Tom Cruise... on stage? Seriously?

Yes it is true the top grossing actor for the 90s wants to start a stage career but not just anywhere, he wants to start on the West End stage. Reports from websites such as aceshowbiz.com say that Cruise was inspired by his wifes run in 'All my Sons' on Broadway in 2008. He believes that the West End would  be the best place for him to start a stage career and in most circumstances a huge film star like Cruise would fill me with excitement but there are a couple of things in this situation that could scupper his plans. I am going to do the negatives first, which are minimal but still I think they need to be said.

Inexperience. The last time that Cruise trod the boards was when he began getting into drama in High School, true according to sources the play he performed in was widely accepted as a critical and artistic success, that was 29 years ago now. Thats a third of his life that is dedicated to the form that is screen acting, something that is a true art form that takes time to hone but so does stage acting and he hasn't done it in so long it just makes me worry his inexperience will shine through.

Focus. Cruise, as LibraryGirl was quick to point out, can be incredibly unfocused when his fans start screaming, sighing and generally fauning over him. Pick absolutely any time he has appeared anywhere and the women scream and sigh and he laps it up like a cat who has got the cream. He'll go to talk and they will scream more so he just laughs and smiles, sending them into more of a tizzy. Some would say it is self serving and arrogant of him to encourage this behaviour and then you would have to question whether it would make him break character on the stage. When I saw Guys and Dolls with Ewan Macgregor a huge sigh of affection went up from many of the female fans in the theatre but he just worked through it without acknowledging it. Would Cruise be able to do the same? Or would his ego take over?

Positives.

Ability. Now I think it is unfair to say that Tom Cruise cannot act, he is definately a great Matinee idol who can provoke great emotion and portray certain characters well. His work in Rain Man leaps to mind as a great example of good acting that required some very subtle emotive scenes as well as those that are very intense. Even his work in Jerry Maguire shows his range of skills. The biggest issue for me is that he will need to project these emotions physically and vocally across a large auditorium which may prove a very large challenge for him.

Dedication. Tom Cruise is known for his dedication to his work and very hard work ethic. I believe that even though he has zero experience on the professional stage if you told him he had six weeks to rehearse a play and then put it on he would work day and night. The man obviously loves his job and has a need to make his work good, he doesn't give it half the effort it is always 100% with him. Cruise is also not averse to taking risks, he performs some of his own stunts in films he stars in, his cameo in Tropic Thunder stole the film and sent himself up and this move onto the stage is just as big a risk for him.

Box Office Appeal. Imagine not just a big name in film like Spacey, or Goldblum or even Branagh but perhaps the biggest name (bar Will Smith) of the past 20 years appearing on the West End stage. My eyes just light up with pound signs. It would pretty much sell out instantly in my opinion as fans will descend on London to see their hero up close and dare I say a lot of people will go for the potential car crash that Cruise may provide. In a world and society where the almighty pound rules we must accept that what sells is in and what doesn't is out and Tom Cruise will easily sell 400 seats a night in this writers opinion.

So would I like to see Tom Cruise up and close? Yes I would, I really enjoyed his work in Interview with a Vampire, Rain Man and Jerry Maguire. I think it would be interesting to see whether he could do it too. My only hope is that IF this dream of his comes to some sort of fruition it is either under the Bridge programme at the Old Vic or in conjunction with the Donmar Warehouse who both seem able to get the best work from these film actors. Some people out there will probably be upset that yet another American actor will take another potential acting job from an English performer but this in my opinion could be good, and once Cruise does it we may find more of Hollywoods actors stretching their performing muscles and learning how much working in the theatres can improve their onscreen acting. It could usher in a whole new era of actors on stage and stage actors on screen... it could but it probably wouldn't.

The only question now is who is going to pony up the money for this project? Which producer is going to have the right price for both Cruise and Equity? I cannot wait to see.

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Review: Eric Morecambe Unseen The Lost Diaries, Jokes and Photographs

Following the wonderful performance by Bob Golding in 'Morecambe' I was inspired to read more about Eric Morecambe and this book leapt out at me from the library shelves. This book takes a look at the many chapters of Eric Morecambe' life briefly touching on all the major events in his life and the relationships, however the main attraction is the rare photos ranging from early pictures of his as Eric Bartholemew before his relationship with Ernie Wise to pictures of him at home with his family. Putting these photos alongside the text about his life gives a better insight into a man born to perform but dedicated to his family. All the stories you already know about Morecambe and Wise are here, there are some more personal stories interweaved though. The biographical part of this book is very well written and was an interesting look at the life of this comedy giant which I really enjoyed reading. The second half of the book looks at Eric's material from his unfinished stories to the diaries he kept from 67, 68 and 69. His diaries are a fascinating look at the end of the Variety Theatre circuit which was dying by the end of the 60s but still Morecambe and Wise toured them packing in crowds with their box office smashing act. My favourite section has to be the one liners however, Morecambe was a man of great wit and excellent delivery and even reading them written down you can imagine his mannerisms and how he would say it and they made me laugh out loud. Here are a few of those great one liners:

'My eyes are no good anymore - I've got my wife to prove it'

'They say bread cast upon the water comes back to you a hundred fold. Fine! But what am I going to do with a hundred wet loaves?'

