Helmsley Arts Centre Studio Bar - Friday 22 January 2010
Ryedale Live is launching a new series of performance evenings at Helmsley Arts Centre, specifically aimed at teenagers within the area. Called “Ryedale Young and Live!”, they are designed to give young singers, songwriters and musicians of all levels the opportunity to perform to an attentive audience, but in a relaxed and non-threatening environment.
The first of the series is scheduled for Friday 22nd January from 7.30pm and will take place in the Studio Bar. To support the evening there will be performances by two of the region’s most talented youngsters, Amaya and Alastair James.
Commenting on this new development for Ryedale Live! Rob Davies said: “We have felt for some time that there is little or no opportunity for Ryedale’s talented youngsters to perform, other than at school or in their bedrooms! This will allow them to sing or play 2 or 3 songs amongst their peer group and thus to raise their bar a little and gain valuable performance experience. We have been using Helmsley Arts Centre for quite sometime now for our Ryedale Live! Songwriters Circle concerts and we felt that the Studio Bar is the perfect location for this exciting new series.”
If you would like to participate in this or any future evening, please send your details to mail@ryedalelive.co.uk or call Rob Davies on 01653 690503.
has gained a nation-wide reputation for its live-event and film programmes, which has grown over time. The venue, which has a 140-seat auditorium and 40-seat studio/exhibition space, has provided film screenings, live music, theatre performances, comedy clubs, art exhibitions and workshops/classes to tens of thousands of people since opening its doors.
Monday, 30 November 2009
Monday, 16 November 2009
Good news for the Helmsley Folk Weekend
The Arts Centre Management has regular meetings to discuss how the programmes we present have been going and what we can learn from experience about what to do next.
Recently we shone the spotlight on our (for us) ambitious weekend of folk music in September. We had three nights of events and two whole days' worth of music in the Centre, the town square, the Town Hall and in various local pubs.
For those who came, the weekend was a great success. There was an exciting "buzz" in the air, they said. But, alas, not enough people came and we lost £2,200. And we had no sponsors to help us out. Not good news. So should we give up on an event we've been developing over the past three years?
The answer is a resounding "NO!"
OK, so we've been a bit over ambitious. And there's no doubt the recession is biting us and our customers harder. But the good news is that a couple of people, very experienced in the world of folk events, has offered to help us build the event more solidly in the future. 
The Management of the Arts Centre voted unanimously to learn from the experience and get on with organising next year's Weekend of Folk. Which is also a firm endorsement of all the hard work our Deputy Director, Jean Kershaw, has put into organising this event for the past three years. Thank you, Jean.
And a big "thank you" for all those supportive comments we've received from people who enjoyed the weekend this year.....
| From Kate Bramley : "The success of the folk weekend in previous years has proved that there is an interest in the music, and the huge amount of local support from musicians and other organisers shows their partner commitment to slowly growing an annual folk event in Helmsley The theatre and town have such a great potential as a host venue and our focus for the future is to make sure the theatre is at the hub of the action, drawing people in to the venue across the weekend for session and concerts as well as general 'bonhomie'." |
From Linda Hencher:
"The ceilidh was much enjoyed by all those who attended and everyone was keen to dance. The Town Hall is a really good venue for it. The selection of dances was good and the Jellybeans band was easy to dance to and had an excellent caller. The simple pie and pea supper worked well."
From Richard Abrahall:
"I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the Folk Festival, although you must be a little disappointed at the turnout to some of the daytime events.
I went to nearly everything and it was so intimate we got to know each other quite well by the Sunday evening concert.
I do hope that you can do it again next year, but thanks for doing so this autumn."
From Ray Padgett:
"Very many thanks for all your work at Helmsley this year. as organiser. It is not easy getting these things up and running. I wouldn’t bother too much about the ‘fringe’ pub events – use the Arts Centre and use the café bar all to maximum to create revenue and as a stage for musicians and a singaround area………lots of potential here."
From Christine Bishop – Acorn Morris Dancers:
"I would like to say what a good dance spot you gave us as part of the folk weekend (courtesy of RDC!) This spot allowed us to dance properly and safely and also gave the spectators a better view."
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
A special evening of music
Susan Allen from Cawton sent us this:
I am writing to say how much I enjoyed the violin and piano recital on 17th October at the Helmsley Arts Centre (see picture left). It was a very special evening and I think many in the audience felt as I did, that we were privileged to be there.
Once again I drove home thinking how extremely fortunate we are to have music of such quality on our doorstep. It helps to make Helmsley and the wider area such a very special place to live in.
I am looking forward to the Cello and Piano Recital in November and to Michael Lunts as Rachmaninov (see picture right) in A Meeting of Minds. Many thanks to the Arts Centre for providing so many wonderful evenings.
I am writing to say how much I enjoyed the violin and piano recital on 17th October at the Helmsley Arts Centre (see picture left). It was a very special evening and I think many in the audience felt as I did, that we were privileged to be there.
Once again I drove home thinking how extremely fortunate we are to have music of such quality on our doorstep. It helps to make Helmsley and the wider area such a very special place to live in.I am looking forward to the Cello and Piano Recital in November and to Michael Lunts as Rachmaninov (see picture right) in A Meeting of Minds. Many thanks to the Arts Centre for providing so many wonderful evenings.
