Sunday 24 May 2015

Henry V... 12 left...

Last 12 shows - Great offers to celebrate Maverick's 5* show 'Henry V - Lion of England'!

Henry V - Lion of England

Only 12 performances left!


"Simply brilliant. I didn’t think it could work with ONE woman in a pub room. Pure theatre. Shakespeare would be proud!"
*****  UK Theatre Web
 
"This is what theatre should be all about. Pure, simple, theatrical passion. Go see!"
 
*****  Whats On Stage
 
HAPPY BANK HOLIDAY! 
We're attracting rave reviews for our latest production of Henry V - and the critics love Eleanor Dillon-Reams.


Don't forget, book this week and as a friend of Maverick you can still get the following benefits...
  • HALF-PRICE TICKETS (use the code HENRY01 when booking)
  • 10% off your first drink!
  • A FREE draw to win £50 of Theatre Vouchers!
Based on William Shakespeare's original play, celebrate St George's Day, Shakespeare's Birthday and the 600th Anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt with us this weekend.  See 'Henry V' as you've never seen it before, with 70 minutes, edge of the seat excitement!

 
And read an interview with Elle HERE.

"Once more unto the Wheatsheaf, dear friends..."
 
Upstairs at The Wheatsheaf Pub, 25 Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 1JB.

 
Buy Tickets HERE

Thursday 21 May 2015

Queen of the Kings!

She's the Queen of Kings at the moment - the star of Henry V - Lion of England at The Wheatsheaf Pub in Fitzrovia, London W1. Produced by our theatre company Maverick, and written by our writer Nick Hennegan, we asked Simon Plant to go talk to star, Eleanor Dillon-Reams about being Shakespeare's most famous King.



Eleanor Dillon-Reams.

Henry V is one of Shakespeare’s biggest plays. How come you are the only actor?
The piece has been partly rewritten, edited and chopped up to a short and snappy 75 minute version, but yes there are still 12 characters, all played by one me; it’s definitely a risk but it’s also so exciting, so why not?

How do you fight the Battle of Agincourt on your own in a room above a pub?
With a big heavy sword, shield, and metal breast plate… the rest you’ll have to come and find out for yourself!

Henry V was a man. And Shakespeare’s plays were all written for men. How is it being a woman playing this part?
I've been very aware from day one of even auditioning for the piece that I'd be not only taking on a huge lead role but one that is famous for being played by many of the great MALE actors; Olivier, Brannagh, etc. and required to lead an entire army into battle and to have the authority to command a whole nation. Being a 20 something woman means I'm not necessarily as strong or physically big as any of the previous Henry's that have taken on this solo version of Henry V, and a huge part of the rehearsal process was looking at how to make myself more masculine and my voice deeper - like a man. It's been a real exploration, but ultimately coming to the conclusion that I'm not a man! So rather than desperately trying to emulate one, the piece will inevitably be different because you have a woman playing the role, and that's not a hindrance, it's really bloody exciting!
I adore classical works but usually women, particularly in these classical texts have not only fewer parts within a company but roles such as the wife of... or the maid, why not have them as the dictator, the leader? There are far fewer opportunities for women than men in theatre, not only in performing on the stage but also as writers, directors, stage-management etc. I am incredibly proud to be working with both a female director and female stage manager for this production, and hope that by having a female Henry V it will provoke audiences to question their own expectations of both gender and leadership.
It's already proved to be a hugely exciting and provocative recipe for success with companies such as Smooth Faced Gents, and Phyllida Lloyd's productions of Julius Caesar and Henry IV selling out and receiving rave reviews, so I hope this is the beginning of a wave of exciting changes throughout the industry.

How did you get the part?
I worked with Katie Merritt- (Director of Henry V; Lion of England) briefly whilst training at East 15 and heard she was casting this show and looking for men, so I emailed asking whether she was gender blind casting? She said absolutely and invited me in to audition! Gender blind casting is something I really campaign for and believe women CAN do it just as well as men, so I am no exception to that belief!

