Home

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR

ARTHUR MILLER’S DEATH OF A SALESMAN

A Young Vic, Elliott & Harper and Cindy Tolan Production

DEATH OF A SALESMAN

By Arthur Miller

Directed by Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell

Young Vic, Main House

1 May – 29 June 2019

Artistic Director of the Young Vic, Kwame Kwei-Armah, today announces the full cast for Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, a co-production with Elliott & Harper Productions and Cindy Tolan.

Following her recent award winning success on Company and Angels in America, Marianne Elliott will co-direct this production with Miranda Cromwell, who worked as Associate Director on both of those shows. 

Wendell Pierce (making his UK stage debut as Willy Loman), Sharon D. Clarke (Linda Loman) and Arinzé Kene (Biff Loman) will be joined by Ian Bonar (Bernard), Trevor Cooper (Charley), Martins Imhangbe (Happy Loman), Joseph Mydell (Ben Loman), Nenda Neurer (Letta), Jennifer Saayeng (Miss Forsythe), Matthew Seadon-Young (Howard Wagner and Stanley) and Maggie Service (The Woman and Jenny) in the production, which opens on 9 May, with previews from 1 May.

“I don’t say he’s a great man…but he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He’s not to be allowed to fall in his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person.”

Directed by Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell, Design by Anna Fleischle, Lighting Design by Aideen Malone, Sound Design by Carolyn Downing and Casting by Charlotte Sutton CDG.

Arthur Miller (1915-2005) was born in New York City and studied at the University of Michigan.  His plays include All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, After the Fall, Incident at Vichy, The American Clock, Broken Glass, Mr. Peters’ Connections, and Resurrection Blues. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1949. Other works include the novel Focus, the screenplay The Misfits, the memoir Timebends, and texts for the books In Russia, In the Country, and Chinese Encounters, in collaboration with his wife, photographer Inge Morath.Newly published collections include CollectedEssays and Presence: Collected Stories.

Ian Bonar returns to the Young Vic toplay Bernard. Previous theatre credits for the Young Vic include Ma Vie en Rose. His other theatre credits include Jellyfish (Bush Theatre), Be Prepared (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/VAULT Festival), Arden of Faversham, The Witch of Edmonton, The Roaring Girl (RSC), The Blackest Black (Hampstead Theatre), Brilliant Adventures (Royal Exchange Theatre), Me as a Penguin (Arcola Theatre), and DNA and The Miracle (National Theatre). His television credits include Damilola: Our Loved Boy, New Blood, Holy Flying Circus, and Going Postal; and for film, Interlude in Prague, Spectre, Skyfall, Kon-Tiki, Starter for 10, 1234, Atonement, and How to Lose Friends & Alienate People.

Sharon D. Clarke plays Linda Loman. Her theatre credits include Caroline, Or Change (Chichester Festival Theatre/Hampstead Theatre/Playhouse Theatre), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Amen Corner – for which she won an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress (National Theatre), Ghost The Musical (Piccadilly Theatre), The Life (Southwark Playhouse), Porgy and Bess (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre), We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre) and the forthcoming Blues in the Night at Kiln Theatre. Her television credits include as series regular Lola Griffin in Holby City, Doctor Who, Informer and Flowers; and for film, Tau, The Darkest Universe, Sugarhouse, Secret Society and Beautiful People.

Trevor Cooper plays Charley. His theatre credits include An Enemy of the People, Heartbreak House (Chichester Festival Theatre), Chimerica (Almeida Theatre/Harold Pinter Theatre), All That Fall (Arts Theatre/59E59, New York), King Lear (Tobacco Factory Theatre), There is a War, The Swan, Playing with Fire (National Theatre),House of Games, Measure for Measure, Awake and Sing, The Late Henry Moss (Almeida Theatre), Arcadia(Duke of York’s Theatre), By the Bog of Cats (Wyndham’s Theatre),and The Lieutenant of Inishmore, King John and The Prisoner’s Dilemma (RSC). His television credits include as series regular Sergeant Woolf in Call the Midwife andLen Clifton in This Country, The Windsors, Wolfblood, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Ballot Monkeys, Wizards vs. Aliens, Murphy’s Law and Tess of the D’Urbervilles; and for film, Postcards from London, Crooked House, A Quiet Passion, Happy-Go-Lucky, Until Death, Dear Wendy and Vanity Fair.

