Month: March 2022

Richmond Theatre – until 5^th March 2022

Reviewed by Carly Burlinge  

4**** 

An Hour and a Half Late is a play by Gerald Sibleyras with Jean Dell adapted and directed by Belinda Lang. 

Peter (Griff Rhys Jones) is getting ready for a night out with his business partner for a celebratory dinner and is excited to be selling his half of their accountancy company which means big money. His wife Laura (Janie Dee) on the other hand decides that she’s having a midlife crisis, she doesn’t want to go out for dinner instead she wants to discuss their life together. This including the sadness of all three children leaving. What they’ve been through as a couple and what remains of their life ahead! Peter who’s still eager to get out of the door realises that his wife Laura is being overdramatic and annoyed as she believes she has nothing to look forward to anymore. Peter decides to gives her five minutes to push dinner back to enable them to talk. He soon realises that five minutes is just not going to cut it. Laura’s misery is brought to the surface of her suffering husband who’s just about had enough! She reveals her annoyance that she has nothing left which only annoys Peter more. Together they embark on an evening of what ifs and what nots with Peter still wishing that she would have her meltdown another night. Soon he realises that he must take part and work through this journey together. Insults get thrown across the room along with truth, love and sentimental memories. 

Griff Rhys Jones plays the part as Peter extremely well he loves his wife and wants an easy life his character has a great way of hiding behind his humour and turning everything into a joke making the audience laugh throughout the production. 

Janie Dee Plays the part of Laura with a strong dramatic energy that was intense at times sailing through a midlife crisis on stage for all to watch. Together they show a strong chemistry that was kind and direct on stage which was enjoyable and fun to observe throughout. 

A good watch giving the perception of real life to what many actually go through and how minds alter as our age escalates. Very entertaining, pleasant to watch and very amusing. 

BILL KENWRIGHT AND LAURIE MANSFIELD

PRESENT

DREAMBOATS & PETTICOATS:

BRINGING ON BACK THE GOOD TIMES

WITH SIXTIES POP SINGING HEARTTHROB MARK WYNTER
JOINING THE CAST FOR THE THIRD MUSICAL INSTALMENT

BOOK BY LAURENCE MARKS & MAURICE GRAN

Bobby & Laura, Norman, Sue & the gang get back together for the follow-on musical inspired by the million selling albums.

Hit recording star of Venus in Blue Jeans, Go Away Little Girl, It’s Almost Tomorrow and many more, Mark Wynter will be joining a company of established Dreamboats and Petticoats favourites from the past fifteen years.

Elizabeth Carter and David Ribi, Dreamboats and Petticoats’ most successful ever co-stars, lead the cast in the third musical inspired by the latest release in the series of smash-hit, multimillion selling Dreamboats & Petticoats albums, Bringing On Back The Good Times is filled with wit, charm and songs from the golden era of Rock ‘n Roll.

The production opens at Theatre Royal Windsor this February and will tour throughout the year.

Bringing on Back the Good Times finds Laura (Elizabeth Carter) with a successful solo career but her partner on their number one hit record Dreamboats and Petticoats’ Bobby (David Ribi) has left the spotlight and decided to re-join his former group Norman and The Conquests at St Mungo’s Youth Club.

The adventures that Bobby and Laura and of course Norma and Sue, and Donna and Luke (the group’s manager) go through together, include a season at Butlins, and an appearance at The Eurovision Song Contest – but most of all leads them straight back into each other’s arms and bringing on back the good times indeed.

With book by Laurance Marks and Maurice Gran and musical supervision by Keith Strachen, Bringing on Back the Good Times is packed with some of the greatest songs ever written, from Roy Orbison, Eddie Cochran, Elvis Presley, The Walker Brothers and many, many more, and will once again have audiences all over the country jiving in the aisles and singing along with their memories.

THE FEEL-GOOD MUSICAL CONTINUES…

BRADFORD PANTO LEGEND BILLY PEARCE SET TO
MAKE A GIGANTIC RETURN TO THE ALHAMBRA
THEATRE IN JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

Jack and the Beanstalk – Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
Saturday 10 December 2022 – Sunday 22 January 2023
Relaxed Performance – Tuesday 10 January 2023 at 6pm
Now on sale to Bradford Theatres’ Friends Members, Group & School Bookers
On general public sale: Monday 7 March 2022 at 10am
Tickets: from £17 (inclusive of booking fees)
Call the Box Office on 01274 432000 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk

Pantomime will be making a gigantic return to the Alhambra Theatre this festive season as Bradford panto legend Billy Pearce returns for his 23rd season. Tickets go on general sale on Monday 7 March for Jack and the Beanstalk which runs from Saturday 10 December 2022 to Sunday 22 January 2023– it promises to be a panto full of extra Fee-Fi-Fo-Fun!

Billy Pearce first topped the bill of the Alhambra Theatre’s annual festive production in 1993, winning acclaim from critics and audience members alike, and has since solidified his reputation as the King of Yorkshire comedy. Side-splittingly funny, Billy will bring his trademark mad-cap comedy and boundless energy to the stage and will have audiences laughing in the aisles.

Jack and the Beanstalk will be produced by the world’s biggest pantomime producer and the team behind the 2021 production of Sleeping Beauty, Crossroads Pantomimes. The production will be packed full of the magical ingredients Bradford audiences have come to expect from their annual festive production with amazing special effects, stunning sets, beautiful costumes, and moo-vellous amounts of laughter set to make 2022 a giant adventure for the whole family to enjoy.

Chief Executive of Crossroads Pantomimes, Michael Harrison, said:
“I’m absolutely delighted to be on-sale with our production of Jack and the Beanstalk following the huge success of Sleeping Beauty last year. Billy Pearce is a true showman and comedy genius and I’m so pleased to once again welcome him back to Pantoland.”

Talking about his return in Jack and the Beanstalk Billy Pearce said:
“Being back on-stage last Christmas in Sleeping Beauty was a truly magical experience after a year away from performing. Christmas at the Alhambra Theatre is something very special, and we can’t wait to welcome our friends from across Yorkshire and beyond back to the Theatre for another magical panto.”

Adam Renton, General Manager Bradford Theatres comments:
“With Billy back at the helm in this year’s panto, I’m sure that audiences of all ages will thoroughly enjoy another outstanding festive show in Bradford this year. There is huge affection for the Alhambra Theatre’s annual panto and we can’t wait to welcome theatregoers through our doors for Jack and the Beanstalk as their Christmas treat.”

There is a performance for everybody this festive season: with signed performances on 15 December at 2pm and 15 January at 5pm; audio described performances on 5 January at 2pm and 7.15pm; a captioned performance on 8 January at 5pm, and a relaxed performance on 10 January at 6pm. The relaxed performance will welcome everyone who would like to see the panto in a less formal atmosphere.

Fe-fi-fo-fum, a giant of a panto your way comes! Jack and the Beanstalk runs from Saturday 10 December 2022 – Sunday 22 January 2023 at the Alhambra Theatre. Be sure to book your tickets now!

Further casting for Jack and the Beanstalk will be announced later in 2022.

Pleasance Theatre Trust present comedy
superstars in the first official on-sale

With shows already on sale from Ben Hart, Nina Conti, The Showstoppers, NewsRevue and Cirque Berserk, the first official on-sale sees the Pleasance Theatre Trust presenting the comedy big guns. With both Edinburgh Comedy Awards in their awards cabinet from the last full Fringe, Pleasance’s comedy programme is always unmissable alongside the amazing theatre, circus and family work that Pleasance are known and loved for.

Before launching his huge national tour in autumn 2022, multi-award-winning comedian Marcus Brigstocke brings his blisteringly funny hour of stand-up, Absolute Shower, to Pleasance. It celebrates the personal triumphs and small victories of the past couple of years while acknowledging it has also been an absolute shower of shit. After an enormous UK and Australia tour and an Amazon special, the Taskmaster runner-up and accidental YouTube cult leader Mark Watson brings his most popular show so far, This Can’t Be It, back to where it began in 2021’s magical mini-Fringe.

King Crud from Jamali Maddix (Taskmaster (Channel4), Frankie Boyle’s New World Order (BBC2), Never Mind The Buzzcocks (Sky)) is a brand new show tackling home truths and universal issues. Tarot, creators of 2019’s fifth-best reviewed show, Chortle’s No1 show of 2019, and stars of their own Radio 4 sketch show Soundbleed bring their new show Cautionary Tales. 2021 BBC New Comedy Award finalist and one of the stars of The Stand Up Sketch Show (ITV2) Lily Phillips presents Smut, her long-awaited debut hour talking about feminism and her dog.

Bumbling wordsmith and tripe factory Ivo Graham is back with My Future My Clutter discussing three years of heavy-duty pranking, parenting and procrastinating since Dave’s 2019 nominations for Best Comedy Show and Joke of the Fringe. Discover the positive side of being disabled with Aaron Simmonds in Hot Wheels from having a blue badge to sex in disabled toilets, meeting ‘Jesus’ and everything in-between.

At long last, self-diagnosed important young mind Leo Reich (as seen on E4, Comedy Central, ITV1 and Dave) is ready to share some of his notoriously perfect opinions with the community at large in Literally Who Cares?! 32 athletes entered the 1904 Olympic marathon in St. Louis, Missouri but only 14 finished… In his Edinburgh debut, New Zealand comedian Nic Sampson (co-writer of Starstruck (BBC3)) brings to life the incredible true story of one of the dumbest sporting events of all time. Join Dave’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer nominee 2019 Crybabies in Bagbeard, a sci-fi infected narrative sketch adventure about finding home, forbidden love, monsters, mystery and massive regret. The smash-hit, internationally acclaimed, multi sell-out fringe phenomenon Shitfaced Shakespeare is back with their hilarious combination of an entirely serious adaptation of Macbeth, with an entirely sh*t-faced cast member. What could possibly go wrong?

If you just can’t decide check out the Best of Edinburgh Showcase Show offering great value lunchtime comedy featuring the best and brightest of this year’s Fringe comics. Hand-picked and with changing line-ups daily – take a seat, you’re in for a treat! Mervyn Stutter is back for his 29th year with the amazing Pick of the Fringe where live extracts from seven top shows are packed into a 90 minute lunchtime extravaganza – new selection every day.

The best night of comedy on the Fringe returns! Join us for a raucous night of laughter at Tartan Ribbon Comedy Benefit, one of the best nights of comedy on the Fringe, raising much-needed funds for Waverley Care – Scotland’s HIV and Hepatitis C charity.

Don’t forget there are laughs for the little ones too. Soar into space with this exciting adaptation of the award-winning book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Tall Stories, the company that brought you The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom live on stage, present The Smeds and The Smoos, a joyful tale of star-crossed aliens for everyone aged 3 and up, with music, laughs and interplanetary adventures.

With more shows to be announced over the coming months there will be comedy, theatre, circus, magic, dance, kids’ shows and much more, alongside support for some of the most innovative newcomers through artist development strand Pleasance Futures. The Pleasance should certainly be the pick of your Fringe this August.

Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Rebecca Stafford Productions present

Witness for the Prosecution

By Agatha Christie

• THE SEVENTH CAST IS ANNOUNCED FOR AGATHA CHRISTIE’S ‘WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION’ AT LONDON COUNTY HALL
• JOSHUA GLENISTER WILL PLAY THE ACCUSED LEONARD VOLE OPPOSITE LAUREN O’NEIL AS HIS WIFE ROMAINE. DAVID MICHAELS WILL PLAY SIR WILFRID ROBARTS WITH JAMES HAYES AS MR JUSTICE WAINWRIGHT
• THE CAST ALSO INCLUDES JAMES ALPER, LILY BLUNSOM-WASHBROOK, JONATHAN BRENNER, SIMON BUTTERISS, VICKI DAVIDS, WILLIAM DONALDSON, NICK HARDIE, ANDREW HOLLINGWORTH, PETER LANDI, MANDI SYMONDS, NAOMI TAYLOR, RICHARD TEVERSON, MATT WEYLAND AND DONNAVAN YATES.

Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Rebecca Stafford Productions are delighted to announce the seventh cast for Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution which is now booking until September 2022 at the magnificent London County Hall.

Joshua Glenister (My Mental Breakdown, Turbine Theatre; A Midsummer’s Night Dream, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men tour) will play the accused, Leonard Vole, opposite Lauren O’Neil (The Twilight Zone, The Ambassador’s Theatre; Reasons To Be Happy, Hampstead Theatre) as Romaine. David Michaels (Value Engineering: Scenes from the Grenfell Inquiry, Tabernacle Theatre; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, UK and international tour) will play Sir Wilfrid Robarts QC.  He is joined by Peter Landi (The Mousetrap, West End; The Bodyguard, UK and international tour) as Mr Mayhew, Richard Teverson (The Gift, UK tour; Richard III and Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre) as Mr Myers QC, and James Hayes (who has performed in over fifty productions for the National Theatre and whose other credits include The Tempest, Royal Shakespeare Company and All That Fall, Jermyn Street Theatre/West End/59E59 Theatre New York) as Mr Justice Wainwright.

The company is completed by James Alper (The Deep Blue Sea, National Theatre; War Horse, UK tour), Lily Blunsom-Washbrook (making her professional stage debut), Jonathan Brenner (Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience; Pennyworth, Amazon Prime), Simon Butteriss (The Winslow Boy, Sweeney Todd, West End; The White Guard, RSC), Vicki Davids (Bang Bang!, UK tour; Rough Crossing, UK tour), William Donaldson (Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, AFTLS US Tour; Testosterone, Rhum & Clay Theatre Co.), Nick Hardie (making his professional stage debut), Andrew Hollingworth (Bump, The Vaults; The Importance of Being Earnest, Panache Theatre Company), Mandi Symonds (The Magician’s Elephant, RSC; Doctor Faustus, Dark Night of the Soul, Shakespeare’s Globe), Naomi Taylor (Catwalk, Tricycle Theatre/National tour; The Changeling, Southwark Playhouse), Matt Weyland (Emmeline, Cockpit Theatre; For The Sake of Argument, Bridewell Theatre), and Donnavan Yates (This Is Not A Drill, The Albany; Sonnet Walks, Shakespeare’s Globe).

Now in its fourth year, Witness for the Prosecution has captured the imagination of thousands gripped by the case of Leonard Vole, accused of murder in cold blood. Director Lucy Bailey (Oleanna, Theatre Royal Bath/ West End) thrillingly places the audience in the thick of the action as Christie’s enthralling tale of justice, passion and betrayal unfolds around them.

Leonard Vole is accused of murdering a widow to inherit her wealth. The stakes are high. Will he be able to convince the jury of his innocence and escape the hangman’s noose?

The twists and turns of the case are played out in a spectacular courtroom setting inside the atmospheric London County Hall as prosecution battles defence and witnesses take the stand to give their shocking testimonies. The production received Best Revival nominations at the 2018 Olivier and WhatsOnStage Awards.

The production is designed by William Dudley, with lighting by Chris Davey, sound design by Mic Pool and casting by Ellie Collyer-Bristow CDG.

NEW CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR THE

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED

CABARET

AT THE KIT KAT CLUB

FRA FEE TO PLAY THE EMCEE

AND

AMY LENNOX TO PLAY SALLY BOWLES

FROM 21 MARCH UNTIL 25 JUNE 2022

The producers of CABARET at the KIT KAT CLUB in London’s West End are delighted to announce that Fra Fee will play ‘The Emcee’ and Amy Lennox will play ‘Sally Bowles’ from 21 March – 25 June 2022. This unique production opened in December last year to critical and audience acclaim, widely praised as the ultimate theatrical experience.

Adam Speers, Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, the producers of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club said today “We are thrilled to be welcoming the perfectly marvellous Fra Fee and Amy Lennox to our production of Cabaret. We wanted to recast these career defining roles with exceptional actors and so we’re just delighted that the stars have aligned with both Fra and Amy’s schedules.  We couldn’t have asked for a more exciting and thrilling duo to follow Eddie and Jessie.”

Director Rebecca Frecknall said today “It’s always exciting to be able to keep a production live and evolving across its run, to be able to continue digging into the piece and making new discoveries. The fact that we will have new actors taking on the roles of Sally and the Emcee as Cabaret continues to run in the West End is thrilling, the original cast passing the baton to different actors who will bring their own perspectives to the work. I’m thrilled that Fra Fee and Amy Lennox will be the first new pair joining the production this Spring, two of our most exciting stage and screen actors. I know they will bring new creative energy to the production and will show me and our audiences new facets of the show.”

Fra Fee most recently starred as Kazi in the hit Disney+ series Hawkeye, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He created the role of Michael Carber in the award-winning play The Ferryman at the Royal Court, the Gielgud Theatre in the West End and the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Broadway. His other theatre credits include Owen in Translations and Amiens in As You Like It, both at the National Theatre and the title role in Candide at the Menier Chocolate Factory. He played Courfeyac in the film of the musical Les Misérables and also appeared in the stage production at the Queen’s Theatre.

Amy Lennox received an Olivier nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her portrayal of Lauren in the West End production of Kinky Boots. Her other credits include Ellie in the London premiere of the David Bowie and Enda Walsh musical Lazarus. She was in the original West End cast of the musical Legally Blonde and created the role of Doralee in the original UK production of 9 to 5 The Musical.

Fra and Amy appeared together in the critically acclaimed production of The Last Five Years in Belfast.

Also joining the production on 21 March 2022 will be Omar Baroud as ‘Cliff Bradshaw’ and Vivien Parry as ‘Fraulein Schneider’. Continuing in their roles will be Elliot Levey as ‘Herr Schultz’, Stewart Clarke as ‘Ernst Ludwig’ and Anna-Jane Casey as ‘Fraulein Kost’.

The cast is completed by Josh Andrews, Emily Benjamin, Sally Frith, Matthew Gent, Emma Louise Jones, Ela Lisondra, Theo Maddix, Chris O’Mara, Daniel Perry, Andre Refig, Christopher Tendai, Bethany Terry, Lillie-Pearl Wildman and Sophie Maria Wojna.

Omar Baroud (Cliff Bradshaw) is soon to appear in the series Wedding Season for Disney+. His other TV credits include Baptiste for the BBC and The Innocents for Netflix. His theatre credits include You Bury Me for Paines Plough, As You Like It at the Watermill Theatre, A Song at Twilight at the Theatre Royal Bath and All Places That The Eye of Heaven Visits at Shakespeare’s Globe.

Vivien Parry (Fraulein Schneider) has appeared in many West End productions including Madge Hardwick in the original cast of Top Hat at the Aldwych Theatre, Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre, Donna in Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales Theatre and Mrs Walshingham in Half A Sixpence at the Noel Coward Theatre. Vivien’s other credits include Twelfth Night and The Shoemaker’s Holiday, both for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Celia in The Girls at Leeds Grand Theatre.

Elliot Levey (Herr Schultz) most recently appeared in Nine Lessons and Carols at the Almeida where he also appeared in Three Sisters. His other theatre credits include the West End productions of Mary Stuart at the Duke of York’s Theatre, The Ruling Class at Trafalgar Studios and Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham’s Theatre. His National Theatre credits include The Habit of Art and His Dark Materials.

Stewart Clarke (Ernst Ludwig) most recently appeared in Be More Chill at The Other Palace. His West End theatre credits include Fiddler on the Roof at the Playhouse Theatre and Loserville at the Garrick Theatre. He also appeared in Assassins at the Menier Chocolate Factory and The Rink at the Southwark Playhouse.

Anna-Jane Casey (Fraulein Kost) was most recently seen in Girl from the North Country at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End. Her other West End credits include Mrs Wilkinson in Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace and Lady of the Lake in Spamalot at the Playhouse Theatre. She played Dot in Sunday in the Park with George at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Mabel in Mack and Mabel at the Watermill Theatre and the title roles in Piaf and Sweet Charity and Violet Butterfield in Flowers for Mrs Harris, all at the Sheffield Crucible.

In a time when the world is changing forever, there is one place where everyone can be free… Welcome to the Kit Kat Club, home to an intimate and electrifying new production of CABARET. This is Berlin. Relax. Loosen up. Be yourself. 

The Kit Kat Club has laid siege to the Playhouse Theatre. The performers have infiltrated the premises. The artists have staked their claim. Who knows for how long they’ll stay, but for now they are enjoying the party. The party at the end of the world.

Transforming one of London’s most famous theatres with an in-the-round auditorium and reimagined spaces, before the show guests are invited to enjoy and explore the Kit Kat Club with pre-show entertainment, drinks and dining all on offer. When booking, guests receive a ‘club entry time’ to allow enough time to take in the world of the Kit Kat Club before the show starts. But of course, the show really starts when you first join us in the club…

One of the most successful musicals of all time CABARET features the songs Wilkommen, Don’t Tell Mama, Mein Herr, Maybe This Time, Money and the title number. It has music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, book by Joe Masteroff. Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood.

CABARET is directed by Rebecca Frecknall (the Almeida’s Olivier Award winning Summer and Smoke, The Duchess of Malfi, Three Sisters), set and costume design is by Tom Scutt (A Very Expensive Poison, Constellations, King Charles III, Jesus Christ Superstar, collaborations with Sam Smith, Christine and the Queens) with choreography by Julia Cheng (founder of the House of Absolute, Philharmonia Orchestra Artist in Residence, recipient of the runner-up prize for Hip Hop Dance futures, Resident Choreographer for the Royal Academy of Dance, Judge and mentor for BBC Young Dancer and Breakin’ Convention – the UK’s biggest Hip Hop Festival, collaborations with London Fashion Week, Google and Dr Martens). Musical supervision and direction is by Jennifer Whyte (Les Misérables film, Caroline Or Change, Parade). Lighting design is by Isabella Byrd (Heroes of the Fourth Turning and Light Shining in Buckinghamshire – both in New York, Daddy – A Melodrama at the Almeida and The Flick at the National theatre) with sound design by Nick Lidster (City of Angels, Passion, Pacific Overtures and Parade at the Donmar Warehouse, Sweeney Todd and On The Town for English National Opera, A Chorus Line, Les Misérables and Miss Saigon). The casting director is Stuart Burt (& Juliet, The Drifters Girl and 2021 CDG Award for Best Casting in Theatre for Cyrano De Bergerac) and the associate director is Jordan Fein.

Tickets for CABARET at the KIT KAT CLUB are currently on sale until October 2022. kitkat.club

CABARET at the KIT KAT CLUB is produced by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions and Underbelly.

HAMPSTEAD THEATRE ANNOUNCES THE BREACH BY NAOMI WALLACE, DIRECTED BY SARAH FRANKCOM, AND CHÉ WALKER’S WOLF CUB THIS SPRING

Hampstead Theatre is delighted to announce two additional premieres for its spring season.

The Breach by Naomi Wallace, with direction by Sarah Frankcom, will run on its Main Stage from 6 May until 4 June. 

Wolf Cub, written and directed by Ché Walker, will run at Hampstead Downstairs from 8 April until 7 May.

Priority Booking opens today at 10.30am.  Public Booking opens on Tuesday 8 March at 10.30am.  Further details are available via hampsteadtheatre.com.  

Roxana Silbert, Artistic Director of Hampstead Theatre, said:

Both Naomi Wallace’s play The Breach and Ché Walker’s play Wolf Cub dig deep at considering the roots of the alienation of the white American working class.  Both writers are new to the Hampstead canon: Naomi is an American living in the UK, Ché a British writer/director who spent several years working in the USA and their inside/outside perspective on characters whose voices have long been kept hidden are visceral, vital and theatrical.

***

As trust and loyalty are put on the line, hindsight proves devastating in Naomi Wallace’s absorbing drama The Breach, directed by Sarah Frankcom.  

They won’t even know we won this game.  Only you and I will know that we Topped Their Love.

Love has no limits for the Diggs siblings: there’s nothing that 17-year-old Jude won’t do to keep her younger brother Acton safe.  Growing up in the turbulence of 1970s America, Jude works nights and weekends to pay the bills, just so that they can stay together and with their mother.  But when Acton’s troublesome pals form a club in their basement, a foolish game threatens to upend Jude’s plans, and derail their lives forever.  How far will Jude go to protect her brother?  And who will pay the eventual price of her doing so?  

Naomi Wallace makes her Hampstead debut.  A MacArthur Fellowship recipient and Obie Award winner, Wallace’s previous credits include One Flea Spare (Bush Theatre), Slaughter City (Royal Shakespeare Company), Things of Dry Hours (Young Vic) and And I And Silence (Finborough Theatre).  The Breach is Wallace’s first in a trilogy of plays about different communities in Kentucky.

Sarah Frankcom directs her first Hampstead production.  As Artistic Director of Manchester Royal Exchange, her work included West Side Story, Light Falls and Our Town, and, in collaboration with Maxine Peake for Manchester International Festival, The Nico Project and The Skriker.

Frankcom is joined by designer, Naomi Dawson; sound designer Tingying Dong; movement director, Jennifer Jackson and casting director, Nadine Rennie CDG.

The cast of The Breach will be announced in due course.

***

Blending poetic beauty with brutal honesty, Wolf Cub is a visceral odyssey written and directed by Ché Walker.

My eyes turn yellow. Fur springing out all over me and the fangs snapping in my gums…

1980s, America.  Teenage Maxine has teenage problems.  There’s moving from Rural Georgia to Urban Los Angeles with her booze-sodden Dad, there’s high school, boys, drugs, murder, Nicaraguan Contras, CIA, the LA uprising, the Northridge Earthquake…. Not for the faint-hearted or Ronald Reagan.  Blazing through a turbulent coming of age, and now trapped in a country sick with injustice, Maxine’s eyes are yellow, her hands are claws and she has a howl desperate for release…

Ché Walker makes his Hampstead debut.  Previous writing credits include The Frontline and The Lightning Child (both Shakespeare’s Globe), Fleshwound (Royal Court) and Been So Long (Netflix).  Previous directing credits include Been So Long (Young Vic), Klook’s Last Stand (Park Theatre), The Glory of Living (Battersea Arts) and Macbeth (Southwark Playhouse).

Walker is joined by designer Amy Jane Cooke.  Both cast and the remaining creative team will be announced in due course.

***

The world premiere of Florian Zeller’s new play, The Forest, is currently running on the theatre’s Main Stage until 12 March.  The Forest is translated by Zeller’s long-time collaborator Christopher Hampton, and directed by Jonathan Kent, who re-unites with Zeller after his critically acclaimed production of The Height of the Storm.  Toby Stephens, Gina McKee, Paul McGann and Angel Coulby are joined in the cast by Millie Brady, Silas Carson, Finbar Lynch, Sakuntala Ramanee and Eddie Toll.

The Animal Kingdom, Ruby Thomas’ critically acclaimed new play, is running at Hampstead Downstairs until 26 March.  Directed by Lucy Morrison, The Animal Kingdom is an observation of family dynamics told with wit and compassion featuring Paul Keating, Martina Laird, Jonathan McGuinness, Ashna Rabheru and Ragevan Vasan.

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR NEWLY REIMAGINED

ZORRO THE MUSICAL AT CHARING CROSS THEATRE

Aria Entertainment today announces full cast for newly reimagined Zorro The Musical by Stephen Clark and Helen Edmundson, featuring music by the Gipsy Kings and John Cameron, with lyrics by Stephen Clark. Christian Durham directs Ajjaz Awad, Pete Ashmore, Amy Bastani, Isobel Bates, Ben Boskovic, Matthew Bugg, Paige Fenlon, Alex Gibson-Giorgio, Maxwell Griffin, Matthew Heywood, Jessica Lim, Phoebe Panaretos, Jessica Pardoe, Marc Pickering, Benjamin Purkiss, Stylianos Thomadakis and Hannah Woodward. The production opens on Tuesday 12 April, with previews from 2 April, and runs until 28 May.

Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and John Gertz in association with Zorro USA, LLC 
with Bonnie Comley & Stewart F. Lane and Linda Bernardi present

ZORRO THE MUSICAL
Music by the Gipsy Kings and John Cameron

Lyrics by Stephen Clark

Book by Stephen Clark and Helen Edmundson

Director: Christian Durham; Choreographer: Cressida Carré

Set and Costume Designer: Rosa Maggiora; Musical Director and Orchestrations: Nick Barstow

Sound Designer: Andrew Johnson;Lighting Designer: Matthew Haskins 

Fight Director: Renny Krupinski; Casting Director: Jane Deitch; General Manager: Chris Matanlé

2 April – 28 May 2022

Set in the sizzling heat of 1805’s California, a pueblo is under attack from its autocratic leader. When the danger is at its greatest, a masked crusader appears from nowhere and saves lives. Who is he? Will he be their champion?

The famous red-hot tale of the masked hero, El Zorro, fighting for justice and freedom is told in an immersive, thrilling and headily sensual new production. With zealous, ‘get-on-your-feet’ music, featuring international hits by Gipsy Kings including Bamboleo, Baila Me and Djobi Djoba, alongside original music to express a fresh new tale of love, hope and courage.

Audiences will be seduced into the story and witness the thrills and spills of our hero as he battles for all he holds dear. Spanish Gypsy pride and fire runs deep throughout this explosive show with murderous encounters, immeasurable flamenco choreography and Cante jondo singing at its forefront.

Stephen Clark (1961-2016) was an award-winning playwright, librettist and lyricist. His credits include Love Story (Chichester Festival Theatre/Duchess Theatre), Stripped, (Circle Theatre, Chicago – winner of the Jefferson Award), Takeaway (Lyric Hammersmith/UK tour), Making Waves (Stephen Joseph Theatre), Eyam (Old Fire Station/The Bridewell), Martin Guerre (UK and US tour – Olivier Award for Best New Musical), Forbidden City (Esplanade Theatre, Singapore) and The Far Pavilions (The Shaftsbury Theatre, London). His adaptations include La Traviata (ENO) and The Mahabharata (Sadler’s Wells/UK tour).

Helen Edmundson is a playwright. Her theatre credits include Small Island (National Theatre), Queen Anne (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Thérèse Raquin (Theatre Royal Bath), The Heresy of Love (Shakespeare’s Globe), Swallows and Amazons (Bristol Old Vic/Vaudeville Theatre/UK tour), Mary Shelley (Shared Experience), Life is a Dream (Donmar Warehouse), War and Peace (National Theatre), Coram Boy (National Theatre/Imperial Theatre), Orestes, Gone to Earth (Shared Experience UK tours), Mother Teresa is Dead (Royal Court Theatre), The Clearing (Bush Theatre – John Whiting Award), Mill on the Floss, Anna Karenina (Lyric Hammersmith). Her screenwriting credits include Mary Magdalene, An Inspector Calls and The Suspicions of Mr Whicher III. Edmundson was a recipient of the Windham Campbell Prize for Drama in 2015.

John Cameron’s orchestration credits include Les Misérables – New York Drama Desk Award, Honk! (The Ugly Duckling) – Olivier Award for Best Musical, and Peter Pan (Royal Festival Hall). His musical supervision and arrangement credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Goodbye Girl, The Card, Blondel, Mutiny!, Spend! Spend! Spend! (Best Musical – Evening Standard Awards). As a composer his credits include Faust Part I and Part II (RSC), Hamlet, Becket and Twelfth Night (National Theatre international tours). For television his work includes scores for Jack the Ripper and Jekyll and Hyde, and the theme for BBC’s Crimewatch UK; and his film scores include A Touch of Class -Oscar Award nomination for Best Music and Original Dramatic Score, Kes and To End All Wars.

The Gipsy Kings consist of two bands of brothers: The Reyes (Nicolas, Canut, Paul, Patchaï, André) and the Baliardos (Tonino, Paco, Diego). In 1987 The Gipsy Kings’ self-titled debut album introduced the world to rumba Gitano, the sound of South America’s rumba rhythm married to flamenco guitars. With Bamboleo,the Gipsy Kings scored a huge international hit. Their total album sales worldwide now exceed 18 million.

Ajjaz Awad is part of the ensemble for the company. Her recent theatre credits include The Snow Queen (South Street Theatre), There’s a Rang-Tan in my Bedroom (The Little Angel Theatre), How Not To Drown (Traverse Theatre) and Another Star to Steer (Brighton Dome). Her television credits include Doctor Who and Hindsight.

Pete Ashmore plays Don Alejandro. His theatre credits include The Jungle Book, A Christmas Carol (Watermill Theatre), Silas Marner (Belgrade Theatre), Venice Preserved, The Provoked Wife (RSC), The Lovely Bones, Treasure Island (Birmingham Rep), The Dog Beneath the Skin (Jermyn Street Theatre), Arms and the Man, The Canterbury Tales, Aladdin (Watford Palace theatre), Private Lives, A View from the Bridge, The Winter’s Tale, Under Milk Wood, David Copperfield, Beauty and the Beast (Mercury Theatre), The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Arabian Nights (Sherman Cymru), The Emperor’s New Clothes, House and Garden (Harrogate Theatre), The Itinerant Music Hall (Lyric Hammersmith), Mansfield Park (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds), Manchester Sound, The Massacre, Grimm Tales (Library Theatre), The Jungle Book (Lyric Theatre, Belfast), Macbeth (National Theatre), Vernon God Little, The Ruffian the Stair, The Queen of Spades, The Lady Aoi, La Musica, Venice Preserv’d, Nothing (Citizens Theatre and E59E59), Public Property (Hampstead Theatre), Tom’s Midnight Garden, Jemima Puddle-Duck (Unicorn Theatre), Cutlery Wars (Soho Theatre) and One Snowy Night (Chichester Minerva Theatre). His television credits include Silent Witness.

Amy Bastani reprises her role in the ensemble continuing her professional stage debut with the company.

Isobel Bates returns to the company as part of the ensemble. Other theatre credits include Sleeping Beauty (King’s Lynn Corn Exchange), Summer Holiday (Bolton Octagon), Red Riding Hood (New Wolsey Theatre), Oh! What a Lovely War (Oldham Coliseum Theatre), Leader of the Pack (Waterloo East Theatre) and Jack and the Beanstalk (Theatr Clwyd).

Ben Boskovic returns to the company as part of the ensemble. Other theatre credits include The Misadventures of Robin Hood (UK tour), Aladdin (Sutton Coldfield Town Hall), The Exonerated (Hope Mill Theatre), The Secret Garden (Barn Theatre), Holding the Man (Above the Stag) and Paper Hearts: A High-Street Musical (Upstairs at the Gatehouse/First Stage, Hamburg).

Matthew Bugg is part of the ensemble for the company. He wrote and performed in Miss Nightingale (UK tour/Vaults/Hippodrome Theatre). Other theatre credits include Jane Eyre (Stephen Joseph Theatre), Cinderella, Aladdin (Sutton Coldfield Town Hall), The Crooked Spire (Chesterfield Church), No Horizon (UK tour), Goodnight Mister Tom (East Riding Theatre), Cirque Berserk (Garrick Theatre), Looking for Gatsby (Windsor Theatre Royal/The Other Palace) and The Tempest (Nottingham Playhouse).

Paige Fenlon plays Luisa. Her theatre credits include Pretty Woman (Savoy Theatre), Oklahoma! (Chichester Festival Theatre) and Elegies for Punks, Angels and Raging Queens (Union Theatre).

Alex Gibson-Giorgio plays Ramon. His theatre credits include Rags (Park Theatre), Everything’s Coming Up Sondheim (Chapel off Chapel, Melbourne), Yank! (Brisbane Powerhouse), Georgy Girl, Mamma Mia! (Australian tour), Aladdin (Capitol Theatre, Sydney) and Anything Goes (Opera Australia). His film credits include Not Quite Cricket.

Maxwell Griffin makes his professional stage debut as part of the ensemble.

Matthew Heywood returns to the company as part of the ensemble. His theatre credits include Peter Pan, Beryl and Seagulls (Octagon Theatre).

Jessica Lim is part of the ensemble for the company. Her theatre credits include The Musical That Goes Right (Cockpit Theatre), Mario: A Super Musical (Union Theatre), and Medusa: The Legend (Above the Stag Theatre).

Phoebe Panaretos plays Inez. Her theatre credits include Strictly Ballroom the Musical (Australia tour), Singing in the Rain, Lazarus, Dream Lover – The Bobby Darin Musical (The Production Company), American Idiot (Shake and Stir Productions) and Cake (The Turbine Theatre).

Jessica Pardoe returns to the company as part of the ensemble. Other theatre credits include How the Grinch Stole Christmas (UK tour), The Happy Prince (The Place Theatre), Kiss Me Kate (Kilworth House), The Bubble Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (Theatre Royal Stratford East/Belgrade Coventry), Twenty One (Chichester Festival Theatre) and Sweeney Todd (Rose Theatre).

Marc Pickering plays Garcia. His theatre credits include BASKERVILLE! (Mercury Theatre), The Elephant Man (Trafalgar Studios), Honeymoon Suite (Hull Truck Theatre), Merchant of Venice (Arcola Theatre), The Return of the Soldier (Hope Mill Theatre), The Toxic Avenger, Suessical, Bananaman, (Southwark Playhouse), How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Wilton’s Music Hall), An Incident At The Border (Trafalgar Studios 2), The Wizard of Oz (Royal and Derngate), Mothergoose (Marlowe Theatre), The Long and The Short and The Tall, Dead Live! (Pleasance Theatre), As We Forgive Them (E.R.T Company) and Dick Whittington (Milton Keynes Theatre). His television credits include Josh, Borgia III, Dalziel and Pascoe, Cricklewood Greats and Which is Witch and for film; Les Miserables, To Be Someone, Brothers of Italy, The Krays: Dead Man Walking, A Viking Saga: The Darkest Day, Kill Keith, The Task, I Want Candy, Cashback, Calendar Girls, Secret Passage and Sleepy Hollow.

Benjamin Purkiss returns to the company to play Diego/Zorro. Other theatre credits include Broken Wings (The Other Palace/Katara Opera House), The Beggar’s Opera (international tour), Bat Out of Hell (London Coliseum/international tour/Manchester Opera House), and Allegro (Southwark Playhouse).

Stylianos Thomadakis returns to the company as part of the ensemble. Other theatre credits include The Thorn of Acacia (White Bear Theatre). His films credits include Mary Queen of Scots, Artemis Fowl and Enola Holmes 2.

Hannah Woodward is part of the ensemble for the company. Her theatre credits include Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Hartlepool Borough Hall)

Christian Durham directs. His theatre credits include Breaking the Code (Salisbury Playhouse), Café Society Swing (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Quaint Honour (Finborough Theatre), Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Japan and Russia – Golden Mask Award for Best Musical), Spend Spend Spend, Children of Eden (Union Theatre), Henna Night (Hen and Chickens Theatre), Proud (New Wimbledon Theatre Studio), Taboo (UK tour – Manchester Evening News Award for Best Musical), Debbie Does Dallas (Old Fire Station, Oxford/Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Real Classy Affair (Soho Theatre) and Only You Can Save Mankind (Edinburgh Festival Fringe).

www.zorrothemusical.co.uk

Twitter:                @ZorroMusicalUK
Facebook:           @ZorroMusicalUK 
Instagram:           @ZorroMusicalUK 

#ZorroMusical

LISTINGS

Charing Cross Theatre

The Arches, Villiers Street, London WC2N 6NL

Zorro The Musical

2 April – 28 May 2022

Box Office: www.charingcrosstheatre.co.uk/ 08444 930 650

Nottingham  Theatre Royal – until Saturday 5 March 2022

Reviewed by Louise Ford

3***

The wireless greets  the audience as they take their seats. The light music and commentary set the scene. England post war, 1949, the year that the family favourite board game was launched. The game was devised during the war by Anthony Pratt and his wife Elva. He based the board game on the game of “Murder”, played in Country Houses pre-war.

As the curtain rises we see the board set out before us in the form of the Country House, Body Manor. The clever set, it really does steal the show, was designed by David Farley. All of the rooms, the kitchen, the conservatory, the study, the lounge, the billiard room, the dining room and, the library, can be seen  from the central entrance hall. Of course there  are also secret passageways.

The play is directed by Mark Bell( of The Play That Goes Wrong).

The first player on to the board is the butler – Wandsworth (Jean-Luke Worrell ) He really is the centre piece of the show, with his knowing looks, extra long arms and immaculate gloves (which don’t quite fit!).

The door bell rings and the cast arrive. All of the well known characters are there, kitted out in their respective colours; Colonel Mustard (Wesley Griffith), Miss Scarlett (Michelle Collins), Professor Plum (Harry Bradley), Mrs Peacock(Judith Amenga), Mrs White (Etisyai Philip) and of course Reverend Green (Tom Babbage). They are not sure why they have been invited or even who has invited them . But they all have a motive for murder.

As the story unfolds the suspects are each given a package, which contains a potential murder weapon. Are they for self defence or for a darker reason? Rest assured that each of the weapons is given an airing, or two, during the play!

The pace of the play and the action speeds up as the body count mounts. The cast race around the board carrying furniture, props and bodies to keep the story and chaos moving.

This isn’t a classic whodunnit, although there is a denouement at the end and I’m sure that there are clues liberally sprinkled through out the scenes, more a slap stick country house farce. It’s humorous and ridiculous in equal measure and went down very well with the audience.