Theater

Playwright/screenwriter Paul Weitz (American Pie, Trust), the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, and the 10th anniversary of Second Stage Uptown (curated by Chris Burney) were honored at Second Stage Theatr

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein Well, what a week it’s been here at Filskit Theatre Company. Between the three of us we have spent roughly 32 hours on trains, seen 24 performances of eight shows and consumed what must be gallons of tea. But it was all for a very worthy cause, as we attended the Imaginate Children’s Theatre Festival in Edinburgh. Whilst this was our first time at the festival, Imaginate itself has been around for quite a long time: in their own words, “Every year the Festival presents the finest selection of shows from Scotland and across the world; each and every one adding their own wonderful character and zest to a programme of exciting and stimulating shows to suit children and adults of every age.” And boy, they’re not kidding. It was an exciting, international programme bringing together shows from as far flung as the USA (Intergalactic Nemesis). The festival is open to the public and many a school group giggled along to shows such as Curious Seed’s Chalk About. Along with family audiences, these festivals are always popular with people in the theatre industry such as venue programmers, as they’re a great way of watching a large range of diverse, new work in a condensed period of time. The traditional route for this is through the purchase of a delegate pass. There are various delegate packages available, depending on how long you wish to attend for and how many shows you wish to see. We attended the Take Off Festival in Durham as delegates back in November and had an amazing experience. But, as you can imagine, these delegate passes certainly do not come cheap and when you add on train tickets, accommodation and food to the ever-increasing costs, it’s no wonder that small, newly-formed companies are often under-represented on the delegate list. Luckily for us, we were thrown a lifeline. Instead of buying our delegate passes, we all attended the festival as volunteers. Our various duties included meeting school groups, front of house work and answering phones. In return, we got to enjoy the Imaginate experience, fully equipped with shows, talks, networking events and even a ceilidh. As a young company, we are always keen to see other shows – it can help shape your own work and inspire you to push the boundaries of your practice. For us, this was such a fascinating process. We could view a cross-section of contemporary dance, puppetry, comedy and projection, suitable for a range of age groups and all in one city. One of the things that we like most about attending theatre festivals is being surprised: we all go with a list of shows in our heads that we think we are going to absolutely love, but sometimes it is the unexpected ones that really make an impression. One of our highlights from Imaginate has to be Maas Theater en Dans’ Wanted: Rabbit from the Netherlands: very funny and very, well…Dutch! Another favourite of ours was The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean by Scottish artist Shona Reppe, a quirky piece with great pace and an excellent design. At a recent Theatre for Young Audiences event at Rose Bruford College, there was a lot of praise for children’s theatre from Europe, particularly from the Netherlands and Belgium. There is no denying that European work is innovative, beautifully simple and very well done, so we can completely understand its popularity within the industry. The big question for us is how can emerging TYA companies from England capture this quality in our own work? How can we allow ourselves to be less conservative and take more risks? One thing that seems to be working for Scotland and Imaginate is exposing new TYA companies to this work early on, by supporting them in attending TYA festivals both at home and abroad. This exchange makes perfect sense to us. Whether you see moments that inspire you or that make you think “let’s never do that”, the work that you see will impact that which you create. So, which European fe

