Latest news with #Lyric
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Legendary car brand confirms imminent return to UK after 8 YEARS with all EV line-up only sold in 4 other countries
A LEGENDARY car brand has announced its imminent return to the UK after an eight year hiatus. Plans include the launch of an 1 The Cadillac is set to make a much-anticipated return to the UK Credit: Getty The boss of General Motors Europe (GM) said models to the UK "soon" - with more brands to follow. This will include the The An entry-level Lyriq has a range of around 330 miles and 520bhp, while a top-tier model hits up to 606bhp. Read more on Motors CEO Pere Brugal confirmed the car will be launched in the UK after completing final testing in Ireland. "It is one of the [markets] that we're focusing on right now," he told As well as the Lyric, other models will be brought to the UK market though it has not yet been determined which ones. But with GM's headquarters based in Detroit, vehicles brought to the UK will depend on legislation. Most read in Motors This is down to the differences in emission regulations and safety standards in Europe and the US. 'If the regulations between the US and Europe harmonise, it will make our life easier," he said. Drivers rave over new 'luxurious' Cadillac EV as company boasts it comes with 10-min perk for those with 'range anxiety' "We will bring a lot of benefit to the final customer, because that will increase the range of options.' There is also chance Europe gets its own bespoke GM model to satisfy the continent's unique wants and demands, he added. News of the Cadillac's return comes just days after The fresh take on the classic hatchback will be produced at the firm's Italy . The motor will boast the same Almost identical to the Fiat aims to manufacture over 100,000 units per year of its new hybrid 500 small car. Parent company Italy , the brand's head Olivier Francois said on Friday. Stellantis was created in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Legendary car brand confirms imminent return to UK after 8 YEARS with all EV line-up only sold in 4 other countries
Scroll to find out what other models are due to hit the UK market REVVING UP Legendary car brand confirms imminent return to UK after 8 YEARS with all EV line-up only sold in 4 other countries Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A LEGENDARY car brand has announced its imminent return to the UK after an eight year hiatus. Plans include the launch of an all-electric line-up of cars currently only sold in four other countries. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 The Cadillac is set to make a much-anticipated return to the UK Credit: Getty The boss of General Motors Europe (GM) said Cadillac will bring models to the UK "soon" - with more brands to follow. This will include the Lyriq SUV, which is currently only sold in Switzerland, France, Sweden and Germany. The impressive motor retails for around £68,000 and rivals the likes of the Volvo EX90 and Hyundai Ioniq 9. An entry-level Lyriq has a range of around 330 miles and 520bhp, while a top-tier model hits up to 606bhp. CEO Pere Brugal confirmed the car will be launched in the UK after completing final testing in Ireland. "It is one of the [markets] that we're focusing on right now," he told Autocar. As well as the Lyric, other models will be brought to the UK market though it has not yet been determined which ones. But with GM's headquarters based in Detroit, vehicles brought to the UK will depend on legislation. This is down to the differences in emission regulations and safety standards in Europe and the US. 'If the regulations between the US and Europe harmonise, it will make our life easier," he said. Drivers rave over new 'luxurious' Cadillac EV as company boasts it comes with 10-min perk for those with 'range anxiety' "We will bring a lot of benefit to the final customer, because that will increase the range of options.' There is also chance Europe gets its own bespoke GM model to satisfy the continent's unique wants and demands, he added. News of the Cadillac's return comes just days after Fiat announced that their new Fiat 500 hybrid will be put into production in November this year. The fresh take on the classic hatchback will be produced at the firm's Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy. The motor will boast the same 1.0-litre three-cylinder mild-hybrid Firefly engine that powers the old 500 and Fiat Panda. Almost identical to the 500e the new Fiat 500 hybrid has been given a reworked front grill to feed more air to the petrol engine. Fiat aims to manufacture over 100,000 units per year of its new hybrid 500 small car. Parent company Stellantis is betting on the model reviving its ailing production in Italy, the brand's head Olivier Francois said on Friday. Stellantis was created in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA-Peugeot.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Stones in His Pockets: Playwright Marie Jones on her hit work that's coming to Cork
