VALENTINES DAY ANTIDOTE AT THEATRE ROYAL WITH FIERCE NEW HEDDA GABLER

 

VALENTINES DAY ANTIDOTE AT THEATRE ROYAL WITH FIERCE NEW HEDDA GABLER

National Theatre blockbuster to send romantic notions into disarray

 

The National Theatre’s breath-taking new version of Henrik Ibsen’s masterwork Hedda Gabler is set to arrive at Newcastle Theatre Royal next month.  Fresh from a sell-out run in London, it will thrill and unsettle Valentine’s week audiences 13 – 17 February 2018.

 

Written by Olivier and Tony Award®-winning playwright Patrick Marber (Closer) this vital new version of Ibsen’s 19th century realism masterpiece is also directed by one of the world’s most exciting directors Ivo van Hove.

 

Hedda and Tesman have just returned from their honeymoon and the relationship is already in trouble. Trapped but determined, Hedda tries to control and manipulate those around her, only to see her own world unravel. Reimagined in a contemporary world for a modern audience, the play retains all its trademark power and vitality.

 

Lizzy Watts (The DurrellsMidsomer Murders and BBC Radio 4’s Home Front) plays the title role of free-spirited and unstable Hedda, one of the greatest dramatic parts in theatre and regarded as the female Hamlet.

 

The production follows an unprecedented run of critically acclaimed National Theatre visits to Newcastle Theatre Royal over the past five years including multi-award winning The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Jane Eyre.

 

 

Set and lighting design for Hedda Gabler is by Jan Versweyveld, with costume design by An D’Huys and sound by Tom Gibbons.

 

Director Ivo van Hove ‘s acclaimed production of A View from the Bridge recently played to sold out houses in London and on Broadway and Obsession starring Jude Law played last year at The Barbican.

 

Writer Patrick Marber said:  ‘It has been a huge honour to work with the great Ivo van Hove on this version of Hedda Gabler at the National Theatre. I am thrilled that this tour will enable more people to see his incredible production.’

Hedda Gabler plays Newcastle Theatre Royal Tues 13 to Saturday 17 February 2018. Evening shows are at 7.30pm, matinees on Thu 2pm and Sat 2.30pm. Tickets from £14.50.  Tickets can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 (Calls cost 7ppm plus your phone company’s access charge) or book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

Phoenix Dance Theatre Host World Premiere in Leeds

THE FIRST EVER CONTEMPORARY DANCE TO COMMEMORATE WINDRUSH

  

Windrush: Movement of the People: a major new dance piece for 2018 by Phoenix Dance Theatre

 

Marking the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush, the ship that brought the first large group of immigrants from the Caribbean to the UK

 

 

Internationally-acclaimed, Leeds-based Phoenix Dance Theatre will present a World Premiere at West Yorkshire Playhouse next month as 2018 marks the 70th Anniversary of the arrival of SS Empire Windrush to the UK.

Windrush was the ship that brought the first large group of immigrants from the Caribbean and famously began the post-war immigration boom that was to radically change British society.

Artistic Director of Phoenix Dance, and choreographer of Windrush, Sharon Watson said: “I want to capture both the excitement and the upset of this significant event. Windrush will highlight both the struggles and the good times the Jamaican community experienced during those early years. It is an uplifting dance production but it shines a light on an important era of the history of black people in the UK.’

 

The production begins in Jamaica showing the response to the newspaper adverts for the SS Empire Windrush; busy and excited scenes are juxtaposed with personal stories – family farewells and people left behind. The 492 immigrants were invited by the UK government, but were not always welcomed  and the production will capture the daily exclusion and racism the newcomers faced.

We know people were excited to come to the UK on the promise of work and a better life but we also know it was not the case for allBritain was recovering from the war and needed help to rebuild the country, but the stories they told were of a bittersweet experience.” Sharon continues.

 

“My family were not on the SS Windrush but did come to the UK as part of that first wave of people that were to become known as the ‘Windrush Generation’.

Dancers will create unforgettable characters that take the audience from Jamaica to the UK celebrating how the Windrush generation began to create their own opportunities, setting up churches, introducing their own music and dance and establishing a ‘black culture’.

When I was undertaking the research for this project, I was delighted to discover that Calypso musicians Lord Kitchener, Lord Beginner, Lord Woodbine and singer Mona Baptiste were among the ship’s passengers; these major musicians were part of the story! What greater gift for a choreographer than to be practically handed a part of the soundtrack?”

From 1948 to the present day; from Calypso to RnB via Blues, Ska and Reggae, composer Gary Crosby OBE with Christella Listras from Caution Collective support the story with an uplifting soundtrack to the lives of the Caribbean British people and wider Black British Communities.

Windrush: Movement of the People fuses music and dance to create an inspiring production that uses a multi-cultural cast to tell an international story, and celebrates a culture that is now part of the country’s fabric.

The World Premiere of Windrush: Movement of the People is at West Yorkshire Playhouse

7 – 10 February 2018 at 7.30pm

 

Tickets are on sale now priced from £13.50 to £31

 

Book online at wyp.org.uk or call Box Office on 0113 213 77 00

 

It then tours to:

Theatre By The LakeKeswick; Cast, Doncaster, Curve, Leicester; Schrittmacher, Aachen, Germany;

The Peacock Theatre, Sadlers Wells London; Northern Stage, Newcastle

 

LISTINGS:

 

Theatre By The LakeKeswick

Tuesday 20th February 2018 at 7.30pm

Tickets: £10 to £18

Box Office: www.theatrebythelake.com  / 017687 74411

The Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

Tuesday 27th February 2018 at 7.30pm

Tickets: £19

Box Office: www.everymantheatre.org.uk / 01242 572573

Cast Doncaster

Wednesday 7th March 2018 at 7.30pm

Tickets: £16.50 U26: £14.50 Schools: £10

Box Office: www.castindoncaster.com / 01302 303 959

Curve Leicester

Friday 9th and Saturday 10th March 2018

Tickets: Not yet on sale

Box Office: www.curveonline.co.uk / 0116 242 3595

 

Schrittmacher, Aachen, Germany                   

22 – 25 March 2018

Startseite

 

The Peacock Theatre, Sadlers Wells London

Thursday 26 – Saturday 28 April 2018 at 7.30pm

Tickets onsale from 6 November, 10am

Box Office www.sadlerswells.com / 020 7863 8000

 

Northern Stage, Newcastle

Wednesday 9th and Tuesday 10th May 2018 at 7.30pm

Tickets: From £10

Box Office: www.northernstage.co.uk / 0191 230 5151

Tinder artwork gets vocal: Best quips to ‘Lady Chatterley’ to feature in spoken word performance at The Lowry

Tinder artwork gets vocal: Best quips to ‘Lady Chatterley’ to feature in spoken word performance at The Lowry.

An artwork that captured conversations on Tinder between unsuspecting users of the dating app and D. H. Lawrence’s ‘Lady Chatterley’ is being brought to life – and new audiences – in a spoken word performance at The Lowry.

