When your best friend’s dream is to sing in Les Misérables in the West End, you’d do all you can to help them succeed. For Peter Tourette, things get a little complicated as his best friend is Alex, a goldfish.
Peter and Alex share the story of their brush with fame in Tice Oakfield’s bonkers comedy. Scientist Peter’s failed experiments resulted in the creation of Alex – a talking goldfish with the brain of a genius who develops a love for musical theatre, and a magnificent baritone voice, although his short-term memory isn’t improved. As Peter helps Alex find an agent, the pair’s relationship has its ups and downs with betrayal and redemption crammed in for the ultimate cheesy and hilarious dramatic arc. The pair don’t have the rights to the songs Alex used, so new, funnier versions are performed brilliantly instead.
Tice Oakfield plays Alex, in a costume that is genius in its simplicity. If there was a Bafta for fin acting, Oakfield deserves it – he keeps the audience in fits of giggles with his expressive fin work and has a voice to die for. Leo Elso also impresses as Peter with some delightfully awkward dancing around Alex’s aquarium – the chemistry between man and fish is fantastic.
This is theatre at its silliest, The Astonishing Singing Fish! is uplifting nonsense of the highest quality, an energetic and uplifting festival of the ridiculous that will leave only the coldest of fish with a straight face.
The artists of the National Theatre’s hit production of Stephen Sondeheim and James Goldman’s Follies look back on their lives and careers, performing the songs that define their most memorable and special moments
Directed by Josh Seymour. Musical Director Stefan Bednarczyk
The Spiegeltent, Underbelly Festival Southbank, 13 – 16 May, 9.30pm.
On Reflection follows in the footsteps of a hugely successful National Theatre run of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman’s iconic Follies in 2017 and 2019. It’s a not to be missed, must see theatrical event.
Underbelly directors Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood said, “We could not be more delighted to welcome the cast of Follies to Underbelly Festival Southbank, only a stone’s throw from the National Theatre. The Spiegeltent offers a unique, intimate performance environment – and what better setting for this amazing group of artists to pull back the curtain on their journey through Follies.”
Janie Dee said, “The experience of Follies has been epic. To celebrate and reflect on this incredible piece and the success of our production, we have put together a piece where we speak and sing individually about our lives and careers, and how Follies echoed and resonated. Sometimes hilarious and sometimes moving but always personal. We hope that you will come and join us to listen to the stories of dancers…singers…actors… who find themselves looking back after the show closes. Maybe elongating the moment before having to let go.”
This year’s Underbelly Festival Southbank marks the 11th year of bringing the finest in musical theatre, circus, cabaret, comedy and music to the heart of London, alongside international street food and vibrant outdoor bars.
Running Time: 60 mins | Suitable for ages 12+
Company information
Devised by the cast
Directed by Josh Seymour
Musical Director Stefan Bednaczyk
Cast
Lindsay Atherton
Janie Dee
Vanessa Fisher
Caroline Fitzgerald
Geraldine Fitzgerald
Adrian Grove
Alex Hanson
Alyn Hawke
Aimee Hodnett
Dawn Hope Alison Langer
Sarah-Marie Maxwell
Ian McLarnon
Rohan Richards Jo Riding
Gemma Sutton Christine Tucker
Listings information
Monday 13 May – Thursday 16 May, 9.30pm.
As part of Underbelly Festival (6 April – 29 September).
★★★★★ ‘A thrilling experience. The best Fiddler I’ve seen in the West End’
Daily Telegraph
Chocolate Factory Productions, Sonia Friedman Productions and Michael Harrison present
The Menier Chocolate Factory production of
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Book by Joseph Stein Music by Jerry Bock Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Director Trevor Nunn; Choreographers Jerome Robbins & Matt Cole; Set Designer Robert Jones Costume Designer Jonathan Lipman; Lighting Designer Tim Lutkin; Sound Designer Gregory Clarke Hair and Wig Designer Richard Mawbey; Orchestrations Jason Carr; Musical Supervisor Paul Bogaev
Maria Friedman and Anita Dobson join the company of Trevor Nunn’s critically acclaimed production ofFiddler on the Roof, which is currently running at the reconfigured Playhouse Theatre until 28 September. Friedman plays Golde, and Dobson plays Yente from 18 June, taking over from Judy Kuhn and Louise Gold respectively. They join Andy Nyman (Tevye), Nicola Brown (Chava), Harriet Bunton (Hodel), Dermot Canavan(Lazar Wolf), Stewart Clarke (Perchik), Joshua Gannon (Motel), Matthew Hawksley (Fyedka), and Molly Osborne (Tzeitel), as well as Miles Barrow, Sofia Bennett, Philip Bertioli, Lottie Casserley, Elena Cervesi,Lia Cohen, Talia Etherington, Shoshana Ezequiel, Isabella Foat,Fenton Gray, James Hameed, Adam Linstead,Adam Margilewski, Robert Maskell, Benny Maslov, Robyn McIntyre, Gaynor Miles, Ellie Mullane, Tania Newton, Craig Pinder, Valentina Theodoulou and Ed Wade.
