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WICKED

THE WEST END AND BROADWAY MUSICAL

PHENOMENON ANNOUNCES MAJOR UK & IRELAND TOUR

OPENING DECEMBER 2023

Ten cities to host the spectacular, award-winning touring production

Acclaimed production at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre continues, now in its 17^th year

www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk

WICKED, “one of the most successful musicals of all time” (BBC News), today (18 November 2022) announces a major 10-city 2023-2025 UK & Ireland Tour. Opening at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 7 December 2023, the spectacular, multi-record-breaking and critically acclaimed touring production will then travel to Bristol, Birmingham, Bradford, Southampton, Liverpool, Dublin, Sunderland, Cardiff and Manchester, where it will conclude at the Palace Theatre for Christmas 2024/5. The West End and Broadway musical phenomenon, which tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, continues its open-ended run at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it has already been seen by more than 11 million people and is now in its 17^th year.

With a huge touring cast, orchestra, company and crew of 82 people, plus an additional 20 people employed in each city, “the blockbuster stage show” (Edinburgh Evening News) played to sold-out audiences during two previous tours of the UK & Ireland, winning the BroadwayWorld UK Award for ‘Best Touring Production’. Casting to be announced.

Michael McCabe, Executive Producer (UK & Ireland) of Wicked, said:

“We’re delighted to be embarking on this third tour of the UK & Ireland and taking Wicked back to 10 incredible theatres in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland where sold-out audiences previously greeted us so ecstatically. We’re excited to have this opportunity to share once again the spectacle, magic and emotion that has created unforgettable memories for audiences everywhere.”

Performance and on-sale dates are listed below. For priority access and information, you can sign-up now at: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk

EDINBURGH Playhouse, Thursday 7 December 2023 – Sunday 14 January 2024

Tickets on public sale Thursday 8 December 2022 / Theatre Card holders Monday 5 December 2022 / Groups 10+ Tuesday 6 December 2022

BRISTOL Hippodrome, Tuesday 23 January 2024 – Sunday 25 February 2024

Tickets on public sale Monday 30 January 2023 / Theatre Card holders Wednesday 25 January 2023 / Groups 10+ Thursday 26 January 2023

BIRMINGHAM Hippodrome, Tuesday 5 March 2024 – Sunday 7 April 2024

Tickets on public sale Spring 2023

BRADFORD Alhambra, Tuesday 16 April 2024 – Sunday 19 May 2024

Tickets on public sale Monday 30 January 2023

SOUTHAMPTON Mayflower, Thursday 23 May 2024 – Sunday 16 June 2024

Tickets on public sale Monday 30 January 2023 https://bit.ly/3U3uAYB

LIVERPOOL Empire, Thursday 20 June 2024 – Sunday 14 July 2024

Tickets on public sale Thursday 8 June 2023 / Theatre Card holders Monday 5 June 2023 / Groups 10+ Tuesday 6 June 2023

DUBLIN Bord Gais Theatre, Tuesday 23 July 2024 – Sunday 15 September 2024

Tickets on public sale in 2023

SUNDERLAND Empire, Tuesday 24 September 2024 – Sunday 20 October 2024

Tickets on public sale Thursday 8 June 2023 / Theatre Card holders Monday 5 June 2023 / Groups 10+ Tuesday 6 June 2023

CARDIFF Wales Millennium Centre, Thursday 24 October 2024 – Saturday 23 November 2024

Tickets on public sale Friday 3 February 2023

MANCHESTER Palace Theatre, Tuesday 3 December 2024 – Sunday 12 January 2025

Tickets on public sale Thursday 8 June 2023 / Theatre Card holders Monday 5 June 2023 / Groups 10+ Tuesday 6 June 2023

Reviews from previous tours:

“This is the ultimate Broadway experience for theatre audiences all over the UK.”

The Northern Echo

“No expense has been spared – with the incredible set, spectacular costumes, perfect lighting and a wonderful orchestra – this is every bit the West End Show.”

Worcester News

“You could be in a Broadway theatre! ‘Wicked’ is one of the best touring productions ever to come to the city.”

Bristol Post

“Wicked is showing every touring musical how it should be done. The production values are incredible – this is every bit the West End show.”

