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Wintershall Players presents
The Passion of Jesus
Trafalgar Square
Good Friday, 25 March 2016
12noon & 3.15pm

On Good Friday, Friday 25^th March, the renowned  Wintershall Players return to the heart of London with their awe-inspiring full scale re-enactment of The Passion of Jesus, performed for free in the shadow of the National Gallery.

The story commemorating the day Jesus is believed to have been arrested, tried and crucified by the Romans, two days before miraculously rising from the dead on Easter Sunday is brought to life by a cast of over a hundred, all in resplendent costumes, along with horses, doves and donkeys. Featuring realistic scenes and a heart moving crucifixion and resurrection, The Passion of Jesus is an unforgettable experience.

The Passion of Jesus has grown since the players first came to Trafalgar Square in 2010.  Since then it has become a highly anticipated fixture of Holy Week, attracting more than 20,000 people to its two performances. As well as Trafalgar Square, the Wintershall Players will perform The Passion in Guildford on Easter Saturday.

‘As Londoners across the capital and beyond celebrate Easter I am delighted that The Passion of Jesus

is returning to Trafalgar Square. It is a wonderful event that brings to life the Christian message

and attracts people of all faiths right in the heart of our great city.’

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson

Directed by theatre producer and Chairman of the Guildford School of Acting, Ashley Herman, and starring the actor and artist James Burke-Dunsmore as Jesus, the rest of the company is made up of eager and committed volunteers from in and around London and the South East.

The Passion’s Christian message embraces all denominations and this is highlighted by the active and continued involvement of the ecumenical Christian charity, Bible Society, as well as two of the country’s principal Church leaders, The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster and the Bishop of London.

The Wintershall Players will be performing the Life of Christ at the Wintershall Estate in Surrey from the 21-26 June and the Wintershall Nativity from the 14-18 December.

LISTINGS INFORMATION:

The Passion of Jesus, Trafalgar Square 
Date: Friday 25^th March 2016
Times: 12 noon & 3.15 pm
Tickets: Free admission

Please note: This is an open air event so clothing appropriate for the forecasted weather conditions should be worn. This performance contains a realistic interpretation of the crucifixion. Parental guidance is advised.

Big screens are used so wherever you are you can see and hear the acting.
BSL interpreters will be available for both London performances.

Trick of Light Theatre Company presents:

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group have today announced that in collaboration with Stage Entertainment, The Phantom of the Opera is to open at the Mogador Theatre in Paris from October 2016.

Following on from the successful season of Cats at the Mogador Theatre, The Phantom of the Opera, one of the biggest musicals of all time, is set to be another smash hit.

The Paris production will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the opening of the show and will be the first time it plays in France and also in French.

Le Fantôme de l’Opéra arrive à Paris!
En collaboration avec The Really Useful Group d’Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stage Entertainment présente l’un des plus grand succès de comédie musicale de tous les temps, Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, adapté du roman de Gaston Leroux, au Théâtre Mogador à partir d’octobre 2016.

La production parisienne célèbrera le 30ème anniversaire de la création du spectacle et sera la première à jouer en France et en français. Venez découvrir ce chef-d’œuvre spectaculaire et romantique au Théâtre Mogador.
http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/paris/

The Phantom of the opera has entertained audiences in over 150 cities, 30 countries and has been adapted in 13 languages for over 140 million viewers worldwide. The Phantom of the Opera was inspired by the famous novel by Gaston Leroux published in 1910 – one of the major novels of the French classical literature.

Stage Entertainment said “The Mogador theater, so close to the Opera Garnier, is the ideal place in which to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the musical. We could not imagine a more appropriate framework for our Phantom than the homeland of Gaston Leroux.”

Priority bookings begin on 11th February 2016.
http://www.reallyuseful.com/news/the-phantom-of-the-opera-to-open-in-paris/

The Phantom of the Opera
Her Majesty’s Theatre
57 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4QL
Evenings: Monday to Saturday 7.30pm
Matinees: Thursday and Saturday 2.30pm
Running Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Age Restrictions: Recommended for ages 10 and over. Under 5s will not be admitted. Parental guidance advised.
Show Opened: 27th September 1986

Nick Moran has been announced to star in a new revival of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre in February.

Moran, who was recently seen in Roaring Trade at the Park Theatre and whose credits include Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, will be joined by Sarah-Jane Potts and Simon Merrells.

The production will be the venue’s first fully in-house production in six years. The theatre stopped producing work in 2009 when it was hit with financial troubles, but new artistic and executive director Paul Jepson reported last year it would begin to self-produce again.

