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WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL AT BIRMINGHAM REP

PRODUCTION SHOTS RELEASED FOR
Birmingham 2022 Festival presents
PLAYBOY OF THE WEST INDIES

Birmingham Rep, the city’s only major producing theatre, has released production shots of the world premiere musical, Playboy of the West Indies, presented by the Birmingham 2022 Festival.

Based on the Irish Classic The Playboy Of The Western World, Mustapha Matura’s hilarious reinvention Playboy Of The West Indies has been delighting audiences and critics alike world-wide for over 35 years. Now, the classic play has been transformed into a glorious new musical with a toe-tapping, finger-snapping score firmly rooted in the Caribbean.

Playboy of the West Indies stars Gleanne Purcell-Brown as Peggy, Durone Stokes as Ken, Elizabeth Ayodele as Ivy, Guy Burgess as Mac, McCallam Connell as Mikey, Derek Elroy as Stanley, Nathaniel Morrison as Fisherman Pepe, Neil Patterson as Jim, Tendai Rinomhota as Schoolgirl Iris, Rachel Summers as Alice, Chris Tummings as Phil and Angela Wynter as Mama Benin.

Playboy of the West Indies is written by Mustapha Matura; music composed by Clement Ishmael and Dominique Le Gendre, with lyrics by Clement Ishmael, Nicolas Kent, Dominique Le Gendre and Mustapha Matura; and directed by Clement Ishmael, Nicolas Kent and Dominique Le Gendre. 

The full creative team includes; Fight Director, Yarit Dor; Choreographer and Movement Director, Ingrid Mackinnon; Set Designer, Michael Taylor; Costume Designer, Natalie Pryce; Lighting Designer, Matt Eagland; Sound Designer, Tony Gayle; Musical Director, Ian Oakley; Casting Director, Debbie O’Brien; Production Manager, Sam Paterson; and Voice & Dialect Coach, Simone Sauphanor.

Playboy of the West Indies runs at Birmingham Rep until Sat 2 July 2022, to book tickets visit Birmingham-rep.co.uk, call 0121 236 4455 or visit the box office during opening hours.*

Playboy of the West Indies is presented by the Birmingham 2022 Festival, a six month celebration of creativity in the West Midlands surrounding the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games generously supported by Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. More information at birmingham2022.com/festival.

National Theatre’s Speak Up Programme expands to work with 140,000 young people 

– New creative programme delivered for free across the country with Theatre Nation Partners  

– Young people, teachers and artists to collaborate in 55 secondary schools with Creative Associates LUNG  

– £3.3 million grant from Mohn Westlake Foundation to deliver the project in areas of low arts engagement over 3 years 

Following a successful pilot phase that began in Autumn 2021, the National Theatre’s Speak Up programme will expand to work with nearly 140,000 young people in 55 secondary schools nationwide across the next three years.  

Speak Up is the NT’s new national programme which sees young people, who have been most affected by the pandemic, working in collaboration with local artists and teachers to co-create artistic responses to issues that are most important to them. Responding to the current challenges in schools, the programme aims to develop young people’s self-expression, wellbeing and personal skills, with an open-ended offer to make creative projects in their local area.  

The NT is collaborating with LUNG as Creative Associates to deliver the training of artists and teachers and to develop the creative ambitions of Speak Up. LUNG is a campaign-led verbatim theatre company which works closely with communities nationally to shine a light on political, social and economic issues in modern Britain to ensure hidden voices are heard. 

Speak Up is taking place in selected schools across Doncaster, Greater Manchester (Salford, Wigan, Rochdale), Havering, Sunderland, Wakefield and Wolverhampton, with the project extending into additional areas in 2023. The NT’s current Theatre Nation Partnership organisations are Cast in Doncaster, The Lowry in Salford, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Sunderland Empire and Sunderland Culture, Theatre Royal Wakefield and Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.  

As part of the pilot with secondary schools across Wakefield, Sunderland and Greater Manchester, students have taken part in a variety of creative sessions to empower them to tell their own stories and connect with each other and their local communities. Sessions have included creating a mural around the theme of equality and exploring storytelling methods through a variety of artforms such as film making, animation and stand-up comedy. Artists, partner organisations and young people have used the sessions to work collaboratively to design what Speak Up is going to look like for them in their schools for the next three years. 

Speak Up is generously supported by the Mohn Westlake Foundation which shares the NT’s belief in the power of youth voice and working with young people to enable positive change in their lives, schools and local communities. Through a £3.3million grant to deliver the programme nationally, Speak Up will reach hundreds of thousands of students, with the majority of the funding distributed to partners enabling local employment of producers and artists.  

Rufus Norris, Artistic Director of the National Theatre said, “Speak Up is a crucial part of the National Theatre’s work in levelling up, giving agency to young people nationwide whose voices often go unheard and that the Covid pandemic hit even harder. This innovative model will empower young people to share their views on current issues and put them at the heart of the creative process. We are excited to build on our in-depth relationships with our Theatre Nation partners across the country to deliver this new programme, guided by the creative vision of LUNG with invaluable funding from the Mohn Westlake Foundation. Together we will support young people to become leaders of the future and make positive change in their own lives and in their communities”.  

Marit Mohn and Stian Westlake, Trustees and Founders of The Mohn Westlake Foundation said, ”We understand that the pandemic has created unprecedented levels of isolation and disenfranchisement for young people. We are delighted to be extending our partnership with the National Theatre to increase access to the arts in particularly hard-hit areas of the country. By investing in young people, our leaders of the future, Speak Up will put them at the heart of the creative process, empowering them to combat these challenges, and rediscover their voice.” 

Amanda Parkes, Head of School at Oxclose Academy, Sunderland said, “Speak Up has reignited a love for group creativity that Covid decimated. Through taking part in Speak Up, our students have blossomed and learned so much about themselves and opportunities the arts offer them – and, more importantly, how valuable their voice and place in this world is. Their energy and engagement are electric and pupils have stepped up to the challenge, taken risks and found their voice.”  

Connor, 13, pupil at Oxclose Academy, Sunderland said, “Speak Up has given me opportunities to work with lot of different types of artists. I have really enjoyed working practically and have grown in confidence when working as part of a group”.  

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/speak-up 

Blue Elephant Theatre – until 25 June 2022

4****

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

The trio of characters in Gaia Fay Lambert’s beautiful debut play live in the same house but are all crippled by loneliness and grief. Lambert’s words are evocative and reflective, weaving each character’s story of loss together expertly as they try to voice their feelings. The cast, Gbenga Jempeji, Meg Lewis and Séamus Newham are breathtaking, each capturing their characters despair effortlessly and sucking the audience into the void with them. Lambert’s language is full of repeated phrases with different meanings for each character; with frequent references to Greek myths illustrating humanity’s eternal longing for love and happiness and paralleling the narratives of the characters.

Director Myles O’Gorman’s perceptive direction and the incredible design by Hazel Low has the characters seemingly trapped inside an almost bare stage surrounded on three sides by large windows with blinds firmly down. The characters inhabit this space huddled shoulder to shoulder, swaying and twitching together in their shared but solitary states. The early part of the play is almost hypnotic as the monologues drift in and out, with shared gasps for air separating segments. The magnificent sound and lighting design by Jamie Lu and Kevin Murphy enhance the bleakness, gradually building to an uncomfortable crescendo as the trio force themselves apart.

The rhythm of the play breaks up at this point, with each character’s story examined in more depth through monologue and a sweet but heartbreaking wordless performance from Meg Lewis. As the characters work through their torments and begin to reach for the light, the blinds are opened and glimpses of hope creep in as they reach out for each other. The cycle of recovery from such despondency is portrayed thoughtfully and realistically, ending with a cathartic hopefulness and togetherness after the onslaught of emotions the play evokes.

A poetic and emotional play of haunting beauty, The Blue House is an extraordinary debut.

