The Ulster Association of Youth Drama in Northern Ireland, supported by donations of funds from supporters of Kenneth Branagh, send their thanks.
Catherine Higgins
Lisburn, Northern Ireland
I was delighted to be one of 180 young people across the UK chosen from 4,732 auditionees to take part in a 3-week acting course with the prestigious National Youth Theatre this summer. With thanks to The Ken-Friends Bursary from the UAYD, I stayed in Halls of Residence in North London for the duration of the course with the other participants. This helped to create the family atmosphere which made it so hard to leave at the end of the course! During the 3 weeks we were trained in singing, stage combat and clowning as well as the acting and movement we had expected. The culmination of my time on the course was a final devised piece which we performed for the other groups, the existing NYT members and the NYT Council. I had a thoroughly exciting, exhausting and enjoyable time in London and slipped easily into the fast paced city lifestyle. It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many other young people who were as passionate about theatre as I am and I was fortunate enough to make some great friends. A truly unforgettable experience and I feel it has prepared me for student life this year when I will be studying Drama and English at Trinity College Dublin.
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Jonathan Anderson
Magherafelt, Northern Ireland
Dear Ken-Friends
I am writing to thank you whole heartedly for the support given to me by the Ken-Friends Bursary Scheme. The funding helped me to realise my dream of working with the National Youth Music Theatre. I had a truly unforgettable experience acting in 22 performances of 'The Dreaming' by Charles Hart, a musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Nine performances took place in Guildford at a lavish modern theatre - it was fantastic working in such a professional set up. Thirteen performances took place in Edinburgh as part of the fringe festival - another novel experience in that all the shows were matinees.
I understudied the main character of 'Alexander', unfortunately Ben Barnes, the actor, was never sick!! Still may be next time! Music International came to see 'The Dreaming' and asked some of us to do a reading of Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in October in London - 2 roles for me here as Augutus Gloop's father and the Narrator.
I have been able to find out about possible theatre schools through talking with the many people I met through my time at NYMT. RADA, Bristol Old Vic, Central, Lamda and Guildford all seem very appealing. I really now have found my calling in life!! I truly enjoyed the whole experience and can't wait until next year when NYMT are doing a new play written by Alan Ackborn - I'll certainly give the auditions a go again.
Many thanks again.
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Molly Goyer Gorman
Cushendun, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland
I first heard about the National Youth Theatre (NYT) through UAYD’s Platform magazine, and as I had been looking around for good summer acting courses, I decided to audition. Also, the idea of spending three weeks in London with no parents was pretty exciting!
The man who auditioned me was lovely, he made me feel really relaxed and after I had performed my pieces (Bottom as Pyramus, and Deirdre of the Sorrows), we had a friendly chat about drama groups in Belfast. So it wasn’t anything like the 'Popstars’ or ‘Soapstars’ auditions the people from the NYT took time to listen to you and answer your questions.
However, I auditioned in February and by the middle of May I still had no word from the NYT, so I decided to forget about it and maybe try again next year. You can imagine my face when, three days before the end of school, a big brown envelope from the NYT arrived! I was completely over the moon, but it also meant I had to look around for funds and get a summer job. As well as the course fees, I would have to pay for staying in halls of residence, food and all the nights out that I hoped to have in London!
So when I got on the plane for Heathrow on 4 August, I felt like I’d earned it after many Saturday mornings as a maid in my local B&B. But I had hardly any idea of what the course content was and I felt a bit nervous at the thought of being one of the youngest there (they take people from 15 to 21).
The first night in Tufnell Halls of Residence was as scary as I had expected. Everyone seemed to know each other and I was petrified of going into the bar or one of the kitchens full of funny, exuberant, arty people. However, as I later learned, everybody had felt pretty nervous on that first night. But as soon as the courses started, we became like a big, friendly family.
The NYT do seven courses every summer - courses 1 and 2 are for the younger members (aged 13 to 15) and the other five are for the older ones. At the time I was there, courses 5, 6, and 7 were running and I was put on course 6. Our leader was called Guy, and he was a professional actor. We also had an assistant leader called Amy who worked in stage management. There was one other boy from Northern Ireland on the course, and for the first while, no one could understand our accents!
