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New trailer and first rehearsal images released of Gemma Chan, Gary Kemp, Keith Allen, John Simm, Ron Cook and John Macmillian in The Homecoming by Harold Pinter

• Jamie Lloyd directs the 50th anniversary production
• Previews begin tomorrow, Saturday 14 November at Trafalgar Studio 1, London
• Trailer available here

A new trailer and the first pictures from the rehearsal room are released today before the first preview of Jamie Lloyd’s 50th anniversary production of Pinter’s multi-award winning modern classic The Homecoming. 

The production stars Keith Allen (Sam), Gemma Chan (Ruth), Ron Cook (Max), Gary Kemp (Teddy), John Macmillan (Joey) and John Simm (Lenny).

Widely regarded as Pinter’s finest play, the dangerous and tantalisingly ambiguous world of The Homecoming is a crackling hotbed of visceral tension. Celebrated as one of the leading interpreters of Pinter’s work, director Jamie Lloyd has assembled an impressive cast in what promises to be a dynamic production.

Designed by Soutra Gilmour, with lighting design by Richard Howell and sound by George Dennis.

The Homecoming is a unique contemporary masterpiece of the 20th Century. This 50th anniversary production will continue The Jamie Lloyd Company’s reputation for presenting compelling drama that sparks passionate debate.

As with The Jamie Lloyd Company’s previous productions, all tickets for Monday performances will be £15. Half of these will be made available through a special outreach scheme, targeted at schools and first-time theatregoers. The other half will be released monthly to the public on the first day of each month, and will be available online or at the Trafalgar Studios box office.

When Teddy returns from America to introduce his wife Ruth to his family in London, they discover a claustrophobic and brutal household where his father Max, brothers Lenny and Joey and Uncle Sam live in a state of mutual loathing and festering resentment. Theirs is a motherless, compassionless and lawless home where Ruth immediately becomes the centre of attention. Pinter’s sinister masterpiece simmers with suspense and rings with savage humour as Ruth navigates her way between the roles of predator and prey in an incisive battle of wills.

The Jamie Lloyd Company is a partnership between acclaimed director Jamie Lloyd and Ambassador Theatre Group. Previous productions include Richard III starring Martin Freeman and Gina McKee, East is East featuring Jane Horrocks and Ayub Khan Din (currently on a UK tour with Pauline McLynn), The Ruling Class and Macbeth, both starring James McAvoy, The Hothouse with John Simm and Simon Russell Beale, and The Pride with Hayley Atwell, Mathew Horne, Harry Hadden-Paton and Al Weaver.

Jamie Lloyd has previously directed The Caretaker (Sheffield Crucible and Tricycle), The Loverand The Collection (Harold Pinter Theatre) and The Hothouse (Trafalgar) – all by Harold Pinter. Lloyd’s other theatre credits include The Ruling Class, Rich  ard III, The Pride and Macbeth(Olivier nomination for Best Revival), all for The Jamie Lloyd Company at Trafalgar Studios. Other credits include Assassins (Menier Chocolate Factory), Urinetown (St. James & Apollo), The Commitments (Palace), Cyrano de Bergerac (Roundabout Theatre Company; American Airlines Theatre, Broadway); The Duchess of Malfi (Old Vic); She Stoops to Conquer (National, Olivier; Whatsonstage nomination for Best Revival); The Faith Machine, The Pride (Royal Court; Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for The Pride), Inadmissible Evidence, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Passion, Polar Bears (all at the Donmar; Evening Standard Award for Best Musical for Passion), Piaf (Donmar, also Vaudeville/Teatro Liceo, Buenos Aires/Nuevo Teatro Alcala, Madrid; Olivier nomination for Best Musical Revival, Hugo Award for Best Director, Clarin Award for Best Musical Production, ADEET Award for Best Production); The Little Dog Laughed (Garrick), Three Days of Rain (Apollo; Olivier nomination for Best Revival, Whatsonstage nomination for Best Revival) and Elegies: a Song Cycle (Arts) in the West End; The School for Scandal (Theatre Royal, Bath); Salome(Headlong) and Eric’s (Liverpool Everyman). He has also directed plays as a part of the Old Vic 24 Hour Plays and the Royal Court International Residencies. Jamie was Associate Director of the Donmar from 2008 to 2011 and Associate Artist of Headlong.

