National Theatre artistic director Rufus Norris has announced several new productions for 2016.

They include a new version of Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera, revivals of plays by Terence Rattigan and Sarah Kane, and new plays from Alexi Kaye Campbell and Suhayla El-Bushra.

The year will open in the Olivier Theatre in January with Yaël Farber’s production of Les Blancs by Lorraine Hansberry, the first of her plays to be produced at the National.

Farber’s recent productions include The Crucible (Old Vic), Nirbhaya and Mies Julie (Edinburgh Fringe and Riverside Studios).

It’s followed in the Olivier in May by Norris’s production of The Threepenny Opera, which will feature a translation by Simon Stephens (Port, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) and star Rory Kinnear (Hamlet, Othello) as Macheath.

Carrie Cracknell also returns to the National in June to direct Terence Rattigan’s modern classic The Deep Blue Sea in the Lyttelton Theatre.

This is preceded in the Lyttelton by The Suicide by Suhayla El-Bushra, which will transpose the 1928 play by Russian Nikolai Erdman to contemporary Britain. It will be directed by Nadia Fall from April.

Meanwhile in the Dorfman Theatre, Sarah Kane’s Cleansed will be revived by Katie Mitchell from February, marking the first production of a Kane play at the National.

Annie Baker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Flick, directed by Sam Gold, will open at the Dorfman in April. It’s followed from May by Alexi Kaye Campbell’s National Theatre debut with Sunset at the Villa Thalia, which will be directed by Simon Godwin.

Godwin is among Norris’s newly announced associates, alongside sound designer Paul Arditti, director Nadia Fall and actor Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.

Plays in the Temporary Theatre (formerly The Shed) between January and March will include Iphigenia in Splott by Gary Owen, Jack Thorne’s The Solid Life of Sugar Waterand Islington Community Theatre’s Brainstorm.

Elsewhere, casting was announced today for former Royal Court artistic director Dominic Cooke’s production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom by August Wilson; opening in the Lyttelton Theatre on 2 February, the company will include Sharon D Clarke, O-T Fagbenle, Lucian Msamati and Giles Terera.

And as previously reported, Norris confirmed that the National’s long-running production of War Horse will close at the West End’s New London Theatre on 12 March 2016 after an eight-year run.

Full casting is announced for the highly acclaimed Chichester Festival Theatre revival of Guys and Dolls, which will open at the Savoy Theatre for a strictly limited 13 week run from 10 December 2015. Joining Sophie Thompson as Miss Adelaide and Jamie Parker as Sky Masterson, are David Haig as Nathan Detroit and Siubhan Harrison as Sarah Brown. Guys and Dolls will see Sophie Thompson and David Haig perform together for the first time since their comic pairing as bride and groom, Lydia and Bernard, in the British smash hit film, Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Nathan Detroit (David Haig) is desperate: he needs money for an illegal dice game, and he needs it fast. Not to mention a 14-year engagement with nightclub singer Miss Adelaide (Sophie Thompson), whose patience is finally running out. Enter notorious gambler Sky Masterson (Jamie Parker), a guy who can never turn down a bet, and straight-laced missionary Sarah Brown (Siubhan Harrison), a doll with a heart of ice. Nathan’s wager is that Sky has to romance Sarah by taking her to Havana for dinner and in return he’ll provide a dozen ‘sinners’ for Sarah’s mission. Surely this is one bet Nathan absolutely can’t lose?

A joyous and vibrant celebration of Prohibition-era New York, Guys and Dolls first premiered on Broadway in 1950 and captured the optimism and energy of post-World War Two America. This hugely popular and multi award-winning musical, based on the colourful stories by American journalist Damon Runyon renowned for his vivid fictional depictions of the gamblers, hustlers and nightclub singers of New York, features some of Broadway’s greatest musical numbers including ‘My Time of Day’, ‘Luck be a Lady’ and the show-stopping ‘Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat’. Guys and Dolls is directed by Gordon Greenberg with choreography by Cuban dancer and former Royal Ballet star Carlos Acosta and Andrew Wright whose credits include Chichester Festival Theatre’s Singin’ in the Rain.

