From the Gielgud to the Globe, the West End is where anyone working in British theatre wants to be. Whether it’s directing the year’s hottest new musical, choreographing the latest dance spectacle, or sitting in rehearsals for the season’s finest Shakespearean dramas, this is where the very best of British theatre hone their craft.
But how do you create a West End show? What has to happen for you to see your name – and your show – appear in lights? In this unique course, practitioners from varying disciplines of Theatreland share their experiences and advice on making shows comes to life.
Our expert panel includes The Stage editor Alistair Smith, independent producer Jim Zalles, composer and lyricist Craig Adams, HighTide Festival director Steven Atkinson and Leicester’s Curve theatre artistic director Nikolai Foster. During the course, you’ll learn practical tips on everything from writing and crafting your own show, to the practicalities of getting it from the page to the stage. You’ll leave knowing what does and doesn’t work in the West End, fuelled with inspiration that will inform the next steps for your own projects.
This course is for you if...
- You have an idea for a piece of theatre and want to see it performed on stage
- You’re currently working in the theatre industry and want advice on creating new work
- You want to learn how to explore new issues and themes in pieces of theatre
Course content
- What is the West End?
- What makes the West End special?
- How does the West End fit into the rest of UK theatre industry?
- You’ve got a concept, now what?
- Writing a hit British musical: the impossible dream?
- How do we create new, brave British theatre?
- Creating not-for-profit theatre
- Looking beyond the West End
- How to make contacts in the industry
- Q&A and discussion with all speakers
Tutor profiles
Alistair Smith is editor of The Stage, a British weekly newspaper and website covering the theatre and entertainment industry. He has written for publications ranging from the Guardian to Hello! Magazine, and regularly appears on TV and radio talking about theatre and the performing arts. He is also author of the London Theatre Report, the first statistical study of all of London theatre.
Craig Adams is a composer and lyricist. His first musical, Lift, developed in association with Perfect Pitch, is now being licensed around the world, with an Off Broadway run in November 2013 and a WhatsOnStage nomination for Best Original Score 2014. As an arranger and musical director, Craig has recorded with leading lady Kerry Ellis and is currently composing a dance adaptation of the acclaimed children’s book Bob Robber and Dancing Jane, entitled ShadowThief, which will premiere this year.
Steven Atkinson is the co-founder and artistic director of the HighTide Festival Theatre, which was founded in 2007 to discover, produce and champion emerging playwrights. His credits include the critically-acclaimed Stovepipe and the multi-award winning Lidless. In 2010, he produced Ditch with Kevin Spacey and the Old Vic, which was nominated for the John Whiting Award. Most recently, he directed Lampedusa at the Soho Theatre as part of this year’s HighTide Festival.
Jim Zalles launched Theatre Bench in October 2012 to support the development of new works in theatre and dance. In partnership with Perfect Pitch Musicals and Ros Povey Productions, Jim produced the world premiere of Lift at the Soho Theatre in 2013 and the one-man-show Our Friends The Enemy at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, along with several standalone cabarets at the St James Studio Theatre. In 2014, Theatre Bench produced the critically-acclaimed Carthage and Thérèse Raquin at the Finborough Theatre, as well as the album Rush of Life by West End star Julie Atherton.
Nikolai Foster is currently artistic director of Leicester’s Curve theatre. He trained at Drama Centre London and at the Crucible, Sheffield. His work has been seen in leading regional theatres, touring houses and internationally. Nikolai has been director at the Sheffield Crucible, National Theatre Studio, and an associate director at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, where among others he directed Amanda Whittington’s Bollywood Jane and Louise Page’s Salonika. Recent credits include Calamity Jane (Watermill Theatre), the 20th anniversary production of Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing (Arts Theatre and Tour) and Merrily We Roll Along (Clwyd Theatr Cymru).
Details
Date: Sunday 21 June 2015
Times: 10am-4pm
Location: The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU
Price: £129 (includes VAT, booking fee, lunch and refreshments)
Event capacity: 100
To contact us, click here. Terms and conditions can be found here.
Returns policy
Tickets may be refunded if you contact us at least 14 days before the course start date. Please see our terms and conditions for more information on our refund policy.
