Month: September 2021

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR

EUROPEAN PREMIERE OF SUZAN-LORI PARKS’

W H I T E   N O I S E

DIRECTED BY POLLY FINDLAY

Suzan-Lori Parks’ White Noise will receive its European premiere at the Bridge Theatre, directed by Polly Findlay with a cast comprising James Corrigan, Ken Nwosu, Faith Omole and Helena Wilson.

Performances are from 5 October – 13 November 2021 with opening night on 12 October 2021.  Set designs are by Lizzie Clachan with costumes by Natalie Pryce, lighting by Jackie Shemesh, movement by Jade Hackett and sound by Donato Wharton. 

Thirty-somethings Leo, Misha, Ralph and Dawn have been inseparable since college.  Making their way together in the big city, they are liberal, open-minded and socially aware.  Misha is producing the hit online show ‘Ask A Black’; Ralph is waiting for tenure at his university, and as a lawyer, Dawn spends her days fighting for social justice.  Leo would be a talented visual artist – if only he could sleep.  As best friends and lovers, confident in their woke-ness, their connection with each other is stronger than anything else – until, that is, Leo is assaulted by the police in a racially motivated incident.  Shaken to the core, he brings to the group an extreme proposition.  White Noise takes an unflinching look at race in the 21st century from both a black and white perspective.

James Corrigan’s theatre credits include King Lear at Duke of York’s Theatre, Julius Caesar, Coriolanus, Antony & Cleopatra, Two Noble Kinsmen, The 7 Acts of Mercy, Wendy and Peter Pan, Othello, The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare Birthday all for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Hay Fever for Kay & Mclean Australia and Bath Theatre Royal and The Big Meal also for Bath Theatre Royal. His television credits include Manhunt, The Tempest, Temple, and This Is Going To Hurt. His film credits include This Nan’s Life and School’s Out Forever. 

Ken Nwosu’s theatre credits include An Octoroon, Three Sisters and As You Like It all for the National Theatre, The Alchemist, Othello and The Merchant of Venice all for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Ghosts for Home Manchester. On film his credits include The Witches, Christopher Robin and Look the Other Way and Run. On television his credits include Sticks and Stones, Killing Eve, The Letter for the King, Upstart Crow and Catastrophe.  

Faith Omole’s theatre credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Shakespeare’s Globe, Standing at the Sky’s Edge for Sheffield Theatres, An Ideal Husband at the Vaudeville Theatre, Bushmeat for High Tide, Twelfth Night for the Royal Exchange, The Rolling Stone for the Orange Tree and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Custody for Faith Drama Productions and Talawa Theatre Company and Walk in the Light for the National Theatre.  On television her credits include We are Lady Parts and Endeavour and on film Love Type D.

Helena Wilson’s theatre credits include The Deep Blue Sea for Chichester Festival Theatre, Measure for Measure, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Lady from the Sea all for The Donmar Warehouse, Love Me Now at Tristan Bates Theatre, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at The Old Vic, Flog for the Oxford Playhouse and Cambridge Junction and Romeo and Juliet on the Thelma Holt International Tour.

Suzan-Lori Parks is a multi-award-winning American playwright and the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for her Broadway hit Topdog/Underdog.  Parks’ adaptation of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.  Her other works include The Book of Grace, Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Musical, In the Blood, The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World, The America Play and Fucking A.  Her project 365 Days/365 Plays – where she wrote a play a day for an entire year – was produced in over 700 theatres worldwide, creating one of the largest grassroots collaborations in theatre history.  Parks is a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow.  Her novel Getting Mother’s Body is published by Random House.  She also works extensively in film and television, most recently, as the screenwriter for The United States vs Billie Holiday and, also premiering earlier this year, as showrunner/executive producer/head writer for Genius: Aretha.  In her spare time she writes songs and fronts her band Sula & The Noise.  