The artwork used an algorithm to automatically pair ‘matched’ profile users’ opening gambits with lines from the novel and then judged the sentiment of the replies to decide how to continue the conversation.

And now, artist, Libby Heaney and actor, Sarah Emmott are to read a selection of exchanges in Pier Eight Bar at The Lowry this Saturday (13 January) at 5pm

Commenting on the work, Heaney said: “The replies ranged from the inquisitive and confused to the downright horny. It was fascinating to see, in a digital world – where anonymity is a very real and popular option – how human beings choose to interact.”

‘Lady Chatterley’s Tinderbot’ is on display at The Lowry as part of the humansbeingdigital exhibition, which runs until Sun 25 February.

Listing information:

Lady Chatterley’s Tinderbot – A Reading
Saturday 13 January 2018, 5pm (45mins)
Pier Eight Bar, The Lowry, Salford Quays, M50 3AZ
Admittance: FREE

‘Lady Chatterley’s Tinderbot’ was produced with the kind co-operation of the Estate of Frieda Lawrence Ravagli.

In July 2014, The Lowry galleries were renamed The Andrew and Zoe Law Galleries in recognition of the couple’s £1m donation to the arts centre, which is a registered charity.

Complicté’s A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer and accompanying documentary film The Little c

A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer and accompanying documentary film The Little c

 

Complicité will stage a reimagined version of A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer, its collaboration with performance artist Bryony Kimmings. Kimmings will lead the company in this reworked production touring the UK before performances in Australia.

 

A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer

Complicité Associates and Bryony Kimmings

 

Written by Bryony Kimmings and Brian Lobel with Kirsty Housley
Music by Tom Parkinson
Directed by Kirsty Housley

 

Originally a Complicité Associates co-production with the National Theatre in association with HOME Manchester.

 

When performance artist Bryony Kimmings was approached by Complicité to create a new show, the invitation came from producer Judith Dimant – who had just received a cancer diagnosis. Never one to shy away from creating art from life, Bryony asked Judith if she wanted to make a production about cancer. What followed was a baptism of fire, and an unexpected journey into the ‘Kingdom of the Sick’ – following patients, meeting doctors and learning from world experts. What Bryony didn’t know is how far into the Kingdom she would fall.

 

First seen in 2016 at HOME, Manchester, Exeter Northcott and the National Theatre, the production will be revived and re-worked for UK and Australian touring in 2018. Kirsty Housley, Co-Director of The Encounterand long-term Complicité collaborator will direct, with writer Bryony Kimmings performing in the production.

 

A Pacifist’s Guide… will blow everything you think you know about cancer out of the water. This funny and moving show will look behind the poster campaigns and pink ribbons at the reality of cancer: newfound friendships, pain and death, mundane treatment cycles, hairlessness and scars…with songs.

 

Bryony Kimmings said “This musical began as a seed in 2014. So much has happened since its inception. A four year labour of love. It begins with Judith the producer of Complicité having breast cancer, it moves through two years following beautiful patients, me having a baby, Judith going into remission, some deaths and some huge life changes. All the time writing music! I wasn’t able to be in the original production for tragic personal reasons so I am over the moon that I am able to step into it for this tour. We are thrilled to have had the time to reimagine and develop the musical since its first incarnation at the National Theatre, which we can’t wait to share with audiences across the UK and Australia.”

 

A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer,Complicité’s collaboration with performance artistBryony Kimmings will embark on a UK tour to Liverpool Playhouse, Northern Stage Newcastle and the Belgrade Theatre Coventry before touring to Australia.

 

www.complicite.org/APacifistsGuide

The Little c documentary film:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-zjKY4wIwc&list=PLLEx0tB8K9bQ3GXLYEslY-7AUJIyWe2xA&t=21s&index=7

 

#APacifistsGuide

2018 Tour

Liverpool, UK – Playhouse: 26 January – 3 February
2018
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/whats-on/a-pacifists-guide-to-the-war-on-cancer

 

Newcastle, UK – Northern Stage: 7 – 10 February 2018

https://www.northernstage.co.uk/Event/complicit-a-pacifists-guide-to-the-war-on-cancer

 

Coventry, UK – Belgrade Theatre: 14 – 17 February 2018

http://www.belgrade.co.uk/event/a-pacifists-guide

 

Canberra, Australia – Canberra Theatre Centre: 28 February – 3 March 2018

https://canberratheatrecentre.com.au/show/a-pacifists-guide-to-the-war-on-cancer/

 

Melbourne, Australia – Malthouse Theatre: 7 – 18 March 2018

http://malthousetheatre.com.au/whats-on/a-pacifists-guide-to-the-war-on-cancer

 

Sydney, Australia – Seymour Centre: 22 – 29 March 2018

https://www.seymourcentre.com/events/event/a-pacifists-guide-to-the-war-on-cancer/

 

Credits

Complicité Associates and Bryony Kimmings

 

Written by Bryony Kimmings and Brian Lobel with Kirsty Housley
Music by Tom Parkinson
Directed by Kirsty Housley

 

Originally a Complicité Associates co-production with the National Theatre in association with HOME Manchester. Age guidance: 14+.

 

Performers

Eva Alexander

Bryony Kimmings

Gemma Storr

Lottie Vallis

Lara Veitch

Elexi Walker

 

Set and Costume Design   Lucy Osborne

Choreography                      Sarah Blanc

Lighting Design                   Marec Joyce

Sound Design                       Lewis Gibson

Assistant Director               Michal Keyamo

Production Manager           Niall Black

Sound Operator                   Neil Dewar

Stage Managers                  Adam Chesnutt, Osnat Koblenz

 

Original Costume Designer Christina Cunningham, Original Lighting Designer Paul Anderson, Original Musical Director Marc Tritschler,Original Choreography Lizzi Gee

 

The Little c film

The Little c documentary film tells the unexpected and untold story of cancer through the voices and stories of real-life cancer patients. It tracks these stories as they make their way from patient to stage as part of the 2016 production ‘A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer’. The film follows the show’s development from a coffee meeting in 2014 to a UK tour in 2016, and charts the creative team’s efforts to bring a fresh voice to a difficult and loaded subject.

 

Watch it online for free on Complicité’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-zjKY4wIwc&list=PLLEx0tB8K9bQ3GXLYEslY-7AUJIyWe2xA&t=21s&index=7

 

Directed & Edited by Simon Eves. Produced by PLASTIK and Complicité

Bryony Kimmings

Inspired by the taboos, stigmas, anomalies and social injustices around her, Bryony Kimmings is a performance artist creating multi-platform art works to provoke change.

 

The work centres around outlandish ‘social experiments’ that Kimmings conducts with intrigue and wholehearted fearless gusto. Kimmings sets her sights on the impossible and unconquerable, and turns the unspeakable into the years’ hottest topic – from retracing an STI to its source (Sex Idiot), to her boyfriend’s depression (Fake It ’Til You Make It – Best Theatre Award Fringe World Perth 2015, Best Theatre Award Adelaide Fringe Festival 2015, Herald Angel Award Edinburgh 2015), to her search for positive role models for her teenage niece (Credible, Likeable, Superstar, Role Model Fringe First Award winner). 

Her work has toured across the world including: Melbourne International Comedy Festival (Australia), National Theatre (UK), Southbank Centre (UK), Lisinski Operahouse (Croatia) and Fusebox Festival (Texas).

 

About Complicité

Founded in 1983, Complicité is an international theatre company based in London led by Artistic Director Simon McBurney (OBE) and Producer Judith Dimant (MBE). The company has won over fifty major theatre awards worldwide. Complicité’s recent work includes A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on CancerThe Encounter,Beware of Pity and The Master and Margarita.Alongside its productions, Complicité runs an extensive Creative Learning programme with recent projects including Like Mother, Like Daughter and Tea.

 

Complicité Associates is a strand of work that commissions and produces new work from brilliant theatre makers and artists, supporting them as they explore different ways of working. Performance artist Bryony Kimmings was the inaugural Complicité Associate, and A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer was its first production. The next artists joining the Complicité Associates are The Scotsman Fringe First Award and The Stage Edinburgh Award for Best Ensemble winner, The Wardrobe Ensemble.

 

Simon McBurney has created and acted in more than 30 productions for the company. His directing credits with Complicité include The EncounterBeware of Pity,The Master and MargaritaShun-kin, A Disappearing Number, Measure for Measure, A Minute Too Late, The Elephant Vanishes, Strange Poetry and The Street of Crocodiles. Other directing credits include The Kid Stays in the PictureAll My Sons on Broadway andThe Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui with Al Pacino in New York. Opera credits include The Rake’s Progressproduced by Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and The Magic Flute and A Dog’s Heart, both produced by De Nederlandse Opera and English National Opera in collaboration with Complicité. As an actor Simon has appeared in many films and TV including: AlliedThe Conjuring 2, Mission: Impossible – Rogue NationThe Theory of EverythingMagic in the Moonlight, Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyThe Last King of Scotland and JK Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy

AUSTEN the Musical

Austen
the Musical

By Rob Winlow

Directed by Timothy Trimingham Lee

UK tour 2018

A celebration of one of the greatest British writers, Jane Austen, Rob Winlow’s
new musical AUSTEN reveals the woman behind the words, and it tours the UK
from January 11 – March 29.

Following the bicentennial of her death, this is a portrait of an icon as a human
being. AUSTEN investigates the life of an author struggling as much with affairs
of the heart as with ambitions for her art.

By turns comical, tragic, and enchanting, AUSTEN is a musical that explores the
challenges a female novelist faces in patriarchal Georgian England. As Jane
struggles to be published, she experiences the pressures, pleasures, and pitfalls
of courtship with multiple suitors. The story remains resonant and poignant in
these turbulent times as the fight for gender equality continues.

Writer Rob Winlow says, “The starting point and the question we ask, and
ultimately try to answer, in the show is how come Jane Austen wrote so
eloquently about romantic affairs when she had seemingly few loving
relationships and never married?”

Edith Kirkwood (Peculiar Distractions, York Theatre Royal) features as Jane
Austen, with Thomas Hewitt (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Lyric Hammersmith & National
Tour) playing the suitors, and Jenni Lea-Jones (The Mikado, Illyria Theatre
National Tour) & Adam Grayson (Jonathan Creek, BBC) as Jane’s parents.
Timothy Trimingham Lee (Buried Child, Upstairs at the Gatehouse) directs and
Arlene McNaught (The Good Person of Szechwan, Bridewell Theatre) provides
musical direction.

Rob Winlow wrote his first musical when he was 16 and won the All England
Song Contest in 1982. Previous writing includes Armada the Musical, which was
presented at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

AUSTEN has been presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Jane Austen
Festival, York New Musical Festival and on a small UK tour. It was developed
with support from York New Musical Festival and John Cooper Studio.

“Rob Winlow has created a tale that will be magical for Austen’s many fans.”
The North East Theatre Guide

Tour details:
11 – 13 January 7.30pm
Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham
www.oldjointstock.co.uk
0121 200 1892

16 – 20 January 7.30pm
The Bread & Roses Theatre, London
www.breadandrosestheatre.co.uk
020 8050 3025

22 – 24 January 7.30pm
Mirth, Marvel & Maud Theatre, London
www.mirthmarvelandmaud.com
020 8520 8636

25 January 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Stamford Corn Exchange, Stamford
www.stamfordcornexchange.co.uk
01780 766455

26 January 7.30pm, 27 January 2.00pm & 7.30pm
East Riding Theatre, Beverley
www.eastridingtheatre.co.uk
01482 874050

8 February 8.00pm
Artrix, Bromsgrove
www.artrix.co.uk
01527 577330

27 – 28 February 7.30pm
Rothes Hall, Fife
www.onfife.com/venues/rothes-halls
01592 611101

7 March 7.30pm
Harborough Theatre, Harborough
www.harboroughtheatre.com
0333 666 3366

28 – 29 March 7.45pm
Chesil Theatre, Winchester
www.chesiltheatre.org.uk
07527 471539

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF HOWARD BRENTON’S THE SHADOW FACTORY – THE INAUGARUAL PRODUCTION IN NST CITY – ANITA DOBSON AND SHALA NYX JOIN THE COMPANY

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR THE

WORLD PREMIÈRE OF HOWARD BRENTON’S

THE SHADOW FACTORY

– THE INAUGARUAL PRODUCTION IN NST CITY

 

ANITA DOBSON AND SHALA NYX JOIN THE PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED DAVID BIRRELL, CATHERINE CUSACK, LORNA FITZGERALD, HILTON MCRAE AND DANIEL YORK

Nuffield Southampton Theatres present

The world première of

The Shadow Factory

By Howard Brenton

 

7 February – 3 March 2018

Press Night: 15 February 2018

Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Samuel Hodges, today announces the full cast for the company’s inaugural production at NST City – the world première of Howard Brenton’s The Shadow Factory, which Hodges directs. Veteran of stage and screen Anita Dobson joins the cast as Lady Cooper/Ma (Wicked, Apollo Victoria Theatre; The Merry Wives of Windsor, RSC; Frozen, National Theatre) along with Shala Nyx who plays Polly. Dobson, known for playing the iconic role of Angie Watts in EastEnders, and Nyx join David Birrell (Fred/Hugh), Catherine Cusack (Lil/Sylvia), Lorna Fitzgerald (Jackie Dimmock), Hilton McRae (Lord Beaverbrook) and Daniel York (Len Gooch) to complete the company. The Shadow Factory opens on 15 February, with previews from 7 February, and runs until 3 March.

This world première will open Southampton’s brand-new theatre, NST City, conceived by NST’s director Samuel Hodges and 59 Productions – the Tony Award-winning artists behind the video design of the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Alongside the production, the company will mount The Shadow Factory Exhibition, giving audiences the opportunity to step into the stories behind The Shadow Factory in an installation featuring the visually stunning moving set designed by 59 Productions.

