Month: May 2017

Full cast confirmed for Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox

At The Lowry Wed 5 – Sun 9 July

Full casting has been confirmed for the brand new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic Fantastic Mr Fox, a co-production between Nuffield and Curve, in association with Lyric Hammersmith. 

The play, adapted by Sam Holcroft, directed by Maria Aberg, and featuring original music from Arthur Darvill, will tour to The Lowry Salford from Wed 5 July until Sun 9 July. 

Greg Barnett plays Mr Fox, with Richard Atwill (Rat/Bean), Raphael Bushay(Badger/Boggis), Jade Croot (Kit), Sandy Foster (Rabbit), Lillie Flynn (Mrs Fox), Gruffudd Glyn (Mole/Bunce), Kelly Jackson (Mouse), and Edward Holeand Tanya Shields completing the ensemble, alongside actor-musicians,Patrick Burbridge, Anna Fordham and Richie Hart. 

“You know as well as I do: no-one outfoxes a fox!”

Boggis, Bunce and Bean, three greedy, smelly, horrid farmers hate the cunning Mr Fox.

Mr Fox is smart, clever and rather fantastic, but he doesn’t realise how determined the farmers are to get revenge. Can he hatch a plan to save his family and friends? Can they outrun the diggers and outsmart the farmers, and can rabbit shut up long enough not to give the game away?

Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox is family fun at its finest. A juicy tale of greed, pride and the power of friendship, this flagship production for the Roald Dahl centenary celebrations, promises a dahlicious theatrical feast with live music and songs and gloriumptious designs. A wondercrump treat for the whole family!

Sam Holcroft’s most recent play, Rules For Living, premièred at the National Theatre in 2015. 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 Award for up and coming writers. Her other plays include The Wardrobe, Edgar And Annabel, Dancing Bears, While You Lie, Pink, Vanya and Cockroach.  She is currently under commission from the Royal Court Theatre.

Richard Atwill plays Rat and Bean.  His theatre credits include Macbeth, Eugene Ionesco’s Macbett (RSC), God in Ruins (RSC/Soho Theatre), Potted Potter (Broadway), The Changing Room (Royal Court Theatre), The Adventure (Pleasance/Manchester Royal Exchange/Watford Palace Theatre), Unscorched, Captain Oates’ Left Sock, iWitness, Beating Heart Cadaver (Finborough Theatre), The Roman Bath (Arcola/National Theatre, Bulgaria), Beyond The Pale (Southwark Playhouse) and Roots and The Light of Heart (Theatre Cymru).  For television his work includes Shakespeare Live and Horrible Histories; and for film, Risen and Bill.

Raphael Bushay plays Badger and Boggis.  He graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in 2014. His credits include Henry V (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre). 

Greg Barnett plays Mr Fox.  His theatre credits include This Little Life of Mine and Therèse Raquin (Park Theatre), These Trees Are Made of Blood (Southwark Playhouse), Making a Scene (National Theatre), The School for Scandal (Theatre Royal Bath), Swallows and Amazons (Vaudeville Theatre and UK tour), Spend Spend Spend (Watermill and UK tour), Zorro (Garrick Theatre), Peter Pan (Birmingham Rep), Twelfth Night (Royal and Derngate) and Sweeney Todd (UK tour). His work for television includes Fleabag and Undercover; and for film, Hot Property, Bonobo and The Road to Nirvana.

Jade Croot plays Kit.  Her theatre credits include Doctor Faustus (RSC and Barbican). Her film work includes The Machine. 

Lillie Flynn plays Mrs Fox.  Her theatre credits include Sunny Afternoon (Harold Pinter Theatre, Hampstead Theatre), Wicked (Apollo Victoria Theatre), Love Story (Duchess Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre), Quadrophenia (UK tour), The Spirit of Broadway (China tour) and The War Of The Worlds (UK tour).

Sandy Foster plays Rabbit.  Her theatre credits include Days of Significance, Oppenheimer, A Shoemaker’s Holiday (RSC), Desire Under the Elms (Lyric Hammersmith), Much Ado About Nothing (Manchester Royal Exchange), A Streetcar Named Desire (Curve) and Twelfth Night (Filter Theatre).  Her television work includes The Dumping Ground, The Kerry and Lu Show and Call the Midwife; and for film, Mr Turner, Toshi, Muse of Fire and What You Will.

