Month: March 2021

Royal & Derngate and Fiery Angel present

Agatha Christie’s

And Then There Were None

Friday 3 – Saturday 11 September 2021

Derngate auditorium, Royal & Derngate Northampton

You are formally invited to an isolated island for one of the best thrillers of all time

Royal & Derngate Northampton and Fiery Angel are delighted to announce that their co-production of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None will open in the venue’s Derngate auditorium in September, directed by Lucy Bailey and designed by Mike Britton, as part of the 2021 Made in Northampton season. Details of the UK tour will be announced later this spring.

With twists and turns to keep audiences guessing until the very end, Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is the best-selling crime novel of all time with more than 100 million copies sold worldwide.

Ten strangers are lured to a solitary mansion off the coast of Devon. When a terrible storm cuts them off from the mainland, and with their hosts mysteriously absent, the true reason for their presence on the island becomes horribly clear, as secrets from their past come back to haunt each and every one of them.

Having previously directed Gaslight, Love From A Stranger and Ghosts at Royal & Derngate, Lucy Bailey is also behind the long-running production of Agatha Christie’s Witness For The Prosecution at London County Hall. Reuniting the creative team behind the smash-hit Love From A Stranger, she returns to Northampton with UK Theatre Award-winning designer Mike Britton (A Tale Of Two Cities, Royal & Derngate) to direct this spellbinding new production of Christie’s greatest murder mystery.

They will be joined by Lighting Designer Chris Davey (Beyond The Horizon, Royal & Derngate and National Theatre; Dial M For Murder, West Yorkshire Playhouse; Gaslight, Royal & Derngate), with further creative team, and casting, to be announced shortly.

Director Lucy Bailey commented: “Set in 1939, this is Agatha Christie’s most popular novel but also one of her darkest, reflecting the impending sense of doom of a world on the brink of war. Its depiction of a group of strangers stranded in a crisis of their own making feels very in tune with today’s climate emergency.”

Royal & Derngate’s Artistic Director James Dacre added: “Building upon their hugely popular re-imaginations of Gaslight, Ghosts and Love From A Stranger at Royal & Derngate, I can’t wait to see how this creative team bring this iconic story to exhilarating theatrical life.”

And Then There Were None takes to the Derngate stage from Friday 3 to Saturday 11 September 2021. For more information, visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk. Tickets for the Northampton dates go on general sale Monday 29 March (with priority booking for members from Friday 26 March).

Royal & Derngate’s Made in Northampton season is sponsored locally by Michael Jones Jeweller.

Royal & Derngate has been awarded UK Theatre and SOLT’s See it Safely mark, an accreditation that acknowledges the venue is COVID-secure and will be following the latest government and performing arts guidelines in welcoming audiences.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Agatha Christie’s

And Then There Were None

A Royal & Derngate and Fiery Angel co-production

Royal & Derngate, Guildhall Road, Northampton NN1 1DP

Dates: Friday 3 – Saturday 11 September 2021

Times: Evenings 7.30pm (except Wednesday 8 September 7pm)

Matinees – Thursday and Saturdays 2.30pm No performances on Sunday

Tickets: From £13.50*

Box Office: 01604 624811 or online at www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Southwark Playhouse announces new live stream show, Dave Malloy’s Preludes – which will be streamed live from The Little on 7 and 8 May 2021

Preludes previously ran in The Large in autumn 2019 to critical acclaim. This production is a concert version featuring the same cast. It’s directed by Alex Sutton and produced by Danielle Tarento. The cast is Rebecca Caine, Norton James, Georgia Louise, Tom Noyes, Keith Ramsay and Steven Serlin

Three-time Tony Award-nominated composer Dave Malloy has written a brand new song, which will receive its world premiere performance in this concert production

Danielle Tarento presents the live stream premiere of

PRELUDES THE CONCERT

A MUSICAL FANTASIA SET IN THE HYPNOTISED MIND OF SERGEI RACHMANINOFF
Music, lyrics, book and orchestrations by Dave Malloy. Directed by Alex Sutton.

