UK Theatre Network is delighted to bring another one of our great competitions for theatre tickets, courtesy of the nice people at  Ambassadors Theatre Group.


GLASGOW

22nd November is the night when you and a friend have the chance to win two tickets to see Hormonal Housewives.  



To win, send an email to editor@uktheatre.net with 'Hormonal Housewives' in the subject and the answer to this question:

Which famous Scottish TV personality is starring in Hormonal Housewives ?


LONDON



The Rose Theatre in Kingston Upon Thames, have a family ticket (worth £70 - two adults, two children) to attend The Snow Queen for any of the following performances:  Fri 2 Dec 7pm, Sat 3 Dec 7pm,  Mon 5 Dec 7pm,  Tue 6 Dec 7pm,  Wed 7 Dec 7pm. 

Email editor@uktheatre.net with Snow Queen in the subject, and give the answer to the following question.

Who is the author of the classic fairy tale "The Snow Queen" ?

 
Standard competition rules apply. Judges decision is final. Both competitions close  on November 5th 2011. Entry to both competitions is free and the first winner to be picked at random from a list of correct emails, will win the prizes on offer. 

Click on our site for more details of these shows and others.  www.uktheatrenetwork.com 

Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award 2012

05 September 11

The Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award, created in honour of Mary Selway, honours a young actor or actress of any nationality who has demonstrated exceptional talent and ambition and begun to capture the imagination of the British public.

UK Film and Theatre Network are working with BAFTA and are looking for a film star in the making, whose first few film roles have shown real talent and potential. You’ll have seen them in one or two films this year, where they will have caught your eye with their scene-stealing performances, but they won’t yet be household names.

They must have appeared in an awards-eligible film released during the current BAFTA awards year: 1 January to 31 December 2011

As a BAFTA Member, I'll be submitting a final recommendation and will consider your suggestions. Please send your suggestions to: editor@uktheatre.net before Thursday 22 September.

Full eligibility criteria

The Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award honours a young actor or actress of any nationality who has demonstrated exceptional talent and ambition and begun to capture the imagination of the British public as a film star in the making.

Nominees must have appeared in a film released during the current BAFTA awards year: 1 January to 31 December 2011.

The eight longlisted actors and actresses will usually have several film performances under their belt, in addition to one in the current year. Although this award is designed to encourage actors at the beginning rather than the end of their careers, it is not intended as a true ‘beginner’s award’, nor is it intended to be for child actors (those longlisted will usually be aged between 18 and 32). In exceptional circumstances, a star-making debut will be considered, but this will be the exception rather than the norm.


Douglas McFarlane
UK Film Network

To Wit: To Woo, Lessons in Love from William Shakespeare                         at The Jazz Cafe, Newcastle upon Tyne

With the Royal Shakespeare Company not returning to Newcastle this autumn and the August Customs House Bard in the Park production in South Shields unable to find funding, Pink Lane Poetry and Performance, based in the Jazz Café in Newcastle’s Pink Lane, decided there is a gap that needs to be filled.  Tyne and Wear needs a Shakespeare performance!

So Pink Lane, in association with KG Productions, has created the Loyal Shakespeare Company which will present To Wit: To Woo, Lessons in Love from William Shakespeare, at the Jazz Café on 16^th and 17^th September.

This series of extacts from Shakespeare plays, devised and directed by KG Productions’ artistic director and director of the Bard in the Park productions Peter Lathan, features some of the region’s leading actors performing a variety of love scenes from As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and, of course, Romeo and Juliet, along with some of the sonnets.

The cast is Neil Armstrong, Iain Cunningham, Christina Dawson, Jill Dellow, Jessica Johnson, Alex Kinsey, Steven Stobbs and Rachel Teate, who between them play 18 parts, along with jazz singer Grace Ellen. 

 

Listing Information

Dates:  Friday 16^th and Saturday 17^th September, 2011

Time:   7.30 (doors open 7.00)

Venue: The Jazz Café, Pink Lane, Newcastle

Price:   £5 at the door

                     

Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story

VIP CHARITY LUNCH

By the time of her death, Eva Cassidy was unknown outside Washington but, within four years, Terry Wogan discovered and promoted her haunting interpretation of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ to the top of the chart. The life of this wonderfully talented and spiritual song stylist was, tragically, cut short at the premature age of 33 years as a result of skin cancer.

