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MERCURY THEATRE ANNOUNCES

FULL CAST FOR MARK RAVENHILL’S BLACKMAIL

Mercury Theatre today announces full cast for Mark Ravenhill’s Blackmail, a new version of the classic thriller originally written by Charles Bennett. Anthony Banks directs Gabriel Akuwudike (Harold Webber), Jessie Hills (Alice Jarvis), Patrick Walshe McBride (Ian Tracy), and Lucy Speed (Ada Jarvis). The production, produced in association with Simon Friend Entertainment opens on 9 March, with previews from 4 March, and runs until 19 March.

Originally produced in the West End in 1928, Blackmail then became a pioneering early sound film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1929. Bennett subsequently worked with Hitchcock on the screen adaptation of The 39 Steps before a long career in Hollywood as a screenwriter. With the blessing of Bennett’s son, Mark Ravenhill has adapted this play for it to premiere on the Mercury stage

Ryan McBryde, Creative Director of Mercury Theatre, said today “We’ve been working with producer Simon Friend on this adaptation for the Mercury for over a year and I’m so looking forward to seeing this classy thriller finally come alive on stage. Mark Ravenhill’s adaptation of Blackmail elevates a classic 1920’s thriller to something that powerfully resonates with contemporary audiences. Direction by Anthony Banks completes the recipe for an edge-of-the seat evening that audiences will be talking about long after they’ve left the building.”

Mark Ravenhill commented “Charles Bennett constantly revised and rewrote his play Blackmail throughout his life. It was one of the first plays he wrote as a young actor in the early 1920s. He revised it before and after the 1928 West End production and participated in Hitchcock’s 1929 film reworking. He was working on a new version for a potential Hollywood film shortly before his death in 1995. I’ve had the great good fortune of being given access by his estate to the various manuscripts. Working from these, I’ve created a new version of Blackmail for a contemporary audience. The plot is all Bennett’s, about half the dialogue is mine. My aim has been to make the joins ‘invisible’, to imagine as best I can what Bennett would do if he had another go at shaping the play for a production in 2022”.

Lucy Speed added “I knew from reading the first scene of Blackmail that I had to play it. It’s the kind of joyful genius that you cannot let pass you by. The script immediately thrilled and enthralled me. Delicious dialogue and visceral characters drive the forever twisting plot. The searingly relevant themes resonate today, several ringing so loudly in my ear: the mother-daughter relationship; the challenges of youth; the desperation of losing vitality and control that ageing throws at us; the timing politically that threw the world into emotional frenzy. It bounces gleefully along, moments of playfulness and superb reflection of self.”   

Mercury Theatre

in association with Simon Friend Entertainment presents

Charles Bennett’s

BLACKMAIL

A new version by Mark Ravenhill

Director: Anthony Banks; Set and Costume Designer: David Woodhead;

Lighting Designer: Howard Hudson; Sound Designers: Ben Ringham and Max Ringham;                   Fight Director: Alison de Burgh; Casting Director: Helena Palmer;

Assistant Director: Michael Cottrell; Choreographer: Arielle Smith

4 – 19 March 2022

Who has murdered a famous artist in his Chelsea studio? Who removed a vital clue from the scene of the crime?

Blackmailer Ian Tracy thinks he knows the answers, and that shop worker Alice and her policeman fiancé Harold are the perfect victims. Alice’s fearsome mother Ada is determined to find out the truth. A long night of secrets and lies awaits them all – and before morning comes, one of them will be dead.

Charles Bennett (1899-1995) was a British playwright and screenwriter. His playwriting credits include The Return, The Last Hour, The Danger Line and After Midnight. For screenwriting, his credits include Mannequin and Matinee Idol; and as co-writer, Gay Love, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The 39 Steps, Secret Agent, Sabotage, Young and Innocent, Foreign Correspondent, Kind Lady, Night of the Demon, The City Under the Sea, The House of Trent Hawley’s of High Street, The Secret of the Loch, Number, Please, Deadlock and Two Way Street.

Mark Ravenhill’s playwriting credits include The Cane (Royal Court Theatre), Galileo, The Boy in The Dress (RSC), The Cut (Donmar Warehouse), Pool No Water (Frantic Assembly/Lyric Hammersmith), Mother Clap’s Mollyhouse, Citizenship (National Theatre), Faust Is Dead, Handbag (UK tours), Some Explicit Polaroids (Out of Joint/Ambassadors Theatre) and Shopping and F*cking (Royal Court Theatre/West End/UK and international tour). His work in musical theatre includes the lyrics for a song cycle for Marc Almond, Ten Plagues (Traverse Theatre), a new English version of Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea (King’s Head Theatre) and libretto for Elysium (Norwegian National Opera). He was recently appointed Artistic Director of the King’s Head Theatre, sharing the role with Hannah Price.

Gabriel Akuwudike plays Harold Webber. His theatre credits include Either (Hampstead Theatre), Time is Love (Finborough Theatre), Dealing with Clair (Orange Tree Theatre), A Gym Thing (Small Things Theatre) and Troilus and Cressida (Shakespeare’s Globe). His television credits include Hanna, War of the Worlds, Ridley Road, Cursed, Brexit: The Uncivil War and Informer. His film credits include The Beautiful Game and 1917.

