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Sir Richard Stilgoe’s Orpheus – the Mythical
The Other Palace, 12 Palace Street, London SW1E 5JA
Friday 23rd March – 31st March 2018

So here is our story, more ancient than hist’ry,
With monsters and mortals and Gods on their thrones.

This March, the Orpheus Centre celebrate their 20th birthday with a musical extravaganza at The Other Palace. Highlighting their important work, alumni and current students from this pioneering disabilities charity will join forces with recent graduates from the Arts Educational School to present Sir Richard Stilgoe’s Orpheus – The Mythical.

This witty musical comedy of a Greek tragedy follows Orpheus on an expedition hindered at every stage by bored, capricious gods and a dodgy satnav. He joins the heroic Argonauts to vanquish a dragon to steal the legendary golden fleece. But on his return, his quest is not over. He must descend to the Underworld to rescue his wife Eurydice from the depths of Hades. Guiding the telling of this tale, the Greek Chorus will be played on different nights by Jane Asher, Rob Brydon, Bertie Carvel, and more.

Sir Richard Stilgoe said, We are performing with Arts Educational because we do inclusive stuff and not disabled stuff; the whole purpose of Orpheus is to mix young disabled people up with the real world and not separate them. These are terrific and confident performers who concentrate on what they can do rather than what they can’t. Orpheus changes young disabled people’s lives. It changes the lives of the staff and the 98 volunteers who work with them. It changes the lives of everyone who attends one of their shows. It has changed my life immeasurably.

Sir Richard Stilgoe founded the Orpheus Trust in 1998 in his former family home in Surrey to inspire young disabled people to greater independence though performing arts experiences. The Orpheus Centre offers a personalised study programme focusing on building independence, communication and social interaction skills through the arts, supported housing and a personal care service. The students stay at Orpheus for up to three years and are between the ages of 18 and 25 and have learning and/or physical disabilities. The focus
at the Orpheus Centre is on maximising lasting independence for the students.

Northern Stage, Newcastle – until 10 February.  Reviewed by Andy Bramfitt

4****

No one would have believed…

Ever since the now infamous radio retelling of H G Wells’ science fiction classic, The War of the Worlds has inspired creative interpretation, often using methods and technology of the time and adopting the location to best suit their needs. Jeff Wayne, with his seminal double album, was my favourite, the Tom Cruise Hollywood gloss version by far my least. This new imagining, set in the North East and featuring 4 interwoven stories, is by far the best I’ve seen on stage and one which attempts to leave the audience with a more pertinent twang of realisation in keeping with the current environmental challenges.

The premise is that our 4 characters are but mere ghosts, back to recount their experiences as the first wave of Martian invaders descended onto the North East coastline. Set just before the start of the 20th century, they draw on the undercurrent of change, the feeling that the rich are beginning to get richer and leave the have-nots well behind (something that rings only too clearly in the present day). The technological advancements seem to best serve the middle and upper classes, leaving the poor and working class adrift and struggling to eek out a place. Inequality besets every avenue and yet, through this sudden interruption to the social norm, they witness all levels thrown together in a battle to survive.

Laura Lindow, the writer and creator, has managed to remain very true to the essence of Wells’ original without it feeling like a substitution rewrite, indeed there are elements which most certainly serve to enhance the source text of which Wells would have surely approved. Peppered with colloquialisms and Victorian Geordie, it presents both as a fictional tale and a history lesson rolled into one and is instantly recognisable as Victorian Tyneside.

Lindow’s treatment of this great story is as much an inward reflection on how small mankind is, how pitiful our supposed achievements are and how the words preached about tolerance and coexistence are just hollow gestures; brilliant insight by Wells in 1898 and perfectly in tune 120 years later.

