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Sonia Friedman Productions and Fox Stage Productions present

ALL ABOUT EVE 
by Joseph L Mankiewicz

Adapted and directed  for the stage by Ivo van Hove

• All About Eve to be broadcast live from the Noël Coward Theatre to cinemas across the UK and internationally on 11th April 2019 with National Theatre Live 
   
• Starring Gillian Anderson and Lily James and directed by Ivo van Hove, All About Eve will be shown in over 2,500 cinemas 
   
• All About Eve begins previews in the West End on 2nd February. Best availability from late March 2019

Sonia Friedman Productions and Fox Stage Productions have today announced a live cinema broadcast for All About Eve. The world premiere of Ivo van Hove’s highly anticipated stage adaptation of the 1950 Twentieth Century Fox film and the play “The Wisdom of Eve” by Mary Orr will be broadcast on 11th April 2019 by NT Live. NT Live screens to 2,500 venues across 65 countries including 700 cinemas in the UK.

With just under two weeks until previews commence at the Noël Coward Theatre, Emmy Award-winning Gillian Anderson and Lily James lead the cast including Monica Dolan, Ian Drysdale, Tsion Habte, Jessie Mei Li, Julian Ovenden, Sheila Reid, Rhashan Stone, Stanley Townsend and Philip Voyzey. 

Ivo van Hove’s direction will be accompanied by set and lighting design from Jan Versweyveld,costume design by An D’Huys and music from double Mercury Prize-winner PJ Harvey,alongside Tom Gibbons’ sound design. Casting is by Julia Horan CDG.

Margo Channing. Legend. True star of the theatre. The spotlight is hers, always has been. But now there’s Eve. Her biggest fan. Young, beautiful Eve. The golden girl, the girl next door. But you know all about Eve…don’t you…?

 Ivo van Hove directs Gillian Anderson and Lily James in his new adaptation of All About Eve, a razor-sharp, unsettling exposé of the eternal obsession at the heart of show-business. Lifting the curtain on a world of jealousy and ambition, this new production, from one of the world’s most innovative theatre directors, asks why our fascination with celebrity, youth and identity never seems to get old.

Throughout the run of All About Eve, over 20,000 tickets will be offered at £25 or under. Day Seats will be available each day from 10am at the Box Office, priced at £25. Audiences can also access seats through the Today Tix mobile and online lottery at the same price.

Since launching in 2009, National Theatre Live broadcasts have been seen by an audience of over 8 million people at 2,500 venues in 65 countries. The first season began in June 2009 with the acclaimed production of Phédre starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren. Recent broadcasts includeJulius Caesar with David Morrissey and Ben Wishaw, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Sienna Miller, Follies with Imelda Staunton, Yerma with Billie Piper, Angels in America with Andrew Garfield and Russell Tovey, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead with Daniel Radcliffe and Hedda Gabler with Ruth Wilson. Sky Arts is the UK sponsor for National Theatre Live.

Participating cinemas can be found here: http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk

2018 Box Office figures released by Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre

• Data jointly released for West End and rest of the UK for the first time
• Resilience of UK’s theatre industry revealed
• Strong audience and ticket sales figures from SOLT and UK Theatre members including several new records

Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre have released data for ticket sales across their member venues in 2018. The figures reveal a combined audience of over 34m and ticket revenue of nearly £1.28bn, from a total of 62,945 performances over the course of the year in the West End and across the UK.

London’s West End theatres drew in audiences totaling over 15.5m last year, resulting in box office revenue of over £765m – both record figures, generating over £127m in VAT for the Treasury. The year saw an increase in the number of performances to 18,708, up 2.8% from 2017. Hit shows including Hamilton had an impact on overall ticket sales in a very strong year for musicals, while plays experienced a dip in attendances and revenue.

Audiences for theatre across the rest of the country topped 18.8m, with a box office of over £509m. Theatres reported a slight increase in attendances, and also number of performances (44,237, up 0.2% from 2017), as well as a rise in income and average ticket price. This was largely due to increased yield at the biggest presenting houses, which bounced back after a small dip in 2017. Smaller producing theatres saw the largest dip in attendance and revenue, falling back in line with previous years after an unusually strong 2017.

