Month: February 2018

METRO RADIO ARENA, NEWCASTLE

SATURDAY 1ST DECEMBER 2018

JASON DONOVAN, ADAM GARCIA, CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER,

NEWTON FALKNER, NATHAN JAMES & ANNA MARIE-WAYNE

ANNOUNCED FOR

JEFF WAYNE’S MUSICAL VERSION OF THE WAR OF THE WORLD’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

One of the most ground-breaking arena tours of all time, Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of ‘The War of the Worlds’ – Alive on Stage is to make its return to arenas throughout the UK in 2018.

Nearly 40 years on, based on HG Wells’ dark Victorian tale, Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds remains a firm favourite to millions around the world.

The show will again feature a stellar cast with Jeff Wayne returning to the podium to conduct the 9-piece Black Smoke Band and 36-piece ULLAdubULLA Strings, while Liam Neeson retains his role in 3D holography as The Journalist.

Star of stage and screen Jason Donovan returns to the role of Parson Nathaniel alongside West End actress Carrie Hope Fletcher as Beth, his wife. Actor and theatre star Adam Garcia will debut as The Artilleryman, British singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner will perform The Sung Thoughts of The Journalist, Inglorious front man Nathan James will play The Voice of Humanity, with Anna-Marie Wayne reprising her role as Carrie, The Journalist’s Fiancée.

Jason Donovan commented;

“I am delighted to be re-joining the cast for this very special 40th Anniversary Tour. ‘The War of The Worlds’ has such enduring appeal and its fan base seems to grow and grow. With each tour, the scale, the drama and the special effects get more and more exciting, so I can’t wait to see what Jeff has planned for this spectacular celebration!

Carrie Hope Fletcher added;

“I’m absolutely delighted and honoured to be reprising my role as ‘Beth, Parson’s Nathaniel’s Wife’, alongside Jason Donovan, especially for this momentous 40th Anniversary year! Having grown up listening to the album, ‘The War of The Worlds’ holds a personal significance, and with the new ingredients, I can’t wait to see how this new production has evolved!”

Newton Faulkner said;

“I grew up listening to ‘The War of The Worlds’ and I’m playing The Sung Thoughts of The Journalist, alongside Liam Neeson and, as if that wasn’t enough, Jeff Wayne asked me really nicely. Also, it’s got giant Martian Fighting Machines in it! An actual MFM that shoots real flames out of its giant face! I’m very excited.

Adam Garcia commented;

“I have been waiting to be a part of TWOTW live since it first began in this arena format. Finally I get to be on stage – inside the ‘The War of The Worlds’. I’m terribly excited.”

Nathan James said;

“I am beyond excited to be part of the 40th anniversary production of The War of The worlds. I can’t wait to stand on stage in these incredible venues and perform this wonderful music alongside such a hugely talented cast. I’m so thankful that Jeff has picked me to sing ‘Thunder Child’ – a song I have loved since I was a kid. I remember hearing those opening chords for the first time and to get to hear them from backstage is going to be a really surreal moment every night. This is a proper dream job.”

Anna-Marie Wayne said:

“The War of The Worlds is obviously very near and dear to my heart and I am so excited to be reprising the role of Carrie again for the 40th anniversary Tour! I can’t wait for everyone to see how the character has developed since the last tour – lots of new and exciting things!”

In 2018 TWOTW will “break through the fourth wall”.

Built around a huge arched bridge running through the centre of the arena brings the action closer to the audience for a most captivating and immersive experience.

This production, mixed live in Surround Sound, will once again feature:

· The iconic 3-tonne, 35-foot tall Martian Fighting Machine firing real flame Heat Rays at the audience.

· A 100-foot wide ‘Animation Wall’ with 2 hours of cutting edge CGI.

· A ground-breaking levitation effect.

· The incineration of a cast member in full view of the audience.

· Leaf drops over the audience.

…and much, much more!

Jeff Wayne said: “In June 1978 when my original double album was released. I had no idea if it would vanish as quickly as one can say… “ULLAdubULLA!”

But here we are today, celebrating its 40th Anniversary and seeing the newly re-mastered original double album sitting on top of the UK vinyl album charts.

And later this year I believe we’ll be performing the most exciting arena tour to date, with a most exciting cast, all of us getting ready to do battle with the Martians later this year.

No one would have believed…”

Tickets are available online, from the booking hotline number 0844 493 6666 or in person from the Metro Radio Arena Box Office. Please note venue facility and booking fees will apply.

Tickets are available from:-

· Credit Card Booking and Information Line 0844 493 6666

· The Metro Radio Arena Newcastle Box Office (Mon – Fri: 10.00am – 4.00pm, Sat: 11.00am – 2.30pm)

· Internet Site:- www.metroradioarena.co.uk

· Group Bookers should call (0191) 260 6006

· Accessible Bookings should call 0333 344 6250 for further details

BLOOD BROTHERS HEADING TO DARLINGTON HIPPODROME

Bill Kenwright’s production of the international smash hit musical Blood Brothers is coming to Darlington Hippodrome from Tuesday 20 to Saturday 24 February.

