Tag: feature

Photo by Ryoko Uyama

In Conversation with: Sean Gandini

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Juggling supremos Gandini Juggling bring the spirit of Pina Bausch and the heady scent of apples to the Peacock Theatre on 31 May and 1 June with their signature work Smashed, directed by Sean Gandini – the first time the show will have been seen in London for seven years. Check it out here.

Summer 2024 looks like a busy time for the Gandinis in the UK, with your signature work Smashed at the Peacock Theatre, London on 31 May and 1 June then a solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe. Smashed is your tribute to the iconic choreographer Pina Bausch. – can you tell us briefly what we can expect to see?

    These two shows offer very different perspectives on juggling but they both celebrate the possibilities of using juggling skill as vibrant performance. One can expect hypnotic patterns, funny scenes, choreography and thought-provoking material. 

    What in particular inspired you about her work? 

    Pina Bausch was ahead of the game. Her performances take the audience to a different rhythm of watching. They also have a way of letting the audience decide what is going on, often leaving a moral ambiguity in what is seen which we like. We also love her parades! 

      Smashed has been one of your most successful and popular shows which has been widely seen around the world since its creation in 2010. Have there been any performances or locations which particularly stand out for you?

      Yes! We performed Smashed for the Festival d’Automne in Paris and a bunch of ex-Pina dancers came and were very generous. We then had the delightful Domique Merci help with a special one off we performed for the Mime Festival 40th Anniversary. But there have been many many special ones. 

        You have incorporated a number of different dance forms into your shows, how did you decide to move towards incorporating dance into your vision of theatre and juggling? 

          We get excited by the malleability of juggling and love seeing how it elegantly intertwines with so many forms. Sometimes you realise that an idea has been on your mind for a number of years and it’s time to try it out. We are currently really enjoying researching magic and juggling. 

          You and fellow Gandini Juggling director and wife Kati Ylä-Hokkala have worked together for over 30 years. How and where did you meet and what are the highlights of your journey together?

          We met in Covent Garden where i was doing street shows and Kati had just retired from Rhythmic Gymnastics. We immediately felt a spark both creatively and romantically….There have been many highlights: recently, being on stage together for Akhnaten at the Metropolitan Opera House (with English National Opera) and Sadler’s Wells for LIFE, our show with Alexander Whitley and our tribute to Merce Cunningham.

            How do you and Kati share your roles as joint directors of Gandini Juggling, both creatively and managerially? Where do you overlap and where do you have your own roles?

              We have found a balance over the years. It has got easier. When we pass rings Kati is super precise but doesn’t like throws which veer off, I am in the opposite camp, I am less precise but I can catch many things…it seems a metaphor from LIFE…

              In Conversation with: Tendai Humphrey Sitima

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              Two brothers reunite to honour their sibling’s life at a celebration of remembrance. As they begin to explore letting go, they are forced to confront their shared past and long-standing estrangement.  

              Following the sell-out run of SAMSKARA (The Yard), this brand-new work by Lanre Malaolu explores the challenge of forgiving yourself for a lifetime of suppressed emotion, while celebrating the profound bond of brotherhood and the resilience that can be found in joy.  

              A powerful fusion of movement, song, and text, Now, I See is an exploration of identity, forgiveness and nature’s visceral power to heal.  

              Now, I See is the second instalment in Lanre’s trilogy that excavates and celebrates the truth of being a Black man in contemporary Britain. Tendai Humphrey Sitima stars in Now, I See coming to Stratford East on the 10th May. Check it out here!

              1. How did you get involved with Now, I See?

              I got a very excited email from my agent. She loved Lanre’s previous Samskara and insisted that I read the script. I read the script and fell in love, knowing that the piece would challenge and push me into an exciting and terrifying new world as an artist. I auditioned and promised Lanre that with his trust, patience and guidance, I would happily leap out of my comfort zone to tell this story. 

              2. What’s the show about?

              Fundamentally, the show is about love, healing and connection. Three brothers separated by time, pain, misunderstanding are bought together in grief to try and repair, see each other, see themselves forgive and live in love. 

              3. Who do you play?

              I play Adeyeye one of the brothers whose passing acts as the catalyst for the brothers seeking each other again. 

              4. What drew you to work on this production?

              The script.

