SAM FENDER LEADS LINE-UP FOR SAGE GATESHEAD SPECIAL STREAMED CHRISTMAS CONCERT

Sage Gateshead announces a special streamed Christmas concert, Sage Gateshead Christmas Cracker, featuring some of the North East’s most illustrious musicians and rising stars including local hero Sam Fender.

The concert, which premieres on YouTube on Friday 18 December, promises to be a one-off Christmas spectacular featuring some of the North East’s favourite musicians performing original songs and festive favourites.

Sage Gateshead, which is looking forward to safely welcoming audiences back into the venue in 2021, is streaming the concert free of charge as a Christmas gift for its community. Audiences, donors and friends have rallied behind the organisation in recent months, sending in messages of support, tuning into live streams, taking part in online classes, and of course by making much-needed donations.

Sam Fender will perform with Royal Northern Sinfonia, orchestra of Sage Gateshead in a special collaboration. Joining them on the bill are Newcastle-based alt-pop musician Martha Hill, in a new big band style collaboration with “brilliant young jazz pianist” (The Guardian), Paul Edis; three-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winning Teesside trio The Young’uns; Voices of Virtue Gospel Choir, who performed for Prince William in 2019; and Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia with Chorus Director Timothy Burke, featuring more than 50 amateur singers from all walks of life.

Presented by award-winning saxophonist Jess Gillam and The Futureheads’ Ross Millard, Sage Gateshead Christmas Cracker, which will be filmed in the iconic building, promises plenty of festive fun and some magical Christmas collaborations.

Sam Fender said:

“So excited to play The Sage with Royal Northern Sinfonia! It’s one of my favourite venues, I can’t wait to hear and perform a couple of songs with a full orchestra! A free live stream for fans is going to be a nice way to end the year.”

Abigail Pogson, Managing Director of Sage Gateshead said:

Sage Gateshead Christmas Cracker is a celebration of music and musicians from the North. We want to showcase amazing musical talent and offer a fun-filled Christmas event to the North East  – it’s a way for Sage Gateshead to say a special thank you to everyone who has supported us this year. We’re so grateful for the support we have had and want to say thank you with this magical online event.”

The charity’s Crisis, Recovery and Renaissance campaign aims to raise £3 million over three years to help meet the challenge the pandemic has created, and to serve communities and audiences in the North East and wider North for the long term. They are aiming to reach the first £1m by March 2021 – the first year of the campaign – and are delighted to announce that the public have already helped to raise £700,000. 

Sage Gateshead Christmas Cracker premieres on Sage Gateshead’s YouTube channel at 7.30pm on Friday 18 December and will be available to watch free of charge throughout the festive season until 4 January 2021.

For more info visit sagegateshead.com

Christmas with the Hobs

New Christmas show from Alnwick Playhouse, Maltings Berwick and Queen’s Hall Arts streaming online from 12-31 December 2020

This December, three Northumberland venues are teaming up with CaroleW Productions to create Christmas with the Hobs, a brand new festive animation made in Northumberland for audiences everywhere to experience at home, and in schools, hospitals and care homes. 

It’s Christmas Eve at Nana’s house and Tyler and Eliza are waiting for Dad to pick them up to start the celebrations. But when plans change, they must work together to create a Christmas to remember, with the help of their newfound friends, the Hobs! Join them as they discover what really makes Christmas special, with mishaps and mayhem along the way.

Written by Becci Sharrock, Christmas with the Hobs is illustrated by Sheila Graber who animated the children’s TV series Paddington in the 1980s, withoriginalmusic by North East singer songwriter Bridie Jackson. The cast are Joseph Casling, Jude Nelson, Lewis Jobson, Viktoria Kay and Jacqueline Phillips, who will also direct.

Katy Taylor, Queen’s Hall Arts Artistic Director said, “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Alnwick Playhouse and Berwick Maltings to create a wonderful new animation for Christmas. This is the first time we’ve commissioned an animation and we are so lucky to be working with a fantastically talented team of artists and performers. All three venues in Northumberland were successful in our applications for emergency funding from Arts Council England last month and this has enabled us to try something new and make something truly magical for our audiences this Christmas. 

