AmericanTheaterWeb NewsClips

Daily Telegraph

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme at Hampstead Theatre review
This commendable revival of Frank McGuinness's play is held together by sensitivity and compassion.

Carrie's War at the Apollo Theatre review
Carrie's War is an affecting evocation of childhood's end.

The Guardian

Great stage roles for grandes dames
Bad mothers, crazed lovers, histrionic queens ... Eight classic characters, as played by Helen Mirren, Kathleen Turner, Jessica Lange and others

The best stage roles for older women Karen Fricker
As actors and critics bemoan the parts currently being written for theatre's grandes dames, let's celebrate classic characters from Bernarda Alba to Lady Bracknell

The Stage UK

Four sites join theatre 'at risk' list
Blackpool's Winter Gardens complex and the Brighton Hippodrome are among four new entries listed on a register of the top ten most endangered theatre buildings in the country.

Historic Manchester venue in line for return to live performance
Manchester's oldest surviving performance venue is to get a theatrical revival after 88 years of use as a cinema, bingo hall and nightclub, if proposals by the city's Library Theatre company are given the green light.

Medea/Medea, Gate, London
Following Chris Goode's radical reworking of Chekhov's Three Sisters at the Gate last year, Irish performance artist Dylan Tighe is the latest director to deconstruct a classic text under the aegis of Headlong Theatre and the Gate's New Directions scheme championing experimental approaches to classic plays

The Hypochondriac, Playhouse, Liverpool
Fresh on the coat-tails of Roger McGough's exquisite adaptation of Moliere's Tartuffe in 2008, without doubt a highlight of Liverpool's Capital of Culture year, the controversial French dramatist's work is being treated once more by Liverpool's foremost poet - and therein lies the problem. With Tartuffe being shown so recently and with it being so incredibly funny, it somewhat hinders this production, as it is virtually impossible not to draw comparisons between the two.

Londonist

Arts Ahead: What's On In London 24-30 June
...Be There First: London Shows Opening...

Whatsonstage.com

7/7 Play Pornography Receives London Premiere
Last August, Simon Stephens’ play about the London Tube bombings Pornography received its world premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe; this August, it comes “home” to the capital with a limited season from 4 to 29 August at the Tricycle...

Review: The Hypochondriac (Liverpool & tour)
This co-production of The Hypochondriac by Liverpool Playhouse and English Touring Theatre brings together a delightful concoction of outstanding performances, direction and adept adaptation. Scouse poet Roger McGough has adapted his second Moli&eg...

TV: WOS TV: Top Theatre Video Picks - 24 Jun 2009
The Whatsonstage.com Television channel is a rapidly expanding archive of theatre-related video content. We’re regularly adding show trailers, first night reports, event promos, interviews, video diaries, behind-the-scenes footage and other...

London Theatre Guide

First Night Feature: Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme
As troops fight on in Afghanistan, Hampstead theatre’s revival of Frank McGuinness’s 1986 play illuminates the futility of war with a portrayal of eight men being led to almost certain death in 1916.

Big Interview: Kacey Ainsworth
As she returns to the stage in Carrie’s War at the Apollo theatre, Kacey Ainsworth talks to Caroline Bishop about balancing her career with motherhood.

 

Daily Telegraph

Whispering Happiness at Tristan Bates Theatre review
Kenneth Emson's Whispering Happiness is thoughtprovoking but leaves the audience with a barrage of questions.

The Guardian

Adrian Jackson on the curious coincidences that inspired Mincemeat by Cardboard Citizens
Having remixed Pericles with help from real-life refugees, Adrian Jackson's theatre company is reviving a tale of coincidence from the second world war. He explains the project's peculiar history

Noises off: Does the artistic process inspire conflict or collaboration? Chris Wilkinson
In this week's blog round-up, theatre professionals discuss overcoming the challenges of working with others and the benefits of a creative team

The Independent

Private funeral for Danny La Rue
The funeral of female impersonator Danny La Rue, described as a "true showbusiness legend", has taken place.

The Stage UK

Exclusive: Live Nation's theatre empire up for sale
Live Nation, the UK's largest theatre operator, has put its entire stock of British theatrical venues up for sale, in a move which could see the biggest overhaul in UK theatre ownership in a decade

Focus: Live Nation
Michael Quinn takes a look at the company's history, its current situation and increasing interest in live music, plus the portfolio of UK theatres it is putting up for sale

Dublin's Abbey Theatre looks to make redundancies as recession bites
Negotiations on redundancies are under way at Ireland's national theatre, the Abbey, as funding cuts and the economic downturn force budgetary belt-tightening.

Scots government unveils £5m recession fund for arts
The Scottish government has announced details of a £5 million package of funds aimed at helping the arts and cultural sector through the current economic downturn

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Hampstead Theatre, London
Futility lies at the heart of Frank McGuinness' story of the 36th (Ulster) Division - a unit of Irish Loyalist First World War soldiers, who were generally members of the fledgling Ulster Volunteer Force.

Whatsonstage.com

Gossip: Live Nation Sale Shakes up Theatreland???
The theatrical landscape in the West End and beyond could soon witness a major overhaul if Live Nation succeeds in finding a suitable buyer for its UK theatre interests. According to the Stage newspaper, the global live entertainment group has ...

Review: Medea/Medea
The collaboration between the Gate and Rupert Goold’s Headlong Theatre is driving up an experimental cul de sac. I was interested but unimpressed by Chris Goode’s …Sisters last year, but Dylan Tighe’s Medea/Medea is an almost ...

Michael Coveney: Dancing on a television grave

Mark Thompson, the director general of the BBC, was quoted the other day as saying there were far more programmes on the arts these days than ever before, though you’d hardly have noticed.