Get a look at the new brochure

It's that time of year again when we refill the website with plentiful treats from the Spring-Summer season 2010 (is it just me or does 2010 sound futuristic?). In case you don't receive a copy of our brochure through the post, or via a leaflet rack, here's a rather splendid flickable online version from Issuu.



(Just use the arrows at either side to flick pages. You can click on the brochure to view it full screen).

Search the full What's On listing on our website.

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An honour for Anna!

We'd like to offer huge congratulations to Anna Stapleton, the Citizens Theatre's Administrative Director, who last night was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.



This prestigious honour places Anna with an illustrious group of Fellows. Four Fellows were inducted in the ceremony that also included the conferment of degrees. The new Fellows were Anna, Richard Findlay, Andrew Hamnett and John Pitcathley.

Fellowship's are awarded in recognition of contribution to the RSAMD, and beyond that, to the cultural and educational environment of Glasgow and Scotland.



Anna has over 30 years experience of working in the arts, from her early days working as a Company Stage Manager and General Manager, to her years with the Scottish Arts Council and Arts Council of England. She has worked at the Citizens Theatre for almost 10 years.

Some Citizens staff joined Anna for the evening (...and thought they should apologise for eating so many canapes!).


Anna with fellow Fellows Hamish Wilson and Richard Findlay

A wonderful evening was had by all, so a big thanks to the RSAMD.

Hx

"The personal and the political"

Starting tonight in the Circle Studio A Moment's Peace Theatre Company present The Chronicles of Irania (not Narnia...as one person thought!). This one woman show was a festival hit, delving into the life of Khadija, a middle-aged Iranian woman with more than a few tales to tell.

Neil Cooper met the company recently and wrote this article for the Herald.

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Dress up your very own wicked step-sister!

In case you didn't receive our special enews, we thought we should let you know about a brand new free online game for the Citizens Christmas Show this year.

Click on the image below to dress up your very own wicked step-sister. This game designed by our friends at Otago Street uses original drawings by Jason Southgate.

Be patient as it takes a wee moment to load...but it's worth the wait.



If you want to receive enewsletters, just go to our website and use the sign up box.

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"breathtakingly well performed" The Scotsman

I just added a few more images from Topdog/Underdog to Flickr. You can check out the full set here. If you've still undecided about coming along, here's a few recommendations that may help:

The Herald 4 stars
The Times 4 stars
The Scotsman 4 stars
The Guardian 3 stars
OnStageScotland
So far...

"It's surely the mark of a good play that you are still mining meaning from it days later....Two fine performances" The Times

"Directed with memorable intensity by Citizens Trainee Director Leann O'Kasi, and breathtakingly well performed by Tyronne Lewis and Nicholas Pinnock...some great rap-style poetic writing" The Scotsman

"the tale is grippingly told...a vivid portrait of hope against the odds" The Guardian





You can find out more or book online here.

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"Making a 400-year-old play feel fresh is no small task"

Othello continues this week. Here are a few of the nice things people have been saying about the show:

“Jude Akuwudike has a powerful physical presence as Othello, especially as jealousy reduces him to a feral despair.”
The Stage

“Guy Hollands’ direction is deeply reverent to Shakespeare’s text... This is solid Shakespeare.”
The Stage



“The supporting cast are strong and Philip Cairns lends Cassio an appropriately innocent charm.”
The Stage

"Andy Clark’s Iago is potently charismatic and disarmingly jocular… he delivers his lines with a frighteningly assured tone that calls to mind Robert Carlyle’s Begbie in Trainspotting."
OnStageScotland

“The modernisation works well…Making a 400-year-old play feel fresh is no small task. The company has managed to do so without falling into the trap of the ultra-modern.”
OnStageScotland



You can see more pictures from Othello here and some absolutely gorgeous original costume designs (by Philip Witcomb) here.

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"Smart as a whip. Not to be missed."

Leann's O'Kasi's professional Directorial debut with Topdog/Underdog has been receiving acclaim from both critics and public alike. A four star review in today's Herald newspaper states:

“It’s not hard to see why Parks’s play…scooped the Pulitzer Prize for drama. The chewy poetic dialogue rolls its way into life with a vivid ferocity.”

