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County Hall, London – until 28 April 2024

Reviewed by Alec Legge

4****

To the Chamber at the County Hall to see this Agatha Christie masterpiece. The Chamber is a wonderful setting for the play, lending itself to becoming a theatre in the round. The main seating for the audience is laid out in a semi circle with the remainder being sat in what were the public galleries. and the seating being the original seats from when the Chamber was used by the council for it’s deliberations The open end, where the Mayor and his officials once sat, now being used as the Judges Bench with the Court Officials seated in front. It truly lends itself to being a representation of the Old Bailey with its awe inspiring décor and a wonderful atmosphere.

To add to the atmosphere a representation of the Lady Justice, which sits on top of the Old Bailey, is situated above the Judges Bench. All in all the Chamber does give the appearance of a real courtroom

The actual stage is built within the semi circle of seats and is in clear view of all. The Jury box is situated adjacent to the Judges’ Bench and is filled with members of the public acting the part.

The play starts with the jury being sworn in as would happen in a real court. Then the stage alternates between being a courtroom and barristers chambers. The plot is full of so many twists and turns, with some humour included, making it difficult to describe without giving away the plot! Suffice to say it is Agatha Christie at her best.

The actors gave a tremendous performance and every word uttered is audible. The plot followed was a good representation of what happens in a barristers chambers and the court procedures were believable given some artistic licence.

Harry Giubileo gave a masterful performance as Leonard Vole, the central character and the accused, as did Madelaine Walker as his wife. The two Barristers, Jo Stone-Fewings as Sur Wilfred Roberts QC for the defence and Nick Sampson as Mr Myers QC for the prosecution played their parts to perfection. In fact all the cast members gave sterling performances and all bring the play alive and entirely living up to Mrs Christie’s script.

I loved spending the evening watching this play and would recommend it as an excellent choice for a visit generally and particularly for fans of Agatha Christie. Literally a master piece of the genre!

THE LOWRY, SALFORD – UNTIL SATURDAY 22ND APRIL 2023

REVIEWED BY MIA BOWEN

4****

Waldo’s Circus Of Magic and Terror is sold as a new musical and yet it is so much more. It is a place where inclusivity and diversity are celebrated, and boundaries are broken. This project brings Extraordinary Bodies, co-produced with Bristol Old Vic & Theatre Royal Plymouth, together with seven national touring partners including The Lowry Salford Quays, where I watched the first of three performances. It was unlike anything I have ever seen before!

Extraordinary Bodies, the company who have created the show, is a collaboration between circus company Cirque Bijou and charity Diverse City, a performing arts company working with D/deaf, disabled and non-disabled artists – making it a ‘Circus for Every Body’. Every show is ‘chilled’ meaning the theatre takes a more casual approach to noise and movement and is accessible for all audience members. Caption screens are included on either side of the stage showing subtitles and assist the sighted audience members to understand when they communicate in BSL on stage. For the visually impaired audience members there are pre-recorded audio description headsets available. The talented Max Marchewicz provides live BSL interpretation throughout.

Set in 1933 Nazi Germany, it tells the story of a travelling circus troupe, an original story from Hattie Naylor and co-written by Jamie Beddard.

Although the characters are fictional, the narrative is based on fact and the historical context makes for uncomfortable viewing at times. The Nazi’s used circus performers to perform during their rallies and became increasingly hostile to those not part of the Aryan race, cleansing the troupes of any artist who did not reflect their warped views. This production reminds the audience that other groups of minorities were also targeted for abuse and sometimes worse. From 1933 to 1939 around 360 000 disabled people were forced to be sterilised by the Nazi’s.

Notable performances came from Peter and Renee (Tilly Lee-Kronick and Johnny Leitch), who stole the show on the high wire with their intimate aerialist scene in the first Act. The adorable double act was performed by Mish and Mosh (Raphaella Julien and Brooklyn Melvin). They had the strongest on stage relationship and communicated through BSL. Mish (Julien) performed the most heartfelt solo performance of the night with The Disappeared using BSL. It was incredibly moving watching her perform. I was mesmerised by Mirabelle Gremaud’s (Queenie and Dr Margot Kruger), effortless acrobatics and contortion.

The depth of the performances from across this ensemble cast is exceptional and it is heightened when you take into consideration their physical disabilities.

Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror is a daring tale of humanity – about the best of us and the worst of us as humans.

York Theatre Royal – until Saturday 22nd April 2023

Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

3***

Based on life and writings of the author P.G. Wodehouse, the iconic humourist author behind Jeeves and Wooster. Wodehouse in Wonderland takes place in his New York State home in the 1950’s. This show is a one-handed performance by Robert Daws, a well-known face from UK television, mostly through monologues.

Affectionally know as Plum to his family and friends, Wodehouse is working on his latest Jeeves and Wooster adventure, whilst being interrupted by his barking dogs, beloved wife, and a young American biographer, Mr Phillips. Whilst he has no biological children of his own, he simply adores his stepdaughter Leonora, lovingly referred to as Snorkles. A lot of this story revolves around the letters he writes to her, all the while wishing she was there in person.

