review of "Born Yesterday"

“Born Yesterday” is a funny skewering of crooked capitalists and politicians

By Lucy Komisar

Garson Kanin’s 1946 comedy is a delightfully clever political romp which pits a crooked businessman and a bought U.S. Senator against a supposedly dumb kept woman who gives everyone a civics lesson while taking the bad guys down a few notches.

Jim Belushi as Harry Brock, Nina Arianda as Billie Dawn, photo Carol Rosegg.

Harry Brock (Jim Belushi) is the businessman who doesn’t want rules and regulations interfering with his scrap iron sales. “No interference with free enterprise!” he declares. Harry is a capitalist crook; he’s been a crook since age 12.

Billie Dawn (Nina Arianda) is a 25-year-old who left home still in her teens and ended up with Harry as the best deal an uneducated but very attractive young woman could make.

Harry is assisted by lawyer Ed Devery (Frank Wood), who used to be an assistant attorney general, but now declares, “I can see a loophole at 20 paces.”

Jim Belushi as Harry Brock, Terry Beaver as Senator Hedges, Frank Wood as lawyer Devery, photo Carol Rosegg.

They can both see votes-for-sale politicians such as Senator Norval Hedges (Terry Beaver), who arrives at the Art Deco hotel suite where Harry holds court. (The luscious set is by John Lee Beatty.) Harry screams at the senator, who meekly takes the abuse, along with the cash.

Kanin’s own views are clear, spoken in the words of Billie and an honest journalist, Paul Verrall (Robert Sean Leonard) who comes to write a profile of Harry. He find his reporter’s chops when he smells corruption.

Robert Sean Leonard as reporter Paul Verall, Nina Arianda as Billie Dawn, Jim Belushi as Harry Brock, photo Carol Rosegg.

At the same time, Paul falls for Billie and sets about liberating her mind with some civics lesson books and pamphlets. She starts out with Thomas Paine and proceeds to denounce the cartel Harry is building and to explain what turns a government fascist.

This production is valuable for two reasons. First, it’s fascinating to see how in the 1940s, when strong political ideas had to be slipped into theaters more subtly than today, Kanin leavened his political lesson with brash comedy.

Nina Arianda as Billie Dawn, photo Carol Rosegg.

And second because Nina Arianda is an astonishing talent as Billie. In her heavy New York accent, she is at first tentative, empty-headed and cheerful and then increasingly feisty. She is a charmer; she lights up the stage.

Unfortunately, the staging falls down with Jim Belushi, who is too loud, crude and nasty as Harry. His performance is cartoonish and has no subtlety. That must be taken as the fault of director Doug Hughes. Frank Wood’s lawyer is so mild and effacing that he almost disappears. Robert Sean Leonard does a creditable job as the journalist. Go to see Arianda.

“Born Yesterday.” Written by Garson Kanin; directed by Doug Hughes. Cort Theatre, 138 West 48th Street, New York, NY. 212-239-6200. Opened April 24, 2011; closes June 26, 2011.

http://thekomisarscoop.com/2011/06/born-yesterday-is-a-funny-skewering-of-crooked-capitalists-and-politicians/

 

review "The Motherf**cker with the Hat"

“The Motherf**cker with the Hat” is a classy, funny, grungy tale of underclass betrayal

By Lucy Komisar

Stephen Adly Guirgis’ play is a very funny, ironic, grungy and cautionary tale where four-letter words, sex and betrayal are mixed in equal parts in the down and dirty milieu of New York City drug addicts and their relatives and friends.

It starts at a residential hotel in Times Square. Jackie (Bobby Cannavale), just out of jail and on parole, is ready to take up again with his sweetheart Veronica (Elizabeth Rodriguez), but then he notices a man’s hat on a bedroom table.

Bobby Cannavale as Jackie, Elizabeth Rodriguez as Veronica, photo Joan Marcus.

