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Pleasance Islington announces daring
#YouWillKnowTheirNames season
Pleasance Theatre, Carpenters Mews, London N7 9EF

Pleasance Theatre’s new season – titled #YouWillKnowTheirNames – is a game changing line-up of new writing fresh for 2019. These 10 newly announced productions showcase the most daring and original new voices and join the previously announced In Lipstick by Annie Jenkins (a co-production between award-winning theatre company Up In Arms, producer Ellie Keel and the Pleasance).

Together these productions mark an important contribution to the future of new writing, with UK, European and World premieres by some of the hottest emerging writers and companies from across the UK and beyond!

The season includes a bold new satire on climate change directed by the Pleasance’s own Head of Theatre, an incredible true story offering an unique insight into gender transitioning, a cathartic exposé of the modelling industry from a former model, and a riotous musical comedy celebrating curiosity and imagination.

Alongside this, Pleasance is piloting a radical new development scheme offering companies and artists up to 30 weeks of 100% subsidised development space and the opportunity to stage workshop and work-in-progress performances throughout the year. A development of the theatre’s Litmus Festival, the new Pleasance LABS will offer year-round opportunities to develop new work for
both London and the Edinburgh Fringe!

Pleasance Islington is also looking to appoint three London Associate Artists or Companies. Pleasance London Associates will benefit from being part of one of London and Edinburgh’s most exciting theatres and communities, renowned for its mission of providing a platform for the talent of the future. In addition, Pleasance will offer four weeks of fully subsidised rehearsal and development space, and work and meeting space, practical year-round mentoring, and a slot in the 2020 Pleasance Islington programme!

Anthony Alderson, Director of Pleasance Theatre Trust, comments I’m delighted to announce that alongside these bold new shows, we are reaffirming our commitment to supporting and nurturing emerging artists by piloting a new scheme offering up to 30 weeks of 100% subsidised rehearsal and development space, and opening applications for a revitalised London Associate Artist and Company Scheme. New plays and developing artists have always been central to what we do at Pleasance and together this represents an investment of over £60,000 to support the next generation of theatre makers. We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome new artists and new audiences to experience excellent work in our Islington home!

Nic Connaughton, Head of Theatre for Pleasance Theatre Trust says, #YouWillKnowTheirNames is an ambitious and, we hope, significant contribution to the ongoing discussion around the development of emerging writers and text-led companies. This six-month season of ten plays and one festival is bursting with exciting, challenging, lyrical, daring, cheeky and compassionate new plays. All the
playwrights and companies are taking risks in the way they tell stories to tackle some of the great themes of our time, as well as sharing beautifully crafted human tales. We are confident that, if you don’t know their names yet, you will soon!

The programme is as follows:

Neil-Michael Marriott presents
Lilies and Sweets
by Nathan Wright, directed by Spencer Noll
5th – 16th February 2019, Tues-Saturday at 8pm, Sun evening 6pm, Sat 16th matinee at 3.30pm

Successful ageing novelist Les, and the less successful actor Terry, pore over Grindr. Reminiscing on life, they discuss Les’s new found desire for Al, a drug dealer Terry has recently brought into their lives. From Al’s very first delivery of ‘Sweets’, a unique and dangerous friendship takes hold.

Lilies and Sweets is the debut play by Nathan Wright who originally trained as an actor. His notable credits include series regular Nurse Chris Reid in Doctors, Hugh in Being Human, Colin Pitchfork in Code of Killer and Robert in The Musketeers. The play was originally developed as part of Pleasance Theatre’s Reading Week programme.

Post-It Productions presents
Call Me Vicky
by Stacey and Nicola Bland
19th February – 9 th March 2019, Tues-Saturday at 8pm, Sun evening 6pm, Sat 9th matinee at 3.30pm
Press Night: 21st February

It’s 1980 in Elephant and Castle. Sixteen-year-old Martin and his best friend Debbie are getting ready for another night out at Martin’s favourite night spot, ‘The Golden Girl’, one of Soho’s premier drag clubs. Tonight is not a regular night out. Tonight is the night that Martin’s life will change forever. Call Me Vicky tells the incredible true story of one woman’s journey to become the person she knows herself to be.

Based entirely on a true story, the debut play from East London sisters Nicola and Stacey Bland is an honest, frank and revealing insight into an important struggle that has been relevant for generations.

Call Me Vicky is supported by Arts Council England.

Marked Productions presents
Model Behaviour
by Issy Knowles, directed by Rachael Head
12th – 16th March 2019
Tues-Saturday at 8pm, Sat matinee at 3.30pm

Fresh from a sold out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Model Behaviour is a cut-throat, cathartic unveiling of a brutal and idolised industry told entirely through the eyes of one hopeful young model. We are taken through the casting process, the pressure of fashion week and the heartbreaking narrative of one woman desperately unsure whether she can ever be anything more.

This all-female production is directed and produced by Rachael Head, and written and performed by former model Issy Knowles, there has never been a better time to lift the lid on one of the most secretive industries in the world

Riddlestick Theatre presents
The Cabinet of Madame Fanny Du Thé
19th – 23rd March 2019, Tues-Saturday at 8pm

This riotous musical comedy invites audiences to meet the eccentric 18th century explorer, Madame Fanny, and to take their pick from her cabinet of curiosities. For whichever curio they choose, Fanny and her servants perform the elaborate tale behind it, taking the audience on a voyage of hilarity. From battling with pirates to partying with Marie Antoinette, Fanny’s allegedly done it all. But,
while she revels in telling her outrageously outlandish stories, somebody far more serious is on the way to bring her down to earth.

