Author: FairyPoweredProductions

BAT OUT OF HELL – THE MUSICAL stars Andrew Polec as Strat and Christina Bennington as Raven, with Rob Fowler as Falco, Sharon Sexton as Sloane, Danielle Steers as Zahara and Wayne Robinson as Jagwire.

BAT OUT OF HELL – THE MUSICAL is a romantic adventure about rebellious youth and passionate love, set against the backdrop of a post-cataclysmic city adrift from the mainland. Strat, the forever young leader of The Lost, has fallen for Raven, daughter of Falco, the tyrannical, ruler of Obsidian. For the stage musical, the award-winning Jim Steinman has incorporated iconic songs from his Bat Out Of Hell albums, including You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth, Bat Out Of Hell, I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) and Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad, as well as two previously unreleased songs, What Part of My Body Hurts the Most and Not Allowed to Love.

Winner of the Evening Standard Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical 2017, BAT OUT OF HELL – THE MUSICAL has book by Jim Steinman, with early writing by Stuart Beattie, music and lyrics by Jim Steinman, direction by Jay Scheib and choreography by Emma Portner. It is produced by David Sonenberg, Michael Cohl, Randy Lennox and Tony Smith.

Website: www.BatOutOfHellMusical.com

Twitter & Facebook: @BatTheMusical

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical

Dominion Theatre

268-269 Tottenham Court Road

London W1T 7AQ

Performances: Mon-Sat at 7.30pm, Wed & Sat matinee at 2.30pm*

*There is no 2.30pm performance on Wednesday 4 April

Tickets: from £15.00

Box Office: 0845 200 7982

Current Booking Period: 2 April – 28 July 2018

Running Time: 2 hours 40 minutes (including interval)

CHICAGO stars Cuba Gooding Jr as Billy Flynn, Sarah Soetaert as Roxie Hart, Josefina Gabrielle as Velma Kelly, Ruthie Henshall as Mama Morton and Paul Rider as Amos Hart. 

CHICAGO, which is based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, has a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The Broadway revival of CHICAGO was choreographed by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse, directed by Walter Bobbie and produced by Barry and Fran Weissler. 

CHICAGO originally ran in London for 15 years, making it the West End’s longest running revival. CHICAGO has won six Tony Awards, two Olivier awards  and a Grammy. CHICAGO continues to run on Broadway, where it recently celebrated its 21st birthday, and around the world in multiple langues. It is the world’s longest running American musical. 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Phoenix Theatre

110 Charing Cross Road

London WC2H 0JP

Box Office: 0844 871 7629 / www.atgtickets.com/shows/chicago/phoenix-theatre

Ticket Prices: From £20.00

Performances: Monday-Saturday 8pm, Wednesday & Saturday 3pm

Booking Period: Currently Booking Until 6 October 2018

Running Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes (with interval)

Website: ChicagoWestEnd.com

Twitter: @ChicagoOnStage

OLIVER PHELPS AND DEBORAH GRANT 

JOIN THE CAST OF

EDGAR WALLACE’s

THE CASE OF THE FRIGHTENED LADY

ALONGSIDE GRAY O’BRIEN, DENIS LILL, PHILIP LOWRIE,

APRIL PEARSON, BEN NEALON AND GLENN CARTER

‘A MASTERPIECE OF CHILLING STAGE NOIR…NOT TO BE MISSED’

THE OBSERVER

Continuing a successful UK-wide tour throughout 2018, Oliver Phelps and Deborah Grant will join the cast of The Classic Thriller Theatre Company’s The Case of the Frightened Lady. Film star Oliver Phelps will make his stage debut, having played the character of George Weasley in one of the most successful film franchises of all time, Harry Potter. He is joined by TV’s Deborah Grant, who amongst her many roles has starred in the BBC’s Not Going Out and Bergerac.

«««««

‘THE BEST MURDER MYSTERY I HAVE SEEN SINCE

THE MOUSETRAP!… YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED’

WHATSGOODTODO

When Inspector Tanner is called in to investigate a ruthless murder at Mark’s Priory, the grand ancestral home of the Lebanon family, he quickly discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. The household is controlled by the family physician, the footmen behave more like guests than servants and the secretary Isla is afraid for her life. As Tanner moves closer to the heart of the mystery he uncovers a shocking and closely guarded secret… 

Following the phenomenal success of The Agatha Christie Theatre Company, which sold approximately two million tickets over a decade of first class productions, comes a new chapter from Bill Kenwright’s Classic Thriller Theatre Company.

