Sister Act The Musical crowned Theatre Show of the Year at the London Lifestyle Awards® 2023
Sister Act The Musical has been announced as the winner of the Theatre Show of the Year category at the London Lifestyle Awards® 2023. The show emerged as the winner of a close-run race with some of the most extraordinary shows of the last year having made it into the Theatre Show of the Year TOPTEN shortlist. The category highlights the very best of London’s worldleading theatre scene and also included 2:22 A Ghost Story, A Streetcar Named Desire, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage, Guys & Dolls, Legally Blonde, My Neighbour Totoro, My Son’s a Queer, SIX the Musical and The Drifters Girl.
Award winners from across the capital were announced at a star-studded ceremony on Monday 30th October 2023 at Grosvenor House, Park Lane. Rising West End star Tobias Turley, represented by BBA Management, performed ABBA’s Does Your Mother Know. Tobias is currently competing in ITV’s Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream. Attendees also enjoyed musical performances from opera superstar Lucy Kay and Ben Haenow and his band.
The London Lifestyle Awards® is an all-year-round celebration of what this great global city has to offer. Categories at the London Lifestyle Awards® 2023 including restaurants, bars and hotels, sport and fitness, cafés and coffee shops, hair and beauty, members’ clubs, and of course theatre. CEO Jason Gale created the awards in 2009, after an inspiring meeting and discussion with President Clinton about their shared love of London. Gale’s goal is for the Awards to celebrate London as an incredible city for culture and lifestyle, making it a great destination for tourists and an exciting place to live.
London Lifestyle Awards® founder Jason Gale comments, Huge congratulations to the team behind Sister Act The Musical on their well-deserved win. This feel-good gospel hit is a toe-tapping riot, full of heart. It’s a testament to the incredible quality of theatre available to audiences in London that the Theatre Show of the year category was so hotly contested. We look forward to welcoming Sister Act back to the capital in Spring 2024!
Mayflower Theatre, Southampton – until 4 November 2023
Reviewed by Gemma Gibson
5 ****
The Bodyguard is a classic – the love story and its unforgettable songs. When I found out it was coming to Southampton Mayflower I jumped at the chance to go.
After an unknown stalker leaves a letter in superstar Rachel Marron’s dressing room, a bodyguard is hired to protect her. At first Rachel fights the bodyguard’s wishes, wanting to feel free while maintaining the busy lifestyle of a musician and mother, but it’s not long before love takes over.
Emily Williams, who plays Rachel, is phenomenal. The real Queen of the Night. I don’t think there is one song she can’t sing. Smash hits including Greatest Love of All, One Moment in Time and All the Man that I Need are performed by Williams with a perfect blend of emotion, power and ease. As every song ends she leaves the Bodyguard (and audience!) stunned and enamoured. Especially after her rendition of I Have Nothing, which was my favourite.
The Bodyguard, Frank Farmer, played by Ayden Callaghan, Rachel’s sister Nicki (Emily-Mae) and the terrifying stalker – making us jump every time he came on stage – (Marios Nicolaides) are the other main stars of the show. It is so expertly cast. And of course there is Rachel’s son Fletcher, played opening night by Sam Stephens, who wowed the audience with his impressive vocal range and dance tricks time and time again.
This musical soundtrack, which we all know and love, cannot be outdone. Not only is it the backbone of this show, but it’s just a brilliant mix of heartfelt ballads and upbeat bops. It has the power to make us cry, smile and dance along in our seats. I Will Always Love You is undoubtedly the song everyone is waiting for, and Williams does not disappoint. I was quite surprised by the message at the beginning of the show asking the audience to not sing along, but by the time we were treated to a medley of Million Dollar Bill, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and So Emotional, it made sense. It took everything in me to not join in, but the incredible voices and choreography onstage made it worth it.
The music would be nothing without the live orchestra, which, under the direction of Sam Hall, brings the spectacle to life. From the opening beats of Rachel’s entrance, to the cast exploding onto the stage for a sparkly and energetic Queen of the Night, I immediately knew I was in safe hands with this production.
This is just one of those musicals that has everything – the fairytale romance, the drama, the jaw-dropping dance numbers, complete with dazzling set and costume. The scene and set changes must also be commended, with transitions so smooth you almost forget it’s happening live.
Ending the show with I Wanna Dance with Somebody the atmosphere at The Mayflower on Monday night was electric, as The Bodyguard received the standing ovation it so rightly deserved
New Old Friends in association with Yvonne Arnaud Theatre present
A BRAND NEW TOUR FOR 2024
New for 2024 Award-winning theatre company New Old Friends in association with Yvonne Arnaud Theatre present HOUDINI’S GREATEST ESCAPE which will open at Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford on 08 February and Tour the UK throughout Spring.
Almost 100 years ago today, Harry Houdini performed his final disappearing trick. Every year since, magic enthusiasts across the world have held Halloween seances in an attempt to solve the great escapologist’s last mystery. Surely if anyone could cheat death it would have been Houdini! New Old Friends can’t promise to shed any light on that story but do have a brand new one…
Harry Houdini is the world’s greatest entertainer. Just as his death-defying escapology stunts have him, and his wife Bess, on the cusp of a career-defining performance for King Edward, he finds himself framed for murder by a gang of criminals in cahoots with the chief of police. Can Harry & Bess escape the plot and clear their names? And how is their rival, The Superstar Spiritualist medium, Agatha, involved?
All will be revealed in this hilarious 39 Steps-esque thriller, played out in New Old Friends’ (Crimes on Centre Court) inimitable, award-winning style of physical comedy, sparkling wit and just a touch of chaos.
Featuring a hard-working cast of four playing multiple roles on an almost harder-working set, this show will have you laughing and gasping throughout at the magic of theatre and the ‘real’ magic of illusions designed by TV’s Pete Firman (Netflix Good Omen’s / BBC One’s The Magicians) Cast includes Ben Higgins as Harry Houdini, Lydia Piechowiak as Bess Houdini with ‘many other characters’ played by Kirsty Cox and Adam Elliott
Praise for New Old Friends:
“Celebrations of theatricality… low budget aplomb worthy of The 39 Steps” – The Times
“a delight from start to finish! Fast and smart …a great night out!” –Emma Rice
“hilarious” –The Stage
The tour will also visit Basingstoke, Bolton, Bracknell, Bury St Edmunds, Chipping Norton, Crawley, Colchester, Darlington, Eastbourne, Exeter, Hereford, Huddersfield, Inverness, Ipswich, Lancaster, Lichfield, Lytham Saint Annes, Middlesborough, Newbury, Northampton, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Salisbury, Southampton, Wakefield, Winchester and Worthing with more venues including London dates to be announced.
