Palace Theatre, Manchester – until Sunday 18th June 2022.
Review by Rebecca Hampson
4.5****
Delightful, Delicious, De-Lovely!
With a 50 strong diverse cast of incredible talent, this musical is not one to miss. Featuring Oliver Award winning talent in the form of Denis Lawson and Simon Callow, as well as Musical Theatre Royalty such as Kerry Ellis and Bonnie Langford, this energising performance of ‘Anything Goes’ offers spectacle and wonder in every musical number.
The standout performance of the night was seen in the impeccable number of ‘Anything Goes’ where director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall’s vision shone bright with exceptional timing and staging as well as a delectable lighting design by Hugh Vanstone.
Kerry Ellis as Reno is spectacular in “Friendship” alongside Denis Lawson as Moonface Martin. The chemistry between the two actors in role is mesmerising and offers a comedic element through their rivalry for the spotlight. I particularly enjoyed a moment where the two actors break the fourth wall mid-song address the audience watching allowing us to feel involved in the performance.
Samuel Edwards is fantastic as Billy Crocker, his vocals especially outstanding in the number “Easy to Love” alongside Hope Harcourt played by Nicole-Lily Baisden. This beautifully lit number shows chemistry and desire between the two characters who long to be with one another.
The audience and I enjoyed a comedic moment from Bonnie Langford as Evangeline Harcourt as her character meets Edwards as Billy in disguise. Billy tells her the ship is sinking and melodramatic moment provides a light-hearted beat as we see Harcourt drape pearls over her shoulder in a panic and allows us as an audience to fall more in love with Billy Crocker in his mission to win over Hope Harcourt played by Nicole-Lily Baisden.
Special mention must go to the behind-the-scenes creatives and especially Lighting Designer Hugh Vanstone for the spectacular use of colour and gobos which created the illusion of water placing the audience on board the ship amongst the actors. Notable mention must also go to Costumer Designer Jon Morrell for the exquisite take on 1930s fashion which is complemented with Set Design by Derek McLane
Amongst Theatre Royalty the star of the show in my eyes was Carly Mercedes Dyer as Erma who delighted the audience with her spectacular vocals in ‘Buddie, Beware’. Her charisma and talent radiated off the stage and the audience and I were enchanted by her.
Running in Manchester until June 18th this is one musical you do not want to miss!
Last night CABARET at the Kit Kat Club was thrilled to welcome the production’s original Emcee, Eddie Redmayne and Sally Bowles, Jessie Buckley who watched the show and met the current Emcee, Fra Fee and Sally Bowles, Amy Lennox, afterwards.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 09: (L-R) Fra Fee, Jessie Buckley, Amy Lennox and Eddie Redmayne pose backstage following a performance of “Cabaret At The Kit Kat Cub” on June 9, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
This unique production of CABARET opened in December last year to critical and audience acclaim, widely praised as the ultimate theatrical experience. Last month, the production won a record-breaking seven Olivier Awards, the most for any musical revival in Olivier history, as well as three prestigious Critics Circle Awards.
In a time when the world is changing forever, there is one place where everyone can be free… Welcome to the Kit Kat Club, home to an intimate and electrifying new production of CABARET. This is Berlin. Relax. Loosen up. Be yourself.
The Kit Kat Club has laid siege to the Playhouse Theatre. The performers have infiltrated the premises. The artists have staked their claim. Who knows for how long they’ll stay, but for now they are enjoying the party. The party at the end of the world.
Transforming one of London’s most famous theatres with an in-the-round auditorium and reimagined spaces, before the show guests are invited to enjoy and explore the Kit Kat Club with pre-show entertainment, drinks and dining all on offer. When booking, guests receive a ‘club entry time’ to allow enough time to take in the world of the Kit Kat Club before the show starts. But of course, the show really starts when you first join us in the club…
One of the most successful musicals of all time CABARET features the songs Wilkommen, Don’t Tell Mama, Mein Herr, Maybe This Time, Money and the title number. It has music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, book by Joe Masteroff. Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood.
CABARET is directed by Rebecca Frecknall, set and costume design is by Tom Scutt with choreography by Julia Cheng. Musical supervision and direction is by Jennifer Whyte with lighting design by Isabella Byrd and sound design by Nick Lidster. The casting director is Stuart Burt and the associate director is Jordan Fein.
