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Eileen Atkins has been announced as the recipient of The Gielgud Award at the UK Theatre Awards 2015. She is to receive The Gielgud Award for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts.

Atkins is an award-winning actress whose career has spanned seven decades. She has performed in numerous West End and Broadway productions and has won three Olivier Awards. Following a CBE in 1990, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 for Services to Drama.

The Gielgud Award for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts was established by The Shakespeare Guild in 1994 and previous recipients include Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen, Christopher Plummer and Patrick Stewart.

The ceremony, which will take place on Sunday 18 October at the Guildhall, London, will be compered by Michael Xavier.

Norma Heyman, John Reid, Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Michael Harrison have announced that following a sell-out season at the Theatre Royal Bath this summer, Mrs Henderson Presents will open at the Noel Coward Theatre on Tuesday 9th February 2016, for a strictly limited season, with press night on Tuesday 16th February 2016.

Mrs Henderson Presents will star Tracie Bennett as Laura Henderson, Ian Bartholomew as Vivian Van Damm and Emma Williams as Maureen who all reprise the roles they played in Bath. Full casting is to be announced shortly.

Based on the 2005 British comedy film Mrs Henderson Presents, written by American playwright Martin Sherman and directed by Stephen Frears. It starred Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Kelly Reilly, and Pop Idol winner Will Young in his acting debut.

The Book is by multi-award winning Terry Johnson, who is also the Director. Lyrics by the Oscar, Tony and Golden Globe winning Don Black with music by Oscar nominated George Fenton and Simon Chamberlain, who both collaborated on the original film. It is choreographed by Andrew Wright, has set design by Tim Shortall, costume design by Paul Wills and lighting design by Ben Ormerod. Wig, hair and make-up design is by Richard Mawbey, orchestrations are by Larry Blank with musical supervision by Mike Dixon.

It’s London, 1937, and recently-widowed eccentric, Laura Henderson, is looking for a way of spending her time and money when her attention falls on a run-down former cinema in Great Windmill Street. Hiring feisty impresario Vivian Van Damm to look after the newly renovated Windmill Theatre, the improbable duo present a bill of non-stop variety acts. But as war looms something more is required to boost morale and box office… When Mrs Henderson comes up with the idea of The Windmill Girls – glamorous young women posing as nude statues – audiences flock. And as the Blitz hits London, The Windmill provides a refuge for all, boasting the spirit-raising slogan “We Never Close“.

Tracie Bennett is a double Olivier Award-winner for her performances in the musicals She Loves Me and Hairspray. She received huge acclaim around the world for her portrayal of Judy Garland in End Of The Rainbow, and was Tony Award nominated for her lead role in the production, also directed by Terry Johnson. Her West End credits also include the musicals La Cage Aux Folles and Les Miserables. Her many popular television roles include playing Sharon Gaskell inCoronation Street and Sharon in Scott and Bailey. Ian Bartholomew was Olivier Award-nominated for the West End musicals Into the Woods and Radio Times. His many theatre credits include performing extensively at the National Theatre, most recently in The Power of Yes. His many West End credits include Shakespeare in Love, Tommy and Terry Johnson’s Dead Funny. Emma Williams played Truly Scrumptious in the original cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium. She was Olivier-nominated for her roles in the West End musicals Zorro and Love Story.

Terry Johnson’s work has been seen around the world. He is the recipient of a dozen major theatre awards including: the Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical 2010, the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival and Critics’ Circle Best Musical 2009 for La Cage Aux Folles. He won the Olivier Awards for Best Comedy of 1994 and of 1999, Playwright of the Year 1995, Critics’ Circle Best New Play 1995, two Evening Standard Theatre Awards, and Writers’ Guild Best Play in 1995 and 1996. His most recent West End productions have included End of the Rainbow, Whipping It Up, Dead Funny, Hysteria, The Graduate and Entertaining Mr Sloane as well as Rain Man, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, La Cage Aux Folles, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Memory Of Water, Elton John’s Glasses and Hitchcock Blonde. In Chicago, he directed John Malkovich in The Libertine, which was nominated for five Jeff Awards. For the National Theatre, he wrote and directed Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick and The London Cuckolds.

