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Post by Phantom of London on Mar 22, 2018 14:19:55 GMT
New Seasons include;
- The Village
- The Wolves (One I am interested in)
- The Unreturning
- King Hedley II
Joining already announced: Equus, Ballet Black and Sleeping Beauty.
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Post by TallPaul on Mar 22, 2018 14:21:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2018 14:40:58 GMT
^ Seen it? He’s playing the piano in Equus! Isn’t that right, tonyloco ?  |
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Post by TallPaul on Mar 22, 2018 14:59:45 GMT
I shall look forward to seeing the new avatar (another one)!!!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2018 15:27:11 GMT
I shall look forward to seeing the new avatar (another one)!!! ![]()  This one?  |
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Post by tonyloco on Mar 22, 2018 15:41:45 GMT
This one? I shall look forward to seeing the new avatar (another one)!!! ![]() This one? Good try, but those are not my mittens, and I will not be wearing any clothes! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2018 15:44:58 GMT
^ That will just Double the pleasure, double the fun...
(Is that still in the script? I know it was originally but did they update it for our Daniel?) |
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Post by n1david on Mar 22, 2018 15:51:11 GMT
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Post by tonyloco on Mar 22, 2018 16:16:48 GMT
In case anybody has not picked up the reference, my current avatar shows me sitting at the piano at the side of the stage of the theatre Royal, Stratford East, playing for one of the regular Sunday Night Variety Shows in the 1980s with Kate Williams on the stage hosting the show and Christine Pilgrim and Yvonne d'Alpra in the stalls playing theatre cleaners discussing the events of the day. As I was only an observer and never involved with the management of the theatre I'm not really the one to pick up this discussion about the future of the place or talk about what has been wrong with its recent past, but I can't help quoting from what the new director Nadia Fall has said about the history of the venue: "I’m trying to channel Joan Littlewood, because what she did was eclectic and for her popular was political. Her programming in the heyday of this theatre was classical work — Shaw, Shakespeare, the Greeks — done in new and inventive ways, which is what I want to do." Not really. Nadia has said that she doesn't care for musicals. She has closed down the theatre's existing programme to develop new local musicals and she has not scheduled a musical in her first season. But the fact is that the public did not flock to Stratford East to see Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop productions of Shaw, Shakespeare, the Greeks or even Brecht in the 1950s. What they flocked to see were bawdy musicals like "The Hostage", "Fings Ain't Wot They Used t'Be' and "Oh What a Lovely War", all of which transferred to the West End for long, successful and financially profitable runs. If the new director wants to emulate Joan Littlewoods's commercial success she can forget about Shakespeare, Shaw and the Greeks and look for a few more bawdy musicals! |
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Post by Jan on Mar 22, 2018 16:32:57 GMT
Historically programming Spanish Golden Age drama has been a sure-fire way to empty theatres so one wonders if it is a wise move
I last went to this venue 30 years ago and saw a brilliant production of Pericles, since then their programming hasn’t been for the likes of me, if she puts the classics back on the agenda I may return.
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Post by tonyloco on Mar 22, 2018 16:46:40 GMT
Historically programming Spanish Golden Age drama has been a sure-fire way to empty theatres so one wonders if it is a wise move I last went to this venue 30 years ago and saw a brilliant production of Pericles, since then their programming hasn’t been for the likes of me, if she puts the classics back on the agenda I may return. Good luck with that! Let's hope that the new director can make Stratford East the new 'go-to' cultural venue of choice for London theatregoers with her programme of classics done in new and inventive ways as well as serious modern drama because she is unlikely to attract the local audience, which is what I thought the Arts Council was anxious to protect with the emergency grant. |
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Post by Jan on Mar 22, 2018 16:57:47 GMT
Historically programming Spanish Golden Age drama has been a sure-fire way to empty theatres so one wonders if it is a wise move I last went to this venue 30 years ago and saw a brilliant production of Pericles, since then their programming hasn’t been for the likes of me, if she puts the classics back on the agenda I may return. Good luck with that! Let's hope that the new director can make Stratford East the new 'go-to' cultural venue of choice for London theatregoers with her programme of classics done in new and inventive ways as well as serious modern drama because she is unlikely to attract the local audience, which is what I thought the Arts Council was anxious to protect with the emergency grant. There isn’t a local audience. That’s the problem. She needs to attract a distant audience like me. |
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Post by jek on Mar 22, 2018 17:23:44 GMT
For us the appeal of Stratford East is that it is so close that we can hear the end of the Archers and still be in our seats for a 7.30 pm start. But there has been very little on in recent years to make me want to make even that limited effort - we are much more likely to be going in to the Picturehouse opposite for a live relay of a play. Looking at the new season there are a few things that might encourage me back. Shame about the lack of musicals though - the things we have enjoyed there are things like Glasgow Girls and The Infidel. There is a local audience for theatre - we're certainly not the only people on the train home to any of the Stratford stations (Stratford, Maryland or Stratford High Street) clutching programmes - but I suspect that they haven't been going to the Stratford East much.
