Johannes Factotum and Friends is tremendously excited about a number of major theatrical projects which are currently in various stages of pre-production. We can't tell you a huge amount (ask Johannes to tell you his stories about liberally-shared past ideas ending up on West End stages ... ) but this page hopes to give a taster.
Of course, on the other hand, if you're a (large!) venue or a theatical 'angel' with money to invest, the number you require is 07812 027413. Johannes can send you a dossier of scripts, set designs and touring plans in tomorrow's post.
How often can a Shakespeare production say something genuinely new and exciting about a script which has been performed millions of times? This is set to be a production which turns the play on its head as much as Rupert Goold's "arctic" production did while, paradoxically, also being firmly rooted in 'traditional' Tempest performance practice.
This production draws on the growing talents and experience of the actor-musician community in the UK and takes particular inspiration from:
- Ferdinand's lines "Where should this music be? I' th' air, or th' earth? / It sounds no more; and sure it waits upon / Some god o' th' island."
- Caliban's short speech in Act III which begins "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises".
- Johannes' recent reading of Elizabethan philosophy.
Albert Speer has decided to do a makeover on the "grim old tower".
Sullivan's brilliantly original (yet, of course, also firmly parodic) orchestrations are re-touched to make the darkness even darker and the frippery even more unpalatable.
'Traditional' G&S tweeness is thrown out and replaced by a story with terrifying contemporary relevance.
Nick Hytner is welcome to lend us the Olivier Theatre; wouldn't the ashtrays be perfect for our line-up of actor-muso trumpeters (backed up by our Wagner tuba)?
Can't really say much about this without totally giving the game away. Sorry.
But you should be worried ... very worried. And you should get your science textbooks out now in preparation ... ignorance will prove fatal!
It's all about the danger of a beautiful tree of knowledge.
Oh, yes, and aren't those actor-musos popping up everywhere!!!
We're a theatrical producing company that really can genuinely claim to have education work at the heart of what it does.
Check out our page on theatre-related schools workshops for more information.
mail@johannesfactotum.com
Harold Raitt
aka Johannes Factotum
Harold gained an early reputation as an ambitious and highly inventive director while he was a student at Oxford University, where his productions included musical theatre and Shakespeare (most notably Henry V at the Oxford Playhouse in 2000).
Harold's passion for education led to extensive drama-based work in schools across the UK, before taking him to the National Theatre where his acclaimed work as a documentary filmmaker also provided him with a fascinating apprenticeship into all aspects of making theatre.
One of the chief aims behind the foundation of Johannes Factotum and Friends is to produce innovative theatre (directed either by Harold or other key Friends) drawing on Harold's interest in Gesamtkunstwerke (total art works), blending acting, music, dance and visual art to create unforgettable dramatic experiences.