“Artistic director Madani Younis hopes to widen the scope of new writing. ‘We’re introducing a strand where artists and writer-performers can engage with us without just submitting a script,’ he explains. ‘Speaking to artists, they’ve said, ‘Don’t expect to read our stuff on a page.’ You need to meet them. You need to give them a different kind of space.'”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Europe’s Latest Tall Building Is A Leaning Tower Of Pink
“A towering beacon of pink mirrored glass has overtaken the Shard to become the tallest building in Europe. Moscow’s Mercury City tower, which topped out on Thursday, now rises to 339m, making it 29m taller than London’s own crystalline pyramid.” (The Shard held its title for only four months.)
Growing Pittsburgh Ballet Buys Itself A Building
“Growth is the buzz word at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre these days. The company announced Wednesday that it acquired 10,800 square feet of space … in the Strip District as part of a four-phase plan to grow Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s enrollment and engagement with the community.”
Mozart’s Own Piano Returns To His Vienna Home
“The piano that Mozart used for the last 10 years of his life and which he used to compose much of his music was returned to his former home in Vienna for a performance of his music. ‘A big, positive shock was how good the instrument is,’ said Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov after the concert Wednesday.”
Spokane Symphony Cancels November Concerts Due To Strike
Orchestra management has cancelled the four remaining concerts scheduled this month following the strike called by musicians last weekend.
The Brilliant, Loaded Career Of David Henry Hwang
“Along the way, [the prize-winning playwright] was anointed as spokesman, standard-bearer and, unavoidably, lightning rod of sorts among Chinese-Americans, freighted with their expectations, jealousy, anger and pride, sometimes all at once.”
When Sarkozy Publicly Dissed A French Classic – And Paid The Price
“Nicolas Sarkozy, as the French head of state and even before he ascended to the role, developed an odd habit of publicly bad-mouthing Madame de Lafayette’s 1678 work, The Princess of Clèves, one of the first modern French novels, which is obligatory reading in schools across the republic.” The backlash he suffered dwarfed any reaction Bush would have gotten for dissing The Scarlet Letter.
Trevor Nunn Stages Beckett Radio Play On West End – As Radio Play
“The actors carry scripts; props and gestures are kept to a minimum; and there are microphones hanging from the ceiling to simulate a 1950s studio. Nunn calls it a ‘visualised radio play’, and the conceit is that the audience are eavesdroppers at a studio recording.” (Why not just act it out on stage? The Beckett estate, of course.)
Turmoil And Huge Deficits At Calgary’s Largest Museum
“Glenbow Museum president and CEO Kirstin Evenden resigned Tuesday after 19 years with the organization.” (Two other senior staffers resigned in September.) “Although attendance is up, the museum has run deficits at more than $1 million for the last three years. A well-known historian describes the Calgary institution as operating in survival mode.”
A Winnipeg Bridge Transformed Into Public Art
“From Here Until Now, by Winnipeg-based architect-artists Eduardo Aquino and Karen Shanski, makes the massive Osborne Street bridge into a surprisingly delicate concrete-and-aluminium poem. … The end result isn’t an immense, attention-grabbing monument but a slow, quiet, interactive experience, something that will sneak up on you gradually as you bike, walk or drive by.”