Category: Uncategorized

The Selladoor Worldwide and Hartshorn – Hook production of

Dreamworks

Based on the Dreamworks Animation Motion Picture

Book by Kevin Del Aguila

Original Music and Lyrics by George Noriega & Joe Someillan

Performed by arrangement with

Music Theatre International (Europe) Limited

COMING OUT OF THE ZOO AND ONTO A STAGE NEAR YOU

Go Wild! as Selladoor Worldwide and Hartshorn – Hook announce that their brand-new stage adaptation Madagascar – A Musical Adventure is coming out of the zoo and onto a stage near you, opening at New Wimbledon Theatre on 16 July 2018 prior to a UK Tour.

Join Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the hip hip Hippo and, of course, those hilarious, plotting penguins as they bound onto stage in the musical adventure of a lifetime.

Based on the smash DreamWorks animated motion picture, Madagascar – A Musical Adventure follows all of your favourite crack-a-lackin’ friends as they escape from their home in New York’s Central Park Zoo and find themselves on an unexpected journey to the madcap world of King Julien’s Madagascar.

Alex the lion is the king of the urban jungle, the main attraction at New York’s Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends – Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo – have spent their whole lives in blissful captivity before an admiring public and with regular meals provided for them. Not content to leave well enough alone, Marty lets his curiosity get the better of him and makes his escape – with the help of some prodigious penguins – to explore the world.

This wacky adventure for the whole family is brought to life by Selladoor Family, the producers behind James And The Giant Peach, Seussical and The Owl And The Pussycat and Hartshorn – Hook, producers of the Olivier Award winning Rotterdam, Murder Ballad, Urinetown and American Idiot. Madagascar – A Musical Adventure will be directed by award winning Kirk Jameson who is thrilled to be working alongside Selladoor again having directed their 2013 revival of Seussical: The Musical at the Arts Theatre.

David Hutchinson, Executive Creative Producer of Selladoor says “One of our key principals at Selladoor is to aim to engage young people to come to the theatre and to help to encourage a whole new generation of theatre-goers, and Madagascar promises to do just that. We are delighted to be bringing these much-loved crazy characters to life on stage in an exciting caper for all of the family”

Filled with outlandish characters, adventure galore and an upbeat score, Madagascar will leave audiences with no choice but to “Move It, Move It!”

Tickets are on sale today, book now to join Alex and friends for an unforgettable night out. For tour and booking details visit www.selladoor.com

LISTINGS

16 – 28 Jul Wimbledon New Theatre www.atgtickets.com/wimbledon

30 Jul – 04 Aug Birmingham Alexandra www.atgtickets.com/birmingham

6 – 12 Aug Glasgow Kings Theatre www.atgtickets.com/glasgow

13 – 18 Aug Manchester Palace www.atgtickets.com/manchester

27 Aug – 01 Sep Sunderland Empire www.atgtickets.com/sunderland

17 – 22 Sep Bridlington Spa www.bridspa.com

08 – 13 Oct Bristol Hippodrome www.atgtickets.com/bristol

MORE DATES COMING SOON!

 

Jan – Jun 2018 SEASON ANNOUNCED

 

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JEZ BOND TO DIRECT DYSTOPIAN POLITICAL THRILLER BUILDING THE WALL, A PARK THEATRE PRODUCTION AND UK PREMIERE FROM PULITZER PRIZE WINNING WRITER

 

DAVID HAIG STARS IN LONDON PREMIERE OF HIS PLAY PRESSURE, BASED ON A TRUE WARTIME STORY

 

A NEW STAGE ADAPTATION OF E. M. FORSTER’S SEMINAL NOVEL, A PASSAGE TO INDIA

 

UK PREMIERE OF ROTHSCHILD & SONS, A MUSICAL INSPIRED BY THE FAMOUS BANKING DYNASTY

 

Artistic Director Jez Bond today announces Park Theatre’s new Jan – Jun 2018 season. Featuring five world, European, UK and London premiere productions, Park Theatre continues to build its reputation as a home for new writing and celebrated transfers.

 

Artistic Director Jez Bond says: “I’m thrilled to be announcing our season for the first half of 2018. In PARK200 we are working with some of the best theatres and producers from across the UK and beyond, from Chichester Festival Theatre to Broadway, bringing world class productions to our stages; as well as producing our next show from America, the politically timely Building The Wall. As ever we’re full to the brim with a majority of new writing premieres in both PARK200 and PARK90. PARK90 celebrates our passion for women on stage and off: with women’s stories and journeys at the heart, and a prevalence of women writers, producers and directors.”

