Monday 2 – Tuesday 3 March RICHARD ALSTON DANCE COMPANY FINAL EDITION
The celebrated Richard Alston Dance Company commemorate 25 years of incredible ballet as they return to Cambridge for their final tour before closing the company in March 2020.
In 2019 Richard Alston announced that his company would close in 2020 due to Arts Council England funding cuts, which former chief dance critic for the New York Times Alastair Macaulay described as “unequivocally the grimmest news for British dance this century”. Final Edition celebrates their 25 years and Alston’s 50 years as a choreographer with both old classics and new pieces.
Final Edition includes Alston’s new piece Shine On, performed to the song cycle On This Island by Britten and Auden. Voices and Light Footsteps is inspired by Claudio Monteverdi’s Madrigals and Sinfonias, and A Far Cry is choreographed by Martin Lawrance to Edward Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro. The show ends with Brahms Hungarian, the popular piano pieces by Jason Ridgway.
Richard Alston began choreography in 1968 as a student at the newly formed London Contemporary Dance School. From 1980-1992 Alston was Artistic Director of Ballet Rambert and in 1994 formed his own company Richard Alston Dance Company, based at The Place in London. Alston’s commissions for other ballet companies include Ballet Black, New York Theatre Ballet and Holland Dance Festival.
Poet and Theatre Maker Matt Miller and Director Peader Kirk
commence Spring 2020 tour of their new co-created solo theatre performance FITTING
A theatrical genderqueer glamour fest, sprinkled with magic and ready to mess with your binaries
Theatre Makers Matt Miller and Peader Kirk have come together to co-create a solo theatre performance, FITTING, drawing on spoken-word storytelling, autobiographical accounts and physical theatre to explore themes of identity and belonging.
Following on from a successful autumn tour, FITTING has commenced a Spring tour which will play Harrogate Theatre (20 February), Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle (25 February – 7 March excluding 1 and 2 March), Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield (13 March), Queen’s Hall, Hexham (25 and 26 March), Hat Factory Arts Centre, Luton (30 April) and The Old Joint Stock, Birmingham (21 – 23 May).
Magic is everywhere. Wear a dress and people treat you one way. Try a pinstripe suit and, abracadabra, it’s like you’re a different person. If they say beauty is just skin deep, then why is appearance so important to the way we are treated? FITTING is a solo theatre show about Matt’s adventures in dresses and suits with some magic tricks up its sleeve. From interactions with strangers at bus stops to transgressive explorations in charity shops, follow Matt as they navigate and explode the ground between gender binaries.
Alongside the show, two wrap-around participation activities have been developed – Conversation Café and Versions of You – designed to allow the public to engage with the questions which the show asks and to open a gentle, fun and supported dialogue about where they feel they fit.
Matt Miller is a poet and theatre maker who writes about place, identity and ways of belonging. They learned their craft with Nottingham based poetry collective The Mouthy Poets. In 2014, Matt was selected as one of BBC Radio Three’s Verb New Voices. Matt has been an artist in residence at Alphabetti Theatre and was one of Live Theatre’s inaugural Live Lab Artists. In 2018/19 Matt worked with The Mighty Creatives as a workshop facilitator. Matt has been praised for their ‘powers of urban storytelling’ (Ian McMillan, The Verb).
Peader Kirk is an Artist and Director working internationally in the fields of Performance and Sound Art. He makes work that engages directly with communities to ask questions about how we meet amidst difference and how we create change. His work has recently been shown at The Southbank Centre and The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, The National Theatre of Greece in Athens, Academy of Fine Arts in Turin and The Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. Peader trained as a director with Robert Lepage at the National Theatre, London and with Eugenio Barba at CPR, Wales.
Matt started working with Peader in 2016. Their first solo show together, STICKING performed to sold out audiences and was toured to Contact Manchester, Gala Theatre, as part of the Durham Book Festival, ARC Stockton and Alphabetti Theatre. They now return with the next in the series exploring LGBTQ+ topics questioning existing perceptions of non-binary gender.
FITTING is supported by ARC Stockton, Arts Council England and New Writing North.
Salford ticket agency named best in the WORLD at industry conference in New York
The ticket agency owned and operated by The Lowry in Salford has been named ‘best in the world’ by the International Ticketing Association.
