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Dame Judi Dench in conversation, hosted by Gyles Brandreth, will be available to stream online to support the Orange Tree Theatre

OT On Screen
Dame Judi Dench
in conversation with Gyles Brandreth

Filmed live at the Orange Tree Theatre in 2017, an exclusive 90-minute in conversation with Dame Judi Dench will be available online from 3pm on Sunday 26 April. This is a paid video on demand and all monies raised will go to the Orange Tree Theatre’s Survival Fund, following its closure due to the impact of the Coronavirus.   

Packed full of entertaining, funny and touching stories from Dame Judi’s incredible career, viewers can experience the unique intimacy of the Orange Tree, recreating a very special event in the comfort of their own home.

OT Artistic Director Paul Miller said: “This film records one of my happiest days ever: the day Judi came to the Orange Tree. It’s 90 minutes of enormous fun and fascinating insights, in the company of a national treasure with few, if any, rivals for our collective affection. We hear about John Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft; Clint Eastwood and Johnny Depp; about Ken Branagh, Peter Hall and how to speak Shakespeare. The crucial importance of company spirit runs through it all like a golden thread. And what company she is: this is a treat to savour in your home, while we wait to welcome you back to ours one day.”

Audiences watching will pay £4.99 to watch on demand via orangetreetheatre.co.uk

As of 16 March 2020, the Orange Tree Theatre has closed its doors due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

As an independent producing theatre and registered charity, closure has serious implications, having lost 74% of its income.

To secure the OT’s return to producing outstanding theatrical experiences in its unique, up-close space, the theatre has launched a Survival Fund. Find out more at orangetreetheatre.co.uk/support-us

Other OT On Screen broadcasts include their co-production of Amsterdam which is available for free on the Orange Tree’s YouTube channel.

Dame Judi Dench took to the Orange Tree stage for the first time in 2017 for the OT’s inaugural Under the Orange Tree: a series of talks with our most distinguished actors about people they’ve worked with, admired and learned from.

A celebration of British theatre’s history and its especially collaborative nature, Under the Orange Tree offers an unrivalled opportunity to see great artists talk up-close in the Orange Tree’s unique in the round space, in conversation with OT Ambassador Gyles Brandreth. Subsequent Under the Orange Tree guests have been Michael Billington, Sir Derek Jacobi, Dame Maggie Smith, David Suchet, Dame June Whitfield and Dame Penelope Wilton.

Judi Dench made her first professional stage appearance with the Old Vic Company as Ophelia in Hamlet in 1957. During her extensive career on stage and screen she has won 10 BAFTAs, 7 Oliviers, 2 Golden Globes, a Tony and an Academy Award. Her theatre credits include The Winter’s Tale (Kenneth Branagh Company), Peter and Alice (West End), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Rose Theatre, Kingston), Hay Fever, The Breath of Life (Haymarket Theatre), Merry Wives of Windsor, All’s Well That Ends Well (RSC), Amy’s View (National Theatre and Broadway) and A Little Night Music (National Theatre). For television, her credits include All Is True, Red Joan, Murder on the Orient Express, Victoria & Abdul, Tulip Fever, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, The Hollow Crown: Richard III, Esio Trot, Cranford, As Time Goes By and Last of the Blonde Bombshells; and for film, Philomena, Skyfall, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, J.Edgar, My Week With Marilyn, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Jane Eyre, The Quantum of Solace, Notes on a Scandal, Casino Royale, Mrs Henderson Presents, Pride and Prejudice, Iris, Chocolat, Shakespeare in Love (Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress) and Mrs Brown.

Gyles Brandreth is a writer, broadcaster, former MP and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, now Chancellor of the University of Chester. A veteran of QI and Have I Got News For You, a reporter on The One Show, a regular on Just a Minute, his many books include The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries and the No 1 best-seller: The 7 Secrets of Happiness

LIZA PULMAN’S LONDON RIVERSIDE DATES RESCHEDULED TO SPRING 2021

SPECIAL EP RELEASED AHEAD OF FORTHCOMING ALBUM THE HEART OF IT

Fresh from her sell-out run of Fascinating Aida, singer and comedienne Liza Pulman has announced details of her rescheduled dates in London and released an EP featuring tracks from her forthcoming album.

The news also follows the singer’s five-star sell-out and critically acclaimed West End tour-de-force of Liza Pulman Sings Streisand, in which she celebrates the life and music of one of the biggest names in showbusiness, Barbra Streisand. Liza is also one third of the brilliant satirical trio and box-office smash, Fascinating Aida with whom she performed a Christmas month-long run at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, followed by a 2020 UK tour.

