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Internationally acclaimed Kneehigh Theatre’s spell-binding production of Daphne du Maurier’s masterpiece Rebecca will captivate audiences at the Lyceum Theatre from Monday 23 – Saturday 28 November.

 

Following the mysterious death of his first wife, Maxim de Winter returns to Manderley with his new young bride. Surrounded by memories of the glamorous Rebecca, the new Mrs De Winter is consumed by jealousy. She sets out to uncover the secrets of the house and a past fiercely guarded by the sinister housekeeper Mrs Danvers and soon discovers all is not what it seems in Manderley…

 

Rebecca is timeless; the book beloved by generations and the iconic Alfred Hitchcock film a classic of the genre. Award-winning director Emma Rice has created a spellbinding new production of Daphne du Maurier’s iconic novel which conjures Cornish romance and theatrical magic.

Rebecca is presented by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers, the multi‑award winning producers of Art, Brief Encounter, God of Carnage and Calendar Girls in association with Steve & Jenny Wiener.

 

Rebecca is at the Lyceum Theatre from Monday 23 – Saturday 28 November.  Tickets can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres’ Box Office in-person, by phone on 0114 249 6000 or online athttp://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/ and are priced £14.00 – £29.50 (a transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office, excluding cash), and discounts are available.

Sheffield Theatres Listings:

Crucible Lyceum Studio 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA             
Box Office 0114 249 6000 – Mon – Sat 10.00am to 8.00pm
A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office (excluding cash).
On non-performance days the Box Office closes at 6.00pm.
sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
Twitter: @crucibletheatre @SheffieldLyceum

Instagram: sheffieldtheatres

 

Rebecca

Lyceum Theatre

Mon 23 November – Sat 28 November

Press Night – Monday 23 November 7.45pm

Mon – Sat 7.45pm

Thu 2.00pm

Sat 3.00pm

Tickets £14.00 – £29.50

Concessions available

Park Theatre 27 October – 28 November.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Dinner With Friends is a Pulitzer Prize winning play, and you can see why from the first scene. The writing is slick, insightful and very, very funny.

Karen and Gabe are a successful couple that REALLY know about food. Their friends, Tom and Beth are not so happy, and when they find out that Tom has left Beth, Karen and Gabe are horrified and begin to question their relationship with the other couple.

The cast effortlessly create the illusion of a well established friendship, talking over the end of each other’s sentences and sharing glances. Sara Stewart (Karen) and Shaun Dooley (Gabe) are brilliant – they talk over each other, contradict and correct each other, and carry out hysterical tag team descriptions – in excruciating detail – of their Italian vacation. A very believable couple that being friends with would be both wonderful and excruciating in equal measures. Finty Williams (Beth) and Hari Dhillon (Tom) are full of rage, denial and self-justification in their scenes together and both actors portray the changes in the couple’s outlook and demeanour over time with great sensitivity. As they hear descriptions of their friends’ new, separate, lives, Stewart and Dooley’s reactions are sublime, and Williams and Dhillon deliver some home truths to the other couple with an expert blend of sweetness and exasperation.

The set design is as slick and unfussy as the writing. The backdrop is like a Newhaven branch of Carluccio’s, with shelves full of kitchen paraphernalia on hand to use in each scene.

The exploration of relationships, marriages, and how they evolve is explored sincerely, but with no preaching and a huge dash of realistic humour. The realisation that your life will probably never turn out as you imagined when you were young, and the changes and responsibilities that children bring are dealt with. Should you walk away from something that is making you unhappy? Or keep working at it and appreciate what you have?

Dinner With Friends is a grown up piece of theatre with grown up themes, but it reveals the lost child within each of the characters, searching for and clinging on to love. This is a wonderful play, full of fantastic performances and well worth seeing.

 

Due to unprecedented demand the Menier Chocolate Factory Production of Funny Girl will transfer to the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End, following the sold out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory which commences on 20th November, 2015. Michael Mayer’s production, starring Olivier and BAFTA award-winning actress Sheridan Smith as Fanny Brice and with the cast from the Menier Chocolate Factory, will begin performances at the Savoy Theatre on 9th April 2016 for a strictly limited 12-week run until 2nd July 2016. Tickets will go on general sale from 10am Monday 16th November.

David Babani, Artistic Director of Menier Chocolate Factory, said today, “We’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for Funny Girl – the show broke Menier box office records when it sold out its entire run in just 90 minutes. We felt it was very important to respond to demand so we’re delighted to be joining forces with Sonia Friedman and Scott Landis to give Funny Girl a future life. We want to share it with as wide an audience as possible and to make Michael Mayer’s production as accessible to all, we’re offering £15 day seats – available for every performance at the Savoy Theatre.”

Sonia Friedman and Scott Landis said today, “2016 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the original London production of Funny Girl. It’s enormously exciting to be bringing this legendary musical back to the West End for the first time since 1966, in a brand new production starring the incredible Sheridan Smith. We are also thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the hugely gifted, multi-award winning Broadway director Michael Mayer.”

With music by Jule Styne (whose musical Gypsy is currently running at the Savoy Theatre, starring Imelda Staunton), lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Isobel Lennart, the Broadway smash-hit Funny Girl which skyrocketed Barbra Streisand to stardom, is revived with book revisions by Harvey Fierstein. Sheridan Smith plays Fanny Brice, who rose from being a Brooklyn music hall singer to become one of Broadway’s biggest stars under producer Florenz Ziegfeld. While she was cheered onstage as a great comedienne, offstage she faced a doomed relationship with the man she loved. With a score featuring now-classic songs such as “People”, “You Are Woman, I Am Man” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade”, this brand new production promises to be a major theatrical event.

Sheridan Smith returns to the Menier Chocolate Factory to play Fanny Brice. She previously appeared in Little Shop of Horrors for the company (also Duke of York’s Theatre). Her other theatre work includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Michael Grandage Company at the Noel Coward Theatre), Hedda Gabler (Old Vic), Flare Path (Theatre Royal Haymarket – Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress, Evening Standard Theatre Award and Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress), Legally Blonde (Savoy Theatre – Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical), Tinderbox (Bush Theatre), The People are Friendly (Royal Court) and Into the Woods (Donmar Warehouse). For television, her credits include Blackwork, The C Word, Cilla, The Widower, The 7.39, Dates, Mr Stink, Mrs Biggs (BAFTA Award for Best Actress), Accused, Scapegoat, Little Crackers, Jonathan Creek, Gavin & Stacey, Larkrise to Candleford, Grown Ups, Love Soup, Two Pints of Larger and a Packet of Crisps, The Royale Family and Wives and Daughters; and for film, The Huntsman, Powder Room, Quartet, Tower Block and Hysteria.

Michael Mayer directs. His West End credits include Spring Awakening (Lyric Hammersmith and Novello Theatre) and Thoroughly Modern Millie (Shaftesbury Theatre). For Broadway his work includes Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Tony Award nomination for Best Director), On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, American Idiot (Drama Desk Award for Best Director of a Musical), Spring Awakening (Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Drama Desk Award for Best Direction of a Musical) and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical). For television, his work includes Smash, and for film his credits include A Home at the End of the World, Flicka and currently in post-production, Chekhov’s The Seagull.

With the scores of such Broadway classics as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Peter Pan, Bells Are Ringing and Gypsy to his credit, composer Jule Styne ranks as one of the undisputed architects of the American musical theatre. Styne’s collaborators included Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Stephen Sondheim, Bob Merrill, Leo Robin and E.Y. Harburg, and their combined efforts have produced such showstoppers as “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”, “The Party’s Over”, “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”, “People” and “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.” He was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972, the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981, and became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1990.

Bob Merrill was a composer, lyricist and screenwriter. He partnered with composer Jule Styne to write Funny Girl, Sugar and The Red Shoes. His other stage musicals include New Girl in Town, Take Me Along, Carnival, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Prettybelle, The Prince of Grand Street and Henry, Sweet Henry. In the 1950s, his melodies and words captured the radio audiences with such top-ten standards as “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?”, “Mambo Italiano” and “If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake”. Merrill provided lyrics for beloved television musicals including Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood, and The Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer. His screenplays for Hollywood include Mahogany and W.C. Fields and Me. Merrill also wrote five songs for the 1962 film The Wonderful World of The Brothers Grimm.

As a screenwriter, Isobel Lennart’s first movie was The Affairs of Martha which opened in 1942, followed by A Stranger in Town, and her personal favourite, Lost Angel. Some twenty-five more scripts were made into popular movies over the next thirty years, among them: Two for the Seesaw, the Academy Award nominated Love Me or Leave Me and The Sundowners. Despite her trials and tribulations with the House Un-American Activities Committee, she was never prevented from working. She ventured into playwriting with the stage adaptation of her screenplay Funny Girl for Ray Stark. Several plays were written for her husband’s Los Angeles theatre, The Stage Society. Lennart received many awards and nominations during her career; the 1966 Laurel Award was her most treasured.

Choreography is by Lynne Page, with set design by Michael Pavelka, costume designer by Matthew Wright, lighting design by Mark Henderson and sound designer by Richard Brooker, the musical supervisor is Alan Williams and orchestrations are by Chris Walker.

FUNNY GIRL is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott Landis Productions and Chocolate Factory Productions.

