Sardines' Weekly Video from Our Editor, Paul Johnson
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We Called It! Unfortunately. With additional requirements – on top of social distancing both sides of the curtain – to include the wearing of facemasks across the entire auditorium and throughout the duration of the performance are bound to keep some people away, the most noticeable point, from an amateur perspective, hasn’t changed. Amateur performances are still restricted to being outdoor-only and to involve no more than a grand total of thirty people. By the way, these amateur outdoor performances now also need to have socially distanced audiences, everybody wearing face coverings, and no cheering or singing throughout. Whoopee! Watch Sardines' weekly video from our Editor, Paul Johnson... And people are being asked to pay to attend! I know these are unprecedented times, and we’re all making it up as we go along, but it’s little wonder that this year’s pantomime season is crumbling all around us… …And you can’t say we didn’t call this one! Ten days ago Qdos Pantomimes announced that due to Oliver Dowden’s “reiteration last week that the Government won’t be providing further guidance on theatres operating without social distancing until November at the earliest,” … they were to “begin the consultation process with our partner theatres about the viability of each show.” Since that moment December’s annual pantomime season has virtually collapsed. Productions have been posting cancellation announcements all over the place in favour of postponing any planned performances for twelve months. While there ARE still a fair few pantomimes that are yet to cancel their 2020 dates, we believe it’s only a matter of time before the inevitable happens and they all throw the towel in. Even the big Qdos production at the London Palladium appears to be waiting for the most convenient moment to announce its cancellation. Jack and the Beanstalk has no star names announced (they are usually all over the media by now), you can’t buy tickets from any website (not that any have probably been sold anyway), and Qdos won’t dare announce the usual list of star names and commit to such a huge financial undertaking – especially so late in the day – while the Palladium’s current capacity is somewhere in the region of 500-600. Rest assured we take no pleasure whatsoever in this whole sorry state of affairs. Regular readers will know that, every year, Sardines covers at least half a dozen big pantomime launches where we are usually able to bring you an array of invaluable tips and advice from the biggest panto stars in the business. Over the years we’ve spoken with the likes of Brian Conley, Craig Revel Horwood, Leslie Joseph, Steve McFadden, Tim Vine, Stephen Mulhern, Clive Rowe, Al Murray, Christopher Biggins and Jessie Wallace, among countless others – as well as the biggest pantomime producers, directors and writers. However, this year, we’ve nothing to bring you that could be considered slightly positive. The only silver-lining that the amateur sector might be able to look towards, is what panto writer, Ben Crocker, alluded to when we spoke with him recently. As amateur societies, companies and charities are not locked into performing throughout December (unlike our professional counterparts), perhaps a number of productions will be able to run after the New Year – even leading up to and over Easter if necessary. By then a vaccine might have been introduced, enabling social distancing to become a thing of the past. Won’t it be interesting if it’s the amateur sector that brings pantomime to the country this year? We may not have the star names and big budgets but, in a way, community groups delivering theatre to get those 'communities' re-ignited and re-engaged makes much more sense, don’t you think? Back to Ben Crocker; alongside fellow panto writer Tom Whalley – both hugely popular with amateur groups – as well as Imagine Theatre’s Laura Taylor and Head of UK Productions, Martin Dodd, our about-to-be-released online edition is one you really don’t want to miss. Our Panto in Ruins? article is essential reading – as is our huge twenty-five-page Life in Lockdown special feature. That’s the good news. The bad news is you’ll need a digital subscription to access the upcoming edition. While print subscribers will automatically all receive a free digital subscription alongside the launch of our new website in a week’s time, we have also brought in some very low digital only rates - £7.50 for six months and just £12 for a year… that’s just £1 per month! To subscribe or just to see the prices please click HERE... or below. In Motion Theatre Company partners with SCDA Beyond the Headlines will be launched as part of In Motion Theatre’s Virtual Programme. The new project sees writers from Scottish Community Drama Association Clubs and professional actors from across Scotland who are ex SCDA members premier a set of new monologues online at at 7pm on Thursday, 20th August 2020 via In Motion Theatre’s YouTube channel and its website www.inmotiontc.co.uk In Motion Theatre have been delighted to be working with SCDA and over the last couple of months to create an online set of monologues – Beyond the Headlines. Ten writers from SCDA clubs all over Scotland have been working with playwright and creative director of In Motion Theatre Company Lisa Nicoll to create stories/monologues around the theme ‘Beyond The Headlines’. Over a series of live and recorded workshops and one to one development, these writers have each created 5-minute fictional stories which have been inspired by media headlines and take us beyond what a headline really says. This process culminates in a digital online performance of these pieces at 7pm on Thursday, 20th August by professional actors – Alan Cumming, Robin Laing (Band of Brothers HBO, River City BBC, Waterloo Road BBC), Caroline Deyga (Our Lady of Perpetual Succour -National Theatre Scotland, Local Hero - Lyceum Theatre); Mark Armstrong (Our Girl - BBC, Frankenstein - National Theatre) Alasdair Hill and Lisa herself, who are all ex-Carnoustie Theatre Club members & were participants in SCDA Festivals & activities over the years. Creative Director of In Motion Theatre, Lisa Nicoll, cut her teeth through SCDA festivals with Carnoustie Theatre Club for nearly 15 years. Her Aunty - Betty Gibson was an active member of the SCDA for nearly 50 years especially in the area of the youth festivals and encouraged Lisa (like Betty did with so many others including Alan, Robin, Caroline, Mark and Alasdair) in her field. Clubs involved in Beyond The Headlines include Kirkton Players, Ury Players, Aberdour Players, Spotlights Community Youth Theatre, Thornhill Players, Greenock Players, Dunoon Players, Linlithgow Players and Fintry Amateur Dramatic Society. Writers are; Tony Flisch, Julie Forrester, Marley Hunter, Kevin Murphy, Richard Payne, Timothy Roberts, Robin Smith, George Thomson, Olga Watkins and Carole Williams. This opportunity was created for SCDA members to bring the professional and amateur world together to support each other especially during the current climate of not being able to perform in theatres. In Motion Theatre was established in October 2016 and is a Scottish based touring new writing theatre company. Set up and led by producer, playwright and actress Lisa Nicoll, alongside a team of associates, the company creates and tours both its own work and the work of other writers across Scotland. www.inmotiontc.co.uk Lisa Nicoll said “Being part of Carnoustie Theatre Club and SCDA Festivals a was a huge part of my development as an actress, writer and producer and provided me with an amazing grounding for the career embarked on. An invaluable experience that made me ready for life and able to mix with people of all ages and background. To be able to work and develop short plays with writers from SCDA clubs makes me feel like I am coming home.” Resonance hosts summer music school for schoolchildren Around 85 pupils from schools in the Dudley borough took part in the summer school at Resonance - the brand-new, state-of-the-art music institute in Brierley Hill. The aim was to make up for some of the schooling they had missed during the lockdown period, and to give them an extra bit of support before returning to their classrooms next term. Groups of primary school children spent a day at a time learning African drumming and Samba, whilst a smaller group of secondary-age students were in a different part of the campus, transforming themselves into rock musicians in the space of five days. ‘Rock band in a week’ was the theme for the older children, who spent the first day getting to grips with the different instruments and learning the basics. The rest of the week was spent forming a band, practising a piece and putting on a performance, which was recorded for posterity. The sessions were run by a team from Resonance and Dudley Council’s Dudley Performing Arts team, along with teaching and safeguarding staff from the local schools. "It’s been a great experience for the kids," said Rick Benton, Resonance chief executive. "All the kit is waiting for the first cohort of students joining us at the start of the autumn term, and it was brilliant to see the younger ones so enthused by the experience of playing and recording their own music. Our campus is a big place and there was plenty of recording, rehearsal and practice space for the two age groups to do their own thing safely in their own space. All the instruments were sanitised for every session." Councillor Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for children and young people, added: "We are keen to support our children, young people and their families during these unprecedented times, and our summer schemes are an important part of this.