NST City is part of Studio 144, Southampton’s new £30m city centre arts venue situated in the heart of the city centre. This new venue will include a flexible 450 seat main house theatre, a 133 seat studio, screening facilities, rehearsal and workshop spaces, and bar and restaurant managed by Southampton ‘s 2017 Business of the Year winner, Mettricks. NST City will transform NST’s ability to show high quality professional work from local, national and international artists and allow the programme to include dance, film and music.

The Shadow Factory tells the story of Southampton’s courage in 1940 during The Battle of Britain. Southampton is home to the country’s only hope of victory: the Spitfire. But when the Luftwaffe drops 2,300 bombs in three devastating raids, the city goes up in flames and the Woolston Supermarine Spitfire factory is destroyed. From the ashes, a story of chaos, courage and community spirit emerges.

Howard Brenton has written over 50 plays. His most recent credits include Miss Julie (The Theatre By The Lake & The Jermyn Street Theatre), Paul (National Theatre), In Extremis (Shakespeare’s Globe and tour retitled Eternal Love), Never So Good (National Theatre), Anne Boleyn (Shakespeare’s Globe, plus revival and tour, winner of the WhatsOnStage Best Play Award and UK Theatre Awards Best Touring Production), 55 Days (Hampstead Theatre), #aiww: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei (Hampstead Theatre), The Guffin (one act play, NT Connections), Drawing The Line (Hampstead Theatre), Doctor Scroggy’s War (Shakespeare’s Globe), Ransomed (one act play, Salisbury Playhouse), Lawrence After Arabia (Hampstead Theatre) and The Blinding Light (Jermyn Street Theatre). Versions of classics include The Life of Galileo and Danton’s Death (National Theatre) and Goethe’s Faust (RSC). Other adaptations include The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (Liverpool Everyman and Chichester Festival Theatre) and Dances of Death (Gate Theatre). For television, he wrote 13 episodes of the first four series of the BBC Television Drama Spooks (winner of the BAFTA Best Television Drama Series 2003).

David Birrell plays Fred/Hugh. His theatre credits include The Wind in the Willows (UK tour), The Death of King Arthur (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse)Peter Pan, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ragtime (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre)The Last Days of Troy (Royal Exchange/Shakespeare’s Globe), Passion, Grand Hotel(Donmar Warehouse)Spamalot (Palace Theatre)Oh! What A Lovely War (National Theatre), The Gates of Paradise, The Jewess of Toledo, The Venetian Twins, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Moby Dick, The Tempest, Murder in the Cathedral, Hamlet, Columbus, Romeo and Juliet (RSC); and for televisionHoly Flying Circus, Buried andAngels.

 

Catherine Cusack plays Lil/Sylvia. For theatre her credits include A Parting from the BodyFragileFactory Girls (Arcola Theatre), The Seagull (UK tour), All That Fall (Jermyn Street Theatre and New York), Bingo (Chichester Festival Theatre and Young Vic), The Two Character Play (Jermyn Street Theatre/USA), What Fatima Did (Hampstead Theatre), Our Lady of Sligo (National Theatre), Measure for Measure (ETT), Prayers of Sherkin (The Old Vic), Mrs Warren’s Profession (Lyric Hammersmith) and Phaedra’s Love (Gate Theatre). For television her credits include The Last Days of Anne BoleynJonathan CreekBallykissangel and Cadfael; and for film, Finding NeverlandConspiracy of SilenceBoxed and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne.

 

Anita Dobson plays Lady Cooper/Ma. Her extensive theatre credits include The Merry Wives of Windsor (RSC), Budgie (Cambridge Theatre), The Three Sisters (Royal Court Theatre), Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (National Theatre), Kvetch (Garrick Theatre), Lovely Shayna Maidel (Ambassador’s Theatre), Charley’s Aunt (Aldwych Theatre), The Vagina Monologues (Arts Theatre/UK tour), Frozen(National Theatre / Olivier Award nomination), Chicago (Adelphi Theatre), Thoroughly Modern Milly (Shaftesbury Theatre), Hello Dolly! (Theatre Royal Lincoln/ UK tour), Calendar Girls (Noël Coward Theatre), Bette and Joan (Arts Theatre) and Wicked (Apollo Theatre). For television her extensive work includes EastEnders (as series regular Angie Watts),  Leave Him To HeavenNannySplit EndsThe World Of Eddie WearyRed DwarfSmokescreenI’ll Be Watching YouDangerfieldThe Famous FiveHighlanderGet Well SoonJunkSunburnThe StretchHearts and BonesUrban GothicThe Last Detective, Gigglebiz, Hotel BabylonMoving OnPompidouArmadaCall The Midwife and The Rebel; and for film, Seaview KnightsBeyond BedlamThe Tichborne ClaimantThe Revengers’ ComediesDarkness FallsCharlie, SolitaryThe Rise Of The KraysThe Fall Of The KraysLondon Road and the upcoming The Fight.

Lorna Fitzgerald plays Jackie Dimmock. She is perhaps best known for her role as Abi Branning inEastEnders having played this role since 1996. Other credits for television include The Golden HourAccording to Bex and Cherished. This production marks her professional stage debut.

 

 

Hilton McRae plays Lord Beaverbrook. His many theatre credits include Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Ambassadors Theatre / Broadway), 1984 (Playhouse Theatre), End of the Rainbow (Trafalgar Studios – Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor), My One and Only (Piccadilly Theatre), Mamma Mia! (Prince Edward Theatre), Les Miserables (Palace Theatre) Miss Saigon (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), Rabbit (Trafalgar Studios), Piaf (Piccadilly Theatre), Uncle Vanya (Almeida Theatre) and Timon of Athens and Caroline or Change (National Theatre). For television, credits include Injustice, ZenRed Riding Trilogy – 1983The Execution of Gary GlitterFrances TuesdayMurder CityBaby FatherSerious & OrganisedDeacon BrodieKing of HeartsFirst TakeTo Each His OwnRoll Over BeethovenPoppyland and Forever Young. For film, credits include Darkest HourDenialThe Sense of an EndingMacbethFar from the Madding CrowdMansfield ParkReturn of the JediSecret RaptureGreystoke and The French Lieutenant’s Woman.

Shala Nyx plays Polly. Her credits for theatre include Cookies (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Every You, Every Me (Oxford Playhouse), Henry Vl parts one two and three (Wales Millenium Centre), Dogtag (Theatre West), Bollywood Jack (Tara Arts), Her (one woman show for Half Moon Theatre/Brolly Productions), Love for LoveThe Heresy of Love (Bristol Old Vic), Romeo and Juliet/As You Like It (GB Theatre). For television her credits include, Gregor MacGregor, Bottom Knocker Street; and for film, Knock Down GingerA Safe Space and Bare All.

