NATIONAL YOUTH THEATRE PRESENTS DOCUDRAMA ON SEXTING

National Youth Theatre, The Christmas TV and Film Company and Sky Arts present
GENERATION SEXT

Generation Sext, airing on 29th July at 10pm on Sky Arts, is an innovative new docu-drama exploring sexualisation and sexual consent  amongst young people, created by The Christmas TV & Film Company, in collaboration with the National Youth Theatre. Focusing in on the relatively recent and increasingly common phenomenon of ‘sexting’, sending explicit images or messages, the documentary follows the young members of the NYT as they develop their forthcoming West End play Consensual, based around similar themes.

An exploration of a particular issue facing young people today, told by those young people themselves, the enlightening 30 minute film has been made by The Christmas TV and Film Company in collaboration with NYT and was specially commissioned by Sky Arts for its Sex Season. The piece has been created as a mix of real-life testimony, documentary footage and dramatic scenes written on location as an immediate response to the issues generated by the workshops. The multi-layered film will star some of Britain’s best young acting talent.

Generation Sext is directed by Frances Dickenson (The Christmas TV & Film Company), and Paul Roseby (Artistic Director, The National Youth Theatre). It is produced by The Christmas TV & Film Company’s Caz Gorham and Jo McClellan is Executive Producer for Sky. The drama elements were written by Kirsty Swain.

Consensual is a brand new play written by Evan Placey (Girls Like That, Holloway Jones) and will be directed by Pia Furtardo (Dirty Great Love Story at Soho Theatre and L’Elisir D’Amore at Opera Holland Park).  Exploring teenage testosterone, teacher pupil relationships and the age of consent in the UK, Consensual will examine the relationship between PSHE teacher Diane and her class, specifically fifteen year old Freddie. “Think of Sexual Relationship Education as a war zone and you’re the journalist. Give the facts, show the photos, but don’t get too close unless you want your head blown off”. It will premiere at The Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End this autumn.

The NYT’s rep season returns to the Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End later this year with three new productions. The 10-week season will feature: Consensual; Wuthering Heights, a new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel and The Merchant of Venice – Shakespeare’s play abridged especially for schools by Tom Stoppard. Performances will start on 25 September 2015, with press performances on 6 and 7 October 2015.

Generation Sext airs on Wednesday 29th July at 10.00pm on Sky Arts as part of the channel’s Sex Season.

 

REP SEASON LISTINGS
Ambassadors Theatre, WC2H 9ND
18 September – 4 December 2015

Consensual Press Performances 6 & 7 October, 7:30pm
Matinee performance (2:30pm):18 September
Evening performances (7:30pm):, 29, 30 September; 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 October; 3, 4, 10, 11, 18, 24 November; 2 December

Wuthering Heights Press Performance 6 October, 2:30pm
Matinee performances (2:30pm):
25 September; 2, 6, 13, 14, 23, 30 October; 6, 10, 11, 24, 27 November; 1, 4 December
Evening performances (7:30pm):
27, October; 17, 25 November;

The Merchant of Venice
Press Performances 7 October (2:30pm) & 9 October (2:30pm)
Matinee performances (2:30pm):
29, 30 September; 7, 9, 16, 20, 26, 27 October; 3, 4, 13, 17, 18, 25 November; 2 December
Evening performances (7:30pm):
1 December

Box Office
www.theambassadorstheatre.co.uk
08448 112 334
or
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
020 7452 3000

More information at www.nyt.org.uk

New Cast for Grand Thriller

GARY MAVERS, NEIL STACY AND DEBORAH GRANT

JOIN

FRAZER HINES, MARK CURRY, BEN NEALON, ERIC CARTE AND KEZIA BURROWS

 

IN AGATHA CHRISTIE’S

 

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE

 

WORLD’S BEST-SELLING THRILLER WELCOMES NEW CAST MEMBERS

TO DOUBLE ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION IN LEEDS

 

And Then There Were None at LGT Pamela Raith Photography Three more famous faces from stage and screen are set to become Agatha Christie’s latest guests as they join the UK tour of And Then There Were None this summer, which marks the 10th anniversary of The Agatha Christie Theatre Company and the 125th anniversary of the author’s birth.

West End and TV stars Gary Mavers, Neil Stacy and Deborah Grant will join this production of the Queen of Crime’s most popular and best-selling thriller, when it comes to Leeds Grand Theatre from Monday August 17th to Saturday 22nd August.

