tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74669728134236169192024-03-13T16:33:50.359-07:00Belt Up TheatreBeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-39637675556380876942013-05-08T04:41:00.000-07:002013-05-13T00:43:55.940-07:00Edinburgh Fringe 2013<br />
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As we announced earlier in the year, we’re
not making any new shows for the time being and we’re not touring any of our
existing ones. We’re ‘on a break’ - for want of a better term - working out what
the future is going to be for the company. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As such, we’re not going to be in Edinburgh for the festival
this summer. Well, not all doing the same thing at least. Jethro and Jamie are working on The Bunker Trilogy, Alex and Dom are making work with The Flanagan Collective.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s what we’re up to in our different guises. We’ll be
blogging and posting via Facebook and Twitter about these projects and about
other projects we think you might like to hear of.<br />
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<b>Jethro Compton presents<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>THE BUNKER TRILOGY: MORGANA, AGAMEMNON & MACBETH</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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An entirely immersive experience. Three classic legends reimagined in the heart of World War One.<br />
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<b>MORGANA</b>, the Arthurian Legend. In the trenches, three young
soldiers in search of distraction and delight find more than they bargained for
in the beautiful and mysterious Morgana Le Fay.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>AGAMEMNON</b>, the Ancient Greek Legend. The trenches, 1918.
Journey into the delusions of a soldier, devastated by war, convinced of a plot
to bring him down.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MACBETH</b>, the Shakespearean Legend, thrusts you deep into
the heart of the First World War as the King, tormented by witches,
hallucinations and apparitions, prepares for battle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Belt Up Theatre's Producer and co-Artistic Director, Jethro Compton, is going to be directing and designing the
three shows and working with Jonny Sims who will be composing the original
scores for each of them. Jonny composed the score for <i>A Little Princess</i> both on stage and for radio. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Fellow Artistic Director, Jamie Wilkes, is writing the scripts for <i>Morgana</i> and <i>Agamemnon</i>.
Jamie is the acclaimed author of a number of Edinburgh hits including Belt Up
Theatre’s <i>Women of Troy</i> in 2008, <i>Metamorphosis</i>
and <i>Atrium</i> in 2010 and the runaway
success, <i>The Tartuffe</i>, which had two
incredible sold out years at the Fringe in 2008 and 2009.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All three shows are going to be performed every day in
Edinburgh for the entire run of the Fringe (31st July - 26th August 2013) at C
nova on Victoria Street. The Bunker will also be hosting a number of bespoke and one-off events from friends of the company. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Visit the website for more information: <a href="http://www.thebunkertrilogy.com/">www.TheBunkerTrilogy.com</a> and follow @JethroCompton for updates. #TheBunkerTrilogy #EnterTheTrenches</div>
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<span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span><a href="http://www.thebunkertrilogy.com/"></a></div>
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<b>Alexander
Wright</b> presents two shows, and some romping stomping knees-ups, with the
rolling strolling rag tag bunch,<b> The Flanagan Collective.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Beulah </b>took
the fringe by storm in 2012. Total Theatre Award nominated - and with 5*
reviews from The Scotsman, ThreeWeeks, AYoungerTheatre, Public Reviews and
Broadway Baby - Lyn Gardner called this two hander folk musical 'Charm itself.'
Directed by Tom Bellerby and with soaring music from Jim Harbourne (Tortoise In
A Nutshell) and Ed Wren (The River People), <b>Beulah </b>returns to the Fringe for a exclusive run between the 14th -
26th August, 13:40 @ C Main. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Beulah </b>is
written by Alexander Wright who's play The Boy James has toured with Belt Up
Theatre since 2010, with sell out and critically acclaimed runs in Edinburgh,
London, Adelaide and Kansas City.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Belt Up
Theatre's Dominic Allen is making a new solo show with The Flanagan Collective
too. <b>The Bridge That Tom Built </b>looks
at the remarkable life of Tom Paine - the man responsible for the American
Revolution and the French Revolution, before he built a bridge in a field in
Paddington and died penniless and alone. Directed by Belt Up's associate artist
Joe Hufton, Joe & Dom team up after the brilliant success of <b>Outland</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As a
writer Dom has penned some memorable original shows for Belt Up, including <b>Outland </b>and <b>Lorca is Dead: or a brief history of surrealism</b>. As a performer Dom
has graced the Belt Up 'stages' with his Orgon in Tartuffe, Macbeth in Macbeth
and probably hundreds of roles in The Drawing Room Trilogy (Outland, The Boy
James, A Little Princess). <b>The Bridge
That Tom Built </b>plays 14th - 26th August, 19:10 @ C Nova.</div>
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The
Flanagan Collective will also be curating some one off parties here and there -
expect to be dancing on the tables, glasses raised in hand and arms round the
shoulder's of strangers. To keep up, set your eyes on @FlanCol / #LittleFest.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For more
information head to <a href="http://www.theflanagancollective.co.uk/">www.theflanagancollective.co.uk</a><span lang="en-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: #0400;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-65710885722798114792013-01-18T06:02:00.000-08:002013-01-18T06:59:25.992-08:00The Future of Belt Up Theatre<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Belt Up Theatre has always been about three things, the
shows, the audience and the people. We
have loved creating the shows; we’ve loved performing to the audience and loved
working with the people we’ve had the chance to work with. The audiences have
been incredibly loyal and supportive – without this support we would not have
been able to do what we’ve done. For that, we can only say thank you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Running a theatre company comes with many challenges.
Financial ones. Artistic ones. Personal ones. It’s been an absolute delight and
occasionally an absolute nightmare. It has given us the chance to create the
shows we want to make, to meet wonderful people and, more recently, to see some
incredible parts of the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In late 2012 we met to discuss the future of the company,
something that has been uncertain for some time. We’ve never planned ahead –
we’ve always focused on the work we are making and the work we want to do next.
What we’ve decided is that there is still a lot more that we want to do but we
aren’t certain when we’ll do these things. Essentially we have decided that
there will be a future for Belt Up but it will be exactly that, a future. For
the time being we’re going to be very quiet. There are no on-going shows and no
shows in the pipeline. You won’t see Belt Up in Edinburgh, York, London or
anywhere around the world in the near future. But we will return when the time
is right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So many people have worked with us through the highs and
lows of the last five years. We won’t try and list them here but they know who
they are and we hope they know how grateful we are for their help in making
Belt Up what it has become. Thank you all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We’re obviously still going to be around as individuals,
making our shows and developing our own projects. We’ll keep you up to date on
Twitter and Facebook of what we’re all up to. Here’s how to follow us as
individuals:</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dominic Allen<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twitter: @domjallen</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Email: dominic@beltuptheatre.com</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jethro Compton<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twitter: @JethroCompton
<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Email:
jethro@jethrocomptonltd.co.uk<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jamie Wilkes</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twitter: @JamesWilkes</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Email: james@beltuptheatre.com</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Alex Wright</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Twitter: @AlexanderGerald</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Email: alexander@theflanagancollective.co.uk</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Also, here’s <b>Joe Hufton (@JoeHufton)</b> our Associate Artist
and <b>Serena Manteghi (@SerenaManteghi)</b> who’s our longest serving ensemble
member. Do look out for them as they’ll have plenty of great projects over the
next few months that will be well worth watching.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are, as ever and always, so very grateful for the times
we have had and the work we have made. Our genuine thanks to all who have made
the last five years quite so special. We looking forward to keeping in touch and
seeing where the future leads.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Much Love,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dom, Jethro, Jamie & Alex</span></div>
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BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-89062975308112942992012-09-21T06:55:00.001-07:002012-09-21T06:56:52.210-07:00A Little Princess Comes to London<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The third and final part of The Drawing Room trilogy, A Little Princess, is coming to London for three performances only.</span><br />
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A Little Princess brings Frances Hodgson Burnett’s
classic novel to life. Join Sara Crewe as she is torn from her life in India in
a journey from princess to pauper. Left without her father in a foreign land;
comfort her, listen to her tales and relish in the magic and the tragic beauty
of her story. </span></span></b><span style="color: #141414; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>A stunning adaptation of a
well-loved novel.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141414; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.5px;"><a href="http://beltuptheatre.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/a-little-princess-is-our-new-show-this.html">Click here to read the reviews from Edinburgh.</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #141414; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdL2MxIB220&feature=share&list=UUmyt9gyjHfEh2ojHUdjuKKA">Click here to view the trailer.</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.jethrocomptonltd.co.uk/alp" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Click here to view the website.</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/search/searchVenueDetails.asp?venue_id=30445" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Click here to book tickets.</a>
BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-82580348817380722532012-09-06T10:11:00.000-07:002012-09-06T10:12:21.795-07:00Hunchback of Notre Dame - in Selby Abbey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0KTxG5BF9sVLb3k4oP3598kYHg3wZhNOpuqFsmej39qyQSWbQfwonOVwVSIixr66_W9ip9Z2WtIXHl03iQG3HmR_WQ5KXXcZ1Ut6ks5MpfTSz0KEx7YduN6BwvSgKO0uFASi4jqZLF4P/s1600/title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0KTxG5BF9sVLb3k4oP3598kYHg3wZhNOpuqFsmej39qyQSWbQfwonOVwVSIixr66_W9ip9Z2WtIXHl03iQG3HmR_WQ5KXXcZ1Ut6ks5MpfTSz0KEx7YduN6BwvSgKO0uFASi4jqZLF4P/s320/title.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are absolutely thrilled to announce that tickets have gone on sale for <b>Belt Up Theatre's Hunchback of Notre Dame</b> in Selby Abbey in North Yorkshire.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jethro Compton Ltd will produce the site-specific
production of Victor Hugo’s classic novel <i>Notre
Dame de Paris</i> in Selby Abbey in 2012 involving a professional team and a
number of community performers (choir, bell ringers, organists) that will be
supported by local businesses and enterprises. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Belt Up Theatre’s Hunchback of Notre Dame</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> is a vivid recreation of Victor Hugo’s timeless tale of longing,
passion and unrequited love. The production is inspired by a previous version
performed by Belt Up Theatre, company in residence at York Theatre Royal, who
have been hailed by York Press as 'the future of theatre’ and The Observer as
‘bright young things changing the face of British Theatre’. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Arts Council England has
awarded funding to the project, which will run for a week at the end of 2012.
