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News: NT Public Acts reveal We Begin Again

Written by the Olivier award winner James Graham and produced by the Guardian in partnership with the National Theatre, this short musical film is a unifying song for the country to take stock of the extraordinary year gone by and reset for the year ahead.

 

A multi-generational cast reflects on their lives and the impact 2020 has had on them, while a supporting company of 100 community members from the National Theatre’s Public Acts programme in Doncaster and London sings a hopeful chorus encouraging everyone to ‘begin again’. Filmed on location and remotely, this online musical is a clear product of these unique times

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Charity singles galore

A trio of charity singles supporting some great causes over Christmas

Martin Dickinson is releasing a cover of ‘You Raise Me Up’  as a charity single for Shooting Star Children’s Hospice. The track is released on Friday 11th December and features an introduction from the marvellous Brenda Edwards and a choir featuring Kimberley Ensor, Charlotte O’Rourke, Louise Young, Jordan Lee Davies and Danny Whitehead.

Two versions of the single will be available – a full version/radio edit and a music video will arrive on streaming platforms including iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.

West End star Alice Fearn, Britain’s Got Talent winner Jai McDowell, performers and musicians from London’s musical theatre scene have come together to release a Christmas Charity single to generate awareness of heart failure, along with raising funds for the Pumping Marvellous Foundation, the UK’s only patient-led heart failure charity.

‘Music will live in our Hearts’ was written by award-winning musical theatre composer and songwriter Pippa Cleary (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾), lyrics by Mark Nathan, and a choir of West End performersand musicians who donated their time to appear on the single, including Flora Spencer-Longhurst, Laura Barnard, Lee Van Geeleen, Adam Hepworth, Sam Oladeinde, Stephenson Ardern-Sodje, Meesha Turner, Natalie Dunne, Nick Lautman and Ellie Ann Lowe.

You can find at the links below: Amazon Music – https://amzn.to/36PppGi; iTunes – https://apple.co/39MiLT3; Spotify – https://spoti.fi/39JviGZ; and YouTube – https://youtu.be/bFOzpn1LqKk.

And last but by no means least, ‘Christmas Again’ is a new song written by Anna Hale, Joe McNeice and Matthew Spalding and from which all profits will go to Theatre Support Fund+ and will then be distributed to Acting For Others, The Fleabag Support Fund and the NHS COVID-19 Urgent Appeal.

The track features, Mark Anderson, Marc Antolin, Luke Bayer, Tracie Bennett, Norman Bowman, Alex Cardall, Oscar Conlon-Morrey, Matthew Croke, Adam Davidson, Janie Dee, Alice Fearn, Tyrone Huntley, Rachel John, Ryan Kopel, Rebecca Lock, Jack Loxton, Robert Madge, Rebecca McKinnis, Claire Moore, Martha Pothen, Joanna Riding, Clive Rowe, Savannah Stevenson, Noah Thomas, Harriet Thorpe, Sally Ann Triplett and Lauren Ward.

You can buy the song via Apple Music and iTunes, and stream it via Spotify.

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News: Dear Audience coffee table book announced

If you’re still writing your lists for Santa, then Dear Audience could be just what you’re looking for. A theatrical coffee table book filled with over 140 pages showcasing the Arts industry, with exclusive imagery, personalised letters to audiences and much more besides.

There’s a veritable who’s who of stage folk involved, from Sally Ann Triplett, Michael Xavier and Frances Rufelle to Oliver Tompsett, Linzi Hateley and Andy Coxon, and the book has been put together by Sophie Ross and Danny Kaan’s Digi Creative. Pre-orders can be made now and are guaranteed for Christmas delivery.

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News: Hiba Elchikhe launches Out Of The Darkness, Into The Spotlight

In collaboration with Nimax and The Theatre Café, West End performer Hiba Elchikhe is thrilled to announce a brand-new musical theatre based web series: Out Of The Darkness, Into The Spotlight.

