Don’t leave it to the last minute to get into the auditorium for the Bridge Theatre immersive, promenade production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream because there is stuff going on before the play officially starts.
‘Brings a fresh, more contemporary feel’: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM – Bridge Theatre
It is the slight rearrangement of the text and its implication for the female characters that is Nicholas Hytner’s most notable achievement here in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge Theatre.
‘Elevated to realms of unexpected glee’: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM – Bridge Theatre ★★★★★
A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge Theatre is a dream of a Dream. One expected fun from the combination of Nicholas Hytner, a roiling mass of promenaders in the pit and a Bunny Christie design which makes the most of this fresh big theatre’s technical tricks.
NEWS: Zoë Wanamaker & Zrinka Cvitešić will star in world premiere of Nancy Harris’ Two Ladies at the Bridge Theatre
Zoë Wanamaker and Zrinka Cvitešić will play Hélène and Sophia respectively in Two Ladies, a new play by Nancy Harris to be directed by Nicholas Hytner for the London Theatre Company at the Bridge Theatre.
NEWS: London Theatre Company announces plans for a second theatre located in King’s Cross
London Theatre Company and King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) have announced their joint venture for a brand new 600 theatre in King’s Cross.
‘Without doubt, this is the theatre event of the year’: A GERMAN LIFE – Bridge Theatre
Maggie Smith is absolutely triumphant in this memoir of a Berlin secretary in the Nazi era, A German Life at the Bridge Theatre.
‘The play’s eye is pitilessly sharp’: ALYS, ALWAYS – Bridge Theatre ★★★★
Couldn’t miss Nicholas Hytner’s bit of mischief: after his years of being being alternately feted and rubbished in print, he displays directorial glee in sending up the noisome denizens of a broadsheet arts desk thanks to Lucinda Coxon’s black-hearted comedy of modern media manners, Alys, Always at the Bridge Theatre.
‘A superficial study of truth and lies’: ALYS, ALWAYS – Bridge Theatre
Alys, Always, a adaptation of Harriet Lane’s psychological and satirical bestseller, is neither vital, nor convincing.
REVIEW ROUND-UP – Alys Always at the Bridge Theatre
Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews for Nicholas Hytner’s production of Alys Always based on Harriet Lane’s novel.
‘Worth your time & more so than the book’: ALYS, ALWAYS – Bridge Theatre
Look, as a piece of drama Alys, Always isn’t the best thing you’ll ever see. It’s unlikely to be troubling the Olivier nominations next year I wouldn’t think. But, actually, I sort of don’t care. It’s really good fun; sheer entertainment with a little bit of something to mentally chew over after the show.
‘Retains all of its emotional force & its intoxicating theatrical flair’: WAR HORSE – National Theatre
If there is a good argument for remembrance, and there is an equally good one for forgetting, what you can never forget is the War Horse experience.
‘McDonagh’s plot is its own hired assassin’: A VERY VERY VERY DARK MATTER – Bridge Theatre
I’m fairly sure the land on which the Bridge Theatre was built was once a plague pit, but I’m beginning to wonder if the place isn’t itself cursed. How else can it commission a play by Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri writer Martin McDonagh that is, not to put too fine a point on it, as enjoyable as passing A Very, Very, Very Painful Stool? For an hour and a half.
NEWS: My Name is Lucy Barton starring Laura Linney returns in Bridge Theatre season which also features Joanne Froggatt in Alys, Always
After a sell-out run in June this year in which Laura Linney made her London theatre debut, she will return to the Bridge Theatre to reprise the title role in Richard Eyre’s production of My Name is Lucy Barton.
‘By turns cynical, touching & with a rogue twinkle in its eye’: ALLELUJAH! – Bridge Theatre
By turns cynical, touching and with a rogue twinkle in its eye, Allelujah! doesn’t set the stage alight, and as both a black comedy and state-of-the-nation play it feels underpowered, but Bennett remains a bastion of not just British playwriting, but Britain as a whole.
Could Allelujah!’s transfer from stage to screen change our perception of the production?
Screening Alan Bennett’s Allelujah! on the big screen may well alter the viewer’s perspective, placing it within the tradition of television and film drama that lends itself to the cliffhanger-based six-part series that Bennett’s broad and episodic approach calls upon.
