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FIRST LOOK: NEW ‘WICKED’ LONDON CAST

First images released of Alexia Khadime, Lucy St. Louis,

Caitlin Anderson and Joe Thompson-Oubari

New cast begins performances tomorrow, Tuesday 7 March 2023

Booking now extended to Sunday 7 January 2024

www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk

WICKED, the West End and Broadway musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, today releases the first production images, by photographer Matt Crockett, of Alexia Khadime as ‘Elphaba’, Lucy St. Louis as ‘Glinda’, Caitlin Anderson as ‘Nessarose’, and Joe Thompson-Oubari as ‘Boq’.

From Tuesday 7 March 2023, Wicked will star Alexia Khadime (Elphaba), Lucy St. Louis (Glinda), Ryan Reid (Fiyero), Sophie-Louise Dann (Madame Morrible), Mark Curry (The Wizard), Caitlin Anderson (Nessarose), Joe Thompson-Oubari (Boq), Simeon Truby (Doctor Dillamond), Amy Webb (Standby for Elphaba), Lisa-Anne Wood (Standby for Glinda), Yuki Abe, Kofi Aidoo-Appiah, Conor Ashman, Jessica Aubrey, Joshua Clemetson, Fergus Dale, Effie Rae Dyson, Nicola Espallardo, Danny Fogarty, Ross Harmon, Kate Leiper, Nick Len, Jemima Loddy, Joshua Lovell, PaddyJoe Martin, Millie Mayhew, Harry Mills, Daniel Parrott, Aiesha Naomi Pease, Jeanie Ryan, Natalie Spriggs, James Titchener, Micaela Todd, Christine Tucker, Jaydon Vijn and Taela Yeomans-Brown.

Michael McCabe, Executive Producer of Wicked in the UK said: “We’re very proud to release these first images of our incredible new London principal cast. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our Casting Director, Jim Arnold, for his tireless commitment to seeking out exceptional talent, and for his assistance and guidance in assembling this extraordinary company.”

“One of the most successful musicals of all time” (BBC News), Wicked is already the 12^th longest-running production in West End history.  The “hugely popular show” (The Times) has won over 100 major awards including three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, eleven WhatsOnStage Awards, and a Grammy. Tickets are now on public sale until Sunday 7 January 2024.

Whilst continuing its West End run, Wicked will open a UK & Ireland Tour at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 7 December 2023, and then travel to Bristol Hippodrome, Birmingham Hippodrome, Bradford Alhambra Theatre, Southampton Mayflower Theatre, Liverpool Empire, Dublin Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Sunderland Empire, Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre, and Manchester Palace Theatre.

Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s musical is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire and imagines a beguiling backstory and future possibilities to the lives of L. Frank Baum’s beloved characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, revealing the decisions and events that shape the destinies of two unlikely university friends on their journey to becoming Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Wicked has music and lyrics by multi-Oscar and Grammy Award winner Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, The Prince of Egypt, Disney’s Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enchanted). It is based on the multimillion-copy best-selling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire and written by Emmy and Tony Award nominee Winnie Holzman (creator of the landmark American television series My So-Called Life). Musical staging is by Tony Award-winner Wayne Cilento with direction by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello.

Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone. Executive Producer (UK) Michael McCabe.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire is published in the UK by Headline (the book is recommended for readers aged 16+). Wicked: The Grimmerie, a behind-the-scenes look at the musical by David Cote, is published in the UK by Hyperion.

The Apollo Victoria Theatre, Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1L 

Official UK website: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk

Twitter: @WickedUK  |  Facebook: /WickedUK  |  Instagram: @WickedUK

The Grammy Award-winning, Platinum-certified Original Broadway Cast Recording on Decca Broadway

The Rubens at the Palace and The Clermont Victoria are the official hotel partners of Wicked London

  www.rubenshotel.com      www.theclermont.co.uk/victoria

Southwark Playhouse – until 25 March 2023

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

4****

Joseph Charlton’s witty and incisive play portrays the evolution of a brilliant idea into a multi-billion-dollar ride-hailing app, laying bare the cut-throat and toxic workplaces and casualties as the money kept rolling in.

