An online survey of the public’s dramatic preferences by English Touring Theatre will tell us much about the state of theatre today.
Do people know what’s good for them? In a fascinating exercise in devolved
decision-making, English Touring Theatre (ETT) – under the directorship of
Rachel Tackley – has posed a big question to the nation: what’s your favourite
play?
The idea is to get a region-by-region snapshot, using an online survey, of
what’s hot (and what’s not) and for the company to do its utmost, as it
celebrates its 21st anniversary next year, to stage the best-loved works in some
shape or form. Nine of the most popular plays will join the company’s regular
touring schedule of 12 – making a neat 21 in total. The only stipulation is that
the plays must be original, and written in English – which allows for a vast
pool of eligible works, with everyone from Shakespeare, Sheridan, Shaw and
Stoppard in the frame, to take an obvious letter of the alphabet for starters.
As an exercise in getting theatre-goers of every background and experience to
rack their brains, and as a means of putting ETT on the map, it’s a shrewd move.
Almost as soon as the curtain went up on the venture, it was the subject of much
chatter, with amusing tweets from playwrights such as Mark Ravenhill requesting
support from followers, and voting relayed in real-time over at the dedicated
site, myfavouriteplay.com. It’s not exactly hold-the-front-page news to reveal
that King Lear, Hamlet and Pygmalion were faring well initially but with some
bold choices creeping in – Howard Barker’s The Castle, for instance – it’s no
dead certainty what the final crop of favourites will be.
Of course, it’s hardly difficult to spot potential pitfalls. Producers worth
their salt will have snapped up the rights to anything with half a hope of a
profitable showing, and a living playwright may equally take a view that his or
her work is best left on the shelf for the time being, rather than forming part
of some touring jamboree. If you can rally enough support via social media, I
suppose you could manipulate the results or sabotage them – some might find it a
laugh to champion a dud. It will be interesting, too, to see whether in Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland, allegiances fall along nationalistic lines.
More
More
No comments:
Post a Comment