Houdini ‘s Greatest Escape is presented by New Old Friends, a touring theatre company whose primary goal it is to make people laugh out loud in association with Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. The Creative Producer is Heather Westwell. It is written and directed byFeargus Woods Dunlop, Illusion Design is by Pete Firman, Set Design by Caitlin Abbott, Costume Design by Connie Watson, Lighting Design by George Seal, Sound Design by Fred Riding. The Composer is Guy Hughes with Movement Direction by Sam Archer,
Feargus Dunlop- Woods said: “This is a show we have wanted to make for years and are over the moon that the company in finally in a position to realise the vision of blending our slightly chaotic ‘overtly theatrical’ nonsense with some genuine illusions. Researching and ‘getting to know’ Harry and Bess Houdini has been fascinating and this, entirely fictional, episode in their crusade against fraud mediums has been a huge amount of fun to create. We can’t wait to share it with the country.”
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre added “We are thrilled to be working with a company with such unashamed and passionate a commitment to entertainment and can’t wait to present Houdini to our audiences next year”.
AUDIENCE TO USE HEADPHONES TO EXPERIENCE THE PRODUCTION’S BINAURAL SOUND
With the critically acclaimed production of Clyde’s currently running at the Donmar, Artistic Director Michael Longhurst and Executive Director Henny Finch today announce the full cast for Macbeth.
Joining the previously announced David Tennant (Macbeth) and Cush Jumbo (Lady Macbeth) are Moyo Akandé (Ross), Annie Grace (Musician & Gentlewoman), Brian James O’Sullivan (Donalbain/Soldier/Murderer & Musician), Casper Knopf (Macduff’s Son/Fleance/Young Siward), Cal MacAninch (Banquo), Kathleen MacInnes (The Singer & ensemble), Alasdair Macrae (Musician & ensemble), Rona Morison (Lady Macduff), Noof Ousellam (Macduff), Raffi Phillips (Macduff’s Son/Fleance/Young Siward), Jatinder Singh Randhawa (The Porter/Seytan), Ros Watt (Malcolm), and Benny Young (Duncan/Doctor). Donmar Associate Director, Max Webster’s production opens on 15 December, with previews from 8 December, and runs until 10 February 2024.
This production of Macbeth will use binaural technology to create an intense and unnerving 3D sound world, which the audience will experience through wearing headphones, placing them right inside the head of the central couple. Director Max Webster will collaborate with sound designer Gareth Fry, who previously used binaural sound for Complicité’s multi-award winning production The Encounter. Live music will come from an onstage Scottish folk band lead by Alasdair Macrae and featuring award-winning Gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes.
The full creative team are Rosanna Vize (Designer), Bruno Poet (Lighting Designer), Gareth Fry (Sound Designer), Shelley Maxwell (Movement Director), Alasdair Macrae (Composer & Musical Director), Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown of RC-Annie Ltd (Fight Directors), and Anna Cooper CDG (Casting).
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MACBETH By William Shakespeare
Directed by Max Webster
8 December 2023 – 10 February 2024
Cast: Moyo Akandé, Annie Grace, Brian James O’Sullivan, Cush Jumbo, Casper Knopf, Cal MacAninch, Kathleen MacInnes, Alasdair Macrae, Rona Morison, Noof Ousellam, Raffi Phillips, Jatinder Singh Randhawa, David Tennant, Ros Watt and Benny Young.
Designer: Rosanna Vize
Lighting Designer: Bruno Poet Sound Designer: Gareth Fry Movement Director: Shelley Maxwell
Composer & Musical Director: Alasdair Macrae
Fight Directors: Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown of Rc-Annie Ltd Casting Director: Anna Cooper CDG
“O, full of scorpions is my mind”
A spellbinding story of love and murder, the renewing power of nature, and of the internal struggles of a damaged man as he tries to control his destiny. This bracingly fresh production of the Scottish play uses binaural sound technology to place us inside the minds of the Macbeths, asking are we ever really responsible for our actions?
Shakespeare’s most extraordinary psychological drama is led at the Donmar this winter by David Tennant,who plays the title role for the first time in his illustrious stage career. He is joined by Cush Jumbo (Hamlet, The Good Fight) as Lady Macbeth, directed by Donmar Associate Director Max Webster (Henry V, Life of Pi).
Moyo Akandé playsRoss. Her theatre work includesThe Special Relationship (Soho Theatre), Interference (National Theatre of Scotland), The Two Noble Kinsmen, Lightning Child, Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe), Flowers for Mrs Harris (Sheffield Crucible), Only the Brave (Wales Millennium Centre), Skins & Hoods (Institut Francais – Edinburgh Festival), The Witches, Sunshine on Leith (Dundee Repertory Theatre), Wallace (The Arches), White Christmas (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Thoroughly Modern Millie (The Watermill Theatre), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Birmingham Rep), Peter Pan (Barbican/National Theatre of Scotland),and The Wizard of Oz (Royal Festival Hall). For television, her work includes Professor T, Crime, Inside No.9, The Wedding, Agatha Raisin, Annika, Back, Scenes for Survival – The Present, Guilt, The Demon Headmaster, Still Game, The Cry, Vera, Only an Excuse?, The Rebel, Porridge, Bob Servant Independent, and Lip Service; and for film, A.V. Van,Man & Witch, Tetris, Up on the Roof, Zebra Girl, Make Me Up, The Hurricane Heist,and 1745.