Jepson said he was “delighted to be working with such a fantastic cast”, adding: “Betrayal is a fabulous play. Funny, touching and incredibly balanced. A play about people breaking out and having what they want and then finding out they still aren’t happy.”

Betrayal will run at the Northcott Theatre from 18 February to 5 March.

YORK LITERATURE FESTIVAL

Grand Opera House York

Saturday 12 March 2016

3:00pm         WENDY COPE                  Tickets from £10

7:30pm         ARTHUR SMITH               Tickets from £17

Wendy Cope, one of the UK’s most enduringly popular poets, features in the afternoon.  Wendy is acclaimed for her wryly perceptive love poems and parodies.  Since her highly acclaimed poetry collection Making Cocoa For Kingsley Amis in 1986, Wendy has been at the forefront of the British poetry scene.

Wit, raconteur, playwright, grumpy old man and Leonard Cohen fan – Arthur Smith is one of a kind. His career has built steadily from being part of the alternative scene in the Eighties, and he now describes himself as “semi-professional” comedian.   He describes himself as BBC Radio 4’s “bit of rough”. Support comes from writer,   Private Eye cartoonist and performer Mike Barfield.

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

SURPRISE!

Peppa Pig and friends return to Darlington Civic Theatre on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February.

Surprise! Peppa Pig, George and their friends are back in Darlington in a brand new live stage show, Peppa Pig’s Surprise.

It’s a lovely day and Peppa is playing outside with her friends. Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig have got a surprise for her and George – they can’t guess what it is, can you?

Enjoy fun, games and of course, surprises in this charming, colourful new show with new songs and new life size puppets, Peppa Pig’s Surprise promises to be the perfect theatre show for all pre-schoolers!

‘A rollicking, all singing, dancing interactive adventure.’ – Daily Telegraph

Peppa Pig’s Surprise is at Darlington Civic Theatre on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February at 10am, 1pm & 4pm. Tickets are priced Adults £16 & £14, Children £14 & £12. Family ticket £56

To book contact the Box Office on 01325 486 555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk

COME AND JOIN THE BEAR HUNT AT THE LYCEUM THEATRE

Direct from the West End, Michael Rosen’s award-winning book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is brought vividly and noisily to life on the Lyceum stage from Friday 29 – Saturday 30 January.

Join our intrepid adventurers on their quest to find a bear; as they wade through the gigantic swishy swashy grass, the splishy splashy river and the thick oozy, squelchy mud! Expect catchy songs, interactive scenes and plenty of hands-on adventure – plus a few special surprises!

Adapted for the stage from the modern classic written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt will delight children aged 3 years and above.

We’re Going On A Bear Hunt is at the Lyceum from Fri 29 – Sat 30 January.  Tickets are priced £11.50 and can be purchased by calling the Box Office* on 0114 249 6000 or by visiting sheffieldtheatres.co.uk (a transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office, excluding cash).

Civic Theatre, Darlington – 18 January 2016

Alan Ayckbourn, author of some 75 plays, writes about ordinary men and women, building his popular comedies around his characters’ fears, tics, and fantasies.  Ayckbourn does not build gag machines that spit out one-liners. He creates finely etched figures of fun whose behaviour is rooted in their befuddled personalities.

Round and Round the Garden is probably the most familiar choice for staging just one of the Norman Conquests trilogy, in which we see Norman seduce the three women in his close family, often with comedic – but also with a poignant – effect.

The three siblings and their husbands (or wished-for partner in one case) have come together to give the younger sister, the spinster Annie (Jo Castleton), a respite from caring for their mother. The pivotal figure is a libertine librarian, Norman (Philip Stewart). Married to the myopic, work-obsessed Ruth (Louise Faulkner), Norman’s chief objective is to whisk his sister-in-law, Annie, off for a dirty weekend in East Grinstead. When that fails, he turns his attention to his other sister-in-law, Sarah (Natasha Gray).  The secret getaway is quickly broadcast when the caustic Sarah finds out and telephones Ruth. “I thought you should know,” she tells her with barely disguised malice.

Ruth arrives at the start of Act II to complicate the affair. The other odd character, and you can read that any way you chose, is Tom (Ben Roddy), the local vet who has been faux-courting Annie for years. He hangs around, frequently arriving artlessly just in time for dinner. He seems to love her, but he cannot get the romantic words out of his mouth.  With Sarah’s husband Reg (Kevin Pallister) thrown in for comic effect – he delivers some of the best lines and moments in the show

The audience in Darlington were small but responsive to the show, laughing appreciatively.  it was stilted in some places but it was the very first night of the tour.  The set is outstandingly beautiful and you really felt you were in an English Country Garden as the tune rang out to us to begin the show.

On tour around the UK