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JAMES GRAHAM’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED PLAY QUIZ

TRANSFERS TO THE WEST END

James Graham, theatre’s golden boy, has hit the jack-pot again.

Daily Telegraph

William Village, Playful Productions and Chichester Festival Theatre present

the Chichester Festival Theatre production of

QUIZ

By James Graham

Director: Daniel Evans; Designer: Robert Jones; Lighting Designer: Tim Lutkin

Music and Sound: Ben and Max Ringham; Video Designer: Tim Reid

Movement Director: Naomi Said; Casting Director: Charlotte Sutton CDG

With Labour of Love and Ink currently running in the West End, James Graham achieves a hat trick as his sell-out ‘major coughing hit’, Quiz, transfers to the Noël Coward Theatre. A provocative re-examination of the conviction of Charles Ingram for cheating on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Quiz ‘highlights the dangerous blending of entertainment, politics and justice today.’ (Sunday Times). Quiz opens on 10 April 2018, with previews from 31 March, and runs for a strictly limited London season until 16 June.

Daniel Evans’ production marks the second London transfer for Chichester Festival Theatre – and the first to the West End – under the tenure of Daniel Evans as Artistic Director and Rachel Tackley as Executive Director.

James Graham commented, “Being given the chance to share Quiz with more people – and with the opportunity to develop and push our gameshow-meets-theatre concept even further – is beyond exciting for all of us.

“I would never have imagined years ago I’d get a chance to put any of my new plays into the West End. So to be able to return so quickly to the Noël Coward – which has been the happiest of homes for Labour of Love – feels surprising, and properly humbling to have the trust, belief, and support in the show from our producers, the amazing Daniel Evans, and the team of actors and creators who help me tell this gobsmacking story of the so-called Coughing Major and the most successful game show of all time.”

Daniel Evans said today, “It’s been an enormous privilege to have presented James Graham’s Quiz as part of our inaugural season at Chichester.  James is an exceptional writer with a knack for examining our recent history through an alternative lens. We’re thrilled to be able to revisit the production for the West End, and share Chichester’s work with a wider audience.”

James Graham’s theatre work includes Labour of Love (Noël Coward Theatre), Ink (Almeida Theatre and Duke of York’s Theatre – nominated for Best Play at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards), This House (National Theatre – Olivier Award nomination for Best New Play, and Garrick Theatre – Olivier Award nomination for Best Revival), Monster Raving Loony (Theatre Royal Plymouth and Soho Theatre), The Vote (Donmar Warehouse, broadcast live on More4 on election night and nominated for Best Live Event at the BAFTA TV awards), The Angry Brigade (Theatre Royal Plymouth and Paines Plough), the Broadway musical Finding Neverland, written with Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy, Privacy (Donmar Warehouse), The Man (Finborough Theatre and on tour), The Whisky Taster (Bush Theatre) and Tory Boyz (Soho Theatre). As Writer in Residence at the Finborough Theatre his plays include Albert’s Boy, Eden’s Empire and Sons of York. His television writing includes political drama Coalition (Channel 4), Prisoner’s Wives (BBC1) andCaught in a Trap (ITV1). His first feature film X+Y was released in 2015 after being selected at the Toronto International Film Festival and London Film Festival, winner of the Writer’s Guild Award for Best Debut Screenplay. His forthcoming work includes The Culture – A Farce in Two Acts (Hull Truck as part of Hull UK City of Culture 2017), and the film Gypsy Boy.

Artistic Director of Chichester Festival Theatre Daniel Evans directs. His work for the company includes Forty Years On and Fiddler on the Roof. He was previously Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, where he directed Flowers for Mrs Harris,  Show Boat (also West End), The Effect, Anything Goes (also UK tour), The Sheffield Mysteries, Oliver! (Best Musical Production, WhatsOnStage Awards 2015), This Is My Family (UK Theatre Award for Best Musical Production – also on tour), The Full Monty (UK Theatre Award for Best Touring Production – also national tour and West End), My Fair Lady (Best Musical Production, WhatsOnStage Awards 2014), Macbeth, Othello, Racing Demon as part of The David Hare Season, and An Enemy of the People – the opening production of his inaugural season. He also recently directed American Buffalo in the West End. As an actor, his work for Sheffield Theatres includes Company, The Pride, Cloud Nine and The Tempest. An award-winning actor and director, Evans’ work includes Sunday in the Park with George (Menier Chocolate Factory, Wyndham’s Theatre and Broadway) – a role for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical (his second Olivier Award, the first being for Merrily We Roll Along in 2001) and a Tony Award nomination.  His extensive credits include work with the Donmar Warehouse, RSC, Royal Court Theatre and National Theatre.  Evans is a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Quiz is a fictional imagination based on real events which took place in 2001 following an episode ofWho Wants To Be A Millionaire? It is not in any way connected with the makers of the programme or any of the individuals portrayed.

