Hello, and welcome back to Week in Review, our roundup of industry-wide news. From stage to screens big and small, we’ve got you covered. It’s everything you need to know and all you can’t afford to miss.
Stars join Broadway musical making West End history
Casting is underway for the new London production of the hit Broadway musical Waitress. Scripted by Jessie Nelson, directed by Diane Paulus and with choreography by Lorin Latarro, the production is making history by becoming the first in nearly 350 years of West End performances to feature an all-female creative team. Waitress opens in February at the Adelphi Theatre and stars American singer and actor Katharine McPhee alongside 30 Rock star Jack McBrayer, announced last week.
McPhee plays Jenna, a small-town waitress who dreams of escaping a rocky marriage and starting life anew, in a cast that includes Marisha Wallace, Laura Baldwin, Peter Hannah and David Hunter. Over on Broadway it has earned Tony nominations and rave reviews, and featured real pies warming as the audience entered the theatre. Previews of the West End production begin 8 February and additional casting is ongoing.
Arts sector reels at Government proposals for immigration
Industry bodies from across the arts sector have hit out at the Government’s “hugely disappointing” proposals on post-Brexit immigration. Accused of ignoring the needs and pressures on creative industries by both the Creative Industries Federation (CIF) and the UK Screen Alliance, the delayed proposals set out how the UK might handle migrants after leaving the EU tears up the current rule book.
New policies look to include a minimum salary requirement of £30,000 per year and those seeking citizenship required to fill out an 85-page document. The CIF argued that the “hugely disappointing” document “focuses on curbing immigration rather than on making it possible for businesses and our economy to succeed” and the Screen Alliance warned it would “severely limit” key areas of the film industry.
Published on 19 December, the proposed new laws on immigration would take effect once the UK has left the European Union. The Stage described the plans as “widely condemned” by voices across creative industries, including figures from theatre and the performing arts. Actor and writer Alex Andreou warned of the “toxic effect of an immigration salary threshold.”
He said: “It lures us into accepting that anyone making less than £30k is a drain, even though that includes the vast majority of us. It’s a national statement of self-disrespect.” Actor David Schneider said the policies revealed that the Prime Minister is “an anti-immigration xenophobe.”
Read more here.
Kent panto cancels entire run blaming bad weather in November
A pantomime in Kent cancelled all remaining shows last week, blaming bad weather and a lack of support from local authorities. Organisers of the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs released a statement saying the show had been “up against it from the beginning.” Due to run at the Friars in Aylesford until December 31, the panto had a cast of more than 30 performers.
Organisers said the cancellation highlighted “a strong need for a larger event space/theatre in the area” and that for the time being local authorities should make existing spaces “more accessible.” The team claimed “the show was great” but the weather in November “was a huge factor” in the cancellation. Companies who supplied equipment for the production have claimed they are £60,000 out of pocket, though the team have confirmed all tickets will be refunded. Although the company behind the panto have yet to confirm payment of the cast, Equity has fought for cancelled pantos to pay their cast, including earlier this year.
Grand dame retires after 40 years
After 40 years as the dame in York’s annual pantomime, veteran actor and writer Berwick Kaler reflected on what the Guardian called a “tsunami of cards and messages of goodwill” by saying he “never expected there to be quite this much fuss” over his retirement. The 72-year-old performer will have starred in 50 pantomimes, 40 of them at York Theatre Royal where a production entitled The Grand Old Dame of York will be his last. After heart surgery and “little aches and pains,” Kaler is to retire from starring in and writing the much-loved York pantomime, with his final performance on 2 February.
Read more here.
Stage production news
Stanley Townsend has joined the cast of All About Eve, opening at the Noël Coward Theatre in February next year. Adapted and directed by Ivo Van Hove from the 1950 film of the same name, the story follows Margo Channing, an ageing Broadway star who hires the beautiful Eve Harrington as her new assistant. In a production that will explore our fascination with celebrity and youth, actors Gillian Anderson and Lily James star as Margo and Eve, with Townsend joining to play theatre critic Addison DeWitt. The cast also includes Monica Dolan, Julian Ovenden, Sheila Reid and Rhashan Stone, and music provided by PJ Harvey.
Screen production news
A new project is offering £200,000 to filmmakers to document “Britain on the brink of a momentous decade.” The scheme will finance 20 short films from a variety of film-makers resident in Britain, providing a spectrum of perspectives on the UK throughout next year. Inspired by Brexit, climate change and #MeToo, The Uncertain Kingdom has been launched by John Jencks, a director, writer and producer whose credits include Out Of Blue and The Hippopotamus. Actor, writer and director Nathaniel Martello-White has been named as one of the first four filmmakers, alongside Hope Dickson Leach (The Levelling), Ian Bonhôte (McQueen) and actor and filmmaker Ray Panthaki. More names will be announced, with applications opening in January for 10 new talent filmmakers, selected by the team.
Read more here.
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