'Out of bounds - a tired Kangaroo'

and my favourite ...

'Agent - A man who's annoyed because you get 90% of his salary'

This book is full of so much to make you smile and Eric Morecambes own smile is on nearly every page. A fitting book for those who grew up watching Morecambe and Wise and also perfect for anyone interested in why those two still capture the British publics imagination even today. I would reccomend this book to anyone. To purchase it please click here.

Will Gompertz on Rhyming Couplets

Will Gompertz of the BBC has done a new blog post on the rhyming couplet style of 'La Bete' by David Hirson. 'La Bete' is the transatlantic piece starring David Hyde Pearce and Joanna Lumley that is playing here on the West End until moving to Broadway. Gompertz's opinion on rhyming couplet plays is something I have some agreement with and his style in this blog is just genius. To read it please click here.

News from the Four Corners of the Earth: Monday the 26th July 2010

Moviestar Cameron Diaz has announced that she would never tread the boards despite the vast amount of movie actors who have gained accolades, respect and legitimacy for performing in the theatre. Her reason is she believes she would be far too scared and nervous to be able to handle the stresses of performing. Well normally I would say 'What a shame' but I think its probably all for the best considering I cannot remember a single memorable performance from her. For more info on this story please go to the Daily Telegraph website here.

The co-founder of Stage Electrics Maurice Marshal MBE has passed away at the age of 76. Maurice Marshal trained many of the top theatre technicians in the country through his apprentice courses at the Northcott Theatre Exeter. For his obituary from the Exeter Express and Echo click here.

In Wales a new production called The Beach will be performed from tomorrow until Sunday at Prestatyn. Performed on the Beach this production is essentially an interactive game for 36 audience members, designed by games and play designers Hide&Seek which looks at what has happened to Wales' lost generation. For more info please follow the link to the wonderful WalesOnline website here.

Regular TFMH readers will know I hate it when Theatres close but here is some good news regarding The Picturedrome in Gloucester which has just been given support from the council to run and has a great team behind it. To read more on this great news please click here.

Another wonderful story is the re-opening of Scarboroughs open air Theatre this summer season as reported on the BBC website here.

As part of their articles on Working Life the Guardian wrote about the Theatre Director Ivan Cutting. Its a very good read about the life of a theatre director/artistic director of a medium sized theatre company. To read it please click here.

www.broadwayworld.com has announced that they are launching their own fan choice awards for the theatre. Ballots will open in August and the awards will happen in December. Whether this will make much of a splash in the theatre world, I cannot say but it is good to see awards voted for by the paying public who at the moment are paying through the nose for theatre tickets. Allowing them to reward their favourite performers will hopefully mean that more populist pieces and performers will get the recognition that many snobs in the industry deny them. Hopefully this will eventually become a very prestigious event in the vein of the Oliviers and Evening Standard Awards. For more info please click here.

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Curtains!!! Project: John Earl article on Frank Matcham at the Frank Matcham Society

The Curtains!!! book had several writers contributing to it and one of these was John Earl who is an expert on the subject of Theatre Architect Frank Matcham. After the release of the Curtains!!! book Earl joined the society for Frank Matcham which aims to raise the profile of the mans great work and to protect and preserve those venues designed by Matcham that are still standing. It was on the society's website, which is viewable here, that I found a brilliant article by John Earl and I thought I would post it here.

To read this article about Matcham's theatres then please click here. The article is three pages long and is a fascinating read.

Kenton for Keeps Campaign... just days before a disaster that we can all help avert.

It is a sad sign of the times when organisations which are a boon to local trade and culture are forced to shut down because of 'cost cutting measures' but yet again here we are with another theatre that looks ready to close. The Kenton Theatre in Henley Oxfordshire is the fourth oldest Theatre still standing in the UK and they have been given the opportunity to purchase the freehold for the venue from the current owners. They have until the end of this month to pay the full amount agreed which will ensure the theatres safety and continued use to the community. However during June the theatre suffered a major setback, when the Theatre believed they only had £70000 left to pay, still a huge amount but it was reachable, a group retracted their funding of £100000 and now they have merely days to make up the amount. Nearly £200000 needs to be found for this great piece of our theatrical heritage. Built in 1805 this truly is a gem of both cultural and social history which it would be a great shame to lose, so I implore you all to donate to the 'Kenton for Keeps' campaign before we lose yet another great Regency theatre to a dull and history damaging property development. Following are links that give you more information on the Theatre and its campaign and also the Facebook page which gives you information on how to donate money or even time to save this theatre.

4 days to go!

Theatre Trust: Kenton

Funding the Freehold of Kenton Theatre

The Kenton Theatre

Facebook Page for Kenton

Performing Arts treats on the Box Monday 26th and Tuesday the 27th of July

Monday

 14:00 Sky Arts 1 Hugh Laurie on In The Artists Studio, Laurie talks about his career pre House.

