Theatrevoice - Let's talk about theatre

The Archive

Recordings under the letter A

Total Number of Recordings under this letter: 30

AFTER MISS JULIE David Benedict, Rachel Halliburton and Mark Shenton enthuse about Patrick Marber's very classy adaptation of Strindberg at the Donmar Warehouse. Dominic Cavendish hosts.
“You watch actors who've been impressive in other things absolutely seizing their moment here.”
Play: After Miss Julie
Theatre: Donmar Warehouse
Recording Date: 28-Nov-2003
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL Shakespeare's bitterest comedy, revived by the RSC and reflected on collectively by David Benedict, Rhoda Koenig and Heather Neill. Patrick Marmion hosts.
“It started quite well, although by the end I wasn't feeling that well - I was really rather disappointed.”
Play: All's Well That Ends Well
Theatre: Gielgud Theatre
Recording Date: 27-Feb-2004
Listen to this discussion NOW!
Alternative theatre special (1/2): Director Mike Bradwell talks to Aleks Sierz about his new book, The Reluctant Escapologist: Adventures in Alternative Theatre (Nick Hern), which tells of his early experiences of making contemporary theatre, and his memories of East 15, Joan Littlewood, Living Theatre and Mike Leigh. Expletives not deleted.
“It seemed to me that what Joan Littlewood said and did just chimed with what I felt: I wanted popular entertainment that meant something.”
Recording Date: 13-Jul-2010
Listen to this discussion NOW!
Alternative theatre special (2/2): Director Mike Bradwell talks to Aleks Sierz about his new book, The Reluctant Escapologist: Adventures in Alternative Theatre (Nick Hern), which tells of his experiences of making contemporary theatre with Hull Truck, which he founded in 1971, and at the Bush, which he headed 1996-2007, and with Ken Campbell. Expletives not deleted.
“We were doing social satire, looking at our contemporaries across a wide class spectrum from public shoolboys to people on the dole.”
Recording Date: 13-Jul-2010
Listen to this discussion NOW!
AMERICA ABSURDUM The zany, hip US satire has hit London. Philip Fisher asks director John Clancy and actors Nancy Walsh and Paul Urcioli to tell all about it. With two extracts from the show.
“Back in 1994, it was seen as a little extreme - now everyone's getting it.”
Play: Americana Absurdum
Theatre: Menier Chocolate Factory
Recording Date: 26-May-2004
Listen to this discussion NOW!
AMERICAN THEATRE SPECIAL The Riot Group's Adriano Shaplin and Paul Schnabel, over in the UK with their hit play Pugilist Specialist, talk to Rachel Halliburton.
1 comment
“We need a more complicated and nuanced portrait of the way wars are planned and fought.”
Play: Pugilist Specialist
Theatre: Riverside Studios
Recording Date: 21-Jan-2004
Listen to this discussion NOW!
AN EVENING WITH MICHAEL FRAYN At an event at the Hampstead Theatre, the playwright and writer introduces his new book, The Human Touch: Our Part in the Creation of the Universe (Faber), and tackles the paradoxes of philosophy.
“I think that philosophy is one of those sad subjects - it is a subject that has shrunk over the years.”
Recording Date: 08-Feb-2007
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ANYTHING GOES Trevor Nunn's revival of the Cole Porter classic is greeted with qualified joy by Dominic Cavendish, David Benedict and Mark Shenton.
“It's a lot of fun. The whole thing feels much more comfortable now that it's in the West End.”
Play: Anything Goes
Theatre: Drury Lane Theatre Royal
Recording Date: 10-Oct-2003
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ARTS COUNCIL DEBATE Barbara Matthews, director of theatre strategy at Arts Council England, defends the controversial funding cuts, emphasises the good news in the recent review, and talks about new writing, peer review and excellence in British theatre. Aleks Sierz quizzes.
“An awful lot of people were saying to us, 'Hurray, thanks for doing this at last, but please don't quote me.'”
Recording Date: 05-Feb-2008
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ARTS COUNCIL DEBATE Josie Rourke, artistic director of the Bush theatre, and Sam Walters, artistic director of the Orange Tree theatre, join the critics Robert Hewison - also representing the National Student Drama Festival - and Fiona Mountford (Evening Standard) to discuss the funding threats facing the sector. Dominic Cavendish hosts. Recorded at Dewynters, London.
“No one would reasonably dispute the Arts Council's right to make choices and cuts - but it needs to be done properly.”
Recording Date: 25-Jan-2008
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN THEATRE SPECIAL The novelist Hanif Kureishi and Jatinder Verma, artistic director of Tara Arts, talk to Suman Bhuchar about taking The Black Album from page to stage at the National Theatre - and about multicultural relations during the 20-year period since the Salman Rushdie affair.
“White writers are terrified of the subject of race... And it's a real failing... The theatre is really reactionary in terms of being able to write about what's happening in the post-war period in terms of race.”
Recording Date: 01-Sep-2009
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES Jatinder Verma of Tara, Kristine Landon-Smith of Tamasha, Shobu Kapoor from Kali, and academic researcher Suman Bhuchar join Dominic Cavendish to talk about Asian theatre in the UK: past, present and future.
“Right now everyone is in search of 'the Muslim play' - we're trying to understand what's going on.”
Recording Date: 08-Jan-2008
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: ALIA BANO The playwright talks to Suman Bhuchar about her latest play, Hens, which has had a short run at the Riverside Studios before being screened by the Sky Arts channel on 23 June in their series of contemporary televised drama. They also discuss her other work, including her debut Shades and her current Let Them Eat Cake (Royal Court), as well as Gap (National Connections season). Recorded at the Riverside.
“How can I possibly shy away from the fact that I am a woman and an Asian? I'm very proud of where I come from, and of my identity as a writer.”
Recording Date: 17-Jun-2010
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: AMIT SHARMA The Actor, currently starring in Tamasha's touring production of The Trouble with Asian Men, talks to Dominic Cavendish about the trouble with stereotypes.
“To say, as one review does, that Asian men want to blow themselves up is disappointing and offensive.”
Recording Date: 20-Sep-2006
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: ANUPAMA CHANDRASEKHAR AND LOLITA CHAKRABARTI The playwright and the actor talk to Suman Bhuchar about the taboo-busting play, Free Outgoing (Royal Court), which is now touring to the Traverse, Edinburgh.
“When a lot of the audience was Indian, the response has been more vocal - they immediately get the shocking nature of the material.”
Recording Date: 25-Jul-2008
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: ATIHA SEN GUPTA The young playwright talks to Suman Bhuchar about What Fatima Did... (Hampstead), her debut play about a 17-year-old Muslim who decides to start wearing the hijab, raising issues of identity and freedom. Expletives not deleted.
“I'm always interested in women, not just the hijabis, and how women dress - ideas of control, identity and freedom.”
Recording Date: 29-Oct-2009
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: BHASKER PATEL The actor, who is currently playing Mau's father in Mark Ravenhill's adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Nation (National), talks to Suman Bhuchar about this play, and about his 30 years in the business, which started at this flagship theatre in the 1970s and includes film and television classics. Recorded at the National.
“I am really so glad that Asian theatre companies, such as Tara, Tamasha and Kali, are there for Asian actors to get jobs in contemporary plays.”
Recording Date: 04-Jan-2010
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: GURPREET KAUR BHATTI The playwright talks to Suman Bhuchar about her latest play, Behud (Beyond Belief) (Soho), which is an imaginative take on her own controversial play, Behzti (Dishonour), which was stopped by a riot outside the theatre on its first production at Birmingham Rep in December 2004. They also explore other aspects of Asian theatre, including Bhatti's earlier career.
“I'm writing a play and not my autobiography, so it's got to work as a piece of fiction which comes from my imagination.”
Recording Date: 29-Apr-2010
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: INTERNATIONAL THEATRE SPECIAL Shahid Naseem, playwright, director and founder member of Ajoka, a theatre for social change that was set up in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1984, talks to Suman Bhuchar about his uncompromising career, and the company's history plays and political interventions. Recorded at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
“History has been distorted by the Establishment, so we have to go back to history to understand where present-day problems originate.”
Recording Date: 16-Mar-2010
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: JATINDER VERMA (1/2) The artistic director of Tara Arts, marking its 30th anniversary with a revival of Beaumarchais's The Marriage of Figaro, talks to Dominic Cavendish about the production's cross-cultural rationale.
1 comment
“We often come across the cliche in the theatre: Do the text as written! But what does that actually mean?”
Recording Date: 16-Oct-2006
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: JATINDER VERMA (2/2) The artistic director of Tara Arts considers the failures of multiculturalism, Enoch Powell, the difficulties of faith schools, and contemplates the future. Dominic Cavendish quizzes.
“How do we talk across cultures? The one thing we have to let go of is notions of authenticity and to do that boldly.”
