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Hi Subscriber
This week the Antigone cast and crew get to relax as we've moved into a brief break before the next leg of the tour. Their performances in York received great reviews, with the Yorkshire Times describing it as "edgy, compelling and current" and A Younger Theatre identifying the play as "relevant for a modern, contemporary audience...it does an amazing job."
The production travels to Watford Palace Theatre on Tuesday 4th November and runs until Saturday 8th November.
You can purchase tickets via Watford Palace Theatre website or by calling the Box Office on 01923 225671.
Despite the short break for Antigone, the Pilot Theatre team are still busy and this week we have some particularly exciting news to share, including the appointment of a new Chair of our Board of Trustees, a new production, and a BBC interview with Roy Williams. Read on to find out more.
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New Chair for Pilot Theatre's Board of Trustees
Pilot are delighted to announce that we have new Chair of our Board of Trustees. Following our open recruitment process the Board unanimously appointed Professor Chris Bailey who will take up the position from November 2014.
Professor Bailey has an extensive level of expertise and experience that spans senior management positions in art and design higher education for over thirty years, publications based on his research, the establishment of three research centres, consultancy for UK-based and overseas clients including a position on the European Community Panel to select the European Capital of Culture 2017. He has also held numerous voluntary positions in the cultural sector in the UK and served on numerous working groups for the Council of Regional Arts Associations, amongst many other roles. A more comprehensive list will be available on our website soon.
Artistic Director, Marcus Romer, said "We are absolutely delighted to be working with Chris as we move forward as an organisation. His experience and knowledge of the sector is immense, and he is a strong advocate for the arts, learning and innovation. As an NPO we can build on the successes of our previous work with the Board and plan and develop our strategies for the future with a renewed strength and confidence."
Professor Chris Bailey said "I am very pleased to have been invited to chair the Board of Pilot Theatre. Under its Artistic Director, Marcus Romer, Pilot has always been a company with an ambitious vision and strong commitment to its audiences. Not surprisingly, Pilot’s work gets rave reviews when it appears in venues around the country, while in York many associate it with awe-inspiring promenade productions such as Blood + Chocolate. Pilot stands for innovation in these and its other strands of work which include education, conference and film production.
As someone with a background in arts funding and education I recognise that it is companies like Pilot that nourish communities and make cities great. I look forward to working with the Board to support Marcus and the team at Pilot as they bring to fruition the programme of work which was recently so strongly endorsed by the Arts Council."
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Roy Williams discussing Antigone on BBC Radio Three Counties
On Sunday 26th October 2014, writer of Pilot Theatre's co-produced Antigone, Roy Williams, featured on Nesta McGregor's radio programme for BBC Three Counties Radio.
Roy provided some context about the original play and its back story before being asked about how the original text had been modernised. Roy replied by stating that the modernising of the text seemed natural, and that in his version the characters inhabit a world that sounds and looks recognisable to us, but maintains its connection to ancient Thebes.
"It is a play that I've always admired and I instinctively knew how I could adapt this."
They then discussed how appropriate this version is for younger audiences. Roy felt that people aged 13 and upwards could certainly watch the play as it is relevant to young audiences, with many schools studying the play.
Nesta followed this by asking whether the casting of a largely black cast was a conscious decision. Roy spoke about a joint creative decision between himself and Marcus Romer regarding the casting, but that they weren't making a point by casting those specific actors.
"These are damn good actors...we should be living in a time when [a largely black cast] isn't that big of a deal."
Link to the programme on BBC iPlayer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p028km7w
The interview begins at 1 hour 39 minutes and ends at 1 hour 45 minutes.
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New production - Outside the Outsider
We're very excited to share with you some information about our new production.
by Emteaz Hussain, inspired by The Outsider by Albert Camus
Marie was there, she saw it all happen. She was the witness. In court she looked across the room to meet her boyfriend's gaze - but he looked straight through her - his eyes seemed unfocused, distant. She remembered his soft touch, his smile and his stories. She remembered these from the time before he aimed the gun. Before he fired the gun. Before the four shots rang out and the man fell to the ground. She was there. Marie saw it all happen.
Then the letters from the prison started to arrive to her flat, first it was one, then another, then another - all filled with detail with thoughts - filled with a detached emotionless tone. This was what started to burn into her brain, into her thoughts and into her actions.
Pilot Theatre will take the classic novel L'etranger and retell it throughout the eyes of Marie Cardona.
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This production is part of the Boomerang Project, an EU Culture funded project connecting 6 companies and 3 continents - all discussing issues of migration and immigration and its impact on young people in particular.
Pilot are working with the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) on two new theatre commissions for Boomerang. Following on from the project meeting in Vancouver in the summer of 2014 both Companies have asked a writer to write a response play to Camus' novel L'Etranger (The Outsider) to explore themes of otherness, dislocation and differing perspectives. Pilot Theatre's Artistic Director, Marcus Romer, will be going to Sydney to direct Patricia Cornelius' play in July 2015 and ATYP's Artistic Director, Fraser Corfield, will be coming over to York to direct Emteaz Hussain's play in September 2015. Both productions will be supported by participation projects for young people and be connected digitally to allow audiences the the opportunity to see both shows whichever continent they live on!
There is plenty more information about our partner company on their website - www.atyp.com.au
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