14:00 Sky Arts 2 Amadeus Directors Cut, adapted from stage play. Fantastic film starring Broadway producer Tom Hulce in a genius portrayal of Mozart.

9pm BBC1 Rupert Everett on Who Do you Think You Are?

23:05-00:35 BBC1 Importance of Being Earnest 2002. Following WDYTYA is Everetts performance in this Oscar Wilde Classic.

18:20-21:00 Film4 Coach Carter (Samuel L Jackson Movie, renowned for his powerful performance)

Tuesday

 01:20 Film4 Venus starring Peter O Toole as a down on his luck actor

12:05 Channel 4 Gaslight 1940. The British film version of this classic play.

14:00 Sky Arts 1 Forest Whitaker on In the Artists Studio

20:00 Sky Arts 2 Matthew Bournes Swan Lake. A revolutionary piece of dance theatre from an all male cast of ballerinas.

Update of classic TFMH post: Curtains!!! The Old Stagers

Here is a repost of my earlier blog on the Old Stagers company based in Canterbury. As I mentioned in the article, see below, the company announced a show was going to be presented between the 2nd and the 7th of August however it has  now been revealed that the show being performed is Oscar Wilde's 'Lord Arthur Savilles Crime'. The play has most recently been revived in a national tour starring Lee Mead, of 'Any Dream Will Do, in his dramatic debut playing the titular character. This late Victorian melodrama is known as a light hearted romp. With a 159 year reputation to uphold the Old Stagers will surely put on a fantastic production, tickets are available from this website.

The Old Stagers is an amateur Theatre Company that I have recently come across during my research into the Theatres of Canterbury for my Curtains!!! Project. One of the venues which I have looked up and researched at great length is the Theatre Royal Canterbury and whilst looking at the Times Digital Archive found reference to this group going back over a hundred years.

Formed in 1842 The Old Stagers hold a very strong claim on being the longest surviving amateur Theatre Company, originally founded by the Honorable Frederick Ponsonby it was set up to provide extra events for Canterbury's Cricket Week. According to their own website the actors were the cricket players! This of course left them little time to rehearse and on their website they talk about how they would rehearse on the green and in the tents. However reviews of these performances from 1908 onwards give these performers great respect and commend them for providing a lot of fun during the evenings before the next days cricket.

I cannot imagine a better day out really than a fine Kentish Ale in Canterbury watching the Cricket in the August Sun and then a piece of theatre in the evening. Sounds like my sort of Summers Day.

The next Canterbury Cricket Week is in August and the Old Stagers Website is advertising dates of August the 2nd until August the 7th.

For more information on Kent Cricket please go here.

For tourist information on the beautiful city of Canterbury please look here.

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Theatre Programmes: Out of the Crocodile Phoenix Theatre London 1963-1964

Out of the Crocodile was performed at the Phoenix Theatre London from late 1963 until early 1964. It starred several famous actors and was a theatre piece by famous tv screenwriter Giles Cooper.

This may be my favourite part of these programmes, the adverts and this one on the back is just hilarious.

News from the Four Corners of the Earth Monday the 19th July 2010

The Guardian Newspaper of the UK has hailed the recently knighted Sir Nicholas Hytner the director of the National Theatre as number 39 in their Media100 list. He rises 4 places from number 44 in last years list. For more info on this list and to read his entry please click here.

The Theatre buildings at risk register is one of the best organisations in the UK at the moment, they look after our beautiful theatre buildings and list the ones most at risk. Sadly since the recession more theatres have had to enter the list and the latest news is that 5 Welsh theatres are at severe risk. This piece from WalesOnline chronicles the story of these theatres, which includes one of the last two standing purpose built music halls the Palace Theatre in Swansea. Please click here to learn more.

Amateur Theatre group the Tower Theatre Company has announced it has permission to build a new Theatre building in Shoreditch on top of the site of the first London Theatre where Shakespeare's work was debuted. For more information please go here.

The Stage has a great review of the Latitude festivals theatre arena. As ever at Latitude there was plenty of cultural events, the one that most interested me though was the improvised musical which played to packed crowds in the cabaret tent. For more info please go here.

Acclaimed Bollywood director Vipul Shah is returning to his roots of the great Indian Theatre alongside that of his wife Shefali Shah a famous Bollywood actor. For more information on this story please click here.

As anyone who reads my blog will know, as a director I love exploring different types of theatre space and writing about them as well. Here is a great article by Dan Rebellato of the Guardian newspaper in which he asks what our problems are with the proscenium arch. It is an excellent read. Please click here.

The One on One festival is in full swing with 10000 performers performing individual pieces of theatre/dance/music in a one on one situation. Much like the smallest theatre in Times Square NY, see previous posts, this festival attempts to breakdown the space between a performer and the audience and get them to interact so there is a deeper involvement in the show for the audience member. The BBC has a great article up about it here.

News from the Four Corners of the Earth Tuesday 6/7/2010

Shrek the Musical is heading to the UK in 2011 as previews for the show start in May next year before the show opens on June the 7th. For more information on this story please click here.

