SARAH CRACKNELL – RESCHEDULED DATE CONFIRMED

image003 (1)Sarah CracknellFollowing the last-minute postponement of Sarah Cracknell’s City Varieties appearance on Sunday June 21st (due to a throat infection) a rescheduled date of Sunday 26th July has been confirmed.

 

All ticketholders will be contacted regarding the new date and anyone unable to attend will be offered a refund from point of purchase.

 

Sarah, known as the voice of Saint Etienne, has recently released her highly acclaimed second solo album, Red Kite, available from Cherry Red Records.

Sarah Cracknell is at City Varieties Music Hall on
Sunday 26th July at 7.30pm.

 

Tickets are still available and priced from £20.60

 

Book online at cityvarieties.co.uk or call box office on 0113 243 0808

 

HAIRSPRAY UK TOUR

Artwork - FTPThis big, bold and beautiful musical comedy will begin its UK tour at Leicester’s Curve theatre on 9 September 2015 and will then tour to more than 25 venues across the UK, including a Christmas residency at Birmingham Alexandra Theatre in December 2015.

Tony Maudsley (Edna Turnblad) and Peter Duncan (Wilbur Turnblad) in Hairspray. Credit Ellie Kurttz.jpgHairspray will star Tony Maudsley (ITV1’s Benidorm) as Edna Turnblad, TV and stage actress and presenter Claire Sweeney (Educating Rita, Guys and Dolls) as Velma Von Tussle, Olivier Award nominated actor and much-loved Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan (BBC1 Tumble) as Wilbur Turnblad and British singer and West End performer Brenda Edwards (Chicago, We Will Rock You, The X Factor) as Motormouth Maybelle.

Freya Sutton will reprise the role of Tracy Turnblad alongside established musical theatre performerJon Tsouras (A Chorus Line) who will play the role of Corny Collins. Dex Lee (The Scottsboro Boys) will play Seaweed, Ashley Gilmour (Miss Saigon) will play Link Larkin, Lauren Stroud (Wicked) will play Amber, Monique Young (Top Hat) will play Penny, Karis Jack (Urinetown) will play Little Inez, Adam Price (Hairspray) will play Male Authority Figure, Tracey Penn (Made in Dagenham) will play Female Authority Figure and Layton Williams (Bad Education, Billy Elliot) will play Duane.Freya Sutton (Tracy Turnblad) in Hairspray. Credit Ellie Kurttz.jpg

It’s Baltimore 1962, where Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, is on a mission to follow her dreams and dance her way onto national TV. Tracy’s audition makes her a local star and soon she is using her new-found fame to fight for equality, bagging local heartthrob Link Larkin along the way.

Hairspray is a musical based on the 1988 film of the same name which starred Divine and Ricki Lake by cult filmmaker John Waters. With music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, Hairspray originally opened to rave reviews on Broadway in 2002 and subsequently won eight Tony Awards. The production opened in London at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2007 and won four Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Musical. Proving to be an international success, Hairspray has also opened in South Africa, Japan, South Korea, China and Dubai. Following the musical’s phenomenal success on stage, a film of the musical was released in 2007 which starred John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and James Marsden.

The cast of Hairspray. Credit Ellie Kurttz.jpgHairspray is produced by Mark Goucher and Laurence Myers, Tom O’Connell for QNQ, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Gale King Productions and Curve theatre, Leicester.

 

 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

2015 / 16 UK Tour

9 – 19 September
Curve theatre, Leicester
60 Rutland Street, Leicester, LE1 1SB
Box Office: 0116 242 3595
www.curveonline.co.uk

21 – 26 September
New Theatre Oxford
George Street, Oxford, OX1 2AG
Box Office: 0844 871 7607
www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-theatre-oxford

28 September – 3 October
Royal and Derngate, Northampton
Guildhall Road, Northampton, NN1 1DP
Box Office: 01604 624 811
www.royalandderngate.co.uk

5 – 10 October
Malvern Theatre
Grange Road, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 3HB
Box Office: 01684 892 277
www.malvern-theatres.co.uk

12 – 17 October
Liverpool Empire
Lime Street, Liverpool, L1 1JE
Box Office: 0844 871 3017
www.atgtickets.com/venues/liverpool-empire

