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The Bussey Building, Peckham October 5th – 31st.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Neil Gore’s adaptation of Stephen Lowe’s original play is small in scale, but perfectly formed.

Neil Gore and Jonathan Markwood play all of the characters in the play. This involves hats, pipes and jackets being whipped on and off and is a little confusing at first, but very quickly, the characters are distinctive, familiar, and very well played.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is about the painters and labourers working on The Cave – the home of Mayor Sweater. The hardships and uncertainties of their work situations and their treatment by the “masters” is laid bare, while the socialist views of Frank Owen are at first mocked and then grudgingly appreciated when the company suddenly cuts the workers’ wages.

Both actors share the role of  Mr Hunter and give subtly different performances throughout the play. Gore is Faginesque and hysterical in his apoplexy at the rising costs of Owen’s work, while Markwood is slightly sinister, more of a bible bashing Gollum.

There are some lovely touches to the production – scene titles are displayed around the set evoking the old music halls, and work, folk and pub songs are sung with feeling by the actors and the audience. Gore and Markwood have a fantastic rapport and are unflappably professional when technical hitches occur – ad-libbing one liners and casting knowing looks at the audience.

The writing is top-notch and comic moments mix seamlessly with more serious themes.

Even though Noonan’s original novel was written in 1910, the plight of the workers is still relevant today in our world of minimum wage struggles and zero hour contracts. With the current austerity measures and political climate, this is a timely reminder of the chasm between the rich and those struggling to feed their families. The play is worth seeing for the “Great money trick” scene alone. This is the funniest, simplest and starkest demonstration of how compassionless capitalism can exploit and discard workers – all done with 3 slices of bread and 3 knives. Perhaps Corbyn could put it on the National Curriculum?

The production is an inspirational triumph – don’t miss it.

Newcastle Theatre Royal is celebrating this week after winning two top national awards – UK Theatre’s ‘Most Welcoming Theatre’ in the region, and the Technical Theatre Awards’ ‘Receiving Venue Team of the Year’.

 

The My Theatre Matters! Most Welcoming Theatre Award in association with Smooth Radio is presented at the UK Theatre Awards – the only nationwide awards to honour outstanding achievement in regional theatre across the UK.   Voting for the award is done solely by the public online.  There are 12 shortlisted theatres in total from the various regions/nations of the UK and the overall winner of ‘Most Welcoming Theatre’ will be announced at the ceremony on 18 October at London’s Guildhall.

 

Newcastle Theatre Royal was selected as the region’s most welcoming theatre from 11 North East nominations. It is the second time the Theatre has been shortlisted for the award.

 

Last Monday, Newcastle Theatre Royal also won Receiving Venue Team of the Year in the prestigious Technical Theatre Awards (TTA) which give credit to individuals who work behind the scenes. Nominations were made in May and the TTA Panel (a selection of experts from the industry) drew up a shortlist of candidates. Details of the lucky finalists were then released and the rest of the voting was conducted publicly online.

 

The Receiving Venue Team of the Year award highlights the excellence of one venue which stands out above all others, as voted for by touring technicians who travel to a wide range of venues throughout their careers. Nominations might be made based on the technical skill, expertise and attitude of a theatre’s backstage team and the welcoming atmosphere of a venue.

 

Newcastle Theatre Royal Chief Executive, Philip Bernays, said: “We are truly honoured to have won two such important awards back-to-back. We strive to excel in everything that we do in order to attract the biggest audiences and the best shows in what is a very competitive market, and the word ‘Welcome’ continues to be our central mantra. These wins are an outstanding achievement and true testament to the effort and dedication of our staff, who always go ‘one step beyond’.”

 

It has been a good year for the Theatre Royal – the company’s Annual Report for 2014/15 details record breaking figures for the charity despite a drastically reduced level of funding and a tough economic climate. It has been the Theatre’s best ever in terms of ticket sales, with a total of £10.3m worth of tickets sold, 44 visiting theatre, opera, ballet and dance companies welcomed and 406 performances presented to a staggering 405,681 people. The attendance for the year was also at 80% capacity, which is an astonishing 21% above the national average.

