Preview: Our World at Newcastle Live Theatre

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Rehearsals underway for

Live Theatre’s Youth Theatre Festival

“Our World” - Youth Theatre Festival

Newcastle Live Theatre

Thursday 6^th to Sunday 9^th August 2015

Rehearsals are now underway for Our World, Live Theatre’s 16^th annual Youth Theatre Festival. The event, which will be at the quayside venue from Thursday 6^th to Sunday 9^th August, features theatre productions, a short film as well as an Edinburgh Festival Fringe comedy preview.

Over 70 young people, aged between 11 and 22 and from the company’s Youth Theatre, will present four evenings of entertainment which provide a glimpse into the worlds of young people and their place in it.

Paul James, Live Theatre’s Associate Director of Education & Participation said: “This year’s Youth Theatre Festival promises to be as diverse, eclectic and exciting as ever. A fantastic event with a wide range of new work and talent on display. Our World will be dedicated to our colleague Jackie Fielding who we had the pleasure of working with on at least 12 Youth Theatre Festivals. Jackie was an outstanding Theatre Maker and an inspiration to young people. She was able to draw amazing performances from the actors she worked with.”

Kicking off the Festival is Big Talk, Small Talk, on Thursday 6 August at 7.30pm. Featuring a selection of short plays, created over 10 days by the Youth Theatre members and some of the region’s leading freelance theatre makers, the event will give an alternative perspective on what really matters to young people in the 21^st century. The performance will be followed by a free Meet the Team talk where some of the young people involved in the production will be discussing the process of making their plays.

On Friday 7 and Saturday 8 August eight young people will take to the stage to give their personal, heart-warming and hilarious perspective on what it’s like to be 11 and 12 today.  For them being eleven is tough. And great. And weird. And confusing. And funny. The show, 11 Plus, was curated by writer Laura Lindow (Rendezvous) with assistance from fellow writer, Lee Mattinson (Donna Disco). The pair held interviews with the young people involved to create a piece using the interviewees’ own words. They talked about school, their families and their hopes and fears. Directed by Live Theatre’s Associate Director of Education & Participation, Paul James, 11 Plus is suitable for those aged 8 and over and will be performed at 7.30pm on both days with a matinee performance on the Saturday at 2pm.

Laura and Lee have also been busy writing new sketches for Live Theatre’s all-female sketch group Your Aunt Fanny who will be previewing their Edinburgh Festival Fringe show on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 August at 9pm. From the absurd to the downright ridiculous they'll be celebrating everything that is funny and inappropriate in an evening of original sketches accompanied by music from DJ Mariam Rezaei. The show, suitable for audience members aged 14 and over, contains strong language and strong women.

Closing the Festival on Sunday 9 Augustis Invisible Cinema, a film like no other. Six Youth Theatre members will be working with directors Ian Mclaughlin and Bev Fox of Magic If to create six dynamic characters using improv techniques. Their newfound skills will then be put to the test during filming where then, and only then, will the storyline be revealed to the actors. Audience members will also meet the characters in a special pre-screening performance which begins at 7.30pm. After the screening the actors and directors will take to the stage to reveal more information about how the film was made and how the process was for them in our free Meet the Team talk. 

Writer Laura Lindow said: “Live Theatre’s annual Youth Theatre Festival is famed for being a colourful, thought-provoking, emotion-fuelled event. This year, as ever, the excellent Education & Participation team has put together a festival programme to platform the vibrant range of voices of the talented young participants, (on the main stage no less), all with sincerity and support. I feel so lucky to be amongst the other theatre professionals who have the chance to work amongst these exceptional young people. The final event promises to be a celebration of all things theatrical, (and all genuinely springing from the thoughts, opinions and ideas of the young people themselves!) Prepare for the kind of treat which rings with charm whilst biting with relevance as they tell you how it really is. I for one can’t wait!”

Festival goers should also be on the look-out for a series of wrap around events curated by Silver Arts Award participants who are working with Live Theatre. Arts Award is a national qualification that supports young people to develop as artists and arts leaders.