Barons Court Theatre – until 25 June 2022

3***

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Eye Opening Productions’ Love (to) Bits is a heartfelt and funny exploration of love. Writer Ioana Goga weaves the personal triumphs and tragedies of Cynthia’s quest for love between verbatim responses to the question “What is love?” and, under Goga and Jez Davess-Humphrey’s co-direction, the result is a punchy and fast-moving show.

Goga’s fantastic stage presence draws the audience in straight away as Cynthia, and the descriptions of her first loves, starting at age 4, are honest but gently mocking seen through the prism of hindsight. Cynthia has a type, and they have led to disappointment and heartbreak. Aged 18, she meets Van (Tómas Howser) at a nightclub. He is the complete opposite of her type, but she is smitten. The funny awkwardness as they get to know each other is played beautifully, making the disappointment when one of them is not as committed to the relationship as the other more real, even though it is pretty obvious what is going to happen when Van doesn’t want to label their relationship.

All of Cynthia’s experiences of love in her life – unrequited, childish, downright stalkery, obsessive, comfortable, blissful, and all the pain and misery when love breaks down – are relatable and recognisable. The inclusion of the answers to “What is love?” between scenes highlights this, as each person (all wonderfully performed by Beatrix Bowden) struggles to express the concept. There are funny answers alongside truly moving replies from the older generation who have lost loved ones.

Goga’s final monologue exploring Cynthia’s realisation that loving herself is vital to her happiness is an empowering affirmation that hits exactly the right tone, accepting that selflove is as messy as loving others and ending the show on a high. With a fresh and funny approach to deep feelings, Love (to) Bits is well worth a look.

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY,
WINNER OF FIVE 2022 TONY AWARDS®, INCLUDING BEST PLAY,
WILL RETURN TO THE WEST END IN JANUARY 2023

Producers the National Theatre and Neal Street Productions today announced that the highly lauded, critically acclaimed production of THE LEHMAN TRILOGY, which last night won a total of five 2022 Tony Awards® – including Best Play – for its celebrated Broadway run, will return to London’s West End in January 2023 for a strictly limited season. Dates, including assisted performances, casting and booking information to be announced. Sign up for more news coming soon at thelehmantrilogy.com

This “genuinely epic production” (The New York Times) is the story of a family and a company that changed the world. Directed by multi-Academy Award®, Tony Award® and Golden Globe winner Sam Mendes, The Lehman Trilogy features a cast of three playing the Lehman brothers, their sons, and grandsons, in an extraordinary feat of storytelling told in three parts on a single evening. The decades unfold within the cinematic sweep of designer Es Devlin‘s Tony Award® winning set, a “slowly rotating masterpiece” (Variety).

On a cold September morning in 1844, a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is joined by his two brothers, and an American epic begins. 163 years later, the firm they establish – Lehman Brothers – spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, triggering the largest financial crisis in history.

Alongside BEST PLAY, BEST DIRECTOR (Sam Mendes) and BEST SCENIC DESIGN (Es Devlin), The Lehman Trilogy, written by Stefano Massini and adapted by Ben Power, is also the winner of BEST LIGHTING DESIGN (Jon Clark), and BEST ACTOR (Simon Russell Beale) at the 2022 Tony Awards®, making the production the most awarded play at the Tony’s this season. It was also awarded this season’s Drama League Award for BEST PLAY and six Outer Critics Circle Awards, including BEST PLAY.

The world premiere of Stefano Massini’s The Lehman Trilogy opened at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan in 2015. It turned out to be Artistic Director Luca Ronconi’s final production before his death. A long-term admirer of Ronconi’s, Sam Mendes was inspired to begin planning an English adaptation for Neal Street Productions. Ben Power was commissioned by Neal Street Productions to create a new version of this epic play, using a literal English translation by Mirella Cheeseman. This production opened at the National Theatre in July 2018 before its North American premiere at the Park Avenue Armory in April 2019. The Lehman Trilogy subsequently opened for a 16-week sold-out West End run at the Piccadilly Theatre in May 2019. Following Broadway’s 18-month shutdown, The Lehman Trilogy was the first British play to return to Broadway — where it had previously played four performances in March 2020 — to run at the Nederlander Theatre for a limited engagement from September 2021 – January 2022. Following its Broadway run The Lehman Trilogy transferred to the Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from March – April 2022.

