From the moment the curtains opened I was captivated. This iconic Rogers and Hammerstein musical transported the audience to the Bangkok docks for the arrival of Anna, played by Annalene Beechey, and her son, played by Joseph Black, on a paddle steamer – a truly imposing first impression. Michael Yeargan’s set was incredible, you did not feel there was any compromise from the big stage to the tour and it so cleverly transformed from the docks to the Palace, where much of the production takes place.
The story, for those who may not know, is about an English widow who moves to Bangkok, with her son, to take on a teaching role for the family of the King of Siam (now modern-day Thailand). Growing up my family used to watch Yul Brynner every year in the role of the King and it is difficult to imagine anyone able to make this their own. Jose Llana did just that, he was imposing, he was funny, he was petulant and his on-stage relationship with Anna was delightfully frustrating. Annalene Beechey plays the strong, independent woman with such grace, such style, such elegance and as soon as she started singing ‘I Whistle a Happy Tune‘ you could see the heads of the audience swaying and bobbing along.
Although the story is predominately about Anna and the King, the supporting cast were well represented. Paulina Yeung in the role of Tuptim absolutely blew me away with her singing and from the audience reaction I think this was felt by everyone. Lady Thiang, played by Cezarah Bonner, was another strong presence. Her role as the Kings ‘head wife’ was sensitively portrayed as she brokers the relationship between her husband and the schoolteacher, who is trying to show the rest of the World he is not a barbarian, etcetera, etcetera.
The second half contained a performance within a performance with the depiction of ‘The Small House of Uncle Thomas‘ ballet. This was important to the story, as it is Tuptim’s way of showing the King the similarities between black slavery and how he ‘collects’ women to his Royal household as she has been, despite the fact she loves someone else. A very sensitive subject but cleverly interpreted. The choreography ingeniously depicted this ballet as if it were a shadow play, which is very much in-keeping with the time. The political, racial and religious aspects to the original story are not completely disguised, Bartlett Sher has done a fantastic job to sympathetically incorporate the essence of the original story, without the controversy it would cause in today’s climate.
The Royal children were absolutely delightful, they added some well punctuated humour and softness to the evening. The costumes were exquisite, Catherine Zuber has created an appropriately opulent feel to this production. This was a truly professional production in every aspect and will have you whistling happy tunes for the rest of the evening.
I arrived at Sunderland Empire expecting to see a tribute concert to the many glorious songs produced on the Motown label. However I was delighted to find that it is actually the Berry Gordy story – which might not be a dynamic name for a musical but it is a very compelling tale.
Gordy started out with a dream of wanting to be the best that he could be and a love of music. In his late 20’s he wrote Reet Petite for Jackie Wilson. Using the cash from his songwriting a loan from his family he opened Hitsville USA – that was destined to become the home of Motown.
From the very beginning there came a lifelong friendship with Smokey Robinson and, when he was in his mid 30’s, he started a relationship with a young Diana Ross – who he wanted to make the biggest star in the world.
There was a veritable smorgasbord of hits and artistes all on the Motown label: The Miracles, The 4 Tops, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Mary Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five and many more
Written by Gordy himself, the script isn’t the best but it’s the songs that tell the tale. Edward Baruwa who plays the man himself has an amazing voice and gives life to the vocals. His relationship with Diana Ross (Karis Anderson) and friendship with Smokey Robinson (Nathan Lewis) are at the heart of the show. Charting the humble beginnings, the segregation and racism, the different court cases and the coming and going of different artistes to his label, right up to the 25th anniversary of Motown – its a powerful production.
The live band lead by Griff Johnson is phenomenal, the hits come along almost straight after each other with no time to pause for breath, but yet the band plays on in sheer note perfection. After all it’s the music the audience are there for.
The scenery by David Korins is minimal, the costumes by Emilio Sosa are fabulous and Linda McKnights wigs are outstanding. Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams choreography is sublime and all under the direction of Charles Randolph-Wright
Whether you are there for the music or to find out the story behind it all, you won’t be disappointed. Motown the Musical is full of life and fabulous music. Proving beyond doubt that some tunes are classics that will never get old.
The aftermath of a teenager’s death really shouldn’t be this funny, but Sarah Rutherford has created a thoroughly modern, soul searching and hilarious play.
The sketchy details of 15-year-old Sam’s suicide are revealed slowly throughout the production as those closest to her struggle with their grief and guilt. The finger of blame points firmly at Sam’s mum Thea (Claire Goose) and her misguided act of discipline, but Sam’s friend Billie (Rosie Day) and her twin Lenny (Will Fletcher), who was also Sam’s boyfriend may be hiding their own culpability from the world and themselves. Thea meets Gil (Navin Chowdhry) in a coffee shop, but is the charming stranger all he seems, and does he have a connection with Sam?
