SPECIAL GUEST STAR

ALFIE BOE

TO JOIN

LUCIE JONES

LIVE AT CADOGAN HALL

ON SUNDAY 12 MAY 2024

FOURTH WALL LIVE and WestWay Music are delighted to announce that global singing sensation, Alfie Boe, will join Lucie Jones as a special guest star at her solo concert, live at Cadogan Hall on Sunday 12 May 2024. Tickets are on sale now at www.fw-live.com and www.cadoganhall.com

Speaking on next week’s event, Lucie said “This show will be a collection of songs from roles I’ve played, roles I’d love to play, bands and artists I adore and songs I’ve always wanted to sing. The band is awesome. My guests will blow everyone’s MINDS. I am so excited for these shows!”

Multi-platinum selling recording artist, ALFIE BOE OBE is one of the most powerful and prestigious UK born and bred voices, with almost 3 decades of a whirlwind career under his belt. The Grammy nominated star has won a Tony Award, multiple Classical Brit Awards and a Silver Clef Award.

Alfie’s recording career has acquired him eleven top 10 albums including two number 1’s alongside numerous sold-out headline tours in the UK as a solo artist and as part of his duo act with Michael Ball ‘Ball and Boe’. He also sold out a US tour with Classic Quadrophenia alongside Pete Townsend, Vegas with his solo Showstoppers debut and Lights On Broadway that he headlined in Japan.

Alfie has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the balcony at Buckingham Palace, The Horse Guards Parade for VE Day 70, multiple shows at The Royal Albert Hall, Opera Houses around the world, West End and Broadway theatre stages and many more. Alfie also released the official Platinum Jubilee National Anthem as a duet with Sarah Brightman.

Alfie landed his first Broadway role in La Bohème, for which he won a Tony award. His Broadway and West End credits since include lead roles in Finding Neverland on Broadway, The Mikado, Carousel and Jean Val Jean in Les Miserables. He has played Jean Val Jean in the West End and Broadway as well as celebrating the show’s 25th Anniversary at London’s O2 Arena and most recently, The All-Stars Concert version of the show alongside Michael Ball and Matt Lucas. In the classical world, Alfie has performed in La Traviata, as Tamino in The Magic Flute, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutti.

In 2016 he partnered with Michael Ball to form the duo ‘Ball and Boe’. The pair released the number 1, double platinum album Together, followed by an equally successful release of Together Again. They have since had another 3 chart topping records and continue to sell out Arena tours across the UK.

In 2023, Alfie released his most recent solo album Open Arms, The Symphonic Songbook. He also sold out a headline solo tour in the UK and released a Sunday Times Bestselling Memoir book, Face The Music. This followed his appearance in BBC1’s Freeze The Fear with Whim Hoff. Alfie is set to go back on the road in May this year for his Encore tour.

LUCIE JONES first came to prominence when she reached the finals of ITV’s The X Factor in 2009. Quickly winning the hearts of the nation, she became a household name to the millions of viewers who supported her and watched her perform week after week. Lucie performed in the sell-out X Factor Arena Tour in 2010 before joining the West End cast of Les Miserables, playing the role of Cosette. Since then, Lucie has performed all over the world as a solo artist and in many musical theatre productions to great success. Other musical theatre credits include: Meatloaf in We Will Rock You (World Arena tour), Victoria in American Psycho the Musical (Almeida Theatre), Holly in The Wedding Singer (UK tour), Martha in Treason (Cadogan Hall), Christmas Past & Future in A Christmas Carol (Dominion Theatre), Heidi in Title of Show London, Molly in Ghost the Musical, Fantine in Les Miserables (Queen’s Theatre), Jenna Hunterson in Waitress (Adelphi Theatre & UK tour), Maureen in Rent (UK tour), Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (Curve & UK tour) and Elphaba in Wicked (Apollo Victoria Theatre). In 2023, Lucie completed a UK tour with the 50 piece Fulltone Orchestra. She most recently returned to the West End cast of Les Miserables, where she played Fantine at the Sondheim Theatre and Jenna Rink in workshops for 13 Going on 30: The Musical at Battersea Arts Centre.

In 2017, Lucie represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in Ukraine, and subsequently released her first solo single and music video for her song ‘Never Give Up on You’. Lucie performed this track at the live final to a worldwide audience of over 300 million viewers, garnering the best result for the UK in many years.

