Category: theatre

“If we hear booing at the opera, why don’t we hear it at the theater? And — dare I ask — should we?”

The Shakespeare history play is “Classical Theater of Harlem’s first full-scale production in nearly two years, since its founders departed after friction with the board. And the company is kicking off its new life in debt, with no endowment or permanent home, and dependent on corporate, foundation and government financing at a time when such money is harder than ever to come by.”

“In the wee small hours of the morning, London’s streets, artificially lit, empty bar the odd straggler or clump of smokers, easily accommodate fictions heard through headphones. You hone in on the appropriate elements: shivering women and urban lighting or armed police and arguments.”

“There came an evening – it was in Kuwait, as Tim Supple recalls – when one of the many people he consulted in his quest to bring One Thousand and One Nights to the stage using a pan-Arabic cast, suddenly got a bit aggressive. ‘You know,’ the man said, ‘at some point someone is going to ask you: what the —- are you doing here?'”

Rupert Christiansen: “The other day, in search of a quotation, I was leafing through Shakespeare’s Henry V. The character of choleric Ancient Pistol reminded me that the Elizabethans approached cussing much more imaginatively than we do, treating it as an opportunity for elaborate verbal invention rather than just taking potshots at the same flat monosyllables.”

“In terms of quantity and quality, Canada’s two big festivals can look our own squarely in the eye and not flinch. In the quarter century since I last visited them, they have become more defiantly Canadian while achieving international standards. Isn’t it about time we recognised the fact?”

“The lavishly produced Walt Disney musical won eight of the 12 categories it was nominated in, including best musical, best musical direction, … best choreography, best sound design and best direction” as well as best lead actor and actress in a musical.

“[He] has a Tony, an Oscar, a BAFTA, several AFI awards and has often lamented his failure to nab a Logie. But while television’s top prize remains elusive, he was inducted into the ranks of [Australia’s] elite performing artists last night with his first Helpmann Award.”

“Sharing what goes on behind the curtain, with 140-character messages to friends and fans in real time, actors are now able to reach people in and out of the industry. Sometimes tweets go out literally mid-performance, revealing even the smallest private moments.”

“London’s theatreland has recovered from a slump earlier this year, seeing box office takings between April and June up by 2% on the same period in 2010. The industry had braced itself after a drop in takings between January and March of 6% and a 10% audience lull. But figures have increased, due in particular to attendance of plays, which rose 13%.”