Despite Daw’s frivolity and demeanour, we learn about Wodehouse’s upbringing, a neglected child of well to do parents, who only saw their child twice from the age of 2 to 15, which is simply tragic to hear. Talking directly to the audience, with some songs thrown in, there are tales of his most remembered characters, his love of writing, which was prolific, his supposed treason and tragedy.

The first act meanders along, lacking that bit of spark to keep you truly engaged. After the interval it does ramp up a bit with the story of his internment during the Second World War and the tragedy that befalls his family, which is a huge to a shock to us all. It is poignant to think that after World War Two Wodehouse was “exiled” to America and never returned to England.

The set is a creation of his study, complete with desk, typewriter, comfy chair, and we mustn’t forget the bar, perfect for those afternoon martinis, in his American mansion. It hinted of somewhere you could imagine your grandparents growing old in, lovely and comfortable.

Though this is a one man show, we do hear the barking dogs and his wife’s voice off stage. Daws is impressive and really does excel with the wordy script. He has a warmth that you can resonate with, the strength of his acting is second to none.

I was expecting laughter and light heartiness, because of his Jeeves and Wooster characters I suppose. Though there is a bit of humour, and I had the odd chuckle, the strongest part of the show were the bittersweet moments. I felt the story fell short for me and I wasn’t truly engaged.

Singer, Actor and West End leading man Graham MacDuff answered 20 questions. Currently starring as Monsignor O’Hara in Sister Act the Musical on tour.  Soon to be appearing at the Mayflower theatre in Southampton

Let’s start off with some favourites…

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

West Side Story because that’s where I met my wife (performer Anna Jane Casey) and Spamalot are my two favourites

Favourite book?

I like a boy’s own adventure, so anything by Tom Clancy etc, but I’ve just finished reading Madly Deeply, the Alan Rickman Diaries.

Favourite theatre?

The Palace Theatre in London, where I first did Spamalot

Favourite song?

Knocks Me Off My Feet by Stevie Wonder, it our first dance at our wedding

Favourite music?

Disco and 90’s RnB

Favourite food

Italian, I love pasta and I love cooking

Favourite line from any show?

From Chess the Musical – “I’m tired of mediocrity getting in the way of the game I love“

What is your favourite role?

Lancelot in Spamalot

What was your first role?

An Ostrich in Peter Pan in Worthing, Christmas 88

And what role would you really like to play?

I’d love to play Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar

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

I’d still be me.  I have a wife and children I love, I’m happy being me

You have children, would you encourage them to become a performer?

I’d encourage them to do whatever they want to do.  I do think my youngest is going to be a performer

What are the nicest/weirdest things you have ever received from fans?

After I finished in Grease at the Dominion, I was given a lovely framed collage of different pictures of me in the show, that was lovely.  And then I was given a plastic watch, that didn’t work but it was in a lovely box and nicely wrapped – that was a bit weird

Have you considered doing a play or straight acting with no singing?

I’ve done a few plays, but where else can you just randomly burst into song

So to follow on, do you prefer TV or Theatre?

Live theatre always.  I love the instant reaction

If you weren’t an amazing performer what would you be?

Something in the building industry or a plumber.  I enjoy doing DIY.  Or a world class golfer

What advice would you give 16 year old Graham?

Trust in yourself and don’t believe everything you read about yourself, whether it be good or bad

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

I saw Beverley Knight in The Bodyguard and again in The Drifters Girl.  But I could listen to her sing the phone book

What made you decide to be a performer?

My sister used to have dance classes on a Saturday and mum would drag me around town while we waited for her.  But I hated being dragged around town and ended up joining the dance class.  Then I saw Guys and Dolls at the National with Julia McKenzie and that was the catalyst

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

I finish Sister Act in July when this leg of the tour ends.  And then I have a new kitchen to fit.  I’m sending out positive vibes for a new show to do.  Something will turn up it always does.

You can catch Sister Act at the Mayflower Southampton from Monday May 2nd and you can buy tickets here.  The rest of the tour continues until July buy tickets here

Theatre Royal Stratford East, London – until 6 May 2023

Reviewed by Alun Hood

2**

Collaborative theatre partnership Ramps On The Moon’s goals – to amplify and encourage the representation of disabled and deaf people in mainstream theatre – are essential and admirable, and some of it’s past productions, including versions of The Government Inspector, Oliver Twist and The Who’s Tommy, have wielded unique freshness and power. Each of those shows were founded on rock solid stories then retold with wit, fire and originality. The 2023 offering, debutant writer Samson Hawkins’s Village Idiot, co-produced by Nottingham Playhouse and Stratford East and helmed by the East London venue’s Artistic Director Nadia Fall, is an entirely new play. It would be lovely to report that the winning streak continues and that they have struck gold. Unfortunately, this is a bit of a stinker.

Village Idiot feels like Hawkins has ingested great chunks of Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem, swirled in elements of gay romance, climate change panic, Mischief Theatre and sheer bad taste, and hurled the whole lot at the wall to see what sticks. It’s a confused mess of a play, like a faulty firework that explodes off into a number of different directions before subsiding in a whimper. There are some really interesting ideas, a fair bit of zany humour, but rather too many times where you’re left scratching your head in bewilderment.