Quiz  LISTINGS

Noël Coward Theatre

St Martin’s Lane, London WC2H 9LX

www.quiztheplay.com 

www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk

Twitter @quiztheplay

Box Office:                         0844 482 5141(no booking fee)

                                             Personal callers Mon-Sat 10am-curtain up (No booking fee)

                                             Telephone Mon-Sat 9am-8pm

31 March – 16 June

Press night: 10 April at 7pm

Performance times:

Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm

Saturday matinees at 2.30pm (from 7 April)

Wednesday matinees at 2.30pm (from 4 April, except 11 April)

Thursday matinee at 2:30pm on 12 April only

Seat Prices

£15, £27.50, £42.50 & £67.50 with £95 Premium (no booking fee when booked via DMT)

Day Seats

A limited number of tickets will be available daily from 10.30am, to be purchased in person, from the Box Office. Maximum 2 tickets per person. Excludes certain performances.

Standing

£15 tickets available on the day once the performance is sold out

Groups – subject to availability.

Groups 8+ at £45 valid Monday – Thursday

Tel for groups: 0844 482 5100 / Tel for schools: 0844 482 5165

Transport & Parking

Tubes: Covent Garden, Leicester Sq, Charing Cross, Tottenham Court Road

Buses: Destination Leicester Sq.14, 19, 24, 29, 38, 176

Parking:  Masterpark

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR

THE 2018 UK TOUR OF

OSCAR WILDE’S

“THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST”

FROM 24 JANUARY 2018

Kerry Ellis will star as Gwendolen, her first non-singing role, in the 2018 UK tour of Oscar Wilde’s THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford, Courtyard Theatre Hereford, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Belfast Grand Opera House, Theatre Royal Bath and Manchester Opera House. Hannah Louise Howell will play Gwendolen at all other venues. They will be joined by Geoff Aymer, Louise Coulthard, Thomas Howes, Peter Sandys-Clarke and Simon Shackleton, playing Chasuble, Cecily, Algernon, Jack and Lane/Merrimanrespectively.

They join the previously announced Gwen Taylor as Lady Bracknell and Susan Penhaligon as Miss Prism. The tour will begin on 24 January at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, ending on 28 April in Eastbourne.

Renowned theatre star and recording artist, Kerry Ellis is best known for originating the role of Meat, in Queen’s We Will Rock You and was the first British actress to play Elphaba in Wicked, for which Kerry won the 2008 What’s on Stage Award for ‘Best Takeover in a Role’. She then played the role at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway for six months, where she won the Broadway.com Audience Award for ‘Favourite Female Breakthrough Performance’. Her other West End theatre work includes Sara in Murder Ballad at The Arts Theatre, Nancy in Oliver!, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Ellen in Miss Saigon, Fantine in Les Misérables and she took over from Nicole Scherzinger in the role of Grizabella in Cats. Kerry has achieved chart-topping success as a recording artist, releasing four albums and touring the UK and Europe with Brian May of Queen.

Hannah Louise Howell’s theatre credits include The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Alastair Whatley earlier this year at South Hill Park Arts Centre, Engineers Blue (Brass Works Theatre, Bristol), Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (Ludlow Assembly Rooms), Mermaid (Swan Theatre, Worcester), Much Ado About Nothing (The Regal, Tenbury Wells) and Ghosts (Courtyard Theatre). 

Geoff Aymer most recently appeared in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Young Vic. His other theatre credits include To Kill A Mockingbird(Regents Park Open Air, National Tour, Barbican), The Lightning Child and MacBeth (Shakespeare’s Globe) and Driving Miss Daisy (The Canal Cafe and Frinton Summer Theatre). Geoff’s Television credits include Guerilla (Sky Atlantic and Showtime) and Eastenders (BBC 1).