Guy broke the ice in the group by teaching us all a very intellectual song called 'Mhhm-Hmmm said the little green frog one day’ (it had actions as well!). We played various getting-to-know-you games like matchbox biography (where you have the time it takes for a match to burn to tell the story of your life) and a game where you had to sprint, eyes closed, across the hall. Indeed, the whole first week at NYT was about bonding, having fun and enjoying the more physical aspects of theatre. We had workshops from a stage fighting instructor, a voice coach, a street dancing teacher and a professional clown. Different people liked different things - a lot of the boys loved lunging at each other with medieval daggers, while the more athletic people enjoyed learning some break-dance steps. These workshops taught me a lot about letting go of your inhibitions and not being afraid of acting the idiot. If someone had walked in during the clowning workshop and had seen us pretending to be angry monkeys, they would probably have fainted!
In the first week, I think we all went a bit mad, knowing that we were independent in London. But as well as all the nights out in Leicester Square, Soho and Covent Garden, we had the chance to go and see quite a few shows. The NYT provided us with free tickets for two shows each. Different courses went to see different things: our course got tickets for the musical Les Misérables and for the Reduced Shakespeare Company. These shows provoked heated discussions in class the next morning, and even sparked off some of our ideas.
By the second week at NYT, course 6 were a tight, supportive group who looked out for each other. I had begun to make some good friends from Scotland, Wales and Manchester. We were all ready to get down and do some ‘serious acting’ as opposed to physical stuff. On Tuesday of the second week, Guy gave us an exercise that none of us will ever forget. He sent us off to Camden Market in the morning, and by lunchtime we had to have found a real-life character that we would like to play amongst all the goths, punks, beggars, salesmen and street performers that you find there. It was strange at first, following people around and watching them. After a while, though, it became fun as we noted all their physical characteristics and tried to build up a story around them. That afternoon we all had a go at being the different characters while the rest of the group interviewed us. It was brilliant craic.
One of the great things about being on the course was that you got to listen to other people’s stories (and to tell your own too). Guy put great emphasis on storytelling, and we had many opportunities to act out some of our own experiences. This was often moving, sometimes funny or sometimes heartbreaking. We told our stories in various ways - first through mime, then using only seven words and finally through trying to act it all out with dialogue. However, you didn’t have to tell a personal story if you didn’t want to some people preferred to act out things that had happened to their family or friends. Through these exercises and through improvisations, we were beginning to build up a repertoire of material that we could use in the final show. We had begun to get ‘homeworks’ as well - like writing a monologue involving our character from Camden or making up a romantic conversation. From looking at all the impros, choreography and character work that we had done, it was decided that our show should encompass the themes of fear, faith and flight.
At the beginning of the third week, everyone was a bit nervous as we hadn’t started any proper rehearsals for the final show and we had only a vague idea of our three themes. But Guy was reassuring and got us working hard, sometimes from 9:30am to 7:30pm. We still had time for games, though, and we were incorporating a lot of circus acts into our devised piece. It was going to be like a ‘freak show’ of all our characters from Camden, involving some individual monologues, some sketches, a song and two ensemble choreographed pieces (one of them to do with a circus). Also, some of our music was being played live by members of the course.
Obviously, this was harder work than the first two weeks and it took some getting used to. But it was just as good fun. We all encouraged each other (and gave each other massages at the end of the day!).
On the Friday 23 August, it was performance time. Courses 5, 6, and 7 each had 40 minutes to perform in front of their friends and the NYT management. Tension was quite high, but we enjoyed doing our piece and there were no serious hiccups. The three shows were very different - course 5’s was quite music-based and its theme was justice. Ours was hopeful and optimistic, whereas course 7’s show was all about the dark underbelly of life, and it was extremely powerful to watch. But everybody on stage was focused and talented. Indeed, I was in awe of some of the actors and actresses for whom it was obvious that they would have a career in drama.
After a crazy last night (the less said about it, the better), we went our separate ways. But we are all now members of the NYT until we’re 21, which means that we can be asked to audition for NYT productions, and we can contribute our own ideas for shows.
This course was definitely the best and most challenging acting training I’ve ever taken part in. If I had to find fault with it, I’d say that I only wished it could have lasted longer! Also, I would have liked us to have had more input in planning the actual layout of our final show. That said, I would recommend the course to anyone who is seriously interested in acting in the theatre. By the end of the three weeks, you’ll know whether you want to pursue it as a career or not. NYT also run technical courses in Stage Management, Lighting and Sound, Scenery and Prop making and Costume.