Considered ‘One of the best musicals ever written’ (Sunday Times), Blood Brothers, written by award-winning playwright Willy Russell has triumphed across the globe. Scooping up no fewer than four awards for best musical in London and seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway, Blood Brothers is simply ‘Unmissable and unbeatable’ (The Spectator).

Critically acclaimed actress and singer Lyn Paul returns to the seminal role of Mrs Johnstone, following her first performance back in 1997. Hailed as ‘The definitive Mrs Johnstone’ (Manchester Evening News), Lyn has played the role on numerous UK tours and also starred as Mrs Johnstone in the final West End performances at the Phoenix Theatre in 2012.

Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving story of twin boys separated at birth, only to be reunited by a twist of fate and a mother’s haunting secret. The memorable score includes A Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s Not True. A sensational cast, incredible show stopping music, remarkable staging and five star performances make Blood Brothers an enthralling night of entertainment.

Blood Brothers runs at Darlington Hippodrome from Tuesday 20 to Saturday 24 February.

Tickets* from £23.50 (all prices include a £2 restoration levy). For more information or to book contact the box office on 01325 405405 or visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk

Arts Theatre, London – until 11 March.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

3***

The Small Faces’ final gig in 1968 frames Carol Harrison’s jukebox musical, with an older, but sadly not wiser Steve Marriot guiding the audience through the group’s rise to fame and their acrimonious split.

The rise to fame of the East End lads, their exploitation by original manager Don Arden and the creative freedom they found under Andrew Oldham’s hapless management are portrayed with energy and commitment, but this is a show with a split personality, veering from 1970’s style comedy to melodrama in the confused and meandering script. There are some great one-liners peppered about, but some jokes felt as if they should have been mothballed in the 1960s.

Chris Simmons as the older Marriot gives scathing unapologetic accounts of his youthful mistakes in the first act, strutting across the stage triumphantly as his younger self (Samuel Pope) and the band become successful. The second act feels more like a painful therapy session, with Marriot becoming more and more dishevelled and contrite as he watches himself implode and alienate everyone around him, eventually wandering around kissing people he hurt as his younger self is abusing them. The final scene feels like it comes from a completely different show, ending on an overdramatic downer before the obligatory jolly singalong finale. This is a shame, as writer/director Carol Harrison obviously has a huge passion for the story of this tragic man and his wonderful music, but as it is, the show is at least half an hour too long and needs more focus.

Obviously, the music is glorious, with Samuel Pope’s vocals soaring brilliantly in numbers like Itchycoo Park, Tin Soldier and All or Nothing, and the group’s (Stanton Wright as Ronnie Lane, Stefan Edwards as Kenny Jones, Alexander Gold as Ian McLagan) musicianship and chemistry is extraordinary. The comedy highlights are provided by Edward Elgood as original keyboard player Jimmy Winston and Daniel Beales with his memorable cameos as Stanley Unwin, Tony Blackburn and David Jacobs while Carol Harrison gives a gutsy performance as Marriot’s mum.

This is a show that can get away with the book’s weaknesses by riding on the huge wave of nostalgia, energy and joy that the music creates, and die-hard fans will have the time of their lives.

DIRECTORS ANNOUNCED FOR BEAM2018 BIENNIAL SHOWCASE

THE UK’S LARGEST INDUSTRY SHOWCASE OF NEW BRITISH MUSICAL THEATRE

Musical Theatre Network and Mercury Musical Developments present
In association with Theatre Royal Stratford East
BEAM2018

Thursday 1 and Friday 2 March 2018
at Theatre Royal Stratford East

Musical Theatre Network and Mercury Musical Developments today announce Hannah Chissick, Adam Lenson, James Dacre, Peter Rowe, Josh Seymour, Tania Azevedo, Cressida Carre and Kate Golledge as directors for the eight 25-minute extracts from new musicals to be presented at BEAM2018.

Casting includes Janie Dee and Gay Soper in F**ked in Marrakech with further casting to be announced shortly. In addition, the biennial two-day event presents fifty 10-minute pitches constituting the largest national showcase of new British musicals in development.

BEAM brings the most exciting musical theatre projects together from around the UK, offering a platform for musical theatre writers to present new ideas to professionals within the industry offering opportunities to become involved in the early stages of development. BEAM2018 is going to be the UK’s largest ever industry showcase of new British musical theatre – made up of 58 musical pitches and showcases all bursting with new talent, new discoveries and new ideas.

The musicals being presented consist of a 50% gender split; with 20% of writers from BAME heritage. 60% of the pieces and writers showcased at BEAM2016 have been picked up for further development, commission or production.

Below are more details about the line-up of the 25-minute excerpts with styles and genres ranging from prehistoric ritual to futuristic digital explorations.

Executive Director of Musical Theatre Network, James Hadley and Executive Director of Mercury Musical Developments, Victoria Saxton said today ‘This impressive line-up of Directors, including two Artistic Directors, reflects that new British musical theatre is increasingly being taken

seriously at the highest levels of our industry. The incredible talent involved across the board at BEAM2018, including performers, music directors and musicians, demonstrates artists want to be involved in the creation of new, excellent and diverse work. We look forward to sharing the exciting musical theatre discoveries of BEAM with producers, venues, investors and literary managers and anyone interested in supporting the development of new British musical theatre.’

