Theatre Tokens wins Most Innovative Technology Product or Service at the UK Gift Card and Voucher Association’s Hall of Fame Awards
Theatre Tokens has been recognised by the UK Gift Card and Voucher Association at their annual Hall of Fame Awards.
The award was given for the launch of Theatre Tokens’ innovative online redemption solution and the brand’s ability to issue change to customers redeeming fixed denomination paper vouchers. The judges noted that Theatre Tokens’ use of new technology was significantly improving the customer experience and positively impacting and changing the gift card industry.
Picking up the Award, Head of Theatre Tokens Nathan Naylor said:
‘We are delighted to be commended by our peers in the gift card and voucher industry, who recognised our commitment to significantly improving the customer experience and positively impacting the gift card industry. Our introduction of an online redemption solution that is able to digitally issue change for unspent value on paper vouchers is revolutionary. Alongside no expiry date, this ensures the best experience for consumers, who can spend the remaining balance at over 260 theatres nationwide and underlines our commitment to delivering audiences to theatres across the UK.’
Theatre Tokens is powered by the Eagle Eye Air platform and partnered with Reuben Digital to deliver this unique solution.
This award comes soon after Theatre Tokens began selling in 800 Tesco stores nationwide, as part of a partnership to further promote the theatre industry and encourage theatre attendance.
To buy and register Theatre Tokens, top up a gift card or eGift, check your balance or find out how and where Theatre Tokens can be used, go to www.theatretokens.com
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford – until 14th September 2019
Reviewed by Antonia Hebbert
4****
It’s a dinner party, so sit back, hold on tight and expect excruciating revelations as alcohol loosens the lids on all those cans of worms. The hosts are Elizabeth (Laura Patch) and Peter (Bo Poraj), the harassed parents of small children. Their guests are Elizabeth’s outrageous and much richer brother Vincent (Joe Thomas, best known as Simon in The Inbetweeners), his glamorous, high-powered and pregnant partner Anna (Summer Strallen), and classical musician Carl (Alex Gaumond), who is a longstanding family friend.
There’s plenty of comic scope here as hidden resentments emerge, and playwrights Alexandre de la Patelliere and Matthieu Delaporte clearly enjoy poking fun at the middle class world that they themselves inhabit. The play premiered in Paris as Le Prenom in 2010, and this translation by director Jeremy Sams not only moves the action from Paris to Peckham but also strives to make the whole feel of it more English. The first half initially feels more like a French dinner party, as everyone engages in a philosophical argument about the rights and wrongs of the name proposed for Anna’s baby. But this is England, so it all gets rather out-of-control and emotional. Academic, liberal-minded Peter becomes thuggish, and everyone reveals opinions they have politely been keeping hidden. The second half ratchets up the comedy as more surprises emerge and the characters have to adjust to a new reality.
Comic timing is razor sharp throughout. Joe Thomas shines as the wonderful/awful Vincent, who seems in control of the situation but is in for a shock of his own. Summer Strallen carries off the role of Anna with style, convincing you that she is just the sort of woman who could keep Vincent under control with a single look. The contrasting frumpiness of Laura Patch and Bo Poraj is maybe slightly overdone (would she really wear those shoes with that dress?), but they convey an all too realistic picture of a tired relationship, which gives the play a rather dark tone under the comedy. Alex Gaumond is a benign Carl, whose long friendship with the other characters feels real. Francis O’Connor’s set design seems spot-on – a bare brick, Peckham warehouse conversion where edgy stylishness is losing the battle with family life.
UK Theatre and SOLT offering sessions to prepare for Brexit
UK Theatre and SOLT have been working closely with members and with Government on Brexit preparations since the referendum result announcement in 2016.
Now, in addition to our broad range of support for the theatre sector to prepare for Brexit, we have successfully applied for a Government Brexit Business Readiness Grant, which we are able to use to help the theatre sector prepare for a possible No-Deal Brexit scenario.
In the lead-up to 31 October, UK Theatre and SOLT will be running a series of free, open sessions delivered by expert teams, with the aim to:
Equip attendees to plan for their business to exit the EU under a No-Deal
Provide an overview of the broader impact of exiting the EU
Give attendees an opportunity to ask questions of experts and share information with each other
Signpost attendees to other relevant sources of information to help them prepare
Held in Manchester, London, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Bristol and Birmingham, the sessions are free to attend and open to everyone working across the theatre sector – including those who do not belong to any association or membership body.
We are working with organisations including OneDanceUK, the Independent Theatre Council, the Association of British Theatre Technicians and the Federation of Scottish Theatres to reach out to a wide network of theatre professionals, organisations and sole traders across the UK, inviting them to attend.
Sessions will cover key areas identified from the results of four Brexit surveys conducted by UK Theatre and SOLT over the last two years. The topics that will be covered are:
Movement of people (short term and longer term, including immigration)
Movement of freight (sets, equipment etc.)
Supply Chain (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods)
IP (copyright and trademarks) and Data
Q&A with panel
Two additional specialist sessions (Preparing for a No-Deal Brexit: Touring in and out of the EU – movement of people and equipment) have also been programmed to help companies whose business involves importing and exporting work and workforce to and from the EU.
For anyone interested in attending a session, booking opens soon via the UK Theatre website.
This funding is only available for No-Deal planning and we are following current Government advice on how to prepare as a sector.
SOHO THEATRE ANNOUNCES FULL CASTING FOR DEBUT PLAYS
SHUCK ‘N’ JIVE and GOD’S DICE
Soho Theatre today announces the full casting for two world premieres, both playwriting stage debuts, of David Baddiel’s God’s Diceand Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong and Simone Ibbett-Brown’sShuck ‘n’ Jive.
Alexandra Gilbreath, Nitin Ganatra, Leila Mimmack and Adam Strawford will join the previously announced Alan Davies in God’s Dice directed by James Grieve.
Olivia Onyehara and Tanisha Spring are announced as cast of Shuck ‘n’ Jive directed by Soho Theatre’s Associate Director Lakesha Arie-Angelo.
David Luff, Creative Director of Soho Theatre, comments:
“We’re thrilled to be producing two debut plays this autumn, showcasing the depth and breadth of artistic talent at Soho Theatre whilst continuing to strengthen our programme of bold new plays. Following many years on our stages as a comedian, David Baddiel’s playwriting debut features a fantastic cast led by Alan Davies. Also this autumn, our Associate Director Lakesha Arie-Angelo directs the exciting debut by Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong and Simone Ibbett-Brown, an unexpected and subversive story of two young women trying to find their theatrical feet in a closed-shop world.”
