Offstage Theatre UK

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Offstage Theatre (UK) is "an enterprising young theatre company", based in Waltham Forest, London, run by Artistic Director and Producer .[1][2] The company's first piece was Home, written by Gbolahan Obisesan, Cressida Brown and Emily Randall in response to the demolition of the housing estate Beaumont Road. The site-responsive piece functioned as "a valuable document of a people and a place just moments before an irrevocable change".[3] "The project, which overwhelmed the creative team with its success" established Offstage as a Site-specific theatre company.[4][dead link]

In 2015, Offstage Theatre was announced as recipients of the . With KSF's support, they returned to Beaumont to create the sequel to Home, Re:Home. The production was performed at The Yard in 2016 and was nominated for Best Production and Best Ensemble at the Offies 2016.[5][6]

Offstage has also staged a site-specific production of Macbeth in Paris to mark the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birthday. The production was featured on French news channel France 24, where director Cressida Brown and actor were interviewed.[7]

Other productions include Walking The Tightrope, ten five-minute plays exploring censorship in the arts, longlisted for Amnesty Scotland's Freedom of Expression Award.[8] "Tricky, dangerous, stimulating, discomfiting – what serious theatre is for, in other words".,[9] it was first shown at Theatre Delicatessen with the following plays:

In August 2015, Walking the Tightrope transferred to the Underbelly for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with two new commissioned works from and Timberlake Wertenbaker; it was pick of the festival for both The Scotsman and The New York Times.[10][11][12]

The patrons of Offstage Theatre include Richard Rogers and Baron Rogers of Riverside.

Drawing Play at The Yard, June 2013

Productions[]