Quaytickets, which was founded in 2005 by The Lowry’s in-house box office team, saw off stiff competition to walk away with the coveted award.
Judges cited the ticket agency’s exemplary customer service record and embracing of new technology as reasons for the win.
Julia Fawcett OBE, chief executive of The Lowry, said: “We couldn’t be more thrilled. Quaytickets is the success story that just keeps on giving. When we founded the agency in 2005 we just wanted to share our venue expertise and box office service with similar venues and event organisers.
“Today, we have clients of all shapes and sizes across the country and all of the profits from those contracts – which amount to more than £1m since 2005 – support The Lowry in its charitable activities.”
Maureen Andersen, president of the International Ticketing Association, said: “We are thrilled that The Lowry & Quaytickets have been recognized as the 2020 INTIX Ticket Office of the Year.
“Their deployment of consummate audience and customer service that keeps a human touch, while blending strong data and technology, is an aspirational example for us all in the industry. Their mission of sustainability via their commercial activities and supporting a not-for-profit venue is an illustration of amazing service to the community at its highest level. We are honoured to have their leadership in our community of professionals in live entertainment.”
Keith Kelly, The Lowry’s head of ticketing, collected the award in New York on behalf of the 100-strong Quaytickets team.
Quaytickets clients include: NIMAX Theatres, Nederlander Group, Mattel, Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club, Leeds Grand Theatre, Lancashire County Cricket Club, Regents Park Open Air Theatre, Stockport Plaza and East Lancashire Railway.
PRESENTERS AND PERFORMANCES ANNOUNCED FOR 20TH ANNUAL WHATSONSTAGE AWARDS
PRESENTERS AND PERFORMANCES ANNOUNCED FOR
20TH ANNUAL WHATSONSTAGE AWARDS
The 20th annual WhatsOnStage Awards take place on 1 March at the Prince of Wales Theatre, hosted by Jodie Prenger and Tom Read Wilson, and for the first time this year will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 hosted by Elaine Paige and Ken Bruce. Additional award presenters will be announce shortly.
Each of the 5 nominated productions for Best New Musical will perform live at the event – Bit of a Sort from Only Fools and Horses, You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen, Can’t Stop the Feeling!/Roar from & Juliet, Welcome to the Rock from Come From Away, and She Used to be Mine from Waitress.
There will also be a performance of I’m Here by the cast of Curve Leicester and Birmingham Hippodrome’s production of The Color Purple, which is nominated in the Best Regional Production category, as well as two further numbers specially created for the evening. The event is co-produced by Paul Taylor-Mills.
Leading this year’s nominations is the new musical & Juliet – currently running at the Shaftesbury Theatre, with 13 nominations across acting and creative categories including nominations for leading actors Miriam-Teak Lee and Oliver Tompsett who play Juliet and Shakespeare respectively, supporting actor nominations for Jordan Luke Gage, Cassidy Janson and Melanie La Barrie, Best New Musical, Best Choreography, Best Costume Design, Best Graphic Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Set Design, Best Sound Design and Best Video Design. In the musical categories, Evita follows with 8 nominations and Mame and Waitress with 7 nominations each, and Come from Away and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat both with 5 nominations.
In the straight play categories, Best New Play is a contest between The Doctor, The Son, My Beautiful Laundrette, Life of Pi and Appropriate; and Best Play Revival nominees are Betrayal, Death of a Salesman, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lungs and Present Laughter. The latter of these leads the play categories with 8 nominations; including Best Actor in a Play for Andrew Scott, Best Supporting Actress in a Play nominations for Sophie Thompson and Indira Varma and Best Direction for Matthew Warchus.
For the full list of nominations, please see below.
Producers Jamie Wilson and Whoopi Goldberg are delighted to announce that Lesley Joseph will join the cast for the UK and Ireland tour of the smash-hit musical, “SISTER ACT”. The show will open on 21 April 2020 at Leicester Curve and will visit Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester. The UK and Ireland tour will re-open on 15 September at Birmingham Hippodrome and will finish its run in Milton Keynes on 5 December 2020. Full tour listings and casting details below.
Lesley Joseph will play the role of ‘Mother Superior’ and will star alongside the previously announced Brenda Edwards as ‘Deloris Van Cartier’. They will both perform all dates on the UK and Ireland tour. They are joined by Clive Rowe who will play ‘Eddie Souther’ in Leicester, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester.
