Month: October 2015

SHEFFIELD THEATRES TO HOST REGULAR DEMENTIA-FRIENDLY TEA DANCES

Sheffield Theatres and Sheffield Dementia Action Alliance have announced that they are hosting a series of free Dementia Friendly Tea Dances in the Crucible.

The Dementia Friendly Tea Dances will take place once every month in the Crucible.  Open to people living with dementia, their families, friends and carers, the dances offer a friendly, informal and easily accessible environment, where everyone can enjoy a dance, a chat and a cream tea.

Beginning on Tuesday 13 October at 1.30pm, Sheffield vocalist Russell Elliot will take guests on a trip down memory lane with his repertoire of familiar songs from musical theatre and beyond, encouraging guests to join him in a good old-fashioned sing-a-long.  Singer Susan St Nicholas will be entertaining guests on alternate weeks.

Claire Murray, Communications & Fundraising Director said: “The comments that we received from our first Dementia Friendly Tea Dance were wonderful. It was fantastic to welcome so many people through our doors for this special event. Our relationship with Sheffield Dementia Action Alliance is important to us. Dementia affects so many people in our communities and through events of this kind we hope that we can increase awareness and understanding of this condition.” 

The first Dementia Friendly Tea Dance will take place on Tuesday 13 October from 1.30 -3.30pm, further dances then take place on Tuesday 17 November, 29 December, 12 January, 9 February and 8 March.  Places are free although booking is recommended. Please call visitSheffield Theatres’ Box Office in-person, call us on 0114 249 6000 or book online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

Don’t miss out on our Performance and Technical Support for Events Student Showcase: ‘Hopes, Dreams and Aspirations’.

Performances are taking place on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd October at 7pm at the Dolphin Centre, Darlington.

Tickets: £3 each. These are available to buy from the college reception on Thursday from 9am – 12 noon this week and next Wednesday/Thursday 9am – 12 noon. Also available to purchase online at:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/darlingtoncollege

QUEST TO AIR BRITISH TV PREMIERE OF FEATURE LENGTH FILM “I AM ALI”

“Lewins’ film provides all the evidence needed to convince doubters – if there are any – that Ali transcends his sport and remains, indisputably, the greatest personality in boxing history”

The Independent

“The word ‘icon’ is overused but as this charming Muhammad Ali portrait shows,

occasionally it’s utterly warranted”

Empire

TX: Friday November 6^th, 9pm, exclusively on Quest

This November, and for the first time on British TV screens, Quest will premiere the intimate and heart-warming portrait of arguably one of the greatest American legends of our time – Muhammad Ali.

“I Am Ali”, the much lauded documentary film previously only available on limited cinema release, is told through exclusive, unprecedented access to Ali’s personal archive of ‘audio journals’ combined with touching interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends, including his daughters, sons, ex-wife and brother, his late trainer Angelo Dundee, plus legends of the boxing community including Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Marvin Frazier, son of Joe and long-time business manager Gene Kilroy.

Boxing legend, African American hero and beloved father, Muhammad Ali, now 72 and suffering from the debilitating Parkinson’s disease, Ali’s story is told from the inside for the very first time.

The film presents a heart-warming narrative around never-heard before tape recordings from the legend himself, mostly made in the late 1970s, in which the champion speaks to his children, playfully, affectionately, and assures them such “audio journals” will one day be part of history.

“I Am Ali” is ultimately the story of Cassius Clay to a modern cultural icon : from his birth and boxing beginnings in Louisville, Kentucky to gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics; from beating Henry Cooper at Wembley to beating Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship of the world; from changing his religion and his name to going into exile after refusing the draft for Vietnam. It is the story of Muhammad Ali’s great 1970s fights, the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman in Zaire and the Thriller in Manilla against the mighty Joe Frazier. It is the story of his final bout at 39, a defeat by Trevor Berbick in the Bahamas. It is, briefly, the story of his life after the ring.

“I Am Ali” is a Fisheye Films production, written, produced and directed by British film maker Clare Lewins, and co-produced by George Chignell and Greg Hobden.

PRINCIPAL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR

LORD OF THE DANCE: DANGEROUS GAMES

AT LONDON’S PLAYHOUSE THEATRE

The principal cast for Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games at London’s Playhouse Theatre has been announced. The role of the Lord of the Dance will be played by James Keegan, Morgan Comer and brothers Cathal and Fergal Keaney, who have all been hand-picked and directed by Michael Flatley.  All four have won multiple World Irish Dancing Championship titles. Sophie Evans and Rachael O’Connor will share the role of Erin the Goddess.

Sophie Evans was runner-up on the hugely popular BBC series Over the Rainbow in 2010, and was subsequently chosen by Andrew Lloyd Webber to don the legendary ruby slippers and play the alternate Dorothy in selected performances of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium in 2011.  Sophie took over the role full time from February to September 2012.  She has most recently starred in You Won’t Succeed on Broadway If You Don’t Have Any Jews at St. James Theatre. 

Rachael O’Connor came to the nation’s attention after becoming the last girl standing in Kylie Minogue’s team on series 3 of The Voice UK on BBC One. Rachael made her West End debut in Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games at the London Palladium in 2014.

Flatley’s latest show Dangerous Games has exciting and ground-breaking new technology, including holographs, special effects lighting, dancing robots, world champion acrobats and the greatest team of Irish Dancers in the world.  The score is composed by Gerard Fahy.

For further details, please visit www.lordofthedance.com.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

10 October 2015 to 3 January 2016

The Panto came early to Harrowgate Hill Primary School in Darlington with a special educational Roadshow.

IT’S BEHIND YOU!

A Pantomime Roadshow was held at Harrowgate Hill Primary School in preparation for Cinderella at Darlington Civic Theatre from Saturday 5 December to Sunday 10 January.

This special Panto Roadshow tours schools with an educational programme introducing children to the magic of live theatre and especially Pantomime. Run by Nigel Allacott the session was aimed at Key Stage Two Primary children and offered what may be the first experience of theatre to pupils in a comedy performance that was both entertaining and educational.

Nigel said “The aim in touring these roadshows is to encourage children to make that first contact with their local theatre, and to entertain and educate them in the history, traditions and enjoyment that can be gained by doing so. This is, after all the audience of the future”.

The first part of the show involved a comedy and interactive performance lasting 40 minutes, and after a short break the second part involved showing the children costumes and props from actual productions, allowing some children and staff to dress up in various costumes, and ended with a lively question and answer session.

Cinderella is at Darlington Civic Theatre from Saturday 5 December to Sunday 10 January.

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

The Barbican have announced their full January to July 2016 programme.

Katie Mitchell will bring her Schaubuhne Berlin production of The Forbidden Zone to London for its UK premiere (26-29 May). The play is a female perspective on war and the advance of chemical weapons.

Another UK premiere will be the new Robert Lepage production of Needles and Opium, inspired by the lives of Jean Cocteau and Miles Davis, which is directed by the French-Canadian theatre maestro (7-16 July).

French film actress Isabelle Huppert will also appear in the new season in a production of Phaedra(s) directed by Polish auteur Krzysztof Warlikowski (9-18 June). The piece is a co-production between the Barbican and LIFT 2016 and draws on the writings of Sarah Kane, Wajdi Mouawad and JM Coetzee.

Maverick theatre company Forced Entertainment will also bring their epic undertakingComplete Works to the Barbican (1-6 March). The piece involves all 36 of Shakespeare’s plays being performed in condensed form, using only everyday objects as a cast.

It will also be the first time that New York company Split Britches will appear at the theatre. Actor and writer Peggy Shaw will perform her piece Ruff which looks at life before and after a stroke (14-16 April).

The Shadow King is a UK premiere from Australian company Malthouse. The piece reimagines King Lear as a tale of two indigenous families (22 June – 2 July). Michael Kantor directs the piece, and Tom E Lewis leads the cast.

Alongside these are the previously announced The Encounter by Simon McBurney, and Kings of War by Toneelgroep Amsterdam.

Tickets for the productions (unless specified) are available to Barbican Members Plus from today, to Barbican Members on Monday 12 October and on general sale from Thursday 15 October.

