Leanne Masterton is a graduate of Guildford School of Acting.  As a student Leanne brought depth and layers to her performances. Her life experience of a 12 year business career with the Railways of Britain saw her involved with two fatal train crashes and she decided that it was time to follow her heart as "life was too short"; she hasn't looked back since.

Following a varied career which includes film and West End credits; August sees her present her own brand of classic cabaret in "Hello Jerry!"  at The Jermyn Street Theatre, Jermyn Street, London. The evening presents the music and life of Jerry Herman, the man who gave us Hello Dolly, La Cage Aux Folles and Mack and Mabel amongst others.

Described as a "standout singer" in recent critiques, Leanne's brand of cabaret is a combination of character and quips.  Her personable easy approach to working in front of a live audience brings relaxed fun, elegant entertainment and is both funny and heart rending in turn.

Following on from last year’s hugely popular Aladdin, the King’s Theatre and First Family Entertainment are delighted to announce spectacular casting for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a totally brand new show for Glasgow and Scotland’s traditional family pantomime experience!

Darius, a critically acclaimed West End actor and platinum-selling singer-songwriter, will be playing the role of Prince Charming in this his King’s Theatre debut.  On returning to Glasgow and performing at the King’s, Darius said: "2010 continues to be an exciting and busy year that has taken me from London to Paris and Capetown- it's great to end the year in the motherland in my home town of Glasgow."

Since being crowned the winner of ITV1’s Popstar to Operastar Darius has headlined in his debut Opera, as the youngest performer ever to play the bullfighting Escamillo in Carmen at the O2, in the biggest production of an Opera in the UK. He also became the first performer ever to appear on the Opera world stage who is not classically trained.

A King’s spokesperson said: “We are very excited about Darius joining us this Christmas for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It is a huge coup for us as a venue and we are delighted to be able to offer the people of Glasgow the opportunity of seeing one of their best loved performers back home in a much loved theatre”.

Even with over 100 years of Christmas experiences under its belt Snow White has never been performed at the King’s Theatre so this year’s pantomime will be like no other King’s pantomime you have ever have seen before – in fact, you will never have seen it before!  With a brand new script by Eric Potts, stunning new costumes, brand new sets and a stellar cast, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has all the elements to make this the most wonderful and magical pantomime in Scotland.  This year, the production is once again sponsored by Robinsons. The nation’s favourite family soft drink is supporting a national celebration of pantomime up and down the country and is delighted to be part of maintaining the traditional family experience at the King’s Theatre.

The Heather Brothers

This week sees the premiere of teen horror musical parody, Camp Horror at the Queen's theatre, Hornchurch and I am looking forward to being among the audience.  As a taster of what's to come, here is an interview with the writers, Neil, John and Lea Heather. This interview was held during rehearsals.

What factors do you consider when deciding whether a play will be a musical? Could you explain the creative process involved in composing a musical?

We generally try and come up with a good story first. We sit around bouncing ideas off each other. We chat about books, films or politics and drink a lot of tea!
If we feel the idea would work better with songs, then we try and create a musical. Dialogue also comes second to plot. Because we started out in life as songwriters, we also spend a lot of time on lyrics. We write the first line of a song, then sit down with our thesaurus and rhyming dictionary to find something to rhyme with it. 

Camp Horror is a comical parody of the teen horror movie.  Do you think that musical theatre lends itself more to humorous productions? Does singing and dancing take some of the seriousness away from a play or does it enhance it?

Camp Horror is kind of different - the problem we set ourselves was how we maintain the believability once the killing started... we feel we cracked it.
The show is packed with 14 original rocking songs which are all really catchy. The music is all deliberately upbeat, which we found to be a great comic way to offset the horror elements. How fun is it to have happy tunes set to someone being slaughtered!
Camp Horror is a light-hearted comedy, so the songs, music, singing and dancing very much enhance the humour and the story.  

Does the humour come naturally once you begin writing?

Yes... we love writing funny lyrics. Our philosophy is if it makes us laugh, then hopefully it can make others chuckle too.  

