Latest Articles - Page 429 of 435

Up to 65% of Royal Exchange Theatre’s staff in Manchester face redundancy

1Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Up to 65% of Royal Exchange Theatre’s staff in Manchester face redundancy

Today the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester has had to take the heart braking decision to scale back their organisation as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic. These situations are becoming far too regular an occurrence in our industry. A statement posted on their website earlier today reads:- “The impact of Covid-19 on the Royal Exchange Theatre is monumental, and we have been working incredibly hard to ensure the survival and the future of our theatre. The Royal Exchange is heavily reliant on the income earned through ticket sales, fundraising, food and drink and venue hire. Over recent years we have been successful in reducing our dependence on public subsidy, which now equates to less than 25% of our £10 million annual turnover. As such, the impact of lockdown and our...

Dame Gillian Lynne: The Lynne and Land Foundation announces grants to 4 arts organisations

1Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Dame Gillian Lynne: The Lynne and Land Foundation announces grants to 4 arts organisations

Today, on the second anniversary of the death of dearly-loved choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne, The Lynne and Land Foundation announces grants to four arts organisations close to her heart. Grants have been made to The Royal Ballet School, ArtsEd, LAMDA and the Royal Academy of Dance to enable talented young performers reach their full potential in the choreographic arts, drama and musical theatre. Her husband Peter Land said: “Our scholarships and grants are there to help where they are needed most, and I am sure this is just such a time. The funding is for actors and dancers in training to ensure their continued artistic education. These four institutions, who will distribute the funds at their own discretion, are known and respected for their high level of teaching standards and ...

1Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

DIVORCED, BEHEADED, DRIVE – IN CONCERT

The international smash-hit SIX announces that it will be the first West End musical to perform again after Lockdown SIX will join the Utilita Live From The Drive-In summer shows and rock out 8 shows a week at 12 open air sites across the U.K. in London, Birmingham, Bolton, Bristol, Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Lincoln, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Newmarket and Teesside 300 vehicles can attend each show with a maximum of seven people allowed in each car Fans will be able to picnic and party as they watch the festival-style full length show live from their own dedicated area next to their vehicle Electrifying musical phenomenon SIX by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss will become the first West End musical to resume performances across the U.K. with Utilita Live From The Drive-In. ...

Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads: Nights in the Garden of Spain – BBC iPlayer

30Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads: Nights in the Garden of Spain – BBC iPlayer

Number nine in the new series of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads is a remake of the 1998 monologue Nights in the Garden of Spain. Originally featuring Penelope Wilton, it is now Tamsin Greig's turn to recreate Rosemary Horrocks. Like the majority of the Talking Heads pieces, Nights in the Garden of Spain is set in Alan Bennett's semi fictionalised version of Leeds. It is the 1990s and Rosemary and her husband Henry live in a fairly well to do suburb of Leeds, on a street of mostly detached houses. Henry is keen to sell up and move to Marbella and the passive Rosemary is going along with his choice. But one morning as she is going to the shops, her neighbour Mrs McCorquodale stops her. Her husband is dead and she needs help. It transpires that she ...

Talking Heads by Alan Bennett: The Shrine – BBC iPlayer

30Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Talking Heads by Alan Bennett: The Shrine – BBC iPlayer

In the new series of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, ten of the twelve are remakes of five of the original six from 1988 and the another five from 1998. Two of the original series' have not been remade as they required actors over the age of seventy. There are two new ones, written last year and filmed this year under social distancing conditions. One of these new ones is number twelve The Shrine. Lorna is a woman in her fifties and the monologue starts a few days after she has lost her husband Clifford in a motorbike accident. The police have offered to take her to the scene of the accident, but she does not wish to go. As the piece continues she has decided to visit the place of the accident and then returns regularly, making herself a seat and...

Hard hitting urban drama No Milk for the Foxes makes a welcome return online

30Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Interviews

Hard hitting urban drama No Milk for the Foxes makes a welcome return online

Try as it might theatre all too often gets working class culture badly wrong unless it is created by people who have lived experience of daily struggle and social disadvantage. That’s exactly why the online revival of Beats & Elements’ 2015 production of No Milk for the Foxes is very welcome. Using spoken word, beatboxing and live looping Beats & Elements founders Conrad Murray and Paul Cree explored David Cameron's England from the perspective of their own class. It’s the tale of security guards Marx, a white working-class male from Croydon, and Spaxx, an Anglo-Indian from Mitcham, counting down the hours on a zero hours nightshift. So did Conrad base these two funny and angry men on anyone he knew, or they are composites? “It is when it comes to Spaxx, and it is ...

29Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Within – Threedumb Theatre Live

Joseph Furey’s one man play tells the story of an isolated and lonely young man who downloads a creepy AI app which promises to show him the meaning of life. Even though the sci-fi element is strangely familiar, Furey’s script is interesting and quite poignant in parts. Stephen Smith (who also directs this piece) plays the young man with a great deal of energy throughout his AI torture with the mysterious and at times rather annoying AI voice S.U.E (voiced by Millie Webber). This is a play that explores isolation (quite apt for the times that we live in) and it also looks at vulnerability and how easy it is to be attacked from malevolent forces hiding in plain sight. Smith’s character is intense and just a fraction overstated and I felt that the play was a touch overlong (may...

29Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

FEATURES

Scenesaver – Fringe Theatre Online Hub

In these times of no live theatre performance (apart from digital alternatives), Fringe theatre has been badly affected. With no stage for their performances and summer festivals cancelled, they have had to either become creative online or go and find a job in another sector. I was, therefore, very pleased to hear about a wonderful ‘online fringe theatre hub’ which at the click of a button, opens up the world of fringe theatre without leaving your home. Set up in 2019, Caroline Friedman had an idea to help people who would love to attend live theatre performances, but are unable to do so for a multiple of reasons – cost, accessibility, etc. In creating this online off west end and fringe theatre hub, Friedman has widened the audience reach for these artists, who norma...

Hope Mill Theatre to live stream UK premiere of a new documentary celebrating the career of stage and screen icon Olympia Dukakis

29Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Hope Mill Theatre to live stream UK premiere of a new documentary celebrating the career of stage and screen icon Olympia Dukakis

Hope Mill Theatre will live stream the UK premiere of a new documentary celebrating the career of stage and screen icon Olympia Dukakis, in collaboration with the producers of the film. Olympia, directed by Harry Mavromichalis, will be shown on Friday 10th July at 6pm on Hope Mill Theatre’s facebook page. The premiere of the US documentary was due to have taken place in New York but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic – so producers have decided to have a one-off online premiere of the film before its wider release. As well as the UK premiere, it is also being streamed in the USA & Europe. Olympia is an intimate look at the life and career of one of the greatest actresses to grace the stage and screen. A deeply personal portrait of the actress and her craft and her...

The Da Vinci Code to make World Premiere on stage in 2021

29Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

The Da Vinci Code to make World Premiere on stage in 2021

The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown’s blockbuster novel that captivated the world, is to become an epic stage thriller. It will make its World Premiere on a UK Tour in 2021, opening at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley on Saturday 3rd April 2021, and touring throughout the year. The curator of the Louvre has been brutally murdered, and alongside his body are a series of baffling codes. Follow the pulse-racing journey as Professor Robert Langdon and fellow cryptologist Sophie Neveu attempt to solve the riddles, leading to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci and beyond, deep into the vault of history. In a breathless race through the streets of Europe, Langdon and Neveu must decipher the labyrinthine code before a shocking historical secret is lost forever. Based on the best-selling novel o...