Author: FairyPoweredProductions

Announcing a global search on World Theatre Day
for composers to write ‘A Song for our Time’
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

An original song to be recorded by West End stars and a huge virtual choir with all proceeds going to the charity Acting For Others

The song will be chosen by Tony Award winning composer
Jason Robert Brown (‘Parade’, ‘The Last 5 Years’)

Composers are being asked to write ‘A Song for our Time’, an original song to be recorded by West End stars and a huge virtual choir with all proceeds going to Acting For Others.  

Behind this initiative are award-winning theatre producer Danielle Tarento and actor/producer Paul Wilkins.

They said: “We want to do something useful, that not only raises money for the self-employed in the performing arts who have been so hard hit by the current situation, but also that creates something utterly meaningful. We are joining forces with a host of wonderful humans in order to create something inspiring that harnesses the incredible talent our brilliant industry has to offer. We welcome submissions from anyone…and we mean ANYONE. Whether you’re an established musical theatre writer or an emerging artist, we would love to hear what you have to offer.

The song to be recorded will be chosen by Tony Award winning composer Jason Robert Brown.

Acting For Others’ chairman Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen said “We are delighted to be supporting ‘A Song for our Time’ and thrilled to hear that the incredible Jason Robert Brown is onboard. We can’t wait to hear the song and thank all of the composers for supporting.  It is wonderful to see so many people joining together and supporting Acting for Others
at this difficult time.”

For information on how to submit a song, as well as how you can be involved in recording the song once it’s written, head to Tarento Productions on Facebook for details https://www.facebook.com/tarentoproductions/.

Please send your recorded song submissions to [email protected] by midnight on 10th April 2020.

Hashtags:  #ASongForOurTime #UKTheatreUnited
Facebook: Tarento Productions  Acting4Others
Twitter: @danielletarento @Paul_WilkinsUK @ActingforOthers

Acting for Others provides financial and emotional support to all theatre workers in times of need through 14 member charities. www.actingforothers.co.uk

Theatre industry statement on government aid for self-employed

Yesterday (Thursday 26 March), Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced government aid for self-employed workers, who can now apply for a grant worth 80% of their average monthly profits over three months, made as a single payment from the beginning of June.

Commenting on behalf of the theatre industry, Julian Bird (Chief Executive of SOLT and UK Theatre) said:

‘We welcome the financial support announced by the government for self-employed and freelance people in our industry – this is very welcome and much needed.  We remain concerned by the ability of people to access adequate funds through the welfare system until payments start to be made under the new scheme in June, and urge a rethink of whether some form of interim payment can be granted to self-employed people.  Many thousands of people who graduated last summer will also not be eligible for the scheme, and will need rapid support.’

RSC & MARQUEE TV ANNOUNCE ONLINE ‘PREMIERE’ & WATCH-ALONG OF TWELFTH NIGHT TO MARK WORLD THEATRE DAY

To mark World Theatre Day (Friday 27 March), the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is inviting people to join a live ‘watch along’ from their living rooms on Saturday 11 April of a recording of their 2017 production of Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night, featuring Adrian Edmondson as Malvolio and Kara Tointon as Olivia.

The production will premiere on Marquee TV on Saturday 11 April, with the watch-along starting at 7.15pm (UK time).

Marquee TV, the international multi-genre performing arts streaming service, working with the RSC and other arts organisations, is responding to the current closure of theatres by offering everyone a no obligation free 30 day trial to watch some of the best in theatre, dance and opera.  There are already 17 RSC productions available to stream, including Richard II and King Lear with, respectively, David Tennant and Antony Sher in the title roles.

Marquee TV will also be streaming ‘premieres’ of productions that are new to the platform, including Twelfth Night, each Saturday. 

The RSC is inviting everyone to join the ‘watch along’ by posting their comments live on Twitter during the performance. People can get involved by following the RSC – @theRSC – and by using the hashtag  #AlmostLiveFromTheRSC

Directed by Christopher Luscombe and set in 1890s England, Twelfth Night originally opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon in November 2017. As with all of its Shakespeare productions since 2013, the RSC also broadcast Twelfth Night into cinemas across the world, and into schools for free.