Nicholas Hytner will direct Guys & Dolls – the first musical to be presented at The Bridge – a musical fable of Broadway based on the story and characters of Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Designs are by Bunny Christie with choreography by Arlene Phillips, associate direction and choreography by James Cousins, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Paul Arditti, musical direction by Tom Brady, orchestrations by Charlie Rosen and casting by Charlotte Sutton.Casting for Guys & Dolls will be announced at a later date.
This immersive production will run from 27 February 2023, initially booking to 2 September 2023 with opening night on 9 March 2023. Priority booking for Bridge members opens at 10am on Friday 10 June 2022 with public booking from 10am on Wednesday 23 June 2022.
Join us for Guys & Dolls as The Bridge transforms for one of the greatest musicals of all time. It has more hit songs, more laughs and more romance than any show ever written. The seating is wrapped around the action while the immersive tickets transport you to the streets of Manhattan and the bars of Havana in the unlikeliest of love stories. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, you raved with us in the forest. In Julius Caesar, you ran wild with us as the mob. Now join us on Broadway for the biggest party yet.
For the Bridge Theatre Nicholas Hytner has directed Young Marx, Julius Caesar, Allelujah!, Alys, Always, A Midsummer Night’s Dream,Two Ladies, Beat the Devil, The Shrine, Bed Among the Lentils, A Christmas Carol, Bach & Sons and The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage. He recently directed Ralph Fiennes in David Hare’s Straight Line Crazy at The Bridge and this month he will direct Alex Jennings in Stephen Beresford’s The Southbury Child at Chichester Festival Theatre and The Bridge. Previously he was Director of the National Theatre from 2003 to 2015.
LISTINGS INFORMATION FOR THE BRIDGE THEATRE
Address: Bridge Theatre, 3 Potters Fields Park, London, SE1 2SG
Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage announces return to the West End Dominion Theatre, London Saturday 21st January – Saturday 29th April 2023
Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage returns to the Dominion Theatre for another season following its record-breaking one in Spring 2022.
Exploding with heart-pounding music, breathtaking emotion and sensationally sexy dancing, this triumphant stage production, inspired by the hit film, follows the iconic story of Baby and Johnny, two fiercely independent young spirits from different worlds who come together in what will be the most challenging and thrilling summer of their lives.
Producer Karl Sydow said “We can’t wait to bring this amazing show back to the Dominion Theatre following its incredible audience reception earlier this year. Now more than ever, theatre needs the excitement and joy that Dirty Dancing brings – you’ll have the time of your life!”
Featuring the hit songs ‘Hungry Eyes’, ‘Hey! Baby’, ‘Do You Love Me?’ and the heart-stopping ‘(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life’, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage is once again directed by Federico Bellone (West Side Story, Milan; Sunset Boulevard, Milan) and choreographed by Austin Wilks.
Estonian National Ballet comes to Bord Gáis Energy Theatre for the first time with Swan Lake Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Grand Canal Square, Docklands, Dublin 2 Wednesday 11th – Sunday 15th January 2023
For the first time in its 100-year history the Estonian National Ballet is coming to Bord Gáis Energy Theatre with a full-length classic production of Swan Lake. Accompanied by the Irish National Opera Orchestra, the season is strictly limited to seven performances only in January
Presenting ballet since 1922, the Estonian National Ballet has toured across Europe and the USA and is bringing their company of classically trained dancers to Dublin for the very first time with lavish production of Swan Lake. Comprised of a touring company of over 90, sumptuous sets, and magnificent costumes the Estonian National Ballet’s Swan Lake is set to amaze.
Closely following the traditions of the Mariinsky production of 1895, the ballet comes to Dublin direct from their beautiful home theatre, the Tallinn Opera House, renowned as one of the best venues in the Baltic nations.
From the first immortal bars of Tchaikovsky’s score, the Estonian National Ballet’s Swan Lake invites the audience into another world. Ballet fans new and old will be captivated by Prince Siegfried’s love for the Swan Queen Odette and the drama of their battle against the evil sorcerer Rothbart. From the unforgettable corps de ballet moving in magical unison as majestic, glimmering swans to the refined dances in the spectacular ballroom scenes, this romantic fable inspires awe.
The tour producer Andrew Guild comments, For many years I have envied those who have had the opportunity to see this immaculate classical company. The Estonian National Ballet rarely tours from its home base at the historic Tallinn Opera House. I’m thrilled that Artistic Director Linnar Looris is bringing his company’s extraordinary and very special production of Swan Lake to Dublin.
