David Zoob discusses his book, Brecht: A Practical Handbook, a bold and exciting new approach to Bertolt Brecht, at Rose Bruford College, Kent. Also appearing will be Jeremy Harrison, talking about his recent work, Actor Musicianship, and Thomas Wilson, on Juggling Trajectories.

David Zoob is Programme Director of the BA (Hons) Acting degree at Rose Bruford College.

Bexley Buzz Book Festival
Rose Bruford College, Sidcup, Kent
Wednesday 26 February 2020, 7pm
Entry is free, but register here

David Zoob on his book, Brecht: A Practical Handbook, a bold and exciting new approach to Bertolt Brecht.

As an actor, getting into writing can help you stay creative and feel empowered between acting jobs. You can also make new connections, create your own opportunities and open up new avenues in your career. In an industry where it can be hard to feel in control, writing is something you don't need a 'yes' to do.

In this session, part of the Surviving Actors exhibition aimed at working actors of all ages and experience, join an expert panel who have all successfully made the journey from acting to writing, for a discussion and Q&A exploring how they did it, and how you could follow in their footsteps. Chaired by George Turvey, actor, director, co-founder and Artistic Director of acclaimed new-writing company Papatango, and author of Being a Playwright: A Career Guide for Writers.

Surviving Actors
ETC Bishopsgate, Spitalfields, London
Saturday 8 February 2020, 12.45pm-1.30pm

Book tickets here.

Learn how, as an actor, getting into writing can help you stay creative and feel empowered between acting jobs.

Join multi-award-winning actor, writer and director Andy Nyman, as he shares priceless insights gleaned from his more than thirty years in the acting business.

From learning how to love auditions and self-tapes (yes really!), through how to behave in rehearsals and on film sets, to looking after your mental health and dealing with both success and failure, Andy will offer tips, support and encouragement learned from his time working in theatre, film and TV.

He'll also answer any questions you might have about surviving – and thriving – in the industry.

Surviving Actors
ETC Bishopsgate, Spitalfields, London
Saturday 8 February 2020, 2.45pm-3.30pm
Book tickets here.

Actor, writer and director Andy Nyman shares priceless insights gleaned from his more than thirty years in the acting business.

The 'Playwriting at the NT' series gives an insight into approaches to developing your playwriting skills with a different playwright each month.

This session is led by Joel Horwood, whose adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane is playing in the Dorfman Theatre from December.

National Theatre (Clore Learning Centre), London
Saturday 25 January 2020, 10.30am
Running Time: 10.30am - 1pm
Tickets £40 (£25 concessions) from the NT website

Playwriting at the National Theatre with Joel Horwood.

Join multi-award-winning actor, writer and director Andy Nyman – fresh from a triumphant year-long run as Tevye in the West End production of Fiddler on the Roof – as he shares priceless insights gleaned from his more than thirty years in the acting business.

From learning how to love auditions and self-tapes (yes really!), through how to behave in rehearsals and on film sets, to looking after your mental health and dealing with both success and failure, Andy will offer tips, support and encouragement learned from his time working in theatre, film and TV.

He'll also answer any questions you might have about surviving – and thriving – in the industry.

After this seminar Andy will be signing copies of his books The Golden Rules of Acting and More Golden Rules of Acting.

When: 11 December 2019, 14.30 - 16.00
Where: Tristan Bates Theatre at The Actors Centre, London
Price: £10 for members / £15 for non-members, tickets from The Actors Centre website

Andy Nyman shares priceless insights gleaned from his more than thirty years in the acting business

Friday 29 November
2.30pm - 4pm
Theatre Royal Haymarket

Puppeteer and Director Mervyn Millar will lead a practical session on puppetry and acting.
 
Major productions are increasingly using puppetry alongside actors and actors are expected to have an insight into this performance craft which is as old as acting itself. How can an actor work with a puppet, and with other actors and puppeteers, to create a convincing and consistent character?
 
As well as the practical elements, the session will include a Q&A.

Puppeteer and Director Mervyn Millar will lead a practical session on puppetry and acting.

