Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, With Faye Brookes Announced Hull New Theatre’s Panto Has The Finest Cast Of Them All!
Oh Yes It Has! Hull New Theatre’s beloved panto is set to return with a stellar cast lined-up for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs starring Faye Brookes and Neil Hurst along with legendary panto Dame Nigel Ellacott.
Best known for her role as Kate Connor in ITV1’s Coronation Street, Faye Brookes will play the title role of Snow White in the venue’s glittering festive production from 11 December to 2 January. Having trained in musical theatre, Faye starred as Frenchie in Grease, Princess Fiona in Shrek The Musical in the West End and as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical on tour across the UK.
Earlier this year Faye showed us her skill on skates, coming second in ITV1’s Dancing on Ice and from September Faye will tour the UK as Roxie Hart in Chicago.
Playing Muddles will be comedian Neil Hurst, who returns for a second season following his much-loved Hull panto debut in Aladdin. Best-known for his roles in The Syndicate and Fresh Meat, Neil was also a co-host of ITVs All Star Family Fortunes, and starred alongside John Malkovich and Rupert Grint in The ABC Murders for the BBC.
Completing the line-up will be Dame extraordinaire, the fabulous Nigel Ellacott, starring as The Nurse. No stranger to panto Nigel will be bringing his array of fabulous frocks, quick wit and encyclopaedic knowledge of pantomime, marking his 46th year in panto. Nigel last appeared as Dame at Hull New Theatre alongside Sherrie Hewson in Christmas 2014.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be brought to the stage by Crossroads Pantomimes, the world’s biggest pantomime producer.
Crossroads’ Chief Executive Michael Harrison said: “After a year away from theatre we’re incredibly excited to bring pantomime back to Hull and are thrilled that the supremely talented Faye, Neil and Nigel will be among the cast creating this new production of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs for the New Theatre.”
Janice Wincott, Theatres and Halls Manager said, ‘We are very much looking forward to welcoming this talented cast to Hull New Theatre and our audiences back to our magical pantomime who once more will be able to experience the return of a much loved laugh-a-minute extravaganza and thrills along the way”.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be packed with comedy, magic and audience participation and will play at Hull New Theatre from Saturday 11 December 2021 to Sunday 2 January 2022 with tickets from £16.50.
RADA TALKS: Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sian Clifford
Live at the Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre
1 September 2021
Broadcast on DICE.fm on 15 September
Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sian Clifford in discussion at RADA’s Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre on 1 September
Limited number of tickets available to the general public through a ballot from today at www.rada.ac.uk/ballot
Tickets are available to buy for the DICE broadcast from 16 August at 10am on www.dice.fm
Award-winning actress, writer and producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) joins fellow RADA graduate and award-winner, Sian Clifford (Fleabag, Quiz and Inside No. 9) to discuss their experiences working together, their time studying at RADA, and how they have navigated their respective careers within the world of film, television and theatre.
Chaired by Farah Nayeri, journalist, author, and London-based culture writer for The New York Times and host of CultureBlast podcast.
RADA have made a limited number of tickets available to buy via a Public Ballot which opens on the 12 August. Successful applicants will have 48 hours to book tickets from the 20 August.
With special thanks to Spektrix for their support.
To buy tickets for the DICE broadcast visit www.dice.fm
Join us on the 1 September, for the next in our RADA Talks series featuring award-winning actors and directors sharing unique insights from extraordinary careers. Past guests include Kenneth Branagh, Ralph Fiennes, Imelda Staunton and O-T Fagbenle.
Proceeds will go towards RADA’s Stage Critical campaign.
Hot Gay Time Machine is a scream. The fast paced, high camp jaunt through time shows us pivotal moments in the lives of Toby Marlow and Zak Ghazi-Torbati from coming out to their mothers through to university life and beyond.
From the moment you enter the theatre you know exactly what you’re getting – Toby and Zach bounce around the audience firing off questions about gay culture and effusive greetings in between high energy dance routines. By the time stragglers come in, they are welcomed with whoops from the entire audience, creating a communal atmosphere that is inclusive, celebratory and ready to party.