The Heart Of It was due to take place at London’s iconic Riverside Studios, on the shores of the River Thames in May, as part of the opening season of venue’s five-year redevelopment. Liza Pulman will now play a week-long run of seven performances from Monday 19 April to Sunday 25 April 2021 with tickets on sale soon.

Liza has now also released an EP with 4 tracks from the forthcoming album of the same name, due to be released in Spring 2021, the EP features the tracks Unchained Melody, My Favorite Year, I’ve Got A Feeling I’m Falling and Bye Bye Blackbird. Available to listen to previews and to purchase from www.lizapulman.com/music/.

The Heart Of It was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios and produced by the legendary Chris Porter (David Bowie, Elton John, Take That), and accompanied by some of the finest musicians including Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel), Danny Cummings (Mark Knopfler) and Chris Cameron (George Michael).

Once again in the company of her band of great musicians, Liza rediscovers and reimagines timeless classics and lost gems that have no business being lost. Her funny, intelligent and emotional connection to lyrics and melody goes straight to the heart of every song with a diverse and eclectic range of influences through Fats Waller and Irving Berlin to Michel Legrand, Judy Collins and a host of others. Liza’s version of Unchained Melody, where she takes this classic song to a completely new dimension, literally makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

As a live performer Liza has that rare ability to both break your heart and make it sing. Her show is rich in warmth and humour, sharing anecdotes that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next.

Liza comes from a talented, traditional showbusiness family. Her father was screenwriter Jack Pulman, known for writing BBC classics I Claudius and War and Peace. While her mother is actress Barbara Young, stalwart of such iconic series as Last Of The Summer Wine, Coronation Street and her long running role as Sadie in C5’s Family Affairs.

Liza emanated from London’s prestigious Guildhall School Of Music and spent four years as a junior principal at Glyndebourne Opera. She spent time in commercial theatre both in the West End and touring, her musical theatre credits include Adrian Noble’s award-winning production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium with Michael Ball in 2002, and the UK tour of Doctor Dolittle with Phillip Schofield. She has been one third of Fascinating Aida since 2004.

Liza Pulman commented: “So far, 2020 has not quite turned out as any of us had expected. My sell out spring tour with Fascinating Aida was cut woefully short and my planned weeklong run at the newly developed and stunning Riverside Studios was halted before it had even begun. The world seems to have stopped for now but while we do our best to stay well and stay home, we must also look to the future and so it is with great excitement that I can announce the rescheduling of our dates at Riverside for April 2021 and, even more thrillingly, the launch of my new EP.

“This is a 4 song CD and is just a taster of the album to come, which sadly, has also been a temporary casualty of Covid -19. I auditioned every single song on this CD to make sure that it either broke my heart or made it sing and these four tracks are no exception. I recorded it with my amazing band and some top guests and working on this music has been a total joy. I think we’ve never needed music that reaches us more than we do now and I can’t wait to get back out there!”

Listen To The Tracks:              www.lizapulman.com/music/

Watch The Show Trailer:       www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV3kOMQrGX8&feature=youtu.be

Website:                                 www.lizapulman.com

Facebook:                               www.facebook.com/lizapulmanofficial/

Twitter:                                   twitter.com/liza_pulman

Instagram:                              www.instagram.com/pulmanliza/

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY ABOUT LIZA PULMAN

★★★★

‘She brings a legend to life’

Clive Davis, The Times

★★★★★

‘Liza P once again demonstrated her position at the top of what the nation

has to offer in terms of classy, commercial entertainment’

British Theatre Guide

★★★★★

‘Oozes confidence like a proper Diva – a show which completely

immerses the audience from beginning to end’

Love London Love Culture

★★★★★

‘Incredible performances of classic numbers…delivered with humour, grace and class’

Theatre Weekly

★★★★★

‘Bewitches us with sheer vocal virtuosity and emotional expression’

BritishTheatre.com

★★★★★

‘The whole audience are on their feet and seldom

has a standing ovation been better earned’

Stage Talk

★★★★★

‘Amazing, her voice is truly wonderful’

Jewish News

★★★★★

‘Liza has got style oozing out of her pores and a belting set of lungs’

The Gay UK

INFORMATION

LIZA PULMAN – THE HEART OF IT

EP – THE HEART OF IT

4 Track EP – £3.99 + £0.60 p&p

Available to buy – www.lizapulman.com/music/

RIVERSIDE STUDIOS, LONDON

MONDAY 19 – SUNDAY 25 APRIL 2021

101 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 9BN

Website: www.riversidestudios.co.uk

Box Office: 020 8237 1010

TICKETS ON SALE SOON

NEW ADVENTURES ANNOUNCES

REEL ADVENTURES

A FESTIVAL OF CLASSICS

BRINGING THE ADVENTURES TO YOU

INCLUDING THE BROADCAST PREMIERES OF

LAST YEARS HIT NEW PRODUCTION OF

“ROMEO AND JULIET”

