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National Theatre bans critics’ plus one invitations
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/18/national-theatre-director-takes-revenge-on-theatre-critics-as-pl/ Interesting movement by National Theatre, who are no longer providing comps to critics’ guests. It is a fair move, in my (very small) experience of receiving free tickets for productions I am always a bit thrown when I am offered a pair. As an amateur it impresses my companion but really I am there…
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Criticising the Critics: Why reviewing performance is impossible
In my day job I work for an exam board and coordinate practical drama exams (my life is surrounded by DRAMA!) and I recently attended a training day for our examiners, it became clear that analysing performance is actually impossible, unlike other performance exams such a music it feels utterly subjective, even guidance seems impossible…
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#TheatreSoWhite
A friend recently sent me this speech by journalist Diep Tran at the recent American Theatre Critics Association conference, focusing on why theatre criticism in America was so white and whether it was racist, asking questions of Black and Ethnic Minority playwrights that it wouldn’t ask of white playwrights. It is a question that needs…
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Long into the night; extended productions at the theatre
My ideal format for a play is 7:30pm start, an interval at about 8:30pm or 8:45pm then a 9:30pm finish. I like an interval ice cream or else I would drop the interval altogether. Increasingly plays seem to be getting longer and longer in London theatres. This is perhaps acceptable on a Friday or Saturday…
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How Do You Solve a Problem like the National Theatre?
I’ve struggled with the productions at the National Theatre over the last 18 months or so, I don’t simply blame Rufus Norris, a lot of the National’s problems go back to changes made by Sir Nicholas Hytner as part of NT Future. I am not happy admitting this because the National is literally a national…
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May Contain Nuts: Nudity on the stage
I’ll be blunt. I enjoy the prospect of nudity, male or female I am equal opportunities, a bit too much. I think the warnings that appear on websites or via an usher’s mouth make it feel like it is a very naughty private play that the Lord Chamberlain might burst in on at any minute.…
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Shakespeare @400
23 April 2016 sees the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. Here’s a guide to the best theatrical alternatives in London. Film BFI Shakespeare on Film, April-May Highlights in April include Ian McKellen’s screen adaptation of Richard Eyre’s Richard III (1995), an adaptation of Max Reinhardt’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935), Kenneth Branagh’s A Much…
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In praise of…unreserved seating
This post originally appeared on London Theatre Direct 19 March 2016 I am aware some will look at this headline with confusion, maybe even repulsion but I can explain. Unreserved seating isn’t just about spoiling your pre-theatre bar time but about a fair ticketing system that allows friends to book separately and the over organised…
View from the Cheap Seat 