Drag stars BAGA CHIPZ – currently on screen as one of the contestants in BBC Three’s RuPaul’s Drag Race UK – and SHEILA SIMMONDS – best known from her outrageous performance that wowed the judges in Britain’s Got Talent 2019 – will star in a fierce and funny drag makeover of classic pantomime CINDERELLA this Christmas, playing at the Trafalgar Studios in the West End for six performances only.
Produced by TuckShop – the UK’s only specialist production company devoted all things drag – Cinderella is written and directed by Stuart Saint (De Profundis, Saucy Jack at the Space Vixens, Misfit Warrior), and will also star drag performers Kemah Bob, Ophelia Love, Veronica Green, Baby and Holly Stars.
This age-old rags-to-riches story is being dragged up for London, so dust off your glass stripper-slippers, give your carriage a rub down, and join us as the clock strikes midnight for the Fairy Godmother of pantomimes…
Will she make it to the Ball? Only if she has a good gag reflex…
BAGA CHIPZ – Baroness Baga
Baga Chipz is a notorious staple amongst the UK Drag scene. She has been performing across London in pubs and clubs for the last 10 years and is about to make a big splash on the first ever season of RuPauls Drag Race UK.
One of only ten queens selected from across the UK and Ireland, Baga has already had a touch of reality limelight on Drag Queens of London which was shown worldwide and is known to many as the face of G-A-Y Porn Idol at Heaven nightclub. She’s the kind of drag queen that “gets her t**s out for the lads,” she says. “[I’m] a pub queen; Like someone’s auntie I give advice on how to pull fellas and how to get pissed … I’m common as muck, bagachips from Walthamstow.”
SHEILA SIMMONDS – Fairy Sheila
Sheila first appeared on TV in Drag Queens of London and was a standout act in the 2019 season of Britain’s Got Talent with her now famous song Busy Lady.
She’s a recording artiste, home shopping presenter & the queen of Bingo. Her “Busy Lady Bingo” nights are a firm favourite all over London, & she performs worldwide. She currently hosts the show “Sheila’s Sofa” and is soon to be the face of Drag Cab.
STUART SAINT – Writer and Director
Critically acclaimed writer and director Stuart Saint has a plethora of theatrical productions under his belt, including London productions of The World Goes Round,De Profundis’ and West End revival of Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens. Stuart successful orchestrated London’s No 1 adult pantomime, to great critical praise, in the heart of the West End at the Leicester Square Theatre, for five incredible years, with Dick!, Dick Comes Again and Sleeping Booty. Most recently Stuart created and performed his autobiographical piece of gig theatre Misfit Warrior at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe gaining five-star reviews and scored as one of the top ten LGBTQ+ shows of the festival.
KEMAH BOB – Prince
Kemah Bob is a comedian, writer and producer from Houston, TX now based in London. Her comedy is pro-black, queer, sex positive and unapologetically so. In addition to performing stand-up and hosting events in London and around the UK, Kemah produces The Femmes of Colour Comedy Club, a monthly showcase of female, trans and non-binary comedians of colour. @KemahBob
BABY – Cinderella
The Afropunk princess, Baby, is making her West End debut as Cinderella. In her acts she uses her dance background and love of Electronic music to carve her own identity in the contemporary drag scene. After beginning her career opening for Drag Race star Alyssa Edwards, Baby has built a reputation for slick choreography, hard-hitting mixes and looks die for.
HOLLY STARS – Buttons
Holly Stars is an icon, and a Gorgeous natural beauty. She hates her neighbours, Fat Julie and Posh Sue, and is thrilled that her husband Gary’s gettin’ out of prison next week. She’s almost excited about this show, but doesn’t like the West End that much as it’s a bit posh.
OPHELIA LOVE – Ugly Sister
This queen isn’t just a voice, she also can serve a mean lip sync and scarily accurate and hideous impersonations of some of the world’s most infamous characters and now she’s taking on the nation’s second favourite ginger girl band member – Nicola in Gals Aloud.
VERONICA GREEN – Ugly Sister
Veronica Green is a professionally trained singer, dancer and actor for the stage, screen and occasionally the scene. She’s most well known for her show stopping appearance on the hit BBC 1 show All Together Now becoming one of the shows most watched and popular contestants, garnering over two million views over social media this year. Other professional T.V and stage appearances include the 2018 summer advertising campaign for ‘Bulmers Cider’ on Channel 4. ‘Pageant’ The Drag musical, directed by Bill Russell (Sideshow, Elegies). Veronica also recently played one of the lead roles in a pilot episode for the drama/comedy ‘Wannabe’ that was filmed and pitched to BBC3.
Headed up by West End theatre producer Christopher D. Clegg, TUCKSHOP is an entertainment company like no other, specialising in theatre production, club promotion, merchandising and artist representation all centred around DRAG.
With the huge rise in drag popularity over the last ten years, TuckShop is at the forefront of UK Drag culture, coming hot off the heels of Chris’s fifteen years’ experience in the West End as a producer, theatre manager, and marketing expert. As well as creating bespoke productions and producing nationwide tours, TuckShop also represent some of the UK’s best Drag talent, raising their profile through branding, promotion and regular bookings. With new productions in development, an ever expanding roster of headline performers and our new online store, TuckShop works tirelessly to give Drag the leg-up it deserves.
Southbank Centre announces premieres from established and new artists for 2019 Autumn and Winter programme
Including: Forced Entertainment, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance, Reckless Sleepers, Oona Doherty, Travis Alabanza, Nicola Gunn, Lisa Hammond, Rachael Spence, Circus 1903, Andy and Andy’s Black Beauty and Dillie Keane, Adele Anderson and Liza PulmaninFascinating Aïda.
This Autumn, Southbank Centre showcases some of the most pioneering new artists using performance to challenge societal norms including dancer and choreographer Oona Doherty, performance artists Travis Alabanza and Nicola Gunn, and theatre makers Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence. Alongside these artists, Southbank Centre welcomes back three important companies experimenting with form and challenging the audience experience; Reckless Sleepers, and two Southbank Centre Associate Companies – Forced Entertainment and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance. Winter sees offerings for all ages with the return of Circus 1903 with new acts for 2019 following its huge success last Christmas, the arrival of a new dynamic interpretation of Black Beauty, and a fresh show from favourites Fascinating Aïda.
Carving out a place for themselves as one of the UK’s prominent trans voices, Travis Alabanza presents Burgerz – a performance that is both timely and unsettling, exploring how trans bodies survive and how audiences can address their own complicity. After someone threw a burger at them on Waterloo Bridge and shouted a transphobic slur, Alabanza became obsessed with burgers. This show is the climax of their obsession and will be accompanied by a talk on trans issues (PUR, 29 Nov – 1 Dec). Rachael Spence and Lisa Hammond also use their position on stage to bring to light their personal experiences.