Belfast playwright Marie Jones says she has seen enough productions, including poorly executed ones of her hit play, Stones in His Pockets, to last a lifetime. She wanted to put it to rest. 'As my mother would say, 'it doesn't owe you anything',' says Jones. Speaking from Greece where she has a second home, Jones was however impressed by a new plan for the drama that won the 2001 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and played at the West End for four years. Actor Gerard McCabe (who stars in the two-hander with Shaun Blaney) decided he wanted to work with award-winning director, Matthew McElhinney (a son of Marie Jones) in a new production of the play. The story is well known to regular theatregoers. Set in a rural town in Co Kerry, a Hollywood film crew arrives to make a movie. The play centres around two friends, Charlie and Jake, who are employed as extras on the film. Charlie has aspirations to get his script made into a movie while Jake, recently returned from the US, is, like everyone else, enthralled by Caroline, the star of the movie. However, the townspeople, initially thrilled at the presence of Hollywood actors, begin to feel used and the glamour wears off. A tragedy ensues and Charlie and Jake decide to write the story of what happened. When they present their film idea to the American director, he says it's not commercial enough. Jones was reassured that a fresh take on Stones in His Pockets, with a novelty filmed sequence at the end, would work. This Barn Theatre production has been made in a more contemporary way. 'They have brought technology into it. As it's about the film industry, that is brought onto the stage, without taking away from the narrative,' says Jones. The film in the closing scene is of bona fide stars, Liam Neeson, Ciaran Hinds and Adrian Dunbar playing extras. They all made appearances in Derry Girls and having seen the play over the years, were agreeable to being included in this new production. Granda Joe from Derry Girls(played by Ian McElhinney, Jones's husband) is also in the film sequence and Jones herself is in it. A scene from Stones In His Pockets. The production has toured England and was at the Lyric in Belfast before coming back to the republic where it will be staged at the Everyman for nearly two weeks. Jones says that her son knows the play very well. 'I don't interfere with what he's doing.' She has two other sons, an engineer and a journalist. Part of the appeal of Stones in His Pockets to theatre venues is down to the fact that it's economical, says Jones. 'It has only two actors. Also, it has a good history. And it's about the movies, an industry that fascinates everyone. It's putting the movies on stage, if you like. The two guys in the play have nothing going for them apart from being extras. It's a good story of ordinary guys in an extraordinary situation. It's a story of friendship and survival. That's probably the appeal. In terms of how it's executed, you have the two actors playing everybody. It's quite magical for audiences. The actors change characters so quickly, sometimes with just a body movement. You see a guy who is quite butch make a gesture with his hair, a flick, and that's Caroline, the American star.' Jones has never been happy that the play has always been billed as a comedy. With a tragic event at the centre of it, she says it's neither a comedy nor a tragedy. 'There's no genre really. In 2001, when it won the Best New Comedy award in the Olivier Awards, that sort of sent it on its way.' The play has been produced in about 37 languages. 'I've seen it in many languages. While it's hard to criticise it when you don't know the language, you can watch the audience reaction. I've seen many productions of it in English and some of them were dreadful. I nearly prefer to watch it in a foreign language because it's all about physical gestures.' Jones has been described as a populist writer. 'I think that's great. I don't see anything wrong with that. Who doesn't want to be popular? People think that if you're called a populist writer, you're not taken seriously. I don't pay any heed to that. As long as people are happy and they're being entertained and are feeling what I've tried to communicate, then that's fine. I don't care what they call me.' Stones in His Pockets is at the Everyman from Tuesday July 29-August 10. See
The National
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Female filmmakers festival to take place in Tiree
Taking place from September 19 until 21, Sea Change will showcase a selection of new films from women directors from across the globe in Tiree (more than 80 miles away from the nearest permanent cinema). A 1934 story documentary about crofting life in Shetland by pioneering Scottish filmmaker Jenny Gilbertson, The Rugged Isle: A [[Shetland]] Lyric, will opening the festival. Later screenings include Motherboard, BAFTA-winner Victoria Mapplebeck's look at solo motherhood shot over 20 years and six iPhones; Sister Midnight, Karan Kandhari's feminist punk black comedy set on the streets of Mumbai; and the Berlin Film Festival Audience Award winner Deaf (Sorda), a drama about a young Deaf woman and her hearing husband having a baby. READ MORE: Prestwick Airport gears up for Donald Trump arrival on Air Force One The film festival also invites audiences to experience sea swims, beach pilates and ceilidh dancing classes in between screenings. Orkney author Amy Liptrot will introduce a special screening of The Outrun, Shallow Grave star Kerry Fox will share some of her favourite collaborations with female directors including An Angel At My Table and Fanny and Elvis, and there will be a focus on Scottish women in animation. The festival will take place at venues across the island including An Talla, community hall, the 19th century Hynish Centre (originally built to house the workers building Skerryvore Lighthouse) and Screen Argyll's screening room in Crossapol. The Rugged Isle: A Shetland Lyric, a 1934 "story documentary" about crofting life by the Scottish filmmaker Jenny Gilbertson (Image: National Library of Scotland) In the week before the festival, Screen Argyll will host official Sea Change screenings of some classic films directed by women in Seil, Mull and Coll. Following on from the festival dates, Screen Argyll will be touring a programme of Vicki and Selina's animations to audiences across the Hebrides and Argyll, including showings in the world-famous Screen Machine mobile cinema. Ahead of the public festival opening, a host of leading female and non-binary film industry professionals will arrive in Tiree for a series of conversations around an ever-shifting industry. Highlights of the sessions include guests sharing their wisdom, with Kerry Fox delivering a masterclass on working with actors, Glasgow Film CEO Allison Gardner revealing her tips on getting your film in front of an audience and animator Selina Wagner talking about how she is developing her first feature film. READ MORE: New Glenfinnan bus service launches in bid to tackle viaduct overtourism They will be joined by talks and panels from top Scottish industry bodies including BECTU, the Scottish Documentary Institute and Animation Scotland. Sea Change's artistic director Jen Skinner, who lives full-time in Tiree where she runs Screen Argyll, said: 'We are so excited to share brilliant films and welcome wonderful people into our communities, for this year's Sea Change. "Tiree is the most westerly island in the inner Hebrides and the ideal place to ask what connects us? 'Everyone is welcome to join us for a weekend of films, workshops, family activities and special guests! Local venues open their doors to filmmakers, film students and film lovers of all ages as we come together to watch, talk, walk, swim, make and share.'
Chicago Tribune
23-07-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Chicago's Joffrey Ballet pirouettes to stability and growth
Arts organizations often have money problems and the cuts flowing from President Donald Trump's administration have only made them more acute. Dance companies typically struggle more than most. But in Chicago, there's a ballet company with an impressive record not just of creative success but financial stability. Consider. Like many ballet companies, the 70-year-old Joffrey makes its annual bones on 'The Nutcracker.' Last year, Christopher Wheeldon's adaptation, set during Chicago's 1893 World's Fair, brought in more than $7 million in ticket sales and played to more than 50,000 people. Since its debut in 2016, that annual production alone has grossed more than $30 million. This spring, the exceptionally well-managed Joffrey risked more than $3 million on a new Wheeldon production of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.' It paid off. It grossed $2.69 million in ticket sales just on this first go-around. 30,000 people bought tickets over the course of the 14-performance run. Most performances sold out; no mean feat for a venue with 3,520 seats. All of that goes someway toward explaining why the Joffrey, which is run by artistic director Ashley Wheater and President and CEO Greg Cameron, has an annual operating budget of about $29 million and employs about 300 full- and part-time people in Chicago, does not carry a deficit, or struggle with debt. Over the past 10 years, with the help of its board of directors, it has built up a total endowment of $32 million. Ten years ago it did not have any endowment at all. There's another factor too: smart consolidation, a rarity in the arts. On Wednesday, the ballet company told us it was extending its lease at the Lyric Opera House for seven more years through 2034, continuing an agreement that began in 2020 when Joffrey made the smart decision to move its main performance venue from the Auditorium Theatre. This has been a win-win situation for both the Lyric and the Joffrey, creating a dynamic combination operating within a historic building that's a pivotal cultural anchor on the western edge of Chicago's Loop. Opera audiences are not as large as they once were, so runs are not as long and thus the Lyric had empty weeks, especially during the holiday period between the fall and spring opera seasons. Joffrey got the benefit of a massive stage, a grand auditorium with a huge capacity and an aesthetically pleasing environment. The combination of ballet and opera in the same building is common in Europe (it occurs with the Royal Opera House and the Royal Ballet in London, among many others) but less so in the United States. Yet it makes perfect sense, not least because there is a big overlap between ballet and opera audiences. Not only can each company market to the other, they can share the heavy costs of live production, virtually year-round. Tough as they have been for most peers, the last five years have been phenomenally successful for the Joffrey. This Chicago company is a balletic model for the nation.
