Theatre on the River presents the world premiere of Toy Soldier with Helen Goodman and Joseph Dewey making their writing collaboration debut, the play opens at the Waterloo East Theatre on 22 January with previews from the 21st and runs until 2 February. Making her London directorial debut, HelenGoodman directs Lucy Bromilow playing Jane, Nico Conde playing Alejo, Spin Glancy playing Mark and Michael Tantrum playing Billy.
This new play is set against the backdrop of the 1982 battle for the Falklands, exploring a family struggling to ensure their own survival during the 10-week conflict.
Theatre On The River Presents
TOY SOLDIER
By Joseph Dewey and Helen Goodman
Director, Helen Goodman, Lighting Designer, Vittorio Verta.
21 January – 2 February
The Falkland Islands, July 2002. Jane has been keeping a secret for 20 years, and amidst the grip of patriotism as the islanders celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, Jane returns to pack up the family home following the death of her mother.
Jane takes the audience on a journey through the Falklands conflict of 1982, which she shared with her younger brother, where isolation and fear became the daily norm.
Toy Soldier is a play about family and survival set against the backdrop of one of the most harrowing conflicts in modern history.
Cast: Lucy Bromilow, Nico Conde, Spin Glancy and Michael Tantrum
Helen Goodman is the founder of Theatre on the River who previously held a three-month residency as Assistant Director in Residence at Rugby School’s Macready Theatre. also worked extensively as a freelance peripatetic Speech and Drama instructor in many of London’s leading senior and preparatory schools.
Joseph Dewey is a writer/director/actor, his actor credits include Wings for Philomel (The Southwark Playhouse), In The Eyes Of My Heart (The Stockwell Playhouse). For film his credits include Turn Back, Danny Boy, Alice In Underland: Through The Looking Glass and Jessia Jones. Joseph is also an Award Winning Director having recently won Best Director of a Feature Fashion Film at the Cinemoi Fashion Film Awards for his directorial debut Pink Feathers (Amazon Prime).
Nico Conde plays Alejo. His theatre credits include Steve (The Seven Dials Playhouse), West Side Story, Les Miserables (St Marys Theatre). His international theatre credits include Romeo y Julieta, Aladdin and Transitos. For television his credits include Westworld, El Inocente, Loco por ti, Warrior nun; for film, his credits include Avellaneda’s Moon, Chic & Chambray, Joaquin, Desayuno para Tres.
Lucy Bromilow plays Jane. Her stage credits include The Independent Socialist Republic of the Upper End of the Lower Breck Road (Royal Court Liverpool), Unsettled (Stockroom), Watch on the Rhine (Donmar Warehouse), Karaoke Play (Bunker Theatre), Too Many Men (The Seven Dials Playhouse), Anna of the Five Towns (New Vic Theatre). For television, her credits include Malpractice and for film, Adventures or a Mathematician.
Spin Glancy plays Mark. His theatre credits include Forty Years On (Chichester Festival Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night (Petersfield Shakespeare Festival).
Michael Tantrum plays Billy. His film credits include Wonder Woman.
Daniel Schumann and Lee Dean today announce the world première of By Royal Appointment – the debut play of Daisy Goodwin, creator of hit ITV historical drama Victoria – directed by Dominic Dromgoole.
Starring Anne Reid and Caroline Quentin this new play explores the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II (Reid) and her Dresser (Quentin) and how the pair created the public image of the world’s longest reigning monarch.
By Royal Appointment opens at Theatre Royal Bath on 5 June and runs until 14 June before touring to Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, Malvern Festival Theatre, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton and Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford.
Further casting and venues to be announced shortly.
Daniel Schumann and Lee Dean present
BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT
By Daisy Goodwin
Directed by: Dominic Dromgoole;Designer: Jonathan Fensom
The late Queen Elizabeth II was famous for her discretion. She never said anything in public that could ruffle the lightest of feathers. But she had one way of expressing what she really thought – through her wardrobe.
By Royal Appointment is a funny, poignant and celebratory new play about the kind of power that only a Queen can wield – she charms the world through coats and admonishes her family through a carefully chosen hat. But the Queen herself is uninterested in fashion, her look is managed by her Designer, her Milliner and most powerful of all, her Dresser who was a working-class girl who goes from advising the Queen on the colour of her lipsticks to the real power behind the throne. But the Dresser, like all royal favourites is living on borrowed time.
By Royal Appointment is a behind the scenes peek into the world of our most popular monarch and the image she presented to the world.
Starring national treasure Anne Reid as The Queen and star of stage and screen Caroline Quentin as The Dresser. The play is written by Daisy Goodwin who created the hit ITV series Victoria, and directed by former Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe, Dominic Dromgoole.
By Royal Appointment is Daisy Goodwin’s debut play. For television, her writing credits include ITV historical drama series Victoria. Her novels include The Last Duchess, The Fortune Hunter, The American Heiress, Victoria and Diva, she has curated eight poetry anthologies. Also, as a producer, her many credits include Grand Designs and Escape to the Country.
