FAIRPORT CONVENTION

Grand Opera House York

Tuesday 1 March 2016 at 7:30pm

 

Fairport Convention is still one of the busiest bands around. The current line-up of Simon Nicol (lead vocal, rhythm and electric guitars), Dave Pegg (backing vocals, bass guitar, mandolin), Ric Sanders (violin), Chris Leslie (lead vocal, fiddle, bouzouki, banjo, mandolin and woodwind) and Gerry Conway (percussion and drums) still packs venues on its frequent tours.

Each year starts with Fairport covering the length and breadth of Britain on its Winter Tour. This is followed by a more relaxed Spring tour and in August, the band stages Fairport’s Cropredy Convention music festival in Oxfordshire.

Each December the band’s time is occupied by side-projects and their respective Christmas tours. Simon tours with The Albion Christmas Band; Peggy with both The Dylan Project and Peggy and Anthony John Clarke; Ric with the Ric Sanders Trio; Chris with ST Agnes Fountain and Gerry with both Fotheringay and The Dylan Project.

Tickets from £22.50 in person from the theatre box office, or call ATG Tickets on 0844 871 3024, for online booking go to www.atgtickets.com/york

 

THE KENNETH BRANAGH THEATRE COMPANY’S
PRODUCTION OF THE WINTER’S TALE WILL BE BROADCAST LIVE TO CINEMAS ON 26 NOVEMBER

THE SOLD OUT WEST END PRODUCTION STARS KENNETH BRANAGH AS LEONTES AND JUDI DENCH AS PAULINA

TRAILER AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD HERE

The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company, in partnership with Picturehouse Entertainment, will broadcast the first Branagh Theatre Live production to cinemas worldwide at 19:00 onThursday 26 November 2015.

The Winter’s Tale, which is now sold out at the Garrick, will be screened in more than 1300 cinemas worldwide, including over 500 in the UK. Tickets are now on sale and participating cinemas can be found at www.branaghtheatrelive.com

The Winter’s Tale, Shakespeare’s timeless tragicomedy of obsession and redemption, which opened to critical acclaim at London’s Garrick Theatre on 7 November, is reimagined in a new production co-directed by Rob Ashford and Kenneth Branagh. Judi Dench plays Paulina opposite Kenneth Branagh as Leontes.

The cinema broadcast of The Winter’s Tale will be directed by Benjamin Caron, who has also recently collaborated with Kenneth Branagh on the forthcoming series of Wallander, due to be broadcast on the BBC in 2016.

The Winter’s Tale will also be screened in US cinemas on 30 November. Encore broadcasts will be held across the UK throughout the Christmas period.

Kenneth Branagh said: “In 2015, where theatre making and film making meet is exciting. The cinema broadcasts of our plays hope to challenge the possibilities of this relationship. We have a team of people who are experienced in both worlds. The potential results, particularly in exploring the magic of Shakespeare, should be fascinating. 

I am very pleased indeed to be working with Picturehouse to bring The Winter’s Tale and subsequently Romeo & Juliet and The Entertainer live into cinemas around the world. These plays have epic dimensions but also great intimacy, and I believe that, working with the talented director Benjamin Caron, we can bring the immediacy and excitement of the live stage production into cinemas. We will employ film techniques to make these broadcasts truly cinematic, without in any way compromising the theatrical experience. 

The Winter’s Tale is a play I have been drawn to through my entire career. Judi Dench has famously been in the play as Hermione and Perdita, but to have her in the company as Paulina and for us to work together on Shakespeare, which we have not done since Coriolanus in Chichester twenty years ago, is very rewarding.”

The full cast for The Winter’s Tale includes: Pierre Atri (Mamillius), Jaygann Ayeh (Archidamus & The Old Shepherd’s Servant), Tom Bateman (Florizel), Jessie Buckley (Perdita), Vera Chok(Dorcas & First Lady), Jack Colgrave Hirst (Clown), John Dagleish (Autolycus), Hadley Fraser(Polixenes), Adam Garcia (Amadis), Rudi Goodman (Mamillius), Matthew Hawksley (Aegeum),Taylor James (Capnio), Pip Jordan (Shepherdess), Ansu Kabia (Cleomenes), Stuart Neal (Dion),Michael Pennington (Antigonus), Zoë Rainey (Emilia), Miranda Raison (Hermione), Michael Rouse (Gaoler & Mariner), John Shrapnel (Camillo), Kathryn Wilder (Mopsa) and Jimmy Yuill(The Shepherd).