Monday, 2 November 2009
Current Exhibition: Chris Ware
Chris Ware has a secret. The country's only professional Artist in Residence on a heritage railway sometimes deserts the precision of railway art for the world of flowing colour without a train in sight. Loved landscapes describing, in watercolour, emotion and form are, for this Kirkbymoorside painter, 'Along Different Lines'.
Come and see Chris at the Arts Centre every Sunday working on his 'Turner' painting - for more details watch the video.
Tue 27 Oct - Fri 20 Nov - Helmsley Arts Centre, North Yorkshire
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Are you aged between 13–21 and interested in theatre?
Do you want to be part of the most dynamic national theatre company for young people? Do you want to make great new friends across the UK? Do you want to do something exciting? Do you want your voice to be heard?
If the answer is "YES!" to any of these questions and you are aged between 13 and 21, the National Youth Theatre, Britain's Premiere youth theatre company is just the place for you!
National Youth Theatre members get to work with some of the best professional writers, directors, designers and technicians from the UK theatre industry so why not join them?
Whether you want to pursue a professional career in the entertainment business or not, the National Youth Theatre can offer you many exciting opportunities to learn new skills, develop your own talents and to have great fun, all of which can be applied to whatever you choose to do in later life.
Why not take this chance to flex your acting or technical muscles and give it a try?
The 2010 Intake Acting and Technical Auditions will take place in February at the Yorkshire Artspace. We are however, open to applications at present, and wish to spread the word about these auditions in Yorkshire.
Applications are now being accepted and the closing date is January 8th (but we do advise individuals to send off applications as early as possible).
WANT TO AUDITION OR INTERVIEW?
Don't worry, it's straightforward, painless and a bit fun.
If you're successful you get invited on a course. After the course you can audition for our productions or join the production team.
Auditions take place up and down the country in local centres in February. But you have to apply NOW!
Nice people run them; it's nothing like X Factor.
Find out more about the National Youth Theatre and apply here.
If the answer is "YES!" to any of these questions and you are aged between 13 and 21, the National Youth Theatre, Britain's Premiere youth theatre company is just the place for you!
National Youth Theatre members get to work with some of the best professional writers, directors, designers and technicians from the UK theatre industry so why not join them?
Whether you want to pursue a professional career in the entertainment business or not, the National Youth Theatre can offer you many exciting opportunities to learn new skills, develop your own talents and to have great fun, all of which can be applied to whatever you choose to do in later life.
Why not take this chance to flex your acting or technical muscles and give it a try?The 2010 Intake Acting and Technical Auditions will take place in February at the Yorkshire Artspace. We are however, open to applications at present, and wish to spread the word about these auditions in Yorkshire.
Applications are now being accepted and the closing date is January 8th (but we do advise individuals to send off applications as early as possible).
WANT TO AUDITION OR INTERVIEW?
Don't worry, it's straightforward, painless and a bit fun.
If you're successful you get invited on a course. After the course you can audition for our productions or join the production team.
Auditions take place up and down the country in local centres in February. But you have to apply NOW!
Nice people run them; it's nothing like X Factor.
Find out more about the National Youth Theatre and apply here.
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Skylight - a tour de force
Here's where you'll find it : Friday 30 October at 7.30pm at Kirkbymoorside Memorial Hall, for which you can book your tickets online through the Helmsley Arts Centre or by telephone on 01439 771700
Or Saturday 31 October at 7.30pm at Easingwold Galtres Centre, for which you can book tickets at Easingwold on 01347 822472
Kyra is surprised to see the son of her former lover at her apartment in a London slum; he hopes she will be reconciled with his distraught, now widowed father. Tom, a restless, self-made restaurant tycoon, arrives later that evening, unaware of his son's visit and aghast at Kyra's new vocation teaching underprivileged children. Is the gap between Tom and Kyra unbridgeable, or can they resurrect their once passionate relationship?
Skylight premiered at the National Theatre and won the Guardian's coveted Best New Play award.
'Luminously beautiful and wildly truthful, Skylight is deeply and truly about people... it is a fascinating play'. N.Y. Post
'Undogmatic and unafraid, unforgiving but compassionate'. Sunday Times
Buy 'Skylight' by David Hare from Amazon.
A long way home
"I write on my lap with the wind rocking the wagon"
North Country Theatre have made another visit to Helmsley on their latest long tour of the North. They've appeared regularly at the Arts Centre now for about nine years and have built up a loyal following, such as filled the theatre on the evening of Sunday 18th October. This time they brought a revival of their Home on the Range, a tale of women on the famous 2000mile Oregon Trail, based mainly on the diary of Annis Harker from the Dales. Most of the audience were once again impressed by the company's invention and skill. But some were a little disappointed.
It's true the pace was slow and the lack of a strong through-line of narrative providing the shape and forward moving drive did mean we had to let ourselves settle into the images and the recurring ritual and let them give us a sense of the long and heavy trudge on the trail. For me that worked well. The ritual was enacted right from the start in the fluidly choreographed construction of the canvas topped wagon and continued in the transitions from one episode to the next.
The episodes themselves, little scenes of life and family relationships on the trail, seemed true to the matter-of-fact way Annis Harker reported them. They were not spectacular. Much like one would experience anywhere. It was the context that was unique. I liked this juxtaposition of the everyday with the epic.
Then there is the Company's approach to theatre. They make a point of engaging with the audience as actors. This started in the bar before the performance. Nobby Dimon, their writer/director/lighting & sound man/general factotum, made quite a performance of selling programmes. This continued in the auditorium, where he involved "our youngest actor" in selling more.
