James Morton is a playwright from Stoke-On-Trent. His debut play Father's Son was shortlisted for the Tony Craze Award and after a reading at Soho Theatre premiered at this year's Vault Festival. Morton spoke with Broadway World about the process of writing and putting on the play as well as mental health, labels and the lockdown.
Theater companies all over the world are rising to the challenge of staying connected to their audiences and continuing to serve them while in-person performances are suspended for an indefinite period. San Franciso's storied Magic Theatre has come up with a creative solution by instituting 'Far Apart Art,' a podcast series composed of brief, daily audio journals from a host of Magic's family of playwrights. BroadwayWorld recently spoke with Loretta Greco, Magic's Artistic Director, about 'Far Apart Art' and how she and Magic are weathering the pandemic.
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Founding Artistic Director Steven Maler, announced today the principal cast members for its 25th Anniversary production of Free Shakespeare on the Common: William Shakespeare's beloved play The Tempest.
Clubbed Thumb has announced the complete line-up for the 25th annual SUMMERWORKS, its festival of new plays. SUMMERWORKS will run May 15 - July 1, 2020 at The Wild Project (195 E. 3rd Street) in Manhattan and will feature productions of three new plays: SPINDLE SHUTTLE NEEDLE by Gab Reisman and directed by Tamilla Woodard; BODIES THEY RITUAL by Angela Hanks and directed by Knud Adams; and THE WOMAN'S PARTY by Rinne Groff and directed by Tara Ahmadinijad.
The Donmar Warehouse announces casting for Ellen McDougall's new production of Suzan-Lori Parks' play In the Blood. Nikki Amuka-Bird will return to the Donmar in the role of Hester alongside April Koyejo-Audiger, Paul Bazely, Ginny Holder, Martins Imhangbe, Sinead Matthews and Sule Rimi.
An Other Theater Company in Provo is producing two classic one-acts in their space in the Provo Towne Centre Mall this spring: Trifles by Susan Glaspell, and A Number by Caryl Churchill.
The Donmar Warehouse has announced that Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell will curate a series of intimate evenings of music and song performed in the iconic setting of the Donmar auditorium. Each cabaret evening will feature the best of musical theatre, with a programme of songs by Stephen Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown, Noël Coward and Lin-Manuel Miranda. From its early days as a rehearsal studio for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, to the hugely successful Divas at the Donmar series in the early 2000s, the Donmar has presented outstanding musical talent over many years, and is delighted to continue this tradition with Donmar Lates.
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's Stage2 Series for Young Audiences presents Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream for students from 15 local schools at seven Student Matinees and one Public Performance, from April 2-10 at The Strand Theatre, 543 Columbia Road, Boston.
Back in 2002, when Caryl Churchill's A Number premiered at the Royal Court, genetics was the hot new topic. The Human Genome Project was on the verge of being completed and a few years earlier Dolly the sheep had been cloned, leading to very real discussions about whether or not humans could end up being cloned. It was still science fiction, of course, as demonstrated a few years later when South Korean claims of harvesting viable stem cells from a cloned human embryo were found to be false. Nonetheless, Churchill's play featuring a father and his cloned sons must have captured the imagination of audiences.
Cal State Fullerton's Department of Theatre & Dance kicks off its Spring slate of productions in March when Charlotte Brontë's most famous and beloved literary heroine comes to life in 'Jane Eyre: The Musical.' With a book by John Caird, music and lyrics by Paul Gordon, direction by James R. Taulli, and musical direction by Corey Hirsch, the play runs March 13-29 in the Little Theatre on campus.
Mabou Mines, the esteemed experimental theater company, and Weathervane Productions, in association with Philip Glass' Days and Nights Festival, add free documentary film screening and Promenade concert performance, and announce complete casting for a unique upcoming celebration of legendary playwright and director María Irene Fornés. The February 21-March 7 engagement centers on the New York premiere of Philip Glass' transformation of her five-page play Drowning into an opera and a version of Fornés' acclaimed Mud. JoAnne Akalaitis directs these two intimate productions-both with new music composed by Glass-at Mabou Mines (150 First Avenue).
In just 45 minutes, Caryl Churchill's Far Away walks a tightrope between tricksy surrealism and dystopian warning but stays upright due to its sheer theatricality.
Company Founder & Executive Artistic Director AJ Baker who recently brought her successful 3-decade long career as founder and partner of her own law firm to a close in order to dedicate herself to the company and its projects full time has asked a broad array (see what we did there?) of Bay Area women writers, performers and theatre-makers to reimagine history 'knowing what we know now' at the 9-day Festival; highlights include Mother Lear; an evening dedicated to the theme of 'Hindsight is 2020' and 'flipping the script' that includes a short play & tip of the hat to Caryl Churchill's Top Girls called Bottoms Up!; an evening of LezWritesBTQ performances, and the staged readings of the two Salon Series finalist's plays competing for the Festival Prize: Swimming with Puppies by
Susan Jackson and Meth by Elizabeth Flanagan
The Sierra Stages 2020 season opens with the classic Noël Coward comedy a?oeBlithe Spirita??, playing four weekends only from February 28 a?" March 21 at the historic Nevada Theatre, 401 Broad Street, Nevada City.
From February 28 to March 28, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the Boston premiere of the acclaimed drama THE CHILDREN by British playwright Lucy Kirkwood.
Eclipse Theatre Company, the only Midwest theatre company to feature one playwright in one season, will begin their 2020 Caryl Churchill Season this spring with a production of Cloud 9, with Rachel Lambert directing.
The Belmont Theater District (BTD), Chicago's largest theater district located in the Lakeview West and Lakeview East neighborhoods, will partner with the League of Chicago Theatres and ChooseChicago for the eighth annual Chicago Theatre Week, February 13 - 23. Tickets to a variety of shows are only $15 and $30 for this week only.