Latest news with #performingArts
France 24
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Our highlights from the 2025 Avignon theatre festival
07:55 Issued on: 07:55 min The Avignon theatre festival is a three-week concentration of performing arts – dance, drama, readings and debates – which is now in its 79th year. Hundreds of events are crammed into the relatively small French city, often in beautiful historical sites. And that's just the official programme. FRANCE 24's Olivia Salazar-Winspear has been filming a special show there and joins us on set to give us her personal highlights from the festival.
ABC News
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Leah Purcell's meteoric rise, from the Murgon meatworks to centre stage
Leah is an acclaimed actor, playwright, and stage and film director. She grew up in the Queensland country town of Murgon. Although she came from a big family, it was just her and her mum for most of her childhood. Her dad lived in town, but didn't acknowledge her as his daughter. Leah's mum Flo was well respected. For a time she was the only Aboriginal woman allowed in the lounge area of the pub, which was a whites-only zone. Leah grew up with her Aunties and Uncles yarning around the kitchen table, and became a vivid storyteller herself. When she left school, it was expected she would go to work in the local meatworks, or become a nurse. But one of Leah's bosses at the meatworks refused to give her a permanent position, because he'd seen her in the local high school musical. When he told Leah she had a real talent, it helped change Leah's idea of herself. And so after her mum passed away, Leah left her small town. In Sydney she set off on her path to becoming an actor, a playwright and eventually a film director. Her first play 'Box the Pony' was inspired by her mother and grandmother's life story, and it became a huge hit. Today Leah is recognised as one of Australia's most important voices in the performing arts. Further Information Originally broadcast September 2018 Leah was awarded an Order of Australia in 2021 for her services to the performing arts. Leah released her feature film, The Drover's Wife in 2022. Leah played the lead role and also wrote and directed the film. Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.
Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Left-wing zealots are robbing Britain of arts and culture
In a few weeks Scotland's capital city will turn into a metropolis of storytelling and comedy as the world's biggest performing arts festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, kicks off for the 78th year. Its existence should not go unappreciated – as society grows more divided and people are sucked into their own online worlds, communal events like this are needed more than ever. This isn't just about rich kids cracking jokes – a good performance gives its audience a new perspective and a fresh way of thinking. The most original shows I've seen have been at the Fringe. Of course, originality comes at a price. It may not be poetic to talk about money but it is important. Arts events like the Fringe rely on a mish-mash of state support, ticket sales, corporate cash and philanthropic donations. In other words, arts funding is finely balanced. Pull out one part and it can all come crashing down like a Jenga tower. We are seeing this play out at some festivals this summer, including the Fringe's parent event, the Edinburgh International Festival. Francesca Hegyi, the boss of the Edinburgh International Festival, said over the weekend that the loss of corporate sponsorship meant it had to slash the number of shows it was putting on by a fifth this summer. There has been a 'wholesale collapse of arts sponsorships,' she told the Financial Times, explaining that businesses there was a 'reticence' among businesses to donate after the rise of activists targeting arts donors. The message comes a month after major museums called for an end to the 'relentless negativity' around private cash in the arts. Edinburgh was last year the subject of a public campaign to cut ties with Baillie Gifford, an investment giant targeted because of its small investments in fossil fuel companies and alleged links to Israeli defence via its investments in tech giants such as Amazon and Meta, companies whose products many protesters themselves likely use. The festival ultimately yielded and cut ties with Baillie Gifford. In the wake of such pressure, other businesses are questioning whether they would pass the new purity tests of the activists. As a result nobody wants to step in and pick up the cheque. It is absolutely right for climate and human rights campaigners to hold companies to account – corrupt businesses eager to polish their image by 'art washing' should be called out – but there needs to be some reasonableness and sense of proportionality. Boycotting art sponsors that have small investments in companies on the fringes of issues will do little to help the wider cause. All that will happen is the arts will suffer, not the fossil fuel companies or tech giants in question. We will all be left culturally poorer as a result. Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, warned earlier this year of a 'moral puritanism' sweeping through the arts that risked gagging society. The Fringe, which is funded in a different way to its parent festival, is still accepting cash from Baillie Gifford. Benny Higgins, the Fringe's chairman, says the board 'make careful judgments about what's acceptable' when it comes to sponsors. But if you can't take money from Baillie Gifford – a Scottish investment giant that creates jobs in the area and which is best known for investing in technology – then 'I'm not sure you can take money from any corporate,' he says. That's a concern, given that the Fringe itself is currently on the hunt for a replacement for its former key sponsor Johnny Walker. Baillie Gifford insists it has been unfairly targeted. The fund manager says less than 2pc of its assets are invested in companies that work in oil and gas, which is below the industry average of 9.5pc. It invests significantly more in green energy. Its links to Israel, meanwhile, are through investments in tech giants that work in the country – hardly a full-throated backing for Tel Aviv. Baillie Gifford argues that demanding divestment on such grounds is unreasonable 'much as it would be unreasonable to demand authors boycott Instagram or stop selling books on Amazon'. Nick Thomas, a partner at the investment company, said suggestions from some campaigners that it had significant money in the occupied Palestinian territories was 'offensively misleading'. While the argument rages, corporate sponsors are retreating. Major companies do not want to get caught in a row over the environment, Israel or other contested issues, and so would rather sit on the sidelines. Ultimately, this will mean less art, culture and music. Ticket prices will be higher. More people will be excluded (the Fringe is already criticised as elitist because of exorbitant accommodation prices) and important, thought-provoking pieces from marginalised groups will never get made. Less money simply equals less access, less experimentation and less creativity. Minds will become smaller. The economy will also suffer. These big events can generate hundreds of millions of pounds a year for local economies. Take The Hay literature festival, for example. It was founded in 1987 around a kitchen table and today brings in tens of millions every year to the Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye. The event was described by former US President Bill Clinton as the 'Woodstock of the mind'. Its sponsorship deal with Baillie Gifford also ended last year following protests. The argument here isn't that campaigners and artists should roll over and not hold companies to account. Calling for museums to ensure their sponsors meet certain environmental criteria, for example, seems sensible. But activists need to rethink their tactics and the threshold at which they act. This summer art chiefs will rightly call out boycotts which they think are unreasonable. The problem is it could already be too late.
News.com.au
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
8yo gets wish after tumour found in kidney by ‘complete accident'
For Nick, watching his eight-year-old daughter perform onstage to over a hundred people, including Aussie actors, felt like a 'happy' end to a challenging chapter in her life. 'Seeing her on stage, seeing her happy, seeing her full of confidence, seeing her healthy … for family and friends who watched her go through the journey, it was a happy closure,' the father of four told 'She was an absolute star.' Audrey had been diagnosed with Wilms tumour, a rare kidney cancer, by 'complete accident' three years earlier, after she was taken to hospital at five years old for what was thought to just be a case of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). What followed was a stage three cancer diagnosis and a difficult year of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. One thing that helped Audrey through it all was performing. 'From a very young age, she's loved doing performances for small audiences with friends,' said Nick. 'It's something she's focused on a lot over the last few years.' It's why, when deciding on a wish by Make-A-Wish Australia – a charity which grants life-changing wishes for children and teens with critical illness – Audrey chose 'to put on a show for a HUGE audience'. Over the next 18 months, she worked hard to write and direct her own play 'Escape of the Animals' – taking part in scriptwriting workshops, costume fittings and rehearsals. The 20-minute production follows a dog who escapes with other animals to Hawaii to evade a 'mean dog owner'. It was a fitting choice for the eight-year-old, who has always loved animals and dreams of one day becoming a vet. 'She put a lot of effort into it and I think she was probably quite nervous a few weeks (leading up to it),' said Nick. On Thursday, Audrey's wish came true with the help of Make a Wish Australia and the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) when she took to the stage at ATYP's Rebel Theatre in Sydney alongside her twin brother, friend and other performers. The cast performed to a crowd of 110 invited guests, including family, friends, and Aussie actors Stephen Curry, Claudia Karvan and Daniel Wyllie. Other famous faces, including the Wiggles and comedian David Hughes, shared messages of support for Audrey, which were played aloud ahead of the performance. 