Month: April 2017

THE BRIDGE OPENS

Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr announce the first productions

at the new Bridge Theatre, opening this October

London Theatre Company announces the first productions at its new Bridge Theatre, which opens this October on the river by Tower Bridge and City Hall.

The theatre opens on 26 October 2017 (previews from 18 October) with a new comedy, Young Marx by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman, directed by Nicholas Hytner with Rory Kinnear in the title role. This is followed in January by Julius Caesar, staged in promenade by Nicholas Hytner, with Ben Whishaw as Brutus. Then in April comes a new play, Nightfall, by rising playwright and novelist Barney Norris, directed by Laurie Sansom. Tickets for these three productions go on sale today (priority booking from 19 April, public booking opens 27 April) priced from £15 to £65 with a limited number of premium seats available[i].

From summer 2018, productions will include a new play by Lucinda Coxon based on the novel Alys, Always by Harriet Lane; a new play by Nina Raine about JS Bach, played by Simon Russell Beale; flatpack, a new play by John Hodge; The Black Cloud, a new play by Sam Holcroft from the novel by Fred Hoyle; andCarmen Havana, a version of Bizet’s opera by Lucy Prebble with choreography by Miguel Altunaga and directed by Nicholas Hytner.

London Theatre Company, which was founded by Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr on leaving the National Theatre after twelve years, will focus on the commissioning and production of new shows, as well as staging the occasional classic. At The Bridge, it will present four or five new productions year-round, playing Tuesday to Sunday, plus a Monday night programme which will include intimate gigs, the live recording of a new podcast series and conversations on food, fashion, politics and science.

Backed by a small group of senior Venture Capital investors, LTC’s raison d’être is to create a culture, ethos and economic model that supports writers, directors, designers and actors to work at scale in a space that is complementary to those of the subsidised theatre and West End. In time LTC hopes to open more theatres in London, to be able to host productions from the subsidised theatre, and to transfer its own productions to the West End and beyond.

LTC commissioned the new theatre from architect Steve Tompkins. He and his colleague Roger Watts at Haworth Tompkins have designed a 900-seat adaptable auditorium that can respond to shows with different formats, among them end-stage, thrust-stage and promenade (each of which will be used in the course of the opening three productions).

The Bridge is the first wholly new theatre of scale to be added to London’s commercial theatre sector in 80 years[ii], and the first to be built outside the historic West End. It has a stunning riverside location at the foot of Tower Bridge next to City Hall and is 5-10 minutes’ walk from the transport hub of London Bridge, whose new concourse opens onto Tooley Street in spring next year. The Bridge is situated in Berkeley Homes’ One Tower Bridge development amongst ten new restaurants opening this year[iii].

Haworth Tompkins, who won the Stirling Prize in 2014 for the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, collaborated frequently with Nick Starr and Nicholas Hytner at the National Theatre, including on the recent NT refurbishment, the Shed and NT Studio and also with Nick Starr on the Almeida’s two temporary theatres at King’s Cross and at Gainsborough Studios.

The Bridge auditorium is a collaboration between Haworth Tompkins, LTC and Tait Stage Technologies – winner of two Queen’s Awards for Export. It is made of precision-engineered steel with oak finishes in a modular construction – a first of its kind – which also incorporates the air conditioning, house lights, power and data

Nicholas Hytner said: “We want to make bold popular theatre. We’ve commissioned ambitious plays that reach out to embrace the audience, and we’ve built an environment for them that is exciting, welcoming and flexible: a theatre that can be changed to suit the show. We reckon that London needs new theatres, designed for the shows that people make in the 21^st century and the expectations that audiences have for a really good night out.”

Nick Starr said: “After the National Theatre, it was time for something new and scary. London is a brilliant city for making and seeing theatre, evidenced by the 25% increase in audiences over the last fifteen years. We think there’s room for a new independent on the scene, driven by both a mission and a bottom line. We hope that will resonate with artists and audiences, and are hugely looking forward to welcoming them to The Bridge.”

 

^[1] A special allocation of £15 seats will be held for Young Bridge, a free scheme for those under 26

^[2] “No entirely new theatre has been built on a wholly commercial basis since the Prince of Wales in 1937.” Act Now! Modernising London’s West End Theatres, a report by The Theatres Trust 2003, page 10.

^[3] The restaurants thus far confirmed are: The Ivy, Tom Simmons, The Coal Shed and Rosa’s Thai

Productions

October – December 2017

 

Nicholas Hytner directs the opening production with Rory Kinnear as

YOUNG MARX

in the world premiere of a new comedy by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman

1850, and Europe’s most feared terrorist is hiding in Dean Street, Soho. Broke, restless and horny, the thirty-two-year-old revolutionary is a frothing combination of intellectual brilliance, invective, satiric wit, and child-like emotional illiteracy.

