In The Paper

It’s The annual Stage 100 edition this week and we run down theatreland’s leading lights with our 100 most influential figures in the industry in a wrap-around special including the Broadcasting Top 20. The supplement features a special regional theatre related Showpeople featuring Paul Latham of Live Nation UK, an interview with Judy Craymer, producer of Mamma Mia! and Nick Smurthwaite talks to Kneehigh’s Emma Rice about being described as ‘bossy’. We also look back over the last ten years and sum up who has carried the most clout in the last decade. If you disagree with our choices for the top ten or twenty then leave us a comment with who your top ten would be here: www.thestage.co.uk/stage100

In the main part of the paper Nuala Calvi interviews Matt Di Angelo, who discusses his journey from TV to his first professional theatre role in Loot at the Tricycle Theatre via soapland and reality TV.

”..doing Strictly meant I lost my character name. Before it, people would always shout ‘Deano’ at me in the street, but instead, people got to know me as Matt…. It was fantastic for me career-wise”.

Also in the paper:

• Ned Chaillet writes an obituary to playwright Harold Pinter.
• Kevin Berry questions why venues are reluctant to publish show finish times and have such trouble keeping to time limits.
• Ian Herbert looks at the recent Democratic Culture publication by John Holden at Demos and questions whether cultural snobbery is the reason why more people aren’t enjoying culture.
• Regular columnist Dillie Keane covers the perils of Secret Santa gifts among casts and crew.
• Our 60 second CV focuses on theatre critic Charles Spencer, how he started and his advice for aspiring reviewers.
• Patrick Newley remembers the ITV series The Comedians.
• Backstage focus looks at the closure of London’s Cafe Royal and John Wade recalls his time working the venue as a magician.

  “The room held only about 20 guests and to get there you had to take the service lift that carried the wines from the cellars and then be escorted through the candlelit racks of wine”.

• Mark Shenton draws up the West End’s wish list from the calendar ahead
• Paul Vale on forthcoming Fringe highlights and The Stage’s plans for 2009
• George Hall covers Opera premieres for the year ahead
• Kevin Berry looks at the planned tours and developments in Regional Theatre and Dance
• Michael Quinn reflects on the credit crunch and what could be affecting light entertainment variety and casino shows.
• Scott Matthewman gives an account of what to watch on your television in the coming year
• and Lalayn Baluch on what’s likely to be dominating the news stories for 2009.

Finally, in case it’s been bugging you for two weeks, you’ll be pleased to know the solutions to the Christmas crossword puzzle and the Christmas quiz from the double issue can be found in the paper this week.

The Stage is back to its regular price of £1.40 this week and is available from most major newsagents. If you’d like to treat yourself (or a friend) to a subscription to The Stage, then see our online subscriptions page here for more details: www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe

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In this week’s double issue of The Stage, Richard Attenborough talks about his new autobiography, Entirely Up to You, Darling, and how he gets the best performances from actors in his films:

Forget the techniques, forget the microphones, forget the lenses, forget the lines… all that matters is truth. If your performance exemplifies and demonstrates the truth of that human being, heroic or pathetic, brave or cowardly, emotional or straight-laced… nothing matters other than the truth of that characterisation.

This being our Christmas double issue, there’s a multitude of festive fare for your enjoyment:

• With one eye on the year ahead and another on the Royal Mail’s seasonal stamps, The Stage’s agony uncle John Byrne delivers a festive message to each and every one

• Guest columnist Helen Lederer on starring in panto…

• …while her costar, Hollywood actor Steve Guttenberg, talks to Lalayn Baluch about the nature of success and his attitude to acting

• We showcase some of the faces making their first pantomime appearances this year

• Experiencing the delights of a winter wonderland inhabited by famous faces such as Santa and Sooty, Mark Ritchie reports on Tamworth’s Snowdome and looks at the opportunities in such entertainment complexes

• John Cushing has been building up the Thursford Christmas Spectacular since he took over his father’s engine museum in Norfolk in 1976, Now it features a cast of more tan hundred, cost millions to stage and draws audience from all over the country

• Pantomime is flourishing at Johannesburg Civic Theatre, South Africa thanks to a thriving relationship with panto company Qdos, which ships over sets and costumes for the shows. Civic CEO Bernard Jay explains how the relationship works both ways — and not just at Christmas

We also have our major review of 2008:

• Lalayn Baluch and Matthew Hemley report on the top news stories of the year

• Mark Shenton surveys the West End

• Paul Vale looks at the highlights of London’s fringe theatre

• Kevin Berry on a turbulent year in regional theatre

• George Hall on the year’s opera productions

• Kevin Berry picks out his dance highlights

• Michael Quinn analyses the light entertainment year

• Scott Matthewman surveys the last twelve months in television

• Nick Smurthwaite does the same for radio

• while photographer Tristram Kenton presents a photographic memory of 2008

Looking forward, we give our picks of the TV, radio and (in a first for The Stage) the podcasts to watch and listen to over the festive season.

