Category: theatre

Back in the 1960s Canada’s regional theatres didn’t produce Canadian plays because they said there weren’t good Canadian plays. And maybe it was true. But a Trudeau government program helped feed a lot of actors and soon enough there were Canadian plays worth watching. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

Jeffrey Archer’s new play opened in London last week. But its convoluted plot was “no stranger than real-life on the day that the former Conservative deputy chairman was charged with perverting the course of justice, perjury and ‘using a false instrument’, he was also making his (official) world debut as an actor.” – Sunday Times (UK)

It’s been decades since a major production of “Oedipus Rex” was staged ion New York. Yet, “it is one of the greatest plays ever written, certainly on the short list and close to first prize.” This season will see two very different productions. – New York Times

A look at one New York repertory company’s play-selection process: “A nonprofit theater’s season planning is a craft all its own, one of mundane logistical maneuvering as well as lofty creative ambition; of sleepless-night angst and pride-swelling triumph; of big-picture matters like building audiences and details as precise as choosing a hat.” – New York Times

Despite the efforts of federal mediators, negotiations between actors and the advertising industry collapsed Wednesday, dashing hopes of an imminent end to the bitter 5-month work stoppage. “The unions are now expected to intensify their strike. SAG president Daniels has threatened to ‘unleash celebrities’ in a massive public relations blitz against advertisers. ” – Backstage

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton’s collaborative musical opens in London’s West End. “Sadly, hopes that The Beautiful Game might prove a Northern Irish West Side Story are hardly realised. Indeed, at worst the piece comes over like Grease-meets-Riverdance with the odd bit of earnest Eltonesque moralising thrown in. Working with Elton has certainly loosened Lloyd Webber up as both composer and producer.” – The Telegraph (UK)

UNLIKELY PARTNERS: “Well, they don’t come together quite as successfully as they clearly hope that peace-loving Ulster Catholics will come together both with Protestants and with their own more bellicose elements.” – The Times (UK)

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Even before the British Arts Council promised £37 million in additional funding, there were plenty of signs that regional theater is already thriving. Audiences are growing, communities are showing support, and theaters are discovering that their power is in numbers. “If one regional theatre thrives, so will others. If one closes, it threatens others. If you’ve got leprosy and your hand drops off, it doesn’t benefit the rest of the body. It’s still dying.” – The Guardian

The hottest playwright in Chicago this season is… Chekhov. Why? “Theaters may be turning to Chekhov, who wrote at the turn of the last century, as a way of exploring similar issues confronting us in the new millennium.” – Chicago Tribune

London theatre dresses an actor up as duck rather than use the real thing. Why? “Thespian ducks cost £250 a day, while the union minimum for an actor is £292.84 for a week’s work in the West End. If you’re thinking of putting your daughter on the stage, train her to be a duck, or at least a duck handler.” – The Telegraph (UK)

Big theatre producers get together to talk about the realities of producing musical theatre. “Comments on Saturday from representatives of the biggest L.A.-based commercial theater producers – Disney, Warner Bros. and Universal – were considered by many in the audience to be so discouraging that Indonesia might look even more inviting.” – Los Angeles Times