Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2021 i Ink Pellet

Manchester School of Theatre is unique among the twenty members of Federation of Drama Schools. It is part of Manchester Metropolitan University and always was. A number of independent drama schools have merged with, and become part of, universities over the years, but MST has never been anything other than a flourishing institution within a university. “We now have a fabulous new building with excellent studios, sprung floors, our own theatre and all the rest of it and that’s great but actually the most important thing about any drama school is its students and staff” says David Salter, Programme Leader on the Acting degree. The school is based on Cavendish Square where it sits at the heart of its parent university. “And it means that our students have full, convenient…

Yes, this is a good news story about a very successful marriage between arts and business. And it’s proof that, contrary to popular opinion, the two are far from incompatible. “British Land built our building and have supported us in every way ever since” says David Byrne, referring to the studio theatre in Regents Place which was built in 2010, off Euston Road nestling amongst British Land’s high rise office blocks. Since then the theatre has championed new work, offered practical support to young artists, received three Peter Brook awards for its programme, been named Fringe Theatre of the Year in the The Stage awards and won, in 2019, The Stage’s Innovation Prize for its programming model. “Of course, the pandemic forced us to close our doors and we’ve spent…

So given that he’s our greatest ever writer how should we teach Shakespeare in schools? Look at the text? Do it as drama? Read story accounts of the plots? Or, maybe, just maybe, you quietly think that it’s all a bit outdated, old fashioned and irrelevant so you sideline it as much as you can. The late Michael Bogdanov (1938-2017) a controversial but highly respected director of Shakespeare was on record as saying that he didn’t think it should be done in schools at all because teachers ruin it for pupils. He had a point. I came within a hair’s breadth of being put off for life by a teacher who managed to make Henry V – actually one of the most exciting and powerful plays Shakespeare ever wrote –…

Theatre is like an iceberg. For every individual you see stuffstrutting out front there are ten more somewhere in the creation process busily and skilfully making it happen. They include stage managers, designers, wig makers, directors, scenic constructors, electricians, sound engineers and many more. And too many young people simply don’t know these jobs exist because theatre is what they see on stage and, usually, nobody tells them otherwise. Enter the Royal Opera House apprenticeship scheme which has, since 2007, been offering training posts to help young people acquire these vital off-stage theatre-making skills. 58 people have benefited so far and 88% of them have remained within the field of the performing arts. The scope has been extended to include work in IT, communications and finance departments because they all…

There are two things I am particularly looking for or concerned with when I visit an art gallery when reviewing a show for this publication. The first centres on how the work on display can provide stimulus for students (from primary right up through secondary to sixth-form students), the level of engagement that could be expected or hoped for. Given an average day, and average group of students, will they end the day feeling inspired, captivated, enchanted even? The second comes from approaching the exhibition from the point of view of the teacher. Will it provide enough material for a sustained and productive series of classroom-based activities that will be successful? But I am also mindful of other, less-formal requirements; will my colleagues (again on what might be a long,…

Review by Susan Elkin LIVING THE CONFIDENCE CODE By Katty Kay, Claire Shipman & JillEllyn Riley Published by Harper Collins This is an original and rather good idea for an affirmative, inspirational book celebrating the achievements of young girls as a way of showing what can be done by “ordinary” people once they are fired up by determination and confidence. Its 30 very readable case studies come from all over the world. Thus we read about Melati and Isabel Wijsen who have succeeded in getting the law and attitudes changed about plastic bags in Bali, where they live and where escalating pollution levels are very worrying. Dexa, from rural Nepal has succeeded in getting people in her area to be more open about menstruation, allow girls with periods to attend…

Imagine one of Shakespeare’s crazier comedic romps set in a Greek karaoke bar and you have a good vehicle for a funny play with songs. The show includes Sinatra, Queen, Abba, I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside and more. The incongruity is part of the joke. We start with the deeply distressed Egeon (Matthew Parker who also directs). He is condemned to death for turning up to search for his lost family, eventually he is reprieved. Meanwhile the rest of the play is a sitcom about two sets of identical twins separated in infancy and now the victims of a great deal of mistaken identity. Lewis Jackson as Antipholus of Syracuse (his first professional acting role) delights with his puzzled bravado and frustration as so much apparent nonsense…

Have you ever wanted to write a children’s picture book – like The Gruffalo or What the Ladybird Heard? Or even wondered how the creative process works? Well now you can find out. Julia Donaldson, with 218 books to her credit many of them world famous, is offering a brand-new digital tutorial course via BBC Maestro which has partnered with BBC Studios to offer this and other courses by other successful creative experts. It consists of a series of short lessons which include things like how a picture book is physically assembled, how to pitch your idea, to rhyme or not to rhyme and much more. “It wasn’t my idea but it’s a really exciting new challenge and an opportunity to expand”, says Julia who is 72. “I’m always asked…

Fourth Monkey has always pushed the boundaries to make training more inclusive and accessible,” says Steve Green who founded the training company in 2010 as an alternative to traditional conservatoire training. “The decision to offer our one-year Certificate in Higher Education (Acting and Theatre Making) in Bristol from this autumn is part of that.” Steve is excited about the location in Bristol too. “We shall be based at Screenology, a Bristol-based production and training institute. It’s in a lively and diverse culture hub in the St Paul’s area.” The new qualification is, like Fourth Monkey’s BA degree, to be accredited by Falmouth University. It is effectively a foundation course. “We really wanted to decentralise the London bubble a bit and it seems especially timely now in the aftermath of the…

If you live, work or teach in London, Liverpool or Luton (all the Ls?) you may be in luck because English National Opera is launching a new creative, music making programme for primary and secondary schools this autumn. And, of course, it’s pretty timely at a point when the government seems to be cutting funding for arts education yet again, although drama and music has never been more sorely needed than in this strange, emergent post-pandemic world. The idea is to commission operatic work specifically for the project and then invite young people to complete it. “Finish this…” will provide, among other support, education films, training for participating teachers and what it calls “compositional toolkits” to help students to understand and engage with the process of composition. Given that opera…

Very clearly reimagined as muscular, vibrant, ensemblebased physical theatre, supported by John Elliott‘s relentless, menacing soundtrack, this riveting take on Animal Farm opens with a mock Pathé News item. It’s immaculately voiced by Will Stewart, who also does a simpering, comfort-loving pragmatic Mollie, and introduces each character. Then we’re into the timeless story about the all-too-familiar rebellion, power and corruption cycle. Apart from the addition of a few extra characters, Tatty Hennessy’s script follows Orwell pretty closely. Every single member of this excellent ensemble is so watchable that it’s almost insidious to single any out. However, I must commend Adeola Yemitan for a thoughtful, troubled Clover and Nkhanise Phirl is deeply moving as Clara the hen who is forced to give up her eggs – we really feel her distraught…