So finally, I’d like to say a big thank you to the Ken-Friends Bursary Scheme, who enabled me to have the best summer of my life, and to make friendships that I hope will last for a long time. Keep up the good work!
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Lord Attenborough, President of RADA
Sir Richard Attenborough, who graduated from RADA in 1942,
has been appointed President of RADA. For 30 years he has been an
active chairman for this top school for dramatic arts, overseeing a £32
million rebuilding, successfully lobbying for grants for its students,
and seeing such as Kenneth Branagh, Ralph Fiennes and now Eve Best
become professional actors. Lord Attenborough succeeds the late Diana,
Princess of Wales, as the school's president.
"We were taught that if we wanted to derive the maximum satisfaction
and fulfilment from life, we would do it by involving ourselves in
other people’s concerns. We don’t live in isolation. We aren’t
islands."
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The DT salutes the late Hugh Cruttwell.
To remember the considerable contributions of mentor Hugh Cruttwell to Kenneth Branagh's work, and especially to Branagh's film masterpiece, Hamlet, the DT will run excerpts from Russell Jackson's
Film Diary of the Making of Hamlet.
Hugh Cruttwell Dies at 83
From The Stage (UK)
Hugh Cruttwell, the distinguished principal of RADA from 1965 to 1984, has died
on August 24, aged 83. He was an inspirational figure and during his tenure
many future stars passed through the academy, notably Kenneth Branagh, Juliet
Stevenson, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes and Fiona Shaw.
Hugh Percival Cruttwell was born in Singapore on October 13, 1918 but his early
childhood was spent in Shanghai, China. Brought to Britain aged eight, he was
educated at King's College, Bruton, in Somerset and at Hertford College, Oxford,
where he read history.
He then took up various jobs and spent a brief period as a history master at
Marlborough College before joining the Theatre Royal, Windsor as assistant stage
manager, eventually becoming a director. At Windsor he met the actress
Geraldine McEwan and they were married in 1953.
After teaching for several years at LAMDA, Cruttwell took over from John
Fernald as the principal of RADA in 1965 following a particularly controversial
period in the academy's history. He brought with him an immense vitality and
passion his complete commitment and loyallty, demanding the same in return.
His efforts to bring to RADA students from a wide social backkground were from
a wide social background were generally applauded and he had an unwavering eye
for talent - although he always maintained that it could so easily be ruined if
it was not properly nurtured.
He also brought in a number of young directors to reflect the rapidly changing
face of drama but when it was time for the final run of a play - termed the
Cruttwell Run - it was Cruttwell's verdict, always offered with perceptiveness,
knowledge and wit, which the students awaited.
When Branagh auditioned for RADA, Cruttwell called him back for a second
interview. "It wasn't that I had any doubts about his ability," the principal
said later, "but he was so amazinglly accomplished that I wanted to see for
myself what lay beneath the surface skill".
Interviewed some years ago, Branagh said he thought that Cruttwell was "a
terrific bloke, but his view was that your work had to be on show to the public
in the Vanbrugh Theatre from the second term on, so you were constantly
preparing, rehearsing, and acting".
After retiring from Rada in 1984, Cruttwell formed an enduring partnership with
Branagh and served as production consultant/technical advisor on most of his
films as a director, including Henry V (1989) Dead Again (1991), Much Ado About
Nothing in 1993, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) and Hamlet in 1997. He also
worked with Branagh on his 1992 film Swan Song, adapting Chekhov's one-act jplay
for the screen. It was nominated fjor an Academy Award in the Best Short
Film/Live Action category.
His 80th birthday party was held aat the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and former
students, friends and former students, friends and associates from far and wide
came to pay tribute to him. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter."
