Ink Pellet - The arts magazine for teachers - IP86 by Ink Pellet

Issue 86 April 2012

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April p

2012

Wessex Publications

issue 86

A/AS level & GCSE English workbooks Photocopiable and/or on CD

Contents

6{ 11{ 12{ 13{ 14{ 16{ 19{ 21{ 22{ 26{ 28{ 30{ 34{

TAKE THIS HAMLET Scriptwriter William Jessop talks about his art

HEAD BOY Our Keith tackles the Chief Inspector of Ofsted PASS IT ON News to share with your colleagues A LIFE IN DANCE Celebrating The Royal Ballet’s Monica Mason MAN OF INFLUENCE The new Pablo Picasso exhibition at Tate Britain Interactive, guides in print or on CD. Literature workbooks take the student through the text(s) and contain close textual analysis, criticism, references to language, style and characterisation. Examination questions are also included. There are nearly 100 different work-books for both English Literature and English Language to choose from.

YOU CAN’T BEAT A GOOD STORY From book to play to cinema - which holds up? A BUSY YEAR FOR THE RSC We look at what the Company is up to FACE THE BOARD A round-up of the latest news and views

Visit: www.wessexpublications.co.uk for titles, sample pages, prices and other details. Tel: 01460 55660

EVERYBODY DANCE Wieke Eringa shares her passion READING ROOM A quartet of books to enjoy SHOW TIME Four plays to inspire you

ﬂexible accessible measurable now for ages 7+

THE LIST What’s on now and later A DAY IN THE LIFE With the inspiring Dr. Nick Walton

develop creativity and reward achievement The Ink Well Press Ltd, Kettle Chambers,

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21 Stone Street, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HF The views of the contributors are not necessarily those of The Ink Well Press Ltd! without the prior permission of the publishers

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CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE

FESTIVAL 2012 THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

Welcome

KIM CATTRALL

ello lovely Ink Pellet people! I hope you’ve had a good Easter break and are ready for the mocks, the football, the Jubilee. If the thought of that tires you out, you are in the right place – the wonderful world of Ink Pellet. For your delectation we speak to the marvellous script writer and film-maker William Jessop for our Big Interview. Shakespeare continues to be adapted, stretched and turned upside down and his new Hamlet, adapted for actors with learning difficulties, is one not to be missed. Another genius that inspires this kind of innovation is Pablo Picasso as Tate Britain’s exhibition Picasso and Modern British Art testifies. Here the work of seven artists is explored in the light of the master’s influence – a real must-see. The Royal Ballet says a fond farewell to its ebullient director Monica Mason this year and has staged an exhibition of some of the costumes she has worn, as well as showing wonderful photographs charting her long career. See how we got on at the informative tour of the exhibition on page 13. I enjoyed a chat with Wieke Eringa, the artistic director of Yorkshire Dance, which promises a packed programme of fun and dance over the next few months. I just hope my report on page 22 conveys a smidgen of her energy. And don’t miss Dr Nick Walton’s evocative piece about a day in his life. I queried his spelling of Shakesperian - note with an ‘i’, He replied that he uses this rather than the more widely used variant with an ‘e’ because it’s how Sir Stanley Wells spells it. You may note that Ink Pellet has now adopted this spelling. Elsewhere we have a varied mix of reviews of books and plays, including Dennis Kelly’s terrifying DNA, which is currently on tour. Watch out next time for our round-up of the finalists up for the Carnegie Medal. Should be a good one! And finally, here is our quotation: from JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, which I re-read recently: ‘What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.’ Happy reading and do keep in touch in all the usual places!

MICHAEL PENNINGTON

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Director

JANET SUZMAN

FESTIVAL THEATRE 7 - 29 SEPTEMBER

01243 781312 CFT.ORG.UK

Lesley Finlay Editor Lesley.finlay@inkwellpress.co.uk www.inkpellet.co.uk @InkPellet

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big interview William Jessop

It is possible to make a career in the creative industries – it just takes some courage and determination but Blue Apple Theatre’s writer William Jessop knows all about that as LESLEY FINLAY discovers…

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riter and film-maker William Jessop, just 29, displays many of the characteristics young people need to get on: belief in his calling, a flexible approach, confidence with a good dose of humility, and willingness to eschew the giant salary (in the early days, at least). Currently working for Blue Apple Theatre that brings together actors with learning difficulties and those without, William is also a documentary film-maker, and already has adaptations of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream under his belt. He says: ‘I always wanted to find a way to express myself creatively; I tried radio, made some films and in my year out I wrote and wrote. It came to be obvious that the form was going to be writing.’ Educated at Winchester College, thanks to the determination of his father, who worked in the NHS, ‘to give his children the best possible start in life’, William was a typical teenager: ‘I was a scholar and this helped with the income side but I was probably more interested in girls than in being creative although I was editor of the school magazine and started writing.’ In those days, William was focused on university, rather than planning a career in the typical public school disciplines of the law and finance. There are no regrets: ‘I had no idea that being a freelance writer would mean

scrabbling around in the early days but even so I don’t think I would have done anything differently. The choices you make take you down a certain path so I did English and History which are clearly about stories. I knew my favourite lessons were doing Hamlet, or Romeo and Juliet or Paradise Lost whereas I was dreading going to maths as it was so much out of my comfort zone.’ After university - Oxford, reading English - William was single-minded. ‘There was no compromise. I was lucky that I had a home in which to crash out but I was seeing friends earning ridiculous salaries while I was earning nothing. I was working on films with no budget, with people telling me what to do, being lowest of the low. I got an internship at Working Title Films for a year and made a documentary about my brother Tommy, one of the Blue Apple actors. ‘I then offered to write an adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Blue Apple. The theatre had a new Artistic Director, Peter Clerke, and we worked together on the play which we did in promenade. It was just a magical experience. I have now done five plays with them so what started as a favour became a passion.’ And a career too, for although the theatre company was set up by his mother Jane Jessop, Blue Apple Theatre continues to grow as a

IMAGES: William Jessop. FAR LEFT: The cast of Hamlet in Blue Apple’s first professional tour of theatres

And you are…? NAME: William Jessop AGE: 29 JOB: Writer, screen-writer, film-maker for Blue Apple Theatre WORK to date: For Blue Apple, adaptations of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2010), The Government Inspector (2011); original scripts Captain Miserable & The Book Guardian (2010), and Living Without Fear (about hate crime, toured Autumn 2011).

professional theatre company, with some Arts Council England pounds in its pot to support its first tour, more of which later. William says: ‘Blue Apple Theatre brings many different types of people together. Our actors with learning difficulties are extraordinarily talented and it’s good for mainstream actors to learn from their counterparts. We have up to 40 members of whom 20 to 25 have learning difficulties. The range of ability within that group is quite wide so we have people with autism, Asperger’s and Down’s Syndrome. The reason why it was set up by Jane is that in 2005 there wasn’t much for people to do and it allowed people to express themselves, as well as covering basics like discipline, timekeeping and organisation. At that stage we were explaining what a story is and by the time we got to A Midsummer Night’s Dream there was an unbelievable flowering of talent. ‘Last summer we did an adaptation of [Nikolai] Gogol’s The Government Inspector. There is something so powerful for an actor with learning difficulties to stand on a stage to make people laugh with them, to be applauded and cheered. ‘At the top level we have six actors of whom four have Down’s Syndrome that are taking a version of Hamlet in the original Shakespearian language on a theatre tour,

with no concessions made. These actors are determined to become professional actors so we give them a more intensive rehearsal schedule.’ The idea of taking on Hamlet followed the group’s success in a small-scale tour of William’s Living Without Fear, a short play about the brutal subject of disability hate crime. Having achieved this, it was felt these actors were capable of anything. William recalls: ‘We thought ‘the sky’s the limit’ so let’s try Hamlet! The play speaks to everyone about what it means to be human and people with learning difficulties have the right to be part of that conversation.’ And converse they did. William explains: ‘When we introduced the story in September, we didn’t know how they were going to take it. Traditionally our pieces tend to be light, end happily with lots of people getting married. Obviously Hamlet doesn’t end that way. The actors had a creative discussion that got quite heated about whether or not to stick to what Shakespeare had written and all die, or whether to just have a happy ending, One of our actors, Lawrie, who has been a Shakespeare fan all his life and is playing Claudius, was adamant that the play had to end traditionally, with everyone dying, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense, which of course is right, and he managed to persuade

FILMS for Blue Apple: Freddie’s Story (2011), a training film about people with learning disabilities, which is being used in NHS Foundation Trusts across the country. BEFORE Blue Apple: Tommy’s Story (2007) - a 30 minute documentary about my brother Tommy as he landed major TV roles in Coming Down the Mountain and Holby City. Worked as a documentary researcher on The End of the Line (2009), as an Associate Producer at Current TV, and as an Action! Intern at Working Title Films. CURRENTLY working on: Hamlet, a 70 minute reimagining of the Shakespeare play in original language. READING around the subject: Blue Apple’s Hamlet is touring theatres between May and July 2012. For more information and to buy tickets, please visit www.blueappletheatre.com

