GWEN TAYLOR & ANDREW LANCEL MOTHER & EVIL SON (SHE KILLED!) IN CORONATION STREET ARE REUNITED
BILL KENWRIGHT PRESENTS
THE CLASSIC THRILLER THEATRE COMPANY
THE LADY VANISHES
BASED ON THE CLASSIC ALFRED HITCHCOCK FILM
UK TOUR EXTENDING FROM AUTUMN 2019
OPENING AT WINDSOR THEATRE ROYAL ON 26 AUGUST
After the hugely successful first tour of The Classic Thriller Theatre Company’s stage adaption of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes,the enjoyable adaptation is extending into the autumn, with a brand-new cast.
Building on the phenomenal decade-long success of The Agatha Christie Theatre Company, The Classic Thriller Theatre Company presents a quick-witted, devilishly fun filled thriller – based on the Hitchcock classic, ranked one of the Best British Films of all time.
When Socialite Iris’ travelling companion disappears, she’s bewildered to find fellow passengers deny ever having seen her. But with the help of musician Max, she turns detective, and together they resolve to solve this perplexing mystery.
The cast is led by BAFTA-nominated actress Gwen Taylor,who for decades was one of Britain’s most celebrated TV stars, including her role as Anne Foster in Coronation Street. Gwen’s other on-screen credits include the title role in ITV’s Barbara, Duty Free, A Bit of a Do and Heartbeat. Joining her is her Coronation Street son and ‘Villain of the Year Award’ winner Andrew Lancel, whose theatrical credits include Twelve Angry Men, The Small Hand and Cilla the Musical.
The show will also feature Denis Lill, star of the highly acclaimed TV drama The Royal and Alan Parry in Only Fools and Horses;Call the Midwife actress Scarlett Archer; theatre and British Hit Parade star Mark Wynter; Nicholas Audsley, best known as the Duke of Monmouth in smash hit TV series Victoria and Ben Nealon who’s credits include Soldier Soldier.
The production is directed by Roy Marsden whois best known as an actor, particularly in his role as Commander Adam Dalgliesh in ITV’s P.D. James series, which he played for 15 years. Roy has had successful West End runs with Noel Coward’s Volcano and Agatha Christie’s (under the pen name Mary Westmacott) A Daughter’s a Daughter. This is Roy’s third Classic Thriller Theatre Company production, having previously directed Rehearsal For Murder and A Judgement In Stone.
The first stop on the tour will be Windsor Theatre Royal on 26 August before calling at: Swindon, Weston-Super-Mare, Bury St Edmonds, Coventry, Derby, Darlington, Horsham, Exeter, Brighton, Yeoville, Torquay and Croydon.
NATIONAL THEATRE WALES AND ROYAL COURT THEATRE ON BEAR RIDGE
CASTING IS ANNOUNCED FOR NATIONAL THEATRE WALES AND ROYAL COURT THEATRE PRODUCTION OF ON BEAR RIDGE BY ED THOMAS
THE CAST WILL BE RAKIE AYOLA, JASON HUGHES, RHYS IFANS AND SION DANIEL YOUNG
ONBEAR RIDGE WILL BE CO-DIRECTED BY VICKY FEATHERSTONE AND ED THOMAS
THE PLAY RUNS AT THE SHERMAN THEATRE, CARDIFF FROM 2o SEPTEMBER – 5 OCTOBER. FOLLOWED BY THE ROYAL COURT THEATRE, LONDON FROM 24 OCTOBER – 23 NOVEMBER
Casting is today announced for the National Theatre Wales and Royal Court Theatre co-production of On Bear Ridge by award-winning writer Ed Thomas (House of America and Gas Station Angel, Royal Court; Hinterland/Y Gwyll BBC/S4C/Netflix). Royal Court Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone (The Cane and Cyprus Avenue, Royal Court) and Ed Thomas will co-direct this semi-autobiographical story about the places we leave behind, the indelible marks they make on us, and the unreliable memories we hold onto.
The cast will include Rakie Ayola as Noni. She is currently performing Strange Fruit at the Bush Theatre. Previous stage credits include Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child(West End), The Half God of Rainfall (Kiln Theatre) and Leave to Remain (Lyric Hammersmith). On television she is best known for her long running role as Kyla Tyson in Holby City (BBC).
Jason Hughes will play The Captain. He returns to the Royal Court where his work has includedViolence and Son, 4:48 Psychosis and A Real Classy Affair. Other recent stage roles include The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia (West End) and Our Country’s Good (National Theatre). On television he played Warren in This Life (BBC) and Detective Sergeant Ben Jones in Midsomer Murders (ITV). Other recent TV credits include Marcella (ITV), Death in Paradise and Three Girls (both BBC).
Rhys Ifans will play John Daniel. On stage he recently played the title role in Exit the King and caused a sensation in the one-man show of Protest Song (National Theatre). He also played the iconic role of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol and also The Fool in King Lear (Old Vic). Rhys’s extensive film work includes Elizabeth (dir. Shekhar Kapur), Greenberg (dir. Noah Baumbach), Nanny McPhee,Harry Potter, Mr Nice, Anonymous, The Amazing Spider-Man, Enduring Love and of course Richard Curtis’ Notting Hill. He won a BAFTA for his performance as Peter Cook in Not Only But Always and will next appear in the new comedy drama film Misbehaviour directed by Philippa Lowethorpe and Matthew Vaughn’s latest film Kingsman: The Great Game.
