FIRST CYRANO RUSH £15 TICKETS RELEASED TODAY AT 12PM FOR
THE JAMIE LLOYD COMPANY‘SCYRANO DE BERGERAC
The first Cyrano Rush £15tickets are released at 12pm today, Monday 24 January, for The Jamie Lloyd Company’s critically acclaimed, Olivier Award-winning production of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, freely adapted by Martin Crimp, directed by Jamie Lloyd, and starring James McAvoy. The production opens at the Harold Pinter Theatre: 3 February – 12 March 2022 and Theatre Royal Glasgow: 18 – 26 March 2022,before visiting Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in New York.
Cyrano Rush, part of the company’s continued commitment to accessibility, offers £15 stall seats exclusively to under 30s, key workers and those receiving government benefits. Tickets are released every Monday at 12pm throughout the London run, and for Theatre Royal Glasgow on Monday 7 March at 12pm. Available via thejamielloydcompany.com only.
The company have 12,000 tickets priced at £15 available across the UK productions of Cyrano de Bergerac and their forthcoming production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, in a version by Anya Reiss, starring Emilia Clarke.
The cast of Cyrano de Bergerac comprises Michele Austin (Ragueneau), AdamBest (Le Bret), Sam Black (Armand), Nari Blair-Mangat (Valvert), VaneekaDadhria (Beatboxer), AdrianDerGregorian (Montfleury), Tom Edden (De Guiche), EbenFigueiredo (Christian), Jon Furlong (Annoying Person), Tazmyn-May Gebbett (Minder), Carla Harrison-Hodge (Denise), Mika Onyx Johnson (Usher), Joseph Langdon (Jean-Paul), James McAvoy (Cyrano de Bergerac), Sophie Mercell(Marie-Louise), Evelyn Miller (Roxane), NimaTaleghani (Ligniere) and Brinsley Terence (Theatre Owner).
With set and costume design by Soutra Gilmour; lighting design by Jon Clark; composition and sound by Ben and Max Ringham; fight movement by Kate Waters; casting by Stuart Burt CDG; additional movement by Polly Bennett; costume supervision by Anna Josephs; props supervision by Lily Molgaard; associate direction by Rupert Hands; assistant direction by Nari Blair-Mangat; associate design by Rachel Wingate and associate lighting design by Hector Murray.
Produced by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Gavin Kalin Productions, Glass Half Full Productions and Wessex Grove in association with Rupert Gavin/Mallory Factor.
CURVE AND BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME ANNOUNCE TOUR OF AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL
THE COLOR PURPLE
VISITING SEVEN VENUES ACROSS ENGLAND AND WALES THIS AUTUMN
Leicester’s Curve theatre and Birmingham Hippodrome have today revealed plans to tour their critically acclaimed, award-winning co-production of The Color Purplethis Autumn.
Having previously only played to UK audiences in London, Leicester and Birmingham, thanks to support from Arts Council England’s National Lottery Funding, the musical is now set to visit six new cities across England and Wales.
Co-producers Birmingham Hippodrome will open the tour from 13 to 17 September, the production will then visit Theatre Royal Plymouth (27 September to 1 October), Royal & Derngate Northampton (4 to 8 October), The Lowry in Salford (11 to 15 October), Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff (18 to 22 October), Mayflower Theatre Southampton (25 to 29 October), finishing its run at Norwich Theatre Royal (1 to 5 November). Listings and ticket information can be found below.
Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome’s co-production was originally staged in 2019 and received an incredible response from critics and audiences alike, winning the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Regional Production and earning Danielle Fiamanya The Stage Debut Award for her performance as Nettie. During lockdown in Spring 2021, Curve – in association with Birmingham Hippodrome – reunited the company to share a special digital production of the show which was streamed by over 20,000 people* in the UK and Ireland.
The production is directed by Tinuke Craig and the full cast and creative team will be announced in due course.