Martins Imhangbe plays Happy Loman. His theatre credits include The Tragedy of King Richard II (Almeida Theatre), An Adventure, The Royale (Bush Theatre), Absolute Hell, The Barbershop Chronicles (National Theatre), Luce (Southwark Playhouse), Octagon (Arcola Theatre), The Skriker (Royal Exchange Theatre), Lionboy(Complicite UK/international tour), Romeo and Juliet (Orange Tree Theatre), and A Human Being Died that Night (Hampstead Theatre).

Arinzé Kene returns to the Young Vic toplay Biff Loman. Previous theatre credits for the Young Vic include Been So Long. His other theatre credits include Misty – also written by Kene (Bush Theatre/Trafalgar Studios), Girl from the North Country (The Old Vic / Noël Coward Theatre ), One Night in Miami (Donmar Warehouse),Decade (Headlong), The Lion King (Lyceum Theatre), Daddy Cool (Shaftesbury Theatre/international tour) andTorn (Arcola Theatre). As a playwright his credits include One Voice, Good Dog, God’s Property, Little Baby Jesusand Estate Walls. His television credits include The Long Song, Flack, Informer, Crazy Face, Our Girl andYoungers. His film credits include Been So Long, The Pass, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them andFreestyle.

Joseph Mydell returns to the Young Vic to play Ben Loman. Previous theatre credits for the Young Vic include A Season in the Congo and Elektra. His other credits include The Tragedy of King Richard II, Richard III (Almeida Theatre), Hamlet (RSC), The Comedy of Errors, Edmond, Angels in America ­– for which he won Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor (National Theatre), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Novello Theatre), Mother Christmas and Anna in the Tropics (Hampstead Theatre). His television credits include Mrs. Wilson, Homeland, The Missing and Space Precinct; and for film, Woman in Gold, Tonight You’re Mine and Mammoth.

Nenda Neurer plays Letta. She represented Rose Bruford at the 2017 Sam Wanamaker Festival, playing Vittoria in The White Devil. Her other theatre credits include White Teeth (Kiln Theatre), Jerusalem, The Borrowers (The Watermill Theatre) and Romeo and Juliet (Orange Tree Theatre).

Wendell Pierce plays Willy Loman. His theatre credits include Cost of Living (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Queenie Pie (Kennedy Center), The Piano Lesson (Walter Kerr Theatre), Serious Money (Royale Theater) and The Boys of Winter (Biltmore Theatre),  The Good Times are Killing Me (Minetta Lane Theatre), Tis a Pity She’s A Whore, Cymbeline, Two Gentleman of Verona (Joseph Papp Public Theater), The Cherry Orchard (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Broke-ology (Lincoln Center) and Fences (Pasadena Playhouse). Pierce is also a Tony Award winning producer of Clybourne Park. His television credits include as series regular Det. Bunk Moreland in The Wire, Robert Zane in Suits, Antoine Batiste in Treme, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Confirmation, Chicago PD, Unsolved, The Odd Couple, Ray Donovan, Advocate’s Devil, Never Give Up: The Jimmy V Story, Strapped, Life Support and With Two Lumps of Ice; and for film, Selma, Horrible Bosses, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part Two, Parker, Lay the Favorite and One Last Thing – for which he won the Acting Award at the LA Film Festival.

Jennifer Saayeng plays Miss Forsythe. Her theatre credits include Caroline, Or Change (Chichester Festival Theatre), Ragtime (Charing Cross Theatre), Les Liaisons Dangereuses, City of Angels (Donmar Warehouse), The Etienne Sisters (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Color Purple (Menier Chocolate Factory), A Long and Happy Life (Finborough Theatre), Ghost (Piccadilly Theatre) and Not Quite Gospel (Birmingham Rep). Her television credits include Emerald City, Vera and the forthcoming Summer of Rockets.

Matthew Seadon-Young plays Howard Wagner and Stanley. His theatre credits include Company (Gielgud Theatre), Assassins (Gate Theatre, Dublin), Big Fish (The Other Palace), Beautiful (Aldwych Theatre), Billy Elliot(Victoria Palace Theatre), Sweeney Todd (ENO), Urinetown (Apollo Theatre), The Architects (National Theatre),School for Scandal (Theatre Royal Bath), She Stoops to Conquer (National Theatre) and Les Miserables (Queen’s Theatre). His film credits include Pride and Les Miserables.