              5. How have you been preparing for the role?

              Adeyeye straddles worlds, a lot of his language is movement. I’ve been spending a lot of time moving, listening to my body and trying to allow everyday feeling and impulses to sit in my body, so I can really start to understand and feel what it is to speak through the body. 

              6. You’ve had a really varied career, did you set out to do that or did it just play out that way? Do the different experiences compliment each other in your work?

              I didn’t I just worked very hard on the things I loved doing and eventually they started to look like a career. They do complement each other composing music, improvising acting all feel like different extensions of the same thing. Reacting, making offers and playing. Working well with others. It’s all colouring, just using different paints! 

              7. If you had a piece of advice for your younger self, what would it be?

              Work hard, trust yourself do not judge yourself. You belong, prove it.

              In Conversation with Sally Cheng

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              We sat down with Sally Cheng who is in the cast of Twelfth Night at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

              TWELFTH NIGHT

              3 May – 8 June 2024

              Age Recommend: 12+

              Tickets from: £15

              https://openairtheatre.com/production/twelfth-night-or-what-you-will

              1. How did you get involved with Twelfth Night at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre?

              I was lucky enough to audition for the play back in January. I’ve never worked with any of the cast or creative team before so its a lovely experience being in a room with a new set of people with exciting new ideas and takes on the play. I feel very lucky!

              2. What are the defining features of this particular production?

              Owen Horsley, the director, has chosen to set the play in one place-a cafe by the ocean, and without scene changes. This really allows for the interconnectedess of character relationships and dynamic shifts in scenes to shine through. His concept and direction has focused very much on looking at this classic Shakespeare play through a queer lens. It’s a celebration of queerness and difference.

              3. Who do you play? Do you identify with them personally?

              In this production I am an actor musician and play a part called Querelle. I absolutely love being in the band with such brilliantly talented musicians supporting some fantastic singers and actors. We’re performing some beautiful original music composed by Sam Kenyon especially for this production. The band are very much a ‘house band’ for the cafe but also part of Orsino’s court so it’s been integral and really interesting in the process to understand what music means to each of the characters and it’s connection to the space.

              4. How have you been preparing for the role?

              Practicing lots of violin and learning the drums mostly. But I have also looked at queer films, TV shows and books to try to really engross myself in the world in which we are setting our production. We have been in rehearsal for five weeks-working every day on text and music. It’s been an enriching and exciting process.

              5. If you had a piece of advice for your younger self, what would it be?

              Be kind, work hard and be patient, it’s a tough career but when it’s worth it it’s totally worth it. You meet some of the kindest and most creative people.

              6. Why should audiences come and see Twelfth Night?

              It’s a production with loads of heart, that celebrates queerness and difference, whilst using Shakespeare’s beautiful, robust language to explore joy, grief and love.

              ROUNDUP: Bespoke Plays at The Union Theatre 

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              “London must welcome such well-produced events showcasing new writing”

              I must praise the venture that is ‘Bespoke Plays’. The company began in the US and recently launched their UK branch. They call themselves a writer-driven company with a mission to offer play readings for writers with diverse stories and world views. From a quick look at their website, this is their second reading at the Union Theatre. The company promise to host more playreadings in the coming year. 

              Just as it is bad etiquette for the press to review shows in previews, I would feel entirely out of place reviewing a show that was introduced as ‘in the very early stages of development’. 

              However as I was invited along, I will happily comment that the night itself was slick; well produced and marketed. Mimi Collins (Director) has put together a talented cast:  Jay Faisca as Alf, Nathan Adams Stark as Mike, Deanna Myers as Cam, Patrick Shearer as Uri, Analiese Emerson as Luce, Jake Solari as Gabe, and Oliver Nazareth Aston as Em. 

              The direction of the semi-staged reading was clear and intelligent, the stage directions were used sparingly, and the actors (along with some simple set, and some well-placed lighting by Gabriel Burns) did the rest. 

              Playwrights (especially in the UK) are always crying out for more opportunities to showcase new writing (especially in Central London venues like the newly relocated Union Theatre where this was held). With funding being cut to many venues and companies, and annual events like The Vault Festival coming to an end, the need for these types of well-produced nights of new writing has never been stronger. Whilst this first piece is by an American playwright (J Holtham) who is on the board of Bespoke Plays, the company have told us they hope to open submissions to English playwrights in the coming months to give early-career writers the opportunity to hear their work aloud, see where they need to make changes, and to build a community.  

