Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions and Kate Pakenham Productions present
Kaleider’s
The Money
Conceived and directed by Seth Honnor
The Chamber, London County Hall 26 May – 18 July
A group of complete strangers have 60 minutes to agree how to spend a pot of real cash. If the players run out of time, then the money will roll over to the next show.
Don’t agree with them? Then you can join in, right up until the last second. But where do you stand? Will you help or hinder?
Time’s ticking…
Kaleider, one of the world’s leading companies in extraordinary live arts, presents The Money, a perfect hybrid of immersive theatre and game that guarantees that no two shows are ever the same. Be a part of the most memorable conversations to take place in London this summer, as altruism butts heads with personal interests, personalities clash and hierarchies are upended.
Performed on 5 continents, at the prestigious Sydney Opera House, UK Houses of Parliament, Lagos City Hall, Lisbon City Hall, Melbourne’s Victoria Parliament, City of London’s Guildhall, Tianjin’s Grand Theatre and many more, this “urgent, playful theatre that points up our complex, often conflicted relationship to the stuff (money) and our strong attachment to it.” (The Guardian) arrives at London’s historic County Hall for just 8 weeks!
Come and play.
“Led by Seth Honnor, Kaleider has always been small, agile, networked and responsive. It creates projects that do not fit into any art-form box, which are almost always participatory, and are startling in the way they make us engage with the world and interrogate our own responses to it.” Lyn Gardner, Associate Editor of The Stage.
The production will be performed under strict social distancing and will follow all current Government guidelines.
OPENING AT GLASGOW THEATRE ROYAL ON 24 NOVEMBER 2021
AHEAD OF PLAYING LIVERPOOL, DUBLIN, SOUTHAMPTON, SALFORD, MILTON KEYNES, PLYMOUTH, HULL, BRISTOL, BIRMINGHAM, NORWICH, CANTERBURY, SUNDERLAND, LEEDS AND CARDIFF
Cameron Mackintosh is delighted to announce full touring dates for the UK and Ireland tour of his acclaimed production of the Boublil and Schönberg’s “LES MISÉRABLES”.
The musical willopen at Glasgow Theatre Royal on 24 November 2021 where it will run until 1 January 2022, before playing Liverpool Empire (5 – 22 January 2022), Bord Gáis Energy Theatre Dublin (8 – 26 February 2022), The Mayflower, Southampton (8 – 26 March 2022), The Lowry, Salford (29 March – 23 April 2022), Milton Keynes Theatre (26 April – 21 May 2022), TheatreRoyal Plymouth (24 May – 11 June 2022), Hull New Theatre (15 June – 9 July 2022), Bristol Hippodrome (12 July – 6 August 2022), Birmingham Hippodrome (9 – 27 August 2022), Norwich Theatre Royal (31 August – 24 September 2022), Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (30 September – 29 October 2022), Sunderland Empire (1 – 19 November 2022), Leeds Grand Theatre (24 November – 10 December 2022) and Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff (13 December 2022 – 14 January 2023). Full listings below.
As previously announced, the cast will include Dean Chisnall as ‘Jean Valjean’, Nic Greenshields as ‘Javert’ and Katie Hall as ‘Fantine’ with full casting to be announced soon.
Since Cameron Mackintosh first conceived this new production of “Les Misérables” in 2009 to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary it has taken the world by storm. Originally touring the UK throughout 2009/10, concluding with a season at the Barbican, it has also played across the globe including Broadway where the Huffington Post proclaimed this new production, “Sizzles for the 21st Century” and the New York Times called it, “Thrilling, Spectacular and Unforgettable”. This production opened triumphantly in the West End at the Sondheim Theatre in January 2020 to critical acclaim, and it will reopen there in September 2021 following a limited run of The Staged Concert. It will also open in Tokyo in May 2021 and will commence another tour of North America in Autumn 2022. It has firmly been embraced by modern audiences everywhere as a Les Mis for the 21st century. The tour of this production has sold out in record breaking time in each venue it has played since opening in 2018.
