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REVIEW: Kinky Boots (Sunderland Empire) ★★★★★

June 26, 2019 

For: West End Wilma 

https://www.westendwilma.com/review-kinky-boots-sunderland-empire/

Shoes really are ‘the most beautiful thing in the world’ as Kinky Boots sashays in to Sunderland as part of the UK tour

The true story of W. J. Brookes, who was featured in a BBC documentary, inspired the film Kinky Boots which inspired this fabulous musical. With a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper – American theatre royalty have sent this story of this small Northampton firm world wide.

After the sad death of his father, Charlie Price (Joel Harper-Jackson) inherits Price and Son, the family shoe making business in Northampton. Charlie had left home to live in London with fiancee Nicola (Helen Ternent) and returns to the factory with the idea of closing it down and giving the loyal staff notice after dwindling sales. Factory worker Lauren (Paula Lane) points out that other shoe factories have diversified to keep sales and tells Charlie he needs to find his niche market, which he finds accidentally in the form of Lola (Kayi Ushe) a stunningly glamorous 6 foot Drag Queen. Charlie decides the factory needs to make heels that will take the weight of men and will show the new product in Milan.

Lauper’s score will take you on a roller coaster of emotions. From everyone belly laughing at The History of Wrong Guys performed with perfect comic timing by Lauren, to the breathtaking Hold me in Your Heart by Lola which had audience members living every word and the stunning Not My Father’s Son dueted Lola and Charlie.

Joel Harper-Jackson was superb. His vocal ability was astonishing and he such empathy and really captured the audience and held us throughout the show. However, the standout performance of this show, was Kayi Ushe as the incomparable Lola, who served fabulous sass, iconic movement and soul destroying vocals all packed into this one performance. Ushe managed to have the audience crying with laughter in one moment and weeping with emotion in the next.

The ensemble were, as always, astounding. Whether they were Lola’s backing dancers – The Angels (the very beautiful Connor Collins, John J Dempsey, Damon Gould, Joshua Lovell, Chileshe Mondelle and Toyan Thomas-Browne) or factory workers – Don (Demitri Lampra) who finds Lola a challenge to his masculinity, factory manager George (Adam Price) and Pat (Lizzie Bea),

Harry (Joshua St Clair), Trish (Niki Evans) and the other members of the ensemble, completely lifted the show, each having the most incredibly believable stories and influences backing up their individual characters. It never fails to amaze me just how high those dancers can get their legs (and just how sparkly Gregg Barnes costumes are). They really were the ultimate ensemble – providing great entertainment and talent on their own, whilst supporting the rest of the show. The cast were doing some publicity shots as I arrived at the theatre and I ended up stood at the side of Toyan Thomas-Browne whose gorgeous shapely legs finished at the height of my shoulders. It can make you feel quite dowdy when you stand next to such a stunningly beautiful performer.

Kinky Boots is a beautiful story of acceptance, acceptance of others but also of yourself. The ending will have you on your feet and sends you home with a spring in your step and joy in your heart.

SINGER & SCREEN ICON
ANITA HARRIS IS FRAULEIN SCHNEIDER

BILL KENWRIGHT PRESENTS
CABARET

THE AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTION OF
KANDER & EBB’S AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL
DIRECTED BY RUFUS NORRIS

JOINING THE PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED JOHN PARTRIDGE AS EMCEE & KARA LILY HAYWORTH AS SALLY BOWLES

*****

‘THE MOST STUNNINGLY FRESH

& IMAGINATIVE REVIVAL OF A CLASSIC

MUSICAL THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN’

The Independent

****

‘A SHOW STOPPER’

Daily Mail

****

‘STUNNING’

Sunday Express

****

‘OVERWHELMING’

Evening Standard

Singer and screen icon Anita Harris joins the cast of Cabaret in the role of Fraulein Schneider, for the upcoming 2019 UK tour of this multi award-winning production of Kander and Ebb’s ground-breaking musical.

Anita first rose to fame as a singer in the 1960s, beginning a lifelong career as a performer and actress. She has appeared both on screen (Follow That Camel and Carry on Doctor) and on stage, most notably as Grizabella in the West End’s Cats.

 Anita joins the previously announced John Partridge as Emcee and Kara Lily Hayworth as Sally Bowles. Further casting to be announced in due course.

It’s 1931, Berlin is a haven of divine decadence and the legendary Sally Bowles is about to take stage at the infamous Kit Kat Klub…

The production is presented by Bill Kenwright, and opens at Bromley’s Churchill Theatre from 28 August. The tour will then continue onto Wolverhampton, Nottingham, Crawley, Chester, Dublin, Belfast, Leicester, Shrewsbury, Hull, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Malvern Peterborough, Sunderland, Oxford, Wimbledon, Manchester, Leeds, Canterbury, Sheffield, Cardiff and Stoke, with further dates and venues to be announced in due course.