A collaboration between Cloud Dance Festival and Giant Olive, Cloud Dance Sundays hopes to become a regular occurrence at the theatre above the cosy Lion and Unicorn pub in Kentish Town. All the pieces shown were particularly relevant and memorable, demonstrating that dance can have striking power and determination behind it when fuelled by human nature. Opening the event was a trio choreographed by Rachel Burn, entitled Pull Through, Flick. Each performer demonstrated undoubted skill and strength in their movement; Burn’s expressive choreography evoking a sense of built-up desperation throughout, often closely integrated with the music. The solemn, almost spiritual, journey through darkness into light is reflected in the shadowy lighting design. And while this was appropriate stylistically, it posed practical problems. The lighting did not do the performers justice, with much of the definition unfortunately almost completely lost in the dimly (in fact, barely) lit space. What’s On Stage Best Choreographer Award nominee John Ross performed his own choreography next, depicting the story of an Afghan soldier who lost his life in battle. The honesty of Man Down was brilliantly executed, accompanied at moments with voice recordings of a fellow soldier’s letter to the deceased’s mother – a touching addition to the striking soundscape of warfare. Ross’s mature choreography makes his solo a harrowing and poignant experience, with such impressive contrasts in his movement patterns that it is impossible not to be affected. The stark final image of the word ‘bang’ written across his bare back defies cliché, perhaps reluctantly admitting the futility of war, especially in this attempt to justify to a mother that her son’s death was not in vain. Concluding the evening, and certainly worth the wait, was Tom Jackson-Greaves, runner up in the 2011 New Adventures Choreography Award, performing his own Vanity Fowl. Originally commissioned and produced for the award by Re:Bourne, Vanity Fowl offers a simple narrative: a man’s desire to belong. From commonplace to grace to disgrace, we follow the story of this insecure young man as he is frequently humiliated, aided by a clever film projection directed by Miles Langley. Though the solo has had to be scaled down from Sadler’s Wells’s stage for this intimate venue, Greaves still ensures the audience are thoroughly entertained, with an alluring and somewhat intense charm surrounding his dynamic flair and utter commitment to his performance. Although it is still early days for Cloud Dance Sundays, the first performance gives much to be excited about for the future. Cloud Dance Sundays is a new monthly fixture. For more information and tickets for future events, see www.cloud-dance-sundays.com Photo: Tom Jackson-Greaves. The post Review: Cloud Dance Sundays appeared first on A Younger Theatre.

Audiences are increasingly fed up about bad behaviour in the theatre – and they are taking the law into their own handsKevin Williamson's account of his vigilante action against a woman persistently using her phone during a performance of a new American musical in New York has certainly divided people. Many have applauded the actions of Williamson, who reacted to a woman's refusal to stop using her phone during the performance by seizing it and tossing it across the theatre. Others have pointed out that this in itself created further disruption, which was disrespectful to the performers, and that you don't take the law into your own hands.Williamson's act is not the first of its kind. The British critic Mark Shenton had a run-in with Bianca Jagger following a performance of Einstein on the Beach at the Barbican. What interests me, though, is the role of theatre managements and their ushers during such incidents. Williamson says that complaints were made about the woman's behavior during the interval, but clearly the situation was not remedied. In the Shenton-Jagger run-in, the former claimed that he only approached Jagger when ushers failure to take action.In a perfect world, nobody should have to police anybody else in the theatre. Everybody should know that using mobile phones to text is as rude as talking throughout. Mobiles should stay off and out of sight, unless they are part of the performance or have been sanctioned by the theatre and are being used from specially designated tweet seats so as not to cause disruption to other members of the audience.But they don't. There are plenty of people who seem to think that they haven't actually experienced something unless they have photographed and videoed it – and that extends to their theatregoing. I have seen members of the audience blatantly video the whole of both Dora the Explorer Live! and Jesus Christ Superstar, and ushers have watched them do it, entirely unperturbed. Maybe people are confused. If it's all right in Dora the Explorer, maybe it's OK in the new West End production of Passion Play, too? I've been to shows for under-fives where a substantial number of adults in the audience have spent the entire performance Facebooking merrily away. Again, ushers take no action, but maybe that's because they are too busy protecting the stage from being stormed by the kids left to roam entirely free by their texting parents. I can see that intervention by ushers in disputes between audience members is tricky; after all, every member of the audience is a paying customer. In the UK, many ushers and stewards are volunteers, and it is not part of their remit to act as police. Neither should they be put in the position of having to act in that way. But managements do seem oddly reluctant to enforce their own notices and announcements on behaviour. And as long as managements stand idly by while persistent texters type with impunity – as long as latecomers are admitted to seats in the middle of rows despite notices that say no latecomers, people take lavatory breaks on a whim and are readmitted when it suits them, and those who think the no photographs rule doesn't apply to them are allowed to get away with it – the enjoyment of the vast majority of theatregoers will be compromised by the rudeness of the minority.TheatreLyn Gardnerguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Deirdre Kinahan is an internationally produced Irish playwright whose well-known works include Hue and Cry and Bogboy. Her most recent play, These Halcyon Days, is currently playing at the Irish Arts