(Thanks to Celia)
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From the Daily Telegraph
Hugh Cruttwell, who has died aged 83, was Principal of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1966 to 1984; among those who learned their art under his aegis were Kenneth Branagh, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson, Fiona Shaw and Imelda Staunton. The approach to take over at Rada came after Cruttwell had spent seven years teaching at Lamda (the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art), and it came at the end of a difficult period at Rada. The last year under the previous principal, John Fernald, had been marked by ructions and controversy. After Fernald's resignation, Cruttwell remarked: "There have been so many strictures and so much bad blood, and this is the point in Rada's history when it must stop." And stop it he did, becoming noted during his tenure as principal for his tact and charm. On taking office, Cruttwell also meditated on the business of auditioning, obviously one of the academy's most crucial tasks: "One is not looking just for one quality in particular - talent, of course, which is perhaps the easiest thing to spot. "But no amount of talent is enough unless an actor has some kind of alchemy which pleases an audience. It is a kind of appeal, and at an audition it is immediately arresting. Some who come up are very finished, and others who may hardly have done any acting are terribly raw. In some cases you do get unmistakable quality, but there are very few who are unanimously picked by any panel. In the end, I suppose, one obeys a kind of hunch." Cruttwell brought in to Rada a number of young directors to work alongside the more experienced staff. Believing that academic qualifications were less important than "a high natural intelligence", he also encouraged students from wider social backgrounds, helping to dispel the impression that Rada was an acting college for the children of the middle class. Once applicants had been accepted at the academy, Cruttwell insisted that all of them should have the chance to play the big roles; there were to be no "big stars". And if Cruttwell was generous with his praise, he was not slow to criticise where he thought it necessary. Even Kenneth Branagh, when he appeared for audition in front of Cruttwell, was asked to perform a piece again before being accepted. In return Cruttwell won the admiration and affection of his students. Alan Rickman, who was at RADA from 1972 to 1974, has recalled: "He had an enormous presence, and he was utterly passionate about his job and about the students. He was completely unsentimental, and absolutely truthful. Even when he was telling you how terrible you were, he would be encouraging. His students became his friends in later life." Hugh Percival Cruttwell was born in Singapore on October 31 1918. His family had strong connections with the Church (both his grandfathers were vicars, and one of his uncles was Bishop of Adelaide), but his father worked in the insurance business, and spent much of his life abroad. Hugh's early childhood was spent in Shanghai, but when he was eight he and his two brothers and one sister accompanied their mother back to Britain. After King's School Bruton, Hugh went up to Hertford College, Oxford, to read History. (Another of his uncles, C R M F Cruttwell, was Dean of Hertford; he had been Evelyn Waugh's reviled history tutor, earning a number of unflattering incarnations in Waugh's novels). As a conscientious objector, Hugh Cruttwell worked on the land during the Second World War and taught at a number of prep schools. He was then offered a job teaching history at Marlborough. But he soon tired of the atmosphere of the common room, and sought a change of direction. Cruttwell had always loved the theatre and films - as a boy at prep school he had often "bunked off" to the cinema in the afternoons - and at the age of 28 managed to find work as an assistant stage manager at the Theatre Royal in Windsor, which then had its own repertory company. He was soon appointed stage manager, and it was at this point that he met the girl who was to become a well-known actress and his wife, Geraldine McEwan. As a schoolgirl, Geraldine lived at Old Windsor and was already ambitious to become an actress. Aged 14, she secured a walk-on part as an attendant to Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Theatre Royal; Cruttwell, although stage manager and himself uninterested in being an actor, also had a small part. Geraldine McEwan recalled of this first meeting that she found Cruttwell "arresting". She continued to take small parts at the theatre and, two years later, she became assistant stage manager, working directly to Cruttwell, who now progressed to production manager and, finally, director. In 1953 they married. Cruttwell continued to direct plays, at Windsor and in and around London. In 1959, he took up a teaching post at Lamda. After his retirement from Rada in 1984, Cruttwell formed a fruitful partnership with Branagh, acting as his consultant when the actor started the Renaissance Company. He continued in this role of production consultant when Branagh began making films. The two men worked together on films such as Henry V (1989); Dead Again (1991); Much Ado About Nothing (1993); Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994); and Hamlet (1997). They had a close relationship, with Cruttwell acting as Branagh's "sounding board", advising on the production and on the actor's own performance. Hugh Cruttwell died last Saturday; he is survived by his wife, and by their son Greg - an actor, writer and director - and their daughter, Claudia.
Kenneth Branagh on Hugh Cruttwell
"Hugh Cruttwell was the greatest teacher and student of acting I have ever
known. He was a cherished friend and mentor, an inspiration to a generation
of British actors - and a modest, shy man who would have been the last to
recognise himself thus.
The evidence was clear at the surprise party for his 80th birthday. A cast
that would have been the envy of Hollywood was assembled, a roll-call of
many of the world's finest actors, and a distinguished group of directors,
designers, stage-managers and teachers.
