Home

‘THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY’

(50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION)

Civic Theatre

Darlington

Tuesday 8th September 

BOX OFFICE – 01325 486555

Has it really been 50 years since the most successful Folk/Rock Duo of all time recorded their first no1 hit single ‘The Sound of Silence’?

Following it’s WEST END success at the ‘Leicester Square Theatre’, London in February 2015, ‘The Simon and Garfunkel Story’ is currently the biggest and the most successful No 1 touring theatre show celebrating the lives and career of Folk/Rock sensation Simon and Garfunkel.

Featuring seasoned West End, award-winning leading man DEAN ELLIOTT (Buddy Holly in ‘Buddy – The Musical’) and a full cast of talented actor- musicians, ‘The Simon and Garfunkel Story’ takes you back through the ‘Groovy’  times of the 1960s. It tells the story of both Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel from their humble beginnings as Rock n Roll duo ‘Tom and Jerry’, right through their massive success, dramatic break-up and finishing with a stunning recreation of the 1981 Central Park reformation concert.

Using a huge projection screen, the show features 1960’s photos and film footage whilst a full live band perform all their hits including ‘Mrs Robinson’, ‘Cecilia’, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, ‘Homeward Bound’, ‘Sound of Silence’ and many more!

With every performance creating a standing ovation, this is an evening not to be missed!

“FANTASTIC” – BBC Radio 2

“AUTHENTIC AND EXCITING” – The Stage

“STORYTELLING AT ITS FINEST – Choice Radio

“WOW! – YOU SOUND UNCANNY!” – Mike Read, Radio 1 DJ

www.thesimonandgarfunkelstory.com

 

Full casting has been announced for Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s forthcoming tour of Mary Poppins, which opens at the Leicester Curve in October.

Joining the previously announced Zizi Strallen as Mary Poppins and Matt Lee as Bert will be Milo Twomey (Twelfth Night) as George Banks, Rebecca Lock (Mamma Mia!) as Winifred Banks, Penelope Woodman (Sons of the Desert) as Miss Andrew, Wendy Ferguson (Les Misérables) as Mrs Brill, Grainne Renihan (Cats) as Bird Woman and Blair Anderson (In Lambeth) as Robertson Ay.

The cast will be completed by Yves Adang, Abby Bebbington, Greg Bernstein, Jabari Braham, Matthew Caputo, Sophie Caton, Jennifer Davison, Lisa Dent, Joe Dockree, Maria Garrett, Hannah Grace, Graham Hoadly, Jacqueline Hughes, Thomas-Lee Kidd, Antony Lawrence, Adam Margilewski, Anu Ogunmefun, Ben Oliver, Stephanie Powell, Edwin Ray, Adam Rhys-Charles, Sam Salter, John Stacey, Christine Tucker, Alexandra Waite-Roberts, Wreh-Asha Walton and Scott Waugh.

The stage production of Mary Poppins originally opened in 2004 and ran in the West End for three years. Zizi will be following in the footsteps of her sister Scarlett, who played the title role in the West End and on Broadway.

Mary Poppins has a book by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and includes the classic songs “Jolly Holiday”, “Step in Time”, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “Feed the Birds” by the Sherman Brothers.

New songs and additional music and lyrics were added by the Olivier award-winning British team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.

The award-winning musical is directed by Richard Eyre with co-direction and choreography by Matthew Bourne, co-choreography by Stephen Mear and set and costume design by Bob Crowley.

 

Celebrating pop-up theatre in a pop-up arts centre, ImpFest is an impermanent festival of contemporary performance, hosted by Hornsey Town Hall Arts Centre in Crouch End throughout September. The Festival will include a wide array of performances, ranging from text-based theatre productions to improvised drama and dance pieces, with the aim of bringing a wide variety of work to local audiences as well as stimulating creative dialogue between artists from a variety of disciplines.

The festival includes work that has toured internationally to critical acclaim, as well as new pieces by some of the capital’s most exciting performance artists – please see page 2 for a programme. The festival will also feature a number of smaller one-off performances, as yet to be confirmed. It is being produced by Jamie Harper of Hobo Theatre and Becka McFadden of the Beautiful Confusion Collective, in association with Hornsey Town Hall Arts Centre.

Since the Hornsey Town Hall Arts Centre (HTHAC) in Crouch End opened its doors as an interim arts project at the end of 2014 the building has seen a broad range of events, including vintage swing dance balls, international film festivals and charity galas, amongst myriad other happenings. Alex Rochford, Nick Saich and Asa Taulbut (ANA Arts Projects LTD) have been heading up this project, and will soon be announcing their first full season, alongside ImpFest. They will also be throwing open the doors to their Grade II listed, art deco building for artists, producers and other creatives and will actively invite companies to contact them about additional programming.

