Following the success of their online Summer Spread of courses, Wise Children today announce The School for Wise Children’s Workrooms.Emma Rice and her trusted team of collaborators will once again create an online creative space to engage with emerging artists. Wise Children’s core team, Emma Rice, Poppy Keeling, Laura Keefe and Ian Ross, will be joined by guest tutors including Joel Horwood, Daniel Kok, Yolanda Mercy, Dina Mousawi, John Pfumojena and Ros Brooke-Taylor, with more to be announced.
The Workrooms include four courses each focused on a different area of theatre-making: directing, performing, writing and producing. Each of the four courses will also have a corresponding online talk open to the wider public. Running from 1 March – 27 April, 50% of places on the courses are available free.
Emma Rice, Artistic Director, said today, “It was with trepidatious hearts that we moved our teaching and theatre practice online last year. My experience had taught me that nothing could match the chemistry of a face to face encounter and I felt, at best, we would be surviving by making this switch. I am more thrilled than anyone to have discovered that we not only survived, we thrived! We discovered that the digital platform was intuitive, creatively intimate and personal. With renewed enthusiasm and confidence, we are delighted to be launching the Wise Children Workrooms and look forward to welcoming a new class to our digital school. Here’s to hope, surprise, bravery and smart dreaming!”
Courses uses a mixture of group and individual sessions, and will see students work closely with course leaders to develop their own ideas and practice. Each course will have at least 9 hours of contact time plus time for students to develop independent projects. To aid in creating an on and off-stage workforce that represents the world we live in, Wise Children are encouraging applications from groups currently under-represented in the industry.
Join the School for Wise Children’s Head of Music, Ian Ross, and musician and performer, John Pfumojena, to explore lyrics, composition and how to communicate ideas to an artist.
Joel Horwood and Yolanda Mercy combine their writing experience to help emerging artists unleash the potential of their work.
Talk: Monday 15 March at 1.30pm
PRODUCING: AN IMPOSTER’S GUIDE
Course: 23 March – 27 April
Wise Children’s Executive Producer, Poppy Keeling, and producers from across the industry share their experience and skills to provide an in-depth understanding of the role of the producer.
Talk: Tuesday 27 April at 6pm
Courses cost £135 (including membership of the Wise Children Club). 50% of course places are available free to UK residents receiving means-tested benefits, or otherwise in need of financial support. Talks cost £5 and are open to all.
DOMESTIC ABUSE AND COERCIVE CONTROL TAKE CENTRE STAGE IN LIVESTREAM PERFORMANCE OF ‘ALL IN YOUR HEAD’
Women’s experiences of domestic abuse and coercive control will be brought to light in the one-woman show All In Your Head, a pay what you can, live theatrical experience for audiences across the UK, in the socially distant setting of YouTube livestream.
Theatre has a power to transport audiences to a different time, place, mindset, or emotion. As one of the earliest forms of public entertainment, theatre has always held a mirror up to society, reflecting what is illuminated in the lights or hidden in the shadows.
All In Your Head is based on the real accounts of survivors, sharing their stories while showing that “just leaving” isn’t as simple as it sounds.
Naomi Sparrow will portray the many subtle and covert ways that mental, emotional, and physical abuse show up in relationships as she brings the script from internationally-nominated playwright Safaa Benson-Effiom to life. Wellbeing Practitioner Lou Platt, from I May Destroy You, will also support the production.
The performance was originally scheduled for May 2020 as part of Calm Down, Dear, the feminist festival presented by Camden People’s Theatre. Support from Arts Council England is now allowing the work to pivot to a digital performance instead, which will be followed by a panel discussion with survivors of gender-based violence and representatives from support organisations.
2020 will forever be remembered as the year of COVID-19, and the ‘shadow pandemic’ too. 2020 marked five years of coercive and controlling behaviour being in the UK Serious Crimes Act, and the prevalence of coercive control and domestic abuse was made starkly public by the pandemic. Domestic abuse support services were receiving one call an hour in June 2020, a trend which only grew as restrictions tightened, causing more time to be spent with partners.
While the statistics are shocking, it must be remembered that each statistic represents a woman or child, a survivor or a homicide victim.
All In Your Head producer (and CEO of Purple Moon Drama) Cheryl Ndione says: “Throughout the pandemic we’ve been constantly reminded to stay safe by staying at home, but home isn’t a safe place for so many people. Producing the show has given me so much insight into the reality of this, and I hope All In Your Head provides education, understanding, courage, and healing.”
