Author: FairyPoweredProductions

YVONNE ARNAUD THEATRE, GUILDFORD – UNTIL 16 NOVEMBER 2024

REVIEWED BY REBECCA SCOTT

5*****

I have been a lover of Austen’s novels since a teenager, so I was a little apprehensive as to how this show would turn out.

This show is funny … I mean really funny, delightful, at times touching, and I could not wipe the smile from my face throughout it.

The play is based on Jane Austen’s famous book ‘Pride and Prejudice’, which has been cleverly written and directed by Isobel McArthur.

This strong, all female cast take the audience through Austen’s story at a speed that is easy to follow. It involves multiple roles, different accents, many costume changes, impromptu singing, musical instruments, and hilarious anecdotes. I take my hat off to the actors who pulled this off seamlessly.

Pride and Prejudice is not an easy book to read. It needs a lot of unpicking and deals with ‘heavy’ themes of social class, feminism, and prejudices. So I can see why it is often used for GCSE English Literature. However, McArthur has excellently adapted this for the stage. She simplifies it but doesn’t alter the themes of the book either. It really is a masterpiece!

All the women were exceptional in their acting, comedic timing and they connected so well together. The standout performances for me were Emma Rose Creaner (Multi roles inc: Charles Bingley/Charlotte/Caroline) and Rhianna McGreevy (Multi roles inc: Fitzwilliam Darcey/Mrs Bennett). They had electric stage presence and I swear they just got funnier as the play went on.

The set is simple but effective. The staging cleverly takes you to Meryton, Netherfield, London, Pemberley and back again in a whistle-stop tour of the book’s locations. With the added nuances, musical interludes and props it showcases the staging and acting perfectly.

This play is such a treat … surely you must be in want of seeing it now? I think Miss Austen would approve!

Official London Theatre’s See It Live in 2025 promotion announces participating shows

·         Get great deals on tickets to over 50 top London shows for select performances in 2025

·         Tickets are reduced to £10, £20, £30, £40, £50 or £60

·         General sale begins 26 November, with a Mastercard priority window from 21 November

OfficialLondonTheatre.com/SeeItLive 

Start the year as you mean to go on, by seeing live theatre, with great deals on your favourite London shows with tickets from as little as £10 to £60 for select performances in 2025.  

If you are already a theatre fan, share your love and take a friend, and if you’re new… welcome! This is the perfect way to see what Theatreland has to offer and do something different. 

Previously known as the Official London Theatre New Year Sale and Get into London Theatre, See It Live is firmly established as one of theatreland’s longest running promotions, now in its 22^nd year. 

From exciting new productions like Clueless The Musical, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Kyoto, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, Mean Girls and The Score, and established West End favourites including Cabaret, Disney’s The Lion King, Les Misérables, MJ The Musical, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Mamma Mia!, Matilda The Musical, The Mousetrap, The Phantom Of The Opera, The Play That Goes Wrong and Wicked, to fantastic fringe theatre and family shows such as Room On The Broom and The Smartest Giant In Town, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. 

The Mastercard priority window launches next week on 21 November via priceless.com, followed by our general sale on 26 November, via OfficialLondonTheatre.com.  

Full list of shows participating in See It Live in 2025 

Aladdin  
Back To The Future The Musical  
Cabaret 
Cinderella  
Clueless, The Musical  
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button 
Fawlty Towers  
Firebird  
The Gang Of Three  
The Gift 
Hadestown 
Here You Come Again 
Homo Alone  
Horrible Histories: Horrible Christmas 
How To Fight Loneliness 
King Of Pangea  
Kyoto  
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical  
Disney’s The Lion King  
Macbeth 
Maddie Moate’s Very Curious Christmas  
Magic Mike Live  
Mamma Mia!   
The Marriage Of Figaro  
Matilda The Musical  
Mean Girls  
A Midsummer Night’s Dream  
Les Misérables 
MJ The Musical  
Moulin Rouge! The Musical 
The Mousetrap  
Mrs. Doubtfire  
Murder Ballad 
The Nutcracker (Polka Theatre) 
Parlour Song 
The Phantom Of The Opera  
The Pirates Of Penzance  
Play On! 
The Play That Goes Wrong  
Puppy  
Robin Hood And The Christmas Heist 
Room On The Broom  
The Score  
The Show On The Roof  

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical   

Sisters 360 
Six  
The Smartest Giant In Town 
The Snowy Day 
Starlight Express  
Stranger Things: The First Shadow  
(This Is Not A) Happy Room  
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical  
Wicked  
Witness For The Prosecution  
Why Am I So Single? 
The Years

Available dates, age recommendations and restrictions for participating shows will vary. Please check the show listings on OfficialLondonTheatre.com for more information. 

RUNAWAY ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS

LONDON, GET READY TO GO PAWS-ITIVELY DOTTY FOR

101 DALMATIANS THE MUSICAL!

NEW MUSICAL ADAPTATION OF CLASSIC STORY

TO TRANSFER TO LONDON’S EVENTIM APOLLO IN HAMMERSMITH

FOR LIMITED SUMMER 2025 RUN

Following its hugely successful UK Tour, Runaway Entertainment today announces the London transfer of 101 Dalmatians The Musicalat the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith for a limited six week run from Friday 18 July – Saturday 30 August 2025. Full casting for the London run to be announced.

General booking opens Tuesday 12 October at 10am.

