Theatre Features
Václav Havel, 1936-2011Sunday, 18 December 2011
In Rock’n’Roll, the play by Tom Stoppard, two characters haunt the stage without actually appearing on it. One of them, Syd Barrett, absconded from Pink Floyd to lead the life of a hermit. The other, Václav Havel, gave up the life of an internationally acclaimed, domestically banned playwright to become a head of state. Only one of them was in the audience for the premiere at the Royal Court. And it wasn’t the hermit. Read more... |
Interview: Pantomime Dame Berwick KalerSaturday, 17 December 2011
To just about everyone, the name will mean absolutely nothing. "I'm a jobbing actor," he says, and for most of the year it is true. He does little bits of telly, the odd tiny film role, a certain amount of provincial theatre. Every Christmas, though, Berwick Kaler strides forward into the spotlight of the ravishing, intimate York Theatre Royal and bids welcome to a fanatical army of devotees. Read more... |
Jamila Gavin: Writing Coram BoySaturday, 17 December 2011
Someone told me that the highways and byways of England were littered with the bones of little children. It was a shocking statement and of course I asked, “What do you mean?” I was told that abandoned children were a common feature of the past, but that in the 18th century someone called a “Coram Man” used to wander about from village to village and town to town – a bit like a tinker – picking up unwanted children. Read more... |
Opinion: There's more to children's theatre than pantoMonday, 05 December 2011
So, Christmas again then. Ho ho ho. It comes around every year. Cards, crackers, baubles, TV specials. And panto. I am a playwright. I write mostly for children and their families. I tend not to say I'm a children's writer because it's rare that a child has made the decision to come to one of my plays. A parent, teacher or loving adult has made that decision and forked out the money. Children can't access my work by turning on the telly or going to the library. Read more... |
Gillian Slovo: Writing The RiotsWednesday, 23 November 2011
I was shocked by the riots. I think everybody was shocked by the riots. It’s not just the scale of the rioting that was shocking. It’s the failure of the police and the fire services to take control of the situation. During my research for The Riots I interviewed a man who had his flat burned down and he told me that he couldn’t believe this could happen in a democracy. Read more... |
theartsdesk Debate: The Art of PerformanceSaturday, 10 September 2011
To celebrate theartsdesk's second birthday on Friday, we held a panel discussion on The Art of Performance at Kings Place, London, in the Kings Place Festival. Read more... |
theartsdesk MOT: The Lion King, Lyceum TheatreSunday, 04 September 2011
When The Lion King first opened in London in October 1999, there were cries from some quarters that it was merely following in a long line of stage shows that had been lifted lazily from films. Read more... |
The Lion King's West End ReignSunday, 04 September 2011
The stage musical The Lion King has been seen by nearly 10 million people in the UK - almost 60 million worldwide – and Lord only knows how many must have seen Walt Disney’s animation. I have a friend who reckons he has seen it at least 26 times and a... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Kuala Lumpur: Culture as a WeaponSunday, 24 July 2011
As hot, sweaty tourists dangle their feet in pools for Thai Nibble Fish to eat the dead skin from their feet at Kuala Lumpur’s quirky Art Deco Central Market, a small theatre upstairs is packed for a play about racial divisions and the myth of social unity here. Read more... |
theartsdesk in Flanders: Return to Journey's EndFriday, 15 July 2011
The battlefields of the First World War are frequented most by secondary school groups and military history enthusiasts. And by David Grindley: a man for whom the play Journey’s End is an obsession, and his direction of it award-winning. RC Sherriff's play follows a group of British officers preparing for battle in frontline trench warfare, and which places “ordinary men into extraordinary circumstances”. This month sees Grindley’s production returning to the West End. Read more... |
Pages
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 10,000 pieces, we're asking for £3.95 per month or £30 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take an annual subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
latest in today
Making new waves: Royce Vavrek on forging a libretto from La...
It was during the 1997 Golden Globe Awards telecast that I first caught a glimpse of the...
DVD/Blu-ray: The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
Fred Schepisi’s The Çhant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978) was the...
The Day Mountbatten Died, BBC Two review - the IRA's au...
It was a lovely summer’s day in southern England, much as it was in County Sligo. I was with my parents, driving to visit a very elderly relative...
Prom 41: Ghindin, LPO, Jurowski review - perfect sound in a...
It was a Disney theme-park of Russian music, and in an entirely good way: none of the usual rides, but plenty of heroes and villains, sad spirits...
Edinburgh International Festival 2019: MacMillan birthday co...
To celebrate the 60th birthday of Sir James MacMillan, the...
CD: New Model Army - From Here
Justin Sullivan, the last remaining original member of Bradford post-...
Niall Griffiths: Broken Ghost review - Welsh visions of hope...
The trend-hopping taste-makers who run British literary publishing have lately decided that “working-class” writing merits a small dole of their...
Edinburgh International Festival 2019: Eugene Onegin, Komisc...
Returning to Edinburgh International Festival, Berlin's Komische Oper brought Barrie Kosky’s sumptuous production of Eugene Onegin to the...
Reissue CDs Weekly: Phil Manzanera - Diamond Head
Diamond Head was Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera’s first solo album. Released in May...
theartsdesk at Bard Summerscape Festival 2019: unknown treas...
There could be no greater gift to any festival director...