Backstage The Royal Exchange Theatre Supporters’ Newsletter
The Place To Be… At the Royal Exchange we’ve been working hard to make this iconic space a city-centre hub for all our visitors. With a packed schedule of live entertainment, behind-the-scenes opportunities, one-off gigs and chats with the directors, we’re making sure the Royal Exchange is the most exciting place to be in Manchester. The first step was to throw open our doors on a Sunday and invite our visitors to see out the weekend in style. With Brunch served in the Round, great coffee available in the stunning Hall, free WiFi and bags of special events there’s no better place to spend a Sunday afternoon. We’re now open between 11am and 5pm every Sunday. Everyone loves a peak behind-the-scenes and with this in mind we’ll be inviting Sunday visitors into the module just when the sets are being created for each new production – it’s totally free and you’ll really see our work in progress! Hard Hat Sundays started in October when around 60 visitors saw behind the scenes as we transformed the Royal Exchange stage set from Edward II to a German cabaret club for our production of GOOD. With a tour guide to answer any questions you have, we’re opening up the process of production for our audiences in a whole new way.
“… the public seemed really pleased to have the chance to see
how things go together…They were amazed at how many people we needed to get it all up and running. Almost all of them said that they now wanted to come and see the show, having had a sneak preview. Towards the end of the day, we had quite a crowd, who were fascinated by the enormous circular curtain being hung and rigged. They wouldn't leave until they saw it move up into position and then fly. They gave the workshop team and stage technicians a spontaneous round of applause when it all worked as it should.” Keith Broom, Hard Hat Sunday Tour Guide
New & Renewed Support Renewed Supporters Pricewaterhousecoopers Sanderson Weatherall Edmundson Electrical Mohindra Maini Solicitors DLA Piper
Regatta Acies Group DWF
Issue 11 – November 2011
And of course it’s not just about Sundays! In The Lounge drop-in sessions are FREE and take place in the Education Lounge on Thursday evenings. They offer the opportunity to chat with directors, designers, writers, actors, and members of the creative team from current productions - just one more way our visitors can engage with the Royal Exchange and participate in the life of the Theatre. The Royal Exchange is also the perfect place to start the weekend, with free entertainment every Friday from 5.30pm and Happy Hour at Special FX!
What’s Coming Up? Sunday 6 November – Our next Hard Hat Sunday – watch us working on the set for BEAUTIFUL THING! Thursday 17 November 6 - 7pm Come along and chat with Paul Hunter, Director of YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU in the Education Lounge EVERY FRIDAY from 5.30pm Happy Hour and FREE entertainment. Expect anything from free-running to Indo-jazz music, from comedy to world dance. Sunday 20 November 7.30pm Iconic band THE FALL kick start our Sunday night series of live music. Monday 21 November – 2 January in the Hall DAZZLE contemporary jewellery exhibition Thursday 22 December 6 - 7pm Sit and talk with Greg Hersov, Director of TWO Thursday 19 January 6 - 7pm Meet Tessa Walker, guest Director of THE GATEKEEPER
Patrons Richard & Elaine Johnson Trusts & Foundations The Oglesby Charitable Trust Manchester Pride Biffaward Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund
Platinum Members Prof R A Burchell Peter & Judy Folkman Chris & Sue Bangs Pat and Martin McMillan Floor Plaques In memory of Margaret Twelves 1939-2010 with love from her daughters Doreen & Bert Dawson – All is Well Kim, Veronica, Allan and David
Spotlight Backstage – Page 2
Community Leader Programme
By Gina Fletcher, Development Manager On your way to the Royal Exchange Theatre you will undoubtedly be asked to buy the Big Issue, spare some change or may have seen someone sleeping rough in the doorways surrounding the theatre. It’s an issue that can’t be ignored so we are embarking on a three year partnership project with The Booth Centre, one of the leading homelessness services in the country.
Participants will be referred through The Booth Centre, which is based at Manchester Cathedral and provides support, training and volunteering opportunities to those affected by homelessness. Having worked with The Centre on short term projects for the past three years, we decided it was time to be more ambitious!
“At The Booth Centre we provide lots of activities and training for our clients but the theatre workshops have stood out because of the confidence, team work and communication skills they build.” Amanda Croome, The Booth Centre. Much of our Education work is made possible by the generous support of individuals, companies and trusts and foundations. We’ve been successful in securing grants from The J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust and The Rayne Foundation to make this project a reality.
