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FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF

WRITTEN BY TIM STIMPSON
DIRECTED BY JOSEPH O’MALLEY

1 SEPTEMBER – 11 OCTOBER
TICKETS ON SALE HERE

CEO and Artistic Director Iwan Lewis, Executive Director Liam McMullan, and the whole team of the Barn Theatre in Cirencester, are delighted to announce the full cast  for the world premiere of Tim Stimpson’s play Haywire – A Not-So-Everyday Story Of How The Archers Was Born (Monday 1 September – Saturday 11 October, with a national press night on Thursday 4 September).

Liam Horrigan (Cockfosters at Southwark Playhouse, Cluedo 2 with JAS Theatricals, Two’s A Crowd with Horrigan & Howell) will play ‘Sam’; In the role of ‘Jessica’ will be Geebs Marie Williams (Bobby and Amy with Claire Evans Ltd, Skyvers at Almeida Theatre, The Lesson at Theatre 503); Rosanna Miles (What The Butler Saw at New Vic Theatre, Richard, My Richard (R&D) with the National Theatre, Home, I’m Darling at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmonds) will be ‘Fiona’; Olivia Bernstone (In And Out Of Love at The Hope Theatre, The White Factory at The Marylebone Theatre, Barefoot In The Park at Frinton Summer Theatre)will be playing ‘Abbie’; playing the role of ‘Martin’ will be Anthony Glennon (The Sign of the Four and Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville at Vienna’s English Theatre, Aladdin with PMA Productions); Kieran Brown (The Crown Jewels at the Garrick Theatre, The Mousetrap as part of it’s 70^th anniversary tour, Trainspotting with Phil Macintyre Entertainments) will play Adrian and in the role of ‘Jonty’ will be James Mack (The Autobiography of a Cad and Much Ado About Nothing at the Watermill Theatre, Spike with PW Productions).

Joiningwriter Tim Stimpson and director Joseph O’Malley will be set and costume designer Alfie Heywood, with lighting design provided by Adam Foley, composer and sound designer will be Amanda Priestley and casting direction will come from Emily Jones and Anthony Houghton.

This new play, licensed by the BBC, to be performed ahead of the 75th anniversary of BBC Radio 4’s The Archers on 1st January  2026, uses the magic of radio drama to whisk the audience back to the halcyon days when public gathered around their wirelesses to listen and lose themselves in the live, trials and tribulations of a fictional farming family.

In a cold British December in 1950, producer Godfrey Baseley assembled a group of actors in a studio above a used car showroom in Birmingham, to record the first ever episode of The Archers. Now, the ‘everyday story of country folk’ remains a proud staple of British pop culture and is one of the BBC’s top on-demand programmes on BBC Sounds.

Haywire is a fond and funny celebration of one of British media’s most enduring creations, paired with a deep affection for the craft of radio.

It is a love letter to The Archers and the minds that created it – an exclusive invitation to experience the tears and laughter, the triumphs and calamities, that can happen both in front of and behind the mic.

The Archers writer Tim Stimpson said, “It’s been a long-standing ambition of mine to tell the extraordinary story of how a small team of writers, actors and producers recording above a used car showroom in the centre of post-war Birmingham created what is now the world’s longest running soap – sorry, ‘continuing drama’. the Barn is certainly more salubrious than the BBC studios were back then, but I feel the spirit of creativity and ambition is very much the same. I couldn’t be more delighted to be working with them. Plus, how could a play about The Archers be performed anywhere other than a theatre called the Barn?!”

The Archers Editor Jeremy Howe said, “Tim Stimpson and I went to the Barn Theatre and tentatively pitched Haywire to them, a comedy that is a love song to  the early years of The Archers, Britain’s most loved and longest running drama. They bit our hands off to commission it. I am delighted for The Archers to be working with the Barn Theatre, one of the most dynamic and welcoming theatres in the land, and I cannot wait to be sitting in the front row on the opening night of Tim’s Haywire.”

Barn Theatre’s CEO and Artistic Director Iwan Lewis and Executive Director and Producer Liam McMullan said, “We’re incredibly excited for the Barn to premiere Haywire as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of The Archers. As lifelong listeners, it’s thrilling to finally see with our eyes what we’ve listened to for decades. We’re hugely grateful to the BBC for trusting us with one of their most prized assets, and to Tim Stimpson and Jeremy Howe for their belief in the Barn. We’re also thrilled to be back in the rehearsal room with long-time Barn Director Joseph O’Malley, who brings humour and heart and to everything he does.”

The Barn Theatre is an award-winning producing-house in the heart of the Cotswolds, on a mission to inspire communities and champion the power of storytelling.

A WATERMILL THEATRE PRODUCTION

CREATIVE TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR

A NEW ADAPTATION BY ROB MADGE

FRIDAY 3 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER

BASED ON THE PLAY BY BRANDON THOMAS

DIRECTED BY SOPHIE DRAKE

BOOK ONLINE AT WATERMILL.ORG.UK OR VIA THE BOX OFFICE ON
01635 46044

Joint CEOs Artistic Director Paul Hart and Executive Director Claire Murray, and the whole team at Newbury’s Watermill Theatre are delighted to announce the creative team for Rob Madge’s brand-new adaptation of Charley’s Aunt, a Watermill Theatre production playing from Friday 3 October to Saturday 15 November.

Following the acclaimed UK tour and New York transfer of My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?), as well as their performance as Emcee in Cabaret, theatre maker, writer and actor Rob Madge adapts a dazzling new take on this much-loved farce. Reimagined with a sprinkling of queer joy, this new production proudly celebrates new identities and true identities, with a lot of laughs along the way.

