Page OFC

SHUTTERSTOCK

IE MCFADZEAN

ROBB

In this week’s paper

How to choose your drama school

26Altering course How drama schools are evolving to meet industry demands

30Quality assuranceIndustry figures on whether accreditation is fit for purpose

BRENNER

ALEX

34Backstage coursesRob Halliday offers his top tips on choosing the best technical training

SHUTTERSTOCK

Hear from theatremakers,

tutors and graduates about the evolving nature of drama school training, how accreditation works and the

best options for technical

theatre training, p25-34

THESTAGE.CO.UK

Fighting for the future of theatre since 1880

OCTOBER

The Fear of 13

M A N U E L H A R L A N

Rev iewed this week in The Stage

Our reviewers on new openings from across the UK, including The Fear of 13 starring Adrien Brody at London’s Donmar Warehouse, A Raisin in the Sun at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and The New Real at Stratford-upon-Avon’s the Other Place p15-21

A Raisin in the Sun

The New Real

I N Y U M

I K

I N Y U M

I K

Turbine Theatre to close blaming lack of support

EXCLUSIVE MATTHEW HEMLEY

The Turbine Theatre in south west London is to close after five years, with its artistic director Paul Taylor-Mills blaming the difficult economics of making a 92-seat venue work.

He said that without “serious investment and philanthropy”, it was not possible to run such spaces in the current landscape.

The Battersea venue will close later this year, after its Christmas production, The Liar, the Bitch and the Wardrobe, which will run from November 21 to December 22.

During the Turbine’s five years in business, it has launched shows such as My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?) starring Rob Madge, and Gwyneth Paltrow spoof I Wish You Well, both of which transferred to the West End.

Taylor-Mills said: “To say I’m proud of what we have achieved with the Turbine Theatre is an understatement. Just over six years ago, I walked into an empty railway arch at the Battersea Power Station. It was leaking, there was no dressing room, no bar – a few fold-out chairs.

“With an equal mixture of excitement and fear we created a magic corner in Battersea where we could help as many people get projects off the ground as we dared to take on. Without this noisy railway arch there would be no My Son’s a Queer, no I Wish You Well and many more shows.

“As the landscape of making theatre shifts, without serious investment and philanthropy, a 92-seat space just can’t work and it’s time for me to focus my efforts elsewhere. The Turbine has been an absolute labour of love. It shouldn’t have worked. But it did – and I’m so incredibly proud of the lives it’s changed and the dreams it’s made come true. Creating this incredible venue, with the people that believed in what it could be, has been a career highlight.”

The venue opened in August 2019, with Taylor-Mills setting out three main ambitions – festivals to generate new work, focusing on work discovered through these events and focusing on classics and revivals “in a new, interesting way”.

The theatre had a staff of three, including Taylor-Mills. He now plans to focus his attention on his role as artistic director at the Other Palace in London’s Off-West End.

Zero-hours ban would put theatre at risk, leaders say

KATIE CHAMBERS

Theatre figures have warned that Labour’s “short-sighted” zero-hours contract crackdown could result in financial trouble and venue closures.

The Employment Rights Bill, unveiled in parliament last week, has been hailed

as the biggest improvement to workers’ rights in a generation and includes an end to zero-hours contracts.

However, industry leaders including Leicester Curve chief executive Chris Stafford and BECTU head Philippa Childs, as well as zero-hours workers, have deemed the clampdown on zero-hours contracts to be symptomatic of the lack of understanding of creative industries within government.

Under the proposed legislation, more than one million UK workers on zero-hours contracts are set to be offered guaranteed working hours if they want them, in a move

Continues, p2

I M O N H A D L E Y

Musical theatre Plan for UK centre of excellence unveiled Page 2

Lyn Gardner Does theatre’s artistic leadership model need to evolve? Page 7

Josette Bushell-Mingo Central’s principal on what to look for when choosing a drama school Pages 10-11

Skills crisis Can drama schools help tackle theatre’s workforce shortage? Pages 12-14

Want a new job? Two pages of vacancies in the theatre sector Pages 42-43