20 Questions with ….. Philip Meeks

Philip Meeks actor, writer and Pantomime Dame extrodinaire answers 20 questionsdownload (2)

Lets start with some favourites

Favourite show (whether you have been in it or not)?

It was the Donmar Warehouse Cabaret with Alan Cumming as MC and Jane Horrocks was Sally. I stood to see it on the Friday night and went back and stood again for both shows on the Saturday. They redefined the roles….and the ending was so powerful.  All future productions have used this as the benchmark.

Favourite book?

I read huge amounts and never reread books so I have many favourites. The one I would always recommend to people is The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch.  Its a huge theatrically themed epic.

Favourite theatre?

I love Broadway musicals…but the ones people have never heard of. I’m hoping to get to New York in May to see Kristen Chenoweth in “On the 20th Century”  and Chita Rivera in Kander and Ebbs “The Visit”.

Favourite song?

Many many for different moods….but the song that pops into my head most often if “The Way You Look Tonight” by Jerome Kern and the brilliant lyricist Dorothy Fields.

Favourite music?

Show tunes….I’m such a cliché.  Jerry Herman rules.

Favourite food?

Chinese…..

Favourite line from any show?

“What a Dump” from “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf”….although its originally a line Bette Davis said in “Beyond the Forest”

What is your favourite role?

Pantomime Dame.  I’m a writer before an actor so I only ever really play Dame

What was your first role?

My first dame was Dame Hattie Doodle in Snow White in Arbroath in sub degree temperatures. We once had to dig the dwarfs out.

And what role would you really like to play?

Roger De Bris in “The Producers”

How did you become such an accomplished Pantomime Dame?

Luck and nice shoes.

How much input do you have into the amazing costumes?

I start with the fabric then work out what to do with it.  I then design them but can’t make them.  I have a fab chap who is based in Wales who makes for me. He adds his own touches and makes my ideas work. He’s working on a Full English Breakfast frock for me at the moment. Much debate about where to place the fried eggs.

If you could be anyone else for the day, who would it be?

I’d probably be someone I truly loathe and make them do outrageous things that would ruin their lives.  Not people I know I hasten to add.  Katie Hopkins perhaps. Or Nigel Farage.  But then again I could never match the outrages things they do already and get away with…”Hilarious Katie Hopkins has a wee in front of the Queen. What hijinks will she get up to next?”

You’re clearly very talented and had a varied career, do you prefer writing or performing?​

Performing makes me very happy but I don’t need to do it to live.  I think you only suffer the rejections and horror of creative jobs if you need to do it.  Writing is something I need to do for the time being.

Where do you get your inspiration for your plays?

Ideas bob into my head all the time.  I’m in Glasgow at the moment working on the Scots soap River City.  I’ve had several play ideas because the city is so inspiring. Ideas however can take years to work out.  One I began thinking about in 2010 has only  just been thought through to the point where I can write it

You work a lot in the regions, would you like to work in the West End?

There isn’t panto in the West End!  I would always work in the North East and one day would like to be a resident Dame somewhere. I’m going to be down South this season however.

If you weren’t a writer/performer what would you be?

Well I was a teacher, then I was a publicist.  I think now I’d opt to be “On the Sick”.  Or maybe I’d get a little part time job being in charge of sausage rolls at a branch of Greggs.

What advice would you give 16 year old Philip?

Depends on the 16 year old…..but I feel its a waste of breath at that age.  Let them make mistakes as that’ll teach them about their own lives better than words of wisdom from an old croak.

What was the last stage show you saw and really enjoyed?

The one I loved as Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire starring Imelda Staunton.  I even enjoyed it more than her star turn in Gypsy.  Its a great play. I love American plays as a rule but this is currently my favourite.

Your brother also acts, have you ever performed together?

Once in an amateur production of the “Good Companions”  I’d love him to play Abanazar to my Twankey one day.  Or we could be ugly sisters – though I probably wouldn’t cope. I’d hate to be booed in a frock after being loved in a frock so often

Can you tell us what you will be up to next?

I’m story consultant on “River City” and writing a few episodes. I’m also going to be recording my first radio play for Radio 4 soon, I’m working on a project for ITV and gearing up for a play heading to Edinburgh Festival. I’m also planning frocks for Christmas.  I’m playing Trott for the first time in Jack and the Beanstalk.  Really looking forward to dancing with a pantomime cow for the first time.

McQueen

STEPHEN WIGHT

&

DIANNA AGRON

STAR IN THE WORLD PREMIERE OF

McQUEEN

AT ST. JAMES THEATRE

FROM TUESDAY 12 MAY

Award-winning actor Stephen Wight takes on the title role of Lee McQueen and Dianna Agron will play Dahlia in the world premiere of James Phillips’s play McQUEEN directed by John Caird, which will run at St. James Theatre from 12 May, with press nights on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 May. The play will also star Tracy-Ann Oberman as Isabella Blow, Laura Rees as Arabella, and David Shaw-Parker as John Hitchcock, along with Sophie Apollonia, Amber Doyle, George Hill, Eloise Hymas, Jordan Kennedy, Rachel Louisa Maybank, James Revell and Carrie Willis.Dianna Agron in rehearsals for McQueen credit Chris Davis (2)

Stephen Wight was named Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard Awards for his performances in Michael Grandage’s production of Don Juan in Soho and Samuel West’s production of Dealer’s Choice. Other theatre includes Nicholas Hytner’s production of The Habit of Art at the National and Sean Foley’s production of The Ladykillers in the West End. On television, he has played Simon in Bluestone 42 (BBC 3), Sam in The Paradise (BBC 1), Mitch in Threesome (Comedy Central), Fletcher in Sherlock and Charles in the BBC mini-series Fingersmith. His films include Wilderness, Highlander: The Source, Weekender with Jack O’Connell, Henry Lloyd-Hughes and Zawe Ashton and Ashes with Jim Sturgess and Ray Winstone.

