FRIDAY LATE: The Play House

Past event - 25 March 2011

ROLL UP, ROLL UP! WELCOME TO THE PLAY-HOUSE…

For one night only the galleries of the V&A were filled to the brim with theatre and live performance. All aspects of the London theatre scene – from Fringe to the West End and new commissions to classic plays were there. Drop in sessions with actors, directors and designers and theatrical happenings throughout the Museum.

Download the programme (.pdf, 200.4 KB)

Front of House: Plays and Productions

THE VAUDEVILLAINS
Grand Entrance18.30–21.50
For one night only, experience the weird and wonderful world of Les Enfants Terribles’ brand new show, The Vaudevillains. Here is your chance to mix and mingle with characters from the show and to enjoy some of their fabulous acts.Also featuring DJ Chango Mutley and others.

VINTAGE CABARET
Grand Entrance
Sets between 18.30 and 21.50
All-singing, all-dancing retro girl-band, The Tootsie Rollers, perform their version of glamorous, golden-era classics.

READINGS FROM SHAKESPEARE’S FIRST FOLIO
Lecture Theatre
An exclusive opportunity to hear stars of the stage read from this precious Museum treasure. 

JANET SUZMAN MASTERCLASS ON SHAKESPEAREAN VERSE
19.00–20.00 
Janet Suzman reads Antony and Cleopatra directly from the First Folio and speaks on Shakespearean verse.

THE SNEEZE
Norfolk House Music Room, Room 52
Performances at 18.45, 19.45, 20.45 (duration 45 minutes)
Roughhouse Theatre presents The Sneeze, three short episodes by Anton Chekhov, translated and adapted by Michael Frayn. Take in this dynamic translation with more than a nod to Vaudeville, and see Frayn at his comic best. Directed by Shane Morgan and Moira Hunt.
Tickets are available at the Information Desk in the Grand Entrance from 18.30.

NOT LOOKING FOR ANYONE
Paintings Gallery, Room 88
21.10–21.30
Join a formal performance by Guerilla Dance Project, a group that embraces social interaction, finding dances in everyday life.

DANCING WITH DEMONS
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
19.00–20.00
Dancing with Demons, a new play by Brighton Theatre, looks at the explosion of art led by Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes in the early part of the 20th Century, which incorporated music by Stravinsky, designs by Bakst, Picasso and Matisse and dancing by Nijinsky. Excerpts of the play will be followed by a Q&A with Director Faynia Williams, Playwright Richard Crane and the cast.

TIMOTHY & SAMUEL WEST
20.30–21.30 
Inspired by the First Folio, father and son acting duo Samuel and Timothy West perform scenes from Hamlet. Directed by Poppy Burton Morgan.

HAMLET, A PROMENADE PERFORMANCE
Meet in Room 64b at 18.30 or join them later
A unique production of Hamlet by The Factory is performed throughout the galleries and corridors of the V&A. This is Shakespeare as you’ve never seen it before!

MADAME IDA: DIRECTOR’S PREVIEW
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
20.30–21.10 and 21.10–21.30  (duration 20 minutes)
Madame Ida, a new film by Parkville Pictures, celebrates the life of Ida Rubinstein, star of the Ballets Russes. The film opens on the last day of her life as Ida rises from her wheelchair, throws off her dressing gown to reveal her ancient ballet shoes and begins to dance. The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director Lisa Forrell.

A SMALL STUDY OF TROUBLED SOULS
Medieval & Renaissance Galleries, Room 50b
18.30–21.30
This work-in-progress study by performers seven sisters group is a response to the intriguing site around the Florentine altar in the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries. Directed by Susanne Thomas. Design by Sophie Jump.

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF MUSICAL THEATRE
Gamble Room, Café
18.30–21.00
Sing along to five cabaret sets featuring songs from popular musicals. The evening’s music is hosted by Overtures: The Bunnett-Muir Musical Theatre Archive Trust, a collection of musical theatre memorabilia and sound archives, dating back to pre-cylinder times.

MAKING BALD SEXY
Sculpture Galleries, Room 25
19.30–21.30
Meet Philip Levine, a style icon who uses his bald head as a canvas for creativity. ‘Crystalized’ is his signature design, made using over 1,000 diamanté gems, each glued on individually.

FIRST KNIGHT
Theatre & Performance Galleries,  Rooms 103 to 106
Performances at 19.15; 20.15; 21.15  (duration 15 mins)
Venture backstage at the Lyceum with Little Lights Theatre. Meet Stanley, Henry Irving’s personal dresser, as he looks back over the career of the man who, with the help of Queen Victoria, made the acting profession respectable. Directed by Gillian Brownson.

RED CARPET WALK
Sackler Centre Reception
18.30–21.30
Feel like a star of the stage! Take a walk down the red carpet in this immersive installation by HalfCut. Enjoy the applause and bask in the limelight.Please note flash photography will be in use.IN THE WINGS Sackler Centre Reception18.30–21.30Welcome backstage where the Lab Theatre Collective invites you to inspect the private lives of those on a pedestal, and to share the low lights of the high flyers. Directed by Joseph Thorpe and Natalie Scott.