★★★★★ ‘This reborn dream of a production looks and sounds fresher than ever. Sends shivers of excitement racing down the spine – You emerge feeling stirred and exhilarated’ Daily Telegraph
‘A production of awesome power and mind-blowing restaging’ Irish Times
★★★★★ ‘Les Miserables is arguably, the greatest musical of all time”
Edinburgh Evening News
‘A thrilling inspiration’ The Guardian
‘Packs an almighty punch and brings audiences to their feet every night’ The Independent
★★★★★ ‘A five-star hit – Astonishingly powerful’ The Times
★★★★★ ‘The mighty Les Mis is still revolutionary. This new staging of one of the world’s longest-running musicals remains fit to burst the seams of the mightiest of stages’ Daily Mail
This production inspired the hugely successful movie version starring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Eddie Redmayne.This brilliant new staging has scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, and has to date already been seen in North America, Brazil, Mexico, Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Spain, France, Manila, Singapore, Dubai and Broadway.
Boublil and Schönberg’s magnificent score of “LES MISÉRABLES” includes the songs, “I Dreamed a Dream”, “On My Own”, “Stars”, “Bring Him Home”, “Do You Hear the People Sing?”, “One Day More”, “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”, “Master Of The House” and many more. Seen by over 120 million people worldwide in 52 countries and in 22 languages, “LES MISÉRABLES” is undisputedly one of the world’s most popular musicals.
Cameron Mackintosh’s production of “LES MISÉRABLES” is written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, additional material by James Fenton and original adaptation by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. The original “LES MISÉRABLES” orchestrations are by John Cameron with new orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke, Stephen Metcalfe and Stephen Brooker. The production is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, designed by Matt Kinley inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo with costumes by Andreane Neofitou and Christine Rowland, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter, musical staging by Michael Ashcroft and Geoffrey Garratt, projections by Fifty-Nine Productions and music supervision by Stephen Brooker and Graham Hurman.
LISTINGS
GLASGOW THEATRE ROYAL
Wednesday 24 November 2021– Saturday 1 January 2022
ON SALE NOW
LIVERPOOL EMPIRE
Wednesday 5 – Saturday 22 January 2022
ON SALE FRIDAY 23 APRIL 2021
BORD GÁIS ENERGY THEATRE DUBLIN
Tuesday 8 – Saturday 26 February 2022
ON SALE FRIDAY 14 MAY 2021
MAYFLOWER THEATRE SOUTHAMPTON
Tuesday 8– Saturday 26 March 2022
ON SALE THURSDAY 6 MAY 2021
THE LOWRY SALFORD
Tuesday 29 March – Saturday 23 April 2022
ON SALE NOW
MILTON KEYNES THEATRE
Tuesday 26 April – Saturday 21 May 2022
ON SALE SOON
THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH
Tuesday 24 May – Saturday 11June 2022
ON SALE SOON
HULL NEW THEATRE
Wednesday 15 June – Saturday 9 July 2022
ON SALE NOW
BRISTOL HIPPODROME
Tuesday 12 July – Saturday 6 August 2022
ON SALE NOW
BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME
Tuesday 9 – Saturday 27 August 2022
ON SALE NOW
NORWICH THEATRE ROYAL
Wednesday 31 August – Saturday 24 September 2022
ON SALE NOW
THE MARLOWE THEATRE, CANTERBURY
Friday 30 September – Saturday 29 October 2022
ON SALE NOW
SUNDERLAND EMPIRE
Tuesday 1– Saturday 19 November 2022
ON SALE SOON
LEEDS GRAND THEATRE
Thursday 24 November – Saturday 10 December 2022
ON SALE NOW
WALES MILLENNIUM CENTRE CARDIFF
Tuesday 13 December 2022 – Saturday 14 January 2023
Yasmeen Khan updates Oscar Wilde’s classic play with flair and a cheeky wink, setting the comedy in the world of acting and social media.
Playing with lazy stereotypes, the play is set in “The North” where Jamil (Gurjeet Singh) is struggling to get his acting career started, with very little help from his useless agent Alison (Harriet Thorpe in wonderful form). He develops a flat cap-wearing character and starts a vlog, Earnest North’s Reet Good Guide to the North, and begins to build a modest following as Earnest. Meanwhile, in a posh bit of the North, a rom-com is being filmed starring Algy Moncrief (Tom Dixon) – an actor with a bad reputation. Algy ends up mentoring Jamil, but things are complicated by Jamil’s interest in Gul (Nikki Patel). Gul is the daughter of Ms Begum (Mina Anwar), the owner of the house in which the rom-com is being filmed. Jamil can’t bring himself to tell Gul his real name, as she is convinced that Gul and Earnest will garner many more likes and follows than any other couple name, so Earnest and Gul arrange a date in the most romantic place they know – Nando’s. Ms Begum scuppers these plans, however.