Charley’s Aunt will be directed by Sophie Drake with Set & Costume Design by Alex Berry, Lighting Design from Ben Jacobs and the score will be composed by Lauryn Redding who is returning to the Watermill after her composition work on Three Hens in a Boat.

Cast to be announced soon.

Rob Madge said: “I am thrilled to be adapting Brandon Thomas’ hysterical play for the Watermill. It already has all the ingredients of a classic farce – star crossed lovers, mistaken identities, belly laughs galore – so we are very lucky to have that as a foundation. It’s been my job to bring it bang up to date, whilst retaining the integrity of the original – don’t worry, we are still setting the piece firmly in Victorian England but there might be one or two surprises along the way. I can guarantee a night of laughs, joy and PRIDE! Hope you can come to the party!”

Director Sophie Drake said, “I’m delighted to be directing Rob Madge’s audacious reimagining of Charley’s Aunt at the Watermill this autumn. Farce is able to expose the masks we wear – of class, gender, decorum – with surprising clarity, and Rob’s adaptation allows us to witness the absurdity of such practices. This adaptation honours Brandon Thomas’ original structure while reframing it through a contemporary, queer lens, allowing the story’s deeper resonances to emerge without losing its sense of play. We’ve kept the period setting but allowed theatricality to take centre stage: pop music, eclectic and vibrant design all serve the sharp comedy and heighten the emotional truths beneath the artifice. The Watermill’s intimate space is the perfect home for a play in which the line between performance and reality blurs, where what begins as chaos slowly reveals something tender, political, and unmistakably human. I can’t wait to share it with audiences.”

As part of a partnership with Newbury Pride, Watermill Theatre will be hosting their first Come As You Are Night, which will take place on Monday 27 October ahead of the evening’s performance, inviting guests to attend as their most comfortable self for drinks and nibbles from 6pm. There will be individual bathrooms open before and after the evening’s performance offering everyone the opportunity to get changed should they wish.

For more information on Newbury Pride, please visit: newburypride.org.uk
Instagram: newburypride

Tickets for Charley’s Aunt are available at watermill.org.uk/events/charleys-aunt or by calling the box office on 01635 46044. Tickets for ages 16-30 are discounted to £10 for Mon-Wed performances (band D) when joining the Watermill’s 16-30: Beginners scheme.

Actor and singer Hannah Bristow sat down with fairypowered to answer 20 questions. Hannah is currently playing Chava on tour in Fiddler on the Roof.  Due to appear at Leeds Grand Theatre from 2 August, tickets available here

Let’s start with a few favourites

Favourite show (whether you have been in it or not)?

I really like Sweeney Todd, which can sound like a weirdly morbid choice, but I think it’s not really about blood and pies, but actually about what happens when we put our love in the wrong places and how the hell we live with that yearning; plus booming strings and Sondheim’s Lyrics. Obsessed

Favourite book?

I really love “Letters to a Young Poet” by Rainer Maria Rilke.

It’s written by a man in his 30s who somehow has written with the wisdom of someone three times that. It’s Rilke writing to his cousin who is an aspiring poet, and heartbroken, and anxious, and struggling, and probably depressed, and is about how to be an artist and and human, how to hold your own, how to deal with critics, how to feel your feelings, how to love and be loved, and create, and defy and continue in this tricky (and sometimes terribly painful) world we live in.

And I LOVED Samantha Harvey’s “Orbital” which won the 2024 Booker this year. LOVED

Favourite theatre?

I grew up in the Midlands and I maintain that the Birmingham REP is the best designed theatre in the UK. It’s an amphitheatre that bows in the middle of each row: it’s huge, and yet because of that design everyone has a direct sightline to the stage, and when you play it (which I did in 2017), it has the intimacy of a studio. Everyone is like, folded on top of you, all 1000 of them. It’s awesome. It’s fire.

Now I live in London, and I really do love the National and go there maybe an unfashionable amount. Soho Theatre also does something extremely special. They’re both about variety, I guess. I’m into that

Favourite song?

Pass!I really like the album “Diamond Mine” by King Creosote, and John Hopkins. It’s an electronic remix of folk music recorded on cassette tapes, and Hopkins also mixes in ambient sound from King Creosote’s home town in Scotland. It’s a good headphone-dark-room-beginning-to-end sort of album. The third song, “Bats in the Attic” begins with an explosion of strings that never fails to make me cry

Favourite music?

I really like folk, the Bon Iver, Big Red Machine kind. I really like electronic music. I listen to a hell of a lot of pop. Good pop, bad pop, all pop

Favourite food?

I love sausages and mash. (I wasn’t raised kosher). Especially if it’s got cheese in it in the way they do in France sometimes

Favourite drink?

I’m usually making cups of very milky tea and leaving them half-drunk around and behind me wherever I go

What is your favourite role?

I am loving playing Chava in “Fiddler on the Roof”. She is me in lots of ways, and also isn’t me in others, and she has bored down inside me to carve an extremely special place in my heart. She is so loved and loving, and so defiant and true to herself, and so sure of what she wants and what she thinks is right. And she is so quietly clever. She’s so playful and silly too. I will miss her immensely when this job ends

What was your first role?

I was the Inn Keeper in the Nativity. I sat centrestage and grinned a lot as everyone else told the story around me

And what role would you really like to play?

We’ve already mentioned “Sweeney”, but Mrs Lovett is up there. There are also a lot of Shakespearean women I’d love to play, Queen Maragret in “Richard III”, Rosalind in “As You Like It”. I’d love to play any of the Ancient Greeks. I’d play any of the Alisons in “Fun Home” too. But mainly actually, a friend of mine about 10 years ago pointed out that the parts for me, for us, are still being written, and most haven’t been written yet. I want to play those, and lots of them

If you weren’t a performer what would you be?

