Author: FairyPoweredProductions

Sonia Friedman Productions presents

JIM BROADBENT as Scrooge in
A Christmas Carol
By PATRICK BARLOW
Adapted from the Christmas story by Charles Dickens
Director PHELIM MCDERMOTT

Designer TOM PYE
Director of Movement TOBY SEDGWICK
Lighting Designer PETER MUMFORD
Sound Designer GARETH FRY

Noël Coward Theatre, St Martin’s Lane, London
First performance: Monday 30 November
Final performance: Saturday 30 January
Press Night: Wednesday 9 December

Adeel Akhtar, Amelia Bullmore, Keir Charles and Samantha Spiro will join Jim Broadbent in the cast of A Christmas Carol

Adeel Akhtar is best known for his work in film and television. He was BAFTA-nominated for his role in Utopia, played hapless Fessal in Chris Morris’ Four Lions and played Maroush in Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator. His work on-stage includes playing Guildenstern in Hamlet at the Young Vic.

Amelia Bullmore is known not only for her writing (Di and Viv and Rose) but also for her many appearances on television, in particular as one of the co-stars of the series Scott and Bailey and playing Kay Hope, Head of Sustainability in hit BBC comedy Twenty Twelve.  Her stage credits include The Norman Conquests at the Old Vic, which subsequently transferred to Broadway.

Keir Charles’ recent stage appearances include The White Devil, The Arden of Faversham andThe Roaring Girl (all for the RSC). He also appeared in the recent Simon Pegg film Man Up.

Double Olivier Award-winning actress Samantha Spiro recently appeared on stage in Di and Viv and Rose at the Vaudeville Theatre, as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth and as Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew both at Shakespeare’s Globe. She is known for playing Barbara Windsor inCleo, Camping, Emmanuel and Dick at the National Theatre and won the Olivier Award Best Actress in a Musical for both Merrily We Roll Along at the Donmar Warehouse and Hello! Dolly at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.  On television, she has recently appeared in The Tracey Ullman Show and won the Best Female Comedy Breakthrough Artist in the British Comedy Awards for her role in Grandma’s House.

Puppeteers Jack Parker and Kim Scopes complete the ensemble. Jack is currently working with Warner Brothers on the new film of The Jungle Book. His previous stage work includes War Horse for the National Theatre and A Dog’s Heart and The Magic Flute both for Complicité. Kim previously worked for Blunderbus Theatre Company, the New Wolsey Theatre, Flabbergast Theatre Company and Twice Shy Theatre. She has also taught puppetry in Peru, performed at Glastonbury festival 2014 and this year puppeteered on two music videos.

Academy Award-winning actor Jim Broadbent makes his long-awaited return to the stage to play Scrooge in a new version of A Christmas Carol adapted by Patrick Barlow from Charles Dickens’ classic story of greed, grief, ghoulish ghosts and eleventh-hour redemption.

From Scrooge and Tiny Tim to Bob Cratchit and Mr. Fezziwig, Patrick Barlow’s imaginative adaptation of A Christmas Carol will bring some of Dickens’ most memorable characters to life at the Noël Coward Theatre this winter.

Coming together to create this innovative new work are some of our most loved and mischievous maverick theatre-makers. The play is written by the Olivier Award-winning and Tony nominatedPatrick Barlow (The 39 Steps) with whom Jim Broadbent performed for many years in Barlow’s cult comedy troupe The National Theatre of Brent. A Christmas Carol is directed by Olivier award-winning Phelim McDermott, Artistic Director of Improbable, one of Britain’s most inventive theatre companies, who is responsible for the iconic production Shockheaded Peter. McDermott also directed Theatre of Blood at the National Theatre in which Broadbent last appeared on stage. Joining them is the critically-acclaimed designer Tom Pye (The Testament of Mary, The Death of Klinghoffer, The Low Road) and Toby Sedgwick (War Horse, The 39 Steps) as Director of Movement, Peter Mumford will design the lighting and Gareth Fry will design sound.

A Christmas Carol and The Mackintosh Foundation are proud to be supporting St Martin-in-the-Fields’ Christmas Appeal by donating 50 pence for each ticket purchased. The appeal raises money to assist homeless people with shelter, food, help and advice. Customers, as part of the purchasing process, will be asked if they would also like to donate 50 pence with each ticket purchased. Registered charity no 1156305/261359.

