The Royal Shakespeare Company Annouces London Shows

admin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:08:48 +0000

The RSC come to London in December with Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran’s production of Twelfth Night at the Duke of York’s Theatre followed in February by Dunsinane by David Greig and The Gods Weep by Dennis Kelly at Hampstead Theatre.

Duke of York’s Theatre
Twelfth Night
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Gregory Doran

This production premieres in Stratford-upon-Avon in October with Richard Wilson making his RSC debut as Malvolio. It will then play a straight 10 week run at the Duke of York’s theatre on St Martin’s Lane from 19 December 2009 to 27 February 2010.

The cast includes Sam Alexander (Sebastian), Nancy Carroll (Viola), James Fleet (Sir Andrew Aguecheek), Alexandra Gilbreath (Olivia), Richard McCabe (Sir Toby Belch), Pamela Nomvete (Maria), Simeon Moore (Antonio), Jo Stone-Fewings (Orsino) and Miltos Yerolemou (Feste).

The production is designed by Robert Jones with Paul Englishby composing music, Martin Slavin designing sound and Tim Mitchell lighting. Doran will also direct a new stage version of Malory’s Morte D’Arthur in The Courtyard Theatre with the RSC’s current long ensemble in June 2010. Full details on www.rsc.org.uk. His recent production of Hamlet, with David Tennant in the title role, is to be broadcast in a TV version on BBC 2 later this year and will then be available for sale on DVD.
Public booking for Twelfth Night in London opens on 9 October.

Dunsinane
By David Greig
Directed by Roxana Silbert
10 February – 6 March 2010

David Greig’s Dunsinane is a vision of one man’s desire to restore peace in a country ravaged by war.

Late at night in a foreign land, an English army sweeps through the landscape under cover of darkness and takes the seat of power. Struggling to contain his men and the ambitions of his superiors, the commanding officer attempts to negotiate the unspoken rules of this unfamiliar country. This is Scotland in the eleventh century at the height of the fight for succession of the Scottish throne.

David is a playwright, screenwriter and theatre director born in Edinburgh. His play with music Midsummer, which he also directs, is currently one of the hits of this year’s Edinburgh Festival. His work has been translated and produced in almost every country in Europe as well as the US and Australia. His previous plays for the RSC include The American Pilot (2005) and Victoria (2000).

Roxana Silbert is an Associate Director for the RSC. She was previously Artistic Director of Paines Plough, Literary Director at the Traverse Theatre (2001-2004) and Associate Director, Royal Court (1998-2000). Recent productions include Orphans by Dennis Kelly (Traverse/Birmingham Rep/Soho), Roaring Trade by Steve Thompson (Soho) and Dallas Sweetman by Sebastian Barry (Canterbury Cathedral).

Cast to be announced.

The Gods Weep
By Dennis Kelly
Directed by Maria Aberg

11 March - 3 April 2010

Dennis Kelly’s The Gods Weep focuses on the life of a CEO whose global business may have grown to a scale that is uncontainable. Colm has taken a lifetime to build his empire. With brutal rigor he has shaped the world around him in his own image. As time moves on his decision-making abilities increasingly fail him and the world he has created begins to fracture. The power struggle that ensues reveals the corruption and unstoppable forces at work in a world where corporate greed and national security frighteningly overlap.

Dennis Kelly’s work for the stage includes Orphans (Traverse/Birmingham Rep/Soho. Fringe First & Herald Angel Awards 2009); DNA (National Theatre); Taking Care of Baby (Birmingham Rep/Hampstead Theatre); Love and Money (Manchester Royal Exchange & Young Vic); After The End (Bush Theatre, Traverse Theatre, Leicester Haymarket & UK Tour); Osama the Hero (Hampstead Theatre) and Debris (BAC, Traverse and Latchmere). He was awarded the Wolff Whiting Award for Taking Care of Baby and the Meyer-Whitworth Award for Osama the Hero

Maria Aberg directed Roy Williams’ Days of Significance for the RSC which embarks on a national tour this autumn following a successful run at the Tricycle Theatre. Her other work includes State of Emergency (Gate Theatre), Die Kaperer (Staatstheater, Mainz), Crime and Punishment (National Theatre), Gustav III (National Theatre of Sweden) and Alaska (Royal Court). She was Associate Director for the RSC’s productions of The Winter’s Tale and Pericles as part of the RSC’s Complete Works Festival.

Cast to be announced.
Both shows will be at Hampstead Theatre.