Annie Grace plays Musician and Gentlewoman. Her theatre work includes Macbeth (RSC), Anything that Gives off Light (NTS/The Team/EIF), Hello in there (Òran Mór), The Tale of Little Bevan (Pentabus), Hysteria! (Òran Mór/Traverse), The Winter’s Tale (Royal Lyceum Theatre), The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, Blabbermouth, Five Minute Theatre, The Tin Forest, Peter Pan (National Theatre of Scotland), Threads (Stellar Quines), Dark Woods Deep Snow (Northern Stage), Thank God for John Muir, Cyrano de Bergerac, Poker Alice, Tir Na Nog (one-woman show,Òran Mór/A Play, A Pie and A Pint), Pinnochio (Arches Theatre), Tam O’Shanter (Perth Theatre/Communicado), Homers (Traverse), The Celtic Story (Wildcat Theatre), The Wedding (Rightlines Productions), The Stamping Ground (Eden Court/Raw Material), Fisherman’s Friends (Cornwall Playhouse), and The Last Ship (Northern Stage/USA tour/Toronto).
Brian James O’Sullivan plays Donalbain/Soldier/Murderer and Musician. His theatre credits include Maw Goose – winner of Best Dame at UK Pantomime Awards (Macrobert Arts Centre), Uh Huh: The Janice & Frank Story Parts 1, 2 & 3 (Òran Mór), The Stamping Ground (Raw Material), Oscar; My Name is Sarah, and…, Meetings with the Monk (Glasgow Lunchtime Theatre), An Edinburgh Christmas Carol, The Arabian Nights, The Winter’s Tale (Royal Lyceum Theatre), Chic Murray: A Funny Place for a Window (Òran Mór, Glasgow/Winhill Productions/Fair Pley/BBC Scotland/Lemon Tree Theatre), McGonagall’s Chronicles (Òran Mór/Traverse Theatre), Twelfth Night (Royal Lyceum Theatre/Bristol Old Vic), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Dundee Rep), The James Plays (National Theatre of Scotland), The View from Castle Rock (Stellar Quines), and Oliver! (West End). He also hosts the popular Scottish theatre podcast, Putting it Together, which has released over 300 episodes since 2017.
Cush Jumbo returns to the Donmar Warehouse to play Lady Macbeth – she previously appeared in Julius Caesar (also St Ann’s Warehouse, New York). Her other theatre includes Hamlet (Young Vic), Common, She Stoops to Conquer (National Theatre), The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare in the Park, New York), The River (Broadway), Fred’s Diner (Chichester Festival Theatre), Pygmalion – Ian Charleson Award nomination, A Doll’s House, As You Like It (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester), An Argument About Sex (Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh), Liquid Gold (Almeida Theatre), Brixton Stories (Lyric Hammersmith), and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shakespeare’s Globe). As writer/performer, her theatre work includes Josephine and I (Bush Theatre/Public Theater, New York); and as writer, The Accordion Shop (National Theatre Connections). Her television work includes Criminal Record, Balestra, Stay Close, The Beast Must Die, Deadwater Fell, The Good Fight, Trying, The Good Wife, Vera, Getting On, Lip Service, Torchwood, and Harley Street; and for film, The Postcard Killings, City of Tiny Lights, Remainder, and The Inbetweeners.
Casper Knopf plays Macduff’s Son/Fleance/Young Siward, marking his professional stage debut. His television work includes Silent Witness, Rough Diamonds, Our House, Halo and The Small Hand; and for film, How to Date Billy Walsh.
Cal MacAninch plays Banquo. His theatre work includes The Judas Kiss (BAM/Ed Mirvish Theatre/Hampstead Theatre/West End), Peter Pan (National Theatre of Scotland/Barbican), The Mistress Contract (Tron Theatre), A Tale of Two Cities, A Whistle in the Dark, Enrico Four, Frankenstein, Hamlet, Oedipus Rex, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore (Glasgow Citizens Theatre), Anna Karenina (Shared Experience), Childminder (Traverse Theatre), How Like an Angel (Edinburgh Traverse Theatre), Macbeth (Open Act Theatre Co.), Not About Heroes (Heroes Theatre Company), Wee Andy (Òran Mór), The Bacchae (National Theatre of Scotland/Lincoln Centre, NY), The Cherry Orchard, The Philanthropist (Dundee Repertory Theatre), The Wood Demon (Playhouse Theatre), Under the Black Flag (Shakespeare’s Globe), and My Eyes Went Dark (Finborough/Traverse Theatre). For television, his work includes Mayflies, The Essex Serpent, Trigger Point, Vigil, Time, Des, Vera, The Small Hand, The Victim, Frontier, Crown Court, Scott and Bailey, Banished, DCI Banks, Mr Selfridge, Lake of Darkness, Rik Mayall – The Big One, Alive & Kicking, Angel Eyes, The Chestnut Soldier, The Riff Raff Element, The Advocates, Nervous Energy, Dangerous Lady, A Mind to Murder, Speak Like a Child, Warriors, Littlebird, Waking the Dead, Rockface, Best of Both Worlds, Silent Witness, Murphy’s Law, Ghost Squad, Sorted, Merlin, Strike Back, Garrow’s Law, and Downton Abbey; and for film, Nobody Has to Know, Intrigo: Dear Agnes, Intrigo: Samaria, Calibre, The Hamilton Trilogy 2, The Awakening, Screwed, Slapper, Doomsday, Rag Tale, Dear Frankie, The Point Men, Breathtaking, Truel, Best, The Lost Son, Sentimental Education, Splitting Heirs, The Woodlanders, and Doctor Reitzer’s Fragment.
Kathleen Macinnes plays The Singer and ensemble. MacInnes is a Scottish singer and actress who performs primarily in Scottish Gaelic. She won the Scots Trad Music Award for Gaelic Singer of the Year in 2006 and in 2012 her second album, Cille Bhrìde won Best Album. In 2010, she appeared on the soundtrack to the Ridley Scott film Robin Hood and was vocalist on GoM Circus, Macro at the opening of The Edinburgh Festival 2022. Her television work includes Machair, RanDan, Highland Sessions, and Transatlantic; and for film, An Ceasnachadh: The Interrogation of a Highland Lass, Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle, Choirmaster for Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth, Outlaw King, and Robert The Bruce.