In a brisk 90 minutes, Charlton tells the story at breakneck speed, but even with a cast of three playing multiple roles, Katie-Ann McDonough’s slick and assured direction maintains clarity and tension. Hazel Low’s design, set in the round with a stylised table that matches the company logo works brilliantly with Annie May Fletcher’s sound design and Rachel Sampley’s lighting to represent boardrooms, cars and managing to infuse painful energy into the Vegas nightclub scenes.

The gripping story of development, global markets and stock market floatation unfolds from the point of view of the tech entrepreneur who came up with the idea for the app, a coder in the company’s London office, and a driver in Glasgow.

Shubham Saraf plays Tyler, the tech entrepreneur, overflowing with self-belief and ambition and willing to overlook the behaviour of his “brilliant jerks” – the men who get results and profits but go through life like entitled toddlers – and their frat-boy environments if it means he makes enough money to be a member of “the three comma club”. Saraf is frighteningly charismatic as Tyler, making you feel a little sorry for him when he loses control – until he shakes off this moment of honesty and recovers his bravado. Saraf also plays Craig, the manager (think millennial David Brent) of the London office where Sean (Sean Delaney) lands a coding job. Sean sees the ridiculous behaviour of the men in the team – calling him “Brother Sean” and meeting in the “dojo” – and the misogyny the women coders have to deal with. Sean goes along with the nonsense and becomes a go-between for the women, until one of the women betrays his trust and he experiences for himself exactly how heartless his workplace can be. Delaney’s quietly devastating performance is remarkable. Kiran Sonia Sawar plays Mia, a recovering addict who drives for the company in Glasgow. The driving is a lifeline for her – feeling all the energy that enters her cab, but the danger and temptation to take something are always there. Her backstory is revealed slowly, explaining her need to numb the pain, and Sawar’s nuanced performance has the audience rooting for this flawed but strong character craving connection.

The unsavoury shenanigans of those in management and high places are sadly familiar to us all, so the sense of inevitability and helplessness felt by the workers hits hard. But the production isn’t preachy or accusatory – it simply presents human folly in all its ridiculousness with a deft and light touch. There are some quieter, emotional scenes that are performed exquisitely by the cast, but the fast-paced show is mostly high-energy and upbeat. The resilience of those at the bottom of the pyramid represented by Mia, and their determination to establish their rights, raises hope for the future with Mia’s final speech. But Tyler gets the last word – with the depressingly accurate message that the market rules, and nothing will really change as long as these brilliant jerks keep producing money making ideas.

Clever, funny and frustratingly relevant, Brilliant Jerks is well worth a look.

Windsor Theatre Royal – until 18 March 2023

Reviewed by Joanna Huggett

5*****

It was a delight to watch the opening night of “The Grass is Greener” written by Hugh & Margaret Williams, a romantic comedy about the aristocratic owners of a country manor house, Victor, played by Tom Conti, and Hilary, played by Janie Dee, reduced to growing mushrooms and opening their corridors to the public in order to pay the bills.

Their marriage is tested by the attentions of an American millionaire, Charles played by Tristan Gemmill, who finds his way into their private quarters to offer Hilary an alternative to her role as the country manor housewife.

But how should Victor rescue his marriage? Ably supported by his butler, Sellars, played by Malcolm James and Hattie, Victor’s ex girlfriend played by Elizabeth Payne, he devises a plan full of cunning and wit to rescue their otherwise successful marriage without the need for arguments and recriminations so unsuitable for their aristocratic standing.

Hilarious from the start, Tom Conti delivers a torrent of rip-roaring one-liners, as only he could playing the drunken aristocrat, who despite his apparent demeanour was always totally in control. And so too the cast, so perfectly ‘typecast’ as charming, lovely and such funny characters prone to the occasional alcoholic beverage if it was offered.

You will laugh and you will leave with a big smile on your face, go see it.

Just in time for the King’s Coronation, hang out the bunting to celebrate the 1st London revival of royal-themed musical comedy
‘BETTY BLUE EYES’

Book by Ron Cowen & Daniel Lipman
Music by George Stiles  Lyrics by Anthony Drewe

based on the film ‘A Private Function’
by Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray

Union Theatre

29 March – 22nd April, 2023

It is 1947, war has ended but Britain’s citizens are suffering under the burden of food rationing, high unemployment and the coldest winter for decades.