Realistically, an English teacher. Unrealistically, an astrophysicist

What made you decide to be a performer?

I think I really really care about how people interact and communicate and why, and how feelings move us and charge us, and the question of how the hell do we co-exist in this tricky world where life can be so tough at times. I spend most of my time thinking about that. I think theatre is where we explore that together. Where we dig in and decide to all sit in a room and feel together and exercise our empathy.

Then, more superficially: I think I’m good at it; it gives me a stupid adrenaline-junkie rush; it’s the best job in the world. Those reasons. And because I’ve been lucky, and so far luck has let me be a performer

Do you enjoy touring?

I think we should make no bones about the fact that touring is tough. Eight three-hour shows a week is a lot, and more when you’re travelling from place to place between, and you’re away from your people, and your duvet, sofa and salt shaker. However, I have done a lot of touring, and it’s taught me a lot about how to carry and build your sense of home with you, and with the people you tour with.

I think theatre gets a bit stuck and overfocussed on London. It’s inevitable really, it’s where the money and work is, so we all move here and then it all just becomes a self-driving, inward-facing, self-feuling prophecy.

I think really often we forget that touring is what theatre is all about. The theatre’s routes are on the back of a Medieval wooden cart that moves from town to town. It’s about taking a story you care about to as many people as possible, because sharing storytelling is important. I grew up out of London, in Leicester, and I still remember the productions that toured to me and burnt into my retinas: and I walk past some of their posters on the walls of the Barbican corridors when I walk to my dressing room each day at the moment.

That’s what we’re doing with touring “Fiddler” right now. For better or for worse, at this moment, this play resonates for so many people in so many ways on so many corners and sides of politics. That feels vital. For me, it’s a play about love and empathy and how we need to move and change and adapt to sail the tide, to survive and remain united. Tides of change cannot be stopped. We cannot escape who we are or where we’ve come from, but community and seeing past what separates us to what can hold us together – while we hold on to ourselves – is what will save us. Balancing that is hard: but that’s living. It is a play about remembering that what unites us is more fruitful than what divides us; and, unfortunately too, a play that reminds us that power, oppression, displacement and division are perennial foes for humanity. It’s about what all those things mean for Jews and Judaism, but what they mean for everyone and everything else actually too. That’s why this play has endured, and that is something I am proud to take round the country… and am willing to miss my duvet for

What advice would you give 16 year old you?

That the thing that you think is strange or weird about you is actually the thing that makes you most interesting and watchable. That’s actually the thing people want to see; that’s what people want to watch; that’s what makes you valuable. The bravery to be vulnerable and show it openly and gently and truthfully to the world is the endeavour of a lifetime

Do you fancy branching out in Producing or Directing?

I think probably/maybe I will end up directing at some point. I love theatre too much and have too many opinions not to, I think. But honestly, who knows, I truly think directing is the hardest job in the room: you have to spin all the plates and manage everyone at the same time. Impossible.

I lack the skills to be a producer, I don’t know how they do it. They have my endless respect

What was the last stage show you saw and really enjoyed?

I recently saw “Here We Are” at the National, which is Sondheim’s last, half-written musical. It split audiences, but for me it was sort of perfect. It started as a big budget musical about the absurdity of the ultra-rich trying to find somewhere to have brunch in Manhattan, whilst their radical leftish cousin plotted the revolution that would end the world. By the second act, Sondeheim was dead, the music had dried up, the Revolution and Armageddon were happening, and the super rich were all confined to a single room with no water and no toilet and had to face the question of what we do when the world as we know it ends: when the water and the money dry up, who the hell do we become? It was what happened if a musical turned into an existentialist play; if Sondheim and Sartre collaborated, or had a baby. It was everything I love about theatre, asking all the questions I think we need to be asking in all the weirdest ways. I loved it

Favourite line from any show?

This is honestly an impossible question. But I’ll give you a line from our show as a compromise.

Mendel: “Rabbi, we’ve waited for the Messiah all our lives. Wouldn’t this be a good time for him to come?”

Rabbi: “We’ll have to wait for him someplace else”

I think that’s sort of life in a nutshell

And/Or

I was in a kids’ Christmas show once where I played a reindeer who, at the start of the story, fell out of the sky into the middle of a safari park. Very shocking. Very out of place. Poor reindeer. Etc etc. I stood up, shook myself off, looked around and said “Wow, what is this place?!”

One night, at that moment, a child shouted, helpfully, at the top of their lungs, from the very back: “It’s a theatre!!”

That’s my favourite line from any show ever. Never has a truer word been spoken.

If you could be anyone else for the day, who would it be?

Maybe a carpenter who lives in the mountains somewhere. Somewhere warm. (I may just need a holiday). Or maybe someone like Trump, Bezos or Musk, so I could give myself a good talking to

What are the nicest/weirdest things you have ever received from fans?

I actually don’t get much of this, and am often leaving theatres late or in my own world and so am quite bad at engaging with people who might be wanting to do this sort of thing: for which I am honestly really sorry. But I’ve received some amazing cards and messages from people over the years, especially recently and that means loads.

But: My mum sends me flowers every opening night, and she’s my biggest fan. That’s the nicest thing

Can you tell us what you will be up to next?

I’m in Anatevka until early January 2026, that’s a long time, and it’s rare that I ever know what I’m doing more than 6 months in advance anyway. That’s sort of why I love acting. Change is the only constant: it’s such an honest career. So no, nothing to report for afterwards. For now. Something new, something else, something exciting, something I haven’t thought of yet. That’s the hope.