Live stream production credits:
Lighting design by Andrew Exeter. Sound design by Andrew Johnson.

Musical direction by Jordan Li-Smith. Live stream operation by Bartek Podkowa.

Original production credits:
Set and costume design by Rebecca Brower. Lighting design by Christopher Nairne.

Sound design by Andrew Johnson. Choreography by Ste Clough. Musical direction by Jordan Li-Smith.

Cast: Rebecca Caine, Norton James, Georgia Louise, Tom Noyes, Keith Ramsay and Steven Serlin.

Dates: Friday 7 May at 7.45pm, Saturday 8 May at 3.15pm and 7.45pm

Preludes is a musical based on the life of legendary composer Sergei Rachmaninoff by three-time Tony Award nominee Dave Malloy (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Ghost Quartet, Moby Dick).

Sergei Rachmaninoff has it all; world-wide fame from a single composition by the age of 19, commissioned to write his first symphony at 20 and engaged to the love of his life, Natalya. But at 21 he is crippled with a depressive paranoia and anxiety. His world has imploded, his work has stopped, he cannot even lift a pencil to compose a simple melody. Such is the power of the men who sought to destroy him, who haunt his waking nightmares and poison his dreams. And when those men happen to be the greatest artists of their day, how do you come back, how do you escape the darkness and come into the light?

Based on a true story of Rachmaninoff’s sessions of hypnotherapy, Preludes is an extraordinary new musical by three-time Tony Award-nominee Dave Malloy. It examines the crippling debilitation and harm the world can do to people, and how the dramatic and musical process can be used as therapy to restore them back into the fullest of creative lives.

Using live piano and electronics, Malloy uses a hybrid of his own and Rachmaninoff’s compositions to create a dream-like world that takes us to the darkest recesses of Rachmaninoff’s mind.

Three-time Tony Award-nominated writer Dave Malloy is a composer and writer of some of the most exciting new music theatre works. His best-known piece, Natasha Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, based on War and Peace, started at Ars Nova in New York before transferring to Broadway’s Imperial Theatre where it played to huge critical and audience acclaim and was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, the highest number of nominations in the 2017 awards season, including Best Musical.

The 3.15pm performance on Saturday, 8 May will be captioned. Full details on the website link here: https://www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/show-whats-on/preludes-in-concert/

Press reviews for Preludes at Southwark Playhouse, autumn 2019:

«««« “Hypnotic and dazzling.” The Stage

«««« “An utterly unique experience.” Time Out

«««« “An experimental formally elusive trance-like experience.” WhatsOnStage

«««« “Extraordinarily and exceptionally powerful.” The Arts Desk

««««« “Superb” British Theatre

««««« “A spectacular assault on the senses that transcends space and time.” Musical Theatre Review

Rebecca Caine plays Dahl. Credits include originating the role of Cosette in Les Misérables, (RSC and West End), Phantom of the Opera (Canada), Flowers for Mrs Harris (Sheffield Crucible) and Harold and Maude (Charing Cross Theatre). Norton James plays Chaliapin. Credits include Choir of Man (Australian tour), Spamalot (Mercury Theatre, Colchester) and Love Story (Union). Georgia Louise plays Natalya. Credits include Mamma Mia (Novello), Kinky Boots (Adelphi Theatre) and 13: The Musical (Apollo/NYMT). Tom Noyes plays Rachmaninoff. Preludes was Tom’s professional debut. Keith Ramsay plays Rach. Credits include Amour (Charing Cross Theatre), Lost in Yonkers (Watford Palace), Portia Coughlin (Old Red Lion) and Julius Caesar (Shakespeare’s Globe). Steven Serlin plays The Master. Credits include Amour (Charing Cross Theatre), Oklahoma (Grange Park Opera) and The Wild Party (The Other Palace).

Theatre Artists Fund receives a further £500k from Mackintosh Foundation following industry-wide campaign on anniversary of theatre shutdown

theatreartists.fund 

Cameron Mackintosh today (25 March 2021) confirmed a further £500,000 in additional support from his Foundation to the Theatre Artists Fund.

