Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott Landis GFour Productions, Tulchin Bartner Productions THE SHARK IS BROKEN Written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon
FULL CASTING IS ANNOUNCED FOR ‘THE SHARK IS BROKEN’, AS THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SMASH-HIT OF THE 2019 EDINBURGH FRINGE PREPARES TO MAKE WAVES IN THE WEST END.
CO-WRITTEN BY ROBERT SHAW’S SON IAN AND JOSEPH NIXON, THIS BRILLIANTLY FUNNY, DEEPLY MOVING PLAY TAKES AUDIENCES BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE BLOCKBUSTER JAWS.
LIAM MURRAY SCOTT WILL PLAY RICHARD DREYFUSS AND DEMETRI GORITSAS WILL PLAY ROY SCHEIDER ALONGSIDE IAN SHAW WHO STARS AS HIS FATHER ROBERT SHAW.
‘THE SHARK IS BROKEN’ WILL PLAY A STRICTLY LIMITED RUN AT THE WEST END’S AMBASSADORS THEATRE FROM 9 OCTOBER 2021 – 15 JANUARY 2022.
Sonia Friedman Productions is delighted to announce full casting for The Shark is Broken when it opens at the Ambassadors Theatre from 9 October 2021. Co-written by Robert Shaw’s son Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, this brilliantly funny play reveals the hilarious and moving behind-the-scenes drama on Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster movie JAWS.
As previously announced, Ian Shaw (War Horse and Common, National Theatre) will star as his father Robert Shaw. He will be joined by Liam Murray Scott as Richard Dreyfuss (reprising the role he performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019), and Demetri Goritsas (ear for eye, Royal Court; Black Mirror, Netflix) as Roy Scheider.
Cape Cod, 1974: shooting on ‘Jaws’ has stalled. The film’s lead actors – Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss – are stuck on a boat, at the mercy of foul weather and a faulty mechanical co-star. Awash with alcohol and ambition, three hammered sharks start to bare their teeth…
The Shark is Broken is written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, directed by Guy Masterson, set and costume are by Duncan Henderson, lighting is by Jon Clark, sound and music are by Adam Cork and video is by Nina Dunn. Casting is by Julia Horan CDG.
The Associate Director will be Martha Geelan, the Associate Lighting Designer will be Simisola Majekodunmi and the Costume Associate will be Deborah Andrews.
The production runs in the West End for a strictly limited season from 9 October 2021 – 15 January 2022.
MICHAEL MORPURGO’S ‘PRIVATE PEACEFUL’ ANNOUNCES UK TOUR
TOURING FROM 1 MARCH 2022
The Nottingham Playhouse production of Michael Morpurgo’s award-winning novel, Private Peaceful, adapted for the stage by Simon Reade and directed by Elle While, today announces it will embark on a major UK tour following its Nottingham premiere. The tour will open at Chichester Festival Theatre on 1 March 2022, before visiting Bromley, Cambridge, Oxford, Hayes, Hull, Bath, Birmingham, Blackpool, Malvern, Coventry, Guildford, Crewe and Norwich, with further venues still to be announced.
First published in 2003 by Harper Collins, Private Peaceful was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and won the Red House Children’s Book Award and the Blue Peter Book Award. Acknowledged by Morpurgo as his favourite work, this thrilling new ensemble retelling for the stage explores the lengths a young soldier will go to, to fight for what is right.
Michael Morpurgo OBE says:
“Young men and young women who grew up just like Private Peaceful, at home, safe with their families, went off in their millions to the battlefields of the First World War from all over the world. What followed was universal human suffering on a scale never witnessed in human history before. The universality of the tragedy disguises all too easily that each one of those who went was a son or a daughter, loved and so often, lost. Private Peaceful was one of those.
It’s so important to me, and not because I wrote the story, that his story and the story of all the others, is told and told again. It’s wonderful to me that through this extraordinary play, the story is being told in theatres all over this country.”
Private Peaceful introduces us to the Peaceful brothers, Tommo and Charlie, whose tough rural childhood, framed by the loss of their father, forges an irrevocable sibling loyalty. Until one day they both fall for the same girl. And then the Great War comes. Here we join 18-year-old Private Tommo Peaceful in the trenches as he takes us on a journey through his most cherished memories and tells his story of courage, devotion, family and friendship.