GARY MAVERS in And Then There Were None at Leeds Grand TheatreGary Mavers, best known as Peak Practice heart-throb Dr Andrew Attwood, will play retired police inspector William Henry Blore, Neil Stacy, who is best known for his role as Robert Cochran in the 80s ITV sitcom Duty Free, will play judge Sir Lawrence Wargrave, Bergerac and Peak Practice’s Deborah Grant will star as eccentric spinster Emily Brent, while Kezia Burrows, best known as junior doctor Cath Llewellyn in the 2009 BBC drama series Crash, joins the cast as secretary Vera Claythorne.

They join Frazer Hines, best known for his role as companion Jamie McCrimmon in Doctor Who, as Rogers, formerBlue Peter presenter and actor Mark Curry as Dr. Armstrong, Soldier Soldier’s Ben Nealon as Philip Lombard andBouquet of Barbed Wire’s Eric Carte as General Mackenzie.

 

A group of 10 strangers is lured to a remote island off the coast of Devon. Upon arrival it is discovered that their host, an eccentric millionaire, is missing. At dinner a recorded message is played accusing each of them in turn of having a guilty secret and by the end of the evening the 10 guests become nine. Stranded on the island by a torrential storm and haunted by an ancient nursery rhyme, one by one the guests begin to die. And with only the fallen believed to be innocent who amongst them is the killer?

And Then There Were None is the world’s best-selling mystery ever, with 100 million sales to date. Widely considered to be Christie’s masterpiece, her own stage adaptation of this dark and captivating tale will thrill and enthral, as murder unfolds.

And Then There Were None is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Monday 17th to Saturday 22nd August.

Tickets are still available priced from £18.50 to £35.

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

 

BEWARE! DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS HEADING FOR THE LYCEUM!

image002 (3)BEWARE! DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS HEADING FOR THE LYCEUM!

Direct from the West End, critically acclaimed Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – The Musical starring Michael Praed, Noel Sullivan, Carley Stenson and special guest Mark Benton, is set to transport audiences to the French Riviera with style, sophistication and a good deal of mischief when it comes to the Lyceum from Tuesday 25 – Saturday 29 August.

download (3)The hit musical based on the legendary 1988 film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels follows two seasoned swindlers as they attempt to hoodwink a millionaire heiress.  Sophisticated conman Lawrence Jameson’s world comes crashing down with the arrival of larger-than-life Freddy Benson – a conman of an entirely different order.

As the pair go head-to-head in the con of their lives, pulling out all the stops in a bid for the affections of millionaire soap heiress Christine Colgate, little do they know what they’ve let themselves in for!

Michael Praed, best known for his starring role as Robin Hood in Robin of Sherwood and Prince Michael inDynasty, plays sophisticated swindler Lawrence.  Noel Sullivan (Hear’Say, Rock of Ages, Priscilla Queen of the Desert) returning to the Lyceum stage, plays street smart Freddy, with Carley Stenson (Hollyoaks, Shrek – The Musical, Spamalot) as the desirable Christine. Guest star Mark Benton (Waterloo Road, Strictly Come Dancing, Hairspray) plays hilarious side-kick Andre Thibault.

Enjoy a stylish, slick and fabulously funny trip to the luxurious Riviera with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – The Musical this summer at the Lyceum Theatre from Tuesday 25 – Saturday 29 August. Tickets are priced from £19.00 – £39.00 and can be purchased by calling the Box Office on 0114 249 6000 or by visiting sheffieldtheatres.co.uk (a transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office, excluding cash).

Crucible Lyceum Studio 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA             
Box Office 0114 249 6000 –
Mon – Sat 10.00am to 8.00pm
A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office (excluding cash).
On non-performance days the Box Office closes at 6.00pm.
sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
Twitter: @crucibletheatre @SheffieldLyceum

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Tue 25 August – Sat 29 August

Press Night Tue 25 August 7.30pm

Tue – Sat 7.30pm

Fri & Sat 7.30pm

Wed & Thu 2.00pm

Sat 3.00pm

£19.00 – £39.00 (concessions and group discounts available)

Tom Conti and Gwen Taylor in BEFORE THE PARTY

Bill Kenwright presents two of the UK’s best loved stars together for the first time on stage – Tom Conti and Gwen Taylor, in BEFORE THE PARTY – a bitingly funny adaptation by Rodney Ackland of a short story by Somerset Maugham.

Tom ContiThey are two of the UK’s best-loved stars of stage and screen, but have never performed together, that is until now. For the first time in their careers, TOM CONTI and GWEN TAYLOR are set to take to the stage in the satirical comedy BEFORE THE PARTY. Premiering at the Theatre Royal Windsor on 2nd September 2015, before a short run at 6 selected theatres, Tom Conti will also be directing this new production of writer Rodney Ackland’s black comedy, having first directed it in 1980 at the Apollo Theatre in London starring Jane Asher and the late Michael Gough.

TOM CONTI is one of the most respected and celebrated actors of his generation. Unforgettable as the leading man in Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence and Shirley Valentine, he has also appeared as myriad characters on screen and stage. He was recently voted Most Popular Actor in the West End alongside Dame Judi Dench. This year saw him tour the UK as Juror #8 in Twelve Angry Men, a role he reprised from the successful and sold-out extended run of the drama at the Garrick Theatre in London’s West End.

Gwen TaylorGWEN TAYLOR is best known in recent years for her role as Anne Foster, mother of the villainous Frank Foster in Coronation Street, but she is also much loved for starring in the ITV sitcoms Duty Free, A Bit of A Do with David Jason – for which she was nominated for a Best Actress TV Bafta – and as the lead character in Barbara. She also starred as Peggy Armstrong in Heartbeat, and has appeared in Yes, Prime Minister, Murder Most Horrid, Doc Martin, Midsomer Murders and Fat Friends. Her theatre credits include Driving Miss Daisy, The Butterfly Lion, Prick Up Your Ears and Calendar Girls.

The war is over and the Skinner family is trying to return to normal. If only the blasted Government wasn’t such a nuisance with rationing preventing Cook from acquiring delicious delicacies. With daughter Laura returned from Africa, widowed but not alone, they prepare for the latest social gathering.

Rodney Ackland, who adapted the play from a short story by Somerset Maugham, has recently seen a huge resurgence in the popularity of his work, which is much admired by such artists as Dame Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and originally Dame Edith Evans and Sir John Gielgud.

Ackland is best known for his play Absolute Hell, set in a decaying West End drinking club at the end of the Second World War and performed at the National Theatre in 1996 starring Judi Dench. BEFORE THE PARTY is based on a short story by Somerset Maugham, lauded for his 1915 novel Of Human Bondage, widely considered to be his masterpiece.

TOUR DATES 2015:
2nd – 12th September
Theatre Royal, Windsor
01753 853 888 / http://www.theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk/

14th – 19th September
Theatre Royal, Norwich
01603 63 00 00 / https://secure.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk/

21st – 26th September
New Victoria Theatre, Woking
0844 871 7645 / http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-victoria-theatre/

28th September – 3rd October
Festival Theatre, Malvern
01684 892 277 / http://www.malvern-theatres.co.uk/

5th – 10th October
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
01242 572573 / http://www.everymantheatre.org.uk/

12th – 17th October

Theatre Royal, Bath

01225 448844 / http://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/

19th-24th October

Devonshire Park, Eastbourne

01323 412000 / http://www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk/shows/before-the-party/

 

SHARK WEEK RETURNS TO DISCOVERY CHANNEL THIS AUGUST

SHARK WEEK to premiere on Discovery Channel in the UK from Sunday 2nd – Saturday 8th August

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SHARK WEEK, Discovery Channel’s must see summer event returns to Discovery Channel on Sunday 2nd August. Uncharted technology will capture all-new shark images and behaviour, while also drawing attention to these incredible animals and their evolving habitats.

Programme highlights for 2015 include;

 

SHARK TREK featuring Dr. Greg Skomal, Massachusetts’ senior marine fisheries marine biologist, as he tags Great White sharks off the coast of Cape Cod and attempts to determine their swim patterns once they leave the Massachusetts coast. As patterns point to the southern U.S., Dr. Skomal tries to determine why the Florida coast is the new Great White shark hotspot in the Atlantic.

LAIR OF THE MEGA SHARK, which sees shark experts Jeff Kerr and Andy Casagrande head to New Zealand to investigate the sightings of a 20 foot Great White Shark. The team explore the nocturnal feeding ground of the modern day legend, in the hope of coming face to face with the legendary Great White.

MONSTER MAKO; Mako sharks are the fastest of all species of sharks in the world however little more is known about this particular breed. MONSTER MAKO explores this area as scientists fit a Mako shark with cameras in order to unlock and reveal the mysteries of their swift, immediate and unseen world. And a rare sighting is caught on film as a Mako shark breaches the waters during the expedition.

Additional SHARK WEEK 2015 programming will include SPAWN OF JAWS: THE BIRTH featuring Dr. Michael Domeier as he continues on his quest to unlock one of the greatest shark mysteries: the location of great white pupping grounds. This two year mission follows the journey of a pregnant great white called Gil Rakers as she prepares to give birth; BRIDE OF JAWS which searches for Joan of Shark, the largest female Great White ever tagged and NINJA SHARKS which explores six sharks with unique adaptations that have evolved over millions of years making them the most lethal hunters in the sea.

