The Olivier Awards with Mastercard 2023 have formally announced the recipients for this year’s Industry Recognition Award. The event is organised annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre.
Recipients need to have demonstrated at least one of the following:
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is delighted to launch the ‘Keep it Fringe’ fund, a new initiative to support Fringe artists, which is being led by Fringe Society President Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
This fund, supported by the Fleabag for Charity campaign, and funds donated to the Fringe Society through individual donors and our partnership with Edinburgh Gin, will distribute fifty bursaries of £2,000 which will be awarded to individual artists or companies bringing work to the Fringe in 2023.
The environments we grow up in play a significant role in our developmental journey. Childhood friendships and experiences things that never truly leave us. A retrospective of his locality of Peckham, writer and performer David Alade presents Sunny Side Up – a reconnection to his younger self and a heartfelt look of what now is.
Referring to himself as ‘Lil D’, Alade guides us through a 70 minute journey of his life thus far, from his humble upbringing to the current day. Tales of school – childhood crushes, parents’ evenings, grades showcasing a natural talent for the arts, college, attending Angela Ruskin University, Cambridge – where a wake up call has him confronted with pursuing the right path compared to those he has grown up with all building the foundations for a better life.
Almost a decade on from its launch, and NOW Festival, curated by the Yard has played a pivotal role in shaping our contemporary theatrical landscape, having platformed over 60 artists including Jules Cunningham, Rosana Cade & Ivor MacAskill and FK Alexander. Returning once again from 18th April to 13th May with a refreshing, bold, experimental line up of new works and ideas, NOW 23 arrives with an exciting line-up of Yard commissions and premieres from Marikiscrycrycry, SERAFINE1369, Ira Brand, BULLYACHE, Freddie Wulf and Daniel Oliver & Mazvita.
Assimilating to a new way of life brings with it a whole host of challenges, how the community engage with this process is perhaps one of the toughest challenges if one isn’t accepted. But what binds us all is the ability to love, communicate and help one another in times of need. Delving into the integration process of two refugees settling into a South Eastern England seaside town, Mahad Ali presents My Brother’s Keeper, an observant take on how two very different worlds are forced to see eye to eye and get by.
Courtesy of Ali Wright.
The last 3 years for us have been incredibly unpredictable and life altering, we’ve been hit with a pandemic that has gone on to shape how we currently live in a major way. Within theatre, the domino effect of the first theatre closing its doors in March 2020 in response to the pandemic, an open letter to the government calling for support industry-wide signalling the beginnings of a recovery process that during the interim birthed and encouraged the use of little known digital platform ‘Zoom’, amongst other digital innovations. Post pandemic, we rebuild, however the repercussions of the last few years have been mighty. So we ask ourselves, moving forward, what does the future of the oldest performance form look like? Where do we go from here? Award winning theatre maker Tim Crouch bravely ponders this in experimental piece Truth’s a Dog Must to Kennel.
Emerging playwright Roxy Cook was announced today as the winner of the 2023 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award for her first play A Woman Walks Into a Bank. Roxy accepted the Award from Erica Whyman, Chair of the Award Judging Panel at an event taking place in the shell of the 503Studio at Nine Elms, which will become a world-class centre for debut playwrights. The event included a rehearsed reading of an excerpt of the winning play.
With her play selected from 1,466 submissions from 49 countries, Roxy receives The Carne Prize of £6,000 which includes the staging of a world premiere production at Theatre503 after a year’s support and development, and publication of her play by Samuel French Ltd, a Concord Theatricals Company.
Nominations have been announced for the Olivier Awards 2023 with Mastercard, British theatre’s most prestigious honours, which will take place on Sunday 2 April at the Royal Albert Hall.
This year’s most nominated production is My Neighbour Totoro, the new stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s beloved 1988 animated film. Brought to the stage by the Royal Shakespeare Company and legendary Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi, the production received a total of nine nominations, including Best Entertainment or Comedy Play, Best Director, Best Theatre Choreographer, Best Original Score and a Best Actress nod for Mei Mac.
Courtesy of Pamela Raith.
Autism is a developmental disability that impacts how someone might communicate, perceive situations, react to stimuli such as bright lights and loud sounds, anxiety levels – particularly when in unknown situations, take longer to process information and repeat certain actions or thoughts over again (NHS). Autism, or ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is a spectrum, with experiences different dependent on the person. An exploration of the journey taken to learn how best to care for and support a family member with ASD, Rachel Hammond presents Joshua (and Me), a vital, hearty production placing Joshua’s experience with ASD at the fore.
Apples and Snakes have appointed a New Chair of the Board, Birmingham-raised spoken word artist Amerah Saleh. She succeeds Chris Elwell, who stepped down in early December and has been chair since 2014.
Amerah takes up the mantle after being a member of the board for three years. As a trustee, she aims to bring young people to the forefront of organisations minds’ and provide a voice in the room that could become potential opportunities for young people across the country.
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