Month: August 2018

New Wimbledon Theatre – until 8 September 2018

Reviewed by Adam Craddock 

4****

30 years after its initial release into cinemas around the world, you would be forgiven for thinking that the themes of “Saturday Night Fever” would have grown old and uninteresting, with its basis around the long gone seedy disco clubs of the seventies and family drama of a time far in the past; but Bill Kenwright’s new production takes these now faded memories and sculpts them into 2 and a half hours of wonderful disco ball filled nostalgia. This production is absolutely one of the best touring shows I have ever seen, with brilliant direction, a fabulous set and slick choreography from Bill Deamer that just makes you want to get up out of your seat and dance.

Michael Cortez, Jared Thompson and Owen Broughton are all fantastic as Joey, Double J and Gus respectively, with great dance skills and a brilliant sense of comradery between the boys. Anna Campkin performed well as Annette as Marios Nicolaides as Frank Junior, both with brilliant acting that gave the feel good show a nice bit of grounding in story at the times when it needed it. Raphael Pace performed brilliantly as Bobbie C, giving an excellent slow burn of a portrayal with his character leading up to the tragic finale and, looking back in hindsight now, he showed us this was going to be his path straight from the off. Kate Parr was great as Stephanie Mangano, with a really strong presence with Tony and absolutely beautiful dancing. And in the lead role, Richard Winsor was absolutely fantastic as Tony Monero. He was captivating with his acting, delivering a very real and grounded performance and, even though it seemed like he forgot the choreography at times, I didn’t know that he could dance like that! However, the highlight of the night for me was the three men ever present in the background. Edward Handoll, Alastair Hill and Matt Faull were absolutely phenomenal as the three Bee Gees, with a singing impression so scarily similar to the real band that there were times I was fooled into thinking it was pre-recorded tracks. These boys are something special!

In conclusion, you all need to get a ticket quick for “Saturday Night Fever” quick, because I can guarantee you this… this show is one of those special shows!

Bigtop, The Lowry Plaza, Salford Quays, Manchester.

Thursday 30th August until Saturday 1st September 2018.

Reviewed by Julie Noller

5*****

Circa Tsuica the extremely talented group of circus artistes from France this week arrived with their Bigtop and travelling homes in Salford Quays, we watched earlier in the week as work was in full force moulding the plaza to resemble any circus you may see appearing on your local village green.

The Bigtop is indeed a smaller compact version of any you may be used to seeing but it packs a big punch. Now or Never is not a circus routine you may be used to, there are no brightly dressed clowns with big shoes and water squirting flowers; the performers are all dressed in what appears to be their normal clothes. We queued around the tent and upon entering it felt like we were being welcomed into their home, greeted in typically French fashion with a kiss on each cheek, given a cup for one of the many drinks on offer, crepes cooking away, fruit and chocolate dips, biscuits. Musicians and performers all mingled throughout the tent to the point you lose track of who is who. My senses were all on overload, tasting and touching delicious dips and drink, smelling the chocolate made my mouth water, sights of musicians and lights with my head in all of a spin, hearing all the children squealing in delight, the sounds of jazz it all made me relax and look forward to the show ahead.

Then the show began and wow it’s simply amazing, how all those performers can ride one bike together whilst balancing and all the time playing their brass instruments has absolutely dumbfounded me. It’s fast paced the skill and energy employed by all is stunning, there’s audience participation as my husband found out much to my delight. The children in the audience loved the fact that they didn’t have to stay in their seats, they could move it wasn’t frowned upon, they could help too and seeing two beaming children helping to brush up increases the love in the Big Top.

Speaking of love right at the end we were given a little speech, encouraging us to leave our TV’s turned off and just interact more with each other. It’s a gentle reminder of how we don’t simply stop and notice people anymore. I have to say the performers are all a dab hand at noticing the audience members every person selected was happy to be involved, you sense their eyes darting over everyone being aware of us all. There may just need to be a small warning to those who may need to be aware the show took me back years and I wondered if it was reminiscent of music halls of old where risky acts took to the stage. It’s all an act but I watched a couple of mothers cover their childrens eyes and I would say most youngsters wouldn’t have even twigged at the sexual references.