Lesley Joseph is best known for playing ‘Dorien Green’ in the hugely successful sitcom “Birds of a Feather” alongside Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson. They recorded over 100 episodes over a period of nine years and returned to our screens in 2014 for a further three series. Lesley most recently appeared as ‘Frau Blucher’ in the West End production of the Mel Brooks musical “Young Frankenstein” for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. Her other theatre credits include ‘Miss Hannigan’ in “Annie” at the West End’s Victoria Palace and also on national tour as well as the touring productions of “Calendar Girls” and “Thoroughly Modern Mille”.
Brenda Edwards first came to the public’s attention when she became a semi-finalist in the 2005 series of ITV1’s The X Factor. Since then, she has become one of the most sought-after leading ladies in musical theatre. Her many West End and touring credits include ‘Killer Queen’ in “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion Theatre and original UK Tour, ‘Mama Morton’ in “Chicago” at The Adelphi Theatre, ‘Nettie Fowler’ in “Carousel” at London Coliseum, ‘Pearl Pastor’ in “Carmen Jones” at Royal Festival Hall, ‘Esta’ in “Moby Dick” at Union Theatre and ‘Motormouth Maybelle’ in “Hairspray” on UK Tour . Brenda most recently starred in “White Christmas” in London’s West End at The Dominion Theatre and is a regular panellist on ITV’s Loose Women.
Clive Rowe won the Olivier award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for “Guys and Dolls” at The National Theatre and was also nominated for Best Supporting Performance in “Carousel”,also at The National Theatre. At 2009’s Oliviers, he was nominated for the Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre award for “Mother Goose” at Hackney Empire. His many West End and touring credits include “Ladykillers” at the Gielgud Theatre,“Chicago”at the Adelphi Theatre, “Sweet Charity”at the Donmar Warehouse, the UK tour of “The Wind in The Willows” and “Me and My Girl”at Chichester Festival Theatre.
Based on the iconic movie, this sparkling tribute to the universal power of friendship, sisterhood and music tells the hilarious story of the disco diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a murder. Under protective custody she is hidden in the one place she won’t be found – a convent! Disguised as a nun and under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own.
SISTER ACT has direction by Bill Buckhurst, choreography by Alistair David, Set Design by Morgan Large, Lighting Design by Tim Mitchell, Sound Design by Tom Marshall and Musical Supervision by Stephen Brooker. Casting is by Stuart Burt.
SISTER ACT features original music by Tony® and 8-time Oscar® winner Alan Menken(Disney’s Aladdin, Enchanted), lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner with additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane. SISTER ACT is produced by Jamie Wilson and Whoopi Goldberg. Tom Leonardis, Head of Whoopi’s production company, will also be on the producing team.
Showing as part of ORL’s ‘Where Are We Now?’ Festival of Emergent Artists, Mother Must Die?! by Fantastic Garlands is a weird and wonderful treat. Twins Jocasta and Jupiter come to their family home, Pen Hera Heights every Halloween to dutifully celebrate their mother’s birthday.
A letter with detailed instructions of the night’s arrangements is waiting, along with a chest containing childhood toys and bizarre outfits for the sisters to wear. Everything is distinctly off kilter as Jocasta begins preparations alone, but gets even more bizarre when Jupiter turns up in Brownie uniform. (She’s not a member, she just likes to watch and craft.) The animosity and sibling rivalry between the two is written well, with witty barbs being thrown back and forth as well as tantalising titbits about their childhood and family. Jocasta has one eye, and Jupiter has the use of only one arm, and the causes of the injuries are eventually revealed, as well as the fate of the family as mother’s footsteps/walking stick bang ominously from a distant room.
There are hints about witchcraft – Jupiter is living in Pendle Hill, and the shifting nature of the rooms in the mansion on the edge of the cliff, but the women’s approach to killing their mother is very down to earth and non-mystical. The various attempts and celebrations become as repetitive and hopeless for the twins as the joyless birthday celebrations they endure each year, and become more and more ridiculous and amusing for the audience.
Olivia Thompson as Jocasta and Libby Radliffe as Jupiter are lots of fun as the squabbling siblings, with great physical comedy and amazing chemistry. The bonkers plot is more Carry On Poe than true horror, but there are moments of unease as the cast make you believe that you are trapped in the dark crumbling mansion with them.
Lots of macabre fun with enough wacky twists and turns to keep you laughing throughout.
The Three Musketeers, an old time favourite novel, written by Alexandre Dumas. It is a tale of brotherhood, heroism and love. Le Navet Bete Theatre Company, based in Exeter, have won numerous awards for their various comedy shows. As part of their UK they are playing a few shows at the York Theatre Royal.
A total of four actors play over 30 characters ranging from royalty to barmen and of course the musketeers themselves. This band of merry men are made up of Dan Bianchi, Nick Blunt, Al Dunn and Matt Freeman. Each coming on the stage as themselves and introducing the crazy creation that they are about to perform to the audience. The whole play is set as if it was a group of kids playing make believe as summer starts. We are frequently reminded and encouraged to use our imagination as bikes depict horses, West Country accents instead of French ones and jokes about fruit juices being spiked with coke (cola).
There are some seriously funny characters, but one of the characters that stood out the most was Milady DeWinter played by Freeman, a sexy femme fatal with blue eyes like alpine lakeside. There was a bit of audience participation when several members were required to throw stuffed ducks onto the stage for Milady DeWinter, in order to show off her impressive shooting skills. It was entertaining to see about 20 soft toys flying through the air onto the stage, only to be shot down, courtesy of a little bit of work from the sound technician. It worked wonderfully well and had all of us chuckling away.
There were numerous costume changes, so many it was hard to keep up, all with the help of Abi Cowan, the stage manager. These super quick changes didn’t always go to plan, but this only added to the fun.
The play is full of slapstick, cheesy jokes and moments where the plot is completely lost and yet somehow we get through the story. There appear to be mishaps and mistakes aplenty, but are they really mistakes or part of the show? That is for the cast to know and the audience to wonder. These so called unscripted parts were very funny and added that extra dimension to an already funny show.
This show has a somewhat pantomime feel to it, full of energy and is great for all, we really enjoyed hearing the children in the audience laughing along. The actors are clearly having a blast, and so did we. A wonderful whirlwind of a show.
The story of Charlie Chaplin’s rise from childhood poverty to film icon is told in heart-warming style in Arrows & Traps’ latest show. Writer and director Ross McGregor explores Chaplin’s life with incredible sensitivity and intelligence, jumping between the older Chaplin (Conor Moss) on the set of City Lights and his childhood in Victorian London.
Chaplin’s obsessive knowledge of where every cent is spent on his productions doesn’t stop him from insisting on days of takes trying to achieve a perfection and authenticity that frustrates and baffles the cast and crew, and Laurel Marks’ attempts to offer a flower in a way that matches his vision are hilarious. McGregor shows the chaos and uncertainty of young Charlie’s life that feed his controlling nature as an adult with a deft touch, with Toby Wynn-Davies as half brother Sydney, Benjamin Garrison as his drunken father, and Clare Aster as his tragic mother.
The older Chaplin sits and voices his younger self as Lucy Ioannou plays Charlie as a boy. She never speaks throughout the play, instead miming and clowning expertly as Charlie before morphing into the Tramp character and eventually becoming a resented alter ego. The scenes between Charlie and his mother as they mimic neighbours and she criticises his stance and lines echo his with Laurel Mark’s actress, but unlike him, Charlie’s mother can find the exact words to share her ideas. While it is sometimes hard to tear your eyes away from the action, Conor Moss’ expressions as he sits on the side-lines are exquisite.
There are, as always with Arrows & Traps, magical sequences choreographed to differing music styles that evoke the cruelty of the workhouse, the madness of the music hall and the rapid production style of silent movies with humour and pathos.
The cast all give outstanding performances, but Clare Aster’s heart breaking portrayal will haunt you and Lucy Ioannou is simply phenomenal as the Tramp, making a brilliantly choreographed and nuanced performance seem instinctive and spontaneous, just like the great man himself.
An enthralling and emotive production with an unforgettable central performance – another unmissable show from Arrows & Traps.
Royal & Derngate Community Choir to make guest appearance with Leee John of Imagination at The Roadmender
Royal & Derngate Community Choir (RDCC) are delighted to be making a special guest appearance when Leee John of Imagination performs at Northampton’s Roadmender in an intimate one-off show on Friday 27 March.
With a remarkable career spanning over three decades and with record sales in excess of over 30 million albums, the incomparable Leee John and his group Imagination had many amazing hit singles and platinum, gold and silver albums. Classics such as Body Talk, Just An illusion, Flashback, Music and Lights and Changes, established their position as essential ‘80s crossover hit-makers and an influence for future generations in the music industry.
Founding member, lead singer and songwriter Leee John continues to delight fans around the globe with his timeless classic hits and new music releases, and has appeared with many world renowned artists such as The Jacksons, Earth Wind and Fire, Kool and the Gang, Nile Rogers of Chic, Incognito and Kid Creole and the Coconuts.
Starting off as a seven week project, to coincide with the theatre’s redevelopment in 2005, Royal & Derngate Community Choir has evolved into a weekly activity for hundreds of individuals, providing regular performances, at the theatre, across the county and further afield. From a foundation was based in gospel music, their repertoire has widened to include soul, jazz, reggae and pop. Membership is diverse in terms of age and culture, made up of individuals from the local community who all share a passion for singing.
For more information about Leee John’s show at the Roadmender on Friday 27 March call the venue on 0333 577 1688 or visit www.theroadmender.com. In addition to the guest appearance by RDCC, Leee will be supported by Northampton’s very own RnB/Pop/Soul singer/songwriter extraordinaire, Lucien Moon.
The Winter Gardens Blackpool and Mark Goucher announced today that Shirley Ballas will star as The Fairy Godmother in Blackpool’s biggest ever family pantomime, CINDERELLA, at the Opera House Blackpool from Sunday 13 December to Sunday 3 January 2021. Tickets on sale now with further star casting to be announced soon. Shirley will not be performing on Saturday 19 December 2020 due to Strictly Come Dancing commitments.
Shirley Ballas said today “I’m so thrilled to be coming home to Blackpool this Christmas. I have made so many special memories there. To be coming back to be part of the first pantomime there in over 60 years is such an honour. I can’t wait!”.
Shirley Ballas is a champion ballroom dancer and head judge on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing. She is the only person ever to have won the British Open to the World Latin American Championships in Blackpool with two different partners and has won the title three times, having reached the final an impressive 17 times. She is a ten-time United States Latin American champion and the recipient of three Carl Alan Awards, the Oscars of the dance world. Shirley made her pantomime debut as Mother Nature in Jack and the Beanstalk in Liverpool, a role she reprised last year in Darlington. She was the subject of BBC1’s Who Do You Think You Are? and is a regular panellist on ITV’s Loose Women.
Michael Williams, Managing Director of the Winter Gardens said today “It’s great to be bringing a pantomime back to the Winter Gardens after such a long absence and the scale and quality of the production is set to be spectacular. After spending so many years dancing at the Winter Gardens, not to mention winning countless titles, to have Shirley cast in one of the lead roles is perfect. We know that she will bring her own magic to the tale of Cinderella for thousands of families this Christmas and we are delighted to be welcoming her home. Tickets are already selling fast, so while Christmas feels far away at the moment, don’t delay as it’s set to be a real jewel in the crown of our 2020 programme.”
Producer Mark Goucher said today “We are thrilled to be working with Shirley Ballas on this exciting new production. Her elegance and long history with Blackpool makes her the perfect casting for this lavish pantomime.
The Opera House has enjoyed years of Christmas musicals, but not since the production of Dick Whittington in 1956, has a family pantomime played at the Winter Gardens. To celebrate the return of pantomime to the venue, each performance will have over 100 tickets priced at just £10 providing unbelievable value and the opportunity for all to experience theatre at Christmas time.
CINDERELLA is written by Samuel Holmes (Club Tropicana, Curtains, Shrek, Monty Python Live), Directed and Choreographed by Nick Winston (Annie, Club Tropicana, Fame, Royal Variety Performance), Musical Supervision & Arrangements are by Charlie Ingles with Special Effects by The Twins FX.CINDERELLA is produced by Mark Goucher for Charming Pantomimes in association with Winter Gardens Blackpool.
Audiences can expect jaw dropping special effects, a fabulous fairy, stunning costumes, some very wicked ugly sisters and a toe-tapping soundtrack of hit songs that will have everyone singing along. So, polish your pumpkins, dust off your gowns and grab your glass slippers to find out if Cinderella will go to the ball. Will she find her Prince Charming or will the Ugly Sisters ruin the day?