General Manager of Bord Gáis Energy Theatre Stephen Faloon says, It is our mission to bring our audience the finest of live entertainment, and dance forms an essential part of our programme every year. For 2023, we are delighted to partner with Estonian National Ballet as they present their full-length classic production of Swan Lake, and we can’t wait to welcome this talented company of dancers to Dublin for the first time
Outstanding, ravishing and thrilling – Dance Europe
Birmingham Hippodrome have today announced that New York’s Lincoln Center Theater’s critically acclaimed and multi award-winning production of Lerner & Loewe’s much loved MY FAIR LADYwill play at the theatre from Wednesday 8 March – Sunday 26 March 2023 as part of a UK and Ireland tour which begins in September 2022 following a limited engagement at the London Coliseum this summer.
Directed by Bartlett Sher, this sublime production, which premiered in the spring of 2018 at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, was the winner of the Tony Award for Best Costume Design, 5 Outer Critics’ Circle Awards including Best Musical Revival, the Drama League Award for Outstanding Musical Revival, and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Musical Revival and Costume Design.
Bartlett Sher said: “Getting a chance to revisit Shaw’s extraordinary story of class and privilege in a new age is a rare and special event and I am thrilled to be able to take this epic musical on tour for audiences up and down the country to enjoy.”
“Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady has returned to Broadway in a smashing new production from Bartlett Sher (The Sound of Music, The King and I).” The Guardian
“Lavish revival of Lerner and Loewe’s 1956 masterwork…” The Washington Post
My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady”. But who is really being transformed?
With a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, MY FAIR LADY boasts a score including the classic songs “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “Get Me to the Church on Time,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “The Rain in Spain,” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”
“Thrilling! Glorious and better than it ever was! A marvellous and transformative revival.” New York Times
Adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture Pygmalion, Lerner & Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY premiered on Broadway in March 1956, winning 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and becoming the longest-running musical in Broadway history at the time. Following this success, the production transferred to London in 1958, where it played in the West End for five and a half years.
MY FAIR LADY has seen many notable revivals and adaptations, including the acclaimed 1964 film starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison, which won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Most recently on the London stage, Cameron Mackintosh’s 2001 revival at Theatre Royal Drury Lane won three Olivier Awards, and later toured across the UK and Ireland in 2005.
James L. Nederlander, Jamie Wilson, Hunter Arnold, Playful Productions and the English National Opera present the Lincoln Center Theater production of Lerner & Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY. Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Music by Frederick Loewe, sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lighting by Donald Holder, sound by Marc Salzberg, hair & wigs by Tom Watson, UK music supervision by Gareth Valentine, UK musical direction by Alex Parker, musical supervision by Ted Sperling, choreography by Christopher Gattelli, directed by Bartlett Sher.
Casting will be announced in due course.
Tickets will go on sale to Birmingham Hippodrome Friends on Tuesday 7 June at 11am and to groups on Wednesday 8 June at 11am. Tickets will go on general sale from 11am on Thursday 9 June at www.birminghamhippodrome.com or by calling 0844 338 5000*
*0844 calls to us will cost you 4.5p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge.
SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE ANNOUNCES FULL CAST OF MIDSUMMER MECHANICALS
THURSDAY 9 JUNE 2022
Shakespeare’s Globe is delighted to announce the cast and company for Midsummer Mechanicalsopening in Sam Wanamaker Playhouse 28 July – 21 August.
The is the first time the Globe is premiering a full-scale production for families and young people. Midsummer Mechanicals is a co-production with Splendid Productions, directed by Lucy Cuthbertson and Kerry Frampton and written by Kerry Frampton and Ben Hales.
Midsummer Mechanicals is an hilarious new follow-up to the play-within-a-play from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, following Peter Quince’s troupe’s attempt to recapture the success of their first hit show, Pyramus and Thisbe.
