FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF MARCUS GARDLEY’S A WOLF IN SNAKESKIN SHOES
● Lucian Msamati stars as Archbishop Tardimus Toof
● Sharon D. Clarke plays Lady Toof
Directed by Indhu Rubasingham; Designed by Tom Piper; Lighting Design by Paul Anderson
Sound Designer: David McSeveney; Musical Director: Nigel Lilley; Composers: Ben & Max Ringham Arrangements: Nigel Lilley, Ben & Max Ringham; Movement Director Coral Messam.
Tricycle Theatre Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham today announces the full cast for the world première of A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes, by multi-award winning American playwright Marcus Gardley. Sharon D. Clarke and Lucian Msamati lead the company which also includes Adjoa Andoh, Ayesha Antoine, Michelle Bonnard, Wil Johnson, Karl Queensborough and Angela Wynter in the production which opens on 14 October, with previews from 8 October, and runs until 14 November.
This fresh adaptation of Molière’s Tartuffe is a wicked new comedy set in a world of millionaires and mega-churches that rocks the foundations of trust, faith and redemption. It follows Rubasingham’s critically-acclaimed production of Marcus Gardley’s The House That Will Not Stand in 2014.
Given just days to live, multi-millionaire Archibald Organdy rejects costly experimental treatment and opts to face his end surrounded by his loving family. His fate sealed, Archibald awaits his day of reckoning. However things could be about to change.
Arriving in Atlanta from the deep, deep South, flamboyant Archbishop Tardimus Toof, a prophet, preacher and part-time masseur promises to absolve Archibald’s sins and heal his disease. But his family suspect there’s more to this devout healer than faith, virtue and snakeskin shoes…
8th October – 14th November 2015
Evenings: 7.30pm
Matinees: Wed 2pm (from 21 October), Sat 3pm (from 17 October)
Audio Described performance: Thursday 5th November at 7.30pm, with a touch tour at 6pm
Captioned performance: Tuesday 10 November, 7.30pm
Pricing: £12 – £28
Concessions available on all performances
£10 Trike Tickets for under 26s available 8 – 22 Oct
Suitable for ages 14+
Box office: 020 7328 1000 www.tricycle.co.uk
NEW PROJECT UNVEILED TO HELP LOOKED AFTER KIDS GET INTO THE FRINGE
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, in collaboration with City of Edinburgh Council and Virgin Money have launched a brand new scheme aimed at providing complimentary tickets to Fringe shows for children who are being cared for by City of Edinburgh Council.
The project called ‘AccessFringe – Looked-After Children’ comes on the back of a successful pilot last year when, for the first time, tickets to Fringe shows were made available to children whose economic and social circumstances would not normally allow them to participate in cultural activity.
This August the Edinburgh Festival Fringe will see 50,459 performances of 3,314 shows from 49 countries in 313 venues across Edinburgh. The Fringe, which began on 07 August, and continues until 31 August, welcomes audiences and artists from all over the world, offering something for everyone – from theatre, dance, circus, physical theatre, comedy, music, musicals, opera, cabaret to variety, children’s shows, free shows, exhibitions, events and spoken word.
Over 1,400 young people and children are in the City of Edinburgh care system, and ‘AccessFringe – Looked-After Children’ will provide them with a unique opportunity to participate in the kind of cultural and entertainment opportunities readily available to many other children and young people.
Unveiling the new scheme, Kath M. Mainland CBE, Chief Executive of the Fringe Society said:
“We’re absolutely delighted that in partnership with City of Edinburgh Council and Virgin Money, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is launching ‘AccessFringe – Looked-After Children’. We want to help provide some of the most disadvantaged children and young people in the City an opportunity to experience the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – an opportunity they would not normally have due to economic and social reasons.
“I truly believe access to, and engagement with the arts is fundamental for people of all ages and I’m overjoyed we are in the position to be able to offer young people and children of Edinburgh the chance to get involved and be inspired at this year’s Fringe.
“The Fringe Society is committed to making access to the festival a major plank of our work going forward. It is important that everyone who wants to come and be part of this festival – whether as performers or audience members – can do so. So this is one of a series of initiatives over the years to come to tackle the physical, economic, social and geographic barriers that stop people from participating.”
Support from Virgin Money has been crucial in getting the project off the ground and Paul Lloyd, Marketing Director at Virgin Money said:
“We are proud to support this initiative to help children in care in Edinburgh experience the wonder of the Fringe. We always welcome inclusive and community-spirited initiatives and we think that this is a brilliant example.”
