A BRAND NEW ONLINE RADIO PLAY RAISING FUNDS FOR THE THEATRE INDUSTRY
BROADCASTING ON WEDNESDAYS 20TH MAY AND 27TH MAY
Produced by the Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield:
THE UNDERSTUDY
By Henry Filloux-Bennett, based on the best-selling novel by David Nicholls
STARRING
Stephen Fry, Mina Anwar, Layton Williams, Emily Atack, Russell Tovey, Sheila Atim MBE, Sarah Hadland & more
The Understudy is a brand new radio play that will be broadcast in two parts on Wednesday 20th May and Wednesday 27th May to raise funds for the theatre industry which is facing a devastating impact from the Covid-19 health crisis. The Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield will split proceeds of this project with charities including the Theatre Development Trust (SOLT and UK Theatre), Acting for Others and Equity Charitable Trust.
Coming together at a time that matters the most, the stellar line-up of actors currently confirmed to perform in The Understudy includes Stephen Fry, Emily Atack, Sheila Atim, Layton Williams, Russell Tovey, Sarah Hadland, Mina Anwar and many more. The cast and creative team involved in The Understudy will take part completely in isolation and actors will record their lines at home that will be brought to life by an exceptional sound design team.
The public will be able to tune in to listen to The Understudy by buying a ticket, all of which will go to help individuals and organisations struggling because of Coronavirus.
Based on the novel by the best-selling author David Nicholls,The Understudy tells the story of an underdog – a failed husband, a failing father, a failing actor, and the impossible choice he’s going to have to make between stealing the show and stealing another man’s wife. Directed by Giles Croft, this is a stage adaptation written by Henry Filloux-Bennett that was originally commissioned by The Lowry. The sound, music and effects will be brought to life by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite, Annie May Fletcher and Sophie Galpin.
Commenting on this timely project, Stephen Fry said: “I am just so delighted to be working on Henry Filloux-Bennett’s superb adaptation of David Nicholls’s The Understudy. I do hope lots of you will listen in and combine a good time with support for our wonderful theatre industry.”
David Nicholls comments: “I’ve always had soft spot for The Understudy and was hugely excited to see it come to life on a new online stage, and with such a great team. So much is changing, at such speed and I’m full of admiration for the way it’s now being reimagined. I can’t wait.”
A spokesperson for SOLT and UK Theatre said: “We welcome this initiative and are delighted that money raised will be donated to support theatres across the country – particularly outside London where the industry needs it most. It has never been more vital that our industry pulls together, and it is fantastic to see artists and performers using creativity and ingenuity to help support the theatre workforce through this difficult time.”
Synopsis
Actor Stephen McQueen has just landed a dream West End role. Well, that’s not quite true – he’s going to be is understudying film star (and 12th Sexiest Man in the World) Josh Harper in the brand-new show ‘Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know’, but still…Whilst he’s waiting for his time to shine, he reflects on his career – one that has spanned everything from (non-speaking) Rent Boy 3 in ‘The Bill’ to his recent starring role as Sammy in the (low-budget) regional tour of ‘Sammy The Squirrel’s Seriously Silly Safari’.
With this new job Stephen’s stage career may be destined for the dizzying heights, but not everything is going quite as well. Stephen’s wife left him two years ago, wondering if he’d ever grow up; his daughter wonders when he’ll get an actual job; worst of all, he’s starting to fall for the leading man’s wife.
Part 1 of The Understudy will be released on Wednesday 20th May and Part 2 of The Understudy will be released on Wednesday 27th May. For more information, see www.understudyplay.com
Online Performing Arts Studio Launches with Leading West End Stars
Stagecoach Performing Arts, the UK’s largest extra-curricular performing arts schools, working with a host of West End stars, have launched a brand new website stagecoachathome.com with an ‘Online Learning Studio’ to engage young performers from their homes alongside home schooling.
stagecoachathome will see Stagecoach teachers be joined by acclaimed actor Simon Callow, Phantom of the Opera star, Lily De La Haye and Amy Oxley who has had starring roles in School of Rock, Shrek and Nativity, among others. The content such as masterclasses and top tips videos is produced exclusively for Stagecoach.
The site has been designed to support families in lockdown and provides a safe online community, activity and a creative outlet, essential for mental wellbeing and confidence building.
The Online Learning Studio is a monthly subscription for young people to participate in. For a monthly fee of £19.99, users have access to a selection of full-length 30-minute pre-recorded lessons, as well as exclusive-to-Stagecoach content by performing arts professionals. Further new content covering singing, dancing and acting will be added weekly.
Jo Scalpello, marketing director at Stagecoach Performing Arts, said, “We are very excited about this new launch. It is understandable that students are missing their in-person Stagecoach lessons and we hope that the fantastic selection of online lessons will keep children engaged, active and provide them with continuous learning whilst in lockdown. The team are thrilled to welcome so many notable West End performers to the Stagecoach community; these people are a huge inspiration to our students and teachers. This is an opportunity like no other as budding performers can hone their craft with leading stars of stage and screen. ”
Stagecoach Performing Arts is the UK’s largest network of extra-curricular performing arts schools for children, with over 50,000 students enrolled in their weekly classes worldwide. Stagecoach aims to make a difference in its students’ lives by teaching Creative Courage for Life(R). Early Stages classes are available for children aged four to six and Main Stages classes take place for six to 18-year-olds every weekend during term time.
stagecoachathome.com is also home to a recording of the latest imagining of The King and I, recorded Live at The London Palladium. You can bring the theatre home, for just £5.99.