The new musical version of Dodie Smith’s classic book, 101 Dalmatians is written by Douglas Hodge (music and lyrics) and Johnny McKnight (book), from a stage adaptation by Zinnie Harris. The director is Bill Buckhurst, with sets designed by David Woodhead, costumes designed by Sarah Mercadé and choreography by Lucy Hind. Musical supervision is from Alfonso Casado Trigo, orchestration by Jack Hopkins, the puppets are designed by Jimmy Grimes, with lighting by James Whiteside and sound design from Chris Whybrow. The musical director is Leigh Stanford Thompson, and casting director is Lucy Casson.

When fashionista Cruella de Vil plots to swipe all the Dalmatian puppies in town to create her fabulous new fur coat, there’s trouble ahead for Pongo and Perdi and their litter of adorable, tail-wagging young pups.

This classic canine caper is brought to life on stage with spectacular puppetry, show-stopping choreography, hilarious songs and irresistible puppies!

The musical continues to tour the UK until Sunday 5 January 2025 starring Faye Tozer (Glasgow, Edinburgh) and Kerry Ellis (Oxford, Brighton) as Cruella De Vil.

Original production first performed at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London in 2022.

For more information visit www.101dalmatians.co.uk  

Facebook: /101Dalmatians | Instagram/TikTok: @101DalmatiansUK

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR WORLD PREMIÈRE OF

HOWARD BRENTON’S CHURCHILL IN MOSCOW AT ORANGE TREE THEATRE

With Guards at the Taj currently running at the venue, and Twelfth Night in rehearsals, Orange Tree Theatre (OT) today announces full casting for the world première of Churchill in Moscow by Howard Brenton directed by OT Artistic Director Tom Littler. Joining the previously announced Roger Allam as Winston Churchill are Alan Cox as Archie Clerk Kerr, Julius D’Silva as Vyacheslav Molotov, Peter Forbes as Joseph Stalin, Tamara Greatrex as Svetlana Stalin, Jo Herbert as Sally Powell and Elisabeth Snegir as Olga Dovzhenko.

Churchill in Moscow, which reunites Brenton and Littler for their sixth collaboration, opens on 11 February 2025, with previews from 3 February, and runs until 8 March. They previously worked together on Cancelling Socrates, The Blinding Light and Brenton’s adaptations of Strindberg’s Dances of Death, Miss Julie and Creditors. This new historical thriller explores the meetings between Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin at the Kremlin in 1942.

Tom Littler said today, “I’m delighted to be working with an inspiring company of actors to join Roger Allam in Howard Brenton’s new play – Churchill in Moscow. Tamara Greatrex is the latest actor to make her professional theatre debut at the Orange Tree.  Many of this cast have appeared in Howard’s work before, and they share my excitement about this project: it is an exciting, thought-provoking and hugely entertaining insight into a resonant historical episode.”

The world première production of

CHURCHILL IN MOSCOW

By Howard Brenton

Cast: Roger Allam (Winston Churchill), Alan Cox (Archie Clerk Kerr), Julius D’Silva (Vyacheslav Molotov), Peter Forbes (Joseph Stalin), Tamara Greatrex (Svetlana Stalin), Jo Herbert (Sally Powell) and Elisabeth Snegir (Olga Dovzhenko)

Director: Tom Littler; Designer: Cat Fuller; Lighting Designer: Johanna Town; Sound Designer and Composer: Max Pappenheim; Assistant Director: Rosie Tricks

3 February – 8 March 2025

Everything is possible in Moscow at night.

The Kremlin, Moscow, 1942. A top-secret meeting between Winston Churchill (Allam) and Joseph Stalin (Forbes): one, a wealthy aristocrat from a blue-blooded line of English nobility, the other a Georgian peasant, hell-bent on destroying capitalism and the class system. Can they find common ground? As diplomats struggle to control the escalating chaos, two interpreters find themselves caught in the eye of the storm.

The world première of Howard Brenton’s gripping drama imagines the meetings between two unpredictable titans as history teeters on a knife-edge.

Following its run at the OT, Churchill in Moscow will be available to stream through OT On Screen from Tuesday 11 – Friday 14 March.

Howard Brenton’s plays include Cancelling Socrates, The Blinding Light (Jermyn Street Theatre), Jude, Lawrence After Arabia, Drawing the Line, The Arrest of Weiwei, 55 Days (Hampstead Theatre), The Shadow Factory (Nuffield Theatre), Ransomed, Epsom Downs (Salisbury Playhouse), Doctor Scroggy’s War, Anne Boleyn, In Extremis (Shakespeare’s Globe), Dances of Death (Gate Theatre), The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (Liverpool Everyman, Chichester Festival Theatre),  The Romans in Britain, Paul, Pravda, Weapons of Happiness (National Theatre), Snogging Ken – co-written by Tariq Ali and Andy de la Tour(Almeida Theatre), Kit’s Play (Jerwood Theatre, RADA), Collateral Damage (Tricycle Theatre), and Playing Away (Opera North). Berlin Bertie, Iranian Nights, Greenland, Bloody Poetry, The Genius, Magnificence, Revenge (Royal Court Theatre), Moscow Gold (RSC Barbican Centre), (National Theatre), Thirteenth Night, Sore Throats (RSC at Donmar Warehouse), A Short Sharp Shock (Royal Court at Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Churchill Play (Nottingham Playhouse, RSC), Brassneck (Nottingham Playhouse). Adaptations include Bertolt Brecht’s The Life of Galileo, Georg Büchner’s Danton’s Death (National Theatre), August Strindberg’s Miss Julie (Jermyn Street Theatre) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust – Faust: Parts I and II (RSC, The Pit Theatre). For television, his credits include Spooks and Dead Head.

