We have been working with BECTU to change our Front of House operation from a system based almost entirely on casual work to one based on a mixture of permanent and seasonal contracts supported by some casual work. This change has created four new full time roles at the theatre.

Whilst this is undoubtedly good news for stability, guarantee of earnings and job security, it does have implications for some of the current staff.  Their concerns are being addressed and we have agreed a proposal for affected staff with BECTU.

As regards activities on social media, we cannot comment on grievances posted online by anonymous individuals. However, now as at any other time, if anyone has a complaint they wish us to address, we would like to hear from them.

David Lan and Lucy Woollatt

Give A Body Back

Last night’s performance of Trash Cuisine was followed by a Q&A by three incredibly brave women who came from Belarus at great personal risk to talk to us.

Irina Bogdanova, the founder Free Belarus Now and the sister of opposition leader Andrei Sannikov, who was imprisoned for 16 months and tortured for peacefully protesting against the regime. Liubou Kavaliova, the mother of Vladislav Kovalyov who was executed in March 2012 for a crime he did not commit. In spite of her tireless campaigning, his body has never been returned to her. Nastassia Dashkevich, the fiancée of activist Dzmitry Dashkevich leader of the youth opposition movement who is currently serving a two-year prison sentence in a maximum security jail for alleged hooliganism.

Their visit timed with the staging of three peaceful protests in London to raise awareness of the human rights violations in Belarus, shedding light on the hundreds of people who have “disappeared” or been executed. Bodies of those executed are not returned to families.  Cases of political kidnapping and murder are not investigated, and today there are 14 political prisoners in Belarusian jails, and dozens who are not rehabilitated. If you’d like to know more about the campaign visit: www.freebelarusnow.org/bodies/

Here are photos of the protest in Parliament Square by the brilliant Simon Annand:

Trash Cuisine is on at the Young Vic until 15 June. Limited tickets available via our website.

Rave reviews for The Scottsboro Boys in LA + EXCLUSIVE photos from the premiere

“A sophisticated knockout, a musical for those who like their razzle-dazzle with a radical, unsentimental edge… a dazzling, envelope-pushing show”

The LA Times – read the full review here

“A pitch-perfect production…. an impeccable cast”

The Hollywood Reporter – read the full review here

Check out more photos from the Hollywood premiere on Facebook.

The Scottsboro Boys comes to the Young Vic this October – book tickets now at youngvic.org or call 02079222922.

 

 

New Young Vic short film launched today – Bed Trick, inspired by The Changeling

Sinead Matthews in Bed Trick, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins

Joe Hill-Gibbins, director of our sold-out hit productions of The Changeling, has written and directed a new short film inspired by the play.  Watch it now and read more from Joe in The Guardian about his experience.

Check out our other short films, coproduced with The Guardian, here.

Plus see behind the scenes photos on Facebook!

Bed Trick is sponsored by Bloomberg.
Bloomberg supports digital innovation at the Young Vic.

Share your story with #Culture365

At the Young Vic, we think theatre can transform our everyday world into something sublime.  It makes us think, laugh, cry, and fall in love.  Essentially, we think theatre can change your life. But we want to hear what you think.  How has theatre made an impact on your world?  We’re looking for 365 stories of how theatre has made a difference in people’s lives – so share your story in the comments section below, send it to us (with a photo if you like) to culture365@youngvic.org or tweet using the hashtag #Culture365.  We’ll gather together your stories to tell the big story of how culture changes people’s lives across the UK every single day.

The Scottsboro Boys – casting announced!

Exciting news! Original Broadway cast members and Tony Award nominees Forrest McClendon and Colman Domingo (who was also in the hit movie Lincoln) will be joining the Young Vic cast of The Scottsboro Boys alongside Game of Thrones star Julian Glover and Dawn Hope.

 Colman Domingo (above left) and Forrest McClendon (above right), stars of the original Broadway production, join the UK premiere of The Scottsboro Boys, directed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman. Colman played Private Harold Green in Steven Spielberg’s multi-award winning epic Lincoln, and reprises his Tony Award nominated role of Mr Bones, alongside fellow Tony nominee Forrest McClendon who plays Mr Tambo.

