Leicester's beautiful glass fronted theatre, Curve, has released the following statement:
Prof Philip Tasker, Chair of the Board, Leicester Theatre Trust says; “Earlier this year Curve submitted an application to the Arts Council England National Portfolio Funding Programme for funding for three years, beginning in 2012.
"We have learned this morning that our application has been successful, with Arts Council England stating “a good application from a producing theatre with a growing reputation based on high production values, [with] strong potential to make a considerable contribution to ensuring excellent art happens.”
Prof Tasker continued; “We are grateful for Arts Council England’s support, and that of Leicester City Council, our other major funder, as we continue to build both audiences and Curve’s reputation for producing quality theatre and hosting the very best of visiting and community work. As our new Chief Executive, Fiona Allan, joins us next week we look forward to taking Curve forward into a new and exciting chapter.”
I'm glad to see my 'second home' has received good news today. My heart-fely sympathies for those who didn't get the answer they were looking for from ACE. How can we continue to support the growth of the arts?
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
ACE news
Very pleased to say TMC has been successful in the ACE funding round for 2012 onwards. Click here to view The Mighty Creatives chief executive statement.
A big day for the arts
Today we'll find out whose made the cut for the Arts Council England (ACE) funding round. Arts and cultural orgnisations up and down the country will be frantic right now, with many employees struggling to sleep wondering if their jobs would still be safe in the morning. Up to 1,333 organisations submitted bids to be a part of the exclusive new portfolio for ACE. Each bid would have to help fulfill one of their five goals set-out in their 10-year strategic framework, Achieving Great Arts for Everyone.
Here's a reminder of the goals
Goal 1: Talent and artistic excellence are thriving and celebrated
Goal 2: More people experience and are inspired by the arts
Goal 3: The arts are sustainable, resilient and innovative
Goal 4: The arts leadership and workforce are diverse and highly skilled
Goal 5: Every child and young person has the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts
This final goal is the one The Mighty Creatives (TMC) is hoping to help ACE reach. News on TMC's bid submission will be posted at http://www.themightycreatives.com/
For full live updates on all the ACE announcements click here.
Here's a reminder of the goals
Goal 1: Talent and artistic excellence are thriving and celebrated
Goal 2: More people experience and are inspired by the arts
Goal 3: The arts are sustainable, resilient and innovative
Goal 4: The arts leadership and workforce are diverse and highly skilled
Goal 5: Every child and young person has the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts
This final goal is the one The Mighty Creatives (TMC) is hoping to help ACE reach. News on TMC's bid submission will be posted at http://www.themightycreatives.com/
For full live updates on all the ACE announcements click here.
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Let Me Entertain You
This celebration of the legendary Robbie Williams certainly lived up to its title when the tour made its debut appearance at De Montfort Hall in Leicester last night. The show is much more than a humble tribute act to the king of pop. Internationally renowned impersonator, JK, oozed the same cheeky charm as Williams and JK’s stage presence and voice are uncanny to the star too. Opening the show with the song by the same title – Let Me Entertain You – got the audience on their feet and many didn’t sit down all night. With great hits including Rock DJ, Angel, Shame and She’s the One on the set list for the evening, it was clear that whether you’re a die-hard Williams fan or just a music lover you would be in for a treat. The energy in the hall was high all night and looking at the audience was like watching a sea of arms. JK kept the show a celebratory event by telling the audience about key events in Williams’ life and re-created some of the pinnacle moments from his career such as the swing concert at the Royal Albert Hall. During the infamous Knebworth concert which was reputedly the biggest UK pop concert of all times, Williams’ got the crowd to form a mass karoke. JK encouraged the audience at De Montfort Hall to do the same last night and there was something quite spectacular about hearing almost 1,000 people singing Strong. On stage, JK was supported by three female back-up singers/dancers, two of which performed the duet songs Something Stupid and Kids with JK in the second half of the set. There was also a band including two guitarists, a bass player, keyboard player and drummer. There performance helped gel the whole show together. The show officially opened in Stoke on Trent in June 2010 to rapturous applause with special guests including Robbie Williams’ father Pete Conway. Along with top musical directors, choreographers and award winning musicians, singers and dancers it took 8 years to perfect and master what is quickly becoming one of the most talked about theatre shows in the country. If you’re looking for an enjoyable night out with friends then this show would be the perfect tonic. For further information visit http://www.letmeentertainyoutheshow.com/ The tours next stop will be on May 5 at Grove Theatre in Dunstable. Originally written for The Public Reviews.
