Author: FairyPoweredProductions

Aria Entertainment presents a 9 week season of Jewish themed work Upstairs At The Gatehouse Theatre in February-April 2016. The headline musical will be the revival of the musical Bar Mitzvah Boy.

Bar Mitzvah Boy – Jack Rosenthal adapted his award winning 1976 TV play (British Academy Best Play Award and Broadcasting Press Guild Best Play Award), for the musical stage with America’s Oscar and Tony award composer Jule Styne and lyrics by Oscar and Tony award winner Don Black.

The season will begin with a newly commisioned show THE GREAT JEWISH AMERCIAN SONGBOOK which will run from February 9th-29th. Press perf Thurs 11 February. 

 

JEWISH SONGWRITERS WHO MADE ENTERTAINMENT HISTORY!

How is it that Jews wrote the musical background to American lives from the First World War to the sixties?
In a land of opportunity, they created a musical world of escapism and romance… and helped invent the American Dream.

‘THE GREAT AMERICAN JEWISH SONGBOOK’ EXPLORES A CENTURY OF SONG, FEATURING THE GREATEST SONGWRITERS EVER!

Written by Chris Burgess

Musical Arrangements by Andy Collyer

Directed by Matthew Gould

BRUNTWOOD PRIZE FOR PLAYWRITING 2015

• Winner will be announced next week
• Full ceremony will be live-streamed atwww.writeaplay.co.uk
• 1.15pm, Tuesday 17 November

The winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2015 will be announced on Tuesday 17 November at a ceremony at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. The ceremony is open to the public (tickets via www.royalexchange.co.uk) and will also be broadcast live online atwww.writeaplay.co.uk. The ceremony commences at 1.15pm.

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2015 closed for entries on 5th June and 1,938 entries have been carefully wittled down by an army of over 80 readers to a shortlist of 10. Now the panel of judges chaired by Nicholas Hytner and including journalist Miranda Sawyer, actor Meera Syal, and former Bruntwood Prize winner Vivienne Franzmann are reading the final 10 and deciding the winners.

Writers of all levels of experience were invited to enter plays, which must be original, unperformed and unproduced. The winner will receive a prize of £16,000 and a production of their play. The competition, which runs every two years, is a unique partnership between the Royal Exchange Theatre and property company Bruntwood.

Two of 2013’s winners – YEN by Anna Jordan, and THE ROLLING STONE by Chris Urch – received their critically acclaimed world premieres at the Royal Exchange this year.

The judging panel for this year’s prize is chaired by Nicholas Hytner, former Artistic Director of the National Theatre. The full judging panel is as follows:

• Nicholas Hytner (former Artistic Director, National Theatre)
• Sarah Frankcom (Artistic Director, Royal Exchange Theatre)
• Vivienne Franzmann (playwright and former Bruntwood winner)
• Ramin Gray (Artistic Director, Actors Touring Company)
• Bryony Lavery (playwright)
• Michael Oglesby CBE (Chairman, Bruntwood)
• Miranda Sawyer (writer and broadcaster)
• Meera Syal CBE (actor and writer).

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is open to writers in the UK and Ireland aged 16 and over.

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is Britain’s biggest playwriting competition.  This round marks the 10th anniversary of the Prize, which has supported the development and productions of a significant number of playwrights since its inception in 2005.  17 playwrights have been awarded a total of £160,000.  There have been fifteen critically acclaimed productions of winning entries, as well as a number of productions of plays elsewhere that were identified through the judging process.

Over 10,000 entries have been generated from across the United Kingdom and winning playwrights have gone on to have work produced at the Royal Court Theatre, Almeida Theatre, on Broadway and in the West End.  It is a significant investment in playwrights and support for new work on stage.  More information about the Prize can be found atwww.writeaplay.co.uk/about.

GUILD’S GROUNDBREAKING GATSBY.

From Thursday 3 – Thursday 31 December, the Guild of Misrule bring to life F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic story of The Great Gatsby in an entirely interactive and completely unique style.  The venue is The Fleeting Arms on Gillygate in York and the performance will take place across all three floors of the building, throwing the audience into the centre of the novel’s 1920s world of red hot jazz and bootleg liquor.

This exciting immersive production, part performance and part installation, will tell the story of Gatsby using free form narrative; surrounding and entwining the audience as they participate and become characters themselves.  As they make their way from room to room, specialitycocktails and a curated sound design will bring them even deeper into the world of Jay Gatsby.

Alexander Wright (Belt Up Theatre) of the Guild of Misrule said:

The story is one of excess, of too much money, of dancing too hard and with no consideration for the consequences.  Set in the run up to the Wall Street Crash, the story chimes well with our current age.  York has not seen anything like this before, we can guarantee.

Well-known faces from the York area will be playing the professional roles in the company: Michael Lambourne, last seen in York Theatre Royal’s production of The Railway Children, joins the company; Phil Grainger, who recently directed Easingwold’s promenade production of Alice in Wonderland and Tabitha Grove, currently touring in Clap Trap Theatre’s production of Broken. Amie Burns Walker, who played Juliet in The Flanagan Collective’s Romeo and Juliet, returns to York along with Holly Beasley Garrigan from Romeo and Juliet and Fine Chisel. Ollie Tilney, who took to the West End for a year-long run in Mamma Mia, completes the company with Thomas Mellar from Secret Cinema

The Fleeting Arms is a pop up pub and arts space on Gillygate, in the centre of York. Since March 2015 the space has played host to productions, installations, gigs, exhibitions, rehearsals, events and some pretty swinging parties. Established by the arts community of York, The Fleeting Arms provides a free and open creative space for people to play, make and mingle with a good drink in hand.  The Great Gatsby runs across December, with specially curated Gatsby Lates after the show on Friday and Saturday nights. Cocktails and food will be on offer across the performances.

Alexander continued:

We’re having a special show on the 23rd December for Christmas – that’s going to be quite amazing. And we’re hosting the New Year’s Eve party to end all New Year’s Eve parties on the 31st December – the very last night of The Fleeting Arms. Every Christmas, the city would elect a Lord of Misrule to wreak havoc across the festive period. This would end with a big supper, where all the masters served all the servants. So we are here, as stewards of the Guild, to cause a little more chaos, to offer something new and exciting for the festive period.’

Tickets for The Great Gatsby are on sale now priced £10 (previews) – £15 from York Theatre Royal Box Office in person, over the phone on 01904 623568 or securely online fromyorktheatreroyal.co.uk.  £1 transaction fee per booking applies. Audiences are encouraged to dress for the occasion and to bring their dancing shoes.

REVIEW: Shrek (Empire Theatre, Sunderland)

November 13, 2015 

For: West End Wilma 

https://www.westendwilma.com/review-shrek-empire-theatre-sunderland/

“What makes us different makes us stronger”

Shrek arrives in Sunderland and after nearly two years on tour and you have to worry about the state of Gerard Carey’s knees.

Surrounded by children and adults alike, this really is a show for everyone, with the men in the audience laughing much more than the children. But Shrek has everything – a love story, triumph over adversity, music, dance and comedy. The perfect feel good family show. But who can fail to enjoy a show where the safety announcements warn you that an ogre will fart on your head if you are caught filming or taking photo’s. And Sunderland Empire staff are clearly wary of the ogre and the stench as they are very vigilant and quick to warn any offenders.

Dean Chisnall was taking a break so Jake Small was Shrek, and a fabulous Shrek he was too. Completely unrecognisable under the layers of green prosthetics. He charmingly captures the poignancy and gallows humour of Shrek. Setting out on his quest to evict the Fairytale characters invading his swamp, he ends up falling for Fiona and is genuinely touching as he falls in love.

Idris Kargbo is the equally lovable Donkey, full of energy and talent his performance of Make a Move was hilarious and fantastically choreographed.

Bronté Barbé has moved up the ranks and is now Princess Fiona on tour. Holding her own in some highly comical scenes, including their very funny farting and burping competition. Feisty and loveable and a mess of contradictions in a dress.

And back to Gerard Carey, who spends the entire performance on his knees as short-statured Lord Farquaad, who had the audience in hysterics without even needing to open his mouth!

Set design, from Tim Hatley, is flawless and scenery moves from palace to woods and meadows seamlessly. But the greatest feat must have been to bring to life the huge dragon. This wonderful puppet, handled by several puppeteers, fills the stage and threatens all with the same tail and green eyes it uses to romance Donkey. With a stand out performance for the outstanding vocals of Candace Furbert, voicing the part.

With a cheeky sense of humour, the entire ensemble is excellent, vocals and choreography are as classy and fun as expected, with a very post-modern spin on the world of fairytales. This colourful, invigorating stage adaptation which is packed with new songs from lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire and music arranged by Jeanine Tesori is outstanding with special merit to the costumes.

Overall, it’s a fantastic family show which will have kids of all ages entertained, and as an added bonus, keep alert for numerous amusing musical parodies peppered throughout.

Empire Theatre, Sunderland – 12 November 2015

“What makes us different makes us stronger”

Shrek arrives in Sunderland and after nearly two years on tour and you have to worry about the state of Gerard Carey’s knees

Surrounded by children and adults alike, this really is a show for everyone, with the men in the audience laughing much more than the children.  But Shrek has everything – a love story, triumph over adversity, music, dance and comedy.  The perfect feel good family show.  But who can fail to enjoy a show where the safety announcements warn you that an ogre will fart on your head if you are caught filming or taking photo’s.  And Sunderland Empire staff are clearly wary of the ogre and the stench as they are very vigilant and quick to warn any offenders.

Dean Chisnall was taking a break so Jake Small was Shrek, and a fabulous Shrek he was too.  Completely unrecognisable under the layers of green prosthetics.  He charmingly captures the poignancy and gallows humour of Shrek.  Setting out on his quest to evict the Fairytale characters invading his swamp, he ends up falling for Fiona and is genuinely touching as he falls in love.

Idris Kargbo is the equally lovable Donkey, full of energy and talent his performance of Make a Move was hilarious and fantastically choreographed.

Bronté Barbé has moved up the ranks and is now Princess Fiona on tour.  Holding her own in some highly comical scenes, including their very funny farting and burping competition.  Feisty and loveable and a mess of contradictions in a dress.

And back to Gerard Carey, who spends the entire performance on his knees as short-statured Lord Farquaad, who had the audience in hysterics without even needing to open his mouth!

Set design, from Tim Hatley, is flawless and scenery moves from palace to woods and meadows seamlessly. But the greatest feat must have been to bring to life the huge dragon. This wonderful puppet, handled by several puppeteers, fills the stage and threatens all with the same tail and green eyes it uses to romance Donkey.  With a stand out performance for the outstanding vocals of Candace Furbert, voicing the part.

With a cheeky sense of humour, the entire ensemble is excellent, vocals and choreography are as classy and fun as expected, with a very post-modern spin on the world of fairytales.  This colourful, invigorating stage adaptation which is packed with new songs from lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire and music arranged by Jeanine Tesori is outstanding with special merit to the costumes

Overall, it’s a fantastic family show which will have kids of all ages entertained, and as an added bonus, keep alert for numerous amusing musical parodies peppered throughout.

Above the Arts Theatre 9 – 21 November.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

A brilliantly barmy B-Musical, Vampire Hospital Waiting Room is a riot from start to finish. As the hospital waiting room fills up, Dr Bloom is busy reading his books of arcane prophecies about the coming of the vampire lord. He has developed a theory that the NHS is a front for collecting blood to feed the UK’s vampires, and wants to become immortal himself. (It’s all explained much better in the opening songs.) An emergency patient is brought into the hospital, comatose after a car crash, and Dr Bloom is convinced that he is the vampire lord. Helped by the patient’s wife, who wants him declared dead to inherit his millions, Bloom tries to carry out the ceremony needed to arouse the vampire lord and become a vampire himself.

Joe McArdle plays Dr Bloom as a cross between Matt Berry and Vincent Price, and is hysterical. His grimaces and vocal tics are repeated for what should be far too long, but, just like in The Simpsons, the audience is howling with laughter throughout. The scene where he carries out his tests on Arty (Craig Methven) is insane. Methven does a great job trying to keep a blank face, but the coma patient got the giggles with the shenanigans going on around him. The conceit of the audience being able to hear Arty’s thoughts is cleverly done. A change of lighting, and up he jumps from his wheelchair to address us. His flops back into unconsciousness as the cast continue the story get funnier each time. I swear the man is made of elastic.

Abby Jackson’s sexy nurse – yes that is the character’s name – is cheerfully unhelpful to the patient’s, and her overdramatic gestures fit in nicely with her  amazing singing. She channels every X Factor wannabe who fits in 10 notes instead of 1 and manages to make Shirley Bassey’s arm gestures look subtle. Roz Ford, as Arty’s wife also gives a wonderfully over the top performance – the best evil laugh I’ve heard for a long time.  Arty’s secretary Liz (Imogen Brabant), who was in the car with him when it crashed, is played as almost sane. Brabant’s love songs with the comatose Arty are a hoot. in “Love is a car crash”, Brabant’s parts are a lovelorn ballad, while Arty sings an up tempo song, mostly about sex.

John Rushton’s priest is delightfully underplayed amongst the scenery chewing – his comments about his stab wounds, and his very English attitude to waiting in the queue and not making a fuss make sure that this quieter character is not overlooked. Martin MacLennan’s Scottish stranger gets weirder and scarier throughout the show. His comic timing makes the disturbingly odd lines even funnier.

The script is full of fantastic jokes, some corny, some filthy, and the cast deliver them brilliantly. The songs are just as funny, with some fantastic comments about the lyrics and over dramatic backing singers by the characters. Dr Bloom gets the best lines though – I will never be able to look at stethoscopes and latex gloves with a straight face again.

This is an unashamedly corny and cheesy show that celebrates the best and worst of horror films and musicals with great affection. It’s very rare to find yourself laughing all the way through a show, but you will here. A bonkers show with a stellar cast – perfect late night entertainment.

BEATLES’ CELEBRATION SHOW

LET IT BE IS COMING TO TOWN IN 2016

Beatlemania is heading to York as the producers of smash hit musical LET IT BE announce a new national tour for 2016.

Audiences will be Twisting and Shouting until their heart’s content when the show arrives at Grand Opera House York for 8 performances from Monday 4^th to Saturday 9^th April 2016.

The LET IT BE TOUR 2016 will take the show on a Magical Mystery Tour when it plays 21 theatresacross England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

This is LET IT BE’s biggest tour to date, and it is expected that audiences will Come Together with a little help from their friends to dance in the aisles and celebrate music history’s greatest ever worldwide phenomenon.

The show has already wowed London’s West End and New York’s Broadway audiences. And it is currently enjoying a massively successful five-week run in the birthplace of the biggest band in the world, Liverpool, where the show opened to 5-star rave reviews and sell-out performances at Royal Court Theatre Liverpool.

 LET IT BE celebrates the music of the world’s most successful rock ‘n’ roll band in a spectacular concert charting the band’s meteoric rise from their humble beginnings in Liverpool’s Cavern Club, through the height of Beatlemania, to their later studio masterpieces. They were just boys from Liverpool who went on to change the world.

LET IT BE is packed with over 40 of The Beatles’ greatest hits including Twist and Shout, She Loves You and Drive My Car, as well as global mega hits Yesterday, Hey Jude, Come Together and, of course, Let It Be.  Travel back to the Swinging Sixties when all you needed was love, and a little help from your friends!

The tour announcement comes in the same week as ITV announce a new prime-time two-hour Beatles documentary. The Nation’s Favourite Beatles Number One will be aired on ITV at 8.00pm on Wednesday 11 November. It will feature all 27 Beatles songs which reached the top of the charts here and in the States – including Let It Be.

The programme will highlight the stories behind the songs and will feature Beatles’ insiders and celebrity fans, including Michael Palin, David Tennant, Twiggy, Jake Bugg, and Liverpool actress Sue Johnston, who was a Cavern Club regular herself.

LET IT BE will take to the road thanks to Annerin Productions and Flying Entertainment.

Producer Jeff Parry from Annerin Productions commented: “We’re incredibly proud to announce LET IT BE’s biggest tour to date. We are extremely excited to bring the show to the Grand Opera House York, and we’re sure that York audiences will be on their feet – dancing, singing and very much being part of the concert.

“It’s more than 50 years since The Beatles released their first single, yet the band still continue to win new generations of fans. The songs still feel fresh and vibrant which is testament to the Fab Four’s music and talent. LET IT BE is helping to keep the story and songs of the band alive and charm new fans. Money can’t buy you love, but it can buy you tickets to the hottest show on tour.”

Seen by over 1 million people worldwide, LET IT BE continues to delight audiences across the globe, having recently performed to audiences in Germany, Japan, Moscow, and France.

LET IT BE has established itself as one of the West End’s most popular shows since originally opening at the Prince of Wales Theatre in September 2012, where it recouped its initial investment after just 18 weeks before transferring for a year-long run at the Savoy Theatre from January 2013 through to February 2014. Before moving to Royal Court Theatre Liverpool, the show completed an 8-month run at the Garrick Theatre in London’s West End.

More information can be found on www.LetItBeLive.com

SHOW LISTING

GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

4 – 9 April 2016

Ticket prices from £20

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

JOE BROWN

Grand Opera House York

Friday 29 January 2016

Since the new millennium Joe has been confounding people’s expectations of him on a regular basis. In 2002 he appeared at the Glastonbury Festival and endeared himself to the latest generation of rock fans. Later that year he won a brand new world-wide audience with his show-stopping appearance at “The Concert For George”, staged at London’s Royal Albert Hall in tribute to George Harrison with a stellar cast of musicians.

In the Autumn of 2005 Joe completed a 37 date British tour with special guest Sam Brown and a DVD of Down To Earth In The Studio was released in 2006. By Spring of 2007 Joe and the band had just finished a further 36 date solo tour with son Pete firmly in his band.

This momentum on the live front continued In 2009 and in June Joe was awarded the coveted Outstanding Contribution to Music Award by MOJO Magazine which was presented to him by Mark Knopfler and two days later it was announced that he was to be awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Latterly Joe has continued to break box office records and gain new supporters throughout 2009 and 2010 when having cropped up as a special guest on Bob Harris’ own 40th Anniversary programme for BBC Radio 2 Joe then completed his own UK tour and rounded off the year by joining fellow British institutions Status Quo in December for the arena section of their Quid Pro Quo tour. The response was terrific both at shows and on the Quo website where positive comments from their fan base ran into pages and pages for the 9 shows which Joe and the band performed with them.

Joe is, without doubt, a one off, a compelling and unique performer with a rare and singular track record, an extraordinary talent and a truly enduring Rock Legend – catch him while you can.

Tickets from £28.65

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

Mercury celebrate 45 years of Queen

To celebrate 45 years since Queen was formed in 1970, ‘Mercury’ brings a fitting tribute to the Grand Opera House, York on 28^th November 2015.

As winners of the 2013 National Tribute Awards, ‘Mercury’ will show York how the band has earned its reputation as one of the world’s finest exponents of the music of Freddie Mercury and Queen.

45 years since Queen was formed, ‘Mercury’ has firmly established itself as one of the most authentic tributes to both the legend Freddie Mercury and Queen. Freddie Mercury’s family, along with Brian May and Roger Taylor have all seen and enjoyed Mercury’s authentic stage show.

With a dynamic show that fully emulates the true charismatic appeal of rock’s most flamboyant front man, ‘Mercury’ faithfully and accurately recreate the distinctive Queen experience.

The extraordinary vocal range and outstanding delivery of Joseph Lee Jackson as Freddie Mercury and the intricate guitar work of Glenn Scrimshaw as Brian May are backed by superbly crafted harmonies, a driving rhythm section and state-of-the-art, world class production.

Joseph says: “We are delighted that Freddie’s family see us as an authentic Queen tribute as this is always what we have set out to achieve. Everything we have created – from the costumes and lights, to the sound and music is about creating an authentic experience for Queen fans.”

This show will captivate any audience – from die-hard Queen fans through to new generations of music lovers in a way that Freddie and Queen themselves would be proud of.

Show information

Venue: Grand Opera House, York

Date & Time: 28^th November, 7.30pm

Tickets: £20.90 (+ booking fees). Concessions available.

Box Office: (t) 0844 871 7615  (w) www.atgtickets.com