Cabaret features show-stopping choreography, dazzling costumes and iconic songs, including ‘Money Makes the World Go Round’, ‘Maybe This Time’ and ‘Cabaret’. Directed by critically acclaimed Rufus Norris (Director of The National Theatre) and featuring the Olivier Award Winning Choreography by Javier De Frutos, the production has enjoyed two smash hit West End runs at The Lyric and The Savoy theatres.

DATES & VENUES

Bromley Churchill Theatre                                      churchilltheatre.co.uk

Wed 28 – Sat 31 August                                           020 3285 6000

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre                          grandtheatre.co.uk

Tues 03 – Sat 07 September                                    01902 429 212   

Nottingham Theatre Royal                                        trch.co.uk

Tues 10 – Sat 14 September                                 0115 989 5555

Crawley Hawth Theatre                                             parkwoodtheatres.co.uk

Tues 17 – Sat 21 September                                   01293 553 636           

Chester Storyhouse                                                   storyhouse.com

Tues 24 – Sat 28 September                                  01244 409 113

Dublin Bord Gais Energy Theatre                            bordgaisenergytheatre.ie

Tues 01 – Sat 05 October                                         +353 (1) 677 7999

Belfast Grand Opera House                                       goh.co.uk

Tues 08 – Sat 12 October                                         028 9024 1919

Leicester Curve                                                           curveonline.co.uk

Tues 15 – Sat 19 October                                         0116 242 3595

Shrewsbury Theatre Severn                               theatresevern.co.uk

Tuesday 22 – Sat 26 October                                   01743 281 281

Hull New Theatre                                                       hulltheatres.co.uk

Tues 29 October – Sat 02 November                      01482 300 306

Edinburgh Festival Theatre                                       capitaltheatres.com  

Tues 05 – Sat 09 November                               0131 529 6000

Aberdeen His Majesty’s Theatre                              aberdeenperformingarts.com

Tues 12 – Sat 16 November                                   0122 464 1122

Malvern Festival Theatre                                           malvern-theatres.co.uk

Tues 19 – Sat 23 November                                   01684 892 277

Peterborough New Theatre                                    newtheatre-peterborough.com

Tues 21 – Sat 25 January                                        

Sunderland Empire                                                     atgtickets.com/sunderland

Tues 28 January – Sat 1 February                          0844 871 3022

Oxford New Theatre                                                  atgtickets.com/oxford

Tues 04 – Sat 08 February                                       0844 871 3020

Wimbledon New Theatre                                      atgtickets.com/wimbledon

Tues 18 – Sat 22 February                                       0844 871 7647

Manchester Palace Theatre                                    atgtickets.com/Manchester

Tues 25 – Sat 29 February                                       0844 871  3019

Leeds Grand Theatre                                               leedsgrandtheatre.com

Tues 03 – Sat 07 March                                            0844 848 2700

Canterbury Marlowe Theatre                         marlowetheatre.com

Tues 10 – Sat 14 March                                            01227  787 787

Sheffield Lyceum                                                        sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

Tues 17 – Sat 21 March                                            0114 249 6000    

Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre                    wmc.org.uk

Tues 24 – Sat 28 March                                            029 2063 6464

Stoke Regent Theatre                                   atgtickets.com/stoke

Tues 31 March – Sat 04 April                                0800 912 6971

A ‘BRUTALLY HONEST’

EVENING WITH MEL B

THE LOUDEST, PROUDEST SPICE GIRL ANNOUNCES RETURNS HOME IN INTIMATE ‘IN CONVERSATION’ STYLE SHOW

LEEDS GRAND THEATRE AND OPERA HOUSE SUNDAY 25TH AUGUST

TICKETS ON GENERAL SALE WEDNESDAY 26^TH JUNE AT 10 AM

SUPPORTING WOMEN’S AID

Fresh from the success of the Spice Girls sell-out tour, her Sunday Times best selling autobiography, ‘Brutally Honest’ and her explosive Piers Morgan Life Stories interview the loudest, proudest Spice Girl has announced an exclusive, intimate ‘in conversation’ style show in her home town of Leeds.

Melanie will be appearing at the Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House on Sunday 25th August. Tickets for the show go on sale on Wednesday 26^th June at 10am via www.leedsgrandtheatre.com.

The Grand’s General Manager Ian Sime said, “We are thrilled to be hosting Mel at Leeds Grand Theatre & Opera House. Mel is no stranger to our venue having performed as a young girl on our stage with Leeds Amateur Operatic Society  – it’s truly incredible what she has gone on to achieve both with the Spice Girls and as an individual artist. A proud ‘Leeds lass’, it seems only fitting that Mel comes home to tell her story to those who know her best. It is going to be a fabulous evening, and I dare say one not to be missed.”

Fans will get a rare chance to get up close and personal with the star as she reveals the real truth behind the headlines, with an opportunity for the audience to ask questions. The live show will support Women’s Aid for whom she is a patron.   Mel will also be inviting survivors of domestic abuse from a local Leeds refuge along.

As one-fifth of the iconic Spice Girls and judge on X Factor and America’s Got Talent, Melanie Brown, aka Scary Spice, has been an international star since the age of 19. And yet there are sides of Mel that no one has ever seen or really known. 

The show will examine every aspect of Mel’s life, from where she began to where she is today.  Mel’s self-effacing, mercurial story-telling will shatter your illusions in every way possible. The show takes the Spice Girls sell out reunion as its starting point and will zigzag back and forth through an exceptional life story.   The show will also feature never-before-seen video content.

With deep personal insight, remarkable frankness and Melanie’s trademark Yorkshire humour, this event removes the mask of fame and reveals the mother, wife and daughter behind the Spice Girl everyone thinks they know. 

Melanie said: “ I’m so honoured to be sharing my story – good and bad – because I kept so many things secret for so long out of shame and I have learnt over these past few years that through talking, through sharing you learn and you make real bonds with people. This is a first for me. I want to make it very special, very real and very intimate. I know there will be tears but I am also hoping for few laughs too because that’s the woman I am – as you will discover.”

Melanie will be interviewed by co-author of her book and trusted friend, the celebrity journalist, Louise Gannon.

Louise commented, “Having spent years of my life talking to Melanie Brown I know there are so many sides to her that people don’t always see – there is Mel B the Spice girl, the gobby, Scary outrageous star but there is another Melanie, the real Melanie Brown and the real Melanie is one hell of a woman as everyone is about to find out. It’s exciting to be doing this very exclusive event in the company of those who mean the most to her – her family and those who know her best. I have no idea what to expect – that is always the deal with Melanie – but I can guarantee it will be an unforgettable night.”

As well as the enormous highs she has experienced in her life, Melanie will also touch on the dark times; talking openly and honestly about the struggles, pain and coercive control she experienced in her most recent marriage and how it culminated in an attempt to take her own life. The domestic abuse Melanie suffered has led her to become an ambassador for the charity, Women’s Aid.

Teresa Parker, Head of Communications at Women’s Aid, said, “Melanie bravely sharing her story helps other women, and we know what a difference it makes. Women are telling us they are seeking support after hearing her speak. We are so grateful to Melanie for helping to raise vital funds and awareness for Women’s Aid through these shows. She is a courageous and inspirational woman, and we are proud that she is our patron.”

Melanie will be joined, on stage, for part of the interview, by her mum, Andrea, sister Danielle and daughter, Phoenix who will add their own funny memories and anecdotes of life with Melanie.

They will also talk candidly with Louise and Melanie about their experiences of coping with and supporting a loved one who is in an abusive relationship, which resulted in a seven-year estrangement. Warm, relatable and of course, ’Brutally Honest’ this will be an evening not to be missed.

The show will be produced by Jet TV’s Yvonne Alexander, executive producer on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, NHS Heroes Awards and The Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards.

Yvonne commented, “We are thrilled to be working with Melanie on this. She is a brilliant storyteller with an awesome sense of humour and there are bound to be loads of laughs as well as some emotional moments. We are also delighted to have the brilliantly talented celebrity journalist, Louise Gannon, on board as interviewer”

Melanie’s relentless enthusiasm against all odds and refreshingly blunt compulsion towards honesty will make this shos the hottest tickets in town.

The game is afoot…

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE INVISIBLE THING AT RUDOLF STEINER THEATRE

Take Note Theatre presents

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE INVISIBLE THING

By Greg Freeman

at Rudolf Steiner Theatre

17 July – 18 August

Director: David Phipps-Davis

Take Note Theatre todayannouncesthe full cast for the brand-new production of Sherlock Holmes and The Invisible Thing to be staged at Rudolf Steiner Theatre – a stone’s throw from Holmes’ 221b Baker Street. David Phipps-Davis directs Stephen Chance (Sherlock Holmes), Doug Cooper (Inspector Peacock), Philip Mansfield (Dr Watson), Imogen Smith (Betty Rochester) and Vanessa-Faye Stanley (Lucy Grendle). Written by Greg Freeman, the production opens on 25 July, with previews from 17 July and runs until 18 August.

Holmes and Watson are called to investigate a murder seemingly committed by an invisible perpetrator. As they probe into the mysterious lakeside drowning, something startling emerges…

A perplexed Inspector Peacock summons Holmes and Watson to the home of Miss Lucy Grendle, the daughter of the late Alfred Grendle – a man with a shadowy past. Miss Lucy Grendle has a problem with vodka (and Sherlock Holmes). The last time their paths crossed, it did not end well. Tension is in the air, and it’s not just because an Invisible Thing is prowling the house.

The play was originally performed at the Tabard Theatre in 2016 and has been revised and restaged for the current run.

Greg Freeman’s credits include Kathmandu performed at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Pleasance Edinburgh, Dogstar, Montagu, Empty Vessels and the co – adaptation of Conan Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes book A Study in Scarlet for the stage. His credits also include the critically acclaimed Doig! The Musical, No Picnic and Beak Street. Credits for television include the adaptation of the American sitcom Who’s The Boss into ITV’s The Upper Hand.

Stephen Chance plays Sherlock Holmes. He has played Sherlock Holmes twice previously in The Hound of Baskerville and The Final Problem (Gasworth Hall). His previous theatre credits include Boeing Boeing (The English Theatre of Hamburg), Widower’s Houses (Sartorius Theatre) and Simpatico (Tabard Theatre). His television credits include Castles in the Sky. Film credits include Me Before You.