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Love Love Love
Love Love Love is a production littered with drink, fags, family dysfunctions and politics.
Last night, the infamous new Mike Bartlett play opened at Curve in Leicester. I had high expectations following reviews in the national press but it somehow didn’t live up to the hype.
It’s 1967; Kenneth (Ben Addis) and Sandra (Lisa Jackson) know the world is changing. And they want some of it.
Love, Love, Love takes on the baby boomer generation as it retires, and finds it full of trouble. Smoking, drinking, ambitious and paranoid, one couple’s forty-year journey from initial burst to full bloom. Drawing its title from the hippy-era-defining Beatles classic All You Need is Love, the show tells a story that will be familiar to many; a tale of luck, opportunity, freedom, achieving goals and having hopes and dreams dashed.
The show was performed in three acts to allow them to change the set to fit which era they were in.
If you’re interested in finding out how the set is put together then stay in your seats during the interval as they don’t pull the curtains down in the studio so you get see all that happens behind-the-scenes.
One of the biggest grievances I have with the play is that there are no loveable characters. The portrayal of Ken and Sandra shows them in a very selfish light and their offspring grow-up surrounded by booze, nicotine and shouting and the effects on their personalities in notable in the final act.
I presumed the show would have a lot of humour but from the first act all I could see was forced comedic actions.
The second and third half of the show certainly picked up the pace and drew the audience into the story. Although the characters lacked depth, the story was enjoyable.
My favourite scene of the night was in the final act. The parents are old and so are their offspring. The daughter, Rose (Rosie Wyatt) finally lets out her repressed feelings towards her dismissive parents.
“Look at you…”if you can remember the sixties you weren’t really there”. What a smug f***ing little thing to say. You didn’t change the world, you bought it. Privatised it. What did you stand for? Peace? Love? Nothing except being able to do whatever the f*** you wanted.”
It was at this moment I got goose bumps. The anger, the passion and the velocity of Rose’s words were huge.
I found it difficult to tolerate Ken and Sandra at all and I’m not sure if that was to do with the class that they were reflecting. The pair went to Oxford and had very traditional English accents.
But what I did love about the pair is that both Lisa Jackson who played Sandra and Ben Addis who played Ken were able to play the characters as whimsical teenagers, middle-aged workaholic parents and as a more humble version of their former selves in the final act.
The costumes for the pair were a true reflection of how someone from that era would have looked then and now, which gave the story a real edge.
If you were a teenager in the 60s or know people that were then you might enjoy this play.
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
The History Boys
Last night’s awe-inspiring performance from the cast and crew of The History Boys left the audience riveted at Curve.
I cannot recall the last time there was such a buzz for a show. The audiences’ engagement for what was happening on stage felt intense.
Director, Christopher Luscombe has resurrected the show for the first time since its original National Theatre production.
Known as one of the great plays of the decade, The History Boys is set in a school in the North of England in the 1980s where a sprightly bunch of bright, funny, sixth-form boys are attempting to gain entrance to Oxford or Cambridge whilst evading the distractions of sport and sex.
The dynamics between the actors work well in this show which portray some very complicated relationships between pupils and teachers. They handle, what would normally be very delicate subjects, in an unusually light-hearted way which worked well surprisingly.
The play sets up the school setting and introduces the loose storyline and you soon establish who the characters are.
The scenes between the new teacher, Irwin (Ben Lambert) and Posner (Rob Delaney) were intriguing to watch. Some parts left the audience feeling like a voyeur peeking in on someone’s life but it was too interesting to tear your eyes away.
Lighting Designer, Tim Mitchell, produced an excellent scene setter. The main set is laid out for the classroom scenes but using the lights, Mitchell, is able to create the illusion of a school corridor.
There is a scene in the first act were the boys are being mischievous in class when the head master walks in which got the audience laughing in unison and I think it’s from that point that their sense of understanding and shared knowledge between them and the characters was noted.
The different scenes were bridged with bursts of pop culture music from the 80s which allowed the cast to adapt the set quickly.
The audience were left touched by the story of the boys but also left reminiscing about their school days and wondering what they’re old friends had gone on to accomplish in life.
