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Tricycle Theatre In Association with Fiery Angel, Fiery Dragons and The Watermill Theatre Present BEN HUR – Written by Patrick Barlow – Based on the novel by General ‘Lew’ Wallace.

Director: Tim Carroll; Designer: Michael Taylor; Sound Designers: Ben & Max Ringham; Lighting Designer: Mark Doubleday; Movement Director: Siân Williams.

Full casting is announced today for Ben Hur – Tim Carroll directs Alix Dunmore, Richard Durden, John Hopkins and Ben Jones. The production opens on 24th November, 2015 with previews from 19th November, and runs until 9th January 2016.

They said it was unachievable!
They said it couldn’t be done!

But now the team behind the Olivier and Tony Award-winning comedy The 39 Steps are back with a sensational, awe-inspiring and unforgettable staging of General ‘Lew’ Wallace’s timeless classic Ben Hur.

The greatest book ever penned is brought to the stage by a towering team of just four actors, turning the Tricycle stage into one of the most authentic versions of ancient Rome ever seen. Complete with stunning combat (featuring the latest 3D technology), a 103% bona fide chariot race (with REAL CHARIOTS), an authentic sea battle (with REAL WATER) and a decadent and UNEXPURGATED Roman orgy (suitable for all ages), Ben Hur is the perfect winter tonic guaranteed to stir your very soul.

Patrick Barlow returns to the Tricycle where his adaptation of The 39 Steps opened in 2006 and in the same year transferred to the Criterion Theatre where it played for nine years. In 2007, it transferred to Broadway and has since played in over thirty-nine countries world-wide. He won an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, while in the United States, he co-won the Drama Desk Award and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play.

Alix Dunmore’s theatre credits include: The 39 Steps (Criterion Theatre), What The Women Did (Southwark Playhouse), Gaslight (New Vic, Newcastle-Under-Lyme), London Wall (St James Theatre), Top Girls (Out of Joint), Nature Adores a Vacuum (Soho Theatre), Separate Tables (Mill at Sonning) The Two Noble Kinsmen (Bristol Old Vic). For television, her work includes Call the Midwife; and for film, London Wall. Dunmore is a founder member of the Fitzrovia Radio Hour.

Richard Durden returns to the Tricycle where he previously appeared in Ugly Rumours. His other theatre work includes Titus Andronicus, A Mad World My Masters (RSC), Hindle Wakes (Finborough Theatre), The Emperor And Gallilean (National Theatre), Once Bitten, The Madras House (Orange Tree Theatre), Shadowlands (tour and West End), Richard III and High Society (Sheffield Crucible), Orpheus Descending (Donmar Warehouse), Birdy (Comedy Theatre), Casablanca (Whitehall Theatre), Hamlet (Old Vic) and All My Sons (Wyndham’s Theatre). For television, his work includes Dickensian, Wolf Hall, Episodes, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Silk, World Without End, The Borgias, The Last Days of the Lehman Brothers, Spooks, Confessions of a Diary Secretary; Nuremburg, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard, Fingersmith, Trial and Retribution (Series 1-7) and Not Only But Also; and for film, The Awakening, Anonymous, Agora, From Paris with Love, National Treasure 2, Oliver Twist, The Jacket, Le Vicaire, Morality Play, The Innocent and Batman.

John Hopkins’ theatre credits include Holy Warriors (Shakespeare’s Globe), Private Lives (Edinburgh Lyceum), A Mad World My Masters, Titus Andronicus, Candide, Antony and Cleopatra, The Tempest, Venus and Adonis, King John, Julius Caesar, Love In A Wood (all RSC), Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (Sheffield Crucible), The Deep Blue Sea (Chichester Festival Theatre) and The 39 Steps (Criterion Theatre). For television, his work includes Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, Catastrophe, Dancing On The Edge, Hacks, Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, Merlin, Identity, Wire In The Blood, Robin Hood, The Path to 9/11, Nicholas Nickleby, Love In A Cold Climate, and two series as Detective Sergeant Scott in Midsomer Murders; and for film, The Face Of An Angel, Alice In Wonderland, The Experiment and The Pool.

Ben Jones’ theatre work includes The Bone Room (Young Vic), The Three Musketeers (UK tour), Time Of My Life (Royal and Derngate Theatre), The Pretender Agenda (Charing Cross Theatre), First Person Shooter (Birmingham Rep), Communicating Doors (UK tour) and And Then The Dark (New Wolsey Theatre). For television, his work includes The Borgias, Spooks, My Family, Echo Beach, Moving Wallpaper and Doctors (as series regular Dr Greg Robinson).

Tim Carroll began his career with the English Shakespeare Company before becoming Associate Director at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter. Since 1995 he has directed plays for theatres all over Britain, including Engaged (Orange Tree, Richmond), Gasping (Gateway Theatre, Chester) and Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Salisbury Playhouse). As Associate Director of Shakespeare’s Globe in London, his work includes Peter Oswald’s Augustine’s Oak, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Macbeth, Richard II (winner of the Jujamcyn Award), Dido, Queen of Carthage, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest and The Storm. In 2002 he directed The Golden Ass and Twelfth Night – the latter won Evening Standard, Time Out, Critics’ Circle and Olivier Awards, and in 2003 was revived for a record-breaking run at the Globe, followed by a tour of the United States. In 2012, he returned to Shakespeare’s Globe to direct Richard III and Twelfth Night. The two shows then transferred to the West End for a record-breaking run at the Apollo, and went on in 2013/14 to play at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway, where they also broke box-office records, as well as winning Outer Critics’ Circle, Drama Desk and Tony Awards. His other work spans the world, The Tempest (Teatro Sao Luiz), Peer Gynt (Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lincoln Center, Royal Festival Hall, Middle Temple Hall, and also broadcast on BBC TV and radio), The Merchant of Venice (RSC), The Mystae (Hampstead Theatre), King John (Stratford Festival, Ontario), as well as work for his own company The Factory.

TRICYCLE THEATRE LISTINGS
269 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7JR
19 November 2015 – 9 January 2016
Press night: 24 November at 7pm
http://www.tricycle.co.uk/

Box office: 020 7328 1000
www.tricycle.co.uk

Brand new production images have been released for Tom Stoppard’s abridged version of The Merchant of Venice, performed by the National Youth Theatre 2015 REP company as part of the 2015 season at the Ambassadors Theatre opening next week (with previews already begun).

NYT Associate Anna Niland will direct Tom Stoppard’s abridged version of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Stoppard’s version, originally abridged especially for the NYT to perform at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing and the subject of a BBC documentary, is a 90 minute whirlwind exploring the laws of society and how far your heritage dictates your destiny.

Following the huge success of the rep seasons in 2013 and 2014, the NYT returns to the Ambassadors Theatre with three new productions: a brand new play exploring issues and experiences around sexting, young people and sexual consent written by Evan Placey and directed by Pia Furtado which was documented in development as part of a new collaboration with Sky Arts; Wuthering Heights, in a new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel by Stephanie Street directed by Emily Lim and The Merchant of Venice – Shakespeare’s play abridged especially for schools by Tom Stoppard, directed by NYT Associate Director Anna Niland.

Also in London’s West End, the NYT are thrilled to be hosting a one-off event with award-winning actor David Suchet. ‘An Audience with David Suchet’ will see the magnificent Hercule Poirot in conversation with Paul Roseby, CEO and Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre at the Vaudeville Theatre on 15 October.

Apollo Theatre 24th September  – booking until 29th November.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

What a show!

Using the conceit that we are helping to pitch a new musical to Cameron, the press night audience of course chose the offices of the Daily Mail as the setting for “The Lyin’ King”. A variety of musicals are selected as song style inspirations and the cast are let loose.

Apparently there are a few conspiracy theories about how a new musical can be created in each performance, but the truth is quite simple – this group of performers know more about musicals than is entirely healthy.

Consisting of experienced comedy improvisers, the cast work together seamlessly. Dylan Emery ran the show with panache. He interacts brilliantly with the audience and stops the onstage action with a gleam in his eye to suggest styles – then sits back and laughs with the rest of us. The cast’s faces when he announced that they would sing the company song… in unison, were a picture – but they pulled it off with aplomb. Deciding that each character should use the  style of a different playwright created a wonderful scene that went nowhere – what else do you expect if you mix Pinter, Brecht and Beckett?

The cast is overflowing with seriously intelligent talent. Feeding off each other’s ideas with lighting fast reactions (and sometimes throwing in a curveball to test their corpsing thresholds) they are a proper team, full of energy and a love of the genre that infects the entire audience.

Whoops and cheers abound when discarded audience suggestions are used as oneliners, and each musical number has practically an extra percussion section of claps and admiring cheers.

The two shows I saw- “The Lyin’ King” and “Making Sparks” (set in M&S in 1884) were completely different. Even though both audiences had chosen a couple of identical musical inspirations, different tempo numbers were used to suit each performance’s narrative.

