Latest news with #FrancescaMoody
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
From Van Gogh to Superman: Keep cool with our guide to the summer's best arts and entertainment
A Midsummer Night's DreamBridge theatre, London, to 20 August Nicholas Hytner's theatrical blockbuster returns to the Bridge theatre, which has developed a real knack for folding the audience into the action. This promenade version of Shakespeare's romantic comedy was a smash hit six years ago and is light on its feet and effortlessly charming. The new cast includes Susannah Fielding as Titania and Emmanuel Akwafo as the hapless Bottom. Miriam Gillinson How to Win Against HistoryBristol Old Vic, 19 June to 12 July Bristol Old Vic and Francesca Moody Productions revive this flamboyant musical based on the bonkers life of the 5th Marquess of Anglesey, who blew the family fortune on diamond dresses, lilac-dyed poodles and endless extravagances. When he died at 29, his outraged Edwardian family scrubbed him from the records. This is his story – with fabulous frocks. MG PBH free fringe weekenderColab Tower, London, 27 to 29 June The road to the Edinburgh fringe is paved with affordable previews, and across this weekend you can choose to pay what you want to support the free fringe and its artists. The eclectic lineup of more than 50 shows includes Edinburgh comedy award winner Rob Copland, cult favourite Mark Silcox and exciting returnees Jain Edwards, Sam Nicoresti, Mary O'Connell, Shelf and more. Rachael Healy Manchester international festivalVarious venues, Manchester, 3 to 20 July This year's MIF includes Jonathan Watkins's ballet adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's A Single Man and a powerful new play, Liberation, from Ntombizodwa Nyoni. But there are heaps of free events – including a stampede of lifesize animal puppets roaming the streets (The Herds) and a new art exhibition curated by the children of Greater Manchester (Inheritance). MG Newcastle fringe festivalVarious venues, Newcastle upon Tyne, 22 July to 2 August Running Tuesdays to Saturdays, this arts festival takes place across some of the city's coolest venues and mixes household names with up-and-comers. North-east comics such as Lauren Pattison, Raul Kohli, Si Beckwith and Seymour Mace can be found alongside Susie McCabe, Lorna Rose Treen and Ola Labib. Pattison's Show, Slice & Spritz – a comedy and variety night out with added pizza – sounds particularly fun. RH Billingham international folklore festival of world danceVarious venues, Billingham, 9 to 17 August The majority of events are free or pay what you want at this Teesside festival – the subject of a 70s BBC documentary called What's a Festival Like You Doing in a Place Like This? – and now celebrating its 60th anniversary. More than 250 performers from all over the world will showcase national dances from countries including Bolivia, China, Costa Rica, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Montenegro, Philippines and Ukraine. Lyndsey Winship Scottish Ballet: Mary, Queen of ScotsFestival Theatre, Edinburgh, 15 to 17 August; touring to 4 October The big dance premiere of this year's Edinburgh international festival, Glasgow's Scottish Ballet has form when it comes to stirring, inventively told narrative ballet (Coppélia, The Crucible, A Streetcar Named Desire). The company's choreographer, Sophie Laplane, approaches the life of Mary, Queen of Scots through the prism of her relationship with Elizabeth I. Designs by Soutra Gilmour promise 'punk meets haute couture'. LW The Enormous CrocodileRegent's Park Open Air theatre, 15 August to 7 September You can't beat a family theatre trip to Regent's Park theatre. This production of Roald Dahl's snappy story transfers from Leeds Playhouse and is directed by Emily Lim, whose work always feels especially considerate of its audience. There's music from Sudanese American artist Ahmed Abdullahi Gallab, a book from Suhayla El-Bushra (Arabian Nights) and puppets from the brilliant Toby Olié. MG Bleak Week: Cinema of DespairPrince Charles Cinema, London, 15 to 21 June Sometimes it's fun to really bathe in misery with the saddest, most soul-wrenching films ever made, such as Watership Down, Come and See, and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. If that kind of silver screen nihilism sounds like your jam, get your long face down to the Prince Charles Cinema, recently designated an asset of community value by Westminster council. ElioIn cinemas 20 June Pixar returns with a real throwback to the halcyon days of Toy Story and Finding Nemo. The action follows 11-year-old Elio who mistakenly becomes the ambassador of planet Earth after a misunderstanding with some aliens. 