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THE SPIEGELTENT UNDERBELLY, SOUTH BANK FESTIVAL UNTIL -16th MAY 2019

Reviewed by Serena Norgren

4****

Dominic Cooke’s Olivier award winning revival of Follies, a wry, classy American musical by Stephen Sondheim wowed audiences and critics alike. Glitz, glamour, a wonderful score – an ensemble piece performed by a truly talented bunch – it had everything. Unfortunately, it closed at the National last weekend. The end of something really special.

It would appear that the cast also felt like this which is a great tribute to both the show and each other. And from this, On Reflection was devised. It is essentially a series of behind the scene tales told individually by members of the cast about their lives and careers with each performer talking about themselves, sharing a photograph and performing a song of their choice. Sometimes hilarious, often extremely moving with profound life stories being shared in a deeply personal environment.

It could have been cheesy, indulgent, narcissistic but it wasn’t: led by Janie Dee (who played Phyllis) it was a very special experience. Gemma Sutton (Young Sally) opened proceedings recounting her hilarious story of getting into drama school and singing Taking a Chance on Love. She was followed equally brilliantly by Caroline Fitzgerald who replicated her drama school audition piece in a wonderfully bonkers way, The Girl in 14G.

The mood changed to a moving tale of Harry Hepple (Young Buddy)‘s relationship with his dad and a lovely duet with Ian McLarnon (Ensemble). Christine Tucker (Young Phyllis) talked about resilience and her paraplegic brother teaching himself to walk with the takeaway motto “stick to your guns, know your worth”. Alyn Hawke (US Young Buddy) did a wonderful Fred Astaire medley; Lindsay Atherton (Young Carlotta) performed Rise Up by Andrew Day “because this song terrifies me”. Vanessa Fisher (Young Stella) talked about how tough the industry is and we ended with the marvellous Janie Dee singing an unused song from the Follies score. All directed and accompanied on the piano by Stefan Bednarczyk. Blimey, they are a talented lot.

The love in the room was palpable: a small audience with lots of cast family and friends present made for a wonderfully intimate experience, almost to the point of voyeuristic. It was a true privilege to be part of it and a rare insight into the roller coaster that is the performing arts business. A little rough round the edges and it certainly didn’t feel over rehearsed but this somehow added to the intimacy.

If you are a Follies fan, it is mandatory, if you are an aspiring performer it is a masterclass and if you are simply a musical theatre fan it is just plain fabulous.

EMMA RICE’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF WISE CHILDREN TO BE SCREENED IN CINEMAS ACROSS UK AND IRELAND

★★★★★
“Fantastic. Life-enhancing, brilliantly uninhibited, all-singing and dancing… Stars? I’m not sure why you would stop at five.”

The Observer

More2Screen today announces the cinema release of the critically acclaimed stage adaptation of Angela Carter’s Wise Children which will be screened in more than 250 cinemas across the UK and Ireland from 3 October 2019. Directed and adapted for the stage by Emma Rice, the production is the first from her new company Wise Children. Cinema tickets are on sale now at WiseChildrenCinema.com

★★★★

“An explosion of theatrical glee”

The Times

Filmed live for the cinema screen at York Theatre Royal in March 2019, multi-award-winning director Emma Rice brings her unique, exuberantly impish vision to Angela Carter’s great last novel in this brand-new play. A big, bawdy tangle of theatrical joy and heartbreak, Wise Children is a celebration of show business, family, forgiveness and hope, with a generous dash of Shakespeare, scandal and mischief. Performed by a spectacular ensemble cast, this colourful all-singing and dancing show takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotion. 

Emma Rice said today, “We’ve had a glorious adventure with our company so far, and the cinema release of our inaugural production, Wise Children, is a wonderful conclusion to the tour. I’m absolutely delighted that a wider audience will get to an opportunity to see our work and revel in the joyful world of Angela Carter’s novel.”

Christine Costello, CEO and Founder of More2Screen added, “The appetite for first-rate theatre events at the cinema continues to grow and we’re thrilled that this vibrant and inventive production of Wise Children from the celebrated director Emma Rice will be seen by cinema audiences across the UK and Ireland in the autumn.”