Laura Rees, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Stephen Wight, Dianna Agron and David Shaw-Parker at the first day of rehearsals for McQueen credit Chris DavisCritically acclaimed actress Dianna Agron’s breakthrough role was playing Quinn Fabray on the hit series Glee. Most recently, Agron was seen opposite Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer in the film The Family, directed by Luc Besson. This year, she will appear in several films, including the romantic comedy Tumbledown opposite Jason Sudeikis and Rebecca Hall, Bare directed by Natalia Leite, Zipper opposite Patrick Wilson, and the independent ensemble Conspiracy on Jekyll Island. McQUEEN will mark Agron’s British stage debut.

Tracy-Ann Oberman played Chrissie in EastEnders, Yvonne Hartman in Doctor Who, Lizzie Clapham in Monroe, Aunty Val in Friday Night Dinner, Mrs Purchase in Toast of London and Diana in the film Filth starring James McAvoy and Jamie Bell. In theatre, she has acted with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the National, including playing opposite Kenneth Branagh in Edmond.

Laura Rees’s theatre credits include Ophelia in Ninagawa’s Hamlet at the Barbican, Christopher Luscombe’s Comedy of Errors, Lucy Bailey’s Titus Andronicus and Kathryn

Hunter’s Pericles at Shakespeare’s Globe, and Rupert Gould’s Macbeth and Philip Franks’s Twelfth Night at Chichester.

David Shaw-Parker began his career at the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in over 25 productions. His many other theatre credits include Trevor Nunn’s productions of My Fair Lady at the National Theatre and in the West End and Acorn Antiques in the West End, and Lucy Bailey’s production of Titus Andronicus last year at Shakespeare’s Globe.

McQUEEN is a journey into the visionary imagination and dark dream world of Alexander McQueen, fashion’s greatest contemporary artist.  Set on a single London night, it is more than a bio-play. It is stepping into the fairy story landscape of McQueen’s mind, the landscape seen in his immortal shows, where with a dress an urchin can become an Amazon, where beauty might just help us survive the night.  A girl has watched McQueen‘s Mayfair house for eleven consecutive days. Tonight she climbs down from her watching tree and breaks into his house, to steal a dress, to become someone special. He catches her, but, instead of calling the police, they embark together on a journey through London and into his heart.

McQUEEN will be directed by John Caird, with production design by David Farley, choreography by Christopher Marney, video design by Tim Bird, lighting design by David Howe, sound design by John Leonard, casting by Jayne Collins CDG & Kate Plantin CDG.

McQUEEN will be produced at St. James Theatre by Robert Mackintosh, AMIR Ltd, Hilary Williams, Deborah Negri, with Julian Stoneman as executive producer, for and on behalf of McQ Productions Ltd.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

From 12 May 2015

St. James Theatre

12 Palace Street

London SW1E 5JA

Performances: Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm*, Thursdays and Saturdays at 2.30pm**

*7.00pm on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 May

**No 2.30pm performances on Thursday 14 and Thursday 21 May

Ticket Prices: £25, £35, £55, £65

Box Office: 0844 264 2140

Website: www.mcqueentheplay.com

Facebook: facebook.com/McQueenThePlay

Twitter: @McQueenThePlay

 

West Yorkshire Playhouse tours new family show Little Sure Shot to community venues across Leeds

