Month: July 2020

Musical theatre CD on sale now to raise money for NHS heroes

A SUCCESSFUL musical theatre group has produced a compilation of lockdown classics to help support the National Health Service.

Darlington Operatic Society has released a CD called “Strictly Lockdown” – comprising 18 musical theatre songs – with 50 per cent of the profits being donated to the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust’s Charity.

All of the songs have been created by members singing in isolation from their spare bedrooms, under-stair cupboards, bathrooms and conservatories during the period of lockdown due to the Covid 19 outbreak.

The result is around 80 minutes of “virtual musical theatre magic”, with the CD on sale now.

DarlingtonOS spokesman Julian Cound said: “I’m so happy to be able to say the CD is on sale now as it has been such a challenging project over the past three months.

“The idea of creating a compilation CD came fairly soon after the lockdown happened. It has taken many weeks of planning and organisation to get the CD on sale.”

The process involved choosing the right mix of songs, arranging backing tracks as well as making sure the project meets all legal requirements.

“Over 40 members have submitted individual vocal tracks to be used on the CD which contains a mix of duets, small groups and full company numbers. This would be challenging enough in a recording studio but to create a CD of this quality in isolation has required a fantastic effort from everyone involved.”

“The CD is full of songs from the best loved musicals including Wicked, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Sister Act, Hairspray and many more.”

Commenting, Pat Chambers, charity manager at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, said, “We’re enormously grateful to Darlington Operatic Society for sharing the profits from sales with us. The volunteers who run our hospital radio are also looking forward to playing the CD. Donations are used to fund a variety of projects to enhance the experience of both patients and staff and are much appreciated.”

As well as supporting the NHS, sales of Strictly Lockdown will also help DOS through a difficult period until it can resume staging its high quality shows at the Hippodrome.

The CD is priced at just £10 plus p&p and is available to buy now through the DarlingtonOS website www.darlingtonos.org.uk

West End stars unite for special Godspell 50th
Anniversary concert
Streaming worldwide: 27th, 28th and 29th August
Thomas Hopkins & Michael Quinn for Ginger Quiff Media in associate with the Hope Mill Theatre

Prepare ye the way of Godspell in concert! Theatrical legends will come together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Godspell in an exciting online concert experience. Ruthie Henshall (Chicago; Billy Elliot), and Darren Day (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat; Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) will return to reprise their roles from the 1993 cast recording; they will be joined by Sam Tutty (Dear Evan Hansen), Ria Jones (Sunset Boulevard; High Society), and Jenna Russell (The Bridges of Madison County; Fun Home).

Starring alongside them will be leading West End Talent: Jodie Steele (SIX; Heathers), Danyl Johnson (The X Factor finalist), Jenny Fitzpatrick (Tina, The Musical; Our House), Natalie Green (The Prince of Egypt; Hair), John Barr (The Story of Bart; Tommy), Sally Ann Triplett (Mamma Mia!; Viva Forever), Gerard McCarthy (Tina, The Musical; Beautiful Thing), Alison Jiear (Jerry Springer: The Opera), Shekinah McFarlane (Six; Hair), Lucy Williamson (The Fix; Judy & Liza), Ronald Brian (Beautiful, The Carol King Musical; Newsies), Jerome Bell (The Voice USA; Hairspray) and supported by an ensemble from Italia Conti.

With a driving message of hope and community, Godspell is the acclaimed work of renowned composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked; Pippin; The Prince of Egypt) which tells a series of parables leading up to the Passion of Christ. To look towards a brighter future post-lockdown, the concert will raise money for wonderful charities: Hope Mill Theatre (A Factory of Creativity CIO), Acting
For Others, and National AIDS Trust.

Directed by award-winning Michael Strassen (Billy; Assassins), it will be filmed from the cast’shomes and edited together with striking visual animations. It is a revival of Godspell like neverbefore, revamping the show for the modern technological age. Available for three days only to stream worldwide this summer, this promises to be the online theatrical event not to be missed.

