Beano Studios and Selladoor creating family musical based on TV show
Beano Studios is teaming up with award-winning production company Selladoor to create an all new musical stage production based on hit TV show Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed!
The family friendly show, which is being developed by Selladoor – the company behind hits includingMadagascar the Musical and Avenue Q – will launch in 2020 on a year-long tour of 40+ theatres and venues across the UK and Ireland.
BAFTA-winning writer/producer-director Will Brenton is on board to write the show which will feature Dennis and Gnasher’s hallmark slapstick comedy and ageless humour delivered with a repertoire of songs.
The stage production follows on from the success of Beano Studios’ international Emmy-nominated TV series Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed! The TV show stars Beano’s irrepressible hero Dennis (voiced by Freddie Fox), his dogged side kick Gnasher and fearless mates including Rubi, JJ, Pieface and his pet potato Paul. Together they cook up crazy plans, get in all sorts of scrapes and take on every challenge, no matter how big.
The hit TV show recently secured its second series (52 x 11min episodes) on CBBC and has been sold in over 24 countries and airs on the biggest broadcasters including Super RTL in Germany, Rai in Italy and France Télévision to name a few.
Emma Scott, CEO of Beano Studios said: “Following the success of Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed around the world, bringing our gang to life on stage is the perfect next step. Selladoor are the ideal team to take on the exciting challenge of bringing the iconic characters to life in a show to entertain all ages.”
David Hutchinson, CEO of Selladoor said:“Selladoor are delighted to be working with Beano Studios to bring the iconic Dennis and Gnasher to the stage for the first time with a really exciting creative team, led by Will Brenton under Anna Fox’s dramaturgical eye.
Selladoor recently launched Selladoor Creation, our development wing focused entirely on commissioning new stories for the stage. We are delighted to have been entrusted by Beano Studios with their well-loved characters who have endured for generations, and now finally leap from the page to the stage. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring one of the Nation’s favourite rebels to life so everyone can join in on the mischief and adventures. Keep your eyes peeled for Dennis and the gang hitting a theatre near you!”
Back Room of The Star Inn, Guildford – April 10 2019
Review by Heather Chalkley
3***
A full on hour of précised prose, speedy changes – both character and costume – and classic Shakespearean bawdy humour. Shakespeare wrote for the common people of his century, Helen Manners and Ian Renshaw have rewritten it the for 21st century!
The performance space is small and made smaller by the screens, behind which all manner of costumes and props appeared and strange noises emitted!
The basic and sometimes disheveled appearance of the set and actors (Helen Manners and Ian Renshaw) added to the humour of the piece.
I like it that both actors played male and female roles, particularly when you consider all roles were played by men, in The Bards time. Renshaw’s depiction of Queen Margaret D’Anjou as a cussing, straight talking, angry woman was hilarious. Manners’ dead pan portrayal of Lord Buckingham had me in stitches. The star of the piece is Richard the lll himself, played by Renshaw true to the original as a nasty piece of work.
This is a cleverly put together and unique adaptation of a play that was dark and brooding in its original form (and far too long!). The occasional intersection of a song and the inclusion of the audience gave it a pantomime feel at times. Like Shakespeare meets Horrible Histories for grown ups!
The producers of the 2019 UK and Ireland tour and first new production in 25 years of Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey’s iconic musical GREASE are delighted to announce that Dan Partridge, Martha Kirby, Louis Gaunt and Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky will star as Danny, Sandy, Kenickie and Rizzo respectively. They join the previously announced Peter Andre playing Teen Angel at most performances.
Dan Partridge most recently played Rum Tum Tugger in Cats (International Tour), Link in Hairspray (UK Tour) and Pepper in Mamma Mia! (Novello Theatre). Martha Kirby will be graduating for the Guildford School of Acting this summer, 2019, and makes her professional debut as Sandy. Louis Gaunt recently played Will Parker in Oklahoma!(Grange Park Opera), for which he won the 2018 The Stage Debut Award for Best Actor in a Musical, and Manfred in Sweet Charity(Nottingham Playhouse). Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky most recently appeared in Bat Out of Hell – The Musical (Dominion Theatre). Prior to that, she appeared in The Book of Mormon (Prince Of Wales Theatre).