The Season

By Jim Barne and Kit Buchan

Directed by Hannah Chissick

A snow-covered romantic comedy about a New Yorker showing a British visitor around her city on Christmas Eve, ahead of her sister’s and his father’s wedding – this mixed-race two-hander celebrates and satirises the grand tradition of Christmas romance.

Bollywood Rose

By Sumerah Srivastav and Ajay Srivastav

Directed by Adam Lenson

A cross cultural coming of age story, about a young and cynical British Asian single mother, who finds herself trapped inside a Bollywood movie.

Mammoth

By Alexandra Wood and Matthew Herbert

Directed by James Dacre

An inventive musical set 45,000 years ago, when music allows homo sapiens more complex communication than their limited vocabulary – giving them new imaginings and the courage to kill a beast bigger than themselves.

Lucky Petra

By Christopher Ash and and Carl Miller

Directed by Peter Rowe

A promenade musical for all ages, led by a travelling band inspired by Balkan Brass Bands and Roma/punk mashups, telling a story of a young girl’s magical travels and contemporary migration.

F**ked in Marrakech

By Kate Marlais and Alex Young

Cast includes Janie Dee and Gay Soper

Directed by Josh Seymour

The women of three generations of a British family work through resentment and reconciliation while together in Marrakech – in a family portrait exploring how we shape our past, present and future.

The Bow Maker

By Finn Anderson and Tania Azevedo

Directed by Tania Azevedo

A modern ecological fairytale linking an endangered species of tree in the Brazilian rainforest with the making of bows for the world’s finest string players – featuring an onstage string quartet and Brazilian percussion.

The Wind Singer

By Teresa Howard and Sarah Llewellyn

Based on the novel by William Nicholson

Directed by Cressida Carre

A family musical about a fierce girl in a tribal world, on a quest to find the Wind Singer’s lost voice and free her people – with a score including a children’s choir, musical saw and tuned wine glasses.

My Marcello

By Rosabella Gregory, Dina Gregory and Corey Brunish

Adapted from the film Roseanna’s Grave; Directed by Kate Golledge

Marcello has promised his ailing wife that the one remaining plot in the local cemetery, beside their daughter, will be hers, but he must keep the whole town’s population alive for this to be so – resulting in comic acts of desperation in a musical comedy with a very big heart.

Additional writers of the 10 minute pitches include: Dylan Wynford, Sevan K Greene, John Victor, Emily Rose Simons, Emily Claire Schmitt, Natasha Hodgson, Zoe Roberts, Harry Blake, Amir Shoenfeld, Stan Hodgson, Meghan Doyle, Getrude Veremu, Mark Powell, Ben Occhipinti, Gavin Brock, Nichola Rivers, Dom James, Tom Rylls, Stephanie Singer, Laurel Haines, Rebecca Applin, Pete Ashmore, Coco Mbassi, Greg Davidson, Jack Godfrey, Sonali Bhattacharyya,  Theo Jamieson,  Firdos Ali, Izo Fitzroy, Matt Borgatti, Mary Erskine, Will Dollard, Ross Millard, Maria Crocker, Katherine Gotts, Maureen Chadwick, Donald Rice, Eva Rice, Craig Adams, Lee Whitelock, Gabriela Garcia, Jack Murray, Shonagh Murray, Kirsty Findlay, Naomi Stirrat, Mike Scott-Harding, Rob Castell, Francine Morgan, Cordelia O’Driscoll, Tom Williams,  Paul Montgomery, Graeme Cameron, Stephen Smith, Paul Milligan, Mark Aspinall, Tasha Taylor-Johnson, Phil Cornwell, Adam Taylor, Dillie Keane, Julie Clare, Carol Russell, Christian Czornyi, Rebecca Grant, Giles Fernando, Sara Eker, Shane Solanki, Tim Connor, Sue Pearse, Liam O’Rafferty, Andrew Dyer, Hannah Jarret-Scott, Shona White, Lisbee Stainton, Benjamin Till, Jay Cameron, Emily Aboud, Dougal Irvine, Elizabeth Carter, Josef Pitura-Riley, Shuang Teng, Matthew Lim, Mingyu Lin, Barnaby Hallam, Tamara Saringer, David Tse, Chris Chan, Gus Rowland, David Kent, Darren Clarke, Rhys Jennings and Eamonn O’Dwyer.