Funny Girl
Savoy Theatre
Strand, London, WC2R 0ET
9th April 2016 to 2nd July 2016

Visit The Funny Girl website to sign-up for Priority Bookings
Box Office: 0844 871 7687
www.funnygirlthemusical.co.uk
Twitter: @FunnyGirl_UK
Facebook: /FunnyGirlUK
Instagram: @FunnyGirlUK

The second annual West End Wilma Awards took place this afternoon, at The Hippodrome Casino. Winners are shown below in bold Best West End Show  Sponsored by eStage Gypsy Memphis The Nether _____________________ Best Off-West End Show Carrie The Clockmakers Daughter Return of the Soldier _____________________ Best Touring Show Wicked Calamity Jane Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat _____________________ Most Underrated West End Show Urinetown Just Jim Dale Made In Dagenham _____________________ Rising Star Award  Sponsored by Planet Hollywood Luke Newton Evelyn Hoskins David O’Reilly _____________________ Most Welcoming Venue  Sponsored by SeatPlan Prince of Wales Theatre Above The Stag Landor Theatre _____________________ Best Cabaret/Solo Performance  Sponsored by The Hippodrome Casino Rachel Tucker (St James Theatre) Frances Ruffelle (Crazy Coqs) Sheila Simmonds (Leicester Square Lounge) _____________________ Best Vocal Performance  Sponsored by London Weekly News Killian Donnelly (Memphis) Beverley Knight (Memphis) Gina Beck (I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change) _____________________ Best Family Show Sponsored by R&H Theatricals Europe The Twits (Royal Court) Bugsy Malone (Lyric Hammersmith) Somewhere Very Far Away (Unicorn Theatre) _____________________ Best Actor in a Play or Musical Sponsored by Applaud Alistair McGowan (An Audience With Jimmy Savile) Killian Donnelly (Memphis) Jon Jon Briones (Miss Saigon) _____________________ Best Actress in a Play or Musical Beverley Knight (Memphis) Jenna Russell (Urinetown) Eva Noblezada (Miss Saigon) _____________________

BBC DOCUMENTARY GOES BEHIND THE HOARDINGS AT THE THEATRE.

 

York Theatre Royal is to feature in a BBC documentary on Monday 9 November on BBC One, covering the current redevelopment project and this summer’s huge community production In Fog and Falling Snow. The programme is narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi and is being shown as part of the BBC’s On Stage season; a major series celebrating Britain’s incredible theatre talent, from world-class actors to cutting-edge regional theatre.  The programme will be broadcast locally on BBC One in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and then repeated nationally on BBC Four at 7.30pm on Tuesday 17 November.

For several months cameras have been granted privileged access to all areas of the York Theatre Royal site as work on the £4.1million redevelopment has been taking place.  Interviews were granted with members of staff from York Theatre Royal, the construction company William Birch & Sons Ltd and York Archaeological Trust, giving insight into the project.  As work on the theatre progressed and the remains of St Leonard’s Hospital were discovered, the cameras were on hand to record the finds.

Since filming concluded in September, work on the theatre has progressed rapidly with the exciting new layout of the auditorium and front of house areas taking shape.  Where walls had been coming down, they are now going up again in new configurations, showing how open and spacious the Box Office, café and restaurant areas will be and the intimacy of the stalls with their new sightlines.  A massive skeleton of scaffolding known on site as ‘the birdcage’ has been erected in the auditorium in order for work to be carried out on the delicate and intricate plasterwork and decorations.  Carpenters have also been busy installing the new tiered seating in the Dress Circle and Gallery.

Work is ongoing at the theatre, and will re-open in spring 2016 with a new season of work which will be announced shortly.  During the closure, York Theatre Royal’s residency at the National Railway Museum continues with this year’s pantomime Dick Whittington (and his meerkat) taking place at The Signal Box Theatre from 10 December – 24 January.

Abbigail Ollive, Head of Communications & Enterprises at York Theatre Royal said:

This is an amazing opportunity for people to see ‘behind the hoardings’ of the redevelopment project. With the theatre being covered in scaffolding, we get asked all the time about what is going on in the building and we’re really pleased to be able to show everyone what has been happening! We only have £65,000 left to raise in our fundraising appeal and we hope that seeing this programme might spur people on to make a donation and help us to reach our target.

 

Also captured on film was footage from backstage at In Fog and Falling Snow, the huge summer production which took place at The Signal Box Theatre and in and around the collection at the National Railway Museum.  Production staff, creatives and cast spoke about the play, including the only professional actor involved, George Costigan.

The BBC On Stage season will be led by BBC Two’s major new adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian McKellan. Other major new content across television, radio and online will include a 10-part Radio 4 documentary series on the history of black British theatre and screen presented by Lenny Henry.

