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Full company announced for Arthur Miller’s A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE

A co-production with Headlong, Octagon Theatre Bolton and Rose Theatre

6 – 28 October, Festival Theatre

The full cast has been announced for Arthur Miller’s classic A View from the Bridge, a co-production with Headlong, Octagon Theatre Bolton and Rose Theatre, running at Chichester Festival Theatre from 6 – 28 October (press night: Tuesday 10 October).

Acclaimed stage and screen actor, Jonathan Slinger (Crave at Chichester Festival Theatre, Hamlet, Macbeth at the RSC) will playthe role of Eddie. He is joinedby Nancy Crane (TV’s Inside Man and Suspicion, Summer & Smoke and Chimerica at theAlmeida / West End) who will be the first woman to play the role of Alfieri in this new productionwhich looks at the psychology of the play and its gender politics afresh.

They are joined by Kirsty Bushell (Regan in King Lear at Chichester, Richard III at the RSC, Angels in America for Headlong) as Beatrice, Rachelle Diedericks (Our Generation at Chichester & the National Theatre, The Crucible at the NT) as Catherine, Elijah Holloway in his professional stage debut as Louis/Immigration Officer, Luke Newberry (When Winston Went to War with the Wireless at the Donmar Warehouse, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Macbeth at the RSC/Barbican) as Rodolpho, Tommy Sim’aan (Vigil, The Tempest at the RSC) as Marco and Lamin Touray (Bouncers UK tour, Shakespeare in the Squares, Coronation Street) as Mike/Immigration Officer.

On the Brooklyn waterfront, where the fierce passions of ancestral Sicily linger, the orphaned Catherine falls for her handsome, newly arrived cousin Rodolpho – an illegal migrant. Their romance is encouraged by her aunt Beatrice but stirs complex feelings in her uncle, Eddie Carbone. As tensions rise, their story spins inexorably beyond control.

This brand-new production will be directed by Headlong Artistic Director Holly Race Roughan. Holly said; “Quite honestly, A View from the Bridge remains one of the mostextraordinary plays I have ever read, and it is an honour to be co-producing it alongsidesome of the country’s most important theatres.”

The full creative team includes Moi Tran – Set and Costume Designer, Alex Fernandes – Lighting Designer, Max Perryment – Composer and Sound Designer, Malik Nashad Sharpe – Movement Director, Kev McCurdy – Fight Director, Yarit Dor – Intimacy Director, Aundrea Fudge – Voice and Dialect Coach, Emily Ling Williams – Associate Director, Mona Camille – Set and Costume Associate, Keegan Curan – Sound Associate.

The production will also play at Octagon Theatre Bolton 8 – 30 September, and Rose Theatre in Kingston 31 October – 11 November.

A View from the Bridge is presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Limited.

At Chichester, the production is sponsored by Portsmouth Grammar School.

cft.org.uk       Box Office 01243 781312      

Darlington Hippodrome – until Saturday 29 July 2023

4****

From his birth to his deathbed confession, we follow the life of Anthony “Call me Tony” Blair, from his man crush on Mick Jaggers (yes he does refer to him like that), his university days, meeting Cherie and becoming Prime Minister – we see it all through the eyes of writers Harry Hill and Steve Brown and it is BONKERS!

Jack Whittle leads the cast in the titular role of Tony, with his perma-smile and pointing thumbs.  His cheeks must be agony by the end of the show. But it’s Howard Samuels who steals the show as Lord Peter “Call me Mandy” Mandelson (and also Dick Chaney and Alastair Campbell).  Phil Sealey is excellent as Gordon Brown, wanting to be Prime Minister until he actually becomes Prime Minister and he’s hysterical in the second half when he sings “I Never Done Anything Wrong” as Saddam Hussein.  Rosie Strobell is punch happy as John Prescott but laugh-out-loud funny as one of the Gallagher brothers singing about New Labour and as Osama Bin Laden singing “Kill the Infidel”. The People’s Princess, Diana (Emma Jay Thomas), makes an appearance both before and unexpectedly after her death.  We also meet Robin Cook (Sally Cheng), Neil Kinnock (Martin Johnston) and William Hazel fills all the other roles.  But we can’t have Tony without Cherie and Tori Burgess is hilarious in a curly wig with a thick scouse accent.