Veteran of the stage and screen, Anne Reid plays The Queen. For theatre, her credits include Marjorie Prime (Menier Chocolate Factory), A Woman of No Importance (Vaudeville Theatre), Fracked!, Out of this World (Chichester Festival Theatre), Hedda Gabler (The Old Vic), Dimetos (Donmar Warehouse), Happy Now?, Wild Oats (National Theatre), Into the Woods (Royal Opera House), The Epitaph of George Dillon (Comedy Theatre), The York Realist (Royal Court) and A Family Affair (Theatre Royal Bath). For television her extensive credits include The Sixth Commandment, Sanditon, Years & Years, Hold the Sunset, Last Tango in Halifax, Our Zoo, The Last Witch, Upstairs Downstairs, Marchlands, Moving On, Five Days, Ladies of Letters, In Love with Barbara, Shameless, Affinity, The Bad Mother’s Handbook, Doctor Who, Jane Eyre, Bleak House, Life Begins, Dinnerladies, Sweet Charity and Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV; and for film, SAS Red Notice, Aeronauts, The Nest, The Snowman, Romans, Kaleidoscope, Believe, Foster, Cemetery Junction, Faintheart, Savage Grace, Hot Fuzz, Little Trip to Heaven, and The Mother (Critics’ Circle Award for British Actress of the Year).
Caroline Quentin plays The Dresser. Her stage credits include Jack Absolute Flies Again, The London Cuckolds (National Theatre), Mrs Warren’s Profession (UK tour), The Provoked Wife (RSC), Me and My Girl (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Hypocrite (Hull Truck, RSC), The Life and Times of Fanny Hill (Bristol Old Vic), Relative Values (Theatre Royal Bath), Oh! What A Lovely War (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Terrible Advice (Menier Chocolate Factory) and Life After Scandal (Hampstead Theatre). Her television credits include Extinction, Bridgerton, The Other One, Doc Martin, Dickensian, Cockroaches, Big And World, Sooty, Dancing On The Edge, Extreme, Little Crackers, Switch, Dead Boss, In Love with Wilde, Life of Riley, Just William, Blue Murder, Humf, Life Begins, Little Briain, Footprints in the Snow, Von Trapped, Blood Strangers, Hot Money, Goodbye Mr. Steadman, Kiss Me Kate, The Innocent, Jonathan Creek, The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything, Men Behaving Badly, Entertainment Cops, All Or Nothing At All, Paul Merton: The Series, Don’t Tell Father, Mr Bean, Harry Enfield’s Television Programme, Hale and Pace, One on Two, Shadow of the Noose, This Is David Lander, The Nihilists Double Vision, Up Line, Dream Stuffing, Video Stars, The Squad and The Other ‘Arf. Her film credits include Love me Tender. As a presenter, her world’s Ugliest Pets, Caroline Quentin’s National Parks, Cornwall with Caroline Quentin, A Passage Through India.
Dominic Dromgoole directs. He launched a new theatre company, Classic Spring, which produced a year-long celebration of Oscar Wilde in 2017/18 directing the first play in the season, A Woman of No Importance, at the Vaudeville Theatre.Dromgoole was Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe from 2006 to 2016. In that time the Globe grew into an international theatre of progressive ambition and radical scope. Amongst other projects, he created a UK-wide touring operation and grew this touring internationally, culminating in a two-year tour of Hamlet which travelled to every country in the world. In 2012, he directed the Globe to Globe Festival, which hosted companies from 37 different countries. He was previously Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre – during his tenure between 1990-1996 he nurtured upcoming talents by premiering 65 new plays from a host of now influential writers such as Billy Roche, Irvine Welsh and Naomi Wallace. He then moved onto the Oxford Stage Company which he ran from 1999 to 2005. He launched a new film company, Open Palm Films, and made his first feature, Making Noise Quietly, in the summer of 2016. The film, released by an adaptation of Robert Holman’s play of the same name, starred Deborah Findlay, Barbara Marten, Trystan Gravelle and Matthew Tennyson, and was released by Verve in 2019. He is the author of the recently published Astonish Me! First Nights That Changed the World as well as Hamlet: Globe to Globe, The Full Room: An A-Z of Contemporary Playwriting and Will and Me: How Shakespeare Took Over My Life, which won the inaugural Sheridan Morley award.
York Theatre Royal today announces the world premiere of Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s The Psychic opening at York Theatre Royal in 2026. Following the success of Ghost Stories, Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman reunite for this brand-new production – opening on 6 May 2026, with previews from 29 April 2026, and running until 23 May 2026.
Creators Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, said today, “We are so thrilled to have the world premiere of our new play at York Theatre Royal and to be part of their exciting next chapter. We cannot wait to unleash The Psychic at this remarkable venue.”