28 Years LaterIn cinemas 20 June They're zombies, but they're fast. It's amazing how radical that seemed back in 2002, with purists kicking off about how they were 'supposed to shuffle', and defenders pointing out that technically the 28 Days Later zombies weren't really zombies. The vast majority of cinemagoers were happy just to revel in a lean, mean horror machine that gave a wonderful starring role to a young Cillian Murphy. This follow-up reunites director Danny Boyle, writer Alex Garland and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle. The Rural RemixVarious venues, Shropshire, 11 to 13 July Featuring Pride and Prejudice (2005), Pride and Prejudice With Zombies (2016) and 28 Years Later (2025), this three-day celebration promises more than just film: you can also attend The Big Cheese Off, which, in tribute to French cheesemaking hit Holy Cow, will see Shropshire cheeses face off against the French cheeses from the film. Venues include Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Old Market Hall in Shrewsbury, Wem Town Hall and Wellington Orbit. SupermanIn cinemas 11 July For those who are fed up with being promised their superhero movies will be edgy and dark comes this cheerier-looking, straight-down-the line reboot of the Big Blue Boy Scout. James Gunn's new version looks to move the DC staple away from the gloomy revisionist tones of the Zack Snyder era and back to the vibrant primary colours and John Williams score of the 1978 Christopher Reeve classic. Edinburgh international film festivalVarious venues, 14 to 20 August The 78th edition of Scotland's biggest film festival is set to unveil a selection of international and UK premieres, including the new Ben Wheatley film Bulk and the Sundance favourite Sorry, Baby. A number of screenings are pay what you can, giving everyone the chance to access the world's best cinema. Catherine Bray SMTOWN Live 2025Allianz Stadium Twickenham, London, 28 June Featuring enough visual stimulation and sugary hits to keep flagging parents and pepped-up kids happy, this celebration of 30 years of K-pop hothouse SM Entertainment features a lineup of its boy and girlbands. Aespa, Riize and NCT Wayv are among the big names, but keep an eye out for British boyband dearALICE, who formed last year on BBC One's Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience. Michael Cragg Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion YeuleAcademy 2, Manchester, 1 July; O2 Forum Kentish Town, London, 2 July Singaporean singer-songwriter-producer Yeule creates unruly hybrids of future-facing electronic pop and raging 90s alt-rock, usually bridged by a sudden throat-shredding roar. With a newly released third album, Evangelic Girl Is a Gun – featuring collaborations with AG Cook and Mura Masa – under their studded belt, prepare for emotional bloodletting in a glorious cacophony of noise. MC Love Supreme jazz festivalGlynde Place, nr Lewes, 4 to 6 July Stalwart of the summer jazz festival roster, the camping weekender Love Supreme boasts a 2025 edition that is typically expansive. Jazz-adjacent stars such as soul singer Maxwell, hip-hop group the Roots and British multi-instrumental prodigy Jacob Collier top the bill, while the jazz aficionados will be satisfied thanks to sets from US saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, British pianist Neil Cowley and London-based newcomer Poppy Daniels. Ammar Kalia Kendrick Lamar and SZA8 to 23 July; tour starts Glasgow As Lamar's ongoing beef with Drake is battled out in the courts, the Compton rapper distracts himself with this co-headlining stadium tour alongside R&B superstar SZA. Its sold-out US leg saw the pair perform a mammoth 52 songs, including joint hits Luther and All the Stars, plus Drake favourite Not Like Us. Playboi Carti and Kaytranada have been guests so far, so expect more starry names. MC Bristol Harbour festivalVarious venues, 18 to 20 July Bristol's annual free festival attracts more than 250,000 people across its three days, showcasing local and international talent. As well as the main Harbour View stage – which will be headlined by Bristol-based sea shanty aficionados the Longest Johns – there's also a stage celebrating emerging acts, plus a more experimental space for spoken word and jazz. If all that's not enough, there's also a trapeze! MC Waterperry opera festivalNr Oxford, 8 to 17 August Country house opera with a difference. The open-air performances – concerts as well as operas – take place in the grounds of Waterperry House and gardens in a relaxed, informal atmosphere, with no hint of any dress code. This year's staged operas are Mozart's Don Giovanni and Handel's Semele, the first directed by John Wilkie and conducted by Charlotte Politi, the second staged by Rebecca Meltzer with Bertie Baigent in the pit. Andrew Clements Mohammad SyfkhanThe White Hotel, Salford, 28 August Syrian refugee and master player of the long-necked lute, the bouzouki, Mohammad Syfkhan has been charming audiences across the UK over the past year while supporting Irish folk group Lankum. He now brings his headline tour to Salford's White Hotel, playing tracks from his latest album. Expect twanging bouzouki melodies, soaring vocals and multi-layered electrified rhythms. AK Vienna PhilharmonicRoyal Albert Hall, London, 8 and 9 September In a Proms season that's notably short on great orchestras, the Vienna Philharmonic stands out. Its two concerts are conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, who has been a very rare visitor to London in recent years, and both his programmes feature final symphonies. In the first, Bruckner's unfinished Ninth is preceded by the suite from Berg's opera Lulu, while the second has Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, the Pathétique, with Mozart's Symphony No 38, the Prague. AC Jenny SavilleNational Portrait Gallery, London, 20 June to 7 September This retrospective of one of Britain's