Kala Chethena Kathakali live at the Connaught Theatre Worthing 31.05.15 REVIEW

Kala Chethena Kathakli Company

Last month LibraryGirl and myself attended a fantastic event at the Connaught Theatre in Worthing. It was a piece of Dance Theatre called Hima Sundari and was performed by the Kala Chetena Kathakali Company. This event was absolutely fantastic from start to finish and was a refreshing change from the general thing we go to see at the theatre. 

Our first knowledge of this performance was an exhibition of the costumes being shown at Worthing Museum in our hometown. As long time readers may remember LibraryGirl is a fan of many parts of Indian culture and it was her who introduced me to Bollywood so when we saw this exhibition advertised we made sure we visited. We got to see the fantastic costumes of this brilliant art form up close and they are breath taking! Real works of art that are worn in performance made by artisans from Kerala who have trained and done this work for many years.

The show was absolutely fantastic, well staged and they gave us a lecture before the show that provided lots of information about the art form and the company itself. The dance style is very expressive and this helps the story make sense and conveys the emotions and thoughts of the characters very well. There were moments of humour, joy, romance and horror within the show which made it truly immersive. LibraryGirl and myself really enjoyed the show and the price was very reasonable for a show as good as this.

Please go and visit their site here and if they are coming near you, you owe it to yourself to buy tickets because it truly is a magnificent show.

Monologue by Harold Pinter Vlog by Me

Hi please find in this post my very first vlog! Any feedback you can give me below would be very happily received.

I hope you enjoy this vlog.

Chris

Monologue by Harold Pinter - my ambitions!

I am a creature of habit and it seems that when I have an idea it becomes stuck and I cannot shake it. This must seem to you the reader a good thing but imagine you have an idea when 20, you then never fulfil or give life and breath to that idea or plan. Time passes in a a manner that seems like slipping sands, before you know it you are 28 and the idea still bugs you. This is the current state I find myself in. Monologue by Pinter is an enigma of a theatrical piece that I have both obsessed over and pursued the past 8 years. I have at times recorded and posted my own version of the audio of a performance. If I am honest with myself the audio I have posted in the past has been incredibly poor and not fitting my abilities as an orator let alone an actor. It is time to put the past to bed, to put the reputation on the line and finally do a real performance of the piece. So my aim over the coming weeks and months is to rehearse and provide a couple of recordings to my youtube account showing the evolution of the piece. With half term looming I am hoping to have a recording up within two weeks.

Loring Mandel's 'Conspiracy' and how my vision came to life... just not by me.

Throughout my life I have been passionate about several things but I would say my two biggest are history and theatre. Growing up I was obsessed with WWII, not in a weird way, and watched hundreds of programmes about the evil that happened during that war and the people involved. It fascinated me and the main reason was because it throws up so many uncomfortable questions about the nature of humanity. Even today I cannot fathom what caused an entire section of Europe to ignore and dismiss the plight of certain sections of society or to justify them. I couldn't understand when younger the powerful weapon of fear and what it could do to nations and to the world. It is my lack of understanding and my desire to reconcile the facts with what I would do in that situation that dragged me back again and again to programmes about the Nazi's and the atrocities that were committed during those six years. When I reached University I was given the opportunity to play several characters in 'Fear and Misery of the Third Reich' a play by Bertolt Brecht which studies the culture of fear and the changing of the German society from within during the 1930s. It is a chilling play which I have never forgotten. I made it my mission to research as much as possible in the rehearsal period of the play, as an actor I make it my own personal quest to learn all I can regarding my character and setting, and part of what I wanted to look at was other plays/films about the Nazi regime and how they approached the stories. So I made a list including films such as 'Cabaret' and 'Bent', both of which I had previously seen and the latter being a play I never wish to witness again due to its content, then I looked into other pieces such as 'Hitler: Rise of Evil' before coming across Loring Mandel's wonderful work 'Conspiracy'.

'Conspiracy' is a dramatisation of the Wannsee Conference, the meeting of Nazi officials and beauracrats who put together the plan of how to exterminate the jews. It was written by Loring Mandel who took the minutes of the meeting, all of which were supposed to have been destroyed, and wove this script together. It is severely chilling and incredibly effective, if you have not seen it before please watch the following clip.

('Conspiracy' was written by Loring Mandel and produced by the BBC and HBO in 2001. It is distributed by HBO and its copyright belongs to those mentioned)

That is a real conversation that actually happened. The men on that day in that room applauded the idea of disposing of 60,000 people a day. It sickened me, not the fact that it happened as we know historically it did, the fact that these men sat around and allowed these horrific things to be said. The idea that fear drove them to such hatred, that the cost of a human life meant nothing to these people and it hit me in a way that I didn't expect. It made the whole situation seem more real and to hear this group of men discuss the way that their goverment would commit genocide and justify it was shocking.

