  The venue will see two productions which were postponed due to local restrictions and lockdowns finally take to the stage. Both productions are created and performed by Birmingham artists; Rosie Kay’s Absolute Solo II on Wednesday 19th May 2021 and Lightpost Theatre’s Constructed from Thursday 27th – Saturday 29th May 2021. Tickets are on sale now at www.birmingham-rep.co.uk  Customers with tickets for previously scheduled dates for both productions will be contacted direct by the box office Sean Foley, Artistic Director of The REP said; “It’s been almost twelve months since we closed our doors and ceased almost all live performance. It’s been a...
HUNCHtheatre – An extract from ‘Second-Hand Time’ by Svetlana Alexievich
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HUNCHtheatre – An extract from ‘Second-Hand Time’ by Svetlana Alexievich

In support of the people of Belarus, HUNCHtheatre present this short video of an extract from ‘Second-Hand Time’, written by Svetlana Alexievich, and performed by acclaimed British actress Kristin Milward. HUNCHtheatre is an internationally acclaimed company based in London, set up by Vladimir Shcherban and Oliver Bennett three years ago. They launched a department in Minsk, HUNCHtheatre Belarus, run by independent artists and LGBTI+ activists. Their first show was an underground performance of ‘Left Dissidents’ which started life in a private living room in 2018. It was listed as one of the top five theatre performances in Belarus by an independent jury. They have since conducted numerous readings, including a play about the murdered Soviet director Meyerhold at ‘Theatre.doc’, the most...
Free masterclasses for young actors In Leeds
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Free masterclasses for young actors In Leeds

Leeds Actors in Training (LAIT) is offering free online masterclasses for young adults aged 18-25 who are serious about an acting career throughout March 2021. In anticipation of theatres reopening LAIT Intensive is a series of five evening sessions run in collaboration with Leeds Grand Theatre over three weeks by professional artists, and overseen by LAIT with Leeds Grand Youth Theatre Director Lizi Patch. Running from 6-8pm on Tue 16th, Wed 17th, Tue 23rd, Wed 24th and Tue 30th March, the sessions will cover everything from physical and vocal health and flexibility, to clowning and presenting their talents at an audition. Guest artists include Dawn Holgate, Course Leader Foundation Dance Degree, Leeds City College, writer, composer, teacher Sam Kenyon, Clown Space’s James Lewis-...
Channing Tatum’s Magic Mike Live to Reopen 21st May
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Channing Tatum’s Magic Mike Live to Reopen 21st May

Magic Mike Live will be returning to its London home of The Theatre at the Hippodrome Casino on Friday 21st May 2021.  Patrons will experience a revamped production featuring new songs and new dance sequences in a Covid-secure environment with a socially distanced audience. “The team behind Magic Mike Live has been enthusiastically planning the show’s return to the London stage,” said Executive Producer Vincent Marini. “We have been working to develop a show that prioritises the safety of our employees and guests but also manages to be as fun, electric and unexpected as ever. While it has been a creative challenge to make changes to the show we all love so much, we believe that the finished product, which has already been successfully launched in Sydney, will bring a great deal of ...
New management agency lighting up the industry
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New management agency lighting up the industry

Matchstick Group – the UK’s newest talent management agency – launches today with a roster of 26 clients spanning all forms of entertainment, making it the UK’s fastest growing talent agency in 2021 and the UK’s leading agency for digital and social media influencers with a reach of over 10million followers cross YouTube, TikTok and Instagram Matchstick Group is reimagining the way that talent management typically operates. In addition to a deep commitment to improving diversity, accessibility and representation in the entertainment industry, Matchstick Group boldly breaks with tradition by prioritising the mental wellbeing of its staff and clients above all else, as well as offering client and staff incentives to refer new business. A new agency for talent and by talent, Matchstick...
Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre to open Community Hub and launch Hope Mill Theatre School
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Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre to open Community Hub and launch Hope Mill Theatre School

• Community space will be based on Pollard Street, next to Hope Mill Theatre and will include a large studio space and a more intimate studio. • Hope Mill Theatre School will launch in June 2021 for young people aged 7 to 18, and an early learning class for those aged 4 to 6. • Online classes for those ages 2-4 years old, Clever Cogs, will launch next month. • Performers Marcus Collins and Hayley Tamaddon to be Patrons of the Hope Mill Theatre School. • The Hope Mill Theatre Community Hub will also launch a Crowdfunding campaign with donations of any size being gratefully received in order to make a new home for the members of Hope Mill Theatre’s community so they can access and engage with the arts. Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre announced today that they are launching a Co...
The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children streams in March
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The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children streams in March

Conor Mitchell’s darkly comic children’s opera retells a familiar story: ‘who was the Pied Piper? and ‘Why did the rats all dance to his tune?’ This world premiere from the award-winning Belfast Ensemble brings opera home to Northern Ireland. Musically extraordinary, this cautionary tale explores themes of nature, nurture and just desserts! The Musician is stylishly staged using the latest in technological innovation, a medieval story told in a 21st century way. The international cast exist at the foreground in a bubble of colour and light, accompanied by a socially-distanced 16-piece orchestra, glowing and visible. Filmed live for Belfast Children's Festival in the Lyric Theatre Belfast, this production stands as proof that great theatre can happen even in a pandemic and marks a new di...