Month: May 2017

Ben Forster to reprise lead role in
Elf: The Musical for its Christmas 2017 season

At The Lowry Fri 24 November 2017 – Sun 14 January 2018

Casting has been announced for the upcoming production of Elf: The Musical which will run for a strictly limited season this Christmas.

TV and West End ‘Superstar’ Ben Forster will reprise the key role of Buddy the Elf, a role which he originated in the UK première in 2014 in Plymouth and continued to perform throughout the record-breaking 2015 Christmas run in the West End.

The West Ends leading man is currently performing the prestigious role of the Phantom of the Opera in London’s West End.

Ben was the first actor to take on the role of Buddy the Elf outside of the USA. A role which he garnered considerable critical acclaim for his portrayal of, receiving a nomination for Best Actor in a Musical at the What’s on Stage Awards.

Ben Forster won the 2012 ITV1 show Superstar, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s TV talent search for the rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar, and went on to play the title role in the UK arena tour. Other recent theatre roles include starring as Brad Majors in the reinvented 40th anniversary production of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show and Magaldi in Evita at the Dominion Theatre.

Other confirmed cast members include Joe McGann as Walter and Jessica Martin as Emily Hobbs, roles they both performed during the London run.

Elf: The Musical returns to Theatre Royal Plymouth for one week only, from Sat 11 – Sat 18 November before heading to The Lowry, Salford. The Salford venue will host the show’s first Christmas season outside of London from Fri 24 November 2017 until Sun 14 January 2018.

Based on the beloved 2003 New Line Cinema hit starring Will Ferrell, Elf is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy’s enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity, and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Michael Rose in association with the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin present the Theatre Royal Plymouth production of Elf at The Lowry.

Elf: The Musical features a book by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan(Annie, The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), with songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer).

The production will feature direction and choreography by Morgan Young (Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), set design and costumes by Olivier Award winner Tim Goodchild, lighting design by Olivier Award winner Tim Lutkin, orchestrations by Doug Besterman, video design by Ian William Galloway and sound design by Avgoustos Psillas & Terry Jardine for Autograph.  Musical supervision will be by Stuart Morley.

Theatre Royal Bath Productions, Cambridge Arts Theatre and Rose Theatre Kingston present
LAURENCE FOX IN TOM STOPPARD’S THE REAL THING

• LAURENCE FOX TO STAR IN TOM STOPPARD’S THE REAL THING, DIRECTED BY STEPHEN UNWIN
• PRODUCTION WILL EMBARK ON LIMITED UK TOUR TO CO-PRODUCING VENUES CAMBRIDGE ARTS THEATRE, THEATRE ROYAL BATH AND ROSE THEATRE KINGSTON FROM WEDNESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER

Theatre Royal Bath Productions, Cambridge Arts Theatre and Rose Theatre Kingston are delighted to announce Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing will embark on a limited UK Tour from September, starring Laurence Fox and directed by Stephen Unwin. The production will open on Wednesday 6 September in Cambridge before touring to Bath and Kingston, with national press night on Wednesday 27 September at Theatre Royal Bath. Further tour dates to be announced.

The Real Thing was first staged in London’s West End in 1982 and subsequently transferred to Broadway where it went on to win multiple awards including the Tony Award for Best Play in 1994 and, 16 years later, the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Stoppard’s poignant classic offers an intellectual and entertaining examination of infidelity.

Henry is the smartest and sharpest playwright of his generation. His wife, Charlotte, an actress has been appearing in a play by Henry about a couple whose marriage is on the verge of collapse. Max, her leading man, is also married to an actress, Annie. When Henry’s affair with Annie threatens to destroy his own marriage, he realises life has started imitating art. But are they really in love? Is it the real thing?

Laurence Fox is best known for his role as DS James Hathaway for seven series of Lewis. Other television roles include A Room With A View and Wired with film credits including Gosford Parkand Becoming Jane. Fox’s theatre credits include Strangers on a Train (Gielgud Theatre) andOur Boys (Duchess Theatre).