To coincide with the seventh sensational UK tour of the award-winning and compelling musical, Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story, which journeys through Eva’ s life, Franco’s Terrace Bar & Restaurant in association with Theatre Productions Limited are delighted to announce that they will be holding an exclusive VIP Charity Lunch to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The event is to take place on Wednesday 12^th October from 12 noon until 2.30pm. Upon arrival, guests will be greeted with a complimentary glass of bubbly. In addition to enjoying a two course Italian meal of the finest quality, followed by coffee and mints, in the resplendent surroundings of Franco’s - with its glamorous chandeliers, candlelit tables, Italian baroque furniture, and Swarovski crystal studded seating - guests will also be treated to an afternoon of fantastic entertainment, compèred by the North East’s very own Steve Walls, an entertainer who has made a huge impact in his native region, and much further afield, and is now widely regarded as one of the UK’s top compères.

The stars of Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story will also be attending and guests will have an opportunity to meet and mingle with Sarah Jane Buckley (Hollyoaks) who leads the cast as Eva Cassidy, Maureen Nolan (The Naked Truth, Blood Brothers and The Nolans) who takes on the role of Barbara Cassidy, Strictly Come Dancing sensation Brian Fortuna, who will be making his eagerly-anticipated acting debut as Danny Cassidy and other members of the company. Sarah Jane Buckley will also give an exclusive live performance of some of Eva Cassidy’s best-loved numbers.

A charity raffle will also be drawn and guests will have the chance to win fabulous prizes from a selection of luxury goods which have kindly been donated by a number of companies including Clay’s Garden Centre and Villeroy & Boch.

As if all that were not enough, the VIP Charity Lunch price also includes a ticket to see that evening’s performance of Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story at The Playhouse, Whitley Bay, at 7.30pm.

Judith Graziani of Franco’s Terrace Bar & Restaurant said: “Few of us go through life without being touched by cancer in some way and it is vital that we support charities such as Macmillan Cancer Care. This fantastic Over The Rainbow VIP Charity Lunch is a very worthwhile way of continuing our ongoing commitment to holding charity events here at Franco’s.”

Stephen Leatherland, the producer and director of Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story, added: “The show is intended to be a truthful, heartfelt tribute to Eva’s life and talents and this VIP Charity Lunch is also a wonderful way of raising money for such a worthy cause.”

Tickets for this unmissable event are priced at only £25 per person, which includes a donation of £5 to Macmillan Cancer Support. Places are strictly limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. All tickets must be purchased in advance, as there will be no provision to purchase on the door.

For further information or to make a booking, please contact Steve Burbridge, Press & Marketing Officer for Theatre Productions Ltd on 07986 142 281 or e-mail steveburbridge@blueyonder.co.uk 

 

New opportunities for emerging Scottish Playwrights

A new mentoring and development programme for emerging playwrights is announced today. Edinburgh-based theatre production company Siege Perilous is introducing the scheme in conjunction with its inaugural Writer-in-Residence Caroline Dunford.

The aim of the ‘Playwrights’ Development Programme’ is to help aspiring playwrights develop their writing skills. Up to six playwrights will be chosen for the programme. Playwrights will be invited to submit a single script or work-in-progress which will be used to determine the final selections. At the end of the programme, the developed work will be workshopped with the production company and a team of professional actors. There is the further possibility that a script will go into a full production.

“We are so pleased that someone of Caroline’s experience has agreed to become our first Writer-in-Residence and that she is so enthusiastic about this new initiative” said Siege Perilous General Manager Tina Finch.

Caroline commented that “There are a number of excellent mentoring programmes available but it is extremely rare to find one that offers such richness of support. Not only does the playwright get direct one-to-one mentoring with me rather than email exchanges, they also get feedback about staging the work and practicalities from an experienced Director and Producer.”

The Company is committed to running the programme for an initial 3-year period subject to evaluations from the first cohort of playwrights in this first year, and funding.

The programme to be operated in Edinburgh will be open for submissions for a 2-week period from 12^th September, and any Scotland-based playwright will be eligible to apply. The playwright does not have to have been previously produced, but the work they submit should not have been professionally performed nor used as part of another mentoring scheme. Full details of the programme can be found at www.siegeperilous.co.uk.

His rich theatre reviews of productions in North East England are regularly read by more than 10,000 people each week here at UK Theatre Network, but soon Steve Burbridge will be trading his role of critic for that of playwright as his debut play, Dying for Fame, is set to take to the stage of theatres across the country early next year. He took time out to chat to UK Theatre Network’s founder and editor, Douglas McFarlane.

