JEMMA REDGRAVE AND EWAN MILLER STAR IN MAREK HORN’S OCTOPOLIS AT HAMPSTEAD THEATRE FROM 15 SEPTEMBER TO 28 OCTOBER 2023
Jemma Redgrave and Ewan Miller are to star in the world première of Marek Horn’s Octopolis at Hampstead Theatre. Directed by Ed Madden, Octopolis will play Hampstead Downstairs from 15 September to 28 October 2023.
Director Ed Madden said:
“I’m so pleased that Jemma Redgrave and Ewan Miller will star in Marek’s fiercely smart and soulful play, as scientists from differing disciplines who form an intense bond as they study the same octopus. Octopolis is a proper theatrical workout for the heart and mind and needs two stage animals at its centre; the whole team feel very lucky to have Jemma and Ewan on board, and to be the opening play in the new Downstairs season at Hampstead Theatre this autumn.”
“There were three people in my marriage. Dr Giscard… Three people and twelve legs.”
Professor George Grey is a brilliant behavioural biologist who, alongside her recently deceased husband, became world-renowned for her pioneering research into octopus intelligence. Mainly the intelligence of one particular octopus, in fact: Frances, who still resides in a large, purpose-built tank in George’s campus accommodation.
Into this house of grief walks Harry – an ambitious anthropologist, despatched by the university with permission to test his breath-taking new theory on Frances. The nature of his assignment is shocking to George, and threatens to tear her world apart in more ways than one.
Jemma Redgrave plays Professor George Grey. Previous theatre credits include Farewell To The Theatre(Hampstead Theatre); Mood Music (Old Vic); An Ideal Husband and The Cherry Orchard (Chichester Festival Theatre). Her extensive TV credits include Silent Witness; Granchester; Holby City; Doctor Who and her film credits include Howard’s End and Love and Friendship.
Ewan Miller plays Harry. Ewan made his London stage debut in 2022 in Much Ado About Nothing (National Theatre) and other theatre credits include The Comedy of Errors and A Christmas Carol (Citizens Theatre). Recent screen credits include Irvine Welsh’s Crime.
Marek Horn’s plays include Wild Swimming (Edinburgh Fringe and Bristol Old Vic) and Yellowfin (Southwark Playhouse). Octopolis is directed by Ed Madden and is his second collaboration with Marek. Ed’s credits include Yellowfin (Southwark Playhouse), A Table Tennis Play (Edinburgh Fringe) and the original production of Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons. Design will be by Anisha Fields with lighting design by Jamie Platt, sound design by Esther Kehinde Ajayi and movement and intimacy direction by Angela Gasparetto.
Tickets for Octopolisare available from £10 and are on sale now via Hampstead Theatre’s website. For further information please visit hampsteadtheatre.org.uk
Due to phenomenal demand, having delighted audiences across the country since last summer, the producers of the 2023 Olivier Award nominated production of SISTER ACT THE MUSICAL are pleased to announce casting and an extended 12-months of the UK and Ireland tour, returning this Autumn from Friday 8 September at the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend. Full tour schedule listed below. www.sisteractthemusical.co.uk
Landi Oshinowo will lead the cast as Deloris Van Cartier, alongside television and stage star Lesley Joseph as Mother Superior. Lesley will play the role until Saturday 25 November 2023, with future casting to be announced.
The cast also includes Lizzie Bea as Sister Mary Robert, Alfie Parker as Eddie Souther and Ian Gareth-Jones as Curtis Jackson, alongside Isabel Canning, Jackie Pulford, Phillip Arran, Lori Hayley Fox, Wendy-Lee Purdy, Bradley Judge, Damian Buhagiar, Callum Martin, Castell Parker, Esme Laudat, Amber Kennedy, Joseph Connor, Ceris Hine, Eloise Runnette, Sheri Lineham and Michael Ward.
Landi Oshinowo can currently be seen as Mrs Phelps in Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge Theatre. Additional London credits include Shrek the Musical at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, The Light Princess at the National Theatre, Big Fish at The Other Palace and Sister Act at the London Palladium. Further theatre credits include the national tours of Barnum, Fame and The Who’s Tommy.