The online lessons are now widely available, for a taste of the stagecoachathome Online Learning Studio you can see more here. For full information on Stagecoach Performing arts please visit their website or contact your local Stagecoach Principal.
While its Dean Street doors may be closed to performance for the foreseeable future, Soho Theatre continues to work behind the scenes alongside bringing work to its digital player.
David Luff, Soho Theatre’s Creative Director, said: ‘In this period of separation there is need, more than ever, for connection and stories of hope. Today we announce the launch of three filmed plays for Soho Theatre On Demand, each shining a light on diverse challenging life experiences but each laced with humour, insight and compassion.
Now is also the time to uncover new positive visions for the future and we have six stunning new writers join our Soho Six residency and a record number of Verity Bargate Award submissions. To continue supporting the next generation of writers we have seven masterclasses exploring different aspects of new-writing led by the Soho team and alumni.
Stay safe and we hope to see you soon back in Soho.’
Highlights are:
– Three new theatre films join our Soho Theatre On Demand platform from Tuesday 26th May: The Special Relationship, a darkly funny and biting verbatim satire by Hassan Abdulrazzak about the complex stories behind the deportation of ex-prisoners from the US; a specially filmed version of Patrick Sandford’s Groomed, a moving one-man play inspired by the writer/performer’s own life shot on location in a primary school; and Good Girl, the debut play by Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab alumna Naomi Sheldon, a comic and unflinching coming-of-age story which won critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017. All films will be available to rent for £4 each for 48 hours until August.
– Six writers join our Soho Six programme, each co-commissioned with a theatre or production company, and working in residence with Soho Theatre for a year to develop their artistic practice and write a new play:
– Willy Hudson (Bottom), co-commissioned with Daisy Hale
– Yasmin Joseph (J’Ouvert), co-commissioned with Actors Touring Company
– Nyla Levy (Does My Bomb Look Big in This?), co-commissioned with Tamasha Theatre Company
– Racheal Ofori (So Many Reasons), co-commissioned with Fuel
– Holly Robinson (soft animals), co-commissioned with 45North
– Danusia Samal (Out of Sorts), co-commissioned with Paines Plough
– A record number of 1,493 plays have been submitted to our Verity Bargate Award 2020, a 40% rise on 2017. The reading process continues and the shortlist and winner will be announced once the theatre reopens.
– New online playwriting and theatre masterclasses have been announced, led by writers Yolanda Mercy (Quarter Life Crisis), Dylan Coburn Gray (Citysong) and Milly Thomas (Dust, Clickbait), director Sara Joyce (Dust), producer Daisy Hale (PECS, Not F*cking Sorry), Soho Theatre’s Literary Manager Gillian Greer and its Creative Director David Luff.
– New online comedy masterclasses to also be announced soon
Under commission and in residence for a year, Soho Six plays a key role in Soho Theatre’s vision for developing and supporting writers. The Soho Six are six writers and artists under commission and in residence for a year as they create new work for our stages. The programme immerses each writer in the life of Soho Theatre, with regular contact with staff, exposure to new work across our three stages, getting to know our audiences and building, and the positive impact of peer learning with five fellow artists. Soho Six alumni include Arinzé Kene, Bryony Kimmings, Theresa Ikoko, Jessie Cave, Max & Ivan, Phil Porter, CharlotteJosephine, and Rita Kalnejais.
On the Soho Six commissions, Soho Theatre’s Creative Director David Luff said: “We are extremely proud to bring together such an outstanding group of writers on the Soho Six programme. These are artists with bold, unique and thrilling voices, matched with six of the most exciting theatre companies and producers working in the UK. I can’t wait to see what we all develop together over the coming year.”
Soho Theatre are proud to announce the following as our Soho Six playwrights for 2020/21:
Willy Hudson, co-commissioned with Daisy Hale, is a writer, actor and producer from Devon. His debut solo show Bottom premiered at Edinburgh 2018 followed by a run at Soho Theatre and a national tour. Bottom is published with Oberon Books and in development for television with Balloon Entertainment. In his theatre work he likes to confront social taboos with autobiographical storytelling, comedy and fusion of form. Willy is developing a slate of new projects and is working with creative producer Daisy Hale to launch Willy Hudson Ltd. Acting credits include: Bottom (Soho Theatre), Noble Nine (VAULT Festival), Islanders (Soho Theatre) and Peter Pan (Regents Park).
Yasmin Joseph, co-commissioned with Actors Touring Company,is a London-based writer. Her debut play J’Ouvert premiered at Theatre503 in 2019 and she was nominated for the Evening Standard’s Most Promising Playwright Award. Yasmin is the current writer-in-residence at Sister Pictures and is on attachment at the Royal Court Theatre as part of the Channel 4 Playwrights scheme.
Nyla Levy, co-commissioned with Tamasha Theatre Company, is a writer and actor. Being mixed race, Pakistani and Canadian, with Muslim and Jewish heritage, and born and bred in London, Nyla has always gravitated towards stories that explore experiences related to identity, culture and race. Nyla began in verbatim theatre, with her first play Different is Dangerous (Amnesty International Freedom of Expression longlist nominee), followed by Normal with a bit of Oomph!. Nyla co-founded Two’s Company which went on to tour Different is Dangerous to venues including Theatre 503, Nottingham Playhouse, The Lowry and Edinburgh Fringe. Nyla received Arts Council England funding to develop her first fictional play Does My Bomb Look Big in This? which was subsequently co-produced by Nyla and Tamasha Theatre Company at Soho Theatre, Tara Arts and in a regional UK schools tour. Nyla is currently writing an episode for Ben Chanan’s new series, YOU (Kudos/Sky), and an episode of Good Karma Hospital (Tiger Aspect). She is also developing Blues & Two’s (BBC Studios) and her original idea Little Runt (Jax/HBO Max). Nyla is part of Tiger Aspect’s mentorship scheme and the BBC Drama Writersroom 2019/20.
