S&S Theatre: How an awards ceremony evolved into a production company
Fans of new British musicals will be familiar with The S&S Award, the prize that set out to find and give a professional life to the country's best new unproduced musical. After years of sourcing and developing those rich seams of talent, the awards body is now evolving into S&S Theatre Productions.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Zoom Q&As: Writers, director and stars on switching to streaming
New British musical The Sorcerer's Apprentice has been five years in the making and, like all new musicals, has overcome myriad obstacles. Covid threw down an additional hurdle shortly before it was due to premiere at London's Southwark Playhouse: another lockdown.
Cases Zoom Q&A: Sending a lockdown love letter to the arts
In April 2020, I was due to chair a post-show Q&A at The Other Palace for new British musical CASES. Of course, that run was cancelled due to Covid, but when composer-lyricist Dominic Powell decided to give CASES a new lease of life by recording a studio album, he asked me back to chair a discussion via Zoom.
Webinar video: Are you aware of the privacy risks during and after coronavirus?
My packed post-show Q&A schedule came to an abrupt halt in mid-March when theatres across London closed. But I'm adapting and learning to use my skills in new ways in lockdown - and so, I give you my professional webinar debut.
Old Red Lion post-show video and photos: What do coronavirus closures mean to fringe theatre?
Tuesday 17 March 2020. One of the last theatre performances -for the foreseeable future - in the theatre capital of the world took place at London's Old Red Lion Theatre. A historic, sobering moment, one of many during the global coronavirus crisis.
One Jewish Boy post-show video and photos: How to challenge stereotypes and reduce anti-semitism
The UK government's current coronavirus advice is that, with theatres, the show should still go on. I was certainly glad One Jewish Boy, British dramatist Stephen Laughton's brilliant play, written as a response to rising anti-semitism, did last night.
Love, Loss & Chianti post-show video and photos: Can poetry and theatre help deal with grief?
Poet Christopher Reid wrote A Scattering after the death of his wife, actress Lucinda Gane, in 2005. Actor Robert Bathurst came across the book while he was grieving for a fatally ill friend. The aim to stage it became a labour of love.
Can I Help You? post-show video and photos: What’s the lasting legacy of the late Philip Osment?
Actor, director and prolific playwright Philip Osment passed away last May at the age of 66 after a long respiratory illness. His final play, Can I Help You?, is now receiving its London premiere at Omnibus Theatre care of Playing ON, the company he co-founded to give voice to marginalised communities.
Macbeth post-show video and photos: Is ‘The Scottish Play’ really cursed?
Are you superstitious? The most famous theatrical superstition is, of course, the one about "The Scottish play". Do the cast of Lazarus Theatre's new ensemble production believe in curses?
Sinners post-show video and photos: Why did Brian Cox want to direct a play about stoning women?
I saw Brian Cox and his wife Nicole Ansari acting alongside one another in the premiere of Tom Stoppard's 2006 play Rock 'n' Roll. It was wonderful to talk to them about working together onstage again in a very different capacity of a very different play.
