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www.PeterRabbitEasterAdventure.com

HISTRIONIC PRODUCTIONS in partnership with PENGUIN VENTURES present

One of the world’s most iconic and best-loved children’s characters is taking families on an immersive adventure this Easter…

• HISTRIONIC PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCE THE ‘PETER RABBIT™ EASTER ADVENTURE’ IN COVENT GARDEN FROM 21 MARCH – 16 APRIL 2023. TICKETS GO ON SALE AT MIDDAY ON MONDAY 27 FEBRUARY FROM WWW.PETERRABBITEASTERADVENTURE.COM. SIGN UP FOR PRIORITY ACCESS.
• THIS LIVE, IMMERSIVE OUTDOOR EXPERIENCE WILL SEE BEATRIX POTTER’S MUCH-LOVED CHARACTERS INCLUDING BENJAMIN BUNNY, MRS. TIGGY-WINKLE AND THE MISCHIEVOUS PETER RABBIT HIMSELF LET LOOSE IN ONE OF CENTRAL LONDON’S MOST PICTURESQUE AND ICONIC LOCATIONS
• CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PENGUIN VENTURES, UNDER LICENCE FROM BRAND OWNER AND BEATRIX POTTER PUBLISHER, FREDERICK WARNE & CO.

Histrionic Productions is thrilled to announce The Peter Rabbit™ Easter Adventure in the heart of London’s iconic Covent Garden Piazza this Easter from 21 March – 16 April. Through a captivating mix of live performance and puppetry, visitors will be transported back to a Covent Garden of old, teeming with fresh flowers, fruit and vegetables as Beatrix Potter heads out on a mission to rescue Jemima Puddle-Duck from the clutches of Mr. McGregor.

During this brand-new 50-minute interactive outdoor adventure, families will experience Peter Rabbit’s adventures in person as they accompany Beatrix Potter to search for secret notes, maps, and other clues and meet Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, and a few surprise encounters along the way. The perfect Easter gift, tickets go on sale on Monday 27 February at midday for this mischievous outdoor immersive experience from www.PeterRabbitEasterAdventure.com. Sign up for further information and priority access to tickets.

The show will be adapted by Calum Finlay, directed by Barney McElholm and designed by Tina Torbey. Between them, the creative team bring the experience of working at the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre of Scotland, Shakespeare’s Globe, The Almeida, Theatre Royal Bath, Manchester Royal Exchange and Birmingham REP amongst others.

Alongside the experience, The Easter Adventure Shop will open in Covent Garden’s iconic Market Building on 5th March. The new store will offer Peter Rabbit merchandise, a café to relax and refuel, serving a range of delicious refreshments and drinks, as well as an activity area featuring a programme of fun-filled Easter activities for all of the family. Tickets for the show will also be available in store.

Included in the ticket will be an ‘Activity Burrow’ for creative crafting for all ages including letter writing to Beatrix Potter and a Peter Rabbit reading corner.   Additional activities available on site include Mr. McGregor’s Obstacle Course for thrill-seeking children who want to test their driving skills in a mini ROVER for ages 4 and above and families will have the opportunity to clamber onto Mr. McGregor’s tractor and have a souvenir photograph taken with Peter Rabbit.    

Adam McKenzie Wylie, Founder, Histrionic Productions said “After a hugely successful inaugural outing at Blenheim Palace last summer for The Peter Rabbit Garden Adventure, Histrionic Productions is delighted to be staging The Peter Rabbit Easter Adventure at Covent Garden this Easter holiday.  The combination of Peter Rabbit, the inspirational surroundings of London’s original fruit and vegetable market, and Eastertime is perfect theatrical alchemy for an all-new, urban, family, immersive experience for 2023 and we are delighted to once again be working with our friends at Penguin Ventures to bring this family-favourite to life in the heart of old London.”

Captivating generations of children around the world, The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter has sold over 46 million copies since it was first published over 120 years ago by Frederick Warne.  Developed in association with Penguin Ventures on behalf of Frederick Warne & Co. (now a part of Penguin Random House Children’s UK) this all-new experience has been created especially for Covent Garden, following Histrionic Productions’ acclaimed Peter Rabbit™ Garden Adventure at Blenheim Palace in the summer of 2022.

LISTINGS:

The Peter Rabbit™ Easter Adventure

21st March – Sunday 16th April (Closed Tuesday 11th April and all Mondays except Easter Monday 10th April)

Address: Chestnut Bakery, 24 Floral Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DS

Tickets go on sale at midday on Monday 27 February from www.PeterRabbitEasterAdventure.com

The Easter Adventure Shop opens Sunday 5th March – Sunday 16th April

Open every day: 10:00am to 5.00pm.

Address: 10 The Market Building, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8RB

Trafalgar Theatre Productions and Eilene Davidson Productions, in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company, presents the Watford Palace Theatre & Home Manchester production of The Merchant of Venice 1936

GROUND-BREAKING NEW PRODUCTION

OF THE SHAKESPEARE CLASSIC TO TOUR UK IN AUTUMN 2023

TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM MERCHANTOFVENICE1936.CO.UK

‘If you prick us do we not bleed? If you poison us do we not die?

And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?’

The Merchant of Venice 1936, Watford Palace Theatre’s ground-breaking new production of one of Shakespeare’s most enduring classics starring Tracy-Ann Oberman (EastEnders, Doctor Who, Friday Night Dinner), as Shylock, will embark on a UK tour this Autumn, beginning at the RSC’s Swan Theatre from Thursday 21 September.

Developed in association with HOME Manchester and with support from the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Merchant of Venice 1936 is directed and adapted by Brigid Larmour from an idea by co-creator Tracy Ann-Oberman. This thought-provoking and timely reimagining relocates the action to an electrifying new setting; London in 1936.

With the city on the brink of political unrest, fascism sweeping across Europe and Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists threatening a paramilitary march through the Jewish East End, strong-willed single mother Shylock runs a pawnbroking business from her house in Cable Street where Mosley will march. When charismatic, antisemitic aristocrat Antonio comes to her for a loan, a high-stakes deal is struck. Will Shylock take her revenge, and who will pay the ultimate price?

The Merchant of Venice 1936 is directed by Brigid Larmour with Costume and Set Design by Liz Cooke. The Lighting Designer is Rory Beaton and Sound Design is by Sarah Weltman. The Composer is Erran Baron Cohen.

Tracy-Ann Oberman said:

‘It has a been a lifelong dream of mine to bring this play to the stage in a new way, reimagining Shylock as a one of the tough, no-nonsense Jewish matriarchs I grew up around. I am delighted this project is finally happening, and look forward to sparking debate and enlightening people about a pivotal but largely forgotten part of British history – just how close the establishment were to Oswald Mosley and his British Union Of Fascists.

‘I started my career in the Swan RSC back in 1992 and so to play there again as Shylock is a ‘pinch me’ moment.

‘I cannot wait to take this important, sharp, sexy and heartfelt production to theatres around the country.’

Prior to the UK tour this autumn, the production opens at Watford Palace Theatre on Monday 27 February, before transferring to HOME in Manchester where it runs from Wednesday 15 March.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 1936 – UK TOUR SCHEDULE 2023

RSC Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon Thursday 21 September – Saturday 7 October

Wycombe Swan Theatre, High Wycombe Tuesday 10 – Saturday 14 October

Malvern Theatres, Malvern Tuesday 17 – Saturday 21 October

Churchill Theatre, Bromley Tuesday 24 – Saturday 28 October

New Theatre, Cardiff Tuesday 31 October – Saturday 4 November

York Theatre Royal, York Tuesday 14 – Saturday 18 November

Further dates to be announced.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Website: merchantofvenice1936.co.uk

Tickets: From £10

Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @merchantofvenice1936

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall – until 23 February 2023

Reviewed by Louise Ford

4****

A heartfelt tale of love and treachery…

Varna International Ballet are nearing the end of their UK tour , which started just before Christmas and ends in mid March. The Company are offering four of the best known classical ballets Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Giselle. This is their first UK tour. Varna International Ballet hail from Bulgaria ,having been set up in 1947 by Peter Raycheff (a renowned Bulgarian tenor) the first ballet was choreographed in 1948. The company has a wide repertoire and an impressive reputation. The Company has a real international feel with dancers from Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the UK and the Ukraine. The artistic director (Daniela Dimova) the music director (Stefan Boyadzhiev) and the conductor ( Peter Tuleshkov) are all from Bulgaria.

The ballet composed in 1841 by Adolphe Adam tells the tale of a young frail village girl Giselle. It is, perhaps, his most famous score.

Giselle, a delicate girl with a weak heart, lives with her mother Berthe on the edge of a forest. Berthe hopes that her daughter will marry the local forester Hilarion (all green tights and knee length boots). However she falls for the mysterious, handsome stranger living in the next cottage.

The first act set is dominated by the imposing castle backdrop. The handsome neighbour is Count Albrecht disguised as Loys a “simple villager”.

The costumes for the villages are all muted greens and soft pastels whereas the aristocrats are in bold, brash colours signalling the danger they pose to this innocent rural idyll.
The final scenes of act one are a little confusing, suffice to say you need to read the synopsis if you are not familiar with the story. The long and short is that it doesn’t end well for Giselle.

Act two is set at night with the graveyard in the background. Giselle has been buried in unhallowed ground. The backdrop is all Gothic tones, unfortunately the gravestone is a bit tacky! We see Hilarion keeping a vigil by Giselle’s grave however as midnight approaches he flees. This is because the Wilis  materialise, led by their queen Martha. The Wilis are the spirits of betrothed girls who have died before their wedding day. They are a vengeful bunch who force any man who has crossed them to dance until he dies.

The score, especially in the second act, is beautifully paired with the dancing all  winsome and ethereal. Giselle and the Wilis are in their ghostly white, romantic tutus which adds to the dance formation.

The live orchestra added an extra dimension to the evening. They were nicely paced and just the right volume. Sometimes a live orchestra overwhelms a production.

It was lovely to see a traditional classic ballet performed with grace and poise. The audience really enjoyed the spectacle.

NATIONAL THEATRE ANNOUNCES NEW PLAY BY JAMES GRAHAM AND A WEST END TRANSFER OF THE CRUCIBLE

– Joseph Fiennes is cast as Gareth Southgate in Dear England, a new play by James Graham playing in the Olivier theatre from June, directed by Rupert Goold

– Lyndsey Turner’s acclaimed production of Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, will transfer to the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End for a strictly limited run from June

The National Theatre today announces Dear England, a new play by James Graham telling the story of the England men’s football team under Gareth Southgate. Directed by Rupert Goold, Dear England will play in the Olivier theatre from June with Joseph Fiennes cast as Gareth Southgate. Also announced today is the West End transfer of Lyndsey Turner’s critically acclaimed production of The Crucible. Tickets for both productions go on sale to the public on 9 March 2023. 

Director of the National Theatre Rufus Norris said:

‘I am delighted to be welcoming James Graham back to the National Theatre this summer with his new play. Dear England is a captivating examination into the complex psychology of the much loved “beautiful game”. I am also very pleased to announce the West End transfer of Lyndsey Turner’s highly arresting production of The Crucible to the Gielgud Theatre. Audiences were transfixed when this classic was performed in the Olivier theatre last autumn and I can’t wait to share it with more theatre-goers.’

Dear England

It’s time to change the game. The country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. Why can’t England’s men win at their own game?

With the worst track record for penalties in the world, Gareth Southgate knows he needs to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt to take team and country back to the promised land.

Playwright James Graham said: ‘To tell this story of the national game on the stage of the National Theatre is just the greatest thrill, if an intimidating responsibility. The experience of working on This House at the National Theatre 10 years ago changed my life as an emerging writer. Now, with Dear England, to be given the opportunity to shine a light on another public institution in the form of the England men’s football team is, I know, an exciting opportunity.

What Gareth Southgate has attempted in his quiet cultural reform of England football I find epic and deeply moving. And I’m so grateful to be surrounded by some of British theatre’s most exciting creative talent to unite around this new show.’

Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale, The Mother) plays Gareth Southgate in this new play by James Graham (Best of Enemies, Sherwood). Following their acclaimed productions, Tammy Faye and Ink, he reunites with director Rupert Goold (Spring Awakening, Judy) for this gripping examination of both nation and game. With set design by Es Devlin, costume design by Evie Gurney, lighting design by Jon Clark and video design by Ash J Woodward. Further casting to be announced.

The Crucible

Olivier Award-winner Lyndsey Turner’s (Under Milk Wood, Top Girls) acclaimed production of The Crucible will transfer to the West End for a strictly limited run. Set designed by Tony Award®-winner, Es Devlin (The Lehman Trilogy), this new production of Arthur Miller’s gripping parable of power and its abuse will play at Delfont Mackintosh Theatres’ Gielgud Theatre from 7 June until 2 September. Casting to be announced.

A witch hunt is beginning in Salem. Raised to be seen but not heard, a group of young women suddenly find their words have a terrible power. As a climate of fear spreads through the community, private vendettas fuel public accusations and soon the truth itself is on trial.

The creative team includes, director, Lyndsey Turner; set designer, Es Devlin; costume designer, Catherine Fay; lighting designer, Tim Lutkin; sound designer, Tingying Dong (content design); sound designer, Christopher Shutt (system design); composer and arranger, Caroline Shaw; music director and arranger, Osnat Schmool with casting by Alastair Coomer CDG and Naomi Downham. They are joined by associate director, Blythe Stewart; associate set designer, Ellie Wintour; associate lighting designer, Max Narula; fight director, Bret Yount; intimacy directors, Ita O’Brien and Louise Kempton; dialect coaches, Danièle Lydon and Hazel Holder and assistant music director, Alice Grant.

Tickets for Dear England and The Crucible go on sale to the public on 9 March 2023.  Tickets are available from £20. For further information, including details about assisted performances, please visit nationaltheatre.org.uk.

HAMILTON

ANNOUNCES FIRST EVER UK TOUR TO LAUNCH
AT THE

MANCHESTER PALACE THEATRE

ON SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2023

FOR A 15 WEEK SEASON UNTIL SATURDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2024

AHEAD OF PLAYING THE FESTIVAL THEATRE, EDINBURGH

FROM WEDNESDAY 28 FEBRUARY – SATURDAY 27 APRIL 2024

TICKETS ON SALE 13 MARCH 2023

THE LONDON PRODUCTION CONTINUES TO PLAY

TO SELL-OUT HOUSES AT THE

VICTORIA PALACE THEATRE

WHERE IT IS CURRENTLY BOOKING UNTIL 2 MARCH 2024

Producers Jeffrey Seller and Cameron Mackintosh are delighted to announce that the multi award-winning HAMILTON will tour the UK for the very first time opening at the Manchester Palace Theatre on Saturday 11 November 2023 for a 15 week season until Saturday 24 February 2024 followed by a run at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh from Wednesday 28 February – Saturday 27 April 2024. FURTHER VENUES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON. Casting for the UK tour is currently underway.

Tickets go on sale for the seasons in Manchester and Edinburgh on 13 March 2023. Sign-up at hamiltonmusical.com for access to priority tickets.

The Olivier, Tony and Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical opened at the newly re-built and restored Victoria Palace Theatre in London in December 2017 where it continues to play to sell-out houses and is currently booking until 2 March 2024. The production continues to play to record breaking houses on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, throughout North America, in Toronto, Australia and Germany with forthcoming seasons in New Zealand an International tour also planned.

Since the day the show opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London has embraced Hamilton with an enthusiasm we could never have imagined.” Hamilton Producer Jeffrey Seller said “We are excited to embark on a UK tour and share this special musical with audiences in Manchester and Edinburgh first.”

Cameron Mackintosh said today “Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is indisputably the most brilliant, ground-breaking, contemporary musical of modern times. I feel extraordinarily fortunate that Lin and my friend Jeffrey Seller, the show’s original producer, have entrusted me with their wonderful musical in the UK and Ireland.  The London production opened in 2017 at the Victoria Palace, a theatre I completely rebuilt to house Hamilton, where it continues to play and has proved to be as big a success as the Broadway original. So, I am thrilled that it is time to put together a second British national touring company to bring this great show to our leading cities.  Opening first in Manchester, followed by Edinburgh – not far from where the real story of Alexander Hamilton began in Ayrshire, where his father was born in the 1700’s, before he moved to Nevis in the West Indies. Tomorrow we start casting for a brilliant new company. We look forward to welcoming audiences to “the room where it happens”.

HAMILTON is the story of America then, told by America now.  Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, HAMILTON has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre—a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. 

With book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, HAMILTON is based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography.  The HAMILTON creative team previously collaborated on the Tony Award®-Winning Best Musical In the Heights.

HAMILTON features scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Nevin Steinberg and hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe.

HAMILTON is produced in the UK by Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, Jill Furman, The Public Theater and Cameron Mackintosh.

LISTINGS

HAMILTON TOUR

SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2023 – SATURDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2024

MANCHESTER PALACE THEATRE

atgtickets.com/palace-theatre-manchester

ON SALE 13 MARCH 2023

WEDNESDAY 28 FEBRUARY – SATURDAY 27 APRIL 2024

FESTIVAL THEATRE, EDINBURGH

capitaltheatres.com

ON SALE 13 MARCH 2023

FURTHER VENUES TO BE ANNOUNCED

REHEARSAL IMAGES RELEASED FOR  
FURTHER THAN THE FURTHEST THING  
AT THE YOUNG VIC THEATRE 

The Young Vic Theatre today releases images from the rehearsal room of Further than the Furthest Thing featuring Gerald Kyd (The Seagull, Deep Blue Sea), Archie Madekwe (Midsommar, See), Cyril Nri (Trouble in Mind, The Barbershop Chronicles, The Bill), Kirsty Rider (The Sandman, The Doctor, Nora: A Doll’s House), Jenna Russell (Fun Home, Piaf), and Shapla Salique (No Boundaries).

The multi-award-winning play by Zinnie Harris (Macbeth (an undoing), This Restless House, How To Hold Your Breath) is directed by Genesis Fellow / Young Vic Associate Director Jennifer Tang (AI, Mountains: The Dreams of Lily Kwok) and runs in the Young Vic Main House from 9 March to 29 April.

Based on real events on the island of Tristan da Cunha, the story follows a community haunted by its past and under threat from a modern world in crisis.

On a remote volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic, the islanders of Tristan da Cunha have lived undisturbed for centuries, defying the swirling currents of modernity. Cut off and exposed to the elements, their survival has created a complex bind with their land. But when one of the inhabitants brings an outsider to the island, their way of life is changed forever.

Jennifer Tang’s visionary interpretation revisits this haunting play through a contemporary lens interrogating the climate emergency and globalisation.

The creative team is completed by Designer Soutra Gilmour, Lighting Designer Prema Mehta, Sound Designer George Dennis, Video Designer Ian William Galloway, Composer Ruth Chan, Movement Director Ingrid Mackinnon, Voice and Dialect Coach Victoria Woodward, Musical Director Michael Henry, Illusions Designer John Bulleid, Casting Director Charlotte Sutton CDG, R&D Voice and Dialect Coach Emma Woodvine, Assistant Director Tian Brown-Sampson, and Trainee Assistant Director Ozioma Ihesiene.

Relaxed Performances: 5 April, 7.30pm and 8 April, 2.30pm 
BSL Performance:  31 March, 7:30pm 
Audio Described Performance: 11 April, 7.30pm 
Captioned Performance: 13 April, 7.30pm 

A RELAXED PERFORMANCE OF

MAMMA MIA!

AT THE NOVELLO THEATRE

ON WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2023 AT 6.30PM

Producer Judy Craymer is delighted to announce a relaxed performance of MAMMA MIA! at the Novello Theatre on Wednesday 8 March.  The performance, which will begin at 6.30pm, will be staged in consultation with Mousetrap Theatre Projects (MTP).  Relaxed performances are designed to provide an opportunity for people with autism, learning difficulties or other sensory and communication needs who require a more relaxed environment.  

Judy Craymer said, “I am very proud that MAMMA MIA! has always been a musical for everyone. I was overwhelmed by the wonderful audience response we had to the previous relaxed performances held in 2013 and 2016 and we are delighted to stage another this March. Theatre has always been and must continue to be inclusive for all. MAMMA MIA!’s heart-warming story has great appeal, the cast and everyone involved in MAMMA MIA! is very much looking forward to this special performance.”

The global smash hit musical MAMMA MIA! is currently booking to Saturday 30 September 2023 at London’s Novello Theatre.

The London cast is led by Mazz Murray as Donna, Josie Benson as Tanya, Gemma Goggin as Rosie, Norman Bowman as Sam, Christopher Dickins as Harry, Stephen Beckett as Bill, Meg Hateley as Sophie, Miles Henderson as Sky, Natasha Heyward as Ali, Olivia Lallo as Lisa, Lucca Chadwick-Patel as Eddie and Jake Bailey as Pepper, with Jennifer Adab playing Donna at certain performances.

Also in the cast are Zac Adlam, Victoria Anderson, Gemma Atkins, Sinéad Courtney, Ellie-Grace Cousins, Lawrence Guntert, Natalie Jayne Hall, David Haydn, Jennifer Hepburn, Frankie Jones, Natalie Langston, Olivia Neville, Annell Odartey, Jessie Odeleye, Callum Rose, Jack Rose, Robert Slatter, Michael Storrs, Chloe Way, Simon Willmont, Dan Wilshire and Jacob Young.  

Since premiering in London in 1999, the irresistible feelgood musical has captured the hearts of millions around the globe.  The sunny, funny tale of a mother, a daughter and three possible dads on a Greek island idyll, all unfolding to the magic of ABBA’s timeless pop masterpieces, has now been seen live on stage by 65 million people across the world and turned into two record-breaking movies – MAMMA MIA! The Movie and MAMMA MIA! Here We Go Again.

To date, MAMMA MIA! has been seen in 50 productions in 16 different languages grossing more than $4 billion at the box office.  In 2011, it became the first Western musical ever to be staged in Mandarin in the People’s Republic of China.   

MAMMA MIA! originally opened in London at the Prince Edward Theatre on 6 April 1999, before transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre in 2004, and then to the Novello Theatre in 2012.  The London production of MAMMA MIA! has been seen by over 10 million people, played over 9,000 performances and has broken box office records in all three of its London homes.  

Produced by Judy Craymer, MAMMA MIA! The Movie became the highest grossing live action musical film of all time upon its release in 2008.  A second film, MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN, opened in July 2018 and is the most successful live musical movie sequel of all time.

With music & lyrics by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, MAMMA MIA! is written by Catherine Johnson, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast. The production is designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce & Bobby Aitken, and musical supervision, additional material & arrangements by Martin Koch.

MAMMA MIA! is produced by Judy Craymer, Richard East & Björn Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal.

LISTINGS INFORMATION:

MAMMA MIA! Relaxed Performance

Wednesday 8 March 2023

6.30pm

Novello Theatre

Aldwych

London WC2B 4LD

Prices: £15, £20, £30, £40, £50, £60

Box Office: 0344 482 5151

The performance lasts 2 hours and 35 minutes, including an interval and an additional 10-minute introduction (the show should finish at approximately 9.15pm)

http://www.mamma-mia.com/

http://www.facebook.com/mammamiamusical

http://twitter.com/MammaMiaMusical 

THE BARN THEATRE ANNOUNCE CAST & CREATIVE TEAM FOR WORLD PREMIERE OF SIMON READE’S ADAPTATION OF MICHAEL MORPURGO’S WAITING FOR ANYA

RUNNING FROM

27^TH MARCH – 5^TH MAY

The Barn Theatre in Cirencester has today announced the full cast and creative team for the world premiere of Simon Reade’s stage adaptation of acclaimed children’s author Michael Morpurgo’s Waiting For Anya.

The production will be the fourth play by Simon Reade to be produced by the Cotswold award-winning theatre and the second to make its world premiere there. The production will also see Reade reunite with director Mark Leipacher (Artistic Director of The Faction), who has worked on multiple productions of Reade’s adaptation of Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful.

Reade’s previous adaptations of Morpurgo’s works include Toro! Toro! (Salisbury Playhouse); Twist of Gold (Polka); The Mozart Question (Bristol Old Vic); as well as the West End/Off-Broadway and world touring productions of Private Peaceful and An Elephant in the Garden (both performed at the Barn Theatre).

Reade said of today’s casting, “It’s a formidable team at the Barn and we are privileged to be working with eight fine actors including regular Morpurgo performers Chris Bianchi (Aesop’s Fables) and Alison Reid (Jo-Jo The Melon Dinkey, The Mozart Question, An Elephant in the Garden.) Director Mark Leipacher too has been a frequent Morpurgo collaborator, and he has gathered a dynamic creative team.” 

This will be the first stage adaptation of Morpurgo’s 1990 Carnegie Medal shortlisted novel, which tells the story of Jo, his grandfather and a widow who help smuggle Jewish children across the border from occupied southern France into Spain during World War II. Morpurgo’s novel received a 2020 film adaptation starring Noah Schnapp, Angelica Houston and Jean Reno.

Joining Leipacher on the creative team are Asaf Zohar (Here at Southwark Playhouse) asComposer, Musical Director & Sound Designer, Ceci Calf (The Mozart Question at The Barn Theatre) as Set & Costume Designer and Murong Li (Hedda Gabler at Reading Rep) as Lighting Designer.

The full cast of Waiting For Anya are Christopher Bianchi (Othello) as Henri, Tom Hendryk (Ted Lasso) as Lieutenant Weissman, Jack Heydon (Red Rose Chain Associate Artist) as Jo Lalande, Andrea Johannes (Housewarming) as Lise, Yiftach Mizrahi (From Here To Eternity, Annie Get Your Gun) as Benjamin, Alison Reid (An Elephant in the Garden) as Alice Horcada, Perri Snowdon (War Horse)as Pierre, and Christopher Staines (Amy’s View, Hamlet) as Corporal Wilhelm.

Michael Morpurgo said of the production, “The Butterfly Lion, The Mozart Question, Elephant in the Garden, Private Peaceful. The wonderful Barn has put on play after play adapted from my books, and every one has been extraordinary and unforgettable. 

And now Waiting for Anya. This is inspired by a true story of a small community living in their mountain village in the Pyrenees under Nazi Occupation in WW2, of their courage in aiding the escape of Jewish children over the mountains into neutral Spain. 

I happened upon the village of Lescun some 30 years ago, met the people there, listened to their stories, saw the sheeps, cheese being made during the Transhumance, heard the music they sing, walked the fields and tracks the refugees walked, saw the caves where they hid, stood atop a mountain, one foot in Spain, one in France. I had to write their story. I called it Waiting for Anya 

And now we have the play, commission by The Barn, and written with wonderful insight by Simon Reade, who has adapted so many of my stories so perfectly. I cannot wait to see this production, to be transported from Cirencester to Lescun, to hear the music, hear the eagles’ cry, to live the story, again for me, but maybe for you the first time. 

Thank you to The Barn, thank you Simon, thank you cast and crew, and thank you for coming.”

Simon Reade said of his adaptation, “My stage and screen Morpurgo adaptations go back twenty years. I’m lured to Michael’s stories because they are sophisticated tales that see the world through the eyes of a child – the erratic, immoral, incomprehensible adult world. The adults can learn from the children; they can rediscover their childlike curiosity and open-heartedness and fresh perspective, unsullied by the childishness of compromised adulthood. But Morpurgo’s child protagonists are also naïve, where the child doesn’t necessarily see the whole picture.

Waiting for Anya is a story where no one is quite what they appear to be on the surface. It is profoundly moving and yet doesn’t invite our passive appreciation: it demands we take action, that we stand up and be counted. Not just in self-less individual acts, but together, as communities, our still small voice of conscience collectively singing out loud and clear – quite literally, music being the great redeemer in Michael’s stories. 

Working at the entrepreneurial Barn Theatre again is a home from home. Artistic Director Iwan Lewis is a force of nature and I am delighted he has commissioned this world premiere stage adaptation.  

As our world continues to reel from the political mayhem of mavericks in the one hand and the hateful havoc wreaked by Debbie-minded strongmen on the other, Michael reminds us in Waiting for Anya that we may be weak in body, but we can be strong in heart and mind and change our world for the greater good.”

More information can be found at barntheatre.org.uk

Announcing a thrilling new London production

of the classic satire of big business,

How to Succeed in Business  Without Really Trying

featuring Michelle Visage

as the voice of ‘The Book’

‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’ is a comic gem that took Broadway by storm in 1961, winning both the Tony Award for Best Musical and a Pulitzer Prize. It was revived twice on Broadway in acclaimed productions starring Matthew Broderick and Daniel Radcliffe.

A satire of big business and all it holds sacred, it follows the rise of J. Pierrepont Finch, who uses a little handbook called “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” to climb the corporate ladder from lowly window washer to high-powered executive, tackling such familiar but potent dangers as the aggressively compliant “company man”, the office party, backstabbing co-workers, caffeine addiction and, of course, true love.

‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’ boasts an exhilarating score by Frank Loesser – one of America’s great composer/lyricists also responsible for ‘Guys & Dolls’ – including ‘I Believe in You’, ‘Brotherhood of Man’ and ‘The Company Way’.

Featuring Michelle Visage (‘Ru Paul’s Drag Race’) as the voice of ‘The Book’.

Cast to be announced.

Director Georgie Rankcom (‘Anyone Can Whistle’ at the same venue) said: ‘This show has always intrigued me and to have the chance to bring it to life at Southwark Playhouse is incredibly exciting. We hope that this version will resonate with a new generation of theatergoers who will see just how brilliant and incisive the piece really is. Existing fans of the show will see and hear everything they love but presented by a cast and team who represent the society that we live in now. We plan to find new and exciting talents to bring this story to life as it’s never been seen before. We’re excited to embrace the absurdity of the show through a modern lens, whilst retaining all the wit and DNA of the original. Expect big laughs, big musical numbers and big heart, all in a small space that allows you to feel like you’re a part of the action.”

Creative Team

Director Georgie Rankcom (they/them)
Choreographer Alexzandra Sarmiento (she/her)
Musical Director Natalie Pound (she/her)
Set and Costume Designer Sophia Pardon (she/her)
Lighting Designer Lucía Sánchez Roldán (she/her)
Sound Designer Jake Johnson (he/him)
Orchestrator Stuart Morley (he/him)
Stage Manager Waverley Moran (she/they)
Production Manager Misha Mah (they/them)
Casting Director Peter Noden (he/him)
Producer / General Manager Jodee Conrad (she/her)

Big Con Productions and The Grey Area
present

Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows’

HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS
WITHOUT REALLY TRYING

Music & Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock
& Willie Gilbert
Based on the novel by Shepherd Mead

Southwark Playhouse Borough
77-85 Newington Causeway,
London
SE1 6BD

12 May – 17 June 2023

7:30pm Mon-Sat
3pm Tues & Sat

Tickets
£16 Previews
£28 Concessions
£35 Standard

Social Media:

Twitter/Instagram/ TikTok
@SucceedLDN

Originally presented by Cy Feuer and Ernest H. Martin in association with Frank Productions

Presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International

Issy van Randwyck and Nick Waring head the cast
in Noël Coward’s HAY FEVER at The Mill at Sonning

Noël Coward’s effervescent comedy of bad manners – written in three days when he was 24 – is set in a country house in Berkshire.

Judith Bliss (Issy van Randwyck) is a famous West End actress, technically retired. Husband David (Nick Waring) churns out romantic novels. Their grown-up children – Simon and Sorel – resolutely refuse to grow up.

The pathologically self-absorbed Blisses invite a quartet of hapless guests for the weekend: a career diplomat, a predatory society girl, a conventional sporty chap and a sweet-natured flapper. The guests turn out to be cannon fodder in the family’s ongoing solipsistic fantasies. The sociopathic hosts are briefly in-credulous when their guests creep away after breakfast.

‘Hay Fever’ has something for everyone. The rude bohemians in the audience love watching
themselves in action. More conventional theatregoers relish the enactment of their worst social nightmares. It’s a delirious rollercoaster of a play, encased in wit, comic brio and emotional truth.

Issy van Randwyck’s stage credits include ‘Dazzling Divas’ – writer and performer (Offie Award Nomination – Minerva Theatre Chichester, Jermyn Street Theatre, Hurlingham Festival and upcoming at The Mill at Sonning from 19 July – 29 July, 2023); ‘The Boyfriend’ (Menier Chocolate Factory); ‘Rough Crossing’ (tour); ‘Anything That Flies’ (Jermyn Street Theatre); ‘The Go Between’ (Aldwych Theatre); ‘A Further Education’, ‘Raving and No Naughty Bits’ (Hampstead Theatre); ‘Closer Than Ever’ (Offie Award Nomination), ‘Anyone Can Whistle’ (Offie Award Nomination), ‘Dead Divas’ and ‘The Betrayal of Nora Blake’ (Jermyn Street Theatre); ‘The American Clock’ (Finborough Theatre); ‘Dirty Dancing’ (Aldwych Theatre); ‘Once in a Lifetime’ and ‘A Little Night Music’ (National Theatre); ‘Plaza Suite’ (Mill at Sonning); ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ and ‘Kiss Me Kate’ – Olivier Award Nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical (Regents Park Open Air Theatre); Fascinating Aida 1994-1999 – Olivier Award Nominations for Best Entertainment 1994 and 1999.

Nick Waring’s theatre credits include: ‘Ten Times Table’, ‘Don’t Dress For Dinner’ (The Mill at Sonning); ‘4 Love’, ‘Tonight at 8:30’; ‘Stone Cold Murder’; ‘The Heart of Things’; ‘Stone Cold Murder’; ‘Taking Steps’; ‘Room Service Included’. TV includes: ‘Father Brown’; ‘Call The Midwife’; ‘Ransom’; ‘EastEnders’; ‘Holby City’; ‘Victoria’; ‘The Detectorists’; ‘Genius Albert Einstein’; Guiltology’. The cast also features Aretha Ayeh (as Myra Arunde), Beth Lilly (Jackie Coryton), Daniel Fraser (Sandy Tyrell), Darrell Brockis (Richard Greatham), Emily Panes (Sorel Bliss), Joanna Brookes (Clara), William Pennington (Simon Bliss).

The full Hay Fever companyCreative team:

Tam Williams Director
Michael Holt Set Designer
Natalie Titchener Costume Designer
Graham Weymouth Sound Designer
Matt Biss Lighting Designer
Kate Plantin CDG Casting Director

LISTINGS INFO

HAY FEVER
by Noël Coward

Directed by Tam Williams

The Mill at Sonning Theatre
Sonning Eye
Reading
RG4 6TY

www.millatsonning.com

16 March – 13 May

Evening Shows Wed – Sat
Sat Matinees Every Week
Sun Matinees from 26 March