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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 23, 2022 18:48:18 GMT
Just to bring you back, you wrote that specifically Featherstone and staff at The Royal Court reject forms of diversity. In relation to your post, if I have something constructive to respond with, I will. That’s my personal experience of the meetings I’ve had with Vicky, and my experience of having worked at the RC. Obviously I’m not going to go into detail as to the specifics of those meetings.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 23, 2022 15:24:45 GMT
It’s really an industry wide problem that diversity is framed in terms of what’s trendy and without looking at what barriers exist.
Right now a ton of lower level support is being thrown at queer and trans artists (Vault Festival is being criticised for programming a million queer shows but few non-white artists), but the only LGBTQ shows that get mainstream programming tend to be about white cis-gay men, in plays that tell very traditional and cliched narratives.
Minorities that aren’t considered “trendy” don’t get a look in. Theatre is still very hostile towards disabled writers, for example (the only recent disabled play in a mainstream venue I can think of is Amy Trig’s play, which is great but an autobiographical one-woman play performed by the writer). Class is often ignored too. The Court’s treatment of Jewish writers this year has been really bad. They could have found an easy win in programming an actual play by a Jewish playwright but instead commissioned a journalist and non-playwright to put together a verbatim devised piece.
A lot of smaller venues are programming more artists and writers of colour, which is great, but it’s almost always young black and brown writers from middle class, university-educated backgrounds, usually (not always, and not in this case, but usually) relegated to studio spaces, nearly always autobiographical or whatever trauma cliche is associated with that minority, and often rigid in what kind of stories they’re allowed to tell.
I know one theatre who recently commissioned a writer to write a play about knife crime in Lewisham, and an experienced playwright who was actually from Lewisham and grew up homeless and involved in gangs and knife crime pitched for it, but was white and the theatre couldn’t wrap their heads around a white person knowing about gangs, so they gave the commission to a young black writer who’d grown up in the middle of the Cotswolds and had just graduated from Cambridge. I don’t want to see what someone from the Cotswolds thinks about knife crime in South London. I want to see a play about what it’s like growing up black in the English countryside. Or a play from a black writer about any topic of their choosing.
I know another award-winning black playwright who was regularly asked for meetings by a major theatre, who turned down all her ideas and plays. Finally she asked, “what do you want from me, why do you keep asking to read my work but never say yes” and the LM said flat out, “Write the knife crime play and we’ll put it on.”
There’s a real problem in the assumption black writers can only write the knife crime play, LGBTQ writers can only write the Coming Out play or the AIDS play, Northern Irish writers can only write the Troubles play, Iraqi writers can only write the Iraq War play. There’s often the assumption too that minorities can only write autobiographically, and in a way that exploits and requires them to reveal significant information about their private lives and personal trauma.
If any of those writers wanted to write a purely fictional (or research-based) play about 1970s British politics, or mid-20th C painters, or the state of the railways, or a sci-fi play set on a spaceship, would anyone be interested? Would any theatre even give it consideration?
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 23, 2022 12:47:02 GMT
They push diversity in certain aspects but not in others. They are very very selective in what forms of “diversity” are acceptable.
They also seem to hold an attitude which is an industry-wide problem, of assuming that regular straight plays are inherently the preserve of white men, and that anyone “diverse” can only do avant garde fringe festival type stuff.
I’ve read so many incredible plays - plays you’d swear David Hare or James Graham penned - properly structured “well made plays” - that theatres just won’t engage with because of this attitude that “diverse writers” should be making radical work and pushing boundaries in a way “non diverse” writers are not expected to do.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 18, 2022 9:23:23 GMT
A lot of the information here is not quite correct. Of course sometimes unexpected things happen and choices have to be made.
But remember things are often planned months or even years ahead of being announced to the public. Best of Enemies booked its West End transfer before the original run was over, but didn’t announce it for six months.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 16, 2022 10:55:02 GMT
The whole industry reads this forum - from producers casting directors to agents. It’s free feedback that would cost thousands normally Do they? No. But some (many?) do. Maybe business people do, I don’t know. Creatives are more likely to avoid reading stuff online. They’ve had the feedback about the bows directly. This forum isn’t the only place pointing that out.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 8, 2022 12:45:03 GMT
This is a great play but those prices are stupid. I’ve seen this play probably two or three times over the past few years, done either by am dram or fringe companies. It’s not the kind of play that needs a West End run.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 8, 2022 12:43:39 GMT
How does a first time playwright (okay she’s written one play before but it doesn’t appear to have ever been staged) get a major gig like this?
