Month: November 2019

VAULT Festival go on-sale with first shows for
2020

VAULT Festival, one of the largest curated arts festivals in the world, has launched tickets for its first round of shows for their 2020 incarnation. Every Tuesday more productions will be revealed until the full programme is released on Tuesday 3rd December. VAULT Festival will return for its eighth year with eight weeks of the best new theatre and comedy, immersive experiences, cabaret, live performance and late-night parties. Head underground from Tuesday 28th January until Sunday 22nd March 2020 for London’s biggest, boldest and wildest arts festival!

In 2020, performances will take place in 18 spaces across Waterloo and the South Bank with the central hub underground in The Vaults on Leake Street. The Cockatiel at Hello Darling is a new intimate comedy venue, and The Festival will also return to The Network Theatre and Vaulty Towers as well as hosting pop-ups in the local area. The Gift Horse Stage at The Horse & Stables pub will see half its profits support Child.org’s Team Mum Campaign, helping to fund pregnancy services in rural Kenya that offer health information and medical support for new mothers.

The VAULT Festival Directors and Producers Mat Burt and Andy George comment, This year’s festival is bigger and bolder than ever before. There is a real sense of crisis and hunger for change from the artists we’re working with. We still believe in the collective impact this festival can have on the industry, our artists, and our audiences

Over the years VAULT Festival has showcased some of the very best shows from both established and emerging artists, and at the same time has become a hotbed for brand new audience experiences that shatter the status-quo. It’s vitally important to us that VAULT Festival is providing a platform for underrepresented voices and stories to be heard.

The diversity of the Festival goes beyond the demographics of those making the works, but also looks to the style, content and formats of every piece. A welcoming, vibrant, and inviting place for people from all backgrounds, the VAULT Festival 2020 programme expands what live performance can be and who it belongs to – everyone is welcome. The Festival intends to take the temperature of what the best artists in the UK believe work should be discussing and reflect the most urgent conversations happening. This year features some of the most radical and exciting new work from the most promising new and experienced artists and companies.

At the forefront is the climate crisis and VAULT Festival are continuing their commitment to becoming more sustainable, this year partnering with Staging Change, an organisation committed to promoting environmentally sustainable practices in the theatre industry. Building on their use of paperless tickets, compostable food packaging, and removal of single-use plastics, VAULT Festival will also participate in the Green Earth Appeal’s Carbon-Free Dining campaign, which gives diners the option to donate to offset the Carbon footprint of their meal by planting trees in developing countries. All Festival posters and flyers will be printed in an environmentally sustainable way. This sustainability focus is reflected in Eco-Week in Week 4 with shows such as Matt Winning’s It’s the End of the World as We Know It and the Staging Change Award winner, the carbon-neutral musical adventure How To Save A Rock.

In 2020, VAULT will look outward to bring global stories to the heart of London. A devised piece exploring the ongoing Hong Kong protests against China’s Extradition Bill, Freedom Hi 閪 is an urgent reflection on the right to protest and the gendered experience of political resistance. Far Gone is inspired by writer John Rwothomach’s own experiences of nearly being kidnapped by Joseph Kony’s guerrilla rebel group to become a child soldier in Uganda. It explores the complexity of war and the relationship between the West and narratives of ‘Africa’. Inspired by India’s legalisation of homosexuality in 2018, Santi & Naz is a queer love story set against the backdrop of the partition of India, arguably the greatest humanitarian crisis of modern times. From across the Atlantic, Alex Edelman brings the award-winning Just For Us to London which details his astonishing encounter when, following anti-Semitic online abuse, Edelman decided to covertly attend a meeting of those same anti-Semites.

The 2020 Festival also provides a platform for championing queer identity and LGBTQIA+ communities. Lesbian student Regi and gay journalist Babs put their friendship to the test when they plan to marry to fool the authorities back home in Nigeria about who they truly love in How We Love. A comedy spoken word show about gender, the media and not fitting any of the boxes, Too Pretty To Punch is full of explosive original songs and kickass video projection. Wigs Snatched, Perceptions Destroyed is the fake TED talk that needs to go viral as Erinn Dhesi teaches how to monetise and curate your online presence while maintaining just enough of your dignity and identity. Following their sell-out run at VAULT Festival 2019, The LOL Word are back with their Coming Out Special with brand new stand-up about all things queer.

