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COLLABORATIVE LGBTQ+ THEATRE FESTIVAL LAUNCHED BY HOPE MILL THEATRE & SUPERBIA

RUNNING IN JANUARY 2020, TURN ON FEST WILL FEATURE THEATRE, DANCE, CABARET, POETRY, WORKSHOPS AND MORE

A new LGBTQ+ theatre festival is to run for three weeks in January 2020 at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre, a collaboration between the venue and Manchester Pride’s cultural programming arm Superbia and featuring theatre company Mother’s Ruin.

TURN ON FEST will be a showcase of Manchester-based LGBTQ+ artists, theatre, new commissions, cabaret, panel discussions, development workshops and much more. 

TURN ON FEST is the first arts festival to be hosted by Hope Mill Theatre – already a thriving venue for established LGBTQ+ work.  It will run over three weeks in January 2020, and includes a variety of programming from Superbia, Manchester Pride’s year-round cultural programme designed to curate, fund, support and promote LGBTQ+ events.

There will be new work commissions and various development opportunities for Greater Manchester-based LGBTQ+ artists.  Also featuring in TURN ON FEST will be Manchester-based Qweerdog Theatre, presenting ‘Absolute Certainty?’ playing from the 28th of January to 1st of February. A favourite from the Greater Manchester Fringe, being revived for TURN ON FEST. There will also be performances from other prominent Manchester-based LGBTQ+ artists.

The festival will support new work through the Arts Council England funded TURN ON FEST commissions. Four LGBTQ+ companies or individuals wanting to showcase and develop new work which each receive £1,000 per commission, which will also include marketing support, mentorship and rehearsal space. 

Joseph Houston, Artistic Director of Hope Mill Theatre, said: “We are proud to be hosting our first ever arts festival at Hope Mill Theatre opening our doors to wider demographic of LGBTQ+ artists in Manchester. We are passionate about supporting the community and will be holding focus groups and open socials in the lead up to January, to learn more about what the community want out of a new festival, and how TURN ON FEST can provide the best platform in our exciting and diverse city. 

“We are looking forward to three weeks of theatre, dance, cabaret, literature, open mic, conversation and new work. Turning words and ideas into performance for, by and about the LGBTQ+ community. We hope that the festival will eventually become an annual event for our great city.”

Greg Thorpe, Project Manager for Superbia at Manchester Pride, said: “Superbia at Manchester Pride works with LGBTQ artists all year round and we are so excited to support this new platform to share their work at one of our favourite venues in the city. We will be co-curating the TURN ON FEST for 2020 and we know it will be a thrilling and necessary addition to our queer arts calendar.”

Lisa Lee, Artistic Director of Mother’s Ruin, said: “Mother’s Ruin have been producing Queer performance in Manchester and beyond for 10 years. We are thrilled to be invited to bring bold, radical work by emerging and established LGBTQ+ artists to TURN ON FEST 2020.”

Absolute Certainty and Mother’s Ruin events are on sale now, with more programming to be announced soon.

Commission applications are now OPEN for Manchester-based LGBTQ+ artists. See https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk/blog/ for more details and email [email protected] with any questions or further information. The deadline for submissions is Monday 11^th November.

Turn up, turn heads, see a turn, take a turn!

www.hopemilltheatre.co.uk

www.superbia.org.uk/

www.mothersruin.co.uk/about/

Richmond Theatre – until 26 October 2019

Reviewed by Antonia Hebbert

4****

Back to the 1960s: we’re in a kitchen in Wolverhampton with a boy and his mum, happily cooking and larking about. Life is practically perfect, although dad can be rather hot-tempered. Mum burns the toast and can’t follow a recipe, but she radiates joy. There are friends, trips to the sweetshop, Christmas… Then mum dies, and a bleak adolescence follows.

This is the childhood of food writer Nigel Slater, adapted by Henry Filloux-Bennett from Slater’s autobiography Toast. It’s both very funny and awfully moving. Giles Cooper plays shorts-wearing schoolboy Nigel, frequently turning to the audience to comment on what’s going on. Katy Federman is the adorable, idealised 1960s mum. Flour flies, cakes and pies appear from the Aga, Dad (Blair Plant) gets twitchy about Nigel liking girlie sweets. At one point, the audience gets to share the sweets. You are right there with Nigel, in a home where cooking is beyond plain, but intensely sensitive to the scents, feel and flavours of food, and indeed everything else.

In the second half, an empty fridge sums up the void in his life, and a vampish stepmother appears. Joan (Samantha Hopkins) can actually cook, but turns food into a weapon of emotional warfare. Walnut Whips are eaten, and The Persuaders is on TV. With the help of ghastly cookery lessons at school and an angelic employer-mentor, Nigel discovers his art, grows up and moves out. At this point the theatre is filled with the tantalising scent of the garlic and mushrooms he has been cooking on stage, and we head home feeling more than a little peckish.

