‘In terms of the future, we want 503 to be resilient and it feels like our community of audience and artists believe in the necessity of an organisation such as ours. At the same time, there are no guarantees.’
WATCH: Moment of Grace releases evocative new teaser trailer
When to touch was to heal. At a time when shaking hands feels like a distant memory, Bren Gosling’s play, inspired by a symbolic act of taboo-breaking compassion, has defied its own challenges to transform from acclaimed stage production to film. Watch the trailer and find out more.
‘We have to do something else indefinitely but keep the keys to the building & look after them’: Royal Lyceum artistic director & playwright David Greig in Edinburgh
The more you think about the invitation to the audience – as you say ‘come, be blocked off behind screens, we will spray you and present shows where actors stand apart, and we will try to encourage you not to sing along’, it’s like an anti-theatre.
‘I don’t want to bank on a saviour that might not come’: Hartshorn-Hook producers on their plans to reopen The Great Gatsby
‘It feels to me like, with The Great Gatsby, we had an opportunity, and resulting from that a duty, to use the show to work out some of the key things that might help the industry as a whole.’
‘We want to spread love, support & solidarity’: Tori Allen-Martin & Sarah Henley on launching Burn Bright
Emma Clarendon chatted to Tori Allen-Martin and Sarah Henley about their new not-for-profit organisation, Burn Bright.
‘We don’t have an indefinite ability to keep going’: Park Theatre’s Jez Bond on the importance of the government’s furlough scheme
‘We’ve spent seven years building to this point and three years to open the thing, changed the area and culture of the place, and in the snap of the fingers, it’s a ghost town.’
How does a couple manage the work/life balancing act in lockdown?
Work is something that every single on of us is thinking about at the moment. Charlie & Jeff are having entirely different Lockdown work experiences under the same roof. Is it possible to balance the workload, balance the books AND balance married life?
“Moment of Grace is a play about a pandemic, and here we are in the midst of another one” Bren Gosling on his new drama
“We have grabbed this opportunity with both hands to make something original – not a film of a staged version of the play BUT a new hybrid production.” When COVID-19 ended hopes of a London season for new HIV drama Moment of Grace, writer Bren Gosling set about recreating it for the screen. Find out more in his fascinating interview…
COVID-cancelled show Moment of Grace searches for streaming partner
Moment of Grace, a new drama exploring the monumental action taken by Princess Diana when she visited a London AIDS ward, has been transformed from an award-winning stage show into a film in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Producers are hoping to bring it to screens soon.
‘In a year’s time, we would hope every theatre in the country is open & thriving’: SOLT chief executive Julian Bird on the way forward
‘The major question is that the majority of theatres cannot open with social distancing in place – it’s impossible, for economics, for the business case let alone the experience, it just doesn’t work.’
‘This has been a moment of privilege & I think it will be the making of us’: Out of Joint on the challenges & opportunities for touring after lockdown
‘The real unknown is when people are going to want to go back into the theatres, regardless of government advice. We don’t know that. It will be a long road.’
‘Phoebe Waller-Bridge is an inspiration to my generation’: FLEABAG – Soho Theatre (Online review)
“Fleabag Live”, creator Phoebe Waller Bridge’s on-demand performance of her original stage hit, brilliantly mirrors the comedy and unique factors of the hit television show it spawned.
‘There are going to be some pretty sad stories that will come out of this period’: Baby Reindeer writer/performer Richard Gadd on his Corona cancelled West End run
‘I actually managed to be quite philosophical about it in the end. There’s a sense that we’re all in it today, and there are much bigger things at play, like people dying and getting sick.’
‘It’s not as if we’ve got a vast catalogue of ready-to-release captures of our shows’: Artistic director Tom Morris on Bristol Old Vic in lockdown
“As soon as the theatres closed in the week of 16 March 2020, we thought ‘we need to remember we’re a theatre and think about what our role in relation to the city might be in this strange world’.”
‘If new funds don’t come in, we can probably manage until the beginning of the autumn’: Artistic director Anthony Biggs on the Playground Theatre in lockdown
As the weeks of lockdown continue, with theatres up and down the country and around the world closed for the foreseeable future, I caught up with another artistic director, Anthony Biggs of west London’s Playground Theatre, to find out more how they were responding.
‘I’m not going to accept that I can’t grow an audience in that time’: British theatre’s shutdown described by industry insiders
Weeks into lockdown, with theatres up and down the country and around the world closed for the foreseeable future, I caught up with the artistic directors of Cirencester’s Barn Theatre, Belarus Free Theatre and Pitlochry Festival Theatre. How are they being affected? Will they survive?
Looking for trainee unicorns: Planning a diploma in creative producing
It is a strange time to predict a new world. But I hope that the planned Diploma in Creative Producing will come at the right time for a re-emergence of creative practitioners across the globe.
That was the weekend we knew the theatres would go dark
On the weekend of 14 March 2020, following the closure of theatre on Broadway (on 12 March), it became clear that something overwhelming was about to happen to British theatre.
‘There’s going to be some great theatre on the other side’: Old Vic’s Matthew Warchus on ‘social distancing’ & the postponement of 4000 Miles
As London’s Old Vic Theatre closes, artistic director Matthew Warchus sends the message: “Take care of yourselves and each other. Be creative. There’s going to be some great theatre on the other side.”
PHOTOS & TWEETS: Check out the buzz for The Special Relationship premiere at Soho Theatre
Hassan Abdulrazzak’s new play The Special Relationship, based on interviews with Brits deported from the United States, has just premiered at Soho Theatre and it’s causing a buzz. Check out our production photos gallery and tweets collection – and then get booking!