Month: February 2016

LEE BRENNAN JOINS THE CAST OF

FOOTLOOSE: THE MUSICAL

 

FROM TUESDAY 19 APRIL TO SATURDAY 18 JUNE 2016

 

911 and The Big Reunion star Lee Brennan will make his musical theatre debut when he joins the cast ofFootloose: The Musical, playing the role of Willard from Tuesday 19 April to Saturday 18 June 2016. Lee will join the UK tour for dates in Oxford, Weston Super Mare, Wimbledon, Liverpool, Belfast, Derry, Torquay andGlasgow.

Lee Brennan is widely recognised as one third of multi-million selling pop group 911. One of the biggest pop acts of the 90’s, 911 were one of only five acts in the decade to achieve ten consecutive UK Top Ten Hit Singles, selling over 10 million records around the world and touring the UK four times. Lee returned to 911 in 2013, when the band reformed for ITV’s smash hit series The Big Reunion. An arena tour followed, where they played to over 200,000 fans alongside acts including Five and Blue.

Lee said today: “I am unbelievably excited about joining the amazing cast of Footloose! It has always been a dream of mine to perform in a musical and I cannot wait to get started in my role as Willard. I loved the film and have seen the current stage version and it blew me away!”

As previously announced, Gareth Gates will continue in the role of Willard until 16 April, returning to the show from 20 June 2016.

Based on the 1984 screen sensation starring Kevin Bacon, Footloose: The Musical tells the story of city boy Ren, who has to move to a rural backwater in America where dancing is banned. All hell breaks out as Ren breaks loose and soon has the whole town up on its feet. Featuring classic 80s hits including Holding Out for a Hero, Almost Paradise, Let’s Hear it for the Boy and the unforgettable title track, Footloose: The Musical is set to take the world by storm once again in this brand new production, bursting with youthful spirit, dazzling dance and electrifying music.

 

When the film was released in 1984, it became the highest-grossing February release in US film history.  The soundtrack album ended the year-long reign of Michael Jackson’s Thriller at number one and went on to top album charts all over the world, eventually selling in excess of 17 million copies.  Footloose was nominated for a Golden Globe, and both the title song and Let’s Hear It for the Boy received Academy Award nominations.Footloose: The Musical first opened on Broadway in 1998 where it ran for 709 performances, with a London production following in 2006, opening at the Novello Theatre following a UK Tour.

 

The cast also features Luke Baker (American Idiot, Sunny Afternoon) as Ren, Maureen Nolan (The Nolans, Blood Brothers) as Vi Moore, Hannah Price as Ariel Moore, Nigel Lister as Reverend Shaw Moore, Nicky Swift as Ethel McCormack, Joanna Sawyer as Rusty, Matthew Tomlinson as Chuck, Natasha Brown as Wendy-Jo, Miracle Chance as Urleen, Thomas Cotran as Jeter and Scott Haining as Bickie. The cast also includes Lauren Storer, Natalie Morton-Graham, Luke Thornton and Alex Marshall.

 

Footloose: The Musical has music by Tom Snow and lyrics by Dean Pitchford, and is adapted for the stage by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie. It is based on the original screenplay by Dean Pitchford. It is directed by Racky Plews (American Idiot, West End) with choreography by Matthew Cole, design by Sara Perks and musical supervision by Mark Crossland. It is produced by David Hutchinson and Phillip Rowntree for Sell A Door Theatre Company, Tristan Baker and Charlie Parsons for Runaway Entertainment, Jason Haigh-Ellery and Stephen McGill Productions. It is presented by arrangement with R&H Theatricals Europe.

