In The Paper

Please note: Due to circumstances beyond our control, newsstand distribution to much of the UK has been disrupted this week. Issues may not reach newsagents until Friday instead of the usual Thursday. Our apologies for the inconvenience. Postal subscribers should not be affected.

The star of BBC’s Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch, insists he was tough enough to bring Conan Doyle’s gentleman sleuth into the modern world. Mary Comerford finds out how he got pneumonia trying to prove it and what he’s willing to do next

I imagine Holmes probably got pneumonia on a couple of occasions in Victorian London. I got flu and kept braving through it while green stuff was coming out of me. I was told, ‘You’ve got man flu, have a couple of paracetamol’, but when I soaked the bed sheets with sweat three nights running in the middle of winter, I knew there was something really wrong with me.

It’s not nice having liquid on your lung and it takes a long time to recover - the irritating thing is that I was so disciplined and living a very healthy existence… I’d swim a lot, do yoga and eat healthily. I was really annoyed with myself for getting flu in the first place and I did myself a bit of damage by not acknowledging that I needed a rest.

Kate Prince, founder and director of ZooNation, joins the ranks of such cutting-edge artists as Matthew Bourne, Sylvie Guillem and Jasmin Vardimon as an associate of Sadler’s Wells. She tells Katie Colombus about her plans:

What I’m trying to do is just have fun with it. If you take it too seriously, you’re probably not going to create something that’s that good. So if I go into the next piece, thinking, ‘Oh my god, it’s got to be better than this’, it’s going to be some serious piece of rubbish. I want to make work that’s genuinely entertaining but also genuinely emotive. I’d really like to get some kind of emotional reaction from the audience. I’d like to make them laugh and cry all in one piece.

As the Tricycle Theatre prepares to take its Afghan season, The Great Game, on a 12-week American tour, artistic director Nicolas Kent talks to Nick Smurthwaite about the battle the theatre faces on the home front following the government’s warnings of massive arts cuts

In the current climate, taking a culturally diverse company of 20 to America, with all the attendant prob- lems with visas and customs, not to mention all our props and pyrotech- nics, is fraught with logistical prob- lems. One member of the cast was born in Baghdad which may not go down too well with US customs

• Playwright Arnold Wesker tells Nick Smurthwaite about his latest projects, what he thinks of fellow playwrights such as Jez Butterworth and why his flirtation with Facebook was short-lived

• Scarborough’s Open Air Theatre has been given a lease of life since it underwent a £3.5m refurbishment. Kevin Berry speaks to project manager, Stuart Tucker, about the new and improved venue

• The critics are waiting in the wings with the power to make or break your show with a well chosen phrase. How do you make sure they give you a review? Jo Caird finds out

• Nine talented performers from across the world battled it out to win a Stage/Vocaltech scholarship for a one-year diploma. Judges were so impressed, they chose not one but three winners

• When he started as a caterer at Fairfield Halls, Derek Barr didn’t realise he was embarking on a 40-year love affair. He tells Liz Arratoon about hosting the Beatles, how 6,000 teenage girls once mobbed him and why he’s loved every minute of it

• Insight: As Gwyneth Williams prepares to take over from Mark Damazer as controller of BBC Radio 4, media expert Maggie Brown looks at why running Radio 4 requires breadth, vision and passion

• Painful cuts for the arts are an inevitability. Alistair Smith explains why the sector needs to be prepared for them and why it must avoid a repeat of 2008’s angry protests at the Young Vic

• Actress Emma Barton, playing Roxie Hart in Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre, talks about the difference between playing the West End and touring.

• Dear John: “When considering my first festival project, is a one-person show or a small ensemble piece easier to pull off?”

The Stage is available from major newsagents every Thursday for £1.50. For subscription details, visit http://www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe/

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Broadway star Matthew Morrison is now known worldwide as Will Schuester on hit US TV show Glee. He talks to The Stage about dealing with fame, acting as a mentor to his young costars both on and off screen, rumours of a West End debut and venturing into music with the release of his upcoming album

[Being recognised] is uncharted territory for me. It was great at the beginning because it meant we were doing something people liked.