BBC On Stage featuring York Theatre Royal will be screened at 7.30pm on Monday 9 November on BBC One in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It will be repeated nationally at 7.30pm on Tuesday 17 November on BBC Four.  The programme will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

 

York Theatre Royal is still fundraising for its £4.1million redevelopment. You can donate securely online at www.justgiving.co.uk/yorktheatreroyal

 

STOMP COLLABORATES WITH HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS

IN NEW YORK CITY TO CELEBRATE TEAM’S 90^TH YEAR

Eight performers from the New York production of STOMP took to an outdoor basketball court in New York City’s Greenwich Village with four stars from the world famous Harlem Globetrotters to celebrate the team’s 90^th year.

CLICK HERE to watch the single-take video of their unique collaboration directed by STOMP co-creators Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas.  School children at recess, tourists, locals and residents from nearby apartment windows watched in amazement as STOMP joined forces with Globetrotter stars Bull Bullard, Cheese Chisholm, Firefly Fisher, and Handles Franklin.

STOMP, created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, is currently playing in New York, London’s West End, and on a European tour. STOMP has also been an overwhelming success away from the theatre, marked by rave reviews and awards, an Academy Award nomination, four Emmy nominations, an Emmy Award, and noteworthy TV appearances including “The London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony” and “The Academy Awards.”

The Globetrotters will celebrate their 90^th year with over 330 games in more than 260 cities in North America starting December 26, 2015. The tour’s opening week will bring 10 games to six arenas in the NYC-area, including Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Prudential Center. The full schedule and ticket information can be found at harlemglobetrotters.com.

Since its 1991 premiere at the Edinburgh Festival 1991, STOMP has become a global phenomenon, showcasing a universal language of rhythm, theatre, comedy and dance that has resonated with audiences around the world. Eight performers use everything from Zippo lighters and plastic bags, to basketballs and even the kitchen sink to hammer out an explosively feel-good rhythm. STOMP has toured the globe almost continuously for over 20 years, setting feet stamping, fingers drumming and adrenalin rushing for over 15 million people in 48 countries across five continents. Critics and audiences have raved about STOMP: The New York Times calls it “a sure-fire crowd pleaser with a rock-and-roll heart.”  “STOMP finds beautiful noise in the strangest places,” says USA Today.  It is the winner of an Olivier, Obie, Drama Desk and numerous other awards.  Creators Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas also co-directed the award winning giant-screen film Pulse: A STOMP Odyssey, and the underwater giant-screen film trilogy: Wild Ocean 3D, The Last Reef 3D and Great White Shark 3D.  Visit www.stomponline.com.

Celebrating 90 iconic years of providing smiles, sportsmanship and service to millions, The Harlem Globetrotters® are a worldwide icon, synonymous with one-of-a-kind family entertainment and great basketball skills. Throughout their history, the Original Harlem Globetrotters have showcased their iconic talents in 122 countries and territories on six continents, often breaking down cultural and societal barriers while providing fans with their first-ever basketball experience. Proud inductees of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Globetrotters have entertained hundreds of millions of fans – among them popes, kings, queens, and presidents – over nine thrilling decades. Sponsored by World Vision, Greyhound Lines and Baden Sports, Harlem Globetrotters International, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Herschend Enterprises, the largest family-owned themed entertainment company in the U.S. For the latest news and information about the Harlem Globetrotters, and to purchase tickets and team merchandise, visit the Globetrotters’ official Web site: www.harlemglobetrotters.com.

https://youtu.be/-YhQwsw03yk

LISTINGS INFORMATION

 

Ambassadors Theatre

West Street

London WC2H 9ND

 

Box Office: 08448 112 334

 

Tickets: £26 to £52.50 + a £2.50 transaction fee

 

Performances: Monday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 6pm, with matinees Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 3pm*

*Extra Performances:  Wednesday 17 February 2016 3pm & 8pm, Wednesday 30 March 2016 3pm & 8pm, Wednesday 6 April 2016 3pm & 8pm, Wednesday 1 June 2016 3pm & 8pm

 

Running Time: 100 minutes with no interval

 

Current Booking Period: 8 January 2017

 

www.theambassadorstheatre.co.uk

www.stomplondon.com

@StompTour

 

EXPLORE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BLACK, BRITISH AND FEMALE IN

DARK & LOVELY AT THE CRUCIBLE STUDIO

 

Artist and performer Selina Thompson brings her highly-acclaimed one woman show, Dark & Lovely, to the Crucible Studio Theatre from Wednesday 18 – Friday 20 November. Using memories, music, rum and a ‘Tumbleweave installation’, Selina explores the history and politics of afro hair and what it means to be Black, British and Female in the UK today.