Listings:

Performances:

Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm (Wednesday 9 December at 7pm)
Matinee performances on Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm

No matinee on Wednesday 2 December or Wednesday 9 December
Additional matinee on Friday 11 December at 2.30pm

Noël Coward Theatre, St Martin’s Lane, London
First performance: Monday 30 November 2015
Final performance: Saturday 30 January 2016

Christmas Schedule:

Monday 21 December at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Tuesday 22 December at 7.30pm
Wednesday 23 December at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Thursday 24 December at 2.30pm
Friday 25 December NO SHOW
Saturday 26 December NO SHOW
Monday 28 December at 7.30pm
Tuesday 29 December at 7.30pm
Wednesday 30 December at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Thursday 31 December at 2.30pm
Friday 1 January at 7.30pm
Saturday 2 January at 2.30pm and 7.30pm

Tickets:

From Saturday 30 November to Tuesday 8 December:
£10, £25, £35 and £50

From Wednesday 9 December to Saturday 30 January:
£20, £35, £45 and £60

Front row £10 day seats available for every performance throughout the run. Available to buy in person from the Box Office from 10.30am, limited to two tickets per person.

Website: www.achristmascaroltheplay.com
Box Office: 0844 482 5140
All tickets are subject to a booking fee and restoration levy

St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal 2015
A Christmas Carol and The Mackintosh Foundation are proud to be supporting St Martin-in-the-Fields’ Christmas Appeal by donating 50 pence for each ticket purchased. Customers, as part of the purchasing process, will be asked if they would also like to donate 50 pence with each ticket purchased. Registered charity no 1156305/261359.

 

 

Rainbow Class by Vivienne Acheampong added to RADAR programme

• Runs 25-26 November

The Bush Theatre’s 2015 RADAR festival of contemporary new writing will now include Vivienne Acheampong’s new show Rainbow Class – a one woman comedy based on the experiences of a primary school teacher.

The previously announced show The Ground Is On Fire will no longer form part of RADAR, due to illness.

RADAR is a festival presenting the Bush’s annual snapshot of the very best of contemporary new writing, from London to the rest of the UK and beyond. Embracing a wide range of voices, styles and experiences, the aim of RADAR is to champion a new generation of artists, to present them to a wider audience, to offer a testing ground for new work, and to begin and nurture long-term relationships between the Bush and emerging artists.

Each night of the festival, two shows will be presented in a double bill under one ticket. As in previous years, RADAR CONNECT will run alongside the festival – a series of free practical workshops for postgraduate students, led by a cohort of professionals working in the industry.

RADAR 2015 will see the Bush embrace new artists such as Racheal Ofori and Ben Duke, as well as welcoming returning writers and companies such as Steve Waters, Nassim Soleimanpour and Antler.

Vivienne Acheampong was a semi-finalist in the Funny Women Awards and recently appeared in the critically acclaimed West End production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

LISTINGS

RADAR 2015

11 – 26 November 2015

Bush Theatre, London

All shows presented in double bills, starting at 7.30pm

Wed 11 Nov

Misty by Arinze Kene

Dirty Little Secrets aka The Blues Show by Jumoké Fashola

Thu 12 Nov

No More Worries by Simon Mole

Misty by Arinze Kene

Fri 13 Nov

This Is How We Die by Christopher Brett Bailey

No More Worries by Simon Mole

Sat 14 Nov

This Is How We Die by Christopher Brett Bailey

No More Worries by Simon Mole

Mon 16 Nov

Portrait by Racheal Ofori/Fuel

Labels by Worklight Theatre

Tue 17 Nov

Portrait by Racheal Ofori/Fuel

If I Were Me by Antler

Wed 18 Nov

Portrait by Racheal Ofori/Fuel

If I Were Me by Antler

Thu 19 Nov

Blank by Nassim Soleimanpour

If I Were Me by Antler

Fri 20 Nov

Blank by Nassim Soleimanpour

Paradise Lost by Ben Duke/Lost Dog

Sat 21 Nov

Blank by Nassim Soleimanpour

Paradise Lost by Ben Duke/Lost Dog

Mon 23 Nov

In A Vulnerable Place by Steve Waters

Solo by Curious Directive

Tue 24 Nov

Pheasant Plucker by Lily Bevan

In A Vulnerable Place by Steve Waters

Wed 25 Nov

Rainbow Class by Vivienne Acheampong

In A Vulnerable Place by Steve Waters

Thu 26 Nov

Rainbow Class by Vivienne Acheampong

Pheasant Plucker by Lily Bevan

BOX OFFICE

Bush Theatre

7 Uxbridge Road, London, W12 8LJ

Box Office: 020 8743 5050 / bushtheatre.co.uk

Early bird tickets £10

Standard tickets £15

RADAR Off Script £4 per debate and discounts available for multiple bookings

 

English National Ballet’s
Nutcracker

English National Ballet’s acclaimed production of Nutcracker returns to the London Coliseum this Christmas from Wednesday 16 December 2015 – Sunday 10 January 2016. Following a hugely successful run in 2014 when over 70,000 audience members made it part of their holiday celebrations, this version by Wayne Eagling marks English National Ballet’s 12th full length production of Nutcracker since first being performed in 1950, its founding year.