Keith Allen’s theatre credits include Smack Family Robinson (Rose, Kingston and New York),Comedians (Lyric Hammersmith), Treasure Island (Theatre Royal Haymarket), The Celebration & The Room (Almeida and New York) and Teddy in The Homecoming (National Theatre). TV and film credits include Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, three series of Robin Hood (BBC), Uncle(BBC), Treasure Island (Sky) and Death in Paradise (BBC).

Gemma Chan recently played the lead role of Anita in the Channel 4 drama Humans. Her theatre credits include Yellow Face (NT Shed), Our Ajax (Southwark Playhouse), and The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie (Finborough). Other TV credits include Fresh Meat, The Game, Mummy’s Boys, Bedlam, and Death in Paradise. Film credits include Belles Familles, London Fields and Jack Ryan.

Ron Cook returns to Trafalgar having appeared in The Ruling Class for The Jamie Lloyd Company. His extensive theatre credits include Henry V (Noel Coward), Trelawney of the Wells, Richard II, King Lear, Hamlet, Twelfth Night (all Donmar), The Seafarer (National). TV credits include four series of Mr Selfridge (ITV), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (BBC), Bert and Dickie(BBC), and Vera (ITV), Little Dorrit (BBC). Film credits include Hot Fuzz, On A Clear Day, 24 Hour Party People, Charlotte Gray, Chocolat, Topsy Turvy and Secrets and Lies.

Gary Kemp’s previous theatre credits include Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Rubenstein Kiss (Hampstead), Pig Night (Menier Chocolate Factory) and Art(Wyndham’s). TV credits include Lewis (ITV), Casualty (BBC), M.I.T (Thames), Murder in Mind(BBC) and The Larry Sanders Show (HBO). Film credits include: Assassin, Molly Moon, Poppies, Dog Eat Dog, American Daylight, The Krays, The Bodyguard, Paper Marriage, Killing Zoe, Hide & Seek and Still Crazy. Gary is a founding member of the band Spandau Ballet.

John Macmillan’s previous theatre credits include In The Red and Brown Water, The Member of the Wedding (both Young Vic), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Almeida), Macbeth (Royal Exchange), Hamlet (nominated for the Ian Charleson Award; Donmar West End and Broadway). TV credits include three series of Silk (BBC), New Tricks (BBC) Critical (Hat Trick) and Hoff the Record (Dave). Film credits include Fury, Maleficent, World War Z and The Dark Knight Rises.

John Simm is reunited with Jamie Lloyd having starred in the Trafalgar production of The Hothouse (The Jamie Lloyd Company). Simm is a well-known presence from such TV and film roles as Everyday, Tuesday, Miranda, 24 Hour Party People, Human Traffic, The Village (BBC), Prey (ITV), Mad Dogs (Sky TV), Dr Who, Life on Mars, State of Play and The Lakes (all BBC TV).Other theatre credits include Three Days in the Country (National Theatre), Speaking in Tongues (Duke of York’s), Hamlet and Betrayal (Sheffield Crucible) and Elling (Bush and West End).

LISTINGS

THE HOMECOMING
A THE JAMIE LLOYD COMPANY PRODUCTION
14 NOVEMBER 2015 – 13 FEBRUARY 2016

For priority information and seat releases follow us on:
Twitter @JamieLloydCo
Facebook /JamieLloydCo

ON SALE TO ATG THEATRECARD HOLDERS ON FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2015 FROM 10AM AND GENERAL ONSALE ON TUESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER FROM 10AM

Performances:                                       Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm
Thursday & Saturday at 2.30pm

                                                            THE HOMECOMING

Ticket prices:                                       £15 all tickets on Mondays
£29.50, £39.50, £52.50
Premium Seats Available

All tickets will be £15 on Mondays. Half of these will be made available through a special outreach scheme, targeted towards schools and first-time theatregoers. The other half will be released monthly to the public on the first day of each month and will be available online or at Trafalgar Studios box office.

