Category: Uncategorized

Original cast return for Dumbledore Is So Gay
The Pleasance Theatre, Carpenters Mews, London, N7 9EF
Tuesday 21st – Sunday 26th September 2021

The acclaimed original cast of Dumbledore Is So Gay will reprise their roles when the production returns to the stage at The Pleasance Theatre in September. Reuniting to tell this optimistic story of self-love and friendship are Alex Britt (Love’s Labour’s Lost and My Dad’s Gap Year, The Park Theatre; EastEnders, BBC), Max Percy (My Dad’s Gap Year, The Park Theatre; Peter Pan, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Charlotte Dowding (Girl Scout vs Aliens, Escapade Productions; Eat Your Heart Out, Tightrope Productions).

This VAULT Festival sell out is a refreshing coming out and coming of age story of life as a noughties teenager. Life is far from straight for Jack: he pines for his best friend while dodging bullies with minds as narrow as the cupboard under the stairs. And the official online quiz sorted him into Hufflepuff. On a mission to get the guy and re-write history in his favour, Jack uses his trusty Time Turner to go back in time to right the wrongs of the past.

Writer Robert Holtom comments, I’m over the moon the original cast are back. They made magic in 2020 and I can’t wait to see them do it all over again. Alex, Charlotte and Max bring such skill and depth to their roles, switching between sincerity and humour on a dime. We were all so keen to keep the show going and it’s such a privilege to have the team reunited.

The play shines a light on the struggle of coming out when ‘gay’ was a playground insult. Reaching for characters and images from JK Rowling’s world as both a comfort and source of strength, the true magic of the play comes from the determination of its young characters to build a better future. While Jack’s story deals with tragic teenage isolation, what emerges is the importance of love and resilience to face the toughest of trials. Every twist of the Time Turner reveals and celebrates how wise heads on young shoulders can change the world!

★★★★★ Broadway World ★★★★★ Theatre Weekly
An infectious display of optimism… I couldn’t stop beaming – Kate Wyver, The Guardian

Park Theatre, London – National tour until 30 September 2021

Reviewed by Emily Cliff

4****

When I was eleven years old my mum took me to the cinema to go and see The Woman in Black with my sister and my nan. At the time that film starring Daniel Radcliffe was a 12A meaning we could see it if I was accompanied by an adult. For those that know the film, I can assure you it probably isn’t the best film for an eleven year old that still screams when her shadow moves the wrong way girl. I was traumatised, I had to leave the cinema early and I can safely say I thought she was hiding under my bed for a whole year after seeing that film. It is safe to say that that traumatic experience generally put me off the horror genre for the rest of my adolescent years.

When Darkness Falls is a play made up of 5 ghost stories told by a writer, to a local history teacher on the island of Guernsey for the history societies weekly vlog. Sounds harmless right? Just your average campfire tales of folklore and legend, the kind of stories told by a kid who swore he saw a shadow in the window of that abandoned house, or the kid who swears he saw the shower curtain move when he said candyman or bloody mary in the mirror five times. It’s a constant battle between believers and the people who are looking for a logical explanation, there was a storm coming so there was a big draft, the house is old it’s probably full of old shadows; a trick of the light. The play perfectly captures the debates over the existence of the paranormal perfectly, adding the first layer to the tension already building onstage.

From the offset the atmosphere of the theatre was filled with an eerie aura. The chemistry between John Blondel portrayed by Will Barton and the storyteller portrayed by Alex Phelps was impeccable. From every shared line and moment they bounced off each other setting the bar higher and higher for the energy and intensity of the performance as the stories grew scarier and closer to home leading up to the shocking twist at the end. Easter eggs are laid throughout this play to hint to the audience of what’s to come later on, it’s not until the end of the play where we finally look back at those odditties and little details that we realise the answer to the mystery was under our noses the entire time.

The air was thick with an eerie tension. Clever lighting and incredible acting made such a simple set and small cast feel like a million dollar hollywood film. It was the lighting that made this show so special. Blackouts on stage leading to jump scares and ghostly figures appearing, really added to the sinister feeling that was already on stage. Alex Phelps whole heartedly captured the audience in his fist and had everyone hanging off every last word. It is something about our human nature when we hear the beginning of an unsettling story, you don’t know it has you in its grasp before it’s too late and your choking on the rising tension in the air.

A shocking twist was really the cherry on the top of this ghostly play. I think it is safe to say that everyone left the show that night, with their phone brightness a little louder, happier music in their earphones on the tube home and a longing sense of looking over their shoulder for ghostly figures. The storytelling and writing of this play was similar to that of the Netflix series The Haunting of Bly Manor: sinister, captivating and immersive. Be careful not to burn your marshmallows when listening to these campfire stories, and be sure to turn an extra light on when you leave this show, you never know what might be hiding around the corner when darkness falls…

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR

LONE FLYER – THE LAST FLIGHT OF AMY JOHNSON

LOUISE WILLOUGHBY AND BENEDICT SALTER TO STAR AS SHOW RETURNS TO THE WATERMILL THEATRE

FRIDAY 10 – SATURDAY 25 SEPTEMBER

PRESS NIGHT MONDAY 13 SEPTEMBER

BOOK ONLINE AT WATERMILL.ORG.UK OR VIA THE BOX OFFICE ON 01635 46044

LONE FLYER, a powerful drama by Ade Morris about one of Britain’s greatest female pilots, will return to The Watermill, from Friday 10 – Saturday 25 September, with a press night on Monday 13 September. Hull born actress Louise Willoughby will join the production to star as ‘Amy Johnson’ and Benedict Salter (whose previous Watermill credits include The Importance of Being Earnest and A Little Night Music) will reprise his original role, supporting her playing a series of other male parts.

“It’s not a bit like a car or a boat you know, it’s like a bird, it’s the most magical feeling I’ve ever had.”

May 1930. Amy Johnson has a dream, but just how far will her dream take her?

As the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, Amy’s career reached new heights, but the outbreak of the Second World War changed everything, and she finds herself facing her greatest challenge yet. Driven by the need to escape from one life to another, follow Amy’s journey from humble beginnings to become one of Britain’s most influential female aviators.

Since its forced closure at The Watermill in November 2020 due to the autumn lockdown, it played at the Jermyn Street Theatre as part of their Footprints Festival, achieving 5 Off West End Nominations for Best Production, Sound Design, Director, Leading Performance and Supporting Performance. Lone Flyer is co-produced with Hull Truck Theatre and will be playing in Amy Johnson’s home city of Hull from 7 – 31 October. Directed by Watermill Associate Lucy Betts, Ade Morris’ powerful play about one of the most inspirational women of the twentieth century returned to the Watermill in 2020 in a new production, having been first staged at the Watermill in 2001.

For audience members who would feel more comfortable to attend a performance with more space between themselves and other audience members there will be two socially distanced performances each week during the run of LONE FLYER.

Louise Willoughby said, “I can’t wait to get started on rehearsals and be back in a room with a creative team after it’s been such a difficult time for our industry. Being from Hull, I grew up learning about Amy’s story – I actually played her in a scene in a small community play when I was about 15! I don’t think there’s a single person from Hull who hasn’t heard of Amy Johnson, how she defied all expectations with her determination, knowing what she wanted to do, and finding a way to do it. I think women today have a lot to thank her for. I’m honoured to be playing Amy and I can’t wait to tell her story.”

Born and bred in Hull, Louise Willoughby attended the Northern Theatre Company from a young age before training at LSMT graduating in 2009 with Distinction.

Theatre credits include: Prince Charming’s Christmas Cracker (Hull Truck); No Horizon (UK Tour); Little Women (ERT); Mortar (Theatre Uncut); The Lightless Pumpkin (ERT); Les Miserables (Grange Park Opera); Grease (RCCL); Baby (Baron’s Court); Hope (Bridewell Theatre); As You Like It (LSMT); Top Girls (LSMT)

Screen credits include: Rabbit; Day Street; B-Negative; The Broken Teeth of Lions; Alfie’s Story; Pieces and Commercials for Sainsbury’s Christmas 2020; Your Local Services and HSamuel. 

Benedict Salter trained at LAMDA.

Previous Watermill credits include: Lone Flyer (2020); The Importance of Being Earnest (2019)and A Little Night Music (2017).

Previous theatre credits include: Lone Flyer (Jermyn Street Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Derby Theatre); Vespertilio (VAULT Festival and Dublin Fringe); Lady Windermere’s Fan (West End); The Last Days of Anne Boleyn (Tower of London); An Inspector Calls (West End); Shakespeare in Music (RSC/Southbank Sinfonia).

Whilst training at LAMDA credits include: Hjalmar Ekdal in The Wild Duck; David in Mydidae; and Duke Solinus & Doctor Pinch in The Comedy of Errors.

Benedict was also a BBC Carleton Hobbs Bursary Award finalist in 2016.

Lone Flyer is directed by Lucy Betts, with design by Isobel Nicolson, lighting design by Harry Armytage and sound design by Justin Teasdale. Original Sound Design is by Thom Townsend and Jamie Kubisch-Wiles. The stage management team consists of Emily Stedman (rehearsal DSM), Georgia Dacey (DSM), and Natalie Toney (ASM). The Sign Integrated Performer is Lixi Chivas.