Paul Crewes, Chief Executive at York Theatre Royaladded, “We are very proud to be producing the world premiere of The Psychic here at York Theatre Royal. Andy and Jeremy have created this wonderful edge-of-your-seat script that we can’t wait to bring to life on our stage in 2026.”
The Psychic adds to York Theatre Royal’s impressive list of produced and co-produced work on its main stage in the next year. The 2025 season includes their co-production with Wise Children of North by Northwest and Gary Oldman’s return to York Theatre Royal in Krapp’s Last Tape.
Tickets for The Psychic go on sale to York Theatre Royal members on Friday 10 January at 1pm; with public on sale from Wednesday 15 January at 1pm.
Popular TV psychic Sheila Gold loses a high-profile court case, which brands her a charlatan. It costs her not only her reputation, but a fortune in legal fees. When a wealthy couple ask Sheila to conduct a séance to attempt to make contact with their late child, Sheila senses an opportunity to bleed them for money. What follows makes her question everything she’s ever believed and leads her on a journey into the darkest corners of her life.
This twisted new thriller from the creators of the international smash hit Ghost Stories, brings thrills, laughs and shocks back to the stage – in the World Premiere of this electrifying and unmissable play.
Jeremy Dyson is an award-winning writer and director.His writing credits for theatre include Ghost Stories (Lyric Hammersmith, nominated for Olivier Award for Best Entertainment), The League of Gentlemen are Behind You (UK tour), The League of Gentlemen: A Local Show for Local People (UK tour, Theatre Royal Drury Lane – nominated for Olivier Award for Best Entertainment) and The League of Gentlemen. His co-writing credits for television includePsychobitches (winner of the Rose d’Or for Best TV Comedy and nominated for two British Comedy Awards), The Armstrong & Miller Show (winner of the BAFTA Award for Best Comedy), Billy Goat, Funland (nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Serial), The League of Gentlemen (winner of the BAFTA Award for Best Comedy, Golden Rose of Montreux and RTS Award for Best Entertainment). His co-writing credits for film include Ghost Stories and The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse.
Andy Nyman is an award-winning actor, director and writer who has earned acclaim from both critics and audiences for his work in theatre, film and television. As an actor, his theatre work includes The Producers, Assassins (Menier Chocolate Factory), Fiddler on theRoof (Menier Chocolate Factory and Playhouse Theatre – Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical), Abigail’s Party (Menier Chocolate Factory and Wyndham’s Theatre), Hello, Dolly! (The London Palladium), Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen (Wyndham’s Theatre/Broadway), and the original production of Ghost Stories (Duke of York’s Theatre/Arts Theatre) which he starred in, co-wrote and co-directed with Jeremy Dyson – later adapted into a film, in which he also starred. His extensive television credits include Lockerbie, Wanderlust, The Eichmann Show, Campus, DeadSet as well as his highly acclaimed performance as Winston Churchill in Peaky Blinders. Nyman’s extensive film credits include Jungle Cruise, Judy, The Commuter, Death at a Funeral, Kick-Ass2, Black Death, The Brother’s Bloom, Severance and Shut Up & Shoot Me, for which he won the Best Actor award at the Cherbourg Film Festival in 2006. In addition, he has collaborated with Derren Brown for almost 20 years, co-writing and co-creating much of Brown’s early TV work. He has also co-written and directed Brown’s stage shows, winning the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment for Derren Brown – Something Wicked This Way Comes and a New York Drama Desk Award for Best Unique Theatrical Event 2017 for Derren Brown – Secret.
YORK THEATRE ROYAL
LISTINGS St Leonard’s Place, York YO1 7HD
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
York Theatre Royal
18 March – 5 April 2025
THE STORM WHALE
15 – 19 April 2025
KRAPP’S LAST TAPE
14 April – Sat 17 May 2025
HIS LAST REPORT
19 July – 3 August 2025
SLEEPING BEAUTY
2 December 2025 – 4 January 2026
THE PSYCHIC 29 April – 23 May 2026 Tickets from £15
Post Show Discussion Friday 08 May at 7:30pm BSL Interpreted performance Friday 15 May at 7:30pm Audio Described performance Saturday 16 May at 2:30pm Captioned performance Saturday 23 May at 2:30pm
SHEFFIELD THEATRES ANNOUNCES JOANNA VANDERHAM AS BLANCHE DUBOIS AND A FIRST LOOK AT NEW ARTWORK FOR
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Director Josh Seymour
Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Saturday 1 – Saturday 29 March 2025
Sheffield Theatres today announces Joanna Vanderham (Double Feature, Richard III, Crime for Britbox, The Runaway for Sky) as Blanche DuBois with a first look at new artwork for their upcoming production of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire.
The new production of the award-winning play will be directed by Josh Seymour (Spend, Spend, Spend) and runs fromSaturday 1 – Saturday 29 March 2025, with further casting and full creative team to be announced.