2018 SOLT Highlights:

• Attendances of 15,548,154 (up 3.0% compared to 2017)
• Gross revenue of £765,800,051, (up 8.6% compared to 2017)
• Average ticket price paid £49.25 (up 5.5% compared to 2017)
• 77.5% of available seats filled
• 18,708 performances

2018 UK Theatre Highlights:

• Attendances of 18,806,659 (up 0.3% compared to 2017)
• Gross revenue of £509,567,967 (up 8.4% compared to 2017)
• Average ticket price paid £27.10 (up 8.0% compared to 2017)
• 61% of available seats filled
• 44,237 performances

Kenny Wax, President of SOLT, said:

‘As these figures show, London’s world-leading theatre industry is attracting larger audiences than ever after another record year. Increasingly, people seem to want to invest in high quality cultural experiences, and the West End is benefiting from this trend. We must be cautious heading into 2019, however, as the combined effects of some theatres going dark for renovations, major musicals closing and an uncertain political climate might have an impact in the coming months.’

Fiona Allan, President of UK Theatre, said:

‘2018 was generally a good year for the UK’s theatre sector, which proved robust in a difficult economic climate. London’s West End enjoys a symbiotic relationship with the rest of London and across the nations, with fantastic new writing and revivals originating all over the country and ending up in West End theatres, and West End productions touring the UK.’  

Residents Weekend

Saturday 26 January 11am – 4pm

Interactive Events at Grand Opera House York

Stalls Bar: Sound and lighting – have a go at creating your own lighting experience, experiment with sound controls as someone sings along – sing loud and proud!  Is The Greatest Show your current song of choice? Show us what you can do!

Stage: smoke machine demonstrations, lighting displays.

Foyer Bar: show video reels, and while you’re watching enjoy a cup of tea or something stronger to warm you up on the cold weekend.

Auditorium: staff will be situated around the auditorium for you to direct questions at.  Interested in more about the history of the theatre?  Want to know what shows are coming up?  Our staff are very knowledgeable and will endeavour to answer any question for you.

Box Office: see a show you’re interested in?  The box office will be open from 11am – 4pm for you to purchase tickets for future shows.  Buy on the day and selected shows will have an extra discount!

Fly Floor: venture above the stage to see how we bring in scenery during shows, how we hang the lighting, and take your chance to see the stage from a completely new angle.

Free entry for all!

KING’S HEAD THEATRE STAGES

WORLD PREMIERE OF

TOM WRIGHT’S

UNDETECTABLE

13 MARCH – 6 APRIL 2019

King’s Head Theatre, London, the award-winning producer of F*cking Men and 5 Guys Chillin’, presents the world premiere of Tom Wright’s Undetectable, directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair MBE.  Undetectable will run at King’s Head Theatre from 13 March to 6 April 2019, with a press night on Friday 15 March.

Undetectable is a tender, funny and uplifting love story for the post-chemsex generation.  Hunky dream boy Lex and bright spark Bradley are falling for each other.  After three months, Lex has decided that tonight’s the night… but Bradley’s not so sure he wants to go all the way.  With wisdom, wit and honesty, Tom Wright’s bold new play explores the intricate emotions, moral dilemmas and personal demons we all take to bed with us.

Director Rikki Beadle-Blair said, “Tom’s writing is such a joy to direct; not only is it startlingly insightful and gloriously entertaining, but it speaks to this very moment in time.  I cannot wait to share his wonderful play with audiences at the King’s Head Theatre.”

Tom Wright added, “In these rollercoaster times, with so much happening and changing right before our eyes, the King’s Head Theatre has been a leading force in putting LGBTQI+ conversations on stage.  We hope Undetectable builds upon that legacy by asking what’s next with a story of recovery, acceptance and hope.”

King’s Head Theatre’s Artistic Director, Adam Spreadbury-Maher, said,“New voices are the lifeblood of British theatre, so I’m very proud to present the world premiere of Tom Wright’s Undetectable directed by the extraordinary Rikki Beadle-Blair.  Tom is a fascinating new talent, who in the wake of the chemsex epidemic, has written a frank, funny and beautiful love story with its finger firmly on the pulse.”

