The Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST) and Nottingham Playhouse are delighted to announce Stephen Bailey as the winner of the 2022 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award and Beth Shouler as the runner-up.
Determined to improve the representation of disabled artists on our stages and screens, award-winning actor and public speaker Julia Hales has broken barriers by becoming the first TV host living with Down Syndrome to present on Australia’s national broadcaster ABC. Initially performed in 2018 as part of Perth Festival, before being staged in 2019 as part of Black Swan State Theatre Company’s season, her show You Know We Belong Together, will make its UK premiere at the Southbank Centre, Purcell Rooms from the 18th to 20th August, before a run at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A collaborative effort including fellow ensemble members Joshua Bott, Patrick Carter, Tina Fielding, Mark Junor, Melissa Junor and Lauren Marchbank, You Know We Belong Together is an exploration of the ensemble’s personal experiences and their day to day realities via monologues, video, scenes, dance and song. Ahead of the production, Julia tells us more about exploring the show’s themes further, her inspirational advocacy journey so far and what to expect from the show.
Recorded in the ship’s logs in the early 1600s, English sailors voyaging on behalf of the East India Company stopped off in Sierra Leone where they performed Shakespeare’s Hamlet to local dignitaries. Although Shakespeare was an active playwright of the time, the gesture is one that is questioned, why? An examination of this encounter, which predates the Atlantic slave trade, multi award nominated writer Rex Obano presents The Hamlet Voyage – an age before British imperialism and before Shakespeare becoming globally recognisable. Having played at Bristol Harbour Festival’s 50th anniversary on board the Matthew ship, a replica sailing ship, the production will play at the Bridewell Theatre from the 20th to 23rd July. Ahead of the London premiere, Rex tells us more about exploring this part of world history further, working with the production team to realise the show and what audiences can expect!
Twenty-four deaf and disabled writers, directors and producers have ‘graduated’ from a free new course that sets them on the road to a career in the theatre industry. The joint venture between Leeds Playhouse, Sheffield Theatres and Ramps on the Moon gave eight early career writers, directors and producers (24 in total) the opportunity to enhance their skills, create valuable connections and develop new work guided by industry professionals in a supportive, inclusive setting.
Corteo translates as ‘cortège’, a solemn procession, especially for a funeral in Italian – in what has been a tough time globally in light of the pandemic, a reality sadly quite familiar to many. Initially performed in a smaller venue in Montreal in 2005, Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo has gone onto to be enjoyed by millions of theatre fans, having returned for an arena tour in 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall before being prematurely interrupted by the pandemic in 2020, the show currently returns, but at the O2 to mark our current times.
Having debuted on BBC Two in October of 2013, Steven Knight‘s crime drama Peaky Blinders has gone onto capture the nation’s imagination. Named after a Birmingham-based youth gang who were active during Victorian England and in the lead up to World War I, the show offers a fictional glimpse into the world of a working class collective and their needing to do what it takes to survive. Five years in the making, fan of the show Brian Hook, chief creative officer of theatrical company Immersive Everywhere delves into the Peaky Blinders gang further with immersive production Peaky Blinders: The Rise.
Courtesy of Mark Senior.
VAULT Creative Arts have announced the launch of a brand new café, bar and creative space, The Glitch, in the heart of Waterloo, set to open on Monday 18th July. Offering a unique multi-use space with plenty of atmosphere that is open and inclusive to all, The Glitch is a vibrant, artsy addition to Lower Marsh, the historic south London street that is a thriving hub of local independent business and the iconic Leake Street graffiti tunnel.
Returning for their latest cultural event, arts development organisation Certain Blacks are set to host the Ensemble Festival, a free event taking place at the Royal Docks on Sat 23rd July showcasing a range of acts specialising in physical theatre, dance, circus, music and digital. Currently on tour with their latest production Look Mum No Hands, disabled-led children’s theatre company Daryl Beeton Productions and female-led circus and dance company Mimbre have joined forces to explore themes of freedom, risk and independence and how whether you’re disabled or not, one changes, the festival marking the next step in their performative journey. Taking on joint lead with fellow freelance performer Danielle Summers, inclusive dance artist Laura Dajao tells us more about exploring the show’s themes, working in collaboration with Kat Ball who she shares the role with and Sophie Page, Danielle Summers understudy and what she has taken away from working on the production.
The JMK Trust today announces that Indiana Lown-Collins wins this year’s JMK Award with her production of The Solid Life of Sugar Water by Jack Thorne. Presented in partnership with the Orange Tree Theatre, the production forms part of Artistic Director Paul Miller’s final season at the venue and opens on 19 October, with previews from 15 October, and runs until 12 November.
Courtesy of Matt Pereira.
The JMK Trust today announces the shortlisted directors, and the designers they are partnered with, for this year’s JMK Award – Emily Aboud, Joanna Bowman, Emerald Crankson, Leo Doulton, Dale Edwards, Masha Kevinovna, Indiana Lown-Collins and Elsie Yager. Presented in partnership with the Orange Tree Theatre, the winning director will stage their production there this Autumn as part of Paul Miller’s final season at the venue. The winner will be announced on 13 July at the Orange Tree.