 

The Theatre is also famous for having the most generous Friends scheme in the UK and the largest arts membership scheme in the region.

 

Last month the Theatre was also shortlisted for ‘Contribution to Arts and Culture 2000-2015’ in the Living North Awards – a special one-off award for which an announcement will be made in November.

New Adventures have announced the principal casting for the first revival of Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty at Sadler’s Wells. The Christmas season runs from Tuesday 1st December 2015 to Saturday 24th January 2016.

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty is a gothic tale for all ages; the traditional tale of good vs. evil and rebirth is turned upside-down, creating a supernatural love story that even the passage of time itself cannot hinder.

Bourne’s new scenario introduced several characters not seen in Petipa’s famous Ballet or Grimm’s fairy tale. This imaginary kingdom is ruled over by King Benedict and Queen Eleanor. Princess Aurora’s romantic interest is not a Prince, but the royal gamekeeper, Leo. Representing the central forces of good and evil are Count Lilac (“the King of the Fairies”) and the Dark Fairy Carabosse. Bourne has also created the character of Caradoc, the sinister but charming son of Carabosse. Princess Aurora’s Fairy Godparents are characterised by their names – Ardor, Hibernia, Autumnus, Feral and Tantrum.

Returning to the central role of Aurora in this first revival is rising star Ashley Shaw. Ashley recently played Lana in the immensely successful revival of The Car Man, and has also played Kim in Edward Scissorhands, Sugar inNutcracker! and the title role in Cinderella. Cordelia Braithwaite made her debut with New Adventures in Swan Lake in 2013 and has subsequently appeared in this year’s revival of The Car Man, covering the role of Lana. Cordelia makes her debut as Aurora this season; her first Principal role with New Adventures.

The leading role of Leo will again be played by Dominic North and Chris Trenfield who co-created the role in 2012. Dominic has appeared in more New Adventures productions than any other dancer and was most recently seen as Angelo in The Car Man (also in the filmed version for SkyArts). He was nominated as “Outstanding Male Dancer” at The National Dance Awards for his performance as Edward Scissorhands which he re-created to considerable earlier in 2015. Chris has this year been seen as Luca in The Car Man and played the role in the SkyArts TV broadcast in August. One of New Adventures’ most versatile leading men, he has also appeared as Tony in Play Without Words, the title role in Nutcracker! and The Swan/Stranger in Bourne’s Swan Lake which he also danced at the Music Centre of Los Angeles 50th Anniversary Gala last year.

Count Lilac will be portrayed again by one of New Adventures’ most accomplished performers Christopher Marney, and in his third Principal role for New Adventures this year, Liam Mower. Christopher has appeared in the extremely successful Triple Bill, Early Adventures, as Cyril Vane in Dorian Gray (Created role), The Prince in Swan Lake and The Angel in Bourne’s Cinderella in 2010. Recently he has had a notable personal success as the choreographer of the West End hit play, McQueen. Liam Mower is the Olivier award-winning original star of the West End hit Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Joining New Adventures in 2011 to appear in Nutcracker!, he has also appeared in Play Without Words, as The Prince in Swan Lake (a role that he danced with the Royal Ballet’s Edward Watson at last year’s Ignite Festival) and his critically acclaimed portrayal of Edward Scissorhands earlier this year.

The twin roles of Carabosse and Caradoc will be shared by two charismatic New Adventures performers; Adam Maskell who co-created the role in 2012 returns to the Company having previously featured in Dorian Gray, Nutcracker! (title role),Play Without Words and as The Angel in Cinderella. Tom Clark makes his debut in a Principal role with New Adventures following roles in Swan Lake, The Car Man and as Jim Upton in Edward Scissorhands.