Also in the cast are Jordan Abey as Doody, Ryan Anderson as Roger, Damian Buhagiar as Sonny, Eloise Davies as Frenchy, Natalie Woods as Jan, Tara Sweeting as Marty, Dale White as Eugene, Jessica Croll as Patty Simcox, Corinna Powlesland as Miss Lynch, Abigail Climer as Cha Cha, Darren Bennett as Vince Fontaine and Will Haswell as Johnny Casino. Completing the cast are Thea Bunting as Cynthia, Emily Beth Harrington as Carly, Jonathan Hermosa Lopez as Bobby, Dom Hutcheson as Mickey, Ruby May Martinwood as Sofia and Lindsay McAllister as Donna Sue.
Producer Colin Ingram said, “At last a new production of GREASE with a cast who look and dance like they are in high school! It’s time to come back to one of the most popular musicals of all time with this new production with grit, energy and sass.”
Curve’s Artistic Director and director of GREASE, Nikolai Foster, said, “This cast are going to blow audiences’ minds with their edge, life-force and sheer exuberance. Just as the 1950s kids who heralded the birth of the teenage movement, these talented young people will breathe new life into this terrific musical.”
Choreographer Arlene Philips said, “I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to choreograph a new production of GREASE. This new production is going to be edgy, vibrant and certainly takes a new look at this very exciting musical. The cast are incredible, many of them fresh out of college and ready to burst onto the stage.”
Following a highly acclaimed, sold-out, eight-week run at Curve over Christmas 2016, the tour will open at Leeds Grand Theatre, playing from 19 June to 20 July. GREASE will then play at Cliffs Pavilion, Southend 23 – 27 July, Sunderland Empire 30 July – 3 August, Birmingham Hippodrome 13 – 24 August, King’s Theatre, Glasgow 27 – 31 August, Curve, Leicester 3 – 14 September, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin 17 – 28 September, New Theatre, Oxford 1 – 5 October, Churchill Theatre, Bromley 8 – 12 October and Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff 15 – 19 October.
Peter Andre will appear at most performances in Leeds, Southend, Sunderland, Birmingham, Leicester, Dublin, Oxford and Bromley with additional performances just announced in Southend on 26 July (matinee and evening) and Birmingham on 21 and 22 August (all four performances).
GREASE originally opened in Chicago in 1971, followed by a move to Broadway in 1972, where it received seven Tony Award nominations, including one for Best Musical. During the show’s eight-year run, at the time, little known actors, including Peter Gallagher, Patrick Swayze and John Travolta, all appeared in the production, with Richard Gere understudying many roles before going on to star as Danny Zuko in the 1973 London premiere.
The 1978 film adaptation starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John, when adjusted for inflation, is the highest-grossing live action musical of all time and celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. The musical features beloved songs, including Summer Nights, Greased Lightnin’, Hopelessly Devoted To You and You’re The One That I Want.
GREASE is directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Arlene Philips, with designs by Colin Richmond, orchestrations and musical supervision by Sarah Travis, lighting design by Guy Hoare and sound design by Tom Marshall.
This new production of GREASE is produced by Colin Ingram for InTheatre Productions, Donovan Mannato, William Sinclair, Ricardo Marques, Hunter Arnold and Curve.
The music is always present, you just have to hear it.
Actor, rapper, singer and rising star Kema Sikazwe (I, Daniel Blake), also known as Kema Kay, will make his powerful stage debut in Shine. Premiering at Live Theatre in Newcastle before transferring to the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, this world premiere is written and performed by Sikazwe and features seven new songs written specially for the show.
Shine, named after the writer whose name means ‘one who shines’ in Gambian, mixes Sikazwe’s own bittersweet story with an electrifying live soundtrack and heartfelt words. Through his words, songs and stories, this multi-disciplinary production explores growing up in a world that doesn’t always accept you while learning to gain self-belief and to always trust your head and your heart and always chase your dreams
Kema was three years old when his family moved from Zambia to Newcastle’s West End; this coming of age story follows a family immersed in new surrounding, and what happens when that new life begins to fall apart. Shine asks what makes us who we are and whether the choices in our lives determine who we become – are we in control of our own story or is it in our DNA?
