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IMPOSSIBLE, the biggest magic show to thrill the west end in decades, is searching for two 8 – 12 year old children with a keen interest in magic to join the magicians and illusionists in a new spectacular starring role.  The chosen performers will play a key role in the production, opening the show and joining the magicians in an astounding closing sequence.

Jamie Hendry, the producer of IMPOSSIBLE, said: “This is a rare opportunity for a budding magician to join a team of world-class illusionists on stage as they perform a range a death-defying stunts, and amazing tricks live in front of a West End theatre audience. They will get to see first-hand just how powerful and impressive magic can be, and hopefully this will be the start of their careers as stars of the future – it will certainly make for an interesting “what I did this summer report” when they get back to school!”

The character is a young child, who dreams of one day becoming a world class magician. Opening the show, he or she watches in awe as the greatest magicians and illusionists take to the stage.

This is an exciting opportunity for budding young actors or magicians to work alongside the multi-award winning producer and director, Anthony Owen, and to join a host of world-class magicians in the biggest and most exciting new magic show to thrill London this summer.

The chosen performers will need to be aged between 8-12 years with a playing age of 7-8. Applicants must send a video of no more than 30 seconds in length to [email protected] by 12pm on Monday 6th July about why they love magic and why they want to be part of IMPOSSIBLE,along with a short email from their legal guardians providing the name, age, address and photograph. A shortlist of up to 50 applicants will then be selected, where they will meet the Creative Director and producers in central London during the week of 6th July. The chosen performers will need to be comfortable being on stage in front of more than 900 people a night and be available to rehearse and perform from 13th July until 29th August.

Celebrating its global premiere this July in London, where Harry Houdini and the superstars of illusion stunned Victorian audiences on stage, IMPOSSIBLE will re-establish the UK capital as the epicenter of innovation and spectacle, hosting the greatest magic show on Earth. Featuring a stunning range of magical artistry, from astonishing acts of epic proportions to dumbfounding up-close sleight of hand, be ready to be mesmerized and baffled by these incredible illusionists.

The confirmed line-up includes: modern-day Houdini, daredevil and TV escapologist Jonathan Goodwin; mind-blowing mind-reader Chris Cox; sophisticated sorceress Katherine Mills; boundary breaking magician Ben Hart; spell-binding digital marvel Jamie Allan; sleight of hand master Ali Cookand world-renowned grand illusionist Luis de Matos.

IMPOSSIBLE is produced in the West End by Jamie Hendry Productions, with scenic design by Andrew D. Edwards, lighting design by Tim Lutkin, sound design by Gareth Owen, video design by Duncan McLean and music by Michael Bradley.

Jonathan Goodwin

Daredevil and TV Escapologist Jonathan Goodwin will have audiences on the edge of their seats as he dances with death on stage. After first appearing on Channel 4’s Dirty Tricks, Goodwin has brought his unique stunts to various TV specials including The Seven Stupidest Things to Escape From and How Not to Become Shark Bait! In his television series The Incredible Mr Goodwin, he pushes the limits of possibility with stunts that range from extreme planking to climbing skyscrapers.

Jamie Allan

You’ll never look at your iPhone the same way again. Modern day Houdini, Jamie Allen fuses magic and technology together to create spell binding stunts that captivate the contemporary audience. Transporting classic magic tricks into the digital age, his phenomenal modern illusions include sawing people in half with lasers and iPad ‘Digital Art’.

Chris Cox

Clear your mind before award-winning mind reading specialist Chris Cox gets his hands on it! Chris stars in BBC 3’s Killer Magic, bewildering audiences with his unique mind reading talent. Illusion consultant for The Bodyguard, he has flummoxed audiences on stages across the country and continues to control minds in his sell-out tour Fatal Distraction.

Ben Hart

Ben Hart invents unique magic which pushes the boundaries of film, theatre and television and tests the limits of illusion, including decapitation, vanishing and levitation  At the age of 16 he won the Magic Circle’s ‘Young Magician of the Year’ Award and his most recent show The Vanishing Boy sold-out to astonished audiences.  He recently starred in BBC 3’s Killer Magic, where his unique and unorthodox approaches amazed audiences across the country.