The company will run workshops for local schools and public workshops in the
lead up to the performance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘I’m absolutely delighted that we are able to go ahead with the
production. We’ve been working with the Abbey, Creative Selby and Selby Chamber
of Commerce for the best part of a year now and it’s just fantastic that all
that hard work has paid off. The Abbey is such an incredible, historic landmark;
we’re all thrilled that we’ll be able to make the show there.’ Jethro Compton –
Producer and Writer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The former show, titled as
‘Quasimodo’ has had critically acclaimed sell out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe
Festival in August 2010, The Lowry in Salford Quays earlier in 2011 and
Southwark Playhouse, London in 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘a clever, claustrophobic, psychological
horror’ **** Time Out London Critic’s Choice <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘an intense adaptation of Victor
Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris’ **** The Scotsman<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘dark and compelling… fantastic’
**** Manchester Evening News</span><span style="font-family: GeosansLight;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The cast includes Dominic Allen as Archdeacon Frollo, Serena Manteghi as La Esmeralda and Sam Donnelly as the hunchback, Quasimodo. The production will be directed by David Calvitto who directed Belt Up's Macbeth in the House of Detention earlier this year.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.5px;">The production runs 13 - 17 November 2012.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For tickets and more information, visit <a href="http://www.hunchbackofnotredame.co.uk/">www.hunchbackofnotredame.co.uk</a></span></span></div>
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BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-67084712847251912242012-08-21T08:54:00.002-07:002012-08-21T11:48:12.069-07:00A Little Princess: the reviews so far<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A Little Princess is our new show this year at the Edinburgh Fringe. Here are the reviews so far...</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgei91ejxJamdJo9rwj3ZIafS3nHFlHdMmroZkVXsWKN0AGrRpiDCFPZbVtlUf-C8eHZ3_JRJaqW4ce8djAzTseyVK9hK6qbZE9E21px6DWQi0tDTU3fbHiJgveZfuIzAvDJ3KFuos_Wpjt/s1600/Serena-Manteghi-and-Jethr-003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgei91ejxJamdJo9rwj3ZIafS3nHFlHdMmroZkVXsWKN0AGrRpiDCFPZbVtlUf-C8eHZ3_JRJaqW4ce8djAzTseyVK9hK6qbZE9E21px6DWQi0tDTU3fbHiJgveZfuIzAvDJ3KFuos_Wpjt/s320/Serena-Manteghi-and-Jethr-003.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BROADWAY BABY *****<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘<span style="line-height: 115%;">a triumph of
literary subtlety and genius</span>’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘Serena Manteghi's
disarmingly stunning portrayal of Sara Crewe astounded from start
to finish</span>’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘Outstanding in
every possible instance</span>’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybaby.com/listing.php?id=15118">http://www.broadwaybaby.com/listing.php?id=15118</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">THE SCOTSMAN ****<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘There’s a specific and very warm kind of magic in Belt Up’s shows’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/scotland/theatre-review-belt-up-theatre-s-a-little-princess-c-nova-1-2461297">http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/scotland/theatre-review-belt-up-theatre-s-a-little-princess-c-nova-1-2461297</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS ****<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘<span style="line-height: 115%;">a beautifully told story</span>…
a truly enchanting hour’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/edinburgh/review-a-little-princess-c-nova-victoria-street-1-2466718">http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/edinburgh/review-a-little-princess-c-nova-victoria-street-1-2466718</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">THE SKINNY ****<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘Beautiful… <span style="line-height: 115%;">this
is storytelling at its best</span>’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.theskinny.co.uk/comedy/fringe_2012/302899-belt_up_theatre_little_princess_c_nova">http://www.theskinny.co.uk/comedy/fringe_2012/302899-belt_up_theatre_little_princess_c_nova</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FRINGE REVIEW **** <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘Serena Manteghi is brilliantly
charismatic and gorgeous</span>’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/4971.html">http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/4971.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FRINGE GURU ****<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘Manteghi is a true revelation’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘<span style="line-height: 115%;">There’s a noble
beauty to Compton’s soaring script</span>’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.fringeguru.com/reviews/edinburgh-2012/belt-up-theatres-a-little-princess.html">http://www.fringeguru.com/reviews/edinburgh-2012/belt-up-theatres-a-little-princess.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">THREE WEEKS ****<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘Manteghi is charming from the outset’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2012-theatre-review-belt-up-theatres-a-little-princess-belt-up-theatre-and-jethro-compton-ltd/">http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2012-theatre-review-belt-up-theatres-a-little-princess-belt-up-theatre-and-jethro-compton-ltd/</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">THE TELEGRAPH ***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘Manteghi is excellent’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/edinburgh-festival-reviews/9467728/Edinburgh-Festival-2012-Belt-Up-Theatres-A-Little-Princess-C-nova-review.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/edinburgh-festival-reviews/9467728/Edinburgh-Festival-2012-Belt-Up-Theatres-A-Little-Princess-C-nova-review.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FEST ***<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘<span style="line-height: 115%;">a sweet fable for the
power of story-telling</span>’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.festmag.co.uk/theatre/100872-belt_up_theatres_little_princess">http://www.festmag.co.uk/theatre/100872-belt_up_theatres_little_princess</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">THE LIST **<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">the
toast of the Fringe</span>’<span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘Miss
Minchin (a role tackled with aplomb and humour by a bearded Dominic West in a
dress)</span>’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">n.b.
Dominic West was unable to perform the entire run due to prior Hollywood
commitments. Dominic Allen has stepped in as Miss Minchin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/44245-belt-up-theatres-a-little-princess/">http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/44245-belt-up-theatres-a-little-princess/</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">THE STAGE<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘a
celebration of the power of the imagination, of storytelling and of Burnett
herself</span>’<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://ed.thestage.co.uk/reviews/1528?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheStageEdinburghReviews+%28The+Stage+%2F+Edinburgh+%2F+Reviews%29">http://ed.thestage.co.uk/reviews/1528?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheStageEdinburghReviews+%28The+Stage+%2F+Edinburgh+%2F+Reviews%29</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">PRIMARY TIMES<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘I already want to see it again’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.primarytimes.net/edinburgh/the-little-princess">http://www.primarytimes.net/edinburgh/the-little-princess</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-20021675467316102012-08-04T07:40:00.003-07:002012-08-04T07:43:35.705-07:00The Drawing Room: EdFringe2012<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are thrilled to announce our new space, The Drawing Room, which plays host to our Edinburgh Fringe Season this year.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY5PJlDHT8zCTtw3o46lFldmPLYiYbSlR_VYy_h_HDlh1SQ-pLzmpsJAOV5CqpAjV6oLO6YcoDOcb-7KNKwair5oVt2B6gDdRnNRCcBVWwCydAatKKlu6C81-jw6p6ipSq4uhdACVDYz6/s1600/thedrawingroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY5PJlDHT8zCTtw3o46lFldmPLYiYbSlR_VYy_h_HDlh1SQ-pLzmpsJAOV5CqpAjV6oLO6YcoDOcb-7KNKwair5oVt2B6gDdRnNRCcBVWwCydAatKKlu6C81-jw6p6ipSq4uhdACVDYz6/s320/thedrawingroom.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The room within a room mixes ambitious design </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">with Belt Up's unique style to create a custom-made environment perfectly suited to hold our three shows, <i>The Boy James</i>, <i>Outland </i>and the world </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">premier</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> of <i>A Little Princess</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWL5-Plhg9Garyc9I8QMthxzT4tfmcHo_GwxrIhntAR9rOtc2FphHDZwqVWrpoAE6JFRG8ZHgKp0VrkhCFNxOMEN5kBUIZvIJbui_UxYd9EJWHXCbnmfiU7RlZbje_MYa81g3su-EMLE17/s320/alp.001.JPG" width="320" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The season runs from 2 - 27 August. Full details </span><a href="http://www.jethrocomptonltd.co.uk/fring2012" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">here</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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Have a listen to the music composed for the show by the incredible Jonny Sims:<br />
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<div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/908486-the-main-theme-with-indian-bits-from-a-little-princess/embed">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/908486-the-main-theme-with-indian-bits-from-a-little-princess">Listen to ‘The Main Theme (with Indian bits) from A Little Princess’</a> </span><br />
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<script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-5048060389669701162012-07-27T11:57:00.001-07:002012-07-31T02:25:01.721-07:00Learning a Thing or Two: by James Wilkes<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VfiTJbwaCVCY1DfYA93NOOToQglAcmets6KP759n8BCyYOf6ATwQt-T53dMkRwhTEh6GT1CwaEUCZJfVxssvG3TrSQAi0oCdDLIhK5FgNk5PST06e7YhVNxahVb8pw4L9AeYX4v_EYov/s1600/DSC05908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VfiTJbwaCVCY1DfYA93NOOToQglAcmets6KP759n8BCyYOf6ATwQt-T53dMkRwhTEh6GT1CwaEUCZJfVxssvG3TrSQAi0oCdDLIhK5FgNk5PST06e7YhVNxahVb8pw4L9AeYX4v_EYov/s320/DSC05908.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s July 2012: the year of
the Olympics, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the year the world comes to an end
but most importantly of course it is Belt Up’s fifth Edinburgh Fringe. It only
feels like yesterday that about fifty students from York University were
deliriously trying to rehearse twenty five different productions for The
Red Room. It feels like yesterday but it, like many things in the past, seems
like a different age. Belt Up is a different company, we’re all different
people but at the same time... the same.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I won’t be performing with
Belt Up this summer; I haven’t been with Belt Up at the Fringe since 2010’s The
House Above (feels like yesterday/a different age). It’s fascinating though to
watch the company more objectively. Last year on a day off from York Theatre
Royal’s ‘Peter Pan’ I snuck up to the Fringe and was able to watch Outland,
simply as an audience member. I’d seen a stumble through during rehearsals but
it felt rather nice to be able to come in relatively ignorant and just enjoy a
Belt Up show as a Belt Up audience member. What struck me was how far we’ve
come since our emerging days in 2008. The writing, acting, directing were all
so much more sophisticated. In those many years we’ve been rattling around,
we’ve actually learnt a thing or two.<span lang="EN-AU"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’ve now hidden away from
the harsh realities of the real world and gone back to being a student – taking
a sabbatical from Belt Up to train at LAMDA- so learning and developing is very
much on my mind at the moment. One thing that I’m truly starting to
appreciate is how much I’ve learnt from writing, directing and acting with Belt