Address:                                               Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall,
Westminster, SW1A 2DY

Box Office:                                            0844 871 7632

Website:                                                thejamielloydcompany.com

Facebook                                              facebook.com/JamieLloydCo

Twitter                                                  @JamieLloydCo

TONY AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY MUSICAL

IN THE HEIGHTS

EXTENDS RUN AT KING’S CROSS THEATRE

UNTIL SUNDAY 10 APRIL 2016

Initially booking for a limited 4 week run, Tony Award-winning Broadway musical In The Heights has extended its run at King’s Cross Theatre for a second time, now booking for an additional 3 months until Sunday 10 April 2016. In The Heights returns to London following a critically acclaimed sell-out UK premiere at Southwark Playhouse in 2014.

The first trailer is also released today (click here to view), featuring David Bedella (The Rocky Horror Show) as Kevin, Josie Benson (Sweeney Todd) as Camila, Vas Constanti (Flashdance) as Piragua Guy, Jade Ewen (Sugababes) as Vanessa, Lily Frazer (Cats) as Nina, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (A Chorus Line) as Daniela, Sam Mackay (Wonder.land) as Usnavi, Antoine Murray-Straughan (Cats) as Graffiti Pete, Sarah Naudi as Carla, Eve Polycarpou (Mother Courage and Her Children) as Abuela, Joe Aaron Reid (Ghost, Broadway) as Benny and Cleve September (professional debut) as Sonny. The cast also includes Jocasta Almgill, Courtney-Mae Briggs, Michael Cortez, Gabriela Garcia, Reiss Hinds, Alexandra Sarmiento, Spin and Philippa Stefani.

In The Heights is an uplifting and exhilarating journey into Washington Heights, one of Manhattan’s most vibrant communities – a place where the coffee is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggle can be deciding which traditions to take with you, and which ones to leave behind. With a gripping story and unforgettable Latin and hip-hop infused score, In The Heights is a ground-breaking contemporary musical about what it takes to make a living, what it costs to have a dream, and what it means to be home.

In The Heights opened at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2008 where it was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, winning four for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations. It also won the 2009 Grammy Award for its Original Broadway Cast Album and was nominated for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Drama.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is the Tony-winning composer-lyricist of In the Heights. He also originated the lead role of Usnavi for which he received a Tony-Award nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. Lin-Manuel is currently starring in the title role in his newest musical Hamilton, which had its world premiere at The Public Theater in January 2015 before transferring to Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre in July 2015. The production has so far received a record-breaking 10 Lortel Awards, 3 Outer Critic Circle Awards, 8 Drama Desk Awards, the 2015 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best New Musical and the 2015 OBIE Award for Best New American Play.

In The Heights is directed by Luke Sheppard whose recent credits include Casa Valentina(Southwark Playhouse), Oliver! (Watermill Theatre), Adrian Mole (Curve Theatre), Next Fall (Southwark Playhouse), Bed And Sofa (Finborough Theatre) and Jet Set Go! (Jermyn Street Theatre). Luke is also Associate Director of Matilda in the West End and on Broadway.

It is choreographed by Drew McOnie, who won the 2015 Off West End Award for Best Choreography forIn The Heights at Southwark Playhouse. Recent credits include The Lorax (Old Vic), Hairspray (UK Tour), Bugsy Malone (Lyric Hammersmith), Oklahoma! (UK Tour), Chicago (Curve Theatre) and Drunk(Bridewell Theatre). Drew is also the Artistic Director of The McOnie Company and an Associate Artist at The Old Vic, for which he is currently creating a new dance-thriller version of Jekyll and Hyde.

