Riot House Theatre and In Your Face Theatre present:

Jack Studio Theatre 4 – 22 April.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

My first experience of Macbeth was a little soggy – sat in the front row and showered with spit from the witches as they pranced around in chiffony rags in a very twee 1980s production. Walking into the Jack Studio and seeing the voile drapes around the stage with the cast dancing behind them gave me worrying flashbacks, so I rushed to the back row. Thankfully, the material (used expertly to create intimacy and mystery) was the only similarity between the productions. The AC Group’s new production is classy and claustrophobic, with some outstanding performances.

Macbeth has always been a staple of school Shakespeare, because it is, for Shakespeare, so short, and the youngsters in the audience were suitably rapt – although one lad was a little put out at the lack of blood and violence. For a play with so many murders and a final climactic battle, director Thomas Atwood has made the brave decision to minimalise the gore – fights are over in an instant, and there are no actual weapons on stage when Macbeth faces his nemesis Macduff – instead using symbolic blood stained cloth to literally bind the men in battle. This may have disappointed the more bloodthirsty audience members, but was wholly satisfying for me as it focussed all the attention onto the words spoken, and the cast’s stunning delivery. The moments of interpretative dance, full of breathy noise, worked well building tension and the cast’s instrumental skills were excellent, providing depth to Malcolm’s final speech, which usually seems unnecessary.

With a mostly female cast playing multiple roles, and only the addition of jackets to delineate the roles, it did take a few moments to figure out who exactly was on stage at times, but the committed cast’s nuanced performances made it clearer as the play progressed. The witches (Kate Barry, Gabrielle Nellis-Pain and Nell Hardy) were weird and twisted sisters, full of animalistic noises and movement that was truly uncomfortable to watch at times. Hardy’s portrayal of Macduff was phenomenal – so full of bluster and pride at first, and heart-breaking on hearing of the massacre of his family. Amelia Clay was a convincing Lady Macbeth. At first her staccato delivery jarred a little, but perfectly matched the brittle and fragile character she built. Her partnership with William Ross-Fawcett was wonderful, with them being the only cast members to use Scottish accents. The ambition and love the couple held for each other filled the room, and they complemented each other brilliantly. Ross-Fawcett makes for a strangely likeable Macbeth, at first looking like a long-lost member of the Weasley clan in a big woollen cardigan, but becoming a true warrior after his coronation. This is a seemingly flippant Macbeth, with serious manic tendencies. Ross-Fawcett’s energetic and passionate performance is worth the ticket price alone – a very thoughtful interpretation of a familiar character.

The AC Group’s Macbeth is a beautifully crafted and atmospheric production, full of power and passion, and a fantastic introduction to Shakespeare.

Federico Fellini’s 1957 Oscar-winning film, La Strada, brought to life on stage in Salford

Mon 15 – Sat 20 May 2017

One of the true masterpieces of modern cinema, Federico Fellini’s 1957 Oscar-winning film, La Strada (The Road), will be brought to life on stage in a brand new adaptation. Directed by Olivier Award nominee Sally Cookson with music composed by Benji Bower. At The Lowry from Mon 15 – Sat 20 May

A soul-searching story filled with beauty, sadness, humour and acute observation, La Strada tells the tragic and tender tale of wide-eyed Gelsomina who is sold by her impoverished mother to the brutish strongman Zampano, a travelling sideshow performer. Their journey through the Italian countryside leads them to a ragtag touring circus where they meet Il Matto the free-spirited tightrope walker, who tries to rekindle Gelsomina’s broken spirit.

Director Sally Cookson says: “Felini’s iconic film has always fascinated me and the thought of using it as a starting point to make a piece of theatre was one I couldn’t resist. A folk-tale like odyssey – this story sees three lost souls travelling ‘the road’ and searching in different ways to find meaning in their lives. Using physical story telling, music and movement, we will be attempting to find a theatricality to re imagine this story of human suffering, longing and redemption.”