AND

THE SPECTACULAR NEW PRODUCTION OF THE ICONIC

“SWAN LAKE”

PLUS ALL-TIME FAVOURITE

“THE CAR MAN”

ON SKY ARTS

New Adventures are delighted to announce A FESTIVAL OF CLASSICS as part of their REEL Adventures online programme bringing the adventures to you; including a series of Broadcast Premieres on Sky TV and rare screenings of some of Matthew Bourne’s most beloved productions.

On Sunday 19 April at 8.00pm Sky Arts will be screening the Broadcast Premiere of Matthew Bourne’s iconic and legendary production of “Swan Lake”, recently updated for a new generation and filmed live at Sadler’s Wells during the 2018/2019 tour.  A week later, on Sunday 26 April at 8.00pm, Sky Arts will host the Broadcast Premiere of Matthew Bourne’s latest hit  production, “Romeo and Juliet” which had its World Premiere in 2019 and was filmed live at Sadler’s Wells last August. Finally, on Sunday 3 May at 8.00pm, Sky Arts will re-screen the internationally acclaimed and multi-award-winning dance thriller “The Car Man” which was filmed live at Sadler’s Wells in 2015.

In addition to the broadcasts “REEL ADVENTURES” offers a different activity for every day of the week: “Motivational Monday”, “Tune in Tuesdays”, “Pro Wednesdays”, “Vintage Adventures”, “Feature Fridays”, “Workshop Weekends” and “Sunday Sessions. The programme includes a live company class once a week – led by New Adventures artists and open to everyone, creative tasks for children, live Q&As, as well as access to behind the scenes footage and rarely seen treasures from New Adventures archive, curated and introduced by Matthew Bourne. For full details please visit www.new-adventures.net

Matthew Bourne said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the support from our dedicated community of friends and followers.  It’s important, now more than ever, that we stay connected with each other whilst we navigate what is an incredibly challenging time for us all. We have always endeavoured to bring our productions to a wider audience through collaborations with Sky Arts and More2Screen. At a time when none of us are able to enjoy a live performance at our local theatre we’re delighted to be able to reach audiences through their TV.  Huge thanks go to Sky Arts and all those involved in creating these films for making this possible at such short notice.”

“Swan Lake”, “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Car Man” were filmed live at Sadler’s Wells, in collaboration with Sky Arts and More2Screen, Produced by Lucie Conrad for Illuminations and Directed by Ross MacGibbon.

New Adventures is supported using public funds by Arts Council England.

For more information please visit: www.new-adventures.net

Facebook /MBNewAdventures    Twitter @New_Adventures     Instagram @MBNewAdventures

COREY BAKER DANCE PRESENTS A SHORT FILM COLLOBORATION WITH
BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET AND HONG KONG BALLET

SPAGHETTI JUNCTION

Photo credit: Corey Baker Dance

·      New film to be made available via BBC.CO.UK/ARTS on Earth Day, Wednesday 22 April 2020 at 07.00 BST

·      Set beneath Birmingham’s (in)famous Spaghetti Junction, the new film raises awareness of the impact of climate change

·      First ever international collaboration between Birmingham Royal Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet and Corey Baker Dance. 

Birmingham based company Corey Baker Dance, run by award-winning choreographer/director Corey Baker, has created a new short film titled Spaghetti Junction.  The film will receive its world premiere screening through BBC’s Culture in Quarantine on 22 April from 07.00 BST for Earth Day to raise awareness of the impact of climate change.

Shot beneath Birmingham’s famous Spaghetti Junction, the film features Gus Payne and Haoliang Feng, from Birmingham Royal Ballet and Forrest Rain Oliveros, from Hong Kong Ballet and marks the first ever collaboration between Birmingham Royal Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet and Corey Baker Dance.  The film came from Baker’s larger collaboration and work with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Birmingham Hippodrome and Arts Council England to celebrate Chinese New Year 2020.

Corey Baker Dance has an international reputation for creating a diverse array of work across film, TV, theatre, using unusual locations and reaching non-traditional theatre audiences.  His first film Antarctica: The First Dance, was filmed on the icy contient celebrating Antarctica while we still have it.  The film was commissioned by The Space and Channel 4 Random Acts and featured Royal New Zealand Ballet principal dancer Madeleine Graham. Antarctica: The First Dance  has been seen by over 5 million people around the globe to date.