King Benedict will be played by Will Bozier (Edward Scissorhands) Glenn Graham (Swan Lake, The Angel in Cinderella andThe Car Man) and Chris Trenfield. Queen Eleanor by Pia Driver (Swan Lake, The Car Man, Edward Scissorhands), Nicole Kabera (Edward Scissorhands, Nutcracker!, The Car Man, Swan Lake) and Katie Webb (Swan Lake, The Car Man).

Completing the Sleeping Beauty Company are: Daniel Collins, Jack Jones, Mari Kamata, Phil King, Dominic Lamb, Dena Lague, Katy Lowenhoff, Katrina Lyndon, Kate Lyons, Andrew Monaghan, Leon Moran and Danny Reubens

Sleeping Beauty is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne working again with three of his regular collaborators and New Adventures Associate Artists; Lez Brotherston (Set and Costumes), Paule Constable (Lighting) and Paul Groothuis (Sound Design). The 2015 Revival will be Directed by Matthew Bourne, Staged by Associate Director Etta Murfitt and the Resident Director is Neil Westmoreland.

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty premiered in 2012, and was the fastest selling production in the company’s history.Sleeping Beauty was created for New Adventures’ 25th birthday celebrations and completed Matthew Bourne’s trio of re-imagined Tchaikovsky ballet masterworks that started in 1992 with Nutcracker! and, most famously, in 1995, with the international hit Swan Lake. This dazzling production has won the hearts of thousands and smashed box office records across the UK and at Sadler’s Wells. Its USA premiere in 2013 prompted Joan Acolella of The New Yorker to hail Bourne as “the most popular choreographer of theatrical dance in the Western world” and The New York Times said: “This is Bourne at his best – a masterful storyteller.” The production also won three Los Angeles Drama Critic Awards and the Ovation Award for “Best Production”.

Perrault’s popular fairy tale, about a young girl cursed to sleep for one hundred years, was turned into a legendary ballet by Tchaikovsky and choreographer, Marius Petipa, in 1890. Bourne uses this date as his starting point, setting the Christening of Aurora, the story’s heroine, in the year of the ballet’s first performance; the height of the Fin-de-Siecle period when fairies, vampires and decadent opulence fed the gothic imagination. As Aurora grows into a young woman, we move forwards in time to the more rigid, uptight Edwardian era; a mythical golden age of long Summer afternoons, croquet on the lawn and new dance crazes. Years later, awakening from her century long slumber, Aurora finds herself in the modern day; a world more mysterious than any Fairy story!

 

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty at the Sadler’s Wells
Sadler’s Wells
Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4TN
Running Time: 2 hours
Age Restrictions: No under 5s admitted. Some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children (with the gothic, vampire theme, it is possible that some scenes may be a bit dark or scary for them).

Booking From: 1st December 2015
Booking Until: 24th January 2016
Important Info: Audio Described Performance: 16 Jan 2016 2.30pm

Ovation present Legally Blonde The Musical, at Upstairs Above The Gatehouse, by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Limited on behalf of Music Theatre International of New York. With Music & Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, Book by Heather Hach, and based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the MGM film.

Transport Theatre presents
THE EDGE
Devised and Directed by Douglas Rintoul
Designed by James Button
Music Composed by Raymond Yiu
Sound by Helen Atkinson
Lighting by Matt Haskins
Projection by Will Duke

Co-produced with New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich
14+

PRODUCTION IMAGES AND TRAILER RELEASED FOR TRANSPORT THEATRE’S THE EDGE

INSPIRED BY REAL LIFE NARRATIVES FROM THE SUNDARBANS IN INDIA AND THE SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND, THE EDGE EXPLORES THE UNIVERSAL ISSUE OF MASS MIGRATION CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE

TRAILER AVAILABLE HERE

A brand new trailer and production images have been released for The Edge, the powerful production devised by award-winning company Transport Theatre. Inspired by real life narratives taken from the Sundarbans in India and the south coast of England and developed in collaboration with leading lecturer in coastal oceanography Dr Ivan Haigh, The Edge is a powerful two-hand production exploring the universal and hugely topical issue of mass migration caused by climate change.