BEAM2018

Listings

Thursday 1 and Friday 2 March 2018

Theatre Royal Stratford East, Gerry Raffles Square, London E15 1BN

Tickets to BEAM2018 are now available via Theatre Royal Stratford East’s website

Box Office: 020 8534 0310

www.stratfordeast.com

Twitter: @mercurymusicals @MTheatreNetwork

#BEAM2018

Wilton’s Music Hall announce 2018 summer season including legendary songstress Camille O’Sullivan and London Premiere of Paterson Joseph’s ‘Sancho: An Act Of Remembrance’

·        Musical sensation Camille O’Sullivan with incredible new show ‘The Carny Dream’ (10-21 April)

·        Magical time-travelling duo and Wilton’s favourites Morgan and West return (24-28 April)

·        Brand new show from Olivier-award winning Christopher Green Music Hall Monster: The Insatiable Mr Fred Barnes (2-12 May)

·        Deliciously dark cabaret from The Tiger Lillies (15-26 May)

·        London Premiere of Paterson Joseph’s one man show Sancho: An Act Of Remembrance’ (4-16 June)

Today Wilton’s announce their summer 2018 season, a true showcase of its music hall roots with Weimar cabaret performers, sultry chanteuses and time-travelling magicians all treading the historic boards, and true icons like the first Afro-Briton to vote in a UK general election and fame hungry gender-queer music hall stars telling their stories to entertain and inform audiences.

The magnificent Camille O’Sullivan kicks off the new season with The Carny Dream, a mesmerizing evening of song and theatrical experience. Dark, sexy and fierce,‘Queen of the Edinburgh Festival’ (BBC) Camille transforms each song she performs into an intense, emotional experience, inextricably drawing her audience in to a world of dark, light, circus and dreams.  Also bringing provocative and genre-transcending sounds to Wilton’s are the Godfathers of alternative cabaret The Tiger Lillies performing songs from their brand-new album, The Devil’s Fairground. Immersing the audience in a dark, peculiar world of deep sadness, cruel black humour and immense beauty, their music is a stunning mixture of pre-war Berlin cabaret, anarchic opera and gypsy music, echoing the voices of Bertolt Brecht and Jacques Brel. The ever popular and effervescent duo Morgan & West continue to bring the magic – bursting into the 21^st century with a conjuring spectacular packed with mystery, illusion and the downright unexplainable.

Wilton’s is very proud to host two special theatre premieres this season, starting with Olivier-award winning theatre maker Christopher Green‘s Music Hall Monster: The Insatiable Mr Fred Barnes, telling the tale of one music hall star with fabulous wealth and one spectacular fall from grace; recently featured as a Radio 4 drama, Fred Barnes is an extreme and flawed character who people just can’t help feeling empathy for. From one remarkable life to another, Paterson Joseph’s new play Sancho: An Act of Remembrance receives its London premiere in June, telling the story of Charles ‘Sancho’ Ignatius. Born on a slave ship and educated in secret, Ignatius became the first British-African to cast a vote in a British General Election in 1780 and was immortalized by the great English painter Thomas Gainsborough. Conceived, written and performed by Paterson Joseph (NT’s Emperor Jones, RSC’s Julius Caesar, Peep Show and Green Wing) and co-directed by Simon Godwin (Associate Director Royal Court), this one-man show casts new light on the often-misunderstood narratives of the African-British experience.

Other innovative theatre productions include two contemporary retellings of Shakespearian classics; firstly with Flabbergast Theatre, who present a visceral version of Shakespeare’s classic Macbeth (18 June and 2 July) fusing physical theatre, puppetry and mask work. Then The Faction unleash the magic, energy, and mayhem of one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (26-30 June) set against the backdrop of a royal wedding. Then, a new take on a classic from the golden age of sci-fi with H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine (29-31 May); it is 1959 and a mysterious man arrives at Radio Woking to present a thrilling musical adaptation of HG Wells’ legendary story. Presented by Laurence Owen & Lindsay Sharman in association with Seabright Productions, it is a hilarious and touching piece that ‘takes your breath away’ (The Scotsman).

Marking the centenary of women’s suffrage, Wilton’s summer season has strong female stories woven throughout, beginning with Poet in the City (16-23 April) who present Dream of a Common Language: The Women Poets Who Changed 1968, celebrating the extraordinary impacts of Maya Angelou and Adrienne Rich. Polly Wiseman’s brand-new offering Femme Fatale (17 July) – a black comedy about fame, failure and firearms, reimagines two female pop culture icons and the joyous Tricity Vogue (18 July) returns with her All Girl Swing Band made up of the finest female jazz musicians in the capital.

In the rest of a jam-packed season, returning Wilton’s favourites include Ida Barr (9 July) fanning the revolutionary flames while keeping it real to her Artificial Hip Hop roots; the ever-wonderful Miss Hope Springs (10-11 July) makes a glittering return  with new show Vegas to Weimar accompanying herself live on the ivories; OneTrackMinds (1 June) gloriously fuses stories and song with a panel of fascinating guests including writers, musicians and thinkers discussing the music that has changed their lives. They are joined by:

·        The dazzling Liza Pulman (2 June) returns for one night only to pay homage to the great Barbra Streisand

·        A viewing of Murnau’s landmark vampire film Nosferatu (13 July), accompanied with live music by the remarkable Dmytro Morykit

·        Rough Fiction and London Arts Orchestra present The Expected (16 July) re-imagining Arnold Schoenberg’s string sextet Verklärte Nacht through dance, theatre and music

·        The acclaimed Kreutzer Quartet (19 July) returning to their favourite stage with two premieres by two of the great living British composers, alongside The Voice of the Violin 2 (25 July), with Grammy-nominated soloist Peter Sheppard Skaevard

·        Martin, Izzy & Friends (20 July) who bring their unique and fun blend of jazz, comedy and showtunes to the Wilton’s stage

·        Dance duo Thick & Tight (23 July) bringing all the drama, musicality, farce and face you can cram into a show that is cheeky, clever and very, very funny

·        Mind-blowing madness from Luke Jermay (24 July )showcasing his remarkable mindreading powers

·        A night of hot jive and jitterbug is in order as The Jive Aces and Swing Patrol London team up for Swingin’ at Wilton’s (26 July)

·        Opera della Luna present two new versions of classic operas: The Daughter of the Regiment (31 July and 2 August) re-imagined through the eyes of one of California’s most notorious biker gangs, and the first professional performance in decades of Edwardian classic The Arcadians (1 August)

Listings Information

Camille O’Sullivan: The Carny Dream

Dates: 10^th – 21^st April
Times: 8pm
Prices: £10 – £22.50 full price, £8 – £20.50 concessions

Poet in the City presents Dream of a Common Language: The Women Poets Who Changed 1968

 Dates: 16^th & 23^rd April
Times: 7:30pm
Prices: £10 – £16 full price, £8 – £14 concessions

Morgan & West: Time Travelling Magicians

Dates: 24 – 28^th April
Times: 7:30pm
Prices:  £11 – £16 full price, £9 – £13.50 concessions

Musical Hall Monster: The Insatiable Mr Fred Barnes

Dates: 2^nd – 12^th May
Times: 7:30pm, 2:30pm Saturday matinee

Prices: £8 – £15 full price, £5.50 – £12.50 concessions

The Tiger Lillies: The Devil’s Fairground

Dates: 15^th – 26^th May
Times: 8pm
Prices: £10 – £22.50 full price, £8 – £20.50 concessions

H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine

Dates: 29^th – 31^st May
Times: 7:45pm
Prices: £10 – £20 full price, £7.50 – £18 concessions

OneTrackMinds

Dates: 1^st June
Times: 7:30pm
Prices: £5 – £12 full price, £3 – £10 concessions

Liza Pulman Sings Streisand

Dates: 2^nd June
Times: 7:30pm
Prices: £12.50 – £22.50 full price, £10 – £20 concessions

Sancho: An Act of Remembrance

Dates: 4^th – 16^th June
Times: 7:30pm, 2:30pm on Saturdays and Wednesday 13^th June
Prices: £12.50 – £25 full price, £10 – £22.50 concessions

Macbeth

Dates: 18^th June & 2^nd July
Times: 7:30pm
Prices: £7.50 – £17.50 full price, £5 – £15 concessions

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Dates: 26^th – 30^th June
Times: 7:30pm, 2:30pm Thursday and Saturday matinee
Prices: £12.50 – £17.50 full price, £10 – £15 concessions

Ida Barr: Granachist

Dates: 9^th July
Times: 8pm
Prices: £8.50 – £15 full price, £6.50 – £13 concessions

Miss Hope Springs: Vegas to Weimar

Dates: 10^th – 11^th July
Times: 7.30pm
Prices: £12.50 – £25 full price, £10 – £22.50 concessions

Pop Up Vintage Fairs London

Dates: 12^th July
Times: 4:30pm – 9:30pm
Prices: £3 full price, £2 with NUS Card on the door, no advance bookings

Dmytro Morykit’s Nosferatu Live

Dates: 13^th July
Times: 7:30pm
Prices: £8 – £14 full price, £6 – £12 concessions

The Expected

Dates: 16^th July
Times: 7:45pm
Prices: £10 – £18.50 full price, £8 – £16.50 concessions

Femme Fatale

Dates: 17^th July
Times: 7:45pm
Prices: £10 – £15 full price, £8 – £13 concessions

Tricity Vogue’s All Girl Swing Band

Dates: 18^th July
Times: 7:30pm
Prices: £15 – £20 full price, £12.50 – £17.50 concessions

Kreutzer Quartet: The Four Winds and The Voice of the Violin 2

Dates: 19^th and 25^th July
Times: 7:30pm
Prices: £7.50 – £15 full price, £5 – £12.50 concessions

Martin, Izzy & Friends’ Midsummer Cabaret

Dates: 20^th July
Times: 7:30pm
Prices: £10 – £20 full price, £8 – £18 concessions

Thick and Tight

Dates: 23^rd July
Times: 7:30pm
Prices: £9 – £15 full price, £7 – £13 concessions

Luke Jermay: Sixth Sense

Dates: 24^th July
Times: 7:30pm
Prices: £10 – £15 full price, £8 – £12.50 concessions

Swingin’ at Wilton’s

Dates: 26^th July
Times: 7:00pm
Prices: £16 advance, £17.50 on the door

The Daughter of the Regiment

Dates: 31^st July & 2^nd August
Times: 7.30pm
Prices: £13.50 – £26 full price, £11.50 – £23.50 concessions

The Arcadians

Dates: 1^st August
Times: 7.30pm
Prices: £13.50 – £26 full price, £11.50 – £23.50 concessions

FREUD THE MUSICAL

TO RETURN TO VAULT FESTIVAL 2018

Working Birthday Present

FREUD THE MUSICAL

A One Woman Show about Sex, Madness and Medicine

Written, composed and performed by Natasha Sutton Williams

Directed by Dominic McHale

Working Birthday today announce that Freud The Musical returns to VAULT Festival from the 14 March. In this one-woman show Natasha Sutton Williams collaborates once again with director, Dominic McHale to take on the roles of Sigmund Freud and his patients, including, the raging lesbian Dora, the anal Rat Man and Little Hans – the original Freudian mother****er. The production features thirteen original songs, with music provided by a live pianist and a soundscape of looped voices created each night.

Based on the true-life account of Sigmund Freud’s cocaine abuse this comedy gleefully annihilates the father of modern psychology in a flurry of cross-dressing and dick jokes.

Unrecognised and approaching middle age, Sigmund is drowning in debt, crippled by cocaine and surrounded by madness. Worse yet, his best ideas come from Oedipussy: an imaginary cat-woman who encourages Sigmund to simply listen to his clients between insulting them and taking their money. Watch as this neurotic mess transform into Freud: the intellectual colossus and father of modern psychology.

The production first premièred at The Space Theatre in 2015, exactly 100 years after Freud put forward his theory of the Unconscious in an essay authored in 1915.

Natasha Sutton Williams is a playwright, singer and actor who has worked with director Dominic McHale on much of her work. Their work together includes Clown Sex (Arcola Theatre, Chelsea Theatre, Bunker Theatre, Angel Comedy Club), Dead Lucy (Southwark Playhouse, Brasserie Zedel, Waterloo East Theatre, Angel Comedy Club) and Prone to Mischief (Old Red Lion Theatre).

Working Birthday was established in 2017 to create entertaining shows about unpalatable subjects. They’re the filthy joke that makes your mum laugh despite herself. Currently they have a new musical in development at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new theatre The Other Palace.

Freud the Musical

Listings

VAULT Festival, Waterloo, Launcelot St, Lambeth, London SE1 7AD

14-18 March 7.45pm

The matinee on Sunday 18 March at 4.45pm will be an Extra Live! / Relaxed performance.

Tickets: £11.50

www.freudthemusical.com/ / www.vaultfestival.com

Twitter: @workingbirthday @NatashaPlays #FreudMusical

Free post show talk at 6pm on 18 March at the VAULT Festival Punch Up Bar.

Northern Stage, Newcastle – until 10 February 2018.  Reviewed by Andrew Bramfitt

4****

Distraction – a thing that prevents someone from concentrating on something else

extreme agitation of the mind

For centuries many renowned writers have posited that there is an underlying control in the world, a control that decides what is classed as ‘the norm’, what is an exception and even what we should feel about them. The New World Order, Big Brother, HUAC and even the Royal Family have all been cited in both fiction and fact as having this control, yet in the modern world with near instantaneous sharing of news and views, it would appear that it is the media that has overall and total control.

The Department of Distractions (based on Alex Kelly’s book O Grande Livro dos Pequenos Detalhes) is set in the afore mentioned government department, a department responsible for creating, releasing and managing ‘news’ to ensure the status quo is maintained, though for whom this is to remain is left to the audience’s own appraisal. ‘News’ in this definition is not only the broadcasted retelling of ‘fact’ but also the everyday events that people witness on the street, the shared gossip at work, the viral memes on social media and the perpetual revisiting of myth and urban legends – all managed to create control. The audience is given a peek into the working day of the department, how they choose a ‘target’, how they agree which distractions need to be created, which ‘sleight of hand’ techniques to deploy. To the team, this is as procedural and ordinary as any other office job – albeit one which directly controls what the world believes to be truth.

Alexander Kelly, writer and co-director with Rachel Walton, has melded the dystopian undercurrents of Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov and punched them squarely into the breadbasket of global media giants a la BBC, Sky, Fox (well the Murdochs in general). What is brilliant is that whilst many would suggest this is science fiction, there is too much recognisable fact not to question whether this show is instead a well-crafted piece of distraction itself. Afterall, there’s no better place to hide than in plain sight.

The cast, Umar Ahmed, Nick Chambers, Stacey Sampson and Rachel Walton have a real challenge for they have to deliver on multiple layers at once – not only are they playing the department team, but also they enact and rehearse the characterisation of their Distraction’s cast. This is done brilliantly, never once creating any confusion whilst still allowing each layer to realise it’s own revelations. The clever use of projection allows the audience to see 1st hand the research and material used to compile a case – meticulous in detail but quite procedural, giving more substance to the feeling that these Distractions and the untruths they purport are simply tasks on an office to do list. There is something very unsettling about thinking the world around you and everything you believe could be built on post it notes and polaroids.

More scary than any horror story, the Department of Distractions leaves the audience with a puzzled and concerned frown – not because you are unable to understand but because this expose rings too many bells, shatters the illusion of Utopia through Ignorance and makes you question every headline, every news feed, every shared opinion. I have long believed that man is incapable of having a truly original thought, everything is but a reaction and after watching this wonderful production, I spent the train ride home convinced that we could all be just characters in a global sandbox game.