Joseph Houston, Artistic Director of Hope Mill Theatre comments, We are so honoured to be collaborating on this online concert celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the musical Godspell and to be using this opportunity to support not only our own venue, but the incredible work that Acting for Others and the National AIDS Trust are doing during this time. The line-up of talent we have assembled is incredible and I know that this is going to be an online event not to be missed. We are also thrilled to be once again presenting a Stephen Schwartz musical and to share the musical genius of one of the world’s best musical theatre composers.

Sharon Coleman, Director of Fundraising at National AIDS Trust, adds, We’re absolutely thrilled to be one of the charities benefiting from the online concert marking Godspell’s 50th anniversary. It promises to be an exciting show, full of our favourite performers, so we hope lots of people buy a ticket and raise money to support our vital work tackling HIV stigma and discrimination

CEO of The Lowry in Salford responds to DCMS funding announcement

Julia Fawcett OBE, chief executive of The Lowry, said: “The announcement of £1.57bn of emergency investment in the UK’s culture sector is welcome news, but we are fast running out of time.

“This lifeline will come too late for some organisations who have already been forced to close their doors for good or made valued employees redundant.

“While we await precise details of the funding mechanisms, I would remind Government that the priority now must be to get these much-needed funds to the organisations most at risk – and fast. 

“In doing so, they can help save programmes of work and thousands of jobs across our sector that will otherwise fall victim to COVID.”

RSC media statement in response to the government announcement of investment to protect Britain’s world-class cultural, arts and heritage institutions

RSC Executive Director, Catherine Mallyon and Artistic Director, Gregory Doran said;

“We are very pleased and relieved to hear news of the government’s support package and investment in the arts and culture sector during this critical time. Thank you to the DCMS, HM Treasury and the many people in the sector who have worked together to demonstrate the critical role the arts play in our economic wellbeing and public life.  We hope this investment will provide meaningful support for the whole sector: for the skilled workforce who create world-class theatre, and for theatres and companies at every scale throughout the UK.  We are all ready to be part of a powerful civic, emotional and economic recovery for the country, and will be invaluable contributors to the UK’s ability to re-emerge from the pandemic locally, nationally and on a world stage.

“We look forward to receiving the detail of the support package when we will see in full how this will help the survival of the sector, and support our next steps to welcoming audiences back to live theatre. ”

With the news being published tonight announcing the £1.57 billion rescue package for the arts, I’d like to share a statement in response from Jon Morgan, director of The Theatres Trust, a national advisory public body for theatres. 

Jon Morgan comments:

Theatres Trust welcomes the announcement of £1.57bn additional support for the arts and cultural sectors, and the recognition of the importance of these sectors to the UK economy and national life. We will need to know more detail of how this money will be allocated across the different areas to fully assess its benefit – we would hope that a significant proportion will be reserved for the performing arts. Theatres have been amongst the hardest hit industries by the pandemic and are still at risk as they are unable to operate viably while social distancing is in place.

It remains to be seen whether this amount will be sufficient to replace the furlough scheme, as it begins to taper from August and ends in October, at a time when we still do not have timescales for theatres reopening.

We are pleased to see investment in capital projects included in this announcement. Our research has shown that there are more than 100 theatre capital projects worth almost £800m that have been stalled by the pandemic by anywhere between 3 and 18 months at a cost of upwards of £66m.

The #SaveHackneyEmpire crowdfunding campaign can be found here.

HACKNEY EMPIRE RAISES £40K IN THE FIRST WEEK OF ITS #SAVEHACKNEYEMPIRE CAMPAIGN

A campaign to help Hackney Empire survive the impact of Covid-19 has raised over £40,000 in the week since it launched. The Crowdfunding campaign hosted by the Mayor of London Pay It Forward initiative went live last Thursday and has attracted support from over 800 individuals.

It aims to raise at least £100,000 towards ongoing running costs to safeguard Hackney Empire’s future and has been backed to date by Hackney Empire Patron and panto legend Clive Rowe, comedian Alan Davies, actors Sam West, Richard Wilson, Arabella Weir and Sylvester McCoy and journalist Robert Peston amongst many others.

