Vamos Theatre announce transmission dates for ‘How Hard is Waving?’ marking the company’s BBC debut
 
Worcester-based Vamos Theatre, the UK’s leading full mask theatre company, announce the transmission dates for How Hard is Waving? a brand-new series of specially commissioned short films. 
 
Part of  BBC’s Culture in Quarantine, the 20, 1-3 minute shorts will be screened across a range of BBC social media platforms, including BBC iPlayer, with the Culture in Quarantine mission ‘to bring the arts to UK homes despite venue closures, social distancing and lockdowns’.
 
Vamos Theatre fought off competition from more than 1,600 applications to win the commission, part of a total of 25 projects from a range of artists selected across England.
 
Described as Jack Tati meets Homer Simpson, and performed entirely without words, How Hard is Waving? is the story of Ryan, alone in lockdown and doing his best to support his quirky, extended family through video link alone – not to mention keeping his own mental health on track. Playful, comic, and poignant, these non-verbal shorts take us on a journey through four weeks of daily online meetups…can Ryan keep Gran happy? Will Dad come a cropper with his DIY? And does Ryan stand a chance with Katie, Gran’s carer?
 
How Hard is Waving? marks Vamos Theatre’s debut performance on the BBC providing the company with a unique opportunity to bring their work to a much wider audience. The film commission is also a great addition to their growing portfolio of work which includes full mask theatre productions across the UK as well as performing at national and international festivals and events. 
 
Vamos Theatre’s submission is based around film shorts produced for social media which the company screened every day during the initial phase of lockdown.
 
Rachael Savage, Vamos Theatre’s Artistic Director said “How Hard is Waving?  starts transmitting this week across BBC Arts social media platforms and will run Tuesday-Saturday mornings for the next four weeks. It will also be linked to our own Vamos Theatre social media too.
 
“We are extra excited because each weekend BBC iPlayer will screen an Omnibus edition providing viewers with the chance to ‘binge watch’ all of the previous week’s shorts.”
 
Alongside Rachael Savage (director and performer), the cast is made up of renowned full mask actors, Alan Riley and James Greaves, with Rosa Savage making her professional debut for the company. Norah the dog also takes part, playing herself. Guided remotely by film maker and editor Dan Hill, each of the cast has been performing at home and filming their own footage, which has been a steep but fascinating learning curve for everyone. All episodes feature an original score by composer, Janie Armour.
 
Vamos Theatre’s Culture in Quarantine project was made with support from The Space, a digital agency and production company helping to promote wider engagement across the arts and cultural sector, and Battersea Arts Centre.

Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli has died aged 96.

The Florence native directed stars including Elizabeth Taylor in the 1967 film Taming of the Shrew and Dame Judi Dench on stage in Romeo and Juliet.

Italian media said Zeffirelli died after a long illness which had grown worse in recent months.

The two-time Oscar nominee also served in the Italian senate for two terms as a member of Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party.

He is perhaps best known to many as the director of the 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet – starring a then-unknown Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey.

It was viewed by generations of school students studying the Shakespearean drama.

The illegitimate son of a merchant, his mother gave him the surname "Zeffiretti" – meaning "little breezes" – which was misspelled on his birth certificate.

The original meaning came from a Mozart opera – and Zeffirelli would go on to become a prolific creator of opera himself, staging more than 120 during his career in London, Milan and New York.

"Franco Zeffirelli, one of the world's greatest men of culture, passed away this morning," tweeted Dario Nardella, mayor of Florence. "Goodbye dear Maestro, Florence will never forget you."

Zeffirelli initially studied architecture at the University of Florence, but his education was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. During the conflict, he fought for Communist partisan forces against Mussolini's Fascists and the occupying Nazis.

After being captured by Fascists, he was saved from execution when his interrogator turned out to be a half-brother whom he'd never known. His half-brother arranged for his release.

When the war was over, he continued his studies but said he became inspired to pursue a career in theatre after seeing Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944).

In 1945, he started work as a set designer at Florence's Teatro della Pergola, and concentrated on theatre throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

At the Pope's request, in 1970 Zeffirelli staged "Missa solemnis" in honour of the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's birth.

His first film was a Shakespeare adaptation, The Taming of the Shrew. While initially intended to star two Italian actors, it was heavily funded by Hollywood couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, who eventually assumed the two leading roles.

Another notable adaptation of the bard's plays would come in 1990s Hamlet – starring Mel Gibson in the title role, with Glenn Close and Helena Bonham Carter among the supporting cast.

The Birmingham Repertory Theatre was transformed into a bright beacon of red light as part of the national Light It In Red initiative.

The REP’s lighting technicians joined other workers, freelancers and specialists from across the country to transform the venue in support of ‘Light It In Red’ which aims to shed a light on freelancers, suppliers and those who work in the theatre and events industry in a time of uncertainty as a result of the Coronavirus epidemic.

