National Theatre Commissions Tonic Initiatives to Support Gender Equality in Theatre

By: Feb. 20, 2017
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Tonic has been commissioned by NT Director Rufus Norris and Executive Director Lisa Burger to support the NT in achieving its aspirations around equality and diversity.

The initiative is led by Tonic's Director Lucy Kerbel who will be based at the NT for the duration of 2017. Kerbel's work will focus on internal communication within the NT and will specifically look at how the organisation can achieve a greater diversity in terms of whose ideas, perspectives and voices are reflected in the outputs of the National Theatre.

NT Executive Director Lisa Burger says: "Diversity is at the heart of our vision for the National and integral to its success. This year-long project will look at how our strategy to deliver diversity in our work and audiences can also be applied to how we work as an organisation. I am delighted that our relationship with Tonic is expanding in this way and look forward to sharing our findings across the sector."

Lucy Kerbel says: "Tonic has had a close relationship with the NT for several years, formerly being an Affiliate Company within the NT's New Work Department and partnering on research and unique projects. The NT takes its commitments to achieving greater equality and diversity seriously and I have consistently been impressed by the level of progress the organisation is determined to realise. I'm delighted to have the chance to work with Lisa, Rufus, and the rest of the organisation throughout 2017 to help the NT achieve this."

All Change Please - A Practical Guide for Achieving Gender Equality in Theatre

100 Great Plays for Women author Lucy Kerbel has followed her 2013 NT bookshop best seller with a new book All Change Please - an empowering exploration of why change matters and how the theatre world can achieve it.

All Change Please espouses the benefits of a more equal and diverse industry - artistic, commercial, ethical and social - and how, collectively, theatre can actually achieve change. From small shifts, such as how organisations run their meetings, or what's on the shelves of a school's library, to rethinking concepts as huge as the art that is inherited, how excellence is attributed, and the constraints unwittingly passed on to new generations, there are things everyone can do to bring about change.

Eye-opening, empowering and inspiring, All Change Please is a book for anyone who loves theatre. Whether they make it, teach it, watch it or study it, everyone has their own unique part to play in helping refresh, reshape and re-imagine the industry as truly diverse, equal and inclusive.

In his foreword to All Change Please, Rufus Norris writes: "Lucy Kerbel's work has become increasingly pivotal in helping the entire industry raise its game. This illuminating book answers the cynic, informs the impartial, converts the supporter into an activist and equips them all; not in a rallying cry of anger-fuelled idealism, but in a calm, pragmatic and clear-eyed way."

All Change Please is published by Nick Hern Books and will be available from 23 February, with an official launch at the National Theatre Studio on 27 February.

Dame Jenni Murray to host Inaugural Tonic Awards on 29 March 2017

Tonic has announced the inaugural Tonic Awards, which will be hosted by Women's Hour presenter Dame Jenni Murray. Recognising the achievements of game-changing women who are redefining theatre and the performing arts, the awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday 29 March 2017 at the Mayfair Hotel. The event will be attended by senior figures from across the theatre industry.

Chair of Tonic's Board of Trustees Sita McIntosh said: "Tonic spends a great deal of time focused on challenging the lack of women at senior level in the industry, but we also think it's important to recognise the success stories. That's why we've launched the Tonic Awards, so that we can acknowledge and celebrate the many women who are at the forefront of UK theatre. Successful women are notorious for hiding their light under a bushel. We want to point a spotlight onto them and share their inspirational stories."

McIntosh also heads up the WhatsOnStage Awards in her capacity as Chief Operating Officer of WhatsOnStage.com.

Jenni Murray said: "I'm really looking forward to the Tonic Awards and supporting a brilliant initiative which honours women's work in my favourite artistic endeavour - the theatre!"

Tonic Director Lucy Kerbel said: "I am thrilled to announce our inaugural Tonic Awards which will celebrate the achievements of women who are changing the face of our theatre industry, and projects and productions that are redefining the role of women in the performing arts. We wanted to create the Tonic Awards so that the amazing contributions of women to theatre are being highlighted publicly - not just the doom and gloom stories about underrepresentation - and so that younger women in particular have visible role models to aspire to."

