Latest news with #RoyalandDerngate
BBC News
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Northampton theatre to become skatepark for play's premiere
A theatre will be "transformed" to reflect a town's skatepark for the world premiere of a play about the influence of the online space on young G's Like Me will be staged at the Royal and Derngate in Northampton next theatre hopes thousands of young people will see the follows the success of the ground-breaking Netflix series, Adolescence, in which a teenager is arrested for murder after being bullied online. According to the Royal and Derngate, Top G's Like Me follows a group of "rudderless" young adults in a "world of seething toxic masculinity, misogyny and questions about consent".It focuses on the "dangerous, coercive relationships that young people can have with digital algorithms... and poisonous social media".The auditorium will be "totally transformed" to reflect the Radlands skatepark, which was originally built in 1992 and closed in 2004 because it was deemed to be then re-opened in 2012. Jesse Jones, the artistic director at the theatre, said: "In our classrooms, online, and on our streets some young people are having ever more misogynistic and extremist views that are parroted verbatim from online personalities. "We know that it is ever more difficult for young people to escape the grasp of this manipulation, as they are only ever one swipe away from it."As the online safety bill establishes in the coming year and parent power begins to move the dial on social media companies' accountability towards the safety of children and young people online, this play is a crucial comment on the challenges young people face, rooted in the heart of Northampton." The play will be complemented by a workshop which will create 360 pieces of street TV series, Adolescence, which explores similar themes, was mentioned in Parliament, with one MP calling for it to be screened in schools, claiming it could help counter misogyny and violence against women and said it would make the series available to secondary schools. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Northampton theatre could close after budget cut, says councillor
A councillor has warned that a county could lose its biggest theatre if a planned funding cut goes Royal and Derngate in Northampton is set to lose £30,000 of its grant from West Northamptonshire Meredith, a Liberal Democrat member of the authority, told councillors: "Every year, you pick on the Derngate."The council said it "greatly valued" the venue but had to "make difficult decisions". The Royal, a traditional repertory theatre, opened in 1884. The Derngate, a modern flexible auditorium, staged its first performance next door almost a hundred years were merged into one complex in Northamptonshire Council's budget for the next financial year, which was agreed last week, included a measure to cut £30,000 from the venue's £300,000 subsidy. Meredith, a former Mayor of Northampton, said he was "quite horrified" by the proposal and said the theatre was putting on plays "on a shoestring".He told the Conservative-controlled council: "Every single year, you pick on the Derngate."If you're not careful, we're going to lose the Derngate, and that is a fact." A spokesperson for the Royal and Derngate said: "Annual grant funding from both Arts Council England and West Northamptonshire Council contributes an important 15% of annual income at Royal and Derngate, with the theatre earning the remaining 85% from tickets sales, bars sales and other activities."Any decrease in funding is always of concern but we are very grateful for the ongoing support of our stakeholders and funders who help us to continue delivering the level of work of which we are so proud." West Northamptonshire Council said: "We greatly value the Royal and Derngate and the contribution they make to West Northamptonshire."However, like all councils nationally, we have had to make difficult decisions to deliver savings across all non-essential services so we can balance the book for taxpayers."A spokesperson said the £30,000 reduction reflected its "continued financial challenges". Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