CHANNING TATUM’S

MAGIC MIKE LIVE IN LONDON

EXTENDS BOOKING PERIOD AT

AT THE HIPPODROME CASINO

TICKETS FOR NEW BOOKING PERIOD

ON SALE 12.00 NOON TODAY

Channing Tatum and his co-producers are delighted to announce a new booking period for Magic Mike Live, at The Theatre at the Hippodrome Casino in London. Patrons will be able to book performances through to Sunday 26 June 2022. Tickets for the new booking period are on sale at 12noon today.

As a thank you to our NHS and Care Workers who have worked tirelessly since the start of the pandemic, Magic Mike Live will be offering a free bottle of prosecco when NHS staff book their tickets. Once they have booked, workers will need to email [email protected] with their NHS ID and quote ‘Care Worker Prosecco’ in the email subject line. This offer will be available when purchasing tickets at any price and for all performances until 29 December 2021, subject to availability.

The cast for the revamped production of Magic Mike Live in London includes Daniel Blessing, Courtenay Brady, Jake Brewer, Harry Carter, Ellie Clayton, Hannah Cleeve, Matt Jordan, Charlie Knight, Mark Lace, Sophie Linder-Lee, Jack Manley, David Morgan, Theophillus ‘Godson’ Oloyade, Ross Sands, Josie Scamell, Manny Tsakanika and Aaron Witter.

Magic Mike Live currently features new songs and new dance sequences in a Covid-safe environment. New VIP packages are also available at the time of booking that allow guests to extend their stay and take advantage of everything the Hippodrome Casino has to offer.

Conceived and co-directed by Channing Tatum, Magic Mike Live, which has already wowed over 200,000 people in London alone and almost 750,000 worldwide, is a large-scale, live production show based on the hit films Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL, which opened at The Theatre at the Hippodrome Casino in London’s Leicester Square in November 2018. Magic Mike Live has inspired a new television series on HBO Max, The Real Magic Mike, currently being filmed.

From the bespoke entrance off Cranbourn Street, to the specially curated lounge and bar experience, to the cast of world-class performers, Magic Mike Live is a complete evening of unparalleled entertainment for guests aged 18 and up. Audience members enter Magic Mike’s mythical club and marvel as a group of extraordinary artists from around the world perform a 360-degree dance and acrobatic spectacular in front of, behind, and above them. Sexy dance routines intertwined with one-of-a-kind acts, are presented by a diverse cast of performers from around the world.

Magic Mike Live in London is co-directed by Channing Tatum and Alison Faulk, with Luke Broadlick as associate director, and choreography by Alison Faulk, Teresa Espinosa and Luke Broadlick. The Executive Producer is Vincent Marini with General Management by David Ian Productions. The production designer is Rachel O’Toole, with scenic design by Rob Bissinger and Anita LaScala (Arda Studio), costume design by Marina Toybina, lighting design by Philip Gladwell and video design by Luke Halls. Musical supervisor is Jack Rayner, with sound design by Nick Kourtides. Dreya Weber is aerial choreographer & aerial apparatus designer.

Magic Mike Live has become an international sensation since opening in Las Vegas in April 2017. In addition to breaking box office records and performing to sold-out audiences in Las Vegas and London, the show premiered in Berlin in 2020 and the Australia national tour opened in Sydney in December 2020.

Magic Mike Live is produced in London by Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin, Greg Jacobs, Peter Kiernan, Steven Soderbergh, Nick Wechsler and United Talent Agency in association with Warner Bros., Vincent Marini, The Hippodrome Casino, Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman, TSG Entertainment & Ashley DeSimone, Richard Winkler and The Creative House

The Royal Theatrical Support Trust and ETT invite entries for the RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award 2021, in partnership with Leeds Playhouse

The Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST) and ETT (English Touring Theatre)are delighted to announce that the 2021 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award Scheme is now open for entries.

Now in its fifth year, the award – which honours the memory of RTST co-founder, Sir Peter Hall – offers the winner their first-time opportunity to direct a full-scale, fully funded, mid-scale regional touring production of a classic or modern play, which may be an existing play or a new adaptation of a novel or film. The production will open in 2022 at Leeds Playhouse, as a co-production between ETT and Leeds Playhouse, then tour across the UK. The RTST will make a grant of £50,000 to be applied towards the costs of the winner’s production.

The scheme promotes the RTST’s charitable objectives by supporting up-and-coming theatre practitioners and British regional theatres. It is also intended to appeal to a wide range of candidates and to play a part in promoting diversity in the theatre, onstage, offstage and among audiences.

The winning director will demonstrate exceptional directing skills and a passion for regional theatre, and will be chosen by a panel comprising of Chair, Richard Twyman; Artistic Director of ETT; James Brining, Artistic Director of Leeds Playhouse; Dominic Cooke, Director; Paapa Essiedu, Actor; Haydn Gwynne, Actor; Shelley Maxwell, Movement Director; and Davina Shah, Literary and Creative Agent. 

