Resources

Quick reference:

• Arts Funding

  • Arts Council England Funding This is the funding section of the Arts Council England website. The UK’s largest funding body for the arts. This is a must see for anyone considering theatre funding.
  • Artsadmin Artsadmin makes art happen – from the first seeds of an artist’s idea to its full and final realisation. Working across the spectrum of theatre, visual arts, dance, live art and performance, it provides an unparalleled resource for contemporary artists.

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• Cheap Tickets

  • A Night Less Ordinary A noble and exciting initiative by Arts Council England in association with Metro Newspaper offering thousands of free theatre, music and dance tickets to under 26’s at venues across the UK.
  • Arcola Theatre (Pay What You Can) Every Tuesday evening, The Arcola sells a limited number of ‘Pay What You Can’ tickets for performances in its studios 1 and 2. Tickets are on a first come first serve basis and sold at the door.
  • Camden People’s Theatre (Pay What You Can) The CPT offers pay what you can tickets on selected performances. These are usually Wednesday nights. It works on a show by show basis. The CPT also offers a general concession price.
  • Gate Theatre (Happy Mondays) The Gate Theatre (Notting Hill) offers a limited number of pay-what-you-can tickets on Monday nights. These tickets are sold on a first-come first-served basis at the door and limited to one per person.
  • National Theatre The National Theatre operates a number of different discount prices. Follow the link above to their information page and see which tariff applies to you.
  • Old Vic The Old Vic offers £12 under 25’s tickets on all its shows. There are also £5 tickets for Lambeth residents and workers.
  • Royal Court Theatre (Mondays) The Royal Court offers all seats at £10 on Mondays. Also note that it offers 10p standing tickets (restricted view) which are available 1 hour before performance and 1 ticket per person.
  • Tkts Cheap West End tickets from the Clocktower Building in Leicester Square.
  • Tricycle Theatre (Pay What You Can) The Tricycle Theatre runs a pay what you can scheme for Under 16s, students, over 60s on Tuesdays 8pm and Saturday 4pm productions.
  • Young Vic The Young Vic theatre offers £10 tickets to students and undere 26’s. Follow the link above for a full list of their discount prices.

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• Cultural Policy

  • Arts Council England – Digital Content Snapshot A detailed mapping of online presences maintained by Arts Council England’s regularly funded organisations (published 15th May 2009)
  • Culture Vultures: Is UK arts policy damaging the arts? A collection of essays edited by Munira Mirza and published by Policy Exchange in 2006 analysing claims by politcians that the arts are now not only good in themselves, but make a vital contribution to the economy, urban regeneration and social inclusion.
  • Digital Britain – the Future of Communications This is a DCMS report on the importance of the communications sector for the UK economy and industrial future. It fails to address the arts and humanities but these areas are no less influenced by the digital revolution.
  • Mcmaster Review: Supporting excellence in the arts Government commissioned report led by Sir Brian McMaster, former Director of the Edinburgh International Festival. Considers how public sector support for the arts can encourage excellence, risk-taking and innovation. Published 2007.
  • The Theatres Trust The Theatres Trust is the government’s adviser on theatres. It provides advisory and consultancy services on planning applications, and “develops the debate on what makes a good theatre”.
  • UK Government Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) Reference Library housing DCMS reports, publications and archives. This is worth keeping an eye on to see what direction that government is leading the arts.
  • What People Want from the Arts Arts Council England’s first ever public value inquiry, ran from October 2006 to September 2007. This PDF file displays the findings.

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• Dance Resources

  • Article 19 Beautifully designed independant site on contemporary dance featuring exclusive videos of performance, interviews, reviews and user interaction.
  • Dance UK As the national voice for dance, Dance UK advocates and lobbies to promote the importance and needs of dance. It is a membership organization that works to create a diverse, dynamic and healthy future for dance.

