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Quarter Life Crisis by Yolanda Mercy

Ovalhouse, 52-54 Kennington Oval, London SE11 5SW

Thursday 13th – Saturday 15th April 2017

Press Night: Friday 14th April, 7.45pm

All things British… All things me… And when I say me, I mean all things fabulous

Following the success of her debut solo show On The Edge of Me, Ovalhouse’s Associate Artist Yolanda Mercy returns with a coming of age comedy about growing up and being totally unprepared for the inevitability of entering adulthood.

Featuring live music, audience participation and a special guest from the local community, this is a relatable, funny and moving exploration of what it means to grow up in 21st Century Britain.

Quarter Life Crisis presents an upbeat take on the millennial phenomenon of big dreams, no cash, going viral, YouTube tutorials, having numerous zero-hour contracts, surrendering the 16–25 railcard and trying desperately to cheat adulthood.

Join Alicia who is living in soon-to-be post-Brexit London. She is realising that even though she is second-generation Nigerian, her routes and stories from the past can help her navigate through everchanging London. Help Alicia find a new way for her to live.

Yolanda Mercy comments, I am interested in making work which reacts to the world we inhabit. I love creating work that doesn’t just have an impact for the hour that we are in the theatre, but resonates beyond that. I place this world on stage with live music, words and an audience who I hope feel comfortable enough to want to interact with the piece… then talk about it after the show…and even a week, month, or year later.

In addition to the run at Ovalhouse, Yolanda Mercy will perform a double bill of Quarter Life Crisis and On The Edge of Me at Vault Festival from 11th February 2017; On The Edge of Me at Vault Festival on 12th February 2017; and Quarter Life Crisis at Arc Stockton on 12th April 2017.

Quarter Life Crisis is funded by Arts Council England and supported by Ovalhouse Theatre and Arc Stockton. Mentored by Third Angel.

Regan De Wynter Williams Productions present

Sasha Regan’s all-male

The Mikado or The Town of Titipu

UK Tour: April – July 2017

Following the highly successful all-male tours of H.M.S. Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance, Sasha Regan returns with the world premiere of the irresistible The Mikado – one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most famous operettas.

In true topsy –turvy fashion, Gilbert and Sullivan’s inherent humour and timeless tunefulness are married with Regan’s wicked sense of fun. This vibrant production successfully pokes playful fun at British politics and institutions. The crazy storyline takes us to 1950s England where a school camping trip is visiting the far away land of Titipu – a place where flirting is banned on pain of death and where tailors can become Lord High Executioners but cannot cut off another’s head, until they have cut off their own!

Regan’s idea to transform these much-loved classics into all-male productions stems from her own experiences performing Gilbert and Sullivan at a single-sex school. Her shows are now renowned for playing on the humour that can emerge from these gender changes.

Regan comments, Nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing our work playing in some of the most beautiful theatres our country has to offer. 2017 is going to be a great year for us as we bring a brand new staging to our audiences – it’s beyond exciting.

Rollickingly silly, beautifully sung and imaginatively reframed (Libby Purves – H.M.S. Pinafore 2016).

Sasha was recently awarded the Special Achievement Award at the Off West End Awards 2017 for her contribution to musical theatre.

Hundreds of discounted tickets released for those under 26 to
The Woman in Black 

At The Lowry
Monday 20 & Tuesday 21 March 2017

Hundreds of tickets have been priced at £10 for The Woman in Black at The Lowry on Mon 20 and Tue 21 March 2017. These tickets are part of The Lowry’s Under 26 Scheme and are available to anyone between 16 and 25 years of age.

The Lowry launched their Under 26 Scheme in July 2016. The scheme aims to encourage young people to experience as much live performance as possible.

To qualify for the discount theatregoers need to register either via The Lowry’s website or call or visit the box office. Tickets are limited to two per person. The Under 26 Scheme also offers its members discounts on food and drink in The Lowry’s bar and restaurant Pier Eight prior to the show.

Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s best-selling novel has terrified over 64,400 theatregoers across its previous seven visits to The Lowry. The show will make its eighth visit from Mon 20 – Sat 25 March 2017.  

Robin Herford’s gripping production is a brilliantly successful study in atmosphere, illusion and controlled horror.

Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel tells the story of a lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over him and his family by the spectre of a ‘Woman in Black’. He engages a young actor to help him tell his story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul. It begins innocently enough, but as they delve further into his darkest memories, they find themselves caught up in a world of eerie marshes and moaning winds. The borders between make believe and reality begin to blur and the flesh begins to creep.

David Acton will play the role of Mr Kipps and The Actor will be playedMatthew Spencer.

The production’s huge popularity has reached a global level, having toured to the United States, South America, Tokyo and Singapore. In 2012, Susan Hill’s novel The Woman in Black was released as a major motion picture, starring Daniel Radcliffe, which became the highest grossing British horror film in 20 years. The sequel to that film, The Woman in Black 2: Angel Of Death, came out in 2014.

The West End show and tour are produced by PW Productions – the company behind the New Arts Theatre at Leicester Square.

Peter Wilson comments, “Everyone at PWP Is proud to continue presenting this perfect piece of theatre. The 2016/17 tour of The Woman in Black is dedicated to the Herford family who have done so much to support, love and create this landmark production.”

The production is directed by Robin Herford, with designs by Michael Holt, lighting by Kevin Sleep and sound by Gareth Owen.

The UK tour runs concurrently with the West End production.

Listings Info
The Woman in Black
Mon 20 – Sat 25 March 2017
Times: 7.30pm, Wed, Thu & Sat 2pm
Tickets: £21.50-£30.50 (inc booking fee)
Box office: 0843 208 6000
Website

Mayflower, Southampton – until Sat 11 March 2017.  Reviewed by Sharon MacDonald-Armitage

With a story based on the writing of acclaimed author Peter James and set in a police station and mortuary in Brighton you’d expect Not Dead Enough to have the makings of a strong murder mystery. Perhaps the translation to stage is where the thrill of the thriller is lost, as this production fell rather flat for a number of reasons.

When Katie Bishop (Charlotte Sutherland) is murdered her husband and prime suspect Brian (Stephen Billington) claims he was miles away in bed. However, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace (Shane Richie), haunted by the disappearance of his own wife many years earlier, becomes affected more than usual over this case. Intertwined with Grace’s own demons and his personal relationships it becomes clear there is more to this case than originally thought.

Despite a well-known cast lead by Richie, who gives a believable and solid performance portraying Grace as a troubled and obsessed man, it is a step too far for him to carry the whole production. Laura Whitmore as mortuary technician Cleo Morey tries hard to make her character believable and there are glimpses of solid acting when she does, but mostly she appears rather out of her depth and her performance suffers because of this. Billington is rather caricaturist in his portrayal of the suspect leaving very little for the audience to engage with.

The production seems rather amateurish and Michael Holt’s split set looks messy and highlights what can go wrong when it is badly thought through. Of course this is a touring production that needs to be adaptable, but there is nothing remotely interesting or innovative in this one.

There were clear issues with the sound coming through the actor’s mics. Michael Quartey’s (Gless Branson) mic sounded a lot louder than the other cast members and when characters got into very close contact with each other mics seemed to drop in and out.

On the whole the production was rather stilted and there was little to engage or engross the audience, even the writing was laboured and pedestrian making it very difficult to have any feelings about the characters.

 

 

Grand Opera House York.  Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

Frank Wildhoorn’s Wonderland is now playing at the Grand Opera House, York, running until Saturday 11th March and touring throughout the UK until August.

This is a musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. Given a modern twist, full of heart, magic and love.

Standing outside a block of dreary flats we see Alice, Rachael Wooding, a downtrodden single mum on her 40th birthday. She is reading a letter from her ex-husband informing her he has remarried, then realises that her car has been stolen, making her late for work and resulting her in getting the sack. We meet her daughter Ellie, Naomi Morris, who appears to be the adult in their relationship, and quiet, nerdy neighbour Jack, or is it John, Stephen Webb.

When Alice utters the magic words, “I don’t want to live in the real world”, the White Rabbit appears. The 3 of them follow him down the rabbit hole, via a lift, to Wonderland. There we meet such iconic characters as the Mad Hatter, Caterpillar, Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, March Hare and the Queen of Hearts, amongst others, but not quite as we remember them.

We are introduced to the Looking Glass, a portal to who you really want to be. We see Ellie turn into a petulant teenager, certainly reminded me of my teenagers and bought a smile to my face, and Jack turns into a cheesy, and I mean CHEESY, boyband singer reminiscent of the 1990’s. Webb did a fantastic cheesy job of entertaining us with easily forgettable songs along with his other boyband members, it was great fun and I loved those bits.

The Mad Hatter, Natalie McQueen, upon going through the Looking Glass plots against the Queen of Hearts, Wendi Peters, famous for Coronation Street. Peters is not actually on stage for that long but she does pack a punch with her singing, and it would have been nice to have seen her a bit more.

After a lot of madness and a bonkers story we do have a happy ending, with Alice, Ellie and Jack going back through the Looking Glass, returning home with a new outlook on life.

This is certainly a colourful show and all the cast worked very hard. There was some great singing but unfortunately for me none of the songs really stood out, and I am struggling to even recall one as I type this. Saying that it is an uplifting show and gives you a chance to escape to Wonderland for a few hours.

Bird&Carrot proudly presents the UK premiere of Brodsky/Baryshnikov

Apollo Theatre, 31 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 7ES

Wednesday 3rd – Saturday 6th May 2017

Brodsky/Baryshnikov is a one-man show, performed by legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, based on the poems of Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky. The production is an emotional journey deep into the poet’s visceral and complex compositions. For the UK premiere, the show comes to the West End’s Apollo Theatre for a limited run of four nights only.

Brodsky/Baryshnikov is conceived and directed by Alvis Hermanis, noted Latvian director of The New Riga Theatre. Performed in Russian with English surtitles, Baryshnikov recites a selection of his long-time friend’s poignant and eloquent works. His subtle physicality transports the audience into Hermanis’ reverent imagining of Brodsky’s interior world.

Baryshnikov first remembers reading Brodksy’s poetry when he was aged 16, having just arrived in Leningrad to study ballet. Brodsky and Baryshnikov were introduced at a party in New York, soon after Brodsky’s forcible exile from the Soviet Union in 1972. This marked the start of their 22 year friendship which lasted until Brodsky’s death in 1996.

The two men spoke nearly every day and even opened a restaurant together. Found somewhere between a play, a poetry recital and a piece of performance art, Brodsky/Baryshnikov is Baryshnikov’s nostalgic tribute to his once dear friend.

But the main drama is in the use of the language. Sometimes Baryshnikov reads the poems from one of the books; sometimes he whispers the words, sometimes he yells them, sometimes he just opens his mouth and lets them fall out. Usually he speaks them from memory. Unnervingly, sometimes Brodsky reads the poems, over the sound system. (At those times, an old reel-to-reel tape recorder turns on one of the benches.) But then sometimes Baryshnikov too reads the poems on tape, and you’re not always sure which of them is speaking…. (New York Review of Books).

Brodsky/Baryshnikov in London is made possible thanks to the generous support of Norvik Banka and Blavatnik Family Foundation. It is a co-production between The New Riga Theatre and Baryshnikov Productions.

A festival of theatre, spoken word, dance, and music

The Bunker, 53A Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU

Tuesday 4th – Saturday 8th April 2017

Bunker Without Borders is a week-long festival at The Bunker exploring the question ‘what might a world without borders look like, sound like, feel like, be like?’. The festival seeks to share stories in search of a united way forward in the current global climate.

Curated with playwright Firdos Ali, spoken word artist James Chelliah, and artists from the Bhumi Collective, The Bunker’s Artistic Director Joshua McTaggart has programmed a series of evenings that place a diverse range of voices on stage from a variety of different backgrounds, cultures, countries, and perspectives.

Ali has worked to present a kaleidoscope of responses to the world around us. Across the week, work from seven playwrights Ali, Amber Hsu, Mahad Ali, Rabiah Hussain, Daniel York, Alexandra Donnachie, and Nicole Latchana will be performed. Highlights of the festival include Latchna’s Fennel-Spiked Lamb which tells the true story of a Bangladeshi immigrant forced into modernday slavery in Scotland and Hussain’s Dissected in which two young female Muslim pathologists must their belief under the microscope as faith and forensics collide.

The week also features 15 of the city’s most exciting spoken word artists, who will perform in sets of three. Chelliah has scoured the London spoken word scene for an eclectic mix of performers who can bring their distinct words to The Bunker, ranging from Charlie de Courcy, the founder of London’s definitive spoken word evening Word Up, to rapper, singer, and spoken word artist Kitty Got Claws and poet Lex Sciore.

McTaggart comments, Bunker Without Borders is about celebrating and representing the incredible breadth and depth of story-telling the artists in this city has to offer. The Bunker came to fruition in a turbulent world, and it is our duty as theatre-makers to face those turbulences head on and ask ‘why?’ and, more importantly, ‘what next?’. It was important to us at The Bunker that we looked beyond just theatre, and we are thrilled to be continuing The Bunker’s tradition of music, spoken word, and dance, alongside a unique set of theatrical offerings. We want Bunker Without Borders to be the start of something bigger, not just a week-long festival and with the energy and excitement this incredible group of artists is bringing to The Bunker, I cannot wait to see what we discover and how, as a united group, we can move forward together.

Each evening of Bunker Without Borders will be complete with music and dance, and accompanied by The Bunker’s usual ‘stick around’ ethos with space for responses, discussions, and drinks at the bar.

Matthew Bourne’s Early Adventures

Town and Country, The Infernal Galop and Watch With Mother

York Theatre Royal, 24 & 25 March

Press performance Fri 24 March, 7.30pm

We are delighted to announce that Matthew Bourne’s EARLY ADVENTURES will arrive at York Theatre Royal on 24 and 25 March as part of a year-long celebration of work to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Company.

In EARLY ADVENTURES Matthew Bourne returns to his roots with a programme of hit pieces that launched his career and saw the birth of the style, wit and sheer entertainment that have become hallmarks of the New Adventures Company today. Town and Country and The Infernal Galop were last seen on tour in 2012 and Watch with Mother has not been seen for nearly 25 years.

The cast includes New Adventures favourites: Reece Causton, Tom Clark, Daniel Collins, Sophia Hurdley, Mari Kamata, Jamie McDonald and Edwin Ray as well as Joao Carolino and Paris Fitzpatrick who are making their New Adventures debut.

EARLY ADVENTURES is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne with designs by long-time collaborator Lez Brotherston.

Town and Country – Lie back and think of England…Moving and hilarious, this heartfelt pastiche explores notions of national character from a bygone era through the evocative music of Edward Elgar, Noël Coward and Percy Grainger, amongst others.

The Infernal Galop – A French dance with English subtitles. This is France as seen by the uptight English imagination, with all the traditional clichés joyously paraded for our entertainment and climaxing in Offenbach’s inevitable Can-Can!

Watch with Mother – Seen but not heard? – Conkers, Hopscotch, Doctors & Nurses; Children’s games can be all-consuming, competitive and sometimes cruel. Based on Joyce Grenfell’s famous Nursery School sketches (“George… Don’t do that”) and set to Percy Grainger’s own piano compositions and arrangements of Bach and Faure, this 1991 piece has not been seen for nearly 25 years.

There will be a post-show Q & A with Matthew Bourne on Friday 24 March.

 

The King and I

Rehearsals are well under way for a spectacular, lavish production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical, the ever-popular King and I.

The company is led by veteran member John Hall as the King and Emma Dickinson as governess Anna Leonowens. Emma was seen as Milly last year in our popular production of Seven Bride for Seven Brothers.

John of course is no stranger to the York Theatre Royal stage and was last seen in our production of The Sound of Music when he starred as Captain Von Trapp.

Other principal roles include: Geoffrey Turner, The Kralahone; Sally Lewis, Lady Thiang; and from our very talented youth group, Jack Porter, Prince Chululongkorn; Flynn Coultous and Ruben Lally, sharing the role of Louis Leonowens, Anna’s son.

Supporting roles include: Richard Hawley, Sir Edward Ramsey; Phillip Jackson, The Captain; Martin Lay, Phra Alach; Finn East, The Interpreter. The young Princess Ying Yawolak, another shared role by members of our Youth group, Jess Parnell and Zoe Blenkiron.

At the helm of this production once again will be professional Director Martyn Knight, assisted by Sue Hawksworth, who has spent many hours putting the cast through their paces and polishing the scenes.

Possibly her biggest challenge has been the fifteen minute ballet The Small House of Uncle Thomas. It promises to be visually stunning and worth all the hard work.

With colourful scenery, stunning costumes and a musical score to die for including: Shall We Dance; Getting to Know You; I Have Dreamed; Something Wonderful; Hello, Young Lovers; I Whistle A Happy Tune; March of the Siamese Children and We Kiss In The Shadow. The King and I is a show not to be missed.

The King and I Runs from 8 – 18 March at York Theatre Royal.

Tickets available from the Box Office 01904 623568 or online at

yorktheateroyal.co.uk

 

The Great Escape – senior citizen style!

English Touring Theatre and Rose Theatre Kingston present the world premiere of

Silver Lining

by Sandi Toksvig

Director Rebecca Gatward. Designer Michael Taylor. Sound and Projection Designer Mic Pool.

Lighting Designer Mark Doubleday. Associate Director Spencer Noll

York Theatre Royal, 28 March to 1 April

Press performance Tues 28 March, 7.30pm

Silver Lining is the new comedy by writer, actor, presenter and political activist Sandi Toksvig which tells the tale of five extraordinary yet forgotten women, who come together one treacherous night to recreate The Great Escape – senior citizen style.

On one dark and stormy night in the upper day room of the Silver Retirement Home, five elderly ladies are trading stories of their remarkable lives. With the storm floods rising and no rescue team in sight, the ladies are faced with the sudden realisation that in order to survive they are going to have to do what they have done for their entire lives – do it themselves.

The cast features Rachel Davies, Keziah Josephs, Maggie McCarthy, Joanna Monro, Sheila Reid and Amanda Walker. Completing the cast is Theo Toksvig-Stewart in his professional stage debut.

Sandi Toksvig’s previous writing for the stage includes the musical Big Night Out at the Little Sands Picture Palace and The Pocket Dream. Until last year she was the presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz and in October 2016 took over from Stephen Fry as the host of BBC television quiz show QI. She is the joint founder of the Women’s Equality Party which was established in March 2015.

Sheila Reid, who plays Gloria, is perhaps best known on television for her role as Madge in ITV’s Benidorm. Her theatre credits include Pericles (Shakespeare’s Globe), Othello and The Three Sisters (The Old Vic), Romeo and Juliet, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore and Richard III (RSC), When I Was A Girl I Used To Scream And Shout and My Mother Said I Never Should (Royal Court Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Pornography (Tricycle Theatre), Into The Woods (Donmar Warehouse), Filomena (Almeida Theatre), Hedda Gabler (National Theatre) and at Edinburgh Festival, Love Among the Butterflies, Terrible with Raisons In It (both of which she wrote) and Maurice’s Jubilee (also UK tour). Her other television credits include Call the Midwife, Doctor Who, Father Brown and Psychobitches.

Rachel Davies plays Maureen. Her theatre credits include Ecstasy (Hampstead Theatre), The Party and The Bacchae (National Theatre), Long Day’s Journey Into Night (New Theatre and Old Vic). For television her credits include Emmerdale, A Passionate Woman, New Tricks, Best Friends, Bodies, Cutting it, The Chase, Dalziel & Pascoe and Linda Green.

Keziah Joseph trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and Silver Lining marks her professional debut as Hope.

Maggie McCarthy plays May. Her theatre credits include We Wait in Joyful Hope (Theatre 503), The Absence of War (Headlong/Sheffield Theatres/Rose Theatre Kingston), Juno and the Paycock (Bristol Old Vic/Liverpool Theatres), Gaslight (Salisbury Playhouse), Children of the Sun, Cocktail Sticks, Doctor’s Dilemma, Major Barbara, Much Ado About Nothing, Philistines, The Rose Tattoo, Mother Clap’s Molly House (National Theatre), Private Lives and Uncle Vanya (Chichester Festival Theatre). Her work for television includes Dancing On the Edge, Feather Boy and She’s Out. Her work for film includes Attack the Block, Leap Year and Hilary And Jackie.

Joanna Monro plays June. Her theatre credits include Jack and the Beanstalk (Hall for Cornwall), Mamma Mia (West End and international tour), Breeze Block Park (Liverpool Playhouse), Habeus Corpus (Exeter Northcott), Women On The Verge Of HRT, Golden Leaf Strut and The Master Builder (Belgrade Theatre, Coventry), Blood Brothers (West End), Prisoner Cell Block H, Baby Love, Rough Crossing, All’s Well That Ends Well, Dead White Males, The Price Of Meat and The Taming Of The Shrew (Nuffield Theatre) and Dreams Of San Francisco (Bush Theatre). For television her work includes Confessions of a Diary Secretary, Angels, People Like Us, The Cazelet Chronicles, Doctor Who, Fast Forward, The Life and Death of Philip Knight and Dream Team. She is currently a recurring character in the BBC Radio 4 series Homefront.

Amanda Walker plays St Michael. Her theatre credits include Orpheus Descending (Haymarket Theatre), Waiting in September: The War On Terror (Southbank Centre) and Superior Donuts (Southwark Playhouse). Her television work includes The Missing, Murphy’s Law, My Family, Daylight Robbery, Fish and The New Adventures of Robin Hood; and for film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Captain America: The First Avenger and Cloud Atlas.

Director Rebecca Gatward’s theatre credits include The Night Watch (Manchester Royal Exchange), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Chester), for West Yorkshire Playhouse, The Accrington Pals and Beryl (also Rose Theatre Kingston), The Trial Of Dennis The Menace (Southbank Centre), The Comedy Of Errors, The Merchant Of Venice (Shakespeare’s Globe), Pandas (Traverse Theatre), The Indian Boy (RSC Complete Works Festival), The Canterbury Tales, directed in partnership with Greg Doran and Jonathan Munby and Thyestes (RSC), Touched (Salisbury Playhouse) and Cancer Tales (New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich). She was Company Director on This Is Our Youth with Matt Damon and Casey Affleck at the Garrick Theatre. Her work for television includes EastEnders (winner Broadcast award and soap award nominations for best episode and scene), Casualty, Doctors and Sadie J.

SILVER LINING

York Theatre Royal

28 March – 1 April

Evening 7.30pm.

Matinees Thurs 2pm, Sat 2.30pm

Tickets £30-£14

Post-show discussion 29 March

AD performance Sat 1 April 2.30pm