Lucy Dear – Director and creator of All In Your Head says: “All In Your Head explores how the seemingly perfect partner can quickly become a source of fear, terror, and violence. Through Naomi Sparrow’s performance we are introduced to a woman who we can all relate to, and watch how the abuser shrinks her into a fragile shell of her former self. We want this show to shift perceptions of abuse, but it is our hope that survivors feel we are telling this far too common story in a way that is considerate, educational, and respectful”.
All In Your Head will be performed on Sunday 14th February, at 7pm. Tickets are available at cptheatre.co.uk, on a sliding scale from £0 upwards to ensure everybody who needs to see the show, can.
Anyone who requires help or support can contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline which is open 24/7 365 days per year on 0808 2000 247 or via their website https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/
FINAL EPISODE OF THE VICKY VOX PROJECT NOW AVAILABLE
WITH GUEST APPEARANCE FROM RAVEN-SYMONÉ
The final episode of New Frame Productions’ 6-part heightened reality web-series The Vicky Vox Project is now available to watch via the New Frame Productions YouTube Channel, with a guest appearance from That’s So Raven star Raven-Symoné. The episode also features Legends of Tomorrow actress Amy Louise Pemberton and a return appearance by Renée Lamb.
Following on from the events of Episode 5: It is six weeks later and with no show to rehearse for, Vicky is spending her days doing her card readings online. Today, new client Melissa is desperately searching for clarity regarding her marriage and with the session running over, Vicky is keen to cut loose. It all seems like another normal day on zoom until a surprise appearance literally changes everything…
Robin Rayner and JamesQuaife said today, “Having created the opportunity to take what originally would have been a live performance and transform it into something equally as special and entertaining has been an enriching and exciting experience. Collaborating with artists from all across the world who have brought their talent, commitment and passion for the arts to the project is incredibly rewarding. We have been fortunate to work with some incredible people on The Vicky Vox Project and to complete our first season with a guest appearance by the iconic Raven-Symoné is something quite extraordinary. We are proud that this series has brought joy to so many during such a turbulent time.”
This heightened reality web-series was inspired by a love of live performance, a passion for drag and queer culture and the dilemma we all find ourselves in with Miss Rona. It offers some insight into the creative process of making a show during a pandemic, with a drag queen, across multiple time zones and explores the artistic vision, design concepts and music creation all while celebrating Vicky’s sentiment that “When the world goes to sh*t, sometimes you gotta celebrate a little harder.”
Filmed remotely, in isolation, predominantly in the US and produced, directed and edited in the UK, the web-series is available via New Frame Productions YouTube channel with a live show planned for later in 2021. The series also features Sir Derek Jacobi, Renée Lamb, Detox, Mayhem Miller, Meatball, Vinegar Strokes, Richard Clifford, Cindy Lin, Paul Michael Gibbs and Chris Poon.
@NewFrameProds
@TheVickyVox
#TheVickyVoxProject #TVVP
Vicky Vox is an LA-based drag performer who is best known for her drag band DWV, alongside the world-renowned Detox and Willam Belli. In 2018 Vicky starred as the human-eating alien plant Audrey II in the critically acclaimed Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of Little Shop of Horrors. Vicky recently launched her first podcast series Doing Great with Vicky Vox. She said“2020 is clearly the year that changed everything. Adversity is nothing new in my life. I always find a way to express myself and connect with others. Creativity and art are healing and they will not be stopped! When you find people who support your vision and truly embody that collaborative spirit, obstacles become launch pads to discovery. Necessity is truly the mother of invention.”
Talking Gods Digital Festival: Monday 5th – Friday 9th April 2021
This spring, Arrows & Traps presents Talking Gods, a digital season of five reimagined Greek myths. These moving reworkings of classic Greek tales present snapshots of the modern world filled with pathos and comedy, music and love and tragedy and loss. During the week-long digital festival, one play will premiere every night, and each play will be followed by a live Q&A on Zoom and then remain online for free
The Greek myths have been a cornerstone of Western culture for millennia, telling stories of gods and monsters but conveying deep wisdom about the human condition. Writer Ross McGregor uses them to examine vital contemporary issues, some of which have become heightened during the pandemic, in his five new plays.
Exploring climate change, Persephone is a touching story of sisterhood, of keeping a fire warm in the depths of winter. Delving into the world of mental health, Orpheus is about control and toxicity, self-sacrifice and freedom. Placing Pygmalion in the modern world, the third play explores the growth of artificial intelligence in an ever-more isolating world. Aphrodite, which looks at the vital issue of gender identity and acceptance, is a remarkable tale of a love affair that endures. The final play to premiere will be Icarus, a poignant physical theatre piece about the bonds between fathers and sons.