Having developed a passion for rap, singing and song writing at his local youth project in Newcastle, the Chat Trust, Kema has a longstanding connection with Newcastle and Live. In his early 20s, he landed a role in Ken Loach’s hard-hitting film I, Daniel Blake which was filmed on location in Newcastle, where it won the Palme D’or for Best Film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 and a BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film the following year. Additionally, in 2017, he was selected as a Live Theatre Associate Artist.
Kema Sikazwe says, I’ve always wanted to inspire people to follow their heart through storytelling and personal experience. When I was given the opportunity to get up on stage and share my story at a scratch night at Live Theatre the response was beyond what I expected. Although we all have a different journey, we also have many similarities. I’ve wanted to tell this story for years and now I have the platform it’s a dream come true.
Graeme Thompson, Live Theatre’s Creative Producer and Director of Shine, comments, Kema is a great musical talent and when he first came to Live Theatre to develop his writing and performance skills it was clear we had a real opportunity to make a unique show. What we have created is something that really speaks to this city and the things happening in our world today. To think that this is his debut theatre show is very exciting, it’s a very ambitious piece of work. It’s a very personal story to Kema but there is so much people can relate to. Also, it has an amazing original soundtrack and music
In addition to the run of performances at Live Theatre, there is the opportunity to meet writer and performer Kema Sikazwe in a free post-show talk on Tuesday 7th May. There will be two free preshow events on Saturday 4th and Saturday 11th May at 6pm which showcase work by local musicians and performers.
Alhambra Theatre, Bradford – until Saturday 20th April 2019.
Reviewed by Aimee Liddington
5*****
If you’re looking for an uplifting evening that is packed full of iconic music, great talent and fun that never stops, then look no further. Motown the Musical is waiting for you. You will find yourself laughing, singing and bopping through the tales of young, ambitious, black artists reaching for their dream in 1960s and 70s America.
The storyline not only gives the audience an education on the history of Motown music, but also provides an insight into the American civil rights movement and the integration of white and black people after segregation ended in the United States. Such a serious topic is entwined with a light-hearted love story and through well-placed and well-timed humour, the story manages to makes us smile and laugh the whole way through.
The acting is fantastic and the singing is phenomenal. Cordell Mosteller as Berry Gordy and Karis Anderson as Diana Ross bring the soul that we all expect from Motown music. Anderson really captures the heart of the audience through her rendition of Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand), bringing members of the audience onto the stage to sing with her. Of course, the actors are immensely supported by a very talented band. From high-energy, upbeat numbers to slower power ballads, this team certainly knows how to work together to produce a well-finished production.
A review would not be complete without a mention of the creative team. Simple electronic backdrops, lights and sound are used to transport the audience from America, to Great Britain and even to the Bahamas. Glamourous and realistic costumes, that mimic the clothes actually worn by artists such as Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson, create a sense of credibility and really take the audience back to the Motown era.
Don’t waste any time, get yourself a ticket and see for yourself. It will not disappoint and you will leave feeling positive and full of energy. It certainly will build you up, buttercup!
Returning to Leeds for the first time since 2015, James Cousins Company is back at the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre next month with their latest production Epilogues. An emotive production made up of three pieces, the company will be presenting matinée and evening performances on 02 May 2019 only.
In an era when women proclaim ‘time’s up’ and misogynists win presidencies, choreographer and Artistic Director James Cousins is increasingly determined to put the stories he feels are important centre stage. Inspired by division and isolation, and looking for connection and resolution, three duetstell the stories of different relationships between lovers, friends, sisters and family.
Given new meaning as part of Epilogues, the acclaimed Within Her Eyes returns to the stage after winning the inaugural New Adventures Choreographer Award Showcase in 2012. An astonishinglyphysical work exploring loss and dependency, where the female dancer never once touches the ground, it features music by Seymour Milton and lighting by Olivier Award nominee Lee Curran.
In Between Us Is Me, the first of two new works, is an intimately formal and delicate piece of two men overcoming pressures from their respective cultures. Taking inspiration from Cousins’ own life, it combines with the dancers’ personal stories to explore the moments in life when a quiet look says it all.
A second new work, The Secret of Having It All, explores the relationship between two women dealing with the impending loss of a parent, challenging the stereotype of feuding females perpetuated by the male gaze of the media. The score is by composer Torben Lars Sylvest, and collaborating poetSabrina Mahfouz incorporates the dancers’ own stories into her accompanying text.
Tickets for Epiloguesby James Cousins Company at the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre, Leeds are on sale now and can be booked online at theatreleeds.com or by calling the Box Office on 0113 220 8008. Tickets are priced at £15.00.
Hair The Musical is a legendary show in theatre, no matter who you talk to they probably know a few songs from the show. Iconic songs such as Age of Aquarius and Let The Sun Shine In are just two of the many songs from the show. The show to many is about hippies getting high and hating war, which in essence is exactly what the show is about; it’s a euphoric tale of how counterculture reacted to the Vietnam War, the show is just as much as an act of political rebellion as it is an entertaining show. Throughout the show you are taken on a trip exploring different characters and mainly how they reject society. Now I’m sure many people have seen the film, I being one of them, however there is a very huge contrast between the two with a wildly different ‘plot’.
The characters in the show are notable both for their comical entertainment and their individuality, Berger being one of the most notable characters in the show. Jake Quickenden took on this colourful character with a lot of spice and not a care in the world. Right from the moment that he opens his mouth he haves fun alongside the audience as he strips to a thong, something I’m sure a lot of people in the audience didn’t mind, Quickenden opens the dialogue in the show and creates a great atmosphere with the audience laughing throughout most of the show. Aiesha Pease plays Dionne, with vocals that stand out, opening the show with the Age Of Aquarius and singing the song White Boys. The character of Claude was the biggest difference from the film, many of you will remember a country boy coming to New York City and being an outsider to hippy culture, however in the show he is a long haired Aquarius himself. Played by Paul Wilkins, we are given a man torn between going to war or staying in New York to ‘fight’ against the conflict. Wilkins does an amazing job of finding the battle inside the character as well as delivering songs that pick a punch such as The Flesh Failures. Although I have only named three of the fourteen actors, everyone was absolutely stunning and I left the theatre speechless and unable to stop smiling.
When it first hit the stage it was revolutionary to both theatre and society, the style of the show being describe as a Rock Musical. I feel like watching the show is similar to a concert with a plot thrown in on the side with a bit of dialogue here and there and the songs guiding the audience. The songs were just as catchy and wacky as you remember them, being saucy and a little bit controversial. The stage was colourful to match the music and characters, the group being described as a tribe is apparent in the design of the stage and costume.
When asked about what I thought of the show I was unable to describe how I felt, I still find it hard to articulate how much I loved the show. I knew I was going to love it, but I didn’t know I was going to be this struck but the show. One way of showing how much I loved it was how the three hour travel time it took me to get to Manchester just to watch the show, and I’ll gladly do it again. I think everyone, over a certain age, should go and see this show whilst it’s on tour. If I didn’t get the chance to see it I would be devastated, now I want everyone else to watch the Tale of Peace and Happiness as it goes across the UK. Go and see this show, you’ll be high just from the energy and thrill of the show.
Blood Brothers, the creation of Willy Russell, is undoubtedly the show that kindled my love of theatre. With humble beginnings as a school play in the early 80’s, Blood Brothers continues, nearly forty years on, to perfectly tell a tale of the crippling unfairness of class in this country and the social problems inextricably linked with living in poverty. Last night at the Lowry, twenty years after my first Blood Brothers experience, I laughed and inevitably, I cried, but I loved each and every minute of the performance which closed with an audience wiping away tears and climbing to their feet in appreciation.
The well-known story follows Mickey (Alexander Patmore) and Eddie (Joel Benedict), twins separated after their birth because of a struggling mother’s inability to support them both financially. When their mother, Mrs Johnstone (Linzi Hateley) is asked – some would say coerced – to give one of her twins away to well-to-do employer, Mrs Lyons (Paula Tappenden), who cannot bear children, she reluctantly accepts for the good her family. What follows is a harrowing tale of a forbidden friendship between two boys who do not know that they are brothers and the differences in their upbringing that eventually lead to tragedy. However, the show is by no means depressing or maudlin. It inspires a powerful emotional response by being relatable, believable, endearing and often laugh-out-loud funny.