After leaving University the film 'Conspiracy' stayed with me and I began to want to work towards a theatrical production of it. It struck me that it was a fantastic stage play, a sort of Nazi 12 angry men, and that it would be an excellent piece for students of WWII and the holocaust to see. In 2009 I tried finding out how to get hold of the script for the piece. I tried all the usual online film script websites and forums but found nothing. I then did a lot of research on the writer Loring Mandel and found out his agents information. I contacted his agent in LA several times and got no replies, I didn't really expect to as after all I was just some young actor from the UK wanting to put on a play. I didn't give up though, I kept researching Mandel and came across a contact which may or may not have been his family and I thought 'what the heck' so I emailed this contact and it was Mandel's family. They were incredibly nice and helpful and put me in touch with Loring. I got into contact with him and explained how much I loved his film and what I wanted to do with the play if it was available to be performed, rumours had been rife since 2001 that he was going to stage a production in NY, and that I would be using it as an educational tool. I didn't get anywhere with my enquiries but Loring Mandel and the rest of the Mandel family treated me so nicely I just notched it up as a failure that although disappointing was not a dead loss as I got to email someone I greatly admired. I would like to thank the Mandel family again for their help and politeness.

I hadn't given up on one day seeing 'Conspiracy' as a stage play as after all it was a popular film and on numerous occaisions Mandel himself said he wanted to do it. Well in 2010 a theatre company in Michigan managed to get the rights from Mandel to perform the play, the story about the process can be found at this link here, and in November 2011 it was performed for the very first time at the Riverwalk Theatre in Lansing Michigan. I am glad to hear it finally got performed and I hope the power of the piece came through. Sometimes its annoying when you know something would be a good play or production and for whatever reasons you do not get to accomplish what you want but knowing that it has now been performed and has been realised makes me happy. Plus who knows maybe one day the UK premiere of this wonderful play will be a FPTheatre Productions event directed by Christopher Squire... we can hope and plan... now where is that email address?

Back from Hiatus and Olympics Opening Ceremony

And I'm back!

Hello to all my readers out there! I just wanted to say that I am back from my hiatus. I know this blog has gone dark in the past for months on end but this past month and a half has just been a break for a couple of big life moments. LibraryGirl and I got married in the middle of July and just got back from honeymoon which has delayed any posting. So henceforth LibraryGirl will be referred to as MrsHeadTheatre or MrsHT. Apart from my happy nuptials in the past month I got to see 'Sweeney Todd' on the West End stage starring Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton it was...

'What happened then, well thats the play, And he wouldn't want us to give it away. Not Sweeney, Not Sweeney Todd. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street!'

So expect a review to make its appearance on this blog very soon.

Anyone who hasn't been living under a rock for the past year would know that currently London is holding the Olympic Games. Sport is a different type of drama that is for certain but the theatricality of the United Kingdom shone through with the opening ceremony. There were many claims before the production even aired that it had no chance of matching China's efforts back in Beijing mainly based on the fact that most people hated the British involvement in the 2008 Olympics closing ceremony. The general consensus was that the bus which opened to reveal musicians and dancers... etc was eccentric and strange. Well last Friday night we showed that yes the UK is full of eccentric artists who can do wonders with choreography, music and lighting. Danny Boyle's production unfolded like a beautiful dream which all, in this writers opinion, revolved around the central theme of the Shakespearian qoute:

Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices,
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again

Of course the fact that it involved Sir Branagh, a personal hero of mine, and contained some of my favourite music tracks kept me pleased. However Boyle showed himself to be a master of imagery when he seared into every viewers memories the sight of 5 interlinking Olympic rings hammered from hot steel. That and the sight of James Bond with HRH Queen Elizabeth the II are probably the two things people will remember from this games opening ceremony but I think a lot should be said for the NHS staff who danced so enthusiastically during their segment and who just gave their all... plus the drummers in the Industrial section who carried on drumming all night it seemed. The technicians on this show proved why the UK still produces the best musicals in the World and has the best film crews. All in all a wonderful production which I hope gets released on bluray so I can have a copy of it.

So I shall be back to provide a review for Sweeney Todd, I'm not sure if it will be a vlog or just a written blog but you can be sure to find it here along with all my theatrical musings in the coming weeks and months as I head for 10,000 page views.

'The Ticket of Leave Man' produced at the Olympic on the 26th of May 1863

The Olympic Theatre played host to the premiere of a melodrama named 'Ticket of Leave Man' on the 26th of May 1863. The play was written by Tom Taylor and was based on the French play 'Le Retour de Melun' by Eduard-Louis-Alexandre Brisebarre. The plot follows a man trying to clear his name after he is accused of being a serial killer. Over the next four acts the drama builds and builds until it reaches a face off in a churchyard! It was a popular enough melodrama for it to tour nationally and then to eventually be reused as a source for an early British film starring Tod Slaughter. The works of Tod Slaughter as an actor have generally been ignored and forgotten, however a happy side effect of this is that his films have generally fallen out of copyright due to nobody renewing it and therefore these films are available in the public domain. So if you want to see the 1937 film production of this title, you can find it on www.archive.org by clicking on this link... here.