This talking to the audience continued within the play itself. They joked about just being three women and assured us there were men too. And, lo, they duly appeared as life-sized puppets, sketchily dressed, a bit like scarecows, manipulated by the three women (double meaning intended). They do it again, though more theatrically, in their repeated mantra in the between-scene trudging, "imagine three women..." Think of the Prologue to Shakespeare's Henry V exhorting us to ..." entertain conjecture of a time ..." And of Brecht's ways of reminding us these are only actors. It's in a long tradition and one that has been well mined in the North not so long ago with issue plays and documentary drama. Alan Plater's "Close the Coalhouse Door" comes to mind.
For me it doesn't break the spell, as it does for some, so much as intensify it - when, that is, the scenes that follow are effectively done. And here I was a bit frustrated. The actors had done so much to create these scenes and the ideas were there. But they needed to take a moment or two longer to express and hold on to the significant moments of feeling and relationship. All right, we don't want it overegged, but we do need to be drawn in to the emotional drama of each scene, withheld in the diary entries, be it the death of the father/husband, or a sense of love and unity in singing round the harmonium. That's what theatre is about, making visible the invisible. They did seem to jump too readily out of the scenes into the trudge, and thus flattened out the drama as a whole.
Maybe making more music would have helped. Like with so much else, they did that beautifully. I longed for more of that.
If you've not seen it, do try to catch it on its tour, the schedule for which you can see on their website
It's well worth it.
It's true the pace was slow and the lack of a strong through-line of narrative providing the shape and forward moving drive did mean we had to let ourselves settle into the images and the recurring ritual and let them give us a sense of the long and heavy trudge on the trail. For me that worked well. The ritual was enacted right from the start in the fluidly choreographed construction of the canvas topped wagon and continued in the transitions from one episode to the next.
The episodes themselves, little scenes of life and family relationships on the trail, seemed true to the matter-of-fact way Annis Harker reported them. They were not spectacular. Much like one would experience anywhere. It was the context that was unique. I liked this juxtaposition of the everyday with the epic.
This talking to the audience continued within the play itself. They joked about just being three women and assured us there were men too. And, lo, they duly appeared as life-sized puppets, sketchily dressed, a bit like scarecows, manipulated by the three women (double meaning intended). They do it again, though more theatrically, in their repeated mantra in the between-scene trudging, "imagine three women..." Think of the Prologue to Shakespeare's Henry V exhorting us to ..." entertain conjecture of a time ..." And of Brecht's ways of reminding us these are only actors. It's in a long tradition and one that has been well mined in the North not so long ago with issue plays and documentary drama. Alan Plater's "Close the Coalhouse Door" comes to mind.
For me it doesn't break the spell, as it does for some, so much as intensify it - when, that is, the scenes that follow are effectively done. And here I was a bit frustrated. The actors had done so much to create these scenes and the ideas were there. But they needed to take a moment or two longer to express and hold on to the significant moments of feeling and relationship. All right, we don't want it overegged, but we do need to be drawn in to the emotional drama of each scene, withheld in the diary entries, be it the death of the father/husband, or a sense of love and unity in singing round the harmonium. That's what theatre is about, making visible the invisible. They did seem to jump too readily out of the scenes into the trudge, and thus flattened out the drama as a whole.
Maybe making more music would have helped. Like with so much else, they did that beautifully. I longed for more of that.
If you've not seen it, do try to catch it on its tour, the schedule for which you can see on their website
It's well worth it.
Saturday, 24 October 2009
A welcome for young people
Good to see the reminder (posted 7 October) of the achievements of our 1812 Youth Theatre. It has been remarkably successful over the years since it started in the 1990s. It has at any one time at least sixty members and a waiting list. Many stay with the company for years.
Recent memorable productions have included The Visit, Dracula, Do We Ever See Grace, and their next one is Willy Russell's Our Day Out, showing on 13th and 14th November, at 7.30pm, tickets £5 (or £3 concessions).We hope to see you there.
But they're not the only young people to use the Centre. There's the regular ballet classes, on Mondays and Saturdays, with nearly a hundred dancers. The quality of teaching is high, as is the commitment of the students. Many of them work towards Royal College of Dance exams and this year 24 entered and 24 passed, 6 with distinction.
In addition, each summer we organise theatre and dance workshops, such as the highly successful five days of work this summer with Pilot Theatre from York.
We're particularly pleased this year to have become a centre for the Arts Award programme for young people aged from 11 to 25, with a team of seven newly trained advisers. For more about this see our website newsletter. Added to which we are now applying to be registered as an Arts Award Welcome Centre.
And we are delighted to be a centre for a project organised through the Ryedale Theatre Association called Inspired, which has already begun to take groups of children from a number of Ryedale schools to various theatrical venues to see good theatre or to join in theatre workshops.
As well as making sure we have theatre and music in the theatre to appeal to a wide range of ages, we also welcome other youth theatre groups to perform, such as the Scarborough based company, Raised Eyebrow Youth Theatre.
Finally, we've just started a filming group which includes people from 14 to 30, to find out more contact Jez Coram, and finally we have a song writing group has recently begun meeting here once a month - further details from Jean Kershaw.
It's a busy place!
But they're not the only young people to use the Centre. There's the regular ballet classes, on Mondays and Saturdays, with nearly a hundred dancers. The quality of teaching is high, as is the commitment of the students. Many of them work towards Royal College of Dance exams and this year 24 entered and 24 passed, 6 with distinction.