Tom Stoppard is a multi-award winning playwright with many notable plays includingRosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, The Hard Problem andThe Invention of Love. Stoppard also co-wrote Shakespeare in Love which won the Academy Award for best screenplay.

Stephen Unwin founded English Touring Theatre (ETT) in 1993 prior to becoming Artistic Director of Rose Theatre Kingston for five years. Unwin’s credits for Theatre Royal Bath includeMoon Tiger starring Jane Asher and Present Laughter starring Samuel West and Phyllis Logan.

Listings

Cambridge Arts Theatre (Tickets on sale at 12 noon on Friday 19 May)
Wednesday 6 – Saturday 16 September 2017
Box Office: 01223 503 333
Website: www.cambridgeartstheatre.com
Performance schedule: Evenings 7.45pm, Thu & Sat mats 2.30pm (No performance Sunday 10 September)
Prices: £23 – £42

Theatre Royal Bath (Tickets on sale on Saturday 3 June)
Monday 18 – Saturday 30 September 2017
Box Office: 01225 448 844
Website: www.theatreroyal.org.uk
Performance schedule: Mon – Wed 7.30pm, Thu – Sat 8pm, Thu & Sat mats 2.30pm
Press Night: Wednesday 27 September, 7pm
Prices: £19.50 – £35.50

Rose Theatre Kingston (Tickets on sale at 10am on Friday 19 May)
Monday 2 – Saturday 14 October
Box Office: 020 8174 0090
Website: www.rosetheatrekingston.org
Performance schedule: Mon – Thu & Sat 7.30pm, Fri 8pm, Thu & Sat mats 2.30pm
Prices: £10 – £45

The Steamie

Written and Directed by Tony Roper

Songs by David Anderson

• FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR THE STEAMIE 30th ANNIVERSARY SCOTTISH TOUR

Opening in Kirkcaldy on Wednesday 6th September, 2017, the show will celebrate 30 years entertaining audience across Scotland with a tour which takes in His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, Dundee Rep, Ayr Gaiety, Eden Court Inverness, the Macrobert Arts Centre Stirling, Kings Theatre Glasgow and the Kings Theatre Edinburgh.

The 30th Anniversary touring cast brings together Mary McCusker (reprising her role as Mrs Culfeathers from the 2012 production), Steven McNicoll (wrote and starred in seven series of the BAFTA Nominated BBC sketch show Velvet Soup), Libby McArthur (Gina Rossi in River City),Carmen Pieraccini (Kelly-Marie Adams in River City) and Fiona Wood (also reprising her role as Doreen from the 2012 production).

The Steamie is a Scottish theatre classic; an ode to the hard working women of the 1950’s and to a bygone Glasgow. The young Doreen envisions a new future, while Mrs Culfeathers looks back to the past – the play is a snapshot of a society, of a time and a cross section of strong women, all rolled up in Roper’s hilarious comedy. As The Scotsman said in 2012, it is a“wonderful pattern of humour, pathos, and laugh-out-loud comic set-pieces.”

The play is written by Tony Roper and produced by Neil Laidlaw, both alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Libby McArthur who plays Dolly is a well-known face having appeared in many popular Scottish television programmes. She is most famous for her role as Gina Hamilton in River City. In her time, she has had more than one Session with John Peel; ridden The Tube with Jools Holland and been usurped in her role as mother to her son by Liam Neeson and Jessica Lang in Rob-Roy. On television she has played wife to Ford Keirnan; daughter to Miriam Margoyles, Annie Ross and Johnny Beattie; sister to Andy Gray, Forbes Masson, and Bobby Carlyle and has even been taken advantage of by Stefan Dennis.

Mary McCusker is back reprising the role she loves from the 2012 production of the show, Mrs Culfeathers. She is best known for her work in films Turner & Hooch, The Client and Up. Her theatre credits include appearing in Miss Firecracker Contest, Al Franken & Tom Davis Show, Art of Self Defence and Twenty- Four Hours. In the 1990’s she switched from acting to coaching.