Gruffudd Glyn plays Mole and Bunce.  His theatre credits include Three Sisters (Young Vic), American Trade, The Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet, The Grain Store, Julius Caesar, Young People’s Hamlet (RSC), Brave New World (Royal and Derngate and UK tour) and After the End (Sherman Theatre).  His television work includes Dr Who, Poldark, Stella, Gwaith/Cartref, Hinterland/Y Gwyll; and for film, The Martian, The Theory of Everything and Thor: The Dark World.

Kelly Jackson plays Mouse. Her theatre credits include Sweet Charity (Millennium Performing Arts), RENT (The Obie Theatre), Wildlife (Bloomsbury Theatre) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Paul Holman Associates, The Broadway Theatre).

 Maria Aberg directs.  Her directing work includes, for the RSC Dr Faustus (also Barbican), The White Devil, As You Like It, King John, The Gods Weep, Days of Significance, Hotel (National Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (Manchester Royal Exchange), The Chairs (Theatre Royal Bath) and Alaska (Royal Court). She has also directed at Hampstead Theatre and Trafalgar Studios.  Forthcoming directing projects include The Great Gatsby (Royal & Derngate and Birmingham Rep) and The Winter’s Tale (Romateatern, Sweden).

Arthur Darvill is an actor and composer, best-known for his regular appearances as Rory in BBC TV’s Doctor Who and as Rev. Paul Coates on ITV’s Broadchurch. Darvill’s most recent theatre work as composer includes I Want My Hat Back (National Theatre), I Heart Peterborough (Eastern Angles), The Bacchae (English Touring Theatre), It’s About Time (Nabokov/Latitude), and Jack and The Beanstalk (Lyric Hammersmith). He won the Musical Theatre Matters Award for Been So Long (Young Vic/English Touring Theatre).

Tim McArthur and Chums  A benefit concert for TheatreMAD the Make A Difference Trust.

Sunday 4^th June

Hippodrome Casino, Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7JH

Doors 7.30pm Show 8.00pm

Tim McArthur and some of his close chums gather  for an evening of music, stories and lots of silly showbiz fun. Tim will be joined by Jamie Birkett, David Breeds, Stewart Briggs, Abigail Carter Simpson, Josh Considine, Sarah Dearlove, Alistair Fredericks, Jon R Harrison, Emma Ralston, Gary Tushaw, Kitty Whitelaw, Jo Wickham, Ellen Vereniks.

Tim wears many hats in the industry from performing to directing and presenting.  Maybe his alter ego Sister Mary McArthur may grace us with her presence, but fun is guaranteed.

Tim is delighted to be performing this special cabaret for the MAD Trust.  For the last five years he has presented The Curtain up show on Resonance FM and he also currently hosts In The Green Room for Encore Radio

Cabaret credits include Mountains (Jermyn Street and St James Theatre) and seasons in NYC. KL and Cape Town

 

https://www.madtrust.org.uk/event/evening-tim-mcarthur-chums/

Leeds Grand Theatre – until 27th May 2017

I’ve been with this show, by the wonderful Mischief Theatre Company,  from its beginnings above a pub with only a handful of us in the audience.  I watched it grow in length and confidence and every time I see it, it only gets better and even more hilarious.

A farcical play-within-a-play, The Play That Goes Wrong charts the bungled attempt by the incompetent Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society to stage a 1920’s thriller called The Murder at Haversham Manor.  Even before the play properly starts a handful of backstage “crew” desperately trying to fix props and put the finishing touches to a failing set. A poor unsuspecting member of the audience is actually pulled up to hold a shelf and a door and sweep the floor.

Everything that can possibly go wrong does. Bits keep falling off the set, so that by the end of the evening it collapses completely.  The snow occasionally billowing in from outside is actually huge chunks of confetti. There’s a mishap with a stretcher so that the corpse of the first murder victim has to try sliding off stage without the audience noticing – and so on and so forth. With some of the stunts looking quite dangerous.

The Play That Goes Wrong is what it is, but it has a winning exuberant silliness and a knowing tongue-in-cheek tone.  And when the fictional thespians try to extricate themselves from the pandemonium, it inevitably sows the seeds for escalating bedlam. Mischief Theatre may be predominantly known as improvisers but here the script, written by three of the original cast (Henry Lewis, Henry Shields and Jonathan Sayer), is tight and inventive enough to ensure what might have been a one-gag idea sustains the two hour show.  Although the build-up is hardly subtle – it’s full-on catastrophe from the very first entrance – the team manage to ramp up the stakes without quite seeming desperate.