Doug Cooper playsInspector Peacock. His previous theatre credits include An Ideal Husband (Tabard Theatre), Venezia: The Story of Venice (Luigi Theatre) and Women Beware Women (Royal Court Theatre). Film credits include See You In Hell and Love Freely But Pay For Sex.

Philip Mansfield plays Dr Watson. His previous theatre credits include See How They Run (York Theatre Royal), The Merchant of Venice, Pericles (Rose Theatre Kingston), The Scandalous Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (Tabard Theatre), Twelfth Night (New Wimbledon Theatre), The Comedy of Errors (Gray’s Inn Hall), Saint Joan (Shaw Theatre), The Way of The World (Barons Court Theatre), Pride and Prejudice and A Tale of Two Cities (UK tour).

Imogen Smith plays Betty Rochester. Her previous theatre credits include Reformation (White Bear Theatre), Love and Friendship (Omnibus Theatre), Sunday Readings in the Park (Park Theatre), Broadbent (Bristol Old Vic), To Kill A Mockingbird (York Theatre Royal / UK tour), Palace of the End (Arcola Theatre), The Time of the Tortoise (Theatre503), Coriolanus (Festival Theatre, Edinburgh) and The Winter’s Tale (Royal & Derngate).

Vanessa-Faye Stanley plays Lucy Grendle. Previous theatre credits include Richard III (Wales Millennium Centre – nominated for Best Supporting Actor at National Welsh Theatre Awards), War Horse (National Theatre) and Escapology (Camden People’s Theatre). She is also co-founder of the comedy trio The History Girls. Directing credits include The Terrific Electric (Barbican – Oxford Samuel Beckett Award).

David Phipps-Davis is a writer and director. Previous credits as a director include See Me For Myself,  An Ideal Husband (Tabard Theatre), Le Comte Ory, Macbeth, L’elisir d’amore (Dorset Opera Festival), Cinderella (Regent Theatre, Ipswich) and Who Will Carry The World? (Brockley Jack Theatre). Credits as a writer include Beauty and The Beast (UK tour), Sleeping Beauty, Dick Whittington (Dorking Halls) and Cinderella (Harlow Playhouse). 

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE INVISIBLE THING                                                                               Listings

Rudolf Steiner Theatre

35 Park Road, Marylebone, London NW1 6XT

17 July – 18 August

Box Office:  0333 666 3366

www.thesherlockplay.co.uk

Facebook: @thesherlockplay

Twitter: @thesherlockplay

Instagram: @thesherlockplay

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh – until 29 June 2019

Reviewed by James Knight

5****
Amélie Poulain, a young French waitress with an unconventional upbringing, decides that she will act as a guardian angel of sorts to those around her, whilst at the same time keeping herself at a distance from her own desires and true happiness.

Based on the 2001 film starring Audrey Tautou, this new musical, with a book by Craig Lucas, music by Daniel Messé and lyrics by Nathan Tysen and Daniel Messé, is nothing short of a theatrical miracle. The original Broadway production closed after around two months, but it has now been re-worked for its UK tour. And it seems all the changes have been for the better.

For starters, I cannot praise the ensemble cast enough. Sixteen actor-singer-musicians  impeccably create the quirky Parisian world Amélie inhabits, with all the music coming from them. Their talent is undeniable, to play a two-hour musical, with no sheet music or visible conductor, while acting, singing, dancing… The whole show is filled with the unstoppable force of quadruple threats. Daniel Messé’s music is achingly beautiful (of course, we’re in France) from the opening number, to Nino’s ballad ‘When the Booth Goes Bright’ and Amélie’s ‘Times are Hard for Dreamers’. That’s not to say we don’t get to inside the more quirky aspects of Amélie’s imagination – we also get a singing fish, singing figs and a singing gnome. Not to mention Elton John’s ode to Amélie at the end of Act One, which will leave you wondering why it’s not been included in ‘Rocketman’.

Little moments filled me with joy. Amélie entering her flat reverse-Mary Poppins style via a ceiling light. The use of light for the photo booths that Nino searches. A lost treasure box returned to its owner. Amélie’s parents, neurotic, but still made for each other, singing and playing cellos in unison. And a long-awaited kiss that happens, in a show filled with sounds and music and movement, in simple and blissful silence.

‘Amélie the Musical’ is a joyous celebration of human connection and small moments and rightfully deserves its own moment in the spotlight. Drop everything that you’re doing, go and see it, and you’ll leave the theatre a little lighter.

CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE AND MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY PRESENT THE LONDON PREMIÈRE OF

LAURA WADE’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED THE WATSONS

Chichester Festival Theatre and Menier Chocolate Factory present

THE WATSONS

A new play by Laura Wade

Adapted from the unfinished novel by Jane Austen

20 September – 16 November

Director: Samuel West; Designer: Ben Stones; Sound Designer: Gregory Clarke

Casting Director: Charlotte Sutton

Chichester Festival Theatre and Menier Chocolate Factory today announce the London première of Olivier Award-winner Laura Wade’s The Watsons at the Menier – Wade received the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy for Home I’m Darling earlier this year. Directed by Samuel West, The Watsons played to critical acclaim at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2018. The production opens at the Menier on 30 September, with previews from 20 September, and runs until 16 November. Public booking opens on Wednesday 3 July at 9am, priority booking is open now.

What happens when the writer loses the plot?

Emma Watson is nineteen and new in town. She’s been cut off by her rich aunt and dumped back in the family home. Emma and her sisters must marry, fast. If not, they face poverty, spinsterhood, or worse: an eternity with their boorish brother and his awful wife.

Luckily there are plenty of potential suitors to dance with, from flirtatious Tom Musgrave to castle-owning Lord Osborne, who’s as awkward as he is rich.

So far so familiar. But there’s a problem: Jane Austen didn’t finish the story. Who will write Emma’s happy ending now?

Based on her incomplete novel, this sparklingly witty play looks under the bonnet of Jane Austen and asks: what can characters do when their author abandons them?

Laura Wade is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Her credits include Home I’m Darling (Theatr Clwyd, National Theatre, Duke of York’s Theatre and UK tour – Olivier Award for Best New Comedy), Tipping the Velvet (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, adapted from the novel by Sarah Waters), Posh (Royal Court Theatre and West End), Alice (Sheffield Theatres), Kreutzer vs. Kreutzer (Sydney Opera House and Australian Tour, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Royal Festival Hall and UK tour), Other Hands (Soho Theatre), Colder Than Here (Soho Theatre and MCC Theatre New York), Breathing Corpses (Royal Court Theatre), Young Emma (Finborough Theatre), and 16 Winters (Bristol Old Vic Basement).  Film credits include The Riot Club and Britain Isn’t Eating.  

Samuel West directs. His directorial work includes After Electra (Tricycle Theatre), Close The Coalhouse Door (Northern Stage), Waste (Almeida Theatre) and Dealer’s Choice (Menier Chocolate Factory/Trafalgar Studios). As Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres he directed the first revival of The Romans in Britain by Howard Brenton, and As You Like It for the RSC’s Complete Works Festival. He also directed Money by Edward Bulwer-Lytton for BBC Radio. As an actor, work includes the title roles in Hamlet and Richard II for the RSC, Jeffrey Skilling in Lucy Prebble’s Enron (Chichester/Royal Court/Noel Coward theatres), three series of Mr Selfridge, the film Howards End, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Suffragette and On Chesil Beach.

This production is based on the Chichester Festival Theatre production which had its world première at the Minerva Theatre on 3 November 2018.

Listings Information                                                                                                                   The Watsons

Venue:                                Menier Chocolate Factory

Address:                             53 Southwark Street, London, SE1 1RU

Dates:                                 20 September – 16 November

Times:                                 For the performance schedule, please see the website

Box Office:                         020 7378 1713 (£2.50 transaction fee per booking)

Website:             www.menierchocolatefactory.com (£1.50 transaction fee per booking)

Tickets:                               Prices vary, as below from discounted preview tickets to premier seats. With the emphasis on ‘the sooner you book, the better the price’:

A meal deal ticket includes a 2-course meal from the pre-theatre menu in the Menier Restaurant as well as the theatre ticket.

www.menierchocolatefactory.com

Twitter: @MenChocFactory

SONIA FRIEDMAN PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCE

THE WORLD PREMIERE OF

L E O P O L D S T A D T

 A NEW PLAY BY TOM STOPPARD

DIRECTED BY PATRICK MARBER

TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM £15

Sonia Friedman Productions today (26 June 2019) announce the world premiere of Leopoldstadt, a new play by Tom Stoppard, directed by Patrick Marber.

Previewing at Wyndham’s Theatre from 25 January 2020, Leopoldstadt will run for 16 weeks only until 16 May with opening night on 12 February 2020.  Public booking will open on 28 June 2019 at 10am for this strictly limited run, and tickets will be available from £15. To sign up for priority booking and to register interest please visit leopoldstadtplay.com. Full creative team and casting to be announced at a later date.

Vienna in 1900 was the most vibrant city in Europe, humming with artistic and intellectual excitement and a genius for enjoying life. A tenth of the population were Jews. A generation earlier they had been granted full civil rights by the Emperor, Franz Josef. Consequently, hundreds of thousands fled from the Pale and the pogroms in the East and many found sanctuary in the crowded tenements of the old Jewish quarter, Leopoldstadt.

Tom Stoppard’s new play, directed by Patrick Marber, is an intimate drama with an epic sweep; the story of a family who made good. “My grandfather wore a caftan,” says Hermann, a factory owner, “my father went to the opera in a top hat, and I have the singers to dinner.”  It was not to last. Over the next fifty years this family, like millions of others, was to re-discover what it meant to be Jewish in the first half of the 20th century. Leopoldstadt is a passionate drama of love, endurance and loss. It is Stoppard’s most humane and heart-breaking play.