Louise Coulthard won the Lustrum Award at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe for her play, Cockamamy. Her theatre credits include House and Garden (The Watermill Theatre), The Late Wedding (Theatre Royal Stratford East) and Dreams of Home (Theatre Royal Stratford East).

Thomas Howes is best known for playing William Mason in ITV’s Downton Abbey. He has since appeared as Yashvin in the 2012 film adaptation of Anna Karenina and played Winston Churchill in Murdoch Mysteries (ITV). His theatre credits include Ratty in The Wind in the Willows: The Musical (UK Tour), The Mousetrap (Original UK Tour), The Winslow Boy (Theatre Royal Bath) and The History Boys (National Theatre/ West End).

Peter Sandys-Clarke’s theatre credits include Ronald Storrs in Ross (Chichester Festival Theatre), Peter Gilbert in The Browning Version (Theatre Royal Bath and tour), Gerald in When We Are Married (Garrick Theatre), Jerry in A Daughter’s a Daughter (Trafalgar Studios), Withers in The Letter (Wyndham’s Theatre and tour) and Raleigh in Journey’s End (Playhouse Theatre and Duke of York’s Theatre). His TV work includes The Royals (E!), The Crown (Netflix) and Indian Summers (Channel 4).

Simon Shackleton most recently played Professor Christopher Riley in the UK tour of Shadowlands, directed by Alastair Whatley. His other theatre credits include Journey’s End (West End and UK tour), An Ideal Husband (Northampton Repertory Theatre), As You Like It (Bridewell Theatre), Blithe Spirit (Chichester Festival Theatre). Simon has appeared in EastEnders (BBC), Silk (BBC), The Queen (Blast Films), Lewis (ITV) and Torchwood (BBC).

Oscar Wilde’s greatly admired and much loved comedy THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST follows Jack Worthing’s endeavours to marry Algernon’s cousin, the beautiful Gwendolen. But first he must convince the fearsome Lady Bracknell of his respectability. Wilde’s classic play looks at the clash of town and country in a story of romance, identity, perambulators and capacious handbags.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST will be directed by The Original Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, Alastair Whatley, with set and costume designs by Gabriella Slade, sound and music by Giles Thomas and lighting by Alan Valentine. The UK tour is produced by Tom Hackney for The Original Theatre Company.

Website: www.theimportanceofbeingearnest.co.uk

Facebook: TheOriginalTheatre 

Twitter: @OriginalTheatre

2018 TOUR SCHEDULE

24 January – 3 February          Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford                       01483 440000
www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk

5 – 10 February                       Courtyard Theatre, Hereford                     01432 340555

                                                 www.courtyard.org.uk                                     

13 – 17 February                     Theatre Royal Plymouth                            01752 267222

                                                 www.theatreroyal.com                                     

20 – 24 February                      Belfast Grand Opera House                       028 9024 1919                                                                                                                        goh.org.uk                                                      

27 February – 3 March            Bath Theatre Royal                                      01225 448844

                                                www.theatreroyal.org.uk                                 

5 – 10 March                           Theatre Royal Winchester                            01962 840440

                                                www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk                  

13 – 17 March                         Manchester Opera House                             0844 871 3018

                                                www.atgtickets.com/manchester                     

20 – 24 March                         Salisbury Playhouse                                      01722 320333                                                                                                                    www.salisburyplayhouse.com                         

27 – 31 March                          Lichfield Garrick Theatre                             01543 412121

                                                 www.lichfieldgarrick.com                                

3 – 7 April                                Churchill Theatre, Bromley                           020 3285 6000                                                                                                                    www.churchilltheatre.co.uk                             

9 – 14 April                              Cambridge Arts Theatre                                01223 503333

                                                www.cambridgeartstheatre.com

17 – 21 April                            York Theatre Royal                                        01904 623568                                                                                                                       www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk                            On sale soon

24 – 28 April                            Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne        01323 412000
www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk        

Worklight Theatre presents
Monster
UK Tour: Friday 12th January – Thursday 22nd March 2018

This is a story about a girl. And a boy. Some of it’s true. And some if it isn’t. And I’m not going to tell you which.

Following a highly successful run at Edinburgh Fringe 2017, Joe Sellman-Leava’s highly acclaimed one man show Monster embarks on an exciting UK tour in 2018. Monster is a dark but humorous exploration of gender and masculinity – with intimate storytelling at its heart, Monster looks at a young man’s struggle to make sense of love and anger.

With its examination of male attitudes towards women, and male role models celebrated in society, the play has gained new relevance since its Edinburgh debut in the wake of recent sexual assault allegations against a string of celebrities. Monster importantly sheds light on our perceptions of gender, violence and aggression

Experimenting with form, Joe Sellman-Leava’s performance includes a play within a play, and a narrative split across multiple characters and timelines converging at the play’s climax. Playing with the very premise of presentation and performance, the play features the words and personas of known figures including Mike Tyson and Patrick Stewart.

Brimming with earnest, intelligent energy and jumping between threads seamlessly, deftly reconstructing scenes, arguments and interviews with nothing but a pair of red steel chairs for a set (★★★★ The Stage).

Sellman-Leava has previously had phenomenal success with Labels, which has been touring nationally and internationally since 2015 and won a Scotsman Fringe First. Monster was critically acclaimed during its Edinburgh Festival Fringe premiere in 2017, and is going to VAULT Festival this January 2018.

Performance Dates
12th – 13th Jan Ustinov Studio, Bath, 8pm
Theatre Royal Bath, Saw Cl, Bath BA1 1ET

Sunday 14th Jan The Tolmen Centre, Falmouth, 7.30pm
Fore St, Constantine, Falmouth TR11 5AA

24th – 28th Jan VAULT Festival, London
Leake St, Lambeth, London SE1 7AD

Thursday 8th Feb The Woodville, Gravesend, 8pm
15A Wrotham Rd, Gravesend DA11 0PA

19th – 22nd March The Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter
163 Fore St, Exeter, EX4 3AT

JIM STEINMAN’S BAT OUT OF HELL – THE MUSICAL

TAKES £350,000 ON FIRST DAY OF ON-SALE

BEATING PREVIOUS BOX OFFICE RECORDS

AT DOMINION THEATRE

Winner of the Evening Standard Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical, Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical has already broken box office records at London’s Dominion Theatre, taking £350,000 on the first day of on-sale.  The musical returns to London’s West End in 2018, with performances at the Dominion Theatre from Monday 2 April.

Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical wowed critics and public alike when it played limited seasons at Manchester Opera House and London Coliseum earlier this year. It currently has audiences rocking out in Toronto, where performances will end on 7 January 2018.

As well as winning the Evening Standard Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical, the show has just been nominated for a phenomenal 8 WhatsOnStage Awards, including Best New Musical.

Andrew Polec, winner of the Joe Allen Best West End Debut in the Stage Debut Awards 2017, and Christina Bennington are in positive negotiations to recreate their roles as the romantic leads, Strat and Raven, at the Dominion Theatre.  Further casting is to be announced.

Bat Out Of Hell became one of the best-selling albums in history, selling over 50 million copies worldwide.  16 years later, Steinman scored again with Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell, which contained the massive hit I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).

For the stage musical, the legendary and award-winning Jim Steinman has incorporated iconic songs from the Bat Out Of Hell albums, including You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth, Bat Out Of Hell, I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) and Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad, as well as two previously unreleased songs, What Part of My Body Hurts the Most and Not Allowed to Love.

Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical is a romantic adventure about rebellious youth and passionate love, set against the backdrop of a post-cataclysmic city adrift from the mainland.  Strat, the forever young leader of The Lost, has fallen for Raven, daughter of Falco, the tyrannical, ruler of Obsidian.

Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical has book, music and lyrics by Jim Steinman, direction by Jay Scheib, choreography by Emma Portner, with musical supervision and additional arrangements by Michael Reed, set design by Jon Bausor, costume design by Jon Bausor and Meentje Nielsen, video design by Finn Ross, lighting design by Patrick Woodroffe, sound design by Gareth Owen, orchestration by Steve Sidwell, casting by David Grindrod Associates and musical direction by Robert Emery.

Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical is produced by David Sonenberg, Michael Cohl, Randy Lennox & Tony Smith.

Website:  www.BatOutOfHellMusical.com

Twitter & Facebook:  @BatTheMusical

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical

Dominion Theatre

268-269 Tottenham Court Road

London W1T 7AQ

Performances:  Mon-Sat at 7.30pm, Wed & Sat matinee at 2.30pm*

*There is no 2.30pm performance on Wednesday 4 April  

Tickets:  from £15

Box Office:  0845 200 7982

Current Booking Period:  2 April – 28 July 2018

Running Time:  2 hours 40 minutes (including interval)

DAILY LOTTERY PLANS ANNOUNCED FOR WEST END PRODUCTION OF

H A M I L T O N

Producers Jeffrey Seller and Cameron Mackintosh today confirm plans for the HAMILTONWest End £10 daily Lottery which will open on Monday 4 December 2017 for the show’s first performance on Wednesday 6 December 2017. 

Patrons can apply for a maximum of two £10 Lottery tickets via the official HAMILTON App or online.   Each lottery will open at 4pm and close at 2pm the following day.  Within an hour of each lottery closing and after the random selection of winners, all entrants will be notified either through the app or by email with successful entrants receiving details of how to claim and pay for their lottery tickets. To download the app or for further details, visitwww.hamiltonthemusical.co.uk

HAMILTON will re-open the newly rebuilt and restored Victoria Palace Theatre with previews beginning on 6 December 2017. The official opening night will take place on 21 December 2017. HAMILTON is currently booking to 30 June 2018.

The producers of HAMILTON are working to combat the unauthorised profiteering of third party resellers and ticket touts.  Delfont Mackintosh Theatres has pioneered for the West End a paperless ticket system for this production – HAMILTON Paperless Ticketing, powered by Ticketmaster.

HAMILTON is the story of America’s Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington’s right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and helped shape the very foundations of the America we know today. The score blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B and Broadway – the story of America then, as told by America now.

HAMILTON has book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is directed by Thomas Kail, with choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and musical supervision and orchestrations byAlex Lacamoire and is based on Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton.  HAMILTONfeatures scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design byHowell Binkley, sound design by Nevin Steinberg and hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe.

Winner of 11 Tony Awards including Best Musical, the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, HAMILTON continues its runs at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, at the CIBC PrivateBank Theatre in Chicago and cities across North America.

HAMILTON is produced in London by Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, Jill Furman, The Public Theater and Cameron Mackintosh.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Dates                               From 6 December 2017 and currently booking 30 June 2018

Theatre                            Victoria Palace Theatre, Victoria Street, London SW1E 5EA

Performances                    Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm, Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm

Running time                     2 hours and 45 mins including interval

Website                            www.hamiltonthemusical.co.uk

Social Media                      facebook.com/HamiltonWestEnd

twitter.com/HamiltonWestEnd

instagram.com/HamiltonWestEnd

                                       #HamiltonLDN

Northern Broadsides present

By Charles Dickens

A new adaptation by Deborah McAndrew

Directed by Conrad Nelson

Designed by Dawn Allsopp

Lighting by Mark Howland

Musical director Rebekah Hughes

Opening venue: Viaduct Theatre Halifax – 16-24 February

National tour: 27 Feb- 26 May 2018

This February, Northern Broadsides are set to stage the premiere of Deborah McAndrew’s (UK Theatre Award Best New Play winner An August Bank Holiday Lark) witty new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ great Northern novel of repression and longing Hard Times.

Directed by Northern Broadsides Resident director Conrad Nelson, the new adaptation will premiere premiere at the Viaduct Theatre Halifax from 16-24 February before touring nationally until 26 May 2018.

Imagine a world where imagination is forbidden. Coketown is such a place. Thomas Gradgrind will not permit fanciful thoughts in his school or his home. But what effect will this policy have on his own children, Tom and Louisa? How can he protect them from corrupting influences – especially when the circus comes to town?

Dark satanic mills, interrupted by the colour and vibrancy of Sleary’s Circus, set the stage for a sweeping tale of supressed love, seduction and social mores, peopled with the sharply observed exaggerated characters that Dickens is celebrated for.

Playwright Deborah McAndrew said about adapting the classic tale:

‘I’ve always admired Hard Times – Dickens’ one truly Northern novel. The title is a bit off putting, giving the impression of a story that is relentlessly grim. However, it’s full of all the usual brilliant Dickens characters, and lots of very good jokes. It’s also a life affirming story, and a manifesto against a dry, utilitarian approach to education and human discourse in general.

At his school Mr Gradgrind insists on facts and only facts. His pupils and his own children are not just limited, but psychologically and emotionally damaged by the exclusion of the Arts from their education and their lives. In the 21st Century, with our own education system increasingly focused on a core of fact based subjects at the expense of music, drama and art, this tale seems as pertinent as ever – and Hard Times might just as well be called ‘Our Times’.

