Cindy Marcolina - Page 25

Next up in the National Theatre at Home series of broadcasts we find a gem of a play coming straight from their archives, Lorraine Hansberry's staggeringly topical Les Blancs. Originally staged in 2016 by director Yaël Farber, it was posthumously completed by Hansberry's former husband Robert Nemiroff for a Broadway run, and then reworked by dramaturge Drew Lichtenberg, Joi Gresham (director of the Lorraine Hansberry Literary Trust), and Farber herself for the production at the National after consulting Hansberry's journals and notes.

Rapper, beatboxer, theatre maker, and BAC Beatboxing Academy's artistic director Conrad Murray has released No Milk For The Foxes on YouTube, his 2015 co-production with Camden People's Theatre starring himself and Paul Cree. We caught up with him to hear everything about the perception of working class entertainment in mainstream media, where the gatekeepers are failing, and why the themes of No Milk For The Foxes are still a hot topic.

Chronic Insanity's lockdown content continues with Conduit, a riveting, touching, and fully immersive online experience. Connor has reached out to ask for some feedback on the recorded messages he wants to send his partner, whom he's currently separated from. Email after email, our correspondence with him and the videos he's shot for her unearth the heartbreaking process of grief in the digital age.

Commissioned as part of the events marking the centenary of the First World War, Sound&Fury's Charlie Ward is now available as a standalone online experience. Originally created as an immersive installation for ten people at a time in a makeshift hospital tent, the production places the public in the shoes of a wounded and bed-bound soldier - as much as that's possible today.

Nottingham-based theatre company Chronic Insanity are pioneering a new genre with a brand new approach to theatre. Way before the pandemic started, they were experimenting with digital theatre, creating shows that suit the latest technological advances and modernise the medium. We had a chat about what it means to make digital theatre, their upcoming shows, and the natural change in audiences.

The present pandemic has moved everything online, so in Exit Productions's Jury Duty the Ministry of Justice have been required to relocate their trials out of the courts and into the ether. Under the Justice Act (2020) jurors are being asked to review evidence and come to an agreement from the comfort of their homes. The immersive company's latest venture is perhaps the only Zoom meeting you'll actively enjoy.

Composer and lyricist Darren Clark has just launched a new website that acts like a hub for new musical theatre with roots in the UK.

Joan has big plans: she's going to go to Oxford, become a lawyer, and change the world. While she's too aware of the insignificance of her own life and wants to avoid being a mere drop in the ocean, her mum is holding down three jobs and a multitude of other responsibilities. A diagnosis and the sudden realisation of the inequality of gender roles push the teenager to turn into an overnight global activist.

Back in 2016 the NBC lot in Los Angeles transformed into 1962 Baltimore for the televised special Hairspray Live!, the fourth of the network's made-for-tv musicals. With Harvey Fierstein adapting the original 2002 book and reprising the character of Edna, it was a joyous success. Now, Universal is making the telecast available to UK audiences for the first time for a mere 48 hours after its premiere on their YouTube channel.

Director and producer Mark Dooley has just released Repeat Attenders, a direct look into the lives of musical theatre superfans in the form of a documentary. Interviewing audience members from Broadway to the West End and from Germany to his native Australia, his film opens the doors to what the most extremes fans in theatre are willing to do to pursue their passion. We had a chat to discuss celebrity culture, toxic fandoms, obsession, and the inherent beauty and wholesomeness of the theatrical experience.

Directly from her Covid-induced isolation, Kathryn Gallagher has released a collection of five cuts titled Demos, Vol. I. After listening to it, we already want a Vol. II. The Broadway performer is no stranger to putting out insightful, deep numbers that present spotless writing, but her latest releases might take the crown.

Shan Ako was starring as Eponine in the West End's Les Misérables before theatres were closed down. Now, everyone can enjoy her performance in the filmed version of last year's staged concert, so we caught up with her to hear all about her favourite music, how she found her own Eponine, and her super-positive pre-show ritual.

Bitter Pill Theatre's contribution to the lockdown content audiences get to enjoy for free comes in the form of The Painkiller Project, a podcast that edges towards radio drama. The company are keeping their pledge to produce new writing even while theatres around the world are closed down by opening submissions for the scheme once a fortnight, with the winning play being produced for all podcasting platforms.

The Royal Albert Hall continue their online programming in spite of closing their doors, bringing to our screens a ray of sunshine in the shape of Marisha Wallace to ease the lockdown. The West End and Broadway favourite shone with positivity as she brought the party from her living room to ours with a soulful mix and her joyous disposition.

Manchester's HOME is kicking off a series of works commissioned specifically to entertain audiences during the lockdown. First up in the program we find Bryony Kimmings' I am falling in love with you and it's making me do stupid things, where the effects of boredom and loneliness lead to a rollercoaster of a night in.

Back in 2019, the former Queen's Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue was temporarily closed down to transform the building into the Sondheim Theatre and give its favourite tenant, Les Misérables, a major revamp.

William Shakespeare's swansong lands on Jermyn Street Theatre's tiny stage in fetching fashion. Traditionally a grand spectacle, Tom Littler transforms The Tempest into boutique theatre at its finest. Shakespearean veteran Michael Pennington leads as Prospero, and the result is a myth-imbued and aesthetically exquisite show.

Out Of The Forest Theatre return to VAULT Festival with glorious history lesson in their customary unconventional style. They introduce their London public to Boris III of Bulgaria, who rose to power after his country's defeat in World War I.

Two 39-degree days, opposite sides of the world, same heat, different situation. On the 25th July 2019, record-breaking weather is holding London in its grip; five months later, Australia is burning on New Year's Eve.

Jay has just bought his first home. And not just any home, a luxury flat in a swanky complex with a concierge. A dream. In the matter of days he realises that there must be something wrong with his new abode, and it turns out that even though he keeps hearing noises and meeting neighbours, he's the only one living in the brutalist Balfron Tower.