Programme
IRON M.A.M., Bring Your Own – 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th September, 7.30pm
Caught between a TED-talk and an action thriller, Owl Young explores drone warfare, and why Iron Man might just be the perfect metaphor.

wish i was…, Laura Wyatt O’Keeffe – 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th September, 8pm
wish i was… a journey story that defies convention. If Michael Palin and Sarah Kane were to write a play, this might be it.

Newfoundland, Hobo Theatre – 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, 23rd, 24th September, 8.30pm
Newfoundland is an improvised play, full of happiness, sadness, despair and hope, about loneliness, the big city and leaving something behind you after you’ve gone.

BackStories, Beautiful Confusion Collective – 3rd, 6th, 12th, 13th, 19th, 20th, 26th, 27th September, 8.30pm
Physical theatre meets contemporary dance in a solo performance viewed from behind. What secrets does the spine whisper, what weight do the shoulders carry?

Late! Night Solos, Seke Chimutengwende and Rebecca Mackenzie – 4th, 5th, 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th 25th, 26th September, 9.30pm
Watch Seke Chimutengwende and Rebecca Mackenzie encounter worlds, beings and journeys as they riff off the moment in this double bill of pioneering solos.

Considering This, Paper Door – 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, 17th, 20th, 26th, 27th September, 8pm Empathy and objects compete with hyper individualism in a disrupted verbatim play.

Performance A, BARK – 6th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 27th September, 9pm
BARK invites you to contribute to the composition of this text/movement mash-up over an eight part live-construction adventure.

Pennyroyal, Asa Misi Nasa – 12th, 13th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 25th, 26th, 27th September, 7.30pm

ImpFest (The Impermanent Festival of Contemporary Performance)
Producers Hornsey Town Hall Arts Centre, Beautiful Confusion Collective and Hobo
Performance Dates September 3rd 2015 – September 27th 2015
Various times and dates, please check the programme for more details

Venue Hornsey Town Hall Arts Centre, The Broadway, London N8 9JJ
Box Office Hornsey Town Hall Arts Centre
hthartscentre.co.uk

First produced in 1965, The Killing of Sister George is a controversial, poignant and darkly funny exploration of emotional dependence and the gap between public perception and private reality.

Originally most famous for its undertones of domestic abuse and then-illegal lesbian relationships, Artful Theatre’s 50th Anniversary production now focuses on the ‘behind-the-scenes’ world at the BBC where perception is everything. Recent revelations surrounding Jimmy Saville and national News stories about Jeremy Clarkson’s antics and the sacking of Tom Jones bring this sharply into focus.

Was this iconic play an unwitting glimpse into the tawdry, sordid media world of the 1960s as it really was? – AND – Has anything really changed? They are going to murder me…!

By day, June Buckridge has played the beloved and cheerful district nurse ‘Sister George’ in the popular radio soap Applehurst for six years, but that doesn’t stop BBC executives from killing her off.

By night, overbearing June swills gin, chews on cigars and vents her anger and frustration on her much younger flatmate, Childie. But behind her fearsome exterior is a fragile, insecure woman all too aware of her fading power of attraction and terrified that her life is falling apart.

Life’s been absolute hell… You’ve no idea the things she gets up to… The death of a popular soap character is a regular occurrence in 2015, however way back in 1954 when the character of Grace Archer was killed off in a stable fire in the BBC radio serial The Archers there was a national outcry and a healthy boost in the radio drama’s audience figures. Frank Marcus wrote The Killing of Sister George around a very similar scenario for the stage in 1965, which became his most famous play.

The Killing of Sister George
Playwright Frank Marcus
Producers: Justin and Sarah Savage for Artful Theatre Productions Ltd.
Director Scott le Crass
Cast Janet Amsden (Madame Xenia)
Sioned Jones (‘Sister George’)
Briony Rawle (‘Childie’)
Sarah Shelton (Mrs Mercy Croft)
October 29th 2015 – November 21st 2015
Tuesday – Saturday, 7.45pm
Matinees Saturday and Sunday at 3pm
Running Time 2 hrs
London Theatre Workshop, 65 New Kings Road, London SW6 4SG
Ticket Price £15 (£12 concessions)
Box Office London Theatre Workshop
http://londontheatreworkshop.co.uk/

 

A Lyric Hammersmith & Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh production

Lyric Hammersmith
Friday 18 September – Saturday 24 October 2015
Press Night: Monday 28 September 2015

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Wednesday 28 October – Saturday 14 November 2015

Kirsty Besterman, David Cardy, Amanda Hadingue, Adelle Leonce and Andy Rush will join the previously announced Sally Messham and Laura Rogers in Laura Wade’s new adaptation of Sarah Waters’ bestselling novel, Tipping the Velvet, directed by Lyndsey Turner.

They will be supported by a young ensemble. Tipping the Velvet will open at the Lyric Hammersmith on 28 September 2015, with previews from 18 September.

It’s 1887 and Nancy Astley (Sally Messham) sits in the audience at her local music hall: she doesn’t know it yet, but the next act on the bill will change her life. Tonight is the night she’ll fall in love… with the thrill of the stage and with Kitty Butler (Laura Rogers), a girl who wears trousers. Giddy with desire and hungry for experience, Nancy follows Kitty to London where unimaginable adventures await.

Full company includes Jared Ashe (Walter), Kirsty Besterman (Diana), Tamara Camacho (Young Ensemble), David Cardy (Chairman), Grace Frogley (Young Ensemble), Amanda Hadingue (General Woman), Ru Hamilton (Sweet Alice), Adelle Leonce (Florence), Georgie Lord (Young Ensemble), Sally Messham (Nancy), Laura Rogers (Kitty), Andy Rush (Ralph), Aasiya Shah (Young Ensemble), Sarah Vezmar (Blake).

Based on the book by Sarah Waters
New adaption by Laura Wade
Directed by Lyndsey Turner
Design by Lizzie Clachan
Choreography by Alistair David
Lighting by Jon Clark
Music by Michael Bruce
Sound by Nick Manning
Illusions by Richard Pinner
Musical Direction by Dan Jackson
Casting by Julia Horan CDG
For more information visit www.lyric.co.uk
Twitter @LyricHammer | Facebook LyricHammersmith

 

This September, Arion Productions presents the world premiere of new British musical The White Feather at the Union Theatre. It tells the story of Georgina Briggs whose brother was one of over 300 allied soldiers executed for cowardice during the First World War. She won’t accept the shame and she won’t let it lie. But as she fights for justice a shocking discovery awaits her.

Abigail Matthews (War Horse with National Theatre Productions, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the 360 Degrees Theatre, and the UK and European tours of Evita with Bill Kenwright Ltd) stars as Georgina Briggs while Adam Pettigrew will play her heroic brother Harry (Wicked at the Victoria Apollo, the UK tour of Avenue Q, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Ye Olde Rose and Crown).

Fresh from the stage as Jean Prouvaire in Les Miserables (Queens Theatre) Lee Dillon Stuart (UK tour of Oliver! and Carousel (Landor Theatre)) will join the cast as Peter Arthurs, as well as David Flynn, Cameron Leigh, Christopher Blades, Katie Brennan, Kathryn Rutherford, and Zac Hamilton.

The White Feather tells the story of Georgina Briggs whose brother was one of over 300 allied soldiers executed for cowardice during the First World War. She won’t accept the shame and she won’t let it lie. But as she fights for justice a shocking discovery awaits her.

Memorials to the soldiers who fought and died in the Great War grace almost every town and village but 306 names are conspicuous by their absence – the men who were executed by their own side. Some were deserters and others were condemned for putting down their weapons in the course of battle but many were suffering from what we know now as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The White Feather tells the story of one soldier and his suffering and his sister’s lifelong fight for a posthumous pardon. It also encounters the issue of homosexuality in the trenches and the potential shame which faced gay soldiers. With powerful songs and a storyline with a twist, this production has a sharp emotional intensity generated by words and music. The production will feature several wrap-around activities including historical educational talks and discussions about mental health, PTSD and surrounding issues.

The White Feather
Performance Dates Wednesday 16th September – Saturday 17th October 2015
Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm
Saturday and Sunday matinees, 2.30pm
Running time Approximately 2 hours plus interval
Union Theatre, 204 Union Street, London SE1 0LX
www.uniontheatre.biz

www.whitefeathermusical.co.uk
Twitter @WFeatherMusical, @ArionProds, @TheUnionTheatre, #TheWhiteFeather

 

 

 

 

A decade after England’s legendary 2005 Ashes victory, cricket icon Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff is set to share his memories at Leeds Grand Theatre this Sunday,  August 30^th.