EDGAR WALLACE is one of the most popular and prolific crime writers of the 20^th Century and the brains behind the iconic film, KING KONG. Having written more than 150 detective novels throughout his career Edgar Wallace’s gripping page-turners are regarded as the bedrock of the modern thriller, and The Case of the Frightened Lady remains one of his most celebrated works. 

Making his stage debut is OLIVER PHELPS who was catapulted to fame at 15 years old when he starred as George Weasley in one of the highest grossing movie franchises of all time, Harry Potter. Oliver was cast alongside his twin brother James to play Ron Weasley’s mischievous older twin brothers. Other credits include the fictionalised biopic of Lenny Henry’s life Danny and the Human Zoo and TV series Kingdom alongside Stephen Fry and Celia Imrie.

DEBORAH GRANT has starred in the BBC’s Not Going Out, Bergerac and Roger, Roger. As well as her many TV and film appearances Deborah is a stage veteran; from her first performance on stage at the age of 4, she has performed in many West End and national touring productions and starred opposite Michael Crawford in the West End debut of Barnum at the London Palladium.

Continuing in the cast are: TV favourites GRAY O’BRIEN (Coronation Street, The Bill, Casualty), DENIS LILL (The Royal, Only Fools and Horses), PHILIP LOWRIE (Coronation Street), APRIL PEARSON (Skins), BEN NEALON (Soldier Soldier) and GLENN CARTER (Jesus Christ Superstar).

GRAY O’BRIEN is best known to TV audiences for his portrayal of the villainous businessman Tony Gordon in ITV’s Coronation Street and as Dr. Richard McCaig on the BBC medical drama Casualty. Most recently he starred in ITV crime drama The Loch which aired earlier this year. Other notable roles include Peak Practice, Taggart and the 2006 film The Queen.

DENIS LILL who starred as the much-loved character of Mr Rose in the long-running TV series The Royal has appeared in many popular television series from Z Cars, Doctor Who, Bergerac and Blackadder to the classic British comedy Only Fools and Horses. He also appeared in the 1989 blockbuster movie Batman and the 1996 film adaptation of Evita. 

Joining them is PHILIP LOWRIE, best known for playing one of the original characters, Dennis Tanner in Coronation Street, a role he played since the shows inception in 1960 until 1968, and again in 2011 until 2014. He also appeared in the television series War & Peace, Rules of Engagement and Home Fires. 

BEN NEALON is an Agatha Christie Company and Classic Thriller Company stalwart. On television Ben is best known as Lt Forsythe in the popular ITV award-winning drama series Soldier Soldier, and for his appearances in The Bill, Casualty, Doctors and EastEnders. He also featured in the Oscar-nominated Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India.

APRIL PEARSON made her television debut when she was just 9 years of age in the long-running medical drama Casualty. Her big break came in the hugely popular BAFTA award-winning TV drama Skins as Michelle Richardson. Her film debut came just a few years later in Tormented opposite Alex Pettyfer.

Completing the line-up is West End leading man GLENN CARTER. Carter has appeared in some of the biggest West End musicals such as Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Whistle Down the Wind, Grease and Les Miserables, as well as playing Tommy DeVito in the London premiere of Jersey Boys. His most memorable portrayal is perhaps as Jesus in the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber classic Jesus Christ Superstar. He played the role in the West End, on Broadway and in the Film.

The cast is completed by Callum Coates, Owen Oldroyd and Rosie Thomson.

The production is directed by ROY MARSDEN who is best known as an actor, particularly in his role as Commander Adam Dalgliesh in ITV’s P.D. James series, which he played for 15 years. But he has also been directing plays since he was 15 years old and had successful West End runs with Noel Coward’s Volcano and Agatha Christie’s (under the pen name Mary Westmacott) A Daughter’s a Daughter. This is now Roy’s third time directing a Classic Thriller Theatre Company production having previously directed Rehearsal for Murder and A Judgement in Stone.  