 

The UK premiere of the musical Rothschild & Sons opens the new season in PARK200, with Broadway songwriters Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock (Fiddler On The Roof) charting the Rothschild family’s rise from poverty to a global banking dynasty with new, never-before-heard songs. A Passage to India follows, as part of an international adaptation of E. M. Forster’s seminal novel set in Imperial India, re-imagined for a contemporary Britain by simple8. Written by and starring David Haig, Pressure is the incredible true story of two allied meteorologists tasked with predicting the perfect weather conditions for General Eisenhower’s D-Day landings in 1944. For the European premiere of Building The Wall from Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan, Jez Bond directs this political thriller that has already taken America by storm, exploring how the inconceivable can become the inevitable. The world premiere of Monogamy closes the PARK200 season, a new comedy by Torben Betts about living a private life in the public eye.

 

There or Here commences the new PARK90 season, in the UK premiere production of a new American comedy about outsourcing motherhood, from the producer of Yellow Face (Park Theatre/National Theatre transfer). The London premiere of A Princess Undone is a play inspired by actual events around sensational and potentially damaging royal letters acquired by Princess Margaret. A revival of Philip Ridley’s modern classic exploring hate crime follows, as Robert Chevara directs Vincent River. Inspired by a real court case in the USA, a Chicago teenager is arrested for terrorist collusions when she converts from Christianity to Islam, and is tried by a practicing Muslim, in the UK premiere of Faceless. Next is a revival of Schism from the lauded playwright and activist Athena Stevens, which charts the unlikely love that forms when Harrison’s suicide plans are dashed by the arrival of a young student with cerebral palsy. Closing the new season in PARK90, Beirut explores a fleeting encounter between two lovers, now divided by a quarantine enforced to protect a future society from a terrifying Sexually Transmitted Disease.

  

PARK200

 

24 January – 17 February 2018

Arnold Mittelman in association with Park Theatre presents the UK Premiere of

 

ROTHSCHILD & SONS

Music by Jerry Bock

Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick

Book by Sherman Yellen

Based on The Rothschilds by Frederic Morton

Directed by Jeffrey B. Moss Press Night: Mon 29 Jan, 7pm

Times: Evenings Mon – Sat 7.30pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3pm
Audio Described: Tue 13 Feb 7.30pm (Touch Tour, 6pm)

 

A Family willing to risk everything

The remarkable story of how a father, mother and their sons changed the world.

This uplifting and universal tale affirming human dignity springs from the hearts and minds of Broadway songwriters Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock (creators of Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me) and Tony-nominated writer Sherman Yellen. Inspired by the book The Rothschilds by Frederic Morton, this re-imagined musical about a family that risks everything includes several never-before-heard songs in its thrilling UK premiere.

 

 

20 February – 24 March 2018

A simple8 and Royal & Derngate, Northampton co-production in association with Park Theatre

 

A PASSAGE TO INDIA

Based on the novel by E. M. Forster

Adapted by Simon Dormandy

Directed by Sebastian Armesto and Simon Dormandy
Original music by Kuljit Bhamra

Press Night: Thu 22 Feb, 7pm

Times: Evenings Tue – Sat 7.30pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3pm
Parents & Babies Wed 21 Mar 1pm

 

“One cannot be friends with the English!”

Harsh but clear advice, which Aziz chose to ignore. Now he lies in jail, charged with sexual assault. E. M. Forster’s masterpiece poses an urgent question: how can we love one another in a world divided by culture and belief?

Following the acclaimed Don’t Sleep There Are Snakes (Park Theatre), the award-winning simple8 transport us to imperial India, conjuring up the elephants and caves, courthouses and temples by the simplest and boldest means – with original music played live by legendary composer Kuljit Bhamra.

Full of humour and rich humanity, but with vast philosophical and political scope, A Passage to India is one of the great novels of the 20^th century. simple8’s thrilling new adaptation re-imagines it for contemporary Britain.