Building on its hugely-successful Community Engagement Scheme, West Yorkshire Playhouse is taking the exciting new family play with music Little Sure Shot on a tour of eight community venues across Leeds in April and May. The show, which tells the inspirational story of sharpshooter Annie Oakley, will tour to venues in Armley, Hawksworth Wood, Burmantofts, Chapeltown, Gipton, Rothwell, Seacroft and Middleton.
Last year West Yorkshire Playhouse launched its ground-breaking Community Ambassador programme by taking Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads out to seven different Leeds areas supported by an audience development initiative. In the course of the year the Playhouse has built on this scheme, with hundreds of heavily discounted tickets for shows at the Playhouse given out for £3 a head, as well as workshops and other initiatives in the community venues.
By popular demand, the next community tour is a family show. Little Sure Shot will visit those original seven venues plus an additional eighth venue in Chapeltown as well as the Courtyard Theatre at the ​Playhouse.
Little Sure Shot has been created by the all-female team of director Amy Leach, writer and composer Lucy Rivers and designer Hayley Grindle. The show tells how Annie overcame poverty and hardship to become the most famous female sharpshooter in the Wild West, becoming the star attraction in Buffalo Bill’s touring Wild West Show with her amazing gunslinging skills.
Playing Annie is one of West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Graduate Actors, Verity Kirk, who comes from Harrogate. The cast also features two other Graduate Actors,David Leopold and Paksie Vernon, alongside Andrew Whitehead and Andy Clark. West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Graduate Actors scheme gives new actors long-term contracts to appear in a number of shows as well as to be based in and learn about how a busy producing theatre works.
Little Sure Shot, a co-production between West Yorkshire Playhouse and the egg, Bath, can be seen in the Courtyard Theatre from 15-18 April.
The Playhouse’s Community Engagement programme is supported by The Liz & Terry Bramall Foundation and Asda Foundation.
Suitable age 7+
Courtyard Theatre performances 15 April, 6.30pm; 16-18 April, 2 and 6.30pm.
Box office 0113 213 7700 and online wyp.org.uk
West Yorkshire Playhouse has a reputation both nationally and internationally as a leading UK producing theatre. The theatre is a cultural hub, a place where people gather to tell and share stories and to engage in world class theatre. From large scale spectacle to intimate performance the Playhouse develops and makes work for the stage, for found spaces, for touring, for schools and community venues. Alongside work for the stage the Playhouse is dedicated to providing creative engagement opportunities, building and running sustainable projects that reach out to a diverse range of communities. Supporting new and emerging artists is key and the theatre provides creative space for new writers, emerging directors, companies and individual theatre makers to refine their practice. Work for 2015 includes a new version of UNCLE VANYA directed by Mark Rosenblatt, LITTLE SURE SHOT – a new commission by Lucy Rivers, THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE directed by James Brining and the redevelopment of Brining’s award-winning production of SWEENEY TODD with the WNO and WMC.

IT’S TEA-TIME FOR THEATRE’S LATEST RELAXED PERFORMANCE.

Newcastle Theatre Royal says it is responding to overwhelming feedback from parents of local children with autism and other sensory conditions, by offering a Relaxed Performance of upcoming children’s show The Tiger Who Came to Tea, outside of school hours.

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The Theatre recently became the first in the UK to be awarded the Autism Access Award by the National Autistic Society, in recognition of its work with autistic audience members through the specially adapted relaxed performances.

The shows, which have a less formal, more supportive atmosphere in order to reduce anxiety levels and which include toned down lighting and special effects have been met with an overwhelming response from audiences, particularly parents of children with special needs.

Louise Relton’s son is autistic and has attended Newcastle Theatre Royal’s Relaxed Performances of their record-breaking Pantomime and the recent tour of Shrek The Musical. She said: “In the past I tried to take my son to a regular theatre performance but he was unable to manage. The Relaxed Performances at Newcastle Theatre Royal have introduced him into a whole new world in a magical place and for that I can’t thank their Relaxed Performance team enough.”

?????????????????????????All of Newcastle Theatre Royal’s Relaxed Performances so far have been held during the school day and the Relaxed Performance of The Tiger Who Came to Tea, on Friday 3 July, will be held at 4pm. Director of Operations at Newcastle Theatre Royal, Dawn Taylor, explained: “Our Relaxed Performances are extremely popular and exceptionally well received but we have had a lot of feedback that the mid-afternoon slot means that local parents find it difficult to attend as a family and the parents of those children who don’t attend a school where a trip is organised, are unable to bring their child out of school for the performance.

 

“By offering The Tiger Who Came to Tea Relaxed Performance at 4pm, we hope that even more people who could benefit from attending a Relaxed Performance will be able to enjoy the experience of live theatre in this supportive setting. We still hope that schools will book to bring their children with extra needs to see the show as part of an out-of-hours school trip.”

The Tiger Who Came to Tea Relaxed Performance plays on Fri 3 July at 4pm, tickets are £8.50. For more information visitwww.theatreroyal.co.uk or call Group Bookings on 08448 11 21 22.

SUNNY AFTERNOON announces new cast members

New hit British musical SUNNY AFTERNOON today announced new members of the cast to start from April 6 2015.  Originating cast members will be joined by Jason Baughan in the role of Eddie Kassner and Jo Servi as Gregory Piven. 

Nominated for five Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical, SUNNY AFTERNOON is currently booking until 24 October 2015, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London.

George Maguire, John Dagleish, Adam Sopp and Ned Derrington in Sunny Afternoon_ Photography by Kevin Cummins

Olivier-nominated John Dagliesh and George Maguire will continue to play Ray Davies and Dave Davies respectively alongside Ned Derrington as Pete Quaife and Adam Sopp as Mick Avory, who complete the band.

Full cast (from 6 April 2015): Carly Anderson, Jason Baughan, Philip Bird, John Dagleish, Ned Derrington, Lillie Flynn, Emily Goodenough, Elizabeth Hill, Vince Leigh, George Maguire, Amy Ross, Jo Servi, Adam Sopp, Dominic Tighe and Tam Williams.

Also joining the company, as understudies, will be Lia Given, Lloyd Gorman, Vicki Manser, Kay Milbourne, Ryan O’Donnell, Robbie White and Silas Wyatt-Barke

Fifty years ago, The Kinks were sitting at Number One in the UK charts with their fifth single ‘Tired of Waiting For You’. 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 marks the 50th anniversary of 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.

