Tim Crowther’s new play about grief to be the last production at Theatre N16

November 28th – December 16th, 7.30pm, Theatre N16

In the final show at Theatre N16’s Balham home at the Bedford pub, Tim Crowther’s first full-length play about dealing with grief, ‘tis unmanly grief, looks into the big messages of how men don’t speak about their emotions and the important role women play in the world.

Everyone deals with grief differently, but when Tom returns home with the corpse of his father, denial takes on a whole new meaning. As the body decomposes and Tom retreats further from reality, Katie conceals her recent news of pregnancy and embarks on her first trimester alone.

Tim Crowther originally trained as an actor at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts (Oct ’97 – July ’00). As an actor, Tim also worked extensively at RADA (as actor/ collaborator) on various rehearsed readings of new writing projects. His time at RADA has not only informed his writing but also his collaborative approach in the rehearsal room – he recognizes the importance of all creative voices when gearing up to a production. In 2010, Tim took time out from the acting to train as a teacher at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (Sept ’10 – July ’11). His first job on leaving RCSSD was teaching Theatre at The BRIT School (Sept ’11 – July 15),

Following his stint as Theatre Teacher, he returned back to training, attending Goldsmiths University (Oct ’15 – Jul ’16), where he completed a one-year full time MA in Writing for Performance and Dramaturgy. It was here that, whilst building his portfolio of writing, that ‘tis unmanly grief was conceived. This will be Tim’s first professionally staged full-length play, but it follows a number of staged extracts including: an excerpt taken from ‘tis unmanly grief – staged as part of Pint Sized at the Bunker Theatre towards the end of 2016; Assisted (a monologue), was staged as part of Nothing to Declare and Playground Antics (a short piece) was staged as part of a charity evening in support of Contact-a-Family, at Slam Kings Cross.

Theatre N16 is a trailblazing London fringe venue, focused on producing and programming top quality new writing and selected existing works. Theatre N16 is proud of their commitment to the welfare and development of creatives, operating under an Equity Fringe Agreement. This promoting and nurturing of talent means that Theatre N16 is a bastion for development within the context of a society in which the arts are increasingly struggling to stay afloat.

 

Mad Women in My Attic! Review

The Other Palace Studio Theatre – 28 October.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

Monica Salvi invites you to become fellow inmates in her lunatic asylum for this tragi-comic therapy session with her own psychothera-pianist.

After being continuously typecast as the crazy characters in musicals, Salvi’s deliciously dark cabaret celebrates the madwomen that have inspired brilliant songs. Mad-eyed and mischievous, Salvi delights in the quirks of the women, and has a voice that soars through the songs brilliantly.

Carrying on her stories as she changes into ever more bonkers costumes, Salvi channels Norma Desmond and Bertha Rochester with powerhouse vocals, but is equally at home with Sondheim and Kander & Ebb. There’s lots of flirting with musical director Michael Ferreri, who manfully keeps a straight face throughout, and shows his own vocal talent in the lovely duet I Had a Dream About You. Another Maury Yeston number, By the River, is a guaranteed tearjerker, and Salvi is heart-breaking in her vulnerability as she gazes into the distance.

The laughs come fast and hard, along with some disturbing insights into damaged psyches that will set you giggling with a slight twinge of guilt. Salvi is such an energetic and beguiling performer that she even manages to make the old chestnut of audience participation – the percussion band – hysterical and slightly dangerous. Speaking of dangerous, the gentleman chosen to perform the Masochism Tango with Salvi deserves an award for remaining stony-faced as madness reigned all around him.

Monica Salvi’s incredible voice and her perfectly judged repertoire of songs makes Mad Women in My Attic! a stunning cabaret, full of wit and weirdness that will have the audience smiling, singing and squirming in quick succession.