Lesley Joseph is best known for playing ‘Dorien Green’ in the hugely successful sitcom “Birds of a Feather” alongside Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson. They recorded over 100 episodes over a period of nine years. Lesley and her co-stars returned to our screens in “Birds of a Feather” in 2013. She has been seen on screen in ITV’s “Night and Day” and appeared on BBC One’s “Strictly Come Dancing”, Channel 4’s “Celebrity Coach Trip” alongside Linda Robson, and most recently BBC One’s “Celebrity MasterChef”. Lesley’s theatre credits include Miss Hannigan in Annie at the West End’s Victoria Palace and also on national tour, and her Olivier Award nominated performance as Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein. Her other touring credits include Calendar Girls and Hot Flush!.
Lizzie Bea’s London theatre credits include Martha Dunnstock in Heathers The Musical at The Other Palace, Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray at the London Coliseum and A Christmas Carol at the Dominion Theatre. Her other credits include Abigail in the World Premiere of Becoming Nancy at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta and performing in the UK Tours of Kinky Boots, Fat Friends the Musical, Chicken Little, The Shakespeare Revue and The 3 Little Pigs.
Alfie Parker’s theatre credits include School of Rock at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, which marked his West End debut, and UK tours of Kinky Boots, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Fat Friends The Musical.
Ian Gareth-Jones was most recently seen in Only Fools and Horses The Musical at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. His other West End credits include Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre, Mrs Henderson Presents at the Noel Coward Theatre and Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Additional theatre credits include Mamma Mia, Oklahoma, Scrooge, Chicago and Thoroughly Modern Millie, all on UK tours.
Based on the iconic movie, this sparkling tribute to the universal power of friendship, sisterhood and music tells the hilarious story of the disco diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a murder. Under protective custody she is hidden in the one place she won’t be found – a convent! Disguised as a nun and under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own.
SISTER ACT has direction by Bill Buckhurst, choreography by Alistair David, Set and Costume Design by Morgan Large, Lighting Design by Tim Mitchell, Sound Design by Tom Marshall and Musical Supervision by Stephen Brooker. Casting is by Stuart Burt.
SISTER ACT features original music by Tony® and 8-time Oscar® winner Alan Menken(Disney’s Aladdin, Enchanted), lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner with additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane. SISTER ACT is produced by Jamie Wilson and Whoopi Goldberg.
www.southendtheatres.org.uk On Sale Now Starring Landi Oshinowo as Deloris Van Cartier, Lesley Joseph as Mother Superior and Lizzie Bea as Sister Mary Robert
Deborah Findlay, John Heffernan and Malcolm Sinclair head the cast of THE INQUIRY by Harry Davies
Extra week of performances added due to demand
13 October – 11 November, Minerva Theatre
The full cast has been announced for the world premiere of THE INQUIRY by Harry Davies at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre, where an extra week of performances has been added. The production now runs from 13 October – 11 November.
Deborah Findlay,John Heffernan and Malcolm Sinclair lead the company, alongside Shazia Nicholls, Macy Nyman,Nicholas Rowe and Stephanie Street, directed by Joanna Bowman.
The Inquiry is a gripping drama aboutthe pernicious collision between politics, justice and ambition.
MP Arthur Gill is one of Westminster’s rising stars. Still in his 30s, he’s just become the Secretary of State for Justice, assuming the role of Lord Chancellor too; and with a leadership race on the horizon, he’s a favourite to be the next Prime Minister.
But there’s a problem. An inquiry headed by Lady Justice Deborah Wingate is on the brink of publishing its findings about a public health disaster: a scandal that happened on Gill’s watch when he was environment minister. As leaks multiply and the waters grow murkier, how far will he go to hide his past and protect his future?
Harry Davies is a writer and an investigativereporterfor The Guardian; this is his first play. Joanna Bowman (Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads, Festival 2022) directs.
Deborah Findlay makes a welcome return to Chichester (where she last appeared in Separate Tables) as Lady Justice Wingate. Her award-winning theatre work encompasses extensive roles at the National Theatre, Donmar Warehouse and Royal Court; including recently, Orlando (West End) and The Children (Royal Court and Broadway), for which she received a Tony nomination. Her screen work includes three series of The Split, Romeo and Juliet, The Lady in the Van and Making Noise Quietly.
John Heffernan makes his Chichester debut as Arthur Gill. His many leading theatre roles include Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Saint George in Saint George and the Dragon and the title role in Edward II for the National Theatre, and the title role in Oppenheimer for the RSC and in the West End. His film and television work includes Becoming Elizabeth,The Pursuit of Love, Dracula, Collateral, The Crown, Dickensian, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and The Duke.
Malcolm Sinclair has previously appeared at Chichester in This House (also West End), Rattigan’s Nijinsky and as General Eisenhower in Pressure, which also transferred to the West End and Toronto, for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award. His extensive theatre work includes As You Like It (RSC) and The Habit of Art (National Theatre), whilehis many television appearances include Andor: A Star Wars Story, Midsomer Murders and Silk.
The cast is completed by Shazia Nicholls (Paradise Now!, Antigone); Macy Nyman (Plenty, The Stepmother at CFT); Nicholas Rowe(A Spy Among Friends, A Very British Scandal); and Stephanie Street (Quiz, Our Generation at CFT & West End/NT).
The Inquiry will be designed by Max Jones, with lighting by Mark Henderson, sound by Christopher Shutt, movement by Yarit Dor and casting by Charlotte Sutton CDG.
The production is sponsored by Chichester Harbour Hotel.
BOOKING INFORMATION
Tickets £10 – £52
cft.org.uk Box Office 01243 781312
Prologue: £5 tickets for 16 – 30s
£5 tickets are available for 16 to 30 year-olds; sign up for free at cft.org.uk/prologue.
Nottingham Theatre Royal – until Saturday 12 August 2023
Reviewed by Louise Ford
3***
You just cannot trust an honest man.
This week’s offering in the Colin McIntyre Classic Thriller Season is a Father Brown mystery based on the GK Chesterton novels and adapted for the stage by John Goodrum.
Before we look at the production I just want to get the elephant in the room into the full glare of the spotlights. Christmas in August? I’m just not sure that it’s right to mention the C word let alone stage a production set on Christmas Eve, in the summer holidays. It just doesn’t feel right. OK the alliteration works and the set had a lovely twinkly feel but it’s just not cricket!
Putting aside the season, the set was simple but effective. The inside/outside door made the actors, and audience, smirk every time they used it. The use of the over the garden wall chat was interesting, it worked best for the conversation between Ruby (Lara Lemon) and John (David Osmond). As they mentioned a “reverse Romeo and Juliet “
The story opens with a brief monologue by Father Brown (John Lyons), every detective has his (or her) Moriarty but has Father Brown met his nemesis? So let me begin…
The setting is Christmas Eve and a house party in a country house is just starting . There’s a mixed crowd meeting up to celebrate Christmas. Ruby an excitable young girl, her beau from next door (John), Ruby’s mother (Susan Earnshaw), the rich Godfather Sir Leopold Fischer (Jeremy Lloyd Thomas) and the Canadian relative (John Goodrum).
As with all good mysteries there are missing jewels, telegrams, a few red herrings and a comic policeman. All wrapped up in the end by the calm all seeing Father Brown.
The slap stick impromptu pantomime moves the story along and some of the costumes made the most of the bits and pieces found around the house. The piano playing was a nice touch.
It was an enjoyable performance, I just think that the story was a little bit thin and lacked any dramatic suspense.
FULL CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM FOR UK AND IRELAND TOUR OF BRIAN FRIEL’S FAITH HEALER
Following the success of Abigail’s Party, now running until 7 October, London Classic Theatre today announces full cast and creative team for a new tour of Brian Friel’s masterpiece Faith Healer. Michael Cabot, founder, and Artistic Director of London Classic Theatre directs Paul Carroll (Frank), Gina Costigan (Grace) and Jonathan Ashley (Teddy). Designs by Bek Palmer and lighting design by Matthew Green.
Faith Healerpremièred at Longacre Theatre, New York in 1979, before opening in London at Royal Court Theatre in 1981. London Classic Theatre’s tour opens at New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lymeon 5 Septemberbefore touring to a further nineteen venues across the UK and Ireland, concluding at Connaught Theatre, Worthing on 17 November.
Artistic Director of London Classic Theatre, Michael Cabot said today: “I’ve wanted to direct Faith Healer for many years. It’s such a wonderful, complex piece of writing, with beautifully realised characters and Brian Friel’s remarkable use of language. It draws you in, surprises, intrigues and, ultimately, takes your breath away. I’m working on the show with my long-term collaborator, set and costume designer Bek Palmer, and I’m very excited about her vision for the play. We’re taking the play on tour for eleven weeks, to 20 venues around the UK and Ireland, opening in-the-round at the wonderful New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme. We have assembled a cast of three extraordinary actors, Paul Carroll, Gina Costigan and Jonathan Ashley, with whom I’m delighted to be working. Faith Healer is one of the great plays of the twentieth century, arguably Friel’s masterpiece and I can’t wait for us to bring it to life in 2023.”
London Classic Theatre presents
FAITH HEALER
by Brian Friel
Cast: Paul Carroll (Frank), Gina Costigan (Grace), Jonathan Ashley (Teddy)
Directed by Michael Cabot; Designed by Bek Palmer; Lighting by Matthew Green
UK and Ireland tour
5 September – 17 November
Frank Hardy has a gift. A gift of healing.
A frayed banner hangs outside a desolate village hall. The sick, the suffering and the desperate arrive from out of the wind and the rain. They come in search of restoration, a cure.
Through the 1950s and 1960s, Hardy and his wife, Grace, travel to remote corners of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Accompanied by manager Teddy, they move from village to village, bringing an unpredictable mix of theatricality and the spiritual.
Using four enthralling monologues to interweave the stories of these three intriguing characters, Friel takes us on an extraordinary journey of shifting perspectives and uncertain memories.
Paul Carroll plays Frank. His theatre credits include Strike! (Southwark Playhouse), The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Rapture Theatre, Traverse Theatre, tour), Twelfth Night (East London Shakespeare Festival), Victorian Ladies in Bed (Calder Theatre), A Skull in Connemara (Nottingham Playhouse), The Non-Stop Connolly Show, Continuity (Finborough Theatre), Permanence, That Dar Place (Old Red Lion), An Incomplete History of Faces (Tristan Bates Theatre), and Way Back (Pleasance Theatre). His solo sketch show 40 Shades of Strawberry Blond played at Soho Theatre, Leicester Square Theatre and Brighton Festival. Film credits include Chosen and Pretty Music for Very Ugly People.
Gina Costigan plays Grace. Her theatre credits include On McQuillan’s Hill (Finborough Theatre), The Valley of the Squinting Windows (Mullingar Arts Centre), An Triail le Mairéad Ní Ghráda (Irish tour) and The Risen People (Gaiety Theatre, Dublin). US theatre credits include Hangmen (Golden Theater), The Ferryman (Bernard B. Jacobs Theater), Party Face (New York City Center), Suitcase Under the Bed (Mint Theater Company), Crackskull Row (Irish Repertory Theater), and The Seedbed (New Jersey Repertory Company). Her television credits include Kin, Atlanta, Harry Wild, Halston, I Know This Much is True, Vikings, The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, Fair City;and for film, Twig, My Sailor, My Love, Suspicious Minds, The Ferry, Brittany Runs a Marathon, Gender Bender, Halal Daddy, The Clowning, Becoming Jane, Veronica Guerin.
Jonathan Ashley plays Teddy. His previous credits with London Classic Theatre include The Birthday Party, Waiting for Godot, Entertaining Mr Sloane, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Double Inconstancy. Other theatre credits include The Tempest, Hansel and Gretel (Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds), Abigail’s Party, Arsenic and Old Lace, Dick Barton and the Secret of the Pharoah’s Tomb, One for the Pot, Ladies in Retirement, Hay Fever, Salad Days (Southwold Sunner Theatre), Mansfield Park (Redgrave Theatre, Farnham), Arms and the Man (Cambridge Theatre Company), The Secret of Theodore Brown (Unicorn Theatre), Scaramouche (Brighton Festival), The Hooligan Clown (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre), The Snow Queen (Pomegranate, Chesterfield), Stiffs (Hen and Chickens), King Lear (Courtyard Theatre), Scapin’s Tricks, The Winter’s Tale (Wimbledon Studio Theatre), Waiting for Godot, The Dumb Waiter (Albany Empire), and Landscape (Finborough Theatre). His television credits include Dead Man’s Cardy, Tyne Bride, Divine Magic, Digital Gothic, Petite, The Score, Divine Magic, Flying Colours, The Unbecoming and Infinity Minus Infinity.
Michael Cabot directs and is the founder and Artistic Director of London Classic Theatre. He has directed all forty-five LCT productions since their touring debut in 2000, including Abigail’s Party, Boeing Boeing, Same Time, Next Year,Absurd Person Singular, No Man’s Land, My Mother Said I Never Should, Private Lives, Hysteria, The Birthday Party, Waiting for Godot, Absent Friends and Equus. His recent freelance work as director includes three collaborations with award-winning playwright Henry Naylor, The Collector (Arcola Theatre/UK tour), Angel and Borders (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Adelaide Fringe & Brits Off Broadway).
A Rose Original Production in association with The Norwegian Ibsen Company
29 September 2023 – 21 October 2023
Rose Theatre today announces full casting for the premiere of Shooting Hedda Gabler, a Rose Original Production in association with The Norwegian Ibsen Company, a new play by Nina Segal after Henrik Ibsen, directed by Jeff James. Antonia Thomas plays the role of Hedda, with Christian Rubeck as Henrik, Avi Nash as Ejlert, joined by Anna Andresen as Berta, Matilda Bailes as Thea, and Joshua James as Jørgen. The Casting Director is Sam Jones CDG.
Rose Theatre is thrilled to announce this collaboration with The Norwegian Ibsen Company, to present a brand-new adaptation of one of Ibsen’s most performed plays, Hedda Gabler. Antonia Thomas (The Good Doctor) leads a cast of six as Hedda, alongside one of Norway’s leading stage actors Christian Rubeck (Succession) and Avi Nash (Silo) who both appear for the first time on a British stage, playing Henrik and Ejlert.
Shooting Hedda Gabler opens at the Rose Theatre on 4 October, with previews from 29 September, playing until 21 October 2023.
Further creative team also announced today includes Rosanna Vize (Set Designer), Milla Clarke (Costume Designer), Hansjörg Schmidt (Lighting Designer), Kieran Lucas (Composer & Sound Designer), Ingrid Mackinnon (Intimacy & Movement Director), and Amy Crighton (Assistant Director).
Director, Jeff James said:
“I’m so excited to start rehearsals with this amazing company of actors. Nina’s daring and hilarious play reimagines Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler in an utterly original way and working with this stellar cast I hope we’re going to make something really special for the Rose’s audiences.”
When offered the lead part in a Norwegian film adaptation of Hedda Gabler, an American actress seizes the opportunity to escape Hollywood – and gain some artistic credibility. She’s running away from her past as a child star, from her present as a tabloid punchline, and from an unfortunate collision between a self-driving Tesla and a member of the paparazzi.
What awaits her in Norway is Henrik, the brilliant and demanding director – and a film set where reality and fiction are blurred, not least by the arrival of one of her real-life exes. With every moment being filmed, she becomes unmoored and paranoid. As the atmosphere on set becomes increasingly claustrophobic, Henrik becomes fixated on how to end the movie with a bang.
Shooting Hedda Gabler is a radical and affectionate adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, about doing whatever is necessary to get the shot.
Supported by Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a donor advised fund held at The London Community Foundation
Actress and Author Emma Swan sat down with fairypowered to answer 20 Questions. Emma is currently starring in Horrible Histories at the Garrick Theatre until 2 September
Lets start with a few favourites
Favourite show (whether you have been in it or not)?
What a good but difficult question errrrmmm I think it’s a tie between Sweeney Todd and Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing.
Favourite book?
Oh wow these questions don’t get easier do they… I’m not a very decisive person, I’m currently pacing around my flat looking at my book shelf. I really enjoyed Ruth Jones’ ‘Never Greener’, and Anstey Harris’ ‘The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton’. Anything Jacqueline Wilson also pretty much shaped my childhood.
Wait, sorry, that wasn’t one book…
Favourite theatre?
It has to be the Garrick. I made my West End debut here last year with Terrible Tudors so this theatre will always be so important to me.
Favourite song?
I’m now frantically checking my Spotify haha. My favourite musical song I would say is ‘Nothing’ from ‘A Chorus Line’ and in my dressing room at the moment I’m listening to a lot of Lizzo.
Favourite music?
I’ve always been a huge musical theatre fan.
Favourite food?
A Chinese takeaway or a cream egg. They’re both always a great idea. But maybe not together.
Favourite drink?
I couldn’t live without a cup of Yorkshire tea (or 7) a day.
What is your favourite role?
In Terrible Tudors I absolutely love playing Elizabeth I. Her costume and wig is fabulous and I particularly enjoy her duet/ rap battle with William Shakespeare.
What was your first role?
My first role was ‘the littlest angel’ in my school Nativity but at the time I was the tallest girl in my year so I’m not sure what happened with the casting there. I’m now only 5”1 and pretty much the smallest in any cast so maybe they could predict the future …
And what role would you really like to play?
I would love to one day play Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd.
If you weren’t a performer what would you be?
I would be a writer and I do also write alongside my acting. (My mother is delighted with all my safe and stable career choices.)
What made you decide to be a performer?
I’ve wanted to be an actor for as long as I can remember. I was a big Horrible Histories fan when I was younger so little Emma would be so so happy right now.
Do you enjoy touring?
I do enjoy touring it’s really fun exploring the country with a brilliant cast of pals.
What advice would you give 16 year old you?
Stop wearing high heels in the snow on nights out in Sheffield… you will fall.
Do you fancy branching out in Producing or Directing?
I think I would be absolutely hopeless at both of these things. Producing you have to be very organised which I’m definitely not and directing you need to make clear decisions and as you can see from some of these answers… I think I’ll stick with the acting!
What was the last stage show you saw and really enjoyed?
A show I saw recently and loved was Mumsy at Hull Truck written by my pal and old flat mate Lydia Marchant. It’s a brilliant, funny northern play about 3 different generations of women.
Favourite line from any show?
Back to the book shelf I go!
Ooh actually – “Though she be but little she is fierce.” (This interview is highlighting a height complex)
If you could be anyone else for the day, who would it be?
I would be Imelda Staunton – because she is just the coolest.
What are the nicest/weirdest things you have ever received from fans?
I have received some amazing drawings and cards from Horrible Histories fans at stage door and I’m always so grateful to get them. I’ve never actually received anything strange but maybe this year – I’ll let you know if so!
Can you tell us what you will be up to next?
Absolutely! Over Christmas I’m working with Horrible Histories again and we will be doing a UK tour, including the Barbican in London, of Horrible Christmas. I’m also writing a children’s book at the moment and have just signed with a literary agent.
Please do give me a follow @emmalittleswan on Twitter/ Instagram for more updates and do come and see Terrible Tudors at the Garrick until September 2nd. We would love to see you there!
Michael Harrison and David Ian are delighted to announce casting for the first-ever UK and Ireland tour of The Drifters Girl, the acclaimed new West End musical which tells the remarkable story of one of the world’s greatest vocal groups and the woman who made them.
Carly Mercedes Dyer, former star of Six the Musical and who delighted audiences with her performances as Erma in Anything Goes, will play music industry change-maker, Faye Treadwell.
Carly will star alongside Ashford Campbell (who hit UK screens in ITV’s The X Factor as member of The Risk and now continues his journey with The Drifters Girl having performed as part of the West End company), Miles Anthony Daley (Tina Turner: The Musical, Aldwych Theatre; Choir of Man, Arts Theatre), Tarik Frimpong (The Wiz, Hope Mill Theatre; Aladdin, Prince Edward Theatre) and Dalton Harris, who won The X Factor in 2018.
Today’s casting announcement also welcomes Jaydah Bell-Ricketts (A Little Princess, Royal Festival Hall; School Of Rock, Gillian Lynne Theatre) to her first touring role as Girl.
Completing the cast is Loren Anderson, Tre Copeland-Williams, Ethan Davis, Matthew Dawkins and Linseigh Green.
Having played to packed houses and nightly standing ovations at the Garrick Theatre in London’s West End (following a triumphant run at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal), the production recently announced a UK Tour to open in 2023, with performances beginning at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, on Tuesday 12th September 2023.
Following huge public demand, initial tour dates were extended through to 2024, where it now concludes in Cardiff, in May 2024.A full list of tour dates follows.
Telling the remarkable story of The Drifters, one of the world’s greatest vocal groups, and the truth about the woman who made them. Faye Treadwell is the legendary manager of The Drifters who fought for three decades alongside her husband (George Treadwell) to turn Atlantic Records’ hottest vocal group into a global phenomenon.
From the highs of hit records and sell-out tours to the lows of legal battles and personal tragedy, The Drifters Girl charts the trailblazing efforts of the world’s first African American female music manager and how she refused to ever give up on the group she loved. Thirty years and hundreds of hit songs later, there is no doubt that Faye Treadwell was and always will be, The Drifters Girl.
The Drifters Girl boasts an incredible soundtrack of some of the most famous songs in history, including Save The Last Dance For Me,Under The Boardwalk, Kissin In The Back Row Of The Movies, Stand By Me, Come On Over To My Place, Saturday Night At The Movies and many more.
The Drifters Girl, with abook by Ed Curtis, is based on an idea by Tina Treadwell and is co-created by Beverley Knight, Adam J Bernard, Tarinn Callender, Matt Henry and Tosh Wanogho-Maud. It is directed by Jonathan Church. Set design is by Anthony Ward, choreography by Karen Bruce, costume design by Fay Fullerton, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall, video design by Andrzej Goulding, orchestrations by Chris Egan and Will Stuart as Musical Supervisor.
Last chance to see Helen Forrester’s life story on stage
Cast features Coronation Street’s Tom Roberts and Emmerdale’s Joe Gill,
Emma Mulligan, Lynn Francis, Daniel Taylor, Lynne Fitzgerald,
Joe Owens, Samantha Alton, and Roy Carruthers
Autumn 2023 UK Tour will open in Liverpool on 4 September
followed by dates in Port Sunlight, Crewe, Coventry, Sale, Rhyl, Darlington,
Lichfield, St Helens, Southport, Halifax, Lytham, and New Brighton
By The Waters Of Liverpool Autumn 2023 UK Tour opens in four weeks. It tells the captivating life story of best-selling author Helen Forrester – and this will be the only chance fans will have to experience the new production live on stage.
The team behind By The Waters Of Liverpool and the earlier stage productions of Twopence To Cross The Mersey – which premiered in Liverpool almost 30 years ago – have announced the new tour will be the last one telling the life story of Helen’s fascinating life.
By The Waters Of Liverpool Autumn 2023 UK Tour will run for eight weeks visiting 13 venues across the country.
The tour will open in Liverpool on Monday 4 September 2023 and finish in New Brighton late October – with both locations being hugely important in Helen’s life story.
The team behind the production recently announced the full tour cast.
Coronation Street’s Tom Roberts will play John Forrester, Helen’s father; Emmerdale’s Joe Gill will play Harry O’Dwyer, Helen’s love interest; with Emma Mulligan in the lead role of Helen Forrester.
The nine-strong cast play more than 50 characters, and the line-up also features Lynn Francis, Daniel Taylor, Lynne Fitzgerald, Joe Owens, Samantha Alton, and Roy Carruthers.
Further cast information is included in the Notes To Editors.
The By The Waters Of Liverpool tour will open with four performances at The Auditorium at M&S Bank Arena, later concluding with six dates at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton in late October– just a few miles from where Helen Forrester was born in Wirral. Both venues are located on the banks of the River Mersey which was instrumental throughout Helen’s books.
Between the dates in Liverpool and New Brighton, the production will also visit venues in Port Sunlight, Crewe, Coventry, Sale, Rhyl, Darlington, Lichfield, St Helens, Southport, Halifax, and Lytham.
By The Waters Of Liverpool is a stunning period drama produced by the team who brought the smash-hit Twopence To Cross The Mersey to the stage.
The creative team are producers Rob Fennah and Lynn McDermott for Pulse Stage Productions and Bill Elms. The show is directed by Gareth Tudor Price and written by Rob Fennah.
By The Waters Of Liverpool Autumn 2023 UK Tour is highly anticipated. Its inaugural tour was scheduled to run for 12 weeks across 17 venues in Spring 2020. It was abandoned after visiting only three theatres due to the Covid-19 pandemic and rescheduled twice when the pandemic failed to abate.
The team have now made the decision that this will be the ‘final chapter’ of Helen’s story on stage.
The original production of Twopence To Cross The Mersey was brought to the stage in 1994 when it was premiered at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. This is the final opportunity for fans of Helen’s million-selling books to experience her story first-hand.
Writer and producer Rob Fennah explained:“We’ve had a fantastic run with Twopence To Cross The Mersey over the years with hundreds of thousands of theatregoers flocking to see it. This new Helen Forrester play, By The Waters Of Liverpool, is an adaptation of her third autobiography and the final chapter of Helen’s life in Liverpool during the Great Depression.
“By The Waters Of Liverpool also features sizeable chunks from Helen’s earlier book Liverpool Miss, together with flashbacks to Twopence To Cross The Mersey. I’ve even weaved in a storyline from Helen’s fourth autobiography Lime Street At Two. That way, those unfamiliar with Helen’s work will still get a complete picture of her life.”
The new stage production is based on the book of the same name by the acclaimed author Helen Forrester. Her enigmatic and touching portrayal of her life story continues to win her fans worldwide through four best-selling volumes of autobiography Twopence To Cross The Mersey, Liverpool Miss, By The Waters of Liverpool, and Lime Street At Two.