The 2019 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award winner Anthony Almeida opens his production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Curve, Leicester on 8September, with previews from 3 September, before touring to Liverpool, Canterbury, Ipswich, Theatr Clwyd, and concludes in Southampton on 30 October. Other previous award winners and official runners-up of the RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award include Nancy Medina and Josh Seymour (2018); Chelsea Walker and Tinuke Craig (2017); and Kate Hewitt and Rebecca Frecknall (2016).

Sir Geoffrey Cass, Chairman, and Mark Hawes, Director of the RTST said today, “After a year’s hiatus, we’re overjoyed to be running our RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award scheme once more —this year with ETT, which is set to co-produce the winner’s production with Leeds Playhouse. This will be the fourth regional mid-scale touring co-production (and the fifth regional production in total) to be catalysed by our RTST Award and production grant — again providing a career-transformative experience for the winning director, work for multiple theatre practitioners, and high-quality drama for audiences around the country. In a regional industry recovering from the desolating effects of the pandemic, this RTST Award stands for opportunity, excellence and hope.”

Richard Twyman, Artistic Director, and Sophie Scull, Executive Producer of ETT,also commented, “This is ETT’s fourth year partnering with the RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award and it represents one of the most important things we do as company; opening up the stages of cities and towns throughout the UK to artists that haven’t had the chance to work on them before. The opportunity to make work on a larger scale that tours to audiences nationwide, in a fully resourced and supported production, can be a watershed moment in a director’s career and feels all the more significant after the last 18 months.

“We’re ever grateful to the RTST for their continued commitment to raising significant funding for new talent and delighted, this year, to be partnering with Leeds Playhouse to co-produce the production. We look forward to introducing the work of a visionary director to audiences across the UK in Autumn 2022.”

James Brining, Artistic Director of Leeds Playhouse, added, “We’re delighted to be working with RTST and English Touring Theatre to support up-and-coming theatre practitioners to develop the scale and ambition of their work. Supporting theatre practitioners at all stages of their career is a key part of the Leeds Playhouse mission. As part of our pioneering Furnace artistic development programme, we work year-round to develop audacious creative voices and vital new theatre for the stage.  

“The step from small to middle scale presents particular challenges. This award has a terrific reputation for enabling visionary directors to make that step with confidence, knowing they have the support of an established producing theatre. We can’t wait to meet the selected candidates and to work on realising the production in the autumn of 2022.”  

Entries for the RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award Scheme 2021 are now open.

To enter, please apply here.

For further details of the award, please visit the RTST’s website: www.rtst.org.uk.

The closing date for entries is 6pm on Monday 4 October 2021.

HAMPSTEAD THEATRE ANNOUNCES STOCKARD CHANNING AND REBECCA NIGHT IN MARSHA NORMAN’S ‘NIGHT, MOTHER, DIRECTED BY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ROXANA SILBERT, AND TAMSIN GREIG IN ALAN PLATER’S PEGGY FOR YOU, DIRECTED BY RICHARD WILSON

Hampstead Theatre is delighted to announce its remaining Main Stage productions for 2021. 

Stockard Channing and Rebecca Night will perform in the Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘night, Mother by Marsha Norman.  Thisastonishing play, which had its UK premiere at Hampstead Theatre in 1985, will be directed by the theatre’s Artistic Director, Roxana Silbert.  ‘night, Mother will run from 22 October until 4 December 2021.

Tamsin Greig will perform in Alan Plater’s raucously funny Peggy For You.  Richard Wilson will direct this Olivier-nominated play, which had its world premiere at Hampstead Theatre in 1999.  Peggy For You will run from 10 December until 29 January 2022.

Additional dates for Shelagh Stephenson’s Olivier Award-winning comedy, The Memory of Water,directed by Alice Hamilton, will also go on sale for 27 September through to 16 October.  Performances begin on 3 September.

From 27 September onwards, Hampstead Theatre’s Main Stage productions will return to 100% capacity, but a limited number of socially distanced performances will be available.

Priority booking is open from 10.30am today.  Public booking is open from Wednesday 1 September at 10.30am.  Due to anticipated high demand, people are encouraged to secure tickets for all three productions early via an Autumn Season Offer, available to purchase until 12 September.  Further details are available via hampsteadtheatre.com.  

Roxana Silbert, Artistic Director of Hampstead Theatre and director of ‘night, Mother, said:

“I am delighted to be announcing the final productions from this pandemic year, both from our Hampstead Original series.  Brilliant plays attract brilliant artists and I am proud to be producing plays with extraordinary parts for women with extraordinary talent and welcoming Richard back to stage directing.”

