ARENA - Autumn/Winter 2019

ARENA Autumn/Winter 2019

www.playboxtheatre.com

New writing for Christmas with Toby Quash’s

GRETEL

GREEK ODYSSEY

Playbox sets sail for Ancient Greece

Your Dream Factory shines like new!

The secret is out

Spring 2020 musical announced

...and much more inside!

CO N T E N T S

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Your Dream Factory Shines Like New

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Playbox Greek Odyssey

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Medea For Our Times

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1911 Revisited

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News From The Rialto

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Under Our New Big Top

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Calamity Jane

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From Batman to King John

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A Fond Farewell

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Teagan Talks

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Extinction Rebellion

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Rose Expands

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The Lines Blurred

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Where Are They Now...?

ARENA Magazine Autumn/Winter 2019 Editor Stewart McGill Design Nikki Claire Cross

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Playbox Theatre, The Dream Factory, Stratford Road, Warwick CV34 6LE 01926 419555 info@playboxtheatre.com www.playboxtheatre.com

The perspectives and viewpoints expressed in ARENA are the views of individual contributers and do not represent Playbox Theatre policy.

N EW S E ASO N NEW IDEAS Welcome to the autumn edition of Arena. This season fills us with all the excitement possible as our upgraded Dream Factory, celebrating its 20th birthday, really takes shape. The new front of house is a great social meeting place with a lively ‘theatrical’ touch. The technical improvements will be unleashed on audiences visiting our shows and all studios buzzing with life! Welcome home everyone!

The on-stage season is one of our most ambitious with a revival and new staging of Strikes, the opening of our Greek project and an original new work, Gretel, for Christmas. All this and a visit from SK Shlomo (below) in his new show which shortly goes to the Royal Albert Hall – see it here first!

In this Arena you will meet a few Playbox faces both old and new and great news about our 2020 musical, Calamity Jane – what a classic, fabulous show this promises to be.

So, nights drawing in, chill in the air, lets get on with a thrilling new season at Playbox Theatre.

YOUR DREAM

FACTORY SHINES LIKE

NEW! Looking around The Dream Factory during August, full of holiday arts courses and rehearsals and the realization dawns that we have a simply wonderful complex here in Warwick. Few theatres in the world are built especially for young people and this one, with its new £250k upgrade must be amongst the very best.

Our new front of house, has gained us opportunities to sit and meet, chat, eat, argue and relax before or after training, in an environment that is both welcoming and effective in our original aspiration to create a ‘village’ front of house for everyone. The new signage, large screens and welcome desk constantly catch the eye – it will be fascinating to see how audiences and public respond throughout the season.

Our new studio DF4 will shortly have new digital filmmaking courses and, as well as a new studio, there are new offices, storage and wardrobe departments. The opportunities seem endless!

Inside the theatre the new lighting and sound equipment will be put to the test in a very diverse autumn season ranging from documentary style theatre in Strikes, across Greek tragedy in Medea, to the amazing visual treat that is Gretel for Christmas.

We hope all of you like being part of your unique Dream Factory.

PLAYBOX THEATRE FUTURES 4

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We want to thank the following individuals and organisations for the creation of Playbox Theatre Futures: Rachel Morris of Enclave Design (Front of House concept), Mark Williamson (Graphic Design), Mark HughesWebb (FoH Furniture Sourcing), Fairways (Landscaping), Sturmer Electrics (Architectural Lighting), Warwick Builders and Signs Express Warwick. And of course, Arts Council England, Warwick District Council, Warwick Town Council and the Friends of Playbox.

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PLAYBOX GREEK

ODYSSEY

As a theatre working exclusively with children and young people across ages 2-20, we evolve a project that can reach every one of our young people and our core and diverse audiences… and, so, the Greek Odyssey is launched. A plan to engage young people, through levels of participation exploration, performance and the creation of original work across disciplines, with the rich and vibrant cultures of the Greeks.

The ideas, the plays, the stories are exciting and represent an amazing challenge to us all.

For the young actor, the young participant, there is the love of the characters and a new type of approach for them to explore. Through the surface of the text and the story, to beyond the text and the fascinating, amazing backstories across the culture.

The vast collection of myth, legend, drama and story ranging from earliest sources, through Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey to the recent publication of Stephen Fry’s collection Mythos – all play their part in conceiving a two-year, all embracing programme which reaches to the limits of imagination.

The work under construction From its origins we have been drawn by the notion of Greek drama as a coming together of community, a festival, a life changing – certainly enhancing – experience. We seek to learn what it means to be human, understanding family, love, loss, the recognition and practice of other religions and their rituals. The two-year project launched officially in Summer 2019 on Midsummer Eve with a midnight presentation outdoors in Warwick, inspired by Mythos, the collection by Stephen Fry of ancient myths and legends.

It is planned for a comprehensive participatory programme to respond to myths, legends and epic poems which will focus on the abilities of children to reinvent these tales for their own times and communities.

The cultural richness of the planned work enables us to consider recent trouble zones in the East, the migrant movement across Europe using the metaphor of family and to consider how the ancients and our own worlds often collide.

This project is, in part, developed from our staging (UK premiere) of Christine Evans’ Trojan Barbie – a contemporary take on The Trojan Women and the extensive evaluation and subsequent actions taken.

Our vision is to take plays from the Greek collection that spoke to the citizens, the politicians, philosophers, religions and the city of performance to try and understand the sense of community experiencing together the drama.

