In The Paper

In this week’s edition of The Stage we talk to leading producer, Sonia Friedman as she juggles productions on Broadway and in the West End. She discusses the effect that the credit crunch has had on the type of productions she intends to put on next year (nothing “too dark or depressing”) and, happily, displays some optimism about the health of the theatre industry as the recession takes hold:

Theatre thrives in difficult times. It is the bigger expenditures that suffer, like a new car or an expensive holiday. People still need to treat themselves with day to day things.

Also in the paper:

• Joe Ahearne talks to Matthew Henley about his new exorcism thriller, Apparitions, which is currently being broadcast on the BBC. “If people find it controversial,” he says, “then you have to say to them that we are not in the business of making children’s TV.”

• We preview the panto season, with full listings and an interview with the managing director of Qdos Entertainment’s pantomime division Michael Harrison.

• Insight: We turn the spotlight on film studies, from the new GCSE in Moving Image to practical study at higher education. We ask what affect such courses have on performing arts, and how they can work alongside more traditional theatre training.

• The results of the Evening Standard Theatre Awards are in, with Michael Grandage and the Donmar Warehouse proving the big winners.

• Richard Jordan: The award-winning theatre producer gives his thoughts on Shrek’s imminent arrival on Broadway, and considers whether Disney should be worried about Dreamworks muscling in on their musical territory.

• The founder of Theatre Record Ian Herbert discusses the importance of reviews with regards to the documentation of theatre history.

• Irish theatre company Fishamble celebrates its 20th birthday this year. Here, artistic director Jim Culleton talks about the state of Irish writing, and their current production Rank, which is playing at London’s Tricycle.

• Showpeople: This week we have Q&As with actor and director Adam Sutherland, Northampton’s Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Natalie Burt, and Scottish actress Carmen Pieraccini.

• Kevin Dowsett, founder of Theatretrain, says that theatre companies should consider using shopping centre units as rehearsal spaces.

• Dear John: What should we be looking for in a band manager and how do we get the right one?

• Harry Venning on TV: Clone / The Devil’s Whore / Strictly Come Dancing

• Lisa Martland on Radio: Danny Robins’ Music Therapy / Another Case of Milton Jones / Listen Against

• Backstage Focus: Freelance production manager David Evans says that more paperwork won’t prevent accidents during loading and unloading.

• Win tickets for Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea at London’s Battersea Arts Centre.

• Howard Bird reports on the role theatre technicians play in schools, and the creation of the School Theatre Support Group which represents the views and interests of this growing industry.

The Stage is available for £1.40 in most major newsagents. Subscription deals are also available: see www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe for more details

Posted by Anna Lowman at 5:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week’s issue of The Stage is a bumper light entertainment special. Featuring our first ever wraparound cover (see above), we lift the lid on all sides of this lucrative, but undervalued, sector of the performing arts.

We invited a selection of light entertainment performers to join us on stage at the beautiful Hackney Empire to celebrate the impending launch of booktheact.com in December, The Stage’s forthcoming light entertainment directory and act booking website. From vocalists and tribute acts, to yo-yo pros, burlesque artists, psychics and harpists, they demonstrate the huge diversity of talent across the UK.

Also this week:

• Dressed in a white suit and ready for victory, Gareth Gates’ first experience of public disappointment was losing out to Will Young in the final of 2002’s Pop Idol. Since then, Young has soared in the credibilty stakes while Gates’s pop career disintegrated. He talks about starring in panto, where he sees his future and why he won’t change a thing about his seven years of fame

• Ventriloquist Nina Conti describes life on the comedy circuit and the subculture of the “spesh” act

• Insight: With the recession looming, now is a good time for light entertainment as audiences search for something to lift their spirits. Michael Quinn reflects on which elements of the gene are likely to grow most in popularity

• Qdos entertainment director and specialist variety producer and writer Jon Conway discusses the popularity of live variety, why the genre is so poorly represented on television and its future in British society

• Training: If you’re thinking about a career in light entertainment, Susan Elkin looks at some of the educational courses that could help

• Hackney Empire chief executive Simon Thomsett on why “light” doesn’t mean “insubstantial”

• Agent Hannah Chambers on the importance of the internet

• Dear John: “Constant gigging is they only proven way to get better as a comedian, but how do I go about getting more of those gigs?” Plus John and The Stage’s light entertainment guru Mark Ritchie advise one comedian about how to turn his hand to TV presenting

• As The Stage prepares to launch its new online product booktheact.com, Mark Ritchie introduces the team responsible for generating the sales for the project

• Showpeople: Q&As with Mark Copeland, founder of Insect Circus; actor-magician Joe Tracini, Disneyland Resort Paris head of entertainment casting Madeline Aveson-Gruber; comedian and mime artist Ricky K

• From car launches to wedding receptions, the market for celebrity or character lookalikes can provide an income strem for those lucky enough to resemble a famous person

• Backstage Focus: By using three-dimensional interactive projections, producer Qdos has set the benchmark for pantomime spectaculars

• We meet legendary variety club owner Bob Potter, who despite turning 80 this month has lost none of his energy, dedication and enthusiasm

Posted by Scott Matthewman at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this week’s issue of The Stage we talk to Denis Lawson, who has joined the cast of La Cage aux Folles in the role of Georges. He talks about the various acting challenges in his career:

I could see that musicals in London were developing along the lines of the American model and performers were appearing who were becoming known for only doing musicals. I’ve always needed the challenge which variety brings.