Jessie Hills plays Alice Jarvis. Her theatre credits include The Judas Kiss (Brooklyn Academy of Music/Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto). For television, her credits include Eastenders, The Feed and Call the Midwife; and for film My First and Vodka Diaries.

Patrick Walshe McBride plays Ian Tracy. His theatre credits include Great Expectations (West Yorkshire Playhouse), The Winter’s Tale (Sheffield Crucible), Harold and Maude (Charing Cross Theatre), Present Laughter (Theatre Royal Bath and UK tour) and Almost Maine (Park Theatre). His television credits include Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators as series regular Sebastian Brudenell, Dracula, Pixies, Giri/Haji, Lake of Death and Lewis.

Lucy Speed plays Ada Jarvis. Her theatre credits include Be My Baby (Soho Theatre), Vagina Monologues (Wyndham’s Theatre), Soap (Royal Theatre, Northampton) and Girls’ Night (UK tour). Her television credits include Eastenders as series regular Natalie Evans, Jericho, The Bill as series regular DC Stevie Moss, Love Soup, Lewis, Cradle to Grave, Marcella, After Life, Liar, Unforgotten, Dodgem, Rides, National Treasure and Jamie Johnson.

Anthony Banks directs. His theatre credits include My Cousin Rachel (Theatre Royal Bath), The Girl on the Train (Duke of York’s Theatre/UK tour), Games for Lovers (The Vaults), Hogarth’s Progress (Rose Theatre Kingston), Dial M for Murder, Strangers on a Train, Gaslight, DNA (UK tours), Twilight Song (Park Theatre), After Miss Julie (Theatre Royal Bath/UK tour), Raz (Trafalgar Studios/Assembly Edinburgh/UK tour), Cesario, More Light, The Eternal Not, Prince Of Denmark (National Theatre), Pignight (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Experiment (Soho Theatre/Berliner Ensemble), Herding Cats (Theatre Royal Bath/Hampstead Theatre/Digital transatlantic production/Soho Theatre), Bassett (Bristol Old Vic), ReWrite (Westminster Hall/National Theatre) and The Hotel Plays (Grange and Langham Hotels, London). He was also Associate Director at the National Theatre 2004 – 2014 where he commissioned and developed a hundred new plays for NT Connections.

Mercury Theatre

Listings

Balkerne Gate, Colchester CO1 1PT

Box Office:

www.mercurytheatre.co.uk / 01206 573948

SEASON AT A GLANCE:  

BLACKMAIL

4 – 19 March 2022

Touch Tour: 17 March at 1pm

Audio Described: 17 March at 2.30pm

Captioned Performance: 18 March at 7.30pm

THE BONE SPARROW

29 March – 2 April 2022

THE BONE SPARROW – UK TOUR

York Theatre Royal 25 February – 5 March 2022

Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds 8 – 12 March 2022

Derby Theatre 15 – 19 March 2022

Belgrade Theatre Coventry 22- 26 March 2022

Theatre Peckham 7 – 23 April 2022

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS

13 – 28 May 2022

Post-show Q&A: 24 May, 7.30pm

Relaxed: 26 May at 2.30pm

Captioned Performance: 27 May at 7.30pm

Touch Tour: 28 May at 1pm

Audio Described: 28 May at 2.30pm

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR JAMES MCDERMOTT’S EAST ANGLIAN “RELOCATION” OF MARK CRAWFORD’S THE BIRDS AND THE BEES 

EAST OF ENGLAND 2022 TOUR

PRESS NIGHT AT NEW WOLSEY THEATRE, IPSWICH ON 29 MARCH

NEW WOLSEY THEATRE, IPSWICH:  25 MARCH – 9 APRIL

NORWICH THEATRE: 20 – 30 APRIL

THEATRE ROYAL BURY ST EDMUNDS: 3 – 7 MAY

The full cast have today been announced for the upcoming East of England tour of James McDermott’s new East Anglian “relocation” of the hit Canadian comedy The Birds and the Bees by Mark Crawford.

The New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich will be partnering with Norwich Theatre, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds and John Stalker Productions for the tour, which will mark the first professional UK production of any version of Mark Crawford’s play as well as the first co-production between the three East Anglian based theatres.

Commissioned by John Stalker Productions, James McDermott’s new version of the 2016 Canadian play relocates the play’s setting from modern-day Canada to North Norfolk in England’s East Anglia. Set in an East Anglian farm, the hilarious comedy romp tackles topics of sex, love, science, family, and the artificial insemination of turkeys.

On Sarah’s East Anglian farm the honeybees are dropping like flies – just like her love life. Her husband bolted twenty years ago and she hasn’t slept with anyone since. Her middle-aged daughter Gail’s marriage is going up in smoke just like her turkey farm and neighbour Earl is fighting a losing battle with his sugar beet yield and his ‘no strings’ relationships.

Then along comes city-dwelling bio-student Ben to study those pesky poorly performing pollinators. He could probably also have a look at Sarah’s turkeys, which can’t seem to mate without a human helping hand. Perhaps some local mead and the annual Turkey Day’s Dance will sort everything out – and not just for the birds.

