Edgy new rock musical Dorian launches on stream.theatre Streaming: Friday 4th – Saturday 26th June 2021
Following the success of their Gatsby A Musical, filmed and streamed at Cadogan Hall, Ruby in the Dust now present Dorian A Rock Musical. This exciting new production gives Oscar Wilde’s classic an epic, modern twist with a newly composed score that sears through the action, propelled by influences from Bowie to Brecht.
A rock star, trapped in eternal adolescence, wants to change the course of his life and discover love. But, can you find love if you’ve sold your soul to the Devil? Whilst sitting for the eccentric society painter, Basil Hallward, Dorian is discovered by the influential Lord Henry and is soon under the spell of this dangerous, charismatic music impresario. Dorian, the secret child of love and death, is suddenly thrust into a confusing world where love dare not speak its name.
With Keith Ramsay fresh from his critically acclaimed performance as Sergei Rachmaninoff in Preludes at Southwark Playhouse as the titular character (Armour, Charing Cross Theatre; Julius Caesar, The Globe), the cast comprises John Addison (The Life, Southwark Playhouse; A Little Night Music, Garrick Theatre), Fia Houston-Hamilton (Mamma Mia!, UK Tour; Wolf of Wall Street, Immersive London), Robert Grose (Kinky Boots, Adelphi Theatre; EastEnders, BBC), Lewis Rae (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Regents Park Open Air Theatre; Mame, Hope Mill Theatre), Johanna Stanton (The Rocky Horror Show, No. 1 UK Tour; The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Apollo Theatre), Sophie Jugé (Coppelia, Birmingham Royal Ballet; Good Omens, BBC) and Tristan Pegg (The Merry Wives of Windsor, RSC; The Shape of the Impossible, National Theatre).
Although The Picture of Dorian Gray was written over one hundred and twenty years ago, its themes of vanity, mortality, and corruption still resonate. The show began life as a reading at Cafe Royal, in the very room where Oscar Wilde used to stage his own readings. Its run at the Other Palace was cancelled just two days before opening night as the pandemic forced the first lockdown in March 2020. Now, filmed at a secret location in the heart of the West End, it will be brought to audiences online
Composer Joe Evans comments, This is a fantastic opportunity to present Oscar Wilde’s iconic fairy tale in a timeless setting. Oscar Wilde, if not a rock star, would have definitely floated in those circles if he were around today. His Gothic prose lends itself perfectly to a rock score, without losing the sense of irony and fun inherent in the text. I am thrilled to be working with such a dream cast who will bring this musical to life.
UK TOUR OPENS AT CHELTENHAM EVERYMAN ON 9 SEPTEMBER 2021
New Adventures is delighted to announce the World Premiere of Matthew Bourne’s THE MIDNIGHT BELL opening at Cheltenham Everyman on 9 September 2021, as part of a UK tour to 13 venues including a season at Sadler’s Wells from 4 to 9 October 2021. Full tour schedule below.
Exploring the under-belly of 1930s London life where ordinary people emerge from cheap boarding houses nightly to pour out their passions, hopes and dreams in the pubs and bars of fog-bound Soho and Fitzrovia. Step inside The Midnight Bell, a tavern where one particular lonely-hearts club gather to play out their lovelorn affairs of the heart; bitter comedies of longing, frustration, betrayal and redemption.
Matthew Bourne’s THE MIDNIGHT BELL is inspired by the great English novelist Patrick Hamilton(Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky, Hangover Square) who created some of the most authentic fiction of his era; stories borne out of years of social interactions with the working man and woman at his favourite location – the London Pub.
Matthew Bourne said today “Patrick Hamilton’s literary world could be seen as the flip-side of his close contemporary, Noel Coward, whose witty and glamorous world of cocktails and high society made him so fashionable and successful. Hamilton, on the other hand, wrote about the lives of everyday people, full of pathos, comedy and thwarted romance. Indeed his own personal setbacks and increasingly serious drinking problem became the source from which he created his finest and most individual work. More than any other author of the time, Hamilton’s characters speak with the authentic voice of the era and it’s the raw passion and secret lives that lie beneath the conventional exterior that appeals to me so much”
Master storyteller Bourne once again joins forces with the Olivier and Tony award-winning team of Terry Davies (music), Lez Brotherston (set and costume design), Paule Constable (lighting design) and Paul Groothuis (sound design) for this brand new production.
