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OVERWELMING DEMAND BRINGS

CURIOUS INCIDENT BACK TO NEWCASTLE

 

The National Theatre’s multi award-winning production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is set to return to Newcastle Theatre Royal due to popular demand, following a sell-out visit in 2015.   Be mesmerised once again Tue 30 May – Sat 10 June 2017.

 

Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time received seven Olivier Awards in 2013 including Best New Play, Best Director, Best Lighting Design and Best Sound Design.  The show’s first phenomenally successful tour was seen by almost 400,000 people nationwide, continues to play to packed houses in the West End and is currently being rolled out to US shores.

 

The show tells the story of Christopher Boone, who is fifteen years old.  He stands beside Mrs Shears’ dead dog, which has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after midnight and Christopher is under suspicion. He records each fact in a book he is writing to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington.  He has an extraordinary brain, and is exceptional at maths while ill-equipped to interpret everyday life.  He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched and distrusts strangers.  But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that upturns his world.

 

 

National Theatre producer Kash Bennett said: ‘We were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic  reception from audiences around the UK and Ireland when we toured The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in 2014-15, and are delighted to be taking this beautiful and inventive show to new venues and making return visits to others.’

 

The production is directed by Marianne Elliott, an Associate Director of the National Theatre where her productions have included:Husbands and Sons, the record-breaking War Horse (co-directed with Tom Morris), The Light Princess, Port, Season’s Greetings, All’s Well that Ends Well, Harper Regan, Saint Joan (Olivier Award for Best Revival, South Bank Show Award for Theatre), and Pillars of the Community (Evening Standard Award for Best Director).  Marianne was consultant director on The Elephantom for the National Theatre and also directed Sweet Bird of Youth for the Old Vic with Kim Cattrall.   Marianne’s next show for the National Theatre is Angels in America which began rehearsals in January.

 

Mark Haddon is an author, illustrator and screenwriter who has written fifteen books for children and won two BAFTAs. His bestselling novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, was published simultaneously by Jonathan Cape and David Fickling in 2003. It won seventeen literary prizes, including the Whitbread Award. His poetry collection, The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea, was published by Picador in 2005, and his last novel, The Red House, was published by Jonathan Cape in 2012. His latest book is The Pier Falls, a collection of stories. He lives in Oxford.

 

Simon Stephens’ new translation of The Threepenny Opera, directed by Rufus Norris with Rory Kinnear as Macheath opened at the NT’s Olivier Theatre in 2016.  His other plays for the National Theatre include:  Port at the National Theatre’s Lyttelton Theatre , Harper Regan and On the Shore of the Wide World (co-production with Royal Exchange, Manchester: Olivier Award for Best New Play).  His many other plays include Carmen Disruption, Heisenberg,  Birdland, Blindsided, Three Kingdoms, Wastwater, Punk Rock, Seawall, Pornography, Country Music, Christmas and Herons; A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky (co-written with Robert Holman and David Eldridge); an adaptation of Jon Fosse’s I Am the Wind and Motortown.  His version of A Doll’s House for the Young Vic transferred to the West End and then New York in 2014. Simon is an Associate at the Lyric, Hammersmith and the Royal Court Theatre.

 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tue 30 May – Sat 10 June 2017 (Evenings: 7.30pm, Matinees: Wed 2pm (not 31 May) Thu 2pm and Sat 2.30pm). Tickets are from £14.50 and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 (Calls cost 7ppm plus your phone company’s access charge) or book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

 

Edinburgh Playhouse – until 22 April 2017

Fanny Brice, the real life performer and titular Funny Girl in Jule Styne’s 1966 Broadway musical, was a Jewish “ugly duckling”New Yorker in a sea of glamorous chorus dancers.

Funny looking and funny enough to raise a laugh, she carved her own niche and became famous as a comedian and singer. Telling the story of how Brice became the highest paid performer on all of Broadway, Funny Girl The Musical revolves around the charisma of its central character.

Very few have taken on this role since Barbra Streisand defined it in the 1964 Broadway production and subsequently in the much-loved film of the same name, but Sheridan Smith truly makes it her own – and with such style and class.  Brice’s charm and gift for playing the clown are written into the plot, but so is the underlying tension in her fairytale marriage to smooth-talking gambler Nicky Arnstein (played by Darius Campbell in Edinburgh and Chris Peluso on the rest of the tour).

Smith brings out the contradictions, the grim determination, the vulnerability and the gutsy aspects of Fanny Brice and she can do that with just a few facial expressions.  Her transformation from wide-eyed teenager to experienced star is a joy to watch. She captures beautifully the awkward juxtaposition of being loved on stage by thousands and being sat alone moments later.  Smith’s voice is beautiful, it aches with conviction. Her tremendous rendition of People is amazing and spine-tingly moving.. Her final big weepie, Don’t Rain on My Parade – reprised in her dressing room; her marriage in ruins at her feet – is both elegy and battle cry. .