Such hammy slapstick relies on performance; and here it is as vigorously ribald as you could hope.  In the first scenes the “corpse” of Charles Haversham (Jason Callender) refuses to lay still. The two actresses who ended up playing Florence were hilarious, Meg Mortell gave an over the top performance as the Cornley glamour puss Sandra whose diva claws come out when Stage Manager, Annie, (Katie Bernstein as a who steals the show) steps into her role as Florence Colleymore, the fiancée of the murder victim – they both endure some of the most brutal, but hilariously, physical indignities at the hands of there castmates.

Alastair Kirton is hilarious as amateur actor Max who can’t help posing and grinning at the audience while portraying the gormless Cecil Haversham, who laughs at his own jokes and clapped along with the audience when he did something impressive.  Patrick Warner’s vein-popping portrayal of Chris, the actor behind the police inspector, trying desperately to hide his violent impatience at the incompetence that surrounds him is hilarious and it will be some time before I forget him pretending to make notes with a bunch of keys on a vase because his pencil and his notebook have both gone AWOL.

Edward Judge is in commanding form as Robert, an amateur actor but who sticks strictly to the script no matter what’s going on, who plays Thomas Colleymore, close friend of the murder victim.  Edward Howells is a comic delight as the inexperienced Dennis, who has a particular knack of grotesquely mispronouncing even the most commonplace words, while playing the hapless butler Perkins in half-mast trousers and only the front part of his hair powdered grey, serving raw white spirit to the characters in the play because he has already mistakenly poured away the fake whisky.  Completing the excellent is Graeme Rooney as Trevor, the Duran Duran-loving sound operator. The writers have produced perfect characters and how they manage to keep on acting through the show, as it literally falls down around their heads, is a joy to watch.

The production calls for a great deal of slapstick and precisely timed physical comedy from the cast, all of which is pulled off impeccably.  From the intervention of director Mark Bell, who is willing to sacrifice dignity for a laugh, designers Nigel Hook (set) and Roberto Surace (costumes) capture the amateur vibe of a Mousetrap-style production perfectly, and there are many clever effects as the set gradually falls apart. The Play That Goes Wrong delivers what it promises, the constant ridiculousness produces a full on hysterical reaction to the big set-pieces, and the whole production is so funny, the laughs are so fast you barely have time to come up for air between them all, making it uproariously enjoyable.

CHARLOTTE WAKEFIELD TO PLAY ‘POLLY’

 

JOINING THE PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED

 

TOM CHAMBERS AS ‘BOBBY’

 

AND CAROLINE FLACK AS ‘IRENE’

 

IN THE NATIONAL TOUR OF THE

 

WATERMILL THEATRE’S ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF 

“CRAZY FOR YOU”

PRESENTED BY JAMIE WILSON AND GAVIN KALIN

 

OPENING AT THE

 

THEATRE ROYAL, PLYMOUTH ON 17 AUGUST 2017

 

Jamie Wilson and Gavin Kalin are delighted to announce that Charlotte Wakefield will play ‘Polly’ in the national tour of the Watermill Theatre’s acclaimed production of “CRAZY FOR YOU”. Charlotte joins the previously announced Tom Chambers as ‘Bobby’ and Caroline Flack as ‘Irene’. ”CRAZY FOR YOU” opens at theTheatre Royal, Plymouth on 17 August 2017. Tour listings with casting below. www.crazyforyoutour.com

Charlotte Wakefield made her West End debut as Wendla in “Spring Awakening”, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award. She played ‘Maria’ in the critically acclaimed production of “The Sound of Music” at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre receiving nominations for Best Actress in a Musical at both the Evening Standard and Olivier Awards. Her other theatre credits include Sophie in “Mamma Mia!” in the West End, Truly Scrumptious in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and Laurey in “Oklahoma!”, both on national tour.

Tom Chambers created the role of Jerry Travers in the West End musical “Top Hat”, for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. In 2008 he won the 6^th season of “Strictly Come Dancing”. He can currently be seen in the hit BBC drama “Casualty” and his other TV credits include “Holby City” and “Waterloo Road”. His recent stage credits include “Private Lives” and “White Christmas” in the West End.

