SWITCHFLICKER PRODUCTIONS AND SOHO THEATRE ANNOUNCE THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF
DAVID HOYLE’S TEN COMMANDMENTS
Switchflicker Productions and Soho Theatre present
Ten Commandments
Devised by David Hoyle, Mark Whitelaw and Jayne Compton
Directed by Mark Whitelaw
Soho Theatre
19 May – 30 May
Following his smash-hit Diamond, David Hoyle returns to Soho Theatre with the world première of Ten Commandments, combining his captivating stage performance with lacerating social commentary. Olivier award-winning Mark Whitelaw directs David Hoyle in this one man show. The production opens at Soho Theatre on 20 May and runs until 30 May, with previews from 19 May, before embarking on a national tour in autumn.
Rioting the wrongs of contemporary Britain, Ten Commandments promises to rebalance all the inequities and injustices that surround us.
In this light-hearted antidote to the rat-infested dystopia in which we currently find ourselves, fireball of the cabaret apocalypse, David returns the Garden of Eden to its natural state free from nuclear weapons, landfills and perpetual burning forests.
We welcome the congregation to liberate themselves and others in a thermonuclear explosion of love and also hope for what remains of the 21st century.
David Hoyle’s previous performance credits include Unplugged, Merrie Hell, Diamond (Soho Theatre), The Ugly Spirit (Southbank Centre/UK tour), David Hoyle’s SOS (Soho Theatre/Manchester Royal Exchange), Magazine, Dave’s Drop In, David Hoyle’s Aural Assault, David Hoyle’s Licking Wounds, Slurry, David Hoyle’s Lives, David Hoyle’s Lives 2, David Hoyle’s Winter Warmer, Guiding Light and Heavenly Voices (Royal Vauxhall Tavern). For television his credits include The Divine David Presents, The Divine David Heals and Nathan Barley; and for film his credits include Velvet Goldmine, Uncle David, Uncle David 2 and Set the Thames on Fire.
Mark Whitelaw directs. Previous directing credits include Duckie’s C’est Barbican (Barbican Theatre, London) for which he won an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, and Ursula Martinez’s Free Admission (Soho Theatre) and A Family Outing (Barbican Theatre, London).
& JULIET LEADS THE FIELD WITH 6 WINS FROM 13 NOMINATIONS, HOWEVER IT IS PIPPED TO THE POST FOR BEST NEW MUSICAL BY COME FROM AWAY
THE OLD VIC TAKES 3 TOP ACTING AWARDS – BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY FOR ANDREW SCOTT, BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY FOR CLAIRE FOY AND BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY FOR SOPHIE THOMPSON
DIRECTOR JAMIE LLOYD CONTINUES A SUCCESSFUL YEAR RECEIVING THE BEST DIRECTION AWARD FOR EVITA AND BEST PLAY REVIVAL FOR BETRAYAL
LIFE OF PI WINS BEST NEW PLAY – THE FIRST TIME THE AWARD HAS BEEN WON BY A VENUE OUTSIDE LONDON
SIX THE MUSICAL WINS THE BBC RADIO 2 AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL
ERA 50:50 RECEIVES THE EQUITY AWARD FOR SERVICES TO THEATRE
At a ceremony tonight at the Prince of Wales Theatre hosted by Jodie Prenger and Tom Read Wilson, the winners of the 20th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards were announced – the only major theatre awards decided entirely by the theatregoers themselves. For the first time this year the event was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 hosted by Elaine Paige and Paddy O’Connell.
WhatsOnStage’s Chief Operating Officer Sita McIntosh said today, “In our 20th year, we’d like to say a particular thank you to the audiences who are the lifeblood of our Awards, voting in their tens of thousands. Their support and championing of shows is what keeps our industry alive. It’s galvanising to see that a play that has never been staged in London has picked up the Best New Play Award, showing how the WhatsOnStage Awards really are decided by audiences across the nation. For Lolita Chakrabarti to win for Life of Pi is equally exciting, in a category dominated by diverse and cutting-edge voices. Working alongside BBC Radio 2 this year has taken the Awards onto a whole new level, and to have new kids on the block SIX the Musical pick up the inaugural Audience Award for Best Musical shows just how much West End theatregoers can welcome bold and brilliant shows with open arms.”
