press release: hamlet from ihdc and rsc - apr11
DESCRIPTION
PRESS RELEASE: Hamlet from IHDC and RSC - Apr11ifteen Minute Hamlet is part of the RSC Open Stages, please see the Press releases for more. We will be rehearsing this at the same time rehearsals for the 2012 Panto are on. The Panto will have piroirty but then Hamlet will be 'full throttle' from February onwards. I will be looking for a cast of approx 6 people and a crew of 4. The show will be performed at the IVER HEATH NEW VILLAGE HALL and QUESTORS THEATRE, LONDON.TRANSCRIPT
PRESS RELEASE: 11 April 2011
To be or not to be? It’s Iver Heath’s Comedy!
Iver Heath Drama Club holds a hilarious Hamlet for RSC Open Stages It is the first time the club has performed Shakespeare and the
first time they have performed in a professional theatre The show will be performed at the Iver Heath New Village Hall
and Questors Theatre, London in April 2012. Open auditions, are 2nd and 9th November, 7pm, at the Iver Heath New Village Hall.
It is a very well reviewed comedy script and has been performed professionally in the West End and on BBC Radio 4.
As the RSC’s 50th birthday season kicks off in Stratford upon Avon, amateur theatre companies like the Iver Heath Drama Club are preparing their own Shakespeare themed productions for the RSC’s Open Stages project which is generously supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Projects include a production of The Tempest performed in a Sea Fort in Weymouth Harbour, a Star Wars inspired Twelfth Night in Huddersfield and local group IVER HEATH DRAMA CLUB will performing ‘Fifteen Minute Hamlet’, written by Sir Tom Stoppard OBE, in 2012. The play condenses the original 'Hamlet', including all the best-known scenes. Matt Streuli, a volunteer with the club, says “It was a exciting opportunity we couldn’t miss out on. Our group is mostly young adults and teenagers and we picked a short fun comedy to introduce and entice our members and our audience to wonderful world of Shakespeare. Of course I couldn’t pass up the chance to perform Hamlet on a professional stage! This unprecedented collaboration with eight regional/national theatres and organisations representing amateurs from across the UK, has seen applications from all corners of the country, with groups from across the UK and even the USA and Germany - proposing an awe inspiring array of imaginative takes on Shakespeare.
Ian Wainwright, RSC Project manager for Open Stages, said; “We are really surprised and delighted; village halls to ruined castles the innovation, commitment and ambition of the entries so far is incredible. Some of the amateur
Page 1 of 3
companies involved have a great tradition of performing Shakespeare. Others, like the Iver Heath Drama Club are using the project as an opportunity to try performing Shakespeare for the first time” ‘RSC Open Stages is a new project that aims to embrace, develop and celebrate amateur theatre, re-forging the bond with the world of professional theatre while opening up access to Shakespeare for performers and audiences alike. The RSC wants to lead a step change in the relationship with the amateur sector; to recognise its rich traditions, open our doors to its work and collaborate with partners nationally to leave a significant legacy.’Michael Boyd, RSC Artistic Director The club is proudly supported by Pinewood Studios. More information is on the club’s site, www.ihdc.co.uk and their facebook page.
Notes to editors
Picture is of some of the members of the club including local comedian and club president Robert Chambers.
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation was established in 1961 by Ian Fairbairn as a memorial to his wife
Esmée. Today it is one of the largest independent grant-making foundations in the UK.
The foundation aims to improve the quality of life for people and communities in the UK both now and in the future. It funds the charitable activities of organisations that have the ideas and ability to achieve change for the better and likes to consider work which others may find hard to fund, perhaps because it breaks new ground, appears too risky, requires core funding, or needs a more unusual form of financial help such as a loan. It also takes initiatives where new thinking is required or where there are important unexplored opportunities.
For updated information on the project visit www.rsc.org.uk/openstages or the show at www.ihdc.co.uk For further information to media, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]
The show’s producer is MATT STREULI, 21, who has volunteered since 2001; [email protected]
For details regarding Pinewood Studios please contact [email protected]
Page 2 of 3
Page 3 of 3