Creditors, spies, rival revolutionary factions and prospective seducers of his beautiful wife all circle like vultures. His writing blocked, his marriage dying, his friend Engels in despair at his wasted genius, his only hope is a job on the railway. But there’s still no one in the capital who can show you a better night on the piss than Karl Heinrich Marx.

 

Rory Kinnear plays Marx and Oliver Chris, Engels. The production reunites the creative team behind Richard Bean’s smash hit One Man, Two Guvnors, with direction by Nicholas Hytner, design by Mark Thompson, music by Grant Olding, lighting by Mark Henderson and sound by Paul Arditti.

The run is from 18 October (opening night Thursday 26 October) until 31 December 2017.

The show will be broadcast on National Theatre Live in December.

January – April 2018

David Calder, Michelle Fairley, David Morrissey and Ben Whishaw in

JULIUS CAESAR

by William Shakespeare, directed by Nicholas Hytner in promenade

Caesar returns in triumph to Rome and the people pour out of their homes to celebrate. Alarmed by the autocrat’s popularity, the educated élite conspire to bring him down. After his assassination, civil war erupts on the streets of the capital. 

 

Nicholas Hytner’s production will be in promenade, thrusting its audience into the street party that greets Caesar’s return, the congress that witnesses his murder, the rally that assembles for his funeral and the chaos that explodes in its wake. Ben Whishaw and Michelle Fairley play Brutus and Cassius, leaders of the coup, David Calder plays Caesar and David Morrissey is Mark Antony, who brings Rome back under control after the conspirators’ defeat.

With seating wrapped around the action, there will also be 250 promenading tickets at £25 available in advance for each performance. The production designer is Bunny Christie, with costumes by Christina Cunningham, music by Nick Powell, lighting by Bruno Poet and sound by Paul Arditti.

The run is from 20 January (opening night Tuesday 30 January) until 15 April 2018.

The show will be broadcast on National Theatre Live in March 2018.

April to June 2018

 

Laurie Sansom to direct the world premiere of Barney Norris’s

NIGHTFALL

“Remember the name Barney Norris. He’s a new writer in his twenties, but already outstanding.” The Times

On a farm outside Winchester, Ryan struggles to make a living off the land. His sister Lou has returned home after the death of their father to support Jenny, their formidable mother. Not so long ago, when a neighbour’s Labrador strayed onto the farm, their dad reached for his shotgun. Now, when Lou’s boyfriend Pete reappears, flush with money from his job at an oil refinery, Jenny fights to hold her children to the life she planned for them.

“Everything he writes about love, loss, grief, desolation, and moments of hope and illumination rings absolutely true.”
Michael Frayn

The run is from 28 April (opening night Tuesday 8 May) until 3 June 2018.

From summer 2018:

ALYS, ALWAYS

A new play by Lucinda Coxon based on the novel by Harriet Lane. Nicholas Hytner directs an unsettling story of concealed ambition preying on the self-regard of London’s literary élite.

FLATPACK

A new dark comedy by John Hodge, screenwriter of Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, his first play sinceCollaborators at the National Theatre.

A NEW PLAY ABOUT JS BACH

Simon Russell Beale plays JS Bach in Nina Raine’s new play.

THE BLACK CLOUD

A new play by Sam Holcroft, from the 1957 novel by Fred Hoyle, “one of the greatest works of science fiction ever written” Richard Dawkins.

 

CARMEN HAVANA

based on the opera by Georges Bizet

Lucy Prebble locates the famous story of liberation, desire and death in 1950s Cuba. Directed by Nicholas Hytner with choreography by Miguel Altunaga.

Biographies

Nicholas Hytner was Director of the National Theatre from 2003 to 2015, where the productions he directed included The History Boys, Hamlet, One Man, Two Guvnors, and Othello. His films include The Madness of King George. His book Balancing Acts is published by Jonathan Cape on 27 April.

Nick Starr CBE was Executive Director of the NT from 2002 to 2014, and previously of the Almeida Theatre 1997-2001. He has chaired the boards of BAC and the Bush Theatre.

Richard Bean’s most recent plays include The Hypocrite (which has just completed a run at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre and Hull Truck Theatre), Kiss Me, The Nap and Toast. His other writing includes Made in Dagenham, Great Britain, The Mentalists and Pitcairn.  He adapted David Mamet’sHouse of Games and wrote a new version of The Hypochondriac both for the Almeida Theatre. Nicholas Hytner directed Bean’s internationally award-winning play One Man, Two Guvnors which in 2011 was the recipient of the Evening Standard Award for Best Play alongside his play The Heretic, making Bean the first writer to win the award for two plays in the same year. Bean’s play Kiss Me will transfer from Hampstead Theatre to the Trafalgar Studios in June.