Christopher Luscombe, director of Twelfth Night, said: “In these testing times it’s wonderful that theatres are sharing such a range of their productions online. I do hope Twelfth Night will help to keep everyone entertained. As the play centres on two lost souls trying to find their way in an unfamiliar world, it may well speak to us all as never before! I was blessed with a fantastic cast and production team on this show, and I’m thrilled that their work is being celebrated – especially at a time when live theatre has had to be put on hold. A ‘watch along’, with the audience commenting on Twitter, sounds like a great idea to me – it’ll be fascinating to hear what everyone has to say!”   

Susannah Simons from Marquee TV said: “Twelfth Night is just the right play to lift the spirits, and this is a wonderful production.  We are thrilled to be able to bring it to a wider audience, cross garters and all.”

A full list of actor and creative credits for the original production can be seen here

National Theatre Collection available to pupils and teachers at home for free in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing

• Pupils and teachers at state schools and state-funded further education colleges can now access National Theatre Collection at home for free
•  Free trial period extended for educational institutions including independent schools, universities and libraries across the globe

Following the announcement from the UK Government for all UK schools to close in light of the Coronavirus pandemic, the National Theatre Collection will now be available to pupils and teachers at state schools and state-funded further education colleges via remote access in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing. Schools will be able to share log-in details with pupils to access resources at home during this period.

Bloomsbury Publishing has also extended the free trial period for academic institutions including universities, libraries and independent schools until the end of May 2020 to continue to support the educational community across the globe.

The National Theatre Collection provides high-quality recordings of 24 world-class productions, with a further six anticipated in April, drawing from 10 years of NT Live broadcasts and never before released productions from the National Theatre’s Archive.

Alice King-Farlow, Director of Learning at the National Theatre said, “Given the unprecedented challenges we are all currently facing across the globe, we want to ensure that pupils, teachers and academic institutions are supported during this time and can continue to have access to a range of learning resources during the school closure period. The National Theatre Collection is an invaluable resource and with thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing, we are able to open up access to pupils and teachers across the UK and ensure young people will be able to continue to explore world-class productions and all aspects of theatre-making”.

Celebrating the best of contemporary British theatre, the titles support learning across the primary and secondary curriculum and include: 

• Shakespeare set texts including Macbeth, Othello, Twelfth Night and King Lear (Donmar Warehouse) in vibrant modern stagings
• Novels brought to life in exciting literary adaptations such as Frankenstein, Treasure Island, Peter Pan and Jane Eyre
• A range of theatrical styles and genres from Greek tragedies including Medea and Antigone to 20^th century classics such as The Cherry Orchard, The Deep Blue Sea and Yerma (Young Vic)
• Examples of extraordinary design and theatrecraft in productions ranging from One Man, Two Guvnors to Les Blancs
• Adaptations of Romeo and Juliet and The Winter’s Tale created specially for younger audiences and suitable for primary schools

Recordings are accompanied by learning resources to explore the craft behind the best of British theatre including rehearsal insights and short videos. The easy-to-use platform includes helpful features such as scene-by-scene selections and synopses, theme and key word searches.

Jenny Ridout, Global Head of Academic Publishing at Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. said, “Bloomsbury is working hard to ensure that all UK state schools and their students can access the National Theatre Collection via our Drama Online platform, wherever they are studying, during this exceptionally challenging time. As we all work together through this unique situation, Bloomsbury Digital Resources would like to help the library and educational community in any way we can.  As a result, our various digital resources are now available to academic and educational institutions on request until the end of May, at no cost or obligation.”

Teachers can sign up now to National Theatre Collection on Bloomsbury’s Drama Online Platform via www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ntcollection   

Additional digital learning resources

The National Theatre has additional learning resources for pupils and teachers to access for free online including:

• National Theatre Talks – a collection of conversations recorded live from National Theatre stages
• New Views online playwriting course – forming part of the annual New Views playwriting competition for 14-19 year-olds, this freely accessible programme by playwright Jemma Kennedy covers topics including narrative, dialogue and stagecraft with video, audio and excerpts from plays
• Downloadable resource packs for anyone interested in discovering more about productions staged by the National Theatre
• Video collections exploring how theatre is made
• NT YouTube channel including videos related to shows, backstage ‘how we made it’ videos and recordings of NT Talks
• Digital Exhibitions with Google Arts and Culture exploring Costume, Shakespeare and the Architectural History of the NT

The National Theatre Collection is supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), Fondation Hoffmann, Sidney E. Frank Foundation, The Cranshaw Corporation for Mrs. Robert I. MacDonald and The Attwood Education Foundation.