So in lieu of what’s next: come see what we’re doing now. We’re touring “Fiddler on the Roof” all over the UK and Ireland until January 2026. Heres to tour; to Life, L’Chaim

Fiddler on the Roof is on tour around the UK.  Tickets can be found here

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY’S

MULTI-AWARD WINNING MUSICAL

ANNOUNCES CAST FOR

UPCOMING TOUR OF

TIM MINCHIN MAKES SURPRISE VISIT TO THE

REHEARSAL ROOM TO MEET

THE YOUNG TOUR CAST

WWW.MATILDATHEMUSICAL.COM

Casting was announced today for the upcoming tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Matilda The Musical, which this year celebrates 15 years on stage.  The highly acclaimed musical,  based on Roald Dahl’s beloved book, begins performances at the Curve in Leicester on 6 October 2025.

Madison Davis, Mollie Hutton, Olivia Ironmonger and Sanna Kurihara will share the title role of Matilda.

Richard Hurst will play Miss Trunchbull, Tessa Kadler will play Miss Honey, Adam Stafford will play Mr Wormwood and Rebecca Thornhill will play Mrs Wormwood.

They are joined by Scotty Armstrong, Sam Holden, Portia Jefferies, Caiomhe Judd, Brooke Kelly, Ryan Lay, Cassandra Lee, Samuel Leon, Jordan Maisuria-Wake, Nicole Manumbre, Lizzie Nance, Esther Niles, Jordan Ricketts, Josh Singleton, Bradley Trevethan, Ella Tweed, Ben Tyler and Karen Walker.

The other young performers announced today are:  Rudy Bragg, Jacob Connor-Ashton, Charlie Cox, Sylvie Grace, Rose Jammeh, Dottie Jones, Takunda Khumalo, Sana Lennon, Oisin-Luca Pegg, Millie-May Mankowska, Tate Masuku, Leo Maurice, Carter-J Murphy, Jaxon James Nolan, Cole Nicholson, Pixie Pettigrew, Brodie Robson, Haiden Sihapanya and Felix Schmitt.

Tim Minchin, who wrote the music and lyrics for the musical, made a surprise visit to the rehearsal room this week to meet the young tour cast. 

Following its run in  Leicester in October, Matilda The Musical travels to Bradford, Liverpool, Plymouth, Sunderland, Edinburgh, Manchester, Southampton, Bristol, Birmingham, Norwich, Milton Keynes and Cardiff where the show will play over Christmas until 17 January 2027.   Final tour dates will be announced in September 2025.

The internationally renowned musical continues to play to packed houses in the West End at the Cambridge Theatre and has been seen by 12 million people across 100 cities around the world.

For all tour booking visit www.matildathemusical.com.

This anarchic production, about a strong and determined heroine with a vivid imagination, has won over 100 global awards, including 24 for Best Musical.  A film adaptation made by the core creative team received its World Premiere at the London Film Festival in October 2022 and can now be watched on Netflix.

Written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and developed and directed by Matthew Warchus, the production is designed by Rob Howell, with choreography by Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and special effects and illusions by Paul Kieve.

Social Media:

Facebook: @MatildaTheMusical

Instagram: @MatildaTheMusical

TikTok: @thersc

#TimeToBeRevolting

MIA CARRAGHER

TO STAR AS KATNISS EVERDEEN

IN THE GLOBAL STAGE PREMIERE OF

THE HUNGER GAMES: ON STAGE

Based on Suzanne Collins’s Acclaimed Book

& Lionsgate’s Blockbuster Film

Adapted by Olivier Award-winning playwright CONOR McPHERSON

Directed by MATTHEW DUNSTER

PERFORMANCES BEGIN AT THE TROUBADOUR CANARY WHARF THEATRE

20 OCTOBER 2025

www.thehungergamesonstage.com

Mia Carragher is set to play the iconic role of Katniss Everdeen in the upcoming, highly anticipated, first-ever live stage adaptation of Suzanne Collins’sinternationally acclaimed book “The Hunger Games” and Lionsgate’s motion picture, The Hunger Games.

Stage performances commence on Monday 20 October 2025 at the Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre, a brand-new 1,200 seat venue situated right in the heart of London’s vibrant Canary Wharf. The state-of-the-art Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre is a purpose-built, dynamic theatre-in-the-round venue designed especially to host this production, putting spectators into the heart of the action.

Mia Carragher’s previous credits include the independent feature One Night in Istanbul, The Gathering for Channel 4, and she will soon be seen in the new Playground Entertainment series “Maigret” and the feature film Let’s Love.  Carragher graduated from Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in 2022 and studied acting at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. She is represented by The Way.

Director Matthew Dunster said: “We searched far and wide, and comprehensively, for our Katniss. It is not easy to step into Suzanne Collins’s amazing creation and only one actor combined Katniss’s charisma and combat skills – her quiet, tough determination and her brilliant creativity, athleticism, and humour. We’ve found our Katniss in Mia Carragher, and we can’t wait for audiences to see her.”

Mia Carragher added: “I am so excited and honoured to be playing Katniss. This is a dream come true role and I cannot wait to see the production come to life. From being a huge fan of the films, I feel so lucky to be a part of the Hunger Games world, especially working with Mathew Dunster and an incredible creative team”.

Conor McPherson has adapted the first book from Suzanne Collins’s epic series and the first film from Lionsgate’s iconic film franchise for this live theatrical production. The production will be helmed by renowned director Matthew Dunster (2:22 – A Ghost Story, Hangmen, The Pillowman), with a world-class creative team who will bring the show to breathtaking life.

The Hunger Games franchise encompasses five critically acclaimed novels that have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and been translated into 52 languages as well as a blockbuster film franchise that has grossed more than $3.4 billion at the global box office. Suzanne Collins’s latest Hunger Games novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, was published by Scholastic in March 2025 and will be adapted into a major motion picture event to be released by Lionsgate on November 20, 2026.