The cast is completed by Sion Daniel Young as Ifan William. Sion returns to the Sherman Theatre and Royal Court following Killology. His credits for National Theatre Wales include The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning, Mametz and The Village Social. He played leading roles in War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night (both West End) and last year performed inNightfall (Bridge Theatre). He will next appear in Jellyfish (National Theatre). His TV roles includeHinterland/Y Gwyll BBC/S4C/Netflix also written by Ed Thomas
“One minute we had customers, the next minute there was no-one.”
In a lost village, blurred by redrawn borders, hidden under a crumb on the map, Bear Ridge Stores still stands.
After a hundred years, the family butchers and grocers – a place for odds and ends, contraband goods, and the last petrol pump for 30 miles – is now silent.
But owners John Daniel and Noni are not leaving.
They are defiantly drinking the remaining whiskey and remembering good times, when everyone was on the same side and the old language shone.
Outside in the dark, a figure is making their way towards them.
The play will run at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff (20 September – 5 October) followed by the Royal Court in London (24 October – 23 November).
LISTINGS
National Theatre Wales and Royal Court Theatre ON BEAR RIDGE by Ed Thomas Directors Vicky Featherstone and Ed Thomas Designer Cai Dyfan Composer John Hardy Sound Designer Mike Beer
Running time: TBC Ages 14+
Sherman Theatre, Senghennydd Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4YE First Performance: 20 September 2019 Final Performance: 5 October 2019 Opening Night: 24 September at 7pm Monday – Saturday 7.30pm, matinees on Thursday 3 October and Saturday 5 October at 2pm https://www.shermantheatre.co.uk/performance/theatre/on-bear-ridge/
029 2064 6900
Standard Tickets £20 Previews: £15 on 20, 21 and 23 September Concessions: £18 Under 25s Half Price
Audio Described, Touch Tour and BSL: Friday 4 October 7.30pm and Saturday 5 October 2pm Monday 30 September – Saturday 5 October – All performances Captioned on iPads provided by National Theatre Wales. Post show talks Thursday 26th September, and matinee of Thursday 3rd October.
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS First Performance: 24 October Final Performance: 23 November Opening Night: 28 October at 7pm
Captioned Performances: Wednesday 6, 13 & 20 November, Friday 22 November 2019 Audio Described Matinee: Saturday 23 November 2019, 2.30pm. Touch tour at 1pm Relaxed Environment Performance: Saturday 16 November 2019, 2:30pm The Big Idea: In Conversation with Ed Thomas and Vicky Featherstone Tuesday 5 November post-show
Standard Tickets £12-£49 (Mondays all seats £12 available from 9am online on the day of performance) Concessions* £5 off Band A – C seats for previews and matinees Under 26s Access £15 (plus a companion at the same rate) *ID required. All discounts subject to availability.
Young Court Friends Tickets Young Court Friends is a free membership scheme for Under 26s. We offer a limited number of £15 tickets for all performances to Young Court Friends, as well as advance access to £12 Mondays in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.
Writers Liz Pichon and Neal Foster have produced a genius script, taking everything that is important in the Tom Gates books and making a play that is more than the sum of its parts. Director Neal Foster has clearly collaborated closely with the writers to get a perfect balance between the animation and the actors. You have great music, great characters, straight out of the 70’s art and fashion – what’s not to love!
Each character is quite distinctive and so I have to commend the actors on their ability to make, sometimes very quick, switches between their different parts. Ashley Cousins is a very funny and believable Marcus Meldrew, a goody two shoes that I am sure we have all experienced in our school lives. Then Cousins flips into the mannerisms of Granny with a feminine flair. Amy Hargreaves carries well two roles that are complete opposites – the bright and ‘always does her best’ Amy Porter and the dark, sulky Delia. Justin Davies makes me laugh the most with Norman’s sugar rush frenzies and manic drumming. Matthew Chase is a great Tom Gates that the young audience loves, leading us through the story, pulling together all the loose ends. Gates brings to life the lyrics with a great 70’s rock tone. Liz Pichon has written lyrics for the songs that speak to the young audience and will be repeated in towns where ever the play is performed. I know I will be humming the biscuit song at work tomorrow!
The genius part of the production is what the Creative Team achieves with the set. A blank screen with strategically placed flaps and doors, springs to life with projected images and interactive doodles. The result is vibrant, energetic and brings the familiar pages of Pichon’s books right on to the stage. Primary school children everywhere are going to love this play, whether they know about the books before or not!
2b theatre company presents OLD STOCK: A REFUGEE LOVE STORY
CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED 2b theatre company’s OLD STOCK: A REFUGEE LOVE STORY, IN COLLABORATION WITH INDIE / FOLK MUSIC SENSATION BEN CAPLAN
ON WORLD REFUGEE DAY, AWARD-WINNING WRITER HANNAH MOSCOVITCH REFLECTS ON HER OWN FAMILY’S PERILOUS HISTORY AS REFUGEES
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED THROUGHOUT CANADA, IN NEW YORK, EDINBURGH, ACROSS THE UK, IN AUSTRALIA AND HOLLAND FOR ITS INNOVATIVE, GENRE-BENDING STYLE, OLD STOCK MAKES ITS LONDON DEBUT AT WILTON’S MUSIC HALL FROM SEPTEMBER 18TH – 28TH
Full casting is announced today for OLD STOCK: A REFUGEE LOVE STORY, a dizzying 80 minute, genre bending, darkly funny gig-meets-live theatre experience based on a true story of two Jewish Romanian refugees fleeing Romania for Canada in 1908. Covering sex, religion, tragedy and triumph, the show follows Chaim and Chaya as they make a fresh start in the New World. Joining previously announced Ben Caplan and Mary Fay Coady are Eric Da Costa, Jeff Kingsbury andKelsey McNulty.