Up.<span lang="EN-AU"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a company we developed
greatly as individuals. We have learnt bucket loads from each other and our
mentors but more often than not, our most important lessons have come from our
interactions with the audience.<span lang="EN-AU"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lyn Gardner once described
us as “learning on the job, 21<sup>st</sup>c equivalent of the rep system” and
I think this is entirely accurate. Through doing so many shows we have been
able to experiment directly with our audiences. Because they’re not hidden away
in the shadows, our audience’s reactions aren’t hidden away – that means if
you’re giving a bad performance, you’re very quickly aware of it; you can see
every smile, laugh, tear, yawn or grimace. You can see at exactly which point a
critic writes in their pad. You can see all too clearly when someone gets up
and walks out (most of the time they have to say ‘excuse me’ to pass you). This
open relationship has meant throughout our many shows and many runs we get
instant feedback and that kind of experience is invaluable. Every single
performance can teach us something new.<span lang="EN-AU"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTi3Ox2H5OX24SJ8Kx6osdT18hDcrhR622xO5aq0y5k0UUTWU0NES92cxeMVz2syde3OwbJx4BcOpLsxuRxTTexEPnomjNV0nYPR4NZt-tdSl0oeDxa9nNTuUqX8YQL1FhM9wmUj2w553/s1600/DSC05891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTi3Ox2H5OX24SJ8Kx6osdT18hDcrhR622xO5aq0y5k0UUTWU0NES92cxeMVz2syde3OwbJx4BcOpLsxuRxTTexEPnomjNV0nYPR4NZt-tdSl0oeDxa9nNTuUqX8YQL1FhM9wmUj2w553/s320/DSC05891.JPG" width="214" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All artists are individuals
and every member of Belt Up is an individual. We exist as a collective but we
also have our own paths in which we’re growing and learning. One thing is for
sure though; we are all indebted to what we learn through our work with Belt Up
and the prospect of new lessons is what keeps Belt Up going. I for one can’t
wait to see Belt Up’s work this Fringe and I can’t wait for the audiences too
either. After all, over the next few years when 2012 feels just like
yesterday/a different age, the audiences for <a href="http://www.jethrocomptonltd.co.uk/outland">The Boy James, Outland and A Little Princess</a> at this Fringe may actually have taught us even more than we’d
have imagined.</span><span lang="EN-AU"><o:p></o:p></span></div>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-13123149937915673292012-07-16T06:34:00.002-07:002012-07-16T06:35:10.643-07:00Directing a Belt Up Show - by Joe Hufton<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">We have been in rehearsals for over a week now for ‘A Little Princess’ and so far it’s all going well. We have played with dolls, debated lots and laughed ourselves silly (including one memorable conversation about the British Raj and claymation badgers).</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">As we head into the second week of rehearsals I thought I would share with you the five things I try to remember when directing a Belt Up show (in no particular order).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmb2-DNADGPi-lYRuSutpGRKtzBIa0DaQ45Mew_4tFklS6cmHtqIh7qypB9twJK5-ZsFpO8os_BZNHz9ZIZUjLtkmQXFJa6EniicNh4G__-Q9OkOzBk5kOIWLlTR_-R8M6gg7BC_W9A6R/s1600/DSC00060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmb2-DNADGPi-lYRuSutpGRKtzBIa0DaQ45Mew_4tFklS6cmHtqIh7qypB9twJK5-ZsFpO8os_BZNHz9ZIZUjLtkmQXFJa6EniicNh4G__-Q9OkOzBk5kOIWLlTR_-R8M6gg7BC_W9A6R/s320/DSC00060.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<strong><span style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;">Belt Up is a creative collaboration</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: white;">One of the most exciting things about working with Belt Up is the amount of ideas that fly around in rehearsal; everyone offers things and gets involved in the conversation. Belt Up actors have a huge amount of ingenuity and great creative instincts, and any director has to respect this. Directing Belt Up, more than many companies, is about leading a process rather than dictating ideas and there is a real sense that four heads are better than one.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;">You will only ever be able to rehearse 80% of the show</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Belt Up shows cast the audience in a role and as such that role will never be filled in rehearsal. This means that Belt Up’s dress rehearsals happen at the same time as our opening nights when for the first time we get that final missing cast member. As such there are moments in rehearsal where we have to stop and go ‘and now you will do something with the audience that we can’t do until the first night'. It can be quite terrifying then watching on the first night: wondering if the bits you were unable to rehearse will ever come together quite as you imagined. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vzm61y7f64lVtxpvMgQHuKAhuPlKdLr2eKKDudRq9yCpU-khydDqq7GXfsChGE038p1P0J8uqm8hbbYilDbaIQuhdWLFlWA4yRb8iwLw20VLh6o5NP7tG5p6NTUoSzDs5bmoOQG7hFiC/s1600/DSC00138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vzm61y7f64lVtxpvMgQHuKAhuPlKdLr2eKKDudRq9yCpU-khydDqq7GXfsChGE038p1P0J8uqm8hbbYilDbaIQuhdWLFlWA4yRb8iwLw20VLh6o5NP7tG5p6NTUoSzDs5bmoOQG7hFiC/s320/DSC00138.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<strong><span style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;">There will never be enough time!</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: white;">I always feel like we are running out of time. A lot of this has to do with the fact that once we reach the end of the rehearsal process we have to build a set! This may be time consuming and stressful, although a really crucial part of the process. It means we have a real connection with our immersive environment; however there is a point as a director where you have to let go of creative decisions and start climbing ladders, cutting material and arranging furniture for 3 days when all you want to do is fix those last little bits!</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;">There will never be enough space!</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: white;">I always underestimate how much room the audience take up. We rehearse a show and then realise we have lost 30% of our playing space due to the various legs, arms and that most hated of audience accessories, their bags. In 4 and half years of working for the company I never cease to be shocked at how much space you guys take up on the first night.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYJQDjjaq-4MA-_9xZAToazyMQSiuX7Ss5-Ydks8_4sTYpl-zy-bltmgJgbhYH4T6dzCLQ_c5UEEG7W_Cl_huKqqq0-0fUeUdjlaNLz4kaO3ZhmVYEd0qkAiKGmhR_-6WsV7kMXA_YS5C/s1600/DSC00134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYJQDjjaq-4MA-_9xZAToazyMQSiuX7Ss5-Ydks8_4sTYpl-zy-bltmgJgbhYH4T6dzCLQ_c5UEEG7W_Cl_huKqqq0-0fUeUdjlaNLz4kaO3ZhmVYEd0qkAiKGmhR_-6WsV7kMXA_YS5C/s320/DSC00134.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<strong><span style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;">Remember to have fun</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Our rehearsals are exciting and intense but above all fun. As soon as we lose that, I think we are doing something wrong. The company prides itself on the playful nature of our work and I think if we have fun, enjoy our rehearsals and the process of making the show, then hopefully a little of that might rub off on our audiences!</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Belt Up Theatre's Edinburgh Fringe Season 2012 includes THE BOY JAMES, OUTLAND and the world premiere of A LITTLE PRINCESS. Full details <a href="http://www.jethrocomptonltd.co.uk/fringe2012">here</a>.</span></b></div>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-64911180031466270852012-06-06T09:46:00.001-07:002012-06-06T09:46:25.879-07:00Edinburgh Fringe 2012<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There has always been an embargo on announcing shows until
the Fringe Programme had officially launched. That was removed this year. And
now, the week after the official launch, it feels as if the cat has been out of
the bag for ages. But nonetheless…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We are thrilled to announce our Edinburgh 2012 Fringe
Season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgARupx9seCUKZ1g9IKrc07rkMKFGOV8_2lIrTU-UI91G1YUIZKrsT14AD3Fx6RRl3L34p_RbXNV2Q43aIqZ_r003c2EhxtjU7tBYQ6_i48ztBDJNWV7A3Omd44WnpvFBQ88g8poxP8qezi/s1600/jcl_boyjames.thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgARupx9seCUKZ1g9IKrc07rkMKFGOV8_2lIrTU-UI91G1YUIZKrsT14AD3Fx6RRl3L34p_RbXNV2Q43aIqZ_r003c2EhxtjU7tBYQ6_i48ztBDJNWV7A3Omd44WnpvFBQ88g8poxP8qezi/s320/jcl_boyjames.thumb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After two sell-out years in Edinburgh, two sell-out runs in
London and a season at the Adelaide Fringe, <b>‘The Boy James’ </b>returns<b>. </b>Inspired
by the life and work of ‘Peter Pan’ author, J.M. Barrie, The Boy James tells a
story of playful innocence and cruel experience. A dark but beautiful tale of
one bright eyed boy’s startled awakening to the harsh realities of adulthood.
Play with him, and take his hand as you lead him back to Neverland. Join in the
games and forget the cruel world on the other side of the window. But as the
tick tock of the clock continues, you too will have to face the inevitable
voyage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After its
award-winning and sell-out season at Edinburgh last year, and on the back of
its critically acclaimed international debut at the Adelaide Fringe Festival,
and a teaser in London, </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">‘Outland’ </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">returns
triumphantly. ‘Outland’ travels from a melancholy reality ‘through the looking
glass’ into a topsy-turvy world, where the landscape and characters are always
shifting. As you journey from stuffy Victorian drawing rooms to fairy palaces,
you will also get a sense of the paradox that was the man himself, the Reverend
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, known by the world as Lewis Carroll.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6h6unU2TlfTzfXMH1TE7r6KPcNEQ9Fk-OC-bfOeo4pLSCzD-h9wGyeG8xeYD3AdrqKfM03g-U4qOnlGR24cV7w9FY4h2DCfCCkAsemQfsDW1s-zH1mNQ2tUuGa-8nJdAqH0wUmVtxbTu/s1600/jcl.alittleprincess.thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6h6unU2TlfTzfXMH1TE7r6KPcNEQ9Fk-OC-bfOeo4pLSCzD-h9wGyeG8xeYD3AdrqKfM03g-U4qOnlGR24cV7w9FY4h2DCfCCkAsemQfsDW1s-zH1mNQ2tUuGa-8nJdAqH0wUmVtxbTu/s320/jcl.alittleprincess.thumb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And alongside those two shows we have a
brand new one as well – to complete the trilogy. Sitting perfectly alongside
the imaginations of Lewis Carroll and J. M. Barrie comes the incredible world
of Frances Hodgson Burnett in this original
adaptation of <b>‘A Little Princess’</b>. Recommended by The Times and The
Guardian; Join Sara Crewe as she is torn from her life in India in a journey
from princess to pauper. Left without her father in a foreign land; comfort
her, listen to her tales and relish in the magic and the tragic beauty of her