Cllr. Paul Godzik, Convener of the Children and Families Committee at City of Edinburgh Council said:
“Edinburgh’s festivals offer so much to our city, and it’s fantastic that the Fringe community have come together to support our looked after children and ensure that some of the most vulnerable people are fully part of the event.
“I’m delighted that the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society and Virgin Money are working so closely with the Council on enhancing the lives of looked after children and I’m sure that the children who get the opportunity to go to these fantastic performances will have a great time when they do.
“There are over 1,400 children in the City of Edinburgh care system and I’m very proud that more and more of our local institutions and businesses are pledging to support these children and make sure that they have access to opportunities to grow and to flourish despite the challenges that they may face.”
MEDEA Euripides a new version by Rachel Cusk directed by Rupert Goold
25 September – 14 November 2015
The Almeida Theatre announces full casting for Medea. Rupert Goold will direct Euripides’ masterpiece, as one of world drama’s most infamous characters is brought to life in a new version by controversial feminist writer Rachel Cusk.
Alongside the previously announced Kate Fleetwood, who makes her Almeida debut in the title role, the cast will include Michele Austin, Guillarmo Bedward, Sarah Belcher, Amanda Boxer, Richard Cant, Ruth Everett, Georgina Lamb, Emily Mytton, Charlotte Randle, Lukas Rolfe, Justin Salinger, Louis Sayers, Sam Smith, Xavier Moras Spencer, Andy de la Tour and Joseph West.
Medea’s marriage is breaking up. And so is everything else. Testing the limits of revenge and liberty, Euripides’ seminal play cuts to the heart of gender politics and asks what it means to be a woman and a wife.
Design is by Ian MacNeil, costume by Holly Waddington, composition and sound by Adam Cork and choreography by Scott Ambler. Casting is by Julia Horan CDG.
Rachel Cusk was selected by Granta as one of their Best Young British Novelists in 2003. Author of seven novels and three works of non-fiction, she won the Whitbread First Novel Award for Saving Agnes, a Somerset Maugham Award for The Country Life, and was shortlisted for the 2007 Orange Prize for Arlington Park. Her latest novel, Outline, was shortlisted for the Folio Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize and the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Kate Fleetwood is currently appearing in Maria Friedman’s production of the Cole Porter musical High Society at the Old Vic, having previously been nominated for Best Actress in a Musical at the Olivier Awards for her performance in the National Theatre’s London Road. She was nominated for Best Actress at the Tony Awards for her role as Lady Macbeth in Rupert Goold’s acclaimed production of Macbeth (Chichester Festival Theatre/ West End/ Broadway). Her other theatre credits include King Lear and Love’s Labour’s Lost (both National Theatre), Hecuba and Life is a Dream (both Donmar Warehouse), The Winter’s Tale/Pericles (Royal Shakespeare Company), The Tempest and The Two Noble Kinsmen (both Shakespeare’s Globe), and Our New Girl (Bush Theatre). On film she has appeared in the BAFTA-winning Philomena,London Road,Les Miserables and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
Online almeida.co.uk In person 10am – 7.30pm, Monday – Saturday
Performances Monday – Saturday at 8pm
Saturday matinees at 3pm from 3 October
Wednesday matinees at 3pm on 14, 21 & 28 October, 4 November Tickets £10 – £38
Access Bakkhai Audio Described performance by VocalEyes Saturday 5 September at 3pm, Touch Tour 1.15pm and Friday 11 September at 8pm, Touch Tour 6.15pm.
Bakkhai Captioned performances Friday 4 September at 8pm
Medea Audio Described performance by VocalEyes Saturday 24 October at 3pm, Touch Tour 1.15pm and Monday 2 November at 8pm, Touch Tour 6.30pm.
Medea Captioned performances Monday 26 October at 8pm
Talkback Post-show discussion with members of the company
Free to same day ticket holders
Monday 26 October
Almeida Questions is an eclectic programme of pre-show discussions which consider some of the questions raised by the work on our stage. In each discussion, invited panellists dig into the key issues and ideas emerging from the show. From Medea to Mumsnet Thursday 15 October at 6pm From Aristotle to Albert Square Thursday 22 October at 6pm Tickets £7 (£5 concesssion)
ALMEIDA QUICK REFERENCE
23 July – 19 September 2015 BAKKHAI Euripides
a new version by Anne Carson
directed by James Macdonald
25 September – 14 November 2015 MEDEA Euripides
a new version by Rachel Cusk
directed by Rupert Goold Press Night 1 October, 7pm
The Almeida Greeks season has been generously supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Medea is supported by the Onassis Foundation.
