Category Archives: Rose Bruford

Luck of the Irish?? I hope so for this assignment.

4 Comments

This'll help with my assignment

The end of my current module is a few weeks away, which means one thing – an assignment is looming! This module on Postwar British and Irish Playwriting has been an interesting one. In many ways it’s been a mixed bag really. It’s brought to my attention some real gems – Blue/Orange, Plenty, The Entertainer. Whilst at the same time it’s made me have to read some really awful plays – Stoning Mary and Mercury/Fur especially come to mind.

I’m glad to have chosen this module though, as I was totally ignorant of any Irish playwrights until I did this module and for me they’ve been the real “finds” of this academic year. So it’s not surprising that I’ve chosen to focus on them for my next assignment. I’ve had to choose three Irish plays and the three I’ve chosen are;

The Weir by Conor McPherson. I saw this earlier this year (a review is here) and was blown away by the lyrical script and was delighted to see a modern playwright writing monologues for his characters.

Did You Hear The One About The Irishman? by Christina Reid  is another of my choices. By depicting how personal decisions have societal and political ramifications she shows us the problems ordinary people faced during “the troubles”.

For my third choice I’m currently debating which to use, it’s a toss up between Translations by Brian Friel or The Clearing by Helen Edmundson. These plays both look at Irelands past, yet it shows how the spectre of actions taken hundreds of years ago effect the present day.

So join me in raising a glass of Guinness to these fine playwrights, and to me getting a good grade!

Choice, Cuts and a Challenge

7 Comments

4.4% cut in their funding

At college this weekend one of the things I came away with was how fortunate I am with the amazing and world-class theatre I have literally on my doorstep. Hearing colleagues bemoan the state or lack of theatre in their own countries or locations within the UK was actually quite a wake up call that I should be VERY thankful for what I’m privileged to see.

Take the next three nights;
I’m off to see an experimental piece of theatre  at the Southwark Playhouse. Sunday at the Centre of the World. This is conveniently on my way home from work. This will be my first time there despite its location ( I desperately wanted to see Company there last month but could not get to it unfortunately)
Friday night I’m off to the “bastion of brilliance” that is The National Theatre to see Greenland. A new piece of collaborative writing which I’ve heard mixed reviews and thoughts on.
On Saturday I’m off to The Royal Court, one of the  most important theatre’s in the world, to see another new piece of writing, Simon Stephen’s Wastwater.

Last week I was in the West End seeing the fabulous musical Betty Blue Eyes and I’m fortunate that where I live has a thriving and vibrant amateur theatre that puts on a varied season of 9 plays a year.

I used to live just outside of Bath and likewise when there I was so fortunate to take advantage of what’s on at the Theatre Royal and it’s smaller venues the Ustinov and The Egg.

Growing up I was often at the Trinity Arts Theatre and looking back, productions I saw there certainly impacted me positively and could well account for my love of theatre now.

The Wonderful National Theatre

Life’s short and so I’m taking full advantage of my current location to make the most of seeing all this theatre. I’m also saddened that so many of my college colleagues are not in such a fortuitous position as I, especially others within the UK.

As the cuts loom large over the theatre world, I know that many venues simply won’t be able to survive, I suppose it’s the old adage “if you don’t use it, you lose it” and so I can only encourage you all to support your local theatres be they amateur or professional. To those that don’t have access to the quality and variety of theatre I’m so fortunate to have here in London, do consider a trip down here too, a recent family member took a week off work and spent a week in London seeing a different piece of theatre each night. While perhaps not ideal, it certainly makes sense to make a “pilgrimage”!

I wrote the above earlier on today and saved it ready to tweak and then publish, on my journey home I read THIS ARTICLE in the Evening Standard telling us what the damage is for the arts. A good response also in today’s Standard is here. Truly shocking is all I can say, cutting the Royal Court and National Theatre’s grants is nonsensical. So what did I do, other than write a blog moaning about them? Well I decided to put my money where my mouth is and become a member/friend and donate to The Royal Court, National Theatre, Cardboard Citizens and English National Ballet all of which have suffered in the art cuts. If you value the arts as much as I imagine you do if you’re reading this blog please consider supporting an arts association close to your heart – or one of the aforementioned which are of international importance.