Magic tricks are theatre 1

Since a very young age I have loved magic tricks. Paul Daniels was on television all the time when I was younger and his energy and funny voice, I was a child I thought his voice was funny, suckered me in and then voila he would dazzle me with some illusion. I have since seen him live twice and have always enjoyed being tricked by magicians and illusionists. Magic tricks are obviously a huge part of theatre as the greatest special effects have generally begun as tricks designed by magicians over the years for their stage shows. I will not go into detail about magic as I am just a fan but I will be on occasion posting videos of tricks I have seen that have obviously been used outside the magicians act, generally in the theatre. The first is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen, its a floating light bulb that lights up despite not being attached to any power source... that's fine I could probably explain that (if I wanted to ruin the fun) but the floating part... it is just insane... if you don't believe me just watch.

I give you Harry Blackstone Jr and the Floating light bulb illusion (the video is from 1977 but he had apparently been performing it since 1962)

I believe part of this illusion has recently been used in the Broadway Musical 'The Addams Family.'



Just a Small One: The Wynd Theatre Melrose Scotland

Today's 'Just A Small One' is the Wynd Melrose in Melrose, Scotland. It has 90 seats and is designed to be used by small touring theatre companies, dance troupes and musical groups. It also has facilities that allows it to be used as a conference centre.

Now looking at their website and current shows it does not show anything apart from shows from last year. So if anyone knows if the theatre has shut down or not please let me know. However I hope it has not shut down because small venues like these really provide an important service to communities. To find out more please click here.

7/5/1663 Charles the II is on the throne so lets party and open the Drury Lane Theatre!

Three years after the Restoration which gave King Charles II his throne and the Puritans, who had shut down all the theatres, were removed from their positions of power, the Theatre Royal, Bridges Street, was built. It was not until later that it would be known as Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It was 1663 and London was at the height of its post Puritan debauchery, the banned plays were popular again and the King himself commanded performances to be put on to the delight of people all over the capital. The era gave us the still popular Restoration comedy genre which is typified by their bawdy and sexual content. The first production shown at the theatre was 'The Humorous Luietenant' by John Fletcher, a play that was debuted less than 50 years before by the last of Shakespeare's theatre company. The great diarist Samuel Pepys wrote a review of both the theatre and the production from the opening night, you can find the diary year 1663 on this page here, and was critical of the building. The building survived the Great Fire of 1666 but the previous year had been shut down due to an outbreak of the plague. After surviving the fire the theatre thrived once again until it burned down in 1672. Its replacement, the second Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, was built in 1674 and would remain for another 120 years.

On this date in 1680 Susanna Centlivre aka Susanna Carroll was born. Carroll is known to have been a contemporary of Aphra Behn and only a step behind her as the 'Second Woman of the English Stage.' It is believed that Carroll joined the Drury Lane Theatre in 1700 and in that first year the theatre produced her play 'The Perjur'd Husband' which was a risque tragedy. It was a hit which made her reputation as both a writer and an actor. Carroll wrote 19 plays and numerous poems and pressed through her writing the need for equality between men and women. She died in 1723 from a prolonged illness, she is buried in The Actors' Church, Covent Garden, London. 

5/5 1883 Fedora opens at the Haymarket

(Mrs Bernard Beere as Fedora)

Fedora is a play by French author Victorien Sardou who originally wrote it for the legendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt. I was unable to find the plot of the play, if anyone knows please let me know! It opened in France in 1882 and within a year an English translation by H. Merivale was ready to be staged in London starring both Mr and Mrs Bancroft the actor-managers of the Haymarket theatre. Mrs Bernard Beere starred as Fedora. Mrs Beere had made her debut on the stage in 1877 and moved from company to company until signing up with the Bancrofts in 1883. By the 1890s Beere had joined Wyndham's company of actors and played in many productions including Wildes' 'A Woman of No Importance' opposite Herbert Tree. Beere passed away in 1915 at the age of 59.

I found the photo above in the V&A's Theatre collection, you can read about the photo and a little about the history of theatrical photographs by clicking on this link... here.

There is online at www.abebooks.co.uk a programme for sale of the 1883 production of Fedora at the Haymarket... imagine that, a piece of Theatrical Ephemera from 129 years ago... so if you're interested in the item please click here.

Of course reading this you are probably wondering 'Does Fedora the play have anything to do with the hat?'. The answer would be yes. Sarah Bernhardt was such a trendsetter that when she wore the Fedora hat onstage, at the time the Fedora was a feminine style hat, it wasn't until the very late 1800s that it became more of a men's style. 

Today in Theatrical History: 4th May

On the 4th of May 1894 'A Story of Waterloo' by Arthur Conan Doyle opened at the Lyceum Theatre, London. Written before Conan Doyle's career exploded with the success of his well known character Sherlock Holmes, this play, based upon his short story from 1891, 'A Straggler of '15', was deemed good enough for Henry Irving who as manager of the Lyceum bought the rights to the play in an instant.  The play is about the last remaining soldier, Corporal Gregory Brewster, from the 3rd Guard who fought at Hougoumont during the Battle of Waterloo. It sees  Brewster being visited in his very old age by soldiers who wish to meet a hero of Waterloo. The piece was deemed by Irving to be, 'written for him' and he was determined to produce it with all his melodramatic flair. All who had been given the script to read beforehand and those who saw the rehearsals attested to the piece being a tear jerker and a great play for Irving to act. It was of course a piece that only served Irving for it is essentially 45 minutes of him acting while 3 other characters support his performance with minimal importance.

 The decision that Irving would debut the piece in a nationwide tour is odd, after all the Lyceum, whilst not producing its best work in 1894, was still a highly respected theatre and a play by the most popular crime author of the day would be incredibly well received by the London audience. It did, however, gain almost rave reviews throughout the provinces with many reviewers feeling lucky to have brought a play before the London audience. Although the play is a good example of Victorian melodrama it was chosen because, as Bram Stoker who worked for Irving at the Lyceum declared, it is an 'acting play'. So the play was a regional success and many people declared it a wonderful piece, so why is it that there is so little information out there about the production?

W. Davis King's book 'Henry Irving's Waterloo', from which I learnt much about this production, blames the reviews of George Bernard Shaw. In volume one of Shaw's 'Our Theatres In The Nineties' we find his review of the production. The review begins with a very strong attack on Irving as an actor declaring that Henry Irving is a ridiculous actor on the stage who acts absurd because of his restrained character off the stage. Then follows two pages of dressing down Irving's various performances before we even get to 'A Story of Waterloo'. Shaw begins on the subject of the play by saying the reason it is perceived so well is due to the writing skills and tricks of Conan Doyle. Shaw admits it is an acting play but then says that all that means is that it is a play which does not require the actors to do much. Shaw makes an argument that once an audience knows the age of the main character, the setting and the other characters half the battle has been won in convincing them of the world they are about to see on stage. He then goes on to break down the play bit by bit pointing out how pretty much any person could be given Irving's role and be a success. Shaw then supposes that Irving knew that hardly any acting was required and had planned to hoodwink the audience into believing more of his hype that he was the greatest actor of the day. Once finished with Irving, Shaw decides to dress down Conan Doyle by describing how he 'exploited' the audience, Shaw does give Doyle credit by saying it is ingenious, and compared the Battle of Waterloo to a, 'stand-up street fight between an Englishman and a Frenchman'. Shaw finishes the article by freely admitting that he wants to 'drive sketches such as A Story of Waterloo... away to the music hall' and given that when researching for this piece I found minimal information on the play it seems he succeeded.

 I do not know if the play is really any good, I have not read it, but I have read the short story it is based on 'A Straggler of '15' and I found it moving even by today's standards. Melodramatic? Yes, but it is a good, little, sad story and I can see from reading it why Conan Doyle turned it into a play. If anyone has  seen a copy of this play or has seen a production of it please let me know as I am interested in learning more about it.

Review: Penny Theatres Of Victorian London by Paul Sheridan

Recently with the aim of improving my knowledge of Theatre LibraryGirl went into the reserve section of our local Library and looked for titles not normally found on the shelves. LibraryGirl found this book among her first haul of borrowings and brought it back. I should explain that apart from the names Ellen Terry and Henry Irving I know nothing about Victorian Theatre, this is for many reasons chief amongst them being that:

A)  With the move from Romanticism in the 1800s to the Realistic form of theatre spearheaded by Stanislavski and Chekov and eventual influence of the myriad of art movements in the 20th Century the Victorian Theatre can be forgotten and dismissed.

B) When I was studying at University I showed an interest in looking at Victorian Melodrama but was looked at as if I had a second head. I feel that in our industry as it is today there is an attitude towards Victorian Theatre that it is more archaic and less artistically viable than Greek Theatre.