Full Cast Announced: The Grinning Man at Trafalgar Studios, opens 6 December

CASTING ANNOUNCEMENT

 

Bristol Old Vic and Trafalgar Entertainment Group

present the Bristol Old Vic production of

THE GRINNING MAN
A new musical based on the novel by Victor Hugo

Directed by Tom Morris

 

 “The best puppetry since War Horse” The Mail on Sunday

The best British score in years” WhatsOnStage

An extraordinary amalgam of fairytale, puppetry,
romantic drama and black comedy
” 
StageTalk

Trafalgar Studios
Opens 6 December 2017
Tickets on sale now

Full casting has been announced for the critically acclaimed production of The Grinning Man, directed by Tony award-winning Tom Morris (War Horse) and based on the classic Victor Hugo (Les Misérables) novel, The Man Who Laughs, which opens at the Trafalgar Studios on 6 December.

 

Sean Kingsley (Les MisérablesBilly Elliot) and Ewan Black (Sleeping BeautyThe Merchant of Venice), who previously co-starred in the award-winning Bristol Old Vic production of the musical, have been confirmed to play Ursus and Trelaw in the West End premiere. Sanne den Besten (Les Misérables,Mamma Mia!), new to the cast, will play Dea, a blind woman who is the childhood friend and closest companion to the show’s title character Grinpayne.

This updated production of The Grinning Man follows the critically acclaimed premiere of the show in autumn 2016 at Bristol Old Vic. Louis Maskell (My Fair Lady, West Side Story), who was recently nominated for Best Performance in a Musical for his role in the Bristol production, will again lead the cast in the title role of Grinpayne, the show’s disfigured hero. Julian Bleach (St George in the Dragon,Shockheaded Peter, The Tempest), who also starred in the Bristol season, plays the role of the deliciously corrupt court clown Barkilphedro.

Joining the cast are Mark Anderson (The Toxic Avenger), Julie Atherton (Avenue Q), Jim Kitson (Much Ado About Nothing), Sophia Mackay (The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds her Chameleon Skin) and Amanda Wilkin (Hamlet). Completing the company are James Alexander-Taylor, Christina Bloom, Jonathan Cobb, Leo Elso, Claire-Marie Hall, and Loren O’Dair.

The Grinning Man is a romantic gothic musical love story, set in a fantastical world with a dark heart, and brought to life by Kneehigh writer Carl Grose (Dead Dog in a Suitcase) and “powered by an outstanding score” (Sunday Times) by Tim Phillips and Marc Teitler. Macabre, magical and visually astonishing, this ultimately elating love story is a distinctive delight.

The show reunites Tom Morris with two puppeteers who began their careers inside Joey and Topthorn in the original production of War Horse – Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié – now leading their own brilliant puppetry company Gyre & Gimble. 

When it opened last year as the climax of Bristol Old Vics 250th anniversary programme the critics raved: the Telegraph cited its “blackly comic brilliance”; the Daily Mail hailed it as “weird and wonderful, a dark delight”; the Guardian said the production “deftly walks a tightrope between romantic and grotesque… it defies theatrical convention by keeping its hand on its heart and its tongue in its cheek”.

The Grinning Man is produced by Bristol Old Vic, Trafalgar Entertainment Group, Eilene Davidson, Richard O’Brien, David Adkin and Neil Laidlaw.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Previews:                           From Wednesday 6 December

Press night:                       Monday 18 December at 7.00pm

Performances:                   Monday – Saturday at 7:30pm, Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm
Box Office:                        
www.atgtickets.com/trafalgarstudios / 0844 871 7632

Ticket Prices:                    From £15.00

Website:                           TheGrinningManMusical.com

Twitter:                             @GrinningManLDN


The producers of The Grinning Man are delighted to continue Bristol Old Vic’s commitment to ensuring that tickets to the highest quality productions remain affordable and accessible, particularly to younger audience members, by offering the following special rate:

£25 UNDER 25 RATE: A general under 25 rate of £25 (redeemable for any standard-priced seat, subject to availability at time of booking) will be available throughout the run for every performance Monday – Thursday inclusive.  Meaning that anybody under 25 will be able to see the show during the week at this special accessible rate. This rate will be available through ATG Tickets, the principal ticketing provider for Trafalgar Studios.

BRISTOL OLD VIC

Bristol Old Vic is the longest continuously running theatre in the UK, and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2016. Under Artistic Director Tom Morris, the historic playhouse aims to inspire audiences with its own original productions, both at home and on tour, whilst nurturing the next generation of artists, whether that be through their 350-strong Young Company, their many outreach and education projects or their trailblazing artist development programme, Bristol Ferment.