story. <span style="color: #141414;">A stunning adaptation of a well-loved novel. </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #141414;">More info at <a href="http://www.jethrocomptonltd.co.uk/fringe2012">www.beltuptheatre.com</a></span></span></div>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-61278842313585480312012-06-01T06:18:00.000-07:002012-06-01T06:19:44.547-07:00Outland in London<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMxew_ieJHwKmVI9ZIbxw52b_WJv78wz3_UKlgOfq3bN6q42gsaimZYFmz_4J0mpcKIq7xmrPIqT4LUQERYymnKDy24A-XxCz7v9xSr6BKpi5foLHXpXIpidB43uZUHmJ66woljXJmdyR/s1600/DSC04320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMxew_ieJHwKmVI9ZIbxw52b_WJv78wz3_UKlgOfq3bN6q42gsaimZYFmz_4J0mpcKIq7xmrPIqT4LUQERYymnKDy24A-XxCz7v9xSr6BKpi5foLHXpXIpidB43uZUHmJ66woljXJmdyR/s320/DSC04320.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We're really delighted that Outland is going to be coming to London in July. To get us warmed up for the Fringe we're going to be doing two performances in a stunning venue in Mayfair. The University Women's Club Library is, for anyone who has seen 'The Boy James' or 'Outland', undoubtedly perfect for a Belt Up performance. The room is a glorious Victorian library fitted with leather armchairs, sofas, wood panelling, chandeliers and lots and lots of books. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As there are only two performances we strongly recommend booking sooner rather than later - tickets are selling very quickly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you're a fan of Belt Up, of Lewis Carroll, or just fancy a summer evening enjoying the lounge, library and gardens where you can have dinner or drinks all evening, then please do come along.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We're asking that everyone come in either Black Tie (just formal will do - don't worry if you haven't got a tux), or to come dressed as a character from a Lewis Carroll story. Part of the fun of performing is getting to put on a ridiculous costume; we'd like to share that silliness with everyone else. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We hope to see you there!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More info at <a href="http://www.beltuptheatre.com/">www.beltuptheatre.com</a></span></div>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-61626059578151029782012-04-23T08:32:00.002-07:002012-06-01T04:04:09.002-07:00Review of Macbeth from One Stop Arts<br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Macbeth is a hauntingly exciting production by the well-established ensemble. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The House of Detention in Clerkenwell lends itself perfectly to the promenade performance, providing haunting brick cells and low lit playing spaces. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The stand-out performance for me was the young actress Serena Manteghi. Her versatility was very evident in her transformation from a weird sister to Lady Macbeth, then further on to Lady Macduff. Every word she said was enthralling and each moment she was on stage I couldn’t take my eyes off her. In some cases she outshone Macbeth in their scenes together. A bright future awaits this talented actress. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">An absolutely brilliant show and a triumph for Belt Up.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">****</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.onestoparts.com/">www.onestoparts.com</a></span></span></div>
<br />BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-21332168648145409812012-04-23T04:09:00.002-07:002012-04-23T04:10:19.946-07:00Royal Portraits: the first photos of MACBETH in the House of Detention<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvnRGxRfL5ueUyp9pK5Fr4XGUy5lVZgO6Vn4O70V-6yQrErHkjl2PBR46fya4sIXGWm1jfLJfQAmVY_4EB7zv0PMt34bdI_9bFnb-fYB-jaMrT5CupPJ-7PD38ku9lrsiF0f7cbX0gkmY/s1600/DSC08986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvnRGxRfL5ueUyp9pK5Fr4XGUy5lVZgO6Vn4O70V-6yQrErHkjl2PBR46fya4sIXGWm1jfLJfQAmVY_4EB7zv0PMt34bdI_9bFnb-fYB-jaMrT5CupPJ-7PD38ku9lrsiF0f7cbX0gkmY/s320/DSC08986.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dominic Allen as Macbeth. Serena Manteghi, Joe Hufton and Sam Donnelly as the Witches.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Photographs by Jethro Compton.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Macbeth runs in the House of Detention until 18th May 2012. More information at <a href="http://www.macbethlondon.com/">www.macbethlondon.com</a> </span>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-34324672531544668482012-03-28T04:04:00.005-07:002012-03-29T02:56:26.688-07:00'Return of the King' by Dominic Allen<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwwdt7z4qDR_o5WHc1AdAmCmePSP9j8akC9KA7yqQXUFHhLmqpqVYa-o2ak6cyCaSk4oM26W3UYAG-jRa-42mzv55QD6D7aXQ1a8xyKb6pYggKIvNFzj8e-fnHIfd34DXhJ31f-cZQUq0/s1600/DSC08629.JPG" style="text-align: left; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwwdt7z4qDR_o5WHc1AdAmCmePSP9j8akC9KA7yqQXUFHhLmqpqVYa-o2ak6cyCaSk4oM26W3UYAG-jRa-42mzv55QD6D7aXQ1a8xyKb6pYggKIvNFzj8e-fnHIfd34DXhJ31f-cZQUq0/s400/DSC08629.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724902444215610466" /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><u><br /></u></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; "><span>They say it's cursed. Maybe. It is certainly not without trepidation that one takes up the mantle, for the second time, of playing theScottishKingwhoshouldnotbementionedfromShakespeare'sScottishplayofthesamename. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; "><span>Now, I'm not a superstitious person; I don't mind black </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">cats, spilt salt, broken mirrors and the only reason I don't like people putting their shoes on the table is that it's unhygienic. Generally, I don't even mind 'The Scottish Play' being called by its proper name. Or, at least, I didn't – but we'll come back to that. That said, there is something altogether sinister about that play. There's something in it – some twisted bit of Shakespeare's genius – that gets inside you and makes you go a little bit... </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">oogie.</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; "><o:p><span> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; "> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">As if the play itself wasn't cursed enough, I'm sure many of the more superstitio</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">us actors in this world would think again when we consider the venue. It's not a bad venue once you get past the cold, the damp, the ingrained sense of a history of cruelty in its very fabric, the dark, the smell, the strange feeling of being watched, the what-was-that and the What-did-you-say I-didn't-say-anything – I mean, if anything it's perfect for the play – but it hardly does much to put a superstitious man at ease. Not that I'm a superstitious man, you understand... but even without the shifting shadows and tricks of the light, it's still a funny old plac</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">e. It's bigger than you'd think and it's... twisty. You'd be surprised how easy it is to sneak up on people in there. And there's something to be said, I think, about its design. It's not </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">designed </i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">to make you feel comfortable or at ease with your surroundings. It's designed to ma</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">ke 18</span><sup style="font-family: verdana; line-height: 200%; ">th</sup><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; "> Century soon-to-be-Australian convicts feel like... well, convicts. And it works.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; "><span> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; "> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">Finally, we come to the dates of the performances. Surely, there couldn't be anything untoward or darkly sinister about those? You would think not but, alas, here we have it. A </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">preview performance date. Yes, it's a Friday. I wonder if you can guess the actual date? Well, it's the second Friday in April. And the first Friday is the sixth... so six plus seven is...</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; "><o:p><span> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; "> </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">Ah!</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; "> So maybe the schedule could be better, given that were I superstitious – wh</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">ich I'm not – I'd not only have to contend with a long tradition of the play being cursed </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">and</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; "> long established ghosts in an allegedly haunted prison </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">but also</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; "> the most quintessentially</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; "> unlucky date in the history of the entire world! Lucky for me I have absolutely no reason to be worried about that – it's all total nonsense, hokum, gibberish... oh, except for last time we did it (the same play in the same venue on the same date) and something utterly terrible happened. But </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">apart from that</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">, there's no reason to be worried at all. I mean, lightning doesn't strike twice. Does it?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; "><o:p><span> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; "> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to it. And why? Because it's so m</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">uch fun. I get to go round killing people, scaring people, I get to shout, scream, giggle, cry, grow a bigger beard, get covered in blood </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">and </i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">perfect an evil laugh. So why don't you come down one night and join in? I mean... what's the </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; ">worst</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; line-height: 200%; "> that can happen?</span></p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPQAIPgFYXeuPgkEXZ8p0f3jpBZCKmIyflcahir_W8kdxjj2i8xZJ_52HWJ_IZ56dK6ULG78RCKNjHYOvSjN8xMD13B3ya70U0ueSBXjv1P7jHhTM9tLlOnG7XeM4UMWBlYSkvczc2qDf/s400/DSC05553.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724913426815048242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px; " /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; "><span><span style="line-height: 27px; "><b>Dominic is appearing in 'Macbeth' at the House of Detention, Clerkenwell, Lon</b></span></span><b style="line-height: 27px; font-family: verdana; font-size: small; ">don from 17th April - 18th May 2012. More info at <a href="http://www.macbethlondon.com/">www.macbethlondon.com</a></b></p></div>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-89717850928057960892012-02-28T21:20:00.004-08:002012-02-28T21:33:26.072-08:00Serena's Big Ozzie Thank You<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GxoP4UBT5DBJIvg8baYO6Me6q03wTOpqeGOAaYggRaaFA5ycw40Pxi25ldQJGpKQ5Vr56bLy-2JqO8z8FB-HjjeOtO6do-yn5tAvGXuWwmgojKhv6_di2p0zpqrVioTLuiKrQz6Uzz-g/s1600/DSC03935.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GxoP4UBT5DBJIvg8baYO6Me6q03wTOpqeGOAaYggRaaFA5ycw40Pxi25ldQJGpKQ5Vr56bLy-2JqO8z8FB-HjjeOtO6do-yn5tAvGXuWwmgojKhv6_di2p0zpqrVioTLuiKrQz6Uzz-g/s400/DSC03935.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714425847876611554" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><div><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; ">It's raining. That is the reason Jethro has managed to get me sat down, in side and writing this blog. So far the weather in Adelaide has been somewhere in the region of paradisal; the sort of weather that fools a Londoner into believing that you can't possibly be allowed to stay here for more than a brief daydream, into believing that the residents of Adelaide must be victim to some horrid forfeit that befalls them in repentance for living in this balmy Elysium. Our host, the irrepressibly enchanting Joanne Hartstone, assures me that no such forfeit exists to her knowledge. I see. She must not be allowed to tell.</div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: center; font-size: small; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; ">Yes Australia is the place where this Londoner has to keep reminding herself why she has subjected herself to living in The Big Smoke. Why is that again? Okay I'm going to stop shitting on London because its wonderful, of course, but it really is spectacular here. There is green and warmth and wildlife <i>and </i>there is A LOT to be said for Australian hospitality. I think that's what I would like to make the subject of this blog; the astounding and unflinching kindness of everyone at the Central for International Theatre.</div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: left; "><div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; ">C.I.T, as they are generally referred to, are our hosts at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Their Artisitc Director, Guy Masterson saw The Boy James in Edniburgh, 2011 and purely on his belief in the wonderful performances of that production (thank you Jethro Compton, Lucy Farrett and Dan Wood) Belt Up arrived in Adelaide, Australia last Monday. Our first day here we were met at the airport by the aforementioned Joanne Hartstone, producer of C.I.T and all-round Wonderwoman. Joanne and her father Jonathan, Front of House Manager for C.I.T, then got us all settled in what will be our homes for the next month; Jethro and I are very happily ensconced at Joanne's and Dom at her brother Micheal's. In case you haven't already figured, this company is very much a family affair and in all the best possible ways. You see, for those of the company who are not directly related to Joanne, us for example, we are still all treated as part of the family. And what a wonderful family it is.