  • Re:Home The Yard (February 2016).[13]
  • Caught by Christopher Chen, Volta Festival, Arcola (September 2015).[14] Nominated for TBC Award at The Offies 2015 [15]
  • Accidental Brummie Birmingham Rep (September 2015) [16]
  • Walking the Tightrope by Various, Underbelly at Edinburgh Fringe Festival (August 2015)[17][18][19]
  • Walking the Tightrope by Various, Theatre Delicatessen (January 2015) [20][21][22]
  • Macbeth by William Shakespeare in Association with Shakespeare & Co, Bard-En-Seine Festival, Paris (2014).[23][24][25]
  • Drawing Play by Cressida Brown and the company, at The Yard, Hackney Wick (2013).[26]
  • For Theatre Uncut: The Price by Lena Kitsopoulou (Greece); The Birth of my Violence from Marco Canale (Spain); Pine by Clara Brennan (UK), New York Theatre Row (NY) (2012).[27]
  • Amphibians by Steve Waters, in an abandoned swimming pool (2011).[28][29] One of '2011 Ones to Watch' in The Guardian [30] and described by Susannah Clapp in The Observer as "For once a production has earned the description 'site-specific'" [31] Nominated for the OffWestEnd Awards (Offies) in six categories: Best New Play, Best Director, Best Set Designer, Best Sound Designer, Best Lighting Designer, Best Choreographer.
  • Scum in Trinity Buoy Wharf, site of London’s only lighthouse; part of CETT Fellowship (2009).
  • Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Novello Theatre (2009).
  • Phaedra by Jean Racine, in the ruins of Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh Festival (2007).[32] Nominated for the Three Weeks Editors Award [33][dead link]
  • Home by Cressida Brown, Ghobolan Obeisan and Emily Randall, in the vacated St Catherine's tower block on the Beaumont Road Estate in East London (2006).[1]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Fiona Mountford, 'A Tale of Two Storeys', The Evening Standard https://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/theatre/a-tale-of-twostoreys-7386648.html
  2. ^ Cressida Brown, United Agents, http://unitedagents.co.uk/cressida-brown Archived 2014-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Hazel, 'New London Play to be Pulled Down, The Londonist http://londonist.com/2006/01/new_london_play.php
  4. ^ Catherine Love, 'Cressida Brown:'My Big Break was Someone Else's Idea', The Stage https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/interviews/2016/cressida-brown-my-big-break-was-actually-someone-elses-idea/
  5. ^ WhatsOnStage, 24 August 2015 http://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/kevin-spacey-foundations-artists-of-choice-winners_38590.html
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2016-08-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ http://www.france24.com/en/encore/20140725-theatre-shakespeare-450-bard-seine-festival-macbeth-brown
  8. ^ https://www.amnesty.org.uk/edinburgh-festival-amnesty-international-freedom-expression-award-2015
  9. ^ https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-problem-with-stoppards-jokes-is-not-us-being-too-thick-but-him-being-too-clever-10032165.html
  10. ^ http://www.underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/whats-on/walking-the-tightrope-the-tension-between-art-and-politics
  11. ^ http://www.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-fringe-2015-the-scotsman-s-top-picks-1-3793363
  12. ^ http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/edinburgh-fringe-will-be-biggest-ever/?_r=1
  13. ^ "Maddy Costa, 16 February 2016, Exuent Magazine http://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/review-rehome-at-the-yard-theatre/
  14. ^ http://www.arcolatheatre.com/event/caught/
  15. ^ http://www.offwestend.com/index.php/news/view/234
  16. ^ http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/news/news/the-rep-announces-spring-and-summer-2015-season/
  17. ^ http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13526686.Fringe_venue_to_stage_a_series_of_plays_and_talks_on_the_theme_of_free_speech/
  18. ^ http://www.theskinny.co.uk/festivals/edinburgh-fringe/theatre/walking-the-tightrope-controversy-in-theatre
  19. ^ http://www.scotsman.com/news/silenced-fringe-venue-plans-censorship-show-1-3747024
  20. ^ https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/je-suis-un-playwright-new-plays-by-neil-labute-caryl-churchill-and-mark-ravenhill-explore-censorship-and-freedom-of-speech-9978705.html
  21. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jan/25/neil-labute-among-writers-tackling-freedom-of-expression-in-new-collection
  22. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mik-scarlet/walking-the-tightrope_b_6553936.html
  23. ^ 'Shakespeare’s 450th Birthday : The Best of the Bard' France 24 http://www.france24.com/en/encore/20140725-theatre-shakespeare-450-bard-seine-festival-macbeth-brown/
  24. ^ Claire Kelley, 'Shakespeare & Company stages outdoor Macbeth production in Paris', Melville House http://www.mhpbooks.com/shakespeare-company-stages-outdoor-macbeth-production-in-paris/
  25. ^ Tom Jenkins, 'The French Play: Bard-en-Seine' Port Magazine http://www.port-magazine.com/feature/the-french-play-bard-en-seine/
  26. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. ^ David Roberts, 'Theatre Uncut', Theatre Reviews Limited http://www.theatrereviews.com/reviews/offbdwy-TheatreUncut.htm Archived 2014-04-10 at the Wayback Machine
  28. ^ Caroline McGinn, 'Amphibians', Time Out http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/event/212420/amphibians
  29. ^ Dominic Cavendish, 'Amphibians', The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/8255459/Amphibians-Bridewell-Theatre-London-review.html
  30. ^ Mark Cook, Lyn Gardner, '2011 Ones to Watch', The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/jan/01/this-weeks-new-theatre
  31. ^ Susannah Clapp, 'Amphibians; A Doll's House; Julius Caesar – review', The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jan/16/amphibians-dolls-house-julius-caesar-review
  32. ^ 'Love among the ruins as phaedre conquers castle', The Scotsman http://www.scotsman.com/news/love-among-the-ruins-as-phaedre-conquers-castle-1-1327835
  33. ^ 'Phaedre', Three Weekshttp://content.yudu.com/Library/A169xa/ThreeWeeksinEdinburg/resources/8.htm

External links[]

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