Don Black’s stage musicals include Billy, Tell Me On A Sunday, Aspects Of Love, and Sunset Boulevard, for which he won two Tony Awards. His film lyrics include The Italian Job and Born Free and his popular hit songs include Michael Jackson’s Ben and Lulu’s To Sir With Love. He has written a several James Bond theme songs: Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, The Man With The Golden Gun, Surrender from Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough. He has won a many of Awards including an Oscar, six Ivor Novello Awards and a Golden Globe. George Fenton’s many film scores include the original film of Mrs Henderson Presents, Gandhi, Cry Freedom, Dangerous Liaisons and The Wind That Shakes The Barley, and his music for television includes the series The Jewel In The Crown, The Blue Planet and Planet Earth. Simon Chamberlain was the original Music Director on the film Mrs Henderson Presents.

The Old Vic has today announced casting for David Greig’s adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, directed by Max Webster. Simon Lipkin will play the role of the Lorax, alongside puppeteers Laura Cubitt and Ben Thompson, whilst Simon Paisley Day takes the role of the Once-ler.

Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax is the third production in Matthew Warchus’ opening season as Artistic Director and opens on 16th December, with previews from 3rd December, 2015.

The Old Vic has also incorporated a special concession for Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax where children aged 14 and under will be given a 50% reduction on tickets priced £60 and £50 throughout the run, excluding Friday and Saturday evenings.

Inspired by Dr. Seuss’s classic tale, Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax tells of a moustachioed and cantankerous critter who’s on a mission to protect the earth from the greedy, tree-chopping, Thneed-knitting businessman known only as the Once-ler.

Brought to the stage by The Old Vic’s Baylis Director Max Webster (James And The Giant Peach, To Kill A Mockingbird, Twelfth Night), Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax blends theatrical invention, songs and zany humour in a timely and vibrant Christmas show with a message that will speak to audiences of all ages.

Simon Lipkin, who plays the Lorax, trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and then at the Arts Educational. His past theatre credits include The Proprietor in Assassins (Menier Chocolate Factory), Touchstone in As You Like It (Southwark Playhouse), Barlow in I Can’t Sing (London Palladium), Lonny in Rock Of Ages (Original West End cast), Galahad in Spamalot (Original UK and International Tour), Nicky and Trekkie Monster in Avenue Q (Original West End cast), I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Arts Theatre), The Wedding Singer (Original UK cast); Willard in Footloose (UK Tour); A Christmas Carol (West End); Pharaoh in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (West End), Alice In Wonderland (Nuffield Theatre), Austentatious (Landor Theatre), News Revue (Canal Café) and Leopold in Never The Sinner (Kenneth Moore Theatre). TV and film credits include Doctor Who, The Bill, Casualty, The Royal Variety Performance, Children In Need, Muppets Most Wanted (Disney), The Harry Hill Movie, That Puppet Game Show and Nativity 3. He also voices characters on the Cartoon Network show The Amazing World of Gumball.

Simon Paisley Day is a British screen and stage actor and will play the Once-ler. Simon has an extensive list of film and television credits including Tommy’s Honor, The Falling, Pudsey: The Movie, Family Tree, Dr. Who (Series 9), The Musketeers, Sherlock – Hound of the Baskervilles, Doc Martin (Series 5), Hustle, Being Human, Midsomer Murders, The Belsen Redeption, The Bill, The Catherine Tate Show and portraying Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon in the ITV mini-series, Titanic. On stage, Simon’s theatrical credits include Urinetown, The Taming of the Shrew, Timon of Athens (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Low Road (ETT / Royal Court), Twelfth Night (National Theatre), Private Lives (Theatre Royal Both), The Ugly One (Royal Court Theatre), Don’t Look Now (Sheffield Theatre / Lyric Hammersmith), The 39 Steps (Fiery Angel), The Philanthropist (Donmar Warehouse), Cymbeline, Twelfth Night (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Anything Goes (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Love’s Labour’s Lost, Anything Goes, The Coast of Utopia, Hamlet, Candide, Money and Oh What a Lovely War (National Theatre). Simon has also published two plays: Spike at Southampton’s Nuffield Theatre in 2001, and Raving at Hampstead Theatre in 2013, which starred Robert Webb and Tamzin Outhwaite.

