A Christmas that’s Just So

And the last theatrical Christmas announcement this year (unless someone is putting on a production of mine in secret somewhere and hasn’t told me about it) is that Red Table’s production of The Just So Stories, as seen at this year’s Edinburgh Festival, is going to be touring to St Albans this Christmas.

Here are some reviews of the production from Edinburgh.

The show is playing at the Trestle Arts Base in St Albans from Sunday 18 December to Tuesday 20 December, and tickets are £10 for adults, £8 for children, and £32 for a family ticket.

Find out more and book tickets at the Trestle Theatre website.

The Just So Stories at the Edinburgh Festival

It’s my absolute pleasure to be able to tell you two things.

Firstly, that Red Table made a profit on our recent production of The Just So Stories at the Pleasance Theatre this Easter.

A Fringe Theatre show? Not losing money? Inconceivable!

As it turns out, when you’re involving actors and crew using the Open Book Theatre model, that word does not mean what you think it means.

Every investor has made their money back. Together with a 10% return on their investment.

Every actor and crew member involved in the production has been paid a share of the money that we made, in a clear and open manner.

To say we’re happy with this result is an understatement. It’s proof that this new model works. That people involved in fringe theatre don’t need to lose money.

Which leads us to announcement the second:

The production has been so successful that we’re taking it up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, once more with our friends at the Pleasance.

The Just So Stories will be showing twice a day at 12:30pm and 2:45pm in The Green, the giant igloo at the heart of the Pleasance Courtyard (that’s venue 33, fringe-fans), one of the largest venues in the Edinburgh Festival, with over 450,000 visitors expected across the course of the festival.

The auditorium only seats 60 parents and children, so if I were you I’d book early. Tickets are available now from the Pleasance Box Office or by calling 0131 556 6550.

Still not convinced that this is going to be one of the best shows at the festival? Take a few minutes to read the reviews of the Easter production.

And I hope to see you there.

Giant Happy Crab Is Happy

Some fantastic news: The Just So Stories – which I produced at The King’s Head Theatre over Christmas – is transferring to the Pleasance Theatre for a three-week run over Easter.

The show’s going to be better than ever, with a bigger and more comfortable snuggle pit for the children and a brand-new set from which the cast will find exciting items which they’ll use to bring to life five of Kipling’s best-beloved tales.

Just as with Red Table‘s first production, The Just So Stories will be run using Open Book Management, meaning that all of the financial and business information about the show will be available to cast, crew, and investors throughout the production period.

Rafe’s blogging about the process as we go over on the Red Table website.

There are some exciting things coming up in the world of Open Book Theatre as we introduce this new model to the industry – and there’ll be more news about that soon. But not quite yet. Stay tuned…

Tickets are £10, £7 for kids, and are available now from the Pleasance website

Three (that’s the magic number)

My. I have been busy.

This Christmas, I have no less than three plays on in London.

I’m producing The Just So Stories at The King’s Head Theatre.

I wrote the adaptation of A Christmas Carol at the Lion & Unicorn.

And on top of that, my new play The Strange Mésalliance of Arthur Munby and Hannah Cullwick is having a rehearsed reading next Thursday.

So it’s all been a bit hectic recently.

Buy tickets for The Just So Stories
Buy tickets for A Christmas Carol

The Just So Stories

That’s Pau Amma, The Crab That Played With The Sea, as drawn for us by Hannah Broadway. If you look closely, you can see that he is taller than the smoke of three volcanoes!

Tickets are now on sale for The Just So Stories at the King’s Head Theatre from December 15 2010 through to January 3 2011.

I’m producing the play, and my brother Rafe is directing – the first production from our new theatre company, Red Table.

£10 for adults, £6 for concessions.

Buy your tickets here. The power of Giant Happy Crab compels you!