Racheal Ofori, co-commissioned with Fuel, is a writer and performer. She is one of The Guardian’s ‘12 Theatre Stars For 2020’ as well as one of Theatre Weekly’s ten ‘Rising Stars of 2020’. In TV, Racheal’s script Here Again is in development with Balloon Entertainment. She also developed the TV pilot Dysfunctional with Balloon, which was chosen for a Sky Table Read. In 2017 she was selected for a TV writing bursary with Creative Skillset and is currently in the writers’ room for Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys with Red and Endor Productions. She was also part of the writing team on the second series of Kiss Me First. Her latest stage show So Many Reasons, produced by Fuel Theatre, originally ran at the Camden’s People Theatre before a national tour and transfer to Soho Theatre. Her acting work spans across TV, film and theatre and includes Inua Ellam’s Three Sisters (National Theatre), Treadstone (Amazon), Enterprice (BBC) and Guns Akimbo, due to come out in late 2020.
Holly Robinson, co-commissioned with 45North, is a writer and casting assistant originally from Birmingham. She began her training at Playbox Theatre in Warwickshire before moving to London where she has been a member of Soho Theatre’s Writers’ Lab and the Hampstead New Playwrights Group. Her first play soft animals was longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize and shortlisted for the Tony Craze award. soft animals was staged by Soho Theatre in 2019 and Holly was nominated for Best Writer at the 2019 Stage Debut Awards. Her other work includes writing for Oxford School of Drama and small myth at Vault Festival. She is part of BBC Writersroom London Voices 2020.
Danusia Samal, co-commissioned with Paines Plough, is an actress, writer and singer. Stage acting credits include the Royal Court, RSC, Globe, and Royal Exchange. Screen credits include The Great (Hulu), Ghost in the Shell (Paramount/DreamWorks), and Tyrant(FOX). Danusia’s writing credits include: Out of Sorts (winner of Theatre503 International Playwriting Award); Busking It, inspired by Danusia’s experience as a London Underground busker(Shoreditch Town Hall / HighTide); Decolonising History (Tamasha Digital / SOAS University); Conditionally (Soho Theatre / Oxford School of Drama); Langthorne Stories (Soho Theatre / Waltham Forest). Danusia is currently collaborating on various projects with TV production companies. In 2019, she was commissioned to write her first TV drama as part of the BBC’s TV Drama Writers Programme.
Since 1982, the Verity Bargate Award, Soho Theatre’s foremost playwriting award, has uncovered the best new and emerging writers. It has launched the careers of some of Britain’s most established playwrights and screenwriters including Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies), Vicky Jones (HBO’s Run), Toby Whithouse (Doctor Who) and many, many more. This year’s award, supported by Character 7, will be judged by a panel of industry experts including former Soho writers Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Arinzé Kene and Laura Wade, screenwriter Russell T Davies, actress and playwright Lolita Chakrabarti. The award is chaired by film and television producer, Character 7’s Stephen Garrett.
Soho Theatre’s Literary Manager Gillian Greer said: ‘It has been a stellar year for our flagship playwriting prize, the Verity Bargate Award. With a whopping 1,493 submissions, a 40% rise on 2017, the Award is larger than ever before and we’ve been blown away by the quality of plays received. Our reading process will continue as normal while our building is closed, and we plan to announce our shortlist and winner upon reopen.’
Soho Theatre’s digital service, Soho Theatre On Demand, is currently broadening the range of work available so that audiences can continue to see great theatre, comedy and cabaret, and provide a platform for independent artists, theatre companies and practitioners at this time when venues are closed to performances. Next week’s release includes three theatre films: Synergy Theatre Project’s The Special Relationship written by Hassan Abdulrazzak and directed by Esther Baker, Ingenious Purpose’s Groomed, written and performed by Patrick Sandford, and Good Girl, written and performed by Naomi Sheldon.
On the launch of these new films, Soho Theatre’s Creative Director David Luff said: “We have selected three of the best recordings over the past few years, three superbly written, thrillingly performed and brilliantly filmed plays with vital and gripping stories. Each of these writers have strong connections with Soho Theatre, having written, directed or trained with us, and I’m delighted to share their work with a global audience in this time of lockdown on our international Soho Theatre On Demand platform.”
Synergy Theatre Project presents
THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP (2020)
Written by Hassan Abdulrazzak
Directed by Esther Baker
With Amrita Acharia, Moyo Akandé, Nicholas Beveney, Yvette Boakye, Miranda Foster, Fergal McElherron, Duncan Wisbey.
The play will be available to rent 26th May – 26th August
Filmed at Soho Theatre in March 2020, a darkly funny and biting satire which exposes the complex and heart-breaking stories behind the deportations of ex-prisoners from the US.
A grain of cocaine, a digit on a breathalyser, a forged cheque, a DEA sting or murder one? Caught in the transatlantic tango between Trump and May and smugly presented by a gun-toting immigration officer, these are
verbatim stories of double punishment and separation. Gripping accounts of justice and separation are brought to vivid life in a fast-paced and theatrically daring production using savage comedy, surreal metaphor and verbatim testimony from those who ended up on the wrong side of the criminal justice system.