The Almeida is supported using public funding by Arts Council England
Casting and full tour dates are announced today for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams, which will return following its 2011 sell-out premiere for a limited run from Thursday 3 to Saturday 12 September 2015 prior to a major UK tour.
The cast of young actors will feature Freddie Watkins (Nativity) as Jack, Luke Ward-Wilkinson (Wild at Heart, Beautiful People) as Ralph, Anthony Roberts as Piggy, Keenan Munn-Francis (The Scottsboro Boys, The Lion King) as Simon, Matthew Castle as Roger, Dylan Llewellyn as Henry, Michael Ajao as Maurice, Yossi Goodlink as Bill and Jonathan Holby as Naval Officer. Twin brothers Thiago Pigatto and Fellipe Pigatto will play twins Sam and Eric. The role of Perceval will be shared by David Evans, Guy Abrahams and Benedict Barker.
The tour will open at Woking New Victoria Theatre on Wednesday 16 September and continue until March 2016, with a press night at Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre on Wednesday 30 September at 7.00pm.
After a group of schoolboys survive a plane crash, what starts as a classic desert island adventure quickly descends into a struggle for survival in a darkly sinister world of superstition and immorality. William Golding’s 20th century classic explodes onto the stage in this remarkable production, returning to the award-winning Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.
First published in 1954, Lord of the Flies was William Golding’s debut novel. His other works including Free Fall, The Spire, Rites of Passage (Booker Prize winner), The Paper Men and Fire Down Below. In 1983 Golding was awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature.
Lord of the Flies is directed by Timothy Sheader and co-directed by Liam Steel, with design by Jon Bausor, composition and sound score by Nick Powell, lighting design by Paul Keogan and sound design by Avgoustas Psillas for Autograph. Lord of the Flies is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England’.
Final casting is announced for the World Première of Pure Imagination, which celebrates the songs of Leslie Bricusse, one of the most prolific and well loved film and musical theatre songwriters of our time.
Dave Willetts, Siobhan McCarthy, Niall Sheehy, Julie Atherton and Giles Terera will star in Pure Imagination, produced by Danielle Tarento and directed by Tony nominated Christopher Renshaw (Taboo, The King & I, We Will Rock You). It will première in the main house at St. James Theatre, in a 4-week season from Thursday 24 September to Saturday 17 October.
The full creative team is also announced: Director: Christopher Renshaw, Musical Director/Orchestrator: Michael England, Musical Staging: Matthew Cole, Production Designer: Tim Goodchild, Lighting Designer: Derek Anderson, Sound Designer: Mike Thacker, Projection Designer: Victor Craven, Producer/Casting Director: Danielle Tarento.
Dave Willetts (The Man) has been one of this country’s leading musical theatre stars for 25 years. He was the first person to play the leading roles in the two most successful shows of recent times, Les Misérables (London and Australia) and The Phantom of the Opera (London and Manchester) for which he won the Manchester Evening News Award for Best Performance. His other leading roles include Old Deuteronomy in Cats (London); Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar (London and Europe); Father in Ragtime (London); Adam Pontipee in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (National Tour and London); Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (National Tour); George in Sunday in the Park with George (National Tour); Max Von Mayerling in Sunset Boulevard (London), for which he received an Olivier Award nomination; Sir George Dillingham in Aspects of Love (London) for which he received a Whatsonstage Award nomination.
Siobhan McCarthy (The Woman) recently starred as Mrs Lovett in the sold-out production of Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Harrington’s Pie Shop, Tooting which then transferred to the West End. She created the role of Donna in the original cast of Mamma Mia! for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Her other roles include: Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre); Mrs Johnston in Blood Brothers (Phoenix Theatre); Chrissie in Dancing at Lughnasa (Phoenix Theatre); Fantine in Les Misérables, (Palace Theatre); Svetlana then Florence in Chess, original London cast (Prince Edward Theatre); Frankie Frayne in On Your Toes, original London cast (Palace Theatre); Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar (Palace Theatre); The Mistress then Eva in Evita original London cast (Prince Edward Theatre).
Niall Sheehy (The Boy) was a finalist on the ITV show Superstar. His musical theatre roles include: cover Chris in Miss Saigon (Prince Edward Theatre); cover Enjolras in Les Misérables (Queens Theatre); cover Fiyero & Dr. Dillamond in Wicked (Apollo Victoria); cover Sir Lancelot in Spamalot (UK Tour); Arab in West Side Story (Gaiety Theatre, Dublin); Lee Harvey Oswald in Assassins (Draíocht Theatre, Dublin); Ray Dooley in The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Int’l Theatre, Frankfurt); Carson/Peter in A Man Of No Importance (Union Theatre and Arts Theatre transfer).
Julie Atherton (The Girl) first starred in the West End in the lead role of Sophie in the West End production of Mamma Mia! Her other leading roles include: Serena Katz in the national tour of Fame and the Kolokolo Bird in the Stiles and Drewe musical Just So. In 2006, she played Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut in the West End premiere of Avenue Q (Noel Coward Theatre). More recently: Sister Mary Robert in the first UK tour of Sister Act the Musical; Therese Raquin (Finborough & Park Theatres); the world première of Shock Treatment, the musical sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (King’s Head Theatre).
Giles Terera (The Joker) was in the original West End cast of Book of Mormon. His other musical theatre roles include: Gary Coleman in Avenue Q (Noel Coward Theatre); Sammy Davis Jr in The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas (Strand Theatre); Quickly Robinson in Jailhouse Rock (Piccadilly Theatre); Luther in 125th Street (Shaftesbury Theatre); Mr Jefferson in Rent (Prince of Wales Theatre).
Whether writing alone or forming magical partnerships – including Anthony Newley, Henry Mancini, John Williams and John Barry – double Oscar and Grammy Award winner Leslie Bricusse’s music has touched us all. He has composed over 1,000 songs and written the book, music and/or lyrics for more than 40 musical films and plays over a 60-year career. This heartwarming and uplifting show features 50 of his songs, including such favourites as What Kind Of Fool Am I, If I Ruled The World, Talk To The Animals, Feeling Good, Goldfinger and many, many more.
Leslie Bricusse has been nominated for 10 Oscars, nine Grammys and four Tonys and won eight Ivor Novello Awards in an illustrious career. His composing started as a student at Cambridge, where he co-authored, directed and performed in his first two musical shows, Out of the Blue and Lady at the Wheel, both of which transferred to London’s West End. He spent the first year of his professional life writing another musical, The Boy on the Corner and the screenplay and score of his first motion picture, Charley Moon, which won him his first Ivor Novello Award. His later stage musicals include Stop the World – I Want to Get Off; The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd; Pickwick; Harvey; The Good Old Bad Old Days; Goodbye Mr Chips; Henry’s Wives; Scrooge; Sherlock Holmes; Jekyll and Hyde; Noah’s Ark; Sammy; Cyrano de Bergerac Kennedy; Victor/Victoria and It’s a Dog’s Life!
Pure Imagination
St. James Theatre
12 Palace Street,
London, SW1E 5JA
Thursday 24 September – Saturday 17 October
Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm
Thursday & Saturday matinee at 2.30pm
Box Office: 0844 264 2140 www.stjamestheatre.co.uk
The first night performances of Jesus Christ Superstar at the New Wimbledon Theatre, Hall for Cornwall in Truro and the Kings Theatre Glasgow have been rescheduled.
At these venues the Monday performances have been replaced with extra mid-week matinees. The opening night at the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne has been cancelled without adding an extra matinee.
Ticket holders for the affected Monday performance have been offered full refunds or exchanges.
The dates are part of a new UK tour, produced by Bill Kenwright, which opens in Llandudno on 1 September. Other venues include Newcastle, Oxford and Birmingham.
Steve Potts, of production company Bill Kenwright Ltd, said: “Occasionally, schedule alterations are necessary in order to accommodate, for example, logistical matters and non-availabilities. Such changes are always agreed with the theatre in advance, and customers are always offered the choice of an alternative performance or a full refund.
“In the case of Wimbledon, Glasgow and Truro, the Monday evening was replaced with an extra mid-week matinee, and the original eight-show schedule was maintained. In Eastbourne no additional Matinee has been added. I’m pleased to say our visit to these theatres forms part of the production’s successful year-long schedule, including a ground-breaking summer season across Germany, which has already resulted in the production being invited back to play a second consecutive year.”
The cast features Glenn Carter as Jesus, Tim Rogers as Judas Iscariot and X Factor finalist Rachel Adedji as Mary Magdalene.
The most famous speech in drama has reportedly been reinstated to its original place in the Barbican’s current production of Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
Hamlet’s existential “To be or not to be” speech, which usually occurs in Act Three of Shakespeare’s play, was originally moved to the beginning of director Lyndsey Turner’s production, as reported by journalists who attended the first preview performance earlier this month.
Writing for The Times, Kate Maltby branded the decision “indefensible”, adding: “‘To be or not to be’ should be the character’s emotional low point: instead, five minutes in, he’s got nowhere further to go.”