The Curve, Leicester has announced its Spring 2016 season with highlights including a new production of Legally Blonde alongside the already announced premiere of Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Pixie Lott.

Legally Blonde The Musical, the award-winning West End and Broadway show, will run from 11 April to 14 May. Nikolai Foster will direct the production, which follows sorority sister Elle Woods who heads off to Harvard Law School to win back her boyfriend.

Under the new creative partnership of chief executive Chris Stafford and artistic director Foster, the season will open with Rupert Goold’s successful King Charles III tour which will run from 26 to 30 January.

Wipers, a Curve commissioned play written by Ishy Din also features in the season. Inspired by the real life story of Khuddadad Khan, the first South Asian soldier to be awarded a Victoria Cross for his bravery at the First Battle of Ypres, the play examines the contribution made by South Asian soldiers in WWI.

The production will run from 8 to 23 April and will be directed by Curve associate director Suba Das.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, starring Lott as Holly Golightly, is directed by Foster and described as a ‘play with music’. It will feature an onstage band and have music composed by Grant Olding (One Man, Two Guvnors). Truman Capote’s novella is being adapted for the stage by Tony and Olivier Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg.

It will run at Leicester Curve’s main house from 3-12 March 2016 before touring the UK. Breakfast at Tiffany’s will culminate with a 12-week West End run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, also starring Lott, from 30 June to 17 September 2016.

Other shows in the season include JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls (17-23 March); Kali Theatre’s The Dishonoured (10-12 March) and Zoonation’s Into the Hoods (14-15 March).

Phillip Jackson’s statue of the legendary theatre director Joan Littlewood was unveiled in London over the weekend.

Celebrities turned out to see the moment where the covers were pulled off the artwork.Barbara Windsor, who worked with Littlewood when her career was starting off, was there to dish out cake.

Ian McKellen also appeared at the unveiling, which took place in front of the Theatre Royal Stratford East, a theatre Littlewood based her pioneering company the Theatre Workshop at during the Fifties.

Murray Melvin, an actor and writer who also worked closely with Littlewood, was also there at the unveiling. He said: “I’m delighted that a sculpture by Philip Jackson will be unveiled in Theatre Square in recognition of her great contribution to the community of Stratford and theatre.”

Littlewood became famous for her work with Theatre Workshop, and productions of musicals Fings Ain’t What They Used T’Be and Oh What a Lovely War, both of which were revived by the Theatre Royal Stratford East recently.

The bronze statue of Joan Littlewood will stand in Theatre Square near the Theatre Royal Stratford East.

BRYAN ADAMS
THE GET UP TOUR
SHEFFIELD ARENA
SATURDAY 14^TH MAY 2016

 
Multi-platinum, recording artist Bryan Adams is set to hit the UK in April/May next year with ‘The Get Up Tour’ in support of his forthcoming studio album ‘Get Up’ (releasing in the UK on 23^rd October).

The 10-date arena tour will include a show at Sheffield Arena on Saturday 14^th May, which will be the 12^thtime Bryan has played the venue since it opened in 1991.

Tickets go on general sale at 9am on Friday 9^th October in person at the Arena Box Office, by phone on 0114 256 5656 or online at www.sheffieldarena.co.uk.

Tickets purchased by phone or online are priced £38.50 & £46.75 (including booking fee).  Tickets purchased in person at the Arena Box Office are priced £36.75 & £44.73 (including booking fee).

Bryan Adams is set to release his thirteenth studio album, Get Up (UMe), on Friday 23^rd October. Produced by famed ELO frontman Jeff Lynne and co-written with his long-time collaborator Jim Vallance, the album features nine new songs and four acoustic versions. Get Up is available for pre-order now via all digital partners and includes instant-grat track “You Belong To Me,” followed by lead track “Brand New Day”, and the final early download, “Don’t Even Try” prior to street date. 

Tickets for Bryan Adam’s Sheffield date go on general sale at 9am on Friday 9th October in person at the Arena Box Office, by phone on 0114 256 5656 or online at www.sheffieldarena.co.uk.