Scrooge the Musical tells the well-known story of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with added musical numbers.
The story remains the same with miserable Ebenezer Scrooge (played by Mark Hird) caring only for himself and not for others at Christmas. His old business partner Jacob Marley (Tony Froud) comes back from the dead to help him realise the error of his ways. He is then visited by 3 spirits showing him the Christmas’ past, present and future. We’re told the story of how Scrooge learns from his mistakes and tries to earn his redemption.
This adaption is full of great catchy songs that will still be stuck in your head when you get home. A fun filled evening for all the family it is a perfect pre-Christmas show.
This production had a large supporting cast, all of whom were well choreographed by Iain Harvey, particularly the young children. The young actor playing Tiny Tim (Sonny Love) did a brilliant job with a solo song stood on a table.
The ensemble were well rehearsed and all did a good job. The only thing that could have used an extra rehearsal was the attaching of the harnesses as it looked as though there was a bit of difficulty getting them on. The stage was well used, with a simple yet effective set.
Mark Hird portrayed Scrooge fantastically, he did a very good grumpy old man and his transformation to kind and generous at the end was great. Overall this is a great production which has had a lot of hard work put in to it and is a perfect feel good Christmas show for this time of year.
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh – until 1 December 2019
Reviewed by Hannah Plumb
3***
How the Grinch Stole Christmas the Musical is the UK premiere of the hit Broadway musical based on Dr Seuss’ classic rhyming children’s book. The book has been adapted into two films, one animated, one the greatest film that has ever been made (in my opinion), a TV movie and now this!
The musical takes on a different perspective than it’s previous adaptations, following the story of Max, the Grinch’s dog, who guides the audience through the tale. ‘Old Max’ played by Steve Fortune reflects on that remarkable Christmas when he was but a pup and looks over ‘Young Max’ played by X-Factors Matt Terry. Fortune narrates the majority of the action and performs Seuss’ trademark rhyming couplets with a theatrical flourish. Unfortunately, Terry as Young Max fails to keep up with the rest of the cast and looks severely out of his depth in this fast-paced, whirlwind of a show.
The star of the show, the mean one himself, The Grinch, is played by Edward Baker-Duly. Duly balances his performance with a mix of Carrey-Esque delivery while putting his own spin on the character. His comic timing and physical comedy are enjoyable to watch, however, his interpretation of the character feels well routed in reality which means we miss the strange creature The Grinch is. We instead seem to see him as a flawed person rather than the wonderfully weird and mythical being he was written as.
Overall, this was a slightly problematic production. The colourful but at times overwhelming musical numbers with energy and exuberance, I can’t help feeling like this production missed the mark. The choreography was excellent and the costumes and set were appropriately storybook however this version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas the Musical left you feeling like you didn’t quite get what you asked for.
SYNDICATE INTERVIEW WITH JUDITH CROFT, SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER FOR THE VARIETIES’ ROCK ‘N’ ROLL PANTOMIME
Ahead of Red Riding Hood The Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantomime opening at City Varieties Music Hall on Friday 29 November 2019, Kelly Scotney, PR Manager, talked to the supremely talented Judith Croft, Designer, who has been working on Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantomimes for over 20 years.
Q: This is your fourth year designing the set and costumes for The Varieties Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto, how did you get involved?
A: I originally worked with Peter Rowe (creator) at The Gateway Theatre, Chester. When he started to work on the Rock ‘n’ Roll concept at Theatr Clwyd, Wales, he wanted me to join him as designer. I did it for 18yrs at Clewyd before moving to The Varieties.
Q: Aside from the original tales and drawings, where does the inspiration come from for your designs?
A: I try to find a different world for every new production I design to save trotting out the same ideas. This means a lot of research that inevitably throws up interesting information and resources.
For Cinderella in 2018 I was influenced by traditional 50’s Rock ‘n’ Roll, whilst this year’s inspiration is a Bavarian Christmas market – imagine a lovely snowy alpine landscape and a cosy window-lit village. I researched so many Christmas markets to design the set, and similarly the costumes which reflect traditional Bavarian dress e.g. lederhosen.