</div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: left; "><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; ">C.I.T is hosting eleven shows at The Adelaide Fringe Festival and on our first evening we all congregated at Joanne's house for introductions. It reminded me of my grandparents' Christmas parties where the extended family all pile in on Boxing Day and reacquaint themselves with one other. Despite being the newbies (or nubiles as one David Calvitto like to call us) we settled in almost instantly thanks to everyone being just so nice. I must also mention the very warm welcome extended to us by the C.I.T team who look after us and tend to all our precious artists' worries; to the lovely Chelsea, the remarkable Amy and her multi-talents, to the one-man-delight that is Glen, the very special ball of sunshine that is Annie and to the effervescent angel, Brodie. Also to Penny, Sammy and everyone at Higher Ground. <i>And </i>to A.C. Arts, especially our secret tech angel, Warren. There is also another very special group of people at C.I.T; the hosts. These are the very kind people who put a roof over all us visiting artistes heads and offer huge support to all the shows. Thank you to Thirza and Piers for my vegetarian sushi.</div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: left; "><div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; ">And thank you to Guy. As well as having enough faith in the company to fly us thousands of miles, he is an absolute gem. An old-school gent with a big heart. My apologies for being a horrid soppy git but I secretly want him to be my mentor, to teach me the tricks and to heed warnings of the trade. To wear hats and drinks cocktails at Sardi's. I realise its not that secret if you put it on the internet but I trust you all to help me play it cool.</div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; "><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOVgyq1Pi527luO4OmxyDqOi1qTgLysDCSZIFlFVNGFjx2O_99WFDnKPvucPqcrckCgvYT4dcJWu1TpL3fgw23KeGXAxxyTza5ttxBKZ60doPhHdnvelSwm8omX8Jo2vbiXSogdBLbzFt/s400/DSC03933.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714425853517894690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px; " /></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; ">Last but in no way least, please raise your glasses to Miss Joanne Hartstone. How she manages to be a first class producer alongside being a first class actress is both highly impressive and slightly baffling. She is a force to be reckoned with. Note, she is also a strong mentor contender.</div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; ">Anyway, thats enough for now. I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone here. It helps in this job if you can surround yourself with professionals of such a calibre as these fine ladies and gents at C.I.T. I makes you feel counted, it makes it all worth it. So cheers.</div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; ">-------</div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left; ">Serena is performing as The Girl in The Boy James and as Muriel/Sylvie in Outland which are both running at the Adelaide Fringe Festival until 18th March 2012. More details at <a href="http://www.citadelaide.com/">www.citadelaide.com</a></div></div>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-62581583206658059122012-02-28T20:52:00.011-08:002012-03-03T23:08:50.097-08:00Australia: the reviews so far<span style="line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndC6bZbY-tJqw_TfIOzSLvLUrOo5Fi5E01VbUhGxDCy41v6h9ZV7A-vhmeTN-brmZCBzt_yw5dpkcfHl-xaZV8oEa9lj8NEng6t5XlQsifRvObZbhEAytcNN47B40xcxVAI23za3wJ-a8/s1600/DSC03988.JPG" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndC6bZbY-tJqw_TfIOzSLvLUrOo5Fi5E01VbUhGxDCy41v6h9ZV7A-vhmeTN-brmZCBzt_yw5dpkcfHl-xaZV8oEa9lj8NEng6t5XlQsifRvObZbhEAytcNN47B40xcxVAI23za3wJ-a8/s400/DSC03988.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714418941889382066" /></a></span><div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; "><span style="line-height: 20px;"><p class="MsoNormal">OUTLAND<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">'This piece is a great example of how theatre should be; interesting, informative, entertaining but, most of all, captivating and totally absorbing.'<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">GLAM ADELAIDE Full review <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; "><a href="http://www.glamadelaide.com.au/main/outland-%E2%80%93-2012-adelaide-fringe/">here</a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">'Allen plays the Lewis/professor character with a physical vitality and staccato rhythm that never loses focus.' ****1/2<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">ADELAIDE ADVERTISER Full review <a href="http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/festivals/belt-up-theatres-outland/story-fnb4ro4e-1226283680629">here</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">'Certainly a must-see Fringe show for its delicate complexity, or if nothing else, its affability.'<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">AUSTRALIAN STAGE Full review <a href="http://www.australianstage.com.au/201203015206/reviews/adelaide/outland-%7C-belt-up-theatre.html">here</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">'It was beautifully, joyfully, lovingly done.'<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">ADELAIDE ART BEAT Full review <a href="http://adelaideartbeat.com/2012/02/24/outland-was-a-wonderland/">here</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">'This is an absolutely magical experience that is equal parts funny, thrilling and touching – and a must-see for fans of clever, imaginative theatre.' ****1/2<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">ADELAIDE THEATRE GUIDE Full review <a href="http://www.theatreguide.com.au/current_site/reviews/reviews_detail.php?ShowID=outland&ShowYear=2012">here</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Number 9 on FRINGE REVIEW'S TOP 30<o:p></o:p></p><div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUg4l_DcpoPn_A9_6nHNkrdVVwrD-adtq69AiZKHQFfysyeONULXG0mpOWL1O-7lJnNQdbLnsgfmfduykSgHQwFROwxV9tQFGBMaM0iFinbFSdlo4SvR479WU_euEXTbOZM_8V8s_oxjT/s400/DSC03962.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714417012546570290" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px; " /><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_QpPBbFOL6wMIBpbJI9JZfEfqcOADCXHlDPkLD67rYEoyiRWkrS8HgSTPTWIpfp7Tba5rU3u3aYpgM38Q_YYSnhvZ8uaKC-8Ink6LFm4R1AJfYIO8GNx2xaXtZJ_Grg5hfcVV95mEUsK/s1600/DSC03977.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_QpPBbFOL6wMIBpbJI9JZfEfqcOADCXHlDPkLD67rYEoyiRWkrS8HgSTPTWIpfp7Tba5rU3u3aYpgM38Q_YYSnhvZ8uaKC-8Ink6LFm4R1AJfYIO8GNx2xaXtZJ_Grg5hfcVV95mEUsK/s400/DSC03977.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714417024904929554" /></a><p class="MsoNormal">THE BOY JAMES<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">'disarming, charming and well performed' ****<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">ADELAIDE ADVERTISER Full review <a href="http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/festivals/belt-up-theatres-the-boy-james/story-fnb4ro4e-1226283685267">here</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">'This beautiful, but sometimes brutal play, with its amazingly informed and powerful performances from these three magical actors, has the ability, even if only briefly, to awaken your inner child and give you back your childhood.'<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">GLAM ADELAIDE Full review <a href="http://www.glamadelaide.com.au/main/the-boy-james-%E2%80%93-2012-adelaide-fringe/">here</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">'This production is highly recommended – an intriguing Fringe experience that you are unlikely to find anywhere else – but it will leave you wondering long after you have left the theatre.'<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">THE BAREFOOT REVIEW Full review <a href="http://www.thebarefootreview.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=396">here</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">'An unsettling, thought-provoking and imaginative work from a theatre company to keep an eye on; here’s hoping they’ll make the Adelaide Fringe a regular destination.' ****<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">ADELAIDE THEATRE GUIDE Full review <a href="http://www.theatreguide.com.au/current_site/reviews/reviews_detail.php?ShowID=theboyjames&ShowYear=2012">here</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">'Jethro Compton is mesmerising in an emotional and compelling performance in which there are no holds barred as he shows you his despair and loss. This is a powerful and affecting show, the themes and feeling of which draw you in and pierce your core.' ****1/2<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">KRYSTOFF Full review <a href="http://www.kryztoff.com/RAW/?p=4725">here</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Number 3 on FRINGE REVIEW'S TOP 30<o:p></o:p></p></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; "><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="text-align: left; "><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptN0l0YDir_oK6qKJTLqIhmaaSP6lTxHoMWA1yfg5WRb2GqXOwhBXN84WE7YD4dWt8TF-ugXu0GPafPEBJki2hqMwr3QB-FEPFm0d7X_YvVZOggWaZJTtvgyic_jOrHZ0tGRhho1azX0p/s1600/DSC03950.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptN0l0YDir_oK6qKJTLqIhmaaSP6lTxHoMWA1yfg5WRb2GqXOwhBXN84WE7YD4dWt8TF-ugXu0GPafPEBJki2hqMwr3QB-FEPFm0d7X_YvVZOggWaZJTtvgyic_jOrHZ0tGRhho1azX0p/s400/DSC03950.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714417004920944114" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENyqdBmzC6QR_uod67-z7sddE6YaLFK2NZGaKuFW6eWU9JPZ9g5IPjhQEpTZM4mea8dOk7b-amTJqaBDQ_bGYuRxHcIVRfs7S59w9qzFFA2PnNIDw9-EwSUnRJ28LR1i6NDgREiOFcaS7/s1600/DSC03947.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENyqdBmzC6QR_uod67-z7sddE6YaLFK2NZGaKuFW6eWU9JPZ9g5IPjhQEpTZM4mea8dOk7b-amTJqaBDQ_bGYuRxHcIVRfs7S59w9qzFFA2PnNIDw9-EwSUnRJ28LR1i6NDgREiOFcaS7/s400/DSC03947.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714417001819701490" /></a></span><br /></div></div>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-25269983693279080172012-02-28T20:19:00.006-08:002012-02-28T20:39:40.598-08:00Relocation Down Under<div style="text-align: center; "><span><br /></span></div><span>For the last few years we've been using the same materials and furniture to create our unique set and aesthetic. We sourced most of this in 2010 and have become very familiar with all of it (too familiar...). </span><div style="text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "></div><div><span><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span>When we started making plans for Australia, we realised that transporting the entire set across would take too long; from the end of the Boy James in London we'd have needed a month to get it shipped. So the wonderful people at the Centre for International Theatre (C.I.T.) sourced it all for us. And they have done an amazing job. Everything we had in the UK is no replicated as if in some alternate reality here in OZ.</span></div><div style="text-align: center; "></div><div><span><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span>And he's your first glance of what we've created.</span></div><div style="text-align: center; "></div><div><span><u><br /></u></span></div><div><span>Before:</span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJZWkvqOoKtnCa4svkWsyrwEKbPan7oezHTF5zFDcyH1IyfB9KrxePywdKSOt0yXZ5AcA-aJBM7A83ZmEeUJkjsnbpL8kvxFzFpy_zBTxrAD941bGqBCd9nu-yhiddV9bW5zJf2pEbk_U/s400/DSC03834.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714408730964986642" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px; " /></div><div style="text-align: center; "><div style="text-align: left; "><span>and after:</span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxT6FeEsV36rC2m1i-ghHREQVI-JVi4Gf63LifMNuVRtOor6hRbSfaRxiR1NwouLCqHWOx06ei-afRMVd5fCODo-fyXYuOsannpR84lTw0LKHv-x8ucf_6qcJsfj5FXlFwsBzDdf1M0orD/s400/DSC03943.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714408731782499282" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline; display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px; " /></div><div>The Boy James and Outland run at the Adelaide Fringe Festival with The Centre for International Theatre (C.I.T.) until 18th March 2012. Tickets and more details at <a href="http://www.citadelaide.com/" style="font-size: 100%; ">http://www.citadelaide.com/</a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-16085522918575162432012-02-19T21:46:00.000-08:002012-02-19T21:53:44.685-08:00Belt Up Theatre Down Under: Our first images<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8niqJ18BbE1NL85GTmu7KSLsYHquLcUNiJitM0983_CEDOtxyDmEpEWr7nidrd6HC8NTlvKTxS74igc7mxYHSid0bGZgzZM4lMxRgR1S9XWxFnWxxQMMGs5KyrtvDypX8jqjq85pGjHRM/s1600/DSC03798.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8niqJ18BbE1NL85GTmu7KSLsYHquLcUNiJitM0983_CEDOtxyDmEpEWr7nidrd6HC8NTlvKTxS74igc7mxYHSid0bGZgzZM4lMxRgR1S9XWxFnWxxQMMGs5KyrtvDypX8jqjq85pGjHRM/s400/DSC03798.