Riddlestick Theatre are dedicated to tickling fancies with weird and wonderful stories and enchanting live music. Roll up your sleeves and choose the tales we tell in this riotous celebration of curiosity and imagination.

Ali and Dahlia
by Tariq Jordan
26th March – 14th April, Tues-Saturday at 8pm, Sun evening 6pm, Sat 6th & 13th matinee at 3.30pm

Having been accused of rioting, Ali awaits his fate in an Israeli interrogation room. But, when an old lover steps in to question him, the two are forced to confront their past and find themselves torn between bitter loyalties. A harrowing Palestinian-Israeli love story set against the backdrop of the
construction of the West Bank wall. A story of love, occupation, sacrifice, and redemption that looks unflinchingly at the loss of innocence in war, the longing for lost homelands, and the political forces that shape our lives.

Ali and Dahlia is the debut play of actor-playwright Tariq Jordan and was previously developed as part of Arcola Theatre’s PlayWROUGHT programme and at HighTide Walthamstow Festival.

Fledgling Theatre presents
Neck or Nothing
Written and Directed by Christopher Neels and Callum Cameron
23rd April – 4 th May 2019, Tues-Saturday at 8pm, Sun evening 6pm, Sat 4th matinee at 3.30pm

Neck Or Nothing is the story of Jens, a self-taught inventor, who sets out to create one of the most important technological advancements in history – a giant suit to fight bears. Fledgling Theatre’s latest show explores themes of PTSD and mental health. It is inspired by the cult documentary Project Grizzly (1998).

After its run at the Pleasance, Neck Or Nothing will transfer to Greenwich Theatre.

NOVAE theatre presents
Don’t Look Away
by Grace Chapman, directed by Nicholas Pitt
7th – 18th May 2019, Tues-Saturday at 8pm, Sun evening 6pm, Sat 18th matinee at 3.30pm

2015. A young man enters a community centre, covered in flour and looking for help. He finds Cath, a cleaner, who reluctantly lets him stay in her son’s room. This split-second decision will change her life forever.

Don’t Look Away is a powerful new production from NOVAE theatre, sister company to internationally renowned ensemble Idle Motion. This is daring theatre inventive in its form and astonishing in its delivery – a critical tale of compassion and an investigation into our collective response to the international refugee crisis.

It is supported by Arts Council England.

Hope Theatre Company presents
#BeMoreMartyn: The Boy with the Deirdre Tattoo
Directed by Adam Zane
21st – 25th May 2018, Tues-Saturday at 8pm, Sat matinee at 3.30pm

#BeMoreMartyn trended on Twitter in the hours after the announcement of Martyn Hett’s death in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing – but what does it mean?

Manchester-based Hope Theatre Company posed this question to eight of Martyn’s closest friends and created a unique piece of verbatim theatre using their words. They give a remarkable insight into an extraordinary young man who transformed each and every one of them. Martyn’s friends take us on a journey from the cobbles of Canal Street to his legendary Eurovision parties, celebrating Coronation Street, Mariah Carey and Michelle McManus along the way.

This new play celebrates the power of friendship and encourages audiences to live life to the full, to be proud of who you are and to #BeMoreMartyn.

Horatio Productions presents
The Science Fiction Theatre Festival
Feat. ReGen by Juan Echenique, directed by Fumi Gomez
27th May – 1st June, Mon-Saturday at 7pm, Sat matinee at 3.30pm

How does science affect society? How does it affect drama? How can science inspire fiction and, in turn, playwriting? How does science fiction translate to theatre? The largest company specialised in new writing for science fiction theatre in the UK, Horatio Productions, bring their stellar second edition of The Science Fiction Theatre Festival to Pleasance Islington for a week-long futuristic
extravaganza.

Alongside incredible short plays by writers from all over the world as well as talks and Q&As with industry experts in comic books, film, cosplay and science fiction culture, The Science Fiction Theatre Festival will stage the featured show ReGen each day.

ReGen: What is the future of stem cell research? The paths of two strangers meet at a crossroad between vanity, obsession and guilt. Gastronomy meets surgery in a world-changing clash of egos.

Maya Ellis and Pleasance presents
Kill Climate Deniers
by David Finnegan, Directed by Nic Connaughton
4th – 30th June 2019, Tues-Saturday at 8pm, Sun evening 6pm, Sat 15th, 22nd & 29th matinee at 3.30pm

What would it take to stop climate change dead in its tracks? Science? Recycling? Experts? Manic techno, guns and revolution? Environment Minister Gwen Malkin’s plan to stop climate change is rudely interrupted by eco-terrorists storming Australian Parliament House during a Fleetwood Mac concert. Blending fact and fiction, David Finnegan’s bold new satire explores a world on the brink of turmoil and the effects of conversations inside the echo chamber.

An action film wrapped in a TED talk, Kill Climate Deniers won the Griffin Playwriting Award ahead of its 2018 premiere in Sydney, Australia, where it provoked, enraged and delighted audiences and critics alike. Prepare to experience the European premiere of one of the most daring and important
plays of the decade, directed by Pleasance’s Head of Theatre Nic Connaughton.

NUFFIELD SOUTHAMPTON THEATRES ANNOUNCE

SPRING AND SUMMER 2019 SEASON

Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Samuel Hodges, today announces the company’s Spring and Summer 2019 season.

