FREEDOM STUDIOS one of ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND/ YORKSHIRE newest Regularly Funded arts Organisation seeks a dynamic  

GENERAL MANAGER (PERMANENT)

Salary: up to £24,000 per annum 

Following a successful national tour of its first theatrical piece of work, Freedom Studios is seeking an experienced General Manager to work alongside Artistic Director Madani Younis delivering an exciting programme of work in the mediums of theatre, film and the live arts.  

For further information and application pack please contact Freedom Studios on: 

E: hello@freedomstudios.co.uk

T: 01274 730077 

Application deadline: 9^th December 2008

Interviews to take place week commencing 15^th December 2008 

Freedom Studios is based at The Design Exchange, 34 Peckover Street, Little Germany, Bradford, BD1 5HD 

www.freedomstudios.co.uk 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 
Organisation:  Chinatown Arts Space
Job Title:        Executive Director
Hours:            24 per week
Salary:           £32 - 35,000 pro rata, depending on experience
Chinatown Arts Space (CAS) works to advance public education in the visual and performing arts, in particular, but not exclusively, through the staging of quality productions or exhibitions by artists who are of East Asian descent, or other artists exploring the artistic dialogue between East Asia and Britain’s diverse cultures.

We are seeking a confident, ambitious self-starter to produce and manage the artistic programme and the day to day business operations of CAS, in order to fulfil the vision and long term strategic objectives of the organisation and to consolidate the further development of the organisation.  The position will require close collaboration with the organisation’s Creative Director.

For more information, and to obtain an application pack, please email info@chinatownartsspace.com 
Deadline for completed applications is noon on Friday 5th December 2008. 
www.chinatownartsspace.com 
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fancy quizzing the pros to find out how they do what they do? Read on!

Book now for a place on the symposium considering the role of artistic leadership within regional theatres…

EVENT DETAIL
ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM Organiser Sheffield Theatres with TMA and ACE Location Millennium Gallery, Sheffield Member Theatrical Management Association Date(s) 12 Nov 2008 Price £50 Description Artistic vision is said to be at the heart of any theatre company, yet how this is manifested in the increasingly diverse work of building based, producing theatres is a matter of debate. The symposium will consider the role of artistic leadership in our regional theatres and how the vision and creativity of directors and artists can be nurtured and supported in complex and demanding business organisations. This event will consider the different models of artistic leadership, the roles of artistic director and producer and the contribution made by other theatre practitioners, managers and Boards to the development of a flourishing building, serving the needs of its immediate communities and the wider theatre world.    The keynote address will be given by John Knell and the symposium will include contributions from leading directors, producers and managers. The Artistic Leadership Symposium is one of a series of debates promoted by Arts Council England with the arts sector and partners on subjects emerging from their Theatre Assessment. The Symposium is aimed at artistic directors, creative leaders, producers, senior arts mangers and Board members who have an interest in the issues of leadership of our theatres.  Cost: £50 + VAT per delegate. To reserve your place, please email justine@solttma.co.uk     Telephone   Email   Website   Documents /Downloads/Events/ALSSchedule.doc

The days might be getting chillier and the nights officially longer, but this is no time to hide behind the duvet and hibernate - sod the summer festivals, isn’t the autumn/winter season most definitely the best time to indulge in the arts? Still, as much as I admit to being nerdily obsessed with all things ‘kulcha’, it’s been a busy week even by my standards.

First off, before the Russell Brand/Jonathan Ross debacle swallowed up all the headlines, the Beeb actually did a darn good job last week with their third Electric Proms festival, this time in London and Liverpool. Major highlights included Africa Express, a barnstorming collaboration of 150 African artists (and a few Western ones to boot) that culminated in a four hour marathon of live music on the radio which was, for the most part, a sweet treat for the ears. Swapping the wireless for the outside world, Thursday 24th October saw me working my way to the front of the Roundhouse, to see The Streets and a shellsuited (yet still stylish?!) Santogold. The former went well out of his way to prove why he’s the most successful artist to emerge from the implosion of the UK garage scene in the early noughties. The latter was, to put it simply, just very very cool. (Even dressed as a bingo-loving pensioner from Florida.)

Friday 25th September was, of course, the press night for Tamasha’s Sweet Cider. If my inbox is anything to go by, my critique of the play seems to have caused a bit of controversy. It wasn’t intentional at all and I’m a bit surprised. I’ve asked Tamasha to put me in touch with the playwright, Emteaz Hussain, to ask if she might write a critical debate article for Sustained Theatre or be interviewed. No response as of yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

Saturday 26th September was supposed to be reserved for The Revolution Continues: New Art From China exhibition at the new Saatchi Gallery, London, which I was really looking forward to and yet managed to miss on account of my rubbish organisational skills. Has anyone else seen this? What did you think? Is it worth being pencilled in the diary again?