But once the show really hit, it got a little overwhelming. You can’t walk five feet down the road without stopping to pose for a picture. But you work so hard as an actor to come you this place — you have to embrace it and realise it’s part of what you are doing.

Glee is one of those shows that people have been drawn to and when you are in someone’s living room every week, the feel a personal connection with you, like they have some ownership over you.

Choreographer Jerry Mitchell, who made his West End directorial debut with Legally Blonde, talks about how British and US tuition differs and the importance of ballet

My advice is if you want to be in a musical, either in the West End or on Broadway, you have to exercise all of those muscles — you have to be able to dance, you have to be able to sing, but most importantly, you have to be able to play a part, understand a character and read dialogue.

[This is the case] almost more so today than ever before. As the economics of putting on a show become so much more expensive, ultimately the cast sizes dwindle so the demands on each performer to be able to cross over and do multiple things become a bigger issue.

Also this week:

• As Oliver! celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, we look at why the public’s appetite for various forms of Dickens’ novel has proven insatiable

• Insight: Arts marketing consultant Tim Connor explains that brands are much more than a logo or campaign — the experience of the process before, during and after seeing a show is crucial to its success

• A culturally diverse society can let us see literary classics in a new light. Playwright Sudha Bhuchar, joint artistic director of Tamasha, explains how Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba inspired her to write her own interpretation

• Dear John: “How do you choose a theme for a festival show — and how do you go about developing it?”

• We meet A Level student Ben Charleston, winner of the first Stage/Guildford School of Acting backstage scholarship, worth £27,000 across three years of study

• Scriptwriter Tony Cooke reveals how improvised work is firmly back on the menu at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe

• Is it the end of the end of the pier show? Not judging from the crowds at the Cromer Pavilion, where variety is alive and well

• Backstage Focus: Francis Reid talks about what makes a good performance space

The Stage is available from major newsagents every Thursday for £1.50. For subscription options, see http://www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe/

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Producer Marla Rubin has a knack for backing stage hits — Festen went from the West End and Broadway to become a global success, and now The Mountaintop is bound for New York following its Olivier win.

I found [Festen] intensely moving and ultimately redemptive and uplifting. And I also found it hysterically funny because the conceit of the dinner party is absolutely brilliant in terms of depicting denial — going back to my roots in psychology — as the family ignore the son’s accusation and return to the formality of the birthday party ritual.

As Five launches a new talent show, Don’t Stop Believing inspired by Glee and the concept of ‘show choirs’, we talk to two of the judges — Tamzin Outhwaite, currently starring in Sweet Charity at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and Charles ‘Chucky’ Klapow, choreographer of the High School Musical franchise.

Also this week:

• Insight: As the nation feels the impact of the recession, BBC Trust chairman Michael Lyons has said the Corporation should publish the salaries of its top presenters. We examine the costs of such a move

• Artistic Director of Pilot Theatre Marcus Romer talks about the highlights of this year’s Shift Happens event at York Theatre Royal, and the unique challenges and opportunities that face the sector as the line between the arts and technology becomes increasingly blurred

• As Cropredy celebrates its 30th anniversary, Fairport Convention’s Simon Nicol says that the secret behind its success has been to embrace change while retaining the festival’s essence

• As this year’s graduates begin the search for work, we talk to two agents about what they look for in new clients and how recent graduates should approach getting someone to represent them

• Mansfield’s 100-year-old Palace Theatre is leading the way in the town’s economic and social regeneration

• Former National Youth Theatre member (and regular Grads’ Club blogger) David Grewcock meets Jennifer Minnett, the winner of The Stage/NYT scholarship.

• RSC leading light John Barton has been inspiring actors for more than half a century. As his seminal 1984 series on performing Shakespeare is re-released on DVD, he talks about his approach to acting

The Stage is available from major newsgaents every Thursday for £1.50. For subscription offers, see http://www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe/

Posted by Scott Matthewman at 2:39 PM | Permalink

At just 20 years old, actress Melissa Walton has already gained valuable insight into the precarious nature of the acting profession after being axed from Hollyoaks after her character’s controversial storyline was dropped. But it hasn’t deterred her from pursuing a career in television

“My character was redundant and there was nothing [incoming producer Paul Marquess] could have done to turn that around. A new producer wants to come in and put his own stamp on a show and do his own thing. He does not want to be sorting out previous problems.