28 March – 28 April 2018
Jonathan Church productions & Oliver Mackwood in association with Cambridge Arts Theatre and Park Theatre presents the London Premiere of the Royal Lyceum Edinburgh and Chichester Festival Theatre production of

 

PRESSURE

By David Haig

Directed by John Dove

Cast includes David Haig and Laura Rogers

Press Night: Tue 3 Apr, 7pm

Times: Evenings Tue – Sat 7.30pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3pm, Mon 2 Apr 7.30pm

Captioned: Tue 17 Apr 7.30pm

D-Day, June 1944. The Allied forces led by General Eisenhower are poised to launch. 350,000 lives at stake and the decision of whether or not to attack comes down to the most important weather forecast of all time.

Olivier Award-winner David Haig plays Scottish meteorologist, Group Captain James Stagg, in this true story and critical smash hit, from Chichester Festival Theatre and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh.

2 May – 2 June 2018

Park Theatre presents the UK Premiere of

BUILDING THE WALL

Written by Robert Schenkkan

Directed by Jez Bond

Press Night: Fri 4 May, 7pm

Times: Evenings Tue – Sat 7.30pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3pm
5^th Birthday Gala: Tue 15 May, 6pm

Captioned: Tue 22 May 7.30pm

Audio Described: Fri 1 Jun 7.30pm (Touch Tour, 6pm)

“Shit rolls downhill and the little guy takes the fall while the people who really set things in motion, they always walk. Always.”

2019, America. Rick is incarcerated awaiting sentencing for the crime of the century. He grants just one interview – to Gloria, an African American historian. In a world where history is written by the winners, Gloria wants a full account. Unfiltered. Direct from source.

Building the Wall examines what happens when an ordinary person becomes a cog in a regime and how the inconceivable becomes the inevitable.

Don’t miss the UK Premiere of this gripping political thriller from Robert Schenkkan, a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright and Academy award nominee.

The story has already begun. Is this how it ends?

6 June – 7 July 2018

The Original Theatre Company in association with Park Theatre presents the World Premiere of

MONOGAMY

Written by Torben Betts

Directed by Alastair Whatley

Press Night: Mon 11 Jun, 7pm

Times: Evenings Tue – Sat 7.30pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3pm

Parents and Babies: Tue 3 Jul 1pm (£15, babes in arms under 1 year go free)

Monogamy means sharing your life with one person, but what if you shared your kitchen with 5.6 million?

Caroline Mortimer, the nation’s favourite TV cook, has it all – a sparkling career, a big house in Highgate, a (golf) loving husband, smart kids and the best kitchen money can buy.

But beneath the immaculate furnishings, studio lighting and away from the glare of the ever-present cameras – Caroline must face the looming collision of living a private life in the public eye. What happens when the cameras turn off and the truth comes out?

A searing, sharp, state of the nation comedy from one of the UK’s most exciting playwrights, Torben Betts (Muswell Hill, Park Theatre).

PARK90

 

23 January – 17 February 2018

Special Relationship Productions in association with Anita Creed Productions and Park Theatre presents the UK Premiere of

 

THERE OR HERE

Written by Jennifer Maisel

Directed by Vik Sivalingam

Press Night: Thu 25 Jan, 7pm

Times: Evenings Tue – Sat 7.45pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3.15pm

Parents and Babies: Wed 31 Jan 1pm (£15, babes in arms under 1 go free)
Captioned: Wed 7 Feb 7.45pm

 

2006. When illness prevents Robyn and Ajay from having a child of their own, they outsource their pregnancy to a woman in India. As they embark on this journey of a lifetime, their increasing inability to be each other’s comfort drives them to seek solace from strangers on the other end of their phones.

The producer of Yellow Face, the 2013 sell-out hit (and National Theatre transfer) returns to Park Theatre with new American comedy There or Here, a PEN West Literary Award Finalist play about outsourcing, motherhood and identity.

 

 

20 February – 17 March 2018

Entico Ltd in association with Park Theatre presents the London premiere of

 

A PRINCESS UNDONE

Written and directed by Richard Stirling

Press Night: Mon 26 Feb, 7pm

Times: Evenings Tue – Sat 7.45pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3.15pm
Captioned: Tue 13 Mar 7.45pm

 

Kensington Palace, 1993. She was the Diana of her day. That day has gone, but HRH The Princess Margaret seeks one final chance to be of service.

 

Acquiring potentially sensational letters from Charles and Diana, she means to burn the evidence. But there are other papers, relating to Margaret herself. And when an ex-gangster admirer returns from her past, the Queen’s sister has the choice to make or break her family yet again.

