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Sunderland Empire – until Saturday 6 May 2017.

Grease was the word at Sunderland Empire for this new tour of the classic Grease The Musical.

Unfortunately it wasn’t the one that I wanted. I’m not sure if it was the grey Bank Holiday weather, touring tiredness or just a general lethargy but this show, apart from some stand out moments, felt a bit flat. Maybe it was the addition of star names who weren’t up for the challenge that didn’t help but they seemed to be going through the motions of performing rather than giving the show the energy and passion it needed.

Tom Parker, formerly of The Wanted, tries to impress in his first theatrical role as heart-throb Danny Zuko. Clearly he can sing and handles the complex dance routines very well but at times, there is a lack of power behind his vocals. Ex-Eastenders star Louisa Lytton is wise-cracking Queen of the Pink Ladies, Rizzo. In the second act she really unleashes Rizzo’s fierceness, but character’s big song, There Are Worse Things I Could Do, lacked passion. Compare this to the flawless performance of Danielle Hope as Sandy – her rendition of Hopelessly Devoted to You was nothing less than phenomenal. Mentions must also go to the terrific T-Birds Michael Cortez (Kenickie), Ryan Keenan (Doody), Oliver Jacobson (Roger), Grant Thresh (Sonny) and the incredible Pink Ladies Rhiannon Chesterman (Frenchy), and Marty (Lauren Atkins), and Jan (Rosanna Harris), who carried their struggling main counterparts through the show. The young ensemble are the definite stars.

Yet while some elements don’t come together as well as expected, there is plenty to like about this particular production, most notably the Jacobs-Casey songs including Summer Nights, You’re The One That I Want, Sandy and Greased Lightnin’, which greet the audience like old friends. And although the show got off to a slow start, Doody thrust the show into high Rock ‘n’ Roll gear with his spectacular performance of ‘Those Magic Changes’. The surprise hit of the night

Some things were good. Terry Parsons flashing, stylized sets and Andreane Neofitou’s colourful costumes were excellent, Arlene Phillips vigorous choreography was incredible and the band – positioned above at the rear of the stage under Griff Johnson’s musical direction – were truly fabulous

Ultimately though, even the faultless set, music, and choreography were eclipsed by Parker and Lytton’s painstakingly obvious inexperience on the stage. Despite the sheer talent of the insatiable Danielle Hope and supporting cast. However it is still relatively early on in the tour and given time I’m hopeful all the pieces will come together – and with some on the job learning – the potential is there for a first class production

Video Released to Showcase Brand New Musical

Heaven on Earth

Starring

* Kerry Ellis * Hugh Maynard *

Featuring the Voice of

* Russell Watson *

You can download the video here

A video has been released to showcase brand new musical Heaven on Earth.

Telling the story of Adam and Eve Heaven on Earth will be touring arenas across the UK from December 2017 through to May 2018.

More than 200 guests attended the official launch of the show at Wembley Arena where both Russell Watson, as the Voice of God, and Hugh Maynard, who plays Adam, gave everyone a taste of what to expect by performing.

Also starring Kerry Ellis, Heaven on Earth is a classic re-telling of the story of Adam and Eve and their fall from Paradise. It is an exhilarating story of love, loss, and redemption, and an exploration of the universal search for the meaning of life.

This spectacular new musical is brought to audiences by Eden International Productions and journeys back to the very beginning of time.

Tickets are on sale now from www.seetickets.com

A huge production is planned which will see the Garden of Eden created in all its magnificent glory and a whole host of special effects including fire, water and animatronics.

Writer Sara Jeffs is the creator behind the script, music and lyrics.

She said: “It is so very exciting to see my script coming to life in Heaven on Earth.

“This brand new musical, and its original emotive songs, will resonate with people of all ages and backgrounds, and stay with the audience long after they view this thrilling and visual treat of a production.

“The story of Adam and Eve is the oldest and greatest story ever told and whether you are someone with faith or someone who just enjoys the theatre and a great show this will appeal to you.”

The creative team behind Heaven on Earth includes director & choreographer Racky Plews – American Idiot (West End and Tour), Footloose (West End and Tour), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Tour), set designer Jacqueline Pyle – Robbie Williams (Take The Crown Tour), Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremony (UK), Take That (Progress Live Tour), and arranger Geoff Alexander – Harry Potter, Notting Hill, Conductor for Gravity.

