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Civic Theatre, Darlington – 12 May 2015

Calamity Jane whip crack aways into Darlington this week.

On the face of it, Calamity Jane shouldn’t be a heroine.  ‘Careless with the Truth’ and a stranger to a bar of soap, she is petulant, has tantrums, is obsessive and has jealous rages and is played perfectly by Jodie Prenger.

For those who don’t know the story of Martha Jane Cannary, she WIld Bill Hickok were real 19th Century Wild West characters.

The film of Calamity Jane was released in 1953 and the first stage production in the 1960s. This well-known story has been doing the rounds since.

With fine dance routines coupled with Fain and Webster’s great songs such as ‘Deadwood Stage’, ‘The Black Hills of Dakota’, ‘Windy City’ and Oscar winning ‘Secret Love’, musical theatre fans should be in seventh heaven here.

There were no scene changes, just great utilization of the available space and multi-functioning props. Turning a piano into a stagecoach in five seconds flat – most ingenious

Tom Lister shakes off his soap persona and gives an outstanding performance as WIld Bill Hickok.  His two jaw dropping moments are his beautiful solo guitar rendition of ‘Higher than a Hawk’ and when Bill loses a bet and dresses as Queen Victoria

The story is driven by mistaken identity and Calamity’s obsession and jealousy.  Mistake number one is when actor Francis Flyer (the very versatile and talented Bobby Delaney) turns up to perform in Deadwood when the townsfolk are expecting Frances the actress.  Calamity then gets obsessive and jealous of Danny Gilmartin’s (Alex Hammond) adoration of actress Adelaide Adams.  Desperate to impress Calamity goes to Chicago to bring back Adelaide to perform.  Mistake number two is when Adelaide’s dresser Katie Brown (talented Phoebe Street) pretends to be Adelaide and returns to Deadwood to perform in the town.

And so begins a romance, with Bill liking Katie, Calamity liking Danny and Danny and Katie liking each other.  Calamity’s obsessive jealousy and temper drives Katie out of town but Calamity saves the day and a happy ending ensues

There were a few niggles in Darlington, the surprisingly small cast are all multi-talented, singing, dancing and acting and playing the musical instruments. But the musical talent over-shaddowed the singing in the first half but this was rectified in the second.  And Prenger’s American accent travelled as widely as the Deadwood Stage, and at some points if felt like we were watching a one tribute to Hylda Baker instead of Doris Day

But the sold out audience in Darlington, loved the show, clapping and singing along and giving a standing ovation at the end

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, a world stage premiere of the bestselling novel by John Boyne, is set to make its Newcastle debut at the Theatre Royal in May.  Be prepared to be stirred, stunned and heartbroken 19-23 May 2015.

 

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is an emotive tale of an unlikely friendship between two innocent boys. Set during World War II, the story is seen through the eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a concentration camp, whose forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and devastating consequences.

 

John Boyne’s 2006 novel has sold millions of copies around the world and has appeared on many bestseller lists including the New York Times where it reached number one. It was made into a Miramax feature film which was released in 2008.

 

This play is produced by The Children’s Touring Partnership, which is led by independent producer Fiery Angel and a consortium of major regional theatres. The Partnership has previously toured hit shows Goodnight Mister Tom (which won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and Family) and Swallows and Amazons.

 

Marianne’s Oldham plays Mother. Marianne recently appeared in The Musketeers for BBC One; Foyle’s War for ITV1 and was a lead regular role in The Crimson Field for BBC One. Her most recent film credit is Absolutely Anything, directed by Terry Jones and starring alongside Kate Beckinsale.

 

Phil Cheadle stars as Father.  Phil has extensive stage credits, including a local appearance in Blue Remembered Hills at Northern Stage.  His TV credits include Crimson Fields; New Worlds; Silent Witness and Inspector Lynley to name but a few, and he has appeared in films John Carter; Comes A Bright Day and To The Sea.

 

The role of Bruno during the Newcastle Theatre Royal run will be played by Jabez Cheeseman, and Colby Mulgrew will play Shmuel, both 9 years old.

 

Edward Snape for the Children’s Touring Partnership commented, ‘The Children’s Touring Partnership aims to produce and tour innovative, ambitious and engaging large scale theatrical productions for children and families. After two years of development we are very excited by this new commission which will bring this extraordinary story to life on stage for the first time’.