Full cast includes: Stuart Angell, Thomas Arnold, Miles Barrow, Jack Beale, Laura Cubitt, Caleb Frederick, Emily Houghton, Richard Katz, Anabel Kutay, Penny Layden, Melanie La Barrie, Carly Mercedes Dyer, Ebony Molina, Ben Thompson, Juma Sharkah, Silas Wyatt-Barke, Joe Evans and Jo Nichols.

David Greig is an acclaimed and award-winning playwright, whose work encompasses theatre, radio and film. Plays include The Events (Traverse, Scotland and Young Vic), The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Tron, National Theatre Of Scotland), Midsummer (Traverse, Soho And Tricycle), Dunsinane (RSC At Hampstead And National Theatre Of Scotland), Damascus (Traverse, Scotland And Tricycle), Outlying Islands (Traverse And Royal Court), The American Pilot (RSC), Pyrenees (Paines Plough), The Cosmonaut’s Last Message To The Woman He Wonce Loved In The Former Soviet Union (Donmar Warehouse And Paines Plough) and The Architect And Europe (Traverse). Adaptations include Creditors (Donmar Warehouse), The Bacchae (Edinburgh International Festival), Tintin in Tibet (Barbican, Playhouse And UK Tour), When the Bulbul Stopped Singing (Traverse Theatre, – Amnesty International Award; Tapwater Award and Herald Angel), Caligula (Donmar Warehouse) and Peter Pan (National Theatre of Scotland, Traverse and Barbican). David wrote the book for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (West End from 2013).

David’s work for children and young people includes: The Monster in the Hall (Tag Theatre Co. Glasgow, 2010) Yellow Moon (Tag Theatre Co. Glasgow, 2006 – TMA Award for Best Show For Children and Young People 2007 and Brian Way Award for Best Children’s Play 2007), Gobbo (National Theatre Of Scotland, 2006) and Dr Korczak’s Example (Tag Theatre Co. Glasgow, 2001).

Max Webster is fast emerging as one of the most exciting young directors working in the UK and internationally.  Current work includes the upcoming Mary Stuart for PARCO Productions in Tokyo and a re-mount of Much Ado About Nothing for Shakespeare’s Globe, which will go on a world tour later this year. Other recent credits include Orlando, To Kill a Mockingbird and My Young and Foolish Heart (Manchester Royal Exchange), Opera Highlights (Scottish Opera, Tour), James and the Giant Peach and My Generation (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Twelfth Night (Regent’s Park Open Air), Skewered Snails (Iron Oxide/Southbank Centre), Anna Karenina (Arcola), The Chalk Circle (Aarohan Theatre, Nepal), Sense (Southwark Playhouse), Carnival Under the Rainbow & Feast Kakulu (Hilton Arts Festival, South Africa), Mustard (Company of Angels), Finisterre (Theatre 503).

Adapted for the stage by David Greig
Director Max Webster
Design Rob Howell
Choreography Drew McOnie
Puppetry Director Finn Caldwell for Gyre and Gimble
Lighting Jon Clark
Music Charlie Fink
Musical Director/Arranger Phil Bateman
Sound Tom Gibbons
Casting Jessica Ronane CDG

BOX OFFICE INFORMATION
Box Office 0844 871 7628 | oldvictheatre.com
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The Old Vic, The Cut, London SE1 8NB
DR. SEUSS’S THE LORAX
Thu 3 Dec 2015 – Sat 16 Jan 2016

The National Youth Theatre opened its West End REP Season yesterday with an abundance of exciting guests attending including Sir Ian McKellen, Prince Edward, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Nanette Newman, Shane Zaza and Paula Wilcox, plus many more! The drinks were flowing as this year’s exciting and provocative season kicked off, including brand new play Consensualwritten by Evan Placey, exploring the issue of sexual consent, Stephanie Street’s modern adaptation of the classic Wuthering Heights and Tom Stoppard’s abridged version of The Merchant of Venice.

Sutton Theatres presents:

SHEFFIELD THEATRES ANNOUNCES EXTENSION FOR SHOW BOAT

Sheffield Theatres’ Artistic Director Daniel Evans today announces, due to popular demand, a one-week extension for his new production of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s musical Show Boat.  The production opens on Monday 16 December, with previews from Thursday 10 December, will now run until Saturday 23 January.

