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THOUSANDS TURN OUT TO CELEBRATE THE COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS IN NEWCASTLE CITY CENTRE

On Tuesday evening [14th November] thousands of people wrapped up warm and gathered at the base of Grey’s Monument in Newcastle City Centre to start the festive countdown in true style as local superstar Joe McElderry joined the Lord Mayor, Cllr Linda Wright and other special guests to switch-on this year’s Christmas Lights.

The audience swelled to an estimated 5,000 strong crowd, who sang their hearts out along to Joe McElderry performing tracks from the hit musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. Joe donned the famous dreamcoat and took centre stage alongside hosts Steve and Karen, Breakfast Show presenters from Metro Radio, former X Factor contestant Sam Lavery, cast members from Newcastle Panto Company’s “Sleeping Beauty” and South Shields singer JPage.

Cllr Linda Wright, the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, said: “It was an honour and a privilege to stand in front of so many lovely people to help switch-on Newcastle’s Christmas Lights. Pressing the button meant such a big deal to me, not only as Lord Mayor of the City – playing a part in a great festive tradition but also as a grandparent with my grandchildren excited that Grandma got the chance to turn on the Christmas Lights this year. What a marvellous experience!

“Newcastle City Centre is beautifully illuminated and looking a treat, all ready for people to visit the city to do their Christmas shopping and to enjoy everything that Newcastle has to offer.”

Joe McElderry, said: “The people of Newcastle definitely didn’t disappoint. They came out in force and everyone had great fun. Newcastle has always been a city that has created some wonderful memories for me, and the Christmas Lights switch-on will be added with fondness. It was especially exciting to perform as Joseph and give audiences a taster of what they can expect in December at Metro Radio Arena.

“Christmas is a special time of year and we all shared a lovely moment, and I wish the people of Newcastle a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

Broadway Travel were the official sponsors of Newcastle City Centre Christmas Lights Switch-on. They gave one lucky person a chance to win a holiday for four to Madeira. Product Director of Broadway Travel, Phil Turner, said: “As a Newcastle based company we were really excited to play our part in one of the City’s biggest and most celebrated events of the year. The switch-on has a special place in the hearts of residents, families and visitors to Newcastle. We hope everyone had an amazing time and the evening certainly got the countdown to Christmas off with a bang!”

Steve Furnell, presenter on Metro Radio’s Breakfast Show, said: “The Newcastle crowd were totally game for a laugh, and they got involved from the start with a Christmas sing-along and some crazy festive games. Karen and I had an amazing evening that we hope got everyone in the Christmas spirit. The night was capped off with an appearance from the big man himself, Santa, who will go back to the North Pole with a right royal North-East cheer ringing in his ears.”

The Christmas Lights switch-on also gave the NSPCC a chance to tell the public more about their ‘Light up Christmas for Children’ campaign. Community fundraising manager for the North East Jackie Dawson said: “The generosity of the people of Newcastle never ceases to amaze me and we are so grateful for your support.

“Thank you so much to everyone who came and gave very generously and to Newcastle City Council for partnering with us, with your donations the NSPCC can be a shining light for children who are in need of our help this festive season and all year round.”

An estimated 20,000 festive lights will illuminate parts of the City including areas of Northumberland Street; Blackett Street; Percy Street; Grey Street; Grainger Street; Nelson Street; Newgate Street; Neville Street; and the Quayside. This year there will be an extra special light to look out for, a 4-metre tall Teddy Bear!

The teddy bear will be situated on a special plinth with the Christmas Lights and Grey’s Monument illuminating the background…ideal for a festive selfie #NCLXmasBear!

 

NUFFIELD SOUTHAMPTON THEATRES ANNOUNCES

2018 SEASON INCLUDING INAUGURAL PROGRAMMING FOR THEIR BRAND NEW VENUE – NST CITY

Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Samuel Hodges, today announces their new season for 2018. This announcement also marks the opening of the brand new NST City, NST’s newly builttheatre in Southampton’s city centre. Their 2018 season of work will be spread across both the new venue and their original home, NST Campus.

The season is comprised of four world premières: Howard Brenton’s The Shadow Factory, which launches the new season in NST City; SS Mendi Dancing the Death Drill, adapted from the book by Fred Khumalo and part of 14-18 NOW the UK’s arts programme for the WW1 centenary; a new version of Aristophanes’ comedy Women in Power; and a new musical adaptation of David Walliams’ Billionaire Boy.

A bold new revival of Tennessee Williams’ classic, A Streetcar Named Desire, is the second production staged in the new venue. Directed by 2017 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award winner Chelsea Walker, this co-production with Theatr Clwyd and English Touring Theatre opens at NST on 23 March before heading out on a major UK tour.

This is followed by SS Mendi Dancing the Death, adapted by Gbolahan Obisesan and created with the Capetown-based Isango Ensemble, commemorating an untold tragedy from WW1, that took place off the coast of Southampton. The play opens on 29 June, in a co-production with Hackney Empire and co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW. This will be followed by the second Now-Here festival, which this year focuses on historical whitewashing.

Women in Power, inspired by the Aristophanes comedy, Assemblywomen, will feature music, dance, poetry and stand-up comedy, written by a company of leading female voices. NST Associate, Blanche McIntyre returns to NST for the fifth time to direct the production opening on 8 September.

 

Tom Burke stars in a co-production of Don Carlos with Exeter Northcott and Rose Theatre Kingston. Friedrich Schiller’s masterpiece, translated by Robert David MacDonald opens on 16 October at Exeter Northcott, 23 October at NST City and 6 November at Rose Theatre Kingston. Gadi Roll directs.

Finally, NST have commissioned the first ever stage adaptation of David Walliams’ bestseller Billionaire Boy. Luke Sheppard (In The Heights, Adrian Mole) directs the production which opens on 19 November. Miranda Cooper, one of the UK’s most successful pop writers of all time, will write the music.

In addition, May brings a workshop musical adaptation of hit cult film, Son of Rambow, directed by Hodges, featuring an original 80s pop soundtrack by Cooper and book by Richard Marsh. This runs at London’s The Other Palace.

NST will also be expanding its core programme to introduce music, film, dance and circus, as well as continuing and expanding its comedy and spoken word strands. To underpin this expansion, NST is excited to announce two new associates to join its existing roster, rising dance star Drew McOnie, will join as Dance Associate and Nigerian poet Inua Ellams joins as Poetry and Spoken Word Associate.

NST will launch a new pop-up music collective, The Space Between Collective, to accompany leading rock and pop acts from around the country. The opening Space Between concert will feature the rock group Band of Skulls.  NST City will also host Blueprint, a new festival of jazz and The Gateway Sessions, regular monthly music events showcasing the very best of local musical talent across multiple genres. Full line-ups will be announced every month.

A brand new dance programme will see the world-renowned Hofesh Shechter Company perform in Southampton for the first time, alongside Sleuth, a new show by NST’s new resident dance company, ZoieLogic.

The nascent film programme will feature an event cinema strand, including NT Live screenings, and a new season of Best of Bollywood, with entries voted for in a regional competition.

Finally, NST are proud to open a new studio theatre as part of NST City, which will feature the very best studio scale theatre from all over the country two of which, Palmyra and Noisy Holiday, were supported through NST’s artist development programme, Laboratory.

NST are also delighted to announce a new partnership with Digital Theatre +, which will feature the creation of new digital content and documentary, educational workshops and screenings, and a commitment to pool resources in order to innovate in the field of digital storytelling.

NST will continue to build and grow its artist development programme, Laboratory, providing local and national opportunities through scratch performances, research and development support and the Laboratory Associates scheme now going into its third year, which uniquely attaches a director, producer and full design team to the theatre in order to create peer-to-peer relationships.

Following the appointment of Annelie Powell as Head of Casting, NST will look to establish a pool of local professional actors and will be running auditions for actors who currently live in the post code areas of SO, PO and BH. NST will also be interested to hear from professional actors who are originally from the area but no longer live locally. Full detail will be available on our website in mid December.

 

Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Samuel Hodges, said today ‘’2018 is an exciting year for the theatre as we open Southampton’s brand new city-centre theatre, NST City, a second venue to build on the success of NST Campus. I am very proud of our inaugural season that features four world premieres, international collaborations, both new talent and household names, untold local stories of national significance, and a brand new programme of studio theatre, music, comedy, film, circus and dance across our two venues.

This season marks a seismic step change for NST and for the city of Southampton’s cultural life. It is a season which champions new work, in the knowledge that theatre can respond most urgently to the world we live in today. A season which looks back to ancient Greece, to 16^th century Spain, to both World Wars, and even to 1980s Reading in order to talk about what’s important today. It asks questions about historical whitewashing, about consent, about community, and about faith. It’s going to be a big year.”

 

 

NST City

A Nuffield Southampton Theatres production

THE SHADOW FACTORY

Written by Howard Brenton

 

Directed by Samuel Hodges

 

7 February – 3 March 2018

Press Night: 15 February 2018

Autumn 1940. The Battle of Britain rages in the skies. Southampton is home to our only hope of victory, the Spitfire. But when the Luftwaffe drops 2,300 bombs in three devastating raids, the city goes up in flames and the Woolston Supermarine Spitfire factory is destroyed.

Jackie is the third generation of Dimmock at her family-run laundry. Polly is the first and only draughtswoman in the Spitfire design office. How will each woman forge her own path in this evolving landscape?

From the ashes, a story of chaos, courage and community spirit emerges.

One of Britain’s greatest living playwrights, Hampshire-born Howard Brenton, tells the remarkable and little known story of how Southampton stepped up when the chips were down.

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

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

 

 

NST City

A Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Theatr Clwyd and English Touring Theatre co-production

Supported by a grant from The Royal Theatrical Support Trust

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

by Tennessee Williams

Directed by 2017 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award Winner Chelsea Walker

 

23 – 31 March & 5 – 16 June

Press night: 28 March

 

“Every man is a king.” Stanley is no exception.

Until one summer, when his sister-in-law Blanche comes to stay.

Anxious, seductive and fiercely clever, Blanche is just about keeping it together.

But her arrival threatens Stanley’s entire way of life.

 

As the summer heats up, and the games turn savage, a burning desire threatens to tear their world apart.

 

A bold new revival of Tennessee Williams’ timeless classic, this is a raging portrayal of what it means to be an outsider, in a society where we’re all desperate to belong.

After the run at Nuffield Southampton Theatres, A Streetcar Named Desire goes on tour to Theatre by the Lake, Malvern Theatres, Bristol Old Vic, New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Oxford Playhouse and Theatr Clywd before returning to Southampton.

Supported by a grant from The Royal Theatrical Support Trust.

 

Chelsea Walker directs A Streetcar Named Desire as the winner of the 2017 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award. She directed the first major revival of Low Level Panic by Clare McIntyre at the Orange Tree earlier this year. Her previous directing credits include P’yongyang by In-Sook Chappell and Chicken Dust by Ben Weatherill (Finborough Theatre), Klippies by Jess Sian (Southwark Playhouse) and Lean by Isley Lynn (Tristan Bates). She has also assistant directed on Wild by Mike Bartlett (Hampstead Theatre), Routes by Rachel de-lahay (Royal Court) and The Little Mermaid, adapted by Joel Horwood (Bristol Old Vic). She was a runner up in the JMK Young Directors’ Award 2016, is a director on the Old Vic 12, and is a script reader for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

 

 

Royal Theatrical Support Trust

The Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST) operates an annual award scheme for up-and-coming theatre directors, the RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award Scheme. The Scheme provides a rare opportunity for an up-and-coming director who succeeds in a competitive process to direct a fully-funded production of a play as part of a main season of productions at a British regional theatre. The RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award Scheme is designed for the benefit of directors who have already built up a track record of professional directing experience and who are ready for the opportunity provided by the Scheme to progress to directing a production in the main house, or a comparably high-profile auditorium, of a regional theatre.

The Scheme involves a collaboration between the RTST and a regional theatre selected by the RTST. The RTST makes a significant grant to the participating regional theatre to be applied towards the costs of the Award winner’s production. It is a condition of the grant that the regional theatre facilitates the implementation of the Scheme and the realisation of that production.

This year, the RTST ran the Scheme with Nuffield Southampton Theatres.  At the end of a rigorous competitive process, Chelsea Walker was selected as the winner of the 2017 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award by a highly distinguished panel of panel of theatre professionals comprising Sam Hodges (Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres), Howard Brenton, Tamara Harvey (Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd), Patricia Hodge, Stephanie Street, Richard Twyman (Artistic Director of English Touring Theatre) and Danny Lee Wynter.  Walker won the opportunity to direct A Streetcar Named Desire.  The RTST is making a significant grant to Nuffield Southampton Theatres towards the production costs.

A Nuffield Southampton Theatres workshop production in association with The Other Palace

SON OF RAMBOW THE MUSICAL

Book by Richard Marsh

Music by Miranda Cooper and Nick Coler; Lyrics by Miranda Cooper and Richard Marsh

Adapted from the film by Garth Jennings, Nick Goldsmith and Paramount Pictures

 

Directed by Samuel Hodges

22 May – 2 June

At The Other Palace, London

 

Son of Rambow is a work in progress production working with feedback from the audience each day.

Winter 1982. Two boys are about to form an unlikely friendship.

 

Will Proudfoot is a member of the Plymouth Brethren, forbidden from watching TV or films. Lee Carter is the wild child, school trouble-maker. When Lee blows Will’s mind with a pirate copy of Rambo: First Blood, this unlikely pair collaborate on a homemade sequel.

Their movie changes the lives of all around them. Will’s recently-widowed mum, Sarah, begins to question her faith as family friend Joshua confesses his love for her. Lee’s brother Barry fights for the love of his girlfriend Tina, who must choose between Barry, University or the French exchange sexpot, Didier.

Based on the cult hit film, Son of Rambow is a heart-warming and hilarious story about two boys with a big video camera and even bigger ambitions. Set to an original 80s pop soundtrack from two of the UK’s most successful pop writers, Miranda Cooper and Nick Coler.

Nick Coler is a British songwriter. His credits alongside Miranda Cooper include 35 top 10 hits for acts such as Girls Aloud, The Sugababes, Gabriella Cilmi, Alesha Dixon and numerous other artists. In addition, he co-wrote a song with Alastair Lloyd Webber for Starlight Express as well as numerous films and TV shows including Wayne’s World where he wrote Feed my Frankenstein. He has also been nominated three times for an Ivor Novello Award and has won producer of the year.

Miranda Cooper is a British songwriter. Her credits alongside Nick Coler include writing for Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, Alesha Dixon, Gabriella Cilmi, and Kylie Minogue. Cooper’s songs have spent more years on the UK chart than any other female songwriter in history, and she has penned four number one hits – Round Round, Sound of the Underground, Hole in the Head and The Promise.