As you’d expect from the creators of Six – Lucy Moss directs – the songs are sharp and sassy and the banter between the ridiculously talented duo is lovingly bitchy. There is some wonderful audience participation in family scenes, and Marlow and Ghazi-Torbati never miss a chance to raise a laugh. As well as using familiar songs, the original numbers are hilarious, especially those describing the realisation that they were gay and later as they portray straight men bemoaning the loss of rainbows and unicorns to “the gays”. There are some poignant moments as the two riff on friendship and their families but just when it seems things are going to get deep, a filthy or bitchy comment gets flung in, lightening the mood and effortlessly reigniting the party energy – and Hot Gay Time Machine is the best party in town.
Writers Bert Tyler-Moore and the late George Jeffrie were able to apply their combined comedic talent to both stage and tv. Jeffrie’s legacy will live on in this piece, managing to balance satire with a great sending up to make the audience belly laugh. The Windsors transfers to stage from tv screen without losing any of its edge.
Harry Enfield became the living caricature of Prince Charles that we are all so familiar with, in edgy cartoons and sketch shows like spitting image. Terry-Ann Oberman brings a hint of Cruella de vil to Camilla that builds her character to megalomaniac proportions. Oberman gives an outstanding singing performance in her song revealing her feelings about Princess Diana. The ludicrous shades of dark and light are accentuated by the young princes and their spouses. Kara Tointon is a particularly convincing Kate and her fight scene with Meghan (Joelle Dyson) had the audience laughing out loud.
I am not sure whether the production team are being sensitive to the times or want to attract a wider audience, I do think they have an opportunity here to push the boundaries of acceptance a little further. Having said that, its almost pantomime proportions are a great way to escape the overly serious and sensationalised media coverage of the royals. They are a great subject to work with!
Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge – until 21 August 2021.
Reviewed by Steph Lott
5*****
When I took my seat last night, it felt like life was starting to go back to normal. The theatre was nearly full, with a family audience and a panto atmosphere. There was cheesy musak playing, a glittering stage curtain and the scene was set for a wonderful evening of belly laughs and silly slapstick fun.
Magic Goes Wrong is a highly entertaining comedy play, created through the combined talents of Mischief and Penn and Teller. It’s part of Mischief’s “Goes Wrong” series of plays, which include “The Play That Goes Wrong” and “Peter Pan Goes Wrong”. The show contains a series of simple, well-known magic tricks that go disastrously wrong, all centred around a very loose plot which is that a gang of accident-prone magicians, whose leader has father issues, have set up a charity fundraiser show. You get to see a woman fired from a cannon, a very tall lady sawn in half, as well as card tricks and mind-reading. The humour is gloriously silly and slapstick. Trousers fall down. There are bare bottoms! German duo Bar & Spitzmaus sport comedy foreign accents. The Mind Mangler gets fed rude lines via the teleprompter.
However, Magic Goes Wrong is so carefully constructed that the constant flow of funny acts, magic tricks, their execution and ensuing surprises, leaves you laughing out loud and it never drags. Whilst the tricks fail spectacularly most of the time, there are still some fantastic feats of magic thrown in for good measure. The influence of Penn & Teller is definitely woven through the play and even the tricks that go wrong are packed with sleight of hand, misdirection and real magic.
The production has a brilliant cast: Daniel Anthony (Mickey), Valerie Cutko (Eugenia), Sam Hill (Sophisticato), Kiefer Moriarty (The Blade), David Nellist (Mind Mangler), Jocelyn Prah (Spitzmaus) and Chloe Tannenbaum (Bar). The German twins Spitzmaus and Bar were my personal favourites – something oddly sinister about them! I also enjoyed the fact that the technicians and assorted stage people are also involved in the action, as with other Mischief productions that I have seen. Director Adam Meggido and movement director Ali James have created between them a complicated entertaining show, with a nostalgic feel to it. I loved Will Bowen’s glittery set – everything sparkled.
Also to note that there is also a cameo appearance on film from Derren Brown who donated his fee for this production to Great Ormond Street.