We are reminded of a chilling juxtaposition in research when a Ukranian airliner was shot down, killing all of its 200 Dutch passengers. A landscape of bodies strewn across fields in the middle of summer and access forbidden. The understanding of Antigone became clearer as Holland brought the bodies home and every body part had a separate hearse, a convoy across Holland with people lining the route, bridges, motorways – in a unified act of warmth against total barbarism.

An act of warmth both personal and political. The play of Sophocles and the grief of Holland move into focus enabling understanding.

The programme is looking strong, diverse and challenging as each drama will be reimagined for young contemporary audiences – for many participants and audiences the experience will be their first encounter with Greek Drama.

There will be fascinating opportunities to look at the notion of chorus and a cross examination of how a chorus can reveal inner selves. Our own society can benefit from the study of a history of another society, future and past in juxtaposition. Old times inform today.

Medea opens 7th November.

Top: The Trojan Women (1992) Bottom Left: Antigone (2002) Bottom Centre: Oedipus (2004) Bottom Right: Trojan Barbie (2011)

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Stewart McGill ponders before rehearsals begin...

Classical drama brings with it so many expectations, especially when one tackles the big Greek dramas. Perhaps we think of large chorus ensembles performing exquisite choreography, with remote figures calling to us from centuries ago. Trojans, Greeks, myths, monsters and hovering over everything The Gods using us humans as their sport.

Bringing Medea to the Playbox stage is a vastly different project. Using Mike Bartlett’s contemporary version, we encounter Medea as one of our neighbours, living with mental health issues behind closed curtains just over the road from us. A tragedy awaits the household and eventually everyone will say they expected it to happen, yet, did anyone care enough to step in and try to help? That’s our focus; Medea, torn apart but seemingly isolated.

MEDEA FOR OUR TIMES

Mike Bartlett is such an exciting writer. He perfectly places Medea in our world whilst keeping the basic structure and storyline of Euripides original. Despite the original play being written around 455 BC the resonance of the work is very much in tune with today.

Bringing Medea to our stage as the first play in our extended exploration of Greek Drama is a challenging and very exciting prospect. Casting the show through two auditions was difficult and one realises, quite frankly, just how much exceptional talent there is at Playbox Theatre right now.

I am particularly excited to see what Teagan brings to the role of Medea working in partnership with the excellence of Paige Cooper, Eilidh Evans, Hayden Coward, Milli Sispal, Jamie Whitelaw, Dylan Marshall, Beatriz Sanchez and Daniel Travis.

There is something about the play that, for audiences, is familiar. We recognise the characters, we recognize the pain and dilemmas they face. A marriage is destroyed, the child suffers, the husband remarries and the former wife, who gave everything to her family, is left in isolation, broken and in need of a caring society to help heal the wounds. Maybe Bartlett, with his mentor Euripides, view our society with a ‘need to fix it’ perspective. How much do we care for those in distress living with us, we may see them every day but do we care about their lives once the front doors and curtains are closed? Maybe not enough until it is too late. Medea forces us to examine our attitudes and ponder the questions of intervention.

Writing this before rehearsals begin, of course it’s pretty difficult to know where the drama will go in the room. We have Bartlett’s text but also the spirit of Euripides hovering over us ensuring that our work respects the timeless story and outcome.

It’s going to be quite a journey making this one, simplicity in staging, an almost Noh like setting, characters everyone of us will recognize and at the heart, the wife, the mother, the stranger.

Medea who reaches out to us all.

Clockwise: Teagan Gough, Paige Cooper, Hayden Thomas and Eilidh Evans

Strikes (2011)

1911 REVISITED ...as Playbox Theatre return to an old favourite STRIKES Some of the Playbox team will remember balmy days before we created The Dream Factory here in Warwick. Our productions were made for staging at Warwick Arts Centre and for touring.

appropriate to revisit Strikes as our celebratory season opener to both commemorate our time in The Dream Factory and to relook at the work in our newly completed major upgrade of the building. The stars aligned.

One of the shows we ran at Warwick Arts Centre was Strikes, back in 1988, a documentary style show that looked in detail at the social conditions of 1911 for families that led to strikes.

Mary King returns to direct the show with a determination to give it a complete reworking and a new style of staging. The show is set in 1911 Coventry, itself part of the wave of school strikes at the time. Although the heart of the original is retained, this is very much a new show.

Strikes became a Playbox Theatre flagship show revived as the first production in our new building in 1999. Now we could give it the technical support that we wanted whilst keeping the open and very Brechtian style of staging. An 11-year-old Josh McGuire played the central role of Tommy moving audiences to tears as he led his comrades ‘over the top’ at the evermoving finale.

Throughout the history of The Dream Factory Strikes has featured often with extracts in our annual Starry Nights production, as well as a full revival of the show with a new cast in 2011 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the strikes.

20 years on it seemed quite

Documentary theatre was a very popular form at the time of Playbox Theatre’s early days with many theatres being influenced by Brecht’s agit-prop peoples’ theatre style. Ballads, projections, multirole playing, props representational of many an item – all combining to make what could be called ‘living newspapers’ of the time.

Esme Fleeman and Ed Buckley head up a cast of 60 for this production bringing the characters back to the stage. From schoolrooms in Coventry to the nightmare of the Front, Strikes is a fascinating work of song, movement, powerful and comic scenes, reminding everyone that

school today is amazing when we look back at the 1911 days.

Wider workshops across all Playbox Theatre centres will look in detail at the social conditions for families of the time and the pressures felt by both parents and children.

Rehearsals are now underway for what promises to be a fascinating and thought provoking opener to the new season.