Recording Date: 16-Oct-2006
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: KULVINDER GHIR The actor talks to Suman Bhuchar about his current role in Trevor Griffiths's Comedians (Lyric, Hammersmith) and about his career in comedy, which culminated in BBC's Goodness Gracious Me, as well as his other roles in Griffiths's plays. Recorded at the Lyric, Hammersmith.
“I was more of an impressionist than a teller of gags. I told a few jokes and did an impersonation of Elvis.”
Recording Date: 23-Oct-2009
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: PAUL BHATTACHARJEE The actor, currently appearing in a restaging of Complicite's 2007 play, A Disappearing Number (Barbican), inspired by the collaboration between Indian autodidact Srinivasa Ramanujan and Cambridge professor GH Hardy, talks to Suman Bhuchar.
“The play doesn't feel in any way old to us - it is still vibrant and it really is still improving.”
Recording Date: 09-Oct-2008
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: PRAVESH KUMAR The artistic director of Rifco Arts talks to Suman Bhuchar about his latest project, Britain's Got Bhangra (Stratford East/Warwick and touring), a musical composed by Sumeet Chopra which starts with 1980s sequins and evolves into R 'n' B fusion. He also discusses other Rifco shows. Recorded at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.
“British Bhangra is unique to Britain - in India, Punjabi folk music is very different. So I wanted to tell its story.”
Recording Date: 01-May-2010
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: RANI MOORTHY The actor and playwright talks to Suman Bhuchar about her career and her latest play, Handful of Henna (Rasa with Oxfordshire Theatre Company), a touring production which examines the magical powers of henna in the context of a wedding story. Recorded at Watermans.
“For the first time, here in Britain, I could explore ideas that I could not touch on because of censorship in Malaysia or Singapore.”
Recording Date: 29-Jan-2010
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: SANJEEV BHASKAR The actor and comedian talks to Suman Bhuchar about his role in Joe Penhall's Dumb Show (2004), which is currently being revived at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, and is a black comedy about celebrity. He also discusses his roles in Art, Spamalot and his early career. Recorded at the Rose Theatre.
“I have a recurring dream in which I am offered a great role - then I wake up and it's just a dream. Dumb Show was an offer, but it very rarely happens!”
Recording Date: 10-Apr-2010
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: SUDHA BHUCHAR The artistic director of Tamasha, actor and playwright talks to her sister Suman Bhuchar about her company's new version of Wuthering Heights - a Bollywood Bronte.
“In terms of the specifics of the transposition it's been amazing: the arid desert of Rajasthan, the harsh moors of Yorkshire and the passionate love that transcends death.”
Recording Date: 02-May-2009
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ASIAN VOICES: TANIKA GUPTA The playwright gives a career overview to Aleks Sierz, talking about her plays, Voices on the Wind (National, 1998), The Waiting Room (National, 2000), Sanctuary (National, 2002), Gladiator Games (Sheffield, 2005) and Sugar Mummies (Royal Court, 2006). Recorded at Staging Interculturality, the 18th Annual Conference of the German Society for Contemporary Drama in English, held in Vienna. Substantial extract. (Edited transcript available as ‘Writing Beyond the Stereotypes (Tanika Gupta in Conversation with Aleks Sierz)’, in Werner Huber, Margarete Rubik and Julia Novak (eds), Staging Interculturality (CDE 17), Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2010.)
“All these Indian ladies turned up, hoping just to buy a ticket - the whole of the Embankment was full of saris, and they tried to storm the stage door.”
Recording Date: 07-Jun-2009
Listen to this discussion NOW!
Asian voices: Writer Sudha Bhuchar and director Kristine Landon-Smith of Tamasha discuss their latest, The House of Bilquis Bibi (Hampstead, and touring), with Suman Bhuchar. The play is an adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba and is part of the company's 21st birthday celebrations.
“Why, when a British Asian company chooses to use Indian accents in a play set in the sub-continent, do some critics think this is incomprehensible?”
Recording Date: 01-Aug-2010
Listen to this discussion NOW!
ATHOL FUGARD SPECIAL As the Arcola Theatre stages a mini-season of the South African playwright's work - The Road to Mecca (1984) and Coming Home (2009) - actress Linda Bassett (who stars in The Road to Mecca) talks to Heather Neill about working with the playwright. Recorded at the Arcola. More info: www.arcolatheatre.com.
“We've tried every which way of working with the accent, and we just do our best, but you do worry about the South Africans in the audience.”
Recording Date: 22-Jun-2010
Listen to this discussion NOW!