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Rambert’s Curious Incident

Britain’s oldest dance company, Rambert, is set to host community performances of the National Theatre’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the Olivier award-winning production. South London community groups, along with representatives of local employers and businesses, will have the opportunity to watch the production when it is performed in the round in a ‘rehearsal room format’ at Rambert’s new home.

Rambert’s new building is directly behind the National Theatre on London’s South Bank; the performances will take place during the week of 17 February in a studio with lighting and sound facilities of professional standard so can easily accommodate this version of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is based on Mark Haddon’s award-winning novel, adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott. It tells the story of Christopher who has an extraordinary brain – exceptional at maths but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. When he falls under suspicion of killing Mrs Shears’ dog Wellington, he records each fact about the event in the book he is writing to solve the mystery of the murder. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that upturns his world.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the winner of seven Olivier Awards, will resume its West End run at the Gielgud Theatre from 24 June (opening night 8 July). A screening of the National Theatre Live broadcast of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, filmed during the play’s original run in the Cottesloe Theatre, will be shown in cinemas on 22 May with further screenings in following weeks. The Broadway premiere of the production will open in New York in October this year.

Bourne’s Lord Of The Flies

Matthew Bourne's NEW ADVENTURES Lord Of The Flies Matthew Bourne’s NEW ADVENTURES has announced the casting for its next dance theatre production, Lord of the Flies, based on William Golding’s classic novel. The production will be choreographed by Scott Ambler, and adapted and directed by both Matthew Bourne and Scott Ambler.

Matthew Bourne’s NEW ADVENTURES has produced some of the most successful dance theatre productions of the last 25 years including the Tchaikovsky classics Swan Lake, Nutcracker!, and last year’s sell out hit Sleeping Beauty, as well as other re-imaginings of classical ballet productions such as Cinderella, Highland Fling (La Sylphide) and the more modern Edward Scissorhands.

For Lord of the Flies the company brings a thrilling new dance production to the stage, with casting seeing a number of young males creating the roles of the male protagonists of the tale. The action will not take place on a deserted island but in a deserted theatre: a group of schoolboys find themselves abandoned. With no adults around they start to make their own rules and create their own civilisation, before order breaks down and the story builds to an electrifying climax. Bourne is renowned for his cinematic and enigmatic work, so much is anticipated from this savage, animalistic tale.

With a cast of New Adventures dancers and remarkable young talent from across the UK, Golding’s legendary characters of the novel are brought to life with raw energy, emotional intensity and breathtaking performances. Chilling, beautiful and hugely entertaining, Lord of the Flies will enthrall Bourne fans and inspire a generation of new audiences.

The production’s choreography will be installed by the Olivier Award-nominated Ambler, with set and costume design by Olivier Award-winner Lez Brotherston, music by Terry Davies, lighting design by Chris Davey, sound design by Paul Groothuis, adapted and directed by Olivier and Tony award-winner Bourne in association with Ambler.

Cirque du Soleil launch theatrical branch

Cirque du Soleil, the renowned theatrical company famous for its incredible show performances, has announced it has formed Cirque du Soleil Theatrical, a New York-based division that will focus on developing new shows for Broadway, the West End and touring.

This comes as exciting news for the UK capital, in the hope that Cirque du Soleil will create a show for Theatreland rather than just the outskirts at the Royal Albert Hall and other similar venues. Cirque du Soleil is based in Montreal, Canada, and has travelled all over the world performing to the masses who adore their numerous productions. The company began as a troupe of street performers and, over 30 years, has grown into a multi-billion dollar international company.

Scott Zeiger, a founder and partner in BASE entertainment, which produced Phantom – The Vegas Spectacular, has been named president and managing director of the theatrical division. Zeiger’s other Las Vegas-based productions include Jersey Boys and Rock of Ages, with Broadway credits including The Who’s Tommy. Zeiger will also work with Cirque du Soleil’s sister troupe, Cirque Éloize, which appeared at the Peacock Theatre, London, in 2013 to great acclaim.

Previous theatre ventures ahead of the creation of the theatrical division for Cirque have had a mixed history. Wintuk, a music-based narrative, played four holiday seasons at Madison Square Garden, US. Banana Shpeel, a vaudeville-themed piece, played an extended preview period and season at the Beacon Theatre, with a revamped version gathering more success on tour in the US. Zarkana, a touring show developed for a summer residency at Radio City Musical Hall, ran for two seasons before becoming a production in Las Vegas. Iris, a Hollywood-themed show created for the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, home to the annual Academy Awards, ran for a year.

Andrew Lloyd Webber To Fund Arts Apprenticeships

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s charitable foundation has announced six grants which will support apprenticeships within professional arts organisations. The grants total more than £150,000, meaning young people will be able to gain better access to the arts, and gain a better chance of success with funds behind them as part of organisations.