Alasdair Macrae playsMusician and ensemble. His theatre work includes Macbeth (RSC),The Cheviot, The Stag and the Black, Black Oil (National Theatre of Scotland/Dundee Rep), A Six-inch Layer of Topsoil and the Fact it Rains (Perth Rep/Horsecross Arts), Twelfth Night (Bristol Old Vic/Royal Lyceum Edinburgh), Cockpit, The Winter’s Tale (Royal Lyceum Edinburgh), The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (National Theatre of Scotland/McKittrick Hotel, NY), The James Plays (National Theatre of Scotland/National Theatre/EIFF), Gastronauts (Royal Court Theatre), Interiors,Subway (Vanishing Point), Once in Concert (London Palladium), and Hi-Viz (Forest Row Village Hall). For film, his work includes Wild Rose.
Rona Morison returns to the Donmar to play Lady Macduff; she previously appeared in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie for which she was nominated for the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Emerging Talent. Her other theatre work includes The Meaning of Zong (Barbican Theatre), Mary, The Haystack (Hampstead Theatre), Cover My Tracks (The Old Vic), Dead Don’t Floss, The James Plays (National Theatre), Glory on Earth (Royal Lyceum Theatre), Orca, The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Southwark Playhouse), Julie (Northern Stage), The Crucible (Bristol Old Vic); buckets (Orange Tree); Scuttlers (Manchester Royal Exchange); Anhedonia (Royal Court Theatre), To Kill a Mockingbird (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Illusions (Bush Theatre), The Second Mrs Tanqueray (Rose Theatre), and Illusions and Crave (ATC). For television, her work includes The Control Room, Absentia and Decline and Fall; and for film, Our Ladies, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Ready Player One, and Love Bite.
Noof Ousellam plays Macduff. His theatre credits include Baghdaddy (Royal Court Theatre), Leopoldstadt (West End), Buggy Baby (The Yard Theatre), Wildefire (Hampstead Theatre), Richard III (Cockpit Theatre/Custom Practice), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Almeida Theatre), Respect (Birmingham Rep), and Rendition Monologues (Sheffield Theatres). His television work includes Vigil, Rebus, Andor, Guilt, The Cure, Trust Me, Hanna, Love, Lies and Records, and Meet the Jury; and for film, Entebbe, Teen Spirit, The Mummy, Leave to Remain, The Conversations,and Extraordinary Rendition.
Raffi Phillips plays Macduff’s Son/Fleance/Young Siward. His theatre work includes Winnie the Pooh (UK tour), Over the Waves; Max to the Future (Strange Town Youth Theatre), and An Inspector Calls (National Theatre). For television, his work includes The Gold and Pennyworth.
Jatinder Singh Randhawa plays The Porter/Seytan. His theatre work includes Moorcroft (Tron Theatre/National Theatre of Scotland), Cinderella the Musical (Dundee Rep), Peter Gynt (National Theatre), and The Arrival by Shaun Tan (Solar Bear). His television work includes Crime, Scot Squad, The Control Room, and The Nest; and for film, Damaged and Shepard.
David Tennant returns to the Donmar to play Macbeth – he previously appeared in Lobby Hero (Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor). His other theatre credits include Good (Harold Pinter Theatre, Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor); Don Juan in Soho (Wyndham’s Theatre,winner of WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actor); Much Ado About Nothing (Wyndham’s Theatre); Richard II (RSC/Barbican/BAM, winner of WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actor); Hamlet (winner of Critics Circle Award for Best Shakespearean Performance); Love’s Labour’s Lost; Romeo and Juliet; Comedy of Errors; The Rivals; As You Like It; The Herbal Bed; The General from America (RSC); Look Back in Anger (Royal Lyceum Edinburgh/Theatre Royal Bath, CATS Award); The Pillowman; What the Butler Saw (National Theatre); Push Up (Royal Court); Comedians (Exeter/Oxford); King Lear; An Experienced Woman Gives Advice (Royal Exchange Theatre); Vassa (Albery); The Real Inspector Hound/Black Comedy (Comedy Theatre); Hurlyburly (Queen’s Theatre); Long Day’s Journey into Night; The Glass Menagerie (Dundee Rep). TV includes Doctor Who (BAFTA Wales Best Actor, TV Times award, four National Television Awards and three TV Choice awards for Best Actor); Des (International Emmy Award for Best Actor, Broadcasting Press Guild Award for best actor, and National Television Award, Most Popular Drama Performance); Litvenenko;Good Omens; Inside Man; Staged; Around the World in 80 Days; Criminal; Deadwater Fell; There She Goes; Jessica Jones; Camping; Broadchurch (three TV Choice awards for best actor, Crime Writers Association award for Best Actor); W1A; Gracepoint (People’s Choice Award); The Escape Artist (BAFTA Scotland Award); The Politician’s Husband; Spies of Warsaw; Playhouse Presents: The Minor Character; True Love; Twenty Twelve; This is Jinsy; United; Single Father (TV Choice Award for Best Actor); The Sarah Jane Adventures; Hamlet; The Catherine Tate Show; Einstein and Eddington; Extras; Learners; Recovery (Royal Television Society Award nomination for Best Actor); The Chatterley Affair; Secret Smile; The Quatermass Experiment; Casanova; Blackpool; He Knew He Was Right; Terri McIntyre; Posh Nosh; Trust; Foyle’s War; People Like Us; Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased); The Mrs Bradley Mysteries; Love in the 21st Century; Duck Patrol; The Tales of Para Handy; Dramarama; Rab C Nesbitt; Takin’ Over the Asylum; and for film, Mary Queen of Scots; Bad Samaritan; You, Me & Him; Mad to Be Normal; What We Did on Our Holiday; Fright Night; The Decoy Bride; Glorious 39; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; Bright Young Things; Being Considered; The Last September; LA Without A Map; Jude.
Ros Watt plays Malcolm. His theatre work includes Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning (National Theatre of Scotland), Never Swim Alone (StoneCrabs Theatre Company), Godot is a Woman (Silent Faces/Pleasance Theatre), Wait Til the End (The Pappy Show), and Charlotte’s Web (UK tour).