Sophie Thompson plays Miss Adelaide. Theatre credits include The Physicists (Donmar), She Stoops To Conquer (National Theatre), Clybourne Park (Royal Court), Measure for Measure (Shakespeare’s Globe), Into the Woods (Donmar Warehouse) for which she received an Olivier Award, and Company (Donmar Warehouse and West End). Television credits include Lightfields, Watson and Oliver, Poirot, Doc Martin, Big Top, and Stella Crawford in EastEnders. Film credits include Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Eat, Pray, Love, Fat Slags, Nicholas Nickleby, Gosford Park, Dancing at Lughnasa, Emma and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

David Haig plays Nathan Detroit. David is currently in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me at Chichester Festival Theatre where previous credits include Pressure (a co-production with Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh) and Yes, Prime Minister, which transferred to the West End. Other theatre credits include The Madness of George III (Theatre Royal Bath and West End), Mary Poppins (Prince Edward Theatre), Hitchcock Blonde (Royal Court and West End), House and Garden (National Theatre), Art (Wyndham’s and Broadway), and Our Country’s Good at the Royal Court, for which David won the Olivier Award for Best Actor. Television credits include The Thick Of It, Mo, The 39 Steps, My Boy Jack, Talking Heads and The Thin Blue Line. Film credits include Florence Foster Jenkins and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Jamie Parker plays Sky Masterson. Jamie was seen most recently as Mike Connor in High Society at The Old Vic. Other theatre credits include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Chichester and West End), Proof (Menier Chocolate Factory), Henry V, Henry IV Part I and Henry IV Part 2, As You Like Like It (all for Shakespeare’s Globe), Racing Demon (Sheffield Crucible), Revenger’s Tragedy (National Theatre) and The History Boys (National Theatre, Broadway and Australia and Hong Kong). Television credits include Parade’s End, Silk, The Hour, Silent Witness and Wire in the Blood. Film credits include Le Weekend, Valkyrie and The History Boys.

Siubhan Harrison plays Sarah Brown. Theatre credits include Pitcairn (Out of Joint/Shakespeare’s Globe/Chichester), From Here To Eternity (Shaftesbury Theatre), Earthquakes in London (Headlong and National Theatre), Grease (Piccadilly Theatre), Bad Girls The Musical (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and We Will Rock You (Dominion).

Completing the cast are Lucy Jane Adcock, Abigail Brodie, Cornelius Clarke, Momar Diagne, Lavinia Fitzpatrick, Lorna Gale, Nic Greenshields, Selina Hamilton, Ian Hughes, Frankie Jenna, Jacob Maynard, Neil McCaul, Genevieve Nicole, William Oxborrow, Max Parker, Carl Patrick, James Revell, Giovanni Spano, Gavin Spokes, Jonathan Stewart, Lucie Mae Sumner and Liam Wrate.

The music and lyrics are by Frank Loesser, whose credits include How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and the song ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’. The book is by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Burrows’ credits include How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Swerling’s credits include the seminal film It’s A Wonderful Life.

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR

GARY BARLOW AND TIM FIRTH’S NEW MUSICAL

THE GIRLS

BASED ON THE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL FILM & AWARD-WINNING STAGE PLAY

CALENDAR GIRLS

WORLD PREMIERE AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

The full cast has been announced for Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s new British musical, THE GIRLS. Based on the true story, the film and award-winning play by Tim Firth, Calendar Girls, the brand new production has its world premiere at Leeds Grand Theatre from Saturday 14 November to Saturday 12 December.

The cast will be led by Debbie Chazen as Ruth, Sara Kestelman as Jessie, Claire Machin as Cora, Claire Moore as Chris, Vivien Parry as Celia, Joanna Riding as Annie and Harriet Thorpe as Marie.

Debbie Chazen played Ethel Kingsley in Mike Leigh’s film Topsy-Turvy and her many television credits include the lead roles of Annie in Smoking Room and Kelly-Su Crabtree in Psychoville.  Sara Kestelman won an Olivier Award for her performance as Fraulein Schneider in Sam Mendes’ Cabaret at the Donmar; Sara has appeared extensively with the RSC, including playing Titania in Peter Brook’s landmark production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She also created the role of Margrethe Bohr in Michael Frayn’s award winningCopenhagen.  Claire Machin’s credits include My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Betty Blue Eyes and Memphis.  Claire Moore originated the role of Ellen in Miss Saigon.  Her other credits include Christine in The Phantom of the Opera, Fantine and Madame Thenardier in Les Miserables and the National Theatre’s award-winning London Road.    Vivien Parry’s credits include Madge in the original cast of Top Hat, Donna in Mamma Mia! and Mrs Johnston in Blood Brothers.  Joanna Riding won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice for her roles as Julie in Carousel at the National Theatre and as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.  Harriet Thorpe’s many television roles include Carole in Brittas Empire and Fleur in Absolutely Fabulous.  Her recent theatre credits include Great Britain, Wicked and Mamma Mia!.