Synergy Theatre Project creates ground-breaking work across theatre and the criminal justice system. The Special Relationship was developed from interviews with ex-prisoners and experts in immigration and criminal law, the award-winning playwright Hassan Abdulrazzak carves a rich dramatic narrative and uncovers vital questions around identity and place as he gets behind the political rhetoric of those caught up in the quagmire of immigration detention and deportation.
Praise for The Special Relationship
‘a powerful force’ ★★★★ Sunday Times
‘a fascinating insight into the arbitrary nature of deportation’ ★★★★ Theatre-News
Ingenious Purpose presents
GROOMED (2019)
Written and performed by Patrick Sandford (former Artistic Director of Nuffield Theatre Southampton)
Directed by Nancy Meckler
Music by Simon Slater
The film will be available to rent 27th May – 27th August.
How can a Truth be told?
How can a Secret be spoken?
A betrayed schoolboy, a Japanese soldier, and the inventor of the saxophone…
Presented at Soho Theatre in 2017, the play won the Broadway Baby Bobby Award, Fringe Review Outstanding Theatre Award and the Fringe Guru Brighton Fringe Award for Theatre at the 2016 Brighton Fringe. In 2019 Groomed was powerfully reinvented as a film, shot entirely on location in a primary school classroom. Honest and provocative but never depressing, three poignant narratives are brought together to show how, when a story is told, it can save your life.
Praise for Groomed
‘With exemplary honesty Patrick Sandford sheds much needed light on some dark places’ ★★★★ Guardian
‘A remarkable piece of theatre’ ★★★★ Financial Times
GOOD GIRL (2017)
Written and performed by Naomi Sheldon
Directed by Matt Peover
Designed by Alison Neighbour
Photography by Felicity Crawshaw
The play will be available to rent 28th May – 28th August.
Winner of Voice’s Pick of the Fringe and Funny Women’s Best Show award, the exceptional debut play from Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab alumna Naomi Sheldon comes to Soho Theatre On Demand, filmed at the Old Red Lion Theatre in December 2017 before its Trafalgar Studios transfer in 2018.
‘One of these days, am I going to evaporate? Right here?’
Growing up in the 90s, GG and her mates obsess over music, vaginas and witchcraft. But there’s a problem. Living feels too extreme. To be one of the good girls, GG learns to make herself numb, but at what cost?
A bold, provocative and laugh-out-loud funny coming-of-age tale, Good Girl interrogates the experience of a young girl growing up in the 90s, a timely and distinctive piece that offers a vital new perspective to current dialogue about female experience. Sheldon’s inclusive and disarming form of storytelling allows her to candidly explore sex, masturbation and mental health and examines the dangers of defining ourselves by the opinions of others.
Praise for Good Girl
‘Cutting edge truth and hilarity from one of the freshest young voices of the century. Don’t miss Good Girl.’ Emma Thompson
‘Flawless’ ★★★★★ Voice
‘contemporary, relevant and, most importantly, incessantly funny’ ★★★★ WhatsOnStage
Soho Theatre is excited to announce a programme of seven masterclasses to support budding theatre makers developing work from home. The series will be held weekly on Zoom and will feature masterclasses on various aspects of playwriting and new theatre practice to support the development of new plays from artists in lockdown:
Wed 3rd June Writing from Experience, with playwright Yolanda Mercy (Quarter Life Crisis)
Wed 10th June Writing and Form, with Verity Bargate Award winner Dylan Coburn Gray (Citysong)
Wed 17th June Writing Characters, with Soho Theatre Literary Manager and playwright Gillian Greer
Wed 24th June Story, Structure and Dramaturgy, with Soho Theatre Creative Director David Luff
Wed 1st July Directing New Writing, with director Sara Joyce (Dust, Armadillo)
Wed 8th July Producing New Work, with producer and artist Daisy Hale (PECS, Not F**cking Sorry)
Wed 15th July Making A Solo Show, with playwright and performer Milly Thomas (Dust, Clickbait)
On these new workshops, Soho Theatre Literary Manager Gillian Greer said ‘Did Shakespeare write King Lear while quarantined? Who knows! But it’s clear that artists are using this time to mine their creativity, to try things, experiment and discover, and we are delighted to be able to offer this comprehensive set of masterclasses to support that amazing work.’
Furthermore, a new series of online comedy masterclasses will be announced soon.
COMBATTING COVID-19 WITH CULTURE: WORLD’S FIRST MULTIMEDIA THEATRE DISCOVERY PLATFORM LAUNCHED Thespie showcases over 1000 theatre shows & resources from across the globe: filmed performances, livestreams, podcasts, artist talks, educational resources and more
Headline Details: ● Thespie brings together world-class arts offerings across video & streaming, audio, ebooks, and educational resources for children and adults ● Launched to help amplify and support the work of arts organisations and artists as they continue to release inspiring programming amidst the Covid-19 global shutdown ● Features easy to navigate content from the world’s leading cultural institutions and content platforms including: National Theatre Live, Sadler’s Wells, Royal Court Theatre, Met Opera, Audible & Disney ● Hailed by the industry for broadening audience engagement and providing a novel and much needed source of inspiration and consolation during difficult times ● Founded by Tyler Stoops, tech and arts leader ex-Amazon, Disney, and Met Opera
The launch of a new, online discovery platform for theatre and the performing arts is being hailed as a lifeline for both theatre audiences and the industry today. The first of its kind, Thespie helps people engage with the arts across a broad spectrum of digital media while venues around the world remain closed due to social distancing measures resulting from Covid-19.