Roger Allam plays Winston Churchill. His theatre credits include Frank and Percy (Theatre Royal Windsor, Theatre Royal Bath, The Other Palace), A Number (Bridge Theatre), Rutherford and Sons, Afterlife, The Cherry Orchard, Albert Speer, Summerfolk, Money – Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor, Troilus and Cressida, The Way of the World (National Theatre), Limehouse, Privates on Parade – Olivier Award for Best Actor (Donmar Warehouse), The Moderate Soprano (Hampstead Theatre, Duke of York’s Theatre), The Tempest, Henry IV Parts I and II – Olivier Award for Best Actor,(Shakespeare’s Globe), La Cage Aux Folles (Duke of York’s Theatre), God of Carnage (Theatre Royal Bath, UK tour), The Giant, Semina (Hampstead Theatre), Boeing Boeing, What the Night is For (Comedy Theatre), Pravda (Chichester Festival Theatre), Blackbird (King’s Theatre Edinburgh, Noël Coward Theatre), Democracy (National Theatre, Wyndham’s Theatre), Art (Wyndham’s Theatre), Arcadia (Haymarket Theatre), City of Angels (Prince of Wales Theatre), Les Misérables (Barbican) and The Learned Ladies and Macbeth (RSC). His television credits include The Sandman, Murder in Provence, Game of Thrones, Endeavour, The Missing, The Life of Rock, Bad Education, Politician’s Husband, Parades End, The Jury, Krod Mandoon, Ashes to Ashes, The Curse of the Steptoe, The Thick of It, A Class Apart, I Do, Spooks, The Catherine Tate Show, Meet the Robinsons, Inspector Lynley, Manchild, Foyle’s War, Walking the Dead, Chambers, A Century of Troubles: Cromwell’s War, Henry IV, Inspector Morse, Between the Lines, Landing on the Sun and The Jury; and for film Tetris, Say Your Prayers, The Hippopotamus, The Truth Commissioner, Mr Holmes, Girls Night Out, The Book Thief, The Angels Share, The Iron Lady, The Woman in Black, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tamara Drewe, Speedracer, The Queen, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, V for Vendetta, A Cock and Bull Story, The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone, The Swiss Family Robinson, RKO 281, WILT and The Lady in the Van.

Alan Cox plays Archie Clerk Kerr. His theatre credits include Farm Hall (Theatre Royal Haymarket, Jermyn Street Theatre, UK tour), My Fair Lady, The King’s Speech (Frinton Summer Theatre), Take The Rubbish out, Sasha, Cornelius (Finborough Theatre), Love all (Jermyn Street Theatre), Uncle Vanya (Hampstead Theatre), Opening Skinner Box (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Forty Years On, The Lady’s Not For Burning  (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Divided Laing (Arcola Theatre), Impossible, Kingmaker (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Frost/Nixon (US tour), Stranger on a Train (UK tour), Trance (Bush Theatre), The Creeper (Playhouse Theatre), The Earthly Paradise (Almeida Theatre), The Flu Season (Gate Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest (Theatre Royal Haymarket), The Seagull, An Enemy of the People, and Absolute Hell (National Theatre). His television credits include New Amsterdam, The Good Wife, Lucan, MI High, The Wild West: Custer’s Last Stand, Housewife 49, Mrs David, Midsomer Murders, Dinosaur Hunters and The Odyssey; and for film Magic Mike’s Last Dance, Dante, Say My Name, Before We Go, The Dictator, Contagion, The Speed of Thought, August, Ladies in Lavender, Not Only But Always, Justice, The Waterfalls of Slunj, Cor Blimey, Weight, The Auteur Theory, Mrs Dalloway, An Awfully Big Adventure, Death of a School Boy and Young Sherlock Holmes.

Julius D’Silva plays Vyacheslav Molotov. His theatre credits include Farm Hall (Theatre Royal Haymarket, Jermyn Street Theatre, UK tour), & Juliet (Shaftesbury Theatre, Regent Theatre Melbourne), What’s New Pussycat? (Birmingham Rep), Alone in Berlin (Royal & Derngate), The Producers (Royal Exchange Theatre), The Cherry Orchard (Bristol Old Vic, Royal Exchange Theatre), Strictly Ballroom – The Musical (West Yorkshire Playhouse, Princess of Wales Theatre Toronto), Made in Dagenham (Adelphi Theatre), Eternal Love, Anne Boleyn (Shakespeare’s Globe, ETT UK tour), Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe), Oliver! (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Aristo (Chichester Festival Theatre), Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V, Henry VI Part 1, Henry VI II, Henry VI III, Richard III, Great Expectations, Dog in the Manger, Tamar’s Revenge, House of Desires, Pedro, The Great Pretender (RSC), Lone Star Mark Three (Salisbury Playhouse) and Tess of the D’Urbervilles (Greenwich Studio). His television credits include Bridgerton, The Crown, The Ten Commandments, How We Used to Live: Spanish Armada and Highlander; and for film, Notes on a Scandal, Full Circle and Endgame.

Elisabeth Snegir plays Olga Dovzhenko. Her theatre credits include In and Out of Chekhov’s Shorts (Southwark Playhouse, UK tour), The Anarchist (Jermyn Street Theatre), Scarlet Letter (The Actors’ Church, Covent Garden) and Father Christmas at the Hall (Royal Albert Hall).

Jo Herbert plays Sally Powell. Her theatre credits include Dear Octopus, 3 Winters (National Theatre), The Southbury Child (Bridge Theatre), The Mirror and the Light (RSC), The Country Wife, For Services Rendered, Cyrano de Bergerac (Chichester Festival Theatre), Wild Honey, Hello/Goodbye (Hampstead Theatre), East of Berlin (Southwark Playhouse), Eternal Love, Anne Boleyn (Shakespeare’s Globe, ETT tour), Candida (Theatre Royal Bath), Wild Oats, Does My Society Look Big in This? (Bristol Old Vic), Room Service Included (The Mill at Sonning), As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Game of Love and Change, Blackbird (Salisbury Playhouse), The Comedy of Errors, The Importance of Being Earnest (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and The Faerie Queen (international tour). Her television credits include grace, Call the Midwife, Unforgotten, Loaded, The Crown, Josh, Home Fires, Holby City (as series regular Fi Collins) and Lewis; and for film, Misbehaviour.

Tamara Greatrex is a recent graduate of ArtsEd and makes her professional theatre debut as Svetlana Stalin. For opera, her credits include La Traviata, Die Zauberflote, Die Frau Ohne Schatten (Royal Opera House) and Don Quixote, Onegin (Bolshoi). For film, her credits include Eva: Stories.

Peter Forbes returns to the Orange Tree to play Joseph Stalin having previously appeared in A Journey to London and Adam Bede. His theatre credits include Coriolanus, Jack Absolute Flies Again, Follies, Our Country’s Good, The Observer, Afterlife, Never So Good, Two Weeks with the Queen (National Theatre), A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story (Nottingham Playhouse, Alexandra Palace), La Cage Aux Folles (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), The Contingency Plan (Sheffield Theatres), The Scent of Rose, A Number (Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Curve, Leicester; Liverpool Everyman), Yes Prime Minister (Theatr Clywd), Allelujah! (Bridge Theatre), The James Plays (National Theatre of Scotland, National Theatre, UK and international tour), Way Upstream, A Small Family Business (Chichester Festival Theatre), How to Hold Your Breath (Royal Court Theatre), The Same Deep Water As Me (Donmar Warehouse), Singin’ in the Rain (Palace Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre, Royal Lyceum), Diary of a Nobody, Travels with my Aunt (Royal & Derngate), The Three Musketeers and the Princess of Spain (ETT), Treasure Island (Rose Theatre Kingston), Black Watch (National Theatre of Scotland, international tour), The Winter’s Tale, Troilus and Cressida (Shakespeare’s Globe), My Dad’s A Birdman (Young Vic), Mamma Mia! (Prince Edward Theatre), The Duchess of Malfi (Mercury Theatre), Richard III, Aladdin, Juno and the Paycock, Guys and Dolls (Leicester Haymarket Theatre) and A Word from our Sponsor (Stephen Joseph Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre). His television credits include Traces, Stephen, Manhunt, Poldark, King Lear, The Crown, Victoria, Endeavour, The Promise, The First Men in the Moon, Taggart, Little Devil, Bad Girls, A Touch of Frost, The Government Inspector, The English Revolution, Walking on the Moon, The Stalker’s Apprentice and Berkeley Square; and for film, Judy, The Children Act, The Wife, Modern Life is Rubbish, Nativity 3, Wilde and Blue Ice.

Artistic Director of the OT, Tom Littler, directs. At the OT, he has directed Suite in Three Keys (also Theatre Royal Bath), She Stoops to Conquer, The Circle (later revived for a national tour by Theatre Royal Bath) and the forthcoming production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Other theatre includes Saturday Night (Jermyn Street Theatre, Arts Theatre), A Little Night Music (Budapest), Good Grief (Theatre Royal Bath), Dances of Death (Gate Theatre), Martine (Finborough Theatre), Miss Julie and Creditors (Theatre by the Lake, Jermyn Street Theatre), Tonight at 8.30, Cancelling Socrates, The Tempest, The Odyssey, 15 Heroines (Jermyn Street Theatre), Cabaret (English Theatre Frankfurt, Deutsches Theater Munich) and Hamlet (Guildford Shakespeare Company). He was Artistic Director of Jermyn Street Theatre from 2017 to 2022, before moving to the OT.

ORANGE TREE THEATRE

LISTINGS

1 Clarence Street, Richmond, TW9 2SA

Box Office: 020 8940 3633 (Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm)

orangetreetheatre.co.uk

Performance times:

Monday – Saturday 7.30pm

Thursday and Saturday 2.30pm

GUARDS AT THE TAJ

Until 16 November

TWELFTH NIGHT

23 November 2024– 25 January 2025

OT UNDER 30 Night: Friday 13 December

TREASURE ISLAND

18 – 22 December 2024

2025 Season

CHURCHILL IN MOSCOW

3 February – 8 March 2025

OT UNDER 30 NIGHT: Friday 21 February

Audio Described Performance: Wednesday 5 March at 7:30pm

Captioned Performance: Tuesday 4 March at 7:30pm

Relaxed and distanced performance: Tuesday 25 February at 7:30pm

OT on screen: Tuesday 11 – Friday 14 March

PLAYHOUSE CREATURES

15 March – 12 April 2025

OT UNDER 30 NIGHT: Friday 28 March

Audio Described Performance: Wednesday 9 April at 7:30pm

Captioned Performance: Tuesday 8 April at 7:30pm

Relaxed and distanced performance: Wednesday 2 April at 7:30pm          

OT on screen: Tuesday 15 – Friday 18 April

Touring to:

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford

Theatre Royal Bath

BEN AND IMO

19 April – 17 May 2025

OT UNDER 30 NIGHT: Friday 2 May

Audio Described Performance: Wednesday 14 May at 7:30pm    

Captioned Performance: Tuesday 13 May at 7:30pm

Relaxed and distanced performance: Wednesday 7 May at 7:30pm

OT on screen: Tuesday 20 – Friday 23 May

IN PRAISE OF LOVE

24 May – 5 July 2025

OT UNDER 30 NIGHT: Friday 20 June

Audio Described Performance: Wednesday 2 July at 7:30pm

Captioned Performance: Tuesday 1 July at 7:30pm

Relaxed and distanced performance: Wednesday 25 June at 7:30pm

OT on screen: Tuesday 8 – Friday 11 July

ABOUT THE ORANGE TREE THEATRE
We are a local theatre with a global reputation.