• Lenny Henry recently announced he was putting his aversion to Shakespeare aside to make his theatrical debut in Othello. Warwick University Professor of English Carol Rutter invited him to the university’s CAPITAL Centre to gain academic expertise on the play

• Insight: The EU Commission has accepted proposals to extend musician’s copyright from 50 to 95 years, despite unfavourable independent reports and fierce campaigning from the Open Rights Group. Kay Smith reports

• The fallout over Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross’s phone calls to Andrew Sachs has helped to show how diverse and divided the BBC’s audience is. Ben Dowell considers the reactions to the row and asks how the Corporation can learn from it in its bid to serve every household in the country

• Channel 4 launches its big new costume drama, English Civil War epic The Devil’s Whore next week. Writer Peter Flannery (Our Friends in the North) tells Matthew Hemley why it’s about time there was a TV series based on the English Civil War, while its star Andrea Riseborough (pictured) tells Adrian Lobb about the research that helped her find the inspiration for her fictional heroine

• Forced Entertainment has been questioning the bnature of theatre and pushing boundaries for 25 years. Matt Trueman taks to artistic director Tim Etchells about the company’s past and present

• Maggie Brown on Media: What next after the Brand/Ross affair? / Why isn’t Little Dorrit working? / Channel 4’s tough times

• Dillie Keane: Beat the recession by inventing a rabbit

• Dear John: “I know there are right and wrong ways to approach building my career in this industry, but I also know that it is often individuals and rule-breakers who get the furthest. How do I balance the two?”

• In the year in which Quebec City celebrates its 400th anniversary, Lalayn Baluch talks to its culture minister Christine St-Pierre about spreading the celebrations to reach a global audience in London, Liverpool and beyond

• Giving new and established acts in the Canary Islands a chance to shine, the Tenerife’s Got (Lots Of) Talent competition has acted as a way to reach audiences of bar owners and promoters as well as tourists and expats. Contest creator Duke Sell tells Derek Smith about the venet’s formation and the chnages in the island’s entertainment scene

• Backstage Focus: AK Bennett-Hunter visits the recently opened state-of-the-art Wexford Opera House, which stands on the same site as the Theatre Royal, but has been designed with acoustics in mind

• Young people interested a career in the performing arts can gain expert advice on all aspects of theatre — from producing and directing to make-up and props — at the annual careers fair, TheatreCraft 2008

• With a 60-year career as a photographer and a long history of taking pictures of showbiz stars, Doug McKenzie has finally taken his turn in the spotlight, devising a show of some of his legendary images set to music. He tells Natalie Lambracos how Phot Song Book evolved from camera to the stage

• This week’s Showpeople:

  • Harmonica player Ben Hewlett
  • Writer and comedian Janice Connolly, known as Holy Mary in Channel 4’s Phoenix Nights and a founder member of Women & Theatre
  • X Factor runner-up Niki Evans, currently playing Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers

The Stage is available for £1.40 in most major newsagents. Subscription deals are also available: see www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe for more details

Posted by Scott Matthewman at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week’s issue of The Stage includes a full-page spread of Pete Postlethwaite in Liverpool Everyman and Headlong’s production of King Lear (see above). Also this week:

• Former James Bond Roger Moore has finally put his tales of a life in showbusiness, Hollywood and as a UNICEF ambassador into an autobiography, “My Word Is My Bond”. Nick Smurthwaite finds out more

• The Royal Ballet’s new British dancer Lauren Cuthbertson talks about her first season at the Royal opera House, working with the late Anatole Grigoriev and being heralded as the next Darcey Bussell

• Insight: With ticket touts’ methods becoming more sophisticated and website scams and inflated booking fees on the increase, what is being done to tackle ticketing injustice?

• Dear John Special: John Byrne talks to Equity and Skillset, who have joined forces to offer specialist guidance to performers

• Despite contrasting locations and operational attitudes, London’s Polka and Unicorn theatres share a striong reputation for innovation. We talk to those at the heart of both venues and discuss the state of play in children’s theatre

• Lloyd Newson, founder of DV8 Physical Theatre talks about his latest verbatim piece, To Be Straight With You, taking real stories about sexuality and religion to the National’s stage

• Best known to E4 viewers as prank phone caller Fonejacker, actor Kayvan Novak talks to Matthew Hemley about the project and how it came about

• As the BBC snubs Nashville’s biggest night, the CMA Awards, does country music have a future in the UK?

• Backstage Focus: Freelance stage manage Kat Nugent recounts her experiences of touring with Opera Circus’ conemporary show Differences in Demolitions and explains why she enjoys the challenges of “moving house” very day

• Currently touring with A Very Private Diary - Revisited, Victor Spinetti shares anecdotes from his hedonistic life, from flirting with Salvador Dali to hanging out with John Lennon

This week’s columnists

• Ian Herbert: When the Culture minister met the critics

• Richard Jordan: If you only see one show… you need to get out to see more theatre

• Liz Thomas: People say the new Doctor Who couldn’t be a woman. Why not?

• Patrick Newley: The notoriety of the television green room

The Stage is available from major newsagents for £1.40, or you can subscribe online at http://www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe/

Posted by Scott Matthewman at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)