Strikes opens 5th October.

Above: Josh McGuire in the original production

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GRETEL

Thoughts from week one The Christmas production for Playbox is always a major event in our calendar, and taking on the directorship is both a joy and something to fear!

Such high expectations from audiences, such a great responsibility to deliver the ‘perfect’ festive experience…whilst always ensuring that our young actors are challenged, compelled and totally engaged by the rehearsal experience.

Working with one of Toby’s new texts is always exciting. You know that the script will be bold, often brutal, and always non-conventional. His writing comes with, not only words, but a total vision…and I know that I’m going to have to work incredibly hard and with real compassion to bring the piece to fruition in the way he has imagined. That being said, I like to think that we’re a good double-act and we love working together to explore music choices, colour concepts and visual aspects that we feel are inspiring…so always lots of lively discussion.

I knew that I wanted Gretel to be a very physical piece and, having seen what our young people can achieve with the ‘skating’ in The Snow Queen last year, I wanted to find a new way to push them, as well as discovering a visual storytelling device that would be appropriate for the ‘woven’ nature of the tale. We’ve gone with ‘ropes’ – the actors are currently in training to learn to climb these with ease, and to be able to deliver text from the top! We’re using ropes to create our set, be that a forest, a trap, a school…whatever we need it to be…and they serve as an effective metaphor for the increasingly ‘entangled’ experience of many of the characters within the tale.

I don’t want to give too much away…rehearsals have been great so far. The cast are working tirelessly, bleeding their blood, grazing their knees, losing their breath…they’re singing, dancing, being incredibly playful and…well, let’s see what we come up with by Christmas! In true Playbox style, it’s sure to be full of surprises.

Emily Quash, Director 10

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“During the week of Gretel rehearsals It was so exciting to see the concept of the play taking shape so early on! Watching your fellow cast mates climbing up a rope, overjoyed with their progress, was amazing to watch. The collaboration of the cast is something that makes these productions feel like a team, which Gretel certainly demonstrates with it’s high energy sequences and scenes which rely on one another.”

Sophia Rowlatt “Discovery of a fierce, bright character when we got the full script was so exhilarating – a girl full of daring and love who was so exciting to get to know! Working as a company during the week really began to shape how our characters interacted and it was fascinating to start on this journey into the forest with such a passionate, energetic group of people.”

Freya Davis “I had a wonderful time at this summer’s Gretel rehearsals, from learning all new skills like rope climbing to the creating of zany new characters that will fill the Dream Factory stage this Christmas! I loved it!”

Oscar Webster

“I learned to climb a rope...fun...new friends.... exciting.... energetic...lifted above people’s heads....a lot of running...want to do it all again!”

Millie Danks-Smith

“A week of climbing ropes until our feet hurt, rehearsing pieces of movement and blocking scenes was such good fun. As a cast, I think we are so excited to be working on this piece because of themes it deals with, but also the spectacle we hope to provide when performing the show.”

Calum Blackie

“The first week of rehearsals was the most productive week of my summer. From the word go we were learning to: Narrate from hanging Ropes, sing harmonies and dance choreography. I’ve got a head start on history from the links the story has to the 30 years’ war. Already wild and energising, with a great soundtrack, it’s exciting to be working out the mechanics of the brand-new Christmas show.”

Lilly Lister

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All the latest updates from the world of SHAKESPEARE YOUNG COMPANY

News from the Rialto WELCOMING CHRIS (KIT) MARLOWE We are about to launch our new year for the Shakespeare Young Company after a memorable 2019 with two big productions - Much Ado About Nothing and Measure for Measure, going underground for Nocturnes and our younger group Pucks giving us exciting moments from Hamlet. What lies ahead?

One of the most exciting discoveries made over the last 20 years was the revealing of the archeological site of the original Rose Theatre in London. The discovery and excavation of the Rose was one of the most exciting projects of recent years. Built in 1587 this was one of the earlier outdoor playhouses of its type and home to the original works of Marlowe and Shakespeare.

The SYC this coming year will spend a period of time exploring the Marlowe ‘hits’ at the Rose with edited stagings of the blockbuster Massacre in Paris and the more widely known Dr Faustus. These two shows will tour in the Spring. We hope to play them at the site of the Rose in London and one or two other dates. In the spirit of the Elizabethan players who spent about half of each year on the road we want to take SYC out and about with Marlowe in 2020.

Our core dramatist is still very much with us and for the first season of SYC training we look at ‘In My End Is My Beginning’, the mysteries and approaches to Shakespeare’s final play, The Tempest. Our ensemble will look at text, masque, different indoor playing styles, song and illusion – before moving into a detailed look at the sonnets and poems to discover the heart of the writer that is often overlooked when simply considering the plays.

Later in the year after the Marlowes we do an extended R&D on three late plays of Shakespeare for development into a potential 2021 trilogy on stage.

SYC is now in its 11th year and one of the most popular Playbox Theatre advanced programmes. To audition or find out more contact us at info@playboxtheatre.com. We’d love to hear from you.

SYC TO PLAY AT WILLOW GLOBE ‘PERHAPS BRITAIN’S MOST ENCHANTING OUTDOOR DRAMA EXPERIENCE’ – The Sunday Times

The Willow Globe (Y Glôb Byw) is a scaled down, living version of the Globe in London, being a third of its size in diameter. The willow has been carefully woven into an organic and spiritual theatre, starkly sculptural in spring, which is almost completely absorbed by its lush, green surroundings in summer months. This secret, magical and intimate space, with a rough thrust stage, is totally unique – we believe it is one of the largest willow constructions in the country and probably the only one in use as a theatre in the world. Viola’s determination to ‘make me a willow cabin at your gate’ has a whole new resonance.

