Category: theatre

Declan Donnellan Remembers Cheek By Jowl’s All-Male “As You Like It”

“To many at that time, an all-male Shakespeare production seemed like a one-off curiosity that would lead nowhere. … We were nervous opening with this strange experiment; the first performance was in Farnham and the following week was Rio. … The news slowly started to spread. Soon festivals were inviting us to perform in other countries.”

“Trespass Theater” At A Superfund Site (Ew)

“While [most site-specific] productions are held in controlled and sanctioned spaces, [Jeff] Stark’s works take place in locations like abandoned power plants and disused subway stations, with no permission or permits, and are subject to a rude lack of cooperation from the real world.” The play at hand: an enactment of the Persephone myth at Brooklyn’s notoriously polluted Gowanus Canal.

In Immersive Theatre, How Active Should The Audience Be?

“In the past, it was all so easy. When you bought a theatre ticket, you could be pretty confident that you would sit in a row with other people, watch the play in the dark and clap at the end. …No longer. Audiences are increasingly asked to be participants or collaborators; to take part, sometimes to follow instructions, and occasionally even to have agency.” But many remain reluctant. Should they?

These Broadway Producers Turned Down $400K To Move To A Different Theater

“That’s a tidy sum in an industry where many plays cost $4 million to produce, and most end up losing money. But with Broadway’s 40 theaters nearly all booked, and plenty of shows waiting for vacancies, the recent jockeying for the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater reflected the imperative of producers and directors to hold fast to a prime theater that finally comes their way.”

When The Author Of “Catch-22” Wrote A Musical Comedy

“Howe & Hummel has never been performed. It hasn’t even been published. In the 50 years since [Joseph] Heller completed it, it’s never had so much as a public reading. Only two copies of the typescript survive. … In subsequent years, Heller would rewrite reality as artfully as Howe and Hummel, and erase Howe & Hummel from his life. His autobiography spares not a word for the project he devoted so many months to.”