Tickets for The Hunger Games: On Stage are on sale at www.thehungergamesonstage.com.

Introducing the Creative Team

Conor McPherson is amongst the world’s most revered playwrights. His plays include Girl from the North Country with Bob Dylan, (Old Vic, West End & Broadway), The Weir (Royal Court, West End & Broadway), The Seafarer (National Theatre & Broadway), Shining City (Royal Court & Broadway), The Night Alive (Donmar & Off Broadway), Port Authority (West End & Off Broadway), St Nicholas (Bush theatre & Off Broadway), and This Lime Tree Bower (Bush Theatre & Off Broadway). His West End adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya for Sonia Friedman Productions was filmed for the BBC and broadcast by PBS in the United States. Awards and nominations for McPherson’s work include the Laurence Olivier Award, Evening Standard Award, London Critics’ Circle Award, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, New York Outer Critics Circle Award, George Devine Award, five Tony Award® nominations, four Irish Film and Television Academy Best Screenplay Awards and the South Bank Show Sky Arts Theatre Award.

Matthew Dunster is a theatre and film director and writer. He has directed or written over sixty shows, often with major national companies (including RSC, NT, Royal Court, Young Vic, Royal Exchange, Shakespeare’s Globe, The Bridge), as well as directing in the West End, on Broadway and internationally.  He has been the Associate Director of The Young Vic and Shakespeare’s Globe. Dunster has been nominated for three Olivier Awards, and his Broadway production of Hangmen was nominated for five Tony Awards®. His recent work includes Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman in the West End and the phenomenally successful 2:22 – A Ghost Story, also in the West End and now on a major tour of the UK.

Joining McPherson and Dunster on the creative team are Miriam Buether (set designer), Moi Tran (costume designer), Charlotte Broom (choreographer), Lucy Carter (lighting designer), Ian Dickinson for Autograph (sound designer), Tal Rosner (video designer), Chris Fisher (illusions), Kev McCurdy (fight director), Suspended Illusions (performer flying), James Maloney (arranger, musical director & additional compositions), Amy Ball CDG (casting director), James Robert Moore (associate director), Robyn Grant (creative assistant director), Luke Smith, (associate set designer) and Lloyd Thomas (production manager).

In a dystopian future, The Hunger Games ignite a thrilling battle for survival, where 24 young tributes are pitted against each other in an arena to fight to the death. Katniss Everdeen, a fearless and resourceful heroine, emerges as a symbol of rebellion as she fights not only for her life but for the hope of a nation oppressed by a ruthless Capitol. In a brand-new epic stage production, The Hunger Games: On Stage is a gripping tale of courage, defiance, and the unbreakable human spirit.

The Hunger Games: On Stage is produced by Oliver Royds, Tristan Baker & Charlie Parsons for Runaway Entertainment, Isobel David and Umeda Arts Theater, by arrangement with Lionsgate.

LULU RETURNS

TO STAR IN A NEW MUSICAL

OF TO SIR, WITH LOVE

FOR TWO PERFORMANCES ONLY

AT THE GILLIAN LYNNE THEATRE

ON MONDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2025

Producers Kris Lythgoe and Darren Bell are proud to announce TO SIR, WITH LOVE – A New Musical, with two concert performances at the Gillian Lynne Theatre on Monday, 24 November 2025.

This newly reimagined stage adaptation of E.R. Braithwaite’s powerful memoir features music and lyrics by John Farrar and Kara DioGuardi, with direction by acclaimed American director Sheldon Epps. In a full-circle moment, British music icon, actress and Grammy nominee Lulu joins the cast, returning to the story that launched her global career in the beloved 1967 film opposite Sidney Poitier.

Immortalized by Poitier’s captivating performance in the 1967 cinematic masterpiece,  To Sir With Love is an autobiographical story that is every bit as relevant then, as it is today. Rick Braithwaite is more than just a Cambridge-educated engineer and a former RAF fighter pilot; he’s a man battling societal prejudices at every turn. Refusing to bow to adversity, he engages his students not as troublesome youths but as emerging adults who must soon navigate a world where they’ll stand or fall on their own merits. Through a balance of grit and grace, he aims to prepare them for more than just exams; he prepares them for life.

The story explores race, class, resilience, and the power of respect. The concert will feature an original score by Farrar and DioGuardi, alongside the legendary title song “To Sir, with Love” by Mark London and Don Black. Kenny Seymour (Broadway’s Ain’t Too Proud) serves as music director, with casting by Debbie O’Brien.

To Sir, With Love has musical arrangements by Eve Nelson, musical supervision and orchestration by Joseph Joubert, dramaturgy by Shereen Jasmin Phillips and choreography by Edgar Godineaux.

Lythgoe Productions and Darren Bell produces, with Willette and Manny Klausner joining as co-producers. Further casting and creative team announcements to follow.

To Sir, With Love has been developed through the Ogunquit Playhouse New Works Program. 

Lulu made her acting debut in the 1967 film of TO SIR, WITH LOVE, and sang the title song, which was a major hit in the USA where it reached number 1 and became the best-selling single of 1967. In 1969 she competed in the Eurovision Song Contest, winning with the song Boom Bang-A-Bang. Lulu’s career has spanned six decades in music – with 15 studio albums, film – having starred in The Cherry Picker; Whatever Happened to Harold Smith; Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie; and Arthur’s Whiskey, television – having been a regular guest on The Les Dawson Show as well as her own shows Lulu’s Back in Town, and It’s Lulu,  and theatre – starring in Guys and Dolls (National Theatre), 42^nd Street (West End) and Song & Dance (West End).