Leopoldstadt, the sixth collaboration between SFP and Tom Stoppard, reunites Stoppard, Marber and Friedman who last collaborated on Travesties in 2017.

Internationally award-winning writer Tom Stoppard’s plays include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, The Real Inspector Hound, After Magritte, Jumpers, New Found Land, Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth, Travesties, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (a play for actors and orchestra written with André Previn), Night and Day, The Real Thing, Hapgood, Arcadia, Indian Ink, The Invention of Love, The Coast of Utopia, Rock ‘n’ Roll and, most recently, The Hard Problem.  His radio plays include Albert’s Bridge, Artist Descending a Staircase, The Dog It Was That Died, If You’re Glad I’ll Be Frank, and most recently, his dramatic imagining of Pink Floyd’s Darkside of the Moon, Darkside. As well as for the stage and radio, Stoppard is an award-winning writer for film and television.

Patrick Marber’s directing credits of his own work include Dealer’s Choice at the National Theatre and Vaudeville Theatre, After Miss Julie for BBC TV, Closer at the National Theatre, Lyric and Music Box, New York, Howard Katz and Three Days in the Country also at the National Theatre and Don Juan in Soho at Wyndham’s Theatre. His other directing credits include The Room as part of the Pinter at the Pinter Season, Venus In Fur at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Travesties at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Apollo Theatre and The American Airlines Theater, New York, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Director, The Caretaker at the Comedy Theatre, Blue Remembered Hills at the National Theatre, ‘1953’ at the Almeida and The Old Neighborhood at the Royal Court Theatre. Marber’s plays, which have received multiple awards both in the West End and on Broadway, include Dealer’s Choice, After Miss Julie, Closer, Howard Katz, Three Days in the Country, The Red Lion and a version of Hedda Gabler.  He is also an award-winning screenwriter and his film credits include Closer and Notes on a Scandal. 

Sonia Friedman Productions is an international production company responsible for some of the most successful theatre productions of recent years. Since 1990, Sonia Friedman OBE and SFP have developed, initiated and produced 160+ new productions and won a combined 55 Oliviers, 30 Tonys and 2 BAFTAs.  Recent West End and Broadway productions include the UK premiere of The Book of Mormon, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Mean Girls, Fiddler on the Roof, Rosmersholm, All About Eve, Dreamgirls, The Jungle, The Ferryman, Farinelli and the King, Travesties, 1984 and The Book of Mormon UK & International tour.  Upcoming productions include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in San Francisco, Hamburg and Toronto and The Inheritance in New York. soniafriedman.com

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Theatre:                           Wyndham’s Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0DA

Dates:                              25 January – 16 May 2020

Box Office:                         0844 482 5151

Performances:                    Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm, Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm

                                      Tuesday 17 March 2020 at 7.30pm Captioned Performance

Tuesday 24 March 2020 at 7.30pm Audio Described Performance

Website:                           leopoldstadtplay.com

Twitter:                           @LeopoldstadtLDN

Facebook:                         @LeopoldstadtLDN

Instagram:                        @LeopoldstadtLDN  

BEYOND THE BARRICADE COMES TOTOWN

The UK’s Favourite Musical Theatre Concert Tour

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Tickets from £26.75

Recreating original West End/Broadway musical hit songs with amazing authenticity, Beyond the Barricade is made up of a cast of past principal performers from Les Miserables in the West End.

This blockbusting two hour show, has delighted audiences throughout the UK, mainland Europe, Asia and New Zealand for nearly two decades and has established itself as the one of the nation’s favourite musical theatre concerts.

Beyond the Barricade, presents exciting concert portrayals of the greatest songs in musical theatre, all performed entirely live by some of the best musical performers working today, featuring songs from:

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA // JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR // THE JERSEY BOYS // THE LION KING, BLOOD BROTHERS // MISS SAIGON // HAMILTON // and many others. Climaxing with a spectacular finale from, of course, LES MISERABLES!

Andy Reiss and David Fawcett, devised ‘Beyond the Barricade’ after appearing in the Manchester and London casts of Les Misérables. David played the lead role of Jean Valjean in both the Manchester and London productions, and Andy played most of the male characters, including Enjolras and Valjean, and still remains the only person to take on the job of being the show’s Resident Director, and perform at the same time.

Joining Andy and David on stage is Katie Leeming and Poppy Tierney. Katie joined ‘Beyond the Barricade’ after playing the lead role of Eponine in the West End production of Les Miserables. Katie also appeared with the Les Miserables cast on the televised Classical Brits awards and the Royal Variety Show, as well as an ensemble vocalist in the Les Miserables movie. Poppy played Cosette in Les Miserables on the UK Tour and in the West End, and also played leading roles in Evita, The Witches of Eastwick, and Miss Saigon. She recently appeared in the new Abba film, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again.

Andy, David, Katie and Poppy also featured in the LES MISERABLES 25th Anniversary Concert, staged at the O2 Arena, London. They are joined on stage with their own ensemble of talented musicians.

