BUDDY – THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY ON SALE NOW AT DARLINGTON HIPPODROME
On the back of an incredibly successful 30th anniversary tour, smash hit rock & roll musical Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story is back in the UK for 2023 and visits Darlington Hippodrome from Tuesday 28 February to Saturday 4 March, 2023.
Loved by critics and audiences alike, Buddy tells the enduring story of the musical icon’s meteoric rise from his Southern rockabilly beginnings to international stardom and his legendary final performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, before his tragic and untimely death at the age of just 22. In 18 short months the bespectacled boy from Lubbock, Texas, revolutionised the face of contemporary music, and would influence everyone from The Beatles to Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones.
Boasting a multi-talented cast of actor-musicians, Buddy presents two terrific hours of music with over 20 of his greatest hits, including the timeless classics That’ll Be The Day, Peggy Sue, Oh Boy, Everyday and Rave On. With the Big Bopper’s Chantilly Lace and Ritchie Valens’ La Bamba, and rip-roaring versions of Shout and Johnny B. Goode completing a stellar musical line-up, Buddy is a not to be missed evening of family entertainment.
Writer/Producer Alan Janes says: “We are so excited to be back on tour and to see our audiences – aged 8 to 80 – dance in the aisles every night to our story of a young man whose musical career spanned an all-too-brief period, but whose music will be remembered forever.”
Since its inception, Buddy has inspired a generation of multi-million selling jukebox musicals including Mamma Mia and We Will Rock You yet remains the true original and a musical phenomenon. Seen by more than 22 million theatregoers since it opened in London’s West End in 1989, Buddy speaks an international language and continues to have audiences rockin’ in the aisles across the globe!
Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story runs at at Darlington Hippodrome from Tuesday 28 February to Saturday 4 March 2023. Tickets are on sale now. For full details or to book please call the Box Office on 01325 405405 or visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk
WILTSHIRE CREATIVE ANNOUNCES PROGRAMMING FOR SALISBURY ARTS CENTRE’S AUTUMN/WINTER SEASON
With the Summer Open Exhibition currently taking place at the Salisbury Arts Centre until 3rd September, Wiltshire Creative today announces its autumn/winter line up. A fantastic programme of comedy, music, theatre, and performance art has been mapped out from 10th September until 14th January.
The season opens with Alfie Moore’s: Fair Cop Unleashed, a funny and thrilling journey looking back on his time in the police force. The season will include some hilarious comedy nights from Jen Brister, Mitch Benn and Rob Newman. Salisbury Arts Centre will also be raising money for Ukraine, with their fundraiser Ukraine A Go Go!! Two fantastic evenings of live music, to raise money for Ukrainians taking refuge in and around Wiltshire. The programme also includes a diverse musical line-up featuring a diverse collection of music from live jazz to festive classics. All Floyd will be taking audiences through the classic Pink Floyd anthology. The Showhawk Duo will be playing all the best dance/rave songs audiences know and love. The Spitfire Sisters will bring a more festive spirit come November, and Olivier Award Winner Guy Masterson’s A Christmas Carol will be staged as the Christmas production. The Deloreon’s will lead some terrific New Year’s celebrations with their New Year’s Eve Party, with a glass of fizz, of course! The season finishes with comedian Gary Delaney, star of Live at the Apollo, with a brand-new show, and some masterful one-liners.
Producer, Juliet Coveney said today: “We are thrilled to announce our Autumn Winter Season at Salisbury Arts Centre. We have a great line-up with some brilliant comics, wonderful music, a two-day fundraiser, and a fantastic party with The Deloreons that will ring in the New Year!
10 September 2022
ALFIE MOORE’S: FAIR COP UNLEASHED
Join BBC Radio 4’s cop-turned-comedian Alfie Moore for his latest stand-up tour show. Fair Cop Unleashed is based on a dramatic real-life incident from Alfie’s police casebook. Relive with him the thrilling ups and downs of the night a mysterious clown came to town and more than one life ended up in the balance. It was no laughing matter – but this show certainly is! Enjoy Alfie’s unique brand of humour hilariously woven together with his personal insights into life on the front-line of the police force.
It would be a crime to miss it!
Age Guidance: 14+
Tickets from £16.50
16 September 2022
SOLVE-ALONG-A-MURDER-SHE-WROTE
In the beloved TV show Murder, She Wrote, feisty widow, Jessica Fletcher, solves crimes when she’s not busy writing about them. This show brings a twist to the original TV series by making the episode interactive. You play detective as your host guides you through the episode with jokes, games, and much frivolity – plus there’s a murder to be solved.
Age Guidance: 18+
Tickets from £16.50
23 – 24 September 2022
UKRAINE A GO GO!!
Two fantastic evenings of live music to raise money for Ukraine with all profits going to Ukrainian refugee families in the Wiltshire area.
Age Guidance: 14+ (under 18s must be accompanied by an adult)
Tickets from £7
JAZZ SOCIAL
29 September 2022
Following the success of last year’s Jazz Social as part of Silver Salisbury, we are pleased to welcome back Celebrating Wiltshire musicians Dan Baker and Paul Young for an afternoon of jazz classics.
In the friendly setting of Salisbury Arts Centre enjoy an afternoon of great music and delicious refreshments.
Age Guidance: 5+
Tickets £5 including refreshments
30September 2022
28 October 2022
25 November 2022
BARNSTORMERS COMEDY
As ever, an excellent Barnstormers Comedy will introduce three more top acts from the London comedy circuit and beyond. We recommend booking early as Barnstormers regularly sells out and ticket prices are subject to increase with demand. Ticket holders for this event will be seated at unreserved cabaret tables of up to 8 people. Tables will be allocated on a first come first served basis, so please arrive early with your group so we can try our best to seat you together.
Age Guidance: 18+
Tickets from £14.50
1 October 2022
PAVEMENT LIFE
Pavement Life explores what it is to use paths and pavements. Walking, wheelchairs, buggies, bus stops, waiting your turn, keeping your distance…
Writer Jim Read and performer Louise Jordan have been working with Wiltshire Creative’s over 60s group Mind The Gap to create an afternoon of memorable monologues.