TO SIR, WITH LOVE is produced by Kris Lythgoe and Darren Bell.

Website: www.tosirwithlovemusical.com

Socials: tosirwithlovemusical

LISTINGS INFORMATION

TO SIR, WITH LOVE

24 November 2025

Gillian Lyne Theatre

166 Drury Ln,

London

WC2B 5PW

Box Office: 020 3925 2998

Performances: 2:30pm & 7.45pm

DAME ELAINE PAIGE AND BERNADETTE PETERS

RETURN TO HOST LONDON’S

“WEST END WOOFS”

(AND MEOWS)

ALONGSIDE WEST END FAVOURITES

ON SATURDAY 9 AUGUST 2025

AT ST PAUL’S CHURCH, COVENT GARDEN

Following the success of last year’s WEST END WOOFS (AND MEOWS), stage icons Dame Elaine Paige and Bernadette Peters are thrilled to return to co-host their third annual live event at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden on Saturday 9 August from 10.15am.

West End Woofs is a ticketed event. The cost of a ticket is £5 per person and they can be purchased at www.westendwoofs.dog

Bringing together much-loved talent of the West End and their four-legged friends, West End Woofs (and Meows) is a live dog and cat adoption event, working with participating shelters and rescue groups to benefit their charitable work. 

Elaine and Bernadette first teamed up to co-host the virtual edition of West End Woofs during lockdown in 2020, before hosting their first live event in 2023. Across the pond, Broadway Barks, continues to be a howling success over 25 years on.

Dame Elaine Paige said today, “West End Woofs is back. I’m thrilled to be co-hosting with my glamorous partner-in-paws, Bernadette! Last year was such a hit! Dozens of adorable dogs and cats found their forever homes. This year, we’re going even bigger. I can’t wait to raise the woof again with the support of our fabulous pals from the world of showbiz and help even more furry friends find their perfect owners!”

Bernadette Peters said today, “l can’t wait to return for West End Woofs alongside my pal, Elaine Paige for our third annual adoption event. Following the success of last year’s event, I am confident we will continue to help place loving animals into great loving homes. I am delighted that ‘Woofs’ has become such a popular event and we are deeply moved by the enthusiasm and support from the legions of fans and animal lovers who attend.”

The adoption event begins at 10.15am with a ‘meet and greet’ with all the adoptable pets. From 11.00am adoptees make their West End debut on stage alongside some of the West End’s favourite stars from Hamilton, Les Misérables, Oliver!, The Devil Wears Prada and The Phantom of the Opera with special guests Harry Apps, Richard Dempsey, Peter Egan, Claire-Marie Hall, Cassidy Janson, Robert Lindsay, Frances Mayli McCann, Mazz Murray, Paul Nicholas, Lesley Nicol, Orfeh, John Owen Jones, Joanna Riding, Wayne Sleep and Helen Worth. Money raised on ticket donations goes towards the shelters. You must purchase a ticket to gain access to the Church grounds to meet the adoptable pets and enjoy the staged section of the event.

The participating shelters and rescue groups taking part in WEST END WOOFS (AND MEOWS) are:

• All Dogs Matter
• Fetcher Dog Rescue Centre
• Home Run Hounds (Greyhounds)
• Noah’s Ark Dog Rescue
• Peterborough Cat Rescue
• Pro Dogs Direct
• Saving Saints Rescue (St Bernards)
• Saving Souls Animal Rescue

Also…

• Mayhew Therapaws will be there to illustrate and explain the work they do

All proceeds from the event will benefit the great work they do. Full details of each organisation below.

Follow WEST END WOOFS

Instagram: @westendwoofsuk

Facebook: /westendwoofsuk

All Dogs Matter – https://alldogsmatter.co.uk/

All Dogs Matter is a dog rescue and rehoming charity working in and around London to transform the lives of unwanted and abandoned dogs. We also rehome dogs in need from overseas. In 2022 All Dogs Matter rescued and rehomed 349 dogs with new owners. We work in partnership with individuals and organisations to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome dogs in need. Our many partners include local council authorities, foster carers, dog trainers and vet practices. We also work with members of the public to rehome their dogs if they are no longer able to look after them and help to reunite owners with lost dogs. In our rehoming capacity, our small, dedicated team matches each dog with the right new owner, ensuring that it will be safe, cared for and loved for the rest of its life. We combine the use of foster homes and kennels to care for dogs before they find their forever homes. Our foster carers are experienced dog lovers who often have dogs of their own and are dedicated to helping our dogs get back to a happy, healthy life. Many of our dogs are placed in foster homes so they can be assessed before rehoming. By living with a family, the dog gets used to the everyday routine it will experience when rehomed. International work: We work on an international level helping to rehome abandoned and unwanted dogs from overseas. We’ve worked with Humane Society International UK as an Emergency Placement Partner shelter to rehome dogs rescued from South Korean dog meat farms, and currently work with Mira Dogs shelter in Egypt to rehabilitate and rehome abandoned dogs. These dogs are given a new life with experienced and loving owners in the UK.

Fetcher Dog Rescue Centre – https://www.fetcherdog.com/

Fetcher Dog rescues dogs from UK pounds as well as the streets and kill shelters of Bosnia.

UK pounds are currently bursting with dogs that are looking for safe spaces to go. After 7 days in a pound, the dogs are put to sleep if a rescue space isn’t found. Fetcher Dog does whatever they can to save as many of these dogs as possible and give them the chance of a happy and full life. They also help with local owner surrenders, and the Kent authorities know to contact them when needed. 