In addition, each summer we organise theatre and dance workshops, such as the highly successful five days of work this summer with Pilot Theatre from York.
We're particularly pleased this year to have become a centre for the Arts Award programme for young people aged from 11 to 25, with a team of seven newly trained advisers. For more about this see our website newsletter. Added to which we are now applying to be registered as an Arts Award Welcome Centre.
And we are delighted to be a centre for a project organised through the Ryedale Theatre Association called Inspired, which has already begun to take groups of children from a number of Ryedale schools to various theatrical venues to see good theatre or to join in theatre workshops.
As well as making sure we have theatre and music in the theatre to appeal to a wide range of ages, we also welcome other youth theatre groups to perform, such as the Scarborough based company, Raised Eyebrow Youth Theatre.
Finally, we've just started a filming group which includes people from 14 to 30, to find out more contact Jez Coram, and finally we have a song writing group has recently begun meeting here once a month - further details from Jean Kershaw.
It's a busy place!
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Is Judi Dench right – are young actors only obsessed with fame?
Wannabe stars don't always understand the importance of theatrical history, but it's showbusiness that's to blame.
So members of the 1812 Youth Theatre ... is Dame Judy (one of the patrons of the Helmsley Arts Centre by the way) correct in her assertion?
Read more and comment below.
So members of the 1812 Youth Theatre ... is Dame Judy (one of the patrons of the Helmsley Arts Centre by the way) correct in her assertion?
Read more and comment below.
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Local heroes: the theatre companies who deserve our support
'Now is not the time to get sniffy about the struggles of local theatre companies – they are the artistic epicentres of their communities'.
Excellent posting yesterday on the Guardian Theatre Blog by Paul Allen, who provides an interesting northern-based slant on theatre.
Read the whole article here.
Excellent posting yesterday on the Guardian Theatre Blog by Paul Allen, who provides an interesting northern-based slant on theatre.
Read the whole article here.
Monday, 12 October 2009
TS Eliot is the Nation's Favourite Poet!
The results of the online poll saw Eliot win in a "tight final", according to the BBC, narrowly pipping John Donne to the post. In an eclectic top 10, Rastafarian dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah came in third (the only living poet to make the top 10), while no female poets – not even poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy or Sylvia Plath - made the final line-up, which was rounded out by Wilfred Owen, Philip Larkin, William Blake, William Butler Yeats, John Betjeman, John Keats and Dylan Thomas.
Read The Waste Land (extract)
Watch Eliot read Little Gidding
Find out more about Eliot
Arena: TS Eliot
Thurs 8 Oct 2009 22:25 BBC Four
Arena presents a profile of TS Eliot which, with unprecedented co-operation from the Eliot Estate, tells the story of one of the 20th century's most celebrated and elusive writers. Rpt.
Watch on BBC iPlayer
T.S. Eliot reading The Waste Land. Recording of the poem by the poet himself.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
1812 Youth Theatre Successes
Old news but worth repeating on the new blog for those who didn't see it first time around.As reported in the Gazette & Herald (11/06/2009) FOUR talented young thespians from a Ryedale youth theatre group are enjoying stunning success.
The teenagers are all members of 1812 youth theatre group, which meets at Helmsley Arts Centre each week.
Nathaniel Priestley, 19, has been accepted into East 15 acting school in London, Sam Lunn, 18, has won a place on the drama degree course at Manchester Metropolitan University, Polly Gunton, another pupil, is currently acting in the West Yorkshire Playhouse production of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, and Hannah Moody, 15, has just been accepted into the National Youth Theatre.
Claire Lishman, marketing and theatre manager at the Helmsley Arts Centre, said: “I am very proud of the four of them.
“They have all had lead parts in the last four shows we have put on. They have been coming to theatre group for many years, so they very much deserve to go on to bigger things.
“We wish them all the very best in the future and we will miss Sam and Nathaniel, who will not be coming to youth theatre any more.”
Nathaniel, who lives in Nunnington, said: “I’ve been acting all my life, and I started at the 1812 Youth Theatre when I was six or seven.
“The most fun role I have ever had was as Dracula in our youth theatre production of Dracula in spring last year.
“After I finish my course, I want to get a job in acting, but I am not sure if it will be in stage, radio or television. There is a lot out there to discover.”
Sam said: “I joined the youth theatre when I was 12, and ever since then acting has been my passion.
“I’d like to work on theatre or on screen – anything I can do to keep performing.”
Hannah, who lives in Kirkby Knowle, will go on a 12-day course with the National Youth Theatre in London next Easter. Once completed, she will be eligible to act in professional productions.
She said: “I can’t wait. It’ll be really good staying in London, and the course should give me a better idea of whether I want to do acting as a career.”
Polly was unable to comment, as she was busy acting in His Dark Materials, which runs until June 20.
Website review: Theatre Voice - audio for theatre buffs
On the new blog we will occasionally highlight websites that we think will be of interest to our readers. First off Theatre Voice - the UK's leading website for audio-based discussions on theatre.
In their own words; It was set up in 2003 to see if theatre could be talked about in a new way: allowing critics to be more expansive than the usual space constraints of the print media allowed; to enable actors, writers, directors and designers to be heard talking in detail and at length about their work; and to help members of the public interact more directly with theatre-makers and commentators.