Those of us that are spoilt for choice can’t afford to be complacent.

I’m truly thankful for all the British Theatre has given me, and trust that it continues for current and future generations despite the difficult times ahead.

English National Ballet in action

Study Weekend 2011 – “Pieces like this make me want to puke!”

2 Comments

The sun always shines in Sidcup

Well as mentioned previously the annual Study Weekend at Rose Bruford College is the highlight of my academic year. 2011 was no different.

Primarily I’ve laughed lots and shared my passion for theatre with a group who feel equally as passionate, even when my disdain for Stanislavski and some modern playwrights is expressed by me in rather blunt tones! It great to mix with other people with a vast range of experiences/nationalities/views. I really enjoy the stimulation this weekend gives me, intellectually, physically and emotionally.

So what did we get up to?

Well it kicked off with a session by David Chatterton on “Signs of a Good Performance: Writing for Readers and the Work of the Theatre Critic”. This was a fabulous start, David gave us much to think on and we broke into groups and looked at varying reviews of a recent production. This was especially helpful to me and the reviews that I write. David is the tutor for a module I commence in September on Theatre Criticism. This session gave me much to muse upon and I imagine this module will have a very strong effect on my reviews – I trust for the better!

Next up Dr Rachel Clements led a session on “Plays Without Signs.” Here we were given sections of plays written in the last 15 years by Sarah Kane, Martin Crimp and Simon Stephens. My group had the play Pornography and it was fascinating what others in my group thought about how it should be staged. I was surprised too, this play deals with the events of the 7th July attack in London, I lived very near where the bus exploded that day and I was surprised how emotional this play made me feel and how feelings I thought were a thing of the past came right back. So an emotionally tough session but worthwhile. The title of this post  ”Pieces like this make me want to puke!” was exclaimed by Sharon, on her feedback from her group, they had Martin Crimp’s Attempts on Her Life as their text, this split the class but I’ll be honest I agree with her! I’m not sure what merit there is to a “playwright” who writes so little of a play that the cast and crew and director has to basically create the work?

A break for something to eat which was just as well as the afternoon was going to be pretty physical.

We had a session on Kudiyattam theatre. This is an ancient Indian form and was certainly outside of all our comfort zones. Our tutor  Arya Madhavan was extremely patient as we tried to learn the foot, hand and rhythmic movements required. Think aerobics and yoga with a bit of drama thrown in  and I think that’s probably what the class looked like. We then had the chance to work out our own brief sketches using this form to present back to the whole group later on.

Dinner was served, accompanied by a nice glass of red wine.

We returned to the Rose Theatre and presented our pieces back to everyone, which was good fun. Our tutor then presented a 10-15 minute performance of a Kudiyattam performance, telling the story of the young baby Krishna. It was spellbinding to see this intricate and unusual theatrical form performed for us. A brief interview and Q&A session followed which was equally as enlightening.

A visit to a tavern was a suitable  finish to the day to continue our discussions.

Loosing an hour of sleep, failed to deter us returning fresh as a daisy this morning for more. I unfortunately was held up with “technical” issues preparing for my lecture in the afternoon. So missed most of Prof Michael Walling’s session on “Physicality, Energy and the Making of Meaning”. I did get to see the groups performances at the end of the session and enjoyed those.

After lunch I presented my own lecture to the students, “The Closer You Look, The Less You See.” Looking at signs and gestures used in the art of conjuring. The students and staff seemed to enjoy my performance and lecture which I was pleased at. I’ll post up a synopsis of the lecture up on here at some point soon.

A final session on study tips and encouraging us all as we study remotely, was a perfect end.

I huge thanks to all the staff that helped organise and run the weekend, and thanks to all those that attended, it’s sharing events like this with such a fab bunch that makes studying so enjoyable and the Study Weekend the highlight of the academic year.