This event is free.
7 October 2022
ALL FLOYD
All Floyd’s 2022 tour brings more of the classic Pink Floyd anthology to shows throughout the year, all faithfully recreated in the meticulous detail now expected by All Floyd fans.
Delivered with stunning visuals and a world-class sound system, the 2022 tour builds on the successes of previous tours to both astound and impress even the most hardened of tribute act doubters…
This is a show not to miss, a spectacular and honest display of Pink Floyd’s rich musical legacy featuring tracks from Meddle and the iconic Dark Side of the Moon through to The Division Bell.
Running Time: 2hrs 45mins
Tickets from £19.50
8 October 2022
JEN BRISTER: THE OPTIMIST
If Jen Brister has learned anything in the past 18 months, it’s that she’s no good in a crisis. (Unless you count getting into the foetal position in under 30 seconds.) Has the pandemic changed her for the better or is she the same old pessimistic naysayer she’s always been?
We all know the answer to that. Let us just hope she can make it funny.
Running Time:90 minutes
Age Guidance: 16+
Tickets from £15.50
14 October 2022
THE SHOWHAWK DUO
Viral sensation acoustic rave pioneers, festival favourites playing all the best dance/rave songs you know and love, with millions of YouTube views, The Showhawk Duo create a truly unique and impressive sound, dazzling audiences worldwide with their spectacular approach to playing the guitar.
Suitable for all ages
Tickets from £16.50
15 October 2022
MITCH BENN: IT’S ABOUT TIME
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once” – Albert Einstein (probably)
If it feels like the past is catching up with us and the future isn’t what it used to be, then fear not!
Mitch Benn, comedian, songwriter, and thinker of deep thoughts, (not to mention “the country’s leading musical satirist” –The Times) is back, clock in one hand and guitar in the other, to help you look at time in a whole new way.
Tickets from £16.50
20 October 2022
FAUSTUS
Playing music for our times, Faustus take traditional English music, rip it up, put it together again and move it on. A vigorous rhythmic impetus and rock/prog rock influence propels the sound into the here and now and a range of instruments deployed in unconventional ways gives a unique texture, depth and variety to the band’s sound.
Tickets from £16.50
3 November 2022
THE BOULEVARDS ROCK & ROLL BAND
The Boulevards are a 1950’s rock and roll band performing the greatest hits from the golden era of music.
From Elvis Presley to Chuck Berry; Cliff Richard to Little Richard; Jerry Lee Lewis to The Everly Brothers, The Boulevards deliver an authentic, uncompromising, and electric performance of the greatest feel-good music of all time. Their barnstorming set is guaranteed to thrill both young and old and leave you rocking and rolling all the way home!
The band features a line-up of some of the UK’s finest rock and roll musicians, comprising a wealth of television and west-end theatre performance experience. They have been seen in productions and shows such as Dreamboats & Petticoats, The Buddy Holly Story, Sister Act, X-Factor and All Together Now.
Tickets from £16.50
5 November 2022
A CELEBRATION OF FATHER TED
Join us in celebrating one of the greatest sitcoms ever made, as we welcome renowned stand-up Joe Rooney for a night of all thingsFather Ted!
Joe featured as the rebellious Father Damo in the classic Father Ted episode The Old Grey Whistle Theft, leading Dougal astray with his earring, cigarette smoking and bad-boy attitude.
Joe will host a screening of the episode, take you behind the scenes and set you a Craggy Island quiz – then prepare yourself for an all-inclusive ‘Lovely Girls Competition’: have you got the loveliest laugh, the loveliest walk, and can you make the loveliest sandwich?
There will also be priests aplenty, plus appearances from a nursery-rhyme singing Ziggy Stardust, Nirvana, Johnny Cash and many more – and the evening wouldn’t be complete without a sing-along to My Lovely Horse!
Come and meet Joe and immerse yourself in the very silly delights of Father Ted.
Age Guidance:15+
Tickets from £16.50
11 November 2022
ROB NEWMAN
Fresh from his BBC Radio 4 series Rob Newman On Air, the award-winning comedian’s new show is a stand-up epic that goes from cave paintings to car-free cities to ask: Who are we? Where are we going? And how do spiders fly? Rob Newman tells a story of how dancing in step saved prehistoric humans and how new scientific discoveries may help us take the right steps to a life after oil.
Age Guidance: 14+
Tickets from £19
12 November 2022
THE HOOTEN HALLERS
Columbia, Missouri trio The Hooten Hallers are a high-energy blues-rock band known for hard-traveling and wild live shows. The myriad influence in their music incorporates elements of rhythm & blues, rock’n’roll, honky tonk, jazz, soul, and punk. Listeners detect hints of George Thorogood, Morphine, and Tom Waits, but anyone who has seen The Hooten Hallers live knows that this power trio is unlike anything they’ve experienced before.
John Randall’s demonically tinged vocals and manic guitar, and Andy Rehm’s falsetto vocals and steady, pounding drumbeat keep the band focused on their unique blend of deep blues and country punk. Kellie Everett brings the power with the deep rumble of her baritone and bass saxophones. When The Hooten Hallers come to town, you know it’s gonna be a party!
Age Guidance: 14+
Tickets from £15.50
18 November 2022
LIMEHOUSE LIZZIE
Limehouse Lizzycontinue to keep the spirit of Celtic rock icon Philip Lynott and his band Thin Lizzy alive, well and dominating stages worldwide. The band have also added a tribute into their show to ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist (and world-renowned solo artist) Gary Moore.
From their Official PRS award, performing for Virgin Atlantic in Barbados, T.V. appearances (BBC 2’s ‘Arena’ amongst others), and to actually being recruited to record and tour by members of the original Thin Lizzy, Limehouse Lizzy have just completed their 28th year with their most explosive show and critically acclaimed line-up yet.