The things the shows had in common were the fabulous standard of the performers, and the gloriously bonkers feeling of the night. Where else in the West End could you see 2 men having a West Side Story dance duel in the Cereal Killer café? Snap, crackle and pop has never sounded better. Shakespearean rap shares the stage with Mama Mia, Sondheim, Gilbert and Sullivan, Rent and AC/DC. Anything goes! The musicians play as if they have a score in front of them. They switch styles effortlessly and sometimes even manage to keep a straight face.

The audience is invited to tweet their ideas for the second act during the interval – which led memorably to the invention of Percy Pig in the M&S musical. This produced comedy gold when Gladstone discovered them on his pillow – prime ministers and pigs!

I have never seen an audience so invested in a show. We were collectively wondering where the plot was going, marvelling at the quickness of the cast’s minds and willing them to take the lunacy to the next level. Because this was OUR musical and OUR night to revel in an unique and uplifting atmosphere. We deserved the standing ovation.

Showstopper! is the theatrical equivalent of Pharrel’s “Happy” – perfectly designed to get you grinning and clapping like an overexcited sea lion – and you’ll want to go back for more.

The Young Vic has announced four new productions for 2016, including If You Kiss Me, Kiss Me starring Jane Horrocks and featuring the music of ‘new wave’ artists, choreographed and directed by Aletta Collins, which runs from 10 March – 16 April 2016.

Matthew Xia will direct a new production of Joe Penhall’s award-winning Blue/Orange – which premiered at the National Theatre in 2000, starring Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln and Chiwetel Ejiofor – from 12 May – 18 June 2016.

Simon Stone – whose The Wild Duck played the Barbican last year – writes and directs a new version of Lorca’s Yerma from 29 July – 10 September, his first original work in the UK.

The season also sees the premiere of Cuttin’ It, a double award-winning play by Charlene James focusing on female genital mutilation, directed by Gbolahan Obisesan from 20 May – 11 June.

Artistic director David Lan said:

“The great Jane Horrocks is one of our closest friends and colleagues. In If You Kiss Me, Kiss Me Jane and Aletta Collins create a new kind of show. Part dance piece, part gig – a live band, brilliant dancers and Jane’s unique take on many of your favourite new wave anthems…”

These productions join two previously announced shows; Peter Brook revisiting The Mahabharata and a stage adaptation of Eimear McBride’s A Girl is a Half-formed Thing.

Tickets for the 2016 season go on sale to Friends of the Young Vic at 10.00am today. Public booking opens Wednesday 7 October at 10.00am.

Fifteen special theatre industry events take place on The Theatres Trust’s TheatreStage at PLASA Show 2015 from Sunday 4 to Tuesday 6 October at ExCel London.

Our TheatreStage plays host to key organisations and associations in the theatre sector announcing their latest activities, making presentations and giving awards, including the Association of Lighting Designer’s Michael Northen Award on Monday 5 October at 1.30pm.

The programme includes 15 presentations over three days from the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT), Association of Lighting Designers (ALD), Backstage Heritage Collection, Behind the Scenes UK, Production Managers’ Forum, Society of Theatre Consultants, The Theatrical Guild, and ourselves, The Theatres Trust, the National Advisory Public Body for Theatres.

We’re delighted that many academic institutions are also part of the line-up on the TheatreStage this year – addressing the needs of the next generation for the industry. These include the Backstage Academy, Entertainment Workshop, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and the University of Derby.

On the opening day, Sunday 4 October, we’re running a welcome event at 10.30am on the TheatreStage which this year is on stand E70, directly adjacent to The Theatres Trust stand F60.

Another highlight on day one at 2.30pm is a special book launch  – ‘Stage Lighting – The Technicians’ Guide’ a user friendly manual from industry expert Skip Mort, who says ‘Techies don’t read books, they look for what they need to know!’.

The TheatreStage is presented with the full support of the high profile theatre brands and this year’s generous sponsors include ETC (Programme Sponsor), Stage Electrics (Technology & Stand Sponsor), Triple E, ABTT, Chauvet Professional, Foster Wilson Architects, Ornate Interiors, PLASA, Charcoalblue, EM Acoustics, GDS, Harlequin Floors, Hawthorn, Hayles & Howe, ShowTex, Theatreplan and Unusual.

Take advantage of The Theatres Trust special visitor registration where Theatres Trust supporters can register for FREE for the show. Onsite ticket cost is £25 so make sure to register now..

Don’t miss the programme on the TheatreStage and learn more about the work of The Theatres Trust.

FIRST LOOK AT THE NEW CAST

OF TONY AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY MUSICAL

IN THE HEIGHTS

OPENING AT KING’S CROSS THEATRE THIS WEEK

FOLLOWING A SELL-OUT RUN AT SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE

First images are released today (attached) of the cast in rehearsals for In The Heights, which begins previews this Saturday 3 October at King’s Cross Theatre. The Tony Award-winning Broadway musical returns to London following a sell-out UK premiere at Southwark Playhouse in 2014.

Reprising their roles following the run at Southwark Playhouse are David Bedella as Kevin, Josie Benson as Camila, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt as Daniela, Sam Mackay as Usnavi, Sarah Naudi as Carla and Eve Polycarpou as Abuela. They are joined by Vas Constanti as Piragua Guy, Jade Ewenas Vanessa, Lily Frazer as Nina, Antoine Murray-Straughan as Graffiti Pete, Joe Aaron Reid as Benny and Cleve September as Sonny. The cast also includes Jocasta Almgill, Courtney-Mae Briggs, Michael Cortez, Gabriela Garcia, Reiss Hinds, Alexandra Sarmiento, Spin andPhilippa

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.

Watch the cast announcement trailer:

http://youtu.be/371kkXIUNRo

In The Heights is directed by Luke Sheppard whose recent credits include Oliver! (Watermill Theatre),Adrian Mole (Curve Theatre, Leicester), Next Fall (Southwark Playhouse), Peter Pan (Beck Theatre),Mort (Rose Theatre), 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 for his work on In The Heights at Southwark Playhouse. Recent credits include Bugsy Malone (Lyric Hammersmith), Oklahoma! (UK Tour), Chicago (Curve Theatre, Leicester) 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 £19.50, 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 Mirandaand 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 byGareth Owen. Casting is by Will Burton. It is produced in London by Tristan Baker and Charlie 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 currently home to The Railway Children which has just extended its run until 3^rd January 2015 and will continue to play in rep with In The Heights. King’s Cross Theatre will also be opening a late night bar to coincide with the run 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

Epsilon Productions presents:

THE STATE VS JOHN HAYES
28 October – 22 November, 7pm (Wed-Sat, 4pm matinees Sun)

Award-winning theatre company Epsilon Productions brings their critically acclaimed, award-winning production of The State vs John Hayes to headline the King’s Head Theatre’s new #Festival45 this November.

Winner of the Argus Angel Award (Brighton Fringe 2015)

Huntsville prison, Texas, 1959; Elyese Dukie is on Death Row for murdering her husband and her lover. Tomorrow she goes to court for the last time. But tonight Elyese reveals the one thing she won’t tell the court or the string of psychiatrists sent to diagnose her: that she is not alone in her cell… John Hayes is in there with her.

Psychopath or seductress? Murderer or manipulator? Psychiatric hospital or the electric chair? What does she deserve? Writer and performer Lucy Roslyn’s striking one-act, psychological thriller is based on extensive research into real-life female killers and laced with dark humour, directed by Epsilon Production’s artistic director Jemma Gross.

Winner of London Fringe Production of the Year 2014 (Epsilon Productions for Chicken Shop)

Epsilon Productions makes exhilarating, risk-taking theatre. Recent work includes Chicken Shop, written by Anna Jordan, at the Park Theatre. Chicken Shop was also directed by Jemma Gross and starred Lucy Roslyn. “Epsilon is a thriving independent theatre company” – The Times (Chicken Shop) “Over the past few years, Epsilon Productions have been making quite a splash with some powerful, high quality work” – London Theatre Guide (Skin Tight).

Join the King’s Head in celebrating the final months of its 45th year with their inaugural new writing festival, #Festival45. Featuring the best of major UK arts festivals, they’ve opened their doors to 23 different shows from 23 exciting young companies over 5 weeks.

—————————————————————————

Title: The State vs John Hayes
Performance Dates: October 28th – November 22nd, 7pm, Wed-Sat (4pm matinees Sun)
Running Time: 1 hr
Venue: King’s Head Theatre, 115 Upper Street, London N1 1QN
Box Office: £25-15 (£10 previews), www.kingsheadtheatre.com
Travel: Angel station (9 min walk), Essex Road station (9 min walk), Highbury and Islington station (12 min walk)
Links: Website (kingsheadtheatre.com), Twitter (twitter.com/KingsHeadThtr)

DISCOVERY’S HIGHEST-RATING SERIES ‘GOLD RUSH’ RETURNS FOR A NEW SERIES, AND THERE’S A PROMISE OF MORE GOLD THAN EVER BEFORE

All New GOLD RUSH premieres on Discovery Channel, 9pm, Tuesday 20^th October

The ambitious GOLD RUSH miners are back and they’re more determined than ever before. No more getting caught off guard or being down on their luck – the brand new series sees them focused and set to hit the ground mining. But who’s in and who’s out? This season, everything has changed – new teams, new claims, new machines and new ways to pull gold out of the ground. The stakes have never been higher.

