Society of London Theatre have announced the appointment of their incoming President, Kash Bennett. She will be serving as Vice President until 2024, when she will then take over from current President, Eleanor Lloyd. Holding the post of Managing Director of National Theatre Productions for over seven years, as well as serving three years on the SOLT board, Kash Bennett brings extensive industry experience to the role of SOLT President. She is responsible for delivering all live theatre performed outside of the National Theatre, including the West End, Broadway, and all UK and international touring productions. 
Following the record breaking success of VAULT Festival 2023, which welcomed more than 81,000 audience members to 553 shows, VAULT Creative Arts presents the second annual A Pinch of VAULT. More than 50 shows will appear in this year’s festival which will take place at The Glitch and Sino Thai in Waterloo, running from Wednesday 24th May – Sunday 18th June 2023. 2023’s programme features two festival weeks dedicated to ‘A Pinch of VAULT Comedy’ [24th May – 4th June] with the line up announced and tickets on sale today, and two weeks dedicated to ‘A Pinch of VAULT Theatre’ [6th – 18th June] with the line up due to be announced, and tickets on sale from Tuesday 16th May.
The 2023 winners of the Untapped Award were today announced as:
- Dugsi Dayz by Side eYe
- One Way Out by NO TABLE
- It’s A Motherf**king Pleasure by FlawBored
Courtesy of Guy J Sanders.
Tickets on sale today
The award supports the Edinburgh Festival Fringe premieres of three outstanding shows from early- and mid-career companies. This year, all three will receive £10,000 cash (double the amount in 2022), alongside a package of paid-for PR and marketing support, an enhanced Underbelly programming deal, mentoring from Nouveau Riche and publication and future licensing by Concord Theatricals under their UK imprint Samuel French Ltd. The expanded package directly responds to the challenges experienced across the festival by marginalised and under-represented artists attending the festival.
The thrilling programme for Shubbak Festival 2023 has been announced, celebrating their seventh edition of London’s largest Festival of contemporary Arab arts and cultures, with further events across the UK. With a dynamic and multi-disciplinary programme, Shubbak Festival platforms narratives representing Arab, South West Asian, and North African cultures. This year’s Festival will see popular favourites, emerging artists, and highly anticipated UK debuts and world premieres, with over 80 events across both arts venues and the public realm. A collaborative endeavour between creatives and communities, the Festival will also present commissions and residencies from Shubbak’s creative programme. Showcasing an ambitious and vibrant line-up of performance, visual art, comedy, dance, film, literature, and talks and workshops, Shubbak Festival will champion artists and their crafts as they confront the urgent environmental and social issues of today.
“I entered the programme an emerging artist and I am leaving as a mid-career artist with a plethora of experience, connections and opportunities all stemming from this programme.”
BEYOND Participant
As Graeae’s BEYOND initiative enters its third year, the ground-breaking programme designed to remove barriers and transform the careers of Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists across the UK, today issues an invitation to artists to participate.
Ramps on the Moon is changing the arts and culture sector by elevating the presence of deaf and disabled people into the heart of theatre, on and off stage. Michèle Taylor, Director for Change, co-founder of Ramps on the Moon and UK leader on Disability Equality, has launched her first podcast series where she delves deep into mainstream theatre to discover what the realities are now, and what the future holds for disability equality in the arts.
Michèle talks to industry guests about their personal experiences as well as their organisational learning. The conversation is open and honest as guests reveal their own journeys – their triumphs, learning, failures and what it means to change a company’s culture around ableism.
Bringing in the Edinburgh International Festival’s 76th year is the overriding question ‘where do we go from here?’ A provocation introduced quite rightly so by newly appointed artistic director Nicola Benedetti – the world renowned and award winning violinist who came to prominence when she won the coveted BBC Young Musicisn accolade in 2004. Aware of what she’d like to explore and examine in this year’s festival, Benedetti would like for the month long event, from the 4th to 27th August, to provide the deepest possible experience amongst the years. As someone who didn’t go to many arts events when she was younger, there’s an understanding as to why people may find theatre inaccessible – so this needs to change.
Theatre producers Chris Wheeler and Paul Morrissey are pleased to share a brand-new digital subscription platform, A Spotlight On. This eagerly anticipated announcement took place yesterday in the heart of London’s West End at the Prince of Wales Theatre. A Spotlight On is a brand-new subscription based streaming service aiming to shine a light on everyone who makes theatre possible.
On Tuesday 25th April 2023, the City of Edinburgh Council’s Finance and Resource Committee will consider Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s request for approval to progress to formal discussions for a long-term lease of the South Bridge Resource Centre; as the preferred location for a new Fringe Community Hub.
Manchester 18th April: Warner Bros. Discovery Access and WBD’s award-winning production company Wall to Wall North have partnered with the Royal Exchange Theatre to launch a 2023 Writers Access Programme, Supporting Powerful Storytelling. The aim of the programme is to help emerging theatre writers from under-represented backgrounds in the North of England who are looking to break into television. The Supporting Powerful Storytelling programme is now open for applications.