Meanwhile, Algy’s romantic interest in Jamil’s cousin/sister/niece Safina (Zoe Iqbal) – it’s all explained in the play – is reciprocated, and the characters all end up at Jamil’s where true identities and backstories are revealed. Melanie Marshall’s Miss Prism is a gameshow obsessed lifestyle coach instructor, with a secret past who we first see teaching Safina felt pen feng shui, and there are cameos of variable impact from Divina De Campo, Hugh Dennis, Sindhu Vee and Paul Chahidi. The latter three serve to highlight the stereotyping and inherent racism that Jamil faces and the shallowness of public images and give Jamil the impetus to shed his Earnest persona and be true to himself.
Wilde’s basic plot points remain intact, although some are merely given lip service, but Khan has given the story and the characters a modern outlook and there are some laugh out loud moments – notably Ms Begum interrogating Jamil like a quiz show called Who Wants To Be A Suitable Boy? Director Mina Anwar has obviously had lots of fun framing the play in the style of a cheesy sitcom, and the performances fit in with this style perfectly, with great physical comedy, exaggerated reactions and glances to camera. Unfortunately, without an audience lots of jokes miss the mark and it sometimes has the feel of a cast desperately waiting for a laugh from the auditorium – enhanced by a scene with an ecstatic audience near the end. I wondered if they should have gone completely down the sitcom route and included a laughter track, as an audience reaction would energise the production and eliminate awkward silences.
This is an enjoyable show and an interesting update but falls a little flat without an audience.
What the Ladybird Heard flies into the West End this summer
Join the Ladybird and her farmyard friends Live on Stage at the Palace Theatre for a strictly limited summer season from 15th July to 29th August 2021
From Julia Donaldson, bestselling author of The Gruffalo, and award-winning illustrator Lydia Monks, comes the stage show of the much-loved picture book What the Ladybird Heard. With live original music from a quartet of talented actors, puppetry and a whole farmyard of fun, this 55-minute family favourite is the perfect summer treat!
Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len have a cunning plan to steal the farmer’s fine prize cow. But they reckon without the tiniest, quietest creature of all: the Ladybird has a scheme of her own!
Join the woolly sheep, the hairy hog, the fat red hen and the dainty dog as they take on the villains in their quest to save the day at the Palace Theatre, London. Published by Macmillan Children’s Books and with over 4 million copies sold this adaptation is the perfect introduction to theatre for children aged 3+. Expect plenty of participation, lots of laughs and rhymes galore!
First conceived on a countryside walk with her son, Donaldson enjoyed the idea of a quiet Ladybird outwitting the bigger brawnier creatures. The animals and their noises fill this colourful adventure with real flair and, in consultation with the original illustrator, beautifully capture the magic of the story.
Producer Kenny Wax comments, I am delighted that What the Ladybird Heard is returning to the stage and I’m looking forward to welcoming family audiences back to the West End for a much needed treat this summer. It will be wonderful to see smiling faces in the glorious Palace Theatre once again.
★★★★★ Netmums ★★★★★ Culture Whisper ★★★★ The Stage A total delight, The Guardian
What the Ladybird Heard will tour in Autumn 2021 – dates to be announced soon.
OHENRY PRODUCTIONS AND STELLAR IN ASSOCIATION WITH SOHO THEATRE, ANNOUNCE
TRANSATLANTIC PRODUCTION OF LUCINDA COXON’S HERDING CATS
New York-based, Olivier-winning, and Tony-nominated OHenry Productions and Stellar, in association with Soho Theatre, today announce a transatlantic production of Herding Cats by Lucinda Coxon, combining live in-person and streamed theatre. Marking a new type of international collaboration, the production is simultaneously accessible online to audiences across the globe via Stellar and in person, with social distancing in line with current UK government guidelines, at Soho Theatre. Running 20 – 23 May 2021, Herding Cats is a Stellar Original production.
This production features two actors performing for an in-person audience on Soho Theatre’s stage with a third actor performing live via video from the United States. Directed by Anthony Banks – reunited with Coxon following their collaboration on the world première production – this revival utilises the creative technology pioneered during the pandemic, and combines it with the raw intimacy of in-person performance. The full cast will be announced shortly.
Herding Cats is a chillingly funny play about a generation negotiating intimacy and independence in the 21st century. Meeting the demands of modern life is as impossible as herding cats for Justine, Michael and Saddo. To deal with work, Justine talks – a little too much – to her roommate Michael who earns a living by chatting with strangers like Saddo. But all three will soon find that in a cold, disconnected world, words may not be enough.
