“The Two Worlds of Charlie F was conceived by the producer Alice Driver after a conversation with a surgeon about casualties returning from Afghanistan. Most of the actors are W.I.S. soldiers from the British armed forces; some are drawn from Commonwealth nations. The playwright cum poet cum novelist Owen Sheers developed the script after group workshops with the members of Bravo 22 Company, incorporating many of their stories and jokes.”
Category: theatre
Why Some Playwrights Avoid Interviews
Caryl Churchill is one of several prominent playwrights who simply refuse to speak to the press about their work. Mark Lawson understands the point – as Michael Frayn once said, “[I didn’t] spend two years writing a play in order to sum it up impromptu over lunch.”
How Are Mormons Reacting To The Book Of Mormon?
“[It’s] easy to wonder: Now that Mormon is a part of the country’s cultural conversation, how do followers feel about a Broadway hit satirizing aspects of their faith? The church apparently approves of the show enough to buy three full page ads in the Playbill program each theatergoer gets.”
When Prop Masters Meet
“Melissa Erdman has a killer recipe for vomit. ‘Mixed-fruit oatmeal,’ she said.” Scenes from a gathering of about 50 “prop tarts” at the Public Theater in New York.
Does Time Out London Have A Conflict-Of-Interest Problem?
“It seems obvious that a publication that claims to offer independent critical opinion on a production can’t also serve as that show’s producer. But this is just what Time Out is doing, writes Alistair Smith.”
British Venture Launches Online Archive Of Rare Theatre Footage
“At launch, the archive contains more than 40 hours of material brought together from private archives and includes interviews with Stanislavki’s translator, the late Jean Benedetti, and a fully-translated Russian documentary on the work of Michael Chekhov.”
Are We Ready To Tell The Truth About Theatre?
“It’s easy to see how a field filled with excellent producers and storytellers can produce truths that perpetuate cultural norms for defining success. But…”
When The Puppet Is A 120-Pound Horse, Who’s Controlling Whom?
In the stage version of War Horse, Joey “is a very intricately hand-crafted puppet that takes three puppeteers to operate at all times.” And sometimes he doesn’t want to be operated exactly right.
Puppets And The Dark Side Of (Indonesian) LIfe
Puppeteer Maria Tri Sulistyani of Indonesia’s Papermoon Puppet Theatre, which is touring the U.S., says “we are telling stories about values – about moral choices and conflicts and relating to everyday life. Our stories are really personal and focus on individuals. From there we can see the bigger issues.”
Joining The 21st Century, Samuel French Develops An E-Script Library
Actors learning their lines will soon need to be off-tablet or off-phone instead of off-book, thanks to a new app.