ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

THEATRE

Russian Playwright And Director Sentenced To Six Years For “Justifying Terrorism”

Prosecutors charged director Yevgeniya Berkovich and writer Svetlana Petriychuk over their 2021 play Finist the Brave Falcon, a cautionary tale about Russian women who were lured to marry ISIS militants in Syria and imprisoned upon returning to Russia. The production won two Golden Masks, Russia's highest theatre awards. - BBC

Willem Dafoe Is The Next Director Of Theatre At The Venice Biennale

"The Biennale’s theater department was founded in 1934, following the establishment of its art, music and cinema branches. Its previous directors include Renato Simoni, Luca Ronconi, Franco Quadri, Carmelo Bene and Lluís Pasqual, and it is programmed yearly alongside major cultural events like the Venice Film Festival." - Variety

Major French Festival Puts Theatre Voices From Elsewhere On Stage

As the first week of the festival unfolded, the spotlight shone repeatedly on amateurs and artists from countries rarely represented on the biggest European stages. - The New York Times

James Corden’s Play Was Supposed To Start, But At The Men’s Euros, England’s Game Went To Penalties

Thus, the audience at the Old Vic got to watch - or hear - the penalty shootout (and its good result for England’s men’s team) before the play began. - BBC

How A Drunk Mary Todd Lincoln Made It To Broadway

Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!’s creator and star, “has been a revered cult figure in the comedy and New York cabaret scenes for more than 15 years. But they’ve never come close to such exposure.” - Washington Post

Portland Is Suggesting A Plan To Shutter Its Big Performing Arts Stage For Two Years

The front of house folks and stagehands would like to have a word - perhaps a few words. So far, no one has even asked them what they think. - Oregon ArtsWatch

Backstage At The National Theatre During A Reset

The reset “is the time before a show when the theatre becomes a hive of backstage buzz, as cast and crew ensure everything is in order before the audience take their seats.” One photographer described it as “pretty bonkers.” - The Observer (UK)

A ‘Festival Of Resistance’ Against France’s Far-Right

In Avignon, “what will ‘resistance’ mean if the far-right party wins big in France on Sunday? Time will tell.” - The New York Times

Aphra Bean Comedy, So Controversial It Was Only Performed Once, Is Revived After 353 Years

Bean's The Amorous Prince, or The Curious Husband was considered "too radical, too shocking" in its day, says director Natalie Cox. "Some of the things it made fun of, such as masculinity, were not au fait with what should have been on stage at that point. It just fell into obscurity." - BBC

Brooke Shields Is Actors Equity’s New President. Here’s What She Wants To Do.

Shields’s music director suggested she consider the opening, and soon enough, she had tossed her hat in the ring, and in May she won the vote by members, defeating two more-seasoned labor activists. - The New York Times

Producer Garth Drabinsky’s Antitrust Lawsuit Against Actors’ Equity Is Thrown Out

"The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled that the producer could not continue with his $50 million lawsuit alleging that the Actors’ Equity Association violated antitrust and various state laws, including defamation," and illegally prevented him from producing Broadway shows by boycotting him. - AP

Ian McKellen Withdraws From Falstaff Tour

Two weeks after the 85-year-old actor fell from the stage during a London performance of Player Kings, an abridged version of Shakespeare's Henry IV Parts One and Two in which he played Falstaff, McKellen announced his withdrawal from the regional tour of the production "to protect my full recovery." - BBC

Between Netflix And TikTok, Comedy Is Booming

But comedians are exhausted. - CBC

Bay Area’s Throckmorton Theatre Goes Up For Sale

This could go well, or it could go very wrong: “The building spans 9,300 square feet and includes the Throckmorton Theatre, which currently serves as the home for Mill Valley LiveArts, the area's only multidisciplinary performing arts organization.” - San Francisco Chronicle

The Great Leadership Turnover At Broadway’s Nonprofit Theaters Begins With Second Stage

Artistic director Carole Rothman is leaving Second Stage after 45 years; her successor is Evan Cabnet, currently leader of LCT3, Lincoln Center Theater's emerging-artists program. "The leadership of the four Broadway nonprofits has not changed for decades, and the industry is closely watching (for the) new generation." - The New York Times

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