Despite international tours (UAE, Germany and previously USA, Scandinavia, Caribbean etc.), corporate clients (Mitsubishi, NatWest) and even book appearances (The Rocker, Send In The Clones), they finished 2021 with a full UK tour with original Glam-rock legends The Sweet, and start 2022 with a string of their own European tour dates.
Tickets from £21.50
Suitable for all ages
19 November 2022
JESSICA FOSTEKEW: WENCH
A show about sexy things (awkward), private things (oh no) and a woman trying to sit on the face of time to keep it still (hot, right?). You’ve seen Jess on Live at the Apollo, QIand on Harry Hill’s Clubnite amongst other TV shows. She’s a regular co-host ofThe Guilty FeministPodcast, the host and creator of The Hoovering Podcast and you hear her regularly on BBC R4’sNews Quiz and Now Show.
Jess was nominated for the Dave Edinburgh Comedy Award – Best Show 2019 with her last show Hench, and she won Best Show and Best Breakthrough Act in the Chortle Awards 2020.
Age Guidance: 14+
Tickets from £15.50
26 November 2022
THE SPITFIRE SISTERS
Vocal harmony trio The Spitfire Sisters wish they could sing festive tunes all year long, but they save it up to share with you at the most wonderful time of the year. Join them as they perform their favourite holiday songs to get you ready for the Christmas season.
Bells will be jingled and merriment will made, as they awaken the Christmas spirit with a sack full of Christmas classics.
Tickets from £19.50
2 December 2022
BEATLEMANIA
Roll up, roll up, for a rip-roaring magical musical tour through the back catalogue of the world’s greatest ever band. Every song is a winner in this note-perfect musical love letter to the Fab Four.
John, Paul, George and Ringo take to the stage one more time as the supremely-talented cast revive all 17 of their No1 hits including: She Loves You, Can’t Buy Me Love, A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Day Tripper, All You Need is Love, Hey Jude, Get Backand so many more…
From their mop-top beginnings to the psychedelic highs of Sgt Pepper and beyond, all the biggest hits feature. The most authentic production on tour brings The Beatles to life, live on stage.
Stunning diligence – from the original musical instruments and stitch perfect costumes even down to Lennon and McCartney’s on-stage banter – combines with superb vocals and sublime musicianship. Money can’t buy you love, but it can get you seats for an evening to remember featuring the biggest and best songs ever recorded, performed live in concert.
Get your ticket to ride back in time in style with the incredible Beatlemania!
Doors open at 7:15pm
Suitable for all ages
Tickets from £21.50
3 December 2022
MARK WATSON: THIS CAN’T BE IT
We’ve all had some pondering to do about the fragility of life recently, but don’t worry, skinny national treasure Mark Watson has it covered. At 41, he’s halfway through his days on earth, according to the life expectancy calculator app he paid £1.49 for. That life is in the best shape in living memory… but one problem remains, and it really is a huge one.
Spiritual enquiry meets high-octane observational comedy as the Taskmaster survivor, multi-award-winner and No More Jockeys cult leader attempts to cram a couple of years of pathological overthinking into an evening of stand-up. We’ll even solve the huge problem. Doubt it, though.
Age Guidance: 14+
Tickets from £21.50
8 December – Saturday 10 December 2022
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Olivier Award winner, Guy Masterson, veteran of many smash hit solo works such as Under MilkWood, Animal FarmandShylock, now presents Dickens’ classic festive fable.
Famed for bringing multiple characters to vivid life, Masterson gives us Scrooge, Marley, the Fezziwigs, the Cratchits, Tiny Tim et al in a riveting, one-man performance that will dazzle, enchant, and linger long in the memory. Guaranteed to get you into the Christmas Spirit – in many more ways than one!
Tickets from £16.50
Family show suitable for ages 6+
16 December 2022
FESTIVE BARNSTORMERS COMEDY
As ever, an excellent Barnstormers Comedy will introduce three more top acts from the London Comedy Circuit and beyond but this time with a festive twist.
We recommend booking early as Barnstormers regularly sells out and ticket prices are subject to increase with demand.
Ticket holders for this event will be seated at unreserved cabaret tables of up to 8 people. Tables will be allocated on a first come first served basis, so please arrive early with your group so we can try our best to seat you together.
Age Guidance: 18+
Tickets from £15.50
31 December 2022
NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH THE DELOREONS
Come and Celebrate New Year’s Eve this year at the Arts Centre with The Deloreons plus local support. Your ticket includes a glass of fizz on arrival and please do dress to impress!
The Deloreons originally formed in 2005 as a small and lively 3-Piece pub band, since then they have gone on to work at thousands of weddings, events, and corporate functions throughout Europe. The band have also held residencies on board P&O and DFDS Ferries and in 2012 and 2013 they headed to the French Alps, playing huge party nights around various venues including the world famous Rond Point in Meribel.
In 2012, The Deloreons headlined the Queens Jubilee Celebrations in Salisbury with 10,000 people partying, singing and dancing along. The Deloreons then went on to SELL OUT Salisbury City Hall 3 years running with their 80’s Party Nights and in 2017 headlined ‘Live at the Farm’ with 4,000 guests in attendance in aid of Salisbury Live.
The Deloreons know exactly how to get the party going with well executed covers of some of the best-known party hits from across the decades. Their musicality, vocal arrangements and high energy performances make them more than just a typical ‘cover band’.
Tickets from £25
14 January 2023
GARY DELANEY
Get ready to dive into a rabbit hole of the best jokes in the world – star of Live at the Apollo and sell-out sensation Gary Delaney is back! One of the most sought-after joke writers in the country and longstanding Mock the Week special guest, Gary has been through the laughing glass and he’s ready to bring you a brand-new show with hit after hit of the kind of one-liners only a master could craft. If you are hunting for snark, Gary’s got it covered!