The cast will feature twelve of New Adventures’ finest performers in roles that will challenge and reveal the darker reaches of the human heart. The cast for THE MIDNIGHT BELL are Paris Fitzpatrick, Glenn Graham, Bryony Harrison, Daisy May Kemp, Kate Lyons, Michela Meazza, Andrew Monaghan, Liam Mower, Danny Reubens, Christopher Thomas, Richard Winsor and Bryony Wood.
This is a Dance Theatre event not to be missed.
The World Premiere tour of THE MIDNIGHT BELL combined with the forthcoming national tour and Sadler’s Wells’ Christmas season of NUTCRACKER! will see New Adventures visit 26 mid and large-scale venues throughout the UK, firmly cementing the company’s return to the stage.
New Adventures is a National Portfolio Organisation supported using public funds by Arts Council England.
Selladoor Worldwide is delighted to announce that BRING IT ON THE MUSICAL will embark on a UK and Ireland Tour following a Christmas season at London’s Southbank Centre. The tour will open at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre on Wednesday 26 January 2022 before visiting Southampton, Edinburgh, Blackpool, Aberdeen, Manchester, Cheltenham, Nottingham, Birmingham, Dublin, Woking, Sheffield, Cardiff, Sunderland, Glasgow, Bradford and Milton Keynes.
The production will be led by West End and Love Island star Amber Davies as ‘Campbell’ and four-time Olympic medallist and Strictly Come Dancing winner, Louis Smith as ‘Cameron’. Full casting to be announced soon.
BRING IT ON THE MUSICAL takes audiences on a high-flying, energy-fuelled journey which tackles friendship, jealousy, betrayal and forgiveness – wrapped up in explosive choreography and tricks.
Cheer-royalty and newly crowned Squad Captain, Campbell, should be embarking on her most cheertastic senior year at Truman High School. When she’s forced to move to the neighbouring hard-knock Jackson High, Campbell fears her life is over. But an unlikely friendship catapults Campbell back into contention with a powerhouse squad and the fire to achieve the impossible.
Inspired by the 2000 film of the same name, BRING IT ON THE MUSICAL features an original score by the multi award winning creator of “Hamilton”, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Pulitzer Prize winning Tom Kitt, composer of “Next To Normal”. The book is written by the Tony Award winning writer of “Avenue Q”, Jeff Whitty and the lyrics are by both Lin-Manuel Miranda and writer of the stage adaptation of “High Fidelity”, Amanda Green.
BRING IT ON THE MUSICAL is directed by Guy Unsworth and choreographed by Fabian Aloise, with set design by Libby Watson, costume design by Susan Kulkarni, lighting design by Matt Daw, sound design by Ross Portway, music supervision by Mark Crossland and musical direction from Sarah Burrell. They will be joined by Danny MacDonald as acrobatic director and Aundrea Fudge as dialect coach.
BRING IT ON THE MUSICAL is produced by Selladoor Worldwide, has a libretto by Jeff Whitty, a score by Tom Kitt and Lin-Manuel Miranda lyrics by Amanda Green and Lin-Manuel Miranda. BRING IT ON THE MUSICAL is inspired by the motion picture Bring It On written by Jessica Bendinger. Performed by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe) Limited.
Joining Simon Russell Beale who will play Johann Sebastian Bach in the world premiere of Nina Raine’s Bach & Sons are Samuel Blenkin as Carl, Pandora Colin as Maria Barbara, Ruth Lass as Katharina, Douggie McMeekin as Wilhelm, Racheal Ofori as Anna Magdalena and Pravessh Rana as Frederick the Great.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner, performances at The Bridge are from 23 June – 9 September 2021 . The associate director is James Cousins, with set designs by Vicki Mortimer, costumes designed by Khadija Raza, lighting by Jon Clark, sound by Gareth Fry and music supervised by George Fenton.
Johann Sebastian Bach, irascible and turbulent, writes music of sensuous delight for his aristocratic patrons, and gives voice to his deep religious faith in music for the church. He’s touchy, he’s fabulously rude, he has high standards (he stabs a bassoonist for playing badly) and he’s constantly in trouble with his employers. Music is the family business – both his wives and all his children are musicians. His eldest son, Wilhelm, is brilliant, chaotic and paralysed by his father’s genius. Tense, industrious Carl is less talented than his father but more successful. As the years pass, their gripping family drama provokes furious arguments about love, God and above all music. What is it for – to give pleasure, like a cup of coffee in the sun, or to reveal the divine order that gives life its meaning? Nina Raine’s play is an anthem to the art that draws us together and sings of our common humanity.