For further details about Heaven on Earth go to www.heavenonearththemusical.co.uk

Follow Heaven on Earth:

Twitter: @heavenearthtour

Facebook: @heavenonearthtour

Heaven on Earth Tour  Dates

• Birmingham Barclaycard Arena 4 – 7 December 2017
• Cardiff Motorpoint Arena 15 – 18 Jan 2018
• Nottingham Motorpoint Arena 27 -30 Jan
• Leeds First Direct Arena 9th – 12 Feb
• Manchester Arena 22 – 25 Feb
• Sheffield Arena 7 – 10 March
• Edinburgh Royal Highland Centre 14 – 17 March
• Liverpool Echo Arena Liverpool 22 – 25 March
• Aberdeen AECC Arena 28 – 31 March
• Portsmouth Guildhall 4 – 7 April
• Newcastle Radio Metro Arena 11 – 14 April
• Glasgow Clyde Auditorium 18 – 21 April
• Exeter Westpoint Arena 26 – 29 April
• The SSE Arena, Wembley 9 – 12 May

ROMEO AND JULIET & TWELFTH NIGHT

By William Shakespeare

The Watermill Theatre

Part of York International Shakespeare Festival

York Theatre Royal is delighted to welcome the internationally acclaimed Watermill Theatre who will be visiting the city to be part of its International Shakespeare Festival, taking place citywide between 13 – 20 May 2017.

Based in a watermill in rural West Berkshire, The Watermill Theatre has become one of the very best producing theatres in the UK and has toured the world from Buenos Aires to Singapore. The company’s work ranges from Shakespeare and classic plays to new writing and their bold approach has led to the reimagining of large-scale musicals using actor-musicians, to breathe fresh life into familiar shows.

ROMEO AND JULIET,

16 May 7.30 pm, 17 May 2.30 pm, 20 May 7.30pm

A powerful and explosive new production of Shakespeare’s immortal tale of an all-consuming love. This ensemble production with live music, is directed by the company’s new artistic director Paul Hart, whose productions for The Watermill Theatre include, Great Expectations, Heroes, Journey’s End, The Tempest and who has directed for Propeller and The Donmar Warehouse.

TWELFTH NIGHT

18 May 7.30pm, 19 May 7.30pm, 20 May 2.30pm

A sparkling innovative production of Shakespeare’s timeless tale of shipwreck, seduction and mistaken identity. Re-imagined and transported to the 1920s during the Prohibition Era, the action is played out to a scintillating soundtrack of live jazz music, in the spirit of Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Django Reinhardt.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

ROMEO AND JULIET

16 May 7.30 pm, 17 May 2.30 pm, 20 May 7.30pm

TWELFTH NIGHT

18 May 7.30pm, 19 May 7.30pm, 20 May 2.30pm

Pre show talk 19 May, 7pm by Professor Judith Buchanan

TICKETS: £28 – £14 (Plus booking fee £1.50)

Book tickets for both shows and receive a £5 discount

By telephone: 01904 623568

online www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

York International Shakespeare Festival 13 – 20 May, Citywide

York International Shakespeare Festival

NATIVITY! THE MUSICAL AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE FOR CHRISTMAS

Leeds Grand Theatre is delighted to announce that it will host the World Premiere tour of Nativity! The Musical for its Christmas season this year.  The new musical will take to the stage from December 20^th to January 6^th.

Ian Sime, General Manager, said: “This is the production’s first outing and we have got it at Christmas; it could not be more perfect for us.”

The Nativity! film series is one of the most popular UK Christmas film franchises of recent years and its Bafta Award-winning writer and director, Debbie Issit, is also behind the stage production.

She said of this week’s cast announcement: “I am absolutely delighted to be working with this incredibly talented and hilariously funny musical theatre cast who are going to be brilliant in Nativity! The Musical. It truly will be an emotionally soaring, feel good experience with beautiful singing and amazing choreography.”

Daniel Boys (The Boys in the Band, Avenue Q, Spamalot) will play Paul Maddens, Sarah Earnshaw (Wicked, Scrooge, Spamalot) is Jennifer Lore and Simon Lipkin (Avenue Q, Rock of Ages, Guys and Dolls) is Mr Poppy.

Every child in every school has one Christmas wish, to star in a Nativity, and at St Bernadette’s School they’ve decided to mount a musical version; Mr Maddens and his crazy assistant Mr Poppy struggle with hilarious children, unruly animals and a whole lot of sparkle and shine to make everyone’s Christmas wish come true.

Featuring the favourite sing-a-long songs from the smash-hit films including Sparkle and Shine, Nazareth and One Night One Moment Nativity! The Musical promises to be the perfect feel-good Christmas comedy for all the family.

Nativity! The Musical is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Wednesday December 20^th 2017 to

Saturday 6^th January 2018

Tickets are on sale now priced from £20.50 to £46

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700

Winner of a Record-Breaking Nine Olivier Awards

Including Best New Play

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Parts One and Two

Will Open on Broadway

Spring of 2018 at the Lyric Theatre

www.HarryPotterThePlay.com

Sonia Friedman, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions, producers of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, have today confirmed that the production will have its Broadway premiere in the Spring of 2018 at the newly renovated Lyric Theatre in New York. As previously announced, the Lyric Theatre is currently undergoing a complete redesign and transformation in preparation for the North American premiere of the production.