At least half of their rescue mission occurs in Bosnia, where thousands of dogs are born on the streets, fated to the cruelty of starvation, disease, and brutal acts. Street dogs are rounded up by dog catchers and often placed in kill shelters. Our local rescuers pick up stray street dogs and remove as many as possible from kill shelters, taking them to safe and secure facilities where they no longer need to live in fear. Here, they are taken care of. Fetcher Dog gives them everything they need for a fresh start and the best possible chance of a happy, healthy life, finding homes in England & Wales. 

Home Run Hounds – https://homerunhounds.co.uk/

We are a West Midlands based charity specialising in finding homes for retired racing Greyhounds. Home Run Hounds is a “Not for Profit” company run by Claire Butler. Claire is calling on her experience from over 30 years with the breed including volunteering at several “homing” charities which gives her a strong basis in which to develop this new Homing centre which was started in 2022 and is assisted by many volunteers who enjoy the same passion. Currently the Centre has several hounds under its care and as funds and donations grow it is hoped to increase the number of hounds who need a home. Claire is backed by dedicated volunteers who come to site to walk the greyhounds and take them on new “adventures” to experience new sights and sounds that they may not have come across whilst “racing”. Greyhounds are still not seen by the wider “Dog Loving” public as a “pet” although they are the most loving of breeds and from birth develop a strong connection with their human counterparts. Greyhounds are a “pure” breed and can very often chase their lineage back many many years. (Because of this pedigree and because they were used in racing, HRH is strict about neutering their dogs so that they are never used illicitly for breeding.) They are not a “designer” pet that costs £1000’s but for a sensible donation you can home a wonderful dog and have the full support of Home Run Hounds from adoption until it is time for them to chase a Rainbow. Home Run Hounds offers Foster To Adopt which means that potential adopters having chosen a potential new family member can foster that hound for 2 weeks to see if both pet and family are suited. This has proven extremely successful and takes the “pressure” of both families and “hounds” who all need to settle in to a new life. Home Run Hounds also does not discriminate on age so will consider all ages when homing a greyhound allowing the older generation to continue to enjoy a faithful friends company into their elder years helping not only with loneliness but mental stimulation as well. Home Run Hounds is not only a Homing Centre but also works with the Community to benefit the area by involving both “homed” and “homeless” hounds in various activities which can benefit both the people and the hounds. These activities include:- Working with various Care Homes in the area to visit residents with certain mental health needs as well as the enjoyment of the visit for all who reside at the Home. Visiting End of Life Care Homes to brighten up patients last days. Conducting Group Community talks to all ages Women’s Institute Evening talks with the presence of “homed” hounds Supporting various “Weight Watcher” Groups re increasing weight loss through walking activities. Working with the disabled to enhance their mental and physical experiences. Working with Work Experience Pupils who want to work in the “homing” environment.

Noah’s Ark Dog Rescue – https://www.noahsarkdogrescue.co.uk/

We are a small team of volunteers, dedicated to the rescue and rehoming of abandoned dogs and those in need from both the UK and overseas. Our non-profit organisation is based in Peterborough but we do adopt and foster dogs throughout the UK with kennels based in Norfolk, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire. The team make regular visits to Romania which are 100% self funded, and testament to our level of dedication to support and help our fabulous rescuers on the ground, we of course get lots of Arkie cuddles and help socialise our pups and dogs whilst they are awaiting their tickets to board the happy bus. Spay and neuter campaign: The single most important thing that we can do to save cats and dogs from all the suffering and death that their overpopulation causes is to spay and neuter them. Spaying and neutering are routine, affordable surgeries that can prevent thousands of animals from being born, only to suffer and struggle to survive on the streets, be abused by cruel or neglectful people, or be euthanized in animal shelters for lack of a loving home. Works with a shelter called Rin Tin Tin on this ongoing spay and neuter campaign.

Peterborough Cat Rescue – https://www.peterboroughcatrescue.org.uk/

Peterborough Cat Rescue are a self-financing group made up of people who love cats and are concerned about cat welfare. We believe that all cats should be neutered to prevent the widespread number of unwanted animals that find themselves in rescue centres.

Pro Dogs Direct – https://prodogsdirect.org.uk/

Working across the UK, Pro Dogs Direct operates a non-destruction policy rescuing and re-homing unwanted, neglected or abandoned dogs. Ou vision is to re-home dogs that are desperately in need of help DIRECTLY from foster home to forever home. Getting the dogs to safety is our priority. Our dogs live in private foster homes with volunteers; this allows us to really get to know them and, when they are ready for adoption, find exactly the right new home for them. Being in a normal home environment is better for the dogs, but it does mean that they cannot be visited prior to adoption (other than by successful applicants). We felt there was a need for dogs to be re-homed without going into kennels; hence the addition of ‘Direct’ to our name. Our vision is that: whenever possible dogs go DIRECTLY from FOSTER home to their new permanent home although, in emergencies we sometimes have to use kennels temporarily to get dogs to safety and out of difficult situations. We often take puppies and dogs that might otherwise be put to sleep. This could be strays that have ‘timed-out’ or dogs and pups that are ill, and unwanted. This means that, before they can be rehomed, many of our dogs need extra medical care and TLC. Many have had a traumatic past and never known a loving hand and home, this is particularly true for the ex-breeding dogs we rescue. Our aim is to place each dog in the best possible home rather than simply re-homing them on a first come first served basis.