Richard Wilson, director ofPeggy For You, said:

“I am so pleased to be returning to theatre and especially to Hampstead, which I remember being started by James Roose Evans all those years ago in a small hut by a Swiss Cottage bus stop.  I have also directed and acted at the theatre many times over the years.  Alan’s play is a wonderful, fun tribute to a remarkable woman who has had such an impact on the UK’s theatre industry.  I’m also delighted to have the opportunity to work with Tamsin Greig again to bring the terrific Peggy Ramsay to life this Christmas.”

***

‘night, Mother,winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1983) and the Susan Smith Blackburn Award (1982-83), explores a mother and a daughter’s lives, relationships and up-to-the-minute life defining choices with unblinking honesty, raw humour and suspense.

‘night, Mother received its UK Premiere at Hampstead Theatre in 1985, following a smash-hit Broadway debut and four Tony Award nominations.

Marsha Norman is a multi-award-winning screenwriter, novelist and playwright.  Her other plays include Getting Out and an adaptation of Louise Erdrich’s novel The Master Butchers Singing Club.  She won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for The Secret Garden.

 “I am worried about you, but I’m going to do what I can before I go. We’re not just going to sit around tonight. I made a list of things.”

Stockard Channing stars as Thelma Cates, who shares the old family home out in the sticks with her daughter Jessie (Rebecca Night). This particularly quiet evening seems no different to any other – one of grocery lists, crochet, television, hot chocolate and caramels. But enough is enough for Jessie and a shattering revelation is in the air. As this may prove to be the last evening they share, it seems they have much to talk about…

Multi Emmy Award winner Stockard Channing plays Thelma.  Channing’s screen credits include Grease, The West Wing, The Business of Strangers (which earned her a London Film Critics Circle Award) and Six Degrees of Separation, which earned her both an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination, following an Olivier nomination when she originated the role on stage.  Other stage credits include A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1985), for which she won a Best Actress Tony Award, and Apologia (2018) in London and New York.

Rebecca Night will play the role of Jessie.  Rebecca returns to Hampstead Theatre having previously starred in The Meeting (2015) and Terry Johnson’s Prism (2017).  Other theatre credits include The Grapes of Wrath (Chichester Festival Theatre) and The Importance of Being Earnest (Vaudeville Theatre).  Screen credits include Fanny Hill (2007), Wuthering Heights (2009) and Maigret (2016). 

Roxana Silbert is Artistic Director of Hampstead Theatre.  Previously, she was Artistic Director of Birmingham REP and Paines Plough.  She has been Associate Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Literary Director of the Traverse Theatre, and Associate Director at the Royal Court Theatre.  ‘night, Mother will be her second Main Stage production as Hampstead’s Artistic Director following the critically acclaimed The Haystack.  She has most recently directed Raya Downstairs.

She will be joined by designer Ti Green, lighting designer Rick Fisher, sound designer John Leonard, Voice & Dialect Stephen Kemble and Assistant Director Nikhil Vyas.

***

Peggy For You is based on the life of Alan Plater’s former agent, the legendary Peggy Ramsay.  It received its world premiere at Hampstead Theatre in 1999 and was Olivier nominated for Best New Comedy (2001).  Plater’s raucously funny play is peopled with characters who fall under the spell of this unlikely heroine, who believed infinitely more in art than she did in money – or in good manners. 

Alan Plater wrote extensively for the stage, screen and radio from the 1960s to the 2000s. Starting out on the seminal police drama Z Cars, his 200+ full length TV dramas include The Beiderbecke Trilogy and the BAFTA winning A Very British Coup. 

‘If any of my clients is rich, it’s entirely by accident.’

Agents are not supposed to be more famous than their clients – unless, of course, you are the formidable, outrageous and hilarious Peggy Ramsay… 

Tamsin Greig will star as the legend that held complete sway over the theatre world in a career that spanned thirty years.  The Olivier Award-winning actress makes a highly anticipated return to Hampstead following Tony Kushner’s The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures in 2016 and William Boyd’s Longing (2014).  Recent stage credits include Twelfth Night (National Theatre) and Labour of Love (West End).  Screen credits include Friday Night Dinner, Episodes and Green Wing. 

Richard Wilson will bedirecting his sixth Hampstead production,  Previous work includes Terry Johnson’s Imagine Drowning (1991), Simon Burke’s The Lodger (1994)and Antony Sher’s Primo, which transferred from the National Theatre in 2005.  A former Associate of the Royal Court Theatre, Wilson directed many new plays there including Mr Kolpert (2000), The Woman Before (2005) and Rainbow Kiss (2006). 

The full cast and creative team of Peggy For You will be announced in due course.

***

Additional dates for Shelagh Stephenson’s Olivier Award-winning play, The Memory of Water, will also go on sale for 27 September until 16 October.  Lucy Black, Kulvinder Ghir, Adam James, Lizzy McInnerny, Carolina Main and Laura Rogers will perform in this poignant and painfully funny comedy with direction by Alice Hamilton.  Performances begin on 3 September.

Hampstead Theatre is currently staging Sam Yates’ critically acclaimed production of Tennessee Williams’ The Two Character Play, which ends on 28 August.  This innovative, psychological thriller by one of the world’s great dramatists premiered at the theatre in 1967.  The world premiere of Big Big Sky by Tom Wells is running at Hampstead Downstairs until 11 September.  This beautifully tender new play is directed by Tessa Walker, Hampstead Theatre’s new Associate Director.  Both productions remain socially distanced with reduced capacity.

The world premiere of Mufaro Makubika’s new play Malindadzimu will be staged at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs from 17 September until 30 October 2021.  This delicate, witty and epic new play explores a mother and daughter’s search for belonging and their struggle with a multicultural heritage.  Malindadzimu features Shyko Amos, Kudzai Mangombe, Sifiso Mazibuko, Tendai Humphrey Sitima and Natasha Williams, with direction by Monique Touko.  Hampstead Downstairs will remain socially distanced with reduced capacity for the duration of this production.

Original Theatre Company presents the Autumn 2021 tour of 

Being Mr Wickham 

Starring Adrian Lukis 

Written by Adrian Lukis and Catherine Curzon; Directed by Guy Unsworth 

Original Theatre Company, the award-winning producer of hit online productions of Birdsong and Apollo 13: The Dark Side of the Moon and stage productions including the 5-star revival of Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art and A Splinter of Ice, is delighted to present the 2021 tour of Being Mr Wickham starring Adrian Lukis. Written by Adrian Lukis and Catherine Curzon, this one-man play about one of Jane Austen’s most charmingly roguish characters, is directed by Guy Unsworth and designed by Libby Watson. 

Adrian Lukis, who starred in the renowned BBC TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, returns to the role of Mr Wickham this Autumn following the acclaimed online production of Being Mr Wickham earlier this year.  

“Mr. Wickham is blessed with such happy manners as may ensure his making friends – whether he may be equally capable of retaining them is less certain.” Join Pride and Prejudice’s most roguish gentleman, George Wickham, on the eve of his sixtieth birthday, to lift the sheets on exactly what happened thirty years on from where we left him. Discover his own version of some very famous literary events. What really happened with Darcy? What did he feel about Lizzie? What happened at Waterloo? Not to mention Byron… 

The 2021 tour will play Belgrade Theatre, Coventry (30 September-2 October), The Theatre Chipping Norton (4-5 October), Theatr Clwyd (8-9 October), Darlington Hippodrome (11-12 October), York Theatre Royal (14-16 October), The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich (19-20 October), Connaught Theatre, Worthing (21-22 October), Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (28-30 October), The Haymarket, Basingstoke (1-2 November) and Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne (4-6 November). 

Adrian Lukis said of the production: “I’m thrilled to be reunited with my old friend, George Wickham. Having spent years defending his dubious reputation, I look forward to finally setting the record straight, with the assistance of the immensely talented Original Theatre Company.” 

Rarely off the small screen, Adrian Lukis’s most recent TV credits include Channel 4’s Feel Good, the 2019 mini-series A Christmas Carol starring Guy Pearce, Vera, Poldark, Bulletproof, Collateral, The Crown, Red Dwarf, Grantchester, Black Mirror, Blair Toast in Toast of London, Downton Abbey, New Tricks and Death in Paradise. He also stars in the new Netflix series Anatomy of a Scandal, due to be streamed this year. Films include Judy, Dolittle, City Slacker and Bertie & Dickie. Recent theatre credits include The Price (Theatre Royal Bath), The Seagull (Chichester Festival Theatre/ National Theatre) and Versailles (Donmar Warehouse). 

Being Mr Wickham is produced by Alastair Whatley and Tom Hackney for Original Theatre Company. The Director is Guy Unsworth, Designer is Libby Watson, Sound Designer is Max Pappenheim and Lighting Designer is Johanna Town.  

Alastair Whatley, Artistic Director of Original Theatre Company, said: “Guy Unsworth’s production of Adrian’s and Catherine’s fantastic play was one of the highlights from our recent online season. Originally live streamed from the beautiful Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds but without an audience physically with us in the room, it’s a real thrill to be able to get the show on the road and visit theatres up and down the country.” 

For tour details, visit: https://www.originaltheatre.com/our-productions/being-mr-wickham/about-the-show.  

Theatre Royal, Nottingham – until Saturday 28 August 2021. 

Reviewed by Louise Ford

4****

It’s a disaster…. 

This week’s show at the Theatre Royal is a classic whodunit, Murder at Haversham Manor, performed by the accident prone  Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society. The Society has had a variety of hits over the last few years, as the Director (Tom Bulpett) tells us and they have chosen this play as it has the right number of parts as there are performers, which makes a nice change from some of their earlier offerings. 

Set in the 1920s this slapstick drama has everyone wondering if they will make it to the final curtain. From the outset the audience are invited into the confidence of the hapless crew and players initially to help locate a missing cast member and then to help out in the show (only joking, the Director wont allow it). The sound engineer, Trevor (Gabriel Paul) opens the show from his Duran Duran adorned box. He is called upon throughout the show to provide prompts and at one point to tread the boards himself. 

In the best tradition of a Country House mystery there are red herrings, a sword fight and several plot twists before the final denouement of the murderer. In all of the chaos and confusion i’m not 100% certain who did do it…. 

The real star of the show, for me, was the set (designed by Nigel Hook). When the curtains open it is all gothic manor, think Knives Out, with portraits (he has his father’s eyes) over the fireplace, grandfather clock, the library, revolving doors and of course a chaise lounge. As the show progresses the set starts to disintegrate, from sticking doors, collapsing fireplaces and props falling off the walls, to hilarious effect. The finale is like something out of a Buster Keaton film 

There is a constant stream of silliness and slap stick with the cast playing up to and including the audience in the fun. In particular Tom Babbage (playing both Cecil and Arthur the gardener) who hams it up beautifully and really works those sideburns! The missed lines and mispronunciations by Perkins (Edward Howells) are a real treat. 

The Play That Goes Wrong was written in 2012  by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields of Mischief.  It has won multiple awards over the years including the 2015 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. This production was directed by Sean Turner 

So it looks as though the pantomime season has started early in Nottingham  (oh yes it has!), a light-hearted evening of mishap and misplaced props which the audience loved and to be honest who doesn’t like a bit of slapstick!

Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield  – until August 28 August 2021

Reviewed by Sal E Marino

5 *****

A very warm and covid-friendly welcome was received from the Lyceum staff as they greeted an excited audience for the opening night of Looking Good Dead,  a stage adaptation (Shaun Mckenna) of a Peter James novel. Brilliantly directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, the play saw EastEnders veteran Adam Woodyatt return to the stage along with fellow soap star Gaynor Faye (Coronation Street, Emmerdale) and together these two created an authentic chemistry that drew you into the family unit and drama straight away. 

With every great chilling tale questions and suspicions start to emerge and as we begin to learn that Tom Bryce’s (Woodyat) business is in trouble and that there are family issues bubbling under the surface; one starts to think ‘all is not what it seems’. Tom, after finding a strangers USB stick on the train and his son Max (Luke Ward-Wilkinson) become witnesses to a horrific murder that they see online.  After Tom is adamant that they shouldn’t report the crime to the police, Max goes against his reasoning and this then has disastrous consequences – placing the family in grave danger.  Harry Long, Leon Stewart and Gemma Stroyan play the police trio who have been assigned to the case and provide lots of humorous dry quips aplenty as they try to fathom out ‘who done it?’

An innovative and creative set by Michael Holt, allowed the audience to see two scenes at once – the torture chamber and the family home which made the play pacey, moved the action along so that one never got lost in the events and didn’t lose interest in the narrative. There were some real moments of suspense and lots of twists and turns that kept one on the edge of  your seat … right up until the last spine-chilling moments (but I won’t say anymore as I don’t want to give the game away)!

Looking Good Dead is the perfect thriller so be prepared for lots of suspense and take someone along with you who has a strong hand to squeeze!

CAMBRIDGE ARTS THEATRE’S
AUTUMN 2021 SEASON

Cambridge Arts Theatre is thrilled to unveil an outstanding Autumn 2021 season, and the second programme of productions since the COVID-19 closure. The coming months will bring famous faces, an eclectic range of genres and world-class entertainment to welcome
audiences back to live performance.

Firstly, Cambridge Arts Theatre is delighted to announce this year’s traditional family pantomime, Aladdin (2 Dec 2021 – 9 Jan 2022). Cambridge’s favourite pantomime dame Matt Crosby will return to star as Widow Twankey with further casting to be announced. Expect singalong songs, sparkling costumes and side-splitting jokes for the whole family to enjoy. Christmas in Cambridge just wouldn’t be complete without the Arts Theatre panto and Aladdin promises to be bigger and better than ever before