              After tonight’s particular play, ‘Creation’ by J Holtham, we were invited to stay and have a chat or give feedback to the creatives afterwards if we wished. Overall, the night itself seemed a success, and I hope that Bespoke Plays will host many more similar events with greater and greater attendance.  London seems to have a good culture around attending Work-in-Progress comedy nights, and I hope that this and other events of its kind will encourage people to attend more Work-in-Progress play nights.  

              I wish ‘Bespoke Plays’ all the best for their future endeavours. It is a great initiative done well, and I look forward to seeing their future offerings. I am also excited (now that they have made the move to the UK) to see them include new work by local writers.

              In Conversation with: Jacob Grunberger

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              Inspired by a book of letters and stories left to him by his late father, titled ‘For Jacob’, Stop Trying To Look At My D**k! is an autobiographical dark comedy of Jacob Grunberger’s adolescence. Through anecdotes and rap music, Jacob tells the story of the sudden death of his Jewish father when he was a child and a peripatetic childhood through Scotland and Essex as he and his mother struggled to keep afloat. Exploring challenges and encounters with drugs and mental darkness as an adult student, Jacob discusses how conversations around his father’s death have always taken place in a context that he hasn’t designed. As a reflection of life, Jacob creates a space to honor his father and his experience of grief, identity, and vulnerability.

              Stop Trying to Look at My D**k is at the Canal Café Theatre from 13th May – 1st June. For more info and tickets go to https://canalcafetheatre.com/our-shows/dk/

              Hey Jacob! Can you tell us a bit about you and your work as an actor and writer?

              Of course, so my name is Jacob Grunberger I’m 24 years old and I was born and raised in London. I have been acting since I was about seven, I used to do Stagecoach, Sylvia Young and all sorts of theatre camps growing up. Then as I got older I did National Youth Theatre and the more and more performing I did I realised I really want to do this for the rest of my life. 

              Writing for theatre is something I found later on, I had previously shrugged off any interest in writing for some reason even though I always enjoyed devising and writing raps but I hadn’t made the connection. It wasn’t until I started Mountview for our creative project we could write and perform anything we wanted I decided to give writing a go and realised that I really enjoyed it and that’s where this piece comes from. 

              Tell us about the title of the show, what does it mean and why you have you chosen to title your play Stop Trying To Look At My D**k!?

              Ah yes the title, bring your grandma! But no the title is a metaphor for being vulnerable and about being feeling exposed in front of an audience. I won’t give too much away because it is an important part of the piece but it comes up as a recurring theme. If you do want to find out more about the title though you should definitely grab yourself and your gran a ticket.

              In discussing the conversations surrounding your father’s death, you mention they often take place in a context you haven’t designed. Can you elaborate on what you mean by this?

              Yeah sure, my dad died when I was very young, I was only four years old turning five. This obviously means that my memories of him are pretty limited. This creates a strange dynamic where people who have had even brief encounters with him are more qualified to talk about him than I am, even though nobody has felt his absence more than I have. When people have these conversations about him I feel like my contribution is an ad-lib while others are doing double disc albums about my own grief, that’s what I mean about creating my own context to talk about him. 

              Your play creates a space to honour your father’s memory. How do you balance the personal nature of this tribute?

              The piece is incredibly personal of course but there are several universal themes that I believe it explores. Grief is something we all experience and have to navigate, this performance is my way of navigating it twenty years on.

              Tell us about the inclusion of hip-hop music in the show, what does this look like?

              As I said before my first experience with writing was writing raps. I grew up listening to hip hop and going to see my favourite artists when they were in the UK, I mostly listen to American stuff but a lot of the rap that I perform in this show is inspired by British artists- Mike Skinner, being the main one. I wanted to pay homage to the UK and my favourite parts of the gritty British sound.

              What’s your favourite rap artist or song?

              That’s impossible, there are too many songs and artists that I love but I will tell you the song that I listen to before I go on stage and its ‘Dreams and Nightmares’ by Meek Mill, I am not a ritualistic guy particularly but that’s become one of the few that I have. 

              What do you hope audiences take away from experiencing your play?

              That you don’t have to put on a show, for anyone.

              FEATURE: John Robb announces special guests joining him at venues across the country

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              Ahead of his upcoming UK tour – JOHN ROBB – is very pleased to announce some of the special guests who will be joining him at venues across the country.

