In 1973, tennis champion Arthur Ashe traveled to Johannesburg to compete in the South African Open amidst the oppression of an apartheid-based government. He had applied for a visa to play in the tournament three times prior but was denied. His presence at the 1973 event sparked some outrage but was the catalyst for change, not only for Ashe as an activist but also for the South African people.
This story is the impetus for Hannah Benitez's new play, ASHE IN JOHANNESBURG. Burning Coal Theater commissioned Benitez to write the play, and it is a compelling story to tell. However, the show, which opened this weekend, needs further development before it achieves the same level of polish and flair as other historical dramas like David Hare's STUFF HAPPENS, which opened Burning Coal's current season.
The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has announced 10 Finalists for its prestigious playwriting Award, the oldest and largest prize awarded to women playwrights.
The Menier Chocolate Factory today announces a major revival of David Hare's The Bay at Nice. Richard Eyre directs Martin Hutson, Ophelia Lovibond, David Rintoul and Penelope Wilton. The production opens on 19 March, with previews from 14 March, and runs until 4 May. Tickets go on sale to supporters of the Menier on 21 January, with public booking opening at 9am on 28 January.
Boston Court Pasadena commences the 2019 theatre season with a rare production of David Hare's The Judas Kiss (February 15 - March 24), which tells the story of Oscar Wilde's love for Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas - and tracking his downfall as he endures a brutal trial and life in exile.
Artistic Director, Raymond Croce, says that he has chosen five very different shows for the fourteenth season at South Camden Theatre. All of his choices come from playwrights who tell their stories in a dramatically different fashion. One common characteristic for each production is that all of his play choices are told by just two characters.
A world premiere and four popular, critically acclaimed works make up Palm Beach Dramaworks' 2019-2020 season, it was announced today by Producing Artistic Director William Hayes.
Rose Theatre Kingston today announce Fay Lomas as the winner of the inaugural Peter Hall Emerging Artist Fellowship (PHEAF), an award introduced to commemorate the legacy of Sir Peter Hall, founding Artistic Director of the theatre.
As rehearsals begin, casting is announced for the West End transfer of the National Theatre and Theatr Clwyd's critically acclaimed co-production of Home, I'm Darling, a new play by Laura Wade, directed by Theatre Clwyd Artistic Director Tamara Harvey, featuring Katherine Parkinson, which begins performances at the Duke of York's Theatre on 26 January.
Boston Court Pasadena will bring another daring year of theater and music events to Southern California for their 2019 season, and welcomes the S. Mark Taper Foundation as sponsor of the 2019 theater season. Artistic Directors Jessica Kubzansky, Michael Michetti and Mark Saltzman have programmed more than 100 performances of music and theater on two stages, continuing the company's dedication to new work, reimagined classics, and both emerging and established artists.
Chance Theater is thrilled to announce its 21st Anniversary Season, which will be the fifth to employ both stages in its home at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center. Next year will feature eight fully-staged productions.
Tickets for the Canadian premiere of Sting's acclaimed musical The Last Ship will go on public sale Monday November 12. Presented by David Mirvish and produced by Karl Sydow and Kathryn Schenker, the limited six-week engagement runs February 9 through March 24, 2019 at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre.
One of the theater world's most prestigious playwriting prizes, the Yale Drama Series Prize, was given to Leah Nanako Winkler for her play God Said This. The 2018 award recipient was chosen by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar. The winning play received a private staged reading at Lincoln Center Theater's Claire Tow Theater on October 30, 2018.
The Burning Coal Theatre Company is proud to present Conor McPherson's The Weir, the story of what happens on a seemingly quiet evening in a rural Irish pub when the local boys are visited by a stranger. Directed by Jerome Davis, The Weir will play at Burning Coal's Murphey School Auditorium in downtown Raleigh from November 29th through December 16th. There will be a "pay what you can day" on Sunday December 2nd. Performances are November 29, 30 and December 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 & 15 at 7:30 pm and December 2, 9 & 16th at 2 pm. Tickets are available now for $25, with a senior discount (65+) at $20, a student, teachers, and active military discount at $15 and student rush tickets for $5 (if available) at curtain. Those interested can secure their tickets online at burningcoal.org or by calling the box office at 919.834.4001.
The National Theatre and Theatr Clwyd's critically acclaimed co-production of Home, I'm Darling, a new play by Laura Wade directed by Theatre Clwyd Artistic Director Tamara Harvey featuring Katherine Parkinson, will transfer to the West End, in a co-production with Fiery Angel.
On April 11, 2003, just two days after the fall of Saddam Hussein, then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, along with General Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed the media. When asked about the looting and the lack of law and order following the 'liberation' of Iraq, Rumsfeld said:
'Think what's happened in our cities when we've had riots and problems and looting. Stuff happens! Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things. They're also free to live their lives and do wonderful things, and that's what's going to happen here.'
The backroom deals and politics leading up to the invasion of Iraq are the subject of David Hare's historical drama STUFF HAPPENS. The play premiered in London in 2004. Two years later, it opened off-Broadway to critical acclaim. Last weekend, Burning Coal Theatre opened their season with Hare's play, which by his own account, is a fictional dramatization based on interviews, televised speeches, and transcripts.
David Hare's explosive new play portrays the history of a twenty year intimate friendship and its public repercussions. Let's see what the critics had to say...
Britain's foremost political playwright David Hare returns with a new play examining the current state of the Labour Party. Or not exactly - this is a world with no Brexit, no Corbyn, nothing, in fact, to anchor it to the burning issues of 2018. A relief, perhaps, but this is a state-of-the-nation play unwilling to examine our actual state.
Do I run? This is the question which is facing Pauline Gibson. She has spent her life as a doctor, the inspiring leader of a local health campaign. When she crosses paths with her old boyfriend, Jack Gould, a stalwart loyalist in Labour Party politics, she's faced with an agonising decision.
