I've just been catching up on the Guardian Theatre Blog and there was an interesting article on theatre programmes and whether or not they have had their day. For me, when I got to go to the theatre when I was growing up, the programme was always a treasured keepsake from the evening, and the Phantom of the Opera was safeguarded with the same prestige as my Take That programmes... OK, maybe not that much prestige! I agree with Michael Billington in that the programme has indeed improved over time with higher quality (and quantity) content, but I am afraid that they are often too expensive to buy. I am no longer of the age where I have to keep tokens from every night out. (Although I do admit that my Foo Fighter's tickets are kept safe!) However, I do like the idea of providing more information about a show;
"Scanning the programme for the recent RSC Hamlet starring David Tennant, I discover a week-by-week rehearsal log which illumines the meticulous preparation that went into Greg Doran's production. And, looking at the programme for the National Theatre's Oedipus, I find not just informative articles by Edith Hall and Sally Vickers, but a helpful family tree of the House of Laius, and an Ingres painting and a Cavafy poem that open up lines of enquiry."I'm going to explore the idea of creating more of a background, and therefore more of an atmosphere, leading up to a new play. Perhaps something like the marketing behind Cloverfield... but on a much smaller scale! Watch this space...
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