              Illustrating the journalistic skills that have made him a household name, Robb will be interviewing a stellar cast of renowned musicians, journalists, authors, and industry veterans as part of his upcoming ‘Do You Believe In The Power Of Rock N Roll’ tour.

              Confirming the first wave of names today, special guests will include Sisters of Mercy founder Gary Marx, The Farm frontman Peter Hooton, The Lovely Eggs legend Holly Ross, former Fall stalwart Paul Hanley, Wire maestro Colin Newman, Wild Swans man turned writer Paul Simpson, Evil Blizzard’s own Filthy Dirty, Therapy? axeman/vocalist Andy Cairns, esteemed author and The Guardian / Uncut music critic Dave Simpson, Mancunian people’s poet Tony Walsh, plus tour manager to The Clash and John Cooper Clarke: Johnny Green.

              Newer additions also include IDLES’ own Adam Devonshire, The Stranglers’ veteran Baz Warne, legendary Yorkshire promoter Michael Ainsworth, and legendary drummer from ‘XTC live in Swindon’ Terry Chambers.

              PLUS, don’t miss BBC 6 Music staple Steve Lamacq, Goth-pop rising star Freya Beer, and Pop Will Eat Itself legend Adam Mol – all of whom will be popping-up at select venues across the nation.

              Each guest will be personally interviewed by John Robb about their extraordinary lives and careers in music as part of his brand new show. The details of which guests will be appearing where, is indicated below. Further names to be announced in due course…

              Alongside the interviews, Robb’s autobiographical ‘Do You Believe In The Power Of Rock N Roll’ will see him opening up about own remarkable life in music. Discussing everything from his recently released book ‘The Art Of Darkness – The History of Goth’ to his experience being the first person to interview Nirvana, his coining of the term ‘Britpop’ and his adventures on the post-punk frontline, the 23 date tour kicks-off in Selby next week (22 March). Remaining tickets for all shows are on sale now.

              We’ll be covering the 9th May at Voodoo Rooms where he has Paul Simpson (Wild Swans / author) joining him – but check out this link for all 23 guest artists.

              TGP Cast & Creatives

              FEATURE: Casting and creative announced for The Great Privation: How to flip ten cents into a dollar

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              Theatre503 announces the cast and creative team for 2023 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award finalist Nia Akilah Robinson’s debut play The Great Privation: How to flip ten cents into a dollar. The production features: Ella Dacres (The Book of Dust), Jack Gouldbourne (Masters of the Air), Romeo Mika (Peter Pan Goes Wrong) and Sydney Sainté (UK stage debut).

              The Great Privation Cast – L-R Ella Dacres, Sydney Sainte, Jack Gouldbourne, Romeo Mika

              Theatre503 and Executive Producer Zena Collins join forces again following Zena’s collaboration on the original Theatre503 production of J’Ouvert by Yasmin Joseph – a huge hit which was nominated for an Evening Standard Theatre Award and transferred to the West End. Clarisse Makundul Productions joins as Associate Producer.

              Directed by JMK Award winner and Theare503’s Carne Associate Kalungi Ssebandeke (Meetings, Orange Tree), the creative team includes Ruth Badila (Set/Costume), Chuma Emembolu (Lighting), José Guillermo Puello (Sound), Yemurai Zvaraya (Movement Director), Aundrea Fudge (Voice and Dialect Coach), Fran Cattaneo (Casting Director) and Lydia Doyle (Casting Assistant).

              “So why should I sacrifice my husband’s body, for medicine he/me/or my child wouldn’t receive?

              Just look at the outbreak that happened during the summer.

              Black people helped White people, we became bleeders, nurses, grave diggers because White people convinced us that we weren’t susceptible to getting it.

              Then Black people got Cholera.

              Who was there to help us?

              No one.”

              Set in Pennsylvania and shifting between the early 1800s and the present day, The Great Privation: How to flip ten cents into a dollar is a stunning and profound play that explores the impact of grave robbing for medical science, and the historical disruption of Black bodies that never got their rest. Timelines collide and secrets and lives become buried and revealed, as a reckoning comes to call: the roots to our ancestors are not as long as we may think.