Playwright Lucinda Coxon said, “Ten years on from the première of Herding Cats, I’m excited to share the story with audiences once again. It strikes me that the play’s exploration of acute loneliness and of the striking inequality between genders and generations feels incredibly of the moment, particularly as I reflect on the events of the last year.”
Anthony Banks, director, also commented, “I directed the first production of Herding Cats over a decade ago and I can’t wait to revisit the characters of Justine and Michael. Returning to direct a new production of the play, the universe around it is drastically different. Justine’s rant about the property market has become an austere reality for young adults. The #MeToo movement has busted characters like Justine’s boss out of the safety of their back-offices and gender identity is recognised not only by the health service but also by education. We’re entering the twenties reassessing each other, it’s a bumpy ride, like herding cats. Like Michael, over the last twelve months, many of us experienced extraordinary isolation. The play explores disappointment – in the footsteps of Beckett and Chekhov – but it also contains a rallying, raging cry for fairness, for equality, for justice.”
Lucinda Coxon’s theatre writing credits include Alys, Always; Herding Cats, Happy Now, The Eternal Not, Nostalgia, The Shoemaker’s Wife, Vesuvius, Wishbones, Three Graces, The Ice Palace and Waiting at the Water’s Edge. Her screenwriting credits include the multiple award-winning The Danish Girl starring Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, The Crimson Petal and the White starring Romola Garai for BBC, Wild Target starring Emily Blunt, The Heart of Me starring Paul Bettany and Helena Bonham-Carter and The Little Stranger starring Domnhall Gleeson and Ruth Wilson.
Anthony Banks has directed world premieres of many new plays including The Girl On The Train (West End/National Tour), Nick Dear’s Hogarth’s Progress (Rose Kingston,; Ryan Craig’s Games For Lovers (Vaults), Kevin Elyot’s Twilight Song (Park Theatre), Jim Cartwright’s Raz (West End/UK tour), Lucinda Coxon’s Herding Cats (Hampstead Theatre/Theatre Royal Bath); James Graham’s Bassett (Bristol Old Vic), Dennis Kelly’s DNA (UK tour), Bryony Lavery’s Cesario and More Light, Lucinda Coxon’s The Eternal Not and Michael Lesslie’s Prince of Denmark (National Theatre), Snoo Wilson’s Pignight (Menier Chocolate Factory), Mark Ravenhill’s The Experiment (Soho Theatre/Berliner Ensemble). He has also directed some twentieth century classics including Daphne du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel by Joseph O’Connor, Patrick Marber’s After Miss Julie (Theatre Royal Bath), Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train; Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight and Dial M For Murder (UK tours) and Tennessee Williams’ The Hotel Plays. Banks was an associate director at the National Theatre 2004-2014 where he commissioned and developed a hundred new plays for NT Connections.
The additional creative team includes Olivier-nominee lighting designer Howard Hudson (&Juliet – Olivier nomination, West End, Inthe Heights King’s Cross Theatre), costume designer Susan Kulkarni (Secret Cinema), video designer Andrzej Goulding (& Juliet, West End, Groundhog Day, Broadway), set designer Grace Smart (Susanna, Royal Opera House), and sound designers Ben and Max Ringham (Blindness, Donmar Warehouse, Cyrano de Bergerac, West End – Olivier nomination).
UK Casting, Stuart Burt (2021 CDG Award Winner), and US Casting, Taylor Williams (2021 Artios Award Winner).
Herding Cats is co-produced by Jeff Hollander, and Executive Produced by Josh McTaggart.
Tickets in person start from £10 GBP; and streaming starts from $29USD.
The first 100 tickets to each live stream are now available at $20USD – available until midnight EST on Friday 23 April.
PERFORMANCE DATE AND TIMES
Thursday 20 May at 7.30pm GMT / 2.30pm ET
Friday 21 May at 7.30pm GMT / 2.30pm ET
Saturday 22 May at 4pm GMT / 11am ET
Saturday 22 May at 7.30pm GMT / 2.30pm ET
Sunday 23 May at 4pm GMT / 11am ET
Sunday 23 May at 7.30pm GMT / 2.30pm ET
SEE IT SAFELY -We have been granted the use of Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre’s See It Safely mark. The mark certifies that we are complying with the latest Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines, to ensure the safety of our staff and audiences. You can find out more here https://officiallondontheatre.com/see-it-safely/ about the measures we have been putting in place ready for your visit, and what you will need to know beforehand.