Katherine Mills

A member of the Magic Circle Katherine Mills is a sophisticated sorceress who enchants and entrances her audiences. Her numerous TV credits include starring in the BAFTA award winning CBBC series Help ! My Supply Teacher is Magic. The first female magician ever with her own primetime TV series – Mind Games, Katherine is a phenomenon taking the world by storm.

Ali Cook

Master of multiple magical trades, Ali Cook is a daredevil escapologist, sleight of hand expert, street magician, stage illusionist and performer of thought control. A pioneer of the alternative magic scene, he has written and starred in various television series including: ITV’s Penn And Teller: Fool Us; BBC 1’sNow You See It; Channel 4’s Dirty Trick’s; and Channel 5’s Psychic Secrets Revealed with Derren Brown.

Luis de Matos

Audiences won’t believe their eyes when Portuguese grand illusionist Luis de Matos takes to the stage. A master magician known for his trail-blazing stunts and ability to make cars disappear, he has won various prizes for his astounding magic. The youngest ever recipient of the distinguished ‘David Devant Award’, given to him by the Magic Circle for a significant contribution to advancing the art of magic, he’s considered by many as the most renowned and distinguished Portuguese magician of all time.

LISTINGS INFORMATION
IMPOSSIBLE
Noël Coward Theatre, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4AU

Friday 24th July – Saturday 29th August 2015
Monday – Saturday evenings at 7.30pm
Matinee performances: Tuesday and Saturday at 3.00pm
Booking details:  0844 482 5141
Access bookings: 0844 482 5137
Press Night: Thursday 30 July, 7:30pm
Website: www.impossiblelive.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ImpossibleTheShow
Twitter: @ImpossibleShow

Ticket prices: £10, £20, £40, £60. Premium tickets are also available

York Theatre Royal is proud to be hosting a new creative collaboration as part of its residency at the National Railway Museum. Days after the world premiere of Last Train to Elvet at Durham BRASS Festival, the production will come to the Signal Box Theatre for two performances on Sunday 9 August. A creative collaboration between the Tredegar Town Band ensemble, Olympic composer Luke Carver Goss, renowned broadcaster and poet Ian McMillan and legendary Private Eyecartoonist Tony Husband, the production is inspired by the story of Durham’s Elvet Station.

Shortly before closing in 1953, Durham’s Elvet Station handled a circus train full of performers and animals,Last Train to Elvet combines brass music with circus themes, a web of words and live cartooning.

Music, words and live cartooning tell the amazing (partly) true story of the circus train that was the last train to Durham Elvet station in 1953, packed with animals and clowns and acrobats. Capriciously, the train breaks down… Now what will the Circus do? Come along and find out!

said poet and Last Train to Elvet co-creator Ian McMillan.

Bard of Barnsley Ian McMillan hosts weekly hit radio show The Verb. He’s Poet-in-Residence for Barnsley FC, The Academy of Urbanism and, until recently, English National Opera. He’s a regular on BBC Breakfast, Pick of the Week, Coast, Countryfile and Last Word. He was featured on The South Bank Show and cast away on Desert Island Discs. His rip-roaring poetry shows are legendary.

Joining him will be Olympic Composer Luke Carver Goss has written for Black Dyke Brass Band, The Sage Gateshead, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Pure Gold: a 4X4 relay for the Cultural Olympiad. He records and performs with his own group, the acclaimed Carver Trio, the Balkan singer Tea Hodzic, jazz singer Tina May and storyteller Daniel Morden in the group The Devil’s Violin.

Accompanying the show will be The Tredegar Town Band –the double British Open champions – has been running since 1876, when a local brass band from the Welsh Valley town reportedly led a procession to celebrate the opening of a new mill for the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company. Following the appointment of Ian Porthouse as Musical Director in 2008, Tredegar Town Band has subsequently achieved increasingly impressive domestic and national contesting results including the unique double feat of winning the Grand Shield and the British Open Championship in 2010. Tredegar has helped to broaden the audience for brass music through a series of adventurous collaborations including recently performing with Ballet Rambert and starring in the hit feature film Pride.

Tony Husband is Cartoonist in Residence at The Lowry and ‘legendary Private Eye cartoonist’ PR Weekly. He has been awarded Strip, Gag & Sports Cartoonist of the Year no fewer than ten times by the Cartoon Arts Trust. For his depiction of British life, he won the 2005 Pont Award given in memory of the great thirties’ cartoonist. His cartoons appear regularly in The Times, Sunday Express, Golf International, The Oldie, Private Eye, The Spectator, Nursing Standard, TES, The Prescriber, Playboy and Punch. He will be drawing cartoons to explain the story as part of the show, which will then be projected onto a large screen. This will certainly be a challenge with Ian and Luke often improvising on stage and interacting with the audience.

With an award from BRASS: Pitch and in collaboration with the National Railway Museum and York Theatre Royal, Last Train to Elvet is run by Durham County Council and produced by UK Touring.

Taking place in the new Signal Box Theatre, situated in the National Railway Museum. The show will form part of York Theatre Royal’s residency at the National Railway Museum, which will also be the home to hit summer show The Railway Children.

Chief Executive of York Theatre Royal Liz Wilson said:

The Last Train to Elvet is a great addition to our summer programme at the National Railway Museum and we’re very pleased to be working with Ian, Luke and Tony.

Last Train To Elvet will take place on Sunday 9^th August, with performances at 4 and 7pm. Tickets are £14 and on sale now from the York Theatre Royal Box Office, located on St Leonards Place in the De Grey Rooms, by calling 01904 623568 or online at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Legendary singer Frankie Valli took time out from his sold-out concert tour this week to meet the casts of both UK productions of the smash-hit musical Jersey Boys, which tells the true-life story of Frankie’s rise to fame along with his band The Four Seasons.  Frankie joined the UK and Ireland Tour cast in Manchester as they performed an excerpt from the show on BBC Breakfast, and visited the London show at the Piccadilly Theatre before going onstage to meet the cast and crew.

Grand Theatre, Leeds – 2 July 2015

Based on the 1988 movie of the same name, which starred Michael Caine and Steve Martin, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels actually transfers quite well to the stage.

The audience at The Grand, on a UK tour after a successful run at the Savoy Theatre in the West End, were transported to the luxurious French Riviera resort of Beaumont-sur-Mer. There, sophisticated conman Lawrence Jameson, played superbly at the performance I attended by Kevin Stephen-Jones, revels in swindling cash, jewellery and just about anything from rich, upper-class women. He has the local police chief Andre (Mark Benton) in his pocket and all is going well. But his monopoly comes under threat from wide-boy Freddy Benson (Noel Sullivan), who wants a slice of the action. Beaumont-sur-Mer can’t accommodate them both, so they concoct a bet to be the first to scam millionaire soap heiress Christine Colgate (Carley Stenson) out of $50,000. But the target of their affections and tricks is not all she is cracked up to be.

Stenson’s Christine is a delight from the moment she steps on stage; goofy but charming, clumsy yet loveable, as she reels in her two oblivious suitors.

Matching her in class is Geraldine Fitzgerald as wealthy divorcée Muriel Eubanks, who embarks on an hilariously exhausting tryst with Andre

Sullivan is not just vocally talented but surprisingly twinkle toed and his comedic timing lends itself nicely to the play’s witty asides, with some corpsing and what seems genuine enjoyment in the part

“Give Them What They Want”, we’re told is the golden rule of a con artist and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels certainly does – but far from feeling scammed, I walked out of the The Grand more tickled than Freddy’s poor feet, thanks to a slick, well-executed production that hits all the right notes.

In Leeds until Saturday 4th July and on tour around the UK

YORK SCHOOLCHILDREN TAKE TO THE STAGE AS PART OF ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY CELEBRATION.

Pupils from seven schools in York will tread the boards at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre next month as part of a national celebration of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Learning and Performance Network (LPN).

The Head That Wears A Crown takes place in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) on 8 July 2015 and will involve 100 pupils from 45 primary, secondary and special schools across Cornwall, Southampton, Birmingham, York, Hull and Middlesbrough. All of the schools involved in the celebration form part of the RSC’s LPN – a three year national partnership programme with 400 schools and 10 regional theatre partners throughout England that aims to transform experiences of Shakespeare’s work for young people in schools.

The afternoon will include six performances in total – one from each of the six regions. Over the past few months, each region has selected its cast from a number of local or ‘cluster’ schools and have been working with practitioners from the RSC and York Theatre Royal, to explore Shakespeare’s Henry’s plays. Each group has then chosen a scene to rehearse from Henry IV parts 1 and 2 or Henry V which tells the story of Prince Hal’s journey from errant prince to the victorious King Henry V. The final performances will see each ‘cluster’ performing their finished piece in front of a live audience in the RST.

