Macbeth production is new venture for  Theatre Royal Brighton - video Dailymotion

SussexWorld

A new production of Macbeth heralds a new chapter in creative learning for the Ambassador Theatre Group which includes Theatre Royal Brighton among its venues.

Transcript

00:00 Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Really lovely

00:06 to speak to Jackie Alexander, Creative Learning Manager at Theatre Royal Brighton. Now it's

00:11 a really exciting time for creative learning in Brighton just at the moment and across

00:16 the Ambassador Theatre Group, isn't it? Tell me about the book Beth that's coming your

00:20 way and why it's significant, how it fits into the bigger picture.

00:24 Well, it's very exciting. New arm of our work for creative learning. Creative Learning Presents

00:30 is what we have created, working in association with ATG Productions and touring a production

00:37 of Macbeth for schools to some of our main venues under the tour of ATG Productions Pretty

00:45 Woman. They're not connected apart from the fact that ATG Productions are in the venues,

00:50 so we're sneaking in underneath and doing the shows.

00:52 The whole point is to get schools in, isn't it? And it's done exceedingly well. You're

00:58 putting it on sale in Brighton, but elsewhere where it has been on sale, sold out, which

01:02 is wonderful.

01:03 Sold out, yes. Liverpool, Sunderland, Manchester and Milton Keynes.

01:06 And the point is it's making it accessible and affordable.

01:09 Yes, ticket prices are affordable. Absolutely. Obviously, the title is very accessible, but

01:18 also I think we're doing it at the point in the school day which works for teachers. The

01:22 price is right. We've done a lot of research with schools and teachers to find out what

01:26 they want and what they need and what will work for them. And it's paid off.

01:29 And it sounds like it's a particular take on Macbeth, isn't it? It's not a big cast,

01:33 full version. It's something different.

01:37 It's something very different. It's a two-hander, two people playing all the characters. 80

01:41 minutes straight through, no interval. It's like a whistle stop. Very physical. Doesn't

01:47 compromise the language or the story, though. You will still get the full Shakespearean

01:54 experience, but in a different way.

01:57 It sounds brilliant.

01:58 Which will make it, yeah.

01:59 And the wider context for all this is the fact that creative learning is such, as you

02:04 were saying, an integral part of life at Brighton Theatre Royal, isn't it?

02:08 It is. It's a key part of our programme. It gives us the opportunity to open the doors

02:13 and bring people in who perhaps wouldn't come to shows at the moment, but perhaps they will

02:18 once they've been in. It enables us to work with local groups, local artists and theatre

02:25 makers, schools and colleges. It's a way of us getting those people in and being part

02:31 of the community.

02:32 As you were saying, it's a way of putting it on the landscape, isn't it? And showing

02:35 that going to the theatre is actually an option for all those people who didn't necessarily

02:40 think of doing so.

02:41 Yes, giving an opportunity for people to try it out and to see what it's like and to have

02:45 a look around. People love looking around the places that you don't normally get to

02:49 see. So that's a good way in.

02:51 And all this good interaction with Macbeth, that must feel like a huge vindication of

02:56 all that you're doing.

02:58 It does, actually, yes, which is great. Yes, very proud of it. I'm pleased to keep going

03:02 with it and developing it more.

03:05 Fantastic. So Macbeth is in Theatre Obrighton March 26th this year. Jackie, lovely to speak

03:12 to you and good luck with the initiative.

03:13 Nice to speak to you too. Thank you.

03:16 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Macbeth production is new venture for Theatre Royal Brighton

Category

Transcript

Recommended