An Actor, as yet unidentified, passed away today at the Minack Theatre Cornwall and had to be airlifted away. A tragic situation to happen in the middle of a play, the actor was not onstage but in the changing area of this unique theatre space. For more on this sad story please click here.

Experiments in Freedom: Explorations of Identity in New South African Drama by Anton Krueger has just been released in South Africa and looks at the post apartheid text plays coming out from there. This is a review of this interesting book, just click here.

New Steven Berkoff production 'Biblical Tales' will debut at the New End Theatre on the 3rd of August. For more information click here.

Valhalla! opens tonight at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow. It is the UK premiere of this play which was written by Paul Rudnick the screenwriter known for his films Addams Family Values, In and Out and The Stepford Wives. For the review please click here. For tickets and info on the Tron Theatre click here.

It seems that Chichester Festival Theatre's production of 42nd Street is really running away with some great notices, here is another review of this fantastic show this time from the Financial Times who award it four stars. To read the review please click here.

There is an excellent article on the BBC website about one womans acsension from a poverty stricken South African Township to international Operatic acclaim. It also talks about how she works to improve the situation in her own country. Check it out here. The film made for Newsnight about her features on tonights Newsnight broadcast at 10:30pm on BBC2.

Bollywood Film Legend Aamir Khan has announced his stage show Peepli Live. For more information please click here.

The plans to create a brand new theatre space in Finsbury Park London have been submitted to the local council. Jez Bond the artistic director of this new project has stated he wants to create a powerhouse of theatre in North London. The Park Theatre will apparently be predominantly a producing house. For more information please click here.

Michael Boyd of the RSC has an interview up on the Guardian website click here to read it.

Upcoming Book: Somethings Coming, Something Good: West Side Story and the American Imagination by Misha Berson

Somethings Coming, Something Good: West Side Story and the American Imagination is a book by Theatre critic for the Seattle Times Misha Berson. Berson has spent many years writing about the theatre getting her first start in the San Francisco theatre scene before moving onto Seattle in the early 1990s. Berson has already written several books on the theatre including 'Between Worlds: Contemporary Asian-American Plays' and 'The San Francisco Stage' and has also contributed to several National Theatre journals in the USA. Berson has also taught courses at the University of Washington  and for San Francisco State.

This book is a critical approach to perhaps one of the most popular musicals of the past century West Side Story. West Side Story is a musical that many people will know either from having seen some sort of production of it, school, community or professional, or from having seen the excellent film adaptation. Based upon the story of Romeo and Juliet the piece follows an American boy Tony who is from a Polish background falling in love with a Puerto Rican Immigrant named Maria. Set against the backdrop of 1950s inner city New York this great love story gets mixed up in the street gang politics of Tony's old group the Jets against Maria's brothers gang the Sharks. It is a wonderful twist to Shakespeare's text and allows a lot of humour and energy to be put into the story. It is one of my favourite musicals because of the excellent soundtrack and the dance sequences which are just phenomenal. This musical influenced a lot of choreographers and dancers and without the work of Jerome Robbins in the piece Michael Jackson may not have come up with many of his now legendary dance routines. It is for these reasons that Berson has written this book as a critical analysis of the plot, the way it is staged, the film adaptation and much more with an aim for fans of the play to read but also as an important resource for potential producers and directors of the play. I think it would be something if I was going to do West Side Story I might take out from a Library or see how cheap it was on Amazon because although it looks good on paper I don't know if I would read a book all about just one play that wasn't say for example just a cliffs notes sort of thing. Still it could be very good and anyone who wishes to pre-order it now from Amazon should go here. It isn't released until May 2011 but the american edition comes out in November and to pre-order that one you should follow this link.

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Pilgrims Performance on Saturday the 3rd of July

On Saturday LibraryGirl and myself attended a special free performance by the Pilgrims drama group of Broadwater. Put on in memory of our friend David Arnold, who passed away in April, and to benefit the charity he taught movement for, Carousel, it was billed as a good ol' music hall event. Having in the past whilst we were involved with the Pilgrims suggested and tried some things out on the idea I knew the group had the ideas to pull off an entertaining night. We arrived at Queen Street Church to find it full, so we had to put out a few chairs ourselves. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, something which generally categorises Pilgrim productions and rehearsals, and our compere was the ever impeccable and charismatic Geoff. The show began with a very funny song and dance number with the Pilgrims leader Mavis leading from the head and showing how treading the boards should be done. We were treated to several songs and sketches, an excellent bit of Illusion, from local Illusionist John Beale, dance pieces and even a Goodies skit! It was wonderful seeing the Pilgrims gang all together having fun doing what they do best, old fashioned family entertainment which elicits as many groans as laughs. In some areas it was embarassing some of the jokes they were telling... but that was the point of doing those jokes. I have seen performances where other performers have tried to elicit that reaction but all they got was silence, embarassment to awkwardness in one easy step. This show was a testament to the energy and enthusiasm the Pilgrims have for what they do.