“How strange that I should be called a destitute woman! When I have all of these treasures locked in my heart.”
In the sultry back streets of 1940s New Orleans, fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois seeks solace with her estranged sister Stella.
Blanche’s delicate sensibilities create instant suspicion in Stella’s unrestrained husband Stanley, as they collide in a struggle for Stella’s heart. As their simmering feud escalates, past truths begin to surface and both sisters must choose between fantasy and reality.
Passions ignite and illusions are shattered in Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play.
Tickets for A Streetcar Named Desire are on sale now. Tickets can be booked through the Box Office in person, over the phone on 0114 249 6000 or at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.
New musical from Tina Treadwell, producer of the West End hit The Drifters Girl
Tina Treadwell (The Drifters Girl), Kenny D’Aquila, Totus Tuus Family Trust and Treadwell Entertainment Group present
Charlie McCullagh, Chelsea Halfpenny and Daniele Alan-Carter head the cast for the UK premiere showcase of the new romantic comedy musical IF I HAD YOU Music By Joel Spineti Book & Lyrics Kenny D’Aquila
Charlie McCullagh, Chelsea Halfpenny, Daniele Alan-Carter
Charlie McCullagh (42 Balloons, Jesus Christ Superstar), Chelsea Halfpenny (Waitress, 9-5: The Musical) and Daniele Alan-Carter (Dance of the Vampires, Oh What A Night!) are to lead the cast for two showcase performances of the new romantic comedy musical If I Had You at The Actors’ Church, Covent Garden on Monday 27 January at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.
The rest of the cast includes: Dante Palminteri (Brunettes), Emma Kingston (The Band’s Visit), Gabriella Palminteri (New World Comin’), Alison Jiear (Jerry Springer the Opera – Olivier Award nomination Best Actress in a Musical), Maggie Lynne (Wicked), Sue Kelvin (Wicked), Sebastian Torkia (A Chorus Line), Simone Pavesio, Max Rizzo (Starlight Express), Gabriel Constantin (The Tattooist of Auschwitz), Mia Raggio (The Sound of Music), Hubert Hogarth (The Wizard of Oz), Faith Delaney (Stranger Things – The First Shadow), Dexter Pulling (Les Miserables).
The showcase is being produced by Tina Treadwell (co-producer of the West End hit The Drifters Girl), Kenny D’Aquila, Totus Tuus Family Trust and Treadwell Entertainment Group.
If I Had You is a story of love, loss and hope set in the eternal city of Rome as one man’s heart takes him on the journey of a lifetime. It is a fantastical story that shows that love never goes away even though the years have.
This is a semi-staged scripts-in-hand workshop.
Age Guidance: Suitable for anyone aged 12+ Running Time: 140 minutes Interval: 20 minutes
Creative team Music: Joel Spineti Book & Lyrics: Kenny D’Aquila Producers: Tina Treadwell, Kenny D’Aquila Executive Producers: Totus Tuus Family Trust, Treadwell Entertainment Group Casting: Debbie O’Brien Casting General Management: Thomas Hopkins Productions
Kenny D’Aquila (Book & Lyrics, Producer) made his mark as Grantaire in the critically acclaimed production of Les Miserables directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles. Later, D’Aquila was featured as Grantaire in the International Cast Album with the London Philharmonic. As a writer, D’Aquila’s first play, Uptown, opened in Los Angeles and won eight Drama- Logue Awards including Best New Play. His second play, Unorganized Crime, caught the eye of Oscar nominee Chazz Palminteri who went on to perform the play with Kenny at the Elephant Theatre in Los Angeles. D’Aquila then partnered with composer Joel Spineti to write Bats On The Moon, a new musical that follows the trials and tribulations of Richard Locke, a writer from the UK who created the great moon hoax in 1835. Bats On The Moon was one of six new musicals presented at the 2023 Florida Festivals of New Musicals.
Joel Spineti (Composer) is an American composer, music director and music educator who has travelled extensively throughout the United States as music director/performer for the national tours of Oil City Symphony, Forever Plaid and Pump Boys and Dinettes. He has served as musical director and conductor for over 30 regional musical productions. Spineti’s editors’ choice concert band compositions are available by international publishers, Alfred Music and the FJH Music Company Inc. In his capacity as educator, Spineti has travelled to X’ian, China and Limassol, Cyprus to coach and direct multiple musical theatre productions. If I Had You marks the third collaboration with longtime friend and award-winning playwright, Kenny D’Aquila. Previous works include Bats On The Moon (the story of London author Richard Locke) featured at the Winter Park Playhouse Festival of New Musicals and In The Key of Dee.
Tina Treadwell (Producer) is a celebrated talent manager, casting executive and theatre and Film producer. As president of Treadwell Entertainment Group, Ms Treadwell, with business partner Kim Rena Coleman, develops and manages the careers of acting, music and literary talent, including If I Had You playwright Kenny D’Aquila. As the former VP of Talent and Music Specials at Disney Channel, Ms. Treadwell oversaw the casting of series and movies and was the creative executive behind Disney’s In Concert Series, which helped launch the careers of Britney Spears, LeAnn Rimes, Backstreet Boys and most notably NSYNC. A graduate of Princeton, Tina is proud to have collaborated with West End producer Michael Harrison on the Olivier Award-nominated production of The Drifters Girl at the Garrick Theatre. She also enjoys a successful partnership with producer/artist, Navi, with whom she co-manages The Drifters
Greg Blanchard (Executive Producer) is Executive Producer of Totus Tuss Trustee. Blanchard enjoyed a highly successful modeling and acting career which included playing the role of Enjolras in the Los Angeles production of Les Miserables at the Shubert Theatre, where his friendship with Kenny D’Aquila began over 30 years ago. After acting, Greg added to his impressive resume, building businesses as an entrepreneur whose focus is on health and assisting humanity.
Thursday 9 January: Producers John Berry and Anthony Lilley of Scenario Two and Suzie Henderson and Helen Redcliffe of Storyhouse are delighted to today announce the full cast for The Parent Agency – The Musical. This brand new musical adapted by comedian and author David Baddiel from his best-selling book with music and additional lyrics by the composer of Everybody’s Talking about Jamie’s Dan Gillespie Sells, will receive its world premiere at Storyhouse Chester on Saturday 15 February 2025, where it will be playing for two weeks until Sunday 2 March 2025. Before a planned national tour and London run.
Max Bispham (Les Miserables, Mrs Doubtfire), Osian Salter (Les Miserables, The Osmonds a New Musical), Eli Sowden-Mehta (Wonka, Blitz, Wicked) and Louis Wilkins (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) will share the role of Barry.
Rebecca McKinnis (Dear Evan Hansen, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) will play Susan and Rakesh Boury (Matilda, The Creakers) will play Geoff.
Completing the cast are Kazmin Borrer (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), Elliot Broadfoot (Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder), Natasha Cayabyab (Shrek the Musical), Dylan Collymore (Shrek The Musical), Sarah McFarlane (SIX), Joshian Angelo Omaña (Why Am I So Single?) Alan Vicary (Girl From The North Country), Ralph Birthwell (Life of Pi), Althea Burey (The Gruffalo), Elliot Copeland (Becoming Nancy), Jessica Daugirda (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), Sophia Lewis (Around The World in 80 Days) and Robbie Scott (Sunshine on Leith).
The Parent Agency – The Musical will appeal to anyone who is, or has been, a child. And also, to anyone who is, or has had, at least one parent. And definitely, to anyone who wishes they weren’t called Barry.
Eleven-year-old Barry Bennett hates his name. In fact, it’s number one on the list of things he blames his parents (Susan and Geoff) for along with “being boring, never buying him cool stuff, being tired all the time and being too strict”. So, he makes a wish for a better mum and dad and finds himself whisked away to Youngdon in the ‘United Kid-dom’, an alternate universe where kids get to pick out their perfect parents with the assistance of the staff of the eponymous Parent Agency.
For Barry, this seems like a dream come true, although he soon learns that choosing a new mum and dad isn’t as simple as it sounds…
David Baddiel’s books have achieved exceptional success and been translated into 30 languages. His children’s books have received huge critical acclaim and won some of children’s literature’s highest accolades including the inaugural Laugh Out Loud Award, for The Parent Agency.
Dan Gillespie-Sells, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of The Feeling, has enjoyed widespread critical acclaim for his work in musical theatre. He composed the music for the hit West End musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, which received multiple Olivier Award nominations, toured internationally and was adapted in to an Amazon Original Film. Dan’s work has earned him an Ivor Novello Award, Olivier, BAFTA and BRIT nominations, and he was named Stonewall’s Entertainer of the Decade in 2015 for his contributions to the LGBT community.
Joining David and Dan on the creative team are director Tim Jackson (Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York), Merrily We Roll Along), designer Jon Bausor (Spirited Away, Bat Out of Hell), choreographer Carrie-Anne Ingrouille (SIX, Dear Evan Hansen), costume designer Sarah Mercadé (Jesus Christ Superstar, 101 Dalmatians, The Spongebob Musical), lighting designer Zoe Spurr (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World, Bonnie & Clyde) and Assistant Director Francesca Hsieh (VANYA),with Music Supervisor Nick Finlow (Back to The Future, The Book of Mormon), Music Director Ellen Campbell (Waitress, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Sound Designer Paul Gatehouse (Mary Poppins, The Little Big Things), Associate Sound Designer Richard Jones, Wig, Hair and Make-Up Designer Craig Forrest-Thomas (Mrs Doubtfire, Buyer & Cellar). Casting Director Olivia Laydon CDG for Jill Green Casting and Children’s Casting by Amy Beadel CDG for Grindrod Burton Casting.
