antony-gormley | Theatre Breaks

Political Theatre in Trouble

Political Theatre in London Political theatre in London has had more than its share of problems and the latest venue at risk is The Tricycle theatre in north London, which has staged a series of productions based on recreations of seismic political events such as the Scott inquiry, the Nuremberg trials, the Stephen Lawrence inquiry and the Bloody Sunday inquiry. The Tricycle’s misfortunes follow hard on the heels of the collapse of several other radical theatres. The 7:84 theatre company in Edinburgh closed in January after funding problems, and the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow was said to be in discussions with its local authority and could be facing cuts in a “week of bad news” for arts organisations in Glasgow. Some of Britain’s leading artists, including Paula Rego and Antony Gormley, said this weekend that they intend to help save The Tricycle by donating works for auction later this month. “It is very important to have political theatre,” said Gormley, “where recent events, or attitudes to events, are reflected on.” Rego added: “English theatre is the greatest in the world and the plays in smaller theatres are often the ones that the larger venues shy away from.” Other famous names to donate include the actor Sir Antony Sher, the illustrator Ralph Steadman, the artist Maggi Hambling and Sir Peter Blake, who designed The Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper album cover. The theatre, which has also produced acclaimed plays about Guantanamo Bay, Deepcut – the Army barracks where four soldiers died of gunshot wounds – and the Hutton inquiry, needs £2.75m a year to stay afloat, only a third of which comes from ticket sales. The Tricycle’s artistic director, Nicolas Kent, said that, while Tricycle productions have transferred not only to the West End but to other stages around the world, and it has hosted world-renowned actors such as Vanessa Redgrave, audiences have preferred more light-hearted work during the recession. “The pressure on us because of the recession is twofold,” Kent said. “The cash we raise from charitable trusts has gone down enormously, and there has been less money coming in from individuals. “Last autumn people were worried and tended not to spend money on going to the theatre, particularly serious theatre. They were opting for more light-hearted shows. We put on Deepcut and got great reviews but it did not do as well as we hoped at the box office. “Musicals have been doing stormingly well, but all serious theatres rely on donations and they have been drying up.” As if to hammer home the point, the Hackney Empire, which also has a strong political track record, has announced it will close early in the new year for nine months amid financial difficulties.

October 29 2009, 11:51am | Comments »

Things to do in July

London theatre breaks in midsummer mean hot days and steamy nights, the occasional thunderstorm and plenty of outdoor events organised as things to do in July. In 2009 for example, we had the enchanting Peter Pan production in Kensington Gardens, and some picnic concerts at Kenwood House on Hampstead Heath. There was also the much acclaimed art installation project in Trafalgar Square on the Fourth Plinth, by Antony Gormley. Every hour a different person selcted at random from those who applied, would stand on the vacant high plinth and do whatever they like, in view of Nelson’s column and the Lions. You don’t have to be a great modern art afficianado to appreciate the voyeuristic nature of such an event, with its streaming webcam and great sense of occasion. For most of July, the schools have not yet broken up so this makes it a good time to pick up hotel deal bargains before the crowds, and to visit some places that will become a lot noisier once the families start arriving in larger numbers. Kew Gardens for example is a delightful day out and they celebrate a 250th anniversary in 2009 with special events and the opening of a spectacular tree top walk. You can get to Kew from central London by taking a train from Waterloo, the District Line tube from Embankment or or even by boat from Westminster pier.

More things to do in July Still on a horticultural theme, July also sees the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. It’s the world’s largest annual garden and flower show and it takes place at Hampton Court, near London, organised by the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society). Only RHS members can visit on Tuesday and Wednesday but anybody can visit on the Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Plants can be bought on any day (you can leave them in the plant creche and collect them when you leave). The easiest way to get there is take a train from London Waterloo to Hampton Court which is still within Transport for London zone 6, so a one day travelcard is valid. It is a 15 minute walk from the train station to the show.

July 17 2009, 4:02am | Comments »

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