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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2017 14:24:31 GMT
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628 posts
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Post by jek on Sept 26, 2017 15:03:52 GMT
I remember him coming over very well in Comic Relief does Fame Academy which Wikipedia tells me was in 2003!
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Post by lynette on Sept 27, 2017 9:51:43 GMT
Great - an actor, writer and director. Exciting
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2017 10:28:03 GMT
Thanks for the link! When I finally saw A Raisin in the Sun, my response was basically abject horror that Bruce Norris looked at such an incredible play with such vivid characters and apparently thought "okay, but I want to know more about that white guy". Fingers crossed we get to see Kwei-Armah's Beneatha's Place as part of an upcoming YV season! |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2017 10:58:10 GMT
As we're playing a bit of 'what I remember him from' originally saw his name on the Elegies for Angels Punks and Aging Queens original cast list...and promptly also realised he was 'that fella from Casualty'. Sadly I've missed all his directing to date but this means I will have much more of a chance, hurrah, and well done YV.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2017 11:00:03 GMT
I recognise him but don't recall seeing anything he's been in or directed. I'm sure he'll be marvellous.
I am rather pleased that the last part of his surname is Armah though. That's a set of initials one step away from danger. Phew.
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Post by Jan on Oct 14, 2017 16:50:38 GMT
His programming in Baltimore has been pretty conservative (as might be expected from the American theatre culture and its funding, I suppose). The Young Vic, however, has been thriving with its director led approach and has a niche which isn't particularly satisfied elsewhere, so I imagine that approach will be retained. Why do you imagine that ? On the NT thread you were telling us that each new AD has his own ideas and if you don't like it then wait for the next one - you think the Young Vic will dictate to him what approach he has to take ? And he would accept it ? Not quite sure why this appointment has been quite so enthusiastically welcomed as none of us really know how he's done in Baltimore. Let's see. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2017 17:05:03 GMT
His programming in Baltimore has been pretty conservative (as might be expected from the American theatre culture and its funding, I suppose). The Young Vic, however, has been thriving with its director led approach and has a niche which isn't particularly satisfied elsewhere, so I imagine that approach will be retained. Why do you imagine that ? On the NT thread you were telling us that each new AD has his own ideas and if you don't like it then wait for the next one - you think the Young Vic will dictate to him what approach he has to take ? And he would accept it ? Not quite sure why this appointment has been quite so enthusiastically welcomed as none of us really know how he's done in Baltimore. Let's see. There are AD approaches and then there's a theatre's culture. Nobody would take over the Court and move away from new writing or make the National only for new plays and, similarly, the director led approach is now an organic part of the Young Vic, with the structure there to support and develop them. |
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Post by Jan on Oct 14, 2017 17:48:40 GMT
Why do you imagine that ? On the NT thread you were telling us that each new AD has his own ideas and if you don't like it then wait for the next one - you think the Young Vic will dictate to him what approach he has to take ? And he would accept it ? Not quite sure why this appointment has been quite so enthusiastically welcomed as none of us really know how he's done in Baltimore. Let's see. There are AD approaches and then there's a theatre's culture. Nobody would take over the Court and move away from new writing or make the National only for new plays and, similarly, the director led approach is now an organic part of the Young Vic, with the structure there to support and develop them. Don’t agree - director-led is a style rather than a fixed policy like new plays only - it is also hard to define clearly so there’s plenty of scope for an AD to do whatever they want. |
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Post by martin1965 on Oct 14, 2017 18:23:05 GMT
I saw the One night in Miami at the Donmar, it was ok, he had directed it in Baltimore. His first season announcement will be interesting.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2017 0:00:18 GMT
There are AD approaches and then there's a theatre's culture. Nobody would take over the Court and move away from new writing or make the National only for new plays and, similarly, the director led approach is now an organic part of the Young Vic, with the structure there to support and develop them. Don’t agree - director-led is a style rather than a fixed policy like new plays only - it is also hard to define clearly so there’s plenty of scope for an AD to do whatever they want. You can disagree but that flies in the face of the actuality. The idea of directors initiating a production gets a really sniffy response from some quarters, I know, but it's here to stay and the Directors Program there is an important part of our theatrical ecosystem and its continuing success. The Genesis opportunities, the workshops, projects, R & D support and so on are built in. Of course it could be dismantled but good luck to anyone trying to do that. |
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Post by Jan on Oct 15, 2017 8:34:18 GMT
Don’t agree - director-led is a style rather than a fixed policy like new plays only - it is also hard to define clearly so there’s plenty of scope for an AD to do whatever they want. You can disagree but that flies in the face of the actuality. The idea of directors initiating a production gets a really sniffy response from some quarters, I know, but it's here to stay and the Directors Program there is an important part of our theatrical ecosystem and its continuing success. The Genesis opportunities, the workshops, projects, R & D support and so on are built in. Of course it could be dismantled but good luck to anyone trying to do that. That is all peripheral to what actually appears on their main stage. Their greatest successes were from directors who didn’t come through that system but were brought in from outside, and in some cases they did not initiate the production either, they were told what play to do by the AD. That infrastructure could easily remain in place whilst the main house artistic policy could be radically changed. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2017 9:15:39 GMT
The system is integrated into their main stage shows as well, the name directors being also seen as mentors and teachers. I see this from my educational perspective as to what goes on beneath the surface, so I don't think any new AD would be allowed to hive it off purely to the smaller spaces. With our differing perspectives I don't think we are going to agree on this but we have not long to wait until we see what he will do anyway.