On a sparkling Christmas Eve in a frost-dusted Edwardian London, Clara and her enchanted Nutcracker doll discover a magical world, where she battles with the Mouse King and meets a handsome stranger. As the air grows colder, Clara and her valiant Nutcracker take a hot air balloon ride across London to the glistening Land of Snow where her adventure really begins.

In a world of Edwardian elegance, Nutcracker brings to life the popular Tchaikovsky score featuring the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Waltz of the Flowers.

This year, Nutcracker sees debuts from Cesar Corrales, Isaac Hernandez, and guest artist Osiel Gouneo in the role of the Nephew, and Emilio Pavan, and Jinhao Zhang in the role of Nutcracker.

Further Principal casting sees Alina Cojocaru, Tamara Rojo, Shiroi Kase, Laurretta Summerscales, and Erina Takahashi in the role of Clara, and Yonah Acosta, Junor Souza, Max Westwell, and James Forbat in the role of the Nephew.

Based on concept by Toer van Schayk and Wayne Eagling, Nutcracker has choreography by Wayne Eagling and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, performed live by the English National Ballet Philharmonic, with design by Peter Farmer and lighting by David Richardson.

 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Where                    London Coliseum, St. Martin’s Lane, Charing Cross, London WC2N 4ES
Dates                     Wednesday 16 December 2015 – Sunday 10 January 2016
Ticket Prices           £14 – £79
Performances         Evening performances at 7.30pm
Matinee performances at 2.30pm

Christmas Eve at 1pm
Boxing Day at 5pm

Full performance schedule and casting, please visit the website for more details:
Website                  www.ballet.org.uk/nutcracker
Box office               020 7845 9300

 

 

TAKE A WALK ON THE WILDE SIDE

After playing to packed houses in the West End and followed by a short five week tour, Oscar Wilde’s much loved and witty masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest comes to Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 3 to Saturday 7 November.

A whole host of household names are set to star in Oscar Wilde’s comedy masterpiece at Darlington Civic Theatre next month.

Rosalind Ayres (Titanic, Outnumbered, New Tricks), Nigel Havers (Chariots of Fire, Downton Abbey, Coronation Street), Martin Jarvis (Endeavour, Just William, Titanic), Christine Kavanagh (Man and Superman, Vera, Manchild), and Siân Phillips (Marlene, The Age of Innocence, Cabaret) will reunite as The Bunbury Company of Players, an extremely experienced cast of serious comedic actors, to reprise their roles from the West End.

Dubbed by Wilde ‘a trivial comedy for serious people’, the production delivers an entirely faithful, but completely unique, setting to one of the greatest theatrical comedies.

The Importance of Being Earnest elegantly lampoons the hypocrisies of Victorian society and opens as two bachelors, the dependable John Worthing, J.P. and upper class playboy Algernon Moncrieff, feel compelled to create different identities in order to pursue two eligible ladies, Cecily Cardew and Gwendolyn Fairfax. The hilarious misadventures which result from their subterfuge and their brushes with the redoubtable Lady Bracknell and the uptight Miss Prism result in a plot that twists and fizzles with some of the finest dialogue to be found in theatre.

Nigel Havers said: “This production is very close to my heart and we had a ball doing it in the West End last summer. I’m thrilled we get to do it all again and hope audiences in Darlington will laugh and enjoy watching our twist on Oscar’s brilliant play as much as we enjoy performing it.”

The Importance of Being Earnest is as Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 3 to Saturday 7 November. Tickets* are £20.10 to £29.50.

*All ticket prices include a £1 restoration levy.

To book contact the Box Office on 01325 486 555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk

Civic Theatre, Darlington – 14 October 2015

The double bill of two one act plays arrives in Darlington to send chills in to the souls of the audience .