The broadcast date for Romeo and Juliet, which plays at the Garrick from 12 May to 13 August, will be announced shortly. The Entertainer will also be screened later in 2016.

The Winter’s Tale, Harlequinade / All On Her Own, Red Velvet, The Painkiller, Romeo and Juliet and The Entertainer make up the inaugural Play at the Garrick season for the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company. For more information and to buy theatre tickets for these productions please see www.branaghtheatre.com

 

GARY BARLOW TAKES LEEDS BY SURPRISE AT THE GRAND THEATRE

Take That star Gary Barlow gave Leeds a rare treat last night (Monday 16^th November) when he took to the stage for the curtain call of his new musical The Girls which is currently having its world premier at Leeds Grand Theatre until December 12^th.

Barlow, with his childhood friend Tim Firth – the writer of both the film and play The Calendar Girls – joined the cast as they took their bows much to the audiences delight.  After thanking the cast and the Leeds audiences he lead a rousing rendition of the Show’s opening number, simply titled ‘Yorkshire’.

“The atmosphere in the auditorium was electric,” said Producer David Pugh. “The audience were already giving a standing ovation and when Gary and Tim came on there was an uproarious cheer!”

At the end of the anthemic show number, the original Calendar Girls also took to the stage to great applause. The show has received standing ovations at each performance so far though whether Gary is due to appear again remains a mystery.

David concludes: “Gary and Tim enjoyed it very much so you never know.”

The Girls is a brand new musical based on the true story of the Yorkshire Women’s Institute who appeared nude, but for carefully placed buns, teapots and other such props, for a calendar back in 2000. The calendar was an immediate success and the women took the world by storm spawning a film and award-winning play, both of which were written by Tim Firth.

This musical comedy shows the women’s life in a Yorkshire village, how the story began, the effect on husbands, sons and daughters and how a group of ordinary women achieved something extraordinary.

The Girls is making its world premier at Leeds Grand theatre until Saturday 12^th December

 

Tickets are still available priced from £10 to £45

 

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700

 

Civic Theatre, Darlington – 16 November 2015

Rude, crude, lewd and very very funny, The Full Monty arrived in Darlington this week.

In a packed to the rafter theatre, on a wet and cold Monday evening, there was an air of expectation in the predominantly female audience.  The oestrogen overloaded ladies weren’t all young either, there was a large number of women who wouldn’t see 60 again and a few who’d not see 70 either!

The 1997 a film about six Sheffield steel workers who decide to try and make a bit of cash by putting on a strip show became something of a sensation and Oscar-winning writer Simon Beaufoy has adapted his hit film into a stage show, complete with music, dancing and – of course – stripping.

Much of the dialogue was taken directly from the film, but the storyline held up well and often the translation from stage to screen was impressive, with jokes and situational comedy well adapted for the surroundings.

Those who were there for more than to admire a soap star body or two were also treated to some cracking acting performances, it would be very easy to write Gary Lucy off as just another soap actor but you’d be a fool to do so.  Aside from a dodgy Sheffield accent (I was brought up near Sheffield and I’m a purist) he did pull off the part quite well.  He gave depth to the part of an unemployed, part time dad, desperate to see his son, Nathan,  but too skint to pay the child maintenance.

With four boys playing the part of Nathan – James Burton, Brook Exley, Fraser Kelly and Ewan Phillips who was on stage at press night. Nathan was a loveable character. It wasn’t a cutesy child part by any stretch of the imagination, with the character having to cope with the break up of his parents marriage, his fathers unemployment and the ongoing court procedures, but he had faith and love for his father and its a touching father and son relationship.

There is superb work, too, from Martin Miller as the obese Dave, who has been rendered impotent by the emasculation of unemployment, and a delightfully oddball performance from Bobby Schofield as the gay and initially suicidal Lomper.  The scene in the job club is a joy, where Lomper is happy to be there as he never saw anyone when he was a security guard but now he has friends, warmth, dominoes and tea.

Comical Horse (Louis Emerick ) has the audience in stitches as he arrives for his dance audition supported by a walking stick and struggling with a dodgy hip!  Pompous gnome-loving Gerald (played by Andrew Dunn) is desperate to hide his redundancy from wife Linda.