I wonder what is happening with the archives. I've been on a couple of tours of them hosted by Murray Melvin. Perhaps they are going to be housed elsewhere.
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Post by tonyloco on Mar 22, 2018 22:22:52 GMT
I wonder what is happening with the archives. I've been on a couple of tours of them hosted by Murray Melvin. Perhaps they are going to be housed elsewhere. What makes you think the archive will not carry on as before, jek? Has some announcement been made about it being closed down or moved? The TRSE website currently shows Murray Melvin and his two assistants still on the staff. The archive is a source of income for the theatre because it supplies material to enquiries from all over the world at an appropriate charge. |
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Post by caa on Mar 22, 2018 22:43:07 GMT
Good luck with that! Let's hope that the new director can make Stratford East the new 'go-to' cultural venue of choice for London theatregoers with her programme of classics done in new and inventive ways as well as serious modern drama because she is unlikely to attract the local audience, which is what I thought the Arts Council was anxious to protect with the emergency grant. There isn’t a local audience. That’s the problem. She needs to attract a distant audience like me. I agree I have been there over the past few years and I'm not sure the programme is going to appeal to people that Nadia Fall is hoping to attract. Also in my opinion Stratford (and in particular where the Theatre is located) isn't the nicest part of London late at night and its a long way from where I live, so I'm afraid productions will need to be good to get me there. |
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Post by jek on Mar 22, 2018 22:43:40 GMT
tonyloco When I was on the last tour there was some mention of at least some of the material being moved - I think to the British Library - but I wasn't sure if this was specifically the oral history material that they had collected. As someone who has used a lot of archives as a doctoral and post doctoral researcher I love a small, quirky archive (I once spent the best part of a year researching the life and work of Montague Burton 'the tailor of taste' in a small archive in Leeds) but I know that there is a definite move to consolidating archives into bigger facilities. While I hope this doesn't happen at TRSE (I would miss seeing Murray Melvin around Stratford - as would my teen daughter who has never recovered from my making her sit through Barry Lyndon when it was on at Stratford Picturehouse!) but with all the changes that are clearly going on at TRSE I did wonder if the archive would be part of that wider reorganisation.
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Post by drmaplewood on Mar 23, 2018 12:15:57 GMT
Well, I live in Stratford so this announcement has got me very excited, my attendance has been sparse in recent years but this is the sort of programming to win me back.
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Post by tonyloco on Mar 23, 2018 12:26:43 GMT
When I was on the last tour there was some mention of at least some of the material being moved - I think to the British Library - but I wasn't sure if this was specifically the oral history material that they had collected. As someone who has used a lot of archives as a doctoral and post doctoral researcher I love a small, quirky archive (I once spent the best part of a year researching the life and work of Montague Burton 'the tailor of taste' in a small archive in Leeds) but I know that there is a definite move to consolidating archives into bigger facilities. While I hope this doesn't happen at TRSE (I would miss seeing Murray Melvin around Stratford - as would my teen daughter who has never recovered from my making her sit through Barry Lyndon when it was on at Stratford Picturehouse!) but with all the changes that are clearly going on at TRSE I did wonder if the archive would be part of that wider reorganisation. Oh, that's very interesting, jek. I am fascinated by what you say and I will make some further enquiries. The importance of archiving historical material of all kinds cannot be overemphasised and I love your story about studying the archives of Montague Burton and turning it to use for academic purposes. Has your thesis on MB been published? As you know, Murray Melvin has done an amazing job in bringing together a comprehensive archive of the entire history of the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, but in my view that particular archive will remain of maximum value while it stays independent and under the care of dedicated and knowledgeable archivists rather than disappear into a university library (possibly in the USA) or even go into the British Library, which can be something of a black hole! For instance, the British Library oral history interviews of major figures in the history of the record industry like Sir Joseph Lockwood and Sir George Martin, can only be accessed online by educational organisations while individuals such as myself have to visit the building to listen to them. OK, so I have to make a trip to King's Cross, but there are hours and hours of these things and I would much prefer to listen to them online since the facility is there and the widest accessibility should result from having them in the BL! I'm wandering as usual but I have the greatest interest in the TRSE for a variety of reasons and I am delighted to make contact with other habitués and sons of habitués of the venue. (Joke from lyrics of 'The Begat' from 'Finian's Rainbow'). |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 23, 2018 13:15:29 GMT
It’s not just plays I find musicals really struggle in the venue as well.
I hate the space. No intimacy.