 

Presented from within the Tumbleweave – a home for hair built from abandoned weaves and hair extensions – Dark & Lovely is an intimate, part-autobiographical, conversational new show that invites audiences to peer through the Tumbleweave. Using recorded conversations with barbers, hair vendors and customers, feel good music and written text, this new show explores the complexities of the social debate surrounding Black hair and celebrates what it means – and doesn’t mean – to be Black, through the way we wear our hair.

 

Dark & Lovely was first performed in Chapeltown, Leeds in a disused barber’s shop for a weeklong sell-out run. Selina Thompson says: ‘Dark & Lovely was developed in the barber shops and hairdressers – and making the work was a real coming of age moment for me: one in which I got to reconnect my heritage and cultural upbringing with my developing political consciousness and my practice as an artist. I like to think I’ve made something that reflects the love and care that those that opened up their community spaces extended to me – but also something with bite!’

Dark & Lovely is at the Studio from Wednesday 18 – Saturday 20 November.  Tickets can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres’ Box Office in-person, by phone on 0114 249 6000 or online at http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/ and are priced £10.00 (a transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office, excluding cash).

 

FASCINATING AIDA’S DILLIE KEANE

SPRINGS INTO ACTION

WITH HER SOLO SHOW – HER FIRST FOR 557 YEARS!

TOURING THE UK FROM FEBRUARY

 

After celebrating 30 years of Fascinating Aida, Dillie Keane is taking a short break from her gal pals to bring audiences around the country her solo show, written by her and Adèle Anderson, which she debuted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015. Dillie will tour the UK from 10 February until 24 March 2016, accompanied on the piano by Michael Roulston: dates and booking info here: http://www.fascinatingaida.co.uk/tour_dates

With brand new tunes, grand old favourites, gorgeous songs of love and hilarious songs of utter wickedness, Dillie will break your heart, mend it again and have it sent to the cleaners for pressing. 

 

And she’ll give you her recipe for chutney while she’s at it..

 

As founding member of Fascinating Aida, Dillie has amassed over 17 million hits on Youtube for their charming and now infamous takes on a variety of topics from Cheap Flights to OFSTED to Dillie’s notorious ode to dogging, which itself has reached 2 million hits so far.

“Keane, whose piano playing remains as sprightly and inventive as ever, prompts gales of laughter with merely the raising of a quizzical eyebrow.”

★★★★★ TIMES

Dillie says “I think I must be descended from a long line of itinerants, because there’s nothing makes me happier than hitting the road again.  And I’m delighted my little show is getting a longer shelf life and I’ve got a chance to do it in the places I love – our British provincial towns.   (You can take a chanteuse out of the provinces… etc.) You see, I only decided to do the show because my dear old pal and colleague from Fascinating Aïda, Adèle Anderson, wanted to go on holiday to North Korea.  (Dear God… don’t ask…)   I couldn’t bear the idea of sitting home twiddling my thumbs. 

 

Things didn’t turn out quite as planned.  I was rehearsing the show when we got the news that she was not heading East at all.  Instead, she’s taken a detour through the North Korea of Poorliness, travelling via the chemo day clinic and the hospital ward, poor love.  So I suddenly found myself doing the show for rather longer than planned.

 

So, buoyed with the happiness of this result, I can set off on the road once more in the knowledge that she’s getting back to full strength again for Fascinating Aïda’s full time return in 2017.

 

I am also delighted to be touring with the exceptionally talented Michael Roulston, well known (and much in demand) on the cabaret circuit in London.”

Kings Head Theatre  28 October – 22 November.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Good grief, that was intense.

Lucy Roslyn’s one-act play about Elyese Dukie, a Death Row inmate in 1950s Texas, is powerful and puzzling.

Elyese is initially defiant and mocks the court and her stuttering attorney, but as twitches and pains begin, her underlying regret emerges. But for what? She is perfectly happy describing her killing of husband Dale. Elyese talks about John Hayes, the man she turned into to kill, through memories of her childhood and marriage. John has made Elyese a celebrity, especially in the women’s prison, and she (he) has seduced a guard, who is urging John to plead insanity to avoid the electric chair.

Roslyn’s performance is hypnotic – she uses her voice and subtle body language, along with wonderfully intuitive lighting design, to portray the different characters in Elyese’s life, and leads us on a rollercoaster ride as Elyese/John. One moment she is charming and seductive, the next raging and foul mouthed. As she finally reveals the truth about what happened to her lover, her regret and sense of loss are palpable.

So, is she insane, or in denial? Elyese is always talking about choosing to be John, about how she’s done with Elyese, and then done with John. She says she wants to do the right thing, and is facing her death almost with relief. Does she deserve to die? There are no answers here, and the last line of the play just leaves you with even more questions. The writing is simply superb – Roslyn has interlaced almost poetic accounts of death with dark, dark humour. The history of the character, as told by Elyese, evokes sympathy, but then a sudden change in mood and heightened aggression makes you realise that Elyese might just be seducing the audience as well.

A captivating, thought-provoking, and wonderfully dark drama.

PARK THEATRE ANNOUNCES

AN EXCITING NEW SEASON OF WORK FOR 2016

INCLUDING SEVEN WORLD PREMIERES

 

FOLLOWING HIS CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ROLE AS ‘JIMMY SAVILE’, ALISTAIR MCGOWAN RETURNS TO PARK200 TO STAR IN THE UK PREMIERE OF PETER QUILTER’S AMNESIA DRAMA 4000 DAYS

 

YES MINISTER’S JONATHAN LYNN WRITES AND DIRECTS

THE PATRIOTIC TRAITOR

EXAMINING THE TRUE STORY OF THE WARTIME RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DE GAULLE AND PÉTAIN

 

OLIVIER AWARD WINNER GUY MASTERSON PRESENTS DOUBLE BILL IN PARK90:

ABSOLUTION / BILL CLINTON HERCULES

 

AFRICAN GOTHIC BY REZA DE WET, WRITTEN DURING THE APARTHEID ERA

FROM THE TEAM BEHIND MUSWELL HILL AT PARK THEATRE AND MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA! IN THE WEST END

 

THE QUIETHOUSE, AN ORIGINAL DRAMA EXPLORING THE PAIN OF INFERTILITY, PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE LONDON WOMEN’S CLINIC 

WORLD PREMIERE OF A BRAND NEW BRITISH MUSICAL, THE BUSKERS OPERA, BY DOUGAL IRVINE

 

As Park Theatre enters its third year, Artistic Director Jez Bond today announces its new season of work, including seven new writing world premieres alongside a number of exciting revivals, and a brand new British musical.

 

Bond says, “At Park Theatre we are committed to presenting world class theatre, and collaborating with the finest existing and emerging talent right in the heart of Finsbury Park. Our last season delivered phenomenal successes with sell out runs for new plays The Gathered Leaves and An Audience With Jimmy Savile, and I’m confident that this new season of work will challenge, entertain and stimulate audiences old and new.

 

t’s important to all of us here that Park Theatre is accessible to all. We’ve just launched ‘Park Young Patrons’ to encourage more young people to engage with our work, and we’re continually fundraising to keep ticket prices low and to enable us to provide more Creative Learning projects for the community. We’re continually evolving as a building, and this autumn we’ll be improving the ticket buying process with the introduction of a dedicated box office in the foyer.”

www.parktheatre.co.uk

Box office: 02078706876 

PARK200

14 Jan – 13 Feb 2016

Engine House Presents the UK Premiere of

4000 DAYS

Written by Peter Quilter

Directed by Matt Aston

Cast includes Alistair McGowan

Press night: Tuesday 19 January

Times: Mon – Sat 19.30, 15.00 Thurs and Sat matinees

What would you do if you forgot the last decade of your life?

Michael has been in a coma for three weeks.

On waking, he realises that four thousand days of his memory have been completely erased. He remembers nothing of Paul, his partner.

Paul must fight to bring Michael’s memory back, while Paul’s mother, Carol, fights to remove him from their lives completely.

Alistair McGowan returns to Park Theatre to lead the company of 4000 Days, following his acclaimed performance in An Audience with Jimmy Saville. Director, Matt Aston, who directed Bombers Moon at Park Theatre in 2014 and its subsequent transfer to the West End in 2015, returns to present this new play by Olivier and Tony nominated writer Peter Quilter (End of Rainbow).

17 Feb – 19 Mar 2016

Bob Benton and Daniel Brodie for DB Productions present the World Premiere of

THE PATRIOTIC TRAITOR

Written and directed by Jonathan Lynn

Press night: Tuesday 23 February

Times: Mon – Sat 19.30, 15.00 Thurs and Sat matinees

“You were the sword but I was the shield. I love France. I also love you – as a son.”

The Patriotic Traitor is about two giants of history. Written and directed by multi-award winning Jonathan Lynn (Yes Minister / Yes, Prime Minister / My Cousin Vinny / Nuns on the Run), it tells the extraordinary true story of Charles de Gaulle and Philippe Pétain, who loved each other like father and son but found themselves on tragically opposing sides in World War II.

This relationship, noble, comic and absurd, changed history: Philippe Pétain, a tough, uncompromising soldier who rose through the ranks to save France in 1916 at the Battle of Verdun, and Charles de Gaulle, the aristocratic, academic, awkward and equally uncompromising soldier who led France to freedom when Pétain became a Nazi collaborator.

