Hello, and welcome to the very first Super Ink Arts news round up! A look back at some of the week’s biggest news stories, regarding Theatre, Film, and Literature; as well as what is going on here on the site itself.
Theatre News
The Troubadour White City Theatre in West London has announced that it will be shutting down. This came as quite a shock to some, as it only opened last July, and seems to have only run one show (Sally Cookson’s adaptation of Peter Pan). Fans of the Troubadour need not despair however, as the venue’s modular, reusable building technique (consisting of two flexible theatre spaces, a 1200-seat auditorium and a 900-seat space) means it can be relocated in approximately twelve weeks.
Ben Elton’s The Upstart Crow has made it’s stage debut at The Gielgud Theatre. The show will be running until Saturday 25th April, so act now if you want to secure yourself some tickets. Be sure to click here for a review from our resident David Mitchell enthusiast, Rhianna.
The Backstage Absences project, led by Bex Foskett (former stage manager and freelance technician) and Isolde Walker (associate lecturer at Bedford FE College and former costume supervisor), is taking a workshop into schools to encourage young people to consider careers in backstage roles. Often an area cited as lacking in diversity, the workshop will investigate what 14-16 year olds think about theatre, focusing on the jobs of those behind the curtain, in the hopes of getting more young people into these roles, and the arts themselves.
Film News
New this week to cinemas near you. Visit Super Ink Arts regularly, as reviews are always being added:
Brahms: The Boy 2 - A stand-alone sequel to 2016’s The Boy. William Brent Bell and Stacey Menear return as director and writer respectively.
The Call of the Wild - Harrison Ford trades in one iconic furry companion for another in the latest adaptation of Jack London’s novel of the same name.
Greed - Steve Coogan and David Mitchell star in a satirical, yet informative take on the ultra wealthy.
Like a Boss - Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne are juxtaposed friends and business partners who must learn to work together in order to save their beauty company from Salma Hayek’s Claire Luna.
Little Joe - Single mother and plant breeder, Alice, breaks the rules and sneaks a new species of plant out of the lab as a gift for her son… leading to unintended consequences.
The Public - Emilio Estevez movie from 2018 gets a UK release. An act of civil disobedience turns into a standoff with police when homeless people in Cincinnati take over the public library to seek shelter from the bitter cold.
Set images for Matt Reeves’ The Batman are coming in thick and fast, giving us a clearer look at what Robert Pattinson’s eponymous character might be like in the 2021 release. That being said, some of the images feature, what appears to be a stuntman, in the suit with motion capture dots on his chin and no cape, so it may be too early to say just how the costume will turn out.
Disney has confirmed that Onward will feature the studio’s first openly LGBTQ+ animated character. Lena Waithe plays Officer Specter, a cyclops cop in the modern fantasy world of Onward. It’s encouraging to see a huge studio like Disney Pixar taking this crucial first step towards diversity, and we here at Super Ink hope to see more.
Director Eli Roth has announced that he will be directing the Borderlands movie for Lionsgate. The Death Wish (2018) director is to work with Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin to bring ‘Mad Max in space’ to the big screen.
Sleight director J.D. Dillard and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. writer Matt Owens have signed on to develop a new Star Wars film. It is currently unknown whether this will be for Disney+ or if it will receive a theatrical release.
Book News
The number of books at Essex libraries has fallen dramatically in the last decade. Save Our Libraries Essex revealed the shocking statistic that between the years of 2007-08 and 2017-18, the book stock within the county dropped from 1.76 million to 1.29 million. Super Ink Arts holds books near and dear to it's heart (sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally), it would be a great shame to lose such an invaluable source of free education, so please support your local library whenever possible.
In brighter news, here are some of the brand new literary titles that hit shelves this past week:
#MeToo in the Corporate World: Power, Privilege, and the Path Forward by Sylvia Hewlett
Actress by Anne Enright
The American Fiancée by Eric Dupont
Crier's War (Crier’s War 1) by Nina Varela
Damsel by Elana Arnold
A Delicate Deception (The Regency Impostors 3) by Cat Sebastian
Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay
Get Out of Your Head Leader's Guide: A Study in Philippians by Jennie Allen
Get Out of Your Head Study Guide: A Study in Philippians by Jennie Allen
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Happily Imperfect: Living life your own way by Stacey Solomon
Know What You're FOR Study Guide: A Growth Strategy for Work, An Even Better Strategy for Life by Jeff Henderson
A Mother’s Blessing by Annie Groves
Parliamental by Meghnad S
Russians Among Us: Sleeper Cells, Ghost Stories and the Hunt for Putin’s Agents by Gordon Corera
Stolen Time (Dark Stars 1) by Danielle Rollins
Tech Diet for your Child & Teen: The 7-Step Plan to Unplug & Reclaim Your Kid by Brad Marshall
A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein
TURBO Racers: Trailblazer by Austin Aslan
The Women at Hitler’s Table by Rosella Postorino
In a controversial move, Amazon decides not to remove Nazi propaganda books from it’s site. The decision comes after the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Auschwitz Memorial Twitter accounts, @HolocaustUK and @AuschwitzMuseum, urged the trading giant to reconsider the place of antisemetic materials, such as Der Giftpilz by Julius Streicher, on their platform.
Author of The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown announces he is working on a children’s book, as well as an accompanying soundtrack. Wild Symphony follows Maestro Mouse as he visits a whole host of musical mates. The book is to be illustrated by Susan Batori, with the Zagreb Festival Orchestra providing the music, of Brown’s own composition.
Local News
There are always things going on behind the scenes here at Super Inks, the cogs are constantly turning, new articles are permanently in the works. Here are just a few from this week and next:
Part two of Rhianna’s ‘Underrated Comedies of the Decade’ mini-series is live, unearthing even more hidden gems from the last ten years. Click here to feast your eyes on some short lived classics. You can also go back and reread part one by clicking this link.
Also newly up and about on the site, the first in (hopefully) a series of combined reviews. Moo’s Movie Mashup takes two of the week’s latest cinematic offerings and fuses them into one concise and irreverent piece, analysing them both. Click here for the mashup of Parasite and the Sonic the Hedgehog movie.
Not quite an article, or really even that recent, the first Season of the official Super Ink Arts podcast has come to an end. Make sure to subscribe on Castbox to be updated the very second Season Two is released.
And as mentioned in the ‘Theatre News’ section, a review for The Upstart Crow has been written and is available on the site now!
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