Created last July by director Sam Mendes, Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, the Theatre Artists Fund provides emergency financial aid to the freelancers who make up an estimated 70% of the theatre sector, many of whom have received no Government support. 

Cameron Mackintosh said:

‘Though the Government’s exemplary vaccine programme has shown that there is now light at the end of the tunnel, the probability is that it will still be over seven months before the West End has the majority of its major shows back. This latest grant from my Foundation, a year after our industry was closed down, will hopefully help some of our hard-hit freelancers to get through until we can employ them again, provided there are no further shutdowns which would be catastrophic.

‘My theatre and production companies have also during this last year supported hundreds of jobs throughout the closure of our theatres and productions, to ensure that our historic buildings and world-renowned productions are ready to come back, as soon as we have a permanent instruction from the Government to do so.

‘The resilience and spirit of everyone working in the theatre during this gruelling time has been quite inspirational, as has the amazing patience and enthusiastic support of the public who continue to book seats, demonstrating that they can’t wait to come back to live theatre as soon as they can.’

Sam Mendes, director and co-founder of the Theatre Artists Fund, said:

‘We are immensely grateful to the Mackintosh Foundation for this extraordinarily generous contribution. Throughout the process of setting up the Theatre Artists Fund, we have been consistently moved by the feeling that the theatre community is pulling together to support and protect its most vulnerable members, and this is a wonderful example of exactly that.’

Last week’s 16 March anniversary of UK theatre closures saw the whole theatre community, including a host of famous actors and theatre makers, taking to social media to highlight the plight of unemployed freelancers and raise awareness for the Theatre Artists Fund. The campaign triggered a surge of donations from organisations and members of the public, with more to be announced soon.

The latest round of Theatre Artists Fund grant applications is currently open until 30 March. Eligible freelancers in need can apply for an individual grant of £1000 to help pay bills and put food on the table. Full details of eligibility and how to apply are available at theatreartists.fund. 

Critically acclaimed all-star digital revival
Little Wars returns to stream.theatre
Available Monday 19th April – Sunday 16th May 2021
Thomas Hopkins & Michael Quinn for Ginger Quiff Media in association with Guy Chapman

Following critical-acclaim, and due to popular demand, the digital revival of Steven Carl
McCasland’s ‘penetrating domestic drama’ (New York Times) Little Wars, will once again return for a limited streaming season. Featuring lauded performances from Linda Bassett and Juliet Stevenson the compelling production brought together an exceptional all-star all-female cast of British stage and screen legends, including Debbie Chazen, Natasha Karp, Catherine Russell, Sarah Solemani and Sophie Thompson.

The production will return to our screens from Monday 19th April to Sunday 16th May. Directed by Hannah Chissick (Flashdance, UK & International tour; Pack of Lies, Menier Chocolate Factory) the rehearsed reading was filmed at the cast’s homes and edited together.

Little Wars unites literary figureheads Gertrude Stein (Bassett), her girlfriend Alice Toklas
(Russell), Dorothy Parker (Chazen), Lillian Hellman (Stevenson) and Agatha Christie (Thompson), with anti-fascist freedom fighter Muriel Gardiner (Solemani), in this deliciously comic and touching drama about the power of coming together for a shared cause. Tensions are high and secrecy lingers in the air, but with libations flowing and the threat of World War II looming the guests are close to boiling point.

Thomas Hopkins and Michael Quinn of Ginger Quiff Media comment, We’re thrilled by the
continually overwhelming response to this production, which showcases the talents of some incredible women. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to bring the project to life during the pandemic, and we’re pleased that more people can experience the all-star offering once again.

One of the best online experiences I have had in this most challenging of years (★★★★★ British Theatre).
Starry cast sparkle as squabbling literary legends (★★★★ The Guardian).
Steven Carl McCasland writes with the aphoristic wit of a young Truman Capote (The Daily Mail).

45NORTH ANNOUNCES FIRST

SEED COMMISSION SCHEME ARTISTS FOR 2021

45North today announces artists for the first of two Seed Commission Schemes in 2021. The first initiative supports trans and gender non-conforming artists, across a variety of disciplines, who are looking to develop an idea for live performance.

The selected artists are Anna Clock, Chiyo and Gayathiri Kamalakanthan.Each receives a fee of £1000, access to rehearsal or office space for a week and £750 towards collaborator fees. In addition, they will benefit from 15 hours of mentorship and one-to-one support from Tabby Lamb, the scheme’s director, as they develop a partial, or what the scheme refers to as a ‘0.5’, draft of their work across 6-week period in March and April 2021.

Further information on the second initiative, supporting theatre-makers from another underrepresented group, will be announced shortly.

Tabby Lamb, said today, “We were overwhelmed by the vast amount of Trans folk who applied for this commission, and then once again overwhelmed by the talent and skill of each application but after passionate discussion we ended up with 3 of the most exciting artists I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with; a luminary of the cabaret world, a technical wizard and a passionate sex educator. I can’t wait to help them develop their skills and put them on the path towards creating their first full length piece of theatre.”

Anna Clock (they/them) is developing an intimate, binaural audio experience exploring a fraught encounter over a barbershop chair. It’s a conversation between two people, reunited after ten years with new names, and different genders – for the purpose of a haircut. Exploring a power dynamic, and how it is coloured by history, class, age and physical intimacy, within a genderqueer space.

Clock is a composer, sound designer and cellist working across theatre, film, radio and installation. Their theatre credits include Crave (Chichester Festival Theatre), Wild (Unicorn Theatre), Earthquakes in London (Guildhall School of Music and Drama), Not F**ckin’ Sorry,Shuck ‘n’ Jive, Soft Animals (Soho Theatre), I Wanna Be Yours (Paines Plough and Tamasha, UK tour/Bush Theatre), Easy (Blue Elephant Theatre), Groove (Outbox Theatre), Admin, Miss Fortunate (Vault Festival), Anguis (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Summer Fest (Bunker Theatre), Armadillo (Yard Theatre), Fatty Fat Fat (Canada Water Theatre/Camden Roundhouse/Edinburgh Fringe & Tour), The Love of the Nightingale, The Lower Depths (Fourth Monkey Studio Theatre), Fighter (Stratford Circus), Twelfth Night (Southwark Playhouse) and Punk Rock, Pomona (New Diorama).

Chiyo (he/they) is developing a work aimed at exploring the parallels of misogyny through a generation, confronting his own experiences as a mixed-race, gender non-conforming Trans man, and sitting with what discussions come forth in correlation to societies brutal hatred of women.

Chiyois London’s Prinx of Provocation: a performance Artist who blurs the boundaries between Drag, Burlesque, and Sex Work. Chiyo is a model, a mover, and a solid force among the UK’s national cabaret pioneers.

Gayathiri Kamalakanthan (they/she) is developing the story of a Tamil non-binary child, who doesn’t yet have the language to put their queerness into words. Reimagining a period party – a rite of passage into ‘womanhood’ in Tamil culture – where the intersection of Tamil-ness and queerness is celebrated and held, not as a contradiction but as an inheritance. 

Kamalakanthan is a Tamil writer and sex and relationships educator, working with Inclusive Tamil Arts and School of Sexuality Education. Kamalakanthan loves to queer up spaces through making visible the stories of those who have been erased throughout history.

Tabby Lamb is a non-binary writer and performer based in East London and a graduate of the Theatre Directing course at Dartington College of Arts. Similarly inspired by Carly Rae Jepson and Tennessee Williams, she strives to tell stories that explore the intersections between popular culture and politics. Their credits include SINCE U BEEN GONE (Gate theatre/HighTide Festival). Tabby is an associate writer with Middle Child, she’s on attachment at the Oxford Playhouse via their Playhouse Playmaker scheme 2021 and she’s developing new work on the Wild Child’s Oli Lansley mentor scheme, mentored by Sarah Solemani. She has previously been part of the Soho Theatre Writers Lab and the LGBTQ Arts Review #RaisingOurVoices scheme for queer and trans writers and is currently working with BFI Flare x BAFTA Crew. Tabby is also a facilitator, founding and running @TheatreQueers, which offers networking and creative arts projects for people from the LGBTQ+ community.

45North champions, develops, and produces outstanding work with emphasis on centering female-identifying and non-binary artists. Founded in 2019 and led by the very best creative teams from a variety of performing and producing backgrounds, 45North continues to reinvest in emerging artists who are beginning and expanding their practices. 45North commits to maintaining creative teams of no less than 75% female-identifying or non-binary people, working to bring inclusive and exciting new theatre and events to London, Edinburgh, across the UK and internationally. Selected credits include Written on the Waves, a series of 8 world première audio plays, Post-Mortem by Iskandar Sharazuddin (Edinburgh, The Blue Room, and Holden Street Theatre), (un)written (un)heard devised by the company and directed by Jessica Rose McVay (FRINGE WORLD- Winner of the Physical Theatre and Dance Award), and MEAT by Gillian Greer (Theatre503).

www.forty-fivenorth.com

@forty_fivenorth

Barn Theatre | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Website

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR THE BARN THEATRE’S LIVE ‘ONE-SHOT’ SONG CYCLE NOW OR NEVER

The Barn Theatre have today announced the full casting and creative team for upcoming livestream Now or Never. 

Now or Never is a British song cycle with an exciting and ambitious digital twist. Now or Never is a song cycle written by associate artist Matthew Harvey, which follows 7 people as they each take a defiant act of positivity in their last week on Earth. 

The inaugural cast of Now or Never includes Eloise Davies (Be More Chill, Grease), Ahmed Hamad (Rent, Stay Awake Jake, The Boy in the Dress), Matthew Harvey (Les Misérables, Violet, Jesus Christ Superstar, Murder Ballad), Irvine Iqbal (The Boy in the Dress, Aladdin, Broken Wings),Lucy St Louis (Man of La Mancha, Motown, Beautiful),Katie Shearman (The Sound of Music UK Tour, Evita) andCourtney Stapleton (Dear Evan Hansen, Six, Les Misérables).

This project is the first collaboration between The Barn Theatre and associate artist Matthew Harvey. Harvey created the song cycle with the intention of writing about individual responses to global adversity without writing specifically about the pandemic. The piece features 7 songs with relatable everyday characters that choose positivity in the face of adversity.

Matthew Harvey created the concept and wrote the song cycle. Freddie Tapner is Musical Supervisor and Ryan Carter is Creative Director, who is responsible for the innovative digital approach. Ben Collins as Director of Photography, supported by Ben Thomas & Alex Tabrizi. Harry Smith as Sound Designer.

The ambitious digital spin presents the work as a non-stop, one-shot, song cycle, with one camera navigating the entire building, featuring 7 characters moving between 7 spaces. The digital concert will be streamed LIVE for one-night only at The Barn Theatre. 

Tickets for the production are currently on sale at £10 and can be purchased via barntheatre.org.uk/barn-at-home. 

TuckShop and Trafalgar Theatre Productions,

John-Webb Carter & Jamie Chapman Dixon for Carter Dixon Productions

in association with Ameena Hamid Productions, M. Green Productions

& Piers Cottee-Jones Entertainment

present

“Kill for a ticket”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Daily Star Sunday

STARRING

RuPaul’s Drag Race Superstars

WILLAM & LATRICE ROYALE

&

Britain’s Got Talent Semi-finalist

MYRA DUBOIS

GARRICK THEATRE

FROM WEDNESDAY 19 MAY 2021

WRITTEN BY HOLLY STARS

BASED ON AN IDEA BY CHRISTOPHER D. CLEGG DIRECTED BY JESSE JONES

Following rave reviews in December 2020, the fabulous killer comedy and smash hit sold-out sensation Death Drop is sashaying back into London’s West End and will return to the Garrick Theatre on Wednesday 19 May for an eight week run until Sunday 11 July. Tickets are on sale now.

Described by Attitude as a “killer show” and ”rollicking good fun” by The Guardian, this 2021 summer residency (some of which will be socially distanced) will also feature some fabulous new casting: RuPaul’s Drag Race legends Willam and Latrice Royale will star alongside Britain’s Got Talent 2020 semi-finalist Myra Dubois, along with a full drag cast in this hilarious Dragatha Christie murder mystery – this show is like nothing you’ve seen on the West End stage before!

In what will be their West End debuts, Willam will take on the role of 80s pop sensation Shazza, alongside Latrice Royale as Summer Raines, a glamorous American weather girl living in London and Myra Dubois as The Lady.

Willam said: “I’m excited to be in the West End with my breast friend Latrice Royale in Death Drop, a spec-tacular drag musical murder mystery. No spoilers please (I DID IT).”

Latrice Royale continued: “I cannot WAIT to be making my debut on London’s West End in Death Drop! This is just beyond any dream I could have even conceived of when I was a boy in Compton, California. And to get to come out of an entire year in lockdown and step into such a major production is a very welcome change. It gives me hope that the world is going to get back to “normal” and when I can finally get on a stage again, I’m gonna tear it up! I miss connecting with a live audience so much, and getting to do it with my good Judy, Willam, makes it even more special.”

Myra Dubois added: “Rejoice! I, Myra DuBois (off the telly), am making my long-anticipated West End debut! People forget that as well as a globally revered singer, poet, muse, wellness facilitator, energy worker and empath; I’m also an actress. Award-winning, actually. What an honour it is to be able to swoop in and save this little show. I can’t wait to meet my supporting cast.”

LoUis CYfer, Anna Phylactic and Holly Stars – who all performed in the show last year – will return to reprise their co-starring roles.

It’s 1991 and a gaggle of guests gather on Tuck Island for a soirée like no other. The tension rises as the outrageous guests reveal their suspicious and sordid pasts, and one by one they sashay away, until at the last, nerve-shredding, side-splitting moment the surviving guests find out who-dunnit!

This rampant, raucous, ridiculous romp of a murder mystery serves up all the drama, comedy, twists and turns you’ll ever need!

TuckShop is the UK’s only specialist theatre production company devoted all things drag. In 2019 they presented Cinderella starring Baga Chipz, the UK’s first ever all drag pantomime in the West End which sold out its run. They also produce drag events across the country, and are the UK’s largest merchandise retailer for drag performers.

TuckShop Creative Director and Producer Christopher D. Clegg said: “To reopen the West End, not once, but twice with Death Drop is so exciting. In the short run we had in December our audiences were having so many much needed laughs, and we can’t wait to slay you all once more. To bring the history-making first ever Drag play back to the Garrick Theatre once again – for an even longer run – with the some of the best, most talented, and hilarious drag Kings and Queens, is an honour!”

The capacity at the Garrick Theatre has been reduced to comply with COVID-19 Secure guidelines for social distancing with robust risk mitigation in place. In addition to hand sanitation, face coverings and track and trace, other measures will include contactless tickets, temperature testing and the deep clean and sanitation of the theatre.

Listings Information

Garrick Theatre, 2 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0HH

First Performance: 19 May 2021

Final performance: 11 July 2021

Performances: Wednesday – Friday at 8.00pm, Saturday and Sunday at 4.00pm & 8.00pm

Website: www.deathdropplay.com

Ticket prices: From £15

Twitter: @deathdropplay

Instagram: @deathdropplay

Facebook: Facebook.com/deathdropplay

KATHERINE PARKINSON TO STAR

“art models reveal all in Katherine Parkinson’s smart debut…[she] delicately reveals connections that, by the end, give the play a wistful emotional weight” – Stage review

Mark Fisher, The Guardian 

BAFTA Award winning Katherine Parkinson’s (Home, I’m Darling, The IT Crowd) debut play Sitting has been adapted for the screen, airing at 10.30pm on Wednesday 7^th April on BBC Four. After a television directorial debut with Unprecedented followed by Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads (both BBC) in 2020, former Artistic Director of Headlong Theatre Jeremy Herrin (People, Places and Things)directs the hour-long comedy-drama forming part of BBC Lights Up, BBC Arts’ Culture In Quarantine season celebrating British Theatre.

Starring Parkinson for the first time, the one-off special follows three characters as they sit for a silent painter. In these sittings, ‘Luke’ (Mark Weinman – I May Destroy You, After Life),‘Cassandra’ (Alex Jarrett – Les Misérables, Adult Material) and ‘Mary’ (Parkinson) reveal truths in a play about love, loss and the importance of human connection.

Award winning figurative painter Roxana Halls’ (National Portrait Gallery’s B.P. Portrait Award, The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition) work will feature.

Parkinson made her debut as a playwright with Sitting at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as part of a BBC Arts and Avalon playwright’s initiative, with the play subsequently transferring to London’s Arcola Theatre.

Sitting was commissioned for the BBC by Jonty Claypole. It is produced by Avalon with Jon Thoday and Richard Allen Turner as Executive Producers.

What The Press Said About Parkinson’s Stage Play, Sitting

“Parkinson paints intense, quietly devastating portraits of her characters with accomplished brush strokes”

★★★★ Heather Swain, Metro 

“Sitting is a sharp, perceptive piece of work, delivered brilliantly”

★★★★ David Kettle, The List

★★★★ BritishTheatre.com ★★★★ London Box Office ★★★★ The Upcoming ★★★★ London Theatre 1            

“Parkinson’s ear for the cadences of comedy is, unsurprisingly, very sharp.” Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard       

“charming” Luke Jones, Daily Mail 

NEW AND RESCHEDULED DATES FOR

NATIONAL TOUR OF

JOHN GODBER’S

APRIL IN PARIS

STARRING

JOE PASQUALE & SARAH EARNSHAW

FROM 17 MAY 2021

The producers of John Godber’s classic comedy, April in Paris, are delighted to announce new and rescheduled dates for the National tour, which will now open in Coventry on 17 May 2021. April in Paris will star Joe Pasquale and Sarah Earnshaw as Al and Bet and will be directed by Richard Lewis.  Audiences will be socially distanced.

In John Godber’s touching and hilarious classic, we go into the heart of one ordinary couple’s life as they go on both the journey of a lifetime and a journey into their relationship.  Al and Bet are in a rut.  Married for 26 years, their conversations are running dry and life has taken its toll. With his building work sparse and her shifts at the shoe shop getting few and far between there’s little to look forward to, apart from a possible ABBA tribute show in Wakefield and the odd trip to the pub.  But Bet has dreams.  She longs to walk with the Pharaohs in Egypt, sunbathe on golden beaches and climb Alpine mountains, all fuelled by her love of magazine competitions with holidays as prizes.  Finally, her luck changes; she wins a night away for two to Paris in April, via a luxury trip on P&O Ferries out of Hull.

Joe Pasquale said, “I have been a huge fan of John Godber’s work for the past 30 years since I first saw Bouncers, so to be given a chance to perform this specially adapted version of one of John’s finest creations is a dream come true. To be able to perform this show with Sarah Earnshaw is a true delight. John has written a masterclass of comedy and pathos, with such a sense of realism, reflecting the way life is in a long relationship.

“This is probably the longest rehearsed ‘two hander’ play in history; I’ve already grown four cauliflowers and a crop of onions since we started! We have been working on it since last September, in the hope of theatres reopening in the autumn of last year, but, sadly, we kept getting pushed back and finding doors shutting on us just as we were ready to perform it. So we continued to rehearse and hone it, ready for the green light and I’m very excited to say that, on 17 May, we will be the first touring theatre show out of the gate. What a remarkable achievement from all the team to make this happen. I can’t wait for audiences to come out again, remember what live entertainment means to all of us and how much we need it; performers and audiences alike…. I promise we won’t forget our lines!”

Producer and director, Richard Lewis said, “I’m delighted to finally be able to present April in Paris! This is all the more delightful as, not only is it a funny, uplifting comedy just right for the times, it also premieres on the first day that theatre is allowed to perform in the UK again.  The production has been specially designed and rehearsed to cater for a socially distanced audience and the performance will represent a milestone in the theatre industry’s rejuvenation. I hope audiences will support a bold initiative to get theatre back where it belongs – in front of an audience – whilst supporting their local theatre and having a good laugh while they are doing it!”

Joe Pasquale and Sarah Earnshaw had begun the second UK tour of Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em when theatres were closed by the Government because of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Comedian Joe Pasquale has delighted audiences with his live stand-up tours for over 30 years. Along the way he’s voiced characters for Hollywood movies Garfield: A Tale of Two Kittens and Horton Hears a Who!, children’s television animation Frankenstein’s Cat and starred in The Muppets’ 25^th Anniversary Show.  Joe made his theatrical debut in 1999 in Larry Shue’s The Nerd, followed by the touring productions of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Mel Brooks’s The Producers. In addition, Joe took part recently in ITV1’s The All New Monty: Who Bares Wins, he was crowned ‘King of the Jungle’ in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here in 2004, appeared on five Royal Variety Performances, hosted his own ITV special An Audience with Joe Pasquale, at times hosted The Paul O’Grady Show for Channel 4 and hosted the long-running television series The Price is Right for ITV.  Other recent TV credits include a celebrity edition of Total Wipeout; Guinness World Records Smashed and Virgin One’s The Prisoner X.

Prior to playing Betty, Frank’s long-suffering wife in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Sarah Earnshaw most recently starred as Connie in The Nightingales (Theatre Royal Bath & UK Tour) and Jennifer Lore in the UK Tour of Nativity – The Musical.  Her other theatre credits include Travels With My Aunt (Chichester Festival), The Lady of the Lake in Spamalot (West End and UK Tour) and the original London cast of Wicked.

The National Tour of April in Paris is produced by Limelight Productions.

Website:  www.AprilInParisLive.co.uk

Facebook: AprilInParis

Twitter: AprilinParis2

2021 TOUR SCHEDULE

17 – 19 May                            COVENTRY Belgrade Theatre                       

                                               belgrade.co.uk 

20 – 22 May                            HULL New Theatre                                             01482 300 306

                                               www.hulltheatres.co.uk

24 – 25 May                           CHESTERFIELD Pomegranate Theatre              01246 345 222

                                               chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk

4 – 6 June                               WELLINGBOROUGH The Castle Theatre           01933 270 007*

                                               castletheatre.co.uk

18 – 19 June                           NOTTINGHAM Theatre Royal                             0115 989 5555              

                                               trch.co.uk

Further dates to be added

*Box office opening mid-April

Streaming 22 March – 4 April – book via www.stream.theatre/season/51

4****

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

A face-meltingly talented cast and classy design make BKLYN a must-see production.

Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson’s urban fairytale is told by a group of street performers. Together they share the story of Brooklyn (Emma Kingston), a young musician who travels from Paris to New York to find out what she can about the father she never met and the place she’s named after. The tragic story of her parents guides her and as she becomes famous in the States, she always sings her parents’ unfinished lullaby in the hope that her father will one day join her on stage to sing together. But there is already one diva in Brooklyn, and Paradice (Marisha Wallace) is never going to step out of the spotlight for the young newcomer.

It’s a simple story, and you can see exactly where it’s heading, but Dean Johnson’s slick direction makes you forget the plot’s shortcomings. The derelict feel of the room the characters gather in, full of crumpled paper and rickety chairs is perfect for the downbeat beginning as the street performers and band appear. This contrasts beautifully with the warmer lit sections portraying Brooklyn’s story.

The music is what the show is all about, and there are some barnstorming numbers from the brilliant divas Marisha Wallace and Emma Kingston. Sejal Keshwala and Jamie Muscato’s duet is beautiful, and Muscato singing Sometimes will give you goosebumps. Newtion Matthews is smooth and soulful as Street Singer, but when the five vocalists are singing together the uplifting harmonies are sublime. This is a cast you will want to listen to all day.