In 2020, Lucie performed a live solo concert to a sell-out audience at London’s Adelphi Theatre, accompanied by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra. The concert was recorded for a self-titled live album released in 2020. Lucie toured in late 2021 with her live band concluding in another sell-out house at His Majesty’s Theatre, London.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Sunday 12 May

Cadogan Hall

5 Sloane Terrace

London 

SW1X 9DQ

Performance: 2.30pm & 6.30pm

Tickets: From £16

Box Office: 020 7730 4500

Website: www.fw-live.com and www.cadoganhall.com

Instagram: @luciejones1

X:  @luciejones1
Tiktok: @thatluciejones

Phil McIntyre Live and IN9 Theatre Company Proudly Present

THE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF

LIMITED 12 WEEK WEST END SEASON

FROM 18 JANUARY 2025 AT WYNDHAM’S THEATRE

TICKETS ON SALE 19:00 WEDNESDAY 8 MAY FROM INSIDENO9ONSTAGE.COM

The theatrical world premiere of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith’s award-winning television comedy Inside No.9 will open in London’s West End at Wyndham’s Theatre on 18 January with a newly written story – Inside No.9 Stage/Fright. This show will feature comedic, spooky and dramatic moments as fans of the TV show have come to expect, with some familiar characters and stories mixing with brand new material. Pemberton and Shearsmith will be performing in the production, with further casting to be announced. Tickets for the 12 week limited season will go on sale at 19:00 on Wednesday 8 May from Insideno9onstage.com. The highly anticipated ninth, and final, season of the critically acclaimed series begins on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on 8 May.

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith explain all about the stage show here:

“We’ve been asked about doing a live show ever since the series first started on the BBC, probably because each episode is like a mini-play. There are small casts and single locations, and we were definitely inspired by our work in theatre when writing the stories for TV.

We are currently writing the script even as it goes on sale, but we are certain there will be plenty of new material and surprises for fans and new-comers alike. There’ll be something old, something new, something butchered and something… BOO! We want to use the different things a theatre show can offer in terms of comedy – a collective audience behaves very differently to a solitary one, the laughter builds and the shared enjoyment is infectious. So there’ll definitely be some big comic moments, but also something a bit spooky and more dramatic. We have created IN9 Theatre Company with the intention that there could be more stage adaptations in the future.

Inside No.9 viewers go into each episode not knowing what to expect and we want this to be the same for the theatre show, with the ability for each audience to experience the performance for the first time and go on that theatrical journey with us. On TV we have done everything from knockabout farce to psychological drama to full on horror. We’ve chosen the subtitle Stage/Fright, which does suggest something theatrical and something unsettling. But to say any more would spoil the surprises and we would never do that. We want to deliver the perfect West End night at the theatre… we might even crack out a song if you’re lucky!”

LISTINGS INFORMATION:

Inside No.9 Stage/Fright

Wyndham’s Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0DA

Previews begin: 18 January

Final Performance: 5 April

Evening performances: 7:30pm Monday – Saturday

Matinee performances: 2:30pm Thursday and Saturday (except 23, 25 & 30 January)

Website: Insideno9onstage.com

ACCESSIBLE PERFOMANCES:

Captioned: Friday 7 March 7:30pm

Audio Described: Thursday 13 March 2:30pm

NATIONAL THEATRE AND COMPLICITÉ ANNOUNCE FULL CASTING FOR MNEMONIC

The National Theatre and Complicité today announce full casting for the return of Mnemonic, conceived and directed by Simon McBurney (Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, The Encounter, Street of Crocodiles). As strikingly relevant today as it was 25 years ago, Mnemonic will play in the Olivier theatre from 22 June – 10 August.     

Joining previously announced original cast members Richard Katz (The Master and Margarita) and Kostas Philippoglou (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin) will be Khalid Abdalla (The Crown), Thomas Arnold (Oslo), Laurenz Laufenberg (Beware of Pity), Tim McMullan (Mnemonic original cast), Hisham Abdel Razek (The Play That Goes Wrong), Sarah Slimani (Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors), Sophie Steer (Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead), Eileen Walsh (The Crucible) and Arthur Wilson (Force Majeure).

A body is found in the ice, and a woman is looking for her father while a man searches for his lost lover. Mnemonic is as much about origins as it is about memory and remembering what is lost. Mnemonic asks: what is our place in the natural world? How have human relationships with the environment shaped patterns of migration? Who are we and where do we come from?

Directed by Complicité co-founder and Artistic Director Simon McBurney, the set designer is Michael Levine, costume designer Christina Cunningham, lighting designer Paul Anderson, sound designer Christopher Shutt, video designer Roland Horvath for rocafilm, casting director Alastair Coomer CDG, associate set designer Peter Butler, associate video designer Hayley Egan, assistant sound designer Bella Kear and associate director Christina Deinsberger.

Playing in the Olivier theatre 22 June – 10 August, with press night on 2 July.

Mnemonic is a co-production with Complicité.

Cambridge Arts Theatre – until Saturday 4 May 2024

Reviewed by Steph Lott

4****

Jude Christian’s daring production of Giacomo Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” at the Cambridge Arts Theatre is a thought-provoking and divisive interpretation of the composer’s early masterpiece. The decision to perform the opera in English, with a libretto adapted by Christian, was a bold choice but ultimately fell short of its intended impact.

