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 […]
Library
Ink Pellet’s book review section covers an eclectic selection of new fiction, teachers’ guides, audio books and classics.
Many of our reviews are written by teachers, so we have an expert eye on how texts will work in the classroom. We hope to create a useful archive of reviews so that you can use this as a reference. If you would like to join our panel of reviewers, please join in or email the editor john@inkpellet.co.uk. We hope the section inspires you to share new fiction with your pupils or to revisit old favourites yourself
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As NT Connections reaches 21 years, SUSAN ELKIN offers an insight into its continued success and hopes your school will participate next year. I saw and enjoyed Blackout by Davey Anderson at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury in April. It opens dramatically with 30 or so teenagers staring silently and balefully at their phones and then unravels […]
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Susan Elkin visits the Chichester Festival Theatre to chat with Dale Rooks and discovers a strong emphasis on nurturing young talent Chichester Festival Theatre’s recent production of The Enemy of the People featured two boys, alongside Hugh Bonneville and the rest of the cast. Alfie Scott and Jack Taylor are both members of CFT’s thriving […]
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GRAHAM HOOPER tears himself away from exam marking to take in the retrospective at the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings.
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Chickenshed, whose slogan is “Theatre changing lives” is an inclusive theatre company in north London which also runs further and higher education courses. Since 2000 it has established 19 “sheds” in the UK and two in Russia to develop inclusive theatre elsewhere. Susan Elkin talks to Lou Stein who took over as director in April.
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Playwright Evan Placey chats to Susan Elkin about his Canadian roots, challenging writing and his concerns for the future of drama in schools Within a couple of minutes of our meeting, playwright Evan Placey and I are chatting comfortably about his partner Daniel and life in south London with the little boy (now 20 months) […]
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Once upon a time, in 1981, there were two men, a woman and a passion for theatre. Oily Cart, which specialises in theatre for young children and for those with special needs and disabilities (SEND) was on the way. Tim Webb shares memories and reflections with Susan Elkin in celebration of the company’s 35th anniversary. […]
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Susan Elkin visits Arnhem Wharf Primary, a school committed to the arts, and is inspired by seeing the Ex Cathedra Choir in rehearsal I’m sitting in a classroom at the attractively light, bright and modern Arnhem Wharf Primary School on the Isle of Dogs in Tower Hamlets on a spring Monday morning. 30 eight and […]
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Adrian McDougall, Yvonne Stone and Eliot Guiralarocca talk to Susan Elkin about Blackeyed Theatre and its forthcoming new show, Frankenstein. “We specialise in touring small scale shows to venues all over the country” says Adrian McDougall who founded Bracknell-based Blackeyed Theatre Company in 2004. The company has just completed a successful six month tour of […]
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Not all drama schools are the same. Susan Elkin takes a peek inside Fourth Monkey’s new premises to discover a communal hub with a strong vocational drive. Stage smoke, sinister lights, shadow work, love, murder, a naked man, revenge, a castration, a female protagonist, glee, lust and much more. Welcome to the murky world […]
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Graham Hooper leads us through several of the major photography exhibitions running in London and finds he sees the world differently as a result