In The Paper

In this week’s issue of The Stage, Matthew Hemley talks to screenwriter Andrew Davies. Known for his exemplary adaptations of literary classics for television, including Bleak House, Northanger Abbey and Pride and Prejudice, hopes are high for his next project, Little Dorrit, for BBC1. Davis explains why he picked one of Dickens’ lesser known tales and talks about the challenges of streamlining a novel for the screen.

This was a tremendous opportunity to take a novel that not many people have read and introduce it to them. It’s not an inferior Dickens in the slightest - in fact, quite the contrary. It’s a great book… If Dickens has not done it to my satisfaction, I do try and organise the plot a little more. The problem with Little Dorrit is that he writes long, introductory chapters and keeps starting the story over and over again without ever getting the action going… I decided we have to start with Little Dorrit and stay with her and make everything else relate to that.

Also in this week’s issue:

• Alan Ayckbourn may be handing over the reins of the Stephen Joseph Theatre to Chris Monks, but he’s hardly slowing down. He tells Nick Smurthwaite about the current revival of the Norman Conquests at the Old Vic and new works on the horizon, including musical Awaking Beauty

• Live entertainment finally returned to the historic London Hippodrome with La Clique, but it is already under threat as plans to turn the venue into a casino move forward. Alistair Smith reports

• Insight: There is a wide range of schools to cater for children interested in the performing arts, including the private sector and a growing number of specialist academies within the state system. Susan Elkin looks at some of the pros and cons of the types of provision on offer

• It’s time the government freed circuses from bureaucratic and expensive licensing laws which have had a damaging impacts on the sector, argues Conservative MP Peter Luff

• Ian Herbert on The International Association of Theatre Critics’ plans for a world history of theatre criticism

• Nataylia Roni on celebrating black British talent at the Music Video and Screen Awards

• Dear John: “A friend of mine is gtting some very nice work as a singer in disguise and has suggested I try it - but I have only ever performed in theatres. What skills do I need to perform in other types of venues?”

• Jo Franks and Sandy Mullins tell Lisa Martland how trying to organise a dance party for their daughters five years ago resulted in the creation of Popstars Academy, a performing school franchise that is branching out nationwide

• Former artistic director of the RSC Terry Hands has spent the last decade in charge at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in North Wales, but he’s now making a return to London with a “modest” venture, a new play called Memory. He tells Al Senter why producing theatre in London is so important for Welsh writing.

• From tips on style and narrative to securing an agent, James Barry gives the inside track on how to get your play past the script reader when sending it to a theatre for production

• Backstage Focus: On a recent tour with the Stage Management Association, Barbara Eifler, its executive director, visited the New Empire Theatre in Southend to see how the venue is faring a decade after being rejuvenated by volunteers

• There’s only room in the world for one Jess Conrad, but somehow the new film Telstar has two, with Nigel Harman (EastEnders, Guys and Dolls) playing the young Conrad. Douglas McPherson asks the actor and singer all about it - if he can get a word in edgeways…

The Stage is available from major newsagents priced £1.40, or you can subscribe and save at www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe.

Picture shows Claire Foy as Amy Dorrit. Image: BBC Pictures

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In this week’s issue of The Stage, Broadway diva Idina Menzel talks to Mark Shenton about her new album, I Stand:

In the past year I have turned down a few opportunities, because I really think there’s a stigma around theatre people trying to do pop music. So I wanted my record label and the music industry to know that I wasn’t going to disappear because I got some role. Music is very, very important to me and I want to get out there and play my music — it’s what I am, a songwriter and musician, as well as an actress.