The cast, led by Jenny Stafford as Manon and Gareth Dafydd Morris as Des Grieux, delivered strong performances despite the limitations of the English translation. Stafford’s portrayal of the titular character was nuanced and emotionally charged, her soprano voice navigating the complex vocal lines with skill and passion. Morris was equally impressive as the lovestruck Des Grieux, his powerful tenor voice soaring through the theatre. Brenton Spiteri, as a Puckish Edmondo, provided a solid and engaging support to the main leads.

The orchestra, under the baton of Gerry Cornelius, did justice to Puccini’s lush and dramatic score. The music ebbed and flowed with the emotional tides of the story, I think it’s fair to say that the audience really enjoyed all the musical performances and showed this with many cries of “Bravo!” at the end.

However, Christian’s modern approach to the staging and direction of the opera proved to be a point of contention for many in the audience. The quirky set design, contemporary costumes, and unexpected blocking at times felt at odds with the traditional romanticism of the story. While some may appreciate the attempt to bring a fresh perspective to the work, others found it distracting and detrimental to the overall emotional impact of the piece.

The English translation, while admirable in its intent to make the opera more accessible, often felt clunky and unable to capture the poetic nuances of the original Italian. This disconnect between the words and the music occasionally led to awkward phrasing and a loss of the opera’s inherent lyricism.

Despite these shortcomings, “Manon Lescaut” remains a significant work in Puccini’s oeuvre, showcasing the composer’s ability to craft emotionally charged, memorable melodies. The opera’s themes of love, betrayal, and the consequences of one’s actions still resonate with modern audiences, even if this particular production’s execution may have fallen short of its potential.

In conclusion, the English Touring Opera’s production of “Manon Lescaut” boasts strong performances from its lead cast and a capable orchestra. However, controversial directorial choices and the limitations of the English translation may leave some audience members unsatisfied. Those open to a more experimental and modern interpretation may thoroughly enjoy this production, but traditionalists might prefer a more conventional approach that adheres more closely to Puccini’s original vision.

Shock Horror to haunt the UK on tour this Autumn

Today (on National Paranormal Day), Thunder Road Theatre have announced their 2024 Autumn UK tour of Shock Horror: A Ghost Story. Back by popular demand, it is the show’s third outing and the biggest tour yet.

Shock Horror has been described as Stranger Things meets The Woman in Black; inspired by classic theatre ghost stories and cinema’s greatest frights, the show is a chilling journey into a haunted past. Combining live performance and big-screen action, it’s full of shivers, shrieks and shocking revelations.

Herbert grew up in the Metropol. The eerie old cinema was his playground and prison – a place where endless late-night horror films were his only window to the world.

Forbidden from leaving by his disturbed parents, Herbert hid in its shadows and gorged on its movies. But what lurked in the Metropol’s darkness? And how did he manage to escape?

Now Herbert’s back at the abandoned cinema, searching for answers to long-buried questions. But for him, and for you, the real horror has only just begun…

Shock Horror opens in September at Perth Theatre, then tours to the Swansea Grand Theatre, Roses Theatre (Tewkesbury), Uppingham Theatre, Northern Stage (Newcastle-upon-Tyne), Connaught Theatre (Worthing), Key Theatre (Peterborough), Macready Theatre (Rugby), Watford Palace Theatre, Edge Hill Arts Centre (Ormskirk), BEAM Hertford, concluding at Queens Theatre (Barnstaple) in November.

The cast includes Alex Moran (War Horse, National Theatre; Quality Street UK Tour, Northern Broadsides) as Herbert, Chloe Proctor (Emmerdale, ITV; Doctors, BBC) as Norma, Joseph Carter as Jack (Hollyoaks, Channel Four; Yizkor, New Vic Theatre; 100 Years On, Everyman Theatre) and Chris Blackwood as Karras (Miss Julie, Gulbenkian Arts Centre; The Little Mermaid, Kings Theatre).

Shock Horror is written and directed by Yorkshire-based playwright and filmmaker, Ryan Simons (Eastenders, BBC; Emmerdale, ITV).

Alex Moran, producer and actor (Herbert) comments:

“We’re delighted with the excitement and demand the show has generated since it began. Supported by a fantastic tour this year across three countries. We can’t wait to start scaring again.”

Ryan Simons, writer and director comments:

“The venues we’re visiting this year are brilliant, full of atmosphere for a ghost story. It’s our third time touring this show and each time it grows into something creepier. We can’t wait to be in the dark again with an auditorium full of scared people!”