BILL KENWRIGHT

PRESENTS

THE CLASSIC THRILLER THEATRE COMPANY

GRAY O’BRIEN

DENIS LILL

DEBORAH GRANT

OLIVER PHELPS

PHILIP LOWRIE

APRIL PEARSON

BEN NEALON

GLENN CARTER

IN

THE CASE OF THE FRIGHTENED LADY

BY EDGAR WALLACE

A NEW ADAPTATION BY ANTONY LAMPARD

DIRECTED BY ROY MARSDEN

DESIGNER JULIE GODFREY 

LIGHTING DESIGNER CHRIS DAVEY   SOUND DESIGNER DAN SAMSON

For tickets and tour dates go to www.kenwright.com

More dates to be announced

She’s back! The Olivier Award Nominated cabbage-crunching, criminal mastermind GANGSTA GRANNY is touring the UK and Ireland in 2018

Hot on the heels of a recent Oliver Award nomination, Birmingham Stage Company’s hit adaptation of David Walliams’ GANGSTA GRANNY is beginning a new tour of the UK and Ireland. Heading out on the road from 22 March – 15 July, Granny’s tour takes in Bath, Inverness, Dartford, Newcastle, Belfast and Dublin amongst many other towns and cities within its 16 week schedule.

The show first toured for 18 months from Autumn 2015 ahead of a successful West End season in the summer of 2017, but this will be Granny’s first stage appearance since being nominated for a 2018 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and Family.

From the stage at the Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre on the first tour, author David Walliams said of the stage adaptation: “What a fantastic show! It’s truly brilliant! And so much better than the book!”

David began his publishing career at HarperCollins in early 2008 with his debut novel The Boy in the Dress. Then, after writing two other popular stories, in 2011 he published Gangsta Granny, which was shortlisted for both The Red House Children’s Book Award and for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. At Christmas 2013 a TV version of Gangsta Granny was shown on BBC One with an all-star cast including David Walliams himself. Gangsta Granny went straight to number 1 in the children’s book charts and his books have been translated into no fewer than 53 languages.

Gangsta Granny is adapted and directed by Neal Foster, the Actor / Manager of Birmingham Stage Company. On the eve of the second tour he said “I’m delighted Granny is out on the road again off the back of her Olivier Award nomination and I know she’s looking forward to stealing more hearts around the country.”

It’s Friday night and Ben knows that means only one thing – staying with Granny! There will be cabbage soup, cabbage pie and cabbage cake and Ben knows one thing for sure – it’s going to be sooooooooo boring! But what Ben doesn’t know is that Granny has a secret – and Friday nights are about to get more exciting than he could ever imagine, as he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime with his very own Gangsta Granny!

Gangsta Granny is a must for all families as the show is enjoyed by everyone from 5 to 105! It’s both laugh out loud funny with some brilliant comic scenes but also has some very moving and truthful things to say about family relationships.

Gangsta Granny is touring from 22 March until 15 July. The tour dates are:

Hertford Theatre 22 – 24 March
Bath Theatre Royal 27 March 1 April 
Cheltenham Everyman Theatre 4 – 7 April
Chester Storyhouse 11 – 14 April
Worthing Pavilion Theatre 20 – 22 April
Inverness Eden Court 26 – 28 April
Preston Charter Theatre 2 – 5 May
Hereford Courtyard Theatre 8 – 12 May
Belfast Grand Opera House 16 – 19 May
Dartford Orchard Theatre 23 – 26 May
Newcastle Theatre Royal 30 May – 2 June
Grimsby Auditorium 6 – 9 June
Dublin Olympia Theatre 20 – 23 June
Carlisle Sands Centre 27 – 30 June
Hull New Theatre 5 – 8 July
Nottingham Theatre Royal 11 – 15 July

CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER RELEASES DEBUT ALBUM:

‘WHEN THE CURTAIN FALLS’

30 MARCH 2018

• Available to pre-order from iTunes now

23:00 Records part of Club11 London are delighted to announce the title for award-winning West End star, YouTuber and best-selling author, Carrie Hope Fletcher’s debut album – When The Curtain Falls. Now available to pre-order from iTunes, the album is released on Friday 30 March.