Lying Together, the companion film for Spaghetti Junction, featuring Hong Kong Ballet was filmed on rooftops and urban green spaces of Hong Kong and also shares a message around climate change.  Lying Together will be released later this year.

Set to music by acclaimed band FKJ, Spaghetti Junction was created in partnership with Birmingham Royal Ballet and Hong Kong Ballet, and funded by Arts Council England, Birmingham Hippodrome, West Midlands Growth Company and Southside BID

You can watch the world premiere screening of Spaghetti Junction at 07.00 BST on BBC.CO.UK/ARTS on Wednesday 22 April, Earth Day.  

Earth Day started in 1970 and is now the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 75,000 partners in over 190 countries to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide and drive positive action for our planet.

HAMPSTEAD THEATRE, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GUARDIAN, EXTENDS ITS FREE, DIGITAL STREAMING SERIES WITH TIGER COUNTRY AND #AIWW: THE ARREST OF AI WEIWEI

​​

Hampstead Theatre is delighted to announce an extension of its free, digital streaming series in partnership with The Guardian.  The live stream recordings of Nina Raine’s NHS inspired hit drama Tiger Country and Howard Brenton’s politically charged #AIWW: The Arrest of Ai Weiweiwill be available to watch, on demand, on theguardian.com and hampsteadtheatre.com, as part of the theatre’s current #HampsteadTheatreAtHome series.

Tiger Country (2014) will be available to watch on demand from Monday 20 April 10am to Sunday 26 April 10pm (BST).  Tiger Country, also directed by Raine, is an insight into the workings of the NHS and the people who keep it going.  An action-packed and astute drama, it looks beyond the hospital corridors and into an extraordinary workplace, full of professionals under pressure, driven by ambition, compassion and humour.

#AIWW: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei (2013) will be available to watch on demand from Monday 27 April, 10am – Sunday 3 May, 10pm (BST).  The production tells the story of the controversial arrest and imprisonment of Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei in 2011 and is based on conversations between Ai Weiweiand journalist/writer Barnaby Martin (Hanging Man: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei), in which Ai Weiweispoke about what happened during his disappearance.  Directed by James Macdonald, #AIWW: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei is a portrait of the Artist in extreme conditions and an affirmation of the importance of Art and freedom of speech.

Drawing the Line, also by Howard Brenton, is currently available to stream until Sunday 19 April, 10pm (BST).  Directed by the late Howard Davies, the play tells the story of the chaotic partitioning of India in 1947 whilst celebrating the strength of humanity.

Hampstead Theatre closed its building following UK Government advice on Monday 16 March 2020.  The #HampsteadTheatreAtHome series was launched to support audiences in isolation by sharing world class entertainment online for free.  Recent productions streamed in the series include I and You by Lauren Gunderson on Instagram’s mobile video platform IGTV and, in partnership with The Guardian, Wildby Mike Bartlett and Wonderlandby Beth Steel. 

Roxana Silbert, Artistic Director of Hampstead Theatre said:

“I am delighted that we have been able to extend our #HampsteadTheatreAtHome series with The Guardian.  It feels like there has never been a more apt time to share Tiger Country – Nina Raine meticulously studied the NHS and spent much time with its extraordinary employees who put their lives on the line, daily, to keep Britain safe. The whole nation is indebted to this workforce and should viewers want to support those working on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19, a link will be available on our website.AIWW: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei also reminds us of the importance of freedom of speech. Many questions will be asked over the next few months and it’s in everyone’s interest that we continue to strive for a society that’s built on truth and openness.

The reaction to our digital series so far has been tremendous and there is something deeply comforting about knowing that, despite these strange, uncertain times, people from across the world from America and Peru to Japan and Australia, want to tune in to watch theatre. Thank you again to the many artists involved for making this series possible and to The Guardian for helping us reach as many people as possible.”

Pilot Theatre to stream online Crongton Knights

York based Pilot Theatre are delighted to announce that they will be webcasting the online premiere of their current co-production of Emteaz Husain’s adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s award-winning young adult novel Crongton Knights. The webcast will be available to stream online for free from 6.45pm on Wednesday 22  April , the day the production was due to open at the Theatre Peckham in London.

The webcast will start at 6.45pm with a special introduction from the creative team of author Alex Wheatle, playwright Emteaz Hussain and co-directors Esther Richardson and  Corey Campbell. The production will be available to stream online at  

www.pilot-theatre.com/webcast until Saturday 9 May, the day the tour was due to finish at Theatre Peckham.