“the finest trick of the devil is to persuade you that he does not exist” – Charles Baudelaire

Definitely recommended but be prepared to see the world in a very different light afterwards.

ATG Productions, Chichester Festival Theatre, Gavin Kalin Productions, Glass Half Full Productions, present
Chichester Festival Theatre’s production of

KING LEAR
by William Shakespeare

Directed by Jonathan Munby

• West End transfer announced for Chichester Festival Theatre’s production, directed by Jonathan Munby

• Ensemble of actors to include Ian McKellen in the title role

• 100 performances only at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London from 11th July to 3rd November 2018

• Tickets on sale from 12pm on 8th February via KingLearWestEnd.com, including 100 tickets per performance available under £30

• £5 day tickets will be available as part of Chichester Festival Theatre’s Prologue scheme for 16-25 year olds

ATG Productions, Chichester Festival Theatre, Gavin Kalin Productions and Glass Half Full Productions are delighted to announce a major West End transfer for Chichester Festival Theatre’s critically-acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s King Lear, which will run at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London for 100 performances only from 11th July to 3rd November 2018.

Directed by Jonathan Munby, this intimate and contemporary production ran for a sold-out season at Chichester Festival Theatre’s Minerva Theatre in autumn 2017.

The ensemble of actors will include Ian McKellen as King Lear, returning to the Duke of York’s Theatre where he made his West End debut in the 1964 production of A Scent of Flowers. McKellen has enjoyed an illustrious career on stage and screen, not least inhabiting some of Shakespeare’s most iconic roles including Hamlet, Macbeth, Iago, Richard II and III as well as in previous productions of King Lear as Edgar, Kent and in the title role.

Full casting for the West End production of King Lear will be announced in due course.

Two ageing fathers – one a King, one his courtier – reject the children who truly love them. Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with shocking ends.

Tender, brutal, moving and epic, King Lear is considered by many to be the greatest tragedy ever written.

Jonathan Munby’s credits include his new production of Bryony Lavery’s Frozen in the West End; First Light for Chichester Festival Theatre; All the Angels, The Merchant of Venice and Antony and Cleopatra for Shakespeare’s Globe; and Wendy & Peter Pan for the RSC.

£5 tickets will be available as part of Chichester Festival Theatre’s Prologue scheme for 16-25 year olds. Tickets can be purchased on the day of performance in person from the Duke of York’s Box Office, when proof of age ID will be required.

ATG Productions, Chichester Festival Theatre, Gavin Kalin Productions and Glass Half Full Productions present Chichester Festival Theatre’s production of King Lear  by William Shakespeare which is directed by Jonathan Munby, designed by Paul Wills with lighting by Oliver Fenwick, music and sound by Ben Ringham and Max Ringham, movement by Lucy Cullingford and fight direction by Kate Waters.

LISTINGS

KING LEAR
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Jonathan Munby

Duke of York’s Theatre
St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4BG

Website | Twitter |Facebook

Performance schedule:

First performance: 11th July 2018
Final performance: 3rd November 2018
Opening Night: 26th July 2018

Tuesday – Saturday evenings at 7pm

Saturday matinee at 1.30pm
Running time: 3 hours and 20 minutes including one interval

Box office details:

Website: KingLearWestEnd.com
Telephone: 020 8544 7469
Prices from: £25
No late admittance

Arcola Theatre in association with Stepping Out Theatre present

The World Premiere of

Great Apes

from the novel by Will Self

reimagined for the stage by Patrick Marmion

Great Apes is a new play by Patrick Marmion directed by RSC and Donmar actor Oscar Pearce (Wolf Hall, Real Thing), based on the novel by Will Self. It is a raucous, surreal modern satire that mixes Self’s famously rich language with subtle simian movement and vocalisations to create a theatrical ‘Planet of the Apes’ crossed with ‘Gulliver’s Travels’. With set and costume design by Sarah Beaton, movement by Jonnie Riordan, lighting by Matt Haskins and sound by Dan Balfour.

When Turner Prize winning artist Simon Dykes wakes up one morning after a wild night out, he finds his world has changed beyond recognition. His girlfriend, Sarah, has turned into a chimpanzee. And, to Simon’s horror, so has the rest of humanity.

Suffering a nervous breakdown Simon is immediately taken to Charing Cross hospital where he’s treated for being under the psychotic delusion that he’s a human being. Here he comes under the care of charismatic and controversial chimp psychiatrist, Dr Zack Busner who helps Simon come to terms with his condition.

‘Where better for him to re-learn his essential chimpunity than by brachiating in the fresh air or Hampstead Heath with all the pansexual mating opportunities that affords?’

Great Apes is a hilarious, uncanny and unnervingly original take on humanity’s place in the evolutionary chain. It is a modern odyssey into the abiding mystery of what it means to be a human being.

Since its publication by Bloomsbury in 1997 at the height of the YBA explosion and Cool Britannia, Will Self’s novel remains an extraordinary intellectual vision, a linguistic feast and a disturbing triumph of the imagination.

Writer and producer Patrick Marmion is a journalist, theatre critic, speaker and Associate Lecturer at the University of Kent. Previous plays include The Divided Laing (Arcola Theatre), Terms & Conditions (White Bear), Pieta – After Chekhov (Finborough & Print Room), Osterley (Urban Scrawl), The Institute (Etcetera). Screenplays include ‘Mushroom Soup’ (Sam Mendes/Renaissance Films),’ Kids FM’ (Working Title Television), ‘Maid Marion’ (Channel Four Films), ‘Archie Tanner & The Dodo’ (Children’s Film & Television Foundation) and ‘The Dead Guy’ (based on novel of same title).

Making his directorial debut is award-winning actor Oscar Pearce. A regular with the RSC his credits include Wolf Hall,Greg Doran’s celebrated A Midsummer Nights Dream and the renowned Spanish Golden Age Season. He has appeared in the West End many times including the Donmar Production of The Real Thing, which transferred to Broadway and I.D. at the Almeida. His portrayal of Chris in All My Sons at the Bolton Octagon won him the MEN best supporting actor. This is his third collaboration with the Arcola after appearing in the feted Jenufa and the more recent success, The Divided Lang.

Movement director Jonnie Riordan is a graduate of Frantic Assembly’s ‘Ignition’ programme. As Movement Director his credits include Connections Festival 16/17 (National Theatre), Maggie & Pierre (Finborough Theatre), CAUGHT (Pleasance Theatre), Cracking, Hooked and Bat Boy (Iso Productions, New Wimbledon Studio). As a Director: Man Up (Frantic Assembly Ignition, Stratford Circus, Latitude), Boy Magnet and White Noise (ThickSkin) andFound (The Albany). Jonnie is directing the first stage adaptation of Nigel Slater’s Toast at The Lowry in May. .

Set and costume design is by Sarah Beaton, recipient of the Linbury Prize for Stage Design. Design credits include Faust(Schauspielbuhnen in Stuttgart), Mother Christmas (Hampstead Theatre Downstairs),Babur in London (Theatre Rigiblick, Zürich/Lilian Baylis Studio), Crocodiles (Royal Exchange, Manchester), This Is Living (Trafalgar Studios),Diary of a Madman (Sherman Cymru/Tobacco Factory), And Now: The World! (Derby Theatre), And Here I am (Arcola, Palestine Tour) and The Man I Live With (Oxford Playhouse).

Matt Haskins is an international lighting designer. Credits include Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Apollo Theatre), Roundelay,Truth and Reconciliation (Royal Court), No One Will Tell Me How To Start A Revolution, Kiss Me (Hampstead Theatre),Crocodiles (Royal Exchange, Manchester), A Bright Room Called Day (Southwark Playhouse), Dream Story (Gate Theatre) and The House of Mirrors & Hearts (Arcola Theatre), Walk with Me (Girl Effect/Punchdrunk) and Dido, Queen of Carthage (Kensington Palace).

Sound design is by Dan Balfour. Recent credits include: #Dr@cula, The Devils (Royal Central School Of Speech Drama), Seafret (Old Red Lion, HighTide Festival), Figures Of Speech (Almeida Theatre),  I Call My Brothers, Caught, Red Helicopter (Arcola Theatre), RE: Home (Yard Theatre), DREAM, Jenufa –Opera Works (English National Opera), Walking the SOLO (Bush Theatre), Nude (The Hope Theatre) and  Deathwatch (The Roundhouse),

Co-producer Steve Hennessy is the author of over 20 plays for stage and radio and the founder of Stepping Out Theatre, the country’s leading mental health theatre company. They have been producing work on mental health themes with theatre professionals and mental health service users since 1997. Steve’s work includes the acclaimed Lullabies of Broadmoor Quartet (Oberon Books) – four plays about well known Broadmoor patients which toured nationally in 2011.The Divided Laing was Stepping Out’s 54th production.

Casting to  be announced shortly.

Listings information:

Venue:                   The Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, London E8 3DL

Dates:                    Wednesday 14 March to Saturday 21 April           

Times:                 Mon-Sat at 7.30pm, plus Saturday matinees at 3pm

Wednesday matinees on 4 April, 11th April and 18th April at 3pm.

Ticket prices

Best  £26 (£22 previews)

Standard   £22 (£19 previews);Value £15; Restricted   £12

Arcola Passport holders go free

Pay What You Can (Tuesday evenings – limited availability)

Concessions:

Students / 26 and under – Value seats at £10 or 20% off Standard seats

65 and over – 20% off Standard seats on Mon–Wed evenings and all matinee performances

People in receipt of disability benefits – free companion with full-price Standard seat or 20% off Standard seat

People in receipt of unemployment benefits – Value seats at £10 or 20% off Standard seats

Theatre union members – 10% off Standard seats

School and college groups (10+) – Best available seats at £12 for Mon–Wed evenings and Wed matinees, one free teacher per 10 students

Groups (10+) – eleventh ticket free

Box Office:www.arcolatheatre.com

020 7503 1646 (Mon-Sat, 12.30pm-6pm)