‘It is Bennett’s lasting gift to amateur dramatic societies up and down the country’: ALLELUJAH! – Bridge Theatre ★★★★
I am fully content to hail Alan Bennett as a National Treasure, and while I enjoyed many aspects of Allelujah!, I still hoped for even better and a return to his form in, say, The Madness of George III.
The Show People Podcast: Josh Boyd-Rochford takes 10%
In this episode of The Show People Podcast, host Andrew Keates is joined by Josh Boyd-Rochford, chief operating officer and an agent at Simon and How Associates, who also teaches, produces and is forever generating opportunities for theatre-makers.
We spoke with Josh about his entire life, career and lessons learned, as well as answer your questions about how to have the best relationship with your agent.
Episode features include:
Theatrical Tips:
Andrew reveals his theatrical tips of things to see and do this August 2018, including productions at The Park Theatre, Brasserie Zedel and the Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh.
The Platform:
Today’s platform is given to The Wicker Husband with music and lyrics by Darren Clark and a book by Rhys Jennings (who happens to be our special guest’s husband too!) and a song called The Sparrow’s Tale, sung by Laura Wickham with Josh Sneesby on accordion, Anne-Marie Piazza on ukulele, Rachel Dawson on cello and composer Darren Clark on guitar.
Social Media:
Andrew Keates: @AndrewKeates, Josh Boyd-Rochford: @JBRAgent, The Wicker Husband: @wickermusical, Rhys Jennings: @RhysJenns, Darren Clark: @MusicDJC, The Show People Podcast: @ShowPeopleUK, Arion Productions: @ArionProds and use #ShowPeoplePodcast.
Please like our Facebook page where you can also join the Show People Listeners’ forum at www.facebook.com/showpeoplepodcast
Links:
Show People Photography by Scott Rylander: www.scottrylander.com
Arion Productions/Show People Donate Link: www.arion-productions.com/donate
Arion Productions/Show People Shop: www.arion-producitons.com/shop
Andrew Keates’ Website: www.andrewkeates.co.uk
Josh Boyd-Rochford’s Website & Mailing List: www.jbragent.com
Simon and How Associates: www.simon-how.com
The Wicker Man: www.darrenclarkmusic.co.uk/the-wicker-husband.html
Arion Productions GoFundMe Fundraising Campaign: www.gofundme.com/support-arion-productions
Alcoholics Anonymous: www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/
Narcotics Anonymous: http://ukna.org
Contact Us:
Do you want to get in touch with the Show People Podcast? You can contact us at info@arion-productions.com
Support:
All profits from the Show People Podcast go toward supporting Arion Productions Ltd to create opportunities and resources for theatre-makers. If you enjoy the podcast and can support this independent theatre company, please make a donation by visiting www.arion-productions.com/donate or via our GoFundMe campaign at www.gofundme.com/support-arion-productions
Shop:
Head over to our new shop to purchase your very own Show People Podcast merchandise, including mugs and pens. All profits go toward Arion Productions Ltd and covering the costs of the Show People Podcast. http://www.arion-productions.com/shop
Sponsor:
Would you like to sponsor the Show People Podcast and advertise on the show? Please get in touch by e-mailing info@arion-productions.com
Next Episode:
The Show People Podcast is a fortnightly podcast. The next episode will be released Monday 13th August 2018.
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Review Round-up: Alan Bennett’s Allelujah! at the Bridge Theatre
Alan Bennett’s latest play has officially opened at the Bridge Theatre, the premiere production directed by Bennett’s frequent collaborator and Bridge artistic director Nicholas Hytner. Here, Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews….
‘Warm & funny, dark & thought-provoking, all at the same time’: ALLELUJAH! – Bridge Theatre
The politics are an Old Labour and North London hybrid and, the hospital on stage is probably more fantasy than NHS reality. But when national treasures do something new, we should all rejoice. Allelujah, indeed.
‘Well-crafted & politically sensitive’: ALLELUJAH! – Bridge Theatre
A new Alan Bennett play is an event. And hospitals – the epicentres of birth and death – are eventful places. Allelujah! is a match made in heaven then.