Month: January 2017

English Touring Theatre to open UK Tour of Nell Gwynn at The Lowry

Tue 1 – Sat 4 March 2017

English Touring Theatre will open their UK Tour of Jessica Swale’s
Nell Gwynn, starring Laura Pitt-Pulford in the title role, at The Lowry. 
 
The production, directed by Christopher Luscombe begins its tour at the The Lowry in Salford, running from Tue 1- Sat 4 March. It then goes on to tour at multiple UK venues before returning to Shakespeare’s Globe in May 2017.

Jessica Swale’s warm-hearted, bawdy bio-drama (winner of 2016 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy) tells the story of an unlikely heroine, who went from lowly orange seller to win the adoration of the public and the heart of the King.

Jessica Swale is an award-winning playwright and the Artistic Director of Red Handed Theatre Company. Her first play, Blue Stockings was performed at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2012 and is a Drama GCSE set text. Other writing includes, All’s Will that Ends Will, Thomas Tallis, The Playhouse Apprentice, adaptations of Sense and Sensibility, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Secret Garden, Stig of the Dump and a new play, The Mission, about illegal adoptions in the 1920s.

In 2012 she won a BAFTA JJ Screenwriting Bursary and current commissions include the screenplay of Nell Gwynn for Working Title, the Horrible Histories Movie and Love [Sic], a new play for BBC Radio 4.  As director, Swale set up Red Handed Theatre Company in 2006, where her work includes The Belle’s Stratagem, The Busy Body, The Rivals, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Southwark Playhouse), The School for Scandal (Park Theatre) and Palace of the End (Arcola).

Laura Pitt-Pulford plays Nell Gwynn.  Her theatre credits include Flowers for Mrs Harris (Sheffield Crucible), Oliver!, The Sound of Music, Piaf, Hello Dolly! (Curve), The Smallest Show on Earth (UK tour), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), The Return of the Soldier (Jermyn Street Theatre), The Light Princess (National Theatre), A Man of No Importance (Salisbury Playhouse), Mack and Mabel and Parade (Southwark Playhouse), title role in Sweet Charity (Belfast MAC), The Little Prince (Lyric Belfast), Guys and Dolls (UK tour) and Copacabana (Watermill Theatre, Newbury).

Christopher Luscombe directs. His directing credits in London include The Shakespeare Revue (RSC and Vaudeville Theatre), Star Quality and The Madness of George III (Apollo Theatre), Home and Beauty (Lyric Hammersmith), Fascinating Aïda – One Last Flutter and The Rocky Horror Show (Harold Pinter Theatre), The Comedy of Errors, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare’s Globe), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Enjoy (Gielgud Theatre), Alphabetical Order (Hampstead Theatre), When We Are Married (Garrick Theatre), Travels With My Aunt (Menier Chocolate Factory) and Spamalot (Playhouse Theatre). His RSC productions of Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing, seen last year in Stratford-upon-Avon, have been screened in cinemas worldwide and released on DVD. They transfer to Chichester later this year, and then to the Theatre Royal, Haymarket for Christmas.

The Shakespeare’s Globe Production of Nell Gwynn is presented by English Touring Theatre in association with Nica Burns, Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Paula Marie Black.

Listings Info
Nell Gwynn
The Lowry
Wed 1 – Sat 4 March 2017
8pm, Thu & Sat 2:30pm
Tickets: £24.50 – £30.50 (Including booking fees)
Box office: 0843 208 6000

Yorkshire’s number one family pantomime, PETER PAN, (staged by Qdos Entertainment, the world’s largest pantomime producer) opened in December to packed houses and glowing reviews, and will run until Sunday 29 January at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford.