This ingenious Klezmer / folk music theatrical hybrid received rave reviews at its premiere in Halifax, Canada and has since been performed to great critical acclaim throughout Canada, in New York (where it garnered six Drama Desk Award Nominations) and Edinburgh, across the UK, in Australia and Holland. 2b theatre company bring Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story to Wilton’s Music Hall from September 18th – 28th, for its London premiere.
Marking the UN’s World Refugee Day, writer Hannah Moscovitch says “The play gained a dark relevance over the time that we’ve worked on it. With the Syrian conflict continuing to decimate a nation, and Trump trying to turn his racism into policy, the plight of refugees is far from a story of the past.”
“The urgency to write the play was really crystalized by one of the most famous photographs of the last decade: the image of three year old Alan Kurdi, whose lifeless body washed up on a beach in Turkey after his family tried to escape Syria in a tiny rubber raft. Before I had a kid, children were largely symbolic to me. But as a mother, the reaction I had to that photograph was amplified. Now I can imagine what it would be like to lose a child. You would never recover from that”.
“Anyone who came into Canada by boat would have come through Halifax and Pier 21, as my great grandparents did in 1908. Pier 21 is a little bit like Ellis Island. It had never occurred to me before but this was the moment that they were safe. Before that they were in peril. It was a question of life or death.
“I take my lead from a hero of mine, Primo Levi, who survived the Holocaust. He talks about history as identity, and that you cannot know yourself without knowing your history. And genocide is an attempt to wipe out history. The alternative history of my family was death – as with Alan Kurdi. It was impossible for me, knowing my family came in through Pier 21 fleeing pogroms, not to see a parallel. All of that came together to make Old Stock.”
Hailed as “Canada’s Hottest Young Playwright” by The National Post, The Globe and Mail, and Now Magazine, Hannah Moscovitch has written Other People’s Children, This Is War,What a Young Wife Ought to Know. She has won many awards, including the prestigious international Windham-Campbell Prize administered by the Beinecke Library at Yale University and the Trillium Book Award (she is the only playwright to win in the award’s thirty-year history).
Christian Barry wears many hats in this production including Director, Co-Set/Lighting/Sound Designer, as well as co-writing the songs. He is an award-winning director, dramaturge, actor, writer, and designer from Halifax, and a founding member and artistic co-director of 2b theatre company.
Ben Caplan is both the production’s co-songwriter and performs the role of narrator, The Wanderer. Though best known as a songwriter, his first experiences as a performer were in the theatre. This production marks his first return to the theatre after a ten-year hiatus. He has released three albums to critical acclaim, including his latest: a companion piece to this production titled Old Stock.
Mary Fay Coady (Chaya, Violin) received the Robert Merritt Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Lead in 2018 for this performance. Further acting credits include: This Is Nowhere, At This Hour (Zuppa Theatre/ Merritt Award nominee), Miss Caledonia (Neptune/Canada/UK Tour), David For Queen (Halifax Theatre for Young People), Tribe of One (Doppler Effect/ Merritt Award nominee), Jekyll and Hyde (Misery/ Shakespeare By The Sea), Twelfth Night, MacBeth, Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shakespeare By The Sea), The Perfection of Man (Atlantic Fringe Festival/ winner Best Comedy Award) and In the Backseat (Eastern Front).
Eric Da Costa (Chaim, Clarinet & various other instruments) has been a musician for as many years as he has been a performer. Previous credits include: Annie, Honk!, Snow White: the Panto, Peter Pan: the Panto (Drayton Entertainment), Key Change (Globe Theatre Regina), and Hollywood Hits(Stage West Calgary).
Jeff Kingsbury (Drumset) is a freelance drummer/multi-instrumentalist from Kentville, Nova Scotia. Currently based in Ottawa, he tours regularly with his main project Pony Girl, and with artists like Gianna Lauren, Marie-Clo, Mauno, Scattered Clouds, HIGHS, and Kalle Mattson. He has performed with Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax and also plays regularly with the Ottawa-based Governor General’s Foot Guards Band and the Band of the Ceremonial Guard across Canada and in Bermuda.
Kelsey McNulty (Keyboard, Accordion) is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and teacher living in Toronto. Originally from Ottawa, she quickly became an active member of the Toronto music scene. Kelsey has performed and toured with many bands including The Boxcar Boys, Maylee Todd, Jadea Kelly, Jaron Freeman-Fox and the Opposite of Everything. As well as leading her own bands she has also recorded on many albums, building experience in many different styles of music (Jazz, Soul, Pop, Country, Folk and Classical).
The Bunker Theatre announces 2019 Autumn Season The Bunker, 53A Southwark Street London SE1 1RU August – December 2019
Following the success of his first season at The Bunker, Artistic Director Chris Sonnex’s new season cements his vision for the theatre, representing and sharing the stories of its community. With a new festival with work from Black artists, a new work from Anna Jordan, debut plays from emerging writers and the return of the sold-out My White Best Friend (and Other Letters Left Unsaid), The Bunker is the place for ambitious creatives to share their work with adventurous audiences.
The Autumn Season will open with This is Black, a curated festival from Steven Kavuma, founder of Diversity School Initiative. Creating a supportive fringe space for Black creatives to produce new work, it will explore identity, hate crime and family relationships with alternate double bills of All the Shit I Can’t Say to My Dad by Abraham Adeyemi and Blue Beneath My Skin by Macadie Amoroso with …cake by babirye bukilwa and The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars by Dipo Baruwa-Etti, along with an accompanying exhibition by Sophia Tassew, who created the recent plus-size mannequins for Nike.
