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Post by n1david on Jul 20, 2017 0:19:05 GMT
This is disgraceful! Presumably, given the evidence of Nathan Lane and Bryan Cranston, he means high profile American star actors. Are there also some coming up in Follies? Why is the NT so obsessed with the USA? Why does it not have a strategy on the casting of British and UK-based actors? I'm unclear why this is a disgrace. It is a National Theatre, but imo it makes sense both financially and culturally to bring in talent from outside the UK as well as having homegrown talent. Given that the US is a major place in terms of acting and has English as the native language, it makes sense that talent would be brought over from there. Naturally, the fact that they will have public clout might be a bit part of it, but I'm not sure you can really compare Angels (where Andrew Garfield surely has more public star power than Nathan Lane) to Network, which seems like a vehicle for Bryan Cranston. I'm also not sure that the fact that they have explicitly mentioned having a strategy for improving relations with American actors necessarily means that no equivalent aims are in place for British actors. After all, 'strategy' could mean anything from a loose intention to a strict business model, and in any case surely it makes sense that you'd need more forethought/planning to bring in foreign actors (or directors/writers) than to do the same for homegrown talent. Have to agree with Jadnoop here. It was a casual remark by one actor in a platform and it isn’t clear whether Rufus actually means this is a core strategy or just something he said to justify approaching Nathan Lane (and subsequently Bryan Cranston). For me, it’s an interesting data point, but I can’t bring myself to consider it disgraceful without a clear overall view of Rufus’s talent strategy (which we’re not going to get). |
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Post by martin1965 on Jul 20, 2017 5:33:29 GMT
If this is true, and the current programming suggests it is, i wonder if we are going to get a US actress as Cleopatra next year?
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Post by alicechallice on Jul 20, 2017 5:54:09 GMT
If this is true, and the current programming suggests it is, i wonder if we are going to get a US actress as Cleopatra next year? Queen Latifah, hopefully. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2017 8:37:54 GMT
I wonder if it's a Brexit thing. Maybe Norris foresees a future where strong ties with European artists just aren't workable anymore because of the political climate and is casting his net across the Atlantic now in case that does end up being the future. I'm not saying he's right or wrong, I'm just wondering if that's what he's doing.
Gosh what I wouldn't give to see Viola Davis tackle Cleopatra...
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Post by Jan on Jul 20, 2017 8:39:38 GMT
The Young Vic has no classic revivals for the rest of the year either. What they do have though is a co-production with NT of a new play which was commissioned by the NT.
This raises several questions. What is the point of the NT doing co-productions with a theatre next door to it ? I can see the point of NT co-productions with regional theatres, or touring theatres, or foreign theatres because that is expanding their reach and cross-subsidising less well-funded organisations, but the Young Vic has exactly the same audience they have. Also, from the Young Vic perspective, how come they're happy to stage a play which apparently wasn't good enough for the NT to stage themselves ?
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Post by Jan on Jul 20, 2017 8:44:25 GMT
I wonder if it's a Brexit thing. Maybe Norris foresees a future where strong ties with European artists just aren't workable anymore because of the political climate and is casting his net across the Atlantic now in case that does end up being the future. I'm not saying he's right or wrong, I'm just wondering if that's what he's doing. Gosh what I wouldn't give to see Viola Davis tackle Cleopatra... Well he's never cultivated strong ties with European theatre in the past (apart from jumping on the Van Hove bandwagon well after the Young Vic and Barbican) so I doubt it's that. Also why would strong ties with EU artists be any harder to form post-Brexit than ties with USA artists ? I think it's just Norris' personal preference, maybe he's looking for post-NT work over there. |
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Post by Jan on Jul 20, 2017 8:50:11 GMT
Agree. Of course he only means high-profile American actors because they're the only ones who can get Equity clearance to appear here (in new productions) Welcome back JB 😊 Yes I am Guildenstern to your Hamlet - they've asked me to come back because you've been showing signs of going off the rails. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2017 10:05:27 GMT
The Young Vic has no classic revivals for the rest of the year either. What they do have though is a co-production with NT of a new play which was commissioned by the NT. This raises several questions. What is the point of the NT doing co-productions with a theatre next door to it ? I can see the point of NT co-productions with regional theatres, or touring theatres, or foreign theatres because that is expanding their reach and cross-subsidising less well-funded organisations, but the Young Vic has exactly the same audience they have. Also, from the Young Vic perspective, how come they're happy to stage a play which apparently wasn't good enough for the NT to stage themselves ? The Jungle is an immersive play and it may be that it's more practically suitable to stage it in the Young Vic Main Space than in the Dorfman with its two galleries which would be too removed from the action and would have severely restricted sightlines. It runs in December when the NT brochure for June to January has no details of the Dorfman programme but the NT has, subsequent to this season announcement, hurriedly programmed a swift,cast to be announced, return of Barber Shop Chronicles, in rep with something or some things still to be announced. I suspect that The Jungle was originally planned to be staged by the NT in the Dorfman at this time but that Stephen Daldry's staging plans have made it a physically inappropriate venue, hence the relocation to the Young Vic. Pure hunch and speculation on my part - zero inside knowledge! On your point of audiences being the same at the NT and the Young Vic - well, there's an overlap but they are not all the same, and both theatres have different audiences for different shows anyway. In general, I'd say that the Young Vic has a much more significant very local audience - and has always been very active in inviting in as many people as possible from its immediate neighbourhood. And the NT has a much more significant old guard heritage audience who saw Maggie Smith with the NT in the 60s when theatre was theatre, etc., etc. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2017 10:10:02 GMT
Well he's never cultivated strong ties with European theatre in the past (apart from jumping on the Van Hove bandwagon well after the Young Vic and Barbican) so I doubt it's that. Also why would strong ties with EU artists be any harder to form post-Brexit than ties with USA artists ? I think it's just Norris' personal preference, maybe he's looking for post-NT work over there. Or perhaps it's a commercially motivatd decision by Big Mac (Lisa Burger, Executive Director)? |
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Post by zahidf on Jul 20, 2017 10:18:00 GMT
Maybe the American stuff sells better?
As long as the plays are good, I'm not too bothered about the other stuff. This season coming up has Mosquitos, Beginnings and St George and the Dragon, three new UK shows, as well as the return and tour of Jane Eyre. As long as there is a mix, that's fine
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2017 10:55:35 GMT
HG's speculation on The Jungle rings true, the lack of Dorfman shows at the same time pretty much nails it. Will the Young Vic be able to co-produce in that Dorfman slot, I wonder?
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Post by lynette on Jul 20, 2017 12:44:09 GMT
Maybe the American stuff sells better? As long as the plays are good, I'm not too bothered about the other stuff. This season coming up has Mosquitos, Beginnings and St George and the Dragon, three new UK shows, as well as the return and tour of Jane Eyre. As long as there is a mix, that's fine A mix of what? New writing and revivals of what we saw last year? |
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 20, 2017 13:41:07 GMT
Don't ever say you're just saying. Just say the thing you're just saying but saying 'just saying' lessens it. |
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Post by lynette on Jul 20, 2017 14:21:12 GMT
Sorry, comes from being given the O f g s treatment by certain people...well people, ...well closely related people. 😉
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