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Flip FabriQue: Catch Me

(Attrape Moi)

Underbelly Festival, Jubilee Gardens, London SE1 8XX

Wednesday 17th May – Sunday 9 th July 2017

Press Night: Tuesday 23rd May 2017, 7.30pm

Twirling hoops, daring diabolos, and acrobats soaring through the air are all in a day’s play for Flip FabriQue, the exciting new faces of Canadian circus who make their London premiere with Catch Me.

High flying, fearless, and fantastic fun, Catch Me is the circus sensation that has astounded audiences around the world with adrenaline pumping feats of extreme acrobatics, dramatic turns on a trampoline and inventive parkour.

It’s been ten years since six friends enjoyed a summer of fun and now it’s time for them to reunite, catch up and relive the past. It doesn’t take long for everyone’s playful outlandishness to resurface. For one extraordinary weekend, they relive their youth, laughing and teasing each other, enjoying the differences in their contrasting personalities. This acrobatic reunion is an experience like no other with an incredible display of athleticism and showmanship that is perfect entertainment for the whole family.

Underbelly has built an incredible reputation for bringing the best in international circus to the Southbank each summer with past productions from the likes of Circa, Gravity and Other Myths and Barely Methodical Troupe.

Underbelly director Ed Bartlam comments, We’re delighted to be welcoming Flip FabriQue to London – they’re a tremendous company with incredible skill levels, and Catch Me is a joyful, accomplished show that will complement our programme on the South Bank perfectly. We’re also excited to be strengthening our ties with Quebecois circus, and continuing to bring the strongest circus shows from Canada to a London audience following on from the success of Cirque Alfonse’s Barbu in 2016.

Flip FabriQue is an impressive Quebecois circus troupe, artfully flinging themselves and one another across the stage in an adrenaline-injected hour of acrobatics and dance… Magnificent moments of very expert human showing off (The List).

GRAEAE’S CULT HIT MUSICAL REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL TO EMBARK ON UK TOUR FROM SEPTEMBER 2017

• Part gig, part play, Reasons to be Cheerful celebrates the infectious music of Ian Dury and the Blockheads in this bold and jubilant coming of age tale
• Fully accessible punk production is directed by Jenny Sealey MBE, Artistic Director of Graeae, and written by Paul Sirett
• Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ seminal album ‘New Boots and Panties!!’, the musical features a catalogue of the band’s hits

The pioneering disabled-led theatre company Graeae has confirmed tour dates and venues for the return of their acclaimed musical Reasons to be Cheerful, which will hit the road this autumn. Following a hugely successful tour in 2012 which was seen by almost 12,000 people and a series of concert performances last year, this joyful and defiant production will visit seven regions around the country, kicking off at the Belgrade, Coventry on 4 September and rounding off the tour with a two week run at Theatre Royal, Stratford East in London.

First seen in 2010, Reasons to be Cheerful has gone onto play at theatres and festivals across the UK, in stadiums around the world, and even in front of HM The Queen. “Spasticus Autisticus”, the Ian Dury-penned disability rights anthem which features in the show, was performed by the cast at the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony and, despite being banned by the BBC in 1981, broadcast worldwide in front of an audience of over 1 billion.

This coming of age tale rejoices in the infectious and enduring music of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Featuring stone-cold classic songs including Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick; Plaistow Patricia; Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll; Sweet Gene Vincent; What A Waste and the titular Reasons to be Cheerful (Part 3), this show is loud, bold and jubilant.

The parallels with the show’s 1979 setting are clear. Today, as nationwide cuts continue to impact on the lives of d/Deaf and disabled people, Graeae Theatre Company puts them centre stage. As a prominent disabled activist, Ian Dury was a patron and staunch supporter of Graeae. The extraordinary wit and wisdom of Ian Dury and the Blockheads music and lyrics are brought to life by an inclusive cast of 15 actors and musicians.

It is 1979. Labour has just lost the General Election to the Tories. Strikes rock the nation and Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ Reasons to be Cheerful (Part 3) is climbing the charts. Die-hard fans Vinnie and Colin are on a mission to see Ian Dury and the Blockheads play Hammersmith Odeon. With no tickets to a sold-out gig their journey throws more at them than they could have ever expected….

Using Graeae’s signature theatrical language, all performances of Reasons to be Cheerful seamlessly include British Sign Language, audio description and creative captioning.