To coincide with the webcast Pilot will be putting online a series of talks & Q&A’s with the team behind Crongton Knights. The first Pilot Connects event will be a Q&A with the production’s composer and musical director, Conrad Murray, hosted by Pilot’s Artistic Director, Esther Richardson on Thursday 23 April.        

Crongton Knights takes its audience on a night of madcap adventure as McKay and his friends ‘The Magnificent Six’ encounter the dangers and triumphs of a mission gone awry. In this world premiere adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s award-winning novel, the pulse of the city is alive on stage with a soundscape of beatboxing and vocals laid down by the cast and created by acclaimed musician Conrad Murray.

Crongton Knights is a co-production between Pilot Theatre, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Derby Theatre and York Theatre Royal who last year formed – with the Mercury Theatre Colchester – a new partnership to develop theatre for younger audiences. During the 4 years 2019-2022 the consortium will commission and co-produce four original mid-scale productions. 

Crongton Knights will be available to steam online for free at www.pilot-theatre.com/webcast   from 6.45pm on Wed 22 April until Saturday 9 May.

For more information on forthcoming Pilot Connects events visit

www.pilot-theatre.com/performance/current/pilot-connects/

DEAFINITELY THEATRE LAUNCHES

DEAFINITEY DIGITAL

Deafinitely Theatre today announce Deafinitely Digital with a selection of their critically acclaimed past productions available online to watch for free between April and June in a mission to bring theatre to people at a time when accessing live performance is not possible. In April, Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost(2012); in May, George Brant’s Grounded (2015); and in June, Mike Bartlett’s Contractions (2017) which marked the company’s 15^th anniversary and won the company an Off West End Award for Best Production; will be made available to watch for free at www.youtube.com/user/markdeafinitely. All productions are performed in British Sign Language and Spoken English.

Artistic Director of Deafinitely Theatre, Paula Garfield today said, “We are in precarious times – probably the most difficult and unusual of this century, and many people are struggling. It is therefore important that we find a way to survive and connect beyond physical contact and culture remains a vital way for us to come together, even when we can’t congregate in theatres or galleries.  Deafinitely Theatre is thrilled to make digitally available three of our recent plays to give audiences a chance to see, or revisit, these acclaimed bilingual productions. Each will be available for free for one month on Deafinitely’s YouTube channel.”

Deafinitely Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe present

LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST

By William Shakespeare

Cast: Charly Arrowsmith (Rosaline); Adam Bassett (Don Armado); Stephen Collins (Ferdinand);

Brian Duffy (Boyet); Patricia Gorman (Katharine/Jaquenetta); Matthew Gurney (Berowne);

Vitalis Katakinas (Dumaine/Holofernes); Dona Mullings (Maria/Moth);

Nadia Nadarajah (Princess of France); David Sands (Longaville/Costard)

Director: Paula Garfield; Set Designer: Simon Heap; Costume Designer: Fiona Albrow;

Sound Designer: Phillippa Herrick; Creative Interpreter: Kate Furby;

Musician: Jon Whitton; Musician: Flora Curzon; Director for the Screen: Ian Russell

“Definitely, I’d say, theatre for everyone.”

★★★★

The Guardian

Presented at Shakespeare’s Globe for the World Shakespeare Festival in May 2012, Deafinitely Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe’s production of Love’s Labour’s Lost then toured the UK as part of the Globe to Globe Festival, in which each of Shakespeare’s 37 plays were shown in a different language. By translating the rich, pun-riddled text of Love’s Labour’s Lost into the physical language of BSL, Deafinitely Theatre created a new interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedy, accessible to theatregoers of all backgrounds. This is the first time this has been attempted with a full Shakespeare play.

The court of Navarre: the King and his three Lords vow to stay away from wine, women and luxury; but when the princess and her ladies from France arrive, they begin to change their minds. As each gives in to his affections and breaks his oath, they all try – unsuccessfully – to keep their love secret from each other.

Love’s Labour’s Lost was filmed at Shakespeare’s Globe.

Deafinitely Theatre present

GROUNDED

By George Brant

Cast: Nadia Nadarajah (The Pilot); Charmaine Wombwell (Voice of The Pilot)

Director: Paula Garfield; Designer: Paul Burgess; Lighting Designer: Jack Knowles

Sound Designer: Chris Bartholomew; Choreographer: Ramesh Meyyappan

“Stylishly designed and delivered”

★★★★

The Guardian

An unexpected pregnancy ends a fighter pilot’s career in the sky. Reassigned to operate military drones from a windowless trailer outside Las Vegas, she hunts terrorists by day and returns for her family each night. As the pressure to track a high-profile target mounts, the boundaries begin to blur between the desert in which she lives and the one she patrols half a world away.

Originally a one-woman show, Deafinitely Theatre’s production uses two actors to creatively combine British Sign Language, visual storytelling and the spoken word.

Grounded was filmed at Park Theatre.

Age guidance: 16+

Please be aware that there may be scenes that some audiences find distressing.

Deafinitely Theatre and New Diorama Theatre present

CONTRACTIONS

By Mike Bartlett

Cast: Fifi Garfield (The Manager); Abigail Poulton (Emma)

Director: Paula Garfield; Designer: Paul Burgess; Lighting Designer: Joe Hornsby

Sound Designer: Chris Bartholomew; Visual Consultant: Brian Duffy

“A deeply affecting psychological thriller”

★★★★

The Stage

‘It’s very important that you stay healthy.

That the environment you work in is safe.

That you feel comfortable, and secure.

That you feel balanced, safe, and in control.’

Are your employers concerned about your welfare? Do they have a duty of care? Emma thinks so, but when she begins a relationship with colleague Darren her Manager suggests she might be in breach of contract. A series of bizarre meetings follow, during which the consequences of Emma’s actions take on a disturbing quality… A dark comedy about faceless corporations, nameless management and the boundaries between work and play.

Deafinitely Theatre’s Contractions, was the first professional revival of the play in London since its debut at the Royal Court Theatre in 2008.

Contractions was filmed at New Diorama Theatre.

Age guidance: 16+

Please be aware that there may be scenes that some audiences find distressing.

The Playground Theatre Café & Bar providing free meals for vulnerable local people

• The Playground Theatre Café Covid-19 Food Relief Campaign makes free meals, working with local charities to deliver them to those who need it most
• The Playground Theatre Café owner Rima Sams and son Mars set up the campaign and make up to 500 meals a week
• The theatre continues to run its Well Read initiative in partnership with St Charles Hospital to involve mental health and older patients

North Kensington The Playground Theatre Café Covid-19 Food Relief Campaign is making free meals for elderly and vulnerable local people. Rima Sams and son Mars set up the campaign in response to the social distancing measures, working with food banks and charities. The Felix Project provide about 70% of the fresh ingredients at no cost, and Kensington & Chelsea Mutual Aid Group collect the meals and distribute them to those who need it most: elderly, self-isolating, vulnerable people, often those who live in sheltered accommodation. Rima, Mars and volunteers are making up to 500 meals a week; the meals are nutritious and delivered in compostable containers that can be heated on arrival.

The campaign is run entirely by volunteers with a GoFundMe page to raise money for the costs of running the kitchen: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-playground-theatre-cafe-covid-19-food-relief

Rima Sams said, “There is shocking food poverty in North Kensington which given the close proximity of extreme wealth in the Royal Borough, is unbelievably sad. A conversation with a local friend regarding food bank needs going through the roof in the first week of lockdown, inspired me to want to help get meals to the elderly and most vulnerable.”

The Playground Theatre also continues to run one of its mental health initiatives: Well Read. Well Read is a script reading project created by The Playground Theatre in partnership with St Charles Hospital involving mental health and older adult patients. Since social distancing measures we put in place, the theatre has run the initiative digitally to continue to reach vulnerable people.

Co-artistic Director Anthony Biggs said, “We consider ourselves an integral part of the neighbourhood of North Kensington, and our outreach work gives as much joy to us as to those we work with. In these challenging times, when our doors are closed and our future is uncertain, we believe it is vital to continue to support those in our community who are isolated and lonely, and who rely on The Playground.”

The Playground Theatre is an off-West End theatre dedicated to nurturing new talent and staging an international programme of shows. Led by co-Artistic Directors Peter Tate and Anthony Biggs, the unique space is a former bus depot located on Latimer Road. Its name is intended as an invitation to theatre makers and performers to come and “play”, and to encourage bold experimentation with new works for the stage. Since it opened, The Playground Theatre has cultivated relationships with international companies and practitioners. To date, this has seen the venue work with leading creatives from Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Japan and beyond.

@PlaygroundW10 | theplaygroundtheatre.london

RSC launches largest ever celebration of Shakespeare by audiences in its history

• David Tennant joins forces with the Royal Shakespeare Company for launch of #RoyalShakespeareCommunity
• #ShareYourShakespeare – A Global Celebration in partnership with Folger Shakespeare Library

Watch David Tennant & friends perform their version of ‘All The World’s A Stage’ here

This Spring, the Royal Shakespeare Company will hand over its channels to the global community, in the largest ever celebration of Shakespeare by audiences in its history.

Launching on 15 April, the Royal Shakespeare Community will invite audiences from across the local, national and global community to play their part in keeping the work of Shakespeare alive. Through a newly launched programme of audience-curated performance, digital screenings and supporting educational resources, communities will celebrate a shared love of Shakespeare, and place the creativity of audiences centre stage.

#ShareYourShakespeare – a Global Celebration

The Royal Shakespeare Community programme launches with #ShareYourShakespeare – a virtual celebration in collaboration with The Folger Shakespeare Library in which audiences from across the globe are invited to share their love of Shakespeare in whatever way they choose.

Among those backing the #ShareYourShakespeare campaign is Doctor Who and Broadchurch star David Tennant, who last appeared at the RSC in Gregory Doran’s 2013 production of Richard II. Joining David are Charlotte Arrowsmith, David Bradley, Stephen Boxer, Edward Bennett, and Paapa Essiedu, who played the title role of Hamlet in Simon Godwin’s 2016 production for the RSC (soon to be broadcast on the BBC). Other RSC alumni taking part are Fleabag star Ray Fearon, writer, actor and political activist John Kani (Kunene and the King, 2019), award-winning British stage and film actresses Jane Lapotaire, Joanne Pearce and Katy Stephens, and David Threlfall, star of the RSC’s 2016 production of Don Quixote and the long-running Channel 4 TV series Shameless.

Whether performing a speech, baking a cake, painting a picture, serenading a neighbour over the garden fence or teaching your dog to bark Macbeth, #ShareYourShakespeare will bring together famous faces from the RSC’s celebrated performance history with current acting company, Associate Schools, partner theatres and community theatre-makers around the world. Together they will create a virtual celebration of shared creativity, community spirit, and the enduring power of storytelling.

The most creative, surprising and inspiring contributions will be unveiled on Thursday 23 April, William Shakespeare’s Birthday, through the online premiere of the biggest, Shakespeare performance delivered by and for the global community.  

Audiences everywhere are invited to Share their Shakespeare by film or photograph, in any way they like and upload it to Instagram, Twitter or Youtube, tagging @theRSC and using the hashtag #ShareYourShakespeare from Wed 15 April onwards.

Ideas for sharing YOUR Shakespeare MIGHT include:

1. Baking a cake with your favourite quote in the icing
2. Recreating the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene with vegetables
3. Performing “All the world’s a stage” line by line with your family
4. Drawing or painting your favourite scene
5. Re-writing a Shakespeare speech as a song?
6. Shouting your speech over the fence to your neighbours (two metres apart)
7. Acting out a moment through the medium of dance
8. Getting your pets involved
9. Telling a Shakespeare story in emojis

Gregory Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, said:

“As a global pandemic cuts us off from one another in ways we could never have imagined, and with everyday life as we know it brought to an indefinite standstill, we need stories now, more than ever before. They help to make sense of the world around us and to bring us together, and who better to articulate our collective hopes, anxieties, fears and joys than William Shakespeare. His words, speeches and stories speak to us all in different ways whilst, at the same time, uniting us across borders, languages and cultures.

“With our stages currently empty, productions cancelled, and our buildings temporarily closed, it feels more important than ever to connect with our audiences, artists and partners across the world through shared experiences. Together we can celebrate those everyday acts of human creativity and resilience that continue to inspire us, raise a smile and propel us forward, together in times of crisis. That’s why we are handing control of the Royal Shakespeare Company to you, our Royal Shakespeare Community. And whilst we can’t be together for Shakespeare’s birthday this year, we will instead be marking the day with a global celebration in which audiences everywhere can play their part.”

Michael Witmore, Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, added: “What do people do when they find themselves in strange, challenging circumstances? They improvise. The Folger Shakespeare Library is adapting to the current pandemic as so many others are doing: by finding community wherever we can and engaging in new ways. One of the greatest virtues of Shakespeare’s characters is their ability to improvise. Think of Viola emerging from a shipwreck on the coast of Ilyria – someone who has been displaced, stressed, and called to do new things.

“We are challenging ourselves and others to try new things in the spirit of Shakespearean improv – and to share them with a global community. Creativity comes in many forms, and while very few of us could sit down during a pandemic and write King Lear – as Shakespeare is thought to have done – we can make the most of what we have. Join family members and friends, take whatever you have around you, and be part of a Shakespeare takeover in your own place of refuge. It doesn’t matter where you start or finish, how polished your results. We just want to show what ordinary creative people – which means, all people – can do when we put our minds and hearts together in a time of crisis. Just because we are sheltering in place doesn’t mean we can’t create in place too!”

Home Learning with the RSC

This news follows the previously announced partnership with BBC Culture in Quarantine to bring broadcasts of six of the nation’s best-loved Shakespeare titles via BBC Four and BBC iPlayer between now and September. A full broadcast schedule will be announced shortly.