The hotly anticipated album will feature some of Carrie’s favourite musical theatre songs covered in a way that listeners won’t have heard before. Today Carrie is delighted to share the tracks on the album will include Journey To The Past, What It Means To Be a Friend, Burn, Times Are Hard For Dreamers, I Dreamed a Dream, No One Else, Summertime, They Just Keep Moving The Line, Somewhere That’s Green, Let It Go, You Matter To Me, I Won’t Say I’m In Love, some of which are to be performed at the previously announced concert at Cadogan Hall on 31 March and 1 April 2018.

This follows on from an incredible 2017 for Carrie with the release of her third book All That She Can See, a critically acclaimed UK tour of The Addams Family and a starring role in the new musical The Christmasaurus.

Carrie Hope Fletcher is an award-winning actress, YouTuber and best-selling author. She has recently appeared in The Christmasaurus Live (Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith) and has completed a nationwide tour of The Addams Family, which included a televised performance on Tonight at the London Palladium. Other theatre credits include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and War of the Worlds (UK tours), Les Miserables (Queen’s Theatre), Wind in the Willows (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Mary Poppins (Prince Edward Theatre). Her television credits include In Two Minds and Break Kids. Her forthcoming book, When The Curtain Falls, publishes in hardback in July 2018: a spellbinding, ghostly love story that takes place amid the special magic of the theatre – a setting that Carrie knows, and loves, so well. It follows the Sunday Times bestselling novels On the Other Side and All That She Can See and the No.1 bestselling memoir All That I Know Now (2015).

Carrie Hope Fletcher in Concert

Listings

Cadogan Hall

5 Sloane Terrace, Belgravia, London SW1X 9DQ

Box Office: 020 7730 4500

www.whenthecurtainfalls.co.uk

KATY LIPSON (ARIA ENTERTAINMENT)

& JIM KIERSTEAD (KIERSTEAD PRODUCTIONS)

CREATE A NEW PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPING & PRESENTING NEW MUSICALS IN LONDON AND NEW YORK

LAUNCHING WITH A CO-PRODUCTION OF THE NEW

BILL RUSSELL & JANET HOOD MUSICALPREMIERING OFF-BROADWAY AT THE YORK THEATRE COMPANY

BEFORE TRANSFERRING TO SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE

FROM 6 – 29 SEPTEMBER 2018

Award-winning producer, Katy Lipson of Aria Entertainment (The Addams Family, Hair, The Toxic Avenger, Yank, Little Women, Pippin, and recipient of a Stage One Bursary & Start-Up Award, OFFIES 2017 Producer Of The Year and The Stage 100’s Most Influential Figures 2018), announces a new partnership with New York City based Tony and Olivier Award winning theatre and film producer, Jim Kierstead of Kierstead Productions (Kinky Boots, Dreamgirls and Waitress), joining forces to develop and present new and groundbreaking productions on both sides of the Atlantic in Off-Broadway/Off-West End-sized venues.

Their first co-production will be the new Bill Russell (book and lyrics) and Janet Hood (Music) musical, Unexpected Joy, that will receive its Off-Broadway premiere at The York Theatre Company from 24 April – 2 May, before a run at Southwark Playhouse from 6 – 29 September 2018, with press night on Thursday 13 September. Both productions will be directed by Amy Anders Corcoran but will be individual and unique in casting and design elements.

The two producers met when Jim Kierstead joined Katy Lipson on the transfer of the musical Yank!from the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester, to London’s Charing Cross Theatre, in the summer of 2017. Kierstead had been one of the original producers of the show Off-Broadway in 2010 at The York Theatre Company. The two realised that they shared the same passion for developing new musicals from the ground up and reconceiving old favourites in original and inventive ways.

Katy Lipson had this to share about the new partnership, “This is a very exciting time in Aria’s journey; Not only are we delighted to be co-presenting this incredible new musical which celebrates female empowerment with 4 great roles for women both in New York Off-Broadway and London’s Southwark Playhouse, but also to be collaborating with American producer Jim Kierstead on a new relationship which will see us working on similar co-productions of new chamber musicals both in the UK and across the pond.”

Jim Kierstead says of the partnership, “From the moment I met Katy, I knew we would get along wonderfully. She has boundless energy and endless ideas. She also is a tremendous multitasker and is incredibly organized, so we get along amazingly well.” He went on to add, “We can discuss ten different ideas in the span of ten minutes without getting confused. It’s a rare trait. I’m looking forward to the first of many collaborations together using this new model, as Unexpected Joy is a show that’s near and dear to my heart as I’ve spent the past 6 years developing it with the authors.  Stay tuned for our next collaboration!”