 

Having just graduated from the University of Sunderland with a first-class honours degree in Media, Culture and Communication and a nomination for the Best Theoretical Dissertation Award, Steve Burbridge currently has a lot to be pleased about.

In addition to that, he is also looking forward to his first play embarking upon a professional national tour early next year.

‘It’s a really exciting time for me at the moment,’ says Steve. ‘Everything just seems to have come together at once and I’m having a ball!’

The 38-year-old, from Newcastle upon Tyne, joined UK Theatre Network in May 2008 and, as Regional Moderator for the North East, he has been instrumental in extending our portfolio and fostering relationships with theatres, production companies and other organisations within the arts and entertainment infrastructure of his geographical ‘patch.’

‘I love being a part of the team at UK Theatre Network,’ he admits. ‘The entire concept of the website and its values sit very comfortably with my own passion for extolling the virtues of the diversity and vibrancy of culture that my home region has to offer. Obviously, our profile may not be as high as London, Edinburgh or Manchester but I do think the North East of England has a lot to be extremely proud of. We have some beautiful theatres – both old and new – and a veritable smӧrgåsbord of talent.’

Steve’s dedication to promoting culture and the arts has seen him become one of our most prolific bloggers. His occasional ‘In Conversation With . . .’ features have also proved to be popular with readers and he has bagged interviews with performers including Su Pollard, Bernie Nolan and Jane McDonald to name a few.

‘There are so many great aspects to my role at UK Theatre Network – I get to see a vast array of productions and meet some truly talented people,’ he enthuses.

That said, Steve has never been one for holding back if he feels a performance or production isn’t up to standard.

‘By virtue of my position, I feel obliged to write a frank and honest critique. Going to the theatre can often be quite a costly affair when travel expenses, a meal, drinks and a programme are factored into the equasion and if people choose to see a show, based upon one of my reviews, I like to think I provided them with the information they required to make an informed choice.’

He admits, though, that occasionally his opinions have caused controversy.

‘I have had some instances whereby my reviews have attracted a level of criticism, without a doubt. You have to take it on the chin and accept that one man’s meat is another man’s poison. I suppose people are equally entitled to their opinions as I am to mine.’

So, then, isn’t it a risky proposition for a reviewer to become a playwright?

‘This question caught me by surprise in a previous interview, and I’ve considered it quite carefully since then,’ he says. ‘But I am not beginning a precedent, it has been done before. Again, people are entitled to their own views and I have to respect that. It may seem like a golden opportunity for those who feel wronged to wreak their revenge but, in all honesty, there’s nothing I can do about it if they do. I’d like to think that other reviewers will adopt the same standards of professionalism that we at UK Theatre Network adhere to.’

The play, Dying for Fame, is a taut psychological thriller, with elements of high camp and comedy, that contains a combustive mix of characters and explores the fascinating cult of celebrity; the fickleness of fame, the contradictions between the fear of being stalked and the desire for notoriety, and using and being used by the media.

‘I find society’s relentless obsession with the rich and famous fascinating, to be honest. So, it seemed perfect to explore the subject within the context of a good old-fashioned ‘whodunit’, which is one of my favourite genres of theatre.’

The play is to be staged by Stephen Leatherland and his team at Theatre Productions Limited, one of the UK’s leading production companies.

‘I am thrilled to be working with such a brilliant practitioner,’ says Steve. ‘Not only is Stephen a well-respected producer and director, he is also an accomplished actor and he has performed in a number of hit West End productions. Therefore, he has a level of knowledge and experience that is second to none.’

Although the planning and preparations for the forthcoming tour are still only in the early stages, Steve is extremely pleased with the way things have progressed so far and is as optimistic about the months ahead.

‘I feel that my play is in the safest hands possible. Stephen and I seem to understand each other really well and our views about how the play should develop and progress are totally compatible. There’s lots to do over the coming months – script development, auditions, casting sessions, rehearsals, etc – but I am centrally involved, which is very reassuring, and I am looking forward to experiencing each individual aspect. The biggest buzz for me, though, will probably be opening night – regardless of what the critics might make of it!’

For more information on ‘Dying for Fame’ visit www.theatre-productions.com

 

 Theatre Productions Limited is proud to announce the seventh sensational UK tour of Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story. Since its first performance in 2004, this compelling musical play has received rapturous receptions and inspired cathartic outpourings of emotion.

 This is the poignant and moving story of Washington-born singer Eva Cassidy. By the time of her death, she was unknown outside Washington but within four years Terry Wogan discovered and promoted her haunting interpretation of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ to the top of the chart.

