Theatrevoice archive, list of recordings 2011
23rd May 2012
Recordings from January 2011
Total number of recordings from this month: 21
761 NEW YORK SPECIAL Michael Feingold, translator and chief theatre critic of the Village Voice chats to Philip Fisher about theatrical life during the past few months, covering both the big houses of Broadway as well as Off-Broadway venues, looking at both the latest new musicals and plays. “This has been a Fall season in which there have been a lot of interesting or intriguing things but not a lot of excellent highpoints.” Recording date: 3 January 2011
762 PETE POSTLETHWAITE REMEMBERED Greg Hersov, artistic director of the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester (in tandem with Braham Murray & Sarah Frankcom), pays tribute to the recently deceased actor (1946-2011) with whom he worked on two major productions (The Homecoming and The Tempest). He also recalls earlier encounters both at the Exchange and in Bristol. Interview by Dominic Cavendish. “Over 30 years ago, I was running a fringe company in Bristol. Pete had been doing this amazing work… everyone said, ‘There’s this guy called Pete Postlethwaite and you’ve got to meet him.’” Recording date: 5 January 2011
763 REGIONAL THEATRE: MANCHESTER Greg Hersov, artistic director of the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester (in tandem with Braham Murray and Sarah Frankcom) talks about his long-term association with the theatre and the city. Dominic Cavendish quizzes. Recorded in Manchester. “You pour all your own vision and ego into something but in the end the sum total is something greater than yourself. That’s tough sometimes…” Recording date: 5 January 2011
764 INTERVIEW: RANJIT BOLT The veteran translator of world drama talks to Heather Neill about his new book, The Art of Translation (Oberon), and his experiences of turning foreign classics into playable English-language shows. Recorded at the National Theatre. “You can render a line which is fairly dull in the original in a way that is both faithful and has a spin that gets a chuckle from the audience.” Recording date: 6 January 2011
765 INTERVIEW: ARINZE KENE The playwright talks to Amardeep Sohi about his latest play, Suffocation, currently at the Oval House Theatre, and about his previous hit, Estate Walls, as well as about his parallel careers as an EastEnders actor, playing Connor Stanley, and a director. Recorded at the Oval House Theatre, London. “We put Estate Walls on ourselves because no one else had any faith in it, and it sold out, which proves that these stories can find an audience.” Recording date: 11 January 2011
766 INTERVIEW: NEIL McPHERSON The artistic director of the award-winning Finborough Theatre, which has just celebrated its 30th anniversary, gives Aleks Sierz a lesson in the history, economics and aesthetics of this London fringe venue. Recorded at the Finborough’s occasionally noisy offices. “It’s easy to be a comet in fringe theatre: you can come in and have a huge success, but you can only keep that up for a year. So I took things more slowly.” Recording date: 11 January 2011
767 ASIAN VOICES: ANURADHA KAPUR The director of, and professor at, the National School of Drama in India tells Suman Bhuchar about the 13th Bharat Rang Mahotsav, an annual festival, held this year on 7-22 January, and the biggest event of its kind in Asia. Recorded in Delhi. “Music is very interesting: Bhangra has changed, travelled and adapted, but contemporary performance pieces, which are similarly hybrid, seem not to be as easily consumable.” Recording date: 13 January 2011
768 FOCUS ON DAHL The playwright Simon Stephens, artistic associate at the Lyric Hammersmith, joins writer Jeremy Dyson (League of Gentlemen; Ghost Stories) on a public platform to talk about adapting Roald Dahl’s Twisted Tales for the stage at this venue. Recorded at the Lyric Hammersmith. “Often there’s only 10 minutes of story, so you’ve got to stretch them – but the beauty of them is that they are these fantastic pieces of machinery.” Recording date: 17 January 2011
769 MIME FEST SPECIAL Postshow discussion with Maksim Isaev, Pavel Semchenko and Andrei Siznitev of Russia’s Akhe Engineering Theatre about their show, Gobo. Digital Glossary, performed as part of the 2011 London International Mime Festival, at the ICA Theatre. Hosted by Dick McCaw, Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London. Recorded by Diana Damian. “As I was walking down a street in Reykjavik I saw a man standing on a chair, holding a bottle and a glass, and singing to himself.” Recording date: 19 January 2011
770 MIME FEST SPECIAL Postshow discussion with Charlotte Ford and Geoff Sobelle of America’s Sobelle and Ford about their show, Flesh and Blood & Fish and Fowl, performed as part of the 2011 London International Mime Festival, at the Barbican Pit Theatre. Hosted by Dick McCaw, Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London. Recorded by Diana Damian. “The show is like a contemporary urban Adam and Eve heading towards Doomsday, and they are like rats in a maze, shell-shocked and naive.” Recording date: 20 January 2011
771 INTERVIEW: DOMINIC DROMGOOLE The artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe talks about his plans for a multi-lingual festival of Shakespeare’s complete works, to coincide with the run-up to the 2012 Olympics; he also describes the major new project to construct an indoor Jacobean theatre alongside the Globe and outlines the vision behind the 2011 season The Word Is God. Dominic Cavendish quizzes. “The RSC have been steadily copying what the Globe does for the last 10 or 15 years and then claiming it is something brand new.” Recording date: 21 January 2011
772 INTERVIEW: LOUISE BLACKWELL AND KATE McGRATH The co-founders of producing company Fuel, who work with the likes of Sound&Fury, Uninvited Guests, Fevered Sleep and Clod Ensemble, talk about their new free monthly podcast series Everyday Moments. Sample clips from Kazuko Hohki, Lemn Sissay and Peggy Shaw included. Dominic Cavendish holds the mic upstairs at the BAC, London. “What the artists have in common is that they all have a unique perspective on the world and the capacity to convey that to an audience.” Recording date: 21 January 2011
773 MIME FEST SPECIAL Postshow discussion with Aurelien Bory of France’s Compagnie 111 / Aurelien Bory about their show, Sans Objet, performed as part of the 2011 London International Mime Festival, at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. Hosted byDick McCaw, Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London. Recorded by Diana Damian. “Many of the elements that appear on stage came to us by chance during improvisations: the robots are the perfect combination of objects and movement.” Recording date: 22 January 2011
774 MIME FEST SPECIAL Postshow discussion with Patrick Simms, Josephine Biereye, Celine Chevy, Rosanna Goodall and David Hayter of France’s Les Antliaclastes about their show, Hilum, performed as part of the 2011 London International Mime Festival, at the ICA. Hosted by Donald Hutera, theatre and dance critic for The Times. Recorded by DianaDamian. “You get moments when the children interrupt the adults and the adults interrupt the children, and we explore that relationship.” Recording date: 23 January 2011
775 INTERVIEW: ADRIAN BROWN The writer and director tells Carole Woddis about Terence Rattigan’s lost play, Less Than Kind (an early version of Love in Idleness), which is currently enjoying a sell-out premiere at the Jermyn Street Theatre, with a cast led by Michael Simkins and Sara Crowe. He also reflects on his 60-year career. “We were looking for a play to produce and since I’d been a great friend of Rattigan this really was an ideal project.” Recording date: 24 January 2011
776 MIME FEST SPECIAL Postshow discussion with Vicki Amedume of UK’s Upswing about their show, Fallen, performed as part of the 2011 London International Mime Festival, at the Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room. Hosted by Dick McCaw, Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London. Recorded by Diana Damian. “People arrive at theatre by following lots of different pathways, and fewer and fewer come from just one background: we are a very experimental company.” Recording date: 25 January 2011
777 ASIAN VOICES: DHARMESH PATEL The first British-Asian Hamlet talks to Suman Bhuchar about making his Shakespearean debut in the RSC’s 70-minute young people’s version of the play, which is touring Britain and will arrive at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in February. Recorded at the Roundhouse, where he is also playing in the RSC’s The Comedy of Errors and As You Like It. “When I was at school I despised Shakespeare because we had to sit at a table and just read him. He really needs to be performed!” Recording date: 26 January 2011