Sunny Afternoon - Harold Pinter TheatreThe 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.

Sonia Friedman Productions

with Tulchin Bartner Productions, Greg Ripley-Duggan for Hampstead Theatre Productions, Tanya Link Productions, Just for Laughs Theatricals/Glass Half Full Productions, Rupert Gavin present

SUNNY AFTERNOON

In association with Hampstead Theatre and Arlon Productions

 

Last chance to see The Royale at the Bush Theatre

  • Run ends 18 April 2015
  • Two weeks left to see critically acclaimed play directed by Madani Younis, written by Marco Ramirez

The Royale, the story of Jay ‘The Sport’ Jackson, the first black heavyweight champion of the world, will end its run at the Bush Theatre on 18 April 2015. The production opened in March to public and critical acclaim, starring Nicholas Pinnock. 

Nicholas Pinnock in the Royale (2)_ Photography by Helen Murray

Written by Marco Ramirez (Orange is the New Black), directed by Madani Younis (Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre), The Royale is loosely based on the true story of the boxer Jack Johnson.

Scripted in 12 rounds by Orange is the New Black writer Marco Ramirez, this play looks at the transcendence of sporting heroes as cultural icons of our time.

The production is designed by Jaimie Todd, with lighting by James Whiteside.

Jay ‘The Sport’ Jackson dreams of being the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. But it’s 1905, and in the racially segregated world of boxing, his chances are as good as knocked out. When a crooked boxing promoter hatches a plan for ‘the fight of the century’, The Sport just might land a place in the ring with the reigning white heavyweight champion.

Through the sights and sounds of the early 20th century boxing circuit, The Royale examines society’s relationship with our present-day cultural heroes and the responsibilities that are thrust upon them when they find themselves outside of the ropes.

Clint Dyer in rehearsals for The Royale_ Photography for Helen Murray (3)The Royale is loosely based on the real-life story of Jack Johnson, whose story is one of great talent and triumph, but also racism and injustice. Despite Johnson being one of the greatest fighters who had ever lived, one newspaper wrote at the time of his first title fight: “If the black man wins, thousands and thousands of his ignorant brothers will misinterpret his victory as justifying claims to much more than mere physical equality with their white neighbors.”

 

Madani Younis took over as Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre in 2012. For 2013 he programmed the company’s most successful season to date, which saw the theatre play to 99% capacity, and for which the theatre was awarded the Groucho Club Maverick Award 2013. For the Bush Theatre he has previously directed Perseverance Drive and Chalet Lines. Prior to his appointment at the Bush, he was Artistic Director of Freedom Studios in Bradford, Yorkshire where his work included the site-specific work, The Mill – City of Dreams. He has also worked nationally and internationally as a theatre director, writer and practitioner. Whilst at Freedom Studios he collaborated with the Bush Theatre through workshops culminating in Freedom’s two week residency in 2010 at the theatre. He was previously Director of Red Ladder Theatre Company’s Asian Theatre School. He originally trained in film, and his debut short film Ellabellapumpanella, commissioned by the UK Film Council, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007. He was the recipient of the Decibel Award at the South Bank Awards show in 2006.

 

13 March – 18 April 2015
THE ROYALE
By Marco Ramirez
Directed by Madani Younis
Designed by Jaimie Todd

Cast: Frances Ashman, Clint Dyer, Gershwyn Eustache Jnr, Nicholas Pinnock, Ewan Stewart

Bush Theatre
7 Uxbridge Road, London, W12 8LJ

Box Office: 020 8743 5050 / bushtheatre.co.uk
@bushtheatre

Performance times:
Mon to Sat at 7.30pm
2.30pm Saturday matinees
2.30pm Wednesday matinees

Access Performances:
Captioned performance 27 March, 7.30pm
Audio described performance 11 April, 2.30pm

Ticket prices:
Evenings: £20

  • £12.50 concessions (registered unemployed and disabled)
  • £15.50 for Senior Citizens
  • £12.50 for students/under 26s
  • 10% off for Bush Local members

Previews: £15.50

  • £10.50 concessions (registered unemployed and disabled)
  • £12.50 for Senior Citizens
  • £10.50 for students/under 26s
  • £12.50 for Bush Local members


Matinees: £15

  • £10.00 concessions (registered unemployed and disabled)
  • £10.00 for students/under 26s
  • £10.00 for Senior Citizens
  • 10% off for Bush Local members

Season Offers*

Season 3 for 2
See 3 shows for the price of 2. Valid for top price tickets only, shows must be purchased at the same time. Not valid for previews, matinees or RADAR.


Live or work locally – Join our free local membership scheme Bush Local for £12.50 preview tickets, 10% off all other performances and a 10% discount at the Cafe Bar. For more information and to become a member, visit bushtheatre.co.uk

Educational Groups – Schools tickets are £10 (matinees) and £12.50 (evenings), plus one teacher goes free with every 10 pupils. To reserve tickets, please call the Box Office between 12 – 8pm.

Bush Connect scheme – A free membership scheme for students and under 26s, BUSH CONNECT offers its members £10-£12.50 tickets for all Bush Theatre productions, a 10% discount at the Cafe Bar, special offers, giveaways and competitions, and exclusive events and networking opportunities.