Director, Elle While says:
“I am so delighted to bring this extraordinarily talented team back together to fully realise this powerful new adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s classic story of love, loss and loyalty. We cannot wait to finally be able to share this production, which relishes in the power of theatrical storytelling, with live audiences throughout the UK.”
Private Peaceful is directed by Elle While, with Design by Lucy Sierra, Lighting Design by Matt Haskins, Sound Design by Dan Balfour, Movement Direction by Neil Bettles, Composer Frank Moon, Voice and Dialect Coach Marianne Samuels and Casting Director Ginny Schiller. The UK Tour is produced by Jonathan Church Theatre Productions and supported by Arts Council England through a National Lottery Project Grant award.
Access performances including BSL, Audio Described, Captioned performances and Touch Tours will be available across the tour. There will also be an accompanying education programme for schools, further details to be announced. This adaptation is suitable for ages 9+.
Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Moss Empires are delighted to present The Nigel Havers Theatre Company in Noel Coward’s gloriously entertaining PRIVATE LIVES. This will be the inaugural show for The Nigel Havers Theatre Company, which will be touring the country with a wonderful line-up of theatrical gems. The UK Tour of PRIVATE LIVES will begin at Theatre Royal Bath on 28 October 2021.
The production stars Olivier Award-winning Patricia Hodge, one of the country’s most loved actresses, as Amanda and Nigel Havers, ever suave and thoroughly charming, as Elyot, the role taken by Noël Coward himself in the original production in 1930. Astonishingly, it is the first time Nigel Havers has appeared in a Coward play on stage. Dugald Bruce-Lockhart plays Victor, Natalie Walter Sibyl and Aïcha Kossoko Louise.
Coward’s dazzling comic masterpiece is both a scintillatingly witty and scathingly vitriolic study of the rich and reckless in love. Elyot and Amanda, who were once married, find themselves in adjoining rooms in the same hotel on the French coast, both on honeymoon with their new partners. Their initial horror quickly evaporates and soon they’re sharing cocktails and a romantic serenade.
Patricia Hodge’s many theatre credits include A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (Trafalgar Studios), Copenhagen (Chichester Festival Theatre), Travels With My Aunt (Minerva, Chichester), Relative Values (Harold Pinter), Calendar Girls (Noel Coward Theatre), The Country Wife (Theatre Royal Haymarket), His Dark Materials (National), Noises Off (National), Money (National, for which she won the Olivier for Best Supporting Actress) and A Little Night Music (National). Her recent television credits include Ursula Thorpe in A Very English Scandal (BBC), Mrs Pelham in Downton Abbey (ITV) and Penny in Miranda (BBC).
Nigel Havers’s television credits include Roger in Finding Alice (ITV) and General Ransom in All Creatures Great & Small (Channel 5). Other recent television credits include Lewis Archer in Coronation Street (Granada), Stanley Keen in Benidorm (ITV) and Lord Hepworth in Downton Abbey (ITV). Theatre includes Serge in the UK Tour and West End productions of Art, Algernon Moncrieff in the UK Tour of The Importance of Being Earnest and Maxim de Wynter in the UK Tour of Rebecca. His film credits include playing David Niven in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Hofstadter in Paradise Lost, Dr Rawlins in Empire of the Sun and Lord Andrew Lindsay in Chariots of Fire.
Dugald Bruce-Lockhart most recently appeared as Michael Gove in The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson at Park Theatre. He has also played David Cameron in The Three Lions (St James Theatre and Edinburgh Festival), for which he was nominated for Best Actor in The Stage Awards. Other theatre credits include Bill Austin in Mamma Mia! (Novello), David Hart in Wonderland (Hampstead), Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps (UK Tour) and, for Ed Hall’s Propeller Theatre Company, he has played the title role in Henry V, Antipholus of Syracuse in Comedy of Errors and Ratcliffe in Richard III.
Natalie Walter’s most recent theatre credits include Pack of Lies (Menier Chocolate Factory), Jerusalem (Watermill Theatre), Smash (Menier Chocolate Factory), 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (Bush), 39 Steps (Criterion), Hay Fever (Chichester Festival Theatre) and, for the RSC, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Love’s Labour’s Lost. Natalie was a regular performer in the CBBC series Horrible Histories.
