Posts Tagged ‘Visit Britain’

The Royal Shakespeare Company Annouces London Shows

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

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

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

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!

England’s Best Pubs

Monday, July 27th, 2009

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.

Visiting Buckingham Palace

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

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.

Shakespearean Anagrams

Friday, July 17th, 2009

A Friday brain teazer for all you fans of literary tours of Britain…

“To be or not to be: that is the question, whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of ourageous fortune”

This is an anagram of:

“In one of the bard’s best thought-of-tragedies, our insistent hero, Hamlet, queries on two fronts about how life turns rotten”

Planning a literary tour of Britain is rather more simple than this with Select Travel Service!

Wisley Garden Flower Show and a ‘Taste of Autumn’

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

The spring and early summer are regarded as the best times to visit Britain and see her multitude of wonderful gardens in full bloom. However, Britain has something to offer all year round, and in September RHS Wisley will be mounting its own flower show in what is promised to be a ‘new look’ show. The event aims to make the most of late summer sunshine and provide visitors with inspiration for their gardens at home with emphasis on late summer blooms. Then in October, the RHS’s flagship gardens present a ‘Taste of Autumn’ featuring fruit and vegetable displays, tastings, live cookery demonstrations and Wisley gardeners on hand to dispense expert advice on all aspects of gardening and growing. Our expertise is designing garden and horticulture programmes is widely recognized and we invite you to take advantage of this when planning your next garden tour or check out our website for some ideas.

London Walking Tours

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Walking tours of London with a difference. The past decade has seen east London dramatically transformed. Today, it’s one of London’s most vibrant and multi-layered enclaves. Big money projects sit alongside traditional family businesses, while Londoners of a thousand ethnicities share the same neighbourhood with recent migrants. A walking tour of East London is an explosion of scenes and sights. From magnificent 18th century townhouses and Victorian terraces to stand-out art galleries and über-cool spaces. And because this is London’s creative hub, we can introduce you to up-and-coming fashion designers, artists and designer-makers and their work. For food lovers there is plenty to experience too, as we visit stores and markets selling foodstuffs from across the globe. The East End Hip walking tour is an eclectic experience for visitors looking to discover the hidden streets in one of London’s most vibrant areas. This is just one example of how Select Travel Service can tailor your tour to your market – we have the ideas and contacts that make all the difference!

Imperial War Museum North

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

A heart-rending yet captivating exhibition at the Imperial War Museum North, is “Captured: The Extraordinary life of Prisoners of War” (23 May 2009 - 3 January 2010), which is the first exhibition of its kind and marks the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War. This unique exhibition will look in detail at what was needed to survive in an often harsh environment. Using an engaging mix of objects, art, documents, photographs, film and sound from Imperial War Museum’s unrivalled collections, Captured will reveal incredible personal stories during periods of captivity that in many cases lasted for several years.  Select Travel Service has a wide variety of military history tours available for groups.  Visit http://www.selecttravel.com/tours_military_history.asp

Royal Windsor Wheel

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Everybody has heard of Windsor Castle, but Windsor now has two new reasons to visit:  The Royal Windsor Wheel is now almost a permanent fixture allowing groups to enjoy the panoramic views whatever the weather and from the comfort of their climate controlled capsules.  Visitors can soar over 50 metres into the skies above historic Windsor, with views over the Castle battlements, River Thames and countryside beyond. On a clear day or night you can even see as far as the gleaming arch of Wembley Stadium and the glittering skyline of Central London. Each of the 36 capsules can seat up to six people. Groups can also enjoy a glass of Pimms or champagne at the licensed Wheel Café Bar. Each flight will encompass a number of rotations and will last approximately 12 minutes.

Royal Windsor has also introduced a new Land Train providing a much needed service for groups and less able visitors from the coach park up to the Castle entrance and town centre shopping area, and return.  The Land Train seats up to 72 passengers, including access for one wheelchair. A commentary is provided, and the train will run at a relaxed pace enabling passengers to take in the town as they travel. The journey will take approximately 15 minutes each way.   So, no excuses not to make Windsor one of your “Top Ten Must-sees” when visiting!  In fact if any of your groups have mobility problems, then just let us know and we’ll be pleased to try and find a solution for you, so that each and every member of your group  can get the most enjoyment they can from their tour!

Garden Museum at Lambeth

Monday, May 4th, 2009

The Garden Museum in London is host to the “Festival of Small Nurseries” taking place through spring and summer. Why not take the opportunity to meet those passionate about their plants and learn from the experts.  Allow Select Travel to organise your special themed garden tour of the UK and this time of year is the perfect time to combine the Chelsea Flower Show with a visit to the Garden Musem. The museum explores and celebrates British gardens and gardening through its collection, temporary exhibitions, events, symposia and garden.  Whether you are an enthusiastic amateur gardener, more of a specialist or someone with a passion for museums, history even architecture the Museum has something for you.  Situated on the South Bank of the Thames, opposite the Houses of Parliament, the Museum has a spectacular home in the former St Mary-at-Lambeth parish Church, which itself its steeped in history and has some interesting stories to tell.  There is plenty for comtemporary gardeners too. The potting Shed offers practical seasonal gardening advice in an imaginative setting, and the Museum is a focal point for garden-related events and activities.