Speaking about the news, Curve’s Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said:
“Tinuke Craig’s exquisite production of The Color Purple goes from strength to strength and we are thrilled it will embark on a UK tour this autumn following a hugely successful run at Curve and at Birmingham Hippodrome in 2019. This marks the first time The Color Purple has toured UK venues and we are thrilled audiences across the country will be able to experience this incredible story and the power of this beautiful, life-affirming musical. Huge thanks to our friends at Theatrical Rights Worldwide and Arts Council England, who have been instrumental in making it possible for Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome to tour our award-winning, critically acclaimed production.”
Chris Sudworth, Director of Artistic Programme at Birmingham Hippodrome, said:
“After a phenomenal response from our audiences in 2019, we are delighted to be opening our exceptional co-production – made with our friends and partners at Curve – here at Birmingham Hippodrome in September. This first UK tour of The Color Purple is another step in the Hippodrome’s commitment to creating bold, relevant work at large scale that speaks to our city and the UK today.”
Peter Knott, Area Director, Arts Council England said:
“It’s fantastic that so many more people will have the opportunity to see The Color Purple when the show tours the country later this year. This National Lottery investment through the Arts Council greatly widens opportunities to see the show, and we hope as many people as possible get that chance – from Plymouth to Northampton and beyond.
“As theatres welcome audiences back through their doors this year, we are proud to champion the role creativity plays in bringing people together, boosting wellbeing and helping the country to recover.”
Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel and adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize and Tony award-winner Marsha Norman, Allee Willis, Brenda Russell and Stephen Bray, The Color Purple tells the powerful and life-affirming story of courageous heroine Celie. Abused and oppressed throughout her youth, Celie embarks on a journey through joy, despair, anguish and hope, discovering her own unique voice thanks to the incredible women in her life. From an unbreakable bond with her sister Nettie, to friendship with fiercely independent Sofia and a life-changing affair with glamorous singer Shug Avery, Celie learns to love herself.
With a profoundly evocative score by Grammy award-winners Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray and drawing inspiration from jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues, this landmark musical celebrates life, love and the strength to stand up for who you are and what you believe in.
Tickets are on sale today (Monday 24 January) to Birmingham Hippodrome Friends and on general sale at 11am Tuesday 25 January. To book tickets visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com or call 0844 338 5000*
(*calls cost 4.5p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge).
Following the successful Arcola Outside season last summer in their new purpose-built performance space, Arcola Theatre throws open the doors to their theatre for the first time since March 2020, reopening with the world première of Barney Norris’ new play We Started To Sing. The production sees Norris continue his collaboration with the venue, where Visitors – his multi-award-winning first play – and Eventide were previously staged. We Started to Sing, also directed by Norris, opens on 23 May, with previews from 19 May, and runs until 18 June, and is the first in a new season of work, with full details to be announced.
Later in the reopening season, will see the return of a body of work in Arcola Outside and Grimeborn from 1 August to 4 September featuring seven productions in Studio 1, alongside additional further plans for outside programming.
Artistic Director of Arcola Theatre, Mehmet Ergen, said today, “We are delighted to reopen our much-loved indoor space this Spring with We Started to Sing. We can’t wait to welcome audiences back to a place so many regard as home. Seven years after making his name at Arcola with Visitors and Eventide, Barney Norris’ autobiographical new play about family and memory, seems like the perfect way to bring our audiences back to celebrate our past and imagine our future together.”
Barney Norris added, “This is a play about family and home, and I am fortunate to be able to make it with the Arcola, who have made me feel part of the family ever since they let me stage my first play, Visitors, there. It was at the Arcola that I first started trying to write plays out of love, in order to connect audiences with what they love in their own lives; We Started To Sing is an attempt to come home to that idea, and welcome audiences back from the isolation of the last few years. I am happy to be home.”
STUDIO 1
ARCOLA THEATRE PRESENTS
WE STARTED TO SING
Written and Directed by BARNEY NORRIS
19 May – 18 June 2022
“I wish there could be a day where families came together and just said it all to each other. Because then everyone would know it all, and there’d be nothing left to hurt anyone.”
Sussex. London. Wiltshire. Northamptonshire. Wales. Over three decades, a family spreads across the country, and the chord they once made together starts to fray. How will the distance growing between them change the music of their lives?
Barney Norris returns to the Arcola with a brand-new play – We Started To Sing is a love song to the people who raised him, and a hymn to the bravery of our brief lives.
Barney Norris’ previous work at Arcola is Eventide (2015) and Visitors (2014) – the latter which won the Critics’ Circle Award and the Off West End Award for Most Promising Playwright. His other plays include Nightfall (Bridge Theatre), While We’re Here (Bush Theatre), Echo’s End (Salisbury Playhouse), and acclaimed adaptations of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, and Federico García Lorca’s Blood Wedding. His novels include Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain, Turning for Home, and The Vanishing Hours.
LISTINGS
WE STARTED TO SING
Arcola Theatre
24 Ashwin Street, London, E8 3DL
19 May – 18 June 2022
Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm
Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 3pm
Relaxed performances: Wednesday 8 June 2022 at 3pm and 7.30pm
Touch tour available before Wednesday 25 May 2022 at 7.30pm performance
Written by Andrew Pollard, Michael Hugo and Theresa Heskins
Directed by Theresa Heskins
Friday 10 June – Saturday 9 July 2022
New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme
Then touring summer 2022.
SENSATIONAL STORY ABOUT GREATEST ESCAPE IN WORLD WAR HISTORY
TO RECEIVE WORLD PREMIERE STAGE PRODUCTION
· Tom, Dick and Harry to be brought to the stage by the team behind the smash hit Around The World in 80 Days, directed by New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins (Olivier Award-winning The Worst Witch)
· Based on the true story behind the escape from Stalag Luft III; with a script inspired by classified documents
· Production opens in Staffordshire in June, then tours to Southampton and London
The New Vic Theatre and Kenny Wax Ltd to co-produce brand new stage play Tom, Dick and Harry this summer.
The play, an original script co-written by Andrew Pollard, Michael Hugo and Theresa Heskins inspired by top secret information that was classified in the war archives until 1972, will debunk the myths, honour the people involved and tell the true story of one of the most daring escape attempts in World War history. An incredible tale about solidarity across nations, and of an unbreakable spirit to achieve the impossible, Tom, Dick and Harry is filled with dynamic drama, humour and breathtaking theatricality.
New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins, who will direct the play, said: “It’s such an inspiring story of spirit and determination. We’ll tell it as a really dynamic, vibrant piece of theatre that celebrates the ingenuity and spirit of the escapees. The story is comic, and tragic, and an adventure, and quite thoughtful at times. I think audiences will be fascinated to learn what we discovered in the archives, which honours the memory of those involved at the same time as offering some surprising insights. And of course, we’re making it as theatre-in-the-round, which is such an engaging way to make and see a play: audiences feel so much a part of the action, which makes for a spirit of togetherness that is very much in keeping with this story about how much can be achieved when people work together.”
Co-producer Kenny Wax said: “Having worked with Theresa, Andy and Mike on ‘80 Days’ and loving the unique physicality that they brought to that fictional novel, I didn’t hesitate to jump on board when offered the opportunity to partner in the re-telling of this extraordinary true story”.
Tom, Dick and Harry will open at the New Vic from Friday 10 June to Saturday 9 July 2022, before embarking on a national tour. For more information visit newvictheatre.org.uk.
Wicked, the West End and Broadway musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, is pleased to release the first production images, by photographer Matt Crockett, of Lucie Jones (Elphaba), Ryan Reid (Fiyero), Sophie-Louise Dann (Madame Morrible) and Gary Wilmot (The Wizard)whowill lead the new London cast at the Apollo Victoria Theatre from Tuesday 1 February 2022.
They join Helen Woolf,who returns from maternity leave to continue her acclaimed performance as Glinda, Carina Gillespie (Nessarose), Nicholas McLean (Boq), Simeon Truby (Doctor Dillamond), Amy Webb (Standby for Elphaba) and Charli Baptie* (Standby for Glinda), who all continue in their starring roles.
