DLAP Group are thrilled to announce that the cult smash-hit BONNIE & CLYDE THE MUSICAL will return to the West End opening at The Garrick Theatre on Saturday 4 March 2023 for a strictly limited 11-week season following the phenomenal response to the production during its limited run at The Arts Theatre earlier this year.
At the height of the Great Depression, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow went from two small-town nobodies in West Texas to America’s most renowned folk heroes and the Texas law enforcement’s worst nightmares. Fearless, shameless, and alluring, Bonnie & Clyde is the electrifying story of love, adventure and crime that captured the attention of an entire country. The show features the songs “Raise A Little Hell”, “This World Will Remember Me” and “Made In America”.
When Bonnie and Clyde meet, their mutual cravings for excitement and fame, combined with a desperate need to lift themselves out of the endless banality and poverty of West Dallas, set them on a mission to chase their dreams. Their bold and reckless behaviour turns the young lovers’ thrilling adventure into a downward spiral, putting themselves and their loved ones in trouble with the law. Forced to stay on the run, the lovers resort to robbery and murder to survive. As the infamous duo’s fame grows bigger, their inevitable end draws nearer.
BONNIE & CLYDE THE MUSICAL has a book by Ivan Menchell (Blended [movie], The Cemetery Club, Death Note The Musical), a Tony Award nominated score by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll and Hyde, The Scarlett Pimpernel), lyrics by Don Black (Tell Me On a Sunday, Sunset Boulevard, Mrs Henderson Presents), arrangements and orchestrations by John McDaniel (Patti Lupone: Live, Annie Get Your Gun). The production will be directed by Nick Winston (Director of the feature film Tomorrow Morning, MAME, The Royal Variety Performance) with Set and Costume Design by Philip Witcomb (Atlantis, Stones In His Pockets, MAME),Musical Supervision from Katy Richardson (SIX, Rent, Jersey Boys), Lighting Design by Zoe Spurr (Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World, Hamlet at Theatre Royal Windsor), Sound Design by Tom Marshall (The Drifter’s Girl, Nativity The Musical, Curtains), Video Design by Nina Dunn (The Shark Is Broken, Lazuli Sky), Casting Director Jim Arnold CDG (Wicked, The Prince of Egypt).
DLAP Group is an Olivier-Award winning production company with West End and UK Touring works including “Bonnie and Clyde in Concert”, “Rock of Ages,” “Company,” “Fame,” “Curtains,” and “The Wedding Singer.”
MUSIC VIDEO OF ‘SINGING OUR SONG’ CAN BE VIEWED HERE
Award-winning theatre company Metta Theatre are pleased to release a cast EP and music video for The Minotaur. Award-winning writer/director P Burton-Morgan (The Rhythmics, HouseFire, In The Willows) and composer Felix Hagan (Operation Mincemeat, HouseFire) reunite on a musical based on the Greek myth of The Minotaur – as a metaphor for fossil-fuel induced climate collapse and the inspiring power of community coming together to rise above denial, greed and devastation.
The EP features Janie Dee as ‘Pasiphae’, Arthur Darvill as ‘Theseus’, Zweyla Mitchell dos Santos as ‘Ariadne’, Neil McDermott as ‘Daedalus’ and Robin Simoes da Silva as ‘Icarus’.
The music video of ‘Singing Our Song’ is choreographed by Mark Smith (The Color Purple, Deaf Men Dancing) with Andy Staples as Director of Photography, edited by William Reynolds, and with BSL translation by Deepa Shastri. The film features Sue Appleby as ‘Pasiphae’ (with vocals by Zweyla Mitchell dos Santos) and Natasha Julien as ‘Ariadne’, (with vocals by Janie Dee).
Commissioned by digital support agency The Space and Metta Theatre, this iteration of the project has been created both as a work of art in its own right to raise awareness of climate justice, and also as a digital calling card to venues and producers interested in coming on board to develop the full stage musical, which will eventually be a large-scale musical for 5 professional performers and a community cast of 100.