Darius Campbell plays her absentee gambler husband Nick Arnstein with equal parts smugness and charm. Their relationship is something of a seesaw – when they first meet he is the big deal, the man with the money and the contacts. Soon, like most gamblers, he loses more than he wins and the balance shifts as Fanny’s star eclipses his.  There are some super interactions between the couple include their lovely and quite quirky duet You are woman, I am man

Rachel Izen is a delight as Fanny’s mum Mrs Brice and alongside Joshua Lay’s warm and charming performance as the her friend Eddie Ryan. Jennifer Harding’s Emma, Fanny’s aide, is a nicely understated performance

An 11 piece orchestra delivers with richness aplenty under the musical baton of Ben Van Tienen.  Filling the Playhouse auditorium with Chris Walker’s stunning orchestrations

Inevitably with the story of a rise to fame, romantic climax, then the murky disintegration of the marriage, the first half is exhilarating and the second is flatter. But it’s in the quiet tatters of the marriage that Smith brings out the steely strength beneath Brice’s comic bravado.

Michael Mayer’s sharp and thoughtful direction, along with the energy and joy of the entire cast means that this is a complete piece, not merely a vehicle for Smith, as wonderful as she is.  The colourful lighting design, by Mark Henderson, has an air of elegance about it that makes it feel so intimate and close. The understated but beautiful set, designed by Michael Pavelka, lends itself perfectly for making the performances the main focus.  Matthew Wright’s costumes are luscious, Brice’s wedding dress in Sadie Sadie is particularly beautiful

The cast all seem to be enjoying themselves which helps the audience enjoy the show too and Smith in particular, appears to be having a complete ball with the comedy aspects of the show

The show ends on the high of a rapturous well deserved standing ovation and proves that Sheridan Smith is truly “the greatest star”

York Theatre Royal – until 22 April.  Reviewed by Marcus Richardson

Oh My God, so Rent is the best thing I have seen in the history of my reviewing. The hit musical known for its song Seasons of Love is having its 20th anniversary tour of the UK and came to York Theatre Royal.

 

The musical set in New York City in the 1990s explores issues of homelessness and the AIDS epidemic, so you know there’s a lot of emotion involved with the story. The Main Characters are Mark and Roger, two men who live in a rundown flat unable to afford the rent. The whole plot is gripping funny and also devastating. The perfect balance of all 3 is what gives this musical the flare on top of the biggest most delicious cake you will ever see.

As far a acting goes I can’t even comprehend on how good the whole entire cast was from the main actors to the chorus/homeless people.  But I must shout out to the solo artist Jenny O’Leary in Seasons of Love who hit those whistle notes with pure force and perfection. One person who stole the show for me was Layton Williams who plays the drag queen Angel.  If that name sounds familiar it may be because of his role on Bad Education.  Drop all that at the door though, his stage presence and confidence on stage just blew me away, the song Today 4U was both amazing to watch with Williams dancing very well on stage whilst also delivering this amazing song.  The dance gave me bad anxiety watching because there were so many moments where one wrong move could mean a serious accident on stage, but he pulled this number off and throughout the rest of the show he just stood out.

 

I have to say that the person who played Maureen was unable to perform and her Understudy Christina Modestou was absolutely fantastic and if she is the understudy and can perform like that on stage it just blows you away for her dedication and ability to perform. But like I said the whole cast was amazing and everyone. Everyone. Was just perfect.

Another thing that just blew my mind was the stagecraft with the frames of building being moved on stage and the use of levels on the stage.  With everything looking urban and run down it took us to New York and set the feeling throughout the whole entire play – one of the best moments on how good the use of the set was just before the interval where they are about to celebrate Christmas and these Christmas lights come out and hang over the actors heads.

I cannot stress this enough, go and see this show, if you’re busy move your plans you don’t want to miss this. If it’s fully booked in York don’t worry it still touring, I would travel the length of the planet to go and see this again. This is one of the best things I have seen in my whole entire life and I’ve seen a lot of shows – this just blew everything out the water. Now go and watch this masterpiece now!

Grand Opera House York- until 22 April.  Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield bring their production of Dreamboats and Petticoats, a 50’s and 60’s inspired musical, to York.

It tells the story of teenager Bobby (Alisair Higgins), and how he was in a group, for all of 5 minutes, thanks to super cool Norman (Alastair Hill). We see unrequited love, and Bobby’s love of music and his experience of love and relationships with Laura (Elizabeth Carter), Sue (Laura Darton) and his best friend Ray (David Luke).