Writer Ross McGregor says, 2020 delivered a large blow to the theatre industry. We were closed down and told to stop telling stories, and to wait for the day when we were allowed to create again. After nine months, now is the time to return. In the opening of a new year, we are all looking forward to the future and we thought it would be an interesting time to look back to where drama first began – with the Greek myths. We have reimagined them so that they’re not just a testament to where we came from, but a look to where we’re going. We want to tell a message of understanding and hope, that we’re not as alone as 2020 made us all feel.
Talking Gods will be rehearsed and recorded at Jack Studio Theatre, where the award-winning Arrows & Traps are the associate company. Arrows & Traps aim to engage with Jack Studio Theatre’s audience and the wider theatre community during lockdown, through performance and online discussion.
The House of Cenci Available from Monday 15th February 2021
Integrating a free-roaming text adventure with live performance on Zoom, the makers of Crisis? What Crisis? and For King and Country have taken immersive game theatre to new levels in lockdown with The House of Cenci. Parabolic Theatre have developed digital castle ruins for audiences to explore while uncovering the events of a harrowing tale. Across four weeks, the secrets of The House of Cenci will slowly unravel for those brave enough to solve the mysteries that lurk behind closed doors.
After 400 years, the secrets of a family tragedy are awakening. Hidden in the depths of the House of Cenci, the truth waits to be set free. Count Francesco Cenci was a tyrant; his daughter a victim and a murderer. Based on the true story which inspired centuries of retellings by artists from Percy Bysshe Shelley to Antonin Artaud, originator of the Theatre of Cruelty, The House of Cenci exposes an awful tragedy and the slow procession to disaster.
To unlock opportunities to travel in time between 1599, 1972 and the modern day, audiences must solve puzzles, complete tasks and deal independently with moral dilemmas. Using the early computer game format of text adventures, the story is split into four acts and live interactive scenes act as a threshold into each. Roam the castle at leisure but live scenes occur weekly on Zoom and for an hour at a time. Audiences must interact with the scenes to find out more and progress to the next act of this horrific digital tale.
The cast include Ed Cartwright (For King and Country, The COLAB Factory; Dr. Thorne) as the Cardinal, Dare Emmanuel (Hunted Live; Portals) as Orsino, Ellie Russo (The Merchant of Venice, The Duke of York’s Theatre; Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci, Royal Opera House) as Lucretia. The House of Cenci also stars Ewan Bagshaw (Bridge Command and England Expects, Parabolic Theatre) as Olympio, Edward Andrews (The Pilgrim; Romeo & Juliet, The Harold Pinter Theatre) as Congressman and Sandy Murray (Shakespeare in Love, Noël Coward Theatre; Fisherman’s Tail, Edinburgh Fringe) as Giacomo with further casting to be announced.
Artistic Director of Parabolic Theatre, Owen Kingston comments, The Cenci story is a fascinating one – timelessly relevant with a huge theatrical legacy. I’ve wanted Parabolic to do something new with it since founding the company, but the scale of the story has always placed it out of reach of our resources. Reimagining immersive performance for a locked-down world has given us a fresh perspective on what is possible, and the hybrid digital/live performance approach that we’ve taken allows us to finally present a worthy adaptation of this story for the modern world.
Parabolic Theatre specialises in producing immersive theatrical experiences. They bring together the worlds of theatre and gaming to continue to push this evolving genre further. They believe that audience agency is at the heart of what makes an experience immersive. They offer audiences the most freedom possible: to explore where they want, talk to who they want, and observe what they want. They make the experience truly the audience’s own.
FIONN WHITEHEAD TO STAR IN NEW DIGITAL PRODUCTION OF THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
Photo Credit: Pip
THE STAR OF DUNKIRK & BANDERSNATCH WILL PLAY THE TITULAR ROLE OF DORIAN GRAY
THE BARN THEATRE, LAWRENCE BATLEY THEATRE, NEW WOLSEY THEATRE, OXFORD PLAYHOUSE & THEATR CLWYD WILL CO-PRODUCE A DIGITAL PRODUCTION OF THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
THE PRODUCTION, BASED ON OSCAR WILDE’S BELOVED NOVEL, WILL BE WRITTEN BY HENRY FILLOUX-BENNETT AND DIRECTED BY TAMARA HARVEY.
Fionn Whitehead, star of Dunkirk and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, will take on the titular role in an upcoming contemporary digital adaptation of the Oscar Wilde classic, The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Most recently seen starring in the Lionsgate and Saban Films’ Don’t Tell A Soul, Fionn Whitehead is best known for his critically acclaimed performance as the protagonist Tommy in Christopher Nolan’s Academy Award nominated war film, Dunkirk.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, from the team behind the celebrated digital production of What a Carve Up!, is set to push the theatrical form like its predecessor; utilising elements found in radio plays, films, documentaries as well as traditional theatrical techniques.
