Author: FairyPoweredProductions

45NORTH ANNOUNCES FIRST

SEED COMMISSION SCHEME ARTISTS FOR 2021

45North today announces artists for the first of two Seed Commission Schemes in 2021. The first initiative supports trans and gender non-conforming artists, across a variety of disciplines, who are looking to develop an idea for live performance.

The selected artists are Anna Clock, Chiyo and Gayathiri Kamalakanthan.Each receives a fee of £1000, access to rehearsal or office space for a week and £750 towards collaborator fees. In addition, they will benefit from 15 hours of mentorship and one-to-one support from Tabby Lamb, the scheme’s director, as they develop a partial, or what the scheme refers to as a ‘0.5’, draft of their work across 6-week period in March and April 2021.

Further information on the second initiative, supporting theatre-makers from another underrepresented group, will be announced shortly.

Tabby Lamb, said today, “We were overwhelmed by the vast amount of Trans folk who applied for this commission, and then once again overwhelmed by the talent and skill of each application but after passionate discussion we ended up with 3 of the most exciting artists I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with; a luminary of the cabaret world, a technical wizard and a passionate sex educator. I can’t wait to help them develop their skills and put them on the path towards creating their first full length piece of theatre.”

Anna Clock (they/them) is developing an intimate, binaural audio experience exploring a fraught encounter over a barbershop chair. It’s a conversation between two people, reunited after ten years with new names, and different genders – for the purpose of a haircut. Exploring a power dynamic, and how it is coloured by history, class, age and physical intimacy, within a genderqueer space.

Clock is a composer, sound designer and cellist working across theatre, film, radio and installation. Their theatre credits include Crave (Chichester Festival Theatre), Wild (Unicorn Theatre), Earthquakes in London (Guildhall School of Music and Drama), Not F**ckin’ Sorry,Shuck ‘n’ Jive, Soft Animals (Soho Theatre), I Wanna Be Yours (Paines Plough and Tamasha, UK tour/Bush Theatre), Easy (Blue Elephant Theatre), Groove (Outbox Theatre), Admin, Miss Fortunate (Vault Festival), Anguis (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Summer Fest (Bunker Theatre), Armadillo (Yard Theatre), Fatty Fat Fat (Canada Water Theatre/Camden Roundhouse/Edinburgh Fringe & Tour), The Love of the Nightingale, The Lower Depths (Fourth Monkey Studio Theatre), Fighter (Stratford Circus), Twelfth Night (Southwark Playhouse) and Punk Rock, Pomona (New Diorama).

Chiyo (he/they) is developing a work aimed at exploring the parallels of misogyny through a generation, confronting his own experiences as a mixed-race, gender non-conforming Trans man, and sitting with what discussions come forth in correlation to societies brutal hatred of women.

Chiyois London’s Prinx of Provocation: a performance Artist who blurs the boundaries between Drag, Burlesque, and Sex Work. Chiyo is a model, a mover, and a solid force among the UK’s national cabaret pioneers.

Gayathiri Kamalakanthan (they/she) is developing the story of a Tamil non-binary child, who doesn’t yet have the language to put their queerness into words. Reimagining a period party – a rite of passage into ‘womanhood’ in Tamil culture – where the intersection of Tamil-ness and queerness is celebrated and held, not as a contradiction but as an inheritance. 

Kamalakanthan is a Tamil writer and sex and relationships educator, working with Inclusive Tamil Arts and School of Sexuality Education. Kamalakanthan loves to queer up spaces through making visible the stories of those who have been erased throughout history.

