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Post by cirque on Apr 29, 2022 10:25:30 GMT
i echo this fully.
If EW remains the company will sink into oblivion within a year.
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Post by cirque on Apr 29, 2022 19:47:05 GMT
RSC website now has 30 page job pack.
Who can fulfil the brief…?
Interesting but also some odd elements.
Worth looking at and playing the game of who fits the bill.
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Post by Jan on Apr 29, 2022 20:51:57 GMT
RSC website now has 30 page job pack. Who can fulfil the brief…? Interesting but also some odd elements. Worth looking at and playing the game of who fits the bill. Nobody if they’re serious about having “a distinctive presence in New York”. Quite significant they mentioned they are open to a partnership/part-time approach to the role - might generate a few more applications, or indicate they’ve already sounded out potential candidates.
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Post by Jan on Apr 30, 2022 9:17:31 GMT
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Post by lynette on Apr 30, 2022 14:20:08 GMT
Looking at the boxes to tick you might start thinking that being a well educated, well fed as a child person isn’t really what they are looking for. 😀 ooops…
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Post by Dawnstar on Apr 30, 2022 14:56:05 GMT
I'm reading the 30 page .pdf with some bafflement. Much of the information it contains is surely things that anyone qualified to become AD should already be aware of, for instance the theatre set-up at Stratford and their current & recent West End transfers. Also, on the Finance page it has "Fundraising and other grants £4.17m" on the income side and "Fundraising costs and grant expenditure £2.40m" on the expenditure side. If they are indeed spending nearly half the amount raised by fundraising on doing fundraising then it doesn't exactly sound cost-effective!
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Post by Jan on Apr 30, 2022 17:32:17 GMT
Looking at the boxes to tick you might start thinking that being a well educated, well fed as a child person isn’t really what they are looking for. 😀 ooops… At least it should prevent any candidate opposed to “justice” from applying. When have they ever had “a distinctive presence in New York” and why is this prioritised over a distinctive presence in Newcastle which in the distant past they actually had ?
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Post by samuelwhiskers on May 1, 2022 7:21:29 GMT
Has there been any word on when the Swan will re-open after its refurbishment?
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Post by kate8 on May 1, 2022 7:52:30 GMT
samuelwhiskers in the AD application pack it says the Swan will reopen in March 2023, which is a long wait, but at least it’s a firm date. It’s more ambiguous about The Other Place - reopening 2023, but the wording is unclear about whether the theatre is reopening then, or just the public spaces, cafe, etc.
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Post by kate8 on May 1, 2022 7:54:37 GMT
Btw I think ‘refurbishment’ is overstating it. Aren’t they repairing/replacing the roof? I haven’t read that any interior changes are being made.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on May 1, 2022 8:45:25 GMT
Someone working there told me they’re replacing the seating. Don’t know how extensively.
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Post by lichtie on May 1, 2022 9:49:37 GMT
I believe that it's the cafe in the Other Place that reopens next year. Since the AD pack mentions the Mischief festival events they've run there in the past as well there is perhaps also the intention to restart that as well, so that would be summer 2023. By which time perhaps some of the tourists might have returned (at the moment they would almost certainly lose money on staffing even having the building open for the public for just the cafe).
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Post by oxfordsimon on May 1, 2022 11:26:07 GMT
If the RSC had been more active, more people would be visiting Stratford to attend a range of theatrical performances.
Stratford is struggling because of the failure of the RSC to give visitors a reason to return.
Granted part of the blame also lies with the Birthplace Trust who could have found a way to reopen more of the historic buildings under their care.
Staycationers were craving things to do last summer and the Shakespeare industry was not helping itself by staying largely inactive.