Maggie Service plays The Woman and Jenny. Her theatre credits Annie Get Your Gun (Sheffield Theatres), Rules for Living, TABLE, Collaborators, Earthquakes in London, London Assurance (National Theatre), The Country Wife (Royal Exchange Theatre), A Flea in her Ear (The Old Vic), Well (Apollo Theatre) and Girl with a Pearl Earring (Theatre Royal Haymarket); and for film London Road.

Marianne Elliott is Artistic Director of Elliott & Harper Productions, a company she founded in 2016 with producer Chris Harper. Her credits for the company include Company (Gielgud Theatre – winner of Evening Standard Award for Best Director and Critics Circle Award for Best Musical) and Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle (Wyndham’s Theatre). Her other directing credits include Angels in America (National Theatre/Neil Simon Theatre – winner of Olivier and Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play), co-direction of War Horse(National Theatre/New London Theatre/Vivian Beaumont Theater – winner of Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (National Theatre/Apollo Theatre/Gielgud Theatre/Ethel Barrymore Theatre – Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Director), Saint Joan (National Theatre – Olivier Award for Best Revival, South Bank Show Award) and Pillars of the Community (National Theatre – Evening Standard Best Director Award).

Miranda Cromwell’s directing credits include Half Breed (Talawa Theatre/Soho Theatre/India tour), Magic Elves, Hey Diddle Diddle, Sense (Bristol Old Vic), Pigeon English (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), The Rest of Your Life(Bush Theatre) and Death and Treason (UK tour). As Associate Director to Marianne Elliott her credits includeCompany (Gielgud Theatre) and Angels in America (National Theatre/Neil Simon Theatre) and to Melly Still onCoram Boy (Colston Hall). As Assistant Director her credits include, Strife, An Enemy of the People (Chichester Festival Theatre), hang (Royal Court Theatre), and Swallows and Amazon and Faraway (Bristol Old Vic).

Listings                                                                                                                                 Death of a Salesman

Young Vic

66 The Cut, Waterloo, London, SE1 8LZ

Box Office:                          020 7922 2922

www.youngvic.org

Death of a Salesman

Main House

1 May – 29 June 2019

Performances:                  Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm

Matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2.30pm 

Access Performances

Captioned:                          Thursday 20 June, 7.30pm

Audio Described:              Tuesday 11 June, 7.30pm

Tickets:                                 £10, £20, £30, £40 (Concessions available)  

Previews:                            £10, £20, £25 (Concessions available)

WISE CHILDREN ANNOUNCE EMMA RICE TO STEP INTO ROLE OF NORA CHANCE DURING FINAL WEEKS OF UK TOUR

Wise Children and The Old Vic present

The world première of

WISE CHILDREN

By Angela Carter

Adapted and directed by Emma Rice

Co-produced by the Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Oxford Playhouse and York Theatre Royal

Wise Children today announce that Artistic Director, Emma Rice will be stepping into the role of Nora Chance in the critically acclaimed production of Wise Children. Rice will be taking over the role from Etta Murfitt, between 26 March – 6 April, covering performances at Richmond Theatre and Belgrade Theatre.

‘Let’s have all the skeletons out of the closet, today, of all days!’ It’s 23 April, Shakespeare’s birthday.’

In Brixton, Nora and Dora Chance – twin chorus girls born and bred south of the river – are celebrating their 75th birthday. Over the river in Chelsea, their father and greatest actor of his generation Melchior Hazard turns 100 on the same day. As does his twin brother Peregrine. If, in fact, he’s still alive. And if, in truth, Melchior is their real father after all…

A big, bawdy tangle of theatrical joy and heartbreak, Wise Children is a celebration of show business, family, forgiveness and hope. Expect show girls and Shakespeare, sex and scandal, music, mischief and mistaken identity – and butterflies by the thousand. Emma Rice brings her unique, exuberantly impish vision to Angela Carter’s great last novel, Wise Children, launching her new theatre company of the same name.

Emma Rice said today, “We’ve been on such a glorious adventure with our company Wise Children, and I can’t think of a better way to finish our debut tour than stepping into the limelight alongside our wonderful cast to perform in Richmond and Coventry. It’s an honour to share the stage with them and I’m very much looking forward to it!”

