Library and Information Services, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Thursday 30 April 2020

Watch Cyprus Avenue by David Ireland

Former graduate of RCS David Ireland's play Cyrus Avenue can be watched on the Royal Court website at this time.  
Starring Stephen Rea and directed by Vicky Featherstone, the award-winning Cyprus Avenue by David Ireland mixes live capture of performance from the iconic Royal Court Theatre stage production with location shooting in Belfast.
Eric Miller (Stephen Rea) is a Belfast Loyalist. He is experiencing a psychotic episode and mistakes his five-week old granddaughter for Gerry Adams. Generations of sectarian trauma convince him that his cultural heritage is under siege. He must act.
This hard hitting black comedy Cyprus Avenue tells the story of a man struggling with the past and terrified of the future. It was awarded Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards and the James Tait Black Prize for Drama in 2017. For his portrayal of Eric, Stephen Rea won Best Actor at the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2017.

Royal Court Theatre - Court at Home

Photo of the Royal Court Theatre in Chelsea in London, Burnley. (CC)
Court at Home

If you are wondering what to do with yourself during the lockdown the Royal Court Theatre has a nice wee film project for you to do at home. 

For Court at Home they are asking you to think back to moments from those plays that have impacted you and ‘stage’ and capture one line sharing how you’re existing in this new world. All you’ll need is a phone with a camera, each tiny film should be no more than 25 seconds.

The Whittaker Library collects all plays put on by the Royal Court. You can search for plays from the Royal Court on our library catalogue or or via Drama Online. Please note, access to all Acting digital resources can be done via the library portal. The work of the Royal Court is an ideal choice for a showcase scene or for audition materials. 

So visit Drama Online find a Royal Court play you know or do not know selection your one line and then follow the process outlined on the Royal Court website. Do let us know at the Whittaker Library what you create! 

Click Here to Access : DRAMA ONLINE 


Click Here to Access : COURT AT HOME

Monday 27 April 2020

Free Access to Stress Management Techniques

HEADSPACE

Finding things hard going at the moment? 

Check out this stress management resource , the link below gives you free access to Headspace and a collection called Weathering the Storm. It includes meditations, sleep, and movement exercises to help you out, however you're feeling.

                                                                                 TUMISU /  CREATIVE COMMON 

Druid's production of The Playboy of the Western World now online

The celebrated Irish theatre company Druid Theatre and Wildfire Films have made the 2005 award-winning production of The Playboy of the Western World by JM Synge available online for free.

Synge, John Millington, 1896, Trinity College Dublin. www.zeno.org 

In 2005, Druid theatre presented the first ever staging of all John Millington Synge’s entire theatrical canon including The Playboy of the Western World. Directed by Garry Hynes, starring Aaron Monaghan, Marie Mullen and Catherine Walsh, this project was filmed live by Wildfire during production.

Synge’s great comic masterpiece tells the story of Christy Mahon, who stumbles into a public house in County Mayo claiming he has killed his father and so capturing the romantic attention of the daughter of the house, Pegeen Mike. Druid’s The Playboy of the Western World, by JM Synge, directed by Garry Hynes is now available via Vimeo for a limited time.  

Wednesday 22 April 2020

Happy Birthday Shakespeare! 23rd April.



Shakespeare's Birthday 2020: Virtual Events

Join the Folger for virtual events to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday at home. The Folger is the America's national Shakespeare library and along with the Royal Shakespeare Company, they have created lots of events to access at home.   

They are delighted to be collaborating with you (yes, you the audeince, the library user!), along with friends at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK, to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday at home on Thursday, April 23, using the hashtag #ShareYourShakespeare.

For a run down of all events: Click Here to Access the Folger Birthday Homepage

This virtual birthday event is open to all ages, with every activity including many options for kids and families. Please join in by sharing your creations—from super quick-and-simple ideas to more ambitious ideas—or just get ready to enjoy and revel in others' contributions. Try any of the following options:

Speak the speech

Make a picture

Write a sonnet

Throw a Shakespeare party


They are live on April 23 throughout the day with talks, #Staxpeditions in their collection, and a Macbeth Watch Party with the cast—on Facebook and YouTube. Tune in! Remember things will take place in Washington D.C., USA, time zone. -5 hrs


Tuesday 21 April 2020

Bachtrack: Free Opera & Concert Streaming

Bachtrack are curating a list of performances that can be streamed online from opera houses and concert halls. So check out what Bachtrack has to offer by clicking the link below. During the coronavirus lockdown period you can get free access to many operas from OperaVision via Backtrack.  Concert performances come from 29 partners and 17 countries. 