Tour dates and further information can be found at: www.thunderroadtheatre.org/shockhorror

ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE, MANCHESTER – UNTIL 25 MAY 2024

REVIEWED BY CATHY CRABB

4****

I have not seen anything like Lynn Nottage’s Sweat in a long time. It’s been a minute since I had the privilege of watching something with such a rich mix of intricately knotted strands of narrative themes that leaves me unravelling it all in my mind afterwards.

It’s a complex and suffocating tale told in non- linear form, taking place for the most part in a bar in Reading, Pennsylvania. It starts, however, with two you men Jason (Lewis Gribben) and Chris (Abdul Sessay) just out of jail and on edge. Separate from each other, they are being calmed and grounded by Evan (Aaron Cobham), their parole officer. We know something horrendous has happened but not what.

We then go to the bar in Reading 8 years before and are introduced to an easy, breezy and boozy group of three girlfriends on a night out after the factory. Oscar (Marcello Cruz), puts the tender into bar tender- quietly cleaning and being polite even when he is practically invisible. Stan (Jonathan Kerrigan), the bar manager, is a philosophical soothsayer that sees all sides.

We see that Tracey (Pooky Quesnel), is the mother superior of the girls, kind, fair and welcoming- but firey too with an edge pointed towards Oscar. This seems to show that an underlying bigotry. The kind of bigotry you receive when you move to a small town, from the resident whose family have lived in place since the dawn of time. But you get the feeling that takes people under her wing and assume that will happen. The other two women at this stage are nothing but archetypes of 30-40 something factory girls. Jessie (Kate Kennedy) likes to get leathered and Cynthia (Carla Henry) is trying to move on from her dead beat fella Brucie (Chris Jack), who stole her tropical fish- tank and all. And the two teenage kids Jason, the son of Tracey and Chris, the sun of Cynthia are giddy, if this will break up their friendship. When Cynthia gets promoted during a strike at their factory some cracks begin to show in this merry band. Everything is under the surface, waiting to erupt and you can trust the political climate and the end of mass manual labour to drive a spanner through the soldering.

The bar was a solace, it was a place to let loose. But it becomes the setting for the rusting of the rivets of friendship and a coming-of-age story no one wants to tell. It is so complex and layered that I could watch it every night until it finishes and be engaged in a different character’s trajectory.

It’s a very sad conclusion, it’s moving and true and recognisable and frustrating. But there is a jewel that has always been there and that is the change that graciousness and understanding brings. When the picket lines no longer hold, and the workers lose their grip, could we, for once see the that the person really driving the machines is never accountable. I hope so, says the play.

Stand out performances by everyone.

Seann Walsh, Chris Harper and Aden Gillett will star in 
Yasmina Reza’s multi-award winning play

ART 

directed by Iqbal Khan

presented by Joshua Beaumont and Original Theatre

On tour from Autumn 2024 

With award-winning comedian Seann Walsh, Chris Harper (Call the Midwife, Coronation Street) and Aden Gillett (The Crown, The House of Elliot), Iqbal Khan (East is East, National Theatre and Othello, RSC) directs a brand-new production of Yasmina Reza‘s fiendishly clever and hilariously funny play ART on tour from Autumn 2024.

This multi-award winning play (winner of Best Comedy at the Olivier Awards, Tony Awards and Moliere Awards), presented by Joshua Beaumont and Original Theatre, is a razor sharp exploration of art, love and friendship that will stay with you long after the curtain falls.

A seemingly simple purchase of contemporary art – an all-white painting – ignites a hilarious debate amongst three close friends. What begins as a light-hearted discussion about art quickly descends into a riotous exploration of the blurred lines between art and reality.

The Autumn 2024 tour will visit Lighthouse Poole (29-31 Aug), Theatre Royal Bath (3-7 Sept), Norwich Theatre Royal (10-14 Sept), Mercury Theatre Colchester (17-21 Sept), Malvern Theatres (24-28 Sept), Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne (30 Sept-5 Oct), Nottingham Theatre Royal (7-12 Oct), Belgrade Theatre, Coventry (15-19 Oct) and Sheffield Lyceum Theatre (22-26 Oct), with additional dates to be announced. 

The Creative Team is Director Iqbal Khan, Set and Lighting Designer Ciaran Bagnall, Composer and Sound Designer Max Pappenheim, Associate Director Olivia Millar-Ross, Production Manager Brian Watson, Costume Supervisor Nancy Surman and Props Supervisor Katie Balmforth.

For tour information and venue booking links, visit: http://www.artthecomedy.co.uk

The UK Pantomime Association announces the nominees for

The Pantomime Awards 2024 in association with Stagecoach celebrating talent on and off stage during the 2023-24 season

The UK Pantomime Association has revealed the nominees for The Pantomime Awards 2024 in association with Stagecoach, which will take place on Tuesday 18 June 2024 at 7pm at G Live in Guildford.

