First love explored in world premiere of Small Town Boys Union Theatre, 229 Union Street, London SE1 0LR Tuesday 10th September – Saturday 5th October 2024
Based on a true story, Small Town Boys by Tim McArthur (A Word For Mother) is coming to the Union Theatre this September. In the summer of 2023, two strangers cross paths in the USA and discover they both dated the same boy as teenagers in the North East of England. Through a series of flashbacks, the audience witness how both men’s past relationships flourished, unaware of each other’s existence. Small Town Boys is a raw and honest show about how people perceive their first loves and how we put them on a pedestal.
The show stars Nathan Taylor (Our Gay Wedding: The Musical), Stuart Simons (Sweeney Todd) and Dominic Charman (The Picture of Dorian Grey). After a sold-out run of Tim’s show Deeper and Deeper at the Union Theatre last year, Tim will direct Small Town Boys alongside Max Turner Prize winner Madeleine MacMahon.
Small Town Boys journeys through the lives of two men who both came out early in their teenage years in the same area of England. Exploring the gay scene in Middlesborough through the lens of the two strangers, it considers the impact Section 28 had on their upbringings as gay men from a homophobic area of the UK. The characters navigate an honest conversation about their lives, being older and how being gay has affected them. The play sees the men’s acceptance of themselves and how this changes over time.
Tim McArthur comments, Small Town Boys is based on a true story. A period of time that was difficult being gay and out in the North East of England. Thatcher’s Britain hated homosexuality and of course the Aids pandemic dominated the gay community. However, there was a strong undercover gay scene thriving in Middlesbrough. Two teenage boys meet and fall in love, another teenage boy meets and falls in love with one of the other boys. As you get older, you may look at past relationships, or even our first love with tainted glasses, or you may hold that memory in your mind as a fairy tale romance. Didn’t we all want that when we were young to fall in love, kiss a lot of frogs until we found our prince? But what happens 30 years later when that first love was not what it seemed to be. How scary it is to discover the crown has slipped?
Nottingham Theatre Royal – until Saturday 31 August 2024
Reviewed by Amy V Gathercole
4****
“A thrilling night out full of familiar toe-tapping numbers and characters you love!”
Wow, getting to see this re-worked and less expected version of Grease is a real treat! Most people will know the John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John iconic film, but did you know the show was originally set in Chicago and not L.A.? The original stage show for Grease was first performed in 1971.
It moved to Broadway following huge success only a year later, where it received seven Tony Award nominations, including one for Best Musical! It’s remained popular ever since in all of its iterations.
Danny (Marley Fenton – fresh from playing Tin Man in ‘The Wizard of Oz’) and Sandy’s (the show sees the professional debut of Hope Dawe) summer romance is still central to the plot, but overall the whole story has a bit of a grittier undertone and with its rebellious style, is honestly better.
There’s much more focus on the ensemble of talent in the cast, as each of The Pink Ladies and The Burger Palace Boys (the film changed their name to the T-Birds) gets their moments to shine, tell their story, and share their struggles too.
It allows the audience to see more of the friendships in the gang and more of the characteristics of the group. At the end of the day, it’s just teenagers in the 1950s finding and expressing their identities, wants and desires for the first time.
Standout performances in this edition come from ‘Betty’ Rizzo (Rebecca Stonehouse) as the girl who won’t ever let anyone see her true emotions and discover her insecurities under her tough bravado.
It was great to see a Sandy that sticks up for herself a little more (against the boys and the girls) and who has a bit more gumption. With Marley as our leading man Zuko, he is a convincing Danny that’s been cast with diversity and inclusion in mind, which director Nikolai Foster is very proud of.
Danny is given a little more substance in terms of his aspirations and considerations of where he fits in best – pondering if being the head of a gang is actually for him?
Comic relief comes from lesser-known members of the gangs, and Sario Solomon as Sonny and Lewis Day as Rump crack gags throughout the show, even in the darker moments, both showcasing great vocals too.
Adding to the comedy is a clever staging choice of having DJ Vince Fontaine (Joe Gash – also playing Teen Angel and) feature in the centre of the stage, above all of the action throughout the show. It really brings the importance of the rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack to the forefront of the story.
Grease was given, let’s call it a Hollywood sheen with the film and this stage version exposes more grit and a tougher side to the lives that these teenagers lived. Exploring feelings of first crushes and romances, considering their body image, bullying, and just growing through their high school adolescence.
My favourite number in the whole performance was a delightfully camp (and the most bubblegum pink version) of ‘Beauty School Dropout’ I’ve ever witnessed, as Frenchy (Alicia Belgrade) meets her guardian angel and deliberates what to do with her dreams and future career.
The choreography is a highlight throughout the entire show, with its fast-paced and energetic routines. It’s courtesy of Dame Arlene Phillips and it’s fantastic, with fresh, fast, and frantic dance routines throughout the show.
Expect to hear tons of your favourite and beloved songs, including ‘Summer Nights’, ‘Greased Lightnin’, ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’, and ‘You’re The One That I Want’, alongside a bunch of new songs too that add to the narratives.
There will always be a special place in my heart for these stories, I’ve experienced many versions of the film and the show and this is by far my favourite.
There is a space between musical biopic and cabaret tribute act, and that is where A Night with Janis Joplin exists. The absolute powerhouse vocals of Mary Bridget Davies are the foundations, the walls and the roof of this show. Janis Joplin’s famously raw performance, soaked in booze, drugs, and heartbreak, is shown here in the style of a concert. A large band is alway present on stage, and she chats to us the audience about her early life and how she got into music. There are childhood photos, and paintings by Joplin herself that function as a backdrop, providing some context to the stories being told. This is an upbeat celebration of Joplin and her inspiration, and so the plot rather skirts round the sadder and darker elements of her short life.
Writer-director Randy Johnson’s production (which is endorsed by Joplin’s siblings), celebrates Joplin’s music and the blues singers she was inspired by, but goes little further to into the nitty gritty of her short lif. Etta James, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin and Bessie Smith all make an appearance played by a brilliant supporting cast, providing a well deserved pause for Davies. Kalisha Amaris, Georgia Bradshaw, Choolwe Laina Muntanga, and Danielle Steers are fantastic as the Joplinaire backing singers, and various blues big hitters, bringing some welcome variety in vocals.
The energetic and heartfelt embodiment of Janis Joplin by Mary Bridget Davies is to be thoroughly applauded. The music of Janis Joplin is such a draw with massive hits like “Stay With Me”, “Cry Baby” or “Piece of my Heart”, and the performances are so good that it almost doesn’t matter that it’s a bit light on the story front. Joplin died in the 1970s at the age of 27, and A Night with Janis Joplin offers a chance to experience the vocals live and come away with on a post gig high.
Beyonce’s Texas Hold -Em blasts out as we open on protagonist Conor (Harry Evans), alone in his bedroom, strutting his cowboy dance moves without a care in the world. “Country and Western is cool!” he later protests as his less than impressed bestie Zainab (Nusrath Tapadar) refuses to cut him any slack. Conor, played with charm, innocence and zest by Evans, has his heart set on competing in Croydon Peoples Day talent contest where first prize is a meeting with Leona Lewis’s American agent. This could be his ticket out of dreary Croydon and his unglamorous lifeguard job of blowing his whistle and telling off swimmers for pissing in the pool.
With a little help from the dance skills and borrowed cowboy boots of acerbic Zainab, brilliantly realised by Tapadar who manages to capture her feisty spirit but also a deep rooted vulnerability, Conor might just have a chance. But when fellow lifeguard Michael, with his own musical ambition and dreams of escaping Croydon, muscles his way into accompanying Conor with an unwittingly comic song about being a lifeguard, Conor’s priorities are tested. Callum Broome puts in several scene stealing performances as the dopey, melancholic geezer who finds practically everything “weird”.
Queer playwright Hugo Timbrell wanted to write about a protagonist from a marginalised group whose narrative isn’t about them being marginalised and he’s certainly succeeded in doing so. My Life as a Cowboy is about the power of friendship, ambition, dreaming big and although there are some references to what might be appropriate for a Muslim woman to do in public, the only threat to the trio performing are personal squabbles and their own nerves. Scott Le Crass’s direction leans into the vivid, individual voices of Conor, Zainab and Michael and capitalises on the character-driven humour of the piece.
Simple yet effective staging seamlessly shifts us between Conor’s bedroom, the swimming pool and the talent contest with a wonderful array of country tracks punctuating the changes. It all makes for an uplifting, camp and joyful evening’s entertainment calling on everyone to embrace their inner weirdo!
Festival Theatre, Malvern – until 31st August 2024.
Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau
4****
Dial M For Mayhem! is the story of a troupe of traveling actors putting on the classic “Dial M For Murder” around the country, coping with the stressors of interpersonal relationships and the rigors of the road (especially when far off the beaten track). We join them as they hit the wilds of Scotland…
Luke Rhodri played Sean Farrell (the Ray Milland character of the original film) as well as being head of the company. He and Isabella Inchbald (playing Sam Middleton – taking on Grace Kelly’s role) are really the anchors that stabilize the ship against the storms (both physical and emotional). Both gave a weighty realism that the play needed to keep the farcical elements balanced. Both actors had their moments when they lost the plot superbly and to great effect though – and they did it so well.
Alasdair Baker (Rupert Valentine Tinglewell and Alasdair McGilivray) was especially joyous to watch as the veteran of the stage – and he totally shone! He brought a poignancy to his part too that was extremely touching – most keenly in his scene with Eliza Langland (Jean Murray/Ellen Harrison and Morag McCullough) but I won’t explain why to avoid spoilers. Meanwhile, Joey Lockhart (George AA Man and Julian Brooke) and Theo Woolford (Andy Jenkins) were the rich comedy seam that ran through the piece – especially George AA Man who was wonderful and deserves a spin off all his own! I could have watched him all night long.
The actors delivered a wordy script with admirable brio. Lines came thick and fast and there really wasn’t a let up in the pace. The premise and the plot were well balanced and logical so a big pat on the back to writer Margaret May Hobbs for that. There is much to enjoy here for anyone who’s been in a touring rep company and would (I’m sure) recognize immediately the situations that the characters find themselves in.
Although there were lots of very humorous one liners, the consistently funniest thing was the flatulence of one of the characters. Funny as it was, the script was just a bit too gentle I felt. Not unfunny, but just needing a touch more in my humble opinion. I also felt that the script needed a twist (or two). It rather peters out at the end, which is a shame as there is much to enjoy along the way. For me, there were several obvious opportunities for the play to take an unexpected turn, which were either missed or deliberately avoided.
So, although this is an enjoyable play it is slightly frustrating as it just fell a touch short of amazing. Having said that, the talented cast were a joy to watch and I came out smiling, having had a fun evening. This is the premiere run of this play and I’m confident that it will mature into an even better piece of comedy theatre in future runs. Certainly worth catching in its initial form though, so still recommended viewing.
Today (29 August 2024) the producers of Harry Potter and the CursedChild – Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions –are delighted to introduce the new cast who will join the Company from 15 October 2024, as booking for the original two-part multi award-winning London production extends to 29 June 2025 at the Palace Theatre. A combined total of 130,000 tickets have been released for Part 1 and Part 2 in the new booking period, including 20,000 tickets priced at £15 per part.
Claire Lams joins the cast to play Ginny Potter, alongside David Ricardo-Pearce asHarry Potter and Ellis Rae as their son Albus Potter, who both continue in their roles. Eve De LeonAllen will take over the role of Rose Granger-Weasley, daughter of Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger, played by Thomas Aldridge and Jade Ogugua respectively. Steve John Shepherd continues asDraco Malfoy, alongside Harry Acklowe as his son Scorpius Malfoy.
They are joined by Ishmail Aaron, David Annen, Nicole-Lily Baisden, Sabina Cameron, Rob Curtis, Zijuan Elsol, Gabriel Fleary, Rory Fraser, Tim Hibberd, Sally Jayne Hind, Max Hunter, Dewayne Jameson Adams, Emma Louise Jones, Julia Kass, Debra Lawrance, Tasha Lim, Matty Loane, Sophie Matthew, Jaden Oshenye, Helen Power, Jocelyn Prah, Conor Quinn, Ian Redford, Catherine Russell, Martin de los Santos, Adam Slynn, Benjamin Stratton, Alex Tomkins, Jake Tuesley, Sam Varley and Katie Wimpenny. Oliver Dawson, Layla Duke, Aubrey Hayes, Rhiannon Parry, Aljosa Radosavljevic, Sienna Sibley and Ethan Webster alternate two children’s roles.
19 years after Harry, Ron, and Hermione saved the wizarding world, they’re back on a most extraordinary new adventure – this time, joined by a brave new generation that has only just arrived at the legendary Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Prepare for spectacular spells, a mind-blowing race through time, and an epic battle to stop mysterious forces, all while the future hangs in the balance.