Wiltshire Creative brings together Salisbury Arts Centre, Salisbury International Arts Festival and Salisbury Playhouse. Salisbury Playhouse is one of Britain’s leading producing theatres, with a national reputation for home-grown work of the highest quality that attracts audiences from across Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset and beyond. Recent theatre productions include the world premieres of Blood Wedding by Barney Norris and The Mirror Crack’d by Rachel Wagstaff. Recent audio and digital productions include the world première of Making Massinger by Simon Butteriss, the British première of Call Cutta at Home by Rimini Protokoll and Shift a significant youth led project amplifying young voices.
The Orange Tree Theatre today announces full cast for the major London revival of Dael Orlandersmith’s Yellowman. Diane Page, 2021 JMK Award winner returns to the venue to direct Aaron Anthony (Eugene) and Nadine Higgin (Alma). The production opens on 8 September, with previews from 5 September, and runs until 8 October, with audiences able to watch on demand thanks to the continuation of OT On Screen between 11-14 October.
Alma and Eugene have grown up together. Alma, an African American woman, dreams of a life beyond the confines of their small town. But when her friendship with the light-skinned Eugene develops into something more serious, his fate becomes tragically intertwined with hers and they can’t escape the legacy of racism and the tensions within their own community.
Twenty years after it premièred and received a Pulitzer Prize nomination, Dael Orlandersmith‘s Yellowman, set in the 1960s Deep South, is a moving and deeply pertinent play for now.
Aaron Anthony plays Eugene. His theatre credits include Lose Yourself (Sherman Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Eastville Park Gardens), A View from the Bridge, Macbeth (Tobacco Factory Theatre), ‘Tis Unmanly Grief (Theatre N16), Twelfth Night (Royal Exchange Manchester), Human Emotional Process (Chaskis Theatre) and Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe). For television, his credits include Emmerdale -as series regular Ellis Chapman, Behind Her Eyes, The Other One, Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators, Delicious and Hidden.
Nadine Higgin plays Alma. Her theatre credits include Legally Blonde (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and Savoy Theatre), A Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe), Allelujah! (Bridge Theatre), The Lion King (Lyceum Theatre), The Book of Mormon (Prince of Wales Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Kilworth House Theatre), Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre) and High School Musical (Hammersmith Apollo). For television, her credits include Doctors; and for film, Military Wives.
Dael Orlandersmith’s other plays include Stoop Stories, Black n’ Blue Boys/Broken Men, Horsedreams, Bones, The Blue Album, The Gimmick, Monster, and Forever. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Drama Desk Award nominee for Yellowman, winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for The Gimmick, and the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts grant, The Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, a Guggenheim, along with several other awards and honours. Her play, Forever, was commissioned and performed at the Mark Taper Forum/Kirk Douglas Theatre in Autumn 2014, followed by performances at the Long Wharf Theatre Winter 2014/15, New York Theatre Workshop Spring 2015, and Portland Center Stage Winter 2016. Her play Until the Flood was performed at St Louis Repertory in the fall of 2016. She is currently working on two commissions for Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. Until the Flood was staged at Rattlestick Theater in 2018 and Milwaukee Rep. In 2019 it was performed at Portland Center Stage, ACT Seattle, the Arcola Theatre, The Galway Arts Festival at the Druid Theatre and at the Traverse at Edinburgh Festival, The Schaubruhner Theatre in Berlin and at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston SC.
Diane Page returns to the Orange Tree to direct – she was the 2021 JMK Award winner and directed Statements After An Arrest Under The Immorality Act for the company. Her other credits include Julius Caesar (Shakespeare’s Globe and Globe on Tour), Lost and Found (Royal Opera House), Out West (Co-director, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre).
The Orange Tree (OT) is an award-winning, independent theatre. Recognised as a powerhouse that creates high-quality productions of new and rediscovered plays, it entertains 70,000 people across the UK every year. In 2022 it is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and through its 50th Anniversary Campaign is raising funds to support the next generation of theatre-makers and to produce rarely seen plays.
The OT’s home in Richmond, South West London, is an intimate theatre with the audience seated all around the stage: watching a performance here is truly a unique experience. We believe in the power of dramatic stories to entertain, thrill and challenge us; plays that enrich our lives by enhancing our understanding of ourselves and each other.
As a registered charity (266128) sitting at the heart of its community, we work with 10,000 people in Richmond and beyond through participatory theatre projects for people of all ages and abilities. The Orange Tree Theatre’s mission is to enable audiences to experience the next generation of theatre talent, experiment with ground-breaking new drama and explore the plays from the past that inspire the theatre-makers of the present.
Blackpool Winter Gardens – until Saturday 30 July 2022
Reviewed by Debra Skelton
3***
This is a story of 12 Biblical brother’s dreams, jealousy, betrayal, and forgiveness with Joseph who is their father’s favourite being given a multi-coloured coat from him which leads to the brother’s jealousy, so they decide to sell him to the Ishmaelites into Egyptian slavery and to fake his death.
By resisting the temptations of Potiphar’s wife, Joseph ends up being locked away in prison until he is asked to decode Pharoah’s dreams. He predicts seven years of feast followed by seven years of famine for which he is rewarded handsomely.
During the time of famine, Joseph’s brothers arrive in search of food but do not recognise him. In the sack of food that his youngest brother is given, Joseph plants a golden goblet with which he is caught with and threatened with punishment. As the brothers offer themselves to save their youngest, it causes Joseph to reveal his true self and grants a pardon and forgiveness.
This production starred Jac Yarrow as Joseph with which he played magnificently. He has such a powerful voice which transfixed the audience throughout the whole evening and showed just why he has “wowed critics” with his West End debut performance over the summer. Jason Donovan portrayed the Pharaoh with a very interesting Elvis impression but for me Olivier Award-nominee Linzi Hateley who portrayed the Narrator stole the show with her amazing voice, dancing, and just whole presence on the stage.
No expense was spared with the tremendous sets and wonderful costumes (Morgan Large) which were enhanced by sound (Gareth Owen) and lighting effects (Ben Cracknell) which did bring the show right up to date.