Daniel Evans said today, ‘We are delighted that Show Boat has proved itself to be so popular with our audiences. We’re lucky to have the most wonderful cast and creative team and I know we’re all looking forward to bringing it to life on the Crucible Stage at Christmas.’

Spanning 40 pivotal years in American history, this epic musical follows the lives and loves of three generations aboard a show boat as it plies the Mississippi River.  One of the most romantic musicals of all time, this lavish new production is directed by Daniel Evans and features classics of musical theatre including Make Believe, Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man, and the landmark Ol’ Man River.

Evans will direct double Oliver Award nominated Michael Xavier (Assassins, Menier Chocolate Factory and The Pajama Game, Shaftesbury Theatre) as dashing gambler Gaylord Ravenal and West End musical star Gina Beck (Wicked – West End and US Tour, Phantom of the Opera – Her Majesty’s, Les Miserables – Queen’s Theatre) as the impressionable Magnolia Hawks who falls for his irresistible charms. They are joined by Lucy Briers (Wolf Hall & Bring Up The Bodies – West End and Broadway) as Parthenia Hawks, Allan Corduner (Hello Dolly – Regents Park Open Air Theatre, BBC One’s The Musketeers) as Captain Andy Hawks, Emmanuel Kojo (Kiss Me Kate,Scottsboro Boys) as Joe, Sandra Marvin (City of Angels, Hairspray, Chicago, Kate Bush’s Before Dawn) as Queenie, Rebecca Trehearn (Ghost – UK Tour, City Of Angels) as Julie La Verne and

The cast will be completed by Ian Carlyle (Charlie), John Coates (Sherrif Ike Vallon), Danny Collins(Frank Schultz), Adam Dutton (Windy), Akintunde Esuruoso (ensemble), Nolan Frederick (Jake),Bob Harms (Steve Baker), Victoria Hinde (ensemble and Dance Captain), Cristina Hoey(ensemble), Linda John-Pierre (ensemble), Linford Johnson (ensemble), Kate Milner-Evans(Mrs O’Brien), Maria Omakinwa (ensemble), Ryan Pidgen  (Pete Gavin ), Kenny Thompson(ensemble), Tosh Wanogho-Maud  (Willy ) and Alex Young (Ellie May Chipley).

Tickets for Show Boat can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres’ Box Office in-person, byphone on 0114 249 6000 or online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk and are priced from £20.00 (concessions available).  A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office (excluding cash).

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

USTINOV STUDIO, THEATRE ROYAL BATH

Thursday 12^th November – Saturday 19^th December 2015

The Ustinov Studio, Bath is delighted to announce the UK premiere of Georges Feydeau’s THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY as part of its autumn 2015 season, translated by Kenneth McLeish and directed by the Ustinov Studio’s Artistic Director, Laurence Boswell.

Monsieur Duchotel, a Parisienne businessman, has a roving eye and a lust for…fishing trips.  It turns out he has been casting his line in uncharted waters and he’s not the only one.  His best-friend, Dr Moricet, has a passion for poetry and a longing for Léontine – Duchotel’s beautiful and trusting young wife.  Then there’s Gontran, Duchotel’s randy young nephew, who’s always after a hand out, and Madame Latour, a concierge who was once a countess married to a lion-tamer…

Feydeau’s uproarious farce brilliantly incorporates all the classic elements of the genre. Behind the shutters at 40, Rue d’Athènes, Dr Moricet’s love-nest becomes the venue for a whole shoal of illicit rendez-vous, ridiculous cover stories and bungling policemen. As doors slam, would-be lovers hide in closets and men find their trousers round their ankles, this glorious concoction will have you hooked.

The cast of THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY includes Joseph Alessi (Duchotel), Frances McNamee (Léontine), Richard Clothier (Doctor Moricet),  Oscar Batterham (Gontran), Stephen Ventura (Cassagne), Victoria Wicks (Madame Latour), Eliza Collings (Babet/Policeman) and Toby Longworth (Inspector Bridois).