Rupert Hill’s character of Guy makes up the rest of the troup complete with prosthetic penis, the sight of which brings down the curtain on the first half

The play touches on some serious issues – unemployment, depression, poverty, body image and homosexuality to name a few – but as well as being touching it is also very funny.  Beaufoy’s  play has warmth of characterisation and camaraderie that the men find in each other, and keeps lot of jokes from the original film. It has the added pleasure of a cast who make it enjoyably fresh, but there’s not an Adonis amongst them

Robert Jones’ set is huge and magnifient, working well as a disused steel works, job club, Conservative club and the stage where the action finally takes place and the Ian West’s choreography is also fabulous.  The soundtrack that includes songs by Donna Summer, Hot Chocolate and Tom Jones is familiar and you know what to expect.

And do they go the Full Monty?  Only a trip to Darlington Civic before Saturday 21st November will answer that question!

 

 

Theatre N16  8 – 19 November.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Steve Thompson’s Spin Cycle, set in an advertising agency, is billed as relevant and timely. This may well have been true when it was written in 2003, but the world has moved on, and today, when politicians with a lack of media savvy polish are a breath of fresh air, the play feels very dated. We are all too aware of the media’s manipulation of the public, even though we still fall for the tricks, and have seen this all before.

The TV series “Absolute Power” with John Bird and Stephen Fry absolutely nailed the mercenary and hypocritical world of advertising agencies, so why the Canting Crew chose to stage this inferior version is a mystery. Thompson has written other, better plays. This was Thompson’s first play – he has gone on to write some brilliant Sherlock and Doctor Who episodes, and there are some signs of that promise here. There are wonderfully acerbic lines and moments, but they are surrounded by lots of fluff.

Poor Anneli Page as Jane has to deliver the exact same sentiment in nearly every scene – it is as if Thompson was challenged to find as many different ways as possible to pronounce the dishonesty of the industry. Completely unnecessary. The cast do well with the material – Mary Looby is a hoot as the snooty Tory wife, insulting all and sundry with impeccable manners. Gregory A. Smith as Miles was fantastically arch and manipulative (with shades of the ballroom dancer from Hi-de-Hi), although he did seem to be under the impression that he was at the Globe with helicopters hovering overhead – stunning voice projection, but a little too much in such a small space. The whole cast give good performances, it’s just that their characters are all very, very familiar stereotypes now – the bitchy workaholic career woman, the loyal PA, the innocent intern etc. etc.

The plot, about relaunching a Tory MP’s image and the damage control necessary when a tabloid is about to reveal he is secretly gay, against the backdrop of office politics and plots, is busy but ultimately as shallow as the characters. The story Ash Merat’s Piers tells to explain his leaving the industry is so banal that I hope it was about his character’s delusional self-justification rather than a serious plot point. The shift to verse during presentations and meetings is a clever idea to highlight the hypnotic allure of media imagery, but just doesn’t sit right with the rest of the play.

Stephen Oswald’s direction is brisk and noisy, and highlights the fact that this could work so much better as a TV play. The noughties’ music playing as the cast shifted furniture around the stage sometimes lasted longer than the following scene. Perhaps a sharper, immediate cut to the next scene could benefit the flow of the piece.

This isn’t a bad play, it just doesn’t have anything new to say that hasn’t already been said better before. The game cast are very entertaining – worth seeing if you are nostalgic for the noughties.

Thursday 3 – Saturday 5 December

Turning Pages                                                                                                 

Six young writers aged between 13 to 15 from Furrowfield School in Gateshead and Red House Academy in Sunderland will have their plays performed in the Main Theatre at Live Theatre between Thursday 3 and Saturday 5 December.

The plays were developed in partnership with Live Theatre as part of Write Stuff, a creative writing programme that provides young voices with a platform to share issues that affect their lives. The show promises an eclectic mix of colourful characters and stories with plenty of laughs along the way.

Zoë Whitby, English Co-ordinator at Furrowfield School in Gateshead said:

“Write Stuff is a project that mentally and physically engages young people in the writing process. Writing skills are being developed, confidence is growing and young writers have become totally engaged in a project that they are beginning to drive for themselves. I can’t wait for the end result.”

The plays written by students from Furrowfield School in Gateshead are Doctor Death by Lee Harrison, Soulless and Goallessby Leonnie Lartey and Scary House by Reece Weightman. The plays written by students from Red House Academy in Sunderland are Could It Be A Tuna? by Nathan Beckett, Memories Of The Sea by Amy Connor, and Never Never Land by Lauren Dickson.

Drama workers from Live Theatre visited Furrowfield School and Red House Academy over a series of weeks to deliver workshops covering everything from imagination and improvisation to plot development and how to structure a play. Three pupils from each school were given the opportunity to attend a residency weekend at Live Theatre, where they were supported by professional dramaturgs to produce their short plays.

Following a sold-out script-in-hand performances in Live Theatre’s Studio Theatre earlier this year, these six selected plays have been further developed and rehearsed with professional actors and directors for full productions in the Main Theatre.

Audience members from the script-in-hand performances earlier this year said:

“A fantastic evening. The writing and performances were breath-taking. More of this please!’
‘Inspirational and hard hitting. A great opportunity for the young people’.

Rehearsals for Turning Pages start next week and the cast of professional actors includes: Natalie Jamieson (Michaela’s Mistake), Chris Connel (Wet House), Christina Berriman Dawson (The Bodies), Judi Earl (A Nightingale Sang in Eldon Square), Adam Donaldson (Between the Lines) and Donald McBride (Chalet Lines).

Paul James, Associate Director of Education & Participation at Live Theatre said:

“Turning Pages features a selection of the best short plays that have come through Live Theatre’s flagship writing programme for young people Write Stuff. Performed by a cast of professional actors in the Main Theatre, Turning Pages promises to be an absolutely unmissable event.’

Turning Pages is at Live Theatre, Newcastle from Thursday 3 – Saturday 5 December. Tickets cost £8 with £6 concessions and are available from Live Theatre’s box office on (0191) 232 1232 or online at www.live.org.uk

 

All Star Productions are delighted to announce: THE KISSING DANCE PERFORMANCES FROM FEBRUARY 10TH 2016. Music by Howard Goodall Book and Lyrics by Charles Hart Continuing our commitment to producing revivals of rarely produced Musicals, we are proud to announce that our first show of 2016 will be THE KISSING DANCE.  This is also our fourth show with music by Howard Goodall having produced the first ever London revival of GIRLFRIENDS in 2011, a new revue of his Musical Theatre works LOVE & WAR in 2012 and DAYS OF HOPE in 2013. Based on Oliver Goldsmith’s play She Stoops to Conquer, THE KISSING DANCE is a tale of match-making, mischief and misunderstanding, dished out with a good helping of disguise and deceit. It is All Fools’ Eve, a night when in the realms of love, the world can be turned upside-down and the lord of Misrule can take control…. Mr and Mrs Hardcastle have invited the son of an old friend, Charles Marlow, to their country estate with the intention of pairing him off with their daughter, Kate. Accompanying him is his friend George Hastings, who happens to be the secret beau of Kate’s cousin Constance, who in turn is on an enforced promise to Kate’s half witted half brother Tony Lumpkin. However, the mischievous intervention of Lumpkin results in the pair of visitors thinking the Hardcastle’s estate is actually a country inn, and Mr Hardcastle whom they have never met, is the inn keeper. Mistakes and misunderstandings swiftly ensue.

LISTINGS INFORMATION Venue: Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre, 53 Hoe Street, London, E17 4SA Closest Tube/National Rail: Walthamstow Central, Victoria Line. (5 mins walk) Dates: 10th – 28th February 2016 Press Night: Friday 12th February 2016 Times: Tuesday – Saturday at 7.30pm; Sunday at 3.00pm; No performances on Mondays Price: £18.00/ £16.00 Concessions Box Office: 020 8520 8674/ www.ticketsource.co.uk/allstarproductions Director: Brendan Matthew Musical Director: Aaron Clingham Casting: Benjamin Newsome Producer: Andrew Yon Website: www.allstarproductions.co.uk Twitter: @thekissingdance Other: Originally commissioned by National Youth Music Theatre.

This Christmas, Empire Cinemas brings big stage productions to the big screen. December and January see a stunning array of live performance screenings, including:

·         Royal Opera House – The Nutcracker (Live)

·         National Theatre Live – Jane Eyre

·         MET Opera – Les  Pecheurs De Perles

The Empire Extra programme from Empire Cinemas lets you experience big stage productions and events from the comfort of your local cinema. Be it theatre, opera, ballet or music; enjoy the big screen experience, in stunning high definition and from the best seat in the house. This Christmas you can enjoy the spectacular, world-class ballet The Nutcracker from The Royal Opera House, as well as an exhilarating performance of Charlotte Brontë’s masterpiece, Jane Eyre from National Theatre Live.