 

Daniel York plays Len Gooch. His theatre credits include The Merchant of VeniceThe Country WifeMoby Dick, Snow in Midsummer, Dido Queen of Carthage (RSC), Welcome Home Captain Fox! (Donmar Warehouse), The World of Extreme Happiness (National Theatre), Une Tempete (Gate Theatre)Porcelain (Royal Court Theatre)The Changeling (Southwark Playhouse)Branded (The Old Vic) and Turandot (Hampstead Theatre). For television his credits include WhitechapelMoving OnWaking the DeadPeggy Su!Chambers, Supper at EmmausA Fish Named Tao; and for film, Scarborough, The Receptionist, Rogue Trader, The BeachFarawayAct of Grace and Doom.

Samuel Hodges is Director of The Shadow Factory and of Nuffield Southampton Theatres (NST). His productions for NST includes Dedication – Shakespeare and Southampton, and The Glass Menagerie. Previously he founded the HighTide Festival Theatre in 2007 and was the Artistic Director for five years, during which time he produced over 25 new plays, co-producing with the National Theatre, The Old Vic and the Bush Theatre, amongst others. Between 2012 and 2014, he ran the Criterion Theatre in London’s West End, for whom he curated a late-night programme and a one-off summer season of new work to celebrate the London Olympics.

 

59 Productions is the multi award-winning company of artists behind the video design of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games and War Horse, the design and creative direction of the record-breaking David Bowie is exhibition, and video design of Christopher Wheeldon’s celebrated stage adaptation of An American in Paris (Tony Award in 2015). Led by directors Leo Warner, Mark Grimmer, Lysander Ashton and Richard Slaney, 59 Productions are world-leading specialists in design for stage and live events. They are the go-to team for generating creative and technical ideas to realise ambitious artistic projects across a range of disciplines: from architectural projection mapping to exhibition design, VR experiences to events, theatrical design to technical consultancy. In 2017, 59 Productions began producing its own theatrical work, opening its first full scale production, Paul Auster’s City of Glass (HOME, Manchester, Lyric, Hammersmith).  Current and upcoming projects also include, Oslo (Lincoln Center, National Theatre and currently Harold Pinter Theatre), The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Santa Fe Opera), Marnie (The Met Opera & ENO), Reflections (a four-day projection-mapping event to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao) and A Perfect Harmony(specially-commissioned as the centrepiece of the weekend-long celebrations for the re-opening of Washington’s Freer|Sackler museums in October 2017).

#ShadowFactory

@NSTheatres

www.nstheatres.co.uk

 

The Shadow Factory Listings

Studio 144, Above Bar, Southampton SO14 7DU

 

Box Office: 023 8067 1771 / ww.nstheatres.co.uk

Monday – Friday: 10am – 6pm

Saturday: 10am – 4pm

THE SHADOW FACTORY EXHIBITION 

16 Feb -2 Mar 11am -4pm (excluding matinee performance days and Sundays)

Step into the stories behind The Shadow Factory in this installation featuring the visually stunning moving set designed by 59 Productions, the Tony Award-winning design team behind the London 2012 Opening Ceremony. FREE

SEASON AT A GLANCE

The Shadow Factory

NST City

7 February – 3 March

Press night: 15 February

 

 

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

NST City

23 – 31 March & 5 – 16 June

Press night: 28 March

On tour:

Theatre By the Lake, Keswick

3 – 7 April

Malvern Theatre

10 – 14 April

Bristol Old Vic

17 – 21 April

New Wolsley Theatre, Ipswich

24 – 28 April

Cambridge Arts Theatre

1 – 5 May

Oxford Playhouse

8 – 12 May

Theatr Clwyd, Mold

15 May – 2 June

NST City

5 – 16 June

 

 

SS MENDI, DANCING THE DEATH DRILL

NST City

29 June – 14 July

Press night: 4 July

  

WOMEN IN POWER

NST City

8 – 29 September

Press night: 13 September

 

DON CARLOS

NST City

23 October – 3 November

 

Exeter Northcott

11 – 20 October

Press night: 15 October

Rose Theatre Kingston

6 – 17 November

BILLIONAIRE BOY

NST Campus

19 November – 6 January 2019

Press night: 28 November

Workshop:

SON OF RAMBOW THE MUSICAL

Workshop at The Other Palace, London

22 May – 2 June

Monster | VAULT Festival | 24th – 28th January

Worklight Theatre presents
Monster
VAULT Festival, The Vaults, Leake Street, London SE1 7NN
Wednesday 24th – Sunday 28th January 2018
Press Night: Wednesday 24th January, 7:15pm

This is a story about a girl. And a boy. Some of it’s true. And some if it isn’t. And I’m not going to tell you which.

Following a highly successful run at Edinburgh Fringe 2017, Joe Sellman-Leava’s one man show Monster, a dark but humorous exploration of gender and masculinity, will be coming to London this January as part of VAULT Festival. With intimate storytelling at its heart, Monster looks at a young man’s struggle to make sense of love and anger.

With its examination of male attitudes towards women, and male role models celebrated in society, the play has gained new relevance since its Edinburgh debut in the wake of recent sexual assault allegations against a string of celebrities. Monster importantly sheds light on our perceptions of gender, violence and aggression

Experimenting with form, Joe Sellman-Leava’s performance includes a play within a play, and a narrative split across multiple characters and timelines converging at the play’s climax. Playing with the very premise of presentation and performance, the play features the words and personas of known figures including Mike Tyson and Patrick Stewart.

Brimming with earnest, intelligent energy and jumping between threads seamlessly, deftly reconstructing scenes, arguments and interviews with nothing but a pair of red steel chairs for a set (★★★★ The Stage).

Sellman-Leava has previously had phenomenal success with Labels, which has been touring nationally and internationally since 2015 and won a Scotsman Fringe First. Monster was critically acclaimed during its Edinburgh Festival Fringe premiere in 2017, and is touring the UK in Spring 2018.

MONGREL THUMB ANNOUNCE FULL CAST FOR THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF STEPHANIE JACOB’S AGAIN AT TRAFALGAR STUDIOS

MONGREL THUMB ANNOUNCE FULL CAST FOR THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF STEPHANIE JACOB’S AGAIN AT TRAFALGAR STUDIOS

 

Mongrel Thumb present

The world première of

AGAIN

By Stephanie Jacob

Directed by Hannah Price; Design by Anthony Lamble; Sound Design by Seb Frost

Lighting Design by Sally Ferguson

 

Trafalgar Studio 2

6 February – 3 March 2018

Press performance: Friday 9 February, 7pm

 

Mongrel Thumb today announce the cast for the world première of Stephanie Jacob’s new comic drama, AgainHannah Price directs Rosie Day (Izzy), Chris Larkin (Tom), Natasha Little (Louise) and Charles Reston(Adam). The production opens at Trafalgar Studios on 9 February, with previews from 6 February, and runs until 3 March.

A once close-knit family of four reunite after a long period of estrangement. This time, this time, it must go right.

Words never said. Words said that shouldn’t be. Contradicting memories. Family history builds like sedimentary rock, layer upon layer.