Bringing a little bit of glitter to the grey, this three-episode series hopes to not only entertain, but shine a light on the performers who are keeping the West End alive, even during lockdown.  Continue reading “News: Hiba Elchikhe launches Out Of The Darkness, Into The Spotlight”

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Winners of the 2020 Black British Theatre Awards

BEST DIRECTOR AWARD FOR A PLAY OR MUSICAL
Clint Dyer, Death of England, National Theatre
Nadia Latif, Fairview, Young Vic Theatre – WINNER
Ola Ince, Appropriate, Donmar Warehouse
Roy Alexander Weise, Master Harold &… and the boys, National Theatre

BEST PRODUCER AWARD
Adrian Grant, Thriller Live, Lyric Theatre – WINNER
Nicole Raquel Dennis and Ryan Carter, Turn Up, Cadogan Hall
Tobi Kyeremateng, My White Best Friend (and Other Letters Left Unsaid), Royal Court
Theatre Continue reading “Winners of the 2020 Black British Theatre Awards”

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News: Friday theatre update from the National Theatre, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Roles We’ll Never Play

Friday theatre news from the National Theatre, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Roles We’ll Never Play

In a canny move, the National Theatre is bringing panto to its main stage as Jude Christian and Cariad Lloyd’s hilarious and heartfelt version of Dick Whittington, first staged at Lyric Hammersmith in 2018 and freshly updated for 2020, will open in the socially distanced Olivier theatre on 11th December.  

Directed by Ned Bennett, this wild and inventive production explores what it is like to come from a small town and arrive in a big city today, exploring the ideas of community and togetherness. Initial casting includes Dickie Beau, Amy Booth-Steel, Lawrence Hodgson-Mullings​, Georgina Onuorah, and Cleve September.  

They have also announced the next show to open as part of the Olivier in-the-round season in February 2021 is Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, in a co-production with Fictionhouse. Directed by Dominic Cooke, Kramer’s largely autobiographical play about the AIDS crisis in 1980 New York has not been performed professionally in London since its European premiere in 1986. Ben Daniels will perform the role of Ned Weeks, the co-founder of an AIDS advocacy group fighting to change the world around him, with Danny Lee Wynter as Tommy Boatwright, Daniel Monks as Mickey Marcus and Stanley Townsend as Ben Weeks. Vicki Mortimer is Set Designer and Paule Constable is Lighting Designer.  

Tickets for The Normal Heart will go on sale from the end of November.  Continue reading “News: Friday theatre update from the National Theatre, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Roles We’ll Never Play”

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Nominations for the 2020 Black British Theatre Awards

BEST DIRECTOR AWARD FOR A PLAY OR MUSICAL
Clint Dyer, Death of England, National Theatre
Nadia Latif, Fairview, Young Vic Theatre
Ola Ince, Appropriate, Donmar Warehouse
Roy Alexander Weise, Master Harold &… and the boys, National Theatre

BEST PRODUCER AWARD
Adrian Grant, Thriller Live, Lyric Theatre
Nicole Raquel Dennis and Ryan Carter, Turn Up, Cadogan Hall
Tobi Kyeremateng, My White Best Friend (and Other Letters Left Unsaid), Royal Court
Theatre Continue reading “Nominations for the 2020 Black British Theatre Awards”

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News: #AllTheWebsAStage details announced

All the Web’s a Stageis a streaming initiative consisting of 12 marvellous jam-packed hours of all your favourite performers from the West End and theatre to comedy, drag and magic!

It’s fitting that the free livestream will be held on Thursday 23 April, Shakespeare’s birthday and the date that theatres began their process of restoration after strict censorship in 1661, the last time British theatres were ordered to close for a prolonged period. 

The livestream is raising money for our artistic comrades who have been severely impacted by Covid-19. Whilst we appreciate the government’s initiatives, and the support made available for many self-employed workers, there are still many freelance artists who fall through the cracks of these new government programs. As a result, thousands of artists who are now unable to earn an income are facing the coronavirus crisis with no available financial support.

You can watch the livestream on the Theatre Together website or on the Theatre Together Facebook page this Thursday from midday. Continue reading “News: #AllTheWebsAStage details announced”