Thespie aggregates listings of digital theatre resources in a structured, easy to navigate discovery experience. Users can filter to their favourite genres, browse for specific moods and maintain a list of things they want to save for later.
The platform features a diverse array of over 1000 resources – available either onsite, or by linking directly to a partner’s website. Users can watch livestream play performances, movie musicals, or artist talks; listen to audio dramas, musical theatre concerts, or theatre podcasts; discover theatre ebooks, scripts or digital songbooks; or explore digital exhibits, student guides, or family activities related to theatre. Click HERE to see a list of content highlights currently listed on Thespie.
Thespie facilitates discovery across genres and media formats, and is underpinned by a bespoke Arts taxonomy and data model, which uses a machine learning algorithm to identify similarities between works and facilitate discovery across the site – akin to Netflix.
Thespie not only enables arts practitioners to distribute and self-monetise their work by reaching and engaging with new audiences, it makes it easy for those stuck at home craving culture to discover and access the rich variety of arts content available online from across the world.
Thespie founder, Tyler Stoops, has spent his career at the intersection of technology and the arts and is passionate about increasing people’s engagement with theatre. His early career spanned technical theatre, artistic planning and technology projects at two of the world’s most prestigious opera institutions, the Santa Fe Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. An MBA at the Wharton School led him to the Walt Disney Studios and then seven years at e-commerce giant Amazon during which time Tyler worked across Kindle, publishing, brick-and-mortar bookstores, and a theatre ticketing business.
Commenting on the launch, Tyler Stoops said: “I’ve been so humbled by the generosity of spirit displayed by artists and theatre-makers during this crisis, and our ambition at Thespie is to amplify their work so it can reach as broad an audience as possible. When Covid-19 hit, we quickly saw that building Thespie’s work to a global, multimedia scale could help audiences continue their journey of exploring theatre during this time where we can’t be together in person.”
Iris Theatre today announces the launch of a fundraising appeal to guarantee the future of the company. The inaugural season from the company’s new executive team, Paul-Ryan Carberry and Paul Virides – A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Carberry and Teresa Burns’newadaptation of Robin Hood directed by Rafaella Marcus originally scheduled for this year, will now take place in summer 2021.
Paul-Ryan Carberry, Artistic Director, said today, “It has become clear that presenting our inaugural season as Iris Theatre’s new leadership will not be possible, therefore we have taken the sad, but necessary, decision to postpone our summer season until 2021.
“Postponing, while essential to ensure the safety of the company, staff and our audiences, is a decision that puts Iris Theatre at an immediate risk of collapse, particularly as our Arts Council emergency funding application was unsuccessful. Sales from the summer season account for 80% of our projected income this year, and without it our company is in need of help and support. We’d be hugely grateful for those who may be in a position to do so, to please consider supporting us during this time.
“Iris Theatre is a charity that works to promote education in the arts, and we are committed to continuing this work both supporting those freelancers and Start scheme participants that we’ve already engaged as well as looking to at how we can continue Platform, which champions emerging artists, as well as support those seeking various careers in the theatre industry, we look forward to sharing more soon.
“This crisis will not beat us, but we need people’s support now more than ever.”
People can support Iris Theatre in a variety of ways, please find details below:
Turn existing tickets into donations or credit to use in future. Ticketholders will be contacted directly.
Darlington Hippodrome thanks customers for their support
Generous customers have made over £10,000 of donations to the theatre’s A Place for Everyone fund since the temporary closure of the theatre due to Coronavirus on 16 March
Since the temporary closure of the venue on 16 March, theatregoers have raised more than £10,000 in donations to Darlington Hippodrome’s A Place for Everyone fund. Ticketholders for cancelled productions were offered full refunds but were also given the option to donate some or all of the value of their ticket.
Heather Tarran-Jones, Programming and Fundraising Director, says ‘we have been incredibly heartened by the proportion of customers who have chosen to make a donation to the Hippodrome at what is a difficult time for us all. As well as donations via the box office during the refund process, we’ve also received a number of generous donations from customers who have written or emailed in. These donations are hugely appreciated and will help the theatre to weather this storm and go forth into the future. Unfortunately, we have had to cancel a number of shows, but the vast majority have been rescheduled for a later date. We’re really missing our customers and can’t wait to welcome them to the venue again as soon as it’s safe to do so.’
The theatre’s A Place for Everyone fund opens up the theatre to audiences, practitioners and performers, regardless of social, physical or economic barriers. Heather Tarran-Jones continues ‘the country is in a time of great economic uncertainty and when the venue re-opens, it will be more important than ever to enable people from all backgrounds to come to the Hippodrome and experience the transformative power of theatre and the arts. Donations from the public will make this possible which in turn supports the running costs of the theatre.’
If you would like to make a donation to the theatre’s A Place for Everyone fund, please telephone the box office on 01325 405405 or email [email protected]. You can also name a seat in the theatre as a special gift or a fitting tribute to a loved one, and payments for this can be spread over ten months. For more information, contact the box office or visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk.
LOCKDOWN PLAYWRITING PRIZE IN COLLABORATION WITH THE TURBINE THEATRE
Leading theatre website, WhatsOnStage today announces the Lockdown Playwriting Prize; a playwrighting competition launched in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The prize, in collaboration with The Turbine Theatre, is open to anyone over the age of 18, with any level of experience. Submissions must be titled Lockdown: Week Six, Day One, with a running time of 60-90 minutes without interval, and should not require more than six actors.
