In a previous blog, I talked of the excitement at waking up in our industry. But any time we bounce forward, we have to accept that we live on a rollercoaster. And the rushes to the bottom are not usually accompanied by screams of joy and thrill.
Is ‘Zoom in the flesh’ the way to wake up producers’ creativity post-pandemic?
I recently tried a technical experiment with Zoom and believe we may have found a way to harness the power of distance connection with the desire for getting back in a room.
‘Never flags in its delivery or pace’: WHERE THE BUGABOO LIVES – Little Angel Theatre (Online review)
Where The Bugaboo Lives is the Little Angel’s first Zoom production, performed live. It joins the productions which have been available for free on their YouTube channel during theatre closure.
‘I think it can be quite cathartic for art to explore the pandemic’: Actor Ian Hallard’s debut play Adventurous premieres online
Actor Ian Hallard chats about his debut play Adventurous which is being produced online by the Jermyn Street Theatre.
‘A masterclass in storytelling’: Grimm Tales for Fragile Times & Broken People – Creation Theatre (Online review)
With the gimmicks stripped away, what’s left in Creation Theatre’s Grimm Tales for Fragile Times & Broken People is a masterclass in storytelling which, while not exactly heartwarming, does manage to leave the audience with a reminder that even in the darkest of times, we are not alone.
‘Amusing look at love in lockdown’: VALENTINE’S SKETCH SHOW – Northern Comedy Theatre (Online review)
The material in Valentine’s Sketch Show feels a little rough at times, but when things click and the company runs with it, you do have a giggle.
However, Northern Comedy Theatre (based in Merseyside) have followed an amazing run of digita…
‘A quirky addition to the ‘shows at home’ space’: MANIMALS (Online review)
Michelle Hudson’s love life is the anchor on which this “NSFW” Zoom show and online app is tethered. Manimals is an interactive show/online game presented as a workshop launch for a new dating app. Michelle, a gaming designer, has mixed her professional and personal preoccupations here for immersive entertainment.
NEWS: CtrlAltRepeat’s highly-acclaimed immersive show Viper Squad is back & this time it’s Remastered
CtrlAltRepeat’s award-winning immersive theatre show Viper Squad, a lovingly-crafted, tongue-in-cheek homage to 1980s action classics and point-and-click adventure games, is back every Friday from 29 January 2021. Viper Squad: Remastered takes the original and dials it all up to 11.
‘Interesting exploration of the seedy side of internet fame’: CONTROVERSY – Living Record Festival (Online review)
A six-part web series about social influencers, Controversy is filmed entirely on Zoom. It is written by Maya Katherine, who stars as Hayley, a student who aims to hit the big time and become famous.
How to find the energy we need in our industry to move forward
I was talking with a client yesterday, who is a theatre-maker and wanting, like so many, to get back in front of a live audience and to work close with fellow creatives to make work happen. We decided to focus on a few areas – not least because we have no idea how long we are going to be in the current state of lockdown and reliance on digital platforms.
Roustabout Theatre’s founders reflect on a challenging but creative year
The founders of Roustabout Theatre privilege have turned the challenges of 2020 into creative ideas and continue to find joy in sharing their stories and laughter with people of all ages.
‘Offers psychological chills from the start’: MACBETH – Big Telly Theatre Company (Online review)
With some scenes of conflict filmed in a style which evokes the “found-footage” style seen in The Blair Witch Project and others, this Big Telly Theatre Company’s Macbeth – for which audience members are instructed to draw the curtains and dim the lights – offers psychological chills from the start.
‘The subtleties & concerns of this story are universal’: SAFE SPACE (Online review)
Teater V’s Safe Space faces a tough subject head on with some style while always staying one step ahead of its audience.
New opportunities in the world of Zoom Zj-ing
Over the last few months I have moved so much of my life and work online, often using Zoom, as so many of us have. Yesterday someone decided I should now call myself a Zj…which sounds fun.
‘A courtroom setting gets round socially distanced difficulties’: THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS – Guildford Shakespeare Company (Online review)
Guildford Shakespeare Company first performed their adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s classic in 2015. After a successful series of Zoom murder mystery evenings, they decided to recreate their hit family production.
‘A cautionary tale about the importance of ideas & the value of human connection’: THE MACHINE STOPS – Big Telly Theatre (Online review)
Imagine a world where social contact is limited by a raft of regulations. A world where everyone communicates via computer instead of face to face.
Lost Labour of Love: ‘All I had to do was turn up & say the words wot Shakespeare wrote, didn’t I?’
Knowing that some 600 people had applied the week previous to that, I had no great expectation that I would be selected but, to my amazement, I was offered the part of Costard.
In Praise of Love… & Zoom: How can a classic play be shown in a medium never designed to present it?
In Praise of Love is a complex play which relies on a claustrophobic gathering of people in one place and the tensions which come from hiding their feelings.
Over the past two weeks they have brought…
‘This was the best time I’ve had on a Zoom call’: JURY DUTY – Exit Productions ★★★★ (Online review)
In this world turned upside down, emergency legislation has been rushed through to do away with barristers. Now the accused in court have only you.
‘A real gem’: Philip Ridley’s online series The Beast Will Rise is ‘sublime storytelling’
The problem with creating theatre in an era of lockdown is that the constraints of working online tend towards a uniformity of creativity
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