In September, Jade City by Alice Malseed will examine masculinity, vulnerability and friendship through the rich language of Belfast. Presented in association with The Royal Court, Anna Jordan’s We Anchor in Hope will be directed by Chris Sonnex in his inaugural production for The Bunker. Transforming the theatre into a pub, it will interrogate the impact on the community when the local closes.
Based on the writer’s own experiences, Germ Free Adolescent by Natalie Mitchell (NT Connections) is an OCD love story for anyone who’s ever worried that they’re not normal. Debut plays, i will still be whole (when you rip me in half) by Ava Wong Davies and Before I was a Bear by Eleanor Tindall will share the space in November. Davies’ lyrical piece explores the relationship between women in a family as Tindall’s considers sexuality, friendship, celebrity and shame.
The critically acclaimed My White Best Friend and Other Letters Left Unsaid… from Rachel De-Lahay and Milli Bhatia returns to The Bunker for the Autumn Season. Empowering even more writers to challenge and redress where we place ourselves in our society, newly commissioned letters will be performed sight unseen each night.
Following the success of Funeral Flowers in Spring, Harts Theatre Company have joined Pint-Sized and Damsel Productions as Resident Companies, while Ann Akin and Anoushka Warden join Debbie Hannan on The Bunker’s team of Artistic Associates. Akin will produce Matilda Ibini’s new play Little Miss Burden, directed by Hannan, bringing together 90s nostalgia and Nigerian culture to tell the truth about growing up with a physical impairment.
On top of this, The Bunker have introduced a programme of B-Sides to ensure emerging artists have a place to thrive. Including new work from Annie Jenkins and Liv Wynter, this curated run of Sunday and Monday nights will fill the stage with cult hits, experimental work and future classics, reinforced by the return of Pint-Sized’s week-long festival.
Artistic Director Chris Sonnex comments, Theatre is a village. When we wait in the foyer, when we watch a performance, when we talk about the show over a drink, we reinforce our togetherness, our shared language. We watch in unison as a congress of actors, writers, directors, designers tell us stories to unite and challenge us. The individual creates the community, the community empowers the individual. In The Bunker’s new season, we are lucky to welcome incredible artists with plays that explore this link: between individual and community. We’re delighted to be continuing our partnership with Black Ticket Project, giving away more than 250 tickets across the season. We are ensuring that the artists in our community have a place to experiment in our B-Side season. The Bunker is proud to work with so many talented artists that represent our society. I believe they will be mainstays in our theatre village for years to come.
The Bunker’s Autumn Season 2019 includes:
This is Black (The Bunker) Curated by Steven Kavuma Monday 5th – Sunday 25th August 2019, DJ until late on Friday and Saturday nights
This festival of world premiere theatre shows by four new and exciting Black writers will be accompanied by a visual art exhibition curated by Sophia Tassew. The festival aims to support, encourage and celebrate Black artists, and to create a supportive fringe festival experience that existing platforms do not always successfully provide.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 7.30pm Double Bill – All the Shit I Can’t Say to My Dad and Blue Beneath My Skin
All the Shit I Can’t Say to My Dad by Abraham Adeyemi (Abi Rufai) AK’s back at his mum’s to write his debut album and decides it’s time to be honest, even if the truth hurts. He finally says twenty-seven years of things left unsaid but is it too late?
Blue Beneath my Skin by Macadie Amoroso (Sculptress Theatre Company) Centring on the life of a 17-year-old mixed-race girl, Blue Beneath My Skin explores the nuances of identity, culture and ethnicity, and how self-perceptions and the perceptions put upon us by others can push us onto a destructive path.
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, 7.30pm Double Bill – …cake and The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars
…cake by babirye bukilwa (Tolu Agbelusi) …cake delves into a dysfunctional mother daughter relationship where love, duty and violence compete in equal measure. A prequel to her play hour (Talawa Firsts 2017), …cake explores the nature versus nurture debate and asks what makes us ‘us’.
The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars by Dipo Baruwa-Etti (Liz Daramola) After being visited by her brother’s ghost and guided through the past, a grieving woman sets out to prove that her brother’s death was the result of a hate crime.
Jade City (ViewFromHere and The Bunker) Written by Alice Malseed, directed by Katherine Nesbit Tuesday 3rd – Saturday 21st September 2019
Sas and Monty are trapped in this place, and in their heads. From the working men’s to Monty’s empty flat, their only escape comes from playing The Game; where they can be bin men hiding stolen cash under the mattress; seagulls snatching dogs on the high street; or just themselves, free at last, knocking back breakfast cocktails on a sunny beach. But Sas doesn’t want to play anymore. He wants to talk. About girls, his head and that summer they can’t forget. Rich in the language of Belfast, and with an original electronic score, Jade City is a lyrical and powerful exploration of growing up and growing apart, about the choices we make and the only choices we have.
We Anchor in Hope (The Bunker and W14 Productions in association with the Royal Court) Written by Anna Jordan, directed by Chris Sonnex Wednesday 25th September – 19th October 2019
All over London public houses become private flats. Tomorrow, The Anchor closes for good. It’s the end of an era, but Kenny and the gang are going out with a bang. There’s a blow-up sheep, karaoke and a lot of Campari. There’s secrets and grudges and forgotten dreams. As the front doors are locked and the bar is drunk dry, there’s a lot more to lose than just a pub.
