Welcome back to the Fringe Focus series of interviews with artistic directors around London. Recently I caught up with Kennedy Bloomer, who has been running the Hope Theatre (above the Hope & Anchor pub in Islington) since January 2020.
‘Every single week gets more inventive!’ The Show Must Go Online actors discuss their lockdown hit
I posed some questions to The Show Must Go Online returnees Luke Barton, Kristin Atherton, David Johnson and Lucy Aarden about their experiences with this weekly lockdown hit.
‘All his work is relevant & touches almost everyone’s own experiences’: David Tudor talks to us about John Mortimer and The Dock Brief
Theatre veteran and The Dock Brief director David Tudor tells us about working with John Mortimer, why his writing is timeless and what he’s learned over the years.
WATCH: The Jekyll / Hyde team explain their monstrously fun new style of immersive gaming at Vault Festival
“Jekyll is the most narrative-driven game we’ve done so far… We wanted to see if we could do something where the story itself is the thing that compels you to keep on moving forwards.” The team behind immersive game Jekyll / Hyde told A Younger Theatre about their groundbreaking new Vault Festival show. Take a look at what they had to say, then book!
INTERVIEW: Aidan Valentine tells us about bringing criminal genius (or not) Stanley Young to the stage
“Imagine watching an interrogation with a suspect who has a genius mind. You see the game being played and he [Stanley] knows you are watching.” Performer Aidan Valentine explains what caught his attention about evil/not evil genius at the heart of Stanley Young is Staging a Reconstruction of a Murder. Read what he told us, then book your tickets!
“Our stories … are what binds us together”: Lizzie Milton tells us about creating folklore-inspired VAULT Festival show Heroine
“Skeletons, peas, lentils, selkies, snail gods, giants, terrible kings, terrible fathers, murder, cunning old women…” Lizzie Milton’s list of what to expect from her new play Heroine is an extensive, intriguing and fantastical shopping list of fun. Read what she told us about her new play, her love of folklore and a very special fish, then book your tickets!
“Many women will say … you just don’t feel like a proper woman”: Simona Hughes on writing Vault Festival fertility drama About 500
“Feminism has emancipated us and raised our expectations, but unfortunately in the process we have found ourselves yoked to a timetable that ignores the constraints of our biological clocks.” Read what Simona Hughes told us about why she wrote her new play exploring the fertility timebomb, About 500, then book your tickets!
“Some things I thought I’d invented turned out to be true”: Anne-Sophie Marie tells us about creating interrogation tale The Ballerina
How did an off-the-cuff response to a Theatre 503 show lead to The Ballerina premiering in New York before coming to his year’s VAULT Festival. Playwright Anne-Sophie Marie explains. Read her interview then book your tickets!
“‘Old Ireland Free’ is closer than ever. Joe could never have foreseen that”: Director Jonathan Harden on staging his hit production of On McQuillan’s Hill
“It was never about money or career progression for any of us. For me, it was about getting the best actors we could and doing the best version of this play possible, for this audience, in this particular moment.” Take a look at what Jonathan Harden told us about bringing Joseph Crilly’s On McQuillan’s Hill to Finborough Theatre, then book your tickets for the final shows.
“Careful changes nothing… careful doesn’t interest me”: Karen Bartholomew on creating her Vault Festival play Giving Up Marty
“It’s taken a massive amount of courage to even dare to do this.” Karen Bartholomew tells us why now was the right to to create her play exploring the realities of adoption reunion, Giving Up Marty. Read her fascinating interview, then book your tickets.
“I’m knackered but running off pure passion” Cheryl Ndione tells us about bringing Apple to Vault Festival
How did the writing of a 15-year-old become a hotly anticipated VAULT Festival production Apple? Writer and performer Cheryl Ndione explains in the interview below. Time to book your tickets!
“We are a global community and one I think which is very much at a turning point right now”: Beverly Andrews on Annawon’s Song
Playwright Beverly Andrews tells us about how she discovered the plight of Native American servicemen, her own Native American ancestry and why she’s excited about staging her play, Annawon’s Song, at VAULT Festival. Read her interview then book your tickets!
WATCH: Rosalind Blessed discusses creating personal plays The Delights of Dogs and The Problems of People and Lullabies for the Lost
Weeping at her mother’s performance, having her plays produced by her father and writing plays inspired by her own mental health troubles – watch Rosalind Blessed opening up about her productions The Delights of Dogs and The Problems of People and Lullabies for the Lost then book your tickets!
WATCH: Natasha Santos tells London Live about the Christmas reinvention of break up comedy Getting Over Everest
“No-one wants to be dumped at Christmas!” Watch playwright and performer Natasha Santos talking to London Live about the personal experiences that inspired her comedy Getting Over Everest and adding festive fun to the emotional mix. Book your tickets now!
‘My mental health problems made me an easier target for domestic abuse’: Rosalind Blessed on her pair of plays at the Old Red Lion Theatre
As she prepares to bring two plays, The Delights of Dogs and The Problems of People and Lullabies for the Lost, to the Old Red Lion Theatre, Rosalind Blessed tells us about the personal experiences that inspired them and why dogs are so important to her. Read the interview, then book those tickets.
“A play that’s about accepting people for who they are… seems more relevant than ever” Robert Wolstenholme on Martha, Josie & the Chinese Elvis
Acceptance, laughter and falling in snowdrifts – director Robert Wolstenholme tells us about staging Charlotte Jones’ award-winning comedy, Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis, at Park Theatre this Christmas. Read what he tells us, then book your tickets.
‘It’s playful nature, its humour and its darkness drew us to it’: Steve Fitzgerald on staging Penetrator
Uncanny Collective’s Steve Fitzgerald tells us about how, 25 years after it was first staged, Anthony Neilson’s shocking comic drama Penetrator has lost none of its impact. Book your tickets now!
‘When does a female actor get the chance to play a part made famous by Michael Caine’: Sam Ra on creating You Game
Playwright Sam Ra tells us why Sleuth inspired her to create new thriller You Game and what difference it makes switching the gender of one of its characters. Read the interview, then book your tickets.
Family tales, proper jobs and supporting the local community: Simon de Cintra tells us about new play Bed Seven
“My father would mischievously try and shock people at social gatherings by telling them that he met his wife ‘in bed’”. Playwright Simon de Cintra tells us the truth behind that story and how it inspired his first play, Bed Seven.
‘The themes of conservation just jumped off the page’: Venetia Twigg on Theatrical Niche’s new version of Uncle Vanya
How does the working of a beehive related to Chekhov’s masterpiece Uncle Vanya? Venetia Twigg, who adapted the play for Theatrical Niche, gets busy, telling us about it. Read he interview then book your tickets.