Donations have ranged from £5 – £5,000 and for gifts of £500 and above donors can dedicate a seat in the venue’s Grade II*listed auditorium. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has created huge financial challenges for Hackney Empire as over 85% of its funding comes from box office and earned income. However, throughout the pandemic Hackney Empire has continued to work with young people by taking its activity online, providing support and engagement for hundreds of young people made more isolated by the lockdown.

Earlier this week members of the Hackney Empire team came together in a special socially distanced photograph to support the venue’s crowdfunding campaign #SaveHackneyEmpire.

The striking image, taken by David Monteith-Hodge, features Artistic Director Yamin Choudury, staff members and young people who have taken part in Hackney Empire’s award-winning Creative Futures programmes on the stage in front of an empty auditorium. All participants were wearing facemasks and maintained social distance at all times.

Artistic Director Yamin Choudury said:

“We have been overwhelmed with the phenomenal success to date, of our #SaveHackneyEmpire crowdfunding campaign. It’s given us the chance to reach people from across the Capital, the country and in some cases from across the world, who love this incredible organisation and venue, and who want to help us keep it open.

The pay it forward scheme has enabled us to harness the huge amounts of goodwill that there is for Hackney Empire and turn that into the funding, that will help to see us through these uncertain times. It’s giving us the best chance of reopening our doors for music, for comedy, for theatre, for young people and of course for Panto in the years to come.”

The #SaveHackneyEmpire crowdfunding campaign can be found here.

Website: www.hackneyempire.co.uk
Facebook – /HackneyEmpire
Twitter – @HackneyEmpire
Instagram – @HackneyEmpire
YouTube – TheHackneyEmpire

New Perspectives presents:Love From CleethorpesA six-part drama delivered through the letterbox to hard-to-reach rural audiencesWritten and devised by Jack McNamaraAugust 2020 @NPTheatre | #LoveFromCleethorpes | www.newperspectives.co.uk

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, Nottingham-based New Perspectives brought high quality theatre to village halls and arts venues in rural areas: now, they have devised a novel way of reaching isolated rural audiences through a six-part drama written on a series of specially designed postcards. Giving audiences access to an artistic experience outside of digital screens, Love From Cleethorpes will be a six part ‘postcard drama’, in which a different card will arrive in the audience members household each day. The audience member will read each card and piece together a relationship between two people told over a 30-year correspondence, travelling us from Cleethorpes to Nottingham via New York.

Artistic director of New Perspectives Jack McNamara said, “Rural touring is such a personal, tactile medium: our van arrives in a village, our company interacts with its community, we share the same space and sense of occasion. At a time when such activity has been put on hold I wanted to create something that offered our audiences a similarly up close experience. Putting theatre online is fine, but it does little to replicate that sense of something special being there in front of you that you can touch. The postcard is a beautiful medium, able to say so much with such a small window. And there is innate drama in waiting for something to arrive in the post, finding something just for you and studying it to piece together a dramatic narrative. We hope to be back on the road soon, but until then we hope this is a way of continuing to reach our audiences and bring exciting art literally to their doorstep.”

Also off-screen, New Perspective’s audio series PlacePrints by playwright David Rudkin is available on podcast apps. PlacePrints gives voice to a presence that haunts a location, a story that wishes to imprint itself on a place. New Perspectives’ trilogy The Spirit is currently available to stream as part of #BACGoingDigital. Originally performed at Battersea Arts Centre in 2020, The Spirit is a mesmerising, viscerally intense trilogy of performances from one of Europe’s most distinctive and radical performance artists, Thibault Delferiere, directed by Jack McNamara. The trilogy is available until 12th July on BAC’s YouTube channel here.

New Perspectives is an East Midlands based company with over 40 years’ experience of touring high-quality productions to venues of all sizes across the UK, from mid-scale theatres to village halls.  With a strong rural core, they create productions to fit spaces of any size in order to bring new work that is unexpected and thought-provoking to a wide range of audiences. Since 2012, New Perspectives has been led by Artistic Director Jack McNamara whose productions include The Boss of It All by Lars von Trier (Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh and Soho Theatre), The Lovesong of Alfred J Hitchcock by David Rudkin (Brits off Broadway, New York and UK tour), Darkness, Darkness (Nottingham Playhouse co-production) and the Stage Award winning The Fishermen by Gbolohan Obisesan (Trafalgar Studios, Assembly George Square Studios and UK Tour).