Germ Free Adolescent (The Bunker) Written by Natalie Mitchell, directed by Grace Gummer Tuesday 29th October – Saturday 9th November 2019
Ashley is 16. She’s lived in Medway for 15 years and 6 months. She has 2,354 leaflets on sexual health. She knows exactly how many she has, because she’s counted them 1,582 times… Germ Free Adolescent is an OCD love story that asks: what exactly is ‘normal’ anyway? Written by Natalie Mitchell, the fierce and funny, serious and irreverent play draws on her own mental health experiences, and the painful yet often funny stories she collected from across Medway in Kent.
i will still be whole (when you rip me in half) (Emily Davis and The Bunker) Written by Ava Wong Davies, directed by Helen Morley Tuesday 12th – Saturday 23rd November 2019
In 1996 a young mother walks out of a small house in Shepherd’s Bush and doesn’t look back. In 2019 a daughter lies in a bath and stares at a crack in the ceiling. i will still be whole (when you rip me in half) is a poetic interlinking of monologues devoted to blood ties and what we inherit from our parents.
Before I was a Bear (The Bunker) Written by Eleanor Tindall, directed by Aneesha Srinivasan Tuesday 12th – Saturday 23rd November 2019
On a rainy Wednesday evening, Cally sits at her local pub waiting for her best friend. She notices someone in the corner. She recognises them. It can’t be them though, can it? It isn’t. This doesn’t happen. She won’t go over. She won’t. Before I Was A Bear is a powerful new play about sexuality, friendship and hot TV detectives.
My White Best Friend and Other Letters Left Unsaid… (The Bunker) Written and co-curated by Rachel De-Lahay, directed and co-curated by Milli Bhatia Monday 25th– Saturday 30th November 2019, 8pm and DJ until late
Could you put your white best friend on stage and remind them that they’re part of the problem? Rachel De-Lahay’s monologue My White Best Friend directed by Milli Bhatia returns to The Bunker alongside new letters that say the unsaid to the people that matter most from a new crop of writers selected by curators Bhatia and De-Lahay. Every night new letters will be given to performers to read for the first time onstage.
Little Miss Burden (Harts Theatre Company and The Bunker) Written by Matilda Ibini, directed by Debbie Hannan Tuesday 3rd – Saturday 21st December 2019
They are the coolest, fiercest, most super talentedest girl band ever assembled: Big Sis and Little Sis are waiting for the third member of their trio to arrive. Little Miss is on her way. It just takes her a little bit longer. At thirteen, Little Miss is given a gift which cannot be returned. It’s a part of her. And she needs to find a way for the two of them to get along as they can’t both be Player One. Matilda Ibini’s coming-of-age tale smashes together 90s nostalgia, Nigerian family, East London and Sailor Moon to tell the sometimes tricky, often funny truth about growing up with a physical impairment
More info on the B-Side season can be found on The Bunker Theatre website.
Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment, Hope Mill Theatre and Ray Rackham Theatrical are delighted to announce that Harriet Thorpe and Tim Flavin will star as Vera and Beauregard respectively in the first professional UK revival of Jerry Herman’s much loved musical MAME. They join the previously announced Tracie Bennett in the title role.
Following the run at Hope Mill Theatre, MAME will tour for 2 limited weeks at Royal & Derngate, Northampton from 7 to 11 January and Salisbury Playhouse from 21 to 25 January 2020. Tim Flavin will not be performing at these venues.
Harriet Thorpe is best known for her roles as Carole in the BBC’s The Brittas Empire and Fleur in Absolutely Fabulous. Harriet has performed extensively with French and Saunders, in Girls on Top, Mirrorball and The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle. Most recently, Harriet has appeared on television as guest lead Miranda Hill in Doctors (BBC One), Betty in Hollyoaks (Channel 4), Casualty, Our Friend Victoria, The Three Musketeers, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip alongside Gok Wan, The Secrets – The Conversation, Doctors, Material Girl and Midsomer Murders. She also worked with Victoria Wood in Victoria Wood’s Mid Life Christmas. Her West End credits include Her Ladyship in The Dresser (Duke of York’s), Great Britain (Theatre Royal Haymarket), The Vagina Monologues, Madam Morrible in Wicked (Apollo Theatre), Fraulein Kost in Rufus Norris’ production of Cabaret (Lyric Theatre, UK tour and Savoy Theatre), Crazy for You (Regent’s Park and Novello Theatre), Tanya in Mamma Mia! and Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables. Films include: The Writers Group – Cannes 2018, The Lady in the Van, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the head of the WI in Calendar Girls, Suzie Gold, An Arm’s Length, The Calling, Wise Girl, Zeffirelli’s Young Toscanini, the Mother in The Nutcracker, SNUB!, Greystoke: the Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes and Merchant Ivory’s Maurice. Harriet will soon be seen on the new Series Mister Winner for BBC One playing the role of Sharon, Mr Winner’s mother!
Tim Flavin has performed extensively on Broadway and in the West End. He was the first American actor to be presented with the Olivier Award for his performance in Rodgers and Hart’s On Your Toes at the Palace Theatre. Some of his other West End credits include Billy Buck Chandler in My One and Only (Piccadilly Theatre), for which he was again nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical, Bobby Child in Crazy For You (Prince Edward Theatre), Buddy Plummer in Follies (London Palladium), Don Lockwood in Singin’ in the Rain, (UK tour) and Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. His TV credits include Any Human Heart (Channel 4), Clone (BBC) and Nuclear Secrets – The Spy from Moscow (BBC).
Also in the cast are Chase Brown as Older Patrick, Grace Chapman as Gloria Upson, Lauren Chia as Pegeen Ryan, Soo Drouet as Mother Burnside/Madame Branislowski, Jessie May as Agnes Gooch, Hugh Osborne as Dwight Babcock, Lewis Rae as M Lindsay Woolsey, Pippa Winslow as Mrs Upson/Sally Cato, Benjamin Wong as Ito and Liam Wrate as Junior Babcock. Harry Cross, Isaac Lancel-Watkinson and Lachlan White will alternate the role of Young Patrick. Completing the cast are Jabari Braham, Aston Newman Hannington and India Thornton.
