Sir Ian McKellen has endorsed a new manifesto for Shakespeare in schools from the Royal Shakespeare Company called Stand Up for Shakespeare . The RSC spent a year working and consulting with teachers, students, policy makers and theatre companies to explore what could make Shakespeare exciting and accessible for everyone. They concluded that the Bard is best "when you: do it on your feet; see it live; and start it earlier." You can sign the manifesto at Stand Up for Shakespeare and also find out all about the program, which includes information for teachers and students.

The design for the donor wall of a new Ronald McDonald House in Wellington, New Zealand, was recently taken on by Richard Taylor and WETA Workshop. Taylor chose a design created by Daniel Falconer who envisaged the donor wall painted with translucent hearts.

Taylor said children with serious health problems were normally "cast adrift in the wind" by the hospital system. "Ronald McDonald House helps the children by catching them and tethers them emotionally by allowing them to spend time with their family at a point when they need it the most."

The donor wall has a tall order to fill: fundraisers need to bring in $9.5 million to bring the Newhouse faciity into being. For more information on how to help go to "Ronald McDonald House.

Orlando Bloom attended a Gucci fundraiser for UNICEF during Fashion Week. The event, "A Night to Benefit Raising Malawi and Unicef", was co-hosted by Madonna and drew a number of high-profile celebrities. An impressive $5.5 million was raised from ticket sales and a live auction. The funds will help African orphans and children whose parents have been struck by HIV/AIDS.

Further details continue to emerge about Orlando's lauded trip to Nepal as a UNICEF ambassador, from November 30th to December 9th, 2007. During his tour of the country he visited and examined multiple UNICEF-supported facilities, "meeting with UNICEF staff, health facilitators and educators, as well as women’s and other community groups" [Source]. Nepal is still plagued by problems, including malnutrition and child/mother mortality, in the wake of its prolonged civil war. However, trends are showing improvement in overall conditions in the country. Among his many activities with the locals he encountered, Orlando participated in a youth radio drama. Among other apt lines in his script, Bloom's character wisely said, "It’s always good to talk about issues that concern you." [Source]

Sir Ian McKellen, Kevin Spacey and Joanna Lumley along with other members of the actors' union Equity have passed a motion of no confidence in the Arts Council England. They are angry at proposals to cut the funding of nearly 200 organizations (previously mentioned here in "Bernard Hill speaks out on proposed UK arts cuts"). McKellen was among those calling for a delay in the decisions. He told the Guardian: "The relationship between the Arts Council and its clients has always been uneasy - understandably, we're at their mercy. If there is some delay and some discussion then that must be healthy."

Find out more at:

Actors Boo Arts Council over swingeing cuts (Guardian Unlimited)

Actors angry at arts funding cuts (BBC News)

Bernard Hill is one of several celebrities who have taken up the fight against "savage" funding cuts which will devastate the arts in East Anglia, according to the Eastern Daily Press, UK. Last month, EDP reports, the future of community theatre and education groups Eastern Angles and Creative Arts East (CAE), the City of London Sinfonia's residency at Lynn, and the Norwich Puppet Theatre were put in jeopardy by proposed sweeping cuts to their budgets starting in April. The final decision on their fight for survivial will be made by the Arts Council on January 23.

Suffolk-based Bernard Hill commented, "A healthy community needs the arts in rural areas, sponsorship should be spread equally not just given to the Royal Opera House and the Royal Ballet. These cuts to live rural theatre are a symptom of the philistine dubbing down of the nations attitude to live performance."

Read more at EDP.

Billy Boyd returned to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra on December 18 for a fast-becoming tradition of narrating the magical family film, The Snowman, based on the book by Raymond Briggs. The evening also included a festive pot-pourri of Christmas classic, and singalong carols.

The Wordsworth Trust is delighted to announce the launch of a new CD of readings from William Wordsworth's magisterial, semi-autobiographical poem, The Prelude, by the world-famous Shakespearean actor and film star, Sir Ian McKellen. Ian recorded this reading of the first complete version of The Prelude, 1805, at Dove Cottage in 2005 and 2006. The CD includes many of the famous 'spots of time,' such as the boat-stealing and ice-skating episodes, Mont Blanc, Paris after the French revolution, 'Bliss was in that dawn to be alive' and the ascent of Snowdon. The CD is a companion to Ian's 2006 recording og Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Find out more at Dove Cottage, The Wordsworth Museum & Art Gallery.

The final pieces of a billboard promoting the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre in Wellington, New Zealand, were added by WETA Workshop Director Richard Taylor on November 29, 2007 and delivered by over 200 carrier pigeons!

The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre features a world-class collection of aircraft in lifelike exhibits and is widely acknowledged as one of the world's best World War One aviation experiences.

The role that the homing pigeons played in WWI cannot be underestimated. The most famous homing pigeon was Cher Ami, who was awarded the French Croix de Guerre during the battle of Argonne in October 1918. Under heavy enemy fire, and despite being blinded in one eye, shot through the breast and having a leg dangling by a tendon, Cher Ami delivered a message from the front line to the US 77th Dvision HQ that saved 194 men of the "lost battalion"!

The full article and a video are available at the WETA Workshop site!

Hugo Weaving presented 17 grants at this year's Voiceless Awards on December 3, 2007 at the restaurant Guillaume at Bennelong in Sydney, Australia. Voiceless is an animal rights organization and the annual event is "a unique occasion where the fantastic work of all the individuals and groups who make up the animal protection movement is publicly acknowledged" according to director Brian Sherman.

Weaving gave up red meat five years ago, inspired by his two children. "It is not a prescriptive thing, he said. "Both my children are vegetarians.... The more I started thinking about it, the more I thought my son's natural, childish reaction was spot on."