Principal contributors 2008-09:
David Benedict is London theatre critic for Variety
Dominic Cavendish is deputy theatre critic for the Daily Telegraph
Jane Edwardes is theatre editor, Time Out London
Philip Fisher is a freelance journalist and critic
Heather Neill is a freelance journalist and critic
Mark Shenton is theatre critic for the Sunday Express; and blogs for the Stage
Aleks Sierz is theatre critic for Tribune, author of In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today and The Theatre of Martin Crimp
Charles Spencer is lead theatre critic for the Daily Telegraph
Among the 650 plus recordings, free to access via the search facility: Jimmy Akingbola, Mike Alfreds, Ola Animashawun, Howard Barker, Alistair Beaton, Jean Benedetti, Steven Berkoff, Alecky Blythe, Matthew Bourne, Michael Boyd, Peter Brook, Gregory Burke, Nica Burns, Ken Campbell, Romeo Castellucci, Alison Chitty, Paule Constable, Dominic Cooke, Martin Crimp, Tim Crouch, Bob Crowley, Oliver Ford Davies, April De Angelis, Janie Dee, Declan Donnellan, Dominic Dromgoole, David Edgar, David Eldridge, Marianne Elliott, Tim Etchells, Sir Richard Eyre, Vicky Featherstone, Emma Fielding, Deborah Findlay, Tim Fountain, Frantic Assembly, Michael Frayn, Sonia Friedman, Bill Gaskill, Pam Gems, Peter Gill, David Glass, John Godber, Lisa Goldman, Chris Goode, Henry Goodman, Rupert Goold, Michael Grandage, David Greig, Trevor Griffiths, Tanika Gupta, Lee Hall, Sir Peter Hall, David Harrower, Nick Hern, Dominic Hill, Patricia Hodge, Nicholas Hytner, Catherine Johnson, Paterson Joseph, Dennis Kelly, John Kani, Nicolas Kent, Ralph Koltai, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Neil LaBute, David Lan, Stewart Lee, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Tracy Letts, Doug Lucie, James Macdonald, Anna Madeley, Mustapha Matura, Simon McBurney, Owen McCafferty, Frank McGuinness, Nancy Meckler, Idina Menzel, Katie Mitchell, Vicky Mortimer, Chloe Moss, Tom Murphy, Anthony Neilson, Peter Nichols, Joe Penhall, Sian Phillips, Alan Plater, Mark Ravenhill, Emma Rice, Ian Rickson, Philip Ridley, Josie Rourke, Willy Russell, Simon Russell Beale, Mark Rylance, Peter Sellars, Thea Sharrock, Shunt, Roxana Silbert, Michael Simkins, Sir Donald Sinden, Max Stafford-Clark, Simon Stephens, David Storey, Jatinder Verma, Laura Wade, Che Walker, Enda Walsh, Harriet Walter, Sam Walters, Sacha Wares, Arnold Wesker, Samuel West, Roy Williams.
Visit Theatre Voice.
Do feel free to recommend any performing arts related websites via the comments link below.
In their own words; It was set up in 2003 to see if theatre could be talked about in a new way: allowing critics to be more expansive than the usual space constraints of the print media allowed; to enable actors, writers, directors and designers to be heard talking in detail and at length about their work; and to help members of the public interact more directly with theatre-makers and commentators.
Principal contributors 2008-09:
David Benedict is London theatre critic for Variety
Dominic Cavendish is deputy theatre critic for the Daily Telegraph
Jane Edwardes is theatre editor, Time Out London
Philip Fisher is a freelance journalist and critic
Heather Neill is a freelance journalist and critic
Mark Shenton is theatre critic for the Sunday Express; and blogs for the Stage
Aleks Sierz is theatre critic for Tribune, author of In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today and The Theatre of Martin Crimp
Charles Spencer is lead theatre critic for the Daily Telegraph
Among the 650 plus recordings, free to access via the search facility: Jimmy Akingbola, Mike Alfreds, Ola Animashawun, Howard Barker, Alistair Beaton, Jean Benedetti, Steven Berkoff, Alecky Blythe, Matthew Bourne, Michael Boyd, Peter Brook, Gregory Burke, Nica Burns, Ken Campbell, Romeo Castellucci, Alison Chitty, Paule Constable, Dominic Cooke, Martin Crimp, Tim Crouch, Bob Crowley, Oliver Ford Davies, April De Angelis, Janie Dee, Declan Donnellan, Dominic Dromgoole, David Edgar, David Eldridge, Marianne Elliott, Tim Etchells, Sir Richard Eyre, Vicky Featherstone, Emma Fielding, Deborah Findlay, Tim Fountain, Frantic Assembly, Michael Frayn, Sonia Friedman, Bill Gaskill, Pam Gems, Peter Gill, David Glass, John Godber, Lisa Goldman, Chris Goode, Henry Goodman, Rupert Goold, Michael Grandage, David Greig, Trevor Griffiths, Tanika Gupta, Lee Hall, Sir Peter Hall, David Harrower, Nick Hern, Dominic Hill, Patricia Hodge, Nicholas Hytner, Catherine Johnson, Paterson Joseph, Dennis Kelly, John Kani, Nicolas Kent, Ralph Koltai, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Neil LaBute, David Lan, Stewart Lee, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Tracy Letts, Doug Lucie, James Macdonald, Anna Madeley, Mustapha Matura, Simon McBurney, Owen McCafferty, Frank McGuinness, Nancy Meckler, Idina Menzel, Katie Mitchell, Vicky Mortimer, Chloe Moss, Tom Murphy, Anthony Neilson, Peter Nichols, Joe Penhall, Sian Phillips, Alan Plater, Mark Ravenhill, Emma Rice, Ian Rickson, Philip Ridley, Josie Rourke, Willy Russell, Simon Russell Beale, Mark Rylance, Peter Sellars, Thea Sharrock, Shunt, Roxana Silbert, Michael Simkins, Sir Donald Sinden, Max Stafford-Clark, Simon Stephens, David Storey, Jatinder Verma, Laura Wade, Che Walker, Enda Walsh, Harriet Walter, Sam Walters, Sacha Wares, Arnold Wesker, Samuel West, Roy Williams.