Joseph Alessi’s recent theatre credits include: The Hook (Northampton), Brief Encounter (UK Tour, Broadway and International Tour), ‘Bottom’ in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Northampton), The Drowsy Chaperone (West End), Wind in the Willows (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and The Second Mrs Tanqueray (Rose Theatre). TV work includes Mummy’s Boys (Comedy Central), I Live With Models and Mr Selfridge (ITV).

Frances McNamee’s theatre credits include Love’s Labour’s Lost and Love’s Labour’s Won (Royal Shakespeare Company), A Lady of Little Sense, Don Gil, Punishment without Revenge(Arcola/Theatre Royal Bath/Belgrade Coventry), Pride and Prejudice (Regent’s Park), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Royal and Derngate), The Borrowers (Northern Stage), The Phoenix of Madrid, The Surprise of Love (Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath) and Bronte (Shared Experience/UK tour/Watermill Theatre).

Richard Clothier recently appeared in The Mother and Play Strindberg (Ustinov Studio). Further theatre credits include King Lear (National Theatre), Fifty Words (Theatre Royal Bath / Arcola Theatre) and Richard III (Propeller UK and International Tour)- for which he won the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Performance. His television credits include New Tricks (BBC), Henry V (BBC 2), Spooks (Kudos), Foyle’s War (Bentley Productions).

Oscar Batterham is currently in The Wars of the Roses (Rose Theatre, Kingston). Oscar graduated from Guildhall School of Music & Drama earlier this year.

Stephen Ventura ‘s theatre credits include: The Dog, the Knife and The Night (Arcola), Boris Godonov and The Orphan of Zhao (Royal Shakespeare Company), The 39 Steps (West End), The Ramayana (Lyric Hammersmith, Bristol Old Vic and West Yorkshire Playhouse), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Royal Opera), Market Boy (Royal National Theatre), The Coffee House, The Merchant of Venice, Seven Doors, Doctor Faustus & The Government Inspector, Scapino the Trickster(Chichester Festival Theatre). His television work includes: Downton Abbey (ITV) and Doc Martin(ITV).

Victoria Wicks has been series regular Sally Smedley for the last 8 years on Channel 4 comedyDrop The Dead Donkey. Other notable TV credits include 3 series of Skins (E4), Sherlock (BBC), Silent Witness (BBC) and Poirot (ITV), and she’s currently filming four episodes of Glue (E4).  Victoria also played the role of Caroline alongside Colin Firth in the feature What A Girl Wants.  She filmed the role of Miriam in High Rise opposite Tom Hiddleston and Sienna Miller, which will be released this year.

Eliza Collings graduated from Bristol Old Vic, where she was picked as ‘The One to Watch’ by The Stage. Most recently, Eliza has been seen in Lady Windemere’s Fan and The Country Wife (Royal Manchester Exchange), as well as her much acclaimed role of Frosine in The Miser directed by Nancy Meckler (Watermill Theatre) and Doc Martin (ITV).

Toby Longworth has been seen in The Wright Way and Not Going Out (BBC1), Extras (BBC2 )The IT Crowd (Channel 4), Phone Shop (E4) and Stella (Sky 1). Toby is a highly respected voiceover artist. His voice has featured in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Star Wars- the Phantom Menaceand Dr Who. Theatre includes: Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing and The Merry Wives of Windsor(Royal Shakespeare Company).

Laurence Boswell is the Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio where he “has decisively established Bath’s Ustinov Studio as a powerhouse” (Independent). His work at the Ustinov Studio has includedTHE VIBRATOR PLAY, THE SPANISH GOLDEN AGE, INTIMATE APPAREL, EXIT THE KING andTHE MOTHER.

“Laurence Boswell’s clinically precise production….Highly recommended”

Daily Telegraph on THE MOTHER

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Venue:                                    Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose, Bath BA1 1ET

Dates:                                      Thursday 12^th November – Saturday 19^th December

Times:                     Monday – Saturday, 7.45pm; Thursday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm (not 12^thNovember)

Tickets:                                                   £19.50 / £14.50 discounts (preview performances 12^th– 17^thNovember, Press performance 25^th November and all Mondays: all seats £12)

Box Office:                 01225 448844/ www.theatreroyal.org.uk/ustinov

There will be a post-show discussion on Thursday 3^rd December after the evening performance.