 

The 2005 Ashes victory propelled Freddie Flintoff to sporting legend status making him one of England’s most admired cricket stars of all time. Famed for his record-breaking performances and well deserved legacy as one of the game’s greats, hitting the ball harder than any other cricketer and being able to bowl accurately at 90mph, he became the most feared all-rounder of his generation.

 

The 2005 Ashes saw his pinnacle career performance and won him the title of ICC and PCA’s player of the year as well as the BBC’s Sport Personality of the Year.

 

To celebrate this sporting milestone – and to share his memories of that long, hot summer –  Freddie and his TV producer & writer friend Clyde Holcroft will take to the stage with a brand new live show.

 

Last year Freddie and Clyde launched a new sporting podcast. Recorded on Freddie’s phone, each episode is an unscripted, unedited and unguarded conversation between the two – this live show brings that podcast to life, allowing Freddie to share his take on a wide range of topics; it is a chance to see one of British sport’s most revered personalities talk about his experiences, on and off the pitch, in a refreshingly honest way.

 

Talking about the show Freddie said: “Clyde and I have had such a great response to the podcast so we thought it would be a fun idea to turn it into a live show. Like the podcast we hope that the tour will be a lot of laughs and an excuse for us to talk about life and the lighter side of cricket.”

 

Freddie Flintoff: 2^nd Innings is at Leeds Grand Theatre on Sunday August 30^th at 7.30pm

 

Tickets are on sale now priced at £28 or £53 for a premium ticket which includes a meet & greet after the show

 

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call box office on 0844 848 2700

 

September 2nd – 26th, 2015, King’s Head Theatre

Press Night: September 4th, 2015, 7pm

 

The Man Who Had All the Luck is Arthur Miller’s rarely performed first produced play. Searchingly philosophical and vehemently political, it intimates much that will take centre stage in his better- known work for decades to come. This revival in Miller’s centenary year will be the second production from renowned theatre company End of Moving Walkway, whose critically acclaimed Oh, the Humanity and Other Good Intentions was nominated for a What’s On Stage Award and two Off West End Awards.

 “one hell of a debut” (The Theatre Tourist)

Everything David Beeves touches turns to gold. He has a beautiful home and a loving wife, loyal friends and a thriving business. But as those around him trip and fall, David struggles to understand his fate. What if his Midas touch, like the flip of a coin or the pull of the tide, is nothing more than good luck?

Nominated for Best Off-West End Production (What’s On Stage), Best Director – Paul Lichtenstern and Best Supporting Male – Jonathan Kemp (Off West End), London Fringe Production of the Year 2015 (West End Frame)

The King’s Head are proud to be presenting this new revival in their 45th anniversary year, and have in recent years staged critical revivals and world premieres of pieces by established playwrights, including Tennessee Williams, Arnold Wesker, Joe Orton and Edward Bond. Friday, April 24th marks the one year anniversary of End of Moving Walkway and Artistic Director Paul Lichtenstern says of the show: “it seems fitting that, in a year where some major theatres have tackled some of Miller’s major plays, our young company has been given the opportunity to explore one of his early, ambitious, and lesser-known works”.

The Man Who Had All the Luck runs September 2nd 2015 – September 26th 2015, playing Tuesday – Saturday, 7pm; 3pm Sunday matinees; and 3pm Saturday matinees on September 19th and September 26th. Running Time: 2 hrs (with interval). The King’s Head Theatre is located at 115 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1QN £19.50 – £25 (Concessions £15 – £18), previews £10. For tickets and more information, go to King’s Head Theatre (kingsheadtheatre.ticketsolve.com).

The Clapham Fringe is a new Performing Arts Festival in South London taking place from 7th to 26th September 2015 at The Bread & Roses Theatre. It is run by the team who also founded and manage the new and quickly growing theatre venue. The first Clapham Fringe currently features 18 different productions with 47 performances altogether. It will be a great opportunity to discover and experience an exciting line-up of performances in a South London Festival!

The Bread & Roses Theatre is a new and innovative fringe pub theatre, located upstairs at the Bread & Roses Pub in Clapham, and within walking distance of several Tube and Overground stations in Travel Zone 2. A 50-seat fringe theatre venue, The Bread & Roses Theatre programs a wide-spread variety of productions for local as well as far-reaching audiences whilst providing theatre-makers with a space to develop and present their work on a box office split basis, rather than charging upfront hire fees.

