Author: Science Centre Stage

Posted on

Stella: History is written in the stars

The three night run of Stella at the Greenwich Theatre begins on Thursday 11th July. The first night performance will be followed by a Q&A session with the play’s writer Siobhán Nicholas and astronomer Radmila Topalovic.

StageScite caught this new play about Caroline and William Herschel when it premiered at the Old Market Theatre in Brighton in May 2013.  Actors Chris Barnes and Kathryn Pogson joined Nicholas on stage to play the four roles, with Barnes doubling up to play the both the husband of present-day astronomer Jessica and William Herschel in the 18th Century. Nicholas herself took on the role of William’s sister Caroline who was his sometime assistant and an accomplished astronomer in her own right.

When musician Bill is offered a job with an orchestra in Germany, the chance to relocate raises a conflict with his wife Jessica whose own successful career as an astronomer is rooted in England. Jessica is also following her historical  interest in the Herschels, which takes her on a research trip to Bath to study Caroline Herschel’s private diaries. As Jessica’s investigations progress and her relationship with Bill becomes increasing strained, we are presented with interleaved scenes from the lives of the Herschels, whose own individual aspirations and careers are also pulling them in different directions.

Stella received special mention in the judging for the New Writing South Best New Play Award 2013. It runs at the Greenwich Theatre in London on 11th, 12th and 13th July 2013.

Posted on

New Writing Festivals are a Hotbed of Science

Cambridge, London, Colchester and Bury will all play host to new writing this month as Managerie Theatre Company’s annual Hotbed Festival expands into new locations.

Specially commissioned one act plays, workshops and works-in-progress will feature at venues including the Cambridge Junction and London’s Soho Theatre.

A new project this year – ‘What’s Up Doc?‘  – pairs playwrights with expert thought leaders to produce new writing for the festival. Of particular note is Somniloquy by Craig Baxter, who has written a 20 minute monologue about sleep and its disorders with expert advice from Professor Richard Horner of the University of Toronto. The monologue will be performed by Jasmine Hyde and explores the function of different sleep cycles in the light of latest ideas on the dynamic nature of sleep.

Other new works at this year’s festival include What Did It Feel Like To Go To The Moon? by poet Lucy Sheerman (written in collaboration with Al Worden, command pilot on the 1971 Apllo 15 lunar mission) and an initial glimpse of A Broken Replicate: Altered Skin which looks at processes in genetics through theatre and dance.

The Hotbed Festival will be visiting three new locations during July after opening at its usual home in Cambridge.

Somniloquy will be performed in Cambridge on 12th and 14th July, in Colchester on 19th and 21st July and in London on the 23rd and 26th July.

Posted on

London Tour Dates for Stella

Last month StageScite posted preliminary tour dates for the new science history play Stella, which features astronomers Caroline and William Herschel among its characters. Take the Space Theatre Company will also be be taking Stella to Maidenhead on 11 June and to the Greenwich Theatre in London between 11-13 July, details below.

Stella is in the running for the New Writing South Best New Play award at this year’s Brighton Fringe Festival, where it premieres on 29th May. Writing for the Old Market Theatre, playwright Siobhán Nicholas says that this is the first time Take the Space will open a new production in their home town.

Full Tour Dates for Stella

Posted on

Proof Proliferates in the States

On the 5th May 2013 theatregoers in the USA will be able to choose from no less than five different productions of David Auburn’s Proof.

The Hershey Area Playhouse in Pennsylvania is putting on Proof between 25th April and 5th May. Meanwhile, Proof will also be performed at the Bishop Connolly Black Box Theatre in Fall River, Massachusetts on 3rd-5th May and at the the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield, Illinois on the same dates.

For those on the West Coast of the US, Humbolt State University are performing Proof in Arcata, California from 2nd-5th May and it’s also on at The Hayworth Theatre in Los Angeles until 12th May.

In the UK, the recent Menier Chocolate Factory production of Proof will be at Bath’s Theatre Royal from 29th April to 4th May 2103.

Is this cluster of Proofs a statistical fluke or is there method behind the mathematics?

Posted on

Herschel Play to Premiere in May

Performance dates have been announced for the new play about astronomer Caroline Herschel. Stella, by Siobhán Nicholas will have its first performances at the Old Market Theatre in Brighton on 29 and 30 May 2013 as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival. StageScite is also aware of touring performances in Kingston on 4th June, Scarborough on 21st June and Oxford on 27th and 28th June.

Described by Take the Space Theatre Company as a ‘story about women and astronomy’, Stella features Caroline and William Herschel in a drama set across two Photo Take the Space Theatrecenturies.

Future Performances of Stella

Posted on

The United States of Arcadia

Two productions of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia will open in the USA in the coming wehttp://www.act-sf.org/press/photos/theater_2_web.jpgeks. There will be six performances of Arcadia at the Crossroads Theatre in Denver, Colorado between the 12th and 27th April 2013. The American Conservatory Theater in San Fransisco will be staging Arcadia between 16th May and 9th June 2013 with a series of acompanying events that includes a pre-show discussion with director Carey Perloff on 21st May.

Posted on

Tribute to Richard Griffiths After Final Galileo Performance

Actor Ian McDiarmid paid tribute to the late Richard Griffiths after the final performance of A Life of Galileo on Saturday 30 March. McDiarmid, who played Galileo in the Royal Shakespeare Company production, told the audience of his great admiration for Richard Griffiths as an actor and colleague. He pointed out that Griffiths, who died on 28 March 2013 aged 65, also played Galileo in 1994 at the Almeida Theatre.

With the cast of A Life of Galileo assembled behind him for the final curtain call, McDairmid explained how Griffiths’ energetic portrayal of Galileo provided inspiration for some of his own performance. MacDiarmid closed the evening by inviting the audience to show their appreciation for Richard Griffiths with a period of applause.

The RSC production of A Life of Galileo by Bertold Brecht (using a new translation by Mark Ravenhill) played at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon from 31 January – 30 March 2013.

In this short RSC video featuring the director Roxana Silbert, Iain McDairmid says “it seems to me at the moment science is in the air.”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItuI-uBxsfo?feature=player_detailpage&w=640&h=360]

Posted on

Olivier Award 2013 Nominations Recognise Science-in-Theatre Plays

Two new science-in-theatre productions have been nominated for British theatre’s prestigious Olivier Awards. Nick Payne’s Constellations is nominated in the Best New Play category as well as receiving nominations for Best Lighting Design and Sound Design for Lee Curran and David McSeveney respectively. Rafe Spall received a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of a beekeeper opposite Sally Hawkins’ theoretical physicist.

Two performers in the Headlong/National Theatre production of Lucy Prebble’s The Effect have also been nominated. Billie Piper, who played drug trial participant Connie, is up for Best Actress. Anastasia Hille is nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for portraying one of the doctors running the trial.

The winners of the Olivier Awards will be announced at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House on 28th April 2013. Playwright Michael Frayn will also receive a special award for outstanding contributions to theatre. Frayn’s many plays include the Tony Award winning Copenhagen (1998) which considers the 1941 meeting between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg and remains one of the best-known and influential science-in-theatre plays.

Olivier Award Nominations Announced 26 March 2013

Best Actor Rafe Spall – Constellations

Best Actress Billie Piper – The Effect

Best Actress in a Supporting Role Anastasia Hille – The Effect

MasterCard Best New Play Constellations

White Light Award for Best Lighting Design Lee Curran – Constellations

Best Sound Design David McSeveney – Constellations

Special Award Michael Frayn