Listings information

For more information, please visit  New Perspectives website

FREE

Supported using public funding by Arts Council England, Lottery Funded

Barn Theatre | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Website

BARD FROM THE BARN SERIES 2 TRAILER RELEASED STARRING WEST END STARS AND GRADUATES

• NATASHA BARNES AND NATHAN AMZI AMONG NEW CAST FOR THE BARN THEATRE’S ONGOING SHAKESPEARE IN LOCKDOWN SERIES

• THE NEW PHASE ALSO SEES THIRTY-FIVE DRAMA SCHOOL STUDENTS JOIN THE SERIES AS PART OF THE BARN THEATRE’S INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT NEW TALENT

TRAILER CAN BE VIEWED HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJd7y4deNS8

SERIES ONE CAN BE STREAMED HERE: https://bit.ly/2BM4g2T

The Barn Theatre and Aaron Sidwell have released the official trailer for the second series of their Shakespeare in lockdown digital theatre series, Bard From The Barn.

The second series of the digital theatre series, which reimagines William Shakespeare’s work to a modern-day setting, will begin on Monday 6^th July at 7:30pm with over 50 cast and creatives joining the series, including thirty-five 3rd Year drama school students.

The new episodes will see West End stars, such as Natasha Barnes (Funny Girl, Falsettos), Nathan Amzi (Heathers) and Mark Peachey (Dear Evan Hansen), partner with the third-year students to bring new life to the Bard’s most iconic duologues.

The series, which is co-produced by Aaron Sidwell and the Barn Theatre and based on an original concept by Aaron Sidwell and Hal Chambers, will air on the Barn Theatre’s Facebook, YouTube and Instagram channels every weekday at 7:30pm with the return of the Weekly Review every Sunday at 10am.

The complete first series of Bard From The Barn is available on the Barn Theatre’s YouTube channel and features performances from West End stars including Tricia Adele-Turner (Dear Evan Hansen), Max Hutchinson (The Woman in Black) and Aaron Sidwell (EastEnders, American Idiot).

Co-producer Aaron Sidwell has said of the extension that “the response to Bard From The Barn has been so incredible that we’ve decided we’re not going to stop there. With our 2nd series Bard From The Barn has become a global creative process with actors joining us from as far as Australia, to work with thirty-five 3rd Year Drama School students.” 

The Barn Theatre’s Artistic Director Iwan Lewis has said that “this series is the epitome of what the Barn Theatre stands for- to bring theatre to new audiences in a fresh, exciting and innovative way. I’m particularly pleased that we are able to create an opportunity for emerging drama school graduates to work with the UK’s leading directors and performers. I hope this will provide them their first step into the industry after their courses and showcases have been cut short due to Covid-19.”

The drama school students come from institutions including ALRA North, ALRA South, ArtsEd, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Drama Studio London, East 15 Acting School, Guildford School of Acting, International College of Musical Theatre, Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, London College of Music, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, Rose Bruford College, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

Aaron Sidwell also said of the announcement, “Working now in pairs with a director our actors are bringing you a new and fresh look at some of the Bard’s greatest characters. Covering 30 of the Bards plays, every week of the 2nd series will be themed. From Lovers week to Lesser Known Gems week we hope to keep you entertained daily for the next few months!” 

The series is production managed by Emma Smith with Benjamin Collins as Lead Editor and sound design by Harry Smith.