Q: Are you given free rein to design the set and costumes, or are their specific guidelines and restrictions that must be adhered to?
A: There are very specific requirements when designing the set for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantomime e.g. there needs to be a large space for the band, a flat space to dance on and access from both sides of the stage. Ordinarily at The Varieties actors can only access the stage via the left which means I must build a crossover – a means by which the actors can access the set from both sides. This is usually done by constructing a bridge behind the set which results in lots of running around backstage!
But to be honest, I am generally given the freedom to run with my imagined world. Occasionally a director might have a specific idea e.g. they might like the colour blue, but usually they’re happy for me to be creative. This is so important for a designer as this is when we create our best work.
Q: Do you have a favourite character that you like to create for? If so, why?
A: I enjoy designing for all the characters. If pushed I would say the villain or the walk down dress for the princess or heroine but I like them all; I like creating a theme that runs through all the costumes.
Q: Is there a specific pantomime you would like to design the set and costumes for? Again, if so, why?
A: I think I’ve done them all! I’ve probably designed Aladdin more times that any normal human being should; I may have run out of ideas for Aladdin! They’ve all got something great about them.
For a completely different reason, I really enjoyed working on Beauty and the Beast because the setlist contained the Nilsson song Without You which I loved when I was young!
Q: You have had a very varied career, what has been the highlight to date?
A: I’m particularly proud of two things: firstly, when I was at the Library Theatre, Manchester, we did a site-specific production of Dicken’s Hard Times in a disused mill; it was a massive project, involving lots of people. The space itself was huge, spread over two floors, I designed a number of sets within it and some fabulous costumes that swept through the space. It was a totally immersive and stunning production. Secondly, I designed the set for Laughter on the 23rd Floor, a Neil Simon play in the west end starring Gene Wilder. It was great fun having a show on Shaftsbury Avenue and feeling in the centre of everything. But honestly, I enjoy my work so much that there are barely any shows I haven’t enjoyed working on.
Q: What advice would you give to people starting out in a similar career to yours?
A: It takes 50% talent and 50% doggedness. It’s not a job for people who are easily disheartened. In all aspect of theatre there is rejection, and this is no different for designers, largely due to the lack of opportunity. Because there’s very little work, you must be able to prove your experience when starting out. I gained mine by building a portfolio of student productions when I was at college, but I didn’t just design at my own college, I had friends at other colleges, and I designed for them too. Always say yes. Make costumes for nothing, build sets for free. If you don’t have a total passion or can’t give it your all, it’s not the job for you. It’s a fantastic job but there’s very little of it around so you really must stand out as willing.
Q: What designer has most inspired you? And why?
A: So many, I almost don’t know where to start. With every new job I do I research and delve into new worlds and discover new designers. For every new show it can be somebody completely different, from James Turrel’s lighting designs to Bob Crowley, Caravaggio or Van Gogh. You root and rummage through your memory and the visual references available to you.
Red Riding HoodTheRock ‘n’ Roll Pantomime isat City Varieties Music HallfromFriday 29 November 2019 to Sunday 12 January 2020.
Drew Cain and Simon Roberts play David / Alec and Tom / Patrick respectively in The Original Theatre Company’s new thriller, The Croft by Ali Milles. They join the previously announced Gwen Taylor as Enid, Caroline Harker as Suzanne / Ruth and Lucy Doyle as Laura / Eilene. The UK tour begins at Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham on 22 January 2020.
Drew Cain is best known for his television and film credits including Mission of Honour (also known as Hurricane, directed by David Blair), the TV movies Wallis: The Queen That Never Was and Albert: The Power Behind Victoria, Home Fires, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks, Coronation Street, Tina and Bobby, EastEnders, Waterloo Road and Doctors. Drew will soon be appearing in BBC 1 drama The Nest and Channel 5’s new version of All Creatures Great and Small later this year. His radio credits include Therese Raquin, The Bride of Lamermoor, Stone, Brief Lives, Inventing Scotland and Bright Spark (all for BBC Radio 4).
