Theatre

The world’s first exhibition on open captioning in the arts will take place at Colchester’s Mercury Theatre in September.

Created by deaf-led captioning charity Stagetext, Captions Speak Louder details the history of theatre captioning, including how it was it was first brought to the UK in 1999 and has since spread across the country.

The free exhibition will run at Mercury Theatre from 3 to 29 September, following a successful debut at the Barbican Centre last November.

Chief Executive Steve Mannix said the theatre is really proud to be hosting the exhibition.

“At the Mercury, we firmly believe in the arts being accessible for all and this will be a great opportunity for our audiences to learn more about captioning and accessibility within the arts.”

Liverpool Playhouse Theatre is set to undergo a major refurbishment.

The Liverpool & Merseyside Theatres Trust (LMTT), which runs the Playhouse, is looking to appoint a design practice to prepare a Capital Refurbishment Feasibility Study to get work on the 156-year-old theatre underway.

LMTT CEO Mark Da Vanzo says the refurbishment is required to “ensure it survives for another century and is as environmentally sustainable as it can be.”

“We hope that the refurbishment of the Playhouse will be an exemplar for similar age theatres across the world, demonstrating that you can improve the environmental credentials of a listed building while also acting as a catalyst for a cultural regeneration of its surrounding area.”

Collaborative bids from design consortiums, particularly those that include emerging practices in Liverpool and widen representation within the project team, are encouraged. 

Bids must be submitted by 3 October, with further details available on the Playhouse’s website.

A large-scale, free event featuring theatre and performances will take over London's Square Mile on 15 October.

The event is set to feature more than 100 performers, with a mass treasure hunt, three carnival-inspired fairs and creative street theatre planned.

It is the first major event planned by the City of London Corporation under its new flagship Destination City programme, designed to promote Square Mile's leisure offer.

Backed by a £2.5m annual investment from the City Corporation, Destination City plans to "drive the Square Mile’s recovery from the pandemic, revitalise its streets, reinvigorate its businesses, and boost its attractiveness to talent".

Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation Chris Hayward said the event is "set to become one of the capital’s cultural highlights of the year".

"We will open the Square Mile’s doors to everyone, revealing fascinating secrets and making magical moments happen for our visitors."

Actor Ian McKellen has announced a second round of his funding programme designed to help theatre producers pay actors a living wage.

The scheme was set up to support theatre producers staging new plays and revivals that feature casts including recently graduated actors. 

Grants of up to £25,000 are available to cover actors’ fees in rehearsal or performance in situations where the work would not be possible without the funding. The first round of grants were awarded to six productions, which received varying amounts. 

“Starting out in the professional theatre, ambition and good intentions are rarely enough. Even the most successful production, in a small theatre, cannot hope to raise sufficient funds to cover costs,” McKellen said.

“Too many emerging producers and newly trained actors live on the breadline, discouraged as well as hungry. Hence this scheme to support work that would otherwise be done on the cheap or not done at all. Our grants provide the dignity of work for a living wage.”

The deadline to submit an application for the fund is August 31.

The Albany Theatre in Coventry is undergoing a £3m redevelopment that will include a new studio theatre, two education spaces and a new café and bar area.

The theatre plans to establish two new theatre groups for children and young performers this autumn.

The redevelopment is being funded by grants associated with the City of Culture programme and the local authority.

The building that is the Albany Theatre main house dates from 1935, when it was built as a lecture theatre for Coventry Technical College. It successfully weathered bombing and remained open during the Second World War, when trenches were dug in the sports ground.

The theatre underwent major renovations in the 1980s but came under threat in the 1990s. It temporarily closed its doors in 2008 before reopening as a volunteer-run theatre in 2013. It is now run by the Albany Theatre Trust charity.

“It's fantastic to get the work under way as we enter an exciting new chapter in the Albany's history,” David Meredith, Chair of the Albany Theatre Trust, told the BBC.

“These developments are helping us to improve the experience we provide to our audiences, while creating even more space for communities and local artists to use the Albany and enabling the trust to become financially self-sufficient.”
 

Theatre productions can help to promote healthier body image in young children, a study has found.

Led by body image expert Professor Viren Swami of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), the study evaluated the responses of children aged between five and nine-years-old before and after attending productions of Cinderella: the AWESOME Truth at a theatre in London.

Professor Swami was consulted during the development of the production with the aim of creating a show that could help children develop positive body image and self-image.

The research, based on responses from 54 girls and 45 boys, found that body appreciation scores for both boys and girls improved after watching the production.

The improvements were achieved while maintaining near universal enjoyment of the show and delivering key learning outcomes, as assessed through the children’s qualitative responses.

“We know that body and appearance dissatisfaction is associated with detrimental health and psychological outcomes, including symptoms of depression, low self-esteem, disordered eating, and decreased physical activity, and this can begin in children as young as six," Professor Swarmi said. 

“Due to social media, children are becoming aware of unrealistic and unhealthy aspects of body image at an ever-younger age. Therefore, it is important to find new ways of countering these threats by delivering positive messages to young children.

“It may not be feasible to reach all children through theatre given production costs and barriers to attendance, for example ticket prices. However, we have shown there is merit in using theatrical performances to promote healthy body image messages, as well as potentially embedding drama and theatre with a body image focus in school-based curricula.”

Alexandra Palace’s Young Actors Company is preparing for its inaugural performance in the palace’s theatre next Wednesday (6 July).

The company, the first of its kind in Alexandra Palace’s 150-year history, is made up of 26 actors aged between 18 and 24, all based in Haringey, the neighbouring boroughs and wider London.

The programme offers young actors an opportunity to develop their skills, experience and careers in a professional setting, by taking part in training and delivering performances alongside the palace’s creative and technical teams, as well as masterclasses from industry guests.

Director of the first show Fragments, Jolley Gosnold, said it feels “incredible” to be part of the palace’s first in-house actors company.

“I’d encourage anyone with a love of performance and theatre to join us on the 6 July. It’s an amazing opportunity to see this genuinely talented and creative new Company take to the stage in the magnificent setting of the Alexandra Palace Theatre.”

The Young Actors Company programme will last a year, before inviting applicants to audition and form the next company. 

Derby City Council has announced plans to build a new theatre on a city centre site.

The proposed theatre, known as Assemble, would be constructed in partnership with the University of Derby on the site of the Assembly Rooms, which was closed following a fire in 2014.

The council said it was proposing a £20m bid to the Levelling Up Fund to support the project, which would also require council borrowing.

The new theatre will form part of Derby's City of Culture 2029 bid. Council Leader Chris Poulter said: "We need to deliver a step change to create a successful and dynamic city centre."

The plans are subject to sign-off by the council's cabinet on 5 July.