Readiness is All
T0
Leading on from the success of the inaugural Tim Williams' Awards programme, First Time, launched in memory of the London Shakespeare Workout's (LSW) late Musical Director in June, ten vibrant British composers (ranging from Conor Mitchell and Tim Arnold to two 20 year old Cambridge University wunderkinds, Liam Dunachie and Edward Bell) have been given 17 lyrics (7 original) inspired by/drawn from classical/established texts, a dramatic scenario for each alongside a suggested musical style (to ensure variety) and the range of one of the 18 West End Singers who will take interactive part in this celebration of the art of song. Results from this hive of creative artistry will be unveiled at LSW's second Tim Williams Awards Programme, READINESS IS ALL on Sunday, 11 October 2009 between 6 pm and 8.45 pm at the Cochrane Theatre, Southampton Row, London WC1B 4AP (two minutes up from Holborn tube, map here). Entry is by Pay-What-You-Can Donation with a £3 minimum requested. Cash awards will again be made at the presentation's conclusion in Tim Williams' name for (i) best composition; (ii) best original lyric inspired by a classical/established text and (iii) best interpretation of song by a performing artist as determined by the distinguished READINESS IS ALL panel of judges including Frank Lazarus (composer of the Tony Award Winning A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine), celebrated actress Lynn Farleigh, literary and media journalists Mark Shenton and Edward Seckerson, composer David Hewson and the noted West End performer/director Michael Strassen. Reservations can be made via twa@europe.com or by calling 0207 793 9755. Original compositions to lyrics from pens ranging from William Shakespeare, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edna St. Vincent Millay and Noel Coward to Mary Stuart, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Charlie Chaplin will be performed by leading performers from Les Mis, We Will Rock You, Avenue Q, Hairspray, Lion King, Piaf, The Producers, Phantom of the Opera, Porgy and Bess, Sunset Boulevard and RADA's extraordinary Michael Peavoy, 2009 Sondheim Student Singer of the Year. Original songs will be presented in the personages of Edith Piaf, Streetcar's Blanche Dubois, Joe Orton, Carol Ann Duffy and Martin Luther King Jr. Musical styles presented by the talented composers will span Cole Porter to Hector Berlioz; from Blues to Blue grass. In addition to Tim Arnold rocking to his own 'Fall of a Sparrow' inspired by a letter from Sir Derek Jacobi and repeated First Time highlights (including Alfie Granger-Howell's TWA winning composition, We Wear the Mask, Craig Adams' thrilling Andronicus Returns, Nick Pegden's dark On Tamil Hill and Rachel Lyske's haunting treatise on a contemplative Queen Elizabeth II, When I Was), lyrical themes addressed will range from a witty take on Seventeenth Century feminism to an Afgan campaign widow's determination to overcome; from the frustrations found in attaining Depression-era housing repairs to an African Bishop's struggle with homosexuality in the Church of England.
Archive :: concert:S0214800998, venue:V181
