“I believe in small, immersive theatre, and that the disappearance of the black box—which is happening all over—means devastation to the form. When we package theatre up and market it like dollar store pregnancy tests, we lose the power of the form. Women make up 50 percent of our world, so without the contemporary voices of women on today’s stages, audiences are only getting half of the story. Humanity cannot afford this. Especially not now.”
Category: theatre
Preview Periods For Plays Will Disappear ‘In My Lifetime’, Says Leading Director
Michael Grandage: “One of the jobs of a director, and certainly I see it as one of my jobs, is to make sure the rehearsal period is such that when you get to that first preview, you are effectively getting to an opening night. … Opening previews will be opening nights before too much longer in some form. They already are, if you like, because of social media.”
National Theatre Of Scotland Gets A New Director
“Jackie Wylie will be the first Scottish leader of the theatre, and follows the surprise departure of Laurie Sansom earlier this year after three years in the post. Wylie was previously artistic director and joint chief executive of the Arches in Glasgow. From 2008 until its closure in 2015 she transformed the theatre and clubbing complex into a hotbed of cultural activity.”
Shakespeare’s Globe Loses First Donor Over Sacking Of Director
“A charity that made its first grants to Shakespeare’s Globe under artistic director Emma Rice’s tenure has revealed it will not give the theatre any more money, and is threatening to demand the return of money it has already pledged.”
Sacking Of Shakespeare’s Globe Director Is *Not* About Lighting And Decor She Chose
Matt Trueman: “She’s clearly been pushed, but it’s the speed that’s so shocking. The decision comes at the end of her very first season … Rice has challenged a hell of a lot in a short space of time – too much, too soon it now seems.”
Is Casting Screen Stars In Broadway Plays Good For Theater?
Alexis Soloski: “Well, that depends on your criteria. Certainly, it brings people in who otherwise might not attend and gives Broadway a welcome shot of the glamour it can sometimes lack, making the lights of the Great White Way glow more brightly. But too often celebrity casting seems a cheap ploy to increase box office totals and keep the publicity machine churning. These actors drum up excitement for new plays and goose otherwise bland-seeming revivals.”
Board Of Shakespeare’s Globe Decides To Jettison Controversial New Artistic Director
“Shakespeare’s Globe artistic director Emma Rice is to leave the theatre in 2018 after its board decided her methods are not authentic enough. Rice took charge of the London theatre in January but has come in for fierce criticism, including for her use of sound and lighting technology.”
Diversity Might Be Good For Canada. But Will It Translate To The Theatre Box Office?
In a much-shared speech last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “We know that Canada has succeeded – culturally, politically, economically – because of our diversity, not in spite of it.” But it’s still not known whether greater diversity and inclusion are good for the bottom line in the arts.
There’s A Puppet Golden Girls Parody Off Broadway – And It’s Getting Sued
“Mr. Duncan-Watt and his producers claim that Mr. Rockefeller stole the show, cut them out of any royalties and harassed and intimidated them. They are seeking damages from the run of ‘That Golden Girls Show!,’ which is scheduled through Dec. 31.”
The Winner Of This Year’s ‘Relentless’ Playwriting Prize
The winner of the prize, which is given “in honor of Philip Seymour Hoffman, has been given to Aleshea Harris for her play ‘Is God Is.’ The prize includes $45,000, a weeklong stay at a retreat and the opportunity to put on staged readings at regional theaters across the country.”