The cast, Jack Lloyd (Ridley), Luke Maddison (Boots), Charlotte Ryder (Jill) and Lauren Waine (Mo) give an imperious lesson in creating characters through the power of suggestion, and James Pickering’s use of a minimal set only serves to keenly focus the attention on the actors. Through their wonderful storytelling the small island stage becomes a moor, a chapel, a shipyard, poverty ridden back streets, tunnels and seashore. The brilliant soundscape of Mariam Rezaei transports you right into the heart of the industrial North yet this familiar aural tapestry is twisted into a threatening and scary horizon, driving the audience towards a precipice of uncertainty and never letting the heart rate drop to a comfortable rest.

Of all the scenes, only the finale felt a little contrived with the cast issuing a warning ultimatum of man’s refusal to protect the planet that protects them – not quite a Daily Mail headline but perhaps one which could have been more implied, leaving the audience to feed more on their own thoughts than being told to do so. That said, the feeling one is left with is simple – substitute the Martians for Big Business, despotic rulers, New World order, blatant commercialism or scant disregard for the natural resources and we too could suffer a cataclysmic disaster from which we will not recover.

CELEBRATING THIRTY YEARS IN DANCE
CARLOS ACOSTA
Royal Albert Hall, London 
2nd to 5th October 2018, 7.30pm
Tickets on sale HERE from 10am on Tuesday 6th February

Following on from his retirement from classical ballet in 2016, and to celebrate 30 years as a professional dancer, internationally renowned Carlos Acosta will return to the London stage this autumn to perform a mixed bill at the Royal Albert Hall from 2nd to 5th October 2018.

The full programme for this strictly limited engagement will be announced in due course.

Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta was a Principal Guest Artist of The Royal Ballet 2003–16. He has danced with many of the leading ballet companies in the world. He joined The Royal Ballet in 1998 and became a Principal Guest Artist in 2003. His many roles for the Company included Siegfried (Swan Lake), Albrecht (Giselle), The Prince (The Nutcracker), Des Grieux (Manon), Prince Florimund (The Sleeping Beauty), Basilio (Don Quixote) and Apollo. He has staged Don Quixote and created the new work Carmen for the Company. In the 2017/18 Season he returns as Principal Guest Répétiteur for The Royal Ballet.

Acosta was born in Havana and trained at the National Ballet School of Cuba, going on to dance with the English National Ballet, the National Ballet of Cuba and the Houston Ballet. The culture and history of his home country have been important influences throughout his career, and in 2003 his show Tocororo – A Cuban Tale, loosely based on his childhood, broke box office records at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. His 2007 autobiography No Way Home was a UK bestseller, and he published his first novel, Pig’s Foot, in 2013. His film appearances include in Day of the Flowers and Our Kind of Traitor. Since leaving The Royal Ballet he has founded the dance company Acosta Danza in Cuba and established his own dance school in Havana which opened its doors to its first students in September 2017.

Acosta has received many awards throughout his career, including an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 2007, a Prix Benois de la Danse in 2008 and an Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2014 Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. In 2014 he was appointed a CBE for services to ballet.

LISTINGS

CARLOS ACOSTA – A CELEBRATION
THIRTY YEARS IN DANCE
Twitter/ Facebook / Instagram / website

The Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore, Kensington, London SW7 2AP

2, 3, 4 and 5 October 2018 at 7.30pm

Box Office:

Website:  www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events/2018/carlos-acosta-a-celebration

Telephone: 020 7589 8212

Arc Stockton – 3 February 2018.  Reviewed by Andrew Bramfitt

★★★★ and a big ?

Every journey begins the same way, with the 1st step.

It was a cold & wet Saturday morning, a room filled with over 35 children aged between 2 and 8 and some anxious parents wondering just how soon it will be before anarchy breaks out yet from the very first minute until well after the final scene, every child and grown up was transfixed by the brilliant storytelling, wonderful characters and no small amount of very interesting science.

The Tin Foil Astronaut is an immersive, interactive and totally engaging play about Alba, a wannabee astronaut who, through ingenuity, imagination ( and plenty of tin foil) becomes the youngest person to travel to the furthest reaches of the Solar System. Alba, helped remotely by her Dad and guided by the Man in the Moon, overcomes the barriers of the kids at school thinking she’s a bit weird, ignores the grown ups telling her she’s too small and, despite being late for her tea (fish fingers and beans, her favourite) joins the space race.