West End Transfer and UK Tour for Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Jonathan Church Productions’ critically acclaimed
OLEANNA
By David Mamet Directed by Lucy Bailey StarringRosie Sheehy and Jonathan Slinger
Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Jonathan Church Productions’ critically acclaimed production of David Mamet’s highly provocative drama Oleanna, directed by Lucy Bailey, will tour the UK this Summer from 8 June, visiting Cambridge, Bath, Southampton and Malvern, before transferring to the West End’s Arts Theatre, London from 21 July to 23 October 2021.
The production will star Rosie Sheehy as Carol and Jonathan Slinger as John, reprising their roles from its sell-out run at Theatre Royal Bath’s Ustinov Studio last December.
When Oleanna opened nearly thirty years ago, it caused uproar amongst audiences from New York to London. Set on an American campus, a seemingly innocuous conversation between a college professor and his female student warps into a nightmare which threatens to destroy them both, when she files a claim of sexual harassment against him. With its take on the corrosive excesses of political correctness and exploration of the use and abuse of language, this is the ultimate drama of pupil power and student revenge.
Addressing issues which are strikingly current, this will be a fascinating opportunity to see this landmark play from the perspective of our #MeToo era and Everyone’s Invited era.
Rosie Sheehy has theatre credits including King John (RSC), Uncle Vanya (Theatre Clwyd/Sheffield Theatres) for which she won the ‘Best Female Performance in the English Language’ award at the Wales Theatre Awards 2018, The Whale (Theatre Royal Bath), Strife (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Hairy Ape (The Old Vic) and Chicken (Paines Plough). Screen credits include IRE (Ascendant Films), Call The Midwife (BBC1, Neal Street Productions), and Chernobyl (HBO/Sky).
Jonathan Slinger has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company including the roles of Macbeth, Prospero, Hamlet, Richard II and Richard III. He has also worked at the National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe and further theatre credits include Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal Drury Lane) and Bernard Woolley in Yes, Prime Minister (Chichester and West End).
Lucy Bailey (Director) has theatre credits including Gaslight (UK Tour), Witness for the Prosecution (County Hall, London), Love From A Stranger (Royal & Derngate / UK tour), The Graduate (Leeds Playhouse), Comus, A Masque In Honour of Chastity (Wanamaker Playhouse), Kenny Morgan (Arcola) and King Lear (Theatre Royal Bath). Bailey has also directed work at the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, Leeds Playhouse, Old Viv, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Crucible, Sheffield, Lyric Hammersmith, Hampstead Theatre and with the RSC and ENO. She was co-founder and co-artistic director of The Print Room, Notting Hill (2009 to 2012).
David Mamet is one of the most distinctive voices in stage and film writing today. His multi award-winning plays include Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed-the-Plow and American Buffalo.
Presented by Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Jonathan Church Productions, Oleanna by David Mamet is directed by Lucy Bailey, designed by Alex Eales, with lighting by Oliver Fenwick and sound by Jon Nicholls.
After a dry spell, there’s magic brewing in the West End with Wonderment Palace Theatre, 113 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5AY Friday 16th July – Monday 30th August 2021
There’s magic brewing in the West End once more. A vaudevillian journey of illusion, with performers at the cutting edge of their art, Wonderment is set to astonish audiences this summer at the Palace Theatre. This fun night for all the family must be seen to be believed.
Wonderment brings together some of the greatest illusionists live on stage in breath-taking displays of magic and illusion that will electrify, surprise and delight. Taking to the stage will be the multi-award-winning mind reader and TV star, Chris Cox, and the most talked about woman in magic, Josephine Lee.
Chris Cox has sold out UK tours and runs at Fringe Festivals from Edinburgh to New Zealand, and is no stranger to the Palace Theatre as the Magic and Illusions Assistant for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Josephine Lee took the magic world by storm after her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent in 2017. Her dynamic and modern spin on illusion saw her act hit millions of views overnight.
Both stars of The Illusionists which has played on Broadway, the West End and across the globe, as well as Impossible which travelled from the West End on to a world tour, Josephine and Chris are only the first incredible artists to be announced. Five acts will showcase their awe-inspiring talents at every performance and the rest of the line-up will soon be announced.