Part-verbatim theatre, part-confession, part-comedy sketch show with singing and dancing thrown in, Hammond and Spence bring Still No Idea to Purcell Room following a highly successful run at The Royal Court Theatre. Delving into the stories the public imagines for this pair, one disabled and one able bodied, by asking people on the street for their plot ideas, they explore these stories and what they say about society and perceptions of disability (PUR, 11 – 12 Nov).
Part of Dance Umbrella 2019, Oona Doherty presents the London Premiere of Hard To Be Soft– a multi-disciplinary performance delving into the psyche of her native Belfast and the young male violence haunting her city. Using movement as a medium for understanding and a catalyst for social change, Doherty weaves everyday stories into a tapestry of mesmerising movement, religious iconography and haunting sound by DJ David Holmes (QEH, 11 Oct). Nicola Gunn dissects the realms of human behaviour through direct address to her audience in Piece for Person and Ghetto Blaster as she calls into question mankind’s capacity to make moral judgments. Starting with a disarmingly simple exploration of the moral conundrum of what to do if one comes across a person throwing stones at a duck, Gunn slips across tempos, ideas and performance modes – from movement to dance to performance art and back again – to a complex, philosophical musing on the very function of art (PUR, 16 Oct).
Southbank Centre Associate CompanyShobana Jeyasingh Dance returns with the London Premiere of Staging Schiele, a new commission by Southbank Centre. Inspired by the extraordinary work and life of Austrian artist Egon Schiele, four dancers inhabit Schiele’s highly-charged world of colour, masterful lines and unusual perspectives, putting the human body on visceral display. Shobana Jeyasingh’s award-winning choreography matches the intensity of Schiele, engaging with his anxieties as well as his self-confidence, and addressing the male artist’s use and objectification of the female model – bringing his models to life and giving them a platform to express themselves through movement (QEH, 4 – 5 Nov).
Reckless Sleepers and Associate Company Forced Entertainment bring two pieces to Southbank Centre this October that experiment with the nature of performance. The London Premiere of Negative Spaceby Reckless Sleepers sees the company experiment with a blank architectural canvas to express a love story, a slapstick comedy, a slasher and melodrama without speaking a word (PUR, 11 – 12 Oct). Highly regarded for pushing the boundaries of what theatre can be, the UK Premiere of Forced Entertainment’s Out of Order once again challenges traditional notions of theatre as circus clowns take to the stage, carefully working to unbalance the balance between funny and not funny (QEH, 12 – 14 Oct).
Featuring acrobats, contortionists, jugglers, trapeze, high-wire performers and more, Circus 1903 returns to Southbank Centre for Christmas following last year’s success to recreate the thrills and daredevil entertainment of a turn-of-the-century circus. This year’s show will feature many of last year’s best loved acts including charming life sized elephants Peanut and Queenie created by puppeteers from War Horse and ringmaster David Williamson. With new acts for 2019 including the Brazilian Wheel of Death, this show transports audiences of all ages to the golden age of circus (RFH, 19 Dec – 5 Jan).
Presented by Red Bridge and Traverse Theatre Company, some of the UK’s best theatre makers for children, Andy Manley, Andy Cannon and Shona Reppe bring their critically acclaimed, vibrant re-telling of Anna Sewell’s novel Black Beauty to Southbank Centre. Blending vivid storytelling, joyful music and inventive puppetry, this is the perfect show for families this winter. Offering fun and adventure in Purcell Room, the timeless tale of Black Beauty is reinvented for a new generation (PUR, 14 Dec – 5 Jan).
Fascinating Aïda is back with the World Premiere of a brand new show. With three Olivier Award nominations and over 25 million YouTube and Facebook hits for ‘Cheap Flights’ and their incredibly rude Christmas song, Britain’s favourite cabaret trio Dillie Keane, Adele Anderson and Liza Pulman are bringing their unstoppable glamour to Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall with a mix of big hits, old favourites and hot new songs for four weeks this Christmas (QEH, 10 Dec – 5 Jan).
Rupert Thomson, Senior Programmer for Performance and Dance, Southbank Centre, said:
“On issues including social class, violence, gender and disability, we are proud to present some of the most exciting young artists taking on these topics with ferocity and wit. Oona Doherty, Travis Alabanza, Nicola Gunn, Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence are all new to our stages; alongside them we are pleased to present masters of their craft who all return to Southbank Centre following successful appearances here before, Reckless Sleepers and Associate Companies Forced Entertainment and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance.”
Still to come this summer, Southbank Centre welcomes the UK Premiere of Jean Paul Gaultier’s eccentric, scandalous, provocative, exuberant and funny new creation, Jean Paul Gaultier: Fashion Freak Show. Transfering from an acclaimed run in Paris at the iconic Folies Bergère, this explosive combination of a revue and fashion show, sees actors, dancers and circus artists take to the stage to share Jean Paul Gaultier’s stories and celebrate those who have inspired him (QEH, 23 Jul – 2 Aug). In August, Southbank Centre Associate Company ZooNation Youth Company make a welcome return to Queen Elizabeth Hall with the World Premiere of Tales of the Turntable, a toe-tapping, heart-warming dance and music show for all the family commissioned by Southbank Centre (QEH, 15 – 26 Aug). Then September, radical and influential choreographer Deborah Hay and pioneering musician and composer Laurie Anderson unite with Sweden’s renowned Cullbergbaletten (Cullberg Ballet) for the UK Premiere of Figure a Sea – a work that sees dancers match technical precision and minimalist expression to the electronic, meditative sounds of Anderson (QEH, 6 Sep).
Today Gaslighting is a familiar phrase used by psychologist and domestic abuse organisations. The origins of that phrase are this very play, a dark psychological thriller. Hamilton’s plot is elegantly recreated by a talented cast, focusing on the torment of an emotionally abused Victorian wife.
Bella (Charlotte Emmerson) seems on the point of hysteria throughout most of the play, with waves of self-doubt and confusion, intermingled with moments of clarity, hatred and manic joy. Emmerson (Bella) finds exactly the right balance, holding the attention of the audience as she reacts and responds to the two male leads. James Wilby (Jack Manningham) plays the classic Victorian husband, defining a middleclass standard of behaviour, whilst behind closed doors cruelly controlling and manipulating his wife. Unlike most other husbands of any era, he is also greedy and willing to kill for it, gradually twisting his wife’s mind until she begins to doubt her own sanity. Wilby gives Mannigham authenticity with a slight touch of ‘mad professor’. Martin Shaw (Rough) is a caricature, bringing an element of humour to balance the darkness, not least of all with a slightly dodgy Irish accent! Do not let this belie the suspense Shaw builds in to the tensest scenes of jeopardy. Shaw brings his familiar, down to earth, dulcet tones to add a realness to his character.
I have to commend the creatives for the staging and deployment of scrims. These are used to great effect to build shadow and light, to the back and the front of the stage. The gas lights are the most important part of the play and are well placed for maximum effect.
