Category: theatre

Actors and audiences alike participated in protests against Viktor Orban’s new law around who controls theatre funding. “The change comes as Mr. Orban’s government has become increasingly authoritarian and eroded democratic institutions. It has widened its control over the news media and education, and has given allies roles in overseeing the country’s cultural institutions. And after winning a third term last year, Mr. Orban set the tone for a battle over the arts, saying, ‘We must embed the political system in a cultural era.'” – The New York Times

“So, who can afford to perform at the Fringe regularly? Who can absorb a grand loss every year? Who can work unpaid for 17 weeks at a time? The answer is people who already have money. People who have the financial resources to take that hit year-in and year-out while they build a profile, while they experiment, while they get better at their job. Not me, and not any of my fellow working class artists – that’s for sure.” – The Stage

Isaac Butler: “Usually when a piece from the U.K. fails to resonate in the U.S. (or vice versa), we can chalk it up to intangible cultural differences between our two countries and their famous separation by a common language. But this was an American play, with a mostly American cast, about New York City, the AIDS crisis, gay history, and what members of a community owe to each other. Why has it ended up struggling so much over here? The answer is partly political, … [but] more deadly, I think, are basic problems of playwriting craft: If The Inheritance is failing to connect, it is because its structure as a work of drama is unsound.” – Slate

“They indicated that they didn’t want to be associated with the theater any longer after they had departed, so we did that.” When I asked if they said they wanted to be excised from its history, he said, “We interpreted it in that fashion.” – Chicago Reader

“The theatre, which has a current operating budget of $4.5 million, stopped producing last year to focus on tackling its [$2.6 million in] debts … As they planned to reopen, … the board focused on three elements that make the Rep ‘sacred,’ and that were a must for future sustainability: being affordable to attract audiences, producing relevant shows, and maintaining professional status [as an Equity house].” – American Theatre

“This proposal would eliminate cultural diversity, which stems from freedom — which means artists are not kept on a political leash,” Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony said. The Hungarian Theatre Society also issued a statement saying the plan would curtail artistic freedoms in an unacceptable way. – Reuters

“This year will be remembered as a transitional one for American theater, as a new generation of leaders settled in at some of the nation’s top nonprofits, including Washington’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre (Maria Goyanes taking over from Howard Shalwitz) and Shakespeare Theatre Company (Simon Godwin, succeeding Michael Kahn).” – Washington Post

The Vote, originally staged at London’s Donmar Warehouse in 2015, will return in an updated form this Thursday. The 90-minute play depicts the final 90 minutes of voting at a polling place in a swing district. – The Observer (UK)

That’s not about radical parents or radical kids – it’s about changing theatre at its roots to reflect the reality of working parents in the industry. Not surprisingly, parents have some ideas, some practice, and some means-tested ways to get theatre much more integrated into the lives of parents and kids (and vice versa). – HowlRound