Polly Findlay returns to The Bridge where she previously directed Caryl Churchill’s A Number.  Her other recent directing credits include The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Limehouse for the Donmar Warehouse, The Alchemist and The Merchant of Venice for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Rutherford and Son, Beginning and As You Like It for the National Theatre.

White Noise received its world premiere at the Public Theater in New York in March 2019 and was the winner of the 2019 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play. 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Address:                  Bridge Theatre, 3 Potters Fields Park, London, SE1 2SG

Box Office:               0333 320 0051 or [email protected]

Access:                    0333 320 0051 or [email protected]

Website:                  www.bridgetheatre.co.uk

Twitter:                    @_bridgetheatre

Instagram:                _bridgetheatre

Facebook:                 facebook.com/bridgetheatrelondon

CLARE PERKINS TO LEAD THE COMPANY OF

ZADIE SMITH’S DEBUT PLAY THE WIFE OF WILLESDEN

TICKETS NOW ON SALE – over 3,000 tickets at just £15

With NW Trilogy by Moira Buffini, Suhayla El-Bushra and Roy Williams entering previews next week, Kiln Theatre Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham announces dates for her next production of Zadie Smith’s The Wife of Willesden, presented by Kiln Theatre in association with Brent 2020, London Borough of Culture. Clare Perkins leads the company as Alvita – The Wife of Willesden, with the production opening on 17 November, previews from 11 November, and running until 24 December. Tickets are on priority sale to Kiln Card holders now, and on general sale on Friday, 3 September 2021.

Indhu Rubasingham, said today, “I’m thrilled to announce new dates for The Wife of Willesden. For the past 18 months, the amazing freelance creative team and I have been working on redesigning and reimagining the Kiln auditorium, transporting Zadie’s larger than life characters to the Sir Colin Campbell pub. It’s going to be the perfect place for you to spend a joyous, celebratory winter’s evening with the fantastic Clare Perkins who will lead the cast as Alvita, the formidable Wife of Willesden.”

The Kiln Theatre auditorium will be transformed into the infamous Sir Colin Campbell pub, complete with some pub tables in the stalls and over 3,000 tickets available at only £15.

WORLD PREMIÈRE

Kiln Theatre presents

in association with Brent2020, London Borough of Culture

THE WIFE OF WILLESDEN

Adapted by Zadie Smith

From Chaucer’s THE WIFE OF BATH

11 November – 24 December 2021

Cast includes: Clare Perkins.

Further casting to be announced.

Directed by Indhu Rubasingham; Designed by Robert Jones; Lighting Design by Guy Hoare;Composition and Sound Design by Ben and Max Ringham;Associate Costume Designby Kinnetia Isidore; Casting by Julia Horan CDG; Movement Direction by Celise Hicks; Fight Direction by Kev McCurdy; Dialect and Voice Coach Hazel Holder; Associate Director Hannah Hauer-King.

A proper local legend. Married five times. Mother. Lover. Aunt. Friend. Alvita will tell her life story to anyone in the pub – there’s no shame in her game. The question is: are you ready to hear it? Because this woman’s got the gift of the gab: she can rewrite mistakes into triumphs, turn pain into parables, and her love life’s an epic poem. They call her The Wife of Willesden…

A play that celebrates the human knack for telling elaborate tales, especially about our own lives.

Critically acclaimed, multi-award winning, best-selling author Zadie Smith makes her playwriting debut, transporting Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath to 21st Century North West London.

Director Indhu Rubasingham invites you to take your seat at the bar, order a pint or two, and listen to this bawdy, beautiful new comedy up close, and very, very personal.

Presented by Kiln Theatre in association with Brent 2020, London Borough of Culture.

This production is supported by Dasha Epstein and The Wife of Willesden Circle.

Clare Perkins plays Alvita, The Wife of Willesden and will soon be seen in Amazon series The Offenders and fantasy series The Wheel of Time. She was recently in Netflix series Young Wallanderas well as a guest role on popular series The Crown and Flack. She recently starred in a leading role in Emilia, which played at the Vaudeville Theatre. She has multiple theatre credits under her belt at some of the most prestigious theatres ranging from Welcome to Thebes at the Royal National Theatre, Little Revolution at the Almeida, The Convert for The Gate Theatre, Mules with the Royal Court and Genesis Inc at the Hampstead Theatre. 

She is well known for playing series regular, Ava Hartman in BBC’s Eastenders. Other credits include BBC’s Death in Paradise, Damned for Channel 4, Netflix’s Been So Long. In film, Clare can be seen in Ken Loach’s Ladybird, Secrets and Lies directed by Mike Leigh and Saul Dibb’s Bullet Boy. She’s also in Censor which has just been released in cinemas. She has been a member of BBC Radio Drama Company and played Mel in Westway which ran for 8 years on the BBC World Service.

Zadie Smith is the author of the novels White Teeth, The Autograph Man, On Beauty, NW, and Swing Time, as well as three collections of essays, Intimations, Changing My Mind and Feel Free and the collection of short stories, Grand Union. Her novels have won multiple literary awards and been translated into many languages. White Teeth was adapted for the stage at the Kiln Theatre in 2018. She is a professor of fiction at New York University and writes regularly for the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books. Zadie Smith divides her time between New York and London.

Indhu Rubasingham is Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre. Her work for the company includes The Invisible Hand, Pass Over, When the Crows Visit, Wife, White Teeth, Holy Sh!t, Red Velvet (which transferred to New York and later to the Garrick Theatre as part of the Kenneth Branagh Season) and Handbagged (winner of Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre – also West End, UK tour, Washington DC and New York). Other productions for Kiln Theatre include A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes, Multitudes, The House That Will Not Stand, Paper Dolls, Women, Power and Politics, Stones in His Pockets, Detaining Justice, The Great Game: Afghanistan, Fabulation and Starstruck. Other theatre credits include The Great Wave, Ugly Lies the Bone, The Motherf**cker with the Hat (Evening Standard Award for Best Play), The Waiting Room (all National Theatre), The Ramayana (National Theatre/ Birmingham Rep), Belong, Disconnect, Free Outgoing, Lift Off, Clubland, The Crutch and Sugar Mummies (Royal Court Theatre), Ruined (Almeida Theatre), Yellowman and Anna in the Tropics (Hampstead Theatre), Secret Rapture and The Misanthrope (Minerva, Chichester Festival Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Chichester Festival Theatre), Pure Gold (Soho Theatre), The No Boys Cricket Club and Party Girls (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Wuthering Heights (Birmingham REP), Heartbreak House (Watford Palace Theatre), Sugar Dollies and Shakuntala (Gate Theatre), A River Sutra (Three Mill Island Studios), Rhinoceros (UC Davis, California) and A Doll’s House (Young Vic).

SEE IT SAFELY

Kiln Theatre has been granted the use of Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre’s See It Safely mark. The mark certifies that they are complying with the latest Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines, to ensure the safety of their staff and audiences. Ticket holders can find out more here [https://officiallondontheatre.com/see-it-safely/] about the measures that have been put in place ahead of their visit, and what they will need to know beforehand.

Kiln Theatre

Listings

269 Kilburn High Road, London, UK, NW6 7JR

Box Office: 020 7328 1000

www.KilnTheatre.com

Tickets from £15

All tickets for first preview £15

Kiln Card Priority Booking, 1 September 2021, 12pm

General Onsale, 3 September 2021, 12pm

11 November – 24 December 2021

Post Show Q&A 23 November, 7.30pm

Captioned Performance (Socially Distanced) 2 December, 7.30pm

Audio Described Performance (Socially Distanced) 9 December, 7.30pm

Gala Performance 10 December, 7.30PM

At the Gala Performance, every ticket includes a complimentary drink upon arrival, a free programme and other surprises to be announced. All proceeds from the evening are in aid of Kiln Theatre, helping them to create innovative productions, make theatre available to their local community and to connect everyone, whatever their background, through the power of performance.

Under 26 – £10 (subject to availability)

Access, Over 65, Local, Student and Group rates available, for further details, please see the website

Multi-buy – 25% off if tickets for NW Trilogy and The Wife of Willesden are bought in the same transaction.

Subsidised tickets

We offer free tickets and exclusive discounts to those who can’t afford to come. If you fit any of the below criteria, get in touch and we can help you get a ticket.

If you are homeless, out of work or receive Housing Benefits, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance (valid ID, statements or proof universal tax credit will be required when collecting tickets).

Employees of NHS, Police Force, Fire Brigade, Armed Forces, The Coastguard, RNLI, Prison Officers or Social Care Workers (valid ID payslip and name badges will be required when collecting tickets).

Email [email protected]

FINAL DETAILS OF THE WATERMILL THEATRE’S AUTUMN SEASON ANNOUNCED

BRIEF ENCOUNTER

THURSDAY 14 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 13 NOVEMBER

WITH TWO SOCIALLY DISTANCED PERFORMANCES PER WEEK

THE JUNGLE BOOK

THURSDAY 18 NOVEMBER – FRIDAY 31 DECEMBER

ALSO WITH SOCIALLY DISTANCED PERFORMANCES, INCLUDING ONE PRESS PERFORMANCE

BOOK ONLINE AT WATERMILL.ORG.UK OR VIA THE BOX OFFICE ON 01635 46044

TICKETS ON SALE TO FRIENDS OF THE THEATRE FROM WEDNESDAY 1 SEPTEMBER

GENERAL ON SALE MONDAY 6 SEPTEMBER

Artistic Director Paul Hart and the team at Newbury’s The Watermill Theatre are thrilled to announce the final details of the 2021 autumn season, with performances scheduled through to the end of the year. These shows will follow the previously announced productions of LONE FLYER (10 – 25 September), POIROT AND ME (5 – 7 October) and LITTLE WOMEN (8 – 9 October).

BRIEF ENCOUNTER, a new production of Emma Rice’s stage adaptation of Noël Coward’s epic love story, based on the critically acclaimed 1945 film, will play at the Watermill from Thursday 14 October – Saturday 13 November, with a press night on Monday 18 October. BRIEF ENCOUNTER will be directed by Robert Kirby, with design by Harry Pizzey, Movementby Anjali Mehra, compositions and arrangements by Eamonn O’Dwyer and Lighting by Ali Hunter. Full creative team and casting will be announced shortly.

“I want to remember every minute. Always.”

A chance meeting between Laura and Alec in a train station tearoom leads to an impossible love affair. Engulfed by a sea of emotions, will they be swept ashore together, or will the tides of change pull them apart?

Based on the critically acclaimed film, Noël Coward’s timeless tale of happiness and heartache is reimagined for the stage in a dazzling new production of this epic love story. With music and movement to make your heart soar, this playful and inventive production will take you by the hand and whisk you on a journey through all of love’s beautiful complications.

THE JUNGLE BOOK – originally scheduled for Christmas 2020, and then postponed – will play this year from Thursday 18 November until Friday 31 December. Directed by Tom Jackson Greaves, full casting and creative team will be announced later in the autumn. There will be two separate press performances for The Jungle Book, both on Saturday 20 November, with the matinee at full capacity, and the evening show socially distanced.

In the depths of the Indian rainforest a child is abandoned with no possessions, no family and no home. Under the light of the full moon, the infant is discovered by a pack of wolves who decide to raise him as one of their own.

When the ferocious tiger Shere Khan comes looking for prey, the child – Mowgli – is swept to safety by a friendly bear and a wise black panther. Together they teach him the laws of the jungle. Years later, Shere Khan returns and demands the ‘man cub’ leave the jungle forever. Mowgli faces a choice… should he stay and risk further destruction? Or should he leave and accept that the home he knows isn’t the right place for him after all?

A wild and captivating musical adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale full of warmth, laughter and wonder. Join Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, Kaa, King Louie and more as The Watermill Theatre is transformed into the Indian jungle for the adventure of a lifetime.

For audience members who would feel more comfortable to attend a performance with more space between themselves and other audience members there will be socially distanced performances each week during the run of both BRIEF ENCOUNTER and THE JUNGLE BOOK.

The Watermill continues to follow measures to control the risk of Covid-19. The wearing of face coverings continues to be strongly encouraged. Enhanced cleaning procedures, including regular fogging of the auditorium, and an efficient ventilation system supplying conditioned and filtered fresh air also remain in place.

To help audience members to book with confidence, The Watermill are operating a flexible booking policy. In the event that their booking is affected by Covid-19, audience members will be offered a ticket exchange, account credit or refund.

Paul Hart said, “This autumn season, as we move back inside, is all about theatricality at its most playful and inventive. I’ve loved Emma Rice’s adaptation of Brief Encounter for such a long time and can’t wait to bring it to the Watermill stage. And I’m so delighted that we can finally share our new production of Jungle Book which will be a treat for all ages. We will continue to offer some socially distanced performances alongside full capacity for these shows and I can’t wait to welcome audiences back into the theatre.”

Full company announced for:

HOME

By David Storey

Directed by Josh Roche

8 October – 6 November, Minerva Theatre

The full company has been announced for Chichester Festival Theatre’s revival of David Storey’s award-winning 1970 play HOME, running at the Minerva Theatre from 8 October – 6 November.

Josh Rochedirects Leon Annor, Hayley Carmichael, Daniel Cerqueira, Doña Croll and John Mackay.

Harry and Jack. Marjorie and Kathleen. Alfred.

In a neglected garden, small talk oscillates between the weather, the neighbours, reminiscences of friends and family, and anecdotes of past exploits in love and war.

But this quintet of characters, with their foibles and failings, are not what they seem to be, and nor is their home. And overhead, the clouds are gathering.

HOME has become a modern classic – a heartrendingly funny, haunting and deeply humane study of hearts, minds and England: islands adrift.

Leon Annor plays Alfred; his recent stage work includes As You Like It for the National Theatre, while film and television credits include Stay Close, Mister Winner and Britannia.

Hayley Carmichael (Kathleen) is co-founder of Told By An Idiot and has appeared in many of their productions, as well as working with the National Theatre, Complicite and Kneehigh. TV includes Call The Midwife, Witness for the Prosecution and Les Misérables.

Daniel Cerqueira (Harry)’s extensive theatre work includes Richard III and Game (Almeida), Birdland (Royal Court), Fortune’s Fool (Old Vic) and Table (National Theatre); his screen work includes The A Word, Pennyworth, Doctor Foster, War of the Worlds and Judy.

Doña Croll (Marjorie)’s theatre work includes Pride and Prejudice (Regent’s Park), Kate Keller in All My Sons (Talawa) and Elmina’s Kitchen (National Theatre); her many TV appearances include Death in Paradise, The Long Song, Family Affairs, Doctors and Casualty.

John Mackay (Jack)’s theatre work includes Six Characters in Search of an Author at Chichester, Richard II and Machinal (Almeida) and the title role in Richard III (Tobacco Factory): film and TV includes Black Earth Rising, The Hollow Crown and The Honourable Woman.

Director Josh Roche won the JMK Award for his production of My Name Is Rachel Corrie at the Young Vic with Erin Doherty in the title role. He has directed productions for Audible UK, BBC Arts, and has worked extensively at the RSC and Shakespeare’s Globe. He is the co-founder of OpenHire.

The production designer will be Sophie Thomas, with lighting designed by Alex Musgrave, sound designed by Sam Glossop and casting by Charlotte Sutton.

Home is sponsored by Henry Adams.

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR THE WEST END PRODUCTION OF

H A R R Y   P O T T E R   A N D   T H E   C U R S E D   C H I L D

PARTS ONE AND TWO

RETURNING TO THE PALACE THEATRE ON 14 OCTOBER 2021

WWW.HARRYPOTTERTHEPLAY.COM

Today (1 September 2021), in celebration of Back to Hogwarts,the producers of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions, are delighted to confirm full casting for the production which will resume performances at the Palace Theatre in London on 14 October 2021.

Joining the previously announced Jamie Ballard as Harry Potter, Susie Trayling as Ginny Potter and Dominic Short who plays their son Albus Potter, Thomas Aldridge as Ron Weasley, Michelle Gayle as Hermione Granger and Phoenix Edwards as their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley and James Howard asDraco Malfoy and Luke Sumner as his son Scorpius Malfoy are Lola Adaja, Samson Ajewole, David Annen, Valerie Antwi, Sue Appleby, Phil Cheadle, Craig Connolly, Robert Curtis, Tim Dewberry, Jim Fish, Thomas Gilbey, Jemma Gould, Rachel Hinds, Jordan Lang, Ronnie Lee, Katrina Lopes, Lucy Mangan, David Mara, Lucia McAnespie, Jayne McKenna, Kathryn Meisle, Gordon Millar, Ian Redford, Thomas Royal, Tom Sturgess, Joshua Talbot, Mark Theodore, Emma-May Uden, Madeleine Walker and Wreh-asha Walton complete the 43-strong company playing a variety of characters including seven children – Noah Alexander, Tom Quinn Alexander, Abby Barnes, Harley Barton, Chase Collard, Samuel Newby and Cici Smith – who will alternate two roles. 

Tickets for the original two-part multi award-winning production in the West End are from today (1 September 2021) now available for performances at the Palace Theatre until 23 October 2022 to UK Harry Potter Fan Club members, with access opening at 9am.  General public on sale for these new performances opens tomorrow, 2 September 2021.  Tickets remain priced from £15 per part, and for every performance there are over 300 tickets at £20 or less per part. 

The regular performance schedule is now as follows – Monday, Tuesday and Thursday – no performance;  Wednesday, Friday and Saturday – 2pm Part One & 7pm Part Two; Sunday – 1pm Part One & 6pm Part Two.

The original production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, one play presented in two parts, is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage.  The critically acclaimed production received its world premiere in July 2016 at the Palace Theatre in London.  The most awarded new play in theatre history, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has won 24 major theatre awards in the UK and is the most awarded play in the history of the Olivier Awards, winning a record-breaking nine awards including Best New Play.  The production has also won 25 major US awards with six Tony Awards including Best Play.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne, directed by John Tiffany with movement by Steven Hoggett, set by Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, music & arrangements by Imogen Heap, lighting by Neil Austin, sound by Gareth Fry, illusions & magic by Jamie Harrison,music supervision & arrangements by Martin Lowe, and casting by Julia Horan CDG.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions.

In addition to the return of the original London production, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is currently playing at the Princess Theatre Melbourne.   Performances plan to resume in November 2021 at the Lyric Theater, New York followed by productions at the Curran Theater, San Francisco in January 2022, the Mehr! Theatre, Hamburg in December 2021, the Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto in the summer of 2022 and the TBS Akasaka ACT Theater in Tokyo in the summer of 2022. The New York, San Francisco and Toronto productions will be returning in a newly staged, one show experience.   Details of all productions of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child can be found at HarryPottertheplay.com

WWW.HARRYPOTTERTHEPLAY.COM

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Star of BBC’s Gavin & Stacey Mathew Horne and actor, comedian and musician Keith Allen in

THE HOMECOMING

Tony Award-winning play by Harold Pinter
Directed by Jamie Glover

Theatre Royal Bath from 30 March 2022 before UK Tour 

Theatre Royal Bath Productions presents a brand new production of Harold Pinter’s Tony Award-winning masterpiece The Homecoming, directed by actor and director Jamie Glover, which will open at Theatre Royal Bath from 30 March 2022 before travelling to Cambridge Arts Theatre from 11 April 2022 with further tour dates and venues to be announced.

The Homecoming will star Mathew Horne (BBC’s Gavin & Stacey, Death in Paradise, Bad Education) as Lenny, and actor, comedian and musician Keith Allen (The Young Ones, The Pembrokeshire Murders, Pinter 3 in the West End) as Max. Further cast is to be announced soon.

 “They’re very warm people, really. Very warm. They’re my family. They’re not ogres”

Harold Pinter’s 1960s masterpiece is widely regarded as his finest play. This bleakly funny exploration of family and relationships has become a modern classic and winner of the Tony Award for Best New Play.

Teddy, a professor in an American university, returns to his childhood home accompanied by his wife, Ruth, to find his father, uncle and brothers still living there. In the subsequent series of encounters, life becomes a barely camouflaged battle for power and sexual supremacy fought out with taut verbal brutality. Who will emerge victorious – the poised and elegant Ruth or her husband’s dysfunctional family?

The Homecoming is presented by Theatre Royal Bath Productions. Tickets are on sale now.

Rehearsal Images for BAT OUT OF HELL – The Musical UK and Ireland Tour

The UK and Ireland tour of BAT OUT OF HELL – The Musical. The show opens at Manchester Opera House on 11 September 2021 and will continue to tour until 5 November 2022.

In  BAT OUT OF HELL – The Musical, the electrifying rock songs of Mr Steinman propel an epic story of rebellious youth and passion as Strat, the immortal leader of The Lost, has fallen in love with Raven, the beautiful daughter of the tyrannical ruler Falco. 

BAT OUT OF HELL – The Musical stars Glenn Adamson (American Idiot) as Strat, Martha Kirby (Grease, Rags the Musical) as Raven and the original leading cast members Rob Fowler (Mamma Mia!, Bat Out of Hell) as Falco and Sharon Sexton (Mamma Mia!, Bat Out of Hell) as Sloane.

The UK & Ireland Tour of BAT OUT OF HELL – The Musical has book, music and lyrics by Jim Steinman, direction by Jay Scheib, choreography adapted by Xena Gusthart, with musical supervision and additional arrangements by Michael Reed.  

BAT OUT OF HELL dedicates this tour to the memory of Jim Steinman, who sadly passed away on April 19, 2021.

Leeds Grand Theatre – until 4 September 2021

5*****

Mischief most certainly is managed with their brand new show Magic Goes Wrong.  A charity fundraiser, in desperate need of help.

Created by masters of magic Penn and Teller and the Mischief trio of Henry Lewis, Henry Shields and Jonathan Sayer this is a show full of thrills and spills.  With lots of comedy and some real, actual magic.

The set by Will Bowen is excellent, with little finishing touches that add to the mirth.  The light up letters revealing Disasters In Magic Charity Fundraiser, fade out in different forms to reveal different words – “Tragic” “Arse”  and “Chunder” are among them.

As always with Mischief the entertainment starts while people are still taking their seats, we are looking for doves, with one poor woman having her head caught in a net as her hair was mistaken for the birds.  An escapee rabbit entertains and the tech crew hoover up the stage before the evening entertainment actually begins.

Sophisticato (Sam Hill) is joined on stage by German wonder magicians (and his more successful  sisters) Bar (Ishbel Cumming,filling in for Chloe Tannenbaum) and Spitzmaus (Jocelyn Prah), the Mind Mangler (David Nellist) and The Blade (Keifer Moriarty), who is the brother of the tennis coach of the accountant of David Blaine.  With the help of the glamorous Eugenia (Valerie Cutko), before her sad demise at the end of part one.

The show is slow paced in some areas and plain daft in others but that just adds to the joy of the production.  I enjoyed the Mind Mangler, his deft defying glass bottle trick was truly breathtaking and his mixed up prompts were hilarious. His quick improvising with the crowd was fun too.

Its mad cap, silly and magical and Derren Brown even made a quick cameo appearance (so did Gwyneth Paltrow but we’ll not dwell on that).

Magic Goes Wrong is in Leeds till Saturday and on tour around the UK.  Grab a ticket before they all magically disappear