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Post by cirque on May 1, 2022 12:10:47 GMT
Both organisations failed Stratford. RSC ceased to exist for most people which explains a total lack of interest in the company beyond those who want change. I urge those concerned to write and lobby Board and Trustees,Recruitment agency and those on nominations panels.If they have enough responses they need to consider the best candidate rather than the expected …appropriate philosophy …appointment. Talking to people in Stratford on visit it is clear that most feel that there needs a full clear out at senior level…the very team that are responsible for demise. This includes Administrative staff who could not even open shop or cafe when others did across country. The RSC must be a new project….emphasis on sheer profession excellence. Whyman latest pronouncement of Royal Shakespeare Community is awful and so depressing. The p,ace feels like a hall where the top tal3nt has long gone……please write to Board and place some pressure to make honest appointment.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on May 1, 2022 12:35:44 GMT
Stratford is absolutely heaving at the moment. Mile-long queues outside the food stalls in the outdoor market. Yet not many people going inside the theatre. Even the hire boats were doing better trade!
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Post by cirque on May 1, 2022 12:39:00 GMT
Bag checks don’t help…..snoopers
Nothing much to see in shop…vastly reduced stock
Tv screens dead
Cafe…tatty
Shows…..ok but no one knows much about these plays without pre research
No show pics on display to give flavour of what to see
Swan closed and area like long closed site with skips etc
Why bother
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Post by samuelwhiskers on May 1, 2022 20:16:25 GMT
Agreed, it’s depressing how grotty the RSC feels compared to its heyday.
On the other hand, Stratford is looking pretty good. There’s a bougie coffee shop right by the station now! (Doesn’t take much to impress me.)
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Post by Jon on May 1, 2022 20:30:18 GMT
I know certain people think the RSC will die if Erica Whyman is made AD but realistically it's not going to happen nor will Stratford be without any theatre.
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Post by Jan on May 2, 2022 9:09:00 GMT
I know certain people think the RSC will die if Erica Whyman is made AD but realistically it's not going to happen nor will Stratford be without any theatre. Agree. It will not die, it will become a regional scaled-down lower-quality version of Chichester which, actually, it already is.
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Post by cirque on May 2, 2022 11:43:29 GMT
Chichester have a programme of contrasting shows...two theatres operating plus the outreach.
RSC is very scaled down...but at least there is a garden for the soul rigged up .
How are the mighty fallen.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2022 12:24:06 GMT
The Swann needs to be reopened. Also don't forget the main theatres were closed for redevelopment in not to distant past too. TOP I'm not sure if it could sustain being open all year but if the Swann is closed then it is reasonable for that to be open along with RST. I'd like TOP to be a new work/education hub to drive the school and community work personally.
The job advert is a lot of stuff about what the RSC does but the job description is interesting including the salary and accomodation. I never knew it involved accommodation until someone mentioned it but it would make sense. I always remember someone saying when the Stage Door was around the other side at about 18:45 to 18:55 a lot of evenings you'd see a stream of performers coming out of the cottages/houses on the other side of the road to go into the theatre.
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Post by oxfordsimon on May 6, 2022 10:13:18 GMT
Doran is in The Times today with the headline saying that he doesn't believe Richard III can now be played by anyone other than a disabled actor
The article is behind the paywall so I can't read the nuance, if any, in his position.
But it is fundamentally a wrongheaded approach to the character and the play.
The textual references to Richard's physical appearance are little more than Tudor propaganda. They are frequently just self deprecating comments used for comic/dramatic effect.
At no point in the text is Richard portrayed as being in any way encumbered by his physical differences. He acts and interacts without reference to any difficulties.
The play is about his warped mind not his body.
I find it hard to believe that anyone would argue that Richard can only be played by an actor with lived experience of a diagnosis of psychopathy even though it is his distorted mental state that is at the heart of the play and the character.
Historically we know that Richard was an able warrior who appears to have not been disabled by his scoliosis. There is also no evidence of the withered arm. But let that pass.
To say that Richard can only be played by a disabled actor is making a socio-political point not a dramaturgical one.
I absolutely agree that representation matters and that disabled actors need far more opportunities to shine.
But it is just oversimplification of the complex issues surrounding this to start trying to reserve certain roles for disabled actors.
Should Richard only be played by actors with scoliosis? Surely they would be the only ones with a real understanding of living with that condition.
