Playwrights Kieran Hurley and A.J. Taudevin talk about Chalk Farm, which got raves during a brief run in Glasgow last year and is just opening in Edinburgh.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Ugandan Activists Secretly Publish Anti-Government Books
Amid a crackdown on street protesters who are trying to spark a wider movement against [longtime president Yoweri] Museveni, some local activists are writing and distributing books that they hope can be as effective as placards carried on a street.”
The Forgotten Medici
“The untidy and frequently farcical decline and fall of the Medici has obscured the achievements of the one member of the clan during this period [late 17th/early 18th century] to have left a lasting legacy: Ferdinando.”
Thomas Hampson Fights Opera’s Corner On BBC, And The Internet Takes Notice
“With an interview show named HARDtalk I suppose the host might be expected to come out swinging. And recently the BBC’s Sarah Montague did not disappoint.” Actually, her questions, and some of the attitudes she articlated, disappointed a great deal. Fortunately, Hampson “deflects Montague’s punches thoughtfully by staying calm and working his point that opera and classical music are still important today.”
“Why Write Symphonies?” Asks Pulitzer-Winning Composer
Kevin Puts: “The symphony is not a trifle. It is not cute or hip or light. It says something important – about life and death and cosmic stuff – and it does so without embarrassment. … I need a private place where I can express the spiritual, the epic, the heartbreaking without shame or embarrassment. My Symphony No. 1 led me to this place.”
PBS NewsHour Names First All-Female Anchor Team
The appointment of Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff is “another milestone for women on television and in journalism, seven years after Katie Couric became the first female solo anchor of a network nightly newscast. PBS noted in a news release that ‘this will mark the first time a network broadcast has had a female co-anchor team’.”
Why Some People Are So Upset That Dr. Who Will Be A Man (Again)
“[The show’s producers] should keep in mind the way people’s hopes are lifted when they see someone breaking the glass ceiling, even when it’s for something as seemingly trivial as a hero on a science-fiction program.”
Grammar Scolds, Unite! Embrace Your Inner Schoolmarm!
“Even those of us who otherwise celebrate invention and creativity within English, and embrace the frequent evolution of vocabulary, spelling, and grammar, still cringe now and then at a particular usage. But who died and left us in charge? Well, Noah Webster for starters.”
Putting The Bradley Manning Affair Onstage
The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning, a piece developed by the National Theatre of Wales and premiered last year, has a high-profile spot in the British Council’s showcase at Edinburgh this summer. “The production’s timing could hardly be better.”
The Radicalisation Of Bradley Manning Wins First James Tait Black Drama Prize
“The £10,000 award is the first of a new drama category of Britain’s oldest literary awards. It was launched last year by the University of Edinburgh in partnership with the National Theatre of Scotland and in association with the Traverse Theatre. More than 180 playwrights from around the world submitted their work for consideration.”