He accuses her. And the language she ripostes with is the rich idiom of the play: “You have got this wrong, Jackie. You’re so far out of line you’re like in Zimbabwe or some shit…. I’m willing to put the ghetto on hold and eat some fuckin’ pie with you, if you’re willing to entertain the notion that you’re a fuckin’ retard ex-con who almost blew it cuz you got an imagination like — I dunno — Dr. fuckin’ Seuss an shit. Okay?

Pause. He searches her eyes. Jackie: “But you’re lying.”

Bobby Cannavale as Jackie, Chris Rock as Ralph, photo Joan Marcus.

From there, with fast-paced direction by Anna D. Shapiro, Jackie proceeds on his own picaresque itinerary. It is a wild ride.

The first stop is his parole sponsor Ralph (Chris Rock), who runs a health food business out of an apartment in Hell’s Kitchen. Ralph is full of good advice, what any middle-class self-improvement guru might give (he is learning French and showed up for jury duty), but he has his own difficulties with Victoria (Annabella Sciorra), the cursing, recovering addict he lives with. And he is not quite without blame.

Bobby Cannavale as Jackie, Yul Vázquez as Julio, Chris Rock as Ralph, photo Joan Marcus.

Then on to Jackie’s cousin Julio (Yul Vázquez) in Washington Heights. Julio offers him empañadas, remarks that he was in a sex addiction fellowship, and agrees to hide the gun Jackie has obtained for revenge against the man with the hat.

The story is both real and surreal, connecting to experiences we know, but rooting them in the underclass. Ralph and Julio exchange cards about nutritional beverages and massage (Rolfing is Julio’s specialty). Various members of the couples denounce their partners and also cheat on them with their supposed friends.

The play gets a lot of its spice from Guirgis’s peppering the dialogue with obscenities. And from the in-your-face acting by Cannavale as the hoarse-voiced, dysfunctional Jackie. Cannavale is backed up with class (if that is the right word) by the rest of the ensemble. It’s a play and production one won’t soon forget.

“The Motherf**cker with the Hat.” Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis; directed by Anna D. Shapiro. Lyrics by Anna D. Shapiro, Music by Terence Blanchard. Schoenfeld Theatre, 36 West 45th Street New York, NY. 212-239-6200. Opened April 11, 2011; closes July 17, 2011.

http://thekomisarscoop.com/2011/06/the-motherfcker-with-the-hat-is-a-classy-funny-grungy-tale-of-underclass-betrayal/

 

"The House of Blue Leaves"

“The House of Blue Leaves” is stunning dark comedy of illusion and delusion

By Lucy Komisar

John Guare’s 1970 dark comedy, in a brilliant revival by David Cromer, shifts between humor and tragedy as it traces the path that links illusion to delusion. As one morphs into the other, the differences appear increasingly subtle.

Artie Shaughnessy (Ben Stiller), whose job is to feed the animals in Central Park Zoo, wants to be a Hollywood songwriter. He practices his creations on a spinet piano in a cluttered lower-middle-class apartment in Queens (set by Scott Pask) and takes them to the El Dorado bar amateur night, where patrons talk through his presentations. El Dorado of course is the magical place where people thought gold was buried.

Ben Stiller as Artie, Edie-Falco as Bananas, photo Joan Marcus.

Bananas (the powerful and tender Edie Falco), with a cruel nickname mocking her mental state, can’t function or even safely leave the apartment. There are window gates keeping her in as much as intruders out. She gets down on all fours, eats like a dog and barks and growls, both an expression of madness and an ironic allusion to Artie’s profession. He cares for the animals more than for her.

Artie believes his wife of 18 years is destroying his life chances and takes up with neighbor Bunny Flingus (a mean and flighty Jennifer Jason Leigh). His fantasy, at 45, is that they will leave Bananas and go to Hollywood to jump-start his career with the help of a boyhood friend who is now a big-time producer.

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Bunny, Ben Stiller as Artie, photo Joan Marcus.

Bananas is schizophrenic, but Artie and Bunny are also desperate and delusional in their ways. Bunny gives away sex but not food. She says, “I’ll sleep with you whenever you want,” but won’t cook for him till they’re married.