Simon Roberts’s theatre credits include Witness For The Prosecution (London County Hall), The Mousetrap (St Martin’s Theatre), Untold Stories and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (West Yorkshire Playhouse). His television credits include Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Ein Sommer in Oxford (German TV), Mr Selfridge, Breathless, Absolute Power, The Queen’s Nose, Ted & Ralph and The Fast Show.
Gwen Taylor is best known for playing the title role in the sitcom Barbara, as well as Anne Foster in Coronation Street, Peggy Armstrong in Heartbeat, Rita Simcock in A Bit of A Do, for which she was nominated for a BAFTA TV Best Actress Award, and Amy in Duty Free. Her film appearances include Another Mother’s Son, The Lady in the Van and Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Gwen is currently touring the UK in The Lady Vanishes. Her other theatre credits include The Importance of Being Earnest and Night Must Fall (both for Original Theatre), Allelujah! (Bridge Theatre), The Slaves of Solitude (Hampstead Theatre), Driving Miss Daisy (Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre / UK Tour), Calendar Girls (UK tour), the title role in the national tour of Shirley Valentine, Top Girls (Royal Court and New York) and Gertrude in Sir Peter Hall’s production of Hamlet (London’s Gielgud Theatre and national tour).
Caroline Harker is best known for her role as Celia in Middlemarch, as well as WPC Hazel Wallace in A Touch of Frost. Her other notable television credits include Coronation Street, Doctors and Holby City. Caroline’s film credits include Lady Godiva: Back in the Saddle and The Madness of King George. She most recently starred in Relatively Speaking, Breaking Code and Handbagged (Salisbury Playhouse). Her other theatre credits include The Sweet Science of Bruising (Southwark Playhouse), The Chalk Garden (Chichester Festival Theatre) and Pride and Prejudice (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre).
Lucy Doyle recently graduated from RADA and made her professional debut this year at Theatre Royal Bath in Vienna 1934 – Munich 1938 alongside Vanessa Redgrave and Paul Hilton.
The Croft is set in the remote Scottish Highlands village of Coillie Ghille, where we encounter three women from different eras whose lives are intertwined by the croft’s dark history. In the 1880’s, we have Enid, the last person left in the village – she’s resilient, a survivor, who takes in the Laird’s pregnant daughter, Eilene. In 2005, Ruth occupies the croft, which she and her husband Tom bought as a holiday home and where Ruth has her affair with local man, David. In the present day, Laura returns with her friend Suzanne to her parent’s croft after her mother Ruth’s death. They discover the terrifying truth that lurks within the croft. In this bold and haunting play, the present interweaves with the past, as these women search for love in the midst of great danger. As we watch their stories intertwine and ancient tales surface, can the present heal the past?
The Croft is directed by the award-winning director Philip Franks, with design by Adrian Linford, lighting by Chris Davey, sound by Max Pappenheim and casting by Ellie Collyer-Bristow CDG.
This production is produced by The Original Theatre Company (The Habit of Art, The Night Watch, Birdsong).
Website: www.originaltheatre.com Facebook: Original Theatre #TheCroft Twitter: @OriginalTheatre #TheCroft
SLEEPLESS, A Musical Romance, based on the original screenplay Sleepless in Seattle, will premiere in London on 31 March 2020 at the newly opened Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, London. Tickets will be on sale at 10.00am on Tuesday 10 December.
Performances will begin in 2020 from Saturday 21 March, with a national press night on Tuesday 31 March.
There will be three reduced price preview performances at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre on Friday 13 (evening) and Saturday 14 (matinee and evening) December. Tickets for all three performances are now on sale at £25, £39.50 and £55.
SLEEPLESS is the enchanting new romantic musical comedy based on the original story and screenplay of the romcom classic Sleepless In Seattle. SLEEPLESS tells the heart-warming tale of Sam, who moves to Seattle with his eight year-old son, Jonah, following the tragic death of his wife. When Jonah phones a radio show, Sam is forced to talk about his broken heart and sleepless nights live on air, and he suddenly finds himself one of the most sought after single men in America and a great news story for feisty journalist Annie on the opposite side of the country. Can Jonah bring the two together on the top deck of the Empire State Building? A fresh and lively book alongside a brand-new musical score bring this most timeless of romantic comedies to life on stage.
For the three special previews in December, the cast will be led by Michael D Xavier as Sam and Kimberley Walsh as Annie. The cast will also include Soo Drouet as Becky, Gay Soper as Eleanor, Alex Fobbester as Rob, Dylan Turner as Walter, Vicki Davids as Suzy, Michael Carolan as Gregg, and Jobe Hart as Jonah, with Charlie Bull, Charlotte Gale, Matt Holland, Joanna Rennie, Tyler Smith and Annette Yeo.
SLEEPLESS has a book by Michael Burdette and music and lyrics by new British writers Robert Scott and Brendan Cull. The production will be directed by Morgan Young (Elf, White Christmas, Big), with set design by Morgan Large, costume design by Sue Simmerling, lighting by Tim Lutkin, video design by Ian William Galloway, sound design by Avgoustos Psillas and Terry Jardine for Autograph, orchestrations by Larry Blank, musical supervision and direction by Stuart Morley, wig and hair design by Richard Mawbey and casting by Sarah Bird CDG and Michael Donovan CSA.
The world premiere of SLEEPLESS will be presented by Michael Rose, Encore Theatre Productions Ltd, David Shor in association with Marc Toberoff. General Manager will be David Pearson.
THE DAZZLING, MULTI-AWARD WINNING WEST END PRODUCTION OF DREAMGIRLS EMBARKS ON ITS FIRST EVER TOUR OF THE UK
Sonia Friedman Productions is delighted to announce that hit musical Dreamgirls, will embark on its first ever UK tour, opening in Bristol in September 2020 before dates in Milton Keynes, Blackpool, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Birmingham, with further venues throughout 2021 still to be announced. Tickets will go on sale this week with specific box office information available at Dreamgirlsthemusical.co.uk.
Featuring the classic songs ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’, ‘Listen’ and ‘One Night Only’, this sensational, multi-award winning new production of Dreamgirls had its critically acclaimed West End Premiere in December 2016 at London’s Savoy Theatre, 35 years on from opening on Broadway.
Meet The Dreams – Effie, Lorrell and Deena – three talented young singers in the turbulent 1960s, a revolutionary time in American music history. Join the three friends as they embark upon a musical rollercoaster ride through a world of fame, fortune and the ruthless realities of show business, testing their friendships to the very limit.
In 2006, Dreamgirls was adapted into an Oscar® winning motion picture starring Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx.
Casting for the Dreamgirls UK tour will be announced soon. This award winning production is Directed and Choreographed by Olivier® and Tony® Award winning Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Mean Girls, Disney’s Aladdin and Something Rotten!), with Set and Costume Design by Tim Hatley, Lighting Design by Hugh Vanstone, Hair Design by Josh Marquette and Music Supervision by Nick Finlow.
With Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen and Music by Henry Krieger, with Additional Material by Willie Reale, the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls, Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett, opened in 1981 and subsequently won six Tony® Awards. The original cast recording won two Grammy® Awards for Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Performance for Jennifer Holliday’s ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.’
The Original London Cast Recording of hit West End musical Dreamgirls is available via Sony Masterworks Broadway.
The UK Tour of Dreamgirls is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Greenleaf Productions, Fakston Productions, Rupert Gavin, Griffin Dohr, Just for Laughs Theatricals in association with Glass Half Full Productions, 1001 Nights Productions, Eighth Sea Incorporated.
