News

Acting Couple Hadley Fraser & Rosalie Craig to Star in New Musical Before After in London

Source: Broadway.com | Posted: August 27 2020 @ 10:36 am

Real-life couple Hadley Fraser and Rosalie Craig will perform together in Stuart Matthew Price and Timothy Knapman's new musical love story Before After. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair will perform at Southwark Playhouse with no live audience. The new show will be available to view via livestream for three performances on September 25 and 26.

“There is such uncertainty for our industry at the moment, so we’re trying to explore how theater can adapt to become more accessible and viable in the current climate," said director Matthew Rankcom. "By streaming this rehearsed reading in real time, we hope to re-capture some of the magic of live theater and allow our actors and their audience to forge a new kind of connection.”

In Before After, Ami (Craig) meets Ben (Fraser) by a tree on a beautiful hillside. She recognizes him instantly: they were once very much in love. But Ben doesn’t remember her at all. What went so terribly wrong in the past, and is there a chance that, in the present, these two lovers might just find their happy ever after, after all?

Craig earned a 2019 Olivier nomination for her performance as Bobbie in …

Actors With Disabilities Are Finally Starting To Break Through

Source: ArtsJournal.com | Posted: August 27 2020 @ 10:35 am

“If a successful cultural transformation can be defined as the moment when you can finally stop counting heads, the first sign of that may be when you realize that at least there are heads to count.” Reporter Mark Harris meets with a crop of young performers landing roles and awards — but who still, always, […]

Broadway Profiles with Tamsen Fadal: September 2020

Source: Broadway.com | Posted: August 27 2020 @ 10:28 am

We talk to Tony nominee Sarah Stiles about her new EP, visit with the cast and creatives behind Diana, and catch up with Hadestown creators Anäis Mitchell and Rachel Chauvkin, Plus, get to know Mean Girls star Renee Rapp.

Theatre Artists Fund, Established by Sam Mendes, Reaches £3.5 Million

Source: Broadway.com | Posted: August 26 2020 @ 7:01 pm

Award-winning director Sam Mendes, the Society of London Theatre and U.K. Theatre have called on industry figures, corporations and charitable trusts to donate to the Theatre Artists Fund, which supports creatives that are out of work as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The fund, which Mendes launched on July 6 with a £500K donation from Netflix, has now earned £3.5 million to date. With individual grants of £1000 per applicant, applications for round two are now open and will remain open for two weeks.

Further support to the fund has been received from Arts Council England, Backstage Trust, Es Devlin, Jim Broadbent, Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg, Lee Hall and Beeban Kidron, Michelle Dockery, Peter Morgan, Phyllida Lloyd and Ralph Fiennes.

“This fund has enabled us to move fast in response to the urgent need that is out there amongst freelancers and self employed theater artists. But the situation is still desperate and many more still need help," Mendes said in a statement. "We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Arts Council England for this transformative contribution, which I hope will lead to an ongoing relationship with the fund as it grows in scale and permanence.”

Donations …

Goin' Steady for a Great Cause! Watch This Adorable Performance of 'Telephone Hour' from Bye Bye Birdie

Source: Broadway.com | Posted: August 26 2020 @ 6:00 pm

What's the word, hummingbird? Over 50 performers, including Octet Lucille Lortel award winner Kuhoo Verma, Broadway alum Jonathan Burke and more, teamed up to sing Bye Bye Birdie's "Telephone Hour." The video, which was directed by Devanand Janki, was introduced by original Bye Bye Birdie star Chita Rivera during the organization Live & In Color’s weekly online talk show Be Our Guest on August 26. “I wanted to present it including and centering around a BIPOC cast to give it a whole new resonance for 2020,” Live & In Color founder and artistic director Janki said. Live & In Color develops new work for the stage that promotes and celebrates diversity. Learn more here, and enjoy the video below!