The band (Tiara Litvack, Toby Morgan and Harry Brent) are on stage throughout as the Rock Opera evolves.  Libby Watsons set is plain but effective and the cast wear suits with red ties and socks throughout. Peter Rowe has directed a total farce, even if it is a bit heavy on the smoke machine at times.

If Harry Hill’s humour appeals to you, then you will love this.  It has the essence of a fringe show and it is appearing in Edinburgh in August.  But if you too want to spend the rest of the night singing along to “The Whole WIde World is run by Assholes” and laughing until your sides ache and you have a grin stuck to your face like Tony, then this is the show for you.  A word of warning – don’t sit in the front row!!!

Final casting announced for the European premiere
of the multi award-winning manga stage musical
Death Note THE MUSICAL in Concert

including Aimee Atkinson, Rachel Clare Chan
Christian Ray Marbella and Adam Pascal

Broadway legend Adam Pascal (Roger in the original cast of ‘RENT’), Aimie Atkinson (Katherine Howard  in the original cast of ‘Six’, Vivian in ‘Pretty Woman’), Rachel Clare Chan (a recent graduate from the Royal Academy of Music) and Christian Ray Marbella (Engineer in ‘Miss Saigon, international tour) join the previously announced Frances Mayli McCann, Dean John-Wilson and Joaquin Pedro Valdes to star in Death Note: THE MUSICAL in Concert.

They are joined by an ensemble featuring Felipe Bejarano, Charlotte Coggin, Jade Copas, Eu Jin Hwang, Yojiro Ichikawa, Deena Kapadia, David Kar-Hing Lee, Nick Len, Jasmine Leung, Jojo Meredith, Marcel Li-Ping, Janine Somcio.

Following acclaimed productions in Japan and Korea Death Note THE MUSICAL will get its English language premiere with three star-studded concerts at the London Palladium on 21 & 22 August.

Tickets sold out for the two evening  performances in just 8 hours and only limited tickets remain available for the matinee.

Based on the best-selling Japanese manga series of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata/Sheuisha, this ground breaking musical (Winner Best Musical, Korea Musical Awards) has a score by Frank Wildhorn (‘Jekyll & Hyde’, four years on Broadway, ‘Dracula’, ‘Bonnie & Clyde’) with lyrics by Jack Murphy and book by Ivan Menchell.

It will be directed by Nick Winston and is produced by Carter Dixon McGill Production (‘Chess in Concert’, ‘Kinky Boots in Concert’, ‘Treason the Musical in Concert’), Indie Theatrical and HoriPro.

Light Yagami, a bright but dissatisfied high school student in Tokyo comes across a discarded notebook owned by Ryuk, a mythological god of death. Discovering he can kill anyone by just writing their names in the supernatural notebook, Light takes justice into his own hands by filling the notebook with names of the nation’s most wanted criminals. But a detective only known as ‘L’ is soon tracking him down…

Adam Pascal  will play Ryuk, a Shinigami (“god of death”).
A rock singer, Adam was chosen to create the role of Roger Davis in the original 1996 cast of Jonathan Larson’s musical ‘RENT’ on Broadway, he played the role in the West End premiere and  the 2005 movie version of the musical. His other roles include Radames in Elton John and Tim Rice’s ‘Aida’,  the Emcee in the 1998 revival of ‘Cabaret’, and for playing Huey Calhoun in the Broadway company of ‘Memphis’. More recently, he played William Shakespeare in the Tony Award-winning musical ‘Something Rotten!’.

Aimie Atkinson will play Rem, a Shinigami (“god of death”).
Aimie created the role of Katherine Howard  in the original cast of ‘Six’ and was Olivier nominated Best Supporting Actress, then played the lead role of Vivian Ward in ‘Pretty Woman’ (West End). Her other roles include Daniela in ‘In the Heights’ and Serena in ‘Pretty Woman’ (KIlworth House).

Rachel Chan will play Sayu, Light’s little sister.
Rachel recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with an MA in Musical Theatre. She is the recipient of the ABRSM Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award. She will next apperar in ‘Oliver!’ at Leeds Playhouse.