★★★★★
‘Musically, geopolitically, emotionally, this Fiddler raises the roof.’
The Guardian
Direct from its sold-out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Tony and Olivier award-winning director Trevor Nunn’s ‘exuberant revival’ (Daily Telegraph) of the classic Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof transfers to the West End for a strictly limited run. The Playhouse Theatre has been specially transformed into an intimate space for this ‘shiveringly intimate chamber musical about family’ (The Times).
★★★★★
‘An evening to be celebrated as a spikily poignant reminder of what it is to be human in politically dark times. Both whirlingly energetic and achingly moving, it marks itself out straight away as one of the most uplifting nights possible to be had in the West End right now.’ The Arts Desk
Old traditions and young love collide in this joyous and timely celebration of life. Tevye’s daughters’ unexpected choice of husbands opens his heart to new possibilities, as his close-knit community also feel winds of change blowing through their tiny village.
Featuring the iconic score including ‘Tradition’, ‘Matchmaker, Matchmaker’, ‘Sunrise, Sunset’ and ‘If I Were a Rich Man’, and featuring original choreography from Tony Award-winning Jerome Robbins alongside new choreography by Matt Cole, Fiddler on the Roof ‘bursts from the stage’ (Financial Times), bringing new life to one of the most beloved musicals of all time.
Olivier Award-winning Maria Freidman plays Golde. The recipient of three Olivier Awards for Maria Friedman By Special Arrangement at the Donmar Warehouse (1995), Best Actress in a Musical for her performance of Fosca in the West End production of Stephen Sondheim’s Passion (1996), and for Ragtime (2003). Her other theatre credits include Merrily We Roll Along, Blues in the Night, Chicago, The Witches of Eastwick, Anna in The King and I at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Lady in the Dark. In 2004 she originated the role of Marian Halcombe in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, The Woman in White, both in the West End and on Broadway. She is regularly associated with the work of Stephen Sondheim, having performed principle roles in Merrily We Roll Along, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, and as Mrs Lovett in concert performances of Sweeney Todd (Barbican). She also appeared in New York, Washington and the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, in celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday. She has performed her critically acclaimed one woman shows – Maria Friedman – By Special Arrangement and Maria Friedman – By Extra Special Arrangement in venues around the UK and in New York including several seasons at Café Carlyle, and has most recently performed her new solo show From the Heart to sell-out audiences at Crazy Coqs. She has featured on many cast recordings and released several solo albums including Maria Friedman, Maria Friedman Live, Now and Then, and Maria Friedman Celebrates The Great British Songbook. On screen, her roles include Elaine Peacock in EastEnders, Trish Baynes in Casualty, Red Dwarf, the Narrator in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (DVD), and Mother Abbas on ITV’s Sound of Music Live. In 2013, she made her directorial debut at the Menier Chocolate Factory with Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. The production opened to critical acclaim, winning the Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical and Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival, transferring to the West End and Boston. Her other directing credits include High Society (The Old Vic) and the world première of the new musical Dusty (Theatre Royal Bath).
Anita Dobson plays Yente. Her extensive theatre credits include Annie (UK tour), 3Women (Trafalgar Studios), The Shadow Factory (Nuffield Southampton Theatres), 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 Heaven, Nanny, Split Ends, The World Of Eddie Weary, Red Dwarf, Smokescreen, I’ll Be Watching You, Dangerfield, The Famous Five,Highlander, Get Well Soon, Junk, Sunburn, The Stretch, Hearts and Bones, Urban Gothic, The Last Detective, Gigglebiz, Hotel Babylon, Moving On, Pompidou, Armada, Call The Midwife and The Rebel; and for film, Seaview Knights, Beyond Bedlam, The Tichborne Claimant, The Revengers’ Comedies, Darkness Falls, Charlie, Solitary, The Rise Of The Krays, The Fall Of The Krays, London Road and The Fight.