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• Live Art

  • List of Live Art artists and their websites This list was compiled by the Live Art Development agency and consists of artists whose work the agency archives and advocates. It provides a good overview of some of the key live art figures.
  • Live Art Development Agency The Live Art Development Agency offers Resources, Professional Development Initiatives, and Projects for the support and development of Live Art practices and critical discourses in the UK and internationally.
  • Live Art UK Live Art UK brings together key promoters and facilitators to support and develop the Live Art infrastructure for the benefit of artists and audiences.
  • Philadelphia Live Arts Festival Supports the work of a broad array of performing artists from Philadelphia and around the world by producing two concurrent sixteen-day festivals each September in venues throughout Philadelphia.
  • Tim Etchells’ Notebook Occasional writings by founder and director of Forced Entertainment, Tim Etchells.

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• Playwriting

  • BBC Writer’s Room BBC writersroom identifies and champions new writing talent and diversity across BBC Drama, Entertainment and Children’s programmes.

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• Podcasts

  • ENO Podcasts The English National Opera podcasts feature rare interviews with directors and lead performers and publish excerpts of much-loved arias and music.
  • London Theatre Blog Videos London Theatre Blog’s video section which includes interviews with theatre practitioners and short documentary films on aspects of theatre production.
  • Theatre Voice The web’s leading resource for audio about British theatre.
  • Urban Scrawl A unique online audio drama project presenting a short radio play for each stop along the Piccadilly Line.
  • Wireless Theatre Company The Wireless Theatre Company produces free audio theatre for the “iPod generation”. It supports new writing and up and coming actors.

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• Practical Resources

  • Creating Theatre Forum for modern theatre making. A site run by Rose Bruford College Stage Management teacher Julian Bryant.
  • London interactive theatre maps London Theatre Blog presents 3 interactive London theatre maps (West End, Off-West End, Fringe) powered by Google Street View, offering visitors instant visual information on the location of London’s theatre venues.
  • Scenography – The Theatre Design Website Site run by The Online Society of Theatre Designers and Scenographers.
  • Southwark Playhouse Secrets A theatre project run by the Southwark Playhouse: “Each ‘Secret’ is completely unique and our eclectic programme includes theatre, comedy, storytelling and live art.”
  • Theatre Training Initiative For performers, training is a way of life that lasts the full length of our careers. Theatre Training Initiative aims to support that journey by providing workshops with excellent teachers and inspirational methods.
  • Time Out Theatre Listings This is the online version of the London Time Out theatre listings. London’s most extensive and up to date list of what’s on in theatre land.
  • UK Theatre database A list covering most UK theatres, each theatre has an information profile with key names, dates and statistics.
  • Wellcome Collection Events The events section of the Wellcome Collection, a non-profit organisation primarily devoted to science and medecine but with a growing invovement in the arts. Watch their listings for some excellent free events.

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• Social Networks

  • British Theatre British Theatre is a social networking site for theatre people. Meet, exchange ideas, recommend and realise creative partnerships.
  • Ideas Tap Ideas Tap is a free service for young creative people. It facilitates networking and project collaboration and provides users with their own portfolio page.
  • Spoonfed Theatre A smart way to find out what’s happening on the London stage.