Soho Theatre presents
SHUCK ‘N’ JIVE
By Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong and Simone Ibbett-Brown
‘You do realise that your premier black woman role model was literally a puppet controlled by a white man, right?’
Soho Theatre is pleased to announce casting for Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong and Simone Ibbett-Brown’s Shuck ‘n’ Jive.Directed by Soho Theatre’s Associate Director Lakesha Arie-Angelo, Olivia Onyehara (Jack Lear, Hull Truck) will take on the role of ‘Simone’ and Tanisha Spring (Caroline, or Change, Playhouse Theatre) will take on the role of ‘Cassi’ in this subversive debut play told with music, laughter and searing honesty.
Opera singer Simone very quickly discovered that London was not the BNP-free utopia she’d always dreamed of. Meanwhile, actress Cassi is bored battling it out for the illustrious roles of Sassy Friend, Spunky Slave, and Third Crack Whore From The Left at every audition. Desperate to be seen as they are, not as the colour of their skin, they decide to seize back control and write their own play. [This is that play].
Soho Theatre and Avalon present
GOD’S DICE
By David Baddiel
Directed by James Grieve
Starring Alan Davies
Set and Costume Design by Lucy Osborne
Lighting Design by Ric Mountjoy
Sound Design by Dominic Kennedy
Video Design by Ash J Woodward
Casting by Nadine Rennie CDG
Soho Theatre Thursday 24 October – Saturday 30 November, Press Night Wednesday 30 October, 7.15pm
What would happen if someone was able to prove, scientifically, the existence of God? When Edie, a student in university lecturer Henry Brook’s physics class, seems to do exactly that, his universe – including his marriage to celebrity atheist author Virginia – is rocked. Science and religion go head-to-head in a ferociously funny battle for power, sex, fame and followers.
Soho Theatre and Avalon are delighted to announce the full casting for the world premiere of David Baddiel’s first original stage play God’s Dice. The previously announced Alan Davies (Jonathan Creek and QI) will star in this electric tragicomedy about the power of belief and our quest for truth in a fractured world. Joining Alan will be Olivier Award nominee Alexandra Gilbreath (The Provoked Wife and Twelfth Night at RSC), Nitin Ganatra (BBC’s EastEnders), Leila Mimmack (ITV’s Home Fires and Debris at Southwark Playhouse) and Adam Strawford (The Plough and The Stars at Lyric Hammersmith).
MARK GOUCHER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE EVERYMAN THEATRE IN CHELTENHAM, HAS ANNOUNCED HIS NEW SEASON
THREE IN HOUSE SHOWS PRODUCED BY THE EVERYMAN THEATRE COMPANY INCLUDE A NEW PRODUCTION OF WILLY RUSSELL’S SHIRLEY VALENTINE STARRING CLAIRE SWEENEY DIRECTED BY IAN TALBOT; THE BIRTHDAY PARTY BY HAROLD PINTER DIRECTED BY PAUL MILTON AND IAN HISLOP AND NICK NEWMAN’S NEW COMEDY A BUNCH OF AMATEURS
PRODUCTIONS OF OSCAR WILDE’S A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE DIRECTED BY DOMINIC DROMGOOLE AND MISCHIEF THEATRE’S PETER PAN GOES WRONG WILL BOTH BEGIN THEIR TOURS IN CHELTENHAM FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL WEST END SEASONS
THIS YEAR’S PANTOMIME, CINDERELLA, AGAIN PRODUCED IN HOUSE, SEES THE BEGINNING OF A COLLABORATION WITH OTHER REGIONAL THEATRE WHICH WILL SEE THE PRODUCTIONS VISIT OTHER THEATRES IN FUTURE YEARS AND THE FORMATION OF EVERYMAN PANTOMIMES LIMITED
THE EVERYMAN THEATRE CONTINUES TO CO-PRODUCE WITH OTHER REGIONAL VENUES AND IS COLLABORATING CURRENTLY WITH THEATRE ROYAL BATH AND BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE
GOUCHER’S COMMERCIAL COMPANY CONTINUES TO PRODUCE WORK WITH BOTH THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY SEAN FOLEY AND PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT STARRING JOE MCFADDEN OPENING THIS WEEK
Mark Goucher, Chief Executive of The Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham has announced the venue’s new season of work alongside his commercial company Mark Goucher Productions Ltd opening two new shows (The Man in the White Suit in Bath and the West End and Priscilla Queen of the Desert on tour) this autumn.
The venue’s annual Pantomime this year is Cinderella which once again is produced in house. For the first time the venue is collaborating with other regional theatres in a scheme which will see the production play at other venues in future years and sees a new company – Everyman Pantomimes Ltd established. The venue also continues to co-produce with other regional venues, with collaborations planned with both Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Theatre Royal Bath.
The venue’s own producing company The Everyman Theatre Company has another busy season with three new shows in production including Willy Russell’s classic Shirley Valentine starring Claire Sweeney and directed by Ian Talbot, Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party to be directed by Paul Milton and Ian Hislop and Nick Newman’s new comedy A Bunch of Amateurs.
Visiting shows include both Dominic Dromgoole’s production of Oscar Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance and Mischief Theatre’s Peter Pan Goes Wrong both of which begin their tours at the theatre following highly successful West End runs.
WISE CHILDREN’S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EMMA RICE ADAPTS AND DIRECTS EMILY BRONTË’S WUTHERING HEIGHTS
A CO-PRODUCTION WITH THE NATIONAL THEATRE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH YORK THEATRE ROYAL
Wise Children today announces the world première of Artistic Director Emma Rice’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, which she also directs, as part of their 2020 season of work. With her trademark musical and visual style, Rice brings new life to the classic story in this elemental stage adaptation. This co-production with the National Theatre, in association with York Theatre Royal, opens at the Lyttelton in autumn 2020 before touring the UK, with venues to be announced.
Emma Rice said today, “I loved Wuthering Heights with a passion as a teenager. I thought it was a love story, a wild romance. I now find little love within its pages, but these multi layered readings are what makes it such a fascinating story. My Wuthering Heights promises to be a revenge tragedy for our time – but it will also be about hope. I want to wrestle hatred to the earth and let a new story grow. Wild and fierce, elemental and true – I cannot wait to start work on this timeless classic. And that is theatre romance, right there!