Kitchen Zoo (founded by Hannah Goudie and Bob Nicholson and supported by the brilliant music of Jeremy Bradfield) state they ‘aim to create work for young audiences that is playful and vibrant’ and they hit the nail square on it’s bonce with this one. Blending live music, sound effects and puppets with real science, the 3 hand cast transport the audience into a make believe world which who knows, could be just the thing to encourage a young person out there to become the next Brian Cox or Helen Czerski.

If you have any little ones who love space, science or just great storytelling, treat them (and yourselves) to an hour of fun and facts that will leave you all talking for ages afterwards.

The Tin Foil Astronaut will be landing at these places

· 10 February: Arts Centre Washington

· 12 April: Bishop Auckland Town Hall

· 13 April: Queens Hall Hexham

· 14 April: The Witham

· 15 April: Gala Durham

· 22 April: Sage, Gateshead

· 5 May: Lyric, Hammersmith

Darlington Hippodrome – until 4 February 2018.  Reviewed by Andrew Bramfitt

4****

A thoroughly modern and unique take on a history tour

The newly refurbished Darlington Hippodrome, formerly the Civic and before that the grandly titled The New Hippodrome and Palace Theatre of Varieties has such a rich history that it was begging for someone to take it all and make something of it. Other historic recountings have invested in video or multimedia sessions with the audience sat in a plush new lounge and furnished with an audio guide but that’s not the New Hippodrome’s style. For this, the brilliant ODDMANOUT have been engaged to work with the Hippodrome and the Hippodrome Theatre Company and have produced an innovative, interactive, entertaining and downright fun approach to both guided tour and history lesson.

Starting with a flashmob-esque opening number which I guarantee will leave you with the evening’s earworm, you are brought together in a small group and taken on a behind the scenes and screens tour of the new and old, while along the way being entertained by characters from literary and theatrical stardom.

The ‘cast’ – who seems to morph seamlessly between characters, guides and even audience are brilliant in making the history come alive. Stories from giants such as Carrol & Shakespeare are rammed hard up against the comedic shoulders of Barry & Paul, driven to ‘fight’ by Lewis and then cuddled by the quintessential British Dame, all done as you wind your way through the auditorium, changing rooms, stores and flys. Not only do you get to tread the boards and gaze out at the seats, but you get to spend time in the Green room, intruding on a rehearsal which would fit perfectly with The Play that Goes….

If you have ever been to the Hippodrome (or Civic), if you enjoy theatre in general but wonder what ‘behind’ is like or if you just love great entertainment and watching a very, very good cast please, PLEASE treat yourself and grab a ticket – it’s only on for an hour but it’s so much fun and you may just learn a little. If nothing else you will appreciate why you should take heed that There’s a Fish Train Comin’.

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical heads to Manchester for one night only

The critically acclaimed improvisational frontrunner Showstopper! The Improvised Musical heads to Manchester’s Palace Theatre on Saturday 10^th February promising a night of surprises for audiences to enjoy.

No two nights are ever the same as The Showstoppers take audience suggestions and then spin a brand new comedy musical out of thin air – stories, characters, tunes, lyrics, dances, harmonies and all – with unpredictable and hilarious results. If you’ve thought improv looked difficult before, try doing it in time (and tune) to music!

Having grown since 2008 to become the UK’s most acclaimed and in-demand musical improvisers, The Showstoppers have become a must-see staple of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. With four West End seasonsand an acclaimed BBC Radio 4 series to their name, they have also taken their ingenious blend of comedy, musical theatre and spontaneity around the globe, picking up accolades and awards including The Times Best of the Fringe, Mervyn Stutter’s Spirit Of The Fringe Award and nominations for Chortle Best Music Or Variety Act, MTM Best Production Award and MTM Judges’ Discretionary Award.

The Cast:

The rotating cast features some of the brightest minds in the world of comedy and musical theatre. The company includes:

·         Co-founder Adam Meggido, an award-winning writer/composer who has improvised at the National, The Royal Court Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and currently holds the world record for the directing the longest impro show – 55 hours without a break.

