Month: April 2017

Marcia Gay Harden and Brian J. Smith in

 

SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH by Tennessee Williams

2 – 24 June, Festival Theatre

Full casting has been announced for Tennessee Williams’ SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH, directed byJonathan Kent, running at Chichester Festival Theatre from 2 – 24 June, with a press night on Friday 9 June.

The company is headed by two of America’s leading stage and screen actors: celebrated Oscar and Tony Award-winning actor Marcia Gay Harden makes her UK theatre debut as Alexandra, and Brian J. Smith plays Chance. Joining them are: Emma Amos, Hester Arden, Matthew Barker, Victoria Bewick, Alex Bhat, Ray Emmet Brown, Graham Butler, Richard Cordery (as ‘Boss’ Finley),Ingrid Craigie, Joy Cruickshank, Tim Francis, Kurt Kansley, Rob Ostlere, Sam Phillips, Daniel Tuite and Ewart James Walters.

1956, a hotel on the Gulf of Mexico. Alexandra del Lago, a fading Hollywood legend, has fled the ridicule that greeted the premiere of her come-back movie. Desperate for anonymity and forgetfulness, she is holed up in a small seaside town on the Gulf of Mexico. With her is Chance Wayne – a young hustler, trying to lend his wasted, disreputable life some meaning and now returning home to reclaim his childhood love from her ruthless father, the corrupt politician ‘Boss’ Finley.

In perhaps his most searing and personal of plays, Tennessee Williams examines failed ambition, lost youth and love, and the corruption and bigotry that lurks beneath the American Dream. As the present-day United States faces uncertainty and momentous change, Sweet Bird of Youth is a portrayal of the degradation of American values and the corrosive lure of celebrity.

Academy and Tony Award-winning actor Marcia Gay Harden, whose work embraces independent and studio films, television and theatre, plays Alexandra. Her many film roles include the artist Lee Krasner in Pollock, for which she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress; Celeste in Mystic River, for which she received another Oscar nomination; Miller’s Crossing, The First Wives Club, Meet Joe Black, Mona Lisa Smile, The Hoax, Used People, Grandma, Into the Wild, American Gun, Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker. She stars in the CBS drama Code Black, while earlier television work includes The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler and Law and Order: SVU, for both of which she received Emmy Award nominations, and the critically acclaimed HBO series The Newsroom.

Marcia Gay Harden made her Broadway debut in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, for which she received a Tony Award nomination as well as Drama Desk and Theatre World awards. She won the Tony Award and Outer Critics’ Circle Award for Best Actress in 2009 for Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage, a role she reprised in Los Angeles in 2011 with the original Broadway cast.

Brian J. Smith, who plays Chance, earned Olivier and Tony Award nominations for his role as the Gentleman Caller in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, a role he first played on Broadway and is currently reprising in the West End. His screen work includes Trey in the independent filmHate Crime; Matthew Scott in the TV series Stargate Universe; and Will Gorski in Netflix’s Sense8, of which a new series starts in May.

Director Jonathan Kent returns to Chichester following his hugely successful productions of theYoung Chekhov Trilogy (Evening Standard Award for Best Revival), Gypsy and Sweeney Todd (both of which won Olivier Awards for Best Musical Revival) and Private Lives, all of which transferred to London. He was Joint Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre from  1990 – 2002.

The production will be designed by Anthony Ward, with lighting by Mark Henderson, music by Debbie Wiseman, sound by Paul Groothuis and video by Andrzej Goulding.

 

SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH  is sponsored by Covers Timber & Builders Merchants and Harwoods Group.

EVENTS

 

Pre-Show Talk with Jonathan Kent           Wednesday 7 June, 5.45pm

Free but booking essential.

Late with Kate & Marcia Gay Harden         Thursday 15 June, Post-Show

Marcia Gay Harden joins Kate Mosse to talk about her extraordinary film career and Tony Award-winning work in theatre.  Free.

Post-Show Talk                                            Monday 19 June

Stay after the performance to ask questions, meet company members and discover more. Free.

 

The Trump Effect                             Saturday 24 June, 11am, Steven Pimlott Building

Alongside Caroline, Or Change and Sweet Bird of Youth, a panel of history students and academics from the University of Chichester examine some of the most dramatic periods in American history – times of political and social change. Tickets £5.

 

Digital Drafts                                     Saturday 15 July – Saturday 12 August

Listen to a series of new short plays through sound installation boxes in the Festival Theatre Foyer. Using themes from Sweet Bird of Youth as a stimulus, young playwrights will work together to craft their short pieces, which will be recorded in radio play style by members of Chichester Festival Youth Theatre. Free.

 

BOOKING INFORMATION

Box Office 01243 781312

Online cft.org.uk

 

Tickets from £10. Prologue tickets for 16 – 25 year olds for £5.

Lazarus Theatre presents

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

Tuesday 18 July to Saturday 5 August 2017

I see a woman may be made a fool If she had not a spirit to resist.

Lazarus Theatre’s Season of Legacy continues with Shakespeare’s feisty The Taming of the Shrew. Kate talks too much; at least, that’s what the men of Padua think. So they persuade Petruchio to marry her and bring his wilful wife to heel. Part farce, and part tragedy, The Taming of the Shrew dramatises society’s attempt to control and one woman’s bid to resist. Shakespeare’s witty play hits the stage in an all-new gusty and energetic ensemble production. Using text, movement and a contemporary score, this is a Shrew not to be missed.

Listings Information

Venue: Brockley Jack Studio Theatre

410 Brockley Road, London, SE4 2DH

Box office: www.brockleyjack.co.uk

or 0333 666 3366 (£1.50 fee for phone bookings only)

Dates: Tuesday 18 July to Saturday 5 August 2017

Performances at 7.45pm

Tickets: £15, £12 concessions (suitable for 12+)

Theatre website: www.brockleyjack.co.uk

 

Press for previous Lazarus productions:

The Caucasian Chalk Circle is an exciting and engrossing piece of theatre… The overall effect is amazing ★★★★★ The Upcoming on The Chalk Circle

Electrifyingly staged…a striking and rewarding climax… staged by the London fringe masters of the classics. ★★★★ Entertainment Focus on Dido Queen of Carthage

Excellent…This is cutting-edge Shakespeare, don’t miss it. Lazarus’ work epitomises the spirit of fringe theatre. ★★★★ Everything Theatre on Troilus and Cressida

The Taming of the Shrew

 

Social Media

Twitter: @BrocJackTheatre

Facebook: /brocjacktheatre

Twitter: @LazarusTheatre Facebook: /LazarusTheatre

Rotterdam by Jon Brittain

Arts Theatre, 6-7 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JB

Wednesday 21st June – Saturday 15th July 2017

After its triumphant win at the 2017 Olivier Awards for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre, Donnacadh O’Briain’s critically acclaimed production of Rotterdam by Jon Brittain will be returning to London following a highly successful run at Trafalgar Studios and at 59E59 Theater’s Brits Off Broadway in New York.

Anna Martine Freeman (The Nether), Alice McCarthy (Boris: World King), Ed Eales-White (Strap In – It’s Clever Peter) and Ellie Morris (Peter Pan Goes Wrong) reprise their roles in this poignant and highly comic production.

Alice wants to come out as a lesbian. Her girlfriend Fiona wants to start living as a man. It’s New Year in Rotterdam, and Alice has finally plucked up the courage to email her parents and tell them she’s gay. But before she can hit send, Fiona reveals that he has always identified as male and now wants to start living as a man named Adrian. Now, as Adrian confronts the reality of his transition, Alice faces a question she never thought she’d ask… does this mean she’s straight?

Rotterdam is a bittersweet comedy about gender, sexuality and being a long way from home by acclaimed writer Jon Brittain, co-creator of Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho, and writer of What Would Spock Do? and A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad).

Director Donnacadh O’Briain comments, Rotterdam made me laugh-out-loud and well up with tears from the first time I picked it out of a pile of scripts, and it continues to do that every time I see it. It’s an honour and a joy to share that with the theatre capital of the world.

Jon Brittain was inspired to write Rotterdam after a couple of his friends transitioned in the late 2000s. He became aware of the absence of transgender stories in pop culture and wanted to address this on the stage. Through writing this show, he researched and consulted widely including talking to trans people and their partners, conducting a reading for members of the trans communities and discussing the show with various organisations, including Trans Media Watch who then endorsed Rotterdam, and the charity Gendered Intelligence, who the company dedicated their Olivier award to.

Brittain has written four wonderful characters, the central couple giving McCarthy and Martine the chance to put in two powerful performances. (Time Out).

While the themes are gay and transgender – and quite cutting edge, as the subject is relatively rare in theatre – it is a piece that is universally human. (The Upcoming)

Brittain handles complex issues with great honesty and thoughtfulness, but also with a refreshing amount of wit. (Evening Standard)

BRAND NEW MUSICAL HEAVEN ON EARTH ANNOUNCES UK ARENA TOUR 2017 – 2018

STARRING KERRY ELLIS, HUGH MAYNARD

FEATURING THE VOICE OF RUSSELL WATSON

Newcastle Theatre Royal – until 29 April 2017.  Reviewed by Daniel Harrison

Thirty years on from its original 1987 premiere at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Stephen Mallatratt’s ingenious stage adaptation of Susan Hill’s chilling gothic novella remains one of the great theatre experiences around, enthralling continuously with its signature blend of intense atmosphere, innovative stagecraft and impeccably composed moments of horror.

The Woman In Black takes Susan Hill’s novel and transforms it to backstage at a theatre a barely audible Arthur Kipps (David Acton) trying – and failing – to lay the ghost to rest by putting his horrifying decades-old story into words for a play.  Kipps says he has been haunted by a ghostly woman dressed in black ever since an ill-fated business trip years ago to the desolate North East of England. Kipps, a Junior solicitor summoned to the small market town of Crythin Gifford to handle the estate of the late Mrs Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of the desolate and foreboding Eel Marsh House, all the while haunted by an ominous woman in black, who stalks the town and its residents with a sinister purpose in mind.  He enlists a young actor to help him make a presentation, hoping that in the telling his demons will be dispelled and a horrible weight lifted from his soul.  The actor (Matthew Spencer), who portrays a young Kipps living the nightmare as a fresh-faced, loved-up and and optimistic London solicitor, skips down the aisle injecting energy into the production.  Done with such gusto, the audience are made to jump, a taste of what is to come.

The demanding two-hander is expertly rendered courtesy of Spencer and Acton, who give exceptional performances as The Actor and Kipps.  Acton using his impressive dexterity to portray the diverse cast of characters conjured in the tale and his diversity to switch character to character as well as his ability to still have amazing comic timing was shown impressively.  While Spencer immerses himself brilliant in the role of young Kipps.  He had the whole audience sitting on the end of each syllable while he would lead everyone through the story with great suspense

By Act Two, both actors are in their element, taking turns at narrating and bringing to life Eel Marsh House and the ghostly going on that occur there. Through simple staging, some clever lighting and some faintly gauzed scenes, the ghostly spectre of Alice Drablow is summoned and makes her appearance bringing forth screams and shrieks from the audience who have already succumbed to the wondrous story-telling. A door, superb sound & lighting effects, a nursery, a bed, some stairs and the atmospheric marshes that surround the haunted mansion then take centre stage as Spencer bravely stays the night, much to the discomfort of the audience.

It is obvious that I cannot give much more away but what it is clear in this production is that it teaches us that the use of imagination in the theatre is key. As an audience we are transported into this story through the very fundamentals of theatrical storytelling – recorded sound, lighting, a gauze, smoke and expertly timed moments combine to make the audience gasp, jump and scream in terror (and delight) throughout the evening. The tension through the silence at times this evening was deafening as this busy theatre collectively sat on the edge of their seats.  Proving tonight was all you need is great actors, some simple stage effects and a compelling story to have your audience gripped; and that we were.

Although famous as a ghost story, The Woman In Black as much of an exploration of grief. We may not relate to ghouls and mysterious bumps in the night but we all understand loss, dread. “There is nothing here to frighten or harm me, only emptiness,” says young Kipps upon entering the dreaded Eel Marsh House. By the end of the play it’s clear that there’s plenty to fear in emptiness.

Having run now for nearly thirty years, and with a successful film version starring Daniel Radcliffe released in recent times, there is an entirely new audience experiencing The Woman In Black on stage. On the night we attended the audience ranged from thirteen to eighty years of age, each responding with glee as the tale unfolded and the scares started.

The show was a true reflection on why theatre still remains genius. The ability to affect a whole audience with just the change of a light and sound effect had the entire room on the end of their seat.  It’s great to see a new audience finding this play. It’s well-worth a visit but don’t go alone!

Immersion Theatre Company and Damien Tracey Productions present
DEENA PAYNE STEPS IN FOR

LINDA NOLAN IN OUR HOUSE

Featuring Madness hits like It Must Be Love, House of Fun and Baggy Trousers

From 10^th August – 25^th November 2017

 

Actress and singer Deena Payne is to join the UK Tour of OUR HOUSE, following the unfortunate withdrawal of Linda Nolan. Having previously been announced in the role of Kath Casey in the Olivier Award-winning Madness musical, Linda Nolan has withdrawn from the tour following her recent cancer diagnosis. Deena Payne, best known for her role as Viv Hope in ITV’s Emmerdale, will take up the role of Kath Casey along with newly announced cast members Jason Kadji (Joe Casey) and Sophie Matthew (Sarah).

On the night of his 16^th birthday, Joe Casey takes the girl of his dreams, Sarah, out on their first date. In an effort to impress her with bravado, Joe breaks into a building site overlooking his home on Casey Street. When the police turn up, a split-second decision forces him to choose between himself and his heart as the story splits in two: one which sees Joe stay to face the music, and the other which sees him flee and leave Sarah to run from the police. As two very different paths unfold before him, the consequences of that choice will change his life forever.

Deena Payne is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Viv Windsor in ITV’s Emmerdale, a role which she played for eighteen years. Having begun her career as a dancer on stage and TV, she went on to work extensively in musical theatre: Cabaret, Only in America (the Roundhouse Chalkfarm), Who’s a Lucky Boy (Manchester Exchange), One Careful Owner, (tour) and the original West End production of They’re Playing Our Song (Shaftesbury Theatre). Following her departure from Emmerdale in 2011, Deena went on to play three tours of Tim Firth’s critically acclaimed stage adaptation of Calendar Girls.

Deena said: “My thoughts are with Linda, and we all send her lots of love at this very unsettling time. Though I know she’d want the madness to continue, and I’m thrilled to take on the challenge. Great songs, brilliant story – a real fun-loving musical!”

Taking a starring role as Joe Casey, Jason Kajdi is currently appearing as Ernest (and first cover for Bert) in the international stage tour of Mary Poppins. His other theatre credits include West Side Story (Kilworth House), 27: The Rise of a Falling Star (The Cockpit) and the European premiere production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 21 Chump St. (From Page to Stage 2016).

Sophie Matthew makes her professional stage debut in the role of Sarah, having previously starred as Ginny in Channel 4’s critically acclaimed drama series Humans. Her theatre credits include Fast Film Noir (TheSpace, Edinburgh Festivals) and Magic of the Musicals (Royal Albert Hall, 2016 & 2017).

OUR HOUSE was first staged at the Cambridge Theatre in London’s West End from October 2002 to August 2003 and won the 2003 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical. This tour will be directed by Immersion Theatre’s James Tobias and choreographed by the resident choreographer of Matilda The Musical, Fabian Aloise.

DAVID WALLIAMS’ GANGSTA GRANNY AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

 

Watch out! The cabbage-crunching, criminal master-mind, GANGSTA GRANNY is coming to Leeds

 

It’s Friday night and Ben knows that means only one thing – staying with Granny. There will be cabbage soup, cabbage pie and cabbage cake; it’s going to be so boring! But what Ben doesn’t know is that Granny has a secret and Friday nights are about to get more exciting than he could ever imagine, as he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime with his very own Gangsta Granny.

 

Gangsta Granny is based on the book of the same name written by comedian and Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams who said of the production: “What a fantastic show! Superb! And so much better than the book!”

Gangsta Granny is a family show suitable for those aged 5 to 105. It’s laugh out loud funny whilst being very moving and takes an honest look at family relationships.

Gangsta Granny is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Wednesday 3^rd to Sunday 7^th May

 

Tickets are priced from £21 to £25

 

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700

JEREMY IRONS TO NARRATE

UK PREMIERE OF

VOICES OF THE AMAZON

A NEW DANCE MUSICAL

AT SADLER’S WELLS THEATRE

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED

Sisters Grimm are delighted that Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony Award-winning Jeremy Irons has agreed to narrate their new show, VOICES OF THE AMAZON, a passionate dance musical from the heart of Brazil. VOICES OF THE AMAZON, which is receiving its UK premiere at Sadler’s Wells from 4 to 8 July, is directed by Pietra Mello-Pittman, choreographed by Helen Pickett and composed by Ella Spira in collaboration with Brazilian songwriters Danny Nascimento, Dito Martins and Julien Davis and world‐renowned percussionists Olodum.

 

Jeremy Irons many roles in film, television and theatre include Brideshead Revisited (Golden Globe nominated), The French Lieutenant’s Woman (BAFTA nominated), Elizabeth 1 (Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner), The Mission, Reversal of Fortune (Academy Award winner) and The Real Thing on Broadway (Tony Award winner).  In October 2011, he was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.  He supports a number of charities, including the Prison Phoenix Trust in England, and the London-based Evidence for Development which seeks to improve the lives of the world’s most needy people by preventing famines and delivering food aid, for both of which he is an active patron.

 

Jeremy Irons said of his involvement in VOICES OF THE AMAZON “I was very much impressed by both Pietra and Ella in the way they approached me and intrigued by the multi-media approach to the world wide problem of deforestation and attacks upon indigenous populations. Something about their spirit came through their proposal and now having worked with them I know it will imbue the final production which I look forward to seeing.”

 

The international cast of VOICES OF THE AMAZON stars British-born Rachel Maybank (McQueen at Theatre Royal Haymarket, Manon, Adriana Lecouvreur and Athis at the Royal Opera House) as Beleza, and features Brazilian dancers and singers Charles Damasio, Hicaro Nicolai, Fernanda Muniz, Kauê Ribeiro and Leilani Telles, who make their professional UK debuts in VOICES OF THE AMAZON. Completing the cast are Michelle Buckley, Liam Burke and Kay Elizabeth from the United States, and Stefanos Dimoulas from Greece, as well as musicians Rob Barron – (Musical Director, Piano & Synths), Adam Kovacs (Percussion 1), Matthew West (Percussion 2), Tina Jacobs (Viola) and Lucy Skinner (Cello).

 

VOICES OF THE AMAZON will open at Sadler’s Wells on 4 July 2017 following an appearance at the Chekhov International Theatre Jubilee Festival in Moscow from 14-16 June. The show will then travel to Singapore to perform at Grand Theatre, Marina Bay Sands from 28-30 July. The show has recently been announced as part of the line-up for Latitude festival 2017.

 

Set amidst the Brazilian rainforest, VOICES OF THE AMAZON follows the story of Beleza; a water spirit from the Amazon, whose search to cure her dying sister takes her on a life-changing journey deep into the rainforest.

 

VOICES OF THE AMAZON features a sensational musical score, containing sounds recorded from the Amazon Rainforest, with music and songs performed in English and Portuguese. Combined with Helen Pickett’s fusion of ballet, contemporary and capoeira, the show aims to highlight the damaging effects of deforestation, the loss of natural medicines and plants, and promises an exhilarating live experience, embracing the true spirit of Brazil.

 

VOICES OF THE AMAZON has lighting design by Ben Cracknell, stage and costume design by Temple Clark and sound design Adrian Rhodes. WWF, EDEN and Alexander Van Tulleken (CBBC’s Operation Ouch, Channel 4’s How to Lose Weight Well) will provide scientific consultation.

 

VOICES OF THE AMAZON is produced by Sisters Grimm, the creators of the Grammy® Award-nominated show INALA.

 

Website: voicesoftheamazon.co.uk

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/sistersgrimmltd

Twitter: @amazon_voices

Instagram: @voicesoftheamazon

 

Running time: 100 mins (including interval)

UK LISTINGS INFORMATION

4 – 8 July 2017

 

Sadler’s Wells

Rosebery Ave,

London EC1R 4TN

 

Performances: Tuesday – Saturday at 7.30pm and Saturday at 2.30pm

 

Tickets: £12 – £38

Box Office:  020 7863 8000

Website: www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2017/sisters-grimm-voices-of-the-amazon

PANTO PIONEER MICHAEL HARRISON TO BE AWARDED FREEDOM OF NEWCASTLE

 

Leading West End producer Michael Harrison is to be awarded Honorary Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in recognition of his services to Newcastle Theatre Royal and its record-breaking pantomime.

 

Michael, a pre-eminent West End theatre producer behind several major global successes including The Bodyguard, travels back to his home town of Newcastle every year to produce the Theatre Royal’s legendary annual panto and has opened several major touring shows at the venue, including Chess and Annie.

 

The title of ‘Honorary Freeman’ is purely honorary (and does not confer the privileges of Hereditary Freemen) but still represents the highest honour the Council can bestow.  Following a formal installation ceremony on 3 May, Michael’s name will be engraved on the Banqueting Hall wall at the Civic Centre alongside the names of other esteemed recipients of the honour since 1886.

 

Michael said: “To be made a Freeman of my home city is a great honour to me – no matter where I travel Newcastle will always have a great place in my heart, and will always be ‘home’.  I have had a relationship with the Theatre Royal since being a boy and it is a very special Theatre and a particular highlight on the touring and producing calendar.”

 

Philip Bernays, chief executive of Newcastle Theatre Royal, who nominated Michael for the honour with Theatre Royal Trust Chairman Bill Midgley (OBE), said: “We are very proud of Michael in so many ways.  He’s a leading light in his field and an inspiration to so many.  His pantomimes are frankly the best in the world, and it is a great honour to have him at the helm of ours.  This new accolade is well deserved.”

 

Four Honorary Freedom awards will be conferred in total this year, the other recipients being The Little Sisters of the Poor, Freddy Shepherd and Bruce Shepherd OBE.  The ceremony will be held in the Council Chambers at the Civic Centre and recipients will be invited to process with the Lord Mayor’s party before signing the Register of Honorary Freemen.

 

In his role as Managing Director of Qdos Pantomimes Michael has produced over 100 pantomimes for the company and will oversee a staggering 35 pantos this Christmas, three of which he will personally direct (including Newcastle Theatre Royal’s record breaking Peter Pan). But before then he will be bringing massive West End hits Funny Girl (starring Sheridan Smith, 16-20 May), Sunset Boulevard (9-14 October) and Beautiful (The Carol King musical, 14-18 Nov) to the Theatre Royal.  In August he will also be premiering his latest show here, a comedy musical collaboration with Mel Brooks – Young Frankenstein (26 Aug – 9 Sep) immediately prior to a West End run.

 

This year’s high-flying Theatre Royal panto Peter Pan (28 Nov ‘17 – 21 Jan ‘18) will be the thirteenth consecutive pantomime Michael has created for Newcastle Theatre Royal, and has already sold a record 60,000 tickets.  Of the twelve pantos he has created for the Theatre starring now local legends Danny Adams and Clive Webb, last year’s Cinderella hit the millionth ticket mark.
Peter Pan – The High Flying Pantomime Adventure appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday 28 November 2017 – Sunday 21 January 2018 (Evenings: 7pm and 5pm, Matinees: 2pm and 1pm). Tickets are from £13.00 and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk For information on the other shows Michael is bringing to the Theatre Royal please also visit the Theatre’s website.