Bristol Old Vic uses its funding to support experiment and innovation, to allow access to their programme for people who would not otherwise encounter it, or be able to afford it, and to keep their extraordinary heritage alive and animated.

Since 2016, while the theatre continues to present work, it has simultaneously been undergoing a multi-million pound redevelopment project to transform its front of house space into a warm and welcoming public building for all of Bristol to enjoy, create a new studio theatre and open up its unique theatrical heritage to the public for the first time. The project is due to be completed in autumn 2018.

www.bristololdvic.org.uk  

TRAFALGAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP

Trafalgar Entertainment Group is a live entertainment business that owns and operates distinctive, stylish cultural buildings as well as creating, distributing and live-streaming innovative content. Based at the iconic Trafalgar Studios in London’s West End, it is the latest venture from Sir Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire OBE – two of the most influential entertainment entrepreneurs of the last 20 years.

www.trafalgarentertainment.com

Casting announced for Rothschild & Sons

Arnold Mittelman in association with Park Theatre.
presents
The UK premiere of
 
Rothschild & Sons
“A family willing to risk everything”
 
Park Theatre, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP
For a limited run from 24 January -17 February 2018
 
Rothschild & Sons, a musical by Broadway songwriting legends Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick(Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me) and Tony-nominated writer Sherman Yellen, directed by Jeffrey B.Moss, is the story of Mayer Rothschild, his wife and sons, who despite being trapped behind ghetto walls, dream of a day when they are no longer locked in or anyone like them locked out.
 
This re-imagined musical was inspired by the book The Rothschilds by Frederic Morton and includes several never-before-heard songs in its UK premiere.
 
The stellar cast of Broadway and West End actors is led by Tony nominee Robert Cuccioli as Mayer and Glory Crampton as Gutele, roles they created to great acclaim in the New York premiere of  Rothschild & Sons, and School of Rock’s Gary Trainor as Nathan Rothschild.
 
 
 
This uplifting and universal tale follows the rise of the Rothschild family from their humble home in the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt, Germany, to the heights of European prominence. Mayer Rothschild is an ambitious young merchant anxious to make something of himself in a world that openly despises Jews. He marries, has five sons, and ultimately, by use of his quick wit and perseverance, transforms his family into an international banking empire serving the royal courts of Europe. But Mayer’s main objective is to see the ghetto walls torn down before he dies and for this he, his wife and his sons, are prepared to risk everything. 

Robert Cuccioli, making his West End debut, is best known for his critically acclaimed performance in the Broadway hit Jekyll & Hyde, for which he received a Tony nomination, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award. Robert made his Broadway debut as Inspector Javert in Les Miserables, and was most recently seen on Broadway as Dr. Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin in Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. 
 
Glory Crampton is a veteran Broadway actress & singer. She performed the role of “Christine” in Phantom of the Opera  as well as starring in The Fantasticks, My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly, Carousel and Guys and Dolls amongst many others.
 
Gary Trainor, whose past work includes the West End productions of Beautiful: The Carole King MusicalI Can’t Sing and The Shawshank Redemption, comes to Rothschild & Sons fresh from playing the role of Dewey in School of Rock.
 
Others in the cast are David Delve, Richard Dempsey, Tom Giles, Tom Lloyd, Kris-Marc Joseph, Joanna Strand, Tony Timberlake and Stephen Webb.
 
American musical theatre composer Jerry Bock, who died in 2010, received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical Fiorello! and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof, again with Sheldon Harnick
 
 Sheldon Harnick began his career in the 1950’s with songs in revues both on and off-Broadway. As well as creating Fiorello and Fiddler on the Roof with Jerry Bock, they also wrote She Loves Me (Grammy), The Apple Tree and The Rothschilds. Other musicals include Rex (Richard Rodgers), A Wonderful Life (Joe Raposo) and A Christmas Carol (Michel Legrand). Harnick also contributed songs to the films ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ and ‘Blame It on Rio’ (music by Cy Coleman) and Aaron’s ‘Magic Village’ (music by Michel Legrand). The 1970’s saw Sheldon Harnick’s entry into the field of opera. His collaboration with Jack Beeson produced Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, Cyrano, and Dr. Heidegger’s Fountain of Youth. Among his other opera collaborations are Coyote Tales (Henry Mollicone) and Love in Two Countries (Thomas Shepard). In 2016 he was awarded a Tony Lifetime Achievement Award.
 
