Edinburgh

High Praise Indeed!

/ Forth Childrens Theatre / 1 Comment
 
  
Tony_award_image
 
 
Received today at FCT HQ…..
 
Dear FCT,
 
My sister and I are musical theatre scholars and have worked professionally in the Biz and we agreed that your production was finer in many respects than many professional productions we’ve seen.  After seeing your production of Ragtime last night I felt compelled to write to you to say how utterly impressed my sister and I were and how much we thoroughly enjoyed it.
 
We know Ragime inside out, having closely followed its progress since it lost the Tony to The Lion King in 1998 and all else since. I made it down to London for the premiere production there, and we also saw it at the Fringe a few years ago when the American High School Theatre performed it. We agreed that yours was as good if not better than all of these. We were particularly impressed  by the first-class direction and staging. It displayed a sensitive understanding of the vision of E L Doctorow, Ahrens & Flaherty, McNally et al. I also loved the allusions to the original Broadway production lighting. You moved us and touched us very deeply and we wanted to thank you for giving us this great joy of seeing one of our absolutely favourite musicals live. Sensational! We look forward to seeing many more of your outstanding productions in the future.
 
Very best wishes,
 
Eva and Barbara Spevack

Ragtime

/ Forth Childrens Theatre / Leave a comment

FCT present the Scottish premiere of Ragtime.

RAGTIME poster
FCT’s 2009 Festival Fringe production is “Ragtime” and will be directed by Andrew Dyer.
Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow and set in America at the turn of the century, Ragtime tells the story of three groups who are represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in New Rochelle, NY; and Tateh, a Latvian Jewish immigrant.
This epic musical is filled by these and many other inspirational characters as well as incredible, show-stopping songs in the form of marches, cakewalks, gospel and ragtime.

FCT presents “Ragtime”
Directed by Andrew Dyer
7th – 15th August 2009
Inverleith Church  Hall
Fringe Venue  120
Book by Terrence McNally
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics by Lynn Aherns
Based on the novel by E.L.Doctorow
By Arrangement with Josef Weinberger

Edinburgh Evening News Drama Award for Best Musical 2008

/ Forth Childrens Theatre / 1 Comment

 

EN_masthead

Homegrown stars clinch Evening News drama awards

Published Date: 22 August 2008
By LIAM RUDDEN and MARK McLAUGHLIN

TWO of the Capital’s best known amateur theatre companies were celebrating yesterday after winning Evening News Drama Awards for Best Musical and Best Play, on the 2008 Fringe.

Members of Forth Children’s Theatre were left shocked and elated when, in their 30th anniversary year, they were presented with the inaugural Evening News Drama Award for Best Musical by BBC I’d Do Anything star, Niamh Perry, for their production of Jekyll and Hyde.

Director Claire Stewart said: “This play has been a total challenge for the kids as we’re used to doing bright, happy-clappy musical numbers, but this year we wanted to explore something more dark.”

Niamh said: “Amateur dramatics is where most of us start out. I was about 12 when I did my first amateur shows with the McMasters Stage School and Music Theatre for Youth.

“It’s my first time at the Festival and I’ve seen a whole range of shows but I honestly couldn’t tell you which were amateur and which were professional. They were all so good.”

Edinburgh Theatre Arts were also winners – they picked up the Evening News Drama Award for Best Play for their production of Dennis Potter’s Blue Remembered Hills. It was handed to them by Bullseye host Jim Bowen in a glittering ceremony in the Gilded Balloon’s Library Bar.

Director Mike Duffy said: “I am absolutely delighted, and surprised in a way because we were doing a play that wasn’t an obvious box office draw.

“Potter is most well known as a TV screenwriter but when I saw the play I always thought that it would be better performed on stage and I think we’ve just been proved right.”

Clearly starstruck in the presence of Jim Bowen, Mike described the former-Bullseye presenter as “a legend”.

After he handed over the award, Jim said: “I started in ‘am dram’ myself.

We never had any of the encouragement on offer here today, which is why awards like this are so important.”

More than 100 actors, directors and producers from all 13 nominated amateur companies watched the presentation of the Endas, introduced to recognise the work of local companies during the Fringe, where coverage is often dominated by large-scale productions from across the world.

The runner-up in the Best Play category went to Leitheatre for their production of Rikki Fulton’s A Wee Touch o’ Class, while Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group came second in the Best Musical category.

Southern Light Opera Drama received the first Evening News Theatre Critic’s Commendation for their production of Black Chiffon, from Thom Dibdin.

SLO chairwoman and leading lady Elspeth Smith said: “I’ve read Tom’s reviews for many years and I must say it’s an honour to receive his commendation, but my fiercest critic is still my mother so I was even more delighted when she found our play enthralling.”

The expert judging panel consisted of included Evening News theatre critic Thom Dibdin, Edinburgh Playhouse general manager James Haworth, actor Arron Usher, musicals producer Eleanor Brown, and Ron Cattell and Fiona Rogan of the Scottish Community Drama Association.