A show at the Orange Tree is close-up magic: live, entertaining, unmissable. We’re an intimate theatre with the audience wrapped around the stage. We believe in celebrating what it means to be human. We believe in putting people at the centre of the stories we tell. And we believe in the power of a writer’s words, an actor’s voice, and an audience’s imagination to transport us to other worlds and other lives.

We punch above our weight to create world-class productions of new and contemporary drama, revitalise classics and re-discoveries, and introduce children and young people to the magic of theatre.

We are deeply rooted in our local community in South West London. We work with thousands of people aged 0 to 100 in Richmond and beyond through participatory theatre, bringing generations together to build confidence, connection, and joy. Our ground-breaking Primary Shakespeare and Shakespeare Up Close projects pack the theatre with children and ignite a spark to last a lifetime.

We’re a registered charity (266128). With only 180 seats and no support from Arts Council England, we rely on the generosity of our audiences and donors to raise £650,000 a year. These funds support our outstanding work on stage and in the community and invest in the next generation of talent.

Artistic Director Tom Littler 
Executive Director Hanna Streeter 

Website orangetreetheatre.co.uk | Email [email protected] 
X @OrangeTreeThtr | Facebook/Instagram OrangeTreeTheatre

SIX

WEST END QUEENS CELEBRATE SIX SENSATIONAL YEARS WITH A ROYAL AFTERNOON TEA AT THE RUBENS AT THE PALACE

The producers of Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s award-winning global smash hit SIX, alongside members of the current company of West End Queens, kick started the show’s West End Sixth Birthday celebrations with a delicious Royal Afternoon Tea at The Rubens at the Palace on 6 November, in the shadow of Buckingham Palace.

The Queens and assembled guests enjoyed a selection of the exquisite patisserie on offer as part of the Royal Afternoon Tea, including Fig and Hazelnut Layer Cake, Bergamot and Earl Grey Tart, Chocolate Orange Choux, The Crown (blackberry and vanilla sponge), and cucumber, chicken and smoked salmon sandwiches, created by chef Sarah Houghting – a pastry chef of distinction who has showcased her skills on Bake Off: The Professionals on Channel 4.

The Queens and guests then toasted the show with champagne and a specially created birthday cake served in true Royal fashion by the team at The Rubens at the Palace.

Six started its West End journey at the Arts Theatre in the autumn of 2018. This event is the first in a series of birthday celebrations in the next year, with further details to be announced.

Producers Andy and Wendy Barnes said, “We are so unbelievably proud of this show and the joy it has spread across the world over the past six years. It was wonderful to celebrate this with our current West End company and to raise a glass to everyone who has played a part in helping us reach this significant milestone in the show’s history. Many thanks to Sarah and her whole team at The Rubens at the Palace for all the delicious treats, and for hosting us in their beautiful venue. Here’s to the next SIX years, and beyond!”

Think you know the six Wives of Henry VIII? Think again…

Prepare to lose your head and experience the Tudor Wives’ lives as they turn back the clock and take to the stage to reclaim their crowns and retell their stories of love, loss and the infamous ex they all have in common.

Join Aragon, Boleyn, Seymour, Cleves, Howard and Parr, backed by their fierce on-stage band, the Ladies in Waiting, and Get Down to a royal retelling of the sassiest story in British Her-story.

The current company includes Nikki Bentley as Catherine of Aragon, Thao Therese Nguyen as Anne Boleyn, Caitlin Tipping as Jane Seymour, Reca Oakley as Anna of Cleves, Inez Budd as Katherine Howard, Janiq Charles as Catherine Parr, Gabriella Stylianou as Alternate Catherine of Aragon & Jane Seymour/Dance Captain, Naomi Alade as Alternate Anne Boleyn & Anna of Cleves, Hannah Lowther as Alternate Katherine Howard & Catherine Parr, Meg Dixon-Brasil as Super Swing, and Ellie Jane Grant as Super Swing.

The band features Ladies in Waiting Carol Arnopp as Musical Director/Keys, Alice Angliss on Drums, Emma Jemima on Guitar, Kelly Morris on Bass, and Sinéad Rodger as Assistant Musical Director.

SIX is written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, with direction by Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage. Choreography is by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, with set design by Emma Bailey, costume design by Gabriella Slade, lighting design by Tim Deiling, sound design by Paul Gatehouse, musical orchestration by Tom Curran, and musical supervision by Joe Beighton.

Winner of over 35 international awards, including two 2022 Tony Awards, three WhatsOnStage awards, and nominated for five Oliviers, SIX can also be seen live on stage worldwide: as well as London’s West End, SIX continues to tour the UK (with new 2025 dates just announced), and throughout Europe. An Australian tour launched in August 2024, with an engagement in Manila just opened, and in Singapore opening in November 2024.  SIX is currently playing at Broadway’s Lena Horne Theatre, the tour continues to play cities throughout the US. 

Earlier this year, the show both achieved 1.5million followers globally – across YouTube, Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook in the UK, US, Australia, Korea and beyond – and hit another milestone achievement, with SIX the Musical (UK Studio Cast Recording) and the Grammy Award®-nominated SIX: LIVE ON OPENING NIGHT (the first Original Broadway Cast Recording ever recorded live on opening night) streamed over one billion times.

Tickets to all international productions of SIX are available via sixthemusical.com

★★★★★

The Times, The Sunday Times, The Observer, The i

ONSALE TIMINGS & U25 TICKET SCHEME CONFIRMED FOR THE 2025 RETURN OFTHE SELL OUT ALMEIDA THEATRE PRODUCTION OF

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

DIRECTED BY OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR

REBECCA FRECKNALL

RUNNING AT THE NOËL COWARD THEATRE, LONDON

FROM 03 – 22 FEBRUARY 2025

BEFORE TRANSFERRING TO BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC FOR ITS US PREMIERE

FROM 28 FEBRUARY – 6 APRIL 2025

WITH PAUL MESCAL, PATSY FERRAN, ANJANA VASAN AND DWANE WALCOTT

All REPRISING THEIR ROLES

Paul Mescal, best known for Gladiator II and his BAFTA winning role in Normal People, Olivier Award winners Patsy Ferran (Summer & Smoke) and Anjana Vasan (We Are Lady Parts) with Dwane Walcott (One Night in Miami, Our Girl)will reprise their roles of Stanley, Blanche, Stella and Harold ‘Mitch’ Mitchell respectively, in the return of the Almeida Theatre’s critically acclaimed, hot ticket, sell-out production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Directed by Rebecca Frecknall (Cabaret, Summer & Smoke), the production will run for a strictly limited three-week engagement at the Noël Coward Theatre, before transferring to Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) for its US premiere, from 28 February – 06 April 2025.

On Thursday 14November, tickets for the three-week West End engagement will go onsale to DMT+ members at 10am, to ATG+ members and Almeida Supporters at 12pm and to anyone who signs up for priority access to tickets at 2pm. To gain access to tickets from 2pm, sign up now via www.streetcarwestend.com. Tickets will then go on general sale via DMT, ATG and Almeida at 10am on Friday 15 November.

BAM members and patrons will be able to purchase tickets from Wednesday 20 November, with the Amex presale on Thursday 5 December (while supplies last), and general onsale on Tuesday 10 December.

£30 tickets for U25’s at the Noel Coward Theatre
At every performance, 100 great seats, split across all levels of the auditorium, and including the front row of the stalls are available exclusively for patrons aged 25 or under, at the special price of £30. These seats can be booked online via the Delfont Mackintosh Theatres box office. Please note that ID will be required upon arrival, or entry will not be permitted.

The production previously ran at the Almeida theatre from December 2022 to February 2023, before going on to have continued success at the Phoenix Theatre later that year. The casts won multiple awards for their roles in the production, including Paul Mescal taking home the Olivier Award for Best Actor, and Anjana Vasan for Best Supporting Actress, while Patsy Ferran won a Best Actress Critic’s Circle Award.

The principle cast will be joined by Eduardo Ackerman (Pablo Gonzales), Rob Dempsey (Understudy Drummer/Doctor), Janet Etuk (Eunice Hubbel), Alexander Eliot (Steve Hubbel/Understudy Stanley Kowalski/Harold “Mitch” Mitchell), Gabriela Garcia (Flower Seller/Nurse/Singer/Understudy Stella Kowalski), Francesca Knight (Understudy Blanche Dubois/Eunice Hubbel), Tom Penn (Doctor/Drummer), Curtis Patrick (Understudy Young Collector/Steve Hubbel/Pablo Gonzales), Constanza Ruff (Understudy Flower Seller/Nurse/Singer) and Jabez Sykes (Young Collector).

“How pretty the sky is! I ought to go there on a rocket that never comes down.”

On a street in New Orleans, in the blistering summer heat, a sister spirals.

When Blanche unexpectedly visits her estranged sister Stella, she brings with her a past that will threaten their future. As Stella’s husband Stanley stalks closer to the truth, Blanche’s fragile world begins to fracture. Reality and illusion collide, and a violent conflict changes their lives forever.

Almeida Associate Director Rebecca Frecknall, whose multi-award winning production of Cabaret earnt her the Olivier Award and Critic’s Circle Theatre Award for Best Director, returns to the West End with her “heart-stopping” (The Telegraph)revival of Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire.

A Streetcar Named Desire’s creative team is as follows: Director: Rebecca Frecknall; Set Designer: Madeleine Girling; Costume Designer: Merle Hensel; Lighting Designer: Lee Curran; Sound Designer: Peter Rice: Composer: Angus MacRae and Casting Director: Julia Horan CDG.

A Streetcar Named Desire is produced by ATG Productions and Almeida Theatre, Gavin Kalin Productions, Wessex Grove, GGRS and LA Media Fund with Rupert Gavin/Mallory Factor, Francesca Moody Productions and Oliver Roth.

£25 TICKETS TO GO ON SALE EXCLUSIVELY FOR UNDER 30s, KEY WORKERS AND THOSE RECEIVING GOVERNMENT BENEFITS

FOR THE JAMIE LLOYD COMPANY’S

THE TEMPEST
STARRING SIGOURNEY WEAVER

AT THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE

AVAILABLE FROM THURSDAY 14 NOVEMBER AT 11AM

The Jamie Lloyd Company today announce the on sale details for the previously announced £25 tickets for under 30s, key workers and those receiving government benefits for William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, starring Sigourney Weaver. The production, directed by Jamie Lloyd, opens at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Thursday 19 December, with previews from 7 December 2024, and runs until 1 February 2025.