Click here to access

The Met Opera - Nightly Opera Stream.

The Met Opera, New York. 

Met launches "Nightly Met Opera Streams", a free series of encore Live in HD presentations streamed on the company website during the coronavirus closure. Tuesday the 21st you can see Elektra. Nina Stemme takes on the title role, headlining a gripping production by legendary late director Patrice Chéreau. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts a powerful cast that also features Adrianne Pieczonka, Waltraud Meier, and Eric Owens.

Berlin Philharmoniker Free Access to Archive

Berlin Philharmoniker
During the coronavirus lockdown period the Berlin Philharmoniker has given 30 days of free access to the Digital Concert Hall with over 600 orchestral concerts, bonus videos and documentaries.

Cambridge University Press

Access to over 700 textbooks on Cambridge Core for third level students. (login with institutional password) 

CUP have made higher education textbooks in HTML format free to access online during the coronavirus outbreak to support universities and their students. More than 700 textbooks, published and currently available on Cambridge Core – our online home for academic books and journals – are available online to students through their university library regardless of whether they were previously purchased.

You can access via  CUP content via the Whittaker library catalogue and are also via the library portal. 

Click Here To Access Via Library Online Resources

Click Here For CUP Website

Monday 20 April 2020

Wigs, Hair, Make-up at the National Theatre (GB)


In this time of lockdown why not rediscover Theatre Voice. A platform for podcasts about UK theatre.  The latest podcast is an interview with GIUSEPPE CANNAS. 


Click here to access


Sam Marlowe sits down with Giuseppe Cannas, Head of Wigs, Hair and Make-up at the National Theatre, to find out about the extraordinary craft and minute detail involved in creating a production’s special effects. From hand-stitching every single hair, to creating exploding eyeballs, Cannas’ work not only involves a wide range of disciplines, but also managing a team of almost two dozen people. Recorded on 03 March 2020 at the National Theatre in London.

Thursday 16 April 2020

Sadler Wells : Ballet Performances Online:

Sadler Wells have launched a Digital Stage and will be screening archive performances, special one-offs created just for the screen and dance workshops aimed at a variety of ages, from a family workout for ages two-to-six, to classes for the over-sixties.
All of this will be rolled out out over the next several weeks, but things kicked off on Friday March 27 with the release of Balletboyz’s ‘Deluxe’  – the show that was meant to be playing at Sadler’s Wells that night. 
Other performances will include a new version of Wilkie Branson’s dance for camera installation TOM, which would have formed part of Sadler’s Wells’ Digital Edition in April, and Rumpelstiltskin from balletLORENT, who were due to perform as part of Sadler’s Wells’ Family Weekend this Easter.
Sadler’s Wells is also expanding Take Part, its series of projects available to the wider community, from Wednesday 1 April by presenting online workshops and activities for audiences to dance along to in their own homes.
There will be a family workshop created by Cherie Coleman, who runs Family Friday sessions at Sadler’s Wells, for children aged 2 to 6 years and workshops for people aged over 60, inspired by Sadler’s Wells’ Company of Elders programme, hosted by artists including Clara Andermatt, B.Dance, Lucia Caruso, Seeta Patel, Simona Scotto, Alessandra Seutin and New Adventures’ Resident Artist Paul Smethurst. Workshops will be available as YouTube playlists, which will remain online.
Sadler’s Wells will also share dance films specifically created and choreographed for the screen, including MADHEAD, directed by Ben Williams and choreographed by Botis Seva for National Youth Dance Company, and will continue to share its own commissioned film content across social media channels.
Check website for updates and for whats on. 
Lots more shows, films and workshops will be released over the coming weeks

Access Digital Stage.

The National Theatre : Online Performances.

In this time of lockdown the NT (National Theatre UK) will be broadcasting some of their most popular productions weekly on Thursdays at 7 pm. Productions will also be on demand for 7 days after each broadcast. So book your seat at home and log on tonight!





On the 16th April they will be  Polly Findlay's acclaimed production of Treasure Island.

CLICK HERE TO BE TAKEN TO THE NT WEBSITE