They join Olivier Award-winning actor Julian Glover as The Interlocutor. Julian’s extensive work on stage includes the lead in The Voysey Inheritance at the National Theatre and in King Lear (Shakespeare’s Globe); Richard II (Old Vic); Galileo’s Daughter (Bath/Peter Hall Company); Phedre and Britannicus (Almeida); The Dresser and Oliver! in the West End. Julian’s myriad screen credits include some of the most iconic films of the 1980s including Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and the James Bond classic For Your Eyes Only. More recently TV audiences will have seen him playing Grand Maester Pycelle in HBO’s international hit Game of Thrones.

Dawn Hope’s work in the theatre includes Porgy and Bess and Piaf in the West End, as well as Rupert Gould’s Rough Crossing (Headlong/Lyric Hammersmith and UK tour) and the role of Billie Holiday in Lady Day (New Players/UK tour) . On television she is well-known to Coronation Street viewers for playing the character Alison Soames.

The cast also includes:  Adebayo Bolaji (Clarence Norris) who was in the original cast of Ghost in the West End, Buddy on tour and Little Shop of Horrors (Birmingham Rep). Rohan Pinnock-Hamilton (Olen Montgomery) performed in the world tour of Riverdance; Hairspray in the West End; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Mary Poppins on UK tour. Carl Spencer (Andy Wright) has most recently been performing with Rizzle Kicks on their UK tour. We’re also excited to welcome Christian Dante-White (Charles Weems) and Clinton Roane (Roy Wright) , who were also in the original cast of The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway. 

Further casting will be announced in the coming months.

The Scottsboro Boys opens on 18 October for 5 weeks only – get your tickets today!

Special Educational Needs Festival 2013

The SEN (Special Educational Needs) Festival is a project we run every year when we work closely with several SEN schools to produce one very exciting and collaborative performance. 

A glimpse of the space for SEN festival last year

This year’s SEN festival is titled: The Strongest Person in the World is the One Who Stands Alone and is a response to our production of Public Enemy, the tale of one man’s brave struggle in order to do the right thing and speak the truth against corruption.

Three local SEN schools have been working with three exciting theatre companies to create individual responses to Public Enemy. The students will come together to share a story that travels through time, underwater and around their own imaginations. Guided by the practitioners, this is their exploration of what it means to be part of a group or to stand alone.

Presented by the Young Vic in association with Look Left Look Right, Milk Presents and Tangled Feet.

Find out more about all our work in Taking Part here.

My life as a director – Roy Weise

My life as a director began at the age of 15 when I took charge of my group’s GCSE practical exam. We had all chosen drama for fun (myself included) and our exam piece was in an embarrassing state as we spent our rehearsal time clowning about (not in a good way) and enjoying the freedom to do whatever the hell we wanted.
It was 2 days before the exam and our teacher held us back after class (as usual – to be shouted at, given a detention or some other punishment – nothing new). But after this particular talk I was vexed. She had basically informed us that we were all going to fail and that we weren’t going to get anywhere in life with our “attitudes” and “behaviour”. I was furious. And sadly, I can’t say this was the first time I’d heard such prophesies from my teacher.

That very night I went straight home, came up with a proper narrative, scripted it, compiled a soundtrack, choreographed the blocking, borrowed costume from wardrobes around my house and drew pictures of all the lighting states and specials. I was ready to prove her and all the others wrong. And we did. We all achieved grades B and above (thank God for external examiners). But in all honesty I didn’t care about getting a B grade or about school in general because I had plans to pursue a career as a singer-stroke-rapper-stroke-celebrity chef (Don’t ask!).

4 years later (and much to my surprise) I am starting the BA Hons Directing course at Rose Bruford College. A further 3 years on and I am graduating and starting a work placement at the Young Vic which Annie Castledine had helped me to organise. Another 2 years and 4 projects on I’m the Boris Karloff Trainee Assistant Director on Public Enemy.

This is the largest production that I have been a part of and one of the biggest learning opportunities I’ve ever had in my professional life. The revelations are happening every day; with pennies dropping by the hour. My confidence is building and the need to trial the latest model of ‘Roy The Director’ is becoming more and more intense. I’m greatly anticipating the lessons of the tech next week and witnessing the growth of the production in previews. I’ve also been invited to assist on workshops with Laura Farnworth as part of her Jerwood award, giving further insight into other ways that the Young Vic engage with the wider community through theatre. It’s increasingly difficult in this time to get into the rehearsal room of great directors without a certain level of experience or a strong recommendation. Not everybody can take the risks that were being taken before when hiring assistants but Young Vic has given me a great credit which gives my CV a boost but more importantly the opportunity to learn from a great master.

This process has really helped me to recognise my growth as a director and as a person. I hope that in a few years I can blog about directing a production of this scale on the Young Vic’s main stage. Perhaps my old drama teacher will come along and be pleasantly surprised.

Roy Weise is Boris Karloff Trainee Assistant Director on Public Enemy, now playing at the Young Vic.  Learn more and book tickets at youngvic.org.

11 Questions with the cast of Public Enemy – Niall Ashdown

Niall Ashdown

Have you worked on Ibsen before?
No.

What is your favourite play (seen, read or worked on)?
Accidental Death of an Anarchist.

What is your favourite midnight snack?
Low quality chocolate – probably stuff I was saving for my children.

What is your favourite word?
Flail – it’s just an L-plate away from ‘fail’.

What are you most passionate about?
Football, birdwatching, family. If only I could combine all three.

If days were 28 hours long, what would you do with the 4 extra hours?
Sleep.

If you could be in a room full of any one thing, what would it be?
Music

Favourite holiday you’ve ever been on?
Argentina/Chile

Dogs or cats?
Neither. I keep walking the contents of one through my house, and chasing the other away from the birds in my garden.

If you could have any one supernatural power, which would you choose and why?
Flying.

Niall Ashdown plays Aslaksen in Ibsen’s Public Enemy, which starts at the Young Vic from 4 May. 

He returns to the Young Vic, following his performance in Annie Get Your Gun.
Other theatre includes: Comedy Store Players (Comedy Store); Impropera (Kings Place); Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Bolton Octagon); Lifegame (improbable); Hungarian Bird Festival (UK tour).
Television includes: Whose Line Is It Anyway, Outnumbered, Parents, Angel Cake.
Radio includes: The Long Count, Occupied, Losers, Hungarian Birdsong, Tunnel Vision, The Treatment.

11 Questions with the cast of Public Enemy – David Sibley

What is your favourite play (seen, read, or worked on)?
Uncle Vanya

What is your favourite midnight snack?
I’m asleep long before then.

What is your favourite word?
Sunshine

What are you most passionate about?
My grandchildren.

If days were 28 hours long, what would you do for the extra 4 hours?
Hope for sunshine and sit in it, playing music and reading.

If you could be in a room full of any one thing, what would it be?
Good red wine.

Favourite city – why?
New York. It’s like being in a Batman film and a Woody Allen film at the same time.

What is your favourite song?
A Soft Place to Fall, Allison Moorer.

If you could have been born in any era, which would it be and why?
I feel fine about the era I was born into!

If you could have any supernatural power, which would you choose?
The power to put this government into the shoes of the people it’s hurting. (I think that answers the ‘why’ as well.)

David Sibley plays Morten Kiil in Ibsen’s Public Enemy, which begins 4 May at the Young Vic.

Previous Young Vic credits: Sweet Nothings, Uncle Vanya, Cruel and Tender.

Theatre includes: Dallas Sweetman (Paines Plough/Canterbury cathedral); Space Project (RSC/Davidson US); Naked (Almeida); Dirty Wonderland (Frantic Assembly); Edward Bond’s Lear (Sheffield Crucible).

Film includes: Mr Nice, Closed.

Television includes: Broadchurch, Utopia, Mrs Biggs, New Tricks, Wallander.

 

Book tickets for Public Enemy