Undetectable will star Lewis Brown as Bradley and Freddie Hogan as Alexis (Lex).  Lewis Brown’s recent theatre credits include Tuck at Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre and playing the title role in an American tour of Hamlet with Aquila Theatre.  He has previously worked with Rikki Beadle-Blair when he played D’Principé in Legendary Children of the House of Fierce at the Old Vic workrooms.  Freddie Hogan’s theatre credits include Belarius in the National Youth Theatre’s West End production of Cymbeline, and Extra Virgin for which he was nominated for an Off West End Award for Best Actor.  His television credits include Billy in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Davey in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

Tom Wright is currently the Artist Development Manager at The Old Vic.  Tom’s debut play, My Dad’s Gap Year, will be presented at the Park Theatre in February 2019.  It was first performed at the Tristan Bates theatre, before being developed with Rikki Beadle-Blair for Team Angelica and revived at the Bush Theatre. Tom’s second play, I Ain’t Dumb, was also developed with Team Angelica and supported by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation.  It premiered at Theatre Royal Stratford East the following year.  Tom was commissioned to adapt Jamie O’Neill’s novel At Swim, Two Boys into stage musical Rebel Song, which was selected as part of From Page To Stage to be performed at The Other Palace.  As a director, Tom’s work includes Sarah Milton’s Tumble Tuckat Underbelly, Edinburgh, which transferred to King’s Head Theatre and was then produced by Old Vic New Voices at Soho Theatre, where it was nominated for an Off West End Award for Best Performance Piece.  Other directing work includes Fledglings (Criterion Theatre), Bedtime Story (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Claire (Arcola Theatre Queer Collective) and My Dad’s Gap Year/An Invitation (Tristan Bates Theatre).  

Director Rikki Beadle-Blair MBE is a writer, director, composer, choreographer, designer, producer and performer.  Over the past ten years, Rikki has written 28 plays including Gutted, Bashment, Shalom Baby and the recent ground-breaking Summer In London written for an all trans cast of performers.  These plays have been performed at Theatre Royal Stratford East, Bush Theatre, Soho Theatre, Tristan Bates Theatre and Contact Theatre, Manchester.  He has developed and directed many plays by upcoming writers such as #Hashtag Lightie by Lynette Linton, Stripped by Hannah Chalmers and Slap by Alexis Gregory.  He has worked on several feature films and TV series, including Blackbird, Stonewall, Metrosexuality, Noah’s Arc, as well as FIT, KickOff and Bashment for his own company Team Angelica.  Rikki’s awards include the Sony Award and the Los Angeles Outfest Screenwriting and Outstanding Achievement Awards.  He is one of the creative directors of the Visionary Youth Project for young European Film Activists.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Undetectable

Wednesday 13 March – Saturday 6 April 2019

King’s Head Theatre

115 Upper Street

London N1 1QN

Performances: Tuesday-Saturday 8.45pm, Sunday 4.45pm* (*4.45pm matinee on Saturday 6 April)

Running Time: 1 hour 45 minutes (including interval)

Ticket Prices: £19.50-£25.00 (Previews: £10 on 13 March, £14 on 14 March)

Concessions: £18 (Tuesday evenings Under 30s £10; Sunday matinees Unwaged £5)

Box Office: 0207 226 8561

Website: www.kingsheadtheatre.com

‎Twitter: @KingsHeadThtr /  #UndetectablePlay

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kingsheadtheatre

STETSONS AT THE READY AS COUNTRY MUSICAL ACHY BREAKY BRIDE COMES TO TOWN

STELLAR CAST ANNOUNCED AS HILARIOUS NEW COMEDY COMES TO ST HELENS THEATRE ROYAL IN JUNE

From the producers that brought audiences Rita, Sue and Bob Too! and The Salon, Regal Entertainments are back with brand-new comedy, Achy Breaky Bride this June.