Christian Ray Marbella will play Soichiro.
Christian recently played Herod in ‘Jesus Christ Supertstar’ in Vienna. His other roles include Engineer in ‘Miss Saigon’ (international tour), Lun Tha in ‘The King & I’, Gary in ‘The Full Monty’.

Creative team:
Director and Choreographer Nick Winston
Associate Director and Choreographer Alex Sarmiento,
Costume Designer Kimie Nakano
Musical Supervisor  Katy Richardson
Musical Director Chris Ma
Orchestrator Jason Howland
Designer Justin Williams
Lighting Designer Ben Cracknell
Sound Designer Ben Harrison
Casting Harry Blumenau
Artwork by Rebecca Pitt Creative
Producers Carter Dixon McGill Productions, Indie Theatrical and HoriPro

Death Note THE MUSICAL premiered in 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. A 2022 Korean production won four awards at the Korea Musical Awards after being nominated in 10 categories (“Death Note offers a glimpse at the future of musicals”, The Korea Herald). In 2017, Netflix released a TV adaptation of ‘Death Note’ starring Willem Defoe.

Frank Wildhorn said: “Death Note THE MUSICAL has been the most unique, strange, edgy, and wonderful musical journey for me. It’s been a dream of mine to bring this show from Asia to the West End of London, and here we are!”

Frank Wildhorn
In 1999, Frank became the first American composer in 22 years to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway with Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Civil War. Also for Broadway: Bonnie & Clyde, Dracula, Victor/Victoria, Wonderland, and the revival of Jekyll & Hyde. West End: Bonnie & Clyde. International: Carmen, Camille Claudel, Casanova, Cyrano, Death Note, Fist of the North Star, Mata Hari, Mitsuko, Never Say Goodbye, No Longer Human, Rudolf, Tears of Heaven, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man Who Laughs, Your Lie in April and Xcalibur. Upcoming: Song of Bernadette and Reunion. He Produced Harlem Song at the famed Apollo Theatre. The Korea Times recently proclaimed Wildhorn as “Korea’s most popular musical composer”.

Carter Dixon McGill Productions
Carter Dixon McGill Productions are an Olivier nominated production and general management company with offices in London and Glasgow. Co-founded by John-Webb Carter, Jamie Chapman Dixon & Stephen McGill, they have over 30 years of experience within the entertainment industry.  
Recent productions include: ‘Blippi the Musical ‘(Apollo Theatre & Lyric Theatre); ‘Chess the Musical in Concert’ (Drury Lane Theatre); ‘Kinky Boots the Musical in Concert’ (Drury Lane Theatre); ‘Treason the Musical in Concert’ (Drury Lane Theatre). Previous productions include: ‘Wonderville: Magic & Illusion’ (Palace Theatre, London); ‘Death Drop’ (Criterion Theatre, Garrick Theatre & UK Tour).

Indie Theatrical
Indie Theatrical was established in 2014 by Broadway veteran, Louis Hobson, and theatrical producer, Jake Groshong. In addition to serving as Frank Wildhorn’s US producer, Indie has created global partnerships and established collaborations with industry leaders, top regional theatres, festivals, film and theatre producers, both domestically & internationally, to produce a wide variety of programming.  Credits include ‘Grey House’ on Broadway, executive producer of the 2023 Grammy nominated album, ‘Some Lovers’, by Burt Bacharach and Steven Sater; Shaun Cassidy’s ‘Magic of the Midnight Sky’; and Frank Wildhorn’s, ‘The Song of Bernadette’, which will premiere in 2024 by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatrical. Indie is also currently developing Frank Wildhorn’s new musicals ‘Reunion’, and ‘Your Lie In April’, which will both premiere in 2024.

HoriPro
Live Entertainment Division
Live Entertainment Division plan, produce and present various theatrical works including plays and musicals. Starting from the musical ‘Peter Pan’, which is presented every summer, HoriPro Stages, works produced by our company, are loved by many fans. We have brought the great works directed by the late Yukio Ninagawa, such as ‘Musashi’, ‘Shintokumaru’, and ‘Kafka On The Shore’ to other parts of the world and received fantastic reviews in London, New York, and other cities. In addition to producing our own directing version of musicals and plays such as ‘Thrill Me, ‘The Miracle Workers’, etc., we have presented the Japanese version of major musicals including ‘Billy Elliot’ and ‘Mary Poppins’ and have established a unique position in the Japanese theatrical industry. We are also the Japanese producer of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’, which is being presented in Asia for the first time. Our original musical production ‘Death Note THE MUSICAL’, which is being presented in Korea too, is the first production HoriPro had licensed to another country.

LISTINGS INFO

Carter Dixon McGill Productions
and Indie Theatrical present

Death Note THE MUSICAL
in Concert
Music by Frank Wildhorn,
Lyrics by Jack Murphy, book by Ivan Menchell
©️Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata/SHUEISHA, HoriPro

London Palladium
8 Argyll Street,
London W1F 7TF

Monday 21 & Tuesday 22 August
at 7.30pm
Tuesday 22 August at 2.30pm

running time:tbc

age recommendation: tbc

Tickets from £25

Booking link:
www.lwtheatres.co.uk

Website
www.deathnotethemucial.co.uk

SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter
@DeathnoteLDN
@ CDMProds
@frankwildhorn

Facebook
@frankwildhorn

Instagram
@DeathnoteLDN
@frank.wildhorn

TikTok
@DeathnoteLDN

AEG AND FOURTH WALL LIVE

ANNOUNCE

ALAN CUMMING

IS NOT ACTING HIS AGE

IN LONDON, MANCHESTER, AND GLASGOW

JANUARY 2024

AEG and Fourth Wall Live are thrilled to announce ALAN CUMMING IS NOT ACTING HIS AGE a one-man show presented by Alan Cumming will play at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall and Glasgow’s SEC Armadillo in January 2024. Full dates and details below.

Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 January 2024 at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Thursday 18 January 2024 at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall

Saturday 20 January 2024 at Glasgow SEC Armadillo

Tickets go on sale Friday 28th July at 10.00am and are available from aegpresents.co.uk/alancumming (https://www.aegpresents.co.uk/)

What exactly is acting your age?  And who decides?  These are the questions Alan Cumming has been grappling with for a very long time.

Alan Cumming said, ‘I’m constantly told, even now in my sixth decade, that I am child-like or puckish, and yet at the same time I’m also called a silver fox and a daddy. I think we all get really mixed messages about ageing.  We’re told to worship at the fountain of youth, to do everything we can to our bodies and our minds to stay young, yet then we bandy around pejoratives like “grow up” or “act your age”, even that we’re “mutton dressed as lamb”. I feel I’m still at an age where I can dance till dawn but also be able to dole out some wisdom to my fellow revellers!  Wisdom is just being able to recognize the repeating patterns that emerge as you get older, and maybe deciding to react to them differently. It’s just the same show with different costumes.’

In Alan Cumming Is Not Acting His Age, he covers all the bases: sex, death and bacchanalia, with a set list as eclectic as the man himself.  Songs from Cabaret authors Kander and Ebb blend with contemporary favourites and even a self-penned paean against plastic surgery.  He also discusses the effects of gravity, the time the mum from the Brady Bunch asked him to punch her, and what his dog taught him about the quality of life.

Alan Cumming’s most recent range of eclectic projects include creating a solo dance theatre piece about the Scottish bard Robert Burns, lip-synching the protagonist in a documentary, hosting the American version of the The Traitors, directing a podcast series about a sperm bank heist, playing a gangster opposite Liam Neason in a Neil Jordan film, curating a cabaret festival in Australia and recording a duet with a Gaelic rapper.

Thirty years ago, his Hamlet stormed the West End, a quarter of a century ago he was a sensation as Cabaret’s Master of Ceremonies in a production that forever changed the Broadway landscape, A decade ago his visceral, virtually one man Macbeth was a stunning, transatlantic coup de theatre.