Also starring Stephen Boswell (Top Hat in the West End) as Colin, Joe Caffrey (The Pitmen Painters for the National Theatre, and played the Father in Billy Elliott) as Rod, Jeremy Clyde (credits include The Alan Clark Diaries and The Iron Lady) as Denis, Susan Fay as Brenda, Steve Giles as Lawrence, Richard Huw (credits include Line of Duty) as John, Shirley Jameson as Miss Wilson, Judith Street as Lady Cravenshire and Karen West as the other Miss Wilson, and introducing the previously announced Josh Benson as Tommo, Ben Hunter as Danny and Chloe May Jackson as Jenny.

THE GIRLS is inspired by the true story of a group of ladies, who decide to appear nude for a Women’s Institute calendar in order to raise funds to buy a settee for their local hospital, in memory of one of their husbands.  This musical comedy shows life in their Yorkshire village, how it happened, the effect on husbands, sons and daughters, and how a group of ordinary ladies achieved something extraordinary.

The Girls premieres at Leeds Grand Theatre from Saturday 14^th November to Saturday 12^th December

 

Tickets for The Girls are on sale now priced from £10 to £45

 

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

 

Kylie Vilcins by arrangement with Paul Taylor-Mills Ltd presents

CLOSER TO HEAVEN

A musical by Jonathan Harvey and Pet Shop Boys

RETURNING TO THE UNION THEATRE

FROM WEDNESDAY 21 OCTOBER TO SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2015

FOLLOWING ITS SELL-OUT RUN EARLIER THIS YEAR

 

 

“It’s a good thing that the wild spirit of Soho is being resuscitated – in a fringe theatre by Southwark tube station”

Daily Telegraph

 

Closer to Heaven, the musical by Jonathan Harvey and Pet Shop Boys, will return to the Union Theatre following its sell-out run in April 2015, playing from Wednesday 21 October to Saturday 28 November 2015.

Set against the backdrop of Soho’s pulsing clubland, Closer to Heaven tells the story of Dave, just off the boat from Ireland and determined to make something of himself. He is offered a bar job at a glitzy London nightclub, where he quickly becomes part of an unconventional family including Billie Trix, a fading rock star of the sixties and mother figure to the club’s habitués – Vic, the club’s owner and a middle-aged gay father and his daughter Shell, who Dave sparks an immediate connection with. But will Dave truly discover himself in London, or will he fall into a labyrinth of excess, false agendas and the darker side of club life?

 

Closer to Heaven originally premiered at the Arts Theatre in 2001, and features an original club score by Pet Shop Boys. It received its first London revival at the Union Theatre in April 2015.

 

Pet Shop Boys are the UK’s most successful pop duo with 12 Top Ten studio albums and 40 Top Twenty singles including four number one records. Their first single West End Girls reached number one in nine countries, with further number one hits including It’s a Sin, Always on My Mind and Heart. They have won Brit awards for Best Single, Best Group and Outstanding Contribution to Music, and Ivor Novello Awards for Songwriting and Outstanding Contribution to British Music. They have a dedicated interest in combining music with theatre and film, having collaborated on tours with artist/director Derek Jarman, David Alden and David Fielding from the ENO, theatre designers Ian MacNeil and Es Devlin and director Sam Taylor-Wood. In 2001,Closer to Heaven was produced in the West End, and in 2011 their ballet The Most Incredible Thing, choreographed by Javier De Frutos, premiered at Sadler’s Wells.

 

Jonathan Harvey is the multi award-winning writer of Beautiful Thing, which returns to the West End in June. He has written 20 stage plays including Corrie!, Canary, Hushabye Mountain, Babies, Boom Bang A Bang andRupert Street Lonely Hearts Club. His theatre work has won him an Evening Standard Award, two Manchester Evening News Awards, the George Devine Award and the John Whiting Award. Television work includes the Bafta nominated sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, Beautiful People, Coronation Street, Shameless, Rev (Bafta, Best Sitcom), At Home With The Braithwaites, Lilies, The Catherine Tate Show and Murder Most Horrid. Jonathan has also written 4 novels, published by Pan Macmillan, All She Wants, The Confusion of Karen Carpenter, The Girl Who Just Appeared, and The Secrets We Keep.