How was your idea for Camp Horror first formed? 

We have always loved horror films and couldn’t get enough of flicks like Psycho and Homicidal Maniac. We were in Massachusetts about five years ago working on a couple of horror movies we’d written and thought it’d be a great idea to put a horror film on stage... then we thought it would be better to make it a musical... and better still a comedy musical.
There is an overkill of horror movies at the moment. We thought it would be refreshing to take this further and create something with lots of laughs, songs, twists and turns, featuring a group of young people.
It has been a long, long process – there were many rewrites and we spent a lot of time on lyrics - so we are thrilled it is now finally ready for audiences to enjoy.
 
Do you have an audience in mind when you begin writing?

We always write shows we would like to see and we enjoy witty, character-based situation comedy.
Camp Horror has something for all ages. Our fresh-faced cast of teen pin-ups play a host of familiar characters who young people will know and love from TV and film – the cocky guy, the cute cheerleader, the geek, the kooky girl, the joker, the hippy chick… and of course, the poor old tired school teacher!
Mums, Dads, Nans and Granddads will also recognise these characters because they went to horror movies as teenagers too; it’s just the clothes that are different! It doesn’t matter what year it is, the formula of the horror movie hasn’t really changed for generations. If it still entertains, it still works! So even if your teenage years are a distant memory, you can relive the fun and frights of your youth whilst enjoying a great rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack!

To what extent do you like to be involved in a production? Do you prefer to have more input or let the director and cast put their own stamp on your plays?

We like to be around during the first production. Things sometimes need to be changed, lines cut, etc.  So we like to be on hand for all that.

Do you attend rehearsals? How do you feel about the development of Camp Horror at the Queen’s in Hornchurch? Will you be in the audience during the run?

Yes, we will certainly be watching the production and we have been attending rehearsals at the Queen’s every day. We are thrilled to report that Camp Horror, under the direction of Bob Carlton, is turning out brilliantly! It is a hugely entertaining and fun night out, which will take people out of their lives for a few hours.

This cut to the chase… production brings you a large young cast of super-talented         actor-musicians with enormous amounts of energy. They are not only fantastic actors, singers and dancers, but amazingly, also provide a live soundtrack to the show by playing their own musical instruments on stage.
We also have a truly incredible set – the Queen’s stage has been completely transformed into the darkest, creepiest theatre you’ve ever seen and it also brings audiences much, much closer to the action than ever before – everyone will just have to come and see it!

Camp Horror is very different to what people are used to - as far as we know, there isn’t a musical comedy in theatre quite like this one.

I went to see a puppet show last week, now I know this may conjure up images of seaside Punch and Judy or a muppet show spectacle but although the show, War Horse, does feature puppets it’s certainly no joke on the stage.

War Horse, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Michael Morpurgo, is currently showing at New London Theatre in the West End and is the latest in a line of National Theatre productions that have earned the company a reputation for producing some of the best family shows on the stage. 

Previous shows have included the popular shows of His Dark Materials, an adaptation of Phillip Pullman’s trilogy, and Coram Boy which both received positive reviews. Having seen a National Theatre production before, let us say that War Horse certainly had a lot to live up to.

War Horse tells the story through the eyes of Joey, a horse who is shipped off to work for the cavalry division in the First World War, and his master Albert who enlists in the army in order to find his beloved horse.

 Of course you may have spotted a small flaw in adapting this for the stage. Surely it is impossible to put a fully grown horse on the stage and have it as the central character? Putting an actual horse on the stage would likely be a fiasco and this is where the puppetry comes in, but this is no ordinary puppetry, this is a puppet from the Handspring Puppet Company.

The horse puppet for War Horse does not aim for realism but instead features a wooden framework with a translucent skin that manages to capture the energy and gracefulness of an equine entity. The mobility in the puppet is fantastic and the character is entirely believable.