Sometimes Bananas seems more sensitive than the others. Artie stuffs her full of pills that make her not feel. She protests, “For once let me have an emotion. Let the animals come out.” His zoo animals are freer than she is.

It’s a cold October 1965, the time of the Vietnam War and also the visit of Pope Paul VI to New York. In one of the funniest scenes of a tragedy that quickly veers into slapstick, nuns from Ridgewood, New Jersey (the very funny Mary Beth Hurt, Susan Bennett and Halley Feiffer), who have come to see the Pope, climb onto the Shaughnessy roof and are let into the apartment. The beer-swigging sisters, who act as if Paul VI were a rock star, fight over tickets to see him in Yankee stadium. I loved the heavy Brooklyn accents of the nuns and other that permeate the production.

Ben Stiller as Artie, Alison Pill as Corrinna, photo Joan Marcus.

We also finally meet Artie’s childhood friend Billy (Thomas Sadoski) and his fiancée Corrinna Stroller (the terrific celebrity-satirizing Alison Pill) who is planning to get an operation to cure her deafness. Artie, the musician who is tone deaf to his musical failure, talks to her, oblivious of her attempts at guess-answers.

There’s more absurd slapstick and more tragedy, but one should leave some surprises.

And the title? Artie wants to put Bananas in a Long Island mental institution. Blue birds on tree branches outside the building make it appear to be a tree of blue leaves. But then the birds fly away. Thus are appearances shown to be illusions.

This is one of the great American plays, and this production — the cast and direction — is worthy of its brilliance.

“The House of Blue Leaves.” Written by John Guare; directed by David Cromer. Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 West 48th Street, New York, NY. 212-239-6200; http://houseofblueleaves.com/. Opened April 25, 2011; closes June 25, 2011.

http://thekomisarscoop.com/2011/06/the-house-of-blue-leaves-is-stunning-dark-comedy-of-illusion-and-delusion/

 

Sound library announces massive archive expansion

Sound library announces massive archive expansion

 

A British sound library used by the theatre and film industries has announced an acquisition deal which will make it one of the largest libraries of its kind in the world.  SoundScalpel (www.soundscalpel.com) has recently added 30,000 sound effects from BBC productions, increasing its library to 80,000 effects as well as royalty free music for its international and UK customers.

 

The acquisition is part of an expansion plan which will see the company swell its archive to 150,000 by mid summer. The extended library now includes sound effects created by some of Hollywood’s leading sound designers with effects that have been created specifically for films including Hollywood blockbuster Avatar, through to TV programmes like Eastenders.      

 

“The industry has changed a great deal over the past decade when sound effects CDs used to be the norm,” says Alan McKinney MD of SoundScalpel. “When we first launched the site in 2005 we had only 3,000 effects.  This latest expansion means we are able to offer 50 times that number which our customers are able to listen to and decide to download instantly.”

 

The company now attracts around 40,000 visits per week to its website and is popular with many markets around the world outside of the theatre. Education, TV, mobile phone apps, websites and game makers are amongst the many industries that have a regular requirement for sound effects which can be instantly downloaded from the company’s website at the click of a mouse.

 

“As well as the dramatic increase in sound effects available, we now have over 9,000 royalty free music tracks available for the first time which already have been used for film trailers, corporate videos and adverts,” adds Alan.

 

FIREMAN SAM ROCKS THE ST HELENS THEATRE ROYAL TWICE!

FIREMAN SAM ROCKS THE ST HELENS THEATRE ROYAL TWICE!

 

Due to phenomenal demand, Fireman Sam has added an extra performance of his brand new live stage show, Pontypandy Rocks, on Saturday 25^thJune at 3.30pm.

 

Join Fireman Sam, and all his friends, as Pontypandy hosts its first ever music festival!

Station Officer Steel's has booked a surprise guest star to perform at the festival, it's a big secret. With so much to plan and prepare Norman Price and Mandy Flood are told to stay out of mischief but Naughty Norman is determined to find out who the secret superstar guest will be... at any cost.

 

This day promises to be one of Fireman Sam's busiest yet as he's called on to save a festival that promises to rock Pontypandy.

 

Will Sam save the day? Will the show go on? Will Elvis finally get to perform? And will it all happen before Norman finds out who the guest star is and ruins the surprise for everyone?

 

Fireman Sam said:  "I am so excited about the Pontypandy Rocks festival, in fact the whole of Pontypandy is excited, Elvis hasn't sat still for weeks!"

 

The Hero next door added: "I am looking forward to seeing all my friends in Merseyside."

 

With great new songs, daring new rescues, and more adventure than ever before, you won't want to miss this brand new live show!

 

EXTRA PERFORMANCE DETAILS:

FIREMAN SAM

Saturday 25^th June 2011 – 3.30pm

St Helens Theatre Royal

Tickets: From £11

How to book – Book in person at the Theatre Royal Box Office Corporation Street, St. Helens, Merseyside WA10 1LQ (Mon – Sat 10am – 5pm) Alternatively call 01744 756 000 or click www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com

 

 

A CORNER OF THE OCEAN

A CORNER OF THE OCEAN

Devised by Jammy Voo   Directed by Jamie Wood

 

National Tour, 9^th June to 20^th July 2011

 

 

 

A hit at Edinburgh Fringe 2011, and guest directed by Fringe First Award winning Jamie Wood (Top of the World’s Paperweight), all female theatre company Jammy Voo tell the story of a man who goes missing in a mysterious diving accident. The story of his disappearance strangely touches the lives of four women in their different parts of the world.   Featuring puppetry, a capella singing, physical storytelling and a live musical score, A Corner of the Ocean takes a comic and bittersweet look at our everyday struggles to keep a head above the water.

 

The show explores the desire to carve out a place for oneself in a continuously fluctuating world: the hilarity, absurdity and difficulty of seeking validity in a modern life where so little is secure or permanent. The company creates every element of the work collaboratively- from making the puppets, costumes and set to writing the text and music.

 

Jammy Voo’s first show Something Blue was a hit at Edinburgh 2007 and went on to tour both nationally and internationally. A Corner of the Ocean was devised by the company and has been developed with actor and director Toby Jones (The Right Size, Complicite, National Theatre), director Jamie Wood and composer and sound artist Gregory Hall.  

 

Jammy Voo is an international, Devon based theatre company founded by four female graduates of the Jacques Lecoq Theatre School in Paris: Yngvild Aspeli (Norway), who also studied at Esnam; Kate Edwards (UK), who has worked with CCC Clowns, South Hams Arts Collective and Theatre Royal Plymouth; Emily Kreider (USA), whose past work includes shows with Friche Theatre Urbaine and Companie Houppz and Eliza Wills (UK), also a founder member of Blue Scream Theatre, whose work includes Fringe First Award winning Tom Thumb.

“Vibrant physical theatre that’s set to make waves…a production that has both depth and sparkle and reminds you just how refreshing original theatre can be.” The List

“Atmospheric and impressively accomplished” Fest

“The company are a delight to watch, teasing out a tremendous amount of comic and emotive content from the smallest of moments.” The Scotsman

www.jammyvoo.com / www.notebooktheatre.com

 

 

Tour dates and listings information

 

9^th June                  The Lowry, Salford          0843 208 6000 / www.thelowry.com                              £12, 8pm

22^nd June                Exeter Northcott                             01392 493 493 / www.exeternorthcott.co.uk              £12, 7.30pm

23^rd - 25^th June      North Devon Fringe         www.theatrefest.co.uk                                       £tbc 9.15pm, 9.45pm, 5pm

27^th - 29^th June      Bristol Tobacco Factory               0117 902 0344 / tobaccofactorytheatre.com               £12 (£8 concs) 8pm

20^th July                 Jacksons Lane                    020 8341 4421/ www.jacksonslane.org.uk           £10 / 8pm

 

 

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE IN KENT

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE

With guns, real chickens, no set and cars going over a cliff there is much to enjoy in this 50 minute show by KYT.

The actual film script is brought to life by the adventurous ensemble at Kent Youth Theatre. Employing their split level stage area to its maximum the cast have created an engaging production which zips along telling the story of teenage angst in 1950's America, but with themes that are still relevant in today's world. Great for any students of drama or anyone who may remember the original film with James Dean and Natalie Wood.

VENUE: KENT COLLEGE, WHITSTABLE ROAD, CANTERBURY, CT2 9DT

TIME: 7.30PM

DOORS OPEN: 6.45PM FOR BEST SEATS - BOOKING ADVISABLE

ALL SEATS: £5

Plans are being made for their next production, based on William Golding's, Lord of the Flies. The producers will be looking for a strong cast of boys, aged 11 to 14, to be in their outdoor production THE BEAST, and are looking to all schools, youth theatres and drama groups to find the right cast. They will need to be exceptional young actors to meet the demands of the production.

World Premier! David Walliam’s MR STINK comes to Kingston Upon Thames

World Premier! David Walliam's MR STINK comes to the Rose

 

Tuesday 26 – Sunday 31 July

 

A musical comedy based on the hilarious children's novel written by David Walliams and illustrated by Quentin Blake. 

 

Mr Stink stank. He also stunk.

And if it is correct English to say he stinked,

then he stinked as well.

 

KW & NB Ltd and Curve, Leicester with Hackney Empire and Nottingham Playhouse proudly present for the first time live on stage, a musical adaptation of David Walliams' award-winning novel for children, Mr Stink. 

 

David Walliams, star of Little Britain and Come Fly with Me has written the smelliest book of all time breaking new ground by being the first everinteractive scratch 'n' sniff family show! Each audience member will be given a free scratch 'n' sniff booklet bringing Mr Stink pongingly to life.

 

Adapted and Directed by Matthew White (Director of the recent West Endproductions of Sweet Charity and Little Shop of Horrors and the forthcoming production of Top Hat) with music composed by Matt Brind (Musical Director for Legally Blonde and Conductor and Orchestrator for John Barrowman's latest album).

 

David Walliams, who's not in the show, really wants you to come and see it!

 

Chloe doesn't like school very much. She isn't as cool as the other kids, no iPhone, no DS and no friends. Then she meets Mr Stink – the local tramp. Yes, he smells a bit but he's the only person who's ever been nice to her, including her mother who wants to be the local MP and is trying to rid the streets of its homeless. About to lose her only friend, Chloe finds Mr Stinka secret hiding place…but is there more to him than meets the nose?

 

A musical comedy with enchanting puppetry suitable for children aged 7+ and their families. Mr Stink also lends itself perfectly to schools audiences. Ideal for key stage 2-3 PSHE – Education Pack available on request.

 

Running time of 2 hrs 10 minutes including an interval.

 

 'A funny, original and thought-provoking tale! Hilarious.'         

The Times Book Review

 

'Comic Genius.'

Edinburgh Evening News Book Review

 

www.mrstinklive.com

 

 

Mr Stink

Tuesday 26 – Sunday 31 July

Box Office 0871 230 1552

New Box Office number from 14 June 08444 821 556

Groups Hotline 0844 412 4650

Access 0844 412 4648

rosetheatrekingston.org

Tickets £8 - £18.50

Family ticket £65 (4 persons, min 2 children)

 

 

 

It’s a trio of musical one nighters in Glasgow this June!

It's a trio of musical one nighters at the Theatre Royal this June!

 

 

From Motown to Swing and a little bit of everything in between the Theatre Royal plays host to three very different nights of musical entertainment.

