The list of nominees has been revealed for this year’s UK Theatre Awards, the only nationwide awards to honour and celebrate outstanding achievements in theatre throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Best New Play nominees are Laura Wade’s The Watsons, Ulster American by David Ireland and Life Of Pi, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti from Yann Martel’s novel, while Best Musical …
‘Brilliantly acted production’: THE WRITER – Almeida Theatre
The Writer makes a strong case for theatre as a place to debate the most urgent issues of the day and prove that, for some women, experimenting with form is not an option, but a necessity.
INTERVIEW: Spotlight On… #MotherSaid’s Serena Manteghi
Serena Manteghi is currently playing the role of Rosie in My Mother Said I Never Should opposite national treasure, Maureen Lipman. I caught up with Rosie to ask her about this well-known play and what her future career aspirations are. My Mother Said continues at London’s St James Theatre until 21 May 2016.
LISTEN: What’s changed for female playwrights since My Mother Said I Never Should?
How much has changed for female playwrights since 1985 when Charlotte Keatley wrote her landmark play, My Mother Said I Never Should? Playwrights Tanika Gupta and Anna Jordan and Royal Court literary manager Christopher Campbell discuss with Terri Paddock at a post-show panel debate.
Text of the Day: My Mother Said I Never Should
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
These women that playwright Charlotte Keatley created are passionate, feisty and reflect society’s views of women from the 1930s through the 1980s. Though there’s been inevitable progress in women’s rights, Keatley’s script shows how agonisingly slow it’s been. Excellent performances by the ensemble cast of four and a decade-spanning politically commentary make My Mother Said I Never Should a relevant, fun and poignant production that, even though written in the 1980s, still holds important messages about womanhood.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: My Mother Said I Never Should at the St James Theatre
Maureen Lipman and Katie Brayben star in Charlotte Keatley’s 1987 play about the relationships between mothers and daughters, running at London’s St James Theatre until 21 May 2016 – but what has the reaction been?
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
This is a return to grand form for Lipman whose natural comic timing is best deployed undercutting the more strident statements and hinting at the unvoiced disappointments of marital life. She still needs a director brave enough to tell her that Manchester isn’t in the East Riding of Yorkshire and to drag her accent from native Hull to the other end of the M62, but it’s a finely detailed performance across a swathe of the century from tutoring piano lessons as a tetchy wartime martinet to the abandon of popping off her pop socks in an eighties Oldham garden.
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
Spirited revival of the 1980s feminist classic is a bit too shrill, yet also quietly moving when it matters.
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
A story of four generations of strong women, an exploration into the meaning of family, being a mother, a child, sister and grandmother. Do we learn from the mistakes we or others make or is it a series of conscious decisions influenced by the childhood we’ve had that shape us as adults.
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
Paul Robinson directs with sensitivity as Simon Slater’s sound and music enhance proceedings, with the production marking an impressive debut by producers Tiny Fires. Go see this play – the acting is sensational.
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
Say, first of all, that Maureen Lipman was born to play Doris, the Lancashire matriarch at the heart of Charlotte Keatley’s modern classic. In this revival she never misses a beat: without overdoing it Lipman can convulse an audience with a mere word (“Polytechnic” “End Terrace” ), or silence our breathing with a wrenching, gentle monologue expressing a hidden life.
NEWS: Maureen Lipman & Katie Brayben in My Mother Said I Never Should, 18 April
National treasure Maureen Lipman (Oklahoma, Outside Edge, See How They Run) and Olivier-award winning Katie Brayben (Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, King Charles III, American Psycho) will lead the cast in Charlotte Keatley’s My Mother Said I Never Should. They will be joined by Caroline Faber (The Taming of the Shrew, The Heiress, Hangover Square) and Serena Manteghi (The Railway Children). Presented by Tiny Fires Ltd, this is the first London revival of the play in over 25 years.
NEWS: St James premieres Atomic Bomb musical & Pianist play
London’s St James’ Theatre today announces its spring 2016 season, comprising: the UK premiere of critically acclaimed Blitz-set play with music The Pianist of Willesden Lane, the world premiere of explosive new musical Miss Atomic Bomb and the first London revival for over 25 years of Charlotte Keatley’s award-winning debut play My Mother Said I Never Should.