The cast is Sam Archer (Young Peregrine), Ankur Bahl (Young Melchior), Stu Barker (The Band), Omari Douglas (Showgirl Nora), Mirabelle Gremaud (Young Nora), Alex Heane (TheBand), Paul Hunter (Melchior Hazard), Melissa James (Showgirl Dora), Bettrys Jones (Young Dora), Patrycja Kujawska (Lady Atalanta/Wheelchair), Etta Murfitt (Nora Chance), Katy Owen (Grandma Chance), Ian Ross (Band Leader), Gareth Snook (Dora Chance)and Mike Shepherd (Peregrine Hazard).

Emma Rice is the proud and excited Artistic Director of her new company, Wise Children. Following her adaptation of Angela Carter’s Wise Children, this year the company will present the UK tour of Enid Blyton’sMalory Towers, adapted and directed by Rice. As Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe (2016/18), she directed Romantics Anonymous, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Little Matchgirl (and Other Happier Tales). For the previous 20 years, she worked for Kneehigh as an actor, director and Artistic Director. Her productions for Kneehigh include: The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Tristan & Yseult, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, The Wild Bride, The Red Shoes, The Wooden Frock, The Bacchae, Cymbeline (in association with RSC), A Matter of Life and Death (in association with National Theatre), Rapunzel (in association with Battersea Arts Centre); Brief Encounter (in association with David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers Productions); Don John (in association with the RSC and Bristol Old Vic); Wah! Wah! Girls (in association with Sadler’s Wells and Theatre Royal Stratford East for World Stages); and Steptoe and Son. Other work includes: the West End production of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Oedipussy (Spymonkey); The Empress (RSC); and An Audience with Meow Meow (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). Brief Encounter was revived last year at the Empire Cinema Haymarket.

For more information or to find a cinema screening Wise Children please visit: www.wisechildrencinema.com

#WiseChildren

#WiseChildrenCinema

Running time:                    150 mins

BBFC Age Rating:              15

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GAY TIMES

WILL BE CELEBRATING PRIDE MONTH
WITH THE NEXT LONDON CAST ALBUM KARAOKE NIGHT ON
26 JUNE

The next Waitress London Cast Album Karaoke Night has been confirmed for Wednesday 26 June – in partnership with Gay Times. Audience members who want to take part just need to sign up before that evening’s show for the chance to sing one minute of any song from Waitress – live on stage at the Adelphi and accompanied by the show’s musical director Katharine Woolley. Hosts and further details about the event will be announced in due course.

Waitress celebrated its official opening night on 7 March and the Tony-nominated musical by Sara Bareilles is now booking to 19 October.

London’s brand-new smash hit musical comedy Waitresstells the story of Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams her way out of a loveless marriage. 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. 

Gay Times is Europe’s longest-running LGBTQ publication. Later this year, Gay Times will release its 500th issue, a first for any queer publication in Europe. 

Brought to life by a ground breaking, female-led creative team, the hit show features an original score by 7-time Grammy® nominee Sara Bareilles (Love Song, Brave), a book by acclaimed screenwriterJessie Nelson (I Am Sam) and direction by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Finding Neverland) and choreography by Lorin Latarro. The production is currently touring the US and has also announced it will have its Australian premiere in 2020 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.

Alongside Katharine McPhee as Jenna, Waitress stars Jack McBrayer as Ogie, Marisha Wallace as Becky, Laura Baldwin as Dawn, Peter Hannah as Earl, David Hunter as Dr. Pomatter and Shaun Prendergast as Old Joe.

The full company includes Kelly Agbowu, Laura Baldwin, Piers Bate, Nicole Raquel Dennis, Michael Hamway, Peter Hannah, David Hunter, Stephen Leask, Jack McBrayer, Chris McGuigan, Katharine McPhee, Olivia Moore, Nathaniel Morrison, Sarah O’Connor, Leanne Pinder, Shaun Prendergast, Charlotte Riby, Marisha Wallace and Mark Willshire.

On its Broadway opening, Waitress was nominated for four Outer Critics’ Circle Awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical; two Drama League Award Nominations, including Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical; six Drama Desk Nominations, including Outstanding Musical; and four Tony Award Nominations, including Best Musical.

