Sir Tom Stoppard makes a donation to The 22nd July Project

Having been away at a workshop in Leeds for most of the weekend, I was absolutely chuffed to get home and  find on the doormat a recycled envelope containing a cheque for no less than £300 from another theatrical legend – this time Sir Tom Stoppard! Sir Tom also supported Upstart’s previous production, the double bill of Water Sculptures and ZOO by Dawn King. We’re honoured that he’s chosen to support our work for a second time.

Upstart receives donation from Sir Ian McKellen

All of us at Upstart are not only delighted but also childishly excited to have received a cheque this morning from Sir Ian McKellen towards our 22nd July Project appeal. We now love him even more than we did previously. Now if only we could get hold of tickets to see him and Patrick Stewart in Waiting for Godot our lives would be complete!

Upstart announces fundraising event on 21 March 2009

Hi everyone,

I’m delighted to announce that on 21 March 2009, Upstart Theatre will be presenting an evening of music, comedy and drama in support of our summer season, THE 22ND JULY PROJECT.

Taking place at the magnificent Arch 635 just by Clapham North, we’ll be bringing together some of London’s finest musicians, comedians, DJs, playwrights and actors to raise funds for our compelling new season of theatre exploring the death of Jean Charles de Menezes.

Doors open at 8pm; admission will be £5 on the door.

Check the Upstart website for details of acts in the coming weeks!

About THE 22ND JULY PROJECT:

On 22nd July 2005, Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by armed police as he sat on an Underground train at Stockwell station. Police claimed his clothing and behaviour marked him as a suspected suicide bomber; the inquest into his death found in December 2008 that he was an entirely innocent man.

This summer, Upstart will be producing a season of theatre work exploring the killing and its aftermath. This will include THE KRATOS EFFECT, a verbatim play by Sarah Beck based on interviews with campaigners, police officers, whistleblowers and many more; and OH WELL NEVER MIND BYE by Steven Lally, a compelling and darkly comic exploration of the media’s response to the shooting.

More details on both plays are available at http://www.upstart-theatre.co.uk.

I do hope you’ll be able to join us – see you then!

All the best
Tom

University of Cumbria benefit gig raises £104 towards 22nd July Project Appeal

In a converted warehouse somewhere in the back streets of Carlisle, more than fifty people crowded into the city’s most bohemian venue, The Source Cafe, to experience (or should that be “endure”?) a once-in-a-lifetime musical moment – a double-headed acoustic gig featuring Upstart’s Tom Mansfield and University of Cumbria performing arts course leader John Topping.

The evening’s highlights included John’s rendition of “Cocaine Blues” (my favourite lyric – “Here comes Sally, here comes Sue, there ain’t no difference between the two…That said, I know a couple of Sallys and a number of Sues and I should probably say here that there are many differences between them yet
they are all very lovely people). And 50 performing arts students, graduates and lecturers joining in to the chorus of Red Tanja’s “Dance Nazi”…quite an experience.

Best of all, the evening raised £104.20 (not sure where that 20p comes from, but hey, we’ll take it) towards our 22nd July Project appeal. Thanks everyone!

Upstart launches fundraising appeal for THE 22ND JULY PROJECT

On 18 January 2008, Upstart launched our fundraising appeal for the 22nd July Project. Here’s the full appeal:

UPSTART THEATRE NEEDS YOUR HELP!

On 22nd July 2005, Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by police officers as he sat on a tube train at Stockwell station. The head of the Metropolitan Police alleged that Jean’s clothing and behaviour marked him as a suicide bomber; the media reported that he had jumped over the ticket barriers and was wearing a thick coat despite the summer weather. These allegations were all false – Jean Charles was entirely innocent. Yet to date, no-one has ever been held accountable for his death.

This summer, Upstart Theatre will be producing two new plays dealing with the shooting and its aftermath: Oh Well Never Mind Bye by Steven Lally and The Kratos Effect by Sarah Beck.

Steven and Sarah have been interviewing senior police officers, members of the ‘Justice 4 Jean’ campaign, witnesses, whistleblowers, reporters and others involved in the events of 22nd July 2005. The Kratos Effect is a verbatim play created from those interviews; Oh Well Never Mind Bye explores how and why the media reported the shooting. At a time when our civil liberties are constantly being eroded in the name of defending us against terrorism, these two humane and utterly compelling plays exemplify Upstart’s goal of creating new theatre which questions conventional ways of looking at the world.

Upstart needs to raise £20,000 to cover the costs of this project – and we’re asking for your help. If you agree with us that the story of Jean Charles de Menezes is one that needs to be told, please:

• Make a one-off donation to support this project.
• Become a Friend of Upstart to support our work regularly.
• Get involved in the fundraising campaign as a volunteer.
• Book one of our Corporate Workshops for your company.
• Come to one of our fundraising events – details soon.

Any support you can give will make a huge difference; give a few hours of your time to stuff envelopes, use your creativity to help us reach out to foundations and corporations, get stuck in and help us organise our events, or reach for your pen and send us a cheque. You can ensure this story is told.

SUDBURY TOWN by Sarah Beck now available on Urban Scrawl

Kratos Effect playwright Sarah Beck’s radio play Sudbury Town is now available online as part of TheatreVoice’s massive Urban Scrawl project. It’s a surreal, comic and ultimately moving play about love, death and mice, and runs at about ten minutes. Check it out here.

Happy New Year!

Wow…three weeks since the last post on the blog. Anyone would think we’d all been on holiday, eating and drinking to excess, thinking profound thoughts about life and art, and plotting out our cunning plans for the coming year. Strangely enough, that’s more or less what’s been going on. We’re not quite in a position to reveal these things to the world just yet, but in the coming weeks you can expect to find out about changes to the Upstart team, new dates for Act/React in 2009, and most of all developments in The 22nd July Project. Watch this space!

vBlog: Backstage at THE KING OF SPAIN

Tom Wateracre, composer/performer of last night’s The King of Spain, shares his pre-show prep routines.

The King of Feedback

Hey folks,

Thanks to everyone who made it to Theatre503 for The King of Spain last night. We had a great time and would love to hear your thoughts on it – just click comment and type away! If you didn’t make it, don’t worry – you’ll be able to see extracts from the show on this blog and on the main site soon.

Call for submissions

Upstart Theatre (“An unfairly talented ensemble” EdinburghGuide.com) are currently seeking new plays for development in 2009. Upstart exists to develop and produce new theatre that is daring, politically aware, and above all entertaining. We plan to produce a number of public rehearsed readings in London in 2009 with a view to possible productions in 2010 and beyond.

If you share our vision and would like us to read your play, post it to Upstart Theatre, 37 Gartmoor Gardens, London SW19 6NX by Friday 28th November, or email us with any questions at info@upstart-theatre.co.uk. All submissions should include an SAE if you would like your script returned.

More information about Upstart, our previous work and our future plans is available at our website, www.upstart-theatre.co.uk.

Tom Mansfield and Steven Lally
Artistic Directors, Upstart Theatre