Latest news with #DonmarWarehouse
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘How much can one person take?': Posy Sterling on her intense portrayal of a mum trapped in custody hell
Each morning before filming Lollipop, Posy Sterling took a giant bucket outside, filled it with ice and climbed in. Never mind that it was November or that her call time was at 5am; the actor would take daily dips in the freezing water in the dark. In Lollipop, Sterling plays a headstrong mother who has recently been released from prison and is fighting to win back her kids. The role is heavy, but the ice baths meant she started the days feeling light. 'I just found it euphoric,' she says. Tickled, her driver started bringing her more ice as part of her ritual. Today, Sterling, 32, is similarly full of beans, buzzing from two coffees and fresh from six weeks in New York. 'I haven't slept,' she says brightly. The actor has been quietly building her profile since Screen International named her one of 2023's Stars of Tomorrow, with performances in the Saoirse Ronan addiction drama The Outrun and Benedict Andrews's buzzy take on The Cherry Orchard at the Donmar Warehouse in London, which has just finished a run off Broadway. We're meeting in an office in north London, where Sterling is excited to talk about her first leading role in a film. 'I share a fire with Molly,' she says of her character in Lollipop. Sterling is breezy and charming, but there is an intensity to the way she speaks. She says she related to Molly's 'refusal to be reduced', despite the difficulties she faces. In the film, Molly lives in a tent while on a waiting list for a one-bedroom flat. It is the only kind of accommodation she can apply for as a single, unmarried woman, but in order to live with both her children, she needs at least two bedrooms. As if things weren't hard enough, Molly has just spent the last four months in prison. According to the Prison Reform Trust, 58% of prison sentences given to women in England and Wales in 2022 were for less than six months. 'And yet the repercussions of what someone like Molly is going through can last a lifetime,' Sterling says. 'Usually they're reacting to the environment they're in,' she adds, listing poverty, addiction and domestic violence as typical contributing factors. 'A different punishment could be served instead of a prison sentence.' She pauses and laughs darkly. 'Or help, maybe?' The film is written and directed by Daisy-May Hudson, who made the 2015 documentary Half Way, about her and her family's experience of homelessness, when she was just 24. Lollipop is Hudson's first fiction film but it is driven by a similar mission: to expose the bureaucracy that punishes people who have fallen through the cracks of society, and to show their joy and resilience. Sterling is electric as Molly, blazing with intelligence and maternal rage. 'What I really like about what Daisy-May chose to do, is that she doesn't ever say why Molly went to prison,' Sterling says. 'That doesn't define a person, and it doesn't tell you anything, actually, about who they are,' though 'it's probably the first thing people would ask'. The film resists offering up Molly's crime as a way of justifying her situation. Instead, Hudson presents a character study of a flawed, fiercely loving woman trying her best to be a 'good' mum. Sterling doesn't have children of her own but, before Lollipop, had already spent time researching pregnancy in prisons for another role. Sweatbox was produced by Clean Break, a celebrated theatre company whose cast and crew are made up of women affected by the criminal justice system. Set entirely in a prison van and following three women as they are transported between prison and court, the play was turned into a short film, which caught the eye of Lollipop's casting director, Lucy Pardee, a regular collaborator of Andrea Arnold. Sterling read the script for Lollipop seven times before her audition, because how prison affects mothers was something she 'cared about already'. In order to build the character of Molly, Sterling had conversations with a woman who had fought to regain custody of her children after they were removed. 'She would tell me viscerally what her body went through when this happened to her, which was something I was able to draw on when playing Molly,' she says. In the film's most devastating scene, the stoic Molly finally crumbles, letting out an animal howl of pain on the floor of a social services building. Sterling tears up when I mention it. 'It felt quite ancestral, to be honest,' she says. 'It's important that you see how something is just affecting someone. How much can one person take?' Sterling was born in Manchester in 1992, and spent her childhood in north London and, later, Market Harborough in Leicestershire. She is one of eight, including stepsiblings. Sterling and her younger siblings were born quite close together but have different accents because of where they grew up. She says she was 'massively protective' of them. 'I was separated from my siblings for a time,' she explains cautiously, and 'was moved around quite a lot growing up'. The experience of being in so many different situations gave her a fascination with people-watching and quietly psychoanalysing behaviour. 'I don't want to say I was naughty,' she says, but at school, the label stuck. 'I was always very passionate,' she adds, two deep dimples emerging. 'But I was quite rebellious.' Performing was an escape while growing up and Sterling, a gifted singer, would put on shows and direct anyone within earshot. She applied to Italia Conti drama school, whose alumni include Lesley Manville and Naomi Campbell. 