The score featured the timeless and unmistakable musical classics including Close Every Door to Me, Jacob and Son and Go Go Go Joseph. For me, the brothers “Those Canaan Days” was for me particularly harmonious, strong, and brought a touch of humour to this production.
I was fortunate to see the original musical production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat back in the nineties headlined by Philip Schofield so was really looking forward to seeing how this new production produced by Michael Harrison had evolved after all this time and whether it worked and appealed now to all generations.
I can say that it contained lots of twists with no end of surprises involving Elvis, Country and Western and can-can dancers to name a few but for me I am not sure whether it worked or not, however the rapturous applause and standing ovation from the rest of the theatre (young and old) might just have proved me wrong.
It has taken 27 years for this highly eccentric musical comedy from Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis, the team behind the Tony Award-winning Urinetown, to reach London. According to a programme note, it has played all over the US, as well as Germany and Mexico, and “at every step of the way, the show became clearer and stronger.” Quite frankly, the mind boggles at what those earlier versions must have been like then, as it’s barely comprehensible now, despite the valiant efforts of a magnificent cast in Benji Sperring’s boisterous staging.
Set in the primordial soup in the year 3,000,458,000 BC, all the characters are yeast (they’re all called variations on the name Jan – “Jan the Wise”, “Jan the Sly”, “Jan the Wretched” and so on – presumably because they all originated from the same organism) and the story is a sort of quest, as one of the Jan’s breaks with conformity and defies the iron rule of their leader, Jan the Eldest, to explore other possibilities of existence, away from the murky bottom of the ocean. Oh, and they fall in love with another rebellious Jan. It’s all utterly bonkers and, to it’s credit, doesn’t take itself at all seriously.
The problem is though, is that it’s just not all that funny either. Lacking the wit of other cultish musicals, such as Little Shop of Horrors, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and indeed this same team’s Urinetown, Yeast Nation seems content to be a one-joke curiosity that might have worked for forty five minutes or so, but starts to feel desperately overstretched as a full length show, clocking in at two and a half hours.
Despite the creator’s aspirations to Shakespearean and Greek tragedy (and the perfomers do speak in a sort of heightened sub-classical language that adds to the overall other-worldliness of the whole thing), it just isn’t possible to have any emotional investment in characters that are prehistoric single-celled organisms. Also. the storytelling is far from clear, a problem compounded by Adam Fisher’s unsubtle sound design which renders more than fifty percent of lyrics and dialogue unintelligible.
Musically, it’s quite impressive, with some thunderous, minor-key anthems and ballads giving way to a couple of real earworms. Song titles such as “Stasis is the Membrane” (a bit of a banger, incidentally) and “You’re Not the Yeast You Used to Be” give a clue to the jokiness of the whole thing, although it’s hard to tell if the lyrics are any good or not, as it’s virtually impossible to hear them. There is however a second act showstopper called “Love Is Pain” that achieves a gleeful, poppy symbiosis between joy and cynicism, and if the rest of the score and production could achieve that same level of exhilaration and clarity, then Yeast Nation would be something to savour.
What is certainly something to celebrate is the talent of the company. Got up in dark-hued body stockings with dozens of taffeta rosettes attached, and looking like an unholy alliance of ballerinas, sci-fi creatures and the cast of Cats (costumes by Diego Pitarch), they sell the bizarre material with verve, commitment and stunningly good voices. Stephen Lewis-Johnston exudes authentic young leading man energy as the rebellious Jan the Second Eldest, and Hannah Nuttall is just wonderful opposite him as the appropriately named Jan the Sweet.
Christopher Howell brings thrilling vocals and an almost classical intensity to the yeast king losing his grip, and Mari McGinlay is great fun as his scheming daughter. Shane Convery’s fabulously camp, equally duplicitous Jan the Wise spins comedy gold out of thin material, and James Gulliford, Marisa Harris and Sarah Slimani are terrifically energetic and winning as an assortment of other Jans.
The Jans all move with a sort of undulating gait (movement direction is by Lucie Pankhurst) and have specific, repeated physical reactions that are almost human, but not quite. These details add up to a convincing impression of the whole thing taking place in a different element, namely the primordial murk (Nic Farman’s lighting is appropriately dark for the most part), although there was some inconsistency in the movement, at least on the night I attended.
I love an off-the-wall musical, but the self-conscious weirdness and frustrating lack of genuine wit or clarity ultimately defeated me here. Despite the superb cast and a couple of fun moments of genuine theatrical invention, I found myself too often just wondering why anybody thought this show was worth doing and who it is aimed at, apart from obsessive collectors of musical curiosities with a morbidly masochistic streak. Having said that, the friend I went with absolutely loved it. A deeply strange evening.
Perform Productions presents an enchanting new family musical
Magical Merlin
at The Fortune Theatre, in London’s West End
for the half-term holiday from 24 – 30 October 2022
Following the February sell-out run of Jungle Rumble, Perform Productions returns to the West End presenting the premiere run of Magical Merlin. The spellbinding family musical will play The Fortune Theatre this October half-term from Monday 24 to Sunday 30October 2022.
Magical Merlin features a mix of magic, songs and dancing, as well as uplifting themes of teamwork and self-belief. The show is set in ancient Britain, a wild world of witches and wizards where Magical Merlin’s miraculous powers rule supreme. When the baby King Arthur is born and jealous older sister, Morgan le Fay, starts turning people into animals, it’s down to Merlin to save the day.
Perform Productions is run by Lucy Quick and Will Barnett. They are also the founders and managers of the renowned drama school, Perform, which runs classes for 4-12 year olds across the UK. Magical Merlin ties in with the students’ theme this term. A professional cast will bring the legendary characters they have been learning about to life on the West End stage, from Sir Lancelot and Princess Guinevere to a fire-breathing dragon!