The only performers here are human and super humans too at that, each and every move you just know has been practised to perfection. And should that perfection break down – there’s such a tight knit bond between performers you could be mistaken for thinking it’s all part of the act; and it could be. They start again and make sure they get it right. Now or Never is as I’ve said a fast paced acrobatic show, with bicycles exploding and being used as musical instruments, many times the audience are called upon to participate the biggest being in a wedding scenario between two male members of the audience and lots of children celebrating that fact it all verges on the bizarre.

There’s trapeze and high wires with the wow factor. The big finale we were encouraged to leave our seats and sit on blankets bringing us closer to the action, making you feel involved and at the same time vulnerable. This finale involves a seesaw, big mattress marked with a huge white X and people jumping from heights. There’s twists and back-flips that I can only dream of achieving and I take my hat off to all these superbly talented and highly skilled performers.

To close the show the food and wine appears yet again and we are encouraged to mix together with the performers before we head on our way home. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to watch a truly spectacular performance and sampled the warmest of French welcomes and culture.

It’s FUN from start to finish and educational too although shhhh don’t let your children know they may be learning socially.

CANNON AND BALL IN THE DRESSING ROOM

Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball will be performing in a new play The Dressing Room, written by Bobby Ball, at Darlington Hippodrome on Tuesday 11 September.

Touring by public demand, the hilarious comedy play combines sitcom with variety. Part play, part variety show, The Dressing Room is a whole night of pure entertainment.

Set behind the scenes at a run-down theatre, Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball find themselves involved in the crazy goings-on of compere Stu Francis and fellow comic Johnnie Casson. Get ready to wipe away the tears of laughter. Suitable for all the family.

The Dressing Room is at Darlington Hippodrome on Tuesday 11 September.

For more information or to book call 01325 405405 or visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk

The Political History of Smack and Crack
Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE
Tuesday 4th – Saturday 22nd September 2018, 7pm

The history of England jumps off its axis. 2am, 8th July, 1981,
all the major cities of England burn

Fresh from a highly-acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Fringe, The Political History of Smack and Crack now transfers to Soho Theatre. This angry, funny love-song explores a lost generation annihilated by the heroin epidemic in Manchester, following a pair of star-crossed lovers from 1981 to the present day

The arresting play, both entertaining and urgent, from writer Ed Edwards, crackles with authenticity inspired by Edwards’ own road to recovery. Directed by Cressida Brown, this two hander, starring Eve Steele and Neil Bell, begins in 1980s Moss Side at the epicentre of the working-class riots – an uprising which spread to London, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and many more – and follows the pair through their eventual struggles on the streets of Manchester

The energetic Northern humour of Edwards’ writing illuminates his own experiences of rehab, narcotics dependency, and three and a half years in jail in the early 1990s. Funny and relevant the play is also striking in terms of its form. The bold style of the third person narration takes on a more desperate overtone as the two protagonists begin to tell their own story

The company comments, We are immensely grateful that the Edinburgh audiences have so enjoyed our show and that it has given us the profile to reach an even wider audience in London. After Soho we hope to reach even more communities and regions that were directly struck by the heroin epidemic of the 80s. Both Most Wanted and Offstage are committed to unheard voices reaching the stage. Edinburgh has allowed us to continue doing this. Watch this space!

Through cycles of addiction and recovery, The Political History of Smack and Crack uses the playwright’s own experience of narcotics dependency to examine how the politics of the 80s trapped people in poverty and addiction. This is particularly poignant and relevant in this time of political uncertainty and deepening inequality; the production allows us to consider past acts of rebellion against the status quo

Bell and Steele conjure the world around them in a kinetic and captivating set of performances… As a love story it’s unexpectedly tender; as a social history its shockingly dark; as a piece of theatre it’s excellent (★★★★ The Scotsman)

[There’s] maybe nothing better at the whole festival… riotously entertaining and deeply moving (★★★★★ The Stage)

Following its run at Soho Theatre, The Political History of Smack and Crack will transfer to the city from which it was born, Manchester where it will play at the Mustard Tree – a local refuge providing care for people trapped by homelessness, dependency and poverty since 1994

Produced by Most Wanted and Offstage Theatre in association with W14 Productions and Alastair Michael and co-commissioned by Soho Theatre

PLAQUE TO BE UNVEILED

CELEBRATING THE CENTENARY OF THE BIRTH

OF LEGENDARY PLAYWRIGHT AND LYRICIST

ALAN JAY LERNER

AT THE THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE

ON FRIDAY 31 AUGUST 2018 AT 2.30PM

On Friday 31 August 2018 at 2.30pm a plaque will be unveiled at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the legendary playwright and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner.

As well as the unveiling, excerpts from ‘The Songwriters’ DVD will be shown and Dominic McHugh will be signing copies of his latest book ‘The Complete Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner’.

 

Liz Robertson said today “Alan Jay Lerner was one of the greatest lyricists to have written for Broadway he was also my husband and for one brief shining moment I was a witness to the struggles and torment that came with writing that perfect lyric. Alan confessed at one time, ‘It is rather pleasant to know that if your songs are being played and sung when you are not around, it is difficult for people to forget you’. On the centenary of his birth we remember him well”.

Alan Jay Lerner was born on 31 August 1918 in New York City and was educated at Bedales, Choate and Harvard where he wrote the Hasty Pudding Shows and collaborated with his classmate Leonard Bernstein on ‘The Lonely Men Of Harvard’ a tongue in cheek salute to their alma mater.

 

While boxing at Harvard he lost the retina of his left eye so was unable to fight in WW2. Instead he wrote radio scripts. Then in 1942 he met Frederick Loewe who was looking for a lyricist to collaborate with, at the Lambs Club. After a couple of stumbles in 1947 they wrote Brigadoon which went on to win The New York Drama Critics award for Best Musical. Alan wrote ‘Love Life’ with Kurt Weil and the films ‘Royal Wedding’ with Burton Lane and ‘An American in Paris’ for which he won his first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. In1956 he and Frederick Loewe wrote their biggest hit ‘My Fair Lady.’  It set box office records on both Broadway and the West End and won numerous awards for the creatives and actors alike.

 

The film Gigi followed earning 9 Oscars including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song.

 

Camelot opened to mix reviews in 1960 but after Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet performed excerpts on the Ed Sullivan Show the box office took off.  Camelot later became synonymous with the 1000 days of John F. Kennedy’s (another classmate of Alan’s at Harvard) reign in the White House.

 

Alan continued to write with Burton Lane ‘On A Clear Day’ and ‘Carmelina’, Andre Previn ‘Coco, John Barry ‘Lolita’, Leonard Bernstein ‘1600 Pennsylvania Avenue’, Charles Strouse ‘Dance A Little Closer’  and Gerard Kenny ‘My Man Godfrey’. His last collaboration was with Andrew Lloyd Webber on ‘The Phantom of the Opera’. Sadly, Alan became ill hardly having put pen to paper and died on June 14th 1986 of lung cancer.

 

Alan Jay Lerner is recognised as one of the greatest lyricists ever to have graced Broadway, his shows are performed constantly throughout the world and right now My Fair Lady is playing to sell out audiences in New York.

UK STAGE PREMIERE

Co-produced by imitating the dog with Marche Teatro (Italy) and Cast. Supported by Lancaster Arts at Lancaster University and Theatre by the Lake. 

HEART OF DARKNESS

By Joseph Conrad

Retold by imitating the dog  

Adaptation and Direction by Pete Brooks and Andrew Quick

Projection and Video Designs by Simon Wainwright

Design by Laura Hopkins

Lighting Design by Andrew Crofts

 

UK Tour: 16-24 November 2018 and 5 March – 11 May 2019

 

The story is impossible to tell, but it must be told

 

imitating the dog, one of the UK’s most original and innovative performance theatre companies are set to bring their unique theatrical vision to the stage this autumn when they premiere a bold retelling of Joseph Conrad’s extraordinarily influential and timely novel – Heart of Darkness.

                  

Following on from their popular and critically acclaimed adaptation in 2014 of Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, imitating the dog will stage an exploration of Conrad’s classic novel filled with visually rich, multi-layered work that fuses live performance and digital technology.

 

The production will premiere in Italy at Marche Teatro’s Teatro Sperimentale in Ancona and then tour to Aberystwyth Arts Centre (16-17 November) and Birmingham Repertory Theatre (20-24 November). The UK tour will continue in 2019 from 5 Mar to 11 May.

 

Written more than 100 years ago, amid the optimism at the turn of a new century, Heart of Darkness, which explored the journey of Conrad’s narrator Charles Marlow travelling up the Congo river into the Congo Free State in the heart of Africa, is a tale of lies and brutal greed and of the dark heart which beats within us all. Now retold as a journey of a black woman through war torn Europe, the play explores a forsaken landscape lost to the destructive lust for power and emerges as a tale absolutely for our time.