Simon Russell Beale made his Bridge debut last year in A Christmas Carol, also directed by Nicholas Hytner whom he has previously collaborated with on The Alchemist, Much Ado About Nothing, Major Barbara, Collaborators, London Assurance and Timon of Athens all at the National Theatre. In 2019 he was seen in The Lehman Trilogy at the National Theatre and in the West End and later reprised the role in 2020 on Broadway. As well as being the recipient of multiple theatre awards, in 2003 he was made a CBE for his services to the Arts and in 2019 he was made a Knight Bachelor.
Samuel Blenkin’s theatre credits include The Ocean at the End of the Lane for the National Theatre and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre. His film credits include The French Dispatch and Misbehaviour. On television his credits include Atlanta, Dracula, Pennyworth, Peaky Blinders, Grantchester and Doctors.
Pandora Colin’s theatre credits include 8 Hotels for Chichester Festival Theatre, Our Town for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar for Sheffield Theatres, The Vote for the Donmar Warehouse and After the Dance, Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, Women of Troy and Some Trace of Her all for the National Theatre. On film her credits include Earwig and The Witch, Aftermath and The Lady in the Van. On television her credits include Master of None, Chernobyl, Delicious, Penny Dreadful and Toast of London.
Ruth Lass’ theatre credits include Crooked Dances for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Equus for Theatre Royal Stratford East and Great Apes for the Arcola Theatre. She also played Ariel in The Tempest at the Barbican and Gertrude in Hamlet at Riverside Studios. Her film credits include Disobedience, The Book of Gabrielle, Indian Summer/ Alive and Kicking and Mad Cows. Her television credits include Strike: Lethal White, Silent Witness, Houdini and Doyle and White Teeth.
Douggie McMeekin’s theatre credits include Dirty Crusty at the Yard Theatre, The Night Before Christmas for Southward Playhouse, A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Young Vic and Wendy & Peter for the Royal Shakespeare Company. His film credits include Nasty Women, The Hustle and The Call Up. On television his credits include The Beast Must Die, Harlots, Chernobyl, Traitors and The Crown.
Writer and performer Racheal Ofori’s theatre credits include Rare Earth Mettle for the Royal Court Theatre, Three Sisters for the National Theatre for which she received an Ian Charleson special commendation, Pygmalion for Headlong and West Yorkshire Playhouse, Romeo and Juliet at the Garrick and The Merchant of Venice at Shakespeare’s Globe. Her one-woman shows are Portrait, which played to sell-out audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe prior to a UK Tour and So Many Reasons which ran at Soho Theatre. Her television credits include Sliced, In The Long Run, Treadstone and Entreprice. Ofori’s film credits include Artemis Fowl, Guns Akimbo and Ready Player One.
Pravessh Rana is making his professional stage debut in Bach & Sons having graduated from LAMDA. His television credits include The Serpent and Foundation.
Nina Raine’s other plays include Stories, Consent,Tiger Country, Rabbit and Tribes as well as an adaptation of The Drunks by the Durnenkov Brothers. She was shortlisted for the 2004 Verity Bargate Award and awarded the 2006 Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards for Most Promising Playwright for her debut play Rabbit. Tribes won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Foreign Play and the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Play and has been performed in eighteen different countries. Raine was nominated for a Susan Blackburn Smith Award for Stories and Consent.
Nicholas Hytner co-founded London Theatre Company with Nick Starr. For the Bridge Theatre he has directed Young Marx, Julius Caesar, Allelujah!, Alys, Always, A Midsummer Night’s Dream,Two Ladies, Beat the Devil, The Shrine, Bed Among the Lentils and A Christmas Carol. Previously he was Director of the National Theatre from 2003 to 2015. Hisbook Balancing Acts is published by Jonathan Cape
Performances of Bach & Sons have gone on sale with socially distanced seating; when government guidelines allow, these performances will move to full seating capacity. All customers will be notified of any necessary changes to their bookings.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Address: Bridge Theatre, 3 Potters Fields Park, London, SE1 2SG
With today’s announcement expected to state that lockdown restrictions will be easing on 17th May, Josephine Burns, Chair of Without Walls, has provided a comment about the Outdoor Arts sector. Without Walls is a consortium of over 30 festivals and arts organisations that bring fantastic outdoor arts to people in towns and cities across the UK.
She comments:
Without Walls and its 35 partner organisations welcome the recent news from the government that entertainment venues and visitor attractions will be reopening on 17th May. With an abundance of fresh air and because they aren’t confined, outdoor arts are as safe as shopping. We’re excited to bring extraordinary outdoor art back to public spaces this summer, with artists returning to our streets, festivals and venues.
Without Walls has an important role to play in supporting artists and organisations to get back outdoors in ways that are safe, responsible and celebratory for everyone. In that context, we were pleased to be invited to government roundtable discussions with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, to offer guidance on the possibilities outdoor arts presents for organisations and businesses across the country.
Public safety at our events is paramount, and Without Walls partners have worked together over the last year to develop a range of resources and guidelines for artists and organisations to have the confidence to present work in outdoor settings.
This year is an important one for the outdoor arts sector in supporting cultural recovery after the pandemic. We recently announced our largest programme ever for 2021, with £650k invested in supporting artists to develop and tour 21 new ambitious projects across the country.
The Outdoor Arts sector prides itself on making extraordinary things happen in a huge range of contexts, spaces and places, and we’re delighted to bring outdoor work back to UK audiences this year.
LONDON CLASSIC THEATRE ANNOUNCE UK TOUR OF ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR
London Classic Theatre present
ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR
Written by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Michael Cabot;Set design by Simon Scullion; Costume design by Kate Lyons
Lighting design by Andy Grange
UK Tour
16 June – 16 October 2021
London Classic Theatre today announce a new UK tour of their postponed 20th anniversary production of Absurd Person Singular by Alan Ayckbourn. Michael Cabot directs returning cast, John Dorney (Geoffrey Jackson), Felicity Houlbrooke (Jane Hopcroft), Helen Keeley (Eva Jackson), Rosanna Miles (Marion Brewster-Wright), Graham O’Mara (Ronald Brewster-Wright) and Paul Sandys (Sidney Hopcroft).
The production opens at Derby Theatre on 16 June, before touring to Coventry, Malvern, Guildford, Peterborough, Weston-Super-Mare, Cheltenham, Bury St Edmunds, Bath, Doncaster, Winchester, Ilfracombe, Chelmsford and Exeter, concluding at Theatr Clwyd on 16 October. All performances will be staged in line with current government guidelines.
Artistic Director Michael Cabot said today “We are thrilled to be getting back on the road again. After such a turbulent and challenging year, we are looking forward to reconnecting with audiences and playing our part in the return of live theatre around the UK. We have been in regular contact with our cast and stage management throughout the shutdown and I’m delighted that they are all returning for the new tour. They are a fantastic team and it will be wonderful to see them all back at work, doing what they do best. Rehearsals start in four weeks and we can’t wait!”
Three married couples. Three kitchens. Three Christmas parties.
Sidney Hopcroft, a small-time tradesman, persuades wife Jane to throw a party hoping to find favour with a bank manager and local architect. As celebrations begin, class differences and naked ambition combine to hilarious effect as, one by one, the characters seek refuge in Jane’s kitchen.
Over the next two years, the Jacksons and Brewster-Wrights take turns to host festivities. But Sidney’s star has begun to rise and roles are increasingly reversed as the cracks in the other couples’ marriages begin to show.
Absurd Person Singular first premièred in 1972 and was awarded the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy.
Alan Ayckbourn is an award-winning playwright. His theatre credits include The Norman Conquests (Evening Standard Best Play Award and Tony Award For Best Revival Of A Play), Bedroom Farce, Just Between Ourselves (Evening Standard Best Play Award), A Chorus of Disapproval (Olivier Award for Best Comedy and Evening Standard Best Comedy Award), Woman in Mind, A Small Family Business (Evening Standard Best Play Award), Henceforward (Evening Standard Best Comedy Award), Man of the Moment (Evening Standard Best Comedy Award), House & Garden and Private Fears in Public Places, among others.
John Dorney plays Geoffrey Jackson. Previous credits for the company include Hysteria, Absent Friends, The Caretaker and Humble Boy. Other theatre credits include Flight, Peter Pan (National Theatre), Better Watch Out (Hampstead Theatre), At the Back, Out of Focus (Soho Theatre), Volpone (Wilton’s Music Hall), The Revenger’s Tragedy, The Stranger (Southwark Playhouse), A-Team: The Musical (Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh), Coalition (Pleasance, Edinburgh and Islington) and Seasons Greetings (Union Theatre).
Felicity Houlbrooke plays Jane Hopcroft. Previous credits for the company include My Mother Said I Never Should and The Importance of Being Earnest. Other theatre credits include Hard Times (Oldham Coliseum), The Railway Children (King’s Cross Theatre), Echoes (Arcola Theatre) The King’s Speech (Chichester Festival Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre), BlackCoffee (UK tour), The Diary of AnneFrank (York Theatre Royal/UK tour) and Gore (Charing Cross Theatre).
