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Short-list for new Director Award announced by Royal Theatrical Support Trust and Sheffield Theatres

 

The Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST) and Sheffield Theatres are delighted to announce the shortlist for the RTST Director Award 2016.

 

The new RTST Director Award Scheme offers the chance for an emerging director to create and direct a fully-funded production of a play by an internationally renowned dramatist at a selected regional theatre. The inaugural Scheme is being run by the RTST in collaboration with Sheffield Theatres. The emerging director who wins the RTST Director Award 2016 will be given the exciting opportunity to direct a play at the Crucible Studio Theatre as part of Sheffield Theatres’ 2017 spring season.

 

After a successful national call-out for entries for the 2016 Award, an official short-list of seven candidates has now been chosen by the prestigious Selection Panel.

 

The shortlisted director candidates are: Marieke Audsley, Rebecca Frecknall, Max Gill, Kate Hewitt, Sean Linnen, Jonathan O’Boyle and John Wilkinson.

 

The seven now go forward to the final stages of the Award selection process. They must demonstrate their directing skills in workshops with actors, which will take place in London over the weekend of 28/29 May. The Selection Panel will observe and judge each candidate’s performances in these workshops, and select and interview finalists in order to determine the Award winner and an official runner-up. The winner will be announced shortly after the workshop weekend. There will be an Award ceremony in London later in the year.

 

The Selection Panel, chaired by Daniel Evans, the Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres and Artistic Director-designate of Chichester Festival Theatre, comprises Sir Ian McKellen, Dawn Walton, Richard Wilson and Penelope Wilton.

 

For more information, visit the RTST website at rtst.org.uk/directoraward2016/

• Performances of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill in London are postponed

• Star Audra McDonald announces pregnancy

• Plans for revised dates will be announced soon

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL

Today it was announced at 6pm GMT that this summer’s season of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill will be postponed as the show’s star Audra McDonald has announced that she and her husband, actor Will Swenson, are expecting a baby.

Speaking from New York where she is currently starring in the Broadway production of Shuffle Along, Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, Audra McDonald said:

“Who knew that tap dancing during perimenopause could lead to pregnancy? Will and I are completely surprised—and elated—to be expecting a new addition to our family. I am so very grateful to everyone in New York and London for allowing me to rearrange my schedule to accommodate this little miracle. Of course, I’m disappointed I have to postpone my West End debut in Lady Day, but I look forward to rescheduling as soon as possible.”

The couple married in 2012. While this is their first child together, she is mother to a daughter, and he is father to two sons, from their previous marriages.

Ticket purchasers should contact the Box Office or their supplier to arrange a refund

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL WAS DUE TO RUN AT

Wyndham’s Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London
First performance: 25 June 2016
Final performance: 3 September 2016
Press Performance: 5 July 2016

Box Office
Website:       LadyDayWestEnd.com
Telephone:    0844 482 5120

BUSH THEATRE LAUNCHES ‘PROJECT 2036’AND OPENS CALLS FOR APPLICATIONS

The Bush Theatre has been awarded a grant by the Leverhulme Trust to offer nine year-long bursaries of £10,000 each to BAMER associate artists – three playwrights, three directors and three producers – over the course of three years. Applications for the bursaries are invited now.

The Bush Theatre’s new Project 2036 programme, with the support of the Leverhulme Trust, will offer a series of year-long £10,000 bursaries to Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BAMER) artists, starting this year.

Census data suggests that by 2036 half of all young people in London will be of dual heritage. The Bush Theatre aims to create opportunities for this rich diversity of artists and redefine the canon of British theatre.

Every year, for three years, a BAMER playwright, director and producer will each receive a bursary of £10,000. As well as financial support, they will be assigned a mentor, and experience the day-to-day workings of a modern theatre. Under the guidance of their mentor, the producer will work as Assistant Producer on a Bush Theatre production on which the director will be Assistant Director. The playwright will be given time to write their own piece of work with extensive dramaturgical support. At the end of the three-month placement, the artists will be invited to programme, develop, produce and showcase their own mini-season in the Bush Theatre’s new Studio, financed by the Bush Theatre.

From 2010-2014, the Bush Theatre offered an Annual Associate Playwright position funded by the Leverhulme Trust. The final Leverhulme Playwright was Omar El Khairy whose placement ended in March 2014.

The Bush Theatre’s brand new Studio is being created as part of the Bush Theatre’s 2016 Capital Redevelopment plans.