The Lowry launches Futures Fund to support organisation through Coronavirus pandemic

The Lowry in Salford has launched a new fund to help the organisation through the Coronavirus pandemic.
 
The Futures Fund aims to ensure the Salford arts centre’s financial stability and enable it to continue to support the local communities it serves through its charitable activity.
 
You can donate now at: www.thelowry.com/FuturesFund
 
It follows the closure of the venue’s doors to audiences, participants and artists for the first time since it opened in April 2000, twenty years ago.
 
Julia Fawcett OBE, chief executive of The Lowry, said: “We use creative activity to support hundreds of the most vulnerable members of our community – including young carers, looked after children and young people living in temporary accommodation.
 
“In the immediate term, The Futures Fund will pay for freelance artists to create artistic activities for us to share with the young people we work with and more widely throughout our community.”
 
The Futures Fund is just one of the ways people can help keep the creative spirit of Salford alive. Others include:

• ‘Refuse the Refund’ – If you have a ticket for a cancelled performance, consider ‘donating’ the cost of that ticket to The Lowry
• Buy a Gift Voucher to redeem against a future performance
• Promote the fund with your friends and family using the hashtag #LowryFuturesFund

 
The Lowry building is currently closed until at least Sunday 26 April 2020

THE NATIONAL THEATRE ANNOUNCES

NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME: A PROGRAMME OF NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE PRODUCTIONS STREAMED FOR FREE VIA YOUTUBE
 

ALSO INCLUDES ACCESS TO THE NATIONAL THEATRE COLLECTION FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AT HOME

• A selection of much-loved National Theatre Live productions to be made available to watch on YouTube for free over the next two months
• The National Theatre Collection – an online resource for schools, universities, libraries and the wider education sector – now available to access at home during school closure period

NT Collection images available to download HERE

NT Live images available to download HERE

During this unprecedented time which has seen the closure of theatres, cinemas and schools, the National Theatre today announces new initiative NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME providing access to content online to serve audiences in their homes. Audiences around the world can stream NT Live productions for free via YouTube, and students and teachers have access to the National Theatre Collection at home, delivered in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing.

From Thursday 2 April, a number of productions previously screened in cinemas globally as a part of National Theatre Live will be made available to watch via the National Theatre’s YouTube channel. The first production to be broadcast as part of NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME will be Richard Bean’s One Man Two Guvnors featuring a Tony Award-winning performance from James Corden. Each production will be free and screened live every Thursday at 7.00pm GMT, it will then be available on demand for seven days. Alongside the streamed productions, NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME will also feature accompanying interactive content such as Q&As with cast and creative teams and post-stream talks, with further details of this programme to be announced.

Working closely with YouTube, other productions streamed as part of NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME include Sally Cookson’s stage adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre on the 9th April, Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island on 16th April, and Twelfth Night on the 23 April featuring Tamsin Greig as Malvolia in Shakespeare’s classic comedy, with further titles to be announced.

Lisa Burger, Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive said: 

“Our ambition at the National Theatre is to create work which is challenging, entertaining and inspiring and we’re committed to continuing that through these difficult times. I’m thrilled that we’re able to fulfil this ambition in a different way through our collaboration with YouTube. I am exceptionally proud of the team at the National Theatre for working so hard to create NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME and also to the rights holders who have been so supportive of this new initiative allowing us to bring theatre to households right across the world. We have delved into the National Theatre Live archive and curated a programme that’s varied from comedy to new dramas to classics so there is something for everyone to enjoy from their own homes. We will be streaming each production at the same time each week in order to recreate, where possible, the communal viewing experience and we hope this will be an opportunity for people to share their enjoyment together online.”
 