Come to think of it, this is all just like one of Nigel’s recipes – a deceptively simple, seemingly homely but meticulous and clever combination of emotional flavours. The play exactly captures the quality of Slater’s writing and television work. Jonnie Riordan directs, and the delicious kitchen set is by Libby Watson.

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff – until 26 October 2019

Reviewed by Rhys Payne

3***

On Your Feet is a new musical which landed in the Wales Millennium Centre, which shines a spotlight on the life and journey to fame of Latin superstar Gloria Estefan – who is someone who I don’t know a lot about. It is a high energy, family-friendly and fun show that everyone can find something to enjoy from the nostalgia to the vibrant routines to the emotional story run constantly throughout the show.

The iconic role of Gloria Estefan was played by Philippa Stefani who showed a physicalised tribute to Gloria in an accurate and respectful way. She was fun and bouncy in the numbers where required, was reflective when needed and showed realistic determination when facing troubles. Philippa took on this role and excelled in every aspect of it which goes to showcase her experience in the business as well as her pure talent for musical theatre. In my opinion, Gloria had many of the best outfits in the entire show which shows the costume designers must have thought carefully about balancing the fame/money side of Gloria’s character alongside the area she lived it, her star quality and nature of the show among other things. This is an incredibly difficult task and so to see this balanced perfectly is a great testament to the team behind the curtains.

Gloria’s mum (Gloria Fajardo) in this production was played by Madelena Alberto who filled this role perfectly. The character is supposed to be cynical of the newfound fame but at the same time protective over her family which is a very realistic depiction of any families mother. Although she is shown as one of the more ‘bad’ characters in this show it is incredible to dislike Gloria Fajardo as she is doing what any mother would do. This again shows the talent of Madelena as she can keep the audience’s sympathy while doing some questionable things which is a very difficult thing to do. The development of this character continues even after the narrative finishes as she is given a solo during the ‘mega-mix’ section at the end of the show. The directorial team thought carefully about the progression of the character when distributing these solos which were great to see but also made sense from a story perspective which is great. Gloria Estefan’s grandmother (Gloria Farajados mother) also appears in this show and my opinion was one of the most entertaining characters. This very stereotypical Nan was played excellently by Karen Mann who delivered many of the more comical lines which had the audience laughing.

I was expecting a big, over-the-top, almost carnival feel to this musical which at certain points it was with massive dance routines and crazy lights but a lot of the numbers in this show was a lot timider than I had anticipated. Upon reflection, however, I believe this was done intentionally to dispel some pre-convinced ideas of Latin communities. In real life its not always a big celebration and the story in this show could not make it this any. The reason not every number is over-the-top is to be a true reflection of people’s whose lives are, like Gloria Estefan where they face serious issues. However when they did, strategically, try to make the party feel it was done excellently. Especially during the club scene which ended act one where dancers came down into the audience and danced with the viewers which was a nice touch.

One scene which will be etched into my brain forever is a scene involving a car when the backdrop of the stage was lit up like a truck/car and the rest of the lights were dim. This was an intense scene where even I in the audience felt scared which is exactly what this effect was supposed to do. The lights and staging for this scene was amazing although what wasn’t was the flailing arms that could be the scene on the lights. I understood what this was supposed to represent but surely they could have thought of a more skilful way to depict it which was on the same level as the fanatic lights and staging in the same scene. The whole show ended with a mega-mix which was made up of Gloria Estefan’s songs which made me realise that I knew a lot more of her songs than I thought. This section involved great choreography and singing which also encouraged the audience to get up and dance. By the end of the mega-mix the entire audience were on their feet which means the songs did what they needed to.

This is an incredibly fun show that will fill your brain with catchy dance music for a long time after the show. It also educated me on Gloria Estefan’s life which is the most basic purpose of the show. I do believe that I may have missed some of the nostalgia of this Jukebox musical but I still left with a happy soul. I would rate this show 3 out of 5 stars.

Epstein Theatre, Liverpool – 20 October 2019

Reviewed by Amy Nash

5*****

Emma Dears and Olivia Brereton joined Roy Locke in Matinee Musical Classics and Music of The Night on the 20th October: a delightful double bill of tributes to iconic musical theatre. The three widely acclaimed local performers delivered two very different but equally enchanting shows, packing a wide variety of musical classics into only a few hours.