Set in a profile pic-obsessed, filter-fixated world where online and reality blur, influencer Dorian Gray makes a deal. For his social star never to fade. For the perfect self he broadcasts to the world to always remain. But as his mental health starts to decline, as corruption and murderous depravity start to creep into his world, the true and horrific cost of his deal will soon need to be met.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, which runs for two weeks from 16-31 March, will reunite the creative team behind What a Carve Up!with Henry Filloux-Bennett writing the new adaptation with direction by Tamara Harvey.
On being reunited for this new production Henry Filloux-Bennett and Tamara Harvey commented, “So many of us have found ourselves living in an ever more online world over the last year. But the benefits and the connections digital have offered us come with a darker side – deterioration in mental health, isolation, online manipulation to name just a few. Following ‘What a Carve Up!’ we really wanted to explore what would happen if you brought Oscar Wilde’s Faustian tale kicking and screaming into a world of Instagram, Facebook and dating apps.”
Their most recent collaboration What a Carve Up!, which featured an all-star cast including Alfred Enoch, Stephen Fry and Sharon D Clarke, achieved both critical and public acclaim throughout the November lockdown of 2020 with the production receiving the prestigious New York Times Critic’s Pick as well as being heralded as one of the best productions of the year by both The Guardian and The Telegraph.
The Barn Theatre in Cirencester, the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield and the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich will return to co-produce The Picture of Dorian Gray with Oxford Playhouse in Oxfordshire and Theatr Clwyd in Mold joining the collaboration as co-producers.
The production will be available internationally, running until 31 March. Tickets can be purchased at pictureofdoriangray.com with audience members receiving a screening link which will activate on their booked performance date for a 48-hour period. Tickets are priced at £12 which will include both a link to the production as well as a digital programme. Audio description and closed captioning will be made available for the production during its run.
The producers are also dedicated to supporting fellow theatres across the country during this unprecedented time and have announced that the following theatres will be joining the production as partner venues: Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Arts At The Old Fire Station, artsdepot – North Finchley, Belgrade Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Guildhall Arts Centre – Grantham, Hertford Theatre, Mercury Theatre, Octagon Theatre Bolton, Stamford Arts Centre, The Dukes, The Elgiva, The Lighthouse Theatre, The Lowry, The Torch, The Watermill Theatre, Theatre By The Lake, Theatre Royal Winchester and Watford Palace Theatre.
Further casting and creatives for the production will be announced at a later date.
WITH REBECCA HALL, SARA KESTELMAN, LUISA OMIELAN AND DAN STEVENS
Jenny Caron Hall, Artistic Director of SHAKE Festival,today announces a rehearsed reading of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Following the success of previous livestreams, The Tempest, and Sonnets & Carols, the latest reading, directed byCaron Hall, will be streamed live for one night only on Wednesday 31March at 7.30pm. Tickets available to buy here.
The cast comprises Richard Blaine (Philostrate), Joseph Blatchley (Robin Starveling), Daniel Bowerbank (Helena), Amesh Edireweera (Tom Snout/Wall), Tim Fitzhigham (Francis Flute/Thisbe), Rebecca Hall (Titania/Hyppolita), Ed Hughes (Snug/Lion), Sara Kestelman (Peter Quince), Malachy King (A Fairy), Wendy Morgan (Puck), Luisa Omielan (Bottom/Pyramus), Louis Rudnicki (Demetrius), David Sibley (Egeus), Dan Stevens (Oberon/Theseus), Barnaby Taylor (Lysander), Máiréad Tyers (Hermia), with the voices of Pease-Bottom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustard-seed will be read by members of the Mini-Mouth Youth Theatre.
Artistic Director of SHAKE festival, Jenny Caron Hall, said today, “Expressed in beautiful language, this is an extraordinary play; romantic, magical, and very funny. I’m thrilled it’s being vividly brought to life in this online reading by such a brilliant cast.”
Jenny Caron Hall is the Artistic Director of SHAKE Festival, which launched in October 2019. As an actress her credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (National Theatre) and The Tempest (National Theatre/international tour). Caron Hall is also a musician, artist and journalist.
Rebecca Hall plays Titania/Hyppolita. Her theatre credits include Mrs. Warren’s Profession (Strand Theatre – Ian Charleson Award), Twelfth Night (National Theatre), The Fight for Barbara, Man and Superman, Galileo’s Daughter and Don Juan (Theatre Royal Bath), As You Like It (Brooklyn Academy of Music), A Winter’s Tale and The Cherry Orchard (The Bridge Project) and Machinal (American Airlines Theatre). Her television credits include Tales from the Loop, Parade’s End, Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974, Einstein and Eddington, Joe’s Palace, Wide Sargasso Sea, Don’t Leave Me This Way and The Camomile Lawn; and for film, The Night House, A Rainy Day in New York, Holmes & Watson, Teen Spirit, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, Permission, The Dinner, The BFG, Christine, The Gift, Tumbledown, Transcendence, A Promise, Closed Circuit, Iron Man 3, Lay the Favourite, The Awakening, A Bag of Hammers, Everything Must Go, The Town, Please Give, Dorian Gray, Frost/Nixon, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Prestige and Starter for 10. Hall is making her directorial debut with the feature film Passing which will première at Sundance later this month.
Sara Kestelman plays Peter Quince. Her theatre credits include The Visit, Hamlet (National Theatre), Paradise, Filthy Business, The Intellectual Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures, Some Sunny Day (Hampstead Theatre), The Lady in the Van (Theatre Royal Bath), The Girls (UK tour), Ignis, 4000 Miles (The Print Room), Torch Song Trilogy, Meantime (Menier Chocolate Factory), Making Noise Quietly, Nine, Cabaret (Donmar Warehouse) and Fiddler on the Roof (London Palladium/UK tour). Her television credits Maigret in Monmartre, In the Flesh, Instinct, Anna Karenina, Invasion: Earth, Brazen Hussies, Cabaret, Somewhere to Run, Crown Court, The Walls of Jericho, The Double Dealer and Under Western Eyes; and for film, The Last Sparks of Sundown, Lady Jane, Break of Day, Lisztomania and Zardoz.
Luisa Omielan plays Bottom/Pyramus. She was the first comedian to be awarded the BAFTA Breakthrough Brit Award in 2018. Her stand up shows What Would Beyonce Do?! and Politics for Bitches were both aired on the BBC following critically acclaimed runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and subsequent national tours. Her television appearances include Miranda, The John Bishop Show and Live at the Apollo.
Dan Stevens plays Oberon/Theseus. His theatre credits include Hangmen (John Golden Theatre), The Heiress (Walter Kerr Theatre), Arcadia (Duke of York’s Theatre), Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (National Theatre), The Vortex (Apollo Theatre), Hay Fever (Haymarket Theatre), The Romans inBritain (Sheffield Theatres), Much Ado About Nothing (Theatre Royal Bath) and As You Like It (Rose Theatre). His credits for television include as series regular Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Legion, The Turn of the Screw, Sense & Sensibility, Maxwell and Dracula; and for film, Blithe Spirit, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, The Rental , The Call of the Wild, Lucy in the Sky, Apostle, Her Smell, The Man who Invented Christmas, Marshall, Kill Switch, Permission, Beauty and the Beast, Colossal, Norman, The Ticket, Criminal Activities, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, A Walk Among the Tombstones, The Cobbler, The Guest, The Fifth Estate, Summer in February, Vamps and Hilde.
Through the tiers, lockdowns and stop/starts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Space bring you their bright, new 2021 spring season. We’ve had unprecedented challenges, and after listening to our creative teams and audiences, we have invested in dynamic solutions to the times we face.
We’re hosting a season of shows that are designed to be livestreamed as well as for ‘in-a-theatre’ audiences, so whether audiences are coming to see us or staying at home, we’ve got some exciting and topical shows lined up. With our new, ACE funded livestreaming kit, we’re building on our 2020 successes, keeping theatre affordable and accessible and reaching further than ever to our growing local and international digital audiences.
Artistic Director Adam Hemming says, “We’ve designed this season to appeal to a wide range of people and to engage a large number of theatre-makers. We want to keep those links we’ve made with national and global audiences and be there to provide for our local audience as soon as we can have them back in the venue. We’re finding new ways to make connections between those who write, direct and perform and those who watch and engage.
Whilst the building is currently closed, due to London COVID levels, and we’re aware that some of the shows in the season may only be livestreamed or may need to be rescheduled, we’re committed to hosting these brave and brilliant theatre-makers.” No less broad is our range of shows: We’ve got new writing showcases (Soldiers Arts Academy Showcase, Pass It On!, Scratching The Servers); gig theatre (A Place To Fall To Pieces); a new musical (Raft); dark classics (Poe’s The Black Cat); dark new dramas (Outside, Helium); epic Roman comedy (Aaron & Julia); feminist Chinese pirates (A Game Not Lost); family friendly shows (The Fantastical Tale of The Boy on The Run); shows about family (being a ‘cool mum’: The Cloak of Visibility and autobiographical story of being a test-tube baby: Don’t Ask Don’t Get, Baby) and of course, emerging theatre companies (Pursued by A Dragon return to the Space with Try Harder and 2020 graduates Two Flats Theatre debut A Blue Something). To kick off our digital/in-person hybrid season and meet the creatives involved, join us on Friday the 15th of January for an online season launch parties. Pour a glass of something fizzy and see just what this brave new year has in store for the Space! The performance details are (dates subject to change):-
Spring Season Launch Night
15th January – live online, via Zoom
Join the Space for a Spring Season like no other, sharing extracts and meeting the companies behind our hybrid Online and (hopefully) In-A-Theatre 2021 season!