This hilarious jukebox country musical, written by Emma Culshaw and David Paul and directed bySylvie Gatrill, comes to St Helens Theatre Royal from Tuesday 4 – Saturday 8 June.

The shows stellar cast has today been announced and includes:Radio City’s Leanne Campbell, Blood Brothers’ Daniel Taylor, Benidorm’s Crissy Rock and BBC All Together Now’s Divina De Campo.

The Ruby Slippers’ Emma Vaudrey and Rita, Sue and Bob Too! star Olivia Sloyan complete the line-up.

It’s never a dull day in Dolly’s Dream Dresses, St Helens’ boutique Bridal shop run by A Boy Named Sue (Taylor) and his sister Jolene (Campbell).

Radio City breakfast host Leanne Campbell is always an audience favourite. She is well-known to audiences through her many panto appearances and other stage roles, including CarolinThe Salon at St Helens Theatre Royal in 2016 and The Epstein Theatre in 2017.

Joining Leanne is Blood Brothers and West End star Daniel Taylor.

Actor, producer and director, Daniel Taylor has previously starred in the title role of Lennon: Through a Glass Onion, a role for which he received critical acclaim. He is also well known for playing Sammy in West End and national tour of Blood Brothers, and Mickey in Alan Bleasdale’s 40th anniversary production of Down the Dock Road at Liverpool’s Royal Court. Daniel also produces and plays the title role in The Tommy Cooper Show.

Also in the line-up is national treasure Crissy Rock. An award-winning actress, stand-up comedian and best-selling author, she is perhaps best known for playing Janey York in hit ITV sitcom Benidorm and jungle campmate in I’m A Celebrity: Get Me Out Of Here. Her theatre credits include Escorts: The Musical and Dirty Dusting.

Fresh off the judging panel of BBC’s All Together Now, one of the UK’s biggest drag artists Divina De Campo also joins the cast. Divina played Destiny in the acclaimed comedy The Ruby Slippers which visited Theatre Royal in 2016.

Emma Vaudrey is a successful stage and screen actress with credits including Lady Killers andSpringhill. She recently appeared in psychological thriller Blood Runs Deep at The Unity Theatre,and starred with Divina De Campo in 2016’s The Ruby Slippers.

No stranger to St Helens Theatre Royal stage, Olivia Sloyan completes the all-star line-up. Her theatre credits include Sue in Rita, Sue and Bob Too, Tia in The Salon, Princess Jasmine in Aladdin, and both Linda and Brenda in Blood Brothers.

Watch all the Crazy antics unfold as Sue and Jolene work non-stop from 9-5 to help these blushing brides-to-be prepare for their big days!

Will they make it down the aisle without a hitch? Will they stand by their man proclaiming I Will Always Love You? Don’t count on it!

This hilarious new musical comedy includes all the biggest classic country hits to sing along to, including: Crazy, Jolene, Rhinestone Cowboy, Rose Garden, Achy Breaky Heart and many more!

Grab your Stetsons and put on your Cowboy Boots as they are made for walking down to St Helens Theatre Royal this June. You’ll have an Achy Breaky Heart if you miss it!

For more information, please visit: www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com

Like us on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/St-Helens-Theatre-Royal

Follow us on Twitter: @TheatreRoyalStH

LISTING DETAILS

ACHY BREAKY BRIDE

Date: Tuesday 4 – Saturday 8 June

Time: Tue-Thu 7:30pm/ Fri & Sat 8pm/ Sat Matinee 3pm

Tickets: From £18

*All prices are inclusive of a £1 per seat booking fee. On-line bookings are subject to an additional 50p per seat on-line processing fee.

THEATRE ROYAL BOOKING DETAILS

Book in person at the Theatre Royal Box Office, Corporation Street, St. Helens, Merseyside WA10 1LQ (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm). Alternatively, call 01744 756 000 or log on to:www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com.