Director Jeffrey B. Moss is an award winning director whose work includes the development of new plays and musicals such as Golden Boy and Rags as well as Before The Dream , Passin’ It OnThe Jazz Club, Mermaids, based on the MGM film, and Charles Strouse’s Real Men. He has staged over 35 national and international tours.  Recent productions include the debut of Legally Blonde in China. New York shows include Mayor, Some Enchanted Evening and Rothschild & Sons.
 
Musical director Ben van Tienan’s credits include the UK tours of Funny Girl, Dirty Rotten ScoundrelsWest Side Story, and The Rocky Horror ShowChicago (Hong Kong) and Ordinary Days (Australia). He has worked extensively as an Associate Music Director on Wicked (Singapore), Doctor Zhivago (Australia, Seoul), West Side Story (Australia, Europe) and Chicago (Australia, Singapore).
 
New York based choreographer Denis Jones’ credits include Roundabout Theatre Company’s  Holiday Inn (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Chita Award nominations for Best Choreography),  Honeymoon in Vegas and Mary Poppins at New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse.
 
Costume design is by Pam Tait whose work at the Royal Court has included Restoration and Top Girls. She has also designed for film and TV including ‘Politician’s Wife’, ‘Queer as Folk’ and ‘Sid and Nancy’.
 
Lighting designer Jack Weir’s design for The Boys In The Band (Vaudeville Theatre)  was nominated in the 2016 WhatsOnStage Awards and The Broadway World Awards for Best Lighting Design. He was double nominated and short-listed in the 2016 OffWestEnd awards and in 2014, he was recipient of the ETC award from The Association of Lighting Designers. 
 
Video & projection are designed by Louise Rhoades-Brown. Her recent credits include Bugsy Malone(Leicester Curve), The Trial of Jane Fonda (Park Theatre), Ray Mears Tales Of Endurance (UK Tour),An Evening With Ray Mears (UK Tour), Box Of Photographs (Polka Theatre) and Legally Blonde(Leicester Curve).
 
Arnold Mittelman has had a distinguished career of artistic and educational achievement creating almost 300 diverse productions of plays, musicals and special events. He has helped found and/or lead four major not-for-profit theatres as well as producing numerous commercial theatrical productions for Broadway, off- Broadway and the West End. In 2007 he was named President and Producing Artistic Director of the not-for-profit National Jewish Theater Foundation (NJTFoundation.org ). For over two decades Arnold Mittelman was the Producing Artistic Director of the renowned Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, Florida.
 
 
Listings information:
 
 
Venue: Park200, Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP
Dates: 24 January – 17 February
Times: Evenings Mon – Sat 7.30pm, Matinees Thu & Sat 3pm
PN:                  Monday 29th January, 7pm
Ticket prices: Previews £18.50, Standard £20.00 – £29.50, Concessions £18.50 – £22, Child £15, Young Patrons £10 (24 – 31 Jan), Groups: buy 10 tickets get the 11th free
Telephone booking fee: 10% (capped at £2.50 per ticket)
Box office:       020 7870 6876www.parktheatre.co.uk
 
Twitter: @Rothschild_Sons/ @parktheatre
Instagram: @Rothschild_Sons/theparktheatre
Facebook: Rothschild & Sons /parktheatrelondon
 

Lazarus Theatre’s year-long residency at the Greenwich Theatre continues with Golding’s 20th Century epic: Lord of the Flies.

AWARD WINNING
LAZARUS THEATRE COMPANY
 
  • William Goldings’ 20th Century epic Lord of the Flies announced as show 2 in Lazarus Theatre Company’s year-long residency at the Greenwich Theatre.
 
Lord of the Flies
William Golding, Adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams
In association with the Greenwich Theatre
13th – 24th March 2018
The Greenwich Theatre
Directed by Ricky Dukes
 
“What are we? Humans? Animals? Or savages?”
 
William Golding’s explosive 20th century classic hits the stage in an all new ensemble production. Eleven children, one island… an incredible adventure turns into a fight for survival.
 
Lord of the Flies is the second production in our year-long residency at the Greenwich Theatre which begins in January 2018 with the return of our ★★★★★ production of Marlowe’s Edward II.
 
Artistic Director’s Note
“Goldings’ novel is one of the greatest examinations of our society, a truly modern classic, to stage a brand-new ensemble production of Lord of the Flies as part of our year-long residency at the Greenwich Theatre is a real honour.
Ricky Dukes, Artistic Director
 
Listings
Dates 13th – 24th March 2018, Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm
Wednesday and Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.
Venue The Greenwich Theatre
Tickets £25.00, £15.00, £10. Concessions are £15 on top price seats.
PRESS NIGHT Thursday 15th March 2017 at 7.30pm
 
Social Media:
Twitter @Lazarustheatre #Golding #LordoftheFlies / Facebook LazarusTheatreCompany
★★★★★ “This remains a visionary company who have once again brought us a stunning and thoughtful adaptation. Not to be missed.”
View from the Gods on Tamburaline

Cast announced for The Claim | UK Tour | November 2017 – January 2018

Cast announced for The Claim
UK Tour: 22nd November 2017 – 31st January 2018
Shoreditch Town Hall, London: 16th – 26th January 2018
Press night: Wednesday 17th January 2018, 7.45pm

Ncuti Gatwa (Romeo and Juliet, Home Theatre; Shakespeare in Love, Duke of York Theatre; 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, Globe Theatre), Yusra Warsama (The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Universal Pictures; Sonnet Sunday, The Globe; Our Girl, BBC1) and Nick Blakeley (Theresa Vs Boris, BBC2; Twelfth Night, Orange Tree Theatre; Goodbye Christopher Robin (Fox Searchlight) will bring the world premiere of The Claim to life.

The Claim is a comically absurd and quietly shattering journey to the heart of our tolerant and fair society. Written by Tim Cowbury (Made in China) and directed by Mark Maughan (Michael Grandage Company), The Claim explores one of the most pressingly global issues facing society today: migration and the prejudice that surrounds it. Accompanied by wraparound activities designed with organisations like UNESCO, The Claim is the only contemporary work to both satirise and humanise everyone around the Home Office interview table.

Serge stands before us. He has a performance to give. But why is he here? What is he claiming has happened to him? And what has Willy Wonka got to do with it?

The Claim gently invites you into the most British of interviews, then morphs into a dizzying onslaught of bureaucracy and prejudice. The play simultaneously abstracts and faithfully charts the journey of a single asylum claim. A bold, imaginative response to the stories of those seeking refuge in the UK, The Claim asks what happens when your life is at stake and all you have to save it
are your words.

Cowbury comments, We live in a time that’s more fractiously globalised than ever before, where the language of place and identity is unprecedentedly loaded and paradoxical. Few situations embody this moment as absurdly and tellingly as the substantive interview at the heart of every asylum claim in the UK. The interview room is a cauldron of words, in which refugees are asked to define themselves via a translator in a way that satisfies the UK’s criteria. Behind the barrage of questions asked of refugees are deeper questions we need to ask of the ourselves: who we are, what we stand for, what histories we may or may not have moved on from.

As solitary ‘guest’ Serge is subjected to the quiet violence of questions from two nameless ‘hosts’, The Claim mines the asylum system to expose more deep-seated problems and surreptitious prejudices in the UK. Cowbury’s excitingly intense and fast-paced dialogue uses word-play to create a gently absurd metaphor for an unjust system that disguises itself as an instrument of justice.

Using much first hand research into the refugee experience in the UK, the creative team have spent two years researching and developing the show by spending time at immigration courts, working closely with asylum seekers and refugees and working with representatives from migrant organisations. Key organisations the team have worked with include: Freedom From Torture,
GRAMNet, Counterpoints Arts, Right to Remain, Ice and Fire and Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre.

A comprehensive programme of wraparound activities will provide audiences and participants with safe spaces for learning, reflection and dialogue. Activities include: a specially commissioned series of testimonies written by refugees in collaboration with Freedom From Torture, one-off legal surgeries for those soon to face the Home Office interview, post-show discussions, Q&As and much
more.

