Author: FairyPoweredProductions

Old Red Lion Theatre 29 August – 23 September.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

This 30th anniversary production of Eric Bogosian’s Talk Radio is a stark reminder of just how far we haven’t come.

Cleveland shock jock Barry Champlain’s late-night talk show is a magnet for callers spouting bigotry and bile. He wants to talk about how to improve the state of the world, but even the most normal sounding callers expose their underlying prejudice and hate. It’s all depressingly familiar, but seems much more threatening hearing disembodied voices over the phone than the ubiquitous tweets, posts and soundbites that we are bombarded with today as hate is becoming normalised.

On the night that his show is being heard by station bigwigs with the possibility of national syndication, Barry won’t listen to his boss Dan’s pleas, and refuses to compromise, baiting his listeners into more and more outrageous calls. Amongst the right-wing views are a few genuinely lonely and troubled characters that Barry almost treats as human, before his instincts take over and he ends up mocking and berating them. As the play progresses, and the station staff deliver monologues to the audience about their relationships with Barry, it becomes obvious that Barry is as broken, lonely and afraid as these pitiful callers under his abrasive façade.

Matthew Jure is exhausting as Barry. I mean that in a good way, Jure is passionate and believable, drawing you into the downward spiral of drink, drugs and despair with consummate ease and skill. Andy Secombe, George Turvey and Molly McNerney are excellent in support, their underwritten characters (this show is all about Barry) playing off each other with great timing and grabbing every laugh possible. Ceallach Spellman almost steals the show as the teenage super fan who wangles his way onto the show – full of energy and idiotic vacuous certainty. Jure’s silent reactions to the boy are a masterclass in acting.

Max Dorey’s set is superb, with almost anal attention to detail, and Dan Bottomley’s sound design – there’s lots of microphone jiggery-pokery and button pushing going on onstage – creates an authentic atmosphere that almost makes you forget that you’re in a theatre, not a radio station.

Director Sean Turner has almost created a mini-masterpiece here. But I had to take one star away because of the inclusion of an interval. It’s not that I ‘m against them, it’s just that, the interval was not much shorter than the second act. Surely it would be better to maintain the tension and build to the climax instead of letting the audience relax with a drink and the (admittedly fantastic) 1980s music playing?

Interval griping aside, Talk Radio is a darkly funny, fascinating, eviscerating examination of humanity that is as frighteningly relevant today as it was when it was written.

Park Theatre 22 August – 16 September.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

2**

Hamlet. In 90 minutes. With a cast of three. One of whom is Gyles Brandreth.

Sounds like they’ve given it the 39 Steps treatment. Alas, not.

Edited by Imogen Bond, and the directors and cast, this production hurtles through the text like a runaway train, cherry picking the greatest hits and consigning some wonderful moments to the rubbish heap. Anyone coming to this play without a working knowledge of the plot (that Simpson’s episode won’t be enough here) could end up wondering just what the hell is going on in the state of Denmark. There’s not a skull in sight.

The action all takes place in a beautifully designed country kitchen, amplifying the family claustrophobia, but with no relationship to the royal status of the characters at all. And the rain sound effect gets a little tedious – yes, it’s miserable, wet and stormy for the characters inside and out – but after about 75 minutes, it just serves as a clarion call to weaker bladders.

The casting conceit is intriguing – Benet Brandreth playing Hamlet, his wife, Kosha Engler playing Gertrude, Horatio, Ophelia and Rosencrantz, and his father Gyles playing Claudius, Polonius and the Player King. It does bring a more obvious frisson to Hamlet’s relationship with his mother, and makes any signs of tenderness between Gertrude and Claudius slightly more unsavoury, but isn’t enough on which to pin an entire production.