In 1945 de Gaulle had his oldest friend tried for treason. But was it as simple as it seemed? This extraordinary story is seen as Pétain waits for the verdict.

22 March – 23 April 2016

simple8 in association with Park Theatre presents the World Premiere of

DON’T SLEEP THERE ARE SNAKES

A new play by Sebastian Armesto and Dudley Hinton with simple8

Based on the true story and book by Daniel Everett

Press night: Wednesday 23 March

Times: Mon – Sat 19.30, 15.00 Thurs and Sat matinees

Pirahã [(n) piɾaˈhã] a remote Amazonian tribe with a language no outsider has ever understood.

Daniel Everett, a linguist and missionary, is sent into the jungle with a clear purpose: to learn their language and convert them to Christianity.

But as he struggles to communicate, he uncovers a culture like nothing he’s ever imagined. What he discovers blows apart modern linguistic theory, forcing him to question his faith and his understanding of what it means to be human.

Following the critically acclaimed The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Moby-Dick, the award winning ensemble, simple8, return with an adventure wrenched from the heart of the jungle, that traces how language, culture and experience shape us all.

28 April – 5 June 2016

Michael Peavoy, Neil Marcus and Paul Tyrer & Jamie Clark for Buskers Opera Ltd in association with Park Theatre present the World Premiere of

THE BUSKERS OPERA

A new musical by Dougal Irvine

Inspired by The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay

Press night: Thursday 5 May

Times: Mon – Sat 19.30, 15.00 Thurs and Sat matinees

“The future’s ripe for those who mix their artistry with politics”

London, 2012. The night before the Opening Ceremony. A group of street performers called ‘the 99percenters,’ gather in protest against the over-priced, corporate games. Among them is Macheath, satirist and ladies’ man, whose razor-sharp wit is slashing chunks out of the Mayor’s reputation. Powerful figures are watching. With the ever-influential media operating 24/7, capital punishment has found a new method of delivery.

A hilarious new musical from the pen of one of the hottest writers emerging in UK theatre, Dougal Irvine, whose catalogue of work includes Departure Lounge, The Snow Queen, Teddy, The Other School, In Touch and Britain’s Got Bhangra. Expect a reckless abandonment of political correctness and some top class tunes to redefine a golden age.

Supported by Rooks Nest Entertainment Suitable for 15 years upwards

Echo Presents, Park Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre present the world premiere of

7 June – 8 July 2016

Echo Presents, Park Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre present the world premiere of: THE QUIET HOUSE

An original drama by Gareth Farr

Directed by Tessa Walker

Press night: Wednesday 8 June

Times: Mon – Sat 19.30, 15.00 Thurs and Sat matinees

“It’s passing on your thoughts, your personality, a part of yourself, your DNA. If we don’t do that what are we? We’re just dust.”

Jess and Dylan are in love. They want a family. That’s all they have ever wanted.

When diagnosed with infertility, this ordinary couple find themselves on an extraordinary journey. They enter the world of IVF treatment where intimacy is replaced by injections.

Forced to fight for the family they so desperately want, they put their faith in science and their relationship through the ultimate test.

An exploration of infertility and the taboo that surrounds it, The Quiet House is a funny, moving and unswervingly honest love story, inspired by true events.

Gareth Farr’s highly anticipated new play following his Bruntwood Prize-winning debut, Britannia Waves The Rules.

This production has been created in association with The London Women’s Clinic

PARK90

23 December 2015 – 23 January 2016

Two Sheds Theatre presents

AFRICAN GOTHIC

Written by Reza de Wet

Press night: Tuesday 5 January

Times: Tue – Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees

“Still water, deep ground, and underneath the devil is turning around” Afrikaner children’s rhyme

Frikkie and Sussie were born into a South African Eden, an idyllic farm with loving and responsible parents, a black nanny as their second mother, and a benevolent God in Heaven to keep them all safe and sound.

But that was decades ago.

Now their parents are long gone, the farm a desolate ruin, and God has clearly forgotten them.

Written during the Apartheid era, Reza de Wet’s astonishing play (originally “Diepe Grond” – Deep Ground) held up a mirror to the dark heart of Afrikaner society, forcing it to take a long and uncomfortable look at itself and the myths that sustained it.

From the production team behind Muswell Hill (Park Theatre, February-March 2015) and My Children! My Africa! (Trafalgar Studios, August 2015).

26 January – 20 February 2016

Ensemble and York Theatre Royal present

THE RESTORATION OF NELL GWYN

Written by Steve Trafford with songs by Henry Purcell

Directed by Damian Cruden

Press Night: Wednesday 27 January

Times: Tue – Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees

A gorgeous new comedy, full of bawdy wit.

