STRICTLY CHAMPION JOANNE CLIFTON COMPLETES 24 HOUR JIVE TO RAISE MONEY FOR NHS
On Sunday 15 May Strictly Champion and Musical Theatre star Joanne Clifton completed her challenge to dance the Jive for a straight 24 hours to raise funds for NHS Charities together during the COVID-19 crisis.
Dancing from her living room in London Joanne kept fans and viewers delighted from midday on Saturday through to midday on Sunday with her sense of fun and humour and of course fancy footwork with friends calling in live to offer support including brother Kevin, partner AJ Jenks, Katya Jones, Janette Manrara and Oti Mabuse.
Streaming live on Facebook and Instagram with friend and housemate Sasha Latoya keeping her well fed and watered, Joanne only stopped for short toilet breaks finishing the grueling challenge with an energetic Jive dancing to Bandstand from the Blackpool dance festival, a song that was played in the finals for the last dance the Jive, Joanne has danced to this as long as she can remember .
Joanne says “Dad always taught us to ‘flick the switch’ at the key change of the song. Meaning if we were tired that’s the bit we gotta push even harder. And that’s what I did today in the last jive”
Joanne’s parents Keith and Judy Joined her in the final dance remotely.
Joanne admits she hadn’t entirely thought the massive task through before committing to it on Just Giving and announcing it on social media but dived into the challenge nonetheless with 24 hour support from friends and fans on social media helping her along the way.
On completing the task viewers could hear neighbours of Joanne on their balconies cheering and clapping as Joanne broke down in tears thanking all of her fans and friends for their support.
Joanne says “I did this challenge because people at the NHS are risking their own lives every day to save others. The amount of cases that there are, I bet they have had to stay up for 24hours at some points treating and saving them. So yes, the Jive was a challenge , but it was the least I can do. I want to thank everyone who donated, shared or literally stayed with me online with words of encouragement. And Thankyou NHS”
From doorstep to desktop – new era confirmed for Yorkshire theatre company
Badapple Theatre, based in Green Hammerton near York, is celebrating good news after receiving funding from Arts Council England. The emergency funding package will support the company’s new podcast series, developed after the team had to cancel its spring tour due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
Badapple Theatre were due to mark 21 years of success by touring to rural venues across the UK with new production Elephant Rock. The company’s slogan ‘Theatre on Your Doorstep’ has now been reworked to ‘Theatre on Your Desktop’ and the team have already released series one Back to the Land Girls. The funding will now be used to develop this further, adapting a number of previous plays into podcast series’ as well as commissioning three new short plays that are upbeat and resonant for the company’s core rural audiences. Over £300 has also been raised in Friends Membership donations and will be used to support the new venture. All podcast episodes will be free to listen to.
Said Artistic Director Kate Bramley:
“Our audiences are always at the heart of what we do and we hope this will find new ways for us to connect with and support them and our partner creatives. We also recognise that the skills learned and outcomes of this ‘pilot’ could re-define the way we work more successfully over the coming decade. The project will provide work to a number of Yorkshire based freelance actors, writers and professionals and funding will also be used to provide virtual sessions to the company’s Youth Theatre groups.”
Prior to the Covid 19 outbreak the company toured over 90 professional performances annually as well as running a Youth Theatre, Youth Summer School, adult amateur performance and Arts & Sport partnerships from its rural base in North Yorkshire. Artistic Director and Writer Kate Bramley (formerly of Sir John Godber’s Hull Truck, Peter Schumann’s Bread & Puppet Theater) has a 20-year pedigree as a writer, director and rural touring innovator: Using music, puppetry, dance and even ‘live-baking’ to add to the theatrical experience. Jez Lowe (Music Director) is a SONY Radio Academy Award Winner for ‘The Radio Ballads’ (BBC Radio 2) Aria Award for ‘Alone on a Wide Wide Sea’ (by Michael Morpurgo). He has been an internationally acclaimed touring artist for 40 years, performed with the BBC Philharmonic for BBC Radio 2, has presented Radio 4 ‘Open Country’ and has also worked on R&D theatre projects at the National Theatre.
BALLETBOYZ 20th ANNIVERSARY STAGE SHOW DELUXE WILL AIR ON BBC FOUR ON WEDNESDAY 27 MAY AND WILL BE AVAILABLE ON BBC IPLAYER FOR 28 DAYS UNTIL 24 JUNE
BalletBoyz’ 20th anniversary dance show Deluxe has its TV premiere on BBC Four as part of BBC Culture in Quarantine on Wednesday 27 May and will be available on BBC iPlayer for 28 days following the broadcast until 24 June. Bradley 4:18, Act 1, will be shown at 10.30pm, followed by Ripple at 11pm.
Deluxe is choreographed by an exciting team of artists: Bradley 4:18 by Punchdrunk choreographer Maxine Doyle in a collaboration with Mercury Prize-nominated jazz musician Cassie Kinoshi; and Ripple by renowned Shanghai-based choreographer Xie Xin with music by electronic composer Jiang Shaofeng.
Deluxe was filmed during the opening venue performances of BalletBoyz’ 20th anniversary UK Spring Tour before it was cancelled due to Covid-19. BalletBoyz has since been sharing its work with audiences online: Deluxe launched Sadler’s Wells Facebook Premiere series, where the show was due to be performed in March.
Bradley 4:18, choreographed by Punchdrunk’s Maxine Doyle, is inspired by the lyrics and story of spoken word artist Kate Tempest’s Pictures on a Screen, about Bradley, a seemingly successful young man struggling to connect with the world around him. It is set to a score by Mercury Award nominated and Ivors Academy Award winning London-based composer, arranger and alto-saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi. Composed in parallel with the choreographic creation, it is a highly atmospheric, filmic score with a modern jazz flavour. Bradley 4:18 presents the six BalletBoyz dancers as different iterations of the character Bradley and how he might act at 4:18 in the morning.
Ripple is the UK debut production from Chinese choreographer Xie Xin to a highly detailed electronic score by composer, lauded tap dancer and her long-time collaborator Jiang Shaofeng. The piece explores movement inspired by the memory of a person and the flow of energy that such memories and feelings possess. Beautifully fluid and lyrical, it sees the BalletBoyz company express new styles in contrast to their familiar athletic and strength-oriented work.
BalletBoyz was founded in 2000 by Artistic Directors Michael Nunn and William Trevitt. Deluxe is the company’s 20th anniversary production and is performed by the current BalletBoyz company which includes Joseph Barton, Benjamin Knapper, Harry Price, Liam Riddick, Matthew Sandiford and Will Thompson.
Brad Shaw today launches the Wonderland Challenge, in which 165 actors and voice artists have come together to record Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, with each performer reading one minute of the novel. Those involved include Gyles Brandreth, Ruth Jones, Juliet Stevenson, Michael Palin and Harriet Walter. Also reading extracts are Christopher Biggins, John Challis, Henry Goodman, Angela Griffin, Patricia Hodge, Alex Jennings, Griff Rhys Jones, Phyllis Logan, Kevin McNally, and eight cast members of The Archers. The project is in aid of the NHS, with over £3000 of the £10,000 target raised so far.
Five one-minute recordings will be released each day on www.wonderlandchallenge.com until the entire novel is available. The first ten minutes were released today, featuring Hayley-Marie Axe, Claudie Barba, Sarah Borges, Ellie Darvill, Brenda Longman, Julie Love, Catherine Millsom, Brad Shaw, Helen Suzanne, and Ferha Syed.
Brad Shaw said today, “As someone with ‘underlying health conditions’, I’m one of the twelve-week isolators. To stop myself going mad I learnt basic web design and launched isomeet.co.uk as a social and information hub during isolation. I also wanted to do something joyful to get me through, and having been a voice actor for many years I wondered if I could persuade other pro voice artists to record a minute of Alice in Wonderland and donate a tenner to the NHS. Within days, I had filled all 165 slots and a host of wonderfully talented high-profile actors also agreed to join. Each time I listen to a recording, I fill up a bit, they are all wonderful. It’s been a fabulous life-affirming project. I can’t wait for the public to hear it.”
For a trailer of the project, featuring readings from Christopher Biggins, Henry Goodman, Alex Jennings, Phyllis Logan, and Kevin McNally, with an introduction from Brad Shaw, please visit here.
Wonderland Challenge was created by voice artist Brad Shaw (@showreelz) to bring actors and voice artists together for a creative project, and to give back to the frontline NHS workers. Shaw is in self-isolation due to a stage 3 melanoma, and created his website as a social hub for others isolating, to share tips, anecdotes and useful links.