Christina Matteotti, Head of Music and Culture Partnerships, EMEA said:  “During this incredibly difficult time, we are so glad that institutions like the National Theatre are using the platform to share treasured cultural content with the UK and global communities who are facing self-isolation. Bringing the comedic delight of One Man Two Guvnors, the magic of shows like Twelfth Night, the mystery of Jane Eyre, and the adventure of Treasure Island to YouTube will be a ray of light during a very difficult time. Technology can bring the cultural and creative world inside your home. We look forward to seeing how NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME on YouTube delights the community and provides a chance to continue to learn.”

Following the UK schools’ closures, pupils now studying at home will be able to access the National Theatre Collection remotely. The Collection includes high-quality recordings of 24 world-class productions, drawing from 10 years of NT Live broadcasts and never-before-released productions from the National Theatre’s Archive. It’s available now for free to pupils and teachers at state schools and state-funded further education colleges, through remote access provided in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing. Schools will be able to share log-in details with pupils to access the National Theatre Collection at home during this period.

Bloomsbury Publishing has also extended the free trial period for other academic institutions including universities, libraries and independent schools until the end of May 2020 to continue to support the educational community across the globe.

The recordings of productions are accompanied by learning resources that explore the craft behind the best of British theatre. Available productions include Shakespeare set texts (Othello), 20th Century classics (The Cherry Orchard) and adaptations of Romeo and Juliet and The Winter’s Tale created specifically for younger audiences.

Alice King-Farlow, Director of Learning at the National Theatre said: “Given the unprecedented challenges we are all currently facing across the globe, we want to ensure that pupils, teachers and academic institutions are supported during this time and can continue to have access to a range of learning resources during the school closure period. The National Theatre Collection is an invaluable resource and, with thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing, we are able to open up access to pupils and teachers across the UK and ensure young people will be able to continue to explore world-class productions and all aspects of theatre-making”.

Teachers can sign up now to National Theatre Collection on Bloomsbury’s Drama Online Platform via www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ntcollection

The National Theatre is currently closed to audiences and performances won’t resume before July. In coming weeks, there will be more opportunities for audiences to engage with the NT through its National Theatre at Home programme – further details to be announced.

The National Theatre – like theatres around the world – is facing a devastating impact from Coronavirus.  We are launching at NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME free of charge. Should viewers wish to make a donation to support the National Theatre, we have launched a public appeal on our home page: nationaltheatre.org.uk

For more on NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME go to https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/at-home

NSDF 20 Festival goes Online

ICONIC long running National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) has relaunched as a virtual Festival for 2020 with the support of a string of star artists and speakers including Emma Rice.

Organisers of the Festival which was due to take place at Curve in Leicester from 4-10 April will now go ahead in an exciting new format and be available to thousands online, reaching a far wider audience than the original Festival would have, and all available for free.

NSDF Director James Phillips said: “The virus meant we had to cancel on Monday 16th March but two days later we managed to relaunch with a huge amount of the Festival’s original content incorporated into the new event.”

“We also have a host of new artists including Emma Rice, Mark Ravenhill, Laura Wade and April De Angelis. The support we have received has been overwhelming.”

The new Festival, which will occupy the same programmed dates of 4-10 April, will include more than 35 online workshops and masterclasses, bespoke mentoring sessions for young artists with leading industry professionals, discussion panels and a huge evening Quiz.

James Phillips added: “We want to do something that is useful and kind and helps connect people in these very difficult times.” 

“It’s been moving and inspiring to be contacted by so many people who want to be part of our new Festival, and to have the support of partners like Slung Low, Paines Plough and Curve makes a new way of working possible.” 

It will be offered in partnership with Leeds based theatre company Slung Low, who offered NSDF the money they would have donated as a prize for one of the Festival Awards ‘The Holbeck Cup’ that is named after Slung Low’s venue The Holbeck, which is the oldest social club in Britain.

Slung Low Artistic Director Alan Lane praised NSDF as one of the most important supporters of young talent in British theatre:

“NSDF is too often an unsung supporter of young and emerging talent in British theatre. That it can carry on in these bewildering and challenging times is a real tribute to the determination and creativity of the festival management.”

“We were over the moon to be able to offer whatever help we can to ensure NSDF reaches as many people as it possibly can. It’s never been more useful. We’re very proud at Slung Low to be a part of it.”

Alongside Slung Low and Curve NSDF is collaborating with another original Festival partner, Paines Plough. NSDF and Paines Plough will be running a special online night of their COME TO WHERE I’M FROM national project, with young people writing and performing mini plays about their home towns.