 

Richard Marsh is a writer and performer. His one-man play Skittles was commissioned for Radio 4 as Love & Sweets, and won Best Scripted Comedy in the BBC Audio Drama Awards. Dirty Great Love Story won a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Fringe before transferring to Bristol Old Vic, Soho Theatre and 59E59 Theatres, NYC, and most recently to the Arts Theatre. Wingman played to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe before touring the UK and to LA, and is in development for TV. He wrote the Radio 4 poetry comedy series Cardboard Heart and his poetry can currently be heard in the national tour of Tango Moderno. He is a former London poetry slam champion and was a member of Theatre503’s 503/5 writers group.

NST City

A Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Isango Ensemble, Repons Foundation and Hackney Empire

co-production

Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary

The world première of 

SS MENDI DANCING THE DEATH DRILL

by Gbolahan Obisesan with Isango Ensemble

Adapted from the book by Fred Khumalo

Directed by Mark Dornford-May

29 June – 14 July

Press night: 4 July

 

Most had never seen the sea, many couldn’t swim, few returned.

 

January 1917, 823 South African men board the SS Mendi in Cape Town, volunteers for the British Army bound for the Western Front. Through a tragic twist of fate, Pitso Motaung finds himself aboard.

Months later, the ship sails off the coast of Southampton. Heavy pre-dawn fog shrouds the impending disaster. The collision comes with such force the SS Mendi sinks in minutes. By the time rescue arrives it is too late for most.

Paris, 1958. Two men are dead in a restaurant, attacked by the head waiter Pitso Motaung. Dark memories etched in Pitso’s mind are resurfacing decades later to devastating effect.

Dubbed the ‘Black Titanic’, the sinking of SS Mendi was one of the worst maritime disasters in the 20^th century in UK waters. Yet, a startling story of hope and courage emerges. Brought to life, with live music by the critically acclaimed Cape Town based Isango Ensemble and part of 14-18 NOW, the UK’s Cultural Programme for the First World War Centenary.

Since 2001 Isango Ensemble has toured its productions to Ireland, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Singapore, Turkey, Japan, Netherlands, Australia, Canada and the United States. Productions include The Mysteries – Yiimimangaliso which had two runs in the West End; uCarmenwhich toured to many of the world’s major festivals; The Magic Flute – Impempe Yomlingofeaturing Mozart’s score transposed for an orchestra of marimbas, which won both an Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival and the Globes de Cristal for Best Opera following a sold-out season at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; Venus & Adonis in partnership with Shakespeare’s Globe and in 2016 A Man of Good Hope co-produced by Young Vic, Royal Opera, Repons Foundation, BAM and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg. Films created by the ensemble include uCarmen eKhayelitsha which won the Golden Bear at The Berlin International Film Festival as well as many other Best Feature Awards.

 

Fred Khumalo is the author of the novels Bitches Brew, which was a joint winner of the 2006 European Union Literary Award, and Seven Steps to Heaven. His memoir, Touch My Blood, was shortlisted for the Alan Paton Prize for Non-fiction in 2007, and his most recent book, #ZuptasMustFall and Other Rants, was published in 2016. His short fiction has appeared in various anthologies, literary journals and magazines.

 

Mark Dornford-May is co-founder and Artistic Director of Isango Ensemble and has worked in South Africa with members of the company since 2000. He has directed all of Isango’s stage productions including The Mysteries – Yiimimangaliso, The Snow Queen, Der Silbersee, The Beggars Opera – Ibali Loo Tsotsi, Carmen, The Magic Flute – Impempe Yomlingo, A Christmas Carol – iKrismas Kherol, Aesop’s Fables, La Boheme – Abanxaxhi, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists – Izigwili Ezidlakazelayo, Venus and Adonis; and the films he has directed are uCarmen eKhayelitsha, Son of Man, Unogumbe – Noye’s and Breathe – Umphefumlo.

SS Mendi Dancing the Death Drill is co-commissioned by 1418NOW: WW1 Centenary Arts Commissions, Repons Foundation, Nuffield Southampton Theatres and Hackney Empire, with support from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, and from the Department for Culture Media and Sport.

 

 

NST City

Now-Here: Hidden Histories

Supported by Black History Month South

10 – 12 July

An annual festival of performance, exhibitions, storytelling, music, workshops and lunch time talks. Now-Herereturns to explore the themes from NST’s production of SS Mendi, a story hidden for decades underplaying the contribution the Commonwealth countries made to the First World War.

Hidden stories of race, the whitewashing of history, those forgotten and celebrating the reclamation of identity and people’s true place in history.

NST City

A Nuffield Southampton Theatres production

WOMEN IN POWER

Created by an Assembly of Women

Based on Assemblywomen by Aristophanes

Directed by Blanche McIntyre

8 – 29 September

Press night: 13 September

350 BC. Athens.

The country is in political turmoil. Recent wars and alliances have left Athenians no option but to take the most extreme action. The most radical… a government of women.

Praxagora masterminds and leads a daring coup d’etat, outlining her utopian vision of total equality to her crowd of cross-dressing collaborators. A world where power imbalance is eradicated and with it, debt, greed, theft, and…also marriage, love and consent. Oh, and camping.

NST Associate Blanche McIntyre returns to Southampton to direct this raucous comedy with songs, dance, music and women taking the lead.

Blanche McIntyre directs. Previous credits for Nuffield Southampton Theatres include Noises Off, Tonight at 8.30 and The Nutcracker. Other theatre credits include The Norman Conquests(Chichester Festival Theatre), Titus Andronicus and The Two Noble Kinsmen (RSC), Welcome Home Captain Fox! (Donmar Warehouse), The Oresteia (HOME Manchester), As You Like It and The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare’s Globe), Arcadia (Ambassador Theatre Group), The Seagull(Headlong), Accolade (St James Theatre), Repentance/Behind the Lines (Bush Theatre), Ciphers(Out of Joint), The Birthday Party (Manchester Royal Exchange), Foxfinder, Accolade and Moliere or The League of Hypocrites (Finborough Theatre), Liar Liar (Unicorn Theatre), The Only True History of Lizzie Finn and Open Heart Surgery (Southwark Playhouse), The Seven Year Itch (Salisbury Playhouse), When Did You Last See My Mother? (Trafalgar Studios); and for film as a writer, The Hippopotamus.

 

 

NST City

An Exeter Northcott, Nuffield Southampton Theatres and Rose Theatre Kingston co-production

DON CARLOS

Written by Friedrich Schiller

Translated by Robert David MacDonald

 

Directed by Gadi Roll

 

23 October – 3 November

‘Love is only known by him who hopelessly persists in love.’

Don Carlos faces the most profound of dilemmas.

In a cruel twist of fate, his former fiancé and the love of his life, Elizabeth, has recently become his stepmother. His father and usurper is the tyrannical Philip II.

Abandoned by both man and decree, Don Carlos must fend for himself.

But one man, Rodrigo Marquis of Posa, has never forgotten the childhood act of sacrifice that the Prince made on his behalf. Dreaming of freedom for his people, Rodrigo becomes an unlikely power broker in the King’s duplicitous court.

A double edged story of loyalty, love and friendship, and the abuses of power and statesmanship, Don Carlos is as resonant today as it was at the time.

Starring Tom Burke, Israeli theatre director Gadi Roll brings his trademark dynamic imagery and haunting soundscapes to Schiller’s masterpiece.

Press night: 15 October at Exeter Northcott

Friedrich Schiller’s (1759 – 1805) principal works for the stage include The Robbers, Intrigue and Love, The Wallenstein Trilogy, Mary Stuart and William Tell.