A Royal & Derngate, Northampton co-production with Anthology Theatre in association with Tara Finney Productions
Saturday 8 to Saturday 22 June 2019
Royal & Derngate Northampton has announced full cast and creative team for the venue’s world premiere of The Pope. This new play from Anthony McCarten, the 2019 Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning, and 2019 Oscar‑nominated writer of Bohemian Rhapsody, The Theory Of Everything andDarkest Hour, will star Anton Lesser (Game Of Thrones, The Crown, Wolf Hall, Endeavour) as Pope Benedict and Nicholas Woodeson (Baptiste, The Danish Girl, Death of Stalin, Taboo) as Pope Francis and will feature original music composed by BRIT, Oscar and Grammy-winning composerAnne Dudley (Elle,American History X, The Full Monty, Poldark). Faith Alabi (Belleville, Donmar Warehouse; Hamlet, Talawa) and Lynsey Beauchamp (Britannia, Einstein) play the roles of Sister Sophia and Sister Brigitta respectively.
This original play is the inspiration for a major motion picture of the same name that has been adapted by Anthony McCarten to premiere on Netflix later this year. Now based in London, The Pope marks his UK stage debut, although in his home country of New Zealand, his acclaimed plays include Ladies Night, which remains New Zealand’s most commercial popular play.
The production will be designed by 2018 Tony nominee Jonathan Fensom (Our Lady of Kibeho,Farinelli and the King) with lighting design by Charles Balfour (Mojo, West End; Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, National Theatre) and video design by Duncan McLean (The Jungle, West End; All My Sons, Old Vic) and is co-produced by Anthology Theatre (The Entertainer, The Wipers Times and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof) in association with Tara Finney Productions.
Six years ago Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world by quietly announcing he would resign, the first pope in 700 years to do so. What drove this arch-conservative to break with sacred tradition and cede the way for Cardinal Bergoglio – a tango-dancing, football-loving reformer with the common touch – to become Pope Francis, one of most powerful men on earth?
Together, Pope Benedict and Cardinal Bergoglio grapple with their complex pasts and uncertain futures. From coming of age under dictatorships in Germany and Argentina, to the scandal of sexual abuse by the clergy – they offer two opposing visions for the Church today. Shining a light into one of the world’s most secretive institutions, The Pope is at once a candid portrayal of two men testing the limits of their faith and an exploration of the role of religion in an age of social and political upheaval. At its heart lies a timeless question: in moments of crisis, should we follow the rules or our conscience?
Further Made in Northampton 2019 productions will be announced shortly.
Made in Northampton is sponsored locally by Michael Jones Jeweller.
For more information, visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk. Tickets can be booked online or by calling Box Office on 01604 624811.
Acclaimed star of stage and screen to headline new production
Tony & Olivier Award winning musical is back in the West End
By original, award-winning creative team
of director Jack O’Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell
Performances begin 23 April 2020 | London Coliseum
Michael Ball, the acclaimed star of stage and screen, is to return to his legendary, Olivier Award winning role of Edna Turnblad, as Hairspray the Musical comes to London for a special, strictly limited season in 2020.
The huge hearted, multi-award-winning smash hit musical plays at the magnificent London Coliseum for 12 weeks only, beginning performances on Thursday 23 April 2020. Tickets go on general sale today, Friday 3 May 2019.
Baltimore, 1962. Tracy Turnblad is a big girl with big hair and big dreams. Can she make it on the local TV dance show, win the heart of teen heartthrob Link Larkin and bring everyone together – whatever their colour, size or hairdo? Well if you want a change, you’ve really got to shake things up!
With the original award-winning creative team of director Jack O’Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, and featuring the infectiously feel-good songs “Good Morning, Baltimore”, “Big, Blonde and Beautiful” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat”, this inspirational, fun-loving and fabulously uplifting musical sensation is back and bigger than ever.
The original New York production of Hairspray won three Tony Awards, including Best New Musical, whilst the original West End production won four Olivier Awards, also including Best New Musical, as well giving Michael Ball one of his two Olivier Awards for Best Actor in a Musical.
Further casting is to be announced.
Hairspray is produced by Adam Spiegel Productions & Fiery Angel.
