Having identified a need for a theatre venue supporting new writing and working class artists, Olivier award-winning theatre producer Jamie Eastlake and filmmaker Stephen Robertson have established Laurels Theatre, located above Laurels Whitley Bay tapas bar based in Tyne and Wear. Currently into their first ever season of work, co-founder Jamie tells us more about what it means to be able to provide this integral platform for creatives and what his hopes are for the venue.
In this ‘special circumstances’ year, the Offies 2021 Awards Ceremony celebrated the creativity and resilience of our artists in fringe, alternative and independent theatre in a time of crisis who have found new ways to produce fresh and inventive work for thousands of stay-at-home audiences. Streamed free on the site of free online theatre Scenesaver, on Sunday 21 February 2021, and presented by OffWestEnd Director Geoffrey Brown, the event included many specially recorded messages of love and support from friends from the industry and beyond, including Brian Blessed, Sharon D Clarke, Dame Judi Dench, Sonia Friedman, Stephen Fry, Sadiq Khan and Michelle Terry.
Raising the profiles of pub theatres within the capital, London Pub Theatres Magazine celebrates and supports our unique fringe theatre culture. Founded and edited by theatre maker Heather Jeffrey, the magazine has helped to raise the awareness of the various theatre venues that continue to shape the industry. Heather tells us more about what inspired her to create the publication, how theatres are currently adapting to restrictions with online shows, the awards initiatives created to celebrate the great work being created and her hopes for the publication moving forward.