The beleaguered mining community of Crete, under the controls of their tyrannical ruler Queen Pasiphae must continue to feed the capitalist beast in the heart of the labyrinth of mines, or face death. Young Theseus, an outsider who has finally abandoned his own mining career tries to impress the nature loving daughter of Pasiphae, Ariadne.
Despite Ariadne’s pleas to her mother to reconnect with nature and her own cold heart, trying to dismantle late-stage capitalism single handily is too much for any one individual, so with the help of inventor Daedalus and his striving ambitious child Icarus, they must convince the local community to work together to reimagine a new climate conscious future.
But once the belching smoke of the Minotaur has cleared and the lung-irritating coal dust has settled, they must overcome a far greater monster than the machine itself. Can the community succeed in the face of corporate capitalist greed? Things are heating up on Crete…
William Reynolds said, “After a year of extremes, climate breakdown is no longer an idea for the future, but a visceral reality across the world – and Putin’s weaponisation of energy starkly highlights the danger of our addiction to the fossil fuels causing all the damage. It’s never been more pressing for theatre to engage with the Climate & Ecological Crises, and after pioneering environmental sustainable production for over a decade I’m so excited to be developing this urgent and optimistic show which engages so deftly with such huge, vital issues of climate justice and the power of community.”
P Burton-Morgan said, “This year has shown even those on the fence that we can no longer ignore the threat of the climate crisis. This new musical unpacks some of the climate crisis complexities but most of all engages on an emotional level with a subject that sometimes feels too big to connect to. And as always there’s a seed of hope.”
Established in 2005 by P Burton-Morgan and Motley trained Designer William Reynolds, Metta Theatre has been at the forefront of new work – with a strong focus on the development of new British musical theatre, and a commitment to highlighting climate justice and sustainability; as well as celebrating all forms of diversity.
Over the pandemic, they released a range of digital content including 5 cast albums, 7 music videos/short films and the digital musical Cells (Season One) which has had over 40,000 views across YouTube and Facebook. In December 2021 they premiered their new musical THE RHYTHMICS at Southwark Playhouse, which was tragically cancelled on the morning of its rescheduled press night due to covid.
Prior to the pandemic Metta were one of the UK’s leading mid-scale touring companies – known for combining emotionally powerful performances with imaginative theatricality and striking visual style. Previous productions include their smash hit street-dance Jungle Book(Theatre Royal Windsor & UK tour), circus-musical Little Mermaid (Theatre By The Lake & UK tour) and In The Willows (Exeter Northcott & UK tour), Mouthful (Trafalgar Studios) and Arab Nights (Soho Theatre & UK tour).
In 2020, Artistic Director William Reynolds launched Metta Green – an environmental sustainability consultancy providing bespoke, practical help for companies, venues, productions and individuals to understand and reduce their environmental impacts as well as encouraging wider consciousness raising about the climate and ecological crisis. In 2022, they launched MettaMorphosis, a programme of free artist mentoring and support.
Kenny Wax Family Entertainment in association with MAST Mayflower Studios Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World wins UK Theatre Award
Inspiring girl power musical Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World has won ‘Best Show for Children and Young People’ at the prestigious UK Theatre Awards. The awards, held at London’s Guildhall on 23rd October 2022, recognise the best of the country’s theatre. This fun, feminist musical is based on the award-winning children’s book by Suffragette descendent Kate Pankhurst, and produced by Kenny Wax Family Entertainment. In its first year Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World performed to 80,000 audience members across 20 venues, including Theatre Royal Stratford East, Pleasance Grand at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Liverpool Playhouse.