 

The season, which marks the first anniversary of the opening of NST City, includes Samuel Hodges directing his version of the UK regional première of Peter Morgan’s The Audience. Nuffield Southampton Theatres then present the stage adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns by Ursula Rani Sarma in a co-production with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Northern Stage. NST also produce a brand-new audio play, The Line, curated by Barney Norris, which will tour Southampton in a Ford Transit Van in association with Up in Arms supported by Padmini Broomfield and Now Heritage CIC.

In January the company welcome the previously announced return of Howard Brenton’s The Shadow Factorywhich will be accompanied by The Shadow Factory Exhibition, a free immersive installation looking into the stories behind the production. The season continues its celebration of the local community with the annual festival Now-Here: Made in Southampton, a varied programme exploring the theme of industry and manufacturing in Southampton, inspired by the real-life stories of the city’s residents. Then, Make It SO, showcases and celebrates performances by local artists and companies in NST City’s Studio Theatre.

Nuffield Southampton Theatres also welcomes touring productions including Abigail’s Party by Mike Leigh, Dan Gordon’s adaptation of Rain Man, Princess & the Hustler, Marie Jones’ Stones in his Pockets, The Remains of the Day adapted by Barney Norris, Kneehigh’s Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs), Jon Brittain’s Olivier Award-winning play Rotterdam and following two sold out runs at the National Theatre, Barber Shop Chronicles from NST Associate Inua Ellams. Alongside this NST host a selection of dance productions with Gecko’s Missing, Boy Blue’s Olivier Award nominated Blak Whyte Gray and NST resident company ZoieLogic Dance Theatre presents Sleuth.

 

Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Sam Hodges, said today “As we head into our second year at NST City, we return to the theme of making. From Spitfires to Ford Transit vans, from local artists to award-winning designers, this is a year that puts Southampton’s heritage as a city right at the heart of the programme.

 

This season is a choir of genuinely diverse voices. You’ll hear the rare private thoughts of our Queen. You’ll hear Afghan women straining to be heard against the silencing might of their husbands and government. You’ll hear real-life accounts from Southampton’s former Ford workers. 

 

And it’s fantastic that three of our touring shows are from writers we know well. Barney Norris, writer of The Line, brings his version of Remains of the Day; Jon Brittain, the hilarious writer behind our musical Billionaire Boy, brings his Olivier Award-winning play Rotterdam; and our very own Poetry Associate Inua Ellams brings the spectacular Barber Shop Chronicles.”

 

 

NST City

A Nuffield Southampton Theatres production

The UK regional première of

The Audience

by Peter Morgan

Directed by Samuel Hodges; Designer: Rosanna Vize

 

24 May – 22 June 2019

Press Night: Thursday 30 May, 7pm

Prime Minister: I never sleep much.

Queen: Oh dear. I like the idea of any person with the power to start a nuclear war being rested.

For 60 years, the Queen has met her Prime Minister every week.  An audience at Buckingham Palace. Both parties agree never to repeat what is said. Not even to their spouses.

What is discussed? What secrets are shared? Does her Majesty have her favourites?

Sometimes intimate, often confessional, occasionally explosive, The Audience imagines the private moments that define a changing Britain. One head of state. Endless heads of government. This play asks where the real power lies.

Nuffield Southampton Theatres Director Samuel Hodges directs his version of The Audience from the writer of the popular TV series The Crown.

 

Peter Morgan’s other work for theatre includes Frost/Nixon. His television work includes The Crown, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, The Jury, The Special Relationship, Longford, Colditz, Henry VIII and The Deal; and for film, Rush, 360, Hereafter, State of Play, The Damned United, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Last King of Scotland and The Queen.

Samuel Hodges is Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres (NST). His productions for NST includes The Shadow Factory, Dedication – Shakespeare and Southampton, following The Glass Menagerie in 2015. Previously he founded the HighTide Festival Theatre in 2007 and was the Artistic Director for five years, during which time he produced over 25 new plays, co-producing with the National Theatre, The Old Vic and the Bush Theatre, amongst others. Between 2012 and 2014, he ran the Criterion Theatre in London’s West End, for whom he curated a late-night programme and a one-off summer season of new work to celebrate the London Olympics.

 

 

NST City

A Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Northern Stage co-production in association with Nuffield Southampton Theatres

The European Première

A Thousand Splendid Suns 

by Khaled Hosseini
Adapted by Ursula Rani Sarma

Directed by Roxana Silbert; Designer: Ana Inés Jabares-Pita

25 June – 6 July 2019

Press Night: Wednesday 26 June, 7pm

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed.

 

Laila was born a generation later. When Laila is orphaned, her and Mariam’s lives collide as they are forced to share the same husband.

Under the Taliban take over, life is a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. As the war rages and the years pass, the country grows more oppressive and so does Rasheed.

But the bonds of love, family and friendship may offer the only escape and drive them to overcome the most daunting obstacles.

From the writer of The Kite Runner, this is the powerful story of three generations of women discovering strength in unity.  

Age recommendation: 14+

 

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. He is one of the most recognized and bestselling authors in the world. His books, The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains Echoed, have been published in over seventy countries and sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.

Ursula Rani Sarma is a playwright and screenwriter. Her theatre credits include Joanne (Soho Theatre), Yerma(West Yorkshire Playhouse), Riot (American Conservatory Theatre), The Dark Things (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), The Spider Men (National Theatre), When the War Came (New Theatre Company), Blue (Cork Opera House/Theatre503/Irish tour), Touched (Irish tour), Orpheus Road (Paines Plough), Gift (Beltable Theatre/Djinn Theatre/Granary Theatre) and Like Sugar on Skin (Granary Theatre). Her television credits include Judge Deeand Red Rock; and for film, Robot and Scarecrow and Anywhere But Here.

