The week kicked off with the big news that Michael Boyd and Vikki Heywood would be leaving their roles at the head of the Royal Shakespeare Company before the end of 2012. Frantic speculation as to who might replace them ensued. But they weren’t the only big theatrical departure of the week (and no, I’m not talking about Liam Fox) – at the Mercury theatre in Colchester, long-serving artistic director Dee Evans announced she would be leaving the Essex venue after 14 years in charge Photograph: Harry E Lomax/Rex Features
Back in London, the big news was more about an arrival than departures, with the announcement that the multimillion-pound Crossrail development around Tottenham Court Road is to help create a new 350-seat theatre to replace the old Astoria music venue. If planning permission is granted, it could be London’s first-purpose built theatre in the round, and will be operated by Nimax Theatres – already a major player in the West End. Sadly, you’ve got a little while to wait: building work won’t start until 2017 at the earliest Photograph: Crossrail
Still looking a little over the horizon, the National theatre has revealed that its world-beating production of War Horse will be hitting the road for a UK tour in the autumn of 2013. As well as its West End and New York versions, the show is also planning jaunts to Canada, Los Angeles, Japan, South Africa and continental Europe. Meanwhile, another NT production – the proposed new musical by Tori Amos – has been stabled, with news that its planned premiere in early 2012 has been postponed indefinitely Photograph: Simon Annand/Premier PR
One stallion who you couldn’t keep stabled up (even with copious amounts of ketamine, one would venture) is Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron – the antihero of Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem, which made a triumphant return to the West End this week. Having debuted at the Royal Court in 2009, the play has enjoyed award-winning runs first in London and then on Broadway. Now it’s back in London at the Apollo theatre – probably the last chance UK audiences will have to see Mark Rylance’s career-defining performance as the Rooster Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian
Rylance’s turn in Jerusalem picked him up the best actor gong at the Evening Standard theatre awards back in 2009, but who will win this year’s prize? The longlist for the ES awards was revealed this week and there are some big guns going head to head for the actors’ prize: Kevin Spacey for his Richard III, Derek Jacobi for his Lear and James Corden for his side-splitting performance in One Man, Two Guvnors. It’s a hard call. Elsewhere on the longlist, there are some heavy-hitters in the best actress category as well – Eve Best, Imelda Staunton, Ruth Wilson, Kristin Scott Thomas … I could go on Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian
As the ES longlist shows, actors can enjoy long and successful careers into their 50s, 60s and 70s (and even longer). The same is sadly not true for dancers, who often have to retire from the stage in the their mid-30s. A new report published this week by global performers union the International Federation of Actors warns that ageing dancers need more support to find alternative employment when they hang up their ballet shoes Photograph: David Levene/Guardian
And finally, it’s never the best of results as a performer when you get sued by your audience, with one of them claiming your singing has made them feel 'physically sick'. Such was the case in one of this week’s more bizarre news stories when a couple who had hired opera singers Soprano Bella to perform at their wedding took the group to court, for ruining their big day by perfoming Abba numbers instead of the operatic hits they had requested. In the end, they reached an out-of-court settlement for £1,500 Photograph: Natalie Solveland/Alamy