The Reviews Hub

“Every aspect of the show, from the costumes to the performances, oozes top-notch entertainment value. This is every bit the West End show.”

South Wales Argus

“The West End smash flew into town and totally ripped up the rule book that states touring shows should somehow be second rate to London or Broadway. This interpretation is truly phenomenal.”

Scottish Daily Record

“A global sensation” (Independent), Wicked has already been seen by more than 60 million people worldwide and 2023 marks the 20^th Anniversary Year of its Broadway premiere. Productions continue on Broadway, in the West End and on tour across North America. Wicked will also return to Sydney, Australia and Tokyo, Japan in 2023. 

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked imagines a beguiling backstory and future possibilities to the lives of L. Frank Baum’s beloved characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reveals 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.

Wickedfeatures songs 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 multi-million 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 & Ireland) 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.

Official website: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk

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

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

8 WEEKS ONLY, PREVIEWS FROM 29^TH MARCH 2023

“a dazzling series of gender-switching roles…a Beyoncé-esque assertion of female power…excellent performers… There are some big, blowsy shows around in the West End, but this little belter is staging its own audacious invasion plan” ★★★★★
Suzi Feay, Financial Times

“a miraculous musical that tells the entire story in a kind of accelerated farce that is part Mel Brooks, part SIX, part Hamilton with a side order of One Man, Two Guvnors.” ★★★★★
Neil Norman, The Daily Mirror

“the stage show’s comic power rests in its ability to subvert expectation and provide a revisionist commentary on the establishment figures”

Emma John, The Observer

“a buzz louder than a doodlebug surrounds Operation Mincemeat…a kind of genius declares itself”

Dominic Cavendish, The Daily Telegraph

“this is the musical you didn’t know you needed…a little show with a very big future.”
David Benedict, Variety

18^th November 2022 – After sold-out development runs at the New Diorama Theatre in 2019 and Southwark Playhouse in 2020, 2021 & 2022, plus an extended Riverside Studios run this summer, Operation Mincemeat transfers to the West End’s Fortune Theatre for previews (SpitLip never rest on their laurels) starting on the 29^th March, followed by an 8-week run beginning on the 9^th May 2023. Operation Mincemeat will be following thirty-three hugely successful years of The Woman In Black at the Fortune Theatre.

Tickets are on General Sale now from the Official Box Office at OperationMincemeat.com.

Priority access to the best seats is available via the official mailing list.

The year is 1943 and we’re losing the war. Luckily, we’re about to gamble all our futures on a stolen corpse. 

Singin’ in the Rain meets Strangers on a Train, Noel Coward meets Noel Fielding, Operation Mincemeat is the fast-paced, hilarious and unbelievable true story of the twisted secret mission that won us World War II. The question is, how did a well-dressed corpse wrong-foot Hitler? 

Operation Mincemeat won The Stage Debut award for Best Composer/Lyricist, the Off-West End award for Best Company Ensemble and was listed in the Observer’s Top 10 shows of the year.  The show is currently featured in the V&A’s Re:Imagining Musicals display, exploring how musicals have continuously reimagined, reinvented and reinterpreted themselves over time.

SpitLip said: “We’re overjoyed, overwhelmed, overtired, and cannot believe we’re bringing our show to the West End, where it will definitely run for at least 33 years”

Jon Thoday for Avalon said: “We’re very pleased to have supported the show to date and delighted to be chosen by SpitLip to help bring such a funny, moving and brilliant show to a wider audience”.

The show was commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, co-commissioned by The Lowry, and supported by the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat with additional support from Avalon. 

Operation Mincemeat is presented in the West End by Avalon in association with SpitLip.

Theatre at The Tabard, Turnham Green – until 3rd December 2022

Reviewed by Bobbi Fenton

5*****

‘The Last Laugh’ is an incredibly funny play, about two completely opposite archetypes and how they can grow to like one another. Set during an ongoing war in a dystopian time, a Writer (Matt Wake) has written a play, and in order to have the play performed must get it through the unbelievably harsh Censor (David Tarkenter). The Censor is an army man, who has been in the army since the age of fourteen and as a result sees everything through the lens of the war. The Writer, on the other hand, is an energetic and nervous man who sees most things as an opportunity for comedy. This play shows the Writer’s desperate attempt to articulate the essence of comedy to a person who has no understanding, and evidently experience, of the concept, having poorly attempted one joke in his entire life. Nevertheless, the Writer persists in this almost painful to watch attempt, resulting in the Censor warming up to him and even attempting, and completely butchering, a joke about a tin of green paint. As the Writer tries explaining the methods used in comedy, we see the Censor obliviously and unironically displaying the specific examples of comedy being explained to him, which is absolutely hysterical.