Lucy Quick, Founder of Perform Productions, said: “We’ve always wished to inspire children with more affordable opportunities to see family shows performed by West End professionals. It was thrilling to see children laughing and singing along to Jungle Rumble. We’re delighted to be following it up with Magical Merlin, and we hope that with tickets starting at £17.50 many families will be able to enjoy our school holiday theatre experience.”
Magical Merlin is written and composed by Will Barnett, produced by Perform Productions and General Managed by Anthology Theatre. The full creative team and cast is to be announced.
Magical Merlin is an enchanting mini-musical for the whole family, running from 24 to 30 October at The Fortune Theatre, Russell St, London WC2B 5HH (Covent Garden) at various times during the day – check the Box Office (running time 1 hr; suitable for ages 3+). BSL performance: Sunday 30 October at 10am.
FULL CAST & CREATIVE TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR FIRST UK REVIVAL & REGIONAL PREMIERE OF
KINKY BOOTS
THE MUSICAL
MARKING 10 YEARS SINCE THE
MUSICAL’S DEBUT
NEW WOLSEY THEATRE, IPSWICH: 1 – 24 SEPTEMBER
IPSWICH PRESS NIGHT: 8 SEPTEMBER
QUEEN’S THEATRE HORNCHURCH: 28 SEPTEMBER – 22 OCTOBER
HORNCHURCH 29 SEPTEMBER
The New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch have today announced the full cast and creative team for the first UK revival and regional premiere of the Tony and Olivier Award-winning musical Kinky Boots. The production will also mark 10 years since the musical’s debut at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre in 2012.
The new production, which will be directed by Tim Jackson, will run at New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich from 1 – 24 September (Press Night: 8 September)and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch from 28 September – 22 October.
Based on the Miramax motion picture, the musical adaptation features a Tony-Award nominated book by Harvey Fierstein and Tony and Grammy award-winning music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper.
Charlie Price has reluctantly inherited a struggling shoe business from his dad, which he’s desperate to save. He unexpectedly bumps into a larger than life drag queen Lola, who’s looking for some sturdy stilettos. They think they’ve nothing in common, but as the unlikely pair ruffle a few feathers, designing some fabulous footwear for the factory floor, perhaps they do…
Tim Jackson Pete Jones pete@pjproductions.co.uk
The new production sees Tim Jackson reunite with the two theatres, having previously choregraphed their celebrated revival of Made in Dagenham. Tim Jackson has also previously worked with the New Wolsey Theatre as director and dramaturg of The Stage Debut Award-winning co-production of The Season (Royal and Derngate, New Wolsey).
The full cast announced today are: Jay Anderson (he/him) as Angel, Will Arundell (he/him, Queen of the Mist) as Harry/Bailey/Onstage Musical Director, Matt Corner (he/him, The Last Ship) as Charlie, Aruhan Galieva (she/her, Doctor Who) as Lauren, Keanu Adolphus Johnson (he/him, Never Lost At Home) as Lola, Josephine Lloyd-Welcome (she/her, Goldie’s Oldies) as Georgie, George Lynham (he/she/they) as Angel, Roddy Lynch (he/him) as Don, Cavan Malone (they/them) as Angel, Tim Parker (he/him, Once) as Mr Price, Anna Soden (she/her, Five Children And It) as Nicola, Lucy Elizabeth Thorburn (she/her) as Pat and Hiromi Toyooka (she/her) as Angel. Casting for Young Lola and Young Charlie will be announced at a later date.
The full creative team are: Daniel Denton (he/him, Misty) as Video Designer, Tony Gayle (he/him, Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical) as Sound Designer, Crystal Hantig (she/her) as Choreographer, Charlie Ingles (he/him, Anyone Can Whistle) as Musical Supervisor & Arranger, Tim Jackson (he/him, The Season) as Director, Jamie Platt (he/him, The Last Five Years) as Lighting Designer, Amanda Stoodley (she/her, Bloody Elle) as Set & Costume Designer and Molly Wilsher (she/her) as Assistant Director.
Tim Jackson said of the new production, “I am thrilled to be collaborating with this incredible bunch of super-humans, within the acting company and the creative team alike. The casting process has been a real joy – we’ve met such talented folk and roared with laughter every day. Person after person has shared in their connection to the show and its wonderful characters, and I am thrilled to have found an ensemble of exceptional performers who all lead with kindness and heart. Each actor is bringing something special and individual to our rehearsal room, and there is a powerful collective desire to make this new production a beautiful celebration of self-love, individuality and acceptance. With a cast of 13, we can revel in the intimacy of the 2005 film on which the musical is based, and allow our audiences to feel part of the factory community. And when we need to let rip, we’ve got a company that can bring a spectacular, explosive, contemporary energy. Audiences should expect stellar actor-musicianship, killer vocals and dazzling, high-octane (high-heeled!) dancing, all packaged within a funny, empowering, heart warming story.”
There will be British Sign Language, Audio Described and Captioned performances available at both theatres. Tickets are now on sale via each venue’s respective websites and box offices.
A scene from An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley tristram@tristramkenton.com
PW Productions are delighted to announce the full cast for the 30th Anniversary UK and Ireland Tour of Stephen Daldry’s seminal production of JB Priestley’sclassic thriller AN INSPECTOR CALLS which opens at the New Wimbledon Theatre on Friday 9 September before visiting Shrewsbury, Milton Keynes, Stoke, Cambridge, Cardiff, Southampton, Newcastle, Brighton, Guildford, Birmingham, Salford, Nottingham, Truro, Edinburgh, York, Aylesbury, Coventry, Plymouth, Liverpool, Leicester, Bromley, Richmond, Sheffield, Bradford, Bath and Glasgow. Further tour dates to be announced.www.aninspectorcalls.com
Liam Brennan will play ‘Inspector Goole’, Christine Kavanagh ‘Mrs Birling’, Jeffrey Harmer ‘Mr Birling’, Simon Cotton ‘Gerald Croft’, Evlyne Oyedokun ‘Sheila Birling’, George Rowlands ‘Eric Birling’ and Frances Campbell ‘Edna’. The cast is completed by Philip Stewart, Beth Tuckey, Maceo Cortezz and Rue Blenkinsop.