 

www.footloose-musical.com

@FootlooseTour

 

 

2016 UK TOUR

Monday 8 – Saturday 13 February 2016

DARTFORD Orchard Theatre

Box Office www.orchardtheatre.co.uk | 01322 220000

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Tuesday 16 – Saturday 20 February 2016

EDINBURGH Festival Theatre

Box Office www.edtheatres.com | 0131 529 6000

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Monday 22 – Saturday 27 February 2016

LOWESTOFT Marina Theatre

Box Office www.marinatheatre.co.uk | 01502 533200

With Gareth Gates as Willard

Monday 29 February – Saturday 5 March 2016

CARDIFF New Theatre

Box Office www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk | 029 2087 8889

With Gareth Gates as Willard

Monday 14 – Saturday 19 March 2016

MANCHESTER Palace Theatre

Box Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/palace-theatre-manchester | 0161 245 6600

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Monday 21 – Saturday 26 March 2016

CARLISLE Sands Theatre

Box Office www.thesandscentre.co.uk | 01228 633766

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Monday 28 March – Saturday 2 April 2016

PORTSMOUTH King’s Theatre

Box Office www.kingsportsmouth.co.uk | 023 9282 8282

With Gareth Gates as Willard

Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16 April 2016

BOURNEMOUTH Pavilion Theatre

Box Office www.bournemouthpavilion.co.uk | 0844 576 3000

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Tuesday 19- Saturday 23 April 2016

OXFORD New Theatre

Box Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-theatre-oxford | 0844 871 3020

With Lee Brennan as Willard

 

Monday 25 – Saturday 30 April 2016

WESTON-SUPER-MARE Playhouse

Box Office www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/theplayhouse | 01934 645544

With Lee Brennan as Willard

 

Monday 2 – Saturday 7 May 2016

WIMBLEDON New Theatre

Box Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-wimbledon-theatre | 020 8545 7900

With Lee Brennan as Willard

 

Monday 9 – Saturday 14 May 2016

LIVERPOOL Empire

Box Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/liverpool-empire | 0151 702 7320

With Lee Brennan as Willard

 

Monday 23 – Saturday 28 May 2016

BELFAST Opera House

Box Office www.goh.co.uk | 028 9024 1919

With Lee Brennan as Willard

 

Tuesday 31 May – Saturday 4 June 2016

DERRY Millennium Forum

Box Office www.millenniumforum.co.uk | 028 7126 4455

With Lee Brennan as Willard

Monday 6 – Saturday 11 June 2016

TORQUAY Princess Theatre

Box Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/princess-theatre-torquay | 0844 871 3023

With Lee Brennan as Willard

Monday 13 – Saturday 18 June 2016

GLASGOW King’s Theatre

Box Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre | 0844 871 7648

With Lee Brennan as Willard

 

Monday 20 – Saturday 25 June 2016

ABERDEEN His Majesty’s Theatre

Box Office www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/venues/his-majestys-theatre | 01224 641122

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Monday 27 June – Saturday 2 July 2016

BRADFORD Alhambra Theatre

Box Office www.bradford-theatres.co.uk | 01274 432000

With Gareth Gates as Willard

Monday 4 – Saturday 9 July 2016

BIRMINGHAM Alexandra Theatre

Box Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-alexandra-theatre-birmingham | 0844 871 3011

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16 July 2016

NEWCASTLE Opera House

Box Office www.tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk | 0191 243 1171

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Monday 18 – Saturday 23 July 2016

WOKING New Victoria Theatre

Box Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-victoria-theatre | 0844 871 7645

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Monday 25 – Saturday 30 July 2016

BRIGHTON Theatre Royal

Box Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-brighton | 0844 871 7627

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Monday 1 August – Saturday 6 August 2016

BRISTOL Hippodrome

Box Office www.atgtickets.com/venues/bristol-hippodrome | 0844 871 3012

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Monday 15 – Saturday 27 August 2016

ABERYSTWYTH Arts Centre

Box Office www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk | 01970 62 32 32

 

Monday 19 – Saturday 24 September 2016

BLACKPOOL Opera House

Box Office www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk | 0844 856 1111

With Gareth Gates as Willard

 

Monday 3 – Saturday 8 October 2016

IPSWICH Regent Theatre

Box Office 01473 433100

With Gareth Gates as Willard

SHEFFIELD THEATRES EXTENDS WORLD PREMIÈRE OF RICHARD BEAN’S

THE NAP AND SHOW BOAT HEADS DOWNSTREAM TO LONDON’S WEST END

Sheffield Theatres’ Artistic Director Daniel Evans today announces the world première production of Richard Bean’s comedy thriller The Nap will extend its run by one week, alongside news that his recent five star production of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s musical Show Boat is to transfer to the West End. 