I would move this thread through to General Section
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Post by tonyloco on Mar 23, 2018 20:15:26 GMT
When I was on the last tour there was some mention of at least some of the material being moved - I think to the British Library - but I wasn't sure if this was specifically the oral history material that they had collected. As someone who has used a lot of archives as a doctoral and post doctoral researcher I love a small, quirky archive (I once spent the best part of a year researching the life and work of Montague Burton 'the tailor of taste' in a small archive in Leeds) but I know that there is a definite move to consolidating archives into bigger facilities. While I hope this doesn't happen at TRSE (I would miss seeing Murray Melvin around Stratford - as would my teen daughter who has never recovered from my making her sit through Barry Lyndon when it was on at Stratford Picturehouse!) but with all the changes that are clearly going on at TRSE I did wonder if the archive would be part of that wider reorganisation. Yes, jek, you are right. I have just been in touch with a distinctly unhappy-sounding Murray Melvin who confirms that he will be staying at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, only until arrangements are completed for moving the archive into the British Library. I guess that will ensure the long-term preservation and survival of what is a very interesting collection, particularly as it relates to Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop, but part of me would like it to stay in the building at Stratford East to which it relates. I just hope it remains as accessible as it has been under Murray's dedicated guardianship. |
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Post by jek on Mar 23, 2018 22:52:44 GMT
tonyloco Oh that is a shame. Like the ravens leaving the tower. But at least the archives have been preserved. It's been good to see Wilton's Music Hall use of Heritage Lottery funding for their archives by providing so much of it online (https://www.wiltons.org.uk/heritage/archive and artsandculture.google.com/partner/wilton-s-music-hall) and it would be nice to see something similar for the TRSE. The research I did on Burton was done after my PhD on behalf of a professor at Leeds University. She, the sadly late Katrina Honeyman, published a book based on it - Well Suited: A History of the Leeds clothing industry 1850-1990. Love a bit of Finian's Rainbow. I suspect that I am not the only person of my age (mid 50s) who came to love Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg thanks to Sunday afternoon Benny Green radio programmes.
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Post by tonyloco on Mar 24, 2018 10:37:14 GMT
Love a bit of Finian's Rainbow. I suspect that I am not the only person of my age (mid 50s) who came to love Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg thanks to Sunday afternoon Benny Green radio programmes. I can't resist a tonyloco diversion here to comment on Benny Green's Sunday afternoon radio programmes. I loved what he played but sometimes disagreed (violently!) with his views. One opinion that I found particularly irritating was when he said that Charles Trenet's characterful recording of his own song 'La Mer' was no good and you had to listen to Bobby Darin to hear how it should be sung. Excuse me? But I never missed a broadcast! |
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Post by tmesis on Mar 24, 2018 11:44:10 GMT
Love a bit of Finian's Rainbow. I suspect that I am not the only person of my age (mid 50s) who came to love Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg thanks to Sunday afternoon Benny Green radio programmes. I can't resist a tonyloco diversion here to comment on Benny Green's Sunday afternoon radio programmes. I loved what he played but sometimes disagreed (violently!) with his views. One opinion that I found particularly irritating was when he said that Charles Trenet's characterful recording of his own song 'La Mer' was no good and you had to listen to Bobby Darin to hear how it should be sung. Excuse me? But I never missed a broadcast! Yes, I too was a great fan but didn't always agree with his opinions. I nearly always agreed with his opinions of songs but he was quite limited as to which performers he liked. Still, he did introduce me to singers I'd never heard of at the time like Michael Feinstein that I have since grown to love. |
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Post by tonyloco on Apr 22, 2018 12:37:33 GMT
I have now found the existing thread on the new season (and new Artistic Director) at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, so I am adding my latest post here to this thread although readers will have to wade through some of my diversions to get back to what was said about the new AD, Nadia Fall, and her policies. I hope members have seen this piece in The Stage about the recent history of the TRSE and what it has to say about the announcements made by the new Artistic Director: www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2018/theatre-royal-stratford-east-must-not-forget-its-pioneering-legacy/So far this posting elsewhere on the board has not elicited any comments so can I take it that everybody agrees totally with Mark Borkowski that the achievements of the TRSE in recent years under Philip Hedley and Kerry Michael should not be ignored or airbrushed away by the new management? |
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Post by dontdreamit on Apr 22, 2018 12:55:49 GMT
Good luck with that! Let's hope that the new director can make Stratford East the new 'go-to' cultural venue of choice for London theatregoers with her programme of classics done in new and inventive ways as well as serious modern drama because she is unlikely to attract the local audience, which is what I thought the Arts Council was anxious to protect with the emergency grant. There isn’t a local audience. That’s the problem. She needs to attract a distant audience like me. I’ve lived in east London for about 20 years and this would be my local theatre... and not once have I ever seen any publicity about it anywhere. In fact, I know more about what’s going on at the Hackney Empire than here. There is potentially a huge audience of locals who could be using this theatre but don’t. I often go by especially as I use the Picturehouse next door every couple of months, but there just seems to be very poor publicity for anything going on. |
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