              Nia Akilah Robinson is a playwright and actor from Harlem. Her work has been developed through residencies, fellowships, commissions, and development with a number of prestigious companies and festivals in the US (full biography in credits). Director Kalungi Ssebandeke is Theatre503’s Carne Associate Director. His credits include Meetings (Orange Tree) as winner of the 2023 JMK Directing Award.

              The Great Privation: How to flip ten cents into a dollar was selected from 1466 scripts as one of five finalists for the 2023 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award and its premiere follows the success of the recent sold-out and extended production of the Award’s winner A Woman Walks Into a Bank by Roxy Cook. Theatre503 is delighted to confirm that the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award will return for 2024/5, with submissions opening on 1 June 2024. Keep your eyes peeled for further information which will be announced soon.

              In Conversation with: Paulus The Cabaret Geek

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              Written and performed by the star of BBC1’s All Together Now, Paulus The Cabaret Geek, with accompanist Michael Roulston and directed Sarah-Louise Young, Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood is a funny and touching musical tribute to a much-loved and sorely missed national treasure.

              It’s a whistle-stop tour of some of Victoria’s best-loved songs, including the iconic ‘Ballad of Barry & Freda’ (Let’s Do It) and the classic ‘It Would Never Have Worked’. As well as a celebration for fans of Victoria, it is also the ultimate beginner’s guide for those who have yet to discover her. In telling Victoria’s story, Paulus unfolds his own: a relatable story of a 1970s childhood, a life upon which Victoria made a huge impact, and what it really means to find your tribe. We sit down with Paulus to discuss his show. Looking for Me Friend is next in London on Sun 2 June 2024 at Crazy Coqs and then on tour across the UK. Buy tickets here.

              What can audiences expect when they come to see the show?

              Mostly it’s a night of nostalgia, fun, laughs and 21 of Victoria Wood’s songs in a whistle-stop tour around her career. Of course, The Ballad of Barry and Freda (Let’s Do It) is in there but she registered 200 songs in total with the Performing Rights Society, so there’s lots to choose from. There are some poignant songs, there are ones about childhood, ones about old age and ones that she wrote in the 70s about politics which seem like she wrote them yesterday, astonishingly. The relevance is really quite striking. What I also find really fascinating, along with many things about Victoria, is that there’s not a single co-writer for lyrics or music.

              You’ve also got pianist Michael Roulston on stage with you. What does he bring to the mix?

              I share him with Fascinating Aïda. They’re touring the country at the moment as well, so Michael’s busy with them a lot of the time and then he gets to come and slum it in small venues with me. We’re proving once again that it takes two men to do the job of one woman, because I couldn’t do this show on my own. He’s like Julie Walters to my Victoria Wood in many ways and there’s a lot of what I call ‘Victoria Wood tennis’, where I say a word or a line and he throws back the bon mot or catchphrase that is the next bit. And sometimes the audience get to throw it back instead. But I’m not impersonating Victoria and I don’t think anyone would want me to. It’s not a tribute act per se, it’s a celebration of someone I really loved and miss.

              Can you recall when you first encountered Victoria’s comedy genius?

              I was around ten and would have been watching As Seen on TV with my mum and my sister. My mum would have been 45 and my sister would have been 18, but generationally Victoria made all of us laugh, which I think is a really rare quality. I didn’t understand everything she was saying but she looked and sounded funny, and there was a musicality to her phrasing and word choices that I immediately latched onto. 

              Do you think Victoria’s look was revolutionary at the time?

              I do, yes. If you look at her stand-up routines from As Seen on TV, she was there in a tie and a big, boxy, man’s jacket, jeans probably and trainers. I guess if she was on TV now, we’d assume that she was trans or at least a lesbian and there would be a whole hoo-ha about her appearance. But in 1985 she just showed up, said ‘My name’s Victoria and this is what I look like’ and nobody ever questioned it. Watching her choosing to be original and unusual must have had a big impact on me as a gay man. People talk about her being a genius a lot and I don’t disagree with them. She was an extremely hard-working, very smart person but she didn’t ever bang on about stuff. She just placed things in front of us like body positivity or about being an outlier in society but still knowing that you have a right to belong. These things were key to her work.

              How would you sum up your love and affection for Victoria?

              I would describe it as obsessional at this stage! I love her and I love her most because she made my mum laugh. Mum worked hard and had her share of problems, so to watch her laughing so much that she was crying was wonderful. Whether it was in our front room or us going to see her at the Royal Albert Hall when I was a teenager, it was great to see how much joy she gave my mother. So this is all just a way of saying thank you to Victoria. 