Tickets:

Tickets for Our World events are £8, £6 for concessions and £3 for Youth Theatre members for each performance. Tickets can be booked by contacting Live Theatre’s box office on (0191) 232 1232 or online at www.live.org.uk. Your Aunt Fanny will be performed at The Fancy Room, Just the Tonic between Wednesday 19 and Saturday 29 August. To find out more visit www.justthetonic.com.

Festival Listings

Big Talk, Small Talk - Thursday 6 August, 7.30pm

A selection of short pieces devised over ten days by groups of young people with support from some of the region’s leading theatre makers. These original and imaginative plays will give an alternative perspective on what really matters to young people in the 21^st century.

Including Meet the Team - THURSDAY 6 AUGUST (after the show)

Some of the young people involved in Big Talk, Small Talk discuss the process to make their

short plays. Free, booking essential.

DATE: Thurs 6 Aug, 7.30pm

LOCATION: Main Theatre

DURATION: Approx. 1hr

SUITABILITY: 8+

TICKETS: £8, £6 concs, £3 youth theatre members

11 Plus - Friday 7 & Saturday 8 August, 7.30pm
Saturday 8 August, 2pm

Directed by Paul James

Assistant Director Rachel Glover

Curated by Laura Lindow

Assistant Curator Lee Mattinson

 Being eleven is tough. And great. And weird. And confusing. And funny. A group of young people give their personal, heart-warming and hilarious perspective on what it’s like to be 11 and 12 years old today.

Developed through a series of individual and group interviews this exciting new piece explores friendships, families, politics, growing up and everything in between.

DATES: Fri 7 Aug 7.30pm & Sat 8 Aug, 2pm & 7.30pm

LOCATION: Main Theatre

DURATION: Approx. 50mins

SUITABILITY: 8+

TICKETS: £8, £6 concs, £3 youth theatre members

Your Aunt Fanny - Friday 7 & Saturday 8 August, 9pm

Edinburgh Festival Preview

Your Aunt Fanny has her bus pass and is Edinburgh bound! See her comedy nieces’ brand new sketch show in two special preview events at Live Theatre before it heads north to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Written by award-winning playwrights Laura Lindow (Rendezvous) and Lee Mattinson (Chalet Lines) and directed by Rachel Glover, the show contains strong language and strong women.

Your Aunt Fanny makes her Edinburgh Fringe debut between Wednesday 19 and Saturday 29 August at The Fancy Room at Just the Tonic.

DATES: Fri 7 Aug & Sat 8 Aug, 9pm

LOCATION: Studio Theatre

DURATION: Approx. 1hr

SUITABILITY: 14+

TICKETS £8, £6 concs,

£3 youth theatre members

Invisible Cinema - Sunday 9 August, 7.30pm

An exciting new film in which six young actors work with directors Ian McLaughlin and Bev Fox of Magic If, to use improve to create six dynamic characters. The storyline is revealed to the actors only during the filming, prompting improvised performances.

Like in real life, you never know what’s round the corner. You’ll meet the characters during a pre-screening performance.

Anything could happen and probably will – especially at the screening.

Including Meet the Team - SUNDAY 9 AUGUST (after the film)

Join the actors and directors on stage to find out how the film was made, and how the process was for them. Free, booking essential.

 DATE: Sun 9 Aug, 7.30pm

LOCATION: Main Theatre

DURATION: Approx. 1hr

SUITABILITY: 8+

TICKETS: £8, £6 conc,

£3 youth theatre members

Review: Rendezvous at Live Theatre

Knickerbocker Glories

and Sweet Horlicks

Rendezvous

NewcastleLive Theatre
Until Saturday 6 June 2015

Julia Darling

Rendezvous is a compilation of five short plays to celebrate the life and work of former Live Theatre writer in residence, Julia Darling, who passed away in 2005. Each one is a nugget of gold which reflects the esteem and love that those who worked with Julia still feel about her.

