WE HIT MY TARGET OF £2,200 FOR
@BipolarUK
ALREADY!!! THANK YOU!
Since it’s way before end of May, I’ve upped the goal to £2,350. So many of you have been so generous already, it’d be great if you just shared my appeal.Tx! ⬇️
#mentalhealthawarenessweek
Real issue in playwrighting too. Not everyone gets taken to the theatre as a kid, attends Uni or drama school, hears about young writer’s progs whilst still eligible. You still mostly have to be middle-class to start young.
#ageism
#emergingwriters
#class
I never thought in 2020, I’d have to protest that “racism is bad” & in 2021, “rape & murder are bad”. If we can’t stop hurting people who look different - how are we going to band together to save the world?
Oh, & defund the sodding police.
#ReclaimTheStreets
#DefundThePolice
@TheJeremyHaynes
No, I think now is not the time to hustle. Now is the time to acknowledge that people are dying and take stock of where we’re at in Western society and vow to be more humane going forward - not keep on with same old panicky capitalistic hustle.
Not to worry anyone, I’m ok - but i just got mugged on City Road, near British Museum. Thrown on floor & they tried to get my phone & wallet but I hung on & yelled & they ran. I’d like to thank RADA for the voice training & also I’m tall & loud, so don’t try this - but beware.
Perhaps instead of setting out to prove
#ADHD
is over-diagnosed in private clinics,
#Panorama
could have thrown their considerable resources behind an investigation in to why
#NHS
diagnosis takes up to 5 years & how ppl could be helped quicker?
Memo: Putting ‘under 26’ or similar ceiling on your emerging artists’ opportunities is not only ageist but also sexist, racist, classist & ableist.
Emerging shouldn’t be a synonym for ‘young’ b/c overwhelmingly it’s the privileged (Cis white posh men) who get their start pre 26
Spent my time in Royal Court Young Writers Prog knowing I wasn’t Male or intellectual enough to get a play on in main house...so set up my own company. Lately been feeling too old & unhip to get programmed. Sick of always feeling wrong: 2019, I’ll make & see the work I want
Theatre is dying on its arse & has been for 30+ years. It can’t be relevant, nimble, inclusive etc etc because funding takes so f-ing long to get that the time has already past.
It has to be reinvented. Probably not in theatres. Gatekeepers have to be prised from the gates
April de Angelis suggests theatres reverse their current ration for 1 year & programme 70% plays by women, 30% by men. Personally love this: what about you?
@TheWritersGuild
@Sphinxtheatre
Zoom.
#equality
Well, this is exciting! My company
@fireraisers
is teaming up with two brilliant female-led companies to start a new fest! 35+, female/enby - get applying!
Slackline is proud to be collaborating with
@fireraisers
&
@BlueMasquer
on an exciting festival for 2025.
We’re hosting an event to help shape the future of the festival and looking for submissions from women/non-binary playwrights, 35+
Apply &
#share
" At 70 years old, if I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be to use the words “fuck off” much more frequently." Helen Mirren
#WednesdayWisdom
On behalf of my husband and many of his nhs colleagues: “instead of clapping us, please pledge never again to vote for a right wing government that has been systematically destroying our health service for the last 10yrs”
#ClapForTheNHS
#clapforNHS
#clapforourcarers
@lyngardner
@becxh
It’s tricky to be asked to prove your project is going to magically change the lives of highly marginalised groups in 3 months, with under 30k.
Anyone else get disappointed when the show’s publicity image shows actors smouldering in a super-cool outdoor landscape with fire - & then the actual show turns out to be a monologue in a black box studio with only a chair as set?
Remember a convo I had with a regional AD who admitted a show by & about older women had sold out - but he wasn’t going to programme another that year. The reason appeared to be that his personal taste trumped what audience wanted & the economic imperative. Gendered ageism sux
Released TODAY. The Big Freelancer Survey Report 2023, 'Underpaid, Undervalued, Under Pressure' highlighting a 37% gender pay gap between male and female theatre freelancers and an industry "rife with ageism and sexism"
#FreelancersMakeTheatreWork
When I started out as an actor, marking up my (female, ingenue) lines often involved depressingly frugal use of a yellow highlighter. Now, making my own work, it’s extremely satisfying to mark up a script and WEAR OUT THE DAMN HIGHLIGHTER! Would recommend.
#feministtheatre
They had to cross out ‘he’ & write ‘she’! My mum’s 1971 BBC pass - when the concept of a female employee apparently failed to occur to UK’s leading broadcaster
Times have thankfully changed since 1971…but the fight for equality continues. Happy
#InternationalWomensDay2024
!
Happy
#NonbinaryAwarenessWeek
/Day
Here’s me, being visible. Who else is in the gang?
Here’s to the time we’re all accepted for who we really are & not the contents of our pants.