Entertaining and educating audiences on the impact of illness was at the heart of both the Pleasance and the Summerhall Award winners at the Fringe this year with shows based on personal experience. VAULT Festival’s Pick of Pleasance Award winner, Madame Ovary is about the usual struggle a 20-something has with trying to stay relevant alongside the less typical struggle of trying to stay alive following Rosa Hesmondhalgh’s ovarian cancer diagnosis. Summerhall Award Winner, First Time is a funny and heartfelt solo-performance about HIV+ theatremaker Nathaniel Hall’s experience growing up positive in a negative world. Also coming to the Festival, Supernova is the candid and hilarious pop-culture romp which explores what it’s like to date when dealing with depression. LOVE (Watching Madness) is the searingly honest show about the complexities of loving someone with mental illness and how it feels to care for someone with bipolar disorder who can’t always show that they care for you

A story about disability and the Me Too movement, Tinted tells audiences to forget the Undatables, because disabled people are cool, funny and sexy, and their bodily autonomy deserves real respect. STAGES is the interactive video game musical with an electronic soundtrack about a teenage boy with autism and what happens when the code of our lives gets rewritten. Blow: A Deaf Girl’s Fight follows Hannah: young, female and deaf, she’s used to fighting, but things get a whole lot harder when she steps into a tough 80s boxing ring.

VAULT Festival continues to stage the most innovative, off-the-wall and creative shows out there. Coming Out of my Cage (And I’ve been doing just fine) is an interactive investigation, through the medium of Karaoke, of how The Killers’ song became a cultural touchstone. The Sex Ed Show from the House of Burlesque will tickle your funnybone, challenge your mind and broaden your horizons: in safe, supportive, rhinestone-gloved hands. Dance with deities, chat with cherubim and grind heavenly bodies with Xnthony and his apostles who are ready to offer Deluxe Access into Paradise. Soho Drag Lab will showcase the best of the best in the new wave of cabaret and drag, expect avant-garde, glitzy, powerful, political and outrageous work. Beach Body Ready is a defiantly feelgood show which sticks two fingers up at the media’s beauty standards, while Fanboy is a love letter to the things we adore absolutely, unconditionally and obsessively. With pirate queens and space revolutionaries, Asian Pirate Musical explores freedom, found families, and finding fun in the face of our future. Bin Juice has got mobsters, wipe-down aprons and a gruelling interview process for a toxic waste removal company, while nobody is quite sure what it is that Tony Law has but a Dadaist, surreal and absurd hour about how he Identifies

The Free Association will bring some their acclaimed improvisation underground. With crime, justice and utter nonsense, The Badge is the riotously funny all-star cop show while The Nearly News Show offers comprehensive in-depth analysis of the audience’s biggest headlines. I’m Not Here to Make Friends is a juicy and scandalous new reality TV show; Important Art seeks to unearth lost cultural treasures to the audience, lovingly restored and entirely improvised; Starry Starry Eyes is the totally improvised singing talent show you never knew you needed. Super group sensation Sorry are back with a special guest who will prompt the show every night, while the special guest in Jacuzzi will take a one-word suggestion from the audience to inspire a monologue and RAD party is the raucously irresponsible show based on the audience’s wildest and weirdest party stories. LGBTQFA will star some of The Free Associations best queer performers and the Minority Report will be presented by exclusively BAME players.

And this is only a sampling of the first round of shows on-sale so don’t miss out on some of the most innovative work around, and make sure to check back on the website as more and more goes live! Head to vaultfestival.com over the next month for more information about the shows heading to Waterloo in the new year. VAULT Festival promises to ignite the cold winter nights of 2020.

Yvonne Arnaud – until 16 November 2019

Reviewed by Heather Chalkley

5*****

Terry Johnson, writer and director, has captured beautifully the essence of an old man’s memories as he slips into dementia. He uses to great effect the backdrop of famous films such as African Queen and a whole host of leading ladies from the golden era of Hollywood, to bring to life the scenes he is reliving in his mind. You become lost in time yourself.

Jack Cardiff (Robert Lindsay) came from a Vaudeville family, growing up around stage and film. It seems fitting that towards the end of his life, reality became a re run of scenes from his career as a cinematographer. Lindsay (Cardiff) delivers the smooth flow of dialogue like liquid gold. You believe every moment. Tara Fitzgerald (Nicola) shows the pain of an ever present, long forgotten wife with grace. Her representation of Katharine Hepburn was remarkable and clearly well studied. You like the carer Lucy (Victoria Blunt) straight away. The inner knowing that she is a good carer shines through the outward lack of confidence. As her back story unfolds you cannot help but like her a bit more. Blunt is able to take on with ease the voices and persona of distinctive characters like Marilyn Munroe and Lauren Bacall. Together with Oliver Hembrough (Mason) the cast work seamlessly as one unit.

As Jack Cardiff himself said, “The director and cameraman work together to create an atmosphere.” In this case The Director (Terry Johnson) and The Creative Team bring cinema magic to the stage, with moving pictures and scenes from that golden age. A beautiful play that will touch your heart.

