The Romeo and Juliet love story has really caught the imaginations of many, variations of the ill-fated love affair a staple of the globe’s artistic sphere. An adaptation of the Shakespearean tale, the multi-award winning and celebrated musical West Side Story, released in 1961, continues to grip audiences and inspire. Taking elements of the iconic musical, Proud London present West Side Cabaret Story, an energetic, compact interpretation of our star crossed lovers, Tony and Maria’s rendezvous.
TodayTix Group, the global e-commerce leader for cultural experiences, have announced that it has acquired Secret Cinema, the London-based entertainment company that specialises in immersive film and television events. Secret Cinema’s popularity has exploded over the past 10 years. The company has sold over one million tickets to more than 50 shows, secured a multi-year, multi-title deal with Disney (kicking off with Guardians of the Galaxy), and produced experiences with major movie studios including Marvel, Universal, Paramount, Lionsgate, Sony, Netflix, and Eon Productions. Secret Cinema’s latest shows have attracted massive audiences, with Casino Royale reaching an audience of over 100,000 in London, and its collaboration with Netflix, Stranger Things, drawing over 300,000 people in its first Los Angeles production.
A long lasting consequence of the Transatlantic slave trade, colourism has formed a detrimental world view of what beauty looks like, shades of skin ranked from seemingly more desirable than the other, hair and body types scrutinised under the European standard of beauty – something that has sadly caused division within African and Caribbean cultures up until this very day. Making its debut 20 years ago at the turn of the millennium, Dael Orlandersmith’s Yellowman examines this warped ideology in a powerful two hander that now more than ever, post Black Lives Matter, strongly resonates.
We Make Tomorrow 2022 is a whole day summit bringing together voices from across the cultural community at the forefront of creative climate action. With contributions from poets, artists, musicians and writers, Julie’s Bicycle invites all cultural organisations and individuals across the UK and beyond to join, collaborate and be inspired. Reflections on leadership and climate justice have been curated together with support from social justice creatives MAIA; cross-cultural folk music curators, Nest Collective; neighbourhood economics lab Civic Square; and critically acclaimed dramaturg, Anthony Simpson-Pike.
We take on traditions that are generations deep, without question, following on from what has gone before. Our ancestors themselves onlookers to structures followed, these deeply ingrained and therefore hard to challenge and break. An exploration of family trauma throughout the generations, confrontations and the interpretation of faith, Kwame Asafo-Adjei presents Family Honour, an opportunity to examine the many behaviours and structures that go unquestioned and simply observe them.
During a star-studded evening celebrating the best emerging theatre talent in the UK, the winners of The Stage Debut Awards 2022 have been announced. Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, Doctor Foster) is among this year’s winners, receiving the Best West End Debut Performer award for her blistering performance in Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre. The entire ensemble of For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy have received the award for Best Performer in a Play, the first time the award has ever been presented collectively to a group of performers. Mark Akintimehin, Emmanuel Akwafo, Nnabiko Ejimofor, Darragh Hand, Aruna Jalloh and Kaine Lawrence were honoured for their moving performances at the New Diorama and the Royal Court, alongside Elisabeth Gunawan for Unforgettable Girl at Voila! Europe Theatre Festival. Elijah Ferreira took home the Best Performer in a Musical award for Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Leeds Playhouse, and Best Director was awarded to Monique Touko for Malindadzimu at Hampstead Theatre.
Winner of Best Performer in a musical Elisabeth Gunawan – courtesy of Alex Brenner
Almost confronted with the frightening prospect of a life without water in 2018, the inhabitants of Cape Town, South Africa, were the first in the world to suffer from a drought so severe, that water supplies dropped significantly low – forcing inhabitants to ration on water use. This fortunately did not last, with adequate rainfall finally putting an end to this worrying circumstance and increasing water levels once more. Zoning in on this possible reality within the UK 25 years from now, Magda Bird’s Salt acts as a warning and wake up call as to what could play out.
The P Word is an accomplished political play about the hostile environment faced by LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. Raucously funny and unapologetically problematic Waleed Akhtar’s two-hander tells the story of two Pakistani gay men in their thirties whose lives collide at Pride. Throughout the play, audience members hummed in satisfaction at the wit, the humour, the political resonance, and sheer humanity that transcends borders and sexuality. A play I will certainly be seeing again before the end of this short run 22 October, but no doubt will be revived time and time again. There are plays you see that mark a pivotal moment in a nation’s history, The P Word is one of these plays.
Courtesy of Craig Fuller.
Due to the scheduling of the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and out of respect for all who are mourning, most shows in central London have now announced that they will be closing on 19 September.
Ticketholders will receive an email from their point of purchase with details regarding exchanges and refunds. Throughout the period of national mourning, performances will go ahead as planned but we would advise audiences coming into central London to allow more time for their journeys to and from the theatre from Wednesday when the Queen will be lying in State.
In regards to the national one minute silence at 8pm on Sunday 18 September, shows that are playing on that evening will mark this prior to curtain up.
To find out more, visit Official London Theatre here…
Our childhoods shape who we become, experiences and encounters laying the footprint for how we confront situations in later life, traumas, whether obvious or not shrouding how we react to the day to day – memories incredibly significant, powerful enough to dictate what life looks like for us in the present moment. Translated from Édouard Louis’ Qui a tué Mon père (Who Killed My Father), Ivo Van Hove’s translation of the same name draws on Louis’ autobiographical work, is a reflection of his complex relationship with his macho father, an alcoholic battling his own demons, beaten down by his work in the heavy industry and pressured to maintain his role as the man of the house. The fallout of this resulting in a clash in ideologies, volatility, a decline in mental health and non acceptance.
Courtesy of Jan Versweyveld.