All stories by Chris Wiegand on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Norwich theatre blasts 'idle' government as redundancy threatens half of workforce by Chris Wiegand

Theatre’s chief executive says government is standing by as vital industry is allowed to ‘fade into the dust’ More than half of the workforce at Norwich theatre are at risk of redundan…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54PM

Edinburgh's Gilded Balloon launches summer season of online comedy by Chris Wiegand

The late-night hub is replacing its cancelled fringe programme with new virtual offerings alongside archive footage The Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh’s uproarious palace of late-night comedy,…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AM

UK theatres reopen for fellowship, food and films – but not live plays by Chris Wiegand

Artistic directors say it’s a ‘civic duty’ to open up as their venues play a vital role for their communities beyond entertainment The easing of coronavirus restrictions means that fro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM
Tuesday, June 30, 2020

From Hamilton to Hairspray: feelgood musical anthems sung in lockdown by Chris Wiegand

Stars including Lin-Manuel Miranda and Neil Patrick Harris perform lyrics of hope and solidarity from home in these five videos Counting the minutes until you can stream the Hamilton film on…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:06AM
Sunday, June 28, 2020

Lungs: In Camera review – Claire Foy and Matt Smith mix the personal and planetary by Chris Wiegand

Old Vic, LondonIn a socially distanced stage production, performed to a Zoom audience, Duncan Macmillan’s play acquires new pertinence More than three months after UK theatres were closed …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54AM
Friday, June 26, 2020

Government roadmap to reopen UK arts venues dismissed as 'meaningless' by Chris Wiegand

Plan announced by culture secretary Oliver Dowden lacks investment and timeframes say theatre unions and creatives Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage It was pr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM
Monday, June 22, 2020

Declan review – stinging tale of loss, loneliness and sexual discovery by Chris Wiegand

Available onlineThe absence of an audience increases the sense of desolation in writer-performer Alistair Hall’s compelling monologue When Jimbo first meets Declan at his Nan’s birthday …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03PM
Saturday, June 20, 2020

Noah and the Peacock review – live lockdown theatre in fine feather by Chris Wiegand

Available onlineThis Zoom show for families captures the buzz of theatre and asks the audience to dress up and make their own sound effects Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and da…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM
Friday, June 19, 2020

Lloyd Webber plans to trial Covid-19 safety measures at London Palladium by Chris Wiegand

Airlocks, infrared cameras and remote temperature-taking all part of plan adapted from The Phantom of the Opera production in South Korea Andrew Lloyd Webber will use the London Palladium to…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM

A Midsummer Night’s Zoom: isolation dramas reframe Shakespeare by Chris Wiegand

Romeo and Juliet become online daters unable to meet in a new project that celebrates freelance creatives When the UK went into lockdown in March, a tempest of tweets shared the heartening (…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12AM
Thursday, June 18, 2020

'The heart of a community': campaign highlights human value of UK arts industry by Chris Wiegand

Public Campaign for the Arts stresses theatre’s benefits on community, education and mental health as ‘crunch time’ looms Culture in peril: how UK arts sector has been brought to its k…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AM
Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Les Mis and Hamilton shut until 2021 as Cameron Mackintosh starts redundancy process by Chris Wiegand

West End producer also delays Mary Poppins and The Phantom of the Opera as consultation over possible job losses begins Four of London’s most successful stage musicals will not reopen unti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:54PM
Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Edinburgh international festival announces citywide Ghost Lights celebration by Chris Wiegand

The festival will roll out a series of ‘artistic interventions’ across the Scottish capital in August A series of “artistic interventions” has been announced by the Edinburgh interna…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM
Friday, June 12, 2020

Dave Chappelle addresses George Floyd killing in Netflix special by Chris Wiegand

Chappelle performs a surprise new set, entitled 8:46, before a socially distanced audience Comedian Dave Chappelle has released a blistering Netflix special in which he addresses the killin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54PM
Thursday, June 11, 2020

National Theatre announces final free streams including Small Island by Chris Wiegand

The NT’s popular online initiative continues with the ambitious 2019 adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Windrush novel and four more shows The momentous stage adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Wind…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM

Cats star Francesca Hayward on lockdown dancing and returning to the Royal Ballet by Chris Wiegand

The ballerina stars in a stylish short film made in isolation and is about to perform at the Royal Opera House after months away She has become one of the UK’s best known ballerinas thanks…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:06AM
Monday, June 8, 2020

Dancing in the streets: Royal Ballet stars rock to new Rolling Stones song by Chris Wiegand

Dancers perform outside locked-down venues in a film accompanied by Living in a Ghost Town and co-created by Mick Jagger’s partner, Melanie Hamrick Summer’s here and, with the UK’s art…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:36AM
Friday, June 5, 2020

Matthew Bourne's company perform The Red Shoes from home by Chris Wiegand

Following the cancellation of its UK tour, the cast of Bourne’s acclaimed dance production perform it in their living rooms and gardens in a 12-minute lockdown film Hottest front-room seat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:42PM

Sam Mendes calls on Netflix and Amazon to share 'Covid-19 windfall' with theatre by Chris Wiegand

Bumper takings for TV streaming services should be used to support performing arts industries, says Mendes as he outlines other rescue measures The director Sam Mendes has outlined a rescue …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:32PM
Thursday, June 4, 2020

National Theatre to stream The Madness of George III with Mark Gatiss by Chris Wiegand

Nottingham Playhouse revival of Alan Bennett’s play is the 11th production in the NT’s popular online initiative The National Theatre is to present Nottingham Playhouse’s revival of Al…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18AM

Martin Luther King drama The Mountaintop performed to 'bring communities together' by Chris Wiegand

Roy Alexander Weise reunites actors from his 2016 production of Katori Hall’s play to raise funds for the legal costs of protesters Katori Hall’s acclaimed play The Mountaintop, set on …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:48AM
Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Working-class talent blighted by Covid-19 pandemic, says actor Michelle Collins by Chris Wiegand

Ian McKellen and Lesley Manville perform in fundraising videos organised by Collins for Equity’s benevolent fund for creatives The actor Michelle Collins has warned that the screen and sta…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM
Monday, June 1, 2020

Lockdown laughs: where to watch online comedy by Chris Wiegand

The comedy industry is in crisis and we could all do with hearing a few jokes. Here’s a guide to the virtual gigs you can enjoy this week Like all comedy clubs, the Angel in London is clos…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:48PM
Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Claire Foy and Matt Smith to live-stream Lungs in bid to save Old Vic by Chris Wiegand

Tickets will soon go on sale for a ‘socially distanced’ version of 2019 sellout to shore up theatre’s ‘seriously perilous’ finances due to the coronavirus pandemic Claire Foy and M…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AM

'Thousands are in jeopardy': freelance theatre-makers count cost of crisis by Chris Wiegand

When Chester Storyhouse asked how freelancers were faring under Covid lockdown, it was left ‘shocked and enraged’ at how perilous their finances are. Now it is calling for national actio…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AM
Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Swan Lake Bath Ballet to be performed in dancers' own bathtubs by Chris Wiegand

BBC commissions choreographer Corey Baker’s splashy new lockdown-friendly take on the classic ballet It has been performed by ballet companies in the grandest of opera houses around the wo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12PM
Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Gillian Anderson quiz: A Streetcar Named Desire or The X Files? by Chris Wiegand

As Gillian Anderson stars in the Young Vic’s A Streetcar Named Desire – streamed by the National Theatre – can you tell which of these lines belong to Blanche Dubois and which are spok…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18PM
Tuesday, May 12, 2020

The living room where it happens: Hamilton film to premiere on Disney+ by Chris Wiegand

Streaming service moves forward launch of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit by a year, to just before the US Independence Day weekend An eagerly anticipated film of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Monday, May 11, 2020

Lockdown catnip? Original film of Cats to be streamed online by Chris Wiegand

Made 20 years before Tom Hooper’s critically savaged production, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1998 version stars Elaine Paige as Grizabella Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dance…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AM

Jerry Stiller, star of Seinfeld and father of Ben Stiller, dies aged 92 by Chris Wiegand

Comedian who formed a popular duo with his wife, Anne Meara, has died of natural causes The comedian Jerry Stiller has died at the age of 92. His death was announced on Monday on Twitter by …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM

The Royal Court's Caretaker is a space to think of theatre's past and future by Chris Wiegand

Hester Chillingworth’s installation, showing the empty London venue, is eerie, intimate and brings a message of support during the coronavirus lockdown Hottest front-room seats: the best t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM