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DANCE UMBRELLA ANNOUNCES FINAL SHOWS IN LINE-UP FOR FESTIVAL 2019 INCLUDING A CUNNINGHAM CENTENARY TRIPLE BILL, MORE OUT OF THE SYSTEM EVENTS, A DU DEBUT FROM LUCY GUERIN AND THE FULL DU: FAIRFIELD TAKEOVER PROGRAMME

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Artistic Director and Chief Executive Emma Gladstone said ‘Dance Umbrella today announces the final third of its 2019 programme. Sixteen of the eighteen artists this year are making their DU debuts and in his centenary year we are proud to present works by Merce Cunningham at the Linbury Theatre. Our pan-London festival is taking place in thirteen different boroughs spanning zones 1 to 5; so charge your oysters and prepare to come on a journey that crosses continents and reveals what dance is and can be. Come and join us.’

DU: THE FUTURE BURSTS IN 
Amala Dianor (Fr/Senegal) Somewhere in the Middle of Infinity – UK Premiere
CCN – Ballet De Lorraine (France) For Four Walls UK premiere 
CCN – Ballet de Lorraine Sounddance by Merce Cunningham (USA) 
Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House: Thursday 24 – Saturday 26 October 7.45pm
Matinee Sat 26 October 2pm
Opening this celebratory evening is a radiant trio by Senegal-born Amala Dianor, replete with fluid, looping gestures exploring human bonds, Somewhere in the Middle of Infinity seduces with serene yet powerful encounters derived from a 21st-century meeting of African, hip-hop and contemporary styles. In the second half, CCN – Ballet de Lorraine’s connection with Cunningham is reflected in a re-reading of a once-lost 1944 work. Retaining John Cage’s piano score, For Four Walls sets 24 dancers in motion to new choreography by Petter Jacobsson and Thomas Caley inside a mirrored space. To end, the unpredictability and riotous dynamism of Cunningham’s 1975 classic,Sounddance – provides a perfect salute to his Centennial.

PANEL DISCUSSION: MERCE IN THE UK 
Siobhan Davies Studio: Wednesday 23 October 7.30pm
Chaired by Jeremy Millar, panellists Richard Alston, Gavin Bryars, Julie Cunningham and Siobhan Davies will talk about the lasting legacy and influence of Merce Cunningham.

FREDDIE OPOKU-ADDAIE – OUT OF THE SYSTEM
In the third and final year of DU’s Out of the System initiative, choreographer, performer and educator Freddie Opoku-Addaie’s curational acumen reaches for the glitter ball in the sky with this timely and FUN-tastic vogue ball, which runs alongside a tantalising quadruple bill of UK talent; Freddie has also programmed an afternoon of Sunday Cinema as previously announced.

OUT OF THE SYSTEM – THE BIG PINK VOGUE BALL 
Jay Jay Revlon & Cai Revlon (UK) 
Shoreditch Town Hall: Saturday 12 October 8.30pm (Doors 8pm) – LATE
Anyone who came to CRXSS PLATFXRM last year will have a sense of how DU and Freddie embrace dance as a social, shareable and (optionally) participatory activity and with the recent storming success of TV show Pose, everyone is going to want to get in on this act! The Big Pink Vogue Ball will be a spectacle with a party atmosphere to end all party atmospheres. Get on down and strike a pose!  

OUT OF THE SYSTEM – MIXED BILL
Becky Namgauds (UK) – Exhibit F 
THĒO INARTS (UK) – FIM (Fragility In Man) Part 1 
Ffion Campbell-Davies and tyroneisaacstuart (UK) – Beyond Words 
Jonzi D (UK) – Aeroplane Man
Bernie Grant Arts Centre: Tuesday 22 – Wednesday 23 October, 7.30pm
Becky Namgaud’s Exhibit F is a creature of the night; half bold, free and sensual, half weak, suppressed and controlled. Veering between victim and predator, testing measures of power and submission in equal magnitude; we encounter the female form under a new gaze. The male form is the intimate focus of THĒO INART’s solo Fragility in Man, alive with telling symbolism and visual storytelling. Collaborating in Beyond Words, Ffion Campbell-Davies and tyroneisaacstuart call on their exploration of dance, music and authenticity to question how humans converse. Inspired by the experience of working-class racism and continual reminders from white England that ‘you ain’t really from here…’ Aeroplane Man is Jonzi D’s now iconic, true story of a young black man’s global quest to find his spiritual homeland.  A unique fusion of rhyme and lyrically motivated movement, this critically acclaimed ‘choreo-poem’ is delivered with Jonzi’s trademark wit and closes the evening.
 

OUT OF THE SYSTEM – PANEL DISCUSSION
Tick Box / Break Glass / Look Pretty
Young Vic: Saturday 12 October 5.15pm
Examining the changes and opportunities in the arts for women of colour, this discussion explores how we can carve new and enduring pathways in and outside of the current system. Facilitated by Dawn Estefan (psychotherapist, writer, trainer & speaker) panellists including:
Julia Cheng (dancer, choreographer & Artistic Director of House of Absolute), Nike Jonah (Visiting Research Fellow, Central School of Speech and Drama), Tracy Gentles (Co-Director,The Sick of the Fringe).