I’m all for opportunities for new writers, but putting someone completely inexperienced straight into the West End with a play not of her own creation feels like a fail all round.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 7, 2022 15:00:07 GMT
Eileen Atkins is still attached IIRC, I assume it'll go to somewhere like Bath rather than a London venue. Sorry to name drop but my team had a conversation with Eileen very recently because we’re trying to get her for a different production, and she’s still attached to 4000 Miles which is in talks with another venue.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 7, 2022 14:57:30 GMT
The easiest thing is if theatres just put wheelchair spaces at the front, which okay is a challenge with older theatres, but in cases like the Bridge that was custom built as new yet the wheelchair spaces are right at the back in the circle, it’s just not good enough.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 4, 2022 12:09:00 GMT
Headlong and Paines Plough have had to relocate to continue to receive funding.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 3, 2022 10:10:37 GMT
Shame I missed this. Wonder if they’ll do it again.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 2, 2022 13:14:50 GMT
Ooh front row side only £18.50!
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 2, 2022 12:57:31 GMT
And people die, covid gets in the way, cast members get fired or get pregnant. Things can get in the way for even booked transfers! London could get wiped out by a meteor tomorrow. (But we’d still be arguing about which of our new mutated cockroach overlords gave the best Hamlet or something.) Tammy Faye rests so heavily on Katie’s performance I’m sure they would postpone if anything happened to her. So fair point. Anyone else I think would likely be re-cast.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 2, 2022 11:56:07 GMT
Hampstead lost their literary manager quite abruptly, I’m not sure if they’ve hired a new one yet.
Edit - looks like they’ve combined the literary department and participation department into one role.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 2, 2022 11:54:07 GMT
Interesting. I didn’t love Magic Goes Wrong as much as most of their work but Mind Mangler was the funniest character. Will give this a punt when it comes to Wimbledon.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 2, 2022 11:50:06 GMT
Agreed. I still have a credit note from 2020. Just nothing that really appeals.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 2, 2022 11:28:59 GMT
Honestly I’ve said this about six times, do people not believe me or am I just invisible? I’ve been posting about this production for years. Do you believe everything you read on the internet? I make my own mind up about whether someone is legit or not based on their posting history. Surely that’s what most people do? I’ve been a frequent poster here since 2017 and have given insider info (that has later been confirmed) tons of times about various different shows I’ve worked on, or other industry gossip. How many times over the years have I been the one to break the news about some show or casting? Most recently I shared that the NT were doing Othello this winter, before it was announced. I’ve been posting about this show for a long time (look at page 1 of this thread), obviously I’ve been careful what I post and what I don’t post but this show is important to me.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 2, 2022 10:31:25 GMT
I’m not involved in the decision when to announce.
But personally, and this isn’t based on anything except my own opinion, if I was promoting a show that had people lining up for returns every night, I’d want to encourage them to keep doing that and not go “oh I won’t bother I’ll see it in the West End” and ramp up the anticipation as much as possible. But I don’t work in marketing so I don’t know.
They may also want to tie the announcement with the release of the cast recording.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 2, 2022 10:21:33 GMT
Not “trying.” The show was created for the West End and was originally contracted to open at the West End theatre, but when RG got involved he requested a run at the Almeida first.
The West End run has been arranged literally for several years.
It’s not a case of “now the show’s a hit let’s try to arrange a transfer.” (Which honestly doesn’t happen much, except in genuine surprise hits like Six or Pride and Prejudice Sort Of.)
Honestly I’ve said this about six times, do people not believe me or am I just invisible? I’ve been posting about this production for years.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 1, 2022 15:03:52 GMT
2 new swings have been announced. Strange thing to do with 4 weeks left. Is this them getting 'west end ready"? It’s because of Covid cases in the cast.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Oct 31, 2022 13:36:32 GMT
Well, the Sunday papers seem to have confounded the right-wing/left-wing theory of reviewer responses: Quentin Letts gave it 4 stars in The Sunday Time and Susannah Clapp gave it 3 in The Observer. Clapp compared it unfavourable to Jerry Springer: The Opera. Not the only critic to do so. I am not sure why - given James Graham’s always humanising approach - but some people seem to have expected a biting satire. They must be very disappointed with the lukewarm reviews for this - no real raves to pin on the proposed transfer. I wouldn’t call the reviews “lukewarm”, and it would take universally damning reviews and probably poor ticket sales too for the company to cancel a transfer. Ticket sales and audience feedback / word of mouth are just as if not more important than reviews. Besides no one wants to cancel a transfer unless they have to because they’d have to find something to put in its place at relatively short notice.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Oct 30, 2022 12:13:00 GMT
James Franco was in. He got “cancelled” (for sexually harassing and assaulting a large number of women and teenage girls) but dunno if he’s A list?
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Oct 27, 2022 15:32:06 GMT
I thought it was a load of camp old tomfoolery! (I haven’t seen it) [Insert Saturday Night Live "Accurate" gif here]
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Oct 27, 2022 10:58:40 GMT
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Oct 27, 2022 9:20:06 GMT
Comments I’ve seen elsewhere online seem to imply the NY Post reviewer is not noted for his warmth and open mind towards new shows.
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