Jenni Murray DBE is a broadcaster and journalist, probably best known for presenting BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour since 1987. She has written a number of books on women including?The Woman's Hour: A History of Women Since World War II, Is It Me or Is It Hot In Here: A Modern Woman's Guide to the Menopause and That's My Boy! A Guide for Parents. Her latest book, entitled A History of Britain in 21 Women (Oneworld Publications) is a history of Britain, presented as you've never seen it before, through 21 women whose lives enthral and beguile, intrigue and inspire. Murray tells the stories of the woman who refused to succumb to the established laws of society, whose lives embodied hope and change. Famous queens, forgotten visionaries, great artists and trailblazing politicians - all pushed back boundaries and revolutionised our world.

The Tonic Awards are supported by Boom Ents, Dewynters, JHI and WhatsOnStage.

Tonic Celebrates inspirational women in theatre Moira Buffini, Sacha Milroy and Vicki Mortimer

Tonic Celebrates is a series of events foregrounding the achievements of inspirational women in theatre. Each event brings together a group of remarkable women, all of whom are leaders in their field, to discuss their careers, work, and successes. The first half of the evening is chaired by Tonic Theatre's Director Lucy Kerbel, before the floor is opened to the audience for questions.

The third Tonic Celebrates event takes place in the Dorfman at the NT and will feature Moira Buffini, Sacha Milroy and Vicki Mortimer. This event follows the success of the first two editions of the Tonic Celebrates series at the Ambassador's Theatre and The Globe's Sam Wanamaker Playhouse featuring Globe Artistic Director Emma Rice, writers Tanika Gupta and Jessica Swale, lighting designer Paule Constable, Tricycle Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham, and leading fight directors Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown.

Tickets for the event in the Dorfman, which is supported by theatre design consultancy Charcoalblue, are £10. The event will be live captioned.

Moira Buffini is a dramatist working across Theatre, Film and TV. Work for the stage includes wonder.land, Welcome to Thebes and Dinner for the National Theatre; Olivier Award-winning Handbagged for the Tricycle Theatre; Dying for It and Marianne Dreams for the Almeida Thetare; Loveplay for the RSC; Silence, which won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, for Birmingham Rep; Gabriel (LWT Plays on Stage and Meyer Whitworth Awards) for Soho Theatre. Dinner and Handbagged have enjoyed successful transfers to the West End. In film, her screenplays include Tamara Drewe; Jane Eyre; and Byzantium. Currently, she is co-creator and writer of an 8 part original drama, Harlots for ITV and Hulu, due for transmission in spring 2017.

Sacha Milroy is the National Theatre's Director of Producing and Planning, working closely with the Director and Executive Director on the NT's repertoire and artistic activity ensuring a balance of resources, finances and output. She oversees the producing from development to the stage, facilitating, supporting and enabling creative teams to deliver their best possible work. She began her career as a stage manager and production manager, before becoming Production Manager at the NT, working on productions such as His Dark Materials, Jerry Springer the Opera, War Horse, and Frankenstein. After a spell at Shakespeare's Globe as Executive Producer she returned to the NT as Head of Production.

Vicki Mortimer is a prolific designer who works across theatre, dance, and opera. She has designed over 25 productions at the NT, including The Threepenny Opera, Here We Go, Hamlet, Othello, The Cat in the Hat, Waves, A Dream Play, and Three Sisters. Further theatre includes productions at the RSC, Young Vic, Donmar Warehouse, Almeida Theatre, Royal Court, for Kneehigh Theatre Company, as well as work in Japan, Sweden and on Broadway. Opera credits include Lucia di Lammermoor and Written on Skin for the Royal Opera, After Dido for English National Opera, and St Matthew Passion at Glyndebourne. Her work in dance includes Qualia and Raven Girl, both for the Royal Ballet. Vicki studied at the Slade School of Fine Art.

Tonic supports the theatre industry to achieve greater gender equality in its workforces and repertoires. They partner with leading theatre companies around the UK on a range of projects, schemes and creative works. Their goal is to give colleagues across the industry the tools that they need to ensure more female talent rises to the top. For more, visit www.tonictheatre.co.uk or follow @TonicTheatre.



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