“My loss of a platform at The Guardian doesn’t mean that theatre criticism is dead, merely that the conversations are taking different forms and moving elsewhere. … There is a lesson in this for theatre itself and how much it remains in thrall to mainstream theatre writing, even as that coverage crumbles away. Theatre is in trouble if it places too much faith in the words of a single individual – whether that happens to be me or someone else – and just a few mainstream platforms; the media boulders that only really care about their own survival in the final reckoning.”
Theatre
Can Theatre Critics Be Friends With The Artists They Review?
Mark Shenton: “The theatre world is quite a small one and I spend a lot of time immersed in it, both as a critic and an audience member. Over the years, I’ve become friends with some of those that make the art I love so much. Even though critics are sometimes seen as being on the ‘other’ side of the artistic fence, I don’t see it as an oppositional relationship. We both want the same thing: to be able to participate in the making and watching of great shows. … Being both a critic and a friend, however, is fraught with danger … For me, it depends on a lot of factors. And rules of engagement may need to be drawn up.”
Oscar Hammerstein Was A Genius. So Why Doesn’t He Get More Respect?
No one questions Hammerstein’s historical significance, nor does the popularity of these six musicals show any sign of diminishing. But there is a gap between that popularity and the esteem in which he is held by many critics. Kenneth Tynan summed up the conventional wisdom about the alleged sentimentality and naiveté of Hammerstein’s work when he dismissed The Sound of Music as “a show for children of all ages, from six to about eleven and a half.” Stephen Sondheim, Hammerstein’s protégé, put it more forgivingly when he described him as “easy to make fun of because he is so earnest.”
Will The European Union Kill Theatre Lighting?
Theatres might be saved – for now. “The organisations involved will now draft an exemption for entertainment lighting within the regulations, meaning that the sale of lighting fixtures for theatre will not be banned, even if those fixtures do not meet the required energy efficiency.” (For now.)
Australia’s La Mama Theatre Destroyed By Fire, Plans To Rebuild
The venue, in the trendy Carlton neighborhood of Melbourne, burned early Saturday morning. The fire commander said, “What’s really sad about this, it’s a heritage listed building, it’s well-loved, it’s been a business that’s operated in the community for a really long time and that’s evident by the scenes out in the street with a lot of people crying, a lot of people very emotional about the loss of this icon.”
Yes, Performing Artists Need To Pay Attention To Visas (No, Not The Credit Card)
Why? Because the U.S. visa process has gotten more expensive and much harder to navigate with success. “Visa delays and denials have damaged a wide number of productions, and in many situations, have led to cancellations. It is tempting to feel powerless—to feel that there is nothing that the performing arts community can do to push back against cultural isolation. But all is not hopeless.”
What Do Girls – And Young Women – Want? Complex Plays About Them, Obviously
Broadway Keeps Chasing (And Rarely Catching) That Disco Beat
Even though Summer: The Donna Summer Musical has been clearing $1 million per week since early April, Broadway doesn’t have a super track record with disco. But that hardly matters – the shows, critically panned, often survive for awhile on Broadway before taking off for massive world tours.
What Does ‘Excellence’ In Theatre Really Mean? Theatre Professionals Hash It Out
Chad Bauman, managing director of Milwaukee Rep: “After a career in theatre management and multiple stints as a producer or judge for theatrical awards in major metropolitan areas, I’ve become increasingly convinced that as a field we do not have a cohesive definition of excellence. In an admittedly informal attempt to discover commonality, I contacted several hundred colleagues and asked them [to define excellence]. I received more than 50 responses from a wide cross section of diverse people; below is an attempt at aggregating their thoughts.”
In A Rehearsal Room When Everyone Has A Say On Everything’ – At Michelle Terry’s Radically Egalitarian Shakespeare’s Globe
How Did Things At Berlin’s Volksbühne Theatre End Up As Such A Conflict-Ridden Mess?