most acclaimed and successful contemporary painters is guaranteed to be full of blood and guts. Saville paints in the raw figurative tradition of Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon – but from a female perspective. When other young artists in the 1990s were putting readymades in galleries, she was brushing her way to fame. Jeremy Deller's The Triumph of ArtMostyn, Llandudno, 21 June; The Box, Plymouth, 5 July; Trafalgar Square, London, 26 July People are the stuff of Deller's Turner prize-winning art. His creations such as Acid Brass and The Battle of Orgreave bring together community groups, voluntary associations and history in carnivals of collective memory. To mark the National Gallery's (long) bicentenary year he's created this street event that's guaranteed to involve and entertain all ages with processions, music and fun. William KentridgeYorkshire Sculpture Park, nr Wakefield, 28 June to 19 April 2026 Modern history, politics and art are taken apart, reassembled and held up to ironic scrutiny in this brilliant South African artist's witty but profoundly serious work. Drawing is at the heart of his activities and from that he creates animation, installations and – in this exhibition – sculpture. Kentridge shows his sculptural oeuvre both indoors and out in the green Yorkshire landscape. Kiefer/Van GoghRoyal Academy of Arts, London, 28 June to 26 October The German artist Anselm Kiefer is 80 this year: he was born in 1945, in the ruins of the Third Reich. Reckoning with history has been his life's work. His giant paintings and installations dwell on darkness. But here he reveals his love for Van Gogh, which started when he won a schools competition to visit the Dutch visionary's landscapes. Folkestone TriennialVarious venues, 19 July to 19 October Folkestone is full of surprising settings for public art, from defunct gas cylinder sites and genteel rock gardens to the JG Ballard-like modern ruins of the former ferry terminal. Artists including Monster Chetwynd, Cooking Sections, Dorothy Cross, Katie Paterson and Laure Prouvost take over such sites this summer, exploring the geological bedrock and prehistory of the town and its surroundings. Edinburgh art festivalVarious venues, 7 to 24 August Art is always plentiful in Edinburgh's festival season, in many varieties and venues both orthodox and unexpected. Highlights include a retrospective of land artist Andy Goldsworthy, whose work is usually seen in woods and fields rather than museums, and iconoclastic punk visionary Linder, who also performs. Walking around the Old and New Towns to find art is a joyous treat. Jonathan Jones
Scotsman
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
'I couldn't have brought first show to Edinburgh Fringe now', warns Baby Reindeer and Fleabag producer
Baby Reindeer and Fleabag producer Francesca Moody first brought a show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2011. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... When star Edinburgh Festival Fringe producer Francesca Moody brought her first theatre show, The Ducks, to Edinburgh in 2011, the full cost of the run was £10,000. 'You just can't do that now, because that's what the accommodation is going to cost you on its own,' says the Baby Reindeer and Fleabag producer. 'I certainly would have struggled to take work for the first time up there now. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Francesca Moody is the producer behind Fringe hits including Baby Reindeer and Fleabag. | Rich Lakos 'I say that in the knowledge that there are lots of barriers to access that don't exist to me. I grew up in a very comfortable, middle-class upbringing - but I certainly think it would have been far tougher.' Now revered in the industry for her two hit shows, both of which have gone on to become major TV productions - as well as last year's critically-acclaimed production Weather Girl - Ms Moody is on a quest to return the Fringe to the hotbed of new work and raw talent it once was. Netflix hit Baby Reindeer, starring Richard Gadd, began as a one-man Francesca Moody Productions show on the Fringe. Through her company, Francesca Moody Productions, she is launching a new venue Shedinburgh in Edinburgh College of Art's Wee Red Bar. Venue organisers have promised to 'flip the traditional Fringe model' by paying artists to perform and has called on funding from the Scottish and UK governments, as well as philanthropists and corporate sponsors, to help support performers. The soaring cost of appearing in the Fringe has been cited as one of the major barriers for artists performing in Edinburgh, with some, especially those outside of Scotland, forced to abandon plans of performing entirely, or stay as far away from the capital as Glasgow or even Newcastle. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Originally conceived as a digital operation during the pandemic, the revival of Shedinburgh is already one of the most talked-about topics of this year's Fringe, not only because of its founder's iconic status, but as a potential blueprint for other venues. Artists will perform for one night only and while they will be paid, they will also be funded for their accommodation and travel expenses. The initial line-up includes comedians Jayde Adams and Mark Watson, as well as a range of up-and-coming artists. However, further shows are still to be announced, with special 'secret sets' to be revealed during the festival. For audiences, 'pay what you can' tickets will be available for every show. Ms Moody says: 'As a company and an individual which had so much success at the Fringe and was able to make it work there at a time where it felt a little bit more like a level playing field, I think we just feel really passionately that we wanted to try and find new ways of reimagining that Fringe model. 