Hawkins has set his play in the rural Northamptonshire village of Syresham where the long term family homes are under threat of compulsory purchase order due to the controversial High Speed Rail network being put in to link London and Birmingham. The locals are not taking it lying down though, especially not potty mouthed, permanently off-her-meds grandma Barbara (Eileen Nicholas) or cheerfully aggressive butcher Kevin (Mark Benton) and his closeted gay son Liam (Joseph Langdon). Meanwhile Peter, Barbara’s openly gay grandson (Philip Labey) is back for a visit from “that London” and a touching (in every sense) relationship is starting up between Kevin’s daughter Debbie (Faye Wiggan) and Barbara’s other grandson Harry (Maximilian Fairley). Aggrieved country dwellers taking on big business isn’t a particularly original plot strand but Hawkins is on about a lot more than that.

Domestic moments or scenes set in the surrounding woods (lovely sylvan set by Lily Arnold) are interspersed with acts from a variety show fundraiser that the Syresham community are putting on. Mildly amusing as these are (there’s a Cher-inspired drag act, a magician, some stand-up comedy, a couple of songs) most of them go on way too long; we get the gist that this show is thrown together by a bunch of people lacking in natural talent but, after being subjected to what feels like hours of it, you just start to feel like you’re watching pretty bad theatre.

It’s never really clear where Hawkins stands on any of the topics raised. He paints a picture of rural life being fairly brutal and narrow-minded, then has Barbara shrilly extolling the virtues of it as though all other environments and lifestyles are inherently toxic and evil. His characters frequently say the apparently unsayable and one assumes that’s supposed to be shocking but it mainly comes across as unfocused and unconvincing. The threats of violence are bad enough but the gay slurs are pretty hard to listen to. You can get away with a lot if you’re screamingly funny enough, but most of what’s said here is just witless and unnecessarily crude. Cosy and confrontational simultaneously is hard to pull off, and feels like what this play is aiming for, but never achieves.

The lurch into preaching about saving the planet with the cast staggering about dressed up like nightmarish versions of giant woodland animals is eye-rollingly pretentious, and needs to be seen to be believed. Fall’s uncertain staging doesn’t help. It might have worked better had there been a sharp differentiation between the variety show sections and the “real” scenes. As it is, too much seems sloppy where it should be savage, and lacking in pace and conviction.

There are compensations. Seeing a love story between a pair of neurodiverse people onstage is an all-too-rare occurrence and is handled rather beautifully here (Wiggan in particular displays a quietly killer comic timing). Langdon convincingly evokes Liam’s vulnerability and pain, and Benton uses his cuddly persona to ingenious, chilling effect when he periodically lets the mask slip to show the brutality underneath, although some of his character motivations and sudden changes of attitude make no sense at all. Fairley cleverly suggests a simmering aggression under Harry’s stand-up act, and gets a last minute speech declaring his warts-and-all love for Debbie that almost brings the house down.

It feels like there is a stronger, more original play struggling to get out of Village Idiot but it will take a more rigorous director and an unscrupulous editor to find it. At the moment, it’s a challenge to sit through, despite the efforts of a game cast. It runs the gamut from sweet to excruciating in an overlong two and a half hours.

MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY ANNOUNCES PROGRAMMING FOR 2023

TWO WORLD PREMIÈRE MUSICALS AND

A REVIVAL OF A SONDHEIM CLASSIC

With Marjorie Prime currently running at the company’s home base in South London and Funny Girl on Broadway, the Menier Chocolate Factory today announces forthcoming programming for 2023. The venue, which has long been synonymous with musical theatre, returns to its roots with a season comprised of three musicals – two world premières of The Third Man and Close Up – The Twiggy Musical; and continuing its long association with the work of Stephen Sondheim, the season ends with Pacific Overtures.

Trevor Nunn returns to the Menier Chocolate Factory to direct The Third Man, with music by George Fenton, book by Christopher Hampton and lyrics by Don Black. The production, which opens the season was originally developed by Vereinigte Bühnen Wien Gmbh (VBW) in Vienna – Franz Patay, CEO and Christian Struppeck, Artistic Director Musical – and is staged with the kind permission of STUDIOCANAL and GRAHAM GREENE PRODUCTIONS LTD. Priority booking for Chocolate Factory members opens 24 April, with public booking opening on 2 May.

This is followed by Close Up – The Twiggy Musical– which tells the story a skinny kid from Neasden who became an international sensation. Written and directed by Ben Elton, this brand-new musical opens in September.

Completing the season is the Menier and Umeda Arts Theater’s co-production of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Pacific Overtures – directed by Matthew White – which opened earlier this year at the Nissay Theatre in Tokyo. The musical, which was significantly revised by both Sondheim and Weidman in 2017, will be seen here in the UK for the time in this version. This continues the venue’s history of Sondheim collaborations, which also sees the company’s production of Merrily We Roll Along open on Broadway later this year.

Booking information for Close Up – The Twiggy Musical and Pacific Overtures will be announced in due course.

