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Full Cast announced for new production of Patrick Marber’s play The Red Lion at Live Theatre, Newcastle

Thursday 6 April to Saturday 6 May 2017

A Live Theatre Production
The Red Lion

Written by Patrick Marber
Directed by Max Roberts

Designed by Patrick Connellan
Starring Stephen Tompkinson, John Bowler and Dean Bone

Live Theatre’s new production of The Red Lion written by Patrick Marber, which runs at the Newcastle quayside based theatre from Thursday 6 April to Saturday 6 May 2017, has now been fully cast.

Stephen Tompkinson, well known for his TV appearances as DCI Banks, and who previously appeared at Live Theatre as the lead in Faith & Cold Reading, is re-united with Harrigan co-star John Bowler. John started his TV career in the film Ha’way the Lads playing Sunderland footballer Jimmy Seed. He then went on to feature in Auf Wiedersehen Pet and has since starred in The Bill, EastEnders and Coronation Street. John, who grew up in Newcastle, will be making his first appearance at Live Theatre. They will be joined by up and coming actor Dean Bone cast as the young football player, Jordan. Dean, originally from Gateshead, has had lead roles in Live Theatre’s recent productions The Savage and The Terminal Velocity of Snowflakes having started in Live’s Youth Theatre.

Stephen Tompkinson, actor, said:

“Performing at Live Theatre in Shaun Prendergast’s Faith & Cold Reading, was one of the best experiences in my career. I am delighted to be back at Live Theatre, in Patrick Marber’s brilliant play The Red Lion.”

John Bowler, actor, said:

“I was attracted to the part of Yates by Max Roberts, Steven Tompkinson, Patrick Marber and football – not necessarily in that order!  I have always been a fan of Live Theatre and the work Max has created over the years so to be invited to work with him opposite the wonderful Stephen Tompkinson in this brilliant play by Patrick Marber proved irresistible!”

Dean Bone added:

“It’s always an absolute privilege to work at Live Theatre. I cannot wait to get started on a project about football, something I feel passionately about. And working with two excellent, experienced professional actors such as Stephen Tompkinson and John Bowler is something any young actor would jump at the chance at!”

Max Roberts, Artistic Director, Live Theatre said:

“I am delighted to be working with Patrick Marber, directing his play The Red Lion. I am also pleased to welcome back Stephen Tompkinson to Live Theatre’s stage, and to have cast alongside him well-established actor John Bowler who will be making his first appearance here, and rising talent Dean Bone who has starred in two recent Live Theatre productions having started here in Live’s Youth Theatre.”

The Red Lion had its critically acclaimed first run at the National Theatre in 2015

Patrick Marber, writer of The Red Lion said:

“I am thrilled to be making my Live Theatre debut. It’s been a great and exciting opportunity to revise the play with Max Roberts at the helm. I’m greatly looking forward to seeing this version of the play in Newcastle.”

Set in the ultra-competitive twilight world of semi-professional football, The Red Lion is a powerful, funny and touching drama that reaches beyond the beautiful game, exploring contrasting ideas about loyalty, ambition and what it takes to win, from three different generations.  If you thought that badge-kissing mercenaries, wide-boy agents and dodgy deals were confined to the Premier League, think again.

‘Marber’s dressing room drama is a remarkable three-hander about a sport he clearly knows intimately’ ★★★★ The Guardian

‘a triumph’ The Telegraph

Patrick Marber will take part in a free Meet the Writer talk after the 2pm performance on Saturday 8 April, in which he will discuss the writing of the play and adapting it for Newcastle, along with Live Theatre’s Artistic Director, Max Roberts. Free, booking essential.

Live Theatre is fully accessible and offers a range of additional assisted interpretation at specific performances of The Red Lion aimed at improving the theatre experience for all audience members. These include British Sign Language Interpretation at the performance on Wednesday 26 April, 7.30pm, Captioning on Thursday 27 April, 7.30pm and Audio Description on Saturday 6 May, 2pm.  A Free Touch Tour on Saturday 6 May, 1pm is a ‘hands on’ tour of the set describing props, costumes, characters and the visual style of the show ahead of the performance with additional audio description especially for visitors with visual impairments.

The 2pm matinee on Thursday 27 April is designated as a Relaxed Performance which allows a more laid back approach to noise or movement from the audience, with audience members being able to leave and come back in again and don’t have to be quiet. This is suitable for young people with special educational needs, or anyone who many benefit from a more relaxed environment.  These services are offered at no extra cost for service users. Performances with extra interpretation should not affect the performance for other audience members, although Relaxed performances may have more noise and movement from other audience members.

The Red Lion is suitable for ages 16+ and is at Live Theatre, Newcastle from Thursday 6 April to Saturday 6 May 2017. Tickets for The Red Lion cost between £10 and £26 with concessions from £6. For more information or to book tickets visit www.live.org.uk or contact Live Theatre’s box office on (0191) 232 1232.

Sonia Friedman Productions, Neal Street Productions

& Royal Court Theatre Productions present

The Ferryman

By Jez Butterworth

Directed by Sam Mendes

• Jez Butterworth’s new play, directed by Sam Mendes, to transfer to the Gielgud Theatre from the Royal Court for 16 weeks from 20 June.

• Paddy Considine is confirmed to play the part of Quinn Carney within a cast of 23 and he will be joined by Laura Donnelly in the role of Caitlin Carney and Genevieve O’Reilly in the role of Mary Carney.

• The Ferryman is the fastest selling play in the history of the Royal Court Theatre.

• Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday 10 February at 9am.

• Over 20,000 tickets for the West End run will be on sale at less than £25, with tickets at all performances from just £12. All tickets for previews will be at reduced prices.

After the short run at the Royal Court Theatre sold out in just one day, the producers are delighted to announce that Jez Butterworth’s epic, new play The Ferryman will transfer to the West End. Multi award-winning actor, director and writer Paddy Considine will be joined by Laura Donnelly and Genevieve O’Reilly in the production directed by Sam Mendes. The cast will also include Bríd Brennan, Turlough Convery, Fra Fee, Tom Glynn-Carney, Stuart Graham, Gerard Horan, Carla Langley, Des McAleer, Conor MacNeill, Rob Malone, Dearbhla Molloy, Eugene O’Hare and Niall Wright with further casting to be announced. The full company comprises 38 performers: 18 main adults, 7 covers, 12 children on rota and 1 baby.

Rural Derry, 1981. The Carney farmhouse is a hive of activity with preparations for the annual harvest.  A day of hard work on the land and a traditional night of feasting and celebrations lie ahead. But this year they will be interrupted by a visitor.

The Ferryman will run at the Gielgud Theatre for 16 weeks from 20 June – 7 October with an opening night on 29 June. Tickets go on sale to priority bookers on Wednesday 8 February and the Box Office opens for general on-sale on Friday 10 February at 9am.

Developed by Sonia Friedman Productions, the premiere of The Ferryman is co-produced with Neal Street Productions and Royal Court Theatre Productions.  The West End production will follow the run at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs which begins 24 April 2017, with an opening night on 3 May.  Jez Butterworth, whose plays include Jerusalem, Mojo and The River, previously collaborated with Sam Mendes on the scripts for Spectre and Skyfall from the Bond franchise. The Ferryman will be the sixth of Butterworth’s plays to be premiered at the Royal Court Theatre and marks his fourth collaboration with Sonia Friedman Productions.

Sonia Friedman, on behalf of Sonia Friedman Productions, Neal Street Productions and Royal Court Theatre Productions said: “We are delighted that we have made it possible to transfer Jez Butterworth’s new play The Ferryman, which will move to the Gielgud Theatre almost immediately after its run at the Royal Court Theatre finishes. 

When it first went on sale at the Court, it sold out in record time. It became clear to us even then that there was a far larger demand to see the play than the Court run could ever accommodate. We have therefore worked at speed to find the production another home as quickly as possible, which is no mean feat, and we are very grateful to the company for helping us make this happen. 

It is thrilling to know that wider audiences will now have a chance to see this extraordinary new work from one of our most important writers. The scope, scale and ambition of Jez’s new play deserves this opportunity and I am delighted that together with Royal Court Theatre Productions and Neal Street Productions we are in the privileged position to make it happen.”

The Ferryman is directed by Sam Mendes, designed by Rob Howell, with lighting by Peter Mumford, and music and sound by Nick Powell.

GREAT STAND-UP COMEDY AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

***Sean Lock** Count Arthur Strong***Joel Dommett***Jon Richardson***

Not content with bringing the West End to West Yorkshire, hosting World Premieres (Fat Friends The Musical, Casanova), welcoming award-winning drama (National Theatre Productions) and being on the map brand new UK tours (Nativity! The Musical) Leeds Grand Theatre is set to welcome some great comedy to its stage this year in the coming months.

8 Out Of 10 Cats team captain Sean Lock returns to the Grand next month with his show Keep It Light.

Sean’s stand-up is a blend of a finely-tuned hyperactive imagination, surreal imagery and insightful observations on the human condition.

Over the last twenty years Sean has toured extensively with shows including: Lockipedia and Purple Van Man and has regularly been on TV; his cult classic BBC2 sitcom 15 Storeys High was critically adored.

Sean Lock is at The Grand Theatre on Sunday 26^th and Monday 27^th March. Tickets are £27.

Count Arthur Strong is a much-loved character created by Steve Delaney, who coincidentally worked at Leeds Grand Theatre as a stage hand back in the 70s.  The Grand look forward to welcoming him back some 40 years on with his show The Sound of Mucus.

Count Arthur Strong is at The Grand on Sunday 9^th April. Tickets are £22 – £27.50.

Not a month later and I’m A Celebrity’s runner-up 2016 brings his solo show to Leeds:  Joel Dommett: LIVE

Joel has received great critical acclaim for his Edinburgh Fringe shows from where he went on to appear in numerous television shows including Impractical Jokers (BBC3), Reality Bites (ITV2), Russell Howard’s Good News (BBC), Drunk History (Comedy Central), Popatron (BBC2) and Skins (E4) but it is last year’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here that brought him to the fore for many.

Catch Joel Dommett at The Grand on Sunday April 30^th. Tickets are £22.

Hot on Joel’s heels is the other 8 Out Of 10 Cats team captain Jon Richardson with his hotly-anticipated new stand-up tour The Old Man.

An avid supporter of Leeds United, Leeds looks forward to welcoming him back.

Jon Richardson is at The Grand On Sunday 14^th May. Tickets are £24.50.

All tickets are on sale now and are available online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or by calling Box Office on 0844 848 2700

Swipe Right Theatre and the King’s Head Theatre present:

• NEWSIES, THE TONY® AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY MUSICAL WILL PLAY CINEMAS ON 19 FEBRUARY IN THE UK, GERMANY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
• PRODUCED BY DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS AND DISTRIBUTED BY ARTS ALLIANCE DISTRIBUTION LTD, NEWSIES WILL BE RELEASED IN THE US ON 16 FEBRUARY AND IN OTHER COUNTRIES ON OR AFTER 22 FEBRUARY
• BASED ON THE 1992 FILM, NEWSIES BECAME DISNEY’S SINGLE MOST REQUESTED TITLE TO BE ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE

Audiences will be able to experience the Tony® Award-winning musical NEWSIES in cinemas for the first time when it makes its cinema debut on Sunday 19 February 2017 in the UK, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand following the US on 16 February and cinemas in certain other countries on or after 22 February. Disney Theatrical Productions is the international distributor alongside Arts Alliance Distribution, Ltd.

Based on the 1992 film and produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, NEWSIES, the Broadway Musical, features a Tony® Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award® winner Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin) and lyrics by Jack Feldman, Tony Award-winning choreography by Christopher Gattelli, and book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein (Kinky Boots). The fan-following for NEWSIES became a phenomenon over the years since its release on home video, becoming Disney’s single most requested title to be adapted for the stage.

Inspired by the real-life ‘Newsboy Strike of 1899,’ NEWSIES is set in New York City at the turn of the century and tells the tale of newsboy Jack Kelly, a charismatic and rebellious leader of a group of “newsies” who dreams of a life far from the hardship of the streets. When publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack rallies his army of newsies to strike.

Jeremy Jordan (Supergirl, The Last 5 Years) will be reprising his Tony Award-nominated performance as “Jack Kelly”.  NEWSIES played on Broadway from March 2012 – August 2014 and toured the US from October 2014 – October 2016.

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL TO LAUNCH LIVE STREAMING EVENTS

City Varieties Music Hall is the oldest running Music Hall in the country; it is in the Guinness Book of records for this and its stage has welcomed so many greats it’s hard to know where to start and end, so here’s just a few: John Bishop, Harry Houdini, Barbara Windsor, Boy George, Fairport Convention, Morcambe and Wise, Les Dawson, Kathryn Ryan, Michael McIntryre, Eartha Kitt, Barry Cryer and a woman who hypnotised alligators.  In short The Varieties is aptly named; and now it’s set to expand its offer with the introduction of Live Streaming.

“Live Streaming via satellite enables the Leeds audience to watch live theatre in London, Stratford upon Avon and, indeed, around the world from the comfort of City Varieties Music Hall,” says Nev Jopson, Marketing Manager at City Varieties.

“It’s such a natural fit for us as we are already set up to cater for a theatre audience; offering a bar and refreshment service both pre-show and during interval plus our teams are used to creating the perfect ambience for live performance.”

The state of the art cinema-standard equipment not only enables The Varieties to host the Live Streaming events but also Encore Screenings – a recording of the live event – as well as art and museum exhibitions.

“It is the perfect venue to enjoy world class live theatre, concerts and other events; cutting-edge technology bringing you world-class entertainment to enjoy in a stunningly beautiful, Grade II* heritage venue – what’s not to like?” Nev concludes.

City Varieties Music Hall welcomes its first Live Streaming event on Thursday 9^th March with National Theatre’s Hedda Gabler live from London’s Lyttleton Theatre.

Starring Ruth Wilson (Luther, The Affair) and Rafe Spall (Black Mirror, The Big Short) this new version of Henrik Ibsen’s masterpiece is by Patrick Marber and directed by Ivo van Hove.

Hot on Hedda’s heels is the highly-anticipated Twelfth Night starring Tamsin Greig in the role of Malvolia, a part normally reserved for a male actor (Malvolio).

Twelfth Night is streamed in to City Varieties Music Hall from London’s Olivier Theatre Thursday April 6^th.

Additional NT Live titles in the forthcoming season include Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Angels in America (Parts 1 & 2), Peter Pan, Salomé and Yerma.

Tickets for the Live Streaming events at City Varieties Music Hall are on sale priced at £15 and £17

Book online at cityvarietiesmusichall.co.uk or call box office on 0113 243 08 08

Taboo-busting SICK! Festival takes spotlight at The Lowry

Premiering six productions on disability, religion, sexism, drugs, mental health and loneliness – SICK! Festival returns to The Lowry this March.

After a successful visit to the Salford arts venue in 2015, the award-winningSICK! Festival returns to The Lowry with a programme of taboo-busting performance that confronts the physical, mental and social challenges that we face in our individual and collective lives.

Disabled performer Claire Cunningham explores how the major world faiths view disability with Guide Gods (Wed 15 & Fri 17 March), co-commissioned bySICK! Festival. Using dance, humour and interviews with world leaders, Cunningham questions whether disability is the will of a higher power; or are the disabled paying for the mistakes of a past life.

A group of young adults with learning disabilities from Theater Stap present To Belong (Sat 18 March), a dance performance choreographed by Koen De Preter about what it means to be  part of and outside of a group.

Considering the pros and cons of intoxication Ridiculusmus explore MDMA assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress in Give Me Your Love (Fri 10 & Sat 11 March). While Zvizdal (Wed 22 & Thu 23 March) is a film portrait documenting the loneliness experienced by an old couple living in solitude in the wasteland of Chernobyl.

Embracing a multitude of identities Liz Aggiss hilariously interprets femininity and contradictions of women, girls, mothers & pensioners in Slap & Tickle (Thu 9 March). And Bolton born actor/ comedian Sophie Willan takes a look at who she is today through the eyes of the experts that assessed her growing up in care in On Record (Sun 12 March).

Helen Medland, artistic director of SICK! Festival, says: “SICK! Festival explores the most turbulent experiences of living in the world today. The challenges we face are sometimes rooted in bodies and minds that fail us, sometimes in the complexities of living in a troubled society with others facing their own problems. Embracing the identities, histories and social conditions that shape us, SICK! Festival asks how we are coping with the world we live in.”

Since launching in 2013, the festival has presented over 200 events featuring over 300 artists, at 25 locations in Manchester and Brighton attracting audiences totaling over 200,000. In 2015, SICK! Festival won the prestigious EFFE Award for excellence, which recognised 12 outstanding European festivals of the year, from a pool of 760 festivals across 31 countries. 2017 will see the festival grow further across Manchester and Brighton in 26 venues with 82 speakers, 116 artists, 66 performances, 18 public installations, 14 UK premieres, 13 discussion events and 5 co-commissions!

To view the full SICK! Festival programme visit the website.

NATIONAL THEATRE’S THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME

RETURNS TO LEEDS GRAND THEATRE THIS MONTH

National Theatre is set to return to Leeds with its Olivier and Tony Award-winning production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time; it is at Leeds Grand Theatre for one week only from Tuesday 28^th February to Saturday 4^th March.

Based on the best-selling book by Mark Haddon, the play 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, playing to almost 400,000 people, and are delighted to take this beautiful and inventive show to new venues and make a return visit to others in 2017.’

The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time is at Leeds Grand Theatre from

Tuesday 28^th February to Saturday 4^th March

Tickets are priced from £20.50 to £37

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

MASTER OF FARCE RAY COONEY

CELEBRATES 70 YEARS IN SHOWBIZ

IN ANTICIPATION OF HIS NEW PRODUCTION OF

OUT OF ORDER

TOURING THE UK IN 2017

Ray Cooney, (‘THE MASTER OF FARCE’ – The Telegraph), is celebrating both his eighty-fifth birthday and seventy years in showbiz in 2017. He is working with producer Tom O’Connell to launch a brand new season of Ray’s comedies; the first production will be an updated version of his Olivier-Award-winning Westminster comedy Out of Order, which opens in Guildford on 8 March and tours the UK until July, with a stellar cast and directed by Cooney himself. Further productions are planned for 2018, with details to be announced.

Ray Cooney’s credits include Run For Your Wife, Funny Money and Two Into One, Caught in the Net and It Runs in the Family. Out of Order was first produced regionally in 1980, under the original title ‘Whose Wife is it Anyway’, with Cooney playing ‘George Pigden’. The show was subsequently produced in the West End in 1990 starring Donald Sinden, Sandra Dickinson and Michael Williams, with Cooney directing.

Cooney’s full official biography can be read here.

When Tory Junior Minister Richard Willey tries to spend the evening with Jane, one of the Opposition’s secretaries, in the Westminster Hotel, things don’t exactly go according to plan – starting with the discovery of a body trapped in the hotel’s only unreliable sash window… Enlisting the help of his hapless private secretary George Pigden, Willey’s sticky situation goes from bad to worse, and with the arrival of Jane’s distraught young husband and with the addition of an unscrupulous waiter, Mrs Willey and Nurse Foster things really come to a head!

Ray Cooney said, “Having directed my Olivier Award-Winning play in London and all over the world, and hearing all that wonderful raucous laughter from audiences, it has become one of my favourite plays. I’ve up-dated it to present day and, fortunately, the basic premise of a philandering politician is as likely today as it was when the play was originally written!”

Arthur Bostrom, best known for his iconic role as ‘Officer Crabtree’ in classic sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo, will join the cast as the ‘Hotel Manager’, alongside Shaun Williamson (EastEnders, Extras) as ‘George Pigden’; Sue Holderness (Only Fools & Horses, Green Green Grass) as ‘Mrs Willey’; Andrew Hall (Butterflies, Coronation Street) as ‘Richard Willey’; Susie Amy (Footballers’ Wives) as ‘Jane Worthington’; James Holmes (Miranda) as the ‘Waiter’; Elizabeth Elvin as ‘Nurse Foster’; Jules Brown as ‘Ronnie Worthington’, and David Warwick as ‘The Body’. Completing the cast are Raphael Bar, Simon Murray, and Kate Sawyer.

David Warwick has been involved in Out or Order since 1990, when he played the ‘Body’ in the tryout at Leatherhead’s Thorndike Theatre (under its initial title of Whose Wife is it Anyway), then in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre, and the subsequent national tour. He went on to direct the play in the UK (Bournemouth & Sonning), Vienna, the Far East (Singapore & Kuala Lumpur) and the USA (Miami & New Jersey). He has also played Pigden & the Manager.

Praise for the West End production, which won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy, includes:

“Gleefully funny” – Guardian

“Made me laugh more than any play I have seen in the West End this year” – Evening Standard

“A triumph” – Financial Times

“A textbook model of pyramiding lunacy” – Variety

“Wildly funny” – Telegraph

“An inspired machine designed to cater for one of civilized society’s greatest joys, which is to see someone else in the soup” – Sunday Times

Out of Order is produced by Tom O’Connell, Debbie Hicks and Lawrence Myers, with design by Rebecca Brower, Lighting by Jack Weir, Sound by James Nicholson and casting by Marc Frankum CDG.

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