Tickets start at £22.50, with a selection of best seats available for Under 25s at a special rate of £15 at every performance.

In The Heights is conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda with Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a Book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. It is directed by Luke Sheppard with choreography by Drew McOnie, musical supervision by Tom Deering (Made In Dagenham, From Here To Eternity), set design by takis (Chicago, Curve Theatre), costume design by Gabriella Slade (Alice in Wonderland, Oxford Playhouse), lighting design by Howard Hudson (Adrian Mole, Titanic) and sound design by Gareth Owen. Casting is by Will Burton. It is produced in London by Tristan Baker andCharlie Parsons for Runaway Entertainment Ltd and Paul Taylor Mills Ltd.

King’s Cross Theatre is a brand new purpose built theatre at King’s Cross Station. The venue is also home to The Railway Children which will play in rep with In The Heights. King’s Cross Theatre features a late night bar at performances of In The Heights, opening an hour before every performance until late, with live music and DJs after certain performances. 

Twitter @InTheHeightsLDN

www.intheheightslondon.com

LISTINGS

Saturday 3 October 2015 – Sunday 10 April 2016

KING’S CROSS THEATRE

Good’s Way, King’s Cross, London, N1C 4UR

Performances: Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday 8.00pm, Saturday 8.30pm, Sunday 6.00pm, Tuesday 3.00pm (Additional performances 23 and 30 December, 8.30pm) (No performances 4-17 January 2016)

Tickets: From £22.50 (with a guaranteed selection of £15 tickets per performance for U25)

Box Office: 0844 871 7604 | www.intheheightslondon.com

Aria Entertainment presents a 9 week season of Jewish themed work Upstairs At The Gatehouse Theatre in February-April 2016. The headline musical will be the revival of the musical Bar Mitzvah Boy.

Bar Mitzvah Boy – Jack Rosenthal adapted his award winning 1976 TV play (British Academy Best Play Award and Broadcasting Press Guild Best Play Award), for the musical stage with America’s Oscar and Tony award composer Jule Styne and lyrics by Oscar and Tony award winner Don Black.

The season will begin with a newly commisioned show THE GREAT JEWISH AMERCIAN SONGBOOK which will run from February 9th-29th. Press perf Thurs 11 February. 

 

JEWISH SONGWRITERS WHO MADE ENTERTAINMENT HISTORY!

How is it that Jews wrote the musical background to American lives from the First World War to the sixties?
In a land of opportunity, they created a musical world of escapism and romance… and helped invent the American Dream.

‘THE GREAT AMERICAN JEWISH SONGBOOK’ EXPLORES A CENTURY OF SONG, FEATURING THE GREATEST SONGWRITERS EVER!

Written by Chris Burgess

Musical Arrangements by Andy Collyer

Directed by Matthew Gould

BRUNTWOOD PRIZE FOR PLAYWRITING 2015

• Winner will be announced next week
• Full ceremony will be live-streamed atwww.writeaplay.co.uk
• 1.15pm, Tuesday 17 November

The winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2015 will be announced on Tuesday 17 November at a ceremony at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. The ceremony is open to the public (tickets via www.royalexchange.co.uk) and will also be broadcast live online atwww.writeaplay.co.uk. The ceremony commences at 1.15pm.

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2015 closed for entries on 5th June and 1,938 entries have been carefully wittled down by an army of over 80 readers to a shortlist of 10. Now the panel of judges chaired by Nicholas Hytner and including journalist Miranda Sawyer, actor Meera Syal, and former Bruntwood Prize winner Vivienne Franzmann are reading the final 10 and deciding the winners.

Writers of all levels of experience were invited to enter plays, which must be original, unperformed and unproduced. The winner will receive a prize of £16,000 and a production of their play. The competition, which runs every two years, is a unique partnership between the Royal Exchange Theatre and property company Bruntwood.

Two of 2013’s winners – YEN by Anna Jordan, and THE ROLLING STONE by Chris Urch – received their critically acclaimed world premieres at the Royal Exchange this year.

The judging panel for this year’s prize is chaired by Nicholas Hytner, former Artistic Director of the National Theatre. The full judging panel is as follows:

• Nicholas Hytner (former Artistic Director, National Theatre)
• Sarah Frankcom (Artistic Director, Royal Exchange Theatre)
• Vivienne Franzmann (playwright and former Bruntwood winner)
• Ramin Gray (Artistic Director, Actors Touring Company)
• Bryony Lavery (playwright)
• Michael Oglesby CBE (Chairman, Bruntwood)
• Miranda Sawyer (writer and broadcaster)
• Meera Syal CBE (actor and writer).

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is open to writers in the UK and Ireland aged 16 and over.

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is Britain’s biggest playwriting competition.  This round marks the 10th anniversary of the Prize, which has supported the development and productions of a significant number of playwrights since its inception in 2005.  17 playwrights have been awarded a total of £160,000.  There have been fifteen critically acclaimed productions of winning entries, as well as a number of productions of plays elsewhere that were identified through the judging process.

Over 10,000 entries have been generated from across the United Kingdom and winning playwrights have gone on to have work produced at the Royal Court Theatre, Almeida Theatre, on Broadway and in the West End.  It is a significant investment in playwrights and support for new work on stage.  More information about the Prize can be found atwww.writeaplay.co.uk/about.

GUILD’S GROUNDBREAKING GATSBY.

From Thursday 3 – Thursday 31 December, the Guild of Misrule bring to life F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic story of The Great Gatsby in an entirely interactive and completely unique style.  The venue is The Fleeting Arms on Gillygate in York and the performance will take place across all three floors of the building, throwing the audience into the centre of the novel’s 1920s world of red hot jazz and bootleg liquor.

This exciting immersive production, part performance and part installation, will tell the story of Gatsby using free form narrative; surrounding and entwining the audience as they participate and become characters themselves.  As they make their way from room to room, specialitycocktails and a curated sound design will bring them even deeper into the world of Jay Gatsby.

Alexander Wright (Belt Up Theatre) of the Guild of Misrule said:

The story is one of excess, of too much money, of dancing too hard and with no consideration for the consequences.  Set in the run up to the Wall Street Crash, the story chimes well with our current age.  York has not seen anything like this before, we can guarantee.

Well-known faces from the York area will be playing the professional roles in the company: Michael Lambourne, last seen in York Theatre Royal’s production of The Railway Children, joins the company; Phil Grainger, who recently directed Easingwold’s promenade production of Alice in Wonderland and Tabitha Grove, currently touring in Clap Trap Theatre’s production of Broken. Amie Burns Walker, who played Juliet in The Flanagan Collective’s Romeo and Juliet, returns to York along with Holly Beasley Garrigan from Romeo and Juliet and Fine Chisel. Ollie Tilney, who took to the West End for a year-long run in Mamma Mia, completes the company with Thomas Mellar from Secret Cinema

The Fleeting Arms is a pop up pub and arts space on Gillygate, in the centre of York. Since March 2015 the space has played host to productions, installations, gigs, exhibitions, rehearsals, events and some pretty swinging parties. Established by the arts community of York, The Fleeting Arms provides a free and open creative space for people to play, make and mingle with a good drink in hand.  The Great Gatsby runs across December, with specially curated Gatsby Lates after the show on Friday and Saturday nights. Cocktails and food will be on offer across the performances.

Alexander continued:

We’re having a special show on the 23rd December for Christmas – that’s going to be quite amazing. And we’re hosting the New Year’s Eve party to end all New Year’s Eve parties on the 31st December – the very last night of The Fleeting Arms. Every Christmas, the city would elect a Lord of Misrule to wreak havoc across the festive period. This would end with a big supper, where all the masters served all the servants. So we are here, as stewards of the Guild, to cause a little more chaos, to offer something new and exciting for the festive period.’