Celebrated – and often forgotten – women are brought to life on stage in this highly acclaimed production, including Rosa Parks, Sacagawea, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, Mary Seacole, Frida Kahlo, Jane Austen, and Pankhurst’s own relative Emmeline. When Jade breaks away from her school trip to the local museum to peek at the Gallery of Greatness, she meets iconic women from the past, such as explorers, scientists, artists and secret agents. This thrilling musical, adapted by renowned playwright Chris Bush, is full of incredible characters, inspirational moments and an uplifting and catchy soundtrack.
Following its successful UK tour, 2021-2022, the social media following for the show has been remarkable, and reviews were outstanding across the board. The popular soundtrack, which packs a popstar punch with music and lyrics by Miranda Cooper and Jennifer Decilveo, is available to stream on Spotify, Apple and all other major streaming platforms.
The award-winning Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World is looking for a venue in the West End for Summer or Christmas 2023. Producer Kenny Wax, whose other hit shows include SIX and The Play That Goes Wrong, says, This incredible and empowering production was written, directed, created and performed by the most talented women working in UK theatre today. It demands to be seen by a wider audience in London before it tours again across the UK with regional theatres clamouring to book the show
New, original musical based on an amazing, true story from the Second World War, Glory Ride will have its world premiere in the main theatre at The Other Palace as a staged concert for three performances this November.
The cast will be led by James Darch(Mamma Mia) as Gino Bartali, Daisy Wood-Davis(Beautiful – Carole King Musical) as Adriana, Ricardo Afonso(Jesus Christ Superstar) as Dalla Costa, Neil McDermott(Shrek The Musical) as Major Mario Carita and Matt Blaker(The Phantom of the Opera) as Nico.
They will be joined by Tim Rogers(Jesus Christ Superstar) as Graziani, Adrianna Bertola(Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as Giulio, Pippa Winslow(Strangers On A Train) as Rosetta, Mark Turnbull(Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Torello, Marcus Harman(Dear Evan Hansen) as Felix, Tom Mussell(Footloose) as Fantali, Alex James Ellison(Fiver) as Cosmo, Yuki Sutton(Ride) as Lorenzo, with Olivia Brookes(Pretty Woman) and Leeroy Boone(Phantom Of The Opera) completing the ensemble.
How did a Cyclist, an Accountant, and the Cardinal of Tuscany join forces to pull off one of the most remarkable rescue operations of the War? Glory Ride reveals the untold tale of an Italian Tour de France winner who uses his fame and his bicycle to save hundreds of children from Mussolini’s Fascists. The show takes place in Tuscany and features soaring, memorable songs, along with a witty book and comic relief.
Backed by members of the original producers of Jersey Boys, Glory Ride features some of the West End’s biggest stars and has developed through workshops in New York and Los Angeles featuring top Broadway talent.
Paul Taylor Mills has said, “I’m thrilled that The Other Palace will host the British premier for the new musical Glory Ride on the main stage this November. My aim has always been to showcase new material, and to have our first staged concert of a new musical on our main stage is exciting. The Other Palace is a place for developing and discovering theatre, and the story of Gino Bartali is an important and courageous one – I’m honoured The Other Palace will get to be a part of its continued development.”
Combining heist, history, humour, and humanity, Glory Ride transports the audience to the golden hills of Tuscany for a journey more timely today than ever before.
Featuring music, lyrics and a book by the daughter and father team Victoria and Todd Buchholz and direction by Shaun Kerrison, Glory Ride will play at The Other Palace from 14 November 2022 for three performances.
STAFFORDSHIRE’S NEW VIC THEATRE TO STAGE INNOVATIVE THEATRE EXPERIMENT ALONGSIDE CLASSIC DRAMA AND SPARKLING COMEDY FOR SPRING 2023
As their production of Marvellous takes the West End by storm, Staffordshire’s New Vic Theatre announce a season of work that features an innovative theatrical experiment, a revival of a cult classic, a rare staging of a hit regency comedy and more, as they collaborate with partners across the country including Headlong Theatre and Told by an Idiot, for spring 2023.
