Dealing with the intricacies of running a nation asks for an adept, rigorous, tenacious skillset and mindset. A role not to be taken lightly, imagine suddenly being catapulted into this complex reality. Exploring this further in show General Secretary, comedy duo Cassie Symes and Georgina Thomas place the experiences of two inexperienced leaders as they navigate their way through this new normal for them to the fore. Initially starting life out as a short live-streamed piece last year, before being shortlisted for a Funny Women Award – the work-in-progress’ next stop sees the show performed at the Soho Rising Festival, staged at the Soho Theatre next month. Ahead of the show, Cassie and Georgina tells us more about the show’s creative process so far, what it means to have been recognised for their work by the Funny Women Awards and what we can expect from the show!

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Celebrating over 30 years of nurturing and championing UK stage design talent, the Linbury Prize for Stage Design – in collaboration with the Linbury Trust and National Theatre have recently announced the recipients of their 2021 Award. A cohort consisting of 12 graduates from some of the UK’s top drama schools, the prize offers each winner a bursary of £5,000 and a design associate placement alongside an established designer. A much needed confidence boost, in what has been a very challenging 2 years post the pandemic, the prize offers a chance to acknowledge the great work that continues to take place off stage. Graduate of Wimbledon College of Arts Ruth Badila and Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Blythe Brett tell us more about what it means to receive the award, what they’ve taken away from their training so far and their future aspirations!

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Crafted by celebrated Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning American composer, lyricist and playwright Jonathan Larson, best known for his iconic genre shattering work RENT the musical, lesser known musical tick tick BOOM is a semi-autobiographical work telling the story of an aspiring composer and his relatable tussle between sustaining a successful career within the arts Vs leaving the profession to pursue a more secure career path – a ticking clock the show’s defining feature. Originally performed almost 32 years ago Off Broadway, the musical returns to our screens, currently – now available to stream on Netflix, revived by Pulitzer Prize/Tony Award/Grammy Award/Emmy Award/Olivier Award winning all rounder Lin Manuel Miranda and starring BAFTA and Tony Award winning actor Andrew Garfield as the show’s lead Jonathan Larson. Led by Olivier Award winning actor Giles Terera MBE, noted for his role as Aaron Burr in musical Hamilton, and in partnership with Netflix, Lin and Andrew delve further into the film’s creative process in an exclusive filmed interview.

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Born out of unpredictably of the pandemic last year, the #WeShallNotBeRemoved campaign, co-founded by former government disability champion Andrew Miller MBE and celebrated Artistic Director of Graeae Theatre Company Jenny Sealey MBE have tirelessly campaigned for a more inclusive arts sector moving forward. Their efforts so far having witnessed them secure over £150,000 in additional funding for disabled artist, ensuring that inclusivity was included in public statements around the reopening of theatres and serving as a support system for the deaf, disabled, learning disabled and neurodiverse community. The initiative has been recognised for the inspirational work achieved so far, having made the shortlist for ‘Community Project of the Year’ at the prestigious 2022 The Stage Awards. Andrew tells us more about the initiative’s aims and hopes!

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Courtesy of Sarah Hickson.

As we continue to build up a wealth of theatrical stories from the Black British perspective, we help to form a nuanced view of both recent and old British history, something incredibly important for society moving forward. Adding to the wealth of stories now gracing our stages, Crying in the Wilderness’ Artistic Director Paul Anthony Morris presents Conundrum, a show exploring the displacement and various experiences of a first generation Black Briton. Due to show early next year at the Young Vic, Paul tells us more about staging the piece nearly 2 years after its postponement due to the pandemic, the importance of placing a greater focus on well-being for both artists and audiences and what to expect from the show!

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The trials and tribulations of teenagehood can be tough, a time where you’re trying to figure out who you are and where you stand with others and in the world. Whether you have fond memories of your teenage years, or not, this formative period in time has helped to shape who we are. Exploring teenagehood within her screenplay debut Americanized, Erica Eng delivers a short film delving into the life of Eng – a 16 year old teen of Asian descent based in Oakland and a member of her school’s basketball team. Tackling themes of cultural heritage, girlhood and sport – Erica tells us more about the film’s creative process and qualifying to be considered for an Academy Award®.

Hi Erica, your short film Americanized has qualified to be considered for a 2022 Academy Award®, how are you feeling?

Hearing it from you now kind of hit me, because today is when they’re opening up the voting (Friday 10^thDecember). It’s such a surreal position to be in because I remember feeling discouraged after initially getting so many rejection letters from film festivals and being worried that no one would like the film. But being here today – Oscar Qualified after winning “Best Dramatic Short” at Cinequest –  it’s just an amazing feeling. And it’s also great hearing from Catherine Lyn Scott (London Flair PR), on all the great feedback we’ve been receiving from people who have watched and enjoyed the film.

Inspired by Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber, alongside lyricists Richard Stilgoe and Charles Hart would go on to create the iconic multi-award winning musical (1986) of the same name. Four decades on and the musical has enjoyed global success and continues to be enjoyed by many musical fans. Taking on the iconic musical and presenting it within a visual art format, Titan Comics have created a graphic novel version currently available to purchase online. A team effort, having been written by Cavan Scott, with visuals created by José Maria Beroy – theatre fans are now able to enjoy the musical in an alternate manner as well as own this unique collector’s item. Author Cavan Scott tells us more about the creation of the graphic novel!

The Phantom of the Opera graphic novel is available to purchase from Dec 7th in the UK and 11th Jan 2022 in the US and Canada. How are you feeling about the publication?

Due to start production in March of 2020, Ben Tricklebank’s short film CHAMP would witness a sudden shutdown in production due to the pandemic. Spurred on to realise the pertinent film’s vision – an exploration of masculinity, societal expectations and familial bonds, the production team would go on to craft a 15 minute piece that has now gone on to qualify to be considered for an Academy Award®. Currently enjoying much deserved success within the film festival circuit,  CHAMP continues to receive much deserved praise. Ahead of the Academy Award® nominations announcement on Tuesday 8th February 2022, Ben tells us more about the film’s creative journey so far!

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Celebrating a decade of raising the profile of 57 of London’s most iconic theatres, SeatPlan continue to create a shared space for theatre lovers to help shape the future theatre going experience of others, their USP of allowing users to upload their seat view tickets a great feature of the platform. As they head into the next decade of their journey, SeatPlan tell us more about encouraging interactivity and accessibility, their newly improved rewards element and what users can expect from the platform!

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The Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship awards poets funding to help support their creative practice for the year. Awarded to talented practitioners who have been recognised as being able to open up poetry to new audiences, making the form a lot more accessible to all, the award concludes its five year run with its third and final round of recipients. One of three to receive the final round of awards, which also follows their Evening Standard Future Theatre Fund Award win in Directing/Theatre-Making earlier on this year, scriptwriter/screenwriter and essayist Jamie Hale continues to inspire and trailblaze. Having just hosted CRIPtic Pit Party at the Barbican, a culmination of a year long programme run by his CRIPtic Arts organisation supporting d/Deaf artists and having published his pamphlet Shield about disability, treatment prioritisation and the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Jamie looks forward to continuing exploring various pertinent within his practice. Jamie tells us more about what it means to have won the award!

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