In The Paper

In this week’s issue:

• Best known for playing Mickey Smith in Doctor Who and writing the scripts for films Kidulthood and Adulthood, Noel Clarke tells us how he is fed up with being pigeonholed as a writer of urban dramas and is anxious to explore new genres

• Ben Dowell reports from an unusually convivial Edinburgh International Television Festival, which saw rival broadcasters with much to agree about as they joined together to defend their industry from critics and regulators

• The Fringe Report website was founded six years ago to provide information and reviews on events outside mainstream culture. Now averaging 10,000 hits a month its succes is mostly down to the dedication and charm of its founder, John Park

• Insight: After indie band Hamfatter’s unashamed (and sucessful) bid to secure £75,000 on TV show Dragon’s Den and when so many acts seek exposure on TV talent shows, are artists sacrificing their credibility for media attention?

• When Peter Jay launched his ‘MTV version’ of circus in Great Yarmouth’s Hippodrome 30 years ago, he encountered a fair amount of resistance. But since then, the 64-year-old showman has proved his unique style of presentation has been a hit with audiences across the UK.

• Artists from across the world will gather in London next month for the 21st International Workshop Festival, which this year will focus on the role of political theatre. Artistic director Luke Dixon explains how the event will broaden the public’s understanding of events around the globe

• Red Ladder artistic director Rod Dixon tells Kevin Berry about the touring company’s latest production to mark its 40th birthday, his plans to raise its profile and trying to get young people interested in theatre

• Dear John: “I’m starting my acting career from my base in a northern town, but people tell me I am wasting my time unless I move to London. Is this true?”

• Training: Since it was founded in 1989, children’s theatre company Kazzum has gone from strength to strength, securing a further £30,000 from ACE earlier this year. Administrative director Akua Obeng-Frimpong talks to Susan Elkin about the company’s aim to expand boundaries and embrace the creativity of its audience

• Alternative Courses Special: Whether you want to dip your toe in the water to see if performing arts is for you, you want to have a better chance of getting into drama school next year or you want to work on a particular skill, there are plenty of different kinds of training available. We look at some of the courses on offer in our special guide

The Stage is available for £1.40 from major newsagents, including most high street branches of WH Smith. Alternatively, you can subscribe onlineNoel

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Revelling in his new-found popularity as a ‘nostalgia king’, championed by the likes of Chris Moyles and Peter Kay, Roy Walker has taken his new stand-up show Goodbye Mr Chips to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He talks to The Stage about how student fans have filled him with confidence and how a well-placed catchphrase kick-started his career.

Also in this week’s issue:

• Lucy Gannon’s new ITV drama serial The Children has been 13 years in the making. She explains why it has taken so long to come to fruition, and why the BBC should hang its head in shame. And the serial’s star, Kevin Whately, tells what it’s like working with Gannon on this, their fourth collaboration

• As ITV announces a new primetime variety show, For One Night Only, producer Glen Middleham explains how variety can still prosper on TV if it is given a modern edge

• Insight: As Manchester venues are told they could lose funding if they stage plays which glamorise smoking, we consider the wider implications of council policy overriding art

• LAMDA principal Peter James talks about the unique relationship the academy shares with US educational institutions

• Actor Andrew Jarvis has worked with the RSC and played Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. He tells Paul Vale how sheer determination, a hunger to perform and a Stage competition have played a crucial role in helping him achieve his goals

• From stage to screen - and back: British directors with a background in theatre are making it big in Hollywood — prompting more film stars to seek stints in the West End

• Maggie Brown on media: Why we should salute the BBC’s audience-oriented Olympics coverage | Who should be running BBC2?

• Dillie Keane: Why biogs are the bane of performers’ lives

• Dear John: “Should I aim on developing a wide range of performance skills or aim to get very good at just one thing?”

• Backstage Focus: The Railway Children is running at the National Railway Museum in York, a project that has been a long time in the planning. We speak to the people involved and find out just how demanding the project is

• Famed for his soulful hits in the eighties and for singing the opening line on Do They Know It’s Christmas, Paul Young has spent the last decade fronting the Tex-Mex band Los Pacaminos. He talks to Douglas McPherson about re-releasing his debut album, a quarter of a century on

Plus all the usual news, reviews (including the pick of the Eidnburgh shows), jobs and auditions.

The Stage is available for £1.40 from most high street WHSmiths and many other newsagents. Stockists in Edinburgh can be found on our Edinburgh website.