Clive Coleman is a barrister turned BBC News Legal Correspondent who is also an award-winning comedy and sitcom writer. His television comedy credits include Spitting Image and Dead Ringers, though he is perhaps best known for Chambers, his hit Radio 4 and BBC1 sitcom about barristers starring John Bird and Sarah Lancashire. A regular contributor to Weekending and The News Huddlines, Coleman also wrote the Radio 4 sitcoms Hair In The Gate starring Alistair McGowan and Rebecca Front and Spending My Inheritance starring Kris Marshall and Kenneth Cranham. He wrote the radio comedy Control Group 6with Richard Bean, and they collaborated on Great Britain for the National Theatre, directed by Nicholas Hytner.

David Calder was last on stage in The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures at Hampstead Theatre. His other theatre credits include The Nether at Duke of York’s Theatre, The Audience at the Apollo Theatre, The Doctor’s Dilemma and Hamlet at the National Theatre,King Lear at Shakespeare’s Globe, Rock ‘n’ Roll at Duke of York’s Theatre, Five Gold Rings at the Almeida,The Drawer Boy at the Abbey Dublin, The Little Foxes at the Donmar Warehouse, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, Moscow Gold for the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Priceand Othello for The Young Vic.

Oliver Chris is reunited with Nicholas Hytner following their work on Great Britain and One Man, Two Guvnors, both for the National Theatre where he can currently be seen in Twelfth Night. His other theatre credits include King Charles III for the Almeida Theatre and in the West End, Closer at the Donmar Warehouse, Women, Power and Politics at the Tricycle Theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, Cyrano at the Royal Exchange Theatre and The Importance of Being Earnest at the Theatre Royal Northampton.

Lucinda Coxon‘s plays include Herding Cats at the Theatre Royal Bath and Hampstead Theatre, The Eternal Not for the National Theatre, the award-winning Happy Now for the National Theatre, Yale Rep and Primary Stages New York, Nostalgia and Vesuvius for the South Coast Repertory Theater, Improbabilitiesfor Soho Poly, Wishbones, Waiting at the Water’s Edge for the Bush Theatre. Her plays for National Theatre Connections include What Are They Like?, The Shoemaker’s Incredible Wife from Federico García Lorca andThe Ice Palace from Tarjei Vesaas.  She has commissions for new work from the National Theatre and Yale Rep.

Michelle Fairley was last seen on stage in Splendour for the Donmar Warehouse for which she also appeared in Othello and The Wild Duck. Her other theatre credits include Oleanna, Remembrance Day andLoyal Women for the Royal Court, The Weir also for the Royal Court and on Broadway, Dancing at Lughnasa at the Old Vic, Huis Clos and Gates of Gold at the Trafalgar Studios and Scenes from the Big Picture at the National Theatre.

After graduating in Medicine at Edinburgh University, John Hodge practised as a doctor before turning to screenwriting. His first screenplay was Shallow Grave. His scripts since then include Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach, The Sweeney, Trance, The Program, and T2:Trainspotting. He has written one play, Collaborators.

Sam Holcroft’s stage version of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox opened at Nuffield Theatre, Southampton for Christmas 2016 before transferring to the Lyric Hammersmith and followed by a UK tour.  Her other plays include Rules for Living, Edgar and Annabel – part of Double Feature 1, for the National Theatre, The Wardrobe for National Theatre Connections, Dancing Bears for Clean Break at Soho Theatre and Latitude Festival, While You Lie at the Traverse Theatre, Pink for the Tricycle Theatre, Vanya, adapted from Chekhov, at The Gate and Cockroach – co-produced by the National Theatre of Scotland and the Traverse Theatre.  Holcroft wrote a libretto, The House Taken Over, for the Festival d’Aix en Provence and Académie Européenne de Musique.  She was the Writer-in-Residence at the National Theatre Studio from 2013-14 and was the Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Traverse Theatre in 2009-10.  In 2014 she was a recipient of the Windham Campbell Prize for Literature in the Drama category, and in 2009 she won the Tom Erhardt Playwriting Award for up and coming writers.