“It is a privilege and a pleasure to be returning to the National Theatre after 12 years – and even more exciting to be returning with my new company Wise Children! This is an ambitious project with creative roots in Yorkshire and the South West – the National Theatre is the perfect place to nurture, create and home this special work. Even more thrilling to me is that this production will perform both on the South Bank and in venues across the UK. It is vitally important to both the National Theatre and Wise Children that we take work on the road and entertain audiences across the UK.”
Wise Children’s production of Malory Towers is currently touring the UK, with performances at York Theatre Royal (until 14 September), Exeter Northcott Theatre (17 – 21 September), HOME, Manchester (24 – 28 September) and Oxford Playhouse (1 – 5 October); and their inaugural production of the critically acclaimed Wise Children will be screened in cinemas across the UK and Ireland from 3 October. Further plans for 2020 will be announced shortly.
Created and led by Emma Rice, WISE CHILDREN launched in April 2018 and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. Based in Bristol, the company makes ground-breaking work with exceptional artists, and tours across the world. Alongside shows, it runs a unique professional development programme, The School for Wise Children, training a new and more diverse generation of theatre practitioners.
The NATIONAL THEATRE’s mission is to make world class theatre that’s entertaining, challenging and inspiring – and to make it for everyone. It aims to reach the widest possible audience and to be as inclusive, diverse and national as possible with a broad range of productions that play in London, on tour around the UK, on Broadway and across the globe. The National Theatre’s extensive UK-wide learning and participation programme supports young people and schools through performance and writing programmes like Connections, New Views and Let’s Play, while Public Acts creates ambitious new works of participatory theatre in sustained partnership with theatres and community organisations around the country. The National Theatre extends its reach through digital programmes including NT Live, which broadcasts some of the best of British theatre to over 2,500 venues in 65 countries, and the free streaming service On Demand In Schools, used by nearly 65% of UK state secondary schools. The National Theatre invests in the future of theatre by developing talent, creating bold new work and building audiences, partnering with a range of UK theatres and theatre companies.
YORK THEATRE ROYAL has brought delight and fulfilment to the people of York and beyond by offering a rich and diverse programme of creative activity for 275 years. York Theatre Royal is one of the UK’s leading creative producers and presenters, constantly building on its reputation for producing high quality and ambitious theatre with highly regarded productions of new commissions, revivals at all scales and each year delivering a pantomime of international renown. The theatre serves audiences of all ages – children, youth, teenagers, adults and seniors. In the second half of 2019 productions will include Emma’s Rice adaptation of Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers, Sarah Waters’ The Night Watch, Nigel Slater’s Toast and the return of The Woman In Black. At Christmas the York pantomime family of David Leonard, Suzy Cooper, Martin Barrass and A.J Powell return in Sleeping Beauty, written by Berwick Kaler.
Birmingham Hippodrome is proud to announce that the break-out star of Michael Harrison’s recent London Palladium revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jac Yarrow will play The Prince in this year’s must-see pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which plays from Saturday 21 December 2019 – Sunday 2 February 2020.
Jac Yarrow graduated from the Arts Educational Schools in the summer of 2019 and made his professional debut as Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium. For his performance, Jac garnered extraordinary critical and public acclaim, and has been twice nominated for The Stage Debut Awards 2019 for Best Actor in a Musical and for Best West End Debut.
Jac will join the previously announced Lesley Joseph as the Wicked Queen, Matt Slack as Muddles, Joe McElderry asThe Spirit in the Mirror, Faye Brookes asSnow White, Flawless as The Wicked Queen’s Men, Doreen Tipton asThe Lady in Waiting and Andrew Ryan as Nurse Nelly.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will feature stunning costumes and sets along with outstanding special effects direct from the sold-out London Palladium production in 2018.
The production will once again be directed by Michael Harrison who has been at the helm of the Hippodrome pantomime for the last nine years. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is produced by Qdos Entertainment, the world’s biggest pantomime producer.
Qdos Entertainment Managing Director, Michael Harrison said; “Without a doubt this is going to be one of the biggest pantomime line-ups in Hippodrome history and I’m delighted to add Jac Yarrow to our already stellar cast. I was thrilled to discover Jac whilst he was still at drama school and to give him his professional debut as Joseph in my new production at the London Palladium. He wowed critics and audiences alike so I had no hesitation in asking him to join me in Birmingham this Christmas for our prestigious Hippodrome pantomime, and he had no hesitation in saying yes!“
Birmingham Hippodrome Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Fiona Allan added; “Birmingham Hippodrome’s annual pantomime has a reputation for being one of the fairest in the land. With the addition of West End leading man, Jac Yarrow to our superb line-up of stars, this year is shaping up to be the best yet. We look forward to welcoming audiences of all ages to this spectacular theatre tradition as we conclude our 120th birthday celebrations.”
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs runs at Birmingham Hippodrome from Saturday 21 December 2019 – Sunday 2 February 2020. To book visit birminghamhippodrome.com or call 0844 338 5000 (4.5p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge).
Not to give too much away here about my age, but the timeline contained in this glorious show allowed me to revel in the most perfect 90s indie soundscape. Launching into PJ Harvey’s ‘New Dress’ very early on already had me sold.
Cora Bissett, a game girl from Glenrothes with horses and ambitions in her heart, was raking through her parents’ attic one day, when she discovered a mystery box which took her back to a time she’d parked in her mind a long time ago. Inside the box was every variety of faded newspaper clipping about her when she had been in a band that had been signed by a major record label and handed a five album deal. All secretly stored by her dad.
Thereafter I literally caroused in every insight and memory of backstage life with bands such as Blur and Radiohead, as if I had been there myself. The storytelling was peppered throughout with short performances of Cora and her band, represented by Emma Smith, Simon Donaldson and Harry Ward. Some of these were original band tracks, whereas others were covers of tracks by her contemporaries. Cora’s voice both mesmerised and soothed. She has a velvet tone which can soar through the room and later come back to stroke your hair. Her cover of Tori Amos was sublime.
The range of character voices given by the supporting band travelled the length and breadth of Great Britain. The entertaining impressions allowed the audience to meet a whole cadre of band and family members, A&R men and dodgy managers, as if they had teleported onto stage.