 

As the book is a Key Stage 3 level school text for 11 – 14 year olds, there will be an extensive education programme attached to this production and an additional matinee performance to accommodate school parties.

 

Born in Dublin, John Boyne has published nine novels for adults, including his most recent, A History of Loneliness (2014).  As well as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas,  John has written three other novels for younger readers: Noah Barleywater Runs Away (2010), The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket (2012) and Stay Where You Are And Then Leave (2013).

 

The production has been adapted for the stage by Angus Jackson, Associate Director of Chichester Festival Theatre. His Chichester credits include Neville’s Island (now playing in the West End) and King Lear (also New York), The Browning Version (also West End), Goodnight Mr Tom (also national tour), and Bingo (also Young Vic). For the National Theatre he directed Rocket to the Moon, The Power of Yes, Fix Up and Elmina’s Kitchen (also tour and West End). His film of Elmina’s Kitchen won him a BAFTA Best New Director nomination.

 

The director is Joe Murphy, the Artistic Director of nabokov, a new writing company which is dedicated to making work in response to immediately relevant social and political themes.  Joe’s 2010 production Bunny won the Scotsman Fringe First Award following its premiere in Edinburgh and went on to tour the UK.

 

Design is by Robert Innes Hopkins, who renews his collaboration with Angus Jackson following several hit productions at Chichester Festival Theatre, and Lighting design is by Malcolm Rippeth, an Associate Artist of Kneehigh where his credits includeBrief Encounter, which was a sell-out success at Newcastle Theatre Royal in 2009.

 

The composer is Stephen Warbeck whose credits include the film Shakespeare in Love for which he won an Academy Award.

 

www.theboyinthestripedpyjamas.com

 

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tue 19 – Sat 23 May 2015 (Evenings at 7pm, Matinees on Wed, Thu, Sat 2pm). Recommended age 11+ Tickets are from £13.50 (Save 50p per ticket by booking online) and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online atwww.theatreroyal.co.uk

theTALENT2015 tour

a)      Tell us how you met Alexander Whitley and what you like about The Murmuring:

William Trevitt: We knew Alex as a dancer initially but noticed that he had begun choreographing and was creating more and more performances. We asked him to come in and spend a day in the studio with our dancers, just to see what might happen and to get an idea of his creative process. Everyone got on very well and his ideas really interested us and so we asked him to make a piece of dance for the company. The Murmuring is a finely crafted work with fascinating details and wonderful opportunities for the dancers to push themselves. It involves the company becoming a single entity and moving as one organism which is perfect for our group of dancers.

 

b)      And how you and Christopher Wheeldon have re-worked Mesmerics for the company:

Michael Nunn: Mesmerics was originally created for one woman and two men and has been through several reinventions before this one, but this version is the first time it has been danced by an all male cast. Much of the choreography has remained intact, but there are some sequences that didn’t make sense for the men to dance; sequences that only worked when danced by a woman in pointe shoes for example. Chris allowed the dancers to develop their own solutions to these problems and then he developed their ideas to create the version you will see theTALENT performing.

 

d)      Tell us about some of the theatres you’ll be visiting.

Michael Nunn: We have some great venues on this tour including some old favourites like the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham and the Swan Theatre in High Wycombe, along with some theatres which are newer to us. The Mercury in Colchester was so much fun last year that we’re delighted to be going back for three nights and the Civic Theatre in Darlington had such an enthusiastic audience, we can’t wait to visit again! We’re hitting Blackpool in May which is new to BalletBoyz (even though Billly and I performed there with The Royal Ballet nearly 20 years ago!) along with polygonal venues the Reading Hexagon and Yeovil Octagon and our first visit to the Theatre Royal, Brighton. 

 

f)       What do you like about touring and BalletBoyz audiences?

William Trevitt: Everywhere we go we find that the audiences we play to respond in very different ways, sometimes quiet and attentive, sometimes boisterous and fun, but it is always good to find that we have people in the audience who are seeing dance for the very first time with us. We seem to gather new fans wherever we go, people are still really in awe of what these dancers can achieve and they love the way they perform and the variety of the work in our shows. 

 

h)      What’s a typical audience member for a BalletBoyz show?

Michael Nunn: There is no typical audience member for us. They are older and younger, women and men (who are not just there because they’ve been dragged there!). They range from dance lovers who might go and see every dance show there is to people trying dance for the first time and of course we love the idea of our show being the introduction to dance for so many people.

 

i)       After the spring tour, what are the next moves for BalletBoyz?

William Trevitt: We are working on a new production for 2016 as well as planning a film version and a tour of our full length work Young Men. Our last repertoire of Serpent and Fallen will be on BBC Four later in the year, direct from the Roundhouse in London and Sky Arts are scheduled to show our “Kama Sutra the Ballet” in the summer. Busy busy busy!

 BalletBoyz perform at Darlington Civic Theatre on Tuesday 26 May. Tickets* are priced £21, £19 and for under 16s £11

To book contact the Box Office on 01325 486 555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk *All ticket prices include a £1 restoration levy

STOMP

NOW BOOKING TO 5 JUNE 2016

AT LONDON’S AMBASSADORS THEATRE

STOMP at London’s Ambassadors Theatre is now extending its booking period until 5 June 2016. The show, which has broken all previous box office records at the Ambassadors Theatre, celebrated its 13th Birthday in the West End with a Gala Night for Teenagers on Monday 11 May.

STOMP, created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas was first performed in 1991 in Edinburgh. The show played Sadler’s Wells Theatre in 1994 and won the Olivier Award for Best Choreography, before opening in New York, where it is now celebrating its 21st birthday. The European company was created in 1997 and began its London run at the Vaudeville Theatre in 2002, transferring to the Ambassadors Theatre in 2007.

One of Britain’s greatest exports, STOMP has toured the globe for 22 years, playing over 20 thousand performances to more than 12 million people in 53 countries on 6 continents. There are currently four STOMP companies performing worldwide: one on tour in North America, another throughout Europe and the rest of the world, one in New York, and one in London.

In its 13 years in London’s West End, STOMP has consumed over 10,000 boxes of matches, over 13,500 brooms, almost 9,000 bin lids, over 18,000 drumsticks, over 8,000 wooden poles, over 35,000 newspapers, over 6,500kg of sand, almost 260,000 litres of water and 676 gallons of floor paint. The cast of STOMP has performed ‘Cecilia’ with Paul Simon and Jimmy Fallon and the production is a firm celebrity favourite, with audience members having included Jodi Foster, Oprah Winfrey, Bob Dylan, Sir Ben Kingsley, Phil Collins and Stephen Fry.

STOMP performed live at the 1996 Academy Awards (the Oscars) to an estimated audience of almost 1 billion worldwide. The largest assembly of STOMP performers ever (40 performers from 12 different countries) was brought together for a specially choreographed appearance at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The cast of STOMP in London currently includes Omari Carter, Nigel Clarke, Simone Clarke, Hugo Cortes, Paul Gunter, Melanie Joseph, James Lane, Laetitia Lawrence, Serena Morgan, Paul Bend, Rob Shaw, Adam Buckley, Meloné M’Kenzy, Andrew Patrick, Paul Russell, Jasper Valentine and Simeon Weedall.

STOMP is presented in London by Yes/No Productions and Glynis Henderson Productions Limited.

York Theatre Royal 11 – 14 years Youth Theatre groups present Here One Minute, a promenade performance piece at the National Railway Museum which explores the complex issues surrounding missing people.

The three groups, Projects G, H and I have devised the project themselves; working in some amazing spaces at the National Railway Museum, and looking at the wide variety of reasons people go missing. Together, through this promenade performance, the actors will present scenes which unravel the issues behind individual stories.

Here One Minute is directed by Matt Harper (Project G), Kate Plumb (Project H) and Nicolette Hobson (Project I), and each piece will be performed amongst the NRM collection; in train carriages, on bridges and in other secret locations. The opening scene for each performance has been choreographed by Youth Theatre assistant Fiona Baistow as part of her Gold Arts Award qualification.

Fiona commented:

I wanted to portray the atmosphere of an early morning platform in a contemporary style. The emptiness of the platform as it slowly gets busier until there is absolute chaos and you are not sure who is there one minute – and who is not. All three groups have worked incredibly hard

and it has been a pleasure to work with them all.

Director Matt Harper added:

The theme of ‘missing’ is a rich and varied one, full of tales of hope and pain, new beginnings and lost opportunities. Our Youth Theatre groups have used their endless creativity to bring the stories to life, to cleverly intertwine the different stories and to explore a very current issue.

Here One Minute will take place at the National Railway Museum from Monday 18 – Wednesday 20 May at 7pm and 8.30pm. Tickets are on sale now priced £6 or £5 for under 18s (£1 transaction fee per booking) from the York Theatre Royal Box Office, on 01904 623568 or securely online at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

 

METRO RADIO ARENA, NEWCASTLE FRIDAY 11TH MARCH 2016

Iconic British band Wet Wet Wet announced today (Friday May 15th) The Big Picture Tour, an extensive 17-date arena tour in February and March 2016. The tour reaches as far south as Plymouth and as far north as Inverness whilst covering all of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, giving fans all over the country the chance to see Wet Wet Wet play live.

The legendary group have sold over 15 million records whilst notching up over thirty UK chart hits including three number 1’s. Alongside this incredible success, performing amazing live shows has always been at the heart of what Wet Wet Wet do. Since coming to prominence in 1987 they have played to over 5 million people across the globe.

The tour announcement coincides with the 20th anniversary of their huge No. 1 album Picture This which included the hits Julia Says, Don’t Want to Forgive Me Now, Somewhere Somehow, She’s All On My Mind, Morning and of course Love is all Around.

Lead singer Marti Pellow said “When we play together it always reminds me how great this band is and how proud I am of the armory of songs we’ve built up. We love to see the fans enjoying what we do on stage and we’re all looking forward to being on the road again”

Bass guitarist Graeme Clark said “We’ve been working on new material as well as looking into the archive and we’re looking forward to playing plenty of songs from Picture This to commemorate its anniversary alongside many other favourites”

Keyboard player Neil Mitchell said “Playing live for the fans is so important to us and we’re delighted to have booked shows all over the country and then some on this tour”

Drummer Tommy Cunningham said “We always put on a spectacular show and it will be no different this time around as amongst a few other surprises, we’ll have massive screens on stage to fit right in with the Big Picture theme”

Tickets costing £42.50 & £48.00 will go on sale 10.00am Thursday 21st May 2015 and are available online, from the booking hotline number 0844 493 6666 or in person from the Metro Radio Arena Box Office.

Tickets are available from:-

• Credit Card Booking and Information Line 0844 493 6666
• The Metro Radio Arena Newcastle Box Office (Mon – Fri: 10.00am – 4.00pm, Sat: 11.00am – 2.30pm)
• Internet Site:- www.metroradioarena.co.uk
• Group Bookers should call (0191) 260 6006
• Accessible Bookings should call (0191) 260 6066 for further details

 

Mountaineer Simon Yates brings his extraordinary stories to Darlington Civic Theatre on Wednesday 3 June.

On a remote mountain in Peru in June 1985 mountaineer Simon Yates found himself in an unenviable position. He was slowly being dragged off the mountain face by his injured partner – Joe Simpson – dangling on the rope far below. His decision to cut the rope saved both their lives in the epic trial of survival that followed. With the publication of the book ‘Touching The Void’ and the film of the same name, both climbers became household names.

Come along and witness Simon’s tireless journey from that mountain in Peru to some of the remotest on the planet and share with him the drama, excitement and beauty of modern mountaineering.

Told with wit, dry humour and lavishly illustrated with images and video collected on his great climbs, Simon both entertains and inspires.

Simon Yates is at Darlington Civic Theatre on Wednesday 3 June. Tickets* are priced £18 and £16.

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

*All ticket prices include a £1 restoration levy

Avenue Q, where the “Internet is for porn” and “Everyone’s a little bit racist”. Catch it on its brand new UK tour at Darlington Civic Theatre from June 9 to 13. You’d be a Muppet to miss it.

Avenue Q is a triple Tony Award winning musical unlike any other. The actors act and sing as their characters but simultaneously animate individual puppet versions of their character. So… who do you end up watching – the actor or the puppet? You will have to try it out for yourself and see.

Avenue Q is packed with incredible songs and full of political incorrectness (recommended age 14+) but is hilariously entertaining. Think Sesame Street meets Book of Mormon and you are half way to understanding what Avenue Q is all about.

Avenue Q tells the story of the loveable characters on a down-town New York street trying to make sense of life’s burning issues. So… join Princeton, Kate Monster, Lucy the Slut, Mrs T, Rod, Trekkie Monster and all the other people who live on Avenue Q at Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 9 to Saturday 13 June. Tickets* are from £19 to £30.50 (*all ticket prices include a £1 restoration levy).