Entries can be submitted via the Bush Theatre website: bushtheatre.co.uk/project2036

Five candidates for each discipline will be selected to attend an interview with a panel including Madani Younis (Artistic Director). Successful candidates will be chosen based on their genuine interest in new writing, their potential as assessed in the interview and from the strength of their portfolio. The Bush Theatre will seek to place three creatives each year who can learn from one another and form a successful creative relationship during the course of their time working together at the Bush.

In 2016, as part of Madani Younis’ stated aim of creating a theatre that truly reflects the community in which it sits, the Bush Theatre is undergoing a major redevelopment of its building, creating a new second space, improved backstage facilities and a new front-of-house area, and making the whole building fully accessible and more sustainable. During the building works, the Bush Theatre’s programme is moving out into the local community, embracing the buildings and people of West London.

For more information on the Bush Theatre’s programme, visit www.bushtheatre.co.uk

RBM presents

MILES JUPP: SONGS OF FREEDOM

 

Astronauts. Regrets. The sexes. Social Media. Hipsters. Poo. Rage. Medicine. Manners. Identity. Lost stuff. Other stuff.

 

Miles Jupp, (Stand-up, actor, writer, thinker, father, husband, worrier, fool, star of Rev. and host of The News Quiz) hits the road in a freshly-ironed shirt and some robust trousers and tries to make some bloody sense of it all. 

 

“A very British tour-de-force of comedy” Daily Telegraph

 

Miles Jupp has appeared in many of the genre-defining British TV comedy shows of the past decade such as the cliché smashing BAFTA Award-winning Rev. and Armando Iannucci’s artful skewering of Westminster The Thick of It.  He has also made numerous appearances on Have I Got News For You and Mock The Week, as well as Eight Out Of Ten Cats and Never Mind The Buzzcocks. He has performed stand-up on both Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and Live At The Apollo.

 

Last year he became the host of BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz, and he also contributed to a huge number of other shows on the station including Just A Minute, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue and The Unbelievable Truth. He also hosted three series of the panel show It’s Not What You Know. He also wrote and starred as Damien Trench in four series of In And out Of The Kitchen for the station, as well as a TV version on BBC4. He is currently writing a Damien Trench book.  He has also starred in two series of Boswell’s Lives, written by Jon Canter. The first series won The Prix Europa 2015 for Best Radio Fiction Series.

Miles started performing stand-up comedy in 2000 and quickly gained recognition, winning both the ‘So You Think You’re Funny’ and ‘Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year’ awards in 2001. He went on to become a regular performer on BBC Scotland’s Live Floor Show. His first solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe, Gentlemen Prefer Brogues, earned him a nomination for the Perrier Best Newcomer award in 2003. In 2010 he performed his sixth solo show, the critically acclaimed Fibber In The Heat. The show toured the UK in 2011 and 2012 culminating in a sell out performance in London’s West End. The book was published by Ebury Press in May 2012 and was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book Of The Year.

Miles has acted in two plays at the National Theatre; People by Alan Bennett in 2012 and Sam Holcroft’s Rules For Living in 2015. He has also appeared in Neville’s Island  in the West End and A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg at the Glasgow Citizens. He has been seen in a number of fims too including George Clooney’s The Monuments Men, Jon Stewart’s Rosewater and Michael Winterbottom’s The Look Of Love. He is also in this summer’s The Legend of Tarzan, directed by David Yates.

“A new level of middleclass angst in comedy” Chortle

 

His last tour in 2014 Is The Chap You’re Thinking Of  was a critical and commercial hit selling out over seventy shows ,it is now available as a DVD from Go Faster Stripe.

 

For full tour information please visit www.rbmcomedy.com.  tbc

 

 

2016/ 2017 TOUR SCHEDULE

 

September 2016     

                                   

Wednesday 7^th          Milton Keynes Stables

Friday 9^th                     Hertford Theatre

Saturday 10^th             Hertford Theatre

Tuesday 13^th               Epsom Playhouse

Wednesday 14^th        Swindon Wyvern

Friday 16^th                   Stafford Gatehouse

Wednesday 21^st         Newbury Corn Exchange

Friday 23^rd                   Henley Kenton

Saturday 24^th             Durham Gala

Sunday 25^th                Leeds City Varieties

Wednesday 28^th       Northampton Royal Theatre

        

October 2016           

                                     

Sunday 2^nd                   Bristol Redgrave

Monday 3^rd                 Colchester Mercury

Wednesday 5^th          Westcliff on Sea Palace Theatre

Friday 7^th                     Portsmouth Theatre Royal

Saturday 8^th               Taunton Brewhouse

 

 

 

