Jack Studio Theatre until 27 October

Mill Studio, Yvonne Arnaud 1 -3 November

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

5*****

Whether it’s Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Gary Oldman, Leslie Nielsen or the Sesame Street Count, everyone has a favourite version of Dracula. Bram Stoker’s novel is still ripe for adaptation, with the vampiric mix of seduction and repulsion irresistible to new audiences and creating a tourist boom for Transylvania. (Top travel tip: don’t bother going to Bran Castle if you’re Welsh – it’s like being on the tube during rush hour and makes Castell Coch feel authentic.) After creating magic with Frankenstein, the prospect of Arrows and Traps getting to sink their teeth into Dracula (sorry, I promise that’ll be the only one) was pretty damn exciting. And Ross McGregor hasn’t disappointed – everything about this production screams quality.

Francine Huin-Wah’s set, full of arches and trapdoors out of with vampires can slink, Ben Jacobs’ eerie lighting design and Alistair Lax’s sound design create a gothic and intense atmosphere that is guaranteed to make you a little jittery before anything spooky actual happens. Ross McGregor’s masterful adaptation keeps some of the epistolic style of the novel in the opening scenes, with wonderful comic timing from Beatrice Vincent, Conor Moss and Lucy Ioannou as Mina, Jonathan and Lucy establishing their relationships and character clearly and quickly.

From the moment he appears, you can’t take your eyes off Christopher Tester’s Dracula – magnetic and mesmerising, but with subtle hints of the underlying repulsiveness and pitiful need – Tester just nails it. McGregor cuts the number of men in Van Helsing’s unwilling gang of vampire hunters, and alters the dynamic of the story wonderfully, with the men – Jack (Alex Stevens), Arthur (Oliver Brassell) and Jonathan all becoming even more bumblingly stereotypically “English” than in the novel, while Van Helsing (Andrew Wickes) is a gentle old soul and Mina and Lucy strong women completely comfortable with who they are. McGregor’s masterstroke is casting the ever-brilliant Cornelia Baumann as Renfield – lurching from giggling, insect-gobbling coyness to full-on demonic possession with consummate ease, Baumann’s Renfield is complex and compelling. Baumann’s spellbinding performance ensures that the ease with which Dracula controlled her, and her finding the strength to deny him are completely believable, understandable and relatable.

McGregor’s direction keeps the story rolling, with the necessary exposition not dragging the pace. There are shocks aplenty, but a laugh follows quickly, which is just what you need in a spooky tale, and this is theatrical storytelling of the highest calibre.

Dracula is the perfect spinetingling treat for chilly autumn nights. Arrows and Traps have, once again, breathed wonderful new life into a classic with a production full of surprises, thrills and chills. Get a ticket while you can.

Action for Children’s Arts present Stuart and Kadie Kanneh-Mason with lifetime achievement award

 

On 11 October 2018, the charity Action for Children’s Arts (ACA) presented Stuart and Kadie Kanneh-Mason with the 2018 JM Barrie Award, recognising a lifetime’s achievement in children’s arts. ACA decided to honour Stuart and Kadie in recognition of all parents who selflessly dedicate themselves to their children’s artistic education; in this case Sheku Kanneh-Mason, ‘cellist at the Royal Wedding, and his six talented brothers and sisters.

The award was presented by Principal of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Julian Lloyd Webber, who talked about the importance of arts education and why he believes cuts to music in schools ‘do not make sense’. Of the Kanneh-Mason family he said, ‘They have defied the idea that playing music is something only posh kids do’.

ACA also presented an Outstanding Contribution Award to Sticky Fingers Arts, a ground-breaking early-years arts provider in Newry, Northern Ireland. Members’ Awards were given to Caroline Moore and Susie Hall, who deliver the inspiring arts programme at Great Ormond Street Hospital; and conductor Helen Smee, who also gave a rallying cry for saving the arts in schools.

Alongside this campaigning talk was an atmosphere of celebrating children, young people, and the artists who inspire them. The audience was treated to performances from the Kanneh-Mason family ensemble, as well as young ‘cellist Hannah McFarlane. The ceremony was compered with great skill by BAFTA Young Presenter 2016 Tianna Moore.

The awards were hosted by the Prince of Wales Theatre, a Delfont Mackintosh Theatre. ACA has been presenting the JM Barrie Award since its foundation twenty years ago. Previous winners include Michael Morpurgo OBE (2016), Dame Jacqueline Wilson (2015), Bernard Cribbins OBE (2014) and Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE (2012)

The Wider Earth opens at the Natural History
Museum and announces their support of
The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy
Playing until Sunday 30th December 2018

Tonight the award-winning Darwin drama The Wider Earth officially opens in the first performance theatre ever to be built at the Natural History Museum. To mark the occasion, the Australian High Commissioner will announce the official charitable partner of the show, The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy (QCC).