'I feel happy and proud,' Audrey said after the show, which ended in a standing ovation. 'In one word, it was amazing,' said Nick. 'It was beyond anything that we could have imagined, anything that Audrey could have hoped for. The level of detail, effort, and care that Make A Wish put into it as well as the contributions from all the partners to make it happen was unbelievable.' For Nick, it was a particularly meaningful moment, as just three years earlier, Audrey was in the hospital missing out on a different performance she desperately wanted to attend. 'She had to miss her end-of-year school concert because she was unwell … it was devastating,' said Nick. 'It was a hard thing seeing her miss out on a lot of things.' Diagnosed with cancer at five by 'complete accident' Audrey had been diagnosed with Wilms tumour when she was five years old, after her mother, Alice, took her to hospital with RSV symptoms in May 2022. That night, Nick – who shares three other young children with Alice – was at home in Adelaide watching the federal election on television waiting for the pair to come home from the hospital. But things took an unexpected turn when Alice called and said he needed to join them at the hospital. 'She said doctors found that there was something wrong with her kidney or an enlargement on her kidney which set off alarm bells for us,' Nick explained. Knowing 'something wasn't right' but unsure of exactly what, Nick drove to hospital where Audrey was undergoing more tests. Hours later, doctors told Nick and Alic 'they were very confident that it was a Wilms tumour'. Audrey's cancer – a stage three tumour – was asymptomatic. 'It was found by complete accident,' said Nick, who explained her enlarged kidney was only discovered after a junior doctor took the time to carry out a physical on Audrey. Nick and Alice were 'shell-shocked' by the news. 'When you hear about kids going through these things, you naturally don't really think it's ever going to happen to you or your child.' Thankfully, Audrey's tumour was treatable and not aggressive. A few days after the diagnosis, Audrey underwent a seven-hour operation, during which surgeons removed a 500-gram tumour in her kidney. The five-year-old then underwent radiotherapy followed by eight to nine months of chemotherapy, the last of which ended in January 2023. Throughout treatment, Audrey stopped putting on weight and lost her hair, which she was 'very upset about'. But throughout it all, she never complained once. 'She took it in her stride … She was amazing, she was incredibly stoic,' said Nick. 'I think she sort of just accepted that she had a tough couple of months and she did. She was consistently brave.' Audrey is now happily two years in remission. While there is still a chance the cancer could come back, Audrey regularly receives check-ups and is 'comfortably through the higher risk stages of when it could return'. After her performance and watching her wish come true, Audrey is looking to continue acting and has already booked into an acting camp with her friend. But her dream of becoming a vet is still very much on the cards. 'She would do everything,' said Nick. 'Vet by day, actor by night.'
Al Bawaba
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Bawaba
Rita Hayek exposed betrayal over hit play "Venus": "They Stole My Role and Used My Name!"
ALBAWABA - Rita Hayek breaks silence after being replaced in "Venus" play. Also Read Julian McMahon dies at 56 after secret cancer battle After revealing a new poster for the play "Venus," in which she costarred with Badih Abou Chacra as "Vanda," Rita Hayek broke her silence to share the truth with her fans. Rita's statement was sent when Rola Baksmati took her position in upcoming plays in Canada and Dubai. Rita Hayek Instagram profile Rita posted a video on her Instagram account to express gratitude to her followers for their support and words of solidarity. "I really don't know how to put my feelings into words," she remarked. Rita shared an advertisement for the play "Venus," a replica of the original Lebanese production we showcased ten years ago, which triumphantly returned a few months ago with more than 120 sold-out performances. She went on to say, "One of the main reasons for this success, with all humility, is the role I worked on, created with great effort, and through which I created the character of the Lebanese Vanda." I must include you in the picture and provide definitive answers to your queries because I shared my achievement and joy with you. It's not the same Lebanese "Venice" that you know and love, and that's what made it so successful; that's going to be played in Canada or Dubai." She went on to say, "Three of my pals collaborated, put in a lot of effort, and developed their play's concept together, which helped us achieve some success. What actually happened was that the people I thought were closest to me took away my artistic and financial rights. But I'll know how to get them back. I'll know how to assert my rights. Rita then shared new evidence that her name was being used in upcoming shows of the play in Dubai, after conducting a Google search, writing a comment that read, "‼️They even use my name to sell tickets in Dubai 😂 Please share‼️."
