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Look Back on: Terence Rattigan
With revivals of his work at the National Theatre, Theatre Royal, Bath, Chichester Festival Theatre, The Garrick and on tour why does the work of Rattigan attract modern audiences? National Theatre’s The Deep Blue Sea (1952), directed by Carrie Cracknell and starring Helen McCrory this summer was one of a number of revivals of his…
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Look Back On: An Inspector Calls
Stephen Daldry’s National Theatre Production An Inspector Calls made its debut in 1992 and twenty-four years later it returns to Playhouse Theatre after many revivals but what is the long lasting appeal of JB Priestley’s play and why does this version remain so popular. I am one of many who studied this play at GCSE,…
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Drama Training in a Post-Brexit World
2016 seems to have been a shocker of year. I don’t think various bites of terrible news, deaths etc are purely a response to Brexit but Brexit has the misfortune of being a June event and some news of a couple of weeks ago really made me consider the performance arts industry’s options in light…
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Emma Rice to step down as Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe.
Shakespeare’s Globe artistic director Emma Rice is to leave the theatre in 2018 after its board decided her methods are not authentic enough. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37761530 As someone who was introduced to the Globe by my friend Jill, it soon became one of my favourite theatres. The standing yard was cheap (only £5) and had the best…
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‘You’d need to pay me to drink here’ London’s Theatre bars and pubs
Why are theatre bars such grim places to have a drink? I was inspired to write this blog by my friend Alison, who voiced her contempt for Soho Theatre’s cramped, loud and very expensive bar. In theory Soho is full of other bars you can go to but they suffer from the same problems that…
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Spend a Penny scheme launched to improve women’s toilets in theatres
The Theatre’s Trust is is handing out a total of £125,000 to up to 10 theatres. Even though this seems inadequate for audiences whose time for use is strictly limited, there are many theatres which do not even meet this standard,” said the Theatres Trust. “The anxiety caused by long queues, with unappealing conditions often…
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Theatre isn’t for everyone
This was originally posted in The Stage’s Soapbox, anonymously, in July 2016. As a financially struggling lover of theatre, I am delighted that I have booked 60 shows in 2016, and my average works out as £12.09 per show. But I am still uncomfortable with the prices I have paid for some shows – £65…
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Matinee Idle: A Lazy Afternoon At The Theatre Tuesday 24 May 2016
This article originally appeared on London Theatre Direct https://www.londontheatredirect.com/post/812/Matinee-Idle-A-Lazy-Afternoon-At-The-Theatre.aspx I recently went to see King Lear at Theatre Royal Brighton. I live in South London and couldn’t resist a sunny afternoon trip to the south coast. I’d forgotten how much I love a Saturday matinee and if you thought they were just for the elderly then…
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The Allure Of The Silver Screen On Stage
This was originally posted on 9 May 2016 on London Theatre Direct https://www.londontheatredirect.com/post/806/The-Allure-Of-The-Silver-Screen-On-Stage.aspx With the news that An American In Paris transfers to Dominion Theatre in March 2017 it is clear that for American musicals the only way is up… to London. What makes the West End so attractive to American producers and our…
View from the Cheap Seat 