David Tarkenter’s portrayal of the strait-laced, stern Censor is brilliant, as we see this character develop over the few meetings with the Writer into a very likeable character, becoming more and more interested in genuinely helping the Writer with his work. Similarly, Matt Wake’s portrayal of the Writer is equally as brilliant, as we see him becoming less and less tense and relaxing in the presence of the Censor, even accepting his suggestions for some scenes in his play. The two actors work perfectly together to create this wonderful tension and many incredibly funny moments throughout the play, and I cannot think of a single pair of actors who could do this better.

The play ends with an exceptionally dramatic plot twist, as the Censor experiences a loss and the Writer expresses his feelings from the very first meeting between the two, and we hear the Writers description of a character inspired by their country’s leader, making jokes linking him with Hitler. This is a great way to compare the absurdity of the Censors rules for the Writers play with the real-life restrictions that have previously been placed on creative writers and publishers.

All in all, this play is brilliant, and will have you roaring with laughter from beginning to end.

Menier Chocolate Factory – until 7th January 2023

Reviewed by Alun Hood

3***

Terry Johnson has an interesting history of promising his audience a certain kind of play then delivering something quite unexpected: Dead Funny sounded like a classic, if macabre, farce but turned out to be a devastating examination of a marriage in crisis, while Insignificance featured a number of 20th century cultural and intellectual icons and it’s key scene had Marilyn Monroe explain the theory of relativity to Einstein using balloons as props. Hysteria saw a chamber comedy about Freud and Dali explode into a wild surrealist extravaganza. True to form, The Sex Party -his first new play in four years and the reopening production for a refurbished Menier Chocolate Factory- appears from it’s title and marketing to be something salacious and naughty, but actually proves to be a surprisingly astute critique of open relationships and the emotional and human costs of a situation where not everyone is reading off of the same hymn sheet. This isn’t Johnson at his best, to be honest, but it’ll certainly get people talking.

Set in the kitchen at a swingers party in Islington, this is essentially a discussion piece that puts nine contrasting individuals in a room and has them grapple with, well, almost everything really: jealousy, gender, personal boundaries, yearning for what might have been, political correctness …oh and sex of course, although anybody seeing this show to see nudity and onstage “action” will be left disappointed. Johnson’s gift for literate, often painfully funny dialogue remains, as does his wry, almost absurdist take on allegedly civilised social conventions: there’s an amusing moment when Jason Merrell’s party host Alex bolts, mid-orgy, into the living room in high dudgeon and armed with salt because somebody has spilt red wine on an expensive rug. 

That verbal elegance is shot through with moments of quite breathtaking crudity and even cruelty though. A lot of what comes out of the character’s mouths may be disturbingly unpalatable but most of it sounds authentic enough, although whether one would choose to spend over two hours in the company of some of these people is another matter. The script becomes less successful as it interrogates the boundaries of “wokeness”, the catalyst for which is the arrival of the stunning Lucy, a trans woman played with a fascinating mixture of aloofness and vulnerability by Pooya Mohseni. There is an extended scene in the second act where a number of really offensive opinions (think, if you must, transphobic, homophobic and just plain crass) are bandied about from some of the more unreconstructed partygoers. It’s pretty ugly stuff and no doubt indicative of the way many people sadly still think, and while I’m not suggesting for one moment that drama shouldn’t explore the uncomfortable and/or offensive, Johnson’s characters here morph into mouthpieces for a bewilderingly eclectic selection of viewpoints rather than fully fledged human beings, and there’s nothing that even this fine bunch of actors can do to ameliorate that.