Liam Brennan returns to an Inspector Calls having played the role of Inspector Goole during previous UK tours. His other theatre credits include Richard III and Twelfth Night at Shakespeare’s Globe, and Diary of a Madman at The Gate, for which he was awarded Best Actor at the Edinburgh Festival in 2016.
Christine Kavanagh’s National Theatre credits include Man and Superman and Albert Speer and the National Theatre UK Tour of Hedda Gabler. Her West End credits include The Importance of Being Earnest at the Harold Pinter Theatre. With the Royal Shakespeare Company Christine has performed Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing. Her other credits include A Doll’s House, Travesties, She Stoops to Conquer and The Rivals.
Jeff Harmer’s credits include playing Berrard in the national tour of Bird Song. His other theatre credits include Fox on The Fairway, Out Of Order, Donkey’s Years, Romeo & Juliet and As You Like It.
Simon Cotton is probably best known for his role as Hugh Bryant on ITV’s Emmerdale, his other television credits include NBC’s Hanna, Murder Maps and Doctors. His theatrical credits include A Clockwork Orange at the Park Theatre. On film he has been seen in The Rise of the Krays and The Fall of the Krays, The Unseen and Undercover Hooligan.
Evlyne Oyedokun’s theatrical credits including Key Workers Cycle at the Almeida, Perspective – New Views at the National Theatre, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at the Old Vic and The Cherry Orchard at Nottingham Playhouse.
George Rowlands’ theatre credits include Parliament Square at The Unicorn Theatre, The Boy With The Bee Jar at The Hope Theatre and Macbeth with Quarter Too Ensemble.
Frances Campbell’s theatrical career includes JB Priestley’s Music at Night, Blithe Spirit, Hedda Gabler, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Hobson’s Choice. As a performer of historical dance, Frances has appeared with Commedia Dell Arte.
In the 30-years since its first performance at the National Theatre in 1992, Stephen Daldry’s production of An Inspector Calls has won a total of 19 major awards, including four Tony Awards and three Olivier Awards, and has played to more than 5 million theatregoers worldwide. An Inspector Calls is the most internationally-lauded production in the National Theatre’s history.
JB Priestley’s brilliantly constructed masterpiece powerfully dramatises the dangers of casual capitalism’s cruelty, complacency and hypocrisy. Stephen Daldry’s epic production highlights the play’s enduring relevance.
Written at the end of the Second World War and set before the First, An Inspector Calls is a compelling and haunting thriller. The story begins when the mysterious Inspector Goole calls unexpectedly on the prosperous Birling family home. Their peaceful family dinner party is shattered by his investigations into the death of a young woman.
Now world-renowned as one of Britain’s leading theatre and film directors, Stephen Daldry has received Academy Award nominations for his films The Reader, The Hours, Billy Elliot and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. His recent West End theatre work includes David Hare’s Skylight at the Wyndham’s Theatre and Peter Morgan’s The Audience at the Apollo Theatre. His multi award-winning production of Billy Elliot The Musical ran for 11 incredible years at the Victoria Palace before embarking on a national tour.
Featuring Ian MacNeil’s ingenious designs, music by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love) and atmospheric lighting by Rick Fisher, this landmark production is guaranteed to have old fans rushing back and new theatregoers being swept away into the mysterious world of Inspector Goole.
AN INSPECTOR CALLS is directed by the world-renowned theatre and film director Stephen Daldry. Stephen’s many theatre credits include The Audience, Skylight and Billy Elliot The Musical. His film credits include The Hours, The Reader and Billy Elliot, all of which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director. Most recently he has directed several episodes of the Netflix smash hit series The Crown, for which he is also Producer.
AN INSPECTOR CALLS is designed by Ian MacNeil, with music by Academy Award winning composer Stephen Warbeck and Lighting by Rick Fisher.
The Hope Theatre announces autumn season, including UK professional premiere of Jen Silverman’s The Moors September – November 2022 The Hope Theatre, 207 Upper Street, London, N1 1RL
The Hope Theatre has announced its 2022 autumn season. Brimming with premieres, new writing and originality, the programme cements The Hope Theatre’s position as a hub for innovation and contemporary theatre-making. The season includes a UK professional premiere of award-winning American playwright Jen Silverman’s (A Play in 5 Betties, Southwark Playhouse) dark comedy The Moors.
A period drama with one foot firmly in the present, The Moors (11th October – 5th November) is an irreverent Gothic story, inspired by the letters of Charlotte Brontë, about isolation, ambition and women taking matters into their own hands. A queer thriller and macabre comedy, The Moors is set within a harsh and powerful landscape. The in-house production will be directed by The Hope Theatre’s artistic director Phil Bartlett.
The autumn season also includes the world-premiere of Lydia Sabatini’s play The Light Trail (8th – 26th November). Shortlisted for the Paines Plough Women’s Prize last year, it follows teenagers Jas and Ellie, who meet playing football and embark on a relationship that is underscored by Jas’s schizophrenia and the impact that has on the young women and their families.
Oh! Suburbia! (20th September – 1 st October) returns to the Hope Theatre this autumn, following a successful summer run that was cut short due to COVID. A one-man avant-garde theatrical revue from award-winning performer, musician and raconteur Bob Karper, ‘Oh! Suburbia! picked up a Standing Ovation nomination from London Pub Theatres back in June, who called the show ‘a bonkers delight’. This unique interrogation of suburban life is packed full of songs and features an audio cast of UK seniors.
Artistic director Phil Bartlett comments, the true highlight of my job remains getting to meet so many innovative and inspiring theatre-makers and seeing how they transform our humble blackbox with their words and bodies and ideas. Jen Silverman is one of the sharpest and most exciting playwrights writing today, and I’m ecstatic to be staging the UK professional premiere of The Moors at the Hope this October. With a whip-smart and very funny script, unforgettable characters, and a darkly demented plot, I can think of no better way to spend an autumn evening than heading on up to the moors – just beware the ravenous crows!