 

Directed by Sheffield Theatres’ Associate Director Richard Wilson, The Nap, written by award-winning Richard Bean (One Man Two Guv’nors) will extend its run by one week on the Crucible stage until Saturday 2 April. This brand new laugh-out-loud comedy thriller is set at the World Snooker Championships and stars a cast including  BAFTA award-winning  Jack O’Connell(Unbroken, ’71, Starred Up), Mark Addy (The Full Monty film, Game of Thrones, Atlantis) and Ralf Little (Lewis, The Royle Family, Our Zoo).

Daniel Evans’ critically acclaimed production of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’smusical  Show Boat will transfer to West End’s New London Theatre in spring 2016.  Seen by over 36,000 people during its seven-week run in Sheffield, previews begin at the New London Theatre fromSaturday 9 April.  Produced in the West End by David Ian with Bob Bartner and Norman Tulchin, tickets for Show Boat go on sale on Friday 12 February.  The cast will be announced shortly.

Daniel Evans said:  “Show Boat is often thought to be the mother of all musicals.  Hammerstein and Kern’s score continues to blow audiences away, almost 90 years later.  As well as being a riveting story, the piece’s themes of family and freedom still speak to us today in a profound way.  I feel proud that the production we made in Sheffield will now get to travel further afield and be experienced by yet more audiences in the capital.”  

Producer David Ian said: “I am absolutely thrilled, along with my co-producers Bob Bartner andNorman Tulchin, to be bringing Daniel’s ground breaking production of Show Boat to the West End. As soon as I saw the production in Sheffield there was no doubt in my mind that we absolutely had to bring Show Boat in to London, giving West End audiences the opportunity to see this brand new version of such an incredible musical.”

Tickets for The Nap can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres’ Box Office in-person, byphone on 0114 249 6000 or online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk and are priced from £18.00 (concessions available).  A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office (excluding cash).

 

For ticket information for Show Boat go to www.ShowBoatMusical.co.uk or call 0844 412 4654

Directed by Alastair Whatley, William Nicholson’s play tells the love story of C.S. Lewis, author ofThe Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters, and American poet Joy Davidman. The production opens at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre on Thursday 18 February, prior to a nationwide tour.

SHADOWLANDS will then tour to Salisbury, Eastbourne, Ipswich, Windsor, Croydon, Malvern, Worthing, Doncaster, Chesterfield, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Cardiff, Exeter and Richmond, with further dates to be announced.

The cast of SHADOWLANDS will be led by Stephen Boxer (Humans, The Iron Lady, Doctors) as C.S. Lewis, Denis Lill (The Royal, Only Fools and Horses, Rumpole of the Bailey) as Major W.H. Lewis ‘Warnie’ and Amanda Ryan (The Forsyte Saga, Shameless) as Joy Davidman. They will be joined by Simon Shackleton as Professor Christopher Riley, Jeffrey Harmer as Rev ‘Harry’ Harrington, Ian Marr as Alan Gregg, Richard Holliday as Dr Maurice Oakley and Shannon Rewcroft as Douglas, with Holly Smith and Alistair Higgins playing multiple supporting roles.

SHADOWLANDS, by William Nicholson, tells the love story of C.S. Lewis, Oxford don and author of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters, and American poet Joy Davidman. What begins as a formal meeting of two very different minds slowly develops into a feeling of connection and love. Lewis finds his quiet life with his brother Warnie disrupted by the outspoken, feisty Davidman, whose uninhibited behaviour offers a sharp contrast to the rigid sensibilities of the male-dominated university. Each provides the other with new ways of viewing the world, but Lewis’s Christian faith is tested when Joy is diagnosed with cancer.