By The Waters Of LiverpoolAutumn 2023 UK Tour finally ventures out across the UK after its premiere run was cut short in March 2020. After some years in the planning, the production was just 3 theatres into a 17-venue tour when the country was forced into a national lockdown.
Writer and producer, Rob Fennah, enjoyed a long friendship with Helen Forrester since adapting her first book Twopence To Cross The Mersey in 1994. Helen travelled from her home in Edmonton, Canada, to see first-hand her story brought to life on stage.
Prior to author’s death in 2011, Rob and Helen often discussed the possibility of another play to conclude her life story. By The Waters Of Liverpool is the result of many conversations and numerous letters between the author and playwright and, as such, the show is packed with provenance.
Rob has remained friends with Helen’s son, Robert Bhatia, and this production is fully endorsed by the Helen Forrester Estate.
Robert Bhatia, said: “The partnership between playwright Rob Fennah and my mother Helen, and her legacy, has been outstanding.”
By The Waters Of Liverpool has sold more than a million books. It is set in the 1930s after Helen’s father went bankrupt during the Depression. Her family were forced to leave behind the nannies, servants and comfortable middle-class life in the South West of England. The Forrester’s chose Liverpool to rebuild their shattered lives. They were in for a terrible shock. Taken out of school to look after her young siblings, Helen is sick of being treated as an unpaid slave and begins a bitter fight with her parents for the right to go out to work and make her own way in life. But by 1939 and with Britain on the verge of war Helen, now aged 20, has still never been kissed by a man. But things start looking up for her when she meets a tall strong seaman and falls in love.
Helen’s literary achievements were further celebrated in 2020 to mark her 100th Birthday when an iconic Blue Plaque was unveiled at the Forrester family home in Hoylake on the Wirral, a place which featured heavily in her work.
Helen Forrester’s best-selling volumes of autobiography include Twopence To Cross The Mersey, Liverpool Miss, By The Waters Of Liverpool, and Lime Street At Two.
Written by Rob Fennah · Directed by Gareth Tudor Price
The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, Chalk Farm, London NW1 8EH
Reviewed by Alec Legge
4****
The Roundhouse comedy festival started with a bang on Wednesday, 5th August 2023, with a Gala performance and runs until Wednesday 23 Aug 2023.
The MC, Kiri Pritchard McLean, opened the proceedings appearing in an amazing silver metallic floor length dress which immediately caught the eye as it shone and reflected all the lights/ A vision indeed! She then went into a routine involving the audience with plenty of humour. An amazing lady. She very ably MC’d the whole show giving a few minutes of stand up before introducing each act. Very funny
After her routine she introduced the first act, Rhys James, who gave a great performance based on people taking a cold shower in the mornings on the advice of a life coach guru and also bringing in life as a +30 year old. He also bemoaned the fact that he has the same name as a famous footballer. Very funny!
Next came Jordan Gray and what an outstanding performance she gave! She was tall with very long legs and she capered and moved around the stage at a speed to take your breath away, She is also obviously a talented musician / singer playing a keyboard and singing songs she has written. She was also extremely funny, a lot of which was directed at her own situation as a transgender. An amazing and hilarious act from an extremely entertaining and talented performer!
Amy Gledhill was next and she in turn was hilarious, She was a native of Hull and firstly her material was based on the Hull accent. Her tour de force though was a description of a third date with a tall man with big feet! Her description of a woman wondering about the size of the man’s appendage was side splitting, which was followed by a description of what happened when a man pulled his clothing down, backed up with descriptive actions was simply bawdily uproarious. Again a very talented comedian,
The following performer was Lolly Adefope. What a clever funny and intelligent act! She based it around what was supposed to be a novel she had written and read extracts from it which were extremely funny. Lolly again has tremendous talent. A co star once praised her when describing her acting for ‘how much she can convey with just the slightest movement of her eyes’ I agree wholeheartedly/
Then last but certainly not least Rose Matefeo, a brilliant performer from New Zealand. Rose gave a sterling and funny performance which the audience appreciated no end. Some of her observations and jokes about relationships were really funny. Another very talented lady.
All the above performers are well known and together the made for a funny and very entertaining evening. If the rest of the Roundhouse Festival of Comedy is as good as this night then it surely will be a hit with fans of stand up.
The Roundhouse as it’s name suggests is a circular auditorium which seats 750 people with the stage on one side. Unfortunately the stalls consist of removable seats which myself and my companion found uncomfortable. Apart from this the venue is an amazing space to visit with bars on all levels and access for the disabled.