“The short answer is a local election. The long answer: an unsightly public witch-hunt against [now-former artistic director Chris] Dercon in the press and public forums, an occupation of the Volksbühne building, [plans for] the [Tempelhof] airport venue proving an unaffordable pipe dream, and disappointing audience numbers.”
One Of A Theatre Company Director’s Hardest Jobs Is Giving Notes To Other Directors
Daniel Evans, artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre: “Some directors actively seek out notes and use the opportunity to test the clarity of their intention at a certain crucial moment, or confirmation of a secret doubt they harbour about a certain costume or scene change. Other directors are more cautious and can appear so anxious about the amount of work ahead of them, and their own mountain of notes, that it seems there’s little head space for any other advice. And some (very few in my experience) show no interest in receiving [feedback] or discussing their work whatsoever.”
The Old Vic Theatre At 200
“Plain sailing for 200 years at the forefront of British theatre was never an option. Any theatre as venerable and vibrant as London’s Old Vic is bound to have had its ups and downs, but the Waterloo-based venue has had more than its fair share – from bankruptcy to bailiffs and bombing during the Second World War. What is regrettable is that arguably its worst ever crisis should have cast a major shadow over this, its bicentenary year.”
Why Michelle Terry Is Going All-In On Gender-Blind Casting At Shakespeare’s Globe
“There are no character descriptions in Shakespeare. There is nothing prescriptive about who can and should play what. Our job as actors is to offer up the impression of a person’s character in all its complexities and ambiguities. For me, that is what Shakespeare was doing within the limiting constraints that he was writing in. We don’t have those constraints anymore. When the timeless, mythic, kaleidoscopic worlds he has created collide and collude with ours, then the possibilities are truly endless.”
How One Man Found Himself Starting An English-Language Theatre In The Czech Republic
“Some are born into the theater, some achieve the theater, and some have theaters thrust upon them. Gene Terruso had a theater thrust upon him … One moment, he was a Fulbright scholar about to return home; the next, he was artistic director of [BEST Divadlo,] the first all-English-language theater in Brno, a bustling, international, U.S.-culture-loving city.”
The Richest Guys In UK Theatre
The annual list of the UK’s 1,000 richest people names Cameron Mackintosh as theatre’s wealthiest individual, with £1.18 billion. This is equal to 2017’s rich list figure and means he continues to be the richest entertainment figure in the list.
The Reality For Women Of Color Wanting To Run Arts Organizations
A recent study found “zero women of color as executive directors in LORT, the largest professional theatre association in the United States, and only one woman of color as an artistic director. This is a dismal reality for women like me who are founders of their own theatre company, hoping to transition to jobs at LORT theatres in the future. The ugly truth, which was revealed in the study, is that “hidden behind a gender- and race-neutral job description is an expectation, grounded in a stereotype, of what a theatre leader needs to look like: white and male.”
Stop Trying To ‘Protect’ Shakespeare, Chekhov, And Other Dead Playwrights
How Should TCG’s Publication, American Theatre, Handle The Many MeToo Reports It Collected?
The magazine has never done investigative journalism, and it’s been a bit overwhelmed by the number of serious, credible incidents it has heard about since senior editor Diep Tran asked for stories. “We opted to share with major news outlets the names of survivors, with their permission; these publications later produced high-profile news reports that resulted in the accused perpetrators leaving or being removed from their positions.” But there’s a lot more to write about.
How Theatre Is Supporting Students In The Never Again Movement
Playwrights unite across the country for short plays about gun violence, and to plan for longer productions as well. Why? “Today’s cultural climate is being dominated by fear and division. Theatre is an ideal space to challenge the dividing forces at work—a space for empathy, expression, and dialogue.”
Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’ And Politics, Then And Now
“Why was the Bard so fascinated with the fall of the Roman Republic? Why do we tend to turn to this play when we worry about society’s future? … Isaac [Butler] talks to theater critic Helen Shaw and English professor Andrew Hadfield about what was going on in Shakespeare’s time that led him to look back to ancient Rome. We also talk to theater directors Rob Melrose and Tyler Dobrowsky about the choices they made in their recent staged renditions of Caesar.” (podcast)
When, And Why, Theater Audiences Fall Asleep In Their Seats
Peter Marks: “It is every patron’s right, I suppose, to consume theater in any way they see fit, as long as it is not a nuisance to others. The steady mechanical breath of sleep can be an audible distraction at a quiet play, and yes, a throat clearing or a whispered word of correction is required if snoring commences. But the greater injustice, it seems to me, is the one unconscious theatergoers do to themselves. Buying a $100 seat is an inordinately expensive way to take a nap. Is every theater piece really that dull to some percentage of the crowd, I wonder, or are we just coming to public events ever more sleep-deprived? “
Broadway ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ To Proceed After Harper Lee Estate And Producers Settle Lawsuits
“That settlement means that the play, with a new script by the prominent Hollywood screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, will be allowed to go forward.” In March, Lee executor Tonja Carter sued lead producer Scott Rudin, claiming Sorkin’s script violated their contract; in April, Rudin countersued for at least $10 million, saying that Carter’s suit could cause the play’s cancellation and the loss of investors’ money.
Harold Pinter’s Complete One-Act Plays To Be Staged In West End
“The ambitious season will mark the 10th anniversary of Pinter’s death by staging 20 plays over 24 weeks in the London theatre that has borne his name since 2011. The man behind the season is stage director Jamie Lloyd, who said he hoped theatregoers would feel it was a bit like collecting vinyl.”
The Sock-Puppet Ventriloquist Who Sells Out Stadiums
“[Jeff] Dunham is no children’s entertainer. His puppets are dysfunctional, foul-mouthed and unashamedly stereotypical, from Seamus the drunken Irish baby to José the Mexican immigrant and Achmed the jihadi suicide bomber. Spurning all accusations of racism, sexism and homophobia, Dunham has become a comic phenomenon. He doesn’t just hold the Guinness World Record for most tickets sold for a standup comedy tour – 2m across 386 venues – he is also ranked by Forbes as one the highest paid comedians on the planet, up there with Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Amy Schumer.”
How To Navigate The Minefield That Is Prompting Actors In Rehearsal
Professional deputy stage manager Katie Jackson: “In theory, this should be quite a simple task; the actor dries, they ask me to read out their line to them, I do so and then they repeat it and carry on with the scene. However, ask any DSM and they will say that it can be one of the most stressful parts of the job. Every actor has a different way of telling you that they want to be prompted, … [and,] unfortunately, it is very rare for actors to tell you their particular way of acknowledging the need for a prompt.”
Play Cancelled After Its Own Cast Complains That It’s ‘Racist’
“Originally called The Bold Knights of Britain, The Ununited Kingdom was being produced by theatre company Silent Uproar and was intended to shine a light on the rise of the far right in Britain, by focusing on a teenage girl who joins a gang with racist tendencies. … It was pulled after just two previews at Hull Truck and ahead of a planned run in London.” (And the whole business was even messier that that sounds.)
The Guardian Cuts Loose Theatre Writer Lyn Gardner After 23 Years
“Gardner’s contract, which ends on June 1, includes 130 reviews a year and 28,000 words of features. The critic and journalist, who is also associate editor at The Stage, was told the contract was being discontinued because the newspaper had decided she was not part of their long-term plans for theatre coverage.”
Who, And What, Won Big At The Off-Broadway Awards?
Can’t Get Enough *Hamilton*? The Hamiltent Is Coming To Entertain And Educate You
“Some of the features will be visceral (an opportunity to look down the barrel of a gun alongside a reconstruction of the Weehawken, N.J., dueling grounds), and others will be academic (an explanation of the debates over Hamilton’s financial policy ideas.) There will be artifacts — mostly replica letters, documents and objects as well as a scale model of New York in 1773, a walkway between military barracks, video, and, yes, music from the show.”