Music is for lovers.
Written by Romy Journée
What do the composers Tchaikovsky, Brahms, and Verdi all have in common? If you said impressive beards, you wouldn’t be wrong, but another thing that links these musical maestros is their status as Romantic composers. The age of Romantic music is best understood within the broader concept of Romanticism, the stylistic and intellectual movement that began in late 18th century Europe. This movement, aptly named, saw an increased desire to romanticize human emotion; romanticism encouraged self-expression through art, which gave musicians freedom to create music that spoke to them. This period of history taught us that music is personal - it has the power to speak to us, and make us feel a certain way. Come the 21st century, and we can readily access music that speaks to us at the drop of a hat, whether that is a modern bop, or quite literally from the Romantic era!
While the roots of Valentine’s Day can be traced back to the 3rd century, it is no surprise that the modern holiday began to take shape in the Romantic era, with the tradition of exchanging cards and gifts as a token of admiration becoming established. Nowadays, it is easy to get caught up in a commercial whirlwind of flowers, chocolates, and expensive evenings out - while many of us like these nice things, others no doubt resent the cliché of it all. If the idea of finding yourself in the chocolate aisle at the big Tesco’s choosing between a milk tray or Lindt truffles is nightmare material, we don’t blame you ! The essence of Valentine’s Day as a celebration of love is sometimes forgotten when we focus our energy on what we ‘should’ spend our pennies on, rather than what represents love to us personally.
We all love music, but we might not necessarily view it as a gift in itself - but there are plenty of ways you can give the gift of music in a way that is personal and memorable. Sure, a curated playlist is a nice gesture, but if you’re looking to metaphorically package your musical gift up beautifully, a personalised musical performance is an elevated way to create your own personal Valentine’s Day fairy-tale, tailored to your significant other, friends, or anyone you want to show your love for this February 14th. The location and song choices for your Street Theatre performance are completely up to you, and we are happy to serve as the main present for your evening, or share the spotlight with a stuffed bear and a bouquet of red roses! What’s more, if zoom dates are still the reality for you right now, we can send these same tailored performances straight to your inbox! If you can already see your perfect evening taking shape to the tune of you and your Valentine’s favourite songs, feel free to click off this post and head over to book your performance. If not, may we suggest some songs you could request? Who knows, they might speak to you in a way that rivals Romantic composers!
Check out some of our favourite songs for Valentine’s Day.
For the classic romantics…
Unexpected Song, from ‘Song and Dance’
So In Love, from ‘Kiss Me, Kate!’
I See The Light, from ‘Tangled’
So This is Love, from ‘Cinderella’
For the celebrations of friendship…
For Good, from ‘Wicked’
Some Things Are Meant to Be, from ‘Little Women’
‘I Don’t Need Your Love,’ from ‘Six’
For the anti-Valentine’s crew…
The History of Wrong Guys, from ‘Kinky Boots’
I Won’t Say (I’m In Love), from ‘Hercules’
Get Down, from ‘Six’
The Green Side of Gifting
13/12/2021 written by Romy Journée
The recent declaration of a climate emergency has many of us wondering what we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. Whether that’s giving up driving to work in favour of public transport, shopping slow fashion, or just forgoing that plastic bag at the store, many of us are looking to make small differences in our daily lives. This is an idea that can certainly be challenged in the holiday period, where the hoards of festive gifts we purchase not only hurts our wallets, but sometimes our eco-friendly pledges! It’s understandable; the Christmas season is traditionally a time of giving and getting, usually in the form of a gift wrapped in colourful paper placed under the tree. The expectation of a pretty physical package, on top of the numerous gift buying guides released by our favourite stores and online giants, ensure that we gravitate towards buying that scented hand cream for Gran, or some new socks for Dad (again!). Sharing in the joy of giving with our loved ones is one of the many reasons we love to give during the holiday period, but we may find ourselves wondering as we look upon the mass of wrapping paper left over from the carnage of Christmas day if there’s a way to celebrate our family and friends without so much...plastic packaging?
Ella McCready performing Jingle Bells in Street Theatre’s 2021 Musical Advent Calendar. Less plastic, more music!
This is Street Theatre’s first Christmas, and we’re hoping to show you that giving a thoughtful gift through the medium of a personalised performance is one that can be joyous for so many people. Experiential gifts are common amongst theatre lovers, but if booking some royal circle seats to take Mum to The Lion King is not quite feasible this year, there’s no need to compromise on performance quality. Our wonderful singers are looking forward to this holiday season, and to share the wonder of your family and friends’ favourite songs with them. “It’s so special,” Jocasta, a classical soprano with Street Theatre, remarks. “It’s a private performance dedicated to you; it’s quite rare. When you see the audiences’ eyes light up, because they’re excited to see you there, it’s pure joy for everyone!” Whether it’s an aria sung by our classical singers or a West End performer singing in your garden, there is a treasured experience waiting to be had for a wide range of theatre lovers, no matter their favourite song, show, or medium. The opportunity to have one performance personally tailored to multiple people is certainly a fantastic way to reduce holiday waste, while still keeping your gift just as meaningful to your loved ones.