With an extended run for the summer holidays, this slapstick romp is family entertainment at its best. There is plenty of magic that goes right
First Look: Production Images THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
A first look at production images from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at Her Majesty’s Theatre starring Killian Donnelly as ‘The Phantom, Lucy St. Louis as ‘Christine’ and Rhys Whitfield as ‘Raoul’.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Killian Donnelly ‘The Phantom’ and Lucy St Louis ‘Christine’ – Photography by Johan Persson
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Masquerade -The Company – Photography by Johan Persson
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Killian Donnelly ‘The Phantom’ and Lucy St Louis ‘Christine’ – Photography by Johan PerssonTHE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Killian Donnelly ‘The Phantom’. Photography by Johan Persson
HAMPSTEAD THEATRE ANNOUNCES CASTING FOR SHELAGH STEPHENSON’S OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING PLAY THE MEMORY OF WATER, DIRECTED BY ALICE HAMILTON, AND MUFARO MAKUBIKA’S MALINDADZIMU DIRECTED BY MONIQUE TOUKO
LUCY BLACK, KULVINDER GHIR, ADAM JAMES, LIZZY MCINNERNY, CAROLINA MAIN AND LAURA ROGERS WILL PERFORM IN SHELAGH STEPHENSON’S OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING PLAY, THE MEMORY OF WATER, WHICH RECEIVED ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT HAMPSTEAD THEATRE IN 1996
ALICE HAMILTON WILL DIRECT THIS PAINFULLY FUNNY COMEDY HAVING DIRECTED THE 60th ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION OF THE DUMB WAITER, THE OLIVIER–NOMINATED EVERY DAY I MAKE GREATNESS HAPPEN AND PARADISE AT HAMPSTEAD THEATRE
THE MEMORY OF WATER WILL RUN FROM 3 SEPTEMBER – 16 OCTOBER 2021 ON THE MAIN STAGE
SHYKO AMOS, KUDZAI MANGOMBE, SIFISO MAZIBUKO, TENDAI HUMPHREY SITIMA AND NATASHA WILLIAMS WILL PERFORM IN THE WORLD PREMIERE OF MUFARO MAKUBIKA’S DELICATE, WITTY AND EPICNEW PLAY, MALINDADZIMU
MALINDADZIMU, DIRECTED BY MONIQUE TOUKO IN HER PROFESSIONAL DEBUT
MALINDADZIMU WILL PREMIERE AT HAMPSTEADDOWNSTAIRS FROM 17 SEPTEMBER – 30 OCTOBER 2021
THE MEMORY OF WATER WILL REMAIN SOCIALLY DISTANCED WITH REDUCED CAPACITY FROM 3 – 25 SEPTEMBER. THE THEATRE MAY INCREASE CAPACITY FROM 27 SEPTEMBER. ADDITIONAL DATES WILL GO ON SALE CLOSER TO THE TIME
MALINDADZIMU WILL REMAIN SOCIALLY DISTANCED WITH REDUCED CAPACITY FOR THE DURATION OF ITS RUN
Hampstead Theatre is delighted to announce the cast for Shelagh Stephenson’s Olivier Award-winning play The Memory of Water. Lucy Black, Kulvinder Ghir, Adam James, Lizzy McInnerny, Carolina Main and Laura Rogers will perform in this poignant and painfully funny comedy about conflicting memories, life and loss, which received its world premiere at the theatre in 1996. Directed by Alice Hamilton, the new production will run from 3 September until 16 October 2021. Hamilton returns to Hampstead Theatre after her recent 60th anniversary production of The Dumb Waiter and the Olivier-nominated Every Day I Make Greatness Happen and Paradise.
The theatre is also delighted to announce the cast for the world premiere of Mufaro Makubika’s new play Malindadzimu. Shyko Amos, Kudzai Mangombe, Sifiso Mazibuko, Tendai Humphrey Sitima and Natasha Williams will perform in this delicate, witty and epic new play, which explores a mother and daughter’s search for belonging and their struggle with a multicultural heritage. Malindadzimu will run from 17 September until 30 October 2021 at Hampstead Downstairs, directed by Monique Touko, who will be making her professional directing debut.
Alice Hamilton, director of The Memory of Water, said:
I am so pleased to be back at Hampstead Theatre and directing The Memory of Water with this group of brilliant actors. Shelagh Stephenson’s Olivier Award-winning playis a modern classic, rich with fabulous characters and a deep vein of humour. The past year has placed family at the forefront of our minds, and I can’t wait to share this warm-hearted riot of sibling rivalry with live audiences.
Monique Touko, director ofMalindadzimu,said:
I am delighted to be making my professional debut at Hampstead Theatre with Mufaro’s new play. Having the opportunity to depict Bulawayo, my mother’s birthplace, feels extremely fitting and timely in my development.