Chief Operating Officer of WhatsOnStage Sita McIntosh today said, “As with all our industry, we are looking forward to when we can reunite in a theatre. Until that time, we wanted to play our part in keeping creativity alive, and in response have launched the Lockdown Playwrighting Prize. It’s open to anyone, and we hope that it will provide a welcome way to inspire people at this time.”
The winning script will have the opportunity for a one-night performance at The Turbine Theatre when theatres reopen, and receive £500 prize money. All entries will be judged anonymously by a panel including Sita McIntosh (Chief Operating Officer, WhatsOnStage), Aaron Rogers (Producer, Sonia Friedman Productions), Susie McKenna (Associate Director Kiln Theatre), Paul Taylor-Mills (Artistic Director, Turbine Theatre), Luke Sheppard (Director) and Alex Wood (Editor, WhatsOnStage). Applications are now open, and will close on Tuesday 30 June 2020 at midnight.
The competition is open to residents in the UK, Republic of Ireland, British Overseas Territory or those with a British Forces Post Office address; and should be written in the English language.
The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, Sunday Times, WhatsOnStage
★★★★
The Times, Evening Standard, The Observer, The Independent, The Stage, Metro
Due to Covid-19 related theatre closures, Robert Icke’s (TheWild Duck, Hamlet, Mary Stuart, Oresteia, 1984) Almeida Theatre production, The Doctor, will now be postponed until 2021. Juliet Stevenson,‘delivering one of the peak performances of the theatrical year’ (The Guardian), will reprise her role as Professor Ruth Wolff as previously announced, with further casting to be confirmed in due course.
Juliet Stevenson said, “Very occasionally in a career, maybe once a decade if you’re lucky, you get the chance to perform in a play that speaks so powerfully to its time that it captures everyone’s hearts and minds. The Doctor did that last year at the Almeida, and was set to do it again in the West End when Covid-19 brought it crashing to a halt – along with almost everything else.
Whilst accepting the inevitable, I was pretty gutted – and am missing the production, the wonderful company, the character, and above all the experience of taking the play out there nightly to new and hungry audiences.
So I am thrilled that we will be back next Spring, and that audiences emerging from their seclusion will have the chance to see it. Rob has written what I think is a great play, in every sense – and as a director he has shaped a piece of theatrical magic. It couldn’t be more pertinent in its exploration of the ethical decisions doctors currently face on the front line today, and of much else besides – of things far beyond the realm of the merely newsworthy….
We will get through this strange and isolating chapter – and then theatre will play a key role in bringing people back together, to share our stories and to celebrate our capacity to roll with the punches and get back up.
When the lights come back on in London’s West End, and in theatres across the UK, I’m hoping that audiences will join us. What a joy it will be to be back on stage and riding The Doctor rollercoaster every night, in dialogue with audiences who’ll have so much to bring to it… as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
The Doctor, by Robert Icke, very freely adapted from Professor Bernhardi by Arthur Schnitzler, has been critically lauded since its opening at the Almeida in August 2019. Robert Icke won the Best Director award for the production, at the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards in November 2019 (with Juliet also nominated for Best Actress), while Juliet jointly won the Best Actress award, at this year’s Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards for her portrayal of Dr Ruth Wolff.
The production has designs by Hildegard Bechtler, lighting by Natasha Chivers, sound and composition by Tom Gibbons and casting by Julia Horan.
This is the third West End transfer for Robert Icke and Juliet Stevenson in as many years, following the critical and commercial smash-hit productions of Mary Stuart and Hamlet.
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First, do no harm.
On an ordinary day, at a private hospital, a young woman fights for her life. A priest arrives to save her soul. Her doctor refuses him entry.
In a divisive time, in a divided nation, a society takes sides.
The latest smash-hit by ‘Britain’s best director’ (Telegraph) is a ‘provocative, wonderfully upsetting’ (Independent) whirlwind conversation around gender, race and identity, and a ‘devastating play for today’ (Financial Times).
Olivier Award winner, Juliet Stevenson,‘delivers one of the peak performances of the theatrical year’ (The Guardian) in this ‘spell-binding’ (Evening Standard) production.
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The Doctor is presented by Ambassador Theatre Group and Almeida Theatre, Benjamin Lowy, Glass Half Full Productions,with Fiery Angel and Charles Diamond, in association with
RUSH Written by Willi Richards Directed by Joseph Winters
NEW QUEER COMEDY RUSH TO BE STREAMED ONLINE IN AN EXCLUSIVE PLAY READING WITH RUPERT EVERETT, OMARI DOUGLAS AND DANIEL BOYD FOLLOWING THE POSTPONEMENT OF A SUMMER WEST END RUN DUE TO COVID-19
SEE THE CAST ENCOUNTER EACH OTHER FOR THE FIRST TIME ONLINE AND WATCH THE READING DIRECTED BY JOSEPH WINTERS
RUSH IS THE DEBUT PLAY FROM WRITER WILLI RICHARDS AND IS EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY STEPHEN DALDRY
Rush, a new provocative comedy of modern manners by Willi Richards that was set to open in the West End this summer will be streamed online as a script-in-hand reading with Rupert Everett, Omari Douglas and Daniel Boyd, directed by Almeida Resident Director Joseph Winters. The cast will meet for the first time remotely online only moments before the reading begins and will together discover and bring to life a queer journey of romance, desire and infidelity.