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In this week’s issue of The Stage:

• Broadway traditionally goes dark in the summer — should the West End follow suit? Mark Shenton looks at whether the current absence of plays and a number of empty theatres in London is a worrying sign, or whether we should accept them as an economic and practical necessity

• Lesley Manville, currently in her fourth appearance in as many years at the National Theatre in Her Naked Skin, tells Mark Shenton why she owes her rich and varied career to Mike Leigh and how she’s happy to be back doing regular stage work

• Curtain Up: As Cabaret prepares to tour the UK, I’d Do Anything’s Samantha Barks talks about her new role as Sally Bowles

• Following a magnificent opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics, can London live up to such a spectacle in 2012 — and how will our capital city promote itself during this year’s closing ceremony? Sports broadcaster and Olympic historian Philip Barker investigates

• Dear John: “Okay, I’m up in Edinburgh for the first time, but my show is over by lunchtime. What do I do for the rest of my day to make the most of my trip?” Featuring advice from stand-up Paul Kerensa and comedian/writer/actor Angie Le Mar.

• Publicist Mark Borkowski talks about his new book, The Fame Formula - How Hollywood’s Fixers, Fakers and Starmakers Created the Celebrity Industry

• Broadcasting: Shane Murphy, head of acquisitions at TV licensing and distribution company FremantleMedia Enterprises, explains how it plays a key role in approaching and developing talent

• Summer reading special: The latest arts-themed books reviewed

• Currently going great guns on Saturday nights, the backstage crews on Last Choir Standing explain the difficulties of staging a live TV show with up to 175 singers on stage at once

• Backstage Focus: While staging concepts are becoming ever more sophisticated, there’s still demand for the talented theatre carpenter, explains Mountview’s head of construction, Tim Stafell

The Stage is on sale at most high street branches of WH Smith as well as many other newsagents, priced £1.40. Alternatively, you can subscribe and have a copy delivered to your door every week.

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In this week’s issue of The Stage, complete with double-page poster spread of David Tennant as Hamlet at the RSC Courtyard Theatre, there’s something of a venue theme:

• Since Dan Crawford founded the King’s Head Theatre in 1970, it has played host to some of the most famous names in theatre, with more than 30 of its productions transferring to the West End. When Crawford died from cancer in 2005, his wife Stephanie Sinclaire took over as creative director. She talks to Nick Smurthwaite about surviving without subsidy

• Over the last three years, Liverpool’s Royal Court has established itself as an award-winning venue, with more than 150,000 people passing through its doors. Its chief executive Kevin Fearon talks about his plans to expand as a theatre production company

• West Yorkshire Playhouse chief executive Ian Brown talks about the venue’s new recruit, general director Sheena Wrigley, its youth work venture and why public transport makes his job that bit harder

Also this week:

• Insight: The BBC Proms is a British tradition, but is constantly developing and mixing classical standards and international music and new events

• After seven years at the helm of the Heritage Lottery Fund, Liz Forgan talks about her biggest achievements, difficult decisions and how the handover to her successor will be as smooth as possible

• Training: Since its launch 16 years ago, the Deutsche Bank Pyramid Awards have helped students from eight arts institutions with funding and ongoing business mentoring

• Susan Elkin looks at the one-year musical theatre course from KSA Performing Arts, which can help its students secure a place at the highly competitive schools such as Mountview and ArtsEd

• Paul Vale reviews the top talent graduating from CDS schools across the country at the second annual Spotlight Showcases, which took place before an invited audience of casting agents, directors and producers last month

• Broadcasting: After appearing in the original cast of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys, Andrew Knott has been looking to the Bourne films for his role as a young recruit in BBC3’s Spooks: Code 9

• Actor Saul Reichlin specialises in narrating audiobooks, a talent that was unearthed by accident but has developed into a successful career. He tells all about the perks and problems of working in this boom industry

• Backstage Focus: The thought-provoking Shift Happens in Digital Technology conference, held at York Theatre Royal, provided a fascinating insight into how the arts can maximise the potential of the digital world

• With BBC sitcom Dad’s Army celebrating its 40th anniversary, Nick Smurthwaite investigates the show’s enduring cross-generation appeal

And as usual, we have a fine array of columnists:

• Maggie Brown on media: Channel 4’s new talent season shows how the hunt for new faces is changing

• Arthur Smith on Edinburgh: Arbitrary is the key word: the day you planned is nothing like the you experience

• Clive Barnes on the end of the Broadway season

• Dear John: “I’ve been in my first successful long-run show, but as the last performance draws near, what should I be doing to make sure I have something new to work on afterwards?” With advice from Femi Oguns and David Habbin

The Stage is on sale at most high street branches of WH Smith as well as many other newsagents, priced £1.40. Alternatively, you can subscribe and have a copy delivered to your door every week. Royal

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