Gabrielle Brooks and Paul Taylor-Mills join us on Theatre Chat Live tonight
Gabrielle Brooks in J’Ouvert and Paul Taylor-Mills
Tune into Theatre Chat Live tonight at 6:30pm on Official London Theatre’s Instagram channel where Jess will be joined by special guests Gabrielle Brooks and Paul Taylor-Mills.
Gabrielle will be starring in Yasmin Joseph’s J’OUVERT at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 16 June – 13 July as part of Sonia Friedman Production’s RE:EMERGE season. First seen at Theatre503, J’ouvert reveals Notting Hill Carnival through the eyes of two best friends navigating the joys and dangers of young Black womanhood in 21st Century Britain. Gabrielle is also the creator and producer of BlackStage UK, a documentary style web series that addresses the racial injustices experienced by Black workers in the UK’s creative and entertainment industries.
Jess will be talking to Gabrielle about all things J’Ouvert and Black Stage UK while Paul Taylor-Mills, Artistic Director of The Turbine Theatre will be sharing all about what’s up and coming at the venue and more!
Be sure to tune in then and if you’d like to see more, don’t forget to check out some of our previous episodes including those with special guests Lucie Jones (Les Misérables – The Staged Concert) and Rhiannon Porter (Abba Mania), Strictly stars Graziano di Parma and Nadiya Bychoka from Here Come The Boys and Francesca Forristal and Jordan Paul Clarke, the brilliant duo behind the new British musical, Public Domain.
We’ll see you tonight at 6pm!
The Old Vic and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) announce membership match funding
Today, The Old Vic are delighted to announce that Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) have renewed their support as The Old Vic’s Principal Partner and, in a further gesture of support, will be match funding pound for pound all new Memberships and renewals from now until 31 August 2021. As the theatre works to rebuild and reopen after more than a year of closure, it is hoped that this match funding initiative will incentivise those passionate about theatre’s ability to educate and inspire to play a vital part in our recovery through buying a Membership.
Starting at just £65 per year, the new-look relaunched Membership scheme – now named OV TOGETHER – offers a variety of ways for people to get closer to The Old Vic with priority booking, inspiring events, and crucially, directly supporting our work on and off stage. By joining the OV TOGETHER community, our incredible Members enable us to continue making a positive change to people’s lives through storytelling whilst helping to safeguard our future at this critical time. For more information on OV TOGETHER visit here.
RBC became The Old Vic’s Principal Partner at the beginning of Matthew Warchus’ Artistic Directorship in 2015 and since then have supported over 30 productions. Their ongoing support enables us to programme bold and broad seasons of entertaining and socially resonate productions.
In the face of the challenges of the last year, RBC generously evolved and even enhanced their support to enable The Old Vic’s artistic and social mission work, including our innovative IN CAMERA and PLAYBACK series; our free to access Your Old Vic programme of artistic and educational content; an inclusive festive community project, Curtain Up; the digital delivery of the theatre’s flagship free social mobility programme, Take the Lead; and became Principal Partner of The Old Vic’s Emerging Talent Programme, nurturing the theatre makers of tomorrow to support the next generation of talent.
RBC’s renewal and match funding comes at a seminal time for The Old Vic as we seek to emerge from the crisis and an extended period of closure to thrive once again. They recognise the integral role of the creative industries in building thriving communities and strong economies, and now more so than ever, as we begin our cultural, social and economic rebuild.
Dave Thomas, CEO, RBC Europe said: ‘We are thrilled to support The Old Vic as they move towards reopening their doors after such an incredibly challenging year for the theatre and the arts sector. As Principal Partner, Royal Bank of Canada is honoured to have supported The Old Vic’s mainstage productions, helped young people into employment through our sponsorship of the theatre’s innovative Take the Lead initiative and welcomed The Old Vic as our first RBC Emerging Artist Project partner outside Canada. Our partnership with the theatre means a great deal to all of us and we are delighted to support the membership match fund campaign – here’s to a successful reopening and we look forward to being back at The Old Vic soon.’
Kate Varah Executive Director of The Old Vic, said: ‘Over the last five years, and in particular over the last 18 months, RBC’s support has been seminal for the survival of The Old Vic. It is their belief in our work on and off stage that has enabled us to go further in everything we do, and to connect with more people than ever before. Whether it be our eclectic Seasons of shows or the enhanced support of education and employability programmes such as Take the Lead, none of it would be possible without RBC’s steadfast support. We are thrilled to continue to evolve our relationship with them as we embark on our journey to revive and reopen. This latest matched funding challenge is typical of their generous, collegiate approach and we hope will inspire new members to join in.’
Lambert Jackson announces Well Behaved Women
Lambert Jackson today announce Well-Behaved Women, a new song cycle by Carmel Dean celebrating women across history. Directed by Julie Atherton, with musical direction by Ellie Verkerk, the concert runs for one night only at Cadogan Hall on Friday 3 September.
The cast comprises Maisey Bawden (Lady Liberty), Anna-Jane Casey (Billie Jean King and Janet Armstrong), Janie Dee (Eleanor Roosevelt), Nicole Raquel Dennis (Eve), Hiba Elchikhe (Cleopatra and Malala Yousafzai), Kerry Ellis (Boudicca), Gabriela García (Frida Kahlo), Cassidy Janson (Virginia Woolf), Rachel John (Maya Angelou), Linda John-Pierre (Harriet Tubman) and Rachael Wooding (Mary Magdalene), accompanied by an all-female live band.
What would Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harriet Tubman, Frida Kahlo, and Malala Yousafzai sound like if you heard them sing? Find out in Well-Behaved Women, a new collection of songs by Carmel Dean. These women – and more – will be brought to life by some of the West End’s finest leading ladies, and through these powerful and often hilarious songs, will celebrate the ways in which their bad-ass behaviour helped them make history.
Well-Behaved Women is a wonderful ode to the fierce famous females from history, with their stories of courage, strength and resilience memorialised through a range of musical styles from rock and jazz to country.
Jamie Lambert and Eliza Jackson said today “We are thrilled to present the UK premiere of this exciting new song cycle celebrating some of the most wonderful women throughout history. To be able to celebrate and commemorate those who have fought the fight for equality in all forms before us, in such a fun and moving way, is an honour, and to have gathered this incredible group of women in one performance shows the passion and dedication that all involved possess for this incredibly important topic. Inspired by the emergence of the #MeToo movement, these stories of courage, strength and resilience are memorialised through music in the most special of ways.”
Maisey Bawden plays Lady Liberty. Her credits for the company include Dr Zhivago – The UK Concert (Cadogan Hall). Other theatre credits include An Officer and A Gentleman (UK tour), 35mm (The Other Palace), Honeymoon in Vegas (London Palladium), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Wilton’s Music Hall), The Tempest (Stafford Gatehouse Theatre), 27 (The Cockpit), The Tempest (Shakespeare’s Globe), King Charles III Royal Gala (Almeida Theatre) and Little Shop of Horrors (Theatr Clwyd). For television, her credits include You, Me and The Apocalypse, and The Sound of Music Live.