Author: FairyPoweredProductions

DAVID MITCHELL

STARS AS WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE IN

UPSTART CROW

ON-SALE: WEDNESDAY 25 SEPTEMBER AT 12 NOON FROM UPSTARTCROWTHECOMEDY.COM

A NEW COMEDY BY BEN ELTON

GIELGUD THEATRE
PREVIEWS FROM: FRIDAY 7 FEBRUARY
                                                        ON-SALE: WEDNESDAY 25 SEPTEMBER AT 12 NOON                                                   

David Mitchell is to make his West End debut next year in Ben Elton’s stage adaptation of the critically acclaimed BBC TV sitcom, Upstart Crow.  This all-new comedy – written especially for the stage – will see Mitchell once more don the bald wig and bardish coddling pouch in his iconic characterisation of Will Shakespeare. Tickets go on sale at 12noon TODAY from UpstartCrowTheComedy.com             

Opening at the Gielgud Theatre on 7 February, Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones and Gentleman Jack) will co-star as the sweet and fragrant Kate.  They will be joined on stage by a troupe of players for this 11 week season, directed by Olivier award-winner Sean Foley (The Ladykillers, Jeeves and Wooster and The Miser).  

David Mitchell says: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to bring history’s most famous balding dramatist to the West End via the amazing comic imagination of Ben Elton. Theatre goers can look forward to a comedy steeped in authentic Shakespearean ambience in every way apart from the smell.”

It is 1605 and England’s greatest playwright is in trouble. King James has been on the throne for two years and Will Shakespeare has produced just two plays, both of which being generally considered to resemble the large semi-flightless birds recently discovered pecking corn and going ‘gobble gobble’ in the New World. Measure for Measure was incomprehensible bollingbrokes by any measure and All’s Well That End’s Well didn’t even end well. Will must lift his game or risk his head. Those who work at the pleasure of the King live in constant fear of his favour. No one has forgotten what happened to Henry VIII’s marriage guidance councillor.

Will desperately needs to come up with a brilliant new plot but he is finding it impossible to focus on finding one. He’s too distracted by family troubles. He’s considering dividing all his lands and property between his jealous, squabbling daughters and, to add to the confusion, two shipwrecked, Moorish, cross-dressing, identical twins have just arrived, separately and unaware of each other, at his door. How the futtock can a Bard be expected to find a plot for a play with all that is going on in the house?

To make matters worse Will’s friend and housekeeper Kate, horrified at the exploitation of showbiz animals for entertainment, has recently ‘liberated’ the Globe Theatre’s prize dancing bear. Kate intends to keep the poor distressed animal in the scullery until she can reintroduce her into the wild, but Mrs Whiskers (who was born to dance) has other plans. You can take the dancing bear out of the theatre, but you can’t take the theatre out of the dancing bear.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6AR

First preview: 7 February

Final show: 25 April

Evening Performances: Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm

Matinees: Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm

Website: UpstartCrowTheComedy.com

Twitter: @UpstartCrowPlay

Nominations announced for UK Theatre Awards 2019

The list of nominees has been revealed for this year’s UK Theatre Awards, the only nationwide awards to honour and celebrate outstanding achievements in theatre throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.    

Best New Play nominees are Laura Wade’s The Watsons, Ulster American by David Ireland and Life Of Pi, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti from Yann Martel’s novel

Best Musical Production nominees are Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome co-production The Color Purple, Sheffield Theatres’ Standing At The Sky’s Edge and the Royal Exchange Theatre’s West Side Story

Four Nominations for Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre, and four for the Sheffield Theatres production of Life Of Pi

Mix of established performers (Mark Gatiss, Jenna Russell, Rebecca Trehearn) and rising talent (Kudzai Sitima, Emmanuel Kojo, Hiran Abeysekera) nominated in acting categories

Atri Banerjee for Hobson’s Choice, Katie Posner for My Mother Said I Never Should and Max Webster for Life Of Pi nominated for Best Director

The winners will be announced on Sunday 27 October, during a ceremony at London’s Guildhall.

Julian Bird, Chief Executive of UK Theatre, said:

‘The UK’s performing arts scene has never been more multifaceted, and this year’s nominations reflect an unprecedented variety of creative voices, bringing to life a broad spectrum of stories on stages around the country. It is fantastic to see so much new and rising talent among the nominees, and we look forward to bringing the industry together in celebration at the UK Theatre Awards.’

This year’s nominations are split into new ‘On Stage’ and ‘Off Stage’ categories, as part of a refresh of the Awards to reflect the contemporary priorities of the UK’s theatre industry. As part of this, UK Theatre members now have more involvement in the nomination process, can put forward shows and individuals for nomination and can submit an application for an Off Stage award.

Nominations for the UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre were announced last month as the New Vic (Newcastle-under-Lyme), Storyhouse (Chester) and the Young Vic (London). The winner, decided this year by a panel of judges, will be announced at the ceremony.

The full list of nominations is below, and available on the UK Theatre website.

The recipient of this year’s Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre Award will be announced soon. 

The UK Theatre Awards are sponsored by Harbottle & Lewis, Integro Entertainment & Sport, John Good, SeatGeek, Theatre Tokens and White Light.

Full list of nominations for the UK Theatre Awards 2019

Best New Play

LIFE OF PI adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti from the novel by Yann Martel – a Sheffield Theatres production

THE WATSONS by Laura Wade – a Chichester Festival Theatre production

ULSTER AMERICAN by David Ireland – a Traverse Theatre Company production at Lyric Theatre, Belfast

Best Musical Production

THE COLOR PURPLE directed by Tinuke Craig – a Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome co-production

STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE directed by Robert Hastie – a Sheffield Theatres production

WEST SIDE STORY directed by Sarah Frankcom – a Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester production

Best Play Revival

DEATH OF A SALESMAN directed by Sarah Frankcom – a Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester production

EQUUS directed by Ned Bennett – an English Touring Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East production

PLENTY directed by Kate Hewitt – a Chichester Festival Theatre production

Best Show for Children and Young People

BILLIONAIRE BOY THE MUSICAL directed by Luke Sheppard – a Nuffield Southampton Theatres production in association with Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

NOUGHTS AND CROSSES directed by Esther Richardson – a Pilot Theatre and Derby Theatre production

TALE TRAIL TO THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS directed by Teresa Heskins – a New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme production

Best Director

Atri Banerjee for HOBSON’S CHOICE – a Royal Exchange Theatre production

Katie Posner for MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – a Theatre by the Lake production

Max Webster for LIFE OF PI – a Sheffield Theatres production

Best Design

Carolyn Downing, Andrzej Goulding, Tim Hatley and Tim Lutkin for LIFE OF PI – a Sheffield Theatres production

Ti Green for TOUCHING THE VOID – a Royal & Derngate Northampton, Bristol Old Vic, Royal Lyceum Edinburgh and Fuel co-production

Rosanna Vize for THE AUDIENCE a Nuffield Southampton Theatres production

Best Performance in a Play

Faye Castelow for THE AUDIENCE – a Nuffield Southampton Theatres production

Hiran Abeysekera for LIFE OF PI – a Sheffield Theatres production

Kudzai Sitima for PRINCESS & THE HUSTLER – an Eclipse Theatre Company, Bristol Old Vic and Hull Truck Theatre production

