Category: theatre

Choosing Vicky Featherstone as the Scottish National Theatre’s first director is “about as bold and challenging an appointment” as could have made. “Young, brilliant and not remotely Scottish, Ms Featherstone, at just 37, represents a young generation of British theatre talent that has completely recast the old pattern of relationships between London, where her current company, Paines Plough, is based, and the rest of the UK; and which tends to regard Scotland as being in the forefront of new developments in British theatre.”

More and more movies are being turned into stage productions. “The trend has some critics concerned about the commercialization of theater, where public appeal is a key to recouping costs. But it also suggests a gradual shift in the flow of American storytelling. It used to be that Broadway supplied fodder for films. Today, the flow is the other direction, thanks in part to the popularity of movies.”

Margo Jefferson is out as theatre critic at the New York Times. “Earlier this summer, the Times announced that Jefferson—a Pulitzer Prize winner for her book reviews— was “on leave” in order to write a book. Many in the theatre community, however, suspected she would not return to the theatre beat. The Times recently named Patti Cohen to the new position of overall theatre editor. Cohen will oversee the daily and weekend coverage of the theatre. Cohen confirmed that Jefferson had stepped down.”

“The Philadelphia Theatre Initiative, an annual program funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, has awarded $530,000 in grants to 12 Philadelphia-area theaters and three theater artists… The largest sums, $80,000, will go to three major Philadelphia theaters: the Arden Theatre Company, the Philadelphia Theatre Company, and the Wilma Theater.”

Theatre Royal in Dumfries, Scotland is 212 years old, but badly in need of repair.
“The theatre was built in 1792, and is considered the oldest extant theatre in the country. But the cost of repairs and modernisation, and the demands of safety and disability laws, were threatening to close it down.” Now the government is stepping in with money to save the day.

“On the subject of conflict between the West and the Arab world – in all its forms, from the war in Iraq, through the growing nightmare in the Middle East, to its impact on this autumn’s American presidential election – passions are running so high that the theme seems to pervade the Fringe programme like a leitmotif.”

“A new deal to help renovate Harlem’s Apollo Theater has come under scrutiny from federal development officials, who are concerned the financing may violate the rules of $4 million in government grants the famous venue has already received.”

A new generation of London theatre producers is changing the business. “These new-style producers are not just moneybags, but are intrinsic to the creative process. They represent genuine producer/practitioner partnerships. The behind-the-scenes efforts of this new generation, who often work in non-traditional theatre spaces, are changing the face of British theatre beyond all recognition and making the mainstream sit up and take notice.”

It’s the quickest opening and closing of a commercial theatre show in San Francisco history. The press was invited to “V”, a Vegas-style variety show in a 275-seat theater at Pier 39, renovated for $1 million. But before the show even opened to the public the next day, publicists were calling critics to say the show has been “postponed” indefinitely dued toi disagreements among the show’s backers…

The recent agreement between Broadway producers and the actors union promises a truce in disputes over non-union touring shows. But don’t expect the issue to completely go away. “As long as customers are willing to pay the same amount to see a non-Equity tour as a fully unionized one, producers will continue to see nonunion tours as a way to ensure profits – and Equity will continue to fight them.”