Official website: www.shadowlandstour.com

Twitter: @shadowlandstour

Facebook: shadowlandsthetour

2016 TOUR SCHEDULE

18 – 27 February Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford 01483 44 00 00 www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk

29 February – 5 March Salisbury Playhouse 01722 320 333 www.salisburyplayhouse.com

7 – 12 March Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne 01323 412 000 www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk

14 – 19 March New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich 01473 295900 www.wolseytheatre.co.uk

29 March – 2 April Theatre Royal Windsor 01753 853 888 www.theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk

4 – 9 April Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon 020 8688 9291 www.fairfield.co.uk

11 – 16 April Festival Theatre, Malvern 01684 892277 www.malvern-theatres.co.uk

19 – 23 April Connaught Theatre, Worthing 01903 206 206 www.worthingtheatres.co.uk 26 April – 30 April CAST Theatre, Doncaster 01302 303 959

castindoncaster.com 16 – 21 May Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield 01246 345 222

chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk

31 May – 4 June Birmingham Repertory Theatre 0121 236 4455 www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

13 – 18 June New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth 023 9264 9000 www.newtheatreroyal.com 21 – 25 June New Theatre, Cardiff 029 2087 8889 www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk

28 June – 2 July Exeter Northcott Theatre 01392 726363 www.exeternorthcott.co.uk

25 July – 30 July Richmond Theatre 0844 871 7651 www.atgtickets.com/venues/richmond-theatre

 

Directed by James Brining, Artistic Director of the West Yorkshire Playhouse, the tour of the much loved Sherman Brothers musical kicks off in Southampton on Wednesday 10 February.

Caractacus Potts will be played by Jason Manford (The Producers, Sweeney Todd) from 10 February until 24 April, and he will return to the show from 5 October 2016. Lee Mead (Casualty, Legally Blonde, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat) will play Caractacus Potts from 4 May until 18 September 2016.

Martin Kemp (EastEnders, The Krays) will play the Childcatcher and Amy Griffiths (Everyman, Stephen Ward, The Pajama Game) will play Truly Scrumptious, both until 24 April 2016.

CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG will also feature Phill Jupitus (The Producers, Hairspray) as Lord Scrumptious/Baron Bomburst until 24 April 2016, Michelle Collins (EastEnders, Coronation Street) as Baroness Bomburst, and Andy Hockley (The Phantom Of The Opera) as Grandpa Potts.

Ewen Cummins plays The Toymaker/Mr Coggins, with Sam Harrison as Boris and Scott Paige as Goran, and Kathryn Barnes, Rosanna Bates, Alex Louize Bird, Abigail Climer, Jade Davies, Matt Gillett, Ewan Gillies, Joanna Goodwin, Nathan Vaughan Harris, Christopher D Hunt, Paul Iveson, Nia Jermin, Kelsie-Rae Marshall, Mollie Melia-Redgrave, Perry O’Dea, Matt Overfield, Ross Russell, Craig Turner and Robert Wilkes.

For more information, visit www.chittythemusical.co.uk

Facebook: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang The Musical

Twitter: @ChittyMusical / #chittymusical

 

10–21 February Mayflower Theatre, Southampton www.mayflower.org.uk 02380 711811

24 February – 13 March Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie 0844 847 2455

16 – 27 March Grand Opera House, Belfast www.goh.co.uk/ 028 9024 1919

30 March – 9 April Regent Theatre, Stoke 0844 871 7649 www.atgtickets.com/venues/regent-theatre

13 – 24 April Cliffs Pavilion, Southend www.thecliffspavilion.co.uk 01702 351 135

4 – 14 May Milton Keynes Theatre 0844 871 7652 www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/

18 – 29 May Nottingham Theatre Royal www.trch.co.uk 0115 989 5555

1 – 12 June Theatre Royal, Newcastle www.theatreroyal.co.uk 08448 112 111

15 – 19 June Theatre Royal Plymouth 01752 267222 www.theatreroyal.com

29 June – 17 July Sheffield Lyceum www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk 0114 249 6000

20 – 30 July New Wimbledon Theatre 0844 871 7646 www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-wimbledon-theatre

3 – 21 August Wales Millennium Centre www.wmc.org.uk 029 2063 6464

24 August – 3 September Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury www.marlowetheatre.com 01227 787787

7 – 18 September Birmingham Hippodrome www.birminghamhippodrome.com 0844 338 5000

21 September – 2 October Royal & Derngate, Northampton www.royalandderngate.co.uk 01604 624811

5 – 16 October Festival Theatre, Edinburgh www.edtheatres.com 0131 529 6000

19 – 29 October King’s Theatre, Glasgow 0844 871 7648 www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre/

9 – 19 November New Victoria Theatre, Woking 0844 871 7645 www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-victoria-theatre/

6 December – 15 January 2017 The Lowry, Salford 0843 208 6000 www.thelowry.com/

Further tour dates to be announced

OF MICE AND MEN

INTERVIEW WITH DUDLEY SUTTON WHO PLAYS THE ROLE OF ‘CANDY’

How would you describe the character you play in Of Mice And Men?

