Criterion Theatre, London: The 23 students in this showcase are somewhat ill-served by the strange choice of just five pieces, most of which seem to require high levels of sustained tension.…
Earlier this year I went to Exeter to visit Cygnet Training Theatre and wrote about it for The Stage. I wanted to see what is probably the UK's smallest drama training provider in action …
Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury: Video projection, occasional trombone continuo, filmed silhouettes, sparky audience interaction, messages held up on placards and a great deal of expressive d…
I'm hearing so much about off-stage apprenticeships (internships, trainee posts " a rose by any other name) at the moment that I'm seriously beginning to wonder whether this is a way forward…
I met Royal Central School of Speech and Drama student Jordan Blackwood at the Royal Albert Hall last year. It was the launch of Central's Accidental Festival and he was executive coordinato…
Criterion Theatre, London: This unusually structured showcase gets round the problem of trying to demonstrate the talents of 47 students in less than an hour by offering just nine group piec…
Criterion Theatre: It's a most welcome change to see a showcase featuring so many powerfully solid men and including so much stunningly good dancing. Congratulations to the people who h…
Last week I took the District line westward to Chiswick to revisit Arts Ed. It's nearly three years since I've been there and I was keen to see the brand spanking new 200 seat Andrew…
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford: Mobile, scenic turquoise silk screens, intriguing boxes, puppets in several sizes and atmospheric music ranging from Elizabethan folksy via lyrical symphoni…
The more of this sort of thing which happens the better because there is still a massive dearth of good career information for young people wanting to work in the creative industries other t…
If you're thinking of auditioning at any level from securing a place at drama school all the way through to being seen for a plum part in the West End " then don't go ahead…
Arts Depot, London: Pulsing with energy, music and imagination, this show is a splendid showcase for four hugely talented actors - although of course that isn't the intention of this sl…
It can't have escaped your attention that last week was the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth. The Stage themed last week's paper on it and there was masses of coverage elsewhere. And…
Criterion Theatre: This entertaining showcase contains a lot of laughter and it's a real pleasure to see some unusual, mature choices of material including Shakespeare, Ayckbourn, Cowar…
Susan Elkin talks about why every child should experience Shakespeare
I annoyed a lot of people here earlier this year by arguing that children should be taught a little theatre etiquette because, although we want a lively response, it is also useful if the au…
I recently had the pleasure of seeing English National Ballet School's My First Ballet: Coppelia at the Peacock Theatre " along with hundreds of families. Did I say families? Well yes, there…
Interesting things are going on at the rebuilt Liverpool Everyman. Not least its new Young Everyman Playhouse (YEP) company which has replaced Everyman Youth Theatre with a much wider range …
Greenwich Theatre, London: Gran (Pauline Goldsmith) is entertaining her grandchildren with an elaborate game of pirates in this original, funny, rhythmic piece, which, among other things, ce…
So what does it mean to live in Kent whether you've just arrived or whether, like me, you've been here for decades? Last week I went to the Marlowe Theatre to find out. The Garden of̷…
Polka Theatre, London: This robust and original piece is about confronting demons, whether that means living with the fear of what is happening to your dad in a 2014 war zone or facing the M…
Rose Theatre, Kingston: This stylised, acrobatic retelling with music is a lively account of Jacqueline Wilson's late Victorian Foundling Hospital story. It takes the eponymous Hetty�…
Are we training too many students? It's the showcase season " and there are dozens and dozens of them. I see at least one a week and sometimes more at this time of year although…
Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells: The Famous Five meets pantomime is the essence of Scooby-Doo on stage, and its cartoon nonsense, enacted by a strong cast, certainly makes children la…
It is often alleged " by people who are happy with cavalier generalisations " that 21st century drama schools don't teach Shakespeare and his contemporaries properly and that today's young a…