Artistic Director, Sean Foley and Executive Director, Rachel Thomas said; "Tonight, we join a multitude of venues across the country who are lighting their buildings red in support of freelancers, suppliers, and those in the theatrical and events industry on whom our entire theatre ecology relies.

“We hope that funds in the Government’s new cultural support package will be distributed in a representative and inclusive way that recognises the vital role played by these individuals and companies in sustaining the theatrical landscape.”

#LightItInRed

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre has today announced that regrettably, and with great sadness, their 2020 pantomime Cinderella, has been postponed until December 2021.

Cinderella is the first pantomime to be produced by the theatre in over three decades and due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the creative teams have been unable to collaborate together to deliver the first-class pantomime audiences have come to expect.

The safety and welfare of the audience, artists and employees was also a key factor in the decision to postpone. Over 60,000 people attend The Grand’s annual pantomime, with a large proportion of those tickets purchased by schools and families, including young children.

Adrian Jackson, CEO and Artistic Director said: “It has been an enormously difficult decision to postpone this year’s pantomime which, during the lifetime of the Grand Theatre, has become a tradition loved by many generations of families. We will continue to work hard during the next eighteen months, and we will present our spectacular pantomime during the festive season next year.

Cinderella is one of the most magical pantomimes and we will create something very special for Grand Theatre audiences.

It will be very sad not to be welcoming our loyal patrons to panto this Christmas, however I encourage audiences to please stay with us for 2021, which I know will be a fantastic year.”

Ticket holders have been automatically transferred to the equivalent performance with the same seats next year. The theatre will send individual correspondence to everyone affected outlining the options available.

Pantomime sponsor Dudley Zoo and Castle has also pledged its support by transferring their sponsorship to next year.

All remaining productions for 2020 have either been transferred to new dates or have been cancelled. West End hits Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and 9 To 5 will be amongst the first shows to open at the Grand in the New Year.

The Italian composer whose credits include the ‘spaghetti westerns’ that made Clint Eastwood a star, has died in Rome.

According to Italian news agency Ansa, he died in hospital having fractured his femur in a fall some days previous.

The prolific composer also wrote music for Once Upon a Time in America, The Untouchables and Cinema Paradiso.

Having received an honorary Oscar in 2007, he went on to win one in 2016 for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight.

Morricone, who was simply known as "Maestro" in his home town of Rome, scored more than 500 films over seven decades.

Yet he remains best known for the haunting melodies he wrote for the trilogy of 1960s westerns Sergio Leone made with the then little-known Eastwood.

A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly centred around Eastwood's taciturn gunslinger, known as "The Man With No Name".

Leone called the composer's contributions "indispensable" and would have him write the score before shooting so he could design his shots around Morricone's contributions.

Eastwood went on to direct Westerns himself, including the Oscar-winning Unforgiven, but Morricone did not write music for them out of loyalty to Leone.

Before his win for The Hateful Eight, Morricone received Oscar nominations for Days of Heaven, The Mission, The Untouchables, Bugsy and Malena.

His death was marked by Italian health minister Roberto Speranza, who tweeted: "Adieu maestro, and thank you for the emotions you gave us."

Fellow composer Hans Zimmer said Morricone was "one of a kind" and "an icon".

"His music was always outstanding and done with great emotional fortitude and great intellectual thought," he continued.

He was 91.

Earl Cameron, one of the first Black actors to forge a successful career in British film and television, has died a family friend has said.

The Bermuda-born star that lived with his wife in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, died in his sleep.

Cameron first appeared on screen in the 1951 film Pool of London, in a rare starring role for a Black actor.

His other credits include 1965 Bond movie Thunderball and Doctor Who.

Cameron was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.

Family friend Martin Beckett said: "He had sheltered himself because of Covid and had not really been keen on going out, he had chest problems.

"He's a great character, very spiritual, very modest; we're going to miss him.

"He would never take on roles that demeaned people of colour... he was often subject of a lot of racial prejudice, but he never really got angry about it. He pitied people that couldn't accept him."

Actor David Harewood called Cameron "a total legend".

Bermuda Premier David Burt tweeted: "I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of iconic Bermudian actor Earl Cameron."

Paterson Joseph, who recently starred as Kamal Hadley in the BBC's Noughts and Crosses series, said Cameron was a "giant man", whose "pioneering shoulders are what my generation of actors stand on".

Artistic director Sir Matthew Bourne said he was a "groundbreaker" with a "great legacy".

Cameron also starred alongside Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn in the 2005 film The Interpreter.

One of his final acting credits was for a small part in the 2010 film Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page.

As he turned 100, Cameron said he wanted to see more Black actors in roles.

He said: "There's a lot of talent out there and I think the British film industry would prosper by using more Black talent."

Cameron joined the British merchant navy and arrived in the UK in 1939.

He told the Royal Gazette he made his debut in the chorus of Chu Chin Chow, a West End show, when he was working as a dishwasher at a restaurant and they needed someone quickly.

He was 102.