Tabby Lamb is a non-binary writer and performer based in East London and a graduate of the Theatre Directing course at Dartington College of Arts. Similarly inspired by Carly Rae Jepson and Tennessee Williams, she strives to tell stories that explore the intersections between popular culture and politics. Their credits include SINCE U BEEN GONE (Gate theatre/HighTide Festival). Tabby is an associate writer with Middle Child, she’s on attachment at the Oxford Playhouse via their Playhouse Playmaker scheme 2021 and she’s developing new work on the Wild Child’s Oli Lansley mentor scheme, mentored by Sarah Solemani. She has previously been part of the Soho Theatre Writers Lab and the LGBTQ Arts Review #RaisingOurVoices scheme for queer and trans writers and is currently working with BFI Flare x BAFTA Crew. Tabby is also a facilitator, founding and running @TheatreQueers, which offers networking and creative arts projects for people from the LGBTQ+ community.

45North champions, develops, and produces outstanding work with emphasis on centering female-identifying and non-binary artists. Founded in 2019 and led by the very best creative teams from a variety of performing and producing backgrounds, 45North continues to reinvest in emerging artists who are beginning and expanding their practices. 45North commits to maintaining creative teams of no less than 75% female-identifying or non-binary people, working to bring inclusive and exciting new theatre and events to London, Edinburgh, across the UK and internationally. Selected credits include Written on the Waves, a series of 8 world première audio plays, Post-Mortem by Iskandar Sharazuddin (Edinburgh, The Blue Room, and Holden Street Theatre), (un)written (un)heard devised by the company and directed by Jessica Rose McVay (FRINGE WORLD- Winner of the Physical Theatre and Dance Award), and MEAT by Gillian Greer (Theatre503).

www.forty-fivenorth.com

@forty_fivenorth

Barn Theatre | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Website

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR THE BARN THEATRE’S LIVE ‘ONE-SHOT’ SONG CYCLE NOW OR NEVER

The Barn Theatre have today announced the full casting and creative team for upcoming livestream Now or Never. 

Now or Never is a British song cycle with an exciting and ambitious digital twist. Now or Never is a song cycle written by associate artist Matthew Harvey, which follows 7 people as they each take a defiant act of positivity in their last week on Earth. 

The inaugural cast of Now or Never includes Eloise Davies (Be More Chill, Grease), Ahmed Hamad (Rent, Stay Awake Jake, The Boy in the Dress), Matthew Harvey (Les Misérables, Violet, Jesus Christ Superstar, Murder Ballad), Irvine Iqbal (The Boy in the Dress, Aladdin, Broken Wings),Lucy St Louis (Man of La Mancha, Motown, Beautiful),Katie Shearman (The Sound of Music UK Tour, Evita) andCourtney Stapleton (Dear Evan Hansen, Six, Les Misérables).

This project is the first collaboration between The Barn Theatre and associate artist Matthew Harvey. Harvey created the song cycle with the intention of writing about individual responses to global adversity without writing specifically about the pandemic. The piece features 7 songs with relatable everyday characters that choose positivity in the face of adversity.

Matthew Harvey created the concept and wrote the song cycle. Freddie Tapner is Musical Supervisor and Ryan Carter is Creative Director, who is responsible for the innovative digital approach. Ben Collins as Director of Photography, supported by Ben Thomas & Alex Tabrizi. Harry Smith as Sound Designer.

The ambitious digital spin presents the work as a non-stop, one-shot, song cycle, with one camera navigating the entire building, featuring 7 characters moving between 7 spaces. The digital concert will be streamed LIVE for one-night only at The Barn Theatre. 

Tickets for the production are currently on sale at £10 and can be purchased via barntheatre.org.uk/barn-at-home. 

TuckShop and Trafalgar Theatre Productions,

John-Webb Carter & Jamie Chapman Dixon for Carter Dixon Productions

in association with Ameena Hamid Productions, M. Green Productions

& Piers Cottee-Jones Entertainment

present

“Kill for a ticket”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Daily Star Sunday

STARRING

RuPaul’s Drag Race Superstars

WILLAM & LATRICE ROYALE

&

Britain’s Got Talent Semi-finalist

MYRA DUBOIS

GARRICK THEATRE

FROM WEDNESDAY 19 MAY 2021

WRITTEN BY HOLLY STARS

BASED ON AN IDEA BY CHRISTOPHER D. CLEGG DIRECTED BY JESSE JONES

Following rave reviews in December 2020, the fabulous killer comedy and smash hit sold-out sensation Death Drop is sashaying back into London’s West End and will return to the Garrick Theatre on Wednesday 19 May for an eight week run until Sunday 11 July. Tickets are on sale now.

Described by Attitude as a “killer show” and ”rollicking good fun” by The Guardian, this 2021 summer residency (some of which will be socially distanced) will also feature some fabulous new casting: RuPaul’s Drag Race legends Willam and Latrice Royale will star alongside Britain’s Got Talent 2020 semi-finalist Myra Dubois, along with a full drag cast in this hilarious Dragatha Christie murder mystery – this show is like nothing you’ve seen on the West End stage before!

In what will be their West End debuts, Willam will take on the role of 80s pop sensation Shazza, alongside Latrice Royale as Summer Raines, a glamorous American weather girl living in London and Myra Dubois as The Lady.

Willam said: “I’m excited to be in the West End with my breast friend Latrice Royale in Death Drop, a spec-tacular drag musical murder mystery. No spoilers please (I DID IT).”

Latrice Royale continued: “I cannot WAIT to be making my debut on London’s West End in Death Drop! This is just beyond any dream I could have even conceived of when I was a boy in Compton, California. And to get to come out of an entire year in lockdown and step into such a major production is a very welcome change. It gives me hope that the world is going to get back to “normal” and when I can finally get on a stage again, I’m gonna tear it up! I miss connecting with a live audience so much, and getting to do it with my good Judy, Willam, makes it even more special.”

Myra Dubois added: “Rejoice! I, Myra DuBois (off the telly), am making my long-anticipated West End debut! People forget that as well as a globally revered singer, poet, muse, wellness facilitator, energy worker and empath; I’m also an actress. Award-winning, actually. What an honour it is to be able to swoop in and save this little show. I can’t wait to meet my supporting cast.”

LoUis CYfer, Anna Phylactic and Holly Stars – who all performed in the show last year – will return to reprise their co-starring roles.

It’s 1991 and a gaggle of guests gather on Tuck Island for a soirée like no other. The tension rises as the outrageous guests reveal their suspicious and sordid pasts, and one by one they sashay away, until at the last, nerve-shredding, side-splitting moment the surviving guests find out who-dunnit!

This rampant, raucous, ridiculous romp of a murder mystery serves up all the drama, comedy, twists and turns you’ll ever need!

TuckShop is the UK’s only specialist theatre production company devoted all things drag. In 2019 they presented Cinderella starring Baga Chipz, the UK’s first ever all drag pantomime in the West End which sold out its run. They also produce drag events across the country, and are the UK’s largest merchandise retailer for drag performers.

TuckShop Creative Director and Producer Christopher D. Clegg said: “To reopen the West End, not once, but twice with Death Drop is so exciting. In the short run we had in December our audiences were having so many much needed laughs, and we can’t wait to slay you all once more. To bring the history-making first ever Drag play back to the Garrick Theatre once again – for an even longer run – with the some of the best, most talented, and hilarious drag Kings and Queens, is an honour!”

The capacity at the Garrick Theatre has been reduced to comply with COVID-19 Secure guidelines for social distancing with robust risk mitigation in place. In addition to hand sanitation, face coverings and track and trace, other measures will include contactless tickets, temperature testing and the deep clean and sanitation of the theatre.

Listings Information

Garrick Theatre, 2 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0HH

First Performance: 19 May 2021

Final performance: 11 July 2021

Performances: Wednesday – Friday at 8.00pm, Saturday and Sunday at 4.00pm & 8.00pm

Website: www.deathdropplay.com

Ticket prices: From £15

Twitter: @deathdropplay

Instagram: @deathdropplay

Facebook: Facebook.com/deathdropplay

KATHERINE PARKINSON TO STAR

“art models reveal all in Katherine Parkinson’s smart debut…[she] delicately reveals connections that, by the end, give the play a wistful emotional weight” – Stage review

Mark Fisher, The Guardian 

BAFTA Award winning Katherine Parkinson’s (Home, I’m Darling, The IT Crowd) debut play Sitting has been adapted for the screen, airing at 10.30pm on Wednesday 7^th April on BBC Four. After a television directorial debut with Unprecedented followed by Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads (both BBC) in 2020, former Artistic Director of Headlong Theatre Jeremy Herrin (People, Places and Things)directs the hour-long comedy-drama forming part of BBC Lights Up, BBC Arts’ Culture In Quarantine season celebrating British Theatre.

Starring Parkinson for the first time, the one-off special follows three characters as they sit for a silent painter. In these sittings, ‘Luke’ (Mark Weinman – I May Destroy You, After Life),‘Cassandra’ (Alex Jarrett – Les Misérables, Adult Material) and ‘Mary’ (Parkinson) reveal truths in a play about love, loss and the importance of human connection.

Award winning figurative painter Roxana Halls’ (National Portrait Gallery’s B.P. Portrait Award, The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition) work will feature.

Parkinson made her debut as a playwright with Sitting at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as part of a BBC Arts and Avalon playwright’s initiative, with the play subsequently transferring to London’s Arcola Theatre.

Sitting was commissioned for the BBC by Jonty Claypole. It is produced by Avalon with Jon Thoday and Richard Allen Turner as Executive Producers.

What The Press Said About Parkinson’s Stage Play, Sitting

“Parkinson paints intense, quietly devastating portraits of her characters with accomplished brush strokes”

★★★★ Heather Swain, Metro 

“Sitting is a sharp, perceptive piece of work, delivered brilliantly”

★★★★ David Kettle, The List

★★★★ BritishTheatre.com ★★★★ London Box Office ★★★★ The Upcoming ★★★★ London Theatre 1            

“Parkinson’s ear for the cadences of comedy is, unsurprisingly, very sharp.” Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard       

“charming” Luke Jones, Daily Mail 

NEW AND RESCHEDULED DATES FOR

NATIONAL TOUR OF

JOHN GODBER’S

APRIL IN PARIS

STARRING

JOE PASQUALE & SARAH EARNSHAW

FROM 17 MAY 2021

The producers of John Godber’s classic comedy, April in Paris, are delighted to announce new and rescheduled dates for the National tour, which will now open in Coventry on 17 May 2021. April in Paris will star Joe Pasquale and Sarah Earnshaw as Al and Bet and will be directed by Richard Lewis.  Audiences will be socially distanced.

In John Godber’s touching and hilarious classic, we go into the heart of one ordinary couple’s life as they go on both the journey of a lifetime and a journey into their relationship.  Al and Bet are in a rut.  Married for 26 years, their conversations are running dry and life has taken its toll. With his building work sparse and her shifts at the shoe shop getting few and far between there’s little to look forward to, apart from a possible ABBA tribute show in Wakefield and the odd trip to the pub.  But Bet has dreams.  She longs to walk with the Pharaohs in Egypt, sunbathe on golden beaches and climb Alpine mountains, all fuelled by her love of magazine competitions with holidays as prizes.  Finally, her luck changes; she wins a night away for two to Paris in April, via a luxury trip on P&O Ferries out of Hull.

Joe Pasquale said, “I have been a huge fan of John Godber’s work for the past 30 years since I first saw Bouncers, so to be given a chance to perform this specially adapted version of one of John’s finest creations is a dream come true. To be able to perform this show with Sarah Earnshaw is a true delight. John has written a masterclass of comedy and pathos, with such a sense of realism, reflecting the way life is in a long relationship.

“This is probably the longest rehearsed ‘two hander’ play in history; I’ve already grown four cauliflowers and a crop of onions since we started! We have been working on it since last September, in the hope of theatres reopening in the autumn of last year, but, sadly, we kept getting pushed back and finding doors shutting on us just as we were ready to perform it. So we continued to rehearse and hone it, ready for the green light and I’m very excited to say that, on 17 May, we will be the first touring theatre show out of the gate. What a remarkable achievement from all the team to make this happen. I can’t wait for audiences to come out again, remember what live entertainment means to all of us and how much we need it; performers and audiences alike…. I promise we won’t forget our lines!”

Producer and director, Richard Lewis said, “I’m delighted to finally be able to present April in Paris! This is all the more delightful as, not only is it a funny, uplifting comedy just right for the times, it also premieres on the first day that theatre is allowed to perform in the UK again.  The production has been specially designed and rehearsed to cater for a socially distanced audience and the performance will represent a milestone in the theatre industry’s rejuvenation. I hope audiences will support a bold initiative to get theatre back where it belongs – in front of an audience – whilst supporting their local theatre and having a good laugh while they are doing it!”

Joe Pasquale and Sarah Earnshaw had begun the second UK tour of Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em when theatres were closed by the Government because of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Comedian Joe Pasquale has delighted audiences with his live stand-up tours for over 30 years. Along the way he’s voiced characters for Hollywood movies Garfield: A Tale of Two Kittens and Horton Hears a Who!, children’s television animation Frankenstein’s Cat and starred in The Muppets’ 25^th Anniversary Show.  Joe made his theatrical debut in 1999 in Larry Shue’s The Nerd, followed by the touring productions of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Mel Brooks’s The Producers. In addition, Joe took part recently in ITV1’s The All New Monty: Who Bares Wins, he was crowned ‘King of the Jungle’ in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here in 2004, appeared on five Royal Variety Performances, hosted his own ITV special An Audience with Joe Pasquale, at times hosted The Paul O’Grady Show for Channel 4 and hosted the long-running television series The Price is Right for ITV.  Other recent TV credits include a celebrity edition of Total Wipeout; Guinness World Records Smashed and Virgin One’s The Prisoner X.

Prior to playing Betty, Frank’s long-suffering wife in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Sarah Earnshaw most recently starred as Connie in The Nightingales (Theatre Royal Bath & UK Tour) and Jennifer Lore in the UK Tour of Nativity – The Musical.  Her other theatre credits include Travels With My Aunt (Chichester Festival), The Lady of the Lake in Spamalot (West End and UK Tour) and the original London cast of Wicked.

The National Tour of April in Paris is produced by Limelight Productions.

Website:  www.AprilInParisLive.co.uk

Facebook: AprilInParis

Twitter: AprilinParis2

2021 TOUR SCHEDULE

17 – 19 May                            COVENTRY Belgrade Theatre                       

                                               belgrade.co.uk 

20 – 22 May                            HULL New Theatre                                             01482 300 306

                                               www.hulltheatres.co.uk

24 – 25 May                           CHESTERFIELD Pomegranate Theatre              01246 345 222

                                               chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk

4 – 6 June                               WELLINGBOROUGH The Castle Theatre           01933 270 007*

                                               castletheatre.co.uk

18 – 19 June                           NOTTINGHAM Theatre Royal                             0115 989 5555              

                                               trch.co.uk

Further dates to be added

*Box office opening mid-April

Streaming 22 March – 4 April – book via www.stream.theatre/season/51

4****

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

A face-meltingly talented cast and classy design make BKLYN a must-see production.

Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson’s urban fairytale is told by a group of street performers. Together they share the story of Brooklyn (Emma Kingston), a young musician who travels from Paris to New York to find out what she can about the father she never met and the place she’s named after. The tragic story of her parents guides her and as she becomes famous in the States, she always sings her parents’ unfinished lullaby in the hope that her father will one day join her on stage to sing together. But there is already one diva in Brooklyn, and Paradice (Marisha Wallace) is never going to step out of the spotlight for the young newcomer.

It’s a simple story, and you can see exactly where it’s heading, but Dean Johnson’s slick direction makes you forget the plot’s shortcomings. The derelict feel of the room the characters gather in, full of crumpled paper and rickety chairs is perfect for the downbeat beginning as the street performers and band appear. This contrasts beautifully with the warmer lit sections portraying Brooklyn’s story.

The music is what the show is all about, and there are some barnstorming numbers from the brilliant divas Marisha Wallace and Emma Kingston. Sejal Keshwala and Jamie Muscato’s duet is beautiful, and Muscato singing Sometimes will give you goosebumps. Newtion Matthews is smooth and soulful as Street Singer, but when the five vocalists are singing together the uplifting harmonies are sublime. This is a cast you will want to listen to all day.

THE OLIVIER AND DORFMAN THEATRES TO REOPEN IN JUNE 2021 WITH DYLAN THOMAS’S MASTERPIECE UNDER MILK WOOD AND NEW PLAY BY JACK THORNE AFTER LIFE

 – Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas staged in the Olivier theatre, directed by Lyndsey Turner, with additional material by Siân Owen. Opening on 16 June with cast including Michael Sheen, Karl Johnson and Siân Phillips  

– After Life based on the film by Hirokazu Kore-eda and written by Jack Thorne with concept by Bunny Christie, Jeremy Herrin and Jack Thorne to reopen the Dorfman theatre on 2 June, a co-production with award-winning theatre company Headlong 

The National Theatre today announces plans to reopen in June, welcoming audiences back to the South Bank for the first time since closing last December.  

The Olivier theatre will reopen on 16 June with Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas, additional material by Siân Owen, directed by NT Associate Lyndsey Turner. Michael Sheen leads the acting company which includes Susan Brown, Ifan Huw Dafydd, Alan David, Michael Elwyn, Kezrena James, Karl Johnson, Gaynor Morgan Rees, Anthony O’Donnell, Siân Phillips and Cleo Sylvestre. Set and costume design is by Merle Hensel, lighting design by Tim Lutkin,  movement by Imogen Knight, songs composed by Edward-Rhys Harry, and sound design and additional compositions by Donato Wharton.Tom Bellerby is staff director. The production will be performed in-the-round in the transformed Olivier theatre. The theatre will remain in this configuration for further productions until early 2022.  

The Dorfman theatre will reopen on 2 June for the first time since February 2020 with the previously announced co-production with Headlong, After Life written by Jack Thorne and directed by Jeremy Herrin. Based on the film by Hirokazu Kore-eda, with concept by Bunny Christie, Jeremy Herrin and Jack Thorne, After Life is a surreal and powerfully human look at the way we live our lives, asking who you would choose to live with for eternity. 

Initial casting includes Olatunji Ayofe, Danielle Henry, Maddie Holliday, Togo Igawa, Anoushka Lucas, Kevin McMonagle, Simon Startin, Luke Thallon, June Watson and Millicent Wong. Set and costume design is by Bunny Christie, lighting design by Neil Austin, movement direction by Shelley Maxwell, video design by Max Spielbichler andsound design by Tom Gibbons. TD Moyo is staff director.  

Both productions will run until 24 July, with socially-distanced seating for the entire run of the productions. Tickets go on sale to the public on 30 April.  

Rufus Norris, Director of the National Theatre, says: “It’s been an incredibly difficult year for theatre, but I’m delighted to be able to confirm our reopening plans today and to be sharing the news of our first two productions that will reopen the National Theatre in June. In our transformed Olivier theatre, Lyndsey Turner will share her new staging of Dylan Thomas’s masterful Under Milk Wood with Michael Sheen joining the company. We’re also very excited to reopen the Dorfman theatre for the first time since February 2020 with Jack Thorne’s new adaptation of the film After Life, with concept by Bunny Christie, Jeremy Herrin and Jack Thorne. Both shows will play to socially-distanced audiences and we look forward with cautious optimism to welcoming back larger audiences across our theatres soon. Sharing our work online and on television over the last year has enabled us to reach millions of people and continue to keep culture alive, but the magic of live theatre is what we can now begin to look towards: to creating work with our freelance artists and colleagues, to supporting young people’s creativity, and to bringing joy to audiences and communities through imaginative and inspiring live performance.” 

The Olivier theatre will have a capacity of approximately 500, whilst the Dorfman capacity will be 120. For Under Milk Wood over 200 tickets will be available at £20, whilst nearly half the house for After Life will be at £20. Tickets will be available to purchase as singles, pairs or in threes or fours and with social distancing measures in place. There will also be a number of Access performances for each production. Full information on these and how to book can be found here. 

Further programming, including information on previously announced productions, The Normal Heart and Death of England: Delroy, will be announced at a later date.  

Supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation through the Weston Culture Fund.  

THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY LAUNCHES ‘INTERVAL DRINKS’ – A NEW PODCAST SERIES

GUESTS INCLUDE ADJOA ANDOH, CHARLOTTE ARROWSMITH, JUSTIN AUDIBERT, PAUL CHAHIDI, JULIET GILKES ROMERO, JOHN KANI AND TIM MINCHIN

EPISODES AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD NOW

Today (Thursday 25 March 2021) the Royal Shakespeare Company announces the Company’s first in-house podcast, Interval Drinks, bringing together members of the RSC’s 2020/21 acting company with inspirational personalities from the Company’s history. The series is supported by Darwin Escapes.

Interval Drinks is an opportunity to learn more about the life of the RSC from those at the heart of the Company. The Podcast offers audiences a rare insight into the professional journeys of these RSC artists, as well as a chance to explore the craft of modern theatre and discuss some of the biggest issues facing the theatre industry today.

Each episode of the seven-part series will be available to download for free via the RSC website, as well as multiple podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes). A new episode will be made available to download every Thursday and will include a captioned vodcast episode, available via video supporting platforms and the RSC YouTube channel.

The first two episodes of Interval Drinks are available to download now. Episode one features actor and comedian Miles Jupp in conversation with singer/songwriter, Tim Minchin, who this year joins the RSC in celebrating a decade since Matilda the Musical, for which Tim wrote both music and lyrics, opened in the West End. Episode two features Mogali Masuku in conversation with playwright, actor and political activist John Kani, who recently wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed RSC production of Kunene and the King, which premiered at the Swan Theatre before transferring to the Ambassadors Theatre in London last year. The show’s run was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The series’ guests also include Adjoa Andoh (Netflix’s Bridgerton, RSC’s Troilus and Cressida) Charlotte Arrowsmith (RSC’s As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew), Justin Audibert (RSC’s The Taming of the Shrew 2019/20) Paul Chahidi (BBC’s This Country, Death of Stalin) and Juliet Gilkes Romero (RSC’s The Whip).

Joining Miles and Mogali from the RSC’s 2020/21 acting company are Kemi-Bo Jacobs, Hal Chambers, Greg Haiste, Avita Jay and Bea Webster.

The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadow’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Theatres Trust director Jon Morgan comments on upcoming World Theatre Day (27^th March) in light of the pandemic:

This World Theatre Day in 2021 will be a bittersweet one with theatres across the UK unable to open. Before the pandemic hit, theatres played an important role in communities everywhere. More than 34million people attend theatres in the UK each year, generating £1.28bn in ticket revenue and contributing £7bn to the wider economy. 

Theatres also make a contribution to their local areas that is harder to put a price on – making our towns and cities more vibrant and attractive, boosting pride in local areas, as places where people can come together, be inspired and feel part of a greater collective. Although most have been unable to welcome live audiences for the past year, theatres have still played a vital role in their communities during the pandemic. Showing enormous resilience and creativity, theatres have pivoted into community response hubs, foodbanks and vaccination centres, connecting with audiences in new ways and reaching out into the wider community.

This is too precious to risk losing and Theatres Trust has worked resolutely to help the UK’s valued theatres survive the pandemic. We secured important changes to planning law to protect theatres falling vacant due to Covid and have been pleased to be able to support more than 300 organisations through our free advice service and webinar programme, around 80 theatres through the #SaveOurTheatres Crowdfunder campaign and 75 theatres with grants to help with reopening costs. In total we have raised almost £2m to support theatres at this challenging time.

Theatres Trust will continue to support theatres to navigate the challenges ahead so they can play an important part in the UK’s recovery, economic and social, as we come out of lockdown. 

CURVE TO BRING A SENSATIONAL CHRISTMAS TO LEICESTER WITH PRODUCTION OF BROADWAY MUSICAL

A CHORUS LINE

Performances 3 – 31 December

PLANNED PERFORMANCES OF THE WIZARD OF OZ POSTPONED TO CHRISTMAS 2022 DUE TO 2023 NATIONAL TOUR

Curve is set to bring one singular sensation to Leicester this Christmas with a new Made at Curve production of the legendary Broadway musical A Chorus Line, running Friday 3 to Friday 31 December.

The iconic show will be directed by Curve’s Artistic Director Nikolai Foster, whose recent productions includeSunset Boulevard – at Home (“A game changer”, The Telegraph), West Side Story (“A superb production”, The Sunday Times)and White Christmas (“Dazzling, joyous”, The Stage). Full casting and production team will be revealed in due course.

The news comes as Curve also announces its production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Wizard of Oz has now been postponed until Christmas 2022, due to plans for a national tour of the musical in 2023 following its run at Curve. All ticket-holders for The Wizard of Oz will be contacted by Curve’s Box Office team in the coming weeks and full refunds and exchanges will be available.

Curve’s Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said:

“We have wanted to present A Chorus Line at Curve for many years and emerging from the pandemic, this feels like the perfect moment to produce this mighty Broadway show, the ultimate backstage musical and celebration of theatre itself. A Chorus Line is a love letter to theatre, celebrating the exceptional lives of the performers who make it all possible. It gives a voice to the blazing talents and extraordinary experiences of the people who devote their lives to the performing arts. Through the music of Marvin Hamlisch, A Chorus Line reaches that ecstatic place only musicals can hit and we cannot wait for it to explode onstage in Leicester.

“Christmas at Curve is always a special time, but as we re-open our theatre and come together, this year promises to be the most joyous, life-enriching and singularly sensational Christmas at Curve so far. And whilst the road to OZ might be a little longer than any of us could ever have imagined, we know it will be well worth the wait. We look forward to finally reaching the Emerald City in 2022 and working with the team at Really Useful Group and our co-producer Michael Harrison on a UK tour in early 2023. As ever, thank you to our incredibly loyal audiences for your patience and navigating these extraordinary times alongside us with such understanding.”

With a book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban, A Chorus Line features iconic songs including ‘One’, ‘I Hope I Get It’, ‘Nothing’ and the hit ballad ‘What I Did For Love’. A Chorus Line revolutionised the Broadway stage, with creator Michael Bennett using real-life testimonies from late night recording sessions with chorus dancers, to amplify and celebrate the lives of theatre’s unsung heroes.

New York City. 1975. On an empty Broadway stage, 18 performers are put through their paces in the final, gruelling audition for a new Broadway musical. Only eight will make the cut. The audition takes an unexpected turn as the director, Zach, invites the performers to open up about their lives and what brought them into theatre. What follows are searing stories of ambition, childhood, shattered dreams and what it means to follow your dreams onto the stage. The emotional stakes are heightened when Zach’s ex-lover Cassie, fresh from an attempt to make it in Hollywood, wants to audition for the chorus line.

Sensational choreography, some of the greatest songs ever written for the Broadway stage and heart-wrenching personal stories combine to create one singular sensation and musical theatre’s most unforgettable finale. 

Tickets for A Chorus Line at Curve will be on sale to Curve Friends from Mon 29 Mar, Supporters from Tue 30 Mar, to Members and Groups from Thu 1 Apr and on general sale from Thu 8 Apr, all at 12 noon. Tickets can be purchased online at www.curveonline.co.uk.