The cast are well rehearsed and the script flows beautifully. This is a well thought out production, directed by Lucy Bailey, portraying to great effect what the term gas lighting actually means.
Winter Snow Ltd and J Clare Productions in association with Park Theatre present THE SNOW QUEEN
4 December 2019 – 4 January 2020 | Park Theatre
Casting has been confirmed for Park Theatre’s festive family adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic: The Snow Queen. Focusing on the origins of the Queen who brings endless winter, the cast includes: Frances Marshall, Ayesha Casely-Hayford, Esmonde Cole, Sarah-Louise Young, Justin Brett, Paula James and Matt Cavendish. The production is adapted by Charles Way and directed by Abigail Anderson, with a national press night on Friday 6 December, 7pm.
Based on the original 1844 story by the renowned fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen, this story follows Gerda as she goes on an epic quest through the seasons to save her best friend Cei before she loses him to endless winter. With the help of bickering flowers, overworked teachers, confused princes and princesses, a talking reindeer and, of course, snowball fights, the pair just might be ready to grow up after all.
From the ice-cold heart of winter, through to a knitted world of yarn-bombed spring, the team behind Park Theatre’s 2018/19 family hit Peter Pan – Winter Snow Ltd and J Clare Productions (with two Olivier award-winning shows to their name) – are delighted to be joining forces with Park Theatre to bring families this delightful adaptation of a classic winter’s tale.
Frances Marshall plays The Snow Queen, who travels throughout the world with the snow. Her recent stage credits include: Seasons Greetings & Joking Apart (Stephen Joseph Theatre), The Secret Garden and The Emperor & The Nightingale (Theatre By The Lake). Her screen credits include Capturing Mary (BBC Two).
Ayesha Casely-Hayford plays Gerda, who endeavours to find and rescue her friend from the Snow Queen. Ayesha is an award-winning voice artist and Off West End Award-nominated actress. Her theatre credits include: The Importance Of Being Earnest (Tara Arts), Where Will We Live? (Southwark Playhouse), We Dance We Work We Sing (Vault Festival and various UK venues), Adult Child Dead Child (Lost Theatre, London), With You Always (Old Fire Station, Oxford) and the Black Plays series (National Theatre, London).
Esmonde Cole (Cei/Fred) is a British & Sierra Leonean actor. His theatre credits include: Learning to Swim (Criterion Theatre), Market Boy (Union Theatre) and numerous productions with the Michael Grandage Futures Company. His screen credits include Young Barry White for ITV’s Autopsy.
Sarah-Louise Young (Grandmother/Mrs D/Lily) is an actress, writer, director and internationally renowned cabaret performer. Winner of The UK Stage Award for acting, named one of Time Out magazine’s Top 10 Cabaret Acts and voted Best Musical Variety Act in the London Cabaret Awards, she has also guested with comedy and musical performers Fascinating Aïda and La Soirée, and is a member of the Olivier Award-winning improvised musical group, The Showstoppers. Most recently her own show Julie Madly Deeply sold out at New York’s 59E59 Theatre. Prior to that, she played Queen Rat in Dick Whittington by Cariad Lloyd at the Lyric Hammersmith. She has appeared in the West End, London, on BBC Radio 4 and toured internationally, including to the prestigious Adelaide Cabaret Festival and has played numerous parts in television, theatre and short films.
Justin Brett’s (Mr Goodman/Daffodil/Bae, the Reindeer) theatre credits include: Showstopper! The Improvised Musical (West End and UK Tour), Million Dollar Quartet (West End), Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood (Theatr Clywd), Dick Barton, Special Agent and Return to the Forbidden Planet (Oldham Coliseum and Tour), Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella (New Wolsey, Oxford Playhouse), Lost in The Stars (Royal Festival Hall), October Plenty (Globe), Blue/Orange (Octagon, Bolton – Nominated Best Actor, MEN Awards), East Lynne (New Vic, Stoke), Christmas on Mars (Finborough) and Jinx, Other Lives, Clowns (Orange Tree). His screen credits include: Peep Show (Channel 4), Doctors (BBC), War Horse (Walt Disney Studios) and Gulliver’s Travels.
Paula James’ (Elisa/Mrs Flynn/Snowdrop/Princess Frederica) theatre credits include: Hamlet (Iris Theatre), First Encounters: Comedy of Errors (RSC), Love’s Labour’s Lost, Robin Hood, Julius Caesar (Guildford Shakespeare Company), The Gingerbread Man (Hiccup Theatre – Derby Theatre & UK tour), Dead Reckoning (Five Plays) (Young Vic), Alice in Wonderland (Derby Theatre), Snow Child (International tour), Unearthed, Larksong, The Gift, Half a Horse (New Vic Theatre), and Not With A Whimper (Arcola Theatre).
Matt Cavendish’s (John/Bindweed/Robber Queen) theatre credits include: Showstopper! The Improvised Musical (West End and UK Tour), Snow White (Oval House), The Midnight Gang (Chichester Festival Theatre), The BiographGirl (Finborough Theatre – Offie Nomination for best supporting actor in a musical), The Play That Goes Wrong (Broadway/West End), Peter Pan Goes Wrong (West End and UK Tour), Lights! Camera! Improvise! (Mischief Theatre), Sleeping Beauty (Park Theatre), The Boys From Syracuse (Union), Romeo and Juliet/Love’s Labours Lost (Old Red Lion) and The Borrowers (Northern Stage). His TV credits include: Christmas Carol Goes Wrong (BBC). Matt is a member of the Tony and Olivier award winning companies Mischief Theatre and The Showstoppers.
Adaptor Charles Way began training as an actor at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, where he wrote plays for other students to perform. In 1977 he joined the Leeds Playhouse Theatre as an actor but began to offer his services as a writer. A year later he joined the Theatre Centre in London as a resident writer. He has worked for various theatres as a resident writer and, as his career progressed, became more well known for being a children’s playwright. Charles Way has received numerous awards and nominations for his works, as well as being highly regarded and acclaimed, his works always receiving praising reviews.
Director Abigail Anderson started directing at Oxford University and later trained at Central School of Speech & Drama. She has directed over 85 productions, most recently Jack and the Beanstalk (Mercury Colchester) and a double bill of Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing. She is Associate Director of Gonzo Moose, touring devised comedy shows. Their most recent show Once Upon a Time… very loosely based on some ill-researched facts about the Brothers Grimm, will be touring the UK for a second time in Autumn 2019/Spring 2020. She also served as Associate Director at Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds from 2008-2011. However, she states that most of what she has learned and uses in her every day as a director, she learned from watching other directors and working with actors.