Aïcha Kossoko’s most recent theatre credits include playing Alia Aminu in Josie Rourke’s production of The Vote at the Donmar Warehouse, Antony & Cleopatra at Chichester Festival Theatre and Liverpool Playhouse, The Taming of the Shrew for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Welcome To Thebes and The Observer at the National Theatre and La Dispute at the Abbey Theatre Dublin. Recent films include The Fever and Claude Chabrol’s La comédie du pouvoir. Television credits include Skins, In Deep, Coronation Street, Casualty, EastEnders and Kingmakers. She played Lady Detective and BBC Radio 4’s dramatization of The Number One Ladies Detective Agency.
PRIVATE LIVES will be directed by Christopher Luscombe, with set and costume designs by Simon Higlett, lighting design by Mark Jonathan, music by Nigel Hess, sound design by Jeremy Dunn, fight direction by Malcolm Ranson and casting by Sarah Bird.
The Nigel Havers Theatre Company’s PRIVATE LIVES is produced by Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Moss Empires.
OPENING UP: WAITRESS SERVES UP A SLICE OF MUSICAL PIE AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE
WEST END HIT WAITRESS WITH SCORE BY SARA BAREILLES COMES TO LEEDS GRAND THEATRE
STARRING BUSTED’S MATT WILLIS, MUSICAL THEATRE STAR LUCIE JONES AND EMMERDALE ACTRESS SANDRA MARVIN
London’s smash-hit musical comedy Waitress finds A Soft Place To Land at Leeds Grand Theatre next week from Tuesday 14 to Saturday 18 September.
Brought to life by a ground-breaking, female-led creative team, this ‘warm, witty, wise and hilarious’ (EXPRESS) hit features ‘one of the best scores in years’ (STAGE) by the Grammy Award-winning Sara Bareilles (Love Song, Brave) a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam) and direction by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Finding Neverland).
Premise: Meet Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of some happiness in her life. When a hot new doctor arrives in town, life gets complicated. With the support of her workmates Becky and Dawn, Jenna overcomes the challenges she faces and finds that laughter, love, and friendship can provide the perfect recipe for happiness.
Lucie Jones (Waitress, Les Misérables, Legally Blonde) stars as Jenna, with Sandra Marvin (Waitress, ITV’s Emmerdale, Hairspray) playing Becky, Evelyn Hoskins (Waitress, Spring Awakening) as Dawn and Matt Willis (Busted, A Christmas Carol, Wicked) as Dr Pomatter.
WINTER SEASON 2021/22 AT CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE
A feast of visiting drama, dance, comedy, family shows and music for all tastes and ages is heading to Chichester Festival Theatre for the Winter 2021/22 season.
We’re particularly proud to offer a new home-grown production: the revival of one of the best plays of modern times, John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Award-winningDoubt: A Parable, directed by Lia Williams and starring Monica Dolan and Sam Spruell in their Chichester debuts.
There’s a wealth of comedies from the classic to the contemporary, among which we’re delighted to include the Birmingham Rep/National Theatre anniversary production of Ayub Khan Din’s East Is East, alongside Noël Coward’s Private Lives, the stage adaptation of evergreen sitcom The Good Life, West End hit The Play What I Wrote and brand new comedy Two Cigarettes in the Dark.
Among the familiar faces making welcome appearances are Henry Goodman, Nigel Havers, Patricia Hodge, Rufus Hound, Preeya Kalidas, Penelope Keith, David Suchet and Issy van Randwyck.
There’s a great array of comedy, music and literary evenings, ranging from Omid Djalili and Russell Kane to An Evening Without Kate Bush and the BBC Concert Orchestra; while seasonal favourites, the Christmas Concerts and Moscow City Ballet,return.
There’s also plenty of entertainment for families and youngsters, including new pop musical Fantastically Great WomenWho Changed the World, Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful, Stick Man and Chichester Festival Youth Theatre’s Pinocchio for Christmas.
The world premiere of Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell comes to York Theatre Royal from 30 September to 2 October as part of a UK tour.
