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GIFFORDS CIRCUS PERFORM AT SACKLER COURTYARD, VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM AHEAD OF UK WIDE TOUR

Yesterday, children and adults alike were given a half term treat that they wouldn’t forget, as the renowned Giffords Circus put on a show in Sackler Courtyard, V&A Museum, giving guests a taster of what to expect from their upcoming UK tour.

The performances took place to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of circus, with the V&A set to display one of founder and producer Nell Gifford’s most iconic costumes, in the prestigious costume galleries for the next twelve months. The circus owner and equestrienne wore the costume in Giffords’ 2017 show, Any Port in a Storm, and it was designed by internationally acclaimed designer, takis.

Giffords Circus will be touring their new show, My Beautiful Circus, across stunning iconic locations across the country. The show will open on Friday 4 May at Fennells Farm, Stroud with an official press night on Thursday 28 June at Chiswick House & Gardens, London.

In 1768 near Westminster Bridge, equestrian rider Philip Astley drew out a 42-foot circle and filled it with jugglers, acrobats, clowns, strong men and bareback horse riders. This spectacle was the world’s very first circus.

My Beautiful Circus will feature some of the classical acts such as: death-defying acrobatics, enchanting domestic animals and fan-favourite of Giffords Circus comedic genius, Tweedy the clown.  Circus-goers can enjoy dining at Giffords exclusive rustic restaurant, Circus Sauce that tours with them.  Circus Sauce serves a set 3-course menu that changes weekly, using seasonal produce from the surrounding area.

Founder, and producer Nell Gifford has said:

“We are so thrilled to be taking part of the celebration of the 250^th year of circus. Show director Cal McCrystal and I have been asking ourselves: What makes the circus so magnetic? What is conjured up by the word circus? Why do we want to run away with the circus? What would the most beautiful circus look like? I hope that next year’s show will answer all those questions and more.”

GIFFORDS CIRCUS – MY BEAUTIFUL CIRCUS 2018 TOUR DATES

www.giffordscircus.com

Box Office:  01242 691 181

Friday 4 May – Monday 14 May
Fennells Farm, Stroud

Thursday 17 May – Monday 21 May
Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe

Thursday 25 May – Monday 4 June
Daylesford Organic Farm, Kingham

Thursday 7 June – Monday 11 June
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire

Thursday 14 June – Monday 25 June
Oxford University Parks, Oxford

Thursday 28 June – Monday 9 July
Chiswick House & Gardens, London

Thursday 12 July – Monday 16 July
Windsor Great Park, Berkshire

Thursday 19 July – Monday 23 July
Stonor Park, Henley on Thames

Thursday 26 July – Monday 6 August
Barrington, Burford

Thursday 9 August – Monday 13 August
Village Green, Frampton on Severn

Thursday 16 August – Tuesday 28 August
Minchinhampton Common, Gloucestershire

Thursday 31 August – Monday 10 September
Marlborough Common, Wiltshire

Thursday 13 September – Monday 24 September
Stratton Meadows, Cirencester

Thursday 27 September- Sunday 30 September
Fennells Farm, Stroud

To purchase tickets across the tour please visit: 
www.giffordscircus.com

From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads
Jacksons Lane, 269a Archway Road, London N6 5AA
Tuesday 6th – Saturday 10th March 2018
Live streaming: Thursday 8th March

Fresh from a successful UK tour, From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads will come to Jacksons Lane for a limited run this March. Celebrating David Bowie, one of the greatest musical figures of all time, this fantastic production has now played over 100 shows to delighted and enthralled audiences. For the first time, the show will also be live streamed on www.fromibiza.net on 8th March allowing the show to reach an international audience.

Martin, a young man who lives in a small Northamptonshire village, struggles with mental health issues. When he receives an unexpected gift on his 18th birthday, he goes to London following his obsession with Bowie where he is propelled on a surreal and thrilling journey. He performs on the stage where Ziggy Stardust was born, finds himself in Bowie’s bedroom and is led on a
treasure trail to discover the truth about himself and his family. What follows will change his life forever…

Director and writer Adrian Berry comments, When we started thinking about the show originally in 2015 our ambitions were to maybe do a little run in a London fringe theatre, 50 seats or so. Now over 100 performances later, to be playing such beautiful and big houses at some of the most prestigious venues in the country is more than we ever dreamt of. The response has been unexpected but hugely welcome. It’s still very recently that David passed away, so we hope we are serving his legacy in the best possible way.

With a blistering soundtrack, and nods to Bowie’s heroes and influences, From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads is a theatrical road movie, thrillingly evoking Bowie’s London. The production features Alex Walton (the lead actor in Suede’s Bowie homage ‘Night Thoughts’ film) and the voice of comedian Rob Newman as Bowie.

…this lament for the world’s misfits is given real clout by Walton, who plays a range of characters with impressive conviction but makes Martin so touchingly believable that you want to reach out a helping hand to stop him falling (The Guardian).

…a dream from which even the audience don’t want to wake up (Fest Magazine).

Cafe de Paris – 14 February 2018.  By Claire Roderick

There was glitter, glamour and romance aplenty at the Café de Paris this Valentine’s Day for the Strictly Ballroom the Musical launch party.

The iconic story of bad boy of ballroom Scott and his inexperienced partner Fran has touched the hearts and funny bones for decades, with its mix of cute kitsch and crassness that only the Australians can pull off – and this show looks like a sure-fire winner. With book by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, and costumes by Catherine Martin, what could possibly go wrong?

Will Young hosted proceedings with his usual self-deprecating humour, looking perfect for his specially written role as band leader Wally Strand, serenading the crowd with a beautiful version of Time After Time as Jonny Labey and Zizi Strallen gave us a glimpse of their dance chemistry as Scott and Fran. Fernando Mira, as Fran’s father, then wowed us with a fiery and powerful Pasodoble.

Drew McOnie spoke passionately about the effect the original film had on his dancing, and the parallels between Scott and him, while Catherine Martin recalled the effect the original show, with its spirit of revolution, had on audiences in Bratislava before the Wall came down. There was a whole lot of love in the room – which reached its heights as the cast (with gloriously OTT costume and hair) danced around Will Young to Love Is In The Air. The smiles on everyone’s faces said it all.

And with all that fizz and love, let’s take a moment to toast the professionalism of the British press – not one of us screamed “FRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN” or “SSSCCCOOOOOOOOOOTT” (out loud).

Previews begin 29th March 2018 at the Piccadilly Theatre – this will be one of THE shows of the year.

Sarah Alles cast in Marion Bott’s
Moormaid
Arcola Theatre – Studio 2, 24 Ashwin Street, Dalston, London E8 3DL
Wednesday 18th April – Saturday 19th May 2018

Renowned German actress Sarah Alles has been cast in Marion Bott’s Moormaid – an explosive new play about two lost individuals’ search for freedom. Moormaid will mark both Alles and Bott’s UK debuts.

Set in Berlin, Moormaid is a thrilling chamber-play about self-destruction and rebirth that attempts to understand the fear currently gripping the European psyche, and the threats that may be posed by our own alienated youth. Bott’s inspiration for Moormaid came in 2014, when she discovered that two of her old classmates had travelled to Syria to fight for IS and didn’t come back. She was shocked by the banality with which the news was discussed and how this absurdity has now become a normality.

Moormaid tackles challenging and important issues that are often neglected: cultural differences, radicalisation, mental health, self-acceptance and isolation. It seeks to better understand the human beings caught up in extremism and the cages we build for ourselves that form our point of view.

Berlin. Eleven past eleven. Art teacher Melissa is about to do something drastic. Seeking a place to hide, her ex-pupil Mehdi interrupts her momentum. This meeting is the key to her questions as Melissa represents a depressed and fearful generation longing to break out. Medhi is the mirror of her darkest and greatest desires – he provokes and draws out all the suppressed aspects of her personality and brings them back to life, no matter how uncomfortable it becomes. Both embark on a turbulent journey, painting and battling their way through the past.

Bott comments, The shocking news about my classmates haunted me until I took the decision to seek and better understand, rather than to judge in ignorance. As I sought the uncomfortable truths, the story of Moormaid took shape. The play tackles hugely complex themes, which we hear on the news all the time, but I’m interested in the humans behind it. Especially the radicalised youth. It’s really important to listen to their rage, and instead of being scared and letting the fear grow: face it and transform it. And never forget to ask: where is the human
behind all this?”

Alles comments, I’m excited to be making my UK debut at Arcola Theatre and I’m looking forward to diving into this incredible new play. Melissa is a strong female character despite her struggles with her inner mind – she has built a cage around herself, like a dolls house that she has to live in. I hope we can make people wake up and see the cages they build and hopefully tear them into pieces

The full cast for this fantastic new play will be announced at the end of February. Moormaid has been kindly supported by Arts Council England and Arcola Theatre.

RIFCO STUDIO PRESENTS

PYAR ACTUALLY

AT THEATRE ROYAL STRATFORD EAST

By Sukh Ojla

Writer: Sukh Ojla

Director: Pravesh Kumar 

Designer: Rebecca Brower

Lighting Designer: Jack Weir

Sound Designer: Matt Eaton

Following a sold out tour in 2017, Sukh Ojla’s comedy drama Pyar Actually (Love Actually), returns to the main stage at Theatre Royal Stratford East, Tuesday 15^th May to Saturday 19^th May 2018.

The play follows thirty-something Polly whose picture perfect life is interrupted when her first love Bali gets in touch 20 years later. Sukh developed the play, which explores themes of duty, love and missed opportunities, through a series of community workshops, readings and peer-to-peer mentorship as part of the Rifco Associates programme.

Sukh Ojla is a writer, actress and stand up comedian. Pyar Actually is her first full-length play. She won Monologue Slam with her self-penned monologue Settling, has written and performed stand up comedy for the Alchemy Festival, won the Make The Cut competition at the St James Theatre and performed at BBC Asian Network’s Big Comedy Night.  

Rifco Associates is a two-year rolling programme for artists and creatives both early in their career and mid-career, supporting them to create a new piece of work or develop a new concept. This structured programme is about opening up access to a wider range of people working in theatre and celebrating the voices of British Asian contemporary artists both on the stage and behind the scenes.

Rifco Studio is Rifco theatre on a smaller scale. Offering the opportunity for new writing and developing artists to present their work. The productions are shorter, with fewer cast members and minimal stage setting, but with the same quality, vibrancy and contemporary British Asian storytelling that audiences have come to expect from Rifco Theatre Company.

Theatre Royal Stratford East, London

Tue 15 May – Sat 19 May 2018

Evenings 7.30pm, Sat 4pm & 7.30pm

0208 534 0310

www.stratfordeast.com

RIFCO THEATRE COMPANY

Artistic Director, Pravesh Kumar founded Rifco Theatre Company in 1999 in Slough and since 2011, Rifco has been Resident Company at Watford Palace Theatre.

Rifco develops and produces new plays and musicals, touring nationally to some of the UK’s most prestigious regional theatres. Our work celebrates and reflects contemporary British Asian experiences, culture and society. We present theatre of scale and spectacle that is authentic, topical, thought-provoking, rich and entertaining.

Our success lies in understanding our audience. A vital part of creating new work is through listening and working alongside British Asian communities. Kumar’s work is ‘homegrown’ and he believes in gently challenging perceptions and warmly reflecting the communities he knows.

We are committed to diversifying the kind of work seen in our British theatres. We do this by commissioning British Asian playwrights and working with as many diverse actors, designers, directors that we can find. We also provide opportunities for British South Asian talent to develop their ideas and careers through our Rifco Associates and Rifco Studio strands.

Rifco Theatre Company is a charity, a company limited by guarantee and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.

A Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Royal & Derngate, Northampton, and Northern Stage co-production in association with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse

WORLD PREMIÈRE
The Lovely Bones
By Alice Sebold
Adapted by Bryony Lavery
Directed by Melly Still

• ALICE SEBOLD’S GLOBAL BESTSELLING BOOK, THE LOVELY BONES IS BROUGHT TO LIFE ON STAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME

• THE LOVELY BONES RECEIVES ITS WORLD PREMIÈRE IN A CO-PRODUCTION BETWEEN BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE, ROYAL & DERNGATE  AND NORTHERN STAGE IN ASSOCIATION WITH LIVERPOOL EVERYMAN & PLAYHOUSE

• ADAPTED BY BRYONY LAVERY, DIRECTED BY MELLY STILL AND COMMISSIONED BY BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE

The world premiere of The Lovely Bones, one of the bestselling novels of the 21st century and now adapted for the stage by Bryony Lavery and directed by Melly Still, will open at Royal & Derngate, Northampton on 1 September 2018 before transferring to partner theatres Everyman Liverpool, Northern Stage, Newcastle and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. The show will also tour to The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich.

Alice Sebold’s unique coming-of-age tale captured the hearts of readers throughout the world when it was first published in 2002. An uplifting story about life after loss, The Lovely Bones, achieved critical acclaim and became an instant bestseller across the world. It won the Indies Choice Book Award for Adult Fiction 2003 and was on Oprah’s Book Club list for 2010.

The Lovely Bones tells the story of young girl Susie Salmon, who is just like any other girl. She wants to be beautiful, adores her charm bracelet and has a crush on a boy from school. There’s one big difference though – Susie is dead. Susie can only observe while her family cope with their grief in their different ways. Her father, Jack is obsessed with identifying the killer. Her mother, Abigail is desperate to create a brighter future. And her sister, Lindsay is discovering the opposite sex with experiences that Susie will never know. Susie is desperate to help them and there might be a way of reaching them.

Alice Sebold today expressed her excitement to “see The Lovely Bones as a play and to see its characters come to life on stage” whilst Bryony Lavery spoke of her passion for this “rich, funny, tough, healing book” saying that “I’ve found that the huge story is very, very happy to change its medium and reveal its treasures on the stages at five of the UK’s leading theatres. I am a most fortunate playwright!”

Bryony Lavery’s acclaimed work includes the Tony Award-winning Frozen (due to be revived in the West End this spring) Stockholm (Frantic Assembly), Kursk (Young Vic) and Beautiful Burnout(National Theatre of Scotland and Frantic Assembly).

Bringing The Lovely Bones to life on stage is director Melly Still, whose credits include the acclaimed Olivier and Tony Award-nominated production of Coram Boy (National Theatre and Broadway), My Beautiful Friend (Rose Theatre Kingston) and several recent productions for Glyndebourne, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

#LovelyBones18

Listings Information:

Royal & Derngate, Guildhall Road, Northampton NN1 1DP
National Press Night: Wednesday 5 September at 7pm
Dates: Saturday 1 to Saturday 22 September 2018
Times: Evenings 7.45pm (except Wednesday 5 September 7pm)
Matinees – Thursday and Saturday 2.30pm (excl. Saturday 1 September)
No performances on Sundays
Tickets: On sale in March
Box Office:  01604 624811 or online at www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Everyman Liverpool, Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BH
Dates: Tuesday 25 September to Saturday 6 October 2018
Press Night: Wednesday 26 September
Tickets: On general sale from 19 March
Box Office: 0151 709 4776 or online at www.everymanplayhouse.com

Northern Stage, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RH
Press Night: Tuesday 9 Oct, 7.30pm
Dates: Tuesday 9 October until Saturday 20 October 2018
Times: Evenings 7.30pm, Wednesday 10 October, 6pm
Matinees Saturday 13, Wednesday 17 & Saturday 20 October 2pm
No performances on Sundays
Tickets from £10
Box Office:  0191 230 5151 or online at www.northernstage.co.uk

Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham
B1 2EP
Dates: Tuesday 30 October until Saturday 10 November 2018
Times: 7.30pm Monday – Saturday, apart from 7pm on Wednesday 31 Oct.  Matinees at 2pm on Thursday 1, Saturday 3, Thursday 8 and Saturday 10 November
Tickets: From £10 (subject to availability)
Box Office: 0121 236 4455 or online at www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

New Wolsey Theatre, Civic Drive, Ipswich IP1 2AS
Dates: Tuesday 13 November until Saturday 17 November 2018
Times: 7pm Tuesday, 7.45pm Wednesday to Saturday, 2.30pm Matinees Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 and Saturday 17 November
Tickets: From £10 (subject to availability)
Box Office: 01473 295900 or online at wolseytheatre.co.uk

CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE ANNOUNCES FESTIVAL 2018 SEASON

Chichester Festival Theatre’s Festival 2018, the second season under the leadership of Artistic Director Daniel Evans and Executive Director Rachel Tackley is announced today. Building on the success of a record-breaking season in 2017, it offers a kaleidoscopic array of classics, musicals and new work – illustrating the breadth of CFT’s work and determination to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

 Festival 2018 includes classic comedies, powerful contemporary dramas and
timely revivals, as well as two musicals and a family show

 New plays by Charlotte Jones, Bryony Lavery and Laura Wade

 Headline actors include Rufus Hound, Penelope Keith, Amanda Root, Oliver Ford Davies, Susannah Fielding, Caroline Quentin, Charles Edwards, Paul Jesson,
Clare Burt, Joanna Riding and Gary Wilmot

 Directors new to the Festival are Natalie Abrahami, Michael Blakemore, Tinuke Craig, Sean Foley, Kate Hewitt and Dale Rooks, alongside Daniel Evans, Jonathan Munby, Alan Strachan and Samuel West

 Over 20,000 tickets at £10 in the Festival Theatre

 Major revivals of classic and contemporary dramas:
 Sean Foley directs Rufus Hound in Noël Coward’s PRESENT
LAUGHTER
 debbie tucker green’s random and generations are directed in a double
bill by Tinuke Craig
 Penelope Keith, Amanda Root and Oliver Ford Davies lead the cast of
Enid Bagnold’s THE CHALK GARDEN, directed by Alan Strachan
 Jonathan Munby directs Wycherley’s Restoration comedy THE
COUNTRY WIFE, with Susannah Fielding
 Michael Frayn’s COPENHAGEN receives a 20th anniversary revival by
original director Michael Blakemore
 COCK by Mike Bartlett is directed by Kate Hewitt

 Two musicals directed by Daniel Evans:
 ME AND MY GIRL, with Caroline Quentin
 Clare Burt, Joanna Riding and Gary Wilmot lead the cast of FLOWERS
FOR MRS HARRIS

 Three new plays:
 THE MEETING by Charlotte Jones, directed by Natalie Abrahami
 THE WATSONS by Laura Wade, directed by Samuel West
 Bryony Lavery adapts David Walliams’s THE MIDNIGHT GANG, with
music & lyrics by Joe Stilgoe, directed by Dale Rooks

 Chichester Festival Youth Theatre presents Rufus Norris’s version of
SLEEPING BEAUTY in the Festival Theatre for Christmas

 10,000 £5 PROLOGUE tickets for 16 – 25 year olds

 Three Festival 2017 productions will transfer to London this year

Daniel Evans and Rachel Tackley said: ‘We’re enormously grateful for the warm welcome extended to us by our local community and those visiting from further afield during our first season, which welcomed Chichester’s largest-ever Festival audience.

‘Festival 2018 is all about breadth of choice, perfectly illustrated by our opening plays: Noël Coward in the Festival Theatre and debbie tucker green in the Minerva. We have three new plays by outstanding playwrights Charlotte Jones, Bryony Lavery and Laura Wade, and revivals of significant contemporary work by Mike Bartlett and Michael Frayn. We look forward to welcoming three of the UK’s brightest young directors – Natalie Abrahami, Tinuke Craig and Kate Hewitt – to Chichester for the first time, alongside welcome debuts by Michael Blakemore and Sean Foley. And we’re thrilled that our brilliant Dale Rooks, who has given us so many outstanding Youth Theatre productions including Running Wild, makes her Festival debut with a show for all ages.

‘This season we will achieve a 50:50 gender balance in our acting company, which includes some of the most exciting and beloved names in British theatre. We’re pleased to have over 20,000 tickets available at £10 in the Festival Theatre – double the number of previous years and now available at every performance; and the price of tickets for our rapidly growing Prologue scheme for 16 to 25 year olds remains at £5. During 2017 we reached 62,000 people aged 0 – 92 through our community and education outreach programmes; among these is our recently launched CFT Buddies scheme, providing a companion for elderly or
socially isolated people.

‘Finally, we’re delighted that three Festival 2017 productions will reach a wider audience in London this year: Caroline, Or Change at Hampstead, and Quiz and King Lear in the West End.’

FESTIVAL 2018 PRODUCTIONS – APRIL TO NOVEMBER 2018

PRESENT LAUGHTER by Noël Coward
Directed by Sean Foley
20 April – 12 May, Festival Theatre

Actor Garry Essendine is at the height of his fame. He’s handsome, witty, surrounded by adoring fans, and about to take his latest theatrical hit overseas. He’s also in the middle of a raging mid-life crisis.

Holed up in his studio, he is assailed from all quarters: a beautiful debutante wants to bed him, an aspiring playwright from Uckfield wants to worship him, and his own producer’s wife wants to… well, what exactly does she want? Under the sardonic eye of his long-suffering secretary and the unshockable gaze of his estranged but determined wife, Garry struggles to keep all the balls in the air.

This sparkling comedy about sex, fame and the theatre itself – and a man wrestling with his own self-image – is widely regarded as Noël Coward’s most autobiographical play.

random / generations
A double bill of plays by debbie tucker green
Directed by Tinuke Craig
4 May – 2 June, Minerva Theatre

random
‘never trouble trouble til trouble trouble you’. But trouble does arrive. And changes everything. This blistering play, told through the eyes of a young woman, explores the unbearable sense of loss felt by a family faced with a catastrophic and random act.

generations
In the cradle of their South African family, Boyfriend and Girlfriend are beginning their lives together, just as Mama and Dad, and Grandad and Nana, did before them. Until, one by one, family members start to disappear.

Fierce, warm and funny, these two short and haunting dramas, presented here in a double bill, examine love, life and loss through the lives of two families on two continents. random is an extraordinary play for one actress, whilst the generations company includes a South African choir.

THE CHALK GARDEN by Enid Bagnold
Directed by Alan Strachan
25 May – 16 June, Festival Theatre

Nothing will grow for eccentric, high-born Mrs St Maugham in the dry earth of her once grand Sussex garden. Indoors, the situation is even worse. Her wild and damaged granddaughter, sixteen-year-old Laurel, sets fires and throws tantrums.

When the enigmatic Miss Madrigal arrives to take up the post of Laurel’s companion, the household is disconcerted by her evasive oddity. Where has she come from, and why does she refuse to speak about her past?

Both singular comedy and haunting mystery, this startling insight into mother-daughter relationships is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most remarkable plays. The author of many books and dramas, Enid Bagnold is still best known for her 1935 novel, National Velvet.

Penelope Keith makes a welcome return to Chichester to play Mrs St Maugham. Her roles here encompass The Apple Cart, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Way of the World, Entertaining Angels and Mrs Pat.

THE COUNTRY WIFE by William Wycherley
Directed by Jonathan Munby
8 June – 7 July, Minerva Theatre

The City of London. The randy seventeenth century. Harry Horner wants to seduce as many women as possible, but he needs to convince their husbands that he’s physically incapable of any such thing. Cannily, his faux impotence also allows him to sniff out and unmask those respectably virtuous ladies who secretly ache for him.

But this virile villain hasn’t reckoned with Mr. Pinchwife’s sexy young spouse, Margery, fresh from the rather too plain-speaking countryside.

Widely regarded as one of the filthiest and funniest plays ever written, William Wycherley’s The Country Wife has outraged and excited audiences for over 300 years (though not during the many years it was banned from both stage and print) and today still casts a provocative light on sexual mores.

ME AND MY GIRL
Book & Lyrics by L Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber
Book revised by Stephen Fry with contributions by Mike Ockrent
Music by Noel Gay
Directed by Daniel Evans
2 July – 25 August, Festival Theatre

At Hareford Hall in Hampshire, suspense is in the air. The family solicitor has found the longlost heir to the Hareford title and riches. But, to everyone’s horror, he’s a Cockney barrow boy called Bill Snibson.

As the Duchess determinedly sets out to transform him into a true gentleman, Bill’s sweetheart Sally wonders how she fits in to his new life. Before too long, Bill has to answer some soul-searching questions about who he really is.

This uproarious, much-loved musical comedy includes the enormously popular numbers The Sun Has Got His Hat On, Lambeth Walk and of course Me and My Girl. The revised version by Stephen Fry and Michael Ockrent, also featuring Leaning on a Lamppost, won the 1985 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical.

This new staging is directed by Daniel Evans with designs by Lez Brotherston and choreography by Alistair David, the outstanding team behind Festival 2017’s hit musical Fiddler on the Roof.

There will be a Relaxed performance of Me and My Girl on 25 July at 2.30pm, especially suitable for individuals, groups and families with children on the autistic spectrum, sensory and communication disorders or anyone who would benefit from a more relaxed theatre environment.

THE MEETING
A new play by Charlotte Jones
Directed by Natalie Abrahami
13 July – 11 August, Minerva Theatre

Rachel has been the voice for her deaf mother since she was born but now she is restless to be heard for herself. Together, they have found sanctuary in a Quaker community that reveres silence. But the world is at war and it is becoming ever harder to live in Friendship. When a stranger arrives in their midst, their fragile peace is set to shatter.

This powerful new play from the acclaimed writer Charlotte Jones is a spellbinding exploration of the timeless challenges of bringing the truth to light.

COPENHAGEN by Michael Frayn
Directed by Michael Blakemore
17 August – 22 September, Minerva Theatre

In 1941, in the middle of the Second World War, the great German physicist Werner Heisenberg made a strange trip to Copenhagen to see his Danish colleague Niels Bohr. They were old friends and collaborators, and together in the 1920s they had begun to lay bare the mysteries at the heart of the atom. But now Denmark was under German occupation, the meeting was fraught with danger and embarrassment – and Heisenberg was burdened with a terrible secret.

Why he went to Copenhagen and what he wanted to say to Bohr are questions which have exercised historians ever since. In Michael Frayn’s multi award-winning drama Heisenberg meets Bohr and his wife Margrethe once again to look for the answers, and to work out, just as they had once worked out the internal functioning of the atom, how we can ever know why we do what we do.

FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS
Based on the novel by Paul Gallico
Book by Rachel Wagstaff Music & lyrics by Richard Taylor
Directed by Daniel Evans
8 – 29 September, Festival Theatre

Ada Harris spends her days dusting, darning, polishing and scrubbing. But her first glimpse of a ravishing Christian Dior dress sets her off on a journey that will change her life forever…

From the cobbled streets of post-war London to the shimmering avenues of Paris, Ada transforms the lives of everyone she meets along the way; but can she let go of the past and finally allow her own life to blossom?

This new musical, directed by Daniel Evans, captures the glowing humanity of the novella by Paul Gallico on which it is based. The production began in Sheffield, where it won three UK Theatre Awards including Best Musical.

Rachel Wagstaff adapted Sebastian Faulks’s novel Birdsong for the West End. Richard Taylor is a composer and lyricist for stage, opera and television, whose work includes Beauty and the Beast (CFYT 2017) and The Go-Between (West End).

COCK by Mike Bartlett
Directed by Kate Hewitt
28 September – 27 October, Minerva Theatre

Has John straightened out? After years glued to his boyfriend, the couple have been through a sticky patch, and now John’s attached to someone else. Someone who is different in every single way. But can John give her what she wants, when he’s never been with a woman before?

Funny and eye-openingly fresh and frank, Cock is a provocative peep into relationships in these days of oscillating identities. It tussles with knotty twenty-first century questions: can we – and should we be allowed to – change if we want to?

THE MIDNIGHT GANG by David Walliams
Adapted by Byrony Lavery
Music & Lyrics by Joe Stilgoe
Directed by Dale Rooks
13 October – 3 November, Festival Theatre

A bang on the head during a cricket match at his boarding school has landed twelve-year-old Tom in the children’s ward of the spooky Lord Funt Hospital.

Luckily, he’s not on his own with the child-hating Matron and the scary-looking Porter. George, Amber, Robin and Sally are in there too, and they’re not taking things lying down. When the lights go out and the clock strikes twelve, they’re off. But will they let new boy Tom join their forbidden midnight adventures through the hospital’s labyrinthine realm?

This inventive tale of fun, friendship and the importance of kindness is adapted from David Walliams’s biggest-selling children’s book of 2016.

THE WATSONS
A new play by Laura Wade
Adapted from the unfinished novel by Jane Austen
Directed by Samuel West
3 November – 1 December, Minerva Theatre

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?

SLEEPING BEAUTY by Rufus Norris
From The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods by Charles Perrault
15 – 30 December, Festival Theatre

A princess under a fairy’s curse pricks her finger on a spindle and sleeps for a hundred years, waiting to be woken by a prince’s kiss.

But hold on a moment. There’s a distinctly different slant to this story. The princess is beautiful and spirited but there are two princes and a lot of threatening thorns. As for the fairy who caused all the trouble in the first place – well, putting things right isn’t as simple as casting another spell.

Rufus Norris’s splendidly entertaining and mischievous version of the original fairy tale ventures beyond the usual ‘happy ever after’ ending with the prince and princess united. The course of true love never did run smooth – especially if your mother-in-law is an ogress with an unfortunate taste for human flesh…

There will be a Relaxed performance of Sleeping Beauty on 30 December at 2pm.

FESTIVAL 2018 EVENTS
Talks, tours, performances and hands-on activities for all ages will offer additional insights into Festival 2018. Highlights include talks with Penelope Keith, Michael Frayn, Patricia Routledge and Mike Bartlett; a celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s centenary; music from Joe Stilgoe and Late Night Cabarets with the Me and My Girl company; and debates and discussion on subjects including Noël Coward, contemporary gender on stage and unfinished manuscripts.

Free events inspired by the productions include a British Sign Language masterclass; Doing the Lambeth Walk; and a songwriting workshop with Richard Taylor. In October, the Festival Theatre will again take part in Fun Palaces, the nationwide celebration of arts and culture in the community.

Events for 16 to 25 year olds include a Prologue Cabaret. CFT’s Learning, Education and Participation (LEAP) team lead an Apprentice Arts Network day as well as workshops for families and schools.

BEYOND CHICHESTER
Three Festival 2017 productions will be running in London this year. Michael Longhurst’s production of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s Caroline, Or Change transfers to Hampstead Theatre from 12 March – 21 April, with Sharon D Clarke; James Graham’s new play Quiz, directed by Daniel Evans, runs at the West End’s Noël Coward Theatre from 31 March – 16 June; and Ian McKellen reprises his acclaimed King Lear in Jonathan Munby’s production at the Duke of York’s Theatre from 11 July – 3 November. In addition, James Graham’s This House (Festival 2016) tours the UK until 2 June.

BOOKING INFORMATION
Priority booking for Friends of Chichester Festival Theatre opens:
Saturday 24 February (online and booking forms only)
Wednesday 28 February (phone and in person)

Public booking opens:
Saturday 3 March (online only)
Tuesday 6 March (phone and in person)

cft.org.uk
Box Office 01243 781312

Tickets from £10

Prologue: £5 tickets for 16 – 25s
10,000 £5 tickets are available for 16 to 25 year-olds for all productions throughout Festival 2017; sign up for free at cft.org.uk/prologue. Members also have access to a range of exclusive events.

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Mayflower Theatre, Southampton – until 17 February.  Reviewed by Karen Millington Burnet

5*****

Wow; high energy and intense. This is the story of growing up and finding love, fuelled by the cupid of Tango.  A dazzling performance by a young and incredibly athletic troupe who deserve a five star rating – the display of abdominal sculpting was almost intimidating; the dancers carried not an ounce of superfluous weight and the whole cast were models of athletic physique – the lifts appeared effortless and were just so impressive.  

The humour, dazzling musicianship (especially from Oliver Lewis on his violin), gymnastics on top of the balletic dancing, merging with a street feel made for a wonderful display.  I was slightly unnerved by the “John Wick” look-alike’s worldly wisdom; “ your future is behind you” and “you start life by living it”, but in fact Tom Parsons’ narrative and increasingly impressive singing gave structure to the unfolding story.  Together with Rebecca Lisweski, the singing got better as the evening progressed.

The same must be said for Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace; my early sense was that they were a bit superfluous to the story, but as the performance progressed I came to appreciate their role more fully and by the last number I was simply blown away with their Tango.  Never be tempted to leave early after the final bow of the cast – these two delivered just the finest Tango routine it’s been my privilege ever to see; high octane, high precision and superbly executed – a true joy.   

I have to admit to being disappointed by an auditorium only half full and of the “older” demographic when this show really should appeal to a young set as well.

The evening was enhanced – thank you Mayflower – by a decent set of speakers so every word and note were decipherable; hallelujah! And full marks to the set designer and lighting team. A good solid performance from both which ably supported the cast.

All in all, we went into the evening not knowing what to expect and it only got better.

The Hen and Chickens Theatre – until 14 February.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

It’s the morning of the 15th February, and The Morning After Clinic has a long line of clients waiting to see the Love Doctor about their romantic troubles. The audience become students of Amorology, sitting in on the consultations as research assistant Aphrodite ushers the patients in and out.

The potential for comedy dynamite from romantic misadventures is endless, and Monorogue’s writers and performers have created some cracking losers in love. With both male and female writers, the show is well-balanced, with the male writers/performers creating the needier, less assured characters.

The parade of patients includes the delusional, the misunderstood and the desperate, riffing on the horrors of communicating by text, the difference between love and sex and other familiar cringeworthy situations. The most memorable patients are Angela Harvey dressed as a nun, living in constant dread of her husband’s next overly romantic movie-themed Valentine’s extravaganza and Kim Hardy as a young soon-to-be father who is experiencing some worrying symptoms. The standout monologue, full of filthy slang from across the centuries is Mike Elliston’s ghost, Lucie D’Charcoal, performed by Mary-Ann Cafferkey. There is barely room to catch your breath between the jokes as Cafferkey describes, in hysterically coarse detail, her time as King Louis’ mistress.

After each consultation, the Love Doctor’s sneering judgements are balanced by the compassionate wisdom of Aphrodite (Geraldine Brennan), which could have become a little corny, but is saved by Brennan’s spikiness and no-nonsense delivery. There are no weak links in this show, with all the monologues and performances delivering plenty of pathos alongside the big laughs.

The Morning After could quite possibly be the perfect Valentine’s night out. Let’s face it, whatever disasters happen on your date, they could never be as bad as what the twisted minds at Monorogue have dreamed up.