Further financial support for the online Festival has been donated by Create Balance.

BalletBoyz® presents
DELUXE

• BALLETBOYZ NEW SHOW DELUXE TO AIR ON BBC FOUR FOR THE BBC CULTURE IN QUARANTINE FESTIVAL AND TO BE SCREENED ONLINE TOMORROW EVENING TO LAUNCH SADLER’S WELLS FACEBOOK PREMIERES SERIES
   
• FURTHER DIGITAL WORKS FROM BALLETBOYZ’ VIDEO ARCHIVE PLUS NEW MATERIAL WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE TO WATCH SOON ON WWW.BALLETBOYZ.COM

BalletBoyz’ new dance show Deluxe will air on BBC Four for the BBC Culture in Quarantine festival and the production will also be available to view online from Friday 27 March at 7.30pm to launch Sadler’s Wells Facebook Premieres. Following Government advice on Monday 16 March and to protect the safety of audiences, artists and workforce, BalletBoyz cancelled the remaining performances of its 20th anniversary UK Spring Tour but is now able to share the production with audiences watching from home. Deluxe will have its TV premiere on BBC Four and will be available on iPlayer – further details to be announced in due course. Co-producers Sadler’s Wells, where the live show was due to be performed in London this week, will also host Deluxe on its Facebook page this Friday at 7.30pm as the first video of the new Sadler’s Wells Facebook Premieres series where it will be available to watch for one week only. 

Deluxe features three new works choreographed by an all-female team: Ripple, the UK debut of renowned shanghai-based choreographer Xie Xin with music by electronic composer Jiang Shaofeng; Bradley 4:18 by Punchdrunk choreographer Maxine Doyle in a collaboration with Mercury Prize-nominated jazz musician Cassie Kinoshi and inspired by the Kate Tempest track Pictures On A Screen; plus The Intro, a short opening film by emerging choreographer Sarah Golding set to music by SEED Ensemble.

BalletBoyz was founded in 2000 by Artistic Directors Michael Nunn and William Trevitt. Deluxe is the company’s 20th anniversary production and is performed by the current BalletBoyz company which includes Joseph Barton, Benjamin Knapper, Harry Price, Liam Riddick, Matthew Sandiford and Will Thompson plus apprentice Dan Baines.

In addition to Deluxe, BalletBoyz will be sharing further video content online in the coming weeks including excerpts from their past shows, films and documentaries, behind the scenes in rehearsals, plus brand new material on www.balletboyz.com

RIPPLE
Choreographed by Xie Xin
Music by Jiang Shaofeng

Ripple marks the UK debut of Chinese choreographer Xie Xin choreographed to a highly detailed electronic score by composer, lauded tap dancer and her long-time collaborator Jiang Shaofeng. The piece explores movement inspired by the memory of a person and the flow of energy that such memories and feelings possess. Beautifully fluid and lyrical, it sees the BalletBoyz company express new styles in contrast to their familiar athletic and strength-oriented work.

BRADLEY 4:18
Choreographed by Maxine Doyle
Music by Cassie Kinoshi

Bradley 4:18, choreographed by Punchdrunk’s Maxine Doyle, is inspired by the lyrics and story of spoken word artist Kate Tempest’s Pictures on a Screen, about Bradley, a seemingly successful young man struggling to connect with the world around him. It is set to a score by Mercury Award nominated and Ivors Academy Award winning London-based composer, arranger and alto-saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi. Composed in parallel with the choreographic creation, it is a highly atmospheric, filmic score with a modern jazz flavour. Bradley 4:18 presents the six BalletBoyz dancers as different iterations of the character Bradley and how he might act at 4:18 in the morning.

THE INTRO
Choreographed by Sara Golding
Music by Seed Ensemble

Ahead of the double-bill, Deluxe begins with a short film introducing the BalletBoyz in a new work choreographed by dancer and emerging choreographer Sarah Golding and set to Seed Ensemble track The Darkies as featured on their Mercury Prize-nominated album Driftglass. The piece introduces the audience to the dancers’ and offers a look into their individual personalities and characters, and giving a flavour of the performances to come.