Negotiating race, gender and the themes of exploitation, violence and nationalism, imitating the dog’s Heart of Darkness is a searing parable for our times, created at a moment when versions of Britain’s colonial past are being held up as a golden era and when our relationship with Europe is being severely tested.

 

Heart of Darkness is retold and directed by imitating the dog founder members Pete Brooks and Andrew Quick (A Farewell to Arms and Kellerman, imitating the dog and The Carrier Frequency, Impact Theatre Co-operative). The production’s projection and video are designed by fellow original founder member Simon Wainwright (The Kid Stays in the Picture, Royal Court).

 

The production’s other creative team will include regular collaborators, Designer Laura Hopkins (Black Watch and Peter Pan, National Theatre of Scotland, The Divide, Edinburgh International Festival and The Old Vic), Lighting Designer Andrew Crofts (Trash Cuisine, Belarus Free Theatre and The Young Vic) and Composer Jeremy Peyton-Jones who previously worked with the company on A Farewell to Arms. Casting will be announced in September.

 

imitating the dog Co-Artistic Director Pete Brooks said: 

“As a result of recent political events we felt that the UK had become gripped with a nostalgia for our colonial past without really acknowledging what that past was. It felt like most people believe the British Empire was a reciprocal arrangement; we got rich, but they got to speak the best language in the world and have a functioning civil service. In Conrad’s novel he anticipated the horrors of twentieth century genocide and the problem of globalised capitalism. He also understood that their roots were in European colonialism. This was our starting point.

 

Conrad’s novel deserves to be treated seriously, and his unconscious racism does not invalidate his work, although some people might say it diminishes it. For imitating the dog, it was important that we retold Conrad’s story for audiences today, and from a new perspective. Our production is now the story of the journey of a black woman into the darkness of a war-torn Europe.

Heart of Darkness is simply too important a work to be avoided because it’s a political minefield and when you take on a text as tricky as Conrad’s novel you have to tread carefully.”

 

imitating the dog have been making ground-breaking work for theatres and other spaces for 20 years. Their work, which fuses live performance with digital technology, has been seen by hundreds of thousands of people in venues, outdoor festivals and events across the world.

As a company, they are most interested in telling stories and creating beautiful, memorable images for audiences. The company strive to tell stories which are important, and which contain important ideas.

Recent acclaimed productions have included The Zero Hour, Six Degrees below the Horizon, Hotel Methuselah and A Farewell to Arms. The company created the sited work Arrivals and Departures for the launch of Hull City of Culture 2017. Earlier this year the company became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.

The production will tour next year to Doncaster, Glasgow, Lancaster, Keswick, Newcastle, York, Ipswich, Salford, Liverpool, and Coventry.

 

Heart of Darkness is co-produced with Marche Teatro (Italy) and Cast, Doncaster. It is supported by Arts Council England, Lancaster Arts at Lancaster University and Theatre by the Lake.

 

For more information visit www.imitatinthedog.co.uk (Twitter: @imitatingthedog)

REHEARSALS BEGIN FOR WORLD PREMIERE OF

A   V E R Y    V E R Y    V E R Y   D A R K   M A T T E R

A NEW PLAY BY MARTIN MCDONAGH

Rehearsals begin yesterday for the world premiere of Martin McDonagh’s A Very Very Very Dark Matter at the Bridge Theatre.  The cast comprises Johnetta Eula’Mae Ackles, Alistair Benson, Elizabeth Berrington,Paul Bradley, Noah Brignull, Jim Broadbent, Phil Daniels, Regan Garcia, Leo Hart, Graeme Hawley, Audrey Hayhurst, Kundai Kanyama, Lee Knight, Jamie McKie, Ryan Pope, James Roberts, Alice Selwyn, Austin Taylor, Amelia Walter and Annabelle Westenholz-Smith including nine children who will alternate a variety of roles.

 

The London Theatre Company’s production, directed by Matthew Dunster, designed by Anna Fleischlewith lighting by Philip Gladwell, music compositions by James Maloney, sound by George Dennis, special effects by Paul Wanklin and video effects by Finn Ross, will preview at the Bridge Theatre from 12 October with opening night on 24 October 2018 at 7pm.  This 12-week run will conclude on 6 January 2019.

In a townhouse in Copenhagen works Hans Christian Andersen, a teller of exquisite and fantastic children’s tales beloved by millions.  But the true source of his stories dwells in his attic upstairs, her existence a dark secret kept from the outside world.  As dangerous, twisted and funny as his National Theatre and Broadway hit The Pillowman, Martin McDonagh’s new play travels deep into the abysses of the imagination.

 

Johnetta Eula’Mae Ackles, a recent graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, will make her professional stage debut in A Very Very Very Dark Matter. 

 

Elizabeth Berrington was last on stage in Rasheeda Speaking at the Trafalgar Studios. Her previous theatre credits include Who Cares and The Low Road for the Royal Court, Holes at the Arcola Theatre, Absent Friends at the Comedy Theatre and Abigail’s Party for Hampstead Theatre.  Her television credits includePatrick Melrose, Stella, Waterloo Road, Vanity Fair, Borderline, Death in Paradise, Little Boy Blue and the forthcoming Good Omens.  Her film credits include Naked, Secrets and Lies, Vera Drake, Mr. Turner andMartin McDonagh’s In Bruges.

 

Jim Broadbent (Hans Christian Andersen) is a BAFTA and Academy award-winning actor. He has previously appeared in Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman at the National Theatre where he was also seen in Improbable Theatre’s Theatre of Blood.  Broadbent has worked extensively for the Donmar Warehouse, the Old Vic, the Royal Court and the Royal Shakespeare Company and has most recently been seen on stage inA Christmas Carol at The Noël Coward Theatre.  His many film credits include Iris, for which he won an Academy Award, The Lady in the Van, Paddington, Brooklyn, Iron Lady, Le Weekend, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Moulin Rouge.  His more recent television credits include King Lear, Game of Thrones, War and Peace, London Spy and The Go-Between as well as his BAFTA winning role in Longford.

 

Phil Daniels recently toured the UK playing the title roles in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. His further theatre credits include King Lear for Chichester Festival Theatre, This House at the National Theatre and Garrick Theatre,  Les Miserables at the Queens Theatre and Antony and Cleopatra and Knight of The Burning Pestle for Shakespeare’s Globe. On television his many credits include Endeavour, Zapped, Poirot, Mooonfleet, EastEnders, Outlaws, Rocks and Chips, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Misfits, The Long Firm, Time Gentlemen Please, Holding On and Sex, Chips and Rock n Roll.  On film his credits include Access All Areas, The Hatton Garden Job, Vinyl, Chicken Run, Bad Behaviour, Scum and Quadrophenia.

Martin McDonagh is an award-winning writer and director.  His plays are The Beauty Queen of Leenane, A Skull in Connemara, The Lonesome West, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Pillowman, A Behanding in Spokane and Hangmen.  As a writer and director for film, his credits are Seven Psychopaths, In Bruges, Six Shooter and most recently, the Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe winning Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Matthew Dunster directed McDonagh’s Hangmen at the Royal Court which also transferred to New York.His other directing credits include The Seagull and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Love’s Sacrifice for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Liberian Girl at the Royal Court, Love the Sinner for the National Theatre, Doctor Faustus, Imogen, The Frontline and Much Ado About Nothing for Shakespeare’s Globe, Mametz for the National Theatre of Wales, Before the Party for the Almeida Theatre and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Macbeth and Mogadishu for the Royal Exchange Theatre.  As a writer his plays include Children’s Children which premiered at the Almeida Theatre and You Can See the Hills which premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre as well as an adaptation of 1984.

 

Listings Information

Address:                                   Bridge Theatre, 3 Potters Fields Park, London, SE1 2SG

Box Office:                               0333 320 0051 or [email protected]

Tickets are priced from £15 to £65 with a limited number of premium seats available.   A special allocation of £15 seats are held for Young Bridge, a free scheme for those under 26.

Access:                                    0333 320 0051 or [email protected]

Website:                                   www.bridgetheatre.co.uk

Twitter:                                    @_bridgetheatre

Instagram:                               _bridgetheatre

Facebook:                                facebook.com/bridgetheatrelondon

Cast announced for The Wider Earth at the
Natural History Museum
Tuesday 2nd October – Sunday 30th December 2018

Award-winning Darwin drama The Wider Earth has announced its cast which features War Horse actors, Ian Houghton, Andrew Bridgmont and Matt Tait. Written and directed by Dead Puppet Society’s Creative Director David Morton, The Wider Earth was initially conceived in 2013 in Cape Town during a mentorship with Handspring Puppet Company, the creative team behind War
Horse. This visually spectacular production features 30 extraordinary puppets representing the tropical wildlife Darwin encountered on his voyage. The production will have its European premiere in the first performance theatre ever to be built at the Natural History Museum.