How It Is Productions in association with Park Theatre present
THE TIME OF OUR LIES

30 July – 10 August 2019 | Park Theatre

Initial casting has been revealed for The Time Of Our Lies, as celebrated television and film actor Daniel Benzalijoinsthe biopic story of the American historian, author and social activist Howard Zinn. Written by Bianca Bagatourian, directed by Ché Walker, movement by Maureen Fleming and music by Gamal Chasten.

The Time Of Our Lies explores Zinn’s personal history, from being a soldier who dropped bombs on Rouen, France in WWll. This fateful moment shaped the man who would become a moral compass for the United States in ways that are more relevant today than ever before. The press night will be Thursday 1 August, 7pmat Park Theatre.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival run of The Time Of Our Lies was co-produced by Viggo Mortensen and sponsored by Eddie Vedder, Tom Shadyac, Tim Robbins and Myla Kabat-Zinn and was nominated for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award in 2014. The London production is sponsored by Eddie Vedder (Vitalogy Foundation), Susan Sarandon, Diane Lane and Myla Kabat-Zinn, Howard’s daughter.

Daniel Benzali is an internationally renowned actor best known for playing the role of Ted Hoffman in Murder One (20^th Century Fox) for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination, and W. G. Howe in the James Bond film, A View to a Kill (United International Pictures). Daniel also has a wealth of West End musical theatre credits under his belt. He starred as Juan Peron in Evita (Prince Edward Theatre) and Max von Mayerling in the original production of Sunset Boulevard (Adelphi Theatre), opposite Patti LuPone. Other credits include Holiday(Old Vic); The Grey Zone (Lionsgate); All The Little Animals (BBC); Murder at 1600 (Warner Brothers) and The Agency (CBS Productions).

Additional casting is yet to be confirmed.

Howard Zinn was widely considered one of the most influential thinkers of the 20^th century. The son of poor Jewish immigrants, Zinn joined the US Army Air Force during WWII. Just before the end of the war, he was involved in the first use of napalm.  What he later came to see as an unnecessary and terrible act informed his lifelong anti-war views and lifetime of activism. From the Vietnam war to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Zinn was an outspoken and courageous campaigner for his vision of a just and peaceful America until his death in 2010, at the age of 87. His landmark book, A People’s History of the United States, has sold two million copies and is used as a textbook in schools throughout the US. 

The Time Of Our Lies is a battle cry for democracy, transparency, and inclusion. The play brings to life Zinn’s commitment to social justice and his lifelong struggle against false historical narratives written by those in power that poison the well of true democracy. It features songs using some of Howard’s words, combined with first-person accounts of war from other soldiers, all juxtaposed against an incongruously beautiful backdrop of Butoh inspired movement. Howard himself was involved in the inception of the play before his passing in 2010.

The ensemble includes Alvaro Flores (Day of the Living / #WeAreArrested – RSC, The Other Place. Wig Out – Royal Court Theatre), Wayne Gidden (Legacy – Stratford Circus, The 8^th – Manchester Festival, Barbican Centre), Lanna Joffrey (Cause – Vault Festival, Fire & Sonnet Walks – The Globe), Claire Lebowitz King (The Donkey Show and Measure for Measure – Living Theatre) and Sophia Mackay (Lead role in Thriller – Lyric Theatre, The Grinning Man – Trafalgar Studios).

Bianca Bagatourian received her MFA in playwriting from Brooklyn College, mentored by lifetime Obie Award winner, Mac Wellman. Her plays have been produced worldwide. Bianca is also the president and founder of the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance, a non-profit organization since 2005 where she administers the global $10,000 Saroyan/Paul Human Rights Playwriting Award. Bianca also works in the world of film and TV and has several TV sitcoms in development with independent television companies in the US. She has sold a comedy reality show to the BBC and produced a feature film. She is the author of the Children’s book, Draculiza.  She currently splits her time between Los Angeles and London. Her new play, Operation Ajax is about the overthrow of the first democratically elected prime minister in Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh.

In theatre, Ché Walker’s writing and directing credits include his musical Been So Long, which played at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Young Vic in 2009 and was bought and produced by Netflix; his play The Frontline which made theatrical history for being the first contemporary-set play to be performed at Shakespeare’s Globe since the 1600’s; Lovesong in collaboration with UK soul legend Omar MBE for English Touring Theatre; Flesh Wound at Royal Court Theatre, winner of The George Devine Award and Arts Council Writer of the Future Award; The 8th in collaboration with Paul Heaton for Barbican, Manchester International Festival and Klook’s Last Stand, which played at Park Theatre London in 2014 and is currently being produced by several theatres in the US after a workshop performance at the NAMT Festival in New York. Ché’s other writing credits include The Lightning Child at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2013. More recently, Ché wrote and directed The Etienne Sisters at Theatre Royal Stratford East. Ché has won the Peter Brook Award (Mark Marvin Rent Subsidy Award) for his plays Crazy Love and Burnt Up Love, and his version of Been So Long was a nominee for The Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2009. Among his most recent directing credits is Intra Muros (Park Theatre).

Maureen Fleming is renowned for her original form of visual theatre. With the discipline of a classicist, and the imagination of an iconoclast, she connects cultures and art forms in an interdisciplinary celebration of the universality of the soul’s journey. A Fulbright Scholar to Ireland, South Korea, Colombia and Latvia, her solo and group works have toured five continents including the Spoleto Festival in Italy, FILO Festival Brazil, Performing America’s Tour Colombia, Argentina and Uruguay, Jacob’s Pillow Festival, Emerson Majestic and Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and NY City Center Fall for Dance Festival.

www.parktheatre.co.uk

Box office: 020 7870 6876*

Award-winning play Build a Rocket
announces UK Tour
13th September – 26th October 2019

Following international acclaim and an award-winning run at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, this powerful and uplifting one-woman show about a young mother from Scarborough returns to embark on an extensive UK tour.

Winner of the Holden Street Theatres’ Edinburgh Fringe Award 2018, Adelaide Fringe Best Theatre Weekly Award 2019 and named The Sunday Mail’s Best Female Solo Show (Adelaide), Build a Rocket will see critically-acclaimed Serena Manteghi reprise her role as Yasmin. Hard-hitting yet inspiring, this funny and heart-warming production, written by Scarborough-born Christopher York, challenges our perceptions about young motherhood.

Yasmin is a bright 16-year-old from a small seaside town. In an instant, her world is turned upside down when she becomes pregnant with her son, Jack. Suddenly her life isn’t sandcastles, arcades, and donkey rides. Abandoned by both the father of her child and her alcoholic mother, Yasmin faces one of life’s great challenges completely alone – but can the thing which threatens to ruin her life actually be the thing which saves her?

Writer Christopher York comments, Teenage pregnancy is so demonised and we’re quick to blame teenagers. There was a girl I was at school with who had a child at 15. I was astounded at her resilience and that she went on to pass her GCSEs, go to college and university, get married and raise a wonderful human being. She is a phenomenal person. We are still conservative about these topics. If we were more open and Scandinavian about how we tackled sex and sexual health, especially with young people, we may not have the statistics we do.

Director Paul Robinson said, I’m delighted that Build a Rocket will be going on a national tour in coproduction with Tara Finney Productions. It’s a key strategic priority for the SJT to be touring bold, resonant and relevant contemporary work as well as to further champion local emerging artist Christopher York on a national platform. The tour will allow us to reach a broader spectrum of audiences geographically as well as engage directly with local schools which is a wonderful prospect.

In addition to touring to theatres and arts centres across the UK, Build a Rocket will be performed at six schools in North Yorkshire generously supported by the Noel Coward Foundation.

A breathless, swaggering hour of female endurance and defiance (★★★★ The Telegraph).

A powerful one-woman show and a tour de force from Serena Manteghi whose performance blazes off the stage (★★★★ Yorkshire Post).

Performance Dates
13th – 14th September Stephen Joseph Theatre
Westborough, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11 1JW
https://www.sjt.uk.com/

16th – 17th September Oxford Playhouse
Beaumont St, Oxford, OX1 2LW
https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/

18th September Square Chapel Arts Centre
Square Rd, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 1QC
https://www.squarechapel.co.uk/

19th September Interplay Theatre
Armley Ridge Rd, Leeds, LS12 3LE
https://www.interplaytheatre.co.uk/

21st September York Theatre Royal
St Leonard’s Pl, York, YO1 7HD
https://www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/

24th September EM Forster Theatre
High Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 IJP
https://www.emftheatre.com/

25th September Oldham Library
Greaves St, Oldham, OL1 1AL
https://www.oldham.gov.uk/libraries

26th September Pocklington Arts Centre
Market Pl, Pocklington, York YO42 2AR
https://www.pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk/

28th September Selby Town Hall
York St, Selby, North Yorkshire, YO8 4AJ
http://www.selbytownhall.co.uk/

30th September Queen’s Hall Arts Centre
Beaumont St, Hexham, NE46 3LZ
https://www.queenshall.co.uk/content/queens-hall-arts-centre

2nd – 5th October Live Theatre
Broad Chare, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3DQ
https://www.live.org.uk/

7th – 9th October Theatr Clwyd
Raikes Ln, Mold, CH7 1YA
https://www.theatrclwyd.com/en/

10th – 12th October Streatham Space
Sternhold Ave, Streatham, London, SW2 4PA
https://www.streathamspaceproject.co.uk/

15th October The Quarry Theatre
St Peter’s St, Bedford, MK40 2NN
http://www.quarrytheatre.org.uk/

16th – 17th October Traverse Theatre
Cambridge St, Edinburgh, EH1 2ED
https://www.traverse.co.uk/

18th – 19th October Theatre Deli
Eyre St, Sheffield, S1 4QZ
https://www.theatredeli.co.uk/

24th October Folkestone Quarterhouse
Tontine St, Folkestone CT20 1JT
https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/folkestone-quarterhouse/

26th October Hunmanby Arts Centre
Stonegate, Hunmanby, YO14 0NS
https://sites.google.com/site/hunmanbycommunitycentre/