And there’s more!

• Photographer Reg Wilson talks to Nick Smurthwaite about his impressive career, photographic difficult characters and his ongoing exhibitions

• Executive director of the National Theatre Nick Starr tells Alistair Smith that theatre practitioners should not consider artistic principles and commercial acumen to be such strange bedfellows

• Currently home to contemporary variety show La Clique and with plans to convert it into a casino, AK Bennett-Hunter and photographer Stephanie Methven explore the hidden treasures of the London Hippodrome

• Susan Elkin reports on the various charities that offer financial assistance to actors, msuicains and other performers — and their dependants — in times of hardship

• Since releasing her debut album she’s become the best selling independent female singer at Dress Circle. Rebecca Wicking talks to Paul Vale about the difficulties involved in producing your own CD and explains why those that want to be heard should follow her lead

• In the second of our yearly cruise supplements, Mark Ritchie turns his attention from the artists to the companies that provide the work

• Fifty years after Noye’s Fludde was first performed in Orford Church as part of the Aldeburgh Festival, Jubilee Opera celebrated its anniversary by producing the show in the same venue Stage managers Liz Burton-King (who worked on the recent production) and Francis Reid (who worked on the original) share their experiences

• Maggie Brown on Media Another Strictly glitch means the BBC’s reputation is once again at danger from its entertainment output

Is that enough for you? No? Then try our fiendishly difficult ‘Scene Snapshot’ photo quiz and our full-page crossword!

This week’s edition of The Stage is available from major newsagents and, for this week only, costs £2. There will be no edition next week; the next issue of The Stage will be available on Wednesday, December 31 at the usual price of £1.40.

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Next week’s issue of The Stage, cover date December 18, will be a bumper-sized Christmas double issue. There will be no publication the following week.

A quick guide to some of the features to be found in next week’s bumper issue:

• Interviews with Hollywood’s newest pantomime star, Steve Guttenberg, Lord Attenborough and Nick Starr, executive director of the National Theatre

• Agony uncle John Byrne delivers a Christmas message on performing through the credit crunch

• We provide a guide to showbiz charities for those who want to give or receive

• We look at the South African theatre company bringing panto to Johannesburg

• We reveal how shopping malls are providing a new market for short-form Christmas shows

• We go behind the scenes at the mother of all community shows, the Thursford Christmas Spectacular

• We look at the growth of DIY records and ways in which performers can gain success without needing the big record companies

• Our writers take a look at how 2008 has treated regional and London theatre, light ent and broadcasting, together with The Stage’s own year.

• Advice from our critics on which television, radio and podcast programmes, books and CDs to catch over the festive season

• And a lot more besides…

The Christmas edition of The Stage will cost £2.00 and will be available from your usual outlets.

The following issue (back at the regular price of £1.40) will be available a day earlier than normal, with a cover date of Wednesday December 31 instead of our usual Thursday publication. (Advertisers please note: your deadlines will change accordingly!)

This will be the issue in which we publish The Stage 100, our annual list of the most powerful people in the performing arts world.

Everybody at The Stage would like to wish our readers a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

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Currently in the middle of a solo tour, in this week’s issue of The Stage Jason Donovan tells Catherine Usher why audiences can expect a more sophisticated show this time around and how he feels about returning to the West End in Priscilla Queen of the Desert — The Musical.

It was an extensive audition process that I had to go through… Obviously, being Australian I have a large pedigree with the show. To that extent, it seemed pretty logical. It’s a great Australian story and fun. It’s definitely an ‘up’ show.

ITV1’s Christmas comedy drama Clash of the Santas sees Robson Green and Mark Benton return as hapless brothers-in-law Howie and Colin, first seen in 2004’s Christmas Lights and in two further series since then.