His screen work ranges from art house to blockbuster, cult to mainstream, but his performances are always indelible and some immortal: Mr Floop in Spy Kids, Eli in The Good Wife, Nightcrawler in X2: X Men United, Sebastian in The High Life, ‘O’ in Sex and the City, Boris in Goldeneye, King James in Doctor Who, Sandy Frink in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Mayor Menlove in Schmigadoon and himself on Broad City.

He is the author of six books including a New York Times #1 bestselling memoir, performs in concert regularly in halls around the world and co-owns his own, eponymous cabaret bar Club Cumming, a home for ‘all ages, all genders, all colours, all sexualities, where kindness is all and anything could happen!’

The list of his collaborators over the years includes Liza Minnelli, Jeremy O. Harris, Jackie Chan, the Smurfs, David Bowie, The Simpsons, Robert Wilson, Stanley Kubrick, Jay Z, Bianca Del Rio, the Spice Girls, George Lucas, Terence Blanchard, KT Tunstall and not forgetting Dora the Explorer, Arthur and Elmo.

He had a photo exhibition named Alan Cumming Snaps!and an award-winning fragrance named Cumming. He has played Dionysus, the Devil, God, the Pope and was shot by Herb Ritts for Vanity Fair as Pan. He recently played a 70 year old woman. He has been a Lee Jeans model and on a stamp. He is a Tony and Olivier award winning theatre actor. He hosted the Tonys and was nominated for an Emmy for doing so. In fact he has been nominated for five Emmys, won a New York Emmy, a Scottish BAFTA and a British Comedy Award. He is an Independent Spirit award-winning producer and National Board of Review winning director. He is a Grammy and multiple Golden Globe nominee. His portrait hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. He has four honourary doctorates and over forty awards for being a humanitarian, but as he says, ‘awards mean nothing’!

NEW BRITISH MUSICAL

WRITTEN BY EMIL DALE & STEFAN KELK

KIN

TO HAVE STAGED CONCERT RUN THIS NOVEMBER

JOSEPH PEACOCK TO LEAD PRODUCTION IN THE ROLE OF NOAH

RUNNING AT THEATRO TECHNIS @ 26 CROWNDALE

LONDON KING’S CROSS

1-4 NOVEMBER (2 NOV @ 7PM)

Emil Dale on behalf of Factory Playhouse Productions Ltd has announced today that the new British musical Kin will have a staged concert run at Theatro Technis @ 26 Crowndale, London King’s Cross from 1-4 November (Press Night: 2 November).

When a controversial cult leader buys an old ranch in a small town in southern America, tensions with the local townsfolk reach boiling point! As the conflict escalates, the shocking depths of their clash are exposed, with a startling revelation: Noah, the mayor’s son, has found himself entangled in the cult’s grip.

Inspired by true events that took place in 1980s America and featuring an original 1980s pop-inspired score, the musical written by Emil Dale & Stefan Kelk will be performed in a staged concert form in the King’s Cross based converted church in London featuring design by Justin Williams and casting by Claire Cassidy for Debbie O’Brien Casting.

Joseph Peacock, who is currently appearing in the UK tour of Titanic the Musical, will lead the production in the role of Noah. Peacock trained at Dale’s Emil Dale Academy and his credits include originating the role of Donny Osmond in the musical The Osmonds, playing the role of Young Gideon on the US tour in Sting’s musical The Last Ship and understudying and playing the role of Tink in the West End production of the musical Bat Out of Hell.

Emil Dale said of today’s announcement, “We just cannot wait for audiences to step into the extraordinary world of ‘KIN’!  The creative team will be fine-tuning the production during its run and we invite you to become an integral part of its evolution through feedback! We hope the way people engage with the material will inform the future life and hopefully even the future home of this brand-new British Musical!” 

The concept album for Kin is available on all streaming platforms including SPOTIFY – APPLE MUSIC – AMAZON MUSIC. Tickets for the production are now available for priority members with general sale on 31^st July at 10:00am via www.kinthemusical.com.

