Fresh from his acclaimed TV debut Paula on BBC Two, award-winning Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s latest project sees him weave the masterful songs of Nobel Prize laureate Bob Dylan into a poetic, haunting tale of love, loss and obligation set in Minnesota during the Great Depression. As Girl from the North Country premieres at the … Continue reading ‘One of the great artistic privileges of my life’: Conor McPherson on writing and directing Girl from the North Country
Theatre Books
‘There is so much left to discover’: Jason Warren on creating immersive theatre
As a director, Jason Warren has staged immersive theatre productions in a variety of styles and settings – from relocating Shakespeare to a seedy nightclub, to turning school buildings into a quarantine facility for survivors of a widespread plague. Here, he shares his own passion for the form, his hopes for his new book Creating Worlds, … Continue reading ‘There is so much left to discover’: Jason Warren on creating immersive theatre
‘She has made us all raise our game’: Rufus Norris introduces All Change Please by Lucy Kerbel
Tonic Theatre founder Lucy Kerbel's new book, All Change Please: A Practical Guide to Achieving Gender Equality in Theatre, is an eye-opening look at why theatre continues to struggle to reflect the gender balance of the world it seeks to represent – and what can be done to fix that. Here, Rufus Norris, who as … Continue reading ‘She has made us all raise our game’: Rufus Norris introduces All Change Please by Lucy Kerbel
‘A Field of Dreams’: Joyce McMillan on Theatre in Scotland
Joyce McMillan, lead drama critic at The Scotsman, is an unrivalled authority on modern Scottish theatre and a leading thinker and writer about Scotland. Her new book, Theatre in Scotland: A Field of Dreams, is a collection of more than three decades of her writings about theatre, selected by theatre director Philip Howard. Here, in … Continue reading ‘A Field of Dreams’: Joyce McMillan on Theatre in Scotland
Facing the Fear: Bella Merlin on overcoming stage fright
Stage fright afflicts many actors, and has the power to drive you away from the stage for months, years, or even a lifetime. In her new book, Facing the Fear: An Actor's Guide to Overcoming Stage Fright, performer, author and teacher Bella Merlin shows you how to meet the challenge – or simply how to … Continue reading Facing the Fear: Bella Merlin on overcoming stage fright
‘It’s not so much about the gift, but the graft’ – Lyndsey Winship on Being a Dancer
In her new book Being a Dancer, dance critic and arts journalist Lyndsey Winship shares invaluable advice and insight taken from exclusive interviews with twenty-five leading dancers and choreographers, including Carlos Acosta, Matthew Bourne, Darcey Bussell and Tamara Rojo. Here she reflects on her own personal love affair with dance, and what compiling the book … Continue reading ‘It’s not so much about the gift, but the graft’ – Lyndsey Winship on Being a Dancer
Louise Dearman and Mark Evans on their Secrets of Stage Success
Louise Dearman (Wicked, Cats, Evita) and Mark Evans (Ghost, The Book of Mormon) are two of the biggest musical-theatre stars working today. As they launch their new book Secrets of Stage Success - answering all your questions on how to follow in their footsteps - they recall some key moments in their glittering careers... I … Continue reading Louise Dearman and Mark Evans on their Secrets of Stage Success
West End Producer: ‘Traditions and superstitions’
Though they're perfectly sensible, sane and rational in every other possible way, theatre folk are a rather superstitious lot. So to mark this Friday 13th, theatre impresario and masked Twitter phenomenon West End Producer - who was himself born onstage during a performance of Titus Andronicus - delves into the murky, sometimes confusing world of … Continue reading West End Producer: ‘Traditions and superstitions’
Dymphna Callery: we need a more playful approach to staging plays
Dymphna Callery's Through the Body: A practical guide to physical theatre is beloved of a generation of drama students. But have we ghetto-ised 'physical theatre' in an unhelpful way? In her new book published today, The Active Text, she looks at how physical theatre techniques can be used to unlock scripted plays, and inject new … Continue reading Dymphna Callery: we need a more playful approach to staging plays
West End Producer: ‘Let’s talk about panto’
Ho ho ho, dears, ho ho ho. Taken from his book Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Acting, theatre impresario and Twitter phenomenon West End Producer gives you the lowdown on the festive theatrical staple that is pantomime, and tells you how to survive one... Once a year a great theatrical tradition is practised … Continue reading West End Producer: ‘Let’s talk about panto’
The Prompt Book 