“I love obscure comedy, but I also love mainstream comedy and lately it has become a dirty word to say you enjoy that,” [Mark Benton] says. “Clash of the Santas is slapstick and very broad, and sometimes it is quite subtle, believe it or not, but I think there is a place for broad comedy — because this is something my mum and dad can watch and will find hilarious. Certain critics on posh papers will feel they have to slag it off because it has not been written by me and Robson and put on BBC3.”

Also in this week’s Stage, which includes a free 2009 wall planner:

Curtain Up: Sunset Boulevard director and Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood talks about bringing his staging of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which ditches the lavish sets in favour of actors who play their own instruments

Insight: As the economic climate becomes harsher, broadcasters are looking to where they can reduce costs. Maggie Brown reviews some of their recent decisions, how this will affect programme making and what trends may be brewing

The recession may not offer the best prospects for securing more government grants — but if we take into account how much money cultural activities can save other departments, the case for DCMS investment grows stronger, argues Denis Vaughan, chair of the Council for the Advancement of Arts, Recreation and Education

Ian Herbert: There’s fresh air and fresh thinking in Boris Johnson’s new cultural strategy for London — but not enough attention on theatre

Ewan Spence: How the BBC iPlayer’s radio service offers better feedback to creatives than the official RAJAR figures can

Dear John: “My solo vocal set is quite uptempo, and I like interacting with audiences. Now that it’s party season, how can I break into that market?”

Successful musical producer, actor and director Paul Nicholas, who has also turned his hand to launching a stage school franchise, tells Nick Smurthwaite why, a decade on from its first production, he felt his musical A Tale of Two Cities was worth reviving

Touring one-man shows can be a lucrative market, though the costs and preparation time required to put together a high quality event ae not to be underestimated. Rick Wakeman tells Fred Redwood just how much hard work goes into his multimedia Grumpy Old Picture Show

Backstage Focus: Nick Smurthwaite talks to award-winning lighting designer Mick Hughes about his 40-year career that has seen him work with such renowned writers as Alan Ayckbourn

Allen Saddler reflects on the work of Chris Barber, whose career spans almost 60 years, as the legendary band leader goes out on the road yet again

Showpeople: Dusty Button, currently performing in the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker; Rob Angell, a Hull Truck regular and currently appearing in A Kick in the Baubles; David Garrud, currently in William’s Monster at the Chelsea Theatre

The Stage is available from most major newsagents, priced £1.40. Postal subscriptions are also available from http://www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe/

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Indira Varma returns to Shakespeare this month after stints in TV, film and David Hare’s The Vertical Hour at the Royal Court. She talks to Michael Coveney about how she sees her role of Olivia in Twelfth Night, directed by Michael Grandage for Donmar West End

After a ten year break from the theatre, David Morrissey is back on the stage in Neil LaBute’s new play, In a Dark Dark House, at the Almeida. He tells Nuala Calvi how he prepared for the role, why he’d like to turn his hand to comedy and how he feels about being the bookies’ favourite to replace David Tennant as Doctor Who

Following his report on ticket touting last month, Allan Glen examines how the industry is responding to the problem and assesses the inherent difficulties in tackling the issue of tots and ticket charges

Susan Elkin considers the problems inherent in having four separate benchmarks assessing part-time training for young people and asks why they can’t be merged to create a coherent scheme

Stomp creators Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas tell Nick Smurthwaite about their latest production, Lost & Found Orchestra, which turns household objects into musical instruments

Dear John: A lot of younger comics seem to be working in panto these days. How does it differ from stand-up?

Spanning the globe to find authentic locations for radio dramas may sound a little over the top, but Art and Adventure founder Roger Elsgood insists it is fundamental to the quality of his productions

Backstage Focus: Leicester’s new £60 million Curve theatre is a beautiful piece of urban design, but with no traditional backstage area, will audiences want to see behind the mystery of theatre?

On the 20th anniversary of Roy Orbison’s death, his widow Barbarea talks about life with “the big O” and how she’s keeping his music alive

Maggie Brown on media: What Richard Woolfe’s move to Five means for terrestrial TV

Arthur Smith: What makes a comedian eligible for a “greatest of all time” honour?

• Showpeople: Francesca Baglione, aka cabaret star Miss High Leg Kick and Robert Cargill, playing Robert Oscar Lenkiewicz in The Man in the Red Scarf at Plymouth Barbican.

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