The Waiting Room by Robert Aickman tells of George Pendlebury, a middle aged man who misses his train connection and ends up staying the night in the stations Waiting Room.  Set in the 1950’s it goes back and forth from the current time to the war.  It was beautifully staged and it was well lit, making the waiting room so normal it was the anticipation that made it eerie.  It was well acted, Jack Shepherd constructed a totally believable character and anchored the play.  But it whilst it was good it wasn’t scary enough.

This piece is not the main event. It is equalled by The Signalman of Charles Dickens. This dovetails fabulously with the first story, set in a railway signal box this time.  It dwells on the supernatural, on illusion and on superstition.

‘The Signalman’ (originally a short story by Charles Dickens) has been brilliantly adapted to the stage, and it’s a taut suspenseful tale, that unfolds with certain precision, by degrees, and Jack Shepherd conveys a sense of dread and foreboding in his role of signalman: his predicament is akin to the tightening of a screw: it’s a very moving performance.  You feel from the outset that the signalman is a tortured soul. Shepherd captures the mental decline of this character superbly and his confidante’s (Richard Walsh) steadfast logic only exaggerates his fragile state of mind. Each of the stellar cast puts in a top performance. The play abounds in knowing looks as the actors fulfil their roles in these old-fashioned tales.  Walsh provides the anchor and helps to illuminate the finely balanced relationship between the two main characters, that moves from haunting self-doubt to real terror, almost effortlessly. The set is wonderful, there’s a real sense of a person incarcerated in a signal box at the bottom of a huge chasm, and the special effects are haunting indeed.

Special mention must go to the team who changed the sets over in the extended 30 minute interval.  The sets, in both shows, were impressive and it is all beautiful staged

Michael Lunney, Director and co-founder of Middle Ground Theatre Company, has done a great job with Classic Ghosts: it was a great evening of live theatre, and the feedback from the theatre audience at the end of the performance, confirms that it delivered scares a plenty.

In Darlington until Saturday 17 October and on tour around the UK

 

 

The West End traditionally likes to get involved with the BBC Children in Need appeal show, and is well represented this year with performances by some of the biggest musicals of 2015.

Broadcast live on BBC One on Friday 13th November 2015, this year’s Children in Need has a glittering line-up that includes musical performances from the West End casts of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Kinky Boots and Bend It Like Beckham.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is based on the life and career of American singer/song-writer Carole King. It is the untold story of her journey from school girl to superstar; from her relationship with husband and song-writing partner Gerry Goffin, their close friendship and playful rivalry with fellow song-writing duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, to her remarkable rise to stardom. The Olivier Award-winning musical features a book by Douglas McGrath and is directed by Marc Bruni, and includes such classic hit songs as ‘So Far Away’, ‘It Might As Well Rain until September’, ‘Take Good Care of my Baby’, ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow’, ‘Up on the Roof’, ‘Locomotion’, ‘One Fine Day’, ‘You’ve Got a Friend’, ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ and ‘I Feel the Earth Move’. The West End production opened at the Aldwych Theatre on 24th February 2015 (previews from 10th February) and currently stars Katie Brayburn in the title role opposite Alan Morrissey as Gerry Goffin, Lorna Want as Cynthia Weil, Ian McIntosh as Barry Mann.

Kinky Boots is the hit Broadway show by Harvey Fierstein (Book) and Cyndi Lauper (Music & Lyrics), based on the 2005 film of the same name. Inspired by a true-life events it tells the story of Charlie Price, who is struggling to live up to his father’s expectations and continue the family business of Price & Son. With the shoe factory’s future hanging in the balance, help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola, a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos. Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots made its West End premiere at the Adelphi Theatre on 15th September 2015 (previews from 21st August) to great critical acclaim, with Killian Donnelly and Matt Henry leading the London company in the respective roles of Charlie and Lola.

Bend It Like Beckham: The Musical is the new British musical adapted from the hit film of the same name. It features a book by Paul Mayeda Berges and director of the original film Gurinder Chadha, who also directs the stage production, and includes original music by Howard Goodall and lyrics by Charles Hart. It tells the story of Jess, who is facing the most important decision of her life: live up to family expectations of university, career and marriage, or follow in the footsteps of her hero David Beckham. When the talented teenager is spotted playing football in Southall, a world of unexpected opportunities opens up before her. But as her sister’s traditional Indian wedding approaches, can she keep her family happy and still follow her dreams? The show made its world premiere at the Phoenix Theatre on 24th June 2015 (previews from 15th May) and stars Natalie Dew as Jess, alongside Lauren Samuels as Jules, Jamie Campbell-Bower as Joe, Sophie Louise-Dann as Paula and Jamal Andreas as Tony.

The Rocky Horror Show is also set to get involved with Children in Need, as The One Show hosts Matt Baker and Alex Jones take a jump to the left (and then a step to the right) to perform the starring roles in Richard O’Brien’s classic musical.

BBC Children in Need 2015 is once again hosted by Sir Terry Wogan, who will be joined throughout the night by an assortment of guest hosts that includes Tess Daly, Fearne Cotton, Rochelle Humes and Nick Grimshaw. Other highlights of the night’s programme will include Sir Bruce Forsyth’s return to Strictly Come Dancing, comedian and writer of I Can’t Sing! The X Factor Musical Harry Hill, a performance form the cast of EastEnders, and musical performances from such names as Ellie Goulding, Rod Stewart, Selena Gomez, and the UK TV premiere of the duet by Westlife’s’ Shane Filan and Girls Aloud’s Nadine Coyle, ‘I Could Be’.

BBC Children in Need has been an annual event stretching across 35 years, and has helped to raise millions of pounds for disadvantaged children and young people around the UK. Sir Terry Wogan, BBC Children in Need Life President, said:

“It was my privilege to present the very first BBC Children in Need in 1980 and it remains a privilege and a pleasure to reflect the extraordinary generosity of the British public. For that’s what BBC Children in Need has truly become: the People’s Charity. Their pounds, shillings and pence, given so generously, have amounted to an extraordinary total so far of £790 million! You can imagine the difference that has made to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across the UK. The past couple of years have produced record-breaking totals on the big night, and it’s fingers crossed for another magnificent response from the British public. Tess, Fearne, Nick, Rochelle and I are looking forward to a mind-blowing evening of great entertainment on behalf of a great charity.”

BBC Children in Need 2015 will be broadcast live on BBC on Friday 13th November 2015, from 7.30pm onwards. A timetable of the night’s line-up will be announced nearer the time.

Tony Robinson’s Wild West in 3D will use exclusive, never-before-seen 3D stereoscopic photographs to expose the untold story of the ‘Wild West’ and reveal the truth behind the Hollywood legends.

The three, hour long episodes chart the relatively short, 50 year period that begins at the end of the American Civil War in 1865 when all the western territories in America were opened up to be civilised and exploited.

In the first episode, The Last Stand, Tony looks at the clashes between the native Indian tribes and Americans, namely the famous ‘Last Stand’ of General Custer at Little Big Horn. Whilst this was the one and only battle the Sioux ever won against the Americans, it led to the total destruction of their people and culture, from which they never recovered.

Episode Two, Outlaws and Lawmen, examines the infamous western bandits, often glorified in Hollywood’s latter-day spaghetti westerns, including Butch Cassidy and Jesse James.

The last episode, How the West Was Won, focuses on the pioneers that capitalised on the opportunities of the West, one of which was the renowned Buffalo Bill, the world’s first global superstar.

Many of the early photographs of the American West were taken with 3D stereographic cameras – the images they captured have never been seen on TV before. This hoard of lost images is a real discovery. The 3D stereographic slides are unknown to academics and experts working in the field. This means that the series has genuinely exclusive and ground breaking content.

Tony is a huge fan of Western movies but wants to see if the films he grew up with relate to the reality of the Old West. Now Tony Robinson is using this unique archive to bring the Wild West back to life as he tells the true stories of the men and women who tamed the American wilderness. From Custer’s Last Stand and the Battle of Little Big Horn to the gunfight at the OK Corral and death of Jesse James, this is a history of the West unlike any other.

 

New rehearsal images of the London premiere of ELF THE MUSICAL directed by Morgan Young and starring Ben Forster, Kimberley Walsh, Joe McGann and Jessica Martin.

ELF THE MUSICAL starts previews at the Dominion Theatre on 24 October and runs until 2 January 2016.

ELF THE MUSICAL has a book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

24 October 2015 to 2 January 2016

Dominion Theatre

268-269 Tottenham Court Road

London W1T 7AQ

 

Performances: Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm*, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2.30pm**

*7.00pm on Thursday 5 November, no evening performance Thursday 24, Friday 25, Saturday 26, Thursday 31 December & Friday 1 January

**extra 2.30pm matinees on Thursday 29 October, and, in December, on Monday 21st, Tuesday 22nd, Thursday 24th, Monday 28th, Tuesday 29th & Thursday 31st

See website for ticket prices: www.elfthemusical.co.uk / www.dominiontheatre.com

Box Office: 0845 200 7982

Running Time: 2 hours 25 minutes (including interval)