Benny Young returns to the Donmar to play Duncan/ The Doctor. He previously appeared in Be Near Me (co-production with National Theatre of Scotland). His other theatre work includes Eulogy, Philoctetes, The Importance of Being Alfred, Love with a Capital L, Sweet Silver Song of the Lark (Òran Mór),Don Quixote (Perth Theatre), Monarch of the Glen (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Still Game Live 2: Bon Voyage (Phil McIntyre Entertainment), Hay Fever (Citizens Theatre), The Tempest (Xinchan Performing Arts Co.), Waiting for Godot, Hedda Gabler (Edinburgh Lyceum Theatre), Right Now, Unfaithful (Traverse), Macbeth (Park Avenue Armoury, New York/Manchester International Festival), Never Land (Eden Court), Wallace (Glasgow Arches), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Seafarer (Perth Theatre/Belfast Lyric), Midsummer, and A Christmas Carol (National Theatre of Scotland). For television, her work includes Good Omens; Shetland, Rillington Place, Scot Squad, Still Game, One Day Like This, Garrow’s Law, Ian Brady: Roghainn a’ Bhàis?, Waking the Dead, Spooks, Talk to Me, Taggart: Genesis, Playing the Field, Castles, Doctor Finlay, All or Nothing at All, Tell Tale Hearts, Boon, Star Cops, Screen Two, Maggie, The Gentle Touch, Play for Today, Square Mile of Murder, Airport Chaplin, and Sutherland’s Law; and for film, Funny Man, A Woman at War, Captive, Out of Africa, White Nights, The Girl in the Picture. King Lear, Chariots of Fire, and Nosy Dobson.
Max Webster is an Associate Director at the Donmar Warehouse where he has directed Henry V. Max’s other work as a theatre director includes Life of Pi (Sheffield Crucible/West End/Boston/Broadway, Olivier Award nomination for Best Director); Antigone;As You Like It; Twelfth Night (Regent’s Park Open Air); The Lorax (The Old Vic/Children’s Theatre, Minneapolis/Old Globe, San Diego), Fanny and Alexander and Cover My Tracks (The Old Vic), The Sea of Fertility and Mary Stuart (Parco, Japan), The Jungle Book and King Lear (Royal & Derngate, Northampton/UK Tour), The Winter’s Tale (Lyceum, Edinburgh), The Twits (Curve, Leicester), Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe/World Tour), James and the Giant Peach and My Generation (WYP), Orlando, To Kill a Mockingbird and My Young and Foolish Heart (Royal Exchange, Manchester), The Chalk Circle (Aarohan Theatre, Kathmandu) and Carnival Under the Rainbow and Feast Kakulu (Hilton Arts Festival, South Africa). Film Credits include The Lorax: In Camera (Old Vic) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical (Sky Arts/NBC). Opera credits include La Bohème (Goteborg Opera, Sweden) and The Merry Widow (ENO). Nominated for the Olivier Award, Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Director.
Macbeth Evenings Mon – Sat: 7.30pm Tuesday matinee (2 Jan) 2.30pm Thursday matinees (4, 11, 25 Jan, 8 Feb) 2.30pm Saturday matinees 2.30pm No performances 24 Dec – 1 Jan
TICKET PRICES
Clyde’s
£55 (£50) / £41 (£38) / £21 (£19)
£10 standing tickets
*Preview discounts apply to the first four performances only
Macbeth
£69 (£64) / £48 (£43), £25 (£23)
£15 standing tickets
*Preview discounts apply to the first four performances only
For Macbeth, standing tickets will be released for purchase online from 12pm on the day of the performance. Please note you will not be able to purchase standing tickets in person or over the phone.
Every booking made online, via telephone or in person is subject to a £1.50 transaction fee
YOUNG+FREE
YOUNG+FREE tickets for 16-25 year olds released by ballot. Sign up atwww.donmarwarehouse.com.
Generously supported by S&P Global.
BARCLAYS UNDER 30s £10 TICKETS
Thanks to generous support from our Associate Sponsor Barclays, a limited number of £10 tickets were available for under 30s for every performance of MACBETH.
DONMAR DAILY
New tickets on sale every day at the Donmar. Allocations of tickets will be made available every day for performances 7 days later. Tickets will be available across the auditorium at every price band.
ACCESS
The Donmar Warehouse is fully wheelchair accessible. Guide dogs and hearing dogs are welcome in the auditorium. There is a Loop system and a Radio Frequency system fitted in the main auditorium and there are also hearing loops at all the front of house counters.
Wheelchair space prices vary across all price bands, check the website for details
ASSISTED PERFORMANCES
If you require a companion to attend the Donmar, their ticket will be free. To book call 020 3282 3808 or email [email protected].
For all other access enquiries or bookings call 020 3282 3808.
CAPTIONED PERFORMANCES (captioned by Stagetext)
Clyde’s: Monday 20 November 2024 7.30pm
Macbeth: Monday 29 January 2024, 7.30pm
AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE – 2.30pm (audio-described by VocalEyes)
Clyde’s: Saturday 25 November
Macbeth: Saturday 27 January 2024, 2.30pm
With special thanks to Charles Holloway, Season Supporter
Additionally, we would like to thank MACBETH Production Supporters and the MACBETH Production Syndicate.
Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and John Stalker Productions are delighted to announce that following two hugely successful UK and Ireland tours, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, A Musical Comedy will perform live in concert in the West End for the first time, playing at the London Palladium on Monday February 12 and Tuesday 13 2024. The show will star Michelle Visage as Morticia Addams, Ramin Karimloo as Gomez Addams. Lesley Joseph will play the role of Grandma.
Further casting is to be announced.
Michelle Visage is a multiple Emmy and Producers Guild Award winning, internationally renowned television personality, radio show and podcast host, platinum-selling recording artist and author. She is best known as a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race (Logo TV/VH1/MTV) and its international spin-offs in the UK (BBC) and Down Under (Stan). Michelle has also been a judge on Queen of the Universe (Paramount+) and Ireland’s Got Talent (Virgin Media One) and competed in the 17th season of Strictly Come Dancing. Michelle has been a staple on morning radio for 17 years, hosting and co-hosting programs on various stations such as WKTU 103.5 in New York, HOT 92.3 in Los Angeles, WMIA in Miami and Sirius XM, to name a few. She is also the host of her own podcast on the BBC entitled Rule Breakers with Michelle Visage and hosts a weekly Friday night show on BBC Radio 2. Michelle is the author of best-selling book The Diva Rules.