 

The sensational voice on over 2 Million Albums, former G4 front man, and international recording star,  Jonathan Ansell  is joined by friends to perform some of G4's former hits and some of pop and opera's most famous songs in this hi first solo tour. G4's Jonathan found fame on X Factor, and since then, he has released two consecutive number one albums, Tenor at the Movies, and Forever. Jonathan was last in Glasgow when he performed at the King's Theatre in the UK tour of Whistle down the Wind in 2010. Jonathan will be performing for one night only on Sun 26^th June.

 

If you are a fan of the Rat Pack and the big band sound of swing then you will be in your element with One Night in Vegas with Martyn Lucas supported by the British Philharmonic Orchestra. One Night in Vegas is only on Monday 27^th June and features songs from the West End plus all the Vegas legends!

 

And finally, on Wednesday 29th June the theatre will be soul crazy with How Sweet it is - Motown's Greatest Hits, the ultimate celebration of the sweet sound of Motown. Now in its 9th successive year this stunning 100% live show combine's first class music together with the slickest choreography and an amazing band to deliver truly outstanding performances for the best Motown experience you will ever have! 

Over 50 Golden Years of Motown music are remembered featuring songs from legendary artistes such as The Temptations, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five, The Isley Brothers and many, many more.

 

LISTINGS

Jonathan Ansell

Sunday 26^th June @ 7.30pm

£25.50 - £31.50

 

One Night In Vegas

Monday 27^th June

£16 - £20

 

Motown's Greatest Hits

Wednesday 29^th June @ 7.30pm

£19.50

 

Box Office: 08448 717 647 (bkg fee)

www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow (bkg fee)

 

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

 

VAUDEVILLE THEATRE

Wednesday 6 July – Sunday 4 September

www.thetigerwhocametotealive.com

 

·         Based on the picture book written and illustrated by Judith Kerr.

 

• Adapted for the stage with songs and lyrics by David Wood OBE.

 

• This summer 2011 production at The Vaudeville Theatre marks the Company's eighth West End family season since 2005, featuring the hugely successful productions of The Gruffalo, Room on the Broomand We're Going on a Bear Hunt presented in Nimax Theatres for the last six consecutive seasons.

 

• This season marks the West End premiere for The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

 

• This 9 week summer West End season completes a 24 date UK spring tour.

 

Based on the award winning picture book by Judith Kerr, this delightful family show is packed with fun for youngsters everywhere and their grown-ups.  

 

The Tiger Who Came to Tea is one of the best-selling picture books of all time. Since it was first published in 1968, it has sold over 4 million copies worldwide and is translated in over 20 different languages.

 

And now, this much-loved tale has been adapted for the stage with songs and lyrics by David Wood OBE; the country's leading writer and director of plays and musicals for children. His many successes include Goodnight Mr Tom¸ Shaun The Sheep, George's Marvellous Medicine, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Gingerbread Man, BFG,

The Witches, Meg and Mog, Spot and Babe the Sheep Pig.

 

The show is the ideal introduction to theatre for pre and primary school children and their families.  Featuring magic and sing-along songs, The Tiger Who Came to Tea is perfect for developing literacy and listening skills, and audience participation is highly encouraged!

 

For children aged 3 and above. Running time: Approx. 55 minutes – no interval.

 

For further information please contact The Corner Shop on 020 7494 3665 or email charlotte@thecornershoppr.com

 

For competitions and promotions please contact Benjamin Jacobs on020 7437 1736 or ben@kennywax.com

 

LISTINGS

 

The Tiger Who Came To Tea

Vaudeville Theatre, 404 Strand, London WC2R 0NH

 

BOX OFFICE: 0844 412 4663

GROUPS:        0844 412 4650

 

Tickets £12.50 - £15.50 with a selected number premium seats at £19.50

School Groups 10+ £9.50 plus 11^th ticket free

www.thetigerwhocametotealive.com

 

Performance Schedule:

 

Wednesday July 6^th         11am

Thursday July 7^th            11am

Friday July 8^th                11am (press performance)