778 MIME FEST SPECIAL Postshow discussion with Mathurin Bolze, Tsirihaka Harrivel, Tom Neal, Maroussia Diaz Verbeke and Erwan Ha Kyoon Larcher of France’s MPTA / Mathurin Bolze about their show, Du Goudron et des Plumes, performed as part of the 2011 London International Mime Festival, at the Barbican Theatre. Hosted by Dick McCaw, Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London. Recorded by Diana Damian. “I started this adventure by reading John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, but that book was just the fuel, which very soon burned away.” Recording date: 28 January 2011
779 MIME FEST SPECIAL Postshow discussion with Gavin Glover, Charles Webber and Isabelle Wery of UK’s Faulty Optic about their show, Flogging a Dead Horse, performed as part of the 2011 London International Mime Festival, at the Roundhouse Studio. Hosted by Dick McCaw, Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London. Recorded by Diana Damian. “When you share the stage with one or more puppets, they are sometimes being moved, and sometimes they are just static objects, which is also interesting.” Recording date: 28 January 2011
780 INTERVIEW: EDWARD HALL The artistic director of the all-male Shakespeare ensemble Propeller (and who also now runs Hampstead Theatre) talks to Dominic Cavendish about his approach to Richard III and The Comedy of Errors, the company’s latest touring double-bill. “Comedy of Errors was such hard work because it’s so precise – you have to be so light and quick. The laddish thing only fed the play eventually.” Recording date: 29 January 2011
781 MIME FEST SPECIAL Postshow discussion with Paolo Nani and Kristjan Ingimarsson of Denmark’s Nani & Ingimarsson about their show, The Art of Dying, performed as part of the 2011 London International Mime Festival, at the Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room. Hosted by Dick McCaw, Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London. Recorded by Diana Damian. “I guess that the most desperate moment is when you think you are being funny but you are really not, and that happens – for Paolo – very often!” Recording date: 29 January 2011
Recordings from February 2011
Total number of recordings from this month: 12
782 REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2010 Join Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests David Benedict (Variety), Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph) and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) as they assess the highs and lows of the reviewing year, from Matilda at the RSC to Julie Andrews at the O2 Arena. Recorded at Dewynters, London. Recording date: 4 February 2011.
783 RUTH LEON ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF MUSICALS (1/2) Ruth Leon, biographer, critic and Visiting Professor of Drama at Kingston University, talks to Heather Neill about her new book, The Sound of Musicals (Oberon), which explores the wonderful history of musical theatre in all its glory. Recording date: 4 February 2011.
784 RUTH LEON ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF MUSICALS (2/2) Ruth Leon, biographer, critic and Visiting Professor of Drama at Kingston University, talks to Heather Neill about her new book, The Sound of Musicals (Oberon), which explores the wonderful history of musical theatre in all its glory. Recorded 4 February 2011.
785 WEST END REVIEW FEBRUARY 2011 Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests David Benedict (Variety), Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph) and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) discuss Peter Hall’s Twelfth Night (National), Nina Raine’s Tiger Country (Hampstead), Gina Gionfriddo’s Becky Shaw (Almeida), Greenland (National), and Terence Rattigan’s Less Than Kind (Jermyn Street). Recorded at Dewynters, London. Recording date: 5 February 2011.
786 A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO HUNGARIAN THEATRE TODAY Anna Lengyel, who conceived and convened the Cross-Section showcase in Budapest, 10-13 February, an opportunity to sample work from the three main state-subsidised theatres – Katona, Orkeny and the National – explains the rationale behind this venture and considers Hungarian theatre today. Dominic Cavendish quizzes. Recording date: 12 February 2011.
787 DIRECTOR IAN RICKSON DISCUSSES LILLIAN HELLMAN The director talks to Carole Woddis about his hit West End production of Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour (Comedy Theatre), which stars Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss in a play that was scandalous on its first outing in 1934, and continues to be relevant. Recorded at Graeae. Recording date: 17 February 2011.
788 ACTOR LUCIAN MSAMATI ON CLYBOURNE PARK The actor, director and writer chats to Carole Woddis about his role in Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park (Wyndhams), a satirical drama about race in Chicago which has just transferred to the West End from the Royal Court. He also talks about theatre in Zimbabwe, where he grew up, and his role as artistic director of Tiata Fahodzi. Recording date: 17 February 2011.
789 SIMON CALLOW ON TWELFTH NIGHT AND SIR TOBY BELCH Heather Neill talks to the award-winning veteran actor and author Simon Callow about playing Sir Toby Belch for 80-year-old Sir Peter Hall in Twelfth Night, which is currently at the National. He also discusses the broader cultural context of postwar theatre. Recorded at the National. Recording date: 18 February 2011.
790 JEREMY HERRIN TALKS ABOUT DIRECTING THE HERETIC The deputy artistic director of the Royal Court talks to Carole Woddis about staging Richard Bean’s climate change drama The Heretic, his career to date and his plans for Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe. Recorded at the Royal Court. Recording date: 21 February 2011.
791 STILES AND DREWE SING, YES SING, BETTY BLUE EYES The award-winning composer and lyricist talk to Dominic Cavendish about their latest musical, Betty Blue Eyes, a large-scale adaptation of A Private Function, the Alan Bennett film about life, and pigs, in austerity Britain (book by Rob Cowen and Daniel Lipman) opening at the Novello this month. Excerpt. Recording date: 24 February 2011.
792 ACTOR ANDREW SHERIDAN DISCUSES HIS AWARD-WINNING DEBUT PLAY The actor and playwright talks to Aleks Sierz about his powerful playwriting debut, Winterlong (Soho Theatre), which was joint winner of the Bruntwood Playwriting Competition in 2008, and premiered at the Royal Exchange in Manchester. Recorded at the Soho Theatre. Recording date: 28 February 2011.
793 KALI THEATRE COMPANY CELEBRATES 21 YEARS OF NEW WRITING The artistic director of Kali talks to Suman Bhuchar about the touring company, which specialises in new writing by women from a South Asian background. She outlines Kali’s 21-year history, as well as current projects, such as Sonia Likhari’s Behna and Bettina Gracias’s Gandhi and Coconuts. Recorded at Kali. Recording date: 28 February 2011.
Recordings from March 2011
Total number of recordings from this month: 18
794 IRISH PLAYWRIGHT DEIRDRE KINAHAN ON MOMENT The Irish playwright and artistic director of Tall Tales theatre company talks to Amardeep Sohi about her latest, Moment (Bush Theatre), a dark but thrilling play about a family coming to terms with a horrific murder, and about her work with Tall Tales. Recorded at the Bush. Recording date: 1 March 2011.
795 WEST END REVIEW MARCH 2011 Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests David Benedict (Variety), Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph) and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) assess The Wizard of Oz (London Palladium); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Donmar); Frankenstein (National Theatre); The Children’s Hour (Comedy Theatre); The Heretic (Royal Court). Recorded at the National. Recording date: 2 March 2011.
796 ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSING THE EXPERIMENTAL SPRINT FESTIVAL Diana Damian talks to Matt Ball, artistic director of Camden People’s Theatre, and Sprint artists Hester Chillingworth (Getinthebackofthevan with External) and Oliver Lamford (Thisnowthis with Anemone) about creating experimental work and the place of audience engagement in contemporary theatre. Recorded in the occasionally noisy foyer of Camden People’s Theatre. Recording date: 3 March 2011.
797 ANGLE TEAMS UP WITH BUSH THEATRE TO FIND NEW PLAYS The director and founder of East London’s Angle theatre company and the playwright and supporter tell Heather Neill about teaming up with the Bush Theatre to launch a new call for plays. Angle specialises in seeking playwrights from the wider community. Recorded at the Bush’s new venue, which opens in the autumn. Recording date: 7 March 2011.