Jason Merrells makes host Alex into a genuinely likeable figure, and Molly Osborne sparkles as his enthusiastically frisky younger girlfriend, who finds one character’s scepticism about the merits of owning a dog far more unacceptable than any of the coital excesses going on in her own living room. Lisa Dwan and John Hopkins find real firepower in a fractured couple at their first sex party, and whose relationship looks set to change forever after the revelations of a single night. Kelly Price is hilarious but also entirely convincing as haughty, intimidatingly “right on” Camilla who comes to realise that her boundaries are not necessary where she thought they were, and Will Barton is great fun as her drug-addled man-child boyfriend. Oscar winner Timothy Hutton invests wealthy eccentric Jeff with just the right amount of blunt insensitivity and blandly masked nastiness, while Amanda Ryan goes impressively for broke as his super-brash trophy wife, who seems to have been written as Russian solely so that she can toss out unspeakable opinions without intending to offend anyone (although she invariably does). Either way, Ryan’s roaring Russian accent sounds spot on. Mohseni is gorgeous and makes Lucy into probably the most sympathetic figure at the party.

While it has much to enjoy, particularly the note-perfect performances and Tim Shortall’s beautiful and astonishingly detailed Islington townhouse kitchen set, The Sex Party feels like a play that needed at least one more draft before being exposed to audiences and indeed to critical opinion. It’s an unruly beast, chock full of opinions, tropes, issues and characters that have the unmistakable tang of truth while seldom actually achieving full theatrical life, despite the efforts of a stellar cast.  

Hull New Theatre – until 19th November 2022

Reviewed by Catherine McWilliams

4****

One Off Productions delivered a slick performance of The Full Monty last night at Hull New Theatre, providing a great night out.

With the book by Terrence McNally and lyrics by David Yazbek, The Full Monty is a musical based around Simon Beaufoy’s classic and much loved 1979 film of the same name. The location has changed from Sheffield to Buffalo New York State, but the story remains the same, the steel plant has closed and the local men are without prospects or hope. Given this scenario, one would imagine that this would be a depressing watch but this is not the case at all, this production is full of joy and laughter. The story revolves around Jerry Lukowski’s (Russell Fallon) big idea to form a group of local men to strip, for one night only, at the local club. This is so he can get the money together to pay his back child support and avoid losing his son Nathan (Joseph Walker). An unlikely group come together and, in their attempts to learn to dance, we are drawn into their lives, and as one the audience were rooting for them to succeed.

Russell Fallon’s Jerry is the lynchpin of the story and he played an utterly convincing part as the leader of the group, cajoling the other men into joining but also showing the despair of his character. Ryan Wilson provided the perfect foil to Jerry as his best friend Dave Bukatinsky, he oozed the insecurities of this character as he veered from humour to utter anguish. Russell and Ryan have superb singing voices and came together with David Ross (as Malcolm McGregor) to deliver one of the highlights of the show “Big-Ass Rock”, a song about different ways to commit suicide – one of the funniest things you will ever hear in the theatre! David Ross played Malcolm to perfection as the insecure, reserved Malcolm who still lives with his mum. The remaining members of the group Rory Summers as Harold Nichols, Connor Wilson as Ethan Girard and Charles Chiweshe as Noah (Horse) T. Simmons all delivered superb performances. This group of men are quite something, it takes a great deal of nerve to strip live on stage in front of your local community, as One Off Productions are a local amateur group and as in the musical they were performing, there will have been people they knew in the audience.

The Full Monty also requires strong female characters and the cast delivered here too. Emma Burgess was perfect as Dave’s wife Georgie, working hard and trying to support and encourage her husband. She has a superb voice and her duet with Rachel Broxham (Vicki Nichols) of “You Rule My World” was very touching. Rachel Broxham was excellent as Vicki, totally oblivious of her husband having lost his job. Georgina Garton made an excellent Jeanette A. Burmeister, the pianist (with a past in music) who turns up out of the blue to help the men with their rehearsals. Her timing is superb and she brought even more joy to the proceedings.

The Full Monty is full of fabulous songs that were delivered superbly. The Band led by Musical Director Andy McIntosh were outstanding, as good as any of those that have accompanied recent professional performances at the theatre. Meg Wilson’s choreography for the show was excellent and the performance of “Scrap” was one of my favourites.