Multi-award winning Rory Kinnear was last on stage in The Threepenny Opera at the National Theatre, where he has previously collaborated with Nicholas Hytner on Othello, Hamlet, The Man of Mode andSouthwark Fair. Also for the National he has been seen in The Last of the Haussmans, Burnt by the Sun,The Revenger’s Tragedy and Phillistines. For the Royal Shakespeare Company his credits include The Taming of the Shrew and Cymbeline. His other theatre credits include Mary Stuart at the Donmar Warehouse and the Apollo Theatre, The Trial at the Young Vic, Measure for Measure at the Almeida andFesten at the Lyric Theatre. Kinnear is also an award-winning playwright for his debut play The Herd and this year made his directorial debut with the English National Opera’s production of A Winter’s Tale.

Before the 2012 publication of her debut novel Alys, Always, Harriet Lane wrote for the Guardian, the Observer, Vogue and Tatler. Alys, Always was a You Book Club choice, longlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and shortlisted for the Writers’ Guild Best Fiction Book award. Her second novel Herwas published in June 2014 and was a Waterstones Book Club pick for spring 2015.

David Morrissey’s most recent theatre credits include Hangmen at the Royal Court and subsequently Wyndham’s Theatre, Macbeth for the Liverpool Everyman, In a Dark Dark House for the Almeida Theatre,Three Days of Rain for the Donmar Warehouse, Peer Gynt for the National Theatre, The Cabinet Minister at the Royal Exchange, Manchester and El Cid and WC/PC for the Liverpool Playhouse. For the Royal Shakespeare Company his credits are King John, Henry VI, Edward IV and Richard III.

Upon graduating from university Barney Norris founded Up In Arms Theatre Company, of which he is the co-artistic director. His first play Visitors ran at the Arcola Theatre before transferring to the Bush Theatre, winning him the 2014 Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright. His other full-length plays areEventide, Echo’s End and While We’re Here. Norris is the author of a bestselling novel, Five Rivers Met in a Wooded Plain, and a book on theatre: To Bodies Gone: The Theatre of Peter Gill.  His second novel, Turning For Home, will be published in 2018, as well as a second non-fiction study, The Wellspring, a book of conversations with his father, the composer David Owen Norris.

Lucy Prebble is a writer for film, television, games and theatre. Her last play, The Effect, a study of love and neuroscience, was performed at the National Theatre and won the Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Play. She also wrote ENRON, which transferred to the West End and Broadway after sell-out runs at both the Royal Court and Chichester Festival Theatre. Her first play, The Sugar Syndrome won her the George Devine Award. For television, she is the creator of the TV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl for ITV and has just made a pilot TV episode for HBO starring Sarah Silverman. She has written a column for the Observer newspaper on technology and was Head Scene Writer for Bungie’s massive first person shooter, Destiny. She is now working on a new TV series starring Billie Piper.

Nina Raine’s debut play Rabbit (Old Red Lion, Trafalgar Studios, 59E59 New York) won her the Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards for Most Promising Playwright. Her last play for the Royal Court,Tribes also ran in New York at the Barrow Street Theatre for one year, where it won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play and the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Play. Tribes has also been produced in LA, Chicago, throughout Europe and the rest of the world, and has been translated into more than ten different languages. Her latest play, Consent, is currently playing at the National Theatre. Raine is also an award-wining director.

Simon Russell Beale has worked extensively for both the National Theatre where his most recent credits include King Lear, Timon of Athens, Collaborators, London Assurance, A Slight Ache and Major Barbara and the Royal Shakespeare Company where his multiple credits include The Tempest, King Lear, Ghosts,Richard III, The Seagull, Edward II and Troilus & Cressida. His other theatre credits include Mr Foote’s Other Leg at Hampstead Theatre and the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Temple, The Philanthropist, Uncle Vanya andTwelfth Night all for the Donmar Warehouse, The Hothouse at the Trafalgar Studios, Privates On Parade at the Noel Coward Theatre, The Cherry Orchard and The Winter’s Tale at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, world tour and at the Old Vic, Monty Python’s Spamalot at the Palace Theatre and in New York, Julius Caesar at the Barbican and internationally, Macbeth for the Almeida Theatre, Jumpers at the Piccadilly Theatre and in New York and Humble Boy at the Gielgud Theatre.

As Chief Executive/Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland Laurie Sansom directed Rona Munro’s The James Plays which were co-presented by the Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre of Great Britain and toured the world. Sansom was previously Artistic Director of Royal & Derngate, Northampton, where he directed the UK premiers of Tennessee Williams’ Spring Storm and Eugene O’Neill’s Beyond The Horizon and The Festival of Chaos for London 2012. He was also Alan Ayckbourn’s Associate Director at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.