New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins said: “We are so looking forward to collaborating with Headlong and so many nationally renowned theatre companies this season. I’m excited to be working for the first time with Told by an Idiot on The Killing of Sister George, and producing theatre with our firm friends Northern Broadsides, Octagon Theatre and Claybody Theatre. I’m also delighted to be part of a bold experiment working towards carbon-neutral theatre making alongside Headlong. Whilst the production comes with unique challenges, it’s an exciting moment for our theatre, and something that could provide us with some innovative new methods of creating work for the future. This season we’ll tell some great stories alongside our producing partners and I’m looking forward to inviting audiences for some brilliant experiences at the New Vic.”
The New Vic will partner with Headlong and The Barbican to produce award-winning playwright Miranda Rose Hall’s A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction from Monday 19 to Saturday 24 June 2023. The touring model, conceived by Katie Mitchell with support from Jérôme Bel and Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne in Switzerland, is the first of its kind in the UK and will be powered by bicycles peddled in real time throughout the duration of the show. The eco-friendly performance forms part of a ground-breaking international experiment in reimagining theatre in a climate crisis. Darkly funny and life-affirming, this fiercely feminist off-grid production takes audiences on a life-changing journey to confront the urgent ecological disaster that is unfolding around us.
Working for the first time with renowned theatre company, Told by an Idiot, the New Vic will co-produce the iconic play, The Killing of Sister George,from Friday 21 April to Saturday 13 May. Written by Frank Marcus and directed by Told by an Idiot’s award-winning Artistic Director Paul Hunter, this powerful black comedy, holds surprising moments of tenderness amidst its raucous hilarity. Famously adapted into a film in 1968 with Beryl Reid in the title role, this production will bring the play to life with a unique visual flair.
Opening the season on Friday 3 February, Ladies’ Day is the light-hearted tale of four women who swap their typical working day at the fish factory for the glamour of a trip to Royal Ascot. Written by Amanda Whittington (Kiss Me Quickstep, The Thrill of Love) and directed by Marieke Audsley, this aspirational story explores the values of friendship and optimism. Creating the production with Octagon TheatreBolton, the show brims with wryly observed humour and is odds on to become an audience favourite.
The theatre will produce Quality Street, alongside Northern Broadsides. Written by J.M. Barrie (author of the much-loved Peter Pan), the story follows Phoebe Throssel, a character who seeks to rekindle romance through her youthful alter-ego Miss Livvy as her old flame reappears in town. In a rare revival of this famed play, Northern Broadsides’ Artistic Director Laurie Sansom brings to life the regency comedy with a playful Yorkshire twist from Friday 3 to Saturday 25 March.
Finally, the New Vic will produce Arnold Bennett’s The Card in association with Claybody Theatre. On stage from Saturday 20 May to Saturday 10 June, this new adaptation by Deborah McAndrew will be directed by Conrad Nelson (Anna of the Five Towns, Brassed Off). A revival of Claybody Theatre’s original production seen in 2022, The Card is an uplifting tale of a loveable rogue living in a fictitious Stoke-on-Trent known as ‘Five Towns’ and is a source of great local pride.
For more information about the New Vic’s spring season, visit newvictheatre.org.uk.
Showpath Entertainment announce the UK Premiere Tour of the Tony Award nominated, award-winning THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL to tour the United Kingdom and Ireland opening at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton on Wednesday 5 April 2023 then visiting Birmingham, Bradford, Oxford, Dublin, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff, Blackpool, Peterborough, Wolverhampton, Norwich, Leicester, Aberdeen ahead of spending five weeks over the summer at theSouthbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall prior to visitingPlymouth. Full tour details below.
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea and became the hottest star on Broadway? SpongeBob SquarePants! Plunge into this stunning all-singing, all-dancing, dynamic stage show!
When the citizens of Bikini Bottom discover that a volcano will soon erupt and destroy their humble home, SpongeBob and his friends must come together to save the fate of their undersea world!