Saturday July 9^th            10.30am and 12.30pm

Sunday July 10^th 10.30am and 12.30pm

Tuesday July 12^th           11am

Wednesday July 13^th       11am

Thursday July 14^th          11am

Friday July 15^th              11am

Saturday July 16^th           10.30am and 12.30pm

Sunday July 10^th 10.30am and 12.30pm

Tuesday July 19^th           11am

Wednesday July 20^th       11am

Thursday July 21^st          11am

Friday July 22^nd              11am

Saturday July 23^rd           10.30am and 12.30pm

Sunday July 24^th 10.30am and 12.30pm

Tuesday July 26^th           11am

Wednesday July 27^th       11am

Thursday July 28^th          11am

Friday July 29^th              11am

Saturday July 30^th           10.30am and 12.30pm

Sunday July 31^st             10.30am and 12.30pm

Tuesday August 2^nd        11am

Wednesday August 3^rd    11am

Thursday August 4^th       11am

Friday August 5^th            11am

Saturday August 6^th        10.30am and 12.30pm

Sunday August 7^th          10.30am and 12.30pm

Tuesday August 9^th         11am

Wednesday August 10^th  11am

Thursday August 11^th      11am

Friday August 11^th          11am

Saturday August 13^th      10.30am and 12.30pm

Sunday August 14^th         10.30am and 12.30pm

Tuesday August 16^th       11am

Wednesday August 17^th  11am and 2pm

Thursday August 18^th      11am and 2pm

Friday August 19^th          11am

Saturday August 20^th      10.30am and 12.30pm

Sunday August 21^st         10.30am and 12.30pm

Tuesday August 23^rd       11am

Wednesday August 24^th  11am and 2pm

Thursday August 25^th      11am and 2pm

Friday August 26^th          11am

Saturday August 27^th      10.30am and 12.30pm

Sunday August 28^th         10.30am and 12.30pm

Thursday September 1^st  11am and 2pm

Friday September 2^nd      11am

Saturday Sept 3^rd           10.30am and 12.30pm

Sunday Sept 4^th              10.30am and 12.30pm

 

More information below

 

DAVID WOOD OBE – ADAPTATION / DIRECTOR

David began writing while at Oxford University. His seventy plus plays for children are performed worldwide, and he has been dubbed 'the national children's dramatist' by The Times. Four of his adaptations are touring the UK in 2011 – Judith Kerr's The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Michelle Magorian'sGoodnight Mister Tom, Roald Dahl's George's Marvellous Medicine and Aardman Animations' Shaun the Sheep.  David can also be seen in his own West End show David Wood's Story Time at the Arts Theatre, this Easter. His adult musical, based on L P Hartley's The Go-Between, co-written with composer Richard Taylor, opens at West Yorkshire Playhouse in September. In 2006, to celebrate the Queen's 80^th birthday, he wrote The Queens Handbag, performed in Buckingham Palace Gardens and seen by 8,000,000 BBC1 viewers. In 2004 he was awarded the OBE for services to drama and literature. Visit his website at www.davidwood.org.uk

 

JUDITH KERR - AUTHOR

Judith Kerr was born on 14th June 1923 in Berlin but escaped from Hitler's Germany with her parents and brother in 1933 when she was nine years old. Her father was a drama critic and a distinguished writer whose books were burned by the Nazis. The family passed through Switzerland and France before arriving finally in England in 1936. Judith went to eleven different schools, worked in the Red Cross during the war, and won a scholarship to the Central School of Arts and Crafts in 1945. Since then she has worked as an artist, a BBC television scriptwriter and, for the past thirty years, as an author and illustrator of children's books. Her three autobiographical novels are based on her early wandering years (which against all the odds she greatly enjoyed), her adolescence in London during the war, and finally on a brief return to Berlin as a young married woman. The stories have been internationally acclaimed and, to the author's considerable satisfaction, have done particularly well in Germany where they are sometimes used as an easy introduction to a difficult period of German history. Judith has a daughter who is a designer and a son who is a novelist. She lives in London. Her books include The Tiger Who Came to Tea, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Twinkles, Arthur and Puss, Mog the Forgetful Cat, Goose in a Hole, Bombs on Aunt Dainty,Birdle Hallelujah, How Mrs Monkey Missed the Ark and A Small Person Far Away.

Judith Kerr's new book 'My Henry' is published on 28^th April by Harper Collins and for all The Tiger Who Came to Tea fans a new range of merchandise will be available at selected retailers from October 2011.

SUSIE CAULCUTT - SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER

Susie trained under Motley at the English National Opera Design School and has designed productions for numerous theatres throughout the country, in London's West End and abroad. She studied painting in London and Paris and has paintings, watercolours and theatrical sketches in private collections around the world, including the Costume Museum in Leningrad. Amongst her many design credits are Personals, Apollo Theatre West End.Play It Again Sam, Globe Theatre. I Am Who I Am,

The Constant Wife and Dandy Dick directed by Sheila Hancock for the Cambridge Theatre Company. For the Actors Company, The Scent of Flowers and the European premiere of Neil Simon's The Good Doctor. For the Chichester Festival Theatre, The Owl and Pussycat went to See…, Charley's Aunt and The Last of Mrs Cheyney. For Clarion Music Theatre,Down By The Greenwood Side at Three Mills Island Studios. For Tina Williams, her adaptation of The Book of the Banshee, by Ann Fine.

Other works include: Noye's Fludde, Benjamin Britten Opera (which she also co-directed). Tina Brown's Happy Yellow, Bush Theatre, The Grass is Greener, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and Toronto: Gaslight and Pinter's Dumb Waiter for Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. For Manchester Forum, Charlotte's Web, and for musical humorist John Gould, she has designed his one-man show at the Mayfair Theatre and the musical revue Betjemania. Susie designed David Wood's hugely successful shows The Witches and The BFG.

 

PETER PONTZEN – MUSICAL DIRECTOR AND ARRANGER

Peter graduated in Electronic Engineering and taught Mathematics before turning to a musical career. His extensive work as Musical Director includesUnder Milk Wood for the Royal National Theatre and numerous RSC productions in Stratford and London, most recently A New Way to Please You and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He was a regular Play School pianist for BBC TV and his long association with David Wood has been predominantly in children's theatre. Peter wrote the music for David's adaptations of The Witches and The BFG, seen all over the country and in the West End. He also composed for David's recent productions of Guess How Much I Love You, Fantastic Mr Fox and Babe, the Sheep-Pig at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park. He has written original music for several recent pantomimes and for a variety of other theatre, radio and television productions including the ITV animation series The Gingerbread Man and the BBC Watch series. He has been commissioned to provide music for many audio-books by Alexander McCall Smith and Philip Pullman, including the award-winning release of the trilogy His Dark Materials.

 

EMMA CLAYTON – ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND CHOREOGRAPHY

Emma trained at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. Choreographic credits: The Way Back Home (UK Tour), Santa Claus (Arts Depot & UK Tour), Don't Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late (USA & UK Tour), Guess How Much I love You (UK Tour & Dubai/Abu Dhabi), The Tiger Who Came To Tea (UK Tour), Fantastic Mr Fox & Babe The Sheep Pig (Open Air Theatre, Regents Park), Hansel & Gretel (Fringe), Mickey Spatz (Arcola), The Worst Witch (UK Tour), The Hobbit, Watership Down (Redgrave Theatre, Farnham), Those Magical Musicals & The Johnston Master craft Water ski Show (Toronto, Canada), Celebrations (Old Vic) and God Knows (Riverside Studios, Hammersmith). Film: Handle With Care. As Director: Aladdin(Eden Court, Inverness), The Shagaround (Birmingham). As Associate Director: The Witches (UK Tour & West End with Ruby Wax). As Supernumerary director - The Witches on the original UK Tour and West End Season. As children's director: Babe The Sheep - Pig.

 

Illustrations copyright © Kerr-Kneale Productions Ltd 1968