Still, all wasn’t lost, the long-awaited Arena documentary on producer Phil Spector was finally broadcast on BBC2 on Saturday night. I usually try to steer clear of gushing hyperbole but the man honestly is, a musical genius. Clearly bonkers and currently embroiled in a murder case, but a genius nonetheless. Catch The Agony and The Ecstacy of Phil Spector while you still can on iPlayer. It’s only online until Saturday 1st November, so you’ll have to be quick…

Sunday 26th October and a trip to the Design Museum, London, for their rather lovely “Design Cities That Changed The World” exhibition. From Milan to Muji, it’s an international snapshot of 150 years of good design be it in industrial objects, textiles, print, furniture or fashion. Admittedly, oohing and aahing over the curve of a Le Corbusier isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but if you’d like to get a flavour of what it’s all about, take a listen to the museum’s special exhibition podcast.

Come Monday 27th October, and it was back to the theatre. This time it was mainstream broadsheet favourite, Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land at the Duke of York theatre. To be honest, this isn’t a Pinter play I’ve ever really held a great affection for (inebriated middle age and the verbal - and emotional- tug between a respected man of letters and a sozzled but erudite “vagabond”?), but I was intrigued by the buzz surrounding director Rupert Goold and more to the point, unable to resist seeing the made-for-stage brilliance of Michael Gambon. As wonderful as all that might have been however, I take no shame in admitting that the real highlight of the evening was spotting (and subsequently harassing) the awe-inspiring Wendell Pierce i.e Bunk, from The Wire! My knee-jerk childish instinct keeps me from wanting to agree with the general consensus, but this HBO television series really is one of, if not the best, programmes ever made. Set on the streets of Baltimore, U.S.A and unfolding over five seasons like a complex, layered, but ever-rewarding novel, you’re in for boxset DVD heaven if you’ve yet to encounter it.

Tuesday 26th October and a trip to the Victoria & Albert museum to see Cold War Modern, the first exhibition of design, architecture and popular culture from both sides of the iron curtain between 1945 and 1970. Endlessly interesting and informative, keep an eye out for Andrzej Wróblewski’s painting “Surrealist Execution” which neatly encapsulates key themes of the exhibition -  morbid fear, anxiety, politics and a compelling sense of imagination in an era that managed to produce beauty against a backdrop of looming destruction.

While you’re at the V&A, try and hop over to the Sackler Centre for Cultural Connections: Africa and/or Le Corbusier/Baghdad in Room 128a. Museum closing time clashed with my chance to see either but I’d love to know what the thoughts are from you clever folk.

Next up was Danny Boyle’s new film Slumdog Millionaire. Set in Mumbai, it’s the story of a boy from the slums who ends up on the Hindi version of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ on the verge of winning the jackpot. As I begged my way into a press screening, I’ve been asked not to talk about the film until after it’s premiere at the London Film Festival tonight. Cultural analysis aside however, I will say that it deserves to be a giant hit based on the visceral, funny, gripping, and poignant first half alone.

The final day of my week-long arts immersion, Wednesday 29th October, should have ended with a real bang; the National Theatre, London hosted the press night for Lloyd Newson/DV8’s production, To Be Straight With You. By all accounts, a stirring, intensely powerful and “life-affirming” show exploring religion and sexuality through dance, text, documentary and animation. Thanks to the snow and hail of Tuesday night being ripe for developing a head-bunging cold, I’ve had to make do with watching the show’s video trailer online and hope to snap up some return tickets to what is already, a sold out run.

All in all, a pretty busy week.

So, how has Tamasha’s new production about British, Pakistani girls resonated with this British, Pakistani journalist?

Tamasha’s new play about two British Pakistani girls, Sweet Cider, enjoyed a packed press night at the Arcola Theatre, London, on Friday and has been buzzing with solid reviews. The story of Tazeem and Nosheen running away from home and ending up in an Asian Women’s Refuge is based partly on the experiences of the writer, Emteaz Hussain, who developed her work through Tamasha’s New Writing programme for new voices .

This, her debut play, attempts to address issues of inter-generational conflict and cultural alienation to give voice to young, often vulnerable, girls battling with family ties and personal freedom. Seasoned direction from Kristine Landon-Smith allows her largely young cast of new talent (many making their professional stage debut) to deliver decent performances. The director’s use of the Arcola space is similarly brave although less successful, given that it is (at times) a strain to hear or see the actors performing.

Emteaz’s script is punctuated with monologues of rhythmic poetry, particularly for the unlikely character of Rabia (played by a reliable Sudha Bhuchar), a middle-aged Pakistani woman living for all intents and purposes, alone in the open air of an urban park. There’s much to be said for writing about what you know and Emteaz has obviously worked hard to tease out the drama from her own life experiences.

What she has chosen to portray on stage however - in the themes explored and the momentum driving her characters - is arguably limited. In my personal opinion, as an arts journalist (who yes, happens to be a young, British, Pakistani, female!), I am desperate to see a well-scripted and well-performed play about British Pakistani life that also manages to resonate beyond what have now become familiar (and sadly, often predictable) cliches.

Arranged marriages; the angst-ridden search for ‘identity’; the parental/familial conflict; the desperation, misery and difficulty of being oppressed and repressed by cultural heritage? The issue-based plays of the 1980s tackled these notions. Tamasha themselves were behind the brilliant stage production of East is East back in 1996, a play (and later, film) itself set in the 1970s. While some young, British Pakistani girls do suffer awful experiences - the sporadic, sensationalist headlines of honour killings and forced marriages can tell us that much - we really should remember that these are the exception rather than the norm.