Roxana Silbert directs. She is Artistic Director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre and was previously an Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Artistic Director of Paines Plough Theatre Company (2005-2009), Literary Director at the Traverse Theatre (2001-2004) and Associate Director at Royal Court Theatre (1998-2000). For Birmingham Repertory Theatre her credits include What Shadows, The Government Inspector (in association with Ramps On The Moon), Anita and Me (with Theatre Royal Stratford East), The King’s Speech (with Chichester Festival Theatre), Of Mice And Men; Khandan (Family) (with Royal Court Theatre), Dunsinane (National Theatre of Scotland/RSC), A Life Of Galileo (with RSC and Bath Theatre Royal) and Tartuffe.

 

 

A Nuffield Southampton Theatres production in association with Up in Arms

supported by Padmini Broomfield and Now Heritage CIC

The Line 

Curated by Barney Norris

Directed by Alice Hamilton

 

Staged in a Ford Transit Van

July – August 2019 (performance schedule to be announced)

 

Everyone in Southampton knows someone who worked at Ford.

In Swaythling, there stood a factory. Built in 1939 to assemble aircraft parts, it switched to producing parts for Spitfires during World War II. In 1953, it was taken over by Ford.

Half a century later, Ford moved production of all passenger cars out of the UK, leaving Southampton’s plant as the only British factory. It made the Transit, the iconic white van.

In 2009, Ford moved production to a new plant in Turkey, reducing the workforce to 500; and in 2013, the factory closed down completely.

Take a seat inside our van and listen to this brand new audio play curated by Barney Norris, co-Director of Up In Arms an associate company of NST.

Based on real-life accounts by former Ford employees who recall a place which, through all its highs and lows, was always at the heart of its community.

Barney Norris is co-artistic director of Up In Arms Theatre, a touring theatre company. His first play Visitors ran at the Arcola Theatre before transferring to the Bush Theatre, winning him the 2014 Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright. His other full-length plays are Nightfall, Eventide, Echo’s End and While We’re Here. Norris is the author of a bestselling novel, Five Rivers Met in a Wooded Plain, and a book on theatre: To Bodies Gone: The Theatre of Peter Gill. His second novel, Turning For Home, was published in 2018, as well as a second non-fiction study, The Wellspring, a book of conversations with his father, the composer David Owen Norris.

 

Alice Hamilton is a theatre director and dramaturg, and co-artistic director of Up In Arms, a touring theatre company. Her credits for the company include The March on Russia (Orange Tree Theatre), Visitors (Arcola Theatre/UK tour/Bush Theatre), German Skerries, Eventide and While We’re Here (UK tours). Other theatre credits include Paradise, Every Day I Make Greatness Happen (Hampstead Theatre), Echo’s End (Salisbury Playhouse), Thirty Christmases (New Diorama Theatre) Anything That Flies (Jermyn Street Theatre), Orca and Orson’s Shadow (Southwark Playhouse).

LOCAL AND YOUTH THEATRE PROGRAMME

Alongside the company’s main season of work Nuffield Southampton Theatres presents a programme performed by and celebrating the local community as well as a season of work by NST Youth Theatre which provides the opportunity for local young people to work with professional theatre makers.

The Shadow Factory Exhibition is a free immersive installation looking into the history that inspired Howard Brenton’s play that explores Southampton’s role in World War II. Make It SO then celebrates local talent with a season of work from local artists and companies and finally annual festival, Now Here: Made in Southampton, returns with a variety of performances, exhibitions, workshops and talks celebrating the city’s rich industrial heritage.

Nuffield Southampton Youth Theatre in a co-production with National Theatre Connections 2019 present Classby Ben Bailey Smith and Lajaune Lincoln which follows a student council as the school election approaches examining wider issues of social division and populism. NST’s Summer Youth Project create a new production of1984 to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of George Orwell’s timeless and still poignantly relevant, classic.

NST City

A Nuffield Southampton Theatres production

The Shadow Factory Exhibition

4 February – 1 March 2019

 

NST City

A Nuffield Southampton Theatres production

Make it SO

February – April 2019

 

NST City

A Nuffield Southampton Theatres production

Now-Here: Made in Southampton

11 – 13 July 2019

NST City

A Nuffield Southampton Youth Theatres and National Theatre Connections 2019 production

Class

28 – 30 March 2019

 

NST City

A Nuffield Southampton Youth Theatres production

1984

29 July – 10 August 2019

Something Underground Theatre co.
Wandsworth Boys offered Free Theatre Workshops
Of Our Own Making
Made by someone closer than you think.

With hard-hitting play Of Our Own Making, Award-winning company Something Underground will be hitting Tara Arts, Earlsfield in Feb 2019. But with free theatre workshops, they’re looking for boys in the area to come and help them create the action!

Of Our Own Making is a compelling thriller from writer/director Jonathan Brown, about online recruitment, refugees, Brexit, home grown fear, Iraq, and much more.

And Something Underground is seeking local boys (age 12-16) to come, workshop and rehearse with this professional company through a set of free, all-expenses-paid workshops, with director Jonathan Brown, with a Movement Director, with professional actors from the play, and with Mark Nightingale of mens mentoring organisation, A Band of Brothers.

Of Our Own Making is a new play from Something Underground, whose other work has earned them Brighton Fringe Best Male Performer, Best Female Performer Award and nominations, Best New Play Award and shortlisting (New Writing South), amongst other accolades.