If you love intelligent wit with a few laughs thrown in for kicks then The History Boys is for you.
Runs until March 26.
To book tickets visit www.curveonline.co.uk
Originally reviewed for The Public Reviews.
I cannot recall the last time there was such a buzz for a show. The audiences’ engagement for what was happening on stage felt intense.
Director, Christopher Luscombe has resurrected the show for the first time since its original National Theatre production.
Known as one of the great plays of the decade, The History Boys is set in a school in the North of England in the 1980s where a sprightly bunch of bright, funny, sixth-form boys are attempting to gain entrance to Oxford or Cambridge whilst evading the distractions of sport and sex.
The dynamics between the actors work well in this show which portray some very complicated relationships between pupils and teachers. They handle, what would normally be very delicate subjects, in an unusually light-hearted way which worked well surprisingly.
The play sets up the school setting and introduces the loose storyline and you soon establish who the characters are.
The scenes between the new teacher, Irwin (Ben Lambert) and Posner (Rob Delaney) were intriguing to watch. Some parts left the audience feeling like a voyeur peeking in on someone’s life but it was too interesting to tear your eyes away.
Lighting Designer, Tim Mitchell, produced an excellent scene setter. The main set is laid out for the classroom scenes but using the lights, Mitchell, is able to create the illusion of a school corridor.
There is a scene in the first act were the boys are being mischievous in class when the head master walks in which got the audience laughing in unison and I think it’s from that point that their sense of understanding and shared knowledge between them and the characters was noted.
The different scenes were bridged with bursts of pop culture music from the 80s which allowed the cast to adapt the set quickly.
The audience were left touched by the story of the boys but also left reminiscing about their school days and wondering what they’re old friends had gone on to accomplish in life.
If you love intelligent wit with a few laughs thrown in for kicks then The History Boys is for you.
Runs until March 26.
To book tickets visit www.curveonline.co.uk
Originally reviewed for The Public Reviews.
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Interview with Lisa Jackson
The fanciful and witty new play Love Love Love by Mike Bartlett opens at Curve this week and audiences will see the return of Lisa Jackson.
Freelancer journalist, Jemma Crowston, caught up with Lisa during a tour break last week.
Lisa was last in the city playing Ann Deever in the Curve Production of All My Sons in November 2009. This week, Lisa will take on the lead female role of Sandra in Love Love Love from Tuesday night.
It’s 1967; Kenneth (Ben Addis) and Sandra (Lisa Jackson) know the world is changing. And they want some of it.
Love, Love, Love takes on the baby boomer generation as it retires, and finds it full of trouble. Smoking, drinking, ambitious and paranoid, one couple’s forty-year journey from initial burst to full bloom. Drawing its title from the hippy-era-defining Beatles classic All You Need is Love, the show tells a story that will be familiar to many; a tale of luck, opportunity, freedom, achieving goals and having hopes and dreams dashed.
Lisa said, “I was thrilled to see some old haunts on the tour list and I’m excited to come back to Curve because it’s a great theatre. We were in the main auditorium for All my Sons so I’m looking forward to working in the studio space.”
The show will be split into three acts. The first act will see the first meeting between Sandra and Kenneth and we’ll see Lisa portray a head-strong 19 year-old who rebels against her reserved parents.
In act two, we’ll see the set and characters transform. The couple are now married with two children and it seems they’ve lost their aspirations which they strongly believed in during their prime.
For the final act, Lisa tells us where she gets her inspiration for Sandra. She said, “I’ve been asking my mum loads of questions because she’s about the same age as Sandra. She has lived through the situations that my characters been through and I’ve been able to use her stories to create Sandra as a character that other people from the era would relate to.”
The show is about three weeks into the tour which will run until June.
Lisa said, “I love the fact that I can take on the different ages of Sandra in this show. Some times your cast at a certain age when you look a certain way so I’m honoured to get to follow Sandra’s life all the way through.”
The Sussex born actor has been in many theatre productions as well as starring in TV shows such as Waking the Dead (BBC) and Campus (C4).
The 31-year-old actor said, “It’s a quick paced, witty and very funny show so if you want an enjoyable night out come and see it this week.”
The show, which will run from Tuesday March 22 to Saturday March 26 at Curve, will be directed by Paines Plough co-artistic director, James Grieve.
To book tickets visit http://www.curveonline.co.uk/
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