As the Old Vic New Voices team head to New York for The Best of British spa workshops, we catch up with some of the exciting projects to have come out of that other transatlantic event, the TS Eliot US/UK Exchange…
For those who have taken part in it, the TS Eliot US/UK Exchange was an amazing, career-changing opportunity. But what happens once everyone’s clicked their heels and gone home?
Two plays are set to open at London’s Pleasance Theatre this week that almost certainly would never have happened without the TS Eliot US/UK Exchange. People Like Us, a play billed as “a new comic drama about class, coupling and camembert” is written by Jake Brunger, directed by Kirsty Patrick Ward and stars Nicholas Banks, Leah Brotherhead, Samantha Kissin and George Taylor. Now, if any of those people sound familiar then that’s because they are all IdeasTap members and winners of the 2011 TS Eliot US/UK Exchange.
The second play in the double bill is Happy Never After; the story of a couple battling the decision than threatens their relationship. Written by Hannah Rodger, directed by Luke Sheppard and starring Jessica Ellis and Liam Mansfield, it is another play that is stiff with IdeasTap and Old Vic New Voices members.
After winning a place on the 2011 US/UK Exchange, the producer Vicky Graham spent three months in the big apple, working at Jean Doumanian Productions at NYMF (New York Musical Theatre Festival) and line producing Off-Broadway at the Duke on 42nd Street. Using the contacts and experience she gained over there, she brought The Sluts of Sutton Drive, written by New York playwright and fellow Exchanger Joshua Conkel, to the Finborough Theatre in July 2012.
Or, to go back a little further, 2011s Coming Up festival was also host to Coalition, a transatlantic theatre company formed by producer Rachel Tyson from winners of the US/UK Exchange in 2010.
Finally, one of the most heart-warming stories to come out of the TS Eliot US/UK Exchange is that of producers Natalie Macaluso and Adam Blanshay. The self-confessed best friends came together to bring His Greatness to The Finborough in April after they started to discuss the script during their placement in New York.
So, to those members who are taking part in The Best of British, work hard, have fun and remember, this is only the beginning.
For more information on the Pleasance double bill, and to book tickets, visit the website.
For more articles, jobs and opportunities, visit the Performing Arts hub.
Stars, Stripes, Union Jack by fauxstor via Flickr under a (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) license.