SPLIT
Lucy Guerin (Australia) – UK Premiere 
The Place: Saturday 12 – Sunday 13 October 7.30pm
With one dancer clothed, one naked, two fearless female performers dance in flawless unison; their movements first poised, then animalistic.  Moving impeccably through their compelling duet, they navigate the terrain of a stark and diminishing set to a shamanistic, looping drum score by British electronic composer Scanner with increasing tension and an undercurrent of conflict.  

DU: FAIRFIELD TAKEOVER 
Boy Blue (UK) – REDD 
The Urban Playground Team (UK/France) To Fly Before We Fall – UK premiere
Mythili Prakash – Here and Now – UK premiere
Philippe Saire – Hocus Pocus – London premiere (DU Orbital Tour)
Fairfield Halls, Croydon: Friday 18 – Saturday 19 October

Filling and spilling out of Fairfield Halls’ beautifully redeveloped spaces, this weekend Takeoverfeatures a mix of international dance, pop-up events, performance-parkour thrills, homegrown talent, workshops and mayhem for all ages to the heart of Croydon. Joining previously announced artists Mythili Prackash and Philippe Saire, The Urban Playground Team is known for its authentic fusion of free running and streetwise dance. Superstar hip-hop company Boy Blue performs its latest large-scale production, wrapping up the weekend with the final Takeover performance.

There are so many more ways to get involved, including your chance to become a DIY choreographer – see www.danceumbrella.co.uk for the full programme.

TYRONE HUNTLEY

TO STAR IN NEW MUSICAL

THE VIEW UPSTAIRS

AT SOHO THEATRE

FROM 18 JULY TO 24 AUGUST

NATIONAL PRESS NIGHT TUESDAY 23 JULY

GALA NIGHT IN AID OF THE ALBERT KENNEDY TRUST 24 JULY

Tyrone Huntley will star as Wes in the European premiere of new LGBTQ+ musical THE VIEW UPSTAIRS, which runs from 18 July to 24 August at Soho Theatre, with a press night on Tuesday 23 July and a special gala night in aid of the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT) on 24 July.

He joins the previously announced Andy Mientus, Declan Bennett, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Cedric Neal and John Partridge who will play Patrick, Dale, Inez, Willie and Buddy respectively. Completing the cast are Carly Mercedes Dyer as Henri, Gary Lee as Freddy, Joseph Prouse as Richard and Derek Hagen as Cops/Realtor.

Tyrone Huntley was recently shortlisted for an Ian Charleson Award for his portrayal of Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Watermill, Newbury). He received the Evening Standard Emerging Talent Award and an Olivier Award nomination for the role of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Broadway World Award nominations for Gator in Memphis (Shaftesbury Theatre) and Doctor in The Book of Mormon (Prince of Wales). Some of his more recent theatre work includes Obi in Leave to Remain (Lyric, Hammersmith), Justin Laboy in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 21 Chump Street (The Courtyard Theatre) and C.C. White in Dreamgirls (Savoy Theatre). This year Tyrone made his directorial debut with Ain’t Misbehavin’ which received rave reviews at both The Mercury Theatre, Colchester and Southwark Playhouse.

A special gala night in aid of AKT will take place on 24 July with all proceeds from ticket sales going to the AKT, the national LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity, providing safe homes and better futures for people aged 16-25. 

AKT supports young LGBTQ+ people facing homelessness or living in a hostile environment, most of who have experienced rejection or abuse from their families and communities. AKT operates service centres in London, Manchester and Newcastle and operates across the UK with an online service, so that no young person has to choose between a safe home and being who they are. 

The musical opens in present day when Wes, a young fashion designer buys an abandoned space, not realising this had been the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant ’70s gay bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, which, in 1973, was burned down in an arson attack, killing 32 people, and making it the worst attack on the LGBTQ+ community until the 2016 shooting at The Pulse nightclub in Orlando. THE VIEW UPSTAIRS brings to life this forgotten community and takes the audience on an exhilarating journey of seduction and self-exploration, celebrating the lives of those forgotten, while featuring a soulful, rock and jazz score.

THE VIEW UPSTAIRS opened to rave reviews Off-Broadway in 2017, where Entertainment Weekly described it as “a moving homage to LGBT culture, past and present”, and the musical gained support from some of the LGBTQ+ community’s biggest advocates, including RuPaul. There is an original cast recording available on Broadway Records.

The London production of the musical is one of ten that have been and are being mounted around the world between 2017 and 2019. As well as a triumphant run Off-Broadway, THE VIEW UPSTAIRS has enjoyed multiple regional US productions and a recent Australian premiere.

The musical is written by young up-and-coming artist Max Vernon and will be directed in London by Jonathan O’Boyle (Aspects of Love, Pippin, Hair), with choreography by Fabian Aloise (Evita at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2019, The Rink, Our House, Working). The show will have set and costume design by Lee Newby, lighting design by Nic Farman, sound design by Adam Fisher, with casting by Will Burton CDG.

THE VIEW UPSTAIRS is produced in London by Jack Maple & Brian Zeilinger for Take Two Theatricals and Ken Fakler, with Creative House Productions and Associate Producers Ben Lockwood and Sue Marks.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

18 July – 24 August

21 Dean St,

Soho,

London W1D 3NE

Performance Times:

Monday – Saturday at 7.15pm

Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm

Tickets: from £10 (standing) and £19.50 (£18.50 concessions) seated. Please note, £1 restoration levy on all tickets.

Box Office:  020 7478 0100

Tickets:  www.sohotheatre.com

Website: www.theviewupstairs.co.uk

Twitter/Facebook/Instagram: @theviewupstairs

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR NATIONAL TOUR OF

ENID BLYTON’S

MALORY TOWERS

A MUSICAL ADAPTATION BY EMMA RICE

FOR WISE CHILDREN

19 JULY – 5 OCTOBER 2019

Wise Children’s adaptation of Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers, co-produced by York Theatre Royal in association with Bristol Old Vic, will star Rebecca Collingwood as Gwendoline Lacey, Mirabelle Gremaud as Irene Bartlett, Vinnie Heaven as Bill Robinson, Izuka Hoyle as Darrell Rivers, Renee Lamb as Alicia Johns, Francesca Mills as Sally Hope and Rose Shalloo as Mary Lou Atkinson. Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the musical opens on 25 July 2019 at The Passenger Shed in the company’s home city of Bristol, before embarking on a national tour to Cambridge, York, Exeter, Manchester and Oxford.

Rebecca Collingwood has previously appeared in Much Ado About Nothing and Love’s Labour’s Lost for the RSC at Chichester Festival Theatre and Theatre Royal Haymarket.  Mirabelle Gremaud has worked for dance-theatre and circus companies in Switzerland and England and was cast in Emma Rice’s first production of her new company, as Young Nora in Wise Children (Old Vic and UK Tour).  Vinnie Heaven is a non-binary trans performer. They are an associate artist of Strike A Light who produced She’s A Good Boy, written and performed by Vinnie,which toured nationally in 2019. Vinnie’s recent performance credits include Pingu in Cuckoo at Soho Theatre and Imaginary Friend in the national tour of Half The World Away.  Vinnie is also the co-artistic director of Raised Eyebrows Theatre, which is touring Charmane, a family show written by Vinnie, autumn 2019 to spring 2020. Izuka Hoyle has previously played Emily Davison in Sylvia (Old Vic), The Boy in The Selfish Giant (Royal & Derngate / Vaudeville), Catherine Parr in Six (Arts Theatre) and Selina in Working (Southwark Playhouse), as well as Mary Seton in the Working Title film Mary Queen of Scots.  Renee Lamb has previously played Armelia in Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Southwark Playhouse, Mercury Colchester), Chiffon in Little Shop of Horrors (Regent’s Park Open Theatre) and Catherine of Aragon in Six (Arts Theatre).  

Francesca Mills has appeared most recently in The American Clock (Old Vic), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Sheffield Crucible), Pity (Royal Court), The Two Noble Kinsmen (Shakespeare’s Globe), A Tale Of Two Cities (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), and she was nominated for the 2017 Ian Charleston Award for her performance in The Government Inspector (Birmingham Rep).  Her television work includes seasons two and three of Harlots (ITV) and film work includes Zoolander 2.  

Rose Shalloo has previously played Little Boy in The Selfish Giant (Vaudeville Theatre, Royal & Derngate), Margalit in To Paint the Earth (Southwark Playhouse), Chava in Fiddler on the Roof (Chichester Festival Theatre) and Shannon in A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer (National Theatre).  Her television roles include Ellen Maccoubrie in Holby City (BBC), Tasha in The Five (Sky), Hannah Commander in The Scandalous Lady W (BBC) and June Colter in Call the Midwife (BBC) and her film credits include Hannah in Emma (Working Title).

The windows shone. A green creeper climbed almost to the roof. It looked like an old-time castle.  My school! thought Darrell, and a little warm feeling came into her heart.  How lucky I am to be going to Malory Towers!

Nostalgic, naughty and perfect for now, Malory Towers is the original ‘Girl Power’ story, filled with high jinks, high drama and high spirits, all set to sensational live music and breathtaking animation.

Darrell Rivers is starting school with an eager mind and fierce heart.  Unfortunately she also has a quick temper!  Can she learn to tolerate the infuriating Gwendoline Lacey, or value the kind-hearted Sally Hope?  Can she save the school play and rescue terrified Mary Lou from the grip of a raging storm?  If she can do these things anywhere, she will do them at Malory Towers!

Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, this is a show for girls, boys, and all us grown up children who still dream of midnight feasts and Cornish clifftops.  With set and costume design by Lez Brotherston, lighting by Malcolm Rippeth, sound and video by Simon Baker and original music by Ian Ross.

This production is generously supported by Bristol City Council Culture Team and Sherborne Girls School.

The show is officially licensed by Enid Blyton Entertainment, a division of Hachette Children’s Group (HCG). Karen Lawler, Head of Licensed Content at HCG, says, “Enid Blyton created incredible female characters at Malory Towers: strong, capable and always, always kind. ‘Women the world can lean on,’ in Enid’s own words. We share Emma’s passion for these characters and we couldn’t be more excited to see Emma’s vision of Malory Towers come to life.”

Emma Rice on Malory Towers…

I’ve always been drawn to the years that followed the Second World War. It’s a time that feels close enough to touch, as I vividly remember my grandparents and how the war affected their lives. My Mum’s parents – poor and largely uneducated – decided that their children would have access to all the things that they hadn’t. I don’t know how they managed it on a railway worker’s pay, but my mother was sent to a remote grammar school in Dorset: Lord Digby’s School for Girls.

Whilst not a boarding school, Lord Digby’s was an extraordinary place of learning that changed my mother’s, and by extension my own, life. The tendrils of passion and education that Lord Digby’s stood for reach out across 60 years and more. They reached out over my inner city comprehensive education and have shaped my own beliefs and choices to this day.

My adaptation of Malory Towers is dedicated to the generation of women who taught in schools in that period. With lives shaped by the savagery of two wars, these teachers devoted themselves to the education and nurture of other women. It is also for the two generations of men that died in those same wars, leaving us with the freedom to lead meaningful, safe and empowered lives. And it is for Clement Attlee and his Labour government of 1945 who looked into the face of evil and chose to do what was right. These people changed the political landscape in their focus on care, compassion and the common good.

Malory Towers was written at the heart of this political revolution, and embodies a kindness, hope and love of life that knocks my socks off. ‘Long live our appetites and may our shadows never grow less!’ the girls cry.

My mother wrote to her teachers at Lord Digby’s until they died and is still friends with many of the girls she met there. And when I see my Mum, born into the poorest of rural backgrounds, enjoying Dickens and Almodovar and speaking French to her childhood pen-friend, I am stopped in my tracks. She went on to dedicate her life to the NHS and the helping of others whilst never losing her appetite for life, culture and hope. I salute her, and I cheer the education that threw this mind and soul into the air and said, “be a woman that the world can lean on”.

So that’s why I am making Malory Towers, with gratitude, hope and sheer pleasure! I call it my ‘Happy Lord of the Flies’ and it is joyfully radical to its bones. Imagine a world where (left to their own devices), people choose kindness. Imagine a world where difference is respected and arguments resolved with thought and care. Imagine a world that chooses community, friendship and fun. Now that’s a world I want to live in and, at Malory Towers, you can!

Tour Listings

The Passenger Shed – Station Approach, Bristol BS1 6QH

19 July – 18 August 2019

www.bristololdvic.org.uk

Box Office: 0117 9877 877

Cambridge Arts Theatre

5 – 7 September 2019

www.cambridgeartstheatre.com

Box Office: 01223 503333

Tickets on sale soon

York Theatre Royal

10 – 14 September 2019

www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Box Office: 01904 623568

Exeter Northcott Theatre

17 – 21 September 2019

www.exeternorthcott.co.uk

Box Office: 01392 726363

Tickets on general sale 16 May

HOME, Manchester

24 – 28 September 2019

www.homemcr.org

Box Office: 0161 200 1500

Oxford Playhouse

1 – 5 October 2019

www.oxfordplayhouse.com

Box Office: 01865 305305

Age Recommendation: 8+

WINNER OF FOUR OLIVIER AWARDS
INCLUDING BEST NEW MUSICAL

EXTENDS ITS RUN IN THE WEST END UNTIL FEBRUARY 2020

Hit musical Come From Away will extend its run in the West End until 15 February 2020. Telling the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded air passengers during the wake of 9/11, and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them, the critically acclaimed production recently earned great success at the Olivier Awards, winning “Best New Musical”, “Best Theatre Choreographer”, “Best Sound Design” and “Outstanding Achievement in Music”.

This joyous new musical recounts the incredible true story of how the residents of Gander, Newfoundland welcomed the passengers of planes from around the world. Cultures clashed, and nerves ran high, but as uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.

On 11 September 2001 the world stopped. On 12 September, their stories moved us all.

The multi award-winning musical continues sold-out, record-breaking engagements on Broadway, in Canada and on a 60-city North American Tour. An Australian production is confirmed to open this summer, and a feature film adaptation is in the works.

The cast of Come From Away in the West End includes Jenna Boyd (Beulah and others),Nathanael Campbell (Bob and others), Clive Carter (Claude and others), Mary Doherty(Bonnie and others), Robert Hands (Nick, Doug and others), Helen Hobson (Diane and others), Jonathan Andrew Hume (Kevin J, Ali and others), Harry Morrison (Oz and others),Emma Salvo (Janice and others), David Shannon (Kevin T, Garth and others), Cat Simmons(Hannah and others) and Rachel Tucker (Beverley, Annette and others) with Chiara Baronti,Mark Dugdale, Bob Harms, Kirsty Malpass, Tania Mathurin, Alexander McMorran,Brandon Lee Sears and Jennifer Tierney.

Under the Musical Direction of Alan Berry (Keyboard/Accordion/Harmonium), the band includesMatt Bashford (Whistles/Irish Flute/Uilleann Pipes), Aoife Ní Bhriain (Fiddle), Dan Day(Drums/Percussion), Ray Fean (Bodhrán/Percussion), Joey Grant (Electric Bass/Acoustic Bass),Justin Quinn (Acoustic Guitar/Mandolins/Bazouki) and Mark Wraith (Electric, Acoustic and Nylon Guitars).

Come From Away features a book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein and is directed by Christopher Ashley, with musical staging by Kelly Devine, music supervision and arrangements by Ian Eisendrath, scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Gareth Owen, hair design by David Brian Brown, orchestrations by August Eriksmoen, and casting by Pippa Ailion CDG and Natalie Gallacher CDG.

In addition to winning 4 Olivier Awards (London) including “Best New Musical”, Come From Away has scooped multiple awards all across North America:  the Tony Award for “Best Direction of a Musical”, 5 Outer Critics Circle Awards (NYC) including “Outstanding New Broadway Musical”, 3 Drama Desk Awards (NYC) including “Outstanding Musical”, 4 Helen Hayes Awards (Washington DC) including “Outstanding Production of a Musical”, 4 Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Awards, 4 Gypsy Rose Lee Awards (Seattle) including “Excellence in Production of a Musical”, 6 San Diego Critics Circle Awards including “Outstanding New Musical”, 3 Toronto Theatre Critics Awards including “Best New Musical”, 3 Dora Awards (Toronto) including “Outstanding New Musical/Opera” and “Outstanding Production”, and the 2017 Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award (Toronto).

Come From Away was originally co-produced in 2015 by La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre, and presented in 2016 by Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC and Mirvish Productions at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, Canada, all in partnership with Junkyard Dog Productions. Come From Away (NAMT Festival 2013) was originally developed at the Canadian Music Theatre Project, Michael Rubinoff Producer, Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, and was further developed at Goodspeed Musicals’ Festival of New Artists, in East Haddam CT. The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle WA also provided development support.

Come From Away is produced in the UK by Junkyard Dog Productions and Smith & Brant Theatricals. The European premiere of Come From Away was co-produced with the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s National Theatre.

LISTINGS

COME FROM AWAY
Website | Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram

Phoenix Theatre
Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0JP

Performance schedule

Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm
Wednesday and Saturday matinee performances at 2.30pm

Christmas 2019 performance schedule

Monday 23 December: 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Tuesday 24 December: No performance
Wednesday 25 December: No performance
Thursday 26 December: 7.30pm
Friday 27 December: 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Saturday 28 December: 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Sunday 29 December: 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Monday 30 December: No performance
Tuesday 31 December: 2.30pm
Wednesday 1 January: 7.30pm
Thursday 2 January: 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Friday 3 January: 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Saturday 4 January: 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Sunday 5 January: No performance

Box office details

Website www.ComeFromAwayLondon.co.uk
Telephone 0844 871 7615
Prices from £19.50

THE SPIEGELTENT UNDERBELLY, SOUTH BANK FESTIVAL UNTIL -16th MAY 2019

Reviewed by Serena Norgren

4****

Dominic Cooke’s Olivier award winning revival of Follies, a wry, classy American musical by Stephen Sondheim wowed audiences and critics alike. Glitz, glamour, a wonderful score – an ensemble piece performed by a truly talented bunch – it had everything. Unfortunately, it closed at the National last weekend. The end of something really special.

It would appear that the cast also felt like this which is a great tribute to both the show and each other. And from this, On Reflection was devised. It is essentially a series of behind the scene tales told individually by members of the cast about their lives and careers with each performer talking about themselves, sharing a photograph and performing a song of their choice. Sometimes hilarious, often extremely moving with profound life stories being shared in a deeply personal environment.

It could have been cheesy, indulgent, narcissistic but it wasn’t: led by Janie Dee (who played Phyllis) it was a very special experience. Gemma Sutton (Young Sally) opened proceedings recounting her hilarious story of getting into drama school and singing Taking a Chance on Love. She was followed equally brilliantly by Caroline Fitzgerald who replicated her drama school audition piece in a wonderfully bonkers way, The Girl in 14G.

The mood changed to a moving tale of Harry Hepple (Young Buddy)‘s relationship with his dad and a lovely duet with Ian McLarnon (Ensemble). Christine Tucker (Young Phyllis) talked about resilience and her paraplegic brother teaching himself to walk with the takeaway motto “stick to your guns, know your worth”. Alyn Hawke (US Young Buddy) did a wonderful Fred Astaire medley; Lindsay Atherton (Young Carlotta) performed Rise Up by Andrew Day “because this song terrifies me”. Vanessa Fisher (Young Stella) talked about how tough the industry is and we ended with the marvellous Janie Dee singing an unused song from the Follies score. All directed and accompanied on the piano by Stefan Bednarczyk. Blimey, they are a talented lot.

The love in the room was palpable: a small audience with lots of cast family and friends present made for a wonderfully intimate experience, almost to the point of voyeuristic. It was a true privilege to be part of it and a rare insight into the roller coaster that is the performing arts business. A little rough round the edges and it certainly didn’t feel over rehearsed but this somehow added to the intimacy.

If you are a Follies fan, it is mandatory, if you are an aspiring performer it is a masterclass and if you are simply a musical theatre fan it is just plain fabulous.

EMMA RICE’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF WISE CHILDREN TO BE SCREENED IN CINEMAS ACROSS UK AND IRELAND

★★★★★
“Fantastic. Life-enhancing, brilliantly uninhibited, all-singing and dancing… Stars? I’m not sure why you would stop at five.”

The Observer

More2Screen today announces the cinema release of the critically acclaimed stage adaptation of Angela Carter’s Wise Children which will be screened in more than 250 cinemas across the UK and Ireland from 3 October 2019. Directed and adapted for the stage by Emma Rice, the production is the first from her new company Wise Children. Cinema tickets are on sale now at WiseChildrenCinema.com

★★★★

“An explosion of theatrical glee”

The Times

Filmed live for the cinema screen at York Theatre Royal in March 2019, multi-award-winning director Emma Rice brings her unique, exuberantly impish vision to Angela Carter’s great last novel in this brand-new play. A big, bawdy tangle of theatrical joy and heartbreak, Wise Children is a celebration of show business, family, forgiveness and hope, with a generous dash of Shakespeare, scandal and mischief. Performed by a spectacular ensemble cast, this colourful all-singing and dancing show takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotion. 

Emma Rice said today, “We’ve had a glorious adventure with our company so far, and the cinema release of our inaugural production, Wise Children, is a wonderful conclusion to the tour. I’m absolutely delighted that a wider audience will get to an opportunity to see our work and revel in the joyful world of Angela Carter’s novel.”

Christine Costello, CEO and Founder of More2Screen added, “The appetite for first-rate theatre events at the cinema continues to grow and we’re thrilled that this vibrant and inventive production of Wise Children from the celebrated director Emma Rice will be seen by cinema audiences across the UK and Ireland in the autumn.”

The cast is Sam Archer (Young Peregrine), Ankur Bahl (Young Melchior), Stu Barker (The Band), Omari Douglas (Showgirl Nora), Mirabelle Gremaud (Young Nora), Alex Heane (TheBand), Paul Hunter (Melchior Hazard), Melissa James (Showgirl Dora), Bettrys Jones (Young Dora), Patrycja Kujawska (Lady Atalanta/Wheelchair), Etta Murfitt (Nora Chance), Katy Owen (Grandma Chance), Ian Ross (Band Leader), Gareth Snook (Dora Chance)and Mike Shepherd (Peregrine Hazard).

Emma Rice is the proud and excited Artistic Director of her new company, Wise Children. Following her adaptation of Angela Carter’s Wise Children, this year the company will present the UK tour of Enid Blyton’sMalory Towers, adapted and directed by Rice. As Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe (2016/18), she directed Romantics Anonymous, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Little Matchgirl (and Other Happier Tales). For the previous 20 years, she worked for Kneehigh as an actor, director and Artistic Director. Her productions for Kneehigh include: The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Tristan & Yseult, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, The Wild Bride, The Red Shoes, The Wooden Frock, The Bacchae, Cymbeline (in association with RSC), A Matter of Life and Death (in association with National Theatre), Rapunzel (in association with Battersea Arts Centre); Brief Encounter (in association with David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers Productions); Don John (in association with the RSC and Bristol Old Vic); Wah! Wah! Girls (in association with Sadler’s Wells and Theatre Royal Stratford East for World Stages); and Steptoe and Son. Other work includes: the West End production of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Oedipussy (Spymonkey); The Empress (RSC); and An Audience with Meow Meow (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). Brief Encounter was revived last year at the Empire Cinema Haymarket.

For more information or to find a cinema screening Wise Children please visit: www.wisechildrencinema.com

#WiseChildren

#WiseChildrenCinema

Running time:                    150 mins

BBFC Age Rating:              15

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GAY TIMES

WILL BE CELEBRATING PRIDE MONTH
WITH THE NEXT LONDON CAST ALBUM KARAOKE NIGHT ON
26 JUNE

The next Waitress London Cast Album Karaoke Night has been confirmed for Wednesday 26 June – in partnership with Gay Times. Audience members who want to take part just need to sign up before that evening’s show for the chance to sing one minute of any song from Waitress – live on stage at the Adelphi and accompanied by the show’s musical director Katharine Woolley. Hosts and further details about the event will be announced in due course.