With lives hanging in the balance and all hope lost, a most unexpected hero rises up. The power of optimism really can save the world! An exciting new production featuring irresistible characters, magical choreography and dazzling costumes; this deep-sea pearl of a show is really set to make a splash with audiences young and old as the must-see musical of 2023. The future is bright, the future is bold, the future is THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL.
THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL is based on the series by Stephen Hillenburg, written by Kyle Jarrow and conceived by Tina Landau. Featuring original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants and T.I. Additional songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny and Andy Paley. Additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton. Additional music by Tom Kitt.
Nickelodeon, SpongeBob SquarePants, and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 43rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The brand includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, location-based experiences, publishing and feature films. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon is a part of Paramount’s (Nasdaq: PARA, PARAA) global portfolio of multimedia entertainment brands.
Award winning producers Andy and Wendy Barnes from Global Musicals (Six, The Choir of Man, Pieces of String, Lift)together with Kevin McCollum from Alchemation (In The Heights, Avenue Q, Rent, Mrs Doubtfire, The Notebook)are pleased to announce that tickets are now on sale for an extra performance of the staged concerts of new musical 42 Balloons by Jack Godfrey, currently in development through their sister company Perfect Pitch, an entity dedicated exclusively to creating, developing and promoting new contemporary British musicals.
The concerts will be staged at the Vaudeville Theatre, currently home to West End musical SIX, on Monday 14 November at 7.30pm, Monday 21 November at 7.30pm and Monday 28 November at 2.30pm, and now at 7.30pm in addition.
42 Balloons has been in development with Perfect Pitch for the last three years and a number of music and choreography workshops have taken place during that time along with the recordings of a few of the songs, one of which – 42 Balloons and a Lawnchair – was released in 2021 on Perfect Pitch’s Rise:Up YouTube channel.
The staged performances are the culmination of this development and a chance for an audience to see the full show for the first time.
42 Balloons has been written by Jack Godfrey whose other works include This is a Love Story (Dundee Rep) and Babies (YMT:UK). The concerts are directed by Ellie Coote, who also serves as dramaturg, with choreography by Alexzandra Sarmiento, orchestrations and musical supervision by Joe Beighton, sound design by Paul Gatehouse and scenic and costume design by Libby Todd. Flynn Sturgeon will be the musical director with casting by Pearson Casting.
The cast includes Jordan Broatch, Madeline Charlemagne, Eloise Davies, Evelyn Hoskins, Melissa Jacques, Lemuel Knights, Garry Lee, Charlie McCullagh, Laura Dawn Pyatt, Travis Ross, Dillon Scott-Lewis, and Amelia Walker.
The 2nd of July 1982. Larry Walters, a truck driver, flies sixteen thousand feet above Los Angeles, using a lawn chair and 42 helium-filled weather balloons.
No, seriously.
42 BALLOONS tells the story of how Larry, with the help of his girlfriend Carol, defied gravity and FAA airspace regulations to make his lifelong dream a reality.
Inspired by a highly improbable true story, and featuring an original 80s-pop-inspired score, 42 BALLOONS is an exhilarating new musical about stupid dreams and doing whatever it takes to achieve them.
Tickets will be priced at £25 through the whole house.
Andy and Wendy Barnes said, “It is always a nerve-wracking moment when you put a brand-new musical in front of an audience for the first time, but 42 Balloons is one of the most exciting new musicals we have ever add the pleasure to develop and produce. It’s an inspiring story about real people that offers an insight into how far someone will go to achieve their ambitions and what happens if it’s not what you expected it to be, and Jack’s original music takes you right back to the 80’s when the show is set.”
Barbican London, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Bristol Old Vic, Comédie de Genève, Holland Festival, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, L’Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, The Lowry, The National Theatre of Iceland, Oxford Playhouse, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen and Theatre Royal Plymouth
CAST ANNOUNCED FOR COMPLICITÉ’S PRODUCTION OF DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD
‘A winding, imaginative, genre-defying story. Part murder mystery, part fairy tale, Drive Your Plow is a thrilling philosophical examination of the ways in which some living creatures are privileged above others.’
– TIME, book review of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Award-winning, international touring company Complicité (The Encounter, Can I Live?) has today announced the full casting for the world premiere of a new work for the theatre Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, conceived and directed by their Artistic Director and Co-Founder Simon McBurney. The piece is based on Nobel Prize-Winner Olga Tokarczuk’s genre-defying novel of the same name.
The ensemble cast features long standing Complicité collaborators, alongside new performers working with the company for the very first time. Kathryn Hunter will play Janina Duszejko – a former engineer, environmentalist, devoted astrologer and enthusiastic translator of William Blake. She is joined by Thomas Arnold, Johannes Flaschberger, Amanda Hadingue, Kiren Kebaili-Dwyer, Weronika Maria, Tim McMullan, César Sarachu, Sophie Steer and Alexander Uzoka. Casting is subject to change at some venues.
The following quote from Simon McBurney is to be used in full: “Olga Tokarczuk’s savage, funny and madly beautiful “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead” is being brought to the stage by Complicité with a multi-national ensemble made up of long-term collaborators such as César Sarachu (Street of Crocodiles, Master and Margarita), Tim McMullan (Lucie Cabrol, Mnemonic, Master and Margarita), Johannes Flaschberger (Lucie Cabrol, Foe, Mnemonic, Measure for Measure and Master and Margarita) and a new generation of exceptional actors. We are particularly thrilled and delighted to announce that leading the company, in the role of protagonist Janina, is Kathryn Hunter.
But we cannot, nor would we want to, avoid declaring that we are also making this piece in a time of deep mourning. Following the death of my comrade, compagnero and brother in arms Marcello Magni – co-founder of Complicité and Kathryn’s beloved husband – Kathryn and I feel it is a profound, beautiful and healing act to come together to create a piece of theatre inspired by this witty, poignant and ferocious work.”
Regarded as an eccentric outsider, the storyunfolds through Janina’s eyes, veering between the comedic and macabre. Her actions question the patriarchal world which surrounds her, our deeper human intentions and the value placed on the lives of animals in contrast to our own.
Tokarczuk’s novel caused a seismic reaction in her native Poland due to its defiant attack on authoritarian structures, with right-wing press branding the writer an ‘eco-terrorist’ and national traitor. This playful, anarchic noir was translated into English in 2018 by Antonia Lloyd-Jones for Fitzcarraldo Editions. It is the first English language stage adaptation of the novel and the first time Tokarczuk’s work has been adapted for the UK stage.
The story begins in the depths of winter in a small community on a remote mountainside, as men from the local hunting club begin to die in mysterious circumstances. Janina Duszejko has her suspicions. She has been watching the animals with whom the community shares their isolated, rural home, and she believes they are acting strangely…
A philosophical and poetic murder mystery, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is a rallying cry for nature and a love-letter to the poetry of Blake. At its heart it is a playful and profound work that asks us to consider what it means to live in harmony with the world around us, our place in the ecosystem, and the perilous consequences we all face if our connection to the natural world is lost.
Collaborating with McBurney on the project are set and costume designer Rae Smith, lighting designer Paule Constable, sound designer Christopher Shutt, video designer Dick Straker, dramaturgs Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre and Laurence Cook and Kirsty Housley provides additional direction. Completing the creative team are design assistant William Fricker, lighting associate Lucia Sanchez and sound associate Ella Walhstrӧm.
Supported by a pan-European network of co-producers, the production begins at Theatre Royal Plymouth (1-3 December 2022) followed by a 3-week run at Bristol Old Vic (19 Jan – 11 Feb), dates at Oxford Playhouse (1-4 March) ahead of a national opening – 20 March – at the Barbican, London (15 March – 1 April). The production will then tour throughout 2023 with further UK dates at Nottingham Playhouse (4-8 April), Belgrade Theatre Coventry (19-22 April) and The Lowry (25-29 April) before international dates in May and June 2023 including Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, and L’Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, Paris. Tour dates in England are now on sale (http://www.complicite.org/).
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is the latest in a series of Complicité projects that urgently address the destruction of the planet. Figures In Extinction[1.0] which focused on humans’ disregard for animal life, is a collaboration with Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite and Nederlands Dans Theater which recently won a prestigious Swan award and will receive its UK premiere at Sadler’s Wells in April 2023. Can I Live? a film conceived, written and performed by Fehinti Balogun, which was presented as part of the official programme for COP26, highlighted the social injustices caused and inflamed by climate change. Complicité is a founding member of the Culture Declares Emergency initiative. Much of McBurney’s (an active member of Stop Ecocide) and the Company’s work focuses on the state of our planet and art’s responsibility in encouraging activism.
Complicité is one of Europe’s leading theatre companies. Its work is characterised by an inherent playfulness and made through a deeply researched, highly collaborative process rooted in the belief that all aspects of theatre should challenge the limits of theatrical form. Recent Complicité productions include Beware of Pity, The Encounter, The Master and Margarita, Shun-kin and A Disappearing Number. This December, Complicité presents The Dark is Rising on BBC World Service and BBC Sounds, a new immersive audio drama of Susan Cooper’s cult novel, adapted by Robert Macfarlane and Simon McBurney and starring Toby Jones, Harriet Walter and Paul Rhys. The company is led by director Simon McBurney, in collaboration with a wide circle of associates.
3 wins for Leeds Playhouse including UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre, Best Performance in a Musical and Best Design
Accolades for Giles Terera, Divina de Campo and Nishla Smith
Sarah Holmes honoured with Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre Award
Sunday 23 October: The 2022 UK Theatre Awards winners were revealed today in a lunchtime ceremony at London’s Guildhall. The Awards returned following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
The Awards were hosted by star of the stage Courtney Bowman (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Six, Legally Blonde), and presenters included Dame Arlene Phillips, Isabella Pappas, Joel Harper-Jackson and Rakie Ayola.
The UK Theatre Awards are the only nationwide awards to honour and celebrate outstanding achievements in theatre throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by UK Theatre members.
The biggest winner of the day was Leeds Playhouse, who won three awards including UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre, Best Design for Laura Hopkins & Simon Wainwright for Dracula: The Untold Story and Best Performance in a Musical for Divina de Campo for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a Leeds Playhouse and HOME co-production.
Best Director was won by Elin Schofield, Robert Hastie and Anthony Lau for Rock/Paper/Scissors. In this theatrical first, the cast performed in the Crucible, Lyceum and Studio simultaneously at Sheffield Theatres.
The Best Musical Production award was given to the Curve Theatre Leicester’s Billy Elliot the Musical. Based on Stephen Daldry‘s acclaimed 2000 film, with music by Elton John and book and lyrics by Lee Hall. The musical features incredible songs such as Solidarity, The Letter, He Could Be a Star and the show-stopping Electricity.
Mugabe, My Dad & Me won Best New Play. The story charts the rise and fall of one of the most controversial politicians of the 20th century through the personal story of Tonderai’s family and his relationship with his father. The show is a co-production by English Touring Theatre, Brixton House & York Theatre Royal in association with Alison Holder.
The Best Performance in a Play award was won by Giles Terera for Bristol Old Vic’s Production of The Meaning of Zong. Nishla Smith garnered Best Supporting Performance for Kes, an Octagon Theatre and Theatre By The Lake co-production.
Brian Friel’s modern masterpiece Translations won Best Play Revival. The Abbey Theatre and Lyric Theatre Belfast co-production is a three act play about language and (mis)communication which centres around a rural town where language, myth and history thrive within a small north Donegal community.