The official opening will be on Sunday, April 22, 2018. Preview performances, casting and all further details will be announced in the coming months.

Tickets will go on sale in the Fall of this year via the official website only, and details of how and when tickets can be purchased will be released soon. Visit www.HarryPotterThePlay.com to sign up for the mailing list to stay up to date with the latest news and updates.

Last month, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child became the most awarded production in the history of Britain’s Olivier Awards, winning a record-breaking nine awards including Best New Play and Best Director. The production has won 22 major theatre awards in the UK since opening last July in London, including the Evening Standard Best Play Award.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne, directed by John Tiffany. The production is one play presented in two parts. Both parts are intended to be seen in order on the same day (matinee and evening) or on two consecutive evenings.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The critically acclaimed production received its world premiere in July 2016 at the Palace Theatre in London where it continues to play to sold out houses.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child features movement by Steven Hoggett, set by Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, music & arrangements by Imogen Heap, lighting byNeil Austin, sound by Gareth Fry, illusions & magic by Jamie Harrison, music supervision & arrangements by Martin Lowe.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions.

Pleasance Theatre 2 – 21 May.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Becoming Mohammed is a little gem of a play, tackling tricky issues with humour and integrity.

Tom (Jack Hammett) has converted to Islam and is soon to marry Aminah (Nadia Lamin). When his sister Sarah (Philippa Carson) turns up on his doorstep after 2 years, Tom just can’t find the right moment to tell her his news. Only after trying to force sausage rolls upon him does Sarah guess that he has become a Muslim. Her shock and bemusement at his choices is portrayed beautifully, with Sarah even wondering why he didn’t choose Scientology instead.

This subject could have been approached in a well-meant, po-faced manner, but writer Claudia Marinaro has based the play on director Annemiek van Elst’s own family’s experience when her brother converted to Islam, and it is full of great jokes, authentic sibling dynamics, and most importantly, love.

Tom, who changes his name to Mohammed during the play, is full of puppyish enthusiasm about his new life, but Sarah has seen his teenage fads come and go and is convinced that this is just another fleeting interest at first. Her own need to cling onto the past, rooting through boxes of memories and junk that their mother left them, makes her incredulity that Tom has moved on to a new life even more painful. As most siblings do, when they disagree, Tom and Sarah revert to toddler tantrums and neither will back down. These arguments are fantastic – petty, childish and instantly recognisable.

It is down to the thoroughly modern Aminah to sort out the warring pair. When Sarah rails about the sexism of praying separately, Aminah just calmly tells her that you need to choose your battles. Aminah and her brother Musa’s (Jonah Fazel) moderate approach to life is in stark contrast to Tom’s idealistic naivety. Musa and Aminah’s reactions to eggs and rocks thrown at the mosque is conciliatory, while Tom wants to retaliate. He begins a one-man mission to build bridges between the Muslim and surrounding communities without thinking through the consequences for Aminah and himself. The pragmatic Musa deals with the issue, choosing to risk his relationship with his sister rather than risking her safety. This gives Musa a bit of weight as a character, as he comes across as a sweeter, Muslim version of David Brent at times.

The discrimination and suspicion that Muslims face is laid bare in the second act, but Marinaro’s Muslim characters shrug off these situations and accept them as a fact of modern Western life. There are some extremely emotional and excruciatingly honest questions asked, and Marinaro doesn’t try to answer them, instead showing what can be achieved through mutual understanding and acceptance.

The set design and lighting are crisp and clean, with some fantastic pieces of nostalgia hiding in the plastic boxes lining the room. The cast are fantastic – Jack Hammett is full of energy and enthusiasm as Tom, and his petulant reactions to Sarah are very funny. Philippa Carson has some hysterical moments during their arguments, and keeps Sarah believable and vulnerable. Jonah Fazel’s light touch keeps Musa loveable, and Nadia Lamin shines as Aminah, giving her a feisty strength – she may wear a hijab, but the men can’t walk over her.

I really didn’t expect to be laughing so much about this subject matter, but this has obviously been a labour of love for Marinaro and van Elst, and the warmth and hope fills the theatre. Becoming Mohammed is a fantastic production that NEEDS to be seen by a wider audience.

Funnier than the black death! Spamalot is back in a brand-new production from Selladoor Productions and Mercury Theatre Colchester. Spamalot transfers from its critically acclaimed run in Colchester and will open on 11 September 2017 at Blackpool Opera House before embarking on a UK tour for 2017/2018 also visiting Korea in June as part of Selladoor Worldwide’s ongoing International strategy.

