Stage Door Chat with Go!Go!Go!

For this Stage Door Chat we recruited some new reporters in the form of Ben, Phoebe, Maddie and Isla whose agreed to take part in our Families@TheTheatre reviewers' scheme. After seeing the show they met the Go!Go!Go! gang and asked them some questions they had prepared during the interval. Ben interviewed Steve, Carl and Mr Baffled - after Mr Baffled had asked him why Oranges are called Oranges but Bananas aren't called "Yellows"!

Ben: "What is your favourite Pop band?
Mr Baffled: "Go!Go!Go!"

Ben: "Have you always wanted to be an actor?"
Everyone: "Yes!"

Ben: "Is it fun being in th Go!Go!Go! Show?
Carl: "Yes!"

Ben: "Have you been in other shows?"
Steve: "No - This is my first."
The girls interviewed Holly, Jade and Gemma - and since they had a green pen, Jade agreed to take down the notes! Girls: "Do you like your dance actions?
GoGoGo: We love them! But it's even better when everyone joins in!!

Girls: "Is it fun on stage?"
GoGoGo: Lots of fun! It's like playing with our best friends all the time.

Girls: "Do you like being on stage?"
GoGoGo: "It's our favourite thing in the whole world!"

Girls: (To Gemma) Do you like singing on stage or dancing best?
Gemma: Both! At the same time!!


Our Families@TheTheatre group had a great time at the show today and told me they particularly liked "Wake Up Smiling" and enjoyed the sock-eating Fluffalope.

After meeting all their fans after the show and being interviewed we imagine the cast will taking it easy before their 11am AND 2.30pm performances tomorrow as well as their final show on Sunday. We hope they find time to enjoy some of the sights of Cornwall as well during their stay.

Click to book tickets to see The Go!Go!Go! Show or call Box Office on 01872 262466 If you think you know some budding young reviewers who might like to carry out a Stage Door Chat for us sometime, please email richardl@hallforcornwall.org.uk for information.

Its Go!Go!Go! at HfC this summer for children and adults.

For some people, Summer is a time for lazy days in a deckchair or on a beach but Hall for Cornwall is gearing up for a packed season of activities and fun for all the family.

SPACE, Hall for Cornwall’s adult acting company makes its performance debut at The Acorn in Penzance next week with Arthur Miller’s tense and thought-provoking play The Crucible. As a first outing, the company have not shied away from a play that is packed with tense scenes and high drama. The questions raised by The Crucible, about how society can turn on itself when one group is targeted and labelled dangerous remain very much relevant in the post 9/11 era.

The Crucible will be performed on the 4th and 5th July at 7.30pm. Tickets cost just £10 (£6 Concessions) and can be booked HERE or by calling Box Office on 01872 262466.

Our junior acting company, Upstage, follow quickly on their heels with a lively production of “The Wizard of Oz” at the Burrell Theatre, Truro on July 16th. Tickets cost £6 (£5 Concessions) and can be booked HERE or by phoning Box Office.

The above productions have gone through quite a bit of planning and rehearsal over the last few months – but if you’re up for a fresh challenge this summer (or you have children who need a challenge) then “Mummy Mia” is for you! We’re offering a group of young people the chance to stage a musical – in a week! Between the 9th and 12th August from 10am to 2.30pm, children can attend daily sessions at Hall for Cornwall culminating in a performance of a brilliant brand new musical for children about life in Ancient Egypt. Details and information on how to book can be found HERE

For slightly older young people (15 – 18 yrs) we have “Theatre Storm”, a series of drama workshops covering improvisation, acting skills, directing and stage management. These sessions take place between the 9th and 12th August in the afternoon from 3pm to 5.30pm. Details of how to book will be added here early next week.
Activity is not confined to our Creative Learning department, however! Between the 5th and 7th August, an energetic family show explodes onto the HfC stage in the form of The Go!Go!Go! Show. This fun-filled pop musical is great family summer entertainment with magic, dance and plenty of participation from the children in the audience.