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711090691634185842" /></a><span ><div style="text-align: center;">Serena wandering by the river next to the house we're staying in.</div></span><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxltSykwje_Fm_LlCeagh-rzzGq3vnMhA16cXt65d-nmhgiXztGpSn6bYGyrozZqZyULv9K3r5MUjJvkzAzL3X-_Y0VprOZUd2k2uNmh8Uw-ZbvP3vdZPLtefwvK4jh6lxt7y2vSJMn_l/s1600/DSC03831.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxltSykwje_Fm_LlCeagh-rzzGq3vnMhA16cXt65d-nmhgiXztGpSn6bYGyrozZqZyULv9K3r5MUjJvkzAzL3X-_Y0VprOZUd2k2uNmh8Uw-ZbvP3vdZPLtefwvK4jh6lxt7y2vSJMn_l/s400/DSC03831.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711090678611255250" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span >The three of us out for an afternoon stroll.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span ><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5hVbkvYHms2pRz2NBjM_I1l5p-nyFgmQ_2RZoe9Ws3_uedfU316kPEAq268HqrRpjA4ZB1WrHrc7kZyDaYvrZMaZsaBmswK0ZtXw-DVAkdVie7W0fs8aaXi-i-sXUzCSEM9gyqtlXfcj/s1600/DSC03804.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5hVbkvYHms2pRz2NBjM_I1l5p-nyFgmQ_2RZoe9Ws3_uedfU316kPEAq268HqrRpjA4ZB1WrHrc7kZyDaYvrZMaZsaBmswK0ZtXw-DVAkdVie7W0fs8aaXi-i-sXUzCSEM9gyqtlXfcj/s400/DSC03804.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711090668034715506" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span >Our first sighting of a koala bear in the wild</span></div>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-78834358926663113472012-02-14T07:22:00.004-08:002012-02-14T07:28:42.239-08:00Macbeth returns to the House of Detention, London<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXFMp7pDndjOL0uIGGqshAaMu5L4brFT5C3vN-cXEj8nrXwbjC__jLgo2dShZJhemOFam-iMha8XSDHaovMs2VACt1uwCtW9zRjZnlYmdwT-tF1XwRWFp64tsoi8zekvdQv4KgHUFwgB2/s1600/KEY.ARTWORK.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXFMp7pDndjOL0uIGGqshAaMu5L4brFT5C3vN-cXEj8nrXwbjC__jLgo2dShZJhemOFam-iMha8XSDHaovMs2VACt1uwCtW9zRjZnlYmdwT-tF1XwRWFp64tsoi8zekvdQv4KgHUFwgB2/s400/KEY.ARTWORK.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709013454729635922" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span>SJC PRODUCTIONS and JETHRO COMPTON LTD present<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span><b>BELT UP THEATRE’S<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span><b>MACBETH<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span><b>in the HOUSE OF DETENTION, CLERKENWELL</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span>THE HIT PRODUCTION RETURNS TO LONDON FOR A LIMITED RUN<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span>One of the greatest stories ever told and a terrifying new vision...</span><span style="color: rgb(20, 20, 20); ">A haunting experience from the inimitable Belt Up Theatre, whose work has taken the UK by storm and has been hailed as a company ‘changing the future of British theatre’ (The Observer) and as ‘Fringe Royalty’ (Time Out London).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span>Allow the strangers your hand and follow as they lead you far below the streets of London into the tunnels, vaults and cells of Middlesex Prison. There begin your passage; a nightmarish journey into the mind of one of literature’s greatest serial killers. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span>Shakespeare’s bloody tragedy is mounted by a cast of four that breathe life into the Scottish King and the three weird sisters who guide him on his path to self-destruction. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span>Locked away from daylight within a reputedly haunted labyrinth you will join Macbeth as he struggles through delusions and paranoia in this relic of Victorian punishment, bricks built one upon the other with a single purpose, preventing the demons inside from being unleashed.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span>A prison, a workhouse, a system of cells; this is the House of Detention, Clerkenwell.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span>‘Brilliant’ Stephen Fry</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span>‘Arresting’ The Observer<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span><span>‘Inspired’ The Guardian</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span>For full details visit <a href="http://www.macbethlondon.com/">www.macbethlondon.com</a></span></p><p></p>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-34184811259615244042012-02-12T11:14:00.000-08:002012-02-12T11:18:46.029-08:00Final Images from 'The Boy James' in London<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Wlufyb-0SuixCg_OUQP_ajyKRqDY2L0HnlJmOG5xUCvP5axbJt4Gp28RuL7a-PNBmQx8Bp0P1tenFUhOOGRElMGK_W-4Esxo713c5QEBiWGqXRDNBURxCUzHAx5jLYXF7JyYqru4RSLR/s1600/the.company.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Wlufyb-0SuixCg_OUQP_ajyKRqDY2L0HnlJmOG5xUCvP5axbJt4Gp28RuL7a-PNBmQx8Bp0P1tenFUhOOGRElMGK_W-4Esxo713c5QEBiWGqXRDNBURxCUzHAx5jLYXF7JyYqru4RSLR/s400/the.company.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708330225876397218" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTVJefflTSURPsRnaRheDV5PAMS5mInEONk9O6Vav6ObQeHwkLyPkfKxpl8BqTTtN43qcKskT_6nYxw9SoepmJw_KQsra1PKZEGAZqKZWI_3h-Ff4TqgUkz1mrwZ3_7-713NJyA_YzFfO/s1600/DSC03714.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTVJefflTSURPsRnaRheDV5PAMS5mInEONk9O6Vav6ObQeHwkLyPkfKxpl8BqTTtN43qcKskT_6nYxw9SoepmJw_KQsra1PKZEGAZqKZWI_3h-Ff4TqgUkz1mrwZ3_7-713NJyA_YzFfO/s400/DSC03714.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708330052632539842" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbvsclTrWgEfIwLTtgL1Mh4kw6vF_uAQdO8aGr9dc9RZKu-GmcJmFRa4mfWdU2saXNWYnv0dJ3s02nfsqejDcjmquPjhclgfn_obhAgAmbrRyoMYKzYCBib72aOJLq5dRFlHfZdrSd4Ch/s1600/DSC03695.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbvsclTrWgEfIwLTtgL1Mh4kw6vF_uAQdO8aGr9dc9RZKu-GmcJmFRa4mfWdU2saXNWYnv0dJ3s02nfsqejDcjmquPjhclgfn_obhAgAmbrRyoMYKzYCBib72aOJLq5dRFlHfZdrSd4Ch/s400/DSC03695.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708329948378071618" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ZMfB5vTg5M6h07zFLW5sePRe0pYEfyB930s7TZdeBXksUaqNi-owVGpd1YfIwvhRjlqMo-paggWHYmI_yj8jlve5o1zk80d7kIFaP3fE13nx7vX_HIZtR0lQ8ZTSbWmzz4DsmkNTA0xP/s1600/DSC03691.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ZMfB5vTg5M6h07zFLW5sePRe0pYEfyB930s7TZdeBXksUaqNi-owVGpd1YfIwvhRjlqMo-paggWHYmI_yj8jlve5o1zk80d7kIFaP3fE13nx7vX_HIZtR0lQ8ZTSbWmzz4DsmkNTA0xP/s400/DSC03691.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708329827819801074" /></a><span >'The Boy James' has closed in London. It will next be playing at the Adelaide Fringe in Australia from 25th Feb - 18th March. Full details <a href="http://www.jethrocomptonltd.co.uk/oz">here</a>.</span>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-27516187119782173662012-01-27T09:30:00.000-08:002012-01-28T04:38:21.910-08:00Whatsonstage: Five Reasons To See ... Belt Up's The Boy James<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2L5npt6QObYneT2O7uytC2nxVxkWEQrzzb9pgEeZNnjCP6rkqFo6XCVATxjt2ESE_e6TLEE6fK2iAH5ABE8gb0qum-6daoFrnfR8qS6yY9T_z0mvuZKKdQ0v-BKFWXBU8-_w5plx_vN6/s1600/serena.manteghi.the_boy_james.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2L5npt6QObYneT2O7uytC2nxVxkWEQrzzb9pgEeZNnjCP6rkqFo6XCVATxjt2ESE_e6TLEE6fK2iAH5ABE8gb0qum-6daoFrnfR8qS6yY9T_z0mvuZKKdQ0v-BKFWXBU8-_w5plx_vN6/s400/serena.manteghi.the_boy_james.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702660123016637922" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span>Following outings at the Edinburgh Fringe and Southwark Playhouse in January 2011, Belt Up Theatre's The Boy James returns to London running at The Goldsmith on Southwark Bridge Road from 26 January to 11 February 2012.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>An original story inspired by Peter Pan and the life of JM Barrie, The Boy James is a dark, beautiful tale of one boy’s awakening to the harsh realities of adulthood. Play with him, and take his hand as you lead him back to Neverland.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Jethro Compton returns to the role of The Boy, alongside Serena Manteghi as The Girl and Dominic Allen as James. Staged as part of Southwark Playhouse's 'Out and About' programme, the show makes a new home above a bar and restaurant originally built as part of the London Brigade Fire Station. In typical Belt Up style the space is transforming into a fully formed immersive environment.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Belt Up Theatre give us their five reasons to see the show.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>1. It made Stephen Fry cry</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>In 2011 the world’s favourite polymath, egged on by some Belt Up fans, came to see The Boy James at Southwark Playhouse. As with many audience members, the show struck a chord and led Fry to tweet, "Just been knocked out by The Boy James, Belt Up's interactive show about JM Barrie… Still drying my eyes."</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>2. An original story inspired by Peter Pan and the life of JM Barrie</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>There is something about the work of JM Barrie and the story of Peter Pan that manages to reach the inner child of every audience member; the idea of not-wanting to grow up is universal. The Boy James is a dark, beautiful tale of one boy’s awakening to the harsh realities of adulthood.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>3. It was created by the award-winning Belt Up Theatre</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Belt Up has been working across the UK over the last three years. Their unique style of performance has created a great following and a number of shows including The Tartuffe, The Trial, Lorca is Dead and Macbeth which was staged in the House of Detention in Clerkenwell and will be returning later this year.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Belt Up has been hailed as a company "changing the future of British theatre" by the Observer and as Edinburgh "Fringe Royalty" by Time Out.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>4. It has some amazing reviews</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>The show has been running now, on and off, for a year and a half. Over that time it has received some incredible write-ups including three four-star reviews from Whatsonstage describing it as "a magical experience" and "flawless". It has also been called "moving and beautifully played" by writer Neil Gaiman, and called everything from "riveting," "wonderful" and "superbly realised" to "Belt Up’s finest performance" by reviewers from The Stage, The Scotsman, Fest Mag and Edinburgh Evening News.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>5. It’s your last chance to see it before the show flies off to Australia</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>After the enormous success of the show in the UK, the company is heading off to Australia for a month-long run at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Unless you fancy a trip to South Australia, be sure to book your tickets for the London run whilst they’re still available.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>The Boy James opened at The Goldsmith on Southwark Bridge Road on 26 January where it continues until 11 February 2012. Tickets are available from the <a href="http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/outandabout/the-boy-james-2/">Southwark Playhouse box office</a>.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>-----</span></div><div><br /></div><div>This has been taken from <a href="http://www.whatsonstage.com/interviews/theatre/off-west+end/E8831327684141/Five+Reasons+To+See+...+Belt+Up%27s+The+Boy+James.html">Whatsonstage.com</a></div>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-80909297380938566312012-01-27T08:05:00.000-08:002012-01-27T08:20:00.867-08:00Exeunt Magazine interviews Jethro Compton on Belt Up, 'The Boy James' and growing up<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGjbjnNTVwQm5yDyA0C6z1gW3haSCSQttMTHUQRsPNOgU28oNAx_jfUvlP7BAITjN8VvBS0SXgBBM8DUqTyu5FPQaK7RVZ8zXKEL8-GaOvWIXtLHjQCU9TscG66Jo1dQNDud6tfp-IEyeH/s1600/the.boy.james.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGjbjnNTVwQm5yDyA0C6z1gW3haSCSQttMTHUQRsPNOgU28oNAx_jfUvlP7BAITjN8VvBS0SXgBBM8DUqTyu5FPQaK7RVZ8zXKEL8-GaOvWIXtLHjQCU9TscG66Jo1dQNDud6tfp-IEyeH/s400/the.boy.james.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702346277089474258" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span>I don’t think any of us anticipated this reaction when we first put it on,” admits Belt Up Theatre’s co-founder Jethro Compton. “I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that makes people cry.” But they do cry. Inspired by the work and life of Peter Pan’s creator J.M. Barrie, The Boy James is the company’s longest running and most successful production to date, and has been making audiences weep since it debuted at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe as part of their ambitious House Above project in which they took over and transformed part of C Venues.