NEWS
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05/03/07: FROZEN - Coming again... In the last fortnight, FROZEN has been greenlit as *TWO* new productions. First up, the script has been acccepted as an entry in this year's LOST One-Act Theatre Festival, where it'll be in competition with 36 other productions during April. Jack says "After the first run of FROZEN, we took the opportunity to listen to what our audiences - and thank you to each and every single one of you who came! - were saying and looked at the script. There were some interesting new ideas created as a result, so I'm pelased to say that we've got the chance, having evolved the show a little further, we can present a very fresh take on the story of Tom And Laura. Even if you saw this show at the Etcetera, I can promise you this version will surprise you, which is the way it should be!" More news in due course, but more information on LOST Theatre can be found at www.losttheatre.co.uk. FROZEN will appear on the 24th April, 2007, along with a second production. Box office details to follow soon. Meanwhile, another version of FROZEN, this time on audio, has recently finished early stages of production. Using the original theatre cast, the audio FROZEN was produced by Mariele Runacre-Temple and directed by Jenny Runacre, who also will direct the new revival at the Tabard Theatre this April, as part of a new audio theatre project. Robert Valentine will be taking over as full-time producer of the show. More news on that to come very soon... |
03/12/06: FROZEN - Coming again... FROZEN completed it's first successful run at the Etcetera Theatre on 5th November - but has since developed interest from other production groups. Please return later this week to hear the latest as to where this project is going next, and what lies ahead for the play in the New Year, and 720 Productions... |
FIRST REVIEWS...FROZEN"Gareth Parker’s ear for naturalised dialogue and creation of identifiable characters drive this interesting story through some of its less impressive moments. Laura (Josephine Hart), mascara-streaked from crying, finds herself at the run-down flat of helpful stranger Tom (Jack Bowman). Parker skilfully teases out the plot, revealing that she had an argument with her boyfriend who dislikes her flirtatious ways. As she slips into Tom’s bed, the snow falling hard outside, the plot twists away from her and to her damaged, childlike rescuer. Laura is a self-obsessed drama queen, too wrapped up in the minute trials of her own life to see what is going on around her. Hart finds this and plays with it - buoyed by strong writing - and only lets herself down by occasionally swallowing her words. In Tom, Bowman has a harder task as Parker has so hidden his demons it has left the character a little empty. We don’t quite know who he is or what motivates him and while this could make him enigmatic, it just makes him difficult to believe. It is this sense of believability that Parker loses as the plot progresses and the characters take decisions that while pushing the plot forward seem to grind against the characters he has drawn. It is a shame, because otherwise this a strong piece." - Jeremy Austin, The Stage.
"A chance meeting that signals changes ahead." "In a speech he gave about writing for the theatre, Harold Pinter said, "I have usually begun a play in quite a simple manner; found a couple of characters in a particular context, thrown them together and listened to what they said, keeping my nose to the ground." Frozen, a new one act play by Gareth Parker, is based on just such premise. The play opens with two twenty-somethings, the tear stained Laura (Josephine Hart) and her 'rescuer' Tom (Jack Bowman) entering the latter's scruffy run-down bed-sit. Little more than a mattress on the floor, a chair, some clothes and pages on which Tom was been scribbling. It is obvious that Laura is in distress whilst Tom is nervous and apprehensive of the stranger who has entered his private, otherwise safely guarded world. From the starting point, the characters circle and probe each other, gradually revealing their damaged inner selves. Laura, initially on the receiving end of Tom's relentless questions about what she was doing and why, becomes first suspicious and then accusatory regarding Tom's motives. In the end, we know more of her but less about him, other than they are both emotionally damaged and he, possibly dangerously so. Intelligently directed by Robert Valentine, skillfully maneuvering Tom and Laura around the small, cramped stage like tigers in a cage, the audience is sucked into this nightmarish situation in which absolutely anything might happen. Atmospheric music and sinister telephone ringing at regular - and on one occasion crucial - intervals heighten the tension. The production is also helped by two beautifully controlled performances. Josephine Hart as the predatory yet vulnerable Laura gives her character real depth and credibility. Jack Bowman has a harder task as the nervous, sexually frustrated loner Tom, but he does well in portraying his inner torment. If there is a weakness, it is that the audience, having had its appetite whetted by 40 minutes of predatory conflict, is suddenly left with the meal unfinished. Having set up a dramatic denouement, it is almost as though the writer ran out of ideas or lacked the confidence to take the script further. Unless, of course, this was a deliberate intention. The programme notes indicate that the play was first a bedroom farce, then a romantic drama before finally evolving into a psychological study and there may lie the difficulty. New writing is important and FROZEN is a credible attempt at a difficult subject. It avoids the pitfalls of melodrama and, without making the characters sympathetic, nevertheless makes the audience want to know what happens to them. Worth seeing." Rodney Pearson.
"I went to see if Friday and it was amazing. It's a two hander set in a bedsit, and I didn't think it'd hold me, but right from the start it sets up different mysteries. You really have to pay attention to start to work everything out. The female lead Josephine Hart is amazing, and gets great supoort from Jack Bowman. Very much an adults only piece though, and runs at 45 minutes, which is just right...!
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UPDATED: 17/09/06: FROZEN - Book Tickets... Tickets for FROZEN are now available from TICKET WEB and the ETCETERA THEATRE. ETECTERA THEATRE: Box Office: 020 7482 4857 0 TICKET WEB: Please CLICK HERE to book for the show you wish to attend. 0 17/09/06: FROZEN - Important Schedule Information... As you maybe be aware, last week 720 Productions was delighted to announce we'd cast Jemma Thomas as our ASM/Laura Understudy As a result we're pleased to announce that she will take the role on the following dates: 24th-25th October, and 2nd-3rd November 2006. These are the only nights where Josephine Hart will not be performing during the run. Jack said, "we're delighted that Josie has generously agreed to allow Jemma four shows to play Laura during our schedule, which is one of the things I was very keen on! It's our way of saying thank you to Jemma for agreeing to cover Laura, and we, that's Josie, Rob and myself, felt it was only right that if we had understudies, she should get a good go at it. And also it's an incredibly demanding script on our two very talented leading ladies here, so I'm sure Josie will be delighted to have a breather during the run! The same is true of Rob, again, it's only fair he be given a go too, although I haven't agreed his dates yet, but stayed tuned. I'm very excited, especially as this is a very usual move for a Fringe show, and delighted with everybody - their commitment , generousity, and enthusiasm to keep the dynamics of the show turning." See the BLOG Page for more thoughts from Jack about this news. 0 16/09/06: FROZEN - Graphic Design revealed...
The poster design for FROZEN has now been finalised. It has been designed by Andrew Swann, from a brief set down by 720 Productions. The image you see above had been very carefully constructed to reflect some very specific elements that related to the production, most notably the the colours used, and the fractured image in the glass... Andrew also designed a new logo for the show, to replace the one that had been used up to now on all rehearsal scripts and paperwork for the production. 0 14/09/06: FROZEN - Final Casting Completed! Casting for the final parts in the cast, that of Laura and ASM/Understudy for Laura has been completed. Auditions were held at the Etcetera Theatre this week, and we're delighted and proud to announce that these roles will be taken by...
Josephine Hart and Jemma Thomas have now officially joined 720 Productions cast for FROZEN which also includes Jack Bowman (Tom), Robert Valentine (Tom Understudy), Terry Wade (voice talent) and Peter Davis (voice talent). For more information about Josephine and Jemma, please visit the Crew page, while more information about these developments can be found at the Blog section. 0 19/08/06: FROZEN - Casting Underway... Casting for the final part - the female lead of Laura is now underway. Shortlists are currently being drawn up by the Director and the Producer, and auditions will be finalised in the next few weeks. Stay tuned! ) 14/06/06: FROZEN - Production Dates, Theatre, Cast and Crew Confirmed... After months of development and pre-production, 720 Productions have confirmed that FROZEN, written by Gareth Parker, has finally secured a theatre for it's world premiere. The show will appear at the Etcetera Theatre, Oxford Arms, Camden High Street, London on 17th October - 5th November 2006. This is a three week run, with shows as follows: Eveing Performances - Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30PM, Matinees - Saturdays at 3.30PM, Sunday Evenings at 6.30PM. Ticket booking information will be announced shortly. 0 The Cast and Crew are confirmed as follows: Tom... Jack Bowman Laura...Josephine Hart Voice Talent... Terry Wade and Peter Davis 0 Understudies: Tom... Robert Valentine Laura:... Jemma Thomas 0 Writer/Producer... Gareth Parker Executive Producer...Peter Davis Director... Robert Valentine |
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