In this warm and touchingly comic new drama, Stephanie Jacob peels away the facades and literally re-sets the clock. As the four characters tussle for what they think they want, we are allowed to peer into the recesses of that unknowable unit which so shapes each of our lives: the family.

Moving, funny, infinitely relatable, Again is a brand new play with an ingenious theatrical twist.

Link to images – https://we.tl/2Wxz0mFOs1

Stephanie Jacob is a playwright and actor. She was previously a Writer-on-Attachment at the National Theatre. Her plays include The Quick (Tristan Bates Theatre) and A Night Visitor (BBC Radio 4) – for which she won the Writers’ Guild Best Radio Drama Award. Her forthcoming play The Strongbox will be premièring at VAULT 18 in 2018.  As an actor her credits include Burnt by the SunHer Naked SkinThe PhilistinesMajor Barbara, (National Theatre), Cyrano de Bergerac, The Winter’s Tale (RSC) and Sweeney Todd (The Watermill Theatre, Trafalgar Studios, Ambassadors Theatre).

Rosie Day plays Izzy. Her theatre credits include Spur of the Moment (Royal Court Theatre). Her television credits include Living the DreamPrime Suspect 1973OutlanderCuffs, and Homefront and last year she was named a BAFTA Rising Star by InStyle. Her film credits include Butterfly KissesAll Roads Lead to RomeSeasoning HouseIronclad 2 and Sixteen. She is also set to appear in the forthcoming film Down a Dark Hall as well as television series Watership Down and Good Omens.

Chris Larkin plays Tom. His theatre credits include Stevie (Chichester Festival Theatre, Hampstead Theatre), Noises Off (Old Vic), Yes, Prime Minister (Apollo Theatre), The Whisky Taster (Bush Theatre), The Lady from Debuque (Haymarket Theatre), His Dark Materials (National Theatre), When We Are Married (Chichester Festival Theatre, Savoy Theatre) and A Taste of Honey (Theatre Clwyd). Television credits include Black SailsYes, Prime MinisterShackleton and Roger Roger; and for film, ValkyrieHeroes & VilliansMaster and Commander: The Far Side of the WorldTea with MussoliniJane Eyre and Angels & Insects.

 

Natasha Little plays Louise. Her theatre credits include Longing (Hampstead Theatre), Voyage Round My Father (Donmar Warehouse), The Vagina Monologues (Arts Theatre), The Novice (Almeida Theatre) and The Alchemist (Birmingham Rep). Television credits include The Night ManagerThirteenDCI BanksWolf HallBreathlessCase HistoriesMistressesVanity Fair and This Life; and for film, UnaWelcome to the PunchThe Boys are BackMr Nobody and Another Life.

Charles Reston plays Adam. His theatre credits include Escape the Scaffold (Theatre503, The Other Room), The Dead Monkey (Park Theatre), Anjin: The Shogun and The English Samurai (Sadler’s Wells, Tokyo Aoyama Theatre). Television credits include Jesus DecodedChannel 4 Comedy Lab and Consenting Adults. Film credits include Burn Burn BurnCaptain Webb and The White Countess.

 

Hannah Price directs. She is Co-Artistic Director and Founder of Theatre Uncut, the winner of two Fringe First awards, a Heralds Angel award and the Spirit of the Fringe Award. She was Resident Assistant Director at the Donmar Warehouse in 2012-2013. Her credits include Permanence (Tarragon Theatre, Toronto), Escape the Scaffold (Theatre503, The Other Room), Run the Beast Down (Marlowe Theatre,Finborough Theatre), Rainbow Class (Bush Theatre, Assembly Rooms), TEST (Scala Theatre, Basel),  The Dead Monkey (Park Theatre), Boa (Trafalgar Studios), Cello/Fragile (Yard Theatre), Call to Prayer (Southwark Playhouse), Bud Take the Wheel, I Feel a Song Coming On (Shaw Theatre and Edinburgh Festival), That Moment (King‘s Head Theatre, UK tour), In a Very Real Sense (Soho Theatre), Portmanteau (Arcola Theatre, The Bike Shed Theatre) and Loving Ophelia (Pleasance London). For Theatre Uncut her credits include Refugee (Teater Grob, Copenhagen), In Opposition (Paines Plough Roundabout), Knowledge is Power: Knowledge is Change (Traverse Theatre, UK tour), Referendum Plays (Traverse Theatre), TU Istanbul: Power and Protest (Dot Tiyatro, Istanbul International Theatre Festival, Traverse Theatre), TU 2013: The Rise of the Right (Young Vic) and The Cuts Plays (Southwark Playhouse, Soho Theatre, Latitude Festival, Traverse Theatre).

 

ABOUT MONGREL THUMB

Founded by Charles Reston and Gillian Reston in 2014, Mongrel Thumb is a London based professional theatre company formed out of a love for all things unpredictable, for bringing together seemingly disparate elements to create something challenging, exciting and unique; a one-off. By placing equal importance on emerging artists as established, we aim to mount cutting edge, contemporary productions which will challenge and inspire audiences whilst providing exciting opportunities for the best in up and coming talent.

The company’s first production was the UK première of Eldorado by Marius Von Mayenburg at Arcola Theatre. This was followed by the world première of Weird Weather by Matt Cunningham at the VAULT Festival in March 2015. In June 2015 Mongrel Thumb staged the critically acclaimed London revival of Nick Darke’s bleakly comic masterpiece The Dead Monkey at Park Theatre.

In March 2017 Mongrel Thumb launched their most ambitious venture to date, the world première of Titas Halder’s Escape the Scaffold, a co-production with Theatre503 and The Other Room.

Website: www.mongrelthumb.com

Twitter: @MongrelThumb

Facebook: /mongrelthumb

 

Again Listings

Trafalgar Studios

14 Whitehall, Westminster, London SW1A 2DY

Trafalgar Studio 2

6 February – 3 March 2018

Press performance: Friday 9 February, 7pm

Performance times

Evenings: 7:45pm

Matinees: 3pm, Thursdays and Saturdays

Box Office: 0844 871 7632* / http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/trafalgar-studios/

 

*Calls cost up to 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge.

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF CHICKEN SOUP. AND REGIONAL PREMIÈRE OF PETER MORGAN’S FROST/NIXON AT SHEFFIELD THEATRES

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR

THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF CHICKEN SOUP. AND

REGIONAL PREMIÈRE OF PETER MORGAN’S FROST/NIXON AT SHEFFIELD THEATRES

 

Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres Robert Hastie today announces full casting for the world première of Chicken Soup. by Ray Castleton and Kieran Knowles – the latter of whom returns to Sheffield Theatres after the success of Operation Crucible; and the regional première of Peter Morgan’s smash hit play Frost/Nixon.

