Jane Upton won the 2016 George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright for All The Little Lights. Ahead of its London premiere at Arcola, she reveals where the play came from – and how it grew. In January 2014, Fifth Word commissioned me to write a play. Any play. About anything I wanted. The only …
WhatsOnStage Award-winning director Aylin Bozok has returned to Grimeborn with a bold take on Camille Saint-Saëns’ extraordinary biblical epic Samson And Delilah. My vision is to tell the story of Samson and Delilah in a dreamlike, surrealist environment far detached from any form of realism so it can be felt on a psychological level rather than …
Aylin Bozok on her production of SAMSON AND DELILAH Read More »
Director Cecilia Stinton on how she discovered the libretto of Collision and how Spectra Ensemble decided to bring Schwitters’ text to life. Collision if part of Grimeborn 2017, on stage 17-19 August. More info and tickets (£17, £14 concessions) here. One summer afternoon after finishing my Master’s degree, I found myself in the library, aimlessly leafing through …
The Unearthing of a Dada-esque Libretto: Cecilia Stinton on Spectra Ensemble’s COLLISION Read More »
Arcola’s Creative Engagement department – which works with the local community and creates over 11,000 opportunities for participation and talent development – is to present two productions as part of this year’s Grimeborn opera festival. The first, OPERA MOUSE, extends Grimeborn’s inclusive and captivating programme to under 5s. The production follows Tilly Mouse who lives under an …
Ahead of Il Letto‘s premiere at Grimeborn 2017, librettist and playwright Christopher Hogg goes in search of Elvira Bonturi, an amateur soprano who married the composer Giacomo Puccini. I don’t think I have ever felt a colder January wind, than that which whips down from the mountains and across Lake Massaciuccoli to the gates of …
Neil Bartlett was Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith from 1994 to 2005. Since then he has created acclaimed work with Artangel, the National Theatre and for festivals across the UK. Here he writes about the inspiration for his new stage adaptation of The Plague, playing at Arcola from 5 April to 6 May 2017. …
Ahead of his major new production of The Cherry Orchard, Artistic Director Mehmet Ergen discusses the play and its salience on the hundredth anniversary of the Russian Revolution. What are the main themes you are seeking to bring out in The Cherry Orchard? Change; change in society. What’s fascinating about Chekhov is that he’s writing …
Ahead of the world premiere of Drones, Baby, Drones, Clive Stafford Smith (director of human rights organisation Reprieve) speaks about the use of drones in modern warfare. I am Clive Stafford Smith, the director of Reprieve, and I’ve been talking about Drones for days – (with a laugh in his voice) I’m claiming that I coined …
Reprieve Director Clive Stafford Smith on the ‘Drone Age’ Read More »
3 fantastic new plays are transferring from the Edinburgh Fringe to Arcola Theatre next month, as part of our EH to E8 season. The first production is Empty Beds, which opens on 4 October. Writer and actor Julia Cranney and actor Carys Wright tell us more. Briefly, what’s Empty Beds about? JC: Three Northern sisters …
3 fantastic new plays are transferring from the Edinburgh Fringe to Arcola Theatre next month, as part of our EH to E8 season. We’re catching up with each company on the way – starting with DugOut Theatre, whose new show Swansong opens on 11 October. Co-writer and actor Tom Black tells us more. Briefly, what’s …
We are looking for new members to join, take part and perform as part of our Community Performance Programme. Arcola run groups target specifically at the Turkish and Kurdish Community (Ala-Turka), over 50’s (Arcola 50+), self identifying LGBTQ* individuals (Arcola Queer Collective), and men whose lives have have been affected either directly or indirectly by …
Join one of Arcola’s critically acclaimed Community Performance Companies Read More »
Mike Poulton is one of our most celebrated playwrights. His stage adaptations of Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies for the RSC – described as ‘a remarkable achievement’ by the Daily Telegraph – transferred to the West End and Broadway. Now, as his powerful new drama Kenny Morgan premieres at Arcola Theatre, he writes about the play’s genesis, and its …
Ahead of the world premiere of his play After Independence, BBC Scriptroom winner May Sumbwanyambe writes about its genesis. Stories about what it meant to be born black in Northern Rhodesia under the British Empire were never in short supply as I grew up. Nor were stories about what it meant to be ‘black and free’. …
Welcome to the new Arcola Theatre website. Lots has changed, so we’d really appreciate your feedback in the comments section below. Here’s a run-down of some of the major new features: New, responsive design Our new design responds to whichever device you’re using. On your desktop, a fixed menu makes navigation quicker. On your phone or tablet, …
2015 was an amazing year at Arcola Theatre, jam-packed with drama, opera, musicals and more. What were the highlights for you? 2015 at Arcola Theatre 2015 was an amazing year at Arcola Theatre, jam-packed with drama, opera, musicals and more. What were the highlights for you?Stay tuned to our Facebook page and to http://twitter.com/arcolatheatre for …
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