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all the others. The concept of tragedy - putting bad stuff on the stage in order to achieve catharsis - is quite a sophisticated concept, and the extent in which the actors separate what is on stage and what is made up is something weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re working on still.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; How a writer adapts Shakespeare depends on a whole host of drivers: the players, the performance, moneyâ&#x20AC;Śand William had to put the players first. For his version of Midsummer, he adapted the parts with his director Peter to fit the actors, and used modern language while keeping to the spirit of the original. And this meant magic, joy and indulging dreams. Hamlet was naturally a different undertaking. William says: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;For Hamlet, I kept the process to tailor the parts to the actor, but now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all Shakespeare throughout the play. It is much shorter - 70 minutes - so we had to make some pretty brutal decisions about what to keep and what to lose. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve lost Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Horatio - so Hamlet is without his only friend, which in some ways makes it more powerful as Hamlet is dealing with this on his own. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Our Ophelia and Hamlet are genuinely in love and he is far less callous than in the original. It just did not feel right for our Hamlet to be so cruel to his Ophelia. Another issue was that the original is all about delay, so by cutting so much you have a slightly different animal in that the scenes flow more quickly. Tommy, who is playing Hamlet, is a reflective person but to make it ring true, making him demonstrate the dilemma and to keep the plot moving was perhaps the hardest thing. Because of these shifts, I need to be in rehearsals to see how this works and as a film-maker I understand the need to re-write.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; William admits to learning a great deal in his few short years developing his art. He reflects: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Coming out of the rarefied atmosphere of university and throwing myself into the real world, driven by the keenness to learn and a passion for what I was doing was an amazing experience. One of the most important lessons I learned about writing is that I was far too shy about showing people what I had done. I was determined the first thing I showed the world was going to be an Oscar-winning screenplay and what that does is close you down, you become introspective. So if you want to be a writer, show your work as much and to as many people as you can. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how you learn.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Wise words indeed. With such a positive attitude to his IP writing apprenticeship, William is one to watch.

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A few of my favourite things FAVOURITE PLAY: The Malcontent by John Marston FAVOURITE SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet FAVOURITE BOOK: The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser; The Sandman by Neil Gaiman; Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler FAVOURITE NON-FICTION: The Poetics of Aristotle FAVOURITE FILMS: Battle Royale (dir Kinji Fukasaku), Casablanca (dir Michael Curtiz), Rear Window (dir Alfred Hitchcock) FAVOURITE TV: Buffy FAVOURITE MUSIC: Rubber Soul by The Beatles

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Out of Joint, Octagon Theatre Bolton and Karl Sydow present

Director: Max Stafford-Clark Designer: Tim Shortall Lighting Designer: Johanna Town Sound Designer: Andy Smith

OUR

COUNTRYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

GOOD by Timberlake Wertenbaker

based on The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally

TOURING AUTUMN 2012

Bolton, Birmingham, Aberystwyth, Cheltenham, Southampton, Oxford, The Hague, Watford, Leeds, Cambridge

LONDON 30 JAN - 9 MAR 2013 St James Theatre, Victoria www.stjamestheatre.co.uk

EDUCATION SUPPORT:

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Order two class sets* and receive an extra set completely free saving you over £200. To take up this offer just call customer services on: 0845 630 33 33 to place your order. * A class set consists of 30 books or more. Available to customers in the UK only.

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Keith Gaines OFSTED O F Chief Takes First Steps

nglish nglis ngli ng gl teachers ea might be feeling iin nsp ssp p pi f inspired after a recent speech from fro ro om th om tthe h head of OFSTED in nw wh ich he said: ‘There can which b en no o mo m o be more iimportant subject than English. Itt is at the heart of our culture t and literacy skills are crucial to pupils’ learning for all subjects.’ I do feel guilty that I have not yet congratulated Sir Michael Wilshaw on his appointment (on January 1st this year) as Chief Inspector. He has a distinguished record, although the OFSTED press release on his appointment, after praising his success as a secondary Head in London, ended with the rather sinister sentence: ‘In addition to leading Mossbourne Community Academy, Sir Michael was Director of Education for ARK, a charitable education trust running a number of academies across England.’ Call me a cynic (some have) but I reckon that a major involvement in promoting academies was a big tick on Govey’s short list. Before you get too heartened by Wilshaw’s support of English, the next sentence in his speech was: ‘Yet too many pupils fall behind in their literacy early on [and] struggle to catch up as they progress through their school careers.’ Yes – new OFSTED chief; same old message! His complaint was that schools should be more ambitious. ‘Last year 45 per cent of those pupils who just reached level 4c at the age of 11 did not achieve a grade C in their GCSE English exams.’ Of course, he could have said that 55 per cent of pupils who just reached average at the age of 11 did achieve a grade C or above at GCSE – but he didn’t. He pointed out that last year, 100,000 pupils did not achieve the expected literacy levels by the end of primary school. He also highlighted evidence that one in seven adults lacks basic literacy. It was at this point in his speech that I began to wonder if his numeracy skills were similar to those of Govey, whose maths

I impugned in my last article. When I was writing SATs there were around 700,000 children in each year group, so 100,000 would be ‘one in seven’ – the same proportion of adults with reading problems. If Wilshaw had said that the same proportion of children and adults had literacy difficulties it would have provoked no surprise at all. In plain English he could even have said that maybe one in seven people (of any age) are a bit thick. At present, children are expected to reach level four in tests at the end of primary school, but finding a definition of what level 4 means is like trying to pin down fog. Officially it means that children are active readers who are capable of visualising the meaning of a text. They should also be able to write extended sentences and use commas. ‘Level 4’ is often defined in the press as ‘average for a typical 11-year-old’. The actual figure for English last year was that 81 per cent of 11-year-olds reached level 4. With only 19 per cent below this ‘expected level’, it doesn’t sound as if Level 4 is even close to an average. Of course, you don’t have to have an average which is around the 50th percentile. If you did a statistical analysis of Snow White and her seven dwarves, 87.5 per cent (i.e. seven out of eight) would be below average height. But this would be a small and specialised sample. As a rule, the bigger the sample the more likely it is that an average score or measurement will have 50 per cent above and 50 per cent below. With the school population in any given year, you actually have a sample which is almost 100% (less a few off sick, a few home-schooled and a few private schools not doing SATs), so statistically, you could almost guarantee that in any area, such as height, weight or literacy skills, about 50 per cent would be above and 50 per cent below average. Anyway, Wilshaw announced 10 steps to improve literacy. Step

one is that the literacy target in primary schools will be raised, just as any PE teacher knows that if you want pupils to jump higher, you just raise the bar a couple of notches. Another new step is that inspectors will hear children read when they visit schools (like they did in the 19th and 20th centuries). Perhaps the boldest step is that schools will report to parents on their child’s reading age. He didn’t say whether schools should report a reading quotient (e.g. 86), a percentile ranking (48th percentile) or an age-average equivalent (eight years five months). It was before his time, but back in April 2011, OFSTED published a survey, ‘Tackling the challenge of low numeracy skills in young people and adults” in which they claimed that ‘around one in five young people enter the workplace without the numeracy skills they need’. They also suggested that around 25 per cent of ‘economically active adults in England’ were unable to cope with basic maths. Roughly one in seven adults (that number again!) have a very weak grasp of basic maths – so however Wilshaw decides that their child’s ‘reading age’ is reported to them, it won’t matter -- they won’t have a clue IP what it means!

Keith Gaines is a freelance writer. He is a former Head of Special Needs in a large comprehensive school and Chair of Governors of a primary school.

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PASS IT ON

Tell your history and citizenship colleagues about these little gems that would otherwise pass them by…

port in Ink Pellet? What is the world coming to? We just couldn’t ignore this news that England superstar Kevin Pietersen has launched an online coaching course to help fans of the real beautiful game to keep fit, perfect their technique and pick up top tips on how to achieve his signature moves including the ‘switch hit’. The course Keep Calm and Smash It is exclusively available from Pitchvision.com and costs £16.

together on Over The Wall, a true tale of a British University football team on tour in Egypt at the time of the Arab Spring Uprisings in Egypt. This hit my radar as the reality of the film industry started to bite – with the lads attempting to raise funds to complete the final stages of production. Take a look at www.sponsume.com/project/over-wall

he Diary of Anne Frank continues to enthrall and a new production brings Christopher Timothy to the role of Otto Frank in this joint production from the Touring Consortium and York Theatre Royal. Playwrights Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett won the Pulitzer Prize for their dramatisation of Anne’s story. Directed by Nickolai Foster, this will bring muchneeded empathy to any study of the Nazis. Tell your mates in History about www.touringconsortium.com.

n the subject of visual art, head your photography students in the direction of The 2012 Young Photographer of the Year Award, run by Practical Photography and Digital Photo magazines. With more than £2,000 worth of Jessops vouchers to be won, it’s not to be sniffed at. For details, point your lens at www.photoanswers.co.uk/ypoty2012.

f you know a budding film-maker you might like to share the experiences of Jasper Kain and Matthew Kay’s first foray into the world of documentary-making. Matthew graduated in Film from Queen Mary’s in 2011 and Jasper is a Politics and Social Anthropology graduate from SOAS University. The pair worked

he Science Museum is taking to the road on a national tour that really does appeal to all ages. The show promises to delve theatre-goers into the wonderful world of science. For IP details visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk.