For the matinee performance, Musical Classics, great emphasis was placed on Roy Locke’s career as a crossover performer – someone who performs both opera and contemporary roles professionally. The show itself is a crossover show, in essence, marrying well-known tunes like “That’s Amore” and Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable” with a love letter to opera performances from the likes of Joseph Locke (no relation, apparently) and Puccini’s aria “Nessun Dorma”.

Roy Locke doesn’t just showcase his incredible voice, but his charming personality and quick wit, as both shows are peppered with comedic breaks between the musical performances. What particularly stood out was the context he provided for some of the music choices: he moved the discussion effortlessly from jokes about his German heritage over to an explanation of the origins of The Ballad of Mack the Knife, covering not just where it was from (Brecht’s Die Dreigroschenoper) but why it was written in the first place.

Insight like this was the real appeal of Music of the Night’s pre-show talk “Secrets of a Phantom”. Roy Locke not only shared photos and stories about what working on Phantom of the Opera was like, including exciting tales of the actress playing Christine taking her life into her hands with the falling chandelier in the days before workplace safety was prevalent, but kept the talk personal and authentic by injecting it with more personal anecdotes about meeting his wife, Emma.

It’s that very Emma who he credits as the writer of both shows, and the composition is fantastic. The music they chose is often distinctly personal and explained as such to the audience, making it all the more meaningful. This includes medleys from musicals with significant meaning to Roy Locke, such as West Side Story in Music of the Night with a seamless mix of “Something’s Coming”, “Tonight”, “Maria” and “Somewhere” paying tribute to his career as a crossover performer and his parents’ first date seeing the film version.  There are also subtler touches which showcase their excellent song selection; in reference to Tom Chester, the Musical Director and on-stage pianist, they throw out a joyful “play it again, Tom” before a performance from Casablanca. In the Musical Classics matinee, all of Emma Dears’ pre-interval performances are from different musicals but share a common theme. “My Man” from Funny Girl, “As Long as He Needs Me” from Oliver! and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar are presented as separate pieces, performed in between songs from Roy Locke, but their longing, loving messages make them cohesive. Post-interval Emma Dears sparkled as Liza Minnelli performing “Cabaret”, “Liza” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in tribute to Judy & Liza, the musical biopic she wrote as it approaches its 10th anniversary.

Despite their outward similarities, the two performances had drastically different atmospheres. The Musical Classics matinee featured far more audience participation, regularly bringing the lights up on the audience while we sang along to classics like “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” from Oklahoma, “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kitbag” and “Rule Britannia”. There was even a section where Roy Locke attempted to very, very quickly teach the audience some Italian opera which was hugely entertaining. While Emma Dears and Rock Locke performed together beautifully, they did so rarely, their performances often kept separate from one another.

By contrast, Music of the Night featured the audience far less – we were invited to sing along with a few classics, but the focus was primarily on the performers, who sang far more duets. Olivia Brereton and Roy Locke’s onstage chemistry was magical to watch unfold as they relived their classic roles. They truly showcased their acting chops here: rather than sticking to what you’d expect, the concert version where the focus is only on their astonishing singing talent, performances like “The Music of the Night” featured props like the famous Phantom mask and plenty of movement. Olivia Brereton shines as Eponine, with one of the most heart-wrenching performances of “On My Own” I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Witnessing Roy Locke transform from the traumatised Marius in “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” to the desperate Jean Valjean in “Bring Him Home”, especially in contrast to his bone-chilling prior performance of “My Friends” from Sweeney Todd was a real spectacle.

Both performances were exceptional, with the audiences giving a standing ovation and demanding an encore, and they showcased every one of Roy Locke and his two guests’ talents.

They were a wonderful taste of West End magic, marrying the classic with the new, the operatic with the contemporary – a crossover display perfectly in tune with Roy Locke’s crossover career.

FRANTIC ASSEMBLY CELEBRATES IT’S FIRST EVER PERFORMANCE 25 YEARS AGO

• LOOK BACK IN ANGER, FRANTIC’S FIRST EVER WORK WAS PERFORMED 25 YEARS AGO TODAY
   
• A NEW FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN, 25@25 IS LAUNCHED TO SUPPORT COMPANY ACTIVITY
   
• MEMBERS OF FRANTIC’S NEW CREATIVE THINK-TANK, THE ASSEMBLY ANNOUNCED
   
• BOOK CHARTING 25 YEARS OF FRANTIC TO BE PUBLISHED MID-NOVEMBER

On 21 October 1994, Frantic Assembly performed their first ever work – a production of John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger performed by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett at the Taliesin Arts Centre in Swansea. To mark the anniversary of their first performance, the company today announced a new fundraising initiative and revealed further details of projects forming a year of activity to celebrate 25 years of Frantic Assembly.