Olivier Awards to celebrate Greatest Moments in special TV and radio programmes

ITV will broadcast a special Olivier Awards with Mastercard programme on Sunday 5 April at 10:15pm, in place of the 2020 Royal Albert Hall awards show which was cancelled due to coronavirus.

Hosted by Jason Manford, the hour-long ‘Olivier Awards – Greatest Moments’ programme will look back at Olivier Awards ceremonies over the past ten years, with archive footage of performances and speeches, and a celebration of some of the many Olivier Award-winning productions – including Dreamgirls, Hamilton, The Book Of Mormon, Disney’s The Lion King and the RSC’s Matilda The Musical.

Official radio partner Magic Radio will broadcast a special programme from 6pm to 8pm on the same evening, also celebrating the best Olivier Awards moments, alongside a weekend of shows on Magic’s new musical theatre station Magic at the Musicals.

Nominations for the Olivier Awards 2020 with Mastercard were announced on 3 March, and the winners will be revealed in a special ceremony and event – also broadcast on ITV and Magic Radio – which depending on government medical advice is likely to be held in the Autumn, with plans to be confirmed as soon as is feasible.

In the lead-up to Sunday 5 April, the Olivier Awards social channels will be trailing the ITV and Magic Radio programmes by publishing stand-out content from shows to be featured in the broadcasts.

Julian Bird, SOLT Chief Executive and Olivier Awards Executive Producer, said:

‘Amid unprecedentedly difficult times for our theatre community, we look forward to providing audiences with a unique celebration of the last ten years of incredible, world-leading British theatre honoured at the Olivier Awards, in anticipation of a separate ceremony for this year’s winners in the Autumn. We are hugely grateful to our longstanding headline sponsor Mastercard, for their support this year and over the past decade – alongside all our other partners, who we look forward to working with again soon.’

The theatre world has seen mass closures and cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, with many companies, creatives and performers taking to online platforms to create new work, connect with fans and colleagues, and raise money to help those in the industry who are struggling.

Tomorrow (Thursday 26 March), Olivier Awards presenters and nominees will be participating in the NHS’s nationwide ‘Clap For Our Carers’ online campaign, and on Friday 27 March, World Theatre Day, the Olivier Awards will join other theatre organisations and individuals sharing favourite theatre memories on social media.

OlivierAwards.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

#OlivierAwards

BREACH THEATRE TO STREAM AWARD-WINNING CATALOGUE DURING UK ARTS SHUTDOWN

·       Critically acclaimed Artemisia Gentileschi drama It’s True, It’s True, It’s True to be streamed internationally after February’s BBC Four TV debut

·       The Beanfield and the music of Joan of Leeds will also be released for the first time ever

·       It’s True, It’s True, It’s True: Artemisia on Trial available to stream from 31st March 2020 on YouTube for 30 days

This week Breach Theatre release their acclaimed bodies of work exclusively via YouTube amid widespread COVID-19 cancellations across the arts, with It’s True, It’s True, It’s True: Artemisia on Trial on Tuesday 31 March and The Beanfield available to stream now.

It’s True, It’s True, It’s True – the courtroom drama based on the case of the rape of Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi will be streamed on Breach’s YouTube channel following its TV premiere on BBC Four. The film is produced by Artemisia Films and Breach and was commissioned by The Space. One of the undisputed hits of the 2018 and 2019 Edinburgh Festivals, also touring across the country, It’s True, It’s True, It’s True was due to be performed at the Barbican this April but now cancelled due to COVID-19.

Breach Theatre will also stream The Beanfield for the first time – a political drama that follows the 1985 ‘Battle of the Beanfield’, praised for its vivid portrayal of the brutal conflict between new age travellers and police to confront issues of history and civil liberties, and Joan of Leeds soundtrack – the medieval mystery play that uses live music to tell the extraordinary true story of a runaway 14th century rebel nun, lyrics by Billy Barrett and music by James Frewer.

The Beanfield full show is currently available to stream online (link below) and the music of Joan of Leeds will be available to stream on Friday.

It’s True, It’s True, It’s True: Artemisia on Trial will be streamed for free from 31st March 2020 for 30 days on YouTube and Breach encourage donations via PayPal for those who enjoyed the show and wish to support the company through the shutdown.