One Off Productions may be an amateur group but in no way was this an amateurish performance. Timing was immaculate, it was musically superb and beautifully acted. The Full Monty is definitely one to see, it will make you feel sad one minute and the next you will be belly laughing, a fabulous feel-good experience. Grab some tickets while you can – it may not be “for one night only” but there are certainly not many nights left to experience The Full Monty.

Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle – until 3rd December 2022

Reviewed by Sandra Little

3***

This one hour play is presented by Papi Jeovani and Rhian Jade, and is performed without any props or scenery other than the convict style uniforms the two actors wear throughout the performance. The presentation relies heavily on powerful dialogue and also intense monologue on some occasions.The narrative seems to suggest that these two actors are sharing a prison cell but the “blank canvas” of the stage leaves the setting, time and place of the play open to interpretation.

The publicity information accompanying this play tells us that two people are forced to share a space and lose freedom, hope and a dog! We are also told that they find their lives are more similar than they could have ever imagined. The two actors play a black male and a white Irish female.

The narrative of this production does not follow a conventional structure and felt more like a series of conversations and monologues with some physical theatre included. The production was a powerful exploration of difficult and very relevant issues including drug dealing, drug related crime, personal identity, the constraints that upbringing has on a person and also feelings relating to sexual orientation. Both characters also mention violence, shooting and mental health! There are however, some more tender moments and a sprinkling of humour, interspersed within the play. We learn that Ailish ( Rhian Jade) was constrained by her family’s religious beliefs and traditional expectations. On one occasion Ailish says,”I am what this world made of me” We learn that Alisha leaves an unhappy marriage and has “treatment” for “being gay.” Meanwhile we hear that Marcus (Papa Jeovani) had been involved in drug dealing and criminal activity; issues which had an impact on his relationship with his son.

This production is a collaboration between Alphabetti Theatre and SoreSlap Theatre which is led by creatives Papi Jeovani and Rhian Jade. When I attended on Wednesday 16th a “ pay what you feel” arrangement was in place and this small theatre was full. The general feeling I gathered was that people enjoyed the performance. Rhian and Papi have worked together in Newcastle since 2019.

BILL KENWRIGHT

presents a

production of

 LAURA WADE’S

HOME, I’M DARLING

Winner of the 2019 Olivier Award for

Best New Comedy

Directed by TAMARA HARVEY and HANNAH NOONE

The cast will be led by 

JESSICA RANSOM, DIANE KEEN and NEIL McDERMOTT

TOURING NATIONALLY FROM JANUARY 2023

FOLLOWING ACCLAIMED SEASONS AT 

THE NATIONAL THEATRE AND IN THE WEST END 

This new production of Home, I’m Darling opens at the Theatre Royal Windsor on 25 January 2023, prior to the play’s first extensive national tour. Leading the cast are BAFTA award winner Jessica Ransom (Doc Martin, Armstrong and Miller, Horrible Histories) as Judy, Diane Keen (Doctors, The Cuckoo Waltz) as Sylvia and Neil McDermott (Eastenders, The Royal) as Johnny, with further casting to be announced.

This sparkling, thought-provoking comedy by Laura Wade (Posh/The Riot Club) is about one woman’s quest to be the perfect 1950’s housewife.

How happily married are the happily married?

Every couple needs a little fantasy to keep their marriage sparkling. But behind the gingham curtains, things start to unravel, and being a domestic goddess is not as easy as it seems…

Home, I’m Darling received its World Premiere at Theatr Clwyd in 2018, before playing at the National Theatre and then transferring to the Duke of York’s Theatre in the West End, winning the 2019 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. This production reunites the entire original creative team, led by Theatr Clwyd Artistic Director and Co-Director Designate of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Tamara Harvey. It is co-directedby Hannah Noone, with design by Olivier award-winner Anna Fleischle, lighting by Lucy Carter, sound design by Tom Gibbons and choreography by Charlotte Broom.