Also this week:

• Rehearsal Rooms supplement: Find the best places for your arts body to develop work, from amateur theatre greoups, to opera and caompanies. Plus, advice on choosing venues with adequate facilities in desirable locations

• Danny Lee Wynter, currently playing the Fool in King Lear at Shakespeare’s Globe, writes for The Stage about his experiences of making his stage debut — from research and understanding the role to dealing with stage fright, storms and sausage rolls

• We reveal the shortlist for The Stage’s Special Achievement in Regional Theatre Award, to be presented at the Theatrical Management Association Theatre Awards on October 26

• Insight: Following a wet summer and with the country in the grip of a financial crisis, country festivals and shows have struggled to draw in the crowds. Are there difficult times ahead for entertainers working in the sector?

• As the impact of the financial crisis is felt throughout most industries, what would be the effects of a recession on entertainment — and who would be the ultimate winners and losers?

• Maggie Brown on media: Channel 4’s decision to pull out of radio will have little impact on the existing media world — but ITV is in the withdrawal game

• Dillie Keane: What all families of would-be thespians want to know is: what does a young actor need to succeed?

• Dear John: “As a more mature applicant for drama school, should I be taking a different approach to the audition process?”

• Freddie Starr’s career has seen more extreme highs and lows than most, and now the veteran comic, notorious for his unpredictable and anarchic shows, is back on tour. He talks to The Stage about hos his manic side is alive and well and his ongoing bitterness towards the TV world

• With roles as wide-ranging as the romantic lead in Jane Eyre to an icy Bond villain, Toby Stephens has carved out a varied career. He talks to The Stage about his new ITV1 drama series, Wired, and the impact his parents have had on his career

• Performing can be a dangerous profession when it comes to stunts, special effects or just repeating the same physical movements night after night. Surgeon Simon Moyes, who has treated many West End performers, and actor Charles Edwards recount their experiences and impart their advice for avoiding injury

• Backstage Focus: From the Dublin Theatre festival to the Abbey’s refurbishment and the Association of Irish Stage Technicians, Geoffrey Joyce summarises backstage news from Ireland

• Almost 30 years after the project began, John Mortimer talks about adapting Brideshead Revisited for ITV’s classic serial version, and speculates on the difficulties facing the current BBC Films adaptation, in cinemas now

The Stage is available from major newsagents every Thursday, price £1.40 — or you can subscribe at http://www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe

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In this week’s issue of The Stage:

• Insight: With television programme investment in retreat, Maggie Brown asses culture secretary Andy Burnham’s response to the situation and asks which solutions will be palatable to a nation bracing itself for financial hardship

• Michael Coveney talks to theatre critic Michael Billington about his decision to direct a Pinter triple bill at LAMDA and questions whether it is wise for reviewers to turn their hands to staging work

• Dear John: “As an actor, is it worth having my own website or is being listed on online casting sites enough?”

• With the new stage adaptation of Tracy Chevalier’s The Girl with a Pearl Earring playing at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, actors Adrian Dunbar (Johannes Vermeer) and Niall Buggy (Master van Ruijven) talk to The Stage about their performing backgrounds and the challenge of taking on both real-life characters and roles that have already been played in the 2003 film

• Composer Charles Strouse has had a huge influence on the world of musical theatre, penning hits such as Annie, Bye Bye Birdie and Applause. Yet despite popular acclaim, he still finds it hard to knowledge his evident achievements

• Jonathan Harvey tells Matthew Hemley about writing Beautiful People, his new BBC2 sitcom about a teenager’s dreams to escape suburban Reading for London based on Simon Doonan’s memoirs

• A co-founder of the Boomtown Rats, Gerry Cott have up music for a life in the country, where he established a farm and started to train his own dog, Bobby, who recently starred as Toto in The Wizard of Oz and the Royal Festival Hall

• As technical director of Sadler’s Wells for 43 years, Paul Richardson has witnessed many changes backstage. He tells The Stage why he remained loyal to the company and why the recent West Side Story was the best show to bow out with

• Richard Alston looks back on his 40-year career as one of the UK’s leading dance choreographers and says he is looking forward to producing further innovative work in the future

The Stage is available at major newsagents every Thursday, priced £1.40. Postal subscriptions are available at http://www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe/

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