It takes a lot to upstage Anna Netrebko in full flight, but director Davide Livermore comes pretty close to it in this constantly shifting, shape-changing production. The huge walls of Sant’ Andrea slide into each other, the chapel rotates, tombs and statues come and go. It’s a bit like watching a show at a theatre… Continue reading Tosca
Month: May 2023
Whyman unveils her final season at RSC
Erica Whyman has revealed details of her final season of work as acting artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company before she steps down. The season includes two new productions in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, while in the Swan, there will be the return of an Elizabethan classic and a première as well as a… Continue reading Whyman unveils her final season at RSC
Il Corsaro
Opera Festival of Chicago is dedicated to presenting fully staged productions of Italian opera masterworks that rarely grace the stage in the United States. Verdi’s Il Corsaro was part of their 2022 season. Lord Byron’s epic pirate poem, The Corsair, dashed off in ten days, sold 10,000 copies on the very first day of publication in 1811. The… Continue reading Il Corsaro
Elmhurst and Michelin-starred Purnell join forces
Birmingham dance and culinary talents will unite for a fundraising event on 11 July 2023 as Elmhurst Ballet School presents its Centenary Summer Ball and Birmingham-born Michelin star chef Glynn Purnell curates the evening’s menu. Purnell received Birmingham’s first Michelin star in 2005. He has taken part in The Great British Menu, winning twice and appearing… Continue reading Elmhurst and Michelin-starred Purnell join forces
The Beekeeper of Aleppo
Newcastle Theatre Royal has a strong and varied programme this year with musicals, ballets and plays, and this week (June 6–10), it presents a deeply moving and beautifully human dramatisation of the novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo, created by the same production team behind The Kite Runner, seen in Newcastle in 2018. Many people will have read… Continue reading The Beekeeper of Aleppo
Conference to promote rural touring
Organisations and individuals interested in rural touring are invited to an annual conference which aims to “help level the playing field for those living in remote areas by providing access to professional performances at affordable prices”. Integrate, a three-day conference organised by the National Rural Touring Forum, will take place over three days in Shrewsbury.… Continue reading Conference to promote rural touring
Yours Unfaithfully
When Miles Malleson wrote this play about an open marriage in the early 1930s, he could draw on personal experience, for he had shared his first wife with philosopher Bertrand Russell. It comes with a first-hand freshness. On the one hand, it shows the clash of conventional morality, represented by C of E Canon Gordon,… Continue reading Yours Unfaithfully
Much Ado about free shows in Notts and Stratford
Nottingham Shakespeare Company is to stage free, open-air productions of Much Ado About Nothing around Nottinghamshire and will also take the play to the Royal Shakespeare Company’s open-air venue The Dell in Stratford. Emma Carlton and Christopher Collins, familiar to audiences from NSC’s 2022 production of The Comedy of Errors, will play Beatrice and Benedick. Newcomer Grace Deavall and… Continue reading Much Ado about free shows in Notts and Stratford
Patriots
A dramatisation of some of the leading Russian political figures over nearly forty tumultuous years would be a challenging task for anyone, but the entertaining writing of Peter Morgan’s Patriots, fluently directed by Rupert Goold with an eye for the memorable image and gesture impressively conveyed by a fine cast, does just that. Perhaps it’s inevitable… Continue reading Patriots
Wayne Sleep hits 75 at Royal Opera House
On 17 July, the Royal Opera House will host an afternoon celebrating the 75th birthday of former Royal Ballet Principal dancer Wayne Sleep, with a performance by Sleep himself and guests including Dame Felicity Lott. Sleep rose quickly through the ranks at The Royal Ballet, and many roles were created for him by Frederick Ashton,… Continue reading Wayne Sleep hits 75 at Royal Opera House