'Basically I did get in, before Clean Break,' she says. Sterling declines to talk about the circumstances that led her to Clean Break, but explains that 'to be a service user [at the organisation], you do have to tick some boxes' – Clean Break being for women who have either been affected by the criminal justice system or are at risk of offending. In 2015 she joined Clean Break's Young Artists programme, which she describes as 'a second chance for a lot of women'. When Sterling was referred there, she remembers that she didn't want anything to do with acting. 'I felt things deeply and had started to do my healing,' she says, and so the prospect of ploughing her emotions 'felt like that would be too much'. The programme was an opportunity 'to turn pain and experience into something', as well as an instructive lesson that acting is not the same as therapy. 'Sometimes at drama schools, they try to get you to dig and unearth all the worst things in your life, whereas somewhere like Clean Break, they are nurturing you as a person. It's not always about 'How do you get into character?' but 'How do you get out of character?'' Italia Conti 'held my place' and Sterling graduated in 2016. To be an actor, she says, you need life experience – something that nobody can teach. 'But you need to have the skill to approach characters, and to be able to access parts of yourself in a way that isn't going to re-traumatise you.' In Lollipop, Sterling's soulful performance feels authentic, but it is precise and crafted. It impressed her former mentor, Zawe Ashton, who was introduced to Sterling through Clean Break. In an email, Ashton says Lollipop was the first acting work she had seen from Sterling. She said her performance was 'full of primal feeling and nuance' and left her 'truly awestruck … Posy is that electrifying blend of trained technique and raw emotion.' Sterling is also a gifted vocalist and sings in the film. She is 'learning the guitar at the moment' and has been 'jamming the blues' with musicians she met in New York. During an early Clean Break performance, her rendition of a Frank Sinatra number caught the ear of Jane Winehouse, stepmother of Amy, who invited her to participate in the Amy's Yard outreach programme, which supports vulnerable young musicians. Sterling wrote and recorded a song in Winehouse's studio, and met the producer Mark Ronson at a gala 10 years ago. The experience was a turning point that 'connected me to myself again', she says. A few weeks ago in New York, at a performance of The Cherry Orchard, the actor Grace Gummer, daughter of Meryl Streep, was in the audience. She was so taken by the play that she brought Ronson, her husband, with her to see it again the following day. Sterling did a double take when she saw him while on stage. 'They were meant to be going to another show, and she traded the tickets in to come back to see it a second time,' says Sterling. It was a full-circle moment, reminding her of just how much has happened during the last decade. Sterling credits Clean Break and the outreach programmes she took part in with instilling self-belief at a time when she had little. 'They really want you to see what they see,' she says. 'Then it feels like there's been a reason for all of this.' Lollipop is in cinemas from 13 June.
Arab News
5 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Playwright Caryl Churchill pulls out of theater project over Barclays' ties to Israel
LONDON: Acclaimed playwright Caryl Churchill has withdrawn from a project with a London theater over its sponsorship by Barclays and the bank's links to companies supplying arms to Israel. In a statement, Churchill, who is a long-time advocate for Palestinian rights, called on the Donmar Warehouse to cut ties with Barclays. 'Theaters used to say they couldn't manage without tobacco sponsorship, but they do. Now it's time they stopped helping advertise banks that support what Israel is doing to Palestinians,' she said. The project had not yet been publicly announced but would have marked Churchill's return to the Donmar for the first time since 'Far Away' in 2020. Her move has been backed by more than 300 artists and arts workers, including actors Harriet Walter, Juliet Stevenson, Alfred Enoch, Samuel West and Tim Crouch, who signed an open letter in support. Barclays has faced increasing pressure from arts and activist groups over its provision of financial services to defense companies operating in Israel. In 2023, the group Culture Workers Against Genocide published a letter condemning Barclays' sponsorship of Sadler's Wells, with signatories including Maxine Peake, an actress. Last year, the Bands Boycott Barclays campaign led to the bank being dropped as a sponsor by several UK music festivals, including Latitude and The Great Escape. Barclays declined to comment on Churchill's withdrawal but said on its website: 'While we provide financial services to these companies, we are not making investments for Barclays and Barclays is not a 'shareholder' or 'investor' in that sense in relation to these companies.' Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan defended the bank's position in a 2023 Guardian article, writing: 'These companies are supported by our democratically elected governments for their role in protecting the UK and allies in Europe. We will not undermine our own national security by de-banking them.' Responding to Churchill's decision, Culture Workers Against Genocide said: 'Arts institutions have an ethical duty not to contribute to oppression and injustice. By continuing to accept sponsorship from Barclays, Donmar Warehouse is helping to launder the bank's reputation as it profits from Israel's genocide in Palestine.' The Donmar, which lost its £500,000 ($679,355) annual government grant in 2022, has increasingly relied on private support, including corporate sponsorships. It has been approached for comment. Churchill was previously stripped of a European lifetime achievement award in 2022 following criticism of her play 'Seven Jewish Children' and her public pro-Palestinian stance.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Caryl Churchill pulls out of Donmar Warehouse project due to Barclays' Israel links
The playwright Caryl Churchill has pulled out of a project at the Donmar Warehouse, citing the organisation's sponsorship by Barclays and the bank's links to Israel. In a statement, Churchill, a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights, said that the London theatre should drop its association with the bank, which has been criticised for providing financial services to defence companies supplying Israel. She said: 'Theatres used to say they couldn't manage without tobacco sponsorship, but they do. Now it's time they stopped helping advertise banks that support what Israel is doing to Palestinians.' More than 300 arts workers and creatives, including actors Alfred Enoch, Samuel West, Tim Crouch, Harriet Walter and Juliet Stevenson have signed an open letter supporting Churchill's decision. The project Churchill was working on had not been announced but would have been the first time she had worked with the Donmar since 2020's Far Away. Barclays sponsorship has previously led to controversy at a UK arts organisation. In September 2024, the campaign group Culture Workers Against Genocide released an open letter – backed by Maxine Peake and signed by 1,000 others – aimed at pressuring Sadler's Wells to cut ties with Barclays. Last year the activist group Bands Boycott Barclays ran a successful campaign to get several music festivals – including Latitude and the Great Escape – to drop the bank as a sponsor. Barclays declined to comment. But the bank states on its website: 'While we provide financial services to these companies, we are not making investments for Barclays and Barclays is not a 'shareholder' or 'investor' in that sense in relation to these companies.' In June last year, CS Venkatakrishnan, the group chief executive of Barclays, wrote in the Guardian that the bank does 'finance some companies making defence equipment, alongside their civilian products'. He defended the decision, adding: 'These companies are supported by our democratically elected governments for their role in protecting the UK and allies in Europe. We will not undermine our own national security by de-banking them.' Culture Workers Against Genocide, who co-organised the open letter, said: 'Arts institutions have an ethical duty not to contribute to oppression and injustice. By continuing to accept sponsorship from Barclays, Donmar Warehouse is helping to launder the bank's reputation as it profits from Israel's genocide in Palestine.' Donmar Warehouse has been approached for comment. The Donmar receives no Arts Council England funding after losing its £500,000 annual grant in 2022. It seeks private funding from 'memberships, philanthropic donations, corporate partnerships, and grants.' In 2022, Churchill was deprived of the lifetime European Drama award she had received earlier in the year, due to criticism of her play Seven Jewish Children (which was called antisemitic by some critics) and her pro-Palestinian campaigning.
The Guardian
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Britpop battle between Blur and Oasis revisited in ‘punchy' new comedy
It was the great Britpop showdown in the summer of 1995, billed as a contest between cheeky chaps and lairy lads. Thirty years on, a new play is to revisit the fierce rivalry between Blur and Oasis when both British bands put out a new single in the same week and competed to grab the No 1 spot in the charts. Some purchased both releases, many couldn't care less, but for a few days it was a decision that defined you: whether to spend £2.99 on Oasis's Roll With It or Blur's Country House? The Battle is the debut stage play of novelist and screenwriter John Niven who said of the era: 'Music was so central to the culture that two pop groups could dominate the entire summer, the evening news and the front page of every newspaper in the country. We're going to take you back there.' These days, said Niven, music has 'splintered into a billion different TikTok feeds'. The Official UK Singles Chart, now based on streams and downloads as well as CDs and vinyl, does not bring the nation together as its Sunday afternoon radio broadcasts once did. The play's director, Matthew Dunster, said of the time: 'Music mattered. I remember being in my 20s in 1995. What a wild time. Full of energy, naughtiness and hilarity. Just like John Niven's play.' The Battle, said Dunster, is 'a punchy, hilarious and revealing comedy about two of the best bands of all time'. The play – billed as 'based (mostly) on real events' – will follow the feud between the two bands preceding the chart battle, including the 1995 Brit awards where Blur beat Oasis to the trophies for best British single, album and group of the year. A year after the chart battle, coverage of a music industry charity football match centred on Liam Gallagher and Damon Albarn tussling on the pitch as the group's rivalry continued to be hyped by the media. The