The National Theater of Scotland's production of "Macbeth" at Ethel Barrymore Theatre, May 20, 2013 Alan Cumming returns to the Great White Way, reprising his one-man production of the Scottish Play following last summer's visit during the Lincoln Center Festival. Under the direction of Once director John Tiffany and Andrew Goldberg, it's another riff on Marat/Sade with inmates putting on the

In his one-man Macbeth, the protean Alan Cumming orates, cries, hits his chest, yells, whispers, throws things, and tries to drown himself. What he doesn't do is define characters or tell a coherent story. Now and then you can catch chunks of Macbeth flying by, and Cumming does well by the famous bits: out, out damn spot; a poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage; Macduff was from his mother's womb untimely ripped; and so on. But when he's acting out a conversation among a variety of characters, good luck figuring out who's saying what to whom.The framing story is sort of interesting, but obscure; for no apparent reason, Macbeth has become the rantings of a man with blood on his hands (neck, torso, arms, etc). Overall, Cumming's performance is impressive, but in the way that running a marathon is impressive. I'll grant you that this is a cheap shot, but this Macbeth is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.Full disclosure: most of the people in the audience leaped to their feet cheering when the show was over. (eighth row center, press ticket)

The winners of the 58h Annual OBIE Awards were announced tonight at Webster Hall. And the winners were:PerformanceEisa DavisSustained ExcellenceBrandon J. DirdenThe Piano Lesson (Signature Theatre)Shuler HensleyThe Whale (Playwrights Horizons)Matthew MaherSustained ExcellencePaul ThureenBlood Play (The Debate Society/Bushwick Starr)PlaywritingAyad AkhtarDisgraced (LCT3)Annie BakerThe Flick (Playwrights Horizons)DirectionLear deBessonetThe Good Person Of Szechuan (Foundry Theatre/La MaMa)John RandoAll In The Timing (Primary Stages)Ruben Santiago-HudsonThe Piano Lesson (Signature Theatre)Eric TingWe Are Proud To Present A Presentation... (Soho Rep)DesignLaura JellinekSustained excellence of Set DesignClint RamosSustained excellence of Costume DesignSpecial CitationsDavid Levine and Marsha GinsbergHabit (Crossing the Line Festival/FIAF & PS122)Dave Malloy and Rachel ChavkinNatasha, Pierre + The Great Comet of 1812 (Ars Nova)Nature Theater of OklahomaLife and Times: Episodes 1-4 (Public Theater/SoRep)Music/LyricsDavid Byrne & Fatboy SlimHere Lies Love (Public Theater)The Ross Wetzsteon Award (with check for $1,000)Clubbed ThumbGrantsFulcrum Theater ($1,000)Half Straddle ($1,000)Best New American Play (tie With $500 to each playwright) Lisa D’Amour, DetroitJulia Jarcho, Grimly HandsomeLifetime AchievementLois SmithFrances Sternhagen

Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC), Off Off Broadway By Molly Marinik BOTTOM LINE: A wonderful reimagining of a musical that never quite hit its stride in the states. Blood Brothers played in London's West End for a whopping 24 years, closing just this past November. However, its Broadway run lasted only a couple of years in the mid-1990s. For musical theatre aficionados, its legacy is known and the show maintains a bit of a cult following even today. For that reason alone, it is highly recommended that you see APAC's ambitious revival. And for those who don't much care for musical theatre history, you will also find much to enjoy from this production. Director Tom Wojtunik astutely considers in his program note the reason for the disparity in the show's success across the pond: the story revolves around two economically diverse families and what it's like to grow up in affluence vs. near poverty. Perhaps Americans in the 1990s just weren't interested in a story that so neatly defines socio-economic stigma. But now after the recent financial meltdown, we might be in a much better suited situation to appreciate a story like this. It certainly feels like an opportune time to me.

She may have been snubbed by all of the major theater awards, but Bette Midler is certainly not crying. In fact, she's laughing all the way to the bank judging by the latest figures released by The B