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.
This year’s Greenwich + Docklands International Festival(GDIF) opens with the spectacular UK premiere of SPARK, the creation of Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde, who takes inspiration from the natural phenomenon of fireflies, to create a reimagined and environmentally responsible public celebration, which updates the ritual of fireworks. The result is a poetic performance which will be presented over 2 nights in Greenwich after-dark on 26 and 27 August. Thousands of biodegradable light sparks will organically float through the air, inspiring visitors to wonder and reflect.
19 drama school students from across the UK have been awarded a total of £77,500 worth of bursaries by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT), to help them complete their training. Established by SOLT in 1987 to mark Laurence Olivier’s 80th birthday, the Laurence Olivier Bursaries provide financial support to exceptional students entering their final year of drama school, and facing financial difficulties which might jeopardise their studies.
Yesterday, the Royal Opera House was delighted to welcome 75 headteachers and leaders from across the South-East of England for its third Headteachers’ Symposium – an event developed in partnership with the Cultural Learning Alliance, Festival Bridge and Artswork, that explored ways to improve access to creative learning in schools and communities.
This July, join the Royal Opera House for a special, live-streamed Insight. Actor and director Rikki Beadle Blair chairs a thought-provoking panel that features some of the UK’s most celebrated LGBTQ+ voices from across the creative industries.
Edinburgh International Festival is giving out over 35,000 free tickets to celebrate its 75thanniversary, with performances featuring leading contemporary circus performers and world-renowned orchestras as well as an immersive installation described as a ‘spa for the psyche’. The free programme is dedicated to the residents of Edinburgh who have opened their city and helped the International Festival to welcome the world to Scotland’s capital for the last 75 years.
Fiddler on the roof: Aidan O’Rourke (pictured on the roof of BT Murrayfield) appears in MACRO alongside Gravity & Other Myths, Djuki Mala, the National Youth Choir of Scotland and other Scottish musicians. Photo credit: Duncan McGlynn
TikTok and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society have announced an exclusive new partnership that will see the entertainment platform become the first Official Virtual Stage to the world’s premier performing arts festival.
38 shows have been announced as part of the inaugural A Pinch of VAULT, a new festival of live work-in-progress shows presented by VAULT Creative Arts. Taking place at VAULT Creative Arts’ brand new café, bar & creative space, The Glitch, and popular pub, Vaulty Towers, both in Waterloo, from Tuesday 5th July – Saturday 16th July 2022, A Pinch of VAULT will feature exciting and original shows from leading independent artists, across theatre and comedy.
The South Bank Show, one of the UK’s most loved and longest standing arts and culture programmes, returns on Wednesday 20th July on Sky Arts, Freeview channel 11, and NOW with three brand new episodes. The South Bank Sky Arts Awards ceremony will return to The Savoy London on Sunday 10th July, followed by its on-screen Sky Arts broadcast on Wednesday 13th July.
