“Benjamin Zephaniah did it stuck in a lift with a drag queen, Phillis Levin in a car on the side of a mountain, Patience Agbabi 20,000 feet above sea level in a spasm of guilt about her carbon footprint, and Kenneth Steven did it in his head during a sermon in church. Poets don’t need a tranquil room of their own to write, the Ledbury Poetry festival has proved, by asking this year’s participants for the most unlikely physical location in which they have practised their art.”
Tag: 06.16.09
British Govt. Backs Off Proposal To Merge BBC Worldwide And Channel Four
“The prospect of a merger between BBC Worldwide [the public broadcaster’s commercial arm] and Channel 4 has become less likely after the government backed away from proposals to merge the two organizations in whole or part. A public corporation, funded by advertising, Channel 4 has found it increasingly difficult to meet its public service obligations.”
Rift Breaks Out Between Neil LaBute And His Home Theater
The playwright-screenwriter “has called New York’s MCC Theater his creative home for close to seven years. But … MCC said it has canceled its much-awaited production of LaBute’s latest play, The Break of Noon. On top of that, a representative for LaBute told The [L.A.] Times today that she is uncertain if he will remain the company’s playwright-in-residence.”
The People Have Spoken At Chicago Opera Theatre
“The results from Chicago are in: From Apr. 15-June 15, presumed opera-lovers have paid $1 per vote to choose which of three operas they’d like to see performed during the Chicago Opera Theater’s 2011 season. The winner is …” an operetta (but not the sort you might think).
Wichita Symphony Selects New Music Director
“Daniel Hege, who has close ties to Kansas and led the Wichita Symphony in its season-ending performances in April, will become the orchestra’s music director and conductor beginning in the 2010-2011 season. Andrew Sewell, the orchestra’s current music director, will continue to conduct the orchestra next season.”
Russian Court Rules That South Park Does Not Incite Religious Hatred
“The June 2 ruling overturned a Sept. 8 warning by the Basmanny District prosecutor’s office that said a commission of experts had determined that the South Park episode ‘Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics’ was extremist in nature because it promoted ‘hatred between religions’.”
Marketing Guru: History’s No Excuse For Cramped Seating
“Adam Kenwright, managing director of leading marketing and promotions agency AKA, has warned that London’s ‘inconvenient and deeply uncomfortable’ older theatres are deterring customers from buying tickets for West End shows. Kenwright, who has devised campaigns for hit shows including Billy Elliot the Musical, Dirty Dancing and Jersey Boys, criticised venue owners for using the historic status of buildings as an excuse for not improving the theatregoing experience for audiences.”
Legal Brief: Salinger ‘Sequel’ Author Says It’s Not A Sequel
“An author who is being sued for a coming novel that J.D. Salinger says is ‘a rip-off pure and simple’ of ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ will argue that his book is a legally protected literary commentary on Mr. Salinger’s original novel.” The author “says that his novel is not a sequel … but rather ‘a complex and undeniably transformative exposition about one of our nation’s most famous authors, J.D. Salinger, and his best known creation, Holden Caulfield.'”
Cirque Founder Says He’ll Sue Over Biography’s Sex Claims
“[T]he once-penniless street performer behind Cirque du Soleil is involved in an intriguing legal spat over the colourful acrobatic manoeuvres that allegedly take place in his bedroom. Guy Laliberté, the billionaire impresario whose troupe will today celebrate its 25th birthday, has announced plans to sue the publishers of an unauthorised biography which depicts him as a bed-hopping scoundrel with an inexhaustible appetite for sex, drugs, and a rock and roll lifestyle.”
Libraries Okay, Arts Less So In NYC Budget
As Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council agreed on a budget last night, “city officials said that they were able to minimize cuts to what they said were their top priorities — firehouses, child-care workers and libraries — though they were less successful in the areas of health care, police training and the arts. … Full details are expected to be released in the next few days, and the City Council is scheduled to vote on the budget on Thursday or Friday.”