Mark Gatiss for THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE III – a Nottingham Playhouse production

Best Performance in a Musical

Audrey Brisson for AMÉLIE THE MUSICAL – a Watermill Theatre, Hartshorn–Hook Productions, Selladoor Worldwide and Broadway Asia production

Jenna Russell for THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY – a Menier Chocolate Factory production

Rebecca Trehearn for SWEET CHARITY – a Nottingham Playhouse production

Best Supporting Performance

Esh Alladi for HOBSON’S CHOICE – a Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester production

Jocasta Almgill for WEST SIDE STORY – a Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester production

Emmanuel Kojo for OKLAHOMA! – a Chichester Festival Theatre production

Achievement in Dance

Scottee – for FAT BLOKES, an uplifting collaboration with choreographer Lea Anderson and a gutsy cast

Scottish Ballet – for the world premiere of Helen Pickett’s outstanding dance-theatre adaptation of THE CRUCIBLE

Yorke Dance Project – for their unique Cohan Collective initiative and distinctive programming

Achievement in Opera

Buxton International Festival at Buxton Opera House – for the world premiere of GEORGIANA

Opera North – for TOSCA

Welsh National Opera – for WAR AND PEACE

Digital Innovation

Hull Truck Theatre

Northern Ballet

Scottish Ballet

Workforce Award sponsored by Integro Entertainment & Sport

Hull Truck Theatre

Mayflower Theatre

Northern Stage

Excellence in Touring

National Theatre of Scotland

Northern Ballet

Pilot Theatre

Excellence in Inclusivity

Bush Theatre

Mercury Theatre

Royal & Derngate, Northampton

Excellence in Arts Education

Derby Theatre

Oldham Coliseum Theatre

Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre sponsored by Theatre Tokens

New Vic Theatre – Newcastle-under-Lyme

Storyhouse – Chester

Young Vic – London

@UK_Theatre #UKTawards

StoryHouse Live, Chester – until Saturday 28 September 2019

Reviewed by Julie Noller

5*****

Cabaret never fails to entertain, I’ve enjoyed performances but I can truly state that I loved this one. Having explained to my young friend who accompanied me that its full of debauchery, to which the reply was whats that…. Just wait and see.

I wasn’t wrong nor disappointed. But don’t be misled that it’s just nudity (yes there’s naked bodies running about the stage) or that it’s art. Cabaret also never fails to teach us a valuable lesson. I could watch many different versions, seeing actors old and young treading the boards and with each show learn something new. Indeed it is said that if we fail to learn from history then we’re likely to repeat it.

There are parallels between life in 1930s Germany and life here and now. Cabaret itself is based on a film, which is based on a book, which is based on a story, you get the picture and bear that in mind when watching for some parts become incredibly dark and foreboding. If you struggle to catch your breath or even find yourself shedding a tear, then forgive yourself. We could talk about politics, we could discuss what we appear to see on stage. It could in fact be personal it’s feasible that the memories up on stage are within living history. But it would just be my opinion on events gone by. I think we agree that they should never be repeated.

What is Cabaret? It’s a love story or perhaps 2 love stories, it’s about blind faith in humanity, it’s about finding your confidence and believing in yourself, deceiving yourself and those who think you hold them dear, learning to hide yourself, trusting the wrong people. In a nutshell it’s about life’s lessons that are long and hard and the ever changing world in which we live in.

Set in Berlin in the 1930’s a decade that saw the rise of fascism throughout Germany, yet to begin with was rife with a couldn’t care less attitude; what was money if not to be spent and what was life if not to be enjoyed. The KitKat Club is all this and more, a motto of anything goes, sex, male and/or female plus drugs and alcohol. The musical lyrics of Kander and Ebb never fail to hit home, rouse you, lift you and yet move you. Leaving you feeling chilled inside whilst you smile.

Director Rufus Norris has done a superb job bringing a multi talented cast together. They live and breathe their characters. John Partridge is outstanding as Emcee our host, at times comical at times rather mad. There’s an almost Charlie Chaplin (The Dictator) quality about him that has you looking on in bemused confusion. I do have to say though round of applause for John Partridges naked body confidence. Kara Lily Hayworth fresh from playing Cilla Black again doesn’t disappoint as Sally Bowles there’s an arrogance yet vulnerability about her. Perhaps nowadays she would be diagnosed with a personality disorder. Her singing is once again superb. Charles Haggerty as American Cliff Bradshaw, begins as a timid shrew yet grows on stage to a brilliant dominance. Crystal clear voice that shines through the clouds that are obviously building.

It was a doomed love affair that might just have made it, Sally fun loving and attention seeker. Life is grand whilst everyone loves her but vulnerable she leans on Cliff more as he finds his confidence in life. Sad to see the self destruct button pushed on a relationship that could’ve been as Cliff becomes realistic in foretelling the future and Sally buries her head like an ostrich; she isn’t the only one for there’s Herr Schultz the lovable James Paterson who denies anyone could wish harm to a fellow German his equally doomed love affair that should’ve been with Fraulein Schneider the dependable Anita Harris is in one small scene the sign of things to come and oh so sad. Nick Tizzard as future star of the Third Reich Ernst Ludwig, highlights everything that even by today’s standards is what is wrong with society. Hatred and jealousy being aimed at the more fortunate or those who differ in their sexual preferences. Culminating in the inevitable Cabaret closes with Ernst Ludwigs Nazis in control not only of Berlin and Germany, the cream of Berlins Kitkat Club are no longer adored. They are firstly shunned and kicked into the gutter before the final moment that even though you know it is coming still has you inhaling or in some cases sobbing. Naked and battered Emcee and company and forced to huddle within what we can only guess is a concentration camp and we watch on whilst rain pours down or is it a gas chamber. Imagination is a powerful tool but ever so scary mixed with real life.

CHRISTMAS 2019 AT THE BRIDGE

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR

T H E   L I O N,   T H E   W I T C H   A N D   T H E   W A R D R O B E

The London Theatre Company by special arrangement with Elliott & Harper Productions and Catherine Schreiber, presents the much-celebrated Leeds Playhouse production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe over the 2019/20 festive season at the Bridge.

The cast, who began rehearsals this week, features Femi Akinfolarin as Peter, Omari Bernard as Maugrim, Laura Elphinstone as the White Witch/Mrs Macready, Shalisa James-Davis as Susan, Wil Johnson as Aslan/Professor Kirk, Keziah Joseph as Lucy, John Leader as Edmund, Stuart Neal as Mr Tumnus, Dean Nolan as Mr Beaver and Beverly Rudd as Mrs Beaver.  They are joined by Emily Benjamin, Amber Cayasso, Sebastian Charles, Andro Copperthwaite, Nicky Cross, David Emmings, Nathan Louis Fernand, Linford Johnson, Mitch Leow, Mei Mac, James McHugh, Helen Parke, Tinovimbanashe Sibanda and Millicent Wong and musicians James Gow, Tim Dalling, Harry Miller and Pat Moran.