Judy Flynn (Josephine), Jo Hartley (Helen), Remmie Milner (Katie), Samantha Power (Christine) and Simone Saunders (Jennifer) make up the company for Bryony Shanahan’s world première production of Chicken Soup. and Simon Bubb (John Birt), Ben Dilloway (Jack Brennan), Steven Elder (Bob Zelnick), Vidal Sancho (Manolo), Celina Sinden (Caroline Cushing), Kate Spencer (Evonne Goolagong), Dan Starkey (Swifty Lazar) and David Sturzaker (Jim Reston) join the previously announced Jonathan Hyde (Richard Nixon) and Daniel Rigby (David Frost) for Kate Hewitt’s regional première production of Peter Morgan’s Frost/Nixon.

 

STUDIO

A Sheffield Theatres Production

World Première

CHICKEN SOUP.

By Ray Castleton and Kieran Knowles

8 February – 3 March

Press night: 14 February at 7.45pm

Director: Bryony Shanahan; Designer: Sophia Simensky; Lighting Designer: Prema Mehta

Sound Designer & composer: Alexandra Faye Braithwaite; Casting Director: Christopher Worrall

‘Well, no point moping round is there?’

1984. Five days after Orgreave.

Three women keep a struggling mining community standing, running a soup kitchen near the pit heads of Rotherham.

2016. The day of the Brexit vote.

The breadline is no further away and the soup kitchen is now a food bank, as the country faces a huge decision.

A witty, poignant new play from local writers Ray Castleton and Kieran Knowles (Operation Crucible), Chicken Soup celebrates the friendships that survive the hardest of times.

Sheffield Theatres will partner with local foodbanks to collect items for distribution during the run of Chicken Soup.

Judy Flynn returns to Sheffield Theatres where she previously appeared in Roger Haines production of When We Are Married (Crucible Theatre). Her other theatre credits include East is East (Northern Stage and Nottingham Playhouse), Emil and the Detectives (National Theatre), A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (Library Theatre Manchester) and Shang-a-lang (Chichester Festival Theatre). Her television credits include The Brittas Empire, No Angels, The House of Eliott and First of the Summer Wine.

Jo Hartley makes her stage debut in Chicken Soup. Her television credits include Bliss, Vera, Not Safe for Work, This is England ’90, Cut, Mimic, Law & Order, Little Bastards, Coming Up, This is England ’88, The Jury, Stolen and This is England ’86. Her film credits include Slaughterhouse Rulez, David Brent: Life on the Road, Access All Areas, Eddie the Eagle, Prevenge, Ill Manors, Speak No Evil, Inbred, Laid Off, Crying With Laughter, Soul Boy, The Young Victoria, This is England and Dead Man’s Shoes.

 

Remmie Milner’s recent theatre credits include Terror (Lyric Hammersmith and Brisbane Arts Festival), The Winter’s Tale, To Kill A MockingbirdChip Shop The Musical (Octagon Theatre), Plastic Figurines (Box of Tricks national tour), The Pier (Oxford Playhouse), Melody Loses Her Mojo (Liverpool Playhouse). Her recent television credits include Electric DreamsSave Me and Trollied.

Samantha Power’s theatre credits include Beryl, Me As a Penguin, Coming Around Again, Accrington Pals (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Zack (Manchester Royal Exchange), Little Britain Live (UK and Australian tours) and Flint Street Nativity (Liverpool Playhouse). Her television credits include Ackley Bridge, Shameless, The Mimic, Wolfblood, Ordinary Lies, Little Britain, Come Fly With Me, A Prince Among Men and Coronation Street. Her film credits include Mischief Night and The Lowdown.

Simone Saunders’s theatre credits include Darkness Darkness (Nottingham Playhouse), Jane Eyre (Bristol Old Vic and National Theatre), American Trade, Morte D’Arthur, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Grain Store, The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar (Royal Shakespeare Company), Carnival (Talawa Theatre Company) and The Red Ladies (National Theatre). Her television credits include The Royals.

Kieran Knowles was nominated for Most Promising New Playwright for his first play, Operation Crucible. He is a graduate of Loughborough University, LAMDA and the Royal Court Young Writer’s Programme. As an actor his work includes Toast (UK tour and New York), Operation Crucible (Finborough Theatre and UK tour), The Bear, The Owl and The Angel (New Wimbledon Studio), The Winter’s Tale, The Taming of the Shrew (Royal Shakespeare Company), The Witches’ Promise(Birmingham Rep), Waiting For Lefty (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Darkness (Lakeside Theatre, Colchester and Edinburgh) and The Exclusion Zone (Southwark Playhouse).

Director Bryony Shanahan is Co-Artistic Director of Snuff Box Theatre. She returns to Sheffield Theatres where she previously directed Operation Crucible. Her other directing credits include Boys Will Be Boys (National Theatre), Bitch Boxer (Soho Theatre, UK tour and Adelaide Fringe Festival), Quiet Violence (Camden Roundhouse), Macbeth (East 15 Acting School), Chapel Street (national tour), You and Me (Greenwich Theatre and national tour), The Altitude Brothers (national tour), Doctor Faustus (St Mary Magdelene Church, Paddington) and Babies (Southwark Playhouse). In 2014, she won a BBC Performing Arts Award to work at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, where she assisted on Sarah Frankcom’s Hamlet with Maxine Peake, as well as developing new Snuff Box piece Weald. She returned to the Royal Exchange Theatre in 2015 as Associate Director on The Skriker as part of the Manchester International Theatre Festival.

Shanahan was also awarded the 2016 Young Vic Genesis Future Directors Award.

 

CRUCIBLE

A Sheffield Theatres Production

Regional Première

FROST/NIXON

By Peter Morgan

21 February – 17 March

Press night: 26 February at 7pm

Director: Kate Hewitt; Designer: Ben Stones; Lighting Designer: Charles Balfour

Composer and Sound Designer: George Dennis; Video Designer: Andrzej Goulding

Movement Director: Lizzi Gee; Casting Directors: Juliet Horsley CDG and Sam Stevenson CDG

‘To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. I have never been a quitter.’

In 1974 Richard Nixon became the only US President in history to resign from office, immersed in one of the biggest scandals in American political history: Watergate.

For David Frost, international socialite and well-known chat show host, an access all areas interview with a fallen President is the career-defining opportunity of a lifetime.

Nixon seeks absolution, Frost is pushing for confession. Both want to control the story, only one can emerge the victor.

A captivating dramatization of the post-Watergate TV interviews, Kate Hewitt directs this landmark play in the first British production since its award-winning 2006 debut. The play was later adapted into a major feature film.

 

Simon Bubb’s recent theatre credits include Burning Bridges (Theatre503), Far From the Madding Crowd (Watermill Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe), People (National Theatre and UK tour) and Noises Off (UK tour); and his recent television credits include Born to Kill.

Ben Dilloway’s recent theatre credits include Pride and Prejudice (Regent’s Park Theatre), The Iliad (Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh), Chicken (Paines Plough and HighTide), Of Mice and Men (Birmingham Rep), The Silver Tassie (National Theatre) and If You Don’t Let Us Dream, We Won’t Let You Sleep (Royal Court Theatre); and his recent television credits include New Blood.

Steven Elder’s recent theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare’s Globe), 1984 (Headlong), Yours for the Asking, Mottled Lines (Orange Tree), Sour Lips (Oval House Theatre) and All My Sons (Apollo Theatre). His recent television credits include Apple Tree Yard, Endeavour and Our Girl.

 

Jonathan Hyde returns to Sheffield Theatres where he previously appeared in the title role of Robert Hastie’s inaugural production as Artistic Director, Julius Caesar (Crucible Theatre).  His theatre credits include Travels With My Aunt (Menier Chocolate Factory), The King’s Speech (UK tour and Wyndham’s), Rattigan’s Nijinsky (Chichester Festival Theatre), King LearThe Seagull(international tour), JumpersSleep With Me (National Theatre), Antigone (The Old Vic), The Rehearsal, Scenes from an Execution (Almeida Theatre), Julius CaesarThe Alchemist, ‘Tis Pity She’s A WhoreLes Liaisons Dangereuses (Royal Shakespeare Company) and Macbeth (Lyceum Theatre). His recent television work includes The StrainTrollhuntersTokyo TrialIsaan Newton: The Last MagicianSpooks; and for film, BreatheTheaCrimson PeakThe Mummy and Titanic.

Daniel Rigby’s recent theatre credits include Twelfth Night (National Theatre), Breaking the Code(Manchester Royal Exchange), Holes (Arcola Theatre and Edinburgh Festival), One Man, Two Guvnors (National Theatre and Broadway) and Ninagawa’s Hamlet (Barbican). His television work includes Plebs, Gap Year, Sick Note, Flowers, Jericho, Big School Cardinal Burns, Eric and Ernie(BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor) and The Street; and for film, Flyboys.

 

Vidal Sancho’s recent theatre credits include The American Wife (Park Theatre), La Traviata (Royal Opera House), Litus (Cervantes Theatre) and Vitellini (Old Red Lion).

Celina Sinden makes her professional stage debut in Frost/Nixon. Her recent television credits include Reign.

Kate Spencer returns to Sheffield Theatres following her performances in A Long Morning Quiet and Rift (Crucible Theatre). Her recent theatre credits include Alice in Wonderland (Octagon Theatre), Rapid Response (Derby Theatre), The Hunting of the Snark (Sherman Theatre and Hong Kong’s Academy of Performing Arts), The Macbeth Curse (Prime Theatre and The Octagon Theatre) and Abstains (20:20Vision).

Dan Starkey’s recent theatre credits include The 39 StepsThe Fitzrovia Radio Hour (UK tours) and Muswell Hill (Orange Tree Theatre). For television his credits include Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Wizards vs Aliens, Inside No. 9 and Class Dismissed.

 

David Sturzaker’s recent theatre credits include Nell Gywnn (Apollo Theatre), Richard II, The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare’s Globe), Eternal Love, Anne Boleyn (Shakespeare’s Globe and English Touring Theatre), The White Devil (Royal Shakespeare Company) and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Chichester Festival Theatre and Duchess Theatre) and his television credits include Doctors.

Peter Morgan’s other work for theatre includes The Audience. His television work includes The Crown, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, The Jury, The Special Relationship, Longford, Colditz, Henry VIII and The Deal; and for film, Rush, 360, Hereafter, State of Play, The Damned United, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Last King of Scotland and The Queen.

Kate Hewitt directs. She was the inaugural recipient of RTST Director Award Scheme and her production of Tribes opened last year at Sheffield Theatres. Her other theatre work includes Kiki’s Delivery Service, Tomcat (Southwark Playhouse), Romeo and Juliet (NYT at Ambassador’s Theatre), Portrait (Edinburgh Festival, UK Tour and Bush Theatre’s RADAR Festival), and in 2014 she won the JMK Director’s Award for her production Far Away (Young Vic). As associate director, her work includes Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Medea (Headlong and UK tour), Electra (Gate Theatre and Latitude Festival 2011), and One Love: The Bob Marley Musical(Birmingham Rep).

Twitter: @crucibletheatre @SheffieldLyceum

Sheffield Theatres Listings

Crucible Lyceum Studio 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA                              

Box Office 0114 249 6000 – Mon – Sat 10.00am to 8.00pm

On non-performance days the Box Office closes at 6.00pm.

www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

 

Sheffield Theatres:

CHICKEN SOUP.

8 February – 3 March

Press night: 14 February

 

FROST/NIXON

21 February – 17 March

Press night: 26 February

 

THE YORK REALIST

27 March – 7 April

Press night: 28 March

OUR COUNTRY’S GOOD

Sat 12 – Sat 19 May

 

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST

7 June – 23 June

Press night: 12 June

 

LOVE AND INFORMATION

By Caryl Churchill

28 June – 14 July

Press night: 2 July

 

SONGS FROM THE SEVEN HILLS

18 July – 21 July

Press night: 18 July

 

West End:

EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE

Apollo Theatre

6 November 2017 – 21 April 2018

DarlingtonOS – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

A NEW PRODUCTION OF CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG COMES TO DARLINGTON HIPPODROME FROM 24 OCTOBER TO 3 NOVEMBER, 2018

TICKETS ON SALE SOON

A local community theatre company are to present a new production of one of the world’s favourite musicals, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Darlington Operatic Society (DarlingtonOS) is to present the show at Darlington Hippodrome from Wed 24 October to Saturday 3 November 2018 to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of the film version of the classic musical.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has music and lyrics by Richard M Sherman and Robert B Sherman, who were also responsible for Mary Poppins, The Slipper and the Rose, The Aristocats and The Jungle Book. The Sherman Brothers have won two Academy Awards with a further nine nominations, two Grammy Awards and they have received 21 gold and platinum albums.

This new production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will be directed by Joanne Hand who will also create the choreography, with musical direction by Steven Hood.

Joanne said, “Directing such an iconic show is a great opportunity, a thrilling challenge for any director. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a brilliant adventure story, filled with classic songs and scenes that hold so many memories for so many people. I cannot wait to bring the show to Darlington audiences.”

The new production will have sensational sets and stunning special effects and, of course, the memorable score by the Sherman Brothers, which includes such standards as Truly Scrumptious, Toot Sweets, Hushabye Mountain, Me Old Bamboo and the Oscar-nominated title song Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Julian Cound, Chairman of DarlingtonOS said “We are honoured to be bringing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to Darlington Hippodrome and into the lives of thousands of theatregoers. We are one of a select number of theatre companies across the UK to be offered this rare opportunity. Our production will enthral lovers of the iconic and beloved film and introduce Chitty to new audiences yet to discover her in the metal so to speak. This is going to be a truly scrumptious production and once again we are delighted to present another theatre first here in Darlington.”

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang runs at Darlington Hippodrome from Wednesday 24 October to Saturday 3 November, 2018.

Tickets for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will go on sale soon but tickets for the companies current show – Priscilla Queen of the Desert, which runs at Darlington Hippodrome from April 18 to 28 are on sale now, visit www.darlingtonos.org.uk or call the ticket hotline 01325 244659.