The Hope Theatre’s ever-popular two-night Sunday-Monday runs continue this autumn, providing companies with the opportunity to share work professionally in a low-risk environment. Productions include: Truly, Madly, Baldy (4th – 5th September) which chronicles how one woman dealt with having alopecia through original music and story-telling; Sold By Mama (11th – 12th September) a riveting snapshot of Los Angeles’ hidden sex-trafficking subculture; Faustine (30th – 31st October), a feminist cautionary tale which promises that ‘spirits will rise, devils will dance, and bras will burn’; and Parma Violets (13th – 14th November) a nuanced examination of the blossoming inter-cultural relationship between two young people, one of whom is from a Traveller community.
Tickets for all productions are now on-sale via the Hope Theatre website.
The producers of the world premiere production of FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL are delighted to announce the full cast for the UK & Ireland tour, setting sail from 1 September 2022 at Theatre Royal Plymouth. The production will also make its North American premiere, opening at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, Canada on 27 November 2022 for a limited Christmas season, before returning to the UK in 2023.
Jason Langley (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (West End), Oslo (West End/National Theatre), Hedda Gabler (National Theatre), War Horse (West End), Enron (West End), Da Vinci’s Demons (BBC), World Without End (Netflix)) will play record promoter Danny, Dan Buckley (Eugenius! (The Other Palace and London Palladium), Ushers: The Front of House Musical (Charing Cross Theatre), The Book of Mormon (Prince of Wales Theatre), Loserville (Garrick Theatre & West Yorkshire Playhouse), Lord of the Flies (UK Tour), Spring Awakening– The Musical (UK Tour)) will play Rowan, Dakota Starr (The Girls (West End/Leeds Grand Theatre/The Lowry), A Christmas Carol (National Tour), Troilus and Cressida (RSC)) will play Ben, Pete Gallagher (original West End cast of Only Fools And Horses (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Jesus Christ Superstar Arena Tour, Oklahoma! (UK Tour), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium),A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Regent’s Park), The Rocky Horror Show (Duke of York’s), Buddy (Victoria Palace)) will play Wiggie, Hadrian Delacey (Miss Saigon (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Les Misérables (Palace Theatre), Jesus Christ Superstar (West End, UK Tour & International Tour), Jerry Springer The Opera (National Theatre & Cambridge Theatre, for which he won the 2004 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical), The Producers (Theatre Royal Drury Lane & UK Tour), The Phantom of The Opera (Her Majesty’s Theatre)) will play Archie, Fia Houston-Hamilton (The Wolf Of Wall Street (Immersive London Production), Mamma Mia! (UK Tour)) will play Leah, Hazel Monaghan (Romeo & Juliet/The Merry Wives of Windsor/A Midsummer Night’s Dream/Macbeth/Much Ado About Nothing (The Three Inch Fools), The Elves and the Shoemaker (Nottingham Playhouse)) will play Sally, John O’Mahony (As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Tempest (Regent’s Park), Death Of A Salesman (European Tour), The Good Karma Hospital, Mrs Brown’s Boys) will play Eddy, Louisa Beadel (Fame (West End & UK Tour), King Lear (Shakespeare’s Globe), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Future Conditional (Old Vic)) will play Morwenna, Becky Hurst (making her theatre debut) will play Grace and James William-Pattison (Once (UK Tour), The Last Ship (UK Tour), My Fair Lady (The Mill at Sonning), Agatha Christie’s Crooked House, ABBA Voyage) will play Owen, with musicians Hazel Askew, Mel Biggs, and Alfie Gidley with the band being lead by Musical Director James Findlay, and ensemble cast Hazel Simmons, Janet Mooney, Dominic Brewer and Martin Carroll.
They will be joining the previously announced James Gaddas (Casualty, Bad Girls, Coronation Street, The Girls,Billy Elliot, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Mamma Mia!) as Jim, Parisa Shahmir (The Snow Queen, The Last Ship and Mamma Mia!) as Alwyn, Robert Duncan (Drop the Dead Donkey, Casualty, Where the Heart Is,Twelve Angry Men) as Jago, Susan Penhaligon (Bouquet of Barbed Wire, Emmerdale, A Fine Romance, Three Sisters, The Real Thing, Mr Love, The Maintenance Man, Dangerous Corner and Of Mice and Men) as Maggie and Anton Stephans (finalist in The X Factor, Blues Brothers Meet Soul Sisters, Porgy and Bess, Starlight Express and Smokey Joe’s Cafe) as Leadville.
The UK, Ireland and Canada tour follows a highly successful, sold-out season at Hall for Cornwall, where box office records were smashed, making it the biggest selling production in Hall for Cornwall’s 25-year history.
FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL is based on the true story of the Cornish singing sensations, Fisherman’s Friends, and the hit 2019 film about their life. When a group of Cornish fishermen came together to sing the traditional working songs they’d sung for generations, they hoped to raise a few quid for charity. Nobody, least of all the fishermen, expected their story to end on the Pyramid stage of Glastonbury. Packed with sea shanties, FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS is a feelgood voyage about friendship, community and music.
Featuring hit shanties made famous by the band including Keep Haulin’, Nelson’s Blood, No Hopers Jokers & Rogues and many more.
FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL is directed by James Grieve and written by Amanda Whittington with choreography by Matt Cole, musical direction by James Findlay, set and costume design by Lucy Osborne, musical supervision and arrangements by David White, sound design by Dan Samson, lighting design by Johanna Town and casting by Jim Arnold.
The hit 2019 FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS movie, with a screenplay by Nick Moorcroft, Meg Leonard and Piers Ashworth delighted fans across the world with the sequel film, Fisherman’s Friends: One and All, set to be released in the UK on 19 August 2022.
FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS: THE MUSICAL is produced by ROYO with Flying Fish Productions, Mighty Village, Island Records, David Mirvish and Cornwall Playhouse Productions.