“We know that freelance performers, technicians and artists have really struggled while venues have been closed, and many people have been unable to access government financial support so it’s vital that we do our bit to help. Christmas with the Hobs gave us an opportunity to bring together North East arts professionals to create a magical Christmas gift from Northumberland. We hope you enjoy it!”

Becci Sharrock was inspired to start writing after her first experience of working in theatre, ushering on The Pitmen Painters at Live Theatre. Her first producing commission – Waiting for Angus – was a co-commission from Maltings Berwick, Theatre Royal Newcastle and ARC Stockton, through the Bridging the Gap programme.  She has since worked with Northern Stage, Theatre Sans Frontières and New Writing North. She also runs the Hexham young writers’ group in partnership with Queen’s Hall Arts and Hexham Book Festival, which Joseph Casling who plays Tyler in the show took part in.

Becci said, “I was so excited to be asked to write Christmas with the Hobs. It feels like a chance to spread a little bit of Christmas magic, which we need this year more than ever. With such a crack team of creatives working on the production, audiences are in for a real treat. I hope they enjoy meeting the Hobs as much as I enjoyed writing them and fall in love with their cheeky personalities, the naughty and the nice sides!” 

Christmas with the Hobs will be streamed online from 12-31 December. Tickets are free but must be booked via venues’ websites. Donations to support future commissions and creative projects in Northumberland are welcome.

BBC ARTS ‘LIGHTS UP’ BRITISH THEATRE

FOR NEW CULTURE IN QUARANTINE SEASON

BBC Lights Up

February/March 2021

• BBC Arts comes together with theatres across the UK in a celebration of British theatre, bringing newly-recorded staged productions to audiences across television, radio, iPlayer and BBC Sounds.

• Highlights includefour extraordinary one-woman shows (including actress Lisa Dwan in Pale Sister and Dorcas Sebuyange’s Buttercup from Liverpool-based theatre company, 20 Stories High) and Sadie from Northern Ireland’s Lyric Theatre, directed by Conleth Hill (Lord Varys, Game of Thrones), in association with Stephen Rea’s Field Day Theatre Company.

• New radio plays include Nick Payne’s Constellations and a new adaptation of The Fishermen based on the novel by Chigozie Obioma.

• Programming across BBC platforms, from Imagine to Front Row and local radio reflecting the views of theatres and theatre-makers across the country, as we approach the anniversary of the beginning of lockdown.

BBC Arts turns the spotlight on theatre as it continues its Culture in Quarantine initiative – bringing arts and culture into the nation’s homes – by partnering with theatres across the country to produce an unprecedented season of plays for audiences at home.

BBC Lights Up begins in February 2021, following what has been one of the most difficult winters for the performing arts in history. The season will ‘light up’ stages and studios across the UK by supporting hard-hit organisations and artists, and ensuring that audiences at home continue to have the opportunity to enjoy theatre across BBC platforms.

Working with more than 12 theatres and theatrical producers across the UK and running for three weeks the season includes more than 15 newly-recorded plays which will be broadcast across BBC Four, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, iPlayer and BBC Sounds. Each play will be a collaboration between BBC Arts and a theatre or producer and many productions will be recorded on the stages of empty theatres. 

Jonty Claypole, Director of BBC Arts said: “This has been the hardest year in living memory for the performing arts – and the crisis is far from over. It is only right that the BBC – which has worked arm-in-arm with writers, performers and off-stage talent day-in day-out over the last 100 years – should support and celebrate our performing arts at this time. This is why BBC Culture in Quarantine is launching Lights Up: a major season devoted to theatre, celebrating the UK’s stages, its artists, the shows that we cannot see, for millions at home around the country. The shows come from every corner of the UK – from Belfast to Glasgow, Cardiff to London. And, as well as broadcasting new and recent productions, we are also using our broadcast and digital platforms to celebrate all that theatres do for our society. Theatre has been at the heart of our culture for centuries and will continue to be so for many to come.”

BBC Lights Up includes plays which are being recorded for television and radio for the first time and premieres of new plays, including plays which have not been seen by an audience. All of the televised plays will be broadcast on BBC Four.