The actors joining the series are: Laurence Alliston-Greiner, Nathan Amzi (Heathers), Natasha Barnes (Funny Girl, Falsettos), Adam Best (Holby City), Jason Broderick (Wicked), Dougie Carter (Sunset Boulevard), Aamira Challenger (Blithe Spirit), Tom Chapman (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Jessica Dennis (The Habit of Art), Henry Douthwaite (Travesties), Emma Drysdale (Goodnight Mr Tom), Eddie Eyre (The Mousetrap), Sarah Finigan (EastEnders), Joe Frost (City of Angels, Evita), Jordan Ginger, Claire-Marie Hall (The Wicker Husband), Katherine Heath (The Mousetrap), Ffion Jolly, Iddon Jones (Wicked), Blioux Kirkby, Elinor Lawless (King Charles III), Zoe Mills, Perry O’Dea (Motown, Young Frankenstein), Rhys Owen (Only Fools and Horses), Mark Peachey (Dear Evan Hansen), Alex Phelps, Marc Rhys, Colin Ryan (My Brilliant Friend, Wendy and Peter Pan), Dan Smith and Jessica Temple (Peter Pan).

Returning cast members from the first series are: Abigail Mathews, Matt Ray Brown (The Inheritance), Adam Sopp (Grange Hill), Sarah Waddell and Jonathan Woolf.

The third-year graduates joining the series are: Isabelle Anderson, Maxim Ays, James Burman, Sam Butters, Matilda Childs, Esmée Cook, Laura Cooper-Jones, Isobel Coward, Ian Dunnett, Doxah Dzidzor, Libbi Fox, Joshua Griffin, Evangeline Henderson, Katie Hitchcock, Teegan Hurley, Dominic Hyam, Matthew Khan, Meg Lewis, Jordan Leigh McMahon, Mark Milligan, Adam Patient, Patrick Quinn, Andreane Rellou, Alistair Rowley, Warren Sauterelle, Dorothea Sawczuk, Rochelle Soares, Georgina Squires, Holly Surtees-Smith, Ollie Tennant, Phoebe Townsend, Molly Vincent, Charlotte Ware, Laura-Josephine Williams and Ciara Wright.

The directorial team on Bard From The Barn has also expanded with Derek Anderson, Paul Anthoney, Amie Burns Walker, Paul-Ryan Carberry, Charlotte Conquest, Richard Corgan, Scott Ellis, Nick Evans, Richard Fitch, Victoria Gimby, John Greening, Francesca Goodridge, Matt Harrison Alastair Knights, Scott Le Crass, Katie-Ann McDonough, Richard Neale, Jonathan O’Boyle, James O’Donnell, Michelle Payne, Dan Phillips, Abigail Pickard Price joining returning series one directors Hal Chambers Kirstie Davis, Robert Forknall, Oliver Lynes, David Mercatali, Joseph O’Malley, Joseph Pitcher, Jake Smith and Sean Turner.

Editors on the series are: Nathan Amzi, Derek Anderson, Jasper William Cartwright, Paul-Ryan Carberry, Richard Corgan, Ben Evans, Richard Fitch, Matt Gibbon, Oliver Lynes, Abigail Pickard Price, Joseph Pitcher, Colin Ryan and Sean Turner.

The Barn Theatre (registered charity no. 1174253), which is facing a loss of £250,000 and possible permanent closure, have launched their SAVE OUR BARN campaign, via their website and social media platforms, to ensure the Barn Theatre’s survival.

#scenechange – Dialogue in Strange Times…

DESIGNERS LAUNCH

#MISSINGLIVETHEATRE

ACROSS THE UK AND IRELAND FROM 3 JULY 2020

As much of the UK entertainment and hospitality industries open to customers from 4 July, theatres remain closed, unable to stage live performances. From early on in lockdown, the design community have been uncomfortably aware of the negative visual imagery and sadness around closed buildings. Theatres which are usually teeming with life feel stark and bleak, some even shut away behind hazard tape to prevent them inadvertently being places of gathering. On Friday 3 July, in collaboration with theatres across the UK, #scenechange will launch #MissingLiveTheatre and wrap theatre buildings in a positive message of hope and visibility to the industry.