BOUNDLESS THEATRE ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS FOR THE

BOUNDLESS ACCELERATOR BURSARY

Boundless Theatre today announces the four recipients of the inaugural Boundless Accelerator Bursary funded by the Garfield Weston Foundation. Aimed specifically at supporting the co-creation of new work with teenagers, this year the bursary focuses on mental health and wellbeing with the project culminating in a showing on 4 December 2019 in London. The four chosen recipients, who will be provided with £2500 for the year, are actor and theatre-maker Ryan Gilmartin with Barbarians, actor and theatre-maker Natalya Martinwith Carnival, digital theatre company Produced Moon with Run Code and arts production company Nouveau Riché with For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Was Too Heavy.

Rob Drummer, Artistic Director of Boundless, said today,“The Accelerator Bursary is our way of getting extraordinary artists and teenagers together to co-create with a theme set by our Advisory Group, meaning the whole process is led by young adults.  We had almost 50 applications from across the UK and could have awarded many more bursaries, the quality was that high.  We can’t wait to share the first stage of development later this year and hope that many more young adults will be inspired by what is created.”

Produced Moon’s

RUN CODE

Inspired by Games for Change, the movement that uses digital games as a tool for social change, Produced Moon will collaborate with young people in Bermondsey to create games exploring aspects of mental health. Experimenting with the emerging genre of game theatre, alongside video and board games, game mechanics will be used to explore strategies for building resilience and self-care. Through collective game-play, Produced Moon aims to find honest and open ways of talking about what we can do together to change conversations around mental health.

Produced Moonare an interactive, digital theatre company working at the intersection of theatre and gaming, based between London and Glasgow. Recent work includes Switchboard, The Inventors Squad and Electric.

Natalya Martin’s

CARNIVAL

Carnival is created for young people with disabilities, collaboratively developed by actor and theatre-maker Natalya Martin. The piece will creatively explore how issues around mental health and emotional wellbeing affect the lives of teenagers and young adults with disabilities today.

Set on a fictional island surrounded by a body of water, Carnival explores live music, dance and a multitude of multi-sensory experiences.

Natalya Martin is an actor, multi-sensory practitioner and theatre-maker. Her goal is to make work that is fully accessible, relatable and of quality, for and with people with disabilities. She is the co-founder of theatre company FEEL Theatre, which specialises in creating sensory stories, shows and experiences. 

Nouveau Riché’s

FOR BLACK BOYS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE HUE WAS TOO HEAVY

For Black Boys… articulates the heartache, confusion, rage, and desires of young black men. The play explores how the pressures placed on black men contribute to emotional and mental trauma, and the threat of additional black suicides.

The affirmative resolution of For Black Boys… is to signify the collective community of Brotherhood, that calls for men to first love themselves, then learn to love one another.

Winners of the 2018 Edinburgh Stage Award and The Untapped Award, Nouveau Riché is a multi – disciplinary arts production company. Previous theatre credits include Queens of Sheba, Chateau Marmont and Book of Actions. Their objective is to discover, nurture and produce unique stories that are culturally inclusive, with a keen scope on work that is both educational and entertaining. 

Ryan Gilmartin’s

BARBARIANS

Developed by Ryan Gilmartin and James Monaghan, Barbarians queries the experiential differences between rural and urban living.

Barbarians: a member of a people not belonging to one of the greats (Ancient Rome, Modern London).

The common myths and stories that we tell each other are breaking up locally and digitally.

In a world getting smaller yet further apart, Ryan will return to his hometown in Spalding, Lincolnshire with James to investigate the differences between living ‘in the sticks’ and cities. 

Is there a link between physical isolation and the mental health of young people?

We don’t know what we’ll find or what we’ll do; but whatever it is, we’ll bring it to London.

Ryan Gilmartin is a multi-disciplinary actor, theatre maker and video DJ. He has made work for the National Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre and Sheffield Theatres.

The Lowry, Salford – until 19^th May 2019. 

Reviewed by Sarah Cockerill

4****

Theatregoers of The Lowry, Salford, reversed back in time to 1950s London and were introduced to the ominous Monkswell Manor Guest House, where murder is the chilling topic everyone is talking about.