Artistic Director of the Menier Chocolate Factory, David Babani, said today, “Musical theatre is at the heart of what we do at the Menier, and not having been able to stage a musical for the last 3 years, we’re thrilled to announce a season of 3 back-to-back musicals – comprising two world premières; and a reinvention of Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures. We’ve had the immense privilege to stage many Sondheim works on our stage, so it’s wonderful to collaborate with Umeda Arts Theater and bring his unique voice back to our theatre. We look forward to welcoming Trevor Nunn back to helm The Third Man – a brand new musical by George Fenton, Christopher Hampton and Don Black – for the first time since the Olivier Award-winning Fiddler on the Roof; and also, to collaborate with Twiggy and Ben Elton for the first time with Close Up – The Twiggy Musical.”

THE THIRD MAN

MUSIC BY GEORGE FENTON

BOOK BY CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON

LYRICS BY DON BLACK

10 June – 9 September

Direction: Trevor Nunn; Set and Costume Design: Paul Farnsworth;

Lighting Design: Emma Chapman; Sound Design: Gregory Clarke; Orchestrations: Jason Carr;

Musical Supervision and Direction: Tamara Saringer; Movement and Choreography: Rebecca Howell

Originally developed by Vereinigte Bühnen Wien Gmbh (VBW) in Vienna

Franz Patay, CEO and Christian Struppeck, Artistic Director Musical

The production is staged with the kind permission of

STUDIOCANAL and GRAHAM GREENE PRODUCTIONS LTD

Graham Greene’s brilliant story – which was made into a landmark film and published as a novella – now comes to the stage in new musical written by Christopher Hampton with music by George Fenton, lyrics by Don Black and directed by Trevor Nunn. Post-war Vienna is the setting as Holly Martins arrives at the invitation of his friend and hero, Harry Lime, only to discover that Harry has been killed in a car accident.  But nothing that he is told about what happened makes any sense.  The tension mounts as Holly enters the world of black marketeers and military bureaucracy, culminating in a chase through the Viennese sewers, as Holly tries to discover what happened to Harry…and who is the third man?  This world premiere will keep audiences on the edge of their seats as they are immersed into the world of The Third Man.

The Third Man sees Trevor Nunn renew his collaboration with the Menier – he previously directed Fiddler on the Roof (also West End), Lettice and Lovage, Love in Idleness (also West End), A Little Night Music (also West End and Broadway) and Aspects of Love for the company.

Graham Greene was born in 1904. He was educated at Berkhamsted School and Balliol College, Oxford. In 1926  Greene’s first novel, The Man Within, was published in 1929 and its favourable reception led him to resign from the Times where he was working as a sub editor to take up full-time writing. Success, however, eluded him until the publication of Stamboul Train, his fourth novel, in 1932. In 1935 he trekked across northern Liberia, (described in Journey Without Maps) and his 1938 travels in Mexico, sponsored by Longmans, inspired The Lawless Roads and The Power and the Glory. During the war, he worked for the Foreign Office and spent 1942-1943 in Sierra Leone (the setting for The Heart of the Matter). Brighton Rock was published in 1938. He became Literary Editor of the Spectator in 1940. After the war he returned to journalism and began a series of wide-ranging travels which gave rise to The Quiet American, Our Man in Havana, A Burnt Out Case, The Comedians, Travels With My Aunt, The Honorary Consul, The Human Factor, Monsignor Quixote and The Captain and the Enemy. Beside the novels, which have been translated into many languages, most of which are currently in print in English, Greene wrote collections of short stories, two works of autobiography (A Sort of a Life and Ways Of Escape), two biographies, eight plays – among them The Living Room (1953), The Potting Shed (1957) and The Complaisant Lover (1959) – a book on English dramatists, four illustrated children’s books as well as hundreds of essays and film and book reviews. Many of his novels and short stories have been made into films. He wrote the screenplay for The Third Man which was released in 1949 and later published as a novella using his preparatory narrative for the screenplay. Graham Greene was named a Companion of Honour in 1966 and received the British Order of Merit in 1986. He died in April 1991 at the age of 86.

George Fenton works in film, theatre and television and has frequently adapted music for scores, notably Handel for The Madness of King George, and Vivaldi and JS Bach for Dangerous Liaisons. His theatre work includes Straight Line Crazy, Visit from an Unknown Woman, The Smoking Diaries, Collaborators, Untold Stories, Mrs Henderson Presents and, at the Bridge Theatre, Allelujah!, Talking Heads and Beat The Devil. For television, his work includes The Jewel in the Crown, The Monocled Mutineer, Talking Heads, Life and many themes including Shoestring, Bergerac, BBC News, Newsnight and On the Record, as well as The Blue Planet, Planet Earth and The Frozen Planet. He conducts the Planet scores in concert with orchestras worldwide. His recent film work includes The United Way, The Duke and The Secret: Dare to Dream. Other films include Cry Freedom, Shadowlands, The Fisher King, Groundhog Day, You’ve Got Mail, Hitch, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, I Daniel Blake and The Lady in the Van.