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World, based on the award-winning picture book by suffragette descendant Kate Pankhurst was awarded Best Show for Children & Young People.
Richard Mantle received the award for Achievement in Opera in recognition of his incredible work at Opera North.
The dancers of Rambert won the Achievement in Dance Award for their ability to inhabit any choreographer’s vision, as a company of unique, versatile, incredibly skilled performers.
Sarah Holmes was honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre accolade, presented by Stephanie Sirr MBE and Michèle Taylor MBE. Accepting the award Holmes said: “I accept this award as recognition for the quality, innovation and creative spirit which is to be found in our pioneering regional theatres”.
Offstage awards included Excellence in Arts Education which went to the Lyric Theatre in Belfast; Excellence in Inclusivity won by English Touring Theatre; Excellence in Touring awarded to Graeae Theatre Company; Best Digital Innovation given to Chichester Festival Theatre and Best Workforce awarded to The Marlowe, Canterbury.
The UK Theatre Awards are sponsored by: Harbottle and Lewis, John Good Ltd, Nyman Libson Paul, Settingline Production Management, Spektrix, Theatre Tokens, Tysers in association with Ecclesiastical, Unusual Rigging, and White Light
THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION OF MICHAEL FRAYN’S BELOVED COMEDY NOISES OFF
COMES TO THE WEST END FOR 8 WEEKS ONLY
LONDON’S PHOENIX THEATRE FROM 19 JANUARY 2023
STARRING
FELICITY KENDAL, TRACY-ANN OBERMAN, MATTHEW KELLY, ALEXANDER HANSON, JOSEPH MILLSON, SASHA FROST, PEPTER LUNKUSE, JONATHAN COY
DIRECTED BY LINDSAY POSNER
Theatre Royal Bath Productions is delighted to announce that Michael Frayn’s multi award-winning farce, Noises Off, will head to the West End’s Phoenix Theatre for a strictly limited run from 19 January to 11 March 2023 with tickets now on sale via atgtickets.com
Noises Off stars Felicity Kendal(The Good Life, Relatively Speaking and Hay Fever) as Dotty Otley, Tracy-Ann Oberman (EastEnders, Friday Night Dinner and Edmond) as Belinda Blair and Matthew Kelly (The Dresser, Waiting For Godot, as well as hosting Stars In Their Eyes and You Bet!) as Selsdon Mowbray, Alexander Hanson as Lloyd Dallas, Joseph Millson as Garry Lejeune, Sasha Frost as Brooke Ashton, Pepter Lunkuse as Poppy Norton Taylor and Jonathan Coy as Fredrick Fellows.
This celebrated 40th Anniversary production directed by Lindsay Posner (God of Carnage, Hay Fever, Stones in his Pockets) opened to critical acclaim at Theatre Royal Bath this autumn before touringto Richmond, Brighton and Cambridge.
One of the greatest British comedies ever written, Michael Frayn’s celebrated play serves up a riotous double bill – a play within a play. Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Noises Offfollows the on and off-stage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, Nothing On. From the shambolic final rehearsals before opening night in Weston-super-Mare, to a disastrous matinee in Ashton-Under-Lyme seen entirely, and hilariously silently, from backstage, before we share their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.
After watching from the wings a production of his 1970 farce The Two of Us with Richard Briers and Lynn Redgrave and noting that the goings on behind the scenes were funnier than out front, Michael Frayn wrote Noises Off. The original production opened in London in 1982 before becoming a worldwide hit. A feature film was made of Noises Off in 1992.
Noises Off is written by Michael Frayn. The creative team for this 40th Anniversary production includes Lindsay Posner (Director), Simon Higlett (Designer), Paul Pyant (Lighting Designer), Greg Clarke (Sound Designer), Will Stuart (Composer), Ruth Cooper-Brown (Movement and Fight Director), George Jibson (Associate Director), Ginny Schiller (Casting Director).