TEACHING CITIZENSHIP THROUGH HUMAN RIGHTS Amnesty International can help you to educate children about human rights and active citizenship: s Free curriculum-linked resources s 3PEAKER VISITS s !MNESTY YOUTH GROUPS s &REE @4EACH2IGHTS E NEWSLETTER s &REE TEACHER TRAINING EVENTS

www.amnesty.org.uk/education

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A life in dance

Monica Mason leaves a daunting legacy at The Royal

Monica Mason has spent 54 years in the Royal Ballet and her life is told through costumes, photographs and personal artefacts

Ballet and LESLEY FINLAY joined a tour of the exhibition of her life to find out more…

onica ni M Mason leaves her post as Director of The Royal B a Ballet in July having lived b byy h her own observation Balle sshould o b that ‘B ‘Ballet be about visiting the n not just trotting out the relics unknown, stored in our cupboards. For me, it’s all about balance.’ Described by Kenneth MacMillan as a dancer with ‘tremendous power, rare in English dancers who tend to be more elegant and refined…’ Ms Mason has transformed the Company into a modern organisation that is unafraid to innovate, yet continues to nurture its past. This is one of the more fascinating strands highlighted in the exhibition Monica Mason, A Life with The Royal Ballet, which tells her story through costumes, photographs and drawings at the Royal Opera House. Our knowledgeable guide David Alder shared his own admiration for Monica’s gift, offering priceless insights into the life of the Company but also telling the human story of her 54 years within it. The 20 costumes on display throughout the public areas of the Royal Opera House worn by Monica include the exquisite Firebird costume ‘Fonteyn taught the role to Monica,’ David reveals, ‘from the dancers in the Ballet Russes. That’s how it used to be done – the choreography was passed from dancer to dancer…’ We also realise this is a working company where costumes are cut

up, re-used, torn, made up and mended. In the 1950s there was still rationing and it is a wonder that the delightful dress from her first performance as one of the fiancées in Le Lac des Cygnes survives. Monica has donated personal artefacts to the exhibition including photographs she took during a tour, so we have her pictured with Rudolph Nureyev among others, posturing for the camera, and her mother Sue Fabian’s preserved newspaper cutting collection chart her rise, one of which includes the headline ‘The Girl Who Outdanced Nureyev’. What is striking about the collection of photographs is the luminous beauty of the art form that masks the physical rigour that stretches the body to darker limits. Monica’s life was influenced twice by injury – first in the1960s when she replaced Svetlana Beriosova in the interval after the principal suffered back strain, which propelled her into the public eye; and later in 1972 when Monica broke her foot inspiring her to introduce medical care for dancers during her tenure as Director. Monica worked with every director of The Royal Ballet – including Ninette de Valois and never sought to go anywhere else – ‘all the best choreographers come here’. She wanted to dance with MacMillan and caught his eye at a party ‘by showing off like hell’ and he responded, creating his first role for her

in The Rite of Spring. Nureyev singled her out and she said of the Russian: ‘He made you understand that you should never make anything easy for yourself… he would give soloist notes as they came off stage as he was about to go on: ‘Cabriole better more petit battement. I go, I dance.’ In her decade as Director, Monica has introduced new and exciting approaches including bringing in contemporary dancer Wayne McGregor as Resident Choreographer. She has doubled the number of performances and confirmed the education, fundraising and outreach programmes as integral to the company’s offer – not to mention taking Romeo and Juliet to the giant 02 arena. If you Google any of the rehearsal videos featuring Monica you cannot fail to be in awe of the knowledge and genuine gift that she has so generously passed on and will continue to do as she enters ‘retirement’ (for she will continue to contribute to the Company). Kevin O’Hare, a child of The Royal Ballet School, has worked his way up to take over as new Director and is only too aware of the treasure he will guard. The exhibition is free to visitors but you can join a tour, at £7. Booking is essential. It runs until July 17th. For details of this and other Royal Opera House events, pointe your mouse to www.roh.org.uk. IP

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The influence of Pablo Picasso on British art is explored in a major new exhibition at Tate Britain ….

ot another Picasso, I hear you cry! But this is a good one, where art history tells a story. Good old Pablo is always good value thanks to his constantly evolving style and experiments,. The premise for Picasso and Modern British Art at Tate Britain shows the wide-reaching influence of the artist on our own art movement. Many of our own greats were inspired by him, and these artists did not copy, they took what they saw and flew with it, creating their own, unique work in turn. This story has two strands. Firstly, a look at some of the works of Picasso that were shown and collected in Britain from before the First World War to the tour of the painter’s political masterpiece Guernica after the Second World War. Secondly, we have the response of seven artists -- Duncan Grant, Wyndham Lewis,

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Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Graham Sutherland and David Hockney - to his work. Each homed in on Picasso’s major themes - the distortion of the female body (Moore), and the use of musical instruments to represent the human form (Nicholson). Picasso came to London in 1919 and worked on the Ballets Russes and many of the designs for The ThreeCornered Hat are collected here. The works brought by British collectors are shown in one room in chronological order - this is successful because it shows how the early works are relatively accessible - we have those collected in the wake of the ebbing Impressionist movement - The Flower Seller bought by Glaswegian Shipping magnate William McInnes, and Boy with a Dove which heralded the start of the Blue

Period. There is the complex Man with a Clarinet and the divine Nude Woman in a Red Armchair. A visit can then become a game of exploration - having picked up some key themes from this room the visitor can seek out the subsequent echoes in newer works. Hockney’s admiration is undeniable - he paid tribute to the artist with two prints following his death, including The Artist and The Model. The link becomes more tangible through Hockey’s commission from the Metropolitan Opera in New York that included a design for Parade, based on Picasso’s work in 1917. And finally crtics were not always so kind - GK Chesterton described his 1909 Cubist experiment Portrait of Clovis Sagot as ‘a piece of paper on which Mr Picasso has had the misfortune to upset ink and tried to dry it with his boots’. Plus ca change, and all that. Picasso and Modern British Art runs at Tate Britain until July 15th. You can book IP online at www.tate.org.uk

IMAGE: Pablo Picasso Still Life with Mandolin 1924© Succession Picasso / DACS 2011 © Collection Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

Man of influence

You can’t beat a good story The Woman in Black has kept theatre audiences entertained for many years so how would a new film version fare with

Image: Daniel Radcliffe in the movie version of Susan Hill’s novel

uddien nces PAUL CADEN gives his verdict… audiences?

raadi raditional rad d on theatre or Hollywood cine cci n m ic Minimalist props ne cinematic? orr swe o ssweeping ee ee landscapes with col old do ol d cold, dour architecture and eendless n ndl dless b be ch he Imagined haunted he beaches? y f housess or iin-your-face, no detail-spared movie ssets? Such are your choices when you decide between viewing the Stephen Mallatratt stage adaptation of Susan Hill’s 1983 novel, The Woman in Black, or the cinematic version of the same novel. Arthur Kipps is a young London lawyer sent to the village of Crythin Gifford in the bleak North East of England to attend the funeral of Alice Drablow and put her estate in order. As he sorts through the widow’s papers in her secluded property, Eel Marsh House, Kipps begins to feel that he is not alone. Sightings of a strange woman dressed in black begin to manifest. Each sighting is accompanied by the tragic death of a child in the nearby village. As Kipps slowly works through the widow’s papers he begins to piece together a tragic tale of loss and vindictive revenge. After being well received at the Stephen Joseph Theatre-In-The-Round in Scarborough in 1987, Mallatratt’s stage adaptation moved to the Fortune Theatre in London’s West End in 1989 where it still runs today. In 2012, the cinematic version of the story was released, bringing

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this blood-freezing tale of a grieving and vengeful ghost to the masses. The Fortune’s intimate size – a mere 423 seats – coupled with its dark, almost foreboding décor, makes it purpose-built to house The Woman in Black. Audiences immediately feel they are in the story rather than just watching as an outsider. The two actors (three if you include the lady of the show’s title) ensure that you identify with the characters and you really feel the thrills and chills of Mallatratt’s excellent stage adaptation. The dialogue and sound effects at key story stages slowly build the tension until it snaps with a shocking assault on one, or both, of the visual and auditory senses. The clever use of minimal props: a wicker basket desk converts to a horse drawn carriage seat, nursery furniture draped with white cloths become a misty graveyard when viewed through a translucent stage curtain... Cut now to the cinematic version of the novel, which stars Daniel Radcliffe as Arthur Kipps. The methods deployed to portray horror in an air-conditioned, spacious, state-of-the-art auditorium concentrate on the visual sense, and The Woman in Black uses all the Hollywood clichés to achieve the desired results: first person walkthroughs of dark rooms and

corridors, shadowy alcoves, flashbacks, third person audience observation (she’s behind you Daniel!)… Audio cues are also used to let you know when to be frightened and generally achieve the desired results, with popcorn hurling and nervous giggling. The traditional view of bleak, windswept land and seascapes of the North East, inhabited by dour, hard-faced people living in no-nonsense cottages and possessing a whole skeleton of suspicious bones in their bodies, is perfect for this story. Radcliffe plays a believable Kipps and lots of close-ups of his tortured face ensures you empathise with him. The cinematic version deviates from the stage adaptation by introducing more characters and deaths, although the emphasis remains more on chills than blood and gore. So which to see? The cinematic version holds the viewer by the hand and leads them to the set pieces and has a typical Hollywood ending. The theatre production relies on atmosphere and imagination to achieve the desired results and it does this extremely well. There is of course the alternative option – view both versions and enjoy them for their individual takes on this original, and highly successful, ghost story. I did! IP

AY PL R 1+ A FO 1 ES AG

I, CINNA (THE POET) TIM CROUCH

A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN at the Palace Theatre invites you to see this stunning production and experience their new pre-show workshop Singin’ in the Rain offers a great opportunity to appreciate how films and acting styles developed with the invention of recorded sound, all whilst experiencing the thrill of a fantastic West End production. With its stylish choreography and sumptuous set design, it is the perfect musical to introduce students to the world of the musical theatre, as well as a key moment in the making of the modern film industry. Accessible and suitable from Key Stage 1 upwards and a treat for all ages.

Ink Pellet exclusively has a limited number of complimentary tickets to offer teachers on Thursday 24th May for the workshop from 4.30pm followed by the show at 7.30pm. To book please email your interest to Michele.Williams@inkwellpress.co.uk and you will be contacted with more information by 14th May.

4 PERFORMANCES ONLY 13 JUNE – 6 JULY 2012 THE STORY OF SHAKESPEARE’S JULIUS CAESAR TOLD THROUGH THE EYES OF A LOWLY POET. A PRODUCTION TO ENGAGE A YOUNG AUDIENCE TO THINK, WRITE AND CONSIDER THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN WORDS AND ACTIONS. TICKETS £5 AGES 25 AND UNDER, £10 AGES 26 AND OVER. IN ADDITION TO THESE 4 PERFORMANCES I, CINNA WILL BE BROADCAST LIVE INTO SCHOOLS IN JULY 2012. TO FIND OUT MORE AND SIGN UP VISIT:

www.rsc.org.uk/CINNA

0844 800 1110

Project partner

FRIDAY 8 JUNE

BISHBASHBOSH PRODUCTIONS

THE TIN VIOLIN

The Tin Violin follows the extraordinary life of violinist and composer Joseph Emidy. Born in West Africa in 1775, Emidy was kidnapped by the British Navy and served as a fiddler during the French wars. Landing at Falmouth, he was presented with a tin violin, and became a musical genius of the early 19th century. Funny, tragic and compelling, the play offers an extraordinary parable of humanity that raises questions about identity, belonging and place. Rich with dialect, dance and decadence.

TICKETS: £12, SCHOOLS £9

SUNDAY 17 - MONDAY 18 JUNE

GLOBE THEATRE ON TOUR PRESENTS HAMLET BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE DIRECTED BY DOMINIC DROMGOOLE AND BILL BUCKHURST Performed by a handful of players on an Elizabethan inspired stage, The Globe Theatre return with a raw, thrillingly elemental production of this inexhaustible play, widely acclaimed in 2011 both on tour and at the Globe. Political intrigue and sexual obsession, philosophical reflection and violent actions, tragic depth and wild humour; Hamlet is Shakespeare’s ‘poem unlimited’, a colossus in the story of the English language and the fullest expression of Shakespeare’s genius. Bring a picnic, a blanket or chair and plenty of friends and enjoy this enchanting outdoor theatre. N.B this performance takes place at Upton House, Upton Country Park

TICKETS: £17.50, SCHOOLS £10 TUESDAY 26 - THURSDAY 28 JUNE

NEWBURY PRODUCTIONS (UK) LIMITED IN ASSOCIATION WITH YORK THEATRE ROYAL PRESENT THE REDUCED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY IN

THE COMPLETE WORLD OF SPORTS (ABRIDGED)

The “bad boys of abridgement” are back. In this exclusive tour ahead of the show’s West End premiere, the entire history of athletic competition is revisited in a marathon of madness and mayhem that sees the world’s great sporting events shrunk down to theatrical size. Whether it’s the ancient cavemen or the Classical Greeks, the Romans, the Elizabethans or the modern sports media, The Complete World of Sports (Abridged) brings you all the emotion, the drama and the scandal of sports… Every sport ever played on every continent in the entire history of the world in under two hours! Let the games begin!

TICKETS: £16.50, SCHOOLS £12 MONDAY 19 - SUNDAY 25 NOVEMBER

BIRMINGHAM STAGE COMPANY PRESENTS

HORRIBLE HISTORIES: VILE VICTORIANS & TERRIBLE TUDORS

We all want to meet people from history. The trouble is everyone is dead! Using actors and ground-breaking 3D special effects, these two astounding shows – TERRIBLE TUDORS and VILE VICTORIANS – are guaranteed to thrill. Historical figures and events will come alive on stage and hover at your fingertips. TERRIBLE TUDORS: From the horrible Henries to the end of evil Elizabeth, hear the legends (and the lies!) about the torturing Tudors. VILE VICTORIANS: What exactly did a baby farmer do? Can you escape the misery of the mines or the filth of the factories? Do your best to dodge the rotten railway and prepare for the Charge of the Light Brigade!

TICKETS: £15.50 £13, SCHOOLS £9

FOR FULL DETAILS OF SHOW TIMES AND SCHOOLS PERFORMANCES, VISIT LIGHTHOUSE WEBSITE

0844 406 8666 www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

RSC how you’ve grown! IMAGE: Teaching Shakespeare allows teachers across the globe to o benefi benefit from the RSC approach

The Royal Shakespeare Company has come a long way since its early days as the ‘Shakespeare Memorial’, built on land donated in 1875 by Charles Flower. LESLEY FINLAY takes a whistle-stop tour of the company’s current activities…

ou ca can’t stand still in this life – aand the R Royal Shakespeare Com om mp paan n is testament to that. No Company lo onge ong nge ng ger ca ccan this vast company be longer laced d iin the eb placed basket marked ‘niche’, it i friendly giant that is more is now a bi big, i than living up to its ethos of educating, innovating, ‘connecting people with Shakespeare’ and supporting ‘bold, ambitious work with living writers, actors and artists’. Following on the success and breadth of the 50th birthday celebrations last year, the company is leading the charge with the World Shakespeare Festival for the Cultural Olympiad, spearheading the Globe to Globe season as well as enjoying the success of its much-celebrated Matilda, which has just won seven Olivier Awards. With Gregory Doran taking the helm from September this is a popular choice. The actor turned director said of his appointment: ‘My first task is to assemble an exciting new artistic team, with whom

I shall start planning the Company’s future from 2014.’ Until then, there is a dazzling, busy schedule, including one you can pop in your diaries. Turn to July 2 and write I, Cinna (The Poet), a new play written and directed by Tim Crouch which will be streamed exclusively to schools around the UK. It will be followed by a live question and answer session with Tim Crouch and Jude Owusu, the actor playing Cinna. Tim, who has written an acclaimed series of monologues, said: ‘I, Cinna (The Poet) gives voice to Shakespeare’s unluckiest man. Cinna speaks less than 20 lines in Julius Caesar before being mistaken for the wrong person and torn to pieces by the mob. ‘Now he gets a chance to speak for himself, to speak for his poetry and to a world that shows little interest in the minor characters.’ During the performance, Cinna will

invite students to write poems with him. These can be reworked later, and sent to the RSC. To take part, register your interest through the company’s website. This is just one of the innovations in the education arena and makes the best of the new technology, as its latest offer to teachers demonstrates. Its new Teaching Shakespeare tool – created with the University of Warwick – is a comprehensive professional development programme giving teachers access to the best RSC resources as well as the chance to gain a post-graduate award. It combines the RSC’s creative expertise with the University’s world-leading teaching practice to give teachers unique access to the theatre company’s approach to teaching Shakespeare inspired by rehearsal room practice. Firstly, teachers can use RSC films and accompanying materials, including the RSC Shakespeare Toolkit for Teachers, as a stand-alone set of resources. Secondly, the learning platform offers a qualification route for teachers combining academic study, practical classroom tasks, assessed teaching assignments and connections to a community of tutors and fellow students. This course includes formal assessment of work and leads to a Post Graduate Award in the Teaching of

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Shakespeare. The graduate-level programme offers a route to achieve an MA in the Advanced Teaching of Shakespeare. Highlights include a film showing education specialists, Rachel Gartside (RSC), Professor Jonothan Neelands (University of Warwick) and world-renowned Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro, introducing UK and US students to Romeo and Juliet. There are also podcasts and interviews with RSC artists and directors as well as a range of specialist academics and teachers, for example, the RSC’s Voice Director Cicely Berry, actor David Oyelowo and directors Rupert Goold, Roxana Silbert and Michael Boyd who share some of their working practices. The RSC’s Director of Education Jacqui O’Hanlon said: ‘Fifty per cent of schoolchildren in the world study Shakespeare. We believe that young people get the most out of Shakespeare’s plays when they approach them in the way that RSC actors do: on their feet, actively exploring the text and unlocking its meaning. Teaching Shakespeare brings together an astonishing range of voices, experiences and insights from the worlds of professional theatre and education that explore the impact of these kinds of approaches on actors and students alike.’ There will be a charge for the courses and resources and any profit will be ploughed back into the RSC’s education programmes and used to support the charitable purposes of both the RSC and University of Warwick. Teachers’ pets can register this minute by going on the information superhighway at www.rsc.org.uk. The first set of courses and resources will be IP available in October.

Review: Matilda The Musical Cambridge Theatre When the RSC took on Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, there was much criticism so when it was announced that the company would set Roald Dahl’s Matilda to music, there was less criticism but more pressure to maintain this high standard. So it does – with knobs on. The writing by Dennis Kelly is gleefully mean and genuinely funny and is at its best when depicting the cruelty of the adults and the anarchic defiance of children. Tim Minchin’s music and lyrics are charming and witty, resulting in a much less cloying production than the usual West End fare. The cast is uniformly excellent, especially the children who all acted

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beautifully, sang well and danced exactly as children do (with much waving of arms and jumping around). The actress who played Matilda on the night we went, held the stage, especially during her story telling segments. Paul Kaye shone as Matilda’s dad, extolling the pointlessness of learning and books as compared to TV and sales, and performed a great skit during the interval. The show was closer in theme than plot to the book and despite the changes to the story, captured some of the joy of Dahl’s classic, but with a little less edge. In short, however, this is a wonderful production that deserves all the plaudits nd awards it has received.

No t i c eboa r d T

published by Oxford University Press. A vast reference book that will be a great addition to your library, it is the place to go for any question about this rather uncool genre. This is the second edition of the reference book which has more than 1,200 alphabetical entries from artists, record labels and genres. It also includes a series of essays on politics tours and the digital revolution. A snip at £35. Yee ha. Sorry.

he Black Country Living Museum in Dudley has been granted ‘designated status’ by Arts Council England for ‘representing a vital part of national cultural heritage’. So what’s all the fuss about? The museum, which lies in the shadow of Dudley Castle, celebrates the Black Country’s industrial past with two mine shafts, limekilns and a canal arm, telling the region’s story between 1800 and 1950. The director and Chief Executive of the museum Andrew Lovett is delighted with the accreditation, describing it as ‘an enormous step forward’. To visit the Black Country Living Museum, you can use the latest technology at www.bclm.co.uk

e’ve had 3D films, now it’s time to say hello to 3D art, thanks to the grandly titled Hemispheric Projection Dome, which aims to encourage young people to enjoy exhibitions. Visitors to this mobile inflatable classroom are given 3D specs that gives them the ability to zoom in to view different artwork created by the students. The space is fitted with a 360-degree projector that can create a range of ‘virtual environments’ to provide ‘a totally immersive experience’. Nottingham Trent University is offering year 12 students the chance to experience the Hemispheric Projection Dome on April 27, before it travels to Newark College in May, and Lincoln College in June. For more information please visit https://ntu.ac.uk/community

ver to Norfolk where preparations are in full swing for the Norfolk and Norwich Festival which runs from May 11-26. This is well worth a look for those in the area as it promises a smorgasbord of activities, events and performances. This year, the festival celebrates real life, real people and real places with a great guest list that includes Nigel Kennedy, Carol Ann Duffy, Jerry Dammers’ Spatial AKA, Duane Eddy and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Not to be missed – and one that you could possibly try back at school is 100% Norfolk by Rimini Protokoll, a show about the population of Norfolk, starring… the population of Norfolk. They’ve recruited 100 ordinary Norfolk folk who are a living embodiment of the census to come together on stage at the Theatre Royal to answer questions about their habits, lives and beliefs in a live game show. Interwoven with stories about their lives, 100% Norfolk creates a living, breathing spectacle, a portrait of who we are and the place we live. Genius! Other highlights include the Dinosaur Petting Zoo the first chance to get up close and personal with a dinosaur and all the fun of the circus with Compagnie XY’s performance of Le Grand C at Great Yarmouth Hippodrome which features breathtaking acrobatics, dance, music and human pyramids. Tickets are now on sale for all events but dive in to the website at www.nnfestival.org.uk

ext month heralds the start of World Stages London, a season of theatre celebrating the capital. Eight of the city’s world-beating venues (okay I’ll name them all… Battersea Arts Centre, Bush Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, Royal Court Theatre, Sadler’s Wells, Somerset House, Theatre Royal Stratford East and Young Vic) are collaborating in a way never seen before. Each show tells a universal story around the theme ‘London in the world, the world in London’, and is created by UK performers working with artists from the countries where the stories originally came. For details visit the world wide web page worldstageslondon.org.uk

nyone with a spare £130 is welcome to take me to the dinner at the inaugural Turner Lecture and Dinner at Margate’s Turner Contemporary on April 25. Sigh!

h my goodness! It’s time for the 247tales again, the online writing competition from Bloomsbury that asks young writers to create stories using up to 247 words. Each month a different Bloomsbury author will write a 247tale on a given topic. It is then over to the UK’s budding young writers aged between 10 and 16 to create their own miniature masterpiece. One winner will be chosen each month and they will have their 247tale featured on the website as well as winning a selection of books and a framed copy of their story. Type in www.247tales

ere’s a good one – The Joy of English, 100 Conversations about the English Language. It’s a grammar book for pedants I think, but hey! pedantry never did me any harm. The author Jesse Karjalainen has compiled this easy to use ‘desk companion’ that will solve ‘irritating writing dilemmas’. As English teachers, you’ll be all right. It’s everyone else. Published by How To Books Ltd, it costs £12.99.

nd finally. Really enjoyed Shrek the Musical the second time. Kimberly Walsh makes a delightful Fiona, Richard Blackwood continues to shine as Donkey, and the new Shrek (Dean Chisnall) and Lord Farquaad (Neil McDermott) bring a touching sentimentality to the story. Unbelievable costumes, great songs, good jokes. Plus the new ‘family friendly’ Wednesday night slot (7pm start) will make the kids less grumpy IP the next day.

nother wonderful book thuds onto my desk – a bit of an unusual tome for us – The Encyclopaedia of Country Music,

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‘W

hen you watch dance you process it differently. There has been research that has proven that you respond to it kinaesthetically. You physically react to the performance rather than taking it in cerebrally. On live performance this works very well, but even on television you have a kinaesthetic response to someone being swept around the dance floor and you feel the happiness from it.’ And so Wieke Eringa, the fast-talking, intelligent and knowledgeable artistic director of Yorkshire Dance, sums up the power and appeal of her chosen art form. Simple. Over the telephone, Wieke’s enthusiasm is infectious she has such a powerful, inherent belief in her work and the positive impact the art form can have on the person that I resolve to have a bit of a boogie when I get home from work. She says: ‘In this country the focus has been on private ballet but at Yorkshire Dance we try to involve people who don’t get involved in the private dance sector which is traditionally exclusive – you probably have to be skinny, have a certain aptitude, you have to be a girl and probably under the age of 16. The regional dance agencies, like Yorkshire Dance, were developed to get everyone dancing in a more creative and accessible way. Our ethos has been very much concerned with access and inclusivity, so, for example, we do heaps of stuff with people with learning difficulties and under-represented groups.’ Yorkshire Dance celebrates its 30th birthday this year. Its brief, along with the 12 others across the country, is to support the development of contemporary dance and dance in general, to work with artists to develop their practice, and to work with young people, as well as engaging the wider community. Wieke explains: ‘With us it’s about breaking down barriers and a different way of working – and that means anybody, everybody can dance. Everyone can be beautiful and everybody can be professional, it doesn’t matter about body shape or your age and your gender. When you see television programmes like You Gotta Dance, none of that is very graceful and elegant! It’s very grounded, very aggressive, very funky and athletic – people need a broader sense of what dance can be!’ And this is just what happened to Wieke who reveals that dance was not her first love as a youngster growing up in Holland. She explains: ‘When I was growing up I was fascinated by the ballet thing but I couldn’t get my head around the pink stuff. I didn’t feel elegant so the whole draw of contemporary dance was good for me - you can be grounded and move in your own way. I came over as a musician in my late teens. I played the flute and just wanted to do music but I ended up doing a BA in Performing Arts!’ After a stunning career, first as a performer, choreographer and teacher at Sadler’s Wells then in education at Northern Ballet Theatre, Wieke is now playing the ‘grown-up’! I would imagine any meeting is brought to life thanks to her straighttalking, focused style. ‘I have to sit in an office being grown up all the time! I spend most of my time in meetings and behind my computer, but my creativity goes into project development

Never get to first? see Get your own copy sent to you either at school or at home for free! Simply fill in the form below and return to: The Ink Well Press Ltd, Ink Pellet Subscription Dept, 21 Stone St, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HF

Name.......................................................... School ........................................................ Address ...................................................... .................................................................... Telephone number ................................... Fax number ............................................... Email .......................................................... I would like to receive one year’s subscription (6 issues) Signed ........................................................ Date ............................................................

That contemporary mullarky! Wieke Eringa is the artistic director of Yorkshire Dance, one of the country’s regional dance agencies that support the development of the genre. LESLEY FINLAY caught up with the ebullient advocate bringing dance to the masses… FAR LEFT: Artistic director of Yorkshire Dance Wieke Eringa LEFT: Antonia Grove in Small Talk, part of the Juncture programme (c) Matthew Andrews

and working with artists and they are just so exciting.’ The other side of her job involves overseeing a packed programme of events. Wieke explains: ‘We run our own weekly programme in our building with classes in ballet to hip hop, and from street dance to belly dancing – you name it, and we do it! We are also the regional hub for the national programme The Big Dance which this year is part of the Olympic celebrations. ‘The events include The Schools Pledge which takes place on Friday 18th May. This is a record-breaking attempt to have the most people doing the same dance routine in different locations. It is choreographed by Wayne McGregor, who has created a routine that works at primary schools level - you can just join in – or if you’re doing A level dance and want to develop the choreography, you can do that as well. And, of course, being Wayne, the routine is artistically interesting.’ The Big Dance is all part of a massive movement to get us dancing but the UK is far ahead of our more open European partners. Wieke explains: ‘The English are very reserved - it is a cliché but it’s true. In Holland it is more acceptable for a man to say I want to have a good relationship with my body and explore it - dance is part of that. But in England you’d never have that in a million years! The flipside is that you have one of the most bursting with creativity cultural sectors that surpasses every other country.’ And that includes the growing understanding of the ‘difficult’ discipline of contemporary dance. Wieke says: ‘What’s nice about contemporary dance is that it encompasses everything from African to street to hip hop. Contemporary dance had a look in the So You Think You Can Dance when a couple performed a contemporary piece. It was so moving. On the whole it’s misunderstood but if you want to dip your toes into that contemporary mullarky without being alienated, go and see Rambert Dance Company, or Phoenix and Matthew Bourne!’ Bound to beat a bop around the sitting room! IP

Get dancing The Big Dance, including details of The Schools Pledge on May 18th www.thebigdance2012.com To find your Regional Dance Agency visit www.danceuk.org For more details about Yorkshire Dance point your mouse at www.yorkshiredance.com

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CURRICULUM LINKS:

5 mins walk from London Bridge station

Citizenship/PSHE Relationships & the responsibility of young people in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s society.

Suitable for Year 10 upwards Schools tickets ÂŁ10 (1 free for every 10 purchased)

English & Drama An unusual & inventive use of poetical language in an urban context.

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The Considine Curse by Gareth P. Jones Published by Bloomsbury

Review by Aimee Johnston, aged 11

The Considine Curse is about 14-year-old Mariel and her mother Lynda. The story starts when they come back to England from Australia for Mariel’s grandmother’s funeral. It is only then that the teenager discovers she has five uncles, four aunties and six cousins. Why would her mother keep this from her for her whole life?

Drawing With Light by Julia Green Published by Bloomsbury

Review by Julia Pirie

Julia Green’s novel Drawing With Light is a beautifully written, tender tale of 16year-old Emily whose mother left her and her older sister when Emily was only two. Green evokes the trials and tribulations of living in a cramped caravan during a cold winter while the family’s new house is being built.

The Kane Chronicles: The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan Published by Puffin

Review by Anna Davies

www.inkpellet.co.uk

The Kane Chronicles: The Throne of Fire is the sequel to Rick Riordan’s first Egyptian fantasy novel The Red Pyramid. The series of books is entitled ‘The Kane Chronicles’ featuring the brother and sister team Sadie and Carter Kane, two young teenagers who a year before discovered their parents were from an ancient pharaoh bloodline and that they possessed the skills of magic. In this

However, Mariel doesn’t get the warmest of welcomes from her cousins. She starts to wonder if there was a good reason why her mother kept her family from her. Mariel soon finds out that her instinct is correct as her younger relations start behaving in wild ways... Gareth P. Jones’s writes really well and gives the reader enough clues to make you want to keep on reading. The characters, a mix of girls and boys, are drawn with such

variety that any reader is sure to like one. My favourite was Mariel because she is very funny and told the story in an exciting way. I didn’t really like her mum because she didn’t tell Mariel about the family, and was also going to make her leave Australia without asking her opinion. I recommend this book for children in Years 7 and 8 as it is a very good read and will make you laugh and jump out of your skin.

Emily’s older sister has just left for university, leaving her alone with Dad and pregnant stepmother. It is also a story of young love with Emily becoming involved with Seb and experiencing all the emotions of an evolving friendship. We see everything through Emily’s eyes as she infuriates and frustrates us, often choosing to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, jeopardising her fledgling

relationship. Green takes us through Emily’s tentative journey of discovery and increasing maturity in a very convincing way which many girls will be able to identify with. The quality of the writing will also serve as a useful model for budding writers to learn from. I became so engrossed in Emily’s life that I was left desiring a sequel to find out what happens next!

second adventure, the duo cross many countries and encounter dozens of creatures whether they be gods, demons or other magicians to release Ra from his slumber to save the world from the evil Apophis. It is written, as is the prequel, as though Sadie and Carter are narrating the story through a Dictaphone which Riordan has come into the possession of and is writing it down. In the prologue, Riordan explains that he hopes he has related the Kane’s story as it should have been so it

leaves the reader questioning whether what was said is actually true. The story has improved my knowledge of Ancient Egypt but my only criticism is that the book does drag on at times with too many battles between the young magicians that are easily won. But then again, it is a good subliminal message for young readers. All in all, this another great book from Riordan that pupils are sure to like - I cannot wait for the next one! Part three in the series, The Serpent’s Shadow, will be out on May 1.

Book Reviews How to Direct A Play by Braham Murray Published by Oberon

Review by Lesley Finlay

carried along by Murray’s enthusiasm, passion and knowledge of his craft. The arrival of this book onto my desk came at a great time as I had just the night before agreed to direct my first play for the little village am-dram group I spend my spare time with. So I read with gusto. Murray writes for the professional director but the amateur and student can pick up loads of tips. Particularly useful is the section on Working on Script – a critical part of the process, where the director learns the nuances of the piece - and early parts of the rehearsal process. In addition, Murray has a chapter each devoted to

Dear Oberon, the small but beautifully-formed publishers of handy tomes big and small - including this rattling good read. It comes into the category ‘Books That Do What They Say On The Cover’ – How to Direct A Play with the charades-busting subtitle A Masterclass in Comedy, Tragedy, Farce, Shakespeare, New Plays, Opera and Musicals. At a mere 134 pages, how does acclaimed director Braham Murray do it? Conversational in style, sometimes a stream of consciousness, the reader is

The No Rules Handbook for Writers| £14.99, Lisa Goldman

How To Direct A Play | £12.99

“Personal, well-written, and resonant. Its advice is passionately felt but perfectly controlled. And its ideas sing and inspire.”

“One of the best practical discussions of how to approach a play both as text and performance that one could ﬁnd today”

– Aleks Sierz

– Culture Wars

The Well Read Play |£14.99

Braham Murray

Stephen Unwin “An overview of contemporary theatrical thinking, distilling into a single volume a lifetime wisdom... essential reading” –British Theatre Guide

the different elements identified in the book’s sub-title. There are some fascinating insights to working with actors – I noted with amusement that the world of am-dram also has its fair quota of prima donnas. It was interesting to see how the professional director deals with difficult ‘names’ - which were not named here, sadly!. If you are thinking of directing for the first time, or wish to guide a student to possibly a more satisfying career than ‘being famous’, hand them this book. It will restore flagging enthusiasm and be a handy guide. IP

The Oberon Glossary of Theatrical Terms | £14.99 Edited by Colin Winslow “This glossary is a God-send… comprehensive, detailed and accurate… a must-have” – Teaching Drama

Essential drama education

www.oberonbooks.com 27

www.inkpellet.co.uk

Theatre Reviews A Streetcar Named Desire: Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse

Review by Aliss Langridge Image by Stephen Vaughan

Red lighting … seedy jazz music… the steamy French Quarter of New Orleans. From the start of Tennessee Williams’ classic, Amanda Drew gives an outstanding performance. Her depiction of fragile Blanche DuBois, who tinkers on just the right side of sanity and vulnerability throughout, is as believable as one of Blanche’s own fantastical tales. Tension between characters builds up on stage, especially between Blanche and her brute of a brother-inlaw, Stanley Kowalski. They instantly clash and their quick fire dialogue

holds no boundaries from expressing their obvious contempt for each other. Sam Troughton’s Stanley is expectedly raw and animallike: his physical aggression explodes on stage, as well as his words: when he screams ‘Stell-a!’ he sounds like a wounded animal crying to be put out of his misery. Despite the dark nature of the play, the audience found many humorous oneliners and loved Blanche shamelessly concealing her true age and drinking liquor at any given opportunity. It is effective that a play which explores dark themes

such as violence and mental stability can have many lighthearted moments too, but the humour does not detract from these darker aspects. If anything, they offer light relief from the simmering tension on stage. The use of lighting also reflects this contrast – light and darkness are used for effect and link to Blanche’s increasing desperation to hide her ageing appearance from her potential admirers. Blanche comes close to breaking point at many times but manages to salvage her dignity despite the odds being ultimately against her.