The effect of social media on teenagers is tackled without hysteria, with the two teenagers’ conversations keeping the play from becoming too moralising. Sam’s peers’ reactions to her posts are authentic, and Thea’s extreme response is based on a real-life incident. There is an online community of parents who discipline/humiliate their children, record it and upload it – sharenting is a shockingly real thing that proves that it’s not only children who get seduced into doing stupid stuff online.
Rutherford nails the awkward nonsense that people come up with to fill silences and gives Thea some cracking one-liners oozing with sarcasm and frustration as she has to cope with sympathetic friends, vitriolic accusers and humanity in general. Claire Goose is fascinating to watch as Thea, portraying her whirlpool of emotions with quiet intensity and integrity. Navin Chowdhry is charmingly ambiguous as Gil. The twins carry the play, keeping in character with hilarious silent bickering even in scene changes as they gradually deconstruct the set, as the characters’ defences and lives break down. (A masterstroke from director Hannah Price, who gives the whole production an organic, unrushed flow.) Both actors capture teenage body language and attitudes brilliantly. Will Fletcher’s wide-eyed naivety and man-child body language are brilliant as Lenny struggles to cope with his sister’s reaction to Sam’s death. His scene with a drunken Thea as they celebrate Sam’s 16th birthday is comedy gold. Rosie Day, whizzing about the stage on her one heely reciting from her quote a day app, is every cocky, petulant teenage girl that has driven you mad, but with an underlying gentleness and wisdom that makes even the bluntest of her comments lovable. Her maturity shines through when she saves Thea and Gil and is able to admit what she did to Sam because of her childish jealousy and fear of being left behind by her best friend and brother. These are messy characters, with messy emotions and lives, and the unresolved search for a reason for Sam’s suicide feels justified, as there is no simple explanation or cause. The characters’ beginning to accept this fact and trying to continue with their lives is the perfect ending, played for bittersweet laughs.
Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds – on tour until 2 November 2019
Reviewed By Dawn Smallwood
3***
Box of Tricks brings Under Three Moons, a new play written by Daniel Kanaber, to the Carriageworks Theatre. It received its world premiere in Salford at the end of September and is currently on an Autumn Tour playing at eleven venues including this one. Under Three Moons is about two friends, Mike (Kyle Rowe) and Paul (Darren Kuppan) and they kill time and share their experiences across thirty years over three nights. The play begins, in their teens, a night from a school trip in France; another one, in their twenties, at a surf shack in Pembrokeshire; and, in their thirties, at Christmas time when Paul stays overnight at Mike’s place.
The main themes are friendship and growing together from when they were boys to men. This play explores how their friendship shapes them today from the good times and the not so good ones. Notably mental health is explored particularly with Paul and the challenges he faces. It is more so sharing and talking about the experiences of mental health which with this stigma is sadly still experienced particularly among men. The play is beautifully written and encourages one to think of the wide range life experiences both men went through past and present.
Under the direction of Adam Quayle, Under Three Moons, is well delivered with a simplistic but effective staging from Katie Scott. Louise Anderson’s creative and innovative lighting suits the mood of the play particularly with its night time settings and the captured moods from the story.
Both Rowe and Kuppan give excellent portrayals of Mike and Paul respectively and contribute to a short, approximately 70 minutes, but enjoyable play. Under Three Moons is touring until the beginning of November.
August Wilson provides a window into the lives of black Americans, living through historic moments in different decades, in a series of plays referred to as The Pittsburgh Cycle. Two Trains Running is based in the 60’s, on the cusp of the civil rights era giving way to The Black Power movement. Director Nancy Wilson has caught the mood of the moment, bringing passion, frustration, fear and hope into the every day, neighbourhood diner of Lower Hill District.
Leon Herbert (Holloway) gives resounding monologues, capturing the audience in his grasp with the fervour and pride in his war cry ‘they will pay my price’. Again later in his triumph in winning his battle with rich developers who wanted to knock down his diner. The young man Sterling (Michael Salami) is about the same age as the writer (Wilson) at this time and is said to embody his ardour and intensity, not least his humour. Salami is a tall and strong man that manages to bring a youthful, gangliness to his character Sterling – you can’t help but like him. Ray Emmet Brown gives Wolf a natural swagger that takes you straight back to that era. He perfectly narrates the historical junctures unfolding around them. Hambone (Derek Ezenagu) gives the piece a certain realism, evidence that life takes it toll in many forms. He gives the neighbourhood a tangible reason to bond together in life and death. Risa (Anita-Joy Uwajeh) remains her own person throughout, a symbol of female strength and fortitude.