Jenny Sealey, Director of Reasons to be Cheerful and Artistic Director at Graeae Theatre Company, said: ‘I am beyond thrilled that our Reasons to be Cheerful gang are dusting off their Dr. Martens and going back out on the road one final time in a new production of our hit show, thanks to support from Arts Council England’s Strategic Touring Fund. We will be well and truly raising the roof up and down the country with the brilliantly anarchic music of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, whose punk sentiment speaks louder than ever as we fight against the brutal cuts that Deaf and disabled people, and millions of others, have faced in recent years.’

Jemima Dury, daughter of Ian Dury, said; ‘I’m so excited for everyone who will see Reasons to Be Cheerful on this 2017 tour. You are in for a treat! It’s energizing, it’s moving and it’s enormous fun. It comes as close as you can get to a 1979 Ian Dury and the Blockheads gig. Graeae gives us diverse, accessible theatre at its best. This is how all theatre should be!’

Chaz Jankel, original Blockhead and co-writer of many songs in the show, said; ‘It is amazing to think that 37 years after Ian and I wrote Reasons to be Cheerful (Part 3), the song still has such an impact and sounds so fresh. The Blockheads still perform it at every gig and the vibe in the audience and on stage definitely goes up a couple of notches as we lock in our reasons to be cheerful groove! The Graeae production has added a whole new lease of life to the song and legacy of Ian Dury. The extraordinary energy and skill that the cast bring to this original musical production is edgy yet heartwarming and mesmerising. The respect they have for Ian’s lyrics and lust for life is undeniable. If Ian were alive I am sure he would be laughing his head off and applauding the bravura of this very talented ensemble.’

An extensive community engagement programme will take place alongside this production, inviting original protest songs for a generation to be included in the show’s tour.

Reasons to be Cheerful was first performed in autumn 2010 with original co-producers New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich and Theatre Royal Stratford East.

This tour is supported by Arts Council England through their Strategic Touring Fund.

Twitter:@R2BCheerful
#Reasonstobecheerful
Facebook: Reasons to be Cheerful – the Musical 
YouTube: GraeaeTheatreCompany

LISTINGS

Friday 8 & Saturday 9 September
Belgrade Theatre Coventry
http://www.belgrade.co.uk/
024 7655 3055
On Sale Now

Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16 September
Derby Theatre
https://www.derbytheatre.co.uk/
01332 59 39 39
On Sale Now

Tuesday 26 – Saturday 30 September
Nuffield Theatre, Southampton
https://www.nstheatres.co.uk/
023 8067 1771
On Sale Soon

Tuesday 3 – Saturday 7 October
New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich
https://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/
01473 295900
Pre-Sale 29th March
On Sale 15th April

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

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

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

The Pleasance announces winners of Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Fund for theatre as Unpolished Theatre.

Elliot Warren and Olivia Brady’s Unpolished Theatre, established in 2016, is announced as the winner of Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Fund for theatre. Its first ever show Flesh & Bone will premiere at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2017.

At the very heart of the Pleasance’s curated programme at both the Festival Fringe and at the Pleasance in London, is the development arm of The Pleasance Theatre Trust, Pleasance Futures. The Pleasance’s enduring mission is to provide a launch pad for the very best emerging talent and the brightest new ideas. The Pleasance Theatre Trust has provided financial support to up and coming talent both on and off stage through a number of Pleasance Futures projects such as Kidzone, Young Pleasance, XYP, Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Fund and various co-productions.

The Charlie Hartill Special Reserve is a designated, rolling Fund towards the production costs of bringing selected projects to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and consists of two strands: comedy and theatre.

The Pleasance is delighted to announce the winners of the Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Fund for theatre as Unpolished Theatre, selected from the largest ever number of applications.

Unpolished Theatre was created by Elliot Warren and Olivia Brady in 2016 alongside the idea of their first production Flesh & Bone which they will now premiere at the Pleasance this coming August.

Flesh & Bone was performed at the Etcetera Theatre in December in its initial version, but the company are planning extensive re-writes before the Fringe. It will be the company’s debut on the Fringe.

Elliot and Olivia studied together at Drama School in Bournemouth and forged a brilliant working relationship and friendship creating work throughout and afterwards. In early 2016, both back home in London, Elliot wrote a short film called Stick Up which Olivia produced and which garnered quite a bit of attention, going viral on the internet and gaining 2.2 million views on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/stickupmovie/). In the same year, both Elliot and Olivia were in a production of East by Steven Berkoff and remembered their shared love of his style. Once the run had finished they were afire with ideas and energies that needed put onto a stage, igniting a similar style to Berkoff but with contemporary ideas and subject matters.