Alissa Finn performing one of our favourite Christmas Carols!
What’s more, if you’re looking for some festive entertainment outside of gift giving, Street Theatre would also be thrilled to perform some carols at your Christmas celebrations. After all, perhaps the only thing better than corny Christmas songs could be a renowned performer singing them live for you! “Being able to be that person who will make the audience happier for a while is such a great feeling,” says Street Theatre musical performer Chloe. Celebrating with some carols alongside our loved ones is always fun, but no doubt even more necessary after yet another year plagued with lockdowns and the barring of live performance. Chloe adds “watching performances is the best way to have a nice time away from the pressures of life.” For many of us theatre lovers, having the industry back up and running in time for Christmas is perfect timing, with the magic of performance and the holiday season being some of our favourite ways to ignite some cheer in our lives. And if you’re undecided between a bit of opera, or a fantastic rendition of Silent Night, why not both? You’re at the helm when it comes to curating your Street Theatre gift - our performers are as versatile as they are skilled!
Nothing creates a festive ambience like music - and in giving the gift of performance this holiday season, you’re doing your bit for the planet, the theatre industry, and undoubtedly earning this year’s award for most awesome present. So for whatever reason you’re looking for an experiential gift, for whatever occasion, be sure to keep the versatility of a short musical performance from Street Theatre in mind.
Building back stronger.
28/9/2021 written by Romy Journée
It’s no secret that Covid-19 brought the UK theatre industry to its knees. From unclear furlough legislation leaving performers exempt from government assistance, or the culture secretary suggesting performers retrain in other fields, the arts have been repeatedly neglected throughout this pandemic period. Just this summer, we were seeing entire West End musicals closing for ten days after a single positive covid case in the company, a rule which prompted Andrew Lloyd Webber to close his brand new Cinderella musical right before opening night. The Tony award winning composer explosively stated he couldn’t justify the financial losses; Cinderella was operating at an approximately £100,000 loss due to these sporadic closures and theatres running at half capacity (1). For many performers, like Street Theatre’s Georgina Castle, who plays a stepsister in the production, the reliability of their employment was still very precarious.
Georgina Castle performing with Street Theatre during the pandemic.
Now, we are starting to see some sense of normalcy return. Many theatres are still operating at a loss due to the lack of tourism - but the industry is fighting to keep London’s beloved theatre scene alive. If anything good has come from the hardships this industry has suffered, it’s the strengthened resilience of its wonderful performers. Adapting in such a dynamic profession is an expectation many performers have, but Street Theatre soprano, Catherine Hooper, remarks that “I had to find multiple side gigs to make ends meet, and some of my regular work disappeared. It was demoralising at times, since a lot of the work was nothing to do with my training, but I did try things I have never thought I would and learned how resourceful I can be.” Now that the industry is coming back, there have been demands for it to ‘come back better’ - with better safety nets for freelance performers, more respect for the industry, and to champion more creative, diverse content. “Covid has forced everyone to re-examine what music means and has to offer people,” notes Street Theatre soprano Natasha Jouhl, while Catherine adds “I hope performers will be more discerning with their time and energy coming out of the pandemic. I think we are going to see a shift in how musicians are treated.”
Street Theatre emerged from the need to bridge the gap between full time contractual work in the arts industry. Working so closely with our performers during the pandemic and beyond has allowed us to evolve with the wishes of performers at the forefront of our vision. The performance industry is one that evidently doesn’t offer many casual opportunities in the way that other industries do, which is what makes it necessary for performers to have a side gig that is unrelated to the career they’re trained in. While there is nothing wrong with taking up such a different job, it shouldn’t necessarily have to come to this; by providing these casual opportunities for performers, Street Theatre aims to ensure that performers can hone their craft on their own terms.
Natasha Jouhl performing with Street Theatre
And if there was ever a time to emerge as a new arts company, it is certainly now - not only are Street Theatre supporting a new theatre scene, but are bringing performance back to audiences who have undoubtedly been starved for such entertainment during the pandemic. “Music is a gift, and Street Theatre has helped with this enormously,” says Natasha. “To be able to offer a few minutes of music to people without them needing to leave their homes is very special, especially in times of covid.” Performers and performance lovers shared the same loss of a special industry, and we aimed to show during the height of the pandemic that you don’t need to travel to the West End to see a quality performance, if that is not feasible to you. As we continue to expand and flourish, we can only hope that our mission was, and continues to be, successful!
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/jul/19/andrew-lloyd-webber-cancels-cinderella-opening-night-covid