In Cora’s words, this show speaks largely in “Fife-isms”, yet its content emotionally resonates with a whole generation touched by the 90s wave of indie euphoria and inspired by the raw voices of female singers such as Patti Smith. Its themes of family, loss, failure and children connects with an even greater audience. The deeply grooved nostalgia in this performance does not stop with the music memories. The audience comes to love Cora’s parents as much as herself by the end, as we behold their beauty through her eyes. Sadly, the severity of life’s disappointments did not overlook Cora, and these balanced out the giddy excitement of her teens later in her life.
Musing how she might answer her daughter’s question of ‘what are girls made of?’, we are left with those most raw and empowering song in response.
A truly joy of a show, Cora, bravo. Those wild horses of yours still have quite a journey left to ride.
National Theatre On-Sale: October 2019 – March 2020
Just announced:
– Emma Rice adapts and directs Emily Brontë’s iconic masterpiece WUTHERING HEIGHTS, in a new co-production with Wise Children in association with York Theatre Royal. Opening in the Lyttelton Theatre in autumn 2020 before touring across the UK
– Lucy Briers, Crystal Condie and Kevin Hely join the cast of Francesca Martinez’s debut play ALL OF US, directed by Ian Rickson
– Ben Daniels joins Nancy Carroll in Moira Buffini’s timely new play MANOR, directed by Fiona Buffini
On sale:
– Sarah Niles joins Natalie Simpson and Racheal Ofori in THREE SISTERS, Inua Ellams’ adaptation of Chekhov’s classic play, relocated to 1960s Nigeria and directed by Nadia Fall
– Hugo Weaving joins Lesley Manville in Tony Kushner’s new adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s masterpiece THE VISIT or THE OLD LADY COMES TO CALL
– Further casting announced for Lucy Kirkwood’s new play THE WELKIN, directed by James Macdonald, with a cast including Maxine Peake, Cecilia Noble and Ria Zmitrowicz
– Ex Machina’s epic THE SEVEN STREAMS OF THE RIVER OTA, directed by Robert Lepage, returns to the NT as part of a world tour
– Clint Dyer becomes the first Black British artist to have acted, written and directed at the NT with DEATH OF ENGLAND, written by Roy Williams and Dyer, and performed by Rafe Spall
– Ciarán Hinds and Judith Roddy reprise their roles with Fra Fee joining the cast of Brian Friel’s TRANSLATIONS, directed by Ian Rickson
– Further performances on sale for MY BRILLIANT FRIEND, adapted by April De Angelis from Elena Ferrante’s bestselling Neapolitan Novels
Just announced:
Emma Rice adapts and directs Emily Brontë’s iconic masterpieceWUTHERING HEIGHTS, in a new co-production with Wise Children in association with York Theatre Royal. With her trademark musical and visual style, Emma Rice brings new life to the classic story in this elemental new stage adaptation. The production will open in the Lyttelton Theatre in autumn 2020 before touring across the UK, venues to be announced.
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MANOR, a timely new play by Moira Buffini, will open in April in the Lyttelton with Ben Daniels (House of Cards) joining Nancy Carroll in the cast. Amy Forrest (Small Island) and Edward Judge (The Play That Goes Wrong) will also join the cast, directed by Fiona Buffini.
Diana Stuckley and her daughter are struggling to keep the roof on their run-down manor house. As a violent storm sweeps the coast, neighbours and strangers begin to appear, seeking shelter from the floods. Among them are the leaders of a far right organisation. Stranded together, this explosive mix of people must survive the weather and each other. This darkly comic drama reunites the writer and director behind Dinner.
Set and costume design by Lez Brotherston and lighting design by Paule Constable, composition and sound design by Jon Nicholls, fight direction by Kate Waters and video design by Andrzej Goulding.
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In the Dorfman in March, Francesca Martinez’s debut play ALL OF US is directed by Ian Rickson, with Lucy Briers, Crystal Condie and Kevin Hely joining the cast.
Exploring life and love during a time of austerity, Martinez herself plays the lead role of Jess in this powerful, timely and characterful comedy drama. Jess has a job she loves, friends and a sense of humour. She needs one, because when the government come calling, the life she has built – she has had cerebral palsy since birth – comes under threat. Set and costume design will be by Georgia Lowe, lighting design by Anna Watson, composition by Stephen Warbeck and sound design by Gregory Clarke.
On sale to the public from 11 October:
Olivier Theatre
THE VISIT or THE OLD LADY COMES TO CALL
based on the play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
adapted by Tony Kushner
Previews from 31 January, with press night 13 February, on sale until 4 April with further performances to be announced
In the town of Slurry, New York, post-war recession has bitten. Claire Zachanassian, improbably beautiful and impenetrably terrifying, returns to her hometown as the world’s richest woman. The locals hope her arrival signals a change in their fortunes, but they soon realise that prosperity will only come at a terrible price.
Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s visionary revenge play is transported into mid-20th century America by Tony Kushner (Angels in America). Jeremy Herrin (People, Places and Things, This House) directs Lesley Manville (The Phantom Thread, Long Day’s Journey into Night) as the ruthless heiress and Hugo Weaving (The Matrix) as her former love. Jason Barnett, Sam Cox, Richard Durden, Sara Kestelman, Joseph Mydell, Tony Turner, Douglas Walker and Nicholas Woodeson also join the cast.
Set design by Vicki Mortimer and costume design by Moritz Junge. The lighting design is by NT Associate Paule Constable, composition by Paul Englishby, sound design by Paul Arditti and movement direction by Polly Bennett.
The Visit is presented in association with David Binder Productions. Original English language translation by Maurice Valency. Stage rights by Diogenes Verlag AG Zürich. The New American Work Programme is supported by The Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Lawton W Fitt & James I McLaren Foundation and Kathleen J Yoh.
Lyttelton Theatre
THE WELKIN
a new play by Lucy Kirkwood
Previews from 15 January, press night 22 January, on sale until 28 March with further performances to be announced
Rural Suffolk, 1759. As the country waits for Halley’s comet, Sally Poppy is sentenced to hang for a heinous murder. When she claims to be pregnant, a jury of 12 matrons are taken from their housework to decide whether she’s telling the truth, or simply trying to escape the noose. With only midwife Lizzy Luke prepared to defend the girl, and a mob baying for blood outside, the matrons wrestle with their new authority, and the devil in their midst.