Steven McNicoll who stars as Andy wrote and starred in seven series of the BBC sketch showVelvet Soup on radio and later television, which earned him a BAFTA nomination. He is also known to viewers for playing the young Rab C Nesbitt in the series of the same name and appears regularly as Bra’s Jeff in Donald McLeary and Sanjeev Kohli’s Sony Award winning BBC Radio 4 sitcom Fags, Mags and Bags.

Carmen Pieraccini plays Magrit. She appeared briefly in the Gillies MacKinnon film Small Faces, the Saul Metzstein’s film Late Night Shopping, and the music video for the Belle and Sebastian single Jonathan David, before appearing in River City. She played Tina in the comedy seriesDear Green Place, opposite Ford Kiernan. On stage, she appeared as an army private in the 2008 play An Advert for the Army.

Fiona Wood could not get enough of The Steamie and has returned to the show as Doreen, after appearing in the 2012 production. She is best known for her roles in films Money Kills,Sketchland and has just wrapped up filming short film, The Last Supper.

This is the third time Neil Laidlaw has produced a tour of The Steamie, first in 2009 and then the 25th Anniversary Tour in 2012. Neil said “The Steamie is one of the greatest Scottish plays – I am extremely proud to have had the opportunity to have been associated with it in the past and am now even more excited to be producing this 30th Anniversary celebration. We’ve brought together a fantastic cast of actors combining Mary McCusker reprising her wonderful portrayal of Mrs Culfeathers and Fiona Wood’s Doreen, with fresh faces down The Steamie with Libby McArthur, Stephen McNicoll and Carmen Pieraccini. I can’t wait to get into the rehearsal room and see another cast have a ball getting to know this play.”

Tony Roper (Scottish actor, comedian, writer, playwright and director) says “In my late forties I sat down with a biro and a jotter and wrote my first ever play. 30 years have since passed andThe Steamie is still there, giving laughter and tears and touching that intangible something in an audience that has made it a favourite night out.”

Listings

Week commencing

• 4 September Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy www.onfife.com/venues/adam-smith-theatre
• 11 September Her Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen
• www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/venues/his-majestys-theatre
• 18 September Dundee Rep Theatre www.dundeerep.co.uk/
• 25 September Ayr Gaiety http://ayrgaiety.co.uk/
• 2 October Eden Court, Inverness www.eden-court.co.uk/
• 9 October Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling http://macrobertartscentre.org/
• 23 & 30 October King’s Theatre, Glasgow www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre/
• 6 November King’s Theatre, Edinburgh www.edtheatres.com/kings

Oriental City Restaurant, Leeds – 18 May 2017.  Reviewed by Dawn Smallwood

On the Wire’s From Shore to Shore originally came from a series of interviews with a wide range of people of Chinese birth and heritage. The stories developed into an inter-generational drama, written jointly by Mary Cooper and M W Sun, which led to a “work in progress” production back in 2015. Leeds’ Oriental City Restaurant could not be more fitting to host intimately this play, under the direction of David K S Tse, with its intimate ambience and thematic decor.

Over a delicious Chinese banquet meal the audience have the opportunity to listen to stories of three individuals who shares the same heritage but their journeys could not be any more different. The play begins when the characters “arrive” and are received by the waiting staff who doubled up as actors.

Cheung Wing (played by Jackie Lam) whose journey goes far back to Imperial China and before Japan invaded China during World War II begins proceedings. He shares his moving account about consuming chicken soup and finding his mother and how food mattered to him for hope and survival and settling in Leeds, he knows what its like “to be starving” and what it “means to be fed”.

Mei Lan (played by Yvonne Wan) recounts her life in Hong Kong where she lived with her grandmother while her parents worked in a takeaway in Leeds. She and her siblings had to help out with the duties in her grandmother’s apartment and when she moved back to Leeds she helped Mum out at the takeaway after school hours. According to Chinese clichés she was expected to do well at school and following adversaries in her life she found solace in the church.

The third character is Yi Di (played by Dandan Liu) who grew up the 1980s at the time when the one child policy was adapted in China. Her father was unhappy not to have a son and Yi Di’s life was impossibly pleasing her father with the expectation of being top of the class at school. With resistance and determination she was able to get a one way ticket to Leeds which she refers to as a “small city surrounded by hills”.

The play does explore themes of family honour, cultures, expectations, endurance and crucially hope combining with the relationship of food. Each story is parallel to the true stories shared by those originating from the motherland to their current home in Yorkshire. The intimate staging with its minimum use of props in the restaurant compliments the performance, tri-lingual dialogues between the performers, and the combined use of music including Chinese percussion effectively link the scenes together.

This is an excellent evening of storytelling which offers one to look into the Chinese community in Leeds and how its members’ life journeys celebrate the spirit of diversity and humanity. From Shore to Shore will now continue its national tour until the 10th June 2017 in York.

York Theatre Royal – 16 May 2017.  Reviewed by Marcus Richardson

Oh Romeo, oh Romeo… if you can’t tell what play this is already, then I think you’ve been living under a rock for the past 400 years. Now we all know the famous Classic tragedy of woe and love, some of us love it and some of us hate it with a passion. With most productions of Romeo And Juliet, directors and theatre creators find a way to modernise the play though use of setting and time period. Setting the play modern day with a gangesque feel is often done, but I don’t know how to describe the feel I got from the adaptation, but I can say that I loved it but I don’t know why. I find myself rarely thinking this, for me it stood out from the endless sea of Romeo and Juliet’s.

When you first walk into the main theatre the show had already begun with, actors on stage singing modern songs my regret here is that I was spending my time at the bar and not listening to the songs since they were strong singers with great musical talent playing a variety of instruments as well. When the play officially started we were given ‘Take Me To Church’, this really suited the aesthetic and really set the feel for the play. It would be hard not to talk about the actors who played the title roles, with Aruhan Galieva playing the 13 year old independent Juliet and Stuart Wilde taking on the role of Romeo a 17 year old who is constantly in love and devoted to it. These two were both exceptional and both very strong actors, but I found myself leaning towards two other actors; Victoria Blunt who played Benvolio was out of this world switching the gender of the role and also creating a relationship with her fellow actors on stage, the other actor was Lauryn Redding who played the nurse the role of the nurse offers a lot of comic relief throughout the play even to one of the saddest moments, I think she bought extra to the role with me finding standing out of the crowd with the other R+Js I’ve seen.

The stage was fairly brought to live by its set, but it was used with the countless scene changes in the play, bear with me here, we had a bar to the back of the stage and the ever so famous balcony, but we didn’t wait for scene changes at it snapped from scene to scene, with little hidden feature lending for great stage craft and I thank them for this since scene changes are something I mostly hate.

Now without a word of a doubt, I would say go and see this show, and I have to admit R+J isn’t for everyone and I think people overlook this play because I have to admit it is overdone. But that’s because it is a good play and in this instance a strong cast, I found myself entertained throughout the whole play and I’ve seen other productions before and this stood out by a mile, so drop the overdone excuse of not seeing it, and go see it.

STRICTLY COME DANCING STAR

DANNY MAC

TO STAR AS JOE GILLIS

IN THE UK AND IRELAND TOUR OF THE

CURVE PRODUCTION OF

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S

SUNSET BOULEVARD

PRODUCED BY MICHAEL HARRISON AND DAVID IAN

DIRECTED BY NIKOLAI FOSTER

OPENING AT CURVE
ON SATURDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2017

Michael Harrison and David Ian are delighted to announce that Danny Mac is to star as Joe Gillis in the forthcoming UK and Ireland tour of Curve’s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s award-winning musical SUNSET BOULEVARD. Ria Jones is to play Norma Desmond and the show is to be directed by Nikolai Foster.

SUNSET BOULEVARD will open at Curve on Saturday 16 September 2017 (press night Thursday 28 September), before touring the UK and Ireland. Full casting to be announced shortly. Tour schedule below with more dates to be announced soon. sunsetboulevardtour.com

Most recently Danny Mac captured the nation’s hearts and received overwhelming support during his incredible time on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing making it all the way to the final. This month he stars as Gabey in On The Town at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. His other musical theatre credits include Wicked and Legally Blonde.

One of the all-time great musicals, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award®-winning (Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical) masterpiece SUNSET BOULEVARD is a compelling story of romance and obsession, based on Billy Wilder’s legendary film, with Don Black and Christopher Hampton’s wonderful book and lyrics. This much-loved score includes the title number Sunset Boulevard, With One Look, As If We Never Said Goodbye, The Greatest Star Of All and The Perfect Year and will be performed by a full orchestra.

In her mansion on Sunset Boulevard, faded, silent-screen goddess, Norma Desmond, lives in a fantasy world. Impoverished screen writer, Joe Gillis, on the run from debt collectors, stumbles into her reclusive world. Persuaded to work on Norma’s ‘masterpiece’, a film script that she believes will put her back in front of the cameras, he is seduced by her and her luxurious life-style.  Joe becomes entrapped in a claustrophobic world until his love for another woman leads him to try and break free with dramatic consequences.

SUNSET BOULEVARD UK AND IRELAND TOUR 2017/18

sunsetboulevardtour.com

2017

SATURDAY 16 SEPTEMBER – SATURDAY 30 SEPTEMBER

CURVE, LEICESTER  www.curveonline.co.uk

TUESDAY 3 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER

EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE www.atgtickets.com/edinburgh

MONDAY 9 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER

NEWCASTLE THEATRE ROYAL www.theatreroyal.co.uk

MONDAY 23 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER

MANCHESTER PALACE www.atgtickets.com/manchester

MONDAY 6 NOVEMBER – SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER

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

MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER – SATURDAY 18 NOVEMBER

BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME www.birminghamhippodrome.com

MONDAY 20 NOVEMBER – SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER

BORD GAIS ENERGY THEATRE, DUBLIN www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie

TUESDAY 28 NOVEMBER – SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER

MILTON KEYNES THEATRE www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes

Tales from the Arabian Nights

By Farhana Sheikh

Directed by Jonathan Petherbridge

 London Bubble to stage first summer show in seven years

 Tales from the Arabian Nights will be performed in Southwark Park from 1 – 6 August and Greenwich Park from 9 – 19 August 2017

London Bubble, the iconic South-East London theatre company has announced today that it will stage its first summer show in seven years, with performances in Southwark Park (1– 6 August), and Greenwich Park (9–19 August). Tickets are on sale now from www.londonbubble.org.uk.

Tales from the Arabian Nights was the Bubble’s first promenade production when Farhana Sheikh’s play was staged in 1994, and is now being reimagined for summer 2017 under the direction of Bubble Creative Director Jonathan Petherbridge, with designs by Yasuko Hasegawa.

Well known for their family friendly theatre, London Bubble’s last ticketed summer show was staged in 2010. After funding cuts in 2008 the company had to reinvent itself and become wholly sustainable without Arts Council funding. Their survivalist story – which saw Bubble rebuild the company on people power, passion and partnerships – has been held up as an example of resilience in the theatre industry. The Bubble is now delighted to reconnect with its audiences and go back to doing what they were most publicly known and loved for.

London Bubble’s ethos is “people make theatre” and the mission has always been to create theatre that is inspirational, inclusive and involving – sharing stories that animate the spaces of the city and the spirits of its citizens. The Bubble staged its first summer show in 1972 and has been creating theatre both for and with communities throughout the outer London boroughs for nearly 45 years. Audiences coming to see Tales from the Arabian Nights are welcome to bring their whole family, including babes in arms or children in buggies, plus any pets who might enjoy a trip to the park.

Playwright Farhana Sheikh said: “The Bubble commissioned Tales from the Arabian Nights back in 1994 and it was the first play I ever wrote, so it is a very special project for me. The stories of A Thousand and One Nights are part of a wonderful oral tradition – the remembering, retelling, recreating and reinventing of these tales of romance and adventure could last for days and in this play I attempt to recreate the power of the storyteller. I am delighted to rewrite it for this new production and bring the stories to a new Bubble audience.”

Creative Director Jonathan Petherbridge said: “I am really looking forward to creating a Bubble promenade adventure for a new generation and hopefully, welcoming some of the loyal supporters who enjoyed our shows in the past. Am I right in thinking there is currently a need for less formal theatre experiences that draw on great stories and bring people together in a natural environment? Bubble always provided that – welcoming all ages and building community under the night sky of London.”

Farhana Sheikh’s previous work includes the novel, The Red Box, and nine other plays, including – for the Bubble – Once Upon A Time Very Far from England, Gilgamesh, Gulliver’s Travels and Punchkin Enchanter. She co-wrote, with Adrian Jackson, the award-winning Mincemeat, and with the composer Thomas Johnson, an oratorio, Gilgamesh.

Jonathan Petherbridge has been making different sorts of theatre for nearly three decades – some orthodox work – shows developed from the work of a writer (Shakespeare, Brecht, Brenton), some inspired by places (parks, cliff tops, vaults), some driven by social purposes (young people, intergenerational projects, theatre for early years). He pioneered promenade theatre as a response to the dominance of the black box, directed and rejected the community play, and continually seeks to introduce theatre to effective settings.

Designer Yasuko Hasegawa was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. Her childhood interest in ballet and storytelling led her to study theatre design at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has worked as theatre designer and community artist since graduation, both in the UK and Japan. In 2015, she designed London Bubble’s Grandchildren of Hiroshima, which was created with the local community of Hiroshima in Japan. She is designing installation for Seven for a Secret with Pegasus Theatre, Oxford in May 2017. She lives and works in Osaka.

WEST END TRANSFER ANNOUNCED FOR
THE MENTOR
STARRING ACADAMY AWARD-WINNER F. MURRAY ABRAHAM

• THE MENTOR TRANSFERS TO LONDON’S VAUDEVILLE THEATRE FROM 24 JUNE – 2 SEPTEMBER WITH OPENING NIGHT FOR PRESS ON 4 JULY
• LAURENCE BOSWELL DIRECTS THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF DANIEL KEHLMANN’S PLAY
• ACADEMY AWARD WINNER F. MURRAY ABRAHAM REPRISES ROLE OF BENJAMIN RUBIN
• TICKETS ON SALE TODAY VIA NIMAXTHEATRES.COM

Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Nica Burns are delighted to announce that Laurence Boswell’s critically acclaimed production of Daniel Kehlmann’s The Mentor will have a West End run at London’s Vaudeville Theatre from 24 June to 2 September with opening night for press on Tuesday 4 July.

The Mentor stars Academy Award-winner F. Murray Abraham as Benjamin Rubin, Daniel Weyman as Martin Wegner, Naomi Frederick as Gina Wegner and Jonathan Cullen as Erwin Rudicek.

The Mentor is directed by Olivier Award-winning Laurence Boswell who resides as Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Bath’s Ustinov Studio where the play celebrated a record-breaking run earlier this year, the most successful in the studio’s history. This production, translated by Academy Award-winning Christopher Hampton, marks the first time that bestselling authorDaniel Kehlmann’s play has been performed outside of Germany.

In a dilapidated art nouveau villa, somewhere in the German countryside, two massive egos are set on a collision course in this perceptive and compelling comedy about art and artists and the legacy of fame.

F. Murray Abraham won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Salieri in Miloš Forman’s masterpiece Amadeus. His numerous other screen credits include Homeland, Mighty Aphrodite, Scarface, Finding Forrester, Star Trek: Insurrection, The Name of the Rose, The Good Wife, Inside Llewyn Davis and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Theatre credits include It’s Only A Play, Othello, Richard III and Uncle Vanya, for which he was awarded an Obie Award for Best Actor.