The stars of the show visited a number of schools in Cornwall this week, previewing a couple of the songs and teaching the children some dance and “Ichi Oo” moves that certainly livened up the morning assembley! Images from Bosvigo and Grampound Road schools.Tickets for the Go!Go!Go! show can be bought online HERE.

Vegas Comes to Town (twice!)

Here at Hall for Cornwall we put a lot of work into the logistics of getting shows ready for opening night.  Part of that process is getting the cast, set, props, costumes and other equipment in the right place at the right time.  It’s a little unusual, in our experience, for shows to stop by a week early but that’s precisely what Martyn Lucas did today for the shoppers in Truro!

One Night in Vegas will be at Hall for Cornwall next Friday, but to promote his “homecoming” show, Martyn and one of his “Vegas Showgirls” arrived on Lemon Quay this morning to perform a selection of numbers from the show and offer passers by a few limited free tickets.

The One Night in Vegas show now tours the whole UK, with dates including the London Palladium, but the story started right here at Hall for Cornwall with his first ever version of the show.  Martyn is thrilled to be returning next week – his show is bigger and better having grown over the years.  In addition to the Vegas Showgirls, Martyn will be supported by musicians of the acclaimed British Philharmonic Orchestra for a wonderful live “big band” Vegas sound.

If you were there at the start, Martyn would love to show you how much One Night in Vegas has grown and if you weren’t there at the start… why miss out this time around?  To book click HERE

What's the story with the Minis?

Have you seen the MINIs?
Passers by will have seen a Mini or two parked outside Hall for Cornwall recently on Lemon Quay.  They’re brand new and rather cryptically decked out with messages about “MINI-malism coming soon…”.  Clearly, Hall for Cornwall is “Up to something”.

We’ve a track record for doing things a little differently here.  Not so long ago we were responsible for life-size cows popping up all over the place.  More recently, we’ve been seen carting about huge sections of knitted scarf as we continue to coordinate Cornwall’s bid to capture the Guinness World Record™ for the longest scarf in the world.


What’s MINI-malism all about?
MINI-malism came about because Ocean BMW in Falmouth kindly donated a couple of Minis to allow us to create something new and exciting.  Our Head of creative engagement, Polly Agg-Manning is a big fan of theatre of the absurd, and what could be more absurd then touring a performance around Cornwall in a pair of Minis?


We wanted this tour to feature new work, developed in Cornwall and so between November 2010 and February 2011 we have run a series of writing workshops at the hall for members of the public who wanted to give play writing a go.  These workshops have been led by professional writers and actors, introducing the genre and leading playwrights of absurd theatre.

All participants have now submitted scripts and the four we think will work best at our selected locations will be passed to professional actors to be performed around Cornwall.
How will it work?

Performances will take place in, and around the minis.  Plays are performed by two actors (in the front) to an audience of two in the back seats. We anticipate three performances a day running Thursday- Sunday weekly in May and early June.  We can confirm that tickets will cost £50 plus theatre fund for two seats per performance and will be on sale in early April.

Guests will rendevous with the mini and actors at a pre-arranged point, and be driven a short distance to an iconic/scenic Cornish location to enjoy the performance before being returned to their own vehicles.



Obviously, with an audience of two per show, this tour will quite likely sell out in record time!  Each play will be streamed online (the performance will be live-recorded on location) at some point during it’s run so we can reach a wide audience – though obviously nothing will be quite as good as being in the audience!  We also have plans for the final performance to be streamed online live and we’ll be setting up a location for people to come and watch it FREE at an outdoor location.

The project has received generous funding support from Worldwide Financial Planning as well as a range of Project Partners .

Why?

We’re acutely aware at Hall for Cornwall that the geography of the county doesn’t always make access to the theatre easy for people who live further away from Truro. One of the benefits of the MINI-malism tour is that we are taking theatre outside of the building and onto the road (quite literally!).

We’re also very keen to develop new talent wherever we can – and this project has proved to be a popular opportunity for new writers to have a go at writing and to see their work performed as part of a professional tour.

Another important achievement for us is to remain innovative and unique.  We’re not aware of any other show touring the UK in quite this format.  If we can encourage creativity and skills locally, take theatre out into the community and create an experience unique to Cornwall, we feel we have achieved a winning formula.

Look out for further details of the MINI-malism tour online!  Join the facebook page and follow us on Twitter @MINImalismhfc.

It's Panto Time! (Oh, yes it is!)

Hall for Cornwall’s pantomime, Sleeping Beauty is now well underway.  It’s a particularly special time of year for everyone who works at Hall for Cornwall because we see so many family groups.  Pantomime is often the first exposure to theatre for children and it certainly delivers!  Baddies you can boo, outrageous and funny characters, music, dance, colour and a happy ending. What more could you want?

This year we have plenty to keep everyone happy.  Of course, the Princess falls in love, and marries, her handsome Prince, but we also have the very talented double act of Richard Allen (Nurse Maivis) and Tweedy (pretty much playing Tweedy!) providing lots of laughs.

You couldn’t really wish for a nastier Carabosse then Julie Hobbs who manages to be utterly evil without being so scary the children will get upset!  With Cameron and Clegg, her “boys” she seeks to gain Beauty’s grace and good-looks for herself but she is consistently out manoeuvred by Fairy Crystal (Mary Woodvine) who is always one step ahead.

And if all those aren’t enough, there’s even a frog and a dragon!  Sleeping Beauty runs until January 3rd 2011.  There are a variety of show times during the run to suit all diaries and bed-times!

Summer Fun at Hall for Cornwall

We're delighted to welcome back Birmingham Stage Company this week with their latest adaptation of a Roald Dahl classic. George's Marvellous Medicine opened this lunchtime and runs until 2pm Sunday.

This show stops in Cornwall on a national tour.  At each location the cast are joined by a couple of local children and in this case the lucky actors come from the junior section of Hall for Cornwall's own youth theatre group "Upstage".  "Upstage" runs during school terms and is designed for those with an interest in drama aged between 7 - 18yrs.  "Upstage" Sessions run throughout the day on Saturday by age group with the focus firmly on fun projects that develop confidence and drama skills.  The auditions for George's Marvellous Medicine are just one example of the type of opportunity that "Upstage" members are offered above and beyond the exciting programme of events run by the Youth Theatre itself.

Many of our readers will know about our Really Long Scarf already, but when word of it reached Erika Poole, who plays Granny in George's Marvellous Medicine, she immediately reached for her knitting needles!  As you can see from the pictures, she has knitted a fair length already (round the neck of the small chicken!) and she plans to continue knitting until the end of the tour in November when she will post the completed length to us.

George's Marvellous Medicine promises to be a great hit.  It's packed with Roald Dahl's unique kind of story-telling and humour with some impressive special effects to have you on the edge of your seat!  It is a great treat for all the family this summer.  

Cast in both pictures: Small Cornish Free-range Chicken, Granny, Erika Poole, Big Chicken, Jason O'Brian, George, Clark Devlin.  For the record, the Small Cornish Free-range Chicken in the pictures is one of our Upstage children!

Trailer for Columbo

Motionhouse - Scattered Trailer

At Hall for Cornwall May 18th 8pm. Book Tickets

Plays selected for performance at HfC

Following the huge volume of submitted scripts at the conclusion of the Anyone Can Write project, 6 short plays have been selected for performance at Hall for Cornwall on May 4th.  The play names, and their authors, are listed below along with the cast of professional actors who will be bringing the scripts to life for the very first time.

I Hope It's Good by Donal Fogarty (Wadebridge Group)
Hell Hath No Fury by Rosemary Robinson (U3A Looe Group)
Playing Host by Katy Eddy (Richard Lander Student)
Nozy Parker by Pam Douglas (WI Group)
A Skinny Latte by Mary Ann Bloomfield (Youth Workers Group)
A Bit of a Picnic by Sarah Russell (WI Group)

Tickets to the performance are available now and cost £6 plus £1 Theatre Fund.

Book Tickets Online Today

The cast for the evening's performances are as follows:

• Mark Buffery
• Elaine Claxton
• Heidi Dorschler
• Dean Nolan
• Juliet Welch
• Kate Wilde

Anyone Can Write play premieres at HfC

One of the short plays written through the Anyone Can Write programme was premiered on stage at HfC yesterday afternoon.  With Cornwall's WI holding their conference here, we felt it was an excellent opportunity to stage one of the short plays written by one of their members who took part in the writing programme.

"On With the Show" was a hilarious short play written by Jane Curnow who was in the auditorium to see her play come to life.  It followed the course of a small committee meeting to decide the "theme" for their stall.  There was a hint of "Vicar of Dibley" about the proceedings and much of the humour clearly struck a chord with audience members who recognised aspects of the characters that will be familiar to many; the nervous, officious chairperson, the well intentioned "helpful" person willing to donate anything from a whistle to a racehorse and the inevitable committee member who forgets to switch off their mobile.

Alongside the important business of the meeting there was some sharply scripted and funny gossip, including the women who had "gone out" after "finding him on the internet".  This was the subject of much discussion as he was far too big for her, and grey!  Only after some clever double entendre do we discover they are talking about a greyhound, not a man off a dating site!

"On With the Show" had a cast of four actors, including Kate Edney who played Princess Jill in last year's panto at Hall for Cornwall.  Kate met up with Jane  before the play for a photo (above) and told her the actors had really enjoyed working with the script which had had them falling about with laughter.  It was certainly very well received by the WI.

Six other plays written through the Anyone Can Write programme will be staged at Hall for Cornwall on May 4th.  Tickets are now available (Click HERE).

ANYONE CAN WRITE has benefited from funding from FEAST and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. We are also grateful to our stakeholders, Cornwall Council and Arts Council, England, for their ongoing support.

Preview of Birmingham Royal Ballet in rehearsal.

Birmingham Royal Ballet rehearse Slaughter on Tenth Avenue from Rob Lindsay on Vimeo.

At Hall for Cornwall 4th - 5th June. BUY TICKETS NOW

Scripts pouring into HfC this week!

Hall for Cornwall has been inundated with scripts at the culmination of a year long writing project in Cornwall. “Anyone Can Write” was an initiative organised by HfC to encourage people from around the county to write their first piece of drama for the stage.

The scope of the project has been very great, reaching youth workers, community groups, students, and the WI. Each writing hub or group has had the support of a professional writer to assist them with the creative process as well as the support of their fellow participants. 

As the project draws to a close, completed scripts have been flooding into Hall for Cornwall’s offices with just over 40 scripts received at the time of writing. Hall for Cornwall’s Community and Education team have been delighted with the number of script submissions and are looking forward to working through all of this fresh material. All scripts will be reviewed by a panel of script readers and each writer will receive some useful feedback on their work to encourage further writing.

The four or five scripts that are considered to be the best of the project will be handed to a small cast of professional actors and will be staged as an evening of Cornish short plays at Hall for Cornwall on Tuesday 4th May. The evening promises to offer a variety of topics and themes as a new crop of Cornish writers will see their work come to life on the stage.

“Anyone Can Write” received support from FEAST and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. Tickets for the performance are available from Hall for Cornwall now.

Serenading Louie - Preview

Serenading Louie is a very accessible play examining relationships at that moment of self introspection when you compare the reality of life with the dreams and aspirations of your youth.  With a small cast and “front-room” set, the audience is pulled irresistibly into the intimate home life of two American couples in the early 1970s.  The director, Richard Curtis, has resisted the temptation to re-set the play in a contemporary setting which is a wise decision.  The characters are of their time, and therefore sit comfortably among the period furniture and cultural references.

The essence of the play remains as relevant for 2010 as it was when written in 1970 however.  Relationships are timeless, whether it’s the long established friendships dating back to time in college or marriages that, after several years, have lost their way.  It is these relationships, and the communication, or lack of, at the heart of them that come sharply under the audience’s focus.  The process of soul searching is punctuated by moments of light and very quick humour, which bring a necessary connection with the audience and make the characters seem wholly human.