I have heard it said before that you get what you pay for... well I paid nothing to get in and I got a wonderful hour and a half of sing a long fun and entertaining skits. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and look forward to any further Pilgrims productions. Thank you Pilgrims for a great night and I hope your next show is just as much fun.

To find out more about the Pilgrims or to join the group please go to this link and contact the Parish office.

Actors Audition Speeches for all ages and accents by Jean Marlow

Jean Marlow has worked in virtually all aspects of the film and theatre industry from teaching and training at Guildhall, working at the Royal Court Theatre and working for the Walt Disney Company she has done it all. Marlow is also the co-director of The Actors' Theatre School which runs courses for performers wishing to get into drama school giving them a firm grounding to get into the institution of their choice.

This book is one of a series of books that cover monologues for auditions and dualogues for doubles work. I have used these books many times over the last ten years, first in High School then throughout college and University. To say that these books are a familar sight in drama studios and school libraries nationwide is no understatement, these books may be the most popular in the industry. Why? Probably because of the incredible depth and breadth of material suggested within these pages. There are many different age groups and nationalities represented by the various monologues in the book. However something I never looked over when I was first given this book to find a monologue in was the first few bits of information regarding auditioning. This for me puts this book up there as one of the best resources for schools and colleges, because it is exactly the type of information that young performers need to know that they may not get from their drama lessons. These are covered in the articles; About Auditioning and What Auditioners Look For which in my mind answer everything a performer could ask, questions like 'If I don't get chosen what did I do wrong?' and 'How do I apply to Drama School?'. There are also statements from people within the industry on how they cast people and what they want to see when people come to an audition, all very helpful and insightful. Of course this information is from 1995 so the advice is 15 years old but still very helpful and useful.

The monologues range from Shakespeare to Hare and covers many regions and dialects. There is something for everyone. I would highly reccommend this book to anyone who needs a set of audition pieces to hand and in this industry, who doesn't?

To purchase your own copy of this wonderful book then please go here.

News from the Four Corners of the Earth Monday the 5th July 2010

An Art Deco theatre in Vancouver Canada currently going through a $2 million restoration has announced a program of 200 shows in the coming year including films, concerts and live performances. For more information and pictures of this beautiful venue available here.

The Times has a brilliant article up by Matthew Bell regarding Libby Purves and her new position as a critic at the paper. Follow this link here.

Jonathan Kent and Paul Brown are putting together a production of Don Giovanni for the Glyndebourne which is covered by Michael Church in the Independent. Church talks about the history of this piece of Opera and how it is viewed by people and how it is a tough piece to direct. It is a fantastic read, check it out here.

Reviews from Chichester Festival Theatre and Regents Park London from Claudia Pritchard at the Independant. Have a read here.

The Theatre Royal Bath has shut for the next two months to go through a £3 million restoration. To find more information on the work being done and history of the building please click here.

Eastbourne Herald journalist Ian Lucas criticises the Eastbourne Council for their pricing structure for a recent production of the Sound of Music which led to the theatre only having 50% seating occupancy. Pricing for the regional theatre is always going to be a big issue, and also something very hard to get right, and this article has some great statistics and makes some very good arguements against London prices on the South Coast. Check it out here.

Theatre Royal at Halifax has been put up for sale for £1 million with a view to be converted into a hotel, the planning permission is already in place, for more info please click here.

The Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham is to recieve £500000 to restore its Auditorium. For the BBC article please follow this link.

More news tomorrow.

Retro Review: Ivanov Donmar Season 2008

One from the vaults, one of my first reviews from two years ago.

The Donmar Warehouse is one of the leading producing theatres in London; they started in 1992 with the work of famed director Sam Mendes. The Warehouse has consistently had famous and well renowned film actors on the stage with them. In 2007 Ewan McGregor starred in Othello, however due to the massive demands for tickets in the relatively small 250 seat space the manager Michael Grandage announced the West End Season. The West End Season takes productions developed by the Donmar Warehouse and puts them on in the 750 seat Wyndhams Theatre in the heart of London’s West End. The first show was the Chekov piece Ivanov in a new version by Tom Stoppard, starring Kenneth Branagh it kicked off the season with a bang. On the night we attended the theatre was packed to the point where there were only standing tickets left with many people choosing to watch the show from the aisles. This led to the feel of a real event within the theatre, something which is missing in my opinion when it comes to plays. Many speculated this excitement was due to the fact that Branagh was playing the lead, but the Donmar also has a deal on their tickets to make the theatre more accessible to larger audiences. However when the play started and Branagh made his first appearance on stage it was a striking image, this man, this modern day Olivier was taking to the stage in a very complex role and he pulled it off perfectly. From the beginning to the end Branagh portrayed the character of a man falling deeper and deeper into his own melancholy and inevitable insanity with such care and insight it was physically moving. His energy as Ivanov was erratic yet calming, he never let up for a second with his portrayal, the moments when Ivanov was not the centre of attention he was still quietly brooding, even whilst playing the guitar in the drab living room of his neighbours you could see the internal dialogue and anxiety playing in his mind. Branagh was not the only bright star in this production, the supporting cast was fantastic and featured some brilliant performances and familiar faces. Kevin R McNally, famous as Johnny Depp’s first mate in Pirates of the Carribean, gave a fantastic performance as the drunken friend of Ivanov who is always looking for a good business deal. His levity brought a great balance to a piece which was weighed down by the depressing attitude of Ivanov and his nemesis Lvov, played by a fantastic Tom Hiddleston.