Five theatre organisations and one music festival will receive funding: Shared Experience will receive £105,000 over three years to support one trainee director and producer per year as a result of paid six-month apprenticeships; Tangled Feet will receive £14,000 over two years to help fund its participation programme for young people; Manchester Royal Exchange’s Young Company will receive £10,000; Chickenshed will receive £15,000 towards its Young Creators Programme; Icon Theatre in Medway will receive £9,000; and the Lake District International Summer Music Festival will receive £10,000. There is great variety in the organisations which have gained support, meaning benefits will be across the board of the arts industry.

Since the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation was re-launched in 2011, it has donated over £8.5 million to more than 120 projects. The foundation’s support of these projects will give young people valuable experience within professional arts organisations, and not just those which place performers on stage. It seems relatively common that talented individuals working behind the scenes are forgotten or glanced over. However, as the trust advocates, it is equally important to provide training for these skills as it is for performers, because without those behind the scenes – or in other, equally important, areas of the performing arts industry – there would be no show for the performers to work in.

As a result of the grants by the foundation, arts across the UK can continue to produce to high standards having provided solid training and opportunities for those aspiring to work in the arts.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Flagship Children’s Theatre For Darlington

Darlington Borough Council

Darlington Borough Council has announced it intends to use £600,000 of ring-fenced funds from the future sale of Darlington Arts Centre to help create a flagship children’s theatre which will become the first permanent performance space for children’s touring company Theatre Hullabaloo. The company will bid for £1.5 million of Arts Council England capital money for the project and the local authority will provide its own cash as match-funding if the bid is successful.

The proposed theatre would include a 150-seat studio theatre space for professional performances by Theatre Hullabaloo, as well as rehearsal areas and a cafe. Other arts organisations and community groups would be able to stage works and use the space as well. While Darlington Borough Council would be unable to subsidise the new venue, its proposal would entail running the building and sharing management costs with the Darlington Civic Centre while Theatre Hullabaloo would programme the space.

The council-owned Darlington Arts Centre, which was the previous base for Theatre Hullabaloo as well as other arts groups, closed in July 2012. The new venue will not replace the Darlington Arts Centre, but will form an important part of a proposed cultural quarter for the town that would also have national significance as a small theatre space for the town.

The proposal is for the venue to embody the values of the company which are that children should not be compromised as an audience by having to be secondary users in an adult-designed space. The venue will be a children-centred space that would allow the company to create and perform its own work and create a hub for artists developing their own practice in theatre for young audiences.

West End Star To Launch Events Company

Renowned West End performer Louise Dearman is to start up a new events entertainment company with her partner Andrew Eastel and choreographer Ian Stroughair, named Backslap. Backslap will initially offer four productions that can be performed at events including private parties, awards ceremonies and corporate events. The four shows being created by Backslap are a burlesque show (Legs), a 1940s-themed production (Bombshells and Brylcream), an urban dance show (Swagger) and a theatre show (Curtain Call).

Backslap is a project of Dearman’s that she is able to manage while continuing her own performance work in London’s West End. She recently left West End musical Wicked, after a year playing Elphaba, following a three year musical theatre course at Laine Theatre Arts in Surrey. Her work within events management will continue beneath what Dearman is passionate about: i.e. performing. Dearman has equally acknowledged that while entertainment of this nature is not a new concept, she wanted to ‘raise the bar’ with Backslap whilst leading it from the front.

It is thought that Backslap will launch in the new year, aiming eventually to produce its own one-off events on a grand scale. Dearman has said that each of these would be set in a unique location with an original theme and brimming with well-known faces and voices, giving the company a familiar yet professional feel. Dearman feels that although there are some great acts and entertainment providers already out there working, unfortunately audiences have probably seen or heard of more bad than good.

Backslap therefore aims to provide ‘off-the-shelf’ shows that have each been especially constructed from scratch by the best creative people in the business, and will only ever be performed by trained, professional singers and dancers; Dearman consequently hopes for the best that can be found in the UK.

I Can’t Sing! Casting Announced

I Can't Sing Full casting has been announced for new Wet End production I Can’t Sing, The X Factor Musical which premieres in Spring 2014 at the London Palladium.

Earlier this year it was announced that Olivier Award-winner Nigel Harman had been cast as X Factor supremo Simon and that Color Purple star Cynthia Erivo and Holby City actor Alan Morrissey had been cast as lovestruck contestants Chenice and Max. Joining Nigel as judge will be Ashley Knight as positive boyband manager Louis and Victoria Elliot as pop queen Jordy. Simon Bailey will play the affectionate X Factor host Liam O’Deary, with Billy Carter as Executive Producer and Simon’s right hand man, Gerard Smalls. Simon Lipkin plays Chenice’s canine sidekick and Joe Speare is her powerful singer Grandad. Along with Chenice and Max, the I Can’t Sing hopefuls include Katy Secombe as supermarket checkout girl Brenda, Charlie Baker as The Hunchback and Shaun Smith and Rowen Hawkins as Irish pop duo Alterboyz.