5 SECONDS OF SUMMER

SHEFFIELD ARENA
Tuesday 5^th April 2016

Tickets on sale Friday 16^th October at 9am

The biggest breakthrough band of 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer, have today announced that they will open their 2016 UK tour with a Sheffield Arena headline debut on Tuesday 5^th April.  Tickets go on sale Friday 16^th October at 9am.

‘Sounds Live Feels Live’ arena tour follows the overwhelming demand for the 2015 ‘Rock Out With Your Socks Out’ tour which took the band all over the world performing for over a million fans across three continents.

Live favourite and one of many standout tracks from the new album, the guitar-led new single ‘Hey Everybody’  is a more mature, more confident all-out rock assault to the senses – crunching guitars, high octane drumming and a belting chorus.

The band say, “We had such a blast on the Rock Out With Your Socks Out Tour.   It was a big moment for us – our first ever headline arena tour, it is what you dream of.  We are going to try and make this tour even better than the last and the best live show possible for you guys.  This is such a huge thing for us to be able to come and see you all. We can’t wait to play you the new album and loads more, we love you guys and hope you are as excited as we are.”

From the start, 5SOS were united by a love of punk-rock music and a vision of bringing it into the pop stratosphere. They played their first gig together in late 2011, performing for about a dozen people at a hotel in their hometown of Sydney, Australia. Three years later, they were headlining the Forum in Los Angeles, where they played for 25,000 fans during a sold-out, two-night stand.

‘Sounds Good Feels Good’, due to be released on October 23rd sees the band collaborate again with rock veteran John Feldmann (producer, All Time Low, Good Charlotte, Boys Like Girls) who has executively produced the album. The result is an album packed with adrenaline-fuelled pop-rock hits that give a nod to their super-rock turn-of-the-millennium US Alt-Rock influences.   The band spent three months living together in a studio in LA writing and recording an album that they have poured their hearts and souls in to and are very proud of.  The new album is the follow-up to their self-titled debut album, which sold in excess of three million copies worldwide making it the biggest US debut album of the year.

The new album hit the No. 1 spot on iTunes in 50 different countries within hours of the pre-order going live and 5SOS was the No. 1 act on iTunes worldwide.  Lead single  ‘She’s Kinda Hot’, a lyrically mischievous riot of an anthem, also topped the iTunes charts in 41 countries.

The band spent the summer performing SOLD OUT headline shows across the UK, Europe, the US and Australia including three massive SOLD OUT nights at the SSE Wembley during their ‘Rock Out With Your Socks Out’ 2015 worldwide tour, playing to a legion of loyal fans and proving that 5SOS’s electric live performances continue to be the cornerstone of their remarkable success.

5SOS were one of the biggest breakthrough stories of the last two years; five multi-million selling singles, a self-titled debut album that not only topped the US Album Chart (going to #1 globally on iTunes in 76 countries) but also became the third biggest pre-order in iTunes history and the biggest US debut by an Australian artist ever.

Tickets for 5 Seconds of Summer at Sheffield Arena on Tuesday 5th April 2016 go on general sale at 9am on Friday 16th October.  Tickets booked online at www.sheffieldarena.co.uk or through the ticket hotline on 0114 256 56 56 are priced £38.50 & £27.50 including booking fee.  Tickets booked in person at the Arena box office are priced £36.75 & £26.25 including booking fee.

A Christmas Carol

By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Bryony Lavery
Music & Lyrics Jason Carr
Directed by Dale Rooks & Jake Smith

18 December – 2 January
Festival Theatre, Chichester

Following a highly acclaimed production of Running Wild during Festival 2015, Chichester Festival Youth Theatre return at the end of their 30^th anniversary year with a revival of A Christmas Carol, adapted by Bryony Lavery.

Miser Ebenezer Scrooge lives for money, the cold hard currency of gold, not caring how it is obtained or that it has crushed his own human spirit. In his eyes, people are worthless, family is a nuisance, employees ungrateful and all no more so than at Christmas, when the insanity of love and forgiveness is allowed to run amok. But this Christmas Eve is going to be different, as Scrooge is visited by three spirits sent to offer a vision of what was, what is and what shall be. Is there time for him to repent and discover the true meaning of Christmas?

