We are delighted to announce that the response to the Tower New Writing Programme has been such that we are scheduling not one
but two showcase evenings in the second half of March 2012, featuring new work by members and friends of the Tower in the first event
of its kind hosted by the Tower in many years.
The deadline for submissions has now passed and we would like to thank everyone who sent in such a wide range and remarkable quality of work.
Inevitably we would have liked to include more pieces - however writers and playmakers should bear in mind that although this may be the first
event of its kind, it won’t be the last!
We have six plays ranging from half an hour to fifty minutes long and are looking for new and experienced directors, actors and technical staff to
participate in this exciting project. Three plays will be performed on each evening with the actors required to be off book. There will be minimal
settings and simple lighting.
The lovely Britannia Pub in Victoria Park will be our venue for the two performances on the 23rd and 30th March and is also able to offer rehearsal
space. [The Britannia, 360 Victoria Park Road, E9 7BT]
We will be holding a read-through and casting session on Saturday 28th January from 11.00 at the Britannia. This will be an excellent opportunity
to read the plays, meet the playwrights and get to know everyone involved in the project. Not to mention sampling the delights of this super pub!
For more details of the plays and the playwrights, please contact Jonathan Mantle.
To register your interest as an actor, director or technical crew, please email towerartisticteam@gmail.com.
SECOND HALF OF SPRING SEASON ANNOUNCED
Welcome to 2012 - and to an exciting new clutch of plays for the New Year!
From March through to April, we'll be presenting three plays that each look, in their own way, at the raw, gritty reality of working-class life and the
humour that often seasons it - in three very different locations.
We start on Brighton beach (via the Rosemary Branch Theatre) from 13th to 17th March with Steven Berkoff's Brighton Beach Scumbags,
directed by Robin Hodges.
After that, we're heading North to a carpet factory in Paisley (via the Bridewell Theatre, this time) from 3rd to 7th April for John Byrne's The
Slab Boys, directed by Colette Dockery
And from 10th to 14th April (again at the Bridewell Theatre), we cross the Atlantic to the Deep South of America for The Trials and Tribulations of
a Trailer Trash Housewife, directed by Allan Stronach.
And finally ... we have already announced that our summer show for Minack and London will be David Copperfield,
adapted by Nick Warburton and directed by Penny Tuerk. To whet your appetite, and put you in the right frame of mind for this year's
Dickens bicentenary, here's the Production Notice, packed with interesting jobs and some acting roles to really get your teeth into!
THE TOWER RETURNS TO PARIS AND TO THE MINACK
This year, we'll be taking to the road with two much-loved classics, each of which also celebrates an important anniversary.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by John Morton and Jean Carr, will be at Theatro Technis from May 15th - 19th
and at our usual open-air venue in Paris from June 13th - 17th. The play was first presented by the Company in
1932 - the year in which we were founded - and it's a great way to celebrate our 80th birthday.
David Copperfield, by Nick Warburton, directed by Penny Tuerk, will be at the Bridewell Theatre from July 24th - 28th and at
the Minack Theatre in Cornwall from August 27th - 31st. It will be our contribution to the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the
birth of Charles Dickens (take a look at www.dickens2012.org to see the growing programme of events!)
The audition details for A Midsummer Night's Dream are here and those for
David Copperfieldhere.
PRIZE WINNERS FOR MOST TICKET SALES
We recently ran a competition across the casts and crews of our 3 Protest! Season plays
(Terrorism, 5/11 and Her Naked Skin) to encourage ticket sales :
The overall prize to the cast and crew of the show that sold the most tickets (6 bottles of champagne) was won by 5/11
The individual prize to the member of the cast or crew who sold the most online tickets (2 free tickets for a show of their
choice) was won by Alex Cooper, who played King James in 5/11
Congratulations to the winners!
THE FRANK SMITH AWARD
The Company Committee is keen to promote awareness of The Frank Smith Award, which is usually presented
each year to a newer member who has made a significant contribution to more than one area of the Company's activities.
In 2011 no award was made as the Committee felt that no one individual was "head and shoulders" above the others.
It also thought that the importance and value of the award may not be sufficiently appreciated. It is of considerable value as it comprises free membership for a year,
two free tickets to every Tower show in London as well as a copy of the book about the early history of the Company - in total worth hundreds of pounds.
We hope that by increasing awareness of the award,newer members will be encouraged to work towards winning it, and that there will be a deserving recipient in 2012, which is of course
the Tower's 80th anniversary year.
ARCOLA TENT TO BE VENUE FOR BABA SHAKESPEARE
24th April - 5th May
From Tuesday 24th April - Saturday 5th May, the Arcola Tent, newest venue in the Arcola Theatre family, will be the
London home of the Tower's production of Baba Shakespeare. The tent is located near the Arcola Theatre adjacent to the
Dalston Eastern Curve Garden and has proven to be the perfect venue in which to host our two week London run.
CONSULTATION REPORT
Now available to download
The project to consult Members and Friends about the future direction of the the Company, particularly in respect of new
premises, is now complete. A report has been produced by Alexander Knapp and Daniel Elser which draws togther the views expressed at the
various consultation meetings and the online and paper surveys carried out over the past few months.
If you would like to read the report, you can download it
here.