The only bright spark on the horizon is the impending marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Enter Betty, an adorable pig who is being illegally reared to ensure local dignitaries of a small community in Yorkshire can celebrate the Royal Wedding with a lavish banquet whilst the local population make do with Spam.

‘Betty Blue Eyes’ is an utterly British musical, full of eccentric characters, such as odd couple Gilbert Chilvers – a humble chiropodist, and his wife Joyce, a nobody determined to be somebody; Inspector Wormold – an obsessive destroyer of illegal meat; Mother Dear – “She’s 74 and ravenous”; along with a weird assortment of bullies, spivs and snobs, and of course, Betty the pig.

It has a deliciously infectious, toe-tapping, retro contemporary score by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, with a book by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, adapted and expanded from Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray’s hilariously funny and sharply observed comic film ‘A Private Function’.

‘Betty Blue Eyes’, directed by Sasha Regan, is the first in-house production at the Union Theatre since Covid.

Stiles & Drewe said: “‘Betty’ was one of the most enjoyable shows of our 40-year career, both to write, develop and to have produced. We are thrilled that she’ll be able to bat her blue eyes once more at the Union Theatre, as our new King takes to the throne, the city will once again be buzzing with street parties and very Private Functions. Not seen in London since her run at the Novello Theatre in 2011, three cheers and welcome back, ‘Betty’!”

Cast to be announced.

Creative team:
Director Sasha Regan
Choreographer Kasper Cornish
Designer Reuben Speed
Casting Adam Braham
Produced by Sasha Regan & Stuart Simons

Premiering in 2011, ‘Betty Blue Eyes’ received nominations for ‘Best New Musical’ in the Olivier Awards, The Evening Standard Awards and the WhatsOnStage.com Awards.

Stiles and Drewe – Music and Lyrics

Stiles and Drewe are a multi award-winning musical theatre writing partnership whose shows have been seen all over the world and have been translated into many languages.

Their scores include the international smash-hit Cameron Mackintosh/Disney production of ‘Mary Poppins’, the Olivier Award-winning ‘Honk!,’ which has been seen by more than 6 million people in over 8,000 productions, and the West End productions of ‘Half A Sixpence’ and ‘The Wind in the
Willows’. Their other shows are ‘Soho Cinders’, ‘Travels With My Aunt’, ‘Peter Pan – A Musical
Adventure’, ‘Just So’ and ‘Tutankhamun’.

George and Anthony have also completed a trilogy of 50-minute musicals for younger audiences,
‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’, ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ and ‘The Three Little Pigs’.

Current projects include ‘Identical’ based on ‘The Parent Trap’ and ‘Becoming Nancy’ with director/
choreographer Jerry Mitchell.

Future projects include a stage version of Robert Harling’s film ‘Soapdish’.

Independently, as a composer, George’s credits include the musicals ‘Moll Flanders’, ‘The Three
Musketeers’, ‘Tom Jones’ and the scores for Sam Mendes’ stage productions of ‘Twelfth Night’ and
‘Uncle Vanya’ (Donmar Warehouse/BAM NYC).

Independently, as a lyricist, Anthony’s credits include ‘The Card’ (Watermill/Regent’s Park) and ‘A Twist Of Fate’ (Singapore Rep).

Honk! has won many international awards including the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Mary Poppins has won 45 major theatre awards around the globe, including Tony, Olivier, Helpmann and London Evening Standard Awards. Stiles and Drewe were nominated for Best New Musical at the 2016 WhatsOnStage Awards for Half A Sixpence and Betty Blue Eyes was nominated for the 2012 Olivier Award. Other awards include the TMA Best Musical Award for Moll Flanders and The Straits Times Award for Best Musical for A Twist of Fate.

Stiles and Drewe’s passion for new musical theatre is recognised via the annual Stiles and Drewe Prize for Best New Song, now in its 13th year, and their Mentorship Award supported by Music Theatre International (Europe). They are also founding board members of Mercury Musical Developments (MMD), Associate Artists at The Watermill Theatre and patrons of the London Musical Theatre Orchestra (LMTO) and The Musical Theatre Academy (MTA).