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

Tour Dates

Bristol Old Vic

Until Saturday 9 February

www.bristololdvic.org.uk

Box Office: 0117 987 7877

HOME Manchester

Tuesday 26 February – Saturday 2 March

www.homemcr.org

0161 200 1500

York Theatre Royal

Tuesday 5 March – Saturday 16 March

www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Box Office: 01904 623568

Storyhouse Chester

Tuesday 19 – Saturday 23 March

www.storyhouse.com/

Box Office: 01244 409 113

Richmond Theatre

Tuesday 26 March – Saturday 30 March

www.atgtickets.com/venues/richmond-theatre/

Box Office: 0844 871 7651

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

Tuesday 2 – Saturday 6 April

www.belgrade.co.uk

Box Office: 024 7655 3055

The Wardrobe Ensemble and Shoreditch Town Hall present

The Young Theatremaker’s Toolbox

@WardrobeEnsemble / www.thewardrobeensemble.com

@ ShoreditchTH /http://www.shoreditchtownhall.com/

• The Wardrobe Ensemble to run a theatre programme in devising and ensemble-based theatre for ages 16 – 25 at Shoreditch Town Hall 18– 22 February 2019.
• Please find company outreach images and photos from Education, Education, Education here: https://we.tl/t-YeyeriT7ai (Credit: Graeme Braidwood)
• More information on booking can be found here: https://shoreditchtownhall.com/whats-on/the-young-theatre-makers-toolbox

The week will be facilitated by members of multi-award winning theatre company The Wardrobe Ensemble and will culminate in a showing of a new piece of work to an invited audience of friends and family.

The theme of the week is The Young Theatremaker’s Toolbox andaims to equip participants with a broad range of skills from which to approach devising theatre. The week will give an insight into The Wardrobe Ensemble’s creative process, including ways of generating text, physical theatre and ensemble work.

We welcome individuals who are interested in testing their creativity, with no prior experience necessary, and seek to have a rehearsal room that is diverse in experience, perspective and background. We will work on a first come first served basis.

Details

Venue: Shoreditch Town Hall, EC1V 9LT

Date: 18 – 22^nd February 2019

Timings: 10am – 6pm

Age suitability: 16 – 25

Price: £150 (some bursaries available)

Info: Please contact Emily if you have any questions, access needs or want to know more about the programmme.

‘A company that knows exactly what it is doing’ – The Guardian

Full casting announced for

MT FEST UK

A two-week festival of new musical theatre

Presented by Paul Taylor-Mills

At The Other Palace

From Monday 11 to Saturday 23 February 2019

Paul Taylor-Mills is delighted to announce full casting for the Taster Menu series of new musicals featuring as part of MT Fest UK. Playing at The Other Palace from Monday 11 to Saturday 23 February, the series will showcase eight new musicals through 45-minute semi-staged sharings.

AA (11-13 February)featuresConnor Byrne as Irish Bob, Emma Lindars as Abby, Rosemary Ashe as Angela, Dan Buckley as Bar Man, Matt White as Bert, Scott Garnham as Dave, Sooz Kempner as Lena, Declan Bennett as Rickie, Jenny O’Leary as Rose, Scott Paige as Simon and Matt Henry as Twirley.

Nerds (11-13 February)features Dan Buckley as Bill Gates, Kane Oliver Parry as Steve Jobs, Scott Garnham as Paul Allen, Bronté Barbé as Myrtle, Oliver Ormson as Steve Wozniak, Jenny O’Leary as Thekla, Scott Paige as Tim, Rebecca Lock as Sally/Oracle and Matt White as Narrator.

First Date (14-16 February) features Liam Doyle as Aaron, Sophie Isaacs as Casey, Dean John Wilson as Man 1, Natalie Douglas as Woman and Russell Wilcox as Man 2.

Porn, the Musical (14-16 February) features Russell Wilcox as Alfred Itchcock, Liam Doyle as Dr Jonny, Natalie Douglas as Mrs Bugeja, Sophie Isaacs as Sandy and Dean John Wilson as Stefan.

But I’m a Cheerleader: The Musical (18-20 February)features Bronté Barbé as Megan, Carrie Hope Fletcher as Graham, Jamie Muscato as Jared, Matt Henry as Mike, Ben Forster as Larry,Stephen Hogan as Lloyd and Luke Bayer as Clayton.

Bloody Bloody Jessica Fletcher (18-20 February)features Harriet Thorpe as Jessica, Verity Rushworth as Victoria, Connor Byrne as Mr Drake, Jemma Alexander as Lulu, Russell Walker asSeth and Steven Serlin as Tom.

