Latest news with #theatre
BBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Northampton Royal & Derngate shortlisted for theatre award
A town's theatre has been named as a finalist for the UK's most welcoming theatre Royal & Derngate has been shortlisted for the prize alongside Birmingham Rep and the Shakespeare North Playhouse in winner will be revealed at this year's UK Theatre Awards, which will take place in London on 12 Royal & Derngate's chief executive, Jo Gordon, said the theatre was "thrilled" to be up for the award. Ms Gordon said: "It's been a challenging few years for Royal & Derngate, particularly with the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) concrete in our foyer spaces in 2023. "It's so important to us that we've consistently been able to maintain a warm, welcoming and safe experience for audiences, and in particular for our access customers."The theatre's artistic director Jesse Jones said: "We're pleased to have still been able to prioritise initiatives such as dedicated access hosts, sensory bags and a sensory pod, our Step Up work experience programme and our guide dog socialisation scheme. "We've also introduced innovative new uses for our wider foyer spaces now they are fully reopened, including vintage clothes sales, video gaming experiences and art exhibitions. "We are at the heart of the local community, so we are truly thrilled to have been shortlisted for such a prestigious award in the wider theatre world." UK Theatre member venues were invited to apply for the most welcoming theatre award, and the finalists were selected based on factors ranging from accessibility and inclusion practices, to programming, outreach, workforce and audience development. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Ireland in the 1980s was bloody awful, but there was at least one good reason not to emigrate
The first play I saw was Macbeth at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. It filled me with awe, partly because it was probably very good (the darkly compelling Ray McAnally was in the title role) and partly because I had never before experienced the weird wonder of people being transformed right before my eyes. I was 13 then. I'm 67 now. So I've waited well over half a century for a staging of Macbeth that sent the same quakes up the spine – until I saw Druid 's new version in Galway last weekend. With Marty Rea as Macbeth and Marie Mullen as Lady Macbeth, Garry Hynes 's production is by far the best I've seen anywhere. [ Riders to the Sea and Macbeth: A magnificent horror unbalancing nature Opens in new window ] Which incidentally brings home a truth we too often take for granted: for all the nonsense we have to put with in Ireland, we are a nation blessed in its artists. The church betrayed us. Governments sold us out for a handful of dig-outs. Our banks became casinos. Much of the media became cynical and self-serving. But through it all there have been brilliant creative people holding fast to the hard core of art: integrity in action. Druid's Macbeth, coupled in a typically contrary and radiant gesture with John Millington Synge's great one-act tragedy Riders to the Sea, marks the company's 50th anniversary. Anyone else might stage a birthday party with cakes, candles, balloons and novelty costumes – and a nice, punter-friendly comedy to keep the box office jingling. Druid give us a fearless and ferocious exploration of evil. This is the splendour of the company and of its indefatigable leader Hynes – they never saw a grain they wouldn't want to go against. READ MORE Garry Hynes and Marie Mullen in the 1970s Druid was founded in 1975, but really came into its own at the start of the 1980s. This in itself is a triumph of perversity. The early 1980s were bloody awful. The economy imploded. The agony of the H-Block hunger strikes played itself out like a gala season of nightmares. The abortion referendum was another mad parade of a country's tormented obsessions. Statues were moving and the Virgin Mary was appearing in the Munster skies. A young girl died giving birth in a grotto. A teacher was fired for living in sin and a judge said she was lucky not to be living in a Muslim country where she would be stoned to death. I remember going, in a sceptical mood, to see Druid's production of Synge's The Playboy of the Western World in 1982. Why on earth, in the midst of all these public psychodramas, would a young theatre company want to stage the calcified old drama that had become a national joke? And then being astounded and electrified by what they were doing with it. They were reclaiming Irish tradition, revelling both in its wild poetry and its dirty realism. Druid was emerging as a kind of national liberation movement – liberating the inheritance of Irish art from prudishness and shame, but also from soft charm and wheedling winsomeness. They were making no apologies and taking no prisoners. And it struck me then that, although Druid was not overtly political, it was radically engaged. What it was engaged in was (in Martin Amis's phrase) the War on Cliche. In the North, the great poets ( Derek Mahon , Michael Longley , Seamus Heaney , Paul Muldoon ) realised they couldn't stop the horrors, but they could keep alive a supple, inventive, playful kind of language that stood in opposition to the sectarian cliches that underpinned them. Druid were doing the same thing in the South – creating a living counterculture in which all the suffocating platitudes, banalities and truisms were thrown into the bullring of their tiny auditorium to be skewered and gored on the horns of precise and truthful performance. For myself, the existence of that supercharged space up a lane in Galway was one good reason not to emigrate. Druid were gloriously shameless, but they also shamed the rest of us with their relentless