TONY AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY MUSICAL

WILL PLAY ITS FINAL PERFORMANCE AT THE

PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE

ON SUNDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2023

The producers of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical AIN’T TOO PROUD announced today that the show will play its final performance at the Prince Edward Theatre on Sunday 17 September 2023, ending its limited run earlier than originally planned. ainttooproudmusical.co.uk

AIN’T TOO PROUD stars Cameron Bernard Jones as Melvin Franklin, Kyle Cox as Paul Williams, Sifiso Mazibuko as Otis Williams, Tosh Wanogho-Maud as David Ruffin and Mitchell Zhangazha as Eddie Kendricks.

The company is completed by Evonnee Bentley-Holder, Natalia Brown, Ryan Carter, Hannah Fairclough, Christopher Gopaul, Daniel Haswell, Naomi Katiyo, Akmed Junior Khemalai, Holly Liburd, Darnell Mathew-James, Simeon Montague, Posi Morakinyo, Sadie-Jean Shirley, Michael James Stewart, Toyan Thomas-Browne, Dylan Turner and Kevin Yates.

AIN’T TOO PROUD – The Life and Times of The Temptations, which won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Choreography, is the electrifying new musical that follows the remarkable journey of the group from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With their signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts creating an amazing 42 Top Ten Hits with 14 reaching number one. The rest is history – how they met, how they rose, the ground-breaking heights they hit, and how personal and political conflicts threatened to tear the group apart as the United States fell into civil unrest. This thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty and betrayal is set to the beat of the group’s Grammy Award-winning music including the hits My Girl, Just My Imagination, Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone, Get Ready, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg and so many more.

AIN’T TOO PROUD has a book by Kennedy Prize-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau and reunites two-time Tony Award winning director Des McAnuff with Tony and Olivier Award winning choreographer Sergio Trujilio, whose previous collaborations include the Tony Award winning hit show Jersey Boys. It has Scenic Design by Tony Award nominee Robert Brill with Costume Design by Tony Award winner Paul Tazewell. Tony Award winning Lighting Designer Howell Binkley and Tony Award winning Sound Designer Steve Canyon Kennedy united once again following their success working together on Jersey Boys. Projection Design is by Drama Desk Award winner Peter Nigrini, Hair and Wig Design by Charles G. LaPointe. Music Supervision and Arrangements are by Kenny Seymour, Orchestrations by Drama Desk Award winner Harold Wheeler, Music Direction by Matt Smith and Casting by Pippa Ailion CDG and Natalie Gallacher CDG.

AIN’T TOO PROUD is produced in the West End by Ira Pittelman, Tom Hulce, Stephen Gabriel and Jamie Wilson.

Lavender Theatre, Epsom – until 5th August 2023

Reviewed by Fozia Munshi-Nicholson

5*****

This is the Lavender Theatres inaugural performance. The Lavender Theatre is an open-air theatre set amongst picturesque lavender fields, and boasts all things lavender, lavender trees rows of lavender bushes. They have a gift shop selling lavender honey and soaps amongst other things.

The theatre experience begins before the performance even starts, you can pre-buy a food hamper and enjoy a picnic before the performance whilst enjoying the gorgeous views.

My visit was during the first week of the very first time this theatre has been running, and the team were experiencing a few inevitable teething issues, my food hamper was not as requested but the staff couldn’t do enough to quickly rectify the issue politely and apologetically.

Then we had the English weather to contend with, all week it has been sunny, but on this day when I went attended, it rained, relentlessly. The theatre has many covered areas for guests to enjoy their food, we shared our table with fellow guests and enjoyed meeting new people.

The seating area of the theater is covered by a canopy, however section A was subject to rain falling in their laps from the canopy edge. We scooted to section B which was better covered.

The show performance can only be described as enthralling, the cast, all of them, from the star Surie who played Annie Oakley, down to the three children played by Mahlie Duval, Olivia Ainsworth and Poppy Lerougetel were spectacular, at one point the children had had to lie on the floor pretending to be in bed and they did it naturally as if they were not lying on a soaking wet floor and being rained on.

The show was brilliantly choreographed the cast were amazing and danced and sang as if they were in the sun-soaked prairies and not being soaked by the English rain. I haven’t seen a better musical in the West End. It was slick, it was polished, and the cast were all spectacular.

