Category: Interviews
Interview: Theatre Delicatessen
Theatre Delicatessen has popped up all over London since its formation in 2007, staging eight critically acclaimed productions in disused or derelict spaces. Working with ensemble casts to create immersive performances, it was nominated for Best Production and Best Entertainment at the 2010 Off West End ‘Offie’ awards for its … Continue Reading Interview: Theatre Delicatessen
Interview: Director Hannah Joss
Before Look Back in Anger transformed British theatre and turned John Osborne into a legend, the playwright was a stage manager and actor on the provincial touring circuit. When he decided to turn his hand to writing, the result was a thriller, The Devil Inside Him, set in a boarding house … Continue Reading Interview: Director Hannah Joss
Interview: The Wrong Crowd
The Girl with the Iron Claws, The Wrong Crowd’s brilliant mix of live performance and puppetry, was a huge hit at last year’s Edinburgh Festival. The Guardian praised it as a show “that proves Kneehigh hasn’t cornered the market in putting wonder back into fairytales.” Now, this captivating tale, an … Continue Reading Interview: The Wrong Crowd
Interview: David Rosenberg
Electric Hotel, directed by David Rosenberg and choreographer Frauke Requardt, was a big hit at the 2010 Brighton Festival. This year, the pair returns to the city by the sea with the world premiere of Motor Show, an outdoor performance piece that will take place on wasteland. Speaking on the … Continue Reading Interview: David Rosenberg
Interview: Directors Alexander Zeldin and Kimberley Sykes
French playwright Bernard-Marie Koltès, who died in 1989, is regarded in continental Europe as one of the most important writers of the past century. But with the exception of Roberto Zucco – inspired by the life of an Italian serial killer and staged to great acclaim by the RSC in … Continue Reading Interview: Directors Alexander Zeldin and Kimberley Sykes
Interview: new playwright Alison Evans
Tom Wicker speaks with first-time playwright Alison Evans about her controversial debut, The Supper Party. The Supper Party is a darkly comic exploration of media exploitation and cultural hypocrisy in an age when parents will sign away their children’s lives for fame in print or on TV. Directed by Eleanor … Continue Reading Interview: new playwright Alison Evans
Interview: Actor/Director Michael Pennington
As the UK gears up for the World Shakespeare Festival, renowned actor and director Michael Pennington talks to Tom Wicker about his new book on the Bard. Michael Pennington has lived with William Shakespeare for most of his life. As a child, watching Paul Rogers as Macbeth at the Old … Continue Reading Interview: Actor/Director Michael Pennington
Interview: Clever as Clever
Following the success of their debut production, Public Interest, exciting young theatre company Clever as Clever returns to the New Diorama Theatre with Four Days of Grace. This one-actor show tells the story of Grace, a young mother trying to put the pieces of her life in place. Restricted to … Continue Reading Interview: Clever as Clever
Interview: Philip Ridley
“It’s a strange kind of dream time.” Talented playwright, artist, screenwriter and children’s novelist Philip Ridley is talking to me about how it feels finally to be kicking his new play Shivered out of the front door and into the world. But he could also be describing the past few years of his … Continue Reading Interview: Philip Ridley
Off West End Theatre Awards 2012
On Sunday 5 February, OffWestEnd.com (founded by Sofie Mason) held its second Off West End “Offies” Awards, celebrating the best of fringe and independent theatre of the past year. The event was hosted by Theatre Royal Stratford East and presented by actress Louise Jamieson. Stars of stage including Alison Steadman, Don Warrington … Continue Reading Off West End Theatre Awards 2012
Interview: Julian Crouch
I am in the Barbican Pit surrounded by open plastic crates full of Punch puppets and masks. In front of me, their designer and maker, Julian Crouch, is showing me how they work. But although he is talking to me, I am not the focus of his attention. He looks … Continue Reading Interview: Julian Crouch
Interview: Adrian Jackson
Cardboard Citizens’ artistic director Adrian Jackson tells Tom Wicker what inspired his new play, A FEW MAN FRIDAYS. In the late 1960s, the inhabitants of the British-owned Chagos Islands were evicted to make way for a US military base. This was the result of a secret deal that saw the … Continue Reading Interview: Adrian Jackson
Interview: Ed Dick
Director Ed Dick talks to Tom Wicker about reviving playwright and artist Philip Ridley’s brilliant and brutal debut play, The Pitchfork Disney, at the Arcola Theatre. When The Pitchfork Disney was first performed at the Bush Theatre in 1991 it had some audience members fleeing with terror. Ridley’s distinctive, darkly … Continue Reading Interview: Ed Dick
Interview: Alfie Enoch
Tom Wicker talks to former Harry Potter star Alfie Enoch ahead of his biggest adventure yet: making his professional stage debut in London. Enoch, who portrayed Dean Thomas in the blockbuster film series, is starring in the UK premiere of Happy New, a dark comedy by award-winning Sydney playwright Brendan … Continue Reading Interview: Alfie Enoch
Interview: Rebecca Atkinson-Lord and Rachel Briscoe
In late 2010, Rebecca Atkinson-Lord and Rachel Briscoe were appointed joint Directors of Theatre at Ovalhouse, in Lambeth. Last month saw the start of their Lady-Led season, the first they have programmed at their new home, with Lagan by Stacey Gregg. Since then, they have staged Tomboy Blues – The … Continue Reading Interview: Rebecca Atkinson-Lord and Rachel Briscoe
Interview: Guillaume Pige and Adam Taylor on The Gambler
What does it feel like to be addicted to gambling? This is what exciting new physical theatre company theatre re- is hoping to show you in their latest production, The Gambler, at The Space. Edgar spends his time imagining what a spin of the wheel could bring. But then a … Continue Reading Interview: Guillaume Pige and Adam Taylor on The Gambler