SYC will take The Massacre at Paris and Dr Faustus to The Willow Globe on Saturday 2nd May 2020.

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NOCTURNES In June Playbox Theatre’s Shakespeare Young Company took audiences down into the crypt of St Mary’s in Warwick for an immersive evening of Shakespeare, set amongst the 12th century surroundings.

Here is a visual record of our night below ground.

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UNDER OUR NEW

BIG TOP

Circus re-launches in an exciting new partnership with School of Larks Since Playbox Theatre began we have placed huge emphasis on the inclusion of circus arts as part of our core training for young people. This has resulted in some huge successes on stage and for careers.

Lydia Harper is now a featured star at Cirque Du Soleil with hopes to be involved in their creation work for the future, whilst Amy Perkins runs her own company, Cirque Taboo, in London and the South East, Liz Atherton is a brain behind Cirque Tabco and many more effect change in the profile of circus and theatre in the UK. We have been considering how to develop the circus department at Playbox for the foreseeable future and through our friends at Gifford’s Circus met the exciting School of Larks.

School of Larks is based in rural Gloucestershire. This already sets them apart from other circus and arts schools which are usually city based. They provide exciting training for all ages across the wider rural areas.

The team, led by Founder Alice Watson, cover all aspects of circus, trapeze, hoop, rope, unicycle, juggling, devil sticks, balancing, hula hooping, yoga and floor partner work – acrobalance.

Sessions at Playbox Theatre with School of Larks will place emphasis on the importance of a safe and healthy use of the body and a chance to develop fitness in a very creative way. We believe that this partnership will be a very exciting way forward for us and look forward to seeing how the ‘Larks’ develop the ideas with us. We will, in 2020-21, be ready for our next big circus production following in the footsteps of Red, Princess of Mars, Realms and the most recent motorsport thrill show, Formula X.

CIRCUS AT

Circus Club Tues 3.45-4.30pm Little Apple Circus Tues 4.30-5.30pm Circus 2 Tues 5.30-7.00pm Circus 3 Tues 7.00-8.30pm Apply now at www.playboxtheatre.com/apply or call 01926 419555.

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Playbox Theatre announce a major musical for Spring 2020...

The secret is out!

Calamity

Jane

Calamity Jane can outrun and outshoot any man in Deadwood. Hard, boastful and out to impress. Life is never smooth for Calamity as she sings and dances her way through a magnificent score that includes ‘The Deadwood Stage – Whip Crack Away’, ‘Just Blew in from the Windy City’, ‘Black Hills of Dakota’ and the award-winning ‘Secret Love’.

The show directed by Juliet Vankay and Musical Direction by Sam Young, the all new spectacular production blows into The Dream Factory from 15th April 2020.

It’s a great time to announce our new musical as this autumn sees the largest celebration of film musicals ever staged, Musicals! The Greatest Show Screen.

Hundreds of films including restorations of classics.

The season will feature the greatest stars including Gene Kelly, Barbara Streisand, Judy Garland and, Calamity Jane herself, Doris Day. Based at the BFI London, the programme will span the length and breadth of the UK. Our production of Calamity Jane remembers Doris Day as well as bringing a very exciting new look at the great musical.

Booking will open soon.

Above: Doris Day remains the iconic star of Calamity Jane in the 1953 film version Below: BFI remembers some of the greatest movie musicals including Singin’ in the Rain, The Sound of Music and The Greatest Showman

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FROM BATMAN TO KING JOHN

...quite a journey! Playbox member Ethan explains.

When I was little I always liked wearing a costume and we have lots of photos where I am dressed as Batman! The first live show I watched was Batman Live which was circus and full of stunts.

A family friend told my mum about Playbox. I then joined Early Stagers with Mary when I was 3 ½. As well as my acting session I also do Musical Theatre, Pucks, Fight Lab and Blank Shift.

The first Playbox production I watched was Sleeping Beauty which was the Christmas show of 2012. I also loved Secret Garden and after watching this, I asked if I could join Musical Theatre.

The first production I was cast in was The Shadow Roads which was written by Toby Quash and directed

by Emily. I was 7 and I loved this and it was how I met cast members from other Playbox centres. This was the first time I had to play a serious sad role.

I enjoyed playing Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this was a challenging role as I never thought I could play a funny character. My favourite role at Playbox so far was Kay in The Snow Queen. The cast and crew were amazing and we had such a good time.

I always enjoy Starry Nights* and I have been part of it every year since I was 6. I love the way we get to work on different extracts of previous shows but there is pressure to get it right in two days.

I sometimes find it difficult to relate to a character especially if I haven’t experienced what they have before.

Dancing and choreography can be difficult and also learning accents!

When I’m not doing Playbox I enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons and I like playing rugby at school. I’m learning to skateboard but I’m not very good and it is a long process. I love going to the theatre and especially if I get to watch friends in a production. I love watching musicals especially if we go to the West End.

Top: Ethan as his favourite superhero!

Bottom: The Shadow Roads (20??)

Right: Starry Nights 2019

I am currently rehearsing for King John with the RSC and loving it. It has been great to meet the cast and everyone is really friendly. It’s exciting to see what the Director, Eleanor Rhode, is going to do with the show as she is full of surprises. The voice coaching is really good and helps us understand the meaning. I can’t wait for the show to start.

