Inua Ellams News

Today (May 13) in live streaming: Ben Cameron counts down song about Spring, Laura Michelle Kelly sings Rodgers and Hammerstein and so much more!

Today (May 12) in live streaming: It's the Day of the Show Y'all with Spencer Glass, Ken Davenport chats with James Snyder and so much more!

Today (May 11) in live streaming: Join the BroadwayWorld Book club, JRB and Georgia Stitt visit Stars in the House and so much more!

The National Theatre has announced additional online programming, including A Streetcar Named Desire, Barber Shop Chronicles, Coriolanus (starring Tom Hiddleston), and more!

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.

Today the first episode of The Lockdown Plays, Cordelia Lynn Fragments, is released on podcast provider platform Acast.

Dance Umbrella, London's leading festival of international dance, has today announced that Tania Wilmer has been appointed as Executive Director.

Robert Glenister is currently treading the boards at the Playhouse Theatre in Anya Reiss's adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull. Starring alongside Game of Thrones's Emilia Clarke and Indira Varma, The Seagull marks Glenister's second production with director Jamie Lloyd. Glenister's recent theatre credits include Alys, Always at the Bridge Theatre and Pinter Four as part of Lloyd's Pinter at the Pinter season. BroadwayWorld spoke with Glenister about the production, adapting Chekhov, and the importance of star casting for commercial theatre.

'Continuity and rupture': this phrase has been rolling around my head ever since I became LIFT's Artistic Director and CEO just under two years ago. In our business, when you're a leader new in post, people are always keen to know what you're going to do next and where the change is coming from. Rupture and transformation feels sexy a?" at first glance.

The annual Drama Teacher Conference took place at the National Theatre on 20th a?' 21st February 2020, with over 140 drama teachers attending from Inverness to Plymouth.

How do you see yourself? What seems like a fairly straightforward question can actually be far more complex than you might think a?" and if your own lived experience deviates even slightly from what other people expect, you may find yourself repeatedly fielding the same queries as both sides seek to justify their positions. In Janice Okoh's new play, The Gift, Princess Sarah Bonetta tries to balance her new role as wife with her passion for teaching, whilst modern-day structural engineer Sarah fends off a try-hard neighbour. Tea with Queen Victoria could be exactly what they both needa??

Out of Joint, Cast, Doncaster and Kiln Theatre, London today announced the full cast for their national tour and London run of The Glee Club. Joining Bill Ward who plays Bant, will be Joshua Hayes (Breakneck Bronco a?" Soho Theatre, A Wondrous Place - Sheffield Theatres/Royal Exchange/Northern Spirit) as Walt Hemmings, Robert Jackson (She Ventures and He Wins a?" The Young Vic, Kiss Me Kate a?" The Watermill Theatre) as Scobie, Linford Johnson (The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe a?" Bridge Theatre, Much Ado About Nothing a?" Northern Broadsides) as Colin Shuttleworth, Kai Owen (Torchwood a?" BBC TV, The Full Monty a?" UK tour) as Jack Horsfall and Eamonn Riley (Martha, Josie and The Chinese Elvis a?" Stephen Joseph Theatre, Our Town a?" The Royal Exchange) as Phil Newsome. This new production of Richard Cameron's play is directed by Out Of Joint's artistic director Kate Wasserberg.

This January, as part of a partnership with Newham Council, Stratford Circus Arts Centre is to offer every Year 6 student in the borough the chance to see Inua Ellams' stage adaptation of The Little Prince free of charge. Inua Ellams' fourth show, the critically acclaimed Barber Shop Chronicles, sold out at the National Theatre, where his adaptation of Chekov's Three Sisters, recently opened. The Little Prince which will be produced by Fuel and directed by Femi Elufowoju jr, promises to be a radical afro-futurist reimagining of the classic French children's story by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Manchester International Festival (MIF) and Arts Council England today announce a new partnership, which will see them supporting English artists to perform in New York at The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival.

Chekhov's iconic characters are relocated to Nigeria in this bold new adaptation in the Lyttelton at which opened at National Theatre. Owerri, 1967, on the brink of the Biafran Civil War. Lolo, Nne Chukwu and Udo are grieving the loss of their father. Months before, two ruthless military coups plunged the country into chaos. Fuelled by foreign intervention, the conflict encroaches on their provincial village and the sisters long to return to their former home, Lagos.

When confronted with the name Chekhov, hot Russian summers and country houses are probably what immediately spring to mind. It's all change for Inua Ellams' new adaptation at the National Theatre, as events are transported to Nigeria on the brink of civil war; the play is set between 1967 and 1970, as the Igbo in Biafra make a bid for total freedom following the country's independence from the UK. Nadia Fall directs this enlightening and heartbreaking new production.

Nearly 500 arts organisations, human rights charities, schools, colleges and universities came together in June to present events and activities across the UK; whilst international partners and individuals also flew Ai Weiwei's flag to mark the 70th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

Barber Shop Chronicles is a unifying, enriching, thought-provoking and captivating theatrical experience that solidifies Ellams' position as a griot worthy of upholding the rich African ancestry of storytelling traditions, and an exciting new poet and playwright making his mark on the world's stage by sharing slices of life that dive deeply into the culture and concerns of the contemporary black man.

Fuel's first commission for 2020 is Inua Ellams' first work for children: a radical afro-futurist reimagining of the classic French children's story The Little Prince by Saint-Exupéry. Broken down in the Sahara Desert, desperate to repair her plane, a pilot meets an extraordinary Prince. They quickly form a friendship and the pilot re-discovers the power of imagination, the importance of small efforts, and the meaning of friendship. Directed by Femi Elufowoju Jr with design by Miriam Nabarro and music by Cassie Kinoshi, the show will open at Stratford Circus Arts Centre as part of a programme supported by Newham Council to give every year 6 pupil in the borough the opportunity to see a new piece of theatre for free. The Little Prince is a Fuel production in association with English Touring Theatre, co-commissioned by Fuel, Stratford Circus Arts Centre, ASU Gammage, Z-arts, The Albany, Warwick Arts Centre and Future Arts Centres. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England and the Garrick Trust.

Today, Headlong have announced their programme for 2020/21, the final season under current Artistic Director, Jeremy Herrin.