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Full casting announced for the UK premiere of the uplifting
Broadway musical ‘George Takei’s Allegiance’

The 16-strong cast of ‘George Takei’s Allegiance’ are today revealed.

Starring alongside the previously announced legendary TV and film star George Takei and Broadway and TV star Telly Leung is Aynrand Ferrer, who has just played the alternate Kim in ‘Miss Saigon’ in Vienna. All three are making their London stage debuts.

The multi-national cast also features Iroy Abesamis, Mark Anderson, Masashi Fujimoto, Megan Gardiner, Raiko Gohara, Eu Jin Hwang, Hana Ichijo, Misa Koide, Patrick Munday, Rachel Jayne Picar, Sario Solomon, Joy Tan, Iverson Yabut.

Creative team: Book Marc Acito, Jay Kuo & Lorenzo Thione, Music & Lyrics Jay Kuo, Director and Choreographer Tara Overfield Wilkinson, Musical Supervisors and Orchestrations Andrew Hilton and Charlie Ingles, Set and Costume Designer Mayou Trikerioti, Lighting Designer Nic Farman, Sound Designer Chris Whybrow, Casting Director Sarah Leung CDG, Musical Director Amy Hsu, Associate Director Kirsty Malpass, Associate Choreographer Misa Koide, Assistant Musical Director Beth Jerem, Production Management New Wolf Productions, General Management Something for the Weekend, Producers Sing Out, Louise! Productions.
Charing Cross Theatre

13-week season 

Saturday 7 January to Saturday 8 April, 2023

Iroy Abesamis was Marcel, Bloody Mary’s assistant in ‘South Pacific’ at Chichester Festival Theatre, Sadler’s Wells and on UK tour. His other stage musicals include ‘The King & I’ and ‘Miss Saigon’ (UK and international tours).

Mark Anderson’s West End musicals include ‘School of Rock’, ‘Book of Mormon’ and ‘The Grinning Man’. He played the lead role of Melvin Ferd the Third/Toxie in ‘The Toxic Avenger’ (Southwark Playhouse and Arts Theatre transfer). He has just finished the UK premiere tour of Disney’s ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’.

Aynrand Ferrer was 1st cover Kim in ‘Miss Saigon’ on a UK and international tour in 2017/18  and has recently played alternate Kim in ‘Miss Saigon’ in Vienna. She graduated from the UST Conservatory of Music in the Philippines in 2016 with a degree in Musical Theatre. She also appeared on stage in the lead role of Carrie White in ‘Carrie: the Musical’.

Masashi Fujimoto, born in Hiroshima, Japan, trained in Tokyo (BA in Music), and studied opera and musical theatre in Milan and London. He made his first major UK and US TV appearance in ‘Banzai’. His stage roles include ‘The King and I’ and ‘Insein The Opera’. He is also the  composer of ‘Hexwood the Musical’ and ‘Santa’s Magical Gift’.

Megan Gardiner most recently covered and played Cosette in the UK tour of ‘Les Miserables’. She was also cover Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Cork Opera House.

Raiko Gohara was most recently in ‘Red Rose’ (BBC). ‘Allegiance’ is his professional stage debut.

Eu Jin Hwang was recently in the Broadway transfer of ‘Anything Goes’ at the Barbican and on UK tour, and in the UK and international tour of ‘The King & I’.

Hana Ichijo was June in ‘Anyone Can Whistle’ (Southwark Playhouse) and Meg March in ‘Little Women’ (Park Theatre).

Misa Koide was in the West End production of ‘The King And I’ and ‘Amadigi’ for Garsington Opera. On film she is in the upcoming ‘Wonka’ and Disney’s live action ‘Snow White’.

Telly Leung transfers to London from the 2015 Broadway production of Allegiance. Best known to UK audiences as Wes, the Warbler on TV’s ‘Glee’ and to Broadway audiences for the title role in ‘Aladdin’, his other Broadway and US national touring credits include ‘Flower Drum Song’, ‘Pacific Overtures’, ‘Wicked’ (Boq, original Chicago company) and Angel in ‘Rent’ at the Hollywood Bowl, directed by Neil Patrick Harris.

Patrick Munday is currently appearing in ‘But I’m A Cheerleader’ at the Turbine Theatre. He was in ‘The Show Must Go On! Live at the Palace Theatre’ in the West End and ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ at Northern Stage.

Rachel Jayne Picar was recently Connie Wong in ‘A Chorus Line’ at Curve, Leicester. She was in ‘South Pacific’ at Chichester Festival Theatre and was Swing and Dance Captain in ‘The King & I’ at the London Palladium and on tour.

Sario Solomon was in the original cast of ‘The Band’ in the West End and on tour – cast by winning the BBC 1 programme ‘Let It Shine’. He was Cover Lucas and Lurch in ‘The Addams Family’ on tour and is currently playing Joey in ‘Friendsical the Musical’ on tour.

Joy Tan is currently in ‘The Crucible’ at the National Theatre. They were in ‘A-Typical Rainbow’ (Turbine Theatre) and are part of the ‘Showstopper! The Improvised Musical’ cast of improvisers.

Iverson Yabut is a recent graduate from Mountview making his professional stage debut.