Group Bookings – Book for a group of 11 or more people and the 11th person will go for free.

*Terms and conditions apply, see the Bush website for further information.

 

Robin Hawkes Joins West Yorkshire Playhouse from National Theatre

West Yorkshire Playhouse is pleased to announce that Robin Hawkes will join Playhouse Artistic Director James Brining in a new role as Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive of the theatre, creating a new joint leadership team for the Playhouse. The Playhouse is a leading venue in the UK’s theatre scene and together Brining and Hawkes will continue to develop an arresting programme of exceptional performance, innovative artist development programmes and pioneering community engagement projects, rooted in Leeds. Robin joins West Yorkshire Playhouse from his current role as Director of Artistic Administration at the National Theatre.

 

Artistic Director James Brining comments…
I am delighted that Robin will be joining the team to take up the position of Executive Director.  He brings a wealth of experience from an organisation with a world class pedigree.  He will help us continue to grow the scale and ambition of our work and our engagement with artists and audiences in the North and further afield.

 

Robin has been working at the National Theatre for seven years and has been responsible for the coordination of 20+ productions each year across the National’s three venues on the South Bank. His recent producing projects include the transfer of the Public Theater’s Here Lies Love in the newly re-opened Dorfman Theatre, the National Theatre’s 50th Anniversary celebration 50 Years on Stage, and the co-production with Punchdrunk Theatre Company of The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable.

 

Robin has also worked as a Producer for the NT’s production of War Horse, both in the West End and internationally. Prior to the National, he was an administrator at the Independent Theatre Council, an association of small and medium-size theatre companies across the UK. Robin was Chair of the Board of Trustees for The Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick from 2012 to 2015.

 

Robin said of his new role,

I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining James and the team at West Yorkshire Playhouse, a theatre for which I have such admiration as a centre of artistic excellence and pioneering community engagement. I’m hugely excited by the ambitious reimagining that the Playhouse has started to deliver to audiences, staff and artistic collaborators, as well as to the wider community in and around the city over the past few years. I’m looking forward tremendously to joining James in leading the organisation, as I share the passion he has demonstrated over his first couple of years as Artistic Director for a world class and accessible theatre, which is grounded in the vibrant community and culture of Yorkshire, and works with partners both within the region and further afield to produce great and inspiring work.

 

I’ve spent seven hugely varied and enjoyable years at the National Theatre, and it’s been particularly exciting in the last year to play a part in developing Tessa Ross and Rufus Norris’s first season. I look forward to bringing skills and experience from my time at the National to my new role at the Playhouse.

 

 

Robin will take up this new role at the Playhouse in June, while former Chief Executive Sheena Wrigley joined HOME in Manchester in April and this position will be held for the next few months by Pat Weller on an interim basis.

 

Sir Rodney Brooke, Chairman of the Playhouse board comments

Our search for an Executive Director to replace Sheena Wrigley attracted an excellent field of candidates, a tribute to the reputation of the theatre under James Brining’s artistic leadership. I am delighted that we have secured the services of an outstanding talent in Robin Hawkes. He will bring with him experience at the highest level of the operation of the National Theatre. His partnership with James Brining promises a glittering future for the Playhouse.

 

 

ANNA KARENINA & THE ROLLING STONE

From 19th century Russia to modern day Uganda, West Yorkshire Playhouse tackles love.
 
This spring West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Courtyard Theatre is transformed as two productions play in rep exploring the trials and tribulations of love. Tolstoy’s classic Russian masterpiece ANNA KARENINA is adapted for the stage in Jo Clifford’s contemporary version and running alongside it is Chris Urch’s Bruntwood Prize winning play, THE ROLLING STONE.
 
ANNA KARENINA
 
A West Yorkshire Playhouse and Royal Exchange Theatre production
 
9 May – 13 June, COURTYARD THEATRE 
 
Press Night Mon 18 May 7.45pm.  Box office 0113 213 7700  Online wyp.org.uk
 
Adaptation by Jo Clifford; Director: Ellen McDougall; Designer: Joanna Scotcher; Lighting Designer: Lizzie Powell; Sound Designer: Tom Gibbons; Movement Director: Wilkie Branson
 
Making her Playhouse debut, Olivier-nominated Ellen McDougall directs Jo Clifford’s stripped back, contemporary adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel ANNA KARENINA. One of the most famous love stories of all time, Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece explores what happens when two very different couples grapple with the strongest emotion – love.This is the Playhouse’s second partnership with Royal Exchange Theatre following the huge success of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET in autumn 2013. ANNA KARENINAruns in the Courtyard in an exciting new traverse format from the 9 May – 13 June.
Anna is the envy of St. Petersburg society. Glamorous and admired, but locked in a lonely marriage, her sudden but passionate love affair with Count Vronsky turns her world on its head and puts at risk everything she has ever known. In a parallel story, Levin is trying to live justly in a social system built on injustice. When his love for a childhood friend ends unhappily, he tries to deny its existence. But like Anna discovers he cannot.
Ony Uhiara, who takes the title role, was last seen in the world premiere of Rory Mullarkey’s CANNIBALS. Other recent theatre credits include EYE OF A NEEDLE (Southwark Playhouse); IDOMENEUS (Gate Theatre); THE EL TRAIN (Hoxton Hall); ILLUSIONS (Actors Touring Company); SIXTY SIX BOOKS (The Bush Theatre); MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (The Globe). ). Film credits include: VENUS and SIXTY 6 and recent TV credits work includes LAW AND ORDER, STOLEN, WHITE VAN MAN and CRIMINAL JUSTICE.
The cast also includes Robert Gilbert as Count Vronsky, Anthony Barclay, Donna Berlin, Claire Brown, John Cummins, Ryan Early,Jonathan Keeble and Gillian Saker.
 
