Extra performance of Welsh mining drama Land of Our Fathers added at Live Theatre due to popular demand
Presented by Theatre503, Tara Finney Productions and Wales Millennium Centre
Written by Chris Urch
Directed by Paul Robinson
An extra performance of critically-acclaimed play Land of Our Fathers, has been added at Live Theatre, Newcastle in January due to popular demand. A matinee performance has been added at 2pm on Thursday 28 February, as tickets for the other performances between Wednesday 27 and Saturday 30 January 2016 have almost sold out.
Starting it’s English tour at Live Theatre, after a successful tour in Wales last year Land of Our Fathers which follows six Welsh miners trapped underground, is a funny and deeply moving Welsh mining drama packed full of blistering comedy and echoes a generation of lost voices.
It’s May 1979 in South Wales. Thatcher is county her votes, Sid Vicious is spinning in his grave and six Welsh miners are trapped down a coal mine. As the men await their rescue, secrets emerge and accusations fly. Within two weeks, everything they believe in and everything they know will have changed.
Max Roberts, Artistic Director, Live Theatre said:
“We have been delighted at the popularity of Land of our Fathers and have added an additional performance so more audiences can see this powerful drama when it starts it’s English tour here at Live Theatre at the end of January. The story of miners in the play will have a strong resonance here in the North East with our shared mining heritage, and with Live Theatre’s audiences after our success with plays such as The Pitmen Painters and Close the Coalhouse Door.”
Land of Our Fathers has been described by The Guardian as ‘undeniably powerful’ and The Times as ‘a high voltage production’.
Paul Robinson, Artistic Director of Theatre503 and Director, Land of our Fathers said:
“The response so far has been thrilling and we’re delighted to be bringing the production to some fantastic venues in England in the New Year. The story is so universal with characters that you can’t help but fall; in love with, and we hope the play will continue to bring laughs and tears as it continues its journey.”
Tara Finney, Co-producer, Land of our Fathers said:
“I am delighted to be taking Land of Our Fathers on tour, enabling more people around the country to see this beautiful play. I have no doubt it will continue to enthral people as we move from the Welsh to English venues.”
Original cast members Joshua Price (Llwyth/Tribe) and Taylor Jay-Davies (Great Expectations – West End, The Passion) reprise their roles as Mostyn and Chewy. They are joined by John Cording (Pobol Y Cwm, Da Vinci’s Demons), Tomos Eames (Pride, Resistance), Cornelius Booth (Pride & Prejudice) and Robert Jezek (The Bodyguard – West End).
Two free events will accompany the shows at Live Theatre. Meet The Cast takes place after the show on Thursday 28 January, when the audience can discuss the making of the play with the creative team and cast. A Post Show Discussion will take place on Saturday 30 January after the 2pm matinee, when Ian Lavery MP for Wansbeck and former President of the National Union of Mineworkers joins Max Roberts Artistic Director of Live Theatre to discuss issues raised in the play. Both events are free, but booking is essential.
For more information on Land of Our Fathers which is at Live Theatre between Wednesday 27 and Saturday 30 January 2016and to buy tickets costing between £22 to £12, over 60s concessions from £22 to £16 and other concessions £15 to £10 call Live Theatre’s box office on (0191) 232 1232 or see www.live.org.uk.
Listings:
Wednesday 27 to Saturday 30 January 2016
Land of Our Fathers
Presented by Theatre503, Tara Finney Productions and Wales Millennium Centre
Written by Chris Urch
Directed by Paul Robinson
3 May 1979, six Welsh miners are trapped underground as Thatcher is counting her votes.
Winner of Time Out Critics Choice & Fringe Show of the Year 2013
DATES: Wed 27 to Sat 30 Jan, 7.30pm
PERFORMANCES: Wed to Sat, 7.30pm
MATINEE: Sat 30 Jan, 2pm
LOCATION: Main Theatre
DURATION: Approx. 2hr 20mins (including interval)
SUITABILITY: 14+, contains some swearing
TICKETS: £22-£12, over 60s conc. £22-£16 other concs. £15-£10
Meet the Cast
Thursday 28 January, after 7.30pm show
Meet the cast and creative team to discuss the making of the play.