Closer to Heaven will be directed by Gene David Kirk, whose recent credits include Me & My Friend (Drayton Arms Theatre), The Two-Character Play by Tennessee Williams (Off Broadway), Orwell: A Celebration (Trafalgar Studios), The Ash Boy (Theatre503) and Elgar & Alice (UK Tour). Gene was Artistic Director of Jermyn Street Theatre from 2007 – 2012, winning The Stage’s Theatre of the Year Award in 2012. Gene was Executive Producer for the stage premiere of Samuel Beckett’s All That Fall starring Sir Michael Gambon and Dame Eileen Atkins, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, which transferred to the West End’s Arts Theatre and to Off-Broadway’s 59east59 Theatre. Gene is currently Artistic Director of the Drayton Arms Theatre.

 

Paul Taylor-Mills Ltd returns to the Union Theatre following productions of The Beautiful Game and Bare: The Rock Musical. Other productions include Casa Valentina, Carrie: The Musical and In The Heights (Southwark Playhouse), Altar Boyz (Greenwich Theatre) and The Cat in the Hat (UK Tour).

Closer to Heaven has a book by Jonathan Harvey and music and lyrics by Pet Shop Boys. It is directed byGene David Kirk with choreography by Philip Joel, musical direction by Patrick Stockbridge and design byDavid Shields. Casting is by Adam Braham. It is produced by Kylie Vilcins for Paul Taylor-Mills Ltd, by special arrangement with The Really Useful Group.

Casting is to be announced.

@Closer_2Heaven

LISTINGS

 

WEDNESDAY 21 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2015

UNION THEATRE

204 Union Street, London SE1 0LX

Gala Night: Date TBC

Performances: Tuesday – Saturday at 7.30pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2.30pm

Tickets: £40 (Premium/Reserved), £35, £30 (Concessions)

Box Office: 020 7261 9876 | www.ticketsource.co.uk/uniontheatre

ON SALE NOW

ELLIE GOULDING

 Sheffield Arena

Satruday 12^th March 2016 

 

Ellie Goulding has announced details of a UK Arena tour in March 2016. Goulding will perform in 10 cities, including a Sheffield Arena headline debut on Saturday 12^th March.  Ticket go on sale Friday 25^th September at 9am.

The tour news comes hot-on-the-heels of the announcement that Goulding will release her third studio album ‘Delirium’ on November 6^th on Polydor Records. It has been a whirlwind few years for the singer from Herefordshire. Since the release of her debut ‘Lights’ in 2010, she has sold over 20 million records, had two Number One albums, won two Brit Awards and had Vevo views and streams both in excess of one billion. This year’s ‘Love Me Like You Do’ single, meanwhile, was a worldwide Number One hitting the top spot in 70 countries and breaking the record for the most streamed song in one week. Some artists might be inhibited about where to go after such success but Goulding had no doubts: make everything bigger, better and braver.

Tickets go on sale Friday 25^th September at 9am, available online atwww.sheffieldarena.co.uk, via the ticket hotline on 0114 256 5656 or in person at the Arena box office.

Tickets purchased online or by phone are priced £38.50 including booking fee.  Tickets purchased in person at the Arena box office are priced £36.75 including booking fee.

 

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR REGIONAL PREMIÈRE OF DEBORAH BRUCE’S

THE DISTANCE AT SHEFFIELD THEATRES

 

Sheffield Theatres today announce the cast for their forthcoming co-production with Orange Tree Theatre of Deborah Bruce’s The Distance. The regional première of the sharply funny play about friendship and family opens in the Studio Theatre on Thursday 29 October running until Saturday 14 November.  The production will then transfer to Orange Tree Theatre from Thursday 26 November.

 

Sheffield Theatres’ Associate Director Charlotte Gwinner (Crave, 4:48 Psychosis) directs Michelle Duncan (Grantchester, Call The Midwife, Luther, Atonement) as Bea, with Charlotte Emmerson (From Darkness, DCI Banks, Peak Practice) as Alex.  Returning to the roles they played in the original production of The Distance at the Orange Tree Theatre, Daniel Hawksford (Waking The Dead, Colditz) plays Dewi and Timothy Knightley (The Inbetweeners 2) returns to the role of Simon. Charlotte Lucas (Jamaica Inn, Not Going Out), seen earlier this year on the Crucible stage in David Hare’s The Absence of War, plays Kate, Steven Meo (Drifters, The Slate) plays Vinnie and, in his professional stage debut, Joshua Sinclair-Evans, plays Liam.

I am asking you both, as my oldest, closest friends, to accept the decision I have made. And I am sorry if it’s difficult to accept. I can assure you, it has been difficult to make.

Good friends should be there for one another – no matter what. But when Bea returns home after five years abroad having made a bold choice about her life, old friends struggle to support her. Or even to understand. One night in Brighton, things threaten to slide into chaos…

A sharply funny play about motherhood and fatherhood; about keeping control and letting go.

Tickets for The Distance can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres’ Box Office in-person, by phone on 0114 249 6000 or online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk and are priced from £12.00 (Concessions, school and group discounts available).  A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office (excluding cash).

Jamie Lloyd to direct the 50th anniversary production of The Homecoming by Harold Pinter

With Keith Allen, Gemma Chan, Ron Cook, Gary Kemp, John Macmillan and John Simm

14 November 2015 – 13 February 2016, Trafalgar Studio 1, London

The Jamie Lloyd Company returns to the West End with Harold Pinter’s enigmatic masterpiece,The Homecoming, in the 50th anniversary year of the multi award-winning modern classic.

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.

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

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.

Jamie Lloyd said: “This is a significant anniversary for this iconic, game-changing play and I couldn’t be more excited to be creating it with this dynamic cast of powerful actors. This production is the first project from our company’s new and ambitious slate of work that I can’t wait to announce over the coming months. I am thrilled to be introducing Pinter’s masterpiece to a new and diverse audience at Trafalgar and, determined as ever to make our productions as accessible as possible, I am looking forward to the return of our popular £15 Mondays.”

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, Richard 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
                                                            Press previews from 20th November and Gala Night on 23 November at 7.00pm
ALL REVIEWS EMBARGOED UNTIL 24 NOVEMBER 2015

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

 

The Lowry, Salford Quays – 17-20 September 2015.  Reviewed by Mavid Doyles

 

It certainly was a game of two halves….

…a remark I’m sure every ‘witty’ reviewer will make. In actual fact, it was a game of 4 quarters.

These four short plays performed at The Lowry, were written about ‘One city. Two teams’ and produced by the wonderful Monkeywood Theatre, a company at the pinnacle of Manchester’s theatre growth.

The doors opened to reveal an artificial and skewed football pitch, surrounded by an audience of ‘supporters’, many of which had chosen to wear their colours – an important element that perhaps the producers could have foreseen in casting the shows; this production is about football, for football fans. As a United fan, with a season ticket for 15 years, I was buckled in for an emotional and turbulent depiction of what football actually means to those die-hard fans from both sides of the city.

The first half opened with ‘We’re Not Really Here’ by Ian Kershaw. It’s shocking opening began with David Judge, a Royal Exchange veteran, delivering lines from a City song that fans will know to be the most shocking on the terraces – mocking the Munich disaster. With such strong writing, the piece needed to be carried forward with a passion and involvement in the ‘religion’ that is football, throughout. Sadly, it lacked this. Meriel Schofield played on the conscience of football hooligan, Judge, however, even with lines such as ‘Singing songs about death doesn’t make you a football fan’, she lacked the conviction and believability of someone who carried the weight of the loss that the whole of Manchester felt at the Munich disaster – perhaps a lack of research on both the actors parts? Judge in particular seemed intent on being the focus of attention with his heavy breathing and imitation of a passionate football fan – difficult for Meriel to carry the story against such over-acting. A show designed to highlight the removal of the soul of football by the media giants, it was an interesting script with provocative material that lacked the believability and passion that should be associated with football.

The second story again, failed to ignite a passion that was promised with such an anthology. ‘Stretford End’ was a play set in the ‘old firm’ seating bank of the stadium, as the title suggests, looking at how relationships are made, broken and made again through football. Chris Jack played an unconvincing ‘Cockney Red’ against the seemingly innocent fan played by Mark Jordon. Jack’s ex, Francesca Waite, arrives to add a little discomfort to the scene, played out at Fergusons’ last game at United. The scene continues with little drama, apart from the unexpected arrival of a fourth character. Some funny highlights save the piece, in particular when the ‘cockney red’s’ new girlfriend called her kids ‘Vincent and YaYa’ without alarm bells being raised. Again, a nice, inoffensive piece with some fun, but for those that have experienced a match in the ‘J Stand’, the truth and emotion that the writer, Lindsay Williams, was reaching for was missed.