‘Mary Poppins’ has won 45 major theatre awards around the globe, including Tony, Olivier, Helpmann and London Evening Standard Awards. Stiles and Drewe were nominated for Best New Musical at the 2016 WhatsOnStage Awards for ‘Half A Sixpence’. Other awards include the TMA Best Musical Award for ‘Moll Flanders’.

Along with Anthony, George’s passion for new musical theatre writing is recognised via the annual
Stiles and Drewe Prize for Best New Song, and their Mentorship Award supported by Music Theatre International (Europe). They are founding board members of Mercury Musical Developments (MMD), Associate Artists at The Watermill Theatre and patrons of the London Musical Theatre Orchestra and the Music Theatre Academy (MTA).

Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman – Book

Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman are American writers and producers. Their work together includes:
‘Queer as Folk’ (2000–2005) US TV series, ‘Sisters’ (1991) TV series, ‘The Love She Sought’ (1990) (TV film), ‘An Early Frost’ (1985) (TV film), ‘Knots Landing’ (1984). Ron Cowen’s first play, ‘Summertree’ won a Drama Desk Award and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Sasha Regan and Stuart Simons
present

Betty Blue Eyes

Book by
Ron Cowen & Daniel Lipman

Music by George Stiles
Lyrics by Anthony Drewe

Based on the Handmade film ‘A Private Function’
and the original story by Alan Bennett and
Malcolm Mowbray
Adapted from the screenplay by Alan Bennett

Director – Sasha Regan

Union Theatre
Arch 22 & 23 Old Union Yard  Arches
229 Union Street
London SE1 0LR

29 March – 22nd April

Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm
Saturday Matinee 2.30pm

Previews: Previews 29th, 30th, 31st, March  

Tickets:
Previews  £20
Tickets £25

Social media:

Twitter
TheUnionTheatre

Facebook
TheUnionTheatre

Instagaram
theuniontheatre

Originally produced in London by Cameron Mackintosh

Presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International

Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle – until 18 March 2023

Reviewed by Jessica Brady

3***

Great technical and interactive elements for an audience but a confusing end from where we begin. 

On a rainy Wednesday eve in Newcastle I ventured to the wonderful Alphabetti Theatre to see Person Spec which has been created by Forest Sounds Theatre, a company that strives to push the boundaries between audience and actor, exploring how we treat others, and how we treat ourselves. 

Disguised as a corporate recruitment event, Person Spec is a participatory performance piece that invites audience members to be an active and essential part of a looming first job interview.

The show is held together with a mixture of technical interaction and a singular character- Marion played by Inés Collado.  Marion is an unemployed woman in her twenties whose second language is English. She is on the precipice of a whole new life and this interview is a huge opportunity for her. 

Structured around a series of interview tasks,  Person Spec let’s the audience facilitate and rate Marion’s performance through a cleverly placed projection which is updated in real time based on audience suggestions and with a series of prompts for the audience to read in unison.  The audience is very much a second character throughout the show and used cleverly to progress the story and add many moments of humour.

However, as the interview progresses it becomes apparent that these tasks aren’t intended merely for Marion, but are a part of something a lot more sinister. Whether the candidate succeeds or not is down to the audience and ‘Zantion Recruitment’ has every faith in them.

Inés Collado gives an authentic and truthful performance showing the desperation of wanting more for herself by jumping through many hoops (including a twerk) in order for her true self to be seen by people who can change her future prospects.

The initial set up of the show works well and is cleverly designed to allow an easiness for participatory action with some genuinely funny moments and an opportunity to look at the idea of how humans are measured by potential.  However there seems to be a slight disconnect in the way the first half of the show is structured to how it ends.  I was left feeling a little confused as to what had shifted in the performance and where we were led to by the end of the show.  What started out as a lighthearted clever jibe at how people are categorised and their worth measured, ended with a dark setting where we were taken to a scenario from the interview that became real life (a boat and stranded on a desert island).  Perhaps the symbolic nature of the end show passed me by but I left the show wishing that we had continued down the road that we had started on at the beginning of the piece. 