Scott Graham, co-founder and Artistic Director of Frantic Assembly said:

“We read Look Back In Anger and loved the fire in its belly and then unceremoniously adapted it. I think we ruffled some feathers, but I believe our instinct was right and we were in a way being true to that fire at the heart of it. We took risks. We had to. We needed to be different. However, it was still that recognisable angry young man railing against a world of quiet privilege. Steven and I performed in all of the early shows. We pretty much designed the lights, sound, set, did the get-ins, the get-outs and also drove the van. The shows were small and powerful (like us) and had to fit in the back of a beaten-up Transit Van (like us).”

Launching today, 25@25, is a fundraising campaign to support Frantic Assembly’s work on stage and with young people across the country. The 25@25 appeal has a simple ambition; to raise £25,000 in the Company’s 25^th year. This will help Frantic to continue to make thrilling theatre and create vital opportunities to develop young talent. Supporters can do this by visiting the new Frantic Assembly website and making a one-off donation or setting up a regular direct debit.

The Company are also inviting audiences to be an important part of their journey by becoming a Frantic Champion.  For an annual fee of £10 Champions will receive regular news updates direct from Artistic Director Scott Graham and advance notice of future show announcements and special events. Crucially, Frantic Champions will be supporting the work – being a Champion of the Company – and part of the world-wide Frantic family.

The company’s outreach activity engages over 15,000 people each year, whilst their flagship training programme, Ignition, has been fighting under-representation in theatre training for over 11 years by nurturing and giving voice to young, marginalised and under-represented talent and championing accessibility and authenticity. 

Frantic Assembly: Always Forward, Never Back will chart the past 25 years of the company. This new coffee-table book, with a Foreword by Sian Phillips will be published in mid-November and brings together a rare collection of never-before-seen images and candid behind the scenes moments alongside some of Frantic’s best loved production images. Curated by Scott Graham, the images will be accompanied by the stories behind them along with notes, narrative and essays by Graham on the core values behind Frantic’s approach to theatre making. The book is available for pre-order today via the Frantic Assembly website.

The company also announced the inaugural members of its new creative think tank – The Assembly: an evolving group of artists, creative practitioners and advisors from all areas of the theatre industry, invited by Scott Graham to discuss the vision and ambition of the company and explore new ways of making, presenting and sharing work. Joining the first Assembly are: Tania Harrison (Creative Director, TBH Productions), Jimmy Akingbola (Actor, Director and Entrepreneur), Nick Sidi (Actor, Writer, Dramaturg and Producer for Elliot and Harper Productions), Anna Jordan (Playwright), Ann Akin (Actor, Writer and Director,), Jon Bausor (Stage Designer), Nadia Fall (Artistic Director, Theatre Royal Stratford East) and Despina Tsatsas (Executive Director, The Young Vic).

Frantic Assembly have also begun the search for a new Chair to replace Sian Alexander who will stand down in July 2020 after three terms. At the same time, the company will also be looking to recruit three new Trustees to join its current Board of six. The deadline for applications is Monday 11 November. Full details of these vacancies can be found on the Frantic Assembly Website.

As part of a year of projects to mark Frantic Assembly’s 25 anniversary, the company has premiered new work, Sometimes Thinking by Phil Porter as headliners of the theatre arena at Latitude Festival, and taken over the programme at the National Theatre’s River Stage. The centre piece for the year will be I Think We Are Alone, a new play by Sally Abbott co-directed by Kathy Burke and Scott Graham which will premier in February 2020. I Think We Are Alone is a bittersweet and funny take on our ache to connect with those voices we need to hear again, those arms we need to feel around us and those faces we need to see again. It is about letting go and holding on to what we love the most. A delicate and uplifting play about our fragility, resilience and our need for love and forgiveness. The creative team includes designer Morgan Large, lighting designer Paul Keogan, sound designer Ella Wahlstrom and casting by Will Burton.  Full casting for the production will be announced shortly.  I Think We Are Alone is a Frantic Assembly and Theatre Royal Plymouth Production, co-produced with Curve. The work will premiere at Theatre Royal Plymouth and tour to venues including Theatre Royal Stratford East, The Lowry, Nuffield Southampton, Bristol Old Vic, and Leicester Curve in Spring 2020.

MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY ANNOUNCES

FURTHER CASTING FOR MAJOR REVIVAL OF

SANDY WILSON’S THE BOY FRIEND

The Menier Chocolate Factory presents

THE BOY FRIEND

Book, Music and Lyrics by Sandy Wilson

Director: Matthew White; Choreographer & Associate Director: Bill Deamer

Designer: Paul Farnsworth; Lighting Designer: Paul Anderson; Sound Designer: Gregory Clarke

Hair & Wig Designer: Richard Mawbey; Musical Supervisor & Director: Simon Beck

Orchestrator: David Cullen

22 November 2019 – 7 March 2020

With The Watsons currently running at the Menier and Fiddler on the Roof at the Playhouse Theatre, the Menier Chocolate Factory today announces further casting for Matthew White’s revival of Sandy Wilson’s The Boy Friend as the company begin rehearsals. Joining Jack Butterworth (Bobby van Husen), Janie Dee (Mme Dubonnet), Adrian Edmondson (Lord Brockhurst), Tiffany Graves (Hortense), Dylan Mason (Tony), Amara Okereke (Polly) and Issy van Randwyck (Lady Brockhurst) are Tom Bales (Alphonse), Ryan Carter (Pierre), Chloe Goodliffe (Nancy), Matthew Ives (Pépé), Bethany Huckle (Lolita), Emily Langham (Fay), Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson (Maisie), Annie Southall (Dulcie), Peter Nash (Marcel) and Robert Portal (Percival Brown). The production opens on 3 December, with previews from 22 November, and runs until 7 March 2020.

We plead to have/We need to have/In fact our poor hearts bleed to have/

That certain thing called ‘The Boy Friend’

Sandy Wilson’s all-singing all-dancing love letter to 1920s musical comedies returns for the first major London revival in over 10 years.  Set in Madame Dubonnet’s finishing school in the south of France, these perfect young ladies burst into song at the least provocation, and forbidden boy friends are forever popping through the French windows to sing and dance with them. Since its premiere in 1953, this light-hearted soufflé of a show has delighted audiences worldwide and has become one of the most well-loved British musicals of all time. 

The Boy Friend opened in London in 1953, before a West End run in 1954, and ran for more than 5 years. The subsequent Broadway run in 1954 made a star of the then-unknown Julie Andrews. Ken Russell adapted it into a 1971 film with Twiggy who won two Golden Globes for her performance.

Matthew White returns to the Menier – he previously directed She Loves Me, Candide, Sweet Charity (also Haymarket Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (also Duke of York’s Theatre), and The Last Five Years for the company. His other theatre work includes The Addams Family (Festival Theatre, Edinburgh and UK tour), Kiss Me Kate, West Side Story (Kilworth House), The Producers (UK tour), Top Hat (also adapted for the stage, UK tour and Aldwych Theatre – Olivier Award for Best New Musical), Maria Friedman – By Special Arrangement (Donmar Warehouse), Closer than Ever (Jermyn Street Theatre), and Mr Stink (also adapted, Curve and UK tour).

Listings Information                                                                                                           The Boy Friend

Menier Chocolate Factory

53 Southwark Street, London, SE1 1RU

Dates:                                22 November 2019 – 7 March 2020

For the performance schedule, please see the website

Box Office:                        020 7378 1713 (£2.50 transaction fee per booking)

Website:                           www.menierchocolatefactory.com (£1.50 transaction fee per booking)

Tickets:                              Prices vary, as below from discounted preview tickets to premier seats. With the emphasis on ‘the sooner you book, the better the price’:

A meal deal ticket includes a 2-course meal from the pre-theatre menu in the Menier Restaurant as well as the theatre ticket.

www.menierchocolatefactory.com

Twitter: @MenChocFactory

Last night, Take Two Theatricals and Club 11 London presented the UK premiere of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA in concert at Cadogan Hall on Sunday 20 October 2019. The cast included Christine Allado (The Prince of Egypt, Hamilton and In The Heights)as Ella with Jodie Jacobs (Unexpected Joy, Bananaman and Lizzie)as Charlotte, Dean John-Wilson (Cruel Intentions, The King & I and Aladdin) as Jean-Michel, Mazz Murray (Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You) as Madame, Sam Oladeinde (The Prince of Egypt, The Book of Mormon) as Lord Pinkleton, Dianne Pilkington (Only Fools and Horses, Young Frankenstein and Wicked) as Marie, Jérôme Pradon (Aspects of Love, Miss Saigon, Lord of the Rings)  Zoë Rainey (Kiss Me Kate, An American in Paris and MAMMA MIA!) as Gabrielle and Jac Yarrow (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Winner of the 2019 Stage Debut Award) as Prince Topher.

Rodgers + Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA is the Tony Award-winning musical from the creators of South Pacific and The Sound of Music that has delighted American audiences with its contemporary take on the classic fairy tale. The semi-staged concert, directed by Johnathan O’Boyle (The View Upstairs, Hair, Aspects of Love, Pippin), featured some of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible/It’s Possible” and “Ten Minutes Ago,” alongside a hilarious and romantic new book by Tony Award-nominee Douglas Carter Beane, as well as some new characters and surprising twists.