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Childis a new play by Jack Thorne, directed by John Tiffany with movement by Steven Hoggett, set by Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, music & arrangements by Imogen Heap, lighting by Neil Austin, sound by Gareth Fry, illusions & magic by Jamie Harrison,music supervision & arrangements by Martin Lowe, and casting by Julia Horan CDG and Lotte Hines CDG. Harry Potter and the CursedChild is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions.
Celebrations for Back To Hogwarts take place on Sunday 1 September when the winners of the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child competition will take part in a workshop to learn the iconic Wand Dance from the show with the production’s Resident Movement Director, Tash Holway. In addition, Taneetrah Porter, London’s current Rose Granger-Weasley will feature in a specially recorded online programme hosted by Sam Thompson, made in celebration of Back to Hogwarts. Tune in to the official Harry Potter YouTube channel on 1 September at 11am BST to watch.
Now booking until 29 June 2025, tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child remain priced from £15 per part. The regular performance schedule is Monday, Tuesday and Thursday – no performance; Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 2pm Part One & 7pm Part Two; Sunday – 1pm Part One & 6pm Part Two.
The access performances currently on sale are as follows – British Sign Language on Saturday 21 September 2024, Audio Described on Saturday 9 November 2024 and a Captioned Performance on Saturday 16 November 2024.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the first Harry Potter story to be presented on stage and the eighth story in the Harry Potter series. Now in its ninth year at the Palace Theatre, the production has been seen by over 1.7 million people in the West End and over 11 million worldwide and holds a record 60 major honors, with nine Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Play and six Tony Awards including Best New Play. There are four productions running worldwide in London, New York, Hamburg, and Tokyo, with a North American tour starting on 10 September at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre.
Annie is the third musical of the summer from astravaganza entertainment and, as with the previous two, this offering did not disappoint! The fact that an amateur cast of over 60 actors, including over 40 children, had two weeks and two dress rehearsals to put together this fantastic show is quite amazing. The high standard of the performance is testament not only to the actors but also to the creative team working behind the scenes who unfortunately are too numerous to mention.
Many people will be familiar with the storyline of Annie but for those who are not it begins in a New York orphanage in December 1933 where we are introduced to a group of orphans, including Annie (played by Charlotte Pledger), and the loathsome director of the orphanage, Miss Hannigan ( played by Deborah Taylor-Smith). We learn that Annie’s parents left her with one half of a silver locket and a note promising to return for her one day. Annie escapes from the orphanage and in her quest to find her parents she arrives in “Hooverville,” a shanty town built by the unemployed and destitute of New York.
Annie’s taste of freedom is short lived and she is soon returned to the orphanage to suffer the wrath of Miss Hannigan. However Annie’s life improves when she is chosen to spend Christmas with rich businessman Oliver Warbucks (Brian Jordan). Mr Warbucks promises to help Annie find her real parents but this quest is by no means straightforward and Annie’s happiness is almost thwarted by imposters Mr and Mrs Mudge played by Corey Clarke and Luisa Gibson. Needless to say that the story does have a happy ending despite various problems that are solved by Mr Warbucks and the influential connections he has, including the president, F.D. Roosevelt played by Alan Davison.
This high energy offering of Annie has everything you would expect from a more expensive production. There were some super dance routines, fabulous costumes that really captured the fashions of that era and great songs. Scenery was essentially a very effective video wall with the scenes below Brooklyn Bridge and those in the White House being particularly impressive. The enthusiasm of the children in the cast never faltered and undoubtedly added to the enjoyment of the performance. No one would have ever guessed that they had only rehearsed for a couple of weeks.
For me, the stand out character in this show (apart from Annie and the other orphans of course) was Miss Hannigan; she was both comedic and despicable in equal measure! This joyous performance from the whole of the cast provided the audience with over two hours of optimistic escapism from daily life.
Providing crucial access to the Arts for communities in North East England with new festival Rude Health Thursday 3rd – Saturday 31st October 2024 The Tute, Cambois
Award-winning playwright Alex Oates and renowned dance artist Esther Huss present Rude Health; an innovative new arts project unlike any other in the North East of England. Rude Health is a four-week-long festival of art, dedicated to different aspects of health, with each week carefully curated to reflect a certain need of the community, including mental health, aging and isolation, women’s health, and environmental issues. This exciting performing arts festival will give the local community access to high quality arts, underlining that art is for everyone, not just those in capital cities.