Rush is a witty and irreverent debut play by Willi Richards, portraying a triangular relationship of three gay men. It is a debate play for anyone (whatever their gender or orientation) who has told a lie (even a small one) whilst in a relationship; to keep the peace, to make life easier, to protect people’s feelings or to uphold convention.
The play enraptured audiences during a short run at London’s King’s Head Theatre in 2018 and was set to open at Trafalgar Studios 2 in June, during Pride month, but was cancelled due to Covid-19.
The script reading will be filmed on Zoom later this month and a full HD version which is being recorded simultaneously will be released online to the public, with further details to be announced in due course. It will be recorded live with an audience of Terrence Higgins Trust supporters.
Executive Producer Stephen Daldry said: “Willi Richards has written a brilliant and provocative new play about the nature of love. Joseph Winters is among a new wave of young directors who will be changing our landscape when we are over this crisis. Rupert Everett is a theatrical force to be reckoned with. This is a new piece of work to shake us up.”
Director Joseph Winters said: “New plays are important – and they’re great fun – because nobody knows what’s going to happen next. They’re all about imagining different futures – and that’s exactly what we all need to do right now. Rush is a theatrical dispatch sent to the front row – what happens if you decide to live differently, to love differently?”
James Beeby of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown have changed everything in just a few weeks but we’re thrilled to be teaming up with the creators of new play RUSH for this online reading. The money raised will ensure we can continue to be there for people living with HIV through our new At Home service offering a range of digital services, including free online counselling for people living with HIV.”
Rupert Everett takes the role of Man. He is an Olivier Award and Golden Globe Award nominated actor who rose to fame in Another Country which earned him his first BAFTA nomination. Since then he has played many leading roles including in the multi-award-winning film My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, Dance With A Stranger, The Madness of King George and St Trinian’s. His stage credits include Blithe Spirit on Broadway, Pygmalion and The Judas Kiss in the West End, and most recently Uncle Vanya in which he starred in the title role and which marked his directorial stage debut.
Omari Douglas takes the role of Boy. Omari starred in the original stage production of Rush at the King’s Head in 2018. His recent credits include: Peter Pan, Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Five Guys Named Moe (Marble Arch Theatre), Tristan & Yseult (Kneehigh/Shakespeare’s Globe), The Life (Southwark Playhouse), Annie Get Your Gun (Crucible, Sheffield), When the Waters Recede (Theatre by the Lake), Hairspray’(Curve, Leicester/UK Tour), High Society (Old Vic), Elegies For Angels and Punks And Raging Queens (Criterion Theatre). He will also appear in Russell T Davies’ upcoming Channel 4 drama BOYS.
Daniel Boyd takes the part of Lad. Daniel trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. His previous theatre includes Oppenheimer (RSC/Westend), The Shoemaker’s Holliday (RSC), 4000 Miles-for which he received an Evening Standard Theatre Award Nomination for Outstanding Newcomer (Bath Ustinov Studio/The Print Room), Romeo and Juliet (Headlong), Romeo and Juliet, Private Peaceful (Nottingham Playhouse), Much Ado about Nothing (the Faction), Great Expectations (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Bad Jews (Bath Theatre Royal/Tour). Television includes: Brave New World, Holby City, Horizon-Einstein, Silk, Misfits, Tatua, Richard II: The Hollow Crown. Film includes: On Chesil Beach, Tigerhouse.
Willi Richards, Writer, is a voice and text specialist working in conservatoires including RADA, CSSD and East 15. Willi also directs audio drama for BBC Radio 3 and 4, including acclaimed productions of Shakespeare and Strindberg. He has been a production voice coach at the RSC, National Theatre, Royal Opera House, ENO and the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, and has worked with DV8, Candoco Dance Company and on Billy Elliot – The Musical. Willi has devised multilingual theatre on human rights for UN projects in conflict zones and undertaken British Council projects across south Asia.
Joseph Winters, Director, is Resident Director at the Almeida Theatre. As Director and Creative Producer, his previous work includes Bigamous (Vaults Festival, Soho Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe), The Canon (Underbelly, Edinburgh Fringe, UK Tour), Ken Cheng: Chinese Comedian (Edinburgh Fringe), Peter Grimes (ADC Theatre), Love Handles: Footlights Tour Show 2015 (International Tour, inc. the Comedy Store London; Edinburgh Fringe; The Second City, Chicago; Upright Citizens Brigade, New York), Cabin Pressure (Corpus Playroom). As Assistant Director, his previous work includes Machinal (Almeida Theatre), Gloria (Hampstead Theatre), The Nose (Royal Opera House Youth Company), 46 Beacon (Trafalgar Studios) and G.I.A.N.T. (Mahogany Opera).
Roger James Elsgood, Producer is a producer, adapter and a documentary film maker. He has adapted and produced work by Anne Michaels, John Berger, Geoff Dyer, Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Mani Sankar Mukerji, Vivienne Franzmann, Mike Hodges, Complicite, Amit Chaudhuri and Tacita Dean. He was recently commissioned by BBC Radio 4 to adapt and produce August Strindberg’s ‘Miss Julie’ as a re-imagined version for radio, which was recorded on location in Denmark with Sophie Grabol, Marie Bach Hansen and Lars Mikkelsen. Roger produces ‘On the Big Green Sofa with Mary Nightingale’ for the Royal Academy of Arts.
Rush is the debut production from In a Rush Productions Ltd led by producer Roger James Elsgood and Willi Richards. The Executive Producer is Stephen Daldry.
STARRING KEVIN CLIFTON AS ‘SCOTT HASTINGS’ DIRECTED BY CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD
Due to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 UK tour of Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Strictly Ballroom The Musical’, starring Kevin Clifton and directed by Craig Revel Horwood, has been rescheduled and will now begin in Autumn 2021.
To ensure everyone’s safety in these uncertain times, the producers of ‘Strictly Ballroom The Musical’ had to take the difficult decision to reschedule the original tour dates. But the good news is that all of the shows in the touring schedule have been rearranged and tickets for each performance will be exchanged automatically, so fans will not miss out on this musical extravaganza. Details of how to exchange tickets will follow in the coming weeks.
Based on the award-winning global film phenomenon ‘Strictly Ballroom’, which inspired the world to dance, this all-singing, all-dancing and all-glittering tour will now kick off in Plymouth on 27 September 2021. The musical will then waltz across the UK and parts of Ireland, playing Plymouth, Portsmouth, Northampton, Sunderland, Ipswich, York, Bradford, Cardiff, Guildford, Darlington, Peterborough, Salford, Llandudno, Southampton, Reading, Nottingham, Canterbury, Southend, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dublin, Derry, Wimbledon, Bournemouth, Hull, Wolverhampton, Bristol, Liverpool, Aylesbury, Sheffield, Newcastle, Bromley and Milton Keynes, before culminating in Blackpool in July 2022.
Kevin Clifton said: “I’m really delighted that the Strictly Ballroom tour has been rescheduled. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s my all-time favourite film and Scott
Hastings is my dream role, so I can’t wait to bring this musical to theatres across the UK next year. In the meantime, please stay safe and keep well everyone.”
Craig Revel Horwood added: “I’m thrilled that our new production of ‘Strictly Ballroom The Musical ’has been rescheduled for 2021/2022. The tour may be a year later, but you can still expect those same sexy dance moves, scintillating costumes and a simply FAB-U-LOUS show for all to enjoy, starring the one and only Kevin Clifton!”
Strictly Ballroom The Musical tells the beguiling story of Scott Hastings, a talented, arrogant and rebellious young ballroom dancer. When Scott’s radical dance moves see him fall out of favour with the Australian Federation, he finds himself dancing with Fran, a beginner with no moves at all. Inspired by one another, this unlikely pair gather the courage to defy both convention and their families – and discover that, to be winners, the steps don’t need to be strictly ballroom.
Featuring a show-stopping book by Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce, and bringing together a sublime cast of over 20 world class performers, Strictly Ballroom brings to life iconic songs, including Love is in the Air, Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps and Time After Time with dynamic and joyous verve. This tour will also feature some amazing new songs by internationally acclaimed artists including Sia, David Foster and Eddie Perfect. The show’s scintillating singing, dazzling dancing and eye-popping costumes will combine together to bring audiences a story of heart, comedy and drama, and promises to be an unforgettable night under the glitter ball.
This uplifting and courageous musical originated as a stage play that Baz Luhrmann devised with a group of classmates at Sydney’s National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1984. Eight years later he made his screen directorial debut with ‘Strictly Ballroom’, the first instalment in Luhrmann’s acclaimed Red Curtain Trilogy. The vibrant film enjoyed staggering success, winning three awards at the 1993 BAFTA awards and a 1994 Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture, going on to become one of the most successful Australian films of all time, earning more than $80 million at the box office. In April 2014 Strictly Ballroom The Musical had its world premiere at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.
Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom The Musical is a fabulous, feel-good evening full of sequins, singing and salsa. This unmissable kaleidoscope of glitz and glamour is a tonic for the soul and will send your heart soaring and toes tapping long after you leave the theatre!
STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL – 2021 TOUR DATES
27/09/2021 – 02/10/2021 Plymouth Theatre Royal – On sale soon
04/10/2021 – 09/10/2021 Portsmouth: Kings Theatre
11/10/2021 – 16/10/2021 Northampton: Royal & Derngate
18/10/2021 – 23/10/2021 Sunderland: Empire
08/11/2021 – 13/11/2021 Ipswich: Regent Theatre
15/11/2021 – 20/11/2021 York: Grand Opera House
22/11/2021 – 27/11/2021 Bradford: Alhambra – On sale soon
29/11/2021 – 04/12/2021 Cardiff: Wales Millennium Centre
20/12/2021 – 31/12/2021 Guildford: G Live
STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL – 2022 TOUR DATES
03/01/2022 – 08/01/2022 Darlington: Hippodrome
10/01/2022 – 15/01/2022 Peterborough: New Theatre
17/01/2022 – 22/01/2022 Salford: The Lowry, Lyric Theatre
24/01/2022 – 29/01/2022 Llandudno: Venue Cymru
31/01/2022 – 05/02/2022 Southampton: Mayflower
07/02/2022 – 12/02/2022 Reading: Hexagon
14/02/2022 – 19/02/2022 Nottingham: Theatre Royal
21/02/2022 – 26/02/2022 Canterbury: The Marlowe Theatre
28/02/2022 – 05/03/2022 Southend: Cliffs Pavilion
07/03/2022 – 12/03/2022 Aberdeen: His Majesty’s Theatre
14/03/2022 – 19/03/2022 Glasgow: Theatre Royale
21/03/2022 – 26/03/2022 Edinburgh: Playhouse
28/03/2022 – 02/04/2022 Dublin: Bord Gais Theatre – On sale soon