798 ACTORS SHELLEY KING AND JAMILA MASSEY ON THE USUAL AUNTIJIES Two of the stars of Paven Virk’s The Usual Auntijies (Belgrade, Coventry) talk to Suman Bhuchar about this bitter-sweet comedy, directed by Barry Kyle, and discuss current issues in the growth of South Asian theatre. Recorded in Coventry. Recording date: 10 March 2011.
799 ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIION OF GOTCHA BY BARRIE KEEFFE Post-show discussion about enduring lessons to be learned from Barrie Keeffe’s school rebellion drama of 1976, Gotcha, in which an aggrieved comprehensive school pupil holds three teachers hostage. Participants: the writer Barrie Keeffe; the veteran actor Phil Davis; the newcomer Jake Roche, who plays the central role of Kid; the director Poppy Burton-Morgan; and the critic Dominic Cavendish. Excerpt. Recorded at the Riverside Studios. Sound level variable. Recording date: 10 March 2011.
800 NICK DEAR ON ADAPTING FRANKINSTEIN FOR THE NATIONAL The playwright talks to Carole Woddis about the work involved in adapting Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein for director Danny Boyle’s acclaimed staging at the National. Recording date: 11 March 2011.
801 THE KINGS OF ENGLAND EXPLORE MEMORY AT SPILL. Diana Damian talks to company members Simon Bowes, Alex Eisenberg and John Pinder about their show, In Eldersfield: An Elegy for Paul Dirac, and their plans for a 10-year cycle of works dedicated to invoking forgotten moments of the twentieth century. Recorded at the Espace studios. Recording date: 12 March 2011.
802 ALEKS SIERZ DISCUSSES HIS NEW BOOK: REWRITING THE NATION Philip Fisher talks to critic and theatreVOICE co-editor Aleks Sierz about his new book, Rewriting the Nation: British Theatre Today (Methuen Drama), the legacy of 1990s in-yer-face theatre and the ups and downs of new writing in the UK during the past decade. Recording date: 17 March 2011.
803 PLAYWRIGHT TANIKA GUPTA ADAPTS GREAT EXPECTATIONS The playwright tells Suman Bhuchar about her new adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations (Watford Palace and English Touring Theatre), which transposes Dickens’s story to 1860s India, and is currently on tour in a production directed by Nikolai Foster. Recorded at ETT. Recording date: 17 March 2011.
804 VIVIENNE FRANZMANN AND SIMON STEPHENS: MOGADISHU Post-show discussion between artistic associate Simon Stephens and debut playwright Vivienne Franzmann about her Mogadishu (Lyric Hammersmith), a contemporary play that examines class and race in a school setting. Extract. Recorded at the Lyric Hammersmith. Expletives not deleted. Recording date: 21 March 2011.
805 RUPERT GOULD DIRECTS ROMEO AND JULIET Heather Neill talks to Headlong artistic director Rupert Goold about his thrilling production of Romeo and Juliet (Royal Shakespeare Company), starring Sam Troughton and Mariah Gale. Recorded at the RSC rehearsal rooms, Clapham. Recording date: 21 March 2011.
806 MATTHEW KELLY TALKS ABOUT HIS ACTING CAREER Heather Neill pops backstage at the Duchess Theatre to talk to the erstwhile TV presenter, best-known for Stars in Their Eyes, who has returned to his theatrical roots, undertaking a remarkable range of roles – the latest being the engineer Frank in Tim Firth’s comic two-hander Sign of the Times. Recording date: 21 March 2011.
807 DIRECTOR DAVID THACKER EXPLORES THE WORK OF ARTHIR MILLER The artistic director of the Octagon Theatre Bolton talks to David Chadderton on the telephone about his current revival of Arthur Miller’s The Price (1968), and about his long and rewarding working relationship with the legendary playwright. Recording date: 24 March 2011.
808 DAVID LAN, JUDE KELLY AND RICHARD EYRE ON THE ARTS Excerpt from the Young Vic’s two-hour seminar, attended by 500 members of the arts industry, exploring the future of arts funding in the face of the new era of cut-backs. Keynote speeches from Young Vic artistic director David Lan, Jude Kelly, artistic director of the South Bank Centre, and Sir Richard Eyre, former artistic director of the National Theatre. Recorded at the Young Vic by Carole Woddis. Recording date: 25 March 2011.
809 INTERVIEW WITH ELYSE DODGSON OF THE ROYAL COURT Carole Woddis talks to the head of the International Department of the Royal Court about their current work, beginning with the relationships fostered in the Middle East. Recording date: 25 March 2011.
810 INTERVIEW DAVID EDGAR ON THE KING JAMES BIBLE The playwright, whose play about the making, 400 years ago, of the King James Bible, Written on the Heart, will premiere at the RSC’s Swan Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon in the autumn, talks to Heather Neill about its story – the story of the English Reformation. Recorded at the Institute for Race Relations. Recording date: 28 March 2011.
811 PLAYWRIGHT DAVID ELDRIDGE ON HIS BRILLIANT NEW PLAY The playwright talks to Aleks Sierz about his very well received new play, The Knot of the Heart (Almeida), which he wrote specially for actor Lisa Dillon, and which is directed by the venue’s artistic director Michael Attenborough. Recorded at the Almeida. Recording date: 31 March 2011.
Recordings from April 2011.
Total recordings from this month: 10
812 RAJINI SHAH: LIVE ART MUSICAL EXTRAVAGANZA GLOURIOUS Diana Damian talks to Rajni Shah about her live art musical extravaganza Glorious, performed at the Barbican in collaboration with Guildhall School of Music and Drama students and local residents. Recorded at In Nothing Flat studio in Liverpool Street. Recording date: 2 April 2011.
813 PRECIOUS LITTLE TALENT: HIT PLAYWRIGHT AND PRODUCER SPEAK The playwright and the producer of Precious Little Talent, which was a hit in Edinburgh in 2009 and is currently at the Trafalgar Studios, talk to Carole Woddis about the play, which is about Anglo-American attitudes. Recorded at the Trafalgar Studios. Recording date: 5 April 2011.
814 SOHO ARTISTIC DIRECTOR STEVE MARMION UNVEILS FIRST SEASON The new artistic director of the Soho Theatre tells Aleks Sierz about his innovative first season, including the first London production of Anthony Neilson’s Realism (2006) and OperaUpClose’s Don Giovanni, and his plans for two new performance spaces at this new writing venue. Recorded at the Soho Theatre. Recording date: 7 April 2011.
815 ROYAL COURT ROUNDTABLE TRIBUTE TO KEN CAMPBELL In honour of the late, great theatrical maverick (1941-2008), his daughter Daisy Campbell joins the ventriloquist-comedian Nina Conti, the actor Jim Broadbent, the comedian John Sessions and the director Sir Richard Eyre to share their memories of the man with Ken Campbell’s biographer, the critic Michael Coveney. Recorded at the Royal Court. Recording date: 8 April 2011.
816 FRINGE HERO ADAM SPREADBURY- MAHER ON PUB OPERA The inspirational artistic director of the Cock Tavern Theatre and the King’s Head Theatre talks to Mary Mazzilli about his Olivier-award-winning production of La Boheme (OperaUpClose, 2010), his career to date, and the role of the London fringe. Recorded at the King’s Head, London, sound editing by Simon McCabe. Recording date: 12 April 2011.
817 THE COMPLETE KING JAMES BIBLE READIJNG AT SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE The Deputy Head of Acting at Mountview Academy of Arts, who is directing the complete reading of the King James Bible at Shakespeare’s Globe, talks to Heather Neill about this unique event which launches the Globe’s The Word is God season, and marks the 400th anniversary of this historic version of the Bible. Recording date: 20 April 2011.