GOES PINK TO SUPPORT BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

• WAITRESS CHARACTER UNIFORMS CHANGE FROM BLUE TO PINK FOR WEAR IT PINK DAY ON 18OCTOBER IN AID OF UK CHARITY BREAST CANCER NOW

• THE LONDON CAST TAKE ON THE WAITRESS PIE CHALLENGE FROM THEIR BROADWAY COUNTERPARTS TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR THE CAUSE

Waitress changed its iconic character uniforms from blue to pink on 18 October for Wear It Pink Day 2019 in support of the charity Breast Cancer Now. The waitresses – Lucie Jones as Jenna, Laura Baldwin as Dawn and Sandra Marvin as Becky – all took to the stage in special pink costumes for the evening performance at the Adelphi Theatre for the fundraising event. In total, £1260.75 was raised from collections at the theatre which will go towards funding breast cancer research and life-changing support. Cast members also went pink for the pre-show warm up and took on the ‘Waitress Pie Challenge’ after being nominated by their counterparts in the Broadway production to draw attention to and generate support for the cause. The video of the challenge can be seen here.

Waitress tells the story of Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams her way out of a loveless marriage. When a hot new doctor arrives in town, life gets complicated. With the support of her workmates Becky and Dawn, Jenna overcomes the challenges she faces and finds that laughter, love and friendship can provide the perfect recipe for happiness.  

Waitress celebrated its official opening night at the Adelphi Theatre on 7 March 2019 and the Tony-nominated musical recently announced a further extension with the show now booking until 28 March 2020. 

Waitress stars Lucie Jones as Jenna, Joe Sugg as Ogie, Laura Baldwin as Dawn, Sandra Marvin as Becky, David Hunter as Dr. Pomatter, Tamlyn Henderson as Earl and Andrew Boyer as Old Joe.

The full Waitress company includes Kelly Agbowu, Laura Baldwin, Piers Bate, Cindy Belliot, Andrew Boyer, Michael Hamway, Peter Hannah, Tamlyn Henderson, David Hunter, Lucie Jones, Stephen Leask, Chris McGuigan, Sandra Marvin, Olivia Moore, Nathaniel Morrison, Sarah O’Connor, Leanne Pinder, Charlotte Riby, Joe Sugg and Mark Willshire.

Brought to life by a ground breaking, female-led creative team, Waitress features an original score by 7-time Grammy® nominee Sara Bareilles (Love Song, Brave), a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam) and direction by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Finding Neverland) and choreography by Lorin Latarro. The production is also currently touring the US and Canada and has announced an Australian premiere in 2020 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre with further productions to open in Holland next year and Japan in 2021.

Waitress premiered on Broadway in March 2016 and has since become the longest running show in the history of the Brooks Atkinson Theater. The production is also currently touring the US and Canada and has announced an Australian premiere in 2020 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre with further productions to open in Holland next year and Japan in 2021.

On its Broadway opening, Waitress was nominated for four Outer Critics’ Circle Awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical; two Drama League Award Nominations, including Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical; six Drama Desk Nominations, including Outstanding Musical; and four Tony Award Nominations, including Best Musical.

TWO WEEK COUNTDOWN UNTIL

HORRIBLE HISTORIES HEADS TO

STORYHOUSE WITH DOUBLE BILL

Make a date with the Terrible Tudors and Awful Egyptians

The smash-hit show Horrible Histories Live On Stage heads to Storyhouse in Chester in two weeks with a double bill set to wow young and old alike.

The first Horrible Histories books were published in 1993, and to celebrate the 25^th anniversary the team behind the successful books have brought two titles to life with brand new engaging, entertaining and educational stage shows.

The Horrible Histories double bill of Terrible Tudors and Awful Egyptians will entertain Storyhouse audiences with two hilarious shows featuring eye-popping 3D special effects.

Horrible Histories Live on Stage comes to Storyhouse in Chester from Tuesday 5 November to Friday 8 November 2019. Tickets are on sale now. Group rates are available.

Horrible Histories Live on Stage is written by Terry Deary from his bestselling Horrible Histories books. Terry Deary is the world’s bestselling non-fiction author for children and one of the most popular children’s authors in the country. He has written 200 books which have been translated into 40 different languages. Over the past 25 years, his 50 Horrible Histories titles have sold over 25 million copies worldwide from China to Brazil.