In York, the cluster is made up of fourteen pupils from seven schools led by York High School and Julian Ollive from York Theatre Royal.

Julian Ollive, Education & Young Actors’ Associate at York Theatre Royal said:

The festival in Stratford is a wonderful way to close the three-year journey of our participation in the RSC’s Learning and Performance Network programme. By bringing together children and young people from all our seven partnership schools into a single performance augments the central theme of ensemble that is embedded in the project. The programme has been about bringing people together to learn and experience new ways of understanding and performing Shakespeare and there’s no better way to celebrate this than with our fellow regional partners on the RST stage on July 8th.

An estimated 500 people are expected to watch the performances including parents, RSC staff and invited VIPs.

The most acclaimed new play of the decade transfers to the West End for 8 weeks only

THE FATHER

Wyndham’s Theatre, London 30th September – 21st November 2015

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

Guardian Observer Times Financial Times

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

Mail on Sunday Evening Standard Sunday Times Daily Mail

By Florian Zeller in a new translation by Christopher Hampton

Directed by James Macdonald

Following successful runs at the Ustinov Studio in Bath and the Tricycle Theatre in London, Theatre Royal Bath Productions and the Tricycle Theatre will transfer Florian Zeller’s Moliere award-winning play, THE FATHER, starring Kenneth Cranham and Claire Skinner, to London’s Wyndham’s Theatre for a limited season, Wednesday 30th September – Saturday 21st November. In the two weeks prior to the transfer, the production will play a very limited run at Cambridge Arts Theatre, 15th – 26th September.

“As playful as it is painful… unforgettable acting” Dominic Maxwell, The Times

Now 80 years old, Andre was once a tap dancer. He lives with his daughter Anne and her husband Antoine. Or was he an engineer whose daughter Anne lives in London with her new lover, Pierre? The thing is, he is still wearing his pyjamas, and he can’t find his watch. He is starting to wonder if he’s losing control.

“My play of the year…. Devastating drama” Georgina Brown, Mail on Sunday

Nominated for a Tony Award for Stephen Daldry’s An Inspector Calls on Broadway, Kenneth Cranham’s numerous stage credits also include The Cherry Orchard at the National Theatre, The Homecoming at the Almeida and West End productions of Entertaining Mr Sloane, Loot, The Birthday Party and Gaslight. Screen credits range from the title role in Shine On Harvey Moon to Layer Cake, Maleficent, Hot Fuzz, Oliver! and Hellbound: Hellraiser II.

“Kenneth Cranham is quite simply shattering” Sarah Hemming, Financial Times

For her role in The Glass Menagerie at the Donmar Warehouse, Claire Skinner won the Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress and the Time Out Award for Best Performance Off West End, as well as earning an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance. Her theatre credits also include performances at the National Theatre, RSC, Almeida, Liverpool Everyman and the West End. Television credits include a BAFTA nominated performance in five series of ‘Outnumbered’, as well as ‘Silk’, ‘Homefront’, ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Lark Rise To Candleford’, while in film she has appeared in ‘When Did You Last See Your Father’, ‘Strings’ and ‘Sleepy Hollow’.

“Stunning… quietly devastating” Henry Hitchings, The Evening Standard

The cast also includes Rebecca Charles with additional casting to be announced.

Director James Macdonald has worked extensively off Broadway where he was recently the winner of the 2014 Obie Award for Best Director for Love and Information. He was Associate Director of the Royal Court from 1992 to 2007 and his credits include Cock, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You, the European and US tours of Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis, Exiles at the National Theatre, and Glengarry Glen Ross in the West End.

Florian Zeller is fast becoming one of France’s most well-known contemporary playwrights. His 2010 play The Mother was the winner of the Moliere Award, France’s highest theatrical honour. The Mother received critical acclaim at its UK premiere at the Ustinov Studio in June 2015, starring Gina McKee.

Translator Christopher Hampton’s own work includes The Philanthropist, Savages, Tales From Hollywood and Les Liaisons Dangereuse. He has translated plays by Ibsen, Molière, Chekhov and Yasmina Reza (including Art and Life x 3).

Designed by Miriam Buether; lighting designed by Guy Hoare; sound designed by Christopher Shutt.