Based on the novel by C. S. Lewis and directed by Sally Cookson, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will have its first performance on 9 November 2019 with opening night on 18 November running until 2 February 2020.  Full details of the performance schedule, including Sunday matinees, are available on the Bridge website.

Step through the wardrobe this Winter into the magical kingdom of Narnia for the most mystical of adventures in a faraway land.  Join Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter as they wave goodbye to wartime Britain and say hello to a talking Faun, an unforgettable Lion and the coldest, cruellest White Witch.

This critically acclaimed production reunites director Sally Cookson with designer Rae Smith, writer in the room Adam Peck, movement director Dan Canham, lighting designer Bruno Poet, sound designer Ian Dickinson and music by Benji Bower all of whomoriginally brought the show to life in 2017 breaking box office records at Leeds Playhouse.

Written by C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first book published in The Chronicles of Narnia in 1950 and went on to become one of the most popular children’s books of all time; still regularly topping reader votes on the best books nearly 70 years later, including last month being voted the UK’s favourite book. The Chronicles of Narnia – The Magician’s Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle – are classics of children’s literature, having enchanted generations of young readers, with over 100 million copies sold worldwide in over 70 countries and 59 different languages.  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Chronicles of Narnia are published by HarperCollins Children’s Books.

Laura Elphinstone (White Witch/Mrs Macready)was last at the Bridge in Young Marx.  Her other theatre credits include My Country and Jane Eyre for the National Theatre.  Her television credits include Vera, Game of Thrones, Chernobyl and Line of Duty.

Wil Johnson’s (Aslan/Professor Kirk) more recent theatre credits include Sweat at the Donmar Warehouse and in the West End, UK tour of Glengarry Glen Ross, Leave Taking at the Bush Theatre, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at the Old Vic, King Lear at The Royal Exchange and A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes at the Tricycle Theatre.  His film and television credits include Carnival Row, Outlander, The Five, Waking The Dead, Adulthood, Vera, Lewis, Clocking Off, Cracker and Waterloo Road.

Keziah Joseph’s(Lucy) theatre credits include Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear at the National Theatre, Sweeney Todd at the Liverpool Everyman,The Paper Man at Soho Theatre, Dick Whittington at the Lyric Hammersmith, As You Like It at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, and The Jungle Book at Chichester Festival Theatre andonUK Tour.  

John Leader’s (Edmund) theatre credits include Henry IV Parts I and II for Shakespeare’s Globe, A Monster Calls for the Old Vic, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for West Yorkshire Playhouse, Peter Pan and War Horse for the National Theatre, Running Wild for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and Romeo and Juliet for the Orange Tree. 

Femi Akinfolarin (Peter)is currently playing the role of Brother in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the London Palladium.  His other theatre credits include Man of La Mancha at the London Colliseum and Doctor Doolittle on UK tour.

Shalisa James-Davis’ (Susan) theatre credits includeOur Country’s Good and Notre Dame for the National Theatre and Romeo & Juliet for The Globe.  Her film credits include Mary Queen of Scots, Bay of Silence. Her television credits include Silent Witness, Next of Kin and Vera.

Stuart Neal (Mr Tumnus) credits include Leo Bloom in The Producers at The Royal Exchange Manchester,  Billy Lawlor in 42nd Street at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, The Grinning Man for Bristol Old Vic, La Cage aux Folles and Pippin for the Menier Chocolate Factory, Piaf at the Donmar Warehouse, Evita at the Adelphi Theatre and The Winter’s Tale at the Garrick Theatre, Macbeth at the Manchester International Festival and Armory NYC.  His film credits include Cinderella and Les Misérables.

Dean Nolan’s (Mr Beaver) theatre credits include Billionaire Boy for the Nuffield Southampton Theatre/Tour, Kneehigh’s Brief Encounter and Steptoe and Son both in the West End, Sweeney Todd, Fiddler on the Roof, The Conquest of the South Pole and Romeo and Juliet all for Liverpool Everyman, and Big Fish at the Other Palace Theatre. His screen credits include the upcoming ITV series Quiz created by Stephen Frears and James Graham, Flack for UKTV, Will for TNT and Rufus Norris’ London Road.

Beverly Rudd’s (Mrs Beaver) theatre credits include Kneehigh’s production Dead Dog In A Suitcase, Tin Drum and Brief Encounter in the West End and on national and international Tour, Peter Pan, The Beggars Opera and Into The Woods  for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, The Twits at the Curve Theatre, James And The Giant Peach  for West Yorkshire Playhouse and Much Ado About Nothing for the Royal Exchange Theatre.  Her television credits include Lisa as a series regular in Trollied for Sky as well as guest appearances in Shameless for Channel 4, Him & Her for BBC 3 and Coronation Street for ITV.

Omari Bernard’s (Maugrim) theatre credits include Porgy and Bess and Two Boy for English National Opera, The Bodyguard in the West End and on UK Tour, Fame on UK tour, Starlight Express in Germany and on International Tour, Tommy the Cat in Dick Whittington at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

Sally Cookson’s most recent productions were the Olivier award-winning A Monster Calls at the Old Vic and a revival Peter Pan at the Troubadour Theatre. She is an Associate Artist at Bristol Old Vic where her productions include Jane Eyre and Peter Pan which were also seen at the National Theatre and on tour, Sleeping Beauty, Treasure Island, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Strange Case, Pericles, Pains of Youth and The Visit. Her work in the West End includes La Strada, Hetty Feather and Bearhunt.  Her numerous collaborations with Travelling Light Theatre include Strictly Balti by Saikat Ahammed, The Ugly Duckling based on Hans Christian Andersen, Shadowplay, Cloudland based on the book by John Burningham, Lenny by Francis Monty, Bob the Man on the Moon based on the book by Simon Bartram.  

Rae Smith received multiple design awards including the Olivier and Tony Awards for War Horse at the National Theatre and on tour internationally.Her recent theatre credits include The Night of the Iguana at the Noël Coward Theatre, Rosmersholm at the Duke of York’s Theatre, Girl From the North Country at the Old Vic, the Public Theater in New York and on Broadway, Translations at the National Theatre and Barbershop Chronicles at the National Theatre, the Roundhouse, Brooklyn Academy of Music and on UK tour, The Goat at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, This House at the Garrick Theatre and on UK tour, Nightfall at the Bridge Theatre and Rusalka at Glyndebourne.  Other theatre credits include Wonder.Land and The Light Princess for the National Theatre and The Tempest and Prince of the Pagodas for Birmingham Royal Ballet.  Smith is the recipient of The Rootstein Hopkins Fellowship which extends boundaries between the live performing arts and drawing. 

Elliott & Harper Productions was founded in 2016 by Marianne Elliott, Chris Harper and Nick Sidi.  Elliott & Harper’s London production of Company at the Gielgud Theatre won 4 Olivier Awards including Best Musical Revival as well as the Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. Company will transfer to Broadway, opening at The Bernard Jacobs Theatre in March 2020. Their other recent credits include the highly acclaimed co-production of Death of a Salesman at the Young Vic Theatre (directed by Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell) which will transfer to The Piccadilly Theatre in the West End in October 2019.  Elliott & Harper co-produced the Broadway transfer of the National Theatre’s production of Angels in America (Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Play) directed by Marianne Elliott.  Other productions include Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle at the Wyndham’s Theatre directed by Marianne Elliott and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at the Leeds Playhouse.