Waitress celebrated its official opening night on 7 March and the Tony-nominated musical by Sara Bareilles is now booking to 19 October.

London’s brand-new smash hit musical comedy Waitresstells the story of Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams her way out of a loveless marriage. When a hot new doctor arrives in town, life gets complicated. With the support of her workmates Becky and Dawn, Jenna overcomes the challenges she faces and finds that laughter, love and friendship can provide the perfect recipe for happiness. 

Gay Times is Europe’s longest-running LGBTQ publication. Later this year, Gay Times will release its 500th issue, a first for any queer publication in Europe. 

Brought to life by a ground breaking, female-led creative team, the hit show features an original score by 7-time Grammy® nominee Sara Bareilles (Love Song, Brave), a book by acclaimed screenwriterJessie Nelson (I Am Sam) and direction by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Finding Neverland) and choreography by Lorin Latarro. The production is currently touring the US and has also announced it will have its Australian premiere in 2020 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.

Alongside Katharine McPhee as Jenna, Waitress stars Jack McBrayer as Ogie, Marisha Wallace as Becky, Laura Baldwin as Dawn, Peter Hannah as Earl, David Hunter as Dr. Pomatter and Shaun Prendergast as Old Joe.

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

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

BOUNDLESS THEATRE ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS FOR THE

BOUNDLESS ACCELERATOR BURSARY

Boundless Theatre today announces the four recipients of the inaugural Boundless Accelerator Bursary funded by the Garfield Weston Foundation. Aimed specifically at supporting the co-creation of new work with teenagers, this year the bursary focuses on mental health and wellbeing with the project culminating in a showing on 4 December 2019 in London. The four chosen recipients, who will be provided with £2500 for the year, are actor and theatre-maker Ryan Gilmartin with Barbarians, actor and theatre-maker Natalya Martinwith Carnival, digital theatre company Produced Moon with Run Code and arts production company Nouveau Riché with For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Was Too Heavy.

Rob Drummer, Artistic Director of Boundless, said today,“The Accelerator Bursary is our way of getting extraordinary artists and teenagers together to co-create with a theme set by our Advisory Group, meaning the whole process is led by young adults.  We had almost 50 applications from across the UK and could have awarded many more bursaries, the quality was that high.  We can’t wait to share the first stage of development later this year and hope that many more young adults will be inspired by what is created.”

Produced Moon’s

RUN CODE

Inspired by Games for Change, the movement that uses digital games as a tool for social change, Produced Moon will collaborate with young people in Bermondsey to create games exploring aspects of mental health. Experimenting with the emerging genre of game theatre, alongside video and board games, game mechanics will be used to explore strategies for building resilience and self-care. Through collective game-play, Produced Moon aims to find honest and open ways of talking about what we can do together to change conversations around mental health.

Produced Moonare an interactive, digital theatre company working at the intersection of theatre and gaming, based between London and Glasgow. Recent work includes Switchboard, The Inventors Squad and Electric.

Natalya Martin’s

CARNIVAL

Carnival is created for young people with disabilities, collaboratively developed by actor and theatre-maker Natalya Martin. The piece will creatively explore how issues around mental health and emotional wellbeing affect the lives of teenagers and young adults with disabilities today.

Set on a fictional island surrounded by a body of water, Carnival explores live music, dance and a multitude of multi-sensory experiences.

Natalya Martin is an actor, multi-sensory practitioner and theatre-maker. Her goal is to make work that is fully accessible, relatable and of quality, for and with people with disabilities. She is the co-founder of theatre company FEEL Theatre, which specialises in creating sensory stories, shows and experiences. 

Nouveau Riché’s

FOR BLACK BOYS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE HUE WAS TOO HEAVY

For Black Boys… articulates the heartache, confusion, rage, and desires of young black men. The play explores how the pressures placed on black men contribute to emotional and mental trauma, and the threat of additional black suicides.

The affirmative resolution of For Black Boys… is to signify the collective community of Brotherhood, that calls for men to first love themselves, then learn to love one another.

Winners of the 2018 Edinburgh Stage Award and The Untapped Award, Nouveau Riché is a multi – disciplinary arts production company. Previous theatre credits include Queens of Sheba, Chateau Marmont and Book of Actions. Their objective is to discover, nurture and produce unique stories that are culturally inclusive, with a keen scope on work that is both educational and entertaining. 

Ryan Gilmartin’s

BARBARIANS

Developed by Ryan Gilmartin and James Monaghan, Barbarians queries the experiential differences between rural and urban living.

Barbarians: a member of a people not belonging to one of the greats (Ancient Rome, Modern London).

The common myths and stories that we tell each other are breaking up locally and digitally.

In a world getting smaller yet further apart, Ryan will return to his hometown in Spalding, Lincolnshire with James to investigate the differences between living ‘in the sticks’ and cities. 

Is there a link between physical isolation and the mental health of young people?

We don’t know what we’ll find or what we’ll do; but whatever it is, we’ll bring it to London.

Ryan Gilmartin is a multi-disciplinary actor, theatre maker and video DJ. He has made work for the National Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre and Sheffield Theatres.

The Lowry, Salford – until 19^th May 2019. 

Reviewed by Sarah Cockerill

4****

Theatregoers of The Lowry, Salford, reversed back in time to 1950s London and were introduced to the ominous Monkswell Manor Guest House, where murder is the chilling topic everyone is talking about.

The plot begins with newlyweds and now co-business owners Mollie Ralston (Harriett Hare) and Giles Ralston (Nick Biadon) who, in the midst of a snow storm, have opened the doors of their manor to guests – Mrs Boyle (Gwyneth Strong), Mr Paravacini (David Alcock), Christopher Wren (Lewis Chandler), Major Metcalf (John Griffiths), and Miss Caswell (Saskia Vaigncourt-Strallen).

A heinous crime has been reported in the capital and as each character is interrogated by Sargent Trotter (Geoff Arnold), it quickly becomes apparent that everyone is a suspect, and anyone could be the next victim.

Gwyneth Strong’s portrayal of the uptight Mrs Boyle was excellent and was a far cry from her character in the much-loved Only Fools and Horses. The highlight though, had to be the outstanding performance from Lewis Chandler as the peculiar Christopher Wren, who had the audience in stitches all night.

Press pause on the TV criminal dramas and documentaries, and head out to The Lowry, Salford this week to see this deliciously macabre classic piece of theatre that’s become the longest running performance of any kind around the world. Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap will be at The Lowry until this Saturday 19^th May before continuing its UK-wide tour.

This Agatha Christie whodunit isn’t the kind of show you would go and see again and again, but I would urge everyone to see it once and become part of theatre’s best kept secret….

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED TO JOIN

SERGEI POLUNIN & JOHAN KOBBORG

IN A NEW MIXED BILL

AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM

OPENING 28 MAY 2019

The full cast has been announced for Sergei Polunin’s new mixed programme at the London Palladium from 28 May to 1 June 2019.

Programme 1:  28, 29, 30 May

Fraudulent Smile

Sergei Polunin

Johan Kobborg

Alexey Lyubimov

Dejan Kolarov 

Liam Morris

Chloe Reveillon

Ionut-Andrei Dinita

Oscar Ward 

Laurine Muccioli

Paradox

Alexey Lyubimov

Dejan Kolarov

Sacré 

Sergei Polunin

Programme 2:  31 May & 1 June

Rasputin 

Sergei Polunin – Grigori Rasputin

Johan Kobborg – Prince Felix Yusupov (31 May)

Semyon Velichko – Prince Felix Yusupov (1 June)

Alexey Lyubimov – Tsar Nicholas II 

Elena Ilinykh – Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna

Djorjde Kalenic – Tsesarevich Alexey

Polunin is also delighted to announce that haute couturist, Ulyana Sergeenko, will be designing the costumes for the world premiere of Rasputin.  Her gowns have been worn by Madonna, Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie and Rihanna, to name a few.

Fraudulent Smile is choreographed by Ross Freddie Ray to music by KROKE.  Paradox and Sacré have both been choreographed by Japanese dancer and choreographer Yuka Oishi. Paradox is performed to music by Stravinsky (Soldier’s Tale) and Chopin.  Sacré is a piece of tanztheater set to Stravinsky’s iconic The Rite of Spring.  Both Paradox and Sacré explore aspects of the life of famous dancer Vaslav Nijinsky in his 130^th birthday year, with Sacré reinterpreting his infamous ballet Le Sacre du Printemps, originally created for Ballets Russes in 1913. The ballets are inspired by Nijinsky’s demand for a “feeling, not thinking Human”, by masterpieces of the Art Brut – the movement of the outsider art, by the essence of rebellion.

The world premiere of Rasputin is also choreographed by Yuka Oishi, with a new score by Russia’s most prominent representative of the neoclassical music scene, Kirill Richter, and set design by Otto Bubenicek. Rasputin, a two-act dance drama, explores the life of the Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Tsar Nicholas II.Website: www.poluninink.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sergeipolunin.dancer
Twitter: @SergeiPolunin_
Instagram: @poluninink

LISTINGS INFORMATION

28 May – 1 June 2019

London Palladium

Argyll Street

London W1F 7LA

Running time for Programmes 1 & 2: 90 minutes (including interval)

Performances: Tuesday-Saturday at 7.30pm and Saturday matinee at 2:30pm

Tickets:  from £20 (subject to booking fees)

Box Office:  020 7087 7757