Directed by Douglas Rintoul (artistic director of Transport Theatre and recently appointed artistic director of Queens Theatre in Hornchuch), the cast includes Balvinder Sopal (The Harrow Road, Soho Theatre) and Tim Lewis (Warhorse, National Theatre).  Following a three day run at Ipswich New Wolsey Theatre, the co-producers of the production, The Edge continues its UK tour until 14 November.

A woman steps into the English Channel. A man is swept up by a great storm in West Bengal. Two decades later their children meet on a beach by an English town that’s been abandoned to the sea. She’s training to swim the Channel. He’s a climate change refugee.

Douglas Rintoul, Artistic Director of Transport Theatre was awarded the British Council Connections through Culture Award to visit the Sundarbans in West Bengal India where he worked with the Kolkata based theatre company Ranan, drawing real life narratives from an area directly on the frontline of climate change. The company also worked with young adults in Folkestone, developing an audio and visual work exploring narratives from the Kent Coast. Combining this quantative research from two different continents, Rintoul’s production questions what it really means to live on the geographical edge and explores the universal issue of climate change.

Developed in collaboration with leading lecturer in coastal oceanography Dr Ivan Haigh, with music by award-winning composer Raymond Yiu, The Edge fuses text, movement, music and projection to transport its audience between continents, exploring the place where the sea meets the land.

In partnership with Kent Libraries, the tour will include a three day site specific run at Folkestone Library, Grace Hill. The production will be filmed in this creative venue and then released digitally to the public for National Libraries Day on Saturday 6th February 2016.

Douglas Rintoul is Artistic Director of Transport and the Queens Theatre in Hornchurch. He has directed for the Barbican, Hampstead Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, Watermill Theatre, Trafalgar Studios, Dundee Rep Theatre, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, National Theatre Studio, Salisbury Playhouse, New Wolsey Theatre, Ice&Fire and Creation and is a long-standing associate director to Complicite and was an assistant and associate director to Deborah Warner. He recently received the Royal National Theatre Foundation Playwright Award for his productionElegy.

Raymond Yiu is the winner of a BASCA British Composer Award, and three times previous nominee. His early work received the advocacy of American composer-pianist-conductor Lukas Foss and he has worked with ensembles and artists including BBC Singers, BBCSO, Chroma, Concorde Ensemble (Ireland), Ensemble 10/10, London Sinfonietta, Lontano, LSO and Andrew Watts. The Original Chinese Conjuror, with libretto by Lee Warren, was commissioned by Aldeburgh Production for the 2006 Aldeburgh Almeida Opera Season. Maomao Yü, a quintet for piano and traditional Chinese instruments was commissioned by LSO for Lang Lang and the Silk String Quartet. The Earth and Every Common Sight, for soprano and piano, won the Tracey Chadwell Memorial Prize 2010. In April 2013, Teatro Barroco of Vienna mounted a new production of The Original Chinese Conjuror, directed by Bernd Bienert. His most recent workSymphony, commissioned by the BBC will be first performed at the Royal Albert Hall on 25 August this year for the BBC Proms 2015.

Balvinder Sopal graduated from the University of Huddersfield in 2001 with a degree in Theatre Studies with Media and has since worked nationally in theatre, radio, film and television. Her theatre credits include Home Sweet Home (Freedom Studios), The Snow Queen (Trestle Theatre), Tales of the Harrow Road (Soho Theatre) and Counted? (Look Left Look Right).

Tim Lewis most recently performed in The Hudsucker Proxy for Nuffield/Liverpool Theatres. His other theatre credits include War Horse (the National Theatre, New London West End and South Africa tour), Elephantom (National Theatre/West End), The Man of Mode (National Theatre) andRomeo and Juliet (Birmingham Rep/Touring Consortium).