Ben Whishaw was last seen on stage in The Crucible at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway. His other theatre credits include Bakkhai for the Almeida Theatre, Mojo at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Peter and Aliceat the Noël Coward, The Pride at the Lucille Lortel Theatre off Broadway, Cock at the Royal Court, Leaves of Glass at the Soho Theatre, Mercury Fur for Paines Plough and Hamlet at the Old Vic, as well as The Seagull, Some Trace of Her and His Dark Materials all for the National Theatre, the latter directed by Nicholas Hytner.

Pop-Up Opera: Summer Season 2017

Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto

Thursday 18th May – Sunday 30th July 2017

This summer, Pop-Up Opera return with a rarely-seen opera from the late eighteenth century, Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto (The Secret Marriage). Continuing to challenge the way opera is traditionally performed, Pop-Up Opera take their productions into unusual spaces, making them fun, fresh and intimate.

Il Matrimonio Segreto tells the tale of a rich Italian businessman as he attempts to marry off one of his daughters to a mad English toff with disastrous results. Packed with tunes and matrimonial mayhem, this exciting story about following your heart makes for a perfect summer opera filled with Pop-up Opera’s special humour, sparkle and fun.

The opera’s premiere in Vienna was the occasion of the longest encore in operatic history; Leopold II was so delighted that he ordered supper served to the company and the entire opera repeated immediately after!

Commenting on this rarely performed production, director Max Hoehn says, Il Matrimonio Segreto is a wonderful explosion of anarchy with ensembles that fizz and an array of larger-than life, eccentric characters. Cimarosa’s music will be unknown to the vast majority of UK audiences and Pop-Up Opera’s rough-and-tumble touring approach makes for a lively marriage.

Artistic Director, Clementine Lovell, comments, We love the idea of bringing to life an opera which is rarely performed, and making it our own. We are excited to be working with Max Hoehn, who was recently named Best Young Director at the International Opera Awards, and whose staging has been described as ‘brilliantly alive’. He’s a perfect choice in our mission to keep making opera relevant and highly entertaining for a modern audience.

With their signature ‘Silent Movie’ captions that add another layer to the performance, Pop-Up Opera skilfully adapt their operas to each individual venue, making every performance unique, while always maintaining the highest standards. The combination of amazing venues, along with an informal atmosphere and engaging productions, offers a greater connection to the singers and the music, something even seasoned opera-goers often miss.

RUTH RENDELL’S

A JUDGEMENT IN STONE

STARRING ANDREW LANCEL, SOPHIE WARD, MARK WYNTER, DEBORAH GRANT,

SHIRLEY ANNE FIELD, ANTONY COSTA and BEN NEALON

ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY SIMON BRETT and ANTONY LAMPARD

DIRECTED BY ROY MARSDEN

 

Adapted from one of the most celebrated works of the writer often hailed as the successor to Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell’s A Judgement In Stone is at Leeds Grand Theatre next week for one week only.

Rendell was first published in 1964 and was awarded a CBE in 1996. Her prolific output included film and TV as well as 80 novels and one of the genre’s most famous characters, Chief Inspector Wexford. Widely considered to be one of Rendell’s greatest works, A Judgement in Stone is loved for its brilliant rendering of character, plot and motive, and is undoubtedly Rendell at her thrilling best.

Eunice struggles to fit in. When she joins a wealthy family as their housekeeper the very reason for her awkwardness, long hidden and deeply buried, leads inexorably to a terrible tale of murder in cold blood – on Valentine’s Day. Ruth Rendell’s brilliant plot unravels a lifetime of deceit, despair and cover-ups which, when revealed, brings a shocking revelation almost as grizzly as murder itself.

The star cast includes award winning TV and stage favourite ANDREW LANCEL best known to TV audiences for his portrayal of villainous business man Frank Foster in Coronation Street, winning Villain of the Year in the British Soap Awards, and as DI Neil Manson in over 300 episodes of The Bill.

Andrew is joined by SOPHIE WARD who played the beautiful, ill-fated love interest of Young Sherlock Holmes and Dr Helen Trent in long-running ITV drama Heartbeat.

Pop-idol MARK WYNTER made his professional debut as a recording artist and went on to have nine Top 20 singles, including Venus in Blue Jeans and Go Away Little Girl. He has also enjoyed an acting career that has spanned nearly 50 years, appearing on radio, television, film and stage where he has featured in seven Agatha Christie Company productions.

DEBORAH GRANT has starred in the BBC’s Not Going Out, Bergerac and Roger, Roger.

Movie icon SHIRLEY ANNE FIELD has had a long and successful career. Her breakthrough role came when she got the part of Tina the Beauty Queen opposite Sir Laurence Oliver in The Entertainer. Her role as Doreen in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning soon followed, with her next role as the female lead in the Hollywood title The War Lover opposite Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner.