This Dance Theatre event explores the underbelly of 1930s London life where ordinary people emerge from cheap boarding houses nightly to pour out their passions, hopes and dreams in the pubs and bars of fog-bound Soho and Fitzrovia.
Step inside The Midnight Bell, a tavern where one particular lonely hearts club gather to play out their lovelorn affairs of the heart: bitter comedies of longing, frustration, betrayal and redemption.
Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell is inspired by the great English novelist Patrick Hamilton (Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky, Hangover Square) who created some of the most authentic fiction of his era – stories borne out of years of social interactions with the working man and woman at his favourite location, the London Pub.
Matthew Bourne says: “Patrick Hamilton’s literary world could be seen as the flip-side of his close contemporary Noel Coward, whose witty and glamorous world of cocktails and high society made him so fashionable and successful. Hamilton, on the other hand, wrote about the lives of everyday people, full of pathos, comedy and thwarted romance.
“Indeed his own personal setbacks and increasingly serious drinking problem became the source from which he created his finest and most individual work. More than any other author of the time, Hamilton’s characters speak with the authentic voice of the era and it’s the raw passion and secret lives that lie beneath the conventional exterior that appeals to me so much.”
Bourne once again joins forces with the Olivier and Tony award-winning team of Terry Davies (music), Lez Brotherton (set and costume design), Paule Constable (lighting design) and Paul Groothuis (sound design) for this brand new production.
The cast features 12 of New Adventures’ finest performers in roles that will challenge and reveal the darker reaches of the human heart – Paris Fitzpatrick, Glenn Graham, Bryony Harrison, Daisy May Kemp, Kate Lyons, Micheal Meazza, Andrew Monaghan, Liam Mower, Danny Reubens, Christopher Thomas, Richard Windsor and Bryony Wood.
A Sheffield Theatres and Evolution Pantomimes Production
SHEFFIELD THEATRES ANNOUNCES CAST FOR SLEEPING BEAUTY
Writer and Director Paul Hendy Choreographer Sarah Langley Musical Director James Harrison
Friday 3 December 2021 – Monday 3 January 2022
Today, SheffieldTheatres and EvolutionPantomimes announce the cast for Sleeping Beauty at the Lyceum Theatre. Drama and soap actor and star of Strictly,Catherine Tyldesley (Coronation Street, Scarborough), joins legendary Dame, Damian Williams, alongside actor, presenter and comic Ben Thornton (Cinderella), Lucas Rush (Damian’s Pop-Up Panto!, Rock of Ages), Hannah Everest (Gypsy) and DominicSibanda (Hairspray). The cast will be supported by a brilliant ensemble.
Back in the Lyceum theatre, Sleeping Beauty is bigger and bolder than ever. Written and directed by regular pantomime producer Paul Hendy, this will be the fourteenth year Sheffield Theatres and Evolution Pantomimes have produced the Sheffield Lyceum pantomime.
Hilarious and fun-filled for all the family, SleepingBeauty promises to be the pantomime of your dreams, with lavish sets, hilarious jokes and everyone’s favourite ghost bench gag.
Catherine Tyldesley is most notably known for her roles in CoronationStreet and Scarborough, as well as appearing in 2019’s Strictly Come Dancing. Damian Williams is celebrating his thirteenth year as Sheffield Theatres’ Dame. Ben Thornton previously appeared in Sheffield’s 2019 pantomime Cinderella and is currently on a UK tour with Crimes In Egypt. Lucas Rush appeared in the UK tours of Rock of Ages and American Idiot, plus more recently in Damian’s Pop-Up Panto! streamed from the Crucible in 2020. Hannah Everest’scredits include Gypsy and The Sound of Music, both at Leicester’s Curve, and Dominic Sibanda’s credits include Hairspray at the London Coliseum and West Side Story also at Leicester’s Curve.
Sleeping Beauty runs from Friday 3 December 2021 – Monday 3 January 2022 at the Lyceum theatre, Sheffield. Tickets are on sale now at www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.
Sheffield Theatres continues to follow the industry-wide safety protocols and government guidance for indoor entertainment. All the latest information is available at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/your-visit.