 

SHARK WEEK will premiere in the UK from Sunday 2nd August – Saturday 8th August on Discovery Channel

(Sky 520 / Virgin 211 / BT TV 322 / TalkTalk 322)

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY’S SWAN THEATRE PRODUCTION OF HECUBA

HECUBA
A new version by Marina Carr
Directed by Erica Whyman
Swan Theatre:
17 September – 17 October 2015

Full casting is announced for the Swan Theatre production of Marina Carr’s new play based on the epic tale of Hecuba, directed by RSC Deputy Artistic Director Erica Whyman with Derbhle Crotty in the title role, opening on Thursday 24 September 2015.

Derbhle Crotty returns to the RSC to play Hecuba, having previously played Lady Macbeth and Lady Duncan in the 2007 repertory season of Macbeth and Ionesco’s Macbett. Derbhle is currently playing Bolingbroke/Henry IV in DruidShakespeare, which has played various venues in Ireland, New York and at the Kilkenny Festival. She is known for her film roles in Notes on a Scandal (2006), Rory O’Shea Was Here(2004) and Noble (2014).

Also returning is RSC Associate Artist Ray Fearon as Agamemnon, who has worked extensively with the RSC, most recently as Mark Antony in Julius Caesar and as the title role in Othello (1999). His recent theatre credits include playing Macduff in Macbeth at the Manchester International Festival; Ray also appeared in the 2006 series of Strictly Come Dancing. Joining him is Edmund Kingsley who plays Polymestor. Edmund can currently be seen in the BBC 2 mini-series Life in Squares as John Maynard Keynes. His RSC credits includeAntony and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and The Tempest, as part of the Complete Works Festival, Richard III,King John and Lord of the Flies. His film credits include Hugo (2011) and Stonehearst Asylum (2014).

The full cast includes: Nadia Albina (Cassandra); David Ajao (Nepotolemus); Derbhle Crotty (Hecuba);Ray Fearon (Agamemnon); Edmund Kingsley (Polymestor); Amy McAllister (Polyxena); Chu Omambala(Odysseus) and Lara Stubbs (Hecuba’s Woman).

Hecuba is designed by Soutra Gilmour with lighting by Charles Balfour. The music is composed by Isobel Waller-Bridge with sound by Andrew Franks. Movement is by Ayse Tashkiran.

To book tickets call 01789 403493 or online at www.rsc.org.uk

The RSC Ensemble is generously supported by THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and THE KOVNER FOUNDATION

 

Patti LuPone Offers Five Rules of Theatre Etiquette, Starting with “Respect”

download (19)Tony- and Olivier Award-winning actress Patti LuPone, currently back on the New York stage in the Lincoln Center Theater production of Shows for Days, has supplied The Wall Street Journal with a five-point list of theatre etiquette.

LuPone, a Tony winner for her performances in Evita and Gypsy, recently made headlines when she seized the cell phone of a woman who was using it during the July 8 evening performance of Shows for Days.

LuPone’s rules of theatre etiquette, according to the Wall Street Journal, follow:

1 R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Be aware of your theatergoing neighbor. In front of you, behind you, to your right, and left. Treat them with respect, unless you’re sitting next to a loudmouthed idiot.

2 Power Down
Turn off all electronic devices, and watch the play instead.

3 Have Dinner Beforehand
Refrain from eating and drinking in your seat. The majestic old ladies that are Broadway’s great theaters deserve your respect. The theater isn’t your kitchen. There is always intermission to imbibe.

4 Use Judgment
Don’t feel obligated to give everything you see a standing ovation.

5 Prepare For Bliss
Come to the theater with the expectation of being transported. Isn’t that why you bought the ticket?

Following the cell-phone incident, LuPone issued a statement toPlaybill.com July 9, which follows: “We work hard on stage to create a world that is being totally destroyed by a few, rude, self-absorbed and inconsiderate audience members who are controlled by their phones. They cannot put them down. When a phone goes off or when a LED screen can be seen in the dark it ruins the experience for everyone else – the majority of the audience at that performance and the actors on stage. I am so defeated by this issue that I seriously question whether I want to work on stage anymore. Now I’m putting battle gear on over my costume to marshall the audience as well as perform.”

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Empire Cinemas announces a sensational late summer line-up of Empire Extra screenings

image001 (5)
Empire Cinemas announces a sensational late summer line-up of Empire Extra screenings, including:
·         RSC Live 2015: Othello
 
Empire Cinemas’ Empire Extra programme continues with a thrilling late summer line-up of live theatre, ballet, opera and concert film. August & September’s Empire Extra screenings invite enthusiasts to enjoy screenings of their favourite productions, from the comfort of their local cinema at a fraction of the theatre ticket price. Each month Empire Cinemas offers a diverse range of exciting content and culture for customers beyond the blockbuster and the innovative programme delivers the UK’s best arts direct to the big screen.
 
Jon Nutton, Marketing Director of Empire Cinemas, said: “August & September sees another fantastic Empire Extra line up from the West End to the far side of the world, in the case of the brilliant Aida on Sydney Harbour. It’s incredibly rewarding to indulge our customers passion for alternative cinema and we look forward to hosting further screenings over the next few months.”
 
The following will be screened this August & September:
RSC LIVE 2015 – Othello
Released: 26th August 2015
 
After more than a decade working in film and television on projects from Star Wars to Holby City, Hugh Quarshie returns to the RSC to play Shakespeare’s Othello. He was last seen with us in Faust and Julius Caesar (1996). Hugh will play opposite Lucian Msamati in the role of Iago, returning to the RSC following his role as Pericles in 2006. The production is directed by Iqbal Khan (Much Ado About Nothing, 2012). Othello is the greatest general of his age. A fearsome warrior, loving husband and revered defender of Venice against its enemies.
 
NT Live – The Beaux’ Stratagem
Released: 3rd September 2015
 
Simon Godwin (Man and Superman) directs George Farquhar’s wild comedy of love and cash. The ‘Beaux’: Mr Aimwell and Mr Archer, two charming, dissolute young men who have blown their fortunes in giddy London. Shamed and debt-ridden, they flee to provincial Lichfield. Their ‘Stratagem’: to marry for money. Lodged at the local inn, posing as master and servant, they encounter a teeming variety of human obstacles, but their greatest obstacle is love. When the Beaux meet their match in Dorinda and Mrs Sullen they are most at risk, for in love they might be truly discovered…
 
Aida on Sydney Harbour – Opera Australia 2015
Released: 15th September 2015
 
In Aida, Verdi masterfully pits the intimate affairs of the heart against the grandeur of the universe: where kingdoms rise and fall and the sands of time grind onwards. There could be no grander setting for such an opera than Sydney Harbour itself, awash with the light of the city and the Sydney Opera House silhouetted against the setting sun. Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour has become a huge part of the cultural landscape, combining all of the things Sydney does best: world-class opera, champagne and fine dining, sunsets and spectacle on the harbour’s edge.
 
ROH – Romeo and Juliet (Live)
Released: 22nd September 2015
 
Romeo and Juliet is rich in the swaggering colour of Verona street life and in sword fights and celebrations, but Kenneth MacMillan’s focus is always on the complex emotions of the young lovers – especially on Juliet as she journeys through the delirious happiness of first love to a shocked, adult perception of her fate. Juliet is one of the most coveted of all ballerina roles, and as MacMillan’s ballet enters its 50th year it resonates as deeply with audiences today as when it was first seen half a century ago.
 
NT Live – Coriolanus (Encore)
Released: 24th September 2015
 
Shakespeare’s searing tragedy of political manipulation and revenge, Coriolanus features an Evening Standard Award-winning performance from Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers, War Horse) in the title role, directed by theDonmar’s Artistic Director Josie Rourke. When an old adversary threatens Rome, the city calls once more on her hero and defender: Coriolanus, but he has enemies at home too. Famine threatens the city, the citizens’ hunger swells to an appetite for change, and on returning from the field Coriolanus must confront the march of realpolitik and the voice of an angry people.
 
Roger Waters the Wall
Released: 29th September 2015
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1HQ4ekC
 
Roger Waters, co-founder and primary songwriter of Pink Floyd, fuses the epic and the personal in Roger Waters the Wall, a concert film that goes well beyond the stage. Based on the ground-breaking concept album, Roger Waters the Wall could be called a concept film: it’s a state-of-the-art show that dazzles the senses, combined  with an intensely personal road trip that deals with the loss Roger has felt throughout  his life due to war. 
 
For further ticketing information visit www.EmpireCinemas.co.uk or call 08714 714 714.

TRANSPORT THEATRE ANNOUNCE UK TOUR OF NEW PRODUCTION THE EDGE

Transport Theatre presents
THE EDGE
Devised and Directed by Douglas Rintoul
Designed by James Button
Music Composed by Raymond Yiu
Sound by Helen Atkinson
Lighting by Matt Haskins
Projection by Will Duke

Co-produced with New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich
14+

From 8 October to 14 November, Transport, the critically acclaimed Folkstone-based theatre company behind Invisible, 1001 Nights and Elegy will present a brand new devised production, The Edge, with original music composed by award-winning Raymond Yiu. Inspired by real life narratives taken from the south coast of England and the Sundabans in India and developed in collaboration with leading lecturer in coastal oceanography Dr Ivan Haigh, The Edge is an extensive exploration of climate change and migration. Based on an encounter between two people from different cultures that encompasses myths from the sea, the history of human migration, the formation of rivers and seas, the piece will be devised and directed by Douglas Rintoul and the creative team behind Elegy.

A woman steps into the English Channel. A man is swept up by a great storm in West Bengal. Two decades later their children meet on a beach by an English town that’s been abandoned to the sea. She’s training to swim the Channel. He’s a climate change refugee.

Powerful and poetic, The Edge is a love story between two people from different continents and cultures, connected by weather patterns and the shared experience of a radically changing world.Douglas Rintoul, Artistic Director of Transport Theatre was awarded the British Council Connections through Culture Award to visit the Sundarbans in West Bengal India where he worked with the Kolkata based theatre company Ranan, drawing real life narratives from an area directly on the frontline of climate change. The company also worked with young adults in Folkestone, developing an audio and visual work exploring narratives from the Kent Coast. Combining this quantative research from two different continents, Rintoul’s production questions what it really means to live on the geographical edge and explores the universal issue of climate change.

Developed in collaboration with leading lecturer in coastal oceanography Dr Ivan Haigh, with music by award-winning composer Raymond Yiu, The Edge will fuse text, movement, music and projection to transport its audience between continents, exploring the place where the sea meets the land.

In partnership with Kent Libraries, the tour will include a three day site specific run at Folkestone Library, Grace Hill. The production will be filmed in this creative venue and then released digitally to the public for National Library Day 2016.

Douglas Rintoul is Artistic Director of Transport and the Queens Theatre in Hornchurch. He has directed for the Barbican, Hampstead Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, Watermill Theatre, Trafalgar Studios, Dundee Rep Theatre, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, National Theatre Studio, Salisbury Playhouse, New Wolsey Theatre, Ice&Fire and Creation and is a long-standing associate director to Complicite and was an assistant and associate director to Deborah Warner. He recently received the Royal National Theatre Foundation Playwright Award for his production Elegy.

Raymond Yiu is the winner of a BASCA British Composer Award, and three times previous nominee. His early work received the advocacy of American composer-pianist-conductor Lukas Foss and he has worked with ensembles and artists including BBC Singers, BBCSO, Chroma, Concorde Ensemble (Ireland), Ensemble 10/10, London Sinfonietta, Lontano, LSO and Andrew Watts. The Original Chinese Conjuror, with libretto by Lee Warren, was commissioned by Aldeburgh Production for the 2006 Aldeburgh Almeida Opera Season. Maomao Yü, a quintet for piano and traditional Chinese instruments was commissioned by LSO for Lang Lang and the Silk String Quartet. The Earth and Every Common Sight, for soprano and piano, won the Tracey Chadwell Memorial Prize 2010. In April 2013, Teatro Barroco of Vienna mounted a new production of The Original Chinese Conjuror, directed by Bernd Bienert.

TRANSPORT is an internationally minded arts company based in Folkestone. Positioned on a geographical border, the company’s focus is rooted in the near and far looking towards the channel and beyond.

 

TOUR DATES

IPSWICH, New Wolsey Theatre
Thurs 8 – Sat 10 October
7.45pm Thurs – Sat, 2.30pm Sat
Box Office 01473 295900
www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/

CANTERBURY, Gulbenkian
University of Kent
Fri 16 October
7.30pm
Box Office: 01227 769075
www.thegulbenkian.co.uk/


LONDON, Rich Mix
Sun 18 October
7pm
Box Office: 020 7613 7498
www.richmix.org.uk/

FOLKESTONE, Quarterhouse at Folkestone Library, Grace Hill
Weds 21, Thurs 22 & Sat 24 October
7.30pm Weds – Thurs, & 2pm & 6.30pm Sat
Box Office: 01303 760 750
www.quarterhouse.co.uk/

BRISTOL, Tobacco Factory Theatres
Tues 27 – Weds 28 October
8pm
Box Office: 0117 902 0344
www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com

LONDON, Canada Water Culture Space
Weds 4 November
7.30pm
Box Office: 0208 692 4446
www.canadawaterculturespace.org.uk

LEICESTER, The Y
Thurs 5 November
7.30pm
Box Office: 0116 255 6507
www.leicesterymca.co.uk

PORTSMOUTH, New Theatre Royal
Fri 6 – Sat 7 November
7pm
Minghella Studio
Box Office: 02392 649 000
www.newtheatreroyal.com

CARDIFF, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
CAERDYDD, Coleg Brenhinol Cerdda Drama Cymru
Weds 11 November
7.30pm
Box Office: 029 2039 1391
www.rwcmd.ac.uk

SALISBURY, Playhouse The Salberg
Thurs 12 – Sat 14 November
7.45pm Thurs – Sat, 2.45pm Sat
Box Office: 01722 320 333
www.salisburyplayhouse.com

 

Full Company announced for PREMIÈRE of ANNA ZIEGLER’S PHOTOGRAPH 51

photograph51-2015The Michael Grandage Company has today announced the full company for the UK première of Anna Ziegler’s Photograph 51. Nicole Kidman who leads the company as Rosalind Franklin is joined by Will Attenborough (James Watson), Edward Bennett (Francis Crick), Stephen Campbell Moore (Maurice Wilkins), Patrick Kennedy (Don Caspar) and Joshua Silver (Ray Gosling). Photograph 51 opens at the Noel Coward Theatre on 14th September, with previews from 5th September, and runs until 21st November, 2015.

Photograph 51 also sees the return of Michael Grandage Company to the West End following their immensely successful season in 2013/14, also at the Noel Coward Theatre. The company is committed to reaching as wide an audience as possible through accessible ticket prices across their theatre work, and are offering over 20,000 tickets at £10 (including booking fee and restoration levy), which is 25% of the tickets for the entire run, across all levels of the auditorium. In addition, the company will stage access performances – with both captioned and audio described performances.

“The instant I saw the photograph my mouth fell open and my pulse began to race”
Does Rosalind Franklin know how precious her photograph is? In the race to unlock the secret of life it could be the one to hold the key. With rival scientists looking everywhere for the answer, who will be first to see it and more importantly, understand it? Anna Ziegler’s extraordinary play looks at the woman who cracked DNA and asks what is sacrificed in the pursuit of science, love and a place in history.

Nicole Kidman makes her hugely anticipated return to the London stage in the role of Rosalind Franklin, the woman who discovered the secret to Life, in the UK première of Anna Ziegler’s award-winning play. The production reunites Kidman and Grandage following their recent collaboration on the forthcoming feature film Genius.

Will Attenborough plays James Watson. For theatre, his work includes Another Country (Chichester Festival Theatre and Trafalgar Studios) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Cambridge Arts Theatre). For television, his credits includes War and Peace, Midwinter of the Spirit, Apocalypse Slough, Home Fires, Father Brown, In the Flesh, Utopia and The Hollow Crown: Henry IV Parts 1 & 2.

Edward Bennett plays Francis Crick. His theatre work includes Love’s Labour’s Lost, Love’s Labour’s Won, Hamlet (RSC) Things We Do For Love, School For Scandal, In The Next Room, Pygmalion, Little Nell, Habeas Corpus and Measure for Measure (Theatre Royal Bath), One Man, Two Guvnors (National Theatre Tour), Lovesong (Frantic Assembly), 3 Farces, Nan, Skin Game, Diana of Dobsons (Orange Tree Theatre), Plenty (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield), The Tempest and As You Like It (BAM/Tour/The Old Vic), Hay Fever (Chichester Festival Theatre) and Othello (Donmar Warehouse). For television, his work includes Miranda, The Scum Also Rises, Above Suspicion and After You’ve Gone; and for film, Skyfall, War Horse, Hamlet and Friends Just United.

Stephen Campbell Moore plays Maurice Wilkins. His theatre work includes Chimerica (Almeida Theatre and Harold Pinter Theatre), Berenice (Donmar Warehouse), Clybourne Park (Royal Court and Wyndham’s Theatre), All My Sons (Apollo Theatre), The History Boys (National Theatre and Broadway), Much Ado About Nothing and Anthony and Cleopatra (RSC), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Albery Theatre), and Richard II and Coriolanus (Almeida at Gainsborough Studio). For television, his credits include Stag, The Wrong Mans, The Go Between, Our Zoo, Hunted, Just Henry, Titanic, Sleepyhead, Pulse, Ben Hur, Larkrise to Candleford, A Short Stay in Switzerland, Ashes to Ashes, Rough Crossings, Hustle, Wallis and Edward, He Knew He Was Right and Byron; and for film, The Lady in the Van, The Ones Below, Adam Jones, Moonwalkers, Man Up, Complicit, Johnny English Reborn, Season of the Witch, Sea Wolf, The Day, The Bank Job, Amazing Grace, The History Boys, A Good Woman and Bright Young Things.