ANTONY COSTA shot to fame in chart topping boy band Blue in early 2000 becoming a huge commercial success in the United Kingdom and many other countries, selling 15 million records worldwide to date. On Stage Antony has starred in the lead role of Mickey Johnstone in the West End production of the long-running musical Blood Brothers and was last at The Grand Theatre in Save the Last Dance for me in 2016.

 

A Judgement In Stone is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Monday 24^th to Saturday 29^th April

Tickets are priced from £19.50 to £36

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

Newcastle Theatre Royal – until 22 April.  Reviewed by Andrew Bramfitt

Stunning evening leaving everyone out of breath and that was just the audience

Firstly let me confess, I’ve not been a ‘Strictly’ fanatic, sure I knew of it and probably, like many of the millions of viewers, I watched mainly to see which celebrity was being put through their paces and trying to lose their usual persona. Likewise, despite having two daughters who spent years going to dance classes I doubt I’d be able to tell the difference between a Pasadoble from a Chicken Passanda so the chance to go and see Keep Dancing at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal was as much education as it was entertainment.

Boasting a cast of super fit and talented dancers and backed by singing duet Harriet Mullen and Adam Warmington, Keep Dancing brings a hyper energetic look into modern and contemporary ballroom and Latin dance which, after just the first number, leaves the audience more out of breath than the dancers themselves. Brilliantly choreographed by Emma Rogers and Robin Windsor to incorporate easily recognised pop, traditional Latina and Spanish and some very modern interpretation, each number aims to surpass the previous for style and energy. Themed sections include Glenn Miller Jive, Showtunes, Disco and South American.

Guesting on this tour are Strictly superstars Katya Jones, Neil Jones and Robin Windsor, 3 performers for whom the term ‘dancer’ just isn’t enough to do justice to their talents. Following routines so complex that they would test a super computer, they manage to imbibe each number with passion, humour, tragedy and pathos, creating a miniature play within the 3 or 4 minutes on stage. Each have a tremendous pedigree and clearly enjoy bringing their own characters to the fore – playful, sultry, sexy and powerful.

Costumes are, as one would expect, bright, flamboyant and very sparkly. The guys’ shirts seem to all miss most of their buttons (meaning they are open to the waist) whilst the girls frocks are, in the interests of safety, short and tight to avoid any trip hazards – at least that’s what I told my niece when she asked why they were so revealing.

Harriet and Adam deliver a good background of live singing. Sure, there are some numbers which have clearly been chosen for the dance routine rather than being a great song to sing but having live backing adds an extra layer to the evening.

As always, Newcastle Theatre Royal and the FOH team deliver a great theatre experience, brilliant sight lines and an inclusive evening for everyone.

Leeds Grand Theatre, 17-22 April 2017

Thoroughly Modern Millie is Thoroughly Marvellous – a totally feel good show with absolutely no weak links at all.

It’s 1922 and naive ingenue Millie Dillmount quits Kansas for the bright lights of New York City, determined to bag herself a wealthy businessman as a husband.  But things don’t go exactly to plan, as she has her money stolen, ends up living in a flophouse run by a white slave trader Mrs Meers and falls for the penniless Jimmy instead of capturing the heart of her boss.

The character of Millie is fascinating, warm, charismatic and full of bubbly personality and Joanne Clifton ticked all of those character boxes. Obviously as a Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer and the current series winner she is an amazing dancer but she also has a stellar pair of lungs and a stunning voice and I found some of her solos a delight.

Her best friend Dorothy, played by Katherine Glover, is the complete opposite to Millie. Desperately trying to become an actress, she is highly poised, well dressed and has a polite exterior. Her charming vocals reach unbelievable notes, and there is an element of comedy as she is constantly singing about how in love she is whenever she first meets a man.

Sam Barrett is handsome in that boy next door way made so familiar by endless American television shows, possessing  the confidence his character needs, and his vulnerability. He has a fabulous voice and he can dance – he gives the part vigour and enthusiasm.

Millie’s prospective husband, her boss Trevor Graydon III, is hilariously played by Graham MacDuff.  It really is a basic requirement of the part that he can sing Sweet Mystery of Life with ease and The Speed Test with alacrity and dexterity and he was clearly up to the task.  He steals the show though when playing the most hysterical drunk I have ever seen.

Jenny Fitzpatrick gives the vocal performance of the night as Muzzy Van Hossmere, effortlessly filling the auditorium with her rich, velvety voice.

