Theatre – Page 4 of 4

28Jan

By Emma BradleyNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music, Theatre & Performance

Understanding Opera; Misconception & Snobbery

In its prime, opera was considered in much the same way as we now think of cinema. So what keeps so many young people away from opera today? Two obvious reasons are the initial uncertainty of watching entertainment in a foreign language, and perception of opera being exclusively geared to a wealthy elite. However, there are more subtle prejudgements surrounding the genre, such as how popular music today is linked to a more free and casual vocal style as opposed to the vocal precision and intensity of opera. With this in mind, how do we go about dealing with the issue of inaccessibility in opera? Is it more important to have an audience who can access and experience more of the work, or respect the composer’s original opera? Taking libretto (the operatic text) as an example; the composer...

Leaping off the stage: How Ballet and Opera are taking risks to capture a new audience

With the success of shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, and dance classes becoming more popular as a work out style, what can be done to make ballet more accessible to an audience that isn’t stuffy? Sadler’s Wells teamed with English National Ballet seems to have come up with the genius answer. New ballets! Instead of dusting off The Nutcracker, Swan Lake or The Carmen, instead commissions are coming thick and fast for shows that can captivate a modern audience. Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands, based on the Burton movie for example has already set the stage alight, with sold out shows for its six week Christmas run. That is not to say that The Nutcracker or family favourite Swan Lake are no longer seen, instead they are reimagined into Grease like car shops, gay fantasias or comedies...

Cheap Day in London

Yes, Egham is a little further out than the average London University. You probably felt vaguely cheated when you realised that the “short trip into central London!” turned out not to include the time needed to trudge to the station, barge your way through Waterloo, and submerge yourself on the underground. So here’s a list of fantastically cheap things to try on a London day out! The perfect jumping off point for an article on cheap London, in my opinion, is food. Here’s my eclectic yet cheap list of places to satisfy your student cravings, which all have the added benefit of being in quite interesting parts of London – My first pick, for example, being The Golden Dragon, on China Town’s Gerrard Street. Great authentic food, plenty of Dim Sum, with the added benefit of being staffed b...