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What is my central thesis?
It is the view that Britain is defined not by race nor ethnicity - as those who would impose a cricket test would have us do - nor by our ancient institutions, nor just the various national traits for which we are famous across the world, but by our shared values […]
2005 draws to a close and I seem to have missed (yet again) a raft of good plays. I missed most of the Ibsen this year as well as the new Mike Leigh (although I was never going to be organised to get a ticket.
Susannah Clapp at the Observer offers her review of the year […]
Went to see The Deranged Marriage at the Riverside Studios before Christmas. It was a great spectacle and worth seeing for the spectacle that any wedding but particularly an Indian wedding can bring. However the story seemed a slightly unsuccessful Bollywood-type plot and the cast although performing admirably (especially the beautiful singing) didn’t seem quite […]
Ken Campbell argues not saying “no” can bring about great improv.
Decor Without Production, his series of late-night shows scheduled for the Jerwood Theatre from March 2006, is in part a tribute to the improvisation and mask work led by George Devine and Keith Johnstone in the 1960s and 1970s.
Campbell says he has begun to wonder […]
Children always give a fresh perspective on life.
An online questionnaire, organised by sponsors of National Kids Day, Luton First, for under 10s asked about famous people, best and worst things in the world.
God just beats Wayne Rooney, who beats Jesus. Football seems to be about as important as Christianity then.
The survey, according to the […]
David Farr was made artistic director of the Lyric Hammersmith in June 2005 and his season kicked off in September 2005. He’s embarked on an ambitious programme in 2006 which includes Nights at the Circus – an adaptation of an Angela Carter Story by Emma Rice of Kneehigh and Tom Morris (ex-BAC); and Farr’s own […]
Mamet is interviewed by Salon back in 1997.
He says some interesting things about film, but this about grief and exploitation struck a chord.
Why is a movie like this that feeds into the audience’s need to feel good about itself pernicious?
DM: I thought it was especially pernicious in the case of “Schindler’s List” because, as […]
Mamet argues
Playwriting is a young man’s - and, of late, a young woman’s - game. It requires the courage of youth still inspired by rejection and as yet unperverted by success. Most playwrights’ best work is probably their earliest. Those prejudices of anger, outrage and heartbreak the writer brings to his early work will […]
Harold Pinter makes insightful remarks about his work for his Nobel lecture as well as criticises US policy Defintely worth reading, some extracts here:
There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; […]
Neil Labute replies to critics of his play, Wrecks, and says:
“For me, though, it is the world of the “possible” that is interesting. As a playwright, I feel it is my calling to transport an audience to a new place, a world that has heretofore been unseen or heard. I’m not a documentarian; my job […]
According to the charity, Arts & Business, private support for the arts has risen from £393m to £452m in the last two years.
The majority of private money donated in 2004/5 went to heritage projects - over £163m. Museums benefited from around £43m and theatres a little under £31m. The only sector to see a significant […]