 

As dynamic as The Crown (Netflix) and inspired by actual events.

20 March – 14 April 2018

Celia Dugua in association with Park Theatre presents

 

VINCENT RIVER

Written by Philip Ridley

Directed by Robert Chevara

Press Night: Fri 23 Mar, 7pm

Times: Evenings Tue – Sat 7.45pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3.15pm
Dementia Friendly: Wed 11 Apr 3.15pm

 

Davey has seen something he can never forget. Anita has been forced to flee her home. Tonight, they meet for the first time… and their lives will change forever.

 

Philip Ridley’s modern classic was a huge success when it premiered at the Hampstead Theatre in 2001, and became a West End smash in 2007. Thrilling, heartbreaking and darkly humorous by turns, it is now seen as one of the most powerful explorations of hate crime – and society’s need to crush ‘difference’ – ever written.

 

 

17 April – 12 May 2018

PMJ Productions in association with Park Theatre presents the UK Premiere of

 

FACELESS

Written by Selina Fillinger

Directed by Prav MJ

Press Night: Thu 19 Apr 2018

Times: Evenings Tue – Sat 7.45pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3.15pm
Relaxed Performance: Tue 8 May 3.15pm (£10)

 

“So I’ve been thinking a lot lately and I think I’m ready to convert
– I know I need two witnesses for it to count so I Googled it”

 

Susie, a suburban Chicago teenager lives her life on the internet. However, when she meets someone online who convinces her to convert from Christianity to Islam and leave home for Syria, Susie finds herself arrested for conspiring to commit acts of terrorism.

 

Recent Harvard Law graduate and practising Muslim, Claire Fathi, will be prosecuting for the US government to the full extent of the law…

 

Inspired by a real court case in the USA.

 

 

16 May – 9 June 2018

Aegis Productions in association with Park Theatre presents

 

SCHISM

Written by Athena Stevens

Directed by Lily McLeish

Cast includes Athena Stevens

Press Night: Thu 17 May 2018

Times: Evenings Tue – Sat 7.45pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3.15pm. Mon 21 May 19.45
Relaxed: Wed 6 Jun 3.15pm

 

“I never wanted to change, in case you didn’t like it”

 

Failed architect Harrison had plans to end his life. The last thing he needed was Katherine, a young student with cerebral palsy, breaking into his house begging for his help…

 

As their chaotic first encounter turns into the beginning of a twenty year relationship, the unlikely couple grow to realise that they are capable of either building something great together – or absolutely destroying each other.

 

Following the journey of Harrison and Katherine, Schism is a stunning new play about two people finding each other, and questions at what point does a dream become unrealistic and out of date.

 

 

12 June – 7 July 2018

Elphin Productions in association with Park Theatre presents

 

BEIRUT

Written by Alan Bowne

Directed by Robin Lefevre

Press Night: Mon 18 Jun 2018

Times: Evenings Tue – Sat 7.45pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3.15pm

Captioned: Wed 27 Jun 7.45pm

 

“I can live without sex and feel dead or risk death and feel alive.”

 

Torch has been quarantined in a dark, squalid room on the Lower East Side of New York City, which the locals refer to as “Beirut” after testing positive for a nameless disease. Torch passes the time alone, forbidden from contact with the outside world.

 

His girlfriend, Blue, makes the dangerous journey across the quarantine line to be with him. Torch tries to keep her at arm’s length and they argue lovingly, jokingly, fearfully, bravely, and desperately about sex and death. All the while, Torch pleads with Blue to leave before his resistance fails….

 

Robin Lefevre has previously won the New York Drama Desk Award for Best Director and is a Tony Award nominee.

Ovalhouse – 11 – 21 October.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

Angela Clerkin’s The Secret Keeper is an adult fairy tale with a thoroughly modern moral.

The Doll House Maker and his wife have been increasingly unhappy since his brother’s murder 9 years earlier. Trying to help, The Good Daughter offers to hear his secret and not tell anyone. Once he has unburdened himself, The Doll House Maker feels free and happy, leaving his daughter to carry the secret as a magpie. He encourages everyone he meets to give their secrets to The Good Daughter, and eager to please (and enjoying being special), she soon carries the secrets of the townsfolk. The Doll House Maker’s initial goodwill in offering the service as a gift soon disappears as he and his wife realise the possible financial rewards, and they fail to notice the impact that keeping the secrets is having on their child.

The secrets range from trivial nonsense to matters of national security, and there’s the ultimate secret confession of her uncle’s murderer (told with such inane detail, denial and blame shifting by the perpetrator that you want to slap them). The play leaves the audience to interpret its message however they choose, but the consensus in the bar was the dangers of social media anonymity and rumour spreading, and the belief that making a glib confession gives everyone a clean slate, with no consequences, lessons learned, or changes made. The pressures on people to keep horrible secrets for fear of repercussions, professionally or privately, was also a hot topic, especially with this week’s news from Hollywood. The only use of name is for a victim of abuse, all other characters are known by generic roles in the town – another uncomfortable echo of reality.

The use of magpies, both models and the grotesquely costumed cast, was inspired, as it gave the secrets life and allowed them to debate the pros and cons of being shared or hidden. The simple set adds to the traditional storytelling vibe of the play, and the scene titles announcements need to be seen to be believed – a wonderfully macabre touch.

An adult (Angela Clerkin) playing The Good Daughter is a very wise move, as a child on stage would have been much too uncomfortable. Clerkin excels giving naïve descriptions of the town and its inhabitants, and her innocently delivered dialogue is full of uncomfortable truths that only children would say out loud. Niall Ashdown, Anne Odeke and Hazel Maycock play multiple roles as the townsfolk, with Odeke wonderfully shifty as The Doll House Makers Wife and Maycock a hoot as The King’s Righthand Man. Ashdown is full of comic touches until his musical number “I’m disappointed in you” when he really lets rip revealing his character’s pain, anger and shame. The musical numbers don’t really add anything to the narrative (and aren’t exactly Gershwin) but they feel right at home with this style of storytelling and performance, creating lots of smiles and laughter. Clerkin’s script ensures that there is a lot of squirming in seats mixed in with the laughter, as the audience realises exactly what they’re laughing at, and the final scene will haunt you.

The Secret Keeper is an entertaining and compelling exploration of truth and confession told in a gloriously glib and grotesque style that is well worth a look. Catch it at the Ovalhouse or on tour soon.

Tonight (Saturday 14 October 2017) Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr welcomed the first ever audience to the newly built Bridge Theatre situated on the river by Tower Bridge and City Hall.  In advance of official previews beginning next week (18 October 2017), tonight an audience of Bridge and Young Bridge members were invited to try out the building for the first time.

As well as seeing Young Marx, the opening production at the Bridge – a new play by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman, directed by Nicholas Hytner – the audience of over nine hundred people experienced the theatre’s in-house bar, café and up to date facilities. 

 

The flagship theatre of the London Theatre Company, the Bridge is London’s first theatre of scale to be added to London’s commercial theatre stock in eighty years.

London Theatre Company commissioned the new theatre from architect Steve Tompkins and his colleague Roger Watts from Haworth Tompkins.  The Bridge auditorium is a collaboration between Haworth Tompkins, LTC and Tait Stage Technologies.

Tonight (Saturday 14 October 2017) Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr welcomed the first ever audience to the newly built Bridge Theatre situated on the river by Tower Bridge and City Hall.  In advance of official previews beginning next week (18 October 2017), tonight an audience of Bridge and Young Bridge members were invited to try out the building for the first time.

As well as seeing Young Marx, the opening production at the Bridge – a new play by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman, directed by Nicholas Hytner – the audience of over nine hundred people experienced the theatre’s in-house bar, café and up to date facilities. 

 

The flagship theatre of the London Theatre Company, the Bridge is London’s first theatre of scale to be added to London’s commercial theatre stock in eighty years.

London Theatre Company commissioned the new theatre from architect Steve Tompkins and his colleague Roger Watts from Haworth Tompkins.  The Bridge auditorium is a collaboration between Haworth Tompkins, LTC and Tait Stage Technologies.

Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre until 5 November.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

5*****

Based on the classic Fritz Lang film, Metropolis opened, and closed, in the West End in 1989. I never saw the original production, but a tipsy late night buying mix-up on Amazon saw me the eternally grateful owner of the original cast soundtrack rather than a new DVD copy of the film, and I couldn’t wait to see Metropolis live. All Star Productions’ revival is the first London production since then, but hopefully this fantastic version will encourage lovers of the musical to emerge from the darkness and demand a longer run in a larger theatre.

John Freeman, founder of Metropolis, uses the Workers below the city to produce the energy needed to enable the Elitists above to live carefree lives. Freeman’s son, Steven is unaware of the conditions below the city, until he meets and falls in love with Maria, the Workers’ spiritual leader and teacher. With all the earth’s natural resources destroyed, human energy is the only source available to keep the machines working. He plans to replace the unreliable humans with robots, built by Warner, whose prototype, Futura, only needs a face to be complete.

Director Tim McArthur ensures the audience is immersed in the Workers’ dark and steamy environment from the minute you enter the theatre. Arriving early gives you the added entertainment of watching people peering confusedly through the smoke and darkness trying to figure out where exactly the seating is. Jonny Rust and Justin Williams’ set design is incredible – rusty and imposing with Vittorio Verta’s lighting design notching up the claustrophobic atmosphere.

OK, the plot is bonkers, but the themes of obsessive leadership, abuse of power and discrimination are always relevant, and McArthur doesn’t include any 21st century knowing winks, instead taking the musical (which he clearly adores) seriously and creating a stunningly powerful production.

Musical director Aaron Clingham manages to create a soaring sound with just a four-piece band and makes Joe Brooks and Dusty Hughes’ musical numbers fresh and exciting. The strong cast give their all, with striking choreography by Ian Pyle, particularly in 101.11 as the cast work their machines, and the Elitists dance numbers which are like a drug addled nightmarish version of the Ascot scene from My Fair Lady. Making Warner female adds an interesting new dynamic to the scientist’s fascination with Futura/Maria, with Kitty Whitelaw nailing the role with a wonderfully nuanced performance. Gareth James is wonderful as John Freeman – cold and calm, with the fury beneath bubbling through – his stillness as he sings is magnetic and chilling. It’s hard to believe that Miiya Alexandra is making her professional debut as Maria/Futura, giving a beautifully judged performance as Maria and going full psycho as Futura. Her vocals are sublime, and her duets with Rob Herron will make your heart soar. Rob Herron as Steven is a powerhouse of emotion. The man has an INCREDIBLE voice, and leading man looks to match (I must admit that I got a little distracted trying to read his tattoo). Definitely two names to watch out for in the future.

Bold, brutal, bonkers and bloody brilliant – Metropolis is a show you HAVE to see. Get a ticket today.

Twitter: @the_printroom #WintersTale
Facebook: theprintroom
Website: www.the-print-room.org

Print Room at the Coronet presents
Winter’s Tales

CELEBRITY READERS AND MUCH LOVED STORIES ANNOUNCED FOR WINTER’S TALES

• FESTIVE CELEBRATION OF CLASSIC AND CONTEMPORARY STORIES FOR 6-12 YEAR OLDS AND THEIR FAMILIES
• READERS TO INCLUDE MEL GIEDROYC, EMELI SANDÉ, PENELOPE WILTON, BEN OKRI, TOBY STEPHENS, JAMIE GLOVER, TOM HOLLANDER AND SHAPPI KHORSANDI

Details of Print Room at the Coronet’s Winter’s Tales have today been revealed. A stellar line up of well-known names will read their favourite festive stories. During the first week of December, classic and contemporary tales will be brought to life for children and families in the beautiful and intimate setting of the Coronet.

On Wednesday 6 December Mel Giedroyc, best known as one half of duo Mel & Sue original co-hosts of The Great British Bake Off, will read Agatha Christie’s The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, followed by BRIT Award-winning singer and songwriter Emeli Sandé (7 December) treating audiences to one of her favourite childhood tales. Penelope Wilton (8 December), the Olivier Award-winning actress widely known as Isabel Crawley in Downton Abbey, takes to the stage with select stories from Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. Poet and novelist, Ben Okri will be performing a new story, written especially for Winter’s Tales (9 December). British actor, Toby Stephens, will end the first week, reading the Roald Dahl classic and family favourite, The Twits (10 December). Completing the lineup will be BAFTA Award-winning actor Tom Hollander, comedian and author Shappi Khorsandi and Jamie Glover.  Further details will be announced shortly.

Tickets for all events can be found here,

Winter’s Tales is supporting Give a Book, a local charity gifting books to a wide range of people who might otherwise not have access to them in schools, prisons and other organisations. 20 free tickets per performance will also be offered to local schools, via Give a Book, particularly those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

Winter’s Tales will also help to raise funds and awareness for the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation Grenfell Tower fund. The K&C Foundation is an independent local charity and 100% of the money it receives for the fund will support the residents who lived in Grenfell Tower and others affected from the local community.

Mel Giedroyc shot to fame in the 1990s as one half of comedy duo Mel and Sue. She presented The Great British Bake Off for seven years and has recently graced our screens on Pitch Battle for BBC, Let’s Sing and Dance for Comic Relief and Let it Shine also for the BBC.  She can be heard through the radio waves on Magic FM.

Jamie Glover is currently starring in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Palace Theatre), further theatre includes: What’s In A Name? (Birmingham Rep); The Rehearsal, An Ideal Husband, If Only (Chichester Festival Theatre); Donkey’s Years (Rose Theatre Kingston) and Noises Off (Old Vic/Novello). Film includes: Woody Allen London Project, These Foolish Things, Sacred Life andClosing Numbers.

Tom Hollander has worked extensively for across stage and screen. His theatre credits includeTravesties (Apollo Theatre), A Flea in Her Ear (Old Vic); Landscape with Weapon (National Theatre), The Hotel in Amsterdam (Donmar); King Lear, Tartuffe and The Government Inspector(Almeida). On screen he’s known for The Night Manager, Rev, The Thick of It and Pride and Prejudice. Tom makes regular appearances on American Dad and Family Guy.

Shappi Khorsandi is an internationally acclaimed comedian. She has appeared on Live At The Apollo, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, The Graham Norton Show, Have I Got News For You and many more TV and Radio Shows.  She has written two books A Beginners Guide To Acting English and the highly acclaimed novel Nina is Not OK both with Ebury Press.

Ben Okri OBE is a poet, novelist and playwright and has published many books, including The Famished Road, which won the Booker prize in 1991. His work has been translated into 26 languages and has won numerous international prizes including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Africa, the Paris Review Aga Khan Prize for Fiction, the Chianti Ruffino Antico Fattore International Literary Prize and the Premio Grinazane Cavour Prize.

The recipient of many honorary doctorates, he is vice-president of the English Centre of International PEN and was presented with the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum for his outstanding contribution to the Arts and cross-cultural understanding in 1995.

Emeli Sandé, MBE, is a Scottish recording artist and songwriter. Her critically acclaimed number one record, Our Version Of Events, was the biggest selling album of 2012 and second biggest selling album of 2013, but it was also certified 7x platinum, spent seven non-consecutive weeks at No.1.. The Aberdonian scored three UK number 1 singles and the track; ‘Next to Me’ was certified platinum in the U.S with over 1.5 million singles sold. Sandé has won numerous accolades including 4 Brit Awards (Critics Choice, Best Album and British Female Solo Artist in both 2013 and 2017) as well as awards from Q Magazine, Elle, Harpers and GQ.  The multi-instrumentalist initially made her mark as a songwriter in the UK urban scene via acts such as Wiley, Giggs, Wretch 32 and Chip, later becoming a highly sought-after writer for a wide array of international acts including Alicia Keys, Rihanna and Katy Perry.

Toby Stephens is an English actor who has recently completed filming Lost in Space for Netflix – playing the leading role of John Robinson. The series is due for launch in 2018.  Previous stage work includes Private Lives (Chichester Festival Theatre and Gielgud Theatre), Danton’s Death (NT), The Real Thing (Old Vic), A Doll’s House (Donmar Warehouse), Betrayal (Donmar Warehouse), Japes (Theatre Royal, Haymarket), A Streetcar Named Desire (Theatre Royal, Haymarket), The Country Wife(Theatre Royal Haymarket), Wallenstein (RSC), Unfinished Business (RSC), Tamburlaine (RSC), The Pilate Workshop (RSC), Hamlet – title role (RSC), Measure for Measure (RSC), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC), Coriolanus – title role (RSC). Recent film work includes 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, The Journey and Hunter Killer (due for release.)

Dame Penelope Wilton was born in Scarborough and has worked extensively for over 50 years in the classical theatre, film and television. Her film career includes roles in The BFG, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Calendar Girls and Shaun of the Dead. Her television acting career included several major TV roles starring opposite Richard Briers in Ever Decreasing Circles, playing Homily in The Borrowers and, more recently, for her role as Isobel Crawley in the ITV drama Downton Abbey. In 2015 Penelope won an Olivier Award for her performance in Taken at Midnight (Theatre Royal Haymarket).

LISTINGS

6 – 10 December 2017
Winters Tales 
Print Room at the Coronet, Notting Hill Gate, W11 3LB
www.the-print-room.org
020 3642 6606

6 December 2017, 6pm
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie
Read by Mel Giedroyc
(10-12 years)

7 December 2017, 2pm
Title to be announced.
Read by Emeli Sandé

8 December 2017, 2pm
Stories from Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne 
Read by Penelope Wilton
(5-7 years)

9 December, 6pm
A brand new story – Title to be announced.
Read by Ben Okri
(5-7 years)

10 December 2017, 6pm
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Read by Toby Stephens
(7 – 12 years)

PRICING

Adults                                                                                           £15.50

Child/Concessions                                                                 £12.50

Family ticket

(4 tickets including 2 children, 2 full price adults)               £49

School Groups booking

(For every 10 tickets 1 teacher/adult goes free)                     £8.50

(NB School must provide an accompanying adult per 10 to 15 children)

Graeae Theatre Company presents…
Reasons to be Cheerful
A raucous musical featuring the hits of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, in a new production for 2017 directed by Jenny Sealey. 

• Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn backs new anti-austerity song by members of Ian Dury’s band The Blockheads and Graeae performer John Kelly

• ‘If It Can’t Be Right Then It Must Be Wrong’, was written exclusively forReasons to be Cheerful, pioneering disabled-led theatre company Graeae’s musical featuring the hits of Ian Dury and The Blockheads

• The hit show is leading a new protest song movement with over 100 new anti-austerity protest songs being written across UK as part of Graeae’s Community Engagement programme

• You can view the video of the company in rehearsal of the brand new song here.

• The show is currently on tour around the UK and will come to Theatre Royal, Stratford East from 24th October-4th November

Pioneering disabled-led theatre company Graeae has been a proud standard-bearer for protest and disability rights for many years. In conjunction with the final tour of their smash hit musical Reasons to be Cheerful, set in 1979 Thatcher’s Britain, Blockheads  Chaz Jankel, Derek Hussey and cast member John Kelly have written a protest song for 2017, ‘If It Can’t Be Right Then It Must Be Wrong’. You can download the song here. As part of Graeae’s Reasons To Be Cheerful extensive community engagement programme, nearly 100 songwriters across the country have written and submitted their protest songs.

Graeae Theatre Company commented: “Thanks to Chaz Jankel and Derek Hussey from The Blockheads, and to John Kelly, the lead singer from our hit show Reasons to be Cheerful, Graeae now has our very own protest song that perfectly sums up how we feel. 

The song: ‘If It Can’t Be Right Then It Must Be Wrong’ is performed each night in Reasons To Be Cheerful.

We approached the heads of all of the major UK political parties to comment on our new protest song. We got a response from one:

“This new anti austerity song from Graeae and the Blockheads captures the current mood of the country. It’s lyrics bring people together in a moment of shared experience to challenge the status quo.” Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party.

The song is a rallying cry against the current government cuts; specifically the austerity and cuts directed at the D/deaf and disabled community in the UK and the systematic disintegration of the NHS and the Welfare State. The lyrics of ‘If It Can’t Be Right Then It Must Be Wrong’ reflect back to the era Reasons to be Cheerful is set, when Ian Dury and The Blockheads were dominating the charts. Full lyrics can be seen here and streaming details can be provided.

 ‘If It Can’t Be Right Then It Must Be Wrong’ will be available as a free download and will be performed exclusively at each show on the tour by the cast and band. The show is on tour now.

LISTINGS

Reasons to be Cheerful
Writer Paul Sirett
Director Jenny Sealey
Designer Liz Ascroft
Associate Director Daryl Beeton
Lighting Ian Scott
Sound Lewis Gibson
Choreography Mark Smith
Musical Director Joey Hickman
Musical Supervision & Arrangements Robert Hyman
Casting Sarah Hughes CDG

Tuesday 10 – Saturday 14 October
West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds
https://www.wyp.org.uk
0113 213 7700

Tuesday 17 – Saturday 21 October
Liverpool Everyman
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com
0151 709 4776

Tuesday 24 October – Saturday 4 November
Theatre Royal Stratford East
http://www.stratfordeast.com
020 8534 0310
Press night: 24 October

Age recommendation 14+

All performances include creative British Sign Language, captioning and audio description.