There is a diversity of experience within the British Pakistani community just as there is within any other. Theatre should certainly not act as a preservatory mask to gloss over “the bad bits” in its social commentary but at the same time, it shouldn’t ignore the abundance of stories that go beyond the well-worn parameters of ‘truth’ we’ve become accustomed to seeing on stage and screen.

For all you budding playwrights and wordsmith geniuses, Paines Plough are now accepting scripts for their Future Perfect 2009 program. This is a really exciting opportunity for emerging writers to develop their work - give it your all and see what happens, we say. All details on the flyer below, good luck!

Multi-media installation artist, producer, theatre director and filmmaker Pervaiz Khan is our new International Broker for Sustained Theatre

Opportunities across boundaries

Pervaiz lives in Birmingham, and his new role involves travelling all over England and abroad, seeing opportunities to bring together theatre companies and organisations across country boundaries. ‘There are audiences in other parts of the world that would be equally excited by work that is being produced here. And it works both ways – we want work from abroad to be seen by more people,’ he says. ‘The most exciting aspect of my role will be seeing work in different places and finding ways to present it to wider audiences.’

Theatre should reflect diversity

Pervaiz believes that the music industry in many ways already reflects the nature of British culture, as seen in our urban areas, and he wants to help the theatre sector reflect that diversity too.

‘I am a product of inner-city Birmingham. Our street was populated by Pakistani, Indian, Jamaican, Polish, Italian, Irish and Chinese families; as I child I assumed that every street in the world was like this,’ he says. ‘Britain is a country made up of people from other places, especially in our cities, and there are vibrant, moving and thought-provoking new stories emerging that need to be told.’

Pervaiz points out that he is not an international tour broker – he will concentrate on bringing people and organisations together and they will take it from there.

His role aims to:

•  raise the profile of established and emerging artists
•  identify programming opportunities for artists and companies
•  bring new works for collaborations to the attention of potential local or international partners
•  identify UK artists and companies to act as key support for incoming international projects

Pervaiz has spent his first month working out a plan to for his far-reaching and complex new job. He has also been exploring where his many existing contacts can be useful. He will work with the legacy of the decibel project, which ended in March this year, and with the Arts Council’s regional theatre officers as well as the newly established regional hubs.

‘No one has done this job before. I am identifying areas I need to concentrate on. It’s a bit like a jigsaw puzzle and during the next 18 months the picture will emerge,’ he says.

News came in this month that Lenny Henry (or as newspapers insist on calling him, ‘funnyman Lenny Henry’) will be taking on the role of Othello in a major Spring production of one of the Bard’s most demanding plays.

After three decades of performing as a comedian, this will be Henry’s theatrical stage debut. The West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds will be the first venue hosting the play’s run, kicking off on February 14th and finishing at The Viaduct, Halifax at the end of May.

Given that it’s a Northern Broadsides production, Lenny will be expected to keep his native Dudley accent. Let’s hope it gives him the ‘gravitas’ he admits he’s aiming for. On the subject of Othello, this gives us an excuse to unearth a little video wonder of Paul Robeson talking, in 1943, about becoming the first Black actor to take on the role in an American theatre. Take a look here

Can the bitter reverberations of an history entrenched in slavery, poverty and victimisation, be distanced through amassing wealth? It’s the question at the heart of August Wilson’s final play, Radio Golf…

We’ve just gotten back from seeing the UK premiere of August Wilson’s Radio Golf  at The Tricycle Theatre in London. The final in the Pittsburgh century cycle  and the last play written by the great man before his death in 2005, we’re pleased to report it is pretty much what you’d expect and hope for: thoughtful, poetic, funny, and politically charged without falling into the trap of didacticism or cliche.

Set in 1997, Radio Golf is the story of a middle-class, African American businessman working to get elected as the first Black mayor of Pittsburgh, and redevelop a run-down part of the city into a gleaming, multimillion-dollar shopping mall complete with Starbucks, Whole Foods and Barnes & Noble. (Or to put it another way, the holy trinity of North America’s corporate sell to the aspirant consumer.)

Prescient and honest, critics will have plenty of fun drawing parallels to the mayoral campaign of protagonist Harmond Wilkes to the real-world backdrop of the Obama/McCain presidential race. The play captures much of our current climate in brilliantly delivered bitesized arias; race and politics are invariably interwined, but there is also plenty to be said here on corporations versus communities and achieving social justice versus gaining social capital. 

Whether they’re revelling in becoming players on the golf course - in the sporting and business sense - or believing the Black bourgeoisie are holding up the Black everyman, Wilson’s characters provoke the audience to think. Radio Golf is a bittersweet finale to a fine career - kudos to director Paulette Randall for finally allowing UK audiences the chance to see it on stage!

Radio Golf runs at The Tricycle Theatre in London from 2nd October to 1st November. For tickets, call 020 7328 1000 or online at  www.tricycle.co.uk