19 – 24 October
Hull New Theatre
Kingston Square, Hull, HU1 3HF
Box Office: 01482 300 300
http://www.hullcc.gov.uk/hullnewtheatre

26 – 31 October
Manchester Palace Theatre
97 Oxford Street, Manchester, Lancashire, M1 6FT
Box Office: 0844 871 3019
www.atgtickets.com/venues/palace-theatre-manchester

2 – 7 November
New Wimbledon Theatre
93 The Broadway, London SW19 1QG
Box Office: 0844 871 7646
www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-wimbledon-theatre/

9 – 14 November
The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
Morley Street, Bradford, BD7 1AJ
Box Office: 01274 432 000
www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/venues/the-alhambra-theatre

16 – 21 November
Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
22 – 26 Commercial Road, Southampton, Hampshire, SO15 1GE
Box Office: 023 8071 1811
www.mayflower.org.uk

23 – 28 November
Ipswich Regent Theatre
3 St Helen’s Street, Ipswich, Suffolk, 1P4 1HE
Box Office: 01473 433 100
https://apps.ipswich.gov.uk/PEO/

30 November – 12 December
Theatre Royal Brighton
New Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1SD
Box Office: 0844 871 7627
http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-brighton

14 December – 9 January 2016
Birmingham Alexandra Theatre
Station Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B5 4DS
Box Office: 0844 871 3011
www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-alexandra-theatre-birmingham

18 – 30 January
Newcastle Theatre Royal
100 Grey Street, Newcastle, NE1 6BR
Box Office: 0844 811 2121
www.theatreroyal.co.uk

1 – 6 February
His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen
Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen, AB25 1GL
Box Office:  0845 270 8200
www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/venues/his-majestys-theatre

8 – 13 February
The Lyceum, Sheffield
55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA
Box Office: 0114 249 6000
www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

15 – 20 February
Cambridge Corn Exchange
2 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QB
Box Office: 01223 357 851
www.cornex.co.uk

22 – 27 February
Edinburgh Playhouse
18 – 22 Greenside Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3AA
ON SALE SOON
Box Office: 0844 871 7627
www.atgtickets.com/venues/edinburgh-playhouse

7 – 12 March
Bristol Hippodrome
St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol, BS1 4UZ
Box Office: 0844 871 3012
www.atgtickets.com/venues/bristol-hippodrome

14 – 19 March
New Victoria Theatre, Woking
The Ambassadors, Peacocks Centre, Woking, GU21 6GQ
ON SALE SOON
Box Office: 0844 871 7645
www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-victoria-theatre

21 – 16 March
Cardiff New Theatre
Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3LN
Box Office: 02920 878 889
www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk

4 – 9 April
Milton Keynes Theatre
500 Malborough Gate, Buckinghamshire, MK9 3NZ
ON SALE SOON
Box Office: 0844 871 7652
www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre

18 – 23 April
Theatre Royal Plymouth
Royal Parade, Plymouth, PL1 2TR
ON SALE SOON
Box Office: 01752 267 222
www.theatreroyal.com

25 – 30 April
The Marlowe, Canterbury
The Friars, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2AS
Box Office: 01227 787 787
www.marlowetheatre.com

2 – 7 May
The Churchill Theatre, Bromley
High Street, Bromley, Kent, BR1 1HA
ON SALE SOON
Box Office: 0844 871 7620
www.atgtickets.com/venues/the-churchill-theatre-bromley

9 – 14 May
Regent Theatre, Stoke
Piccadilly, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 1AP
ON SALE SOON
Box Office: 0844 871 7627
www.atgtickets.com/venues/regent-theatre

16 – 21 May
Southend Palace Theatre
430 London Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 9LA
Box Office: 01702 351 135
www.southendtheatres.org.uk

 

 

NEW CAST ANNOUNCED FOR “JERSEY BOYS” UK & IRELAND TOUR FROM 18 AUGUST 2015

JS51215276From Tuesday 18 August 2015, Matt Corner will play the role of Frankie Valli in the ongoing UK and Ireland tour of Tony, Olivier and Grammy Award-winning Best Musical JERSEY BOYS. Matt previously played the role at certain performances.

Sam Ferriday as Bob Gaudio, Lewis Griffiths as Nick Massi and Stephen Webb as Tommy DeVito will continue in their roles. Michael Pickering will join the cast to play the role of Frankie Valli at certain performances.

