Guest Author - Page 3

As I write this, I'm in a rehearsal room with an immensely talented group of creative people - people who have dedicated their lives to the study and creation of theatre - figuring out what it looks like to revive a fish from the dead. You would not believe the variety of ways one can go about this. If you have some free time, and are absolutely certain you're alone, you should see how many you can come up with. It's fun! 

The wonderful story of Princess Smartypants was written by Babette Cole in 1986. Judith Dimant at Wayward Productions gifted it to us to create in 2020, and after the delays of the pandemic, we have had the absolute joy of finally bringing it to life this year!

A Song of Songs is not your typical musical theatre - but definitely a play with lots of music. The production is nestled in a traditional Middle Eastern beat, infused with the flamenco of Andalusia and klezmer – a real fusion of world music. My vision is now coming to life with the help of a brilliant cast in its London premiere.

On 27 December 1973, Lucy Partington was waiting for a bus home, when a couple pulled up in a car and offered her a lift. The couple were Fred and Rosemary West, and Lucy was never seen alive again. 

Imagine theatre land without the fringe. A world where only mainstream, established productions dominate the stage, leaving no room for the daring, the unconventional, and the underrepresented voices. Imagine the prospect of stripping away the vibrant tapestry of creativity that makes our arts scene so brilliantly unique.

When life handed Beyoncé lemons, she made Lemonade. It went triple platinum. I am not Beyoncé - no matter how many times I practice the dance routine to 'Single Ladies' - but making art about difficult subject matters is a very human thing to do - and I am a human.

Dostoevsky has always been my favourite novelist – he is the chronicler of the troubled mind. I first read The Dream of a Ridiculous Man when I was at university. It burnt itself into my memory. As I was on a walk during lockdown it came back to me – I reread it and it felt like it might have something to say to us – a tale of an individual in crisis in difficult times, and the pandemic felt difficult.

An Officer and a Gentleman The Musical explores and shines a light on many issues we still find exist today. The unfairness in hierarchy within a workplace, differences between male institutions compared to that of female institutions, gender discrimination, diversity and class generalisation.

When I was offered a role in One Last Push, at Salisbury Playhouse, a major selling point, was that it was written by Chris Chibnall. I know Chris’s work from TV – Dr Who, Broadchurch, Life on Mars and more, but until this point hadn’t realised, he was also a highly skilled playwright.

When I was offered the role of Tippi Hedren in John Logan’s Double Feature, aside from delight, I felt quite a lot of pressure. She is a living icon.

Sherlock Holmes is arguably one of the world's most famous and beloved characters in literature and in our new musical, which updates the action to contemporary climate-crisis afflicted London, his neurodiversity is brought electrically to the fore. 

I have been the artistic director of Graeae since 1997, but I was an actor with the company in 1987. It was at the audition I realised I had finally met my tribe- a room full of deaf and disabled people who absolutely owned who they were and from that moment so did I.

It has been over a year since Ross Freddie Ray approached me about the Gala, Empower in Motion. The prospect of having a dance celebration featuring dancers of all different abilities alongside some well-known classical ballet stars… I knew I had to be part of it!

Hello! This is a blog post update from Aruhan - Actor, Comedian, Writer, Singer and Bat (Lovin’) Ambassador for the Bat Conservation Trust.

The NYMT is under new management. After the successful 10-year tenure of Jeremy Walker the new team, CEO Adrian Packer, Artistic Director Chris Cuming, and I, as Associate Artistic Director (Courses) have huge plans for bringing Musical Theatre joy to the whole of the country and beyond.

The script of 1979 first came to me in 2019 and if I’m honest, despite loving the play, I wanted to run a mile from anything political at that time. In short, politics was in a very ugly place and it felt like people were fed up to the back teeth with it.

When I read £1 Thursdays by Kat Rose-Martin, I was immediately drawn to the first thing in the script which says ‘none of the characters should be presented as rough. They graft and have it hard but they take pride in who they are. Swearing is a part of their everyday language and should be treat as so’. I loved this.

In a world where people were busy binge-watching cat videos and falling down internet rabbit holes, the noble art of theatre faced an existential crisis. But never underestimate the power of a whimsical spirit, because I, Garry Starr, am about to share the improbable story of how I saved theatre from going belly up! 

I first heard about the book Can Bears Ski? on the BBC news. I thought a play inspired by the story of Little Bear, who was born deaf, would be a perfect chance to bring awareness to our young audience, developing empathy and greater understanding of diversity in the world around them, in a delightful and fun way.

If you would have told me, 20 years ago, I would be leading Intermission Youth in celebrating 15 years of youth work and theatre, I would not have believed you. One because, I didn’t know much about theatre and two because I had little interest in helping young people. But an opportunity to take part in a drama workshop, back in 2005, changed all that for me.