Director Ellen McDougall received an Olivier nomination for her 2010 production of IVAN AND THE DOGS (ATC, Soho, UK tour and Rustaveli Theatre, Georgia). Other recent credits include TELLING TALES (Almeida); PHILOCTETES (Unicorn) SHOWS 1 and 2 (Secret Theatre) for Lyric Theatre Hammersmith; SPRING AWAKENING and IDOMENEUS (Gate Theatre) and NOT NOW BERNARD (Unicorn Theatre and touring).
Writer Jo Clifford is the author of over 70 plays, many of which have been performed all over the world. These include LOSING VENICE, EVERY ONE, FAUST, THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE and GREAT EXPECTATIONS. Last year she revived her GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS QUEEN OF HEAVEN.
Designer Joanna Scotcher trained at the Royal Shakespeare Company and she received the Whatsonstage ‘Best Set Designer’ Award for her site specific design of THE RAILWAY CHILDREN. Other recent credits include PESTS (Clean Break and The Royal Court), ANTIGONE (Pilot Theatre) and A HARLEM DREAM (young Vic and Dance Umbrella).
THE ROLLING STONE
A Royal Exchange Theatre production
 
12– 23 May, COURTYARD THEATRE
 
Press Night Wed 13 May 7.45pm.  Box office 0113 213 7700  Online wyp.org.uk
 
Written by Chris Urch; Director: Ellen McDougall; Designer: Joanna Scotcher; Lighting Designer: Richard Owen; Sound Designer: Dave Norton; Musical Director: James Fortune.
 
Playing alongside ANNA KARENINA, Chris Urch’s 2013 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting winner THE ROLLING STONE will play in tandem from 9 – 23 May. Also directed by Ellen McDougall – and drawing from the same cast and creative team – it tells a very different story of lovers at odds with society.
Dembe and Sam have been seeing each other for a while. They should be wondering where this is going and when to introduce each other to their families. But they’re gay and this is Uganda. The consequences of their relationship being discovered will be violent and explosive. Especially for Dembe, whose brother goes to into the pulpit each week to denounce the evil of one man loving another.
Writer Chris Urch trained at the Drama Centre as an actor. In February 2012, he was selected as one of the 503Fiv, an 18-month residency with Theatre503. His commissioned play LAND OF OUR FATHERS debuted there to critical acclaim and a sold-out run and one of Time Out’s Best theatre of 2013. After receiving the Bruntwood Prize for THE ROLLING STONE, he is now on attachment at Royal Exchange Theatre. Chris is also a graduate of the Royal Court Theatre’s Young Writers Programme.
The cast includes Sule Rimi, Robert Gilbert, Fiston Barek, Donna Berlin, Ony Uhiara, Faith Omole.

 

Anna Karenina
Evening performances: Tues – Sat 7.45pm
Matinees: Thu 14, 21, 28 May, 4, 11 June 2pm, Sat 30 May, 6, 13 June 2.30pm
Post Show Discussion: Tues 19 May 7.45pm
Audio Described Performance:  Thu 11 June 2pm, Sat 13 June 7.45pm
Captioned Performance: Fri 12 June 7.45pm
BSL Interpreted Performance: Tues 9 June 7.45pm
Tickets: £28 – £12, schools, groups and concs available
The Rolling Stone
Evening performances: Tues 12, Wed 13, Thu 14 21, Fri 22, Sat 23 May 7.45pm
Matinee:  Sat 23 May 2.30pm
Tickets: £28 – £12, schools, groups and concs available
Box office 0113 213 7700 and online wyp.org.uk
West Yorkshire Playhouse has a reputation both nationally and internationally as a leading UK producing theatre. The theatre is a cultural hub, a place where people gather to tell and share stories and to engage in world class theatre. From large scale spectacle to intimate performance the Playhouse develops and makes work for the stage, for found spaces, for touring, for schools and community venues. Alongside work for the stage the Playhouse is dedicated to providing creative engagement opportunities, building and running sustainable projects that reach out to a diverse range of communities. Supporting new and emerging artists is key and the theatre provides creative space for new writers, emerging directors, companies and individual theatre makers to refine their practice. Work for 2015 includes a new version of UNCLE VANYA directed by Mark Rosenblatt, LITTLE SURE SHOT – a new commission by Lucy Rivers, THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE directed by James Brining and the redevelopment of Brining’s award-winning production of SWEENEY TODD with the WNO and WMC.
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester is one of the leading theatres in the UK. Producing a repertoire of up to twelve productions a year in its 750 seat permanent theatre in the round and the 100 seat Studio, the company is passionate about what theatre can offer. It aims to present great writing in quality productions that tell intimate and epic stories that entertain, provoke and inspire. It collaborates with some of the most innovative and original theatre makers in the country and works in partnership with different communities to help them express themselves creatively. The company trains, develops and mentors future generations of theatre artists making the Exchange a place for people to meet talk work and relax in the heart of the vibrant city of Manchester