The Claim seeks to not just raise awareness, but to ask bigger questions of the UK’s relationship with asylum seekers.

Box Office Tickets are available from individual theatre box offices.
See https://www.theclaimshow.co.uk/.
Twitter #theclaimshow

Performance Dates
22nd – 23rd Nov The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield – 7.45pm
www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

28th Nov – 2nd Dec The Bike Shed, Exeter – 7.30pm
www.bikeshed.co.uk

10th – 13th Jan Royal Exchange Theatre, Mancheser – 7.30pm
www.royalexchange.co.uk

16th – 26th Jan Shoreditch Town Hall, London – 7.45pm
www.shoreditchtownhall.com

29th Jan Gulbenkian, Kent – 7pm
www.thegulbenkian.co.uk

31st Jan Platform Theatre, Glasgow – 7pm
www.platform-online.co.uk

EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION COMES TO SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL

A Wardrobe Ensemble, Royal & Derngate, Northampton, and Shoreditch Town Hall co-production

education
education
education

  • FOLLOWING SELL-OUT EDINBURGH SUCCESS THE WARDROBE ENSEMBLE’S EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION WILL TRANSFER TO SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL FROM 17 – 21 APRIL 2018

THE PRODUCTION WAS THE WINNER OF BOTH THE SCOTSMAN FRINGE FIRST AWARD AND THE STAGE EDINBURGH AWARD
Award-winning theatre company The Wardrobe Ensemble has announced today that their smash-hit Edinburgh Festival production Education, Education, Education will come to Shoreditch Town Hall from 17-21 April 2018. Recipient of The Scotsman Fringe First Award and The Stage Edinburgh Award the production played through August to both sold out audiences and widespread acclaim at the Pleasance Dome and is currently on a UK tour.

Following their exploration of sex, relationships and intimacy in 1972: The Future of Sex, The Wardrobe Ensemble dissects education and responsibility at the dawn of Blair’s Britain in 1997 in Education, Education, Education. Recent winners of The Kevin Spacey Foundation Artists of Choice for theatre, The Wardrobe Ensemble use irreverent humour and inventive theatricality to confront issues that are most pertinent to the twenty-first century experience.

It’s May 1997. Tony Blair has won the election and Katrina and the Waves have won Eurovision. Channel 5 is a month old. No one knows who Harry Potter is.

At the local secondary school it’s a different story. Miss Belltop-Doyle can’t control her year 9s, Mr Pashley has been put in charge of a confiscated tamagotchi and Miss Turner is hoping that this muck up day goes more smoothly than the last. Things can only get better.

Education, Education, Education follows bright but disruptive student Emily Greenslade through the day, as she takes justice into her own hands with far-reaching consequences.

Education, Education, Education is The Wardrobe Ensemble’s love letter to the schools of the 90s and asks big questions about a country in special measures, exploring what we are taught and why, and where responsibility lies.

The cast of Education, Education, Education will include: Greg Shewring (Paul McIntyre), Ben Vardy (Tim Pashley), Kerry Lovell (Louise Turner), Jesse Meadows (Susan Belltop-Doyle), Emily Greenslade (Emily Greenslade), James Newton (Tobias) and Tom England (Hugh Mills). Education, Education, Education has been devised by The Wardrobe Ensemble and directed by Jesse Jones and Helena Middleton.

Earlier this month The Wardrobe Ensemble also announced that it will now work in collaboration with international touring theatre company Complicité as part of their Complicité Associates programme. Work as part of this relationship will be presented in 2019.

Education, Education, Education is a co-production between The Wardrobe Ensemble, Royal & Derngate, Northampton, and Shoreditch Town Hall, supported by Kevin Spacey Foundation and Arts Council England. The production was rehearsed and developed at Royal & Derngate.