In a time of austerity, job losses and with television openly mocking those on welfare with shows like ‘Benefit Street’, Willy Russell’s writing helps its audience to empathise with the plight of Mrs Johnstone and her family, stuck on the bread line, struggling to make ends meet and, eventually and almost inevitably, turning to crime and struggling with mental health issues. When Mrs Johnstone orders more than she can afford in from the catalogue in a bid to treat her children, you are made to feel angry at the system that has failed her, not at her poor decision making. When Mickey makes life-changing mistakes and struggles with depression, you can, again, empathise with him because of brilliant writing and the excellent character development in scene one, where her children and their friends play in the streets around their home.
Both Patmore and Benedict play their parts so endearingly that you are made to feel genuine frustration at their plight. Alexander Patmore is a stand out performer, playing a convincing seven-year-old Mickey and then later, a chronic depressive struggling with the effects of unemployment, poor mental health and a seven-year prison sentence. Benedict switched between entirely different characters with ease and class.
For me, Blood Brothers is a five star show with an increasingly relevant story that does far more than just entertain. It is and was brilliant.
CAMERON MACKINTOSH CHAIR OF CONTEMPORARY THEATRE AT ST CATHERINE’S COLLEGE, OXFORD
BY FRANCES HAMEL
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM 24 APRIL – 19 MAY 2019
The Victoria and Albert Museum will host an exhibition of portraits by Francis Hamel celebrating the visiting professors of the Cameron Mackintosh Chair of Contemporary Theatre at St Catherine’s College, Oxford.
Running from 24April – 19 May 2019 the exhibition will feature 28 new portraits of the visiting professors to be shown in the Prince Consort Gallery including Richard Attenborough, Alan Ayckbourn, Michael Boyd, Michael Codron, Stephen Daldry, Richard Eyre, Michael Frayn, Stephen Fry, Thelma Holt, Nicholas Hytner, Phyllida Lloyd, Cameron Mackintosh, Patrick Marber, Ian McKellen, Arthur Miller, John Napier, Trevor Nunn, Tim Rice, Diana Rigg, Simon Russell Beale, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Peter Shaffer, Stephen Sondheim, Kevin Spacey, Patrick Stewart, Tom Stoppard and Meera Syal.
The Chair of Contemporary Theatre was founded in 1990 through a grant from the Mackintosh Foundation at St Catherine’s College, and aims to promote interest in, and the study and practice of, contemporary theatre. The post is currently held by Deborah Warner.
Francis Hamel lives and works at Rousham in Oxfordshire and divides his time as a painter working for exhibitions and undertaking commissions. He studied at The Ruskin School of Fine Art and Drawing in Oxford while at Magdalen College.
V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL
Barney Norris’ adaptation of this piece is distinctly different from the film and book, although he stays true to author Ishiguro’s storyline. In essence a tale of unrequited love. In complexity, a menagerie of wrong decisions that lead to broken hearts, failed political careers and complete loss of faith in your own beliefs.
All this told through the memories of a quintessential English butler called Mr Stevens (Stephen Boxer). Stevens lives through a time when his profession is dying out and he is beginning to wonder if he has given his life to it for nothing. Particularly when considering his undying love and admiration for Miss Kenton (Niamh Cusack).
Steven’s previous employer Lord Darlington (Miles Richardson) earned the reputation of the Appeaser, through his efforts to broker good relations between England and Germany, just before the Second World War.
In an iconic scene where Lords and politicians are holed up at Darlington Hall in negotiations, Sir David (Stephen Critchlow) bullies Stevens (Boxer) to prove to his fellow Lords there is little point in consulting the plebites on such matters. Although a line directly out of the original script, the resonance with our present political storm is not lost on the audience, creating a ripple of laughter.
It takes a while to get used to the fluid transition between years, with scenes from different decades transposing on one another. Although you have to concentrate you soon tune in to Stevens train of thought.
We were treated to the Creative Team’s clever use of skims and sliding wall sections, coupled with the delightful rhythm of the ensemble as they move the set around.
The poignant final scene between Stevens (Boxer) and Kenton (Cusack) is delivered from the heart, creating a palpable yearning in the auditorium for a happy ending. I am so glad Norris stuck to the original story!
The quality of this piece reflects the calibre of the cast, the creativity of the Director (Christopher Haydon) and the skilled craft of both author (Ishiguro) and playwright (Barney Norris).