Described as a musical comedy, the production certainly pulls out all of the stops when it comes to the over the top characterisation. Hotel owner Mrs Meers (Lucas Rush) presents himself as an old Chinese woman, despite actually being a wanted criminal. The two sidekicks Ching Ho and Bun Foo (Andy Yau and Damian Buhagiar) pander to his manipulative orders, and their lack of English provides great comedy. The decision to put up surtitles for the rapid Chinese dialogue is a masterstroke.

There was lots that I enjoyed about this production, the scenes in the illegal drinking club.  The massed ranks of the stenographers in the office, earphone hairstyles and spectacles, coloured in green under the eagle eye of Miss Flannery (Catherine Mort) were fun.  The big ensemble numbers have bags of pizzazz, and director/choreographer Racky Plews’ clever tap dancing typing pool sequence is a visual treat.

The set is magnificent, the costumes are sublime and the live band, lead by Rob Wicks, are superb – never drowning out the vocals of the performers.  This is possibly the best David King Production I have had the good fortune to see

Epitomising old school musical theatre, Thoroughly Modern Millie is a show that boasts a tremendous score and excellently witty dialogue.  Thoroughly Modern Millie is a thoroughly fun show which continues until Saturday.

York Theatre Royal – 13 April 2017.  Reviewed by Marcus Richardson

September In The Rain is a play written by the Yorkshire born playwright John Godber famous for his comedies such as Bouncers.

The play features a couple who goes to Blackpool every year in September. Set over the past 40 years of their lives we see their journey as a couple and how it grows with conflict and love. The whole play is a dialogue between the couple and is very character heavy, which puts a lot on the actors.

Una McNulty played Liz, a woman who loves to travel by bus and loves getting a tan at Blackpool, chirpy she holds most of the dialogue with her telling stories and often getting carried away.  Coming from Yorkshire, just like her creator she is both funny and independent.  

Mark Stratton played Jack a pit worker and very traditional Yorkshire man, a person of few words and when he does speak it will often be with authority and just one word mainly being ‘eye’. Their relationship on stage is key to creating an amazing performance and the whole structure depends on it. The two work so well together on stage, in creating the believable bond as we watch through some arguments and the sweeter parts where we fall in love with their story.

My favourite part of the whole entire play was when McNulty pretended to be her daughter when she was young, doing a talent contest in Blackpool.  This was both hilarious and sweet to watch as it just mirrored what so many children do on stage and when they do talent contests. Stratton added to the comedy here saying she was absolutely amazing and shedding a tear.

The stage was rather simple with the barrier to the beach acting as the backdrop, I loved the simplicity of this as it gave the actors a lot of room to set the story and focus more on their acting rather than the performance space.  There were fairy lights that also lit up the stage in certain scenes, these looked aesthetically pleasing – making some scenes feel much more pleasant to watch. The music also played a key part in the play as the song September in the Rain plays a big part in the story and a lot of music perfectly set the scene.

The play is pleasant to watch and you can sit back and relax, have the frequent chuckle at the jokes, you don’t need to get too involved with the story and it’s a rather enjoyable night out to the theatre. If you have a night off and fancy a simple pleasant play go and see this

York Theatre Royal – 11 April 2017.  Reviewed by Marcus Richardson

Cyrano a classic tale of love war and poetry. The play set in France during the 1600s and follows an amazing swords man, a brilliant poet and witty charmer; but there is one large problem, very large problem. His nose. The comic play takes us on a journey with the whole play in verse.

The acting style has to be naturalistic even if the script adds this poetic vibe. The actor who played Cyrano, Christian Walker was the prime of performance with the script, the wit of Cyrano certainly came out with a fiery passion, working with poetry can be very hard and if you mess a line the whole flow can fall apart but thankfully he commanded the script and stole the performance. The ever so beautiful but sturdy Roxanne played by Sharon Singh, when she first spoke I was surprised by her accent as it was a thick Scottish and I was caught of guard as most of the other actors had Yorkshire accent, however after the first few seconds I got used to her accent and she captures the independent but elegant perfectly.

The stage was decorated with Lunar Diagrams and such, due to the simplicity of the stage, scene changes were quick and effective on of the best scene changes was into the bakery as loads of pastry and bread filled the stage which didn’t take time to put on and take off, in the second act war breaks out and the transition was just as seamless as all the other changes even though there was a lot to change, and it was the whole cast in charge of doing the changes so well done to one and all for their amazing acting and stage use, the actors played instruments and sung during the scenes and their changes this was done really well and was so effective in moving the play along.

This is second time I’ve seen the play, and it’s my most favourite script capturing the hilarious wittiness that I love to watch, and read. I loved what they did to the script and I have to lower my expectations for the play. If you can please go and see this production of Cyrano as you won’t be disappointed with the whole package of the play.