Theatrical Perfection? – The Blue Dragon – The Barbican Theatre London – Review

2 Comments

Tai Wei Foo in The Blue Dragon

Why do I go to the theatre regularly? To be entertained? To be challenged? Because I’m a student of the art form? Yes to all of these but my primary aim is to be changed. A lofty aim no doubt, and to be honest it seldom happens, but every so often it does, and it’s the most incredible experience.

Since commencing my Theatre Studies back in 2005 there have been several seminal events in my theatrical life. One of which was hearing Robert Lepage lecture at my college in my first year of study. His passion, vision and clarity struck me, and following that lecture I researched more into his work, and his life.  I’ve been fortunate to see some of his work via video, but never live. The chance to see his new play and with him in it, made it top of my list for theatrical visits this year. I was also fortunate to see TOTEM also by Lepage this year and I found that an inspiring theatrical event.

So I booked this ticket solely on the fact that it was a Lepage play, but as I then read more about it, I became more and more intrigued. It focuses on Pierre Lamontagne, the character Lepage created for his Dragon’s Trilogy just over 25 years ago. We revisit this character in Shanghai and catch up with him and his life. Lepage plays Pierre, in what is one of the best portrayals I’ve seen on stage. Following this post recently a friend commented to me that, it’s great when you see a play and you forget the actor, and you become immersed in the world on stage and that character. Lepage was an object lesson in this, he WAS Pierre. Likewise Tai Wei Foo and Marie Michaud who played Xiao Ling and Claire respectively also created believable characters on stage. More than that though I cared for these characters and their decisions and their lives.

Tai Wei Foo as Xiao Ling and Marie Michaud as Claire

For me this was why this play was so special, it had heart and soul, and I felt part of their world as I could see it was a reflection of my own world. We live in a Globalised world now and Theatre is responding to that in various ways, one is to simply produce the same musicals everywhere – a Chinese version of Les Mis opened in 2008. More Cameron Mackintosh productions are to follow in China too. Whilst this is one way of reacting to the new world, I feel Lepage’s is more organic and more beneficial.  The Blue Dragon felt that each culture was respected and brought to the melting pot. That’s not to say only the good parts of each culture were displayed, far from it, the small-minded view of the Québécois that Pierre escaped from was shown as well as the harshness of life in China, but Lepage never went over to melodrama, his characters have to put up with problems like we all do, they got on, made decisions and lived with them. That is why this play resonated with me so much, it felt tangible and real, like few plays do. The speech of the play is in English, French and Mandarin (with subtitles) as and when required, rather than being confusing it simply helped to add to the realism and also the difference in speech tones and rhythms between the three languages was striking to hear.  As someone who works in a cosmopolitan city and work environment, different languages being spoken at anytime is not something that I’m unfamiliar with, again it’s part of being in the 21st Century Globalised world. One thing the play highlighted is something we’ve known for a long time, but was dramatically shown here, we’ll all be hearing more Mandarin in the future, more  than French and English perhaps?

Robert Lepage as Pierre Lamontagne

Lepage is known for his use of theatrical effects and this play is no different, but again, the effects, staging and lighting fit in seamlessly, and help to tell the story. This is theatre for a 21st century audience that isn’t afraid to use visual and cinematic ideas. The set gave me a feeling of “widescreen” and the clever staging utilised one aspect that theatre is especially suited to, that of working vertically whereas film is primarily a horizontal view, Lepage blended to the two genres and played to the strength of each.

I especially loved the tribute to Herge’s book The Blue Lotus in this play. As the programme states, for many (myself included) this book was probably the first time that many of us encountered China and the images Herge paints certainly have left their mark on generations of westerners.

A few subtle references are made to this throughout

It’s refreshing to go to the theatre and be surprised, challenged and inspired and all in the same night! That is how I felt having watched The Blue Dragon.  The playwright Eugene Ionesco talked about his work and the “two fundamental states of consciousness” between which he moved, “an awareness of evanescence and of solidity, of emptiness and too much presence, of the unreal transparency of the world and its opacity, of light and of thick darkness.” ( see his book Notes and Counter Notes) I got a sense of this last night, especially between the evanescent and solidity of the characters lives and of my own too, something that had been fairy cerebral until last night.