The four characters are, at heart, unhappy.  Rather than merely bemoaning their lot, however, for much of the time they appear to be grappling with the question of why.  The audience will probably have far more success in understanding this question then they do, which is what makes the experience so moving and thought-provoking.  In observing their failures you gain insight into some of the most fundamental questions behind personal happiness and achievement.

The acting is fully convincing throughout.  This is a very experienced and strong cast who will be familiar to many.  Geraldine Somerville, who plays Mary, has appeared as Lilly Potter in four Harry Potter films so far and also starred alongside Robbie Coltrane in “Cracker” as DS Penhaligon.  Her on- stage husband, Jason O’Mara starred as 1st Lt Thomas Meehan in “Band of Brothers” and in “Life on Mars”. 

Jason Butler Harner is an American actor for whom Serenading Louie is his UK debut. His TV credits include “The Good Wife” and “Law & Order” and his exasperation with wife Gabrielle (Charlotte Emmerson - Foyle’s War, Casualty 1909), is masterfully conveyed with the odd sigh and some quite awkward silences.

Serenading Louie is a solidly entertaining piece of drama.  It won’t leave you feeling elated – the play is not sugar-coated – but it does draw you into the lives of four people at a critical point.   It makes you consider some important questions and it will almost certainly move you with its conclusion.

A Magical Evening!

On Saturday 20th February, some of Cornwall's most enthusiastic young talent came to the stage at Hall for Cornwall for one night only.  Orchard Studios' Charity Gala Performance featured music, dance and comedy and starred young performers from across the county.

Unusually, the performers also experienced the show from the auditorium, since for the duration of the act they were not in they took seats as audience members and watched their fellow performers.  In this way they experienced both playing to the audience and enjoying Hall for Cornwall as a spectator.

With an audience of just under 600 in-house that evening these young people had a good and appreciative crowd to play to and they took full advantage of the experience.  The evening raised just over £2000 for Hall for Cornwall and we would like to thank, and congratulate, everyone who was involved in this successful production.

Image by Roger Croxon

A Night Less Ordinary - The 39 Steps

"A Night Less Ordinary" is a scheme run by Arts Council England which funds free theatre tickets for those under the age of 26. A group of young people from the St Austell area got a night even LESS ordinary last night when, in addition to receiving funded tickets they were given a post-show tour of The 39 Steps stage by Company Manager Justin Savage. The tour lifted the lid on this very complex production which is incredibly fast-paced and puts the cast of four through numerous costume changes and, on occasion, involves the rapid application of a carving knife to the back!  

Justin explained to the group how the stage was marked out and how each prop and piece of costume has its place backstage. They saw how the set of 39 Steps is constructed and inserted into Hall for Cornwall's stage which is in fact quite a bit larger than the area visible to the audience.

A few of the tour "Highlights" included Mr Memory's Moustache, Nessie, the knife that kills "Miss Schmidt" and the corpse. Justin also talked them through the process by which lighting and sound cues are followed during the production - a process he described as akin to "Driving for 2 hours on the motorway in thick fog". It requires absolute focus and concentration.

The group were very interested in the process involved in constructing the set - which is something of a technical marvel involving a lot of hard work! The set will be taken down the night of the last show then driven to its next tour destination over 300 miles away and immediately reconstructed.

A Night Less Ordinary is an ongoing scheme that Hall for Cornwall feels offers a great way for young people to access live theatre who might not otherwise be able to. If you are under 26 and would like to enquire about A Night Less Ordinary tickets (Wednesday performances only) please contact Box Office on 01872 262466.

Our thanks to Justin and the Company of The 39 Steps for taking the time to arrange and conduct the tour. Last night's event was arranged as part of "A Week Less Ordinary" which is a national week-long celebration of the "A Night Less Ordinary" scheme.

Monthly Guide

This is a new feature for Hall for Cornwall - a short "What's on" selection which will be produced monthly by Mycornwall.tv

Stage Door Chat - Brendan Cole

Hall for Cornwall was delighted to welcome Brendan Cole to Truro on Friday for a two night run of his dance show "Brendan Cole Live and Unjudged".  Two lucky ticket holders won a competition via our Facebook page to meet Brendan for a chat before the show.