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Post by Jan on Oct 15, 2017 9:26:49 GMT
The system is integrated into their main stage shows as well, the name directors being also seen as mentors and teachers. I see this from my educational perspective as to what goes on beneath the surface, so I don't think any new AD would be allowed to hive it off purely to the smaller spaces. With our differing perspectives I don't think we are going to agree on this but we have not long to wait until we see what he will do anyway. I think we agree that we don't want the Young Vic to change it's general approach and programming. I didn't want the Hytner NT approach to change either, however .... Anyway let's see. |
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Post by bellboard27 on Oct 19, 2017 14:21:02 GMT
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Post by Jan on Oct 19, 2017 14:50:13 GMT
If I didn’t already know he was 50 that quote would confirm it. Wonder why he won’t direct, David Lan occasionally would. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2017 9:26:22 GMT
If I didn’t already know he was 50 that quote would confirm it. Wonder why he won’t direct, David Lan occasionally would. This interview does not inspire me with confidence. When he talks about his approach to Ibsen's The Lady From the Sea it feels like dumbing down. You don't have to impose on texts by Ibsen - everything you need to know is in the words and directions. The actors' comments on the play show the approach Armah took in rehearsals - I can just hear it now - "What song does this remind you of?" I heard a youngish director ask this sort of question of a writer and all it tells you is that they're not willing to do the rigorous intellectual work required to understand a play and then to find an accessible way of translating that for the actors who then open up the world for the audience. As for having a dance party before rehearsals...Jesus Christ! (Please excuse the blasphemy) |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2017 9:38:53 GMT
"There are AD approaches and then there's a theatre's culture. Nobody would take over the Court and move away from new writing or make the National only for new plays and, similarly, the director led approach is now an organic part of the Young Vic, with the structure there to support and develop them"
Thing is that Featherstone at the Court has taken quite a radical approach but people seem not to have noticed. Firstly, when she took over there was suddenly a raft of adaptations from film and books - including "Let the Right One in" and "The Kid stays in the Picture". Of course there is a precedent here with "Our Country's Good" which was adapted from Thomas Keneally's book (was it "A Fatal Shore"? - I can't remember), but it does rather go against the Court's tradition of original new plays. Secondly, The Court has become something of a Director's Theatre, I'd say rather than being led by the need to serve new plays - Max Stafford Clarke used to say that he treated classics like new plays and new plays like classics. The Court has moved very much in the direction of physical theatre, even installations (eg Debbie Tucker Green's last piece). This is just an observation.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2017 9:53:51 GMT
Our Country's Good was an adaptation of The Playmaker, but you got the author right.  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2017 10:39:27 GMT
Now, as always, everything at the Royal Court has a writer at its creative heart. As you say, direction and design aesthetics and practices have changed but so has the playwriting culture.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2017 11:28:03 GMT
Now, as always, everything at the Royal Court has a writer at its creative heart. As you say, direction and design aesthetics and practices have changed but so has the playwriting culture. I think you're right. It is so very interesting however that their biggest hit so far this year - The Ferryman - does not fall into that culture, but has recognisable characters, plot development etc. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2017 11:31:19 GMT
Our Country's Good was an adaptation of The Playmaker, but you got the author right. Oh, yes I remember now. The two books "The Fatal Shore" and "The Playmaker" were used to create "Our Country's Good". |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2017 11:44:14 GMT
I think you're right. It is so very interesting however that their biggest hit so far this year - The Ferryman - does not fall into that culture, but has recognisable characters, plot development etc. Yes, the earlier Royal Court equivalent of The Ferryman was Hangmen and it's interesting that its writer-director-design team has decamped to the Bridge for their next UK project. In truth, the Royal Court is far too small for projects which are expected in advance to be probable mainstream "hits". |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2017 12:31:20 GMT
I wonder if the director-led Theatre is partly responsible for the weaknesses in some new plays we have witnessed this year. The director-writer relationship ensured that the text was developed to the highest standard. Director-led theatre leads to a focus on established texts as the director has the freedom to play around with them. You can’t do this so readily with a new script (unless the director is also the writer). What I am really asking is are directors losing the specialised skill of working with new writing?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2017 12:56:22 GMT
I think it seems more that writers are writing texts for different kinds of theatre. One of the weakest plays this year is Young Marx which is written for and staged in the old school manner by a posse of old hands. But Alice Birch is writing specifically for Katie Mitchell and her design team, Simon Stephens wrote a text to be gifted to a choreographer for its stage creation, Simon McBurney was in full command of both adaptation and direction. And the International Department is working directly with many writers, Gary Owen and Rachel O'Riordan have become an established writer-director team, and Caryl Churchill's texts always seem to find equally successful direction. I think it's a huge step forward that the Royal Court now offers such a wide range of theatrical possibilities to writers.
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