The creative team have produced an amazing set, atmospheric and believable. A great balance of sound tracks coming from outside deliver history into the room.
In some ways this play reflects present day events. We are living through the long term impact of austerity, the uncertainty of Brexit and major town centre redevelopments all over the UK. Extinction Rebellion are giving the fear and anger of our young people a channel to protest for their future. It is worth reflecting on the fact that without the Civil Rights Era, Extinction Rebellion probably wanted exist.
I was looking forward to a good old Beatles fest and an evening of celebrating the Fab Four’s music. Growing up I can remember listening to all my mother’s Beatles albums, and ever since their tunes have always been a favourite of mine. A note here, my mum always said I could have her original lps, but unfortunately one of my brothers, after moving back home, decided to have a clear out and took them all to the tip. I was heartbroken, and still to this day am livid.
Entering the stage in their sharp black suits, the Fab Four, Paul (David Peterson), John (Clark Gilmour), George (Richard Petch) and Ringo (Joe Montague), started the ball rolling with She Loves You, which was only the beginning of a song packed show. Concentrating on the early part of their career, we were treated to hits, including Please, Please Me, Love Me Do, Hard Days Night, before a quick costume change and before the feast continues with tracks like Help, Paperback Writer and Ticket to Ride.
After what seemed an extended interval the band opened up the second half in full Sgt Pepper’s regalia, George’s outfit was a sight to behold. The hair was notably longer and the moustaches, started to make an appearance. The tunes of course continued, my favourites being Back in the USSR and Revolution and yet another costume change, John’s iconic white suit making an appearance.
This was truly a song packed show, and I came to realise that my personal preference is probably for their earlier or later music, their psychedelic phase not so much. All the while they stayed in character, each having at least one song to sing, and showed good interaction with the audience, with their cheeky Liverpudlian accents. This was predominately Paul and John, but only because they are the main vocalists. Montague, as Ringo, is a Yorkshire lad, and so this was his almost hometown show, and he loved it, encouraging us all to join in, drumsticks waving in the air.
All four showed great musicianship, creating that fab sound, and engaged well, injecting that bit of humour. Gilmour was amazing as John, both in looks and vocally. He showed a real connection with the audience, and even my other half, who does not do shows but accompanies me when needed, commented how good he was. Unfortunately, Peterson was full of cold I believe, and at times seemed to be suffering, but he still delivered and carried on regardless, a true artist. I do wonder though how different it would have been if he was fighting fit.
This was a great evening, dedicated to the Beatles, so very entertaining. It had me singing along and jigging in my seat, got told off for shaking the whole row by my other half, though that didn’t stop me. I still love the Beatles, even if they didn’t play my song, Michelle!
As hit musical Come From Away celebrates its 300th performance and 300,000th visitor in the UK, the Olivier Award-winning “Best New Musical” announces that it will further extend its hugely successful run in the West End until 23 May 2020.
This joyous musical tells the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded air passengers during the wake of 9/11, and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed, and nerves ran high, but as uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.
On 11 September 2001 the world stopped. On 12 September, their stories moved us all.
To honour the kindness and stewardship shown by the people of Newfoundland, the London company of Come From Away is pleased to announce a partnership with homeless charity Centrepoint. The partnership will include a gala performance on 7 November as well as members of the Come From Away team joining the Centrepoint ‘sleep-out’ on 21 November, to raise awareness and vital funds for the charity’s good work.
The multi award-winning musical continues sold-out, record-breaking engagements on Broadway, in Canada, in Australia and on a 60-city North American Tour. It has recently been announced that a tour of China will commence in Shanghai from May 2020, and a feature film adaptation is in the works.
The cast of Come From Away in the West End includes Jenna Boyd (Beulah and others), Nathanael Campbell (Bob and others), Clive Carter (Claude and others), Mary Doherty (Bonnie and others), Robert Hands (Nick, Doug and others), Helen Hobson (Diane and others), Jonathan Andrew Hume (Kevin J, Ali and others), Harry Morrison (Oz and others), Emma Salvo (Janice and others), David Thaxton (Kevin T, Garth and others), Cat Simmons (Hannah and others) and Rachel Tucker (Beverley, Annette and others) with Chiara Baronti, Mark Dugdale, Bob Harms, Kirsty Malpass, Tania Mathurin, Alexander McMorran, Brandon Lee Sears and Jennifer Tierney.