Jonathan, Artistic director of Something Underground, says, “We’ve been awarded funding, by Arts Council England’s Project Grants Award, to run the play at Tara in February, and part of the community aspect of the project is to bring boys into the production, and rehearse them in specific scenes, using a movement director,… including scenes of online recruitment, and crowd scenes.
If the boys “hit the mark” then we can include their work in the final production. We’ve limited spaces, and we get going on 1st December, so anyone thinking of joining us needs to get their skates on and get in touch, (via info@somethingunderground.co.uk) ”

More information: http://www.somethingunderground.co.uk/i-refugee-working-title/

Get in touch: info@somethingunderground.co.uk Text: 0787 9832857

Venues: Tara Arts (performances), St Peter’s Battersea and STORM Empowerment (workshops)

Dates: 1st, 8th, 15th Dec 2018 & 12th, 19th January 2019 (Workshops)

Cost: Free. But you need to arrange places in advance as places are limited

Michael Linnit and Michael Grade in collaboration with English National Opera

 

present

 

Award winning actor

Kelsey Grammer

& internationally acclaimed opera star

Danielle de Niese

 

in
MAN OF LA MANCHA

At the London Coliseum

 

Friday 26 April – Saturday 8 June 2019

Michael Linnit and Michael Grade – the producers who brought Chess, Carousel, Sunset Boulevard and Sweeney Todd to the London Coliseum – are collaborating again with English National Opera to bring a brand new production of the multi-Tony award winning Broadway musical, Man of La Mancha to London, the first West End production of this acclaimed musical in over 50 years.

Man of La Mancha will play a limited season, with performances from 26 April to 8 June 2019.  The press performance is on 30 April 2019.  It will be performed with ENO’s 35 piece orchestra.

Emmy award winning and Tony nominated actor Kelsey Grammer, best known for playing Dr Frasier Crane in NBC’s hit series’ Cheers and Frasier will make his West End debut playing Miguel de Cervantes and Don Quixote and the international opera star and soprano Danielle de Niese will play Aldonza and Dulcinea. Danielle will be performing in 33 performances of Man of La Mancha, with further star casting for this role and the rest of the company to be announced.

Man of La Mancha will be directed by Lonny Price, who directed Linnit and Grade’s acclaimed London production of Sunset Boulevard at the Coliseum starring Glenn Close, as well as its hugely-successful subsequent Broadway transfer.

Featuring the iconic song ‘Dream the Impossible Dream’, Man of La Mancha is Inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’s masterpiece Don Quixote.

In a 16^th century dungeon Cervantes and his man servant await trial from the Spanish Inquisition.  In his possession he has a trunk carrying an unfinished novel, Don Quixote.  As prisoners attempt to steal his possessions, Cervantes embarks on acting out his novel as his defence, transforming himself into Alonso Quijano.

Quijano, deluded, believes he is a knight errant, renames himself Don Quixote de la Mancha, and sets off on a fantastical quest with his man servant Sancho Panza.

Chivalry abounds in this classic tale of knighthood, love, loyalty and adventure.

The music in Man of La Mancha is by Mitch Leigh, lyrics by Joe Darion and book by Dale Wasserman.

‘The impossible Dream’ has become an internatonally-renowned song, and has been performed by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, Luther Vandross and The Temptations, amongst others.

Kelsey Grammer played Dr Frasier Crane in Cheers and Frasier for two decades.  He has won five Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award nomination in 2010 for his performance in La Cages aux Folles.

Opera Soprano Danielle de Niese, described by the New York Times magazine as ‘opera’s coolest soprano’ has performed to audiences world-wide, from the Metropolitan Opera to Covent Garden as well as performing on stage with LL Cool J. Sky Arts will feature Danielle as the subject of her own Southbank Show, presented by Melvyn Bragg on November 21, 2018.

 

Joining Lonny Price on the creative team is conductor David White, set designer James Noone, lighting designer Rick Fisher, sound designer Mick Potter and casting director David Grindrod CDG.

 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

 

Man of La Mancha

London Coliseum

St Martin’s Lane

London WC2N 4ES

Dates

26 April – 8 June 2019

Press Night: 30 April at 7.00pm

Performances

Mon – Sat 7.30pm, matinées – Wed & Sat 2.30pm

Tickets

From £15

Box Office: 020 7845 9300

www.eno.org.

Twitter: @LaManchaLDN

Instagram: @LaManchaLDN

THEATR CLWYD ANNOUNCES HOMECOMING OF CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED HOME, I’M DARLING,

A MAJOR CO-PRODUCTION WITH MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY, AND TWO WORLD PREMIÈRES FOR 2019

 

Theatr Clwyd today announces new work for 2019. Following its previously announced West End transfer, Artistic Director Tamara Harvey’s smash hit production of Laura Wade’s Home, I’m Darling, will return home to Theatr Clwyd for the final week of April – in a co-production with the National Theatre and Fiery Angel. Also opening at the company’s home base is a major revival of Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending – in a first-time co-production with London’s Menier Chocolate Factory. Following performances in Wales Tamara Harvey’s production transfers to the Menier Chocolate Factory.

April sees the world premiere of Jacqueline Wilson’s Wave Me Goodbye adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Emma Reeves, following the huge success of her recent stage version of Hetty Feather. This also sees a homecoming for Reeves, who returns to the theatre having been a member of the Theatr Clwyd Youth Theatre in her childhood.

Later this year, to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the Mold Riots, the company will re-create the story of the riots in a large-scale community production. The Mold Riots, written by Bethan Marlow and directed by Katie Posner, will lead its audience through the streets.