Call the Box Office on 01325 486555 or book online at www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTUj3K4p4V8&feature=player_embedded

Calamity Jane – Civic Theatre, Darlington

Posted by: The Reviews Hub – Yorkshire & North East 

https://www.thereviewshub.com/calamity-jane-civic-theatre-darlington/

13/05/2015 

Writer: Charles K Freeman

Music: Sammy Fain

Lyrics: Paul Francis Webster

Director: Nikolai Foster

3*

Calamity Jane whip cracks her way into Darlington this week.

On the face of it, Calamity Jane shouldn’t be a heroine. ‘Careless with the Truth’ and a stranger to a bar of soap, she is petulant, has tantrums, is obsessive and has jealous rages and is played perfectly by Jodie Prenger. For those who don’t know the story of Martha Jane Cannary, she and Wild Bill Hickok were real 19th Century Wild West characters. 1953 saw the release of the film version, while the first theatre production was staged in the 1960’s and this well-known story has been doing the rounds ever since.

With fine dance routines coupled with Fain and Webster’s great songs such as ‘Deadwood Stage’, ‘The Black Hills of Dakota’, ‘Windy City’ and Oscar winning ‘Secret Love’, musical theatre fans should be in seventh heaven here.

There are no scene changes, just great utilization of the available space and multi-functioning props. For example, turning a piano into a stagecoach in five seconds flat is most ingenious.

Tom Lister shakes off his soap persona and gives an outstanding performance as Wild Bill Hickok. His two jaw dropping moments are his beautiful solo guitar rendition of ‘Higher than a Hawk’ and when Bill loses a bet and dresses as Queen Victoria.

The story is driven by mistaken identity and Calamity’s obsession and jealousy. Mistake number one is when actor Francis Flyer (the very versatile and talented Bobby Delaney) turns up to perform in Deadwood when the townsfolk are expecting Frances the actress. Calamity then gets obsessive and jealous of Danny Gilmartin’s (Alex Hammond) adoration of actress Adelaide Adams. Desperate to impress, Calamity goes to Chicago to bring back Adelaide to perform. The second mistake is when Adelaide’s dresser Katie Brown (talented Phoebe Street) pretends to be Adelaide and returns to Deadwood to perform in the town.

And so begins a romance, with Bill liking Katie, Calamity liking Danny and Danny and Katie liking each other. Calamity’s obsessive jealousy and temper drives Katie out of town but in true heroine style, Calamity saves the day which makes way for a happy ending in classic musical style.

There were a few niggles in Darlington, the surprisingly small cast are all multi-talented, singing, dancing and acting and playing the musical instruments. But sadly the musical talent over-shadowed the singing in the first half, but thankfully this was rectified in the second. Prenger’s American accent travelled as widely as the Deadwood Stage, and at some points if felt like we were watching a one tribute to Hylda Baker instead of Doris Day.

Nevertheless, the sold out audience in Darlington loved the show, clapping and singing along and to give a standing ovation at the end.

YOUR CHANCE TO REALLY LET IT GO

Darlington Civic Theatre hosts Sing-a-long-a Frozen on Sunday 31 May as part of a national UK tour.

Darlington Civic Theatre will host Sing-a-long-a Frozen, when the unique, interactive screening of the worldwide phenomenon Frozen rolls into town as part of a nationwide UK tour.

Sing-a-long-a Productions are delighted to announce that Disney’s Frozen is the new Sing-a-long-a must see! A screening of Disney’s Frozen with lyrics on screen to help you sing along with Elsa and Anna. The evening is introduced by a live host who will show you how to use your interactive prop bag and then just sit back and ‘Let it Go’! YOU the audience can be the stars!

Remember to dress up as your favourite character and be a Snow Queen for the day or Olaf the snowman, the coolest iceman ever!

Disney’s Frozen has taken the world by “snowstorm” and has become the biggest animated film in the world and fifth biggest film of all time. In this heart-warming tale, fearless optimist Anna sets off on an epic journey, teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven, to find her sister Elsa whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom.

The Academy Award winning song “Let it Go”, which has now sold over 250,000 copies in the UK, will feature as part of Sing-a-long-a-Frozen, along with the rest of the platinum certified soundtrack making this sing-a-long one not to be missed.

Sooooo ‘do you wanna build a snowman…..?’

Sing-a-long-a Frozen is at Darlington Civic Theatre on Sunday 31 May at 11am and 3pm. Tickets* are priced £15 Adults, £10 Children

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

*All ticket prices include a £1 restoration levy