Do see Ethan in King John opening 19th September at RSC Swan Theatre. Visit www.rsc.org.uk for details and tickets.

*Starry Nights is our annual compilation show staged every February. Ethan is right about the pressure!

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A FON D FAREWE L L FROM PLAYBOX THEATRE’S NOAH

From a Monkey to a Martyr via the midnight forest of Shakespeare.

Noah reflects for ARENA as he packs his bags for RADA...

I have been a member of Playbox theatre for nearly 5 years now and in that time I have been a part of several productions and a number of workshops. My time at Playbox has been some of the best time of my life not only because of the amazing people but also because the whole experience has taught me about the field I desire to go into which has both terrified and excited me. As I prepare to go off to the Foundation course at RADA I must acknowledge that without Playbox Theatre and the people who are part of it I would not be who I am today.

At Playbox were my weekly sessions with Toby where I learnt much about comedy and how to devise a piece in a group based on a stimulus.

This is where a love for acting first emerged. I then continued to work more closely with Toby when I was lucky enough to become a member of The Ustinov Theatre School where we learnt more advanced techniques including clowning, stage combat and creating pieces. This culminated in our final show: Catching Flies which was a challenging yet fulfilling experience.

Later on, once I had decided drama school and a life of acting was what i wished to pursue I joined Playbox Professionals where we learnt more about drama schools. A large part of professionals was preparing for auditions which included both classical and contemporary monologues as well as a dreaded song (which some of you will know is not my strongest area). Stewart acted as a trustworthy guide with our monologues honestly telling us if something did or did not work and how we might improve, which was key when I went to my auditions. In professionals we also workshopped potential ideas for future productions at Playbox, this is where we workshopped the show Martyr to see if it was a work the theatre wished to put on which a few months later it did. This also allowed

the directors as well as the actors to figure out what type of work we wished to produce on a larger scale.

The shows that Playbox put on, I have found to be a truly joyful experience both as an audience member and as part of the cast.

The ensemble nature of Playbox truly shines as there is only room for collective appreciation of what the company as a whole can accomplish. smaller scale shows are equally impressive as the entire cast more often than not become incredibly close friends willing to try out new ideas and work as a unit. One of my favourite parts of any show is getting to know and becoming closer to the cast, many in the past have become lifelong friends. Getting to work with each of the directors is also a brilliant experience as each director has their own style and ideas which come across in their shows and working with each of them has been different but always highly delightful.

Now I couldn’t talk about my time at Playbox without mentioning the USA Tour to Santa Monica! It was truly one of the best experiences of my life as we got to travel to one of the most beautiful places in the world with 25 of our closest friends to get to do something we all love to do: Perform! it was not all fun and games however as the rehearsals were rigorous and the shows as anyone that saw Monkey could tell you were very tiring. Nevertheless the USA tour was a brilliant experience and it was a true honour to be a part of it and I am determined to return to Santa Monica but it won’t quite be the same without the Playbox family we created.

playwrights of all time but it has also been a space where we are free to play around with larger scale ideas as often we have worked on a piece over a number of weeks which allow us more time to think and develop our ideas further. We have explored so much of Shakespeare’s writing from heart breaking soliloquies to grand battle scenes. But we have not only explored Shakespeare’s writings but also those of Seneca, Kydd and Marlowe (Seneca being one of my favourites) each providing both context for Shakespeare’s work while expanding our knowledge of great literature. SYC was highly enjoyable while also teaching me more about literature then GCSE English literature ever did.

My time at Playbox has been comparatively short (some have been members since they were three years old!) it makes me sad that I am not going to be a part of it for the coming seasons and I am truly going to miss all the friends I have made there, from members to staff. However, while I’m sad to leave I could not be more excited to start my foundation course at RADA keeping in mind everything I’ve learnt from my training at Playbox.

We all wish you every happiness, Noah, and will miss you - Ed.

One of the longest sessions I was a part of was Shakespeare Young Company where we dived into many of Shakespeare’s texts. Being a part of this session has been an amazing experience as not only has it taught me so much about one of the best ARENA

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Teagan Gough is about to tackle the demanding role of MEDEA in Playbox Theatre’s major staging. We asked her to tell us about herself...

Hello! I’m Teagan, I’m 17 and I’ve been a member of Playbox theatre for almost 6 years now, and I must say it’s been pretty fantastic!

When I was really little my mum put me into dance lessons. I think partly to use up all my crazy child energy, but also to learn a skill that in the end became very useful to me! I started off in ballet and after ten years I was training in ballet, tap, modern, contemporary, and pointe ballet. I was even a part of a dance troupe. The skills I learnt during my dance lesson really helped me fine tune skills like teamwork, the ability to direct and be directed and have awareness and control of my body. The main thing I believe dance did for me was hammer home the idea of ensemble; something that is not only so important to Playbox’s ethos on performance but also my personal preference in performance and theatre – the idea that a project is a collective effort from cast to crew and no member is more important, I think this format creates the best outcome. Though I loved dance, I knew from a young age it wasn’t quite the right fit for me and wasn’t what I wanted out of life long-term, I danced till I was 16 and then hung up my ballet shoes (almost) for good.

TEAGAN TA L K S

Luckily by this point I was a long way on my Playbox journey and now had more time to focus on it.

However, when I first joined Playbox I had no clue how much it would become a part of my life. I hadn’t had much experience of theatre before Playbox, only seeing a few plays, be it ones seen on school trips like watching Matilda, or The Taming of the Shrew at the RSC or those I’d see with family like the local Christmas panto! But thanks to Playbox, my knowledge and understanding of theatre has skyrocketed.