Soldiers’ Arts Academy Showcase
30th January – livestreamed on YouTube
An international showcase of six new, short plays written by those most deeply affected by the trauma of military service – veterans themselves and their families.
Pass It On
4th-6th February – premiere watch party on YouTube and post-show Q and A on Zoom Pass It On. Let them know. No woman left behind.
Join us for 3 evenings of new writing, presenting the work of 15 emerging writers, performers, and directors.
A Place to Fall to Pieces
9th-13th February
On a sinking island a musician searches for a place to put her bones. A story (and a song) about magic, memory and earth. A musical quest for the meaning of Home.
Outside
16th-20th February – livestreamed on YouTube
Willa has never left her house alone, until now and she finds herself in a witness protection suite. Is revenge ever justified?
The Fantastical Tale of the Boy on the Run – premiere watch party on YouTube and post-show Q and A on Zoom Date TBC
A theatre show in a book! A miniature world of magic with a giant storyteller.
Try Harder
24th-27th February – livestreamed on YouTube
Three young adults, desperate for money, take on a peculiar new job with a boss from hell. A surreal comedy drama that asks: When is your good, good enough?
A Game Not Lost
2nd-6th March
Sit down for a game of Mahjong with one of the most feared and powerful women of all time, Ching Shih. With each wrong move, Ching recounts a small part of her history.
Cloak of Visibility
9th-13th March
Meet ‘cool mum’, Amy. She’s popular, successful and has mastered the ‘slut drop’. A humorous, compassionate one-woman show about being seen to have it all.
Aaron and Julia
16th-21st March
Caerleon, a small harbour town in the south of Wales, feels very far indeed from the epicentre of the vast, sprawling Roman Empire.
The Black Cat
23rd-26th March
An online retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre masterpiece. An alcoholic is driven insane by his addiction. On the eve of his death, he decides to tell us his story…
A Blue Something
30th March – 1st April
A deer killer, a pregnant woman, an unsuccessful actor and a man awaiting permission to die are stuck in a waiting room together, connected by a blue something.
Helium
13th-16th April Five lives have collided in the wake of a tragic accident. If you’re already close to the edge, sometimes all you need is a little push…
Raft
22nd-24th April Trapped by reality. Freed by imagination. Four women, seemingly trapped on a raft in the middle of the ocean, hunted by a merciless sea-monster. Is all we see what is truly there?
Don’t Ask Don’t Get, Baby
27th April – 1st May
Growing up isn’t easy. Alice’s persistent questioning teaches her more than she thought there was to know. Join her as she muses about nature, nurture and everything in between.
You can also join our mailing list for fortnightly e-bulletins from our arts programme – simply email [email protected] to be added to the list.
The Space is located at 269 Westferry Road, E14 3RS
Tube: Jubilee Line to Canary Wharf, change at Canary Wharf for a bus: D7, 277 or 135 (from Bus Stop H)
Bus: Routes 277 (from Highbury & Islington), D7 (from Mile End) and 135 (from Old St / Liverpool St) stop rights outside the Space (Stop: ‘Crews St/The Space Theatre’)
DLR: Trains from Bank or Lewisham to Mudchute. From the station walk down Spindrift Avenue, then turn right on to Westferry Road. The Space is a few hundred yards on your right hand side.
Aleshea Harris is an American playwright, spoken-word artist, poet, educator, performer, and screenwriter. Her play, “Is God Is” won an an OBIE Award for playwriting in 2017.
“Harris is part of a vanguard of young, African-American playwrights boring into questions of race and history through humor, drama, absurdity and tragedy.”
–Los Angeles Times
The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Andy Sandberg, Artistic Director and CEO), in collaboration with the Greenfield Foundation, has selected OBIE-winning playwright Aleshea Harris as the winner of the 2021 Hermitage Greenfield Prize, given this year in the artistic discipline of theater. Harris will receive a six-week residency at the Hermitage and a $30,000 commission for a new work, which will have its first public presentation in Sarasota in 2023 in collaboration with the Hermitage’s presenting partner, Asolo Repertory Theatre (Michael Donald Edwards, Producing Artistic Director).
The Hermitage’s Artistic Director Andy Sandberg notes that Harris was selected by a distinguished jury that included jury chair Mandy Greenfield, a member of the Hermitage Curatorial Council and the Artistic Director of Williamstown Theater Festival (Massachussetts); Nataki Garrett, the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; and Robert O’Hara, an award-winning director and playwright, a 2020 Tony Award nominee for Best Director (Slave Play) and recently named as an artistic advisor to New York City Center’s Encores series.
Three finalists included Donja R. Love, celebrated Afro-Queer playwright, poet, and filmmaker; Nikkole Salter, award-winning actress, playwright, educator, and arts advocate; and Whitney White, an OBIE Award and Lily Award-winning director, writer, and musician. All three will receive a Hermitage residency, in addition to a prize of $1,000.
“The silver lining of a time marked by a global health pandemic and the movement for long overdue social justice amidst a deep, political crisis, is that artists like Aleshea Harris will dream us forward—great artists have always led hearts and minds toward progress,” says Jury Chair Mandy Greenfield. “Alesha’s stunning body of work, including Is God Is and What to Send Up When It Goes Down, already distinguishes her as one of our most exquisite and fearless American playwrights. Her brilliant imagination, vast intellect, and innate theatricality guarantees a limitless future for her work and its impact. It was an honor to serve as a juror alongside distinguished theater-makers Nataki Garrett and Robert O’Hara. The Hermitage Greenfield Prize is a rare and special award that values and supports playwrights for their unique ability to reach and transform audiences. We celebrate Aleshea Harris, the finalists, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, and the Greenfield Foundation for the beautiful community it brings together with this prize.”
Non-voting members of this year’s jury process included Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg, The Greenfield Foundation’s Joni Greenfield, and Asolo Rep Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards.
“Wow. This is tremendous. I am very surprised, and so honored – thank you,” Harris said upon hearing the news. “Knowing that the jury believes in my vision for this new work is the ultimate vote of confidence. I can’t wait to push up my sleeves and dig in.”
“Amidst an extraordinary and competitive selection of finalists, Aleshea Harris stood out as an innovative, forward-thinking theater artist who impressed the jury with her thoughtful and inspired vision,” says Sandberg. “She embodies the mission of the Hermitage Greenfield Prize—to bring into the world works of art that have a significant impact on the broad as well as the artistic culture of our society. We thank our distinguished jurors for their care and leadership, and we congratulate all of our finalists. We look forward to recognizing Aleshea in Sarasota at the Prize Dinner in April, and subsequently welcoming her as a Hermitage Fellow and sharing the first public presentation of her newest work in Sarasota in collaboration with the Asolo in 2023.”
Aleshea Harris’s play Is God Is (directed by Taibi Magar at Soho Rep) won the 2016 Relentless Award, an OBIE Award for playwriting in 2017, the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award in 2019, was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and made The Kilroys’ List of “the most recommended un and underproduced plays by trans and female authors of color” for 2017. What to Send Up When It Goes Down (directed by Whitney White, produced by The Movement Theatre Company), a play-pageant-ritual response to anti-Blackness, had its critically-acclaimed NYC premiere in 2018, was featured in the April 2019 issue of American Theatre Magazine and was nominated for a Drama Desk award. Harris was awarded the Windham-Campbell Literary Prize and the Steinberg Playwriting Award in 2020. She has performed her own work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Orlando Fringe Festival, REDCAT, as part of La Fête du Livre at La Comèdie de Saint-Étienne, and at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles. She is a two- time MacDowell Fellow and has enjoyed residencies at Hedgebrook and Djerassi.
Harris will receive her award at the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner on Sunday, April 11, at 6 p.m. Following the success of the recent Artful Lobster: An Outdoor Celebration, this year’s Prize Dinner will be held outdoors at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, catered by Michael’s on East. The dinner will be co-chaired by Flora Major and Ellen Berman. Capacity will be limited to accommodate safe social-distancing practices, and additional health and safety measures are anticipated for this outdoor event. Tables and sponsorships now available; additional information can be found under “Events” at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
In addition to the Prize Dinner on April 11, the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration is also expected to include a talk with this year’s winner on April 10, as well as the world premiere of Body Vessel on April 12, created and performed by 2019 Hermitage Greenfield Prize winner Helga Davis, presented in collaboration with Ensemble New SRQ and West Coast Black Theater Troupe. The anticipated 2020 premiere of Pulitzer Prize and Hermitage Greenfield Prize winner Martyna Mayok’s new play, in partnership with the Asolo Rep, was postponed due to COVID, and is also expected for 2021 at a date to be announced. The Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration is presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation, with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County serving as Grand Sponsor for the festivities.