“Nicholas Pinnock and Tyronne Lewis bounce off each other with a relentlessly disciplined dynamism.”

OnStageScotland said:

"The two actors portray a damaged relationship that is completely engrossing."

A Twitter user said "Topdog Underdog @citizenstheatre is smart as a whip. Not to be missed."



If you've not already booked, find out more here.

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The Chronicles of Irania on BBC

As you may know, in November we have a great show called The Chronicles of Irania coming to the Circle Studio. A Moment's Peace Theatre Company got some great coverage on the BBC from their time at this year's Edinburgh Festival. You can watch a video of British/Iranian actress Maryam Hamidi talking about the show on the BBC website: Exploring Iran Through Theatre

There's also a report in Farsi from BBC Persia:
Chronicles of Irania - report in Farsi from Edinburgh Festival.



You can find out more and book on our website.

Hx

Partnership with St Enoch Scoops Arts and Business Award

The Citizens Theatre and sponsorship partner St Enoch Centre were delighted to receive the Arts & Business Scotland ‘New or Returning Sponsor Award 2009’ last week, for the first time sponsorship of The Wizard of Oz by St Enoch Centre.

Announced at a ceremony hosted at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, the Awards are held each year to celebrate the most outstanding and creative partnerships between business and arts organisations. This year the awards were presented by Michael Russell, Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution.

(L-R) Iain Valentine - Whitespace (Award sponsor), Mandy Orr - Citizens Theatre, Ann Ledgerwood - St Enoch Centre and Michael Russell - Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution.

The Citizens Theatre and ScottishPower were also commended in the Community Award category, for the project Outspoken - an innovative piece of drama that explored the reality of stammering and the impact on the lives of young people who stammer.

The award is proudly displayed in our foyer - look out for it next time you're in!
Cx

Rehearsals begin...

Hello again!

I am completely new to this blogging malarky so have been trying to explore the website... I think somebody is going to have to give me a lesson! I've been looking at a couple of other blogs, one about cooking, and another about finding faces in everyday objects (which does entertain me for some reason), but I think I'll just stick with keeping you up to date with Othello rehearsals!

Day one: A 'meet and greet' cup of tea in the canteen for all in involved with both productions, Othello and Topdog/ Underdog. I was quite nervous as I reached the Stage Door, but when everyone arrived it was really informal and relaxed. A quick chance to say hello, and then upstairs for the first read through. What a play! Hearing it read aloud by the cast for the first time is always quite special I think, everybody feeling a bit nervous as their first line approaches... or maybe that was just me. Anyway, all went well, and already I had my first taste of what each of the actors might bring to their characters. After this we had a discussion with the designer, Philip Witcomb about set and costumes. The set looks amazing, and costume designs very exciting. I don't want to give anything away, but don't come expecting to see the lovely Jude Akuwudike in a pair of tights!

From then on Guy wanted to start working through the play from the beginning, just to get a rough shape to start with. Because my character is not in until the second half, I wasn't called very much at the beginning of the week, but when I came in to watch a run of the first couple of acts, I was very impressed by what had been done. It really felt like a lot had been achieved in the first week.

Week two, and we kept working through the script, people are beginning to get a bit more off book now. It's actually amazing when watching rehearsals, to see the difference in performance between the scenes that people are using the script, and when they are not. I know people have different opinions on using a script in rehearsals, but I find rehearsing easier when I'm off book... in this it hasn't been too hard for me because I'm only in three scenes, but I take my hat off to some of the others who have an enormous amount to learn. Somebody said to me the other day that they think Andy Clark has more to learn as Iago than he did when he played Hamlet... I don't know how he does it!

Anyway, rehearsals are going well, and going very quickly. Can't quite believe we open in two weeks!

Will continue to keep you posted, and I'm not too sure how this blogger works, but if you want to ask me anything about rehearsals (maybe by leaving a comment!?) I'll do my best to answer in my next blog.

Cheerio,

Mairi x

Ps. Very excited about all the Othello posters that are starting to pop up around Glasgow!