OK, so Louise Orwin’s Pretty Ugly, centrepiece of our Calm Down Dear festival, was one the biggest CPT hits on record. But did you know that it came through our 2013 Starting Blocks artist development scheme? And that we’re now advertising for applications to the 2014 version?
You’ve got until Mon 2 December to apply to bring your show to our Sprint festival, London’s biggest and best bonanza of new and unusual theatre. Sprint will run from March 7 to 30, 2014. All the background info is here. We also want all-new project ideas from emerging artists, which we can support via Starting Blocks, our unique artist development / peer network programme, that runs from Jan-March 2014 and culminates in work-in-progress sharings at Sprint. Details here.
If you got a show that does something new and exciting with theatre, apply to Sprint. If you’ve got an idea for one, and you’re at an early stage in your career, apply to Starting Blocks. We’d love to hear from you.
On November 25 & 26, we’re sharing the first stages of a new CPT co-production, with Undercurrent Theatre, which tells a totally remarkable (and local) story, about the evolutionary theorist George Price. Price was the American genius who stunned academia in the 1960s and 70s by developing a mathematical equation for kindness. But the implications of his discovery unbalanced him, driving him to suicide – in Tolmers Square, behind what’s now CPT. Director Laura Farnworth and her ace team, in collaboration with scientists and academics who (in some cases) worked with Price, now present Meet George, a show that will ask: What makes us kind to one another, and why? Is altruism genetic – or spiritual? And is there any such thing as free will?
You can get tickets to see the genesis of this extraordinary project here. Both performances will be followed by post-show discussions with the show’s science partners. Meet George is generously supported by the Wellcome Trust.
“Packed with warmth and humour,” sounds nice for December, doesn’t it? We’ve just announced three performances (Dec 11-13) of Edinburgh Fringe hit She Was Probably Not a Robot, a surreal, soulful comedy about a decomposing world and a comic visitor. It’s by Stuart Bowden, Aussie theatre-maker and one half of award-winning The Lounge Room Confabulators. Matt Trueman in The Scotsman hailed its “gorgeous notes of melancholia” and its “balance of humanity and humour.” The Stage pointed to the audience’s “hysterical laughter” and called the show “inspiring… [A] masterpiece.” Who are we to disagree? We’re thrilled to have Stuart visiting, and heartily recommend you book yourself a ticket here.