After transforming an old miners’ welfare institute into a dynamic arts space called ‘The Tute’ in 2020, Oates and Huss have held regular creative workshops for the community and offered free residencies to artists. This year with Rude Health, they present a varied season of work that champions some of the country’s most talented artists and connects communities with leading creatives in this de-industrialised, deprived corner of Northumberland.
Mental health is the focus of the first week of the festival. With mental health inequalities widening at a higher rate in the Northeast compared to other regions in the country, the area faces a real problem with regards to accessing support in this area. Through the healing power of art, this initial week aims to bridge the gap and presents a programme of joyous events for local people to take part in. Local music-theatre practitioner and early member of Kneehigh Theatre company, Tim Dalling and legendary free jazz improviser Maggie Nichols will orchestrate a week of musical freedom in which workshops and performances inspire people to value their own voice and wellbeing.
In the second week, Rude Health looks to the ever-present issue of aging and isolation with events including a staged reading of Samuel Beckett’s seminal play Krapp’s Last Tape by North East born actor Trevor Fox (RSC, National Theatre) and directed by Tees Valley artist of the year Andy Berriman. The piece grapples with the aches and pains of getting older and longing for the past, themes that will inevitably speak to the aging population of Cambois and surrounding areas. Alongside this, actress, writer and director Tracy Gilman will run workshops with local nursing homes to ensure older members of the community feel the positive effects of the festival.
The third week is dedicated to women; the cornerstone of this community. Rude Health is raising awareness around women’s health in the form of a new performance, HIPS&SKINS, from long-term collaborators Esther Huss and Jacky Lansley. Over the last five decades, Jacky has become a pioneer of experimental dance and is now the Artistic Director of the Dance Research Studio; bringing her award-winning expertise in politically charged work to the people of Cambois. The performance promises to be hilarious, moving and thought-provoking as the artists navigate personal stories of sexism and ageism around their health, through dance, performance art, jokes and music. Jacky and Esther will also be co-leading a workshop linked to issues explored in the performance called BEING RUDE – Creating Performance from the Personal and Political.
As the festival enters its fourth week, the health of our planet becomes the center point. Working with the brilliant Miscreations theatre, a new piece of family theatre will be presented at The Tute. Through aspects of physical theatre and clowning, the piece explores the loss of a legendary landmark of the region, Sycamore Gap. Alongside a public performance, the company will extend its reach to the local primary school with an exclusive showing for the children. The festival will come to a close with an opportunity to engage with some incredible young minds from Bedlington Academy and their feelings about the climate crisis, in the form of a sound installation piece that is the result of months of workshops ran by local writer Hilary Elder and sound artist Jeremy Bradfield.
Rude Health is a rare opportunity to see new and unusual work in a historic space, while investing in, and giving back to, the often-isolated Northumberland community of Cambois.
Esther Huss comments, We’re really thrilled that after years of unpaid work embedding ourselves in the community, we’re finally able to present a season of professional work that represents what we’re all about. Targeted community engagement creating tangible value alongside the kind of daring and uncompromisingly brilliant artistic performances that would prove too risky for larger organizations to program nowadays.
Alex Oates comments, We’ve already seen through our work with young people at risk of dropping out of education or training the massive benefit that art can inspire, and this has been incredibly humbling. If one young person chose a healthier path as a result of this project then it will all be worthwhile.
This project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with the North East Combined Authority as the Lead Authority.
FOURTH WALL LIVE is delighted to announce Broadway, West End and TV star MARISHA WALLACE will join ALEX NEWELL live at Cadogan Hall on Sunday 1 September 2024 at 2:30pm and 6.30pm. Tickets on sale now from www.fw-live.com and www.cadoganhall.com
MARISHA WALLACE most recently starred as Bea in Something Rotten in Concert at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, also produced by Fourth Wall Live. Marisha starred as Adelaide in Sir Nicholas Hytner’s smash-hit revival of Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre for which she was nominated for the Olivier Award, WhatsOnStage and Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical. It was recently announced that she would be starring in the iconic London Palladium Panto later this year.
Her other theatre work includes Ado Annie in Oklahoma! at the Young Vic where she was nominated for WhatsOnStage, Evening Standard and Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, Becky in Waitress (Adelphi Theatre), Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray (Coliseum), Effie in Dreamgirls (Savoy Theatre), Aladdin (Broadway), and Something Rotten (Broadway). Her TV work includes Feel Good (Netflix), Jingle Jangle (Netflix) Almost Never (CBBC), and Aladdin (Disney).
Marisha is an international singer-songwriter and will be performing across the UK this summer. She frequently collaborates on new music with songwriting legends Toby Gad (Beyoncé, John Legend) and Steve Anderson (Kylie Minogue). TV appearances include Royal Variety Show, Strictly Come Dancing, The Festival of Remembrance, and Dancing on Ice. Marisha’s largest ever solo concert will take place at the Adelphi Theatre on 11 March 2025. You can follow Marisha on Instagram for further updates @marishawallace.
ALEX NEWELL first garnered attention on screen in FOX’s critically acclaimed series GLEE as transgender student, Wade “Unique” Adams. Breaking barriers and challenging gender norms at a time when the conversation around gender identity was not widely accepted, Alex has remained one of the leaders in the quest for equality. In 2023, Alex made history as the first non-binary identifying actor to win a Tony award for Best Featured Actor for their role as Lulu in Broadway’s Shucked. In their second turn on the Broadway stage, a follow up to their time in the Tony winning Once On This Island, Alex yet again draws raves nightly with their standout solo Independently Owned. Alex also has an impressive list of TV credits including Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, along with the Emmy-nominated Christmas special on Roku, as well as Our Kind of People, and Fox’s Empire.
Alex has received several award nominations including Critics Choice, Gold Derby, Screen Actors Guild, and Hollywood Critics Association. While part of the cast of Once On This Island,Alex earned a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album and won a Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, also later receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album for Shucked.
FOURTH WALL LIVE is an entertainment company that produces events, concerts and on-stage shows. In January 2022, FWL presented Bonnie and Clyde The MusicalIn Concert for two nights to a sold-out audience at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, starring Broadway favourite Jeremy Jordan. The concert broke Drury Lane box office records selling out a two-night run in less than six minutes.
In recent months, Fourth Wall Live have been nominated for 3 WhatsOnStage awards in the Best Concert Event category for Ariana DeBose’s sold out European concert at the London Palladium and gala concerts Evita and Love Never Dies at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Fourth Wall Live have also recently presented Audra McDonald at the London Palladium, Jeremy Jordan at Theatre Royal Drury Lane and both Rachel Tucker and Stephanie J Block at Cadogan Hall. FWL regularly presents concerts featuring stars of the West End and Broadway including Keala Settle, Sierra Boggess, Matthew Morrison and Hannah Waddingham among others.
Fourth Wall Live is also a producer of the WhatsOnStage Award winning Bonnie & Clyde The Musical which recently ended its successful run at the Garrick Theatre in London’s West End.
Award-winning music producer MNEK announced as part of team of new West End musical WHY AM I SO SINGLE? Garrick Theatre, 2 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0HH From Tuesday 27th August 2024
The internationally acclaimed music artist and record producer MNEK has been announced as part of the powerhouse music production team of the highly anticipated new West End musical, WHY AM I SO SINGLE? From Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the multi-award winning writers of SIX the Musical, this new musical comedy is a love letter to ‘the messy, magical lives of the city’s unmatched and unattached’ (Vogue). As a treat for fans as the show opens, one of the catchy numbers from the soundtrack, C U Never, is being released as a rehearsal video on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts.
MNEK is a Grammy and Brit Award-nominated singer/songwriter and producer, who has worked with Beyoncé, Stormzy, Selena Gomez, Dua Lipa, Madonna and FLO among many others, with hits including Blinded By Your Grace, Ready For Your Love and The Lead. He has been a coach and guest judge on Ru Paul’s Drag Race, and established a songwriting camp for LGBTQ+ singer/songwriters with Pride in Music, and contributes to the Guardian UK diversity panel. They are part of the amazing music production team of WHY AM I SO SINGLE?, including orchestrations, vocal arrangements and musical supervision by Grammy and Olivier Award nominated Joe Beighton (SIX the Musical, West End; 42 Balloons, The Lowry), and music production and additional orchestrations by Future Cut (Rihanna, Shakira, Lily Allen, Tom Jones).
Future Cut and MNEK bring their popstar experience and unrivalled producing talent to the team, bringing to life high quality pop numbers in WHY AM I SO SINGLE? at the Garrick Theatre!
This new production from Marlow and Moss follows two best friends through the ups, and mostly downs, of their dating lives in the era of Tinder (and Bumble and Grindr and Hinge). This hilarious big fancy musical will have audiences grabbing their best mates or a hot date and heading to the West End this autumn!
The rehearsal video of C U Never brings fans into the behind-the-scenes process of making this all-new, big fancy musical and gives them an exclusive sneak peek of the show!
Jo Foster (& Juliet; Just For One Day, West End) and Leesa Tulley (SIX, UK tour; Kin, Theatro Technis) play the leading – and eternally single – besties. They are joined by Noah Thomas (Everything Now, Netflix; Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, West End), who plays the honest friend we all love and need in our lives.
The alternate Oliver and Nancy are Jordan Cambridge-Taylor (Schwartz at 75, Lyric Theatre) and Collette Guitart (Just For One Day, Old Vic). The ensemble cast are Jemima Brown (Critics’ Circle National Dance Award-nominated, Tom Dale Company), Josh Butler (Bronco Billy, Charing Cross Theatre), Natasha Leaver (Hamilton, West End), Ran Marner (Jack and the Beanstalk, Imagine Theatre), Jamel Matthias and Olivia O’Connor in their professional and West End debuts, Joshian Angelo Omaña (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, West End), Natasha Wilde (42 Balloons, The Lowry) and Rhys Wilkinson (Just For One Day, Old Vic).
The swings are Callum Bell (Guys & Dolls, Bridge Theatre), Owen McHugh (Clueless The Musical, Churchill Theatre) and Caitlin Redpath in her West End debut, and Ebony Clarke (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, West End), who is also the Resident Choreographer.
WHY AM I SO SINGLE? features a score of original songs by the dynamic, award-winning writing team of Marlow & Moss. From catchy pop songs that you won’t be able to stop singing, hilarious pastiches of well-known musicals, dazzling disco anthems and orchestral epics, Marlow & Moss’ score will capture audiences’ hearts – and ears – this autumn.
The production is directed by Lucy Moss; with choreography by Ellen Kane (Matilda the Musical, Working Title Films; Dear England, National Theatre/West End); set design by Moi Tran (A Play for the Living in A Time of Extinction, Barbican; Peaky Blinders, Rambert); costume design by Max Johns (Choir Boy, Bristol Old Vic, As You Like It, Shakespeare’s Globe); lighting design by Jai Morjaria (My Son’s A Queer (But What Can You Do?) and Accidental Death of an Anarchist, West End); and sound design by Grammy and Tony Award-nominated Paul Gatehouse (The Little Big Things, @SohoPlace; Mandela, Young Vic). The production manager is Phoebe Bath (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Birmingham Rep; Noises Off, West End and UK tour) with the casting direction from Harry Blumenau and Sarah-Jane Price from Harry Blumenau Casting (Death Note, West End; Derren Brown’s Showman, Apollo Theatre).
WHY AM I SO SINGLE? is produced by Kenny Wax, George Stiles and Ameena Hamid.
Kenny Wax is a past President of the Society of London Theatre (SOLT). He has 35 years of experience working across award-winning and hit shows in the West End, on Broadway and all over the world. His work includes Mischief productions The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong and Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle, Marlow and Moss’ Tony Award winning global hit SIX currently running in London, New York, Toronto, and on a UK and North American tour, and Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World, based on the book by Kate Pankhurst, is running at The Other Palace. Kenny’s Olivier Award winning shows include Top Hat, Once On This Island, Hey Duggee and The Worst Witch. He is thrilled to be a Producer on Toby and Lucy’s second show.
Ameena Hamid is a producer and general manager who was named Best Producer at the Black British Theatre Awards 2022 for her work on the critically acclaimed production of The Wiz. Hamid is just 24 and having started her West End career in 2020, she is the youngest producer to work on the West End. Producer Credits include: Woman Life Freedom! (GDIF); Invisible (59E59TH); The Wiz (Hope Mill Theatre). Co Producer and Associate Producer credits include: Bonnie & Clyde (Garrick Theatre & UK Tour); Dick Whittington (Phoenix Theatre); Death Drop (Criterion Theatre and Garrick Theatre).
George Stiles is a multi-award-winning writer who has worked on Honk! (National Theatre/UK Tour and Worldwide); Mary Poppins (West End, Broadway, International and UK Tour) and Cameron Mackintosh’s new version of Half A Sixpence (Chichester Festival Theatre and West End). George is also one of the producers of SIX, a journey that has brought him deep joy, helping to guide Marlow & Moss’ breakout hit around the world. With his writing partner, Anthony Drewe, his passion for nurturing new musical theatre is celebrated through the annual Stiles+Drewe Prize.