Designer Gregor Donnelly is both a set and costume designer, for which he trained at Motley Theatre Design Course 2011. Donnelly has designed for theatre, concerts and events in the UK and internationally. In 2016 he was nominated for Best Set Design and Best Costume Design at the Off West End Awards for Benighted and Best Costume Design at Off West End Awards for The Autumn Garden. In 2018 he was nominated for Best Set Design at the Off West End Awards for Peter Pan.
SHEFFIELD THEATRES’ MAJOR REVIVAL OF GUYS AND DOLLS
A Sheffield Theatres Production
CRUCIBLE
GUYS AND DOLLS
A Musical Fable of Broadway Based on a story and characters of Damon Runyon
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
Performed in arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe) LTD
Director: Robert Hastie; Designer: Janet Bird; Choreographer: Matt Flint
Musical Director and New Musical Arrangements: Will Stuart; Lighting Designer: Howard Hudson
Sound Designer: Mike Walker; Casting Director: Stuart Burt CDG
7 December 2019 – 18 January 2020
Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, Robert Hastie today announces the full casting for his revival of Guys and Dolls – Natalie Casey (Miss Adelaide), Darragh Cowley (Lt Brannigan), Dafydd Emyr (Big Jule), Jacob Fisher (Harry the Horse), Adrian Hansel (Benny Southstreet), Dawn Hope (General Cartwright), Kadiff Kirwan (Sky Masterson), TJ Lloyd (Nicely-Nicely Johnson), Matthew Malthouse (Rusty Charlie), Martin Marquez (Nathan Detroit), Ross McLaren (Angie the Ox), Garry Robson (Arvide Abernathy), and Alex Young (Sarah Brown) with Shaquille Brush (Havana Boy), Frances Camier (Havana Girl), Charlotte Coggin, Adam Denman, Emily Dunn, Tash Holway, Samantha Hull, Kate Playdon and Anthony Starr. The production opens on 12 December, with previews from 7 December, and runs until 18 January 2020.
‘Luck be a lady tonight!’
It’s time to roll the dice and fall in love under the bright lights of New York city! To settle a bet, high roller Sky Masterson pursues straight-laced Sergeant Sarah Brown, only to fall head over heels for his unlikely love. This spectacular musical comedy is a high energy riot of breathtaking dance and features all-time favourites Luck be a Lady, Guys and Dolls and the irresistible Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat.
Natalie Casey plays Miss Adelaide. Her previous theatre credits include Valued Friends (Rose Theatre Kingston), Stepping Out (Vaudeville Theatre), Things I Know to be True (Lyric Hammersmith, UK tour), Sex and the Three Day Week (Liverpool Playhouse), Albion (Bush Theatre), 9 To 5 (UK tour), Abigail’s Party, The Invisible Man (Menier Chocolate Factory), Legally Blonde (Savoy Theatre), Oklahoma! (Chichester Festival Theatre), Well (Apollo Theatre, Trafalgar Studios), The Flint Street Nativity (Playhouse Theatre), Hobson’s Choice (The Watermill Theatre) and Vagina Monologues (Palace Theatre). Her television credits as series regular include Donna in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and Carol Groves in Hollyoaks. Other television credits include Kerry, Chopratown and Dave Shakespeare.
Darragh Cowley returns to Sheffield Theatres to play Lt Brannigan – he previously appeared in Standing at the Sky’s Edge. His other theatre credits include Spring Awakening (Hope Mill Theatre) and Snow White (London Palladium).
Dafydd Emyr returns to Sheffield Theatres to play Big Jule – he previously appeared in Kiss Me Kate. For theatre, his other credits include Kick The Breeze (BAC), Man of Fire (Cwmni Whare Teg), Amdani (Script Cymru), and Pinocchio and Danny The Champion Of The World (Sherman Theatre Co). For television, his work includes Lazarus Ladies, Old Scores, The Famous Five, A Touch Of Love, Excalibur: The Search For Arthur, Realms Of Gold Young Dracula, Doctor Who, Da Vinci’s Demons, Bastard Executioner, The Windsors, Lleifior, Mae Gen I Gariad and Amdani; and for film, Natural Justice and Carrie’s War.
Jacob Fisher plays Harry the Horse. His theatre credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Kilworth House Theatre), Doctor Dolittle (UK tour), The Selfish Giant (Royal & Derngate, Northampton/West End), Eugenius! (The Other Palace), The Addams Family (UK & Ireland tour/Singapore), Mamma Mia! (UK tour) and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre).
Adrian Hansel plays Benny Southstreet. His theatre credit include Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Southwark Playhouse), Carmen Jones (The Old Vic), Carousel (National Theatre), Porgy and Bess (Royal Opera House), FAME the Musical, Starlight Express, All You Need Is Love, Dancing in the Street, Hairspray, Five Guys Named Moe (all West End), Oh! What a Night (Australian tour), and The Distance You Have Come (The Cockpit Theatre).
Dawn Hope returns to Sheffield Theatres to play General Cartwright – she previously appeared in Chicago. Other theatre work includes Follies (National Theatre), Miss Littlewood (RSC), The Scottsboro Boys (Young Vic / Garrick Theatre), Porgy and Bess (Savoy Theatre), Piaf (UK tour / Piccadilly Theatre), Bubbling Brown Sugar (Peacock Theatre), They’re Playing Our Song (Shaftesbury Theatre), The Black Mikado (Cambridge Theatre), Time (Dominion Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Comedy Theatre), Simply Heavenly (Trafalgar Studio), Josephine (BAC), Lady Day at Emmerson’s Bar and Grill (Charing Cross Theatre / New End Theatre and UK Tour), The Devil in The Blue Dress (Bunker Theatre), Intimate Apparel (Bath Theatre Royal / Park Theatre) and Rough Crossings (Lyric Theatre Hammersmith / UK tour). For television her work includes I Live with Models, Coronation Street (as series regular Alison Soames), Waiting for God, Comics, The Heart Surgeon and The Look of Love; and for film, Melody, Black Joy, Midnight Breaks and Gummed Labels.
Kadiff Kirwan plays Sky Masterson. For theatre, his credits include Home and Home: The Revival (National Theatre), Queers (The Old Vic), Sweet Charity, Teddy Ferrara, The Vote, City Of Angels (Donmar Warehouse). For television his work includes Timewasters, This Way Up, Fleabag, Inside No. 9, Flack, The Stranger, January 22nd, Chewing Gum, Black Mirror: Nosedive, Strike, Crims, Call the Midwife, Informer and Drunk History; and for film, Mary Queen of Scots and Pokémon Detective Pikachu.
TJ Lloyd plays Nicely-Nicely Johnson. For theatre, his work includes Aladdin (New Brighton Theatre), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Drayton Arms), Bananaman The Musical (Southwark Playhouse), Merrily We Roll Along (Edinburgh Fringe Festival) and Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (OBIE Theatre).
Matthew Malthouse returns to Sheffield Theatres to play Rusty Charlie – he previously appeared in Annie Get Your Gun and My Fair Lady. His other theatre credits include Cats (Kilworth House), Sunshine on Leith (West Yorkshire Playhouse/UK tour), Oklahoma! (Royal Albert Hall), Groundhog Day (The Old Vic), Kiss Me Kate (Theatre Luxembourg), Mrs Henderson Presents (Noël Coward Theatre and Bath Theatre Royal), Oh! What A Lovely War (UK tour), Singin’ in the Rain (Chichester, Palace Theatre, UK tour and Tokyo), Matilda and Chicago (Cambridge Theatre), 42nd Street (Chichester Festival Theatre), Mary Poppins (Prince Edward Theatre), Anything Goes (Drury Lane Theatre), On Your Toes (Leicester Haymarket and Royal Festival Hall), Beauty and the Beast (UK tour) and Edward Scissorhands (Sadler’s Wells, US tour, Asian tour and Australia).
Martin Marquez returns to Sheffield Theatres to play Nathan Detroit – he previously appeared in Blasted. His other theatre credits include Sweet Charity,Front Page, Fool for Love (Donmar Warehouse), Still Alice (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Much Ado About Nothing, Imogen (Shakespeare’s Globe), This House (UK tour), Before I Leave (National Theatre Wales), Husbands and Sons, Mother Courage and Her Children, Anything Goes, Love’s Labour’s Lost (National Theatre), Ah, Wilderness (Young Vic), The Crucible (West Yorkshire Playhouse), From Here to Eternity (Shaftesbury Theatre), Abigail’s Party (Menier Chocolate Factory), and Identical Twins, Cleansed (Royal Court Theatre). For television, his credits include Dead Pixels, The Crown, Bounty Hunter, Modus, Decline and Fall, Suntrap, The Job Lot, Woody,Vera, Knifeman, Benidorm, Twenty Twelve, Hotel Babylon, Lead Balloon and Elizabeth; and for film, The Mercy, After Louise, Girl on a Bicycle, A Louder Silence,Les Misérables and The Business.
Ross McLaren returns to Sheffield Theatres to play Angie the Ox – he previously appeared in Kiss Me Kate. His other theatre work includes Big the Musical (Dominion Theatre and Plymouth Theatre Royal), It Happened in Key West (Charing Cross Theatre), Elf (Theatre Royal Plymouth and Lowry Theatre), Top Hat, Thoroughly Modern Millie (Kilworth House Theatre), The Wiper’s Times (Arts Theatre), and Singin’ in the Rain (Théâtre du Châtelet). His television work includes Penny Dreadful; and for film, Muppets Most Wanted and The Reunion.
Garry Robson plays Arvide Abernathy. His theatre credits include Our Country’s Good (Nottingham Playhouse/Ramps on the Moon), Pericles (National Theatre), White Christmas (Curve, Leicester), Kiss Me Quickstrep (Queen’s Hornchurch/Theatr Clwyd), Our Town (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Reasons to be Cheerful (Graeae), The Threepenny Opera (New Wolsey Theatre/Graeae/West Yorkshire Playhouse/Nottingham Playhouse/Birmingham Rep), The Who’s Tommy (New Wolsey Theatre/Ramps on the Moon) and Blanche and Butch (BoP).
Alex Young returns to Sheffield to play Sarah Brown – she previously appeared in Standing at the Sky’s Edge,Show Boat (also New London Theatre) and Anything Goes (also UK tour). Her other theatre work includes Me and My Girl (Chichester Festival Theatre), Follies (National Theatre), Carousel (ENO), Promises Promises (Southwark Playhouse), Bette Midler and Me (The Gilded Balloon), I Can’t Sing (London Palladium) and High Society (UK tour).
Robert Hastie’s recent productions as Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres include Standing at the Sky’s Edge, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The York Realist (co-production with the Donmar Warehouse – Evening Standard Theatre Award nomination for Best Director), The Wizard of Oz, Of Kith and Kin (co-production with Bush Theatre), Julius Caesar, and the forthcoming Coriolanus. Previous directing credits include Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe), Breaking the Code (Royal Exchange Manchester), Henry V (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Theatr Clwyd). As an Associate Director of the Donmar Warehouse, his work includes My Night with Reg by Kevin Elyot (Donmar Warehouse/West End – Best Newcomer nomination at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, and Best Revival nomination at the Olivier Awards) and Splendour by Abi Morgan. His other directing credits include Carthage and Events While Guarding The Bofors Gun (Finborough Theatre), Sunburst (Holborn Grange Hotel), Sixty-Six Books (Bush Theatre) and A Breakfast of Eels (Print Room).
Sheffield Theatres Listings
Crucible Lyceum Studio 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA
Box Office 0114 249 6000 –Mon – Sat 10am to 8pm
On non-performance days the Box Office closes at 6pm.
29th November 2019 – 12th January 2020 | Secret Central Manchester Location
Arden & Moore are proud to announce a brand-new pop-up horror experience coming to Manchester over the festive period. Survive the Nightmare is set to blur the lines between theatre and sound design, creating a profoundly immersive sonic performance which will take audiences to the depths of their imagination. This scare attraction is a truly alternative festive experience for those who like their cheer in the form of screams.
Given the nature of the attraction the experience is strictly for those aged sixteen and above.
Writer and director Thomas Moore said:
“I’ve always wanted to make a truly terrifying show that appeals to thrill-seekers who want to go beyond watching a horror film and experience one. I can’t wait to share our nightmare with Manchester audiences and terrify the wits out of them.”
Producer Sarah Arden said:
“We are delighted to be bringing the first in the ‘Survive the Nightmare’ series to Manchester. We’re looking forward to giving audiences a chance to immerse themselves in another world, and to experience a truly alternative festive experience. This is definitely one for those who are more inclined to thrillers than festive cheer!”
Following the Manchester run, Survive the Nightmare is set to head to London in 2020. Further details will be announced in due course.
Amanda Vilanova’s Hurricane Diaries is a moving and passionate tribute to her home country, Puerto Rico. Her play will tug at the heartstrings of anyone who has moved away from their home, culture and family, but it is impossible to imagine what it must have been like to watch the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Maria from an ocean away.
On an almost bare stage evoking a home after the storm has passed, stacked with cardboard boxes and bordered by pots and pans catching drips of water that provide a constant accompaniment to the performance, Vilanova reads entries from a diary. Her mother’s memories of Hurricane Hugo before Amanda was born and Amanda’s memories of Hurricane Georges in 1998, viewing the devastation through the horrified eyes of a child, are recalled in between telling Amanda’s life story and her subsequent decision to leave the island.