Ramin Karimloo recently reprised the role of The Phantom in a new production of The Phantom of theOpera in Italy & he is due to perform in the production again in Monte Carlo at the end of the year. He has also received great acclaim for his performances as The Phantom in Love Never Dies and Jean Valjean in Les Miserablés. His other stage credits include: Nicky Arnstein in Funny Girl (August Wilson Theatre, Broadway), Anatoly in Chess in Concert (Umeda Arts Theatre, Osaka & Tokyo International Forum), Judas in Jesus Chris Superstar in Concert (Theatre Orb, Tokyo), Che in Evita (Theatre Orb, Tokyo & Vancouver Opera), Gleb Vaganov in Anastasia (Broadway, NYC), Tom in Murder Ballad (Arts Theatre, London), Chris in Miss Saigon and Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard. His film and television credits include: Echelon (Sthenic Studios), Holby City (BBC1), Jesus: His Life (History Channel), Nativity Rocks (Mirrorball Films), The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall: 25th Anniversary and Les Miserables in Concert: 25th Anniversary. Ramin has also performed as part of the Festival of Remembrance for BBC1 two years running.
Lesley Joseph is best known for playing Dorien Green, the neighbour from hell, in the sitcom Birds of a Feather, alongside Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson. In 2018, Lesley starred as Frau Blücher in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein at the Garrick Theatre, a performance which earned Lesley an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. After this, Lesley toured the country in Annie the Musical, reprising her role as Miss Hannigan and also Calendar Girls the Musical. On television, she starred in the ITV soap Night and Day for nearly two years, has appeared in Rumble with Brian Glover, Easy Money, Spywatch, Minder, Roots, The Knowledge, The Secret of Eel Island on Channel 5 and guest-starred as Erica in the BBC’s The Slammer. Recently, Lesley starred in the BBC’s Pilgrimage: The Road To Rome, where she embarked on a pilgrimage from the Swiss Alps to Rome and met the Pope. Lesley also donned her dancing shoes as one of the contestants in 2016 Strictly Come Dancing with dance partner Anton du Beke. Lesley joined the hit Strictly Come Dancing National Arena Tour. She is currently appearing in the UK tour of Sister Act.
Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and has a shocking secret that only Gomez knows; she’s fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family! Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before — keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents. All the usual clan are present – Uncle Fester, Lurch, Pugsley et al.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY, A Musical Comedy live in concert will be directed by Matthew White, with choreography by Alistair David, production design by Diego Pitarch, orchestrations by Richard Beadle, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Richard Brooker and casting by Jane Deitch. Book is by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, based on the characters created by Charles Addams.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY is produced by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and John Stalker Productions, with co-producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Guy James and is presented through special arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide.
Nottingham Theatre Royal – until Saturday 4 November 2023
Reviewed by Louise Ford
5*****
Reight good!
This current production based on the original Fox Searchlight film (1997) is by Simon Beaufoy and directed by Michael Gyngell. It has been touring the UK since the summer. It is a faithful transfer of the award winning film and makes the transition very well. The story is set in the 1980’s, in Sheffield, the full impact of Thatcher’s Britain is being felt by a group of, now none, working men. The city of Sheffield is key to this story, it forms the backdrop for the set. The loss of heavy industry and the “jobs for life” has taken its toll. It’s a story that works at so many levels and this current production doesn’t skimp on the tragedy of a community losing its identity and purpose. The camaraderie that builds up between the men at the job club as they work through their loss of status and most importantly income is palpable.
The set plays tribute to the steel industry with three scaffolding towers which move around the stage to create the different scenes. The movements are accompanied by foot tapping disco tracks. On the whole these work very well and are effective. Although at times the towers did seem particularly unwieldy and required the full cast and crew to manoeuvre them about.
The current cast has some familiar faces who all make a great impression. Gaz , is played by Danny Hatchard, the brains behind the idea to raise some money to pay off his child support debts and be able to continue to see his son. Gaz’s best mate is Dave (Neil Hurst), his partner in crime since school days. The rapport between the two is well played. However the star turn of the show is Nathan (Theo Hills) all grown up strutting in a sheepskin jacket. He delivers some powerful witty lines with great timing and confidence. The role of aspirational Gerald is played by Bill Ward, struggling to keep the lid on his “secret” and get himself another job before his wife finds out. Lomper is quietly played by Nicholas Prasad, a man with a different secret. Ben Onwukwe delivers the role of Horse with some nifty footwork, despite his arthritis! The eye candy is provided by Jake Quickenden as Guy…. whose assets are hidden by baggy shirts and trousers!
If you loved the film then you will have your own favourite lines or scenes. My personal favourite is the scene in the dole office, where the lads are lined up waiting to sign on. Over the radio comes the steamy Hot Stuff, by Donna Summer and the shoulders roll and the hips start to jiggle and gyrate…
The show treads a fine line between a rowdy hen night outing and a serious drama about loss and identity. As with all good stories it builds to a crescendo (with the mainly female audience on their feet) with glitter, sparkle and a cracking tune so for one night only I give you …. The Full Monty!
West End Stars to perform in concert at The Kings Theatre Portsmouth –
for one night only!
Two stars of musical theatre are joining forces for a stunning night of music from the musicals we all know and love.
Showbiz royalty, Kerry Ellis and Louise Dearman are joined by esteemed Musical Director, Craig Adams on the grand piano as they take their audience on an unforgettable journey with the legendary soundtracks and classic solos and duets from the stage.
Kerry and Louise have been friends for 30 years and have played leading roles in some of the biggest shows in London’s West End including Wicked, Evita, Cats and Oliver! – to name but a few.
In Wicked, Kerry was the first British actress to play the role of Elphaba in the West End and on Broadway. Louise is the only actress in the world to have played both Elphaba and Glinda.
The two leading ladies have amassed a huge fan base between them, and the show is expected to attract musical theatre fans from across the country and even further afield as their fan-base is indeed global.
The show ‘A Wicked Night’ is produced by Paul Woolf for The Kings Theatre, with Jack Edwards as Associate Producer.
It will play for one night only at The Kings Theatre, Portsmouth on 8th February 2024.
