It's been over a century since John Millington Synge's Irish play The Playboy of the Western World was first performed, and almost 40 years since Mustapha Matura transported the story to Trinidad in the original version of Playboy of the West Indies. Sadly, Matura passed away in 2019 before he finished the musical adaptation of his work, but collaborators and co-directors Clement Ishmael, Nicolas Kent and Dominique Le Gendre continued the project and have now brought the spirit and humour of the Caribbean to a Birmingham stage.
Birmingham Rep, the city's only major producing theatre, has released production shots of the world premiere musical, Playboy of the West Indies, presented by the Birmingham 2022 Festival.
The Shepherd's Bush venue continues its history of shining a light on unheard voices and reflecting issues in the community and today releases tickets for the second part of its 50th birthday season.
Artistic Director, Sean Foley has today added to Birmingham Rep's 2022 programme of work. The Rep's offering as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival, a 6 month celebration of culture that surrounds the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, will include the newly announced, critically acclaimed production from Australia Counting and Cracking plus the youth driven Festival Uncommon Riches. Counting and Cracking arrives at The Rep as one of only two venues in the UK to host this epic story.
Following the celebratory reopening of Birmingham Rep this autumn with critically acclaimed productions of East is East, the brand new musical What’s New Pussycat? and the presentation of Grenfell: Value Engineering, Artistic Director Sean Foley announces a new collection of work to follow his own production of the classic comedy The Play What I Wrote.
Woodie King's New Federal Theatre has set plays by Mustapha Matura, S. Shephard-Massat and Larry Muhammad for the June, 2021 edition of its Annual Ntozake Shange Readings Series, which will be held three Tuesdays in June--June 8, 15 and 22-- all in live streamed readings on Zoom.
The National Theatre is launching a new Podcast Series: That Black Theatre Podcast. Hosted by Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded PhD Student, Nadine Deller the podcast is a partnership between the National Theatre, The Royal Central School for Speech and Drama, University of London and the AHRC London Arts and Humanities Partnership.
Jan Ravens and Julia Watson are cast in Talking Heads, three of the much-loved classic monologues from British playwriting royalty, Alan Bennett, directed by Watford Palace Theatre's own artistic director Brigid Larmour. Poignant, comic and full of humanity, Talking Heads invites us into the hearts and minds of three peculiarly English ladies - Muriel in her tweed skirt and pearls in Soldiering On, the public-spirited Miss Ruddock in A Lady of Letters, and Susan, the long-suffering Vicar's wife in Bed Among The Lentils.
T. Fellowship, in association with Columbia University School of the Arts, announces the next T. Fellow is Rachel Sussman, the seventh fellow in the one year program designed to educate and empower new creative producers. The fellow will receive a stipend of $10,000 with a $20,000 budget for the development of a new theatrical production, and will have access to courses in Columbia's MFA Theatre Management & Producing Program.
T. Fellowship, in association with Columbia University School of the Arts, announces the next T. Fellow is Allison Bressi, the sixth fellow in the one year program designed to educate and empower new creative producers.
Banana Boat Productions in association with New Perspectives Theatre Company (NPTC) is pleased to announce Crossing Boundaries, two short plays from Trinidadian writers as part of OFF THE BOAT, a summer Caribbean Theatre Festival. Dueling Voices, by the prolific Zeno Obi Constance, is paired with Nice by Mustapha Matura (Playboy of the West Indies.) The production runs August 18 through 27th at New Perspectives Studio, 458 West 37th Street, with performances Wednesday - Saturday at 7:30pm and Sundays at 4:00pm.
T. Fellowship, in association with Columbia University School of the Arts, announces the next T. Fellow is Christopher Maring, the fifth fellow in the one?year program designed to educate and empower new creative producers. The fellow will receive a stipend of $10,000 with a $20,000 budget for the development of a new theatrical production.
The cast has been announced for Brad Birch's new play THE BRINK at Orange Tree Theatre. Alice Haig, Vince Leigh, Shvorne Marks and Ciarán Owens will lead the world premiere, directed by Mel Hillyard as recipient of the J.P. Morgan Emerging Director Award 2015, with designs from Hyemi Shin, and sound design and composition by Tom Gibbons. The show runs April 7-30, and is a co-production between the Orange Tree and W14 Productions, in association with the National Theatre Studio.
Sheffield Theatres and Orange Tree Theatre present Deborah Bruce's The Distance. Charlotte Gwinner directs Michelle Duncan (Bea), Charlotte Emmerson (Alex), Daniel Hawksford (Dewi), Charlotte Lucas(Kate), Timothy Knightley (Simon), Steven Meo (Vinnie) and Joshua Sinclair-Evans (Liam). The production opens tonight 3 November, with previews from 29 October, and runs until 14 November at Sheffield Theatres, ahead of a run at Orange Tree Theatre from 26 November to 19 December.
Sheffield Theatres and Orange Tree Theatre today announce the cast for Deborah Bruce's The Distance. Charlotte Gwinner directs Michelle Duncan (Bea), Charlotte Emmerson (Alex), Daniel Hawksford (Dewi), Charlotte Lucas(Kate), Timothy Knightley (Simon), Steven Meo (Vinnie) and Joshua Sinclair-Evans (Liam). The production opens on 3 November, with previews from 29 October, and runs until 14 November at Sheffield Theatres, ahead of a run at Orange Tree Theatre from 26 November to 19 December.
International City Theatre continues its 30th anniversary season with a production celebrating the 30th anniversary of a modern American classic: Fences by August Wilson. Gregg T. Daniel directs Wilson's powerful drama, opening tonight, August 21, at International City Theatre's home in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.
Director Gregg T. Daniel returns to The Group Rep to direct Eric Simonson's critically acclaimed play LOMBARDI based on the book When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss. In our conversation, Gregg talks about the play, his fascination with the nature of greatness, and what he's been up to as a director.
By Steve Peterson
International City Theatre continues its 30th anniversary season with a production celebrating the 30th anniversary of a modern American classic: Fences by August Wilson. Gregg T. Daniel directs Wilson's powerful drama for an August 21 opening at International City Theatre's home in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Two low-priced previews are set for August 19 and 20.
T. Fellowship, in association with Columbia University School of the Arts, announces that applications for the third annual T. Fellowship will be accepted through May 15, 2015.
