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THEATRE

Lessons For Theatre From This Year’s Edinburgh Festivals

While the international plays are overtly political, encompassing disability rights, antiracism and ecology, the homegrown works explored the more personal terrain of addiction, recovery and self-care. - The New York Times

The Politics Of, And In, Indonesia’s Traditional Shadow-Puppet Theater

Over its thousand-year history, wayang kulit has been at once high art and popular entertainment; both exemplified and parodied elites and common folks, invaders from other islands and European colonizers; transmitted rulers' messages while undercutting them; embodied the old ways and incorporated pop culture. - Tablet

Director Ivo van Hove Fired By Theater Where He Made His Career

The International Theater Amsterdam, where he was artistic director from 2001 (when it was called Toneelgroep Amsterdam) to 2023 and continued as a salaried artistic advisor, cut ties with him after two reports revealed a longstanding culture of bullying there. The theater's entire board has resigned. - The New York Times

How A Play About Depression Became A Worldwide Phenomenon

An uplifting play about depression, Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing has become a global phenomenon since its Edinburgh fringe debut 10 years ago. It has been performed in 63 countries in around 400 professional productions. - The Guardian

The Company That Invented The Portable Pop-Up Theater And Locked Writers In A Room Until They Drafted A Play

"It began over a pint in a Bedford pub. Fifty years later, Paines Plough is a theatrical trailblazer. … To mark its half-century, the key players remember the company’s fights, firsts and furious creativity." - The Guardian

Too Many New Plays, Too Few Producers

The ratio of independent producers to new plays being written, and people wanting to make them, is completely out of kilter. And as subsidies dwindle and support for the arts in general wanes, the number of us – people willing to run a small business producing independent theatre – is decreasing too. - The Stage

Geffen Playhouse Expands Its Audience To Include Prisoners And Their Families

"The first thing we do is make sure that they can see plays that reflect their lives," says artistic director (and Oscar winner for Moonlight) Tarell Alvin McCraney about his Theater as a Lens for Justice initiative, which offers free tickets to "populations impacted by incarceration." - The New York Times

Streaming Service Aims To Expand Live Theatre Audience

“We’re expanding the size of the theatre; we’re not creating a competitive product." Now, with unions across the field adopting streaming provisions, the second-best seat in the house might be at home. - American Theatre

More Theatres In Britain Are Doing Shows Without Intermissions

Skipping the interval (as they call it over there) is somewhat controversial: some producers and directors think that offering a shorter evening may bring back patrons who've been staying away since the pandemic, while many theatres depend on the income from bar sales during the break. - The Guardian

Why Have Standup Comedians At The Edinburgh Fringe Been Performing Outdoors? They’ve Had To

"These natural basement-dwellers have been flushed out of their venues by various fire alarms and outages, including a city-wide power cut that caused the partial deflation of the giant purple cow inflatable in George Square. Oh, the humanity." - The Guardian

The Year Of Celebrating America’s Favorite Fighting Frenchman

Two hundred years ago, Lafayette arrived for a year-long tour of the country he helped create. The guy who has played him for years at Colonial Williamsburg is prepared for 13 months of celebrations, including a triumphal visit to Manhattan. - The New York Times

Another Bay Area Theatre Meets Its Fundraising Goal, But Plans To Downsize Anyway

Despite raising $500,000 in emergency funds, Aurora Theatre in Berkeley “has shed five full-time workers, including one co-managing director and its entire marketing and development teams.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

What Do You Get When You Cross “Waiting For Godot” With An Escape Room? This.

"Escape From Godot … is a play where audience members become participants, the game requiring patrons to hop on the dials and interact with props to propel the narrative forward. Puzzles are hidden in the script, ensuring that the players become actors and are in abstract communication with the performers." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Ivan Van Hove Finds Inspiration In Bleakness

Of course he enjoys being the new artistic director of the  Ruhrtriennale Festival of the Arts, which produces shows “in former industrial sites, like power stations or coal plants, among cities in the Ruhr region of northwestern Germany.” - The New York Times

A Taiwanese Play That Openly Addresses The Question of Independent Statehood

"Written by Swiss and Taiwanese creators and produced in Switzerland, This Is Not An Embassy deals with Taiwan’s lack of global recognition as a country and the diplomatic challenges it faces as a result." It premiered in Switzerland, had a sold-out run in Taipei, and will tour Europe this fall. - The Guardian

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