The set and digital aspects of this show are really clever and I haven’t been to a show which uses this as a device so well in a long time.  It is certainly worth going to see the show to experience the digital screen action which has a whole personality of its own.  

Overall, I feel the show has a lot of potential to be a ground breaking interactive adventure but would need some tweaks to make it feel cohesive as it felt like I had watched two difference pieces by the end.  

You can catch Person Spec at Alphabetti Theatre from Tuesday 28th February– Saturday 18th March 2023, 1:00pm and 7:30pm. 

THE WATERMILL THEATRE
IN ASSOCIATION WITH KEVIN WALLACE FOR KWL & MIDDLE EARTH ENTERPRISES PRESENT

THE LORD OF THE RINGS

THE WATERMILL’S EPIC AND INTIMATE IMMERSIVE SUMMER MUSICAL

25 JULY – 15 OCTOBER

FRIENDS ON SALE 15 MARCH

EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS ON SALE 21 MARCH

GENERAL ON SALE 22 MARCH

BOOK ONLINE AT WATERMILL.ORG.UK OR VIA THE BOX OFFICE ON 01635 46044

One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them…

Artistic Director Paul Hart, Executive Director Claire Murray and the team at Newbury’s The Watermill Theatre are thrilled to announce details of their epic summer musical; a brand-new production of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, a musical tale based on the classic trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, with book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus and music by A.R. Rahman (Bombay Dreams, Slumdog Millionaire), Värttinä and Tony Award winner and Grammy nominated Christopher Nightingale (Matilda the Musical).

With the production set across both the Watermill auditorium and gardens, audiences will be immersed in the magical landscape of Tolkien, joining an ensemble cast and large-scale puppets on an epic journey celebrating the power of friendship and common goodness to conquer unimaginable evil.

The Lord of the Rings will play at the Watermill from Tuesday 25 July until Sunday 15 October 2023. 

Tickets will go on sale to Friends of The Watermill on 15 March, to Watermill email subscribers on 21 March (sign up here), and on general sale on 22 March, via watermill.org.uk/The-Lord-Of-The-Rings.  Tickets for the performance on 22 September, Bilbo Baggins’ birthday, will include a celebration in the Watermill gardens before the show.

As the Hobbits celebrate Bilbo Baggins’ eleventy-first birthday, he gifts his nephew Frodo his inheritance – including his most precious belonging – a gold ring. Little does he know that his legacy will confront Frodo with an immense and impossible task; a perilous journey across the darkest realms of Mordor to foil the Dark Lord’s quest for total dominion. 

Paul Hart said, “We are thrilled to be bringing Bag End to Bagnor this summer with one of the most epic stories ever written.  Our production of The Lord of the Rings will take audiences from the lush idyll of the Shire in our gardens to the darkest depths of the Cracks of Doom. You may be wondering how we’re going to fit this huge show in our 200-seat theatre – come and witness the impossible!”

Claire Murray said, “Staging The Lord of the Rings reflects that our ambition hasn’t been diminished by the loss of Arts Council England funding. We’re continuing to invest in the work on our stages, in the talented artists who create this work and in reaching and connecting with audiences locally and nationally. To enable this, we’re continuing to review our business model and we’re pleased to say that we’re able to offer 28% of the tickets for the show for only £25, with priority on sales for Friends and email subscribers.  With a 12-week long run, we can’t wait to welcome more people than ever to our unique and magical site to experience this epic story.”

Fredrica Drotos, Director of Brand and Licensing at Middle-earth Enterprises added; “Middle-earth Enterprises along with Kevin Wallace can’t imagine a more fitting locale for the live staging of the Fellowship’s epic adventures from the Shire to Mordor, and back again, than at the Watermill Theatre, set in the bucolic Berkshire countryside.”

The Lord of the Rings will be directed by Paul Hart with design by Simon Kenny.

The Watermill is a 200-seat regional powerhouse, with an unparalleled reputation for producing bold, world-class theatre with local and national reach from its home in West Berkshire. It also has an extensive programme of community outreach, and schools touring work, and a firm commitment to diversity, education, and talent development. 