Benet Brandreth’s Hamlet isn’t given enough time to build. There’s a reason the original play is so long – the audience is watching the inner turmoil of the man, and the unrelenting pace of this production doesn’t allow for any nuanced building of tension and mental anguish. So, Benet Brandreth just comes across as angry and loud. Or angry and quiet. His soliloquies give a glimpse of what he could achieve in a better production, as he spears the audience with his eyes to great effect, but this is a very one-dimensional prince. Kosha Engler gives a phenomenal performance (performances?) in her roles. The changes between characters are rapid, with sometimes just a breath between them, but Engler’s shifts in accent, tone and body language make it instantly clear who she is portraying. Gyles Brandreth just can’t get rid of the twinkle in his eye as he acts – it’s like watching your favourite uncle pratting about on stage. But even if the darker moments aren’t quite as dramatic as they should be, he has his moment in the sun as the overacting Player King. Actually, this is quite a funny Hamlet, the highlight being Benet Brandreth giving a pitch perfect impression of his father in the play within the play.

Directors Simon Evans and David Aula’s decisions can be puzzling, but some pay off – the madness of Ophelia causing her to take on another personality led to an interesting final confrontation that showed promise, but ultimately lost any emotional impact as actors switched between characters. This production isn’t a disaster, but it has an identity crisis, which is appropriate for Hamlet, I suppose. This production is a brave, but flawed, attempt at editing one of Shakespeare’s most intricate texts but it has no heart. Lots of brains, but no heart at all.

Jack Studio Theatre 29 August – 2 September.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

5*****

Wow. Adam & Eve is one of those plays that will stick in your mind for a very long time. Incredibly and intricately written by Tim Cook, at first you think this is going to be one of those trite “We had a perfect relationship, but let’s look back at how it all went wrong” plays, but it soon becomes clear that this is so much darker, deeper and disturbing than any of that fluffy nonsense.

Teacher Adam (Christopher Adams) and estate agent Eve (Jeannie Dickinson) meet in uni, get married and follow the norm, buying a house in the country to start their perfectly planned family. They seem perfectly happy, until an incident at Adam’s school, involving teenager Nikki (Anuschka Rapp) makes Eve question their entire relationship.

Cook’s writing is just phenomenal. To begin with, when the couple are happy, the rhythm and cadence of their conversations are wonderful, portraying the image of two entirely different people completely in tune and accepting of each other. The pressure to do what is expected by society and settle for a life that isn’t quite as you’d imagined is stressed without being overegged, and you instantly warm to the couple. As the story unfolds, and Nikki is introduced, the darker side of Adam’s personality emerges, with his instinct to protect Eve and his need for control creating lots of conflict and doubt about his true character.

Nikki is a brilliant enigma – petulant and precocious (and initially just begging for a slap) she is the perfect antagonist in Adam and Eve’s little garden of Eden. The audience is taken on the same journey as Eve – who is telling the truth? The writing and acting causes you to shift your allegiance many times as new evidence and strange behaviour emerges. You will not have a clue what is going on – which is a rare pleasure nowadays.

The cast are sublime – Christopher Adams manages the nuanced changes from sweet everyman to shifty possible pervert with aplomb, never allowing Adam to get too unlikeable. Jeannie Dickinson is a treat as Eve – full of energy and fun, but bringing out her steely side as the play progresses. Their chemistry is superb. Anushka Rapp has a tough job with Nikki, keeping her from becoming the caricature of stroppy teenager we are all familiar with, but she succeeds brilliantly – spitting out the snarky comments with glee and brilliantly vulnerable in one crucial scene.

With pleasingly simple design that lets the actors shine, this is a pitch perfect production. Fantastically written and performed, the play hits you in the guts, making you question your own judgement and gullibility. Brilliant, just brilliant. Adam & Eve MUST get a longer run – people need to see this play.

Time Won’t Wait presents
Glue by Louise Wallwein
Ovalhouse, 52-54 Kennington Oval, London SE11 5SW
Tuesday 3rd – Saturday 7th October 2017
Handsome Louise Wallwein, raised by nuns, raised hell in the Queer scene for the last 30 years!

Glue is a gripping true story by award-winning poet, playwright and performer Louise Wallwein whose ground-breaking work allows us to reflect on our own sense of familial identity. Her acclaimed one-woman show, Glue, will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 4 Drama on 30th September 2017 in advance of a much-anticipated run at Ovalhouse this October.

This comedic live art performance, fuelled by rhythmic poetry, is about getting to grips with our family relationships and, therefore, our identities.

Born, transferred, placed, discharged, returned – what can we learn from a life in care? Having grown up in the care of nuns from the age of nine, Glue tells the true story of Louise Wallwein’s first meetings with her birth mother, three decades after being put up for adoption. The world as she knew it was turned upside down and this is how she learnt to fight and dance.

Wallwein is currently under commission from the National Theatre Wales and is a featured poet for Hull’s City of Culture, BBC and Humber Mouth Contains Strong Language Literature Festival.

Director Susan Roberts comments, Louise is an explosive artist with a gripping, personal story about the care system and we’re delighted to bring the show to Ovalhouse with Time Won’t Wait, who are both renowned for bringing social issues to the forefront of their work.

Wallwein…blends gritty dialogue with poetry, which is both appealing and immediate (What’s On Stage).

In addition to the run at Ovalhouse, Glue is supporting the advocacy of National Care Leavers week with outreach activity supporting the performances. Glue will be dramatised on 29th September by Julie Hesmondhalgh and Fiona Clark with a live performance broadcast from Hull’s Contains Strong Language Festival on Saturday 30th September on BBC Radio 4 Drama. There will also be workshops
in partnership with the National Theatre and Ovalhouse during the Ovalhouse run and a special performance at the House of St Barnabus in Soho Tuesday 11th October at 7.30pm following a workshop with the club’s members and alumni participants. Glue is also part of And What? Queer Arts Festival.

Glue is supported by Arts Council England.

The Ferryman
By Jez Butterworth
Directed by Sam Mendes

• Producers Sonia Friedman Productions and Neal Street Productions today announce new cast members for The Ferryman.

• Maureen Beattie, Charles Dale, Laurie Davidson , Sarah Greene, William Houston, Ivan Kaye, Mark Lambert, Catherine McCormack, Fergal McElherron and Glenn Speers will join the company from October 9th 2017

• Currently booking to January 6th 2018

The original company will give its final performance on October 7th 2017, following which the cast will be comprised of:

Maureen Beattie  – Aunt Maggie Far Away
Charles Dale  – Father Horrigan
Laurie Davidson – Shane Corcoran
Fra Fee – Michael Carney
Stuart Graham – Muldoon
Sarah Greene  –  Caitlin Carney
William Houston – Quinn Carney
Ivan Kaye – Tom Kettle
Mark Lambert – Uncle Patrick Carney
Carla Langley – Shena Carney
Catherine McCormack – Mary Carney
Fergal McElherron – Frank Magennis
Conor MacNeill – Diarmaid Corcoran
Rob Malone – Oisin Carney
Dearbhla Molloy – Aunt Pat Carney
Glenn Speers – Lawrence Malone
Niall Wright – JJ Carney

As previously the full company comprises 37 performers: 17 main adults, 7 covers, 12 children on rota and 1 baby.

The Ferryman, directed by Sam Mendes, will run at the Gielgud Theatre until 6 January 2018.  The production won widespread critical acclaim when it opened at the Royal Court and was the fastest selling show in the theatre’s history.  This phenomenal success has continued at the Gielgud Theatre where it has been playing to sold-out houses, with early morning queues on Shaftesbury Avenue for the £12 day seats each day.

The Ferryman is directed by Sam Mendes, designed by Rob Howell, with lighting by Peter Mumford, and sound and original music by Nick Powell.

Listings:

Sonia Friedman Productions, Neal Street Productions
& Royal Court Theatre Productions
with Rupert Gavin, Gavin Kalin Productions, Ron Kastner and Tulchin Bartner Productions
present
The Ferryman
By Jez Butterworth
Directed by Sam Mendes
Designer Rob Howell
Lighting Designer Peter Mumford
Composer & Sound Designer Nick Powell
Casting Director Amy Ball CDG

Gielgud Theatre
Shaftesbury Ave, Soho, London W1D 6AR
Until 6 January 2018
Box Office: 0844 482 5130*
*calls cost up to 7p per minute plus your standard network charge
Online: www.TheFerrymanPlay.com

Monday to Saturday 7.00pm, Wednesday and Saturday matinees 1.30pm. 
There will be no performances on Christmas Day or Boxing Day and extra performances added – check online for full details.