Featuring live music and original songs, La Strada brings together a multi-skilled cast of performers and musicians. Audrey Brisson (Cirque de Soleil’s Quidam, Kneehigh’s The Cast of the Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Dead Dog in a Suitcase, The Wild Bride and National Theatre’s The Elephantom) plays Gelsomina, Stuart Goodwin (Sally Cookson’s Sleeping Beauty; Kneehigh’s Tristan & Yseult) plays Zampano and Bart Soroczynski(Cirque de Loin’s The Fool & The Princess; ENO’s Benvenuto Cellini; RSC’s The Merry Wives of Windsor) plays Il Matto. The ensemble cast includes: Matt Costain, Fabrizio Matteini, Sofie Lybäck, Niv Petel, Niccolo Curradi, Tatiana Santini, Luke Potter and Tee Jay Holmes.

La Strada is directed by Sally Cookson, with musical direction and music by Benji Bower, ‘writer in the room’ Mike Akers, set and costume design by Katie Sykes, lighting design by Aideen Malone and sound design by Mike Beer.

Director Sally Cookson is an associate artist of Bristol Old Vic. Together with long-time creative collaborator, composer and musical director Benji Bower, their many productions include: Jane Eyre (Bristol Old Vic and National Theatre), the Olivier Award nominated Hetty Feather (West End, National Tour & Florida USA), Peter Pan (National Theatre), Treasure Island (Bristol Old Vic), the Olivier Award nominated Cinderella: A Fairytale (Tobacco Factory Theatre) and Varmints (Sadler’s Wells).

Awarded the honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 1993, Italian director Federico Fellini changed the face of film-making forever with his seminal films such as La Strada, La Dolce Vita, 8½, Nights of Cabiria and Satyricon. Marking 60 years since La Strada, starring Anthony Quinn, won the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ Academy award, Fellini’s cinematic masterpiece, hailed as “one of the most influential films ever made” (the American Film Institute), sees its first ever UK stage adaptation.

Multi Olivier award-winning producer Kenny Wax says: “I have been trying to mount a stage production of La Strada for many years. When Sally Cookson told me it was her favourite film, the stars seemed to align more perfectly than I could have ever dreamed. And that is only half the back story.”

METAMORPHOSES

15-16 & 18-20th of May at 7.30pm

Bread and Roses Theatre

68 Clapham Manor St, London SW4 6DZ

London’s first ever festival of visual & physical theatre inspired by Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’! The program consists of 5 fantastical, multi-layered and poignant short plays – stories of love (often unrequited), the power of arts, loss, the interactions of gods and mortals, consequences of hubris and, most of all, transformation! This original production featuring elements of visual, physical, devised and experimental theatre as well as live music will create a unique experience for the audience.

Program:

‘Passengers or what ever happened to Icarus’ by Daniel Julian ‘Until My Tears Turn Stones’ by Héloïse Thual ‘The Other Side’ by Christopher Moore ‘Io Restored’ by Christian Simonsen ‘The Riddle Pond’ by Michael Lluberes (book & lyrics) and Jared Dembowski (music)

Directed by Kasia Różycki

Produced by Off The Cliff (https://www.offtheclifftheatre.co.uk/)

Running time: 2h (including interval)

TICKETS ON SALE (£10/£8): www.breadandrosestheatre.co.uk/metamorphoses.html

THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE NEXT WEEK

STARRING

STRICTLY COME DANCING’S JOANNE CLIFTON

Award winning musical Thoroughly Modern Millie is set to tap its way into Leeds Grand Theatre next week for one week only.

World Ballroom Showdance Champion and Professional Dancer Joanne Clifton will take on the title role of Millie Dillmount, a Kansas girl determined to make it big in New York City.

Joanne’s credits include Face the Music, Burn the Floor, Strictly Live Tour and Marilyn Monroe in Norma Jean Musical.

Winner of six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie is based on the 1967 Academy Award-winning film. Taking audiences back to the height of the Jazz Age in 1920s New York City, when ‘moderns’ – including a flapper named Millie – were bobbing their hair, raising their hemlines, entering the workforce and rewriting the rules of love.

Joining Joanne on stage is musical theatre actor Lucas Rush who takes the role of Mrs Meers, the evil proprietor of the Hotel Priscilla.

From explosive tap numbers to a ‘Fred and Ginger’ dance routine on a window ledge, and featuring hit songs including Gimme Gimme and Not for the Life of Me Thoroughly Modern Millieis a brilliantly funny and entertaining show for all the family.

Thoroughly Modern Millie is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Monday 17th to Saturday 22^nd April

Tickets are priced from £22.50 to £41.50

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700

Two fairy tales, a tango dance party,
a love story and a reunion in
The Lowry’s season of Dance this May

The Lowry, home of Dance in the North West, will present work from five of the worlds acclaimed dance companies this May. The line-up includes renowned Arthur Pita & HeadSpaceDance, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Ana Morales Flamenco Company, Cas Public, Jasmin Vardimon.

Award-winning Director and Choreographer Arthur Pita, in collaboration with HeadSpaceDance, presents Stepmother/ Stepfather (Tue 9 May). A wickedly gruesome, darkly surreal double bill of dark dance where distorted familiar characters from Snow White to Hansel and Gretel are pursued by a force of monstrous and abusive stepmothers.

In Reunión (Fri 12 May), Ana Morales Flamenco Company teams up with guest artist David Coria- forging a partnership of two of the most celebrated and exciting flamenco performers dancing on world stages today. Both extraordinary dancers hail from the cradle of flamenco, Seville, where this unique form of dance, music and life was born in the streets to become one of the most celebrated forms of folk art worldwide.

Dance Consortium and celebrated contemporary dancer and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui open their UK tour of m¡longa (Tue 16 & Wed 17 May), a Sadler’s Wells production that is a seductive and fascinating exploration of tango for the 21st century.

Symphonie Dramatique (Tue 23 May) is a humorous look at the mythical couple of Romeo and Juliet. Cas Public’s adaptation is geared to audiences aged 10+. It draws from William Shakespeare’s romantic masterpiece to evoke notions of seduction, desire, unchained passion, and death.

Directed and choreographed by award winning choreographer Jasmin Vardimon, Pinocchio (Sat 27 & Sun 28 May) ends its world premiere UK tour at The Lowry. This adaptation of the classic fairy tale is based on the original book by Collodi and is performed by Jasmin Vardimon’s multi-talented dancers.

Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott Landis Productions, Chocolate Factory Productions, Dante Di Loreto

and

Michael Harrison

present The Menier Chocolate Factory production of

DARIUS CAMPBELL JOINS SHERIDAN SMITH IN

FUNNY GIRL AT EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE

««««« ‘Sheridan Smith is the greatest star by far.’

Daily Telegraph

««««« ‘Michael Mayer’s exhilarating embrace of a production.’ The Independent

FUNNY GIRL

Music by Jule Styne        Lyrics by Bob Merrill

Book by Isobel Lennart from an original story by Miss Lennart

Revised Book by Harvey Fierstein

Director: Michael Mayer; Choreographer: Lynne Page Set Designer: Michael Pavelka

Costume Designer: Matthew Wright; Lighting Designer: Mark Henderson

Sound Designer: Richard Brooker; Musical Supervisor and arrangements: Alan Williams

Orchestrations: Chris Walker; Tour Director: Richard Fitch

Darius Campbell will play Nick Arnstein opposite Sheridan Smith as Fanny Brice for performances at Edinburgh Playhouse (18 – 22 April) as part of the nationwide Funny Girl tour. They are joined by Nigel Barber (Florenz Ziegfeld), Zoë Ann Bown (Mrs. Meeker), Martin Callaghan (Mr. Keeney), Jennifer Harding (Emma), Rachel Izen (Mrs Brice), Joshua Lay (Eddie) and Myra Sands (Mrs. Strakosh); with Rhianne Alleyne, Kit Benjamin, Lloyd Davies, Flora Dawson, Joseph Dockree, Abigayle Honeywill, Brontë Lavine, David Mcintosh, Peter Nash, Gillian Parkhouse, Tom Partridge, Nova Skipp, Alexandra Waite-Roberts, Sam Wingfield and Alexandra Wright.

‘An unforgettable star turn.’ The Times

‘Smith is hilarious, glorious, touching. With a performance that is all-singing, all dancing, all-joking and, somehow, all-soul too.’ The Times

««««« ‘Don’t believe this five-star hype? Go see for yourselves… if you can get in.’

Daily Telegraph

Funny Girl brought global fame to Barbra Streisand 50 years ago and boasts some of the most iconic songs in film and theatre history, including People and Don’t Rain On My Parade. This ‘iconic, legendary, laugh-out-loud’ (The Times) musical tells the story of Fanny Brice, whose vocal talents and comedic ability see her rise from Brooklyn music hall singer to Broadway star.

‘A winningly exuberant performance. The most brilliant comic actress at work today.’

Sunday Times

‘Michael Mayer’s vivacious production has wit, charm and energy, sparkly choreography, and a strong, ebullient cast.’ Financial Times

Sheridan Smith reprises her smash hit performance in the role of Fanny Brice. Her other theatre work includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Michael Grandage Company at the Noel Coward Theatre), Hedda Gabler (Old Vic), Flare Path (Theatre Royal Haymarket – Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress, Evening Standard Theatre Award and Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress), Legally Blonde (Savoy Theatre – Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical), Tinderbox (Bush Theatre), The People are Friendly (Royal Court) and Into the Woods (Donmar Warehouse). For television, her credits include The Moorside Project, Blackwork, The C Word, Cilla, The Widower, The 7.39, Dates, Mr Stink, Mrs Biggs (BAFTA Award for Best Actress), Accused, Scapegoat, Little Crackers, Jonathan Creek, Gavin & Stacey, Larkrise to Candleford, Grown Ups, Love Soup, Two Pints of Larger and a Packet of Crisps, The Royle Family and Wives and Daughters; and for film, The Huntsman, Powder Room, Quartet, Tower Block and Hysteria.

Following runs at the Menier and in the West End, Darius Campbell returns to play Nick Arnstein. His theatre work includes in the West End, Chicago, Guys and Dolls, Gone with the Wind, and From Here to Eternity; Carmen (Europe and 02) and The History of the Big Bands (tour). Also a recording artist, his first single Colourblind went to #1 in the UK singles chart.

Director Michael Mayer’s West End credits include Spring Awakening (Lyric Hammersmith and Novello Theatre) and Thoroughly Modern Millie (Shaftesbury Theatre). For Broadway his work includes Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Tony Award nomination for Best Director), On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, American Idiot (Drama Desk Award for Best Director of a Musical), Spring Awakening (Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Drama Desk Award for Best Direction of a Musical) and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical).  For television, his work includes Smash and Alpha House, and for film his credits include A Home at the End of the World, Flicka and currently in post-production, Chekhov’s The Seagull.  He made his Metropolitan Opera debut with a celebrated new production of Rigoletto.

Listings:

Edinburgh Playhouse

Box Office: 18 – 22 April

0844 871 3014

www.atgtickets.com/edinburgh

Twitter: @FunnyGirl_UK                Facebook: /FunnyGirlUK               Instagram: @FunnyGirlUK

The Mentor stars Academy Award-winner F. Murray Abraham as Benjamin Rubin, Daniel Weyman as Martin Wegner, Naomi Frederick as Gina Wegner and Jonathan Cullen as Erwin Rudicek.

Directed by Ustinov Studio’s Artistic Director Laurence Boswell and translated by Christopher Hampton, this marks the first time a Kehlmann play has been performed outside of Germany.

In a dilapidated art nouveau villa, somewhere in the German countryside, two massive egos are set on a collision course in this perceptive and compelling comedy about art and artists and the legacy of fame.

F. Murray Abraham won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Salieri in Miloš Forman’s masterpiece Amadeus. His numerous other screen credits include Homeland, Mighty Aphrodite, Scarface, Finding Forrester, Star Trek: Insurrection, The Name of the Rose, The Good Wife, Inside Llewyn Davis and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Theatre credits include It’s Only A Play, Othello, Richard III and Uncle Vanya, for which he was awarded an Obie Award for Best Actor.