Director Conrad Nelson added:

“Nestled amongst the charcoal-etched towers of Dicken’s fictional Coketown sit the bold stripes of Ringmaster Sleary’s Gilliam-like circus tent. Hoop-la! It is in this vibrant three-ringed arena that we set our play and where we celebrate life, risk, adventure and the power of imagination.

Audiences will meet the characters below a big top where the flames of a circus fire-eater become the flaming coals of the inscrutable young Louise Gradgrind as she stares into the fire, searching for something within herself that she knows is missing, and where the taught line of the tightrope walker becomes the precarious strand of Stephen Blackpool’s happiness between an ill-advised early marriage and the promise of a future with the true love of his life.

In Deborah McAndrew’s witty and imaginative adaptation, we maintain all the humour and pathos of the original novel, presented with a lightness of touch in a clear and fluent drama.

It might be grim up north in Coketown, but this is a place populated by the most colourful personalities that you’re ever likely to meet. Broadsides’ vibrant performance style and musical verve and wit are best suited to deliver Charles Dickens at his popular best. Northern Broadsides – not for gradgrinds.”

Deborah McAndrew’s plays have included the moving First World War drama An August Bank Holiday Lark for Northern Broadsides and New Vic Theatre which won both UK Theatre Award and Manchester Theatre Award for Best New Play 2014. Her credits for Northern Broadsides include Cyrano (2017) The Grand Gesture (2013) A Government Inspector (2012) Accidental Death Of An Anarchist (2008) and Vacuum (2006). Other theatre credits include Anna of the Five Towns (2017) and Flamingoland (2008) for New Vic Theatre and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (2017) and David Copperfield (2010) for the Octagon Theatre, Bolton. Alongside her husband – director Conrad Nelson – she is co-founder and Creative Director of Claybody Theatre Company. As an actress Deborah is best known for her role as Coronation Street regular, Angie Freeman, in the 1990s.

Conrad Nelson’s directing credits include the Northern Broadsides productions of The Bells (2004), Vacuum (2006), Blake Morrison’s Lisa’s Sex Strike (2007), Accidental Death of an Anarchist (2008), Canterbury Tales, adapted by Mike Poulton (2010), 1984 (2010) and most recently Cyrano (2017) Other directing work includes: Anna of the Five Towns, I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire and Oleanna (New Vic Theatre, Newcastle under Lyme) and Ballroom Blitz (Hull Truck Theatre).

Hard Times is designed by Dawn Allsopp (Kiss Me Quickstep, New Vic Theatre & Oldham Coliseum) with lighting by Mark Howland (Pride and Prejudice, Nottingham Playhouse and York Theatre Royal).

Casting will be announced shortly.

Hard Times will open at the Viaduct Theatre Halifax, from 16-24 February and will then tour to The Dukes Lancaster; The Lowry Salford; New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stephen Joseph Theatre; Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield; Liverpool Playhouse, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds and West Yorkshire Playhouse.

For more information visit www.northern-broadsides.co.uk

LISTINGS

Opening Venue

Fri 16- Sat 24 Feb at 7.30pm & Sun Feb at 4pm & (Mat performance: 24 Feb at 2.30pm)

The Viaduct Theatre, Halifax

Box Office 01422 255 266 or www.deanclough.com

Press night: Tuesday 20 February at 7.30pm

Tue 27 Feb – Sat 3 Mar The Dukes, Lancaster

Box Office: 01524 598500 or www.dukes-lancaster.org

Tue 6- Sat 10 Mar The Lowry, Salford Quays

Box Office: 0843 2086000 http://www.thelowry.com/

Tue 27-31 Mar – Liverpool Playhouse

Box office: 0151 7094776  https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/

Tue 4- Sat 14 Apr New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme

Box Office 01782 717962 or www.newvictheatre.org.uk

Tue 17 – Sat 21 Apr Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

Box Office: 01723 370541 https://www.sjt.uk.com/

Wed 2-Sat 5 May Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield

Box Office: 01484 430528 http://www.thelbt.org/

Tue 16- Sat 19 May Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds

Box Office: 01284 469505 http://www.theatreroyal.org/

Tue 22- Sat 26 May West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds

Box Office: 0113 213 7700 or  www.wyp.org.uk

Darlington Hippodrome to welcome exciting new shows in its opening season.

Following 18 months of expectation and a multi-million pound restoration, the doors to Darlington Hippodrome are now open offering a fabulous season of theatre with some big-hitting shows on offer and even more in the pipeline.

Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without a pantomime, and this season we have the fairest of them all – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Starring boy band and soap star Lee Ryan, Darlington’s own West End leading lady Zoe Birkett, local funny-man Patrick Monahan, Eric Potts, Liam Mellor and Natasha Hoeberigs as Snow White, this year’s pantomime will be packed full of comedy, songs, dance numbers and the usual Darlington pantomime magic between Saturday 9 December and Sunday 14 January.

A series of week-long shows for all tastes kicks off with New Jersey Nights (Jan 16 to 20), a spectacular celebration of the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Son of a Preacher Man (Feb 6 to 10) is an all-new show directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood featuring the greatest hits of Dusty Springfield. We welcome back one of the all-time greats with Blood Brothers (20 to 24 February) followed by the David Walliams classic Awful Auntie (28 February to 4 March).

Hailed ‘a gut-busting hit’ by the New York Times, the West End and Broadway smash hit comedy The Play That Goes Wrong comes to Darlington from 5 to 10 March and if you like a spot of Disney music then you must not miss A Spoonful of Sherman (12 to 14 March). We welcome back Middle Ground Theatre Company and the world stage première from Ruth Rendell (writing as Barbara Vine) with the murder mystery Gallowglass (27 to 31 March). Following a sell-out production of Strictly Musicals 2, DarlingtonOS returns to the Hippodrome with the ultimate feel-good musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert (18 to 28 April) and for added glitz and glamour we welcome The Rat Pack Live (8 to 12 May) with one of the ring-a-ding-iest nights in town.

The Touring Consortium Theatre Company has presented some of the most thought-provoking theatre in Darlington including To Sir With Love, A View From The Bridge, Regeneration, Brassed Off, Brave New World and Of Mice And Men. This season they return with Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (15 to 19 May) starring Phil Daniels. Celebrating the world’s greatest entertainer, Thriller Live is a spectacular concert featuring the songs of Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5 (28 May to 2 June). Broadway’s smash hit musical comedy, Thoroughly Modern Millie, starring Hayley Tamaddon comes to Darlington Hippodrome from 11 to 16 June swiftly followed by This Is Elvis (25 to 30 June) which recreates all the drama leading up to ‘the 1968 Comeback Special’ TV show – it’s the musical that puts the king back on the throne. For lovers of comedy we have one of the best as Joe Pasquale stars as Frank Spencer in an all-new stage show Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em (2 to 7 July) while All Or Nothing – the Mod Musical (10 to 14 July) follows the rise and demise of the Small Faces.

A whole host of star performers will be appearing at Darlington Hippodrome and The Hullabaloo (the new 170 seat studio theatre adjacent to the Hippodrome) over the next seven months including Patrick Monahan (26 January), Jimmy Osmond (12 February), That’ll Be The Day (13 & 14 February), The Russian State Ballet of Siberia (15 to 18 February), Tom Allen (24 February), The Hallé (26 February), Tony Law (4 March), Sing-a-ling-a Beauty & The Beast (11 March), The Illegal Eagles (19 March), Stewart Lee (20 March), Madama Butterfly (21 March), Smokie (22 March), Peppa Pig and Friends (25 & 25 March), Bobby Davro and Dani Harmer in the Easter Pantomime Beauty & The Beast (2 & 3 April), Russell Watson (4 April), Rumours of Fleetwood Mac (5 April), Ken Dodd (8 April), Steve Steinman’s Meatloaf Story (9 April), The BBC Big Band (10 April), The Carpenters Story (11 April), English Youth Ballet (13 & 14 April), Jason Cooke (28 April), Liza Pulman (30 April), Brian Conley (1 May), Balletboyz (2 May), Gilbert O’Sullivan (3 May), Dinosaur World Live (4 to 6 May), Pam Ayres (5 June), Jane McDonald (7 June) and The Teletubbies (9 & 10 June).

More big names and blockbuster shows are in the pipeline for 2018 and beyond.

For further information and to book contact the box office on 01325 405405, or visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk to choose your own seats online.