Here’s to the day nobody gets abusive about that. Get a different hobby. Or get some help 😊
I’ve reached the end of my ability to sit alone in a room & write shows for a medium (theatre) that is ultimately about people coming together in one space. Rehearsals, readings, shows, drinks after - these are usually my motivation. Who else is flagging?
#thursdayvibes
@CosmicRoxy
Sarah Everard was killed by a cis man - as are the majority of female murder victims. If you want to stop violence against women, campaign against cis men.
So I received a leaflet with my name on from the
#BrexitParty
. My husband, who has an Asian name, did not. How can I return the leaflet to sender in a way that will cost these racist Little England wazzocks money? Any suggestions?
It’s my birthday. For years, I didn’t pay much attention to them. Now I think, it’s a privilege to get older and also it pisses off the patriarchy if you get bolder and burn brighter as the years pass. So wahey! Mine’s a bottle of tequila & a flame-thrower.
#WednesdayWisdom
ATM, I feel like I’m totally rubbish at everything I’m meant to be able to do as part of my career (theatre-maker) Not a post asking for reassurance - just curious if anyone else is feeling it & if they think it’s the last 18 months, the season or other?
#ThursdayThought
So you can have a 3 hour hair appointment with someone leaning close to your face - but not see a 1 hour show in a socially distanced theatre? If proximity to people & length of time spent in enclosed space increase the chance of getting the thing... wtaf?
#tier3
#londontheatre
Nothing is wasted. That failed application? You’ll reuse the project descrip to get a commission. The script that hasn’t found a home yet? It’ll be a calling card to connect to a fab director. That crap job? You’ll make a mate for life. It’s all worth it.
#SundayMotivation
My theatre company,
@fireraisers
, has apparently been on here for 14 years!! For the first 8 years, we had about 75 followers. Then we remembered to actually post - and here you all are, nearly 16 thousand of you! Thank you for all your support
#MyXAnniversary
Much appreciated, but this is not enough... many women who take career breaks or change careers after having & raising children will still not be eligible, not to mention people who come late to directing
@JMKTrust1
It’s my birthday. It can be easy to think we should be further ahead by X age or have achieved Y. But I just realised, child me would have thought learning lines on a train up to London for a rehearsal (as I am now) was THE BEST THING EVER! And I smiled to myself.
You know what I find the biggest killer in theatre? Vague generalised enthusiasm. You pitch an idea, someone responds positively, maybe they ghost you or maybe you do actually get to meet…but then, nothing, until all hope withers on the vine. Honestly, I’d rather just have a no
‘Laurence Fox and Shaggable Options’ - a female comedy producer talks about her experieneces. Horrendously eye-opening but not surprising to many of us, unfortunately
Totally this, but also: Indy writers & producers: have you thought about NOT having scenes where a woman is exploited, damaged, abused, destroyed? Are you sure you can justify its place in your story? That it’s integral & not titivating? How about if you tried something else?
Dear the independent scene - Can we please normalise mentioning if scripts have extreme nudity / sexual scenes / rape scenes before you ask an actress to audition or tell them you have a role for them. We shouldn’t have to read the script to find out ♥️
✌️✌️✌️
Yes! Also, women over 35 are not old bags, past it, clapped out, sexless nonentities. Nor are they all hard-arse detectives.
Employ people who write the whole spectrum of female experience, please!
#RepresentationMatters
@noentry_arts
@RepresentAge
Women over 35 exist, stories about women over 35 should get more attention, can we also appreciate the fact that women over 35 can also be “emerging artists” 👏🏻
Really,
@TheStage
? With no commentary on what he did or the effect on the women he harassed? An article like this promotes rape culture & it’s depressing & enraging to witness the instant rehabilitation of someone the industry promised to hold to account. 🤮
Max Stafford-Clark has spoken out for the first time about the sexual harassment allegations that led to his exit from Out of Joint and to "the collapse of my world”, in a new book in which he also discusses his plans for a new theatre company
RIP
#JaneBirkin
, possibly the first ever Street style queen. The woman who launched a thousand impractical wicker baskets, frayed jeans & of course, Hermes Birkins on to the fashion scene. The only a English woman to beat the French at their own chic game?
Lovely 1st day at NT Studios workshopping my new play for Eastern Angles with gr8 team! After a rocky start to 2023, I feel v lucky
It’s magical to see charas from yr head come to life. Who are they really? What do they want? What are they doing on that table??
Time will tell…
#HappyWorldTheaterDay
Theatre’s a problematic & unprofitable beast. Not for nothing was it dubbed The Fabulous Invalid. But that was back in the 1930s & we’re not beat yet. Let’s reinvent this creaky old medium & build back better, more inclusive & fit for purpose in 2021, yeah?
It’s that time of year again.
