For John Wright, award-winning theatre-maker and teacher, using masks can be liberating for an actor. His new book, Playing the Mask, explores what masks do, how they do it, and, above all, what they can teach us about acting. Here, he explains how he first became interested in masks, and some surprising discoveries he made … Continue reading Playing the Mask: John Wright on acting without bullshit
Edinburgh Fringe Report 2017: Amateur companies taking on the Fringe
In our annual Edinburgh Fringe Report, we take a look at how amateur theatre companies fare on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where they're in competition for audiences and ratings with more than 50,000 other performances taking place across the city over the month of August. And this year, the 70th anniversary of the Festival Fringe, … Continue reading Edinburgh Fringe Report 2017: Amateur companies taking on the Fringe
‘Theatre makes people more intelligent than they are individually’: celebrating Peter Hall
Sir Peter Hall, who has died at the age of 86, held a truly special place at the heart of our cultural landscape: among his many achievements were founding the Royal Shakespeare Company, serving as Director of the National Theatre, and directing the English-language premiere of Waiting for Godot. To celebrate his extraordinary life, here's … Continue reading ‘Theatre makes people more intelligent than they are individually’: celebrating Peter Hall
‘Let’s not forget how far we have come’: Mark Gatiss on remembering gay history in Queers
July 2017 sees the fiftieth anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, which partially decriminalised sex between men over twenty-one in the privacy of their own homes in England and Wales. When the BBC approached writer, actor and director Mark Gatiss to curate Queers, a series of monologues to mark the anniversary, he got to work … Continue reading ‘Let’s not forget how far we have come’: Mark Gatiss on remembering gay history in Queers
‘One of the great artistic privileges of my life’: Conor McPherson on writing and directing Girl from the North Country
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
‘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
Releasing your authentic voice: top voice coach Jeannette Nelson on working with actors at the National Theatre
Actors working in the theatre today face many challenges: how do you keep your voice sounding fresh and vital, day after day? How do you manage to sound natural in performance while still being audible? How do you adapt to working with radio mics? Jeannette Nelson, Head of Voice at the National Theatre, explains how … Continue reading Releasing your authentic voice: top voice coach Jeannette Nelson on working with actors at the National Theatre
‘The mistake is to pretend you have all the answers’: Richard Eyre on what makes a good theatre director
What makes a good theatre director? How do you learn to be one? What do you do on the first day of rehearsals? Sir Richard Eyre reflects on the director's elusive craft in his foreword to a new book, Drama Games for Actors by Thomasina Unsworth... Most of us have an indecent curiosity about what … Continue reading ‘The mistake is to pretend you have all the answers’: Richard Eyre on what makes a good theatre director
‘It’s such a joyous play’: four leading actors on playing Shakespeare’s great roles
For his new book Shakespeare On Stage: Volume 2, experienced actor Julian Curry – who himself has appeared in twenty-one of Shakespeare's plays – spoke to twelve leading colleagues about their experience of participating in landmark Shakespearean productions, each recreating in detail their memorable performance in a major role. Here, read some extracts from the … Continue reading ‘It’s such a joyous play’: four leading actors on playing Shakespeare’s great roles
‘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
The Prompt Book 