818 SPILL FESTIVAL ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSES THE THEME OF INFECTION Diana Damian interviews four of this year’s National Platform artists about their work in the context of Spill Festival’s curatorial theme of infection. The artists are Martin O’Brien with Mucus Factory, Nic Chalmers with All Erasable, Shabnam Shabazi with Body House Version 1 and Jungmin Song with Hamlet (Tissues). Recorded at the In Nothing Flat studio in Liverpool Street. Recording date: 20 April 2011.
819 WEST END REVIEW: APRIL 2011 (1/2) Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests David Benedict (Variety), Libby Purvis (Times) and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) assess Flare Path (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Cause Celebre (Old Vic); Blithe Spirit (Apollo); Ecstasy (Duchess Theatre); Moonlight (Donmar Warehouse); and Rocket to the Moon (National Theatre). Recorded at the National Theatre. Recording date: 25 April 2011.
820 WEST END REVIEW: APRIL 2011 (2/2). Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests David Benedict (Variety), Libby Purvis (Times) and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) assess Flare Path (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Cause Celebre (Old Vic); Blithe Spirit (Apollo); Ecstasy (Duchess Theatre); Moonlight (Donmar Warehouse); and Rocket to the Moon (National Theatre). Recorded at the National Theatre. Recording date: 25 April 2011.
821 INTERVIEW WITH FAST RISING ACTRESS JESSICA RAINE The fast-rising star – who has made waves in David Hare’s Gethsemane, Simon Stephens’s Harper Regan and Punk Rock and is now making a splash as the glamorous, Marilyn Monroe-esque secretary Cleo in the National Theatre’s revival of Clifford Odets’s Rocket to the Moon. Recording date: 30 April 2011.
Recordings from May 2011
Total number of recordings from this month: 12
822 DOMANIC DROMGOOLE ON HIS TOURING HAMLET. Dominic Dromgoole, artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe, talks to Heather Neill about the touring work the theatre does, centring on this summer’s portable production of Hamlet. Recording date: 11 May 2011.
823 ALECKY BLYTHE TALKS ABOUT DO WE LOOK LIKE REFUGEES?! The verbatim theatre-maker talks about Do We Look Like Refugees?!, a verbatim play created from interviews recorded in a Georgian refugee settlement with people who lost their homes after the 2008 August War. It was produced in collaboration with the National Theatre Studio, the Rustaveli Theatre in Tbilisi and the British Council Georgia. Dominic Cavendish quizzes. Recording date: 14 May 2011.
824 ALECKY BLYTHE TALKS ABOUT LONDON ROAD The creator (with composer Adam Cork, and director Rufus Norris) of the documentary musical London Road, dealing with the neighbourhood caught up in the notorious Ipswich prostitute murders of 2006, talks to Dominic Cavendish about this hit National Theatre show. Recording date: 14 May 2011.
825 SANDI TOKSVIG POST-SHOW DISCUSSION ON BULLY BOY Broadcaster Sandi Toksvig joins director Patrick Sandford, Simon Blagden, former Captain in the Paratroopers (currently on the Appeals committee of charity Combat Stress) and Andrew Cameron, chief executive of Combat Stress (the UK’s leading military charity specialising in the care of veterans’ mental health) for a short discussion of the issues raised by her drama Bully Boy, currently at the NuffieldTheatre Southampton. Recording date: 15 May 2011.
826 CONTROVERSIAL PLAYWRIGHT RICHARD BEAN: FULL CAREER The playwright tells Philip Fisher about his latest, One Man, Two Guvnors, an adaptation of Carlo Goldoni’s The Servant of Two Masters, and then gives an overview of his career, from his Royal Court debut, Toast (1999), to his controversial England People Very Nice (2009), taking in his formative days in the world of stand-up comedy. Recording date: 18 May 2011.
827 ESTHER BAKER DESCRIBES THE SYNERGY THEATRE PROJECT The artistic director of the Synergy theatre project, which works with prisoners, ex-prisoners and young people at risk, tells Aleks Sierz about her work, with a focus on Convictions, the company’s first festival of new writing, which includes Every Coin by Carlon Campbell Robinson and The Archbishop and the Antichrist by Michael Ashton. Recording date: 20 May 2011.
828 DAVID SLACK OF MANCHESTER’S 24:7 FESTIVAL The Executive Producer of the 24:7 Theatre Festival, an event that focuses on new writing in Manchester and is now in its eighth year, chats to David Chadderton about the origins, significance and influence of the festival, which runs annually in late July. Recorded at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. Recording date: 23 May 2011.
829 GREG DORAN TALKS ABOUT HIS RSC CARDENIO Director and RSC associate Greg Doran tells Heather Neill about his “reimagined” adaptation of John Fletcher and Shakespeare’s Cardenio (RSC), which was based on a story in Cervantes’s Don Quixote, and explains why it is more than just an example of historical research. Recorded at the RSC offices, Stratford-upon-Avon. Recording date: 24 May 2011.
830 EPIC: A SHOW THAT SPANS THE 20th CENTURY Diana Damian talks to the theatre-makers about their show Epic (also starring Pedro Inès, at the Soho, and touring), and about Brecht, staging history, merging the small with the big, and the challenges of creating an epic show. Recording date: 25 May 2011.
831 JOHN McGRATH UNVEILS THE SECOND SEASON FOR NTW The artistic director of National Theatre Wales gives theatreVOICE an exclusive survey of his programme for the company’s second season, running from this year’s Edinburgh Festival into next year’s Olympic period and concluding in the forests of North Wales in autumn 2012. Dominic Cavendish quizzes. Recording date: 25 May 2011.
832 JONATHAN SLINGER ON HIS RSC MACBETH The actor, who made his name by appearing at the Royal Shakespeare Company, especially in substantial roles in the Histories – Richard II and Richard III – talks to Heather Neill about his greatest challenge to-date, playing Macbeth for Michael Boyd in a Reformation-era setting. Recording date: 27 May 2011.
833 ACTOR EDWARD PETHERBRIDGE COMPLETE CAREER OVERVIEW The actor tells Philip Fisher about his new book, Slim Chances and Unscheduled Appearances (Independent Press Publishing), which is a series of essays exploring his career — from Guildenstern in Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to Lord Peter Whimsey, and beyond — and preoccupations, including the Old Vic under Laurence Olivier, the Actors Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Recording date: 30 May 2011.
Recordings from June 2011.
Total recordings from this month: 11
834 ARNOLD WESKER READS TWO LETTERS FROM TERENCE RATTIGA Sir Arnold Wesker reads private letters from Terence Rattigan. Currently enjoying the successful revival of his play Chicken Soup with Barley at The Royal Court, Arnold Wesker reads two letters of admiration sent to him at the time of the original production from Terence Rattigan. Excerpt from an interview with John Nathan. Recording date: 16 June 2011.
835 WEST END REVIEW JUNE 2011 (1/2) Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests David Benedict (Variety), Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph) and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) assess Alecky Blythe’s London Road (National Theatre), Richard Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors (National Theatre) and Anya Reiss’s The Acid Test (Royal Court). Recording date: 18 June 2011.
836 WEST END REVIEW JUNE 2011 (2/2 Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests David Benedict (Variety), Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph) and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) assess Alecky Blythe’s London Road (National Theatre), Richard Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors (National Theatre) and Anya Reiss’s The Acid Test (Royal Court). Recording date: 18 June 2011.
837 JANIE DEE ON ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL Award-winning actor Janie Dee talks to Heather Neill about her debut at Shakespeare’s Globe, playing the Countess of Roussillon in a production directed by John Dove. Recorded at Shakespeare’s Globe. Recording date: 22 June 2011.