new play will explore how music fans clashed as they picked which band to support. An allegiance to Blur or Oasis could go beyond the tunes and also open up questions about class, fashion, masculinity and the north-south divide. Producer Simon Friend said: 'Throughout my sister's teenage years, she had an enormous poster of Damon Albarn on her wall, and I remember her falling out with friends over which band they loved more. Ever since, this story has been in the back of my mind, and I was delighted that John Niven agreed to write it because there is no more qualified or hilarious chronicler of this world. Combined with Matthew Dunster directing, we have a fearless team recreating the sweaty mid-90s carnage of the Battle of Britpop'. Niven worked in the music industry for more than a decade and drew upon some of his experiences in the Britpop novel Kill Your Friends, which was published in 2008 and then adapted as a film in 2015. Dunster is the director of the hit 2:22: A Ghost Story, is currently reviving Dealer's Choice at the Donmar Warehouse and will this summer stage an adaptation of The Hunger Games in London. Casting for The Battle has not yet been announced. The play opens at Birmingham Rep in February. Joe Murphy, the theatre's artistic director, said: 'Our audiences are going to have the time of their lives being taken back to the rivalries, the chaos and the big personalities that made it all so unforgettable.' After it finishes in Birmingham the play will go on tour and have a West End run. As spoilers go, it's not quite up there with The Mousetrap but, for the record, Blur emerged triumphant that Sunday in mid-August. Country House sold 274,000 copies while Roll With It shifted 216,000. On top of their Britpop rivalries, Oasis's Gallagher brothers also feuded with each other for years but this summer they are reuniting for the much-anticipated Oasis 25 international tour. In a joint statement after its announcement, the band said: 'The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned.' The Blur v Oasis battle has also long since abated. 'I like them,' said Blur's Alex James in 2024. 'He's an incredible singer, Liam, and he can't help being a rock star.'
The Guardian
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Olivier awards 2025: full list of winners
Best new musical The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, music and lyrics by Darren Clark, book and lyrics by Jethro Compton at Ambassadors theatre – WINNER! MJ the Musical, book by Lynn Nottage at Prince Edward theatre Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, music, lyrics and book by Dave Malloy at Donmar Warehouse Why Am I So Single?, music, lyrics and book by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss at Garrick theatre Best set designJon Bausor for set design, Toby Olié and Daisy Beattie for puppetry design and Satoshi Kuriyama for projection design for Spirited Away at London Coliseum Frankie Bradshaw for set design for Ballet Shoes at National Theatre – Olivier Es Devlin for set design for Coriolanus at National Theatre – OlivierTom Scutt for set design for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre – WINNER! Best lighting design Paule Constable and Ben Jacobs for Oliver! at Gielgud theatre – WINNER! Howard Hudson for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse Howard Hudson for Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley Park theatre Aideen Malone for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Best new opera productionDuke Bluebeard's Castle by English National Opera at London ColiseumFesten by the Royal Opera at Royal Opera House – WINNER! L'Olimpiade by Irish National Opera and the Royal Opera at Royal Opera House The Tales of Hoffmann by the Royal Opera at Royal Opera House Outstanding achievement in operaAigul Akhmetshina for her performance in Carmen at Royal Opera HouseAllan Clayton for his performance in Festen at Royal Opera House – WINNER! Jung Young-doo for his direction of Lear at Barbican theatre Best family show Brainiac Live at Marylebone theatre – WINNER! Maddie Moate's Very Curious Christmas at Apollo theatre The Nutcracker at Polka theatre Rough Magic at Shakespeare's Globe – Sam Wanamaker Playhouse Best new production in affiliate theatreAnimal Farm at Theatre Royal Stratford East by George Orwell, adapted by Tatty HennessyBoys on the Verge of Tears by Sam Grabiner at Soho theatre – WINNER! English by Sanaz Toossi at Kiln theatre Now, I See by Lanre Malaolu at Theatre Royal Stratford East What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander at Marylebone theatre Best new dance production Assembly Hall by Kidd Pivot, Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young at Sadler's Wells – WINNER! Frontiers: Choreographers of Canada – Pite/Kudelka/Portner by the National Ballet of Canada at Sadler's Wells Theatre of Dreams by Hofesh Shechter Company at Sadler's Wells An Untitled Love by A.I.M by Kyle Abraham at Sadler's Wells Outstanding achievement in danceSarah Chun for her performance in Three Short Ballets at Royal Opera House – Linbury theatre Tom Visser for his lighting design of Angels' Atlas as part of Frontiers: Choreographers of Canada – Pite/Kudelka/Portner at Sadler's WellsEva Yerbabuena for her performance in Yerbagüena at Sadler's Wells – WINNER! Best actor in a supporting roleJorge Bosch for Kyoto at @sohoplace Tom Edden for Waiting for Godot at Theatre Royal HaymarketElliot Levey for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre – WINNER! Ben Whishaw for Bluets at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre Best actress in a supporting roleSharon D Clarke for The Importance of Being Earnest at National Theatre – Lyttelton Romola Garai for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatreRomola Garai for The Years at Almeida theatre and Harold Pinter theatre – WINNER! Gina McKee for The Years at Almeida Theatre and Harold Pinter theatre Best theatre choreographerMatthew Bourne for Oliver! at Gielgud theatre Julia Cheng for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Hofesh Shechter for Oedipus at the Old VicChristopher Wheeldon for MJ the Musical at Prince Edward theatre – WINNER! Best costume designHugh Durrant for Robin Hood at the London Palladium Sachiko Nakahara for Spirited Away at London Coliseum Tom Scutt for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatreGabriella Slade for Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley Park theatre – WINNER! Best sound design Nick Lidster for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre – WINNER! Christopher Shutt for Oedipus at the Old Vic Thijs van Vuure for The Years at Almeida theatre and Harold Pinter theatre Koichi Yamamoto for Spirited Away at London Coliseum Outstanding musical contributionMark Aspinall for musical supervision and additional orchestrations for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatreDarren Clark for music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements and Mark Aspinall for musical direction, music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors theatre – WINNER! Dave Malloy for orchestrations and Nicholas Skilbeck for musical supervision for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse Asaf Zohar for compositions and Gavin Sutherland for dance arrangements and orchestration for Ballet Shoes at National Theatre – Olivier Best actress in a supporting role in a musicalLiv Andrusier for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Amy Di Bartolomeo for The Devil Wears Prada at Dominion theatre Beverley Klein for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatreMaimuna Memon for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse – WINNER! Best actor in a supporting role in a musicalAndy Nyman for Hello, Dolly! at the London Palladium Raphael Papo for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatreLayton Williams for Titanique at Criterion theatre – WINNER! Tom Xander for Mean Girls at Savoy theatre Best new entertainment or comedy playBallet Shoes adapted by Kendall Feaver at National Theatre – Olivier Inside No 9 Stage/Fright by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith at Wyndham's theatre Spirited Away adapted by John Caird and co-adapted by Maoko Imai at London ColiseumTitanique by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli at Criterion theatre – WINNER! Best director Eline Arbo for The Years at Almeida theatre and Harold Pinter theatre – WINNER! Jordan Fein for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Nicholas Hytner for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre Robert Icke for Oedipus at Wyndham's theatre Best actressHeather Agyepong for Shifters at Duke of York's theatreLesley Manville for Oedipus at Wyndham's theatre – WINNER! Rosie Sheehy for Machinal at the Old Vic Meera Syal for A Tupperware of Ashes at National Theatre – Dorfman Indira Varma for Oedipus at the Old Vic Best actorAdrien Brody for The Fear of 13 at Donmar Warehouse Billy Crudup for Harry Clarke at Ambassadors theatre Paapa Essiedu for Death of England: Delroy at @sohoplaceJohn Lithgow for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre – WINNER! Mark Strong for Oedipus at Wyndham's theatre Best revivalThe Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde at National Theatre – Lyttelton Machinal by Sophie Treadwell at the Old VicOedipus by Robert Icke at Wyndham's theatre – WINNER! Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett at Theatre Royal Haymarket Best musical revival Fiddler on the Roof, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, book by Joseph Stein at Regent's Park Open Air theatre – WINNER! Hello, Dolly!, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Michael Stewart at the London Palladium Oliver!, book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, new material and revisions by Cameron Mackintosh at Gielgud theatre Starlight Express, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Richard Stilgoe at Troubadour Wembley Park theatre Best actor in a musical John Dagleish for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors theatre – WINNER! Adam Dannheisser for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Myles Frost for MJ the Musical at Prince Edward theatre Simon Lipkin for Oliver! at Gielgud theatre Jamie Muscato for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse Best actress in a musicalChumisa Dornford-May for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse Lauren Drew for Titanique at Criterion theatre Clare Foster for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors theatre Lara Pulver for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatreImelda Staunton for Hello, Dolly! at the London Palladium – WINNER! Best new playThe Fear of 13 by Lindsey Ferrentino at Donmar WarehouseGiant by Mark Rosenblatt at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre – WINNER! Kyoto by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson at @sohoplace Shifters by Benedict Lombe at Duke of York's theatre The Years adapted by Eline Arbo, in an English version by Stephanie Bain at Almeida theatre and Harold Pinter theatre