Or doesn't it matter what the nature of the disability is? Isn't that risking tokenistic casting with the of appearing to do 'the right thing'?
I know I am commenting on an article that I cannot read. I hope Doran's position is more thoughtful than the headline makes out. But given the direction of travel at the RSC, I am not hopeful.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2022 12:59:28 GMT
Interesting thoughtline from Greg as his late partner played a hugely acclaimed Richard III which was his first award winning lead role and really made his name.
Richard III is often played on crutches as a hunchback when it was probably scoliosis he suffered from. I have a slight curve in my back which people don't notice in everyday life and I'm not sure what disability the chap playing him this season at the RSC has.
I certainly agree that when parts require someone to be in a wheelchair then a wheelchair user should be cast and other roles which require similar disabilities conditions to be constant throughout the play then someone with that or a similar condition is ideally cast.
I've been a big fan of using actors with disabilities in mainstream roles and the RSC was certainly doing a good job of this pre-pandemic havibg hearing and sight impaired, wheelchair using, dwarf and actors missing part of an arm in their ensemble in roles which made no reference to their physical appearance.
But Greg's blanket comment could be taken to ridiculous measures for certain other roles so I don't agree with that as such.
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Post by Jan on May 6, 2022 13:34:03 GMT
I wonder what Arthur Hughes thinks of Doran making such a big deal of this issue ? I mean he's implying the main reason Hughes was cast was because he's disabled which strikes me as somewhat insulting. I've seen Hughes in things (he's very good) where the fact he was disabled wasn't mentioned at all in the publicity - I prefer that approach.
Anyway, to prove his commitment on this issue I think Doran should apologise retrospectively for the RSC having cast Sher in the role (that launched his career). Either that or shut up.
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Post by cirque on May 6, 2022 15:20:23 GMT
Yes indeed
Start training now all disabled actors-you can play R111
This is absolute discrimination under guise of being socially aware.
Hard luck,Slinger,Fiennes,Goodman,McKellen,McArdle-dont want the likes of you here.
Greg -I feel very sorry indeed for his loss-but as he was writing his book the RSC was destroyed
Whole team out...new blood.
Board must be aware of all this.
Who will play Cymbeline ....need Welsh actors for evils......wicked Queen must have criminal record to empathise
ACTING-=BECOMING
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Post by Jan on May 6, 2022 15:41:05 GMT
The last R-III I saw was an electrifying turn by the great Greg Hicks at the Arcola. A lesser-known actor and I wouldn’t have bothered, it’s quite a dull old play, and casting a disabled actor wouldn’t have changed that. I fear R-III is destined to disappear from the repertoire.
I wonder if Doran thinks Shylock should always be played by a Jewish actor ?
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2022 16:37:30 GMT
It reminded me of the Lenny Henry joke I did Shakespeare yes I played Othello. I could imagine a disabled comedian using same line about Richard III?
As Jan comments about Greg with Shylock are we going to those lengths?
What about Captain Hook in the Peter Pan pantos?
I had thought about putting that earlier but held off but now why not.
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Post by Jan on May 6, 2022 16:54:33 GMT
Of course there is a valid argument in there - I think all would agree Othello should be played by a black actor. But “disabled” is such a broad category and it is peripheral to R-III. Like I said, I’d like to hear from disabled actors on this rather than Doran telling us all what has to happen.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2022 17:46:34 GMT
I fully agree a person changing their skin colour to play Othello has been no go for 40 odd years. We have had the role reveresed and a white person play him with a black cast or something could potentially be done along the cast system with Asian actors in the roles.
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Post by oxfordsimon on May 6, 2022 18:26:32 GMT
A lot of this is about how to portray otherness on stage.
The characters we are talking about are different in some way from the rest of the cast.
Richard is a psychopath power seeking narcissist. Shylock is a Jew in a Christian city.
Capturing the otherness is what is key. Not the personal narrative of the actor cast in the role.
Directors should never feel constrained by the the new orthodoxy when it comes to staging classic plays. There are many ways of interpreting them. Some will work better than others. But they should never be done to serve some sort of external agenda
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