Under the Musical Direction of Alan Berry (Keyboard/Accordion/Harmonium), the band includes Matt Bashford (Whistles/Irish Flute/Uilleann Pipes), Aoife Ní Bhriain (Fiddle), Oli Briant (Electric, Acoustic and Nylon Guitars), Ray Fean (Bodhrán/Percussion), Joey Grant (Electric Bass/Acoustic Bass), Justin Quinn (Acoustic Guitar/Mandolins/Bazouki) and Ian Whitehead (Drums/Percussion).
Come From Away features a book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein and is directed by Christopher Ashley, with musical staging by Kelly Devine, music supervision and arrangements by Ian Eisendrath, scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Gareth Owen, hair design by David Brian Brown, orchestrations by August Eriksmoen, and casting by Pippa Ailion CDG and Natalie Gallacher CDG.
In addition to winning 4 Olivier Awards (London) including “Best New Musical”, Come From Away has scooped multiple awards all across North America: the Tony Award for “Best Direction of a Musical”, 5 Outer Critics Circle Awards (NYC) including “Outstanding New Broadway Musical”, 3 Drama Desk Awards (NYC) including “Outstanding Musical”, 4 Helen Hayes Awards (Washington DC) including “Outstanding Production of a Musical”, 4 Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Awards, 4 Gypsy Rose Lee Awards (Seattle) including “Excellence in Production of a Musical”, 6 San Diego Critics Circle Awards including “Outstanding New Musical”, 3 Toronto Theatre Critics Awards including “Best New Musical”, 3 Dora Awards (Toronto) including “Outstanding New Musical/Opera” and “Outstanding Production”, and the 2017 Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award (Toronto).
Come From Away was originally co-produced in 2015 by La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre, and presented in 2016 by Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC and Mirvish Productions at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, Canada, all in partnership with Junkyard Dog Productions. Come From Away (NAMT Festival 2013) was originally developed at the Canadian Music Theatre Project, Michael Rubinoff Producer, Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, and was further developed at Goodspeed Musicals’ Festival of New Artists, in East Haddam CT. The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle WA also provided development support.
Come From Away is produced in the UK by Junkyard Dog Productions and Smith & Brant Theatricals. The European premiere of Come From Away was co-produced with the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s National Theatre.
Alex Timbers’ acclaimed production to make UK Premiere
Opening March 2021 at Piccadilly Theatre, London
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Based on the 20th Century Fox Motion Picture by Baz Luhrmann
Global Creatures, the producers of Moulin Rouge!The Musical, are thrilled to announce today that the first UK production of the acclaimed show will open at the Piccadilly Theatre in London in March 2021.
“After ten years in development, and following the fantastic response to Moulin Rouge! The Musical in New York, we are thrilled to be sharing this musical with audiences in the UK. We can’t wait to bring the show to London!,” said producer Carmen Pavlovic, Global Creatures.
Enter a world of splendour and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur and glory! A world where Bohemians and aristocrats rub elbows and revel in electrifying enchantment. Pop the champagne and prepare for the spectacular spectacular…Welcome to Moulin Rouge! The Musical.
Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life onstage, remixed in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a theatrical celebration of truth, beauty, freedom, and — above all — love.
Directed by Alex Timbers (Here Lies Love at National Theatre, Tony Award®-nominated for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Peter and the Starcatcher) Moulin Rouge! The Musical has a book by John Logan (Tony Award® for Red, three-time Academy Award nominee, including for Gladiator and The Aviator), choreography by Sonya Tayeh (Lucille Lortel Award and Obie Award for Kung Fu, and Emmy winner), and music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Justin Levine (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson).
The design team for Moulin Rouge! The Musical includes Tony Award® winner Derek McLane (sets; his credits include Beautiful – The Carole King Musical), Tony Award® winner Catherine Zuber (costumes; credits include The King & I, for which she won the Olivier Award for Best Costume Design), two-time Tony Award® nominee Justin Townsend (lighting), Peter Hylenski (sound), Drama Desk Award winner David Brian Brown (wig and hair design; credits include Come From Away) and Sarah Cimino (Make-up design). Casting is by Pippa Ailion.
The musical, which features a lavish, immersive set, follows aspiring writer Christian and dancer Satine as they fall in love. But pressure mounts on Satine as her boss, Moulin Rouge owner Harold Zidler, relies on her to appease the Duke of Monroth, whose money will keep the establishment running.
As in the film, Moulin Rouge! The Musical celebrates some of the greatest popular music of the last 50 years. The stage musical features many of the iconic songs from the movie and also includes recent hits released since the movie premiered 18 years ago.
The Moulin Rouge! The Musical original Broadway Cast Album, which debuted #1 on Billboard’s Cast Albums Chart, is available at all digital and streaming providers by Baz Luhrmann’s label, House of Iona, and RCA Records. Click here to listen to the album. A physical edition of the album will be made available on October 25, 2019.