I saw the cover of this book then read the first page and found myself immersed almost instantaneously. I have an interest in Music Hall, Vaudeville and now in Penny Gaffs thanks to this book. Paul Sheridan the author of this work says that the impetus for the book was an old pamphlet he found in a Soho bookshop and that like me once he started reading about the Penny Theatres he couldn't stop. The book is essentially a precis of the pamphlet Sheridan found in Soho with additional material sourced from various collections and just a few insights from Sheridan. What I found interesting in the book was the various accounts of these places made by members of the Victorian Establishment who looked down on these venues and their content. I also found it shocking to read that the entertainments within these venues were playing to children... yes children. The most violent stories from the Penny Dreadfuls would make their way to the Penny Gaff stage, the real life murders committed by Jack the Ripper were immensely popular and made more spectacularly violent, the most famous Shakespeare plays were cut down to 20 minutes and just featured the bloodiest and sensational parts. It shocked me because of the fact that these children would steal, beg and sell their bodies to get into these theatres and that these venues were the only thing keeping these children happy through their harsh and generally short lives. I also couldn't help drawing comparisons to my own youth when many of my friends would watch highly violent films whilst underage and how there is this big idea in our society about children being exposed to violence so young. However here it was, the very same problem from my youth was widespread in many of the major cities of the UK in the Victorian age but the difference is that back then these children's lives were violent. The life of a Victorian child was fraught with threat of death, disease and poverty so maybe the ideas of the Victorian Establishment are a bit extreme, after all by seeing these 'horrors' on the stage they would have been confronted to a certain extent by the reality of these children's lives. To a child these acts on stage were probably a baser form of satire a chance to laugh at the harshness of life and forget their problems. This book also covers the lifestyle of the players and proprietors of these theatres and makes cases for how some players were from legitimate theatres who had fallen on hard times or young people on their way up the ladder, although this was incredibly rare, a great example of someone who ended their career in the Penny Theatre's was Tom Ellar who had been the great Harlequin at Covent Garden.

The book ends with the story of Robert Loraine, the actor who brought George Bernard Shaw's play 'Man and Superman' to Broadway, of how he began his acting career in a Gaff in Liverpool and how he bridged that world to the legitimate theatre.

I loved this book, it was really interesting and it is available on amazon.co.uk if you want to read it. I highly reccomend this title to anyone interested in the Victorian theatre.  

WLIIA Weird Newscasters... again



Play Review: Gasping by Ben Elton

This review will be focusing on the book version of the play and not on a performance of the play.

Ben Elton is one of my favourite comedy writers, I love 'The Young Ones' and grew up watching 'Blackadder' and in more recent years have become more aware of his work as a satirist and author. Elton was arguably the number one stand up of the 1980s here in the UK famous for his swipes at the Tory government and Baroness Thatcher whilst she was Prime Minister.

(Ben Elton sends himself up on Harry Enfield and Chums)



'Gasping' is Ben Elton's first play and was first performed in 1990 at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. It is a satire based around big business in London. The dominant chairman of a multi million pound company is bored with making money from his current business and wants to find a 'Pot Noodle' which is described as a product that creates its own market and makes money without fighting for money from other markets. His idiotic toffy nosed subordinate Philip is asked to develop a new product that is a 'Pot Noodle'. Philip goes away with his own subordinate and finds this technology that is designed to help sufferers with hay fever by sucking in oxygen and cleaning it to make it pure and free of pollen. Philip surmises that instead of using it for its medical applications you could use it to create designer air, creating a market for branded air just like the market for designer water. There is one slight issue with the item, when it sucks in oxygen it outputs carbon dioxide to make sure the pressure in the atmosphere doesn't get ruined of course this also means that there is less oxygen available to breath. There is a side plot of Philip trying to pop his cherry with the executive ad woman that he hires to promote the 'Pot Noodle' which is branded the 'Suck and Blow'. Eventually a global situation of the rich being the only ones able to afford to breath leads to Philip suffering a breakdown before coming back in a tense dramatic final scene filled with black comedy.

I have read this play probably upwards of 20 times and each time I notice new things I never took stock of before. It is a very good read however I do have a few issues with the piece.

1. It has not aged well. Whilst the themes are still current the fact that it is set in the late 80s very early 90s means you really have to have lived or worked at that time to get all the references to yuppiness and fax machines.

2. The side story is distracting and not fully formed, whilst it does round out the play and add another dimension to the story I feel that in the end it does not entirely work.

3. The central character Philip. Philip is a fool who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has risen through the ranks for no apparent reason. He is a yuppie prat and when you look at the original casting for the play, he was originally played by Hugh Laurie, it looks like the part was written for only one actor. It also seems as if the character is a descendant of George from Blackadder, also played by Laurie, which makes it hard to read the script objectively.

Although I have these problems with this piece I have enjoyed it immensely and it did lead me to read more Ben Elton work in his novel 'Blind Faith' which is another piece of satire but set in a dystopian future England. I recommend it as a piece of business satire and as a starting point for anyone interested in seeing where the writer of 'We Will Rock You' began his stage writing career. I give it all in all a 3 out of 5 stars rating and would love to see it performed.

February the 2nd in Theatrical History

(Nell Gwynn by Peter Lely)

On the 2nd of February 1651 Nell Gwyn was born. Due to her lowly background records which go into much depth about her family and early life are few and far between although rumour and accounts from the day suggest her mother may have run a brothel. What we can be certain of is that Nell was born in the parish St-Martin-In-The-Field in London in 1651 in what is now the heart of the West End or as many call it Theatre Land. Nell began her career in Drury Lane as an orange girl selling oranges and perhaps her own sexual favours. When she turned fourteen the theatres in England began to allow women to grace the stage and Nell trained as one of the first female actors. Despite being illiterate she by all accounts was a very smart and witty woman who learnt lines quickly by recitation. Nell would take London by storm as one of the originators of the Restoration Comedy scene, her performances spread the popularity of these works. Nell moved into the fashionable set in London mixing with the aristocracy and becoming great friends with the writer Aphra Behn. In 1668 Nell began her notorious affair with King Charles the II which led to her becoming an even bigger box office attraction and having playwrights writing special parts for her. Eventually Nell became pregnant and bore the King a son Charles who would become the Earl of Burford, a title still alive today, and a predecessor of the title the Duchy of St Albans. Despite having a child and being the Kings main mistress Nell still returned to the stage in 1670 for a Dryden play. However 1671 would be the last year she trod the boards. Nell retired to become a lady of the town but her influence on the theatre reaches out across the centuries, numerous productions have been created about her with at least 4 plays and two musicals centred around her life. Nell Gwyn has also had numerous books written about her life and is still a popular figure of scandal and intrigue even 300 years after her death. Nell still has a part to play in the theatre today especially for theatres along the Strand where if you turn off into the quiet and unassuming Bull Inn Court you will find the Nell Gwynne tavern a small pub which has been described as old worldly. Some people have blamed Nell for the idea that perpetuated the stage for years that women actors were prostitutes and adulteresses but I think her legacy has been more about breaking down doors and showing that women can provide more entertainment than men and in many circumstances are better actors than men.

In 1714 on the 2nd of February 'Jane Shore' by Nicholas Rowe was first produced at Drury Lane. Jane Shore was the mistress of King Edward the IV and had been referenced in Shakespeare's Richard the III and had a play written about her in 1600 by Thomas Heywood. The play by Heywood probably heavily influenced the work of Nicholas Rowe whose version was a Tragedy and ran for nineteen nights. Rowe is probably best known for being the editor of the first modern edition of the plays of William Shakespeare.

February the 1st in Theatrical History

(John Philip Kemble and Sarah Siddons in Macbeth as painted by Thomas Beach)

On the first of February 1757 John Philip Kemble was born. The son of Roger Kemble (b 1721 d 1802) and Sarah Ward (b 1735 d 1807) he was part of the theatrical dynasty the Kemble Family. John Kemble had several siblings being one of twelve children, out of whom 5 others became actors including the most famous female actor of the age Sarah Siddons. The family has its beginnings in the famous 'Ward Company of Comedians' run by John's grandfather John Ward and the union of Roger Kemble to John Ward's daughter Sarah solidified the legacy of the Kemble family. John Philip Kemble learnt his trade touring with his grandfathers company and ended up having great success on the London scene after debuting at Drury Lane in Hamlet. In 1803 Kemble left Drury Lane and joined George Frederick Cooke at the Covent Garden company with his sister Mrs Siddons joining him soon after. Tragedy struck five years later when Covent Garden was destroyed by a fire. Both Mrs Siddons and Kemble lost their vast wardrobes to the fire and chose to build a new theatre designed by the architect Robert Smirke, his most recognisable work is the facade of the British Museum, costing one hundred and fifty thousand pounds in 1809 which is the equivalent of nine million pounds today. This of course led to increases in the price of attendance which brought about the darkest part of Kemble's career when on opening night of the new theatre at Covent Garden the audience cried out for the old prices and continued until the police and military had to be called. For two months riots and disruptions continued under his regime at Covent Garden until he finally agreed to reduce prices to the old rates. Kemble would retire in 1817 leaving his share in Covent Garden to his brother Charles but by now the shine on the Kemble family had long been overshadowed by a new star Edmund Kean.



Ulysses is produced at Her Majesty's theatre in 1902. This play is a poetry play based on the ancient Greek tale and was written by Stephen Phillips. It was produced by the theatre company of Beerbohm-Tree and is speculated to have been part of the inspiration for James Joyce's later novel of the same name.

January the 26th in Theatrical History

In 1833 'The Nervous Man' was first produced at Drury Lane. In Figaro in London, a weekly comic paper which ran from 1831 to 1839, there is a full review of the play. It is referred to as a 'trifling though rather an amusing production' and is listed as a farce. The review mentions the acting and has one of my favourite analysis of a performance in a long time:

 "Mrs Humby whom the reporters delight to call pretty, has a part in the Nervous Man, and as a disgusting manner peculiar to the pertest of bar-maids is all that is neccessary, she acquitted herself well; that is, she was as vulgar as her salary requires"

So far in my research I have been unable to define who wrote said play but in the National Standard, of literature, science, music, theatricals and the fine arts it has a very interesting paragraph which reads:

"The Nervous Man (yet unpublished) at Edinburgh, without obtaining the consent of, or affording the slightest advantage to, the writer; thus, the piece runs for the benefit of the manager and the player, but for the 'poor devil author' he may starve in holes and corners"

So whilst The Nervous Man was allowing the unknown author to be paid when it played at Drury Lane halfway through its run in London the producer and actor Mr Power was recalled to Scotland and just put it on in Edinburgh without giving the author his cut of the profits. A shady dealing which helped lead to the introduction of laws to protect copywright.

In 1871 Oscar Asche (1871-1936) was born. He was an Australian actor who is probably best known for writing the popular Musical 'Chu Chin Chow' based on the story of 'Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves' which was last produced in London at the Finborough Theatre in 2008.

Zach Braff on BBC Breakfast this Morning

(Photo courtesy of http://www.zachbraff.com/)

So this morning on BBC Breakfast Zach Braff, of Scrubs fame, appeared to promote his latest venture a play in the West End. The play is titled 'All New People' and was written by Braff himself. It opens in London on the 22nd of February at the Duke of Yorks Theatre in St Martins Lane.

The play was developed by the Off Broadway Theatre Company 2ST aka Second Stage Company a company that began in the late 70's giving plays that may not have been successful the first time around a second chance on a New York stage. Braff returned to the stage in 2010 after 8 years away in the play Trust by Paul Weitz and it was this link and this company that inspired him to write his own work. He did not appear in the New York version but agreed to play the lead role in a transfer from America to the West End saying that it was a dream of his to perform in London. Zach Braff is well known for being the zany J.D in TV's Scrubs but is also an acclaimed film writer whose 2004 directorial debut Garden State was an Indie Film hit both financially and critically. He has moved away from Scrubs slightly in the past few years becoming more of a guest character and has been working towards more film directing and writing as evidenced by his latest project 'Open Heart' a remake of a Danish thriller and an original film written by himself called 'Swingles'.

The fact is Braff is a very talented actor, he is perhaps the best actor around today at juggling comedy and pathos equally. His play is centred around a depressed young man and is a comedy so he is in a perfect position he cannot really lose. Is Braff playing to type? Yes. Is that a bad thing? No. I always feel if someone is good at one genre and people are willing to pay to watch them do that one thing then by all means do it. Braff is taking the opportunity to tour his play internationally and to perform in it himself, not many American television stars or directors would take such a risk. The good thing is this play thanks to Braff has a built in audience due to the success and popularity in this country of Scrubs especially with the teenagers who watch E4. Scrubs has taken over the position in this country enjoyed by Friends for over 10 years and has become the teenage sitcom so this show will definitely shift some tickets. Normally I would rag on American actors coming over here to perform in a play as a gimmick but this time I think that would be unfair, it is a new piece of work which was well received in New York and with its sitcom style jokes and layout I think this will be an unchallenging piece of theatre that could engage young adults and teenagers without having to be a Musical. If only there were more shows like this for younger people to see, the point is sometimes we want to see something we're familiar with and currently the British young person is at a point where the American sitcom is a very accessible form of media and they understand it incredibly well. The old fashioned hard hitting drama isn't pulling in a massive amount of punters to the theatre so why not try the sitcom route, why not try writing a sitcom play for a change set here in the UK. This show could be incredibly popular and I am wishing I had tickets to see the performance just to see how the sitcom style works in a live theatre environment. Zach Braff will be good I am certain of it and he seems very enthusiastic about the entire enterprise and as the show will be hitting Glasgow and Manchester first it really seems as if its not about the money for this Hollywood star. If you liked 'Garden State' and 'Scrubs' I reckon you can't really go wrong buying tickets for this show. 

For ticket information for the Glasgow and Manchester runs please click on the relevent cities name.

For ticket information regarding the West End run please click here.

Theatre on the TV and Radio 17.05.2010

Five USA 12:00 Whose Line Is It Anyway.

Five 13:00 Barnum. TV Movie about the great American Impresario.

BBC 2 21:00 Royal Wedding by playwright Abi Morgan

BBC 1 22:35 Graham Norton with guest Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber

Five 23:00 Justin Lee Collins: Good Times. Jersey Boys Cast Performing

Radio 4 14:15 The End of The World (Afternoon Play)

Radio 4 19:15 Front Row, Nigel Harman and John Light on swapping roles on

Stage.

The Election: Debates and The Economy or Theatrical Thursday's with the PM

Many long time readers of Theatre From My Head will probably remember an article I wrote several months back about the Budget and how it will effect the Performing Arts industry. If you do not remember or have not read it then you can find the link to it right... here. In the article I lambasted the current Labour government's decision to start downsizing the arts and cultural investments in their pre-budget plans and I feel right for doing so, I asked the questions that I felt needed answering. So it was with great relief, great happiness and much hope that I tuned into ITV just over three weeks ago to witness along with 9 million other people a brilliant fusion of theatre and politics, I am of course referring to the Election Debates. These were essentially performance pieces by each Party Leader and they were fantastic. The acting and theatre aspects were particularly obvious with some of the fake emotions and statements made by these politicians and in my mind only one of them came across as really genuine and naturalistic... Mr Clegg. In my own mind I dubbed these nights of debate and arguments 'Theatrical Thursdays with the PM' as I thought about how fun they were as well as interesting.


Nobody referenced the cuts that would be made to the arts sector in Debate number 1, not surprising there was nothing to discuss really. We are after all in a massively bad situation still with the national debt etc but in debates number 2 and 3 there was nothing either. The truth is the cuts that we have been told about will come, according to both David Cameron and Gordon Brown, from public services, so yes, your libraries will be cut further and there will be less of them, the ones left filled with people who probably are not being paid and don't know the job properly. David Cameron in the first Election Debate was talking about people volunteering their time to helping community establishments and services so I guess one of the first things to go will probably be Library assistants. It is, however, highly ironic when you think that being a right wing politician with capitalist friends he would suggest a very communist approach to local institutions. Or maybe heknows that Thatcherism is already going to be coming back and we will have another 8 million unemployed people who he has to place somewhere. Gordon Brown doesn't want to cut these things but is facing the real threat of the economy destabilising once again and is taking necessary precautions which is fair but still will cause long term damage in my estimations. The Liberal Democrats have completely laid out in their manifesto how they will take chunks out of the deficit including reducing public sector pensions in a fair way in collaboration with both government and the unions. Public sector spending in general will be assessed by an independent body that will advise a Liberal Democrat government how to streamline and get the best from these services with minimal cuts. So they are all going to cut into what little money there already is. Now the whole theatre thing is quite vague and I am sure none of the 3 party leaders are really that interested in whether this policy gets people voting or not but to me it is an important subject so I took a look at all three parties' manifestos and these is some of the highlights.


First the current Labour Government's policy (for full policy please click: here)


Labour has put culture, media and sport centre stage since we came to power in 1997 – in the last decade we have increased public funding by £541.3 million, an increase of 47.3 per cent.


We want to open up the arts and culture to everyone. We have put in place major initiatives, such as free entry to national museums and galleries, and free theatre for young people...


Over the past decade the creative sector has grown at twice the rate of the economy as a whole and the annual exports in cultural goods amount to £11.6 billion.




Of course the Labour Government has supported the sports sector more than any other but with the figures above and the abundance of theatres, schools, performance spaces and schemes to get people involved in creative activities they have shown they are committed to this subject. Of course as has been the overall theme for the Labour campaign this Election it is all about what they have already done, not what they will be doing in the future. So I do not know what to think regarding their arts and culture policy except perhaps hope that if re-elected the Government would still be dedicated to funding this sector.


Now for the Conservative Parties Policy (For the full policy please read: here)


With the London 2012 Olympic Games approaching, we have a wonderful opportunity to showcase these sectors and highlight the best sporting and cultural activities that Britain has to offer, promoting this country as the attractive tourist destination it undoubtedly is.


I really recommend you read the full policy as it is just another attack on the Labour government and then goes on to talk about London 2012 and that is about it. Well there is one big problem there for me, we go into 2012 and then what happens for the next 3 years of the Tory term? I just wish the Tories had put a better well rounded explanation for what they see theatre and the arts adding to the UK or will add to the UK with their support. Still maybe they think that they do not need to invest money in the theatre because of the amount of plays and shows made during their terms of power about how awful it is to live in a Conservative England.


The Liberal Democrats. (For full policy please go: here)


Liberal Democrats recognise the enormous contribution that arts, heritage and culture make to the lives of citizens. We believe that culture should be valued for its own sake as well as for the undoubted benefits to other areas, such as the economy, health, crime prevention and education.


We believe that public investment in the arts should fund talent not bureaucracy, and sustainability not short-term initiatives.


Now I chose these two quotes because I found them the most relevant to me and the rest of the policy covers ways they would improve the culture, media and sports sector. They go into detail about their hopes and attitude towards television, radio and the Internet. I should also point out that the Lib Dems also attack the Government on their usage of the Lottery funding just like the Conservatives but don't make it a focal part of their policy.


After the fantastic acting we have seen every Thursday night for the past 3 weeks- kudos to Nick Clegg for practicing this act over the years with the likes of Sam Mendes and Helena Bonham Carter- it has been an Election campaign trail not to forget and I get to top my month of Thursday Theatrical fun with the Olivier Award Winning 'Morecambe' when it rolls into Worthing on the 6th of May. A new Government and a Theatrical event, oh what fun!


CHEAP PLUG
Tickets are still available for Morecambe at the Pavilion tickets can be purchased: here. Curtain goes up at 7:30.


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