theatreVOICE

The recent appointment of Andy Arnold as artistic director of the Tron Theatre in Glasgow comes at an important time for Scottish theatre. Like the Tron, the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh (where Dominic Hill was recently appointed as artistic director) appears to be re-energised by a change in leadership. Arnold’s first Tron production, the Scottish premiere of Canadian […]

Interviewing someone who has no theatre background is refreshing. The most interesting issue addressed by Gregory Burke was what happens after you have had a smash hit.
His first visit to a theatre was when the Traverse agreed to stage Gagarin Way. It subsequently became the only winner so far of a First of the Firsts […]

Theatre 503 programming director Gene David Kirk, who’s overseeing the delivery of the Urban Scrawl project, has been so inundated with scripts that it’s fallen to me to thank everyone who bothered to put pen to paper in response to the Time Out competition. Gene tells me that some 40 scripts have come in - […]

LAST CALL FOR SCRIPTS – This is just a reminder that Monday the 30th June is the last date for entries into the Urban Scrawl Competition, as announced in Time Out. The response to the competition and the project in general has been fantastic. We have 45 plays secured, 3 musical projects being scored as […]

This coming Monday, June 30th, is the deadline for submissions to the Theatrevoice/Theatre 503 Urban Scrawl competition. Just to recap, we’re looking to you out there to write a short (3-10mins) radio drama inspired by one of five stops on the Piccadilly Line: these are Arnos Grove, Hounslow East, Knightsbridge, Park Royal and Turnham Green. For the remaining […]

On Sunday, June 15, Glasgow’s splendid Òran Mór venue played host to the annual Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS). The event was programmed as part of the city’s West End Festival (WEF) and was, by popular acclaim, the best CATS gathering since the awards began in 2003. Tremendous though the previous events (hosted on Sunday afternoons in Stirling, Dundee […]

Eagle-eyed readers of Time Out (London) magazine will spot a red blob in this week’s fringe theatre listings, containing a teaser trail to a new writing competition online. Those with sufficient curiosity to look up the details on timeout.com - and click on the relevant page in the theatre section - will see that they’re being […]

I have finally become used to mobile phones going off at critical moments in plays.  For the most part, I am more amused at the reactions of others than irritated by the idiots who have still not found the off button on their mobile phone.
One day, somebody will explain to me why the masses are […]

I still vibrate with anger when I remember a fellow critic, who shall remain nameless, spotting me enjoying an ice cream at a press night and pausing beside my seat to wag his finger in my face and admonish me with a single, patronising word: “Fattening!”
So I’ve been intrigued by the responses to Neil LaBute’s […]

Various kind people have complained when I’ve done something on the radio and have not alerted them beforehand. So please feel free to ignore if not interested, but I’m on Radio 4 on Front Row tonight - Friday - discussing two musicals: Marguerite and, er, the Take That musical Never Forget. 7.15, Radio 4 - and, […]