As part of The Jamie Lloyd Company’s continued commitment to accessibility, there will be 25,000 tickets at £25 across the Shakespeare season at Theatre Royal Drury Lane exclusively for under 30s, key workers and those receiving government benefits. These seats will be available across the first three levels of the theatre.

The £25 tickets for The Tempest go on sale on Thursday 14 November at 11am for a limited time only via thejamielloydcompany.com.

The £25 tickets for Much Ado About Nothing will go on sale at a later date, to be announced. Much Ado About Nothing, also directed by Jamie Lloyd, is the second production in The Jamie Lloyd Company’s Shakespeare season at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and stars Tom Hiddleston (Benedick) and Hayley Atwell (Beatrice). The production opens on Wednesday 19 February, with previews from 10 February, and runs until 5 April 2025. Full cast and creatives to be announced.

The Jamie Lloyd Company presents

THE TEMPEST

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Jamie Lloyd

Set and Costume Designer: Soutra Gilmour; Lighting Designer: Jon Clark; Sound Designer and Co-Composers: Ben and Max Ringham; Co-Composer: Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante; Movement Director: Fabian Aloise; Associate Director and Text Edited by Jonathan Glew; Casting Director: Stuart Burt CDG; Wigs, Hair and Make Up Designer: Carole Hancock; Intimacy Coordinator: Ingrid Mackinnon; Associate Set Designer: Rachel Wingate; Associate Costume Designer: Anna Josephs; Props Supervisor: Fahmida Bakht; Assistant Director: Cory Hippolyte

Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Saturday 7 December 2024 – Saturday 1 February 2025

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on.”

The legendary Sigourney Weaver makes her West End debut as Prospero in this enchanting story of revenge and forgiveness.

Starring Sigourney Weaver (Prospero), joined by Jude Akuwudike (Alonso), Jason Barnett (Stephano), Selina Cadell (Gonzalo), Mathew Horne (Trinculo), Mara Huf (Miranda), Forbes Masson (Caliban), Mason Alexander Park (Ariel), James Phoon (Ferdinand), Oliver Ryan (Sebastian) and Tim Steed (Antonio), with understudies Robin Berry, Öncel Camci, Claire Lacey, Anna María, Phillip Olagoke and Joe Rawlinson-Hunt completing the cast.

Produced by The Jamie Lloyd Company.

LISTINGS

Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Box Office: lwtheatres.co.uk / 020 3925 2998

THE TEMPEST

Saturday 7 December 2024 – Saturday 1 February 2025

Access Performances:

BSL Interpreted: Saturday 11 January, 2.30pm

Audio Described: Saturday 18January, 2.30pm  

Captioned: Saturday 25 January, 2.30pm        

Please email [email protected] to discuss your booking requirements.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Monday 10 February – Saturday 5 April 2025

Access performances:

BSL Interpreted: Saturday 15 March, 2.30pm

Captioned: Saturday 22 March, 2.30pm

Audio Described: Saturday 29 March, 2.30pm

Please email [email protected] to discuss your booking requirements.

LUCIE JONES

TO STAR AS JENNA RINK IN

13 GOING ON 30

THE MUSICAL

AT MANCHESTER OPERA HOUSE

FROM 21 SEPTEMBER 2025

ROYO, Revolution Studios, Wendy Federman and Phil Kenny are delighted to announce that West End star, Lucie Jones, will star as Jenna Rink in the world premiere production of 13 GOING ON 30 – THE MUSICAL, opening at Manchester Opera House for a limited season from 21 September 2025. The musical is based onthe 2004 rom-com classic from Revolution Studios starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, is written by the film writers Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa with songs by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner and will be directed by the award winning, Andy Fickman.

Tickets on sale at 13:30 on Wednesday 13 November.

Further casting to be announced.

Lucie said “As one of my favourite films, getting to know the musical has been one of the most exciting moments of my career. I can’t wait to share my version of our beloved thirty, flirty and thriving Jenna Rink!”

Jenna Rink is an adorably awkward 13-year-old girl who wishes she could skip over the misery of high school. When her birthday wish comes true, Jenna magically wakes up as an adult to find herself “thirty, flirty and thriving” as the editor of a fashion magazine with a seemingly perfect life. But as she gradually unravels the mystery of what kind of person she has become, she goes on a journey to work out what — and who — really matters.

Lucie Jones’ theatre credits include: Genevieve in The Baker’s Wife (Menier Chocolate Factory), Catherine in Pippin (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Katie in Super You (Lyric Theatre), Jenna Rink in 13 Going on 30 (Workshop at Battersea Arts Centre), Fantine in Les Miserables (Sondheim Theatre), Elphaba in Wicked (Apollo Victoria, Jenna Hunterson in Waitress (Adelphi Theatre & UK Tour), Fantine in Les Miserables (Sondheim Theatre); Martha Percy in Treason (Cadogan Hall), Heidi in Title of Show (London Coliseum), Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol (Dominion Theatre), Maureen in RENT (The Other Palace and UK Tour), Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (Leicester Curve, UK Tour and South Korea Opera House, Victoria in American Psycho (Almeida), Molly in Ghost (International Tour), Emily in A Christmas Carol (Lyceum), Lou in Girlfriends (LMTO), Meatloaf in We Will Rock You (International Arena Tour), Holly in The Wedding Singer (UK Tour) and Cosette in Les Misérables (Queen’s Theatre).

