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Children’s favourite The Gruffalo is making its return to London this December for a family fun-filled Christmas season in the West End.

Following its run on Broadway, the popular stage show is coming to the Vaudeville Theatre for a limited engagement this Christmas from 15th December 2015 to 3rd January 2016.

Join Mouse on a daring adventure through the deep dark wood in search of hazelnuts, meeting the cunning Fox, the eccentric old Owl and the party mad Snake on the way. Will the story of the fabled Gruffalo save Mouse from ending up as dinner for these wily woodland creatures? Armed with only a nut map and a little courage, Mouse must outwit them all. After all, there’s no such thing as a Gruffalo – is there?

Tall Stories’ The Gruffalo is a musical adaption based on the award-winning children’s book of the same name, by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Since its first performance back in 2001, the production has entertained audiences in the UK, US, Ireland, Poland, Canada, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Dubai, Chile and on many more stages all around the world. It was most recently seen in London earlier this year, when it played a 10-week summer season at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue from 1st July to 6th September 2015. It then headed to the New Victory Theater on Broadway for a short run between 17th and 24th October 2015.

The production is set to play at the Theatre Royal, Windsor and the Cambridge Arts Theatre throughout November, ahead of its West End run the following month.

The Gruffalo is presented by Tall Stories Theatre Company, a registered charity, founded in 1997 by joint artistic directors Olivia Jacobs and Toby Mitchell. Jacobs is the director of The Gruffalo and Mitchell is Creative Producer. Design is by Isla Shaw, with Lighting Design by James Whiteside and Composition/Sound Design by JollyGoodTunes Productions.

The West End cast stars Owen Guerin as The Gruffalo, Ellie Bell as Mouse and Timothy Richey as Predators.

The Gruffalo: Live on Stage! Opens at the Vaudeville Theatre on 15th December 2015, following Dawn French’s solo show Dawn French: 30 Million Minutes. It runs throughout the Christmas season and is set to close on 3rd January 2016.

 

The Gruffalo at the Vaudeville Theatre
404 Strand, London, WC2R 0NH
Booking From: 15th December 2015
Booking Until: 3rd January 2016

It has been announced that Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The Sound of Music, will be broadcast on ITV this Christmas in a special live performance starring Kara Tointon as Maria.

Along with the already-announced Julian Ovenden in the role of Captain von Trapp, further casting news confirmed that Katherine Kelly will play Baroness Elsa Schraeder alongside Alexander Armstrong as Max Detweiler.

It follows the live production NBC aired in the US in 2013, which starred Carrie Underwood as Maria and Stephen Moyer as Captain von Trapp.

The Sound of Music is based on the real life story of the von Trapp family and premiered on Broadway in 1959, inspiring the 1965 film musical starring Julie Andrews. It features a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, and includes such classic songs as ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?’, ‘Edelweiss’, ‘My Favourite Things’, ‘Do-Re-Mi’, ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’, and of course, ‘The Sound of Music’.

Kara Tointon made her name playing Dawn Swann in BBC soap opera EastEnders, and won Strictly Come Dancing in 2010. Her professional stage debut was as Brigatta in a production of The Sound of Music at the Cliffs Pavilion and she has gone on to appear in numerous West End productions, including starring as Eliza Doolittle opposite Rupert Everett inPygmalion at the Garrick Theatre in 2011.

Downton Abbey star Julian Ovenden is a trained opera singer whose musical theatre credits include Show Boat, My Night with Reg and Merrily We Roll Along. He also originated the role of J.M. Barrie in the musical adaption of Finding Neverland, which premiered at the Leicester Curve in 2012.

Mr Selfridge and Coronation Street star Katherine Kelly is also an established stage actress who has worked with Chichester Festival Theatre, National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and in the West End. Her stage credits include She Stoops to Conquer at the National Theatre and Othello at the Royal Exchange Theatre.

Alexander Armstrong is an actor and comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller with Ben Miller. He is also a classically trained singer and will make his musical theatre debut in The Sound of Music.

ITV director of comedy and entertainment Elaine Bedell said: “This is the first time in the UK that this type of project has been attempted, a musical drama both performed and broadcast live. We’ve assembled some of the very best talent both in front of and behind the camera, and I can’t wait to see it all come together.”

The Sound of Music Live! will be filmed live at Three Mills Studio, London over Christmas. It is being produced by ITV Studios along with executive producers Andre Ptaszynski, Lee Connelly and Fiona Clark, and also includes Coky Giedroyc as creative director and Richard Valentine as television director. Musical supervision is by Martin Koch.

ONE NIGHT OF ELVIS

 

Grand Opera House York

Thursday 28January at 7:30pm

 

 

There are Elvis tributes….. and then there’s Lee Memphis King.

 

 

“Judging by this quality performance at a full Hammersmith Apollo, Lee Memphis King is certainly among the premier league of tributes”. (The Stage Newspaper)

 

In this brand new show for 2016, Europe’s most successful Elvis Presley tribute artist – Lee Memphis King, presents the ultimate tribute to The King – celebrating the entire career of the musical legend. This spectacular show begins with an authentic recreation of the groundbreaking ’68 comeback special. The second half culminates in a rousing expo of Elvis’s years performing in Vegas. Lee brings the majesty of the voice and the electrifying power of Elvis’s performance back to life. Accompanied throughout by his world class orchestra and backing singers that breathe the life into the music of a legend. The show also features large screen projection, making it the biggest Elvis show to tour UK theatres.

 

Over the last 10 years as Lee has toured his ‘One Night of Elvis’ theatre production he has picked up numerous accolades and has headlined and sold out some of the most prestigious venues across the UK and Europe.

 

To any fan of Elvis this show is the only way to enjoy the music of the greatest, most celebrated artist the world has known. Prepare to be enthralled by this amazing musical journey and spend one night with Elvis.

www.leememphisking.com

 

 

“When I closed my eyes I could feel Elvis” (Joe Esposito – lifelong friend of Elvis Presley.)

 

“As close to seeing the King himself perform as we could ever hope to see” – (Manchester Palace Theatre)

 

 

www.leememphisking.com

 

www.facebook.com/leememphisking

Tickets: £21 & £24

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

Jim Davidson

Charlton Nil

Spring 2016 Tour

The people’s favourite and one of Britain’s greatest ever comedians, Jim Davidson OBE takes to the road with his brand new show Charlton Nil.

Son of a Glaswegian father, born and bred in Charlton.

From drummer to window cleaner via shelf stacker, to a theatre near you.

Guaranteed to be an irreverent, outrageous and truthful night.

For one night only!

Adults only

‘Boy does Jim know how to deliver his gospel…..

‘The audience could have stayed all night………. he speaks with a rare honesty’

5 stars Express

 

“Showman Jim triumphs… he hit the spot again and again”

Sunday Express *****

 

“Standing ovation to packed houses every night“

The Mirror ****

 

“Davidson was cheered to the rafters”

The Telegraph

 

“A master of his art”

The Spectator

GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

Friday 10 March at 7:30pm

Tickets: £21.50

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

PEPPA PIG’S SURPRISE

GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

Wednesday 10 & Thursday 11 February 2016

Surprise! Peppa Pig, George and their friends are back in a brand new live stage show, Peppa Pig’s Surprise.

It’s a lovely day and Peppa is playing outside with her friends. Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig have got a surprise for her and George – they can’t guess what it is, can you?

Enjoy fun, games and of course, surprises in this charming, colourful new show with new songs and new life size puppets, Peppa Pig’s Surprise promises to be the perfect theatre show for all pre-schoolers!

A rollicking, all singing, dancing interactive adventure. Daily Telegraph

★★★★★
A treat for your little one’s eyes and ears. Daily Express

★★★★
Enjoyably inventive. Time Out

It’s a lovely day and Daisy is playing outside. She enlists the help of the audience in a game of hide and seek as she looks for her other friends. She is joined by Danny Dog, Suzy Sheep, Pedro Pony and together they look for George and Peppa . With the help of the audience they find George and Peppa, and the friends can all have fun and play together!

Performances: Wed 1pm & 4pm, Thu 10am, 1pm, 4pm

Tickets: £13.50, £16, £21

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

JOHNNY CASH ROADSHOW

Grand Opera House York

Thursday 21 January 2016 at 7:30pm

Welcome back the Johnny Cash Roadshow, a show not to be missed by avid fans or the casual listener. Also the only show to be endorsed by the CASH family! This year prepare for a musical adventure with the biggest production to date.

The UK’s No1 celebration of Johnny Cash, fronted by award winning singer/songwriter Clive John, re-creates with astounding accuracy and truly captures the essence of what it was like to be at a real Cash show! Also featuring Jill Schoonjans as June Carter, Amanda Stone and Louise Masters as the Carter Sisters along with the ‘JC Horns’ all aspects of Cash’s life are covered with impeccable taste.

The show takes the audience from the 1950’s right up to 2002 and all the stops in between. All the greatest hits are included, along with songs from the latest album Out Among The Stars. All this accompanied by evocative screen images and shots from Johnny Cash’s life.

Comment from Rosanne Cash

(First daughter of Johnny Cash)

‘Clive’s resemblance is uncanny’

Two comments from Caitlin Crowell

(Granddaughter of Mr. Johnny Cash and Mrs. June Carter Cash)

‘Clive captures my Grandfather JUST as he was’

‘absolutely authentic to the point where it felt as if it wasn’t a tribute’

Press Reviews

‘A voice better than the original’ (John Wheatcroft, York Mix)

‘Extraordinary concert’ (Daily Record and Sunday Mail)

 

Tickets: £18 & £19

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

Return of The Grumpy Old Women- Fifty Shades Of Beige

 

GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

Thursday 9 June at 8pm 2016

Returning after a critically acclaimed, total sell-out spring 2015 tour the Grumpies are back to knock some sense into the nation. Perrier Award-winning comedian, writer and original star of Grumpy Old Women Jenny Eclair will be joined by fellow recruits Susie Blake (Mrs Brown’s Boys BBC One, Coronation Street, ITV1) and actress and singer Kate Robbins (Where The Heart Is ITV1, Casualty BBC One). 

This jam-packed show includes… learning the art of ‘Grumpy Grooming’, the joy of large pants, a free nagging master class (how to get your own way without him even noticing), beards for women, which style will suit you? Complimentary Anger Management workshop, middle-aged drinking: the rules, navigating the smorgasbord of worry, voluntary euthanasia vs. retirement, how to customise an unwanted pole dancing kit and a mercifully brief Zumba demonstration. All this and more! 

Come and bask in an orgy of fury and big laughs in this glorious live version of the hit TV show.

“Expect a party” **** The Times

“jaw-dropping one-liners” The Stage

Tickets: £26.25

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

GREG JAMES, THE CUBAN BROTHERS AND BOK BOK

AMONGST HEADLINERS FOR

H.FEST 2015

THE HOSPITAL CLUB’S FIRST EVER DAY-LONG FESTIVAL

SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2015

 

EXCLUSIVE ACCESS FOR PUBLIC TO PRIVATE MEMBERS CLUB

100% OF THE PROFITS TO GO TO THE H.CLUB FOUNDATION, THE CLUB’S INDEPENDENT CHARITY SUPPORTING EMERGING TALENT & LOCAL YOUTH PROJECTS

 

ACTIVITIES FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY INCLUDE STREET FOOD STALLS / LIVE / MUSIC / DJS / COMEDY / CABARET / PERFORMANCE

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO BOOK TICKETS, GO TOHTTP://WWW.THEHOSPITALCLUB.COM/EVENTS/VIEW/07-11-15-H-FEST-2015

On Saturday 7^th November 2015, The Hospital Club in Covent Garden will open its doors for h.Fest, the first indoor festival in the Club’s 11-year history.

 

h. Fest, which will become an annual fixture in The Hospital Club’s events calendar, will take over the whole of the Covent Garden club from 1pm to 2am, offering more than 12 hours of live music, DJs, comedy, cabaret, a variety of performance and spoken word artists,  children’s activities, festival food and drink and much more.The festival will be split in to two halves: a five-hour daytime festival programme for adults and their children from 1pm-6pm, followed by an evening festival programme (for adults only) from 7pm-2am.

 

The Hospital Club is delighted to announce that Greg James from Radio 1, the Cuban Brothers, Bok Bok and Hip Hop Karaoke are among the headline acts who will perform at h.Fest.

This indoor festival is a celebration of the h.Club Foundation, the Club’s independent charity which actively develops emerging creative talent and supports local youth projects, helping young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to realise their potential within and through the creative industries. As part of the Club’s commitment to supporting the next generation of creatives, it is proud to confirm that 100% of all h.Fest ticket sales will be donated to the h.Club Foundation.

 

Tickets are open to the Club’s members and the general public, and are priced at £25 per adult for daytime entry kids under 12 years go free (up to three children per adult), £45 per adult for evening entry (adults only) or £60 per adult for both daytime and evening entry. All tickets include two cocktails.

 

For more information or to book tickets, go to http://www.thehospitalclub.com/events/view/07-11-15-h-fest-2015

 

Old Red Lion Theatre 13th October – 7th November.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

“We’ve had strange reports in this area about people reading.”

Somebody is decapitating children and leaving Enid Blyton books on their bodies. Could be a Midsummer Murders plot, but Playground is inhabited by characters that make Midsummer seem a harmonious, well-balanced place to live.

In the first act each scene change is marked by the stunning voice of Sarah Quist (Bella) singing “Oranges and Lemons”. Yes, it’s that sort of humour.

Every single character throws away lines that make you wonder if they are involved in the crimes. Even the police officers, who couldn’t catch a cold. Detectives Mitchell (Dan MacLane) and Birch (Christopher James Barley) are a very strange pair. They have a homoerotic dynamic which becomes weirder and funnier as the play progresses and they go undercover. They hardly ever look at each other, instead staring intently at the audience when they deliver their lines, like overwrought 80s cop show characters – hysterical.

The park is frequented by sad and lost characters – three of whom have been treated by the same psychiatrist. They are coping with life, rather than living it. Laura Garnier and Simon Every are lovely to watch as the awkward Tamsin and Stuart. His bemusement at her shoehorning communist ideology into every conversation and her changing body language in different situations are delightful and subtle. Carolyn (Josie Ayers) is suicidal and Danny (Richard Fish) saves her. Ayers is wonderful portraying the hopelessness of being the disappointing child in a successful family, bumbling through life veering between despair and hysterical enthusiasm. Fish speaks as the outsider – telling harsh and honest facts in such an innocent way that everyone accepts it. But, like the rest of the characters, he has big dreams – and one of these is to form a book club… studying Enid Blyton.

This isn’t an action packed play, but Peter Hamilton’s writing and the great acting keep you engrossed. This is black humour at its best. When the killer is finally revealed and motive explained, it is a laugh out loud moment that you instantly feel a little guilty about.

A fantastic play that deserves a much larger audience.

A Chichester Festival Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre co-production of

SINGLE SPIES

ALAN BENNETT’S HIT COMEDY SINGLE SPIES TO TOUR THE UK IN 2016

Nicholas Farrell, Belinda Lang, David Robb will lead the cast

Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

The production will visit Chichester, Birmingham, Richmond, Canterbury, Newcastle, Oxford, Cheltenham, Bath, Leeds, Salisbury and Sheffield

A new production of Alan Bennett’s hit comedy will embark on a UK tour in February 2016.  Following the success of The King’s Speech, Chichester Festival Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre collaborate once again on this award-winning comedy masterpiece, Single Spies.

Olivier Award-nominated Rachel Kavanaugh will direct Nicholas Farrell (as Guy Burgess), Belinda Lang (Coral Browne and Her Majesty the Queen) and David Robb (Anthony Blunt) in an extensive UK tour opening in February 2016.  Further casting to follow.

Bennett’s award-winning espionage double bill is a pointedly satirical snapshot of two members of the infamous ‘Cambridge Five’, Guy Burgess and Anthony Blunt, both recruited as spies by the Soviet Union during World War II.

In 1950s Moscow, Coral Browne receives an invitation to lunch with shunned Soviet spy, Guy Burgess, with the sole instruction to ‘bring a tape measure’.  An Englishman Abroad is a wry and touching play which chronicles the pair’s fleeting friendship and Burgess’ attempts to cling to his way of life as a Soviet citizen.

A Question of Attribution gives us a glimpse into Anthony Blunt’s life of espionage within the very walls of Buckingham Palace.  Following his double-life as an art historian to royalty and a Soviet spy, this witty tale of forgery and deceit culminates in a sharp and candid interrogation from Her Majesty the Queen herself.

Single Spies premiered at the National Theatre in 1988, opening to critical acclaim and receiving an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 1990.

Nicholas Farrell’s previous credits with Chichester Festival Theatre include The Browning Version/South Downs (and West End) and Damsels in Distress he also starred as Alan Bennett inThe Lady in the Van (Queen’s Theatre).  Farrell’s extensive film career includes The Iron Lady,Legend and Chariots of Fire.

Belinda Lang is best known for playing Bill Porter in hit TV show 2 Point 4 Children (BBC), further screen credits include Second Thoughts (LWT), Doctors (BBC) and Midsomer Murders(ITV).  She has recently appeared on stage in Oklahmona! (Northampton/Tour), Ladies in Lavendar (National Tour), Hay Fever (Royal Exchange and Haymarket Theatre) and East is East(Birmingham Rep).

David Robb is currently on screen as Dr. Clarkson in the multi-award winning drama Downton Abbey (ITV), his extensive television credits also include Wolf Hall, Roman Mysteries andGarrow’s Law (all BBC).  On stage he has recently appeared in The Audience (Apollo Theatre) and Hamlet (Tour & West End).

Rachel Kavanaugh was Artistic Director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre and has directed multiple celebrated productions at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre including The Sound of Music(nominated for Best Musical Revival, Oliver Awards; winner of Best Musical Revival, WhatsOnStage Awards), Much Ado About Nothing and As You Like It.  For Chichester Festival Theatre, Kavanaugh’s Love Story was Olivier Award-nominated for Best New Musical and received a West End transfer.

 

LISTINGS:

Chichester Festival Theatre
4-13 February
Oaklands Parks, Chichester, PO19 6AP
01243 781312
Online bookings: www.cft.org.uk

Birmingham Repertory Theatre
17- 27 February
Centenary Square, Broad Street, B1 2EP
0121 236 4455
Online bookings: www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

Richmond Theatre
1-5 March
The Green, Surrey, TW9 1QJ
0844 871 7651
Online bookings: www.atgtickets.com/venues/richmond-theatre

The Marlowe Theatre
8- 12 March
The Friars, Canterbury, CT1 2AS
01227 787787
Online bookings: www.marlowetheatre.com

Theatre Royal Newcastle Upon Tyne
15-19 March
100 Grey Street, NE1 6BR
08448 11 21 21
Online bookings: www.theatreroyal.co.uk

Oxford Playhouse
21-26 March
Beaumont Street, OX1 2LW
01865 305305
Online bookings: www.oxfordplayhouse.com

The Everyman Theatre
29 March – 02 April
Regent Street, Cheltenham, GL50 1HQ
01242 572573
Online bookings: www.everymantheatre.org.uk

Theatre Royal Bath
04 – 09 April
Sawclose, BA1 1ET
01225 448844
Online bookings: www.theatreroyal.org.uk

Leeds Grand Theatre
12 – 16 April
46 New Briggate, LS1, 6NZ
0844 848 2700
Online bookings: www.leedsgrandtheatre.com

Salisbury Playhouse
18- 23 April
Malthouse Lane, Wiltshire, SP2 7RA
01722 320 117
Online bookings: www.salisburyplayhouse.com

Sheffield Theatres
26-30 April
55 Norfolk Street, S1 1DA
0114 249 6000
Online bookings: www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk