By chance of the calendar I’ve seen 5 solo shows back to back and they all offered me different insights into the art of this truly difficult theatrical form, and the nature of life, loss, theatre and love of self,…
Author: Chris Grady
Ed date 170802 – welcome to Edinburgh 2017
It is the morning after my first day at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and I already feel inspired, welcomed, excited by theatre, blind-dated, connected to old friends, pleased by the work of new friends, and slightly blurry from a few drinks…
Hull is full of surprises – thank you for your welcome
There is art in every moment of our lives if we just remember to open up and welcome it in. This morning my colleague Jacqui and I hopped in another Hull taxi and, as I have each journey, I asked…
Students tackling big issues with power and skill
So I left you, dear reader, with my first impressions of Iconoclasts, Say It Loud, and Hull Tory Taxi Drivers. So here is instalment two when I look at agoraphobia, trans/cis gender, alcoholism, pelicans, self harm, mosaics, and anorexia –…
Powerful voices from the National Student Drama Festival
I’m not sure whether I will manage a daily dispatch from my time at the National Student Drama Festival, but let’s start with a first one. I arrived at 9.25pm last night from a day in Belfast, and the administrator…
Belfast Ensemble preparing for Conor Mitchell premier
What an extraordinary privilege. I am sitting in the rehearsal room when two leading actors meet their orchestra for the very first time to prepare for the world premiere of a piece which has a sense of Edith Sitwell/William Walton’s Façade.…
Inspired and Concerned
Last week I saw one piece of theatre and one reading of a new piece, plus doing an array of surgeries, coaching, and working with new producers and new directors. Tomorrow is our monthly gathering of the “Producers’ Pool” where…
We need theatre critics to uncover new work … please help
The arts in the UK, across the UK and into every pocket of community and fringe, owes a great debt of gratitude to Lyn Gardner and her employers at the Guardian for believing in the importance of widespread reporting of…
Hot meals in Calais – worth the trip of 2,000 miles ?
“Shall we go to Calais, I gather they make great curry?” According to the Mayor of Calais this is the starter question which will lead Eritreans, Kurds, Iraqi, Sudanese and others to leave their homeland and walk or smuggle themselves…
The essential A in STEAM – arts in education
My creative week has encompassed meetings with a playwright exploring 6 new projects which are each in commercial development, an inspiring concert with 4 cabaret bands and over 40 performers offering their celebration of contemporary music, a showcase of a…