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• Theatre Blogs

  • (AUS) Brisbane Performing Arts Blog Blog written by playwright and theatre reviewer Katherine Lyall-Watson.
  • (AUS) Groundling Blog by Queensland-based actor, director, and writer Kate Foy.
  • (AUS) Theatre Notes Prolific blog by Melbourne based writer Alison Croggon. Alison is a theatre reviewer for The Australian and irregularly review books for ABC Radio National’s The Book Show.
  • (CAN) Art of the Biz Blog by Vancouver based freelance theatre publicist Rebecca Coleman.
  • (CAN) The Next Stage A magazine about new theatre, edited by producer, director, actor Simon Ogden
  • (ISR) Maxim Reider Maxim Reider is a Russian born, Israel based journalist/photographer who writes about music, opera and theatre.
  • (UK) Carousel of Fantasies Blog by performer and freelance theatre writer Matt Trueman.
  • (UK) Chris Goode’s Theatre Blog A highly recommended blog penned by the London based playwright, director and actor, Chirs Goode.
  • (UK) Culture Wars Regular reviews of new London theatre, from the West End and the National Theatre to the fringe, plus occasional dispatches from around the UK and beyond.
  • (UK) Festival Insider Photos, videos, tweets, blogs from the Edinburgh International Festival.
  • (UK) Fringe Report Fringe Report is a London based online publication that reviews fringe theatre, arts, independent and arthouse film, dance, performance, poetry, music and more.
  • (UK) Life in the Cheap Seats London Theater reviews by an American expat – on a budget.
  • (UK) LondonTheatreGoer Tim Watson’s theatre blog – theatre from the perspective of a ‘tech guy’
  • (UK) Postcards from the Gods Blog by freelance theatre critic and journalist Andrew Haydon.
  • (UK) The Guardian Theatre Blog Theatre blog by the renowned UK national newspaper The Guardian. With a wide range of contributors from critics to practitioners, playwrights and researchers addressing the gamut of current issues in theatre.
  • (UK) The Stage Blog Blogs by the long running UK theatre newspaper The Stage. Main focus is on theatre critic Mark Shenton’s blog.
  • (UK) WestEnd Whingers Putting London’s West End theatre to rights. Phil and Andrew begrudgingly cut into their wine time to tell you whether it’s worth missing the Merlot for the Marlowe.
  • (US) Cambiare Production Blog Blog written by Travis Bedard, artistic director of the Austin, Texas based Cambiare Productions.
  • (US) Drama Queen Blog by Wendy Rosenfield, a freelance arts and lifestyle features writer and theatre critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • (US) Extra Criticum A forum for commentary and dialogue about what’s on the minds of artists working in the performing arts.
  • (US) New Play Blog Brilliant multiple author blog covering part of the North American new writing scene.
  • (US) Philadelphia Live Arts & Festival Blog Official blog covering events in and around the celebrated Philadelphia Live Arts Festival.
  • (US) Superfluities Redux Theatre blog by George Hunka – New York based playwright and artistic director of Theatre Minima.
  • (US) The Stolen Chair Blog Blog by NYC Stolen Chair Theatre Company with some astute insights into theatre practice and experimentation.
  • (US) Theater for the Future Blog written by Chicago based theatre artist Nick Keenan. Topics covered: sound design, web and graphics design, production management, playwriting and more.
  • (US) What’s Good What Blows in New York Theatre Fiery, passionate, informed and with exquisite taste this is a New York theatre blog to follow.

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• Theatre Lighting

  • On Stage Lighting On Stage Lighting publishes original articles about stage lighting techniques, modern equipment and best practice – all written by lighting industry professionals

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• Theatre Studies

  • Firefly Performance Journal A new publication supported by Central School of Speech and Drama, edited by Diana Damian.
  • In-Yer-Face-Theatre Website by independant author and theatre critic Aleks Sierz, celebrating the best in new British drama today with an emphasis on new writing in the 90’s.
  • Performance Prompt A Rose Bruford College publication presenting essays, articles and other critical writings by practitioners and critics in the theatre industry today.
  • Platform Platform is a refereed electronic journal devoted to postgraduates, postdoctoral researchers, and entry-level academics in the fields of theatre and performing arts. Platform is run by postgraduates for postgraduates, and is based at the drama and theatre
  • Shakespeare Performance in Asia A brilliant MIT, JSPS and NUS led initiative serving as production video archive, publication outlet and forum for theatre artists to deal with contemporary questions of the relationship between East and West in a global landscape.
  • The Ashden Directory “One half of the Ashden Directory is a magazine with news, interviews and comment; the other half is a database with detailed information on groups or performers and their productions.”
  • Ubuweb A regularly updated archive for visual, concrete and sound poetry, performance art and avant-garde related resources. A great resource for 20th Century art.
  • UK Theatre Image Library A collection of over 2000 images of UK theatres, many of which are historic documents. The list is maintained by the Theatres Trust.

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