Magical, mysterious and beautiful. Birmingham Royal Ballet have managed to take the original fairy tale once made famous by Disney and transform it into a breath taking ballet. David Bintley has managed to choreograph a beautiful piece; accompanied by Philip Ellis’ orchestra, this is a wonderful production.
Delia Mathews and Tyrone Singleton portly the eponymous characters, Beauty and the Beast. Together, they created beautiful movement on the stage, which showed the brilliance of the choreography and the chemistry they both have. Mathews was spellbinding, her fluidity and elegance on stage was a joy to watch. She showed an array of emotions and was able to capture the audience from her very first moment on stage. Singleton was also great to watch. He was able to command the stage through his aggressive and animalistic manner. Together, their dance was magic, romantic but haunting. The transformation of the beast was executed well, with Singleton and Mathews managing to keep the audience enticed throughout.
The elements that make up this production are phenomenal. From the costume and set, through to the orchestra this was a stunning show. There is no magical talking clock, nor is there a dancing candlestick or a maternal teapot, but there is an enchanted chair! Candlesticks light up without hesitation and teapots fill mugs without being held and statues move in complete synchronisation which this adds to the magic of the show. The costumes were divine, with opulent golds and silvers gracing the stage when the ballroom was in session. The Birmingham Royal Ballet Artists as the Ravens were amazing. Their costumes added to the magic of their dancing, with beautiful tulle to show the wings and elements of black and blue that, when hit with the light, shone through to create a stunning vision on stage. Every member of the cast was superb and were truly brilliant.
The orchestra, conducted by Philip Ellis were magnificent. Each member of the orchestra was stunning and created beautiful music. They captured the audience from the first piano key to the final drum beat and were amazing to listen to. The harpist was a stunning addition and added to the magic of the show. Overall, an amazing orchestra.
This is a must see, if you wish to be transported to a magical land, to see a tale as old as time.
Edmond Rostand gets the Shakespeare in Love treatment in Alex Michalik’s comedy reimagining of the writing of Cyrano de Bergerac. Jeremy Sams’ translation of this French hit is a mix of fantastic farce and maudlin moments.
With café owner Monsieur Honore (Delroy Atkinson) setting the scene for 1895 with historical details of French innovations, we first see poet Edmond Rostand (Freddie Fox) after dismal reviews for his latest poetic play. Championed by Sarah Bernhardt (Josie Lawrence), Edmond despairingly tries to write something new, but is uninspired until a pep talk from Honore. Brash actor friend Leo (Robin Morrisey) needs help wooing Jeanne (Gina Bramhill), a huge fan of poetry. Edmond’s verses and her replies inspire him to write Cyrano, and the opportunity to play such a character is jumped upon by actor Constant Coquelin (Henry Goodman). With gangster producers, a demanding diva of a leading lady and the threat of being closed down before the show even opens, there is plenty of scope for comic misadventure.
The farce is superb, with the versatile set and atmosphere creating a production that feels like Carry On up the Moulin Rouge. Freddie Fox is fantastic as the nervy, socially awkward Rostand – sipping daintily on camomile tea as everyone around him knocks back the absinthe. Henry Goodman makes Coquelin a loveable old ham, desperate for a duel scene to prove he still has youthful vigour. Josie Lawrence is magnificent as the over enunciating Bernhardt and is a scream in her other roles. This is truly an ensemble piece, with director Roxana Silbert and movement director Liam Steel setting up some inspired visuals whether in scenes where Parisians see the Lumiere brothers’ moving pictures or simply moving props around. Seamless stuff. The farce is handled brilliantly, with Nick Cavaliere and Simon Gregor doing their utmost to steal every scene with their broad but hysterical characterisations. What doesn’t work so well is the latter part of act two when the play is actually performed. There are some moments of ridiculous comedy and visual jokes, but watching Coquelin and his cast perform whole scenes that we have already seen formed in comic circumstances just feels dull. Michalik probably wanted to show the reverence for Rostand’s play, but it just drags down the ending – which is lowkey enough as it is. There’s a good 20 minutes that could be trimmed to make this an excellent, evenly paced comedy.
Even with the disappointing ending, Edmond de Bergerac is a funny feel-good show that is well worth a look.