commitment to Ireland, their superbly stubborn belief that a basket case could also be a Moses basket, that a collapsing country might also be a place of pure possibility. Like other Irish artists at the time – from U2 to John McGahern , Eavan Boland and Druid's great collaborator Tom Murphy – they just got on with being world class by being themselves. As Jonathan Swift said when he left his money to build a psychiatric hospital, 'No nation needed it so much.' The late playwright Tom Murphy at the Druid Theatre But I've been using the past tense inappropriately. Druid's 50th anniversary is certainly shadowed by loss. The light of some of those luminous actors – Mick Lally , Ray McBride, Maelíosa Stafford – has been dimmed by death. Jerome Hynes, whose managerial brilliance was equally vital to Druid's growth, died scandalously young. The sudden loss last Easter of Garry Hynes's wife Martha O'Neill hovers over the anniversary celebrations as an unwelcome and unnecessary reminder of the ravages of time. [ Garry Hynes: 'My wife was taken from me in the blink of an eye. My whole life's changed' Opens in new window ] And yet, because Hynes is a great artist, pain and grief are transmuted into defiance. Instead of being a lap of honour, this current Druid production is a magnificent raging against the dying of the light. It is not afraid of the dark. It goes so deep into it you think you have reached its limits – and then it goes further and deeper. Truly great theatre is a hair's breadth from truly terrible theatre. Rea's Macbeth risks monstrosity. Hynes allows him to conjure a vision that would have seemed excessive even a decade ago: pure evil. He makes that vision both timeless and terribly of our time, redolent of Vladimir Putin , Binyamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump without being reduced to any of them. And it is, in a broad sense, that most countercultural thing in contemporary Ireland: profoundly religious – Macbeth as the Antichrist. This is the glory of Druid: 50 years is overture. Hynes is more restless, more edgy, more disconcerting and more masterly than she was when the company started. Druid is not taking a bow. It is still headbutting all our complacencies. We come out of the theatre seeing stars.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Taunton's community theatre celebrates 125th anniversary
A "huge celebration" is taking place for a community theatre's 125th Musical Theatre in Taunton was founded in 1900, which makes it one of the oldest amateur theatre companies in the of TAOS Musical Theatre, Martin Stepney, said when the group was founded, it was to entertain: "The aim was to absolutely entertain, through an amateur approach. Those that were passionate about the arts wanted to give something back to the community."To celebrate, the group is planning a special production that sees past members re-join for one night on 17 October. Mr Stepney joined the theatre group when he was 16, for a production of West Side Story in 1995."It's been part of my family for years as well as it's been part of the Taunton community for 125 years," he said, adding that it was a "real community atmosphere"."It was a sense of fun. Whether it was building confidence on stage but also to put a smile on people's faces and let people sing," Mr Stepney added. He said anyone was welcome to join the group, even people who did not like to sing with volunteer roles needed for building sets and stage direction."We've had many crew who have gone on to do it professionally," Mr Stepney said."I love to support the community and have fun."A Gala to celebrate the anniversary will take place on 17 October.
News24
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- News24
James Ngcobo pioneers a Brics cultural exchange in Moscow
Supplied The esteemed director says language barriers were not an issue. He becomes the first African director in a Brics initiative to give cultural exchanges theatrical form. Egypt, China, Argentina and other countries are on board as more ventures are in the pipeline. Early this month, veteran actor and Joburg Theatre's artistic director, James Ngcobo, directed Russian actors at the Theatre of Nations in Moscow, in an initiative by the Brics nations to elevate artistic bilaterals to creative platforms other than traditional dialogue. Ngcobo's co-director was Chinese, when the latter directed Russian actors in the Swedish classic, Miss Julie, making this a rich, multicultural affair. When nations of the world convene, it is commonly done in conferences or symposiums. Ngcobo says there's a need for the Brics block of nations to shape new cultural exchanges. Written in the 1880s, playwright August Strindberg's timeless masterpiece has been performed in theatres across the world. Ngcobo found himself on the Russian theatre's radar, bringing in the SA director to bring these cultural exchanges to life. "You know the way that I am. I'm always placing a veil over people, idealizing them. So I never see who they really are. I did that with her - Miss Julie - and was bound to be disappointed." --John Liv Ullmann's MISS JULIE (by August Strindberg) 2014 — Dominique Revue (@DominiqueRevue) November 19, 2019 When given the artistic freedom to choose his play, the director said he felt that this classic love story with its political elements had a distinct universality. This ensured that he and his cast aligned much quicker. Argentina, Egypt and China are among the countries seemingly in agreement with the sentiment that while trade discussions are critical, there is still room to incorporate other aspects. Asked to dissect the value of taking these exchanges out of conference rooms and give them an artistic form, Ngcobo said: 'Maybe they [the Russians] also thought that we talk too much and they were not interested in talking. They were interested in moving the concept forward and you do this by finding someone from a different country.' Supplied Ngcobo and his Chinese counterpart were the first directors to propel this initiative forward and the former is the first African director to take on this challenge. Taking this as an opportunity to remind the global market that African directors are global citizens, Ngcobo said he was intentional about not selecting a piece from SA. It's important for people to understand that we're not just African directors, we are directors in a universal space. You've seen my trajectory as a director. I've been very conscious about directing works from all over the world. I choose plays in such a way that I don't present as one-dimensional. James Ngcobo This cannot be disputed, as Ngcobo has staged multiple internationally acclaimed plays, showcasing his uncanny ability to make them relatable to his local audience while retaining their original essence. Among these is American poet and playwright Ntozake Shange's (whose given name is Paulette Williams) For Colored Girls, and Oleanna by internationally celebrated author and Tony award-nominated playwright, David Mamet. If you had to choose a cast member from For Colored Girls based on your favourite colour, which colour would you pick?🙈😍 #ForColoredGirlsSA #ForColorFavourite — Joburg Theatre (@joburgtheatre) January 13, 2024 While Miss Julie was only staged this month, the casting was done last year. Ngcobo said working with a translator in a different country was a new experience for him. However, the language and cultural barriers were not an issue because there are South African languages that he doesn't speak and would therefore also require a translator if he were to stage work in those languages. 'I looked at Russian as a mere language because I know the play very well and by the third week, I was not even looking at the English script,' he recalled. My set designer couldn't speak a word of English, but we worked like a dream. You then realise that we always create hurdles for ourselves that are based on language. Language can't be a hurdle. For me, this experience proved that theatre is not about a language. It's a human condition, it's about emotions and, this is what I was directing. James Ngcobo More exchanges are in the pipeline as the Brics nations are determined to explore and develop this initiative. Ngcobo said he felt honoured to create this bridge. Playwright Palesa Mazamisa, who is also cementing herself as a global director, steered the ship in this year's production of Patrice Lumumba's life story in the play Katanga at the Market Theatre. Mazamisa will be jetting off to Saint Petersburg in Russia soon. Her award-winning play, Shoes and Coups, has been translated into Russian and Mazamisa will be directing a reading of it.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Ciarán Hinds: ‘Who is my celebrity crush? Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem'
Born in Belfast, Ciarán Hinds, 72, studied at Rada. In 1987, he joined Peter Brook's cast of The Mahabharata – an epic play that toured the world; he went on to perform for the RSC and the National Theatre. His films include The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Belfast and Frozen. On television, he has appeared in Game of Thrones and The Terror, and will star in the new BBC adaptation of The Narrow Road to the Deep North. He is married to actor Hélène Patarot with whom he has a daughter, and lives in London and Paris. What is your greatest fear? I'm not fond of snakes. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Vagueness. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Pomposity. What was your most embarrassing moment? Falling off the stage and on to the pianist during the opening number in the Mother Goose pantomime at the Citizens theatre in Glasgow. Describe yourself in three words Hopeful, egalitarian, overweight. What makes you unhappy? The slaughter of innocents. What do you most dislike about your appearance? My gut. What is your most unappealing habit? Where to begin? If you could edit your past, what would you change? My penchant for having just one too many. What scares you about getting older? Not being able to fend for myself and being a burden to others. Who is your celebrity crush? Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Which book are you ashamed not to have read? Ulysses by James Joyce, but I might make a start next week – or the week after that … What is the worst thing anyone's said to you? As a young actor, again at the Citizens theatre, I was making an exit and a theatregoer leaned over the balcony and said, 'You're terrible!' What is your guiltiest pleasure? A perfect pint of Guinness. What or who is the greatest love of your life? My wife and daughter – in no particular order. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion What does love feel like? Overwhelming, discombobulating, irrational and unreasonable. Have you ever said 'I love you' and not meant it? Oh yes, many times – and then had to do another take because it didn't look like I meant it. What has been your closest brush with the law? I was once approached by a New York cop who said he was sorry but he was going to have to book me for impersonating a Roman emperor. What keeps you awake at night? An inability to get myself to bed at a reasonable hour. Would you rather have more sex, money or fame? Oh, all right then, sex. How would you like to be remembered? As not being a total bollix. What is the most important lesson life has taught you? We're not here for long so don't be wreaking havoc along the way. Tell us a joke Two cows in a field. One of them says, 'I hear there's another outbreak of mad cow disease.' The other one says, 'Yep, thank God I'm a penguin.'