Day seats will be available to purchase at £12 for every performance from 10.30am at the Box Office in person
Premium tickets are available

Age Guidance 14+ Contains strong language

Twitter: @TheFerrymanPlay
Facebook: /TheFerrymanPlay
#TheFerryman

Emma Williams and Lukus Alexander complete the principle casting for the London Palladium Pantomime this Christmas playing the role of Alice Fitzwarren and Eileen the Cat respectively.  They will join the previously announced Julian Clary (Spirit of the Bells), Elaine Paige (Queen Rat),Ashley Banjo (The Sultan) and Diversity (The Sultan’s Special Advisors), Paul Zerdin (Idle Jack),Nigel Havers (Captain Nigel), Gary Wilmot (Sarah the Cook) and Charlie Stemp (Dick Whittington).

Dick Whittington will run at the London Palladium for five weeks only over the festive season from Saturday 9 December 2017 to Sunday 14 January 2018, with press night on Wednesday 13 December 2017 at 7pm.

Dick Whittington is produced by Nick Thomas and Michael Harrison for Qdos Entertainment, the team behind last year’s twice Olivier-nominated London Palladium production of Cinderella, which broke box office records for the highest grossing week in West End theatre history. Dick Whittington is written by Alan McHugh, directed by Michael Harrison,choreographed by Karen Bruce with musical supervision and orchestrations by Gary Hind, lighting by Ben Cracknell, set designs by Ian Westbrook, 3D Creations, costumes by Hugh Durrant, visual special effects by The Twins FX, projection design by Duncan McLean and sound design byGareth Owen.   

Emma Williams completes an award-winning run as Helen Walsingham in Half A Sixpence at the Noël Coward Theatre tomorrow having also played the role at Chichester Festival Theatre alongside Charlie Stemp. She returns to the Palladium where she made her West End debut as Truly Scrumptious in the original cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  Her other theatre credits includeMrs Henderson Presents at the Noël Coward Theatre, Zorro at Garrick Theatre and Love Story forChichester Festival Theatre as well as in the West End.  Her television credits include Silent Witness, Casualty, Bleak House, Doctors, Marple: The Body in the Library, Heartbeat and Where the Heart Is.

 

Lukus Alexander’s recent theatre credits include the UK Tour of The Who’s Tommy, Dick McWhittington at the SECC, Glasgow, Dick Whittington at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, Guys and Dolls at Cambridge Arts Theatre and Doctor Atomic at the London Coliseum.

As the world’s biggest pantomime producer, over the past 35 years Qdos Entertainment has established itself as one of the largest entertainment companies in Europe. Over the past three decades the pantomime giant has staged 684 pantomimes and this season expects over two million people will see one of its shows this season.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Theatre:                           London Palladium, Argyll St, London W1F 7TF

Dates:                              9 December 2017 – 14 January 2018

Press night:                       13 December 2017 at 7pm

Box Office:                        0844 874 0667 (no booking fee)

                                      All ticket prices include a £1.25 Theatre Restoration Levy

Website:                           www.DickWhittingtonPalladium.com

Twitter:                            @DWhittingtonLDN

NTLIVE SCREENING OF

BENEDICT ANDREWS’ YOUNG VIC PRODUCTION OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’

C A T   O N   A   H O T   T I N   R O O F

FINAL LONDON PERFORMANCE 7 OCTOBER 2017

 

The Young Vic’s highly praised West End production of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, currently playing to capacity each night at the Apollo Theatre, will be broadcast to cinemas around the world on 22 February 2018 marking the fourth collaboration between the Young Vic and National Theatre Live.  Tickets will be released for sale on Monday 25 September 2017.  The National Theatre’s ground-breaking project broadcasts plays live from the stage to over 700 cinemas in the UK and over 60 countries internationally. Cat On a Hot Tin Roof concludes its 12 week limited West End run on 7 October 2017.