I first joined Playbox when I was twelve after a few of my family friends recommended it to my mum and I. I joined Musical Theatre on a Saturday morning with Juliet. The main thing I remember is how cool it felt to be surrounded by the older kids who seem to have so much talent and confidence. I had so much admiration for them and I think that is one of the best things about Playbox - the merge of ages allows generations of members to mingle and share experience and knowledge, and give kids inspiration to develop their own skills and abilities. As soon as I felt comfortable at in my session (which didn’t take long) I auditioned for my first show. It was called Wonderia and it was a circus show celebrating the history of the clown. I was completely star struck by the process of creating this show, as it was such a whirlwind of colour and energy and excitement. The run of the show solidified in my mind that this was the path I wanted to take.

Now six years later I’ve been fortunate enough to have had a full and hearty Playbox experience.

Spanning my training from my regular acting sessions, where our creative needs are quenched by allowing us to learn new and important skills for theatre, then devise and create something of our own based on what we’ve learnt. From my musical theatre session where we learn to use our voices to create beautiful melodies, then learn to accompany it with, often complex and challenging, movement.

Then to being a part of SYC a session in which we are able to get to grips with Shakespeare great works and then discuss and develop the concepts and topics he recorded almost 400 years ago (and it often surprising how often these topics have relevance in today’s modern society!)

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Finally, being a part of the Professionals, a session set out to guide and benefit those who are certain the entertainment industry is for them. I feel this session has been the most beneficial for me as it has a good balance of honing in on the basic, yet most important skills an actor should strive to achieve. The simplest things such as breath control, articulation and even just confidence skills are developed in as much depth as possible, while also being able to expose us to current material and news on the industry. Finally, being a place to develop ideas and concepts that are often challenging, but so fulfilling when accomplished. Since I started professionals 2 years ago, I have seen such a growth in my ability as an actor especially in aspects such as articulation, sight reading and having the confidence to be bold in my choices and an actor. Another main skill Professionals has help me tremendously with is auditioning for both drama school and careerbased auditions, within the next few years I will begin auditioning for drama schools and without professionals I’d be clueless.

It goes without saying my experience with Playbox would not be the same without the opportunities to perform I’ve had. Performing in shows is truly something else, the experience you acquire is so fantastic, as it is such a professional environment, it’s also such a happy environment; when working on a project, everyone involved is so passionate about the show in question and the casts become so close, so quickly. The majority of my close friendships stem from working on a Playbox shows and I have such a brilliant group of friends I know I have them for life.

As well as acting in shows, I’ve also enjoyed working behind the scenes. I have assistant directed shows such as Canterbury Tales, The Snow Queen and now this year’s Christmas show Gretel, that I’m very excited for! Also, I was able to use my dancing skills in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, when I was asked to choreograph the finale, in which the character’s grooved on stage to a mad disco number that was much fun to perform both here and in Santa Monica!

The Santa Monica tour was one of the best adventures I’ve ever had, the feeling while on that tour was something indescribable. The amount of love the company had for the performances (Monkey and A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and for each other was on another level, Santa Monica itself felt like a dream. From trips to places like Disneyland and Venice beach, to Santa Monica Playhouse itself, to the sunny beach just a walk away from where we were staying; it really was magical.

Looking forward, I am absolutely ecstatic to now go on to play Medea this autumn in, you guessed it, Medea! Getting this role is a really thrilling challenge I cannot wait to begin. Medea is a character with such a complex, twisted mind and sense of right and wrong. Her ideas of revenge and the extent of revenge which she believes is fair and just are so messy. I cannot wait to begin to analyse her dark, dark brain and begin to develop her character while working with Stewart and the absolute fab cast he has put together. I think it will be a real treat.

I’ve spent my teen years at Playbox and I must say though I haven’t had the average experience of being a teenager, I think I like mine better. The last 6 years have been filled with creativity and friendship and an enthusiasm I didn’t previously know I had and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

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EXTINCTION REBELLION

Sam Knights has a major role in the effective pressure group Extinction Rebellion.

We invited him to tell us, 5 years on, about his new journey.

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The rise of extinction rebellion has had a profound effect on practitioners and those concerned with our future. The young have responded. Here is Sam’s thinking...

Theatre has a duty to articulate the world as it is. It also has a duty to imagine the world as it could one day be.

Over the last few years, I have been thinking and writing a lot about climate change. I have read paper after paper, book after book, report after report. I have spoken with scientists, lawyers, activists, politicians, and indigenous leaders from across the world. The conversations I have had have both inspired and depressed me. Climate change is much worse than we ever thought. It is much worse than journalists are prepared to report and politicians are prepared to admit. Climate change is happening now. It is killing thousands upon thousands of people.

Despair comes easily, of course.

To shut off and to shut down. To actively choose to deny. To refuse to think about climate change is, after all, another form of denial. A form of denial I think we have all been guilty of.

The climate emergency threatens every single one of us and yet still it feels distant. Like it’s happening somewhere else, to someone else.

Like it feels above us, somehow.

Bigger than us. Beyond our control.

Like a story we have been told time and time again. A story with its own language and its own logic. A story we know how to start and a story we know how to end.

But climate change is not going to end like it does in the movies. Like a disease that spreads through the world in a day. Climate change is slow. Climate change is happening now. Climate change is coming for some groups before it comes for others. But it is coming for us all.

Last year, I joined a small group of people in organising a protest outside parliament. We called ourselves Extinction Rebellion and we were determined to do something about it. To respond in a way that actually made sense.