The emotional movement of this piece was rapid and played out in a very artistic way. With Chekov there is always an issue with the play being too morbid, too depressing but within this production you could see that Michael Grandage, the director, had made sure that the moments of comedy were exploited fully to give the audience an entertaining experience over all. The biggest praise I can give this production though is that because of the fantastic performances and the wonderful set by Christopher Oram I truly lost myself many times throughout the piece in this world of pre communist Russia. If you get the chance to see any of the other Donmar productions at the Wyndham I recommend you take it, a great night of theatre for a good price.

News from the Four Corners of the Earth: Tuesday the 28th June 2010

John Willis the editor of american publication Theatre World has passed away aged 93. Theatre World was a magazine which chronicled and recorded the shows on Broadway and awarded performers for their work in the industry. A very respected critic and writer in America he edited four magazines during his career all to do with performing arts. His obituary can be read here.

Aberdeens Tivoli Theatre which has been acting as a bingo hall since the theatre closed in the late 90s is going to be revitalised to its previous glory since being purchased last year by a new owner. More info here.

Kneehigh theatre are bringing their new show to the West End this coming February following a preview in Leicester also in February. Based on a French film, the Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a love story in the classic vein. Catherine Deneuve starred in the 1964 film version. More info available here.

Designing for the Theatre by Francis Reid: Review

Designing for the Theatre by Francis Reid (second edition 1996) is a Routledge book on how to design for the theatre. Francis Reid taught Lighting design at RADA for nearly 20 years and has toured the world giving lectures on Theatre design. He is one of the best teachers of his subject in the world. An educational book which aims at the post A Level student and amateur enthusiast who wish to design either at college/university or for their local society or group; this book goes through the various stages of design. Starting on chapter one with the role of design through the history of the theatre space onto the various whys and how to design up to how to critically evaluate a design. This book has everything for the budding student to help them along with their studies or, as I said before, everything for someone just interested in what designing for theatre entails. The book is full of diagrams of theatres, design schematics and concepts as well as photos from several notable productions where the design featured heavily in the show which gives clear examples of how design works and adds to the theatrical experience. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the design aspects of the theatre. I found it a very easy read because of the writing which covers every aspect in a descriptive but not too technical way so you don’t have to have knowledge of theatre design or the technologies to read it. My favourite chapters are chapter 2 which are The Theatrical Building and chapter 5 Some Practicalities. The Theatrical Building covers all the different types of theatre space or theatre you are likely to come across and how that can influence the design and help inform the work produced. Some Practicalities is for me a breath of fresh air as you sometimes read textbooks and it just says how to do something, this book whilst telling you what to do in this chapter lays out some of the things you have to remember when putting together a theatre design, from budget to sightlines. Overall this is one of my favourite books in my collection and an excellent resource to reference to and re-read when I need it. You can still buy this on Amazon.co.uk despite being printed in 1996, in fact you can get it for a fairly low price before postage costs, and you can find it here.

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News from the Four Corners of the Earth: Tuesday the 22nd June 2010

'Anything Goes' that firm favourite of amateur companies and societies the whole world over is getting another Broadway revival next year. It is being put on by the Roundabout Theatre Company at a theatre to be announced soon, previews begin in February. For more information please follow this link.

A Michael Jackson Plaque will be unveiled at the Lyric Theatre in London, the venue that currently houses 'Thriller Live', it will be put up in memory of the late Michael Jackson and will feature a special show with former cast members and special guests. For more info please click here.

La Cage Aux Folles success story continues on Broadway by breaking yet another record. Click here for more.

Review: Hazlitt on Theatre a Brilliant Resource and History Book

William Hazlitt, born in 1778, was the son of a devout Unitarian Minister and as such Hazlitt was sent to study all the classic texts and mathematics whilst also training to follow in his fathers footsteps to one day become a Minister as well. Sadly William lost his faith and never became a Minister instead because of his background education in classics, maths and philosophy he pursued a career in the latter. Studying throughout the late 1700s the various attempts he made to write his essay on the human mind he had to eventually earn a living, as such he became a painter doing several commissioned copies of the masters in Paris and original pieces by him hung in the Royal Academy. In 1805 he finally printed his essay ‘An Essay on the Principles of Human Action: Being an Argument in favour of the Natural Disinterestedness of the Human Mind’ and moved on to lecturing on Politics and wrote a book on English Grammar. Then in 1812 he got his first job as a journalist, he became a parliamentary reporter for the Morning Chronicle. In 1813 he started writing literature criticism and drama criticism for the Chronicle. That is the source for many of the essays within Hazlitt on Theatre.