The cast includes Sienna Miller (Maggie), Jack O’Connell (Brick), Colm Meaney (Big Daddy),Lisa Palfrey (Big Mama), Hayley Squires (Mae), Brian Gleeson (Gooper), Richard Hansel (Doctor) and Michael J. Shannon (Reverend).  Directed by Benedict Andrews, this twelve-week limited run at the Apollo Theatre, which had its official opening night on 24 July, has its final performance on 7 October 2017.  Set designs are by Magda Willi with costumes by Alice Babidge, lighting by Jon Clark, music by Jed Kurzel and sound design by Gareth Fry.

The truth hurts. On a steamy night in Mississippi, a Southern family gather at their cotton plantation to celebrate Big Daddy’s birthday.  The scorching heat is almost as oppressive as the lies they tell.  Brick and Maggie dance round the secrets and sexual tensions that threaten to destroy their marriage. With the future of the family at stake, which version of the truth is real – and which will win out?

 

For this production there are seats at £10 for under 25s for each performance booked through the Young Vic Box Office.  Cat On A Hot Tin Roof is the Young Vic’s first production to debut in the West End and is presented by the Young Vic and The Young Ones. 

 

Details of all NTLive screenings can be found at  http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/

Launched in 2009, National Theatre Live broadcasts have been seen by an audience of over 7 million people at 2500 venues in 60 countries. The first season began in June 2009 with the acclaimed production of Phédre starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren. Recent broadcasts include Angels in America with Andrew Garfield, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill, Rosentcrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead with Daniel Radcliffe, Hedda Gabler with Ruth Wilson and Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart in No Man’s Land, Sky Arts is the UK sponsor for National Theatre Live.

LISTINGS INFORMATION  

Theatre:                  Apollo Theatre, 31 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 7ES

Box Office:              Apollo 0330 333 4809, Young Vic 020 7922 2922

Website:                 www.youngvicwestend.com

SURANNE JONES AND JASON WATKINS

STAR IN A NEW WEST END PRODUCTION OF THE AWARD-WINNING PLAY

FROZEN

By Bryony Lavery

Frozen by Bryony Lavery

Theatre Royal Haymarket

Friday 9 February 2018 – Saturday 5 May 2018

Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster, Scott & Bailey) and Jason Watkins (Line of Duty, Taboo, W1A) will star in Frozen, Bryony Lavery’s Award-Winning play. This psychological thriller about a mother whose child goes missing is directed by Jonathan Munby and will play a strictly limited twelve-week season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from Friday 9 February 2018.

 

One sunny evening a young girl walks to visit her Grandma, she never arrives. A play about retribution, remorse and redemption, Frozen explores the interwoven lives of three strangers as they try to make sense of the unimaginable.

Suranne Jones is about to reprise her BAFTA Award-winning title role in the second series of BBC One’s hugely successful drama Doctor Foster. She recently completed filming for Save Me opposite Lennie James and Stephen Graham for Sky Atlantic. Other recent television work includes five series of the popular ITV drama Scott & Bailey, playing ‘Rachel Bailey’ opposite Lesley Sharp, as well as The Brian Pern Show and The Crimson Field for the BBC. Other television credits include Lawless, Touch of Cloth, Doctor Who, Unforgiven and Coronation Street. Suranne’s theatre credits include Top Girls at Chichester Festival Theatre and in the West End, A Few Good Men at Theatre Royal Haymarket with Rob Lowe, for which she received the Theatregoers’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress, Blithe Spirit and Terms of Endearment. Suranne played the role of ‘Sandra’ in the 20^th anniversary West End revival of Beautiful Thing at the Arts Theatre, as well as the title role in Orlando at the Royal Exchange in 2014.

Jason Watkins is best known for his performance in the title role in acclaimed drama The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, for which he won Best Actor at the 2015 BAFTA Television Awards. He is also known for playing ‘Gavin Strong’ in Sky 1 comedy series Trollied, as well as ‘Simon Harwood’ in the popular BBC comedyW1A. Airing this September, Jason will be playing ‘Roger’ in the BBC One sitcom Hold The Sunset. He has appeared in over 70 plays and was nominated for an Olivier Award in 2001 for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in A Servant To Two Masters for the RSC/Young Vic production in the West End. Recent theatre includes The Late Henry Moss by the late Sam Shepard at the Almeida Theatre and A Farewell to the Theatre at the Hampstead Theatre. Film credits include Hampstead opposite Diane Keaton, Gordon Shakespeare in the Nativity! film series and future releases, The Children Act with Emma Thompson and The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, directed by Terry Gilliam.