LISTINGS

HOME, I’M DARLING

BY LAURA WADE

NATIONAL TOUR
DIRECTED BY TAMARA HARVEY & HANNAH NOONE

DESIGN BY ANNA FLEISCHLE

LIGHTING DESIGN BY LUCY CARTER

SOUND DESIGN BY TOM GIBBONS

CHOREOGRAPHY BY CHARLOTTE BROOM
FROM 25 JANUARY 2023

Theatre Royal Windsor                                              theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk 

Wed 25 January – Sat 4 February 2023                   01753 853 888

Derby Theatre, Derby                                                derbytheatre.co.uk

Tue 7 – Sat 11 February 2023                                    0133 2593 939

King’s Theatre, Glasgow                                            atgtickets.com/glasgow
Tue 14 – Sat 18 February 2023                                  0844 871 7615

Bath Theatre Royal                                                     theatreroyal.org.uk

Tue 21 – Sat 25 February 2023                                  01225 448844

Festival Theatre, Malvern                                          malvern-theatres.co.uk
Tue 28 February – Sat 4 March 2023                        01684 892277

Devonshire Park, Eastbourne                                    eastbournetheatres.co.uk
Tue 7 – Sat 11 March 2023                                          01323 412000

Theatr Clwyd, Mold                                                     theatrclwyd.com

Tue 14 – Sat 18 March 2023                                        01352 344101

New Victoria Theatre, Woking                                  atgtickets.com/Woking

Tue 21 – Sat 25 March 2023                                       0844 871 7615

Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham                               everymantheatre.org.uk

Tue 28 March – Sat 1 April 2023                                01242 572 573

Richmond Theatre                                                       atgtickets.com/richmond

Tue 4 – Sat 8 April 2023                                               0844 871 7615

Brighton Theatre Royal                                              atgtickets.com/brighton

Tue 11 – Sat 15 April 2023                                          0844 871 7615

The Alexandra, Birmingham                                      atgtickets.com/birmingham

Tue 25 – Sat 29 April 2023                                          0844 871 7615

Canterbury Marlowe Theatre                                   marlowetheatre.com

Tue 9 – Sat 13 May 2023                                             01227 78778

Further tour dates to be announced.

RIVERSIDE STUDIOS – LOOKING AHEAD TO 2023,
THE ICONIC WEST LONDON VENUE’S 45^th ANNIVERSARY YEAR

• FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED – RALLY FOR RIVERSIDE
• SHOWS ANNOUNCED AS PART OF THE SPRING SEASON INCLUDE WINNIE THE POOH, CIRQUE BERZERK, WE DIDN’T COME TO HELL FOR THE CROISSANTS AND SWEAT

2023 marks the 45th Anniversary of Riverside Studios being established as an arts centre, and its 40th Anniversary as a charity. Creative Director Rachel Tackley, Executive Director Tony Lankester and the whole team at the West London venue are pleased to announce details of further shows now on sale for the spring, as well as a brand-new fundraising campaign – Rally for Riverside. 

Rally for Riverside aims to raise £500k during the anniversary year to support their artistic, community and heritage programmes.  To kick things off, The Winter Auction offers donors a huge range of potential ‘money can’t buy’ prizes and experiences, ranging from a personalised video message from George Mackay, a pair of Eddie Izzard’s signed trainers, a year’s-worth of cinema tickets to a private rowing lesson on the Thames.

Tony Lankester said “This anniversary falls at a critical time for Riverside and, indeed, everyone in the arts.  The cost-of-living crisis, the ongoing impact of covid and the recent tranche of cuts across the sector means that we all need to rally behind the arts and, of course, for Riverside.”

Creative Director Rachel Tackley said, “The first season at Riverside Studios in January 1978 began with Peter Gill’s version of The Cherry Orchard.  Peter said that he deliberately chose this as his opening production, because he thought that would be a thing people would least expect a ‘community arts centre’ to do. Our anniversary year is going to see us, 45 years later, continuing to push the envelope, stretch expectations and take you by surprise!”

With the recently announced hit musical WINNIE THE POOH taking centre stage in the Spring of the anniversary year (Friday 17 March – Sunday 21 May), Riverside are pleased to announce that other shows on sale now include CIRQUE BERZERK (Thursday 9 February – Sunday 11 March), WE DIDN’T COME TO HELL FOR THE CROISSANTS (Tuesday 17 January – Sunday 5 February), SWEAT (Tuesday 28 February – Wednesday 8 March) and with more to follow.

