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Dateline: 7th February, 2010 News from the Midlands
ACE gives £1m to sustain CurveArts Council England has given £1million to Leicester Theatre Trust, the producing theatre company which runs Curve, to help maintain the quality of its artistic programme through the recession. Laura Dyer, chief executive of Arts Council England, East Midlands commented, "We are clear that the current economic climate has created a very difficult operating environment for Curve and so we've made this Sustain Award. "Our investment will also support Curve in exploring potential changes to its business model so that financial stability can be established, as well as maintaining a high-quality artistic programme." Anthony Lawton OBE, chair of Leicester Theatre Trust, added, "I'm delighted that we've been able to secure this award. "It shows a wonderful vote of confidence in all that we're trying to do at Curve and achieving it has been a key focus of my role in recent months. "Now, with a strong and highly effective board of volunteer trustees, an excellent interim CEO, a committed team of senior executives in place and with the continued and active support of Leicester City Council, Arts Council England and Leicestershire County Council, the organisation is on firm territory to build a really sustainable future." The Sustain Awards are "Arts Council England's response to the impact of the recession on arts organisations whose sustainability is important in delivering Arts Council England's mission of great art for everyone."
BSC to produce Shakespeare comedy for Abu Dhabi festivalBirmingham Stage Company have been commissioned to create a new production of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night for the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival next month. The production will then visit Dubai, Al Ain and Damascus. The production will open at BSC's home, the Old Rep Theatre in Birmingham, where it will play only four performances on March 16th and 17th. Twelfth Night will be directed by Andrew Normington, making his debut with the BSC after directing the same play last year for The Lord Chamberlain's Men. Design will be by Norman Coates and lighting by Jason Taylor. BSC actor/manager Neal Foster who will play Sir Andrew Auguecheek said, "I couldn't think of a better way to start 2010 than producing this fantastic play by our well-known local writer, Mr Shakespeare. "It's a fantastic tribute to the success of the BSC that we've been commissioned to present our work abroad."
Old actors show they're forever youngNottingham Playhouse's next production is the UK premiere of a comedy that's rapidly conquering Europe. Forever Young, a "song drama" by Swiss/Swedish playwright and composer Erik Gedeon, has been in the repertoire of Hamburg's Thalia Theatre for more than nine years. It's also been produced by theatres across Germany and by Det Norske Teatret, Norway's national theatre. This year there'll be new productions in Denmark, Sweden and Finland as well as a British adaptation. Nottingham Playhouse's artistic director Giles Croft, a vice-chair of the European Theatre Convention, has adapted the original script in close consultation with Gedeon. Forever Young takes place five decades from now, when the Playhouse's illustrious theatrical history has come to an end and the building serves as a retirement home for aged performers - the very actors who once trod its boards. They still have the urge to perform and live for the moment when their attendant Sister Rosa leaves the room. Instantly they're up on their wobbly feet, belting out classic rock and pop numbers like "I Will Survive", "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", "Barbie Girl" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit". They have no thoughts about their heart conditions or hip replacements. John Elkington and Rebecca Little, who appeared in the recent Playhouse panto Beauty and the Beast, take to the stage along with Mark Jardine, Elkington's co-star in the theatre's punk rock comedy from last year, Garage Band. Sara Poyzer who played opposite Norman Pace in Nottingham in 2005 in Satin 'n' Steel as well as appearing in All Quiet on the Western Front the following year is Sister Rosa. Completing the cast are Claire Storey, Jason Pennycooke and Stefan Bednarczyk who's also musical director. Forever Young runs from Thursday (February 11th) until Saturday, February 27th.
Posh Spice wig remark leads to clinging new playThe world premiere of a play inspired by a chance remark by Victoria Beckham gets its world premiere at Birmingham REP this week. In 2004 the former Spice Girl inadvertently sparked a crisis within the Orthodox Jewish community about the wigs ("sheitels") worn by married Orthodox Jewish women. Asked in an interview if her hair extensions came from Russian prisoners forced to shave their heads, Mrs Beckham joked that she had half of Russian Cell-Block H on her head. In the ensuing fuss it emerged that most hair on the international market came from the Tirupati Temple in India and might therefore contravene Jewish law if it were used in the wigs worn by married Orthodox Jewish women. The idea for the play Cling to Me Like Ivy came to Samantha Ellis the same year: "I was working part-time in Joseph's Bookstore in Temple Fortune (in North London) when 'Sheitel-gate' began, and for two weeks it was all anyone wanted to talk about. "Rumours began that hair was coming from a Hindu temple in India and wouldn't be allowed under Jewish law. Then a rabbi was said to have gone on a fact-finding mission to the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh to interview bemused barbers. "Soon there were bonfires of wigs on the streets of London, Jerusalem and New York. The New York Times called it 'an emotional upheaval within [the] Orthodox Jewish community' and that's how it felt to me; the shop was full of women wanting to discuss it, and the debates were fierce and passionate." Commissioned by the REP, Cling to Me Like Ivy was developed with the support of the European Association for Jewish Culture. The cast comprises Emily Holt (Rivka), Mona Goodwin (Leela), Amanda Boxer (Malka), Edward Halstead (Shmuley), Gethin Anthony (Patrick) and David Hartley (David). Sarah Esdaile directs with design by Ruari Murchison, lighting by Simon Bond, music by Simon Slater and sound by Clive Meldrum. It runs in the REP's studio space The Door from Thursday (February 11th) until Saturday, February 27th. Afterwards the production, supported by the Sir Barry Jackson Trust, will tour the UK. What's on this week
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