The King’s Speech: Theatre Royal Nottingham

Review by Julia Pirie Image by Manuel Harlan

David Seidler’s The King’s Speech was conceived as a stage play. Serendipity found it transposed to the cinema; now it comes to the theatre as Adrian Noble’s production tours its way to the West End. It promised to be a good night out. Sadly it was not. I felt it was a cowardly production that did not stray from cinematographic territory. The clumsy revolve twirled us through ‘sound bite’ scenes and the flickering film back projection reeled out

scenes from Pathé news to little dramatic effect. Worst of all, in the first half, we strained to hear what the actors were saying. However the play version allows Seidler to flesh-out the homesick Mrs Logue and her relationship with her husband, the speech therapist, Lionel. The minor characters looked well, but you felt that even the most experienced actors David Killick, Ian McNeice and Michael Feast hadn’t really found their feet. The

sadness that was Joss Ackland as George V seemed a particularly opportunist piece of casting. He managed a tiny appearance as the ailing George V but the curtain call seemed too much for him. For me, the best scenes were those with Logue (Jonathan Hyde) and Bertie (Charles Edwards). This stammering king’s twohanders with a well-conceived Logue were especially convincing. The king and the king maker – two men in a room, that’s all we needed.

was inspired by the folk tales of Eastern European Jewry. Anthony Sher plays the local factory owner Jacob, whose interventions and advice, albeit frequently unwelcome, set the pace for many of the technical developments while also providing the production’s comic moments. However, while Sher is often entertaining, and there is a love interest of sorts,

I found the lead character unsympathetic and the pace of the play a bit leisurely to be entirely gripping. Overall though Travelling Light, directed by Nicholas Hytner, is a gentle and occasionally interesting introduction to early cinema. After a short national tour, Travelling Light returns to the Lyttelton stage at the National Theatre until June 2.

Travelling Light: National Theatre

Review by Alex Simpson

www.inkpellet.co.uk

Nicholas Wright’s new play tells the early story of film and its origins in Eastern Europe. Travelling Light catalogues the formative years of Motl Mendl as he returns to his village on the death of his father to reflect on his fascination with the moving image. Narrated by an older Motl now a Hollywood mogul, the play uses the characteristics of the local villagers to show how the American film industry 28

DNA by Dennis Kelly: Rose Theatre Kingston

Review by Eve and Harriet Poulter Image by Simon Annand

‘A compelling tale of adolescent cruelty...’ is how Dennis Kelly’s play was described on our brief. My 15-year-old daughter and I speculated on the content as we drove to the Rose Theatre in Kingston. Neither of us had heard of the play, but we were intrigued. The opening scene was dramatic, loud and, for me, slightly confusing. Two teenagers (Mark and Jan) enter, halfway through a conversation, yelling and speaking so quickly and interrupting each other. What the hell is going on? I couldn’t keep up. The next scene is a slower pace but still compelling. Phil sits calmly

and carefully peels an orange while his girlfriend, Leah, asks him what he is thinking. He says nothing all the way through her monologue, and you are lead to believe that Phil is passive, quiet and innocuous. The story unpeels, like Phil’s orange, very carefully, and I feel my stomach fall as the horror is revealed. The pace alternates between manic and calm. Characters are clearly defined - Phil (James Alexandrou) is so passive at first he becomes a very convincing monster; Leah, (Leah Brotherhead) is irritating and endearing, poetical and philosophical but Brian, played by Daniel

Francis-Swaby brilliantly conveyed his confusion and fear. Harriet says: ‘The simplicity of the staging allowed the story line and the actors to shine. The play made me feel good about myself as a teenager, that my own group of friends were not that awful. It highlighted bullying within friendship groups but we don’t recognise the bullying – we see it as just having a laugh. The acting was inspirational.’ DNA is a Hull Truck Theatre production and was directed by Anthony Banks. It continues on tour until May 25th. For details see www.dnatour.co.uk. IP

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What’s on sponsoredd by What’s on… Shakespeare Theatre companies continue to thrill us with innovative productions of Shakespeare plays and it is good to see some new productions. We kick off our round-up with Antony and Cleopatra which will be the hot ticket of September – with Kim Cattrall and Michael Pennington lighting up the South Coast. Directed by Janet Suzman, I suggest you click to it on www.cft.org.uk There is still chance to take a look at The Winter’s Tale and Henry V – the double bill from the much-acclaimed Propeller. Check out the company’s website before they head off for a tour in China! The team returns to Hamlet in July. Absolutely not to be missed is the Blue Apple Theatre Company’s production of Hamlet which goes on tour in May. Check out if this leading company for able and learningdisabled people is coming to your town by popping on to the website at blueappletheatre.com If you manage to get tickets to the Almeida Theatre’s production of King Lear, starring Jonathan Pryce, do let me know. Performances in September are already sold out! And finally the RSC is touring a new Julius Caesar, directed by the great Greogory Doran. Featuring an all-black cast with Jeffery Kissoon as Caesar, Paterson Joseph as Brutus and Cyril Nri as Cassius, you lucky people in Cardiff, Newcastle, Aylesbury, Bradford, Salford and Norwich book your seats now!

London

Barbican May 12-June 2 Cymbeline May 4-13 Einstein on the Beach (opera) From Aug 15 Carousel (Opera North) Box office: 020 7638 8891

London Coliseum May 8-June 2 Madam Butterfly May 25-June 14 Caligula June 18-July 8 Billy Budd July 11-21 The Gerswins’ Porgy and Bess Box office: 0871 911 0200

Cambridge Theatre Matilda The Musical Box office: 020 7492 1507

London Palladium The Wizard of Oz Box office: 020 7492 1507 Lyceum Theatre The Lion King Box office: 020 7492 1507

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LIVE ON STAGE!

Aldwych Theatre Top Hat Booking until 26/01/13 Broadway sensation Jerry Travers (Tom Chambers) dances his way across Europe to win the heart of society model Dale Tremont (Summer Strallen). Featuring Irving Berlin’s greatest hits including Let’s Face the Music and Dance and White Tie and Tails, TOP HAT is a glorious celebration of 1930s song and dance. Call Encore Tickets to Book: 020 7492 1525

Heads you lose

National Theatre From May 23 Antigone From Apr 30 Collaborators To June 2 Travelling Light Box office: 020 7452 3000 Novello Theatre Noises Off West End Box office: 020 7492 1507

From 14 February 2012 GARRICK THEATRE

Polka Theatre Box office: 020 8543 4888

Horrible Histories books are published by Scholastic Ltd. Horrible Histories is a trademark of Scholastic Inc. and is used under authorisation. All rights reserved. Illustration copyright © Martin Brown 2008

Garrick Theatre Barmy Britain Booking until 01/09/12 We all want to meet people from history. The trouble is everyone is dead! Ever wondered why the Romans never won MasterChef? Would you lose your head to horrible Henry? Will Parliament escape gunpowder Guy? Enrol yourself at Georgian Crime School and prepare for the world premiere of BARMY BRITAIN! Call Encore Tickets to Book: 020 7492 1525

Apollo Victoria Theatre Wicked Box office: 020 7492 1507 Arcola Theatre Apr 25-May 26 The Conquest of the South Pole May 2 – June 2 Brimstone and Treacle Box office: 020 7503 1646

Gate Theatre From May 1 Resist Season Box office: 020 7229 0706

Rose Theatre Kingston May 15-19 The Cherry Orchard Box office: 0871 230 1552 Roundhouse Theatre May 18-23 Two Roses for Richard III June 1-July 4 The Comedy of Errors June 5-July 5 Twelfth Night June 36-July 8 The Dark Side of Love Box office: 0844 482 8008 Royal Academy of Arts To June 17 Nicholas Hawksmoor: Architect of the Imagination To May 20 LittORRgraphy: Chris Orr Ra and the Art of Chemical Painting Box office: 0844 209 0051

0207 492 1507 www.inkpellet.co.uk

All details correct at time of going to press but readers are advised to check details with venues before making a special journey

www.encoretickets.co.uk Tate Britain Migrations Picasso and Modern British Art Tate Modern Damien Hirst From June 29 Edvard Munch: The Modern Eye Tate Liverpool From June 22 Turner Monet Twombly Tate St Ives From May 19 Alex Katz Info: 020 7887 8888 The Harold Pinter Theatre (formerly The Comedy Theatre) South Downs/The Browning Version Box office: 020 7492 1507

Midlands Belgrade Theatre, Coventry May 1-5 The Winter’s Tale/ Henry V (Propeller) June 22-23 Being Human July 11-14 Close to Home Box office: 024 7655 3055 Birmingham Hippodrome May 1-5 The King and I May 22-26 Wonderful Town May 29-June 2 I Dreamed A Dream June 20-23 Far From The Madding Crowd (Birmingham Royal Ballet) Box office: 0870 730123 Birmingham Repertory Theatre June 15-30 The Just Price of Flowers Box office: 0121 236 4455

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Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton May 10 Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers June 5-9 Hair Box office: 01902 429212 The Drum Box office 0121 333 2444 Novello Theatre Noises Off Booking until 30/06/12 This Olivier award-winning play has been hailed as one of the greatest British comedies ever written. Hurtling along at breakneck speed it follows the backstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through rehearsals to a shambolic first night and a final disastrous performance. Call Encore Tickets to Book: 020 7492 1525

Warwick Arts Centre May 9/12 Barber of Seville May 10/11 Eugene Onegin Box office: 024 7652 4524

– – – – – –

North Bolton Little Theatre Jun 8-16 Ladies Day Box office: 01204 334400 Gala Theatre, Durham Apr 25 Fever Pitch June 12-16 Close The Coalhouse Door Aug 22 Emma Box office: 01913 324041

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What’s on sponsoredd by Derby Theatre May 8-12 Equus June 18-23 Dead Ringer Box office: 01332 255800 Grand Theatre, Blackpool May 8-12 Swallows and Amazons June 5-9 West Side Story July 2-7 Hair Box office: 01253 743252

Leeds Grand Theatre May 2-19 Carousel May 28-June 23 Dirty Dancing From Aug 9 The Phantom of the Opera! Box office: 0870 1222815 The Mill Volvo Tyne Theatre Box office: 0844 493 9999 The Lowry June 19-30 Starlight Express Box office: 0843 208 6000 Sheffield Theatres May 14-19 Grease Box office: 0114 249 6060 The Northern Stage To May 5 Close the Coalhouse Door May 22-26 Mary Shelley June 26-July 14 World Shakespeare Festival Box office: 01912 305151 Theatre by the Lake, Keswick Box office: 017687 74411 Theatre Royal Newcastle May 15-19 Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker May 28-June 2 Steel Magnolias July 3-14 Grease July 19-28 Julius Caesar (RSC) Box office: 08448 112121

Wakefield Theatre Royal May 15-19 The Sound of Music Box office: 01924 211311

The Theatre Chipping Norton June 8/9 Equus Box office: 01608 642350

West Yorkshire Playhouse May 4-26 The Real Thing Box office: 0113 213 7700

South East Gulbenkian Theatre May 10 Macbeth (Icarus) Box office: 01227 769075

Central Southern

Hazlitt Theatre, Maidstone Box office: 01622 758 611

Cambridge Arts Theatre May 15-19 Henry V June 14-16 Matthew Bourne July 16-21 Blood Brothers Box office: 01223 503333

The Hawth, Crawley May 10 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – A Night in Old Vienna Box office: 01293 553636

Creation Theatre Company Box office 01865 766266

Mayflower Theatre To April 28 Dirty Dancing May 1-26 Oliver! June 19-30 Legally Blonde July 4-7 Porgy and Bess Box office: 02380 711811

Ipswich Regent June 29/30 Matthew Bourne’s Early Adventures. Box office: 01473 433100 Lighthouse Poole May 8-9 Birmingham Royal Ballet May 25-26 A Day in the Death of Joe Egg June 18-23 Dreamboats and Petticoats Box office: 0844 406 8666

Orchard Theatre, Dartford June 11-16 Dreamcoats and Petticoats June 19-23 Horrible Histories Box office: 01322 220000 Theatre Royal, Brighton Apr 30-May 5 Steel Magnolias June 11-16 Murder on the Nile Box office: 01273 764415

Milton Keynes Theatre May 1-26 Dirty Dancing May 28-June 2 Dancing in the Streets Box office: 0844 847 7652

Worthing Theatres Apr 30-May 5 Save the Last Dance For Me May 22 We’ll Meet Again June 7 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz June 26-30 Bugle Boy Box office: 01903 206206

Oxford Playhouse May 8-12 Henry V Box office: 01865 305305 Pegasus Theatre, Oxford Box office: 01865 812150

South West Barnfield Theatre, Exeter May 16-19 Pippin (Exeter College) Box office: 01392 270891 Bradon Forest Theatre June 30 I’m An Aristocrat, Get Me Out of Here! Box office: 01793 773981 Theatre Royal, Bath Apr 23-28 Abigail’s Party May 9-12 Matthew Bourne’s Early Adventures May 14-19 The Diary of Anne Frank May 22-26 Henry V (Globe) Box office: 01225 448844 Theatre Royal, Plymouth Apr 16-21 On Golden Pond Apr 24-28 Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! 2012 May 15-19 The Winter’s Tale (Propeller) www.theatreroyal.com Tobacco Factory, Bristol To May 5 The Cherry Orchard Aug 1 Macbeth Box office: 0117 9020344

Wales Borough Theatre, Abergavenny May 4 Rich Hall July 6 The Charleston Chasers Box office: 01873 850805 Grand Theatre, Swansea May 1-5 An Inspector Calls Box office: 01792 475715 New Theatre, Cardiff Apr 24-28 I Dreamed A Dream May 22-26 Northern Ballet: Beauty and the Beast Box office: 02920 878889

Royal and Derngate May 15-19 An Inspector Calls June 19-22 Gulliver’s Travels Box office: 01604 624811

0207 492 1507 www.inkpellet.co.uk

All details correct at time of going to press but readers are advised to check details with venues before making a special journey

A Day in the Life Dr. Nick Walton

hakespeare wrote of Cleopatra’s ‘infinite variety’, and I’m often reminded of these words as I walk up Henley Street for another day at work at The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. My work day is certainly filled with variety. One moment I can be speaking with a visiting university group from Texas, and the next I can be working on ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with KS3 students from Tyneside. Some days I have the pleasure of bringing A-level groups from across the country together to share their ideas and hear how other classes are responding to the same text, while other days I get to introduce students to actors who have lived the roles they are studying, and who can pump some flesh and blood into their understanding of Shakespeare’s craftsmanship. Stratford is obviously a centre for all things Shakespearian, and on any given day there are people coming to town to visit one of the five houses that the Trust looks after, see one of Shakespeare’s plays performed at the RSC, or join us here at the Shakespeare Centre to take part in one of the many courses that we offer It can be a very humbling experience to talk with teachers from across the globe and

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Dr. Nick Walton has become one of our leading scholars of Shakespeare. Here he describes a typical day in his non-typical life… to hear their reasons for making the journey to Stratford with their students to take part in one of our courses. Of course, teachers are keen to share their own passion for Shakespeare’s works with their students, and where better to begin that journey than at the birthplace itself! When I am not teaching, I often find myself answering questions about Shakespeare that come into our office from journalists, students, academics, television researchers, and news reporters. ‘What’s this about a new portrait of Shakespeare?’ ‘Did Shakespeare write Shakespeare’s plays?’ ‘What do you hope to find by excavating the grounds around Shakespeare’s home, New Place?’ These are just some of the hot topics that have kept phones ringing and tongues wagging over the last couple of years (www.bloggingshakespeare.com). Shakespeare’s name has appeared in the news a lot recently, and students are always curious to explore the reasons behind Shakespeare’s celebrity, and iconic status. Discussion about Shakespeare’s place in our world naturally spills over into conversations

about history, politics, society and identity. Shakespeare often seems like the perfect springboard into any number of conversations about what it is like to be human. A trip to Stratford helps give some context to Shakespeare’s life and times, and you can see his legacy all around the town – from the statues to some of the shop names – ‘Much Ado About Toys’, ‘The Food of Love’, ‘Othello’s’. As I walk home along the river in the evening, I often find myself casually wondering what Shakespeare would have thought about his place in our culture today. I’m sure that he would be very pleased to find that his words and works still have great resonance with people long after his death, but I wonder whether he would be amused or horrified to see his semblance transformed into a rubberduck, a cuddly toy, or an action figure? I like to think that he would have settled on the side of mild amusement rather than horror. For further information about the work of the trust, you can visit www.shakespeare.org.uk IP

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Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, Dead Friend, directed by Andrew Foster, photo by Michael Parrott.

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