Daniel Weyman’s previous credits for Theatre Royal Bath include Kafka’s Dick and King Lear. Additional theatre credits include Sideways (St James Theatre), 4000 Days (Park Theatre) andThe Crucible (Bristol Old Vic). Television and film credits include Great Expectations, Foyle’s War and Silent Witness.

Naomi Frederick’s theatre credits include Hobson’s Choice (Theatre Royal Bath and West End),The Heresy of Love, Much Ado About Nothing and As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe) and The Winslow Boy (Old Vic).

Jonathan Cullen starred in the Ustinov Studio’s production of Trouble in Mind. Additional theatre credits include Enemy of the People (Chichester Festival Theatre), Doctor Faustus(Shakespeare’s Globe) and Love the Sinner (National Theatre).

Daniel Kehlmann is a German-language author whose novel Measuring the World, sold three million copies in Germany alone and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

Christopher Hampton previously translated Florian Zeller’s play The Father for the Ustinov Studio, launching its international success. He won an Academy Award for the adaptation of his own play, Dangerous Liaisons.

Laurence Boswell is an Olivier Award-winner, Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio and an Associate Artist of the RSC. His recent productions include A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Theatre Royal’s Main House, and Trouble in the Mind, The Mother, Intimate Apparel and The Spanish Golden Age Season in the Ustinov Studio.

CHILDREN’S FAVOURITE TIGER RETURNS TO DINE IN NEWCASTLE ONCE AGAIN

North East children are in for a roaring treat as a stage adaptation of the much-loved classic The Tiger Who Came To Tea returns to Newcastle Theatre Royal this Summer, 29 June – 1 July 17. 

The truly magical Olivier Award nominated West End production, which has played numerous sell-out runs at the Theatre Royal (most recently in 2015) is a musical play adapted from Judith Kerr’s ever popular tale.  It is the ideal introduction to theatre for children aged three plus and the perfect treat for the whole family.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea book was published in 1968, and remains a perennial favourite read by several generations. When Sophie and her Mummy welcome the hungry Tiger to tea, he proceeds to eat all the sandwiches, buns, biscuits and more. He even manages to drink all the water in the tap! What will Sophie’s Daddy say when he gets home? Join Tiger, Sophie and her Mummy and Daddy, in this musical slice of teatime mayhem with sing-a-long songs, oodles of magic and interactive fun.
The production is adapted and directed by David Wood OBE, undisputedly the country’s leading writer and director of plays and musicals for children, whose many successes include: The Gingerbread Man, Guess How Much I Love You, eight Roald Dahl adaptations including West End hits The BFG, The Witches and George’s Marvellous Medicine; and the Olivier Award winning Goodnight Mister Tom.

Wood has been writing plays for children and families for almost fifty years and his productions are seen all over the world.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea was first performed at the Bloomsbury Theatre in 2008. The production has since gone on to tour nationally and internationally, playing four smash-hit summer seasons in the West End, Christmas seasons at the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne Arts Centre, as well as sell-out dates in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Bahrain.

Author Judith Kerr will celebrate her 94^th birthday this year.  In 2008 she approached Newcastle’s very own Seven Stories (The National Centre for Children’s Books) to house her archive. The most significant collection of artwork by a single illustrator in the Seven Stories Collection, Kerr’s archive spans 70 years, and includes childhood paintings, drawings from her student days, and finished artwork for most of her published books, including The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

The show is designed by Susie Caulcutt, movement director Emma Clayton and Music Arranger / Supervisor PeterPontzen, starring Abbey Norman (Sophie), Ashley Tucker (Mummy), Harry Howle (Daddy/Milkman/Postman/Tiger), Katie Arundell (Understudy/Wardrobe) and Jacob Jackson (Understudy/ASM). The Tiger Who Came to Tea is produced by Nick Brooke Ltd.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea is at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Thurs 29 June until Sat 1 July 2017, playing Thu & Fri at 10.30am & 1.30pm, Sat 10am & 12.30pm. Tickets from £14.50.  Tickets can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 (Calls cost 7ppm plus your phone company’s access charge) or book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk