Mike Bradwell – who died earlier this month at the age of 77 – left an indelible mark on British theatre. During his long and illustrious career as a theatre director, he founded, worked with and ran a variety of leading companies and venues, and gave early chances to many young playwrights who have gone … Continue reading ‘We shall never see his like again’ – a tribute to Mike Bradwell
Arts
The ‘X Factor’ Actor
John Abbott has enjoyed a varied career in theatre - as an actor, director, educator (namely, Head of Acting at ArtsEd) and author. He has written three books for NHB on theatre, and his latest - The Acting Book - is published this month. John identifies charisma as one of the most important attributes for … Continue reading The ‘X Factor’ Actor
Richard Eyre’s TALKING THEATRE: with Peter Brook
In Part Three of our week-long Talking Theatre Special – Richard Eyre interviews experimental theatre and film director Peter Brook. Peter Brook has stimulated British theatre for fifty years—first, in his twenties, in the West End, then with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and for the last twenty-five years from outside the country. He disclaims any … Continue reading Richard Eyre’s TALKING THEATRE: with Peter Brook
Richard Eyre’s TALKING THEATRE: with John Gielgud
Part Two of our week-long Talking Theatre Special is an extract from Richard Eyre's interview with the late John Gielgud. Actor and director John Gielgud performed all the major Shakespeare roles, and was instrumental in introducing Chekhov to English audiences. In later life he acted in plays by Alan Bennett, Charles Wood, David Storey and … Continue reading Richard Eyre’s TALKING THEATRE: with John Gielgud
Spotlight: LONDON VIA LAGOS – a festival of vibrant new plays linking Nigeria and the UK, at Oval House Theatre
The London via Lagos festival at Oval House Theatre in Kennington, running until 10 July, celebrates contemporary British Nigerian playwriting with two exciting new plays by Arinze Kene and Lydia Adetunji. Here, exclusively for the NHB blog, the authors tell us about what inspired them, and how they went about writing their plays. Arinze Kene: … Continue reading Spotlight: LONDON VIA LAGOS – a festival of vibrant new plays linking Nigeria and the UK, at Oval House Theatre
TERENCE RATTIGAN special
As the plays of Terence Rattigan once again take centre stage during his centenary year, Dan Rebellato, academic, playwright and editor of the NHB Rattigan collection, argues that Rattigan has been unfairly cast as the writer of stuffy, conservative drama, and that his plays are consummate in their emotional power and sensitivity. How did I … Continue reading TERENCE RATTIGAN special
PART 3: Bruntwood Playwriting Competition 2011
VIVIENNE FRANZMANN...was a Drama teacher in London for twelve years. She left teaching in 2009 to pursue writing after winning the 2008 Bruntwood Playwriting Competition for Mogadishu. The play also won the George Devine Award in 2010. What did it mean to win the Bruntwood Prize? The first thing was that it was a total … Continue reading PART 3: Bruntwood Playwriting Competition 2011
The Prompt Book 