838 LINDSEY POSNER, DIRECTOR, ON STAGING DAVID GRAY’S BUTLEY The director talks about his current West End revival of the late Simon Gray’s Butley. Dominic Cavendish quizzes. Recording date: 25 June 2011.
839 CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD SHARES A FEW OF HIS FAVOURITE SONGS (1/3) Mark Shenton hears the dancer, choreographer, director – and famously catty Strictly Come Dancing judge – talk about (and sometimes through) some of his best-loved songs. Part of a special series at Jermyn Street Theatre, London, curated by Shenton and organised under the auspices of the Theatre Guild. The featured singer is West End leading lady Caroline Sheen. Recording date: 30 May 2011.
840 CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD SHARES A FEW OF HIS FAVOURITE SONGS (2/3) Mark Shenton hears the dancer, choreographer, director – and famously catty Strictly Come Dancing judge – talk about (and sometimes through) some of his best-loved songs. Part of a special series at Jermyn Street Theatre, London, curated by Shenton and organised under the auspices of the Theatre Guild. The featured singer is West End leading lady Caroline Sheen. Recording date: 30 May 2011.
841 CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD SHARES A FEW OF HIS FAVOURITE SONGS (3/3) Mark Shenton hears the dancer, choreographer, director – and famously catty Strictly Come Dancing judge – talk about (and sometimes through) some of his best-loved songs. Part of a special series at Jermyn Street Theatre, London, curated by Shenton and organised under the auspices of the Theatre Guild. The featured singer is West End leading lady Caroline Sheen. Recording date: 30 May 2011.
842 ACTOR DANNY WEBB ON WESKER HIT REVIVAL The actor discusses Dominic Cooke’s well-received revival of Arnold Wesker’s seminal 1958 play, Chicken Soup with Barley (the first part of the Wesker Trilogy about a politically motivated East End Jewish family across 30 years of history), with Carole Woddis. Recorded at the Royal Court. Recording date: 27 June 2011.
843 BRAHAM MURRAY AND THE MANCHESTER ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE The joint-artistic director of the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, who has just announced his retirement from the job (but not directing), talks to David Chadderton on the telephone about a career spanning four decades as a leading light in the theatrical life of the city, in a tale whose proudest moment was leading the rebuilding of his venue after it was almost destroyed by an IRA bomb. Recording quality: variable. Recording date: 28 June 2011.
844 DAVID WARD ON THE THEATRE BY THE LAKE. The journalist and literary consultant of the extraordinary 400-seat Theatre Theatre by the Lake in Keswick talks to David Chadderton about the history of this venue, which he also explores in his book, Encore! Ten Years of Theatre by the Lake (Bookcase, 2009). Recorded in Bollington, East Cheshire. Recording date: 28 June 2011.
Recordings from July 2011
Total recordings from this month: 19
845 NICK HYTNER SHARES A FEW OF HIS FAVOURITE SONGS 1/2 The artistic director of the National Theatre talks to Mark Shenton about some of the songs that have meant the most to him during his career. Part of a special series at Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in aid of the Theatre Guild, organised and curated by Shenton. The featured singer is West End leading lady Caroline Sheen. Recording date: 2 June 2011.
846 NICK HYTNER SHARES A FEW OF HIS FAVOURITE SONGS 2/2 The artistic director of the National Theatre talks to Mark Shenton about some of the songs that have meant the most to him during his career. Part of a special series at Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in aid of the Theatre Guild, organised and curated by Shenton. The featured singer is West End leading lady Caroline Sheen. Recording date: 2 June 2011.
847 DAN BARNARD AND RACHEL BRISCOE DIRECT LYDIA ADETUNJI’s FIXER The co-directors of Lydia Adetunji’s new play, Fixer, which is currently on at the Oval House Theatre in south London, take Aleks Sierz on a journey into its dark tale of oil company PRs, inquisitive journalists and militant rebels, set in northern Nigeria. Briscoe is also, with Rebecca Atkinson-Lord, co-director of the venue, and she outlines its future. Recorded at the Oval House Theatre. Recording date: 7 July 2011.
848 FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN THE ARTS DEBATE 1/2 Debate on Policing Challenging Art, with Tamsin Allen (Head of media and information law at Bindmans LLP), the playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, Canon Giles Fraser (St Paul’s Cathedral), director David Lan, Chief Superintendent Peter Terry (Metropolitan Police) and Munira Mirza (director of Arts and Culture for the Mayor of London). The panel was chaired by Julia Farrington of Index on Censorship. Free Word Centre, Farringdon Road, London. Recording date: 5 July 2011.
849 FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN THE ARTS DEBATE 2/2 Debate on Policing Challenging Art, with Tamsin Allen (Head of media and information law at Bindmans LLP), the playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, Canon Giles Fraser (St Paul’s Cathedral), director David Lan, Chief Superintendent Peter Terry (Metropolitan Police) and Munira Mirza (director of Arts and Culture for the Mayor of London). The panel was chaired by Julia Farrington of Index on Censorship. Free Word Centre, Farringdon Road, London. Recording date: 5 July 2011.
850 THEATRE UNCUT REVIVES THE THEATRE OF PROTEST The producer and artistic director of Theatre Uncut, an ambitious nationwide project which staged several short plays as a protest against the Coalition government’s spending cut, with the flagship event being at the Southwark Playhouse, London, on 16-19 March, talk to Carole Woddis. Playwrights involved include Dennis Kelly, Lucy Kirkwood, Laura Lomas, David Greig, Anders Lustgarten, Mark Ravenhill, Jack Thorne and Clara Brennan. Recording date: 4 July 2011.
851 WHAT IS GREYSCALE’S THEATRE BROTHEL? ALL IS EXPLAINED Greyscale’s artistic director talks to Diana Damian about Theatre Brothel, the company’s micro-festival currently on at the Almeida Theatre, featuring guest artists Inua Ellams and Pin the Tale, and about how to engage the audience in a different theatrical encounter. Recorded at the Almeida. Recording date: 9 July 2011.
852 THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE SONGS, PRODUCER BILL KENWRIGHT (1/3) The leading West End producer talks to Mark Shenton about his career, spills glorious anecdotes, relives glory days as an actor, hymns the wonders of Liverpool – and divulges some of his favourite songs. Recorded at Jermyn Street Theatre, London as part of a special week-long series, curated by Shenton, in aid of the Theatrical Guild. The featured singer is West End leading lady Caroline Sheen. Recording date: 31 May 2011.
853 THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE SONGS, PRODUCER BILL KENWRIGHT (2/3) The leading West End producer talks to Mark Shenton about his career, spills glorious anecdotes, relives glory days as an actor, hymns the wonders of Liverpool – and divulges some of his favourite songs. Recorded at Jermyn Street Theatre, London as part of a special week-long series, curated by Shenton, in aid of the Theatrical Guild. The featured singer is West End leading lady Caroline Sheen. Recording date: 31 May 2011.
854 THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE SONGS, PRODUCER BILL KENWRIGHT (3/3) The leading West End producer talks to Mark Shenton about his career, spills glorious anecdotes, relives glory days as an actor, hymns the wonders of Liverpool – and divulges some of his favourite songs. Recorded at Jermyn Street Theatre, London as part of a special week-long series, curated by Shenton, in aid of the Theatrical Guild. The featured singer is West End leading lady Caroline Sheen. Recording date: 31 May 2011.
855 CURATORS OF ARTSADMIN’S WAKE AND ARCHIPELAGO PROJECT The curators of ArtsAdmin’s Wake and Archipelago, a six-week programme of performances and installations taking place concurrently at two galleries in Southwark Park, talk to Diana Damian about the work and other projects. Recorded in the secret office at Dilston Grove, Recording date: 10 July 2011.