The Astonishing Return of… The Protagonists (21-23 February) features Christina Bennington as Penelope, Rob Fowler as Voltman, Leo Ihenacho as Dr Zappus, Oliver Ormson as Fishboy and the voice of Nathan Amzi as Narrator.

Killer Queen (21-23 February) features Izuka Hoyle as Jeanne, Christina Bennington as Marie Antoinette and Leo Ihenacho as Vilette.

The Taster Menu series will also feature current Arts Ed students Jessie Angell, Billy Downes,George Griffiths, Ahmed Hamad, Emily Hammond, Emilia Harrigan, Jonathan Hermosa-Lopezand Connor Lewis.

MT Fest UK is a two-week festival of new musical theatre at The Other Palace from Monday 11 to Saturday 23 February 2019. The festival will present new work by both emerging and established writers, as well as talks and concerts from some of the most celebrated performers, writers and producers currently working in musical theatre. All tickets to events and performances are £10-15.

Casting is by Will Burton.

Tickets for all MT Fest UK events are on sale now

For further information on the full MT Fest UK programme

visit www.MTFestUK.co.uk

Twitter @Fest_MT

Instagram MTFestUK

Cambridge Arts Theatre – until 3rd February.

Reviewed by Boo Wakefield

4****

Set in an immaculate kitchen in North London, Caroline’s Kitchen, written by Torben Betts, tells the story of Caroline Mortimer (Caroline Langrishe) who is a well-established TV cook. She has a beautiful house, a successful husband, Mike (Aden Gillett) who loves golf and a son, Leo (Tom England) who has just graduated with a 1st class degree. The play follows the evening where Caroline is rehearsing another episode of her cooking programme and Leo arrives home from university. This should be an evening of celebration but Caroline’s perfect private and public lives are set to clash with hilarious and disastrous consequences.

Whilst most of the first half was spent setting the scene and introducing the characters, the second half was fast moving and full of laughter with unexpected twists and turns to Caroline’s life through her family and her flirtatious PA, Amanda (Jasmyn Banks), her carpenter Graeme (James Sutton) and his wife Sally (Elizabeth Boag). Although a devoted couple, Caroline and Mike have a difficult and complicated relationship both with each other and with Leo, who drops several bombshells shattering the image of a perfect son.

There is a thunderstorm brewing outside adding to a dramatic undertone throughout the evening and as the storm ends, the play draws to an unexpected and amusing conclusion.

Congratulations must be given to Caroline Langrishe who was hardly off the stage all evening. The repartee between the characters was incredibly fast keeping you on your toes as it wove the many story lines together. Aden Gillett played the over powering husband and father with relish whilst Tom England’s Leo grew stronger as his revelations were exposed. A thoroughly enjoyable play which had all the audience still chuckling as we left the theatre – a good sign of a great piece of entertainment.

Caroline’s Kitchen has been reworked by Betts from his play Monogamy which toured last year. The play continues to tour nationally until 13th April 2019 and will transfer to New York later in 2019.

LEEDS CENTRAL LIBRARY TO HOST FIRST COLLECTIONS IN VERSE SHOWCASE INSPIRED BY LANDMARK BRITISH LIBRARY EXHIBITION

The first ever Collections in Verse showcase, a unique nationwide collaboration between the British Library and Poet in the City funded byArts Council England, will launch at Leeds Central Library this March.

Following on from the British Library’s successful exhibition Windrush: Songs in a Strange Land last year, the inaugural Collections in Verse showcase will celebrate the Caribbean community’s impact on the cultural landscape of Leeds. Looking at music, fashion and language, this lively takeover event at Leeds Central Library will feature live music, poetry, performance, talks and real-life stories.

Collections in Verse is an ambitious live poetry programme between the British Library, the Living Knowledge Network of 22 major libraries across the UK, and Poet in the City. Over the next two years the project will spark new creative ways for audiences across England to engage with the British Library’s collections and exhibitions through the lens of local stories, histories and cultures.  

Leeds Central Library will host the first ever Collections in Verse showcase in a free takeover event called“Colonizin in Reverse”: Celebrating Caribbean Culture on Wednesday 27 March (18:00-21:30).

The event will feature a set by Leeds DJ Fluid Irie, an open mic session with rapper and singer Testament, Dub Poetry with Roger Robinson, a celebration of Sound System Culture with Khadijah Ibrahiim, live performance from singer-songwriter, composer and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson and author and poet Anthony Joseph,with much more yet to be announced.

