Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Death of England at the National Theatre
Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews for Roy Williams and Clint Dyer’s one man play Death of England starring Rafe Spall.
‘Highly entertaining & definitely disturbing’: DEATH OF ENGLAND – National Theatre
A new monologue about rage, racism and national identity, Death of England at the National Theatre is magnificent in its fury and perception.
‘A truly astonishing piece of acting’: DEATH OF ENGLAND – National Theatre
In Death of England, Rafe Spall delivers the performance of a lifetime in this punchy monologue by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams at the National Theatre.
‘Shocking, foul-mouthed, ferociously brutal & brilliantly played’: SING YER HEART OUT FOR THE LADS – Chichester ★★★★★
Roy Williams’ incendiary 2002 play, Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads, which attacks grass roots racism with all the finesse of a vintage Vinnie Jones tackle, is back and spewing vitriol in Chichester Festival Theatre’s pop-up space, The Spiegeltent.
NEWS: National Theatre announces 15 productions of new plays & fresh adaptations by leading writers
The National Theatre has announces 15 productions of new plays and fresh adaptations by leading writers. Olivier Theatre My Brilliant Friend 12 November 2019 to 18 January 2020 (Press day is 26 November). Plays in rep, with further performances to be announced Following a sell-out run at Rose Theatre Kingston, the two-part adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend by April De Angelis is reworked …
#ReadaPlayaWeek: Texts from Tarell Alvin McCraney, Roy Williams, Olwen Wymark, Michaela Coel & Kenneth Lonergan
Not Exactly Billington has set themselves a challenge to read a new (to them) playtext every week. In May, their #ReadaPlayaWeek titles included Tarell Alvin McCraney’s The Brothers Size, Roy Williams’ interpretation of Antigone, Olwen Wymark’s Find Me, Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum Dreams, and Kenneth Lonergan’s This is Our Youth.
NEWS: Nadia Fall’s second season at Theatre Royal Stratford East features 10th anniversary production of Sucker Punch
Theatre Royal Stratford East has announced Nadia Fall’s second season as artistic director to run from autumn 2019 to summer 2020.
The diversity of diversity
Making theatre as diverse as possible is, I think, a work in progress. And progress is the operative word. I’m not advocating complacency. Of course there’s still much to be done but don’t let’s belittle the enormous amount which has already happened.
NEWS: John Simm, Dervla Kirwan Hugh Bonneville, James Nesbitt & Sheila Hancock all feature in Chichester Festival Theatre’s new season
Chichester Festival Theatre’s Festival 2019 has been announced by artistic director Daniel Evans. It includes John Simm & Dervla Kirwan in Macbeth, Hugh Bonneville in Shadowlands & Tim Firth’s first solo musical starring James Nesbitt.
INTERVIEW: Greenwich+Docklands International Festival artistic director Bradley Hemmings on why the event ‘makes for quite a remarkable experience’
Greenwich+Docklands International Festival takes place at various sites from 21 June to 7 July 2018. I spoke to the event’s artistic director Bradley Hemmings about what this year’s line up has to offer.
‘As theatre there are several memorable moments’: MISTY – Bush Theatre
At the centre of the show is Arinzé Kene himself. Having just finished his part in Conor McPherson’s Girl from the North Country in the West End, he devotes all of his considerable charisma to this meditation on the race politics of storytelling.
NEWS: Camden music and poetry evening for Grenfell Tower
Camden Stands with Grenfell Tower: An evening of music and poetry in aid of Grenfell Tower Fire Fund.
Hosted by Ché Walker, Friday 23rd June sees a night of music and poetry in honour of the victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and to benefit the Grenfell Tower Fire Fund.
Top Trumps at Theatre503: After #WomensMarch, what can we do next?
The best antidote to hopelessness is action. On Friday night, hours after the US presidential inauguration, I was hugely privileged to chair a panel, at Theatre503’s Top Trumps mini-festival, asking: what can activists do now to oppose Trumpism?
NEWS: Theatre503 stages Top Trumps response during inauguration week
Hassan Abdulrazzak, Caryl Churchill, Neil LaBute and Roy Williams are among the writers in TOP TRUMPS, a Theatre503 festival responding to Donald Trump’s election and his inauguration as US President, which also includes a panel discussion chaired by Mates co-founder Terri Paddock.
What happens when you cross Dragons’ Den with new musicals?
The Perfect Pitch Award, co-presented by Theatre Royal Stratford East, is a sort of Dragons Den for new musical writing … with a twist. In this, long before the aspirants get to the pitch stage, the dragons actually put them together.
10 things you should never say to a copper (c/o Wildefire)
A note in the programme for Wildefire, Roy Williams’ new play about the perils of modern-day policing at Hampstead Theatre, deftly summarises the public relations problem that the police force faces today. Titled “A Policeman’s Lot Is Not a Happy Note”, the piece is written by Brian Paddick, former Deputy Assistant Commission of The Met […]
Does Dr Theatre have a cure for the audience?
My partner Peter had vicious man-flu for over a week so it was only a matter of time until I caught the female equivalent, a.k.a the common cold. Yesterday morning, after a no-sleep night, I “woke up” feeling terrible: heavily congested, nose streaming, cotton-wool head and aches all over. I cancelled a 10am meeting, chugged […]