Phil McIntyre Entertainments Ltd and Penguin Random House present

MICHAEL PALIN
LIVE ON STAGE 2019

Erebus, Python and Other Stories

MICHAEL PALIN TO RETURN TO THE STAGE WITH A BRAND NEW SHOW FOR THE PAPERBACK RELEASE OF HIS LATEST BOOK EREBUS: THE STORY OF A SHIP

TICKETS ON SALE 25 JANUARY

To celebrate the paperback publication of Erebus: The Story of A Ship,  Monty Python star and much-loved television globe-trotter Michael Palin announces a brand new one-man stage show. It will take him to 12 venues around the UK, beginning in Bournemouth on 7^th June and ending in Bath on 7^th July.

In the first part of the show, Palin brings to life the thrilling story of HMS Erebus, the tough little ship that took on the Antarctic and the Arctic in the 1840s, and which was the subject of his latest bestselling book. His richly illustrated talk conveys the triumph and tragedy of the ship’s short and doomed life, and what it was about it that made him so keen to tell its story.

In the second half, Michael tells his own life story, including how his three favourite subjects at school (Geography, History and Comedy) have shaped his life, from ‘Monty Python’ to ‘Ripping Yarns’ and the many television travel series that have taken him all around the world, from the North Pole to North Korea.

With previously unseen footage and previously untold stories, Michael shows how comedy and adventure have been natural bedfellows during a rich and diverse career.

The tour will be supported by local bookshops and signed copies of his books will be available to buy. Erebus: the Story of a Ship will be published by Arrow in paperback on 30^th May, price: £8.99

UK Tour Dates

Date	Town/ City
Friday 7 June	Bournemouth: Pavilion
Saturday 8 June	Basingstoke: Anvil
Sunday 9 June	Cambridge: Corn Exchange
Thursday 20 June	Chesterfield: Winding Wheel
Friday 21June	Milton Keynes: Theatre
Saturday 22 June	London: Cadogan Hall
Thursday 27 June	Bradford: Alhambra
Friday 28 June	Salford: Lowry – Lyric
Thursday 4July	Salisbury: City Hall
Friday 5July	Reading: Hexagon
Saturday 6July	Portsmouth: Southsea Kings
Sunday 7 July	Bath: Theatre Royal

VAULT Festival (Crescent), Leake St, Lambeth, London SE1 7AD
Wednesday 6th – Sunday 10th March 2019, 19:45

Fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe, the acclaimed Theatre Témoin now stage Feed at VAULT Festival – a show that brings their vibrant visual style to the world of click-bait culture, fake news and cyber gluttony. Welcome to the stimulating world of Feed where emotions are the currency and your passions and fantasies will be indulged… for a price.

A Palestinian woman takes a striking photograph of a boy. A journalist steals the image for an unrelated article. A blogger is moved to tears by the article and posts a tribute. An SEO specialist makes the blogger’s tribute go viral. Now all four are caught in a media storm, in a whirring story that moves from reality into dark fantasy as the algorithms spin to deliver ‘what people want’. As we progress through these individual’s stories, we see them spiral out of control as they get pulled into the online madness.

…a disquieting glimpse into the festering heart of the internet, told with a darkness and vibrancy that compulsively grips…. There’s a fascinating fluidity to Feed as it stretches and swells, enhancing and exaggerating until there’s blood on the floor, vicious internet trolls at the gates, and Peck is the devil incarnate (The Stage).

Theatre Témoin have always been unafraid of tackling important issues and here they explore the dark absurdity of today’s media landscape and what capitalism has turned it into. Feed uses a surreal style interweaved with Bouffon physicality to look at how algorithms and capitalism are shaping the information we receive and consume online and how this information is, in turn, shaping us

Director Ailin Conant comments, I think as a consumer I’m used to the idea that companies are after my money. But the moment you realise that your time and your feelings are for sale, and that companies will use your own arousal (be it anger or excitement or addiction) just to keep you on your screen… I start to feel like my body, my brain, my organism is being hijacked. This is the discomfort that drove us to create Feed.

Theatre Témoin is committed to engaging communities in the process of making their work and have conducted numerous R&D workshops with young people during its development. Feed is a co-production with The Lowry and The Everyman Cheltenham and is supported by Arts Council England and The Charles Irving Trust.

IN CELEBRATION OF NATIONAL PIE DAY

ANNOUNCES PIE PARTNERSHIP WITH
THE THEATRE CAFÉ
Music and lyrics by six-time Grammy Award-nominee Sara Bareilles
Book by Jessie Nelson
Based upon the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly
Directed by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus

It is announced today that Waitress will partner with The Theatre Café, London’s first ever theatre-themed coffee shop, which will be making and selling delicious fresh pies each night at the show. Audience members will be able to buy the famous Waitress pie jars in apple crumble, chocolate salted caramel or banoffee at the Adelphi Theatre when the show begins preview performances on8 February. The Waitress pie jars were originally created by Cute As Cake of New York.

Rehearsals are now underway ahead of the show’s official opening night on 7 March. The West End premiere of Sara Bareilles’ Waitress will star Katharine McPhee (Smash) as Jenna, Emmy-nominee Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) as Ogie, Marisha Wallace as Becky, Laura Baldwin as Dawn, Peter Hannah as Earl, David Hunter as Dr. Pomatter and Shaun Prendergast as Old Joe. Currently playing its third year on Broadway, Waitress will bring with it an all-female lead creative team – a West End musical first.

The full company includes Kelly Agbowu, Laura Baldwin, Piers Bate, Nicole Raquel Dennis, Michael Hamway, Peter Hannah, David Hunter, Stephen Leask, Jack McBrayer, Chris McGuigan, Katharine McPhee, Olivia Moore, Nathaniel Morrison, Sarah O’Connor, Leanne Pinder, Shaun Prendergast, Charlotte Riby and Marisha Wallace.

Meet Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage. Pouring her heart into her pies, she crafts desserts that mirror her topsy-turvy life such as “​The Key (Lime) to Happiness Pie” and “Betrayed By My Eggs Pie.” When a baking contest in a nearby county — and a satisfying run-in with someone new — show Jenna a chance at a fresh start, she must find the courage to seize it. Change is on the menu, as long as Jenna can write her own perfectly personal recipe for happiness.

Waitress also recently announced the first of its “Cast Album Karaoke” nights in London, meaning that theatre lovers who have always dreamt of singing on the West End stage will soon be able to make their dream a reality. The first ever karaoke nights will be held post-show on Tuesday 19 Februaryand Monday 18 March 2019. For the chance to sing one minute of any song from the show – live on stage and accompanied by the show’s musical director Katharine Woolley – interested audience members just need to sign up in the theatre before the performance.

Waitress opened on 24 April 2016 at Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theater. Based on the 2007 motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly, Waitress was the first Broadway musical in history to have four women in the four top creative team spots, featuring original music and lyrics by 6-time Grammy®​ ​nominee Sara Bareilles (“Love Song”, “Brave”), a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (​I Am Sam​), direction by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (​Pippin​, ​Finding Neverland​) and choreography by Lorin Latarro. The production is currently touring the US and has also announced it will have its Australian premiere in 2020 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.

On its Broadway opening, Waitress was nominated for four Outer Critics’ Circle Awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical; two Drama League Award Nominations, including Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical; six Drama Desk Nominations, including Outstanding Musical; and four Tony Award Nominations, including Best Musical.

LISTINGS

WAITRESS
The Adelphi Theatre
The Strand,
London WC2R 0NS

Performances from Friday 8 February
Opening night: Thursday 7 March

Monday – Saturday evenings at 7.30pm
Wednesday & Saturday matinees at 2.30pm

24 Hour Telephone Booking line: 020 7087 7753
waitressthemusical.co.uk

Images from: https://www.thecornershoppr.com/downloads/waitress/

Twitter: @WaitressLondon
Facebook: Waitress the Musical – London
Instagram: @WaitressLondon

New Victoria Theatre, Woking – until 26th January 2019

Reviewed by Becky Doyle

4****

What a beautiful and endearing story that had me captivated from start to finish. I was initially disappointed to hear that Mathew Horne would not be playing Raymond on the chosen night and instead the role would be played by Adam Lilley. However, I took all my disappointment back within 30 seconds of Lilley walking on the stage with his skill and tact in playing an autistic character that made me empathize with both he and his on stage brother Chris Fountain (Charlie). Their relationship evolving and brotherly love and understanding coming through was what made the show what it was. The story was easy to follow and you began to see that life was never going to be the same for Charlie, nor that of Raymond.