To our surprise, a thousand people turned up to that very first protest.

Amongst those people was a fifteenyear-old girl called Greta Thunberg,

who came all the way from Sweden in an electric car with her dad.

Nobody knew who she was back then, but she was about to get very, very famous.

From that day onwards, we have kept on working, kept on going.

We blocked five bridges in central London, shut down the Department for Business, and held a rally outside Buckingham Palace. Following ten days of continual protests earlier this year, the United Kingdom became the first country in the entire world to declare a climate emergency.

What started with a few people working out of my living room has now grown into something that none of us could have ever predicted. We started Extinction Rebellion last year and already it is in over sixty different countries.

It now has thousands of chapters all across the world and thousands upon thousands of people who are standing up for our right to exist.

I never imagined it would be like this.

But, then again, I don’t really know what I did imagine. Or if I even imagined anything at all.

Despair is the death of imagination and, for a very long time, we have all been living in despair. It is clear to me that in order to rewild the world we first have to rewild the imagination. We have to be brave enough to dream bigger. To demand better. To tell new stories. And to stage new drama.

I am finally starting to bring together my two different worlds. I am an activist, but I am also an actor. I write articles, but I also write plays. And I think both are equally important.

My show Sam Haygarth: Climate Crisis is a comedy show about climate change that played this year at the Edinburgh Fringe. It has been difficult trying to laugh about the end of the world. But I think it is helpful. If we are to face this crisis, we are going to have to face it with every part of ourselves. We have to leave room for grief, and guilt, and fear. But we also have to remember what it is that gives us joy and what it is that makes us happy. We have to change the way we are living our lives and dare to reimagine a world that needs to be reimagined.

We need a revolution of action, but we also need a revolution of the imagination.

So, as storytellers and theatre makers, let us forge a path to this brave new world. And let us do it with warmth, empathy, and kindness.

Let us do it with a laugh and a smile.

To imagine the world as it could one day be.

Sam Knights was at Playbox Theatre 2008-2014. He acts and writes under the name Sam Haygarth and can be seen in Jojo Rabbit (dir: Taika Waititi) and The French Dispatch (dir: Wes Anderson). He recently edited This Is Not A Drill, a collection of essays about Extinction Rebellion.

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R O S E E X PA N D S

BLENHEIM, YORK & SAN MANILLA The largest Shakespeare Company in Europe during the summer was Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre, an awardwinning pop-up Shakesperian theatre returning for its second season in York and expanded to a second site at Blenheim Palace, near Oxford. The company staged eight of Shakespeare’s most popular plays over the two locations. In total, 75 actors, 22 creatives, 12 musicians and 41 crew! That’s large by any standards!

More than 400 years ago, the first audiences for Shakespeare’s plays enjoyed an experience that was as intimate as it was exciting, crowded in close to the actors and the action, in a small theatre in the bustling city of London. In an experience every bit as exciting, intimate and immersive is offered to today’s audience.

The dramatic playhouse setting has popped up not only beside the iconic 13th century Clifford’s Tower in the heart of York but also in the glorious grounds of ‘Britain’s Greatest Palace’ at Blenheim Palace.

Inspired by the famous London Rose Playhouse built in 1587, 12 years prior to The Globe, Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre combines state-of-the-art Layher system scaffolding technology with the historic 13-sided design of a 16th century Shakespearean theatre. Utilising 30,000 cubic meters of scaffolding tubes, 15,000 sq ft of corrugated iron cladding as well as timber, in total weighing approximately 60 tonnes, the theatre took 4050 people three weeks to build earlier in the year.

It houses an audience of 900, with 560 seated on three tiered balconies around an open-roofed courtyard, and standing room for 350 ‘groundlings’.

The unique environment of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre connects actors and audience together in ways many people will never have experienced before. While an interactive experience awaits those closest to the stage in the yard, no seat in the theatre is more than 15m from the action, providing plenty of breath-taking, spinetingling, heart-stopping moments!

The original Rose Playhouse was built in 1587 on the south bank of the River Thames in London. It was a slightly irregular 14-sided structure made of timber, with plaster exterior and a thatched roof, open in the centre to the elements. The success of The Rose Playhouse paved the way for other theatres to be built in the area, including The Swan in 1595, The Globe Theatre in 1599 and The Fortune in 1600.

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At both York and Blenheim Palace sites, the Shakespearean theatres are inspired by the famous Rose Playhouse built in 1587, 12 years prior to The Globe.

Both theatres are located within a Shakespearean village bringing an authentic Elizabethan ambience and theatricality to the event, and featured: • • •

•

‘Wagon’ performances of Elizabethan-style entertainment, including comic mini-plays, speeches and medieval musicians The best Yorkshire and Oxfordshire food and drinks, housed in the oak-framed and reed-thatched Bear Arms pub In York, an Elizabethan garden created by Yorkshire garden designer Sally Tierney, with ornate boxededged beds of roses, cottage flowers, herbs and vegetables. Mrs Tierney is the winter of a Silver-Gilt medal at the Royal Horticultural Society’s renowned Chelsea Flower Show, and created the Elizabethan garden for Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre in York last year to great acclaim In Blenheim, a village pond, with farm wagons and carts, evoking a rustic rural scene.

Originator of the project, James Cundall MBE said to ARENA, “I am both excited and proud to have brought together such an incredible company – we may well be the largest in the world right now.”