              Did you ever get to meet Victoria?

              No and I didn’t really want to, to be honest with you. If I’d wanted to I could have met her because I know people that have worked with her. I saw her live about nine times but I never wanted to go backstage. I never wanted to hang out for an autograph because I knew she was private. I was also really worried I’d be disappointed so I deliberately didn’t go backstage because it’s the work that I admire. I didn’t need to know anything about her children or what colour her curtains were to know what a genius she was. When she died in 2016 I was devastated. We lost so many people that year, like Prince, David Bowie and Alan Rickman. But for Vic fans like me across the country hers was certainly the heaviest of losses.

              Do you think Victoria was sometimes overlooked as a songwriter?

              Yes and that’s why I wanted to make this show because there’s a spotlight often on her other work, whether that be because she won a BAFTA award for Housewife, 49 or that we have all watched and celebrated Acorn Antiques and the Two Soups sketch many times. I think comparatively, given what a big part of her career music was, it really was rather overlooked. The songs seem simple. They seem very straightforward but, as Michael would attest, they’re not. They’re very complicated things. I’m lucky that I don’t have to sing them and play them because doing one or the other is enough of a job, quite frankly.

              You’re working with Sarah-Louise Young as your director. How is it collaborating with her?

              She’s my best friend and she’s wonderful. She’s had enormous success with her shows about Julie Andrews and Kate Bush and she’s been so generous, not just as a director and helping us to decide which of those 200 to include but also in helping me to navigate being a promoter and producer as well. I book the tour and produce the show myself and she’s been generous with all of her knowledge in that regard too.

              What attracted you to cabaret as a career?

              I’m not very good at repeating things. Funnily enough, I think I’ve performed this show 130-ish times now but that’s very unusual for me. I was in Sweeney Todd for a month once and I’ve done panto for a month too, but I don’t do long runs of musicals or anything like that because it bores me. With cabaret, I love the lack of fourth wall and being able to speak to the here and now of what’s going on in the world.

              What have been your favourite jobs over the years?

              I did a TV programme called All Together Now with Geri from the Spice Girls and Rob Beckett a few years ago where I was the hard-to-impress judge on a talent show. That was very funny, being the baddie on Saturday night TV on BBC One. We did two series and a celebrity Christmas special, and it was weird getting noticed by taxi drivers and abused by people on the street. Another job I loved was when I workshopped the Boy George musical Taboo and got to develop the role of Philip Salon.

              You’ve been doing Looking For Me Friend five years now. What reaction have you had from fans?

              It’s such a joy. We’ve met people who went to primary school with Victoria. We’ve met people who were taught by her mother, who was a teacher. We’ve met people who were in As Seen on TV, Pat and Margaret or dinnerladies who have been so kind, as has Mark Gatiss from The League of Gentlemen. She was in their movie and they’re huge Victoria Wood fans. After one show this man came up to me who must’ve been in his early thirties and another time this woman in her late seventies came up to me. They both clearly identified as queer and they both said the same sentence, which was ‘You’ve just told my life story on stage’. But the show isn’t necessarily about being gay. It can be about being too spotty or fat or black or anything that makes you Other, anything that makes you an outlier in life. She was a place of warmth, a place of fun and a place that said: ‘You can hang out here and you’re one of us. The weirder, the lumpier and the pongier, the better.’

              Are there any stops on the tour that you are especially looking forward to?

              I like it whenever we go somewhere that is significant to Victoria or her coterie. So Julie Waters is from Smethwick and we’re going there in June. Sometimes it’s just because they’re funny place names because, like Victoria, I do enjoy a funny place name. The day we get to go to Ecclefechan, I’ll be made up. But I enjoy wherever we end up playing [laughs] especially if I get to shift some merch. Fans can buy stuff like tea towels, aprons, tote bags and oven gloves featuring words and phrases associated with Vic. I’m proud to say that in Bury, where she grew up, they’ve included the design as part of their permanent Victoria Wood collection at Bury Art Museum.

              FEATURE: Passing Strange musical announces European premiere cast

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              The Young Vic Theatre today announces casting for the European premiere of the electrifying  Tony, Drama Desk and Critics Circle Award-winning rock musical Passing Strange.