Presented by Rockefeller Productions, in partnership with ROYO, and in association with Disney Theatrical Productions, WINNIE THE POOH comes to Riverside Studios after record-breaking premieres in New York and Chicago.   Told with stunning life-sized puppetry through the eyes of the characters we all know and love, WINNE THE POOH features the Sherman Brothers’ classic Grammy Award-winning music with further songs by the beloved A.A. Milne.

Presented by Zippos, CIRQUE BERSERK is Britain’s biggest and boldest theatre-circus spectacular.  Combining beautiful contemporary circus artistry with hair-raising, death-defying stunts, all designed specially for staging in a theatre, the show is guaranteed to thrill audiences from 5 to 95!

The cult hit WE DIDN’T COME TO HELL FOR THE CROISSANTS has been performed hundreds of times around the world. In it seven stories by seven renowned South African writers are consummately told and illustrated, running the gamut from orgiastic sex to death to cats with trust funds and everything in between.

Inspired by real stories of Migrants living in the UK from Romania, Slovakia, the Czech republic, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Cameroon and Sudan, SWEAT / NĂDUȘEALĂ is an exercise in solidarity and resistance.

Full listings and booking links can be found here.

GARTLAND PRODUCTIONS AND CHRIS MAGUIRE ANNOUNCE THE EUROPEAN PREMIÈRE OF 

HEAD OVER HEELS 

Gartland Productions and Chris Maguire today announce the European première of Head Over Heels at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. Originally written and conceived by Jeff Whitty, it is adapted by James Magruder, and based on The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney, with songs from The Go-Go’s. Directed and choreographed by Tom Jackson Greaves, Head Over Heels is a bold musical comedy set to the music of the iconic 1980’s all-female rock band The Go-Go’s. The production opens on 31 January 2023,with previews from 26 January, running until 4 March.

Director, Tom Jackson Greaves said today: “Head Over Heels has been on my radar since its inception. Its colour, pride and joy combined with the music of The Go-Go’s is a delicious recipe. There are very few new musicals that excite me as much – from its portrayal of queer experiences to its comment on the patriarchy, with its mounds of silliness – the piece is a breath of fresh air within the art form. It’s a rebellion against the confines of history. It’s a celebration of uniqueness. It’s the perfect antidote (and in some ways challenge) to the world’s darkness in 2022 and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with Manchester.”

Gartland Productions and Chris Maguire co-present

HEAD OVER HEELS

Songs by The Go-Go’s

Based on ‘The Arcadia’ by Sir Philip Sidney

Conceived and Original Book by Jeff Whitty

Adapted by James Magruder

26 January – 4 March 

Director and Choreographer: Tom Jackson Greaves; Musical Director: Arelene McNaught; 

Casting Director: Lucy Casson; Set and Costume: Sophia Pardon

This laugh-out-loud love story is set to the music of the iconic 1980’s all-female rock band The Go-Go’s, including the hit songs, We Got the Beat, Our Lips Are Sealed, Vacation, Belinda Carlisle’sHeaven is a Place on Earth, and Mad About You.

A hilarious, exuberant celebration of love, Head Over Heels follows the escapades of a royal family on an outrageous journey to save their beloved kingdom from extinction—only to discover the key to their realm’s survival lies within each of their own hearts.

Head Over Heels is presented through special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, 7 Penn Plaza, Suite 904, New York, NY 10001, www.broadwaylicensing.com.

Tom Jackson Greaves is a theatre maker based in the UK, specialising in creating cross-art-form, collaborative work with movement at its heart. Greaves is an Associate Artist at The Watermill Theatre, and he has won the 2012 New Adventures Choreographer Award. As a director his credits include Whistle Down the Wind and The Jungle Book (The Watermill Theatre), Brother (Southwark Playhouse), Extraordinary Women, Lucky Stiff (GSA), High Fidelity (Turbine Theatre) and Run For Your Life (Kneehigh).  His credits as choreographer/movement director include The Book Thief (Bolton Octagon), The Da Vinci Code, Zog and The Flying Doctors, Priscilla Queen of the Desert (UK tours), Rent (Hope Mill Theatre), Amélie (The Other Palace), King John (RSC), , Miracle on 34th Street, Paint Your Wagon, Fiddler on the Roof (Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse), The Audience, Billionaire Boy (Nuffield Southampton), Macbeth, Sweet Charity, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, The Borrowers, Romeo and Juliet (The Watermill Theatre), Spring Awakening (Hope Mill Manchester), Teddy (The Vaults/UK tour), Boudica (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Life (Southwark Playhouse), Peter and the Starcatcher (Royal and Derngate), The Glass Menagerie (Headlong) and The Crocodile (MIF)