TRANSPORT is an internationally minded arts company based in Folkestone. Positioned on a geographical border, the company’s focus is rooted in the near and far looking towards the channel and beyond.

 

 

TEN WEEKS TO CHRISTMAS MEANS ONLY ONE THING

 

TEN WEEKS TO CHRISTMAS can only mean one thing; it’s the countdown to the famous Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantoat City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds (November 27^th to January 10^th).

Should the show title matter for the annual must-see, this year the venue presents Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood in its own inimitable style.

“The City Varieties pantomime has become a necessary-date-in-the-diary throughout the festive period,” says Ian Sime, General Manager. “It’s fair to say it’s a bit of a Leeds tradition.”

The soundtrack is played live on stage by the cast and is crammed with covers of big hit songs; this year’s treats include Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, Meatloaf and Bob Marley.

“The cast are extraordinarily talented,” Ian continues. “The atmosphere is electric and has audiences, young and old, dancing in the aisles.”

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto has everything audiences expect from a traditional family pantomime – slapstick comedy, audience interaction and outlandish costumes – with the bonus of a rocking soundtrack and the now-legendary boulder fight – if you’ve been before you’ll know exactly what the ‘boulder fight’ is; if you haven’t then there’s only one way to find out. In the words of Ian Sime:

“You won’t see anything like this anywhere else in Yorkshire. It’s a real treat.”

Before the launch of the panto, City Varieties welcomes its customary cornucopia of delights including comedy from Stewart Francis, Rob Beckett, Chris Ramsey, Josh Widdicombe, Ed Byrne and David O’Doherty; music with Showaddywaddy, Elkie Brookes and Chas and Dave and an evening with legendary footballer Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascgoine. All this along with treats such as comedy hypnotist Andrew Newton andLouis Pearl the Amazing Bubble Man thrown in for good measure.

 

For more information on all up-coming acts visit city varieties.co.uk

Robin Hood the Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto is at City Varieties Music Hall from Friday November 27^th to Sunday January 10^th.

Tickets are on sale now priced from £15 to £22 with concessions, group discounts and school group prices available.

 

Book online at cityvarieties.co.uk  or call 0113 243 08 08

 

 

THE TIGER LILLIES AND OPERA NORTH

LULU – A MURDER BALLAD

 

Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House       Monday 23^rd – Saturday 28^th November, 2015

The Tiger Lillies’ genre-defying brand of other-worldly vocals and unnerving performance style has carved them a unique niche in the cabaret and music theatre scene and earned them a Grammy nomination. After a sell-out run of THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER at the Southbank Centre, the cult creators of the Olivier Award-winning SHOCKHEADED PETER now stage LULU – A MURDER BALLAD, adapted from the German macabre classics by Frank Wedekind, Earth Spirit (1895) and Pandora’s Box (1904).

The story follows the character of Lulu, one of the great creations of 20^th Century fiction, and one of its most disturbing. Her unbridled sex appeal, her youth, and her self-destructiveness combine to make her dangerous, unpredictable and tragic. With the men (and women) who circle her, Lulu’s journey from street prostitute to the toast of Society and back again is told as a hypnotic and kaleidoscopic dance of death. Join her as she travels from Berlin to Paris and finally to the dark streets of Jack the Ripper’s London.

“It makes you as uncomfortable as hell, but you never turn your fascinated gaze away.”

The Guardian on LULU – A MURDER BALLAD

An uncompromising musical and visual melodrama, LULU – A MURDER BALLAD combines The Tiger Lillies’ frontman Martyn Jacques’ castrati-influenced vocals and the band’s flamboyant style with atmospheric visuals and contemporary dance. Taking the familiar narrative, Jacques weaves the tale into a new theatrical song-cycle of 20 songs and interludes. Directed and designed by Mark Holthusen (THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARNIER) with stunning virtual sets, the show is performed live by The Tiger Lillies with dancerLaura Caldow (Royal Ballet, ROH, ENO) as Lulu.