Director, Annabel Mutale Reed comments, It’s an absolute privilege to be creating Wonderment with world class magicians, who are bringing their greatest illusions to the West End this summer. Audiences have been making memories at The Palace Theatre for 130 years, and we are delighted to be filling its stage with a vibrant 2021 twist on an old-fashioned variety show. Wonderment is an exhilarating, mind-bending show that really has to be seen to be believed, all under the roof of what was once described as ‘The Handsomest Music Hall in Europe’!
Wonderment producer, Stephen McGill comments, We are so excited to bring some magic and wonder to the West End again, which we know has been sorely missed during this difficult last year. Our fun-packed family show is full of magic, illusion, and comedy. It promises some oldfashioned entertainment with some innovative, fresh, contemporary style and exceptional performers. We hope it will cast a spell over our audiences and fill them with Wonderment!
Nica Burns comments, Wonderment: fantastic and fantastical, full of surprises and marvel. Hugely entertaining. A perfect summer show for all. Just the tonic.
DOCTOR WHO TIME FRACTURE ANNOUNCE FULL CAST FOR IMMERSIVE ADVENTURE
Following over 5,000 applications, a cast of forty-two performers are ready to begin rehearsals as the magnitude of this immersive production begins to unfold.
Director Tom Maller said ‘The first day of rehearsals has finally arrived and we’re so excited to bring the story of Doctor Who Time Fracture to life over the coming weeks. The response to our application process has been overwhelming, as was the talent we met at our carefully managed audition process. We are delighted with our cast who are all ready for an intensive rehearsal period before we finally welcome audiences into Unit HQ from the first preview on 26 May.’
It will take a company of 86 people to run each performance of Doctor Who Time Fracture, 42 of which are cast members selected from over 5,000 applications. The cast will embody Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels and a host of other well-known characters that will be brought to life when the show previews in May this year.
Original costumes and props from across various episodes of the TV series feature in the production, sourced from the BBC’s Doctor Who props store in Cardiff. Many additional items that were either unavailable or no longer exist have been recreated in meticulous detail by some of the industry’s leading prop and costume experts, immersing fans into the world of Doctor Who like never before.
The build of this ambitious project is now complete with seventeen worlds spread across a vast 2,700m square space, with an army of over 40 including set dressers and sound technicians responsible for developing the space into an extraordinary immersive theatre environment.
Doctor Who Time Fracture puts fans at the heart of the story, plunged into a journey across space and time. Featuring amazingly realistic worlds – audiences will discover that it’s time to step up, be the hero and save the universe!
From the team behind The Great Gatsby, the UK’s longest running immersive show, Doctor Who Time Fracture will preview from 26 May with tickets still available to buy now.
CAST INCLUDES:
Angus Brown, Angus Dunican, Anouk Chalmers, Becky Bassett, Bethany Blake, Charlie Burt, Chioma Uma, Christina Andrews, Craig Hamilton, Daisy Winter-Taylor, Dare Emmanuel, Efé Egwele, Ellamae Cieslik, Elliot Rodriguez, Gareth Radcliffe, Georgia Redgrave, Harry Pudwell, Hayden Wood, Howard Grater, Ivy Corbin, Jamal Renaldo, James Bryant, James Byng, James Lawrence, Jenny Horsthuis, Jessica Elton, Jessica Hern, John Sodiq Akanmu, Kieran Mortell, Liv Spencer, Max Krupski, Maxwell Tyler, Megan Louise Wilson, Michael Geary, Molly Walker, Paul Collin-Thomas, Paul Croft, Paul Easom, Ricky Hunt, Ricky Shah, Ryan Ruel and Sam Blythe
METTA THEATRE, ROYAL & DERNGATE NORTHAMPTON, QUEEN’S THEATRE HORNCHURCH & STEPHEN JOSEPH THEATRE PRESENT
CELLS
A NEW MUSICAL FILM
STARRING CLIVE ROWE AND LEM KNIGHTS
FIRST EPISODE RELEASED 19 APRIL
EPISODES WILL BE AVAILABLE DAILY
FULL FILM AVAILABLE FROM 26 APRIL
ALBUM NOW AVAILABLE ON SPOTIFY AND OTHER DIGITAL PLATFORMS
Metta Theatre – one of the UK’s leading production companies devoted to British musical theatre – is pleased to announce the premiere of the first episode of the film of a brand-new musical, CELLS, written, developed and recorded entirely during lockdown by the award-winning writer/director P Burton-Morgan and composer Ben Glasstone. CELLS stars Metta’s recently announced Patron, the Olivier award winning Clive Rowe alongside rising star Lem Knights. The cast album is also available now via Spotify and other digital platforms accessible here.
