Mind The Gap Theatre
Encyclopedia
The brainchild of Paula D'Alessandris, Mind The Gap (MTG) Theatre Company was conceived in 1998 to import edgy British productions, readings and workshops to New York audiences and, in return, export some of America's unknown theatrical talent to the United Kingdom. Featuring An Anglo-American repertory company of actors and writers, the New York City-based company maintains active ties to an assortment of British theatre agencies and has a literary staff that reads hundreds of new scripts each year. In 2001, Dame Helen Mirren
and Dame Judi Dench
joined MTG’s Board of Advisors, along with Roger Rees
.
The title is taken from a warning message frequently heard on the London Underground
train system, where a voice reminds passengers to Mind the gap
when alighting from the train; it also alludes to the gap between British and American theatre.
, founding members of Stomp (dance troupe)
, Emily Harvey (from the West End production of The Phantom of the Opera
) and Tony Award
Nominee Gavin Lee (Mary Poppins
).
It also offers ongoing performances at the St. George's Arts Initiative alongside host Jim Dale
and a monthly reading series at the British-themed Telephone Bar & Grill in New York.
Its new series, BritBits, performs every few months featuring new works by American and British playwrights as performed by its Anglo-American repertory company.
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
and Dame Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
joined MTG’s Board of Advisors, along with Roger Rees
Roger Rees
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
.
The title is taken from a warning message frequently heard on the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
train system, where a voice reminds passengers to Mind the gap
Mind the gap
"Mind the gap" is a warning to train passengers to take caution while crossing the gap between the train door and the station platform. It was introduced in 1969 on the London Underground...
when alighting from the train; it also alludes to the gap between British and American theatre.
Notable Productions and Workshops
- U.S. premiere of Under the Blue Sky by David Eldridge (dramatist)David Eldridge (dramatist)David Eldridge is an English dramatist, born in Romford, Greater London, United Kingdom in 1973.His plays have been performed at major new writing institutions in the UK, including The Royal Court Theatre, the Bush Theatre, the Finborough Theatre and the National Theatre...
(Best New West End Play 2000, Time Out London) - Tony Vellela’s Labor Days, directed by Austin PendletonAustin PendletonAustin Pendleton is an American film, television, and stage actor, a playwright, and a theatre director and instructor.-Life and career:...
starring Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winner Donna MurphyDonna MurphyDonna Murphy is an American stage, film, television actress and singer.Murphy has won two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles in Passion as Fosca and in The King and I as Anna Leonowens... - Three Tables by Dan RemmesDan RemmesDan Remmes is an American actor and writer based in New York City.A published playwright, Remmes has received several awards for his writing and was a recipient of the 2002 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for Play Writing and Screenwriting....
, Flights by Susan Cameron and The Devil's Parole by Eric Giancoli were MTG-sponsored productions in the annual Samuel French Inc.Samuel French Inc.Samuel French, Inc. is an American company, founded by Samuel French and Thomas Hailes Lacy, who formed a partnership to combine their existing interests in London and New York...
. Festival of New Plays. All were winners and subsequently published. - New York premiere of Gary Owen (playwright)Gary Owen (playwright)Gary Owen is a Welsh playwright and winner of the Arts Council England 2003 Meyer-Whitworth Award for new writing for the theatre....
's In the Pipeline at Manhattan Theatre SourceManhattan Theatre SourceThe Manhattan Theatre Source is an Off-Off-Broadway not for profit art service organization located in Manhattan near Washington Square Park. A café and art gallery occupy the lower level of "The Source", a 160 year old brick building, while the upper story contains a library and the theatre proper... - World premiere of Tim Mark's The Cleric at 59E59 Theatres in New York
- Theatrical premiere of Gary OldmanGary OldmanGary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
's Nil by MouthNil by Mouth (film)Nil by Mouth is a 1997 British drama film portraying a family of characters living in South East London. It was Gary Oldman's debut as a writer and director; the film was produced by Douglas Urbanski and Luc Besson. It stars Ray Winstone as Raymond, the abusive husband of Valerie...
, adapted for stage by Paula D’Alessandris as part of the British AirwaysBritish AirwaysBritish Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
sponsored UKwithNYC
Regular Features and Projects
The company hosts periodic fundraisers which in the past have included celebrity talent such as Stephen FrostStephen Frost
Stephen Frost , also known as Steve Frost, is an English comedian.Frost is known for his work in the 1980s with Mark Arden as part of the double act The Oblivion Boys on Saturday Live...
, founding members of Stomp (dance troupe)
Stomp (dance troupe)
Stomp is a percussion group that uses the body and ordinary objects to create a physical theatre performance.-History and performances:...
, Emily Harvey (from the West End production of The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
) and Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
Nominee Gavin Lee (Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is a series of children's books written by P. L. Travers and originally illustrated by Mary Shepard. The books centre on a magical English nanny, Mary Poppins. She is blown by the East wind to Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London and into the Banks' household to care for their...
).
It also offers ongoing performances at the St. George's Arts Initiative alongside host Jim Dale
Jim Dale
Jim Dale, MBE is an English actor, voice artist, singer and songwriter. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his many appearances in the Carry On series of films and in the US for narrating the Harry Potter audiobook series, for which he received two Grammy Awards, and the ABC series Pushing...
and a monthly reading series at the British-themed Telephone Bar & Grill in New York.
Its new series, BritBits, performs every few months featuring new works by American and British playwrights as performed by its Anglo-American repertory company.
External links
- Official Site
- TheatreMania
- Time Out New York: BritBits2
- NYC.com: Mind The Gap Reading Series
- http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_info.php/products_id/4017Three Tables by Dan RemmesDan RemmesDan Remmes is an American actor and writer based in New York City.A published playwright, Remmes has received several awards for his writing and was a recipient of the 2002 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for Play Writing and Screenwriting....
] - Flights by Susan Cameron
- The Devil's Parole by Eric Giancoli