GEORGE TAKEI

George Takei is best known for his portrayal of Mr. Sulu in the acclaimed television and film series ‘Star Trek’. He is an actor, civil rights activist, social media mega-power, New York Times bestselling author, he originated the role of Sam Kimura and Ojii-chan in the Broadway musical Allegiance and was subject of ‘To Be Takei’, a documentary on his life and career.

Takei’s acting career has spanned more than six decades, with more than 40 feature films and hundreds of TV guest-starring roles to his credit. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Actors’ Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

A community activist, Takei is Chairman Emeritus and a member of the Japanese American National Museum’s Board of Trustees. In recognition of his contribution to the Japan-United States relationship, in 2004, Takei was conferred with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, by His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan. Takei formerly served as chair of the council of governors of East West Players, the foremost Asian Pacific American theatre in the United States. He was a member of the US Japan Bridging Foundation Board of Directors; and he served on the Board of the Japan-United States
Friendship Commission under President Bill Clinton.

With Takei’s expansion into social media, interest in his personal life grew. In January 2014, ‘To Be Takei’, a Jennifer M. Kroot documentary on George’s life and career, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that January, and was later released in select cinemas across North America.

Among his many accomplishments is a Grammy nomination Takei shared with Leonard Nimoy, in 1987, in the Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording category. He received a star on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame in 1986. And in 1991, Takei left his signature and hand print, in cement, in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

In addition to the Broadway musical Allegiance, George’s theatrical credits include ‘Undertow’, winner of the Scotsman First Award at the Edinburgh Festival, and ‘The Wash’, written by Philip Kan Gotanda and presented in New York at the Manhattan Theater Club and in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum. He performed in ‘Year of the Dragon’ at the American Place Theater in New York and in ‘Fly Blackbird’ at the Billy Rose Theater in New York and the Metro Theater in Los Angeles. In the UK, George played in a musical version of’ Snow White’ at the Dome Theatre, Brighton, he was the genie in ‘Aladdin’ at the Hexagon Theatre, Reading, and he was the Emperor of China in ‘Aladdin’ at the Central Theatre, Chatham. In 2017, Takei starred in a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Pacific Overtures’ directed by John Doyle at Classic Stage Company in New York City.

Takei is well known to longtime fans of ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ Takei participated in the eighth season of the series, entering camp on the 16th of November, 2008, and coming out 21 days later in third place, losing to runner-up Martina Navratilova and winner Joe Swash.

As an author, Takei’s first book, his autobiography, ‘To the Stars’, was published in 1994; and in 2012 and 2013 he published his second and third books, ‘Oh Myyy! There Goes The Internet’, and its sequel, ‘Lions And Tigers And Bears: The Internet Strikes Back’. The latter two books explored his forays on social media and the Internet, earning placement on the Amazon e-book and paperback best-seller lists in 2012 and 2013, respectively. His fifth book, the Eisner Award winning and New York Times bestselling graphic memoir ‘They Called Us Enemy’, was released in July 2019.

Takei’s social media dominance is best denoted by his numerous awards. Mashable.com named George a “social media superstar” on Facebook in 2012, where he currently has over 19.6 million combined fans. In 2013, Takei won the Shorty Award for Distinguished Achievement in Internet Culture. He has 3.4 million followers on Twitter, and posts on various social media platforms. He expanded his internet presence with the 2015 YouTube series, “It Takeis Two,” starring with husband, Brad Takei.  The “reality” series shared the couple’s daily navigation of their world, with George’s vibrant sense of humour and Brad’s less-than-optimistic pragmatism. In 2015, Cosmopolitan Magazine named Takei “One of the Internet’s 50 Most Fascinating People.” Takei and his husband, Brad, were married at the Japanese American National Museum on September 14, 2008. The Takeis reside in Los Angeles, California.

Takei received both bachelor and master of arts degrees from UCLA (’60, ’64). In June 2019, Takei received the Distinguished Alumni Award in Theater from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT). In June 2016, California State University, Los Angeles, presented Takei with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II, California-born George Takei and his
family were placed behind the barbed-wire enclosures of United States’ internment camps along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans. He spent years of his childhood at Camp Rohwer in the swamps of Arkansas and at wind-swept Camp Tule Lake in northern California. At the end of the war, Takei’s family returned to their native Los Angeles.

Inspired by this difficult chapter of American history and his own true childhood experiences, Takei developed the Broadway musical Allegiance, an epic story of love and heroism in which he starred alongside Tony Award winner Lea Salonga and Telly Leung in its record-breaking world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in 2012. The show won multiple awards and was followed by a Broadway run in 2015-2016.

Now Allegiance gets a new and more intimate production for the UK, conceived specifically for the Off West End space at Charing Cross Theatre, directed and choreographed by Tara Overfield Wilkinson (director, ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ UK tour, associate director/choreographer of ‘Come From Away’ UK).

‘George Takei’s Allegiance’ tells the moving story of Sam Kimura (Takei) as he is transported back nearly six decades to when his younger self (Leung) and his sister Kei (Ferrer) fought to stay connected to their heritage, their family and themselves after Japanese Americans were wrongfully imprisoned during World War II.  A powerful story told with great resonance and intimacy, ‘George Takei’s Allegiance’ explores the ties that bind us, the struggle to persevere and the overwhelming power of forgiveness and, most especially, love.  

‘George Takei’s Allegiance’ will get its UK premiere at Charing Cross Theatre, The Arches, Villiers Street, London WC2N 6NL for 13 weeks from Saturday 7 January to Saturday 8 April, 2023.