LISTINGS

Venue: Wyndham’s Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0DA

Dates: Wednesday 30th September – Saturday 21st November 2015

Times: Monday – Saturday, 7.30pm; Thursday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm

Press night: Monday 5th October, 7pm

Tickets: £20 – £49.50 Box Office: 0844 482 5120/ www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk

Venue: Cambridge Arts Theatre, 6 St Edward’s Passage, Cambridge, CB2 3PJ

Dates: 15th- 26th September 2015

Times: Monday – Saturday, 7.45pm; Thursday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm

Prices: £15-£35 Box Office: 0 1223 503333 / www.cambridgeartstheatre.com

The incredible Irish step dance show Rhythm of the Dance to perform at Darlington Civic Theatre on Friday 24 July

Amazing! Breath-taking! Inspiring! Wonderful!

These are reactions from audiences and critics alike upon experiencing the exciting performances of the rousing Rhythm of the Dance.

This incredible live show celebrates the rich history of Ireland and the art of Irish dance. Rhythm of the Dance creates a new ere in Irish entertainment, presenting thirty dancers, a traditional Irish band and the handsome Young Irish Tenors. Internationally rated as one of the most popular and successful Irish step dance shows on tour, critics, audiences and millions of fans around the world hail this live stage show as a must see.

Rhythm of the Dance is at Darlington Civic Theatre on Friday 24 July. Tickets* are £23 and £25.

*Includes £1 restoration levy

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

Following the last-minute postponement of Sarah Cracknell’s City Varieties appearance on Sunday June 21^st (due to a throat infection) a rescheduled date of Sunday 26^th July has been confirmed.

All ticketholders will be contacted regarding the new date and anyone unable to attend will be offered a refund from point of purchase.

Sarah, known as the voice of Saint Etienne, has recently released her highly acclaimed second solo album, Red Kite, available from Cherry Red Records.

Sarah Cracknell is at City Varieties Music Hall on
Sunday 26th July at 7.30pm.

Tickets are still available and priced from £20.60

Book online at cityvarieties.co.uk or call box office on 0113 243 0808

This big, bold and beautiful musical comedy will begin its UK tour at Leicester’s Curve theatre on 9 September 2015 and will then tour to more than 25 venues across the UK, including a Christmas residency at Birmingham Alexandra Theatre in December 2015.

Hairspray will star Tony Maudsley (ITV1’s Benidorm) as Edna Turnblad, TV and stage actress and presenter Claire Sweeney (Educating Rita, Guys and Dolls) as Velma Von Tussle, Olivier Award nominated actor and much-loved Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan (BBC1 Tumble) as Wilbur Turnblad and British singer and West End performer Brenda Edwards (Chicago, We Will Rock You, The X Factor) as Motormouth Maybelle.

Freya Sutton will reprise the role of Tracy Turnblad alongside established musical theatre performerJon Tsouras (A Chorus Line) who will play the role of Corny Collins. Dex Lee (The Scottsboro Boys) will play Seaweed, Ashley Gilmour (Miss Saigon) will play Link Larkin, Lauren Stroud (Wicked) will play Amber, Monique Young (Top Hat) will play Penny, Karis Jack (Urinetown) will play Little Inez, Adam Price (Hairspray) will play Male Authority Figure, Tracey Penn (Made in Dagenham) will play Female Authority Figure and Layton Williams (Bad Education, Billy Elliot) will play Duane.

It’s Baltimore 1962, where Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, is on a mission to follow her dreams and dance her way onto national TV. Tracy’s audition makes her a local star and soon she is using her new-found fame to fight for equality, bagging local heartthrob Link Larkin along the way.

Hairspray is a musical based on the 1988 film of the same name which starred Divine and Ricki Lake by cult filmmaker John Waters. With music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, Hairspray originally opened to rave reviews on Broadway in 2002 and subsequently won eight Tony Awards. The production opened in London at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2007 and won four Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Musical. Proving to be an international success, Hairspray has also opened in South Africa, Japan, South Korea, China and Dubai. Following the musical’s phenomenal success on stage, a film of the musical was released in 2007 which starred John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and James Marsden.

Hairspray is produced by Mark Goucher and Laurence Myers, Tom O’Connell for QNQ, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Gale King Productions and Curve theatre, Leicester.