WhatsOnStage today announce that Gina and Mazz Murray will co-host the 25th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards in association with AudienceView – the only major theatre prize giving decided by the theatregoers themselves – on 9 February 2025 at The London Palladium.
Both have some major theatre credits to their names: Gina Murray‘s stage credits include Chicago, Fame, The Roy Orbison Story (all in the West End) as well as Hairspray on tour, while on screen she has appeared in The Hunt for Raoul Moat, and Sorted.
Meanwhile, Mazz Murray is currently portraying Donna Sheridan in the West End production of Mamma Mia!, with other West End credits including We Will Rock You, Chicago and Fame. Her television credits include EastEnders and The Quest.
The hit revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Expressleads nominations this year with nine nods including Best Musical Revival, Best Supporting Performer in a Musical for Jaydon Vijn, Best Professional Debut for Jeevan Braich, Best Set Design (Tim Hatley), Best Lighting Design (Howard Hudson), Best Sound Design (Gareth Owen), Best Video Design (Andrzej Goulding), Best Costume Design (Gabriella Slade) and a nomination for Jackie Saundercock and Campbell Young Associates in the new category for Best Wigs Hair and Make-up Design. Also featuring strongly in the Musical Theatre categories are The Artist at Theatre Royal Plymouth with six nominations and Oliver! at Chichester Festival Theatre with five nominations.
Leading the straight play categories with six nominations is the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Macbeth starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo, currently running at the Harold Pinter Theatre, with both lead actors nominated for Best Performer in a Play alongside nominations for Best Play Revival, Best Sound Design (Gareth Fry), Best Musical Direction/ Supervision (Alasdair Macrae) and Best Casting (Anna Cooper). In terms of straight plays Spirited Away closely follows with five nominations.
In addition to seeing winners crowned across a range of categories, theatregoers will also enjoy a host of exclusive live performances from top stage talent, accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra in a one-night-only showcase co-produced with creative directors Alex Parker and Damian Sandys.
WhatsOnStage would like to take this opportunity to thank the 2025 awards ceremony sponsors: 5RB, Above Title Finance, AKA Promotions Ltd, AudienceView, Avalon, Boulevard Events, Concord, Dewynters, Disney’s Hercules, Edwardian Hotels, Hexagon Print, Go Live Theatre Projects, LOVEtheatre, Music Theatre International, Newman Displays, Outernet Venues, Preevue, PRG, Re:Water, RSVP-ify, SINE Digital, Steeldeck Rentals, Tandem Marketing, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Ticketmaster, TikTok, Travelzoo and White Light.
Cast Announced for Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s National Tour of Moira Buffini’s Handbagged as part of National Theatre’s Theatre Nation Partnerships network
Moira Buffini’s fly-on-the-wall comedy about Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher has been reimagined with music featuring reworkings of 80s pop classics
Casting includes Emma Ernest (Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare’s Globe)and Morag Cross (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Palace Theatre) as Margaret Thatcher and Helen Reuben (Cabaret, English Theatre Frankfurt) and Sarah Moyle (BBC’s Doctors) as Queen Elizabeth II
A reimagined revival of Moira Buffini’s comedy Handbagged will tour across England from February to May produced by Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch in partnership with the National Theatre. The England-wide tour is part of the Theatre Nation Partnerships network which is led by the National Theatre and aims to support regional arts organisations in strengthening their relationships with local audiences, communities and schools.
Imagining the conversations between two of history’s most revered female leaders, Handbagged is a fly-on-the-wall look at what might have happened when Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher came face-to-face in the privacy of the palace. Directed by Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s Alex Thorpe, this fresh interpretation of the play will feature new music composed for the show, a cappella singing, and remixed pop classics of the iconic era. A clever and fiercely funny comedy, Handbagged explores the intense relationship that two female powerhouses formed over a decade, and the legacy they each left behind.
Casting for Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth II includes, as ‘Mags’, Emma Ernest who has previously appeared as Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe, 2024), and portraying ‘Liz’, Helen Reuben after previously playing Sally Bowles in Cabaret (English Theatre Frankfurt, 2019) and the title role in Pictures of Dorian Gray (Jermyn Street Theatre, 2019). Appearing as ‘T’ and ‘Q’, the older versions of the main characters, are Morag Cross who previously appeared in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Palace Theatre, 2016, 2018 & 2022) and Sarah Moyle best known for playing the much-loved series regular ‘Valerie’ in BBC’s Doctors. Further casting includes Cassius Konneh and Gerard McDermott who will multirole the 17 other characters in the play. Completing the ensemble is Tiajna Amayo and Jane Quinn.
Director Alex Thorpe said, “I am thrilled to welcome this multi-talented cast to Hornchurch as we prepare to embark on the most ambitious TNP tour to date. As we reexamine these fierce and famed women, joining this ensemble company is some of the UK’s most exciting creative talents, realising Moira Buffini’s satirically funny comedy. Performed on Katie Lias’ golden contemporary set and propelled by Kate Marlais’s reworking of 80’s pop classics and the award-winning Ryan Day’s lighting – this truly extraordinary team is not to be missed.”
Theatre Nation Partnerships is a collaboration between 13 partners across 14 areas, combining local expertise with nationally-delivered activity to build and sustain audiences for theatre across England.
Activity includes touring to local venues and into schools, participatory opportunities and in-depth engagement with community groups.
Between 2022 to 2025, the network’s focus is on welcoming new audiences to theatre and creating more opportunities for people to engage, supporting the long-term health of local theatre audiences. The Theatre Nation Partnerships network will reach 500,000 targeted audiences, young people, and community groups over this three-year period.
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is a vibrant producing theatre, working in Outer East London, Essex and beyond. As a cultural hub, over 210,000 people enjoy the programme each year. Audiences are guaranteed a warm welcome from a three-year winner of UK Theatre’s Most Welcoming Theatre (2016 – 2018) and London Theatre of the Year 2020 (The Stage Awards), the first Outer London theatre to receive this prestigious award.
Suitable for ages 10+
Company information
Playwright Moira Buffini Director Alex Thorpe
Designer Katie Lias Lighting Designer Ryan Day
Musical Director and Arranger Kate Marlais
Sound Designer Owen Crouch Movement Director Jonnie Riordan
Assistant Director Chani Merrell
Costume Supervisor Chantal Short Casting Director Chloe Bake
Accent Coach Danièle Lydon Design Assistant Victoria Maytom
Production Manager James Dawson Company Stage Manager Debs Harlow
Deputy Stage Manager Lizzie Bond Assistant Stage Manager Sofie Mirza
Cast
Tiajna Amayo, Morag Cross, Emma Ernest, Cassius Konneh, Gerard McDermott, Sarah Moyle, Jane Quinn, Helen Reuben
Stick a pony in your pocket – The Trotters are back and they’re coming to Newcastle! Smash hit show, Only Fools and Horses The Musical – direct from a record-breaking, four-year sold-out run-in London’s West End – visits Newcastle Theatre Royal Mon 10 – Sat 22 Feb 2025.
As writers of the hit West-End musical, Only Fools and Horses, Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan have taken John Sullivan’s 64 unforgettable television adventures of Del and Rodney and blended them into one perfect night out.
Did you start from scratch when you started your collaboration or is any of the musical based upon earlier developments?
Jim: When we began developing the idea back in 2015, the first thing I did was to search my dad’s notes. I knew from talking with him that he wanted to focus on the Dates episode (his personal favourite), where Del and Raquel first met. I also found a two-page opening scene, which our opening scene is based on.
Credit: Johan Persson
I also came across an old audio cassette tape with the words “This Time Next Year” written on it. We played the tape and heard Chas and Dave (as Del and Rodney) singing “We’re gonna be alright, the good times are on their way!” So, we had the beginning of an opening scene and what I felt would make a great and uplifting final song. This was around about the time that Paul came on board, and it really took off from there.
Paul, how did you become involved with co-writing the musical?
Paul: I met Jim, and I was very conscious of how precious the legacy was to him and his family, and for me too as someone who loved the series. But the fact that Chas Hodges and John Sullivan had already written a song together for it struck me as a positive element!
Only Fools and Horses is such a cherished series, was it a little daunting to take characters and events that generations of viewers knew so well?
Jim: The story of the Trotters of Peckham spanned over two decades and included births, deaths and marriages. Our job was to boil that down into a single two-hour story… with songs! Ultimately, we are not trying to reinvent the series but rather to pay homage to it. We couldn’t include everyone, but we tried to give all the main characters a fair shout. What we’ve ended up with is something that captures and celebrates the heart and spirit of what the series was all about.
Was it ever tempting to go back to the beginning of the series or did you always want the musical to start with the Trotter’s world firmly established?
Jim: I followed my dad’s cue here. The series and the characters were developed over decades, and it was important to include all the key characters at key moments. We were focusing on the Dates episode, by which time a lot was changing in the lives of the Trotters. This timing also helped to inspire other ideas.
Credit: Johan Persson
Paul: I thought that we shouldn’t just revisit Only Fools and Horses. It might sound a bit pretentious, but I thought one of the unsung stars of the show was London itself. I came up with the idea for a song called ‘Where Have All The Cockney’s Gone?’, a phrase I’d heard around, and it struck me as something that Grandad could empathise with and give voice to. I also had the idea that Trigger could look into the future in his Granny’s crystal ball and see the London we live in now.
Paul, did your paths ever cross with John, David, Nick and the gang?
Paul: I never met John, but I did meet David and Nick at a couple of BBC do’s and they were both lovely. Because The Fast Show was really at its height when I met them, and they really liked it, they were doing my characters back to me!
Finally, can we expect to see the old man of the sea and ancient mariner himself Uncle Albert make an appearance in the musical?!
Paul: Well, you never know, Uncle Albert might pop up in the show when things get tricky!
Credit: Johan Persson
With musical contributions from the iconic Chas & Dave, the beloved theme tune as you have never heard it before, and an array of brand-new songs full of character and cockney charm, Only Fools and Horses The Musical is a feel-good family celebration of traditional working-class London life.
Only Fools and Horses plays Newcastle Theatre Royal Mon 10 – Sat 22 Feb 2025. Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.
Casting is announced for the RSC’s forthcoming production of Christopher Marlowe’s rarely performed tragedy, Edward II, which runs in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon between 21 February – 5 April 2025. This will be the first RSC production of the play since 1990.
Directed by Daniel Raggett, Marlowe’s tender, yet violent play about King Edward II and the man he loves features Daniel Evans – the RSC’s Co-Artistic Director and double Olivier Award-winner -in the title role. This will be the first time Daniel has appeared on stage in a full acting role for 14 years, since he played Bobby in Sondheim’s Company at The Crucible in Sheffield in 2011.
Daniel Evans’ work as an actor spans Shakespeare, Sondheim and Sarah Kane, at the RSC, National Theatre, Royal Court, Donmar Warehouse, Menier, Sheffield and on Broadway. He was Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres between 2009-2016, and Chichester Festival Theatre between 2016-2023, and became the RSC Co-Artistic Director with Tamara Harvey in 2023. Daniel last appeared on stage at the RSC in 2003; his acting credits for the Company include Measure for Measure, Cymbeline, A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream and Coriolanus. In June 2025 Daniel will re-unite with his fellow, original cast members for a major revival of Sarah Kane’s seminal play, 4.48 Psychosis in co-production with the Royal Court which will run in London and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Eloka Ivo makes his RSC debut as Gaveston, Edward’s lover. Eloka’s previous theatre credits include Backstairs Billy (Duke of York’s), Black Superhero (Royal Court), The Glass Menagerie (Royal Exchange), The Gods Are Not to Blame (Almeida) and The End of Eddy (BAM New York).
Also making their RSC debuts are Ruta Gedmintas and Enzo Cilenti, as, respectively, Edward’s wife Queen Isabella, and Mortimer, who plots against the King. Ruta’s work on screen credits includes His Dark Materials (HBO/BBC), Sandman (Netflix), The Strain (FX) and A Street Cat Named Bob (Sony). Theatre credits include Backbeat (Duke of York’s) and What Every Woman Knows (Royal Exchange). Enzo’s TV and film credits include: The Crown (Netflix), Luther, Wolf Hall (BBC), Bridget Jones’ Baby (Miramax) and In The Loop (BBC Films). His stage credits include Present Laughter (Old Vic) and Berberian Sound Studio (Donmar).
The cast comprises: Jacob James Beswick (Lightborn), Enzo Cilenti (Mortimer), Michael Cusick (Ensemble), Stavros Demetraki (Spencer), Emilio Doorgasingh (Pembroke), Amy Dunn (Ensemble), Daniel Evans (Edward II), Ruta Gedmintas (Isabella), Eloka Ivo (Gaveston), Geoffrey Lumb (Warwick), Kwaku Mills (Baldock), Evan Milton (Lancaster), Christopher Patrick Nolan (Bishop of Coventry), Henry Pettigrew (Kent), Joseph Rowe (Ensemble) and Neil Sheffield (Ensemble). Full bios can be seen here.
Talking about the play director, Daniel Raggett said:
“I’m thrilled and deeply privileged to be working with this incredible cast on Edward II. This major Elizabethan drama hasn’t been seen at the RSC for over 30 years, and our production will breathe new life into it: honouring Marlowe’s razor-sharp writing whilst embodying everything that gives the original the propulsive energy of a thriller.
“A love story with a political edge – this 400 year old play has plenty to say about the supposedly liberal and progressive times in which we now live: when King Edward wants to rule alongside the man he loves, how much change can the establishment tolerate, and at what cost?”
Daniel Raggett was nominated for the Emerging Talent award at 2022 Evening Standard Theatre Awards. In 2025, besides directing Edward II for the RSC, he will direct The Estate, a new play by Shaan Sahota at the National Theatre. His previous directing credits include Brace Brace (Royal Court), ANNA X (Harold Pinter Theatre, West End, Sky Arts), Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Sheffield Theatres, Lyric Hammersmith, Theatre Royal Haymarket, where it was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play), The Vortex (Chichester Festival Theatre), and The Human Voice (which he also adapted, Gate Theatre, nominated for Best Director, Off West End Awards).
Joining Daniel Raggett on the creative team are: Leslie Travers (Set and Costume Designer); Tim Lutkin (Lighting Designer); Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly (Composers); Tingying Dong (Sound Designer); Anthony and Kel Matsena (Movement Directors); Kev McCurdy (Fight Director); and Julia Horan CDG (Casting Director).