For all theatre study tour needs, you can visit the Select Travel website

London Theatre Workshops

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:00:46 +0000

Select Travel will tailor your drama workshop taking you through various make-up techniques to special effects! Our workshops are led by professional makeup artists who demonstrate how actors are taught to make themselves up every time they play a new character.

The workshop leaders will teach students make-up techniques used in theatrical drama, from applying foundations through to highlights, shading, aging, hairpieces and wigs via a live demonstration on a willing volunteer.

Alternatively, one of our lecturers teaches students how to achieve a range of special effects for film and television. Your group will be shown how the artist uses latex and other materials to create false pieces, bruises, scratchs, scars, wounds and frothing blood effects.

Also included in the workshop is a practical session where pupils are able to create their very own latex wounds! See the transformation before your very eyes!

German Soccer Tours

admin — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:00:54 +0000

Football’s coming home, German-style …. The newly opened “Deutsches Fussballmuseum” in Berlin features about 10,000 exhibits on the history of football (soccer). The museum also highlights the economic and political aspects of Germany’s favourite sport with a focus on its development after the Second World War. Big screens show past football highlights and are also used for live screenings of matches.

Elsewhere in Germany, in a classic Ruhr valley derby, Dortmund has pipped Gelsenkirchen to become the home to the new 30 million euro German National Football Museum, which the German Football Federation (DFB) hopes to open in 2012. The cities of Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen are located just half an hour apart, and their respective principal football clubs, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04, are bitter rivals. Ordinarily, the two cities’ fans receive just two chances per year – when the club sides play each other – to show true one-upmanship. The decision by the German Football Federation (DFB) to build the new German Football Museum in Dortmund and not in Gelsenkirchen, however, is a bit more permanent!

Whether you’re a fan of soccer, or any other sport, allow us to indulge your passion and design a tour for your club or group. And if you’re a teacher, we can set up matches for school teams too

A Wonderful Discovery in Madrid

admin — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:00:30 +0000

The city of Madrid has so much to offer that is does not matter how many times you have been there, you can always find something new to explore. One of my favorite lesser known museums to visit or, should I say one that is not on most tour itineraries is the ‘Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas’. This quite but outstanding museum has a variety of collections. One of the specialties is the Chinese porcelain from the Ming and Qing Dynasty. There are also valuable artifacts that include Roman glass and Coptic fabrics, rare coins, and textiles. I was particularly interested in the collection of utensils, pottery and tiles. This is a little gem, and you will be surprised by how much you enjoy your visit.

People come back to Madrid because of all the wonderful museums and sites. Select Travel Service understands that return visitors want to discover those “off the beaten path” places to visit. This museum is just one of many unique experiences we can include in our next group tour to Madrid. Contact us for more information about your customized group itinerary.

England’s Best Pubs

admin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:00:41 +0000

InnEngland – the website for finding the best pubs!

VisitEngland’s new InnEngland website (www.innengland.com) is the culmination of a national campaign to recognise one of England’s great cultural icons, the traditional English pub. Renowned worldwide for their welcome, diversity, history and now also for their food, the traditional pub is a must stop on most people’s British itineraries. The problem is, there are so many, which one do you visit? The new website offers recommendations, not only from the site administrators, but also from members of the public, who are invited to log on and add their favourite ‘locals’ to the list.

At Select Travel, our flexibility allows us to feature any of the recommended pubs in your group tour itinerary, or we can simply make recommendations of our own for that traditional pub experience. A pub dinner is a feature in most of our itineraries and for those who want to delve a little more into Britain’s pub culture, we’re happy to design itineraries that feature a selection of the best, along with visits to breweries, distilleries and other ‘cottage’ businesses producing the finest local foods and drinks.

Zurich’s Fraumunster Church

admin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:00:14 +0000

This small Swiss church with historic significance is worthy of a visit for another reason. Though not included on many group tour itineraries, this church once a Benedictine convent (853) was closed at the Reformation and later held services for the Catholic and Protestant worshipers (1833-1844) was renovated in the 20th century.

The renovation is important because, the Frumunster became known not only for its beautiful spire but, also for the exceptional stain glass windows created by two of the world’s most renowned artist.

Giacometti (1940’s) designed a large stained-glass window in the north transept. This beautiful window depicting God and Christ, the eight prophets, the Four Evangelists and ten angles is worthy of much attention. However, it is Marc Chagall’s five stained-glass windows that have become the bigger attraction. The Chagall windows are around 33 feet tall and when the morning light shines through they are most spectacular. A symbolic color scheme, of blue, green, red and orange is used to represent the earth and the heavens. The five windows are titled, the Prophets, Jacob, Zion, Christ and Law. Marc Chagall had a very personal relationship with the city of Zurich and these windows allowed him to express how much he cared.