An industry workshop presentation of I’m Every Woman – The Chaka Khan Musical will take place with two 80-minute performances at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London, on Friday 10th November – show times 11.00am and 2:30pm. The cast features: Karen Mavundukure (Dreamgirls, The Color Purple) as Chaka Khan Jordan Frazier (Hamilton) as Flashback Chaka Khan Amarra Smith (Get Up, Stand Up) as Destiny Alistair Toovey (Legally Blonde) as Dylan Ashley Samuels (Hairspray, Motown) as Joel the Director and Stevie Wonder Anelisa Lamola (The Color Purple) as Nina – the Book Writer Hassun Sharif (Hamilton, Pretty Woman) as Flashback Richard Holland and Prince Charlotte St. Croix (The Wizard of Oz, Hairspray) as Taka Boom Gavin Keenan (Chicago, Cats) as Harry Myles – the Producer Duane-Lamonte O’Garro (Motown) as Hassan Khan and Grandmaster Melle Mel Chris Breistein (The School of Rock) as Robert Palmer and Kevin Murphy Jessica Niles (Six) as Whitney Houston Chanice Alexander-Burnett (Les Miserables) as Angela Davis Teddy Wills (Get Up, Stand Up) as Fred Hampton and Andre Fischer Marvyn Charles (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) as Bobby Watson Luke Friend (American Idiot, Footloose) as Cocaine and Lee Graziano Oliver Jacobson (The Book of Mormon) as Bob Martin Andre Coulson (Five Guys Named Moe) as Don Cornelius and Tony Maiden and introducing Connor Wilkins as Al Ciner; and Ellie Cooper as Joni Mitchell.
Additional ensemble includes: Suki Wong, Wallis Pipe, Asmara Cammock, Lee Crowley, Jamie Bell and Zion Battles
The book is written by screenwriter Tina Andrews (Sally Hemings: An American Scandal, Why DoFools Fall In Love?); directed by Racky Plews (American Idiot, Footloose, Josephine Baker); orchestrations, vocal arrangements, and musical supervision by Ian Oakley (The Color Purple, The Lion King (UK Tours); choreography by Del Mak; sound design by Chris Whybrow; and casting by Debbie O’Brien.
Produced by Adrian Grant (Thriller Live).
The show, which is fully endorsed by Chaka Khan, plans to premiere in Autumn 2024. I’m Every Woman brings Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Chaka Khan’s explosive and dramatic life to the stage. Her story will be explored and experienced in flashbacks utilising the unique concept of a present-day musical within a musical about Chaka Khan herself.
A journey of music, love and betrayal, this brand new musical reveals the woman behind the diva. I’m Every Woman features Chaka Khan’s much-loved songs released as a solo artist and lead singer of the band Rufus.
Featuring beloved, famous songs from Chaka and her famous friends such as I’m Every Woman, Ain’t Nobody, I Feel For You and Higher Love, the workshop combines Chaka’s phenomenal music catalogue with a fusion of dynamic, intricate choreography which mirrors Chaka’s eclectic music career. This untold story of Chaka Khan reveals her passion for civil rights, struggles within a toxic music industry, a dangerous road to a drug-fuelled overdose, and the high pressures of working whilst being a mother.
Troupe in association with Park Theatre today announces the world première of a new stage adaptation of John Galsworthy’s seminal work, The Forsyte Saga, which will open in autumn 2024. Amplifying the unheard female voices in the story for the first time, and adapted by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan, the production will be staged in two parts The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene and The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur. Josh Roche directs with full creative team and casting to be announced.
The production opens in Park200 at Park Theatre on 19 October 2024, with previews from 11 October 2024, and runs until 7 December 2024.
The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene and The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur will play across alternate nights and run consecutively on matinee days.
Troupe’s Ashley Cook, said today: “I am so excited that we are bringing this superb story to life on the stage. To have award-winning writers of the calibre of Shaun McKennaandLin Coghlan create the adaptation for this world première, is especially thrilling – and with JMK Award winner, Josh Roche at the helm, we are in the best creative hands. As we assemble the full creative team and cast, I look forward to seeing the world of the Forsyte family emerge.”
Ashley Cook for Troupe
in association with Park Theatre presents
The world première of a new adaptation of
THE FORSYTE SAGA
By John Galsworthy
Adapted by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan
Director: Josh Roche
11 October – 7 December 2024
The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene at 3pm
The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur at 7.30pm
‘’Now I know what Soames did, what my father did, I will never be able to not know it.’’
London, 1886. Wealthy solicitor Soames Forsyte is a man of property, and his beautiful wife Irene is his most prized possession. When he commissions an architect to build him a house in which to keep her, the cracks in their marriage finally begin to show, until something happens so shocking that it tears the Forsyte family apart. Years later, Soames’ daughter Fleur is haunted by the family secret when history begins to repeat itself…
John Galsworthy’s classic story The Forsyte Saga is newly dramatised for the stage in two parts by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan, bringing the unheard female voices to the fore for the first time. Spanning 40 years from the last gasp of the Victorian age to the beginning of the roaring 1920s, this is an epic tale of sex, money and power. The Forsyte Saga was famously televised by the BBC in 1967 and was again serialised by ITV in 2002. Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan adapted the novels for BBC Radio 4 in 2016 under the title The Forsytes.
Novelist and playwright John Galsworthy (1867-1933) was educated at Harrow and studied law at New College, Oxford. The Man of Property (1906) began the novel sequence known as The Forsyte Saga, for which Galsworthy is chiefly remembered, followed by In Chancery (1920) and To Let (1921). The story of the Forsyte family after the war was continued in The White Monkey (1924), The Silver Spoon (1926), and Swan Song (1928), and two interludes A Silent Wooing and Passersby (1927) collected in A Modern Comedy (1929), and a collection of short stories On Forsyte Change (1930). John Galsworthy won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932.