Lucy Kirkwood (Mosquitoes, Chimerica) returns to the National Theatre with her new play, directed by James Macdonald. Maxine Peake (Black Mirror, Funny Cow) plays Lizzy, and Ria Zmitrowicz (The Doctor), Sally. Cast also includes Nadia Albina, Natasha Cottriall, Aysha Kala, Wendy Kweh, Cecilia Noble, Philip McGinley, Dawn Sievewright and Brigid Zengeni.
Set and costume design by Bunny Christie, lighting design by Lee Curran, sound design by Carolyn Downing and fight direction by Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown of Rc-Annie Ltd.
This play is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Plays Award. Production supported by the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater.
THE SEVEN STREAMS OF THE RIVER OTA
by Ex Machina / Robert Lepage
From 6 March to 22 March
First staged at the National Theatre in 1996, Robert Lepage’s masterpiece returns to London for just nine performances. Presented as part of a world tour, this new staging marks 75 years since the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. Tracing survivors and their descendants across five decades, this giant theatrical journey through time and space explores the way in which a few kilograms of uranium falling on Japan changed the course of human history.
The text is by members of the Ex Machina company including Éric Bernier, Gérard Bibeau, Normand Bissonnette, Rebecca Blankenship, Marie Brassard, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Normand Daneau, Richard Fréchette, Marie Gignac, Patrick Goyette, Robert Lepage, Macha Limonchik and Ghislaine Vincent.
Cast are Rebecca Blankenship, Lorraine Côté, Christian Essiambre, Richard Fréchette, Tetsuya Kudaka, Myriam Leblanc, Umihiko Miya, Audrée Southière, Philippe Thibault-Denis and Donna Yamamoto.
Director and designer Robert Lepage, creative director Steve Blanchet, dramaturg Gérard Bibeau, music and sound design by Michel F. Côté, original set design by Carl Fillion, set designer for the adaptation Ariane Sauvé, lighting design by Sonoyo Nishikawa, images designer Keven Dubois, costumes designer Virginie Leclerc and properties designer Claudia Gendreau.
A co-production with Chekhov International Theatre Festival, Moscow, the National Theatre, London, and Le Diamant, Québec.
Dorfman Theatre
DEATH OF ENGLAND
a new play by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams
Previews from 31 January, press night 6 February, playing until 7 March
After the death of his dad, Michael is powerless and angry. In a state of heartbreak, he confronts the difficult truths about his father’s legacy and the country that shaped him. At the funeral, unannounced and unprepared, Michael decides it is time to speak.
Rafe Spall (Hedda Gabler, Black Mirror) performs this fearless one-person play which asks explosive and enduring questions about identity, race and class in Britain.
It is written for him by Roy Williams (Sucker Punch, Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads) and Clint Dyer (The Happy Tragedy of Being Woke), who will become the first Black British artist to have performed, written and directed at the National Theatre.
Directed by Clint Dyer, set and costume design is by Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey and ULTZ, with lighting design by Jackie Shemesh, sound design by Pete Malkin and movement by Lucy Cullingford.
Productions currently on sale:
Olivier Theatre
PETER GYNT
by David Hare
after Henrik Ibsen
a co-production with Edinburgh International Festival
Last chance to see – playing until 8 October
Ibsen’s classic is reinvented as a riotous adventure for the 21st century.
Peter Gynt is searching for something: himself. Travelling from the mountains of Scotland to the pool-sides of Florida, he’ll meet talking hyenas, two-headed trolls and even an Egyptian Sphinx. But his ultimate transformation may not be all that he hoped for.
Playing the rebellious antihero, James McArdle (Angels in America) is reunited with David Hare and Jonathan Kent, the partnership behind the triumphant Young Chekhov at Chichester Festival Theatre and the National Theatre.
The cast also includes Philip Cairns, Tamsin Carroll, Jonathan Coy, Anya Chalotra, Caroline Deyga, Tia Dutt, Lauren Ellis-Steele, Ezra Faroque Khan, Oliver Ford Davies, Andrew Fraser, Guy Henry, Dani Heron, Ryan Hunter, Isabelle Joss, Rehanna MacDonald, Lorne MacFadyen, Marc Mackinnon, Adam McNamara, Martin Quinn, Ann Louise Ross, Nabil Shaban and Jatinder Singh Randhawa, Sonnyboy Skelton and Hannah Visocchi.
Directed by Jonathan Kent, set and costume design by Richard Hudson, lighting design by Mark Henderson, composition by Paul Englishby, music direction by Kevin Amos, sound design by Christopher Shutt, movement direction by Polly Bennett, video design by Dick Straker, illusions by Chris Fisher and fight direction by Paul Benzing.
TRANSLATIONS
by Brian Friel
Previews from 15 October, press night 21 October, playing until 18 December
Following a sold-out run in 2018, Ian Rickson’s exquisite production returns.
Owen, the prodigal son, returns to rural Donegal from Dublin. With him are two British army officers. Their ambition is to create a map of the area, replacing the Gaelic names with English. It is an administrative act with radical consequences.
Brian Friel’s modern classic is a powerful account of nationhood, which sees the turbulent relationship between England and Ireland play out in one quiet community.
Ciarán Hinds reprises his critically acclaimed role of patriarch and school master, Hugh, whose livelihood and culture are at risk. He will be re-joined by Dermot Crowley,Seamus O’Hara, Judith Roddy and Rufus Wright. Further casting includes Jack Bardoe, Gareth Clarke, Adam Collier, Liadán Dunlea, Fra Fee, Paul Lloyd, Michael-David McKernan, Sarah Madigan, Julian Moore-Cook and Amy Molloy.
Set and costume designer is Rae Smith, lighting designer is Neil Austin, composition by Stephen Warbeck, sound designer is Ian Dickinson and movement is by Anna Morrissey.
MY BRILLIANT FRIEND
Parts One and Two
based on Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels
adapted by April De Angelis
a co-production with Rose Theatre Kingston
Previews from 12 November, press day 26 November, playing until 22 February
When the most important person in her life goes missing without a trace, Lenù Greco, now a celebrated author, begins to recall a relationship of more than 60 years.