King’s Head Theatre 11 – 29 April.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Girl power storms back to the King’s Head in this 90s pop musical, squeezing a decade’s worth of fun into 60 all too short minutes.

Jess thought that her relationship was as unbreakable as Brad and Jen’s, or Justin and Britney’s, but she was wrong. After being dumped, she just wants to stay in and watch Titanic, but her friends find the perfect way to cheer her up – speed dating!

Full of warmly mocking nostalgia and smutty innuendo, this show feels like the naughty little sister of Victoria Wood and French & Saunders. The four girls are instantly recognisable caricatures – think Sex in the City set in Essex. Amanda (Jessica Brady) is the romantic searching for Mr Right to fit her 5-year plan, Charlie (Eliza Hewitt-Jones) is just out for a good time, Molly (Kerrie Thomason) is the weird one and Jess (Natasha Granger) just can’t let go of her last relationship. Writers Thomason and Granger could have kept the best lines for themselves, but the belly laughs come thick and fast from all the cast. Familiar lyrics are quoted and, like every good musical, the cast burst into song at every opportunity: Shania Twain, All Saints, Britney, B*Witched and, of course, the Spice Girls are in the mix. With delivery ranging from karaoke queens to clean harmonies, depending on the laughs the cast are aiming for, you can’t help but sing along, and if you’re lucky, you could get pulled up to dance too. If you’re unlucky, you could be the object of Amanda’s affections and end up on a speed date with her, leading to a brilliantly naff and hysterical Celine Dion number. Another standout is No Scrubs – performed on the loo using toilet brushes as microphones.

The loud and brash girl power attitudes are tempered with recordings of men talking about women and dating that will make you laugh, groan and wince. As will Jess’s slipups when she reveals slightly too much about her boyfriend. The cast are all fantastic physical comedians and seem to be having as much fun as the audience, who all left on a high.

If you’re looking for a laugh, great music (and B*Witched) and a show that will leave you buzzing with nostalgic feel good energy, get your ticket for 2 Become 1. It’s the perfect start to a girls’ night out.

Mayflower Theatre, Southampton – 13 April 2017.  Reviewed by Lindsay Sykes

It’s no secret I like Earl Carpenter, the velvet richness of his vocals are beautiful and totally worth flying from one end of the country to the other to see him perform in his hometown.

An Evening with…. however was a to raise cash and awareness of the Mayflower Musical Youth Theatre and show off the amazing talent of the youngsters who attend there.  And yes, Earl was supposed to be the star of the show but I’m sure he’ll agree the kids were the real stars

The show started with comedy and there was much comedy through out, Earl supposedly auditioning by singing Race You to the Top of the Mountain from The Secret Garden, after a rapturous performance he was told he was too old and this paved the way for the stage to be invaded by one who weren’t too old and we got to hear the theatre group sing songs from Hairspray, Bugsy Malone and two from special shows written just for the group – Rock Around the Gaumont and Five of the Best.  We were given information about the shows and heard some lovely stories about how the MMYT had given help and confidence and where the older performers were now – at various colleges and performing arts schools.

There were some stunning vocals from Hannah Morton, Hannah Hunt and Georgia Carr – showing what amazing talent MMYT is producing

The first half ended with Earl singing Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera, after he’d given us an entertaining story about the his Frank Spencer impression at the 20th anniversary of Phantom.

The second half opened with Earl and company sing Luck be a Lady from Guys and Dolls the show the MMYT are putting on this year.  Followed by a solo rendition of Sunset Boulevard.

The MMYT entertained us to a few from Oliver – with vocals from Charlie Steggall, Megan Pake, Sam Wood and Georgia Carr again.  A stunning version of Bui Doi from Miss Saigon with Earl on lead vocals and then one of the hi-lights for me – the very multi-talented George Shrapnell singing Major General and Hail Poetry from The Pirates of Penzance.

The evening ended with a stunning run of songs from Les Miserables.  Starting with a brilliant version of Master of the House with Sam Wood and Jenni Walker. Sadie Levett’s stunning rendition of On My Own was phenomenal.  Earls own version of Stars – a song he has sung over 2000 times but makes every time seem like the first and a whole company version of One Day More with Earl, George Sharapnell, Sam Wood, Jenni Walker, Sadie Levett, Hannah Hunt, Theo James and Dominic Green on lead vocals

The whole performance was supported by a fabulous live band on stage lead by Simon Slater.

The show was wonderful, showcasing what amazing talent we have right on our own doorstep and proving how we should nurture that talent so we can have our next West End stars.