CELEBRATING TWO DECADES SINCE THE FIRST UK TOUR IN 2002
Raymond Gubbay Limited is pleased to announce that the The Russian State Ballet of Siberia will once again tour the UK in 2021 and 2022, accompanied by the Russian State Ballet Orchestra, presenting its iconic and classical repertoire of THE NUTCRACKER, SWAN LAKE, SNOW MAIDEN, CINDERELLA and ROMEO AND JULIET, brought to life with magical special effects. This season marks the twentieth anniversary of the company’s first season in the UK, as it returns to St David’s Hall Cardiff.
The twentieth anniversary season launches at St David’s Hall Cardiff with performances from 18 December 2021, and will tour throughout the UK from January – March, with venue dates in Basingstoke, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Buxton, Darlington, Edinburgh, High Wycombe, Hull, Ipswich, Leicester, Liverpool, Northampton, Nottingham, Manchester, Oxford, Peterborough, Reading, Sheffield, Southend, Wimbledon and Wolverhampton.
The Russian State Ballet of Siberia – led by Artistic Director Sergei Bobrov, and Music Director Anatoly Tchepurnoi – has established itself as one of Russia’s leading ballet companies and has built an international reputation for delivering performances of outstanding quality and depth. Since their first Christmas season at St David’s Hall in Cardiff in 2002, the Company has completed 18 UK tours and has had success in Italy, Spain, Slovakia, Japan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
Sergei Bobrov said, “I am delighted to return to the UK this year. The response of audiences wherever the company performs is overwhelming. We can’t wait to be back on stage again in front of UK audiences once again.”
The ballets to be performed this season are:
Swan Lake
The greatest romantic ballet of all time is brought to life by Tchaikovsky’s haunting and unforgettable score. From the impressive splendour of the Palace ballroom to the moon-lit lake where swans glide in perfect formation, this compelling tale of tragic romance has it all. From Odile, the temptress in black tutu as she seduces the Prince by spinning with captivating precision to the spellbound purity of the swan queen, Odette, as she flutters with emotional intensity, the dual role of Odette/Odile is one of ballet’s most unmissable technical challenges.
The Nutcracker
This most famous of fantasy ballets for all the family begins as night falls on Christmas Eve. As snowflakes fall outside, the warm glow of the open fire sends flickering shadows across the boughs of the Christmas tree and all the presents beneath. When midnight strikes we are swept away to a fairytale world where nothing is quite as it seems, toy dolls spring to life, the Mouse King and his mouse army battle with the Nutcracker Prince and we travel through the Land of Snow to an enchanted place where the magic really begins…
Snow Maiden
Protected from the outside world by Father Frost, the exquisite Snow Maiden plays innocently amongst the dancing snowflakes in the enchanted Land of Frost. Based on a traditional folk-tale, set in the snow covered landscape of rural Russia, this seasonal sparkler follows the Snow Maiden as she dances into the human world. Captivated by the colourful village and the people who live there, she ventures too far and is swept up by feelings of love, temptation and betrayal. When finally she surrenders herself completely and warms to love, her heart melts in a tragic embrace.
Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare’s tale of primal passion and timeless tragedy is brought to life by Prokofiev’s soaring score, set in bustling Renaissance Verona and with an emotionally charged choreography that befits the world’s greatest love story. From the grandeur of the masked ball to the intimacy of the lovers’ balcony, this star-crossed story of duels, bitter family feuds and love that cannot be, is unmissable.
Cinderella
The world’s favourite rags to riches fairy-tale where dreams can come true is a magical mix of Prokofiev’s energetic score, lively choreography and colourful costumes. Whilst her mad/bad stepmother and her ill-mannered daughters prepare for the Royal Ball, graceful Cinderella can only dream of dancing with the dashing Prince. Later that evening, her rags become a glittering gown and she is swept magically to the Ball. From that very moment the Prince is smitten, midnight strikes and one lost crystal slipper later, he must now embark on a journey to find his lost love….