JERRY’S GIRLS transfers from St. James Studio to Jermyn Street Theatre for limited run

Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and Guy James in association with
Jermyn Street Theatre present

JERRY’S GIRLS

A musical revue celebrating the works of Jerry Herman

TRANSFERRING FROM ST. JAMES STUDIO TO JERMYN STREET THEATRE
FOR A LIMITED THREE-WEEK RUN

FROM TUESDAY 12 TO SUNDAY 31 MAY 2015

 

EMMA BARTON JOINS THE CAST

Following a sell-out run at St. James Studio last month, musical revue Jerry’s Girls will transfer to Jermyn Street Theatre for a limited three week run from Tuesday 12 to Sunday 31 May 2015, with a press night onFriday 15 May.

Featuring songs from classic musicals including Hello Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage Aux Folles, Jerry’s Girlsbrings together an all-female cast to celebrate Jerry’s special gift for writing songs that capture the true spirit of the great American musical, honouring the legacy of the multi Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of some of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time.

Jerry Herman’s many Broadway shows include Hello Dolly!, Mame, Dear World, Mack & Mabel, The Grand Tour and La Cage Aux Folles. His string of awards and honours includes multiple Tony, Grammy, Olivier and Drama Desk Awards, the Johnny Mercer Award, the Richard Rodgers Award, the Oscar Hammerstein Award, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Theatre Hall of Fame. Jerry also has the distinction of being the only composer-lyricist in history to have three musicals run for more than 1,500 performances on Broadway.

“Jerry Herman’s iconic songs are glorious and contemporary in this must-see revue

showcasing some incredible vocal talent”

THE STAGE

Emma Barton will join the cast, alongside Ria Jones and Sarah-Louise Young who both return to the production:

Emma Barton is best known to television audiences for playing the role of Honey Mitchell for three years in the BBC’s flagship drama EastEnders. Theatre credits include Dolly in One Man Two Guvnors (UK Tour), Roxie Hart in Chicago (Cambridge Theatre), Marty in Grease (Victoria Palace Theatre), Over the Moon (The Old Vic), Anyone Can Whistle (Savoy Theatre) and Annie (West Yorkshire Playhouse). Other television includes You, Me & Them (UKTV), Spooks (BBC1), Doctors (BBC1) and Secret History (Channel 4).

Ria Jones’ many West End credits include Grizabella in Cats, Fantine in Les Miserables, The Narrator inJoseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Svetlana in Chess. Other work includes the UK Tour of West End Women, 42nd Street at Leicester Curve, Nine at the Donmar Warehouse and the UK Tours ofHigh Society, Acorn Antiques and The Witches of Eastwick. Ria also performs worldwide as a concert soloist.

Sarah-Louise Young has been voted one of Time Out’s Top Cabaret Acts and Best Musical Variety Act in the London Cabaret Awards. She has guested with Fascinating Aïda and is a member of Showstopper! The Improvised Musical. West End credits include her solo show Julie Madly Deeply at Trafalgar Studios. She has performed her other solo piece, Cabaret Whore at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Soho Theatre and Off-Broadway.

Created by Jerry Herman and collaborator Larry Alford in 1981, Jerry’s Girls originated as a modest cabaret presentation at Onstage, a nightclub located in New York’s theatre district in midtown-Manhattan. After La Cage Aux Folles opened to rave reviews two years later, a full-scale, all-star production was mounted which opened at Broadway’s St. James Theatre in 1985 with a cast including Chita Rivera, who received a Tony-Award nomination for her performance.

Jerry’s Girls is directed by Kate Golledge and choreographed by Matthew Cole. The musical director isEdward Court. It is presented by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and Guy James, the team behind the 2014 London premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s Marry Me a Little at the St. James Studio, which played a sold out run in August before returning in October due to popular demand.

@JerrysGirlsLDN

NINE GREAT WELSH ACTRESSES TO PERFORM IN NATIONAL THEATRE WALES’ MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN

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THIS NEW, SOUTH WALES VALLEYS VERSION BY HINTERLAND’S ED THOMAS OF BRECHT’S CLASSIC PLAY WILL BE STAGED AT THE MERTHYR LABOUR CLUB

The cast has been confirmed for the first production in National Theatre Wales’ fifth season – an anarchic, all-female, new version of Bertolt Brecht’s 1939 anti-war play, Mother Courage and Her Children, performed in and around the Merthyr Labour Club in May 2015.

Hinterland creator Ed Thomas returns to the stage to adapt, NTW artistic director John McGrath will direct and My Name is Sue composer Dafydd James will write original music for this new production, mixing Brecht’s world with the Saturday-night spirit of Merthyr.