First meeting on the dangerous streets of post-war Naples, friends Lila and Lenù experience turbulent social and political change, from the rise of the Camorra to the sexual revolution and the transformation of their neighbourhood, city and nation. Even as life repeatedly tries to pull them in separate directions, they remain inextricably bound to one another.
Based on the celebrated novels by Elena Ferrante – published in over 50 countries – My Brilliant Friend is an epic story of love, violence, ambition and self-destruction.
Following a sold-out run at Rose Theatre Kingston, the acclaimed two-part adaptation by April De Angelis (Jumpy) is reworked for the Olivier stage by Melly Still (Coram Boy).
Niamh Cusack and Catherine McCormack reprise their roles as Lenù and Lila alongside returning cast members Justin Avoth, Adam Burton, Martin Hyder, Ira Mandela Siobhan, Victoria Moseley, Emily Mytton, Jonah Russell, Badria Timimi, Emily Wachter and Toby Wharton. Cast also includes Amiera Darwish, Trevor Fox, Danielle Henry, Kezrena James, David Judge, Wela Mbusi, Al Nedjari, Mary Jo Randle, Colin Ryan, John Sandeman, Ben Turner and Elizabeth Mary (Em) Williams.
Directed by Melly Still, with set and costume design by Soutra Gilmour, composition by Jim Fortune, lighting design by Malcolm Rippeth, sound design by Jon Nicholls, movement direction by Sarah Dowling, video design by Tal Yarden, fight direction by John Sandeman and puppetry design and direction by Toby Olié.
Lyttelton Theatre
HANSARD
a new play by Simon Woods
Limited ticket availability – playing until 25 November
It’s a summer’s morning in 1988 and Tory politician Robin Hesketh has returned home to the idyllic Cotswold house he shares with his wife of 30 years, Diana. But all is not as blissful as it seems. Diana has a stinking hangover, a fox is destroying the garden, and secrets are being dug up all over the place. As the day draws on, what starts as gentle ribbing and the familiar rhythms of marital scrapping quickly turns to blood-sport.
With Alex Jennings as Robin and Lindsay Duncan as his wife, Diana, Simon Godwin directs Simon Woods’ witty and devastating portrait of the governing class.
Set and costume design by Hildegard Bechtler, lighting by Jackie Shemesh, composition by Michael Bruce, sound design by Christopher Shutt and movement direction by Shelley Maxwell.
Production supported by Marcia Grand in loving memory of Richard Grand, Leila Maw Straus and Shawn M. Donnelley & Christopher M. Kelly. This play is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Plays Award.
‘MASTER HAROLD’… AND THE BOYS
by Athol Fugard
Previews from 21 September, press night on 1 October, playing until 17 December
St George’s Park Tea Room, Port Elizabeth, 1950. On a long rainy afternoon, employees Sam and Willie practise their steps for the finals of the ballroom dancing championship.
Hally arrives from school to hide out in his parents’ tea room. These two men have been unlikely best friends to Hally his whole life. But it is apartheid era South Africa: he’s Master Harold, and they are the boys.
Tony Award-winning playwright Athol Fugard’s semi-autobiographical and blistering masterwork explores the nature of friendship, and the ways people are capable of hurting even those they love.
Roy Alexander Weise (Nine Night) directs Lucian Msamati (Amadeus) and Hammed Animashaun (Barber Shop Chronicles) as Sam and Willie; and Anson Boon as Hally.
Set and costume designer is Rajha Shakiry, lighting designer is Paule Constable, movement director and choreographer is Shelley Maxwell and sound designer is Giles Thomas.
Production generously supported by Monica Gerard-Sharp and the ‘Master Harold’…and the boys Production Syndicate.
THREE SISTERS
a new play by Inua Ellams
after Chekhov
a co-production with Fuel
Previews from 3 December, press night on 10 December, playing until 19 February
Chekhov’s iconic characters are relocated to Nigeria in this bold new adaptation.
Owerri, 1967, on the brink of the Biafran Civil War. Lolo, Nne Chukwu and Udo are grieving the loss of their father. Months before, two ruthless military coups plunged the country into chaos. Fuelled by foreign intervention, the conflict encroaches on their provincial village and the sisters long to return to their former home, Lagos.
Following his smash-hit Barber Shop Chronicles, Inua Ellams returns to the National Theatre with this heartbreaking retelling, directed by Nadia Fall (Home, Dara).
The three sisters will be played by Sarah Niles, Natalie Simpson and Racheal Ofori. Cast includes Ronke Adekoluejo, Jonathan Ajayi, Jude Akuwudike, Tobi Bamtefa, Peter Bankolé, Anni Domingo, Lola May, Jerome Ngonadi, Ken Nwosu, Joseph Ogeleka, Nasa Ohalete, Offue Okegbe, Chloe Okora, Sule Rimi and Diana Yekinni.
With set and costume design by Katrina Lindsay, lighting design by Peter Mumford, movement direction by Polly Bennett, composition by Femi Tomowo, sound design by Donato Wharton and music direction and vocal arrangements by Michael Henry.
Three Sisters is a co-production with Fuel, originally commissioned by Metta Theatre.
Hundreds of £15 tickets will be available for every performance.
Production supported by Leila Maw Straus, Cockayne – Grants for the Arts and The London Community Foundation and the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater.
Dorfman Theatre
FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY
a new play by Alexander Zeldin
Currently in previews, press night 17 September, playing until 12 October
In a run-down community hall on the edge of town, a woman has been cooking lunch for those in need. A choir is starting up, run by a volunteer who’s looking for a new beginning. A mother is seeking help in her fight to keep her young daughter from being taken into care. An older man sits silently in the corner, the first to arrive, the last to leave. Outside the rain is failing.
Alexander Zeldin’s new play promises to be another uncompromising theatrical experience that goes to the heart of our uncertain times
Full cast includes Nathan Armarkwei-Laryea, Nick Holder, Dayo Koleosho, Susan Lynch, Cecilia Noble, Corey Peterson, Bobby Stallwood, Hind Swareldahab and Alan Williams.
Directed by Alexander Zeldin, the set and costume designer is Natasha Jenkins, the lighting designer is Marc Williams, the movement director is Marcin Rudy, the sound designer is Josh Anio Grigg and the rehearsal music director is Laurie Blundell.
Production supported by The Polonsky Foundation.
THE ANTIPODES
by Annie Baker
Previews from 21 October, press night 30 October, playing until 23 November
Following acclaimed runs of The Flick and John, Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Baker returns to the National Theatre with her latest extraordinary work, THE ANTIPODES.
Their phones switched off, a group of people sit around a table telling, categorising and theorising stories. This is a world that is both familiar and fantastical. Their real purpose is never quite clear, but they continue on, searching for the monstrous. Part satire, part sacred rite, The Antipodes asks what value stories have for a world in crisis.
Full cast includes Fisayo Akinade, Matt Bardock, Arthur Darvill, Imogen Doel, Hadley Fraser, Conleth Hill, Stuart McQuarrie, Sinéad Matthews and Bill Milner.
Directed by Annie Baker and Chloe Lamford, with set and costume design by Chloe Lamford, lighting design by Natasha Chivers, sound design by Tom Gibbons, movement direction by Sasha Milavic Davies and illusion design by Steve Cuiffo.
New American Work Programme is supported by The Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Lawton W Fitt & James | McLaren Foundation and Kathleen J Yoh.
THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE
based on the novel by Neil Gaiman
adapted by Joel Horwood
Previews from 3 December, with a press night on 11 December, playing until 25 January
Returning to his childhood home, Alex finds himself standing beside the duck pond of the old Sussex farmhouse where he used to play. He’s transported to his 13th birthday, spring half-term, when his dad was struggling to make ends meet and his friend Lettie claimed it wasn’t a pond, but an ocean…
This adventure will excite and thrill those brave enough to face its hidden depths. Bestselling author Neil Gaiman is the creator of epic American Gods, Coraline, Stardust and the Sandman series.
Directed by Katy Rudd, the cast includes Jade Croot, Fred Davis, Owain Gwynn, Pippa Nixon, Justin Salinger, Jeffrey Sangalang, Marli Siu and Jess Williams alongside the previously announced Josie Walker and Samuel Blenkin.
The set designer is Fly Davis, with costume and puppet design by Samuel Wyer, movement direction by Steven Hoggett, composition by Jherek Bischoff, lighting design by Paule Constable, sound design by Ian Dickinson, puppetry direction by Finn Caldwell and magic and illusions by Jamie Harrison.
Suitable for ages 12+, with half-price tickets available for under-18s.
National Theatre on tour
Following its acclaimed run at the Roundhouse this summer,BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES continues a UK tour visiting Birmingham Repertory Theatre (26 – 28 September), Oxford Playhouse (9 – 12 October), Eden Court, Inverness (16 – 19 October), Edinburgh Lyceum (23 October – 9 November), Nuffield Southampton Theatres (13 – 16 November), before returning to Leeds Playhouse (20 – 23 November). Barber Shop Chronicles is a Fuel, National Theatre and Leeds Playhouse co-production. Co-commissioned by Fuel and the National Theatre. Development funded by Arts Council England with the support of Fuel, National Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, The Binks Trust, British Council ZA, Òran Mór and A Play, a Pie and a Pint. The tour has received National Lottery funding through Arts Council England’s Project Grants programme and Creative Scotland’s Open Funding programme.
Having visited 12 countries around the world, playing to 8 million people over the past 12 years, including a recent sold-out return to the National Theatre, the NT’s acclaimed production WAR HORSE, based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford, and presented in association with the award-winning Handspring Puppet Company is now on a UK and international tour. War Horse will return to London for a strictly limited run at an exciting new venue, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, located steps away from Wembley Stadium from 18 October to 23 November. War Horse will also tour to The Curve, Leicester (18 September – 12 October), La Seine Musicale, Paris (29 November – 29 December), Regent Theatre, Melbourne, Australia (10 January – 9 February 2020), Lyric Theatre, Sydney (15 February – 15 March 2020), Crown Theatre, Perth (24 March – 12 April 2020), with further international dates to be announced. War Horse is directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, designed by Rae Smith, with puppet direction, design and fabrication by Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler for Handspring Puppet Company, lighting by Paule Constable, and movement and horse choreography by Toby Sedgwick, with video design by Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer for 59 Productions, songmaker John Tams, music by Adrian Sutton and sound by Christopher Shutt. Katie Henry is the UK & International Tour Director and Craig Leo is the Associate Puppetry Director. CharlottePeters is the Associate Director and Matthew Forbes is the Associate Puppetry Director. They are joined by Resident Director, Charlie Kenber and Resident Puppetry Director, Gareth Aled. War Horse is produced on tour by the National Theatre. For more information, visit warhorseonstage.com. War Horse at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre is supported by American Express, the National Theatre’s preferred Card Partner.
Bijan Sheibani’s production of A TASTE OF HONEY, Shelagh Delaney’s remarkable taboo-breaking 1950s play, which was first produced in the Lyttelton Theatre in 2014, is now on a UK tour. Designed by Hildegard Bechtler, A Taste of Honey is reimagined in an exciting new production featuring a live on-stage band. Jodie Prenger (Oliver!, One Man, Two Guvnors, Abigail’s Party UK tour) plays Helen, and Gemma Dobson plays Jo, alongside Liam Bessell, Katy Clayton, Claire Eden,Durone Stokes, Stuart Thompson, Tom Varey and Marcel White. Written by Shelagh Delaney when she was 19, A Taste of Honey offers an explosive celebration of the vulnerabilities and strengths of the female spirit in a deprived and restless world. An exhilarating depiction of working-class life in post-war Salford, A Taste of Honey opens there at The Lowry tonight, playing until 21 September, with a press night on Friday 20 September. The tour will also visit the Kings Theatre, Edinburgh (24 – 28 September); the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (1 – 5 October); RichmondTheatre (7 – 12 October); Grand Opera House, Belfast (15 – 19 October); LeicesterCurve (22 – 26 October); Theatre Royal, Bath (28 October – 2 November); Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton (5 – 9 November); and the Norwich Theatre Royal (12 – 16 November). The lighting designer is Paul Anderson, the movement director is Aline David, and the composer and musical arranger is Benjamin Kwasi Burrell. The sound designer is Ian Dickinson for Autograph, and Company Voice Work is by Joel Trill. A Taste of Honey is produced on tour by the National Theatre. National Theatre UK Touring is supported by The Thompson Family Charitable Trust, The Royal National Theatre Foundation, and Jacqueline and Richard Worswick.