Founded in 2021, the UK Pantomime Association (UKPA) is a charity that explores, shares and celebrates pantomime by investigating the genre’s rich past, engaging with contemporary practice and inspiring the future. During the 2023-24 pantomime season, the third year in which the Awards have taken place, UKPA’s 70 judges had their biggest year ever, collectively visiting 259 venues to see over 728 performances, far and wide across the United Kingdom. 

Their shortlisted nominees are:

Best Choreography

• Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster: Sleeping Beauty, Theatr Clwyd Big Top, Mold (In-House)
• Ashley Nottingham: Jack and the Beanstalk, Birmingham Hippodrome (Crossroads Pantomimes)
• Kevan Allen: Mother Goose, Cambridge Arts Theatre (In-House)
• Myles Brown: Beauty and the Beast, Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells (Little Wolf Entertainment)
• Shauna Olley: Cinderella, Towngate Theatre, Basildon (Towngate Theatre and Simon Fielding Ltd)

Best Comic

Sponsored by Trafalgar Entertainment 

• Matt Slack: Jack and the Beanstalk, Birmingham Hippodrome (Crossroads Pantomimes)
• John Evans: Peter Pan, Venue Cymru, Llandudno (Imagine Theatre)
• Helen McAlpine: Aladdin, Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling (In-House)
• Aidan O’Neill: Sleeping Beauty, Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage (Jordan Productions)
• Stewart McCheyne: Beauty and the Beast, Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells (Little Wolf Entertainment)

Best Costume Design

• Cleo Pettitt: Cinderella, Nottingham Playhouse (In-House)
• Dawn Allsopp: Snow White, Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds (In-House)
• Jennie Lööf: Aladdin, Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling (In-House)
• Morgan Brind: Mother Goose, Derby Arena (Little Wolf Entertainment) 
• Ryan Dawson Laight: Mother Goose, Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham (In-House)

Best Dame

Sponsored by John Good

• Elaine C Smith: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, King’s Theatre, Glasgow (Crossroads Pantomimes)
• Ben Roddy: Aladdin, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (Evolution Productions) 
• Ray Spencer: Aladdin, The Customs House, South Shields (In-House)
• Johnny McKnight: Aladdin, Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling (In-House)
• Phylip Harries: Sleeping Beauty, Theatr Clwyd Big Top, Mold (In-House)

Best Direction

• Hannah Chissick: Beauty and the Beast, Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells (Little Wolf Entertainment) 
• Kathryn Rooney: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, King’s Theatre, Glasgow (Crossroads Pantomimes)
• Sally Reid: Aganeza Scrooge, Tron Theatre, Glasgow (In-House)
• Simon Fielding: Cinderella, Towngate Theatre, Basildon (Towngate Theatre and Simon Fielding Ltd)
• Steve Boden: Sleeping Beauty, The Hexagon, Reading (Imagine Theatre) 

Best Ensemble

Sponsored by Drama Kids

• Grace Chan, Liam Dean, Grace Durkin, Oscar Fonseca, Tristan Ghostkeeper, Angus Good, Luke Jarvis, Shannon McAvoy, Helen Rose and Ebony Roy-Palmer: Jack and the Beanstalk, Birmingham Hippodrome (Crossroads Pantomimes)
• Poppy Blackledge, Rexford Boadu, Jack Buchanan, Amelie Cohen, Evangeline Jarvis-Jones, Ben MacGillivray, Ellie May Wilson and Nathan Ryles: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Theatre Royal Plymouth (Crossroads Pantomimes)
• Natalie Tedesco, Alistair Fitton-Weir, Alison Hunter and Sean Van Oostrum: Beauty and the Beast, Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock (In-House)
• Danielle Cato, Oliver Imeson, Sophie Karaolis, Sarah Jane Lowe, Louis Parkins and Luke Stone: Mother Goose, Cambridge Arts Theatre (In-House)
• Jasmine Robinson, Lyla Gilchrist, Abigail Stewart, Isabel Clacher, Kate Connolly, Danielle Lamie, Francesca Fleming, Xanthe Whelan, Caolán James, Connor Riding and Joe Barlow: Beauty and the Beast, The Globe, Pleasure Beach Resort, Blackpool (Stageworks Worldwide Productions)

Best Lighting Design

Sponsored by Production Light and Sound

• Ben Cracknell: The Adventures of Pinocchio, Theatre Royal Newcastle (Crossroads Pantomimes)
• Jamie Corbidge: Cinderella, Swansea Grand Theatre (Imagine Theatre)
• Johanna Town: Sleeping Beauty, Theatr Clwyd Big Top, Mold (In-House)
• Adam Murdoch: Treasure Island, Telford Theatre (Shone Productions)
• Rory Harkin: Jack and the Beanstalk, Millennium Forum Theatre, Derry / Londonderry (In-House)

Carmen Silvera Award for

Best Magical Being

• Amanda Henderson: Jack and the Beanstalk, Rhyl Pavilion (Anton Benson Productions)
• Jennie Dale: Beauty and the Beast, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield (Evolution Productions)
• Courtney Bowman: Aladdin, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (Evolution Productions)
• Lara Beth-Sas: Jack and the Beanstalk, Kenton Theatre (Immersion Theatre)
• Natalie Hayes-Cowley: Aladdin, New Theatre Royal Lincoln (In-House)
• Katy Ashworth: Beauty and the Beast, Princess Theatre, Torquay (Jordan Productions)

Best Contribution to Music

Sponsored by Howden Insurance

• Chris Wong: Aladdin, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (Evolution Productions)
• Dan De Cruz: Dick Whittington and his Cat, New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich (In-House)
• Dave Culling and David Randall: Beauty and the Beast, Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells (Little Wolf Entertainment)
• Ong Cheng Kan: Dick Whittington, Salisbury Playhouse (In-House)
• Tom Self: Dick Whittington, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch (In-House) 

Best Early Career Newcomer 

Sponsored by Staffordshire University

• Abi Fullard: Snow White, Wyllyotts Theatre, Potters Bar (Jordan Productions)
• Jewelle Hutchinson: Cinderella, Nottingham Playhouse (In-House)
• Joseph Cramsie: Aladdin, Winding Wheel Theatre, Chesterfield (Paul Holman Associates) 
• Max Mirza: Cinderella, Theatre Royal Winchester (Play to the Crowd)
• Mia Overfield: Jack and the Beanstalk, York Theatre Royal (Evolution Productions)

Best Newcomer to Pantomime

• Benjamin Armstrong: Aladdin, Lighthouse Theatre, Poole (In-House)
• David Suchet: Peter Pan, Bristol Hippodrome (Crossroads Pantomimes)
• Kevin Clifton: Aladdin, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (Evolution Productions)
• Lucy Frederick: Jack and the Beanstalk, Stratford East (In-House)
• Mariana Aristizábal Pardo: Cinderella, The Theatre, Chipping Norton (In-House)

Barbara Windsor Award for

Best Principal Lead

• Alexandra Mardell: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Theatre Royal Plymouth (Crossroads Pantomimes)
• Alistair So: Aladdin, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (Evolution Productions)
• Nikhil Singh Rai: Jack and the Beanstalk, Stratford East (In-House)
• Louise McCarthy: Aganeza Scrooge, Tron Theatre, Glasgow (In-House)
• Hannah Everest: Beauty and the Beast, Princess Theatre, Torquay (Jordan Productions)

Best Script

• Anna Jordan: Jack and the Beanstalk, Stratford East (In-House)
• Eric Potts and Steven Wren: Sleeping Beauty, Eden Court, Inverness (Imagine Theatre) 
• Paul Hendy: Aladdin, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (Evolution Productions)
• Susie McKenna: Jack and the Beanstalk, Broadway Theatre, Catford (Joy Productions)
• Johnny McKnight: Aladdin, Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling (In-House)

Best Secondary Lead

• Marcus Jones: Rapunzel, Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond N.Yorkshire (In-House)
• Lewes Roberts: Beauty and the Beast, Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne (Eastbourne Theatres in association with Jordan Productions)
• Lotti Brogan: Dick Whittington, King’s Lynn Corn Exchange (Jordan Productions)
• Caitlin Ware: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Blackwood Miners’ Institute (Rainbow Valley Productions)
• Kevin Mornas: Rumpelstiltskin, Millgate Arts Centre, Saddleworth (The Big Tiny)

Best Set Design

Sponsored by Blue i Group

• David Shields: Snow White, Grand Theatre Wolverhampton (In-House)
• Jack Lane: Beauty and the Beast, Capitol Theatre, Horsham (In-House)
• Jasmine Swan: Sleeping Beauty, Mercury Theatre, Colchester (In-House)
• Richard Evans: Snow White, Harrow Arts Centre (Immersion Theatre)
• Simon Cossons: Jack and the Beanstalk, Stag Theatre, Sevenoaks (Sevenoaks Theatre Productions)

Best Sisters

• Iain Lauchlan and Andy Hockley: Cinderella, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry (Belgrade Theatre and Imagine Theatre)
• James Holmes and David Dale: Cinderella, Buxton Opera House (In-House)
• Folarin Akinmade and Rebecca Levy: Cinderella, Everyman Theatre, Liverpool (In-House)
• Laura Gomez Gracia and Ian Crowe: Cinderella, The Theatre, Chipping Norton (In-House)
• Jamie Morris and Tarot Joseph: Cinderella, Malvern Festival Theatre (UK Productions)