Catherine Schreiber is a two-time Tony and Olivier Award-winning Producer. Broadway Global Producer of the Year 2017.  Upcoming Broadway productions: Lead Producer– Company, A Christmas Carol. Chicago: The King’s Speech. Currently: Lead Producer – The Play That Goes Wrong, Off Broadway. Recent London: Company, Dreamgirls, The Life. Lead Producer – The Scottsboro Boys. Current Producer: Made In Kent Documentary Film.

Leeds Playhouse was established almost 50 years ago. It’s a cultural hub, a place where people gather to tell and share stories and to engage in world class theatre. Following a major capital redevelopment, Leeds Playhouse reopens in October 2019, with a new city-facing entrance, improved access into and around the building and a new studio theatre.

Sonia Friedman Productions
Gavin Kalin Productions, Rupert Gavin, Patrick Gracey/Scott M. Delman, 1001 Nights Productions, Tulchin Bartner Productions
in association with
Len Blavatnik, Eilene Davidson Productions, Louise & Brad Edgerton
present

UNCLE VANYA
By Anton Chekhov

In a new adaptation by Conor McPherson

Directed by Ian Rickson

• IAN RICKSON DIRECTS CONOR McPHERSON’S NEW ADAPTATION OF CHEKHOV’S UNCLE VANYA
   
• TOBY JONES WILL STAR IN THE TITLE ROLE OF UNCLE VANYA ALONGSIDE RICHARD ARMITAGE AS ASTROV, WITH FULL CASTING TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON
   
• UNCLE VANYA WILL RUN FOR 16 WEEKS AT THE HAROLD PINTER THEATRE WITH PREVIEWS FROM 14th JANUARY
   
• TICKETS GO ON GENERAL SALE ON MONDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER AT 10AM

Sonia Friedman Productions today announced Conor McPherson’s (The Weir, Girl from the North Country) new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece Uncle Vanya directed by Ian Rickson (Jerusalem, The Seagull) which will run at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 14th January 2020 with Opening Night on Thursday 23rd January 2020. Tickets go on general sale from Monday 30th September with priority booking from Wednesday 25th September.

In the heat of summer, Sonya and her Uncle Vanya (Toby Jones) while away their days on a crumbling estate deep in the countryside, visited occasionally only by the local doctor Astrov (Richard Armitage).

However, when Sonya’s father suddenly returns with his beautiful new wife declaring that he intends to sell the house, the polite facades crumble and repressed feelings start to emerge with devastating consequences.

Olivier Award-winner Conor McPherson’s stunning new adaptation of the Anton Chekhov masterpiece, Uncle Vanya, is a portrayal of life at the turn of the 20th century, full of tumultuous frustration, dark humour and hidden passions. Critically acclaimed director Ian Rickson returns to Chekhov for the first time since his landmark production of The Seagull in 2007, reuniting with BAFTA and Olivier Award-winner Toby Jones (The Birthday Party) alongside Richard Armitage, who returns to the UK stage six years after his Olivier Award-nominated performance in The Crucible. Uncle Vanya is the eleventh collaboration between Ian Rickson and Sonia Friedman Productions, with previous productions including Rosmersholm, Jerusalem, The River, Betrayal and The Children’s Hour.

Uncle Vanya is designed by Rae Smith, with lighting by Bruno Poet, music by Stephen Warbeck, sound by Ian Dickinson and casting by Amy Ball CDG. Full casting will be announced soon.

British actor Toby Jones will play the title character of Uncle Vanya. He is known for his performances both in the theatre and on screen. Earlier this year he starred in Don’t Forget The Driver, a series he co-wrote with Tim Crouch for BBC Two. Toby has recently been cast in Louis Wain alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy and in The Sands of Venus. He has newly finished filming A Boy Called Christmas and The Last Thing He Wanted, written and directed by Oscar nominated Dee Rees.

This Autumn Toby will return to the Royal Court Theatre in Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp; four plays written by Caryl Churchill and directed by James Macdonald.  He will also voice the role of The Reverend Chasuble for the animated adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Canterville Ghost and can currently be seen in the Netflix prequel series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

In 2018 Toby appeared in the revival of Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party. He went on to star on screen in French comedy film Naked Normandy for Philippe le Gay, Lionsgate’s World War One Drama Journey’s End and the blockbuster, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. 

Toby reprised his BAFTA-award winning role in the third and final season of the award-winning comedy series Detectorists. His other works include ‎Infamous (Best British Actor, London Film Critics Circle Awards), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Oscar-nominated) and The Girl (BAFTA, Golden Globe and Emmy nominations). Toby also starred in Peter Strickland’s multi award-winning film Berberian Sound Studio. In 2014, Toby starred as the lead in the BBC Two BAFTA winning drama Marvellous, and in Matteo Garrone’s fantasy horror, Tale Of Tales.

Further screen credits include; The Snowman, Kaleidoscope and Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or nominated film, Happy End. Atomic Blonde, Sherlock, Dad’s Army, The Secret Agent, The Witness For The Prosecution, Morgan, Wayward Pines, Capital, The Man Who Knew Infinity, The Hunger Games series, the Harry Potter series, Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Leave to Remain, Andrew Kotting’s By Ourselves, My Week With Marilyn, The Adventures Of Tintin, Frost/Nixon, W and The Painted Veil.

Theatre credits include: Circle Mirror Transformation (Royal Court Theatre), The Painter (Arcola), Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (National Theatre), Parlour Song(Almeida Theatre), Dumb Waiter and Other Pinter Pieces (Oxford Playhouse), Measure for Measure (with Complicite) (National Theatre), The Play What I Wrote (winner: Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor) (West End/Broadway).  

The role of Astrov will be played by Richard Armitage. Richard is a multi-award-winning stage and screen actor best known for his role of Thorin in Peter Jackson’s trilogy of The Hobbit and more recently as Daniel Miller in Epix Berlin Station, as well as Claude Becker in Oceans 8. Armitage also voices Trevor Belmont in the Netflix series Castlevania & Logan in Marvel’s Wolverine podcast. Richard recently shot independent The Lodge, directed by Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz which premiered at Sundance, and was just in Toronto where he was promoting independent feature My Zoe, written and directed by Julie Delpy. Armitage has just wrapped shooting the lead in serialized thriller The Stranger for Netflix/Red Productions. Written by Harlan Coben, based on Coben’s #1 New York Times best-selling novel of the same name. In theatre, Richard is well known for his critically acclaimed performance as John Proctor in The Crucible at the Old Vic Theatre. He was nominated for an Olivier Award for his performance. Richard’s leading role in the Off-Broadway play, Love Love Love directed by Michael Mayer also garnered critical acclaim.