As the consequences of that momentous night unfold Sarah, Gail, Earl and Ben discover the best way out of a crisis is to commit to those closest to you – just watch out and don’t get stung

The cast of the UK premiere will be: Laura Doddington (The Midwich Cuckoos)as Sarah, Louise Gold (Gypsy, Fiddler on the Roof) as Gail, Richard McIver (Half-Full)as Ben and Sion Tudor Owen (Carrie’s War, White Christmas)as Earl.

The Birds and the Bees will be directed by the New Wolsey’s Artistic Director Peter Rowe with design by Dawn Allsopp, lighting design by Richard G Jones and casting direction by Debbie O’Brien.

Mark Crawford said of the UK debut of his play, “I’m very excited for The Birds and the Bees to have its UK premiere this spring. This production transplants the play from rural Canada to East Anglia. An ocean divides us, but there’s so much we have in common—turkey farming, bee colony collapse, and a love of characters running round in their knickers. I can’t wait for audiences to experience this new version of the play set closer to home. No matter where it takes place, some things are universal: sex is funny, families are complicated, and despite our best intentions, things don’t go according to plan.”

James McDermott said of adapting the play, “I’m very excited to be relocating Mark’s hilarious heart-warming relationship comedy to North Norfolk. It’s my first adaptation and I really connected with the themes of the play as in my work I’ve always been obsessed with exploring sexuality, intergenerational relationships and the natural world. I’m sure audiences will connect with this timely tale and the four hilarious lovable characters at the heart of it”

Peter Rowe, Artistic Director of New Wolsey Theatre and Director of The Birds and the Bees said, “Mark’s big-hearted comedy translates perfectly to a Norfolk setting and I’m looking forward to directing this story of four quirky characters who discover that the way to survive a global crisis is to commit to those close to home.”

Stephen Crocker, Chief Executive of Norwich Theatre, commented “We are so excited about this first-ever co-production with New Wolsey Theatre and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds of Birds and the Bees, allowing us to pool the expertise and creativity of three of the East of England’s best-loved theatres. It forms another important step in our aspiration to produce and co-produce more original work, re-affirming Norwich Theatre’s commitment to giving a platform for new, different and local voices to be heard. The spirit of determination and love for theatre unites all three venues, and The Birds and the Bees will offer audiences good light-hearted fun, which is just what is needed right now.”

Owen Calvert-Lyons, Artistic Director & CEO of Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, said “Theatre Royal is delighted to be co-producing The Birds and The Bees. This is a hugely exciting collaboration, bringing together three of the biggest theatres in our region to create a play which will entertain audiences across East Anglia. We want our audiences to love this play and feel that it speaks to them, so we have employed brilliant local playwright, James McDermott, to transpose the story from its original setting in Canada to East Anglia. The Birds and The Bees is a real laugh-out-loud comedy and I’m sure that audiences all across this region are going to love it.”

John Stalker said, “The Birds and the Bees is one of the funniest plays I have come across in a long time. After the two years we have experienced I want to give audiences the chance and permission to laugh out loud in the company of other theatregoers and I am delighted to have teamed up with East Anglia’s three power house theatres to create this UK premiere.”

The production will run at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich from 25 March – 9 April (press night: 29 March) before heading on tour to Norwich Theatre from 20-30 April and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds from 3-7 May. The production will also be livestreamed for four performances during its run at the New Wolsey Theatre from 7-9 April.

Tickets for tour dates at New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds are now on sale via their respective websites and box offices with tickets for Norwich Theatre’s run going on sale on Friday 28^th January.

D E A R   E V A N   H A N S E N

WEST END PRODUCTION NOW BOOKING TO 22 OCTOBER 2022

WWW.DEAREVANHANSEN.COM

Producer Stacey Mindich announces a new booking period for the Olivier award-winning Dear Evan Hansen which reopened at the Noël Coward Theatre on 26 October 2021 and is now on sale to 22 October 2022.

The current cast of Dear Evan Hansen includes Sam Tutty who has returned to the lead role of Evan Hansen that won him the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.  He is joined by cast members Lucy Anderson (Zoe Murphy), Doug Colling (Connor Murphy), Marcus Harman (who plays Evan Hansen at certain performances), Jack Loxton (Jared Kleinman), Rebecca McKinnis (Heidi Hansen), Lauren Ward (Cynthia Murphy), Rupert Young (Larry Murphy) and Iona Fraser (Alana Beck).  Completing the Company are Tricia Adele-Turner, Haydn Cox, Hannah Lindsey, Mark Peachey and James Winter with new cast members Ellis Kirk, Samantha Mbolekwa, Hannah Qureshi and Mitchell Zhangazha.

Dear Evan Hansen, also the recipient of the2020 Olivier Award for Best Musical and Best Score, opened at the Noël Coward Theatre to great critical acclaim November 2019.  Prior to lockdown, the show welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to a special performance for The Royal Foundation which funds the Heads Together and Heads Up initiatives and the mental-health support service, Shout.  In 2021 the tracks Waving Through a Window and You Will Be Found were included in the top 50 of the BBC Radio 2 Greatest Songs from a Musical, voted for by the public.

Dear Evan Hansen features a book by Tony Award-winner Steven Levenson, a score by Grammy®, Tony® and Academy Award® winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and direction by four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif.

Dear Evan Hansen opened on Broadway to rave reviews on 4 December 2016, where it went on to win six 2017 Tony Awards including Best Musical among many other accolades and has broken all box office records at its Broadway home, the Music Box Theater. The show launched its First North American Tour in Denver, Colorado in October 2018 and prior to the shutdown had performed in more than 40 cities across North America playing for more than 1.5 million audience members. The show’s now-iconic blue polo and arm cast are part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. The Grammy Award-winning Original Broadway Cast Recording produced by Atlantic Records, was released in February 2017, making an extraordinary debut on the Billboard 200 and entering the chart at #8 – the highest charting debut position for an original cast album since 1961 – and went on to win the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.  The Broadway production and the US National Tour resumed performances in December 2021.

Dear Evan Hansen features choreography by Danny Mefford, scenic design by David Korins, projection design by Peter Nigrini, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, and hair design by David Brian Brown.  Music supervision, orchestrations and additional arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire.  Ben Cohn is the Associate Music Supervisor.  UK Casting is by Jill Green Casting,Vocal arrangements and additional arrangements are by Justin Paul. Judith Schoenfeld is the Production Supervisor. General Management is by 101 Productions, Ltd with Adam Speers as UK Executive Producer.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram: @dearevanhansen

Twitter: @dearevanhansen

Facebook: /DearEvanHansen

#YouWillBeFound

Facebook: @DEHWestEnd

Twitter: @DEHWestEnd

Instagram: @DEHWestEnd

WEBSITE

www.dearevanhansen.com

www.dearevanhansen.com/london/

LISTINGS

Theatre                              Noël Coward Theatre, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4AU

Box Office                          0844 482 5151

Dates:                                until 22 October 2022

ADAM WOODYATT

AND

LAURIE BRETT

REUNITE ON STAGE

IN THE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION

OF THE BESTSELLING PETER JAMES NOVEL

LOOKING GOOD DEAD

Opens this week and tours – till 30^th April 2022

Peter James and producer Joshua Andrews are thrilled to be reuniting Adam Woodyatt and Laurie Brett as husband and wife, but this time on stage in the acclaimed World Premiere touring stage production of the Peter James best-selling novel “LOOKING GOOD DEAD”, which opens at Glasgow Theatre Royal this week. Adam and Laurie famously starred as the much-loved, on-screen couple Ian and Jane Beale in BBC’s EastEnders. The cast of “LOOKING GOOD DEAD” is completed by Harry Long as Roy Grace, Ian Houghton as Jonas, Leon Stewart as Branson, Gemma Stroyan as Bella, Luke Ward-Wilkinson as Max Bryce, Mylo McDonald as Mick and Natalie Boakye as Janie. Full tour schedule below. www.peterjames.com.

Adam Woodyatt is the longest serving cast member in “EastEnders” having appeared continuously as Ian Beale since the show began in 1985. For his portrayal of the role he was honoured in 2013 with the Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2015 after the “EastEnders” 30th Anniversary Live episode, Best Actor at the British Soap Awards. “Looking Good Dead” marks Adam’s return to stage in a play for the first time since 1982 as a 13-year-old at the National Theatre in Tom Stoppard’s “On The Razzle”. In addition to “EastEnders” Adam has also appeared on many TV programmes including “Robot Wars”, “Dream House”, “A Question of Sport”, “Celebrity Masterchef”, presented “The National Lottery” draw live and was a recent contestant on ITV’s “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!”. He has also previously appeared in the pantomimes “Peter Pan”, “Snow White”, “Aladdin”, “Mother Goose” and “Cinderella”.

Laurie Brett is probably best known for her portrayal of Jane Beale in “EastEnders”, a role she played for ten years. Her other TV credits include DC Gemma Darlington in Channel 4’s “Deadwater Fell” and Christine Mulgrew in the BBC’s “Waterloo Road”. No stranger to the stage her many theatre credits include “Les Miserables” in the West End, “Smokey Joe’s Café”, Magenta in “The Rocky Horror Show” opposite Jason Donovan and most recently in the acclaimed stage adaptation of Kay Mellor’s “Band of Gold”, which was also produced by Josh Andrews.

LOOKING GOOD DEAD is Peter’s fifth novel to be brought to the stage and follows the hugely successful productions of “The House on Cold Hill” starring Joe McFadden and Rita Simons last year, “Not Dead Enough” starring Shane Richie and Laura Whitmore in 2017, “The Perfect Murder” starring Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace in 2016 and “Dead Simple” starring Tina Hobley in 2015. 

No good deed goes unpunished…. hours after picking up a USB memory stick, left behind on a train seat, Tom Bryce inadvertently becomes a witness to a vicious murder. Reporting the crime to the police has disastrous consequences, placing him and his family in grave danger. When Detective Superintendent Roy Grace becomes involved, he has his own demons to contend with while he tries to crack the case in time to save the Bryce family’s lives.

Peter James is a number one bestselling author of crime and thriller novels and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, now a major ITV series, GRACE. He has topped the Sunday Times best seller list nineteen times and has achieved global book sales of over 21 million copies which have been translated into 37 languages. Synonymous with plot twisting page turners, he has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career which also included writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an Executive Producer.

“LOOKING GOOD DEAD” is produced by Joshua Andrews and Peter James and has been adapted for the stage by Shaun Mckenna. An award-winning British dramatist, Shaun’s previous theatre credits include Ladies in Lavender, the Lord of The Rings musical and Peter James’ The Perfect Murder, Dead Simple, Not Dead Enough and The House on Cold Hill. “LOOKING GOOD DEAD” is directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, Designed by Michael Holt with Lighting Design by Jason Taylor. The Composer and Sound Designer is Max Pappenheim.

Theatre Royal Brighton
 

Senbla presents Opera International’s award-winning Ellen Kent Productions with international soloists, highly-praised chorus and full orchestra

The award-winning Opera producer Ellen Kent returns to
Theatre Royal Brighton with the International Opera Festival tour. Madama Butterfly on Wednesday 9 and Carmen on Thursday 10 March 2022
 

The fabulous International Korean Soprano Elena Dee returns to sing her critically-acclaimed role as Cio Cio San, together with the international soprano Alyona Kistenyova.*

Vasyl Vasylenko, artistic director and conductor for the National Municipal Opera and Ballet Theatre, Kiev, returns. Also returning is the guest conductor and artistic director of the National Opera of Moldovo, Nicolae Dohotaru with 30 members of the National Ukrainian Orchestra, Kiev.

Madama Butterfly, playing Wednesday 9 March at Theatre Royal Brighton, is Puccini’s popular tale which the hit West End musical Miss Saigon is based. One of the world’s most popular operas, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly tells the heart-breaking story of the beautiful young Japanese girl who falls in love with an American naval lieutenant – with dramatic results. Highlights include the melodic Humming Chorus, the moving aria One Fine Day and the unforgettable Love Duet.

With exquisite sets, including a spectacular Japanese garden and fabulous costumes including antique wedding kimonos from Japan, designed by the renowned Russian designer Felix Bessonov,
from St Petersburg. 

Bizet’s masterpiece, Carmen, playing Thursday 10 March at Theatre Royal Brighton, is an evening of passion, sexual jealousy, death and unforgettable arias. Carmen is the story of the bewitching gypsy girl whose tantalising beauty lures a soldier to desertion and leads to her own murder. The opera includes some of the most evocative and best-loved melodies in opera – The Habanera, The Sequidilla, The Flower Song, The Chanson Boheme and perhaps the best-known baritone aria of all The Toreador’s Song.

The stunning new set reflects the magnificent architecture of Seville with its Roman and Moorish influences, which includes the main square, the bull ring and the famous tobacco factory. The set was built for Ellen Kent in England by Setup Scenery, who also build sets for the Royal Opera Covent Garden.

Maria Davydova*, a young and talented Russian Mezzo Soprano, will be singing Carmen and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly on the Opera Festival International Ellen Kent tour in the UK and Ireland. She lives in Rostov Russian and sings with the Rostov State Musical Theatre, Rostov State Philharmonic. She has sung many roles including Carmen in Carmen, Suzuki in Madam Butterfly, Olga in Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky), Polina in The Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky), Flora in La Traviata (Verdi), and Laura in Iolanta (Tchaikovsky). Maria has won many awards in competitions in Moscow, Izmir (Turkey) and Europe.

As with any of Ellen Kent’s shows all of the soloists have been hand-picked and directed by Ellen to create a visually beautiful and moving production of Madama Butterfly.

Ellen Said: “My operas have to be emotional and beautiful.”

“Above all it was a production with captured the raw emotion at the centre of the opera. Don’t take a handkerchief with you, take a box of them.” – The Independent on Madama Butterfly

“Hot-blooded, a joy” – The Independent on Carmen

Madama Butterfly will be sung in Italian, and Carmen in French with English surtitles.

*Cast subject to change

Cast and creatives announced for Theatre
Centre’s UK tour of Human Nurture
UK Tour: Thursday 3rd February – Saturday 26th March 2022

Theatre Centre has announced the cast and creatives for the UK tour of Human Nurture by Alfred Fagon Award-shortlisted writer Ryan Calais-Cameron (The Stage 25; Typical, Soho Theatre; Queens of Sheba, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy, New Diorama Theatre). Exploring race, privilege, allyship and masculinity, Human Nurture tells the story of two ‘could-be’ brothers whose lives are cleaved when one is rehomed and the other is left behind in the care system. In order to ensure that Human Nurture is as authentic as possible, Theatre Centre has worked with Ryan and many young people from across the country to explore the themes of race and class found in the play.

Having grown up in care together, Roger and Harry’s bond is so strong they’re like brothers. They share everything, food, music, and even dreams – everything except their race. Roger is black and Harry is white; it’s never mattered to them but when Roger is fostered and Harry remains in care the boys grow apart and, in different cities and at opposite ends of the UK’s social spectrum, these differences come to the fore. Roger begins to connect with his cultural roots, while Harry falls into a crowd that are openly racist. Crucially exploring the intersectionality between race and class, Human Nurture unpicks how exclusion and socioeconomic context can affect worldviews and relationships.

Justice Ritchie (Dungeons and Dragons, Paramount) and Lucas Button (War Horse, National Theatre; The Witcher: Blood Origins, Netflix) will play the two leading roles, with Neeta Sarl (Love Reign, Young Vic) as the on-stage musician. The production is directed by Theatre Centre’s critically acclaimed Artistic Director, Rob Watt (Acts of Resistance, Headlong Theatre, Bristol Old Vic).

Are people born racist? Can you be Black and truly be British? We make friends with everyone when we’re younger disregarding skin colour, race, or religion. So, what happens along the way?

Writer Ryan Calais-Cameron commented, With Human Nurture I really want us to collectively explore the reality of questions/statements that felt like a huge contradiction throughout my life and the lives of so many Black people that have been brought up in the UK, especially now whilst there is so much attention on Black lives mattering

I am so excited at the prospect of Human Nurture touring into schools. I believe this play is a vital icebreaker into deeper needed discussions on race and belonging. I believe it should be seen as widely as possible, particularly now given the far overdue global fight for freedom, justice, and liberation from overt, covert, and systemic racism

Theatre Centre is a national touring company that makes bold and relevant shows with and for young people. They work to unpack and explore what matters to young people in their lives and communities, centring their experiences and voices. Commissioning new work from the most exciting writers and artists, which is developed and tested throughout the process with young people, Theatre Centre brings world-class theatre straight into the heart of schools;

Human Nurture is an important co-production with Sheffield Theatres that kicks off a major national tour and works to bring theatres and schools together to build deep relationships. It will be performed at schools in the first half of each week of the tour to ensure the production is accessible to those in an educational setting, with a new commitment to reduce their performance fee by more than 50% for state schools. Rob Watt comments, Since the start of the pandemic we have had so many conversations with Drama teachers across the country, listening as they told us how we and the sector can be useful to them and really help. We’ve embedded so much of what we heard in our planning for the next few years, but a major step was to commit to reducing our fees for state schools to £300 per show for the next 3 years; this is more than 50% reduction. We hope that this will help as many schools as possible give the experience of seeing Ryan’s show to their students.

Theatre Centre has also recruited four new Trustees, who are: Yamin Choudury, Artistic Director at Hackney Empire; Chelsie Jones, Finance Manager at Venture Arts, former Youth Chair at Chester Zoo and Youth Champion for Time to Change mental health charity; Rebecca Major, Barrister, currently at the Financial Reporting Council, and Chair of the Equality, Diversity and Social Mobility Committee for the Middle Temple; and Vanessa Sauls, Musician and Recording Artist, currently Diversity and Inclusion Advisor at The Francis Crick Institute

FIRST CYRANO RUSH £15 TICKETS RELEASED TODAY AT 12PM FOR

THE JAMIE LLOYD COMPANY‘S CYRANO DE BERGERAC

The first Cyrano Rush £15tickets are released at 12pm today, Monday 24 January, for The Jamie Lloyd Company’s critically acclaimed, Olivier Award-winning production of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, freely adapted by Martin Crimp, directed by Jamie Lloyd, and starring James McAvoy. The production opens at the Harold Pinter Theatre: 3 February – 12 March 2022 and Theatre Royal Glasgow: 18 – 26 March 2022,before visiting Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in New York.

Cyrano Rush, part of the company’s continued commitment to accessibility, offers £15 stall seats exclusively to under 30s, key workers and those receiving government benefits. Tickets are released every Monday at 12pm throughout the London run, and for Theatre Royal Glasgow on Monday 7 March at 12pm. Available via thejamielloydcompany.com only.

The company have 12,000 tickets priced at £15 available across the UK productions of Cyrano de Bergerac and their forthcoming production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, in a version by Anya Reiss, starring Emilia Clarke.

The cast of Cyrano de Bergerac comprises Michele Austin (Ragueneau), Adam Best (Le Bret), Sam Black (Armand), Nari Blair-Mangat (Valvert), Vaneeka Dadhria (Beatboxer), Adrian Der Gregorian (Montfleury),  Tom Edden (De Guiche), Eben Figueiredo (Christian), Jon Furlong (Annoying Person), Tazmyn-May Gebbett (Minder), Carla Harrison-Hodge (Denise), Mika Onyx Johnson (Usher), Joseph Langdon (Jean-Paul), James McAvoy (Cyrano de Bergerac), Sophie Mercell(Marie-Louise), Evelyn Miller (Roxane), Nima Taleghani (Ligniere) and Brinsley Terence (Theatre Owner).

With set and costume design by Soutra Gilmour; lighting design by Jon Clark; composition and sound by Ben and Max Ringham; fight movement by Kate Waters; casting by Stuart Burt CDG; additional movement by Polly Bennett; costume supervision by Anna Josephs; props supervision by Lily Molgaard; associate direction by Rupert Hands; assistant direction by Nari Blair-Mangat; associate design by Rachel Wingate and associate lighting design by Hector Murray.