The performances in the show were absolutely stellar and really brought the whole story to life, and although we went to see it so that our boys could have a trip to the theatre, it was completely enjoyed by all which just goes to show that this is more than just a puppet show for kids; it’s a highly powerful and emotive story that captures the entire audience.



Now showing at New London Theatre in the West End. 

The management committee of the Society of British Theatre Designers is trying to contact as many designers as possible to encourage them to register their intention to exhibit at the 4 yearly national exhibition. In January 2011 it will be the inaugural event in the spectacular new building of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (still under construction). Previous exhibitions have been in Nottingham, Manchester, Sheffield and many in London (Royal College of Art, Roundhouse and Riverside Studios) - they are always pretty spectacular and very popular with visitors whether professionals, punters, researchers or school parties.


_{Artist's impression of the new building}

The text below is, hopefully, self-explanatory.


TRANSORMATION AND REVELATION

PERFORMANCE DESIGN OPEN EXHIBITION - INVITATION TO EXHIBIT

Invitation to exhibit at the SBTD national exhibition of UK performance design 2011: TRANSFORMATION & REVELATION

Designers for performance are invited to exhibit at the four yearly SBTD national exhibition which is to take place in Cardiff in January 2011. This is an open exhibition though exhibitors must be, or become, members of either the SBTD (Society of British Theatre Designers), ALD (Association of Lighting Designers) or STC (Society of Theatre Consultants) and the work exhibited must have been realised between 2007-2011.

This is a unique opportunity to take part in a celebration of UK design for performance over the past four years, and to be included in the accompanying catalogue. SBTD exhibition catalogues have long been recognised as a primary book for design reference and inspiration.

Please visit www.theatredesign.org.uk/exhibitions/ for more details including hanging fees, venue details and themes.

Closing date for submission of intent to exhibit forms - 30th April 2010.

www.theatredesign.org.uk



the catalogue cover of the last exhibition in Nottingham
showing designs for the period 2003 - 2007

SHAKESPEARE GLOBE PRESS RELEASE – 15 February 2010

WORLD PREMIERES

Published by: Tremayne

Shakespeare’s Globe and its 2010 theatre season host two world premieres, Howard Brenton’s new play – Anne Boleyn and Bedlam by first female playwright at the Globe, Nell Leyshon.

“…for years I’d wanted to write a tale about The Tudors.  …sex and religion at such a high level…”

(Howard Brenton).

Anne Boleyn is a dramatisation on aspects of her life and the legacy of her husband, Henry VIII,to whom she was second wife .  A sexually charged woman who took it upon herself to improve the state religion was in, and for the better.

“…anything Tudor-related is gold dust to us at the moment, think to T.V. adaptations…”

(Dominic Dromgoole – Globe Artistic Director).

Nell Leyshon’s writing is described by Dominic Dromgoole as ‘a still and beautiful incapsulation of that Somerset life that’s passing’.  Her new play Bedlam is a fictional take on a London hospital for the mentally insane and looks at the common link between art and insanity.

“…mental illness wasn’t understood, you were either high or low.”

(Nell Leyshon).

SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE 2010 THEATRE DIARY:

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

23 April – 27 June

Directed by Lucy Bailey

Henry VIII by William Shakespeare

15 May – 21 August

Directed by Mark Rosenblatt

Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 by William Shakespeare

Part 1: 6 June – 2 October

Part 2: 3 July  - 3 October

Directed by Dominic Dromgoole

WORLD PREMIERE

Anne Boleyn by Howard Brenton

24 July – 21 August

Directed by John Dove

The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare

14 August – 2 October

Directed by Christopher Luscombe

WORLD PREMIERE

Bedlam by Nell Leyshan

5 September – 1 October

Directed by Jessica Swale

Tickets are available through the box office:

020 7901 9919/020 7087 7398 or

Online: www.shakespeares-globe.org

Q&A SESSION

• The development of The Winter Theatre

“…we retain a shell.  We’ve built up an understanding of The Blackfriars, the indoor theatre in Shakespeare’s day, combined with some of our own designs…”

(Dominic Dromgoole)

•Writing for the Globe

“The Globe loves storytelling.  Being an experimental theatre, it is a psychological window where audience’s brains can open up”.