·         Dylan Emery, the other co-founder, has been improvising for more than 15 years – including at the National/Royal Court/Shakespeare’s Globe. He created veteran comedy impro group Grand Theft Impro, and the UK’s premier website devoted to the form thecrunchyfrogcollective.com.

·         Pippa Evans is an Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer nominee and has had great success on TV, Radio and stage – she is a regular on BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show, BBC2’s Fast and Loose, performs regularly with the Comedy Store Players and has had many years of success with her hit character act Loretta Maine.

·         Ruth Bratt is an improv Fringe regular for the last 11 years whose recent TV credits include Ricky Gervais’ Derek, Sarah Millican’s Support Group and Vic Reeves’ The Ministry Of Curious Stuff.

·         Sarah-Louise Young won the Best Musical Variety Act in the London Cabaret Awards and was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer. She has performed her critically-acclaimed Cabaret Whore show across the world.

What the press have said about The Showstoppers:

“Not only is each performance achingly funny, it’s a genuinely new musical every time.  Worth seeing again and again.”  ★★★★★ Time Out London Critics’ Choice

“The show is a blast. It makes your jaw drop in impressed amazement and your ribs ache with laughter. Simultaneously a pastiche, a parody and a paean to musical theatre”   ★★★★★  Mail on Sunday

“A shining example of how good improv can be.”  ★★★★★ Chortle

“They truly are the masters of longform improvisation. These guys have to be seen to be believed! The best musical improvisation group we’ve ever come across. More talent on stage than you can shake a stick at!”★★★★★Time Out Critics’ Choice

“Showstopper! is a perfect example of skill and talent combined.” ★★★★★ British Theatre Guide

“Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. Some creators take years to write rubbish, this team create gems in an hour every night. Simply outstanding.” ★★★★★ One4review

”An ingenious and engaging mix of improvisation and musical theatre. If you admired the Comedy Store Players for their ability to think on their feet, this bunch do it with the same verve and flair, but set to music. I was left open-mouthed. I can honestly say that I’d opt for this show’s wild, inventive energy of The Sound of Music any day.” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

“An irresistible whirlwind of energy…Improvisation is being taken to new heights.” ★★★★★ ThreeWeeks

For more information, visit www.theshowstoppers.org / www.theshowstoppers.org

Listings Information:

10^th February | The Palace Theatre Manchester | 7.30pm

For tickets, visit www.atgtickets.com/venues/palace-theatre-manchester/

A Bristol Old Vic and Royal Exchange Theatre co-production
Writer Anton Chekhov
Translation Rory Mullarkey
Director Michael Boyd
Designer Tom Piper

Full cast announced for Michael Boyd’s
The Cherry Orchard

Full casting for Michael Boyd’s much anticipated production of The Cherry Orchard is announced today as rehearsals begin for the Bristol Old Vic and Royal Exchange Theatre co-production. Rory Mullarkey’s brand-new translation will be directed by Boyd, celebrated former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Having studied Russian and trained as a director in Moscow,
extraordinarily, he will be directing Chekhov – the literary love of his life – for the first time.

Kirsty Bushell and Jude Owusu lead the ensemble in this vivid new production, which opens at Bristol Old Vic 1 March – 7 April, before transferring to Manchester’s Royal Exchange from 19 April – 19 May

Chekhov’s final masterpiece is full of wild humour and piercing sadness in this fresh, funny and honest new translation. A portrait of changing times, it maps the bittersweet tensions between the desperate longing to hold onto what is familiar, and the restless lure of the new. Revolution hangs in the air, the poor and hungry
are pushing at the doors, and a civilised and complacent culture is on the brink of collapse…

Kirsty Bushell plays Ranyevskaya, a woman whose liberal world of privilege and pleasure is beginning to show cracks while she and her family live on in denial. Kirsty was recently seen on television in BBC’s Motherland, but it is on stage where she has earned her renowned reputation. Her career is one of
dynamic variety, spanning roles from Olivia in the RSC’s Twelfth Night and Juliet for Shakespeare’s Globe to Vittoria in The White Devil (RSC), the title role in Hedda Gabler, and the recent “pitch-perfect” Regan opposite Ian McKellan’s King Lear. Her career also spans new works such as the recent Boys will Be Boys (Headlong/Bush), Torn for the Royal Court and Disgraced (The Bush). She regularly works with some of the leading directors in the world, including Ivo Van Hove, Michael Grandage and Maria Aberg, appearing regularly with the RSC, National Theatre and Royal Court

Jude Owusu plays the successful businessman Lopakhin, who has loved Ranyevskaya since childhood and now hopes to be her salvation. Jude’s recent theatre work includes A Tale of Two Cities (Regent’s Park), Gregory Doran’s Julius Caesar, Tim Crouch’s I, Cinna (both RSC/West End) and The Comedy of Errors (National Theatre). His television work includes the acclaimed The Hollow Crown series for BBC.

They are joined by Simon Coates in the role of Ranyevskaya’s well-intentioned but delusional brother Gayev. Simon has worked extensively with the National Theatre and the RSC, appearing throughout the world in many celebrated productions including: Robert Lepage’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Tim
Supple’s The Comedy of Errors, David Farr’s Coriolanus, Robert Icke’s 1984 and Declan Donnellan’s As You Like It, for which he received an Olivier award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a New York Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor.

BAFTA-nominated Togo Igawa takes the role of Gayev’s elderly servant Firs. In 1986, he became the first Japanese actor to join The Royal Shakespeare Company. His work spans stage, film, anime, games and television. Stage work includes, Her Voice (Dublin Theatre Festival), Pacific Overtures (Donmar), and The Fair Maid of the West (RSC). His film work is extensive and includes Star Wars – The Last Jedi (2017), 47 Ronin (2013), The Last Samurai (2004), Topsy-Turvy (2000) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999).

Landowner Pischik is played by Julius D’Silva. His extensive theatre credits include Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom (West Yorkshire Playhouse & Toronto), Made In Dagenham (Adelphi Theatre), Anne Boleyn (Shakespeare’s Globe/ETT), Oliver! (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane) and Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe). He has previously worked with Michael Boyd as part of the RSC’s Olivier Award-winning Histories Ensemble 2006–2008. His film credits include Notes on a Scandal and Endgame, and he can currently be seen in TV drama The Crown

Éva Magyar takes the role of Charlotta. Born in Hungary, she originally took the UK theatre scene by storm with her performance as Yseult in the original Kneehigh/National Theatre production of Tristan and Yseult. Her recent roles include Berthe in Ivo Van Hove’s Hedda Gabler (National Theatre) and the title
role of Marlene for Tristan Bates Theatre. Jack Monaghan plays the clerk Yepikhodov. He recently played Benjamin in The Graduate (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and Albert in the West End run of War Horse, as well as performing at Shakespeare’s Globe in As You Like It, and at Hampstead Theatre in Deposit

Bristol Old Vic welcomes back Emma Naomi in the role of the family’s maid, Dunyasha (previously The Crucible, Bristol Old Vic) and Enyi Okoronkwo as the eternal student Trofimov (previously Junkyard, Bristol Old Vic).

The cast also includes two recent Bristol Old Vic Theatre School graduates and 2017 Peter O’Toole Prize winners, Verity Blyth as Ranyevskaya’s daughter Anya (13, Tobacco Factory Theatres) and Rosy McEwan as Varya (Julius Caesar, Bristol Old Vic).

They are joined by Hayden Mclean as Yasha (Fair to Middling, New Wimbledon Studio; Ages, Old Vic London), Joseph Hardy (Façade/Strange Joy, East London Music Group) and Harry Humberstone (Ablutions, FellSwoop Theatre).