Saturday 12 September– Saturday 3 October 2020 Bristol Hippodrome St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol BS1 4UZ 0844 871 3012 | www.atgtickets.com/venues/bristol-hippodrome Public on sale: 10am Thursday 28 November 2019
Tuesday 6 – Saturday 17 October 2020 Milton Keynes Theatre 500 Marlborough Gate, Milton Keynes MK9 3NZ 0844 871 7652 | www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre Public on sale: 10am Thursday 28 November 2019
Tuesday 27 October – Saturday 7 November 2020 Winter Gardens, Blackpool 97 Church St, Blackpool FY1 1HL 0844 856 1111 | www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk Public on sale: 10am Thursday 28 November 2019
Tuesday 10 – Saturday 21 November 2020 His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen AB25 1GL 01224 641122 | www.aberdeenperformingarts.com Public on sale: 9.30am Friday 6 December 2019
Tuesday 24 November – Saturday 5 December 2020 Edinburgh Playhouse 18-22 Greenside Pl, Edinburgh EH1 3AA 0844 871 3014 | www.atgtickets.com/venues/edinburgh-playhouse/ Public on sale: 3pm Thursday 28 November 2019
Tuesday 8 December – Saturday 2 January 2021 The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham Suffolk Street Queensway, Birmingham B5 4DS 0844 871 3011 | www.atgtickets.com/venues/alexandra-theatre-birmingham/ Public on sale: 10am Thursday 5 December 2019
Dreamgirls will continue touring throughout 2021 with further venues and dates to be announced.
With Anupama Chandrasekhar’s When the Crows Visit playing its final week and Mike Bartlett’s Snowflake in rehearsals, Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre, Indhu Rubasingham, today announces the full cast for her production of the UK première of Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over. Joining the previously announced Paapa Essiedu (Moses), are Alexander Eliot (Mister/Ossifer) and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr (Kitch). The production opens on 19 February 2020, with previews from 13 February, and runs until 21 March.
Kiln Theatre presents
PASS OVER
By Antoinette Nwandu
Directed by Indhu Rubasingham;Designer Robert Jones;Lighting Designer Oliver Fenwick;Sound Designers Ben & Max Ringham; Movement Director Lanre Malaolu; Casting Director Julia Horan CDG; Voice and Dialect Coach Hazel Holder
13 February – 21 March
A lamppost. Night. Two friends are passing time. Stuck. Waiting for change.
Inspired by Waiting for Godot and the Exodus, Antoinette Nwandu fuses poetry, humour and humanity in a rare and politically charged new play which exposes the experiences of young men in a world that refuses to see them.
Antoinette Nwandu is a New York-based playwright. Her plays include Breach, Pass Over, 4 Sustenance, Black Boy and the War, Vanna White Must Die and FLAT SAM. She is the recipient of The Whiting Award, The Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, The Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, The Negro Ensemble Company’s Douglas Turner Ward Prize, and a Literary Fellowship at the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference. Her plays have been included on the 2016 and 2017 Kilroys lists, and she has been named a Ruby Prize finalist, PONY Fellowship finalist, Page73 Fellowship finalist, NBT’s I Am Soul Fellowship finalist, and two-time Princess Grace Award semi-finalist.
Alexander Eliot plays Mister/Ossifer. Eliot recently graduated from Drama Centre. His theatre work includes Three Sisters (Almeida Theatre) and television work includes Casualty.
Paapa Essieduplays Moses.His theatre credits include TheConvert (Young Vic),Pinter One (Harold Pinter Theatre), Hamlet, King Lear (RSC, Kennedy Center and Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York – Ian Charleson and UK Theatre Award winner for Best Actor), Racing Demon (Theatre Royal Bath), The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Mouse and his Child (RSC), You For Me For You (Royal Court Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Tobacco Factory), King Lear (National Theatre), Black Jesus (Finborough Theatre), Outside on the Street (Pleasance Theatre), and Dutchman (Orange Tree Theatre). For television, his work includes Gangs of London, Press, The Miniaturist, Black Earth Rising, Revolting, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Kiri, Not Safe for Work and Utopia; and for film, Murder on the Orient Express and Women at the Well (Screen International Star of Tomorrow 2017).