Highlights include:

• The National Theatre of Scotland’s multi award-winning stage play Adam will be made into a theatrical television drama for the first time, in a play inspired by the life of Adam Kashmiry who also plays the role of Adam. Written by Frances Poet and co-directed by Cora Bissett and Louise Lockwood, it tells the story of a young transgender man and his journey to reconciliation.

• International premiere of new play Buttercup from Liverpool-based theatre company 20 Stories High, written and performed by Liverpool-Congolese multidisciplinary artist Dorcas Sebuyange, will be made into a television production, in a story about survival and coming to terms with childhood trauma.
• International premiere of new dark comedy Harm, a Bush Theatre commission written by British playwright Phoebe Eclair-Powell and filmed exclusively for television, in a play about the corrosive effect of social media and isolation.

• Writer and performer Natasha Marshall’s semi-autobiographical darkly comic play Half Breed from Soho Theatre will be televised for the first time, in a story about finding your voice, directed by Olivier Award-winning theatre director Miranda Cromwell.
• Pale Sister, written by celebrated author Colm Tóibín for award-winning actress Lisa Dwan, will be made into a television production for the first time. The play recounts Sophocles’ Greek tragedy of Antigone from the viewpoint of her sister, Ismene, with a contemporary twist.

• International premiere of The Lyric Theatre’s new play Sadie starring award-winning actress Abigail McGibbon filmed exclusively for television, in a play written by David Ireland about a dysfunctional relationship. Directed by Conleth Hill (Lord Varys, Game of Thrones) and in association with Stephen Rea’s Field Day Theatre Company.

• BAFTA Award winning actor Katherine Parkinson’s(Home, I’m Darling, The IT Crowd) debut play Sitting has been adapted to the screen by Avalon. Starring Parkinson for the first time and directed by Oliver Award nominated Jeremy Herrin (People, Places & Things, Talking Heads), this new production follows three characters as they sit for a painter revealing themselves in the process.

• New Perspectives Theatre Company’s  award-winning production of The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma, adapted by Gbolahan Obisesan. This tale of brotherhood, vengeance and fate is being produced for BBC Radio 3 featuring the stage cast, reuniting in an exclusive performance for radio, including Valentine Olukoga, winner of Best Actor at the Black British Theatre Awards 2020.

• A double-bill of new BBC Radio 3 productions of Nick Payne’s award-winning stage play Constellations and Elegy.

• New productions from BBC Radio 4 will include collaborations with Chichester Festival Theatre and the National Theatre of Wales.

In addition to the newly recorded plays, other programming will be broadcast across BBC Platforms which will shine a spotlight on the theatre sector. BBC Arts flagship documentary series Imagine will broadcast a special on how performers have responded during lockdown and on BBC Radio 4, Front Row broadcasts a special week-long focus on British theatre and talks to theatre-makers across the UK about how Covid-19 has affected the Industry and changed the way plays are written, performed and consumed. Plus broadcasts from local radio will reflect the views of theatres across the nation, as we approach the anniversary of the beginning of lockdown.

Full details of BBC Lights Up will be announced in due course.

LEE MACK JOINS THE CAST OF

THE UNDERSTUDY

PALACE THEATRE LONDON

MONDAY 7^TH – TUESDAY 8^TH DECEMBER 2020

Everyone needs an understudy, right? Stepping into the role of narrator, replacing Stephen Fry, is BAFTA and British Comedy Award winning legend Lee Mack. The full cast of The Understudy, now includes Matthew Horne, Emily Atack, James Norton, Mina Anwar, Natalie Casey, Adelayo Adedayo, Lucy Briggs-Owen, Sasha Frost, Marie Lawrence, James McNicholas, Lizzie Muncey and Jake Ferretti.

Stephen Fry comments: “Circumstances have forced me to be in the US from Dec 4th to late January which means, despite my highest hopes and confident promises, I won’t be able to be a part of The Understudy this year, as so fervently hoped. I am very, very sorry to let you down at the last minute. I am cheering you on from the sidelines.”

A perfect pre-Christmas treat for theatre lovers, this exclusive semi-staged rehearsed reading of The Understudy will run for two nights only at London’s Palace Theatre. The play forms part of the initiative first launched by the Lawrence Batley Theatre in May, with proceeds once again being split between Acting For Others, the Equity Charitable Trust and The Theatre Development Trust, run by the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre.

Directed by Giles Croft, The Understudy is written by Henry Filloux-Bennett and will be accompanied by Dusthouse’s wonderful animation from the play’s online version. Having previously recorded their lines in isolation, this will be the first time the actors will be performing together in the flesh as they swap their makeshift recording studios at home for the real life stage.

The Understudy  is based on the novel by the best-selling author David Nicholls, The Understudy tells the story of an underdog – a failed husband, a failing father, a failing actor, and the impossible choice he’s going to have to make between stealing the show and stealing another man’s wife.

The Understudy was originally commissioned by The Lowry, Salford.

TuckShop and Trafalgar Theatre Productions present

Starring

COURTNEY ACT

&

MONÉT X CHANGE

GARRICK THEATRE

PREVIEWS FROM: 4 DECEMBER 2020

WRITTEN BY HOLLY STARS

BASED ON AN IDEA BY CHRISTOPHER D. CLEGG

Murder can be such a Drag…! This brand new killer comedy, Death Drop, opening at the Garrick Theatre on 4 December 2020 is an historic West End first. Starring RuPaul’s Drag Race superstars Courtney Act and Monét X Change, along with a full drag cast in this new hilarious murder mystery – this show is like nothing you’ve seen on the West End stage ever before! Tickets are on sale now from www.deathdrop-play.com

In what will be their West End debuts, Celebrity Big Brother winner and current star of ITV’s Celebrity Kar-aoke Club, Courtney Act, will play the role of 80s pop sensation Shazza, starring alongside Monét X Change appearing as Summer Raines, a glamorous American weather girl living in London, in front of a socially-distanced theatre audience this festive season.

On announcing the show, Courtney Act says: “I can’t wait to get back onto a stage in front of real people this Christmas and I especially can’t wait to make my West End debut in Death Drop! It’s such a hilarious show and it’s just what we all need after months of being locked away. The Garrick Theatre, I’m coming for you!”

Monét X Change added: “Let’s see, you have Monét X Change, Courtney Act, and a full cast of drag stars!? Ms. Thing, Death Drop is an absolutely brilliant show and I am super excited to perform it in London’s fabulous West End!”

Starring alongside Courtney Act and Monét X Change are Kemah Bob, LoUis CYfer, Anna Phylactic, Holly Stars and Vinegar Strokes.

It’s 1991 and a gaggle of guests gather on Tuck Island for a soirée like no other. The tension rises as the outrageous guests reveal their suspicious and sordid pasts, and one by one they sashay away, until at the last, nerve-shredding, side-splitting moment the surviving guests find out who-dunnit!

This rampant, raucous, ridiculous romp of a murder mystery has gallons of gags, and more twists and turns than a drag queens wig.

TuckShop is the UK’s only specialist theatre production company devoted all things drag. In 2019 they presented Cinderella starring Baga Chipz, the UK’s first ever all drag pantomime in the West End which sold out its run. They also produce drag events across the country, and are the UK’s largest merchandise retailer for drag performers.

TuckShop Creative Director and Producer Christopher D. Clegg said: “We are very proud to present Death Drop this December at the Garrick! Bringing genuine drag to the West End on such a large scale, and in such a historic way has always been our goal with TuckShop. We have been developing this hilarious piece over the last year, and are delighted to be working with Trafalgar Theatre Productions to help this brand new piece of theatre find its legs, and then pop those legs in some large heels.”

Trafalgar Theatre Productions, produces new and classic plays and musicals in London and internationally including the Lincoln Center Theater’s award-winning The King and I at the London Palladium and now worldwide, The Rocky Horror Show worldwide, Peter Nichols’ A Day in the Death of Joe Egg starring Toby Stephens, co-productions of the National Theatre’s A Taste of Honey, Nine Night and the Australia and Asia tour of War Horse, Joshua Harmon’s Admissions starring Alex Kingston, the Bush Theatre’s Misty, new British musical Tom Morris’ The Grinning Man and Apologia starring Stockard Channing at Trafalgar Studios.

The capacity at the Garrick Theatre has been reduced to comply with COVID-19 Secure guidelines for social distancing with robust risk mitigation in place. In addition to hand sanitation, face coverings and track and trace, other measures will include contactless tickets, temperature testing and the deep clean and sanitation of the theatre.

Listings Information

Garrick Theatre

Previews: From 4 December 2020

Website: www.deathdropplay.com

Ticket prices: From £15

Twitter: @deathdropplay

Instagram: @deathdropplay

Facebook: Facebook.com/deathdropplay

Northampton Filmhouse to reopen from Friday 11 December

Following the end of the second national lockdown, Northampton Filmhouse, the two-screen cinema adjacent to Royal & Derngate, is reopening on Friday 11 December, offering some festive cheer with a line-up of classic Christmas films alongside brand new releases such as The Prom, starring Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep

Cinema-goers will be able to return to the much-loved venue for the first time since March, with some extra measures in place to ensure everything is COVID-safe for audiences and staff. Measures include a limited capacity to allow socially-distanced seating, specified arrival times and a one-way system through the building. All tickets must be booked in advance and audience members will be required to wear masks except when eating or drinking. In line with Tier 2 regulations, customers can only be seated with people from their own household or support bubble.

Highlights of the season include the star-studded, spectacular film adaptation of hit Broadway musical The Prom, with a cast featuring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and James Corden, and the best of new independent releases such as Riz Ahmed’s raw and powerful Mogul Mowgli and award-winning documentary The Painter and The Thief. For family audiences, there will also be a chance to see the spellbinding and empowering animation Wolfwalkers.

Northampton Filmhouse’s programme of event cinema continues to prove popular, with additional screenings being added for NT Live production War Horse, the Royal Opera House’s festive ballet The Nutcracker, and soprano Katherine Jenkins’ Christmas Spectacular concert.

Christmas classics include perennial favourites It’s a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, Die Hard, Elf and The Muppet Christmas Carol.

More screenings continue to be added to the schedule so for more details and the most up to date information customers can visit the website, www.northamptonfilmhouse.com

Chief Executive Jo Gordon commented: “We’re delighted to be reopening the Filmhouse in time for Christmas. Our teams are working so hard to get everything in place to open our doors for a safe return to our cinema screens. We have received wonderful messages of support from customers while we’ve been unable to open and we can’t wait to welcome them back and provide a bit of festive cheer.”

For most screenings, tickets are priced at £10.50 with concessions available for over 60s, under 14s, students, receivers of Universal credit and disabled patrons. Prices for event cinema screenings are £15.50, with concessions available. From Monday to Thursday, tickets for 16 to 25 year olds are just £5.50 for standard screenings. Tickets must be booked in advance and will be sent as e-tickets. Bookings can be made online at www.northamptonfilmhouse.com. The Box Office phone line, 01604 624811, is operating reduced hours, and can be called from Tuesday to Friday, from 10am to 2pm

Some of the Filmhouse’s regular strands have been paused for now, including Silver Screen, Parent and Baby, and Relaxed, but these specialist screenings will be returning in the future

Northampton Filmhouse At Home, which was launched during the recent lockdown with sponsorship support from CityFibre, will also continue to offer a selection of films that people can stream on their own devices.

Marvin’s Magic Live – Free Online Event

On Sunday 13th December Marvin’s Magic are hosting a special free online event “Marvin’s Magic Live”  The show will be streamed live on Facebook & YouTube at 6.00pm – 7.30pm GMT, 1.00pm – 2.30pm EST, 10.00am -11.30am PST.

The live celebration show is packed with magic, master magicians, and amazing prizes. The show is aimed at magic lovers and is suitable for all ages. Marvin’s Magic has inspired thousands of magicians over the years and currently feature in the Argos Christmas advert,

The fast-paced programme will be streamed lived from the new studios at Marvin’s Magic. It will be co-hosted by magicians Michael J Fitch and Marvin Berglas – the creator of Marvin’s Magic and is full of magic, a behind the scenes look into the most famous brand in magic plus an array of magic celebrities with their top tips and tricks.

You’ll be able to hear from the pros and what it takes to be a top performer including exclusive talks with magic finalists from BGT, renowned actor, writer and director Andy Nyman and Debbie McGee,

Marvin will also interview his legendary father, the original International Man of Mystery, David Berglas – a former President of The Magic Circle and the first magician to have his own series on commercial television back in the day. Now 95 years old but still very much young at heart as he launches his fascinating digital scrapbooks.

Watch live for a chance to win amazing magic giveaways throughout the show and a competition for a family of four to win a luxury three night all-inclusive stay at the amazing Forte Village Resort in Sardinia where the kids will get to learn magic at the Marvin’s Magic Academy.

Watch on YouTube or Facebook on Sunday 13th of December. 6-7.30pm. MarvinsMagic.com

ORIGINAL THEATRE COMPANY RE-RELEASES

FILMED PERFORMANCE OF

ALAN BENNETT’S THE HABIT OF ART

ON THURSDAY 3 DECEMBER

IN CONJUNCTION WITH NEW DOCUMENTARY

HOME MADE

ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF ORIGINAL THEATRE ONLINE

DURING THE YEAR OF COVID-19

When theatres were closed by the Government in March this year, Original Theatre Company’s second tour of Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art was shut down before it had opened.  As the company was rehearsing on stage at the time, Original Theatre Company decided to film the whole production and then released it online on 26 March for two months.  This became the start of a highly successful year of online productions for the company.

Original Theatre Company has now decided to re-release the film of The Habit of Art, starring Matthew Kelly and David Yelland and directed by Philip Franks, on Thursday 3 December until Sunday 28 February via originaltheatreonline.com. The company will, at the same time, launch part one of a three-part documentary, Home Made, which tells the story of how the company responded to the closure of theatres and went on to create to date four new online productions as well as the filmed versions of The Habit of Art and The Croft, which had also been touring when theatres were closed.

The Original Theatre Company was operating with no Arts Council support, relying solely on box office takings. With theatres closed and their tours of The Habit of Art and The Croft cancelled, they were facing financial ruin.  They were determined to meet financial commitments made to actors, stage managers and suppliers, and find a way to survive.

Original Theatre Company’s online productions to date include the critically acclaimed lockdown productions of Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong Online, Louise Coulthard’s Watching Rosie and the new commission by Torben Betts, Apollo 13: The Dark Side of The Moon.  The Haunting of Alice Bowles is a new supernatural thriller by Philip Franks, adapted for the first time from the M.R. James chilling short ghost story, The Experiment, which will be available to watch via originaltheatreonline.com from 7.30pm on 17 December 2020 until 28 February 2021. 

Using behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive interviews with the cast, crew and creatives, Home Made, directed by filmmaker Elijah Grant, tells the story of an unforgettable year in the life of a touring theatre company.  Against the backdrop of national lockdowns, show closures and an industry on the edge, Home Made explores how Original Theatre adapted and survived and, in doing so, created ‘a new form of theatre’.

From filming The Habit the Art on the cusp of national lockdown to recreating Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong in actors’ bedrooms, to the challenges of filming zero gravity on iPhones for Apollo 13, this unique documentary is a love letter to theatre and the desire from audiences and freelancers across the country to continue making it and watching it against all the odds.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

The Habit of Art

Dates: 3 December 2020 – 28 February 2021

Running Time: 2 hours

Age guidance: 13+

Book: originaltheatreonline.com

Tickets: £10 (option of additional £2.50 for an e-programme)

Home Made

Dates:

Part 1: The Show Must Go On(Line) is available from 3 December 2020 to 28 February 2021

Part 2: A New Form of Theatre is available from 11 December 2020 to 28 February 2021

Part 3: Reaching for The Moon is available from 18 December 2020 to 28 February 2021

Book: originaltheatreonline.com

Tickets: Available for free (with donations encouraged)

Website:     originaltheatreonline.com

Facebook:  @OriginalTheatre

Twitter:      @OriginalTheatre #OriginalOnline #HabitOfArt

Instagram: @OriginalTheatreCompany

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR

THE YOU PLAY VOLUME TWO: THE HAUNTED WOMAN –

PART OF AUDIO PROJECT WRITTEN ON THE WAVES

45North and Ellie Keel Productions today announce Olivia Williams in Rafaella Marcus’ The You Play Volume Two: The Haunted Woman, hersecond play in the audio project Written on the Waves. Directed by Jessica Lazar, itfollows the previous collaboration on Marcus’ debut The You Play: small acts, and will be available from 14 December 2020.

A dictaphone clicks into life. A woman is making a recording for… you. She doesn’t have a lot of time left: something is coming. And it’s coming to get her. So before it arrives, she wants to tell you why. You might be next. So listen carefully and follow her instructions. They might keep you safe. They might save you.

A ghost story about what to do when opportunities die – and something with a long shadow creeps into their place.

The first series of Written on the Waves comprises nine world premières and will continue into 2021 with recognition, based on the life and music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Written by Amanda Wilkin, and co-created and directed by Rachel Nanyonjo. With further plays and casting to be announced.

Also in the series, and currently live are Loss and Hope,a trilogy of short audio pieces including Luke Barnes’ This is a Man starring Liam Jeavons, Tife Kusoro’s The Gift starring Olivia Marcus, and Rafaella Marcus’ We Have Sinned starring Seraphina Beh; Rafaella Marcus’ debut play for audio, The You Play: small acts with Rebecca Banatvala, Jonathan Case, Amber James, Daisy Lewis, Ken Nwosu, Katherine Parkinson and Boadicea Ricketts; Lem ‘N’ Ginge: The Princess of Kakos written and directed by Ell Potter and Mary Higgins and starring Olivier Award-winning Sharon D. Clarke; and A Passion Play by Margaret Perry with Hannah Bristow and Nicola Coughlan.

These can be accessed via www.forty-fivenorth.com/writtenonthewaves

#WrittenOnTheWaves

Rafaella Marcus’ previous work for Written on the Waves include We Have Sinned, and The You Play: small acts.Her credits as director include Stop Kiss (Above the Stag), Bury the Dead (Finborough Theatre), Alley. Pearls. Gunshot. (The Yard Theatre), Spooky Action at a Distance, Crave (Bunker Theatre), and I Have a Mouth and I Will Scream (VAULT Festival – winner of the People’s Choice Award). Her credits as associate director include Emilia (Vaudeville Theatre); and as assistant director, Pericles (Shakespeare’s Globe), Romeo and Juliet, The Wind in the Willows (Chester Performs), Boeing Boeing, Afterplay, Love Your Soldiers, The Winter’s Tale (Sheffield Theatres) and The Killing of Sister George (Arts Theatre).

Olivia Williams’theatre credits include Tartuffe, Mosquitoes, Waste, Happy Now? (National Theatre), Scenes from a Marriage (St James’ Theatre), In a Forest Dark and Deep (Garrick Theatre), The Changeling (Cheek by Jowl), Hotel in Amsterdam (Donmar Warehouse), Peer Gynt, The Wives Excuse, The Broken Heart, Wallenstein, Mischa’s Party (RSC), Richard III (National theatre/US tour). Her television credits include The Nevers, Counterpart, The Halcyon, Manhattan, Case Sensitive, Dollhouse, Ms Austen Regrets and Emma; and for film, Victoria and Abdul, Man Up, Altar, Seventh Son, Maps to the Stars, Sabotage, The Last Days on Mars, Anna Karenina, Hyde Park on Hudson, Now is Good, Wild Bill, Collaborator, Hanna, The Ghost Writer, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, An Education, Broken Lines, Flashback of a Fool, X-Men: The Last Stand, Peter Pan, To Kill a King, Below, The Heart of Me, The Sixth Sense and Rushmore.

Jessica Lazar directs. Credits include Corre (Cervantes Theatre) Anna Bella Eema (Arcola Theatre), This Is A Love Story & Unicorn (North Wall) and Outlying Islands, For Reasons That Remain Unclear, East (King’s Head Theatre).

Written on the Waves Season 1

Available now:

• Loss and Hope

A trilogy of short audio pieces by Luke Barnes, Tife Kusoro and Rafaella Marcus, co-produced with Atticist Productions Ltd.

Directed by Madeleine Kludje, Grace Cordell and Jessica Lazar respectively.

• Lem ‘N’ Ginge: The Princess of Kakos

By Mary Higgins and Ell Potter: a four-part feminist, queer, comedy-quest narrative.

Directed by Mary Higgins and Ell Potter, with sound design, composition and editing by Tom Foskett-Barnes.

• The You Play: small acts

Rafaella Marcus’ debut play for audio, which makes the listener an active participant in their own play.

Directed by Jessica Lazar, with sound design and editing by Dinah Mullen.

• A Passion Play

By Margaret Perry, originally a Paines Plough seed commission and now co-produced with Atticist Productions Ltd, which tells the story of two teenage girls taking part in their local passion play in a small church in Cork.

Directed by Jessica Lazar, with sound design and editing by Annie May Fletcher.

Upcoming:

The You Play Volume Two: The Haunted Woman

By Rafaella Marcus, expanding on the form of The You Play: small acts.

Directed by Jessica Lazar.

• recognition

By Amanda Wilkin, based on the life and music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

Co-created and directed by Rachel Nanyonjo.

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS!

CELEBRATING THE 150^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ICONIC ROYAL ALBERT HALL

NEW ADVENTURES AND THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

PROUDLY ANNOUNCE

A SPECTACULAR NEW STAGING

OF THE

MULTI-AWARD WINNING DANCE THRILLER

FOR 14 PERFORMANCES ONLY

AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL FROM 17 – 27 JUNE 2021

GENERAL ON SALE AT 10.00AM ON 10 DECEMBER 2020

As part of the Royal Albert Hall’s 150^th Anniversary celebrations New Adventures and the Royal Albert Hall are delighted to announce that Matthew Bourne’s multi-award winning dance thriller THE CAR MAN will play 14 performances only at the iconic venue from Thursday 17 – Sunday 27 June 2021. General on sale at 10.00am on 10 December 2020. www.royalalberthall.com Casting to be announced soon. These performances of THE CAR MAN will be the only performances of the show in the UK in 2021.

In a unique collaboration and for the very first time, this spectacular reimagined staging of THE CAR MAN will utilise the expanse of the stunning Royal Albert Hall with a cast of 33 dancers, a 25-piece live orchestra and an epic new design by Olivier and Tony award-winner Lez Brotherston.

Lucy Noble, Artistic Director at the Royal Albert Hall said today “We’re so incredibly excited to welcome The Car Man to the Royal Albert Hall as a highlight of our anniversary celebrations. This is one of modern dance’s most thrilling shows, and to see it specially adapted to the scale and grandeur of this spectacular space promises to be an unforgettable experience.”

Matthew Bourne said today “The Car Man may have found its perfect setting in the epic and spectacular surroundings of Britain’s favourite venue, the Royal Albert Hall. This unique and iconic landmark will only heighten the visceral thrill and emotional highs of a piece already regarded as a classic favourite in the New Adventures repertoire. As a lifelong lover and supporter of the Royal Albert Hall, I am delighted to be a part of its 150th birthday celebrations! it is a real career highlight for me to present my work here for the first time and create what will no doubt be, an important moment in New Adventures history. Whether you have seen The Car Man before or not, you will not want to miss this re-imagined “event” production of the show in an expanded staging that will also be a celebration of our return to live performance after more than fifteen months – We cannot wait to welcome you back too!.”

Based on Bizet’s beloved Carmen, the familiar 19th Century Spanish cigarette factory becomes a greasy garage-diner in 1960’s America where the dreams and passions of a small town are shattered by the arrival of a handsome stranger. Fuelled by heat and desire, the inhabitants are driven into an unstoppable spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge.

Matthew Bourne’s vivid storytelling combines with one of the most thrilling and passionately dramatic scores ever written, featuring Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite (after Bizet’s Carmen), and new arrangements of Bizet’s legendary score, by New Adventures Associate Artist, Terry Davies.

THE CAR MAN was first seen in 2000, winning the Evening Standard Award for Musical Event of the Year and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Choreography.

THE CAR MAN is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, with music by Terry Davies & Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite (after Bizet’s Carmen); designed by Lez Brotherston with lighting by Chris Davey and sound by Paul Groothuis. 

New Adventures is a national portfolio organisation supported using public funds by Arts Council England.

LISTINGS

New Adventures and the Royal Albert Hall present

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man

Thursday 17 – Sunday 27 June 2021

At the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP

Tickets on sale 10.00am on 10 December 2020

www.royalalberthall.com