Released by 20th Century Fox, “Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!” premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. At the 74th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two.
The Moulin Rouge of Paris, managed by Jean-Jacques Clerico (CEO), is a dazzling and spectacular universe, the symbol of the Parisian way of celebrating since 1889. Starting life as a popular cabaret and dance hall, the venue became an iconic music hall in the Roaring Twenties, and then a theatre where numerous famous French and international artistes stepped out into the limelight.
Today in 2019, the Moulin Rouge and its 60 artistes present the Féerie revue show: two hours of amazement between cabaret and music hall styles where dance scenes and surprise acts intersperse – without forgetting the Moulin Rouge’s most emblematic dance, the French Cancan! Since its creation, the Moulin Rouge of Paris has always been an invitation to live and share all the emotions and effervescence of a unique party extravaganza. www.moulinrouge.fr/
Sonia Friedman Productions Gavin Kalin Productions, Rupert Gavin, Patrick Gracey/Scott M. Delman, 1001 Nights Productions, Tulchin Bartner Productions in association with Len Blavatnik, Eilene Davidson Productions, Louise & Brad Edgerton present
UNCLE VANYA By Anton Chekhov In a new adaptation by Conor McPherson Directed by Ian Rickson
Rosalind Eleazar, Aimee Lou Wood, Anna Calder-Marshall, Dearbhla Molloy, Peter Wight and Ciarán Hinds will join Toby Jones and Richard Armitage in a major new production of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.
Sonia Friedman Productions today announced further casting for Conor McPherson’s (The Weir, Girl from the North Country), new adaptation of Uncle Vanya directed by Ian Rickson (Jerusalem, The Seagull).
Rosalind Eleazar (The Personal History of David Copperfield, Deep Water, The Starry Messenger), Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education, Downstate), the Emmy Award-winning Anna Calder-Marshall (LOVE, Evening at the Talk House, Male of the Species), the Olivier and Tony-award nominated Dearbhla Molloy (The Ferryman, Dancing at Lughnasa, Juno and the Paycock), Peter Wight (The Birthday Party, Hamlet, The Red Lion) and Olivier Award-nominated Ciarán Hinds (Translations, Game of Thrones, Girl from the North Country) will perform alongside the previously announced Toby Jones and Richard Armitage.
The production will run for sixteen weeks at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 14th January 2020 with Opening Night on Thursday 23rd January 2020. Tickets are on sale now.
In the heat of summer, Sonya (Aimee Lou Wood) and her Uncle Vanya (Toby Jones) while away their days on a crumbling estate deep in the countryside, visited occasionally only by the local doctor Astrov (Richard Armitage).
However, when Sonya’s father Professor Serebryakov (Ciarán Hinds) suddenly returns with his restless, alluring, new wife Yelena (Rosalind Eleazar) declaring his intention to sell the house, the polite facades crumble and long repressed feelings start to emerge with devastating consequences.
Olivier Award-winner Conor McPherson’s stunning new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece, Uncle Vanya, is a portrayal of life at the turn of the 20th century, full of tumultuous frustration, dark humour and hidden passions. Critically acclaimed director Ian Rickson returns to Chekhov for the first time since his landmark production of The Seagull in 2007, reuniting with BAFTA and Olivier Award-winner Toby Jones (The Birthday Party) alongside Richard Armitage, who returns to the UK stage six years after his Olivier Award-nominated performance in The Crucible. Uncle Vanya is the eleventh collaboration between Ian Rickson and Sonia Friedman Productions, with previous productions including Rosmersholm, Jerusalem, The River, Betrayal and The Children’s Hour.
Uncle Vanya is designed by Rae Smith, with lighting by Bruno Poet, music by Stephen Warbeck, sound by Ian Dickinson and casting by Amy Ball CDG.
Rosalind Eleazer will play the role of Yelena. Born in London, Rosalind graduated from LAMDA in 2015, winning the Spotlight Prize for Best Drama School Graduate. She went on to make her stage debut in Plaques & Tangle at the Royal Court Theatre.
Her television credits include the series Deep Water for Kudos, in which she co-stars with Anna Friel and Sinead Matthews, Breeders, two series of Harlots, Howards End, Rellik, NW, National Treasure and Lore.
She makes her feature film debut in The Personal History of David Copperfield, directed by Armando Iannucci, which has just opened the London Film Festival and is due for general release in January 2020.
Most recently Rosalind appeared at Wyndham’s Theatre in The Starry Messenger opposite Matthew Broderick and Elizabeth McGovern.