Tickets for The Great Gatsby are on sale now priced £10 (previews) – £15 from York Theatre Royal Box Office in person, over the phone on 01904 623568 or securely online fromyorktheatreroyal.co.uk.  £1 transaction fee per booking applies. Audiences are encouraged to dress for the occasion and to bring their dancing shoes.

REVIEW: Shrek (Empire Theatre, Sunderland)

November 13, 2015 

For: West End Wilma 

https://www.westendwilma.com/review-shrek-empire-theatre-sunderland/

“What makes us different makes us stronger”

Shrek arrives in Sunderland and after nearly two years on tour and you have to worry about the state of Gerard Carey’s knees.

Surrounded by children and adults alike, this really is a show for everyone, with the men in the audience laughing much more than the children. But Shrek has everything – a love story, triumph over adversity, music, dance and comedy. The perfect feel good family show. But who can fail to enjoy a show where the safety announcements warn you that an ogre will fart on your head if you are caught filming or taking photo’s. And Sunderland Empire staff are clearly wary of the ogre and the stench as they are very vigilant and quick to warn any offenders.

Dean Chisnall was taking a break so Jake Small was Shrek, and a fabulous Shrek he was too. Completely unrecognisable under the layers of green prosthetics. He charmingly captures the poignancy and gallows humour of Shrek. Setting out on his quest to evict the Fairytale characters invading his swamp, he ends up falling for Fiona and is genuinely touching as he falls in love.

Idris Kargbo is the equally lovable Donkey, full of energy and talent his performance of Make a Move was hilarious and fantastically choreographed.

Bronté Barbé has moved up the ranks and is now Princess Fiona on tour. Holding her own in some highly comical scenes, including their very funny farting and burping competition. Feisty and loveable and a mess of contradictions in a dress.

And back to Gerard Carey, who spends the entire performance on his knees as short-statured Lord Farquaad, who had the audience in hysterics without even needing to open his mouth!

Set design, from Tim Hatley, is flawless and scenery moves from palace to woods and meadows seamlessly. But the greatest feat must have been to bring to life the huge dragon. This wonderful puppet, handled by several puppeteers, fills the stage and threatens all with the same tail and green eyes it uses to romance Donkey. With a stand out performance for the outstanding vocals of Candace Furbert, voicing the part.

With a cheeky sense of humour, the entire ensemble is excellent, vocals and choreography are as classy and fun as expected, with a very post-modern spin on the world of fairytales. This colourful, invigorating stage adaptation which is packed with new songs from lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire and music arranged by Jeanine Tesori is outstanding with special merit to the costumes.

Overall, it’s a fantastic family show which will have kids of all ages entertained, and as an added bonus, keep alert for numerous amusing musical parodies peppered throughout.

Empire Theatre, Sunderland – 12 November 2015

“What makes us different makes us stronger”

Shrek arrives in Sunderland and after nearly two years on tour and you have to worry about the state of Gerard Carey’s knees

Surrounded by children and adults alike, this really is a show for everyone, with the men in the audience laughing much more than the children.  But Shrek has everything – a love story, triumph over adversity, music, dance and comedy.  The perfect feel good family show.  But who can fail to enjoy a show where the safety announcements warn you that an ogre will fart on your head if you are caught filming or taking photo’s.  And Sunderland Empire staff are clearly wary of the ogre and the stench as they are very vigilant and quick to warn any offenders.

Dean Chisnall was taking a break so Jake Small was Shrek, and a fabulous Shrek he was too.  Completely unrecognisable under the layers of green prosthetics.  He charmingly captures the poignancy and gallows humour of Shrek.  Setting out on his quest to evict the Fairytale characters invading his swamp, he ends up falling for Fiona and is genuinely touching as he falls in love.

Idris Kargbo is the equally lovable Donkey, full of energy and talent his performance of Make a Move was hilarious and fantastically choreographed.

Bronté Barbé has moved up the ranks and is now Princess Fiona on tour.  Holding her own in some highly comical scenes, including their very funny farting and burping competition.  Feisty and loveable and a mess of contradictions in a dress.