Lucy Cuthbertson is the Co-Director of Education at Shakespeare’s Globe and was Artistic Director of Stantonbury Theatre. Lucy is a founding member of the theatre companies, Ridiculusmus and Kidbrooke Theatre Company – known as the most successful school-based theatre company in the UK, winning many awards including Fringe Report ‘Best Play’ for the world premiere of Hotel World, adapted from Ali Smith’s novel. Kerry Frampton is the Founder and Artistic Director of Splendid Productions and has directed, adapted, and performed in their annual creative adaptations of classic texts since 2004. Ben Hales is the Associate Director of Splendid Productions. Work includes: The Epic Adventures of Robin Hood and Red Riding Hood versus the Wolf (Stantonbury Theatre), Goldilocks and the Three Musketeers (Battersea Arts Centre), Scrooge and the Seven Dwarves’ (Theatre 503).
The Cast:
Melody Brown will play Patience Snout. Melody has recently worked for the RSC in Measure for Measure and The Taming of the Shrew. Previous theatre credits include: Henry V (Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory), House and Garden, Bubbles (Watermill Theatre, Newbury), Tamburlaine (Yellow Earth), Two Pairs of Eyes (Inroads Productions), Last Journey (Pentabus), The History Boys (Selladoor Productions), Freefolk (Forest Forge), Fungus the Bogeyman (Pilot Theatre), The Life of Pi (Twisting Yarns), The Firebird (Bolton Octagon). Screen credits include: Eastenders (BBC).
Sam Glen will play Francis Flute. Sam will appear in Three Day Millionaire (Shush Pictures), set to be released later this year. Previous theatre credits include: The Kitchen Sink, Star Cross’d (Oldham Coliseum), Letter to Boddah, The Visitors Book (Hopemill Theatre), King Lear (Royal Exchange Theatre and Birmingham Rep). Screen credits: Doc Martin (ITV), World’s End (CBBC), Coronation Street (ITV), The Street, Doctors (BBC) and Shameless (Channel 4).
Kerry Frampton will play Nicholas Bottom. Kerry is Artistic Director of Splendid Productions, clown, practitioner, director, theatre maker, writer, designer and musician. Previous theatre credits include I Love You, But… (Camden Peoples Theatre, The Vaults Festival), UBU (Splendid Tour), Wonders Wonders Wonders (Junction Theatre), Red Riding Hood versus The Wolf Hood, The Epic Adventures of Robin Hood (Stantonbury Theatre), The Odyssey, Woyzeck (UK & SE Asia Splendid Tour), Antigone, Medea, The Trial, Dr Faustus, The Good Woman of Szechuan, Animal Farm (Splendid UK Tour), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (UK Tour/National Theatre’s ‘Watch This Space’ Festival), Carnival Messiah (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Queens Hall, Trinidad), A Change of Mind (Sadlers Wells), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (ADC Theatre). Directing credits include Sleeping Beauty & The Beast (BAC), Goldilocks & the Three Musketeers (BAC), Puss in Moon Boots, and The Legend of Moby Dick Whittington (online Living Room Adventure, from Sleeping Trees). Kerry also works as a visiting lecturer and director at LAMDA, LIPA and Trinity Laban.
Jamal Franklin will play Peter Quince. Previous theatre credits include King Lear (Duke of York’s Theatre), Sleeping Beauty & the Beast (BAC), Little Shop of Horrors (BJW), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Ireland), Lysistrata (Cockpit Theatre), Pornography (Royal & Derngate) and The Limit (Vaults Festival). Screen credits include Giddy Stratospheres (LJM), White Noise (Prism Productions), Crossing the Line (AlterEgo), Plunge (Grizzly Woof), Vloggers (Wild Street Productions), NT Live: King Lear (NT Live) and I’m Ok I Promise (Sun Catcher Productions).
The Company: Casting Director – Nicholas Hockaday Costume Supervisor – Sabia Smith Designer – Rose Revitt Directors – Lucy Cuthbertson and Kerry Frampton Production Manager – Jody Robinson Writers – Kerry Frampton and Ben Hales
World premiere of Bombay Superstar – a VHS generation Bollywood musical goes on tour UK Tour – October to November 2022
Award-winning Phizzical Productions are inviting audiences to hit the dancefloor with the world premiere of Bombay Superstar, a dazzling new Bollywood musical set in the sizzling disco era of the 1970s. This is a glamourous and scandalous story in the heart of the biggest film industry in the world – Bollywood. Bombay Superstar will mark the 50th production from the powerhouse team at Phizzical Productions and is co-produced with Belgrade Theatre Coventry and the New Wolsey Theatre.
Blurring the lines between reel and real-life events, this catchy retro musical is a passionate tale of a star-crossed romance between a fiery rising star and her married co-star which thrills and scandalises their star-struck fans.