Beginning with the National Theatre, #scenechange will, in conjunction with theatre staff, wrap theatres with pink barrier tape reading ‘Missing Live Theatre’. The baton will then be passed from the National Theatre to Royal Exchange Theatre, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Lyric Belfast and Sherman Theatre across the day on Friday, and throughout the West End on the Saturday. The week beginning 6 July will see further theatres nationwide joining #MissingLiveTheatre, with over 50 venues already committed including the RSC, Sadler’s Wells, Theatr Clwyd, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Sheffield Theatres, Ambassador Theatre Group, amongst many others.

#scenechange said today, “As businesses begin to reopen, the doors of theatres remain firmly shut, whilst we navigate a way back to live performance. Today as we launch #MissingLiveTheatre, we want to bring joy and colour to theatres across the UK and Ireland, whilst highlighting the ongoing impact of Covid-19, and what we as an industry and local communities are missing.”

#scenechange began as a small email exchange ‘Dialogue in Strange Times’ between a group of set & costume designers. Now it is a wide community of designers covering the breadth of the discipline and growing to over 1000 members, promoting ways of coming together in conversation and action in support of theatre.

For theatres who wish to join in the #missinglivetheatre campaign, please contact: [email protected]. Working with production manager Anna Fox, #scenechange will provide risk assessment and technical support, as well as linking theatres up with local designers for on site installation. The tape will remain in place for up to one week before being removed and reused by #scenechange to envelop another theatre.

https://www.scene-change.com/

Twitter: @_scene_change_

Instagram: _scene_change_

#scenechange

#MissingLiveTheatre

THE WORLD’S LONGEST RUNNING PLAY

THE MOUSETRAP

TO RE-OPEN IN THE WEST END ON 23 OCTOBER

Production to open with social distancing in accordance with

Stage Four of the Government’s Road Map for the return of theatre

Agatha Christie’s thriller to resume record-breaking run

at The St Martin’s Theatre, London

www.uk.the-mousetrap.co.uk

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap – the longest running show in the world, which had to be suspended when the Coronavirus Pandemic resulted in the closure of UK theatres – is to re-open in the West End on Friday 23 October.

The brilliant thriller, which has played in London since 1952, is to re-open at the St. Martin’s Theatre in accordance with the Government stipulations for Stage Four of the recently announced Road Map for the return of live theatre and music.

Adam Spiegel, the producer of The Mousetrap, said:

“I recognise that for the vast majority of West End productions, operating with social distancing is simply not possible. I produce other shows which will also be unable to re-open under these restrictions. We are very fortunate with The Mousetrap that, with the help of our stakeholders, we are able to adapt our economic model to be able to re-open. Whilst this cannot be a long-term exercise, we believe it is a crucial first step in restoring live theatre to the London landscape.

From examinations of the operational requirements of the building, we are able to adhere to necessary social distancing on stage, backstage and throughout the auditorium and public spaces. The recent announcement of the government’s road map therefore brings our re-opening into immediate focus.

It feels very symbolic that The Mousetrap will be amongst the first – and potentially the very first – West End show to open its doors again. As well as being the longest running play in the world, Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist this country has ever produced. She had already left a legacy for us to take great pride in. Her name being back up in lights in the West End, heralding the beginning of the end of a very dark time in the history of the theatre, means she will rightly remain one of the most celebrated figures in our cultural life.”

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is the world’s longest-running play. The West End production was originally adapted from Christie’s radio play, Three Blind Mice, written for the Royal family in 1947.

The Mousetrap has been intriguing and delighting audiences for as long as Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne. It is the genre-defining murder mystery from the world’s best-selling novelist of all time.

As news spreads of a murder in London, a group of seven strangers find themselves snowed in at Monkswell Manor, a stately countryside guesthouse. When a police sergeant arrives, the guests discover – to their horror – that a killer is in their midst. One by one, the suspicious characters reveal their sordid pasts. Which one is the murderer? Who will be their next victim?

The Mousetrap will celebrate 70 years in London in 2022. It has been performed 28,200 times in London and sold over 10 million tickets. To celebrate the 50^th anniversary in 2002, The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh attended a special Gala performance.

The Mousetrap is produced by Adam Spiegel Productions.

For further information, see www.uk.the-mousetrap.co.uk