Cast and creative team announced for the hit play
F**king Men
by Tony-winning Joe DiPietro
returning to London in a new updated version for 2023

Alex Britt, Charlie Condou, Derek Mitchell and Stanton Plummer-Cambridge are announced today as the cast in F**king Men, a fascinating, funny and provocative story of sex, love and connection.

A modern retelling of Schnitzler’s infamous classic ‘La Ronde’, this dramatic comedy follows 10 men through a series of erotic encounters that change their lives in small but significant ways.

In a raw and updated new version for 2023, Tony-winning writer Joe DiPietro (‘Memphis’, ‘The Toxic Avenger,’ ‘What’s New Pussycat?’), takes a sharp and insightful look at the experiences of modern gay men as they navigate their conflicting desires for the comfort of monogamous love and the thrill of sexual freedom.

It starts previews at Waterloo East Theatre from Thursday 20 April. The strictly limited season is booking to Sunday 18 June

Creative team:
Director Steve Kunis
Set and Costume Designer Cara Evens
Lighting Designer Alex Lewer
Sound Designer Charlie Smith
Movement & Intimacy Director Lee Crowley
Casting Director Anne Vosser

Produced by Adam Roebuck (‘Afterglow’, UK premiere, Southwark Playhouse and Waterloo East Theatre).

Alex Britt – Theatre credits include: ‘Dumbledore Is So Gay’ (Pleasance & VAULT Festival); ‘My Dad’s Gap Year’ (Park Theatre); ‘Corpus Christi’ (Arcola Theatre); ‘Man-Cub’ (Etcetera Theatre & King’s Head Theatre).

Charlie Condou (appearing to 21 May only) – Theatre credits includes: ‘After The Rain’ (Gate Theatre); Cracked (Hampstead  Theatre);  ‘Shopping & F***ing’ (nominated Best Actor at the MEN awards);  ‘The Changeling’
(Southwark Playhouse); ‘Dying for It’ (Almeida); ‘Next Fal’l (Southwark Playhouse); ‘The Crucible’ (No.1 tour); ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ (No. 1 tour); ‘Straight White Men’ (Southwark Playhouse). On TV he played sonographer Marcus Dent in ‘Coronation Street’ from 2007 – 2014, and played Ben Sherwood in the medical drama ‘Holby City’.

Derek Mitchell – Theatre credits include: ‘Suddenly Last Summer’, ‘The Bacchae’ and ‘Hedda Gabler’ (Oxford Playhouse) and ‘The Pillowman’ (Polanentheater, Amsterdam). On TV, Derek recently appeared in the third series of ‘Ted Lasso’ on Apple TV+. One half of comedy duo Horseplay, Derek has toured with original narrative sketch shows Witch Hunt and Bareback to theatres in London, Oxford, Barcelona and Amsterdam, and to five Edinburgh Fringes

Stanton Plummer-Cambridge – Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, his Theatre credits include: ‘Coming Clean’ (Trafalgar Studios); ‘Macbeth’ and ‘The Tempest’ (both Southwark Playhouse). TV includes ‘Black Earth Rising’ (Netflix) and ‘The Durrells’ (ITV).

Joe DiPietro (Playwright)
Joe has won two Tony Awards, a Drama Desk Award and 2 Outer Critics Circle Awards. Broadway credits include: ‘Diana’, ‘Nice Work If You Can Get It’ (Tony nominations include Best Musical & Best Book; Drama Desk Award – Best Book); ‘Memphi’s (Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score); ‘All Shook Up’ and ‘Living on Love’. Off-Broadway credits include: ‘Ernest Shackleton Loves Me’, ‘Clever Little Lies’, ‘The Toxic Avenger’, ‘The Thing About Men’, ‘Over the River and Through the Woods’ and the record-breaking ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’.

Steven Kunis (Director)
Steven was nominated Best Director of a Play at the Off West End Awards for the UK premiere of Young Jean Lee’s ‘Straight White Men’ (Southwark Playhouse), which was named by The Independent as one of the UK’s top ten theatre events of 2021. Recently, he directed the UK premiere of Tanya Barfield’s ‘Bright Half Life’ (King’s Head Theatre) and the world premiere of Shaun McKenna’s ‘Rocky Road’ (Jermyn Street Theatre), which was listed by the Guardian among the top online theatre experiences of lockdown. He also directed the UK debut of the Refugee Orchestra Project at the London Symphony Orchestra’s St Luke’s venue, and in 2019 he was again nominated for Best Director at the Off West End Awards for the critically acclaimed three-month run of S. Asher Gelman’s ‘Afterglow’ (Waterloo East).

LISTINGS INFO

Adam Roebuck
presents

F**king Men
by Joe DiPietro
based on Schnitzler’s ‘La Ronde’

Waterloo East Theatre
Brad Street
London
SE1 8TN

Box Office
https://www.waterlooeast.co.uk

Previews from Thursday 20 April

Booking period to Sunday 18 June

Performance Schedule:

Tuesday at 7.30pm
Wednesday at 7.30pm
Thursday at 7.30pm
Friday at 7pm and 9.15pm
Saturday at 7pm and 9.15pm
Sunday at 4pm

Ticket prices:
Previews:
£30 for (front two rows)
premium seats
£20 for all other seats

For the run premium seats £40
all other seats £28

Contains strong language,
homophobic violence and nudity

Social media

Facebook
@FKingMenThePlay

Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham – until 4th March 2023

Reviewed by Jacqui Radford

4****

Based on the book ‘These Foolish Things’ by Deborah Moggach, this play shares its title with the hit film that perhaps many of us are very familiar with. If it’s been a while since you enjoyed the film, then the play will bring everything flooding back.

Set in a crumbling hotel chosen for retirement living by an eclectic group of British travellers searching for rejuvenation and new horizons, the play is a comment on our attitude to getting older and being ‘abandoned’ to the care system. Each of the characters portray various family dynamics and experiences that have essentially left each of them finding their own way back to happiness.

The hotel itself also needs a new lease of life and seemingly, that is provided by the group of retirees who don’t want to give up on life or their own retirement plans and find themselves encouraging the hotel owners to give it one last shot.

This show has an excellent cast, including Paul Nicholas, Tessa Peake- Jones who play characters discovering freedom, friendship and new love by the end of the play. As a whole the cast deliver caustic comment on life and punch lines galore that raise laughter throughout. Perhaps that’s because we all recognise that we sometimes look at our elders as though they are beyond hope and yet secretly realise that we all need to believe there is always more to discover while we are still breathing.

The set is beautifully designed to show a colonial hotel at the heart of past and present communities, bringing the two together with added warmth as the play progresses. The grand finale and feel- good factor we are all craving is delivered in all its glory with a final injection of music and dance that got everyone involved. Nobody left without a smile on their face and that included the cast, who clearly had a whale of a time.

Old Red Lion Theatre – until 6 May 2023

Reviewed by Philip Brown

3.5***

This one woman show conceived, written and brilliantly performed by Collette Cooper is an extraordinary portrait of Janis Joplin, perhaps the ultimate American west coast “rock chick”, who shot to fame  in the second half of the 60s but was dead by October 1970 – an early member of the infamous 27 club (Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison & Grateful Dead’s Pigpen – all substance abuse related deaths at the age of 27).  The show’s title reflects her essential balls-out, “carpe diem” attitude to life.

I couldn’t smell patchouli, but the bijou theatre at the top of the Old Red Lion was decked out like a flower power emporium whilst a “head” in a kaftan offered spiritual drugs on entry.  Alongside  a central performance area, is Joplin’s small boudoir full of her iconic stage garb which gets whipped off and on as things progress, along with trolleys of her favourite poison – Southern Comfort.   Completing the picture, at the rear of the “main stage” was a very good three-piece band (the TSP band), playing the Big Brother & Holding Company role, delivering searing acid rock backing (Jack Parry as Sam Andrew on lead guitar, David Malek as James Gurley on bass and Jan Simson as Dave Getz on drums).

The show kicks off with one of Joplin’s later songs – “Tell Mama” – in which Cooper establishes her hard rocking credentials.  Joplin was renowned for her dynamic, uninhibited live performances and Collette Cooper emulates Joplin’s ferocious “on-stage” energy superbly throughout, with a singing voice that is a pretty close match to Joplin’s rasp without being quite as flexible.

Between songs, Cooper moves to the boudoir where we learn about Joplin’s life, from childhood in Port Arthur, Texas to discovering the blues, to Haight Ashbury, San Francisco and back.   Whilst these interludes are generally Southern Comfort fuelled, angst ridden reflection about not fitting in and other insecurities, they feel natural, convincing and surprisingly nuanced – a tribute to Cooper’s writing and performing skills.  Overall, it’s a sad story and despite apparently claiming to be at her happiest at the peak of her fame, and on the verge of a  triumphal return to Port Arthur as the first queen of rock,  deep down, you feel  Cooper as Joplin probably doesn’t fully buy it.

It is testament to Cooper’s magnetic story-telling that this 90 minute show (without interval) kept the audience gripped throughput and passed in a flash.  There were several moments of audience participation which were mostly charming and fun, but therein lies an issue with the show.  It’s attempting to create a feel-good right here right now, party atmosphere from an ultimately tragic story.

As a celebration of Joplin’s music, I could quibble about the choice of songs – no room for “Summertime”, “Down on Me” or “I Need a Man to Love” – and one or two more numbers would have been welcome, but if this show sends the audience back to the source, it will have succeeded.   

Overall, you have to admire Collette Cooper’s fine accomplishment.  In fact it’s a gas. Artistically, “Tomorrow May Be My Last” amounts to her magnum opus – a honed and well-constructed entertainment bringing a pioneering, but, these days, relatively obscure female musician back to life.  Commercially,  it taps right into the burgeoning  music nostalgia market.

Darlington Hippodrome – until 4th March 2023

Review by Stee Leahy

4****

A rock and roll revival for the people of today!

As I took my seat I was transported back to the 1950s with music softly playing from the era. It was a great way you settle the audience and set them up for the treat that was lying ahead. 

As the show starts, we as an audience are introduced to radio host and show narrator, ‘Hippockets Duncan’ played by the wonderfully diverse Thomas Mitchell, respectively.

He tells the tale of the leading chap ‘Buddy Holly’ played by Christopher Week and his two friends, the fun ‘Joe B Mauldin’ played by Joe Butcher and ‘Jerry Allison’, played by Josh Haberfield to great acclaim. The three friends form the band ‘Buddy Holly and the Crickets’. 

The story follows the band as they start off, firstly playing country music, performing for a local radio station in Texas, known as KDAV. However, Buddy sick of playing country and western music takes it upon himself to play his own style of music with the Crickets on a different radio station, Decca Records, this outrages KDAV!

Later Hippockets Duncan recommends Buddy to a new up and coming Record producer, Norman Petty and his wife Vi, played superbly again by Thomas Mitchell and Stephanie Cremona. Vi, a pianists helps Buddy and the Crickets work on smash hits ‘That’ll be the Day’ and ‘Everyday’. This scene in particular was excellently acted and captivating from start to finish. The chemistry was nothing less than perfect. 

As the story moves forward, we watch as Buddy and The Crickets shoot to fame with their smash hit ‘That’ll be the day’, and thanks to their single hitting the charts, the band set off on a national tour. 

Whilst on tour they arrive in Harlem. 

Here we meet two Apollo Performers, portrayed by the incredibly talented Samuelle Durojaiye and Laura-Dene Perryman. We watch as Buddy and the band try and win them both over. 

Later Buddy meets Maria Elena played by the enthrallingly captivating ‘Daniella Agredo Piper’ and asks for her hand in marriage after just 5 hours! 

The show takes a dramatic turn towards the end. 

The last chapter had everyone hooked. It was tense and brilliantly played by all involved. You could hear a pin drop. 

The show itself has a great feel of a concert, with the story being told in such a way that it complimented the hits of ‘Buddy Holly and the Crickets’.

The set was minimalistic but effective to say the least. Themed like a 50s cafe, it complemented the production perfectly. 

The costumes, I can imagine we’re very nostalgic to anyone from or who remembers the era. 

This production is the perfect treat for anyone who is a fan of Buddy Holly, the 50’s or good theatre!