MAME, a classic 1960’s musical, with book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, has not been seen in the UK since the original West End production in 1969 starring Ginger Rogers. Set in New York City and spanning the Great Depression and World War II, the musical focuses on eccentric bohemian Mame Dennis.
The madcap life of Mame Dennis and her intellectual, arty clique is disrupted when her deceased brother’s 10 year-old son Patrick is entrusted to her care. Rather than bow to convention, Mame introduces the boy to her free-wheeling lifestyle, instilling in him her favourite credo, “Life is a banquet, and most poor sons-of-bitches are starving to death.” Mame loses her fortune in the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and tries her hand at a number of jobs with comically disastrous results, but perseveres with good humour and an irrepressible sense of style, before marrying the Southern aristocrat and plantation owner, Beuregard Jackson Pickett Burnside.
MAME will be directed and choreographed by Nick Winston, with musical direction by Alex Parker, set design by Philip Whitcomb, lighting design by Tim Mitchell, sound design by Ben Harrison, casting by Jane Deitch and children’s casting by Emily and LJ Keston. Ben Stock also joins the team as Assistant director.
MAME is presented by arrangement with Tams Witmark and is produced by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment, Hope Mill Theatre and Ray Rackham Theatrical with associate producers Evan Sacks and Adam Mackie.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE By Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine Directed by Sarna Lapine
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE JAKE GYLLENHAAL AND TONY AWARD® WINNER ANNALEIGH ASHFORD TO STAR IN STEPHEN SONDHEIM AND JAMES LAPINE’S PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE AT THE SAVOY THEATRE FROM 11th JUNE 2020 FOR 12 WEEKS
FIRST SEEN AT NEW YORK CITY CENTER IN 2016, FOLLOWED BY A SOLD-OUT RUN AT HUDSON THEATER ON BROADWAY IN 2017, TICKETS FOR THE WEST END LIMITED ENGAGEMENT WILL GO ON SALE ON MONDAY 17TH JUNE AT 5.00PM
[Photo credit Matthew Murphy]
Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Riva Marker and Jeanine Tesori in association with New York City Center are delighted to announce that tickets go on sale today for a strictly limited season of Sunday in the Park with George starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford and directed by Sarna Lapine, at the Savoy Theatre. Preview performances will begin on 11th June 2020. Official opening night to be confirmed.
Sondheim and Lapine’s masterpiece follows painter Georges Seurat (Jake Gyllenhaal) in the months leading up to the completion of his most famous painting – A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Consumed by his need to “finish the hat”, Seurat alienates the French bourgeoisie, spurns his fellow artists, and neglects his lover Dot (Annaleigh Ashford), not realising that his actions will reverberate for the next 100 years.
This beautiful production began at New York City Center, it then transferred for a sold-out limited season at Hudson Theater on Broadway where it was met with universal critical and public acclaim.
Jake Gyllenhaal said: “Performing Sunday in the Park with George with the brilliant Annaleigh Ashford was one of the greatest joys of my career, I’ve also deeply missed the West End and so to be bringing Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical there alongside Annaleigh is both humbling and thrilling.”
Annaleigh Ashford said: “Sharing the masterpiece that is Sunday in the Park with George with audiences, has been one of the greatest pleasures of my artistic life. It is an honour to play Dot again with genius Jake Gyllenhaal and to tell this story of children and art to the great city of London.”
James Lapine & Stephen Sondheim said “We are thrilled that a London audience will get to see the recent Broadway production of Sunday in the Park with George with Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford reprising their extraordinary performances. We also look forward to seeing them joined by a terrific British company.”
Sunday in the Park with Georgewas originally produced on Broadway by Ambassador Theatre Group, Carole Shorenstein Hays, Caiola Productions, Jeffrey Finn, Jere Harris and Darren Deverna, J/K/R/S, Claire-Bridget Kenwright, LD Entertainment, Benjamin Lowy Productions, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Jeanine Tesori, Riva Marker, in association with New York City Center (Arlene Shuler, President & CEO), and Adam Speers – Executive Producer for ATG.
The official opening night and full casting will be announced in due course.
Jake Gyllenhaal will be appearing in Sea Wall / A Life alongside Tom Sturridge for a limited engagement at Hudson Theater on Broadway from July 26th to September 29th.
The 2017 Broadway Cast Recording featuring Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford is available to buy, download and stream now. https://lnk.to/SundayLondonPR
LISTINGS
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
By Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine
Savoy Theatre Savoy Court, London WC2R 0ET
First performance: 11th June 2020 at 7.30pm Final performance: 5th September 2020 at 7.30pm
Performance schedule: Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm, Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm
ROYAL & DERNGATE NORTHAMPTON ARE DELIGHTED TO PRESENT
A UK TOUR OF THE
NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE PRODUCTION OF
“HOLES”
BY LOUIS SACHAR
DIRECTED BY ADAM PENFORD
OPENING AT ROYAL & DERNGATE, NORTHAMPTON ON 24 JANUARY 2020
The Children’s Theatre Partnership (CTP)and Royal & Derngate, Northampton are delighted to present a UK Tour of the Nottingham Playhouse production of “HOLES”, written by Louis Sachar and directed by Adam Penford.
The production will open at Royal & Derngate, Northampton on 24 January 2020 before embarking on a UK tour. The tour will visit, Nottingham Playhouse, Coventry Belgrade Theatre, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Theatre Royal Plymouth,Liverpool Playhouse, High Wycombe Swan, Norwich Theatre Royal, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre and Canterbury Marlowe Theatre. Further dates to be announced.
“HOLES” is an inventive new stage show based on the multi-award-winning novel and blockbuster film of the same name. It is a thrilling off-beat comedy adventure which tells the story of Stanley Yelnats, who is born into a family cursed with bad luck and finds himself accused of a crime he didn’t commit.
Sent to a labour camp as punishment, he is tasked with digging one hole, five-foot wide by five-foot deep, every day. He is told it is to build ‘character’. But the tyrannical Warden is definitely hiding something. How will Stanley and his fellow inmates deal with her demands, her two cronies, plus the fearsome rattlesnakes and yellow-spotted lizards? And will Stanley and his new friends unearth what’s really going on?
“HOLES”, written by Louis Sacharwon the1998 U.S. National Book Award for Young People’s Literatureand the 1999 Newbery Medal for the year’s most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Louis also wrote the screenplay for the 2003 film adaptation.
This production will be directed by Adam Penford who has been the Artistic Director at Nottingham Playhouse since 2016. Adam’s directing credits include “The Madness of George III” at the Nottingham Playhouse, “Boys in the Band” at the Vaudeville Theatre and “Committee” at the Donmar Warehouse.
“HOLES” is the first production from CTP since the partnership announced three years of support from Arts Council England. CTP aims to produce new and exciting productions, created for a young and diverse audience. Previous CTP productions include the Olivier award winning “Goodnight Mr Tom”, “Swallows and Amazons”, “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”, Michael Morpurgo’s “Running Wild” and a new adaptation of “The Jungle Book”.
Alex Ferns, Marc Elliott and Philip McGinley will join the cast of the record-breaking production of The Girl on the Train for its London run.
Starring Samantha Womack as Rachel Watson, The Girl on the Train will run at the London’s Duke of York’s Theatre, St Martin’s Lane from 23 July to 17 August 2019.
The gripping thriller, based on the internationally acclaimed number one best-selling novel by Paula Hawkins and the Dreamworks film has been breaking box office records and playing to packed houses on a major tour since the beginning of the year.
Alex Ferns, who takes on the role of Detective Inspector Gaskill in The Girl on the Train in London was in the critically acclaimed HBO TV series, Chernobyl, played Trevor Morgan in EastEnders for two years, and his extensive theatre work includes South Pacific alongside Samantha Womack.
Marc Elliott will play psychiatrist Dr Kamal Abdic and is probaby best known for his TV roles in EastEnders and Holby City playing Syed Masood and Dr Isaac Mayfield respectively. His theatre credits includes The History Boys and Urinetown The Musical.
Philip McGinley joins the cast to play Scott Hipwell. His TV work includes Anguy in HBO’s Game of Thrones, Vera: Blood and Bones and Manhunt (for ITV). Amongst his theatre credits are Marianne Elliott’s production of Husbands and Sons at the National Theatre and The Nightingales in Bath.
Chernobyl star Alex Ferns said ‘I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining the cast of The Girl on the Train in the West End, and I’m particularly looking forward to working with Samantha Womack again. We had a great time working together on South Pacific at the Barbican. The play captures the intensity of a story so beautifully captured by Emily Blunt in the original film. This is going to be captivating for a live audience. Sam is such an exceptional actor, audiences are in for an absolute treat!’
The full cast for the run at the Duke of York’s Theatre is: Samantha Womack (Rachel Watson), Alex Ferns (D.I. Gaskill), Kirsty Oswald (Megan Hipwell), Philip McGinley (Scott Hipwell), Adam Jackson-Smith (Tom Watson), Lowenna Melrose (Anna Watson), Marc Elliott (Kamal Abdic), Matt Concannon(ensemble) and Phillipa Flynn (ensemble).
John Dougall, Oliver Farnworth and Naeem Hayat will continue to play the roles of D.I. Gaskill, Scott Hipwell and Kamal Abdic on tour.
Samantha Womack has starred extensively in television, film and theatre. She is best known for playing Ronnie Mitchell in BBC1’s EastEnders. Other television credits include roles in Silent Witness, Mount Pleasant and the hugely popular Game On. Her recent films include: Kingsman: The Golden Circle and Kingsman: The Secret Service alongside Colin Firth. Samantha recently played Morticia in a tour of The Addams Family.
Rachel Watson longs for a different life. Her only escape is the perfect couple she watches through the train window every day, happy and in love. Or so it appears. When Rachel learns that the woman she’s been secretly watching has suddenly disappeared, she finds herself as a witness and even a suspect in a thrilling mystery in which she will face bigger revelations than she could ever have anticipated.
Paula Hawkins’ novel is an international phenomenon, selling over twenty million copies world-wide. Produced by Simon Friend,Amblin Entertainment and Josh Andrews, The Girl
on the Train is adapted by Rachel Wagstaff & Duncan Abel and is directed by Anthony Banks with set and costumes by James Cotterill, lighting by Jack Knowles, composition and sound by Ben & Max Ringham, video by Andrzej Goulding and fights by Alison de Burgh.
The Girl on the Train is currently in Dublin and continues its UK and Ireland travelling on to Belfast, Brighton,Sheffield, Norwich, Guildford, Oxford, Canterbury,Birmingham, Aberdeen, Bradford, High Wycombe, Cambridge, Plymouth, Swindon, Bromley, Malvern, Woking, Eastbourne, Cardiff and Blackpool.
Duke of York’s Theatre
St Martins’ Lane
London
Dates: 23 July – 17 August 2019
Monday – Saturday evenings – 7.30pm
Thursday Matinee, 2.30pm – 25 July
Wednesday Matinee 2.30pm – 31 July onwards
Telephone Booking : 0844 871 7623 Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge.
A WAVE OF CAST ANNOUNCED FOR JERRY SPRINGER – THE OPERA
Ensemble cast join Michael Howe as ‘Jerry’ in hotly anticipated revival heading to Manchester this Summer
The creative team behind the long-awaited revival of Jerry Springer – The Opera have announced details of the first wave of cast.
The ensemble cast of Northern-based talent are tasked with bringing the smash hit cult show’s colourful characters to life on stage.
Jerry Springer – The Opera runs at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre, for four weeks from Thursday 8 August through to Saturday 31 August 2019.Tickets are on sale now.
The controversial show is being brought back to the stage by new production company Northern Ricochet, recentlyformed by James Baker (Parade, Yank), Tom Chester (Parade, Mamma Mia),andBill Elms (Epstein: The Man Who Made The Beatles, The Ruby Slippers, Something About Simon).
It was recently announced that the hotly anticipated lead role of Jerry Springer will be played by renowned actor Michael Howe, who bears a strong resemblance to the television personality.
Northern Ricochet is delighted to announce that Michael Howe will be joined by Matt Bond,Emily Chesterton, Georgina James, Kai Jolley, Tom Lloyd, and Andrew Patrick-Walker.
Matt Bond will play the roles of Dwight and God. Matthewstudied at London’s Royal Academy of Music. His credits include Jekyll & Hyde;An American Musical Love Story; Sweeney Todd; and The Merry Widow.
Emily Chesterton from Salford is playing the roles of Peaches and Baby Jane. A graduate of LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts), her credits include Bark! The Musical; Shout! The Mod Musical; and The Kissing Dance.
Georgina James will play the roles of Andrea and Archangel Michael. Since graduating in musical theatre from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London, Georgina has been a lead vocalist in flagship show, An Evening With Sir Tim Rice, aboard the Seabourn Cruise Line. This is her UK theatre debut.
Canadian actor Kai Jolley is now based in Liverpool, he will play the role of Jerry Springer’s director of security Steve. An experienced actor, director, editor and award-winning production designer, Kai’s previous acting credits include Stop!..The Play; Violet The Musical; To Kill A Mockingbird; and ITILY.
Satan and JonathanWeiruss will be played by Wirral’s Tom Lloyd. Tom recently played LeoFrank in the revival of musical Parade also at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre, for which he was named Best Lead Actor In A Musical by the Broadway World UK Awards. He has also appeared in Saturday Night Fever; Dirty Dancing; Singin’ In The Rain; Yank!; Joseph And The Technicolour Dreamcoat; and Rent.
Andrew Patrick-Walker will play the roles of Tremont and Angel Gabriel. His theatre credits includeBat Out Of Hell; This Is The Greatest Show; and Hair. Andrew has also appeared in films Spike Island; Muppets Most Wanted; and Misunderstood.
Further cast members will be announced shortly.
The cast will be led by Michael Howe in the role of Jerry Springer. Michael is best known from his television role playing Sebastian in the BBC series Solo alongside Felicity Kendall; as well as Mr Wilson the barrister in Hollyoaks.
Michael’s other TV credits include Casualty; Life Begins; New Tricks; Kings and Queens; South By South West; Cats Eyes; and Mackenzie. Stage roles have included numerous West End productions including Footloose; The Son Of A Preacher Man; A Tale of Two Cities; Chess; Othello; My Fair Lady; 42nd Street; and High Society. Film credits include the 2016 film A United Kingdom with David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike.
The cast will be joined by a 14-stong Jerry Choir. The singers are from across the Greater Manchester region and will play an instrumental role in the show by supporting the cast of professional actors.
Northern Ricochet is the new production company bringing Jerry Springer – The Opera back to the stage after a 15-year absence.
Northern Ricochet are passionate about producing quality theatre in the North, for the North and using Northern creatives, actors and voices.
Director James Baker commented: “What a formidable cast we have to revive Jerry Springer – The Opera. When we launched Northern Ricochet, we knew that the North West was a hot-bed for talent, but we were totally overwhelmed with the calibre coming through auditions.
“Soon we will announce all 14 actors, bringing the entire company up to a total of 28 performers each night in the intimate Hope Mill Theatre, this is going to make one “hell” of a noise – we just can’t wait to bring the entire company together and start rehearsals to bring the show back to the stage for the first time in 15 years and continue making some raucous noise with a powerful heart for the audiences of the North West. I say “go, Jerry, go!”.
JERRY SPRINGER – THE OPERA caused a storm when it came to the UK stage in 2002, and in this new revival it promises the same raucous energy with a revamped and fresh production for 2019!
JERRY SPRINGER – THE OPERA was written by Richard Thomas, who also wrote the music and lyrics, with the book and additional lyrics by Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas. It is based on The Jerry Springer Show, which was first broadcast on television in 1991 and was on the air for 27 years. It tells the story of America’s favourite talk show host who suffers the worst day in his career when faced with some of the most challenging guests he’s ever met on set.
Website: hopemilltheatre.co.uk
Facebook: /Jerry Springer Manchester
Twitter: @JSTOMANC #JERRYJERRY
LISTING INFORMATION
JERRY SPRINGER – THE OPERA
Dates: Thursday 8 August – Saturday 31 August 2019
Times: Tue – Sateves 7.30pm| Sat mat 2pm | Sunday 1pm & 5pm |Thu 29 Aug 2pm
Hope Mill Theatre
113 Pollard Street,
Manchester,
M4 7JA
HOW TO BOOK
Tickets: Preview tickets all £20.00 | General tickets £22.50 & £25.00 (concessions available) | Premium VIP On Stage seating £23.00, £25.50 & £28.00 (limited 8 seats per show)