The QCC is a unique network of forest conservation initiatives that marks Her Majesty The Queen’s service to the Commonwealth and conserves indigenous forests across the globe. Through their voluntary commitment to this pan-Commonwealth initiative, the nations of the Commonwealth are acting together to address climate change and protect habitats and biodiversity for the future.

This fantastic initiative is a fitting partner for The Wider Earth which is the coming-of-age story about the rebellious young Darwin who, inspired by a love of the natural world, set out on the adventure of a lifetime on HMS Beagle to the far side of the world. From tiny Galápagos finches, to giant tortoises and a fossilised glyptodon, this beautifully intricate production uses remarkable puppetry to introduce the audience to the tropical wildlife Darwin encountered. The Wider Earth has found its perfect home at the Natural History Museum as both marvel at the world that surround us and seek to capture the curiosity of all who come through the doors.

QCC partner Cool Earth is an award-winning UK-based charity that works alongside indigenous villages to halt rainforest destruction. Project Coordinator Sophie Kisnorbo comments, The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy is honoured to have been chosen as The Wider Earth‘s official charitable partner. It is a real privilege to work with The Wider Earth to continue Darwin’s legacy.

LEGENDARY MUSICAL EXTRAVAGANZA

RETURNS FOR MAJOR 12 MONTH UK TOUR

DECEMBER 2018 – NOVEMBER 2019

 

STARRING

 

DUNCAN JAMES, JOANNE CLIFTON, BEN ADAMS & STEPHEN WEBB

 

Since it first opened in London in June 1973 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show has become the world’s favourite Rock ‘N’ Roll musical, having been performed worldwide for 45 years in more than 30 countries and translated into over 20 languages. This critically-acclaimed stunning new production is now back by public demand and returns for a 12 month UK tour starting at Theatre Royal Brighton on 13 December 2018 and landing in Manchester from 9-26 January 2019.

 

This classic musical extravaganza will star Blue singer and Hollyoaks actor Duncan James* and West End star Stephen Webb* as Frank, Strictly Come Dancing Champion Joanne Clifton* as Janet and a1’s Ben Adams* as Brad. Kristian Lavercombe will also be reprising his role as Riff Raff, following more than 1300 performances in The Rocky Horror Show around the world. Directed by Christopher Luscombe, the smash hit show features all of the famous musical numbers which have made The Rocky Horror Show such a huge hit for over four decades, including “Sweet Transvestite”, “Science Fiction/Double Feature”, “Dammit Janet” and, of course, the timeless floor-filler, “The Time-Warp”.

 

Duncan James said: “Frank is such an iconic role, it’s an honour to be able to play him and a role that I have always wanted to do. I’m so excited to be touring with such a fun and vibrant show, and to be working with this fantastic cast.”

 

Joanne Clifton said: “I’ve always loved Rocky Horror. I learnt the Time Warp in my dance classes in Grimsby when I was 4 years old … 30 years later and I’ll be jumping to the left on the actual Rocky Horror stage, I can’t quite believe it!”

Ben Adams added: “Performing in Rocky Horror is a dream come true – I love the show so much it inspired me to write my own musical Eugenius! Joanne and I make quite a team and I’m sure that the whole cast will be raising the roof night after night as we perform for all the amazingly devoted Rocky fans. Bring on the stilettos!”

 

Stephen Webb said: “What an incredible opportunity to bring such a bold, energetic show across the UK. Frank is a dream role! I’m so pleased to be a part of the Rocky team, and can’t wait to give it everything I’ve got.”

 

The Rocky Horror Show tells the story of Brad and his fiancée Janet, two squeaky clean college kids who meet Dr Frank’n’Furter by chance when their car breaks down outside his house whilst on their way to visit their favourite college professor. It’s an adventure they’ll never forget, with fun, frolics, frocks and frivolity, bursting with timeless songs and outrageous outfits.  The Rocky Horror Show is a guaranteed party, which famously combines science-fiction, horror, comedy and music while encouraging audience participation meaning, of course, getting dressed in the most outrageous fancy dress.

 

The Rocky Horror Show first began life in 1973 before an audience of just 63 people in the Royal Court’s Theatre Upstairs.  It was an immediate success and transferred to the Chelsea Classic Cinema, before going on to run at the Kings Road Theatre, 1973-79 and the Comedy Theatre in the West End, 1979-80.  In 1975 it was transformed into a film called ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’. This film adaptation took over $135 million at the Box Office and is still shown in cinemas around the world more than 40 years after its premiere, making it the longest running theatrical release in cinema history. Many stars including Russell Crowe, Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Jerry Springer, Jason Donovan and Meatloaf have appeared in The Rocky Horror Show over the past 45 years.

 

In 2015, as part of a sold-out season at London’s Playhouse Theatre, a special star-studded Gala charity performance in aid of Amnesty International was broadcast to over 600 cinemas across the UK and Europe. The live screening – featuring a host of celebrities playing The Narrator including Stephen Fry, Mel Giedroyc, Emma Bunton, Ade Edmondson, Anthony Head and Richard O’Brien – smashed box office records and was the biggest grossing film in cinemas across the UK.  The performance was subsequently screened on the Sky Arts channel.

 

Ready to thrill you with fun and naughty moments, The Rocky Horror Show is the boldest bash of them all. But be warned, this show has rude parts!

 

What the press have said about The Rocky Horror Show:

 

“Panto for grown-ups – colourful, in your face, relentlessly energetic and high on audience participation” – The Times

 

“Hard to think of another musical quite as unique as this. Christopher Luscombe’s affectionate production feels like a genuine blast from the past” – Mail on Sunday

 

“As delightfully naughty as ever!” – Daily Telegraph

 

“So fast, so funny, so sexy” – Daily Mail

 

“Still the sexiest and funniest show in town” – Evening Standard

Duncan James performs at Oxford, Southampton, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Stoke-On-Trent, Blackpool, Glasgow, Leeds, Nottingham, Edinburgh

Stephen Webb performs at Brighton, Manchester, Sunderland, Milton Keynes, Wimbledon, Sheffield, Torquay, Woking, Belfast, Bromley, York, Dartford

Joanne Clifton performs until 25 May

Ben Adams performs until 25 May

Further cast includes:

Columbia – Miracle Chance

Eddie/Dr Scott – Ross Chisari

Rocky – Callum Evans

Magenta/Usherette – Laura Harrison

Phantom – Reece Budin

Phantom – Shelby Farmer

Phantom – Katie Monks

Phantom – Jake Small

Swing & Resident Choreographer – Andrew Ahern

Swing & Dance Captain – Maddie Hope Coelho

 

Website: www.rockyhorror.co.uk

Twitter: @rockyhorroruk

Facebook: /rockyhorrorshow

 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

 

Wednesday 9^th January – Saturday 26^th January 2019
Opera House, Manchester – www.atgtickets.com/Manchester

CHARLIE STEMP AND DANIELLE HOPE

TO PLAY THE PRINCE AND SNOW WHITE IN

S N O W   W H I T E   AT   T H E   L O N D O N   P A L L A D I U M

 

Qdos Entertainment today (12 October 2018) announced that Charlie Stemp will return to the London Palladium to play The Prince in this year’s Pantomime, Snow White at the London Palladium along with Danielle Hope who will play the title role of Snow White.  They join the previously announced Dawn French as The Wicked Queen, Julian Clary as The Man in The Mirror,Paul Zerdin as Muddles, Nigel Havers as The Understudy, Gary Wilmot as Mrs Crumble with Vincent and Flavia as The King and The Queen for this strictly limited 5 week run.

They are joined by Josh Bennett, Simeon Dyer, Craig Garner, Ben Goffe, Jamie John, Blake Lisle and Andrew Martin as The Magnificent Seven and ensemble members Faye Best, Myles Brown, Darragh Cowley, Ivan De Freitas, Scott English, Liz Ewing, Ross Finnie, Diana Girbau, Matt Holland, Abigayle Honeywill, Stevie Hutchinson, Jemima Loddy, Megan Louch, Mollie McGugan, James Paterson, Leanne Pinder, Oliver Roll, Jordan Rose, Aaron J Smith, Lucie-Mae Sumner, Carrie Sutton, Grant Thresh and Charlotte Wilmot along withThe Palladium Pantoloons.

Performances of Snow White at the London Palladium begin on Saturday 8 December 2018 with Gala Night on 12 December with the run concluding on Sunday 13 January 2019.

Produced by the Olivier Award-winning team behind last year’s Dick Whittington, Snow White at the London Palladium will again be directed by Michael Harrison, with choreography by Karen Bruce, scenery designed by Ian Westbrook, costumes designed by Hugh Durrant, speciality costumes designed by Mike Coltman, visual special effects by The Twins FX, lighting by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Gareth Owen, video and projection design by Duncan McLean, and original music by Gary Hind.

Award-winning Charlie Stemp most recently played Barnaby Tucker opposite Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters in the Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! and has recently been announced to play Bert in Cameron Mackintosh’s forthcoming West End production of Mary Poppins.  He previously played the title role in last year’s Palladium pantomime Dick Whittington, following his critically acclaimed performance as Arthur Kipps in Half a Sixpence at the Nöel Coward Theatre, a role he first performed at Chichester Festival Theatre.  His further theatre credits include Wicked at the Apollo Victoria and the international tour of Mamma Mia!

 

Danielle Hope is best known for having won BBC 1’s Over the Rainbow, which lead to her professional theatre debut in the lead role of Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of The Wizard Of Oz at the London Palladium. Since then, she has starred as Éponine in the West End production of Les Misérables, as Maria in the UK tour of The Sound of Music, as Sandy in the recent UK tour Grease and is currently playing Sherrie in the UK tour of Rock of Ages.

Actor, writer and comedian Dawn French, who is making her pantomime debut as The Wicked Queen, is an original member of The Comic Strip and one half of the comedy duo French and Saunders.   She was last on the West End stage in October 2016 in her critically acclaimed one woman show 30 Million Minutes at the Vaudeville Theatre.  Her previous stage credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, An Evening with French and Saunders, French and Saunders Live, French and Saunders Still Alive, Le Fille du Regiment, Side by Side by Sondheim, Silly Cow, When I was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout and Smaller.  Her extensive television credits include Delicious, Little Big Shots, The Wrong Mans, Roger and Val Have Just Got In, Girls on Top, Jam and Jerusalem, Lark Rise to Candleford, Let Them Eat Cake and the multi award-winning BBC comedy The Vicar of Dibley.  Her film credits include Coraline, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Maybe Baby and Milk.  Her best-selling books include Dear Fatty, A Tiny Bit Marvellous, Oh Dear Silvia, According To Yes and Me. You. A Diary.

 

Julian Clary returns to the London Palladium for the third year following his triumphant successes as The Spirit of the Bells in Dick Whittington and Dandini in Cinderella.  His television debut came in 1989 with ITV quiz show Trick or Treat and Channel 4’s Sticky Moments.  Clary is a best-selling author, a regular panelist on BBC Radio 4’s Just a Minute and in 2016 toured with his one man show The Joy of Mincing and in 2017 was seen in Le Grand Mort at the Trafalgar Studios.

Ventriloquist Paul Zerdin took the US by storm when he won America’s Got Talent, which was swiftly followed by his own residency at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.  In the UK, Zerdin has appeared on The Royal Variety Performance, was seen on Michael McIntyre’s Big Christmas Show and has previously appeared at the Palladium as Idle Jack in Dick Whittington and as Buttons in Cinderella.

 

Nigel Havers’ film credits include Chariots of Fire, Passage to India and Empire of The Sun. His many television credits include Coronation Street, Downton Abbey, The Life of Rock and Benidormand his numerous West End appearances include Art, The Importance of Being Earnest touring productions of Rebecca, Single Spies and Basket Case.  Havers played Captain Nigel in Dick Whittington and Lord Chamberlain in Cinderella, both at the London Palladium.

 

Gary Wilmot’s multiple theatre credits include last year’s Palladium pantomime Dick Whittington,The Wind in the Willows also at the London Palladium, Big The Musical for the Theatre Royal Plymouth, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy Theatre and on UK tour, The Pajama Game at the Shaftesbury Theatre, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, Copacabana at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Carmen Jones at the Old Vic, Pirates of Penzance for Regent’s Park Theatre and Me and My Girl at the Aldephi Theatre.

 

Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace-Mistry are one of the country’s most successful Ballroom, Latin American and Argentine Tango performers and choreographers.  After competing successfully together for many years, they gained a strong following after joining BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2005.  Since leaving the show, they have starred in and co-choreographed productions including Midnight Tango, Dance ’til Dawn and The Last Tango.

 

Snow White at the London Palladium is produced by Nick Thomas and Michael Harrison for Qdos Entertainment. Nick Thomas is the founder and Chairman of Qdos Entertainment Group, one of the largest entertainment companies in Europe. Qdos Entertainment has produced 719 pantomimes over the past three decades, and is the UK’s second largest regional theatre and concert hall operator.  Michael Harrison has previously produced over 100 pantomimes for Qdos Entertainment where he is also Managing Director.  As a producer in the West End his credits include Gypsy, The Bodyguard, Annie and Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Theatre:                  London Palladium, Argyll St, London W1F 7TF

Dates:                    8 December 2018 – 13 January 2019, Gala Night 12 December 2017 at 7.30pm

Box Office:               020 7087 7747 (no booking fee)

Performances:           see website for performance schedule

Website:                 SnowWhitePalladium.com

Twitter:                   SnowWhiteLDN

Facebook:               Facebook.com/SnowWhiteLDN

The Lowry, Salford – until Saturday 13th October 2018

Reviewed by Julie Noller

4**** 

Placebo sees a welcome return to The Lowry for Clod Ensemble the cutting boundaries entertainment group led by director Suzy Willson and musically by Paul Clark. Together for over two decades they have developed shows that for most is a somewhat unusual approach to showcase works of art, questioning your body and soul.

Placebo for that very same reason intrigued me from the outset. How could we view dance and music in a scientific way, surely it can’t be defined so logically? Would I at the end of sixty minutes be looking inwards to myself any differently? Would I feel encouraged to open my senses, my mind to possibilities away from the so called normal parameters. So before I took my seat in the auditorium and looked upon a stark simple black stage with what appeared to be an awful lot of low level lighting. I had the discussions of what is a placebo? Many think it is a pill, simply will the blue or red pill make me feel better? A placebo as my teenager quite rightly specified is something which may make us feel better but may not have any proven medical benefits or proof. When I think of illness and placebos, firstly to mind is diseases such as cancer. This week sees World Mental Health week encourage us to speak out, not only that but in Manchester it is science week celebrating all those accomplishments and more. How do placebos affect our mental state of mind?

Clod Ensemble chose this ambitious theme to force us to ask the question of what is fake and what is real. Are any of us really qualified to answer that? Seven dancers invited us into their space, running a series of experiments. I went with expectation and curiosity of just how would dance combined with music affect my every day thought process. This is quite possibly where my review becomes disjointed and perhaps confused. At times I fully believed what I was watching, smiled and perhaps felt smug. I had an understanding and then seconds later I was lost had no idea if what I had seen or perceived to see was in fact what I was supposed to see. To step away from the science and those experiments for just one moment. We need to dissect the performance, there is no doubt that behind the scenes an incredible amount of research has been done to put together a fast paced somewhat amazingly relaxed show. The dancers themselves are uber talented and so very different each having skills that often left me open mouth in their sheer brilliance, how arm movements can look like strobe lighting, how shoulders can seem dislocated, bodies contorted as if in pain and suffering. Costumes that highlight differences in each and every one of us, how we all have suffered from the sheep effect of just following along with the pack and at times if we dare to break out, then we are shunned and left out in the wilderness. But it made me watch on in horror was this the human rat race? Who said we have to constantly join in? Burn out before our time? Take that break, accept the help; it’s okay to try.

We see the same dancers at times run through the same routine, each time the help failed and then on the fourth try, success and our dancer who writhed in pain manages to walk away; pain free. This may not be a show for everyone, but I’m curious to know if people with chronic illnesses see themselves throughout and perhaps feel drawn to elements of those experiments. Towards the end we are greeted by Marilyn Monroe, dressed to kill in tight pink dress, killer heels, a true blonde bombshell. She is smoking a cigarette. An act today that is rare to see, medically we now know cigarettes to be so bad for our health but at one time and not so long ago it was actively encouraged. It is an extremely clever choice of true life, to highlight the real or fake scenarios. How those masks come in all shapes and sizes, how we hide away, put on a façade, show the world outwardly what we perceive they want us to show. Marilyn no longer vulnerable but sexy and smart, sassy even. We all know years after the event that underneath her mask Marilyn was still vulnerable. Colours and sequins are used again with tremendous effect to highlight differences, you can’t see inside a head but dance is a great way for someone to express what they see or feel. Medical help may at times be refused, fail even. Dance and music are never thought of in terms of placebos or help, but they have such power to make even the saddest individual, feel or even smile.

I’m still after a nights sleep, working through my thoughts of what I witnessed on stage. Anything that questions the mind is surely a good thing! I encourage you to go and watch a highly energetic performance and then come away questioning those around you or noticing those around you, which for some will be a first. I only wish I had an ounce of the talent of those seven dancers, Brian Callet, Chihiro Kawasaki, Elisabeth Schilling, Nathan Goodman, Omar Gordon, Valarie Ebuwa and Yen-Ching Lin.

LAURA LINNEY TO RETURN FOR 26 PERFORMANCES ONLY IN

RONA MUNRO’S STAGE VERSION OF ELIZABETH STROUT’S

M Y   N A M E   I S   L U C Y   B A R T O N

JOANNE FROGGATT TO LEAD CAST

LUCINDA COXON’S NEW PLAY BASED ON HARRIET LANE’S NOVEL

A L Y S,  A L W A Y S

NICHOLAS HYTNER TO DIRECT AN IMMERSIVE PRODUCTION OF

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S

A   M I D S U M M E R   N I G H T ’ S   D R E A M

 

 

LAURA LINNEY RETURNS FOR 26 PERFORMANCES ONLY IN

M Y  N A M E   I S   L U C Y   B A R T O N

After a sell-out run in June this year in which Laura Linney made her London Theatre debut, she will return to the Bridge to reprise the title role in Richard Eyre’s production of My Name is Lucy Barton.  Running from 23 January –16 February 2019 for a strictly limited 26 performances, this haunting dramatic monologue is adapted by Rona Munro from Pulitzer Prize-winning Elizabeth Strout’s 2016 New York Times best-selling short novel of the same name.  Evening performances are Monday to Saturday at 7.45pm with Saturday matinees at 2.30pm.  Tickets for My Name is Lucy Barton will go on sale for Priority Members today at 10am, for Advance Members on Thursday 18 October 2018 at 10am with tickets released for public sale on Friday 19 October 2018 at 10am.

Unsteady after an operation, Lucy Barton wakes to find her mother sitting at the foot of her bed. She hasn’t seen her in years, and her visit brings back to Lucy her desperate rural childhood, and her escape to New York. As she begins to find herself as a writer, she is still gripped by the urgent complexities of family life.

 

Laura Linney and Richard Eyre have worked together twice before – on stage Eyre directed Linney in a Broadway production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and on screen he directed her in his and Charles Wood’s adaptation of Bernhard Schlink’s The Other Man.

 

On Broadway, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning Laura Linney made her debut in Six Degrees of Separation and subsequently played Nina in The Seagull, Thea Elvsted in Hedda Gabler, Yelena Andreyevna in Uncle Vanya, Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible, La Marquise de Merteuil in Les Liaisons Dangereuses and most recently alternated the roles of Regina Hubbard Giddens and Birdie Hubbard in The Little Foxes for the Manhattan Theatre Club. On film, she made her screen debut in Lorenzo’s Oil and was most recently seen in The Dinner. Her extensive film credits also include The Truman Show, Kinsey, Sully, Primal Fear, Hyde Park on Hudson, You Can Count on Me and Mystic River.  Her many small screen credits include Tales of the City, The Big C, which she also produced, Frasier and most recently Ozark for Netflix.

 

Elizabeth Strout’s debut novel was Amy and Isabelle which was subsequently adapted into a film for HBO.  Her further writing credits are Abide with Me, Olive Kitteridge, which was adapted into an Emmy award-winning mini-series also for HBO, The Burgess Boys, My Name is Lucy Barton and Anything is Possible.

Rona Munro has written extensively for stage, radio, film and television including the award-winning trilogy The James Plays for the National Theatre of Scotland, the National Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival. Her other theatre writing credits include Scuttlers for the Royal Exchange Theatre, Iron and The Last Witch for the Edinburgh International Festival and Little Eagles for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Richard Eyre is a multi award-winning theatre, film, opera and television Director.  Eyre was Director of the National Theatre from 1988-1997 and alongside his numerous theatrical awards he is also the recipient of the Companion of Honour.

JOANNE FROGGATT AND ROBERT GLENISTER IN NICHOLAS HYTNER’S PRODUCTION OF LUCINDA COXON’S NEW PLAY

ALYS, ALWAYS

Joanne Froggatt plays the central role, Frances, in the premiere of Lucinda Coxon’s Alys, Always based on the novel by Harriet Lane.  The production, with a cast also featuring Robert Glenister, is directed by Nicholas Hytner and will begin previews at the Bridge on 25 February with opening night on 5 March and performances until 30 March 2019.  Evening performances are Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm with weekday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm (check website for details).  Further casting for Alys, Always will be announced at a later date.   Tickets for Alys, Always will go on sale for Priority Members today at 10am, for Advance Members on Thursday 18 October 2018 at 10am with tickets released for public sale on Friday 19 October 2018 at 10am.

Frances works on the books pages of a Sunday newspaper. She’s quiet and capable, but nobody takes much notice: her face is pressed to the window, on the outside, looking in.   One evening, driving back to London after visiting her infuriating parents, she comes across an upturned car crumpled on the side of the road. She waits with the injured driver, Alys Kyte, until the ambulance arrives. Later, when Alys’s famous family gets in touch, Frances finds herself for the first time ushered into the world on the other side of the window. And she begins to wonder: what would it take to become a player?   A gripping psychological thriller that excavates the fault line that separates the entitled from the unentitled.

 

Joanne Froggatt will play Frances. On television she played Anna Smith in all six seasons of Downton Abbey for which she was the recipient of a Golden Globe award as well as three Emmy nominations.  She is currently filming the feature film of the same period drama.  Last year she was seen in Sundance TV and ITV’s Liar which has now been commissioned for a second series.  Her previous theatre credits include The Knowledge and Little Platoons at the Bush Theatre, All About My Mother at the Old Vic, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Manchester Royal Exchange, Playhouse Creatures at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and Be My Baby for Soho Theatre.  On film Froggatt recently played alongside Ed Harris and Rich Sommer in the independent feature A Crooked Somebody.  Her other film credits include Mary Shelley, One Last Thing, Starfish, A Street Cat Named Bob and Filth.  For her film debut in In Our Name she won Best Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards.

 

Robert Glenister can soon be seen in the forthcoming Moonlight and Night School as part of Jamie Lloyd’s Pinter at the Pinter season.  His many other theatre credits include Glengarry Glen Ross at the Playhouse Theatre, Great Britain and Blue Remembered Hills for the National Theatre, Noises Off at the Old Vic and Novello, The Late Middle Classes for the Donmar Warehouse, Hedda Gabler for the Theatre Royal, Bath, The Winterling for the Royal Court and Measure for Measure, The Spanish Tragedy and Little Eyolf for the Royal Shakespeare Company.  His many television credits include Curfew, Paranoid, The Musketeers, Cold Feet, Close to the Enemy, Vera, The Great Train Robbery,  The Café, We’ll Take Manhattan, Hustle and Spooks. Glenister’s film credits include The Aeronauts, Journey’s End, Live by Night, Cryptic, Creation, Laissez Passer, The Visitors, All Forgotten, Secret Rapture and Quadrophenia.

Lucinda Coxon’s previous theatre writing credits include 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 screen writing 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 recently released The Little Stranger starring Domnhall Gleeson and Ruth Wilson.

Alys, Always was Harriet Lane’s debut novel, published in 2012, and was followed in 2014 with Her.Previously Lane wrote for the Guardian and the Observer as well as Vogue and Tatler.

 

Nicholas Hytner co-founded the London Theatre Company with Nick Starr.  He was Director of the National Theatre from 2003 to 2015, where the productions he directed included The History Boys, Hamlet, One Man, Two Guvnors, and Othello. His films include The Madness of George III, The Lady in the Van and The History Boys.  His book Balancing Acts was published by Jonathan Cape last year.  For the Bridge, Hytner has directed Young Marx, Julius Caesar and Allelujah!

 

NICHOLAS HYTNER TO DIRECT AN IMMERSIVE PRODUCTION OF SHAKESPEARE’S COMEDY

A   M I D S U M M E R   N I G H T ’ S   D R E A M

Nicholas Hytner will direct an immersive production of William Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream running at the Bridge from 3 June – 31 August 2019 with opening night on 11 June 2019.  Evening performances are Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm with weekday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm (check website for details).  Tickets for A Midsummer Night’s Dream will go on sale for Priority Members today at 10am, for Advance Members on Thursday 18 October 2018 at 10am with tickets released for public sale on Friday 19 October 2018 at 10am.

Reuniting the creative team who previously presented Julius Caesar at the Bridge earlier this year, A Midsummer Night’s Dream will have designs by Bunny Christie, costumes by Christina Cunningham, lighting by Bruno Poet and sound by Paul Arditti.  Music will be by Grant Olding.

Shakespeare’s great comedy plunges its audience into the heart of an enchanted forest, a place of change and infinite possibility. In the Bridge’s immersive production, you sit close up to the action, or follow it on foot into a dream world of feuding fairies and uncontrollable desire. 

 

With seating wrapped around the action, there will also be several hundred immersive tickets at £25 available in advance for each performance with a special allocation of £15 immersive tickets held for Young Bridge, a free scheme for those under 26.

Having previously directed William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Hamlet, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, Henry V, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Timon of Athens, Twelfth Night and The Winter’s Tale, Nicholas Hytner will now direct his first production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Address:                                   Bridge Theatre, 3 Potters Fields Park, London, SE1 2SG

Box Office:                               0333 320 0051 or [email protected]

Tickets are priced from £15 to £69.50 with a limited number of premium seats available.

A special allocation of £15 tickets are held for Young Bridge, a free scheme for those under 26.

Access:                                    0333 320 0051 or [email protected]

Website:                                   www.bridgetheatre.co.uk

Twitter:                                    @_bridgetheatre

Instagram:                               _bridgetheatre

Facebook:                                facebook.com/bridgetheatrelondon

York Theatre Royal – until 13 September 2018

Reviewed by Marcus Richardson

5*****

‘The Don’t Pay, We Wont Pay’ is a political farce by Dario Fo that has made its way from being originally in Italian to being performed on stage at York Theatre Royal. The play focuses on two couples who can barely afford to eat and pay their bills, due to rising prices. As a riot is happening one day at an Aldi the main character Anthea takes advantage of this to get some free food, with her friend Maggie she tries to hide the food from theirs husbands and one lie leads to another with each getting more and more ridiculous.

Lisa Howard Plays the character of Anthea, this was one of the funniest characters on stage, her skill to creating comedy the both felt natural which meant her excuses just became even more hilarious. Steve Huison plays Jack, Anthea’s husband who works in a factory and is a proud leftie, somehow believing all of Anthea’s lies.  Huison finds the serious political issues and in a way tell the audience off whilst also making them laugh, this really captures what Fo wanted from his plays. The other couple played by Suzanna Ahmet and Matt Conner are younger than the other two, Ahmet plays the character of Maggie who will go with any play Anthea makes up, Ahmet creates this confused and nervous character onstage that has no idea what happening this is both hilarious as she is the focus around Anthea’s plans. Conner plays Maggie’s husband, Both funny and doesn’t get to see his wife until after the interval. Michael Hugo takes in 4 roles in this show from being a Constable, Sargent, Undertaker and Jacks father, a man of many characters and many laughs. The show gave Hugo moments to play with the scenes and playing different characters, especially with both the police men, with the only difference between them being a moustache and accent, warning moustaches can fall off.

The play is both absurd and incredibly relevant to today’s political issues, thanks to Deborah McAndrew who has tailored the play to a post-vote Brexit. This created tongue in cheek comedy that made some people laugh and definitely made some people gasp. What the play does is make you think whilst also being very entertaining, the show will be at the York Theatre Royal until the 13th. I would push anyone to see this hilarious show that is refreshing and lighthearted whilst also being relevant and political.

Joe McElderry, Neil McDermott, Kate Robbins, Emily Tierney and Amelle Berrabah
announced to star in the world premiere of new 80’s musical

C L U B    T R O P I C A N A

Launching at Churchill Theatre Bromley on 24 January 2019

Star casting is announced today for the world premiere of Club Tropicana The Musical by Michael Gyngell, a summer adventure of love in the sun, with a soundtrack of smash-hit pop classics all performed live on stage. It takes a fun-packed trip back in time to the electric 80’s when hair was big, shoulders were padded, girls (and boys) just wanted to have fun and mobile phones were shaped like bricks and weighed a tonne!

Welcome to the vibrant Club Tropicana Hotel – the 1980s answer to Love Island – where the drinks are free and the whole family is invited to join the ultimate holiday musical.

When a budding bride and groom get cold feet, they each decide to jet off to sunnier climes and feel the heat – but little do they know they’ve checked into the same hotel…The sizzling summer season at the Club Tropicana sees drinks flowing and tans glowing. Will our young lovers decide to go through with the wedding? Will the hotel inspectors (finally) get their way and close the resort, or will the staff save the day? All will be revealed in hilarious style, to an irresistible soundtrack of some of the most iconic, chart-topping acts from the 80s, including ABC, Cyndi Lauper, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, a-ha, Culture Club, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, Bucks Fizz and Depeche Mode: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Take On Me, Just Can’t Get Enough, Oops Upside Your Head, The Look of Love, Making Your Mind Up, Relax, Islands on the Stream, She Drives Me Crazy, Don’t Go, La Dolce Vita, Surprise, Surprise, Church of the Poison Mind, Fantasy Island, Up Where We Belong, I Could Be So Good for You, Fantastic Day and many more!

The cast is headed by Joe McElderry (X Factor winner and star of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Neil McDermott (Ryan Malloy in EastEnders, Eugenius!, The Wind in the Willows, Shrek), Kate Robbins (Spitting Image, ITV’s The Imitation Game, Dinnerladies), Emily Tierney (Eugenius! , Wicked, The Wizard of Oz); and former Sugababe star Amelle Berrabah making her musical theatre debut.

It is completed by Karina Hind, Calvin Hudson, Cellen Chugg Jones, Megan Louch, Rebecca Mendoza, Alexanda O’Reilly, Joshua Pearson, Rory Phelan, Nye Rees, Camilla Rowland, Christina Shand, Courtney-Brogan Smalley, Tara Verloop, Kane Verrall.

INCOMING FESTIVAL – UK’S TOP FESTIVAL FOR EMERGING THEATRE COMPANIES HEADS TO BRISTOL FOR THE FIRST TIME

 

·         London & Manchester 24 – 30 June 2019, Bristol: 26 – 30 June 2019

·         All tickets just £5

 

New Diorama Theatre and A Younger Theatre are today delighted to announce that in 2019, Incoming Festival will take place at the Tobacco Factory Theatre in Bristol, as well as HOME in Manchester and New Diorama in London

 

Following five brilliant years at New Diorama in London, and a successful debut in Manchester in 2018, in 2019 Incoming Festival will take over the new studio theatre at the Tobacco Factory for five days in June.

 

Incoming Festival is a celebration of the best emerging theatre companies from the UK and beyond, and invites audiences to try something new for just a fiver. In previous years, the festival has featured companies including Bristol’s own Bucket Club and The Wardrobe Ensemble, Kill the Beast, Breach Theatre, The Pretend Men, Sleeping Trees, Footprint Theatre, Lost Watch, Silent Uproar and Kandinsky.

 

This year, in a radical shake-up of our programming model, we invited Lyn Gardner, Fergus Morgan (The Stage), the editorial team of Exeunt magazine and Critics of Colour to select the shows they would like to programme as part of the festival. The remaining slots will be programmed by co-directors David Byrne, Jake Orr and Eleanor Turney, and from the National Student Drama Festival. We will be announcing the full festival line-up in November, and tickets will go on sale in 2019.

 

New Diorama Theatre Artistic & Executive Director, David Byrne, says: “Incoming Festival is one of the very best things we do at New Diorama. It’s great we’re able to extend the festival’s reach even further to HOME and, now, Tobacco Factory, two of the very best theatres in the country.”

 

Incoming Festival co-director Jake Orr says “We’re thrilled to be bringing Incoming Festival to Bristol in 2019 and to be hosting it at the brand new Spielman Theatre at Tobacco Factory Theatres. It gives companies a third city to present their work and as Bristol has long been a thriving hub for emerging theatre companies, it feels the natural step for us to bring the best emerging companies from across the UK to the city in the festival’s sixth year.”