Theatre Features

Celebrating the musicals of Jerry Herman (1931-2019)

David Nice Friday, 03 January 2020

How is it that, in the nearly 900 pages of Sondheim's collected lyrics with extensive comments Finishing the Hat and Look, I Made a Hat, with numerous special boxes celebrating other composers and lyricists, he managed to mention Jerry Herman only once, and in passing?

First Person: Simon Stephens - the contemplation of kindness

Simon Stephens Tuesday, 29 October 2019

Light Falls is the sixth play that I have written for the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester and the fourth that its outgoing Artistic Director, Sarah Frankcom, will direct.

First Person: Hannah Khalil on museum as metaphor in her new play for the RSC

Hannah Khalil Tuesday, 22 October 2019

It all started in 2009 in the National Portrait Gallery. I’d had a meeting nearby so popped in to get a cuppa and stare at the beautiful rooftop view of London from their top-floor café, but a picture caught my eye. It was part of an exhibition of Victorian Women Explorers, a photograph of a woman with a rather severe face. The label said something like: "Gertrude Bell – Mountaineer, Explorer, Diplomat and Spy.

First Person: Matthew Xia on why his production of 'Amsterdam' feels especially pertinent and vital now

Matthew Xia Monday, 09 September 2019

I’m currently opening Amsterdam, my first production for Actors Touring Company since being appointed Artistic Director last year, at the Orange Tree theatre in Richmond and then in Plymouth early in 2020. And what better time to premiere a play for the Europe of the present, triggered by the Europe of the past.

theartsdesk at the Ravenna Festival 2019 - in heaven with Dante's Purgatorio and Estonian rites

David Nice Friday, 12 July 2019

Two years ago Ermanna Montanari and Marco Martinelli, the visionary partners who have powered Ravenna's revolutionary Teatro delle Albe since 1986, led local people and international visitors down through the circles of Dante's Inferno. In 2021, the 700th anniversary of the greatest Italian poet's birth, they will take us into the presence of God.

First Person: Damian Cruden on reinvigorating the Bard away from London with Shakespeare's Rose

Damian Cruden Tuesday, 02 July 2019

How we deliver culture in the modern day is complex. There are many misconceptions about where and who is capable of leading the nation’s cultural charge. The accepted conceit is that if culture doesn’t emanate from certain places, like London or Stratford, then it couldn’t possibly be of value.

Franco Zeffirelli: 'I had this feeling that I was special'

Jasper Rees Saturday, 15 June 2019

"I am amazed to be still alive. Two hours of medieval torment.” Franco Zeffirelli - who has died at the age of 96 - had spent the day having a lumbar injection to treat a sciatic nerve. You could hear the bafflement in his heavily accented English.

First Person: Matt Henry on fulfilling 'a dream come true' to play the legendary singer Sam Cooke

Matt Henry Tuesday, 11 June 2019

When I first read One Night in Miami, I instantly felt a strong connection to the piece and its story.

First Person: Ellen McDougall on finding the commonality in the American classic 'Our Town'

Ellen McDougall Sunday, 19 May 2019

I’ve wanted to direct Thornton Wilder’s Our Town for a long time.

The play is beautifully written and its form feels not only ahead of its time (it was written in 1938), but also extremely powerful for a contemporary audience in an open air theatre.

Trevor Nunn: 'I'm amazed by Harley Granville Barker's prescience and extraordinary modernity'

Sir Trevor Nunn Sunday, 10 February 2019

So here we are with another edition of IQ, and the subject this week is theatre. Question one: which actor originated several leading roles in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, including Marchbanks in Candida, Dubedat in The Doctor's Dilemma, and Jack Tanner in Man and Superman? Answer: Harley Granville Barker.

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