Bristol Old Vic announces free season of streamed shows as part of city-wide Arts Channel
Bristol Old Vic today announced three of the five titles that will be streamed on YouTube as part of the Bristol Arts Channel, a lockdown lifeline for audiences missing the buzz and community of Bristol’s brilliant arts scene. The Bristol Arts Channel will unveil its pilot programme next week, bringing together venues and artists from across the city to create moments of online togetherness in May and June. Founding partners include Bristol Old Vic, Watershed, Colston Hall, St Pauls Carnival, Trinity, Spike Island, St George’s Bristol, MAYK, Arnolfini, Paraorchestra & Friends and Bristol Museums with support from Bristol & Bath Creative R&D and The Space. More details on how artists and audiences can get involved will also be shared.
The programme will include streamed performances, live and archived, interactive events, carnivalesque experiments, online galleries and mini-festivals, all curated by Bristol’s cultural organisations to give audiences the pleasure and thrill of going out from the comfort of their own home. Curtain-raiser events include Colston Hall’s live-streamed music festival Bristol Takeover Online on Sat 23 May and Complicité‘s ground-breaking show The Encounter.
Bristol Old Vic’s season will form a part of Bristol Old Vic’s At Home offer, launched in April and designed to maintain the theatre’s close connection to its audiences, artists and city.
Bristol Old Vic’s pilot season will include Messiah, A Monster Calls and The Grinning Man, with two more titles announced shortly. Each production will preview on Friday evenings at 7pm and will be available through Bristol Old Vic’s website free of charge for a week.
Performances will feature additional material in order to make the experience closer to ‘going out’ while actually being at home.
Tom Morrissaid today, “Watching theatre on your screen at home is not the same as experiencing a play in a beautiful auditorium with hundreds of others. That is why our ambition for this pilot season is not only to make some of Bristol’s most-loved plays accessible to a wider audience, but also to give people a little taste of the magic they may experience when they step into our theatre on King Street, from arriving at the bar to taking your seat as the lights go down. It’s that transformational feeling of surprise and delight that we want to share and celebrate.”
From Fri 29 May, Bristol Old Vic will present the cinema capture of its critically acclaimed 2017 production of Handel’s Messiah. The dramatised production was staged by Bristol Old Vic’s Tony Award-winning Artistic Director Tom Morris, with design by Anna Orton (King Lear, Extraordinary Wall of Silence). It features internationally renowned soloists Catherine Wyn Rogers and Julia Doyle, The Erebus Ensemble (Songs of Hope) and Europe’s most celebrated Baroque orchestra, The English Concert, under the revered baton of Conductor Harry Bicket. Jamie Beddard (The Elephant Man) performs the central non-speaking role of The Beloved.
On Fri 7 Jun, Bristol Old Vic will co-present the Olivier Award-winning Old Vic production of A Monster Calls, created in association with Bristol Old Vic, Jonathan Church Productions and Global Creatures. Based on the bestselling novel by Patrick Ness and inspired by an original idea from Siobhan Dowd, the stage adaptation directed by Sally Cookson (Jane Eyre, Peter Pan) was captured featuring the original cast on camera at the Old Vic in August 2018. The play centres on thirteen-year-old Conor who is visited by a monster who has come to tell him tales from when it walked before, offering a dazzling insight into love, life and healing.
To finish off its first At Home season, on Fri 26 Jun, Bristol Old Vic will stream the trailblazing musical from Artistic Director Tom Morris, The Grinning Man. Following a triumphant premiere as part of the Theatre’s 250th Anniversary Season, the show went on to play in London’s West End in 2017 where it garnered a cult-following across the globe. Based on Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs, the macabre musical tells the story of Grinpayne, a fairground act with a hideous smile, who is helped by an old man, a lone wolf and a blind girl as he journeys to share his terrible secret with the world. Brought to life by writer Carl Grose (Dead Dog in a Suitcase) and “powered by an outstanding score” (The Sunday Times) from Tim Phillips and Marc Teitler, the production features puppetry from Gyre & Gimble, the original puppeteers of War Horse. Bristol Old Vic hopes that this blackly comic conclusion to the season will prove that laughter really is the best medicine.
In the interim, ahead of the premiere of Messiah, Bristol Old Vic will be broadcasting Complicité’s The Encounter, a solo performance by Simon McBurney which was last seen on the Bristol Old Vic stage in 2017. Inspired by National Geographic photographer Loren McIntyre, who, in 1969, became lost in a remote part of the Brazilian rainforest, The Encouter incorporates ground-breaking binaural sound design to question our perceptions of time and our own consciousness. Audiences will be able to tune into the performance from Fri 15 May at 7pm from the Bristol Old Vic website.
The remaining two titles of Bristol Old Vic’s pilot season of streamed work will be announced on 29 May.
Click here to find out more about Bristol Old Vic At Home. Click here to subscribe to Bristol Old Vic’s YouTube channel.
LAMBERT JACKSON PRODUCTIONS AND THE THEATRE CAFÉ CONCLUDE THEIR LEAVE A LIGHT ON SERIES WITH A FAREWELL CONCERT BY BEVERLEY KNIGHT
Lambert Jackson Productions and TheTheatre Café today announce that after 72 shows, the Leave a Light On series will end on Friday 29 May at 6.30pm with a finale concert by Beverley Knight. Other performers in the final week include Adam Bailey, Scott Hunter, Joel Harper-Jackson, and David O’Reilly.
Jamie Lambert and Eliza Jackson said today, “Theatre is the lifeblood of the UK. We have always believed this, and we are grateful to have worked with The Theatre Café to bring entertainment to households around the UK and the world in a way that has supported so many artists. We have been so moved by the responses from both the performers who wanted to be involved and the audience members who have supported the shows. It hasn’t been without difficulty – creating a streaming platform of this size during a lockdown isn’t easy and we’d like to thank our amazing team at Gininet and all of the teams and the press who have supported this endeavour. We feel it’s a fitting end to the series to have Beverley Knight as the closing show, and we are going to continue working to see how we can play our part to help keep theatre alive for the foreseeable future.”
Over the 10-week series, Leave a Light On became one of the biggest paid for sources of theatrical entertainment in the country. By the end of the series, 72 artists will have performed 45-minute concerts from their homes, and over £30,000 will have been raised for those performers.
Lambert Jackson Productions and The Theatre Café would like to express their deepest gratitude to the artists involved for working hard to put on an incredible variety of shows, and also the audiences who purchased tickets to keep theatre alive during one of the most difficult and unprecedented times in history.
DAVID WALLIAMS’ GANGSTA GRANNY RETURNS TO DARLINGTON HIPPODROME
Tickets are on sale now for the award winning children’s story by David Walliams which is brought to life at Darlington Hippodrome from Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 February 2021.
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 and Ben knows one thing for sure – it’s going to be sooooooooo 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!
From the acclaimed producers of Billionaire Boy and Awful Auntie comes the award-winning West End production of this amazing story by David Walliams, the UK’s best-selling author for children.
Gangsta Granny runs at Darlington Hippodrome from Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 February 2021. To book or for more information call the Box office on 01325 405405 or visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk
Sparking ImagiNation: Roy Williams, Chinonyerem Odimba, Jon Brittain and Timberlake Wertenbaker among writers inspiring a nation of storytellers
Theatre Centre, in collaboration with Theatre503, has commissioned 19 of the UK’s most exciting playwrights to write a series of short pieces for the nation, for anyone to read and record a performance. A range of extraordinary talent from multi award-winning writers to thrilling new voices of the future have been brought together to make a digital anthology reflecting humanity and the unprecedented circumstances we are living in.
ImagiNation has been written by: Jon Brittain, Ryan Calais Cameron, Alex Critoph, Zinnie Harris, Matilda Ibini, Asif Khan, Geraldine Lang, Bethan Marlow, Eoin McAndrew, Nicholas McQuillan, Nessah Muthy, Amy Ng, Chinonyerem Odimba, Lettie Precious, Leo Skilbeck, Julie Tsang, Daniel Ward, Timberlake Wertenbaker and Theatre Centre patron Roy Williams.
In keeping with Theatre Centre’s commitment to generate exceptional work in a time of crisis, their anthology will bring people together through the art of storytelling and serve as a timely reminder that we are all coping differently. The stories will be released for everyone in the nation– individuals, families, flatmates, school children, care homes and youth theatres – to submit their version, bringing writers and communities together across the country in exciting and unpredictable acts of everyday creativity. Theatre Centre and Theatre503 will use a selection of these recordings to create a patchwork of the nation – a reflection of these stories told by a multitude of voices. They are pleased to have teamed up with Nick Hern Books, one of the UK’s leading play publisher and performing rights licensors, to be the Publishing Partner for ImagiNation.
Artistic Director of Theatre503, Lisa Spirling, comments, Theatre503 are buzzing to be a part of Theatre Centre’s brilliant ImagiNation project. This is a unique opportunity for us, one where we get to ask the best playwrights in the country (many of whom started their playwriting journey at Theatre503) to be inspired by the moment we are in, and to share that inspiration with the nation, who then tell that story for themselves
Rob Watt, Artistic Director of Theatre Centre adds, We wanted to be able to give families, young people, friends, flatmates something that they could have fun with, as a distraction or a way to reflect on the oddness we are all experiencing. I am super excited to be working with Theatre503 and nineteen frankly awesome writers. I can’t wait to see what the nation creates.
Theatre Centre is also providing fun tutorial videos to inspire and perfect the recordings. These will include top performance tips from actors, directorial insights into how to film and approach the text, as well as vocal coaching to enhance delivery and bring the stories to life.
Recordings can be submitted until 6pm Wednesday 10th June 2020 through Theatre Centre’s website
ImagiNation follows Theatre Centre’s previously announced digital writing course, seeking to champion the next generation of voices under the guidance of professional writers. Through these pioneering projects, striving to make opportunities for writers to keep creating work, Theatre Centre currently have an impressive 23 individual writers under contract over 31 commissions between April – June 2020, responding to the recent uncertainty with creativity and togetherness. Later in the year, in association with Soho Theatre, Theatre Centre will tour a powerful piece of new writing from award-winning playwright Charlotte Josephine, Birds and Bees, interrogating the complicated dynamics of teenage relationships in the digital age.
Line-up includes: Shane Richie, Jeremy Vine, Debbie McGee, Alex Ferns, Mark Watson (award-winning magician, juggler and stunt artist), The Bluebirds (vintage vocal group), Charley Farley Sunday Four and The Rock Choir
After the huge success of Guildford Fringe Theatre Company’s elaborate online festival, Guildford LIVE, they are doing it all again on Thursday 28 May at 6:30pm via www.Facebook.com/GuildfordFringe.
Guildford LIVE #1 was streamed live at the end of April to thank the key workers of Guildford. It has now been viewed by 9700 people and has raised almost £3000 for two local charities, The Royal Surrey County Hospital Charity and The Wysch Foundation. It was clear from the response that the public wanted another one and Guildford Fringe have been happy to oblige.
As well as Guildford LIVE, Guildford Fringe (alongside their sister company Gag House Comedy Clubs) have been producing online shows since the lockdown began, refusing to give up on their business. Shows have included comedy clubs, opera, sing-a-longs and magic shows and they have plans for a lot more in the near future.
Guildford LIVE is certainly Guildford Fringe’s largest online project and one that boasts an incredible line-up of well-known faces and local performing artists. The purpose of the show is to thank all the key workers out there who are working tirelessly to keep the borough moving and to ensure the residents’ safety. These people include all NHS staff, care workers, refuse collectors, essential shop workers, postal workers, emergency services, food bank staff and volunteers and the various council workers that work across the borough behind the scenes.
The show, which will be hosted by Guildford Fringe director Nick Wyschna, will feature a variety of entertainment with confirmed guests including Shane Richie, Jeremy Vine, Debbie McGee, Alex Ferns, Mark Watson (award-winning magician, juggler and stunt artist) and The Bluebirds (vintage vocal group) with returning guests Charley Farley Sunday Four and Guildford’s Rock Choir. There will also be positive messages and interviews from some of the key workers, the very people being celebrated.
Nick Wyschna, managing director of Guildford Fringe commented: “As soon as the last Guildford LIVE finished I sat down with my wife Charlotte and a glass of bubbly and said, ‘I want to do that again!’. As a performer, one of the things I miss the most is the feeling you get when you are in front of an audience, nothing in the world compares to it. I really didn’t think it could be achieved by performing online but it was. The comments and live reactions from the public gave me the biggest buzz. Pairing the performing buzz with the buzz of being able to publicly thank our key workers was more than I could have imagined and I am over the moon to be doing it again. I have a few goals this time, one being raising even more money than we did last time for our charities and the other being spreading the word even further so more people can enjoy the show!”
The charities that Guildford Fringe and Guildford Borough Council have chosen to support are Guildford Philanthropy and The Wysch Foundation. All money raised through donations will be split between these charities.
Cllr Caroline Reeves, Leader of the Council said: “We are proud once again to be working in partnership with Guildford Fringe who are providing our community with great entertainment and appreciation to our NHS and key workers. The first Guildford LIVE was absolutely brilliant, so many residents have told me how their whole family enjoyed it. We’re asking all residents to watch again, and this time virtually ‘bring’ a friend!’.
“The Mayor and I are delighted that the second show has selected Guildford Philanthropy as one of their causes. The charity was set up by the Council in 2014 with support from the Community Foundation to raise money for our borough’s more vulnerable residents and those who find themselves homeless.”
There is no need to book tickets for this event, just log on to www.Facebook.com/GuildfordFringe from 6:30pm on Thursday 28 May and enjoy!
If you would like to be reminded about the show, you can join the Facebook events page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/644171316313471/. You can also invite friends and family to this Facebook event page.
A BRAND NEW ONLINE RADIO PLAY RAISING FUNDS FOR THE THEATRE INDUSTRY
BROADCASTING ON WEDNESDAYS 20TH MAY AND 27TH MAY
Produced by the Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield:
THE UNDERSTUDY
By Henry Filloux-Bennett, based on the best-selling novel by David Nicholls
STARRING
Stephen Fry, Mina Anwar, Layton Williams, Emily Atack, Russell Tovey, Sheila Atim MBE, Sarah Hadland & more
The Understudy is a brand new radio play that will be broadcast in two parts on Wednesday 20th May and Wednesday 27th May to raise funds for the theatre industry which is facing a devastating impact from the Covid-19 health crisis. The Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield will split proceeds of this project with charities including the Theatre Development Trust (SOLT and UK Theatre), Acting for Others and Equity Charitable Trust.
Coming together at a time that matters the most, the stellar line-up of actors currently confirmed to perform in The Understudy includes Stephen Fry, Emily Atack, Sheila Atim, Layton Williams, Russell Tovey, Sarah Hadland, Mina Anwar and many more. The cast and creative team involved in The Understudy will take part completely in isolation and actors will record their lines at home that will be brought to life by an exceptional sound design team.
The public will be able to tune in to listen to The Understudy by buying a ticket, all of which will go to help individuals and organisations struggling because of Coronavirus.
Based on the novel by the best-selling author David Nicholls,The Understudy tells the story of an underdog – a failed husband, a failing father, a failing actor, and the impossible choice he’s going to have to make between stealing the show and stealing another man’s wife. Directed by Giles Croft, this is a stage adaptation written by Henry Filloux-Bennett that was originally commissioned by The Lowry. The sound, music and effects will be brought to life by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite, Annie May Fletcher and Sophie Galpin.
Commenting on this timely project, Stephen Fry said: “I am just so delighted to be working on Henry Filloux-Bennett’s superb adaptation of David Nicholls’s The Understudy. I do hope lots of you will listen in and combine a good time with support for our wonderful theatre industry.”
David Nicholls comments: “I’ve always had soft spot for The Understudy and was hugely excited to see it come to life on a new online stage, and with such a great team. So much is changing, at such speed and I’m full of admiration for the way it’s now being reimagined. I can’t wait.”
A spokesperson for SOLT and UK Theatre said: “We welcome this initiative and are delighted that money raised will be donated to support theatres across the country – particularly outside London where the industry needs it most. It has never been more vital that our industry pulls together, and it is fantastic to see artists and performers using creativity and ingenuity to help support the theatre workforce through this difficult time.”
Synopsis
Actor Stephen McQueen has just landed a dream West End role. Well, that’s not quite true – he’s going to be is understudying film star (and 12th Sexiest Man in the World) Josh Harper in the brand-new show ‘Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know’, but still…Whilst he’s waiting for his time to shine, he reflects on his career – one that has spanned everything from (non-speaking) Rent Boy 3 in ‘The Bill’ to his recent starring role as Sammy in the (low-budget) regional tour of ‘Sammy The Squirrel’s Seriously Silly Safari’.
With this new job Stephen’s stage career may be destined for the dizzying heights, but not everything is going quite as well. Stephen’s wife left him two years ago, wondering if he’d ever grow up; his daughter wonders when he’ll get an actual job; worst of all, he’s starting to fall for the leading man’s wife.
Part 1 of The Understudy will be released on Wednesday 20th May and Part 2 of The Understudy will be released on Wednesday 27th May. For more information, see www.understudyplay.com