This coming-of-age story follows a rebellious young Darwin, played by Bradley Foster, who aged only 22, set out on an intrepid five-year voyage on HMS Beagle to distant and exotic lands.

These incredible hand-made puppets are as much the stars of the show as the stellar cast who will bring them to life. From tiny Galápagos finches, to giant tortoises and a fossilised glyptodon, the puppets have been made following observations in the field and extensive analysis of anatomical drawings. Created over the past two years, the puppets have now had their final stages of fabrication and modification at the Darwin Centre in the Natural History Museum.

Nicholas Paine and David Morton of Dead Puppet Society comment, what makes this work special is its unique approach to storytelling, casting talented actors to play famous historical figures, who bring to life an array of incredible creatures through masterful puppetry. We’re thrilled to be working with our original Australian creative team of Composers and Designers to stage The Wider
Earth in such an incredible building.

The new 357-seat theatre, built for the first time in the Jerwood Gallery, will allow audiences to enter the Museum after dark and pass the cutting-edge Darwin Centre, a working scientific laboratory full of zoological specimens including those collected by Darwin on his voyage. Led by paleobiologist Professor Adrian Lister, author of Darwin’s Fossils, the Museum’s scientists are
working closely with the creative producers.

The full cast of this ingenious production are: Ian Houghton (War Horse, New London Theatre; This House, Garrick Theatre and UK Tour; The Audience, Gielgud Theatre), Andrew Bridgmont (War Horse, National Theatre; Penny Dreadful, Sky Atlantic; Faustus, Headlong Theatre), Matt Tait (War Horse, National Theatre; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, West End; Dancing at Lughnasa, Lyric Belfast), Bradley Foster (Common, National Theatre; Lessons in Love and Violence, Royal Opera House; Frequently Asked Questions, New Wolsey Theatre), Jack Parry-Jones (Moon Dogs, World Pictures; BANG, Joio Production/Artist Studio/S4C; Macbeth, China Plate), Marcello Cruz (Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare’s Globe; The Rook, Lionsgate/Starz), Melissa Vaughan (Night Must Fall, Salisbury Playhouse/Tour; The City and The City, Mammoth Screen for BBC; Consensual, Wuthering Heights and The Merchant of Venice, West End Rep Season at The Ambassadors Theatre), Rory Fairbairn (The Importance of Being Earnest, Immersion Theatre; Journey’s End, Immersion Theatre/Mesh Theatre Co.; Jekyll and Hyde, Lion and Unicorn Theatre) and Kim Scopes (A Christmas Carol, Sonia Friedman Productions; Newzoids, ITV/Factory; Becca’s Brunch, Nick Jr/JAM Media/Factory).

The Wider Earth is presented by Trish Wadley Productions and Dead Puppet Society in association with Glass Half Full Productions.

This is a voyage of extraordinary theatrical discovery that celebrates the power of curiosity, the natural world and big ideas (Sydney Morning Herald).

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR THE WATERMILL THEATRE’S

 

TWELFTH NIGHT

at WILTON’S MUSIC HALL

 

12 TO 22 SEPTEMBER 2018

 

 

Following the success of its run at The Watermill and its UK and international tour last year, The Watermill Ensemble will revive TWELFTH NIGHT at Wilton’s Music Hall from 12 to 22 September.Renowned for its bold, progressive and collaborative approach to Shakespeare, The Watermill Ensemble re-imagines TWELFTH NIGHT in the hedonistic 1920s, where prohibition is rife. Fused with innovative staging and actor-musicianship, the radical spirit of Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald collides with the contemporary influence of Postmodern Jukebox to create a dizzying and beautiful version of Shakespeare’s perfect play.

The Watermill Ensemble includes returning cast members Victoria Blunt (Maria), Peter Dukes(Malvolio), Rebecca Lee (Viola), Emma McDonald (Antonia), Offue Okegbe (Feste), Lauryn Redding (Sir Toby Belch), Jamie Satterthwaite (Orsino) and Mike Slader. Lillie Flynn (Olivia) andNed Rudkins-Stow (Sebastian) join the original cast.

TWELFTH NIGHT is directed by Paul Hart and designed by Katie Lias. Sound design is by David Gregory, movement by Tom Jackson Greaves and musical direction by Ned Rudkins-Stow.

Director, Paul Hart: ‘A jazz club seems the perfect setting for TWELFTH NIGHT given the play’s obsession with music, love and excess. Featuring live music performed by our multi-talented company, the soundtrack is 1920’s influenced with a modern twist.’

Theatr Clwyd,

Mold, Flintshire, North Wales CH7 1YA

 

THEATR CLWYD ANNOUNCES HANSEL & GRETEL: FAIRYTALE DETECTIVES AS ITS CHRISTMAS SHOW FOR UNDER 11s AND THEIR FAMILIES

 

Tamara Harvey, Theatr Clwyd’s Artistic Director and Executive Director Liam Evans-Ford, today announce Theatr Clwyd and Paperfinch Theatre’s co-production of Hansel & Gretel: Fairytale Detectives, based on the Brothers Grimm tale, as an immersive Christmas adventure for families. This joins the previously announced Dick Whittington – The Purrrrrfect Rock ‘N’ Roll Panto, written by the award-winning Christian Patterson and directed by Zoë Waterman and Llew a’r Crydd, Theatr Clwyd and Pontio’s first co-production written and directed by Emyr John.

Artistic Director Tamara Harvey said today, “Paperfinch, led by the extraordinary Joe Bunce, make shows that leave you feeling that the world is just a little bit more magical than you ever realised before. Our team at Theatr Clwyd have already started stitching and hammering, scheming and plotting, we’re meeting actors around the country this week and soon we’ll be holding workshops for our community company so that together we can create another wondrous adventure for the festive season.”

Joe Bunce, Paperfich Theatre’s Artistic Director, will write and direct Hansel & Gretel. He commented, “It will be performed in promenade through studios, workshops and dressing rooms across Theatr Clwyd. The adaptation transports the famous folktale siblings to Grimm City, a noir-inspired metropolis inhabited by storybook characters from Old King Cole to Humpty Dumpty. When a wicked witch wreaks havoc across the town our audiences are invited to track villains, wear cunning disguises and team-up with the Fairytale Detectives. Come and join us!”

 HANSEL & GRETEL: FAIRYTALE DETECTIVES

A Theatr Clwyd and Paperfinch Theatre co-production

Friday 14 December – Sunday 6 January

 

Written and Directed by Joe Bunce

There’s evil afoot in Grimm City.

Humpty’s cracking, Rapunzel’s in a tangle and Weasel went pop without a trace. Fairytales are going missing and there are whispers of a witch on the loose. With cunning disguises, magnifying glasses and a briefcase full of breadcrumbs, Hansel and Gretel gather a team of folklore friends to solve these nursery rhyme crimes.

Dust for prints, crack codes and chase down suspects in this immersive Christmas adventure for under 11s and their families.

Joe Bunce is Artistic Director of Paperfinch. He has adapted Hansel & Gretel: Fairytale Detectives for the stage, and also directs. Credits for Paperfinch include The Nutcracker and The Snow Queen (Theatr Clwyd), Beatrix Potter’s Garden (Theatre Delicatessen), and Curiouser and Curiouser (for SlungLow Theatre). Joe also writes and directs musical theatre, including Departures: A Song Cycle for which he won the The Sunday Times Playwriting Award and Cameron Mackintosh Award.

Autumn Season at Theatr Clwyd

Previously announced season highlights include an all-female cast in a co-production with Sherman Theatre of Lord of the Flies and a first-time co-production with Clean Break of the world première of Thick as Thieves, from award-winning Welsh playwright Katherine Chandler.

Visiting highlights include a reimagined production of The 39 Steps direct from the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough and Tom Kempinski’s poignantly funny Duet For One, starring Belinda Lang and Jonathan Coy.

Rambert, Britain’s original dance company, will launch its new ensemble Rambert 2 at Theatr Clwyd in October. It will feature some of the world’s best young dancers as well as creating unique educational and learning experiences for schools. High quality dance is also represented by National Dance Company Wales, who present a new triple bill in November.

Music and opera includes performances by Welsh National Opera, Music Theatre Wales and Mid Wales Opera alongside eight classical concerts, featuring some of the finest soloists and ensembles.

Comedy features new shows by Hal Cruttenden, Sam Avery, Stephen K Amos and Vikki Stone and the Comedy Club, on the first Thursday of every month, features three top comedians in two unforgettable hours of standup.

Full details of the season are at www.theatrclwyd.com.