The set was minimal yet was all that was needed and the space was used to its fullest. Between scenes the music that was played was upbeat, in time with the era and had be swaying along during the little time being taken to set up the stage between scenes.

The special moment between Raymond and Charlie, which brought the play to an end, had myself with tears in my eyes with a desire to know more. The cast was presented with a standing ovation, which was nothing, less than they deserved.

Overall, this show brought to the stage a well-known film and story that could hold relevance to so many. If you have the opportunity I wouldn’t hesitate to seeing the show yourself.

TWO MAJOR ARTS COMPANIES TEAM UP FOR ONE-OFF

GIANT OUTDOOR THEATRE EVENT IN YORKSHIRE AND LONDON

-on sale now-

Internationally-renowned Yorkshire-based theatre company Mind the Gap is preparing to present a giant piece of outdoor theatre that is set to be a world first BY the company known for its provocative and cutting-edge works.

Featuring a giant baby, 3D projection mapping, a cast of 100+ and an original music score, ZARA will perform in only two venues – Halifax Piece Hall, Yorkshire in April and Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, Southwark, London in May.

Julia Skelton, Executive Director of Mind the Gap said:

“ZARA is a huge-impact piece of outdoor theatre that has been four years in the making. We have brought together an international team of directors, choreographers, producers, designers, technicians, puppeteers, musicians and actors. Right now, there are hundreds of people working on the project in the UK and we are really proud to be the company behind the idea.”

Mind the Gap is collaborating with world-renowned outdoor arts specialists Walk the Plank who have created large scale shows for a host of celebrations including the XVIIth Manchester Commonwealth Games and numerous UK and European Capitals of Culture.

“I met Mind the Gap a couple of years ago and knew immediately that we should work with them,” says Liz Pugh Creative Producer of Walk the Plank.

“I was drawn to their work and their ethos; they are bold, inclusive, and are breaking boundaries. Walk the Plank make work in public space in order to reach and engage as diverse an audience as possible, as such we are thrilled to collaborate with a company so respected in the theatre industry and within learning disability arts.”

ZARA is the pinnacle output of Mind the Gap’s Daughters of Fortune project which explores learning disability and parenthood for a mainstream audience. It began with Anna, a forum theatre piece used for research workshops and was followed by Mia a production that has met with critical acclaim, featured at 2017’s Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival where it was the only learning disability theatre company to perform, and has toured to 24 theatres across the UK. ZARA brings this award-winning project to a large-scale outdoor audience.

“I believe theatre has the power to move hearts and minds, and with this international team of leading creatives, ZARA is going to do just that,” says Artistic Director Joyce Nga Yu Lee.

“Throughout our research, the stories we heard were tender, shocking, funny, poignant and everything in between; ZARA is a fusion of these complex and untold precious stories – and then supersized! It’s an unprecedented performance that puts learning disabled parents and artists at its heart and is guaranteed to deliver an unforgettable experience.”

Zara: Daughters of Fortune has a limited run in Yorkshire and London:

Friday 19^th & Saturday 20^th April 2019

The Piece Hall, Halifax

Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park (home of Imperial War Museum), London

Friday 10^th & Saturday 11^th May 2019

Tickets are priced at £8 and are on sale now

Book online at www.mind-the-gap.org.uk/productions/zara–

Performance Listings:

ZARA: Daughters of Fortune

The Piece Hall, Halifax HX1 1RE

Friday 19^th and Saturday 20^th April 2019 at 7pm

Tickets: £8 / £28 for four people / £12 Balcony

Booking:  www.mind-the-gap.org.uk/productions/zara

Age guidance: Family friendly

ZARA: Daughters of Fortune

Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, Southwark SE1 6HZ

Friday 10^th & Saturday 11^th May 2019 at 7pm

Tickets: £8 / £28 for four people

Booking: www.mind-the-gap.org.uk/productions/zara

Age guidance: Family friendly