We are also given a quick Spanish lesson and an irreverent and rebellious history lesson, complete with flip chart and maps, detailing the exploitation of Puerto Rico since Columbus and his “pirates” landed. The United States’ attitude to and treatment of the Puerto Ricans is shocking and Vilanova’s anger and frustration is palpable. Her joy at Puerto Rican victories over US teams is infectious and volcanic as David finally gets one over on Goliath. Wepa! (Just imagine how Wales and Scotland feel when we beat England at rugby and multiply by 1000.) Salsa music drifts over the story at times to act as a salve after particularly testing moments in Vilanova’s personal story, but she doesn’t sugar-coat the Puerto Rican authorities’ response to student strikes or the attitude of some Puerto Rican men towards women.
Under Oliver Hamilton’s assured direction, Vilanova’s writing becomes almost hypnotic as her story builds, with her delivery and performance drawing in the audience with ease and lightening the mood with a killer one-liner when things threaten to get too heavy. Her final story from the book is about the mango tree in her family’s garden, leafless after Maria, but now beginning to bud, ending with a wonderful message of hope, resilience and new life after catastrophe – for the tree, her family and Puerto Rico.
A spellbinding story of love, loss and belonging that needs to be heard.
The Bunker has been transformed into The Anchor, with working bar, pool table and dubious carpeting (that will hopefully get stickier and stickier throughout the run for added authenticity) for Anna Jordan’s enthralling new play. The Anchor has been sold and the regulars are running a book on what will be built on the site as Pimlico is gentrified.
On the pub’s last day of trading, after a big party the night before, most of the taps have run dry and only a couple of regulars are in. The Anchor means different things to each of them, but it is their anchor in the uncertain post-Brexit summer of 2016. Pearl (Alex Jarrett) almost grew up in the pub, spending her childhood watching her mother flirt with men, but now taking care of her mum as her mental illness escalates, and Bilbo (Daniel Kendrick) has been taken in off the street after a life in foster care and mental health units. Frank (David Killick) was a friend and rival of landlord Kenny’s father, spending every day in the pub as the world outside gets more and more confusing, and scaffolder Shaun (Alan Turkington), working and drinking in London during the week and returning home to his wife and family on the weekends. Landlord Kenny (Valentine Hanson) is a broken man, losing his wife and his pub in quick succession.
The characters’ monologues are a highlight, as each talk at intervals about memories (or trying to keep hold of them in poor Frank’s case), their bonds with the pub and the regulars, and their life outside the pub. In between there is lots of fantastic comedy and brilliant one-liners. The entire cast give incredible performances, but Daniel Kendrick is heart-breaking as Bilbo, who will have nothing and no-one when the pub closes, nailing the hopelessness and helplessness of the character.
Jordan has written memorable and multi-layered characters that you can’t help but empathise with. The way their secrets are revealed throughout the play feels organic and the sudden mood swings, threats of violence and sudden truces are exactly what you’d expect in an alcohol fuelled emotional situation. The story meanders like any good tale told by a drunk in a pub, with a few dances and songs thrown in, but director Chris Sonnex keeps everything on track with aplomb.
Jordan’s play is a moving story, told masterfully – a theatrical wake for lost community, lost love and lost lives – and like the most memorable wakes veers between laughter and silliness, anger and regret and quiet moments of reflection.
The Leeds Playhouse has opened their doors following its impressive renovation and Trojan Horse is the first production to be hosted. It takes place in the newly refurbished Courtyard Theatre and the audience’s anticipation lingers when the five person cast crew sit at their desks and wait for the performance to begin.
LUNG, a Barnsley based Theatre Company, in association with Leeds Playhouse presents Trojan Horse which is accompanied by Faisal Hussain’s Gove Horse. LUNG uses original sources to create work that addresses relevant issues including those politically, socially and economically. Trojan Horse is no exception and this production takes the opportunity to investigate what really happened behind the scenes other than media headlines and the Government’s so called policy based approaches. Written by Helen Monks and Matt Woodhead the production explores the grave impact of communities in Birmingham following the controversial Operation Trojan Horse that the Government initiated. The initiation, from a leaked letter, stated that ‘hardline’ Muslim teachers and governors were conspiring and planning to plot extremism in their schools.
Under the direction of Matt Woodhead, in a classroom setting, the stage is set for the stories, based on real life interviews and testimonies by those affected from the Government inquiry, to be shared and be shared in ways that nobody would have imagined as they probably only had the sensationalised media coverage to rely on. From the beginning to end the stories and experiences are very eye opening, triggers shockingly provoked thoughts and uncomfortable hearing. The inquiry has had long lasting impacts both personally and in society to many and how this changed the communities’ lives forever. The impacts are solidified further from a Q&A panel afterwards with members who were directly and indirectly involved with the scandalous enquiry.
The investigative narrative is excellently projected and it documents how destructive approaches were in conducting the inquiry which turned out to be inconclusive. It testifies how limited the narrative was and how it was conducted with influences of mainstream media, institutionalised racial and cultural divisions and general ignorance. A comment is shared from the Q&A panel afterwards how one can’t underestimate the trajectory of Trojan Horse and real life experiences. Still the consequential impact of the inquiry is still felt by many today and generations to come and hence why these stories from those communities need to be shared.
The five person cast crew portrays excellently the characters, covering the pupils, teachers, governors and education professionals. It was emphasised from the Q&A panel that it is important to share this narrative to a wider audience, particularly in arts and culture settings, and to tackle the consequences to those issues. They also emphasise that using regular dialogues are essential and the way forward to tackling the negative impacts the communities are still experiencing years later. Yes the truth has to be told; there are at least two sides to every story and hearing them one knows why! Trojan Horse is a very important and unmissable production!
SHEFFIELD THEATRES ANNOUNCE SEASON FOR SPRING/SUMMER 2020
Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, Robert Hastie, today announces the new Spring/Summer 2020 season.
The new season opens with the world première of Chloë Moss’ Run Sister Run in a co-production with Paines Plough and Soho Theatre, and directed by Paines Plough’s new co-Artistic Director Charlotte Bennett. Tom Bateman then makes his Sheffield Theatres’ debut in the title role of Coriolanus, adapted and directed by Hastie – seeing him return to Shakespeare’s political play after his critically acclaimed inaugural production of Julius Caesar.
In a co-production with Dante or Die, Sheffield People’s Theatre stage Everybody’s Got to Leave Sometime; and then, continuing the company’s association with Ramps on the Moon they play host to their new production of Oliver Twist, in a co-production with Leeds Playhouse – one of two plays this season by Bryony Lavery.
This is followed by This is What She Said to Me in a co-production with Utopia Theatre. Written by Oladipo Agboluaje, it was conceived from an idea by Moji Elufowoju, who also directs. Completing the season is Justin Martin’s production Oscar and the Pink Lady, again by Bryony Lavery, and adapted from the novel by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt.
