What is theatre? I’m sure the answer is different for everyone. Whether it’s therapeutic, a means of entertainment, escapism, or a tool to addressing social and political ills, a hobby, a passion… we’ve all had an experience of theatre in some form or other. Edinburgh International Festival is set to liven up the historic city of Edinburgh with an array of performances and exhibitions from some of the world’s exciting creative talents. What better way to learn about the inspirations and motivations of performers and creatives than to listen to their thoughts via Festival Portraits. Introducing Academy Award winning actress, artist and dancer, Juliette Binoche… Continue reading
It’s bedtime and a little girl is getting ready for sleep. Her mum starts to tell her a bedtime story but work worries and deadlines take her away. This is a story of adventure, where a young girl rescues her mum with the help of her imaginary friend, Three, journeying to the unknown and various magical destinations.
Beautifully presented for The Place Dance Studio stage, Company Non Nova devises, enchants and engages in a wonderfully magical production of L’après-midi d‘un Foehn – Version 1. This production denotes an essence of the fantastical, alluding to a set of carrier bags, one very intense creator and several static ‘blowing’ fans.
Hetain Patel takes to the Lilian Baylis stage, in a show about identity in an age of super heroes. For an hour he jumps from character to character, doing scene‘s from various movies, as varied as Enter the Dragon, Beverly Hills Cop and The Italian Job.
Flying high from receiving rave reviews for Company 2’s latest work, Scotch and Soda at this year’s Adelaide Festival, Co-founder and circus performer Chelsea McGuffin continues to push the boundaries with a combination of toe tapping jazz numbers and spellbinding tricks at this year’s London Wonderground Festival. Ahead of Scotch and Soda’s UK debut, Theatrefullstop were able to speak to Chelsea about leaving the world of ballet to train as a circus performer, Company 2’s inspirations for the show and whether glowing reviews add pressure to the performers.
Company 2’s latest creation, Scotch and Soda will be headlining this year’s London Wonderground festival. How are you feeling ahead of the show?
I am really excited to be returning to London Wonderground with Scotch & Soda. We performed Cantina at the festival a number of years ago and it was a highlight season for me in my career. Scotch & Soda is an original and exhilarating project for us. We have new cast members, new music and we feel ready to hit the London stage. I am so excited to come back.
Reimagined for the New Wimbledon Studio Theatre stage, Ross McGregor directs ensemble Arrows and Traps Theatre Company in a decadent 1920s inspired production of Taming of the Shrew. Eluded to mainly through costume, elegant beaded dresses and head dresses, Arrows and Traps depict an era of grandeur and fast paced wit.
Many will be aware of JM Barrie‘s inspiration for the much loved children’s story were the Llewellyn Davis family. The eldest son, George, was killed at the battle of Ypres in 1915. This year marks 100 years since George’s death and this production draws on this, and the wider centenary of World War One.
There are currently 36million slaves in the world today – which is more then there have been at any other point in history. More than that there are between 10,000 and 13,000 slaves in the UK alone. So, although we may think of slavery as something from history or as something that does not happen in our country, the statistics prove that it is a big issue today. Hoping to raise awareness of this important issue are Krissy Penton and Mykel Elledge. They are the co-founders of Tzedakah theatre, a company which is currently working to raise the awareness of slavery and human trafficking. I caught up with them to discuss how the company is using drama to educate people on this issue.