Visit Theatre Voice.
Do feel free to recommend any performing arts related websites via the comments link below.
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Wolf Hall wins the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction
Hilary Mantel is tonight (Tuesday 6 October) named the winner of the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for Wolf Hall, published by Fourth Estate.
Wolf Hall has been the bookies' favourite since the longlist was announced in July 2009.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel was picked from a shortlist of six titles. A.S. Byatt, J.M. Coetzee, Adam Foulds, Simon Mawer and Sarah Waters were all shortlisted for this year's prize.
Wolf Hall is set in the 1520s and tells the story of Thomas Cromwell's rise to prominence in the Tudor court. Hilary Mantel has been praised by critics for writing ‘a rich, absorbingly readable historical novel; she has made a significant shift in the way any of her readers interested in English history will henceforward think about Thomas Cromwell.'
James Naughtie, comments ‘Hilary Mantel has given us a thoroughly modern novel set in the 16th century. Wolf Hall has a vast narrative sweep that gleams on every page with luminous and mesmerising detail.
‘It probes the mysteries of power by examining and describing the meticulous dealings in Henry VIII's court, revealing in thrilling prose how politics and history is made by men and women.
‘In the words of Mantel's Thomas Cromwell, whose story this is, "the fate of peoples is made like this, two men in small rooms. Forget the coronations, the conclaves of cardinals, the pomp and processions. This is how the world changes." '
This is the first time the publisher Fourth Estate has had a Man Booker Prize winner. They have previously published three shortlisted books - Nicola Barker's Darkmans (2007) and Carol Shields' novels Unless (2002) and The Stone Diaries (1993).
Hilary Mantel spent five years writing Wolf Hall and she is currently working on a sequel.
James Naughtie, Chair of the judges, made the announcement, which was broadcast by the BBC from the awards dinner at London's Guildhall. Peter Clarke, Chief Executive of Man Group plc, presented Hilary Mantel with a cheque for £50,000.
Over and above her prize of £50,000, Hilary Mantel may expect a huge increase in sales and recognition worldwide. Each of the six shortlisted authors, including the winner, receives £2,500 and a designer-bound edition of their book. This year, shortlisted authors will also receive a year's membership to The Groucho Club in London.
The judging panel for the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction was: broadcaster and author James Naughtie (Chair); Lucasta Miller, biographer and critic; Michael Prodger, Literary Editor of The Sunday Telegraph; Professor John Mullan, academic and author and Sue Perkins, comedian and broadcaster.
Sales related to the Man Booker Prize have been exceptionally strong this year. More than double the number of copies of books have been sold between longlist and shortlist announcement, and from shortlist announcement to winner announcement, compared to last year.
Read the full press release here
Read a question and answer interview with Hilary Mantel.
Wolf Hall has been the bookies' favourite since the longlist was announced in July 2009.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel was picked from a shortlist of six titles. A.S. Byatt, J.M. Coetzee, Adam Foulds, Simon Mawer and Sarah Waters were all shortlisted for this year's prize.
Wolf Hall is set in the 1520s and tells the story of Thomas Cromwell's rise to prominence in the Tudor court. Hilary Mantel has been praised by critics for writing ‘a rich, absorbingly readable historical novel; she has made a significant shift in the way any of her readers interested in English history will henceforward think about Thomas Cromwell.'
James Naughtie, comments ‘Hilary Mantel has given us a thoroughly modern novel set in the 16th century. Wolf Hall has a vast narrative sweep that gleams on every page with luminous and mesmerising detail.
‘It probes the mysteries of power by examining and describing the meticulous dealings in Henry VIII's court, revealing in thrilling prose how politics and history is made by men and women.
‘In the words of Mantel's Thomas Cromwell, whose story this is, "the fate of peoples is made like this, two men in small rooms. Forget the coronations, the conclaves of cardinals, the pomp and processions. This is how the world changes." '
This is the first time the publisher Fourth Estate has had a Man Booker Prize winner. They have previously published three shortlisted books - Nicola Barker's Darkmans (2007) and Carol Shields' novels Unless (2002) and The Stone Diaries (1993).
Hilary Mantel spent five years writing Wolf Hall and she is currently working on a sequel.
James Naughtie, Chair of the judges, made the announcement, which was broadcast by the BBC from the awards dinner at London's Guildhall. Peter Clarke, Chief Executive of Man Group plc, presented Hilary Mantel with a cheque for £50,000.
Over and above her prize of £50,000, Hilary Mantel may expect a huge increase in sales and recognition worldwide. Each of the six shortlisted authors, including the winner, receives £2,500 and a designer-bound edition of their book. This year, shortlisted authors will also receive a year's membership to The Groucho Club in London.