Artistic Director Robert Hastie said today, “In recent months, Standing at the Sky’s Edge and Life of Pi have proved the importance of putting new work at the centre of our programme. Next season sees us continue this commitment to new writing with four world premières across our stages – Run Sister Run; Here’s What She Said To Me; Oscar and the Pink Lady and Everybody’s Got to Leave Sometime. Three are by British writers whose heart and humour leap off the page, and one co-created with Sheffield People’s Theatre, our company of Sheffield citizens whose determination to break new ground with every project is inspirational. It’s also brilliant to partner with Paines Plough, Utopia Theatre, Dante or Die and to continue our association with Ramps on the Moon – pioneering companies who are bringing vital new ideas and new ways of collaborating to our buildings.
“We compliment the new, with one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays – Coriolanus, and a society in turmoil. The old ways are being challenged by a new breed of political player, and caught in the middle is a famous soldier whose ambition clashes with his contempt for the people he wants to lead. Beginning my tenure at Sheffield by directing Julius Caesar showed me the power of big Roman plays in the Crucible’s forum-like auditorium. It’s a public stage for big ideas and bold performers, and I’m thrilled to be working with Tom Bateman on Coriolanus as he returns to the stage to play the title role.”
STUDIO
A Sheffield Theatres, Paines Plough and Soho Theatre Production
RUN SISTER RUN
By Chloë Moss
Director: Charlotte Bennett
27 February – 21 March
‘You can’t pick your family but if you could I’d still pick you’
Connie and Ursula are sisters, connected by the same beginning but heading in different directions.
Spanning four decades up to the present day, nurture competes with nature as the pair navigate their unbreakable bond. From award-winning playwright Chloë Moss, this story of family, love and dependence asks who gets it right?
Chloë Moss is an accomplished playwright and screenwriter. Her celebrated play This Wide Night (Clean Break, Soho Theatre, 2008) won the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn prize and was subsequently produced off-Broadway, starring Edie Falco. She has written numerous other plays including The Gatekeeper (Royal Exchange Theatre, 2012), Fatal Light (for Clean Break at Soho Theatre, 2010 and 2011), Catch (Royal Court Theatre, 2006), and How Love Is Spelt (Bush Theatre, 2004, and New York’s Summer Play Festival, 2005). She has also written extensively for television, including Six Wives (BBC One) and Dickensian (Red Planet Pictures), and written episodes for New Tricks (BBC One), The Smoke (Kudos), and Prisoner’s Wives and The Secret Diary of A Call Girl (Tiger Aspect). She has also written Care, a single drama for Warp Films and Sky Arts, and an original series Switch, co-written with Tim Price, for Touchpaper / ITV2.
Charlotte Bennett directs. She is Joint Artistic Director of Paines Plough. Previously she was Associate Director at Soho Theatre where she led the new writing department, developing artists and commissions and programming the upstairs studio. For Soho she has directed Whitewash by Gabriel Bisset-Smith, Happy Hour by Jack Rooke, curated a six-month off-site arts festival in Waltham Forest and led playwriting competition the Verity Bargate Award. Prior to this she was Artistic Director of Forward Theatre Project; an artists’ collective she founded. For Forward Theatre Project she made and directed new plays which toured nationally inspired by working in partnership with different communities around the UK and at venues including National Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Northern Stage, Derby Theatre, Live Theatre and The Lowry. As a freelance director she has worked extensively for Open Clasp Theatre Company, creating new plays inspired by marginalised women in the North-East. She also held the role of Creative Producer for theatre company RashDash where she toured experimental new theatre around the UK.
CRUCIBLE
A Sheffield Theatres production
CORIOLANUS
By William Shakespeare
Adapted and Directed by Robert Hastie
6 – 28 March
Cast Includes: Tom Bateman
‘What is the city but the people?’
Celebrated super soldier Coriolanus is propelled to power, only to lose the trust of the people. Torn down from his pedestal, banished at the height of his fury, he unites with an old enemy to bring down the city he once fought for.
This contemporary take on Shakespeare’s play about the disconnect between the rulers and the ruled follows Artistic Director Robert Hastie’s critically acclaimed Julius Caesar.
Tom Bateman makes his Sheffield Theatres’ debut as Coriolanus. For theatre, his credits include The Winter’s Tale/ Harlequinade (Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company at Garrick Theatre), Shakespeare in Love (Noël Coward Theatre), Lizzie Siddal (Arcola Theatre), The Duchess of Malfi (The Old Vic), The Lion in Winter (Theatre Royal Haymarket) and Much Ado About Nothing (Wyndham’s Theatre). For television his work includes Beecham House, Vanity Fair, Cold Feet, Jekyll & Hyde, The Honourable Woman, The Tunnel, Da Vinci’s Demons, Parade’s End and Vanity Fair; and for film, Cold Pursuit, Murder On The Orient Express, Snatched, B&B, The Creditors, and the forthcoming Death on the Nile.
Robert Hastie’s recent productions as Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres include Standing at the Sky’s Edge, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The York Realist (co-production with the Donmar Warehouse – Evening Standard Theatre Award nomination for Best Director), The Wizard of Oz, Of Kith and Kin (co-production with Bush Theatre) and Julius Caesar. Previous directing credits include Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe), Breaking the Code (Royal Exchange Manchester), Henry V (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Theatr Clwyd). As an Associate Director of the Donmar Warehouse, his work includes My Night with Reg by Kevin Elyot (Donmar Warehouse/West End – Best Newcomer nomination at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, and Best Revival nomination at the Olivier Awards) and Splendour by Abi Morgan. His other directing credits include Carthage and Events While Guarding The Bofors Gun (Finborough Theatre), Sunburst (Holborn Grange Hotel), Sixty-Six Books (Bush Theatre) and A Breakfast of Eels (Print Room).
A Sheffield People’s Theatre and Dante or Die Production
EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEAVE SOMETIME
May 2020
Everybody’s Got To LeaveSometime follows one person’s decision to create a personalised funeral plan, and the repercussions that has on their family, friends and unexpected new connections.
This surprising, humorous and personal look at how we deal with the end of life sees Sheffield People’s Theatre collaborate with renowned site-specific company Dante or Die. In a unique theatrical experience, at a yet to be revealed location, you’ll be led through a series of intimate experiences by a 50-strong cast.
Tickets will be on sale shortly.
A Leeds Playhouse Production in Co-Production with Ramps on the Moon
OLIVER TWIST
A new play by Bryony Lavery
Written by Charles Dickens
13 – 23 May
Director: Amy Leach
Born into poverty and misfortune, Oliver Twist escapes the workhouse for a life of adventure where he joins the Artful Dodger, Fagin and their mischievous gang of pick pockets. But the enjoyment is short lived as he falls under the influence of the vicious Bill Sykes. This bold, brutal and beautiful new version of Oliver Twist sends you on a dark adventure through the twisted streets of London.
Adapted by award-winning playwright Bryony Lavery, every performance of Oliver Twist will feature the use of integrated creative sign language, audio description and captioning. Oliver Twist is in association with Ramps on The Moon, who are committed to putting D/deaf and disabled artists and audiences at the centre of their work.