Don Black made his West End debut as a theatre lyricist with composer John Barry on the musical Billy, starring Michael Crawford at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Black is the recipient of two Tony Awards for Best Book and Lyrics of a musical for his work (with Christopher Hampton) on Sunset Boulevard, which marked his third collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber. They first joined forces to write the song cycle Tell Me on a Sunday which was developed to form the basis of the stage show Song and Dance, and they later were reunited for Aspects of Love. He also wrote lyrics for the Andrew Lloyd Webber-produced Bombay Dreams. His other many musical credits include Bonnie and Clyde (currently at the Garrick Theatre), Feather Boy, Whistle Down the Wind, Dracula, The Goodbye Girl, Radio Times and Budgie. His other awards include an Oscar for his song “Born Free”, five Academy Award nominations, and a further three Tony Award nominations, six Ivor Novello Awards, a Golden Globe and many platinum and gold discs. He has written a quintet of theme songs for the James Bond films Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, The Man with the Golden Gun, “Surrender” from Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough. Among his many popular songs are two U.S. number ones – “Ben” for Michael Jackson and “To Sir with Love” for Lulu. He was inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008 and recently honoured in London with a BMI Icon award. He also received the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Honours list; and last year he was awarded an Olivier Award for his outstanding services to theatre. Most recently he wrote his critically acclaimed memoir The Sanest Guy in The Room which featured in The Sunday Times best sellers list.

Christopher Hampton has translated plays by Ibsen, Molière, Chekhov, Yasmina Reza (including Art and Life x 3) and Florian Zeller’s The Father, The Mother, The Truth, The Lie and In the Height of the Storm. His other plays include The Talking Cure, White Chameleon, Tales from Hollywood, Treats, Savages, The Philanthropist, Total Eclipse and When Did you Last See My Mother?. He has written the books for the musicals Sunset Boulevard, Dracula – the Musical and Stephen Ward.  He won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the adaptations of The Father and of his own play, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (released as Dangerous Liaisons). He was nominated again in 2007 for adapting Ian McEwan’s novel Atonement. His television work includes adaptations of The History Man and Hotel du Lac.

From 1968 to 1986, Trevor Nunn was the youngest ever Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, directing over thirty productions, including most of the Shakespeare canon, as well as Nicholas Nickleby and Les Misérables.  From 1997 to 2003, he was Artistic Director of the National Theatre, where his productions included Troilus and Cressida, Oklahoma!, The Merchant of Venice, Summerfolk, My Fair Lady, A Streetcar Named Desire, Anything Goes and Love’s Labour’s Lost.  He has directed the world premières of Tom Stoppard’s plays Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia and Rock n Roll; and Cats, Sunset Boulevard, Starlight Express and Aspects of Love by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Other theatre includes Fiddler on the Roof (Menier Chocolate Factory and Playhouse Theatre), Timon of Athens, Skellig (Young Vic); The Lady From The Sea (Almeida Theatre); Hamlet, Richard II, Inherit the Wind (The Old Vic), A Little Night Music (Menier Chocolate Factory, West End and Broadway), Cyrano de Bergerac, Kiss Me Kate (Chichester Festival Theatre and Old Vic); Heartbreak House, Flare Path, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Tempest (Theatre Royal, Haymarket); Scenes from a Marriage (Coventry & St James), All That Fall (Jermyn Street & New York); A Chorus of Disapproval and Relative Values (West End).  Work for television includes Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, Three Sisters, Othello, The Merchant of Venice and King Lear, and on film, Red Joan, Hedda, Lady Jane and Twelfth Night. 

CLOSE UP – THE TWIGGY MUSICAL

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY BEN ELTON

18 September – 18 November

Set and Video Design: Tim Bird; Costume Design: Jonathan Lipman; Sound Design: Gregory Clarke

Musical Supervision and Orchestrations: Stuart Morley; Choreography: Jacob Fearey

The story of a skinny kid from Neasden who became the most famous teenager on the planet and the ‘face of the 1960’s may seem like the stuff of fairy tales, but there is tragedy as well as triumph in this intimate portrayal of a true 20^th century icon. It’s the story of a young working class woman who faced snobbery and sexism in a pre-Me Too world and yet achieved her dreams without ever compromising who she was.  Author and director Ben Elton charts Twiggy’s journey through laughter and tears from the suburbs of London to the world’s fashion capitals to Hollywood and Broadway and ultimately to becoming a national treasure and Dame of the Realm. All accompanied by a fabulous score featuring the hits that have been the soundtrack to Twiggy’s life. Grab your miniskirt and re-live the swinging ‘60s and soulful ‘70s in this joyful, uplifting and empowering world première musical!

In the mid-1960s at 16 years of age, Twiggy became internationally known as the world’s first supermodel. Her photographic modelling success epitomise the age. She appeared, and continues to appear, on the cover of Vogue, Tatler, Elle and countless other major magazines worldwide. She is now an actress, singer, writer, designer, presenter, producer and activist, and continues to model. Twiggy became a successful actress on stage, film and television, and won two Golden Globe Awards for her first film, The Boyfriend, directed by Ken Russell. In the mid-1980s, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the hit, Gershwin musical, My One and Only, on Broadway. She has appeared in several theatre productions in the UK and the USA. She starred in Sir Peter Hall’s production of Mrs Warren’s Profession, and played Gertrude Lawrence in If Love Were All, Off-Broadway. She has appeared in many TV productions, including playing Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion. She has recorded several albums, ranging from country pop to standards.

Also a fashion designer, she has designed successful ranges in the UK, the US and Japan. Twiggy was a guest judge for several seasons on the phenomenally successful America’s Next Top Model. She is an ardent supporter of many charities, including Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, breast cancer, many animal welfare charities, and she is an anti-fur campaigner. In 2020 Twiggy was invited to launch a podcast, Tea with Twiggy, in which she chats to friends and people she admires. Due to its ongoing success, the fourth series was launched in 2023. In 2019, she received a Damehood in the Queens New Year’s Honours list, for her contribution to fashion, the arts and charity.

Ben Elton is a multi-award-winning novelist, playwright, television writer, screenwriter and lyricist. He is also a theatre, screen and television director, a stand-up comedian and occasional actor. His work for the stage includes The New Review (1985) – with Richard Curtis, Gasping (1990), Silly Cow (1991), Popcorn (1997), Blast from the Past (1998), The Beautiful Game (2000) – book and lyrics, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, We Will Rock You (2002) – book, music by Queen, Tonight’s The Night (2004) – book, music by Rod Stewart and others, Love Never Dies (2010) co-writer of the book, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. His many television credits include The Young Ones (1982/4) – writer with Rik Mayall and Lisa Meyer; Alfresco (1982/4) – performer and co-writer with Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson; Happy Families (1985) – writer; Blackadder 2 (1983) – co-writer with Richard Curtis; Filthy Rich & Catflap (1986) – writer; Saturday Live (1986/7) – comedian/host; Blackadder The Third (1987) – co-writer with Richard Curtis; Friday Night Live (1988) – comedian / host; Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) – co-writer with Richard Curtis; Ben Elton The Man From Auntie (1990 and 1994) – writer/performer; The Thin Blue Line (1995/6) – writer/co-director; The Ben Elton Show (1998) – writer/performer; Blessed (2005) – writer/director; The Wright Way (2013) – writer/co-director; and Upstart Crow (2016/17) – writer. Elton also wrote Mr Bean’s “exam” episode. In 2007 he was awarded the Special Golden Rose D’Or at The International Television festival in Lucerne Switzerland for his life-time contribution to the Television Arts. As a novelist, his work includes Stark (1989), Gridlock (1991), This Other Eden (1993), Popcorn (1996), Blast From The Past (1998), Inconceivable (1999), Dead Famous (2001), UK No 1. High Society (2002), Past Mortem (2004), The First Casualty (2005), Chart Throb (2006), Blind Faith (2007), Meltdown (2009), Two Brothers (2012), Time. And Time Again (2014); and for film, he has written and directed Maybe Baby (2000) and Three Summers (2017).

PACIFIC OVERTURES

MUSIC AND LYRICS STEPHEN SONDHEIM, BOOK BY JOHN WEIDMAN

A co-production with Umeda Arts Theater

25 November 2023 – 24 February 2024

Direction: Matthew White; Set Design: Paul Farnsworth; Costume Design: Ayako Maeda; Sound Design: Gregory Clarke; Choreography: Ashley Nottingham; Musical Supervision: Catherine Jayes; Orchestrations: Jonathan Tunick

Nippon. The Floating Kingdom.  One of Stephen Sondheim’s most ambitious creations comes to the Chocolate Factory in a co-production with Umeda Arts Theater in Japan, where it has already been a huge success in Tokyo and Osaka.  The story of the arrival of the West in 1853 in isolated Japan is seen from a western perspective but played in an eastern style.  The score is filled with some of Sondheim’s most ravishing music, including “Someone in a Tree”, “Pretty Lady” and “A Bowler Hat”.   

Pacific Overtures completes the Menier’s trilogy of Weidman/Sondheim musicals following their productions of Assassins and Road Show.

Stephen Sondheim (1930 – 2021) was one of the world’s greatest composer and lyricists. His works include Saturday Night, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park With George (Pulitzer Prize), Passion, Assassins and Road Show.  Sondheim also wrote the lyrics for West Side Story, Gypsy and Do I Hear a Waltz?. He was the recipient of multiple awards, including 8 Tony Awards – one of which was a Lifetime Achievement Award, 7 Grammys and an Academy Award for Best Song for Dick Tracy, and was elected to The American Academy of Arts and Letters (1983). His final musical Here We Are will be staged in New York this autumn.

John Weidman has written the books for many musicals, including Pacific Overtures (Tony Award nomination, Best Book), Assassins (Tony Award, Best Musical Revival) and Road Show (Lucille Lortel nomination, Best Musical), all with scores by Stephen Sondheim; Contact (Tony Award nomination, Best Book; Tony Award, Best Musical), co-created with director/choreographer Susan Stroman; Happiness, score by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman; Take Flight and Big (Tony nomination, Best Book), scores by Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire; and the new book, co-authored with Timothy Crouse, for the Lincoln Center Theater/Roundabout Theatre revivals of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes (Tony Award, Best Musical Revival; Olivier Award, Best Musical Production). From 1999 to 2009 he served as President of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Matthew White returns to the Menier having previously directed The Boyfriend, She Loves Me, Candide, Sweet Charity (also Theatre Royal, Haymarket), Little Shop of Horrors (also Duke of York’s Theatre and UK tour) and The Last Five Years. His other theatre work includes The Addams Family (Festival Theatre, Edinburgh and UK tour), Kiss Me Kate, West Side Story (Kilworth House), The Producers (UK tour), Top Hat (also adapted for the stage, UK tour and Aldwych Theatre – Olivier Award for Best New Musical), Maria Friedman – By Special Arrangement (Donmar Warehouse), Closer than Ever (Jermyn Street Theatre) and Mr Stink (also adapted, Curve and UK tour).

LISTINGS INFORMATION 

MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY

53 Southwark Street, London, SE1 1RU

MARJORIE PRIME

Until 6 May

CHRISTINA BIANCO – IN DIVINE COMPANY

11 – 20 May

THE THIRD MAN

10 June – 9 September

CLOSE UP – THE TWIGGY MUSICAL

18 September – 18 November

PACIFIC OVERTURES

25 November 2023 – 24 February 2024

Box Office:                         020 7378 1713 (£2.50 transaction fee per booking)

Website:                             www.menierchocolatefactory.com (£1.50 transaction fee per booking)

Tickets:                               Prices vary, as below from discounted preview tickets to premier seats. With the emphasis on ‘the sooner you book, the better the price’:

Please note at this time the restaurant is unable to open due to circumstances beyond the company’s control.

www.menierchocolatefactory.com

Twitter: @MenChocFactory

Instagram: @menierchocolatefactory

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield – until 22nd April 2023

Reviewed by Carol Crann
 
5*****

The story opens with a chocolate box house from the 1950s, the scene set for the evening’s performance… Many of the everyday items on stage are ones I remember fondly as a child, and no doubt I wasn’t the only one in the audience who did.

It begins with a couple on stage, dressed in typically 50s clothes – Judy (Jessica Ransom) in a pretty dress with lots of petticoats, and the obligatory frilly apron. Meanwhile, Neil McDermott’s Johnny is adorned in tweed, with a waistcoat, and – of course – his pork pie hat.

They’re clearly in love and are sickeningly, almost offensively, happy. It’s a fact that they openly admit to early on in the play, but you sit with an underlying expectancy that it will all go wrong.

There are a twists and turns on the way, but basically the couple are struggling to live their perfect 50s lifestyle, despite their best intentions, and then it all starts to unravel. Their best friends, Fran (Cassie Bradley) and Marcus (Matthew Douglas) look on enviously as they struggle with their own issues, whilst Judy’s Mum, Sylvia – played by Diane Keen – is disapproving as she worries about what her daughter has had to give up in order to immerse herself in the lifestyle. Throw into the mix Johnny’s boss, Alex (Shanez Pattni), who doesn’t share the same belief in him as his wife, and you find yourself with an interesting group of individuals and challenges.

The cast are believable throughout, playing their characters with great success, and the story is a very entertaining mix of humour, honesty and angst that is brilliantly played out in a typical 50s over the top style. Their use of choreography, including the jitterbug and swing, in order to complete some of the set changes, works really well and provides an interesting diversion – it’s also nice to hear the music again!

It’s a play that raises the ever-present gender stereotype issues and provides food for thought of their impact on modern day life, and I found myself comparing the different choices made -particularly by the female characters.

‘Home, I’m Darling’ is definitely worth going to see, and fully deserved the Olivier Award it won in 2019 for Best New Comedy. We enjoyed a humorous and entertaining evening following the different characters through the various life choices they make and the repercussions that come with them. On at The Lyceum in Sheffield until Saturday 22 May.

Birmingham Hippodrome – until Saturday 22nd April 2023

5*****

It’s hard to believe that something so tragic can produce something so beautiful, but Maury Yeston’s score contains a tapestry of glorious melodies. They create a brooding texture in which the eager anticipation for the ship’s maiden voyage is overcome by disaster as it hits an iceberg. Yeston chose to focus on the people, delivering a soaring musical that is both accurate and respectful. No wonder it won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical when it opened on Broadway in 1997

Based on real stories and real people, Titanic: The Musical is a story of dreams – dreams of building the greatest ship in the world, dreams of rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous and dreams of finding a better life in America and the nightmare they find themselves in. From the millionaires in First Class to the poorer Third Class desperate to start anew, Yeston, together with Peter Stone, has crafted a powerful, poignant and emotional piece of theatre, full of aspirations, hope, love, ambition and ultimately tragedy.

Knowing the outcome does not diminish the enduring power of the story, especially as told with the fierce dramatic and musical drive of Peter Stone’s beautifully constructed book. It brilliantly establishes the interweaving lives caught up in the story – from crew to passengers of different classes – with Yeston’s sweeping, enveloping score.

Thom Southerland’s outstanding production is merely suggestive of the ship’s vast scale in David Woodhead’s deceptively simple set, but each and every character is superbly established by a fine ensemble cast, all 25 of which are excellent, bringing full voice and powerful characterisation to the 80+ roles that they play. Particularly good work comes from Ian McLarnon as the ship’s architect Thomas Andrews, Adam Filipe as stoker Fred Barrett, Alastair Hill as the telegrapher Harold Bride and Lucie-Mae Summer as passenger Kate McGown. Valda Avkis and David Delve are heartbreaking as Ida and Isidor Straus, who refuse to be parted at the end. And Martin Allanson gives life to the villain of the piece, J.Bruce Ismay the owner of the ship

Southerland’s decision to see the cast arrive and leave through the auditorium also works particularly well, establishing a closer connection with the audience

But the real star of the show is Yeston’s surging and melodic score, which is performed with power and poignancy by Mark Aspinsall’s six-piece band (Ben Papworth, Thomas Leate, Bridget Mansfield, Gemma Connor, Jack Cherry and Craig Apps). Godspeed Titanic and The Proposal/The Night Was Alive stand out in particular for pulling on the heart-strings, with stunning vocal harmonies by the ensemble cast.

Danielle Tarento’s production is just outstandingly flawless 

Derren Brown presents UNBELIEVABLE – Magic Reimagined opening in London’s West End

EVERYONE YOU MEET IS PERFORMING A KIND OF MAGIC TRICK –

PRESENTING THE PARTS OF THEMSELVES THEY WANT YOU TO SEE,

THEIR ‘EFFECT’ –

AND HIDING THE PARTS THEY DON’T,

THEIR ‘METHOD’

Internationally acclaimed psychological illusionist Derren Brown announces a brand-new show UNBELIEVABLE, which will open in London’s West End at the Criterion Theatre, Piccadilly Circus on 19 September 2023, produced by Kenny Wax Ltd and Vaudeville Productions.

Following the extraordinary success of Derren’s recent production of SHOWMAN, UNBELIEVABLE will be a magic show like no other. 

Fusing the best of theatre with jaw dropping illusions never before seen in the West End, UNBELIEVABLE features a New York Subway band and a company of multi-talented performers who will bring to life, live on stage, an evening of bewildering trickery, from the imagination of Derren Brown.

The show includes an updated version of a one act play not seen on the London stage in over 100 years!  WILL,THE WITCH AND THE WOLFMAN, combines comedy, illusion and song to provide a breathtaking conclusion to an extraordinary evening in the theatre.

The ambition for UNBELIEVABLE is to create an experience you can’t get anywhere else in the world. From the moment the audience set foot in the theatre, they will be an essential element – indeed the beating heart of the show.

Speaking further on Unbelievable, Derren Brown said:  

“We have reimagined what a night of illusion could be. We have taken the love and experience we’ve put into my own stage work over twenty years and created, from the ground up, a proper, original, theatrical experience. I think we have liberated the magic show. It’s going to be a glorious thing.”  

Created, written and directed by UK stage and screen phenomenon Derren Brown, and long-time collaborators Andy Nyman and Andrew O’Connor.

Tickets will be on general sale from 10am on Thursday 20^th April 2023 via https://unbelievablelive.com 

Derren Brown will not appear on stage in Unbelievable.

Reviews for SHOWMAN 

“An evening that holds a mirror to our deepest feelings – jaw dropping”

“prepare to feel it all. Pathos and delight, laughter and alarm”

“You end up, as ever, completely confounded by Brown’s combination of seamless stage magic and eerie ability to read and manipulate human beings – with a touching emotional pay-off, too.”

“With Brown and his co-creators Andy Nyman and Andrew O’Connor, we really are in the presence of masters”.

Website: www.labambaonstage.co.uk

Socials: @LaBambaOnStage #LaBambaOnStage

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STRICTLY COME DANCING FAVOURITE TO STAR IN THE EXPLOSIVE MUSICAL FIESTA – LA BAMBA!

·      STRICTLY COME DANCING WINNER, PASHA KOVALEV SWAPS THE BALLROOM FOR THE STAGE.

Paul Morrissey Ltd is pleased to announce the star casting for the world premiere of the explosive new musical, La Bamba!

La Bamba! is a pulsating dance musical that will open at Curve in Leicester on Tuesday, 1st August 2023 before heading to London’s Peacock Theatre, Sadler’s Wells West End theatre, for a limited seasonon Tuesday 22 August 2023 until Saturday 2^nd September 2023. La Bamba! will continue on a UK tour until December 2023.

Starring in the role of Ricardo will be Strictly Come Dancing winner Pasha Kovalev (Burn the Floor’s World Tour, Here Come the Boys). Making his musical theatre debut, Pasha is best known for being a professional dancer on the popular BBC show Strictly Come Dancing. During his time on the show, he completed eight seasons, four finals and won one glitter ball trophy! 

Pasha Kovalev said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the cast of La Bamba!, an upcoming musical production! This highly anticipated musical will be showcased across numerous venues in the UK, including the prestigious West End in London. I am so exited to be performing the exquisite choreography crafted by Graziano and Erica and can’t wait to embark on this thrilling journey.”

La Bamba! is directed by multi-award-winning American director Ray Roderick, with music by award-winning Alfonso Casado-Trigo. This brand-new musical will feature music from across the Latin genre from traditional folk songs to recent chart-topping hits. La Bamba! features choreography by Graziano Di Prima, Erica Da Silva and associate choreography by Giada Lini.

Inspired by the unbelievable life and legacy of Rock ‘n’ Roll legend, Ritchie Valens, and featuring some of the most iconic songs of all time, La Bamba! is a jaw-dropping new musical that mixes Latin, R & B and timeless rock and pop to tell the ultimate feel-good story of a young girl with a big voice, big dreams, and an even bigger heart. A story of passion and pride and the discovery that every journey starts with that first step.

With further casting soon to be announced, tickets are on sale now.