 

Caroline Flack won the 12^th season of “Strictly Come Dancing” in 2014. She currently presents ITV’s “Love Island” and her previous presenting credits include “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here NOW!” and “The Xtra Factor”. She has also presented “The X Factor”. Prior to presenting, Caroline trained in musical theatre.

The cast is completed by Arthur Boan, Daniel Bolton, Holly Cassar, Neil Ditt, Kate-Anne Fenton, Cristopher Fry, Stacey Ghent, Matthew James Hinchcliffe, Kieran Kuypers, Kate Milner-Evans, Emma Jane Morton, Kate Robson-Stuart, Ned Rudkins-Stow, Seren Sandham-Davies and Mark Sangster.

High energy, high kicking and gloriously glamorous, “CRAZY FOR YOU” is the ultimate feel-good musical with a fabulous score from the Gershwin brothers’ songbook. Mistaken identities, plot twists, heartbreak, happiness and a wealth of memorable tunes, including I Got Rhythm, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Nice Work If You Can Get It and Embraceable You, all feature in this exhilarating celebration of the great Broadway musicals.

 

“CRAZY FOR YOU” is directed by The Watermill’s Artistic Director, Paul Hart, with musical arrangements byCatherine Jayes (The Color Purple, Broadway). It is choreographed by Nathan M. Wright (High Society, Old Vic) and is designed by Diego Pitarch (The Addams Family). Lighting design is by Howard Hudson (In the Heights) with sound design by Tom Marshall (Legally Blonde).

“CRAZY FOR YOU” has Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, Book by Ken Ludwig, co-conception by Ken Ludwig and Mike Ockrent. It is inspired by material by Guy Bolton and John McGowan.“CRAZY FOR YOU” was originally produced on Broadway by Roger Horchow and Elizabeth Williams. Original Broadway Choreography by Susan Stroman.

“CRAZY FOR YOU” UK TOUR 2017

www.crazyforyoutour.com

THURSDAY 17 AUGUST – SATURDAY 26 AUGUST

THEATRE ROYAL, PLYMOUTH www.theatreroyal.com

TUESDAY 29 AUGUST – SATURDAY 2 SEPTEMBER

LEEDS GRAND THEATRE www.leedsgrandtheatre.com

TUESDAY 5 SEPTEMBER – SATURDAY 9 SEPTEMBER

WALES MILLENNIUM CENTRE www.wmc.org.uk

TUESDAY 12 SEPTEMBER – SATURDAY 16 SEPTEMBER

THEATRE ROYAL, NEWCASTLE www.theatreroyal.co.uk

TUESDAY 19 SEPTEMBER – SATURDAY 23 SEPTEMBER

DUBLIN BORD GAIS ENERGY THEATRE www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie

TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER – SATURDAY 30 SEPTEMBER

SOUTHEND CLIFFS PAVILION www.southendtheatre.org.uk

TUESDAY 3 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER

THEATRE ROYAL, NOTTINGHAM www.trch.co.uk

TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER

BRISTOL HIPPODROME  www.atgtickets.com/venues/bristol-hippodrome

TUESDAY 17 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 21 OCTOBER

GLASGOW KING’S THEATRE www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre  

TUESDAY 24 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER

BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME www.birminghamhippodrome.com

TUESDAY 31 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER

NORWICH THEATRE ROYAL www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk

TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER – SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER

SHEFFIELD LYCEUM THEATRE www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

TUESDAY 21 NOVEMBER – SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER

MAYFLOWER THEATRE, SOUTHAMPTON www.mayflower.org.uk

TUESDAY 28 NOVEMBER – SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER

MANCHESTER OPERA HOUSE  www.atgtickets.com/venues/opera-house-manchester

TUESDAY 5 DECEMBER – SATURDAY 9 DECEMBER

LIVERPOOL EMPIRE www.atgtickets.com/venues/liverpool-empire

 

PLEASE NOTE: CAROLINE FLACK DOES NOT APPEAR AT ANY OF THE VENUES BELOW

TUESDAY 16 JANUARY – SATURDAY 20 JANUARY 2018

THE MARLOW THEATRE, CANTERBURY www.marlowetheatre.com

TUESDAY 23 JANUARY – SATURDAY JANUARY

ORCHARD THEATRE, DARTFORD www.orchardtheatre.co.uk

TUESDAY 6 FEBRUARY – SATURDAY 10 FEBRUARY

WYCOMBE SWAN www.wycombeswan.co.uk

TUESDAY 27 MARCH – SATURDAY 31 MARCH

HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE, ABERDEEN www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/venues/his-majestys-theatre

TUESDAY 3 APRIL – SATURDAY 7 APRIL

EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE www.atgtickets.com/venues/edinburgh-playhouse

TUESDAY 10 APRIL – SATURDAY 14 APRIL

THE ALHAMBRA THEATRE, BRADFORD www.bradford-theatres.co.uk

TUESDAY 24 APRIL – SATURDAY 28 APRIL

SUNDERLAND EMPIRE www.atgtickets.com/venues/sunderland-empire

TUESDAY 1 MAY – SATURDAY 5 MAY

GRAND THEATRE, SWANSEA www.swansea.gov.uk/grandtheatrewhatson

H A R R Y   P O T T E R   A N D   T H E   C U R S E D   C H I L D

PARTS ONE AND TWO

 

FIRST LOOK:

NEW WEST END CAST CHARACTER PORTRAITS RELEASED

FIRST PERFORMANCE WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017

 

WWW.HARRYPOTTERTHEPLAY.COM

Ahead of the new cast’s first performance at London’s Palace Theatre on Wednesday (24 May 2017), the Producers of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child release a first-look set of portraits by Charlie Gray. 

Seen in character for the first time are Jamie Glover as Harry Potter, Emma Lowndes as his wife Ginny Potter alongside Theo Ancient as their son Albus Potter; Thomas Aldridge as Ron Weasley, Rakie Ayola as Hermione Granger and Helen Aluko as their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley; and James Howard as Draco Malfoy and Samuel Blenkin as his son Scorpius Malfoy.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne, directed by John Tiffany with movement by Steven Hoggett, set by Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, music & arrangements by Imogen Heap, lighting by Neil Austin, sound by Gareth Fry, illusions & magic by Jamie Harrison, music supervision & arrangements by Martin Lowe and casting byJulia Horan CDG.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage.  The critically acclaimed production received its world premiere in June 2016 at the Palace Theatre and subsequently has won 22 major theatre awards including the Evening Standard Best Play Award. Last month, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child became the most awarded production in the history of the Olivier Awards, winning a record-breaking nine awards including Best New Play and Best Director.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions.

Photographer credit:  Charlie Gray

Box Office – 0343 208 0500

www.HarryPotterthePlay.com

www.harrypottertheplay.com/questions

@HPPlayLDN

facebook.com/HPPlayLDN

instagram.com/hpplayldn

www.pottermore.com

Grand Opera House York – 19 May 2017.  Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

What can I say? This show was completely not so what I imagined it to be. I honestly did not know what to expect, I have never seen Vampires of Rock, but I had heard of it and also the audience dressing up and getting really involved.

The stage was set and we see the usherette from Rocky Horror, great, I love Rocky Horror, and the song Science Fiction Double Feature. Brilliant start with the screen in the background showing stills from all the old Sci Fi films. The screen was a great feature all the way through, changing throughout with different iconic film shots.

The storyline then kicks off with an aged film usher, Benson, John Evans, luring customers with golden tickets to a midnight showing which promises to be a night to remember. We are treated to a medley of Bond songs, which is where we are first introduced to Steve Steinman, playing Bond, the creator of all this. He is an affable character, obviously enjoying himself immensely with the comic banter. The puns with movies quotes are especially funny. He is supported by a small group of singers, dancers and band members. Penny Johns, the “lucky” golden ticket winner that the story supposedly revolves around, is certainly a little pocket rocket, with some great vocals and moves.

After the interval the plot just disappears and we never get to see if Benson persuades Penny to stay so that he can leave. From then on in it is just a mishmash of film tunes, with no obvious flow. We see superheroes, Top Gun, Breakfast Club, Young Guns amongst them, like I said a bit all over the place. Only to finish with Bat Out of Hell, which had never been in a film apparently, Steinman’s signature tune after appearing on Stars in Their Eyes as Meatloaf, as well as the traditional encore.

The staging was good and effective with bursts of fire throughout and the live band are great, with some great music thrown in.

It was Steinman’s birthday, which he kept dropping into the performance, when I got to see the show and to his great surprise he got presented with a huge guitar cake.

Unfortunately the show did not really work for me, it really needed to either have a stronger story line, or be just about the soundtracks, as in the second half, but with more of a link. I suppose I expected more. Don’t get me wrong I was still up on my feet at the end singing and dancing along and I would still want to see Vampires of Rock if just for the atmosphere, and occasionally I do like to dress up a bit!

York Theatre Royal – 18 May 2017.  Reviewed by Marcus Richardson

So I went to Romeo And Juliet on Tuesday and then I went to see Twelfth Night on Thursday. Two Shakespeare plays and one company, what I wasn’t prepared for was it was the same cast; I only found out when looking in the program for R+J and found it was the SAME cast. At first I was a bit cautious, but oh lord! Sometimes the talent of cast will amaze me beyond belief.  

 

The comedy which involves cross dressing and stockings alike will make anyone laugh.  With every actor taking on another role in twelfth night I would’ve expected some performances to be lacking in energy and finesse, but I loved to be proved wrong. It was just as much perfection as you would expect than any other show. The main character of Viola dresses up like a man and ends up causing a lot of chaos and confusion, played by Rebecca Lee who did a suburb job of creating and working with such a hilarious character and even more hilarious situation.

 

Another actor who stood out was also the actor who stood out in R+J, Lauryn Redding who played the drunkard Sir Toby Belch an extravagant man who likes to cause the drama. It would be rude of me not to mention Peter Dukes who played Malvolio the steward of Olivia a Countess, a snobbish character who then ends up doing both unspeakable and hilarious acts for love.

The Set had a lot of similarities with the R+J set with the same structure but different ways of using it and presenting it. I loved the use of this as it shows how much thought and creativity went into producing both of these shows. All the actors played instruments again, and I have to say I lost track of how many instruments each of the actors could play.

 

With it being set in the 1920s the music and dance style had to be jazz and I know as much as anyone, jazz is very hard to do, with so many instruments it can be easy to lose the rhythm and the power of music, but this wasn’t the case.

I personally enjoyed this show more than R+J but that’s because I love comedies, I found myself entertained throughout all of the play, I felt like it was fast paced and each of the actors had amazing moments on stage and worked together to create a Shakespeare comedy which can be a hard task.

Soho Theatre 16 May – 6 June.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Charlotte Josephine’s intense play should be put on the National Curriculum. Never mind the mechanics of sex, the dangers of digital technology are laid bare in this show. The impact of shares and comments made anonymously in front of keyboards and phones, venting vicious and misogynistic bile, is portrayed unflinchingly, making the audience question why people feel the need to shame or destroy someone they’ve never actually met.

Charlotte Josephine and Daniel Foxsmith portray 5 characters whose lives are affected by social media. A woman whose teenage sister is the victim of revenge porn, a father struggling with his daughter’s sex education and his addiction to porn, a shy girl who takes photos of herself and naively shares them, a woman who is ghosted by her boyfriend and decides to post revenge porn, and an IT guy whose uselessness and sexism leads to a social faux pas that snowballs into a campaign of rape threats from strangers on Twitter.

The need to share and belong, to not feel invisible, and to try to live up to the unreal lifestyles of celebrities is personified sensitively in the girl whose nude photos are shared online. There are no main characters named – creating an atmosphere conducive to the anonymous and disconnected world of the internet – and the fast pace of the interchanging stories does feel like you’re flicking idly between apps or windows keeping track of various feeds at once.

The IT guy gives a lecture on how to design apps, and Josephine includes some of the neurological research used when creating apps that focus on the reward centre of the brain and ensure our need to keep using the app. Scary stuff.

Both actors are phenomenal, working up a sweat as the pace of the narrative gallops at breakneck speed towards an exhausted and downbeat finale. Josephine gives each of her characters distinct body language and accent, and takes your breath away as the big sister erupting in fury and frustration. Foxsmith manages to keep your sympathy as the two, frankly useless, male characters, excelling at their more clueless moments, and Josephine cleverly gives the father a chance to explain why he turned to porn that is completely believable.

Director Edward Stambollouian keeps things tight and slick, and James Turner’s design is stunning in its simplicity – with the characters performing on a familiar red circle and flanked by cameras and light boxes.

Fun, fierce and frantic, Blush looks at the darker side of our digital world and mob mentality of cyber bullies with honesty, horror, humour and a whole lot of heart. Unmissable

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER AND PAUL TAYLOR MILLS ANNOUNCE

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME AND FIRST WORK IN PROGRESS SERIES

“HEATHERS THE MUSICAL”, “DR FEELGOOD”, “JOYBUBBLES”, “BONNIE & CLYDE” AND “THE LITTLE BEASTS”

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paul Taylor Mills are delighted to announce details for The Other Palace Development Programme and first Work in Progress series until December 2017.

The Other Palace opened in February 2017 as a new home for musical theatre. The venue aims to discover, develop and reimagine musicals. The team want the spaces to be used to nurture the next generation of musicals, and the creatives behind them; celebrating the very best of the art form, from the established to the brand new.

 

The Other Palace’s Development Programme has been created to identify, explore, encourage and support musicals at every stage of their journey. The venue will be offering creatives space, time and resources; enabling them to explore and test their work, both privately and with an audience.

For audience members, The Other Palace’s Development Programme offers the opportunity to see new shows in their infancy and be part of the process, providing the creative team with invaluable feedback.

The Other Palace is proud to have partnered with Sli.do, a pioneering app which involves audiences in the conversation and provides an easy way to create interaction and solicit invaluable feedback, through live polls and surveys pre and post show.

Andrew Lloyd Webber said: “I want The Other Palace to become the London space where writers and producers can try out and perfect new work, offering audiences the opportunity to see and contribute to musicals in development. My hopes for The Other Palace are based on my experience with “School of Rock” in America.  I presented “School of Rock” as a staged workshop at the Gramercy Theatre, a rock venue in New York. By not premiering the musical in a finished form with elaborate sets, it gave the creative team complete flexibility to refine the material. It was a liberating experience for all of us.”

The Other Palace Artistic Director, Paul Taylor Mills added: “We’re delighted to be hosting a series of initiatives that truly nurture artists and their work, and allow our audience to be an important part of the action. Our Development Programme is at the heart of our vision to advance the musicals of tomorrow whilst reimagining the classics.”

In our first Work in Progress series we’re developing two brand new British musicals and rediscovering two American musicals. This breadth of style and the varying stages of the pieces cements our commitment to ensuring that The Other Palace really is the home for all things musical theatre in the UK.”

The Other Palace Development Programme contains a mix of networking events, opportunities to experiment, workshops and shows to assist musical creatives who would like to bring their creative vision to life.  We want to support initiatives at every stage of their journey – from discussing draft ideas with peers to holding workshops and residencies as a precursor to full productions.

Creatives Connect is an informal opportunity to meet fellow theatre-makers and share ideas in our destination bar. Have a drink, meet The Other Palace programming team and find out about the ways in which The Other Palace could support your project. Dates:

Wednesday 13 September, 8.30pm – 10.30pm

To register go to www.theotherpalace.co.uk/submissions

 

Pitch Days offer artists and creative teams the chance to show 20 minutes of their work to Artistic Director Paul Taylor Mills and The Other Palace programming team. These days are aimed at people who prefer to share their work ‘live’. The panel will make recommendations about how best to move the project forward.  Dates:

Wednesday 24 May, 10.00am – 4.00pm. This date is now full.

Wednesday 11 October, 10.00am – 4.00pm

Please make submissions for Pitch Days via www.theotherpalace.co.uk/submissions

Open Mic Nights (in association with The BRIT School) gives emerging artists from all disciplines the opportunity to perform completely new material for the first time. Open Mic Nights are for anyone who wants to try out new material in front of an audience. Dates:

Monday 25 September, 9.00pm – 10.30pm

The event is free to attend, and no tickets are required. If you want to participate contact us viawww.theotherpalace.co.uk/submissions.

Musical Bites (in association with Mercury Musical Development) showcases four new musicals that are in the early stages of development. During the evening, 15 minutes of each piece will be performed to a paying audience, who are encouraged to provide feedback in order to advance the work to the next stage of their development process. The next Musical Bites will be:

Thursday 5 October, 8.00pm

Tickets are available at www.theotherpalace.co.uk. If you would like us to present your work, please submit your creative ideas at www.theotherpalace.co.uk/submissions.

The Other Palace Work in Progress series offers productions a short residency at the venue which allows companies to create, develop and explore their work. These residencies will include a number of public sharings where audience feedback will be collected to inform the next stage of the project’s development. The ambition is that these productions will have a future life either at The Other Palace or beyond.

If you are a creative team that would like to apply for a residency, please submit your ideas atwww.theotherpalace.co.uk/submissions.

Tickets are now on sale for the first Work in Progress series:

 

“Heathers The Musical” (Studio) 

Book, Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe “(Legally Blonde” and “Bat Boy”) and Kevin Murphy (“Reefer Madness” and “Desperate Housewives”) and original production directed by Andy Fickman.

“Heathers The Musical” is the darkly delicious story of Veronica Sawyer, a brainy, beautiful teenage misfit who hustles her way into the most powerful and ruthless clique at Westerberg High: the Heathers.

Tuesday 30 May, 8.00pm

Thursday 1 June, 8.00pm

Friday 2 June, 8.00pm

Saturday 3 June, 3.00pm and 8.00pm

“Heathers the Musical” is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French Ltd.

“Dr Feelgood” (Studio)

Book and Lyrics by Alex Baranowski, Music and Lyrics David Watson, Directed by Sam Yates.

When the wife of an ambitious young doctor dies at the hands of the medical system he reveres, he sets himself along a vigilante-like path, using unorthodox, unethical medical practice to propel him towards the top of American society, but ends up disgraced, as nothing more than a high-class drug dealer.

Saturday 10 June, 8.00pm

“Joybubbles” (Studio)

Book and Lyrics by Carl Grose, Music & Lyrics by Alex Silverman, Directed by Raz Shaw.
Joe Engressia was born in 1949 completely blind but with perfect pitch. This gift enabled him to escape into theworld of the newly-established telephone network. But when this is taken from him, Joe decides to become five years old again and changes his name to Joybubbles. And boy, does he have some stories to tell…

Saturday 17 June, 8.00pm

 

“Bonnie & Clyde” (Studio)

Book by Ivan Menchell, Lyrics by Don Black, Music by Frank Wildhorn

When Bonnie and Clyde meet, their mutual cravings for excitement and fame immediately set them on a mission to chase their dreams. Their bold and reckless behaviour turns the young lovers’ thrilling adventure into a downward spiral, with the lovers resorting to robbery and murder to survive. As the infamous duo’s fame grows bigger, their inevitable end draws nearer.

Monday 26 June, 8.00pm

Thursday 29 June, 2.00pm

Friday 30 June, 8.00pm

Saturday 1 July, 3.00pm and 8.00pm

Performed by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe) Limited.

 

Perfect Pitch presents “The Little Beasts” (Theatre)

This dark and imaginatively comic musical follows a selfish little girl who runs away from home and discovers a magical menagerie filled with animals that used to be children before their naughtiness brought them to untimely ends. When the menagerie’s menacing proprietor tasks her to choose one animal to set free, she must decide which one, if any, has learned its lesson. But things are not what they seem, and is any child truly naughty?

A musical for aged 7+ with magical and innovative puppetry.

Friday 14 July, 11.00am and 7.30pm

Saturday 15 July, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

Thursday 20 July, 11.00am and 7.30pm

Friday 21 July; Saturday 22 July; Thursday 27 July; Friday 28 July and Saturday 29 July, all at 2.30pm and 7.30pm

Tickets for Work in Progress productions start at £7.50 and are available at www.theotherpalace.co.uk

 

General Submissions: For artistic teams that have creative visions to share, they should submit ideas to The Other Palace’s programming team, providing a short synopsis, information about the journey of the piece to date and two contrasting songs.  The team will review submissions on a regular basis, shortlisting the most promising, and then guiding the creative teams into the most relevant step of the Development Programme, from Pitch Days to Works in Progress.  More information about how to submit can be found on the website www.theotherpalace.co.uk/submissions.

LISTINGS

For more information about The Other Palace and further listings information about each of the initiatives and shows please visit: www.theotherpalace.co.uk

Tickets:

Online: www.theotherpalace.co.uk

Phone: 020 7087 7900

In person:  Box Office is open from 10.00am-6.30pm on show days and 10.00am – 6.00pm on non-show days.  Sundays and Bank Holidays may vary.

Address: 12 Palace St, Westminster, London SW1E 5JA