Produced by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Gavin Kalin Productions, Glass Half Full Productions and Wessex Grove in association with Rupert Gavin/Mallory Factor.

THE JAMIE LLOYD COMPANY

LISTINGS

CYRANO DE BERGERAC

Harold Pinter Theatre

3 February – 12 March 2022

www.haroldpintertheatre.co.uk

Theatre Royal Glasgow

18 – 26 March 2022

www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-glasgow

Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York

5 April – 22 May 2022

Press previews: 9 April, 10 April and 13 April

Opening night: Thursday 14 April

www.BAM.org

THE SEAGULL

Harold Pinter Theatre

29 June – 10 September 2022

Press night: Wednesday 6 July at 7.30pm

www.haroldpintertheatre.co.uk

CURVE AND BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME ANNOUNCE TOUR OF AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL

THE COLOR PURPLE

VISITING SEVEN VENUES ACROSS ENGLAND AND WALES THIS AUTUMN

Leicester’s Curve theatre and Birmingham Hippodrome have today revealed plans to tour their critically acclaimed, award-winning co-production of The Color Purple this Autumn.

 Having previously only played to UK audiences in London, Leicester and Birmingham, thanks to support from Arts Council England’s National Lottery Funding, the musical is now set to visit six new cities across England and Wales.

Co-producers Birmingham Hippodrome will open the tour from 13 to 17 September, the production will then visit Theatre Royal Plymouth (27 September to 1 October), Royal & Derngate Northampton (4 to 8 October), The Lowry in Salford (11 to 15 October), Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff (18 to 22 October), Mayflower Theatre Southampton (25 to 29 October), finishing its run at Norwich Theatre Royal (1 to 5 November). Listings and ticket information can be found below.

 Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome’s co-production was originally staged in 2019 and received an incredible response from critics and audiences alike, winning the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Regional Production and earning Danielle Fiamanya The Stage Debut Award for her performance as Nettie. During lockdown in Spring 2021, Curve – in association with Birmingham Hippodrome – reunited the company to share a special digital production of the show which was streamed by over 20,000 people* in the UK and Ireland.

The production is directed by Tinuke Craig and the full cast and creative team will be announced in due course.

 Speaking about the news, Curve’s Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said:

“Tinuke Craig’s exquisite production of The Color Purple goes from strength to strength and we are thrilled it will embark on a UK tour this autumn following a hugely successful run at Curve and at Birmingham Hippodrome in 2019. This marks the first time The Color Purple has toured UK venues and we are thrilled audiences across the country will be able to experience this incredible story and the power of this beautiful, life-affirming musical. Huge thanks to our friends at Theatrical Rights Worldwide and Arts Council England, who have been instrumental in making it possible for Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome to tour our award-winning, critically acclaimed production.”

Chris Sudworth, Director of Artistic Programme at Birmingham Hippodrome, said:
 

“After a phenomenal response from our audiences in 2019, we are delighted to be opening our exceptional co-production – made with our friends and partners at Curve – here at Birmingham Hippodrome in September. This first UK tour of The Color Purple is another step in the Hippodrome’s commitment to creating bold, relevant work at large scale that speaks to our city and the UK today.”

Peter Knott, Area Director, Arts Council England said: 

“It’s fantastic that so many more people will have the opportunity to see The Color Purple when the show tours the country later this year. This National Lottery investment through the Arts Council greatly widens opportunities to see the show, and we hope as many people as possible get that chance – from Plymouth to Northampton and beyond.

“As theatres welcome audiences back through their doors this year, we are proud to champion the role creativity plays in bringing people together, boosting wellbeing and helping the country to recover.”

Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel and adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize and Tony award-winner Marsha Norman, Allee Willis, Brenda Russell and Stephen Bray,  The Color Purple tells the powerful and life-affirming story of courageous heroine Celie. Abused and oppressed throughout her youth, Celie embarks on a journey through joy, despair, anguish and hope, discovering her own unique voice thanks to the incredible women in her life. From an unbreakable bond with her sister Nettie, to friendship with fiercely independent Sofia and a life-changing affair with glamorous singer Shug Avery, Celie learns to love herself.

With a profoundly evocative score by Grammy award-winners Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray and drawing inspiration from jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues, this landmark musical celebrates life, love and the strength to stand up for who you are and what you believe in.

Tickets are on sale today (Monday 24 January) to Birmingham Hippodrome Friends and on general sale at 11am Tuesday 25 January. To book tickets visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com or call 0844 338 5000*

(*calls cost 4.5p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge). 

ARCOLA THEATRE REOPENS ITS DOORS WITH

THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF

BARNEY NORRIS’ NEW PLAY WE STARTED TO SING

Following the successful Arcola Outside season last summer in their new purpose-built performance space, Arcola Theatre throws open the doors to their theatre for the first time since March 2020, reopening with the world première of Barney Norris’ new play We Started To Sing. The production sees Norris continue his collaboration with the venue, where Visitors – his multi-award-winning first play – and Eventide were previously staged. We Started to Sing, also directed by Norris, opens on 23 May, with previews from 19 May, and runs until 18 June, and is the first in a new season of work, with full details to be announced.