World-class dramas and renowned actors are set to complement the Arts Theatre stage. Julian Clary and Matthew Kelly join forces in Ronald Harwood’s affectionate and hilarious portrait of backstage life in The Dresser (12-16 Oct); Ian McDiarmid stars in Julian Barnes’ wryly comic and unsentimental perspective on the complicated business of ageing in The Lemon Table (2-6 Nov); Cambridge University’s Marlowe Society transport audiences to an enchanted Athenian forest as they present Shakespeare’s greatest comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream (26-29 Jan); Dame Penelope Keith stars in Stephen Wyatt’s bittersweet comedy Two Cigarettes in the Dark (3-12 Mar) where she plays Isabel – bright, witty, fiercely independent and not ready to go peacefully as she faces the end; Michael Morpurgo’s beloved novel Private Peaceful (14-19 Mar) tells the tale of the Peaceful brothers, set against the epic backdrop of WWI; Olivier Award-winners Griff Rhys Jones and Janie Dee star in An Hour and a Half Late (4-9 Apr), a devastatingly funny portrait of married life and Gavin & Stacey’s Mathew Horne and The Pembrokeshire Murders’ Keith Allen star in Harold Pinter’s 1960s masterpiece The Homecoming (11-16 Apr), a bleakly funny exploration of family and relationships

You’ll be able to hear a pin drop as four edge-of-your-seat thrillers will leave you hooked this
Autumn. Starring Tom Chambers, Diana Vickers, Christopher Harper and Michael Salami,
an all-star cast of stage and screen favourites bring Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic, genre-defining film Dial M for Murder (5-9 Oct) to life; EastEnders icon Adam Woodyatt stars in the world premiere stage production of best-selling author Peter James’ latest addition to the thrilling Roy Grace series, Looking Good Dead (31 Jan-5 Feb); based on the classic detective board game, Cluedo (14-19 Feb) is the hilarious spoof of a thriller which will have you trying to work out whodunnit… with what… and where.. and based on the iconic film, Fatal Attraction (25- 30 Apr) is transformed into an intoxicating stage adaptation of the definitive movie thriller

Young theatregoers (and their grown-ups!) will have the perfect reintroduction to live theatre with fantastic productions for the whole family to enjoy. Best-selling author David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny (27-30 Oct) hits Cambridge throughout October half-term, ideal for children aged 5+; you can enter into a magical world of myths, legends and magnificent monsters in Dragons and Mythical Beasts (18-20 Nov), a fantastical new puppetry show and spellbinding adventure for ages 3+ and George Orwell’s world-famous fable Animal Farm (8- 12 Feb) is reimagined into a dynamic, daring and contemporary stage adaptation by an award-winning creative team

You’ll leave the stalls laughing with some brilliantly funny comedies on offer. Alan Ayckbourn’s comic masterpiece of social climbing in 1970s suburbia Absurd Person Singular (7-11 Sept) fuses a potent mix of farce and black comedy; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s celebrated detective story The Hound of the Baskervilles (16-18 Sept) gets a brand-new, brilliantly theatrical and wonderfully comic twist in a ‘rib-bustingly hilarious’ (The Times) production; the then unknown Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel set sail from Liverpool to New York in Told by an Idiot’s hilarious and deeply moving Charlie and Stan (20-25 Sept), a homage to two men who changed the world of comedy forever; the hysterical Mischief (The Play That Goes Wrong) take you on a journey from an unruly classroom of six year-olds, anarchic high school teenagers to the challenges of adulthood in Groan Ups (18-23 Oct); the classic and muchloved 1970s television series The Good Life (9-13 Nov) is reimagined on stage starring actor and comedian Rufus Hound and Preeya Kalidas and esteemed actors Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers star in Noël Coward’s gloriously entertaining comedy Private Lives (22-27 Nov)

Recognisable faces from a host of professions will impress audiences with their respective talent in a series of one-night-only events. Direct from London’s world-famous jazz club, The Ronnie Scott’s All Stars (3 Oct) combines live jazz, archive photographs, video footage and narration to celebrate it’s incredible history; audiences can experience the man, the actor and his many roles in the unmistakingly unique event David Suchet: Poirot and More, A Retrospective (10 Oct); two multi award-winning UK jazz musicians, Claire Martin OBE and pianist Nikki Iles (17 Oct) join forces for a concert of songs recorded by legendary singer Tony Bennett and great jazz pianist Bill Evans; TV presenter, naturalist, conservationist and award-winning photographer and author Chris Packham (24 Oct) discusses his travels and photography in a funny, inspiring and irreverent one night event; the award-winning jazz vocalist and Jazz FM presenter Clare Teal (7 Nov) celebrates 100 years of pop music alongside her sextet; artist and activist Ai Weiwei (14 Nov) tells the story of his extraordinary life lived under extraordinary circumstances and discusses his widely anticipated memoir, 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows and the larger than life actor, writer and presenter Brian Blessed (16 Nov) combines anecdotes from his illustrious acting career with tales of his adventuring – may not be suitable for people who aren’t expecting the odd expletive!

And last, but by no means least, two hit musicals will have the auditorium dancing in the aisles. West End star Jodie Prenger takes to the stage in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black’s classic musical Tell Me on a Sunday (30 Sep-2 Oct) and the award-winning Cambridge Operatic Society revive the iconic jukebox musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert (19-22 Jan).