Highlights of the visiting programme include Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses adapted by Sabrina Mahfouz (19 – 23 February), Rain Man by Dan Gordon 25 February – 2 March), Marie Jones’ Stones in his Pockets (7 – 11 May) and John Brittain’s Rotterdam (3 – 5 June). Also Ian McKellen brings his solo show in celebration of his 80^th birthday – Ian McKellen on Stage: with Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU – to Mold (18-19 March), with all proceeds being generously donated by McKellen to Theatr Clwyd. Further details of the 2019 season will be announced shortly

Artistic Director Tamara Harvey said today, “It has been an extraordinary and transformative year for the company, both in terms of ambition and reach – we have staged 15 own produced shows, 10 of which were world premières, culminating in a UK Theatre Award for The Assassination of Katie Hopkins, and now a West End transfer for Evening Standard Award-nominated Home, I’m Darling before it comes home to Wales. Next year will see us in a first-time collaboration with London’s award-winning Menier Chocolate Factory with Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending; and as part of our commitment to younger audiences Emma Reeves comes home to adapt Jacqueline Wilson’s Wave Me Goodbye, their latest collaboration after the huge success of the stage version of Hetty Feather. Later this year sees our first large-scale community production with The Mold Riots during the 150^th anniversary year. As we continue to build, it’s wonderful to see our homegrown work reach new audiences across the UK.”

 

www.theatrclwyd.com
Twitter: @ClwydTweets
Facebook.com/TheatrClwyd  

 

 

A Theatr Clwyd and Menier Chocolate Factory co-production

ORPHEUS DESCENDING
by Tennessee Williams 

15 – 27 April 2019

9 May – 6 July Press Night 15 May at 8pm

Director: Tamara Harvey

Lady is trapped in a loveless marriage, surrounded by intolerant people, living a boring small-town life. But when a wild-eyed charismatic drifter appears a new life of love and passion suddenly seem possible. Everything will change as certainty, conformity and tradition are ripped apart.

Tennessee William’s Deep South American drama is directed by Theatr Clwyd’s Artistic Director Tamara Harvey.

 

Tennessee Williams (1911 – 1983) was one of the greatest American playwrights. His principal works include A Streetcar Named Desire (Pulitzer Prize), The Glass Menagerie (New York Critics’ Circle Award), The Rose Tattoo(Tony Award for Best Play), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Pulitzer Prize), Suddenly Last Summer, Sweet Bird of Youth, Orpheus Descending and The Night of the Iguana (New York Critics’ Circle Award).

 

Tamara Harvey has been Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd since August 2015. Her inaugural production for the company was Much Ado About Nothing, followed by the première of Elinor Cook’s award-winning play, Pilgrims, Skylight by David Hare and the première of Peter Gill’s version of Uncle Vanya (Best Production and Best Director in the English Language at the Wales Theatre Awards). Most recently she directed the première of Home I’m Darling by Laura Wade – which has been nominated for UK Theatre and Evening Standard Awards and transfers to the West End in 2019 before returning to Clwyd. Tamara has directed in the West End, throughout the UK and abroad, working on classic plays, new writing, musical theatre and in film. Her previous credits include the world premières of From Here To Eternity (Shaftesbury Theatre), Breeders(St James Theatre), The Kitchen Sink, The Contingency Plan, Sixty-Six Books and tHe dYsFUnCKshOnalZ! (Bush Theatre), In the Vale of Health (a cycle of four plays by Simon Gray), Elephants and Hello/Goodbye (Hampstead Theatre), and Plague Over England (Finborough Theatre & West End). Other theatre includes Kreutzer vs Kreutzer (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse/Royal Festival Hall), Bash (Trafalgar Studios), Whipping It Up (New Ambassadors), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Gielgud & Garrick Theatres), Educating Rita (Menier Chocolate Factory & Theatre Royal Bath) and Pride and Prejudice (Sheffield Theatres).

Theatr Clwyd present the world première of

WAVE ME GOODBYE

By Jacqueline Wilson

Adapted by Emma Reeves

23 April – 4 May 2019

Press night: 25 April at 1pm

 

Director Christian Patterson

 

September, 1939. As the Second World War begins, ten-year-old Shirley is sent away on a train for ‘a little holiday’. Shirley is billeted in the country to live in the strange, deserted Red House with the mysterious and reclusive Mrs Waverley. Here, alongside two boys from Liverpool, Kevin and Archie, Shirley’s life will change forever.

A new adaptation of bestselling author Jacqueline Wilson’s moving story, directed by Christian Patterson. 

 

Jacqueline Wilson is one of Britain’s most popular authors, selling over 38 million books in the UK alone. Her most successful and enduring creation is the Tracy Beaker series. In 2002 she was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and in 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson. In the same year she became the Foundling Museum’s first Coram Foundling Fellow. From 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate. Her recent titles include Opal Plumstead and Katy and My Mum Tracy Beaker.

 

Emma Reeves is an award-winning writer working across screen and stage. Her TV credits include The Worst Witch (Lead Writer), Eve (Lead Writer and co-creator), The Dumping Ground, Young Dracula, The Story of Tracy Beaker, Belonging, The Murder of Princess Diana (Lifetime Channel), Spirit Warriors and Doctors. Her stage work includes her acclaimed adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s Hetty Feather (national tour and West End 2014, and 2015-2016, Olivier nominated and CAMEO Award winner), Carrie’s War, Little Women, Cool Hand Luke and The Snow Child. Reeves has won Best Children’s TV Episode at The Writers Guild Awards twice – in 2016 for Eve and in 2017 for an episode of The Dumping Ground. Other awards include an RTS Best Children’s Drama for her Tracy Beaker Returns episode, an RTS North East award for Best Children’s Programme for her Dumping Ground episode, an RTS Scotland Award for Best Children’s Drama for Eve and Doctor Who Magazine Favourite Audio Drama awar2016 for Forgotten Lives. In October 2016 two of her episodes from the Dumping Ground and Hetty Feather were nominated for a Children’s BAFTA for Best Drama. In November 2017, her episode of Hetty Feather was nominated for a Broadcast Award for Best Children’s Programme. In 2018 she become one of 18 selected for BAFTA Elevate- a scheme made for advancing the career of experienced writers.

Christian Patterson directs. He scripts his debut panto Dick Whittington for Theatr Clwyd this year, having written award-winning pantomimes at other venues across the UK. As an actor his credits for the company include The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Insignificance, All My Sons and Under Milk Wood. Other credits include The Way of the World (Donmar Warehouse), My Country (National Theatre), Blackbird (The Other Room) and Plays in a Bag – The Knowledge (Royal Court Theatre). His television credits include My Country, Ellen and Mr Selfridge; and for film, Pride and Malice in Wonderland. He won the Best Actor honour at the Wales Theatre Awards in 2016.

Age recommendation: 5 years +

Theatr Clwyd present the world première of

THE MOLD RIOTS

By Bethan Marlow

21 – 26 October

Director Katie Posner

One of Wales’ forgotten dark days is brought to life in this large-scale production with both a community and professional cast.

 

Summer, 1869. Seven miners stand trial for allegedly attacking the colliery manager after defending their right to use the Welsh language and protesting a pay cut. Now a crowd has assembled to hear the verdict, did they commit the crimes they’re accused of? A guilty verdict for all results in the quiet town of Mold erupting with violence. Stones will be thrown and blood will be shed but will this bring them any closer to winning their fight for justice?

More information will be released in early 2019.

Bethan Marlow’s site-specific interactive theatre productions, in collaboration with the LGBT community of Swansea, include “A Queer Christmas”, Mess Up The Mess, with the residents of a council estate in North Wales C’laen ta! (Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru), and her first verbatim play Sgint (Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru). Her other work includes From Land to Mouth (Pentabus), Cysgu’n Brysur (Arad Goch, Aberystwyth Arts Centre and WMC), Ar Waith ar Daith (Walk the Plank), PyC (S4C/BBC Wales), A Place Called Home (Birmingham Rep), The Beach (National Theatre Wales) and Such Tweet Sorrow (Royal Shakespeare Company). Marlowe was selected as one of four Welsh writers on the talent scheme ‘Y Labordy’. She received a Creative Wales Award to explore the possibility of the “audience as co-creators of theatre” and won the first “Straeon Iris” competition (an Iris Prize/S4C/Ffilm Cymru and Bfi Net.wok initiative) which culminated in the short film Afiach (Sick) which premièred at the Iris Prize Film Festival this year.

Katie Posner directs. She was the Associate Director of Pilot Theatre, York, for eight years, where she directed multiple national and international touring productions. Her 2017 national tour of Made in India (Tamasha, Belgrade Theatre, Pilot Theatre) was nominated for an Off West End award, and won the Eastern Eye Theatre and Culture Award for Best Production. Recent productions include Swallows and Amazons (new adaptation by Bryony Lavery) for Storyhouse Chester, Babe for Mercury Colchester, Bridget Foreman’s Everything is Possible: The York Suffragettes at York Theatre Royal and Finding Nana by Jane Upton for New Perspectives. Posner has also directed productions for Northern Stage, Tron Theatre, Live Theatre and Out of Joint amongst many others.

 

Listings

Theatr Clwyd

Raikes Lane, Mold CH7 1YA

Box Office: 01352 701521 www.theatrclwyd.com/en/

 

DICK WHITTINGTON – THE PURRRRRFECT ROCK ‘N’ ROLL PANTO

Anthony Hopkins Theatre

23 November 2018 – 19 January 2019

Press night: 27 November 7pm

 

HANSEL & GRETEL: FAIRYTALE DETECTIVES

Emlyn Williams Theatre

14 December – 6 January

Press night: 18 December 7pm

 

ORPHEUS DESCENDING
Anthony Hopkins Theatre

15 – 27 April 2019

WAVE ME GOODBYE

Emlyn Williams Theatre

23 April – 4 May 2019

Press night: 25 April at 1pm

 

HOME I’M DARLING

Anthony Hopkins Theatre

30 April to 4 May

 

THE MOLD RIOTS

21 – 26 October

 

LONDON

HOME, I’M DARLING

Duke of York’s Theatre

26 January – 13 April 2019

press night: 5 February

www.homeimdarling.co.uk

Box Office: 0844 871 7623

 

ORPHEUS DESCENDING
Menier Chocolate Fatory

9 May – 6 July

Press night: 15 May 8pm

Box Office: 020 7378 1713

www.menierchocolatefactory.com

HOME, I’M DARLING ON TOUR

Theatre Royal, Bath                                                    
Tuesday 16 – Saturday 20 April 2019

www.theatreroyal.org.uk

Box Office 01225 448844

Tickets on sale from: 29 November

The Lowry, Salford
Tuesday 23 – Saturday 27 April 2019

www.thelowry.com

Box Office: 0843 208 6000

Tickets on sale from: 16 November         

              

DARLINGTON HIPPODROME ONE YEAR ON

Saturday 17 November marks the first anniversary of the opening of Darlington Hippodrome following a multi-million pound restoration.