Gershwyn Eustache Jnr plays Kitch. His theatre work includes Small Island, Pinocchio, Home, Nut (National Theatre), Anatomy of a Suicide, A Profoundly Affectionate Passionate Devotion to Someone (Royal Court Theatre), The Royale (Bush Theatre) and The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare’s Globe). For television, his work includes January 22nd, Small Ave, Britannia, Fortitude, Legends, Peter and Wendy and Run; and for film, The Yellow Birds, Second Coming and Starred Up.
Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre Indhu Rubasingham directs. Her work for the company includes When the Crows Visit, Wife,White Teeth, HolySh!t,Red Velvet (which transferred to New York and later to the Garrick Theatre as part of the Kenneth Branagh Season) and Handbagged (winner of Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre – also West End, UK tour, Washington DC and New York). Other productions for Kiln Theatre include The Invisible Hand, A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes, Multitudes, The House That Will Not Stand, Paper Dolls, Women, Power and Politics, Stones in His Pockets, Detaining Justice, The Great Game: Afghanistan, Fabulation and Starstruck. Other theatre credits include The Great Wave, Ugly Lies the Bone, The Motherf**cker with the Hat (Evening Standard Award for Best Play), The Waiting Room (all National Theatre), The Ramayana (National Theatre/ Birmingham Rep), Belong, Disconnect, Free Outgoing, Lift Off, Clubland, The Crutch and Sugar Mummies (Royal Court Theatre), Ruined (Almeida Theatre), Yellowman and Anna in the Tropics (Hampstead Theatre), Secret Rapture and The Misanthrope (Minerva, Chichester Festival Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Chichester Festival Theatre), Pure Gold (Soho Theatre), The No Boys Cricket Club and Party Girls (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Wuthering Heights (Birmingham REP), Heartbreak House (Watford Palace Theatre), Sugar Dollies and Shakuntala (Gate Theatre), A River Sutra (Three Mill Island Studios), Rhinoceros (UC Davis, California) and A Doll’s House (Young Vic).
One is off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz which is indeed one of most anticipated and awaited production this season. Based on L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz (published in 1900) and set to Harold Arlen’s music and lyrics, James Brining brings this exciting production on stage, in the newly re-opened Quarry Theatre.
Many are familiar with the musical hits from the legendary award winning film (1939) starring Judy Garland and this production isn’t any different. The staging intertwines well with the well known musical hits and ensures that universal longings, Somewhere Over The Rainbow and There is No Place Like Home, are not compromised in any form whatsoever.
This fairy tale focuses on universal themes including longing, freedom, change, being true to oneself, friendships, exploring within, and appreciating what really matters. The performance is led by 14 year old Lucy Sherman who puts on such an excellent and memorable performance as Dorothy. She shares her journey on the Yellow Brick Road, destined to the Emerald City and to meet the Wizard (Graham Hoadly), with Toto (Doris and also a Toto puppeteer by Alisa Dalling), her dog, and her new found friends, Scarecrow (Eleanor Sutton), Tinman (Sam Harrison) and Lion (Marcus Ayton). They are in a collective quest to pursue their wishes. However they firstly need to bravely encounter the dark and determined Wicked Witch of the West (Polly Lister) however they are magically guided from Glinda (Angela Wynter), a good witch.
There are so many memorable highlights particularly with the eye captivating staging projections and visuals that depict the scenes, from the tornado in Kansas which transports Dorothy (Sherman) to the colourful and rainbow like Munchkinland, and then via the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City. Simon Higlett’s creative staging and costumes compliment so well with Tim Mitchell’s lighting, Ben Harrison’s soundscapes and also Simon Wainwright’s video footage, which adds extra dimension and dynamics to the stage.
The cast including the ensemble certainly have put on an unmissable performance from beginning to end and one feels that they are transported from Kansas to the Emerald City and back. The acting, movements, dancing and stunts in the production are co-ordinated innovatively and harmoniously to Lucy Cullingford’s choreography and Brining’s direction.