This newly reconceived UK production of ‘George Takei’s Allegiance’ has a book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo and Lorenzo Thione with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo.

Tickets range from £20-£80 and may be purchased at AllegianceMusical.com
or by calling the Charing Cross Box Office at 0844-493-0650.

Sing Out, Louise! Productions
presents

‘George Takei’s Allegiance’

Book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo, and Lorenzo Thione
Music and Lyrics by Jay Kuo

Directed & Choreographed by
Tara Overfield Wilkinson

Charing Cross Theatre
The Arches
Villiers Street
London WC2N 6NL

www.AllegianceMusical.com

Box office: 08444 930650

Saturday 7 January to
Saturday 8 April, 2023

Performances:

Monday to Saturday evenings at 7.30pm

Wednesday and Saturday matinees
(excluding Saturday 7 January)
at 2.30pm

Prices:
£20.00 – £70.00
Premium seats £80

A booking fee applies to phone and internet orders;
no booking fee to in person over the counter sales.
A restoration levy  applies to all tickets

The box office is open from 2 hours before curtain time on performance days for in person sales

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook – @allegiancemusical

Twitter / Instagram- @allegiancebway

Website – AllegianceMusical.com

FOURTH WALL LIVE

ANNOUNCES

BENJAMIN RAUHALA

&

HIS WEST END BESTIES

AT CADOGAN HALL

SUNDAY 5 FEBRUARY

Fourth Wall Live are delighted to announce BENJAMIN RAUHALA & HIS WEST END BESTIES at the Cadogan Hall on Sunday 5 February at 6.30pm. Tickets on sale now www.fw-live.com/ben 

One of Broadway’s most trusted music directors and collaborators, Benjamin Rauhala will be joined on stage by stars of the West End including Luke Bayer (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Soho Cinders), Paisley Billings (Six, The Lion King, ‘Tattoo Fixers’), Lauren Drew (Six, Heathers, Legally Blonde, ‘The Voice’), Hiba Elchikhe (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Aladdin), WhatsOnStage Award nominee Jordan Luke Gage (& Juliet, Bonnie & Clyde, Bat Out of Hell), Ben Joyce (Back to the Future, Jersey Boys), Claudia Kariuki (Six, Wicked, School of Rock), Olivier Award nominee Frances Mayli McCann (Bonnie & Clyde, Heathers, Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour), Zara MacIntosh (&Juliet, Six) Olivier Award nominee Natalie Paris (Six, Billy Elliot, Les Miserables), Courtney Stapleton (‘Belle’ in Beauty and the Beast, Six), Jodie Steele (Six, Heathers) Benjamin Yates (Jersey Boys, School of Rock, Wicked). Guests are subject to change.

Music director Benjamin Rauhala’s love affair with the London theatre community and actors of the West End has been ongoing since his first sold-out concerts with Jeremy Jordan in the summer of 2016. Rauhala grew up obsessed with British pop music, including a subscription to Top of the Pops magazine! As a mainstay of the Broadway community, he has produced hundreds of sold-out concerts that spawned viral YouTube concert clips totalling * totalling over 56million views, including Jeremy Jordan’s ubiquitous cover of “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” and the many medleys featured in his Broadway Princess Party concert series.

Rauhala found that everyone he met in London had a favourite one of those videos and wanted to chat about it, so he had an idea: what if he gathered a dozen of his favourite West End performers with an epic band and re-created some of those beloved videos, as well as crafting some new arrangements for these amazing singers? On the heels of a sold-out run at Theatre Royal Drury Lane with Jeremy Jordan and in preparation to play the London Palladium with Ariana DeBose and for an upcoming international tour of Disney Princess The Concert, this was the perfect moment to create a concert unlike anything London has ever seen! BENJAMIN RAUHALA AND HIS WEST END BESTIES will be a night filled with Rauhala’s signature mashups and medleys, some of the best contemporary musical theatre, some radically rearranged Disney tunes, and, of course, tunes from the likes of Céline Dion, the Spice Girls, Selena Gomez, and Sam Smith!

Benjamin Rauhala is the Music Supervisor, co-creator, and ‘Fairy Godfairy’ of Disney Princess – The Concert, touring over 100 cities in North America throughout 2022, and internationally in 2023. He helped conceive and arrange the opening and closing numbers of the 2022 Tony Awards for Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose. Rauhala has toured the world since 2014 as the music director forJeremy Jordan, the Tony-nominated star of Broadway’s Newsies and TV’s ‘Supergirl’, and in 2020, Rauhala was named ‘Best Musical Director’ at the Broadway World Cabaret Awards.

His Broadway credits include Fiddler on the Roof, American Psycho, and Pippin. His Off-Broadway credits include Hit List, the meta-musical from the NBC television show Smash, Duncan Sheik’s The Secret Life of Bees and David Byrne’s Joan of Arc: Into The Fire. He is also the music director for Academy Award Winner Ariana DeBose, Halston star Krysta Rodriguez, Tony Award nominees Derek Klena, Jennifer Damiano, Kathryn Gallagher, and Disney legend Jodi Benson, as well as Nashville star Kyle Dean Massey, Anastasia star Christy Altomare, Smash star Andy Mientus, Moulin Rouge star Ashley Loren, and Frozen stars Caroline Bowman and Austin Colby. 

