Category: theatre

Charles Isherwood: “But this season, for the first time in recent memory, the never-never land of Broadway also opened a few grimy windows on the unsettled landscape beyond the precincts of 42nd Street … [in] plays that reflect the flinty exigencies of life as it is lived by many – if not most – in our money-troubled 21st century.”

“If heads are turning more than usual next summer in Los Angeles, it may be because a stage adaptation of The Exorcist, about a 10-year-old girl possessed by the devil and the Catholic priest who tries to save her, is set to open there at the Geffen Playhouse.”

“The London venue, the oldest music hall of its kind in the world, needs &pound3.5 million to make it structurally sound, according to its director, Frances Mayhew.” Since re-opening as a performance space in 1999, Wilton’s has hosted many opera and theatre productions – most notably, several Deborah Warner/Fiona Shaw collaborations.

“A ‘professional’ could be defined as someone who has trained in a particular skill and then earns a living through using this skill. Yet, of course, simply because of the way the industry works, by this definition many people who work in theatre wouldn’t count. … So what, really, are the differences between the situation of the performers I’ve just described and amateurs?”

“‘I have a stack of plays in my bag right now that I am reading,’ Winfrey said with great enthusiasm and determination last week … ‘And just this past weekend, I was in New York meeting with producers. We were just talking about what would be the best route to take. But yes, this is really going to happen. … Life is too short’.”

The musical “has largely abandoned [Julie] Taymor’s Wagnerian ambitions and high-concept artistry, going for a comic-book sensibility instead … as the producers seek a strategy to make good on their record-setting investment of $70 million.”

“The BBC has teamed up with the Royal Shakespeare Company to launch a nationwide competition which will see secondary school students perform speeches and monologues written by Shakespeare.”

Half a dozen actors, from Patrick Stewart to Anthony Sher to Angus Wright, talk about the difficulties of performing the role, from the nastiness of the emotions to abuse from castmates.

“Director Tom Morris has claimed that “War Horse” and “Jerusalem” – the two UK-originated shows which feature heavily in the nominations for this year’s Tony Awards on Broadway – would not have been possible without government subsidy.”