The national homelessness charity, Crisis, identifies meaningful activities like workshops, projects and hobbies as major factors in helping those people with experience of homelessness to make the transition to a more stable life. We believe that everybody should have access to and be able to participate in theatre and we work hard to engage with a huge range of individuals. Adults with experience of homelessness will work with our Theatre Practitioners for up to three years, taking part in workshops, visiting productions and eventually planning and participating in a conference for other arts or homelessness organisations to share the outcomes of the project. These processes will build confidence, raise self esteem and help people develop positive new relationships - all skills which will help support their transition into more stable accommodation.
Volunteering at the Royal Exchange
By Janet Aslan, Friends Co-ordinator Volunteers are an invaluable part of theatre life. While most are Friends of the Theatre, there is a growing number of volunteers from the community, who are not working at the moment, need work experience, are looking to gain workplace skills, or simply want to volunteer.
Information Point The Information Point in the Great Hall is fully manned and administered by volunteers; they even carry out stocktaking and accounting. Volunteers deal daily with queries ranging from, “What’s on in the Theatre?” to “Where is the nearest place to buy a pair of tights?”. Play scripts, theatre memorabilia and programmes are sold there and the desk is open all day every day, now including Sundays, until the start of the evening show.
Archives Our Theatre Archivist volunteer has worked caringly and consistently for many years rescuing posters, programmes and other documentation from the effects of the bomb and floods. Costume Hire Our Costume Hire department is run almost exclusively by over thirty volunteers, headed-up by one permanent member of staff. Front of House Next time you are ushered to your seat in the Theatre it may be one of our volunteers who helps you. Volunteers are also trained to lead Backstage Tours. Backstage and Administration Helping the Marketing department with envelope stuffing has traditionally been the job of volunteers, but they also help with general office jobs such as photocopying, labelling and data inputting. Our volunteers can be seen all over the Theatre, putting in many hours each week counting money in Accounts, data inputting in the Production department and Craft Shop office, sorting and organising props and labelling costumes.
Even the theatre seat you sit in may have been repaired by volunteers many days in August were spent sewing up the worn away seat arms! If you are interested in volunteering at the Royal Exchange Theatre please contact Janet Aslan on 0161 615 6786 or janet.aslan@royalexchange.co.uk
Interview Backstage – Page 3
Jonathan Harvey’s seminal play BEAUTIFUL THING captures what it is to be sixteen and in the first flush of love. It’s about acceptance, difference, tolerance, family, bravery and the need to be who you are. BEAUTIFUL THING is a celebration of sexuality; a celebration of difference. Inspired by these ideas we’ve created a project which champions new writing and welcomes participation, collaboration and creativity. I CAN DREAM, CAN’T I? is an exciting project produced in partnership with the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), Lesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF), George House Trust (GHT) and supported by Manchester Pride.
Using BEAUTIFUL THING as inspiration Exchange Education will work with AKT and LGF to deliver writing workshops for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) young people aged 16-21, held at the LGF centre in Richmond Street. Among the issues explored will be whether being gay today is easier than it was when BEAUTIFUL THING was written in 1993? How much has really changed? These workshops aim to develop the skills and confidence of young
people with little or no experience of writing for theatre. Their writing will then be staged alongside newly commissioned work from professional writers, who are themselves LGBT, in a series of rehearsed readings by professional actors on the Theatre’s main stage on 1 & 2 December.
In conversation with…Sam Pritchard & Ben Turner I CAN DREAM CAN’T I? is coordinated by Ben Turner and performances will be directed by Sam Pritchard. ‘Backstage’ chats to them both to find out about this exciting project. Why is it important to be working in collaboration with organisations like AKT and LGF? Ben: We work with partnership organisations on lots of our community work as we recognise that they have specialist skills and knowledge that we don't necessarily have as an arts organisation. LGF are hosting some of the outreach sessions so the sessions take place in part of the city that has a strong LGBT identity and AKT are providing a counsellor to support the young people if they require additional help with any issues. What can we expect from the commissioned work? Sam: We have commissioned four really different voices for this project and having spoken to
them, I think we'll get a real range of responses to the question of whether gay and lesbian lives have moved on since BEAUTIFUL THING was written - funny as well as moving, searching and political as well as optimistic. Why present professional new writing alongside emerging talent? Sam: I think it’s important, particularly when we're asking writers to produce work alongside a show we're doing, that those voices represent as broad a range of our audience as possible. The work we do with people who are taking their first steps as writers is just as important as the writing that comes out of our relationships with more experienced writers and can be just as surprising and exciting. Is I CAN DREAM CAN’T I? exclusively aimed at the LGBT community? Sam: Absolutely not. Jonathan Harvey wrote BEAUTIFUL THING as a love story that happened to be about two boys and not as a play for a specific community. All the events and performances we're offering around the production are for as wide as possible an audience: those who have seen the play and those who haven't. Ben: I CAN DREAM CAN’T I? is part of the Theatre's commitment to new writing; nurturing emerging writers and supporting new work from established writers. If you're interested in new work this is something for you. For further information go to royalexchange.co.uk/beautifulthing
I CAN DREAM CAN’T I? will take place following performances of BEAUTIFUL THING on 1 & 2 December, and will each last approximately 40 minutes
Introducing Backstage – Page 4 experience for the audience and actors alike. How will Told by an Idiot’s larger than life performance style enhance this American comedy classic?
Introducing Paul Hunter and Told by an Idiot Paul Hunter co-founded Told by an Idiot with Hayley Carmichael and John Wright in 1993. The company started life at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with their first production, On the Verge of Exploding. Since those early days the company has established an internationally acclaimed reputation with a uniquely inventive physical style. The Royal Exchange is delighted to be working on a brand new collaboration with Told by an Idiot as Paul Hunter directs YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU by George S Kaufman and Moss Hart.
The physical anarchy comes to life through the Kaufmann / Marx brothers stuff. The play should have a life and energy in the space that feels like its teetering out of control. At the heart of Told by an Idiot’s work is the direct relationship with the audience. The audience shouldn’t just be observers, the whole production should feel immersive, everything happens through the audience, around them and within them. When you see actors doing something on stage they’re doing it to have an effect on the audience. The relationship with the audience that you get at the Royal Exchange is unlike anywhere else, which makes it ideally suited to what we want to do with the play.
What can we look forward to from YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU? It’s one of the great American comedies of the last century and the dialogue is amazing. The play is about following your dreams and your heart; it’s quite romantic. Something slightly more profound and serious is that it attacks the American Dream - It’s very relevant today, the idea that being driven by money is not the way for a happy and healthy life. But at its heart it’s a really brilliant comedy. George S Kaufmann used to write for the Marx brothers – so we’ll absolutely be trying to find a mad, crazy physical life and bring it out. It will very much be in the tradition of the Royal Exchange production of ANIMAL CRACKERS (1995 & 1998). It should be a very anarchic
ANIMAL CRACKERS By George S Kaufman & Morrie Ryskind Performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre 21 December 1995 - 3 February 1996 12 March - 4 April 1998 (Upper Campfield Market) Directed by Emil Wolk and Greg Hersov
Told by an Idiot’s work has cross-generational appeal. How do you go about achieving this? The cast themselves are a wonderful mix of all ages; some idiots I’ve worked with before and some new idiots!
The play should work for anyone from age seven upwards. The younger members of the audience might not get some of the philosophical stuff but will certainly enjoy the slapstick elements, they’ll revel in the madness and the ‘Marxness’ of it. Everyone should be able to see an equivalent of themselves somewhere in the play. There is no magic to how we achieve this. If we’re honest about what the play is about and present it with integrity, it will naturally appeal across the generations. Why are creative collaborations such as this important to the individual organisations? This collaboration is very special to me because I’ve been seeing stuff at the Exchange for a long time – and it’s one of the most exciting spaces in the country. The Royal Exchange tradition of putting on fantastic texts combined with Told by an Idiot’s way of doing things, very collaboratively and physically, makes for an exciting relationship. Told by an Idiot collaborate all the time – it’s part of what we’re about. There are practical reasons for it – without the Royal Exchange we couldn’t put on a production like this and do what we want to do with it. More importantly we love to collaborate with buildings and organisations where we learn about ourselves and challenge ourselves in terms of what we do. And hopefully we bring something to the table too. Related Education Events: 1 December – 19 January Exploring YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU. 15 December The Way of the Idiot: Told by an Idiot Creative Professional Development workshop For more information see royalexchange.co.uk Book via Box Office on 0161 833 9833
YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU 7 December 2011 – 14 January 2012 Book via Box Office on 0161 833 9833