A university science lab. A kebab shop at 2am. An online gaming forum. Two strangers’ lives become intertwined. Alan Bennett meets The Streets in this tender and uplifting new work, giving voice to the lives of two everyday blokes.
Metta have partnered with three major regional venues – Royal & Derngate Northampton, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough – with each partner venue hosting subsequent episodes on their websites, as follows:
EPISODE 6: Saturday 24 April Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch
EPISODE 7: Sunday 25 April Stephen Joseph Theatre
The full film will be available on Monday 26 April and will be free to all to access via YouTube with a suggested donation (£3 per episode, £10 for the whole film) – all of which will go to the three regional theatres to help support their recovery.
CELLS is written and directed by P Burton-Morgan (Madam Butterfly UK tour, In the Willows, UK tour,Jungle Book UK & International Tour), with music by Ben Glasstone, mixed and mastered by Simon Small and the Musical Director is Phil Cornwell. The Director of Photography is Jon Dickinson, the films are edited by Will Reynolds. Phil Cornwell plays keys and double bass and Curtis Volp is on guitar.
P Burton-Morgan, who in 2020 won the Writers Guild of Great Britain Award for musical theatre book writing for In the Willows explains, “It’s extraordinary to think about what we achieved in 2 days of rehearsal, 2 days in the recording studio and just 4 days of filming. But what’s even more extraordinary is how this piece – which was written as, and one day hopefully soon will be produced as, a stage musical, exists so fully as a film in its own right. It’s thrilling to stretch two artforms to meet each other and I hope paves the way for more theatre projects that are not merely ‘captured’ on film (and of course as an album too) but exist across a diversity of media forms as a myriad of artworks in their own right.”
Clive Rowe said, “It’s so rare to work on such a new and innovative piece of musical/theatre/film. P Burton-Morgan’s wonderful book and lyrics, brought vividly to life by Ben Glasstone’s music, create an exquisitely crafted landscape for Neil and JoJo to express their visions of the world they live in. And working with fresh new talent Lem Knights was pure joy.”
Lem Knights said, “I grew up watching Clive on screen and as a young lad, I dreamt of being on the other side of the little tele box. Only went and bloomin did it didn’t I?! It was a joy to work with Clive and bring Poppy’s beautiful vision to life. It was such a unique and special project full of Ben’s fantastic music, laughter, kebabs and gravy.”
P Burton-Morgan and Ben Glasstone met on the musical theatre writing training programme Book, Music and Lyrics in 2017. They have also written The Rhythmics together – a mid-life crisis of masculinity musical about Manchester’s premier all male Rhythmics Gymnastics performance ensemble. One of the songs ‘Waiting To Begin’ won second prize in the Stiles & Drewe Song Prize 2019 and later that year they workshopped the show at The Other Palace and Birmingham Rep. They released a cast album of The Rhythmics in 2020 and hope to premiere the piece as soon as such things are legal again.
Established in 2005 by P Burton-Morgan and Motley trained Designer William Reynolds, Metta Theatre has been at the forefront of new work – with a strong focus on the development of new British musicaltheatre, and a commitment to highlighting climate justice and sustainability; disability and deaf integration and inclusion (both from a political perspective and in order to artistically enrich the work); queering mainstream and family theatre – writing characters that represent and normalise (rather than problematise) the diverse range of queer experiences and identities; re-gendering protagonists in order to give girls strong female role models.
During the 2020 pandemic, the company focussed on the launch of two other studio albums and music videos for THE RHYTHMICS and HOUSEFIRE, as well as the launch of environmental consultancy Metta Green.
An outdoor “Staycation Sensation” for London this summer
Outdoor bars, street food, live shows, bandstand performances, vintage fairground rides, family activities & West London’s only ‘city beach’!
Underbelly’s iconic upside-down purple cow tent, Udderbelly, will graze at London Wonderground this summer and is joined by a 1,000 capacity big top.
Amazing programme of live shows will be announced in May, including a “Best of the Edinburgh Festival” season of comedy, circus and family performances.
Site designed to be COVID-19 secure with distancing measures in place if required
Festival site is Free to Enter
Underbelly, one of the UK’s leading producers of large-scale city centre events and live entertainment, is today delighted to announce the launch of London Wonderground, a major new summer festival on the site of the former Earls Court 2 Exhibition Centre. The festival is a unique collaboration and partnership between Underbelly and The Earls Court Development Company, the company responsible for delivering a fresh plan for the Earls Court area, formed of a partnership between developer Delancey, Transport for London and APG.
