CONTINUITY - AND A NEW COMPANY FOR CAMBRIDGE
Good news, they say, often arrives in threes. If this is so, then I have a trio of positive stories to share and each concerns the theatre scene in Cambridge.
The first is very exciting. It looks like the much-missed Mumford Theatre will be back in play for local theatre goers who miss its wonderful stage, brilliant sight lines and interval snacks. The theatre which is part of ARU has been dark (for the public at least) for many years but in its heyday it was the home for drama festivals and a venue for small-scale professional touring companies.
And that brings me to my second bit of welcome intelligence. Cambridge is about to have a new professional theatre company (or at least one that aspires to become one). True Life Productions (TLP) promises to be a platform for those in the city who have the ambition to become professional actors. With a surfeit of talent around just now (just read some of my recent reviews) the time seems to be just right for such a bold venture.
TLP is the brainchild of Rosina Piovani and Martin Maynard. Rosina is an actor-director who hails from Uruguay where she has been working in the theatre world for nearly 20 years. Martin is a familiar face among playgoers here. A graduate of the Central School of Speech and Drama, the professional actor has been lighting up the local scene with recent portrayals in ‘Educating Rita’ and ‘A Few Good Men’.
Both live in Royston and met by accident. They quickly realised that they had the same ambition: to form a new theatre company not only with professional standards but one that could provide a pathway into the world of theatrical agents, directors and (very importantly) paid work. They wanted a venue and a chance meeting with an ARU theatre maker heralded my first bit of good news – the university is keen to open the doors to the erstwhile public venue. Why True Life? Both Martin and Rosina were passionate in saying that theatre, their theatre, should be authentic, chime with audience not as happy or tragic artifice but reflect the world in which we live. Does this mean only new writing? Martin said ‘no’ – we can expect the classics too but ones that have something to say to us in the present century.
My third bit of positivity is the production of a brand-new play. ‘Continuity’ will be the opening production for TLP at the Mumford next week. Directed by Rosina, the play by local writer David Sear is a satire on the billionaire ‘tech bros’ who own 60% of the world’s wealth and use that power for questionable ends. One of the super-rich brothers has developed a new biotech with the ability to extend human life. Is this good or bad?
As a tech entrepreneur and founder of payments company WorldPay David Sear is well placed to pull apart the moral and ethical questions posed by an elite with unprecedented power and wealth. Some of them of course have wormed their way into the very heart of the US government. No names mentioned here as The Cambridge Critique has a microscopic defamation fund!
Sear’s new play can be seen at the Mumford Theatre 17 to the 21 June and at the Cockpit Theatre in London, 19 to 22 November this year. Rosina and Martin were excited to bag the London venue and see it as a real showcase for the actors who will hopefully be strutting their stuff before casting directors and agents (not to mention metropolitan audiences).
Before the first show next Tuesday, the company are hosting a debate in the theatre on the subject ‘Who wants to live forever?’ The proceedings start at 6 pm. It is an unusual thing to have a discussion on the subject of a play before the audience sees it, but it is an innovation that should succeed. Let’s see.
Tickets and more information about the play can be found on the company’s new, and rather stylish website. The Critique plans to review the play so look out for this on Wednesday 18th June. Maybe that should be a fourth bit of good news!
ROSINA PIOVANI directing ‘Continuity’ in rehearsal