856 ACTOR CHARLES EDWARDS AND MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Actor Charles Edwards talks to Heather Neill about his role as Benedick, opposite Eve Best’s Beatrice, in Jeremy Herrin’s great production of the play at Shakespeare’s Globe. Recorded at Shakespeare’s Globe. Recording date: 15 July 2011.
857 PLAYWRIGHT PENELOPE SKINNER ON THE VILLAGE BIKE The playwright talks to Aleks Sierz about her new Royal Court play, The Village Bike, which explores the sex lives of a couple who have just moved to the countryside, and about Eigengrau, which was at the Bush Theatre in 2010. Recorded at the Royal Court. Recording date: 20 July 2011.
858 PALESTINIAN DIRECTOR AND WRITER AMIR NIZAR ZUABI ADAPTS KAFKA The director and writer, whose Haifa-based Palestinian ShiberHur theatre company is currently performing an adaptation of Franz Kafka’s In the Penal Colony at the Young Vic, talks to Amardeep Sohi about the play, the question of freedom and why he does not accept subsidy from the Israeli state. Recorded at the Young Vic. Recording date: 19 July 2011.
859 BALARUS FREE THEATRE CO-FOUNDER’S INTERVIEWED The co-founders of the Belarus Free Theatre find time in a busy schedule to talk to Dominic Cavendish about how they came to set up their underground theatre company, which operates in conditions of the strictest repression in their homeland, and now has a base in London. Their most recent show Eurepica.Challenge is at the Almeida Theatre and the company stages a new work at the Pleasance, Edinburgh in August. Recorded at the British Library (some background noise). Recording date: 23 July 2011.
860 THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE SONGS, PRODUCER MICHAEL CODRON (1/2) The veteran West End producer talks to Mark Shenton about his career with the leading playwrights of his age, Michael Frayn and Simon Gray included, and shares some melancholy favourites. Recorded at Jermyn Street Theatre, London as part of a special week-long series, curated by Shenton, in aid of the Theatrical Guild. The featured singer is West End leading lady Caroline Sheen. Recording date: 1 June 2011.
861 THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE SONGS, PRODUCER MICHAEL CODRON (2/2) The veteran West End producer talks to Mark Shenton about his career with the leading playwrights of his age, Michael Frayn and Simon Gray included, and shares some melancholy favourites. Recorded at Jermyn Street Theatre, London as part of a special week-long series, curated by Shenton, in aid of the Theatrical Guild. The featured singer is West End leading lady Caroline Sheen. Recording date: 1 June 2011.
862 WEST END REVIEW JULY 2001 (1/2) Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests David Benedict (Variety), Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph), and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) discuss Shakespeare’s Richard III (Old Vic), Harold Pinter’s Betrayal (Comedy Theatre), Thomas Heywood’s A Woman Killed with Kindness (National Theatre) and Ibsen’s Emperor and Galilean (National Theatre). Recording date: 26 July 2011.
863 WEST END REVIEW JULY 2001 (2/2) Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests David Benedict (Variety), Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph), and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) discuss Shakespeare’s Richard III (Old Vic), Harold Pinter’s Betrayal (Comedy Theatre), Thomas Heywood’s A Woman Killed with Kindness (National Theatre) and Ibsen’s Emperor and Galilean (National Theatre). Recording date: 26 July 2011.
Recordings from August 2011
Total number of recordings from this month: 14
864 CO-CREATOR OF YES, PRIME MINISTER JONATJAN LYNN EXPLORES COMEDY The actor, director and co-writer, with Antony Jay, of the hit West End comedy show, Yes, Prime Minister (Apollo) – an updated theatre version of their classic 1980s BBC series – talks to Philip Fisher about his new book, Comedy Rules (Faber), political satire, and about his extensive and globetrotting career. Recording date: 5 August 2011.
865 DIRECTOR MAX STAFFORD-CLARK REVISITS CARYL CHURCHILL’S WONDERFUL TOP GIRLS Author Kate Mosse introduces a pre-show talk, ‘Directing Top Girls: Then and Now’, which features director Max Stafford-Clark discussing his Chichester Festival Theatre revival of Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls (1982), which has now transferred to the West End. The platform includes his assistant director Tim Hoare and most of the cast: Lucy Briers, Laura Elphinstone, Stella Gonet, Suranne Jones, Lisa Kerr, Catherine McCormack and Olivia Poulet. Recorded at the Minerva Theatre. Recording date: 28 June 2011.
866 PROFESSOR COLIN CHAMBERS EXPLORES THE HISTORY OF BLACK AND ASIAN THEATRE (1/2) The professor of drama at Kingston University, and former journalist and literary manager of the RSC, talks to SumanBhuchar about the long and previously obscure history of African, Asian and Caribbean diasporic practitioners as recounted in his new book, Black and Asian Theatre in Britain (Routledge). Recording date: 11 August 2011.
867 PROFESSOR COLIN CHAMBERS EXPLORES THE HISTORY OF BLACK AND ASIAN THEATRE (2/2) The professor of drama at Kingston University, and former journalist and literary manager of the RSC, talks to SumanBhuchar about the long and previously obscure history of African, Asian and Caribbean diasporic practitioners as recounted in his new book, Black and Asian Theatre in Britain (Routledge). Recording date: 11 August 2011.
868 PLAYWRIGHT CHRIS HANNAN: NEW PLAY AND CAREER OVERVIEW (1/2) The award-winning Scottish playwright discusses his latest play, The God of Soho (Shakespeare’s Globe), which is an extraordinary satire on celebrity and sex partly set in heaven, with Carole Woddis. Recorded at Shakespeare’s Globe. Recording date: 11 August 2011.
869 PLAYWRIGHT CHRIS HANNAN: NEW PLAY AND CAREER OVERVIEW (2/2) The award-winning Scottish playwright discusses his latest play, The God of Soho (Shakespeare’s Globe), which is an extraordinary satire on celebrity and sex partly set in heaven, with Carole Woddis. Recorded at Shakespeare’s Globe. Recording date: 11 August 2011.
870 EDINBURGH FRINGE 2011: BELGIAN DIRECTOR ALEXANDER DEVRIENDT BREAKS TABOOS The artistic director of Belgium company OntroerendGoed talks to Philip Fisher about his controversial and taboo-breaking theatre, especially Audience (St George’s West), his current show, which has polarised spectators and got everybody talking about its uncomfortable breaching of the boundaries of personal privacy. Recording date: 13 August 2011.
871 EDINBURGH FRINGE 2011: PRODUCOR RICHARD JORDAN Producer Richard Jordan discusses the joys and woes of two popular genres on the Edinburgh Fringe, one-on-one theatre and solo shows with Philip Fisher and offers some tips on getting them right. Jordan has produced and co-produced more than 55 plays for the stage – he is also one of the UK’s youngest producers, born in 1974. Recording date: 17Auguest 2011.
872 INTERACTIVITY IN THE AGE OF THE AUDIENCE (1/3) Panel discussion held by non zero one at Forest Fringe, Edinburgh. Chair: Cat Harrison (non zero one). Panellists: Alex Fleetwood (founder/director, Hide & Seek); Harun Morrison (producer, Lundahl&Seitl); John Hunter (artist and co-founder, non zero one); Lyn Gardner (critic, The Guardian); Mark Daniels (executive director, New Media Scotland); Matt Adams (artist and co-founder, Blast Theory). Recorded by Dominic Cavendish.Recroding date: 18 August 2011.
873 INTERACTIVITY IN THE AGE OF THE AUDIENCE (2/3) Panel discussion held by non zero one at Forest Fringe, Edinburgh. Chair: Cat Harrison (non zero one). Panellists: Alex Fleetwood (founder/director, Hide & Seek); Harun Morrison (producer, Lundahl&Seitl); John Hunter (artist and co-founder, non zero one); Lyn Gardner (critic, The Guardian); Mark Daniels (executive director, New Media Scotland); Matt Adams (artist and co-founder, Blast Theory). Recorded by Dominic Cavendish. Recording date: 18 August 2011.