Essays include: Mr Kean's Othello

                            The Tempest

                            The School For Scandal

                            Mrs Siddon's

                            Mr Kembles Retirement

                            Conversation on Drama with Coleridge

                            On Actors and Acting

                            Minor Theatres - Strolling Players

Hazlitt on Theatre is a collection of dramatic criticisms from the early 19th century. These are perhaps the first real reviews in popular print and as such are different from the type of work we see today. The essays are generally reports on how well the performance went down whilst also discussing some of the techniques he observed. Hazlitt also compares a lot of different performances of plays, when watching a Shakespeare he will compare different actors portrayals of the same characters. His knowledge of the Shakespearean text is also incredibly fascinating; he gives a very clear insight into the reading and interpretation of Shakespeare in the early 1800s. Whilst this is a good thing it also shows how drastically different the ideas on theatre at the beginning of the 19th century were than at the end. Coming from the Romantic era of Theatre Hazlitt will not have seen a true naturalistic performance of a play as the style was not yet prominent and was definitely not seen on London stages, in fact the closest he gets is perhaps the revolutionary work of Edmund Kean. However it becomes obvious throughout reading Hazlitt’s work that he is hinting at a more naturalistic performance and is urging the theatre to move towards it in his opinions, he just did not know how what he said in the 1813 would become the norm in 1913. The only problem I find with the work of Hazlitt is that his literary knowledge can occasionally colour his opinion of the dramatic work on the stage, in this he is in many ways no different from the other critics of the time who for example were shocked an appalled that Edmund Kean would go against the convention of what a Jew looked like in Measure for Measure, except with Hazlitt as I have said he would go to the text for evidence to rubbish a performance. I read his review of Kean’s Iago and was really excited to read in very good detail how Kean went about portraying one of my favorite characters but Hazlitt moved into what we would probably call today a rant, although it is well backed up with evidence, on how the play calls for Iago to be played. The irony of this complaint is that later on in the book he goes on to lambast Kean for listening to the Theatre Managers directions on how a character should be played, it seems for Hazlitt the words and intentions of Shakespeare are basically written in stone and that there should be no movement for artistic interpretation.

I initially picked up Hazlitt on Theatre mainly to read about the Regency superstar Edmund Kean but found myself drawn in by the way he wrote about the theatre, I could see in many ways the way the play was performed like a little video from 1813. It is amazing that Hazlitt is so widely forgotten today, for a man who dipped his toes in so many of the arts it is a shame he isn’t more lauded for his excellent work. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to read about the Regency theatre, to anyone interested in Edmund Kean and to anyone who wants to read critical examinations of the work of Shakespeare. A truly wonderful book that kept me fascinated throughout and one that is vital for any Theatre Historian.

Xtofer

News from the Four Corners of the Earth Tuesday 8/6/2010

Trouble is brewing at the Nigerian National Theatre at the moment regarding the potential privatisation of the venue and the previous General Manager Mallam Kabir Yusuf. The problem is getting so bad there have been peaceful protests and meetings. For more information on this situation please go to this page here.

CODYS productions winners of the NODA Northwest Award 2009 will get the chance to perform in Billy Elliot in the West End on July the 18th. They will also be producing their own production later that month in St Helens. For more info please visit this page.

In Chicago they recently held their Theatrical Non-Equity Jeff Awards, it means those who work professionally without the aid of the union, and the results have just been released. For the results please go here.

Steph Fearon a semi finalist of the BBCs 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' has just landed a role in Smokey Joes Cafe which opens at the Landor Theatre Clapham for 5 weeks commencing July the 13th. More info available here.

Review for the National Theatre of Scotlands Little Johnny's Big Gay Wedding, available here.

A robbery at the Chichester Festival Theatre left a 20 year old man in Hospital after the robbers stole several thousand pounds. For more information please go here.

Kenneth Branagh has lent his support to the Lyric Theatre of Belfast. The Lyric Theatre requires £17.5 million for its redevelopment, fundraising started in 2003 and they have nearly reached their target. For more information check out this webpage.

Jake Maskall and Liam Bergin (Danny Moon and Danny Mitchell from Eastenders) will be performing at the Victorian Park in Chester over the Summer Season in a variety of theatrical productions including Much Ado About Nothing and Hercules. For more info go here.

An American college trustee opposes funds for play depicting a homosexual Jesus. Please go here.

Political Theatre is alive and strong in Russia where a new production in Moscow based on the life of Sergei Magnitsky is running from the 5th of June. For more information look here.

Fantastic Piece on BBC Website: Theatre goes underground

I love alternative venues and when they have money and passion behind them they can truly create and embrace new works that seem more intense than your standard play. An underground space is something that has been toyed with in many cities around the world and the latest it seems is The Old Vic Tunnels in London. Situated under Waterloo Station this venue is incredibly unique and imposing and the BBC has made a short video about the venue and the current works along with a very good article both of which could be found on this page here.

Theatre Programmes: The World Of Suzie Wong The Prince of Wales Theatre 1959

In 1959 following a successful Broadway production featuring William Shatner, the play The World of Suzie Wong opened at the Prince of Wales in London. Based on the novel by Richard Mason it later became a very successful film starring William Holden among others.