Rauhala co-founded the Write Out Loud songwriting competition with Mean Girls Tony Award nominee Taylor Louderman, which is currently in its fourth season of supporting the next generation of composers. Additionally, he is an Original Programming Producer at 54 Below, where he has created hundreds of sold-out concerts, including the Broadway Loves Series, that has famously honored Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Selena Gomez, Sam Smith, Demi Lovato, and many more beloved pop icons.

Follow him @brauhala

JOHN TIFFANY TO DIRECT THE WORLD PREMIÈRE

OF NICOLE TAYLOR’S NEW MUSICAL WILD ROSE

Patrick Daly of Caledonia Productions today announces the forthcoming opening of the world première of a new musical Wild Rose, written by Nicole Taylor (Three Girls, The C Word, The Nest) and directed by John Tiffany (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Black Watch). Based on Taylor’s critically acclaimed award-winning film of the same name, the production will begin in Scotland, with venue, dates and casting to be announced. The stage adaptation is produced by Patrick Daly of Caledonia Productions, with Faye Ward of Fable Pictures and Nia Janis of Playful Productions as Executive Producers.

Released to critical acclaim in 2018, the film, directed by Tom Harper, produced by Ward, and blessed with an incredible soundtrack, won the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Feature Film, Best Writer for Nicole and Best Actress for Jessie Buckley – the latter was also nominated for a BAFTA Film Award. It was nominated and won several other awards, including for 10 Independent Film Award nominations, winning the Best Independent Film Award for Best Music; as well as several awards for Best Original Song for Glasgow (No Place Like Home) including the Critics’ Choice Award.

Nicole Taylor said today “When the character of Rose-Lynn Harlan first roared into my head some 13 years ago, shouting, swearing and of course, singing, I aways dreamt she might have a theatrical afterlife.  That this is coming to pass under the direction of the great John Tiffany, whose work I have adored ever since I saw Black Watch, is a source of such pride and such excitement.  There’s no story that means more to me than this one – this mad passionate love letter to my twin obsessions, Glasgow and country music.  I never imagined the film would strike a chord with so many people, nor that strangers would come up to me in the street (still!) and yell “My mince is your mince”.  It’s a true joy to be reunited with Rose-Lynn and Marion, and to experience them anew via John’s theatrical imagination and I’m delighted too that the production will begin in Scotland.

John Tiffany added, “I saw Wild Rose in 2019 and thought it was brilliant. It’s a hilarious, moving, truthful and totally life-affirming piece of filmmaking. I remember thinking then that the story might also find a natural home on a stage. I was already a big fan of Nicole Taylor after seeing Three Girls so when Patrick Daly, Faye Ward and Nicole approached me I jumped at the chance to meet them. My formative years were spent in Glasgow, both as a student at the University (when I first went to Glasgow’s Grand Ole Opry) and later at the National Theatre of Scotland, so the final song Glasgow (No Place Like Home) holds a special place in my heart.”

Rose-Lynn Harlan is bursting with talent, charisma and cheek. Fresh out of jail, all she wants is to get the hell out of Glasgow and make it to Nashville as a country singer, but with an ankle tag, a curfew and two young kids, her dreams are far removed from her reality.  Caught between hope and responsibility Rose-Lynn must find her place and her voice. A comedy drama about mothers and daughters, home and belonging, and three chords and the truth.

Acclaimed screenwriter Nicole Taylor’s credits for television include Three Girls (which won five BAFTAs including for Best Writer and Best Mini Series), The C Word and The Nest.  For film, Nicole wrote the multi-award-winning Wild Rose.  She is currently adapting David Nicholls’ novel One Day into a 14 part series for Netflix.

John Tiffany directs. For his work on Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, he received the Olivier Award for Best Director, one of a record-breaking nine Oliviers received by the production. The production is now playing in six territories worldwide. He directed Once for which he was the recipient of multiple awards both in the West End and on Broadway. As Associate Director of the Royal Court Theatre, his work includes Road, The Twits, Hope and The Pass. He was the director of Let The Right One In for the National Theatre of Scotland, which transferred to the Royal Court Theatre, West End and St. Ann’s Warehouse. His other work for the National Theatre of Scotland includes Macbeth (also Broadway), Enquirer, The Missing, Peter Pan, The House of Bernarda Alba, Transform Caithness: Hunter, Be Near Me, Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us, The Bacchae, Black Watch – for which he won the Olivier and Critics’ Circle Best Director Awards, Elizabeth Gordon Quinn and Home: Glasgow. Other recent credits include The Glass Menagerie at A.R.T, on Broadway, EIF and in the West End, and The Ambassador at BAM. Tiffany was Associate Director of the National Theatre of Scotland from 2005 to 2012, and was a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University in the 2010-2011 academic year.

Caledonia Productions:  Patrick Daly (Producer) works across television/film and stage. Feature films include August Osage County, Una and Galveston and the current series Shrink streaming on Peacock. Theatre credits include The Mountaintop, Tribes, The Effect and the upcoming stage musicals Local Hero and Sing Street. Patrick also oversees all live stage projects for EON Productions. 

SPOTLIGHT ON THE FUTURE ANNOUNCES NEW CONCERTS AT WONDERVILLE THIS WINTER

Spotlight on the Future today announces a new series of concerts in the West End’s Wonderville this Winter, featuring stars from musicals such as Wicked, Heathers, SIX and Phantom of the Opera. The concerts will feature established West End stars teaming up with new musical theatre graduates to perform together. These dates mark the first live performances following their digital success in 2020, now opening at London’s newest cabaret and comedy venue just off Piccadilly.