The Hoffmans are ready to shift pay dirt before anyone else, and Dave Turin has a 400 yard cut open, before the ground has even thawed, but Todd’s disappeared again, dreaming big of striking it mega-rich. He’s found a claim promising millions in gold, but to be able to afford the fees of the landowner he needs a $2.7million season – double what he made last year – and a monster 1,200 yard cut.

Parker has visions of reinvesting the $3million he made last season into his own claim shaking off the shackles of Tony Beets once and for all. However, when he loses half his crew, due to his bad attitude last year, Parker’s on the back foot, with a new, young rookie crew and seemingly only one option – to go crawling back to Tony.

Tony Beet meanwhile has his enormous dredge up and running, turning back the clock 70 years and willing to risk his entire business to invest in a fleet of dredges and overhaul the way mining is done in the Klondike forever.

With shocking twists and turns, all new GOLD RUSH promises fresh blood, new claims and MORE GOLD than ever seen before.

The new season of GOLD RUSH will premiere exclusively in the UK on Discovery Channel, 9pm, Tuesday 20^th October (Sky 520, Virgin 250, BT TV 322, TalkTalk 322)

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR

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

Full casting is announced today for Closer to Heaven, the musical by Jonathan Harvey and Pet Shop Boys, which returns to the Union Theatre following its sell-out run in April 2015, playing from Wednesday 21 October to Saturday 28 November 2015.

The cast features Alex Lodge (Titanic, Saturday Night Fever) as Straight Dave, Molly McGuire (Carrie: The Musical) as Shell, Jonathan David Dudley (Joseph, Les Misérables film) as Mile End Lee, David Habbin (Les Misérables, West Side Story) as Vic and Nic Kyle (The Grand Tour) as Bob. Reprising their roles from the previous run at the Union Theatre are Katie Meller (Phantom of the Opera, Blood Brothers) as Billie Trix andBen Kavanagh as Flynn. The cast also includes Tilly Ford, Daniel James Greenway, Keira Marner, Ellie Mitchell, Anthony Starr and Philip Towne.

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.

@Closer_2Heaven

WEDNESDAY 21 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2015

UNION THEATRE

204 Union Street, London SE1 0LX

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

The Theatre Cafe on Shaftesbury Avenue was the intimate venue for the launch of Tim Prottey Jones new CD To Do. To Be

With some outstanding live vocal performances to show off the outstanding talent on the new CD, it was a fabulously entertaining evening

To Do. To Be is the first CD from Prottey Jones in four years.  And it’s been a very busy four years for him.  With Jesus Christ Superstar, Rent, Once and now Kinky Boots all on his CV plus writing musicals and appearing with bands The Paper Hearts and Straight on Red.

The CD itself is outstanding.  15 brand new songs, all beautifully written and exquisitely performed by some amazingly talented singers.  Co-writers Tori Allen-Martin, Nick Smithers, Angela Prottey-Jones, Martin Meehan, Darah Carville and best-selling author Ali Harris are all sympathetic to Prottey Jones style and meaning that we have a CD full of songs that are individual and distinctive.

A lineup of amazing guest artists from such West End shows as Wicked, Once, Miss Saigon, Kinky Boots, The Commitments, and more perform on the album and among them is Andrew Bateup, a professional vocalist who won Tim’s competition to find a newcomer to sing on the album. Andrew’s vocals are impressive and demonstrate clarity throughout the song ‘Blame it On Me’.

My personal favourites are  ‘I For One’ delivered in a heartfelt performance by Zrinka Civitesic. ‘Regret Me’ hauntingly sung by Ambra Caserotti.  ‘Kiss Till You Can’t Kiss Anymore’ featuring Declan Bennett and  ‘Nothing’ from Down Flew the Doves sung by Laura Pitt-Pulford a stand out dramatic performance that hits every beat.   

You can purchase To Do. To Be. and Tim’s previous albums on iTunes and Amazon.

For info visit http://timprotteyjones.co.uk

Follow Tim on Twitter @TimProtteyJones or find him on Facebook.