Shaun McKenna’s work for theatre includes The Lord of the Rings for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Musical (Watermill Theatre Newbury, Theatre Royal Drury Lane and Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto – Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Musical), The Paradine Case, Wish You Were Dead, Looking Good Dead, The House on Cold Hill, The Perfect Murder, Dead Simple and Not Dead Enough (UK tours), Maddie (New York Theater Festival and Lyric Theatre), Boy on the Roof (Ted Shawn Theatre, Becket), Ladies In Lavender for which he won a BroadwayWorld UK Award for Best Regional Play (Royal and Derngate, Northampton and UK tour), Last Dance (York Theatre, New York), Heidi and Heidi and Johanna (Walenstadt – Prix Walo Award nomination), La Cava (Victoria Palace Theatre and Piccadilly Theatre), Only You Can Save Mankind (Pleasance Edinburgh), Ruling Passions, How Green Was My Valley and To Serve Them All My Days (Royal and Derngate, Northampton),and Fever (Old Red Lion Theatre). Screen work includes The Crooked Man, Like Father Like Son, The Cuckoo,and Great West End Theatres. Radio credits include The Forsytes, and Home Front (BBC Audio Drama Award for Outstanding Contribution to Radio Drama).
Lin Coghlan’s theatre work includes Kingfisher Blue (Bush Theatre), Apache Tears (Clean Break – Peggy Ramsay Award), Mercy and Waking(Soho Theatre), The Miracle (National Theatre), Bretevski Street (Theatre Centre) and The Night Garden (National Theatre Studio and Northcott Theatre, Exeter). Screen work includes First Communion Day (Dennis Potter Play of the Year Award), Electric Frank (Leopard of Tomorrow Award at Toronto Film Festival), Some Dogs Bite (Audience Award at Nantes Film Festival) and Patrick’s Planet. Radio credits include The Forsytes.
Josh Roche directs. His credits for theatre include My Name is Rachel Corrie (Young Vic – JMK Award), Home (Minerva Theatre, Chichester), Orlando (59E59 Theaters, New York), Radio (Arcola Theatre), It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure (Soho Theatre and Underbelly Edinburgh – Underbelly Untapped Award), Winky (Soho Theatre), No Particular Order (Theatre503), Pennyroyal (Finborough Theatre – BroadwayWorld UK Award for Best Director), Magnificence and A Third (Finborough Theatre), I Feel Fine, Specie and Uninvited (New Diorama Theatre), Plastic (Old Red Lion Theatre and Mercury Theatre Colchester), and This Must Be The Place (VAULT Festival). Associate and Assistant Director work includes Dr Faustus and The Alchemist (RSC at Barbican Theatre), Death of a Salesman (RSC at Nöel Coward Theatre), The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe, UK and international tours), Doctor Scroggy’s War (Shakespeare’s Globe), and Farinelli and the King (Duke of York’s Theatre).
The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene and The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleu
Listings
Park Theatre, Park 200
Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP
Friday 11 October – Saturday 7 December 2024
The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene at 3pm
The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur at 7.30pm
Monday to Saturdays at 7.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees at 3pm
The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene and The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur will play across alternate nights and run consecutively on matinee days. For the full schedule, please see the website.
Captioned Saturday 26 October at 3pm (Part 1) and 7.30pm (Part 2)
Audio Described Saturday 2 November at 3pm (Part 1) and 7.30pm (Part 2)
Box Office: 020 7870 6876*
www.parktheatre.co.uk * Telephone booking fee of £3 per transaction applies. All ticket prices are inclusive of a £1.50 building levy.
Ticket Prices
Previews (11 – 18 October 2024): £15 – £29.50
Standard (21 October – 7 December 2024): £22.50 – £47.50
Mon, Thu mat: 65+: £20 – £26.50
Access: £17.50
Concessions available – for further information, please see the website.
From an unprecedented collaboration of international artists comes the European premiere of A Song of Songs, a critically acclaimed musical theatre experience, opening at the Park Theatre from Thursday 9 May to Saturday 15 June 2024.
Winner of The San Francisco Critics Award for best new production, comes a play with extraordinary musicality. A Song of Songs fuses a world music score, Middle Eastern harmonics, dazzling choreography and an inspiring story of passion and awakening. Drawing on influences that span continents and millennia – from ancient feminist eroticism to the sounds of modern European Flamenco, Klezmer and the Middle-East; the cast of twelve musicians and performers bring this epic, poetical musical theatre to vibrant life.
A Song of Songs tells the evocative story of a young wife (Ofra Daniel) in a loveless marriage who discovers she has an unseen admirer. Intrigued, she enters into a mysterious and fervent love affair; finding herself in what is a timeless, seductive, soul-searing, rapturous journey of sexual and climatic personal empowerment – or is it love-induced madness…..
Ofra Daniel says: “I want to bring a different musical theatrical experience to audiences, with my first UK production. Poetry is the highest form of expression. It evokes imagery that stirs the senses, opens the mind, and awakens the body.”
A Song of Songs creative team features a multicultural collection of award-winning artists including: prolific actress, writer and composer Ofra Daniel and the Tony Award nominated theatre and opera director Christopher Renshaw (We Will Rock You, Zorro: The Musical, The King and I, Taboo); music by Ofra Daniel (Behind Closed Doors, Edges, What if?, Kassit – The Musical – San Francisco) and Lior Ben-Hur, in collaboration with Ali Paris; whilst new musicians will be creating and jamming their inclusive fusion into the European Premiere 2024. The lyrics are inspired by the most beautiful poetry ever written, A Song Of Songs. Producer for A Song of Songs is John Gertz (Zorro: The Musical) and General Manager is Aria Entertainment’s Katy Lipson (The Addams Family). Further cast and production TBC.
This new production of A Song of Songs is a true multicultural theatrical event. The 2017 San Francisco premiere had audiences on their feet and was hailed as: “extraordinary… lush… this story seems ordained by gods!” – San Francisco Chronicles.
“Jubilant and mournful, it’s a stirring world-music mix” – San Jose Mercury News.
“Daniel is positively hypnotic as Tirza…..The Israeli-born performer almost dares you to look away” – DC Theatre Scene.
A Song of Songs – a unique musical and theatrical experience.
FULL LISTINGS INFORMATION
John Gertz in association with Love Sick Development LLC and Park Theatre
present the European Premiere of
A SONG OF SONGS
at
from
THURSDAY 9 MAY – SATURDAY 15 JUNE 2024
A Song of Songs fuses a world music score, Middle Eastern harmonics, dazzling evocative choreography and an inspiring story of passion and awakening.
PARK200, PARK THEATRE 13 Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP
