Theatre and Drama Archives

In its unforgiving mission to offend everyone and everything, the Grease musical has so far added culture, taste, style, quality, respectability, the English language, sight, honesty and the West End Whingers to its list of victims. See what they made of the latest promotional billboard on their blog by licking on this clink – or something to that effect…

Suicide bombers in conversation, police singing about the violence they are about to inflict on guitar playing Muslims and Jihad: The Musical don’t sound like the ideal openers to the worlds favourite arts showcase – but these suitors of scandal are ensuring that terrorism and religion are takingcentre stage at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.

For more information, take a look at this video clip of the preperation going into this years most talked about shows at the Fringe.

For those poor Brits floating Noah-like upon a pool of muddy water where their house used to be, it can be difficult to remember that it’s summer. But against all evidence to the contrary, it is, which means that a certain infamous Scottish arts event can’t be far behind. Yes, with the Fringe kicking off on 5th August and the official programme launching on the 10th, it’s time to seriously consider booking some tickets and a bed for the comprehensively cosmopolitan, caber-tossing cultural conundrum that is the Edinburgh Festival.

The official site shows you all the opera, dance, theatre and music on offer in six major theatres and concert halls across the city, as well as smaller niche venues. Looking at the offerings, ArtsWom suggests that unmissable gems will include Alan Cumming, back on the Scottish stage for the first time in sixteen years in The Bacchae; Benjamin Bagby, harpist and storyteller, with his Old English rendition of Beowulf; and Jordi Savall playing baroque classics on the little-known viola da gamba.

Over at the Fringe there is the usual bewildering array of the sublime and the ridiculous. From the Kaiser Chiefs to Auto Auto, a ‘crash musical’ involving the decimation of a Vauxhall Astra Mk2, making decisions about what to see can be pretty difficult. Of course, you can follow the strategy of spontaneity, and go unbooked and ready to follow the flyers wherever they may lead – and hey, there are worse things than watching acrobatic Polish dwarves interpreting Pinter through ballet.

Whatever your plans, Artswom will of course bring you any hot tips as we hear them, but in the meantime get yourself in the mood for the mayhem at the Fringe MySpace page with their blog, videos and this nice little game involving cakes.

As our regular readers will attest, Artswom remains the last word in outspoken and coruscating arts blogging, unmoved by celebrity spangle or regal favour. That said, this particular scribe did once down a post-Pericles pint at the Dirty Duck pub in Stratford-Upon-Avon whilst sitting one bar stool away from Sir Antony Sher, Gregory Doran and Richard Wilson, and it remains the highlight of a cloistered life.

Thus follows an entirely objective recommendation to watch Primo tomorrow afternoon. This groundbreaking play is based on Primo Levi’s Auschwitz memoir If This Is A Man, adapted by and starring Tone, and directed by Dick (we’re beyond formalities).

In all seriousness, this is an opportunity to see a truly rare and important performance. The play marked the first and only time the Primo Levi Estate allowed his work to be adapted, and Sher’s own memoir Primo Time records how intense and personal the development of the show was for the Jewish actor. The 2004 run at the National Theatre was fully booked even before tickets went on sale, making this record of the show so important for the many who tried and failed to see it on stage.

It’ll be interesting to see if the filming captures the play’s worldwide impact, as expressed in Michael Billington’s five star review for The Guardian or Terry Teachout’s description of the Broadway transfer in his About Last Night blog.

Let us know what you think about it, and I’ll pass on your comments to Sir Tony. Really, we’re like that.

Primo is showing on Sky Arts on Saturday 21st July at 3:30-5pm

If the slightly less than stirring welcome of British Summertime is leaving you feeling deflated and depressed, you may be in need of the kind of medicine not even attainable down the meanest of the mean Oxford streets…

We are talking, of course, about laughter. Aside from legendary ArtsWom punnery and, perhaps, a chuckle or two at a suitably dramatic prairie dog, when was the last time you sat down and chuckled so hard you spat milk out of your nose?

Forgive our atypical over-excitement, but we have just discovered that The Secret Policeman’s Ball (in its original incarnation) will be showing tonight and over the weekend on Sky Arts. The 1981 charity event brought together British comedy behemoths of the time to give birth to a truly legendary event.

To see greats such as Cleese, Cook, Palin and Atkinson at their prime, watch Sky Arts tonight at 10:45pm.

Much fuss has been made over Ewan McGregor’s decision to step out of the Hollywood spotlight for the more subdued illumination offered by London’s theatres. The Scottish actor is set to play villain, Iago, in a production of Shakespeare’s Othello at the Donmar Warehouse. However, with a spin that is sure to aggravate those of us growing tired with the overbearing impact of celebrity culture, the focus of the news is targeted firmly at the fact the Star Wars star will be on ‘minimum’ wage throughout the show’s run.

The production opens on December 4 and will feature award-winning actor Chiwetol Ejiofor (of Kinky Boots and Tsunami: The Aftermath fame) in the title role. Kelly Reilly also stars, playing Desdemona, returning to the Donmar Warehouse where she was nominated for an Olivier Award in 2004 for her performance in After Miss Julie. There is no news on how much these decorated actors will be paid.

Delirium is beginning to stir up a frenzy of its own amongst art-lovers across the ‘net. The Cirque du Soleil live arena show with a difference will be hitting venues across England from October 8 to 14. The popular French circus act will be mixing things up with features including virtual reality, holograms, multimedia sound and imagery. There will also performances of theatre, dance, acrobatics, international music and video projections. Mike Jones in Disboards.com posts some pictures of the event while Martmonk at Moneysavingexpert.com tips his frugal fellows off about where to pick up tickets, available from today.

Pay attention iPod-toting fans of the Bard as a recording of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is available for free download from the Department of Education and Skills website. This service is to help students who are not in a position to see a live production of the play and, of course, is not in any way going to be used as a substitute for actually reading the play…

Artswom, along with pretty much every other art/entertainment/celebrity reporting service, recently wrote about Daniel Radcliffe taking his clothes off for the Thea Sharrock production of Equus.

It has been announced that Jamie Bell will step into the role of the slightly unbalanced stable-lad Alan Strang when Radcliffe finishes his run. Bell shot to fame in the 2000 hit Billy Elliot, as the 11-year-old ballet-dancing son of a striking Geordie miner. The film utilised a powerful and emotive soundtrack that accompanied the energy Bell brought to the film in the dancing set-pieces. The natural performance element of the film was converted to the West End with new songs written by Elton John and the resulting musical has been a roaring success.

Billy Elliot The Musical is currently selling out the Victoria Palace and now the man that brought him to life on screen will be present in the theatre district too. Now 21, Bell is continuing a trend of taking challenging, indie-tinged roles, something he has done since his phenomenal and instant rise to stardom. This has caused him to slip away from the focus of the public-eye despite working consistently, starring in film’s such as Deathwatch and Chumscrubber, while also making a leading appearance in the Green Day music video for Wake Me Up When September Ends.

In response to the news of Bell appearing in Equus a source has satiated the first question everyone is going to ask by stating that the young actor, “…isn’t at all daunted about stripping off.”

There is a brief report on this story at DigitalSpy ad some reaction to it at The Royal Forum.

It was announced that the National Theatre will be putting on a 40-minute street version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest this summer.

The play is entitled Storm Bringer and early reports indicate that the production, despite being performed outside, will feature the island, the ship and a tumultuous tirade of special effects. Performed by the Avanti Display Company, Shakespeare’s tale of romance will be told with music, dance and clowning.

To read more open up the exclusive article over at the The Stage.

There is an ambiguous response to the announcement that the Brooklyn Academy of Music will be teaming up with the Old Vic in London to produce a series of plays on both sides of the pond. The Playgoer writes in his blog about his excitement over Sam Mendes’s involvement but expresses doubt over what this means to the reputation of the Brooklyn Academy. Read his insightful and involving article here.

Following on from Michael Billington’s article in the G2 supplement of the Guardian, Natalie Hanman reports to the readers of the Guardian Unlimited arts blog, his claim that this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival will be overshadowed by its more mature neighbour, the Edinburgh International Festival.

Michael Billington’s argument is that this year the line-up of the International Festival surpasses that of the Fringe in terms of quality and buzz, and will continue to improve and diversify its appeal to survive in the current cultural climate. Natalie’s article concludes by raising the controversial (and rather spurious) notion that the Fringe will be a victim of this ascendancy. Judging by the reaction from her readers, this is not a concept that is met with popular support. Click here to read the article and comments.

The Flaming Lips are a psychedelic experience of bizarrely interesting song and album titles, which musically contain the beating hearts of ferriferous beasts within the bodies of tiny cute creatures of curiosity.

This fantastically creative band is shifting their lavish brand of fur suits and confetti downpour extravagance to Broadway. The 2002 album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, will be adapted into a stage musical by the group’s hard working front man, Wayne Coyne. He will collaborate with Aaron Sorkin, the writer for hit US television show, The West Wing. The musical will then be put into production and directed by Des McAnuff, a previous Tony Award winner.

The show will feature songs from The Flaming Lips catalogue and in a recent interview, Coyne likened the musical to the Terry Gilliam film, Brazil, a story that exists in two worlds one-real, one-imagined. Although in her blog Loewy is sceptical about the production, Sam at Three O’Clock Rock is more optimistic, “[The production] is bound to be full of as much wonder and magic as anything else that this ragtag group of champions have done.”

Continuing our trend of keeping you up-to-date with the latest in all wizard-related, on-stage nudity – ArtsWom is taking a worrying amount of delight in bringing you news of Sir Ian McKellan’s latest starring role in Shakespeare’s King Lear. As announced in The Dish, the 67-year-old legend shocked theatregoers with his unexpected strip, causing enough of a stir for McKellan’s agent to issue a statement saying, “It was a preview and the director is still making artistic decisions about the production. If the nudity remains, there will be a notice warning the audience.” ArtsWom is a respectable, family-oriented site and so we will refrain from the obvious gags. However, we don’t expect our readers to feel restrained by such responsibility…

Much ire has swept through the blogosphere with the recent announcement this month that Gary Mitchell, the Irish playwright, has been commissioned to write a screenplay on the life of Ian Paisley. The award-winning writer (who was famously forced to leave his home in North Belfast after receiving death threats from Protestant paramilitaries taking offence at the portrayal of Loyalism in his plays) was approached by the family of the controversial politician to write the story that will, in the words of the writer, “[be a] great opportunity to explore and expose the great man and all his vices and virtues”.

That’s not a viewed shared by everyone, however. Group blog, Dublin Opinion, regards the news with cynicism warning that there is a danger of the film becoming unintentionally satirical and offering some ‘classic’ Paisley quotes to illustrate this concern. The Pleasures of Underachievement, has a more optimistic view saying, “I can envisage the the film being a fascinating prospect, charting the life and rise to power of a genuine anachronistic religious nutcase, a sort of bin Laden with Ovaltine and slippers.”

Coriolanus directed by Gregory Doran is currently being performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. In this Shakespearian tragedy the public and private worlds of the eponymous Roman hero crumble savagely before the eyes of the audience.

Doran never wavers more than inches from the Coriolanus text in a play that centres on the unrefined and exposed performance of William Houston in the title role. In Richard Hudson’s stage design there is an accomplished appreciation given to style and substance. The set features substantial columns described viscerally by Susannah Clapp as, ‘…meat-coloured arcades of mottled marble.’ With the bare thighs and bold chests the play’s interwoven homo-erotic thread is clear and Doran is assured in its treatment, even when it comes to the candle-light kiss.

It is fitting that a play generally considered to be one of Shakespeare’s latter plays will be the last in the Royal Shakepseare Theatre before the building undergoes its £100 million refurbishment set to begin in April.

Read about the RSC’s Coriolanus at Anna’s blog (especially the humour to be found in the dismay of Doran as everyone involved in his production got a case of Last-Itis?!). See the RSC site for the play here and Clapp’s Guardian review here.

Coriolanus runs at the RST until the 31^st March.