Poet in the City has commissioned three eminent Leeds poets of Caribbean descent to explore the legacy of Windrush on the city and their work:

• Malika Booker is a LHRI Fellow and Creative Writing Teaching Fellow at Leeds University. She is working at the Harehills Compton Road Library researching the impact of Windrush women on fashion and the textiles industry in Yorkshire.
• Vahni Capildeo is a Forward Prize-winning poet and the current Douglas Caster Cultural Fellow in Poetry at the University of Leeds. Their work with community groups at Beeston’s Dewsbury Road library looks at the concept of migration, the multiple senses of ‘home’, and how everyone’s life is a tapestry of small and large journeys.
• Khadijah Ibrahiim is a Leeds born and bred poet and playwright and founder of Leeds Young Authors. She is working with the Reginald Centre in Chapeltown exploring African Caribbean folklore and music traditions and their place in the UK pre and post-Windrush.

Jamie Andrews, Head of Culture and Learning at the British Library says, “Collections in Verse is a truly exciting, and wholly original, collaboration. Public libraries are natural homes for live poetry and performance, and so we are excited to work with Poet in the City and our five public library partners to reimagine British Library exhibitions for new audiences across the country.”

Alison Millar, Reader and Culture Development Manager for Leeds Libraries says: “We have been so pleased to be the first library service to work on this project with Poet in the City and the British Library. ‘Colonizin in Reverse’ promises to be such an exciting event and will be a fantastic way of celebrating the work that has happened in our libraries with the communities they serve and the commissioned poets.”

“Colonizin in Reverse”: Celebrating Caribbean Culture

Leeds Central Library, Calverley Street, LS1 3AB

Wednesday March 27^th from 6.00 to 9.30pm

Tickets are free but must be booked in advance

Book here https://colonizininreverse.eventbrite.co.uk

Visit http://poetinthecity.co.uk/collectionsinverse/leeds/for more information

FEBRUARY HALF-TERM AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE: THE WINTER’S TALE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES

A new version for young audiences by Justin Audibert

Directed by Ruth Mary Johnson

From 6 – 21 February 2019

Age guidance: 8 – 12 years, £12 (£8 under-18yrs)

Following a sold-out run at the Dorfman Theatre in 2018, The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare returns to the National Theatre from 6th – 21st February 2019.  Adapted by Justin Audibert for primary-age children and directed by Ruth Mary Johnson, this new version is the perfect introduction to Shakespeare for younger audiences.  

Perdita is a brave, intelligent and much-loved girl, but something is not quite right in her world. Join her on a journey through magic and mayhem as she uncovers her story – the girl who was once lost and then found.

The cast includes Joseph Adelakun, Ebony Feare, Tom Giles, Terique Jarrett, Christina Modestou, Aisha Toussaint, Wreh-asha Walton and Stanton Wright.

The production is designed by Lucy Sierra with lighting designed by Paul Knott. Music is composed and directed by Jonathan Girling and sound by Mike Winship. Puppetry is designed by Sam Wyer. Movement is by Lucy Cullingford and Maria Clarke.

The Winter’s Tale opens at the National Theatre following a two-week run at Stratford Circus Arts Centre for primary school pupils as part of London Borough of Newham’s Every Child a Theatre Goer programme which provides opportunities for children and young people in Newham to see live theatre productions at local and West End theatres. The Winter’s Tale will also tour to primary schools in Greater London in February and March as part of the National Theatre’s commitment to introducing children and young people to theatre, with the production reaching approximately 9,000 primary aged children.

Family Workshops

Our range of interactive family workshops invite you to explore behind the scenes of the stage production:

Bohemia and beyond: staging Shakespeare family workshop

18 and 19 Feb 11am

Inspired by the National Theatre’s production of The Winter’s Tale, this fun, family workshop will have you on your feet, creating Kings, Queens, lords and ladies and staging epic scenes of love, loss and mistaken identity.

The Winter’s Tale Family Design Workshop

18 and 19 Feb 11am and 2pm

Create a banquet fit for royalty in this family design workshop. From fantastical food to golden goblets, create eye-catching party props inspired by The Winter’s Tale.

A Winter’s Tale (a relaxed workshop for families with additional needs)

Wed 20 February, 11am and 1pm

Explore a world of kings and queens and discover a story of magic, madness and miracles. Take part in games, drama and storytelling activities in this relaxed workshop for the whole family.

