Volunteers who took part in the opening ceremony say it was the experience of a lifetime
NHS worker Helen O'Kelly, 34, assistant director at the South London Cardiac and Stroke Network
As soon as I heard that NHS staff would have the chance to be in the opening ceremony, I knew I would audition. I am not a dancer and, although I will happily do a presentation in front of a few thousand people for my job, in my personal life I am not one for the limelight.But the idea of representing an organisation I am so proud to work for intrigued me.
The early rehearsals were stressful – the dance steps seemed like torture and there was often nothing to do but laugh at our chaotic attempts. They were also physically exhausting; the mornings after were like a hangover without the headache.
I couldn't help but smile when we first...
NHS worker Helen O'Kelly, 34, assistant director at the South London Cardiac and Stroke Network
As soon as I heard that NHS staff would have the chance to be in the opening ceremony, I knew I would audition. I am not a dancer and, although I will happily do a presentation in front of a few thousand people for my job, in my personal life I am not one for the limelight.But the idea of representing an organisation I am so proud to work for intrigued me.
The early rehearsals were stressful – the dance steps seemed like torture and there was often nothing to do but laugh at our chaotic attempts. They were also physically exhausting; the mornings after were like a hangover without the headache.
I couldn't help but smile when we first...
- 7/28/2012
- by Alexandra Topping, Rachel Williams
- The Guardian - Film News
War Horse is based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford, with Handspring Puppet Company, and directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, with scenic design by Rae Smith, puppet design, fabrication and direction by Adrian Kohler with Basil Jones for Handspring Puppet Company, lighting by Paule Constable, direction of movement and horse movement by Toby Sedgwick, animation amp projection design by 59 Productions, music by Adrian Sutton, songs by John Tams, sound design by Christopher Shutt, and musical direction by Greg Pliska. In the video below, go inside the making on the War Horse Puppets at the Handspring Puppet Company.
- 12/19/2011
- by BroadwayWorld TV
- BroadwayWorld.com
As our panel of experts predicted, "War Horse" won all five of its races at Sunday's Tony Awards. It became the first play since "Sleuth" in 1971 to take the top prize without any acting nominations. This British import also prevailed in bids by co-helmers Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris (photo, right) and the tech types responsible for lighting, scenic and sound design. Four years ago, Nick Stafford adapted the 1982 best-seller by Michael Morpurgo that told the tale of a young English farmhand who enlists during Ww I in hopes of finding his beloved colt who has been sold to the cavalry. The innovative production, which included both actors and puppeteers, won the 2007 Evening Standard, Critics' Circle and Laurence Olivier Awards for set design (Rae Smith and Handspring Puppet Company) while Toby Sedgwick received the Olivier for choreography. The puppeteers were feted with a special Tony Award. Of the other Best Play contenders,...
- 6/13/2011
- Gold Derby
Our panel of experts predict that "War Horse" is on track to become the first play since "Sleuth" in 1971 to take the top Tony Award without any acting nominations. This British import is also expected to win its other four bids by co-helmers Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris and the tech types responsible for lighting, scenic and sound design. Four years ago, Nick Stafford adapted the 1982 best-seller by Michael Morpurgo that told the tale of a young English farmhand who enlists during Ww I in hopes of finding his beloved colt who has been sold to the cavalry. The innovative production, which included both actors and puppeteers, won the 2007 Evening Standard, Critics' Circle and Laurence Olivier Awards for set design (Rae Smith and Handspring Puppet Company) while Toby Sedgwick received the Olivier for choreography. The puppeteers are being feted with a special Tony tonight. Of the other Best Play contenders,...
- 6/12/2011
- Gold Derby
The Olivier-winning production of "War Horse" could well rein in a slew of Tony Awards this season. Adapted from the 1982 best-seller by Michael Morpurgo, the play tells the tale of a young English farmhand who enlists during Ww I in hopes of finding his beloved colt who has been sold to the cavalry. Four years ago, Nick Stafford turned the epic story into a stunning stage spectacle at the National Theater. The innovative production, which included both actors and puppeteers, won the 2007 Evening Standard, Critics' Circle and Laurence Olivier Awards for set design (Rae Smith and Handspring Puppet Company) while Toby Sedgwick received the Olivier for choreography. The Broadway production at the non-profit Lincoln Center Theater received many rave reviews touting its visual appeal. AP critic Mark Kennedy thought, "The reason to go see the show is its inventiveness, visual punch and its obvious reverence for the way animals move and behave.
- 4/17/2011
- Gold Derby
Oscar winner Danny Boyle (127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire) returns to the theatre to direct this visionary new production, Frankenstein by Nick Dear, based on the novel by Mary Shelley.
For the first time ever, National Theatre Live will broadcast two separate performances of a production. Throughout the run of Frankenstein at the National Theatre, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller are alternating the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature. Audiences in cinemas will have the chance to see both combinations, with two broadcasts a week apart.
April 2 at 11am: Benedict Cumberbatch (Creature), Jonny Lee Miller (Victor)
April 9 at 11am: Jonny Lee Miller (Creature), Benedict Cumberbatch (Victor)
You Can Catch Both Of These At The Tivoli Theater In St. Louis.
Synopsis:
Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein.s bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes,...
For the first time ever, National Theatre Live will broadcast two separate performances of a production. Throughout the run of Frankenstein at the National Theatre, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller are alternating the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature. Audiences in cinemas will have the chance to see both combinations, with two broadcasts a week apart.
April 2 at 11am: Benedict Cumberbatch (Creature), Jonny Lee Miller (Victor)
April 9 at 11am: Jonny Lee Miller (Creature), Benedict Cumberbatch (Victor)
You Can Catch Both Of These At The Tivoli Theater In St. Louis.
Synopsis:
Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein.s bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes,...
- 3/30/2011
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – Magical nannies, dancing animals, great gusts of wind, lyrical life lessons and cute kids in need of a father. You don’t need to be practically perfect in every way in order to find these ingredients a trifle familiar. Robert Stevenson’s 1964 masterpiece “Mary Poppins” used these elements better than anyone has before or since, resulting in what is unquestionably the best live-action Disney film ever made.
“Poppins” is also one of the most influential children’s pictures ever made, inspiring countless variations and copy-cats. Yet Cristianna Brand’s “Nurse Matilda” books took the formula and peppered it with gleefully macabre wit. They centered on a hideously ugly nursemaid who resembled the Supernanny from Hell, until her charges started to become well behaved, thus erasing her multiple blemishes. In 2005, Emma Thompson adapted the books into “Nanny McPhee,” a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy that felt like the offspring of P.L. Travers and Roald Dahl.
“Poppins” is also one of the most influential children’s pictures ever made, inspiring countless variations and copy-cats. Yet Cristianna Brand’s “Nurse Matilda” books took the formula and peppered it with gleefully macabre wit. They centered on a hideously ugly nursemaid who resembled the Supernanny from Hell, until her charges started to become well behaved, thus erasing her multiple blemishes. In 2005, Emma Thompson adapted the books into “Nanny McPhee,” a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy that felt like the offspring of P.L. Travers and Roald Dahl.
- 12/10/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
LONDON -- Chiwetel Ejiofor won the battle of Shakespeare's tragic kings Sunday, taking the Laurence Olivier Award for best actor for his title performance in Othello. Kristin Scott Thomas was named best actress for The Seagull, and the Broadway smash Hairspray picked up four prizes, including best new musical.
Ejiofor, whose film credits range from Steven Spielberg's Amistad in 1997 to Ridley Scott's American Gangster last year, triumphed in the British equivalent of the Tony Awards over competition that included Ian McKellen in King Lear and Patrick Stewart in Macbeth.
Ewan McGregor, who co-starred as Iago in the Donmar Warehouse's hit production of Othello, was not nominated. Tom Hiddleston, who also was nominated for playing Cassio in Othello, won as best newcomer for Cymbeline at the Barbican.
Rupert Goold, who directed Stewart in Macbeth, was named best director, and Rory Kinnear won for best performance in a supporting role for the National's revival of George Etherege's restoration comedy The Man of Mode, which also won for Vicki Mortimer's costume design.
Already a Tony winner, Hairspray had a record-breaking 11 nominations heading into the Olivier Awards presentation at Grosvenor House but won just four, including best actor in a musical for West End veteran Michael Ball, best actress in a musical for newcomer Leanne Jones and best performance in a supporting role in a musical for Tracie Bennett.
Hairspray and two other musicals also were nominated for best choreography, but the honor went to Toby Sedgwick, who devised the movement for the huge puppet horses in the National Theatre's hit production of War Horse. The show's set designers, Rae Smith and the Handspring Puppet Company, also won.
Ejiofor, whose film credits range from Steven Spielberg's Amistad in 1997 to Ridley Scott's American Gangster last year, triumphed in the British equivalent of the Tony Awards over competition that included Ian McKellen in King Lear and Patrick Stewart in Macbeth.
Ewan McGregor, who co-starred as Iago in the Donmar Warehouse's hit production of Othello, was not nominated. Tom Hiddleston, who also was nominated for playing Cassio in Othello, won as best newcomer for Cymbeline at the Barbican.
Rupert Goold, who directed Stewart in Macbeth, was named best director, and Rory Kinnear won for best performance in a supporting role for the National's revival of George Etherege's restoration comedy The Man of Mode, which also won for Vicki Mortimer's costume design.
Already a Tony winner, Hairspray had a record-breaking 11 nominations heading into the Olivier Awards presentation at Grosvenor House but won just four, including best actor in a musical for West End veteran Michael Ball, best actress in a musical for newcomer Leanne Jones and best performance in a supporting role in a musical for Tracie Bennett.
Hairspray and two other musicals also were nominated for best choreography, but the honor went to Toby Sedgwick, who devised the movement for the huge puppet horses in the National Theatre's hit production of War Horse. The show's set designers, Rae Smith and the Handspring Puppet Company, also won.
- 3/10/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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