Puppetry is an artform with ancient roots, but contemporary applications - and the international success of shows like National Theatre hit War Horse proves that it has lost none of its magic. Here, Cheryl Henson, President of the Jim Henson Foundation, reflects on how that ‘magic’ happens, and pays tribute to director and puppeteer Mervyn … Continue reading ‘Theatre in its purest form’: Cheryl Henson on the power of puppetry in an increasingly digital world
Lucy Kirkwood (The Nick Hern Books Anniversary Interviews)
Lucy Kirkwood is a leading playwright whose plays include the hugely acclaimed Chimerica. She spoke to theatre journalist Al Senter as part of our interview series celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Nick Hern Books in 2018... Lucy Kirkwood has come a great distance in a remarkably short period of time. In the ten years since … Continue reading Lucy Kirkwood (The Nick Hern Books Anniversary Interviews)
Rona Munro (The Nick Hern Books Anniversary Interviews)
Continuing our series of interviews with our leading authors and playwrights, commissioned to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Nick Hern Books in 2018, theatre journalist Al Senter talks to playwright and screenwriter Rona Munro... Born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland’s venerable Granite City, writer Rona Munro has recently transported herself to the other end of … Continue reading Rona Munro (The Nick Hern Books Anniversary Interviews)
‘Reaching out for life in a new country’: Winsome Pinnock on her play Leave Taking
Winsome Pinnock’s play Leave Taking, about a Caribbean family living in North London, is as powerful today as it was when it was first performed in 1987. As a major new production opens at the Bush Theatre in London, the author reveals how she came to write it, and how it was inspired by her … Continue reading ‘Reaching out for life in a new country’: Winsome Pinnock on her play Leave Taking
Harriet Walter (The Nick Hern Books Anniversary Interviews)
Nick Hern Books is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary in 2018. To mark the occasion, we've commissioned interviews with some of our leading authors and playwrights. First up, theatre journalist Al Senter talks to Dame Harriet Walter... Actor Harriet Walter has enjoyed a long and distinguished career, including playing almost all of Shakespeare's heroines on the … Continue reading Harriet Walter (The Nick Hern Books Anniversary Interviews)
Understanding the Mad King: Antony Sher on rehearsing King Lear
Leading actor Antony Sher's new book Year of the Mad King: The Lear Diaries provides an intimate, first-hand account of his process researching, rehearsing and performing arguably Shakespeare's most challenging role, Lear, in the acclaimed 2016 Royal Shakespeare Company production. This extract, written during rehearsals only a few weeks before the production opened, takes us behind … Continue reading Understanding the Mad King: Antony Sher on rehearsing King Lear
‘Authenticity guaranteed’: Robin Belfield on why verbatim theatre is so important right now
Verbatim theatre, fashioned from the actual words spoken by real people, is the perfect antidote to our troubled times, argues Robin Belfield, whose new book Telling the Truth: How to Make Verbatim Theatre is an essential guide for theatre-makers, artists, students and teachers. If ever there was a time for verbatim theatre, it’s now. We … Continue reading ‘Authenticity guaranteed’: Robin Belfield on why verbatim theatre is so important right now
Staging our own Brainstorm: an intrepid English teacher on the rewards of devising a show with teenagers
When Steven Slaughter, an English teacher at Rosslyn Academy in Nairobi, Kenya, decided to stage a production of Brainstorm, the acclaimed play about the workings of the teenage brain, he was taking a big risk. The show is designed to be devised by a company of teenagers, putting their own lives and experiences centre-stage. But, … Continue reading Staging our own Brainstorm: an intrepid English teacher on the rewards of devising a show with teenagers
‘A writer of protean gifts’: Lucy Kirkwood on Caryl Churchill
This year's recipient of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing is the playwright Caryl Churchill – one of the leading figures in contemporary world theatre, and an NHB author for over thirty years – 'in honour of her illustrious body of work and a career which has spanned over … Continue reading ‘A writer of protean gifts’: Lucy Kirkwood on Caryl Churchill
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Everything That Went Into Writing My New Book (But Were Too Polite to Ask, Dear)
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the West End... The masked man of Theatreland has returned. West End Producer's new book is the ultimate guide to theatregoing, full of the hilarious advice and insight he's become known for. Here, WEP reveals the blood, sweat and Dom Pérignon that went into writing … Continue reading Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Everything That Went Into Writing My New Book (But Were Too Polite to Ask, Dear)
The Prompt Book 