NT Learning

NT Learning has a range of programmes to support primary teachers with theatre-making in their schools and inspire young audiences through creative learning opportunities. Let’s Play provides everything that teachers need to create a brilliant school play and On Demand in Schools is a free streaming video service for teachers at Primary and Secondary schools across the UK. To find out more about these opportunities visit NT Learning.

The National Theatre’s Partner for Learning is Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Schools Touring is supported by: The Mohn Westlake Foundation, The Garfield Weston Foundation, The Ingram Trust, Archie Sherman Charitable Trust, Behrens Foundation, Cleopatra Trust, Jill and David Leuw, Mulberry Trust and The Royal Victoria Hall Foundation. 

Tickets available from www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/the-winters-tale

For more information and press tickets, please contact Rhian Bennett on RBennett@nationaltheatre.org.uk / 020 7452 3235

ARDENT THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES

REVIVAL OF PHILIP OSMENT’S

THIS ISLAND’S MINE

Ardent Theatre Company in association with the King’s Head Theatre presents

THIS ISLAND’S MINE

by Philip Osment

at King’s Head Theatre

15 May – 8 June 2019

Director/Designer: Philip Wilson

Ardent Theatre Company today announces the first revival of Philip Osment’s This Island’s Mine, three decades after it was originally performed by Gay Sweatshop. The production opens at the King’s Head Theatreon 17 May, with previews from 15 May, until 8 June.

“Eyes smarting,

Heart aching,

From the pangs of first love.”

1988. Thatcher’s Britain.

Seventeen-year-old Luke runs away to London – away from homophobic playground slurs, headlines that scream ‘Don’t Teach Our Children To Be Gay’ and a family who wouldn’t understand him – to Uncle Martin, who he once saw with his arms around another man at a march.

In the capital, Mark is sacked because of fears about colleagues working with ‘someone like him’. His boyfriend, Selwyn, faces being beaten up both by the police and at home by his own stepbrother. Meanwhile, Debbie battles with her son, who doesn’t want to live with her and her girlfriend. And retired piano teacher Miss Rosenblum – who once found refuge in this country from a terror that swept away half her family in 1930s Vienna – has seen this sort of hatred and fear before.

Soon, these individual stories – of first loves and old flames, alliances and abandonment, missed opportunities and new chances – intertwine to paint a vivid picture of Eighties Britain.

This Island’s Mine was originally performed by Gay Sweatshop in 1988. Now, three decades after the introduction of Section 28 banning positive representations of homosexuality, Philip Osment’s passionate and lyrical play, of outsiders, exiles and refugees, is all too resonant.

Writer Philip Osment said today, “I am delighted that the play is being staged for a whole new generation of audiences. One of the company’s producers Mark Sands saw the play while he was still at college when the Gay Sweatshop production toured to his home town in 1988. It is heartening to know that he was inspired by that experience to work tirelessly to make this revival happen some thirty years later.”

Philip Osment is a writer and actor. His writing credits include the trilogy The Dearly Beloved, What I Did In The Holidays and Flesh and Blood (all of which were nominated for Writers Guilds awards), Buried Alive, Little Violet And The Angel (co-winner of the Peggy Ramsey award), Wise Guys (nominated for TMA and Manchester Evening News Best Play awards), Leaving, Collateral Damage, Fathers Inside and Whole. Philip also translatedPedro The Great Pretender (Cervantes), George Dandin (Moliere), and Kebab (Carbunariu) As an actor, he has performed with leading alternative theatre companies including The Half Moon, Shared Experience and Gay Sweatshop.

Philip Wilson directs. Philip spent four years as the Artistic Director of Salisbury Playhouse (2007-2011), during his tenure his directing credits include The Game of Love and Chance, The Constant Wife, The Picture, Private Lives, Arsenic and Old Lace and The Winslow Boy. He is the recipient of the 1995 Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme bursary and the inaugural 2015 David Fraser/Andrea Wonfor Directing for Television bursary. His other directing credits include Perfect Nonsense, After The Dance (Theatre By The Lake), A Fox on the Fairway (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch), Grimm Tales (Shoreditch Town Hall, Oxo Bargehouse, Unicorn Theatre),The Star,  The Norman Conquests, Noises Off, Dr Faustus, The Astonished Heart/ Still Life (Liverpool Playhouse), As You Like It (Storyhouse Chester), Beacons (Park Theatre).