As the famous song from the musical Rent assures us, there are 525,600 minutes in a year and Darlington Hippodrome has filled each and every one of those minutes in the last year amassing several large numbers of its own since the venue re-opened after an 18 month restoration project.

In the last 12 months a total of 358 performances have taken place on the Hippodrome stage with 162,851 tickets sold. In the various bars and the new Hippo Lounge there have been 16,179 coffees drunk, 2,535 locally baked scones devoured, 42,384 ice creams scoffed and 21,784 pints of beer/cider enjoyed.

The last year has also seen 6542 historical items catalogued as part of the on-going archiving of theatrical memorabilia such as posters, programmes and press cuttings dating back to the theatre’s original opening back in 1907.

A number of top-drawer theatrical stars have graced the Hippodrome stage in the last year including Lee Ryan, Phil Daniels, Jimmy Osmond, Stefanie Powers, Joe Pasquale, Susie Blake, Ruby Wax, Pam Ayres, Jane McDonald, Cannon & Ball, Belinda Laing and Ray Quinn with several more star names set to appear in the Spring 2019 season, starting with Louie Spence and Zoe Birkett in the festive family pantomime, Aladdin.

Drop in for yourselves to see what a difference a year can make. The Hippo Lounge is open from 10am every day serving drinks and snacks and also offers free Wi-Fi and charging sockets for phones and laptop computers.

For full information on all the shows at Darlington Hippodrome visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk

Design a cover competition winner

Every year the Grand Opera House York runs a competition with all the local schools to design the cover of our panto programme.  This year the winner is Maisie Smart age 7 from Hempland School in York.

This year’s spectacular pantomime is Cinderella and The Lost Slipper, starring Michelle Heaton (Liberty X) and Amy Thompson (Milkshake).  There will be lots of surprises, hilarious comedy, fabulous sets and costumes and a magical flying horse and carriage.  The panto runs from 14 December until 5 January 2019.

Box office: 0844 871 3024

Online: www.atgtickets.com/york

An Evening With Sir Michael Parkinson:

The Nations Favourite Interviewer Relives Historic And Iconic Moments From His Remarkable Career

Grand Opera House York

Tuesday 19 February 2019

Sir Michael Parkinson, a true broadcasting legend and certified national treasure, will celebrate some of the defining moments of his tenure as one of the most recognisable and widely sought after interviewers of the 20th and 21st centuries, by hosting a series of shows at theatres throughout the UK this Autumn.

In conversation with his son Mike and showing highlights from the Parkinson archive, these new theatre shows will provide a unique opportunity to get an intimate, entertaining and informative look at Sir Michael’s remarkable journey from humble upbringings in a Yorkshire mining town, to becoming one of the most familiar faces on television, whilst reliving the greatest events from a show that for many defined their Saturday night.

In a career spanning several decades, Sir Michael Parkinson was responsible for interviewing over 2000 of the most important figures of our time, including Nelson Mandela, Marlon Brando and Mohammed Ali, to name but a few of the plethora of individuals who have shaped our cultural landscape.

Universally known for his inimitable demeanour, Sir Michael Parkinson’s gift for drawing insightful and often revelatory information from his subjects became addictive viewing, his conversations consistently reflecting the true personalities of all those with whom he came face to face with.

From those famously awkward situations to poignant and emotional unveilings, Sir Michael’s theatre tour will see him both recount and breathe new life into these critical junctures, as well as turning the spotlight on to the man himself, highlighting his relationships with friends, family and colleagues along the way.

Tickets from £24.00

Box office: 0844 871 3024

Online: www.atgtickets.com/york

BOLSHOI BALLET IN CINEMA PRESENTS

THE CHRISTMAS CLASSIC

BROADCAST LIVE FROM MOSCOW INTO CINEMAS ACROSS THE UK

As part of the 2018/19 Bolshoi Ballet in cinema season the company presents the quintessential Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker.  A festive tradition for the whole family, the timeless Christmas classic The Nutcracker is broadcast live from the Bolshoi stage for two hours of enchantment and magic on 23 December 2018.  This is Bolshoi Ballet’s first live broadcast of The Nutcracker since 2014.

It is Christmas Eve and the magician Drosselmeyer gives Marie a Nutcracker doll as a Christmas present. As night falls the Christmas tree begins to grow, mice appear and all is not as it seems. Marie’s Nutcracker doll magically transforms into a prince taking them both on a wonderful adventure. The Nutcracker leads the toy soldiers into battle and with Marie’s help slays the Mouse King, breaking the curse. Marie recognises the prince as Drosselmeyer’s nephew. Together they journey to the Land of Sweets and are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy. They regale their tale of the battle and there is a celebration.

This traditional story along with Tchaikovsky’s cherished score, Yuri Grigorovich’s choreography, the Bolshoi’s Principals, Soloists and the accomplished Bolshoi Corps de Ballet this promises to be the perfect pre-Christmas treat for the whole family.

The 2018/19 Bolshoi Ballet in cinema season showcases some of ballet’s greatest classical works performed by the world’s finest dancers creating a unique cinematic experience. Four classical ballets (La Sylphide, Don Quixote, La Bayadère and The Sleeping Beauty) will be shown on the big screen alongside the beloved Christmas tale The Nutcracker. The evocative 1920’s jazz ballet The Golden Age and Edward Clug’s latest choreographic work Petrushka alongside Carmen Suite completes the season.

To discover where you can experience the magic of the Bolshoi in your local cinema go to http://www.bolshoiballetcinema.co.uk/