On Broadway
HADESTOWN, the acclaimed new musical by Anaïs Mitchell, developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin, is now playing on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre, and was recently awarded 8 Tony Awards, including Best New Musical. A US tour, visiting over 30 towns and cities in its first year, including Denver; Houston; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; New Orleans; Philadelphia; Tempe; and Washington, DC, with more to be announced, will begin in autumn 2020. For more information, visit hadestown.com
Following sold-out runs at the National Theatre, the Park Avenue Armory, and in the West End, the NT and Neal Street Productions’ THE LEHMAN TRILOGY will return to New York when it transfers to Broadway for a strictly limited engagement in spring 2020. The Lehman Trilogy previews at the Nederlander Theatre from 7 March, with an opening night on 26 March 2020. The story of a family and a company that changed the world, told in three parts on a single evening, The Lehman Trilogy is by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power and directed by Sam Mendes.Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles will reprise their acclaimed roles on Broadway as the Lehman brothers, and a cast of characters including their sons and grandsons. The Lehman Trilogy is produced on Broadway by the National Theatre, Neal Street Productions and Scott Rudin/Barry Diller/David Geffen, with set design by Es Devlin, costume design by Katrina Lindsay, video design by Luke Halls, and lighting design by Jon Clark. The Composer and Sound Designer is Nick Powell, the Co-Sound Designer is Dominic Bilkey, with music direction by Candida Caldicot, and movement by Polly Bennett. The Associate Director is Zoé Ford Burnett. The Wall Street Journal is the media sponsor.
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME SCHOOLS’ TOUR
Following the success of last year’s schools tour, where over 13,000 young people saw the production, the specially staged 90-minute production of THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME will visit another 60 secondary schools across the UK in Autumn 2019. The tour of Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel, adapted by Olivier-award-winning playwright Simon Stephens will visit schools in the National Theatre’s six Theatre Nation areas, supported by our partner theatres: Outer East London (with Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch), Wakefield (with Wakefield Theatre Royal), Doncaster (with CAST), Sunderland (with Sunderland Culture and Sunderland Empire), Wolverhampton (with The Grand), and Greater Manchester (with The Lowry). The tour will visit new schools in these areas as well as returning to schools we have previously engaged with as we continue to build relationships with them and introduce theatre to different age groups.
The production is directed by Olivier and Tony Award-winner Marianne Elliott, designed by Olivier and Tony Award-winner Bunny Christie and Tony Award-winning lighting designer PauleConstable. Movement is by Scott Graham and Olivier Award-winning Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, music by Adrian Sutton (who also composed music for War Horse) and sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph. The Associate Director is Anna Marsland.
The full cast includes Cayvan Coates, Lily Knight, Marcia Lecky, Nicola McRoy, Evan Milton, Chris Nayak, Nick Pearse and Nadia Williams.
The National Theatre’s Partner for Learning is Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Secondary Schools Touring is supported by: The Mohn Westlake Foundation, The Garfield Weston Foundation, Delta Air Lines, The Ingram Trust, Archie Sherman Charitable Trust, Alex Beard & Emma Vernetti, Behrens Foundation, Lennox Hannay Charitable Trust, Priya Heal, Mulberry Trust, The Robert Gavron Charitable Trust, Carol Sellars and Susie and Stelio Stefanou.
National Theatre Live
National Theatre Live is celebrating 10 years of broadcasting the best of British theatre. Over 10 years, there have been over 80 theatre productions that have been shown in 3500 venues worldwide, reaching an overall audience of nearly 9 million people. NT Live currently screens to 2500 venues across 65 countries.
One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean, featuring an award-winning performance by James Corden as Francis Henshall, will return to UK and international venues on 27 September for a special 10th birthday screening.
The Bridge Theatre production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be in cinemas 17 October. Nicholas Hytner directs Gwendoline Christie, Oliver Chris, David Moorst and Hammed Animashaun.
The debut play from Simon Woods, Hansard, will be broadcast live from the National’s Lyttelton Theatre on 7 November.Lindsay Duncan and Alex Jennings return to the NT to play married couple Robin and Diana, a married couple reckoning with a fundamental difference they cannot resolve. Directed by NT Associate Simon Godwin.
The Old Vic Production of Present Laughter by Noël Coward will be in cinemas from 28 November. Matthew Warchus directs Andrew Scott in this giddy and surprisingly modern reflection on fame, narcissism and loneliness.
The well known and loved Disney classic has hit Bristol for an extended stay that will delight and excite you, sparking every emotion within you to the surface.
The Lion King is a visually stunning feast that will transport you to the plains of Africa through incredible scenery, costumes and music. Julie Taymor, the shows director, costume designer, mask and puppet co-design and responsible for the additional lyrics to the show has created a masterpiece. Combined with the talents of Richard Hurst, Jean-Luc Guizonne, Thandazile Soni as Scar, Mufasa and Rafiki respectively, this is an incredible piece.
The show began with the classic ‘Circle of Life’, where the stage was adorned with Elephants, Rhinos, Giraffe and every other quintessential African animal you could dream of. The puppetry in this show is phenomenal. Jack Galloway, Antje Gern and Sophie Jones along with Taymor have created such exquisite puppets that amaze and leave the audience wondering ‘how on earth did they do that?!’ Each member of the cast, main and ensemble, are all equally as talented as they effortlessly manoeuvre these puppets across the stage. Two that stood out to me were Steve Beirnaet as Timon, the lovable meerkat and Matthew Forbes as Zazu, Mufasa’s hornbilled sidekick. These two completely submerged themselves in the roles, leaving us unsure as to whether to watch the puppet or enjoy the facial expressions of the actor.
Vocally, this is extraordinary. Thandazile Soni as Rafiki commands the stage from a single note at the beginning of the show and takes us on this journey. She embodies Rafiki perfectly, with humour and amazingly soaring vocals, she is an amazing part in this astounding show. ‘He Lves in You’ saw the vocal talent of Soni coupled with the incredible lighting of Alistair Grant and the commanding puppetry from the cast, this was one of the most poignant scenes in the show.
This show is an immersive experience, with incredible talent and passion; you could see how hard the cast were working. The cast is incredibly talented and if you wish to see an expertly operated production that is extremely smooth and flawless, you need look no further. Disney’s The Lion King will see you cry, laugh and smile whilst experiencing the full Circle of Life.
Playing at The Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday 23rd November. If you don’t catch it in Bristol it will be at Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre from 9th July to the 29th August 2020