Amy Leach directs. She joined Leeds Playhouse as Associate Director in 2017. For the venue, her credits there include Hamlet, A Christmas Carol and Road within the theatre’s acclaimed Pop-Up Season; and Talking Heads, Queen of Chapeltown, Romeo and Juliet, Kes, The Night Before Christmas and Little Sure Shot. She is committed to placing accessibility and inclusion at the centre of her work, and was instrumental in forming Leeds Playhouse’s partnership with Mind the Gap’s Staging Change initiative which encourages professional opportunities for learning disabled actors and creatives.
STUDIO
A Sheffield Theatres and Utopia Theatre Production
Meet three generations of women on two continents and follow their need to connect with each other across time and space. Together they confront the secrets of their past in order to find healing in the present.
Here’s What She Said to Me is a kaleidoscope of music, ritual, poetry and movement; a story about
what it is to be a daughter and a mother, a story of migration and shifting identity and a compelling tale of hope, optimism and resilience in the face of life’s broken promises.
Oladipo Agboluaje’s plays include Early Morning, The Christ of Coldharbour Lane, The Hounding of David Oluwale and New Nigerians. He is the 2018/19 writer in residence of the National Theatre.
Moji Elufowoju directs. She is a British born Nigerian award-winning director and founder of Utopia Theatre. She is a recipient of a 2017 Opera Awards Foundation bursary, a founding member of Mosaic Opera Collective, and currently a guest director at the LAMDA and at London South Bank University. She is a staff director at the National Theatre, working alongside Nadia Fall, Three Sisters by Inua Ellams. Other credits include Far Gone (Theatre Deli – Sheffield) The Bogus Woman (Camden People’s Theatre), On Missing (The Cockpit Theatre), Shadows In Different Shades (Work In Progress – Sheffield Theatre), The Pied Piper Of Chibok Opera (Opera North Residency and Arcola Theatre), I am David Oluwale (Work In Progress- Leeds Playhouse), Iyalode of Eti (Leeds Playhouse, Sheffield Crucible, Cast – Doncaster and Ake Festival Nigeria), London Tales (Rich Mix and Lost Theatre), This Is Our Chance (Cultural Centre Calabar, Nigeria), The Shepherd’s Chameleon (CLF Art Cafe 2013), House of Corrections (Riverside Studios), and Wake Me When It’s Time (York Theatre Royal).
CRUCIBLE
A Sheffield Theatres Production
World Première
OSCAR AND THE PINK LADY
Based on the novel by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Adapted for the stage by Bryony Lavery
26 June – 18 July
Director: Justin Martin
Oscar is 10. He lives in a children’s hospital. It’s a frantic, magnificent and scary place, and he feels
very much alone. Granny Rose is old. She’s a hospital volunteer and knows a lot about wrestling. And she doesn’t mind telling the truth about grown-up stuff.
With little time and big questions, Oscar embarks on a fast-forward adventure through life and all
of the moves it has to throw at him — first love, responsibility and kissing with tongues.
A magical new play by Bryony Lavery, based on the novel by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Oscar and the Pink Lady reminds us to live every day like it’s the last.
Eric-Émmanuel Schmitt is Franco–Belgian playwright, short story writer, novelist, and film director.
His novels and short stories include Mr Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran, Oscar and The Lady in Pink, Madame Pylinska and Chopin’s Secrecy, Ulysses from Baghdad, Night of Fire, The Man Who Could See Through Faces and Odette Toulemonde. His books have been translated into 46 languages and been adapted for both the stage and screen. He is the author of more than 20 original plays including Enigma Variations (with Alain Delon), The Libertine, Frederick or the Crime Boulevard, Between Worlds, Partners In Crime (with Charlotte Rampling), Oscar and The Lady In Pink (with Danielle Darrieux), Si On Recommencait (with Michel Sardou),and several adaptations, including Milady (based on Dumas Three Musketeers), Le Bossu, Twenty-Four Hours In The Life Of A Woman (based on Stefan Zweig’s novel), and a new adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank. His film and television credits include Mr Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran (with Omar Sharif), Odette Toulemonde, Oscar and The Lady in Pink (with Michele Laroque and Max von Sydow), and a TV mini-series of Les Liasions Dangereuse (with Catherine Deneuve and Rupert Everett). He is a member of the Goncourt Jury, and The Royal Belgian Academy or French Language and Literature.
Bryony Lavery returns to Sheffield Theatres, where her play Queen Coal premièred in 2014. Her play Frozen, won TMA Best Play Award, the Eileen Anderson Central Television Award and was produced on Broadway where it was nominated for four Tony Awards, and most recently in the West End at Theatre Royal Haymarket. She has collaborated three times with Frantic Assembly on Stockholm – which won the Wolff-Whiting award for best play of 2008, Beautiful Burnout Fringe First award at Edinburgh Festival, before touring the UK, New York, Australia and New Zealand; and most recently The Believers. Other work includes The Lovely Bones (Birmingham Rep and UK tour), The Midnight Gang (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Borrowers (Storyhouse), Brighton Rock (Pilot Theatre), Last Easter, Kursk – with Sound and Fury at the Young Vic and Sydney Opera House; A Christmas Carol (Chichester, Birmingham and West Yorkshire Playhouse), Thursday (ETT/Brink in Adelaide and Canberra), Dirt (Studio Theater, Washington DC – nominated for Best New Play, Helen Hayes Award), A Doll’s House (Manchester Royal Exchange), Her Aching Heart and A Wedding Story. She is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature, an honorary Doctor of Arts at De Montfort University and an Associate Artist at Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
Justin Martin directs. His most recent credits include The Jungle (co-director with Stephen Daldry – Young Vic/Playhouse West End/St Ann’s Warehouse New York/Curran San Francisco), Low Level Panic (Galway Theatre Festival/Irish National Tour/Old Fitz Sydney), Fifty Two (Leicester Square Theatre), Harvey and Frieda (Arcola Theatre), Skintight/Far Away (both at fortyfivedownstairs Melbourne), and Last Chance (Young Vic). He was the associate director on The Inheritance (Young Vic/Noël Coward Theatre), Skylight (Wyndham’s Theatre) and The Audience (Gielgud Theatre), all of which transferred to Broadway. He also worked with John Tiffany and Steven Hoggett on the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of Let The Right One In (NTS/Royal Court Theatre/Apollo Theatre/St Ann’s Warehouse, New York). He was an associate director on Billy Elliot The Musical working on Broadway, throughout North America, Korea, Amsterdam and Australia. Alongside this he is working with Stephen Daldry and Peter Morgan on their television series The Crown. In 2005, he was the inaugural recipient of the Roger Leach Award for Theatre.
Sheffield Theatres Listings
Crucible Lyceum Studio 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA
Box Office 0114 249 6000 –Mon – Sat 10am to 8pm
On non-performance days the Box Office closes at 6pm.