The show set in the prairies in 19th century follows Surie’s Annie Oakley’s rise to fame as a the best sharpshooter in the west, much to the chagrin of her lover the womanising Frank Butler played by Charlie Mccullagh. Surie’s voice is beautiful, and she has excellent comic timing, stunningly illustrated in the song ‘Anything You Can Do’, during which she displays her great vocal range.

The supporting cast put on a dazzling performance, especially the love affair between Winnie Tate played by Nina Bell and Tommy Keeler played by Joseph Vella. The pair are funny and charming together as the young lovers frustrated by Chloe Harts Dolly Tate who has higher aspirations for her kid sister.

The music was on point and the songs from the opening of ‘There’s no Business like Show Business’ were rousing and fun right to the end.

The only thing I would change is for the stage to be covered as other open-air theaters do. Not because the actors in any way presented as if they were being rained on or uncomfortable, but it can’t have been comfortable for them. I’d also recommend theatre goers taking a wrap in case the weather turns as it was a bit chilly.

I look forward to the Lavender Theatre putting on many more productions and if you can I would highly recommend going to see Annie Get your Gun at the Lavender Theatre, its an entire experience, and a great day out.

The Mill, Sonning – until 29 July 2023

Reviewed by Alec Legge

4****

In order to review Issy van Randwyck’s rendition of the lives and music of Billie Holiday, Marilyn Monroe, Patsy Cline, Janis Joplin, Karen Carpenter, Mama Cass and Dusty Springfield I had to travel to the Mill at Sonning, which is near Reading, by train from Paddington. The evening is a package event consisting of a meal and a show so I will include the full experience in this review.

The Mill at Sonning is situated on an island in the Thames and was built in the 18th century as a working flour mill. The surroundings are extremely picturesque. The interior has been lovingly restored and is now a restaurant and theatre with many of the original features, including a working water wheel, We had a hearty buffet meal with several different choices which was excellent, I can heartily recommend the steak pie! There was plenty of time to enjoy the meal before moving to the theatre for the show.

The theatre has 215 seats, a wrap around stage, with the seats rising quite steeply which makes for a good view from all sides. The backing musicians were in view spread around the rear of stage and consisted of a piano, drums. double bass and guitar.

Miss Randwyck came on stage and immediately started with a Billie Holiday song, following which, she sung 4 more of her songs interspersed with a commentary on Billies life and death. She continued on this theme with songs and commentaries on all the other performers I have mentioned.

In all Miss Randwyck sung 28 songs, she is an extremely talented singer and performer and it was a joy to be present at her show.

However whilst I enjoyed her singing I did feel that the overall choice of 6 of her subjects all dying young as a result of a rackety life style and Dusty Springfield who died in her 50’s of cancer, gave a slightly morbid air to the performance.

Not withstanding that proviso, the evening was enjoyable and dinner and theatre at the Mill makes for a a lovely night out.

Bard in the Botanics Festival, Glasgow Botanic Gardens – until 29^th July 2023

 REVIEWED BY RACHEL FARRIER 

4****

There is always a slightly magical atmosphere at the outdoor Bard in the Botanics, as the light fades and the audience huddle further into their warm layers (praying the rain holds off), and the beautiful gardens fade behind the glow of the stage lights.

Last night’s performance of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest‘ was no exception and the magic continued with an evening that was a riot of energy and colour, crescendo-ing at the night wore on. Oscar Wilde’s brilliant satire of the English class system has (perhaps sadly) stood the test of time; the upper class, raffish and ridiculously entitled duo of Algernon and Jack bear more than a passing resemblance to a certain recent prime minister and his cronies. Under Gordon Barr’s expert direction, the absurdities of (upper class, English) Victorian attitudes towards marriage and respectability are exposed to their full extent. The duet of James Boal as Algernon and Stephen Arden as Jack are the riotous, irrepressible and hilarious centre of the show, and convey the moral bankruptcy and hypocrisy of their characters with charm and zest. They are clearly having a ball and play off one another with a delightful, slightly crazed silliness.

