Defined as a pensive sadness, the feeling of melancholy can feel isolating, numbing. A state of mind rarely discussed openly, it can feel never ending. An exploration of melancholy and what it looks and feels like, duo DeRonde/Deroo present Amsterdam Best of Fringe Award winning show After the Echo, described as a ‘glittery ode to melancholy’, the show forms part of Brighton Fringe’s Dutch Season.
Courtesy of Joshua Walter.
We’re inundated with data continually, our electronic devices one click away from the latest friend request, news story or glossy photo, amongst a plethora of other things. A couple of decades into our ‘Information Age’ whereby social media is now our main means of communicating and connecting with loved ones as well as forming new bonds and we’re now really starting to see the impact of this ever evolving phenomena and its prevalence within the day to day. An exploration of the darker aspects of social media – the instant fame that comes from going viral, the trolling and cyber bullying that comes from this and the need for better mental health precautions, writer Susan Momoko Hingley and Honey-Tongued Theatre Productions present Petal.
A packed line-up of 34 hit West End shows has been unveiled so far ahead of this year’s West End LIVE, a free and unticketed celebration of London’s world-leading theatre scene which comes to Trafalgar Square on the weekend of 25 and 26 June. More acts are due to be announced in the next few weeks, as London gears up for the biggest ever West End LIVE.
Our families are what keep us rooted, often our first interaction with the wider world, here is where initial meaningful connections are formed. Marking the re-opening of the Arcola Theatre with their spring season, Barney Norris returns with the premiere of his latest work We Started to Sing, a piece tracing the distance that grows amongst a family over 3 decades as they pave new lives for themselves across the UK. Having recently just opened, the production plays until Saturday 18th June. Forming part of the production’s ensemble, cast member Naomi Petersen tells us more about what inspired her to take part in the show, what preparing for her role involved and what she’s learned from the creative process.
The UK theatre industry’s two leading membership associations, Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, today announced a unique partnership with data and insight specialists Baker Richards to develop a new ‘Evidence Centre’.
In Yoruba (a tribe located in Nigeria) tradition, it is believed that there were 17 original Orishas (Gods) that were sent to Earth, the Orisha Olodumare, the source of creation. A tradition shared by Caribbean and Southern American Spanish traditions also, this creation story forms the cultural heritage and spiritual well being of many. Obatala the creator of humanity, Osun (Oshun), the goddess of water, purity, fertility and love, Shango the god of thunder, Esun (Eshun), the trickster god, the divine messenger and Olorun, one of the supreme Orishas, the ruler of the heavens. A celebration of Nigerian mythology, Imagiphoria Studios present Message in a Clay River, an exploration of the Yoruba pantheon.
DIGITAL THEATRE+ today announced a study involving 250 English and Drama teachers intending to give a deeper understanding of the importance for students to have access to performances of the dramatic texts they study.
Community binds our societies together, the power of the collective undeniable and crucial to humanity’s survival. African, Caribbean and Southern America communities tied together by their ancestral home and cultural roots. The impetus for dance work Grin, choreographer Mele Broomes and dancers and collaborators Kemono L.Riot and Divine Amy Tasinda is born out of the themes of community-building, refusals, friendships, support and networks of care, the title inspired by 1987 poem The Mask by the late Maya Angelou – an urgent cue towards understandings of humanity and the strategies of survival which underpin different modes of being.
When you step out of a relationship, do you really begin to grasp the emotional, psychological, spiritual and physical impacts of what you’ve experienced within that period of time, survivors of domestic abuse encountering realisations that occur over time, trauma a devastating result of the toxic bond shared and often difficult to address. Exploring this within her award winning work Patricia Gets Ready (for a date with the man that used to hit her), Martha Watson Allpress crafts an honest, open account of a woman rebuilding her life and self esteem post break-up and after a chance encounter with an ex abusive partner.
Courtesy of Korey J Ryan
Inspired by American journalist turned playwright Maurine Dallas Watkins’ 1926 play Chicago, drawn from her time covering Courthouse Place for the Chicago Tribune, renowned performer and choreographer Bob Fosse would go onto adapt the production into what we now know as a sultry, jazz-centric take on the media circus and the fickle, fleeting nature of fame – the tale of Roxie Hart, a bright-eyed aspiring star willing to do whatever it takes to make it big time versus Velma Kelly – a well seasoned veteran on the verge of disappearing from the limelight thrown together as a result of their crimes, the multi-award winning musical returning to the New Wimbledon Theatre to reprise the musical’s 40+ year legacy.