Meet Andy Nyman, author of The Golden Rules of Acting and its recently published follow-up, More Golden Rules of Acting, at the National Theatre Bookshop on London's South Bank.

DATE AND TIME: Wednesday 27 November, 5.45pm - 6.45pm
VENUE: National Theatre Bookshop, London

No ticket required.

Meet Andy Nyman, author of The Golden Rules of Acting and its recently published follow-up, More Golden Rules of Acting, at the National Theatre Bookshop on London's South Bank.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Peter Brook's seminal production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the founding of his International Centre for Theatre Research, the Institut Français and Kingston Shakespeare Seminar are co-hosting a conference celebrating one of the greatest Anglo-French cultural projects of our time.

Peter Brook himself, as well as actors, critics, directors and scholars from both sides of the Channel, including Trevor Nunn, Frances de la Tour, Sara Kestelman, Adrian Lester and François Marthouret will reflect on the original impact and lasting influence of his staging of Shakespeare.

Saturday 26 October 2019, 10am-6pm
Institut Français du Royaume-Uni, 17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT
Tickets: £25, members £12, from the Institut Français website

Peter Brook will be signing copies of his new book, Playing by Ear: Reflections on Music and Sound.

A conference on Peter Brook and Shakespeare, with Peter Brook himself and a panel of distinguished guests.

Join legendary theatre-maker Peter Brook ('our greatest living director', Independent) to discuss his new book Playing by Ear: Reflections on Music and Sound, which explores the role of music in the theatre and revisits some of the best-known productions from his long and distinguished career.

Also released in October is an audiobook of Brook’s 2013 work The Quality of Mercy: Reflections on Shakespeare, read by Michael Pennington, and the first e-book release of his seminal The Empty Space.

This talk will have live subtitling by Stagetext for deaf, deafened and hard-of-hearing people.

After the talk, Peter Brook will be signing copies of Playing by Ear: Reflections on Music and Sound.

National Theatre (Lyttelton), London
Tuesday 22 October, 6pm
Running Time: 45 minutes
Tickets £9 (£6 concessions) from the National Theatre website

Legendary theatre-maker Peter Brook discusses his new book Playing by Ear: Reflections on Music and Sound.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, star and writer of comedy-drama sensation Fleabag, will be signing copies of Fleabag: The Special Edition at Waterstones Piccadilly, London, on Sunday 1 September 2019, at 14:00.

This signing will not be ticketed and will operate on a first come, first served basis.

More details on the Waterstones website.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge signs copies of Fleabag: The Special Edition at Waterstones Piccadilly, London.

Director Rufus Norris and adapter Helen Edmundson reflect on their new production of Small Island, chaired by Brenda Emmanus.

National Theatre, Olivier
Tues 11 June 2019, 6pm (45 mins)
Tickets: £7 (Concessions £5) from the National Theatre website

Director Rufus Norris and adapter Helen Edmundson reflect on their new production of Small Island.

The 'Playwriting at the NT' series gives an insight into approaches to developing your playwriting skills with a different playwright each month.

This session in June is led by Ella Hickson, whose play ANNA is playing in the Dorfman in May and June.

National Theatre (Clore Learning Centre), London
Saturday 8 June 2019, 10.30am
Running Time: 10.30am - 1pm
Tickets £30 (Concessions £20) from the NT website

Playwriting at the National Theatre with Ella Hickson.

Join the creators of ANNA, playwright Ella Hickson and sound designers Ben and Max Ringham, along with the play's director, Natalie Abrahami, as they reflect on their new production at the National Theatre.

National Theatre (Clore Learning Centre), London
Thursday 6 June 2019, 5.30pm
Running Time: 45 mins
Tickets £7 (concessions £5) from the NT website

Join the creators of ANNA as they reflect on their new production at the National Theatre.

Exploring the work of Caryl Churchill (frequently described as 'one of Britain's greatest living playwrights'), this session gives an introduction to her plays, with the focus moving on to Top Girls towards the end of the day. The day includes insights from academics and theatre-makers who've created or performed in Churchill's plays. The full programme is yet to be announced but will include an introduction from Bidisha, who will also host the day, and an interview with Top Girls staff director Sita Thomas.

National Theatre (Clore Learning Centre), London
Thursday 9 May 2019, 10.30am
Running Time: 10.30am - 4pm
Tickets £55 (Concessions £40, Students/Under 18s £15) from the NT website

Exploring Caryl Churchill's Plays and Top Girls.

Actor, writer and director Andy Nyman will be giving a masterclass on The Golden Rules of Acting, as part of the Masterclass season of events at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

Andy Nyman is an award-winning actor, director and writer who has earned acclaim from both critics and audiences for his work in theatre, film and television. He is currently playing Tevye in the West End transfer of Trevor Nunn's Fiddler on the Roof, originally at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

Friday 3 May 2019, 2:30pm - 4pm
Theatre Royal Haymarket, London

For more information and to book tickets, visit the Masterclass website.

Actor, writer and director Andy Nyman gives a masterclass on The Golden Rules of Acting, as part of the Masterclass season of events at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

Shakespearean actor and scholar Michael Pennington talks about Shakespeare, both from his point of view and William's. In a fascinating one man show he brings the man and his brilliance vividly alive.

Saturday 27 April 2019, 2.30-3.30pm
Shoreham Wordfest
Shoreham-by-Sea

Tickets available from the Shoreham Wordfest website.

Shakespearean actor and scholar Michael Pennington talks about Shakespeare, both from his point of view and William's.

This is a workshop about what mask-work can teach us about acting. We'll work with half-masks and full-masks, experience how they work, what they tell us about character, and the game of being someone else. 

John Wright is an award-winning international teacher and theatre-maker. He co-founded Trestle Theatre Company in 1980 and Told by an Idiot in 1993, and has worked on productions at venues including the National Theatre, RSC, Royal Court, Almeida and the Royal Opera House. His books Why is That So Funny? and Playing the Mask are published by Nick Hern Books.

Wednesday 17th April 2019, 10:30 - 13:00
Leicester Adult Education College

For more information and tickets, visit the NSDF website.

This is a workshop about what mask-work can teach us about acting. We'll work with half-masks and full-masks, experience how they work, what they tell us about character, and the game of being someone else.

A workshop on physical comedy and comic timing. We'll explore takes, double-takes, build-ups and reversals, and will address the question: 'what makes physical comedy effective?'

John Wright is an award-winning international teacher and theatre-maker. He co-founded Trestle Theatre Company in 1980 and Told by an Idiot in 1993, and has worked on productions at venues including the National Theatre, RSC, Royal Court, Almeida and the Royal Opera House. His books Why is That So Funny? and Playing the Mask are published by Nick Hern Books.

Tuesday 16th April 2019, 10:30 - 13:00
Leicester Adult Education College

For more information and tickets, visit the NSDF website.

A workshop on physical comedy and comic timing. We'll explore takes, double-takes, build-ups and reversals, and will address the question: 'what makes physical comedy effective?

Join one of the UK's leading actors, Harriet Walter, for a fascinating discussion on her amazing career – from playing Brutus, Henry IV and Prospero in the Donmar Warehouse's acclaimed, ground-breaking Shakespeare Trilogy, to sharing the screen with Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Force Awakens – plus take the opportunity to ask your own questions. Chaired by James Phillips, Playwright and Director of NSDF.

Sunday 14 April 2019, 12noon - 1pm
Curve Theatre, Leicester

For more details and to book tickets, visit the NSDF website.

Join one of the UK's leading actors, Harriet Walter, for a fascinating discussion on her amazing career.

Join NHB authors Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson for a booksigning to celebrate the publication of their hit stageplay Ghost Stories.

Ghost Stories was first performed in Liverpool and London in 2010. Since then it has played in Moscow, Toronto, Shanghai, Lima and at the Sydney Opera House, and has thrilled over 500,000 theatregoers.

Now the worldwide cult phenomenon is available in print for the first time, published by Nick Hern Books on 4 April 2019.

Join NHB authors Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson for a booksigning to celebrate the publication of their hit stageplay Ghost Stories.