It’s very interesting because he’s the oldest guy and he represents the growing weakness of workers who are going to be slung on the mud heap – the dung heap – as soon as they can’t do a job anymore. He’s lost one of his hands and is just doing what they called ‘swamping out’ – washing the floors and stuff – and as soon he can’t do that anymore they’ll sling him on the dung heap which means the workhouse.

What’s the common ground between you and Candy?

There’s a tremendous amount. The girl in the play, Saoirse-Monaca Jackson, is 60 years younger than I am. I’m working with a whole group of young actors who are absolutely brilliant and wonderful and exciting. I’m on the way out and they’re on the way in. There’s a strange kind of sweetness in that relationship. I mostly just sit around admiring them so much I forget my cues.

And what are the big differences between you and him?

[Laughs] Well, I’ve never worked for a living. I tried it once but it didn’t really suit me. No, I mustn’t be flippant. I’ve never had that grinding poverty that he has. I’ve been skint at times but never that endless grinding poverty. I saw that kind of poverty when I was young and working in places like Manchester; and you’d see industrial wounds on the streets of places like that.

They say never to work with children or animals, so is it working with a dog on stage?

If you want to look it up in the history books, I’m the only actor I’ve ever come across that got a notice in a paper many years ago where the critic said I was the only actor he’d ever met who could upstage a baby lamb. That was in the Sam Shephard play The Curse Of The Starving Class. But it’s difficult with a dog because the dog in this has to be old. He’s a reflection of Candy really because he’s old and he stinks and he’s dragging his feet and he’s going blind and he’s useless. But once you let the dog take over you’re OK. When I’m trying to control the dog it doesn’t work; you just have to accept the dog is going to come onstage and every kid in the place is going to go ‘Aaah!’ They’ll all be watching the dog, not me. But I like going on stage with animals and children. I’m not threatened by them.

The play dates back to 1937. Why do you think it has endured?

It has so many extraordinary resonances. It’s about the haves and have-nots, and the absolute suppression of the people by the emerging big agriculture companies. It was an extraordinary time in American history, and in a way the old guy Candy has two things – he has the comfort of his dog, and his dream of being part of a group with their own bit of land, with trees, growing corn. It’s a modern tragedy based on economics, and there’s always been this great divide between the haves and the have-nots. There’s always been this struggle and there will always be a struggle between capital and labour. This play is set in the late 20s and there were union strikes that had to be broken up with shotguns. People were killed by guns and pickaxe handles so you got Woody Guthrie and all those great protest songs that came out of that time. It’s as relevant today as it ever was and I can see why schools have had the book on the curriculum for so long. It’s an intensely moral play in the best sense of the word.

Is it a play you’ve always wanted to perform in?

I didn’t really know much about it and I don’t usually look at plays very deeply until I’m in them. But I started out in 1957 in the East End, in what ways then a very rundown place called Stratford which now of course is very gentrified, in the very left-wing Theatre Workshop company. So the play kind of fits well with me.

How do you feel you would have fared during the Great Depression?

It’s difficult to tell because I was educated, but I think I would have survived because I’ve always had an inquiring mind and I’ve always distrusted authority. There were wonderful movements during the Great Depression – education for working people and all the rest of it. A lot of things were going on.

What are the biggest challenges for you as an actor in playing Candy?

Everything is a challenge. Mainly it’s learning lines. Learning lines has always been a misery for me and you go through hell until you know them. But I have to say how impressed I am with the cast. It’s very well cast indeed.

The tour marks the 20th anniversary of the Touring Consortium Theatre Company. Why do you feel the work it does is so important?