LAURA WADE’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED THE WATSONS

TRANSFERS TO THE WEST END

“A beautifully bold production. A stunning play.” ★★★★★ Guardian

★★★★★ Metro ★★★★★ The Stage ★★★★ Times ★★★★ Financial Times ★★★★ Telegraph ★★★★ Evening Standard ★★★★ Time Out ★★★★ Daily Express

Chocolate Factory Productions and Sonia Friedman Productions present

The Chichester Festival Theatre and Menier Chocolate Factory production of

THE WATSONS

A new play by Laura Wade

Adapted from the unfinished novel by Jane Austen

Director: Samuel West; Designer: Ben Stones; Lighting Designer: Richard Howell

Sound Designer: Gregory Clarke; Movement: Mike Ashcroft; Music: Isobel Waller-Bridge

Casting Director: Charlotte Sutton

Following sold-out runs at both Chichester Festival Theatre and the Menier Chocolate Factory, Laura Wade’s The Watsons transfers to the West End in 2020. The production opens at the Harold Pinter Theatre on 19 May, with previews from 8 May, and runs until 26 September. Public booking opens on 15 November, priority booking is open now.

“Laura Wade triumphs spinning Jane Austen into major theatrical gold” Variety

Directed by Samuel West, The Watsons played to critical acclaim at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2018, and completes its run at the Menier this Saturday, 16 November.

“Excellent. Jane Austen has never been quite so much fun.” The Times

Nineteen and new in town, Emma Watson’s been cut off by her wealthy aunt. She needs to marry, and fast, or be faced with a life of poverty and spinsterhood stuck in her humdrum family home.

Luckily, she has plenty of prospective suitors asking to dance, from dashing socialite Tom Musgrave to the stinking rich, socially awkward Lord Osborne. Which partner to pick?

So far, so familiar, but that’s when Jane Austen stopped writing. Two hundred years on, her forgotten heroine’s happy ending still hangs in the balance.

Picking up an unfinished novel, Olivier Award-winner Laura Wade’s ‘ingenious and triumphant’ (Evening Standard) new comedy pops the bonnet on Jane Austen’s worldand asks: what happens when a writer loses the plot and fictional characters take control of their tale?

Laura Wade is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Her credits include Home, I’m Darling (Theatr Clwyd, National Theatre, Duke of York’s Theatre and UK tour – Olivier Award for Best New Comedy), Tipping the Velvet (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, adapted from the novel by Sarah Waters), Posh (Royal Court Theatre and West End), Alice (Sheffield Theatres), Kreutzer vs. Kreutzer (Sydney Opera House and Australian Tour, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Royal Festival Hall and UK tour), Other Hands (Soho Theatre), Colder Than Here (Soho Theatre and MCC Theatre New York), Breathing Corpses (Royal Court Theatre), Young Emma (Finborough Theatre), and 16 Winters (Bristol Old Vic Basement).  Film credits include The Riot Club and Britain Isn’t Eating.  

Samuel West directs. His directorial work includes After Electra (Tricycle Theatre), Close The Coalhouse Door (Northern Stage), Waste (Almeida Theatre) and Dealer’s Choice (Menier Chocolate Factory/Trafalgar Studios). As Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres he directed the first revival of The Romans in Britain by Howard Brenton, and As You Like It for the RSC’s Complete Works Festival. He also directed Money by Edward Bulwer-Lytton for BBC Radio. As an actor, work includes the title roles in Hamlet and Richard II for the RSC, Jeffrey Skilling in Lucy Prebble’s Enron (Chichester/Royal Court/Noel Coward theatres), three series of Mr Selfridge, the film Howards End, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Suffragette and On Chesil Beach. He is currently filming All Creatures Great and Small.

This production is based on the original Chichester Festival Theatre production which had its world premiere at the Minerva Theatre on 3 November 2018.

www.thewatsonsplay.com

Twitter and Instagram: @TheWatsonsPlay

Facebook: /TheWatsonsPlay

Listings Information                                                                                                                   The Watsons

Harold Pinter Theatre

Panton St, London SW1Y 4DN

Box Office: 0844 871 7622

www.atgtickets.com

Tickets from £15

8 May – 26 September

With an election coming up, what better time to remember the first woman elected to Parliament? Constance Markievicz was elected in 1918 in the first election in which women could vote, and Lynx Theatre and Poetry are bringing Jacqueline Mulhallen’s “stunning and evocative” play about Constance and her sister, Eva Gore-Booth, to the Bread and Roses Theatre in Clapham.