Are there any problems starring in a play that has been so successful in the past?
There was undoubtedly the pressure to ‘pull it off’ again, and it’s odd when you’re aware there’s the potential to be directly compared with someone. This version is slightly different in that we’ve added in one of the female characters, and a scene in French! We’ve had audience in who’ve seen it before and we have had glowing feedback from them for this production of the show - so onwards and upwards!

How long have you been acting and how did you get into it?
I've wanted to act ever since I played the very prestigious role of ‘green ball’ in Stanford Infant's production of The Nutcracker at the age of 4! I'm pretty sure I cried the entire performance, then thought yep right there, that does it for me! I trained properly at East 15 Acting School on the BA acting course, and graduated in 2012. Since I graduated I've been fortunate enough to do lots of theatre, ranging from the classics, to dance and physical theatre, to most recently my own new writing at the wonderful Shake it Up! A brilliant new writing night held by Shaky Isles Theatre.

Did you train?
Yes, I did the three year BA Acting course at East 15 Acting School.

Did your parents influence your career choices?
My Dad writes and directs, but I think would have hoped I’d have gone into a career a little more secure! He was a wonderful story teller when my siblings and I were little and I always loved how he’d do all the different voices and make it all come to life. It didn’t take either my Mum or Dad very long to realise this was what I wanted to do, (and was stubborn enough not to give up on it!) They’ve always encouraged each of us to follow our dreams, I’ve been very lucky to have such supportive parents.

What advice would you give to anyone thinking of being an actor?
If there’s anything else you want to do….do that! It’s very difficult and knocks you down and slaps you across the face, but I suppose it’s like an addiction and the hit you get from performing isn’t like anything else in the world! So if you really, really do want it, don’t give up, don’t take no for an answer - just keep swimming!

Why should I come and see ‘Henry V - Lion of England’?
Henry V is never more relevant than at a time of political unrest such as we find ourselves in today, this one man (or woman I should say!), version is fast-paced, thrilling and unlike anything else you’ll see at the theatre at the moment. Plus it’s in the heart of Soho, above a pub… what more could you want?!

Any final thoughts?
See you there!

Henry V - Lion of England runs till the end of June. For further information see www.HenryVPlay.com.




Location:Dale Street,London,United Kingdom

Thursday 7 May 2015

Dylan Thomas Day!

Thursday: Dylan Thomas Day.

We're DELIGHTED to be hosting the first ever Dylan Day celebrations in London.  We've got a few great events coming up in Fitzrovia and Soho NEXT WEEK that should be tons of literary fun for everyone. And thanks to Literature Wales, the first 20 tickets to each event are FREE.  Click Here to enter for FREE TICKETS.
MAY
14

Dylan's Literary Pub Crawls.

Join us at 1pm3pm and 6pmfor our Literary Pub Crawl of Dylan's Fitzrovia haunts.  And meet his contemporary writers, Gerorge Orwell, Anthony Burgess, TS Eliot and others.

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An Evening at The Wheatsheaf Pub, Rathbone Place, London, W1. 8pm

Dylan's Day is a celebration of Dylan Thomas.  14 May has been chosen because marks the day Under Milk Wood was first read in public.

We hope you can join us for what will be a memorable night. As you know, we produced Under Milk Wood on the 60th anniversary of Dylan's death and we were involved in Griff Rhys JonesDylan Thomas in Fitzrovia Festival, so I feel very close to the Welsh Wizzard!  We're planning music, poetry and a rehearsed reading of a potential new play by... er...me!  It's provisionally called 'The Roaring Boy' and is an homage to UMW and a personal take on Dylan.  I'm actually still writing it and sending bits through to director Katie Merritt, so it will definitely be a rehearsed reading. And Hannah Ellis, Dylans Granddaughter is coming to the Wheatsheaf too, along with a few other Dylan luminaries.  So no pressure then...

I hope you'll take advantage of our free tickets and I'd like to thank Literature Wales for making this possible.  The Wheatsheaf is where Dylan Thomas met Caitlin, his wife, so is a special venue.

And the pub is stocking Welsh beer for the week.

Follow us on Twitter - including my bumblings - at @mavericktheatre.

I hope you can join us on Thursday. Ticket are available on line from £5.  If you don't win a free 'un, of course.

Best wishes

Nick Hennegan
Artistic Directo