LISTINGS

A Wardrobe Ensemble, Royal & Derngate and Shoreditch Town Hall co-production:

Education, Education, Education
17 – 21 April 2018, 7.30pm
Press Night: 18 April 2018
Box Office: 020 7739 6176 / www.shoreditchtownhall.com

 

MAIDENHEAD”S PANTOMIME ‘ALADDIN’ ANNOUNCES ‘RELAXED PERFORMANCE’ ON THURSDAY 14TH DECEMBER

ALADDIN

AT THE PEARCE SUITE THEATRE, MAIDENHEAD

ANNOUNCES ‘RELAXED PERFORMANCE’

ON THURSDAY 14TH DECEMBER

 

Maidenhead’s family pantomime, ALADDIN, will host a ‘relaxed performance’ on Thursday 14th December at 10.30am. The show, which runs at the Pearce Suite Theatre, Magnet Leisure Centre, Maidenhead, from 9th – 31st December 2017, stars television favourites Nisha Anil (CBeebies) and Sandra Martin (C4 Gogglebox).

 

Relaxed performances are open to everyone, but the environment has been specifically adapted for families with children with an Autistic Spectrum Condition, individuals with sensory and communication disorders, those with learning disabilities and anyone who would benefit from a more relaxed environment.

This performance of ALADDIN will be adapted in a variety of ways in order to reduce anxiety, to ensure a safe and enjoyable live theatre experience and to make it as accessible as possible to all. There is a relaxed attitude to noise, the lights in the auditorium remain on low throughout the show, sudden loud noises are softened and audience members are free to leave and re-enter the auditorium at any point. There will be staff on hand to assist with seating and access around the theatre.

Berkshire actress and presenter Nisha Anil (CBeebies), who plays Princess Jasmine, said: “I’m a great supporter of relaxed performances and I can’t wait for our own special performance of ALADDIN. Whilst we’ll be adapting the show to be more ‘relaxed’, there will definitely still be bucket-loads of comedy, fun, songs, glitz, glamour and excitement!”

The Pearce Suite Theatre at the Magnet Leisure Centre will be converted into a 400-seat theatre space for the whole of December, offering wonderful family entertainment that all ages can enjoy together.

ALADDIN runs from Saturday 9th – Sunday 31st December 2017 (times vary, check website). Tickets, priced at £15.50 (children/senior citizens), £16.50 (adults), £59.50 (family ticket – 2 children, 2 adults) are on sale from www.themaidenheadpanto.com.  Tickets for Schools and Clubs (min. 10 people), are £9 per head for the relaxed performance (£10.50 for other performances). Every 11th ticket is free, and there is a free interval ice cream for every child in the group booking.  Call the groups hotline: 01494 917519 by 10th November for these special groups rates.

Follow all the latest news about ALADDIN, visit www.themaidenheadpanto.com and follow [@MaidenheadPanto]@Maidenheadpanto on Twitter and @TheMaidenheadpanto on Facebook.

Casting announced for The Jungle

Casting announced for 
The Jungle  

by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson

Main House 

Thursday 7 December 2017 – Saturday 6 January 2018
Press Night Friday 15 December
 
A co-production between Young Vic and the National Theatre with Good Chance Theatre, commissioned by the Na-tional Theatre.

Direction Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin 

Design by Miriam Buether

Full cast: Raphael Acloque, Mohammad Amiri, Trevor Fox, Michael Gould, Ammar Haj Ahmad, Ansu Kabia, Alex Lawther, Jo McInnes, John Pfumojena, Rachel Redford, Rachid Sabitri, Mohamed Sarrar, Ben Turner and Nahel Tzegai.

This is a truly global cast which includes actors from Afghanistan, Algeria, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan, Syria, the UK and Zimbabwe, including many from refugee backgrounds, some of whom came through the Calais ‘Jungle’.

Europe’s largest unofficial refugee camp, at its peak the Calais ‘Jungle’ was a temporary home to more than 10,000 people, many desperate to find a way to enter the UK.

The Jungle tells stories of loss, fear, community and hope, of the camp’s creation and of its destruction – and of the many intense, moving and sometimes hilarious encounters between the refugees from many different countries and the volunteers who arrived from the UK.

Joe Robertson and Joe Murphy are the joint-artistic directors of the Evening Standard Special Award-winning Good Chance Theatre which was originally based in the ‘Jungle’ in Calais and then in the north of Paris next to the refugee welcome centre for the first half of 2017.

10% of tickets for The Jungle will be offered to refugees.