The plot begins with newlyweds and now co-business owners Mollie Ralston (Harriett Hare) and Giles Ralston (Nick Biadon) who, in the midst of a snow storm, have opened the doors of their manor to guests – Mrs Boyle (Gwyneth Strong), Mr Paravacini (David Alcock), Christopher Wren (Lewis Chandler), Major Metcalf (John Griffiths), and Miss Caswell (Saskia Vaigncourt-Strallen).

A heinous crime has been reported in the capital and as each character is interrogated by Sargent Trotter (Geoff Arnold), it quickly becomes apparent that everyone is a suspect, and anyone could be the next victim.

Gwyneth Strong’s portrayal of the uptight Mrs Boyle was excellent and was a far cry from her character in the much-loved Only Fools and Horses. The highlight though, had to be the outstanding performance from Lewis Chandler as the peculiar Christopher Wren, who had the audience in stitches all night.

Press pause on the TV criminal dramas and documentaries, and head out to The Lowry, Salford this week to see this deliciously macabre classic piece of theatre that’s become the longest running performance of any kind around the world. Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap will be at The Lowry until this Saturday 19^th May before continuing its UK-wide tour.

This Agatha Christie whodunit isn’t the kind of show you would go and see again and again, but I would urge everyone to see it once and become part of theatre’s best kept secret….

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED TO JOIN

SERGEI POLUNIN & JOHAN KOBBORG

IN A NEW MIXED BILL

AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM

OPENING 28 MAY 2019

The full cast has been announced for Sergei Polunin’s new mixed programme at the London Palladium from 28 May to 1 June 2019.

Programme 1:  28, 29, 30 May

Fraudulent Smile

Sergei Polunin

Johan Kobborg

Alexey Lyubimov

Dejan Kolarov 

Liam Morris

Chloe Reveillon

Ionut-Andrei Dinita

Oscar Ward 

Laurine Muccioli

Paradox

Alexey Lyubimov

Dejan Kolarov

Sacré 

Sergei Polunin

Programme 2:  31 May & 1 June

Rasputin 

Sergei Polunin – Grigori Rasputin

Johan Kobborg – Prince Felix Yusupov (31 May)

Semyon Velichko – Prince Felix Yusupov (1 June)

Alexey Lyubimov – Tsar Nicholas II 

Elena Ilinykh – Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna

Djorjde Kalenic – Tsesarevich Alexey

Polunin is also delighted to announce that haute couturist, Ulyana Sergeenko, will be designing the costumes for the world premiere of Rasputin.  Her gowns have been worn by Madonna, Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie and Rihanna, to name a few.

Fraudulent Smile is choreographed by Ross Freddie Ray to music by KROKE.  Paradox and Sacré have both been choreographed by Japanese dancer and choreographer Yuka Oishi. Paradox is performed to music by Stravinsky (Soldier’s Tale) and Chopin.  Sacré is a piece of tanztheater set to Stravinsky’s iconic The Rite of Spring.  Both Paradox and Sacré explore aspects of the life of famous dancer Vaslav Nijinsky in his 130^th birthday year, with Sacré reinterpreting his infamous ballet Le Sacre du Printemps, originally created for Ballets Russes in 1913. The ballets are inspired by Nijinsky’s demand for a “feeling, not thinking Human”, by masterpieces of the Art Brut – the movement of the outsider art, by the essence of rebellion.

The world premiere of Rasputin is also choreographed by Yuka Oishi, with a new score by Russia’s most prominent representative of the neoclassical music scene, Kirill Richter, and set design by Otto Bubenicek. Rasputin, a two-act dance drama, explores the life of the Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Tsar Nicholas II.Website: www.poluninink.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sergeipolunin.dancer
Twitter: @SergeiPolunin_
Instagram: @poluninink

LISTINGS INFORMATION

28 May – 1 June 2019

London Palladium

Argyll Street

London W1F 7LA

Running time for Programmes 1 & 2: 90 minutes (including interval)

Performances: Tuesday-Saturday at 7.30pm and Saturday matinee at 2:30pm

Tickets:  from £20 (subject to booking fees)

Box Office:  020 7087 7757

www.educationplay.co.uk
Twitter @EduPlayLondon
Facebook @EducationPlayLondon

A co-production between The Wardrobe Ensemble, Royal & Derngate, Northampton, and Shoreditch Town Hall
Presented in the West End by Trafalgar Theatre Productions and Eilene Davidson

REHEARSAL IMAGES RELEASED AHEAD OF WEST END PREMIERE OF THE WARDROBE ENSEMBLE’S HIT COMEDY EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION

With just over two weeks until the production begins previews at the Trafalgar Studios, rehearsal pictures have today be released for acclaimed theatre company The Wardrobe Ensemble’sproduction of Education, Education, Education, in co-production with Royal & Derngate, Northampton and Shoreditch Town Hall.  The Scotsman Fringe First Award and The Stage Edinburgh Award winning, smash-hit production will play a strictly limited four week run in London’s West End this summer.