They were there because Hugh was simply unforgettable. First there was the
voice. His crisp, clarion tones evoked the sound of a distinguished and
kindly character from a 1930s British film. Thinning, vivid white hair, and
the inscrutable demeanour of a wise old eagle completed the impression of a
creature from an older, gentler world. Underneath however, was a tough,
dedicated man of the theatre.
His commitment to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and its students was
absolute. He expected the same in return. He watched the first and last
performance of every single production, showered acting notes after the
former and expected to see them enacted in the latter. He had the gift of
unerring constructive criticism, tailored in its severity or mildness to his
understanding of each student's character. If he respected and loved you,
the shorthand could be brutal.
During the 10 years after his retirement from the academy, when we worked
together on countless plays and films, he provided one of my favourite Hugh
remarks. When I railed at him during the film of Hamlet, asking why after
umpteen takes he required me to perform the "To be or not to be" soliloquy
yet one more time, he replied, "because I simply don't believe a word you
say."
I was just one of the many former students with whom he maintained
friendships long after their training. He had a vast network of friends who
shared his inexhaustible love of theatre, cinema, music, politics, and the
Guardian crossword. His kindness, wit and curiosity about life made him a
wonderful conversationalist. In a passionate debate on a Faustian theme, we
once discussed what we might give up in our own lives to have achieved what
called the "miracle" of having produced a great work of art, say Hamlet or
The Magic Flute. After a lively and humorous exchange he paused for a moment
and said, touchingly bemused:
"Actually you know, I have achieved a miracle."
"What's that, Hugh?"
"My wife and children."
They are a legacy of which he was inordinately proud. To the rest of us who
had the privilege to know him he leaves a profound influence and the example
of a ceaseless quest to find the truth in acting and in life.
He will be remembered by everyone who met him. He was adored by most,
revered by many. He will be missed by all." ---- Kenneth Branagh
(Thanks to Carol)
For more on RADA and Hugh Cruttwell, check these links:
DAILY TELEGIRAFFE: Kenneth Branagh at the NFT-Film Notes
DAILY TELEGIRAFFE: Kenneth Branagh: With Utter Clarity
DAILY TELEGIRAFFE: Kenneth Branagh: Getting Personal
DAILY TELEGIRAFFE: Kenneth Branagh: Gielgud Award Ceremony
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For the fourth consecutive year, Branagh's supporters showed their admiration and encouragement by donating funds to help the Ulster Association of Youth Drama in Northern Ireland. The donation total for 2001 in dollars was $4,655.00, the rather sizable sum of £3,197.77, when converted to sterling.
Branagh sent the following note of thanks:
"Once again I find myself stunned by the generosity of the Ken-Friends in
marking my birthday.
Not only the staggering sum of money which goes to such necessary and
valuable use in Northern Ireland, but all the beautiful and generous
messages in the cards I have received. I feel both proud and humbled by
such a response. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
May I wish you all the merriest of Christmas's and look forward to seeing
many of you from the stage in Sheffield during the run of "Richard III".
You are a wonderfully kind group of people.
Thank-you again
Warmest wishes
Last year,birthday wishes took the form of donations to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and to the UAYD. Previous donations by Ken-friends to UAYD have been as follows: 1998--$2,694.00; 1999--$4,513.00; 2000--$6,041.00.
This latest addition of generosity brings the total the UAYD has received from Branagh fans to $17,903.00 US. Bravo, everyone.
Some recipients of last year's Ken-Friends bursaries shared some thoughts:
Paul Kelly
Having completed my 10-week tour with The National Youth Theatre, I can
honestly say that it was the best experience of my life. The play was
called 'The Holyland' and was written by Northern Irish playwright Daragh
Carville. We had 4 weeks rehearsals in North London University and then
headed to the Edinburgh Festival where we performed for 3 weeks followed by
a further 3 weeks of performances at London's Lyric Theatre.
The rehearsal process was amazing! John Hoggarth, the Director and Daragh
Carville were present in every rehearsal helping us with character
development and scene work.
I have made some amazing friends who I still keep in contact with. The cost
of the experience was around £2,000. I'm very thankful to UAYD for
contributing a Ken-Friends bursary towards this sum. I still have some to
pay off, so I hope to do some fundraising in the coming months.
I have benefited greatly from this experience. I worked with people of all
cultures. I showed my skills and spoke highly of UAYD and drama in Northern
Ireland.
Thanks again for the donation!