Nicole Charles is the Jerwood Assistant Director on The Jungle. The role is supported through the Jerwood Assistant Directors Program at the Young Vic.

Design by Miriam Buether with costumes by Catherine Kodicek, light by Jon Clark, sound by Paul Arditti and video by Tristan Shepherd.

Tickets can be purchased by calling the Young Vic Box Office on: 020 7922 2922

Listings

The Jungle 
7 December 2017 – 6 January 2018
Main House, Young Vic, 66 The Cut, Waterloo, London, SE1 8LZ
Press Night: Friday 15 December 2017, 7:00pm
Performances: Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm (except 25 & 26 December, 1 January) | Matinees on Wednesday and Saturdays at 2.30pm (except 9, 16 December and 3 January)
Access Performances
Safe Space performance: Wednesday 3 January at 2.30pm
Captioned Performance: Thursday 4 January at 7.30pm
Audio Described Performance: Friday 5 January at 7.30pm
Tickets: Previews 7 – 14 December 2017 £20, £10 | 18 December 2017 – 6 January 2018 £38, £29, £20, £10.
Concessions available.
Box Office: www.youngvic.org | 020 7922 2922

Salford’s Matthew Ganley stars in Around The World in 80 Days at The Lowry

Returning home for Christmas: Salford’s Matthew Ganley stars in ‘Around The World in 80 Days’ at The Lowry

Around The World In 80 Days
Tue 5 Dec – Sunday 7 Jan

Manchester born Matthew Ganley will spend Christmas at home in Salfordafter spending the year touring the UK in the stage adaption Around The World In 80 Days Tue 5 Dec – Sunday 7 Jan.

The New Vic Theatre’s celebrated production of Jules Verne’s Around The World In 80 Days adapted by Laura Eason and directed by Theresa Heskins comes to The Lowry for a six week Christmas season.

Matthew Ganley plays alongside an ensemble cast of 8 who between them play over 125 characters in an imaginative and physically inventive high-spirited escapade including six trains, five boats, four fights, three dances, two circus acts and an elephant!

Around The World In 80 Days reunites original cast members Andrew Pollard (Phileas Fogg), Michael Hugo (Passepartout), Pushpinder Chani (Mr Naidu), Kirsten Foster (Mrs Aouda) and Dennis Herdman (Inspector Fix). They are joined by Matthew Ganley (Colonel Proctor), Nyron Levy (Captain Speedy) and Joey Parsad (Miss Singh).

Matthew Ganley said, “I grew up in Manchester and studied Performing Arts at the University of Salford. I’ve performed in all three spaces at The Lowry and in the underground backstage areas in a promenade show. I grew up learning my craft on the Manchester Fringe scene where I started my own theatre company Happystorm Theatre with my fiancee.”

The mysterious and fabulously wealthy Phileas Fogg wagers his life’s fortune that he can circumnavigate the globe in just 80 days. Join Fogg and his loyal valet, Passepartout, as they voyage from the misty alleys of Victorian London to the exotic subcontinent and the Wild West in a race against the clock.

Theresa Heskins’ production of Around The World In 80 Days first premiered at the New Vic Theatre in 2013 followed by a successful season at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in 2014. Nominated for both the UK Theatre Awards ‘Best Show for Children and Young People’ and the Manchester Theatre Awards ‘Best Production’, this is the production’s first national tour.

Around The World In 80 Days is directed by Theresa Heskins and designed by Lis Evans, with movement direction by Beverley Edmunds, music composed by James Atherton, lighting designed by Alexandra Stafford and sound designed by James Earls-Davis. Kenny Wax Family Entertainment and Simon Friend present The New Vic Theatre Production in association with the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester.

Listings Information 
Around The World in 80 Days
Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017 – Sun 7 Jan 2018
Time: Tue – Sat 7pm. Tue & Sat 2.30pm (exc 5th/26th Dec). Sun 5.30pm (except 24th 2.30pm).
Tickets: £22 – £31. Concessions £2 off (Selected performances)
Website

Access Listings
Audio Described: Tue 12 Dec, 2.30pm
Relaxed Performance: Tue 19 Dec, 2.30pm
Captioned Performance: Fri 22 Dec, 7pm
British Sign Language: Tue 4 Jan, 7pm