Back Home - The world premiere of a musical about Anne Boleyn is being performed at her childhood home. Henry VIII's second wife, who was beheaded in 1536, grew up at Hever Castle in Kent. Anne Boleyn: The Musical is being staged at a specially constructed 1,800-seat outdoor auditorium on the lawn outside the castle until 30 August. A production spokesperson said: "The castle itself forms a key part of the set, heightening the sense of authenticity and theatrical grandeur.”
“The musical tells Anne's personal story, revealing how her ambitions and choices not only placed her at the heart of Tudor court life but ultimately helped alter the course of English history," the show's producers said. It covers her emotional farewell to her family at Hever, her experiences in the courts of Flanders and France and her return to England, where she catches the attention of King Henry VIII.
Roxana Silbert, the musical's director, said: "Anne Boleyn has so often been portrayed as just a manipulative flirt. The show throws new light on this brilliant, headstrong, charismatic woman who brought very radical and progressive ideas with her from Europe, drove social change, and ultimately laid the way for her daughter Elizabeth to become queen."
Tour News - The Royal Ballet and Opera has scrapped a planned run of its new production of Tosca in Israel following vehement opposition from across its workforce. The decision comes as chief executive Alex Beard declared that the company was "reviewing its internal protocols" following an onstage demonstration in which a dancer unveiled a Palestinian flag during a curtain call at the Royal Opera House.
Danni Perry, who unfurled the flag during the curtain call for a performance of Il Trovatore, claimed the Royal Opera’s director of opera Oliver Mears tried to wrestle the flag off them, and subsequently told them they would be barred from employment at the London venue. Responding to the event, more than 180 members of the Royal Ballet and Opera, spanning artists, technicians and administrative departments, penned an open letter expressing "deep concern" about their company’s decision-making regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Pop-Up Opera - Live opera performances are popping up across south London in a bid to bring the art form to people who may not get to experience it otherwise. From cafés to libraries, unexpected venues across Merton, Croydon and Wandsworth are being transformed into intimate opera stages throughout July and August by Baseless Fabric Theatre. "It's been wonderful seeing the reaction of people who didn't know they were going to be experiencing a bit of opera," said Joanna Turner, director of the Wimbledon-based troupe's modern reimagining of The Elixir of Love. There were kids with their mouths wide open, not believing the sounds coming out of our performers' mouths."
Funding Threat - LIPA Sixth Form College has been threatened with pulled government funding, in response to concerns including the "financial position" of the multi-academy trust in charge of it. The notice, from the Department for Education, warns that without "rapid and sustainable improvement", the performing arts college’s funding agreement with the DfE could end. LIPA Sixth Form College is run by Liverpool Multi-Academy Trust (LIPA MAT), which also runs LIPA School for 4-16 year olds, which closed for the summer prematurely last month amid health and safety concerns and faces strikes in September.
Now, LIPA MAT has been served notice that its funding agreement with the DfE could be revoked due to various problems at LIPA Sixth Form College. Chief among them, according to the notice – written by Vicky Beer, the DfE’s regional director for the North West – was the most recent Ofsted inspection, which found the sixth-form college "inadequate".
(Jim Evans)