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Sean McGeown
The training comprised of classes in physical theatre, mime, acting and
musical theatre. I worked with the reknowned white-face mime Rowan Tolley;
he placed a strong emphasis on the use of levels and the level of space
provided to create an act of theatre without speech.
The musical theatre classes were with Robert Heinemann, a conductor,
singing intructor and pianist. Robert's methods were unorthodox and his
classes were the most exciting.
Kevin Dowset, an experienced and well-known actor, director and playwright
was my core tutor and his classes explored improvisation.
Throughout the week I feel I have learned a lot and I have more energy for
the physical aspects of theatre. I believe I have improved my stage
presence and singing.
I would like to thank the Ken-Friends and UAYD for their contribution and
help, which was a huge help and is very much appreciated.
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Helen Vance
Knowing how to begin and where to end is my only concern as I sit down to
write an evaluation of my UAYD experience. Other than that, to reminisce
about the past weeks feels like sheer indulgence. I've met folk who will
undoubtedly be my friends for life and the social priviledge of getting to
know such a diverse group of people at such an intense level far outshines
the work.
This seems to imply that my experience was just heavenly social whirl - far
from it the discipline was fierce...On the 21st July I arrived in Cultra
and embarked upon an intense week of workshops from 9am - 9pm daily. It was
a varied week and we practised everything from people watching to Clowning.
It was a good basis on which the foundation of our production stood. Diane
Kennedy took us from some excellent dance sessions and circus skills, Conor
Mitchell shared his immense musical talents with us and Heather Long gave
us a fascinating insight into costume design. We had two visits from Kids
in Control who in one memorable session taught us to express ourselves
through attitude in carnival dancing and spray painting with our bodies!
Many new skills were attained but character building was the main aim of
the game. Endurance was built up by surviving daily warm up led by Sean
Donegan and thick skin was needed in order to endure the verbal abuse from
the task-master himself, David Grant!
When week two began in Armagh we were encouraged to focus much more on the
script and the production. Our musicians and technical team joined us here
and this added a further dimension to our experience. The production began
to take shape and we saw 'the fruits of our labour', as rehearsals became
more intense and focused. By our opening night we were extremely excited by
the prospect of having an audience. Nothing could have prepared us for the
variety of audiences that we were to encounter over the next nine
performances both in size and diversity of reaction. Having to perform
regularly with consistency and energy in a variety of new venues taught us
much more than any number of rehearsals could have. This gave me some
insight into what acting as a profession must be like.
On the whole, the experience has taught me to 'give it a go'. not to be too
shy to try or too proud to fail. As well as becoming more tactile and most
probably more pretentious, five weeks of living with a group of such
talented, vivacious young people has inspired me to continue down the path
of the dramatic arts and I'm looking forward to beginning Trinity College
in October to study English Literature and Drama.
I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who was part of the UAYD summer
experience, including the sponsors who made it financially feasible.
(Thanks to Jude for the text.)
This year, birthday wishes to Kenneth Branagh from his
supporters took the form of donations to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and to the Ulster Association of Youth Drama in Northern Ireland.
The Ulster Association of Youth Drama began as the Ulster Youth Theatre, a residential summer program for 40 students. The organization has grown into 35-40 groups throughout Northern Ireland with 1000 participants. In 1998, Branagh supporters gave the UYT a donation in in Branagh's name, which
helped to pay for food & lodging so that young people could participate in theatre training programs. In 1999, Branagh supporters,
through the workings of Ken-Friends and coordinator Jude Tessel, donated $4,507.00 US to UAYD in honor of Branagh's birthday. The tribute memorialized the Tenth Anniversary of Branagh's first Shakespeare film, Henry V.
On December 10, 2000, as Kenneth Branagh turned forty, UAYD received a "birthday donation" of $6,041.00 US which exceeded the amount donated last year. To date, UAYD has received a total of $13,248.00 US in donations from Branagh's supporters.
Click here for more about UAYD and the Tenth Anniversary Birthday Tribute to Branagh's HENRY V.
RADA
The renewal of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (more below) also received a helping hand from Branagh's supporters.
A £1000 chair at RADA's new theatre was purchased in his name, as a birthday tribute to the actor/director
who learned his craft there.
Reportedly speechless at first, Branagh sent his thanks:
"I want to say an enormous thank-you to all the Ken-Friends who contributed
to my overwhelmingly generous birthday tributes.