Her TV credits include Midsomer Murders and The Sarah Jane Adventures. X factor finalist, 2009. Eurovision finalist, 2017.

In 2020, Lucie performed a sold-out concert at London’s Adelphi Theatre. Accompanied by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra, the concert was recorded for a live album Lucie Jones – Live at The Adelphi. In 2021, Lucie performed a sold-out solo Christmas show at Her Majesty’s theatre in the West End and at St Davids Hall, Cardiff. In 2023, Lucie embarked upon a UK solo tour with the Fulltone Orchestra. Lucie has recently played a run of solo shows at Cadogan Hall, London.

Instagram: @luciejones1
Twitter: @luciejones1
TikTok: @thatluciejones

13 GOING ON 30 – THE MUSICAL will have songs by Michael Weiner and Alan Zachary (First Date (Broadway), High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Disney+). It is directed by Andy Fickman (Heathers, She’s The Man).

13 GOING ON 30 – THE MUSICAL is produced by ROYO, Revolution Studios, Wendy Federman and Phil Kenny, with Todd Garner, Marla Levine and Dean Stolber.

Website: www.1330musical.com
TikTok: 1330musical

X:1330musical

Instagram: 1330musical

LISTINGS INFORMATION

21 September – 12 October 2025

Manchester Opera House

3 Quay St

Manchester

M3 3HP

www.atgtickets.com/manchester

Box Office: 020 7223 2223

Tickets: from £15

Performances:

Tuesday – Saturday 7.30pm, Thursday & Saturday 2.30pm, Sunday 3pm

Jack Studio Theatre – 5 -9 November 2024

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

Sitting in a hospital waiting room and asked what brought him there, Ryan tells his story to the audience in an intense and emotional monologue. Touring after a successful Edinburgh run, Stephen Leach’s play is fizzing with energy thanks to a brilliant performance from Zach Hawkins.

Ryan is 19 and followed his more successful brother to London. Ben is and accountant and Ryan works for Deliveroo. When he hears that Ben and his fiancée are leaving the city, Ryan realises that there has never really been anything in London for him but must stay to the end of his contract in an awful-sounding flat that he has no hope of subletting.

Cocksure and brash at the beginning of the piece, Leach’s writing cleverly unpicks Ryan’s character as he reveals episodes from his past. Proudly bisexual, he often checks Grindr to see if anyone is nearby and is fed up with older gay men telling him it’s just a phase. When he meets Richard, a business associate of his brother, Ryan thinks he can get some free meals out of the older man, but things eventually take a dark turn.

Under Stephen Leach and Mimi Collins’ intuitive direction, Hawkins hardly ever stands still throughout the production, and when he does, his eyes rake the audience, making contact and drawing you further into Ryan’s life. Hawkins shifting body language as Ryan does impressions of Richard and, cattily, Ben’s girlfriend is wonderful – you can feel the contempt oozing through every pore. When a dark truth about Ryan’s past is mentioned, Hawkins’ face glazes over for a second, and then physically shrugs it off. A picture of a lost and lonely young man hiding behind a mask of bravado and jokes is built, and Ryan’s recollection of a brief Christmas visit to his mother’s house raises a parade of red flags about his father’s relationship with Ben, possibly Ben’s relationship with Ryan, and makes Ryan’s need for rough physical intimacy and older men more tragic.

Joining the toughest gang of bullies kept Ryan safe at school, but being in London makes him realise that only he can keep himself safe – and the play ends with Ryan hopeful and ready to start afresh anywhere but London.

A powerful and smartly written play with a powerhouse performance.

South Bank Centre, London – 8-9 November 2024

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

Australian dance company Chunky Move bring their acclaimed 4/4 to Europe on a six-city tour. Described as “Chunky Move’s blueprint for choreographic precision, physical endurance, minimalist design and rugged street aesthetics,” this is a memorable and fascinating dance performance.

Antony Hamilton has created a mesmerising fusion of krumping, freestyle hip-hop and contemporary. Choreographed with the performers (Mason Kelly, Melissa Pham, David Prakash, Harrison Ritchie-Jones, Aimee Schollum, Michaela Tancheff, Nikki Tarling and Jayden Wall) the production is both mechanical and organic.

The 8 dancers initially perform in groups of 4 on low platforms, creating repetitive and mechanical imagery with astonishing precision and synchronicity. As the performance develops, more platforms are introduced and wheeled around the stage as dancers perform in pairs or larger groups – always with a precision and sharpness that doesn’t flag over the 60 minutes. The choreography accounts for the needs of even these superhuman performers, with movement and pace gradually slowing and becoming more trancelike as the platforms are slowly spun around the stage and tableaus are formed. The jaw dropping stamina and skill of the performers as they create the almost hypnotic continuous movement on stage is complimented by Bosco Shaw’s wonderfully stark lighting design. Paula Levis’s sleek urban costumes add to bleak otherworldly atmosphere and Alisdair Macindoe’s trickily layered sound design shifts between pulsing upbeat energy and a percussion class for 5-year-olds in a wonderfully effective way that means the audience is never quite at ease, demanding stamina from the audience as well as the performers.

Chunky Move: 4/4 2024 International Tour continues: Les Halles de Schaerbeek, Brussels 15–16 November 2024 Dansens Hus, Oslo 22–24 November 2024 PLT Theater – Heerlen RABOzaal 3 December 2024 Teatro Municipal do Porto, Porto 6–7 December 2024 Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg, Luxembourg 10–11 December 2024