(Howard Brenton)

•Ticket prices

The Globe continue to sell stand-up tickets for just £5.

“We’ve got the most democratic mix of audience.  I doubt we’ll ever reach the equivalent to New York where a free theatre pass has been made available.

(Howard Brenton)

•Nell Leyshon – First Female Globe playwright

“I wanted to improve the complexity found within plays, which resulted in me writing harder.  For a penny, on a Sunday, during the 18^th century you could observe the mentally ill and poke them with a stick.  I didn’t want to write an historical account.  I wanted to have some fun and not be held by history”.

• Themes of the world premiere plays: religious turmoil from Howard Brenton vs. binge-dinking by Nell Leyshon:

“I’m very interested in religious conflicts.  You don’t set out to write a play with addressing the nation though.  Otherwise you’d go mad like Sir Bernard Shaw!”

(Howard Brenton)

“You couldn’t go to a West End Theatre for fear of being stabbed”, Nell Leyshon who makes a comparison between theatre back in the 18^th century and now.

•Sum-up by Artistic Director, Dominic Dromgoole

“The extraordinary story of the Globe goes on.  It’s little short of a miracle that it’s becoming reachable on your laptop from the top of The Himalayan Mountains”.

Shakespeare Globe Press Release – 15 February 2010

Published by: Tremayne

Shakespeare’s Globe presents plans for its 2010 theatre season: 23 April – 30 October 2010.

Shakespeare’s Globe on Film

Three productions from Shakespeare’s Globe 2009 theatre season have been filmed. Special attention was made to how they were cut and assembled together, so that they could be screened and released onto DVD and Blu-ray in time for this Spring/Summer.  All part of the Globe’s new partnership with Opus Arte.

Screenings of Dominic Dromgoole’s production of Romeo & Juliet will be shown at Odeon, Vue and other selected independent cinemas throughout the UK in February.  Further screenings scheduled internationally in the months to come.

CINEMA

                                    Odeon*                                    Vue**

Love’s Labours Lost    12 Apr at 19:00                       26 and 27 Apr

As You Like It              14 Jun at 19:00                       11 and 12 Oct

*Participating Odeon cinemas include: Blackpool, Colchester, Guildford, Harrogate, Kettering, Lincoln, Manchester, Metrocentre, Taunton, Tunbridge Wells, Wimbledon.

**Participating Vue Cinemas include: Blackburn, Camberley, Cambridge, Carlisle, Cheshire Oaks, Dublin, Edinburgh Omni, Harrow, Hull, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading, Southport, Watford, Worcester.

DVD AND BLU-RAY

Romeo & Juliet                       1 April 2010

As You Like It                          1 May 2010

Love’s Labours Lost                1 August 2010

SHAKESPEARE GLOBE PRESS RELEASE – 15 February 2010

Shakespeare’s Globe’s 2010 Theatre Season

Published by: Tremayne

There will be small scale regional tours of The Comedy of Errors and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which are scheduled to visit the UK and Europe.

Public booking opens on 15 February 2010.

Box office: 020 7401 9919 or visit the website www.shakespeares-globe.org

“There’s been a decline within other companies… …we’re managing to do without subsidies… …we won’t go into that!”

(Dominic Dromgoole)

This year’s theatre theme is Kings & Rogues, following the best box office year in 2009 where the highest attendance figures were held in the Globe’s 13 year history.

Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, described as ‘a waterfall of revelations’, to be shown ‘in isolation to detach from that long history cycle they’ve been attached to in the past.’

Lucy Bailey’s production of MacBeth will begin the theatre season, to be launched on Shakespeare’s birthday, 23 April.  This will star Elliot Couran who played in the Donmar’s award-winning A Streetcar Named Desire.

The Merry Wives of Windsor returns in 2010 after its triumph in 2008.  It echoes roots of a modern TV sitcom, including several the characters from Henry IV Parts 1 & 2.