The judging panel for the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction was: broadcaster and author James Naughtie (Chair); Lucasta Miller, biographer and critic; Michael Prodger, Literary Editor of The Sunday Telegraph; Professor John Mullan, academic and author and Sue Perkins, comedian and broadcaster.
Sales related to the Man Booker Prize have been exceptionally strong this year. More than double the number of copies of books have been sold between longlist and shortlist announcement, and from shortlist announcement to winner announcement, compared to last year.
Read the full press release here
Read a question and answer interview with Hilary Mantel.
Global Dance Contest - Vote Now!
The ten finalists in Sadler’s Wells online Global Dance Contest have been chosen.
In this next stage of the competition to find new dance talent from around the world, the public are invited to vote – just once - for their favourite. The winner will receive a £2,000 cash prize, an all-expenses paid trip to London and the opportunity to perform live on stage in January 2010 at Sadler’s Wells Sampled – a show case of different dance forms which can be seen at the London dance house through the year.
The Global Dance Contest was launched in March this year and in six months attracted 170 entries from 34 countries around the world, including Ghana, Venezuela, China, the Philippines and Russia. The ten finalists, who come from Australia, Israel, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Britain and the United States, were chosen by a panel of judges which included choreographer Arlene Phillips, UK broadcaster and journalist Miranda Sawyer and Artistic Director and CEO of Sadler’s Wells Alistair Spalding.
Kingsley Jayasekera, Director of Marketing and Communications at Sadler’s Wells said "We are very excited that the Global Dance Contest really has given us a window on the world and the diversity of dance out there. Our judges were spoilt for choice in selecting the finalists. Now it’s down to the public to watch the ten videos on www.globaldancecontest.com and vote for their favourites."
Voting is open until 13 November and the winner will be announced on 18 November. The overall winner will present their piece in front of an audience of nearly 2,000 people on the main stage at Sadler’s Wells next year. They will receive professional support and guidance to help them adapt their work to the theatre stage. The contest will run annually for the next four years. At the end of four years in 2012, the collective winners of the annual competition will be invited to perform their work in London during the Olympic year.
Choose your winner and check out all the entries on www.globaldancecontest.com
In this next stage of the competition to find new dance talent from around the world, the public are invited to vote – just once - for their favourite. The winner will receive a £2,000 cash prize, an all-expenses paid trip to London and the opportunity to perform live on stage in January 2010 at Sadler’s Wells Sampled – a show case of different dance forms which can be seen at the London dance house through the year.
The Global Dance Contest was launched in March this year and in six months attracted 170 entries from 34 countries around the world, including Ghana, Venezuela, China, the Philippines and Russia. The ten finalists, who come from Australia, Israel, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Britain and the United States, were chosen by a panel of judges which included choreographer Arlene Phillips, UK broadcaster and journalist Miranda Sawyer and Artistic Director and CEO of Sadler’s Wells Alistair Spalding.
Kingsley Jayasekera, Director of Marketing and Communications at Sadler’s Wells said "We are very excited that the Global Dance Contest really has given us a window on the world and the diversity of dance out there. Our judges were spoilt for choice in selecting the finalists. Now it’s down to the public to watch the ten videos on www.globaldancecontest.com and vote for their favourites."
Voting is open until 13 November and the winner will be announced on 18 November. The overall winner will present their piece in front of an audience of nearly 2,000 people on the main stage at Sadler’s Wells next year. They will receive professional support and guidance to help them adapt their work to the theatre stage. The contest will run annually for the next four years. At the end of four years in 2012, the collective winners of the annual competition will be invited to perform their work in London during the Olympic year.
Choose your winner and check out all the entries on www.globaldancecontest.com
Funding available for creative young people
The National Youth Theatre’s online partner, IdeasTap has another fantastic funding opportunity for young people in the arts – Ideas Fund.
IdeasTap is a new and innovative free service for young people, offering many opportunities to get involved on exciting creative projects, as well as sign-posting useful progression routes and information. IdeasTap now also hosts all of the National Youth Theatre opportunities and activities for young people, alongside other prestigious partners such as the Old Vic, Polka Theatre, L’Ouverture and YCTV.
The Ideas Fund is IdeasTap’s very own funding scheme, aimed at helping 16-25-year-olds realise their creative ideas, with £150,000 to give away each year.
The Ideas Fund offers more than just financial support, with mentoring, marketing and production advice to make sure the project has the best possible chance of succeeding.
Funding applications can be up to £20,000 and begin at £1,000, with the current Fund split into two prizes, Edinburgh and Innovators.
The Autumn Ideas Fund is now live on IdeasTap with applications closing on 11 November 2009.
Young people can apply directly to this fund through IdeasTap for grants of between £1000 and £20,000 for their own creative projects.
Register now at IdeasTap.com to check out the latest information and full details for IdeasFund, as well as the many and varied opportunities, articles and information currently available.
IdeasTap is a new and innovative free service for young people, offering many opportunities to get involved on exciting creative projects, as well as sign-posting useful progression routes and information. IdeasTap now also hosts all of the National Youth Theatre opportunities and activities for young people, alongside other prestigious partners such as the Old Vic, Polka Theatre, L’Ouverture and YCTV.
The Ideas Fund is IdeasTap’s very own funding scheme, aimed at helping 16-25-year-olds realise their creative ideas, with £150,000 to give away each year.
The Ideas Fund offers more than just financial support, with mentoring, marketing and production advice to make sure the project has the best possible chance of succeeding.
