this month's
Ink Pellet contains
Punching Hard
Artistic director of Nottingham Playhouse, Adam Penford, 45, talks to Susan Elkin especially about Punch which opened at Apollo Theatre London this month and simultaneously on Broadway. “Yes” chuckles Adam, who is talking to me via Zoom from New York, where he is in rehearsals. “It is very unusual for a new play to open […]
First Encounters: King Lear
Once more taking Shakespeare to schools and communities around the country, Susan Elkin caught up with the RSC in Birmingham for an inspiring afternoon. “But nothing will come of nothing” called an irrepressible, totally engaged girl of about nine in response to Oliver Senton as a fine King Lear gasping his incredulous “Nothing?” in the […]
Prize Writer
Chris Power, 50, is a novelist, reviewer, teacher and judge for the 2025 Booker Prize. Susan Elkin spoke to him. Chris Power is on holiday in Sweden when I catch up with him. “Yes,” he says cheerfully. “This is the lakeside house that my Swedish wife grew up in and we’re here on holiday with […]
ROYAL COURT YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS AWARD
The 2026 Young Playwrights Award is now officially nation-wide! Do you have an idea or a story to tell? Can you imagine it performed live, by actors on a stage? It’s time to start your playwriting journey. The Young Playwrights Award is a free, open-access competition for any teenager in the UK interested in writing a play, […]
VOICED: THE FESTIVAL FOR ENDANGERED LANGUAGES
With half of the world’s languages threatened to fall silent by the end of the century comes the first ever UK festival Voiced: The Festival for Endangered Languages, celebrating the power of language and art by highlighting endangered global and local languages through a creative festival. Throughout October, the Barbican, London will be filled with an explosion of voices and […]
NATIONAL THEATRE EXPANDS SCHOOLS PROGRAMME
The National Theatre has announced its autumn programme for schools across the UK, deepening its work with young people to support its continued ambition to reach every child in the UK before they leave school. Over 90% of state secondary schools are already signed up to access the National Theatre Collection to stream world-leading theatre directly […]
The National Plan for Drama and Theatre Education
Following feedback from drama teachers, educators and other interested parties, The National Plan for Drama and Theatre Education document is now completed and you can find a direct link to the pdf here. This is a mammoth achievement and a feat of collaboration. It has been widely circulated including to the DfE Team, whose members are also […]
BROADWAY LICENSING GLOBAL OFFERS UK TEACHERS FREE PERUSALS FOR HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD SECONDARY SCHOOL EDITION
The Critically Acclaimed Show Has Now Been Adapted for UK Secondary Schools (London)—Broadway Licensing Global London, Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions are thrilled to announce that secondary school teachers can now sign up for a free perusal script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Secondary School Edition. BLG London […]
A Final Haunt
After 33 extraordinary years, Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black will haunt the stage of the Fortune Theatre for the final time, as the production ends in the West End on Saturday 4th March 2023. PW Productions announce that after 33 extraordinary years in London’s West End, the theatrical sensation that is Susan Hill’s THE […]
Reaching for the Moon
Susan Elkin paid a visit to Half Moon theatre in London’s East End to chat with CEO Chris Elwell about their extensive education outreach and innovative theatre programmes. Half Moon Theatre sits in the heart of Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, spitting distance from the DLR and mainline station. Formerly a pretty […]
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This little tome should be kept in your drawer/briefcase pocket/tablet case for those moments of despair and frustration that hit all teachers at some time. Featuring 100 ‘meditations for teachers’ and a commentary on each, Jonti Mark’s self-published book brings together words from some of the most famous teachers, educators and historical figures to inspire, […]
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Published by Nick Hern Books An hour glass on the book’s front cover suggests encapsulating quintessential qualities in the slightest of vessels – and in this slim volume of reflections on Shakespeare the ground-breaking grandee of the stage sets out to do just that. In medieval times a monk would ponder mortality by keeping a […]
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In the dystopian world Pale is set in, dead people can go to work. Dead children can go to school. Dead people can even come back from the dead. All you need is to be given the Lazarus Serum quickly after you die and that’s it. But there is a catch – you become pale, […]
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I wasn’t really sure what to expect of The Caucasian Chalk Circle, because I didn’t know what the play was about. I did have knowledge of Bertolt Brecht, however, as I had studied some of his techniques in my drama lessons at school. In the play, a kingdom is torn apart by war, and the royal […]
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This wonderful, imaginative and eye-catching production has rightly won awards aplenty and extended its run at the specially-built theatre at Kings Cross Station.
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If there was ever evidence needed that an actor’s lot is hard work, here it is. This physical production brings clowning, slapstick and acrobatics together in a hilarious fast-paced laugh out loud couple of hours. Created by Mischief Theatre, the team behind The Play that Goes Wrong, the same mayhem follows as Conley Polytechnic Drama […]
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With stage productions beamed into our cinemas, it is no surprise that the visual arts should get in on the act. LESLEY FINLAY joined a screening of a film about Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring as part of the Exhibition on Screen series...
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Steven Green is making waves with Fourth Monkey, the school with a difference he formed after treading the boards himself. LESLEY FINLAY caught up with him during a break in rehearsals...
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I know what you’re thinking; not another reading initiative. But this one is different, I promise. It’s teacher-led, easy to implement, cheap as chips and has the ‘wow’ factor. It is called the Patron of Reading. A patron is a published writer, poet, illustrator or storyteller who is invited by a particular school to be […]
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The work of great British artist John Virtue is celebrated at a new exhibition in one of our newest galleries by the sea. INK PELLET looks into this artist’s work...