Shortly after accepting the invitation to the London International Mime Festival’s variety show Short & Sweet choreographed and curated by Thick & Tight, aka Daniel Hay-Gordon and Eleanor Perry, I panicked that I wasn’t qualified to review such a refined art form. But once I got over myself, the sincere grace of these joyful performers won me over with ease.
Based on the real-life event which took place 1 September 1939 Lewis and Freud come to a head in Freud’s study in Hampstead just weeks before Freud takes his own life. Freud’s Last Session by Mark St. Germain at the King’s Head Theatre tackles household giants and mammoth issues of religion, sex, and death with unflinching ambition.
Dealing with the intricacies of running a nation asks for an adept, rigorous, tenacious skillset and mindset. A role not to be taken lightly, imagine suddenly being catapulted into this complex reality. Exploring this further in show General Secretary, comedy duo Cassie Symes and Georgina Thomas place the experiences of two inexperienced leaders as they navigate their way through this new normal for them to the fore. Initially starting life out as a short live-streamed piece last year, before being shortlisted for a Funny Women Award – the work-in-progress’ next stop sees the show performed at the Soho Rising Festival, staged at the Soho Theatre next month. Ahead of the show, Cassie and Georgina tells us more about the show’s creative process so far, what it means to have been recognised for their work by the Funny Women Awards and what we can expect from the show!
Celebrating over 30 years of nurturing and championing UK stage design talent, the Linbury Prize for Stage Design – in collaboration with the Linbury Trust and National Theatre have recently announced the recipients of their 2021 Award. A cohort consisting of 12 graduates from some of the UK’s top drama schools, the prize offers each winner a bursary of £5,000 and a design associate placement alongside an established designer. A much needed confidence boost, in what has been a very challenging 2 years post the pandemic, the prize offers a chance to acknowledge the great work that continues to take place off stage. Graduate of Wimbledon College of Arts Ruth Badila and Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Blythe Brett tell us more about what it means to receive the award, what they’ve taken away from their training so far and their future aspirations!
We could have turned back.
The production of Eure Paläste sind leer (Your Palaces Are Empty) marks the first time a play by award-winning Austrian dramatist Thomas Köck premieres at a Munich theatre. The only dramatist to win the important Mühlheimer Dramatikpreis twice in a row, in 2018 and 2019, Köck focuses on choric theatre, his dramas resemble musical compositions and are written as continuous texts without punctuation. Eure Paläste sind leer (all we ever wanted) is his first collaboration with director Jan-Christoph Gockel, and the beginning of a long-term relationship with the Münchner Kammerspiele.
A hilarious and psychological stage adaptation by Tim Price brings the Alps to the Donmar Warehouse. A seemingly happy family of four are getting away for some quality time on a skiing trip, but the cracks are already showing and one controlled avalanche away from breaking away altogether.
Courtesy of Marc Brenner.
We’re by-products of the heartfelt folk songs and tales of our ancestors, narratives passed down through the generations that resonate and pass through our veins, our every breath, our every action. Every culture bringing with it it’s own rich and diverse cannon of songs passed down through the ages, details having changed from the original source due to mispronunciations, mishearings and context – however still retaining at the core the song’s heart and soul. Delving into the folk songs collected from Somerset between 1896 to 1905 by Cecil Sharp, Principal of then Hampstead Conservatoire of Music, now known as Central School of Speech and Drama, Nell Leyshon brings to light the song composition process from the eyes of two very different perspectives in Folk.
Crafted by celebrated Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning American composer, lyricist and playwright Jonathan Larson, best known for his iconic genre shattering work RENT the musical, lesser known musical tick tick BOOM is a semi-autobiographical work telling the story of an aspiring composer and his relatable tussle between sustaining a successful career within the arts Vs leaving the profession to pursue a more secure career path – a ticking clock the show’s defining feature. Originally performed almost 32 years ago Off Broadway, the musical returns to our screens, currently – now available to stream on Netflix, revived by Pulitzer Prize/Tony Award/Grammy Award/Emmy Award/Olivier Award winning all rounder Lin Manuel Miranda and starring BAFTA and Tony Award winning actor Andrew Garfield as the show’s lead Jonathan Larson. Led by Olivier Award winning actor Giles Terera MBE, noted for his role as Aaron Burr in musical Hamilton, and in partnership with Netflix, Lin and Andrew delve further into the film’s creative process in an exclusive filmed interview.
As we continue to adapt post pandemic to our new normal, the past two years have caused us to look back at early 20th century history, in doing so, we’re able to draw many parallels current circumstances. Nearly a century on from The Great Depression (1929-1030), a century on from the prohibition era (1920 – 1933) and WWI (1914-1918 what would would have been known as ‘The Great War’ at the time) F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby encapsulates the unpredictability of world events taking shape. Drawing on Fitzgerald’s iconic novel Ruby in the Dust Theatre turn the work into a musical, Gatsby: The Musical – tying our 21st century experience of the 20s and transporting us back to the opulent, roaring 20s of the last century!
Courtesy Lidia Crisafulli.
