Tag: Théâtre
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Clean Break, Big Stage: How Cleaning Toilets in Cambridge Shaped Jade Franks and Her Hit Play
From Cleaning Loos to the Spotlight In a unlikely ascent from a working-class student to a celebrated playwright, Jade Franks turned the back-of-house chore of cleaning toilets in Cambridge into a driving force behind her award-winning play Eat the Rich (But Ma…). Franks, who balanced full-time studies with a job scrubbing loos, has transformed a…
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Eat the Rich Jade Franks: Cambridge Cleaning Inspires Bold Theatre
From Cleaning Toilets to Center Stage Jade Franks’ life could be mistaken for a script about ambition gone rogue: a working‑class student at Cambridge, navigating full‑time studies while scrubbing loos. It was in the rhythm of mops and cleaning chemicals that she found the spark for a voice she would later channel into Eat the…
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Jade Franks on Cambridge’s Cleaning Blues: How a Toilet Scrub Fueled Eat the Rich
From Cleaning Toilets to the Stage: Jade Franks’ Unlikely Journey While many Cambridge students chase polo scholarships or pristine reputations, Jade Franks found her rhythm in a very different classroom: the campus lavatory. A working-class student who moonlighted as a cleaner, Franks balanced full-time studies with the real, gritty work of scrubbing loos. Her experiences,…
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Woman in Mind review: a timeless testament to originality on the West End
Introduction: a play that defies time The West End has long been a stage where fresh voices and audacious ideas jostle for attention. Yet when a production returns to the fold years later, the test is whether it can still surprise anew. Woman in Mind, a Sheridan Smith-led revival that dives into the psyche of…
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Woman in Mind review – a classic still beats with a fresh, fearless heart
In the West End spotlight, Woman in Mind endures The West End has a long love affair with midlife comedies and confessional dramas, yet Woman in Mind arrives with the freshness of a revival that feels almost ahead of its time. Sheridan Smith steps into the emotional storm with a performance that threads vulnerability, wit,…
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Woman in Mind review: Sheridan Smith shines on a timeless West End stage
Introduction: a fresh breath of Ayckbourn at the West End The West End welcomes back a classic with a distinctive modern pulse. Woman in Mind, Alan Ayckbourn’s sharp, eerie meditation on perception and middle-age disquiet, returns to the stage with Sheridan Smith delivering a tour de force performance. This production proves that originality isn’t about…
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Dracula, Ballet, and Big Laughs: Theatre, Dance, and Comedy in 2026
Introduction: A Bold 2026 for Theatre, Dance, and Comedy The year ahead promises a blend of haunting classics, dazzling dance, and pointed comedy as the performing arts scene pivots between intimate revivals and sweeping tours. From a vampire-counted stage reinvention starring a powerhouse performer to a historical-fiction ballet-influenced production and a mega-tour comic, audiences can…
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UK Arts Groups Challenge the Tortured Artist Myth with Therapeutic Support
Challenging a Storied Stereotype From the operatic stage to television studios, performers often navigate intense demands—from grueling rehearsal schedules to the pressure of audience expectation. A growing coalition of UK arts groups is turning the narrative on its head, arguing that mental health support and professional care are essential tools for sustaining creativity. Rather than…
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UK Arts Groups Redefine Brilliance: Therapy Supports Performers and Dismantles the Tortured Artist Myth
Introduction: A new narrative for performers For decades, the idea that creativity thrives on private torment has shaped public expectations of artists. The so-called “tortured artist” archetype, from the brushstrokes of Vincent van Gogh to the stagecraft of Nina Simone, has long been celebrated as an engine of genius. In the United Kingdom, however, a…
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Nabil Shaban obituary: Celebrating a trailblazing Doctor Who actor and disability activist
Obituary: Nabil Shaban, a barrier-breaking actor and activist Nabil Shaban, whose talent and tenacity opened doors for disabled actors in mainstream theater and television, has died. A performer who performed most of his life in a wheelchair, Shaban challenged assumptions about who could inhabit demanding roles and how disability could be represented on stage and…