The complete new London cast from Tuesday 1 February 2022 will be: Lucie Jones (Elphaba), Helen Woolf (Glinda), Ryan Reid (Fiyero), Sophie-Louise Dann (Madame Morrible), Gary Wilmot (The Wizard), Carina Gillespie (Nessarose), Nicholas McLean (Boq), Simeon Truby (Doctor Dillamond), Amy Webb (Standby for Elphaba), Charli Baptie* (Standby for Glinda), Yuki Abe, Kofi Aidoo-Appiah, Meg Astin, Alishia-Marie Blake, Pàje Campbell, Grace Chapman**, Michael Colbourne, Fergus Dale, Nolan Edwards, Nicola Espallardo, Danny Fogarty, Laura Harrison, Amie Hibbert, Lucie Horsfall, Samuel How, Christian Knight, Nick Len, Jasmine Leung, Rhidian Marc, PaddyJoe Martin, Jessica-Alice McCluskey, Stacey McGuire, Harry Mills, Lewis Newton, Natalie Spriggs, Samantha Thomas***, Joe Thompson-Oubari and James Titchener.
*Maternity cover for Lisa-Anne Wood. **Maternity cover for Maggie Lynne. ***Maternity cover for Joanna Sawyer. Cast subject to change.
Laura Pick (Elphaba), Sophie Evans (Glinda), Alistair Brammer (Fiyero), Kim Ismay (Madame Morrible) and Andy Hockley (The Wizard) will all play their final performances on Sunday 30 January 2022.
“One of the most successful musicals of all time” (BBC News) and already the 9th longest running musical in West End theatre history, Wicked is currently booking to Sunday 27 November 2022 and plays Tuesday-Saturday evening performances at 7.30pm with matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2.30pm. For information and tickets visit: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk
Now seen by more than 10 million people in London alone (and 60 million worldwide), “the global sensation” (Independent) is the winner of over 100 major international awards, including three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, a Grammy Award and ten theatregoer voted WhatsOnStage Awards (including ‘Best New Musical’ and three for ‘Best West End Show’).
Lucie Jones (Elphaba) is an award-winning actor and solo artist. Born in the Welsh village of Pentyrch, Lucie first came to national prominence as a finalist in ITV’s The X Factor in 2009, mentored by Dannii Minogue. Alongside her fellow contestants, she also featured in a 56-date sell-out national arena tour, The X-Factor Live, and recorded the number-one selling single You Are Not Alone. Lucie starred as ‘Jenna Hunterson’ in the UK Tour of the musical Waitress, a role she previously played in the West End where her celebrated performance won her three awards. Her acclaimed and prolific career has seen her perform all over the world in both concerts and musicals, including her 2010 West End debut as ‘Cosette’ in Les Misérables. In 2017, Lucie was invited to take part in the live televised final of Eurovision: You Decide. After subsequently winning the public vote, she went on to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev, performing her song Never Give Up On You to a global audience of over 300 million people. Her acclaimed album, Lucie Jones – Live at the Adelphi, is available on CD and all streaming formats.
Ryan Reid (Fiyero) trained at ArtsEd, graduating in 2013. He was in the original London cast of Dreamgirls, directed by Casey Nicholaw, subsequently taking over the leading role of ‘Curtis Taylor, Jr.’. Ryan’s other credits include ‘Marvin’ in Sweet Charity at the Donmar Warehouse; Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights at the King’s Cross Theatre; the original UK Tour of Shrek The Musical and Blues In The Night at the Hackney Empire.
Sophie-Louise Dann (Madame Morrible) is a two-time Olivier Award nominee. Her many starring roles in the West End include ‘Celia’ in Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s musical The Girls; ‘Paula Paxton’ in Gurinder Chadha’s Bend It Like Beckham; ‘Barbara Castle’ in Made in Dagenham, alongside Gemma Arterton, and, most recently, ‘Fergie’ in The Windsors: Endgame. She has appeared extensively at theatres and concert halls across the UK, including as ‘Madame Thénardier’ in the UK & Ireland Tour of Les Misérables, ‘Mrs. Lovett’ in Sweeney Todd (Mercury Theatre, Colchester) and ‘Widow Corney’ in Oliver! (Grange Park Opera). In Paris, she played ‘Dot’ opposite Julian Ovenden in Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George (Théâtre du Châtelet).
