A new production of Macbeth heralds a new chapter in creative learning for the Ambassador Theatre Group which includes Theatre Royal Brighton among its venues.
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00:00 Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Really lovely
00:06 to speak to Jackie Alexander, Creative Learning Manager at Theatre Royal Brighton. Now it's
00:11 a really exciting time for creative learning in Brighton just at the moment and across
00:16 the Ambassador Theatre Group, isn't it? Tell me about the book Beth that's coming your
00:20 way and why it's significant, how it fits into the bigger picture.
00:24 Well, it's very exciting. New arm of our work for creative learning. Creative Learning Presents
00:30 is what we have created, working in association with ATG Productions and touring a production
00:37 of Macbeth for schools to some of our main venues under the tour of ATG Productions Pretty
00:45 Woman. They're not connected apart from the fact that ATG Productions are in the venues,
00:50 so we're sneaking in underneath and doing the shows.
00:52 The whole point is to get schools in, isn't it? And it's done exceedingly well. You're
00:58 putting it on sale in Brighton, but elsewhere where it has been on sale, sold out, which
01:02 is wonderful.
01:03 Sold out, yes. Liverpool, Sunderland, Manchester and Milton Keynes.
01:06 And the point is it's making it accessible and affordable.
01:09 Yes, ticket prices are affordable. Absolutely. Obviously, the title is very accessible, but
01:18 also I think we're doing it at the point in the school day which works for teachers. The
01:22 price is right. We've done a lot of research with schools and teachers to find out what
01:26 they want and what they need and what will work for them. And it's paid off.
01:29 And it sounds like it's a particular take on Macbeth, isn't it? It's not a big cast,
01:33 full version. It's something different.
01:37 It's something very different. It's a two-hander, two people playing all the characters. 80
01:41 minutes straight through, no interval. It's like a whistle stop. Very physical. Doesn't
01:47 compromise the language or the story, though. You will still get the full Shakespearean
01:54 experience, but in a different way.
01:57 It sounds brilliant.
01:58 Which will make it, yeah.
01:59 And the wider context for all this is the fact that creative learning is such, as you
02:04 were saying, an integral part of life at Brighton Theatre Royal, isn't it?
02:08 It is. It's a key part of our programme. It gives us the opportunity to open the doors
02:13 and bring people in who perhaps wouldn't come to shows at the moment, but perhaps they will
02:18 once they've been in. It enables us to work with local groups, local artists and theatre
02:25 makers, schools and colleges. It's a way of us getting those people in and being part
02:31 of the community.
02:32 As you were saying, it's a way of putting it on the landscape, isn't it? And showing
02:35 that going to the theatre is actually an option for all those people who didn't necessarily
02:40 think of doing so.
02:41 Yes, giving an opportunity for people to try it out and to see what it's like and to have
02:45 a look around. People love looking around the places that you don't normally get to
02:49 see. So that's a good way in.
02:51 And all this good interaction with Macbeth, that must feel like a huge vindication of
02:56 all that you're doing.
02:58 It does, actually, yes, which is great. Yes, very proud of it. I'm pleased to keep going
03:02 with it and developing it more.
03:05 Fantastic. So Macbeth is in Theatre Obrighton March 26th this year. Jackie, lovely to speak
03:12 to you and good luck with the initiative.
03:13 Nice to speak to you too. Thank you.
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