Anthony McCarten’s new play The Collaboration at the Young Vic kicks off as you arrive in the auditorium with an 80s DJ set. It’s toe-tapping, hip and creates a party, edgy, youthful yet nostalgic atmosphere.
‘Disappointingly formulaic in its treatment of two artistic icons:’ THE COLLABORATION – Young Vic Theatre
Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope star as artistic legends in The Collaboration but Anthony McCarten’s play at the Young Vic doesn’t thrill.
‘Art is about hearts not dollars, a sacred human magic’: THE COLLABORATION – Young Vic Theatre ★★★★
Two artists in a studio: Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat. They have been put there to collaborate in 1980s New York.
‘Just a bit too educational to be truly pleasurable’: CHANGING DESTINY – Young Vic Theatre
The Young Vic’s main stage reopens with Booker Prize winner Ben Okri’s short play Changing Destiny, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah
NEWS: New plays by Ben Okri & James Graham feature in the Young Vic’s new season
Young Vic artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah has announced a new season of work, Welcome Back and Welcome Home, welcoming theatre-makers and audiences back through the doors for the first time since the venues’s 50th Birthday celebrations in October 2020.
‘If you can’t join them, beat them’: Mark Shenton reacts to the Scott Rudin ‘bullying’ controversy
On Monday, leaders of three American entertainment unions — SAG-AFRA, Actors’ Equity Association and the American Federation of Musicians Local 802 released a joint statement condemning workplace harassment, bullying and violent behaviour.
From Waterloo to Wales: Welcome headlines feature groundbreaking creatives of past & present
Mark Shenton welcomes headlines featuring Stratford East, the National, the British Library and community involvement from Waterloo to Wales.
‘It has been a bit like the Wild West’: Recognising those pioneers extending the digital frontier
While Matthew Warchus at the other end of the Cut from the Young Vic, may have the Old Vic that he presides over (without any subsidy) dark, too, actually the theatre has been in use regularly and has continued to produce throughout the pandemic, with its “In Camera” broadcasts of live performances that have been staged in its empty auditorium.
NEWS: We round up the response to the latest tranche of Culture Recovery Fund grants awarded by the Government
More than 1,300 arts and cultural organisations have benefited from a share of £257 million as part of a vital financial boost from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.
‘Piece after piece remains with you after the performance’: THE NEW TOMORROW – Young Vic (Online review)
Although a rather more muted celebration than originally planned, The New Tomorrow is a powerful acknowledgment of the theatre’s ongoing mission to be a real centre for the community.
NEWS: Special installations & live theatre feature in Young Vic’s 50th birthday celebrations
Kwame Kwei-Armah, artistic director of the Young Vic, has announced the start of the Young Vic’s 50th birthday with a year-long programme of work entitled We are the New Tide, dedicated to the theatre’s milestone birthday.
NEWS: Ian McKellen is the first actor to top The Stage 100
Stage and screen star Ian McKellen has been named number one in The Stage 100, ‘the definitive guide to the most influential figures working in the UK theatre and performing arts industry today’. He is the first actor to ever top the list.
‘A spectacle that only the most hard-nosed sceptic would be unable to completely resist’: TREE – Young Vic Theatre ★★★★
To the credit of Kwame Kwei-Armah and Idris Elba – and maybe Tori Allen-Martin and Sarah Henley – you can feel the urge to find a healing of all sides in a conflict between black and white South Africans that persists to this day.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Tree at the Young Vic Theatre
It initially hit the headlines for controversial reasons about artistic credit. Now that it’s opened, what have critics said about Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah’s Tree? Premiered as part of the Manchester International Festival, it’s now transferred to London’s Young Vic Theatre, where it continues until 24 August 2019.
‘The start of something really powerful’: TREE – Young Vic Theatre
There is much to applaud in Tree but it feels like a play that is more about the spectacle and experience than a substantial exploration of meaty issues which is fine to a point.
NEWS: Cush Jumbo makes her Young Vic debut as Hamlet in Kwame Kwei-Armah’s 2020 Young Vic season
Highlights of Young Vic artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah’s programme for 2020 include Cush Jumbo making her Young Vic debut as Hamlet and Academy Award-nominee Ruth Negga as Portia in Marina Carr’s haunting play Portia Coughlan.
NEWS: Cast announced for Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah’s show Tree at MIF & Young Vic
Manchester International Festival (MIF), the Young Vic and Green Door Pictures have announced the full cast for Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah’s collaboration, Tree, which will receive its world premiere at Manchester International Festival, before transferring to London’s Young Vic.
BOOK REVIEW: About the Art of the Artistic Director
Christopher Haydon, the former artistic director of the Gate Theatre in London, has written the book About The Art of the Artistic Director.
NEWS: Stirling Prize-winning architect Steve Tompkins tops The Stage 100
Steve Tompkins, director of Haworth Tompkins, the architecture studio responsible for projects including many of UK theatre’s most high-profile building projects, has been named number one in The Stage 100 in association with Spektrix.