Lovingly ripped off from the hugely successful 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, this spammier than ever production is a riotous comedy full of misfit knights, killer rabbits, dancing nuns and ferocious Frenchmen. Join King Arthur as he travels with his hapless Knights of the Round Table on a divine mission to locate the illusive Holy Grail – with uproarious consequences.

Spamalot was the winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best New Musical, while it enjoyed a victorious West End run. This hilarious show is written by Python legend Eric Idle, who has been entertaining the British public for over 50 years. The funnyman also wrote the score alongside John DuPrez, famous for his work on Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life amongst a host of other big-name scores.

Selladoor’s recent tours include Footloose, American Idiot, Avenue Q and Little Shop of Horrors. With star cast to be announced, the company includes; Bob Harms, Sarah Harlington, Marc Akinfolarin, Norton James, Matthew Pennington and Gleanne Purcell-Brown.

Spamalot is directed by Daniel Buckroyd, designed by Sara Perks with choreography from Ashley Nottingham. Lighting is designed by David W Kidd and sound by Chris Bogg.

David Hutchinson, Executive Creative Producer for Selladoor Worldwide, said:

“We are delighted to be working with the Colchester Mercury to bring Spamalot on a comprehensive UK tour and exploring international touring opportunities, having secured Selladoor’s first production in Korea – hopefully to be followed by further international dates. Selladoor continue to strive to ensure high quality work made in producing regional houses meets the widest possible market, this nine month tour certainly shows the demand for this brilliant evening at the theatre”

With comic tunes including Brave Sir Robin, We’re Knights of the Round Table and perennial favourite Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, Spamalot audiences are sure to be dancing in the aisles. Don’t be a knight who says ‘No’ …. Grab your coconuts and gallop down to a venue near you to book your tickets today!

@SpamUkTour www.facebook.com/Spamalot-UK-Tour-2017-404657776564480/

Amy Gwilliam and Sophie Larsmon present:

Newcastle City Hall audiences have topped 115,000 in its first year under the management of Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust, and it will have received nearly a million pounds in investment by September 2017.

Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust, an independent charity, took over the management of the City Hall in April 2016 last year after region-wide austerity cuts saw it threatened with closure.

Since the merger, the Trust has earmarked a million pounds for improvements to the City Hall building and its facilities.  More dressing rooms have already been created to provide better accommodation for the artistes and this summer work will begin on a complete redevelopment of the basement, modernising and expanding the bar and more than doubling the provision of ladies toilets.  From September, the number of wheelchair spaces in the auditorium will be doubled and further improvements to access and facilities for disabled people are planned.  Plus, thanks to a generous donation from the Catherine Cookson Trust, the venue now has a state of the art sound and lighting rig which has drawn national attention.

Chief Executive of Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust, Philip Bernays, said: “This has been a very exciting year for the Theatre Royal and the City Hall and the new arrangement offers great promise.  Not only has the Theatre Royal had one of its best years ever, but we are continuing to build the audiences and programme at the City Hall.  Our aim continues to be to bring together the strengths of each, into an even bigger and better whole and ensure that both venues remain at the forefront of entertainment for the people of Newcastle and the North East.”

“When we took over management last year, the infrastructure of the City Hall was badly in need of updating.  We are already making significant improvements, and there is considerably more to come – we are currently looking at the feasibility of a major fundraising campaign for a multi-million pound refurbishment for the venue” added Philip.

As a charity, all investment by the Theatre Royal Trust in both venues comes from its own reserves, including surpluses from ticket sales, corporate sponsorship and support and fundraising activity.

Over the past year, the City Hall has presented 72 public performances alongside a number of private events, with attendances in excess of 115,000. Improvements will soon be very evident at all levels of the customer experience including brand new ladies and gents toilets and quicker service at the bars.

Chair of the Theatre Royal Trust Board, Bill Midgley OBE, said: “The City Hall has, in its time, been a major venue for music, the arts and the principal meeting venue in the city with provision for over two thousand people. Sadly it has suffered from a marked lack of investment in recent years and needs a major injection of resources to bring it back to its former standard. In addition to the £1 Million already committed, the Theatre Royal Trust is carrying out a full evaluation of the total work needed to ensure that the facilities will continue to attract the events, shows and attendances that have been the hall-mark of the past. Such investment is likely to be in the range of £3 to £4 Million with a time scale of three years or more.

He added: “We are determined to restore the Hall to its pride of place in the City, making good the neglect of the past and continuing to serve the people of the area as it has done so well in its existence. A building to be proud of.”

All tickets for City Hall and Theatre Royal shows are available from www.theatreroyal.co.uk, from the Theatre Royal Box office on Grey Street or call 08448 11 21 21 (Calls cost 7ppm plus your phone company’s access charge).