Terrible Tudors gives visitors the chance to take a trip through the horrible Henrys to the end of evil Elizabeth and hear the legend (and the lies!) about the torturing Tudors. Find out the fate of Henry’s headless wives and his punch-up with the Pope. Meet Bloody Mary and see Ed fall dead in his bed. Survive the Spanish Armada as it sails into the audience! Terrible Tudors runs from Tuesday 5 November to Friday 8 November 2019.

Awful Egyptians invites you to meetthe fascinating Pharaohs, gasp at the power of the pyramids, and discover the foul facts of death and decay with the meanest mummies in Egypt. Are you ready to rumble with Ramesses the Great? Dare you enter through the Gates of the Afterlife? It’s the history of Egypt with the nasty bits left in! Awful Egyptians runs from Wednesday 6 November to Friday 8 November 2019.

A special feature of the productions are the amazing Bogglevision 3D effects. Among an array of 3D-illusions the audience will see the Spanish Armada firing cannonballs into the auditorium or the Mummy reaching out to grab them!

Horrible Histories Live on Stage is directed by Neal Foster, design is by Jackie Trousdale, lighting by Jason Taylor, sound by Nick Sagar, and music by Matthew Scott.

Birmingham Stage Company are also currently celebrating their 25^th anniversaryand are one of the world’s top theatre companies for families. Their acclaimed productions include David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny and Awful Auntie, and Roald Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine. They have been producing Horrible Histories Live on Stage since 2005, including the record-breaking West End series of Barmy Britain.

These two hilarious historical journeys through the squelchiest and yuckiest moments in British and Egyptian history are perfect entertainment for anyone aged from 5 to 105!

Tickets are on sale now and range in price from £13.50 for children under 14, to £18.50 for adults. Each ticket is subject to a £1.50 booking fee.

Website:  www.HHliveonstage.com

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY ABOUT HORRIBLE HISTORIES

‘A brilliantly fun piece of educational theatre that taught this

history graduate a few new things’

Daily Telegraph

‘Is this any way for children to learn about history? Too right it is!

If lessons were always like this, kids would be queuing at the school gates!’

The Times

‘Mortgage the school if you have to. Ransom the governors, even.

No child or adult should be denied the chance to see this:

live theatre and history at its rip-roaring best’

Times Educational Supplement

‘These actors should be in every school history class across the land.

Or given how little most us know, maybe every living room!’

The Scotsman

‘Wholly accessible, educating, entertaining and enjoyable,

Horrible Histories live on stage is a tour de force. Five stars out of five!’

BBC.co.uk

LISTING INFORMATION

HORRIBLE HISTORIES

Tuesday 5 November 2019 – Friday 8 November 2019

STORYHOUSE

Hunter Street, Chester, CH1 2AR

Tickets £13.50 children under 14 / £18.50 adults

Each ticket is subject to a £1.50 booking fee

HORRIBLE HISTORIES: TERRIBLE TUDORS

Tuesday 5 November 2019 – Friday 8 November 2019

Tuesday 5 November 2019 at 5.30pm

Wednesday 6 November 2019 at 1.30pm

Thursday 7 November 2019 at 6pm

Friday 8 November 2019 at 10.30am

HORRIBLE HISTORIES: AWFUL EGYPTIANS

Wednesday 6 November 2019 – Friday 8 November 2019

Wednesday 6 November 2019 at 10.30am

Thursday 7 November 2019 at 10.30am

Friday 8 November 2019 at 6pm

HOW TO BOOK

Online:            Visit www.storyhouse.com

By Phone:       Call 01244 409 113

In person:       Visit the Ticket Kiosks at Storyhouse, Hunter Street, Chester, CH1 2AR

Website:         www.storyhouse.com

Facebook:       www.facebook.com/storyhouselive/

Twitter:           @StoryhouseLive

KILN THEATRE AND FICTIONAL COMPANY

ANNOUNCE THE FULL CAST FOR

THE LONDON PREMIÈRE OF MIKE BARTLETT’S NEW PLAY SNOWFLAKE

ALSO ANNOUNCED – THE RUN EXTENDS TO 25 JANUARY

Kiln Theatre and Fictional Company present

SNOWFLAKE

by Mike Bartlett

10 December 2019 – 25 January 2020

Director Clare Lizzimore; Designer Jeremy Herbert; Lighting Designer Jessica Hung Han Yun;

Sound Designer Elena Peña; Additional Casting Amy Ball

With the world premiere of Anupama Chandrasekhar’s When the Crows Visit about to open in Kilburn, and Florian Zeller’s The Son running in the West End, Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre Indhu Rubasingham today announces the full cast for the London première of Mike Bartlett’s latest play Snowflake which will run at Kiln Theatre over Christmas.  Clare Lizzimore directs Elliot Levy (Andy) and Ellen Robertson (Maya) who created their roles in the original run at Old Fire Station in Oxford; and they will be joined by Amber James (Natalie). The production opens on 16 December, with previews from 10 December; and also announced today ,the production extends for an additional week, now running until 25 January 2020. For a full schedule over Christmas, please see the website.

‘Because Christmas. Well… That’s when they say people come home.’

Andy’s 43. He loves nostalgic TV and pints down the pub. His daughter Maya is 21. She left home three years ago and hasn’t spoken to him since. This Christmas, Andy knows she’s coming back – Maya knows she’s not.

Snowflake is an epic story about generational conflict, fathers and daughters, and whether we’re living in the best or worst of times…

The critically acclaimed festive hit by Olivier Award-winning and BAFTA-nominated Mike Bartlett, directed by Olivier Award-winner Clare Lizzimore, makes its London debut at Kiln Theatre.

Amber James plays Natalie. Her theatre credits include Vassa (Almeida Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), A Streetcar Named Desire (ETT), Antony and Cleopatra, Titus Andronicus and Dido, Queen of Carthage (RSC), Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare’s Globe & International tour), Much Ado About Nothing (Queen’s Theatre) and The Gathered Leaves (Park Theatre). For television, her work includes Doc Martin and Ransom.

Elliot Levy plays Andy. His theatre work includes Three Sisters (Almeida Theatre), Snowflake (Old Fire Station, Oxford), Mary Stuart (Duke of York’s Theatre), Saint Joan, Coriolanus (Donmar Warehouse), The Mighty Walzer (Royal Exchange Manchester), The Ruling Class (Trafalgar Studios), Canvas (Chichester Festival Theatre), and for the National Theatre – Danton’s Death, The Habit of Art, All’s Well That End’s Well, England People Very Nice, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 and His Dark Materials. For television, his work includes Martin’s Close, Anne, State of the Union, Peaky Blinders, Press, Watergate, Black Earth Rising, Silent Witness, Man Down, The Child in Time, Ripper Street, Da Vinci’s Demons and Parade’s End; and for film, Murder on the Orient Express, Denial, Fallen, The Master of York, Florence Foster Jenkins, The Lady in the Van, Philomena, The Wall and The Queen.

Ellen Robertson plays Maya. Her theatre work includes Snowflake (Old Fire Station, Oxford). Robertson and her comedy partner, Charly Clive, have recently completed the second sold-out run of their debut show Britney at the Battersea Arts Centre – the production first played at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Soho Theatre and The VAULT Festival. Together they are developing a scripted television project with Pure producers Drama Republic. As a writer, her work includes Nesting (The Watermill Theatre), an episode of the web series Post Coital (which she also starred in) and is currently working on a new play, Any Willing Provider. For television, as an actor, her work includes The Pale Horse and In My Skin.

Mike Bartlett is a multi-award-winning stage and screen writer. He has won three Olivier Awards for his plays Cock (Royal Court Theatre – Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre), King Charles III (Almeida Theatre/Wyndham’s Theatre – Best New Play; also winner of Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Play), Bull (Young Vic – Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre). He also won the UK Theatre Award for Best New Play for Love, Love, Love, which transferred to the Royal Court Theatre. Other plays include Albion, Game (Almeida Theatre), Wild (Hampstead Theatre), 13, Earthquakes In London (National Theatre) and many others. He has previously been Writer-in-Residence at the Royal Court Theatre, National Theatre and Paines Plough. His television work has also won national acclaim, including hit BBC One series Doctor Foster, which won BAFTA, National Television, Royal Television Society and Broadcasting Press Guild Awards. Other TV credits include Press (BBC), Trauma, The Town (ITV – BAFTA nominated) and the TV adaptation of King Charles III (BBC).

Clare Lizzimore is an award-winning writer and director. Snowflake is her second collaboration with playwright Mike Bartlett, following Bull (Young Vic, Sheffield Theatres & 59E59 New York), which won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in An Affiliate Theatre. She has also won a Channel 4 Theatre Directors Award (Formally the RTYDS Award) and Arts Foundation Theatre Directing Fellowship; and she was previously resident director at Citizens Theatre, Glasgow and staff director at the National Theatre. Her other directing credits include One Day When We Were Young (Paines Plough/Sheffield Theatres/Shoreditch Town Hall), Lay Down Your Cross, On The Rocks (Hampstead Theatre), Pieces of Vincent (Arcola Theatre), Faces In The Crowd, The Mother (Royal Court Theatre), Fear and Misery, War and Peace (Royal Court Theatre/Latitude), The Most Humane Way To Kill a Lobster (Theatre503), and Tom Fool (Glasgow Citizens/Bush).

www.KilnTheatre.com

@KilnTheatre