DATE: Thurs 28 Jan,
LOCATION: Main Theatre
DURATION: Approx. 40mins
SUITABILITY: 14+
TICKETS: Free, booking essential
Post Show Discussion
Saturday 30 January, after 2pm show
Ian Lavery MP for Wansbeck and former President of the National Union of Mineworkers joins Max Roberts, Live |Theatre’s Artistic Director to discuss the issues raised in the play.
DATE: Sat 30 Jan
LOCATION: Main Theatre
DURATION: Approx. 40mins
SUITABILITY: 14+
TICKETS: Free, booking essential
Celebrate 20N16 at Theatre N16!
Theatre N16 presents:
20N16 at Theatre N16
In 2015, Theatre N16 moved from Stoke Newington to Balham, supported 29 different theatre companies with performance space at affordable rates and produced 4 and 5 star critically acclaimed shows, one of which transferred into a central London venue. This year, they’re looking to surpass that with an exciting season of new writing and fresh takes on classics, as well as piece that explores their new home at the Bedford pub in Balham.
In 2015, Theatre N16 moved from Stoke Newington to Balham, supported 29 different theatre companies with performance space at affordable rates and produced 4 and 5 star critically acclaimed shows, one of which transferred into a central London venue. This year, they’re looking to surpass that with an exciting season of new writing and fresh takes on classics, as well as piece that explores their new home at the Bedford pub in Balham.
The season opens this January with a new take on Oscar Wilde’s Salome, a sell-out Camden Fringe social media comedy, and two pieces of new writing, including a difficult look into the world of inter-office relationships. Towards the summer, Theatre N16’s next inhouse production, directed by artistic director Jamie Eastlake, will tell the story of Paul Hill of the Guildford Four in a new script by Martin McNamara, as well as a yet to be announced classic revival. This will be followed by a Romanian piece from the Royal Court International programme, I’m Not Jesus Christ, alongside a new site specific immersive piece that will take audiences through Theatre N16’s new home to explore The Killing of Charles Bravo, the inquest for which was all held at the Bedford in 1876.
The rest of the season includes instalments of national tours, more new writing, movement/music pieces, puppetry, Shakespeare and a revival of Richard Cameron’s Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down– definitively offering something for everyone!
The theatre will also be hosting a new writing night, DRAFT, courtesy of our literary department, as well as a live chat show, In Town Tonight, alongside offering workshops at local schools.
Theatre N16 is a trailblazing company that wants to change the face of the theatre industry. No matter how little money a production has behind it, if it has potential and that spark of innovation, they want to know. Theatre N16 is proud of their commitment to the welfare of creatives, operating without a hire fee for external companies. This promoting and nurturing of talent means that Theatre N16 is a bastion for the arts, making theatre accessible and affordable for audiences and in turn allowing artists to survive financially.
Sandra Dickinson is Lucille Ball in UK Premiere of I LOVED LUCY
‘
Make a Person Laugh Enough Times, You’re Loved Forever…’
I Loved Lucy is a personal portrait of an iconic comedic entertainer whose public face is all too well known. But what was Lucille Ball really like and how did she choose to live her life… at the end of her life? Out of the spotlight.
Based on his best selling memoir, Lee Tannen’s funny, bitter-sweet play, which gets its UK premiere in a four-week season at Jermyn Street Theatre, reveals the real-life Lucy and what is was like being her friend to the end. Most people who wrote about Lucy never even met her. They relied on others to fill in the blanks. Lee relied solely on Lucy. And he paints a rich personal portrait that can only add to our love of a legend.
I Loved Lucy stars Sandra Dickinson (A Streetcar Named Desire, Not about Nightingales, Orpheus Descending) as Lucy and Matthew Bunn (The Ladykillers) as Lee. It is directed by Jermyn Street Theatre’s Artistic Director Anthony Biggs (The River Line, On Approval, The First Man).
Awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Lucille Ball remains one of Hollywood’s best loved stars. With her trademark red hair and goofy persona, she will always be remembered as the crazy, accident-prone, lovable Lucy Ricardo on her groundbreaking 1950s TV sitcom, I Love Lucy, which co-starred her real-life husband Desi Arnaz and was produced by their own TV company, Desilu Productions. Shown around the world and topping the ratings every year in the US, it is still regarded today as one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms in TV history.
When the show ended, Lucy took sole control of Desilu Productions, making her the first woman to run a major TV production studio. She won four Emmys and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in recognition for her life’s work. On August 6, 2011, which would have been her 100th birthday, Google honored her with an interactive doodle on their homepage featuring classic moments from I Love Lucy.
Born in Washington DC, Sandra Dickinson first found fame in the UK as the star of Birds Eye beefburger ads in the early 1970s. They established her in a succession of American ‘dumb blonde’ roles, and it was many years before she was able to shake that image. She’s had a prolific career on stage and screen, notably as Trillian in the cult sci-fi TV series The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. She is currently the voice of Grandma Tracy in CITV’s Thunderbirds Are Go.
Lee Tannen first met Lucille Ball as a child but cemented their close and enduring friendship as an adult. During the last 10 years of Lucy’s life – years mostly spent out of the spotlight and much of it around a backgammon table, where Lee became Lucy’s confidant spending time in her Beverly Hills and Palm Springs homes, traveling with her and entertaining her on his turf in New York City. His memoir became an instant best seller. In 2010, he adapted it for the stage where it premiered at The Laguna Playhouse. Lee’s other work includes a new libretto in 2007 for the stage adaptation of the classic children’s story Dr. Dolittle, starring and directed by nine-time Tony Award winner Tommy Tune. A year earlier, Lee was a contributing writer for the Drama-Desk-nominated musical The Audience. In 2003, Lee was writer and Associate Director for Paparazzi, an original musical for Holland America Line directed by Tommy Tune. In 2001, Lee wrote and directed All The World’s a Stage, a star-studded benefit for Variety Club at Carnegie Hall starring, among others, Barbara Cook, Nathan Lane and Tommy Tune and hosted by Jane Powell. Lee has also written special material for Joan Rivers, Elizabeth Taylor and Shirley MacLaine.
LISTINGS
I Loved Lucy
Tuesday 2nd – Saturday 27th February 2016
Press night is Friday 5th February at 7.30pm
Jermyn Street Theatre
16b Jermyn Street
LONDON, SW1Y 6ST
Tuesday to Saturday 7.30pm
Saturday & Sunday matinees 3.30pm
Additional matinee Thursday 25 February at 3.30pm
Tickets: £22.00 (£18.00 concs)
www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk
Full cast announced for Motown The Musical as rehearsals begin
As rehearsals commence for the West End production of Motown the Musical, full casting is announced for the production led by Cedric Neal as Berry Gordy, Lucy St. Louis as Diana Ross, Charl Brown as Smokey Robinson and Sifiso Mazibuko as Marvin Gaye.
They are joined by Keisha Amponsa Banson as Mary Wells, Cindy Belliot as Anna Gordy, Samuel Edwards as Jackie Wilson, Tanya Nicole Edwards as Florence Ballard, Portia Harry as Teena Marie, Aisha Jawando as Martha Reeves, Joshua Liburd as Eddie Kendricks, Simeon Montague as Jermaine Jackson, Cleopatra Rey as Gladys Knight, Brandon Lee Sears as Tito Jackson, Jordan Shaw as Stevie Wonder, Cherelle Williams as Mary Wilson.
Eshan Gopal, 12 years old from Kingsbury, London, 13 year old Kwame Kandekore from Leicester and 11 year old Joshua Tikare from Bromley will alternate the role of Young Michael Jackson.
They are joined by swings and ensemble members Jay Bryce, Daniel Bailey, Edward Baruwa, Eddie Elliott, Christopher Fry, Alex Hammond, Edward Handoll, Simon Ray Harvey, Elias Hendricks, Brian James Leys, Jayde Nelson, Kieran McGinn, Simone Mistry Palmer, Carl Spencer and Marcel J Whyte.
London previews begin at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 11 February 2016, with press night on 8th March 2016 with the first booking period to 22nd October 2016.
With music and lyrics from the legendary Motown catalogue and book by Motown founder Berry Gordy, Motown the Musical is directed by Charles Randolph-Wright.
With just $800 borrowed from his family, Motown founder Berry Gordy, goes from featherweight boxer to heavyweight music mogul, discovering and launching the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many more. Motown the Musical uncovers the true story of the legendary record label that changed music history and created the soundtrack of a generation.
Featuring a sixteen piece orchestra playing 50 Motown tracks including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, I’ll Be There, Dancing In The Street, Stop! In The Name Of Love, My Girl and I Heard It through the Grapevine, Charles Randolph-Wright’s production tells the story behind the classic hits.
Line-up announced for VAULT Festival 2016
VAULT Festival returns to The Vaults on Leake St in Waterloo for another year of comedy, theatre and experimental work from emerging artists.
Highlights from the 2016 line-up include Squidboy, a new show from award-winning physical performer Trygve Wakenshaw about an imaginary friend who creates their own imaginary friends (27-30 Jan) and The Misfit Analysis, written and lead by Cian Binchy who is a consultant for the National’s Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Journeying through the mischievous mind of an autistic man, audiences will be taken through a world of wheelchairs and blow up dolls (2-6 March).
Making their VAULT Festival debut from 17-21 Feb will be award-wining company Clout Theatre with The Various Lives of Infinite Nullity, a piece of absurdism centered around a post-suicide support group held in the afterlife. The production will run alongside Dom Coyote & The Blood Moneys’ Songs for the End of the World which is billed as ‘part gig, part play, part apocalypse’ and features artists from Kneehigh and Little Bulb Theatre.
Other highlights around the festival include the previously announced one-man show from Jamie Muscato; Tar Baby, a Fringe First Award-winning solo show which looks at race in America (10-14 Feb), The Devil Speaks True, an immersive show offering an intimate perspective of a man returning home from war with PTSD (17-27 Feb) and a new film festival taking place each Sunday in February with long and short form screenings of drama, documentary, animation and more.
Taking place from 27 January to 6 March, expect pop-up bars, restaurants, club nights and performances. Since its inception in 2012, VAULT has hosted over 250 productions and the 2016 festival includes shows which explore themes including gender, mental health and conflict.
For the full VAULT Festival line-up, click here.
New writing award announced to honour Sir Terence Rattigan
The Terence Rattigan Society have announced a new writing award with monetary prizes and a professional production of the winning play on offer.
The winner of Terence Rattigan Society Award – which honours Sir Terence Rattigan’s unique contribution to British drama and will be judged by David Suchet, Julian Fellowes, Thea Sharrock and Dan Rebellato – will receive £2,500 and a professional production of their play at the Sarah Thorne Theatre in Kent. The runner-up will received £1,000 and a guaranteed rehearsed reading.
Suchet, who will host the formal announcement of the award on 26 January at the Jermyn Street Theatre said: “I’m thrilled that the Terence Rattigan Society is offering an award for a new play in his name. As one of this country’s true masters of the dramatists’ craft, it is a fitting tribute to his enormous contribution to the theatre”.
Fellowes commented: “Terence Rattigan is one of England’s greatest playwrights whose light was hidden under a bushel for far too long before his recent rediscovery. An award in his name, dedicated to finding new talent and bringing it out of the darkness for the public to enjoy, seems only fitting.”
Emma Rice announces first season as Globe artistic director
Shakespeare’s Globe has announced its 2016 Wonder Season, which will be Emma Rice’s inaugural season as artistic director.
Throughout the season, a magical forest designed by Lez Brotherston featuring silver birch tree trunks will span from the piazza onto London’s Bankside.
To coincide with the forest, the season will open in April with a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Rice.
Rice said today at the launch: “This is an amazing new adventure for me. I want to remind us of what it is like to tell a story… The Globe is the most accessible and inviting place in London and I want to continue that.”
Up next will be The Taming of the Shrew directed by Gate Theatre creative associate Caroline Byrne. Running from May to August the production, which Byrne will set in Ireland, tells of two sisters approaching marriage but both with different mindsets, one excited, one horrified.
“Taming of the Shrew taunts us,” said Rice. “How can we make this play for the 21st century? I told Byrne to be brave and it’s going to be very Irish.”
Acclaimed opera and theatre director Iqbal Khan then directs the Scottish classic Macbeth from June whilst Kneehigh show 946 The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, which was co-adapted by War Horse writer Michael Morpurgo with Rice, will run at the Globe between August and September. It is based on his novel about the preparation for the D-Day landings. The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk will also run in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse from June. The Kneehigh and Bristol Old Vic production tells of a young couple navigating the Russian Revolution and each other.
Further ahead, the season will also see Olivier-nominated director Matthew Dunster direct Imogen(Sept to Oct), a renamed and ‘reclaimed’ version of Cymbeline. Jonathan Munby’s heralded version of The Merchant of Venice will return to the Globe in October, following a national and international tour, which kicks off at the Liverpool Playhouse in June. Multi-award winning actor Jonathan Pryce will reprise his role of Shylock.
In the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, the theatre will host a touring production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona from September to October, directed by Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse associate director Nick Bagnall.
The Playhouse season will close with The Inn at Lydda, a play from John Wolfson who is Honorary Curator of Rare Books for the Globe. The play follows Tiberius Caesar and a meeting with Jesus Christ in Judea.
Rice also announced that there would be relaxed performances for every production and has reduced the number of plays in the season this year than in previous years.
Rice takes over from Dominic Dromgoole who has led the venue since 2006.
Evita producer Robert Stigwood dies
Robert Stigwood, who was known as the manager of the pop group the Bee Gees has died at the age of 81.
As well as managing the ’70s band, the Australian impresario produced several hit musicals, including Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar. Moving into theatre in 1968 the Robert Stigwood Organisation staged Hair in London after Stigwood saw it on Broadway.
He bought the rights to Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar and produced the film of Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta.
Stigwood also produced Grease and pulled off the Golden Globe Award-winning 1997 film adaptation of Evita starring Madonna.
As well as managing the Bee Gees, the producer also represented Eric Clapton. One of his first successes was with English singer John Leyton, whose song “Johnny Remember Me” spent four weeks at number one in 1961.
Andrew Lloyd Webber took to Twitter to remember his colleague, calling him ‘the great showman who taught me so much’.
Mike Shepherd becomes sole artistic director at Kneehigh
Kneehigh have announced that Mike Shepherd will take the role of sole artistic director as Emma Rice takes over the leadership at Shakespeare’s Globe in April.
Shepherd started Cornwall-based Kneehigh in 1980 and has worked closely with the company since. In 2016 the company will tour their hit show Dead Dog In A Suitcase (and other love songs) to New Zealand, Colombia and Korea as well as announcing another Asylum Season at The Lost Gardens of Heligan in February along with more UK and international tours.
Rice’s Globe season includes two Kneehigh productions, The Flying Lovers Of Vitebskand 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, both of which will be directed by her.