Guest Author - Page 3

Theatre is a magical place where we can expect, perhaps even demand, to be taken on a journey, to evoke myriad emotions within us. Whether the story is filled with mystery, wonder, intrigue, jeopardy, sadness or excitement, the best theatre leaves us feeling invigorated and inspired. The best of theatre changes us forever.

Are professional performance and community participation two separate strands of work or should they seamlessly intertwine within an artistic project, a programme and an organisation? Should funding structures be separated out into professional and community work? Should they be equal priorities for publicly funded organisations?

My play The Empress first premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC),Swan Theatre a decade ago in 2013 under the Artistic Directorship of Michael Boyd. A decade later, this play is having a revival back in the Swan Theatre and the Lyric Hammersmith with a new production, a refreshed script and a different director.

Picture this: the enchanting Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London, where the summer breeze carries the whispers of pure theatrical enchantment. And here I stand, ready to embark on an exhilarating journey as Marian (not Maid Marian!) in the captivating rendition of Robin Hood directed by Melly Still.

When Roald Dahl’s story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory first came out it must have blown people’s minds – this man, this character, Willy Wonka. Who is he? It’s not a question that one can answer easily, believe me, I’ve tried to answer it.

My journey with The Flying Dutchman has been almost as long as his. I was enthralled by the story as a child – a sailor who lost a bet with the Devil! – and then, twenty-five years ago, wrote a 10,000 line epic poem called Time’s Fool, where I substituted an endless ghost train for the cursed ship.

As I enter the rehearsal room for the read through of Tambo & Bones, I can’t help but wonder what the backlash might be. Having appeared in quite a few controversial plays recently, I have been shocked, surprised and profoundly heartened by the audiences responses to challenging material. 

If I had to choose one word to describe the role of artistic director of a pub theatre, the adjective that immediately springs to mind is: varied!

Writing Our Last First was never going to be easy. From the start I had set myself up for an impossible task and opened myself up to criticism…but that was why I needed to write it.

Evita på Aarhus Teater står skarpere end nogensinde før

The idea for Imrie, my first full-length play, first came from a dream about two sisters and a sea creature. I first wrote this story as part of my dissertation, focusing on the relationship between the two sisters. It originally had a tragic ending, but while rewriting it as a play, it metamorphosed into a fantasy story about hope, identity, and what it means to be an outsider.

In this guest-authored feature, Emily Joy Weiner, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Houses on the Moon theater company gives a behind the scenes look into the company's development process.

You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you go for a drink with a mate and you decide to open up about something. And they hear you - as in, really hear you. That’s exactly what I hope watching Tapped will feel like. 

What separates the greatest grime MC of all time from the people who have held the position of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom? This is a question that has rumbled in my brain from the moment of inception of the idea that has grown into GrimeBoy.

Black Love is... This play. It is a play borne out of my own love for telling stories but also telling stories that allow Black Love to be seen on stages.

Associate Movement Director and Swing Raffaella Covino shares her experiences of A MONSTER CALLS, now playing at Rose Theatre Kingston

My collaborator Robert Hudson and I first got interested in writing a musical about the Treaty of Versailles about five years ago. We’d toyed with the idea before, but the Brexit vote and the widening political divide within both the UK and America gave us the impetus we’d been missing, and we began to write the first draft of what eventually became Hall of Mirrors.

I knew there was something to say about today with Stevenson's novella Jekyll and Hyde about good and evil and the darkness in all of us.

John Rwothomach has based his play FAR GONE on his real childhood experience of nearly being kidnapped by a guerrilla group in Uganda.

Paul Bradshaw and I have been friends for years, and to collaborate with him again is an honour. His stories as a working-class, queer Londoner are both poignant and essential. tell me straight feels particularly special for me because of how it explores attraction, desire, connection, and the spectrum of queerness.