Unexpected Joy is the story of three generations of female singers, long-held family tensions and a week together where change is in the air – Joy, a baby boomer pop star, is visited by her daughter, Rachel and granddaughter Tamara. Rachel is married to a prominent televangelist, so Joy is reluctant to divulge that she’s planning to marry Lou, another singer who happens to be a woman. A week with all four together is bound to lead to tension, laughter, discoveries and happiness that really is unexpected.  Let the sparks and music fly!

In a time when the awareness of diversity and acceptance in society is at an all-time high, it’s the perfect opportunity to examine differences within our own families. It’s easy sometimes to disregard strangers who believe and live differently than the way we do, but what happens when those differences occur within our own family units? Unexpected Joy explores this concept by introducing three generations of women who have different values, dreams, and goals.  After drawing strong lines in the sand about what behaviors and thoughts each deems to be acceptable and unacceptable, at the end of the day, the question really is how can people get along and be the family they were always meant to be by finding common ground.  Through laughter, tears, self-discovery, and an original and compelling score, Unexpected Joy encourages its characters, as well as the audience, to take a journey of self-discovery because, at the end of the day, we really are all just one big family.

Full casting and creatives to be announced in due course

LISTINGS

UNEXPECTED JOY

SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE

FROM 6 – 29 SEPTEMBER 2018

Press Night: Thursday 13 September

Performances:

Wednesday – Saturday: 8.00pm

Thursday & Saturday: 3.30pm

Sunday: 3.00pm 

Ticket Prices:

£12 Previews

£20 Standard

£16 Concessions

Address: Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BD                   

Box Office: 020 7407 0234

Website:

www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

www.aria-entertainment.com      

Twitter:

@Swkplay

@AriaEnts

@UnexpectedLDN

Facebook:

@SouthwarkPlayhouse

@AriaEntertainment

It’s Easter Panto time – Oh Yes It Is!!

Enchanted Entertainment presents

Bobby Davro and Dani Harmer in Beauty and the Beast Monday 2 April 3.30pm & 7.30pm, Tuesday 3 April 1pm & 5pm

A fantastic Easter treat for all the family starring comedy legend Bobby Davro and Dani Harmer (CBBC’s Tracy Beaker and Strictly Come Dancing).

Don’t miss another fun-filled Easter pantomime from the same team behind The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan. Featuring a star cast, impressive music, energetic dance routines as well as plenty of jokes, slapstick and heaps of audience participation!

Our spellbinding pantomime for Easter 2018 tells the story of Beauty who longs for romance and adventure, a bad-mannered Prince who is transformed into a Beast to teach him a lesson and a good Fairy who makes both their dreams come true.

Come and be our guest this Easter! Tickets* from: Adults £20, U16 £18, Family ticket £77 *All ticket prices are inclusive of a £2 restoration levy To book contact the Box Office on 01325 405405 or online at www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk

David Walliams’ Stage Show in search for Local Dancer

Producers seek dancer for Hull New Theatre production of Gangsta Granny

Birmingham Stage Company, one of the world’s leading producers of family friendly theatre, is searching for a local dancer to appear in the hit David Walliams play Gangsta Granny when it comes to Hull New Theatre later this year.

The award-winning production tells the story of Ben, a young boy who spends every Friday night with his ‘boring’ Granny, being served cabbage soup, cabbage pie and cabbage cake. What Ben doesn’t know is that Granny has a secret and Friday nights are about to get a whole lot more exciting.

Producers are looking for an 18 year-old female to play the role of an 11/12 year old girl in the show when it arrives in Hull in July.

To enter, dancers will need to email a video of themselves performing a short modern or disco piece to [email protected] stating they are from the Hull area.

Whoever is successful will be sent a video of the two minute dance she will be performing in the show so that she can learn the choreography.

The dancer will be expected to appear in all performances of Gangsta Granny at Hull New Theatre from 5 – 8 July 2018 and will be paid £21.38 per show.

Tickets for Gangsta Granny at Hull New Theatre are on sale now priced from £15.50. To book visit the Hull City Hall Box Office, call 01482 300 306 or visit our new website www.hulltheatres.co.uk.