The New Year also brings with it a brand new line up of live performance screenings. This January cinemagoers and arts fans can enjoy Les Liaisons Dangereuses from the National Theatre Live and Two Pigeons / Rhapsody from the Royal Opera House.

 

DECEMBER

English National Opera – The Mikado (LIVE)

Released 3^rd December 2015

Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1SbQmUi

Set in an ever-so English 1930s seaside hotel, ENO’s dazzlingly inventive staging of The Mikado returns to the London Coliseum for what for many has become the definitive production of this much-loved Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera. Broadcast live from the London Coliseum in stunning HD, The Mikado is sung and subtitled in English.

National Theatre Live – Jane Eyre

Released 8^th December 2015

Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1RI8jJX

Almost 170 years on, Charlotte Brontë’s masterpiece is as inspiring as ever. This bold and dynamic production uncovers one woman’s fight for freedom and fulfilment on her own terms. Director, Sally Cookson, brings her celebrated production to the National Theatre, presented as a single, exhilarating performance.

Royal Opera House – Cavalleria / Pagliacci (Live)

Released 10^th December 2015

Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1RI8zsz

This screening includes two short Italian operas; each are regarded as the composers’ masterpiece. The two are brought together in a new staging by award-winning director Damiano Michieletto, who sets both operas in a poverty stricken village in 1980s southern Italy, where the Mafia has a hold. The Royal Opera’s Music Director Antonio Pappano conducts a cast that includes charismatic Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek, exciting Italian soprano Carmen Giannattasio and the thrilling Latvian tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko.

Royal Opera House – The Nutcracker (Live)

Released 16^th December 2015

Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1NEyPF1

Christmas simply wouldn’t be Christmas without The Royal Ballet’s classic production of The Nutcracker. Loosely based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, it opens with the Christmas festivities of little Clara and her family and progresses through a magical journey to the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of the Sweets. Peter Wright’s enchanting production with its wondrously growing Christmas tree, retains exquisite surviving fragments of the original Ivanov choreography, including the beautiful pas de deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier.

JANUARY

 

MET Opera – Les Pecheurs De Perles

Released 16^th January

Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1WM2dtp

Bizet’s gorgeous opera of lust and longing set in the Far East returns to the Met stage for the first time in 100 years. Soprano Diana Damrau stars as Leïla, the beautiful Hindu priestess pursued by rival pearl divers competing for her hand. Her suitors are tenor Matthew Polenzani and baritone Mariusz Kwiecien, who sing the lilting duet “Au fond du temple saint,” which opera fans know and adore.

Royal Opera House – Two Pigeons / Rhapsody (Live)

Released 26^th January

Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1XZCDnm

This delightful Frederick Ashton double bill opens with his setting of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, using the music’s dark turbulence and brilliance to inspire some of his most thrilling choreography. The second half of the programme features Ashton’s delicate, deceptively comic The Two Pigeons – a work rarely performed and a real treat for ballet fans everywhere.

National Theatre Live – Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Released 28^th January

Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1PxL3za

Following the hugely successful broadcasts of Coriolanus and King Lear, National Theatre Live brings the Donmar Warehouse’s highly anticipated new production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses to cinemas – broadcast live from the Donmar’s London home. In 1782, Choderlos de Laclos’ novel of sex, intrigue and betrayal in pre-revolutionary France scandalised the world. Two hundred years later, Christopher Hampton’s irresistible adaptation swept the board, winning the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Play. Josie Rourke’s revival now marks the play’s thirty year anniversary.

MET Opera – Turandot

Released 30^th January 2015

Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1kG5GNT

Three of opera’s greatest dramatic sopranos; Christine Goerke, Lise Lindstrom, and Nina Stemme, take turns in the title role of the proud princess of ancient China, whose riddles doom every suitor who seeks her hand. Tenors Marcelo Álvarez and Marco Berti are Calàf, the brave prince who sings “Nessun dorma” and wins her love. Franco Zeffirelli’s golden production is conducted by Paolo Carignani.

Jon Nutton, Marketing Director of Empire Cinemas, said: “Our Empire Extra programme means cinemagoers and performing arts lovers can experience the excitement of live events and stage productions with ease and comfort, at their local cinema. What better way to spend time with the family this Christmas than by watching an amazing performance of the ultimate Christmas production, The Nutcracker.”

 

For further ticketing information visit www.EmpireCinemas.co.uk or call 08714 714 714.