Aimee Lou Wood is a UK actress, who came to international attention as Aimee in Netflix’s Sex Education, starring opposite Gillian Anderson, Asa Butterfield, and James Purefoy.
Aimee also recently wrapped on the biopic Louis Wain, directed by Will Sharpe and staring Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough, Sharon Rooney, Stacey Martin and Hayley Squires.
Earlier this year, she starred as Effie in the acclaimed Downstate at the National Theatre.
Aimee graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2017.
Dearbhla Molloy will perform the role of Grandmaman. Dearbhla was recently nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman (Royal Court/Gieldud/Bernard B. Jacobs, Broadway).
Her other theatre credits include In Celebration, Arcadia, Hamlet, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing (West End), The Cripple of Inishmaan (Drama Desk Award and Irish Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress), Hinterland, On the Ledge (National Theatre), The Hostage, Shadow of a Gunman, Lovegirl and the Innocent (RSC); Ditch (Old Vic Tunnels), The Seagull (Edinburgh Festival), Doubt (Tricycle), Juno and the Paycock for which she won the London Critics’ Award for Best Supporting Actress (Donmar/Roundabout), Macbeth (Bristol Old Vic), All My Sons (Liverpool), Trojan Women (Gate, London), And No More Shall We Part (Hampstead), Dancing at Lughnasa ( Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play, Drama Desk Award, Theatre World Special Award), A Touch of the Poet, Outside Mullingar (Broadway), The Cripple of Inishmaan (Atlantic Theatre / US Tour), Much Ado About Nothing (Guthrie Minneapolis), Afterplay (Irish Rep, New York), Moment (Studio Theatre, Washington DC), Translations, Aristocrats, The Misanthrope, Ivanov, Living Quarters, Mrs Warren’s Profession, A Life (Irish Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress) (Abbey Theatre), Phaedre, Uncle Vanya,The Philanthropist, Come on Over (Gate, Dublin); The Plough and the Stars (Gaiety).
Dearbhla’s television credits includes Women on the Verge, Acceptable Risk, Scandal, Family Tree, Quirke, Casualty, Coronation Street, Midsomer Murders, Foyle’s War, Waking the Dead, New Tricks, 55 Degrees North, Stan, Touch of Frost, Sex and the City, The Fragile Heart
Her film credits include Wild Mountain Thyme, 3096, No Reservations, The Damned United, Tara Road, The Blackwater Lightship, Home for Christmas, Bloom, Frankie Starlight, Run of the Country, Loaded and This is the Sea.
Dearbhla was the recipient of the US Audie Award for Best Female Solo Narration for My Dream of You by Nuala O’Faolain for which she also received a Grammy Award nomination.
Anna Calder-Marshall will play the role of Nana. Anna is an award-winning stage and screen actress, whose theatre credits include Lost Without Words, LOVE, Evening at the Talk House, The Secret Rapture, The Seagull (National Theatre); The Philistines (RSC); Temple, Salt, Root & Rose (Donmar); Measure for Measure, Hamlet, Saint Joan, Peer Gynt (Birmingham Rep); The Lady’s Not for Burning, Caesar and Cleopatra (Chichester); The Bargain, Troilus and Cressida (Theatre Royal Bath); Open Court: Death Tax, Uncle Vanya (Royal Court Theatre); The Herd (Bush Theatre); The Wild Duck (Lyceum); Antigone (Old Vic); A Kind of Alaska, Tejas Verdes (The Gate, London); The Importance of Being Earnest (Oxford Playhouse); Bird Calls (Sheffield Crucible); Comfort Me With Apples (Hampstead Theatre); Pastoral (Soho & Hightide); Danger: Memory! (Jermyn Street Theatre); The House of Bernada Alba (Hammersmith Lyric)
Anna’s extensive television credits include Harlots, Les Misérables, Casualty, Scott and Bailey, New Tricks, The Bill, Holby Blue, Poirot, Dalziel and Pascoe, Doctor Who, Midsomer Murders, Witness Against Hitler, Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, Lovejoy, Heartbeat, Blood Royal: William the Conqueror, Rules of Engagement, Inspector Morse, Titus Andronicus, Strangers and Brothers, King Lear, The Winter’s Tale, Hammer House of Horror, Bloomers, Matilda’s England, A Woman’s Place?, The Duchess of Duke Street, Crown Court, Under Western Skies, Affairs of the Heart, Play for Today, Male of the Species for which she won an Emmy for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Sanctuary, Love Story, The Wednesday Play.