Later in the reopening season, will see the return of a body of work in Arcola Outside and Grimeborn from 1 August to 4 September featuring seven productions in Studio 1, alongside additional further plans for outside programming.

Artistic Director of Arcola Theatre, Mehmet Ergen, said today, “We are delighted to reopen our much-loved indoor space this Spring with We Started to Sing. We can’t wait to welcome audiences back to a place so many regard as home. Seven years after making his name at Arcola with Visitors and Eventide, Barney Norris’ autobiographical new play about family and memory, seems like the perfect way to bring our audiences back to celebrate our past and imagine our future together.”

Barney Norris added, “This is a play about family and home, and I am fortunate to be able to make it with the Arcola, who have made me feel part of the family ever since they let me stage my first play, Visitors, there. It was at the Arcola that I first started trying to write plays out of love, in order to connect audiences with what they love in their own lives; We Started To Sing is an attempt to come home to that idea, and welcome audiences back from the isolation of the last few years. I am happy to be home.”

STUDIO 1

ARCOLA THEATRE PRESENTS

WE STARTED TO SING

Written and Directed by BARNEY NORRIS

19 May – 18 June 2022

“I wish there could be a day where families came together and just said it all to each other. Because then everyone would know it all, and there’d be nothing left to hurt anyone.”

Sussex. London. Wiltshire. Northamptonshire. Wales. Over three decades, a family spreads across the country, and the chord they once made together starts to fray. How will the distance growing between them change the music of their lives?

Barney Norris returns to the Arcola with a brand-new play – We Started To Sing is a love song to the people who raised him, and a hymn to the bravery of our brief lives.

Barney Norris’ previous work at Arcola is Eventide (2015) and Visitors (2014) – the latter which won the Critics’ Circle Award and the Off West End Award for Most Promising Playwright. His other plays include Nightfall (Bridge Theatre), While We’re Here (Bush Theatre), Echo’s End (Salisbury Playhouse), and acclaimed adaptations of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, and Federico García Lorca’s Blood Wedding. His novels include Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain, Turning for Home, and The Vanishing Hours.

LISTINGS

WE STARTED TO SING

Arcola Theatre

24 Ashwin Street, London, E8 3DL

19 May – 18 June 2022

Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm

Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 3pm

Relaxed performances: Wednesday 8 June 2022 at 3pm and 7.30pm

Touch tour available before Wednesday 25 May 2022 at 7.30pm performance

Box Office: 020 7503 1646

www.arcolatheatre.com

Tickets from £12 – £30

A New Vic and Kenny Wax Ltd Co-Production

Tom, Dick and Harry

Written by Andrew Pollard, Michael Hugo and Theresa Heskins

Directed by Theresa Heskins

Friday 10 June – Saturday 9 July 2022

New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme

Then touring summer 2022.

SENSATIONAL STORY ABOUT GREATEST ESCAPE IN WORLD WAR HISTORY

 TO RECEIVE WORLD PREMIERE STAGE PRODUCTION

·       Tom, Dick and Harry to be brought to the stage by the team behind the smash hit Around The World in 80 Days, directed by New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins (Olivier Award-winning The Worst Witch)

·       Based on the true story behind the escape from Stalag Luft III; with a script inspired by classified documents 

·       Production opens in Staffordshire in June, then tours to Southampton and London

The New Vic Theatre and Kenny Wax Ltd to co-produce brand new stage play Tom, Dick and Harry this summer.

The play, an original script co-written by Andrew Pollard, Michael Hugo and Theresa Heskins inspired by top secret information that was classified in the war archives until 1972, will debunk the myths, honour the people involved and tell the true story of one of the most daring escape attempts in World War history. An incredible tale about solidarity across nations, and of an unbreakable spirit to achieve the impossible, Tom, Dick and Harry is filled with dynamic drama, humour and breathtaking theatricality.

New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins, who will direct the play, said: “It’s such an inspiring story of spirit and determination. We’ll tell it as a really dynamic, vibrant piece of theatre that celebrates the ingenuity and spirit of the escapees. The story is comic, and tragic, and an adventure, and quite thoughtful at times. I think audiences will be fascinated to learn what we discovered in the archives, which honours the memory of those involved at the same time as offering some surprising insights. And of course, we’re making it as theatre-in-the-round, which is such an engaging way to make and see a play:  audiences feel so much a part of the action, which makes for a spirit of togetherness that is very much in keeping with this story about how much can be achieved when people work together.”

Co-producer Kenny Wax said: “Having worked with Theresa, Andy and Mike on ‘80 Days’ and loving the unique physicality that they brought to that fictional novel, I didn’t hesitate to jump on board when offered the opportunity to partner in the re-telling of this extraordinary true story”.

Tom, Dick and Harry will open at the New Vic from Friday 10 June to Saturday 9 July 2022, before embarking on a national tour. For more information visit newvictheatre.org.uk.