Best Sound Design

• Beth Lewis: Beauty and the Beast, Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury (In-House)
• Luke Hyde and James De Silva (Associate): Dick Whittington, King’s Lynn Corn Exchange (Jordan Productions)
• Nigel Bayliss: Sleeping Beauty, Theatre Royal Bath (UK Productions)
• Stephen Rickard: Cinderella, Rotherham Civic Theatre (Imagine Theatre)
• Tom Lishman: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Grand Opera House, Belfast (Crossroads Pantomimes)

Best Supporting Artist

• Zain Abrahams: Aladdin, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (Evolution Productions)
• Anna Soden: Jack and the Beanstalk, York Theatre Royal (Evolution Productions)
• Richard Alan, Dick Whittington, The Playhouse Theatre, Weston-super-Mare (Parkwood Theatres)
• Ben Tanner: Mother Goose, Derby Arena (Little Wolf Entertainment)
• Inês Sampaio: Cinderella, The Core at Corby Cube (Little Wolf Entertainment)

Best Villain

Sponsored by Breckman & Company

• Will Jennings: Dick Whittington, Salisbury Playhouse (In-House)
• James Stirling: Robin Hood, The Maltings, Ely (KD Theatre Productions)
• Wendi Harriott: Sleeping Beauty, Watersmeet Theatre, Rickmansworth (Paul Holman Associates) 
• Glyn Morgan: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Blackwood Miners’ Institute (Rainbow Valley Productions)
• Tom Lister: Aladdin, Blackpool Grand Theatre (UK Productions)

Best Pantomime (under 500 seats)

• Aganeza Scrooge, Tron Theatre, Glasgow (In-House)
• Dick Whittington, Exeter Northcott Theatre (Exeter Northcott Theatre and Le Navet Bete) 
• Dick Whittington and his Cat, New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich (In-House)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Blackwood Miners’ Institute (Rainbow Valley Productions)
• Snow White, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds (In-House)

Best Pantomime (500 – 900 seats)

• Cinderella, Towngate Theatre, Basildon (Towngate Theatre and Simon Fielding Ltd)
• Dick Whittington, Salisbury Playhouse (In-House)
• Sleeping Beauty, Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage (Jordan Productions)
• Cinderella, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry (Belgrade Theatre and Imagine Theatre)
• Dick Whittington, King’s Lynn Corn Exchange (Jordan Productions)

Best Pantomime (over 900 seats)

• Aladdin, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (Evolution Productions)
• Jack and the Beanstalk, Birmingham Hippodrome (Crossroads Pantomimes)
• Mother Goose, Derby Arena (Little Wolf Entertainment) 
• Sleeping Beauty, The Hexagon, Reading (Imagine Theatre) 
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, King’s Theatre, Glasgow (Crossroads Pantomimes)

The Special Awards, which celebrate productions representing the values that the Association seeks to promote, as well as an award for Outstanding Achievement, are also to be announced at the ceremony.

Simon Sladen, Chair of the UK Pantomime Association, said: “We can’t wait to celebrate pantomime excellence at The Pantomime Awards in June at G Live. The pantomime industry has such a wealth of talent, which we’re proud to recognize and champion. Congratulations to all the nominees and thank you to everyone who keeps audiences entertained up and down the country each festive season.” 

Andy Knights, CEO and Lisa Stead, COO of Stagecoach Performing Arts, said: “We are very excited to be the headline sponsor at this year’s Pantomime Awards. At Stagecoach Performing Arts, we take pride in seeing the positive impact that the arts can have on the lives of children and young people. For many, pantos are the first introduction they will have to theatre, and this can spark a lifetime love of, and engagement with, the arts. We know many of our students, and many of the adults that are a part of the Stagecoach community, will have been in the audiences of the nominees and we are looking forward to celebrating all the winners at the ceremony!”

Tickets for The Pantomime Awards 2024 in association with Stagecoach, which will feature live performances, celebrity presenters and the winners’ announcements, are now on sale through G Live’s Box Office:  https://trafalgartickets.com/g-live-guildford/.

For more information, visit: https://pantomimeassociation.co.uk.

NEW YORK’S MULTI

AWARD-WINNING

MUSICAL COMEDY TO DOCK IN

THE WEST END

Thursday 2 May 2024 – Producers Eva Price & Michael Harrison today announced plans for New York’s ‘must-sea’ musical comedy, Titanique, to dock in London.

When the music of Celine Dion makes sweet Canadian love with the eleven-time Oscar®-winning blockbuster film Titanic, you get Titanique, off Broadway’s most award-winning splash hit that turns one of the greatest love stories of all time into a hysterical musical fantasia.