Listings                                                                                                                                  This Island’s Mine

King’s Head Theatre

115 Upper St, London, N1 1QN

Box Office: 0207 226 8561

www.kingsheadtheatre.com

Tickets:

Previews: £10/£14

Standard: £19.40

Premium: £25

Concessions: £18

Unemployed: £5 matinee

Captioned Performance: 31 May

Q&A with Philip Osment (writer), Richard Sandells (actor in the 1988 original), Kate Owen (designer of 1988 original): 2 June after matinee

Q&A with Philip Wilson (director) and the performers: 8 June

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh – 31^st January, 2^nd February.

Reviewed by James Knight

2**

Scottish Opera’s presents their new opera ‘Anthropocene’ – a psychological thriller set in the Arctic. A sudden freeze captures the crew of a research vessel in the ice, coinciding with the discovery of a woman buried deep within the frozen wasteland…

‘Anthropocene’ is in three acts composed by Stuart MacRae and libretto by Louise Welsh, the writing team behind 2016’s ‘The Devil Inside’. The music borders on experimental – the orchestra is pushed to the furthest ranges possible to create a shifting soundscape that reflects the ever-changing polar ice caps. The percussion is of particular note, in particular the use of what sounded (to this reviewer at least) like a superball mallet, which when dragged across a drum produces a haunting and expressive drone. The use of elements such as these, as well as inviting the strings and woodwind to play in quartertones adds to the otherworldly quality.

The performers prove themselves well against a challenging score. Of particular note is Mark Le Brocq (Tenor) as the expeditions’ benefactor Harry King, whose extravagant vocal flourishes immediately reveal to the audience his self-confidence and swollen ego, and Jennifer France (Soprano) as Ice, the mysterious frozen woman, whose vocal range is pushed to impressive extremes.

But for all its technical prowess, the story and human interactions felt, well, cold. Crafted as a thriller, with a group of mismatched people thrown together in dire circumstances, there’s very little time given to build the relationships between the characters. Coloured jackets may pair up the crew, husband to wife, father to daughter, captain to ship’s engineer, leaving the journalist Miles Black (Benedict Nelson – Baritone) conspicuously adrift, foreshadowing future developments, but more time could have been given to make the audience feel for these characters. Instead, even in quieter moments, such as a contemplation of the Aurora, the music is very much focussed in cranking up the tension. This may of course be a conscious decision on the part of the writers, but it doesn’t give the characters any room for relatability.

The pacing struggles too, and the first act feels like it could naturally be trimmed, while the conflict and climax in the third act, as well as the revelation of Ice’s past feels rushed, and the internal logic of sacrifice and climate change are questionable.

‘Anthropocene’ is musically and vocally impressive, and symbolic touches like a hanging, skinned polar bear hint at darker events to come, however more time perhaps needs to be spent on the development and nurturing of the characters.

CLIVE OWEN

LIA WILLIAMS

ANNA GUNN

to headline

Also to star the renowned Julian Glover

James Macdonald to direct Tennessee Williams’ last great play

Strictly limited season begins Saturday 6 July | Noël Coward Theatre

Clive Owen returns to the West End for the first time in 18 years to play the Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon in THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, in a new production directed by James Macdonald.

Golden Globe-winner Owen (Closer, Children of Men) will be joined by Lia Williams (The Crown, Mary Stuart) as Hannah Jelkes, Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) as Maxine Faulk and Julian Glover (Game of Thrones) as Nonno.

The Night Of The Iguana will be directed by James Macdonald, (whose West End credits include the acclaimed recent production of Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, The Father and The Changing Room) and will be designed by Tony, Olivier and OBIE-award winning Rae Smith.

It will begin performances at the Noël Coward Theatre on Saturday 6 July and play a strictly limited 12-week season.

Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, 5 February at www.iguanawestend.com

In the strange limbo of 1940, on a dilapidated hotel verandah perched high in a rainforest above the west coast of Mexico, a group of lost souls collide – a defrocked priest turned tourist guide, the grieving widow who runs the hotel, a family of jubilant Nazis… and an itinerant portrait artist with her 97 year old poet grandfather. The result is an epic battle between flesh and spirit, captivity and freedom, art and faith – heightened by the arrival of a tropical rain-storm.

Further casting to be announced.

The Night Of The Iguana is produced by David Richenthal, Fiery Angel, Gavin Kalin and David M. Milch.