Category: theatre

When, in 1927, W.B. Yeats turned down Sean O’Casey’s The Silver Tassie for production at the Abbey Theatre, “the drama of its rejection dominated the pages of The Irish Times for several weeks. There were leaked letters, threatened lawsuits, literary insults thrown in from both sides, and a lengthy debate about the state and future of the Abbey Theatre.”

The warehouse of Zap Props, the resource of choice for Chicago’s theater designers, is “more surprising than any skyscraper or monument, more overwhelming than any ballpark or body of water. … Because within this building, built in 1912 and resembling so many others, no less than everything is found.”

“The Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., has announced an unusual bequest under which it will receive part of the proceeds from the musical and film rights of My Fair Lady, a beloved adaptation of one of Bernard Shaw’s plays.”

“The Traverse, Scotland’s leading factory of new writing for the stage, has gone into partnership with Picturehouse, the largest chain of independent cinemas, to screen a live broadcast of a series of short plays. For those who can’t make it to Edinburgh, it promises a flavoursome taste of the Fringe.”

“[Claire] Porter, who brings her anatomical solo Namely, Muscles to the New York International Fringe Festival this week, picks up where that old spiritual “Dry Bones” leaves off, cataloguing the soft tissues that enable dancers to fly, and assist the rest of us to rise with dignity from our chairs.”

“Will actors at auditions soon be vying for their roles with robots? And are we entering an era in which robot actors will one day take the leads in ‘Romeo and Juliet’? Though such musings might seem fanciful, they may soon come true on a stage near you.”

“Shortly before he took over in 2007, the festival’s artistic director, Bill Rauch, announced a 10-year plan to commission 37 new plays — a nod to the number in Shakespeare’s canon — about critical moments in American history. Up to 15 will get full productions at the festival; others, it is hoped, will be produced elsewhere.”

“The show, called Superclogger after L.A.’s endlessly clogged freeways,” is performed out of a white truck during rush hours. “Fueled by a determinedly low-tech aesthetic, it stars a cast that suggests a group of funky, grimy, homemade Muppets, acting out short vignettes on themes that might speak to people stuck in traffic.”

“Last week, giving a speech at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards lunch, director Nica Burns celebrated the fact that the 30th anniversary of the awards is the strongest ever for women performers: 20% of acts eligible for the award this year are by female performers.”

“The multi award-winning TV series, about a gang of high school misfits who join the school’s show choir – or Glee club – and serve a weekly helping of re-invented classic songs and big musical numbers, seems to have reinvigorated interest in music theatre at the Fringe.”