Costume design is by Katrina Lindsay, video design by Luke Halls, and lighting design by Jon Clark. The Composer & Sound Designer is Nick Powell, the Co-Sound Designer is Dominic Bilkey, with music direction by Candida Caldicot, and movement by Polly Bennett. The West End Director is Zoé Ford Burnett. Casting is by Jessica Ronane CDG CSA.

AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTION OF

MALORIE BLACKMAN’S NOUGHTS AND CROSSES

AT THE ALEXANDRA BIRMINGHAM 15 TO 19 NOVEMBER 2022

Pilot Theatre present

NOUGHTS & CROSSES

By Malorie Blackman

Adapted by Sabrina Mahfouz

Pilot Theatre is delighted to announce that from September it will be touring their award-winning 2019 production of Sabrina Mahfouz’s exciting adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s critically acclaimed young adult novel of first love in a dangerous fictional dystopia – Noughts & Crosses.

The production will be at The Alexandra Birmingham from 15 to 19 November 2022. ATG Theatrecard tickets go on sale 10 June, with general on sale from 13 June; tickets can be booked via atgtickets.com/Birmingham.

Sephy is a Cross and Callum is a Nought. Between Noughts and Crosses there are racial and social divides. A segregated society teeters on a volatile knife edge. As violence breaks out, Sephy and Callum draw closer, but this is a romance that will lead them into terrible danger.

Told from the perspectives of two teenagers, Noughts & Crossesis a captivating love story set in a volatile, racially segregated society and explores the powerful themes of love, revolution and what it means to grow up in a divided world. 

Noughts & Crosses first toured in 2019 as the first co-production between Pilot Theatre, Derby Theatre, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Mercury Theatre, Colchester, and York Theatre Royal who in 2018 formed a new partnership to develop, produce and present theatre for younger audiences. The Pilot Theatre production was seen by over 30,000 people on tour with 40 % of the audience being aged under 20. It went on to win Pilot Theatre the award for excellence in Touring at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards.

Sabrina Mahfouz’s adaptation is based on Malorie Blackman’s first book in the Noughts & Crosses series for young adults, which has won the Red House Children’s Book Award and the Fantastic Fiction Award among other accolades. A BBC adaptation of Noughts & Crosses was broadcast in 2019with the second seriesdue to air this Spring on BBC One and i Player. The fifth novel in her Noughts & Crosses sequence, Crossfire, was published by Penguin Random House Children’s in summer 2019.

Malorie Blackman has written over 60 books for children and young adults, including the Noughts & Crosses series, Thief and most recently her science fiction thriller Chasing the Stars. Her work has also been adapted for TV with the 6-part adaptation of Pig-Heart Boy winning a BAFTA and two series of Noughts & Crosses. In 2005, Malorie was honoured with the Eleanor Farjeon Award in recognition of her distinguished contribution to the world of children’s books, in 2008 she received an OBE for her services to children’s literature and, between 2013 and 2015, she was the Children’s Laureate. Malorie has also recently written for Doctor Who on BBC One.

Sabrina Mahfouz is a British Egyptian poet, playwright, performer and writer from South London, England. Her recent plays have included Offside (co-written with Hollie McNish); With a little bit of luck (Paines Plough) and published work includes poetry, plays and contributions to several anthologies.

Sabrina said about the return of Noughts and Crosses:

“It’s brilliant that after being paused for so long, this play will go back on stages across the country and get people of all ages talking about racism, love, the power of youth, injustice and all the issues Malorie Blackman’s story brings to the forefront of her characters’ lives.”

Due to a number of cases of Covid-19 amongst the Billy Elliot the Musical company, the production is now delayed, with performances beginning 13 July.

Please see a statement from Curve Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster below.

“Unfortunately, valuable rehearsal time for Billy Elliot the Musical has been lost due to a number of covid cases in our company. Therefore, we have made the decision to cancel performances from Thursday 7th to Tuesday 12th July to allow us to make up time in the rehearsal room and ensure we deliver a first-class production for our audiences. 

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this delay in opening. All customers affected by the show postponement have been contacted by our Box Office team. If you have not received an email from us, then please contact us on tickets@curvetheatre.co.uk. 

Whilst we are disappointed BILLY is opening a little later than planned, we are pleased to announce we are extending the run by an extra week with final performances now scheduled until Saturday 20th August.

The Billy Elliot company is now fighting fit, and we would like to thank them for their spirit and dedication to this production. We cannot wait to share this electrifying Made at Curve musical with you all next month!”

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR

THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK IN CONCERT

AT SONDHEIM THEATRE

FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY

ON MONDAY 20 JUNE 2022

Producer Jack Maple, by arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh Ltd, is delighted to announce the full cast joining West End stars Carrie Hope Fletcher and Laura Pitt-Pulford in a special one-off concert of THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK at the Sondheim Theatre on Monday 20 June 2022, directed by Olivier Award-winning Maria Friedman.

Due to the indisposition of Giles Terera and Danielle Steers, the roles of Darryl Van Horne and Alexandra Spofford will now be played by John Partridge and Natasha J Barnes respectively.

John Partridge’s credits include Emcee in UK Tour of Cabaret, Buddy in The View Upstairs in London, Albin in UK Tour of La Cage aux Folles, Billy Flynn in UK Tour of Chicago, Zach in A Chorus Line at London Palladium. He is well known for his extensive TV work, including the long-running and much-loved role of Christian Clarke in EastEnders (BBC), winning Celebrity MasterChef (BBC), participating in BBC1’s gymnastics show Tumble and being a judge on Over the Rainbow (BBC).

Natasha J Barnes is best known for playing the role of Fanny Brice in the 2016 production of Funny Girl at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Savoy Theatre. Her other theatre credits include Spring Awakening (Novello Theatre), Falsettos (The Other Palace), Wasted (Southwark Playhouse) and American Idiot (Arts Theatre). Natasha released her debut album ‘Real’ in 2018.

Claire Moore (The Girls, Miss Saigon, Les Misérables) will play Felicia Gabriel, Nathan Amzi (In the Heights, Heathers, Jesus Christ Superstar) will play Clyde Gabriel, Alfie Friedman (The Undeclared War on Channel 4, Maria Friedman and Friends – Legacy) will play Michael Spofford and Chrissie Bhima (2022 Arts Ed graduate currently performing in Lift at Southwark Playhouse) will play Jennifer Gabriel.

Maria Friedman said “I am absolutely thrilled that John Partridge is bringing his luminous charm, charisma and talent to the role of Darryl Van Horne and that the fantastic Natasha J Barnes joins us as Alexandra.  Together with our full company, this will be a devilish treat for our audience, and I am so looking forward to making this spellbinding concert with them.” 

The ensemble will include Lydia Bannister, Isabel Canning, Aoife Dunn, Christopher Howell, Emma Knudsen, Martin McCarthy, Benjamin Mundy, Emily Ooi, Joshua Robinson, Rachel Spurrell and Rafe Watts. They will be accompanied by The Guildford School of Acting (GSA) Choir.

THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK has a book and lyrics by John Dempsey and music by Dana P. Rowe, based on the novel by John Updike and the Warner Brothers motion picture. This will be the first time the musical has been seen in London since it originally played at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2000, transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre in 2001.

The Witches of Eastwick tells the tale of the people of the little town of Eastwick. It is a town where everyone knows everything about everyone else, and it is presided over by the indomitable Felicia Gabriel. Bored with their small town lives, three women – Alexandra (Alex), Sukie, and Jane–share a desire for “all manner of man in one man” to provide excitement and variety. That man arrives, literally in a flash, in the devil-like form of Darryl Van Horne. Darryl seduces the women and teaches them powers, which they never knew they had. 

THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK has musical staging by Chrissie Cartwright, musical direction by Isaac McCullough, costume design by Jonathan Lipman, lighting design by Simon Sherriff, sound design by Adam Fisher, associate direction by Jack McCann and associate musical direction by Mike Steel.                

Website: www.sondheimtheatre.co.uk

Twitter: @jackmapleprods @DMTWestEnd

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Monday 20 June, 7pm

Sondheim Theatre

51 Shaftesbury Avenue

London

W1D 6BA

Tickets: from £35

Box office: 0344 482 5151*

*Calls to Delfont Mackintosh Theatres: 03 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number

THE AWARD-WINNING INTERNATIONAL

SMASH HIT MUSICAL 

THE BODYGUARD

TO TOUR THE UK AND IRELAND

OPENING AT GLASGOW KING’S THEATRE
ON SATURDAY 28 JANUARY 2023

Producers, Michael Harrison and David Ian are delighted to announce that the award-winning international smash hit musical THE BODYGUARD will tour the UK and Ireland opening at Glasgow King’s Theatre on Saturday 28 January 2023. Tour schedule attached with casting to be announced soon. www.thebodyguardmusical.com

Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don’t expect is to fall in love. A romantic thriller, THE BODYGUARD features a host of irresistible classics including Queen of the Night, So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My Love, Run to You, I Have Nothing, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and one of the biggest hit songs of all time – I Will Always Love You.

Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar nominated Warner Bros. movie starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, THE BODYGUARD, directed by Thea Sharrock with book by Oscar winning Alex Dinelaris, had its world premiere at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End and was nominated for four Olivier Awards. A sell out 18 month UK and Ireland tour followed, before the show returned to the West End at the Dominion Theatre ahead of a second sell out tour of the UK and Ireland in 2018/19.  To date, THE BODYGUARD has played to over 3.6 million people in 15 countries and 45 US cities. Countries include the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, Canada, Italy, Australia, Spain, France, the US, Austria and Japan.

York Theatre Royal – Friday 10th June 2022

Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

4****

It was great to see the small studio theatre packed out on a Friday night to see Potatohead, the creation of Freddie Hayes. This is her debut solo show, directed by Sh!t Theatre, featuring puppetry, stand-up comedy, physical theatre, film, singing, dancing and plenty of potatoes, and even more potato puns.

Hayes, dressed as a potato, welcomed us all into the studio, hugging some, chatting to others, proving a very personal touch. Potatohead, tells the story of Charlotte who has big dreams, she wants to have a face, instead of a skin with 12 eyes, and go from being a couch potato, to being a golden wonder, and being a star on television.

What follows is a take on Doctor Faustus, apparently this was written in the same year, 1592, that potatoes were first introduced into Europe, and the 7 Deadly Sins, with potatoes thrown in. With chips on her shoulder, Charlotte must decide against good or evil. With the servant of the devil, Maurice Piper, tipping the scales, evil wins out and she turns to the dark side, and must suffer the consequences.

It always amazes me how artists ever come up with these so out of the left field ideas. Hayes is so obviously talented and creative, and delivers a superb show. She had us all laughing, singing along and rooting for Charlotte. The puppet show of the7 Deadly Sins, is truly inspired and hilarious. All the puppets are fashioned with potatoes, and we even have Elvis thrown into the equation. Absolutely brilliant!

This really is a bonkers, smashing show, but it has it all. It’s full of every single potato pun you can think of. It has a penalty shootout, Gary Lineker, puppets, Elvis, karaoke, audience participation and so much more. A whole lot packed into an hour show. It really is a silly, ridiculous show, but it is so good, just like a delicious crispy jacket potato filled with cheese and sour cream.

Potatohead has a few tour dates left before performing for the whole of August at Edinburgh Fringe. Make sure you get to see it.

Btw, don’t forget to take your potato along, and make sure you dress it up.