IN THE WINGS
Sackler Centre Reception
18.30–21.30
Welcome backstage where the Lab Theatre Collective invites you to inspect the private lives of those on a pedestal, and to share the low lights of the high flyers. Directed by Joseph Thorpe and Natalie Scott.

THE INDEPENDENTS, A SCRATCH PERFORMANCE 
Room 1c
19.00–21.30
Enjoy a range of short performances by Battersea Arts Centre’s The Independents. Come along to discover a cabinet of theatrical curiosities!Places are limited. Drop-in.

... AND SURPRISE PERFORMANCES THROUGHOUT THE MUSEUM
Discover a host of theatrical surprises around every corner, including performances by Poison Whiskey Theatre, Central School of Speech and Drama and plays directed by Bethany Pitts.

Backstage: Activities and Talks

EYE SPY: AN INTERACTIVE DANCE GAME
Sculpture Galleries, Rooms 17 to 27 and Café
18.30–20.45 
I spy with my little eye… someone dancing with newspapers! Join in this game by Guerilla Dance Project and try to spot all the dances, performed with a variety of unexpected objects. Stop by the table in Room 12 to pick up a game sheet.

THEATRICAL MAKE-UP WORKSHOP
Lunchroom 1, Sackler Centre
18.30–21.00
Learn professional theatre make-up techniques from the experts. Have your face made up and your head shot taken.

ASK THE EXPERTS! TALKS BY V&A CURATORS
Theatre & Performance Galleries,  Rooms 103 to 106
Talks at the following times  (duration 15 minutes):
19.30: Introduction to the V&A Theatre & Performance Collections with Claire Hudson
20.30: Victorian Marionette Theatre with Cathy Haill
21.00: Set design with Keith Lodwick

PERFORMING MACHINES AND AUTOMATA
Art Studio, Sackler Centre
18.30–21.30
Step into Fire the Inventor’s backstage workshop where mechanical theatre is made and automata performed at the touch of a button. See examples by Cabaret Mechanical Theatre or exercise your making skills and build a theatrical automata. 

THEATRELAND: A CARDBOARD CITY
Raphael Court, 48a
18.30–21.30
Discover London Theatreland! Take a walk through this urban model of the West End, as over sixty renowned London theatres are relocated, for one night only. Tower like a giant over your favourite theatres, uncover facts and riddles, and enter the special West End quiz to win a prize.

V&A THEATRE & PERFORMANCE GALLERIES
The V&A holds the UK’s national collection of material about live performance in the UK since Shakespeare’s day, covering drama, dance, musical theatre, circus, music hall, rock and pop and other forms of live entertainment.  The Theatre & Performance galleries are dedicated to the performing arts, displaying works of art, costumes, ephemera, video recordings (National Video Archive of Performance), puppets, posters and photographs.Find out more by visiting the galleries (Rooms 103 to 106) and online at www.vam.ac.uk/tco

CONTACTS

Alex Pielak Photography www.alexpielak.com
Battersea Arts Centre www.bac.org.uk
Bethany Pitts bethanypitts@googlemail.com
Brighton Theatre brightontheatre@gmail.com 
Cabaret Mechanical Theatre www.cabaret.co.uk
Central School of Speech and Drama www.cssd.ac.uk
Fire the Inventor www.firetheinventor.co.uk
Gareth Martin www.garethandmartin.co.uk
Guerilla Dance Project www.guerilladanceproject.com
HalfCut www.halfcutcompany.co.uk
Helen Damon helendamon@gmail.com
Les Enfants Terribles www.lesenfantsterribles.co.uk
Little Lights Theatre www.vam.ac.uk
London International Festival of Theatre www.liftfestival.com
Manchester University Press www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Masterclass at the Theatre Royal Haymarket  www.masterclass.org.uk
Mousetrap Theatre Projects www.mousetrap.org.uk
Overtures: The Bunnett-Muir Musical Theatre Archive Trust www.overtures.name
Parkville Pictures www.parkvillepictures.com
Philip Levine www.philsays.com
Poison Whisky Theatre james_scott367@hotmail.co.uk
Poppy Burton Morgan www.poppyburtonmorgan.co.uk
Rough House Theatre www.roughhousetheatre.com
Sarah Stevens Make Up www.sarahsmakeup.com
seven sisters group www.sevensistersgroup.com
Society of London Theatre www.solt.co.uk
The Factory www.seehamlet.co.uk
The Lab Theatre Collective www.thelabcollective.co.uk
The Tootsie Rollers www.thetootsierollers.com
WhiteNoise Touring www.whitenoisetouring.com
Woodenfingers Theatre www.woodenfingers.co.uk

All events are free.
Places are designated on a first come, first served basis, unless stipulated otherwise.
Filming and photography will be taking place at this event.