Her film credits include Last Christmas, Us Among the Stones, Love,Trespass Against Us, 13 Steps Down, Anna Karenina, Saints-Ex, Zulu Dawn, Wuthering Heights
Peter Wight will play the role of Telegin. Peter’s theatre credits include Rosmersholm (Duke of York Theatre), The Birthday Party (Harold Pinter Theatre), Hamlet (Almeida/Harold Pinter Theatre), The Red Lion, Ivanov, Sleep With Me, Murmuring Judges, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Black Snow, Waiting for Godot (National Theatre), The Seagull (Royal Court/Broadway), Trelawny of The Wells (Donmar Warehouse), Otherwise Engaged, Chekhov’s Women (West End), The Spanish Tragedy, Much Ado About Nothing, Barbarians, A Clockwork Orange, Hamlet (RSC), In The Republic of Happiness, In Basildon, Face to the Wall, Not A Game for Boys (Royal Court), The Caretaker (Globe Theatre Warsaw), Edward II, Mouth to Mouth (Royal Exchange Manchester), Dearly Beloved, Grace (Hampstead Theatre), A State of Affairs, Othello, Commedia, Progress (Lyric Hammersmith), Julius Caesar (Riverside Studios), A Passion in Six Days, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Nest (Sheffield Crucible), King Lear, The Three Sisters (Birmingham Rep), Hard To Get (Traverse Edinburgh).
His television credits include A Confession, This Time with Alan Partridge, Vanity Fair,Brief Encounters, I Want My Wife Back, Our Zoo, The Mimic, The Paradise, Hit and Miss, Public Enemies, Titanic, Money, Monday Monday, Boy Meets Girl, 10 Days to War, Party Animals, Eastenders, Persuasion, Fantabulosa!, Early Doors, Room at the Top, The Security Men, and Uncle Adolf.
Peter’s film credits include The Sense of an Ending, Another Mother’s Son, The Program, Mr Turner, King of Soho, Brakes, Only You, Kon-Tiki, Hard Boiled Sweets, Clone, Atonement, Hot Fuzz, Lassie, Babel, Pride and Prejudice, The Statement, Lucky Break, Shiner and with Mike Leigh, Another Year, Mr Turner, Vera Drake, Naked, Secrets, Lies and Meantime.
The role of Professor Serebryakov will be performed by Ciarán Hinds. Ciarán began his career at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre and was a member of the company for many years. In Ireland he has worked at the Lyric Theatre Belfast, the Druid Theatre in Galway and at the Project. Ciarán is currently appearing at the National Theatre in Brian Friel’s Translations. Prior to this Ciaran played the role of Nick in Conor McPherson’s Girl from the North Country in the West End and the Old Vic. Extensive theatre credits include Lyndsey Turner’s Hamlet at the Barbican, Mark O’Rowe’s new play Our Few and Evil Days at the Abbey Theatre. Donmar Theatre and New York productions of Conor McPherson’s The Night Alive, on Broadway as Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, in a co-production with the Royal National Theatre of Juno and The Paycock by Sean O’Casey, directed by Howard Davies. For the Gate Theatre he appeared in Conor McPherson’s The Birds, the Field Day Company’s version of Antigone, The School for Wives and Brian Friel’s The Yalta Game.
He toured internationally with Peter Brook’s Company in The Mahabharata and has played leading roles at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court, the Donmar Warehouse and the National Theatre, where he last appeared in Burnt by The Sun and played Larry in Patrick Marber’s Closer, which transferred to Broadway. He also performed on Broadway in Conor McPherson’s The Sea Farer.
Ciarán’s television credits include MotherFatherSon, as John Franklin in The Terror, as Mance Rayder in Game of Thrones and as Bud Hammond in Political Animals, DCI Langton in Linda La Plante’s Above Suspicion and as Julius Caesar in the BBC/HBO co-production of Rome. This follows extensive television credits including leading roles in The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Jane Eyre, Seaforth, Ivanhoe, Sherlock Holmes, Prime Suspect 3 and the award-winning film of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, in which he played Captain Wentworth.
His extensive film credits include Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, December Bridge, Circle of Friends, Titanic Town, Some Mother’s Son, Oscar and Lucinda, The Lost Son, The Weight of Water and Mary Reilly, The Road To Perdition for Sam Mendes, The Sum of All Fears, Mickybo and Me, Calendar Girls, Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life, The Statement, Veronica Guerin and The Phantom of the Opera both for Joel Schumacher, Miami Vice for Michael Mann and Munich for Steven Spielberg. Amazing Grace for Michael Apted, Nativity for Catherine Hardwicke, Hallam Foe, A Tiger’s Tail, Excalibur for John Boorman, Margot at the Wedding for Noah Baumbach, There Will Be Blood for Paul Thomas Anderson, Stop Loss for Kimberly Pearce, In Bruges for Martin McDonagh, The Tale of Despereaux, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Cash, Race To Witch Mountain, Conor McPherson’s The Eclipse for which he won Best Actor at the Tribeca Film Festival, Life During Wartime, The Debt, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, John Carter of Mars, Salvation Boulevard, The Rite, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, The Woman in Black, Closed Circuit, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, The Sea, Frozen, Last Days in the Desert, Agent 47 , Driftless area, Bleed for This, Silence for Martin Scorsese, Woman Walks Ahead, Red Sparrow, Justice League and most recently First Man.