Daniel Weyman’s previous credits for Theatre Royal Bath include Kafka’s Dick and King Lear. Additional theatre credits include Sideways (St James Theatre), 4000 Days (Park Theatre) andThe Crucible (Bristol Old Vic). Television and film credits include Great Expectations, Foyle’s War and Silent Witness.

Naomi Frederick’s theatre credits include Hobson’s Choice (Theatre Royal Bath and West End),The Heresy of Love, Much Ado About Nothing and As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe) and The Winslow Boy (Old Vic).

Jonathan Cullen starred in the Ustinov Studio’s production of Trouble in Mind. Additional theatre credits include Enemy of the People (Chichester Festival Theatre), Doctor Faustus(Shakespeare’s Globe) and Love the Sinner (National Theatre).

Daniel Kehlmann is a German-language author whose novel Measuring the World, sold three million copies in Germany alone and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

Christopher Hampton previously translated Florian Zeller’s play The Father for the Ustinov Studio, launching its international success. He won an Academy Award for the adaptation of his own play, Dangerous Liaisons.

Laurence Boswell is an Olivier Award-winner, Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio and an Associate Artist of the RSC. His recent productions include A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Theatre Royal’s Main House, and Trouble in the Mind, The Mother, Intimate Apparel and The Spanish Golden Age Season in the Ustinov Studio.

LISTINGS

Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose, Bath, BA1 1ET
Box Office: 01225 448844
Website: www.theatreroyal.org.uk/ustinov 
Facebook: TheatreRoyalBath
Twitter: @TheatreRBath | @UstinovStudio

The Mentor
By Daniel Kehlmann
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Laurence Boswell
Dates: Thursday 6 April – Saturday 6 May 2017
Press Night: Thursday 13 April, 7pm
Performance schedule: Mon – Sat 7.45pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 2.30pm
(No matinee Thursday 6 April)
Tickets: £19.50 / £14.50 discounts (Preview Perfs and Mondays, all seats £12)
Post show Discussion: Thursday 20th April, after evening performance

Out of Spite Theatre and Eastlake Productions presents

This Is Not Culturally Significant.

The Bunker, 53A Southwark Street London SE1 1RU

Monday 15th May – Saturday 3rd June 2017

Following a highly successful run at VAULT Festival, where it was awarded ‘Show of the Week’, Out of Spite Theatre presents the transfer of the critically acclaimed, Edinburgh Fringe sell-out, This Is Not Culturally Significant

Written, directed and performed by Adam Scott-Rowley (Anna; Macbeth; Lady Anna: All at Sea, Park Theatre and National Tour), This Is Not Culturally Significant. is a brutally intense, darkly comic one-man show that reveals the bizarre, compulsive and eccentric nature of humanity. This thunderous, high energy piece of theatre combines dark clowning and deeply grotesque buffoon to create a sharp political comment on contemporary society.

Performed entirely nude, Scott-Rowley has created a show for thrill-seekers, putting himself in an eye-opening state of vulnerability. It is both uncomfortable to watch and mesmeric, leaving audiences’ emotions balancing on a knife edge. From a mendacious Spiritualist Lecturer to a despondent American Porn Star on the brink of her retirement, over 10 characters take the audience on a journey from emotional despair to helpless laughter.

Adam Scott-Rowley comments, I am utterly thrilled to be bringing This Is Not Culturally Significant. to The Bunker Theatre after a successful run at VAULT Festival. An old repurposed underground car-park is the perfect setting for the ‘gallery of grotesques’ who make up the show.

This Is Not Culturally Significant. probes the relevance of theatre as an art form and pokes through the fourth wall to mock its audience. It is darkly comic; a play with a twisted sense of humour that dares its audience to laugh. (West End Wilma)

This Is Not Culturally Significant. is not just a surreal and hilarious piece; this is political theatre at its best. (London Box Office)

Exchange Theatre presents: