Author: FairyPoweredProductions

Giggin4Good present Best Of British a celebration of British Musical Theatre through the ages, at the Actors’ Church, Covent Garden on Sunday 15th November, with a fabulous cast of West End and Off-West End vocal talent, including 2015 Olivier Award winner (Lorna Want).

This will be the 8th charity concert produced by Giggin4Good since its commencement in 2010 to raise much needed money to support the vital palliative and life-saving work done at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. Generally the money raised has been donated to a specific ward at the hospital. This year, as it is a few weeks before Christmas, all proceeds will go towards buying Christmas gifts for the children in the hospital.

The evening will celebrate the work of British musical theatre composers from the vintage to the modern – from Noel Coward and Ivor Novello to Andrew Lloyd Webber and George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The concert will also feature some new British musical theatre writing, including songs from musicals My Land’s Shore and A Pebble For Aaron.

The cast (subject to change) will include:
Jemma Alexander (Wicked, Rent), Jamal Andreas (Bend It Like Beckham, Ragtime), Julie Atherton (Pure Imagination, I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change, Therese Raquine, Avenue Q), Marcus Ayton (Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat), Katie Brennan (White Feather, The Spitfire Grill), Kieran Brown (The Phantom Of The Opera, Pipe Dream, Wicked, Love Never Dies), Michael Burgen (The Pirates Of Penzance, Spamalot), Michael Colbourne (Les Miserables, A Little Night Music), Matthew Croke (West Side Story, Wicked, Chicago), Tim Driesen (Jersey Boys, Rock Of Ages, Never Forget), Lauren Ingram (Gypsy, From Here To Eternity, Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat), Keith Jack (HMS Pinafore, Sincerely Mr Toad, Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat), Sejal Keshwala (Bend It Like Beckham, After The Tone), Jeremy Legat (Wicked, Therese Raquin) , Jordan Langford (Elegies For Angels, Punks & Raging Queens, Orton: The Musical) Leigh Lothian (Beautiful, Selkie, The Beautiful Game), Carolyn Maitland (Miss Saigon, Singing In The Rain, From Here to Eternity, Kiss Me Kate), Shaun McCourt (Warhorse, Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat), Ian Mclarnon (Sunday in The Park With George, Forever Plaid, Sweeney Todd, Les Miserables), Kayleigh McKnight (Bend It Like Beckham, The Mikado, The Dreaming), Sarah McNicholas (Carrie, Evita, Whistle Down The Wind), Gary Mitchinson (Warhorse, The Witches Of Eastwick, The Fix), Michael Riseley (Les Miserables), Laura Tebbutt (Love Me Tender, Forbidden Broadway, The Wizard Of Oz), Lowri Walton (Warhorse) Lorna Want (Beautiful, Dreamboats And Petticoats, The Fantasticks, Romeo And Juliet) Scarlet Wilderink (Warhorse), Gary Wood (Infidel the Musical, A Chorus Line).

The compere for the evening – making his Giggin4Good debut – will be Ian Stroughair (Cats, Fame, Chicago), who is also widely known in his drag alter-ego, Velma Celli. The show’s musical director will be Huw Evans (The Lion King, Oliver!, Evita).

Giggin4good Presents Best of British- A celebration of British Musical Theatre
Sunday 15th November Time: 7pm
Venue: Actors Church, Covent Garden
Tickets: £25 (VIP) £20 (standard) £15 (student) http://www.etickets.to/buy/?e=13185

Home Theatre (UK), Theatre Royal Stratford East’s ambitious theatre project that had thirty one-person shows staged in thirty homes across London on Saturday 17th October, is to move into its second stage with a broadcast of all performances taking place on the theatre’s web platform stratfordeast.tv on Saturday 31st October, 2015. From 8am, one new performance will be released every thirty minutes, with more than fifteen hours of theatre in total.

Performances took place in a wide-variety of homes across the capital. Home Theatre (UK) went to a homeless charity in Canning Town, a care home in Newham, a Victorian terrace in Brockley and on to the roof of a flat in Ealing Broadway. The project participated in a surprise celebration for a wife in South Woodfood, a family reunion in Leytonstone and a gathering of neighbours and friends in Battersea.

Home Theatre (UK) took place following a summertime public call-out for hosts, where members of the public from across the capital applied to have a tailor-made performance created for them in their own home. The performances were bespoke and tailored to each of the 30 selected hosts and ranged as broadly as a play on multi-culturalism devised especially for children, to a piece for a journalist based loosely on his own writings.

Audience and host feedback:
Sharon Zhu, a performance host said: “THANK YOU to you and your colleagues for bringing a most memorable production to our house. David Mumeni (the performer) did a fabulous job, and all our audience members – adults as well as little ones – had a wonderful time”.

Paul Evans, a performance host at Genesis Housing Association said: “What a success. The event at Colin Winter House was amazing, Ashley Gerlach (the performer) and the team did a fantastic job. We had 30 people attend and all had a wonderful time.”

The performance artists were supported in the creation of their work by six directors and thirty third-year students from the University of Reading’s Film and Television degree course, who recorded all performances using iPads and iPhones ahead of the broadcast on Saturday 17 October.

Home Theatre is now an international project happening on a global scale working in different geographic contexts. The international Symposium took place on Monday 19 October at Theatre Royal Stratford East, supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Speakers from across the world came together to share their experiences of creating theatre in homes, and how to further develop the notion of using theatre to reach out to people in a non-theatrical setting. Speakers included:

Cora Bissett, Theatre Director and Actor
Simon Sharkey, Associate Director at National Theatre of Scotland
Dr John Gibbs, University of Reading (discussed the digital element of Home Theatre (UK))
Amal Khatib Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival, Palestine
Mathilde Lopez Theatre Director discussing her works at National Theatre of Wales
Tessa Walker Associate Director Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Aubrey Sekhabi, Artistic Director of South African State Theatre, Pretoria
Marcus Faustini, Festival Internacional de Cenas em Casa, Rio de Janeiro

Kerry Michael, Artistic Director at Theatre Royal Stratford East said “Home Theatre (UK) is about telling great stories. It’s an opportunity for artists and London audiences to come together, share a meal and have an open dialogue about their stories and the project. With the International Symposium we took this further by opening up the debate and inviting other artists to come in, talk about what we’re doing and how they might also get involved. We want to share our experiences on this project with other people in the arts and help them to explore how they might use that in their own work with their audiences and communities. Our aim is to open up the arts, to broaden its appeal and reach. We want audiences who regularly experience theatre to do so in new ways, and also to reach out to people who have never been inside a theatre before, and enable them to experience new, something entertaining and hopefully something that will make them realise that theatre is for them. It’s for everyone.”

The International Symposium has generated further interest and is stimulating the conversation around Home Theatre, and how other organisations can learn from it.

The Home Theatre (UK) 2015 project will be streamed to www.stratfordeast.tv on Saturday 31 October from 8am onwards, in 15 hours of continuous broadcast. The broadcast is free of charge to watch.

Set your watches – The Clockmaker’s Daughter is returning to the stage in London – for one night only!

Following an acclaimed world premiere season at the Landor Theatre, the original cast and creative team of The Clockmaker’s Daughter, a fabulous new British musical by Michael Webbon and Daniel Finn, are to reunite for a special one-off concert version in St. James Studio on Monday 2 November, 2015.

The Clockmaker’s Daughter was widely praised by critics and the production was nominated for 10 awards. It sold out for the majority of its run, had 4 and 5 star reviews and received support from the likes of Tom and Giovanna Fletcher (McBusted/hit blogger and novelist), Matt Lucas and #WestEndProducer (theatre impessario).

“Overall, great music, great story, great set, great cast and therefore great show.”
Spindlewood, like most towns of age, has its traditions. But no practice, custom or Old Wives Warning is so firmly adhered to as ‘The Turning of the Key’. Every year, on the last night of winter, as the first day of spring unfolds, the townsfolk gather to take part in a strange ritual. They meet in the centre of the town square, where a statue bearing the likeness of a young girl stands, poised and still, one hand raised as if to toast the sky. Constance has stood in the square for as long as any can remember. But she is never more lifelike than tonight. Spindlewood is also home to a clockmaker with a secret – something the simple folk of the town must never discover. Through methods hidden even to himself, the Clockmaker has created something much, much more than a machine…

Cast: Jennifer Harding, Alan McHale, Jo Wickham, Lawrence Carmichael, Alyssa Martyn, Alex Spinney, Rob McManus, Leah Pinney, Matthew McCabe, Natalie Harman, Clodagh Meany, Emily Peach, Paul Brangan, Paul Bradshaw, Kathryn Aitken, Colette Lennon, Max Abraham, Ryan Lynch,

Director: Robert McWhir. Musicians: Michael Webborn (MD), Lauren Forder (Violin), Alessandro Lombardo (Percussion), Doug Grannell (Double Bass).

Monday 2nd November at 8.00pm. Tickets: £15 – £25
St. James Studio Theatre, 12 Palace Street London SW1E 5JA
www.stjamestheatre.co.uk

He says they all do it. These kids, you know, they’ve got their phones. Film everything. Can’t say I blame them. I would at that age.

Following wide acclaim at Hampstead Downstairs last year, James Fritz’s Olivier-nominated debut play Four Minutes Twelve Seconds, directed by award-winning director Anna Ledwich, transfers to Trafalgar Studios in November, 2015.

Seventeen year old Jack is the apple of his mother’s eye. Di and David have devoted their whole lives to giving him every opportunity they never had and, as a result, Jack is smart, outgoing, and well on his way to achieving the grades to study Law at Durham University.

But, a startling incident outside the school gates threatens to ruin everything they’ve strived for – an incident that suggests a deep hatred of their son. As events begin to accelerate, Di and David struggle to find answers, doubting Jack’s closest friends, Jack himself and ultimately themselves. Who can they trust as faith in their son’s innocence begins to crumble?

In a world where smartphones are ubiquitous, James Fritz’s deeply provocative and desperately relevant drama throws light on the insidious opportunities new technology offers – where nothing dies online, except reputation.

Kate Maravan will star as Di (British comedy series Broken News, BBC TV series New Tricks). Playing alongside her will be Jonathan McGuinness as David (BBC production of Wolf Hall, Love’s Labour’s Lost (The Royal Shakespeare Company)), Ria Zmitrowicz as Cara (Arcadia (The English Touring Theatre), The Crucible (The Royal Exchange)), and joining them for his Hampstead and Trafalgar Studios debut is Anyebe Godwin as Nick.

Fritz recently received critical acclaim for his sell-out play Ross & Rachel starring Molly Vevers at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, for which Vevers won The Stage Award for Acting Excellence.

He began writing Four Minutes Twelve Seconds following a conversation with his mother, questioning what he would have had to do for her to turn him in to the police. What followed was an exploration into the morality of having children and how parents’ relationships change as children become adults capable of making their own choices. What if those choices are wrong?

Four Minutes Twelve Seconds West End Trailer

Writer James Fritz says: “I can’t wait to see Four Minutes Twelve Seconds up on its feet again. The production at The Hampstead was such a thrill for me – to work with such an incredible team on my professional debut was more than I could have hoped, and I loved seeing the response from the audience night after night. I couldn’t be more excited to get that team back together and see what the production does to a whole new bunch of people.”

Four Minutes Twelve Seconds earned Fritz an Olivier Award nomination and was runner-up for the Verity Bargate Award in 2013. This production is part of ‘Hampstead Theatre at the Trafalgar Studios’.

 

Four Minutes Twelve Seconds
Performance Dates Tuesday 10th November – Saturday 5th December 2015
Monday – Saturday 7.45pm, Thursday and Saturday matinees 3pm
Running time 90 minutes
Trafalgar Studio Two
14 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY

Children’s favourite The Gruffalo is making its return to London this December for a family fun-filled Christmas season in the West End.

Following its run on Broadway, the popular stage show is coming to the Vaudeville Theatre for a limited engagement this Christmas from 15th December 2015 to 3rd January 2016.

Join Mouse on a daring adventure through the deep dark wood in search of hazelnuts, meeting the cunning Fox, the eccentric old Owl and the party mad Snake on the way. Will the story of the fabled Gruffalo save Mouse from ending up as dinner for these wily woodland creatures? Armed with only a nut map and a little courage, Mouse must outwit them all. After all, there’s no such thing as a Gruffalo – is there?

Tall Stories’ The Gruffalo is a musical adaption based on the award-winning children’s book of the same name, by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Since its first performance back in 2001, the production has entertained audiences in the UK, US, Ireland, Poland, Canada, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Dubai, Chile and on many more stages all around the world. It was most recently seen in London earlier this year, when it played a 10-week summer season at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue from 1st July to 6th September 2015. It then headed to the New Victory Theater on Broadway for a short run between 17th and 24th October 2015.

The production is set to play at the Theatre Royal, Windsor and the Cambridge Arts Theatre throughout November, ahead of its West End run the following month.

The Gruffalo is presented by Tall Stories Theatre Company, a registered charity, founded in 1997 by joint artistic directors Olivia Jacobs and Toby Mitchell. Jacobs is the director of The Gruffalo and Mitchell is Creative Producer. Design is by Isla Shaw, with Lighting Design by James Whiteside and Composition/Sound Design by JollyGoodTunes Productions.

The West End cast stars Owen Guerin as The Gruffalo, Ellie Bell as Mouse and Timothy Richey as Predators.

The Gruffalo: Live on Stage! Opens at the Vaudeville Theatre on 15th December 2015, following Dawn French’s solo show Dawn French: 30 Million Minutes. It runs throughout the Christmas season and is set to close on 3rd January 2016.

 

The Gruffalo at the Vaudeville Theatre
404 Strand, London, WC2R 0NH
Booking From: 15th December 2015
Booking Until: 3rd January 2016

It has been announced that Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The Sound of Music, will be broadcast on ITV this Christmas in a special live performance starring Kara Tointon as Maria.

Along with the already-announced Julian Ovenden in the role of Captain von Trapp, further casting news confirmed that Katherine Kelly will play Baroness Elsa Schraeder alongside Alexander Armstrong as Max Detweiler.

It follows the live production NBC aired in the US in 2013, which starred Carrie Underwood as Maria and Stephen Moyer as Captain von Trapp.

The Sound of Music is based on the real life story of the von Trapp family and premiered on Broadway in 1959, inspiring the 1965 film musical starring Julie Andrews. It features a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, and includes such classic songs as ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?’, ‘Edelweiss’, ‘My Favourite Things’, ‘Do-Re-Mi’, ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’, and of course, ‘The Sound of Music’.

Kara Tointon made her name playing Dawn Swann in BBC soap opera EastEnders, and won Strictly Come Dancing in 2010. Her professional stage debut was as Brigatta in a production of The Sound of Music at the Cliffs Pavilion and she has gone on to appear in numerous West End productions, including starring as Eliza Doolittle opposite Rupert Everett inPygmalion at the Garrick Theatre in 2011.

Downton Abbey star Julian Ovenden is a trained opera singer whose musical theatre credits include Show Boat, My Night with Reg and Merrily We Roll Along. He also originated the role of J.M. Barrie in the musical adaption of Finding Neverland, which premiered at the Leicester Curve in 2012.

Mr Selfridge and Coronation Street star Katherine Kelly is also an established stage actress who has worked with Chichester Festival Theatre, National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and in the West End. Her stage credits include She Stoops to Conquer at the National Theatre and Othello at the Royal Exchange Theatre.

Alexander Armstrong is an actor and comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller with Ben Miller. He is also a classically trained singer and will make his musical theatre debut in The Sound of Music.

ITV director of comedy and entertainment Elaine Bedell said: “This is the first time in the UK that this type of project has been attempted, a musical drama both performed and broadcast live. We’ve assembled some of the very best talent both in front of and behind the camera, and I can’t wait to see it all come together.”

The Sound of Music Live! will be filmed live at Three Mills Studio, London over Christmas. It is being produced by ITV Studios along with executive producers Andre Ptaszynski, Lee Connelly and Fiona Clark, and also includes Coky Giedroyc as creative director and Richard Valentine as television director. Musical supervision is by Martin Koch.

ONE NIGHT OF ELVIS

 

Grand Opera House York

Thursday 28January at 7:30pm

 

 

There are Elvis tributes….. and then there’s Lee Memphis King.

 

 

“Judging by this quality performance at a full Hammersmith Apollo, Lee Memphis King is certainly among the premier league of tributes”. (The Stage Newspaper)

 

In this brand new show for 2016, Europe’s most successful Elvis Presley tribute artist – Lee Memphis King, presents the ultimate tribute to The King – celebrating the entire career of the musical legend. This spectacular show begins with an authentic recreation of the groundbreaking ’68 comeback special. The second half culminates in a rousing expo of Elvis’s years performing in Vegas. Lee brings the majesty of the voice and the electrifying power of Elvis’s performance back to life. Accompanied throughout by his world class orchestra and backing singers that breathe the life into the music of a legend. The show also features large screen projection, making it the biggest Elvis show to tour UK theatres.