Patrick Kennedy plays Don Caspar. For theatre, his work includes No Quarter (Royal Court), The Glass Menagerie (Shared Experience), Measure for Measure (Plymouth Theatre Royal and tour) Therese Raquin (National Theatre), Everything is Illuminated (Hampstead Theatre), Suddenly Last Summer (Sheffield Lyceum and Albery Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Bristol Old Vic). For television, his work includes Churchill’s Secret, The Money, Downton Abbey, Murder on the Home Front, Boardwalk Empire, Peep Show, Parade’s End, Black Mirror: The National Anthem, Married Single Other, The 39 Steps, Consuming Passions, Einstein and Eddington, The Somme, Bleak House and Cambridge Spies; and for film London Has Fallen, Mr Holmes, November Man, War Horse, The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Last Station, Me and Orson Welles, Atonement, In Transit, A Good Year, Munich, The Tulse Luper Suitcases and Nine Lives.

Nicole Kidman plays Rosalind Franklin. Her theatre work includes The Blue Room (Donmar Warehouse and Cort Theatre, Broadway – Evening Standard Award, Olivier Award nomination). For television, her work includes Hemingway & Gellhorn (Emmy nomination, Golden Globe nomination); and her extensive film work includes To Die For (Golden Globe for Best Actress), Days of Thunder, Moulin Rouge! (Academy Award nomination, Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical), The Others (Golden Globe nomination, Saturn Award), The Hours (Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe for Best Actress and Berlin Silver Bear), Cold Mountain, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, Stoker, Rabbit Hole (Golden Globe for Best Actress, Academy Award nomination), The Paperboy and Paddington. Upcoming films include Strangerland, Queen of the Desert, Genius, Lion and Secret in Their Eyes.

Joshua Silver plays Ray Gosling. For theatre, his work includes Wolf Hall/Bring Up the Bodies (Aldwych Theatre/Winter Garden Theater, Broadway), A Tale of Two Cities (Royal and Derngate), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Blue Stockings (Shakespeare’s Globe), Trelawny of the ‘Wells’ (Donmar Warehouse) and The Hotel Plays (Grange Hotel).

Anna Ziegler’s plays include The Last Match (upcoming at The Old Globe in San Diego, CA and City Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA), A Delicate Ship (upcoming in New York City at The Playwrights Realm; previously produced at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Dov and Ali (Theatre503), Another Way Home (upcoming in Washington DC at Theater J; previously produced at Magic Theatre, San Francisco, CA), and BFF (WET Productions at the DR2 Theatre, New York City). She has been commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Virginia Stage Company and New Georges. Her plays have been developed at The Sundance Theatre Lab, The O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, New York Stage and Film, The Araca Group, Old Vic New Voices, and Soho Rep’s Writer/Director Lab, among many others.

Michael Grandage is Artistic Director of the Michael Grandage Company in London which he set up with Producer James Bierman in 2012. For the company he directed Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Peter and Alice and Privates on Parade as part of the season at the Noel Coward Theatre, Dawn French: 30 Million Minutes (national tour and West End run at the Vaudeville Theatre later this year) and the forthcoming feature film Genius. He was Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse (2002–2012) and Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres (2000–05). He is the recipient of Tony, Drama Desk, Olivier, Evening Standard, Critics’ Circle and South Bank Awards. He has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of London, Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam University and is President of Central School of Speech and Drama. He was appointed CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2011. His book, A Decade At The Donmar, was published by Constable & Robins in 2012. His work for the Donmar Warehouse included Richard II with Eddie Redmayne, Luise Miller with Felicity Jones, King Lear with Derek Jacobi, Red with Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne (also New York, Tony and Drama Desk Awards Best Director), Hamlet with Jude Law (also Elsinore and New York), Ivanov with Kenneth Branagh (Evening Standard and Critics Circle Award Best Director), Madame de Sade with Judi Dench and Rosamund Pyke, The Chalk Garden with Penelope Wilton (Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards Best Director), Frost/Nixon with Michael Sheen and Frank Langella (also Gielgud, New York, USA tour, Tony Nomination Award for Best Director), Othello with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ewan McGregor (Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Director), The Wild Duck (Critics’ Circle Award Best Director), Guys and Dolls (Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production), Grand Hotel (Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production and Evening Standard Award Best Director), Caligula (Olivier Award Best Director), Merrily We Roll Along (Evening Standard Award Best Director. For Sheffield Theatres he directed many productions including Don Carlos with Derek Jacobi (Evening Standard Award Best Director).

Director: Michael Grandage; Set and Costume Designer: Christopher Oram
Lighting Designer: Neil Austin; Composer and Sound Designer: Adam Cork