Michael Boyd, lauded former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, was a trainee director in Moscow at the start of his career, and only now directs his first Chekhov play for Bristol Old Vic and the Royal Exchange Theatre. With a unique ‘in the round’ design created by Tom Piper (co-designer of the poppy installation at the Tower of London in 2014; Romeo and Juliet, RSC; and A Midsummers Night’s Dream, RSC and UK tour), Bristol Old Vic’s theatre will be transformed into a full circle of seating, which mirrors the unique auditorium at the Exchange, allowing audiences to experience every part of this rich and
rewarding masterpiece up-close and from every angle.

Rory Mullarkey is a prize-winning playwright and translator. He was the Pearson Writer in Residence at the Royal Exchange, Manchester where he became the youngest playwright ever staged at the Exchange’s main theatre aged just 25. His debut play Cannibals was hailed “one of the most provocative,
original and disturbing debuts since Blasted”. In 2014, Rory won the Harold Pinter Playwriting Prize, the George Devine Award (jointly with Alice Birch) and the James Tait Black Prize for Drama. His most recent production was the National theatre’s Saint George and the Dragon and he is currently under commission to the Royal Exchange, The Royal Court, The Almeida and the Michael Grandage Company

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED WEST END PREMIERE

OF THE HIT NEW BRITISH MUSICAL

MISS NIGHTINGALE

OPENS AT THE THEATRE AT THE HIPPODROME CASINO

FOR A STRICTLY LIMITED SEASON FROM 21 MARCH – 6 MAY 2018

PRESENTED BY MR BUGG PRESENTS & THE HIPPODROME CASINO

‘A BLITZY ROMANCE OF GIN, GENTS, GARTER BELTS AND TERRIFIC SONGS!’ The Times

Miss Nightingale, will make its West End debut at the prestigious Theatre at the Hippodrome Casinoin London’s Leicester Square, for a strictly limited seven-week run in their 180-seat theatre, from 21 March – 6 May.

This original British musical, set in 1940s London during World War Two, is created and written byMatthew Bugg and features 16 original songs, from innuendo-laden Music Hall style numbers to tender ballads and complex trios and quartets, which wonderfully capture the soaring spirit and biting wit of the 40s.  

An intimate underground cabaret club opens in the heart of London. A saucy new star shines under the spotlight. Two men struggle to bring their illicit love out of the shadows. The war- torn capital has never been so revealing! 

Welcome to the Glitz of the Blitz; where showgirls, secrets and scandal abound. A world where aristocrats jostle with black-market spivs, songwriters take to the streets and nothing is quite as it seems. 

Maggie Brown, an aspiring singer and her best friend George Nowodny, a songwriter and Jewish refugee, perform a dazzling act at the newest nightclub in town, owned by wealthy socialite and RAF war-hero, Sir Frank Worthington-Blythe. Maggie’s beau Tom Connor, paves the way for the sexy and charismatic ‘Miss Nightingale’ to be born, and the musical duo quickly find themselves with a West End hit! However, what the leading lady doesn’t know, is that George and Sir Frank are hiding a secret and as Miss Nightingale’s success grows, so does a forbidden love between the two men!

From the moment the audience arrive at the Hippodrome Casino’s beautifully intimate theatre, they will be taken back in time to the hilarious and heart-warming world of the wartime West End. Themed food and drink will be served at cabaret tables and the audience will be able to immerse themselves in WW2 London life during the days of air-raids, rationing and the Great British stiff upper lip.

This joyous, new musical is performed by a cast of six actor-musicians, led by Lauren Chinery in the title role, alongside Oliver Mawdsley as Frank, Matthew Floyd Jones as George, Adam Langstaff as Tom, Tobias Oliver as Clifford and Matthew Bugg himself, in the role of Harry.

Miss Nightingale has designs by Carla Goodman, lighting by Craig Garratt, original lighting designs by David Phillips, sound by Danny Kissane, and is produced by Mr Bugg Presents and The Hippodrome Casino.

Since it was first staged in 2011 at The Lowry Studio, Salford, Miss Nightingale has completed five sold-out UK tours, a headline season at The Vaults in 2017 and featured in the Guardian’s ‘Top 50 Must-Sees’.