Tuesday 11^th               St Albans Arena

Wednesday 12^th        Margate Theatre Royal

Tuesday 18^th               Nottingham Playhouse

Wednesday 19^th        Salisbury Town Hall

Friday 21^st                    Yeovil Octagon

Saturday 22^nd            Medina Theatre, Isle of Wight

Sunday 23^rd                Wimborne Tivoli Theatre

Wednesday 26^th       Bromley Churchill Theatre

Friday 28^th                   Buxton Opera House

Saturday 29^th             Birmingham Town Hall

 

January 2017

Wednesday 4^th          Andover Lights

                                                                                               

Monday 9^th Norwich Theatre Royal

Wednesday 11^th         Swansea Grand Theatre

Friday 13^th                   Canterbury Marlowe

Saturday 14^th             Oxford Playhouse

Friday      20^th            Taunton Brewhouse

Friday 27^th                   Peterborough Quay Theatre

Saturday 28^th             Scunthorpe Plowright Theatre

 

February 2017

Wednesday 1^st           Guildford G Live                           

 

Friday 3^rd                     Brighton Dome

Saturday 4^th               Dartford Orchard

Sunday 5^th                   Lowry Manchester

Monday 6^th                 Newcastle Tyne and Opera House

Tuesday 7^th                Leeds City Varieties

Friday 10^th                   Chelmsford Civic Theatre

Sunday 12^th                Exeter Northcott

Wednesday 15^th       Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal

Friday 17^th                   Shrewsbury Severn

Saturday 18^th            Leamington Spa Royal Spa Centre

Tuesday 21^st               Crewe Lyceum

Friday 24^th                  Aldershot Princes Hall

DAVID WALLIAMS’ BEST SELLER TO HIT THE STAGE

Watch out! The cabbage-crunching, criminal master-mind, Gangsta Granny is coming to Darlington Civic Theatre later this month.

Birmingham Stage Company, the acclaimed producers of Horrible Histories, are bringing their world premiere of David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny to Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 24 to Saturday 28 May, prior to a West End run.

Walliams, who is one of the judges on the popular Britain’s Got Talent TV show and creator of the ground-breaking comedy series, Little Britain, is now the best-selling author for children in the country.

David began his publishing career at Harper Collins in early 2008 with his debut novel The Boy in the Dress. Then, after writing two other popular stories, in 2011 he published Gangsta Granny, which was shortlisted for both The Red House Children’s Book Award and for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. In 2013 a TV version of Gangsta Granny was shown on BBC One with an all-star cast including David Walliams himself. Gangsta Granny went straight to number 1 in the children’s book charts and his books have been translated into no fewer than 30 languages.

David Walliams said at the first night of Gangsta Granny from the stage at Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre : “What a fantastic show! Superb! And so much better than the book!”.

It’s Friday night and Ben knows that means only one thing – staying with Granny! There will be cabbage soup, cabbage pie and cabbage cake and Ben knows one thing for sure – it’s going to be sooooooooo boring! But what Ben doesn’t know is that Granny has a secret – and Friday nights are about to get more exciting than he could ever imagine, as he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime with his very own Gangsta Granny!

Gangsta Granny is a must for all families as the show will be enjoyed by everyone from 5 to 105! It’s both laugh out loud funny with some brilliant comic scenes but also has some very moving and truthful things to say about family relationships..

Gangsta Granny is at Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 24 to Saturday 28 May. Tickets* are £16.50 and £14.50 for adults, £13 and £11 for children, family ticket £50, schools £8.50 plus one free with every ten booked.

To book contact the Box Office on 01325 486 555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk *All ticket prices include a £1 restoration levy

JOANNE CLIFTON STARS AS MARILYN MONROE AT THE LOST THEATRE

JASON DONOVAN TO PLAY “THE FATHER OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL”

AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

 

Million Dollar Quartet, the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and West End hit that celebrates some of the greatest names in rock ‘n’ roll history, is set to embark on its first ever UK Tour, landing in Leeds in November.

 

Inspired by the true story of the famed recording session where Sam Phillips, brought together iconsJohnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, Million Dollar Quartet brings the night to life featuring a score of rock hits including including Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, I Walk The Line and Great Balls of Fire.

 

Jason Donovan is confirmed as the legendary record producer Sam Phillips – the man who created music history. Jason has an impressive musical theatre background, including leading roles in The Rocky Horror Show, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Sweeney Todd and most famously, Priscilla Queen of the Desert. A household name, Jason was launched to stardom appearing as Scott in the hit Australian soap operaNeighbours. His hugely successful pop career has seen Jason sell millions of albums and top the charts worldwide. He is currently visiting venues around the UK with his Ten Good Reasons and Greatest Hits tour and presents a show every Sunday on Heart FM.