[As an actor] you should not feel safe, even if you are in a stable job or in a soap and have been there for however many years. You are never guaranteed to be there in six months and that is something you have to get on with

Theatre agent Laurie Mansfield has had an eventful career that shows no sign of slowing, becoming the co-producer of Dreamboats and Petticoats and setting up his own agency this year after previously working as part of International Artistes.

Throughout the seventies and into the eighties, the buyer was king, you did as you were told. You sold an act to a producer and he presented them in pantomime or summer season. Now, the act or the agent has a far greater say in what they do.

Negotiating a path to a successful career as a TV presenter is challenging, but it’s a goal well worth pursuing. In a special supplement, we offer some advice to help you along the way, look at some of the courses and books on offer

Also this week:

• With an illustrious career spanning 50 years, scriptwriter and playwright Brian Clemens talks about coming to public attention with The Avengers and the advice he’d give to today’s would-be writers
• Director Rachel O’Riordan and actor/writer Richard Dormer are behind Ransom Productions, which champions new writing in Belfast and beyond
• Backstage: Two companies that speicalise in touring to village halls talk about the specialist work involved.
• We meet James Loynes, winner of The Stage/PureSolo search for a new musical theatre star
• Insight: Maggie Brown looks at the structural and programming shake-up at Channel 4
• Pippa Hill, literary manager with the Royal Shakespeare Company, previews the company’s latest project for next week’s Latitude Festival
• We preview The Stage’s new iPhone app to help you find the latest auditions and performing arts vacancies. Find out more

The Stage is available in major newsagents for £1.50. For details of subscription rates & savings, go to http://www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe/

Posted by Scott Matthewman at 3:52 PM | Permalink

Whether your child needs a confidence boost or just loves performing, a weekend school could be the answer. And it’s not just for kids — adult courses give you the chance to develop skills without clashing with work or other commitments during the week. Our special Weekend Schools supplement looks at all the options.

Also this week:

• Playwright Laura Wade talks about bringing her interpretation of Alice to the stage and her affection for the Sheffield Crucible

  Structurally, there are some things you have to do to make it work theatrically, and that helps open your mind to something different. We knew that we wanted to do something for Sheffield.

• Actress Olivia Colman has starred on stage, in film and with David Mitchell and Robert Webb in their sketch shows and in Peep Show. Now she is playing a vicar’s wife in new BBC2 sitcom Rev.

  It was one of those scripts that I really wanted to do. I liked that it was dark and truthful. Most of the rudest stuff that’s in there is straight from the mouths of real vicars and real vicars’ wives. It’s about a man who is genuinely trying to be the best person he can be. He is a soulful, religious, good man, but he’s obviously human and he errs like humans do.

• Insight: With £1.1 billion set to be culled from the arts but 56% of interviewed entrepreneurs citing the sector as pivotal in British business development, the real cost of the cuts is yet to be felt

• While Tony nominations and a previously untapped market sends the profile of Rock of Ages on Broadway skyrocketing, producer Richard Jordan argues that the theatre industry on both sides of the Atlantic should be very afraid

• Dear John: “What are the main differences between acting and presenting on camera?

• At a time when traditional light entertainment is suffering, cabaret and the spoken word is combining to provide a welcome new experience for live performance audiences. We look at this rising genre

• We meet 18-year-old Tarragon Emslie, the winner of the Stage/Stella Mann College dance scholarship, worth £30,000

• Rue & the Rockets have been wooing fans for more than 50 years, and continue to rock the north-east

• In response to education editor Susan Elkin’s recent Insight article on training at unaccredited schools, Hilary Strong, director of the National Council for Drama Training, puts forward the case for the importance of accreditation

The Stage is available from major newsagents every Thursday, priced £1.50. For subscription rates, visit http://www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe/

Posted by Scott Matthewman at 4:21 PM | Permalink