The Wizard of Oz is a celebrated and must see Christmas/Winter treat for one and all. The Leeds Playhouse again has successfully delivered and sure will become another legendary seasonal production.
Trademark Touring, Karl Sydow and Anthology Theatre in association with The Everyman Theatre Cheltenham Present
IAN HISLOP AND NICK NEWMAN’S HILARIOUS PLAY
A BUNCH OF AMATEURS
Following the huge success of The Wipers Times and Trial By Laughter, Trademark Touring, Karl Sydow and Anthology Theatre in association with The Everyman Theatre Cheltenham are proud to present the UK tour of Ian Hislop and Nick Newman’s comedy A Bunch of Amateurs.
Keen to boost his flagging career, fading Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steele arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford – only to find that he is not in the birthplace of Shakespeare, but in a sleepy Suffolk village. And instead of starring alongside Sir Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, the cast are a bunch of amateurs trying to save their theatre from ruthless developers.
Jefferson’s monstrous ego, vanity and insecurity are tested to the limit by the enthusiastic amateur thespians he finds himself sharing the spotlight with. As acting worlds collide and Jefferson’s career implodes, he discovers some truths about himself – along with his inner Lear!
Ian Hislop and Nick Newman said:
“Following successful national tours of The Wipers Times and Trial By Laughter, we are thrilled to be touring the very first play we wrote, A Bunch of Amateurs – a love letter to the world of amateur theatre and a celebration of the overweening absurdity of Hollywood stardom”.
A Bunch of Amateurs will be directed by Robin Herford. He is undoubtedly best known for the phenomenally successful The Woman In Black, which he commissioned whilst he was Artistic Director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough in the late 1980s, and has now been running in the West End for 30 years. Other directorial credits include Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance, All My Sons, Twelfth Night, Old Times, Clouds, Butley, She Stoops To Conquer, The Beaux Stratagem, Touch Wood and Whistle, Calling, Spokesong, Getting On, Tapster, Just Between Ourselves, Forty Years On, A Going Concern and What Every Woman Knows (all at Scarborough) and national tours of Ayckbourn classics such as Relatively Speaking, Confusions, Bedroom Farce, Season’s Greetings and Ten Times Table.
Birmingham Hippodrome join The Big Give campaign to raise £20,000 to give the gift of theatre to young people this Christmas
Birmingham Hippodrome is urging people to dig deep during their annual festive fundraising campaign, aiming to raise £20,000 to give the gift of theatre to 4,000 young people. To achieve this ambitious target, the theatre has joined The Big Give’s Christmas Challenge 2019, which will see all donations doubled for just seven days from the 3rd December.
The donations raised will support the Hippodrome Education Network (HEN) activity, which enables young people from areas of low-social economic engagement to visit shows, participate in workshops and develop career opportunities in the creative industries.
Zaylie- Dawn Wilson, Head of Learning & Participation at Birmingham Hippodrome commented: “We work with schools to bring creativity back to the curriculum and to enable young people who have never visited the theatre before to watch live performances”
“Donations raised will help us to give the gift of live theatre to more young people and continue this crucial work which develops confidence in young people, supports their future career ambitions and most of all, inspires them.”
The Big Give matches donations through partnerships with over 20 funding champions, including Reed Foundation, The Childhood Trust, Four Acre Trust and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. As an independent charity, Birmingham Hippodrome relies on regular support from charitable donations and sponsorship to deliver Hippodrome Projects, which is the theatre’s own curated programme of indoor and outdoor live performance, community work and transformational learning projects.
Laura Smith, Director of External Relations at Birmingham Hippodrome added: “As a charity, fundraising support is essential to help us to continue our work with young people. From the young people who have been part of our HEN network so far, over 80% have said they feel more confident in themselves, reinforcing just how much having access to arts and culture changes lives”
“I encourage everyone to donate as much or as little as they can remembering that all donations will be doubled, helping us to create even more unforgettable moments for young people!”