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p>It has proved a curiously divisive production, one with a tendency to trigger extreme reactions in its audience. Certainly not every response has been as enthusiastic as Stephen Fry’s (his tweet, “still drying my eyes”, helped cement the show’s reputation), but Compton believes this is to be expected as it’s “not a narrative driven show. It’s more of an emotional journey.” Some people are less comfortable with that than others, he concedes, unable to resist a dig about critics “hiding behind their notebooks,” but for those who do connect with the production it often proves to be an incredibly powerful experience. In Edinburgh “people would come back a few days later to tell us they couldn’t get it out of their heads. We’ve been doing the show for so long now and are still getting similar reactions.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>When The Boy James was first performed it was somewhat buried amidst a number of other shows which the company were presenting under the banner of The House Above, so it was only seen by around 300 people initially. Yet of all Belt Up’s work it’s this piece which has gone on to have the longest life. The production transferred to Southwark Playhouse in London in January 2011 and the venue is again hosting the show, though this time off-site at The Goldsmith, a nearby pub which the company are transforming into a by now familiar Belt Up space. Belt Up, for many of their productions, favours non-traditional seating, sofas and floor cushions, a soft-edged and atmospheric performance space. Or rather a space within a space. “It’s not site specific,” Compton says firmly. “We’re making our own site. There’s no point us putting it on in a theatre and then spending time and money making it not look like a theatre, we may as well put it on somewhere else.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p>This use of space is integral to the kind of theatre Belt Up want to make. “We’re not a devising company. We have a script [in this case by Alexander Wright] and a director with a vision. The audience is part of the story; [in The Boy James] the audience are his imaginary play-friends. If a character looks at an audience member, we want it to be OK for them to look back; if a character asks an audience member a question, we want them to feel like they can answer. We want them to feel like they can interact with us and, with a long running show, those are the moments that make it special and keep it alive.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p>The company, though still comparatively new, have already established a particular aesthetic, a recognisable style, one that ‘places its audience at the centre of the production’. They’re currently working on a revised version of their production of Macbeth to be staged in the vaults of a former prison beneath the streets of Clerkenwell, a haunting space they filled with melancholic wailing and the unsettling scrape of blade on stone. “We can do a show like The Boy James and a show like Macbeth and they are completely different, the space is different, the audience is different, and yet there is something inherently Belt Up about them both.” Though some of their stylistic devices can seem a little too pat at times, they pursue them with commitment and consistency. One of the reasons Compton believes that audiences feel so strongly about The Boy James is the way the piece denies its audience closure. “As with all our work there’s no defined end point. The play comes to an end but the story continues. The characters remain in the space.” Compton, who works predominantly as a producer as well as playing the title role, is a fluent and passionate speaker, and you can sense within him the clear-eyed drive that has helped the company establish itself so quickly. The company was formed in 2008 by Compton, Dominic J Allen, James Wilkes and Alexander Wright, when they were still studying at the University of York. That same year they made their Edinburgh debut, winning the Edinburgh International Festival Award for their immersive Red Room project. By the time they graduated in 2009, they had already made a name for themselves as a company. “With a mixture of stupidity and ambition we’ve thrown ourselves into things,” says Compton with a laugh. The Red Room, described by The Stage as a ‘boudoir theatre’ in which they presented five full productions daily, “could have gone horribly wrong” but it didn’t and instead it provided a springboard for future projects. Soon afterwards they became company in residence at York Theatre Royal which “gave us a home, gave us a purpose, and gave us a support network.” Compton attributes their success to a mixture of luck and hard work and the fact that “by the time we graduated we already had a reputation and work lined up. We’d started building those relationships while we were still at university.” He also acknowledges that they’d set up hurdles for themselves by the very nature of the work they do. They had to be as prolific as they were, to do so much in so short a space of time, because of need as much as want. “Because of the nature of the work we do we can only have audiences of a certain size, so that was a challenge.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p>Their plans for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe are somewhat scaled down – at least by Belt Up standards, which means only one or two new shows instead of the nine productions they juggled as part of the House Above (where Compton was averaging about three hours sleep a night) but they are, he says, planning to go big once again for Edinburgh 2013.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p>Compton’s energies in the main are now focussed on producing instead of acting, but he’s reluctant to relinquish the Boy just yet. “If it was another show I’d get another actor in, but because it’s The Boy James, because it’s that part, I haven’t.” He enjoys the challenges inherent in the role, the scope for interaction and unpredictability. “You experiment and you learn from mistakes. As an actor, it lifts you up and revitalises you.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p>In the spring the company will be taking The Boy James and another show, Outland, to Adelaide and there’s every sign the show will continue beyond this, a state of affairs Compton seems happy with. “We went through a period where we created a lot of work very quickly whereas now we’re enjoying touring one show that grows and improves over time.” The Belt Up boys are, it seems, growing up. “We used to go wild because we had the energy to do that, but now we’re concerned with becoming stable, with becoming a company that doesn’t burn out.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p>The Boy James will be presented by Southwark Playhouse, offsite at The Goldsmith, from 25th January to 11th February. For tickets and further information visit <a href="http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/outandabout/the-boy-james-2/">the Southwark Playhouse website</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p>Belt Up’s Macbeth will run from 17th April to 18th May at the House of Detention in Clerkenwell with previews starting 12th April. For further details visit the production <a href="http://www.macbethlondon.com/">website.</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></p>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-70166560008846459372012-01-25T05:40:00.001-08:002012-01-25T05:49:37.718-08:00First Image from the new set - The Boy James<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0c0pzlblrBu37ElRIjIqdfKM2-Desu2rJmgpvkOz3zEgSE8PCsxrBJ8Uy3QMWyJRaXVPi1r6wQRFh0J6OKA2pxDa0tG-7YyAF2yV1EhDB-iRaUDt8YryLfFRgtg_fp-uEC_ITSkkKp6w4/s1600/the.boy.james.jpg" style="text-align: left; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0c0pzlblrBu37ElRIjIqdfKM2-Desu2rJmgpvkOz3zEgSE8PCsxrBJ8Uy3QMWyJRaXVPi1r6wQRFh0J6OKA2pxDa0tG-7YyAF2yV1EhDB-iRaUDt8YryLfFRgtg_fp-uEC_ITSkkKp6w4/s400/the.boy.james.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701564545749207346" /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></div><span >This is the first image of our new performance space for 'The Boy James' at The Goldsmith in Southwark.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >And below is a photo of the space before we arrived.</span></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0c0pzlblrBu37ElRIjIqdfKM2-Desu2rJmgpvkOz3zEgSE8PCsxrBJ8Uy3QMWyJRaXVPi1r6wQRFh0J6OKA2pxDa0tG-7YyAF2yV1EhDB-iRaUDt8YryLfFRgtg_fp-uEC_ITSkkKp6w4/s1600/the.boy.james.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKZ0I3rQbiXf8clsX6bFNhE9zCUCcWW8m7SH7C1T9BS-MCQx-m7Zi87thle58qT3XBrp8FWDHvSHeLTX0kG08IyCbAO41ysNlzxrPULzsaZqsMZ773tQQ_YheoeR1n_E4fdoseJNhUJaw/s400/DSC09689.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701565165996654450" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px; " /></a><div></div><div><b style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">'The Boy James' returns to London from 25 Jan - 11 Feb 2012 and at the Adeliade Fringe Festival from 24th February - 18th March 2012. Full details at <a href="http://www.jethrocomptonltd.co.uk/theboyjames" style="color: rgb(153, 170, 221); text-decoration: none; ">www.beltuptheatre.com</a></b> </div><div><br /></div><div><span >Tickets for the London run can be booked <a href="http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/outandabout/the-boy-james-2/">here</a>.</span></div><div><br /></div></div>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-86778916699604497552012-01-22T06:17:00.000-08:002012-01-22T07:08:35.583-08:00The. Bo'y, Jame:s - Google Alerts gone mad<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHvCv7aBBZEkGkXBuAKBdXwJM2xGCIBCKI1YwDipcTKLTCc9-LikJjnU6EflP59kcY2AX_jPPAHHowLKk4zAEmACwh6mcR-KGrr0coJ7JBTk6EVzog4V8Zqz_1hH0vrkkRy3dSSx7pjk7/s1600/DSC02371.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHvCv7aBBZEkGkXBuAKBdXwJM2xGCIBCKI1YwDipcTKLTCc9-LikJjnU6EflP59kcY2AX_jPPAHHowLKk4zAEmACwh6mcR-KGrr0coJ7JBTk6EVzog4V8Zqz_1hH0vrkkRy3dSSx7pjk7/s320/DSC02371.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700473461791093762" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span>When we announced 'The Boy James' return to London (and trip to Australia) we set up a Google Alert to let us know when the show was mentioned online. The following are some of the headlines we've been sent...</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><b>One child killed, one badly injured in Wilton crash<o:p></o:p></b></span></p><span><b> </b><p class="MsoNormal"><b>The boy, James</b> Eggleston, of Corinth, was in a 2007 Dodge Caravan with three other passengers, his siblings. Police said his mother, Shiho Price, 39, was ...<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>A Different Kind of Fairy Tale Chapter 2 Story</b><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Over her shoulder <b>the boy James</b> was looking at me with sad eyesYoull be happy I promise Em I planned this whole thing without a choice and I chose ...<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Fan Fiction - A little slythiern - Wattpad</b><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The two babies where born lily was holding the girl who was born an hour after <b>the boy. James</b> was holding the boy. They where trying to decided names. ...<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Fanfic: epilouge, Harry Potter</b><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Best be quick while no one's looking. "Ginny murmured into her eldest biological son's ear. <b>The boy, James</b>, looked left and right then ran straight into a platform ...<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Baby Boy On the Way for Jeremy Sisto – Moms & Babies – Moms ...</b><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Shannon – was thinking the same thing Ballerina Ugh Poor Kid Are they going to name <b>the boy James </b>Astronaut. Jen on December 22nd 2011 ...<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Fan Fiction - Face Your Fate Three Learn to be Lonely - Wattpad</b><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“My mom said it's because your mom doesn't love you.” “James,” a woman reprimanded the boy. “Stop, that's mean.” “It's the truth,” <b>the boy, James</b>, said back. ...<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | UK News ...</b><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>THE BOY JAMES</b> ... I cant wait for the end game because I would not put money on the fact that <b>the boy James</b> doesn't appear before the courts in connection ...<o:p></o:p></p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><b><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">'The Boy James' returns to London from 25 Jan - 11 Feb 2012 and at the Adeliade Fringe Festival from 24th February - 18th March 2012. Full details at <a href="http://www.jethrocomptonltd.co.uk/theboyjames" style="color: rgb(153, 170, 221); text-decoration: none; ">www.beltuptheatre.com</a></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-30590498372314024202012-01-21T09:40:00.000-08:002012-01-21T09:56:02.112-08:00Rehearsal Pictures from THE BOY JAMES<div><span >The following are pictures from the rehearsal room. They aren't really pictures of rehearsals...</span></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKM79MctKD6o2g97q0_hn95EOp508sg87TkaU9ClRLLnZf6hyphenhyphenJzG09duIbn4ldZttjP50v75WF7bZpb70VbYQkCv99kU0oh-caNL6w-I1fj8G5rNnL54XGbK1Gn_8UKviLtQba2dM65Xsr/s1600/DSC02383.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKM79MctKD6o2g97q0_hn95EOp508sg87TkaU9ClRLLnZf6hyphenhyphenJzG09duIbn4ldZttjP50v75WF7bZpb70VbYQkCv99kU0oh-caNL6w-I1fj8G5rNnL54XGbK1Gn_8UKviLtQba2dM65Xsr/s320/DSC02383.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700145244908188610" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh365Hwz7FVRJYnUNqrrPp7NQ1NUfOG_oqiMnFX6JCmnH7kMgsOTviPK77I93218NrcHRkCgwncCBlEYNTMnIVLXbUkm0gQ8uwiV9GxxZclpgfO7DHn_SpPApcilUvRGDCv_tPDotuK6G9U/s1600/DSC02368.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh365Hwz7FVRJYnUNqrrPp7NQ1NUfOG_oqiMnFX6JCmnH7kMgsOTviPK77I93218NrcHRkCgwncCBlEYNTMnIVLXbUkm0gQ8uwiV9GxxZclpgfO7DHn_SpPApcilUvRGDCv_tPDotuK6G9U/s320/DSC02368.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700145038289388626" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhul6pCjgTfcxVlX0yJhcelUZOE7JbZUrb-ybZ0LZPVcIwDQzPtz-8nA1Pem8vcr8U8I4ct-kM-EVfiPy0kxr3rHjdJ3MHjOdTBCWdDyyjAw0ZXvTQFnSE2hXF1c3nEaRygBY0UV8ytIuft/s1600/DSC02365.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhul6pCjgTfcxVlX0yJhcelUZOE7JbZUrb-ybZ0LZPVcIwDQzPtz-8nA1Pem8vcr8U8I4ct-kM-EVfiPy0kxr3rHjdJ3MHjOdTBCWdDyyjAw0ZXvTQFnSE2hXF1c3nEaRygBY0UV8ytIuft/s320/DSC02365.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700144876697798722" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipw7IruXj4_TIuSJOMB8QgkXU367nccfrX06SB08uU-aeC8umKfpcER7ltQhzDyDWNbaGC6sZ2nyxBCsQZW86s6jqpObXn64EniTJ91TSfFsyWMTM4CEA7u2BT90pvScpebnrZbJpr0uIw/s1600/DSC02350.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipw7IruXj4_TIuSJOMB8QgkXU367nccfrX06SB08uU-aeC8umKfpcER7ltQhzDyDWNbaGC6sZ2nyxBCsQZW86s6jqpObXn64EniTJ91TSfFsyWMTM4CEA7u2BT90pvScpebnrZbJpr0uIw/s320/DSC02350.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700144696836038786" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdpEAyELjSSGx-DdOb_oEvWxLQU1xBAaqpd14NhgOIYJ5kKIwSgthgx76YKaM2HKHgr8OHf678aGt9aDCmR67XMf31Ypj_ncaRfTSWk7giixNLZahw4QPMpRrkC3Braiq3LXgmVd8OFfI/s1600/DSC02323.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdpEAyELjSSGx-DdOb_oEvWxLQU1xBAaqpd14NhgOIYJ5kKIwSgthgx76YKaM2HKHgr8OHf678aGt9aDCmR67XMf31Ypj_ncaRfTSWk7giixNLZahw4QPMpRrkC3Braiq3LXgmVd8OFfI/s320/DSC02323.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700144535268177938" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoD4jNAEzQ3lXcRPL_bb4x9oii7RSXEhmwvGU454SMqTOdahpxKE2Yt_MnNJCgdDSR2rJ_1-9sKDadcQsnArK1vomJxWKwo8IaolUYgGm6nOvAln0sJLp6hUyjwirr9xlFqiIO93fJFDb4/s1600/DSC02261.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoD4jNAEzQ3lXcRPL_bb4x9oii7RSXEhmwvGU454SMqTOdahpxKE2Yt_MnNJCgdDSR2rJ_1-9sKDadcQsnArK1vomJxWKwo8IaolUYgGm6nOvAln0sJLp6hUyjwirr9xlFqiIO93fJFDb4/s320/DSC02261.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700144317088823586" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fDJYZBCEOjCkRiCHCzcKn2LBgkwCek5I6XBIGTCh0ShTADML1Z48DzY87lDVavWsNe5S3NdRBwuUmSv6o8OwWommV0aDgiAbpOlKSmJWUtnIgLb1ADQKeYtEjdc9tpS0XndjfBxhvqbm/s1600/DSC02258.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fDJYZBCEOjCkRiCHCzcKn2LBgkwCek5I6XBIGTCh0ShTADML1Z48DzY87lDVavWsNe5S3NdRBwuUmSv6o8OwWommV0aDgiAbpOlKSmJWUtnIgLb1ADQKeYtEjdc9tpS0XndjfBxhvqbm/s320/DSC02258.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700144150948063426" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3dc-yBj1TsYsMTw5aVyCmO0NIIVdljNFbCjwdGvN2U4G_ihCFkTpU8qPDm6BDX2GGre9jdRi5DRhs4iB0A5zostqg8PGfubcOqVsY639VX09c498LhnLyR7eD_FhsCdWk2WwJgVv2vsG/s1600/DSC02257.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3dc-yBj1TsYsMTw5aVyCmO0NIIVdljNFbCjwdGvN2U4G_ihCFkTpU8qPDm6BDX2GGre9jdRi5DRhs4iB0A5zostqg8PGfubcOqVsY639VX09c498LhnLyR7eD_FhsCdWk2WwJgVv2vsG/s320/DSC02257.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700143912158375298" /></a><b style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">'The Boy James' returns to London from 25 Jan - 11 Feb 2012 and at the Adeliade Fringe Festival from 24th February - 18th March 2012. Full details at <a href="http://www.jethrocomptonltd.co.uk/theboyjames" style="color: rgb(153, 170, 221); text-decoration: none; ">www.beltuptheatre.com</a></b>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7466972813423616919.post-21404739209740371582012-01-05T10:10:00.000-08:002012-01-13T05:14:02.029-08:00The Boy James: A Younger Theatre interviews Jethro Compton<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70ATS4BezniVxVPAYQVHA_3hXDKcO5Vt5QHWTIM5tC2OM36gxgiztBa7BfkEK65ZZKOsaGJJzTwM76DPrhCsBbx4S28EWoWJTp34ScTw13zkaSwO5SbD6OPQRy85AxQlEQZr-Less2YLN/s1600/boyjames-07+%25282%2529.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70ATS4BezniVxVPAYQVHA_3hXDKcO5Vt5QHWTIM5tC2OM36gxgiztBa7BfkEK65ZZKOsaGJJzTwM76DPrhCsBbx4S28EWoWJTp34ScTw13zkaSwO5SbD6OPQRy85AxQlEQZr-Less2YLN/s320/boyjames-07+%25282%2529.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694212253783403106" /></a><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">“One of our more ‘Marmite’ shows,” is how Jethro Compton describes Belt Up Theatre’s current venture, The Boy James. “Some people hate it and some people absolutely love it.”</span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">The Boy James began life in 2009 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a sideline to a programme of more high profile performances The Trial and Tartuffe. The show ran every other day and admitted an audience of only 25 people. Compton, who juggles his role as The Boy in the show with his responsibilities as both Producer and Lighting Designer, notes, “It’s weird that two years later we’re still doing it.”</span></p><p></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">It has become something of a flagship production for Belt Up. Returning to London for a three-week run in association with Southwark Playhouse (where Belt Up have been performing since 2009), the show will then journey to Australia to represent the company at the Adelaide Festival. But how will a new, international crowd take to Belt Up’s mischievous ways? The company is known for its unconventional staging and audience interaction and this show is no exception. </span></span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">“Basically, the audience are invited into a study, where they prepare to go on an adventure,” explains Compton. “Whether that adventure does or doesn’t happen is not clear.” The Boy James is inspired by Peter Pan and the life of J.M. Barrie. The dialogue between the characters and the audience centres around the idea of growing up – or rather of not wanting to grow up. The character of James struggles throughout the play to bid farewell to his childhood self and put The Boy to rest. “It’s not a narrative show,” explains Compton. “It’s really bizarre in that way. It’s not storytelling in the way we usually tell stories. It’s all about the relationship that the audience has with the character of The Boy and how that starts and ends.”</span></span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">Compton is quick to admit that this unconventional approach has divided critics. The Boy James has received criticism from some individuals. “I think that’s because it’s not the kind of show you can sit behind a notepad and write about,” says Compton. “You need to be feeling it.” In stark contrast to the negative responses, one of the best endorsements The Boy James could have received came fromStephen Fry on Twitter. He was one of many who left the show at the end of an evening in floods of tears. According to Compton, it can be anything from one audience member with a tear in their eye to the whole lot sobbing. With Fry, (“Just been knocked out by The Boy James – still drying my eyes”) the company struck gold. </span></span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">“To have the Stephen Fry thing – that gave the show a boost and allowed us to continue doing the show,” remembers Compton. “It’s quite an amazing thing to have the Fry quote because people read The Guardian or whatever paper they read and when they read a bad review they will trust it. When Stephen Fry comes out with a positive quote, people think ‘Well I like him and he likes that so therefore maybe I will like that’.”</span></span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">It’s easy to consider the mounting pressure on a young company sich as Belt Up. Two 5-star sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and some high profile admirers must make for high expectations. “We try not to think about that too much,” says Compton. “We started making the work that we wanted to make, telling the stories that we wanted to tell. We’ve always tried to keep that at the centre of it.”</span></span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">The question of how a production translates from a Fringe stage to a London one is also crucial. When Belt Up made the transition, it found its work didn’t impress quite so effortlessly as it had done before. “When we came to London for the first time, we weren’t just a fringe company that people quite liked,” explains Compton. “There was an expectation of our work. People were like ‘Well there are loads of young companies – what’s different about you?’ and so when people were blindfolded and thrown into a space, they were a bit like ‘Oh no, not this again’.”</span></span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">Returning to Edinburgh in 2010 brought its own daunting level of expectation from audiences. Coming back after a prior season peppered with glowing reviews, the company were met with an attitude that Compton describes as “Go on then – impress us.” But the company is still young, still learning and still prone to making mistakes – and so it should be. If, as Compton points out, an audience enters a space with ridiculous expectations, viewers are unlikely to drop their guard even with the ten minutes of participatory childhood games that start the show.</span></span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">Adopting the role of producer for a young company, as Compton has, adds another dimension of pressure. “I never wanted to be a producer,” Compton recalls. “It just kind of happened. I did the lighting which led to doing all the technical side of things which led to being a production manager and doing budgets, and I then ended up realising that the thing I enjoy doing is producing. The more I did it, the more I realised it’s actually what I want to do.” Being taken seriously is still the challenge with which Compton most identifies. He clearly believes that producing is not a skill you can learn on a course – you learn through doing. And there is support available to young producers. The office from which he works is provided by Stage One, a trust set up to help the next generation of commercial producers. So why aren’t more young people getting into production right now?</span></span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">“Some people see producers as facilitators, which is not what I do,” says Compton, engaging with the common misconception that producers deal only with logistics. “I have an interest in taking a show that I like or coming up with an idea and then putting it together. And the great thing about being a producer is that I don’t have to wait for someone to give me a job. I know so many young people out there who are unable to get work and I don’t have to worry about that because I’m the one making the work happen. It’s a great feeling, especially if the work is successful.”</span></span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;" >This interview is by A Younger Theatre. Click <a href="http://www.ayoungertheatre.com">here</a> to visit their website.</span></span></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; "><b style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; ">'The Boy James' returns to London from 25 Jan - 11 Feb 2012 and at the Adeliade Fringe Festival from 24th February - 18th March 2012. Full details at <a href="http://www.jethrocomptonltd.co.uk/theboyjames" style="color: rgb(153, 170, 221); text-decoration: none; ">www.beltuptheatre.com</a></b> </p>BeltUpTheatrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154859149815579736noreply@blogger.com0