And so Flesh & Bone was conceived. Flesh & Bone gives the gritty residents of an East London Tower Block a stage, through their wickedly eloquent voices and their outpourings of uberly bloated tongue, we are thrust into their stories, held by the scruff of the neck, and made to listen.

Anthony Alderson, Director of the Pleasance said: “Having received over 100 applications, we are thrilled to announce Unpolished Theatre’s Flesh & Bone as the recipient of this year’s Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Fund. As a company making their ambitious first show, they will benefit from not only the experience of presenting it at the Edinburgh Fringe, but also developing their company with support and mentoring from the full Pleasance team. Flesh & Bone has an electricity and eloquence rarely seen from such a young company.”

Elliot Warren, writer, co-director and performer in Flesh & Bone said: “This fund seriously means the world to us. We have never performed at Edinburgh and it is a life-long dream to be at The Pleasance. The fund allows us to create a fantastic show and dedicate our time to making it the best it can be on and off the stage. We don’t have investors and we don’t have much money, just a show that is itching to be seen!”

The purpose of the Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Fund is to offer financial support to the writers, directors, technicians, producers and performers of the future to give them an opportunity to hone their talents and present a show at the world’s biggest arts festival.

The Fund was established in 2004 in memory of Charlie Hartill, a writer, performer and for eight years a Festival Fringe director, who died in January of that year.

The recipient of this prestigious Fund is awarded a prime slot at the Pleasance during Edinburgh Festival Fringe, mentoring from the Pleasance’s administration and technical team, and in-kind support up to the value of £10,000.

The winners of Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Fun for comedy will be announced soon.

Compagnie XY present It’s Not Yet Midnight…

Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8EH

Monday 10 – Sunday 23 April 2017

Press Night: Tuesday 11 April, 7.30pm

“Alone we go faster, together we go further…”

Returning to London for the first time in seven years, French Compagnie XY bring their spectacular show It’s Not Yet Midnight… to the Roundhouse for its UK premiere.

Featuring over 20 awe-inspiring acrobats, It’s Not Yet Midnight… is a show about togetherness; a timely reminder that if we come together, accept and look out for one another, we can achieve more

Blending beautiful choreography with exceptional circus skills and physicality, this show is poignant and humorous, playful and uplifting.

Their hand to hand … their takeoffs, their five-storey human towers, the care with which they ensure the landing of their somersaults describes an ideal world where risk-taking, generosity and solidarity rule the roost (Le Figaro).

Widely regarded as one of the leading contemporary circus companies in the world, Compagnie XY create jaw-dropping and poetic spectacles. They are unique in their company set-up, operating as a collective who live and work together.

It’s Not Yet Midnight… is Compagnie XY’s third creation, following Le Grand C (2009) and LaissezPorter (2005). With more than 500 performances worldwide, the company’s success has enabled them to challenge acrobatic technique from a creative perspective working with large numbers of artists.

It’s Not Yet Midnight… is supported by French cultural department (DGCA-DRAC Nord-Pasde‐Calais) by regional council of Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, and by Adami (association for artists and musicians performers rights).

Phil McIntyre Entertainments proudly presents

DANNY BAKER

CRADLE TO THE STAGE

GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

Wednesday 26 April

 

Tickets on sale now

 

Broadcasting legend Danny Baker is on tour for the first time ever in his illustrious and varied career.  ‘Cradle To The Stage’ will come to the Grand Opera House York on Wednesday 26 April as part of a 35 date tour across the UK. Tickets are on sale now.

To hear more about his live stage debut, over to Danny himself:

“The stage has always been my first love. Let me put that another way. I have never done anything like this before in my life. However, to travel from town to town addressing a fabulous gathering of like-minded chums each night seems to me exactly what Shakespeare would have done, had not the hefty rent at The Globe kept him in London. As a consequence, William Shakespeare toured about as frequently as Kate Bush. Well not me. I own very few theatres anymore and so I am now totally free to charge about here and there wowing the folks with my anecdotal back catalogue, games involving sausages and impressive six octave range.

No two nights of this extravaganza will be the same. This is less of a boast than admission that a) I am hopeless at learning scripts and b) I still have no idea what I am going to include. Perhaps you can help?  If you’ve read my books, watched the series based on them or, indeed, ever caught anything I have presented on television/radio then maybe you might contribute to the feast of reason and flow of the soul that I guarantee these evenings will contain. Questions like, “Did your friend really eat saveloys from a pith helmet” or “What was meeting John Lennon/Michael Jackson/David Bowie/Kenneth Williams like?” or, I suspect, most popular of all “How comes you’ve made so many rotten TV programs, Dan?”