This year’s pantomime is led by an array of comedy, television and musical theatre stars – Billy Pearce, Darren Day, Charlie Hardwick, Jon Lee. They are joined by Lucy Evans as Tinker Bell; Marina Lawrence-Mahrra as Tiger Lily; and Rosie O’Hare as Wendy who is from Huddersfield. Four local boys, William Campbell (from Cullingworth), Will Collier (from Rothwell), Theo Francis (from Embsay) and Leo McDonnell (from Horsforth) also joined the cast in the roles of Michael and John Darling following open auditions held at the Alhambra Theatre last autumn.

In order to deliver “the Alhambra’s spectacular panto” (Telegraph & Argus), which is “packed with some genuine laugh out loud moments” (Yorkshire Post), there is an army of backstage people, production crew and venue staff who work tirelessly during rehearsals and every performance to bring this magical show to life.

The annual Alhambra Theatre pantomime brings together the work of over 40 technical and production staff, 20 performers and 23 local children as The Sunbeams. Plus there are up to an additional 160 venue staff, including bars & catering, box office, cleaning, front of house and stage-door teams, who work to ensure the venue is ready to open its doors to the public during the run of pantomime.

Here’s a peek behind the scenes into what audiences might not know, and probably don’t see:

• a total of 5 wagons transported the set, effects, lighting and sound equipment to the Alhambra

• staff worked approximately 901 hours from the get in to the first performance

• it took 2 separate sets of backstage crew working in 48 hour shifts to get the previous show out of the Alhambra Theatre; and then another 2 sets of staff worked another 48 hours to build the set and light the pantomime before the cast started to rehearse on stage

• there were 120 sheets of special flooring put down on the Alhambra stage and approximately 720 screws used to hold it in place

• it takes 21 members of backstage crew to run each performance (12 venue staff and 9 Qdos staff)

• there are 307 lighting cues executed during the show, which is a total of 22,411 for the run; and 158 follow spot cues per show (a total of 11,534 for the run)

• approximately 2,700 special 3D glasses are washed each day; and on average 5 people per week return their real spectacles instead of their 3D glasses at the end of the show!

• approximately 22,000 ice creams, 27,000 hot drinks; 6,400 pints of beer, 3,200 glasses of wine and 15,400 glasses of pop are sold during the run of pantomime

• over 2,500 diners are served in Restaurant 1914 during the run of pantomime

• there are 11 full size Christmas trees erected in the venue in December; the tallest one is 14 feet high and has over 500 lights on it

• Billy will have greeted his audiences with “ahoy there mateys” over 1,100 times; Peter Pan could have flown to Leeds and back; and Mr Crocodile will have roared over 1,200 times during the pantomime run!

• and at the end of the run, it will take 16 crew around 12 hours to pack away the show for another year…

Ground-breaking special effects once again take centre stage in this year’s production. Over the past five years, audiences at the Alhambra Theatre pantomime have been treated to an array of show-stopping effects, created by The Twins FX. This year is no exception as real life twins, Gary and Paul HardyBrown, have created the biggest crocodile in panto-land!

Also, an exciting 3D sequence takes audiences deep into the ocean on a magical underwater adventure. It was at the Alhambra Theatre ten years ago that pantomime producers, Qdos Entertainment, first featured ground-breaking 3D as part of their shows. Since then the wizardry behind 3D graphics has been made even more sophisticated to ensure audiences are on the edge of their seats!

“Shiver me timbers – Billy and the gang triumph at Neverland” Telegraph & Argus “This version of Peter Pan … is also packed with some genuine laugh out loud moments…” Yorkshire Post “Veteran performer Billy Pearce continues to deliver in a pantomime with stunning 3D effects” The Stage

Peter Pan – Alhambra Theatre, Bradford

Must end Sunday 29 January 2017

Relaxed Performance – Tuesday 17 January 2016 at 7.15pm

*Tickets: £39 – £15.50 (*inclusive of booking fees)

Call the Box Office on 01274 432000 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL TRIUMPH BLOOD BROTHERS

 

TO EMBARK ON 30^th ANNIVERSARY UK TOUR

LYN PAUL TO REPRISE ROLE AS THE

‘DEFINITIVE MRS JOHNSTONE’

 

WATCH: BLOOD BROTHERS

2017 marks 30 years since Bill Kenwright’s production of the international smash hit musical Blood Brothers first toured the UK. In celebration, the iconic musical will visit theatres across the country next year, opening on Tuesday 17 January at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking.

Hailed as one of the best musicals of all time, Blood Brothers, written by award-winning playwright Willy Russell has triumphed across the globe. Scooping up no fewer than four awards for best musical in London and seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway, Blood Brothers is simply unmissable and unbeatable.

This epic tale of Liverpool life started as a play, performed at a Liverpool comprehensive school in 1981 before opening at the Liverpool Empire in 1983, completing sell out seasons in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan. Blood Brothers also ran in London’s West End for 24 years, exceeding 10,000 performances, one of only three musicals ever to achieve that milestone.

No stranger to Blood Brothers, ‘The definitive Mrs Johnstone’ (Manchester Evening News) Lyn Paul returns to the iconic role, one she first played in 1997. Lyn played Mrs Johnstone in the final West End performances at the Phoenix Theatre in 2012. She has also starred in the UK tour of Cabaret in 2013 as Fraulein Schneider, in Boy George’s musical Taboo and in Footloose – the Musical.

Lyn rose to fame in the early 1970s as a member of the New Seekers. She was the featured vocalist on their 1972 Eurovision Song Contest entry, ‘Beg, Steal or Borrow’, in which they came second and lead vocalist on the 1974 number-one hit ‘You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me’. Among the group’s other works, they recorded the song ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing’, adapted from an advertising jingle for Coca-Cola, which sold over 20 million copies and still remains one of the 100 best-selling singles in the UK.

The  cast  for Blood  Brothers includes  Sarah  Jane  Buckley,  Dean  Chisnall,  Mark Hutchinson, Sean Jones,  Adam  Search, Danielle Corlass, Tim Churchill, Graham Martin, Laura Harrison, Alison Crawford, Graeme Kinniburgh, Henry Regan and Josh Capper.

 

Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving story of twin boys separated at birth, only to be reunited by a twist of fate and a mother’s haunting secret. The memorable score includes A Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s Not True.

When Mrs Johnstone, a young mother, is deserted by her husband and left to her own devices to provide for seven hungry children she takes a job as a housekeeper in order to make ends meet.

It is not long before her brittle world crashes around her when she discovers herself to be pregnant yet again – this time with twins! In a moment of weakness and desperation, she enters a secret pact with her employer which leads inexorably to the show’s shattering climax. A sensational cast, incredible show stopping music, remarkable staging and five star performances make Blood Brothers an enthralling night of entertainment.

Willy Russell is undeniably one of this country’s leading contemporary dramatists. His countless credits include Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine. Educating Rita, originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, enjoyed a two year run in the West End and was made into a movie starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters. Shirley Valentine also made the move from stage to screen in an enormously popular film starring Pauline Collins and Tom Conti.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

Bill Kenwright presents

BLOOD BROTHERS

By Willy Russell

Directed by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright

Designed by Andy Walmsley                                       Sound Designed By Dan Samson

Musical Direction by Kelvin Towse                            Lighting Designed by Nick Richings

 

BLOOD BROTHERS – 2017 TOUR DATES

 

Tuesday 17 – Saturday 21 January                                                            Box Office:  0844 871 7645

Woking, New Victoria Theatre                                                                   Website: www.atgtickets.com/woking

 

***Monday 23 January – Saturday 4 February                                   Box Office: 0114 249 6000

Sheffield Theatres, Lyceum Theatre                                                        Website: www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

Monday 6 – Saturday 11 February                                                            Box Office: 01202 280000

Poole, Lighthouse                                                                                            Website: www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

Monday 13 – Saturday 18 February                                                          Box Office: 0844 871 3021

Southport Theatre                                                                                          Website: www.atgtickets.com/southport

Monday 20 – Saturday 26 February                                                          Box Office: 01793 524 481

Swindon, Wyvern Theatre                                                                           Website: www.swindontheatres.co.uk

Monday 27 February – Saturday 4 March                                              Box Office: 01753 853 888

Windsor, Theatre Royal                                                                 Website: www.theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk

Monday 6 – Saturday 11 March                                                 Box Office: 024 7655 3055

Coventry, Belgrade Theatre                                                                        Website: www.belgrade.co.uk

Monday 13 – Saturday 18 March                                                               Box Office: 08448 112121

Newcastle, Theatre Royal                                                                            Website: www.theatreroyal.co.uk

Monday 20 – Saturday 25 March                                                               Box Office:  01224 641122

Aberdeen, His Majesty’s Theatre                                                             Website: www.aberdeenperformingarts.com

**Tuesday 28 March – Saturday 8 April                                  Box Office: 00353 1 677 7999

Dublin, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre                                                             Website: www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie

 

Monday 10 – Saturday 22 April                                                   Box Office: 0844 871 3012

Bristol Hippodrome                                                                                         Website: www.atgtickets.com/bristol

**Mrs Johnstone to be played by Rebecca Storm

*** Brenda to be played by Joanne McShane

Comedian Miles Jupp describes his new show, Songs of Freedom, as “a rant about me, you, domestic imprisonment, fatherhood, having to have opinions, hot drinks, the government, bad balance, housing, ill health, the ageing process, navigation and other people’s pants”. That’s a very long list of thing to be fretting about, I say when we meet for a coffee to talk about taking the show on tour. “Oh, I’m not a fretter,” he replies thoughtfully. “More a despairer.”

But his fans shouldn’t despair, nor indeed fret; in conversation Miles is warm and witty, and in no way negative about his situation in life. It’s just that the modern world can – in his word – “discombobulate” him.

Take a recent incident at the house he shares with his wife, Rachel, and their five children in the Welsh borders. “I can get angry very, very quickly about inanimate objects, particularly if they don’t do what I want them to do,” says Miles. “We’ve just had a new boiler put in and I can’t operate it. I’ve read the instructions but it’s got this enormous control panel and I don’t understand it, or for that matter why it makes the radiators come on at 3am. The man who installed it has to come back and talk us through it.

“And now we have bought a smart TV and, after not having had a television for eight years, it’s all slightly baffling. It’s the equivalent of going on a yoga retreat and in the intervening time the industrial revolution has happened. ‘What’s going on? I don’t know how to use a loom…’

“Of course our seven-year-old understands how the TV works perfectly, but I can’t very well go and wake him up at midnight and say, ‘We want to watch Peaky Blinders, come and find it for us…’” In case you’re thinking that Miles is a man born out of his time, he goes on to wax lyrical about the reversing camera in the family car. “It’s just brilliant,” he says. “It’s just that I am slightly out of kilter with the modern world and I do come at things from a different angle sometimes.”

You will by now have guessed that Miles is a man who can have a joke at his own expense, and that his wit is the kind that demands there should be a typeface called “ironic” for conversations such as this. When I ask if the new show contains any material about his young family, he responds: “Why talk about something as wonderful as my children when I could be talking about something completely pointless? The show can be summed up as: ‘I don’t tweet, but I write down things that ought to be a tweet, and here they are’.” In actuality it’s a very funny, wry take on life.

Many of Miles’ fans will be keen listeners to Radio 4’s topical comedy show ‘The News Quiz’, which he took over as host of last year, and which he is enjoying enormously. “I love working as part of a team, and I hope people listening get some sense of me as a person, rather than just some bloke capable of reading stuff out loud.”

Miles’ father was a minister in the United Reform Church and he himself studied Divinity at Edinburgh University. While still a student there he started acting and, for those of a certain age, he will forever be Archie the Inventor in CBeebies’ Balamory. “I often get people come up to me and start talking about it,” he says. “For me it was a long time ago, but for them it’s a defining part of their childhood.”