For more information visit:
http://www.claphamfringe.com/

Danny Horn as Ray Davies, Oliver Hoare as Dave Davies, Tom Whitelock as Pete Quaife and Damien Walsh as Mick Avory – ‘The Kinks’

New cast take over from 5th October 2015

Booking to 16th April 2016

Production won 4 Olivier Awards – including BEST NEW MUSICAL

The multi-Olivier Award-winning hit British musical SUNNY AFTERNOON, which tells the story of the rise to fame of The Kinks, has announced the actors taking over from its award-winning original cast.

Danny Horn (Doctor Who; The Dead Dogs) will play Ray Davies, with Oliver Hoare (Antony and Cleopatra, Chichester) as Dave Davies, Tom Whitelock (Times Square Angel, Union) as bassist Pete Quaife and Damien Walsh (Dreamboats and Petticoats) as drummer Mick Avory. At certain performances, the role of Ray Davies will be played by Ryan O’Donnell (Romeo and Juliet, RSC;Quadrophenia).

Cast includes: Niamh Bracken, Christopher Brandon, Jason Baughan, Harriet Bunton, Alice Cardy, Oliver Hoare, Danny Horn, Gillian Kirkpatrick, Jay Marsh, Megan Leigh Mason, Ryan O’Donnell, Stephen Pallister, Charlie Tighe, Gabriel Vick, Damien Walsh and Tom Whitelock.

With a book by Joe Penhall, music and lyrics and original story by Ray Davies, and directed by Edward Hall, Sunny Afternoon has established itself as a firm favourite with audiences and critics alike since it opened at the Harold Pinter Theatre in October 2014.

Sunny Afternoon was the best performing show at this year’s Olivier Awards, winning four awards.  The production won Best New Musical, John Dagleish won Best Actor in a Musical, George Maguire won Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, and Ray Davies of The Kinks won for Outstanding Achievement in Music.

The original cast, including Olivier Award winners John Dagleish and George Maguire, will remain in the show until 3 October 2015.

Forty-nine years ago this year, The Kinks were sitting at Number One in the UK charts with their single‘Sunny Afternoon’. The band’s popularity has not faded since the 1960s, with crowds of all ages filling the Harold Pinter Theatre night after night.

Featuring some of The Kinks’ best-loved songs, including You Really Got Me, Waterloo Sunset and Lola,Sunny Afternoon shows the music of The Kinks is still as popular as ever, more than 50 years since the band’s rise to fame.

Following a sold-out run at Hampstead Theatre, this world premiere production, with music and lyrics by Ray Davies, new book by Joe Penhall, original story by Ray Davies, direction by Edward Hall, design by Miriam Buether and choreography by Adam Cooper, opened at the Harold Pinter theatre on 28 October 2014. Lighting is by Rick Fisher, sound by Matt McKenzie and the Musical Supervisor and Musical Director is Elliott Ware.

The official cast recording album, produced by Ray Davies at his Konk studios, is released on BMG Chrysalis and is available to buy at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sunny-Afternoon-The-Kinks/dp/B00NH8O7LU.

Sonia Friedman Productions commissioned Joe Penhall in 2011 to write the book based on Ray Davies’s original story. The company developed the production over the next four years, assembling the creative team and cast that presented Sunny Afternoon last year at Hampstead Theatre under the direction of Edward Hall, and now at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

Ray Davies is an influential and prolific rock musician and was co-founder and lead singer and songwriter for rock band The Kinks, and later a solo artist. He has an outstanding catalogue of hits from the earliest 1960s to the present day with estimated record sales in excess of 50 million. He has also acted, directed and produced shows for theatre and television.

Joe Penhall is an award winning playwright and screenwriter. Plays include Some Voices (Royal Court),Blue/Orange (National Theatre and West End), winner of Best New Play at the Evening Standard Awards, Olivier Awards and at the Critics Circle, and Dumb Show, Haunted Child and Birthday (all Royal Court). Screenplays include Enduring Love and The Road.

As Artistic Director of Hampstead Theatre, Edward Hall’s productions include Wonderland, Sunny Afternoon, Raving, Chariots of Fire, No Naughty Bits, Loyalty and Enlightenment. As Artistic Director of Propeller, his work has toured worldwide, played the West End and Broadway and has won numerous awards both in the UK and overseas. Other theatre work includes A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (National Theatre), Edmond with Kenneth Branagh (National Theatre), Macbeth with Sean Bean (Albery), The Constant Wife (Apollo), Julius Caesar (RSC), Henry V (RSC) and The Deep Blue Sea(Vaudeville). Television work includes Downton Abbey, Spooks and Kingdom.  Edward is an Associate of the National Theatre and the Old Vic.