 This  sad but uplifting musical play journeys through her life, from her idyllic childhood growing up in a musical family, to her studio work with boyfriend and mentor Chris Biondo; to the exuberant live recording of Blues Alley and finally to her tragically premature death at the age of only 33 years.

 Featuring a truly talented all-star cast of performers and musicians, Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story is an award-winning musical that captures the qualities of this wonderfully talented and spiritual song stylist. Not since Blood Brothers has a musical received such an emotional response, with sell-out performances and standing ovations throughout the UK and Ireland.

 Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story has already wowed audiences all over Europe and includes more than 27 of her best-loved songs, recreated by a multi-talented cast of West End performers, including unforgettable classics such as Fields of Gold, Songbird, Autumn Leaves, Kathy’s Song and many more.

 SARAH JANE BUCKLEY (Hollyoaks) stars as Eva Cassidy, whilst MAUREEN NOLAN (Blood Brothers; The Nolans) takes on the role of Barbara Cassidy, Eva’s mother, and BRIAN FORTUNA (Strictly Come Dancing) makes his eagerly anticipated acting debut as Danny Cassidy, Eva’s brother. Accomplished West End actor ROBERT GROSE (The Lion King; Starlight Express & Five Guys Named Moe) plays larger-than-life legend, Chuck Brown.

 More than a musical life-story, Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story is a show for anyone who has lost someone they love. A thoroughly entertaining and a truly memorable experience.

 For full tour details, including dates and venues, visit the website at www.theatre-productions.com .

 What the press say:

 “An unmissable evening for Eva’s fans” - Peterborough Evening Telegraph

 “Cassidy’s final public performance closed with What a Wonderful World as did this tribute and though infused with lyrics of optimism, tears flowed throughout the auditorium. Thus, demonstrating live theatre is most powerful when it has the ability to reach out and touch the heart of its audience” - Grimsby Telegraph

 “Simply wonderful . . . a beautiful show” – Northern Chronicle

 “Spontaneous standing ovation for Eva Cassidy musical” – Waterford News

 “Fantastic performances all round” – Hull Daily Mail

 

Theatre Alba is 30...

This award-winning professional Scottish company has been bringing innovative drama to the Edinburgh Festival and beyond since 1981. Its focus was initially on the Scots tongue, with the play list including The Burning, The Wallace, The Shepherd Beguiled, The Bruce, The Lass Wi’ The Muckle Mou, The Death of Arthur and, of course, the famous The Puddok an the Princess. The Thrie Sisters and Macbeth were also “rendered intae Scots”.

More recently, however, Shakespeare has been left as originally written in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew and The Tempest, and audiences have enjoyed other English classics such as St Joan and A Man for All Seasons. The gardens of Duddingston Kirk Manse have provided the picturesque backdrop to our performances, and indeed were described by The Scotsman as “probably the most beautiful venue in Edinburgh”. 

Chekhov is one of director Charles Nowosielski’s literary heroes, and last year the company performed an adaptation (by Scots playwright Jo Clifford) of The Seagull. With a real loch shimmering behind the “stage”, seldom can an audience have felt the presence of the play’s ever-present but non-speaking character more strongly.

It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Chekhov is the focus of the company’s 2011 ambitious Fringe programme:

·           From 2 to 6 August, five lunchtime performances of The Good Doctor, Neil Simon’s series of tragi-comedic vignettes based on a number of the short stories that first brought Chekhov to prominence;

·           From 9 to 13 and 16 to 20 August, two one-act plays - The Bear and Smoking is Bad For You - for the late afternoon; and

·           From 10 to 14, 17 to 21 and 24 to 28 August, Chekhov’s famous last play, The Cherry Orchard, once again adapted by Jo Clifford and with original music. The production will last two hours with one interval.

The Russian theme continues with the children’s show that, thanks to the writing and directing talent of Clunie Mackenzie, is now as essential a part of the summer programme as the evening plays. Baba Yaga is coming to get you – each and every day between 1 and 14 August!

As is well known, live music has always featured in Alba’s productions. More often than not composed by Richard Cherns, sometime keyboard player with Runrig, haunting melodies capture the intensity of many a dramatic moment.

For more information contact Charles Nowosielski on 07940 498311, email chanalba@hotmail.co.uk or visit www.theatrealba.com

For tickets, contact the Fringe Box Office on 0131 226 0000. Admission to all plays is also available at the door – Duddingston Kirk Manse Gardens, Old Church Lane, Duddingston Village (Venue 121).