The Russian State Ballet of Siberia was formed in 1978 by talented graduates from choreographic schools in Moscow, St Petersburg, Kiev, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg. Many have gone on to become award winning artists and made prominent appearances at international ballet competitions and festivals. The company is proud of its dancers who are highly acclaimed worldwide for their unique interpretation of both dramatic and comic roles, delivering performances of sincere emotional and dramatic integrity. Over 100 opera and ballet productions have been created for the Theatre over the past 40 years with many receiving high critical and public acclaim. Since 2002, Sergei Bobrov has been Artistic Director of the Krasnoyarsk State Ballet (Russian State Ballet of Siberia). Leading dancers from across Russia have forged their skills and artistry under his direction in new productions of timeless classics such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia and La Fille mal gardée. Under the direction of Sergei Bobrov, the Russian State Ballet of Siberia continues to expand its repertoire. In addition to commissioning new works from within Russia and abroad, the company specializes in 20th-Century full-length ballets such as Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, Spartacus, The Golden Age, Mozart & Salieri, Electra and Antigone.
Full casting is announced today, Monday 6 September, for the musical CABARET at the KIT KAT CLUB in London’s West End. Joining the previously announced Eddie Redmayne as ‘The Emcee’ and Jessie Buckley as ‘Sally Bowles’ will be Omari Douglas as ‘Cliff Bradshaw’, Liza Sadovy as ‘Fraulein Schneider’, Elliot Levey as ‘Herr Schultz’, Stewart Clarke as ‘Ernst Ludwig’ and Anna-Jane Casey as ‘Fraulein Kost’.
The cast is completed by Josh Andrews,Emily Benjamin, Sally Frith, Matthew Gent, Emma Louise Jones, Ela Lisondra, Theo Maddix, Chris O’Mara, Daniel Perry, Andre Refig, Christopher Tendai, Bethany Terry, Lillie-Pearl Wildman and Sophie Maria Wojna.
Today, over 20,000 new tickets go on sale, with public on sale at 3.00pm. Over a quarter of these seats are priced at £50 and under. Tickets are priced £30, £50, £70, £90, £120 and £150; with dining packages and premium seats also available.
To sign up for future priority ticket releases go to kitkat.club
Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Tony and Olivier award winner Eddie Redmayne plays ‘The Emcee’. His credits include Red in the West End and on Broadway, Richard II at the Donmar Warehouse and the films The Theory of Everything, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Les Misérables and the Fantastic Beasts series.
Bafta Nominee and British Independent Film award winner, Jessie Buckley plays ‘Sally Bowles’. Her theatre credits include the National’s Romeo and Juliet and A Little Night Music in the West End. Jessie’s screen credits include Fargo, Chernobyl and the films Wild Rose and I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
Omari Douglas (Cliff Bradshaw) is currently starring in Constellations at the West End’s Vaudeville Theatre. He recently played the leading role of Roscoe in Channel 4’s critically acclaimed series It’s a Sin. His other theatre credits include Romantics Anonymous at the Bristol Old Vic, Wise Children at the Old Vic, Five Guys Named Moe at Marble Arch Theatre and Jesus Christ Superstar at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.
Liza Sadovy (Fraulein Schneider) most recently appeared in Present Laughter at the Old Vic and Living Newspaper at the Royal Court. Her West End theatre credits include Wicked at the Apollo Victoria and Sunday in the Park with George at the Wyndham’s Theatre (also Menier Chocolate Factory) and La Bête at the Comedy Theatre and Music Box Theatre New York.
Elliot Levey (Herr Schultz) most recently appeared in Nine Lessons and Carols at the Almeida where he also appeared in Three Sisters. His other theatre credits include the West End productions of Mary Stuart at the Duke of York’s Theatre, The Ruling Class at Trafalgar Studios and Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham’s Theatre. His National Theatre credits include The Habit of Art and His Dark Materials.
Stewart Clarke (Ernst Ludwig) most recently appeared in Be More Chill at The Other Palace. His West End theatre credits include Fiddler on the Roof at the Playhouse Theatre and Loserville at the Garrick Theatre. He also appeared in Assassins at the Menier Chocolate Factory and The Rink at the Southwark Playhouse.
Anna-Jane Casey (Fraulein Kost) was most recently seen in Girl from the North Country at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End. Her other West End credits include Mrs Wilkinson in Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace and Lady of the Lake in Spamalot at the Playhouse Theatre. She played Dot in Sunday in the Park with George at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Mabel in Mack and Mabel at the Watermill Theatre and the title roles in Piaf and Sweet Charity and Violet Butterfield in Flowers for Mrs Harris, all at the Sheffield Crucible.
In a time when the world is changing forever, there is one place where everyone can be free… Welcome to the Kit Kat Club, home to an intimate and electrifying new production of CABARET. This is Berlin. Relax. Loosen up. Be yourself.
The Kit Kat Club has laid siege to the Playhouse Theatre. The performers have infiltrated the premises. The artists have staked their claim. Who knows for how long they’ll stay, but for now they are enjoying the party. The party at the end of the world.
Transforming one of London’s most famous theatres with an in-the-round auditorium and reimagined spaces, before the show guests are invited to enjoy and explore the Kit Kat Club with pre-show entertainment, drinks and dining all on offer. When booking, guests will receive a ‘club entry time’ to allow enough time to take in the world of the Kit Kat Club before the show starts. But of course, the show really starts when you first join us in the club…
One of the most successful musicals of all time CABARET features the songs Wilkommen, Don’t Tell Mama, Mein Herr, Maybe This Time, Money and the title number. It has music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, book by Joe Masteroff. Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood.
CABARET is directed by Rebecca Frecknall (the Almeida’s Olivier Award winning Summer and Smoke, The Duchess of Malfi, Three Sisters), set and costume design is by Tom Scutt (A Very Expensive Poison, Constellations, King Charles III, Jesus Christ Superstar, collaborations with Sam Smith, Christine and the Queens) with choreography by Julia Cheng (founder of the House of Absolute, Philharmonia Orchestra Artist in Residence, recipient of the runner-up prize for Hip Hop Dance futures, Resident Choreographer for the Royal Academy of Dance, Judge and mentor for BBC Young Dancer and Breakin’ Convention – the UK’s biggest Hip Hop Festival, collaborations with London Fashion Week, Google and Dr Martens). Musical supervision and direction is by Jennifer Whyte (Les Misérables film, Caroline Or Change, Parade). Lighting design is by Isabella Byrd (Heroes of the Fourth Turning and Light Shining in Buckinghamshire – both in New York, Daddy – A Melodrama at the Almeida and The Flick at the National theatre) with sound design by Nick Lidster (City of Angels, Passion, Pacific Overtures and Parade at the Donmar Warehouse, Sweeney Todd and On The Town for English National Opera, A Chorus Line, Les Misérables and Miss Saigon). The casting director is Stuart Burt (& Juliet, The Drifters Girl and 2021 CDG Award for Best Casting in Theatre for Cyrano De Bergerac) and the associate director is Jordan Fein.
CABARET at the KIT KAT CLUB is produced by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions and Underbelly.
RUNNING ON STAGE AT THE TABERNACLEFROM 13 OCT – 13 NOV
& BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE FROM 16 – 20 NOV 2021
“The Grenfell fire did not happen in a vacuum… it happened within a pocket of one of the smallest yet richest boroughs in London.”
Leslie Thomas QC in evidence to the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry, July 2020
“It’s one thing to work out how the fire was caused, and how the deaths were caused; the bigger question is: why did this happen?”
Michael Mansfield QC at the Inquiry, March 2021
Casting is announced for the not-for-profit production of Grenfell: Value Engineering – Scenes from The Inquiry, which will run at the recently renovated Tabernacle in Notting Hill from 13 October – 13 November and Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 16 – 20 November.
Olivier Award-nominee Ron Cook (Mr Selfridge, The Witcher and The Salisbury Poisonings on TV, and Faith Healer and Girl from the North Country on stage) plays Richard Millett QC, counsel to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, leading a cast including Daniel Betts, Sam Buchanan, Sally Giles, Polly Kemp, Phill Langhorne,Tim Lewis, David Michaels, David Robb, Howard Ward, Thomas Wheatley and Rosie Wyatt. Further casting to be announced in due course.
Grenfell: Value Engineering – Scenes from The Inquiryis based entirely on the words of those involved in the current Inquiry, and sets out to discover why the devastating fire of 14 June 2017 happened after the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, and who was responsible for the deaths of 72 people.
The play is edited by Richard Norton-Taylor and directed by Nicolas Kent, re-uniting the multi award-winning pair following their previous critically acclaimed collaborations on verbatim inquiry plays including: The Colour of Justice – The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, Half the Picture – The Scott Arms to Iraq Inquiry, Bloody Sunday – Scenes from the Saville Inquiry and The Great Game – Afghanistan. The assistant director is CJ Lloyd Webley, reconstruction of the Inquiry room is by Miki Jablkowska and Matthew Eagland, lighting design by Matthew Eagland, video design by Jack Fone, sound design by Andy Graham, costume design by Carly Brownbridge and casting by Amy Ball CDG. The production is executive produced by Peter Huntley and general managed by Smart Entertainment.
Ron Cook said: “I’m so pleased and proud to be part of Grenfell: Value Engineering. An incisive, insightful and important play. I can only hope it will help to clarify our understanding of the causes of this terrible and unnecessary fire, and make some contribution towards avoiding a similar tragedy in the future.”
Richard Norton-Taylor said: “What has emerged from the inquiry is an extraordinary catalogue of greed, fraud, cheating and lying, secret fixing of fire tests on their products, subtle layers of corruption and racism, fatal cost-cutting, casual indifference, and practices which one young company executive called “completely unethical” and which some even joked about… The evidence in the Grenfell Inquiry reflects many of the problems deeply embedded in contemporary British society. I believe that presenting it to a theatre audience will lead to a wider understanding of the story behind a fire whose repercussions will be felt for many years.”
Nicolas Kent said: “The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is vitally important in getting to the truth and holding to account those who were responsible for the disastrous refurbishment of the Tower. We are grateful to The Tabernacle and The Playground Theatre for helping us bring this dramatisation of the Grenfell Inquiry to the local community.”
To support the community surrounding Grenfell Tower, The Playground Theatre is producing VALUED, a local education and community programme that aims to foster meaningful engagement around important themes of the play — including human rights, social conditions, and injustice. Through VALUED, The Playground will deliver a special curriculum of in-school workshops and performance opportunities for local students ages 14-18, as well as learning and engagement resources for social and voluntary organisations serving the local community.
Anthony Biggs, Co-Artistic Director, The Playground Theatre,said:“Our connection to the community in W10 is deeply personal, and began even before we opened our doors as a theatre. The Grenfell Tower Fire broke out while The Playground was still being built, and we were able to mobilise quickly then to create trauma-informed resources to support our friends, neighbours, and families. Our commitment to support the healing and recovery of our community through meaningful engagement remains at the core of our mission.”
Major supporters of Grenfell:Value Engineering – Scenes from The Inquiryarethe Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable TrustandNimax Theatres.
LISTINGS
GRENFELL: VALUE ENGINEERING – SCENES FROM THE INQUIRY
Edited by Richard Norton-Taylor
Directed by Nicolas Kent
Produced by Nick of Time Productions inassociation with The Playground Theatre
Executive Producer and General Manager – Smart Entertainment
Website: grenfellvalueengineering.com
Facebook: @GrenfellValueEngineering
Community Tickets: Affordable tickets from £2-£5 are available for residents local to Grenfell Tower.
THE TABERNACLE LISTINGS
Dates: 13 October – 13 November 2021
Address: 34-35 Powis Square, London, W11 2AY
Ticket Prices: From £5 – £32
Performance Times:
Mondays – Saturdays – 7.30pm*
Thursday Matinees – 1.30pm**
Saturday Matinees – 2.30pm
*Except Monday 18th October at 7pm (press night)
**Except Thursday 28th October at 2.30pm (half-term)
Ticket Prices: £15-£30* (Inclusive of a £3 donation split between The Grenfell Foundation and local Birmingham cladding action groups)
25x £5 tickets available at every performance for people currently living in tower blocks with unsafe cladding.
*A £2.50 transaction charge applies on tickets £10 or more
Box Office: 0121 236 4455 (Open 12pm-6pm)
Performance Times:
Tuesday 16 November – 7pm
Wednesday 17 November – 7pm*
Thursday 18 November – 7.30pm
Friday 19 November – 7.30pm
Saturday 20 November – 2.30pm** & 7.30pm
*This performance (Wednesday 17 Nov – 7pm) will include a post-show talk.
**This performance (Saturday 20 Nov – 2.30pm) will be a guaranteed socially distanced performance regardless of government guidelines and restrictions.
