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COVER STORY
THE ARTS
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ACT TWO THE RESOURCES CHALLENGE Erik Abbott and Christine Probst-Staffen enter. They are vivacious and still giddy from the success of their production of Big Boys at Arendt House the previous week. Duncan Roberts: As one of the smallest professional companies here in Luxembourg, how does Actors Rep manage to finance its projects? Erik Abbott: Resources with a capital “R” is, and always has
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been, an issue. That means first and foremost money. There probably isn’t a non-profit professional theatre company on the
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planet that thinks it has enough money. We would like to be able
Seasonal comedy A sweet and funny half-hour play about a couple’s holiday plans with their family, Actors Rep’s seasonal play can be booked as an entertainment for seasonal parties and events. icon_when 8 & 21 December icon_where Rocas Café icon_website www.actorsrep.lu
EVITA
Political musical This year’s big production from the West End for the festive season, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical stars Madalena Alberto as Eva Perón. It includes familiar songs such as ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ and ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’. The production has received rave reviews, with The Guardian saying, “Evita is back with a bang”. icon_when 19-24 & 26-31 December icon_where Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg icon_website www.theatres.lu
to do shows with four and five people in them once in a while. For every person on stage, there’s probably an equivalent person off stage.
CHRISTINE PROBSTSTAFFEN As the theatre director, actor and associate artistic staff at Actors Rep
Christine Probst: It means that the director or assistant director has to wear multiple hats. And then there is the challenge of finding a space. Not just for performances, but also a permanent spot for rehearsals, for an office, for classes and workshops, for storage. If we had a space for classes and workshops, that would be an extra source of income and give us constant visibility. Duncan Roberts: Anne, have you noticed a difference between funding in Luxembourg and the States? Anne Simon: Circle Theater is a small company, so it’s hard to get finances together. But that means it’s interesting, to not go down the classical route of relying on state funding. Not that I think the arts shouldn’t be supported, but there should be a mix with commercial funding. We rely on state funding too much, and become a bit lazy. Other creative industries will run us over, because they are a lot more progressive in how they finance themselves. You have to think more outside the box to find finance for projects.
ACT THREE F I N D I N G A N AU D I E N C E Discussions turn to how to attract English-speaking audiences in what is a multilingual country with a strong tradition of theatre in French and German. Duncan Roberts: Tom, you were instrumental in getting some of the first professional English-language productions to come to Luxembourg. It seems like a gamble that has paid off.
MIRROR, MIRROR
Madalena Alberto as Eva Perón in Evita Winter 2018
was one of the first professional English-language productions. We are glad it’s established and that it works so well. But also, the broad appeal of the international component is
Pamela Raith
Tom Leick: Indeed, I think Design for Living in 2007 at the Capucins