Bombay Superstar is written and directed by the master of authentic Bollywood-inspired work Sâmir Bhamra (Bring on the Bollywood; Precious Bazaar), who is also the Artistic Director of Phizzical Productions. He comments, As a child from the VHS and Walkman generation living in Kenya, Bollywood films were more than a source of entertainment. The stories instilled a belief system, and the actors were our role models. These dynamic, melodramatic, and extravagant films were a ticket to dream and to unite South Asians globally. Growing up as a migrant in a working-class family in the UK, these films continued to be a compass, giving people hope to build their aspirations during unjust times. It has taken over 15 years to realise this dream production about the larger-than-life stories from the flamboyant Indian film industry and to have the courage and the belief that it can be presented on stage in a cinematic style. We are adorning it with iconic Bollywood hits from the 70s and 80s when a fusion of orchestral Indian music and international sounds created youthful upbeat rhythms. Infused with nostalgia, Bombay Superstar is a tribute to the grandeur, costumes, choreography, and scandalous secrets of Hindi movies for everyone to enjoy
Bombay Superstar will open in October amidst the global celebrations of the Diwali Festival of Light at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry and then visit Hall for Cornwall, The New Wolsey Theatre, The Lowry and MAST Mayflower Studios. With live music and exhilarating dancing, the production will bring the life of Bollywood to the stage, reinventing and platforming spectacular stories from Asian culture.
Bhamra adds, The romantic tragedy between up-and-coming starlet Laila and the superstar Sikandar is fraught with obstacles. The audience will simultaneously be immersed in the passion between the unlikely couple between the melodious pop and disco music such as Dekha Ek Khwab and Disco Deewane, played live by our talented musicians. Packed with entertainment equivalent to a Bollywood film, it’s the perfect evening out for the family. I sincerely hope everyone enjoys it as much as we have, while creating the show.
Bombay Superstar is delivered in English and sung in Hindi with subtitles throughout the show to allow accessibility for audiences throughout the country.
Phizzical Productions was founded in 2003 and has delighted, inspired, and nurtured people of all ages and backgrounds. As the company approaches its 20th anniversary year the investment in the rebrand and a new website marks an incredible moment as Phizzical Productions continues its mission to tell tomorrow’s stories today and distinguishes itself even more as a leading voice within the arts industry. Phizzical Productions are masters in producing world class entertainment bringing bold and adventurous South Asian arts and cultural experiences to audiences across the country. They are committed to challenging the status quo and promoting equality to bring new perspectives to stories that entertain and engage.
THE THREE SHORTLISTED WINNERS FOR THEIR BRAND-NEW ORGINALS PLAYWRITING AWARD
Original Theatre today announces the three shortlisted winning plays for their brand-new playwriting prize, the Originals Playwriting Award – Drew Hewitt for The Fall, Eilidh Nurse for Milesand Teunkie Van Der Sluijs for Tikkun Olam. Each of those shortlisted receive £2000, with the winner announced post the performances at Riverside receiving a further £5000.
Additional commendations were given to scripts submitted by Jessica Norma, Rachel Jade Tookey, Rebecca Jade Hammond, Tabitha Mortiboy, James Westphal, Timothy James Poultney, and Dave Florez, with each receiving £250.
Launched in collaboration with Riverside Studios, the award targets early career playwrights and aims to innovate theatrical opportunities and build support for a talented group of new voices. From June 30 to July 2 the winning scripts will be performed at Riverside, directed by Michael Boyd, Charlotte Peters, and Amelia Sears. Each will be filmed and streamed live by North South. On 30 June Miles by Eilidh Nurse directed by Amelia Sears, on1 JulyThe Fallby Drew Hewitt, directed by Charlotte Peters and finally, 2July Tikkun Olam by Teunkie Van Der Sluijs directed by Michael Boyd.
Alastair Whatley, Artistic Director of the Original Theatre Company said today “Choosing 3 plays to present from the hundreds of entries has been as challenging as it has been rewarding. However, I couldn’t be more delighted that our judges have chosen 3 superb new plays from 3 very exciting writers which each offer a brilliant new voice exploring big, complex, and human stories with nuance, wit, and empathy. My thanks to all the writers who submitted plays and huge congratulations to Eilidh, Drew and Teunkie our winning writers, I cannot wait to see the plays on stage at Riverside Studios at the end of the month.”