Helen Keeley plays Eva Jackson. Previous credits for the company include Private Lives and The Importance of Being Earnest. Other theatre credits include The Picture of Dorian Gray (Trafalgar Studios/UK tour), Yap Yap Yap (Battersea Arts Centre), Half, To the End (Southwark Playhouse) and A Summer Day’s Dream (Finborough Theatre).
Rosanna Miles plays Marion Brewster-Wright. Previous theatre credits include Below Stairs (Arts Theatre), The Crucible (UK tour), When Holly Met Ivy (Nuffield Southampton Theatres), Cinderella (Winchester Theatre Royal), Walking the Tightrope (Arcola Theatre), Beyond Nora (Exeter Northcott Theatre), Le Jardin (Bath Theatre Royal) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (UK tour). Television credits include The Grimleys, Teachers and Specials.
Graham O’Mara plays Ronald Brewster-Wright. Previous credits for the company include No Man’s Land. Other theatre credits include Government Inspector and The Three Musketeers (Young Vic), Borders (Arcola Theatre), BU21 (Trafalgar Studios), Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, TheWind in the Willows (Storyhouse, Chester), Sense and Sensibility (The Watermill Theatre), Alice (Sheffield Theatres), A Man of Letters (Orange Tree Theatre) and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds). For television, his credits include Friday Night Dinner, Sirens and The Queen: 1974.
Paul Sandys plays Sidney Hopcroft. Previous credits for the company include Private Lives, Entertaining Mr Sloane and The Importance of Being Earnest. Other theatre credits include Peter Pan (New Vic Theatre) and Friend or Foe (UK tour). For television, his credits include Apple Tree House and for film, his credits include The Sprint King.
Michael Cabot directs and is the founder and Artistic Director of London Classic Theatre. He has directed all forty-one LCT productions since their touring debut in 2000, including No Man’s Land, My Mother Said I Never Should, Private Lives, Hysteria, The Birthday Party, Waiting for Godot, Absent Friends, Entertaining Mr Sloane and Equus. His freelance work as director includes three recent collaborations with award-winning playwright Henry Naylor, The Collector (Arcola Theatre & UK tour), Angel and Borders (Edinburgh Festival Fringe).
Theatres Trust director Jon Morgan has commented on today’s expected announcement that Stage 3 of the government’s roadmap will be going ahead on 17th May, including the reopening of indoor venues such as theatres:
Today’s announcement that Stage 3 of the reopening roadmap will proceed as planned on 17 May is welcome news for theatres and audiences alike. While many theatres in England are planning to reopen in some capacity, whether in their usual buildings or in temporary outdoor performance spaces, there are still be tough times ahead for the sector. Most theatres are not financially viable with audiences below 70% capacity. Therefore, many theatres reopening at this point will be doing so at a loss and others will be unable to reopen until fuller audiences can be welcomed back. We hope the results of the government’s Events Research Programme will enable the confident return of full audiences at Stage 4.
WITH LIVESTREAM AVAILBLE VIA THEATRE DISCOVERY PLATFORM THESPIE
The star line up has been confirmed for the second concert of the series for Monday Night at the Apollo – which will be performed in front of a socially distanced audience at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue on Monday 14 June, and simultaneously livestreamed to viewers at home via the theatre discovery platform Thespie, which is dedicated to bringing the best live and recorded theatre to audiences around the world.
Shan Ako (Les Miserable, Xfactor), Arthur Darvill (Once, Doctor Who), Sophie Evans (Wicked, Wizard of Oz), Sandra Marvin (Waitress, Emmerdale) and Oliver Tompsett (&Juliet, Wicked) will join on-stage for an intimate night of music and theatrical chat, featuring ovation worthy performances of songs from their favourite genres. Host Greg Barnett (Miss Littlewood, Swallows and Amazons) invites his audience behind the curtain to catch these castmates as you’ve never seen them before. Sharing their most cherished memories and experiences from their careers, alongside performances of music personal to them, West End royalty celebrate the craft and industry they’ve so dearly missed.
Monday Night at the Apollo has been conceived of to support the theatre industry, and a percentage of profits will be donated to Acting for Others, an organisation made up of 14 individual theatrical charities.
Tickets are on sale now for all three concerts: Monday 24 May, Monday 14 June and Monday 5 July. The producers will continue to review each date as it approaches and react according to government guidelines at the time. Aimie Atkinson, Cassidy Janson, Lucie Jones, Cedric Neal and Julian Ovenden have been confirmed for the first concert, and the line up for the third concert will be announced soon.