874 INTERACTIVITY IN THE AGE OF THE AUDIENCE (3/3) Panel discussion held by non zero one at Forest Fringe, Edinburgh. Chair: Cat Harrison (non zero one). Panellists: Alex Fleetwood (founder/director, Hide & Seek); Harun Morrison (producer, Lundahl&Seitl); John Hunter (artist and co-founder, non zero one); Lyn Gardner (critic, The Guardian); Mark Daniels (executive director, New Media Scotland); Matt Adams (artist and co-founder, Blast Theory). Recorded by Dominic Cavendish. Recording date: 18 August 2011.
875 EDINBURGH FRINGE 2011: CRITICAL ROUNDUP Philip Fisher joins Mark Fisher (Scotland on Sunday) and Lyn Gardner (Guardian) to talk about offerings at the Traverse, International Festival and the remainder of the Fringe. Recording date: 27 August 2011.
876 ASIAN VOICES: NIGHTWATCHMAN AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE The actress Stephanie Street and playwright Prasanna Puwanarajah talk to SumanB huchar about a monologue in part 2 of the National Theatre’s Double Feature season, staged in the Paintframe department of the NT – a play about playing cricket at national level, testy father-daughter relations and Sri Lankan politics called Nightwatchman. Recorded at the National Theatre. Recording date: 16 August 2011.
877 INTERVIEW (EXTRACT) TIM SUPPLE IN CONVERSATION Edinburgh Festival 2011: Tim Supple, director. An extract from a conversation ahead of the UK premiere of Supple’s two-part pan-Arabic version of One Thousand And One Nights, running at the Royal Lyceum as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. This section of the discussion, with Dominic Cavendish, deals with his early preparations for the project and reflections on differing theatre cultures in the Arab world. Conducted for a preview feature about the show in the Daily Telegraph. Recording date: 24 August 2011.
Recordings from September 2011
Total number of recordings from this month:5
878 HAYDN GWYNNE ON THE SAM MENDES RICHARD III Actor Haydn Gwynne, who plays Queen Elizabeth in Sam Mendes’s Richard III (Old Vic), which also stars Kevin Spacey and is the last of this venue’s The Bridge Project (a three-year cross-Atlantic venture), talks to Heather Neill about the play, which is touring internationally. Recorded at the Old Vic. Recording date: 31 August 2011.
879 SAM WALTERS 40 YEARS AT THE ORANGE TREE THEATRE The artistic director of the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond talks to Carole Woddis about what it feels like to be the longest-serving head of a theatre in the country, and about his exceptional venue, which began as a pub theatre and then in 1991 moved across the road into a converted church which houses the only purpose-built theatre-in-the-round in London. Recorded at the Orange Tree. Recording date: 12 September 2011.
880 GET IN THE BACK OF THE VAN’S EXTERNAL: A THEATRICAL RESPONSE TO INTERNAL Theatre group Get in the Back of the Van talk to Diana Damian about their piece, External (Soho Theatre and touring), which interrogates notions of authenticity and performance in an experimental way. Recorded at the company’s London office. Recording date: 30 August 2011.
881 PLAYWRIGHT STEVE THOMPSON GETS A LAUGH OUT OF MONTY PYTHON The playwright chats to Aleks Sierz about his latest comedy, No Naughty Bits (Hampstead Theatre), which tells the story of the censorship of Monty Python’s Flying Circus in the United States in 1975, and puts a fictional Michael Palin on stage. Recorded at the Hampstead. Recording date: 19 September 2011.
882 THE BELLE’S STRATEGEM: REVIVING THE 18th CENTURY The director and lead actor of the Red Handed Theatre Company’s revival of Hannah Cowley’s 1780 play, The Belle’s Stratagem (Southwark Playhouse), talk to Carole Woddis about the challenges and pleasures of reviving a forgotten classic. Recorded at RADA. Recording date: 19 September 2011.
Recordings from October 2011
Total number of recordings from this month: 13
883 IAN BROWN DISCUSSES KING LEAR STARING TIM PIGOTT-SMITH Ian Brown, the outgoing artistic director of the West Yorkshire Playhouse, talks to Heather Neill about his well-received production of King Lear, starring Tim Pigott-Smith and currently running at the Quarry theatre. Recorded at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Recording date: 29 September 2011.
884 PLAYWRIGHT ALEXI KAYE CAMPBELL ON THE FAITH MACHINE The playwright talks to Aleks Sierz about his latest play, The Faith Machine, an ambitious drama of ideas which starred Ian McDiarmid and has just finished its run at the Royal Court theatre. Recorded at the Royal Court. Recording date: 30 September 2011.
885 TALAWA CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF BLACK THEATRE AT THE V&A The artistic director of Talawa tells Carole Woddis about the company’s 25-year history and its current production of The Colored Museum (1986), George C Wolfe’s groundbreaking savage satire on 200 years of African-American history, which is revived in an apt setting at the V&A museum, and about the first black British Waiting for Godot. Recorded at Talawa. Recording date: 30 September 2011.
886 WEST END REVIEW: THE TEMPEST, ANNA CHRISTIE AND MORE Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests David Benedict (Variety), Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph), and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) discuss The Tempest (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Anna Christie (DonmarWarehouse), Top Girls (Trafalgar Studios), The Kitchen (National Theatre) and Broken Glass (Vaudeville). Recorded at Dewynters. Recording date: 5 October 2011.
887 WEST END REVIEW: GRIEF DECADE AND ROCK OF AGES Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests David Benedict (Variety), Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph), and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) run their critical eyes over Mike Leigh’s Grief (National Theatre), the multi-authored Decade (Headlong at St Katharine Dock) and Rock of Ages (Shaftesbury Theatre). Recorded at Dewynters. Recording date: 5 October 2011.
888 DANIEL EVANS TOASTS 40 YEARS OF WEST END THEATRES The artistic director of Sheffield Theatres tells Heather Neill about his programme to celebrate the Crucible theatre’s 40th anniversary, and discusses his current production of Othello, starring Clarke Peters and Dominic West, in detail. Recorded at the Crucible. Recording date: 5 October 2011.
889 JONATHAN CHURCH LOOKS FORWARD TO CHICHESTER’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY The artistic director of Sheffield Theatres tells Heather Neill about his programme to celebrate the Crucible theatre’s 40th anniversary, and discusses his current production of Othello, starring Clarke Peters and Dominic West, in detail. Recorded at the Crucible. Recording date: 5 October 2011.
890 DESIGNER ALISON CHITTY ON MOTLEY AND MIKE LEIGH’S GRIEF (1/2) The artistic director of Sheffield Theatres tells Heather Neill about his programme to celebrate the Crucible theatre’s 40th anniversary, and discusses his current production of Othello, starring Clarke Peters and Dominic West, in detail. Recorded at the Crucible. Recording date: 5 October 2011.
891 DESIGNER ALISON CHITTY ON MOTLEY AND MIKE LEIGH’S GRIEF (2/2) The artistic director of Sheffield Theatres tells Heather Neill about his programme to celebrate the Crucible theatre’s 40th anniversary, and discusses his current production of Othello, starring Clarke Peters and Dominic West, in detail. Recorded at the Crucible. Recording date: 5 October 2011.
892 PLAYWRIGHT JULIA PASCAL DRAMATISES A MOSSAD HONEYTRAP The director and playwright explains to Aleks Sierz the politics and psychology behind her new play, Honeytrap (New Diorama), which tells the story of a Swedish-born mother who decides to work for Mossad, helping to avenge the killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Recording date: 21 October 2011.