The I Can’t Sing! cast is completed by Luke Baker, Adam J Bernard, Jenna Boyd, Cyrus Brandon, Gabrielle Brooks, Scarlette Douglas, Kelly Ewins, Scott Garnham, Cherelle Jay, Faisal Khodaukus, Jaye Marshall, Brian McCann, Max Parker, Joseph Prouse, Steven Serlin, Kirstie Skivington, Philippa Stefani, Gary Trainor and Alex Young.

The brand new musical comedy, written by Harry Hill and Steve Brown, will feature 19 original songs, telling the sensational(ised) story of heartache and laughter that keeps millions tuning in to the X Factor every week. Harry Hill has worked with a lot of the cast in the workshops for I Can’t Sing! and have some new company faces. Harry has even commented on the uncanny likeness between Nigel Harman and Simon Cowell, especially with a wig and false teeth!

Neal Street Productions’ Original material

Sam Mendes’ Neal Street Productions has revealed its next musical theatre projects will be completely original shows that are not based on existing source material.

While this statement is irrelevant in terms of news, it is notable due to the fact a lot of musical theatre work in the capital alone is remaking originals and rarely never-seen-before work. Moving away from the capital into fringe, regional and local theatre, musicals based on existing source material are even more popular, due to lack of resources and the requirement to bring audiences into theatres. A sure fire way of doing this is by offering musical theatre that is well-known and popular.

Having presented Shrek and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Neal Street Productions is perhaps now more known for its work with existing films rather than existing musical theatre material. It has been said that Neal Street Productions has its eye on a couple of musicals, and these could be film titles. However, this is not its aim, first and foremost, so it is perhaps likely that its next two productions will be completely new. Neal Street Productions also co-produced Heidi Thomas’ play, The House of Special Purpose, with Chichester Festival Theatre, emphasising the revival of contemporary plays as an additional strand for Neal Street Productions in presenting on which had been overlooked.

This may be a significant next venture for Neal Street Productions in the reviving of contemporary classics, bringing work back to theatres which has not been seen by the next generation of theatre audiences. These works are often contemporary plays which don’t get revived for minor reasons, and them fall by the wayside as other work comes along which may be more appealing in terms of production and facility.

Gemma Sutton: Magical Talent

Gemma Sutton is a magical leading lady. With her feet firmly on the ground Gemma has played a number of coveted musical theatre roles, her most current being Roxie in Chicago at Leicester’s Curve Theatre. Gemma trained for three years on the Musical Theatre course at ArtsEd, having previously engaged with a number of Amateur Dramatic performances. She hasn’t stopped since, and here offers a snippet of her life, both onstage and off.

When, where and why did you begin dancing?

I began dancing at my local dance school in Macclesfield when I was 8, encouraged by the girls I was doing pantomime with in our local Amateur Dramatics Society. My first teacher soon retired, and the teacher who took over from her taught me until I was 18 and became a very close friend over the years as I began teaching for her in the few years before I went to Drama school.

What were your early years of training like?

I remember my Mum being a constant taxi service, taking me to dancing classes 4 times a week, along with singing lessons, piano lessons, and three different Am Dram societies. I don’t know when I had chance to eat, never mind do my homework! I took dance exams in Modern, Tap and Ballet, with IDTA. I used to love going to the IDTA conferences and learning from the great guest teachers they had there.

How long have you been performing? Did you start young?

The first show I was ever in was The King and I at the local Am Dram Society after my Mum answered an advert in the local paper saying they were looking for children to audition. From that day on I was hooked. I also used to sing in local nursing homes and concerts with my Dad accompanying me as he is an excellent pianist. Over the years I was in shows such as Crazy For You, Me and My Girl, Godspell, Sweet Charity, West Side Story, Barnum, Kiss Me Kate… it gave me such good experience and stood me in good stead for when I went off to Drama School at 18.

Where did you train and what was a typical day like like?

I trained at ArtsEd in Chiswick, London, on the three year Musical Theatre degree course. It was very intense and I couldn’t have wished for better training. We’d start at 8.30am and finish at 6pm Monday to Friday and each day had a variety of lessons, usually starting with a one and a half hour ballet or jazz class, sometimes one after the other (!) and then lessons such as acting, improvisation, physical theatre, ensemble singing, solo singing lessons, street jazz, pilates, history of musical theatre, alexander technique… I remember being so tired I’d be in bed by 9pm each night. I learnt such a lot there and worked with amazing industry professionals, many of whom I’ve worked with since graduating into the profession.

What is a typical day like now?

My routine changes all the time depending on if I’m in a show or not. When I’m working, like I am now in the musical Chicago at the Leicester Curve Theatre, I tend to get as much sleep as I can, then get out and about in the day (at the moment to do my Christmas shopping), I may go for a run if I’m feeling particularly virtuous. We have to be in at 6pm on a ‘one show’ day, and 12pm on a matinee day. We would then have a physical and vocal warm up, get notes from the dance captain and resident director to keep the show on top form, get wigs, microphones, costume and make up on and then do the show. It’s hard to go to sleep soon after the show as my adrenaline takes a while to settle down after the excitement of the evening’s performance! If I’m not in a show, my day may consist of preparing and going to auditions, going to singing lessons, and doing part time work to keep the pennies coming in. I’ve done loads of different things from bar work to office temping. There are so many talented people in the industry, we all have times out of work, but you just have to keep going and never give up.

Do you still take classes? How do you keep on top of our technique?

When I’m working I find that doing the show each night and being very focused in the vocal and physical warm up helps to keep my technique sharp. I’m really enjoying our Chicago warm up; we do a lot of yoga and ballet exercises which makes a nice change from the usual star jumps and press ups that warm ups often consist of! When I’m not working I go to regular singing lessons and do a lot of running, strength training and yoga. Keeping fit is so important in this industry as you never know what you’re going to be asked to do in a dance audition and you need to be on top form all the time.

What’s the best part of performing?

Having been on the tour of Hairspray for the majority of this year, I’ve been lucky enough to experience the most wonderful reaction from the audience in the finale number You Can’t Stop the Beat, night after night. It is so lovely to see the audience up on their feet, dancing away. It’s great to know you’ve made people happy and hopefully taken them away from the stresses of normal life for a few hours!

Which part of Chicago do you enjoy most?

That’s a tricky one! It’s such a well written show and all the numbers are great and so varied. I sing a number called Roxie in the first act where my character starts to realise that she’s going to be able to be the celebrity she’s always dreamt of being after working for years as a chorus girl in a dodgy nightclub. I’m joined on stage by male ensemble and it’s very exciting to be surrounded by these amazing dancers, all doing Drew McOnie’s amazing choreography, with a massive neon Roxie sign as the backdrop.

What are rehearsals like?

Intense! We only had three weeks to rehearse Chicago so we worked long hours and were totally consumed by it all day, every day. We usually start with a vocal and physical warm up at 10am and the day would be split between scene work, choreography and working through the music. This show has been particularly interesting as we have new choreography, not the Bob Fosse staging that all big productions of Chicago over the years have used. The choreographer also wanted us to create it with him, so it has been very fulfilling putting the show together. As we came closer to opening we would do runs of the show in the rehearsal room with lots of notes after and then a week of technical rehearsals in the theatre, adding the set, costumes, lighting, sound and orchestra.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to be part of the musical theatre world?

If you really want to succeed, never give up. It is such a tough industry and once you realise that and come to terms with the fact that you won’t be working constantly (92% of performers are out of work at any one time – it’s a very scary statistic!), all you can do is keep going and don’t give up hope. Get a part time job that you get fulfilment from or you’ll just get depressed and that can grind you down after a while. Keep going to see lots of shows and performances, watch great films and listen to great music to keep being inspired so you are reminded of why you wanted to choose this career in the first place. Choose carefully which drama school or course you are going to audition for as they are all different, do your research and keep working hard in your classes!

Huge Audiences For TheatreCraft 2013

Future theatre-makers came together at the Royal Opera House earlier in November as part of the huge theatrical careers fair TheatreCraft. Over 1,000 passionate 16 to 25 year olds attended the free event to learn more about theatrical careers beyond the stage in a rich experience from those who have already worked in these areas. Some even boarded buses in Leeds at 3am in order to attend the event!

Jamie Lloyd opened the event, a young director whose work as part of the Trafalgar Transformed season has been acclaimed in the West End recently, and can be seen at the St James theatre next year. Lloyd spoke about it being OK to not to have an idea of what exactly you want to do in theatre or why, because it is your passion and drive to be part of the industry which is the most important thing. TheatreCraft, therefore, gives young people the chance to explore theatrical passions as part of an important and successful event. Breaking into work in the theatre can be challenging an isolating, ad not just for the performers on stage. TheatreCraft enables driven young people to stand face to face with potential employers and provide the chance for a much better angle to portray passions for the arts.

The annual event of TheatreCraft, which is now in its eighth year, offered more than 70 workshops, more than 50 exhibitors and an ask the experts zone for one-to-one advice sessions. Staged by the Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass Trust, Royal Opera House, Mousetrap Theatre Projects, Society of London Theatre and Creative & Cultural Skills, it covered areas from producing to designing, theatre journalism to wig-making, and boasted contributors including producer Kim Poster, journalism Lyn Gardner and playwright Vickie Donoghue.

Here’s to 2014!