Brendan told us that this was his first visit to Cornwall and that he liked the theatre and the stage and was delighted to have sold out both nights.  The opening night was something of a Cole family affair as not only is his brother touring in the show with him but his Mum had travelled in to see the show for the first time that night.

Brendan was not courting controversy and refused to be too drawn on many aspects of "Strictly".  However he told us that he gets on very well with Craig - it's just that he "doesn't agree" with a lot of his feedback! There was also a wry acknowledgement that Len might not necessarily approve of his use of capes in some of the show choreography!

Talking about the show, Brendan admitted that it was quite demanding in terms of energy. He assured us that he does get out of breath - even if it doesn't seem like it from the audiences' point of view!  He was kind enough to give our competition winners 20 minutes of his time and signed their programme as well as a poster for our Stars Restaurant.

Brendan expressed the hope that he would return to Hall for Cornwall at some point in the future.  We look forward to seeing him when he does!

Darke and Dazzling nights at HfC This Week!

We're gearing up for a busy and exciting week here!  Our Darke Festival, celebrating the work of the late Cornish playwriter Nick Darke opens on Tuesday with a rehearsed reading of "Never Say Rabbit in a Boat".  Darke Nights comes to the stage on Sunday 24th - an evening of dance performed by young people from around the county.  This promises to be a great showcase of young talent brought to stage in a partnership between Hall for Cornwall, KEAP and The Works.  Darke Visions, a show involving young people from a wide selection of Cornwall's secondary schools can be seen the following night on Monday 25th.

We're also hosting two very big names this week!  Rick Wakeman is coming for an evening of music and "grumpy humour" on Thursday 21st.  Always a popular visitor to Hall for Cornwall, Rick's combination of sharp wit and music make for a highly entertaining evening.

On Friday and Saturday, the glamour of the ballroom comes to town as Brendan Cole's "Live and Unjudged" show promises two days of supurb dance.  Despite a "Bad Boy" image on Strictly (mostly the symptom of a perfectionist I've always thought), Brendan's dancing talent and ability is universally recognised.  The show has been well received by critics thus far:

"Far from being one man's excuse to be self-indulgent, the show was a fun celebration of dance and music with five professional dancers including Scott Cole (Brendan's brother – proving rhythm runs in the Cole family's genes), an  impressive live band and two talented singers thrown into the mix." - Julia Bennett

Where a Summer School can take you!

We're looking forward to seeing the latest Circus of Horrors show here at Hall for Cornwall on Friday and Saturday.  The production will not be lacking in colour, eccentricity and the "wow" factor for which the Circus of Horrors is rightly well known.  But as you watch some of these acts you might wonder how these artists came to choose this profession above more mundane occupations (such as writing theatre blogs for instance).

Well for one performer, Natalie Verhaegen, the road to the role in circus of Horrors began right here in Cornwall!  Natalie worked as a marketing manager but felt she wanted something extra from her career.  Even taking a course in design management at university in Nottingham didn't quite satisfy her desire for something a little more unusual and exciting.

Eventually, following the Circus skills summer school in Cornwall, she applied to Circus of Horrors to be a saxophone player and was delighted to be accepted.  It was at this point she discovered the true meaning of the old adage "be careful what you wish for" since this saxophone playing job has one or two "little extra bits" in the job description guaranteed to satisfy the desire for a more "exciting" career.

These "extras" include Natalie playing upside down and standing at a board and having knifes thrown around her.

"At first, I thought it was a wind up" claimed Natalie. "My mum would never even let me slice a Tomato let alone stand at a board and have knifes thrown around me."
 
Never the less she did master her new found  skills and is now competent playing standing at a board and having knife thrown around her at 30 miles per hour and playing hanging upside down.  Which just begs the question "What summer school will you be going to in 2010?"


Circus of Horrors - Day of the Dead runs from Friday 8th to Saturday 9th January. To book tickets, click HERE

Dame Trott & Simon