As Arena goes to press, Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre heads overseas for Philippine audiences to enjoy these spectacular productions performed by a British cast, on their first international season in Manila. With Dublin in its sights there seems to be no stopping the spread of the Rose.

Above: York Theatre under construction Top: Blenheim Palace Theatre artist’s impression Middle-L: Blenheim Palace Theatre under construction Middle-R: Blenheim Palace Theatre completed Bottom-L: Blenheim Palace Theatre Bottom-R: Macbeth at York Thetare 2018 by Ant Robling

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Leonardo Studio Visualisation © 59 Productions

THE LINES BLURRED AT THE NATIONAL GALLERy ‘These things are mysteries not to be explained, but you will understand when you get there alone.’ …So say Punchdrunk, the ultimate immersive theatre whose previous work has seen the company take over whole buildings and literally create worlds within. For example, Sleep No More currently in New York and China tells Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Macbeth through a darkly cinematic lens, offering an audience experience unlike anything else. Audiences move freely through the epic story, creating their own journeys through a film noir world.

In Playbox Professionals Training Programme we often create work that is described as immersive – giving a sense of total interaction for audiences with actors. Punchdrunk prefer to use the phrase ‘site sympathetic’/’experimental’ for the work meaning it gives the freedom to explore the sensory and imaginative world of the show to make a unique, singularly intense and personal experience. What is fascinating is how the notion of theatre is in constant development and lines blurring between artforms.

On this theme it is exciting to see that the National Gallery have announced for this autumn a large ‘immersive’ work that, as with Punchdrunk, defies categorization.

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500 years after his death, Leonardo remains one of the world’s most popular artists and the National Gallery’s Leonardo: Experience a Masterpiece will provide an immersive exploration of his genius as a painter, focusing on ‘The Virgin of the Rocks’. From 9th November 2019 the ground floor galleries will be completely transformed into a space that investigates this painting and the inventive mind that created it.

A wide range of multi-sensory experiences will be presented across four separate rooms. Visitors will be able to step inside a similar chapel setting and see what art historical research suggests the painting’s setting may have looked like. They will be able to explore Leonardo’s own research, which informed the specific studies to create strong effects of light and shadow in his painting. The modern process of discovery in a conversation studio, where the mysteries and secrets of a painting are uncovered, will also be brought to life with visitors being able to engage in detail with the latest findings underneath ‘The Virgin of the Rocks’.

The experience has been created by 59 Productions, the multi award-winning company of

artists, architects, designers and technologists behind the video design of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, said: “This exhibition represents a fascinating new venture for the National Gallery, with an immersive, enveloping experience, giving visitors the opportunity to explore Leonardo da Vinci’s creative process in making this masterpiece.”

Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of Collections and Research, said, “By its very nature, much of the research we do at the National Gallery takes place in closed studios, laboratories and libraries. This is an exciting opportunity to not only share our innovative findings, but also to invite the public to explore and engage with what we have found.”

Richard Slaney, Managing Director of 59 Productions, said: “59 Productions are thrilled to create the first digital-led experience for the National Gallery, that will allow visitors to explore the fascinating layers of this iconic masterwork in an immersive way. We work at the nexus between technology and art, and are passionate about

WHERE ARE THEY NOW…?

Alumni updates CHRISTOPHER MCGILL directs Eastenders this Summer and Autumn. His short film The Snatcher for Dusthouse opens late in the year.

HOLLY ROBINSON, Playbox Theatre alumnus is nominated for The Stage Writers of the Year for her play soft animals that ran at the Soho Theatre.

JON ROBYNS is currently playing King George in Hamilton and is due to appear as Valjean in Les Miserables in December.

CHARLOTTE MERRIAM plays a witch in the Royal Exchange, Manchester production of Macbeth and Smee in Birmingham Rep’s Christmas show Peter Pan. SAM KNIGHTS continues to be an active spokesperson for the Extinction Rebellion (see page 23).

EVA O’HARA and TOM BRIGGS recently graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, eyes out for castings!

RALPH DAVIS recently appeared in The Deep Blue See at Chichester Festival Theatre.

Leonardo da Vinci 1452 - 1519 The Virgin of the Rocks © The National Gallery, London

JONATHAN CASE (pictured right) continues to win fans as Scorpius Malfoy in Harry Potter and The Cursed Child at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London.

ALFIE JONES finished his first year at LAMDA. LYNTON APPLETON moves into his final year at RADA.

applying the latest cutting-edge technologies in the pursuit of incredible storytelling – something that seems to align well with Leonardo’s broad view of the world.

By focusing on this single artwork, the experience will introduce visitors to this great painting through the bold techniques and innovative approach of Leonardo making it feel reinvigorated and newly relevant for contemporary audiences.”

NANCY HALL heads into her third year at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

CATE JOHANESSEN (pictured below) takes time out before heading to drama school to spend a Fall season with our sister company Santa Monica Playhouse in sunny California. Cate will be acting, teaching and part of the Playhouse family. We look forward to welcoming her back in the New Year. You will, of course, remember Cate as Isabella in SYC’s Measure for Measure earlier in the year.

In ten years or so, perhaps the lines will be blurred even further.

VR experimentation at the National Theatre and RSC suggest a digital future will be very central to our concept of theatre and already the work of Ivo Van Hove, Katie Mitchell and Robert Icke use core cinematic techniques on stage in their productions. With our newly upgraded technical infrastructure here with Playbox Theatre we are exploring how to integrate more fully the skills of digital with theatre.

With Punchdrunk on the verge of creating a new show for London 2020 the months ahead look very exciting for those cross-arts boundaries to blur even further.

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