The big winner of the night was & Juliet with 6 awards from its 13 nominations, receiving Best Actress in a Musical for Miriam-Teak Lee, as well as Best Set Design (Soutra Gilmour), Best Costume Design (Paloma Young), Best Lighting Design (Howard Hudson), Best Video Design (Andrzej Goulding) and Best Graphic Design (Dewynters).
However the coveted Best New Musical Award went to Come From Away, which received 5 awards in total – additionally, Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Rachel Tucker, Best Choreography (Kelly Devine), Best Musical Direction (Ian Eisendrath, Alan Berry & Team), and Best Sound Design (Gareth Owen).
Dear Evan Hansen received two awards – both in acting categories, with Sam Tutty winning Best Actor in a Musical, and Jack Loxton winning Best Supporting Actor in a Musical; and Mary Poppins won Best Musical Revival.
The Old Vic triumphed in the play categories, with Andrew Scott continuing his winning streak this awards season by taking Best Actor in a Play for his critically acclaimed performance in Present Laughter; with his co-star Sophie Thompson winning Best Supporting Actress in a Play. Making it a triple for the theatre, Claire Foy received the Best Actress in a Play Award for Lungs.
Also fresh from his Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle wins, Jamie Lloyd received the Best Direction Award for Evita at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre; and Best Play Revival for his production of Betrayal, part of his ambitious Pinter season.
In a first for a non-London venue, Sheffield Theatres won Best New Play for Lolita Chakrabarti’s adaptation of Yann Martel Booker Prize-winning Life of Pi – the play transfers to the West End later this year. The Bridge Theatre received their first WhatsOnStage Award with Hammed Animashaun winning Best Supporting Actor in a Play for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical went to the smash-hit Six the Musical. Elaine Paige presented the award to the current West End company; with Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss receiving their award via a video from New York, where they are currently opening the show on Broadway.
Musicals also triumphed in the Off-West End Production and Best Regional Production categories – with Falsettos (The Other Palace) and The Color Purple (Curve Leicester and Birmingham Hippodrome co-production) winning respectively.
The Equity Award for Services to Theatre was presented to ERA 50:50 – Equal Representation for Actresses. Maureen Beattie, President of Equity, presented the award to Denis Gough.
The awards were presented by Aimie Atkinson, Amy Booth-Steel, Amy Hart, Max Harwood, Tyrone Huntley, John Kani, Oti Mabusi, Danny Mac, Daniel Monks, Vinegar Strokes, Liam Tamne, Giles Terera, Faye Tozer and Susan Wokoma.
Each of the 5 nominated productions for Best New Musical performed live at the event – Bit of a Sort from Only Fools and Horses, You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen, It’s My Life from & Juliet, Welcome to the Rock from Come From Away, and She Used to be Mine from Waitress. There was also a performance of I’m Here by the cast of Curve Leicester and Birmingham Hippodrome’s production of The Color Purple, which won the Best Regional Production category, as well as two further numbers specially created for the evening. The event was co-produced by Paul Taylor-Mills.
For the full list of nominations and winners, please see below.
JACQUELINE WILSON’S HETTY FEATHER TO BE SCREENED IN CINEMAS ACROSS THE UK
★★★★★
“Spellbinding”
Daily Mail
The critically acclaimed West End production of Jacqueline Wilson’s Hetty Feather will be screened in cinemas across the UK from 15 April,directed by Sally Cookson and adapted for the stage by Emma Reeves.
Filmed live atNuffield Southampton Theatres, and produced by BroadwayHD, the premier streaming service for live theatre, the full cast includes Matt Costain (Jem/Matron Bottomly), Sarah Goddard (Peg/Ida), Mark Kane (Gideon), Isaac Stanmore (Saul), Phoebe Thomas (Hetty Feather) and Nikki Warwick (Madame Adeline). Having premièred at Rose Theatre in Kingston the production enjoyed a sell-out run at the Vaudeville Theatre in 2014, followed by a run at Duke of York’s Theatre and UK tour in 2015. In 2020, the tale of plucky Hetty Feather is brought thrillingly back to life, captured live on stage for audiences across the UK.
Jaqueline Wilson today said “I absolutely loved the stage production of Hetty Feather. I went to see it many times! It’s so fantastic that I can now see this film and enjoy it all over again. It’s a play for everyone, boys as well as girls, and adults too. I hope everyone loves it as much as me!”
Tony and Olivier Award-winning producers and co-founders of streaming service BroadwayHD Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane said, “Through our streaming service and movie releases, we are working towards making the best of live theatre more accessible to everyone. Hetty Feather is one of those amazing, not-to-be-missed shows that we are happy will be seen by many people who did not get to see it on the stage the first time around.”
★★★★★
“A strong case for the power of invention and the magic of storytelling”
The Independent
ROLL UP and join Hetty on her escape from the Foundling Hospital.
TREMBLE as she faces Matron Stinking Bottomly.
THRILL as she discovers the squirrel house and Tanglefields Travelling Circus.
GASP as she endures a night locked in the attic.
QUAKE as she braves the scary streets of Victorian London and
CHEER as she overcomes all in the search to find her real mother and a true family of her own.
Jacqueline Wilson is one of Britain’s most popular authors, selling over 38 million books in the UK alone, with her most successful and enduring creation being the Tracy Beaker series. In 2002 she was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and in 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson, and in the same year she became the Foundling Museum’s first Coram Foundling Fellow. From 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate. Her upcoming novel Love Frankie will be released in Spring 2020.
Emma Reeves’ theatre credits include Wave Me Goodbye (Theatr Clwyd), The Worst Witch (Vaudeville Theatre/UK tour), Carrie’s War (Apollo Theatre), Little Women (Duchess Theatre), Cool Hand Luke (Aldwych Theatre), The Snow Child (UK tour). Television credits include Hetty Feather, The Worst Witch, Eve, The Dumping Ground, Young Dracula, The Story of Tracey Beaker, Belonging, The Murder of Princess Diana and Spirit Warriors.
Sally Cookson’s credits include Wonder Boy (Bristol Old Vic), A Monster Calls (The Old Vic/ UK tour), The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Bridge Theatre/West Yorkshire Playhouse), Peter Pan, Jane Eyre (National Theatre), La Strada (The Other Palace), Cinderella: The Fairy Story (Tobacco Factory/UK tour), Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (Tobacco Factory), Romeo + Juliet (Rose Theatre Kingston), Varmints (Sadler’s Wells) and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (Bristol Old Vic/Lyric Theatre/UK tour).
Opera North has announced its forthcoming season with an exciting line up of operas, concerts, and updates of their redevelopment project which will become the Howard Opera Centre. The centre is scheduled to open in 2021.
There are three operas lined up for the autumn season. Firstly Verdi’s La Traviata and this is then followed by an exciting double bill, celebrating the works of Leonard Bernstein, with Trouble in Tahiti and, in collaboration with Phoenix Dance Theatre, West Side Story Symphonic Dances. Thirdly, Jack the Ripper is a new opera, composed by Iain Bell and lyrics written by Emma Jenkins, is jointly commissioned and produced with English National Opera. The story fully focuses on the women of Whitechapel at the time of the killer’s terror.
The winter (2021) opens with Bizet’s Carmen and where Garry Walker, the newly appointed musical director, will make his debut. Handel’s Alcina will follow with its environmentally and responsibly unique production. This opera, for the first time, will recycle, re-use and use second hand materials for its staging, props and costumes. This is in support to join and commit to the plight in responding to the climate emergency. This is finally followed with Puccini’s The Girl of The Golden West which centres on the gold rush.
In addition to the opera there is their orchestral concert season, their audience and accessibility programmes, community engagement work and other project which ensures everyone and everywhere can access.
As usual and always, Opera North has an exciting line up and it continues to creatively and innovatively entertain, educate and address a wide range of issues that matter to one and all.