Titanique has taken New York by storm – extending multiple times since its premiere in 2022, it has also been recognised with critical acclaim and multiple awards. Now it is coming to the UK.

Venue and performance dates will be announced at a later date. To be the first to board Titanique, sign up at www.titaniquemusical.com

Want to find out what really happened to Jack and Rose on that fateful night? Just leave it to Celine Dion to enchant the audience with her totally wild take, recharting the course of Titanic’s beloved moments and characters with her iconic song catalogue. Sailing on fierce powerhouse voices in show-stopping performances of such hits as My Heart Will Go On, All by Myself and To Love you More – backed by a full live band – Titanique is a one-of-a-kind theatrical voyage bursting with nostalgia, heart and campy chaos.

Co-written by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli, Titanique celebrated its Off-Broadway premiere in June 2022 at Asylum Theater, starring the musical’s co-authors Mindelle and Rousouli as Celine Dion and Jack Dawson.  After several sold-out extensions, the musical transferred to the Daryl Roth Theatre on November 20, 2022.

Producer Eva Price said:

“It has been thrilling to produce Titanique in New York these last two years. The show delivers a balm to the soul; it really is a gift to audiences – near, far, wherever they are. This hilarious new musical has been bringing so much joy to New Yorkers that its time to dock our ship of dreams in international waters. I am thrilled Londoners will soon experience the unhinged delight that Titanique brings night after night to Americans.”

Titanique is directed by Tye Blue (RuPaul’s Drag Race), and choreographed by Ellenore Scott (Funny Girl, Little Shop of Horrors). Music Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations are by IRNE Award-Winner Nicholas James Connell.

Titanique won seven major awards during the 2022/23 theatre season, including three Lucille Lortel Awards, the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Musical, Las Culturistas’ Culture Award for Best Indoor Performance and two Dorian Awards.

The London production of Titanique will be co-produced by Eva Price and Michael Harrison.

All further information, including casting, to follow at a later date.

REVIEWS IN NEW YORK

“Just when you think it couldn’t get better, Titanique makes you love it more, with a glow-up

in a bigger theater that makes the show even more impactful and irresistible!  Yet, there’s still a scrappy, endearing “let’s put on a show” energy to it, that gives the musical its Titanic-sized charm. YOU’RE GUARANTEED TO LAUGH YOUR ICEBERG OFF.”

– People Magazine

“VERY FUNNY! The ‘Titanique’ Musical Finds Its Sea Legs…. Near, far, wherever you are, Celine Dion will be there, in this camp reimagining of the maritime blockbuster that revs up into increasing absurdity.”

– New York Times

“TITANIQUE IS F*CKING GREAT. SWIM, DON’T WALK, to see this Celine Dion jukebox fantasia!”

– Vulture

“SENSATIONAL, HILARIOUS AND DERANGED!  Big Celine Dion fans will howl at Marla Mindelle’s

outrageously funny performance. Titanique is, by a nautical mile, the funniest musical in town!”

– The New York Post

“The silliest, smartest, gayest, FEVER-DREAM MIRACLE! A sold-out smash created to manifest pure joy”

– The Daily Beast

The Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield – until 4th May 2024

Reviewed by Sophie Dodworth

4****

The 39 Steps stops at The Sheffield Lyceum on its first UK tour in eight years. This play is the longest running play in West End history! The 39 Steps was a novel written by John Buchan in 1915. Alfred Hitchcock then turned it into the classic spy film in the 1930s, becoming popular with many. Follow the entertaining adventures of the handsome, typically British Richard Hannay as he experiences murder and beautiful women. This comedy thriller is rather gripping and features four actors, playing 139 roles in just 100 minutes!

The stage adaptation by Patrick Barlow is written so innovatively. It is so fast moving with gags aplenty, and a slapstick feel to it in parts. The audience absolutely love it and it seems like they are all dedicated 39 Steps fans. The set is extremely well designed, it really gives you that sense of being in the 1930s and the details are spot on thanks to Peter Mckintosh, set and costume designer.

The cast are extremely well suited to this production with their super energies and comedic timing, which are both essential. Eugene McCoy really stands out in his moment as Mr Memory (amongst many), great comic that he is. Tom Byrne plays Richard Hannay perfectly and it would be almost impossible to see anyone fit this role better than Byrne. He has great charisma and charm and is consistent with his character all the way through. Maddie Rice needs to really get a medal for some of the speedy changing characters that she gets through, often switching rapidly from person to person just by either using hats (sometimes 3 at a time!) or an outfit which has a character on the left of the costume and one on the right, bringing out the character by turning sideways. Safeena Ladha plays all three of her characters like the true professional she is, with her previous experience of multi-rolling she makes it look like its easy!

This is a must-see if you are a 39 steps fan…even if not, it is worth a shot if you are into fast-paced fun and action that keeps you on your toes!