A CD of the song cycle from LULU – A MURDER BALLAD is available on Misery Guts Music.

“Laura Caldow delivers a heartbreakingly tender dance performance as the tragic heroine”        

The Independent on LULU – A MURDER BALLAD

 

LISTINGS

Venue:                 Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House

Dates:                  Monday 23^rd – Friday 27^th November, 7.45pm; Saturday 28^th November, 6pm

Box Office:        020 7304 4000 / www.roh.org.uk

Tickets:               £8 – £25 (Concessions available)

Age advisory 16+

The company can also be seen at Brighton Dome – Concert Hall on Monday 30^th November at 8pm.

Tickets: £12.50 – £19.50 (Concessions available)

Box office: 01273 709709 or www.brightondome.org

AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL THE BODYGUARD TAKES TO THE LYCEUM STAGE

 

Following a sell-out run in London’s West End, hit musical The Bodyguard comes to the Lyceum Theatre from Tuesday 27 October to Saturday 7 November, starring three-time Brit nominee and X-Factor winner, Alexandra Burke, in the lead role of Rachel Marron.

 

Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don’t expect is to fall in love.

A romantic thriller, The Bodyguard features a host of irresistible classics including Queen of theNight, So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My Love, I’m Your Baby Tonight, Run to You, I Have Nothing, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and one of the biggest selling songs of all time – I Will Always Love You.

Alexandra Burke will perform the role of Rachel Marron at all evening performances. At the matinee performances, the role of Rachel Marron will be played by Zoe Birkett (Pop Idol)

Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar nominated Warner Bros. film, which starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, the musical of The Bodyguard was nominated for four Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Musical and Best Set Design and won Best New Musical at the Whatsonstage Awards.

 

Don’t miss the chance to catch this thrilling blockbuster musical on the Lyceum Stage.

 

The Bodyguard is at the Lyceum Theatre from Tuesday 27 October – Saturday 7 November. Tickets can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres’ Box Office in-person, by phone on 0114 249 6000 or online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk and are priced from £27.00 – £49.00 (a transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office, excluding cash), and discounts are available.

It has been announced that Don Warrington is to star in a new production of King Lear at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester.

Directed by Michael Buffong, the casting makes Warrington the first black British actor to play the role in a large-scale professional production in more than 20 years.

Warrington is an award-winning actor, most recently seen in the BBC series Death in Paradise. His other acting credits include Casualty, All My Sons and Driving Miss Daisy.

Commenting on the casting, director Michael Buffong said: “King Lear represents a huge and exciting challenge as a director…Don Warrington has been a big part of Talawa’s story and to take this journey with an actor of such subtlety and power is an exciting prospect and one that I look forward to beginning.”

Don Warrington added: “Michael and I spent some time discussing Lear, and it felt exciting to have the opportunity to tackle something equally challenging. At the time it seemed crazy to say no, now…I wonder if I’m just crazy.”

Following their 2013 critically acclaimed production of All My Sons, King Lear is a co-production from Talawa, Britain’s primary Black-led theatre company, and the Royal Exchange, in association with Birmingham Rep.

King Lear runs at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester from 1 April to 7 May, after which it transfers to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 19 to 28 May 2016.

The UK and Ireland tour of the multi award-winning musical Mary Poppins is set to play its first performance tonight at the Leicester Curve, the first of many venues included in the 2015/16 tour schedule. Fifteen performances will be staged there between Monday 12th October 2015 and Saturday 24th October 2015, before the show moves on to the next leg of the tour at the Bristol Hippodrome.

The new touring production features an impressive assortment of star names in the cast, led by Zizi Strallen as Mary Poppins and Matt Lee as Bert.

