“The musical Notre Dame de Paris” — aka “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” — has been a hit around the world since it opened in France in 1998. But, in London two years later, the critics savaged the English-language version. Now, a producer is taking the bold step of bringing it back to London — but in the original French. The secret, he says, is in the surtitles.” — BBC
Category: AUDIENCE
The ‘Emergency Poet’ Is Opening A Poetry Pharmacy
“[Deborah] Alma, who as the ‘Emergency Poet’ has prescribed poems as cures from the back of a 1970s ambulance for the last six years, is now setting up a permanent outlet in a shop at Bishop’s Castle in Shropshire. … Together with her partner, the TS Eliot prize-shortlisted poet James Sheard, Alma is preparing to turn [the shop] into a haven ‘to help ease a variety of maladies with the soothing therapy of Poetry’.” — The Guardian
What Museums Are Learning From Children’s Museums About Engaging People
“Children’s museums have led the way in the museum field regarding play and its positive effects on brain development – and now all types of museums are using play and touch to engage children and adults in interactive learning.” – Christian Science Monitor
UK Cinemas See Highest Attendance In 48 Years
“Britons went to the cinema 177m times in 2018, the highest number since 1970, when hits including M*A*S*H, Love Story and Airport helped attract 193m admissions … The lack of a Star Wars blockbuster failed to dampen enthusiasm, with attendance rising thanks to a diverse slate of US and domestic films.” — The Guardian
How To Create A “Viral” Play (What Is That?)
Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour: “Marketing-wise at the time I didn’t have anyone helping me, so I put my email address in the show. I urged people to write to me. I asked a random audience member to keep the script after the show; it’s my way of spreading the word. It was a strategy and it worked.” – American Theatre
‘Turning The Usual Pattern Of Arts Engagement On Its Head’
An Arts Council England-funded program called Creative People and Places “aims to increase arts participation in places where people are less likely to take part in arts activity” — and it seems to be succeeding with the groups least likely to engage with the arts generally. What’s the secret? Nothing very secret at all, actually. — Arts Professional
Record Numbers Of Readers Buying Poetry In The UK
Statistics from UK book sales monitor Nielsen BookScan show that sales grew by just over 12% last year, for the second year in a row. In total, 1.3m volumes of poetry were sold in 2018, adding up to £12.3m in sales, a rise of £1.3m on 2017. Two-thirds of buyers were younger than 34 and 41% were aged 13 to 22, with teenage girls and young women identified as the biggest consumers last year. – The Guardian
Movies Are Global – And That’s Changing Hollywood
Twenty years ago Hollywood earned 30 percent of its revenue internationally. Now it’s 70 percent. And that means what Hollywood makes is more and more influenced by the international market. – BBC
Why Have Netflix’s Recent Movies Attracted Such Massive Audiences?
Netflix published the figures for some of their biggest recent releases – Sex Education, You and Bird Box. And those numbers were pretty impressive, with the two series on course to be watched by 40 million accounts by the end of the month. Bird Box, which features Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock as the lead, has already passed more than 80 million views. — BBC
How Amazon Creates Instant Best-Sellers
To promote these works, it has tools other publishers can only dream about owning, including Amazon First Reads and Kindle Unlimited, Amazon’s e-book subscription service. Together, they reach an estimated 10 million or more customers who can read offered titles with a few keystrokes. “They aren’t gaming the system,” literary agent Rick Pascocello said. “They own the system.” – The Wall Street Journal