DRYWRITE, SOHO THEATRE AND ANNAPURNA THEATRE PRESENT
FLEABAG
Written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge Directed by Vicky Jones
PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE’S MULTI AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTION TO PLAY THE WEST END FOR ITS LAST EVER RUN
FLEABAG WILL RUN AT WYNDHAM’S THEATRE IN LONDON’S WEST END FOR A STRICTLY LIMITED SEASON FROM 20 AUGUST – 14 SEPTEMBER.
TICKETS GO ON SALE AT 3PM TODAY WITH 25% OF TICKETS £25 OR LESS
DryWrite, Soho Theatre and Annapurna Theatre have today announced that the critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning FLEABAG is to play the West End for a strictly limited four week run this summer. Written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and directed by Vicky Jones, the one-woman show just finished playing to a sold-out house Off-Broadway in New York, and premiered its second season on BBC Three to universal acclaim. The homecoming run will be the last time Waller-Bridge will perform the piece. The play will begin previews on 20 August 2019 with an opening night on Wednesday 28th August 7:30pm at Wyndham’s Theatre. Tickets go on sale to the public at 3pm today, with 25% of tickets at £25 or less.
Soho Theatre and Annapurna Theatre said: “It’s a privilege to have contributed to the journey of FLEABAG with Phoebe thus far and we couldn’t be more pleased the show is returning home to London alongside DryWrite for a West End run.”
FLEABAG was originally produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Vicky Jones and producer Francesca Moody’s company DryWrite. It previewed at Soho Theatre before its Edinburgh Festival debut in 2013, winning rave reviews and a Fringe First Award. It returned to play the Soho Theatre in London that autumn and was revived by DryWrite and Soho Theatre in 2014 and 2016, as well as touring the UK (2015 and 2018), South Korea (2014) and Australia (2018) and an Edinburgh Festival revival as part of the British Council Edinburgh Showcase (2017). The production also won The Stage Best Solo Performer Award, the Off-West End Award for Most Promising New Playwright and Best Female Performance, and was nominated for an Olivier Award and an Evening Standard Award. In 2019, Annapurna Theatre produced the New York Off-Broadway premiere, co-produced by DryWrite and Soho Theatre. The extended, sold-out New York run earned Waller-Bridge a Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance, a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Show, and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance.
FLEABAG was adapted into a BBC Three Television series in partnership with Amazon Prime Video in 2016 and earned Phoebe a BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance. The series was also nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award, Television Critics Association Award and Critics Choice TV Award, among other accolades. The BBC and Amazon renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on BBC Three earlier this year and will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, May 17th. Waller-Bridge also created and wrote the first season of the celebrated BBC America television series “Killing Eve,” which was nominated for an Emmy, Golden Globe and 15 BAFTA TV Awards.
FLEABAG is a rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life. Fleabag may appear emotionally unfiltered and oversexed, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig café struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose.
Fleabag is produced by DryWrite, Soho Theatre and Annapurna Theatre.
LISTINGS FLEABAG
Written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge Directed by Vicky Jones Designer: Holly Pigott Lighting Designer: Elliot Griggs Sound Designer: Isobel Waller-Bridge Wyndham’s Theatre, Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0DA www.fleabagwestend.co.uk
A German Life is a new play by Christopher Hampton and directed by Jonathan Kent, drawn from the life and testimony of Brunhilde Pomsel, a secretary in Berlin during the 1930s who eventually ends up becoming a secretary in the German Propaganda Department run by Joseph Goebbels. The play is drawn from the testimony Pomsel gave when she finally broke her silence shortly before she died to a group of Austrian filmmakers, and from their documentary with the same title. The secret ingredient of what is a great premise is unequivocally the marvellous Maggie Smith, who returns to the stage for the first time in 12 years as Pomsel at the tender age of 84.
And now the superlatives can begin. Maggie Smith is an absolute triumph: not in a dramatic flair of artistic tour de force way but, more, in an understated, delicate and vague fashion. Smith sits alone in a chair clutching her glasses for the whole performance but whatever the inverse of physical theatre is, she does it and holds the audience riveted for 1hr and 40 minutes without taking a single step. We are in “conversation” with her as an elderly woman.
We learn about her life as a teenager, working her way up Goebbels department, fast tracked for her excellent shorthand skills. At times, her account of what she did is full of banality and almost a wilful naivete to ignore the horrors that are happening around her – she stumbles as she tries to remember the name of Kristallnacht. At other points, it is difficult not to sympathise with the hopelessness of her situation and her sadness. Her own prejudices creep out from time to time too…”they looked like Mongolians with slitty….well you know” rendering her a dichotomy. Is she hero or anti-hero – the fact is, like most people she is somewhere in the middle, a bit of both.