Even if you are only in Zurich for a short time this church is a must visit. Select will be sure to include the Fraumunster into your tour itinerary. Call us today for more information about unusual places to visit on your custom tour in Switzerland.

European Rail Travel

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:00:34 +0000

Discover all of Germany by train - from the North and Baltic Sea shores down to the Black Forest and the Bavarian Alps. From vibrant metropolises that never sleep, through river valleys with fairytale castles, to enchanting medieval small towns. And nothing can be easier and more comfortable than doing this by train! Virtually every travel need from a business trip to a relaxing holiday is covered by the German Rail Pass. Travelling by train can add another dimension to a European Tour. It breaks up the motorcoach journeys and allows your group to experience traveling with the locals! Select Travel would be delighted to enhance your group’s tour by arranging for rail tickets and passes as part of their tour package.

Visiting Buckingham Palace

admin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:00:14 +0000

Every summer visitors can experience life like the Queen during the opening of Buckingham Palace. Between late July and the end of September every year the Palace opens its doors to the public. See dresses and jewellery worn by The Queen, and gifts presented to Her Majesty by the people of the Commonwealth will be on display in Queen & Commonwealth: The Royal Tour. The exhibition marks the 60th anniversary of the modern Commonwealth and will evoke some of the most important overseas tours undertaken by Her Majesty during her reign. Select Travel will tailor your visit with along a Royal theme and can include visits to Hampton Court and Windsor Castle during a visit to England.

Visiting Wimbledon

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:00:20 +0000

So what happens at Wimbledon the other 50 weeks of the year? Having spent a day at Wimbledon watching the tennis this week, it strikes us this a great place to visit even when the championships are not on. There is nowhere quite like Wimbledon. It is unique and has an atmosphere all of its own. Even though the modernization of the club is now complete, providing facilities unmatched anywhere in the world, the venue retains its unique sense of history and tradition and everywhere you turn there are reminders of its glorious past.

Visitors year round can tour the grounds and visit the award-winning museum that houses the Championship trophies, the talking ‘ghost’ of John McEnroe telling stories about his days at Wimbledon, film footage of some of the greatest games played here, a CGI special effects cinema capturing the science of tennis and an unsurpassed collection of tennis memorabilia featuring racquets and clothing used by past champions including Borg, McEnroe, Navratilova, Graf, the Williams sisters, Sampras, Federer and Nadal.

2009 also marks the opening of the brand new CentreCourt360 exhibition – a remarkable viewing platform designed to offer viewers a full 360 degree interactive view of Centre Court and placing them in the shoes of the players themselves. Discover the technology of the court, the secret behind the ultra-smooth grass surface and what makes Centre Court one of the world’s great sporting theatres.

When planning your next tour with Select Travel, ask us about visiting Wimbledon and other notable sporting venues including Wembley (soccer, football), Twickenham (rugby), Lords (cricket) and other great stadia including Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal football clubs.

The Cork Butter Museum, Ireland

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:27:43 +0000

Yes, there is a museum about Butter and the Cork Butter Museum is unique. The butter trade in Ireland is one of the country’s great success stories. Butter is Ireland’s most important food export. The museum tells the story of the Butter Trade and how important the international exchange became in the 19th century. The museum describes the major role that the dairy culture had on the commercial, social and domestic life of Ireland.

The visit begins with displays about preserving butter in bogs and the milch cows of medieval Ireland. There are exhibits of butter-making equipment from the traditional craft at home through to the 20th century. There is a gallery about the culture of cattle and dairying in early Ireland. It explains that cows were not just a source for butter and cheese but, that they were also a measure of a person’s wealth and position. Panels provide additional information about the food and society in early Ireland. One of the special items on display is a keg of thousand year old butter.

Another part of the museum is dedicated to the development of the city of Cork and the international trading of the 1700’s. The Cork Butter Exchange developed into the largest butter market in the world. Displayed here is the typical firkin or barrel that was used by the farmer to bring the butter to the exchange. There is another section that describes the development of the international trade of butter and the “butter roads”.

This is a great museum to bring your groups and especially your student groups for an educational experience. Select Travel Service can arrange for special educational programs during your visit. Call us for more information.