“According to the bigwigs, this war’s being fought in the name of God and all things lovely . But I think that’s bollocks. Every body in this war is out for what they can get, including a small businesswoman like me. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

Performed by a cast of nine Welsh actresses in the gutsy English of the south Wales valleys, supported by a chorus of women from Merthyr, and in the context of our own unending wars, this will be a 21stCentury version of what is often described as a 20thCentury classic.

The cast includes: Donna Edwards, Sara McGaughey, Gaynor Morgan-Rees, Rhian Morgan as Mother Courage herself, Sharon Morgan, Cathy Owen, Nicola Reynolds, Ri Richards and Eiry Thomas.

Artistic director John McGrath said: “Every director has a list of plays that they want to direct some day, and Mother Courage has long been up at the top of my list. The spirit of south Wales, particularly Merthyr Tydfil, feels very close to the questions of the play. To what lengths are we willing to go in order to survive? What kind of cunning and know-how might carry us through the worst of times? Brecht always encourages us to see why people behave in the way they do, and the questions he raises in this play are every bit as relevant today as they were when he sat down to write it in 1939.”

In 1988, Ed Thomas wrote his first play, House of America. The play won several awards as a play and a film (1996), on both a National and International level. His other works include Flowers of the Dead Red Sea (1991), East From The Gantry (1993), Song From a Forgotten City (1995), Gas Station Angel(1998) and Stone City Blue (2004). They have toured extensively across the world within the UK, Europe, Australia and South America, to theatres including The Royal Court, Donmar Warehouse and Tramway, Glasgow. They have been translated into more than ten languages. Ed is the founder and artistic director of Fiction Factory, and at present is working on Hinterland/Y Gwyll, a detective series produced in both English and Welsh for S4C and the BBC, and distributed worldwide by All3Media. Over the last ten years, Ed has written, directed and produced over a hundred and twenty hours of drama in several genres, winning over seventy nominations and prizes including those from BAFTA CYMRU and Prix Europa. His programmes have been distributed to over eighty countries. These include Satellite City, Silent Village, China, Mind to Kill, Caerdydd, Pen Talar, Y Pris, Cwmgiedd/Columbia andGwaith/Cartref. He lives in Cardiff.

Director John E McGrath is the founding Artistic Director of National Theatre Wales. He has also worked as a theatre director in New York, London and Manchester. From 1999-2008 he was Artistic Director of Contact Theatre, Manchester. He trained and worked in New York for several years, including a stint as Associate Director of leading experimental company Mabou Mines. As a director, he has worked with a wide range of artists including poet Lemn Sissay (Storm, Something Dark and Why I Don’t Hate White People) and hip-hop theatre artist Benji Reid (b like water). For National Theatre Wales, he has directed A Good Night Out in the Valleys, Love Steals Us From Loneliness, The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning, In Water I’m Weightless and The Opportunity of Efficiency(produced by the New National Theatre, Tokyo). In 2004 he published a book about art in the surveillance age, Loving Big Brother: Performance, Privacy and Surveillance Space, and in 2005 was awarded the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) Cultural Leadership Award.

Musical Director Dafydd James is an award-winning writer, composer and performer, working in theatre, radio and television in both English and Welsh. His work has been performed across the UK and internationally in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Taiwan and the USA. Credits includePsychobitches (Tiger Aspect/Sky Arts), Terrace (BBC, Radio 3), Gwaith/Cartref (Fiction Factory/S4C)Heritage (National Theatre), The Village Social (NTW), Llwyth (Theatr Genedlaethol/Sherman Cymru) and My Name is Sue & Sue: The Second Coming (Dafydd James & Company). Currently, he has a musical project in development with NTW and Heritage is being translated for the National Touring Theatre of Sweden. He also has an original six-part drama series in development with Fiction Factory, and is one of four writers attached to ‘Y Labordy’, a visionary scheme for writers through which he’s developing a play, a television series and a feature film.

Full listings information:

MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN
By Bertolt Brecht
Translation by John Willett
Revised by Ed Thomas
Lyrics revised by Dafydd James &
Ed Thomas
Director John E McGrath
Music by Dafydd James
Designer Jean Chan
Lighting Designer Natasha Chivers
Sound Designer Mike Beer
Video Designer Ian William Galloway
Movement Director Jo Fong
Emerging Director Rhiannon White

Dates: 7-22 May 2015 (except Sat & Sun)
Times: 7.30pm, plus 1pm matinees on 14 & 21 May
Venue: Merthyr Labour Club, Court St, Merthyr Tydfil CF47 8DU
Box Office: http://nationaltheatrewales.org/mother-courage-and-her-children
By phone: 029 2063 6464
Ticket Prices: £10-£16 (including local concession)

Recommended for ages 14+

For more information about Mother Courage and Her Children, go to:http://nationaltheatrewales.org/mother-courage-and-her-children

Follow Mother Courage and Her Children, on Twitter:
#ntwmother
@ntwtweets

National Theatre Wales was launched in November 2009, and creates invigorating theatre in the English language, rooted in Wales, with an international reach. The Welsh Government and the Arts Council of Wales are supporting National Theatre Wales. For more information on our shows, visit:nationaltheatrewales.org

“NTW have never been afraid to ask what theatre is and what it might be” The Guardian