The set complimented the theme, covered in posters of the rock ‘n’ roll stars of the time. I particularly enjoyed the use of the dodgems, which made an appearance a couple of times during the show. Set changes were seamless with all the cast members facilitating this. It was all live music and the band, “The Conquests”, played on a platform in the background, as well as appearing centre stage for certain pieces. They were one of the highlights for me and had a lot of stage presence, especially Jay Osbourne on lead guitar.

Every one of the cast performed with passion and they all looked like they were having a ball, which is infectious and made it more enjoyable for the audience. They were certainly a multi-talented cast, singing, dancing, and acting through the whole show.

We are treated to over 40 songs from the era, most of which I had heard before, and had a few of the audience singing along to themselves, me included to a couple of tunes, I’m sad to say, especially if anyone has heard me sing before.

The biggest highlight for me were the 2 acapella performances that the whole cast delivered, they really showcased the talent of the whole cast, Palisades Park was just lovely.

Although a lot of the audience were of a certain age, and certainly seemed to enjoy their rock ‘n’ roll I would say it appeals to anyone who enjoys a bit of music and fun, and certainly by the end most of us were up singing and dancing along.

Showing in York until Saturday 22nd April.

The Other Palace 18 April – 27 May.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

The Other Palace continues in its mission to develop and showcase new musicals with the European premiere of Whisper House. Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow’s stunning musical ghost story is a truly haunting experience, and if future shows are of this calibre, then The Other Palace will surely be the most exciting venue in town.

Set in East Coast America in 1942, the quiet lives of lighthouse keeper Lily (Dianne Pilkington), her handyman Yasuhiro (Nicholas Goh) and the local sheriff (Simon Lipkin) are changed forever by the arrival of Lily’s nephew Christopher (Stanley Jarvis and Fisher Costello-Rose) and president Roosevelt’s executive order on enemy aliens. Then there’s the small matter of German U-boats. As the living dance haplessly through unspoken and forbidden loves and grief, they are watched and toyed with by two ghosts (Simon Bailey and Niamh Perry) seeking vengeance.

Everything about this production is right. The set, concentric descending circles, and beautifully eerie projections give the illusion of closeness, creating a chilling feeling of claustrophobia and entrapment. Speaking of illusions – the tricks the ghosts play on the living are wonderful touches and Richard Pinner’s illusions give the ghosts’ vindictiveness a playful, childish air.

Bailey and Perry are superb vocally and physically as the ghosts, bringing passion and otherworldliness to the stage. Lipkin is a hoot as the chain-smoking Sheriff, telling ghost stories to Christopher, and the tender moments shared by Pilkington, Goh and Jarvis are the heart of this ghostly tale of love and redemption. The seven-piece band are on stage, their playing, like the cast’s actions orchestrated by the ghosts. The score is fantastic – ranging from melancholic laments through jaunty playful mockery to bombastic full-blown rock numbers. Sheik definitely knows how to tell a story musically. Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Whisper House is a gloriously ghoulish production that will take your breath away. I urge you to see it.

THE BRIDGE OPENS

Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr announce the first productions

at the new Bridge Theatre, opening this October

London Theatre Company announces the first productions at its new Bridge Theatre, which opens this October on the river by Tower Bridge and City Hall.

The theatre opens on 26 October 2017 (previews from 18 October) with a new comedy, Young Marx by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman, directed by Nicholas Hytner with Rory Kinnear in the title role. This is followed in January by Julius Caesar, staged in promenade by Nicholas Hytner, with Ben Whishaw as Brutus. Then in April comes a new play, Nightfall, by rising playwright and novelist Barney Norris, directed by Laurie Sansom. Tickets for these three productions go on sale today (priority booking from 19 April, public booking opens 27 April) priced from £15 to £65 with a limited number of premium seats available[i].

From summer 2018, productions will include a new play by Lucinda Coxon based on the novel Alys, Always by Harriet Lane; a new play by Nina Raine about JS Bach, played by Simon Russell Beale; flatpack, a new play by John Hodge; The Black Cloud, a new play by Sam Holcroft from the novel by Fred Hoyle; andCarmen Havana, a version of Bizet’s opera by Lucy Prebble with choreography by Miguel Altunaga and directed by Nicholas Hytner.

London Theatre Company, which was founded by Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr on leaving the National Theatre after twelve years, will focus on the commissioning and production of new shows, as well as staging the occasional classic. At The Bridge, it will present four or five new productions year-round, playing Tuesday to Sunday, plus a Monday night programme which will include intimate gigs, the live recording of a new podcast series and conversations on food, fashion, politics and science.

Backed by a small group of senior Venture Capital investors, LTC’s raison d’être is to create a culture, ethos and economic model that supports writers, directors, designers and actors to work at scale in a space that is complementary to those of the subsidised theatre and West End. In time LTC hopes to open more theatres in London, to be able to host productions from the subsidised theatre, and to transfer its own productions to the West End and beyond.

LTC commissioned the new theatre from architect Steve Tompkins. He and his colleague Roger Watts at Haworth Tompkins have designed a 900-seat adaptable auditorium that can respond to shows with different formats, among them end-stage, thrust-stage and promenade (each of which will be used in the course of the opening three productions).

The Bridge is the first wholly new theatre of scale to be added to London’s commercial theatre sector in 80 years[ii], and the first to be built outside the historic West End. It has a stunning riverside location at the foot of Tower Bridge next to City Hall and is 5-10 minutes’ walk from the transport hub of London Bridge, whose new concourse opens onto Tooley Street in spring next year. The Bridge is situated in Berkeley Homes’ One Tower Bridge development amongst ten new restaurants opening this year[iii].

Haworth Tompkins, who won the Stirling Prize in 2014 for the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, collaborated frequently with Nick Starr and Nicholas Hytner at the National Theatre, including on the recent NT refurbishment, the Shed and NT Studio and also with Nick Starr on the Almeida’s two temporary theatres at King’s Cross and at Gainsborough Studios.

The Bridge auditorium is a collaboration between Haworth Tompkins, LTC and Tait Stage Technologies – winner of two Queen’s Awards for Export. It is made of precision-engineered steel with oak finishes in a modular construction – a first of its kind – which also incorporates the air conditioning, house lights, power and data

Nicholas Hytner said: “We want to make bold popular theatre. We’ve commissioned ambitious plays that reach out to embrace the audience, and we’ve built an environment for them that is exciting, welcoming and flexible: a theatre that can be changed to suit the show. We reckon that London needs new theatres, designed for the shows that people make in the 21^st century and the expectations that audiences have for a really good night out.”

Nick Starr said: “After the National Theatre, it was time for something new and scary. London is a brilliant city for making and seeing theatre, evidenced by the 25% increase in audiences over the last fifteen years. We think there’s room for a new independent on the scene, driven by both a mission and a bottom line. We hope that will resonate with artists and audiences, and are hugely looking forward to welcoming them to The Bridge.”

 

^[1] A special allocation of £15 seats will be held for Young Bridge, a free scheme for those under 26

^[2] “No entirely new theatre has been built on a wholly commercial basis since the Prince of Wales in 1937.” Act Now! Modernising London’s West End Theatres, a report by The Theatres Trust 2003, page 10.

^[3] The restaurants thus far confirmed are: The Ivy, Tom Simmons, The Coal Shed and Rosa’s Thai

Productions

October – December 2017

 

Nicholas Hytner directs the opening production with Rory Kinnear as

YOUNG MARX

in the world premiere of a new comedy by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman

1850, and Europe’s most feared terrorist is hiding in Dean Street, Soho. Broke, restless and horny, the thirty-two-year-old revolutionary is a frothing combination of intellectual brilliance, invective, satiric wit, and child-like emotional illiteracy.

Creditors, spies, rival revolutionary factions and prospective seducers of his beautiful wife all circle like vultures. His writing blocked, his marriage dying, his friend Engels in despair at his wasted genius, his only hope is a job on the railway. But there’s still no one in the capital who can show you a better night on the piss than Karl Heinrich Marx.

 

Rory Kinnear plays Marx and Oliver Chris, Engels. The production reunites the creative team behind Richard Bean’s smash hit One Man, Two Guvnors, with direction by Nicholas Hytner, design by Mark Thompson, music by Grant Olding, lighting by Mark Henderson and sound by Paul Arditti.

The run is from 18 October (opening night Thursday 26 October) until 31 December 2017.

The show will be broadcast on National Theatre Live in December.

January – April 2018

David Calder, Michelle Fairley, David Morrissey and Ben Whishaw in

JULIUS CAESAR

by William Shakespeare, directed by Nicholas Hytner in promenade

Caesar returns in triumph to Rome and the people pour out of their homes to celebrate. Alarmed by the autocrat’s popularity, the educated élite conspire to bring him down. After his assassination, civil war erupts on the streets of the capital. 

 

Nicholas Hytner’s production will be in promenade, thrusting its audience into the street party that greets Caesar’s return, the congress that witnesses his murder, the rally that assembles for his funeral and the chaos that explodes in its wake. Ben Whishaw and Michelle Fairley play Brutus and Cassius, leaders of the coup, David Calder plays Caesar and David Morrissey is Mark Antony, who brings Rome back under control after the conspirators’ defeat.

With seating wrapped around the action, there will also be 250 promenading tickets at £25 available in advance for each performance. The production designer is Bunny Christie, with costumes by Christina Cunningham, music by Nick Powell, lighting by Bruno Poet and sound by Paul Arditti.