The Go-Go’s are band members Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine and Jane Wiedlin and they will forever have the beat! These female pioneers formed The Go-Go’s in 1978 and were an integral part of the LA punk scene. The Go-Go’s made history as the first, and to date only, all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to ever top the Billboard charts. Their 1981 debut album, Beauty and the Beat, was #1 on the charts for six consecutive weeks and it remains one of the most successful debut albums of all time. Other albums include Vacation (1982), Talk Show (1984) and God Bless The Go Go’s (2001). With a 1982 Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a 2021 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and a place in history that no other band can claim, it is assured that the Go-Go’s will keep going with a classic catalog of songs that transcends time, trends and genres. 

Jeffrey Whitty is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, poet and performer. Jefferey Whitty is the author of the musical Avenue Q (Tony Award) which ran for sixteen years commercially in New York, six years on London’s West End, and continues to be produced all over the world in dozens of languages. Other musicals include his original story for Bring It On with a score by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Amanda Green (Broadway, Best Musical Tony nomination), and an adaptation of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City with music by Scissor Sisters (best Book, Bay Area Critics Circle Award).                  

James Magruder made his Broadway debut with the book for Triumph of Love. His adaptations of Marivaux, Molière, Lesage, Labiche, Gozzi, Hofmannsthal, Dickens and Giraudoux have been staged across the country in Germany and Japan, and his dissertation, Three French Comedies, was named an “Outstanding Literary Translation of the Year” in 1997. Also a fiction writer, he has published Sugarless, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist; Let Me See It, a story collection; Love Slaves of Helen Hadley Hall; and the just-released Vamp Until Ready. He teaches dramaturgy atSwarthmore College and French drama at the Yale School of Drama.                           

Listings

Hope Mill Theatre

Hope Mill Theatre, 113 Pollard Street, Manchester, M4 7JA

Box Office: 0161 275 9141 (Tuesday to Friday 12:00pm-6:30pm)

Performances: 

Tuesday – Sunday at 7:30pm

Matinees 2:30pm on Wednesday & Saturday and 5:00pm Sunday 

https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk/events/head-over-heels

Theatre Royal, Newcastle – until 19th November 2022

Reviewed by Alex Sykes

5*****

There are few occasions in life where you can go out in a tutu and be one of the most normally dressed people in the venue but when seeing Rocky Horror Show it seems almost compulsory, as more people were dressed up than were not, even on a wet Tuesday night.

The opening number, Science Fiction/Double Feature is sung by Suzie McAdam, in her role as the Usherette, and the audience sang along, although a little hesitant at first. McAdam also deserves a mention for how quickly she managed to get changed at the end of the show from the Usherette outfit back into the Magenta outfit.  Jackie Clune is brilliant in her role as the narrator as she receives the most heckles from from the audience but responds to them brilliantly, whether or not these replies are scripted remains unknown but the timings and the responses are spot on, especially when Clune informed the audience that she was the 4th best Liz Truss impersonator in the country.

Sweet and innocent Brad and Janet are played by Richard Meek and Haley Flaherty who have amazing on stage chemistry. The pair also take the heckles well, although at times you could tell the pair were trying not to laugh, especially during the scene with the cocktail shaker. Joe Allen brings both Eddie and Dr. Scott to life and performs both parts well. Ben Westhead is wonderful in his role of Rocky and Darcy Finden tap dances her way into the role of Columbia, although the role should be bigger as her talents are not used as well as they should be. Stars of the show though are Stephen Webb and Kristian Lavercombe who play Frank N. Furter and Riff Raff respectively. The pair have a brilliant connection and use each other to work out how to play the scene, and Lavercombe has racked up over 2000 performances as Riff Raff, more than any other actor in the role

All in all a brilliant night out which will make Richard O’Brien proud and will make fans of the Rocky Horror Show keep coming back to do the Time Warp again and again.