I love Mufaro’s coming of age tale, centred on a relationship between a mother and daughter, caught between Nottingham and Zimbabwe. I can’t wait to get to work on Malindadzimu with this wonderful group of actors and create a world that is rooted in history and speaks for now.
***
The Memory of Water makes a highly anticipated return to Hampstead Theatre twenty-five years after its World Premiere in 1996. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Shelagh Stephenson’s poignant and painfully funny comedy is about conflicting memories, life and loss. Following West End and New York transfers, Stephenson also adapted The Memory of Water into a film, Before You Go (2002), directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Julie Walters, John Hannah, Joanne Whalley and Victoria Hamilton.
Lucy Black, Carolina Main and Laura Rogers will play sisters Teresa, Catherine and Mary, with Kulvinder Ghir, Adam James and Lizzy McInnerny completing the cast.
Lucy Black will play the role of Teresa. Recent theatre credits include The Haystack by Al Blyth (Hampstead Theatre), Girls by Caryl Churchill (National Theatre) and The York Realist by Peter Gill (Donmar Warehouse). Recent TV credits include Endeavour by Russell Lewis, The Durrells by Simon Nye (ITV) and Gentleman Jack by Sally Wainwright(BBC1).
Kulvinder Ghir will play the role of Frank. Theatre credits include Ayub Khan Din’s East Is East (Octagon Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Sir Trevor Nunn (New Wosley Theatre), Comedians by Trevor Griffiths (Lyric Hammersmith) and Much Ado About Nothing (Royal Shakespeare Company). Screen credits include BBC sketch comedy series Goodness Gracious Me (BBC Radio 4/BBC2), the recent TV adaptation of Black Narcissus (BBC1) and Gurinder Chadha’s latest film, Blinded by the Light.
Adam James will play the role of Mike. Recent theatre credits include Girl from the North Country by Conor McPherson (The Old Vic/West End), Consent by Nina Raine (National Theatre/West End); Bull (Young Vic) and King Charles III (Almeida Theatre/West End/New York) by Mike Bartlett. TV credits include forthcoming new thriller Vigil by Tom Edge, Life and Doctor Foster by Mike Bartlettand I May Destroy You by Michaela Coel (BBC).
Lizzy McInnerny will play the role of Vi. Theatre credits include Harriet Martineau Dreams of Dancing and A Northern Odyssey by Shelagh Stephenson(Live Theatre) and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Chichester Festival Theatre/Duchess Theatre). Recent TV credits include The Crown by Peter Morgan (Netflix), Back to Life co-written by Laura Solon and Daisy Haggard (Season 2, BBC3) and Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders (BBC1).
Carolina Main will play the role of Catherine. Theatre credits include Valhalla by Paul Murphy (Theatre503/Sheer Drop) and King Lear (Royal Shakespeare Company). TV credits include her role as DC Fran Lingley in crime drama series Unforgotten by Chris Lang (ITV).
Laura Rogers will play the role of Mary. Theatre credits include Pressure by David Haig (Chichester Festival Theatre/Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh/UK Tour/Park Theatre/West End), Rules For Living by Sam Holcroft (English Touring Company) and Winter Solstice by Roland Schimmelpfennig (Orange Tree Theatre/Actors Touring Company).
Shelagh Stephenson’s other plays include An Experiment with an Air Pump (Royal Exchange/Hampstead Theatre), Ancient Lights (Hampstead Theatre), Five Kinds of Silence (Lyric Hammersmith) and Mappa Mundi (National Theatre).
Alice Hamilton returns to Hampstead following her 60th anniversary production of Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter (2020) and the Olivier-nominated Every Day I Make GreatnessHappen and Paradise (both Hampstead Downstairs). Other directing credits include Blood Wedding (Salisbury Playhouse) and While We’re Here (Bush Theatre).
She will be joined by designer Anna Reid; lighting designer Johanna Town; composer and sound designer Harry Blake; assistant director Aysha Kala; voice and dialect coach Stephen Kemble,
with casting by Briony Barnett CDG.
The production has been supported with a philanthropic gift from Lin and Ken Craig, long-standing supporters of Hampstead Theatre.
***
Cecil J. Rhodes’ grave in Matobo (Matopos) NP, Zimbabwe
Shyko Amos, Kudzai Mangombe, Sifiso Mazibuko, Tendai Humphrey Sitima and Natasha Williams will perform in the world premiere of Mufaro Makubika’s delicate, witty and epic new playMalindadzimu. Set in Nottingham and Zimbabwe, Malindadzimu, explores a mother and daughter’s search for belonging, their struggle with a multicultural heritage, and a haunting history that they cannot ignore. Malindadzimu, (“Hill of the Ancestral Spirits”) is situated in the Matobo National Park in south-west Zimbabwe. It is considered to be a sacred place by locals. Controversially, Cecil John Rhodes is buried on the summit of Malindadzimu.
Shyko Amos will play the role of Faith. Theatre credits includes Generations by debbie tucker green(Soho Rep, New York), An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins(Soho Rep, New York), In Time by Bola Adje(Almeida Theatre) and Bob Marley the Musical by Kwame Kwei-Armah (Birmingham Rep). TV credits include, series regular Ruby Patterson in Death in Paradise, A Very English Scandal by Russell T Davies and Celebrity Master Chef 2020 (all BBC1).
Kudzai Mangombe will play the role of Hope. Kudzai graduated from Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts in 2021. Malindadzimu will be her professional debut.
Sifiso Mazibuko will play the roles of Lobengula and Foreman. Theatre credits include A Land Without People by Brian Rotman (both Courtyard Theatre) and Wrought Atlas Theatre Ensemble (New York International Fringe Festival 2015). Musical theatre credits include Hamilton (Victoria Palace) and Motown: the Musical (Shaftesbury Theatre).
Tendai Humphrey Sitima will play the roles of Spirit Medium, Doctor and Labourer. Theatre credits include the immersive production of The Great Gatsby (in which he played George Wilson and also composed and produced the original score), Out of the Frame and Frame Narrative (Project Oeuvre Theatre/Edinburgh Festival Fringe).
Natasha Williams will play the role of Gogo.Theatre credits include Off the Endz by Bola Agbaje, (The Royal Court), Black Crows by Linda Brogan(Arcola Theatre) and The Fatherland by Murray Watts (Bush Theatre). Television credits include Channel 4’s It’s a Sin, EastEnders, Doctor Who and Holby City (BBC1).
Malindadzimu isMufaroMakubika’s second play following his critically acclaimed Shebeen (Nottingham Playhouse/Theatre Royal Stratford East), which won the 2017 Alfred Fagon Award for Best New Play. Malindadzimu will be Makubika’s debut at Hampstead Theatre.
Monique Touko will bemaking her professional directing debut at Hampstead Theatre with Malindadzimu. She will be joined by designer Zoë Hurwitz; lighting designer Matt Haskins and sound designer Max Pappenheim.
***
The Memory of Water will remain socially distanced with reduced capacity from 3 September until 25 September. The theatre may increase capacity from 27 September but out of concern for audiences, staff and performing companies, it is exercising caution. Additional dates will go on sale closer to the time.
Malindadzimuwill remain with reduced capacity and social distancing for the duration of its run.
In the event of either of the productions being postponed due to UK Government advice, full refunds or credit vouchers will be offered.
Hampstead Theatre is currently staging Tennessee Williams’The Two Character Playwhich runs until 28 August. Sam Yates has directed this innovative, psychological thriller by one of the world’s great dramatists which originally premiered at the theatre in 1967. Yates has made a highly anticipated return to the theatre following his Olivier-nominated production of The Phlebotomist (2019). The World Premiere of Big Big Sky by Tom Wells is running at Hampstead Downstairs until 11 September. This beautifully tender new play explores nature’s influence on love, friendship and family and is directed by Tessa Walker, Hampstead Theatre’s new Associate Director. Both productions remain as originally sold, with reduced capacity and social distancing for the duration of their runs.
BOOK, MUSIC & LYRICS BY LAURENCE O’KEEFE & KEVIN MURPHY
DIRECTED BY ANDY FICKMAN
WINNER OF BEST NEW MUSICAL – WHATSONSTAGE AWARDS 2019
Liverpool Empire Theatre
17 August – 28 August 2021
Heathers the Musical (WhatsOnStage 2019 award for Best New Musical) launched its Number 1. touring production from 5 August 2021, opening at Leeds Grand Theatre, before spreading corn nuts throughout the UK and Ireland.
Produced by Bill Kenwright and Paul Taylor-Mills, this high-octane black-comedy rock musical, based on one of the greatest cult teen films of all time, starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, is back with a bang!
The 2021 touring Class of Westerberg High includes Rebecca Wickes (Veronica Sawyer), Simon Gordon (JD), Maddison Firth (Heather Chandler), Merryl Ansah (Heather Duke), Lizzy Parker (Heather McNamara), Georgina Hagen (Ms. Fleming/Veronica’s Mom), Mhairi Angus (Martha Dunnstock), Liam Doyle (Kurt Kelly), Rory Phelan (Ram Sweeney), Andy Brady (Kurt’s Dad/Veronica’s Dad/Principle Gowan) and Kurt Kansley (Ram’s Dad/Big Bud Dean/Coach Ripper).
Completing the cast in the ensemble is Callum Connolly, Rhiane Drummond, Bayley Hart, Benjamin Karren, Sam Stones, May Tether and Daisy Twells.
Westerberg High’s Veronica Sawyer is just another nobody dreaming of a better day. But when she joins the beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers, her dreams of popularity may finally come true. Mysterious teen rebel JD teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it is murder being a somebody.
The award-winning writing team, Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy’s hit musical adaptation enjoyed successful runs in Los Angeles and New York; the UK productions are directed by acclaimed its original off-Broadway director, Andy Fickman. Choreography is by Thriller Live’s Gary Lloyd, design by David Shields, lighting by Ben Cracknell and sound by Dan Samson.
Heathers the Musical previously enjoyed two record-breaking seasons, launching at London’s The Other Palace and transferring to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2018.
In conjunction and running in parallel to the touring production, the hit show has also made its return to the West End’s Theatre Royal Haymarket for a strictly limited 12-week run, running until 11 September 2021.
Past Production Images – 2021 West End Cast – Heathers the Musical
National treasure Su Pollard returns to the stage with tour of Harpy Tuesday 28th September – Tuesday 16th November 2021
TV personality and national treasure Su Pollard (Hi-De-Hi!; You Rang M’Lord?; Celebrity Masterchef, BBC) will reprise her role in a brand new production of the one-woman Edinburgh Fringe hit, Harpy. Previously scheduled to run in 2020, the production makes a welcome return as part of a new countrywide tour.
Written by award-winning playwright Philip Meeks (Kiss Me Honey, Honey!; Murder, Margaret and Me; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow), the play was originally crafted with Su Pollard in mind. This exciting reinterpretation will be helmed under the direction of Abigail Anderson (Pride and Prejudice, UK and South Korean tour; Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing, Merely Theatre).
A tour-de-force performance from Pollard, Harpy is a heart wrenching exploration of one woman’s struggles with mental health and loneliness, manifesting itself through extreme hoarding. At heart it’s a bittersweet dramatic comedy, which showcases a grittier side to the Su Pollard of the eighties, and also asks us to look beyond our prejudices against those who appear to disrupt the norm.
Su comments, I am beyond excited to be bringing Harpy across the country at last – we’ve waited a long time! It’ll be terrific to be performing for a live audience and connecting with people once again, bringing this beautiful play to new audiences. Entertainment is essential, especially after the year we’ve had, and I can’t wait to get back on the road.
The neighbours call Birdie a harridan and a harpy even though most of them have never even met her. They see her obsessive hoarding as detrimental to the value of their own homes. For Birdie, saving what others regard as junk allows her to make sense of the world around her; her possessions are memories of a time past. Shunned by conventional society, she regards it as her duty to salvage these tiny histories that without her would be entirely forgotten.
Su Pollard gives the performance of her life, an unmissable tour-de-force of comedy and drama brought together in a fantastically constructed piece of theatre. (★★★★★ Theatre Weekly, Edinburgh Fringe 2018)
Martin Jarvis OBE, one of the UK’s most distinguished and beloved actors, reprises his role as Sir Edward Heath in MAGGIE & TED at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in October. The week-long run follows a critically acclaimed sell-out West End première earlier this year.
Martin Jarvis is widely celebrated both for his stagecraft and also for his numerous radio and audio performances, including his legendary readings of the Just William books. “Maggie” will be played by Clare Bloomer, who has been described by Gyles Brandreth as “quite the best Margaret Thatcher I’ve seen”. They will be joined by Jon Glover, star of Spitting Image and Week Ending (and known as television’s Mr. Cholmondley-Warner) and Lisa Bowerman, a former regular on BBC TV’s Casualty and who is widely known as Professor Bernice Summerfield in the celebrated Doctor Who spin-off audio series.
ABOUT MAGGIE & TED
Staged as a radio play, the comedy-drama follows “Ted” Heath and his hilarious and relentless feud with his successor, Margaret Thatcher. For over 20 years Margaret Thatcher and Edward Heath enthralled and appalled the British public with their profound political disagreements, reinforced by their intense personal dislike for one another. Now Maggie and Ted are back!”Mr. Europe” and the “Boadicea of Brexit” rollick their way onto the Surrey stage! Expect plenty of hand-bagging as these two titans of British politics reignite their long-running bitter feud.
“Maggie” and “Ted” defined British politics for much of the 1970s and 1980s. Maggie ousted Ted as Leader of the Conservative Party, becoming the first woman to lead a major political party in Britain, and went on to become our first woman Prime Minister, winning three elections in a row. Ted never forgave her for her impudence, for her good fortune – or for her formidable electoral success. In due course, Maggie built the bonfire of Brexit, lit it, then spent the rest of her life fanning the flames. Ted’s life’s work was in ruins, and he never forgave her. How could he?
“A remarkable play – a fabulous piece of drama” – Glenn Chandler (creator of “Taggart”)
Written by playwright and author Michael McManus who worked for both protagonists, knew them well and researched and edited Sir Edward Heath’s biography, The Course of My Life (1998), as well as writing another biography on him, A Singular Life (2016). He explains: “I knew both Ted Heath and Baroness Thatcher – and I seek to represent them in this play, not as pastiche or as parody, but as they really were. They both had their flaws, of course, but they could also both be very funny, deeply impressive and also very kind and considerate. It is a great honour – both daunting and exhilarating – to have written the first new, political play to make its West End début since the beginning of the pandemic and I am looking forward to bringing it to Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.”
Maggie and Ted were improbable Tories – working-class warriors who became an extraordinary double act. Mrs Thatcher served loyally in Ted Heath’s government from 1970 –1974 before challenging and defeating him in the Conservative Party leadership election in 1975, to become Leader of the Opposition. She went on to win the General Elections of 1979, 1983 and 1987. Heath returned to the back-benches, where his bitter 25-year feud with her became known as “the incredible sulk”; he became one of the most dogged critics of Thatcherism – and of the woman who inspired it.
The hilarious, rancorous, running battle between these colossal personalities opened up the schism over Europe that divided party and nation – and ultimately led to Brexit. The play shines an intense and sometimes uproariously funny light on Maggie and Ted and the Birth of Brexit. Helped by a supporting cast of characters including: Sir Winston Churchill; Harold Wilson; Tony Benn; Denis Healey; Sir John Major; Sir Denis Thatcher; Roy Jenkins; our P.M. Boris Johnson, and of course Her Majesty The Queen!
“like a public hustings….The audience whoop with delight when Thatcher speaks up defiantly for women or they groan in dismay when Heath drops another clanger”– Lloyd Evans, The Spectator
“Ted”:The Rt. Hon Sir Edward Richard GeorgeHeathKG MBE
The first working-class leader of the Conservative Party. His ill-fated premiership had one long-lasting consequence: UK membership of the European Union.
“Maggie”: Margaret Hilda Thatcher, The Rt. Hon. Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, DStJ, PC, FRS, HonFRSC
The second working-class leader of the Conservative Party and the UK’s first female Prime Minister. Both reviled and admired, she ousted Ted Heath as party leader and turned the Conservative Party against Europe.
CAST: Martin Jarvis OBE (Ted Heath); Clare Bloomer (Maggie); Lisa Bowerman (Edith Heath) and Jon Glover (Alderman Roberts). Further casting to be announced.
TICKET BOOKINGS
Dates: Tuesday 12th October – Saturday 16th October 2021 Tickets from £22.50 Concessions and Members’ discounts apply Early Bird Saver Offer Applies! Limited Number of tickets available at £20 (£15 for concessions) from General On-Sale date. Available across all performances, excluding Friday and Saturday evenings.
Show Times: Tuesday – Saturday evenings at 7:30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm Running Time: to be confirmed Theatre: Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Age Recommendation: 12+ Booking link:https://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk/whats-on/maggie-and-ted Box Office: 01483 44 00 00
