Theatre scenes in scores of countries around the world are every bit as sophisticated as ours in the U.S. (and in many cases far better funded). So why are U.S. theatres generally so unconnected to what’s going on in the non-English-speaking theatre world? - American Theatre
"For years, venture capitalists have promised to upend books and the structures around their creation and consumption. … For the most part, despite tech's sometimes drastic effects on other industries, book- and reading-related startups failed to alter much at all. People are still buying books — in fact, they're buying more than ever." - Wired
"My experience working in Hollywood has led me to believe that if studios are smart, they will understand that their interests are aligned with those of writers, directors, and all creative people. Silicon Valley is coming for their profit margin." - Wired
"On Thursday, the final tapestry in the set of 13 Gideon tapestries (at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire) was unveiled on the wall of the long gallery, the culmination of a painstaking effort to clean and handstitch the huge pieces one at a time, at a cost of £1.7m." - The Guardian
The YouTube era of children’s programming represents a marked shift in what and how young kids watch video. For decades, children’s television was appointment viewing on a handful of broadcast networks. - Wired
"Librarians who feared fines for hosting drag queen story hours and Pride parade organizers who worried about citations for including drag performers can breathe easier now that a judge has ruled that his injunction blocking Florida’s anti-drag law extends to all Florida venues." - AP
The members are asking for their salaries to return to pre-COVID level. According to reports, the Royal Opera House orchestra was asked to make a number of concessions during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to keep the company afloat whilst live performances were halted for public health reasons. - OperaWire
"Of the 184 cultural organisations surveyed, and 1,011 individual responses from those working within arts organisations, more than half the respondents conceded they had made little or no changes to their programming or outreach programs to attract audiences from different cultures, age groups, geographic locations and gender identities." - The Guardian
Heavy monsoon rains this summer have swollen the Yamuna River in Agra right up to the Taj's walls. There might be slight damage to the mausoleum's white marble, but the moisture is strengthening the building's wooden foundation and support rafters, which had been weakened by a prolonged drought. - Bloomberg CityLab
"The decline of the linear TV business model has been apparent for years. But even so, the idea that ABC — not to mention well-known cable brands like Disney Channel, National Geographic and FX — are no longer vital assets to Disney marks a step toward a bleak future for legacy television." - TheWrap
"The Broadway League and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees say a tentative agreement has been reached among the two parties and Disney Theatrical, averting a strike that IATSE members were in the process of voting to authorize." - Gothamist
"Few entertainers have had such a remarkable second act. He had his first top-selling hit in 1951 with 'Because of You,' then topped the charts again more than 60 years later, collaborating with Lady Gaga to become the oldest person ever to have a No. 1 album." - MSN (The Washington Post)
"So" — who begins his term in the fall of 2024 — "isn't a stranger to New Haven. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he attended Yale as an undergraduate, where he studied literature, founded an orchestra and conducted the undergraduate opera company." - New Haven Independent
"David Byrne, an award-winning playwright and director who has built a powerful reputation at a small studio theatre in London" called New Diorama, "is to be the new artistic director of the Royal Court. … He succeeds Vicky Featherstone, who (departs) early next year after more than 10 years." - The Guardian
The argument runs something like this: because commercial pressures at large houses encourage cautious commissioning, nimbler indies – operating with tighter margins – step into the void and give choice-starved readers the books that corporate imprints deem unsaleable or otherwise risky. - The Guardian