The iconic role of Lady Bracknell is played to its full, camp extent by Alan Steele who effortlessly portrays the doyenne of double standards, cloaked in the guise of ‘respectability’. The early scene in which Lady B interviews Jack as the potential husband for her daughter Gwendolin was the first of many laugh out loud moments, and the momentum of hilarity builds from there. For me, Éimi Quinn brought the loudest laughs of the night, managing to segue brilliantly between wide eyed, naive teenage ward Cecily Cardew and a distinctly weegie version of the same character in moments of high emotion.  The scenes in which she and Claire Macallister (as Gwendolin) oscillate between love and hate for one another have pitch perfect comic timing.

As the plot thickens and the central mistaken/adopted identities of the central characters begin to unravel/become clear, the sub plot of repressed romance between the Reverend Chasuble and Cecily’s governess Miss Prism brings another strand of comedy which is brilliantly rendered by Lynsey-Anne Moffat and Johnny Panchaud who ham it up spectacularly. The denouement in which all identities are revealed and the infamous handbag takes centre stage is terrific, and the audience was still audibly chuckling as we wound our way out of the gardens and into the night. This is a show to lift the spirits, get along in the remaining week if you can.

York Theatre Royal – until Sunday 30th July 2023

Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

4****

York’s current summer community play is a world premier adaptation of C.J. Sansom’s novel, Sovereign. It’s a Tudor whodunit, full of murder, treason, and conspiracy, adapted to stage by York playwright Mike Kenny and co-directed by Juliet Forster, Mingyu Lin and John R. Wilkinson.

Set in 1541, Matthew Shardlake (Fergus Rattigan), a London lawyer, and his sidekick Jack Barak (Sam Thorpe-Spinks) have arrived in York ahead of King Henry VIII and his fifth wife Catherine Howard. Not only are they there to smooth the way for the King but they have been tasked with a secret mission, to ensure that a prisoner is delivered safely to the Tower of London for interrogation. Things take a turn for the worst when a local glazier is murdered, the prisoner poisoned and all sorts of shenanigans occurring. Part-time sleuth, Shardlake investigates, uncovering secrets that could lead to the demise of the Tudor dynasty. Who is behind it all? It certainly kept me guessing.

How fitting that not only is the book centred mostly in York, but King’s Manor, the outdoor setting for this show, is an integral part of the story. We are so lucky in York to have such history and stunning buildings. King’s Manor is now part of the University of York’s campus, who have partnered with York Theatre Royal and is just over the road from the theatre. All the action takes place in the courtyard, with a huge tree taking centre stage.

The courtyard is bustling for the majority and told through the voices of the people of York, narrated by the women of York. It features a large local cast of over community production on a grand scale that is utilised to its full potential. You really feel involved in all the hustle and bustle and the action going on all around you.

Rattigan and Thorpe-Spinks share a camaraderie and are confident in their roles as the dogged investigator and his lovable, jack the lad companion. They may be the only two professional actors in the show, but the rest of the cast held their own, with some strong individual performances. Of note were Livvy Potter as the royal servant, and Jack’s love interest, Tamasin Reedbourne, Nick Naidu-Bock as the tortured prisoner Edward Broderick, and Joe Hopper as the sadistic jailer Fulke Radwinter.

The city scenes when Henry VIII appeared in York, included puppetry. Magnificent horses, manned by three actors each, trotting along in harmony with their flowing manes and swishing tails, a caged bear, and some fighting cockerels. It is always good to see the imagination that goes into creating such amazing props.

The costumes, designed by Hazel Fall, are absolutely stunning. The amount of work that has gone into creating so many wonderful costumes for so many people is mind blowing and huge congratulations must go to all the staff and volunteers in the costume department.

If the cast wasn’t huge enough, they are supported by a wonderful choir, who sit in gazebo to the side of the stage. I was lucky enough to sit at the end of the row and could see them in action, but to hear them was something else.

I must say I was fully engrossed in all the action in the first half, but it did wane after the interval, before the final revelation. Make sure that if you do have tickets that you take a cushion to sit on, remember it is outside and though the seating area is covered it could get chilly and seating is not reserved. The poor cast have to work with no cover, whatever the elements.

York really does this type of theatre so well and should be proud of this amazing community project. This is an impressive bit of theatre full of passion and enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, it looks like the run has now all sold out, but York Theatre Royal will be holding free screenings at the end of August, make sure you catch it then.