 

Martin Kaye plays Jerry Lee Lewis. Martin played the role on the first North American tour of Million Dollar Quartet, which, after a year and a half, led him to open the Las Vegas Production at Harrah’s. Martin has received countless accolades and the award for Best Actor by Vegas Seven Magazine.

 

Robbie Durham performs as Johnny Cash. His stage credits include 1st cover Tony in Billy Elliot (Victoria Palace); Hoods (Arts Theatre); Sunny Afternoon (Harold Pinter Theatre); Dreamboats and Petticoats (West End & UK tour); Kiss Me, Kate (Upstairs at the Gatehouse); The Confession Room (Landor Theatre); Olivier Awards 2011 (Drury Lane Theatre); Cinderella (Pavilion Theatre Rhyl); Broadway to West End (Drury Lane Theatre).

 

Ross William Wild joins the cast as Elvis Presley. Recent roles include Norman in Dreamboats and Miniskirts (UK Tour), Michael in The Witches of Eastwick (The Watermill Theatre), Jason in the European Premiere of BARE (Union Theatre and Greenwich Theatre in London) and Kenickie in Grease (National tour).

Matt Wycliffe appears as Carl Perkins. Stage credits include Outspan Foster in The Commitments (Palace Theatre) Bob Guadio in Jersey Boys (Prince Edward Theatre, WhatsOnStage Award nomination), Buddy inThe Buddy Holly Story (Duchess Theatre).

 

Katie Ray is Dyanne. Her stage credits include Beauty in Beauty and the Beast (Central Theatre Chatham), Wendy in Peter Pan (Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin and Mayflower Theatre, Southampton), Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (UK Tour), Liesl in The Sound of Music (Royal Palladium).

 

 

Million Dollar Quartet is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Monday 7^th to Saturday 12^th November

 

Tickets are on sale now priced from £19.50 to £38

 

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call box office on 0844 848 2700

Charlie Stemp, Devon-Elise Johnson, Ian Bartholomew, Emma Williams and Vivien Parry lead the cast for

 

HALF A SIXPENCE

 

Based on the H.G.Wells novel Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul and the original musical byBeverley Cross and David Heneker

Book by Julian Fellowes  New music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe

Original songs by David Heneker

Co-Created by Cameron Mackintosh

Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

 

14 July – 3 September, Festival Theatre

 

Chichester Festival Theatre and Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of HALF A SIXPENCE will introduce two young actors – Charlie Stemp as Arthur Kipps* and Devon-Elise Johnson as Ann Pornick – alongside three times Olivier-nominated actor Ian Bartholomew as Chitterlow, three times Olivier-nominated actress Emma Williams as Helen Walsingham, and Vivien Parry as Mrs Walsingham.

 

Playing in the Festival Theatre from 14 July, this new stage version of HALF A SIXPENCE, the musical adaptation of H.G. Wells’s disguised autobiographical novel Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul, is a completely fresh adaptation which reunites book-writer Julian Fellowes (Oscar-winning screenwriter and creator of Downton Abbey) with George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, the musical team that co-creator Cameron Mackintosh first put together to create the hit stage adaptation ofMary Poppins with Disney. The score is inspired by and features several of composer David Heneker’s exhilarating songs from the original production, including Flash Bang Wallop, Money To Burn and Half A Sixpence.

 

Charlie Stemp and Devon-Elise Johnson have both recently completed the international tour ofMamma Mia!.  Charlie has also appeared in Wicked in the West End, while Devon-Elise’s London theatre credits include Taboo, and Susan Parks in Billy Elliot as a child performer.

 

Ian Bartholomew’s extensive West End credits include Mrs Henderson Presents, for which he received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical; Into The Woods and Radio Times(for both of which he also received Olivier Award nominations), Shakespeare in Love, Tommy, Dead Funny and many roles for the National Theatre. The most recent of his many television appearances include Maigret, New Blood, DCI Banks and South Riding.

 

Emma Williams is currently playing Maureen in Mrs Henderson Presents, for which she received her third Olivier Award nomination. Her London theatre credits also include Jenny in Love Story (which premiered at Chichester) and Luisa in Zorro, both of which earned her Olivier Award nominations. She made her West End debut as Truly Scrumptious in the original cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bangand went on to play leading roles in Bat Boy: The Musical and Desperately Seeking Susan. Emma’s screen credits include The Parole Officer with Steve Coogan, Bleak House with Gillian Anderson and, most recently, Silent Witness (both BBC).

 

Vivien Parry’s stage work includes The Girls (UK tour); A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Shoemaker’s Holiday (RSC); Top Hat, Mamma Mia! and Fame in the West End.  Her film and television credits include Beauty and the Beast, Crash and Holby City.

 

Arthur Kipps, an orphan and over-worked draper’s assistant at the turn of the last century, unexpectedly inherits a fortune that propels him into high society. His childhood companion, Ann Pornick, watches with dismay as Arthur is made over in a new image by the beautiful and classy Helen Walsingham. Both young women undoubtedly love Arthur – but which of them should he listen to? With the help of his friends, Arthur learns that if you want to have the chance of living the right life, you need to make the right choices.

 

HALF A SIXPENCE will be directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and designed by Paul Brown, with choreography by Andrew Wright and orchestrations by William David Brohn. The musical supervisors will be Stephen Brooker and Graham Hurman, who will also conduct; with lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter and video design by Luke Halls.

Half A Sixpence is sponsored by Covers Timber & Builders Merchant, Henry Adams, Reynolds Fine Furniture and Seaward Properties.

*Due to a scheduling conflict, Chichester Festival Theatre agreed to release Bryan Dick, who was previously announced to play Kipps, from his commitment to Half a Sixpence. He will continue with his role in Hobson’s Choice in the West End.

Booking information

Half A Sixpence is at the Festival Theatre, Chichester from 14 July – 3 September. Evenings at 7.30pm (except for Press Night, 26 July at 7pm), matinees at 2.30pm.

Box Office 01243 781312

Online cft.org.uk

 

Prologue: £8.50 tickets for 16 – 25s

An allocation of tickets for 16 – 25 year olds priced at just £8.50 will be available for all performances of Half A Sixpence. Tickets go on sale on 14 June; sign up free at cft.org.uk/prologue.

WALES MILLENNIUM CENTRE &

CAPE TOWN OPERA PRESENT

MANDELA TRILOGY

TO TOUR THE UK AND IRELAND FROM 24 AUGUST 2016

Wales Millennium Centre and Cape Town Opera are delighted to present the return of Mandela Trilogy, opening at Wales Millennium Centre on 24 August 2016, followed by a UK and Ireland Tour, finishing on 24 September 2016.

Mandela Trilogy, written and directed by Michael Williams with music by Peter Louis van Dijk and Mike Campbell, is a musical tribute to the life of Nelson Mandela and had its European premiere at Wales Millennium Centre in 2012.

Graeme Farrow, Artistic and Creative Director at Wales Millennium Centre said “Following its debut performances and fantastic reception at Wales Millennium Centre in 2012, we are delighted to be presenting Cape Town Opera’s Mandela Trilogy on a UK and Ireland tour next summer. Showcasing the talent of the hugely gifted Cape Town Opera’s company, this production will offer audiences a wonderful spectacle with its exceptional cast, award-winning chorus and original score. I’m delighted we are able to share the story of Nelson Mandela’s heroic and inspirational life, two years after his death. This tour is another step in the development of collaborative and exchange projects between the Centre and our strategic partner – Cape Town Opera.”

From tribal initiation rites on the banks of the Mbashe River, through the heady and rebellious jazz-fuelled days in Sophiatown, to incarceration and reflection on Robben Island and finally beyond, to freedom – this is the story of one of the world’s most iconic figures.

The amazing life of Nelson Mandela is brought vividly to the stage by Cape Town Opera in a large-scale celebration and tribute to the man who touched hearts and minds around the world.

Told in three parts by a cast and orchestra of over 60 South African performers, the music matches the vastly different phases of Mandela’s journey from freedom fighter to president. The upbeat jazz and swing-influenced songs of Sophiatown are framed by musical styles more familiar in contemporary opera – with a dash of Xhosa folk music that grounds the production in its African roots.

Written by two different composers, each Act is in stark contrast to the others, but with an over-arching dramatic theme that shines a light on the life of an extraordinary man.

For more information, visit http://www.wmc.org.uk/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WalesMillenniumCentre/

Twitter: @theCentre

TOUR SCHEDULE 2016

24-27 August Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Now on sale www.wmc.org.uk 029 2063 6464

31 August-3 September Royal Festival Hall at Southbank Centre Now on sale www.southbankcentre.co.uk 0844 847 9910

7-10 September Mayflower Theatre, Southampton Now on sale www.mayflower.org.uk 02380 711811

14-17 September Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin Now on sale www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie 0818 719 377

20-21 September Birmingham Hippodrome On sale soon www.birminghamhippodrome.com 0844 338 5000

23-24 September Lowry Theatre, Salford Now on sale www.thelowry.com 0843 208 6000