LISTINGS
UNCLE VANYA by Anton Chekhov In a new adaptation by Conor McPherson Directed by Ian Rickson Designer – Rae Smith Lighting Designer – Bruno Poet Composer – Stephen Warbeck Sound Designer – Ian Dickinson Casting Director – Amy Ball CDG
Uncle Vanya – Toby Jones Astrov – Richard Armitage Yelena – Rosalind Eleazer Sonya – Aimee Lou Wood Nana – Anna Calder-Marshall Grandmaman – Dearbhla Molloy Telegin – Peter Wight Professor Serebryakov – Ciarán Hinds
Harold Pinter Theatre Panton St, London SW1Y 4DN
First Preview: Tuesday 14th Jan 2020, 19:30 Opening Night: Thursday 23rd Jan 2020, 19:30 Final Performance: Saturday 2nd May 2020, 19:30
Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm
Box Office: 0844 871 7622 Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge. Group Bookings: 020 7206 1174 Standard network charges apply. Access Bookings: 0800 912 6971 Free Call Customer Services: 0844 871 7627 Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge.
Audio Described Performance: Wednesday 12th Feb 2020, 19:30 Captioned Performance: Wednesday 26th Feb 2020, 19:30
Reduced price tickets for Preview performances Tickets from just £15/ £10 in Previews
Cast announced for Antic Disposition’s A Christmas Carol Middle Temple Hall, Middle Temple Lane, London, EC4Y 9AT Saturday 21st – Monday 30th December 2019
Returning to the spectacular Middle Temple Hall, where Charles Dickens himself studied law, Antic Disposition’s acclaimed adaptation of A Christmas Carol is back for a fifth magical season this December. One of London’s most heart-warming festive treats, the production combines the ghostly tale of Ebenezer Scrooge with original songs inspired by traditional Victorian Christmas carols.
Olivier Award-nominated West End actor David Burt (Enjolras in the original cast of Les Misérables, Palace Theatre; original cast of Evita, Prince Edward Theatre) returns for a fourth year with his critically acclaimed performance as the ill-tempered Ebenezer Scrooge. Also returning is Haydn Oakley (An American in Paris, Dominion Theatre; Sunset Boulevard, London Coliseum) who originated the role of Bob Cratchit in the production.
The talented cast of actor-musicians also includes Geri Allen as Mrs. Cratchit/Mrs. Fezziwig; Megan Ashley as Belle; Chris Courtenay as the Ghost of Jacob Marley; Elliot Fitzpatrick as Fred/Young Scrooge; Lucy Ford as Martha Cratchit/Fan; Katie Lovell as the Ghost of Christmas Past; Nigel Richards as the Ghost of Christmas Present/Fezziwig; and Matt Whipps as Peter Cratchit/Teen Scrooge. Completing the cast are Jacob Fullagar and Noah Swer-Fox, who will share the roles of Tiny Tim/Boy Scrooge.
A Christmas Carol is adapted for the stage by Antic Disposition artistic directors Ben Horslen and John Risebero, who together founded the Peter Brook Award-winning company in 2005. Their recent productions include Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth in Temple Church; The Comedy of Errors and Much Ado About Nothing in Gray’s Inn Hall; and Henry V, which recently toured twenty of the UK’s cathedrals.
The production’s stunning score is composed and arranged by Nick Barstow, who recently reorchestrated the musical Rags ahead of its UK premiere at the Hope Mill Theatre, as well as being the musical director of theatrical supergroup The Cardinals, featuring Ramin Karimloo, Ben Forster, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Celinde Schoenmaker.
Hidden away in central London, the magnificent wood-panelled Middle Temple Hall was completed in 1573. A location well-known to Dickens himself, the historical gem is the perfect setting to immerse yourself in this adaptation of his beloved Christmas classic.
Artistic Directors Ben and John comment, As the nights draw in, we’re excitedly making preparations for a fifth season of A Christmas Carol in one of our very favourite venues, the extraordinary Middle Temple Hall. A feast of mulled wine, mince pies, music and magic for all the family, this show is the perfect celebration of the festive season, and we can’t wait to share it with audiences old and new.