The money which supports Youth Drama in Northern Ireland has an almost
incalculable value. Way beyond the vastness of the actual sum and what it
can literally buy, the comfort level and choice it makes possible opens
all kinds of doors. It helps people who would not otherwise be able to
participate in what for many is a life-changing experience. Your gift has a
direct social impact and is deeply appreciated.
Many of you know of my fondness for RADA and the contribution you have made
to them in my honour is a double thrill.
First of all, Richard Attenborough is delighted! In his heroic leadership
of the rebuilding programme, I know every penny counts - yours will for
sure - and at the same time, I'm enormously proud to be associated with the
building in this way. Thank-you, thank-you. Thank You."
Ken Branagh"
The Daily Telegiraffe joins in the salute to Kenneth Branagh, and all he has achieved thus far.
London Times
The Play's Space is the Thing
RADA is taking a fresh stage direction with its new theatre. Marcus Binney reports.
London has a new theatre, one in which the 200-strong audience is within 10 metres of the stage and can take in every minute change in the actors’ expressions. The new Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre is the showpiece of a £32 million redevelopment of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and for the first time the school has a public licence allowing anyone to buy tickets to see the future stars of British stage, screen and TV.
“The difference between us and most drama schools is that we run productions for ten performances,” explains Nick Barter, the principal. “We do 14 public shows a year and there will be cabaret in the foyer, poetry, play readings and stand-up comedy.”
The rebuilding of RADA’s premises next to the London University Senate House in Bloomsbury has been an agonising, 16-year process. “We did a dozen different schemes, went looking for new sites and even got planning permission for a new academy in Hoxton, but the money just couldn’t be found,” says the architect Bryan Avery.
Not surprisingly, the tireless president of the academy, Richard Attenborough, was the first to arrive at the newly formed Arts Council Lottery Board, securing a £15 million grant to rebuild on the site.
Avery’s scheme shows just how much an ingenious architect can achieve on an awkward site: “It’s like Swiss watch-making, fitting everything into a plot 55 metres long and just 15 metres wide with nowhere to introduce light except at the top.”
RADA’s old Vanbrugh Theatre, rebuilt after wartime bombing, filled the width of the site and anyone wanting to go from one end to the other had to descend to the basement or pick their way through the fly tower. Avery has adopted the simple remedy of hoisting the whole auditorium and stage off the ground, allowing him to create a spacious foyer opening on to Malet Street. “To introduce light into the long, deep site we have created a cleft in the centre, no more than 1.5 metres wide at one point, that allows light way down to the basement workshops.”
Avery has been working with the theatre consultant Iain Mackintosh (who played a key role in the new Glyndebourne Opera House). Mackintosh believes passionately that the key to successful theatre is to break the barrier of the proscenium arch and to create a plan where the circles of auditorium and stage overlap. This creates the “vessica piscis” (in the shape of a fish) where actors and audience share one space.
“The architect’s challenge is to flatter the actor,” says Avery. “But with students there is another side. Alan Rickman said we should challenge the students. With the open wire balcony fronts I was proposing that the actor could not pretend he’s not controlling the audience when they start fidgeting. He can see them crossing and uncrossing their knees. Rickman described this as a hot auditorium which would bring out the best in both audience and actors.”
For maximum flexibility, hydraulic lifts allow the stalls to be set in seven steps or flattened out for a thrust stage. Equally, both the flaps and the proscenium arch can be adjusted.
By digging down three levels below the street, Avery has also created double-height theatre workshops which include a scene-painting dock with an electric gantry which allows students to move a backcloth at the press of a button.
“Each year we audition 1,400 students, taking 34 actors and 25 stage managers,” explains Barter. “In addition there is a summer school and schools for Japanese actors and for Americans in Shakespeare.”
The students have two other theatres to work in, the much-loved Shaw preserved in the basement from the old building. Above, is the new Gielgud, fully equipped as a recording theatre. “The BBC gave us our first recording equipment in 1926,” says Barter.
All the signs in the public areas have been beautifully painted by Lea Jaggendorf in the manner of play scripts with theatrical directions, supplemented by an abundance of quotations from plays. And, until December 2, the Jerwood Vanbrugh is showing a brilliant collection of Shaviana involving all the school’s final year students.
Click here for more about UAYD and the Tenth Anniversary Henry V Tribute to Branagh
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Filed: 28/08/2002
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