Her lack of anger at and her abdication of responsibility for what her nation has done to the Jews and a determination to accept the unacceptable without question is uncomfortable and rather depressingly relevant today in our political landscape. She describes herself as “apolitical” – an ordinary girl carried along by the events of the time. Her apathy towards what is going on resonates!
This does not feel like a play but a genuine conversation with an elderly lady. She is often vague and hesitant in her delivery, stumbling as she recalls events in her life. Smith’s sense of timing and pause are just immaculate. At 84, she may well have been slightly playing for time (what a feat just to even learn the lines) but it never felt like that for a moment.
The set (by Anna Fleischle) is just Pomsel’s living room but somehow throughout the piece, it moves from feeling totally unassuming to quite corrupt. Equally the lighting design (by Jon Clark) is ostensibly extremely natural but as we reach the end of the war, the lighting is reduced to a simple spot on Smith.
This really is the most wonderful piece of theatre which I think in a “Laurence Olivier as Henry V” kind of a way will be remembered and treasured forever.
“THE PRINCE OF EGYPT” TO OPEN IN THE WEST END IN FEBRUARY 2020
NEW MUSICAL BASED ON THE DREAMWORKS ANIMATION FILM WILL OPEN AT
LONDON’S DOMINION THEATRE FOR A 32-WEEK ENGAGEMENT
FEATURES 10 NEW SONGS WRITTEN EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE STAGE BY STEPHEN SCHWARTZ
TOGETHER WITH HIS SONGS FROM THE FILM INCLUDING ‘WHEN YOU BELIEVE’
TICKETS GO ON PUBLIC SALE AT 10AM ON 3 JUNE 2019
DreamWorks Theatricals (a division of Universal Theatrical Group), Michael McCabe and Neil Laidlaw are proud to announce that THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, the new stage musical based on the celebrated DreamWorks Animation film and featuring the Academy Award®-winning song When You Believe, will begin performances at London’s Dominion Theatre on Wednesday 5 February 2020, with an official London premiere on Tuesday 25 February 2020, for a limited 32-week engagement. Tickets will go on public sale at 10am on Monday 3 June 2019. Ticket buyers can register now for priority information at www.ThePrinceOfEgyptMusical.com
With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) and a book by Philip LaZebnik (Mulan and Pocahontas), THE PRINCE OF EGYPT is directed by Scott Schwartz (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and choreographed by Sean Cheesman (So You Think You Can Dance). Casting and full creative team to be announced.
Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked is one of the most successful stage musicals of all time and has already been seen by nearly 10 million people at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre and 60 million people worldwide. Later this year, the original Broadway production will become the 5th longest running Broadway show in history.
THE PRINCE OF EGYPT features 10 new songs written by Stephen Schwartz, together with 5 of his acclaimed songs from the DreamWorks Animation film, including Deliver Us, All I Ever Wanted, Through Heaven’s Eyes and the Academy Award®-winning When You Believe.
Journey through the wonders of Ancient Egypt as two young men, raised together as brothers in a kingdom of privilege, find themselves suddenly divided by a secret past. One must rule as Pharaoh, the other must rise up and free his true people; both face a destiny that will change history forever.
A milestone in cinematic achievement, DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt captivated movie audiences across the world and recently celebrated its 20thAnniversary. Hailed as “an outstanding artistic achievement” (Variety) and “a stunning film” (The Guardian), it remains one of the most beloved and acclaimed animated feature films of all time.
The Academy Award®-winning song When You Believe, recorded by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey in 1998, went on to become a global hit. In 2007, Simon Cowell selected it as the winner’s single for the UK’s popular TV show The X-Factor, spending three weeks at the top of the UK charts.
The new stage adaptation of THE PRINCE OF EGYPT originally premiered at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley (winner of the 2019 Regional Theatre Tony Award®) and Fredericia Teater Denmark.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
THE PRINCE OF EGYPT – A New Musical
DOMINION THEATRE, 268-269 TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD, LONDON W1T 7AQ
32 WEEKS ONLY from Wednesday 5 February until Saturday 12 September 2020.
London premiere Tuesday 25 February 2020 at 7.00pm.
