Future-proofing - Virtual avatars as stand-ins for performers is one technological innovation to feature among proposals at a Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre online event. A panel entitled Future-proofing For The Next Generation, featuring director Suba Das, Theatre Royal Wakefield boss Katie Town and Diverse City joint artistic director Claire Hodgson, discussed suggestions that AI could help the industry make strides forward in terms of accessibility and cost-cutting.
Panellists also vouched for the use of AI to help theatres achieve "the easy stuff" more efficiently, from administrative tasks to ice cream and drinks sales during performances. Town and Hodgson both welcomed the idea of digitised ‘avatar’ performers who they suggested could alleviate problems of cast absences, save money for subsidised theatres and appear "on-demand" for audiences unable to travel. Responding to a provocation from chair David Reece that imagined a tech-dominated theatre sector in the coming decades, Hodgson said: "I think by 2050 we will have live performers and avatars . . . I’m not particularly worried about this.”
Planning Update - A decision on whether one of the UK's biggest film and TV studios is granted planning permission should be made by the end of this month. Investment company Greystoke Land submitted plans to build sound stages, offices and workshops near the village of Holyport, near Maidenhead, Berkshire.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead refused the application last year, citing its impact on the green belt. Officials on behalf of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said a decision on the plan was delayed until on or before 26 June. The project, first announced in 2022, could create 1,500 jobs. It would extend over 43 hectares. The sound stages, workshops and offices would allow multiple film and TV productions to be shot on the same day and at the same time.
Swift Action - Taylor Swift has bought back the rights to her first six albums, ending a long-running battle over the ownership of her music. "All of the music I've ever made now belongs to me," said the star, announcing the news on her official website. "I've been bursting into tears of joy . . . ever since I found out this is really happening."
The saga began in June 2019, when music manager Scooter Braun bought Swift's former record label Big Machine and, with it, all the songs from Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989 and Reputation.
"To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it," she added, thanking fans for their support as the drama played out. “I can't thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned until now.”
Theatrical Assets - Theatres Trust chief executive Joshua McTaggart has called on local authorities to see derelict theatres as "assets, not liabilities" after two venues were hit with demolition orders in the space of a week. A lack of action from local councils to safeguard or revitalise unoccupied theatres, he said, could lead to fires and premature decisions to tear buildings down altogether.
"There is a risk, I think, in this current economic climate, that [people] take a short-term view of inheriting a cultural asset at a local government level, and then seek to dispose of it – either by selling it on or potentially demolishing it," McTaggart added.
The Theatres Trust leader was speaking in a week that saw emergency planning powers kickstart demolition works at the Derby Hippodrome after it was hit with another deliberate fire, as well as a demolition order for the shuttered Grange Theatre in Oldham. The Theatres Trust expressed concern that the demolition of the Derby Hippodrome had begun so quickly after the latest fire, claiming that there had been a "realistic opportunity to save parts of the building" following a grant of more than £8,000 a month before.
Cutting-hedge - The Wurzels have released a new single written by artificial intelligence (AI) called Wurzel Me Up. The Somerset-based folk band, best known for songs such as The Combine Harvester and I Am A Cider Drinker, said they had decided to use the technology as they had not written a song for a while. Singer Pete Budd, 84, said: "We realised that it was a long time since we had written a new pop tune. We needed some 'cutting-hedge' technology."
(Jim Evans)