Free to enter and running throughout the summer from 15 July to 26 September, London Wonderground at Earls Court will feature live shows, spectacular al fresco bars, a sumptuous range of street food, vintage rides, live music and DJs on the Wonderground bandstand and the magnificent Earls Court City Beach. London Wonderground will be the ultimate “staycation playground” for Londoners, offering a host of free and ticketed events, a great outdoor atmosphere and something to do for all ages.
In recent months, The Earls Court Development Company have been asking the local community what they would like to see happen on the site in the immediate term, and found that there was clear support for an initiative like this, with local polling indicating that over two thirds supported the idea of temporary theatres and food markets coming to the site. The London Wonderground is a response to what local people have asked for, designed to create a summer of fun in Earls Court, before the longer term plan for the area is consulted on and shaped with the community.
A major programme of circus, comedy and family shows will champion the spirit and quality of the world-renowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe and will bring a “Best of the Edinburgh Festival’ season of performances to Earls Court this summer. Shows will be performed in two indoor venues; Udderbelly, the iconic upside-down purple cow which returns to London for the first time in five years, and a 36m Big Top. Both venues will accommodate reduced seating capacities in the event that social distancing measures are still required. The initial programme of shows will be announced and go on sale at the end of May.
London Wonderground continues Earls Court’s rich history as a home of live events and entertainment. From the site’s inaugural use as a showground in 1887, to the Great Ferris Wheel of 1895, to the Earls Court 1 and Earls Court 2 Exhibition Halls of more recent years, this site has been at the heart of some of London’s most iconic events, concerts and attractions for over a hundred years. London Wonderground will occupy the former Earls Court 2 part of the site, with access from Empress Place off Lillie Road, to create a true, modern day showground of entertainment and fun for all Londoners this summer. There will also be a training academy run on site, with young people able to participate in a live events skills training scheme for local residents.
The festival offers free entry to the site and affordable ticket prices for the rides and live entertainment programme, with most shows running for an hour without an interval. The whole site, including the performance venues, can be easily adapted to incorporate any necessary social distancing measures and London Wonderground will have a robust COVID-Secure operational plan for customers and staff.
Alongside the opening of London Wonderground will be the activation of a new temporary public space opposite Earl’s Court Underground Station, where the entrance to the former exhibition centre was. This space on Warwick Road will be people to enjoy, and will be curated by the Kensington + Chelsea Festival alongside Underbelly, who will bring forward local artwork to display there.
The opening of London Wonderground at Earls Court is subject to successfully securing planning and licensing permission for temporary events from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
Customers are encouraged to sign up at www.londonwonderground.co.uk for further announcements, exclusive offers and to be the first to get information on the London Wonderground live programme of shows.
Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, Directors of Underbelly, said:
“London Wonderground is without doubt one of our most exciting and ambitious festival creations to date, and it feels so in the spirit of the heritage of Earls Court to be launching it as we come out of the pandemic. We’re dancing on toes on hot coals in our excitement to give people that live entertainment experience again and to play our part in bringing some much-needed fun and socialising back to people’s lives this summer. London Wonderground at Earls Court will do just that, with something for everyone, free entry to the site and a jam packed programme of live shows to make you smile, laugh and gasp. Add to that, outdoor food and drink, vintage rides and even a beach, and we think London Wonderground can truly become London’s staycation destination this summer. Let’s all have some fun.”
Rob Heasman, CEO of Earls Court Development Company, said:
“The Earls Court Development Company is excited to be hosting London Wonderground as part of our wider plans to bring the Earls Court site back to life this summer. Following a year of being stuck at home, we can’t wait to bring fun to the area, bringing people back to Earls Court whilst also supporting existing businesses and creating new jobs and training opportunities – all in a COVID secure way. These plans have been shaped by our conversations with the local community who have told us they want to see the site activated in time for summer, and we will continue to harness the spirit of collaboration and celebration with our neighbours”
“I am delighted to welcome this world-class attraction to Hammersmith & Fulham. The history of this site is one of exhibitions and festivities, and I am pleased to see plans to build on that legacy by bringing it back into use this summer. Fun is a core human need and The London Wonderground at Earls Court will be just the tonic that Londoners need.”