              Directed  by Liesl Tommy (Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, Tony nominated Eclipsed), this new  production of the hit Broadway show follows a young musician as he sets out on a musical  odyssey, through 80s L.A, Amsterdam and Berlin. It features book and lyrics by Stew, music  by Stew Stewart and Heidi Rodewald. Previews begin at the Young Vic from 14 May with  opening night for press on 21 May and it runs until 6 July. 

              Giles Terera, best known for his Olivier Award winning role as Aaron Burr in the original  London cast of Hamilton plays Narrator; Rachel Adedeji, seen in the leading role of Funmi in  the BAFTA winning series Dreaming Whilst Black plays Mother and Keenan Munn-Francis, recently recognised in 2023 British Independent Film Awards Breakthrough Performance longlist for Black Dog, plays Youth. The cast is completed by Renée Lamb (Six the Musical) as Desi/Sherry/Renata, David Albury (Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical) as Rev  Jones/Terry/Christophe/Hugo, Caleb Roberts (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) as Mr  Franklin/Joop/Mr Venus, and Nadia Violet Johnson (School of Rock) as  Edwina/Marianna/Sudabey. 

              The band is Ikechukwu Onwuagbu (Bass), Nick Pinchbeck (Keyboards/Guitar), James  Taylor (Drums) and Art Terry (Keyboards/Guitar). 

              The creative team brings together Set and Costume Designer Ben Stones, Lighting Designer  Richard Howell, Sound Designer Tom Gibbons, Video Designer Will Duke, Musical  Supervisor Brandon Michael Nase, Musical Director Art Terry, Choreographer Dickson Mbi,  Voice and Dialect Coach Hazel Holder and Casting Director Heather Basten CDG. 

              This marks the European premiere of Passing Strange which took Broadway by storm in 2008, receiving seven Tony Award nominations, winning for Best Book of a Musical; seven  Drama Desk Award nominations, winning for Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lyrics and  Outstanding Music; and it was named winner of the Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. 

              GUEST FEATURE: The State Ballet of Georgia to perform Swan Lake in a unique visit to London

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              Guest feature from Graham Watts

              Despite being one of the world’s most accomplished and thrilling dance companies, The State Ballet of Georgia has never appeared in London during its distinguished 175-year history. That absence is soon to end as this revered company is to perform Swan Lake –the world’s most treasured ballet – at the London Coliseum from 28th August to 8th September 2024; and then at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin from 20thto 24th November. 

              For a small nation, with a population under 4 million, Georgia has exported many ballet legends: three of the most important figures in world ballet during the twentieth century were George Balanchine (born Balanchivadze) (1904–1983), regarded as the “father” of American ballet and still – 40 years’ after his death – one of the most influential choreographers; Vakhtang Chabukiani (1910-1992), a great virtuoso dancer following in the footsteps of Nijinsky; and Tamara Toumanova (birth name, Tumanishvili) (1919–1996), one of the century’s most sought-after dancers who became a Hollywood film star. In more recent times, many outstanding Georgian dancers have performed in the UK, such as former Royal Ballet principal, David Makhateli (his sister, Maia – a principal at Dutch National Ballet – is one of today’s leading ballerinas) and Elena Glurjidze, a leading principal at English National Ballet. 

              The greatest Georgian dancer of modern times is Nina Ananiashvili. Born in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, Nina became the leading ballerina at the world-famous Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow in the early 1980s and following the Gorbachev reforms of Perestroika and Glasnost, she was a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre and an international guest star in countries all over the world, including at The Royal Ballet in London. 

              In 2004, Nina returned to Tbilisi as artistic director of The State Ballet of Georgia while continuing to dance. She celebrated 30 years on stage in March 2012 (at the age of 49), performing in a series of national galas in the Rustaveli State Academic Theatre and the magnificent glass and steel rotunda of the Tbilisi Concert Hall (the opera house was under renovation). 

              Ananiashvili was a supreme exponent of the dual Odette/Odile roles. After having performed Swan Lake in Hamburg during a Bolshoi tour, Nina received a non-stop 30-minute ovation. The ballet’s importance to her is neatly summarised in a comment released at the announcement of her company’s upcoming performances in London: ‘it was the first ballet that I performed in the Bolshoi Theatre and was my first and final significant performance at American Ballet Theatre.’ 