Robert David MacDonald (1929-2004) was a playwright, translator and director. He was co-director of the Citizens’ Theatre Company, Glasgow and wrote fifteen plays for the company including Dracula, Camille, De Sade Show, Chinchilla, No Orchids for Miss Blandish, Summit Conference, A Waste of Time, Don Juan, Webster, Anna Karenina, and Conundrum. As a translator he translated/adapted over seventy operas and plays from ten different languages, including such operas as, The Threepenny Opera (Glasgow/ENO North), Tamerlano, Flight from The Harem, The Barber of Seville, Aida (WNOC), Marschner’s Vampire!, Cosi Fan Tutti (Hintlesham); and plays, Figaro, Orpheus, The Human Voice, Conversation at Night, Achterloo, Shadow of Angels, The Balcony, The Blacks, The Screens, The Government Inspector, Tasso, Faust I & II, Brand, Hedda Gabler, Maskerade, The House of Bernada Alba, School for Wives, DonJuan, Enrico Four, Phedra, Mary Stuart, The Seagull, Around The World in Eighty Days, Lulu and Clavigo.

Tom Burke plays Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa. His theatre work includes The Deep Blue Sea, The Doctor’s Dilemma (National Theatre), Reasons to be Happy (Hampstead Theatre), Reasons to be Pretty, Macbeth (Almeida Theatre), Design for Living (The Old Vic), for the Donmar Warehouse, Creditors (also New York, winner of the Ian Charleson Award) and The Cut, and Romeo and Juliet(Shakespeare’s Globe). His television work includes Strike, The Musketeers, War and Peace, Utopia, The Hour and Great Expectations; and for film, The Libertine, The Enlightenment, The Collectors, Donkey Punch, Telstar, Chéri, An Enemy to Die For, Cleanskin, Only God Forgives, The Invisible Woman and The Hooligan Factory.

Gadi Roll has directed over sixty productions for the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Teatr Polski, Wroclaw, American Repertory Theatre Boston, Stari Teatr Krakow, Habima National Theatre, Cameri and Beit-Lessin Theatres Tel Aviv, Jerusalem Khan Theatre, Haifa Theatre and Beer-Sheva Theatre, Israel. Credits include Iphigenia at Aulis, The House of Bernarda Alba, Les Parents Terrible, Don Juan Comes Back from the War, Pains of Youth, Romeo and Juliet, The Duchess of Malfi, Measure for Measure, ‘Tis a Pity She’s a Whore, The Robbers, Don Carlos, Spring Awakening, Waiting for Godot, 1913, The Park, Quei Oust, A View from the Bridge, The Lady from the Sea, No End of Blame, Amadeus and Saved.

 

 

NST Campus

A Nuffield Southampton Theatres production

The World Première of

BILLIONAIRE BOY

Adapted from the book by David Walliams
Music and Lyrics by Miranda Cooper

Directed by Luke Sheppard

19 November – 6 January 2019

Press night: 28 November

Imagine being the wealthiest child in the land!

One-day factory worker Len Spud invents a new loo roll “Bum Fresh – wet on one side, dry on the other.” The wiping-wonder is an instant hit. Len, and his son Joe, become overnight billionaires, turning their lives upside down.

Whilst Mr Spud spends, spends, spends on fast cars, 100-inch TVs, and lavish gifts for his glamorous new girlfriend, Sapphire Diamond, Joe is left to fend for himself.

In the unforgiving world of the school playground, things are about to get more complicated. With his new best friend, Bob, at his side, Joe navigates an assault course of school bullies and dangerously inedible canteen food.  To make matters worse, is the impossibly pretty new girl Lauren all that she appears to be?

But can money really buy happiness? This hilarious new musical adaptation is a triumphant treat for the whole family, based on the bestselling book by David Walliams, and presented by the NST team following their award-winning “whisker – licking treat” Fantastic Mr Fox.

David Walliams is a global phenomenon in the world of children’s literature with worldwide sales of over 19.5 million books in more than 53 languages. He is the first children’s author to spend 100 weeks in the number one position in the UK children’s book charts, beating his nearest rivals by over 20 weeks. Three of his books have been awarded Children’s Book of the Year at the National Book Awards. Additionally, The Boy in the Dress, Ratburger, Mr Stink and Gangsta Granny have all been adapted for TV. As well as being a bestselling children’s author, David is one of Britain’s most popular writers and comic actors. Along with Matt Lucas, he created the BAFTA award-winning Little Britain which also played to over 1 million people on tour across the UK, Ireland and Australia. He starred in the Agatha Christie TV series Partners in Crime and as Frankie Howerd in the biopic Rather You Than Me. He is also a judge on one of the biggest shows on TV, Britain’s Got Talent.

Miranda Cooper is a British songwriter. Her credits alongside Nick Coler include writing for Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, Alesha Dixon, Gabriella Cilmi, and Kylie Minogue. Cooper’s songs have spent more years on the UK chart than any other female songwriter in history, and she has penned four number one hits – Round Round, Sound of the Underground, Hole in the Head and The Promise.

Luke Sheppard directs. His credits include The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Age 13 ¾ The Musical(Menier Chocolate Factory), Working, Casa Valentina (Southwark Playhouse), Jersey Boys(international tour), Murder for Two, Oliver! (Watermill Newbury), In The Heights (Southwark Playhouse and King Cross Theatre – winner of 3 Olivier Awards), Peter and the Starcatcher (Theatre Royal Northampton), Night Must Fall (Salisbury Playhouse), Stig of the Dump (Arts Theatre), The History Boys (South Hill Park), 101 Dalmatians (Castle Theatre) and Soho Cinders (Arts Ed). As Associate Director, Sheppard has worked on Singin’ in the Rain (Palace Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre) and Matilda (RSC) and as Assistant Director on Into The Woods (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre).

 

 

YOUTH THEATRE PROGRAMME:

 

Love and Information

By Caryl Churchill

Directed by Max Lindsay

NST City

18 -20 January

Dungeness 
by Chris Thompson
NST City

5-7 April

 

Much Ado about Nothing

By William Shakespeare

NST City

19-21 July

 

 

VISITING PRODUCTIONS:

 

Studio productions include an ARC Stockton Production of Instructions For Border Crossing written and performed by Daniel Bye; Your Best Guess written and performed by Chris Thorpe – a Mala Voadora and Chris Thorpe production in association with ARC Stockton; The Believers Are But Brothers written by Javaad Alipoor; John Osborne’s Circled in the Radio Times; Quarter Life Crisiswritten and performed by Yolanda Mercy; and Bertrand Lesca and Nasi Voutsas’s Palmyra, developed with support from Croquis_BCN (Barcelona), Bristol Ferment, MAYK, Tobacco Factory Theatres, Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Ovalhouse and HOME.

NST City will also stage two dance productions, ZoieLogic Dance Theatre’s production of Sleuth and Clowns / New Creation by Hofesh Shechter. NST Campus will also stage two family productions, the Curve and Rose Theatre Kingston co-production of George’s Marvellous Medicine and an MEI Theatrical and Polka Theatre production, Sarah and Duck. In addition, music acts performed in the theatre will include Band of Skulls with The Space Between Collective, The Gateway Sessions, showcasing the very best of local music talent and Blueprint a new festival of jazz.

Listing

Nuffield Southampton Theatres

NST Campus, University Rd, Southampton, SO17 1TR

NST City, Above Bar Street, Guildhall Square, Southampton, SO14 7DU

www.nstheatres.co.uk

Twitter: @nstheatres

Facebook: /nstheatres

Box Office: 023 8067 1771

                        Monday – Friday: 10am – 6pm

 

 

SEASON AT A GLANCE

The Shadow Factory

NST City

7 February – 3 March

Press night: 15 February

 

A Streetcar Named Desire

NST City

23 – 31 March & 5 – 16 June

Press night: 28 March

 

SS Mendi, Dancing the Death Drill

NST City

29 June – 14 July

Press night: 4 July

 

Son of Rambow The Musical

Workshop at The Other Palace, London

22 May – 2 June

 

Women in Power

NST City

8 – 29 September

Press night: 13 September

 

Don Carlos

NST City

23 October – 3 November

Press night: 15 October at Exeter Northcott

 

Billionaire Boy

NST Campus

19 November – 6 January 2019

Press night: 28 November

 

EMMA RICE’S PRODUCTION OF

NOËL COWARD’S BRIEF ENCOUNTER

WILL PLAY THE EMPIRE CINEMA

IN LONDON’S WEST END

THE AWARD-WINNING KNEEHIGH THEATRE PRODUCTION TO OPEN

SUNDAY 11 MARCH 2018

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED

Kneehigh’s production of Noël Coward’s BRIEF ENCOUNTER, adapted and directed by Emma Rice, will be produced live on stage at the Empire Cinema Haymarket in London’s West End by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers, Jenny & Steve Wiener and The Old Vic.  Following previews from 2 March 2018, the production will open on 11 March and play a limited season until 2 September 2018.  Tickets are on sale from today.

 

Prior to the West End, BRIEF ENCOUNTER will play Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 2 to 17 February 2018 and The Lowry, Salford from 20 to 24 February 2018.

 

Emma Rice said, “I’ve always loved getting lost in the dark, and the cinema is one of the best places to do it.  However, a film doesn’t change.  It carries on whether you are there or not; performances are captured forever, never altering.  My production of Brief Encounter combines the romance of cinema with all that live theatre can offer; magic, passion, surprise, suggestion and naughtiness.  I carry this show in my heart and couldn’t be more excited to return to this heart-pounding production and bring it back to its rightful home at the Empire Cinema.  Radical and romantic, nostalgic but oh, so relevant – let passions ignite!”

 

Producers David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers said, “Emma Rice’s award-winning theatrical production of Brief Encounter is one of the highlights of our producing career. It is incredibly exciting to bring it back to London’s West End after it has triumphed all over the world and to present it in the restored Empire Cinema, which was built in 1926 as the Carlton Theatre.  Our wonderful stage production of Brief Encounter switches between live action and film, so we will once again be turning the cinema into a theatre especially for this show.  

 

“We are very proud to be working again with Emma on this spellbinding production, which we hope a new generation will now have the chance to see, as well as those who may have missed it the first time or loved it so much they just have to come back and see it again.”

 

A chance meeting in a railway station café where they were brought together by Laura ‘getting a little piece of grit in my eye’, led to one of the most haunting and heart-breaking love stories ever told.  The award-winning Kneehigh production of Noël Coward’s BRIEF ENCOUNTER, which was originally produced at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, triumphed in the West End in 2008 and subsequently received great critical acclaim on Broadway and went on to tour worldwide.  It was described by Ben Brantley in the New York Times as ‘surely the most enchanting work of stagecraft ever inspired by a movie.’

 

The cast will feature Jim Sturgeon as Alec, Isabel Pollen as Laura, Lucy Thackeray as Myrtle, Beverly Rudd as Beryl, Jos Slovick as Stanley and Dean Nolan as Fred/Albert, with Katrina Kleve and Peter Dukes.

 

BRIEF ENCOUNTER will be directed by Emma Rice, designed by Neil Murray, with lighting by Malcolm Rippeth, original music by Stu Barker, sound by Simon Baker and projection by Gemma Carrington & Jon Driscoll. 

 

Website: briefencounterwestend.com 

Facebook: facebook.com/Brief-Encounter-Play-1571594716290949/

Twitter: @BE_onstage

Instagram: www.instagram.com/be_onstage

 

 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

BRIEF ENCOUNTER

 

2 March – 2 September 2018

 

Empire Cinema

63-65 Haymarket

St James’s

London SW1Y 4RL

 

Box Office:  0844 8717628

 

Tickets:  From £20

 

Performances:  Tuesday – Saturday 7:30pm, Wednesday & Sunday 3:00pm*

*3pm & 6pm on Sunday 11 March 2018

 

Running Time:  90 minutes (no interval)

 

TOUR SCHEDULE

 

2-17 February 2018

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

0121 236 4455

www.birmingham-rep.co.uk       

 

20-24 February 2018

The Lowry, Salford

0843 208 6000

www.thelowry.com        

On sale 23 November 2017        

POLKA THEATRE ANNOUNCES NEW

SEASON FOR 2018

 

Artistic Director of Polka Theatre, Peter Glanville today announces their new 2018 season. The new season comprises both new Polka productions and visiting work as well as classes and workshops, celebrating some of the greatest living writers for children.

On the Main Stage, the season opens with an adaptation of Michael Rosen’s classic poem – Chocolate Cake. This new musical version adapted by Glanville and Barb Jungr runs from 23 March to 13 May.

This is followed by a revival of a ‘Polka Classic’ – Jacqueline Wilson’s Double Act which premièred at Polka in 2003 and returns next year following a UK tour. Adapted and directed by Vicky Ireland MBE this gripping story opens on 15 June and runs until 5 August.

For younger children, the Adventure Theatre will house an extraordinary puppetry adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s book The Everywhere Bear, and This is My Bed, a unique collaboration with English Touring Opera.

In addition, Techtopia, a festival of digital delights will open on 24 May until 3 June, exploring how technology shapes our lives and our thinking.

This season also marks the launch of the Polka Memories campaign – a new initiative for patrons to share their past memories of the theatre over the last 40 years.

Peter Glanville said today, “Polka’s new season proudly celebrates some of the greatest living writers for children as well as Techotpia a stunning new digital Festival and a unique new collaboration with English Touring Opera.”

 

Priority booking for Polka supporters opens on Wednesday 15 November at 12 noon, with public booking opening Friday 24 November, 12 noon.

 

 

MAIN STAGE

A Polka Theatre production

Michael Rosen’s CHOCOLATE CAKE

Adapted by Peter Glanville and Barb Jungr

Music and songs by Barb Jungr

 

23 March – 13 May

Press performance: Saturday 7 April, 3.00pm

Ages 4+

When I was a boy, I had a favourite treat. It was when my mum made… Chocolate Cake!

Follow the adventures of two brothers and the night-time disappearance of a chocolate cake in this scrumptious new musical adaptation by the creators of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and How to Hide a Lionfrom Michael Rosen’s beloved poem Chocolate Cake, which has just been published as a picture book.

ADVENTURE THEATRE

English Touring Opera in association with Polka Theatre

THIS IS MY BED

13 – 24 June

Ages 2-5

An opera about bedtimes, bears and dreams. And a bed with a mind of its own!  There’s one thing about your bed. It’s your very own bed. Except somebody else seems to think it’s their bed too. And then the bed itself has its own ideas, and can turn itself into a bus or a train or a rocket. And when a bear turns up one night it whisks you off to meet the very things you’re frightened of. Thank goodness there are some unexpected friends to help you along your way.

Performed by three singers and two players, and full of fabulous songs, characters and animation, This Is My Bed is the latest of ETO’s award-winning operas for children. It was written with the help of students from Perseid Special School in Merton.

MAIN STAGE

A Polka Theatre production

Jacqueline Wilson’s

DOUBLE ACT

Adapted and directed by Vicky Ireland

15 June – 5 August

Press performance: Saturday 23 June, 2.30pm

Ages 8+

Meet Ruby and Garnet. They’re twins, identical and inseparable – and do absolutely EVERYTHING together. But their lives are about to change. Recently, Dad’s gone a bit weird. He’s been acting strange ever since he started dating that frizzy dizzy Rose. And now he’s only gone and bought a bookshop in the country…

Vicky Ireland’s funny and gripping stage adaptation, based on Jacqueline Wilson’s multi award-winning book, was an instant hit when it premièred at Polka in 2003 and loved by thousands of children during a UK tour.

ADVENTURE THEATRE

A Polka Theatre, Little Angel Theatre and Royal & Derngate, Northampton production

THE EVERYWHERE BEAR

By Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb

Adapted and directed by Peter Glanville

6 July – 26 August

Press performance: Saturday 14 July, 2.35pm

Ages 3-6

 

The Everywhere Bear has a home on a shelf but he doesn’t spend very much time by himself, for each boy and girl in the class is a friend and he goes home with one of them every weekend.

A tender tale from the creators of The Paper Dolls, The Everywhere Bear has a wonderful time with the children in Class One, but one day he gets more than he bargained for when he falls unnoticed from a backpack and embarks on his own big adventure! He’s washed down a drain and whooshed out to sea, rescued by a fishing boat, loaded onto a lorry, carried off by a seagull… How will he ever make it back to Class One?

This captivating and beautiful new story from best-selling author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Rebecca Cobb springs to life with rhyme, original music and delightfully expressive puppets in Polka’s fun and exciting stage adaptation.

Based on the book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb

© Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb, 2017, Macmillan Children’s Books

TECHTOPIA FESTIVAL

24 May – 3 June

Celebrate, explore and question how technological innovation shapes all our lives and thinking through a thrilling and exhilarating programme of theatre from the UK and beyond, interactive workshops, debates and unique creative learning experiences.  Throughout the Festival, Polka’s foyer will be abuzz with free activities and interactive art installations including storytelling in an enchanted forest, digital wallpaper, a climate fortune-teller and the University of Nottingham’s latest research.

 

Techtopia Festival will include iPet, Error 404, Random Selfies and Dreaming the Future. The full programme will be announced shortly.

 

 

ADVENTURE THEATRE

Presented by BonteHond

iPet

24 & 25 May

Ages 2.5+

A three-dimensional show with cuddly devices.

Two magicians happily start their act, creating balloon animals and doing magic tricks by pulling bananas out of iPads, just the way it’s supposed to be. But the iPad reveals itself as a cheeky prankster who disrupts the entire show. Eventually, no one knows who controls who anymore.

ADVENTURE THEATRE

ARC Stockton present a Polka Theatre Production

ERROR 404

Written and performed by Daniel Bye

 

30, 31 May & 1 June

Ages 8-11

There’s a boy. Maybe he’s just like you – except that his best friend is a robot.

Join him on a weird and wonderful interactive  adventure through the deepest questions  about what it means  to be human.

MAIN THEATRE

OVALHOUSE presents   

RANDOM SELFIES

A new play by Olivier Award-winning writer Mike Kenny

Designed by illustrator Rachana Jadhav

30 & 31 May

Ages 7-12

As part of a three-year exploration into the impact of child loneliness, Random Selfies will be performed on a digitally animated set, which will bring to life ten-year-old Loretta’s vivid imagination.

MAIN THEATRE

A Polka Youth Theatre production

DREAMING THE FUTURE

by Andy Alty 

2 & 3 June

Ages 5+

Close your eyes and think about the future. What do you see? Artificial intelligence, light-speed computers, wearable technology, cities in the sky? Where do we want to go next? What will the world look like? This play, written with and performed by young people in Merton, will answer some of these questions. Join us in dreaming the future. The only limits are our imaginations…

 

Visiting productions:

 

In addition to their own grown production and co-productions, Polka Theatre plays host to the best shows for early years from the UK and across Europe. Shows this season include The Little Mochi Man, Sourpuss and Videk’s Skirt; as well as Much Ado About Puffin and Jack and The Beanstalk.

 

POLKA MEMORIES

This season also marks the launch of our ‘Remember when?’ Polka Memories campaign. As Polka approaches its 40th birthday, in 2019, the theatre is introducing a new initiative for visitors past and present to share their memories of the theatre over the last 40 years. Some of the memories collated may also be featured in a special anniversary play or in a ‘living history’ display. Everyone will also have the chance to vote for their favourite Polka production of all time.

Children’s novelist and poet, Michael Rosen has offered the first memory to launch the campaign ‘ “My oldest children were very young when we came to see shows like Please Mrs Butler. I remember we felt moved and uplifted. Much later, Polka did versions of my Pinocchio, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and Happy Harry’s Cafe. All were exciting, thoughtful, productions taking children seriously, engaging them in feelings and ideas.”

Share your memories from Friday 24 November, please visit:

polkatheatre.com/rememberwhen

CircusFest 2018
Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8EH and partner venues
Tuesday 3rd – Friday 27th April 2018
Press Night and Festival Launch – Relentless Unstoppable Human Machine
(RUHM): Thursday 5th April, 7.30pm
Press Night – The Bekkrell Effect: Thursday 19th April, 7.30pm

In the 250th anniversary year of the invention of modern circus, the Roundhouse’s CircusFest 2018 focuses on the future of circus: daring and diverse, punky and poetic, subversive and socially aware. From the spectacular to the intimate, the festival showcases the point where circus collides with theatre, dance, live art, film and even virtual reality.

Founded in 2009, CircusFest is London’s biennial international festival of contemporary circus taking place at the Roundhouse as well as selected partner venues around London. Circus has come a long way since Philip Astley created the first variety show and this year’s CircusFest shows how this art form is always innovating and evolving. With fifteen shows, two film projects and
artists from three continents including companies from Sweden, USA, Finland and Palestine, the artists have blown circus apart and are putting it back together in new ways.

The Roundhouse believes in the power of creativity to transform lives and CircusFest explores the difference circus can make, from the pertinent work of the Palestinian Circus School, to the documentary Even When I Fall and its look at Circus Kathmandu, to the Street Circus Collective’s Throwdown, part of the Roundhouse’s activities with 11-25-year-olds.

Headlining this programme are two incredibly powerful productions: the world premiere of Relentless Unstoppable Human Machine from the acclaimed Pirates of the Carabina and the UK premiere of Groupe Bekkrell‘s punk show The Bekkrell Effect.

The Bekkrell Effect is an exhilarating visual feast combining the power of punk with risk and flare. Five performers hurtle around the stage, things fall apart, atoms decay and relationships break up – below the surface is chaos, yet with enough distance everything can be beautiful. Part riot-grrrl pop song, part circus spectacle The Bekkrell Effect is an energising experience.

Inspired by physicist Henri Becquerel’s discovery of radioactivity, French company Groupe Bekkrell have created an unstable universe of perpetual movement where matter decays and bonds disintegrate. Powered by the strength of its performers and driven with the momentum of a gig at the end of the world, it is at once comic and revealing.

Relentless Unstoppable Human Machine (RUHM) by Pirates of the Carabina is a world premiere of the brand new mechanically ingenious circus show from the makers of FLOWN. Delving bravely into the fantastical imaginations of two fated acrobats, RUHM is enjoyably anarchic, punchy and exhilarating, with an ingenious interconnected set and original live score.

Highlights of this year’s CircusFest also include the European premiere of The Richochet Project’s Said and Done, 2015 Total Theatre Award winners Palestinian Circus School’s new show SARAB (Mirage), Ellie Dubois’ award-winning Edinburgh smash hit No Show, and the V&A Late highlighting the 250th anniversary of circus and the future of this ever-popular physical, visual art form.

Producers of CircusFest 2018, Molly Nicholson and Daniel Pitt comment, London was the birthplace of modern circus in 1768. Like London, circus is highly international and the Roundhouse presents brilliant artists from around the world regardless of language or borders. We’re looking to the future of circus, celebrating the strength, skill and potency of these incredible artists and joining
their pursuit for development in the art form and change in the world.

The diverse and exciting full programme for CircusFest 2018 is as follows:

Relentless Unstoppable Human Machine (RUHM) by Pirates of the Carabina (3 – 15 April,Roundhouse Main Space)
This is the world premiere of a brand-new mechanically-ingenious family-friendly circus show. Adventure into a world of mechanical chaos, where everything has a mind of its own and connections appear in unexpected ways. As contraptions, fixtures and fittings come to life, our heroes begin to question their place in it all.

The Bekkrell Effect by Groupe Bekkrell (19 – 22 April, Roundhouse Main Space)
This UK premiere by French company Groupe Bekrell is an exciting chance to experience the richness of European circus. Combining innovative rigging and exceptional circus artists, The Bekkrell Effect swings between acrobatics and poetry, falling and flying, in a performance as energetic as a nuclear reaction.

Fram & Dunt by Collectif and then… (3 – 5 April, Roundhouse Sackler Space)
A story about Fram aka daughter aka hair hung artist Francesca Hyde who asked Dunt aka dad aka 60-year-old Joe Hyde to run away with her to the circus, despite him having no previous circus experience. Her secret mission, to get him to quit his job and bring him to the stage that he has always dreamed of.

Breaking Point by Weibel Weibel Co. (6 – 8 April, Roundhouse Sackler Space)
Mainly through slack rope, Alexander Weibel Weibel explores ideas of tension and how far things can be pushed before the inevitable happens.

Throwdown by Roundhouse Street Circus Collective (12 – 14 April, Roundhouse Sackler Space)
Throwdown is an energetic-in-your-face-encounter, bursting with the individual style and personality of 20 young circus artists and hip hop dancers. The Roundhouse Street Circus Collective brings together bold young circus artists and street dancers aged 16-25 with a drive to train, collaborate, produce and present their own work.

Even When I Fall by Sky Neal & Kate McLarnon (15 April, Roundhouse Sackler Space)
Even When I Fall traces the journey of trafficking survivors over 6 years as they confront the families that sold them, seek acceptance within their own country and begin to build a future. They struggle against the odds and without education, but inadvertently these girls were left with a secret weapon by their captors – their breathtaking skills as circus artists. Nepal’s first and only circus company challenge the deep-seated stigma against trafficked women.

No Show by Ellie Dubois (18 – 22 April, Roundhouse Main Space)
After taking Edinburgh Fringe 2017 by storm and winning a prestigious Herald Angel Award, No Show explores what you expect when you go to the circus. It joyously and heartbreakingly reveals what lies hidden beneath the showmanship. See behind the flawless smiles and perfect execution
of the traditional circus performance to show the wobbles, the pain, and the real cost of aiming for perfection. A show for anyone who has tried, failed and failed better.

Zoetrope by Remy Archer (3 – 22 April, Roundhouse Main Space)
While working as a filmmaker at social circuses in Palestine and Ethiopia, Remy Archer was inspired by the incredible talent, artistry and social impact of what he saw. Zoetrope is a 360 film installation that weaves together some of these stories into a visceral tapestry that plunges audiences into scenes that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Said and Done by The Ricochet Project (4 – 7 April, Jacksons Lane)
Using high-flying contortions, live sonic installation, lo-fi technology and acrobatic distortions, Said and Done is a surrealist reality check set somewhere in the expressionist ice-desert of the not so distant future.

SARAB (Mirage) by Palestinian Circus Company (13 – 15 April 2018, Jacksons Lane)
2015 Total Theatre Award winners return with a new show about the unexpected, something that turns out to be only a mirage. Dragged to an uncertain end, with an unknown destiny, they finally arrive – but have they reach their goal? And what did they want?

Friday Late: Circus – Past, Present & Future (27 April, Victoria and Albert Museum)
This is a collaboration between Roundhouse CircusFest – the home for contemporary circus – and the Victoria and Albert Museum – who hold a large number of objects that reveal the history of circus. With 2018 being Circus250, we must consider what’s next for this ever-popular physical, visual art form. Expect workshops that test your agility, rarely seen archives from the V&A’s
collection, a series of live performances and newly commissioned inter-disciplinary acts.

Head by John-Paul Zaccarini (9 April, Jacksons Lane)
For nine years, John-Paul delighted audiences worldwide with his show Throat. Now a Professor in Circus, he’s back and delighted to give them Head. As brainy as he is buff, a bimbo philosopher, he presents a middle-aged, one man circus lecture pretending to be a performance.

Hyena by Alula Cyr (12 – 13 April, The Albany)
The first all-female Cyr troupe, Alula’s debut Hyena explodes onto the UK circus scene in a whirlwind of women, wheels, acrobatics, dance and song.

Knot by Nikki and JD (17 – 18 April, The Place)
The Knot is the invisible string that connects two people. Using acrobatics, movement and storytelling to expose the hopes we hold for the ideal lover, Knot is the story of two hearts making sense of perfection.

Yablochkov Candle by Ilona Jantti & Aino Venna (19 – 21 April, Jacksons Lane)
Enter the velvet world of cabaret in 1920s Vienna for an evening of poetic jazz and aerial performance, infused with the smoky tones of French chansons and old school rock ‘n’ roll. This unique and minimalist cabaret-esque night will linger in your memory for months to come

Natalie Inside Out by Natalie Reckert and Mark Morreau (8 April, Jacksons Lane)
This playful collaboration between virtuoso hand balancer Natalie Reckert and digital artist Mark Morreau explores the inner workings and fragmentation of the acrobatic body through digital technology and video projection. Beautiful, didactic and highly skilled, Natalie Inside Out turns our conventional ideas of circus upside down and inside out. Literally.

Mayflower, Southampton – until 18 November 2017.  Reviewed by Sharon MacDonald-Armitage

3***

Upbeat, funny, bubbly and in today’s climate, at times politically incorrect. Legally Blonde bounces into Southampton’s Mayflower with a whirlwind like vigour.

When well off, privileged, empty-headed Elle Woods (Lucie Jones) stalks her ex-boyfriend Warner Huntington III (Liam Doyle) all the way to Harvard Law School, she brings a distinctive mix of glamour and turmoil never having been seen before. Unique is a word you can easily use to describe Miss Woods and despite her lack of intellectual ability there is nothing more determined than a woman chasing her man.

Jones has a lovely voice that suits this role and vocally she seems extremely at home in it. However, she isn’t quite as kooky as one might expect if you have seen the film and there needs to be a little more finesse with her dancing. But her comic timing is good and the delivery of her lines spot on. Jones is a sassy and engaging Elle and one you cannot help but like in spite of her initial vacuous appearance.

Rita Simons gives an exceptional performance as lovelorn Paulette Bonafonte, who has some of the funniest lines in the show. It is always a surprise when an actor is so associated with a specific TV role that you fail to realise their skills outside of it. What a stunning voice Simons has and one that should not be hidden.

A notable criticism is it seems remarkable that a show that has a lead who is supposed to be a wealthy fashionista is actually dressed rather frumpily. In fact the production does seem a little cheap in comparison.

Putting set criticism to one side it is clear the cast are making the most of the flamboyant nature of this show. It’s is full of energy with some dance routines that leave the audience breathless. The whole piece lands on the right side of entertaining as was seen from the audience response.

Of course the stars of the show are the two dogs Bruiser and Rufus and they got the big “aaaaahhh” moments throughout! Which seems to support the adage about working with animals.

This is an enjoyable evening out so, “Bend and snap” your way to the theatre to see this.

 

 

Theatre503 until – 2 December.  reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

The UK premiere of Angela Betzien’s The Dark Room examines lives that are as far removed from the familiar sunkissed Australian soap operas as possible. Proving that “It’s grim up North” rings true in Australia as well, the action unfolds in a shabby motel room in the Northern Territory, where three different storylines unfold over a fractured timeline, eventually revealing the connections between the characters and the devastating history of abuse and brutality that link them inescapably together.

With minimal funding and facilities, youth worker Anni (Katy Brittain) must stay overnight in the motel with teenager Grace (Annabel Smith) until another safe place becomes available for the child. Covered in dirt and wearing a hood, Grace has been damaged beyond imagining by her chaotic and violent upbringing. Grace’s verbal duals with Anni are well constructed and authentic, with the girl trying to gain the upper hand any way she can, veering between puppyish enthusiasm, pitiful pleading, violent threats and sexualised behaviour. Her frustration as Anni avoids confrontation and doesn’t respond as she wants or expects is portrayed wonderfully.

Policeman Stephen (Tamlyn Henderson) and his pregnant wife Emma (Fiona Skinner) also stay in the room after the wedding of one of Stephen’s colleagues. Drunk and hoping to go back for more drinks with his mates, Stephen can’t understand Emma’s dislike of his workmates and the town.

The last occupant of the room is policeman Craig (Alasdair Craig), holed up after a suspicious death in custody, haunted by his actions and bullying Stephen into covering for him. His personal life and motivations for his work with the young lads in the town are touched upon with just enough familiar phrases that are trotted out to defend sex offenders to colour his panic and guilt with deeper meaning than simple bigotry.

The characters are all linked by the haunting presence of Joseph (Paul Adeyefa) who is disturbing and heart-breaking in a quiet counterpoint to Smith’s shocking portrayal of Grace’s raging anguish.

Director Audrey Sheffield handles the intertwining storylines expertly, with characters sharing lines in different timelines and carrying on with silent actions as the storylines unfold. At times it was tricky to keep focussed on Emma and Stephen, Smith was fascinating to observe as she picked and licked the walls and mirror as Grace.

This isn’t a bundle of laughs, but The Dark Room is a stylish and intriguing production taking an unflinching look at society’s failure to protect the most vulnerable.

Hull New Theatre – until Saturday 18 November 2017.  Reviewed by Catherine McWilliams

5*****

Hedda Gabler is a nasty piece of work, a damaged woman, one who seems to have everything but ultimately has nothing, a manipulator, someone who twists and plays with truth, a woman on the path to disaster, a woman appearing to have power but powerless. In short not someone I would be cheering on and yet the horror of what unfolded on stage made me pity her and want things to work out for her. This powerful production by the National Theatre really is a must see. This is one of those plays where everything comes together to produce an enthralling (and sometimes horrifying) night at the theatre. There were points at which I gasped out loud with the horror of Hedda’s situation and the downward spiral her life was taking.

The set was very stark and pared down, a large partially decorated apartment with little in it, making life seem drab and Hedda often appear shrunken in size, lost in her unfinished apartment. Music and sound effects were used well to build up the tension as the night went on.

Lizzy Watts, as Hedda, gave an outstanding performance, never off the stage, her timing and delivery of her lines perfect. She used her whole body in the performance, squatting and peering and making herself shrink in size and being very, very still. Stillness was a feature of this performance with her maid Berte (Madlena Nedeva) being a brooding presence at the side of the stage, sometimes seeming to mirror Hedda.

Abhin Galeya had just the right touch as Hedda’s husband Tesman, wanting to show off his possession (Hedda) and at times being totally oblivious of her. Adam Best played Brack superbly with his two sides, the pleasant friendly side he presents to Tesman and others and the manipulative threatening manner he has with Hedda. Christine Kavanagh (Juliana), Annabel Bates (Mrs Elvsted) and Richard Pyros (Lovborg) all played their roles well, being sadly believable.

I left the Theatre reflecting on how lucky I was to have had choices and the ability to take them – unlike the women in this play.

Leeds Grand Theatre – until 2 December 2017 then on tour around the UK

5*****

Fat Friends the Musical has had its world premiere in Leeds and it’s a wonderful life affirming story of love and acceptance set in Headingley, a part of Leeds in Yorkshire.

Written, or given birth to, by Kay Mellor who wrote the tv show on which this based and with music by Nick Lloyd Webber, who proves talent runs in the family.

Kelly Stephenson (Jodie Prenger) is marrying Kevin Murgatroyd (Andrew “Freddie”Flintoff) in 6 weeks.  She has fallen in love with her dream gown, 2 sizes too small for her and is persuaded to join Super Slimmers with the promise of having the entire wedding paid for by Super Slimmers founder Julia Fleshman (Natasha Hamilton).  With the lives of the other members of the slimming club causing chaos to ensue.

Jodie Prenger is phenomenal as Kelly, beautiful and confident and happy in her own skin.  Her outfit for her hen night is stunning.  Freddie Flintoff, famous for playing cricket and Sports Personality of the Year 2005, is actually quite good – he can sing, he can dance and he can act – clearly a man of many talents.  His character of Kevin loves every glorious curve and sexy inch of Kelly and it’s only when he thinks she has lost weight that the problems start.

Rachel Wooding shines as Kelly’s sister Joanne.  Thin with no need to diet she has some amazing one liners but proves her metal and family loyalty.  Sam Bailey is mum to Kelly, Betty, who has lost 5 stone whilst living and working in a chippie.  Kevin Kennedy is dad Fergus.  Their song, sung to Kelly, If You Don’t Want to Marry Him is beautiful  – filled with the emotion of parents wanting the best for their child.

Class leader Lauren (Natalie Anderson) thinks she needs to lose 2 pounds for life to be perfect even though Vicar Paul (Jonathan Helliwell) thinks she is pretty perfect already, exploring the theory that even thin people have body image issues.  Paramedic Alan (Neil Hurst) used to be happily married until his wife joined a gym and lost weight and left him.  And with Look North following Kelly’s weight loss, reporter Val (Chloe Hart) is under pressure to lose weight or she won’t be able to sit on the tv sofa anymore.

The ensemble (Craig Armstrong, Emma Crossley, Ellie Leah, Laura Mansell, Ryan Pidgen, Lizzie Bea and Paul Brangan) dazzle. They sing, they dance, they even do zumba with aplomb.

The set and costumes by Bretta Gerecke are stunning.  The set converts into a multitude of scenes by just simple moves and the costumes, the hen night scene in particular are impressive in their worship of the curve.  Not one of the costumes ridicules the size but enhances the form.

The live band (Jon Ranger, Nick Pinchbeck, Jennah Smart, Jacob Phillips, Zeb Tonkin, Bret Vanderburg and Josh Carpenter) play Simon Lee’s arrangements with perfection and Karen Bruce’s choreography is quite fabulous.  With first class lighting and sound by Nick Richings and Gareth Owen Sound.

Mellor has written a gloriously stunning musical.  The script and lyrics are wonderful.  Throughout the show I cried with laughter and I cried with emotion all down to the majesty of Mellor’s words.

I can’t impress on you enough how wonderful this show is but let’s cry out the overriding theme of the show of “Love who you are”, “Everyone is Beautiful” and “Diets are Crap”.