 

Over the last 10 years as Lee has toured his ‘One Night of Elvis’ theatre production he has picked up numerous accolades and has headlined and sold out some of the most prestigious venues across the UK and Europe.

 

To any fan of Elvis this show is the only way to enjoy the music of the greatest, most celebrated artist the world has known. Prepare to be enthralled by this amazing musical journey and spend one night with Elvis.

www.leememphisking.com

 

 

“When I closed my eyes I could feel Elvis” (Joe Esposito – lifelong friend of Elvis Presley.)

 

“As close to seeing the King himself perform as we could ever hope to see” – (Manchester Palace Theatre)

 

 

www.leememphisking.com

 

www.facebook.com/leememphisking

Tickets: £21 & £24

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

Jim Davidson

Charlton Nil

Spring 2016 Tour

The people’s favourite and one of Britain’s greatest ever comedians, Jim Davidson OBE takes to the road with his brand new show Charlton Nil.

Son of a Glaswegian father, born and bred in Charlton.

From drummer to window cleaner via shelf stacker, to a theatre near you.

Guaranteed to be an irreverent, outrageous and truthful night.

For one night only!

Adults only

‘Boy does Jim know how to deliver his gospel…..

‘The audience could have stayed all night………. he speaks with a rare honesty’

5 stars Express

 

“Showman Jim triumphs… he hit the spot again and again”

Sunday Express *****

 

“Standing ovation to packed houses every night“

The Mirror ****

 

“Davidson was cheered to the rafters”

The Telegraph

 

“A master of his art”

The Spectator

GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

Friday 10 March at 7:30pm

Tickets: £21.50

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

PEPPA PIG’S SURPRISE

GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

Wednesday 10 & Thursday 11 February 2016

Surprise! Peppa Pig, George and their friends are back in a brand new live stage show, Peppa Pig’s Surprise.

It’s a lovely day and Peppa is playing outside with her friends. Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig have got a surprise for her and George – they can’t guess what it is, can you?

Enjoy fun, games and of course, surprises in this charming, colourful new show with new songs and new life size puppets, Peppa Pig’s Surprise promises to be the perfect theatre show for all pre-schoolers!

A rollicking, all singing, dancing interactive adventure. Daily Telegraph

★★★★★
A treat for your little one’s eyes and ears. Daily Express

★★★★
Enjoyably inventive. Time Out

It’s a lovely day and Daisy is playing outside. She enlists the help of the audience in a game of hide and seek as she looks for her other friends. She is joined by Danny Dog, Suzy Sheep, Pedro Pony and together they look for George and Peppa . With the help of the audience they find George and Peppa, and the friends can all have fun and play together!

Performances: Wed 1pm & 4pm, Thu 10am, 1pm, 4pm

Tickets: £13.50, £16, £21

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

JOHNNY CASH ROADSHOW

Grand Opera House York

Thursday 21 January 2016 at 7:30pm

Welcome back the Johnny Cash Roadshow, a show not to be missed by avid fans or the casual listener. Also the only show to be endorsed by the CASH family! This year prepare for a musical adventure with the biggest production to date.

The UK’s No1 celebration of Johnny Cash, fronted by award winning singer/songwriter Clive John, re-creates with astounding accuracy and truly captures the essence of what it was like to be at a real Cash show! Also featuring Jill Schoonjans as June Carter, Amanda Stone and Louise Masters as the Carter Sisters along with the ‘JC Horns’ all aspects of Cash’s life are covered with impeccable taste.

The show takes the audience from the 1950’s right up to 2002 and all the stops in between. All the greatest hits are included, along with songs from the latest album Out Among The Stars. All this accompanied by evocative screen images and shots from Johnny Cash’s life.

Comment from Rosanne Cash

(First daughter of Johnny Cash)

‘Clive’s resemblance is uncanny’

Two comments from Caitlin Crowell

(Granddaughter of Mr. Johnny Cash and Mrs. June Carter Cash)

‘Clive captures my Grandfather JUST as he was’

‘absolutely authentic to the point where it felt as if it wasn’t a tribute’

Press Reviews

‘A voice better than the original’ (John Wheatcroft, York Mix)

‘Extraordinary concert’ (Daily Record and Sunday Mail)

 

Tickets: £18 & £19

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york