Conor McPherson’s plays include Rum & Vodka, The Good Thief, This Lime Tree Bower, St Nicholas, The Weir (Olivier Award, directed by Ian Rickson), Dublin Carol, Port Authority, Shining City (Tony Award nomination), The Seafarer (Olivier, Tony and Evening Standard Award nominations), The Veil, The Night Alive (New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award), and most recently, the Olivier Award-winning musical, Girl from the North Country, with Bob Dylan.

Ian Rickson was the Artistic Director of the Royal Court from 1998 to 2006, where he directed The River (also Broadway) Jerusalem (also West End and Broadway), The Winterling, The Night Heron and Mojo (also Chicago), all by Jez Butterworth; Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen and This is a Chair by Caryl Churchill; Dublin Carol and The Weir by Conor McPherson (also Dublin, Chicago, West End and Broadway); The Seagull by Anton Chekhov (also Broadway); Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett; Alice Trilogy by Tom Murphy; The Sweetest Swing in Baseball and Boy Gets Girl by Rebecca Gilman; Fallout by Roy Williams; Mouth to Mouth by Kevin Elyot; The Lights by Howard Korder; Pale Horse and Some Voices by Joe Penhall; Ashes and Sand by Judy Upton and Killers by Adam Pernak.

In the West End, Rickson has directed Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who is Sylvia? (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Rosmersholm (The Duke of York’s Theatre); The Birthday Party, Old Times, Betrayal and The Children’s Hour (all at the Harold Pinter Theatre); and at the National Theatre, Translations by Brian Friel, Evening at the Talk House by Wallace Shawn, The Red Lion by Patrick Marber, The Hothouse by Harold Pinter and The Day I Stood Still by Kevin Elyot. Productions at the Old Vic include Electra by Sophocles. Productions at the Young Vic include The Nest, Now We Are Here and Hamlet. Productions at The Almeida Theatre include Against by Christopher Shinn and Parlour Song by Jez Butterworth.

Work on screen includes Fallout (Company Pictures for Channel 4) and Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett (BBC4) and on radio In Therapy (BBC Radio 4). Rickson also works with PJ Harvey and Kate Tempest on their music and poetry shows.

SONIA FRIEDMAN PRODUCTIONS (SFP) is an international production company responsible for some of the most successful theatre productions in London and New York.

Since 1990, SFP has developed, initiated and produced over 170 new productions and together the company has won a staggering 55 Olivier Awards, 30 Tonys and 2 BAFTAs.

In 2019, Sonia Friedman OBE was awarded ‘Producer of the Year’ at the Stage Awards for a record breaking fourth time. In 2018, Friedman was also featured in TIME 100, a list of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2017 she took the number one spot in ‘The Stage 100’, becoming the first number one in the history of the compilation not to own or operate West End theatres and the first solo woman for almost 20 years.

Current productions include: the UK premiere of The Book of Mormon, West End and UK & European tour, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London, New York and Melbourne, Mean Girls at the August Wilson Theatre, New York, Fiddler on the Roof at the Playhouse Theatre, London and The Inheritance, New York

Forthcoming productions include: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in San Francisco, Hamburg & Toronto and the world premiere of Tom Stoppard’s new play Leopoldstadt at Wyndham’s Theatre, London and The Inheritance on Broadway

Previous theatre productions include: Rosmersholm, The Ferryman, The Inheritance, Summer and Smoke, Dreamgirls, The Jungle, All About Eve, Consent, The Birthday Party, Ink, Hamlet starring Andrew Scott, Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Travesties, The Glass Menagerie, Nice Fish, A Christmas Carol, Funny Girl, Farinelli and The King, Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch, 1984, Sunny Afternoon, Bend It Like Beckham, The Nether, The River, Electra, King Charles III, Shakespeare in Love, Ghosts, Mojo, Chimerica, Merrily We Roll Along, Old Times, Twelfth Night and Richard III, A Chorus of Disapproval, The Sunshine Boys, Hay Fever, Absent Friends, Top Girls, Betrayal, Much Ado About Nothing, Clybourne Park, The Children’s Hour, A Flea in Her Ear, La Bête, All My Sons, Private Lives, Jerusalem, A Little Night Music, Legally Blonde, Othello, Arcadia, The Mountaintop, The Norman Conquests, A View From the Bridge, Dancing at Lughnasa, Maria Friedman: Re-Arranged, La Cage aux Folles, No Man’s Land, The Seagull, Under the Blue Sky, That Face, Dealer’s Choice, Hergés Adventures of Tintin, In Celebration, Boeing-Boeing, The Dumb Waiter, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Love Song, Faith Healer, Bent, Eh Joe, Donkeys’ Years, Otherwise Engaged, Celebration, Shoot the Crow, As You Like It, The Home Place, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, By the Bog of Cats, The Woman in White, Guantanamo: ‘Honor Bound to Defend Freedom’, Endgame, Jumpers, See You Next Tuesday, Hitchcock Blonde, Absolutely! {Perhaps}, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Ragtime, Macbeth, What the Night Is For, Afterplay, Up for Grabs, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Noises Off, On an Average Day, A Servant to Two Masters, Port Authority, Spoonface Steinberg and Speed-The-Plow.

TV productions include BBC’s Wolf Hall (co-producer), The Dresser (Exec Producer) and King Lear with Anthony Hopkins (Exec Producer).

For full details of SFP’s theatre productions, please visit soniafriedman.com.

Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield – until 28 September 2019

Reviewed by Ian K Johnson

5*****

Cinderella a ballet by David Nixon OBE

This is one of the classic well loved ballets. Loved by all for many years.

This is the first revival of Cinderella by Northern Ballet since its world premier in 2013 and ended in 2014.

Cinderella played by Rachael Gillespie (as young Cinders) and Abigail Prudames (older Cinders) are both played so faultless and express many emotions from a gentle, vulnerable young girl to a confident one who manages to stand up to her stepmother.

The story opens on a scene to celebrate Cinderellas birthday. She is there with family, friends and Prince and Princess Mulakov and their handsome young son Prince Mikhail (Kevin Poeung) who gives her a gift of a bracelet.

Her beloved father (Mlindi Kulashe) has a special gift for his daughter, a beautiful shawl. Her father has a wife, step-mother to Cinderella (Mariana Rodrigues) along with two step-sisters Natasha & Sophie (Kyungka Kwak and Ayami Miyata).

Natasha and Sophie tease Cinderella by throwing the shawl to each other, it ends up in the river, the girls have been warned not to cross the bridge over the river so Cinderellas father goes and gets it for her, on his way back we hear a gun shot and tragedy strikes.

We are taken smoothly and effortlessly through the various scenes from the pleasent countryside into the kitchen of the house where the step-mother, her daughters and Cinderella now reside, here the stepmother treats Cinderella as a servant.

Time passes and we find Cinderella in the market and faced with various circus acts inc jugglers, stilt walker, acrobats, a magician and a dancing bear. She has a happy time here. Cinderella returns home and her stepsisters want to interact with her but her stepmother puts a stop to all frivolity and reminds Cinderella not to have anything to do with her stepsisters.

