David Chadderton

Manchester

Theatre Writer and Editor at British Theatre Guide

Writer at Freelance

Theatre writer, editor of @BritTheatreGuid, teacher for Mainstream Theatre Arts & @rosebruford etc.

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Articles

British Theatre Guide Newsletter no. 1211

3 days ago | share.sender.net | David Chadderton

I had an e-mail from one of our newsletter subscribers last week to say that he wasn’t getting the full newsletter; he was getting my editorial but not the headlines. I do get a warning from our e-mail sending service every week that the newsletter is too long and that some e-mail services, such as Gmail, will cut the end off when displaying it.
Hamlet Hail To The Thief

6 days ago | britishtheatreguide.info | David Chadderton

This Shakespeare remix has been more than two decades in the making, going back to 2003 when co-creator Christine Jones saw Radiohead at Madison Square Gardens playing tracks from their then-latest album, Hail to the Thief, a title taken from anti-Bush protests following his controversial election win over Gore, but Jones saw in them a parallel with Shakespeare's Hamlet.
British Theatre Guide Newsletter no. 1210

1 week ago | share.sender.net | David Chadderton

Another bank holiday weekend, though a little cooler here in the North West than earlier in the week. The new Director of the National Theatre, India Rubasingham, has launched her first season on the South Bank, and also tantalised us with hints about a couple of future projects. Apart from our news article, Philip Fisher has looked at what she is offering and at what this says about diversity at the National at a time when this is becoming a dirty word in some quarters.
Theatre Frontier broken in West Cumbria

1 week ago | britishtheatreguide.info | David Chadderton

A new festival, Theatre Frontier, comes to Rosehill Theatre in Whitehaven from 10 to 17 May 2025 with the aim "to bring high-quality, contemporary theatre to West Cumbria in a way that’s inclusive, local and genuinely useful for the community".
North East talent is Unearthed

1 week ago | britishtheatreguide.info | David Chadderton

Live Theatre, Newcastle's 11-day Unearthed Festival will feature Royal Court Live led by Court Artistic Director David Byrne and playwright Ishy Din, masterclasses with Alistair McDowall and an online Q and A with Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight). Running from Tuesday 20 to Saturday 31 May, the festival will also feature readings, performances and scratch nights, the majority of which will be on sale for Live Theatre’s freelance rate of £6.
Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest

1 week ago | britishtheatreguide.info | David Chadderton

In what she has said herself in the Wise Children podcast is a bit of a departure for her, Emma Rice has turned to the heavily plot-driven Hitchcock thriller North by Northwest for her latest adaptation to stage. The film, with a screenplay by Ernest Lehman, was another attempt by Hitchcock at the 39 Steps story of mistaken identity and espionage.
CATS to add Scottish panto award

2 weeks ago | britishtheatreguide.info | David Chadderton

The 2025 Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland will debut a new award for Outstanding Pantomime. CATS awards co-convenor Michael Cox said, "Scotland has long been considered the natural home of pantomime, from the early-20th-century music hall productions to the heyday of Stanley Baxter, Rikki Fulton, Jimmy Logan, Una McLean and Johnny Beattie, who then passed on the baton to acclaimed performers such as Elaine C Smith and the late Gerard Kelly and Andy Gray.
Rubasingham unveils first National season

2 weeks ago | britishtheatreguide.info | David Chadderton

Indhu Rubasingham's first season as the National Theatre's Director and Co-Chief Executive will feature "16 brand new productions...
British Theatre Guide Newsletter no. 1209

2 weeks ago | share.sender.net | David Chadderton

Owing to the lateness of Easter this year, St George’s Day has been put back to tomorrow by the Church of England, but 23 April is still the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and the date on which his birth is often celebrated, although there is no contemporary record of his date of birth, only of his baptism. Did you celebrate the playwright or theatre in general on Shakespeare Day this week? I don’t remember seeing any mention of it in either traditional or social media this year.
British Theatre Guide Newsletter no. 1208

3 weeks ago | share.sender.net | David Chadderton

Happy Easter Day. And it’s certainly a sunny one here in Manchester. Watching the BBC News Channel the other day, I caught most of an item on some research conducted by our national broadcaster that seemed to show a significant reduction in the number of productions on stage last year compared to a decade ago.