Funding applications can be up to £20,000 and begin at £1,000, with the current Fund split into two prizes, Edinburgh and Innovators.
The Autumn Ideas Fund is now live on IdeasTap with applications closing on 11 November 2009.
Young people can apply directly to this fund through IdeasTap for grants of between £1000 and £20,000 for their own creative projects.
Register now at IdeasTap.com to check out the latest information and full details for IdeasFund, as well as the many and varied opportunities, articles and information currently available.
Monday, 5 October 2009
Play: 'Skylight' - new promo video
Hot off the press is the promotional video, produced by local filmmaker Jez Coram, for the 1812 Theatre Company's 'Skylight' (21-24 October). And you can watch it here.
Kyra is a young teacher working and living in one of London‘s less attractive districts. Tom‘s wife has recently died of cancer: he is a wealthy entrepreneur and Kyra‘s former lover. On a cold winter night Tom‘s teenage son, Edward, calls on the young teacher to beg her to be reconciled with his father.
Tom himself arrives, wishing to expiate his guilt and renew his lust. Kyra complies, sort of, until the debate soars and the insults fly in a way that makes you wish your own kitchen-table tiffs were half as brutal, half as civilised. David Hare‘s passionate play is sharp and satisfying, an impassioned head-on collision of values and confused desires. Read the Play
Book Tickets
Kyra is a young teacher working and living in one of London‘s less attractive districts. Tom‘s wife has recently died of cancer: he is a wealthy entrepreneur and Kyra‘s former lover. On a cold winter night Tom‘s teenage son, Edward, calls on the young teacher to beg her to be reconciled with his father.
Tom himself arrives, wishing to expiate his guilt and renew his lust. Kyra complies, sort of, until the debate soars and the insults fly in a way that makes you wish your own kitchen-table tiffs were half as brutal, half as civilised. David Hare‘s passionate play is sharp and satisfying, an impassioned head-on collision of values and confused desires. Read the Play
Book Tickets
October Cinema Programme
Of course all our cinema listings are always available on our site but here is the low down on our October offerings.
Oct 7, 7.30pm
The Proposal
When high-powered book editor Margaret faces deportation to her native Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she’s actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant Andrew, who she’s tormented for years.
Sandra Bullock is one of the most likeable and skilled comediennes in movies today, but she hasn’t had a comedy smash hit since the first Miss Congeniality nine years ago. That’s about to change with The Proposal, an engaging, well-crafted lark that proves “high concept” isn’t necessarily a tired tactic.
14 and 15 October, 7.30pm
31 North 62 East
A female Captain in the SAS who survives an attack on her unit in Afghanistan, later discovers that her unit was sacrificed for political reasons.
The conspiracy theories come bellowed at top volume in this galumphing British thriller, which plays out in a shadowy geopolitical terrain stuffed-full of colourful racial stereotypes (chain-smoking French mademoiselles; cackling Afghan terrorists). John Rhys Davies plays the evil prime minister who betrays a crack SAS unit in order to safeguard an £80bn arms deal - although the joke's on him, because he reckoned without Heather Peace's questing angel of vengeance. His fiendish scheme crumbles under an onslaught of machine-tooled plot twists and a barrage of expository dialogue.
Friday 16 October, 7.30pm
Brief Encounters (a Night Of Short Films)
28 Oct, 7.30pm
Coco Before Chanel
Audrey Tautou, returns as Coco Chanel in the biopic Coco Before Chanel, exploring the life and rise to fame of one of the great couturiers and fashion icons. Jodi Piccoult‘s novel My Sister’s Keeper is brought to the screen and in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Robin Wright Penn gives a spellbinding performance of the eponymous heroine with lustrous support from the likes of Alan Arkin, Julianne Moore, Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder.
Book tickets.
Oct 7, 7.30pm
The Proposal
When high-powered book editor Margaret faces deportation to her native Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she’s actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant Andrew, who she’s tormented for years.
Sandra Bullock is one of the most likeable and skilled comediennes in movies today, but she hasn’t had a comedy smash hit since the first Miss Congeniality nine years ago. That’s about to change with The Proposal, an engaging, well-crafted lark that proves “high concept” isn’t necessarily a tired tactic.
14 and 15 October, 7.30pm
31 North 62 East
A female Captain in the SAS who survives an attack on her unit in Afghanistan, later discovers that her unit was sacrificed for political reasons.
The conspiracy theories come bellowed at top volume in this galumphing British thriller, which plays out in a shadowy geopolitical terrain stuffed-full of colourful racial stereotypes (chain-smoking French mademoiselles; cackling Afghan terrorists). John Rhys Davies plays the evil prime minister who betrays a crack SAS unit in order to safeguard an £80bn arms deal - although the joke's on him, because he reckoned without Heather Peace's questing angel of vengeance. His fiendish scheme crumbles under an onslaught of machine-tooled plot twists and a barrage of expository dialogue.
Friday 16 October, 7.30pm
Brief Encounters (a Night Of Short Films)
28 Oct, 7.30pm
Coco Before Chanel
Audrey Tautou, returns as Coco Chanel in the biopic Coco Before Chanel, exploring the life and rise to fame of one of the great couturiers and fashion icons. Jodi Piccoult‘s novel My Sister’s Keeper is brought to the screen and in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Robin Wright Penn gives a spellbinding performance of the eponymous heroine with lustrous support from the likes of Alan Arkin, Julianne Moore, Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder.
Book tickets.
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