'At the same time, we want to have a chance to platform some really exciting and interesting emerging artists alongside some well-known, prolific makers who maybe haven't been to the Fringe more recently. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We want to make a real commitment to thinking about how we can make sure that the Fringe that we know and love and that has been so significant to our success can be that for other artists and producers and theatre makers and comedians and musicians as well. It's increasingly challenging to be able to do that.' Fringe Society data released last year suggested that a 150-capacity play from a Scottish-based company with 12 performers would cost an average of around £25,000, with an international dance or physical theatre show in a 60-capacity venue coming in at around £19,000. Accommodation, meanwhile, now averages out at well over £100 a night for a single room. Ms Moody says: 'Accommodation in particular, has become just inaccessibly expensive, and it means that the majority of the work that gets to the Fringe, is either work that's already backed by somebody with money, which requires you to have, you know, established yourself a little bit in the industry and made some meaningful relationships as an artist, or just super commercial work. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'There's definitely a place for that in the eco-system. But when you think about the really amazing artists and shows that have come out of the Fringe over the last 75 years - the brilliant, game-changing, cultural moments and pieces of work from artists who were doing it unencumbered by other people and voices and who were giving themselves permission to just be a bit scrappy and and try something out and not be afraid to fail. 'Then obviously that becomes harder when things get more expensive, because there's more pressure on success as well. I certainly think there are people who are being priced out of the Fringe at the moment.' Phoebe Waller-Bridge with her 2013 Fringe First award for the original production of Fleabag. She points to other initiatives from other venues and the Fringe Society, to find new routes to accessibility for artists. 'What we're doing, we're not doing in isolation,' she says. 'We're not reinventing the wheel here. There's the Free Fringe, which has been doing it for a really long time. But I think it's the responsibility of all of those stakeholders and folks like me who've had some success to try and level the playing field in some way again. If we don't keep reimagining it, then the problem is only going to get bigger.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Moody admits that Shedinburgh, which she describes as a 'subsidised project', is unlikely to break even this year, but insists lessons can be learned from the process - not least utilising other available funding. She says she hopes the structure would spark a conversation around how guarantees are paid to artists, rather than artists paying guarantees to venues. 'Work at this scale is really where all the really great things start,' she says. 'My hope is that the legacy, amongst other things, is that some of the shows that are new are built into other things, and that this is the start of that for those artists who are performing in Shedinburgh.' However, she admits changing the existing Fringe model more widely would require 'some serious remodelling' and called for funding from various sources to support artists. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Other venues should be able to replicate it,' she says. 'But all venues have a bottom line they have to hit. So, whether they'll be able to replicate it to the level that we've managed to structure it at this time, I don't know, but what I do think it's showing is that there's a need for more investment in philanthropy at this level of making work.' She adds: 'There's less public funding than ever for the arts. There are ways of procuring public funding to make your work at the Fringe, but they are super limited. So I think it's about saying 'is there more investment that could be made to help us to reimagine the ways that we make the festival possible?' And then is there more that can be done from a philanthropic perspective and from partnerships at a sponsorship level in order to support work at this scale? 'We need funding from from the Scottish Government, from central government, the arts councils, grants and foundations, philanthropy from individuals. We don't have a great culture of philanthropy in the UK in the way that they do in the States. Corporate sponsorship is one very valuable way of achieving investment in the arts, and I certainly think that there could be more of that. It's an eco-system, money needs to come from multiple sources.
Scotsman
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Shedinburgh location revealed as line-up unveiled for venue with Baby Reindeer link
The new Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue will pay artists to perform. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... New Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue Shedinburgh has named its first line-up of acts as the hub's location is revealed for the first time. Based in the Edinburgh College of Art, the venue is believed to include the iconic Wee Red Bar, as well as outdoor courtyard bar areas. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jayde Adams is to join comedian Mark Watson among a strong of one-night acts to perform at Shedinburgh, the brainchild of producer Francesca Moody, who originally brought Baby Reindeer and Fleabag to the Fringe. Venue organisers have promised to 'flip the traditional Fringe model' by paying artists to perform. Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning in Baby Reindeer. The hit Netflix show started out life on the Edinburgh Fringe. | Ed Miller/Netflix Further shows are still to be announced, with special 'secret sets' due to be revealed during the festival. Other Shedinburgh events include work-in-progress performances of three Shed Originals - unseen scripts with development supported by Shedinburgh from up-and-coming writers. These include brand new scripts from Nick Cassenbaum, Ciara Elizabeth Smyth and Rosaleen Cox, with more to be announced. Meanwhile, Ms Moody will host a panel discussion on 'How to Produce a Fringe Hit' as part of the Shedx Talk line up aimed at Fringe professionals, alongside other industry names. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She said: 'We're absolutely thrilled to be making this first programme announcement for Shedinburgh. [It will be] a hugely diverse range of original work from an incredible roster of artists from the emerging to the emerged. We're delighted that Shedinburgh means that these much-beloved shows, artists and makers of the future can perform at the Fringe this year. 'It's likely I'll be permanently sat in Shedinburgh for the duration of August and I'm thrilled we've been able to set up our home in the Edinburgh College of Art at the heart of the Fringe.' The revival of the venue, which ran digitally during the Covid pandemic, will pay artists and fund accommodation and travel in a series of one-night shows in a bid to 'level the playing field' at the 'increasingly inaccessible' Fringe. Francesca Moody is the producer behind Fringe hits including Baby Reindeer and Fleabag. | Rich Lakos The 100-seat venue will be a cafe and bar for artists to meet by day before turning into a performance venue at night in what is being billed as an 'intimate, immersive setting'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scottish writer and performer Gary McNair, who is to perform his show Clamjamfry on August 24, said: 'It's incredible that a project founded on a pun and made during the pandemic has become such a beacon of potential and positivity for artists. 'I'm totally bowled over by the passion, determination and insane hard work that has gone into launching this festival, venue and idea. Personally, I owe a great debt of gratitude to the Edinburgh Fringe. I've had the most amazing experiences as an artist there over the years and I'm excited that Shedinburgh will now give that opportunity to others to do the same.' Shedinburgh will also be opening applications for its Shedload-of-Future Fund. The fund will award three £5,000 grants to artists making their Fringe debut in 2025. The bursaries can be put towards any costs associated with bringing a show to the Fringe, including travel, marketing, accommodation, set, and artists' time.
New York Times
17-03-2025
- Climate
- New York Times
In ‘Weather Girl,' Climate Change Sets Off a Meltdown
At the Soho Theater in London, a beleaguered weather reporter is giving double meaning to the phrase 'hot mess.' The setting is drought-stricken Fresno, Calif., where temperatures are sweltering and wildfires rage on the city outskirts. The presenter, Stacey Gross, has a telegenic glamour and some peppy catchphrases, but underneath is an angst-ridden functioning alcoholic who secretly quaffs Prosecco on the job. She suspects her TV station is misleading viewers about the role that climate change has played in the fires, and as the heat wave progresses she has a meltdown, embarking on a cathartic, booze-fueled rampage featuring wanton destruction, kidnapping and karaoke. 'Weather Girl' has arrived in London amid plenty of hype, following a successful run at last year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The show's producer, Francesca Moody, has a knack of turning Fringe plays into television hits — she was behind 'Fleabag' and 'Baby Reindeer' — and a Netflix adaptation of 'Weather Girl' is already in development, according to the trade publication Deadline. The show's title character is played by Julia McDermott, who also takes several other parts in this lively but slightly undercooked one-woman show, an irreverent but serious climate change allegory that runs through April 5. The show's title character has a telegenic glamour but underneath is an angst-ridden functioning alcoholic who secretly quaffs Prosecco on the job. Credit... Pamela Raith Wearing a bright blouse, hot pink skirt and heels, McDermott performs on a bare stage, with just a colored screen behind her as an allusive backdrop. Her only prop is a trusty Stanley Tumbler. Over the course of 60 frenetic minutes, her character regales the audience in a fraught, high-tempo monologue about Stacey's escapades in drinking holes with names like Malibu Nights and the Antelope Lounge. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