Zizi Strallen is the second Strallen to play the beloved magical nanny on stage, following older sister Scarlett who previously played the role in the original West End production at the Prince Edward Theatre. She was most recently seen playing Lara in Matthew Bourne’sThe Car Man at Sadler’s Wells, and recently performed in the West End musicals Cats (London Palladium and Merrily We Roll Along (Harold Pinter Theatre). Her other West End credits include Rock of Ages, Dirty Dancing and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella at Sadler’s Wells. She has also appeared in The Music Man at Chichester Festival Theatre, and as Penny Pingleton in Hairspray at Leicester Curve.

Matt Lee played the role of Bert in Mary Poppins when the show opened in Australia, his portrayal winning him the prestigious Helpmann Award for Best Actor in a Musical. His other theatre credits in Australia include Miss Saigon, The Witches of Eastwick, Rent, Grease and The Boy from Oz. Matt was also a permanent member of the judging panel for Australia’s So You Think You Can Dance.

Starring alongside them are Milo Twomey as George Banks, Rebecca Lock as Winifred Banks, Penelope Woodman as Miss Andrew, Wendy Ferguson as Mrs Brill, Grainne Renihan as Bird Woman and Blair Anderson as Robertson Ay, joined by Yves Adang, Abby Bebbington, Greg Bernstein, Jabari Braham, Matthew Caputo, Sophie Caton, Jennifer Davison, Lisa Dent, Joe Dockree, Maria Garrett, Hannah Grace, Graham Hoadly, Jacqueline Hughes, Thomas-Lee Kidd, Antony Lawrence, Adam Margilewski, Anu Ogunmefun, Ben Oliver, Stephanie Powell, Edwin Ray, Adam Rhys-Charles, Sam Salter, John Stacey, Christine Tucker, Alexandra Waite-Roberts, Wreh-Asha Walton and Scott Waugh.

The magical story of the world’s favourite Nanny arriving on Cherry Tree Lane has been triumphantly and spectacularly brought to the stage with dazzling choreography, incredible effects and unforgettable songs, including such classics as ‘Jolly Holiday’, ‘Feed The Birds’, ‘Step In Time’ and ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’.

The stage version of Mary Poppins is brilliantly adapted from the wonderful stories by PL Travers and the Walt Disney film. The musical has a book by Julian Fellowes and was co-created by Cameron Mackintosh, and is a co-production between Mackintosh and Disney. The producer for Disney Theatrical Productions is Thomas Schumacher. It features the original music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, along with new songs and additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Directed by Richard Eyre, there is also co-direction and choreography is by Matthew Bourne, with co-choreography by Stephen Mear. set and costume design is by Bob Crowley with lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Paul Groothuis and orchestrations by William David Brohn. The International Tour ofMary Poppins is directed by Anthony Lyn and James Powell with original choreography adapted by Geoffrey Garratt. Musical supervision is by Stephen Brooker.

Mary Poppins made its world debut at the Bristol Hippodrome in 2004 shortly before premiering in the West End. It opened at the Prince Edward Theatre on 15th December 2004, with Laura Michelle Kelly starring in the title role alongside Gavin Lee as Bert, and ran for over three years, winning two Oliver Awards. The Broadway production opened in November 2006 and won a Tony Award and two Drama Desk Awards, running for more than six years. Subsequent productions have played all around the world.

Mary Poppins last toured the UK in 2008/09 with Caroline Sheen in the title role, later replaced by Lisa O’Hare. The new UK and Ireland tour was announced by Cameron Mackintosh in February 2015.

The full tour schedule can be found below:
Leicester Curve (12th-24th October 2015)
Bristol Hippodrome (29th October-28th November 2015)
Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin (3rd December 2015-9th January 2016)
Palace Theatre, Manchester (20th January-5th March 2016)
Birmingham Hippodrome (9th March-23rd April 2016)
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh (27th April-21st May 2016)
Mayflower Theatre, Southampton (25th May-19th June 2016)
Theatre Royal, Norwich (29th June-30th July 2016)
Theatre Royal, Plymouth (3rd August-3rd September 2016)
Theatre Royal, Newcastle (8th September-29th October 2016)