Heading into the interval I was unfulfilled and left a little disheartened, wondering if any of the actors in the first half, being from a Manchester based company, in a play based on what is at the heart of the very city, had ever actually been to a football match, let alone experienced the thrill of a 94th minute goal.

The third piece opened with actor Andrew Sheridan emerging from the ‘players tunnel’ amidst fiery red smoke – already, the production team, director and writer of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Giggsy’ had touched upon the feelings that the football supporter audience had turned up to expect. This was, I thought, a show stealer, with Sheridan also playing the almost unbelievable, but expertly portrayed United fan, preaching to the masses. His quirks and string-belt added to a perfectly formed physical character. The appearance of Samantha Siddall’s mobility-scooter saddled City fan only added to the absurdity but wonderfulness of the situation. A Western-style stand off and faultelessly formed ‘Phoenix Nights Does Football’ portrayal of passion and dedication – even when your dog, Giggsy, a Welsh Terrier, has gone missing. Siddall and Sheridan give a masterclass in character acting and show that no matter what colour your shirt, we all bleed the same colour. Touching, funny and ridiculous in a perfect package wrapped up with The Stone Roses – to quote many United fans, thank god for the second half.

Show four built on what I thought was, undoubtedly, the piece of the night. ‘Only Football’ however, by Sarah McDonald Hughes, was fantastic. Combining the passion of every single football fan and the difficult history between a daughter and son, never did I think that the City winning the league would move me to tears (again!). Heartfelt, truthful and passionate and both Mark Jordon and Sarah McDonald Hughes (what a multi-tasker!) nailed it. Not only highlighting the difficulty a father might find in connecting to his estranged daughter, but also dealing with depression, an issue that is rife in todays world. The piece was not about football, but relationships. Subtle, beautiful and perfectly structured. McDonald Hughes was a delight and her text work was sophisticated and clearly intelligent, connecting to the audience on every level. It highlighted why the nation and the world can be united by one thing – football. For a United fan to be moved to tears by City’s winning goal is no mean feat.

All in all, a great night, however, reading through the credits, it makes me ask; ‘why would MonkeyWood stick so closely to the actors they have worked with before, when perhaps they aren’t the best for the job?’. The plays were about football, the city and passion, and some of the actors failed to meet the mark.

The first half, riddled with off-sides and own-goals.

The second half, a miraculous comeback, made into a comfortable victory with a touching and entertaining final piece.

Football fans, theatre-goers, both….go see this!

Broadcast live to cinema’s – original broadcast 17 September 2015

Celebrating 42 years of Rocky Horror, the marvellous musical was broadcast live to cinema’s throughout the world from The Playhouse Theatre in London.  Starring Richard O’Brien as one of the many narrators this was a night to a remember.

Watching the Rocky Horror show is not contained to watching the stage, the audience are equally as entertaining.  Even in a tiny cinema in North Yorkshire, people made the effort to dress to impress and possibly shock a few of the other cinema goers who weren’t quite expecting to see grown men in corsets, fishnets and stilettos.

Ben Forster and Hayley Flaherty as Brad and Janet were tremendous.  Sophie Linder-Lee (Columbia) and Jayde Westaby (Magenta) were brilliant especially encouraging Janet during “Touch Me”.  Rocky (Dominic Anderson) was muscular to the extreme and now I’m a muscle fan, and Richard Meek in the dual role of nephew Eddie and uncle Dr Scott was fabulous.  But the phenomenal reviews must go to David Bedella as one of the best Frank’s ever and the joyfully wonderful Kristian Lavercombe as Riff Raff.  But who can fail not to love and be inspired by the master of them all Richard O’Brien now fencing with the audience in the role of narrator.

Rocky Horror never grows old.  With each new generation comes an new legion of fans ready to do the Time Warp and with the show touring the UK later in the year a lot of people can enjoy the the live show

This gala show included Stephen Fry, Adrian Edmondson, Emma Bunton, Mel Giedroyc and Anthony Head as the guest narrators who managed to deal admirably with the hecklers.

The show was living by its core beliefs “Don’t Dream It – Be It” raising money for Amnesty International and it is still possible to donate by texting 70505