So to call this “Theatrical Perfection” is indeed a HUGE and outlandish claim, but for me, it was pretty close, something to aspire to and be inspired by.

Christmas has come early this year!

1 Comment

WOOOOOHAAAAAAY!!!!!

Christmas has come early for me this year. My wife let me know what my Christmas present would be and I’m EXCEEDINGLY excited.

I have to wait until January 2011 but it will be well worth the wait – we’re off to see Cirque du Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall.

I’ve only ever seen Cirque du Soleil on video before and so to see it live will be a fabulous experience. I’m particularly looking forward to this production as its theme is “A fascinating journey into the evolution of mankind” and it’ll be interesting to see how they weave that throughout the production.

Having done a bit more research on it since I found out we were going, I’m even more excited as the creator and director is none other than the genius that is Robert Lepage! I’m a huge admirer of his work and I was fortunate to attend a lecture by him at my college (Rose Bruford) a few years ago which was amazing. See here for a bit more info about his involvement with the production.

A review will follow on here, but I imagine the experience will be hard to put into words. As you can see from the trailer video:

Roll on January!

Busy Bunny

2 Comments

"I'll be the cutest bunny in the Easter parade"

Wow, the last two weeks have flown by.

What have I been up to??

I was part of the backstage crew for Barefoot in the Park at The Miller Centre Theatre, Caterham, which was great. It’s a fun play and seemed to go down well with our audiences. The next play on at the Miller Centre Theatre is The Day After the Fair which is an adaptation of the Thomas Hardy story. This opens on the 21st October I’m currently not involved in this, so a review will be up once I get to see it.

College is keeping me rather busy. I have my first assignment for my Theatre of the Absurd module due in just over a week. I’m looking at Pinter’s The Birthday Party, Ionesco’s The Chairs, and Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. I’ve got to examine them in light of Martin Esslin’s “Theatre of the Absurd” definition and show how and why they fit that genre description. The first draft is done, I just need to tweak it now.

As we’re in October, it’s not long before my other assignment will be due for my Postwar British and Irish Playwriting module. For this I’ve got to look into three plays, I’ve chosen Joe Orton’s What the Butler Saw, Pinter’s The Birthday Party (cunning I know as I’m studying it for the Theatre of Absurd assignment too! However both assignments are looking at totally different aspects but at least, I’ll be very familiar with the text) and Tom Stoppard’s Jumpers.

For part of the assignment I need to find a review or an analysis in a book that critiques the play, I then have to disagree with it and say why. This is quite a different way of doing an assignment question for me and I’m currently looking for a review/book that I can disagree with.

On top of this I have a few theatrical irons in the fire, including the first draft of my own play, which I’m pleased is now coming together. I also have an audition this month for a play I’m hoping to be in, during the early part of next year at the Miller Centre Theatre.

Back to the books for me now.

Study and Induction Day at Rose Bruford College 11/09/10

2 Comments

The offer of spending a day in “sunny” Sidcup is hard to refuse at the best of times, even more so when the offer of spending it is at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance for a day of workshops and fun.

It was lovely to meet up with old friends and to meet so many of the new students, I trust you didn’t feel too intimidated by us old hands.

A packed day was laid on;

  • Is it Really All about Text? with Professor Michael Walling
  • Telling the Tale: Voice and Essay Writing with Dr Stephe Harrop
  • Using the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and Learning Resources Centre (LRC) with David Matthews and Librarian Frank Trew
  • Pick a number between 1 – 100 with Jayne Richards and David Matthews

Michael Walling’s first session on “Is it really all about text?”, was great as Michael used a clip of an act from his latest play that opened on Thursday (http://www.bordercrossings.org.uk/Productions/Default.aspx?ProdID=12 ). An in-depth discussion followed as we analysed the performance. It was interesting to see what others had seen in the piece and the interpretations we had. It also gave me a taste of this production and if I have time I’m keen to catch it whilst it’s on in London.

I was looking forward to Stephe Harrop’s session following the workshop she did on the Greek Chorus at the March study weekend (http://theatrethoughts.wordpress.com/2010/03/28/kate-and-edith-a-pineapple-bra-and-greek-chorus/). This was an engaging and helpful session empowering us to use our voice in our assignments. Taking an extract of Duncan Williamson’s stories, we dissected it, and made it “academic”, whilst this was an extreme exercise, it really hit the point home and was worthwhile. Then followed a game where we had to tell a story in groups but for each verb/adjective/noun, give three other alternatives, alas no thesaurus or dictionaries were allowed.

The VLE is a new venture for the college’s distance learning program and has been a giant leap forward for us all and already is making distance learning better. David showed us some future things to come, which will make it an even funkier place. Learning more about the LRC was really helpful especially their online resources as I’m going to need them for my next assignments.

For the last session we got into groups and examined part of an anonymous students assignment against the marking criteria. What followed was interesting, I’m just glad none of my colleagues mark my assignments, especially Debbie!!! The tutors then pointed out the positives and negatives in the assignment. I’m guilty of many of the negatives, so it was good to be reminded what needs to be done as my assignments begin to loom.

The room was then divided between the continuing students and brand new ones, what followed was really good, the new students could ask us any question they liked of the continuing students and we answered from our group experience. I found this helpful as the advice given by other students was really good, and I trust it helped the new students.

As usual the food was fab (Mary has promised Jaffa Cakes for the March weekend as Kevin has requested them), there was a distinct lack of pineapple this year which while disappointing, was amply made up for by the melon and apples! (sorry to students not at March 2010 study weekend, it’s a “had to be there” joke)

For me though, the key thing I appreciate the most is to meet with other students, realise I’m not doing this on my own and to have a good chat about all things theatrical with people who share the same passion (if not the same views) as I. That’s why these study days are to me the highlights of the academic year. Bring on March 2011!!!!!!!!!!

Closer – The Archway Theatre Company – Review

3 Comments

This was my first visit to the Archway Theatre in Horley, to see Closer by Patrick Marber. I found out about this theatre via the Little Theatre Guild and I’m please that I did. Closer is a play we’re recommended reading/seeing for my Postwar British and Irish module and I’ll certainly be returning to this pleasant theatre. It’s called The Archway Theatre for an obvious reason:

It’s literally built under the arches. What a superb space though, there’s a great bar area, for a pre-show and interval tipple and the theatre is modern and plush. Even I at five foot six had to duck as we enter the theatre itself but the arch is suitably padded and the steward warned us with plenty of time to “watch your heads”.

So the theatre gets thumbs up, what about the play???

I saw the revival of Marber’s Dealers Choice when it was on in the West End in 2007. I really enjoyed it and Marber’s excellent use of comical and gritty dialogue with a great sense of rhythm. Closer certainly has these hallmarks as Marber explores the issues surrounding relationships, communication, sex and identity. Originally written back in 1997, it still feels contemporary and the issues are still pertinent.

The small cast of four gave us an insight into the complicated lives of their characters, I’m sure people do make their lives this complicated, but I’m glad mine isn’t! Beth Easton played the role of Alice, with a subtlety and sadness that was moving. I really felt the mystery and dilemma of her existence came to the fore. Olee Bass gave a commendable performance as the failed writer Dan. Kevin Day gave a top performance as Larry, the Dr who to me I empathized with and other times wanted to give a good slap too for being such a pig! Mandy Humphrey gave a perceptive touch to the character of Anna, that again was very moving.

It’s a play with many challenges from a technical side, there are 12 scenes all in different locations ranging from an Accident and Emergency unit to strip club to an aquarium. This was cleverly done and the use of music throughout the play and scene changes really helped set the scene. Rather than going for complex sets, the simplicity and use of the stage area were just right and kept the pace of the play moving which was great.

Director Bradley Barlow in the programme writes about his passion for this play, he originally saw the film and then dashed out to the uni library to get the script just before the library closed for the night. He then spent the evening repeatedly reading it. His enthusiasm for this play certainly came through in the production.

I congratulate the cast for taking this play on and giving such a sterling performance of it. I hope that they put on another of Marber’s plays in the near future. I’m glad I’ve seen it, Marber certainly is a quality contemporary playwright, Dealer’s Choice and now Closer are certainly up there with my favourite of modern plays. Marber hasn’t written one for a while, I look forward to his next, and trust it’s a question of quality not quantity with his plays.

Small is Beautiful

4 Comments

As you can see from my previous posts, and reviews I visit theatres of all shapes and sizes. However there is something about intimate/small theatres that for me is very special.

Theatre is about the relationship between what’s happening on stage and the audience member. In smaller theatres this can really be intensified and make for theatre that is profoundly effective.

In the UK we have a thing called the Little Theatre Guild http://www.littletheatreguild.org.uk , which I only heard of due to being involved in a theatre which is part of it, the Miller Theatre in Caterham www.millercentretheatre.org . I’m off to another theatre that’s a member of this guild next week, The Archway Theatre in Horley  http://www.archwaytheatre.co.uk to see Patrick Marber’s play Closer, which is one of the plays linked with my college module this year.  It’s worth finding out if there’s a guild member theatre near you, it’s impressive what these small theatres are doing and the vast range of plays that are being put on across the country.

Members of the Little Guild are all amateur theatres (which in no way is to denigrate their work, some amateur productions I’ve seen are better than “professional” ones). I’ve performed and seen productions in two small professional London theatres, namely The Barons’s Court Theatre and Jermyn Street theatre, these seat 50 and 70 people respectively and are wonderful little venues. I saw Timon of Athens at the Baron’s Court theatre last year and the cast of  11 literally filled the stage.

Too often we get caught in the trappings of “bigger is better” while missing the fact that theatre can be equally effective in smaller and less lavish settings. When I was a street performer, playing the larger crowds was a real buzz, but so was performing for a small group of 10 – 20 people, whose faces and names I got to know.

I’m currently reading lots of plays for college, we’re encouraged to imagine these as they would be put on and I’ve been challenging myself to read and imagine them in different settings to the standard 19th Century proscenium arch theatre.

Theatre Royal, Brighton. By http://www.flickr.com/photos/imuttoo/

“Each show is the size of the theatre it is played in: if the space changes , the size of the show also changes.” – Augusto Boal

Earlier this year I was in an “in the round” production at the Miller Theatre, personally I prefer performing in the round, as that’s what I’m used to with my background as a street performer and magician. I also find it easier to connect with the audience when they’re all around me.

The actor standing in the centre surrounded by the audience looking into the whites of their eyes is a powerful and vulnerable place to be.

In Yer Face ?

Leave a comment

Read an absolutely awful play yesterday ; Philip Ridley’s Mercury / Fur.

It’s one of the set text’s for my college module and it’ll be interesting to see what the tutor thinks and why they’ve suggested we read it when I get the module in the next few days.

I don’t agree with the Sunday Times comment on the back of the play that this is “the ultimate 9/11 play“. To me it came across as someone wanting to write like Sarah Kane but without the subtlety or skill. Yes I found it disturbing which I’m sure is his aim, but I’m more disturbed someone writes a play like this and that it appears to have been so highly regarded, than what it’s about.

It does have it’s moments though, the character of Elliot, is well written and I felt for his character, having intelligence yet being trapped in this hell. For me though it never really went anywhere and the ending was weak. I don’t think a play has to be nicely rounded off with a “happily ever after”, but for me this just seemed to have no reason.

Again (as with Jerusalem, mentioned on an earlier post), perhaps I don’t get it, I flicked to the introduction in the book of plays, hoping to gain some insight or explanation and all that is there are some weird ramblings. (a polite way to describe it).

I suppose I’m being spoiled with the great plays I get to study, and so the duds stand out more obviously. I read some of Pinter’s work this week, his plays are dark/disturbing, but for me hit the spot and didn’t descend to the grossness that Mercury / Fur did.

In Yer Face theatre? Perhaps, but without the wit and subtlety of Kane/Ravenhill/Marber/Penhall, that’s for sure.