The Light by Deborah Bruce and directed by Clive Judd

Karen Traynor & Zoe Lambert

in Rendezvous

(The Light by Deborah Bruce)

Jack (Zoe Lambert) is looking for the light from across the sea that she has always been able to see since she lost Sam. The only difference is that today is Jack’s wedding day. When the bride Charlie (Karen Traynor) appears to find out what’s happening it reveals the complicated nature of relationships and the need for trust. The most damning evidence can sometimes be explained by straightforward explanations. The result is an enchanting look into how fragile (or strong) relationships can be.

Currently Under Construction by Laura Lindow and directed by Anna Ryder

Phil Corbitt & Dean Bone

in Rendezvous

(Currently Under Construction by Laura Lindow)

A children’s ward can be a very tough place and Clown Doctor Charlie Dander (Phil Corbitt) finds himself with one of the older patients Aaron (Dean Bone). The 17 year old is in for a heart transplant and has chosen to stay in that ward but he is far too cool to be seen talking to a clown.  Phil is fantastic as the professional who gives the patient a chance to be heard. A number of funny lines and visuals punctuate a tricky situation. Dean plays the young lad well as the reluctant convalescent. It is a powerful piece that goes to show that you don’t know what you’ve got until its tested.

Words With Loveby Nina Berry and directed by Anna Ryder

Lauren Kellegher & Dean Bone

in Rendezvous

(Words With Love with Nina Berry)

A pair of teens are working through a story, except he hasn’t made it his priority to actually read it past the first section of the book. Lauren Kellegher’s character tries to get the lad (Dean Bone) to do as she wishes, in turn mirroring the story they’re studying.  The pair try to work out the basis of the love story and the terms by which relationships can be defined. The use of the love letters is a humorous device to reflect the frustrations that the pair are suffering from.  Another clever twist, and a knickerbocker glory for two, keeps the story delightful.

Anti-Gravity by Holly Reed Macrea and directed by Clive Judd

Karen Traynor & Lauren Kellegher

in Rendezvous

(Anti-Gravity by Holly Reed Macrae)

The special bond between a mother (Karen Traynor) and her daughter (Lauren Kellegher) is put to the test after a visit to a doctor (Zoe Lambert) brings bad news. Some creative swimming and sweet Horlicks help create a tough but realistic plight. The frustration isn’t over played.

Karen Traynor and Zoe Lambert

in Rendezvous

(Anti-Gravity by Holly Reed Macrae)

A moment when they are struggling to navigate around a café is both an eye opener and light hearted.  The spirit and bravery is punctuated by humour resulting in a thought provoking tale – when does realism lead to pessimism?

Everything Is Wondrousby Amy Golding and directed by Clive Judd & Anna Ryder

Phil Corbitt & Zoe Lambert

in Rendezvous

(Everything is Wondrous by Amy Goulding)

Gateshead resident Jo Milne hit the headlines last year when she was able to hear for the first time, after nearly 40 years, following cochlear implant surgery. The final story of Rendezvous is a remarkable verbatim play between Jo (Zoe Lambert) and Tremayne (Phil Corbitt) who have known each other a long time. Tremayne is a major fan of music and has been tasked with putting together a mix tape to bring Jo up to speed with what she has been missing.  The dialogue highlights how lip reading can pick up on regional accents or how Jo had to learn environmental sounds, like church bells, for the first time.  They also expose how uncomfortable people can be around disability, which does not make for comfortable listening.

Rendezvous is a smart collection of short plays that have a hard message wrapped in a humorous exterior. They all carry the hallmarks of the high end quality new writing for which Newcastle’s Live Theatre is recognised for. The end result is a pleasing, inspiring and enthralling evening’s entertainment. Julia Darling would be proud.

Read the original North East Theatre Guide Preview by clicking here

This review was written by Stephen Oliver for the North East Theatre Guide by Jowheretogo PR (www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen @panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo

Tickets:

Tickets for Rendezvous cost £14 to £10 full price, £12 to £10 for over 60s and other concessions are £5. To find out more about the production and the special events to coincide with the plays visit www.live.org.uk or call the box office on (0191) 232 1232. 

Suitability: 14+

Wrap Around events listings

Sunday 31 May, 7.30pm

Rendezvous 2

Presented in association with New Writing North

Live Theatre is delighted to host an evening celebrating Julia Darling’s writing. This cabaret style evening will feature poetry, fiction, extracts from plays and live music performed by many of Julia’s long time collaborators, performers and friends including The Poetry Virgins. New Writing North will also be announcing the winner of the inaugural Julia Darling Travel Fellowship, a new award to support a writer to travel and write, that has been created in Julia’s memory at the event.

DATES:Sun 31 May, 7.30pm
LOCATION: Main Theatre
DURATION: Approx. 2hrs 15mins including an interval
SUITABILITY: 14+
TICKETS:  £14-£10, over 60s conc £12-£10, other concs £5

Saturday 30 May, 10am

First Aid Kit Workshop
Presented by artist Emma Holliday & writer Anna Woodford

The original First Aid Kit for the Mind, developed and made by Julia Darling, Emma Holliday and Jay Smart, was the start of a collection, a piece of ‘home’ in a box should you find yourself in a hospital or other setting where you would need something familiar. For ten years the boxes have retained their original contents however this workshop will be branching out from this format and letting it take the next step of its journey.

Join writer Emma Holliday and writer Anna Woodford in this workshop which features art and creative writing activities designed to help you create your own box or one for someone else.

Places are strictly limited so please book early.

DURATION:Up to 5 hrs
TICKETS:  £15 (includes materials)

Saturday 30 May, 4.30pm

Around the Kitchen Table
Presented by The Poetry Virgins

The Poetry Virgins used to gather round Julia’s kitchen table with bottles of wine and nibbles, bouncing around ideas for poemsand performances and laughing. They wrote about cars, bras, birth and politics and much more.

This is your chance to join The Poetry Virgins, including Charlie Hardwick, Kay Hepplewhite, Fiona MacPherson and Ellen Phethean, as they revive the bonhomie and creativity for one more night.

DURATION:Approx. 2 hrs 30 mins
TICKETS:  £7

Saturday 30 May, 6pm
Panel Discussion

An informal conversation with some of Julia’s colleagues and collaborators remembering and re-evaluating her work, her legacy and influence across the full range of her creative canon – plays for theatre and radio, poems, short stories and novels.

DURATION:Approx. 45 mins
TICKETS:  Free, booking essential

Tuesday 2 June, 6pm
proudWords Workshop

Why a gay writing workshop? Creative writing workshops for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities were a major part of the proudWords festival, giving LGBT people, both writers and non-writers, the opportunity to express themselves in a supportive, queer-friendly environment. Lisa Matthews will lead this workshop with a range of writing activities about how we can celebrate the unique literary contribution the LGBT community makes.

DURATION:Approx. 2 hrs
TICKETS:  Free, booking essential

Wednesday 3 June, 5.30pm

How to… Write a Poem

Using Julia’s own 2005 poetry workshop for the Guardian, explore ideas by writing about what you don’t know.

“Poetry can be a brilliant way of exploring the things you don't know. Let me explain. Often we write too literally, too logically or self-consciously, when it is the imaginative connections - the leaps of faith, the connections between images and words - that are interesting to the writer and the reader. Poetry is an odd combination of creative energy and technical ability. In this exercise we are trying to let ourselves free fall, then working on the poem to give it shape. I like poetry to be useful, and I think that by writing about what we don't know we can explore all kinds of ideas within our minds, and help ourselves, too.” Julia Darling

DURATION:Approx. 1 hr 45mins
TICKETS:  £5

Wednesday 3 June, 6.30pm
Cold Calling Film Screening
Starring Charlie Hardwick & Trevor Fox

Cold Calling is a screen adaptation of Julia Darling’s theatre play Attachments about a recently bereaved anaesthetist who gets an unexpected call from a pushy but not entirely successful door-to-door Hoover salesman. Filmed in front of a live audience and first broadcast by Tyne Tees in 2003.

DURATION:Approx. 30mins

TICKETS:  Free, booking essential

Thursday 4 June, 6pm

Letters Home
Presented by Operating Theatre 

Grace is a single mother with a teenage daughter and a pair of twins. She’s just got divorced and the boiler’s on the blink. None of which is the main problem. The main problem is daughter Janie. Mel, Gracie’s best friend, says “Don’t worry. It’s just a phase she’s going through”. But Grace isn’t so sure. And what can she do if Janie won’t talk to her…

To say that Julia Darling was a founder member of Operating Theatre is not quite enough. In fact, it could more truthfully be said that she was the very reason for its existence. It was Julia Darling’s play Eating the Elephant about cancer that convinced Dr Dominic Slowie, then a lecturer at Newcastle University’s Medical School, that drama could be a valuable tool in medical education. Fourteen years later Letters Home is one of the four plays performed each year by Operating Theatre for Newcastle Universitymedical students.

DURATION:Approx. 45mins
TICKETS:  £5

Friday 5 June, 6pm

Diamond Twig

Julia Darling and Ellen Phethean at Diamond Twig Press passionately believed in encouraging new women writers. With her work and expansive personality, Julia inspired and encouraged writers wherever she went.

Ellen and Diamond Twig host a reading by women and men, poets, new writers, experienced published writers - each of whom have contributed a poem to Julia’s memory and written a few words about how she inspired them.

DURATION:Approx. 1hr
TICKETS:  £5

Click here to be taken to the Meghann Clancy EP launch event page

Review: Donna Disco at Newcastle Live Theatre

Dancing With A Whoosh

Donna Disco

Newcastle Live Theatre

Until 28^th February 2015 and then on tour

Written by Lee Mattinson

Directed by Laura Lindow

Performed by Paula Penman

The lively packed Friday night Live Theatre crowd were in for a treat in Chicken Pox Fox’s latest production. Each member of the audience was offered a party popper and a large pair of glasses to wear during the show. This immediate interaction sets the show apart from the rest.

Donna is not the most popular member of her class but the 14 year old sees the positives in the world. This attitude helps the audience feel empathy for the character as she reveals her obsession with her neighbour Stuart. Donna is loyal to her father and her Gran, though she doesn’t fully understand her Mother. She loves alphabetti spaghetti and cream crackers between drinking plenty of sugary drinks.

Donna is given the opportunity to present her school project at the Christmas Pageant.  She interviews Stuart and finds out about someone with a different lifestyle to her. The project has the aim to find out how to make a dance go whoosh too and it helps that Stuart loves The Carpenters a much as she does.

It is clear that she is accepting of an unacceptable situation at school. To that end the play uses the fourteen year old eyes to show how our most vulnerable children can fail to get the support that they need. Paula Penman does a superb job as Donna. She is engaging and delightful in equal measure. From the first entry onstage, the brief puppetry interludes through to final enlightenment Paula had the audience captivated.

Donna Disco is a charming play, centred around a powerful performance by Paula Penman, which enraptures the audience in its celebration of the human condition.

This review was written by Stephen Oliver for Jowheretogo PR (www.jowheretogo.com ). Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen @panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo

The show was originally previewed here: JoWhereToGo Preview

Links

Web                    www.chickenpoxfox.com

Twitter                 https://twitter.com/chickenpoxfox 

Facebook          www.facebook.com/chickenpoxfox

 

On Tour:

February
26th-28th @ 7.30pm  Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne – 0191 232 1232 / bookonline
March
4th @ 7.30pm The Place Theatre, Bedford – 01234 354 321 / bookonline
5th @ 8pm Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury – 01743 281 281 / book online
10th@ 7.30pm Stage, Leeds – 0113 343 8730 / bookonline
13th @ 7.30pm Assembly Rooms, Tamworth – 01827 709 618 / book online
15th @ 7.30pm New Diorama Theatre, London -0207 383 9034 / bookonline
17th @ 7.30pm Capstone Theatre, Liverpool – 0844 8000 410 / book online
19th @ 7.45pm Cast, Doncaster – 01302 303 959 / book online
20th @ 8pm Hull Truck Theatre, Hull – 01482 323 638 / book online
24th-25th @ 8pm Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham – 01434 652 477 / bookonline
28th @ 7.30pm The Western, Leicester – bookonline