“We in Germany, and Europe, have been watching somewhat envious as your country’s been undergoing a resurrection… Your newfound pride in your culture and your heritage… It’s so wonderful to see a country wearing its identity so proudly on its sleeve”

It’s May 1997. The iPhone doesn’t exist, no one knows who Harry Potter is, Titanic is on the shelves of every Blockbuster and we have just won Eurovision. Britain is the coolest place in the world.

 “First a Eurovision win and now Tony’s our new Prime Minister. I can barely recognize this country; you know I actually saw people smiling on the train this morning.”

At the local secondary school it’s a different story. It’s the last week of term and Tobias, the new German language assistant has just arrived in the UK. While political change occurs outside of the classroom, a revolution slowly starts to take place within it. Tobias is greeted by a group of eccentric schoolteachers just trying to make it through the day, including Miss Belltop-Doyle who can’t control her year 10s and Mr Pashley who is trying to keep a confiscated Tamagotchi alive.

This whip-smart show is a love letter to education in the 90s and is jam-packed with more hits than ‘Now That’s What I Call 1997’ including Oasis, Katrina and the Waves, The Spice Girls. Crammed with Teletubbies references, jokes about Take That and the Macarena, Education, Education, Education plays a strictly limited  four week season at the Trafalgar Studios.

The Wardrobe Ensemble uses its singular style of irreverent humour and inventive theatricality to dissect education and responsibility at the dawn of Blair’s Britain in 1997. In Education, Education, Education audiences are thrown back to the 90s; the music, the fads and the icons as well as issues that remain pertinent to the twenty-first century experience.

The cast of Education, Education, Education will include: Tom Brennan (Paul McIntyre), Ben Vardy (Tim Pashley), Jesse Meadows (Susan Belltop-Doyle), Emily Greenslade (Emily Greenslade), James Newton (Tobias) and Tom England (Hugh Mills) with Hanora Kamen and Kerry Lovell sharing the role of Louise Turner. Education, Education, Education has been devised by The Wardrobe Ensemble and directed by Jesse Jones and Helena Middleton. 

​Education, Education, Education is a co-production between The Wardrobe Ensemble, Royal & Derngate, Northampton, and Shoreditch Town Hall, presented in the West End by Trafalgar Theatre Productions and Eilene Davidson.

LISTINGS

Education, Education, Education
Trafalgar Studios 1, 14 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY
31 May – 29 June 7.30pm, matinees at 2.3opm on Thursdays and Saturdays*
Press Night: 5^th June
Box Office: 0844 871 7632/ www.educationplay.co.uk
*No matinee performance on Sat 22 and Thu 27 June

Directed by Jesse Jones and Helena Middleton
Written by The Wardrobe Ensemble
Design: Lucy Sierra
Lighting Design: Katharine Williams
Sound Design: Ben Grant
Dramaturg: Bea Roberts 
Associate Sound Design: Daniel Balfour
Wardrobe Supervisor: Felicity Jones

Cast List:

Tom England- Hugh Mills
Emily Greenslade- Emily Greenslade
Jesse Meadows- Susan Belltop- Doyle
James Newton- Tobias
Tom Brennan- Paul McIntyre
Ben Vardy- Tim Pashley 
Hanora Kamen – Louise Turner (until 15 June)
Kerry Lovell – Louise Turner (from 17 June)

YORKSHIRE’S VERY OWN SNOW WHITE HAS BEEN FOUND

Three Bears Productions has been bringing pantomimes to Grand Opera House York since 2016, they made their debut with Aladdin in 2016, followed by Beauty And The Beast in 2017 and Cinderella in 2018.  This year they have been seeking a local actor for the principal girl role in Snow White. From all the applications, 30 were invited to take part in the auditions held at the theatre, from which a dozen were shortlisted for the afternoon second session.  We are delighted to announce that Knaresborough born Louise Henry was finally chosen for the role.