Because they usually do stuff that’s on the curriculum and brings it all alive. I don’t like to think of the theatre as part of the department of do-gooding. Theatre should be challenging and I think it should be offensive. I think it’s important for it to be offensive. People need to be offended in order to think. If you airbrush everything out nobody is ever going to be offended and the whole world is going to be sanitized. We’d all be going round like a bunch of zombies. We need the argument, we need the discussion, we need the rows. Disagreement is very important but it’s discouraged on so many levels.

Do you have any pre or post show rituals?

I do lip and tongue exercises in the dressing room so I don’t flub the lines. You do imitations of motorbikes and motorboats. [Laughs] You just have to make sure your teeth don’t fall out. I also have an old voice exercise that was given to me in New York in 1960 which I still use, which has to do with falsetto and just getting the voice warmed up a bit. But I’m a bit beyond leaping about doing exercise. I tried to join in a practice game with the boys in the company the other day, which involved throwing a light handball around, and I fell over. Two of them had to pick me up because I’m a bit fat at the moment. I have to sit down and accept the fact that I’m 60 years older than the girl in the play and 40 years older than the oldest guy.

What are your career highlights?

It sounds feeble but it’s usually the one I’m currently in. But my favourite TV part was Tinker in Lovejoy which has given me friends all over the world. I also loved a film I did called The Football Factory. I’ve always liked being on the outskirts pushing in; two of the films I was involved in, The Football Factory and early on The Leather Boys, were avoided by cinemas. I’m still knocking on the door. I’m still kicking against the bricks. I’ve also always loved Shakespeare and I think most actors do because he’s always got his feet in the mud. He doesn’t get all esoteric, grand and abstract. It’s firmly rooted in reality and life and I’ve tried to make my work like that – to keep it in reality.

Of Mice And Men is at Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 March.

Tickets* £17.40 to £27, discounts available. Thursday and Saturday matinees all seats £18.50. Family ticket Saturday 2.30pm £44. Under 16s and schools all seats £11 plus 1 free with every 10 booked.

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

*All prices include a £1 restoration levy

BRENDAN COLE – A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

Brendan Cole is a professional Ballroom and Latin dancer, best known for his role on the BBC entertainment show Strictly Come Dancing.

Having started dancing in his native New Zealand aged six, after being dragged along to classes by his mother, Brendan competed there as an amateur dancer until the age of 18 when he packed his bags and headed to the bright lights of London. At this time England and particularly South London was the centre of the ballroom dancing world. Having been inspired by the top professional dancers and teachers, Brendan’s dancing went from strength to strength. He eventually turned professional in January 2000 having previously won the New Zealand amateur title on three occasions.

During his time as a competitive Ballroom and Latin dancer, Brendan and his partner gained such credentials as New Zealand Amateur and Professional Champions, Amateur Asia-Pacific Champions, Professional Semifinalists in the World, International, United Kingdom Open and most prestigiously the British Open Championships as well as third place in the British Open Rising Star Championships.

In 2004 Brendan was approached by the BBC to take part in a brand-new television show then known as Pro-Celebrity Come Dancing, a new spin on the hugely popular Come Dancing which was originally broadcast in 1949 and ran until 1998. Initially Brendan had reservations about appearing on the show as he was concerned it may make a mockery of what he believed was perceived as a world of ‘tea and cucumber sandwiches’.

Having had his fears put to rest after participating in the pilot for the show, Brendan danced the very first dance on the first show of what was to eventually become known as Strictly Come Dancing. Brendan went on to win this series with his celebrity partner, newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky. To date, Brendan along with his colleague and friend Anton du Beke, is one of only two professionals to have competed in all 13 series. During his time on the show, Brendan has been honoured to dance with such celebs as Kelly Brook, Lisa Snowdon, Jo Wood, Victoria Pendleton, Sunetra Sarker, Kirsty Gallacher and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Having quickly established himself as a television personality and household name, Brendan has been fortunate enough to appear on many other television shows such as singing contests Just The Two Of Us partnering Beverly Knight, and Sing If You Can hosted by Keith Lemon, chat shows such as Al Murray’s Happy Hour and even a judging role on New Zealand’s Dancing With The Stars alongside Craig Revel Horwood.

In 2010 Brendan felt he was ready for a new challenge and put his creative expertise to work in the conception of his first touring theatre show Live and Unjudged which played to rave reviews. Following on from this came the sell-out Licence to Thrill which lead to his 7th and now 8th UK tours and his third production, A Night to Remember.

Brendan credits his theatre tours along with the birth of his daughter, Aurélia, in 2012 as his proudest achievements. “It’s an incredible feeling knowing I have created something that people are wanting to come along to, enjoy and be a part of. I love every second of being on that stage and am extremely proud of the road it has taken to allow me to perform in this way. I’m so grateful to have these opportunities and every night I’m on stage is a privilege.”

On a personal level, Brendan believes he is the happiest and most fulfilled he has ever been following his marriage to Zoe in 2010 and the birth of his daughter in 2012.

“I am in a really good place in my life right now. I have a job that I adore and a fantastic creative outlet in my tour and then I have my wonderful family to come home to. Life is pretty great.”

A Night To Remember is at Darlington Civic Theatre on Thursday 18 February.

Tickets* £34 & £36. To book contact the Box Office on 01325 486 555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk

*All prices include a £1 restoration levy

THE DEVIL INSIDE

​

A CHILLING NEW OPERA COMES TO

THE LAWRENCE BATLEY THEATRE, HUDDERSFIELD

 

– Collaboration between award-winning composer Stuart MacRae and successful novelist Louise Welsh

 

– Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale of greed and compulsion

 

– Music Theatre Wales/Scottish Opera co-commission & co-production

 

Friday, February 26 at 7.30pm

 

Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield

Queen St, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD1 2SP

 

Booking: www.thelbt.org              Tel: 01484 430528

 

‘finely paced, immaculately crafted’  The Guardian *****

‘spooky yarn’  The Times ****

‘Devilishly fine tale of greed and evil’   Financial Times ****

‘intimate, intense, disturbing’  Observer ****

 

 

A chilling tale of greed and compulsion by Robert Louis Stevenson gets the operatic treatment from composer Stuart MacRae and novelist Louise Welsh.  The Devil Inside, their new work, jointly commissioned by Scottish Opera and Music Theatre Wales, is a contemporary reading of Stevenson’s short story The Bottle Imp.

 

The opera comes to the Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield on Friday, February 26 at 7.30pm. It features a fine cast of singers including popular Opera North regulars, the tenor Nicholas Sharratt and baritone Steven Page whose past successes include the title role of the company’s highly acclaimed production of Sweeney Todd.

 

Composer Stuart MacRae and novelist Louise Welsh are both well known in their respective fields. Stuart MacRae has been commissioned by the BBC, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and London Sinfonietta amongst others, and Louise Welsh is the author of a string of successful novels including The Cutting Room, The Bullet Trick and, most recently, Death is a Welcome Guest.  Their collaboration on the one-act opera Ghost Patrol  – an earlier joint venture between the Scottish Opera and MTW – won the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Opera in 2013, and was nominated for an Olivier Award.

 

In The Devil Inside MacRae and Welsh have created a contemporary take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s unsettling tale whilst preserving the chilling, queasy qualities of the original. The story turns on a bottle with the power to grant the heart’s desire – but there’s a catch: you can only sell it for less than you paid for it, and, if you die while owning it, your soul goes straight to hell.

 

James uses the bottle to get all he ever dreamed of, and then sells it. Happily married to Catherine, he feels his life is complete…until an awful discovery begins to unravel their life together, with devastating consequences.

 

As the price of the bottle gets lower, a dangerous game of pass-the-parcel ensues. Greed, despair, unconditional love and a fear of death can force people to take drastic measures in their attempts to trick fate…

 

The Devil Inside is conducted by MTW’s Joint Artistic Director and Music Director Michael Rafferty with The Music Theatre Wales Ensemble.