About the Hermitage Greenfield Prize:
The Hermitage Greenfield Prize is a groundbreaking partnership between the Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Greenfield Foundation. Rotating between the fields of music, theater, and visual art, this prestigious national prize seeks to “bring into the world works of art that will have a significant impact on the broader or artistic culture.” The Hermitage Greenfield Prize is awarded annually and includes a Hermitage fellowship, as well as a $30,000 commission for a new piece of work to be created within a two-year time frame. A residency at the Hermitage Artist Retreat on Manasota Key in Englewood, Florida, ensures time and space in which to do the work. Past Greenfield Prize winners include Jennifer Packer, Visual Art (2020); Helga Davis, Music (2019); Martyna Majok, Theater (2018); David Burnett, Visual Photography (2017); Coco Fusco. Visual Art (2016); Bobby Previte, Music (2015); Nilo Cruz, Theater (2014); Trenton Doyle Hancock, Visual Art (2013); Vijay Iyer, Music (2012); John Guare, Theater (2011); Sanford Biggers, Visual Art (2010); Craig Lucas, Theater (2009) and Eve Beglarian, Music (2009).
About the Hermitage Artist Retreat:
The Hermitage is a nonprofit artist retreat located in Manasota Key, Florida, inviting accomplished artists across multiple disciplines for residencies on its beachfront campus, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hermitage artists are invited to interact with the local community, reaching thousands of Gulf Coast residents and visitors each year with unique and inspiring programs. Hermitage Fellows have included twelve Pulitzer Prize winners, along with multiple Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and MacArthur Fellowship award winners. Works created at this beachside retreat by a diverse group of Hermitage alumni have gone on to renowned theaters, concert halls, and galleries throughout the world. Each year, the Hermitage awards the $30,000 Hermitage Greenfield Prize for a new work of art, and the Aspen Music Festival awards the annual Hermitage Prize in Composition. For more information about The Hermitage Artist Retreat, visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
The Hermitage is supported by:
Hermitage programs are supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts; by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax Revenues; and by the Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council of Arts and Culture and the State of Florida (Section 286.25 Florida Statutes), as well as the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
Total Insight Theatre receives Co-op Foundation grant to help young people support each other through bereavement
Total Insight Theatre has received a grant of £18,240 from Co-op Foundation to help young people support each other during bereavement. The charity will use the funding to deliver a national online project for young people bereaved during the Covid-19 pandemic, using the arts to safely explore their experiences and help process the impact of bereavement.
Co-op Foundation is Co-op’s charity. It helps people challenge inequality and co-operate for change so they can share a fairer future. The Foundation has partnered with Co-op Funeralcare to launch the grants as part of a £3m extension to its #iwill Fund. The #iwill Fund is a £50 million joint investment from the National Lottery Community Fund, using National Lottery funding, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities. The Co-op Foundation acts as a match funder. The Foundation has already awarded over £3m in grants since it first partnered with the #iwill Fund in 2017
Findings from Co-op Funeralcare’s ‘biggest ever survey’ into death, dying, and bereavement* found that young people are most likely to bottle up their feelings and be excluded from social arrangements when experiencing bereavement. The funding will allow organisations like Total Insight Theatre to run projects to help young people experiencing the challenges of bereavement through peer support.
Adam Tulloch, Chief Executive at Total Insight Theatre, says: We are grateful for the Co-op Foundation’s funding to help us support bereaved young people through this project, which will equip young people with tools and resources to help them process their bereavement. Using the arts to support mental health has been at the heart of our pandemic programme and we are pleased to be able to continue to do so.
Jamie Ward-Smith, Chair of Co-op Foundation, says: Our partnership with the #iwill Fund over the past three years has shown the positive impact young people can have when they are given opportunities to take action on the issues they care about. Losing a close friend or family member is difficult at any age, and it can be particularly tough for young people who might be dealing with other pressures at home, at school or in their social lives. Grants announced today will empower young people to help others going through similar experiences to build their confidence, skills and sense of belonging. And by recommending how others can support bereaved young people better, they can make a long-term difference for their peers.
Sam Tyrer, Managing Director at Co-op Funeralcare comments, At Co-op Funeralcare, we understand how experiencing a bereavement can have a major impact on the life of an individual, and this is even more pronounced when it happens at a young age. Bereavement is unique to every person, and everyone chooses to deal with the loss of a loved one in different ways. It’s a long process, but the long-term support of others is essential when trying to overcome the hurdles grief entails. Co-op Funeralcare has seen first-hand the importance of support groups within the community and we are honoured to be part of this crucial initiative.
The Co-op Foundation will launch further rounds of #iwill Fund grants in 2021, focusing on how learning from across their #iwill Fund can be embedded into other community organisations.