Producers Greg Barnett and Hugh Summers said, “We’re excited to be announcing the second of our all-star line-ups for ‘Monday Night At The Apollo’. We have five of British Theatre’s best performers joining us for this night to celebrate the re-opening of our wonderful industry and we simply cannot wait for them to be out on stage, sharing their talent, in front of a live audience. We are thrilled that all three performances will also still be live-streamed to viewers at home via Thespie.com. The industry faces huge challenges in its recovery and we still hope to be able to raise funds for the charity ‘Acting For Others’ to support the thousands of freelancers who continue to be hit hardest as our sector begins to slowly reawaken. Theatre and its audiences know how vital it will be to support each other on the road to recovery and in these seemingly crucial final months, we ask your support, kindness, and most of all your theatrical presence, as we embark on our journey back to the stage. Public health and the safety of our audiences are still our utmost priority and the performances will adhere to the current government guidelines.”
100% Ticket exchange guarantee.
‘Monday Night at the Apollo’ is part of ‘Rising Stars Festival’ headed by Nimax theatres, showcasing the work of 23 producers making their West End Producing debuts.
“If these enterprising young producers are the future of the West End, it’s looking good” ~ Nica Burns – Nimax
This concert series is musically directed by Richard Beadle (Hamilton) and George Dyer (Last Five Years), and produced by Greg Barnett and Hugh Summers for Wild Mountain Productions Ltd.
A CELEBRATION OF LGBTQ+ VOICES & STORIES RUNNING FROM 6 – 13 JUNE 2021
Paul Taylor-Mills and The Turbine Theatre proudly present Rally Fest – a celebration of LGBTQ+ voices and stories, opening at the Battersea based theatre from 6-13 June 2021.
The festival, which includes 12 shows, sets out to promote allyship within the creative industries and encourage artists to take up space with LGBTQ+ work. Rally Fest aims to promote ways in which recognising the craft of under-represented voices can make society a richer, more cohesive and dynamic place to live. The festival will feature both new work and re-energised classics that mark important moments of our history.
Paul Taylor-Mills, Artistic Director, The Turbine Theatre, said, “The opportunity to mount a festival of new work from under-represented voices has been an ambition of mine for some time. Over the last year we’ve had a huge amount of time to reflect about our practice, to think about the kind of work we want to create, encouraging artists to tell the stories of today. My hope is that #RallyFest provides us with a platform to do this, as well as allowing us to look back on some seminal moments in LBGTQ+ theatre.
During the curation of the festival, I’ve come across artists who I didn’t previously know existed, and have learned a huge amount about what is and isn’t out there for under-represented theatre-makers.
We hope the festival allows for conversation and for change. I believe so strongly in the power of theatre to unite people and to educate and to learn, including myself. I look forward to sharing our varied programme with our loyal audience and can’t wait to re-open our doors on 17 May.”
***
Queens of MT
An evening of showtunes with drag queens!
An Evening OF Show tunes with Drag Queens: Misty Van Cartier (Priscilla Queen Of The Dessert), River Medway, Samantha Stone and your Host; Tiana Biscuit (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bugsy Malone).
Join these Broadway babes for ‘One Night Only’, we‘ll be singing some of your favourite Show tunes. This is guaranteed to be a ‘Sunday In The Park With George’ you’ll never forget! So, ‘Don’t Rain on my Parade’ and BOOK NOW!
All artists will appear subject to availability.
***
Wreckage
‘This. What I’m feeling means you meant something. That you continue to mean something.
That the feeling we shared. Share. Is real.
I never want that to go away.
When that goes away you won’t be close anymore.’
Sam’s life is completely devastated by the sudden, unexpected death of his fiancé Noel. Left alone with his fractured mind, Sam works tirelessly to keep Noel close to him as he wrestles with his guilt and anger at the world. But when Sam stumbles upon new scientific theories about consciousness and our very existence, he is convinced there is a way to really see Noel again. Harlow Playhouse presents this reading of new work by emerging talent Tom Ratcliffe (VELVET, Circa) directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair. Wreckage is a touching and emotional two-hander about learning to live with a loss that can never be resolved.
***
Safe Sex
A collection containing the following three plays byHarvey Fierstein.
Manny and Jake
Two young men meet in a bar. Manny is literally praying for sex; Jake is only too eager to oblige. What the latter does not know is that Manny has AIDS.
Safe Sex
Two recently reconciled male lovers confront the challenge of their on-again, off-again relationship in the time of AIDS. Ghee, an aging, congenial gay man, may be using guidelines for safe sex as an excuse for his fading sex drive. This dismays Mead, a virile and no-nonsense blue-collar type. The emotional seesaw of their interactions creates the compelling dynamics of this fascinating short piece.