Cinderella escapes life in the kitchen and flees to a beautiful lake which looks like crystal. Here she sees villagers skating along with the Prince who like Cinderella has grown (Joseph Taylor plays the older Prince Mikhail). He sees Cinderella skating and is impressed at what he sees. The costumes of the skaters are so beautiful and look like shimmering snowflakes on the lake.

On returning home the family have all recieved invitations to a Winter Ball but her stepmother tears up the invitation meant for Cinderella and points out to her that she belongs downstairs.

All alone in the kitchen Cinderella hears a knock and finds the market square magician in the dark and cold. She invites him in and he insists that she will go to the ball. After turning her rags into a stunning gown fit for any princess he then conjures up a carriage to take her along with three beautiful huskies to pull her to the ball.

Act two and we are transported to the palace of Prince and Princess Mulakov, the guests are dressed in such beautiful costumes and the handsome dashing gentlemen are in burgundy tunic tops. Cinderella enters and is swept off her feet by Prince Mikhail.

Cinderella is spotted by her stepmother and is afraid she will be discredited by her so she flees the ball but leaves behind a glass slipper.

Prince Mikhail tries to find the girl whos foot fits and while at the stepmothers house it is pointed out that its the girl who has just served him, he is embarrassed and leaves in anger at being made a fool of.

This is where Cinderella gains her confidence and turns on her stepmother. She leaves and finds herself back at the side of the crystal lake, the magician is there too on his own. Cinderella is there to say goodbye when the prince arrives and after apologising for his behavious he eventually persuades her to stay.

Thus living happy ever after.

Hull New Theatre – until 28 September 2019

Reviewed by Catherine McWilliams

4****

From the outset it is obvious that this is no ordinary night in the Birling household, they are celebrating the engagement of their daughter but darker forces seem to be gathering outside their home and this night will not go as planned and will result in a shift of relationships. The arrival of the mysterious Inspector Goole (Liam Brennan) with his probing questions and his knowledge of the family throws a new light on the family members, exposing secrets and showing the consequences of their actions.

J. B. Priestley’s play is set in 1912, but Stephen Daldry’s production of “An Inspector Calls” for the National Theatre ensures that it is not a period piece but is relevant to us all, making us question our own actions and appreciate that our actions have consequences. This is a brooding and intense production and the scenery, lighting and music feed into the tension as secrets are revealed. I was initially surprised that there was no interval in the play, but having seen it this made perfect sense as it allowed the tension to build and gave us a “real time” experience, as each family member was questioned. At times it felt almost intimidating and yet the Inspector’s questioning was never threatening, he was always just seeking the truth.

An Inspector Calls requires an outstanding performance from the actor playing Inspector Goole, as he is the lynchpin of the play and Liam Brennan provides just that performance. He has the necessary mystery, mixed with professionalism and exasperation and the kind of questioning voice that would make you want to own up to your actions. His is the moral voice of society as he seeks the truth about the young woman who has committed suicide, his is a stunning performance.

Let’s be clear that the Birling family are not the nicest of people, with a sense of entitlement and little regard for others, or thought for what their actions can mean for others. Arthur Birling is played well by Jeffrey Harmer as a bluff factory owner, who sees his workers as commodities with no concern for their well-being. Christine Kavanagh is excellent as his wife Sybil Birling, it was easy to believe that she really had no concern for anyone else, and very easy to dislike her! Alasdair Buchan played the fiancé Gerald Croft with just the right touch of bluster as the truth came out. Chloe Orrock was excellent as the daughter Sheila Birling as she realised the extent of the damage her selfishness had caused, perhaps the only one of the family understanding the bigger picture. Ryan Saunders was convincing as the son Eric Birling, who had lost his way.

This is an English exam text, so inevitably the theatre was full of school groups, which is often a cause for concern, will they be noisy or inattentive? Well they were as hooked as the rest of the audience, at critical moments in the action it really felt that we were collectively holding our breath!

This is not an easy watch, but it is an important watch as the messages for society are more than relevant today. It is important for us to understand the effect our actions may have, that there may be a “domino effect” or that the pebble we drop in the ocean may cause a tidal wave elsewhere, and that we need to have concern for others.

WATFORD PALACE THEATRE ANNOUNCES

2019-2020 SEASON

Season highlights include a fresh look at Patrick Hamilton’s classic Gaslight, Jan Ravens in Brigid Larmour’s production of Talking Heads, and this year’s pantomime, Sleeping Beauty.

Artistic Director Brigid Larmour today announces programming to complete Watford Palace Theatre’s season for September 2019 – June 2020, following the world première of Mushy: Lyrically Speaking earlier this month. The co-production with Rifco Theatre Company is now on tour across the UK until 5 October.

In addition to the previously announced contemporary all-female reimagining of Patrick Hamilton’s classic Gaslight, the new season includes collaborations with resident Rifco Theatre Company, reflecting and celebrating British Asian experiences and culture; Mike Leigh’s classic comedy Abigail’s Party, in a new production directed by Rifco’s Artistic Director, and the four-day British Asian Festival.

This production of Abigail’s Party, directed by Pravesh Kumar, is setagainst the backdrop of an evolving multicultural Britain of the 1970s. The British Asian Festival presents four days of British Asian arts and culture, curated by Pravesh Kumar and Ameet Chana.

Brigid Larmour directs Alan Bennett’s critically acclaimed Talking Heads, starring Radio 4 comedian Jan Ravens, and Julia Watson. This year’s pantomime is the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty, directed by Associate Director James Williams, written by Andrew Pollard and designed by Cleo Pettitt, with live musicians onstage.

Sister Act is presented by resident local company Cassio Productions; Abbots Langley Gilbert & Sullivan School bring Ruddigore to life.  The Palace hosts part of the Watford Fringe Festival, and the return of Pint-Sized Poetry gives a platform to talented emerging spoken word artists.  The Theatre’s Take Part team enable the community to Celebrate Black History Month, Celebrate Diwali, Celebrate Chinese Culture Show and Celebrate Vaisakhi, as well as facilitating the Palace Community Choir’s Annual Christmas Concert.

In a first for Watford Palace Theatre, audiences are invited into the rehearsal room, to hear rehearsed readings of Moira Buffini’s Handbagged and Barry Hines’ KES, and give their feedback. 

Dinner on our Stage returns following the success of last year, offering audiences the opportunity to enjoy a delicious three course meal on the Watford Palace stage.

The season includes the return of tiata fahodzi and Watford Palace Theatre’s tiata delights, a day of networking and development opportunities for artists, and the 10^th annual Imagine Watford, filling the streets with giant puppets, street dancers, jugglers and more, one of the highlights of Hertfordshire Year of Culture 2020.

Brigid Larmour today said, “Everyone’s welcome at the Palace.  This season’s rich mix of new and established artists and shows aims to bring our community together, to be entertained, provoked and inspired, on our stage and in our streets.”

Watford Palace Theatre Company presents

Gaslight

By Patrick Hamilton

Director: Richard Beecham;Designer: Naomi Dawson; Lighting Designer: Anna Watson

Sound Designer: Sarah Weltman

2 – 26 October 2019

The classic thriller with a modern twist.

Richard Beecham directs Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight, in which a husband attempts to convince his wife that she is going mad.

This bold new production transplants the action from Victorian London to a 21st century Safe House in which a group of women, fleeing domestic abuse, re-enact Hamilton’s play. As the drama unfolds, the women’s own experiences and emotions surface to cathartic effect. Together they discover the strength to begin building a brighter future.

The 1938 West End smash-hit gave rise to the term ‘gaslighting’ – a form of psychological abuse where one person attempts to manipulate another into questioning their own sanity.

Patrick Hamilton, in full Anthony Walter Patrick Hamilton (March 1904 – September 1962), was an English playwright and novelist. His playwrighting credits include Rope – adapted into the 1948 film by Alfred Hitchcock – and Gaslight, which opened in the West End and transferred to New York under the title of Angel Street. Gaslight was twice adapted for film, most famously in the 1944 version starring Ingrid Bergman. Hamilton’s other credits include the novels Hangover Square and Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky.

Richard Beecham directs. He has directed a number of productions at Watford Palace Theatre, most recently his acclaimed revival of Arthur Miller’s Broken Glass. Other credits include Playing for Time, starring Dame Sian Phillips (Sheffield Theatres), Rose, starring Dame Janet Suzman (HOME, Manchester), 84 Charing Cross Road, starring Stefanie Powers and Clive Francis (Cambridge Arts Theatre/UK tour), Driving Miss Daisy, starring Dame Sian Phillips and Derek Griffiths (Theatre Royal Bath/UK tour), the UK premieres of Red Light Winter and In A Garden (Ustinov Studio Bath), Henry IV Part 1 (Peter Hall Company at Theatre Royal Bath), Just Before the War, The Human Cost (Young Vic), Rutherford and Son (Northern Stage, Newcastle), Humble Boy, Dancing at Lughnasa, In Praise of Love (Royal & Derngate Northampton), The Invention of Love, The School for Scandal, The Miser, Side by Side by Sondheim (Salisbury Playhouse), A Taste of Honey, Neville’s Island, How the Other Half Loves (Watford Palace Theatre), The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Private Lives, Charley’s Aunt, Black Comedy/The Real Inspector Hound (Exeter Northcott Theatre), Early One Morning, Entertaining Mr Sloane (Octagon Theatre Bolton), The Bench (Battersea Arts Centre), Twelve Tales of Tyneside (Live Theatre, Newcastle), Romeo and Juliet (Creation Theatre Company, Oxford), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (USF Florida),Much Ado About Nothing (Marlowe Society Cambridge), and the National Commemorative Event for Holocaust Memorial Day.  Beecham’s short film, The Guitar, won the Pears Short Film award at the London Jewish Film Festival. 

Watford Palace Theatre Company presents

Sleeping Beauty

By Andrew Pollard

Director James Williams; Designer Cleo Pettitt

29 November – 31 December 2019

The Watford Palace team bring you the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty, with fabulous costumes, stunning sets, a live band and non-stop laughs.

It’s the eve of Princess Aurora’s 18th birthday party and her father, King Lenny the VIII of Watford, is worried sick about the Bad Fairy’s curse. Just one prick of her finger on a spinning wheel, and Aurora’s dream of escaping the Palace to travel the world will remain just that – a dream. A guitar-playing Prince is the only hope, to wake Aurora from her long, long sleep…

Join Good Fairy Fender and Dame Nanny Fanny on this unforgettable, time-travelling magical adventure. The Palace has been the home of family panto in Watford for over a century.

Andrew Pollard writes. He regularly writes pantomimes for Greenwich Theatre, Salisbury Playhouse, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Mercury Theatre Colchester.Other credits include adaptations of The Water Babies, Treasure Island, and Heidi – A Goat’s Tail (nominated for the 2008 T.M.A. Award for Best Children’s Play, and the Adrienne Benham Award for Children’s Theatre Writing), and The Hunt for the Scroobious Pip, The Mad Hatter’s Christmas Party, A Night at the Bijou, The Silent Comedian, Cross Purposes, and Laughing Gravy. His sitcom, Spinnin’ It was one of the winners of the HTV ‘Search for a Sitcom’ competition and subsequently broadcast.

James Williams directs. As Associate Director at Watford Palace Theatre, James’ directing credits include Jack & The Beanstalk, The Canterbury Tales (WPT and tour), and The Good Soul of Szechuan (WPT and tour). He has also directed numerous youth and community theatre productions, including James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox, Peter Pan, Frankenstein, There Is A War, A Vampire Story (also National Theatre Connections), Hello Mr Capello,and Return.  As a playwright, his credits include an adaptation of Treasure Island, Trolls, and #Houseparty.  In 2017, following the development of several successful film projects with the Palace’s community youth theatres, James established the Watford Young Filmmakers Festival in partnership with Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, and is currently developing a Hertfordshire wide festival for Autumn 2020.

Watford Palace Theatre Company presents

Talking Heads

By Alan Bennett

Director: Brigid Larmour

4 – 29 March 2020

Brigid Larmour directs Jan Ravens (Muriel, Miss Ruddock) and Julia Watson (Susan)

An evening of three entertaining monologues by one of Britain’s most brilliant and best-loved writers.

Each piece gives an intimate and hilarious insight into the heart and mind of a peculiarly English character – Muriel in her tweed skirt and pearls in Soldiering On, the public-spirited Miss Ruddock in A Lady of Letters, and Susan, the long-suffering Vicar’s wife in Bed Among The Lentils.

Alan Bennett writes. His writing credits for the stage include Allelujah!, Cocktail Sticks, Hymn, People, The Habit of Art, The History Boys (for which he won the 2005 Olivier Award for Best New Play, and the 2006 Tony Award for Best Play), The Lady in the Van, Talking Heads (for which he won the 1992 Olivier Awards for Best Actor in a Musical and Best Entertainment), and The Madness of George III. For film, his writing credits include The Lady in the Van, The History Boys, and The Madness of King George (for which he won the 1995 British Academy Film Award for Best British Film).

Brigid Larmour directs. As Artistic Director of Watford Palace Theatre, her previous credits include Much Ado About Nothing, I Capture the Castle, Arms and the Man, Coming Up, Jefferson’s Garden, Love Me Do, Von Ribbentrop’s Watch, Fourteen, Perfect Match, We That are Left, Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian, Our Father, My Mother Said I Never Should, Equally Divided, Absent Friends, Time of My Life, Absurd Person Singular, and five pantomimes by Andrew Pollard; Aladdin, Dick Whittington, Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood, and Mother Goose. Other notable directing credits include Playboy of the West Indies (Contact Theatre) and the world premiere of My Mother Said I Never Should (Contact Theatre).

Watford Palace Theatre in association with Rifco Theatre Company presents

Abigail’s Party

By Mike Leigh

Director Pravesh Kumar

29 April – 23 May 2020

Welcome to 1970s suburbia and its heady mix of free-flowing drinks, classic disco and cheese & pineapple sticks.

Aspirational Beverly and her estate agent husband Laurence are hosting drinks for their newlywed neighbours. They are joined by a very anxious Susan, who has been banished from her daughter Abigail’s party. As the evening goes on, marital tensions rise and tempers flare as the characters’ true natures are hilariously but ruthlessly exposed.

Mike Leigh’s classic comedy, which became an iconic TV film starring Alison Steadman, is one of the most popular plays of modern times.

This new production is set against the back drop of an evolving multicultural Britain of the 70s.

Mike Leigh writes. His writing credits for the stage include Grief, Two Thousand Years, It’s a Great Big Shame!, Smelling a Rat, Ecstasy, Too Much of a Good Thing, Abigail’s Party, The Silent Majority, Babies Grow Old, and Dick Whittington and His Cat. For film, his credits include Peterloo, Mr Turner, Another Year (for which he was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay), Happy-Go-Lucky (for which he was nominated for the 2009 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay), Vera Drake (for which he was nominated for the 2004 Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director), All or Nothing, Topsy-Turvy, Career Girls, and Secrets & Lies (for which he was nominated for the 1997 Academy Awards for Best Writing and Best Director).

Pravesh Kumar directs. His previous credits includeBollywood – Yet Another Love Story, Airport 2000, Meri Christmas, Where’s My Desi Soulmate?, Britain’s Got Bhangra, Break The Floorboards, Happy Birthday Sunita, Laila Majnu and Miss Meena & the Masala Queens. He was Associate Director on the new musical Wah! Wah! Girls, which opened in the West End as part of World Stages London for the Olympics 2012.

Watford Palace Theatre                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Listings

20 Clarendon Rd, Watford WD17 1JZ

https://watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk

Box Office: 01923 225671

Twitter: @watfordpalace

Instagram: @watfordpalace

Facebook /WatfordPalace

Watford Palace Theatre aims to inspire and entertain through inventive, ambitious and inclusive drama, new plays, musicals, dance and family shows; free outdoor festivals; diverse stand-up; and a much-loved traditional pantomime. It aims to reflect its diverse communities, and fully represent women, both onstage and behind the scenes celebrating and developing creativity and skill in the community and its young people. The theatre’s locally produced shows and home-grown talent have toured nationally and internationally, been seen on BBC iPlayer, won awards and transferred to the West End. Watford Palace Theatre – inspiration on your doorstep.

Great stories that entertain, provoke and inspire, on stage and in the streets.

Recent productions include The Glass Menagerie, Absurd Person Singular, Much Ado About Nothing, Broken Glass, Elton John’s Glasses, Miss Meena & the Masala Queens, I Capture the Castle, good dog, Folk, Wipers, Poppy + George, Coming Up, Jefferson’s Garden, Love Me Do, An Intervention, Shiver, Virgin, Override, Jumpers for Goalposts, Our Brother David, Our Father and Family Business. Creative Associates are central to Watford Palace Theatre’s vision these include Resident Partner Company Rifco Arts; Creative Associate Companies tiata fahodzi; Scamp Theatre and Up In Arms; and Creative Associates Kate Flatt; Shona Morris; Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti; Charlotte Keatley; Gary Owen, Ruari Murchinson and Timberlake Wertenbaker.

New Victoria Theatre Woking – until 28 September 2019

Reviewed by Nicky Wyatt

2**

The Entertainer by John Osborne. Written in 1957 following the Suez crisis when we were a nation in crisis, with disillusioned people tired of fighting and struggling. The play tells the story of an embittered Vaudeville comedian who refuses to accept that the world is changing as is what people class as entertainment.

Fast forward to 1982 where director Sean O’Connor has reset the scene. Another national crisis The Falklands War and the country being held and guided through by Margaret Thatcher.

Archie Rice (Shane Richie) is a tired, angry man stuck in a miserable spiral of old fashioned comedy, bored and dowdy home life, looking for an escape route. His stand up routines are typical of the era they depict. He has a love hate relationship with the stage, needing the buzz to escape his life and the taxman but grows to despise his audiences. His onstage misery continues at home.

His dad one time star Billy Rice (Pip Donaghy) is now an old man, with racist views that these days would be considered very un PC. Looked after by Archie’s long suffering wife Phoebe (Sara Crowe). She is a downtrodden gin drinker, who has become accustomed to Archies philandering ways. Their son is in the Falklands injured and she is waiting anxiously for him to come home. She waits with Archies daughter Jean (Diane Vickers) and dad Billy, they all drink too much gin and shout too much. Son Frank (Christopher Bonwell )works at the theatre with his dad, he struggles to make an impact in the family or to be heard above the constant arguing and shouting. A lot of the dialogue was difficult to make out it was just very loud and shouty.

I am sure that in 1957 this was great theatre, it was probably good in 1982. For me it has no place in 2019. The highlight for me was Richie singing Those Were The Days, great voice

Four stars of the festive, family pantomime made a visit to Darlington Hippodrome for the official press launch of Jack and the Beanstalk which runs from Saturday 6 December to Sunday 5 January.

Shirely Ballas from Strictly Come Dancing and George Sampson from Britain’s Got Talent joined stand-up comedian Phil Walker and comedy writer/actor Daniel Taylor, at the Hippodrome recently. Along with Daisy the Cow

Producer Jake Hine, from Qdos Entertainment said: “I am looking forward to bringing the pantomime to Darlington. I’m a local lad and this theatre and pantomime mean a great deal to me. We’ve got a wonderful cast and I’m looking forward to pushing on with bringing the tradition of panto to the families and children that will be our future audiences” Adding “We have an excellent cast, with talent from two prime time TV programmes – Strictly Come Dancing and Britain’s Got Talent, so combining the dance skills with Phil’s comedy and Daniel’s acting. This could be the best panto we’ve had at Darlington Hippodrome for a long time.”

Comedian Phil Walker, a veteran of many panto’s generally plays good guys but would love to play a baddie some time.  BGT star George Sampson agrees that he’s always cast as the good boy of the show. Whilst actor Daniel Taylor reveals that loves playing the villain as he can have much more fun insulting the audience for 2 hours. Although both Walker and Taylor agree they have fun, in different ways, interacting with the audiences and breaking the forth wall

Never having visited Darlington before, Walker is looking forward to bringing his bike with him and getting out and about over panto season.  Sampson plans to bring his Play Station with him, enjoy some snooker and meet up with friends to enjoy the nightlife of Darlington and the surrounding areas.  Taylor is looking forward to showing partner, Shirley Ballas, around the North East and introducing her to local delicacy the Parmo. Taylor, has appeared in the musical Blood Brothers which has visited the Hippodrome on many occasions so he knows the area well.

With Shirley and George both having a strong dance background, Sampson hopes there will be plenty of dancing in the show.  Walker, who has written and starred in many pantomimes says it will be magical for the whole family. Taylor reveals there will be lots of laughs, disguises and that he is a great mimic, but without giving anything away. But we are promised plenty of fun and laughter and a traditional pantomime full of surprises from all the cast.

Tickets are still on sale so for more information visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk/whats-on/jack-and-the-beanstalk/ or telephone the Box Office on 01325-405405.

With special thanks to Scott Akoz for the photos

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