Gary Wilmot (The Wizard), the much-loved actor and entertainer, first came to national prominence on the popular ITV show New Faces in 1978. Over the subsequent 40+ years, his prolific career has encompassed hundreds of television appearances, with shows including Cue Gary! (ITV), Saturday Gang (LWT), Copy Cats (LWT) and Showstoppers (BBC1), and multiple stage roles, including his acclaimed West End debut in 1989 as ‘Bill Snibson’ in Me and My Girl, ‘Joe’ in Simon Callow’s production of Carmen Jones (The Old Vic) and, most recently, ‘Jethro’ in The Prince of Egypt and ‘Elisha Whitney’ in Anything Goes. His now legendary performances in pantomime at the London Palladium include Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Dick Whittington, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He has appeared on the Royal Variety Performance, been the subject of This Is Your Life (1986) and received an MBE in 2018 for services to Drama and Charity.
Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked imagines a beguiling backstory and future possibilities to the lives of L. Frank Baum’s beloved characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reveals the decisions and events that shape the destinies of two unlikely university friends on their journey to becoming Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Wickedhas music and lyrics by multi-Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy Award winner Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, The Prince of Egypt, Disney’s Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Enchanted and its forthcoming sequel Disenchanted). It is based on the bestselling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire and written by Emmy and Tony Award nominee Winnie Holzman, creator of the landmark American television series My So-Called Life. Musical staging is by Tony Award-winner Wayne Cilento with direction by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello.
Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone. Executive Producer (UK) Michael McCabe.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire is published in the UK by Headline (the book is recommended for readers aged 16+). Wicked: The Grimmerie, a behind-the-scenes look at the musical by David Cote, is published in the UK by Hyperion.
Audience Protocols
The Apollo Victoria Theatre, owned and operated by the Ambassador Theatre Group, continues to
maintain stringent public health protocols throughout the venue.
The Johnny Cash Roadshow is like watching a young Johnny Cash playing a career spanning greatest hits gig. Just the music and all the better for it!
Johnny is played by Malvern singer/songwriter Clive John who does a remarkable job, not just sounding like him but hitting his mannerisms too. This is far more than just a Cash impression though. It is obvious that Clive loves the man and the music is in his blood. In fact, Clive is a talented country performer in his own right with eight albums of his own material released. He has even won awards – which was no surprise to learn after hearing the original song which he played which sat very naturally amongst all the country classics – kudos to the man on stage!
Just like Cash’s shows, it isn’t long before “June” is introduced – played to perfection by Meghan Thomas. A very natural June, giving the show that Carter/Cash signature duet sound during Jackson as well as gorgeous backing vocals throughout. She also has her own moments to shine on several songs including Wildwood Flower, fitting given the Carter Family pedigree and heritage. Another fantastic song and a rare opportunity to hear an autoharp.
The show covers Cash’s entire output from the 50’s all the way through to his career rejuvenating American Recordings and beyond – with a rare outing of a lesser known gem from Cash’s posthumous 2014 album Out Among The Stars, the fantastic track “I Drove Her Out Of My Mind”.
The staging is perfect – a projected backdrop with photos of Johnny, June and various other well chosen images that perfectly compliment the music. This is especially poignant during songs like “Hurt” or “I Still Miss Someone” and (for instance) for adding context during the songs that are principally remembered from his prison shows.
In the unlikely event you’re not a massive Cash fan, there’s plenty for you too with many country classics that Cash also performed. The highlight for me was “On The Road Again” which is always a pleasure to hear!