893 EDWARD BOND TALKS ABOUT SAVED The playwright joins the artistic director of the Lyric Hammersmith to discuss the latter’s revival of his landmark 1965 play, Saved, which features the stoning to death of a baby in a pram by a group of London youths. Extracts from a conversation with Dominic Cavendish for a Daily Telegraph article to coincide with this production, the first London showing for the play in 27 years. Recording date: 22 October 2011.
894 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOHN BLACKMORE ON 12 YEARS AT THE BOLTON OCTAGON The executive director of the Octagon Theatre in Bolton looks back on his forty-plus year career, during which he saved the Octagon and the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres from bankruptcy and headed theatre companies such as the Library Theatre Company in Manchester, Northern Stage in Newcastle (which he created), The Dukes in Lancaster, Warwick Arts Centre and the English Shakespeare Company. Telephone interview with David Chadderton, 26 October 2011. Recording quality: poor. Recording date: 27 October 2011.
895 LOIS KEIDAN AND GAVIN BUTT EXPLORE PERFORMANCE MATTERS The Director of the Live Art Development Agency and the Reader in Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London, talk to Diana Damian about Trashing Performance (25-30 October), an international programme of live art events and discussions, co-directed by Butt. Recorded at Artsadmin. Recording date: 25 October 2011.
Recordings from November 2011
Total number of recordings from this month: 8
896 PLAYWRIGHT APRIL DE ANGELIS ON SEX, SENSE AND FEMINIST COMEDY The playwright talks to Carole Woddis about her new play, Jumpy (Royal Court), which is a hilarious comedy about the relationship between mothers and daughters in the new digital age. Recorded at the Royal Court. Recording date: 26 October 2011.
897 ASIAN VOICES: SHIV GREWAL TALKS ABOUT A BRITISH SUBJECT Actor Shiv Grewal, appearing in A British Subject (currently at the Arts Theatre to Nov 26 2011), talks to Suman Bhuchar. The play, written by Nichola McAuliffe, based on research done by her journalist husband Don Mackay, deals with the case of Mirza Tahir Hussain — who following the death of a taxi driver shortly after his arrival in Pakistan in 1988 was arrested, tried and condemned to death, subsequently spending 18 years on death row, the Pakistani authorities unmoved by his status as a British subject. Recording date: 5 November 2011.
898 CHILLS AND THRILLS AT THE LONDON HORROR FESTIVAL The co-director of the London Horror Festival (which runs at the Courtyard Theatre until 27 November) tells Diana Damian about the seasonal theme of ghosts stories, the relationship between horror and theatre, and the scope of this year’s festival as well as his future ambitions. Recorded at the Courtyard. Recording date: 2 November 2011.
899 NICHOLAS WRIGHT ON CAROLINE BLACKWOOD AND WALLIS SIMPSON The playwright talks to Aleks Sierz about his latest work, The Last of the Duchess (Hampstead Theatre), which is based on the book of the same name by Caroline Blackwood, and tells the fascinating story of the last years of Wallis Simpson, widow of Edward VIII, who abdicated in 1936. Recorded at the Hampstead. Recording date: 8 November 2011.
900 THE RIOTS DISCUSSED BY NICHOLAS KENT AND GILLINA SLOVO The artistic director of the Tricycle Theatre and writer talk to Dominic Cavendish about The Riots, an attempt to create a rapid-reaction verbatim drama in response to the riots that swept across England in August 2011. Recording date: 8 November 2011.
901 INTERVIEW SEAN HOLMES TALKES ABOUT SAVED The artistic director of the Lyric Hammersmith discusses in detail, with Aleks Sierz, his revival of Edward Bond’s landmark 1965 play, Saved, which features the stoning to death of a baby in a pram by a group of London youths. Recorded at the Lyric Hammersmith. Recording date: 9 November 2011.
902 WEST END REVIEW NEW PLAYS SPECIAL Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests Kate Bassett (Independent on Sunday), Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph), and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) discuss Collaborators (National Theatre), Reasons to be Pretty (Almeida), The Riots (Tricycle Theatre), and Backbeat (Duke of York’s). Recorded at Dewynters. Recording date: 25 November 2011.
903 WEST END REVIEW FESTIVALS SPECIAL Mark Shenton (Sunday Express) and his guests Kate Bassett (Independent on Sunday), Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph), and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) discuss Hamlet (Young Vic), Juno and the Paycock (National Theatre), The Lion in Winter (Theatre Royal Haymarket) and Driving Miss Daisy (Wyndham’s). Recorded at Dewynters. Recording date: 25 November 2011.
Recordings from December 2011.
Total recordings from this month:
904 A WALK ON PART: CHANGING THE WORLD AFTER NEW LABOUR Panel discussion chaired by Michael Crick with participants Diane Abbott MP, Don Foster MP, Artistic Director Steve Marmion and actor John Hodgkinson, about the political background of Michael Chaplin’s adaptation of Chris Mullin’s diaries, A Walk On Part: The Fall of New Labour (currently at the Soho Theatre). Recorded at Soho Theatre. Recording date: 24 November 2011.
905 DAVID MICKLEM ON THE BAC’S CHRISTMAS COOK–UP SEASON The Co-Artistic Director of BAC (Battersea Arts Centre) speaks to Diana Damian about this year’s seasonal Christmas Cook-Up, the venue’s plans for 2012 and some of the arts centre’s new digital projects. Recorded at BAC. Recording date: 5 December 2011.
906 PLAYWRIGHT LUCINDA COXON ON HERDING CATS The playwright talks to Aleks Sierz about her disturbing new play, Herding Cats, which has transferred to the Hampstead Theatre from the Ustinov in Bath, where it opened last year, and about how the digital technologies and the looming age of austerity impact on our sense of ourselves. Recorded at the Hampstead Theatre. Recording date: 12 December 2011.
907 DEBATE THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL PLAY IN LONDON Panel discussion chaired by Paul Warwick of China Plate Theatre with participants Steve Marmion (Artistic Director Soho Theatre), Simon Stokes (Artistic Director Theatre Royal Plymouth), David Jubb (Artistic Director BAC), Joe Murphy (Artistic Director Nabokov) and Laura Barnett (journalist) about Ontroerend Goed’s Audience (currently at the Soho Theatre). Recorded at Soho Theatre. Recording date: 10 December 2011.
908 LAURENCE BOSWELL TALKS ABOUT CALDERON, GOETHE, MARIVAUX The director talks to Dominic Cavendish about his season of premiered translations of neglected European classics at the Ustinov Theatre, Bath: The Phoenix of Madrid by Calderon de la Barca, Iphigenia by Goethe and The Surprise of Love by Marivaux, running to 23 Dec. He outlines how this three-year ensemble experiment came into being. Recorded at the Theatre Royal, Bath. Recording date: 14 December 2011.
909 IAN RICKSON DISCUSSES HIS MICHAEL SHEEN HAMLET The director Ian Rickson talks to Heather Neill about his current production of Hamlet (Young Vic), which stars Michael Sheen and has a controversial modern-day setting inside a secure wing of a psychiatric hospital. Recording date: 16 December 2011.
910 THEATREVOICE REVIEW OF 2011 (1/2) Mark Shenton and guests Kate Bassett (Independent on Sunday), David Benedict (Variety) and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) convene for their second look back in critical appreciation of the theatregoing year in 2011. This round, it’s “Highlight of the Year”, “Lowlight of the Year”, and “Special Award” time… Recorded at the V&A. Recording date: 23 December 2011.
911 THEATREVOICE REVIEW OF 2011 2/2 Mark Shenton and guests Kate Bassett (Independent on Sunday), David Benedict (Variety) and Matt Wolf (International Herald Tribune) convene for their second look back in critical appreciation of the theatregoing year in 2011. This round, it’s “Highlight of the Year”, “Lowlight of the Year”, and “Special Award” time… Recorded at the V&A. Recording date: 23 December 2011.