A supporting package of free educational activities and resources produced in partnership with BBC Bitesize online will be made available to schoolchildren studying Shakespeare from home across the UK from 20 April onwards.

#AlmostLiveFromTheRSC

Following the digital ‘premiere’ of Twelfth Night on Sat 11 April featuring Adrian Edmondson as Malvolio and Kara Tointon as Olivia, the Royal Shakespeare Company is partnering with Marquee TV, to bring the magic of live theatre to audiences living rooms this Spring.

Audiences can enjoy streamed versions of up to 17 Royal Shakespeare Company productions via www.marquee.tv, the on demand streaming service for arts and culture.

Six world-class productions added to the National Theatre Collection, currently available for pupils and teachers to watch from home

From today, six new productions will be available for teachers and pupils to access at home via the National Theatre Collection in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing and ProQuest.

The six productions complete the National Theatre Collection, which consists of high-quality recordings of 30 world-class productions drawing from 10 years of NT Live broadcasts, including productions from a range of renowned British theatres, and never before released recordings from the National Theatre’s Archive.

The new productions include:

– A Streetcar Named Desire (Young Vic) – an adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ timeless masterpiece directed by Benedict Andrews and starring Gillian Anderson, Ben Foster and Vanessa Kirby

– Cat on A Hot Tin Roof (Young Vic) – Sienna Miller stars alongside Jack O’Connell and Colm Meaney in Tennessee Williams’ searing, poetic story of a family’s fight for survival directed by Benedict Andrews

– Consent – Nina Raine’s powerful, painful, funny play which sifts the evidence from every side and puts justice herself in the dock

– Small Island – Andrea Levy’s Orange Prize-winning novel brought to life in an epic new theatre adaptation directed by Rufus Norris

– Translations – Brian Friel’s modern classic directed by Ian Rickson is a powerful account of nationhood, which sees the turbulent relationship between England and Ireland play out in one quiet community

– wonder.land – Alice for the online generation. A new musical created by Damon Albarn, Moira Buffini and Rufus Norris inspired by Lewis Carroll’s iconic story with stunning sets, costumes, video projection and lighting taking everyone on a journey to wonderland.

The National Theatre Collection celebrates the best of British theatre and includes Shakespeare set texts, 20th century classics, exciting literary adaptations and productions created especially for younger audiences. Most recordings are accompanied by learning resources to explore the craft behind the best of British theatre including rehearsal insights and short videos. ProQuest will continue to complement the recordings with digitised archival content including prompt scripts, costume bibles and costume designs.

Following the announcement from the UK Government for all UK schools to close in light of the Coronavirus pandemic, the National Theatre Collection is available to pupils and teachers at state schools and state-funded further education colleges via remote access in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing via their Drama Online platform. Schools will be able to share log-in details with pupils to access resources at home during this period. Over 2,670 state-funded schools and colleges have signed up to the National Theatre Collection to access these resources at home.

Bloomsbury Publishing and ProQuest are both extending trials of the National Theatre Collection for academic institutions – including universities, libraries and independent schools – to support the educational community across the globe.

Alice King-Farlow, Director of Learning at the National Theatre said, “We are thrilled to announce the final six productions that complete the National Theatre Collection and are now available for teachers and students to access from home. These titles showcase the rich spectrum of contemporary British theatre and extraordinary talent of inspirational theatre-makers across the UK. Given the difficult circumstances we are all facing across the globe, it is even more important for us to keep connected and continue to provide resources and learning materials for students and teachers to access remotely”.

Jenny Ridout, Global Head of Academic Publishing at Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. said, “The exciting final six films now added to the National Theatre Collection on Drama Online ensure that this collection offers students and scholars a wide range of world-class theatre, available to study and inspire over many years. As the global educational community moves so quickly online in this time of challenge, a resource such as Drama Online is ever more vital, providing students with immediate and consistent access to such a rich catalogue of performances. Bloomsbury is delighted to be at the forefront of efforts to support and enhance digital learning, opening access to our learning and teaching resources around the world.”

Katie Birch, Vice President of Product Management at ProQuest, said, “In a time of crisis, the need for performing arts and culture has emerged greater than ever. Having access to digital resources helps keep us connected and allows research, teaching and learning to continue despite our inability to connect in person. ProQuest is doing everything we can to support libraries, universities and schools in their rapid transition to online-only access. We’re honoured to partner with the National Theatre to make this high-quality full collection available to those who need it – including students who need to watch and review performances as a critical part of their curriculum.”

Teachers can sign up now to National Theatre Collection 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.