#edinburghfringe
Advice from someone quite old now: I ended one Edinburgh sobbing in a foetal position on the pavement & another bouncing between the Barbican, a national tour & fashion week parties. Whatever happens, u will survive. Hold your nerve!
It’s odd, after years of being advised to hide
#neurodiversity
bc it would make you unemployable, to see people being encouraged to be proud & open & even use it as an asset. It feels good - but god, does it also feel like a lot of wasted years & needless shame.
#TuesdayFeeling
What she said. Ooh, I have lots of thoughts. I trained here. I ended up in a loony bin. Not saying I didn’t have MH issues beforehand, but hope safeguarding improved since my day(admittedly a while ago) & it’s not just this 1 school, obvs: it’s a culture
However we are so pleased to say that this year’s group of Open Call writers are:
Tutku Barbaros; Beth Flintoff; Sarah Grochala; Sarah McDonald Hughes; Yolanda Mercy; Guleraana Mir; Julia Pascal; Alli Smith; Kathrine Smith and Polly Wiseman
“Womens’ plays are seen as a risk. Men’s aren’t.” Research in to venues shared by Jennifer Tuckett in
@TheWritersGuild
@Sphinxtheatre
Zoom about the future for women in theatre is illuminating... 🤬
My company’s looking at everyday creativity this week. Not that we don’t believe in professional artists - but there shouldn’t be restrictions on who is ‘allowed’ to be creative, right?
"Art is not just for “creative-types” and even if you don’t think you are artistically inclined, you’ll be surprised at your capacity to create great work."
#tuesdaythoughts
#tuesdaymotivation
#letscreate
Ain’t it great when you see a high profile old bloke who was accused of abuse by multiple women, enjoying himself in a theatre bar as adoring fans dance attendance? Looks like the cat that got the cream. Fucker. Theatre establishment has SO far to go when it comes to equality.
One of the many reasons my Dad is epic. A margarita made to Hemingway’s specifications, with Blue Curacao, delivered to my laptop. I’ll either finish this draft with rare brilliance - or accidentally delete it all due to an incipient tequila coma. Bring it on.
#WednesdayVibes
Good god what a grim read that
#RusselBrand
doc is - but no surprise to anyone working in entertainment in the noughties. Or anyone who was 16 & vulnerable ever.
Please nobody use his addiction or bipolar to excuse alleged behaviour that simply stems from being a terrible human.
Telling my
#bipolar
story in my hometown - gulp!
For 1st time, I talked publicly about living with bipolar disorder
Lewes Rotary Club was LOVELY. Listened, asked lots of questions, encouraged me to speak to other groups
So who is up for having me?
#letstalkbipolar
@BipolarUK
What is the solution to better opportunities for women in theatre? A survey is being commissioned by
@TheWritersGuild
& partners to find out what action people want. Fill it in!
Well, listen: we’re all working in a profession that pays crappily, so we might as well be nice to each other. I have ultimate respect for those who have treated me & my company well this wk. It’s not a given & I am beyond grateful to you! Thanks
#supporteachother
#dali
#realpain
My
#bipolar
disorder story: can wearing a crown end stigma around mental illness?
Or: how I messed up my life & how you can help
@BipolarUK
help other mood disordered people not to mess up theirs! My article for
@NWBylines
👇
#MentalHealthAwareness
Anyone wanna help me make a show called Three Metres Apart, to be watched by an audience in which every member is... 3 metres apart? Semi-serious here: I’ve done quite a bit of large-scale site spec. Also: anyone own a large space?
#TuesdayMotivation
(pics from previous show)
APNews: Arts Council England (
@ace_national
) has updated its policies, warning that "political statements" made by individuals linked to an organisation can cause "reputational risk", breaching funding agreements (1/5)
3 minute standing ovation for
#OurNHSPeople
here in Shoreditch. I know it’s terrifying to work in a hospital right now & I’m in awe of all NHS staff. They are MIGHTY. And we must all demand they’re paid & resourced properly after this.
#FEMMEFATALE
1968, New York. Andy Warhol’s muse and his would-be assassin collide in this unconventional dark comedy about fame, failure, and feminism by
@fireraisers
. 8 - 27 Oct:
#Cowbois
. Wow.
I’ve spent a lot of time in
@royalcourt
over the years, as a punter & as a writer. Today was the first time that theatre felt like it was for me & I felt like myself there.
The show is glorious. Fun & celebratory & groundbreaking & an EPIC Western! See it.
LOST PASSPORT Long shot - but did anybody find a passport on Southern Rail Lewes - Clapham Junction or Overground Clapham Junction - Shoreditch yesterday 26.08.20 between 3 & 5pm? Tan leather case, name Polly Charlotte Wiseman?
@SouthernRailUK
@TfL
PLS SHARE!