Category: theatre

Being an actor is tougher than ever. “In Britain, over 90 per cent of them are unemployed at any given time. Yet while the number of graduates pouring out of drama and stage schools continues to rise, the opportunities are dwindling. And finding out about openings is harder than ever if you’re not already one of the lucky 10 per cent.” – The Observer (UK)

Theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh is in desperate need of a hit (he hasn’t had one since “Miss Saigon”). Now the reviews are in on “Witches of Eastwick” which opened in London this week. “Judging from the reviews and the reaction to the show from the theater elite here this week, Mackintosh seems to have hit a double. And with his unrivaled talent for marketing and publicity, he just may be able to steal his way to third, theater people here say. – New York Post

Want to know the real theatre scoop? Talk to the people who see it all – the ushers. “Indeed, perhaps no one has seen the changes in theatre-and by extension, some of the cultural shifts in the society at large-more vividly than those doughty black-clad ushers who’ve been moving up and down the aisles, flashlights in hand, for the long haul.” – Backstage

Philadelphia has a thriving industry of “historical look-alikes” – people who dress up as Washington or Jefferson or Lincoln for parties or events. With the Republican National Convention coming to town soon, business figured to be booming for the bogus Abes, Toms and Georges. But it seems that Republicans are last-minute partiers, and now many of the portrayers are booked for other gigs. – Philadelphia Inquirer

Cameron Mackintosh’s new £4.5 million production of “The Witches of Eastwick” opens in London to an enthusiastic audience. – BBC

A “razzle-dazzle” production. – Washington Post

Rome’s Coliseum will stage its first performance before a paying audience in 1,500 years. Instead of fighting lions of gladiators, Greek tragedy will be on the bill. “The performances were made possible by building a wooden structure over a section of underground labyrinth that once housed gladiators and wild beasts, capping years of restoration work.” – The Times of India (Reuters)

Ah, it’s the British summer theatre season. “Of course, many of these performances with their accompanying picnic hampers may be jolly social occasions, but have as much to do with theatre as a summer’s evening at Kenwood for the 1812 overture and fireworks has to do with classical music. Essentially these affairs are a substitute for the village fete, or a form of cocktail party where the culture is gulped down as easily as the Chardonnay. They are marked by the exclusivity that so dogs theatre.” – The Guardian

The theatre world gathers to memorialize producer David Merrick. “It was Mr. Merrick’s difficult, enigmatic personality that pervaded the memorial yesterday. While several speakers expressed a love of the shows he created, few conveyed a comparable love of the man.” – New York Times

The O’Neill Theatre Conference has a new director, only its second in 35 years. In his first season at the conference James Houghton is trying to put the emphasis even more firmly on the writers, and he has made small but significant alterations. – New York Times

A $10.8 million Australian production of “Pan” has closed in Sydney, a failure by any measure, and one of the biggest disasters in Australian theatre history. “More than any theatre enterprise in Australia, including the jinxed Sunset Boulevard and the ill-fated Sisterella, Pan appears to have been cursed.” – Sydney Morning Herald