Drew Hewitt: “Winners of open submission Playwriting Awards are very lucky. Not lucky they win, lucky there are companies like Original Theatre who still believe it’s vital to create opportunities for diverse new voices to be heard.”
Eildh Nurse: “The Originals Playwriting Award is an incredible opportunity for writers, and as an emerging writer I feel really honoured to be one of the winners this year. I’m so excited and grateful for the chance to develop my play alongside this team.”
Teunkie Van Der Sluijs:“I never had the guts to write an original piece – let alone in English, which isn’t my first language – until I penned this play in an espresso-fuelled sprint of early mornings and late nights. So having this support from the Original Theatre, Riverside Studios and Michael Boyd is beyond exciting and I’m immensely grateful to all.”
MILES
By Eilidh Nurse
Directed by Amelia Sears
Thursday 30 June 7:15pm
“I feel like I’ve lost all this time.”
Somewhere in Scotland, miles from anywhere, Bobby’s Caravan Park is struggling, in fact it’s crumbling. Janie is the only employee and she’s been stuck out here for longer than she cares to admit – and she’s drinking more than she’s willing to admit, yet frankly who cares anymore? Ed can’t pass the Tesco quiz, he can’t go out in the rain without his cag in a bag, he can’t drive, and he can’t help who he’s related to. But at least he’s got a new job… at Bobby’s Caravan Park. Hopes, dreams and families collide in this searing, tender yet funny play that asks what it means to process our past and the traumas that lie within.
Eilidh Nurse is an emerging writer. She was a member of the Traverse Theatre Young Writers Programme, one of three winners of the Rose Theatre Kingston’s 2019 New Writing Festival, long-listed for the 2020 inaugural Women’s Prize for Playwriting, reached the top ten percent of submissions for the 2020 Verity Bargate Award at Soho Theatre, short-listed for the 2020 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award and reaching the top one percent of Hampstead Theatre’s 2021 Open Script Submissions process. Nurse currently works as New Work Assistant at the National Theatre, having previously held the role of Assistant Producer at both the Watermill Theatre, Newbury, and the Glasgow-based theatre company Wonder Fools.
THE FALL
By Drew Hewitt
Directed by Charlotte Peters
Friday 1 July 7:15pm
“It’s never the fall that kills you…It’s the landing.”
Whoever said that. Is wrong. It’s the fall.’ Janet and Liam are happily married until she stops stalking to him. And everybody else. To diagnose her loss of speech she begins seeing a psychiatrist who starts to probe at a secret buried in the depths of Janet’s psyche, the revelation of which has profound and lasting implications not just for her but the entire family. Drew Hewitt’s masterful play examines with wit, humour, and searing honesty the complex ideas surrounding free will, love and the painful truths of existence.
Drew Hewitt is a writer and visual artist. His playwriting credits include Another Greenland (longlisted for Bruntwood Prize, shortlisted for Papatango New Writing Award), Credo, A Smoking Revolver and Jumbo. His screenwriting credits include Hot Date, No Strings (Commissioned by ITV), Private Lives, If you See Kate, Swipe Right, The Man Who Was Thursday (adapted from the novel by G K Chesterton), The Scent of A Question Burning, White, Like Snow, The Mutt Hour. In 2015 he was invited to become an Open Session Writer at Bristol Old Vic Theatre.
TIKKUN OLAM
By Teunkie Van Der Sluijs
Directed by Michael Boyd
Saturday 2 July 7:15pm
In everything you do, you must seek the opportunity to repair the world. Steve Alexander is preparing to stand as a labour MP for the Westminster constituency. As part of his campaign, he is backing the building of a holocaust memorial near parliament square, to help the campaign gain traction. Steve and his campaign manager Dan invite social influencer Leah on board as a one woman focus group. As Dan, Steve and Leah try and persuade the divided community to back the memorial their own motivations are challenged as the political and personal ties between them are tested to the very limit. A powerful, funny, intelligent political drama, that looks at the stark contrast in views and voices in and around our capital, the ever-growing divisions between the generations, and the challenging task of mending and learning to ensure we do and are better.
“I stand here and try and make sense of all the voices and I can’t hear my own anymore.”
Teunkie Van Der Sluijsis a Dutch-British theatre-maker, working predominantly as a director in the UK and in Europe. He is Head of Artistic Development at the Young Vic, having been Creative Associate there since 2019. His translations and adaptations have been performed Off-Broadway and in a range of festivals, venues and tours in Britain and the Netherlands. Tikkun Olam is his first play. As a director, his work includes the trilogy Clybourne Park, Beneatha’s Place and A Raisin in The Sun (International Theatre Amsterdam for Well Made Productions) for which he received the 2017 Amsterdam Award for the Arts. He also directed the Netherlands premières of The Mountaintop (De Meervaart Theatre), Water Dragers (Het Zuidelijk Toneel), Lungs (Compagnie Theatre) and Motor Town (Rozen Theatre). In the UK, he has directed Hate (Barbican – was shortlisted for the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award), Yasser (Assembly Rooms Edinburgh, Arcola London, Chopin Theatre Chicago and Royal Theatre The Hague), Winter (Orange Tree Theatre), and Women Laughing (Old Red Lion, Off West End Award Nomination for Best Director). He was Resident Director for global entertainment company Imagine Nation on Anne: The Diaries of Anne Frank at Theatre Amsterdam, and previously worked at HOME Manchester, as Staff Director at the National Theatre and as Trainee Director at the Orange Tree Theatre.
ORIGINAL THEATRE
Operating and touring since 2004 the Original Theatre Company has toured extensively all over the UK and since 2020 have launched Original Theatre Online, producing a number of acclaimed online productions.
Recent online productions include Birdsong, Apollo 13: The Dark Side of the Moon, The Haunting of Alice Bowles, Barnes’ People, A Splinter of Ice with live streaming of Being Mr Wickham, A Cold Supper Behind Harrods, The System into the Night, and The Red.
Recent stage productions include The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Splinter of Ice, The Croft, Sarah Waters’ The Night Watch, Stephen Jeffreys’ Valued Friends (co-production with Rose Theatre Kingston), Torben Betts’ Caroline’s Kitchen (originally Monogamy), Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Frederick Knott’s Wait Until Dark, Torben Betts’ Invincible, Emlyn Williams’ Night Must Fall, Terence Rattigan’s Flare Path, and the award-winning tours of Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong adapted by Rachel Wagstaff.
Other productions include Three Men in a Boat (a co-production with the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, 2014 & 2015), the 50th anniversary production of Sir Peter Shaffer’s The Private Ear and The Public Eye, Our Country’s Good, See How They Run, Twelfth Night, Dancing at Lughnasa, Shakespeare’s R&J, Vincent in Brixton, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, and The Madness of George III – starring the late, great Simon Ward, Journey’s End.
For over 45 years, RIVERSIDE STUDIOS has been the home of an extraordinary mix of theatre, film, comedy, art, dance, music and television. A cultural hub that has attracted some of the world’s best creative talent including Samuel Beckett, David Bowie, Benjamin Zephaniah, Amy Winehouse, Yoko Ono, Allen Ginsberg, Tadeusz Kantor, Lenny Henry and Michael Clark to name but a few, and TV studios that brought us much loved shows including Doctor Who, Top of the Pops and TFI Friday from the past, through to Have I Got News for You and Eggheads today.
Now, after a total redevelopment of our site, we are beginning our next creative chapter, driven by a belief in the power of creativity to bring people together, unlock potential and spark positive change in the world. We are for our community, our artists, and our audiences. We will seek out bold, innovative new ways for audiences to experience the arts, and for artists to tell their stories. Riverside Studios. We’re brand new again.
North South is a production company specialising in stage to screen led by director / producers Matt Hargraves and Sarah Butcher. It makes creative performance capture and original work for live stream, on demand, broadcast and cinema. Its work lives in the intersection of film and live performance, finding opportunities to blend genre and push boundaries to translate stage to screen through a cinematic lens with atmosphere and authenticity.
Credits include: HYMN (Sky Arts), and breathe… and The Tragedy of Macbeth for Almeida Theatre, Constellations for Donmar Warehouse, Shedding a Skin for Soho Theatre, The Rocky Horror Show (European Live Cinema Broadcast – Trafalgar Releasing) for Trafalgar Entertainment, Out West for Lyric Hammersmith, The Bolds (YouTube) for Unicorn Theatre, Lost Paradise for Lost Dog and The Place. For Original Theatre North South filmed live and streamed Into the Night, Being Mr Wickham and A Cold Supper Behind Harrods.