Dale Rooks, Chichester’s Youth Theatre and Education Director co-directs this production with Jake Smith. Rooks’s widely praised Youth Theatre productions include Running Wild, The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Noah, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, Peter Pan and Toad of Toad Hall.

Jake Smith has been a Chichester Trainee Director since 2014. Assistant Director credits include For Services Rendered, Way Upstream, The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Gypsy and Miss Julie / Black Comedy. Forthcoming credits include Arthur, a new play by Ben Weatherill, which won the Theatre Royal Haymarket 2015 Pitch Your Play award.

Bryony Lavery’s plays for Chichester include her adaptations of The Hundred and One Dalmatians and The Snow Queen. Other credits include Treasure Island (National Theatre), Beautiful Burnout (Frantic Assembly and The National Theatre of Scotland), the award-winning play Frozen (Birmingham Repertory Theatre, National Theatre and Broadway), Stockholm (Frantic Assembly) and Kursk (Young Vic).

Music is by Jason Carr who was Associate Composer at Chichester from 2003 – 05. His Chichester credits include Stevie (also Hampstead Theatre), The Syndicate, Funny Girl and Carousel. Other theatre credits includeSunday in the Park With George, La Cage Aux Folles and A Little Night Music (all for the Menier Chocolate Factory and West End).

Design is by Simon Higlett, Associate Designer at Chichester where his most recent credits are ‘Mrs Pat’ andAn Ideal Husband. Other Chichester credits include The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and Yes, Prime Minister, (all of which transferred to the West End) and Singin’ in the Rain, (also West End, UK and international tour). Other credits include Blithe Spirit (West End and US tour),Love’s Labours Lost and Love’s Labour’s Won (RSC) and Derren Brown’s Miracle.

Costume Design is by Ryan Dawson Laight whose credits include DRUNK (Bridewell Theatre), Macbeth andHenry V (Creation Theatre), Good Morning Midnight (Jermyn Street Theatre) and Le Gateau Chocolate: Black(Menier Chocolate Factory, and tour).

Lighting Design is by James Whiteside whose Chichester credits include The Hundred and One Dalmatians,Miss Julie / Black Comedy, A Marvellous Year For Plums, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist, Wallensteinand Funny Girl. Other credits include The Royale (Bush Theatre) and the West End production of Dance Till Dawn.

Sound Design is by Gregory Clarke whose Chichester credits include ‘Mrs Pat’ and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (and UK tour). Other credits include Dinner With Saddam (Menier Chocolate Factory), Clarence Darrow(Old Vic), My Night With Reg (Donmar Warehouse and West End) and Medea (National Theatre).

Movement is by Lizzi Gee, whose Chichester credits include The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (and UK tour),Goodnight Mister Tom (plus UK tour and West End). Other credits include The Winter’s Tale (RSC), Rocket to the Moon (National Theatre) and Vernon God Little (Young Vic).

A Christmas Carol is sponsored by Mercer and Kenwood.

A Christmas Carol is at Chichester Festival Theatre 18 December – 2 January. Performance times vary. Tickets £10 – £26, except for the Charity Performance on Friday 18 December when tickets will be £10 and £15. Childrens Saver Ticket – half price on top three prices. Tickets available online at www.cft.org.uk or from the Box Office 01243 781312.

On Tuesday 29 December at 2pm, there will be a Relaxed Performance of A Christmas Carol. Individuals, groups and families with children on the autistic spectrum, sensory and communication disorders or anyone who would benefit from a more relaxed theatre environment will be welcome to attend. For more information email [email protected] or call the Access Line on 01243 812927.

Special Prices for 16 – 25s
An allocation of tickets for 16 – 25 year olds priced at just £8.50 for all performances of A Christmas Carol will be on sale from 18 November. These may be booked on 01243 781312, online at cft.org.uk/850 or in person.

Listings
A Christmas Carol
18 December – 2 January
Festival Theatre, Chichester

Chichester Festival Youth Theatre returns with a revival of Bryony Lavery’s popular adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

Performance times vary

Tickets
£10 – £26
Charity Performance Friday 18 December: £10 and £15
16 – 25 year olds: £8.50 – on sale for all performances

Box Office
cft.org.uk
01243 781312