Apart from ‘The News Quiz’, people know Miles from television as fusspot Nigel in the ecclesiastical comedy ‘Rev’, as Captain Fanshaw in soldiering comedy Gary Tank Commander, asJohn Duggan in ‘The Thick of It’ and from his self-penned ‘In and Out of the Kitchen’, in which he played minor celebrity chef Damian Trench. Miles says ‘In and Out’ of the Kitchen won’t return to the BBC, but he is currently writing Damian’s memoir, due for publication later this year.

He also appeared as the Valet of Greystoke in The Legend of Tarzan, which was released earlier this year in July, and is Blackberry in an upcoming new adaptation of Richard Adams’ Watership Down for the BBC, part of a star-studded cast that includes Sir Ben Kingsley, Gemma Arterton and John Boyega from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

He usually gets to play posh and/or clever chappie roles, but says he would really love to be cast as a baddie. I suggest that’s because, as an unfailingly polite man, he would love to play against type, and he agrees. “You would get to cut loose and say bad things,” Miles says. “You can be unpleasant without having to apologise for it.”

In the meantime, audiences at his live shows will be able to enjoy the real version of Miles having a rant at modern life’s multiple irritations – politely, of course, without a hint of unpleasantness but with a lot of laughs.

Miles Jupp: Songs of Freedom can be seen at City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds on Thursday 7th February 2017

For more information visit cityvarieties.co.uk

 

Original Royal Court cast
reprise roles in
Caryl Churchill’s Escaped Alone

At The Lowry Tue 7 – Sat 11 March

Following a sell-out run at the Royal Court Theatre in 2016, James Macdonald’s production of Caryl Churchill’s Escaped Alone will head to The Lowry from Tue 7 – Sat 11 March. 

Caryl Churchill’s Escaped Alone  was first staged at the Royal Court in January 2016 and received critical and public acclaim, with tickets selling out for the production’s run. Original cast members Linda Bassett (Call the Midwife, Lark Rise to Candleford), Macclesfield born Kika Markham,Deborah Findlay and June Watson; as well as the original creative team, return for the tour.

Caryl Churchill’s previous work for the Royal Court Theatre includes Ding Dong the Wicked, Love and Information, Seven Jewish Children, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?, A Number, Far Away, Blue Heart, Serious Money, Top Girls and Cloud Nine. Recent revivals of Churchill’s plays include The Skriker (Royal Exchange) and Light Shining in Buckinghamshire plus new play Here We Go (National).

James Macdonald’s previous work for the Royal Court Theatre includes The Wolf from the Door, Circle Mirror Transformation, Love and Information (and off-Broadway), Cock, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?, Blasted and the European and US tours of Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis. He was Associate Director at the Royal Court 1992-2007. Other recent work includes The Father (Theatre Royal Bath, Tricycle and West End), Exiles (National) and Glengarry Glen Ross (West End).

“I’m walking down the street and there’s a door in the fence open and inside there are three women I’ve seen before.”

Three old friends and a neighbour. A summer of afternoons in the back yard. Tea and catastrophe.

Caryl Churchill’s new play unleashes an intricate, elliptical, acutely female view of the apocalypse.

Directed by James Macdonald, design by Miriam Buether, lighting by Peter Mumford and sound by Christopher Shutt.

Listings Info
Escaped Alone
The Lowry, Salford
Tue 7– Sat 11 March 2017
8pm (Thu & Sat 2.30pm)
Tickets: £22.50 (Including booking fees)
Box office: 0843 208 6000
Website

The wonderful world of
The Very Hungry Caterpiller
brought to life on The Lowry stage

Four stories from the world of Eric Carle
Wed 22 – Sat 25 February

One of the most iconic characters in children’s literature will be arriving in Salford next month, when The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show plays at The Lowry from Wed 22 to Sat 25 February, prior to a West End run.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show will feature a menagerie of 75 enchanting puppets during a magical 60-minute show that faithfully adapts four of Eric Carle’s best loved books for the stage: The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, Mister Seahorse, The Very Lonely Firefly and, of course, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Eric Carle’s books have captivated generations of readers with their iconic hand-painted illustrations and distinctively simple stories, introducing millions of children to a bigger, brighter world, and to their first experience of reading itself. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has nibbled its way into the hearts of millions of children all over the world. It has been translated into 62 languages and sold over 41 million copies, remaining one of the top ten bestselling children’s books of all time. Since it was first published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 132 million copies of his books have sold around the world.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show is adapted for the stage by directorJonathan Rockefeller, whose production sees four master puppeteers weave their way through Eric Carle’s stories, bringing to life 75 magical puppets that faithfully recreate the wonderfully colourful world of Carle’s illustrations.

Jonathan Rockefeller said: “Eric Carle has created a deceptively simple, yet sophisticated introduction to reading through the magic of his iconic collage illustrations and memorable stories. I still have my original copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and to this day can’t help but be enthralled by the stylish and captivating art in Eric’s work.

“For many in the audience, this show will undoubtedly be their very first time at the theatre, so we have been very conscientious to ensure that we have been absolutely faithful to their favourite characters. Our goal is to take the audience on a truly memorable journey, bringing these stories to life through the magic of puppetry, movement and stagecraft. We have a menagerie of larger-than-life puppets, bursting with vibrant colour – it’s astonishing to compare the original illustrations to the puppets and how exact they are.

“When our puppets appear on stage the atmosphere is positively electric – parents and grandparents are swept up in nostalgia, and you can hear peels of laughter and squeals of delight as joy fills the theatre. We can’t wait to bring The Very Hungry Caterpillar to London!”

Eric Carle added: “I am delighted my friends in the UK will soon be able to share the same enjoyment I felt when seeing my characters come to life in the beautiful and enchanting Broadway production of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show.”

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show first premiered in Australia in 2015 before opening in New York at the Acorn Theatre in January 2016. It is currently nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, and returns next month for a second run due to popular demand. The New York production broke box office records and attracted celebrities with families including Chelsea Clinton, Emily Blunt, Neil Patrick Harris and Diane Sawyer.

Listings Info
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show
The Lowry, Salford
Wed 22– Sat 25 February 2017
11am, 2pm & 5pm
Tickets: £16.50 (Including booking fees)
Family Ticket £50
Box office: 0843 208 6000
Website

2017 Civic Theatre season opens with a touch of Starlight

The 2017 season for Darlington Civic Theatre kicks off with Starlight, from storyteller Chris Bostock, with two performances on Saturday 28 January in the Crown Street Art Gallery at Darlington’s Crown Street Library.

Chris Bostock is a professional storyteller and theatre worker with a background in teaching, theatre and theatre in education. He tells traditional tales from many different cultures, to listeners of all ages.

His stories are chosen to entertain, excite and encourage listeners to dream with open eyes…. and then to become storytellers themselves. His work in schools complements national curriculum attainment targets and supports teachers’ creative and linguistic requirements for their pupils.

Starlight is the story of little possum, who lived in a cave with his mother. One night he went outside and saw bright stars shining in the sky. They were so beautiful, that he collected some to take home. The next day his mother was ill and little possum was told he had to find his own food. Although he was very afraid of going out alone, his mother told him he was very brave…and then his journey began. He learned many things along the way – about friendship, science and nature – and he was able to find his way home with the help of his own starlight.

Starlight is perfect for children between 2 and 6 years old with their families.

Please note these performances take place at Crown Street Art Gallery, Crown Street Library, Darlington.

Starlight is on Saturday 28 January 11.30am & 2.30pm. Tickets £4, family ticket £14 (4 people, minimum 1 adult). To book or for further information contact the Box Office on 01325 486 555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk

Dance: Sampled
A bite-sized introduction to all that dance has to offer.

At The Lowry Fri 24 – Sat 25 February

A showcase that brings together breath-taking acrobatics, scandalous ballet and flamboyant flamenco, Dance: Sampled brings dance fans of all genres into the same world for one evening.

Following its London run, dance taster festival Dance: Sampled will tour to The Lowry on Fri 24 and Sat 25 February 2017 as part of The Movement, a new producing partnership between The Lowry, Sadler’s Wells and Birmingham Hippodrome.

In a single evening Dance: Sampled showcases a wide variety of world-class dance, from classical ballet to hip hop, contemporary and tango. The bite-sized excerpts give audiences a chance to experience a broad range of dance at affordable prices, with tickets available for just £15. Alongside the performances audience members can also participate in an array of workshops and foyer activities across the two days.

The 2017 festival includes work from dotdotdot dance, a new company of three young British flamenco dancers. The group all trained in different dance styles prior to dedicating themselves to Flamenco in it’s native land, Spain. They had been performing in prestigious venues across Spain as solo dancers before joining forces in 2014 to create their first full length original production. dotdotdot dance aims to make work which explores how flamenco can be expressed in a contemporary context, acknowledging the intertwining of cultures that shape our lives.

Former Argentinian world champion tango dancers Claudio Gonzalezand Julia Urruty will bring the passion and sensuality of Argentina in a breathtakingly stunning and passionate tango.

Acosta Danza, a dance company founded by international dance iconCarlos Acosta following his exceptional career as a ballet star, will perform Faun – a sensual reimagining by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui of Nijinsky’s ballet.

Carlos Pons Guerra will present work inspired by Jean Genet’s provocative play, ‘The Maids’, and performed by Northern Ballet dancers. This dark comedic ballet, titled Paradis, toys with gender and performance as it delves into the darker side of femininity and power.

Before presenting the show in its entirety at The Lowry in May 2017Northern Ballet will perform an extract from Casanova, choreographed by Kenneth Tindall. Tindall was nominated for Best Classical Choreography and the Emerging Artist Award at the 2015 National Dance Awards. The production features a new score from composer Kerry Muzzey and set & costume design by Christopher Oram. The work tells the sensational story of the infamous Italian adventurer in a seductive masquerade of passion and politics. Dance: Sampled will offer audiences a first glimpse at this major new production prior to the start of its UK tour.

Winner of the BBC Young Dancer of the Year 2015 Connor Scott has received national recognition as a bright new talent in choreography. As part of Dance: Sampled, Connor will present an original piece of work exploring loneliness, nostalgia and joy.

The Ruggeds, a well-recognised name in the b-boy game and 2015 World Champions, will bring Adrenaline to the Lyric stage. A performance filled with acrobatics, risks, music and energy as they push their physical limits and unlock our adrenaline.
 
Completing the bill is Shobana Jeyasingh Dance performing an extract from Bayadère – The Ninth Life, a dance theatre work commissioned by the Royal Ballet Studio Programme in 2015 and inspired by French choreographer Marius Petipa’s ballet La Bayadère.
 
Sampled is presented as part of The Movement, a dance producing partnership between Birmingham Hippodrome, The Lowry and Sadler’s Wells. Supported by Arts Council England. The Movement aims to nurture talent and bring large scale dance productions to even wider audiences.

Listings Info
Dance: Sampled
The Lowry, Salford
Fri 24– Sat 25 February 2017
7:30pm
Tickets: £15 (Including booking fees)
Box office: 0843 208 6000
Website

800,000 sequins!

52 pairs of heels!

50,000 feathers!

82 wigs!

57 quick changes!

 

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES

SASHAYS ONTO THE ROAD!

NOW TOURING THE UK UNTIL AUGUST

STARRING JOHN PARTRIDGE, ADRIAN ZMED AND MARTI WEBB