739 stories by "Susan Elkin"
11 young auditionees took their chance to impress Sylvia Young and fellow judges to earn a scholarship to attend her theatre school, writes Susan Elkin
Last week I had a short break in beautiful Bath to celebrate a landmark wedding anniversary. But I'm never quite off duty so I also took the opportunity to visit The Egg, famous children's t…
I am a passionate believer in the importance of theatre for young audiences as no regular reader of these columns could fail to have noticed. Let me explain why. First: it has immeasurable t…
Stageworks is an independent college based at St Neots in Cambridgeshire. It offers classes for children from age 3 along with two full-time courses: a two year (level 3 " equivalent to s…
Unicorn Theatre, London: This gently witty account of Margery Williams' charming book, loved by children for several generations, explores the power of play and imagination to transcend…
For decades people have been bewailing the lack of vocational training in Ireland " to me and to anyone else who will listen. And I have met dozens of Irish students training in the UK&#…
Duchess Theatre, London: Demonstrating the talents of 12 male and 12 female actors, this showcase is a good example of how to select high quality, often quite original pieces which really sh…
On Monday, matters theatrical and educational took me to two different venues for two contrasting shows both related strongly to learning and development. In the morning I went to Ravensbour…
I've had my eye on The Lir Ireland's National Academy of Dramatic Art " at Trinity College Dublin – for some time because for so long there was no conservatoire level training in Ir…
Polka Theatre, London: This pleasingly original show features some fine singing which stays impressively in tune even when a pre-rehearsed class of children is lined up on stage to join in.
…
Well, having spent most of my life determinedly keeping my feet on the ground, both literally and metaphorically, it was quite an experience for me to be enjoying a (very) bouncy floor and l…
Criterion Theatre, London: This straightforward showcase gives us the work of 28 students in 15 duologues so most actors appear only once. And congratulations to whoever thought of starting …
Olympia was definitely the place to be this weekend. The Perform Show and Move It were the usual exuberant, buzzy three day events. I dropped in on Friday afternoon. It's one of my annual…
Redbridge Drama Centre: Thunder rumbles, blackboards, doubling as flats on castors, whizz about and hideous masked creatures menace the audience.
Read the full review
The other day, at another venue, I picked up a brochure about Cecil Sharp House, the Camden Town headquarters of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. As always, the mere mention of it…
Last week I saw Strangeface Theatre Company's Shooting the Moon at Theatre Royal Margate and reviewed it for The Stage. It was a charismatically intriguing and interesting experience w…
Theatre Royal, Margate: This quirky, wordless, engaging four-hander tells the episodic story of the French film pioneer Georges Melies in a series of "unreliable dreams" from his d…
Earlier this week I saw a production of Howard Brenton's fine play, Anne Boleyn and I was really pleased to catch up with this sparky, thoughtful Jacobean ghost story, having missed it at th…
Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury: The usual irreverent energetic slickness we've come to expect from the Reduced Shakespeare Company makes this show another comic corker. Imagine the thre…
Last week I had the very great pleasure of seeing Merry Opera Company's Kiss Me Figaro. It's at Riverside Studios until 2 March and then touring until June 28. This musical rom-com is about …
The very first piece I wrote for The Stage, nearly twenty years ago, was about the behaviour of school parties in the theatre. Interestingly I have needed only very rarely to revisit the sub…
Orchard Theatre, Dartford: This is a new Horrible Histories show and the third in the Barmy Britain series and, although there is some familiar material, most of it is fresh and really enhan…
I've long been a passionate advocate of theatre for young audiences (as you might, just might, have noticed). As well as seeing dozens of shows by touring companies every year I'm a regular …
The Canterbury High School: This text-reduced, gender-reversed take on one of Shakespeare's more problematic plays is a funny and poignant introduction to the canon, aimed at 8-13 year …
Unicorn, London: This ingenious, quasi-feminist, uncompromising reworking of Dr Faustus for 21st century young audiences is entirely written in iambic pentameter, which gives it unusual lyri…
