Read on for some recent theatre headlines and videos you may have missed.
Sharon D. Clarke and Celia Imrie Perform From Jennifer Lunn’s Popcorn Writing Award-Winning Es and Flo
Jennifer Lunn has won the 2020 Popcorn Writing Award for her play Es and Flo, which was due to premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe festival this year but was canceled due to the pandemic. The playwright receives a cash prize of £2,500. Finalists were Matilda Ibini, Chris Thompson, and Camilla Whitehill. Lunn and the finalists were selected by a committee including Golden Globe winner Ruth Wilson, Olivier-nominated producer Francesca Moody, singer-songwriter Aurora, film scribe Gonzalo Maza (A Fantastic Woman), and BAFTA winner Wunmi Mosaku.
As a bonus, Olivier winners Sharon D. Clarke (Caroline, or Change) and Celia Imrie (Acorn Antiques: The Musical) performed a virtual excerpt from Lunn’s lesbian-themed drama—check it out below.
#ArtsHero Launches Town Hall Series August 27 With Jerry Mitchell
The #ArtsHero campaign to get the U.S. Senate to pass emergency arts relief launches a series of virtual town halls August 27 at 9 PM ET with Tony-winning director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell. The event is open to any theatre worker, including performers, box-office attendants, stagehands, and more. Click here to sign up for the free session, hosted on Zoom. Two additional talks will be presented next week. An August 31 at 2:30 PM ET session led by Actors Theatre of Louisville Executive Artistic Director Robert Barry Fleming, Roundabout Theatre Artistic Director/CEO Todd Haimes, and Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith is open to all theatre leaders. Later that day at 8 PM, Jackie Cox will lead a session for nightlife entertainers.
Latino Theater Company Streams Reading of The Last Angry Brown Hat
The Latino Theater Company at The Los Angeles Theater Centre will offer a sneak peek reading of Alfredo Ramos’ The Last Angry Brown Hat, in which four former members of the Brown Berets (a 1960s militant Chicano civil rights organization) reunite after the funeral of a pal. Directed by José Luis Valenzuela, the September 4 at 10 PM ET reading will feature Robert Beltran, Mike Gomez, Sal Lopez, and Geoffrey Rivas. Originally announced for LTC’s 2020 season, the fully staged production has been postponed until 2021. The reading will be preceded by a live, online conversation with the artists September 3 at 10 PM ET; the reading and the conversation will each will remain available on demand for 10 days. Visit TheLATC.org.
Cast Set for World Premiere of Gemma Lawrence’s Sunnymead Court
Defibrillator, in association with The Actors Centre, will present the world premiere of Gemma Lawrence’s Sunnymead Court September 22-October 3 at London’s Tristan Bates Theatre at The Actors Centre. Playwright Lawrence will play Marie with Remmie Milner (Coriolanus, Chicken Soup) as Stella. James Hillier directs the queer romance. The theatre will have a maximum capacity of 28 seats for each performance, with tickets available in singles or pairs only. Attendees, unless they have a known medical condition, will be required to wear a mask at the venue, and for the duration of the 45-minute performance. Jack Holden produces. Visit DefibrillatorTheatre.
Caroline, or Change in the West End
