Propeller Theatre Company Launches PROPELLER PLAY Online Behind-the-Scenes Resource

Under artistic director Edward Hall, the theatre company Propeller has launched PROPELLER PLAY a unique online interactive resource providing access to behind-the-scenes information, previously unseen photography and film footage, as well as insights into the different areas of theatre production.

The site has launched just as Propeller’s new production, POCKET HENRY V, begins a UK tour.

Propeller Play is a unique, interactive microsite designed to enhance the Propeller experience, taking users “backstage” to discover more about The company.

Propeller Play can be found at propeller.org.uk/play. The website has separate areas dedicated to Sound & Lighting, Music, Acting, Directing, Costume, Design and Production, as well as an Out-Takes section.

For educational groups, it is the ideal accompaniment to a visit to the theatre, allowing pupils to learn more about the process of putting together a production and the various roles involved.

There is also plenty for general audiences to explore, with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, photos and stories to give an entertaining and engaging insight into the world of Edward Hall’s acclaimed all-male Shakespeare company.

Designed to coincide with the current tour of Pocket Henry V, Propeller Play will be updated and adapted for further Propeller productions.

Currently on a tour of UK theatres and schools, Pocket Henry V is an adaptation of Edward Hall’s hit Propeller production of Shakespeare’s Henry V, which premiered in November 2011.

The production is directed by Edward Hall, with long-term Propeller company member Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, who played King Henry V in the full-length version of the play.

Pocket Henry V opens to the press from 10 October at the Marlowe Studio, Canterbury.

Cast: Darrell Brockis, Neal Craig, Chris MacDonald, Thomas Padden and Richard Pepper.

Pocket Henry V will tour to Trinity Theatre in Tunbridge Wells, The Marlowe Studio in Canterbury, Farnham Maltings, Chipping Norton Theatre, The Point in Eastleigh, Brighton Dome & Festival and the Vitoria InterNational Theatre Festival in Spain. It will also tour to several schools.

Pocket Henry V is part of Propeller’s Pocket Propeller initiative, which started in 2009 with the international success of Pocket Dream – a 60-minute version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 2011, Propeller toured Pocket Comedy – a 60-minute version of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.

Propeller’s full-scale version of Henry V toured nationally and internationally in 2011/12, to critical and popular acclaim.

Propeller is renowned for combining a rigorous approach to the text with a physical aesthetic to create productions full of clarity, poetry, speed, and imagination. Pocket Propeller delivers a fresh and inspiring introduction to Shakespeare. The ensemble creates a relaxed and engaging atmosphere in which to enjoy the performance, as well encouraging the audience to give a frank and uninhibited response in an open talkback session afterwards.

Pocket Henry V is the ideal introduction not only to Shakespeare, but to the thrill and excitement of theatre. It aims to deliver a first class theatrical experience in a compact but uncompromised 60 minutes.

Pocket Propeller has received an award of £120,000 from the Arts Council’s Catalyst fund, towards a second annual Pocket tour. Catalyst is the new £100 million culture sector wide private giving investment programme aimed at helping cultural organisations diversify their income streams and access more funding from private sources. The new programme is made up of investment from Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.