It was especially nice to see The Highwaymen era represented. The track “Highwayman” from their eponymous album giving the band a chance to step forward and shine in the solo vocal duties. During this time of missing loved ones this was somehow even more emotional than during normal times. Similarly “A Thing Called Love” brought a tear to this reviewer’s eyes with all those images of Johnny and June so much in love in their heyday.
A spectacular show with sensational music and a total joy from start to finish from an absolutely stellar band on top form. I will definitely be catching them again ASAP and can’t wait! Perhaps the biggest pat on the back I can give them is on the way home I put Cash on in the car – that’s how good this show was! Do yourself a favour and catch this show.
Rigoletto is a new Opera North production this season making its debut at the Leeds Grand Theatre. Composed by Giuseppe Verdi, written by Francesco Maria Piave and based on Victor Hugo’s Le Roi s’amuse, is a curse triggered tragedy which explores moral corruption, abuse of power, complex relationships, test of loyalties and the desires to protect and avenge. The opera’s characters and attitudes remind and resonate some of the composer’s other operas such as Othello and Macbeth and also Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
Directed by Femi Elufowoju jr this production touches on the traditional and the contemporary and the exclusive and the inclusive with some African, European, and Worldwide cultural themes. The director ensures that the opera is relevant today with some familiarities in its costumes and sets. The audience can engage how parallel the themes are in today’s society, particularly among the rich and ruling elite and how sadly the themes of tragedy, corruption, abuse of power and trust and misunderstood relationships can lead to devastating consequences and repercussions.
The opera is centred around three characters, Duke of Mantua (Roman Arndt), Rigoletto (Eric Greene) and Rigoletto’s daughter, Gilda (Jasmine Habersham), with the influential appearance of Count Monterone (Sir Willard White) who curses both the Duke and Rigoletto for their behaviour. The opera unravels secrecy, complicated relationships, abuse, revenge, sacrifice, and tragedy. The opera does not end well as fulfilled by Monterone’s curse. The three act opera projects Rigoletto well and how his actions make him the unfortunate and a powerless victim of the ruling class and elite.
Excellent performance by Arndt, Greene, Habersham and White whose excellent portrayals musically project their characters well. They are supported by a strong and talented chorus and the company who play the other characters that depict the story and themes under the choreography of Laïla Diallo. La donne è mobile is a familiar aria which many would recognise its melody in some other 19th Century Italian operas.
Rae Smith’s staging, supported by Howard Hudson’s lighting, works well with the story with a combination of the traditional and modern. This ensures there is a deeper understanding and appreciation for the characters and exploration of key themes. Verdi’s musical composition explores realities and expresses what matters in Rigoletto.
An excellent highly content production fit for the modern day as well as when it was first performed in 1851
An unforgettable evening, celebrating the music of George Michael.
This outstanding show comes to The Majestic theatre for one night only on Thursday 10th February 2022.
Steve Mitchell brings you – ‘George Michael Live’. The joyous show celebrates the music of one of the most iconic and best singer songwriters of all time, the incredible George Michael.
This ultimate tribute is a heartfelt and authentic tribute that takes audiences on a musical journey of George’s greatest hits and high energy Wham tracks. The show is based on George’s 25 Live tour and audiences are treated to stunning musical arrangements and exciting versions of songs such as Fastlove, Faith, Careless Whisper, Outside, Freedom and many more……
For more information on George Michael Live, check out the following website / social media links:
Part of Arrows & Traps new rep season, The Dyer’s Hand, Holst: The Music in the Spheres is a soulful wonder. Gustav Holst’s life and struggle to write the Planets Suite would make an interesting enough straightforward story, but writer and director Ross McGregor interweaves this masterfully with Holst’s efforts to open his pupil Cecilia Payne’s mind to the importance of art, creating an intricate and inspiring production.
Designer Odin Corie, Jonathan Simpson (lighting) and Douglas Baker (video) have created a deceptively simple set with sheer screens which double up to provide atmospheric separation of characters and as silent movie style title cards clarifying when and where the scene is taking place.
Holst’s domineering father looms large as Holst’s neuritis prevents him from becoming a pianist. His traditionalist opinions belittle Gustav’s early attempts at composition, but Holst is driven by his need to create music. As his history is revealed in flashbacks, Holst’s gentle but persistent teaching allows Cecilia to open up and their mutual respect and relationship is portrayed beautifully by Toby Wynn-Davies and Laurel Marks. The quiet dignity and understatement of their performances is remarkable, portraying their pain and joy effortlessly. Cornelia Baumann, Lucy Ioannou, Edward Spence, Alex Stevens provide expert support in various roles. Lucy Ioannou’s prim headteacher (straight out of a Victoria Wood sketch – she’s that good) turning into a giggling fangirl when she meets the uber-confident Vaughan Williams (Edward Spence) just one highlight.
It wouldn’t be an Arrows & Traps production without some choreographed sequences from movement director Will Pinchin, and they fit perfectly in this story, with figures from Holst’s past moving around him and sapping his confidence as he conducts Mars and breaks down, to the joyful memories evoked as he conducts triumphantly in the final scene. Thoughtful, clever and beautiful – a scintillating return to live theatre from Arrows & Traps
SplitLip’s comedy musical about one of the most insane WW2 operations is a triumph. Operation Mincemeat was a deception to convince German command that the Allied invasion would be centred on Sardinia rather than Sicily. The genius/gruesome plan devised by British intelligence involved planting fake papers about a Sardinian invasion force on a corpse that would wash up on a beach in Spain for Spanish officials and German operatives to find. The story has been portrayed in the frankly po-faced film “The Man Who Never Was” and a new film is released this year – although after seeing this production, Colin Firth has a lot to live up to.
With a minimal set – basically a bank of telephones, some multipurpose cabinets and a moveable door, director Donnacadh O’Briain takes us from London offices to nightclubs, to Southern Spain and a submarine as the bonkers plot unfolds – it all has a Comic Strip Presents feel, but with a much warmer heart.
It is impossible to talk about the plan seriously, and SplitLip go straight for the comedy jugular, with most of the intelligence officers acting as if they are still in the common room of a public school and utterly convinced of their superiority. A few topical jokes are thrown in about drinks at number 10, but the depressingly familiar parallels are not over emphasised. One of the intelligence men is Ian Fleming, providing a lovely running joke as his colleagues tell him how terrible his writing is. As the man child behaviour carries on, the women in the office sing a fabulous Beyonce style number about the opportunities the war has given them. The efforts to find a suitable corpse and to provide a credible life story and paper trail are fascinating and very, very funny, especially when Jak Malone’s kinky coroner is onstage. It’s not all plain sailing, with a possible double agent, some bizarre coincidences and shoddy preparation creating jeopardy and comedy gold.
Natasha Hodgson has a ball playing Ewen Montagu as a complete chancer leading the man with the plan, meek outsider Charles Cholmondeley, astray. David Cumming is wonderfully awkward as Charles and Claire-Marie Hall is a joy as secretary Jean Leslie – the plucky gal role if this was a 1950s film, but here a fully rounded young woman relishing being valued for her ideas. Zoe Roberts is deliciously daft as our hapless man in Spain, and is also the calm, mature axis of the show as Johnny Bevan, watching the antics of his men with increasing frustration and disbelief. Jak Malone’s beautifully judged portrayal of Hester Leggett creates one of the most moving moments in the show as Hester sings about what should be included in love letters to the dead airman.
SplitLip’s lyrics are fast and funny, cramming more laughs into one song than some productions manage in an entire show, and covering a wide range of musical styles, with Jenny Arnold’s inspired choreography adding to the hilarity – you’ve never seen Nazi’s move like this. Amongst the hilarity are poignant reminders of the seriousness and human cost of the mission – switching mid-song between debauched scenes in a London nightclub and the quiet tension of the submarine crew as explosions rock the vessel. The mission ends with a glitzy finale, but then the show ends with a quiet but stirring tribute to the man who never was – Glyndwr Michael.
Like its inspiration, this musical straddles the line between genius and madness. Operation Mincemeat is warm, funny and unforgettable – crying out for a West End run.