              Referring to that final performance in America, the New York Times critic, Alastair Macaulay wrote that Ananiashvili was ‘singularly endearing…singularly cherished,’ adding that, ‘…amid all the excitement she still brought rare and eloquent beauty.’ 

              The star quality that Ananiashvili brought to her own superlative dancing is now vested in the 65-strong company that she has directed for the past 20 years, and which is now rated amongst the ten best classical ballet companies in the world.

              Although now the most famous of all ballets, Swan Lake was not originally well received when it premiered at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre on 4th March 1877. Despite substantial revisions to the choreography and music, the ballet enjoyed just 33 performances in seven years before being dropped from the Bolshoi’s repertory. Herman Laroche – a contemporary critic and composer – wrote: ‘…I had never seen a poorer presentation on the stage of the Bolshoi. The costumes and décor did not hide in the least the emptiness of the dances.’ When Tchaikovsky heard the score composed by Léo Delibes for the ballet Sylvia, he declared that his own score for Swan Lake was “poor stuff by comparison!” 

              The ballet tells the story of Princess Odette, who is turned into a swan by the sorcerer, Von Rothbart. She can only return permanently to human form if a man swears true love for her, which happens when she encounters Prince Siegfried by the lakeside (ironically out hunting for swans with his crossbow). Von Rothbart, however, fools Siegfried into believing that his daughter, Odile, is Odette (disguised as a black swan) and, enchanted by the sorcerer, Siegfried unwittingly breaks his bond to Odette by promising to marry Odile. 

              When the ballet closed at the Bolshoi in January 1884, that should have been the last of it but having achieved great success with Tchaikovsky’s other two ballets, respectively The Sleeping Beauty (1890) and The Nutcracker (1892), both the director of the Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, and the chief choreographer, Marius Petipa, were set on reviving Swan Lake at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. Tchaikovsky died before this plan could be implemented and so the in-house music director, Riccardo Drigo, revised Tchaikovsky’s score to suit new choreography by Petipa and his assistant, Lev Ivanov. It is this reworked Tchaikovsky score by Drigo that almost every version of Swan Lake has used ever since. 

              The revised Swan Lake received its premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre on 27th January 1895 with Pierina Legnani in the dual ballerina role. She couldn’t resist adding her unique trademark of 32 whipped spins on one working leg (known as fouettés) to the coda (the final part) of the “black swan” duet (known in ballet as a pas de deux), where they have remained ever since. 

              The reputation and affection for the ballet has grown throughout the twentieth century, bringing it into the repertory of every ballet company in the world. Marking the 75th anniversary of the first performance, the US writer, Anatole Chujoy, summarised Swan Lake as being ‘…the greatest romantic-classic ballet of all times…the highest point of the curve which represents the history of the source of all ballet as we know it today.’ 

              It is impossible to separate the spectacle of Swan Lake, and Tchaikovsky’s music, from images of the ballerina as first the white swan (Odette) and then her black swan imposter (Odile). The dual role is performed by the same dancer and remains the epitome of the ballerina’s art, providing one of the most difficult challenges in the classical repertory. 

              Another elite addition to these performances at the Coliseum – at a time when no other production of Swan Lake will be seen in London – is that Tchaikovsky’s soaring music will be played by the award-winning English National Opera Orchestra, which has an established international reputation for versatility and excellence.

              This production of Swan Lake is the perfect ballet both for ardent balletomanes (a noun termed to describe those who love ballet) who will be eager to see this extraordinary company making its London debut after 175 years, and as an undemanding introduction to this beautiful artform, bringing the elegance of movement by world-class dancers together with gorgeous music and sumptuous set and costume designs. It promises to be an unmissable spectacle! 

              © Graham Watts 

              About the Author: 

              Graham Watts is a freelance dance writer and critic writing regularly for Shinshokan Dance magazine (Japan), Tanz (Germany), The Spectator (UK), Bachtrack.com and Gramilano.com. He has written the biography of Daria Klimentová (The Agony and the Ecstasy) and chapters about the work of Akram Khan for the Oxford Dictionary of Contemporary Ballet and on the work of Shobana Jeyasingh for Routledge’s Fifty Contemporary Choreographers. He is Chairman of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle and of the UK National Dance Awards and regularly lectures on dance writing and criticism at The Royal Academy of Dance and The Place. He was nominated for the Dance Writing Award in the 2018 One Dance UK Awards and was appointed OBE in 2008.