One of my favourite things about these old programmes is the adverts within them.

Improv Video of the Day: Another Weird Newscaster

News from the Four Corners of the Earth

News from Everywhere:

The 4th oldest working theatre in the UK, The Kenton Theatre in Henley-on-Thames, is currently raising money to keep itself open. The freehold is currently up for sale and the venue needs £220000 by the end of July to keep the venue open and has received support from locals in the form of a BBQ fundraiser this past Bank Holiday Monday raising £4000. For more information on this story please go here. For more information on the Kenton Theatre please go here.

Charlie Sheen may or may not be allowed to teach budding actors and help the non profit theatre Theatre Aspen in Colorado USA. This will be decided today 7/6/2010 by a judge due to Sheen's current legal woes. More information available here.

Romeo and Juliet is currently being shown at the Leicester Square Theatre but with a difference, set in 1930s fascist Italy this production brings a rawness to the text and a true violent undercurrent provided by the background story of a young Jew and daughter of a prominent Fascist leader falling in love. The review by Libby Purves of the Times Newspaper can be found here.

Catherine Zeta Jones may miss out on her chance of winning a Tony Award because of her current viral infection. Being unable to speak or sing she has had to miss several performances and right around now the Tony voters are going to see the shows and actors nominated, if they cannot see her perform then they won't be able to vote for her. Further information is available here.

A South Coast Theatre Group, the Oasis Youth Theatre from Southampton, won the All-England Theatre Festivals top prize and named the best theatre group in England. They will move onto the finals of the UKs top theatre group in Scotland. However they need to raise £7000 to get there, there is more information on the competition and their fundraising here.

The Telegraphs Rupert Christiansen covers the rebuilding work of both the Old Vic and National Theatre at this link here.

In Ottawa Canada the fringe festival is ready to go ahead with over 70 productions being shown. More information can be found here.

Xtofer

Just A Small One: Teatrino

Included in the "Guinness Book of World Records" 1997 as the smallest historic theatre audience in the world of the theatre Vetriano measures only 71 square meters, but is full of all that is required to put on a theatrical production. Built in 1890, it features a trapeze and two tiers of balconies. In the 1980s fears over the structural integrity of the building forced it to close. Thanks to the FAI delegation of Lucca, the property was acquired by the Foundation and is committed to restoring the theatre and make it fit for use again.  It currently hosts events in collaboration with the Academy of TEATRO ALLA SCALA.

Released Soon: Routledge Drama Anthology and Sourcebook Maggie B Gale 04/08/2010

Covering 5 sections of the theatre this sourcebook will look at the evolution of the modern era of theatre beginning in the 19th Century. The 5 sections span; Naturalism and Symbolism, The Historical Avant-Garde, Early Political Theatre, The Performance of Ideology and Contemporary Performance. Featuring extracts from theoretical writings and reviews, parts of plays and introductions by the editors Maggie B Gale and John Deeney. Professor Maggie Gale is the chair of Drama at Manchester University and has had two books already printed on woman within theatre and contributed to several books on the history of theatre. John Deeney is the head of Drama at MMU, Manchester Metropolitan University, and has written books on Mark Ravenhill and is very well respected in his field. This book looks to be a must for many students as well as those interested in the history of the theatre. Perhaps this will be another essential textbook for anyone studying drama although there are plenty out there already, I believe that books like this which annotate and analyse other sources are a boon for any student but to a certain extent cannot match the freedom and experience of finding theories and techniques through reading as much material as possible. So yes its good there is another book that gives us this sort of information but don’t we need our theatre students to research more themselves? In closing I will say that my opinion above is not a knock on the editors or Routledge themselves just on the fact that these sorts of books should be the start of someones research and not the only source of research which ultimately has been my experience of many students work.

 

Out on the 4th of August it is available at amazon.co.uk in paperback here for the price of: £28.49 and FREE delivery

Xtofer

Improv Video of the Day: Another Weird Newscaster

Theatre Programmes: The Art Of Living at the Criterion Theatre London 1960

During August 1960 a new review based on the satirical writings of Art Buchwald named 'The Art Of Living' was produced at the Criterion Theatre in London for Donmar Productions. Starring a young Edward Woodward this revue wasn't really a huge success but was a fine example of the work of lyricist Julian More who is famous for his work on Expresso Bongo. Here is the cover of the shows programme and below you will find pictures of the inside of the programme.

Just a Small One: The Salvini Theatre

Much in the vein of Teatro Della Concordia my next JASO post is also a small Italian Theatre. This one though is settled in the Province of Imperia. This once rotting and neglected theatre is once again beautiful and entertaining both tourists and the locals. Originally built as a communal oven in 1834 a passionate man named Giuseppe worked tirelessly to get all the plans and licenses he needed to turn it into a theatrical space. It was remodeled on, yet again, the classic Italian Opera Houses and boasts a 43 sq meter stage, stalls and boxes. The theatre can sit approximately 90 people. These tiny Italian theatres are truly beautiful.

Xtofer