“I will of course arrive in front of you going off like a Cacophonous Catherine Wheel of Chat, armed with hundreds of tall tales to tell many complete with proof from my family picture album to stop you thinking I am simply raving. I’ve been at this showman racket a full 40 years now my friends – there is truly much to discuss and plenty to be held to account for.

A night at the theatre can either be deep dish or high kicking. What I promise to haul before you is very much in the latter category. Content wise I will make Springsteen and Dodd look like short changing slackers. I can’t wait. This is the sort of radio I’ve always wanted to do, ie, radio without radio. Just me and you.

In fact, if you don’t show up I’m going to do it in your local theatre anyway. So you may as well come. Why should the ushers have all the fun?  So, in short, roll up, pile in and hang onto your hats. I am back where I belong. On the stage! Shove over Tommy Steele – there’s a new sheriff in town!  See you there.”

Danny Baker is a broadcaster and writer who has worked throughout print, television and radio for over 30 years. His recent bestselling autobiographies were adapted into the hit BBC series Cradle to Grave and he is currently working on the third instalment. He can be heard Saturdays mornings with his multi award winning BBC Radio 5 Live show which includes his usual mixture of music, sport, guests and, of course, Danny’s signature encyclopaedic wit.

 

 

Listings Information:

Ticket prices: £21.25 (Concessions: £19.25)

Box office: 0844 871 3024

For tickets: www.atgtickets.com/york  www.ticketmaster.co.uk

RUNNING WILD
UK Tour until 10 June 2017
Based on an inspiring true story, Michael Morpurgo’s RUNNING WILD is about a girl named Lilly who is saved from a tsunami by an elephant named Oona. Miles from civilisation, at first there’s wonder, discovery and tree-top adventures with the orangutans, but, as thoughts turn to her mother left behind on the beach, and wild tigers prowl, and hunger hits, Lilly must now learn to survive the rainforest. Adapted by Samuel Adamson and co-directed by Chichester’s Festival Theatre’s Education Director, Dale Rooks and Artistic Director of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Timothy Sheader, with puppetry design and direction by Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié for Gyre & Gimble, both previous Associate Puppetry Directors on War Horse. Complete with spectacular life-size puppets, RUNNING WILD tells an emotional and moving story of love, loss and loyalty and of living for the moment. RUNNING WILD is produced by The Children’s Touring Partnership with Arts Council funding and the production will work to support the Born Free Foundation’s global elephant conservation projects.
Suitable for all ages 6+
Duration: 110 minutes including interval
www.runningwildlive.co.uk

 

MAMMA MIA!
Novello Theatre

Currently booking until 14 October 2017

From West End to global phenomenon, MAMMA MIA! is Judy Craymer’s ingenious vision of staging the story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs with an enchanting tale of family and friendship unfolding on a Greek island paradise. To date, it has been seen by 60 million people in 50 productions in 16 different languages grossing more than $2 billion at the box office.The London production of MAMMA MIA! has been seen by more than 10% of the entire UK population. The show will celebrate its 18th London Birthday on 6 April 2017. The current cast stars Linzi Hateley as Donna Sheridan, Mazz Murray as Tanya, Jo Napthine as Rosie and Sanne Den Besten as Sophie Sheridan.
Duration: 2 hours 35 minutes
http://www.mamma-mia.com/

STOMP
Ambassadors Theatre
Currently booking until 7 January 2018
STOMP, created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, is the inventive and invigorating stage show that blends dance, music and theatrical performance into one electrifying rhythm. One of Britain’s greatest exports, STOMP, which celebrated its 25th birthday in 2016, having opened at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1991, has toured the globe for 22 years, playing over 20 thousand performances to more than 12 million people in 53 countries on 6 continents. The show played Sadler’s Wells Theatre in 1994 and won the Olivier Award for Best Choreography, before opening in New York, where it celebrated its 21st birthday in 2016.
Duration: 100 minutes with no interval
www.stomplondon.com

A MONTH AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

 

As Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games gets ready to hot foot it into Leeds this week, it high-kicks-off a month of drama, musicals and comedy at The Grand Theatre.

Celebrating 20 years since he debuted Lord of the Dance, this new show is produced, choreographed and directed by Michael Flatley and stars his protégés; catch it from Tuesday 28^th March to Saturday 2^nd April.

The following week the theatre welcomes Jodie Prenger to the stage in Shirley Valentine and another celebration as this tour marks the play’s 30^th anniversary. The play became an instant hit in 1986 with Shirley famously talking to the kitchen wall and making her husband’s tea – chips and egg. And nothing has changed; Jodie will command the stage alone and cook chips and egg whilst telling the much-loved story.  Shirley Valentine is at The Grand from Monday 3^rd to Saturday 8^th April.

 

Count Arthur Strong is a comedy character created by Steve Delaney and Graham Linehan.  He is an eccentric, semi-retired music hall performer from Doncaster who has delusions that he is a showbiz legend – fortunately his creators are legends having been nominated for British Comedy Awards, Best Comedy Breakthrough, Best Comedy Writers and Best Situation Comedy.  Count Arthur’s new show The Sound of Mucus is at The Grand for one night only on Sunday 9^th April.

 

Those with a passion for Michael Jackson’s music are in for a treat from Tuesday 11^th to Saturday 15^thwhen Thriller Live moonwalks into Leeds. Direct from London’s West End, where it is now in its record-breaking 9^th year, Thriller Live is a spectacular concert of non-stop hits that pay homage to his legendary live performances and innovative dance moves.

 

Last year’s Strictly Come Dancing winner Joanne Clifton is next up at The Grand in the jazz-tasticThoroughly Modern Millie. Based on the Academy Award-winning film, the show is set in the height of New York’s Jazz Age when ‘moderns’ – including a flapper named Millie Dillmount – were bobbing their hair, raising their hemlines, entering the workforce and rewriting the rules of love.  Featuring a Fred and Ginger dance routine the family show is on from Monday 17^th to Saturday 22^nd April.

Drama and intrigue fill into the last week of the month with Ruth Rendell’s A Judgement in Stone.  An all-star cast present a grizzly murder mystery from the much-respected crime writer.

And finally, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here runner up, comedian Joel Dommett takes over for just one night on Sunday 30^th April with his solo show.

For more information on all shows at Leeds Grand Theatre and to book tickets go to leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700

PAUL MASON’S WORLD PREMIERE AND DEBUT PLAY ‘DIVINE CHAOS OF STARRY THINGS’ COMES TO THE WHITE BEAR THEATRE

 

• An extraordinary piece of theatre exploring revolution, hope, defeat and exile based on the memoirs of 19^th century French feminist icon Louise Michel
• Running 25th April – 20th May The White Bear Theatre
• Written by award-winning journalist Paul Mason

 

 

‘As of Today we refuse to stand in line’

 

Paris, 1871. A revolt seizes control of a global city. In its final days, working class women – from seamstresses to teachers to sex workers- take up arms, desperate to defend the freedoms they have fought for and won. And then it is over, in a sea of blood.

 

In Divine Chaos of Starry Things, award-winning journalist Paul Mason explores the agony of the defeat and exile of the Parisian women revolutionaries deported to the remote Pacific island of New Caledonia, their depression and isolation upon arrival and loss of hope as dreams of escape fade and a new reality descends. Tension simmers amongst the island’s indigenous people as resentment and rebellion hang in the air.

 

Based on the memoirs of 19^th century feminist icon and revolutionary Louise Michel, this piece of theatre looks at what happens when downtrodden people experience the transformative power of mass action, only to be defeated. In our current world increasingly scarred by torture, mass incarceration, censorship and razor wire, the play looks at key questions surrounding oppression and resistance; what makes people refuse to surrender in the face of repression and how do people survive once the exhilaration of revolt is over?

 

About to star in his self-penned show ‘Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere’ at the Young Vic, Divine Chaos of Starry Things reflects Mason’s extensive research of the former French penal colony of New Caledonia, his travels there and his interviews with both descendants of the deportees and oral historians of the indigenous Kanak people. Post-show talks will be held after selected performances, hosted by Mason himself and including an exclusive look at his short video documentary ‘Traces of Louise Michel’.

 

Mason says: “After the miners’ strike, in 1984, I saw a whole generation of people struggle with the psychological impact of defeat. It made me want to discover how people survive. When I started writing this play, during the mass upsurge of revolt and optimism we call the Arab Spring and Occupy, these problems – of despair in the face of injustice – seemed very distant. They seem totally relevant now. Hundreds of thousands of people have experienced the exhilaration of revolt, followed by the reality of defeat.”