But now, according to reports, the speech has returned to its original position ahead of Hamlet‘s official press night next week (25 August).
Directors often make big changes during preview periods and as such the reviews of the first preview performance of Hamlet have been widely condemned.
Writing for the Guardian, director John Tiffany said: “It’s not unusual for a journalist to completely redraft an article or review, so why should it be strange to do the same to a play? Theatre is a living organism. You only know if your show is working when you see it with an audience.”
Hamlet also made headlines earlier this month when its star pleaded with fans to resist the temptation to film his performance on their phones.
Special guests have been announced Willemijn Verkaik’s concert at the Ambassadors Theatre next week (25 August 2015).
Hosted by WhatsOnStage’s features editor Ben Hewis, the evening will see Verkaik joined on stage by guests Victoria Hamilton-Barritt and James Fox.
Hamilton-Barritt’s recent stage credits include In The Heights at Southwark Playhouse and A Chorus Line at the London Palladium, while former Fame Academy star Fox has appeared in the UK tour of Jesus Christ Superstar and Let it Be on Broadway and in the West End.
Willemijn Verkaik is best known for playing the role of Elphaba inWicked, while her other stage credits include Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown in the West End, and Mamma Mia!, Aidaand We Will Rock You in Germany.
Accompanied by a live band and joined by special guests, the concert will see her “take a journey through some of the greatest classic and contemporary musicals of all time, as well as celebrating some of the iconic songs that have defined her career so far.”
Rachel Tucker will return to Broadway later this year to play Elphaba in Wicked, a role she played for over 1,000 performances in the West End.
Tucker, who holds the record for the most consecutive performances of Elphaba in the West End, made her Broadway debut last year in Sting’s musical The Last Ship. She’ll start performances on 15 September.
Tucker said of her long-running stint as Elphaba in the West End: “I got tired, we all do, and had a few off shows, but every time I went on that stage I knew what a big deal it was and I never undervalued it.”
She’ll be joined by fellow newcomer Jonah Platt, who will be making his Broadway debut in the role of Fiyero.
They join a cast which currently includes Kara Lindsay as Glinda, Michele Lee as Madame Morrible, Fred Applegate as The Wizard, Robin De Jesús as Boq, Arielle Jacobs as Nessarose, and Timothy Britten Parker as Dr. Dillamond.
The roles of Elphaba and Fiyero are currently being played by Caroline Bowman and Matt Shingledecker.
The Win Bin is a new play at The Old Red Lion from the team behind the acclaimed Beckett Trilogy at the same theatre earlier in 2015.
Set in an alternate now – where six hopefuls are competing for the last paid job in the arts – how far will they go to get noticed by The Bench.
Bash, a comic book artist, has been shortlisted for the last paid job in the arts, competing against a Taxidermist, Choreographer, Photographer, Writer and Crafter. They claw their way into the brutal final round, a 12 hour assessment day that is monitored by The Bench who judge their every move. When the pressure is through the roof can Bash remember to be herself? How far will she go to be employed?
“When you say ‘sell yourself to us in thirty seconds’ – we are selling ourselves to you, ‘us’ is ‘you’, right? And is it ‘yourself’ as in who I am now in this lift, or all of me previous to being in this lift?”
Combining sketch and comedy The Win Bin might not be so far-fetched especially with the DCMS are modelling 40% funding cuts to the arts sector,
Sara Joyce (Off West End Award nominee) directs Kate Kennedy (Funny Women and Off West End Award nominee) who also wrote the piece. They are joined by Wilf Scolding ( Strange Interlude, National Theatre; Arcadia, English Touring Theatre).
THE WIN BIN
Created by Kate Kennedy and Sara Joyce
Written by Kate Kennedy
Directed by Sara Joyce
Designed by Bethany Wells
Lighting by Nic Farham
Sound by Paul Freeman
Produced in association with Robert F Bradish
Cast: Kate Kennedy & Wilf Scolding
Listings:
1st – 26th September 2015
Tuesday – Saturday at 7:30pm
Saturday matinees 2.30pm
Sunday matinees 3pm
Thursday matinee – 2.30pm 24th September only http://www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk/
Tricycle Theatre Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham today announces the full cast for the world première of A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes, by multi-award winning American playwright Marcus Gardley. Sharon D. Clarke and Lucian Msamati lead the company which also includes Adjoa Andoh, Ayesha Antoine, Michelle Bonnard, Wil Johnson, Karl Queensborough and Angela Wynter in the production which opens on 14 October, with previews from 8 October, and runs until 14 November.