The run is from 20 January (opening night Tuesday 30 January) until 15 April 2018.

The show will be broadcast on National Theatre Live in March 2018.

April to June 2018

 

Laurie Sansom to direct the world premiere of Barney Norris’s

NIGHTFALL

“Remember the name Barney Norris. He’s a new writer in his twenties, but already outstanding.” The Times

On a farm outside Winchester, Ryan struggles to make a living off the land. His sister Lou has returned home after the death of their father to support Jenny, their formidable mother. Not so long ago, when a neighbour’s Labrador strayed onto the farm, their dad reached for his shotgun. Now, when Lou’s boyfriend Pete reappears, flush with money from his job at an oil refinery, Jenny fights to hold her children to the life she planned for them.

“Everything he writes about love, loss, grief, desolation, and moments of hope and illumination rings absolutely true.”
Michael Frayn

The run is from 28 April (opening night Tuesday 8 May) until 3 June 2018.

From summer 2018:

ALYS, ALWAYS

A new play by Lucinda Coxon based on the novel by Harriet Lane. Nicholas Hytner directs an unsettling story of concealed ambition preying on the self-regard of London’s literary élite.

FLATPACK

A new dark comedy by John Hodge, screenwriter of Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, his first play sinceCollaborators at the National Theatre.

A NEW PLAY ABOUT JS BACH

Simon Russell Beale plays JS Bach in Nina Raine’s new play.

THE BLACK CLOUD

A new play by Sam Holcroft, from the 1957 novel by Fred Hoyle, “one of the greatest works of science fiction ever written” Richard Dawkins.

 

CARMEN HAVANA

based on the opera by Georges Bizet

Lucy Prebble locates the famous story of liberation, desire and death in 1950s Cuba. Directed by Nicholas Hytner with choreography by Miguel Altunaga.

Biographies

Nicholas Hytner was Director of the National Theatre from 2003 to 2015, where the productions he directed included The History Boys, Hamlet, One Man, Two Guvnors, and Othello. His films include The Madness of King George. His book Balancing Acts is published by Jonathan Cape on 27 April.

Nick Starr CBE was Executive Director of the NT from 2002 to 2014, and previously of the Almeida Theatre 1997-2001. He has chaired the boards of BAC and the Bush Theatre.

Richard Bean’s most recent plays include The Hypocrite (which has just completed a run at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre and Hull Truck Theatre), Kiss Me, The Nap and Toast. His other writing includes Made in Dagenham, Great Britain, The Mentalists and Pitcairn.  He adapted David Mamet’sHouse of Games and wrote a new version of The Hypochondriac both for the Almeida Theatre. Nicholas Hytner directed Bean’s internationally award-winning play One Man, Two Guvnors which in 2011 was the recipient of the Evening Standard Award for Best Play alongside his play The Heretic, making Bean the first writer to win the award for two plays in the same year. Bean’s play Kiss Me will transfer from Hampstead Theatre to the Trafalgar Studios in June.

Clive Coleman is a barrister turned BBC News Legal Correspondent who is also an award-winning comedy and sitcom writer. His television comedy credits include Spitting Image and Dead Ringers, though he is perhaps best known for Chambers, his hit Radio 4 and BBC1 sitcom about barristers starring John Bird and Sarah Lancashire. A regular contributor to Weekending and The News Huddlines, Coleman also wrote the Radio 4 sitcoms Hair In The Gate starring Alistair McGowan and Rebecca Front and Spending My Inheritance starring Kris Marshall and Kenneth Cranham. He wrote the radio comedy Control Group 6with Richard Bean, and they collaborated on Great Britain for the National Theatre, directed by Nicholas Hytner.

David Calder was last on stage in The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures at Hampstead Theatre. His other theatre credits include The Nether at Duke of York’s Theatre, The Audience at the Apollo Theatre, The Doctor’s Dilemma and Hamlet at the National Theatre,King Lear at Shakespeare’s Globe, Rock ‘n’ Roll at Duke of York’s Theatre, Five Gold Rings at the Almeida,The Drawer Boy at the Abbey Dublin, The Little Foxes at the Donmar Warehouse, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, Moscow Gold for the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Priceand Othello for The Young Vic.

Oliver Chris is reunited with Nicholas Hytner following their work on Great Britain and One Man, Two Guvnors, both for the National Theatre where he can currently be seen in Twelfth Night. His other theatre credits include King Charles III for the Almeida Theatre and in the West End, Closer at the Donmar Warehouse, Women, Power and Politics at the Tricycle Theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, Cyrano at the Royal Exchange Theatre and The Importance of Being Earnest at the Theatre Royal Northampton.