‘Rebels and Friends’ is directed by William Alderson and tells Constance and Eva’s story using over 500 images, poetry, Irish music, and dancing choreographed by Sian Williams, Master of Dance at the Globe Theatre and  choreographer of BBCTV’s Wolf Hall. The new production has been described as ‘Authentic, stirring and poignant’ and ‘Skilfully written, produced and performed’, and is on for two nights on 17th and 18th of November.

Jacqueline Mulhallen, herself the daughter of an Irish emigrant, said “It is staggering that this women are being erased from history. I well know that a lot of the history of Ireland’s struggle for independence is not known to people in this country, whether they have an Irish or British background, and I wanted to bring it to life through these sisters who were not only intimately involved in that struggle, but also major figures in our history.’ Constance was leader of the Dublin Easter Rising and became the first female Cabinet Minister in the World in the (illegal) Irish Dail. Eva was a poet, pacifist, trade unionist and radical suffragist who inspired Christabel Pankhurst to found the suffragettes.

William Alderson, the director, said ‘I wanted to match the rich texture of the sisters’ lives with a richness of production, so we have used archive and location images, music and dance to give the events of the time a powerful presence on the stage.’ Audiences certainly seem to like this production, with reviewers calling it ‘expertly directed’ (Morning Star), and ‘Powerful, imaginative, a tour de force duet of acting and dancing, beautifully choreographed…superb’ (Counterfire). Audiences too are regularly sending comments such as ‘excellent…lots to inspire’, ‘absolutely tremendous’, ‘a fantastic play and great performances’, and ‘imaginative and captivating’.

Rebels and Friends is at the Bread & Roses Theatre, Clapham on 17th & 18th November 97.30 p.m.) and then at the South London Irish Club on 24th (4.30 p.m.) & 25th November (8 p.m.)

CLAPPERBOARD UK TO HOST SPECIAL 10^TH ANNIVERSARY FUNDRAISER SCREENING OF ‘NOWHERE BOY’

WITH Q+A WITH ACCLAIMED WRITER MATT GREENHALGH AND LIVERPOOL ACTOR JOSH BOLT

Clapperboard UK’s Director Maureen Sinclair is delighted to announce the 10th anniversary celebration screening of Nowhere Boy,with acclaimed BAFTA nominated screenwriter, Matt Greenhalgh (Clocking Off, Control, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool) and Liverpool actor Josh Bolt (Nowhere Boy, Last Tango in Halifax, Catch 22). 

They will be joined by other cast and crew members, who will be supporting and attending the very special event on Thursday 5th December, 6pm at Picture House At FACT.  Followed by an exclusive Q+A with Matt Greenhalgh and Josh Bolt.

The evening will be chaired by award-winning Liverpool Producer Colin McKeown (Moving On, Common, Care), there will be a post-reception held at Frederiks on Hope Street.

Nowhere Boy is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, supported by a cast which features British acting royalty Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne-Marie Duff, David Morrissey, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Josh Bolt. The film tells the incredible untold story of a young and rebellious John Lennon and what led him to starting his own band.

A lonely teenager, curious and sharp, grows up in the shattered city of Liverpool. Two women clash for his love: Mimi, the formidable aunt who raised him, and Julia, the spirited mother who gave him up. Yearning for a normal family, John Lennon escapes into music. His fledgling genius finds a kindred spirit in the young Paul McCartney. But just as John’s new life begins, the truth about his past leads to a tragedy he would never escape. Poignant and powerful, this is the untold story of the boy who created The Beatles. Nowhere Boy was adapted from the memoirs of John Lennon’s stepsister.

Sam Taylor-Johnson, Director of Nowhere Boy said: “Nowhere Boy was and still is a significant movie for me both personally and professionally.  You only get to make your first film once, after that the knowledge you gain, both enables you and disarms you of the sweet naivety you have when you step on set for the first time.  I’m so very proud of this movie, what it brought to me and what it in turn gives to the audience.”

Liverpool actor Josh Bolt said: “I can’t quite believe it’s been 10 years since we made Nowhere Boy, it’s such a wonderful film and was such a brilliant experience for me at 14 not to mention an incredible learning curve. I’m so excited to see it on the big screen again and couldn’t think of anyone better to host the evening and bring it back to its hometown than the local charity I support, ClapperboardUK”.

Clapperboard UK’s Director Maureen Sinclair said: “it’s always an honour for me to organise high profile screenings of local home-grown productions.  It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase some of the amazing creative talent we have here on Merseyside and in the Northwest. 

Clapperboard UK has had another successful year having recently graduated a class of ambitious and talented BFI (British Film Institute) Film Academy Students who all gained a National Certificate of Film Education, level 2 in basic Film Production, some have gone on to fulfill their dream of securing employment in the creative industries .  Following another new partnership with the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) after the launch of the #MeToo Media Merseyside project, 2019 has proven to be a rewarding year for the charitable organisation.

Clapperboard UK Ltd is non-profit making and over the past 15 years, worked successfully with more than one thousand young people between the ages of 7-26 across the North West bringing creativity into their lives through film-making.

More information can be found at www.clapperboarduk.com. If you’re interested in Clapperboard youth project, how to become a partner or sponsor please contact

Maureen Sinclair on [email protected] or telephone 07973 783 140.

This year’s partners and sponsors include: PH Holt, BFI, BBFC, Lime Pictures, Liverpool Echo, Liverpool Film Studios, Liverpool Film Office,  Forward Culture, EventSinc,  Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool LJMU, Bill Elms Associates, HMWRK online magazine, The Youth Base, Frederiks, Komo digital design,  Ma Boyle’s, Hope Street Hotel, among others.

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL PANTO ‘FOOL’ KENNY DAVIES TELLS ALL

In what will be his ninth year playing ‘The Fool’ in the legendary Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantomime at City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds lad Kenny Davies reveals why he keeps coming back for more.

Kenny knew he wanted to be an actor from a very early age when his grandmother bought him a plastic guitar that he ‘played’ for family and friends. A pupil at Intake High School, he performed in most school plays and swapped his plastic guitar for a real one, also learning to play the keyboard and drums. He went on to study at Rose Bruford College, London, from where he graduated with a BA Hons Degree in Actor Musicianship. With stage and TV credits to his name, Kenny is best known in his home city for appearing in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantomime at The Varieties.

Q: This will be your ninth Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantomime – what keeps you coming back for more?

A: Apart from Yorkshire being the best county in the UK (!), one of the main reasons I keep coming back is because Leeds is my home town and I feel that I have a connection with The Varieties; I have been performing in shows at the world-famous venue since my first Youth Theatre appearance back in 2000. It’s a tradition now; when I think of Christmas, I think of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto!

Q: Why do you prefer Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantomime over traditional?

A: The reason I love to perform in Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantos over traditional ones is because you get two shows in one – as well as the acting and dancing, you also have the live music aspect. The thrill of being an actor-musician in a show like this is being able to play multiple instruments on stage in front of a live audience – I think this truly improves the experience as the band forms a connection with the audience; it’s organic.

Q: You always play The Fool who never gets the girl – do you not fancy playing Prince Charming to ensure your ‘happily ever after’?!

A: I love playing The Fool as I love slapstick and making people laugh. As for getting the girl, who knows, maybe this year will be my lucky year!

Q: What has been your favourite Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantomime to date? And for what reason?

A: I have loved all the Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantos, I couldn’t possibly pick a favourite.

Q: What has been your favourite part to play? And favourite song to sing?

A: I’ve enjoyed every part I’ve played over the years, but I feel like Buttons has the edge. I’ve played Buttons twice (2012 and 2018), but both times have felt completely different because I’ve worked with a different cast each time. As for my favourite song, I loved singing I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) in Robin Hood.

Q: Can you share any funny stories?

A: When I played Buttons in 2018, I had to wear a yellow wig as part of my costume. In one scene I get bashed on the head and thrown in the well. All was going fine until in one performance, when, as I was bashed, my wig flew off my head and landed in an audience members lap. It was rather embarrassing for both me and the audience member who politely passed it back to me!

Q: Can you divulge any times when things have gone wrong?

A: Due to the nature of the part I play, there are lots of times when I must fall over, walk into a wall, get bashed on the head etc. During Robin Hood there was one scene where I get hit with a mallet – due to a spacing issue, instead of the mallet missing my head, it connected with my face and bust my lip – the show still went on!

Q: Any quirky pre-show rituals?

A: No rituals but I do love pre-show as we (the cast) get the chance to interact with the audience as they are taking their seats. It gives us an opportunity to fire them up and get them excited. We also get to tell the children to shout and be loud – and it provides a great excuse to pinch the audience’s sweets!

Q: And finally, what would be your dream role in any musical?

A: I would love to play the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera; it’s a role I could really get my teeth into.

Kenny can be seen playing Ruffles/Jack Frost in this year’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantomime, Red Riding Hood at City Varieties Music Hall from Friday 29 November 2019 to Sunday 12 January 2020.

“One of the secrets of its success lies with its cast of actor-musicians who waste no time in developing a great rapport with the audience in the intimate atmosphere of this historic old theatre. Full of audience participation you can cheer the goodies, hiss the baddie and shout until you are hoarse and that’s what pantomime is all about.”