Director and co-Producer Chris Moreno, who had the difficult job of selecting a winner says:  

“I was really surprised at the calibre of talent we had auditioning for us for the part of Snow White”

There was some very good and experienced talent at the audition to choose from. However, amongst this talent was Louise, who is just starting her career. She has a wonderful talent, not only is she a fabulous singer but she has that exciting natural  instinct when she acts.  It really excites me to be at the beginning of Louise’s career.  She will be a wonderful addition to our star cast and I hope that the people of York will come and see her so that in future years, when she is a big star they will be able to say they saw one of her first performances.”

Louise says:  “I’m so thankful to have been chosen to perform as Snow White in this year’s panto!  I honestly couldn’t believe it when Anne rang me with this amazing news, I felt like I was in a state of shock and did not expect it at all.  I’ve been beaming all weekend whenever I am reminded that I’ll be signing my first professional contract. 

I’m really looking forward to getting into the theatre and putting the show together, performing is all I have ever wanted to do and I feel so lucky that my Christmas this year will be doing just that.”

Rehearsals for Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs will start in early December, when the successful auditionee will join regular dame Steve Wickenden, who will play the part of Nurse May Brexit, and Australian soap star, comedian and presenter Mark Little as the villain, The Evil Sorcerer. The rest of the cast will be announced at a later date.

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs will run from December 13 to January 4 2020, 

Tickets on sale on 0844 871 3024, or at www.atgtickets.com/york. 

STETSONS AT THE READY AS COMEDY MUSICAL ACHY BREAKY BRIDE COMES TO TOWN

HILARIOUS NEW COUNTRY JUKE BOX MUSICAL COMES TO ST HELENS THEATRE ROYAL NEXT MONTH

From the producers that brought audiences Rita, Sue and Bob Too! and The Salon, Regal Entertainments are back with brand-new comedy musical, Achy Breaky Bride next month.

An hilarious jukebox country musical, written by Emma Culshaw and David Paul and directed bySylvie Gatrill, it comes to St Helens Theatre Royal from Tuesday 4 – Saturday 8 June.

This brand-new comedy includes all the biggest classic country hits to sing along to, including: Crazy, Jolene, Rhinestone Cowboy, Rose Garden, Achy Breaky Heart and many more!

The shows stellar cast includesRadio City’s Leanne Campbell; Blood Brothers’ Daniel Taylor;Benidorm’s Crissy Rock; BBC All Together Now’s Divina De Campo; and Rita, Sue and Bob Too! starOlivia Sloyan.

The Ruby Slippers’ Emma Vaudrey; The Salon’s Jenna Sian O’Hara; and St Helens Theatre Royal newcomer Joshua Ford complete the line-up.

It’s never a dull day in Dolly’s Dream Dresses, St Helens’ boutique Bridal shop run by A Boy Named Sue (Taylor) and his sister Jolene (Campbell).

Radio City breakfast host Leanne Campbell is always an audience favourite. She is well-known to audiences through her many panto appearances and other stage roles, including CarolinThe Salon at St Helens Theatre Royal in 2016 and The Epstein Theatre in 2017.

Joining Leanne is Blood Brothers and West End star Daniel Taylor.

Actor, producer and director, Daniel Taylor has previously starred in the title role of Lennon: Through a Glass Onion, a role for which he received critical acclaim. He is also well known for playing Sammy in West End and national tour of Blood Brothers, and Mickey in Alan Bleasdale’s 40th anniversary production of Down the Dock Road at Liverpool’s Royal Court. Daniel also produces and plays the title role in The Tommy Cooper Show.

Also in the line-up is national treasure Crissy Rock. An award-winning actress, stand-up comedian and best-selling author, she is perhaps best known for playing Janey York in hit ITV sitcom Benidorm and jungle campmate in I’m A Celebrity: Get Me Out Of Here. Her theatre credits include Escorts: The Musical and Dirty Dusting.

Fresh off the judging panel of BBC’s All Together Now, one of the UK’s biggest drag artists Divina De Campo also joins the cast. Divina played Destiny in the acclaimed comedy The Ruby Slippers which visited Theatre Royal in 2016.

Emma Vaudrey is a successful stage and screen actress with credits including Lady Killers andSpringhill. She recently appeared in psychological thriller Blood Runs Deep at The Unity Theatre,and starred with Divina De Campo in 2016’s The Ruby Slippers.

No stranger to St Helens Theatre Royal stage, Olivia Sloyan returns. Her theatre credits include Sue inRita, Sue and Bob Too, Tia in The Salon, Princess Jasmine in Aladdin, and both Linda and Brenda inBlood Brothers.

Audiences may recognise Jenna Sian O’Hara from 2017’s production of The Salon, and completing the cast is St Helens Theatre Royal newcomer Joshua Ford whose previous theatre credits include productions of Amadeus and West Side Story.

St Helens Theatre Royal Manager, Chantelle Nolan said: “We can’t wait to bring St Helens audiences this hilarious musical comedy – it will have you singing and dancing in the aisles one minute and rolling in the aisles laughing the next! It is promises to be a night to remember!”

Watch all the Crazy antics unfold as Sue and Jolene work non-stop from 9-5 to help these blushing brides-to-be prepare for their big days!

Will they make it down the aisle without a hitch? Will they stand by their man proclaiming I Will Always Love You? Don’t count on it!

Grab your Stetsons and put on your Cowboy Boots as they are made for walking down to St Helens Theatre Royal this June. You’ll have an Achy Breaky Heart if you miss it!

For more information, please visit: www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com

Like us on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/St-Helens-Theatre-Royal

Follow us on Twitter: @TheatreRoyalStH

LISTING DETAILS

ACHY BREAKY BRIDE

Date: Tuesday 4 – Saturday 8 June

Time: Tue-Thu 7:30pm/ Fri & Sat 8pm/ Sat Matinee 3pm

Tickets: From £18

*All prices are inclusive of a £1 per seat booking fee. On-line bookings are subject to an additional 50p per seat on-line processing fee.

THEATRE ROYAL BOOKING DETAILS

Book in person at the Theatre Royal Box Office, Corporation Street, St. Helens, Merseyside WA10 1LQ (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm). Alternatively, call 01744 756 000 or log on to:www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com.

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford – until 18 May 2019

Reviewed by Antonia Hebbert

3 ***

It was hard to get into this play to begin with. There’s a devout mother, Luda, chopping onions and talking to God. She has three daughters, factory worker Tina, schoolgirl Francesca, and Vita, who is shut up in a convent for reasons that are obscure to begin with. They’re an Italian migrant family, living in Brooklyn in 1960. They’re all struggling in different ways, but you wonder how these different threads are going to be pulled together. Then Nic, the father of the family appears and suddenly the play hits a different stride.

He is played by Robert Cavanah, who is positively alarming as a man who expresses his unhappiness as cruelty to his family. The sense of rage just under the surface (and sometimes exploding) sets the drama alight. All the other actors seem to respond to this and become more three-dimensional as we see just how hard it is to stand up to someone so manipulative. He regrets having left Naples for New York, and his misery is holding back the rest of the family. Madeleine Worrall is convincing as Luda, the wife and mother with torn loyalties. Georgia May Foote sparkles as Vita, the daughter who has ended up in a convent with broken bones. Hannah Bristow (Francesca) and Laurie Ogden are sweet (maybe too sweet) as the teenage friends who want to run away together, and Bristow comes into her own when she finally lets rip. The growing friendship between Tina (Mona Goodwin) and her workmate Celia (Gloria Onitiri) is very well conveyed. Stephen Hogan is charming and kindly as the shopkeeper who offers Luda kindness and a possible way out.

The pivotal moment of the play is a plane falling out of the sky, which really did happen in Brooklyn in December 1960. Playwright Meghan Kennedy remembers her mother talking about the event, and has based the play around it, and her family’s struggle to survive as immigrants. It feels authentic. There’s an appealing, very simple set of kitchen table and bed, which tips up to become a backdrop for factory and outdoor scenes. (They could maybe have tried a bit harder with the factory – I got distracted by the inefficiency of loading a cardboard box on a chair). After slightly wobbly start, this became a very intense, moving and absorbing drama.