And back to Gerard Carey, who spends the entire performance on his knees as short-statured Lord Farquaad, who had the audience in hysterics without even needing to open his mouth!

Set design, from Tim Hatley, is flawless and scenery moves from palace to woods and meadows seamlessly. But the greatest feat must have been to bring to life the huge dragon. This wonderful puppet, handled by several puppeteers, fills the stage and threatens all with the same tail and green eyes it uses to romance Donkey.  With a stand out performance for the outstanding vocals of Candace Furbert, voicing the part.

With a cheeky sense of humour, the entire ensemble is excellent, vocals and choreography are as classy and fun as expected, with a very post-modern spin on the world of fairytales.  This colourful, invigorating stage adaptation which is packed with new songs from lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire and music arranged by Jeanine Tesori is outstanding with special merit to the costumes

Overall, it’s a fantastic family show which will have kids of all ages entertained, and as an added bonus, keep alert for numerous amusing musical parodies peppered throughout.

Above the Arts Theatre 9 – 21 November.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

A brilliantly barmy B-Musical, Vampire Hospital Waiting Room is a riot from start to finish. As the hospital waiting room fills up, Dr Bloom is busy reading his books of arcane prophecies about the coming of the vampire lord. He has developed a theory that the NHS is a front for collecting blood to feed the UK’s vampires, and wants to become immortal himself. (It’s all explained much better in the opening songs.) An emergency patient is brought into the hospital, comatose after a car crash, and Dr Bloom is convinced that he is the vampire lord. Helped by the patient’s wife, who wants him declared dead to inherit his millions, Bloom tries to carry out the ceremony needed to arouse the vampire lord and become a vampire himself.

Joe McArdle plays Dr Bloom as a cross between Matt Berry and Vincent Price, and is hysterical. His grimaces and vocal tics are repeated for what should be far too long, but, just like in The Simpsons, the audience is howling with laughter throughout. The scene where he carries out his tests on Arty (Craig Methven) is insane. Methven does a great job trying to keep a blank face, but the coma patient got the giggles with the shenanigans going on around him. The conceit of the audience being able to hear Arty’s thoughts is cleverly done. A change of lighting, and up he jumps from his wheelchair to address us. His flops back into unconsciousness as the cast continue the story get funnier each time. I swear the man is made of elastic.

Abby Jackson’s sexy nurse – yes that is the character’s name – is cheerfully unhelpful to the patient’s, and her overdramatic gestures fit in nicely with her  amazing singing. She channels every X Factor wannabe who fits in 10 notes instead of 1 and manages to make Shirley Bassey’s arm gestures look subtle. Roz Ford, as Arty’s wife also gives a wonderfully over the top performance – the best evil laugh I’ve heard for a long time.  Arty’s secretary Liz (Imogen Brabant), who was in the car with him when it crashed, is played as almost sane. Brabant’s love songs with the comatose Arty are a hoot. in “Love is a car crash”, Brabant’s parts are a lovelorn ballad, while Arty sings an up tempo song, mostly about sex.

John Rushton’s priest is delightfully underplayed amongst the scenery chewing – his comments about his stab wounds, and his very English attitude to waiting in the queue and not making a fuss make sure that this quieter character is not overlooked. Martin MacLennan’s Scottish stranger gets weirder and scarier throughout the show. His comic timing makes the disturbingly odd lines even funnier.

The script is full of fantastic jokes, some corny, some filthy, and the cast deliver them brilliantly. The songs are just as funny, with some fantastic comments about the lyrics and over dramatic backing singers by the characters. Dr Bloom gets the best lines though – I will never be able to look at stethoscopes and latex gloves with a straight face again.

This is an unashamedly corny and cheesy show that celebrates the best and worst of horror films and musicals with great affection. It’s very rare to find yourself laughing all the way through a show, but you will here. A bonkers show with a stellar cast – perfect late night entertainment.