(YORKSHIRE EVENING POST – Aladdin, 2017).

Book online at cityvarieties.co.uk or call Box Office on 0113 243 08 08.

The Other Palace, December 2nd, 8pm

Giving performers the opportunity to present the material that they feel best represents themselves, West End Misfits return at The Other Palace for a night of ground-breaking musical theatre and holiday cheer as we celebrate the diversity and imagination of West End performers who just don’t seem to fit into the casting they want to be.

Imagine Evan Hansen sung by a woman, the leading lady taken on by the characterful bass, or the young cast of Matilda replaced with their future selves!

Presenting several contestants from BBC One’s All Together Now, as well as exciting West End royalty, West End Misfits: The Christmas Edition will include such performers as: Chloe Rice (Bugsy Malone, Mayflower Theatre; Liberty Rides Forth, Waterloo East Theatre; Hairspray, Gaiety), Amie Miller (Midlife Cowboy, Jack & the Beanstalk, Carmen), Ben Lancaster (Mythic, Charing Cross Theatre; Victoria, ITV; The Voyager with Josh Garcia, NBC), Ellie Ordish (Beauty and the Beast, CAST; Voices of Power, Pheasantry; Peter Pan, Lamphouse Theatre).

It will be presented by Lara de Belder (Sing: Ultimate A Cappella, Sky One; Comedy Bigmouths, Channel 5), Nic Chiappetta (Beans from Bella and Beans TV; All Together Now, BBC One; Sing: Ultimate A Cappella, Sky One; Vocalist for Avatar World) and Boris Alexander (The Ivan & Andrey Show and Sutreshen Blok (The Morning Show), Bulgarian National TV; Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat, UK tour with Bill Kenwright Productions), as well as being musically directed by Ben Levy (Sweet Charity, Emil Dale Academy; Stars in Your Eyes, Carriageworks Theatre; BBC Children in Need 2019).

This is a show celebrating the unique, different and unusual with a cast of fantastic talent from the stage and your television screen, presenting seasonal favourites for a night of fun, frolics and festive entertainment.

YOU COULD BE 100,000th PANTO VISITOR – OH YES YOU COULD!

One lucky theatre-goer is set to become the 100,000th visitor the annual pantomime since the re-opening of Darlington Hippodrome – and it could be you!

The annual festive family pantomime is an opportunity to share magical theatre memories with friends and family. It’s a chance to immerse yourself in the zany antics, fun and sheer delight of the annual tradition of pantomime. This year, one lucky visitor will be the 100,000th to attend Darlington Hippodrome’s pantomime since our re-opening in November 2017. The lucky individual will be presented with a whole host of goodies including a signed programme and an opportunity to meet the cast of this year’s pantomime – Jack and the Beanstalk.

This year Darlington audiences will be spell-bound with Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas, Britain’s Got Talent winner George Sampson, comedian Phil Walker and comedy actor Daniel Taylor heading the cast of what promises to be another Hippodrome pantomime spectacular.

Shirley Ballas said “This is only my second pantomime having been encouraged to give it a try last year by fellow Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood. I’m so excited to be appearing in Darlington and this wonderful theatre – the restoration is absolutely stunning.”

Britain’s Got Talent winner George Sampson said “This will be my eleventh panto and I am so looking forward to teaming up with Shirley to be able to do some dancing. It has been a dream of mine to do a panto in the north east, this year my dream has come true.”

Jack and the Beanstalk runs at Darlington Hippodrome from Friday 6 December 2019 to Sunday 5 January 2020. To be in with a chance to be the 100,000th pantomime visitor at the newly restored theatre visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk or call 01325 405405.

STEPHEN TOMPKINSON & JESSICA JOHNSON STAR IN

THE 40^TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION OF WILLY RUSSELL’S

EDUCATING RITA

IN 2020 UK TOUR

David Pugh and Theatre by the Lake are delighted to announce that their highly acclaimed production of Willy Russell’s EDUCATING RITA, which toured the UK earlier this year, will have a 40^th anniversary production in 2020, once again touring the UK and starring Stephen Tompkinson as Frank and Jessica Johnson as Rita.  The production is directed by Max Roberts.

The 40^th anniversary production of EDUCATING RITA will open at the Oxford Playhouse on 4 February and the tour will continue through to 23 May, where it finishes at Newcastle Theatre Royal.

EDUCATING RITA tells the story of married hairdresser Rita, who enrols on an Open University course to expand her horizons, and her encounters with university tutor Frank. Frank is a frustrated poet, brilliant academic and dedicated drinker, who is less than enthusiastic about teaching Rita. However, Frank soon finds that his passion for literature is reignited by Rita, whose technical ability for the subject is limited by her lack of education, but whose enthusiasm Frank finds refreshing. The two soon realise how much they have to learn from each other.