Lucinda Coxon‘s plays include Herding Cats at the Theatre Royal Bath and Hampstead Theatre, The Eternal Not for the National Theatre, the award-winning Happy Now for the National Theatre, Yale Rep and Primary Stages New York, Nostalgia and Vesuvius for the South Coast Repertory Theater, Improbabilitiesfor Soho Poly, Wishbones, Waiting at the Water’s Edge for the Bush Theatre. Her plays for National Theatre Connections include What Are They Like?, The Shoemaker’s Incredible Wife from Federico García Lorca andThe Ice Palace from Tarjei Vesaas.  She has commissions for new work from the National Theatre and Yale Rep.

Michelle Fairley was last seen on stage in Splendour for the Donmar Warehouse for which she also appeared in Othello and The Wild Duck. Her other theatre credits include Oleanna, Remembrance Day andLoyal Women for the Royal Court, The Weir also for the Royal Court and on Broadway, Dancing at Lughnasa at the Old Vic, Huis Clos and Gates of Gold at the Trafalgar Studios and Scenes from the Big Picture at the National Theatre.

After graduating in Medicine at Edinburgh University, John Hodge practised as a doctor before turning to screenwriting. His first screenplay was Shallow Grave. His scripts since then include Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach, The Sweeney, Trance, The Program, and T2:Trainspotting. He has written one play, Collaborators.

Sam Holcroft’s stage version of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox opened at Nuffield Theatre, Southampton for Christmas 2016 before transferring to the Lyric Hammersmith and followed by a UK tour.  Her other plays include Rules for Living, Edgar and Annabel – part of Double Feature 1, for the National Theatre, The Wardrobe for National Theatre Connections, Dancing Bears for Clean Break at Soho Theatre and Latitude Festival, While You Lie at the Traverse Theatre, Pink for the Tricycle Theatre, Vanya, adapted from Chekhov, at The Gate and Cockroach – co-produced by the National Theatre of Scotland and the Traverse Theatre.  Holcroft wrote a libretto, The House Taken Over, for the Festival d’Aix en Provence and Académie Européenne de Musique.  She was the Writer-in-Residence at the National Theatre Studio from 2013-14 and was the Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Traverse Theatre in 2009-10.  In 2014 she was a recipient of the Windham Campbell Prize for Literature in the Drama category, and in 2009 she won the Tom Erhardt Playwriting Award for up and coming writers.

Multi-award winning Rory Kinnear was last on stage in The Threepenny Opera at the National Theatre, where he has previously collaborated with Nicholas Hytner on Othello, Hamlet, The Man of Mode andSouthwark Fair. Also for the National he has been seen in The Last of the Haussmans, Burnt by the Sun,The Revenger’s Tragedy and Phillistines. For the Royal Shakespeare Company his credits include The Taming of the Shrew and Cymbeline. His other theatre credits include Mary Stuart at the Donmar Warehouse and the Apollo Theatre, The Trial at the Young Vic, Measure for Measure at the Almeida andFesten at the Lyric Theatre. Kinnear is also an award-winning playwright for his debut play The Herd and this year made his directorial debut with the English National Opera’s production of A Winter’s Tale.

Before the 2012 publication of her debut novel Alys, Always, Harriet Lane wrote for the Guardian, the Observer, Vogue and Tatler. Alys, Always was a You Book Club choice, longlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and shortlisted for the Writers’ Guild Best Fiction Book award. Her second novel Herwas published in June 2014 and was a Waterstones Book Club pick for spring 2015.

David Morrissey’s most recent theatre credits include Hangmen at the Royal Court and subsequently Wyndham’s Theatre, Macbeth for the Liverpool Everyman, In a Dark Dark House for the Almeida Theatre,Three Days of Rain for the Donmar Warehouse, Peer Gynt for the National Theatre, The Cabinet Minister at the Royal Exchange, Manchester and El Cid and WC/PC for the Liverpool Playhouse. For the Royal Shakespeare Company his credits are King John, Henry VI, Edward IV and Richard III.

Upon graduating from university Barney Norris founded Up In Arms Theatre Company, of which he is the co-artistic director. 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 areEventide, 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, will be 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.

Lucy Prebble is a writer for film, television, games and theatre. Her last play, The Effect, a study of love and neuroscience, was performed at the National Theatre and won the Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Play. She also wrote ENRON, which transferred to the West End and Broadway after sell-out runs at both the Royal Court and Chichester Festival Theatre. Her first play, The Sugar Syndrome won her the George Devine Award. For television, she is the creator of the TV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl for ITV and has just made a pilot TV episode for HBO starring Sarah Silverman. She has written a column for the Observer newspaper on technology and was Head Scene Writer for Bungie’s massive first person shooter, Destiny. She is now working on a new TV series starring Billie Piper.

Nina Raine’s debut play Rabbit (Old Red Lion, Trafalgar Studios, 59E59 New York) won her the Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards for Most Promising Playwright. Her last play for the Royal Court,Tribes also ran in New York at the Barrow Street Theatre for one year, where it won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play and the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Play. Tribes has also been produced in LA, Chicago, throughout Europe and the rest of the world, and has been translated into more than ten different languages. Her latest play, Consent, is currently playing at the National Theatre. Raine is also an award-wining director.

Simon Russell Beale has worked extensively for both the National Theatre where his most recent credits include King Lear, Timon of Athens, Collaborators, London Assurance, A Slight Ache and Major Barbara and the Royal Shakespeare Company where his multiple credits include The Tempest, King Lear, Ghosts,Richard III, The Seagull, Edward II and Troilus & Cressida. His other theatre credits include Mr Foote’s Other Leg at Hampstead Theatre and the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Temple, The Philanthropist, Uncle Vanya andTwelfth Night all for the Donmar Warehouse, The Hothouse at the Trafalgar Studios, Privates On Parade at the Noel Coward Theatre, The Cherry Orchard and The Winter’s Tale at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, world tour and at the Old Vic, Monty Python’s Spamalot at the Palace Theatre and in New York, Julius Caesar at the Barbican and internationally, Macbeth for the Almeida Theatre, Jumpers at the Piccadilly Theatre and in New York and Humble Boy at the Gielgud Theatre.

As Chief Executive/Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland Laurie Sansom directed Rona Munro’s The James Plays which were co-presented by the Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre of Great Britain and toured the world. Sansom was previously Artistic Director of Royal & Derngate, Northampton, where he directed the UK premiers of Tennessee Williams’ Spring Storm and Eugene O’Neill’s Beyond The Horizon and The Festival of Chaos for London 2012. He was also Alan Ayckbourn’s Associate Director at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.

Ben Whishaw was last seen on stage in The Crucible at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway. His other theatre credits include Bakkhai for the Almeida Theatre, Mojo at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Peter and Aliceat the Noël Coward, The Pride at the Lucille Lortel Theatre off Broadway, Cock at the Royal Court, Leaves of Glass at the Soho Theatre, Mercury Fur for Paines Plough and Hamlet at the Old Vic, as well as The Seagull, Some Trace of Her and His Dark Materials all for the National Theatre, the latter directed by Nicholas Hytner.

Pop-Up Opera: Summer Season 2017

Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto

Thursday 18th May – Sunday 30th July 2017

This summer, Pop-Up Opera return with a rarely-seen opera from the late eighteenth century, Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto (The Secret Marriage). Continuing to challenge the way opera is traditionally performed, Pop-Up Opera take their productions into unusual spaces, making them fun, fresh and intimate.

Il Matrimonio Segreto tells the tale of a rich Italian businessman as he attempts to marry off one of his daughters to a mad English toff with disastrous results. Packed with tunes and matrimonial mayhem, this exciting story about following your heart makes for a perfect summer opera filled with Pop-up Opera’s special humour, sparkle and fun.

The opera’s premiere in Vienna was the occasion of the longest encore in operatic history; Leopold II was so delighted that he ordered supper served to the company and the entire opera repeated immediately after!

Commenting on this rarely performed production, director Max Hoehn says, Il Matrimonio Segreto is a wonderful explosion of anarchy with ensembles that fizz and an array of larger-than life, eccentric characters. Cimarosa’s music will be unknown to the vast majority of UK audiences and Pop-Up Opera’s rough-and-tumble touring approach makes for a lively marriage.

Artistic Director, Clementine Lovell, comments, We love the idea of bringing to life an opera which is rarely performed, and making it our own. We are excited to be working with Max Hoehn, who was recently named Best Young Director at the International Opera Awards, and whose staging has been described as ‘brilliantly alive’. He’s a perfect choice in our mission to keep making opera relevant and highly entertaining for a modern audience.

With their signature ‘Silent Movie’ captions that add another layer to the performance, Pop-Up Opera skilfully adapt their operas to each individual venue, making every performance unique, while always maintaining the highest standards. The combination of amazing venues, along with an informal atmosphere and engaging productions, offers a greater connection to the singers and the music, something even seasoned opera-goers often miss.

RUTH RENDELL’S

A JUDGEMENT IN STONE

STARRING ANDREW LANCEL, SOPHIE WARD, MARK WYNTER, DEBORAH GRANT,

SHIRLEY ANNE FIELD, ANTONY COSTA and BEN NEALON

ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY SIMON BRETT and ANTONY LAMPARD

DIRECTED BY ROY MARSDEN

 

Adapted from one of the most celebrated works of the writer often hailed as the successor to Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell’s A Judgement In Stone is at Leeds Grand Theatre next week for one week only.

Rendell was first published in 1964 and was awarded a CBE in 1996. Her prolific output included film and TV as well as 80 novels and one of the genre’s most famous characters, Chief Inspector Wexford. Widely considered to be one of Rendell’s greatest works, A Judgement in Stone is loved for its brilliant rendering of character, plot and motive, and is undoubtedly Rendell at her thrilling best.

Eunice struggles to fit in. When she joins a wealthy family as their housekeeper the very reason for her awkwardness, long hidden and deeply buried, leads inexorably to a terrible tale of murder in cold blood – on Valentine’s Day. Ruth Rendell’s brilliant plot unravels a lifetime of deceit, despair and cover-ups which, when revealed, brings a shocking revelation almost as grizzly as murder itself.

The star cast includes award winning TV and stage favourite ANDREW LANCEL best known to TV audiences for his portrayal of villainous business man Frank Foster in Coronation Street, winning Villain of the Year in the British Soap Awards, and as DI Neil Manson in over 300 episodes of The Bill.

Andrew is joined by SOPHIE WARD who played the beautiful, ill-fated love interest of Young Sherlock Holmes and Dr Helen Trent in long-running ITV drama Heartbeat.

Pop-idol MARK WYNTER made his professional debut as a recording artist and went on to have nine Top 20 singles, including Venus in Blue Jeans and Go Away Little Girl. He has also enjoyed an acting career that has spanned nearly 50 years, appearing on radio, television, film and stage where he has featured in seven Agatha Christie Company productions.

DEBORAH GRANT has starred in the BBC’s Not Going Out, Bergerac and Roger, Roger.

Movie icon SHIRLEY ANNE FIELD has had a long and successful career. Her breakthrough role came when she got the part of Tina the Beauty Queen opposite Sir Laurence Oliver in The Entertainer. Her role as Doreen in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning soon followed, with her next role as the female lead in the Hollywood title The War Lover opposite Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner.

ANTONY COSTA shot to fame in chart topping boy band Blue in early 2000 becoming a huge commercial success in the United Kingdom and many other countries, selling 15 million records worldwide to date. On Stage Antony has starred in the lead role of Mickey Johnstone in the West End production of the long-running musical Blood Brothers and was last at The Grand Theatre in Save the Last Dance for me in 2016.

 

A Judgement In Stone is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Monday 24^th to Saturday 29^th April

Tickets are priced from £19.50 to £36

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

Newcastle Theatre Royal – until 22 April.  Reviewed by Andrew Bramfitt

Stunning evening leaving everyone out of breath and that was just the audience

Firstly let me confess, I’ve not been a ‘Strictly’ fanatic, sure I knew of it and probably, like many of the millions of viewers, I watched mainly to see which celebrity was being put through their paces and trying to lose their usual persona. Likewise, despite having two daughters who spent years going to dance classes I doubt I’d be able to tell the difference between a Pasadoble from a Chicken Passanda so the chance to go and see Keep Dancing at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal was as much education as it was entertainment.

Boasting a cast of super fit and talented dancers and backed by singing duet Harriet Mullen and Adam Warmington, Keep Dancing brings a hyper energetic look into modern and contemporary ballroom and Latin dance which, after just the first number, leaves the audience more out of breath than the dancers themselves. Brilliantly choreographed by Emma Rogers and Robin Windsor to incorporate easily recognised pop, traditional Latina and Spanish and some very modern interpretation, each number aims to surpass the previous for style and energy. Themed sections include Glenn Miller Jive, Showtunes, Disco and South American.

Guesting on this tour are Strictly superstars Katya Jones, Neil Jones and Robin Windsor, 3 performers for whom the term ‘dancer’ just isn’t enough to do justice to their talents. Following routines so complex that they would test a super computer, they manage to imbibe each number with passion, humour, tragedy and pathos, creating a miniature play within the 3 or 4 minutes on stage. Each have a tremendous pedigree and clearly enjoy bringing their own characters to the fore – playful, sultry, sexy and powerful.

Costumes are, as one would expect, bright, flamboyant and very sparkly. The guys’ shirts seem to all miss most of their buttons (meaning they are open to the waist) whilst the girls frocks are, in the interests of safety, short and tight to avoid any trip hazards – at least that’s what I told my niece when she asked why they were so revealing.

Harriet and Adam deliver a good background of live singing. Sure, there are some numbers which have clearly been chosen for the dance routine rather than being a great song to sing but having live backing adds an extra layer to the evening.

As always, Newcastle Theatre Royal and the FOH team deliver a great theatre experience, brilliant sight lines and an inclusive evening for everyone.