 

The team behind MacRae and Welsh’s Ghost Patrol returns for The Devil Inside – director Matthew Richardson, designer Samal Blak​​​​​​​​ and lighting designer Ace McCarron​ – and is joined by a strong ensemble cast including tenor Nicholas Sharratt (who was seen in Ghost Patrol 2012), mezzo-soprano Rachel Kelly, baritone Steven Page and Scottish Opera Emerging Artist Ben McAteer.

 

The opera will receive its World premiere at Theatre Royal Glasgow on January 23, 2016, and performances at London’s Peacock Theatre (February 3 & 4) mark the start of an England and Wales tour, including dates in Cardiff, Basingstoke, Manchester, Aberystwyth, Huddersfield, Mold and Birmingham.

 

BOOKING INFORMATION

 

26 February 7.30pm

 

Online booking: www.thelbt.org

Tel: 01484 430528

Tickets £10-£19

Under 26s £7              Kirklees Passport holders £3 off

ACCESS ALL AREAS LEARNING DISABLED ACTORS TAKE UP LEAD ROLES AT LONDON’S VAULT FESTIVAL AND ON HOLBY CITY

 

Cian Binchy stars in The Misfit Analysis at Vault Festival, 2^nd – 6^th March

Jules Robertson makes his Holby City, 9^th February

Access All Areas 40^th anniversary show celebrates community work

Access All Areas, the award winning Theatre Company for adults with learning disabilities based in Hackney, London, is delighted to announce that two members of the company are headed for leading roles, with Cian Binchy reprising his one man show The Misfit Analysis at VAULT Festival, and Jules Robertson cast as a recurring character in BBC One’s Holby City.

Nick Llewellyn, Artistic Director of Access All Areas, said: “This is a real breakthrough moment for learning disabled actors in the UK. Access All Areas has been working with Cian and Jules for many years, and I’m absolutely thrilled that their talent is being recognised on stage and screen. I hope this leads to more diversity in arts and entertainment, and more disabled actors playing disabled characters themselves”.

VAULT FESTIVAL

VAULT Festival with Patrick Collier Creative Productions presents

THE MISFIT ANALYSIS

by Access All Areas and Cian Binchy

Wed 2^nd – Sun 6^th March, 6pm

Press night: Wed 2^nd Mar

VAULT Festival, The Vaults, Leake St,

Waterloo SE1 7NN (Forge)

Tickets: £10

Box office: vaultfestival.com / 0871 220 0260

 

WINNER: THE GUARDIAN UNIVERSITY AWARD FOR DIVERSITY (Access all Areas)

 

AUTISM CONSULTANT: ON THE NATIONAL THEATRE PRODUCTION OF THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME (Cian Binchy)

“Inside Binchy’s head is utterly fascinating and wildly creative” – Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

“A quirky, informative, funny show offering an insight into an autistic mind” – Steven McElroy,

New York Times

 

Cian has autism. He likes to spin tin-openers. He’s taught all the actors on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time how to be autistic. They’re very good at it.

 

Journeying through Cian’s mischievous mind, The Misfit Analysis takes us through a world of wheelchairs and blow up dolls in an unconventional exploration of an autistic mind. This is not Rain Man. Using multi-media, video projection and his unique brand of performance poetry, Cian playfully questions the place of disability in today’s world.

 

After a sell out run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and appearances on BBC 1, The Misfit Analysislaunches in London as part of VAULT festival 2016, and comes to Birmingham Hippodrome as part of the ITATI Festival.

 

ACCESS ALL AREAS 40^TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

Tue 15^th – Wed 16^th March, Hoxton Hall

WINNER: THE GUARDIAN UNIVERSITY AWARD FOR DIVERSITY (Access all Areas and Royal Central School of Speech and Drama) 

2016 is the 40th anniversary of the community drama group that started Access All Areas off, and there’ll be events and performances throughout the year in celebration. For more information, visit

www.accessallareastheatre.org / @AAATheatre / facebook.com/AccessAllAreasTheatre

JULES ROBERTSON IN HOLBY CITY

Jules Robertson made his debut on the flagship BBC One hospital drama on the 9^th February. Jules plays Jason Haynes, a 24-year-old funny and intelligent young man with Asperger’s. Haynes is a recurring character in the show.

Lily Staff presents:

CAN’T STAND UP FOR FALLING DOWN