This post originally appeared on the Piaf Remembered website… When Katy Jungmann asked me to become involved in Piaf Remembered I was, to be honest, a little reluctant. Katy’s idea was to produce a short piece featuring the songs of Edith Piaf, but with a more theatrical slant than the normal gig. This would mean heading down the path of … Read More
The Inspectors Call – Everything Theatre Review
‘Outstanding’ piece of theatre exploring the relationship between schools and Ofsted I have a tremendous amount of respect for teachers. Whenever I hear someone express anything remotely along the lines of ‘teachers shouldn’t get all those holidays’ or ‘I work as hard as any teacher and I don’t get all that time off’ it’s all I can do not to … Read More
The Inspectors Call – The Morning Star Review
A new play on what happens when Ofsted targets a school paints a bleak picture of the human and educational costs. There is a moment during the first half of this new play by ex-teacher and writer Peter Campling when this politically charged drama set in a school grabs hold and never lets go. George Smith, played by a Falstaff-like Joe … Read More
The Inspectors Call – Younger Theatre Review
‘A Must See Show’ Whether it stirs memories from your school days, highlights your concerns as a parent or re-awakens your more nightmarish days working in a school, there isn’t one person who won’t be able to identify with The Inspectors Call in some manner. Peter Campling’s play looks at how the phrase ‘what’s best for kids’ is thrown around … Read More
The Last Days of Limehouse
Few people today know there was once a thriving Chinatown in London’s East End. Yellow Earth’s recent production will take audiences on a journey into this forgotten world… It started in Limehouse in 1958 when the local council was planning to bulldoze the last remnants of Limehouse Chinatown. As the local people decide how to embrace this redevelopment without losing their … Read More
Pit Lab – The Barbican
Tonseisha at the Pit Lab – Barbican There is a pretty well kept secret in London, and it is The Pit Lab at the Barbican. I was lucky enough, together with the saltpeter creative team to spend 5 days there last week progressing our ongoing project Tonseisha – The Man Who Abandoned The World. The Pit Theatre Laboratory Barbican/Guildhall Creative Learning … Read More
Tonseisha at RFO
I am currently rehearsing another excerpt from Tonseisha – The Man Who Abandoned The World, this time for Rough For Opera at The Cockpit London on October 15th (there are apparently still tickets available). Tonseisha is a long term project I am undertaking with saltpeter. Tonseisha, the play, is by american playwright Erik Patterson, and composer Kim Ashton and I … Read More
Jubilee in Bohemia
They said it would be madness and so it proved… The plot: Many people generously provided funds out of their own pockets (including the entire group who went) so that 10 members of The New Factory of the Eccentric Actor can head off to Cesky Krumlov in Bohemia. An epic two day train journey to the Czech Republic, to present … Read More
Dinefwr Literature Festival
I spent the weekend in Wales at the Dinefwr Literature Festival as part of ‘The Brautigan Book Club Trilogy’. It rained a lot, two of the performance tents were closed down on friday due to strong winds causing a little upheaval, but my memories of the weekend, the people I worked with and the people I met, are all joyous. … Read More
Electric Typewriter
In the rehearsal room all week putting together an extract from Tonseisha – The Man Who Abandoned The World for a staging at the Dinefwr Literature Festival at the end of this month as part of ‘The Brautigan Book Club Trilogy’. I‘ve blogged elsewhere about Erik Patterson’s sensational play, and how with the aid of composer Kim Ashton I am … Read More
Tonseisha – The Man Who Abandoned The World
I am currently working on a spring 2013 staging of the play Tonseisha, by American play write Erik Patterson for saltpeter. The play tells the story of one Japanese woman’s search for love and her obsession with American beat poet Richard Braughtigan. Tonseisha is a script that saltpeter has aspired to produce for some time, and from the outset I … Read More
Lenin in London
Lenin in London was first staged by The New Factory of the Eccentric Actor back in 2003 to mark the 100th Anniversary of Lenin’s last visit to London. When the idea of a benefit performance for The Marx Memorial Library was mooted, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a revival of the work. The Marx Memorial Library hidden away … Read More