The five dates this December will feature special guests and unexpected surprises, as well as all your favourite musical theatre hits. Graduates interested in getting involved should keep their eyes on all Spotlight on the Future social media for information on how they can enter.

Tickets for each show are available from £20 via Fever: https://feverup.com/m/121450

Artistic Director of Future Spotlight Productions, Louis Rayneau, today said: “Thrilled that this wonderful project created from a 3am idea in Lockdown is making its return in an innovative way and in the heart of west end. I am so thankful and grateful to all at Wonderville for letting us create magic in their incredible space; inside Wonderville is truly a next level experience and so unique. The line ups and surprises we have in store are EPIC! Don’t miss out as there’s only limited spaces and limited dates this winter season…”

Future Spotlight Productions

in collaboration with Wonderville presents

SPOTLIGHT ON THE FUTURE

Featuring special guests

Sunday 4 December

Freddie King and Laura Pick

Freddie King is best known for playing JD in Heathers.

Laura Pick is best known for playing Elphaba in Wicked.

Monday 5 December

Erin Caldwell and May Tether

Erin Caldwell is best known for playing Susan in Pretty Woman and Veronica Sawyer in Heathers.

May Tether is best known for playing Veronica Sawyer in Heathers.

Monday 12 December

Surprise guests to be revealed!

Sunday 18 December

Maria Coyne and Sabrina Aloueche

Maria Coyne is best known for playing Mrs Anna in The King and I, Christine in Phantom of the Opera and Glinda and Nessarose in Wicked.

Sabrina Aloueche is best known for playing Scaramouche in We Will Rock You, Cosette and Éponine in Les Misérables and Belle in Starlight Express.

Tuesday 20 December

Ross Harmon and Amy Di Bartolomeo

Ross Harmon is best known for playing Kurt in Heathers.

Amy Di Bartolomeo is best known for playing Catherine of Aragon in SIX the Musical and Oz in We Will Rock You.

LISTINGS

SPOTLIGHT ON THE FUTURE

Wonderville

57-60 Haymarket, St. James’s, London SW1Y 4QX

Box Office: https://feverup.com/m/121450 /https://www.wondervilleuk.com/what-s-on

Tickets from £20

https://spotlightonthefuture.com/

Twitter: @SpotlightOnThe

Instagram: @SpotlightOnTheFuture

AFTER 33 EXTRAORDINARY YEARS

SUSAN HILL’S

THE WOMAN IN BLACK

WILL HAUNT THE STAGE

OF THE FORTUNE THEATRE

FOR THE FINAL TIME

AS THE PRODUCTION ENDS IN THE WEST END

SATURDAY 4 MARCH 2023

PW Productions announce that after 33 extraordinary years in London’s West End, the theatrical sensation that is Susan Hill’s THE WOMAN IN BLACK, will play its final performance at The Fortune Theatre, London on Saturday 4 March 2023.

Producer Peter Wilson said today, “The Woman in Black’s miraculous theatricality has never faltered. Out of a gauze, a wicker skip and a door Stephen Mallatratt and Robin Herford conjured a complete world into which generations of young people have entered, surrendering to the ultimate magic of theatre: their own imaginations. However, the economic reality of attracting so many young people has caught up with us in a world of rising prices.

My thanks to Charles Kay and John Duttine, the first cast in 1989, to the generations of actors who have maintained the tradition of excellence while inhabiting Susan’s marvellous novella and Stephen’s extraordinary adaptation, to Robin Herford – who has directed every cast over the 33 years – to all the staff at the Fortune and of course the team at PW Productions.”

Susan Hill, writer of the novel said, “I am extremely sad that The Woman in Black is closing at The Fortune Theatre in March next year. It has been the perfect home for us for over 33 years. I am especially proud that Stephen Mallatratt’s wonderful stage adaptation of my ghost story has given generations of young people the opportunity to experience the enjoyment and the life-changing impact of theatre.”

Director Robin Herford said, “Since commissioning Stephen Mallatratt to write me a ghost story for Christmas to present for three and a half weeks at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Autumn of 1987, The Woman in Black has been a significant part of my life for a third of a century – and counting!

The Fortune has been a very happy London home for this play, its intimacy providing not only the right scale and atmosphere for the action, but also a treat for the audience in appreciating this West End jewel with its classic Art Deco architecture. A perfect fit. Leaving The Fortune is the end of a significant chapter in the story of The Woman in Black. It has been a privilege to have stewardship of this theatre with its wonderful staff in which to tell Susan’s devastating story in the highly original and imaginative manner in which Stephen conceived it for the stage.

I am proudest of the number of schoolchildren for whom this production has constituted one of their first experiences of theatre. Young people really respond to this play, and it gladdens my heart when I hear large numbers of schoolchildren queueing up outside before a performance. Earlier this Autumn, I got chatting to a teacher who had brought no fewer than 17 different parties of students to this show over the years! It’s how we grow our next generation of audiences.”

THE WOMAN IN BLACK has played over 13,000 performances in the West End and been seen by over 7-million people in the UK. In June 2019 the production celebrated its 30th Anniversary in London’s West End with a special gala performance.

Following a Christmas production in 1987 at a pub in Scarborough, THE WOMAN IN BLACK was brought to Hammersmith’s Lyric Theatre in January 1989. Reviews were sufficiently encouraging (apart from The Independent, who regretted the production’s inability to incorporate a live dog) to warrant a West End run. Its West End tour started at the Strand (now Novello) Theatre in March and moved to the Playhouse in April, finally lodging at the Fortune on June 7, 1989.

Throughout the run the producer has been determined to keep ticket prices within the range of students and young people. Nevertheless, the production has netted investors more than £8,000,000 over the years at the Fortune.  This policy will continue in whatever form the play and production take in the future.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK currently stars Julian Forsyth as Arthur Kipps and Matthew Spencer as The Actor.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK is directed by Robin Herford, with designs by Michael Holt and lighting by Kevin Sleep.

Southampton Mayflower – until 12 November 2022

Reviewed by Lucy Hitchcock

3***

Jay Osmond has written a new musical based on the life of his life with The Osmonds.

Alex Lodge plays ‘Jay’, one of the brothers of the band and talks us through the rise to stardom and development of the group. He is essentially narrating, taking us step by step and segueing through songs that saturate the performance. Ryan Anderson, Jamie Chatterton, Danny Nattrass, Austin Riley and Tristan Whincup play the other brothers-Merrill, Alan, Wayne, Jimmy and Donny. This was a good mix of actors who had very good vocals and sounded very much like the Osmonds themselves!

The show was very vocal centric, with characters literally bursting into song every few minutes-showing the strength these actors have in order to continue with the energy and vocals. The young Osmonds – Osian Slater as Donny, Jack Jones as Alan, Alfie Jones as Wayne, Harrison Skinner as Merrill, Tom Walsh as Jay and Fraser Fowkes as Jimmy were delightful and brought a childish charm to the show.

For me, the standout performance was Georgia Lennon as Marie Osmond. She is an incredible vocalist and immediately changed the second Act into a better version of itself.

Bristol Costumer Services outdid themselves with the costumes and really brought a nostalgic feel to the show perfectly.

If you want to be transformed to the swinging 60’s and get as close to the Osmonds as you will be able to-this is the show for you!

The Lowry, Salford – until Saturday 12 November 2022

Reviewed by Zoe Brown

4****

Following its short run in October at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, this marvel of Bollywood glitz and glamour from Phizzical Theatre Company has brought its magic to the Quays stage, at The Lowry

Despite a shaky start from a technical point of view (mics not being switched on, spots not coming up for the actors) this tale of behind the scenes 70’s and 80’s Bollywood reveal, romance and rivalry exploded onto the stage in a burst of musical delight and colour.

The story begins with the tale of Laila, (Nisha Aâliya) orphaned and alone, traveling to Bombay to find her father, Din Dayal, a successful Bollywood Director, (Chirag Rao). What follows is as much a coming-of-age story and reverence to the rise the female heroine in Bollywood, as a musical celebration of the amazing dance and song routines synonymous with the Bollywood slate of films.

There were particularly strong performances by Robby Khela, as Vicky, the insanely fame hungry and jealous hero of yesteryear and Sheetal Pandya, as Dolly, his young and treacherous bride.

Nisha Aâliya, as Laila and Pia Sutaria, as Mala, were equally stunning and mesmerizing as the love rivals and arguably heroines of the show. Rav Moore as the love interest and rising star, Sikander, was entertaining and humourous throughout.

The strength of character, confidence and vocal talent of Amar, as Pammi/Amma was wonderful, and the beautiful vocals of Chirag Rao, Robby Khela and Amar equally carried the show. I only wish when they provided vocals during the dance sequences, they were not visible – as this broke the illusion that the leads were in fact singing – as they desperately tried to lip synch along.

I must make special mention of Adeel Ali, who covered as Tiger, its never easy to step in as understudy and particularly on press night!

I was very pleased by the over-stage captions throughout the show (as a hard of hearing person I appreciate being able to follow the story) alongside translation of the songs (for those of us who don’t speak Hindi) However, it may have been prudent to not have the lighting rig directly in front as when a spot was raised it blocked the view.

You don’t need to be a fan of Bollywood to enjoy this show, although there were plenty of lifelong fans to whoop with delight when a favourite movie was referenced, or snigger when an infamous real-life incident was hinted at in the script.

Lastly the live musical talent provided by Dhaivat Acharya Bindi Bhumbra Ragen Bhrambhatt Vikaash Sankadecha Trushar Tailor was thrilling.

If you’re going to go, be prepared to sing, dance and clap along. This show deserves an audience with as much energy and gusto as their performances provide.

LILY ALLEN & STEVE PEMBERTON

TO STAR IN WEST END PREMIERE OF

ACADEMY & OLIVIER AWARD WINNING

MARTIN McDONAGH’S ELECTRIFYING PLAY

THE PILLOWMAN

Production reunites McDonagh with MATTHEW DUNSTER,

the director of their acclaimed production of Hangmen

DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE

10 June – 2 September 2023

With an all-star cast including Lily Allen and Steve Pemberton, Matthew Dunster directs the first major revival and West End season of Martin McDonagh’s electrifying and savagely funny Olivier Award-winning play The Pillowman. Performances begin at the intimate Duke of York’s Theatre on Saturday 10 June, for a strictly limited 12-week run through to Saturday 2 September 2023 (Press Night: Wednesday 21 June).

Tickets will go on general sale at 12pm on Friday 11 November at www.pillowmanplay.com (please note previous bookers will be contacted prior to this and have a priority booking period).

Martin McDonagh, who has just won the Best Screenplay Award at the Venice Film Festival for his new, critically-acclaimed movie The Banshees of Inisherin, is also the multi Olivier, BAFTA and Academy Award-winning playwright and screen-writer responsible for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths and Six Shooter.

Martin McDonagh commented:

“I’m thrilled that The Pillowman is finally making its West End premiere. It’s a play that’s always been very close to my heart, in terms of its combination of dark comedy with its exploration of the nature of story-telling itself and the role of the artist in society. With so many personal freedoms under attack by governments and religions around the world I think it’s a perfect time to put this play on.

I am a huge admirer of both Steve Pemberton and Lily Allen – their intelligence, their wit, their fun – and having Lily play Katurian, the first time this role has been played by a woman in an English-speaking version, is just so, so exciting to me. With such a strong cast, and Matthew at the helm once again, I can’t wait to be part of it.”

Lily Allen, who made her West End debut in 2:22 – A Ghost Story at the Noel Coward Theatre in a role for which she was awarded Best Female-Identifying Role in a Play at the Whatsonstage Awards and Olivier nominated, will play Katurian, the first time the role has been played by a woman.  Up next, Allen will star in the new Sky original comedy Dreamland which will premiere in 2023. Lily is also an internationally renowned singer and songwriter.

Lily Allen commented:

“One of our most inventive playwrights, Martin McDonagh, is renowned for pushing boundaries and it’s a privilege to join this show. Together with my incredible 2.22 director Matthew Dunster, I am excited to help create a production of The Pillowman that is sorely needed right now in these unprecedented times. I can’t wait to bring it to life each night on stage and for audiences to get to experience it.”

Steve Pemberton is a member of The League of Gentlemen with Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson. He co-wrote and appeared in Psychoville and Inside No. 9 for which he won the BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance in 2019.  His other television credits include: Killing Eve, Good Omens, Worzel Gummidge, Doctor Who, Benidorm, Blackpool, Shameless, Whitechapel, Happy Valley and Mapp and Lucia.  His stage work includes playing Mr Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer at the National Theatre. Steve will play Tupolski.

Steve Pemberton commented:

“As a huge fan of Martin McDonagh’s writing, I’m delighted that The Pillowman is heading to the West End next year. I can’t wait to help bring this blisteringly dark and funny play to life and I’m honoured to be working with such an exciting creative team.”

Further casting is yet to be announced.

In a totalitarian state a Writer is questioned by the authorities about a spate of murders that bear similarities to her short stories. Is this life imitating art or something more sinister? This black comedy widely regarded as one of the greatest plays of the past 25 years, examines the role of the artist in society and asks what price do we pay for freedom of expression.

Martin McDonagh’s Olivier Award-winning Hangmen ran successfully in the West End and on Broadway. His other plays include The Beauty Queen of Leenane, A Skull in Connemara, The Lonesome West, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Cripple of Inishmaan, A Behanding in Spokane and A Very Very Very Dark Matter. 

Matthew Dunster is a theatre and film director and writer. He has directed or written over sixty shows, often with major national companies (including RSC, NT, Royal Court, Young Vic, Royal Exchange, Shakespeare’s Globe, The Bridge), as well as directing in the West End, on Broadway and internationally. He has been the Associate Director of The Young Vic and Shakespeare’s Globe. Matthew has been nominated for three Olivier Awards and his Broadway production of Hangmen was nominated for five Tony’s. 

Joining Martin and Matthew on the creative team are: Set and Costume Designer Anna Fleischle, the Lighting Designer is Neil Austin, Sound Designer, Ian Dickinson for Autograph and Casting is by Amy Ball.

The Pillowman is produced by Empire Street Productions, the same company that brought the hugely successful Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer to the West End this year, and which went on to break audience records when it was subsequently released in cinemas by NT Live. The production opens on Broadway in 2023. As with Prima Facie, accessibility to The Pillowman is fundamental to the producer, and there will be a Pay What You Can scheme, with 20 tickets per performance for the week, released the Wednesday beforehand.

Marylebone Theatre announces second season
From January 2023
Marylebone Theatre, 35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT

London’s new cross-arts venue, Marylebone Theatre, has announced its exciting second season. Near Baker Street, the new performing arts venue is carving out a special place on the London cultural scene as a beautiful and grand but intimate setting offering a wide variety of programming with theatre, music, dance and spoken word. The theatre’s second season will launch in January 2023, opening with a particular focus on music, bringing internationally renowned music artists to London this winter, including Benjamin Appl and Rachel Podger. In partnership with Quip Shed Comedy, Marylebone Theatre will host top names from the world of comedy including Ed Gamble and Phil Wang and further programming will be announced later.

The exciting music programme will see six concerts by internationally renowned artists. Apollo5, the critically acclaimed a capella group known for its rich, dynamic sound, will open the season in January. The five-piece vocal group has a versatile approach to music, with a repertoire spanning Renaissance, classical and choral works, as well as folk, jazz and pop. Norwegian-American pianist and composer Ola Gjielo, one of the most frequently performed will take to the Marylebone stage in January with his distinct style of cinematic, evocative harmonious sounds

Award-winning cellist Constantin Macherel will perform in January. Marylebone Theatre has a strong Rudolf Steiner heritage, who was known not just for his plays but also his movement artform, eurythmy. Macherel will be accompanied by eurythmy performer Benjawan Boonyawat for a special and expressive evening of music and movement. Contralto Jess Dandy will bring her velvety, plangent voice in January, accompanied by pianist Dylan Perez. Dandy has previously performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dunedin Consort and The Academy of Ancient Music. Baritone Benjamin Appl will perform with pianist James Baillieu. Appl, who was a BBC New Generation Artist 2014-16, is celebrated by audiences and critics across Europe and America, and his recent highlights include Dido and Aeneas with London choral composers in the world, Philharmonic Orchestra and Schubert’s song cycles at the Armory, New York. Renowned violinist Rachel Podger will close out the music programme with her mastery of the Baroque and Classical, known for her skilled interpretations of Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Purcell and more

Marylebone Theatre’s spoken word programme will include The Soldier, an evening of the poetry of Kipling, Owen and Sassoon, performed by Olivier Award-winning actor Kenneth
Cranham (The Father, West End; Hot Fuzz, Universal; The White Princess, Starz). Steinwerk will see Marylebone Theatre become a laboratory for a sculpture of voice. Poet and artist Sean Borodale and vocalist and performance sound artist Steve Boyland will explore the voice as a sculptural medium. Alongside their installation, which will feature performances, will be an exhibition of prints drawn from a stock of vocal scores and lyrigraphs.

Audiences in need of fun and cheer in the middle of winter will enjoy some of the biggest and best upcoming names in comedy, including Ed Gamble (Pointless and Mock the Week, BBC; Taskmaster, Channel 4), known for presenting The Peacock and Gamble and Off Menu podcasts; stand-up comedian and writer Phil Wang (Would I Lie to You? and Have I Got News For You, BBC; Roast Battle, Comedy Central); Scottish comedian Fern Brady (8 Out of 10 Cats and Taskmaster, Channel 4); Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated comedian Ahir Shah (Live at the Apollo and Have I Got News For You, BBC; Dots, HBO Max); and exciting new stand-up and MC Michael May

Artistic Director of Marylebone Theatre Alexander Gifford comments, It is a great pleasure to be announcing a second season of work, which consolidates and expands upon our first. The Marylebone’s potential as a performance space will be fully explored with our upcoming programme. I am particularly pleased that we will be show-casing the beautiful movement form of eurythmy, as well as welcoming our first sculpture installation. Audiences are getting to know us as a place where they can be sure of high quality theatre and music, and it is exciting that in the New Year they will also be able to discover us as a home for dance, stand-up and the visual arts.

Further programming for Marylebone Theatre’s second season will be announced in due course.

Grand Opera House York – until Saturday 12th November 2022

Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

5*****

Based on the Roddy Doyle novel of the same name, who has also adapted this musical, and directed by Andrew Linnie, The Commitments is back on tour after its successful debut over 5 years ago. Back in York at the Grand Opera House, will it still prove to be a success?

The Commitments tells the story of “the hardest working band in the world”, put together in Dublin by Jimmy (James Killeen). He wants to create a sweet soul band, with auditions at his house, a house he shares with his Da (Nigel Pivaro, most notably known for his role in Coronation Street). The auditions are very hit and miss, but somehow, he manages to create his band of musicians and singers. What follows is a rollercoaster of a ride.

After getting drunk, at the works Christmas party, and showing off his vocal skills, there can only be one lead singer, Deco (Ian McIntosh), obnoxious that he is. Providing the backing vocals are Imelda (Ciara Mackey), Natalie (Eve Kitchingman) and Bernie (Sarah Gardiner). All three have superb, powerful voices and certainly hold their own, with some great numbers, Chain of Fools and Think amongst them.

As the story unfolds the band goes from strength to strength, as they get used to playing their respective instruments. They truly are a talented bunch of musicians, acting and singing, all whilst playing. Unfortunately, things implode with Deco’s shoddiness and attitude, he is always late for rehearsals and shows and has a complete disregard for anyone else. I enjoyed their Irish brogue.

McIntosh is magnificent as Deco, he sure can sing, I could listen to him forever, and obnoxious as his character is, I could not help but be drawn to him. Check out his Superman undies as he strips off. When the cast were performing the encore, his true personality shone through, with his cheeky grin. He has such a great stage presence, a natural born star. Another stand out for me was Ronnie Yorke as the skinhead Mickah. He was menacing as the bands bouncer and was so hyper and fired up, his energy never let up.

Everyone in the cast really looked like they were having a blast. I enjoyed their Irish accents and the vitality they portrayed. I wannabe part of the band, even though I’m completely tone deaf and can’t sing, dance or play an instrument.

The set was impressive, from Jimmy’s two storey house to Joey’s garage, where they held the rehearsals, and the bingo hall for the bands fist gig. The whole stage was utilised to the max.

By the end of the show and the finale, we were up on our feet, dancing and singing along to Mustang Sally, the fabulous song that is synonymous with the film, with even more songs to whet our appetite. When it came to the applause, it was never ending, the whole theatre erupted and just kept on going and going.

This is a fabulous show with some fabulous music and fabulous entertainers. A must see for anyone who loves that sweet soul music.