Dear theatre friends,
What are you doing at 3pm today? Undoubtedly, you know the astounding company Cirque Du Soleil. From 3pm today, you can view a 60 minute show, as well as many snippets of others. Just click on CirqueConnect when you arrive at their site.
Another delightful way to stay connected is coming to you from London’s “Crazy Coqs.” At 2pm EST every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, often recorded live at Brasserie Zedel, there’ll be a cabaret treat online. They’ve asked, in return, that we go to Just Giving Stay at Home with the Crazy Coqs to help their artists and musicians cope with this new reality of no work in sight.
I’ve been speaking to many actors whose worlds have been completely shut down, although their creativity is seeing them through– so far. Perhaps you’d like to “meet” one, Caroline Kinsolving. She describes her journey to becoming actor– I found it riveting. There are many other videos of her scenes, poems, audition tapes on YouTube, as well.
This morning, I spoke to playwright Ella Hickson at her London home. She admits to being quite happy– having time to write without pressure of deadlines, demands for changes, etc. Ella, and her writer friends, feel as if they’re back at University (Edinburgh, for her) , their creativity re-ignited. I wish we were all writers now!
Since I’ve no other links to online plays, I thought you might like to read about one of my extraordinary Edinburgh experiences:
“At the 2006 Festival, I met two quite elderly women while waiting in line for a play. One of the joys of the Festival, is that everyone asks everyone ‘what have you seen and liked’– true word of mouth publicity. These women had just seen ‘Goodness‘ by Michael Redhill. They described it as being ‘morally ambiguous’- catnip for me! In fact, the play about an unnamed country’s genocide and their aged, now demented leader was stunning and took home my Award that year.
“In 2008, someone from Rwanda saw the play, and insisted it be the centerpiece of a commemorative arts festival the following year for the fifteenth anniversary of their genocide. She apparently had clout, and the company,“Volcano”of Toronto, was invited.
“After finances were arranged, I attended the play done under the stars, with a few portable lights, on a restaurant patio in Kigali. There was well over an hour of questions after the play: ‘How did you know what was happening in Rwanda?’ was the theme of many.
“Afterwards, there was a party at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence attended by every artist in the capitol. How fortunate was I to meet these incredible, likeminded people? All because of a play which began at the Edinburgh Fringe.”
Please send your own review of any play you’ve been watching online. I’d like to share your experience of this very different way of seeing theatre. I’d also like to continue to write because so many have expressed their enjoyment of reading– but I must have content! Do try to recall a story you’d like me to post.
I’ll return soon with good news, and some not so good– like the cancellation of my favorite Festival. But, no matter how bleak the theatre scene looks– remember, we’re all in this together!
Carol Tambor publishes a monthly newsletter, which announces worthy shows coming to New York, along with occasional information about London theatre and, of course, the Edinburgh Fringe.