The play was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and played at the Warehouse Theatre, London in 1980, starring Julie Walters and Mark Kingston. Julie Walters reprised her role in the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning film opposite Michael Caine.

Born in Liverpool in 1947, Willy Russell left school at 15 and became a women’s hairdresser and part-time singer/songwriter before returning to education to retrain as a teacher. Russell’s other writing credits include the Olivier Award-winning musical Blood Brothers, and the hugely successful play Shirley Valentine, which won the Olivier Awards for Best New Comedy and Best New Actress, and a  Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play. The play was adapted for film and nominated for a host of BAFTA and Academy Awards. Willy Russell continues to be one of the most celebrated writers of his generation with works constantly in production throughout the world as well as in the UK.

Willy Russell said of this tour, “I am delighted that Stephen and Jess are returning next year to play Frank and Rita in the 40th anniversary production of Educating Rita, directed once again by the wonderful Max Roberts – I’m extremely proud to be associated with this marvellous production.”

Stephen Tompkinson’s television credits include ITV’s Torvill & Dean, BBC’s The Split, five series of DCI Banks, four series of Trollied, seven series of Wild at Heart, six series of Drop the Dead Donkey (British Comedy Award Winner for Best TV Comedy Actor) and three series of Ballykissangel, and his films include Phil in Brassed Off. His theatre work includes Spamalot, Rattle of a Simple Man and Arsenic and Old Lace in the West End, Cloaca and A Christmas Carol (Old Vic), Art and Tartuffe (National Tours). 

Stephen Tompkinson said, “We had such a wonderful time touring and performing this last year around the UK.  Audiences respond so well to Willy Russell’s brilliant two-hander.  The response Jess and I receive and their affection for this play and these characters are overwhelming.  I’m thrilled to be a part of this production and to be sharing the stage with Jess again in even more cities next year.”

Jessica Johnson’s theatre credits include Call Me Mary Poppins, Goth Weekend, Kings and Queens, Each Piece and Anti-Gravity at the Live Theatre, Newcastle. She previously played Rita in Rebecca Frecknall’s 2017 production of Educating Rita at the Gala Theatre, Durham. Her television credits include Wire In The Blood (ITV), Coronation Street (ITV) and Cuckoo (Channel 4).

Jessica Johnson said, “Working with Willy, Max and Stephen earlier this year and developing the role of Rita in front of incredible audiences, has been the highlight of my career so far.  It has been a total honour and now I get to do it again in the 40th anniversary production.  I couldn’t be happier.”

Max Roberts is Emeritus Artistic Director of Newcastle’s Live Theatre. Under his direction, the Live Theatre has become one of the country’s most successful theatre companies with an outstanding reputation for developing new work. His Olivier Award-nominated production of Lee Hall’s Cooking With Elvis transferred to the West End’s Whitehall Theatre (now Trafalgar Studios) before touring nationally. He also directed The Pitman Painters, which transferred to the National Theatre and won Best Play at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards before opening on Broadway.

EDUCATING RITA will have set and costume designs by Patrick Connellan, lighting design by Drummond Orr and sound design by David Flynn.

EDUCATING RITA is produced by David Pugh and co-produced by Theatre by the Lake.

Website: educatingrita.co.uk

Twitter.com/EducatingRitaUK

Facebook.com/EducatingRitaPlay

TOUR SCHEDULE 2020

4-8 February                                    Oxford Playhouse                                                    01865 305305

                                                         www.oxfordplayhouse.com                                     

10-15 February                                Kings Theatre, Portsmouth                                      023 9282 8282

                                                         www.kingsportsmouth.co.uk 

17-22 February                                Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne01323 412000                                                                                                                                               www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk  

24-29 February                                Theatre Royal, Glasgow                                           0844 871 7647                                                                                                                                             www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-glasgow

3-7 March                                         Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple                                   01271 316 523                                                                                                                                              www.queenstheatre-barnstaple.com9-14 March                                       Guildford Yvonne Arnaud                                        01483 44 00 00      
www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk                                     on sale 25 November

16-21 March                                     Grand Theatre, Blackpool01253 290 190                                                                                                                                               www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk

24-28 March                                     Rose Theatre Kingston020 8174 0090 

                                                         www.rosetheatrekingston.org                                 

30 March – 4 April                            Lyceum Theatre, Crewe                                           01270 368 242                                                                                                                                              crewelyceum.co.uk                                                 

20-25 April                                        New Theatre, Cardiff        029 2087 8889       www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk

27 April – 2 May                               Royal & Derngate, Northampton                               01604 624811                                                                                                                                           www.royalandderngate.co.uk                                   on sale 18 November

4-9 May                                            Wycombe Swan, High Wycombe                              01494 512 000

                                                         www.wycombeswan.co.uk                                        on sale 15 November

11-16 May                                        King’s Theatre Edinburgh0131 529 6000

                                                         www.capitaltheatres.com                                         on sale 6 January

18-23 May                                        Newcastle Theatre Royal                                         0844 811 2121

                                                         www.theatreroyal.co.uk                                           

MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY

ANNOUNCES NEW BOOKING PERIOD

TO SUNDAY 31 MAY 2020

TICKETS ON SALE FROM 09:00 FRIDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2019

 MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY, the new immersive theatrical and dining experience, now open at The O2 London, is extending its booking period to Sunday 31 May 2020 due to popular demand. New tickets will go on sale from 9.00am on Friday 15 November 2019.

Created by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY is a unique concept that puts guests in the heart of the action: over the course of four hours, they can enjoy a spectacular show, a four-course Mediterranean feast and an ABBA disco, all in one unforgettable evening.

MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY is set in a taverna on the island of Skopelos, where most exteriors of the first MAMMA MIA! film were shot. Nikos and his wife Kate run this exotic and wonderful restaurant together with their family and friends. Told through dialogue and ABBA songs, a warm, romantic and funny story evolves and unfolds during the evening, taking place around the guests as they sit at their tables enjoying a gourmet Greek meal. The evening ends with the main floor transforming into a 1970s disco, where audience members are welcome to stay to sing and dance to original ABBA recordings.

MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY has music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (some songs with Stig Anderson), and a story by Calle Norlén, Roine Söderlundh and Björn Ulvaeus, adapted for the UK by writer, comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig.

The London cast and musicians include (in alphabetical order) Oscar Balmaseda, AJ Bentley, Jonathon Bentley, Molly Cleere, John Donovan, Luke Higgins, Allie Ho Chee, Julia Imbach, Linda John-Pierre, Elin König Andersson, Joanna Monro, Steph Parry, Mark Pusey, Kimberley Powell, Steve Rushton, Jessica Spalis, Dawn Spence, Gregor Stewart, Pauline Stringer, Kathryn Tindall, Matt Wesley, Fed Zanni.

The London version of MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY, which originally opened in Stockholm in January 2016 and is now in its fourth sold-out year, is co-directed and choreographed by Stacey Haynes and Roine Söderlundh, with set designed by Bengt Fröderberg, lighting designed by Patrick Woodroffe, sound designed by Gareth Owen, costumes designed by Annsofi Nyberg, music supervision by Robin Svensson and casting by David Grindrod for David Grindrod Associates.

MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY is produced by Björn Ulvaeus and Ingrid Sutej for MM! The Party Ltd.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

MAMMA MIA! THE PARTYThe O2
Peninsula Square
London SE10 0DX

Box Office: www.mammamiatheparty.co.uk / 0844 844 9545Website: www.mammamiatheparty.co.uk
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @mammamiapartyuk
#mammamiatheparty

Currently Booking to 31 May 2020

Recommended Age: 5+

Tickets: From £85 (plus booking fees), to include admission, a four-course set meal and welcome drink (additional drinks extra)

Performances: Wednesday to Sunday doors open at 6:30pm, Saturday & Sunday at 12:00pm (N.B. Tuesday performances on 26 November and 17 & 31 December 2019, doors open at 6.30pm)

Christmas 2019/20 Performance Schedule:

Tuesday 17 December 2019 – 6.30pm

Wednesday 18 December 2019 – 6.30pm

Thursday 19 December 2019 – 6.30pm

Friday 20 December 2019 – 6.30pm

Saturday 21 December 2019 – 12.00noon & 6.30pm

Sunday 22 December 2019 – 12.00noon & 6.30pm 

Wednesday 25 December 2019 – No Performance 

Thursday 26 December 2019 – 12.00noon & 6.30pm 

Friday 27 December 2019 – 6.30pm

Saturday 28 December 2019 – 12.00noon & 6.30pm 

Sunday 29 December 2019 – 12.00noon & 6.30pm 

Tuesday 31 December 2019 – 12.00noon & 6.30pm 

Wednesday 1 January 2020 – 6.30pm

Thursday 2 January 2020 – 6.30pm

Friday 3 January 2020 – 6.30pm

Saturday 4 January 2020 – 12.00pm & 6.30pm 

Sunday 5 January 2020 – 12.00pm & 6.30pm