Also joining the tour cast will be Mark Heenehan as Gyp DeCarlo, Joel Elferink as Bob Crewe, Joe Maxwell as Norm Waxman and Samantha Hull as Francine, with Ste Clough, Tom Partridge and Amy West.

Continuing in their roles are Nathaniel Morrison as Barry Belson, Damian Buhagiar as Joe Pesci, Henry Davis as Hank Majewski, Leanne Garretty as Lorraine, Amelia Adams-Pearce as Mary Delgado, with Dayle Hodge.

JERSEY BOYS has been seen by over 22 million people worldwide and is firmly established as one of London’s longest running and most popular shows, where it continues to play at the Piccadilly Theatre.

JERSEY BOYS is the remarkable true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to stardom from the wrong side of the tracks. These four boys from New Jersey became one of the most successful bands in pop history, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and sold 100 million records worldwide, all before they turned 30.  The show is packed with their hits, including Beggin’, Sherry, Walk Like A Man, December, 1963 (Oh What a Night), Big Girls Don’t Cry, My Eyes Adored You, Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got), Bye Bye Baby, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Working My Way Back to You, Fallen Angel, Rag Doll and Who Loves You.

Winner of Broadway’s Tony, London’s Olivier and Australia’s Helpmann Awards for Best New Musical, JERSEY BOYS is the winner of 57 major awards worldwide. As well as still running on Broadway and in the West End, and on tour in the UK and Ireland, JERSEY BOYS can be seen in Las Vegas and across the United States on its US National Tour.

JERSEY BOYS is written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe.  The UK Tour will be staged by the entire original Broadway creative team, led by director Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo, with scenic design by Klara Zieglerova, costume design by Jess Goldstein, lighting by Howell Binkley, sound by Steve Canyon Kennedy and projections design by Michael Clark.  The orchestrations are by Steve Orich and the music supervision and vocal arrangements by Ron Melrose.

The UK and Irish Tour of JERSEY BOYS is produced by Dodger Theatricals, David Ian / Michael Watt and Ambassador Theatre Group, with Joseph J. Grano, Tamara and Kevin Kinsella, Pelican Group, in association with Latitude Link, Rick Steiner, DHST Inc.

For further details visit www.jerseyboysuktour.com.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

The new cast will appear from 18 August at Theatre Royal Plymouth onwards.

2015

23 June – 4 July

Liverpool Empire

0844 871 3017

7 – 18 July

Norwich Theatre Royal
www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk
01603 63 00 00
21 July – 1 August
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
029 2063 6464

4 – 15 August

Southampton Mayflower
www.mayflower.org.uk
02380 711811

18 August – 5 September

Theatre Royal Plymouth
www.theatreroyal.com
01752 267222

8 – 19 September

0844 871 3022

22 September – 3 October

Waterside Theatre Aylesbury                                                                                                   www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury-waterside-theatre/
0844 871 7607

27 October – 7 November

08448713018

10 – 21 November

Venue Cymru Llandudno                                                                                                         www.venuecymru.co.uk
01492 872000

24 November – 5 December

Congress Theatre Eastbourne                                                                                                 www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk/shows/jersey-boys/
01323 412000

8 December – 3 January

Theatre Royal Glasgow
www.atgtickets.com/glasgow
0844 871 7647

2016

13 – 23 January

Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin
0818 719 377

26 January – 6 February

Royal and Derngate, Northampton                                                                                             www.royalandderngate.co.uk
01604 624811

9 – 20 February

Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton                                                                                               www.grandtheatre.co.uk
 01902 429 212

 

JOAN ARMATRADING DROPS IN TO DARLINGTON

Joan Armatrading is to perform at Darlington Civic Theatre on Thursday 23 July as part of her final major world tour.

Three times Grammy nominated, Brit award nominee and Ivor Novello winner, producer and musician Joan Armatrading MBE is recognised as one of the world’s leading singer / songwriter / guitarists.

This is a fantastic opportunity to see Joan perform songs spanning the whole of her career including Love and Affection, Willow, Drop the Pilot and Me Myself I.

Joan said “I will never retire but this will be the last major tour that I will undertake. For the first time these concerts will be me solo on stage playing the guitar and piano and singing. I want these concerts to be a special, lively, interactive one to one experience. I have absolutely enjoyed the last 42 years of performances but now, with my final major tour, I want to capture a unique memory for both myself and the audience.”

Joan Armatrading is at Darlington Civic Theatre on Thursday 23 July. Tickets* are £28.50 and £30.50.

*Includes £1 restoration levy

To book contact the Box Office on 01325 486 555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS LAND IN LEEDS

lgt_pyramid_colour

LtoR Noel Sullivan and Mark Benton in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Leeds Grand TheatreMark Benton and Noel Sullivan stopped off for a quick pic as they arrived at Leeds Grand Theatre yesterday (Tuesday 30th June) for the opening of the West End Hit Show Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

 

The pair are clearly enjoying each other’s comedic company – jostling for the camera, exchanging banter and jovially endorsing a Noel Sullivan album on sale at the theatre as part of the show’s merchandise.  “It’s great to be back in ‘Costa del Leeds’’ joked Sullivan as they stepped out into the heatwave on Briggate.

Based on the legendary 1988 film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Michael Caine and Steve Martin the comedy-musical is at Leeds Grand Theatre until this Saturday 4th July.

Starring Michael Praed (Robin of Sherwood), Noel Sullivan (Hear’Say, We Will Rock You), Carly Stenson (Hollyoaks, Spamalot, Shrek) and Mark Benton (Waterloo Road, Doctor Who, Hairspray), audiences will be transported to the luxurious lap of the French Riviera where the decadent world of sophisticated conman Lawrence Jamieson (Praed) is set to come crashing down with the arrival of larger-than-life Freddy Benson (Sullivan) – a conman of an entirely different order. 

 

Soon realising the town ain’t big enough for the both of them, the two find themselves going head to head in the con of their lives, pulling out all of the stops in a bid for the affections of millionaire soap heiress Christine Colgate (Stenson).  Little do they know what they’ve let themselves in for.

Noel Sullivan was last in Leeds with We Will You Rock You also at The Grand. He said:

Leeds Grand is such a beautiful theatre … I like playing up north because in places like Leeds people go out for a good time and you really feel the difference down south where I think people are a bit more reserved.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is at Leeds Grand Theatre until  Saturday 4th July

 

Tickets are on sale now at £25

 

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700

 

The Ghost Train Review

Civic Theatre, Darlington – 30 June 2015

Arnold Ridley’s Ghost Train arrives in Darlington this week in a tense thriller.

Telling the tale of a very mixed group of passengers reluctantly  spending the night in the bleak Fal Vale station in Cornwall because there is no train to the next stop, Truro, for nine hours.  Sam Hodgkin (Jeffrey Holland) is hugely-believable as the grumpy station master who regales them with spooky tales, with a warning that the place is haunted, and anyone who sees the ghost train will die.

Ben Roddy as Richard Winthrop and Corrinne Wicks as his wife Elsie excel as they argue their way towards a separation while Chris Sheridan and Sophie Powles are perfectly cast as newly weds Charles and Peggy Murdock.   Judy Buxton is the eccentric Miss Bourne, who has a parrot in a cage, and for someone supposed to be teetotal can knock back her spirits, and spends the majority of the play comatose on the table.  However,  Tom Butcher stealing most of the laughs as upper class twit Teddie Deakin, who seemingly pulled the communication cord as a joke but we learn that there’s more to him than the nitwit in waistcoat, loud tweeds and plus-fours jumping about like a jack in a box.

Liz Garland as Julia Price, along with David Janson (her brother Herbert Price)  and John Hester as Dr Sterling introduce a sinister note to the proceedings, while William Towler as a small but important part as police officer Jackson.

The waiting room set is simple yet effective, and there is excellent use of light to suggest the passing of trains outside, and of sound to convey the raging storm.  And the costumes, Wicks and Powles in particular, are glorious and beautiful.

To be honest, time has not been kind to some parts of The Ghost Train script and it’s interesting to consider how much of the phraseology which would have been commonplace 90 years ago, now sounds simply comical, creating far more laughter than would have originally been intended.  But the story has suspense and tension with more than one jump-out-of-your-seat moment, and a twist in the tale.  Its then such a shame that such a well written play seems to end so suddenly, as if Ridley ran out of time and idea’s.  An extra ten minutes and the ending could have been so much better.

In Darlington until Saturday 4th July