Bryony Lavery’s plays include A Wedding Story, Last Easter, Her Aching Heart (Pink Paper Play of The Year 1992) Smoke, Dirt, and More Light. Her play Frozen, commissioned by Birmingham Repertory Theatre, won the TMA Best Play Award, the Eileen Anderson Central Television Award and was then produced on Broadway where it was nominated for four Tony Awards. Stockholm, for Frantic Assembly, won the Wolff-Whiting award for Best play of 2008. Beautiful Burnout for The National Theatre of Scotland and Frantic Assembly received a Fringe First at Edinburgh, before performances in the UK, New York, Australia and New Zealand. Stage adaptations include 101 Dalmatians (a musical), Chichester 2014, A Christmas Carol (for Birmingham Rep/Chichester Festival Theatre), Precious Bane, The Wicked Lady, Treasure Island (National Theatre 2014-5) and Behind The Scenes At The Museum for York Theatre Royal. Recent work includes The Believers for Frantic Assembly, Thursday for ETT/Brink, Australia, Queen Coal at Sheffield Crucible, and Brideshead Revisited for York Theatre Royal/ETT and Our Mutual Friend for Hull Truck. She is currently writing Balls for One Year Lease Theatre Company, New York, Forever Young for Manchester Royal Exchange, adapting Brighton Rock for Pilot Theatre The Lovely Bones for Birmingham Rep, and developing Cruising for TV.

Jonathan Munby’s UK Theatre include: King Lear starring Ian McKellen and Sinead Cusack, First Light(Chichester Festival Theatre); All The Angels: Handel and The First Messiah, The Merchant Of Venice starring Jonathan Pryce, Anthony and Cleopatra starring Eve Best and Clive Wood and A Midsummer Night’s Dream(WhatsOnStage nomination for Best Shakespearean Production) (Shakespeare’s Globe); Wendy and Peter Pan, The Canterbury Tales (Stratford, Tour and West End) and Madness In Valencia (RSC); Twelfth Night (UK Theatres Awards nomination for Best Touring Production) Company starring Daniel Evans, The Comedy Of Errors and Bird Calls (Sheffield Theatres); Thérèse Raquin starring Alison Steadman and Pippa Nixon (Theatre Royal Bath); ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore (West Yorkshire Playhouse); The Prince of Homburg starring Charlie Cox and Life Is A Dream starring Dominic West (Donmar Warehouse); A Number (WhatsOnStage Theatregoers Choice nomination for Best Regional and Best Off-West End Production) (Menier Chocolate Factory and Sheffield Theatres); Serious Money and She Stoops To Conquer (Birmingham Rep); The White Devil(WhatsOnStage Theatregoers Choice nomination for Best Off-West End Production) (Menier Chocolate Factory); 24 Hour Plays (Old Vic); Henry V And Mirandola (Manchester Royal Exchange); Nakamitsu (Gate Theatre Notting Hill); Opera includes: Carmen (Opera Holland Park); Don Giovanni (English Touring Opera); Sweetness and Badness (WNO Max Project). International Work includes: King Kong: Legend Of A Boxer, the South African Musical (Fugard Theatre Cape Town and Joburg Theatre Johannesburg); Othello and Julius Caesar (Chicago Shakespeare Company); The Crucible (Cocoon Theatre Tokyo); A Human Being Died That Night (Recorded for BBC Radio 3) (BAM New York, Fugard Theatre Cape Town and Hampstead Studio); Measure For Measure and The Dog In The Manger (Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Director) (Shakespeare Theatre Company Washington DC); Romeo And Juliet (Akasaka Act Theatre Tokyo and Theatre Brava Osaka); The Recommendation (Old Globe San Diego); The Winter’s Tale (Guthrie Theatre Minneapolis); Noises Off (Kreegar Theatre Washington).

Writer                                   Bryony Lavery

Director                                Jonathan Munby

Designer                              Paul Wills

Lighting Designer             Jon Clark

Video Designer                  Luke Halls

Composer                           Rupert Cross

Sound Designer                 Christopher Shutt

Frozen is presented by Jonathan Church Productions, TRH Productions and Scott Delman.

 

Further casting to be announced in due course.

 

BOX OFFICE INFORMATION

FROZEN

Theatre Royal Haymarket

Haymarket

London SW1Y 4HT

Box office number: 020 7930 8800

Website: FrozenThePlay.com

Dates: Friday 9 February – Saturday 5 May 2018

Press Night: Wednesday 21 February 2018

Performance Times: Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm, Thursday and Saturday at 3pm

Ticket Prices: From £15

Premium tickets available.

 

Social media handles:

Facebook: Frozen The Play (url: Facebook.com/FrozenThePlay)

Twitter @FrozenThePlay

Hashtags: #FrozenPlay

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR

WORLD PREMIERE OF

CILLA THE MUSICAL

Andrew Lancel and Carl Au join the cast of Cilla the Musical written by BAFTA® award winning Jeff Pope, with it’s world premiere at the Liverpool Empire on 7^th September.

 

Bill Kenwright’s new musical features: Andrew Lancel (Brian Epstein); Carl Au (Bobby); Amy Bridges (Rose Willis); Gemma Brodrick-Bower (Pauline); Paul Broughton (John White); Bill Caple (Ringo Starr); Tom Christian (Kenny Willis); Tom Dunlea (Hutch); Pauline Fleming (Big Cilla); Joshua Gannon (Paul McCartney); Billie Hardy (Pat); and Michael Hawkins (John Lennon).

They join the previously announced Kara Lily Hayworth as Cilla, who beat thousands of hopefuls in nationwide open auditions for the coveted role.

The musical reunites Tom Dunlea, Michael Hawkins and Gemma Brodrick-Bower, all of whom starred in Jeff Pope’s original ITV mini-series Cilla, on which the musical is based. It also reunites Andrew Lancel with the role of Epstein, which he played on stage to great critical acclaim in Epstein – The Man Who Made The Beatles. Andrew is best known to TV audiences as super-villain Frank Foster in Coronation Street and as DI Neil Manson in the long-running ITV television series The Bill.

The legendary Merseybeat sound is authentically performed live on stage by the cast who are completed by: Alan Howell; Jay Osbourne; Alex Harford; Will Kinnon; Jenny Murphy; Tom Sowinski; and Christopher Weeks.

CILLA – THE MUSICAL is the spectacular and heart-warming musical adaptation of the critically acclaimed hit ITV television series by Bafta-Award winner Jeff Pope (The Moorside, Philomena,From The Cradle To The Grave, Mrs Biggs and the acclaimed Little Boy Blue which had ITV audiences glued to their screens). It tells the extraordinary story of the ordinary girl from Liverpool whose teenage dreams of stardom lead her to becoming one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers of all time.

It’s an introduction by a young John Lennon to music mogul Brian Epstein that changes Priscilla White’s life forever. By the age of just 25 she would be known as singer and TV Star Cilla Black, Number One selling artist and at the fore-front of the Brit-Pop music scene. The musical score is the ultimate soundtrack to the 60’s including Cilla’s greatest hits Anyone Who Had a Heart, Alfie andSomething Tells Me, Twist and Shout by the Beatles, California Dreamin by The Mamas and The Papas’ and many more.

Lyric Theatre, The Lowry, Manchester – until 9 September.  Reviewed by Julie Noller

5*****

There has been a lot of hype surrounding The Addams Family, after press releases and appearances by the cast on various tv shows, I was very excited (possibly an understatement) to be asked to watch it at The Lowry and give my very humble opinions. My fifteen year old asked me was this the show with Wednesday? Could she come as she had seen clips shared on youtube and Facebook, obviously our future generation taking an interest in their own way. My interest came in remembering old black and white tv repeats dating from the 60’s strangely I would’ve been my daughters age when first watching them. We arrived in brilliant sunshine at the theatre walking the purple carpet a great touch and certainly impressed my teen. The prescence of more than one photographer told me this would be an event where we would see many celebrities, I quietly scuttled in after all I’m hardly worthy of Hello magazine. The Lowry Theatre with its welcoming environment and relaxed atmosphere meant sitting next to stars of Corronation Street – Les Dennis has walked those cobbled streets, so they were obviously supporting a fellow cast member and there to enjoy a good show.

The programme was not just a booklet this was a big glossy souvenir brochure, full of facts and photographs, I was very impressed and not for the last time.

The theatre was fairly slow to fill up but it was packed come curtain up, I noted the number of people taking selfies and including the stage backdrop with its wonderful ironggates monogrammed with A for Addams. They are afterall a family who do not shy away. There was also plenty in character dress, lots of plaits, some in fancy dress this really added to the atmosphere and reminded me of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The performance starts with The Addams Family theme tune, cue the audience clicking fingers at the right point, I noted the bemused look on my teens face a cross betweeen oh god Mum to everyones mad. I had prepared her via youtube of course but still a teens life is hard.

I was interested to learn that Charles Addams created his cartoon characters in the 1930’s which may explain cerain aspects of the family’s dress codes,

Gomez with his pinstripe suit for example it was great to see those touches from the tv show days remained. It may also explain those traits that seem exaggerated to my untrained eye and make perfect sense.

Did I enjoy the show? Of course it was fantastic, I don’t want to retell you the story I want to tell you my thoughts and feelings. Its quintessentially a love story that crosses many divides. It’s a story told with great humour, a musical that packs talent, it has stars who’s names are houshold names we all know them. Cameron Blakely may have reminded me of the late Bruce Forsyth but his spanish lilt never faltered, Samantha Womack as Morticia wow those legs such an impressive tango and what a transformation with the addition of the traditional black glossy hair. The biggest transformation had to be for Les Dennis as Uncle Fester his costume was amazing and singing in character well who knew? I did wonder if he would adlib at all but I do believe apart from jibes at the audience about cheap seats and mentioning Donald Trump at NATO he was well behaved. Grandma was my favourite character, naughty by age and able to blame age but was she actually a member of the family? Carrie Hope Fletcher as Wednesday wow wow wow what a voice, we both (teen and Mum) loved her dress, they should add those to the souvenir stall along with tshirts and mugs. Grant McIntyre as Pugsley with his high pitched screams giving the youth of today ideas. Dickon Gough as Lurch my teens favourite character she found him hilarious and totally unexpected (who doesn’t love a surprise) was his voice, I’m no expert but it’s powerful baritone richness raised the rafters.

I wish I could name everyone for special praise from Director Mathew White to Rhona McGregor who came on for Charlotte Page as Alice Beineke.

The Addams are they really depraved? Are they not just a typical family shown to the extreme, couldn’t we all sometimes just live life that little bit on the edge? What if the monster in the wardrobe was accepted? There is no PC correctness here, its all just accepted as humour and laugh we did. My favourite line had all Mums in the audience laughing before the punchline. Gomez asks Wednesday to say the words every Mother longs to hear….. you know it’s I’m sorry that’s coming, it bemused my teen that other Mums could think like me. Special Thanks for that life lesson.

The big musical numbers are reminiscent of early traditional musicals where stars would belt out numbers, I see Judy Garland on stage in my head. There was a touch of High School Musical when Wednesday and Lucas were together for the number ‘I’m crazier than you’ (I’m even singing it now to myself).

It is well deserving of 5***** why? Because it’s slick, music and songs powerful, memorable lines, fabulous costumes, my teen now wants to buy Dad a smoking jacket. Set design is eerie yet welcoming, I picture a house tucked away in Central Park. I haven’t even mentioned the Ensemble of ancestors who fill the stage and manage to stop the it from looking empty, there may be a lack of furniture for The Addams but people fill the space where material possessions are lacking. So go and see this much hyped show it’s guaranteed not to disappoint you.