On Tidy Endings
A man has died of AIDS, leaving behind a son, a male lover, and an ex-wife. She still loves him and accepts the fact that he was gay, and that he died in the arms of his male lover, who selflessly cared for him right up until the end.
***
Steenie byIan Hallard
George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was a Seventeenth Century celebrity. He was beautiful, charismatic, and his lust for power led to him becoming the favourite of not one, but two, English kings.
Steenie is a sexy, comedic, historical romp, and tells the true story of Villiers’ rise and fall, and of his infamous love affair with King James I.
***
Blowing Whistles
Matthew Toddis the award winning author of the hit LGBT mental health book Straight Jacket, described by Elton John ‘as an essential read for every gay person on the planet’. His first play, Blowing Whistles, last seen in London in 2008, is a painfully honest and funny drama about the complications of aspects of modern gay life.
Nigel loves his hedonistic lifestyle – he has a long-term partner, goes clubbing and has lots of sex in their open relationship. Jamie, isn’t sure things are so great…
The night before Pride in London, the couple make contact with a stranger on the internet, a mysterious young man that seems too good to be true. They make plans for a night of casual sex, but their young guest has a very different agenda…
***
Obsession
Obsession is a 1920’s gothic-horror romance about a young, black, American paranormal debunker who travels to England to find his Sceptics Society’s long absent founder but instead discovers the woman he left behind, intent on reliving their relationship in ways that will challenge this sceptic to his core.
Obsession is Sophia Murphy’s debut play.
***
Boy Out The City
‘I wanted to be as close to It as possible. If England was a body, It was the belly button and I wanted in. I want to crawl inside that pulpit of stink and feel in harness with it and with me.’
Boy Out The City is a brand new intimate autobiographical one man show written and performed by Declan Bennett (Once, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fatherland, Kiss of the Spiderwoman).
A story about moving in and moving out of the Big Smoke and the love loss and sexuality that showed up in the most unexpected places.
Directed byNancy Sullivan.
***
Work In Progress Showing: Oh We Do Like To Be
HighTidepresent a work in progress extract of a new play by commissioned writerSonia Jalaly.
A stack of postcards, a trail of secrets and an innate curiosity leads Beth to Blackpool where the lights flash and the rain glistens.
On a journey to find out who she is, Beth encounters all of what Blackpool has to offer from ballroom dancers to drag queens to organists to tribute acts. Someone must have the answers she’s looking for.
Oh We Do Like To Be tells an intergenerational story about nostalgia, identity and the good old British seaside through the eyes of a woman who longs to know who she is, featuring appearances from the likes of Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion and Bucks Fizz (kind of..)
***
Heterophobia
Gays are the majority. Straights are illegal.
Thanks to a population explosion, the UK government began to actively encourage gay relationships. Decades later, being gay is the law, babies are born only by government sanctioned IVF and anyone found harbouring heterosexual tendencies is punished severely in a correctional facility.
We follow the story of Loretta Devlin, a woman in prison for having a heterosexual relationship. Heterophobia is a battle of wits between Loretta and her interviewer Doctor Kane. He has been tasked with sourcing specific information about Loretta’s ‘crimes’… but Loretta will only give the answers if she gets some answers herself, answers to questions like ‘who outed me?’ and ‘what became of my straight friends and lover?’ And then… we learn the terrifying instruction Doctor Kane has been tasked to perform before he leaves the room.
Heterophobia is a two-hander for actors in their 70s, which, through its ‘flipped’ viewpoint, shines a light on modern-day homophobia. This performance is a rehearsed reading.
Written by Ross Berkeley Simpson (Olivier nominated Warheads).
Directed by Scott Le Crass (Oncomm winner Rose starring Maureen Lipman).
***
Fister Act
‘We are lost in the darkness of heterosexuality. the endless beige of cisgender, searching, longing to be free’.
Join me, Fatt Butcher, for the world premiere of my Fister Act, an autobiographical musical about my inability to get past the knuckles (inspired, I know).
Fister Act, is a life-affirming queer fantasy adventure through time, space, bodies, and brains. Join intergalactic sexpot and non-binary drag icon in the making, Fatt Butcher, as we journey beyond the knuckles, battle our demons, and free ourselves from shame with the help of an enchanted bottle of poppers and the disembodied voice of Liza Minelli.
With an original score of synth-pop electro musical theatre (think Bohemian Rhapsody in space) and kaleidoscopic visuals, Fister Act is a cult classic in the making. Oh, and it’s strictly BYOP – bring your own poppers!
***
Showtune Disco Bingo
WARNING: this is not your ordinary bingo, Fatt Butcher’s Disco Bingo is a FULL ON PRODUCTION BABES! And this time we are bringing you an all musical theatre special, so get your tits and teeth on and jazz hands at the ready.
Join Birmingham’s queen of [bingo] balls, statement earrings and sausage rolls, Fatt Butcher for an unmissable night of outrageous performance, powerhouse vocals, games, pastry, poppers, and prizes, with an unforgettable soundtrack from DJ Sophie Ellis Bisto.
A critically acclaimed artist & winner of many awards, Fatt’s Butcher has been described by NME as ‘ramshackle’ and by trolls on twitter as ’the accelerating decline of humanity’ (accolades of which they are understandably proud). See you there babes!
Join international multi award winning Cabaret star Velma Celli as she celebrates the most iconic drag moments of film, stage and popular culture, many of which helped cultivate and shape her into the living drag legend she is today!
From David Bowie, to Priscilla and every drag queen remix in between, be wowed by Velma’s triple threat of heavenly vocals, theatrical swagger and razor-sharp wit as we remember those trail blazing cross dressing legends who paved the way for equal rights, no matter the sexual orientation.
Known as “The UK’s Queen of live vocal drag”, Velma has been charming audiences across the globe for the past 10 years. The alter ego of West End star Ian Stroughair who has appeared in hit musicals Cats, Fame, Chicago and Rent, to which he received critical acclaim.
Last year Velma’s A Brief History of Drag entertained audiences across the globe on a tour which included Australia (Best Cabaret Nomination in Perth), 54 Below in N.Y.C, a sell-out U.K tour ending in a smash hit run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Velma is the currently reigning recipient of the “Best Cabaret” award from Fringeworld, Perth Australia!
In 2015 Velma was invited to appear on BBC’s EastEnders for a very special guest episode playing herself, starred opposite Danny Dyer in the music short Nebraska, performed with pop icon Anastacia and West End and Broadway legends Ruthie Henshall, Kerry Ellis and Frances Ruffelle to name but a few. She can also be spotted in American comedy series Piss Off, I Love You and on the silver screen in The Night of The Lotus.
Last year she appeared in the Olivier award-winning circus show, La Soiree, fronted the McDonalds “we are awake” campaign, was nominated for a Great British Pantomime Award and even performed privately for royalty.
The headline act for the BBC’s Best Of the Fringe closing night concert at the Edinburgh Fringe 2015 and the winner of the coveted Three Weeks Editors Award, a two-year long residency at The Hippodrome, London, there isn’t much our Velma hasn’t done!
DISNEY’S CLASSIC MOVIE GENERATES HUGE PUBLIC DEMAND
New musical directed by award-winning theatre-makers
Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison
World Premiere at Newcastle Theatre Royal in August 2021
For tickets and all information, see www.bedknobsonstage.com
Michael Harrison is thrilled to announce that Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks – which will make its world premiere as an exciting new stage musical this Summer – is to extend its UK Tour, and today confirms a series of new dates for 2022, following huge public demand for the initial tour.
Performances begin at Newcastle Theatre Royal on Saturday 14 August 2021, with the UK Tour now extended through to March 2022. The tour includes a 5-week Christmas season at Leeds Grand Theatre.
Tickets are on General Sale at www.bedknobsonstage.com
Michael Harrison said: “As theatres across the UK & Ireland prepare to reopen, I’m thrilled that so many want to host our exciting new production of Bedknobs and Broomsticks; so we are extending this world premiere tour. Bedknobs and Broomsticks will be one of the biggest shows on the road this year with a cast and crew of over 70 people to bring this classic story to magical life on stage.”
Enter a world of magic and fantasy with Disney’s classic movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks. With the original songs by the legendary Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), including Portobello Road, The Age Of Not Believing, The Beautiful Briny and new music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and book by Brian Hill, Bedknobs and Broomsticks will be brought to life by award-winning theatre-makers Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison.
When the three orphaned Rawlins children are reluctantly evacuated from wartime London to live with the mysterious Eglantine Price, they have no idea what adventures lie ahead. Upon discovering Eglantine to be a trainee witch, they join forces to search for a secret spell that will defeat the enemy once and for all. Armed with an enchanted bedknob, a bewitched broomstick and a magical flying bed, they encounter surprising new friendships on their journey from Portobello Road to the depths of the beautiful briny sea.
This magical musical starts its UK Tour this year….it’s time to start believing!
Casting for the production will be announced at a later date.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is produced by Michael Harrison by special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions.