A fine vignette of Britain, then and now, where the personal is heroically, hilariously political. King Charles II lies ill. Nell, his royal whore, once star of the Restoration stage, rages against the fate that may befall her if Charles dies. Margery, Nell’s maid, is no whore but a survivor whose fate too hangs on the life or death of the Royal patriarch.

We see Nell in breeches, a perfect boy. She sings like an angel. Margery dances, emptying chamber pots with priceless asides on sex, love, class and power… Wonderful roles for distinguished actresses Elizabeth Mansfield, Olivier Award nominee, and Angela Curran, star of ITV’s hit comedy series ‘Job Lot’. An intriguing reinterpretation of our national treasure Nell Gwyn and a timely celebration of female resilience in a world where women seldom thrive.

23 Feb – 19 March 2016

Giant Cherry Productions in association with Park Theatre presents

HELLO NORMA JEANE

Written by Dylan Costello

Directed by Matthew Gould

Press Night: Wednesday 24 February

Times: Tue – Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees

It’s Spring 2003 and Essex grandmother Lynnie has escaped from her nursing home and fled 5000 miles across the Atlantic to Hollywood, Los Angeles, where she plans to reveal to the world her deepest secret – that she is Marilyn Monroe, alive and well after faking her death decades before.

As her gay grandson Joe turns up to take her home, he finds himself embroiled in his grandmother’s scheme, questioning his sanity wondering whether he really can be the grandson of Marilyn Monroe.

But is Lynnie really Marilyn? Or just a crazy old lady wanted to avoid ending her days alone inside a nursing home? There’s only one way that the truth will be revealed in this funny drama that is full of surprises…

22 March – 16 April 2016

Attic Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of

BEACONS

Written by Tabitha Mortibo

Press Night: Thursday 24 March

Times: Tue – Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees

“See those three at the edge, those three in a line? That’s me, and you and Julie. We’re a constellation.”

Julie sells ice cream on the cliffs at Beachy Head and searches for love online. Her friend Bernard walks the clifftops and can’t seem to settle.

When sixteen year old Skye arrives for the summer and decides to stay, the lives of all three become unexpectedly entwined. But when memory takes hold, will their buried fears force them apart?

Tabitha Mortiboy’s magical new play tells of love, loss and midnight ice cream sundaes under the starlit skies of the South Downs.

19 April – 14 May 2016

PMJ Productions present the World Premiere of

SKET

Written by Maya Sondhi

Directed by Prav MJ

Press Night: Wednesday 20 April

Times: Tue – Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees

“You’re so beautiful… take a picture, take one for me right now and send it.”

At an inner city school the teenagers are obsessed with 21st century technology. Living their lives through social media, where ‘sexting’ and ‘selfies’ are the norm and access to sexual imagery is available 24/7, what are the real costs…?

This insightful play follows the lives of six young adults as they negotiate the minefield of technological advances, ever-changing laws and moral dilemmas.

Mistakes happen but now they can remain forever in the virtual domain.

17 May – 11 June 2016

Guy Masterson presents the London premieres of

ABSOLUTION and BILL CLINTON HERCULES

Press Night: Wednesday 18 May

Times: Tue – Sat 19:45 & 21:15, Thurs and Sat matinees 15:15 & 16:45

Both shows presented in a double bill, directed by Olivier Award winner Guy Masterson.

ABSOLUTION

Written & performed by Owen O’Neill

Donegal. Present Day. Catholic priests are disappearing. One man knows why and he wants to confess. His confession is brutal. It’s bloody, frank. He tells us it is not murder. It’s retribution. It’s absolution.

A five-star, sell-out hit at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival.

BILL CLINTON HERCULES

Written by Rachel Mariner

Performed by Bob Paisley

With the world ravaged by war, drowning refugees, mass migration, jobless, homeless, hopeless, with inequality and injustice at its worst for a century, the 42nd President wants to cut loose, shoot from the hip and waken the world in his own fantasy TED talk. His own epic life has led to this moment… but will he be silenced by his spouse’s political ambitions? Will he be Hillary’s foot-soldier or will the comeback kid come back?

12 June – 9 July 2016

Shock Box Theatre in association with Park Theatre presents the World Premiere

HAPPY TO HELP

Written by Michael Ross

Press Night: Thursday 16 June 2016

Times: Tue – Sat 19.45, 15:15 Thurs and Sat matinees

A darkly funny new play about the supermarket industry and its impact on all of our lives.

In a last-ditch attempt to gain PR traction, the managing director of UK supermarket chain ‘Frisca’ has returned to the shop floor incognito to experience life as a shelf-stacker. Yet beneath a facade of ruthless ambition and wholehearted commitment to the corporation lie tales of tragic pasts.

Discover the immense power of supermarkets, the human ramifications of low-cost food, and how the industry’s monopolising power has changed the face of the British high street.