Saving Saints Rescue – https://www.savingsaintsrescue.co.uk/dogs/

Many Saint Bernards within Europe are used as working dogs and are often crossed with other large breeds – they are sheep protection dogs or guard dogs in some countries such as Romania. In these countries there is no specific legislation making animal abuse an offence. Some countries have no official dog rescue or shelter welfare and some Eastern European countries have ‘killing stations’. An owner can take their dog that they do not want to a killing station. Quite often, all the dogs in the killing stations are killed in one night. We believe all dogs deserve better than that, which is why we work with our European rescue partners. Many dogs that come to use have been abused by their owners, discarded onto the streets to fend for themselves, and many are chained. Some are starved. We often have less than 5 days to rescue the dogs that we are contacted about to fund their removal and move them to safe shelter. In the UK many people buy St Bernards as they see them as cute puppies. However, once the dog is around 8 months old, without having adequate training, they often decide they can’t handle the dog so they contact us to rehome – or they sell them on unregistered sites. Sometimes we are offered pups who have health problems, like blindness or hip dysplasia. We take these dogs and offer them the best life that we can with people who are committed to the breed and understand their needs. Our mission is to raise further awareness and educate humans in the psychological and physical welfare issues specifically related to the St Bernard as a breed, and to encourage responsible and safe dog ownership and welfare of big breeds in the UK and Europe.

Saving Souls – https://savingsoulsrescue.org/dogs-available-for-adoption/

Saving Souls Animal Rescue supports small independent rescue shelters across Cyprus as they save thousands of dogs from devastating situations, and help find them forever homes in the UK.

Ten years ago, Saving Souls formed a rescue organisation to save the desperate dogs stuck in cages and pounds in Cyprus. Their colleagues on the ground take care of the rescue dogs in the Cyprus kennels while the UK team works to find wonderful, safe, vetted forever homes in the UK. Now, Saving Souls works with 11 rescue shelters across Cyprus to save as many dogs as they can and give them the wonderful homes and full lives they deserve in the UK. All of their dogs come with their own pet passports!

Mayhew’s TheraPaws – https://themayhew.org/

Mayhew’s TheraPaws is an Animal Assisted Intervention programme designed to promote physical, social and emotional wellbeing. Through this programme, volunteers bring behaviourally assessed dogs into hospitals, mental health centres, special education schools, care homes, and hospices where the dogs can interact with people of all ages across London. Corporate offices can also book TheraPaws visit for team building and morale. 

The wide-ranging, well-researched benefits of TheraPaws include social interaction and companionship, decreased feeling of isolation, improvement in emotional and physical well-being, stress reduction, and even unlocking of memories and emotions for those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. 

Specialising in three types of Animal Assisted Interventions, TheraPaws volunteers and their dogs are involved in Animal Assisted Activities (AAA), Collaborative-Animal Assisted Therapy (C-AAT) and Collaborative-Animal Assisted Education (C-AAE). 

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR REVIVAL PRODUCTION OF NOËL COWARD’S

PRIVATE LIVES

DIRECTED BY 2024 RTST SIR PETER HALL DIRECTOR AWARD WINNER

TANUJA AMARASURIYA

OCTAGON THEATRE, BOLTON (4-27 SEPTEMBER)

MERCURY THEATRE, COLCHESTER (1-11 OCTOBER)

ROSE THEATRE, KINGSTON (14-25 OCTOBER)

NORTHERN STAGE (4-8 NOVEMBER)

Octagon Theatre Bolton, Mercury Theatre Colchester and Rose Theatre Kingston, in association with Northern Stage and supported by a grant from The Royal Theatrical Support Trust, have today announced the full cast for the upcoming revival production of Noël Coward’s Private Lives, which will be directed by 2024 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award Winner Tanuja Amarasuriya.

The production will debut at Octagon Theatre Bolton from 4-27 September, with following runs at Mercury Theatre Colchester (1-11 October), Rose Theatre Kingston (14-25 October), and Northern Stage (4-8 November). It will also tour to Bristol Old Vic from 28 October – 1 November.

The cast will comprise Jodie Cuaresma (Love’s Labour’s Lost – Royal Shakespeare Company, Boundless – Mercury Theatre) as Louise, Ashley Gerlach (Coriolanus – National Theatre, Patriots – West End) as Victor, Chirag Benedict Lobo (Rope – Theatr Clwyd, Life of Pi – West End) as Elyot, Pepter Lunkuse (Noises Off – Theatre Royal Bath, West End & UK Tour, Educating Rita – Vienna English Theatre) as Amanda, Sade Malone (Lord of the Flies – Leeds Playhouse, Pistol – FX/Disney+) as Sibyl, with Peter Stone (The Killer Question – Greenwich Theatre & UK Tour, The Gap – Hope Mill Theatre) and Imogen Khan (Jungle Book – Bolton Octagon, Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas – Lyric Hammersmith) as Understudies.

Joining Tanuja Amarasuriya on the creative team are Jennifer Kay as Movement Director Amy Jane Cook as Set & Costume Designer, Tim X Atack as Sound Designer, Haruka Kuroda as Fight & Intimacy Director, Chris Davey as Lighting Designer, and Polly Jerrold as Casting Director.

Tanuja Amarasuriya is a Bristol-based director, dramaturg and occasional sound artist, working in theatre and related forms. She is a resident at Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio, and co-founder of the multi-artform company Sleepdogs alongside writer/composer Timothy X Atack. 

As director, her work has included DELAY (Bristol Old Vic), Out of Sorts(Theatre503) and The Paper Man (Improbable/Tobacco Factory/Soho Theatre). As associate director, Tanuja has worked with Dominic Cooke on Good (Harold Pinter Theatre), Medea (@sohoplace theatre), and Rock Follies (Chichester Festival), and was the National Theatre’s staff director on Max Webster’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

Tanuja Amarasuriya said of today’s announcement, “I was absolutely thrilled to win the 2024 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award, and I am totally stoked to be working with Bolton Octagon, Colchester Mercury, the Rose Theatre and Northern Stage on this production. Noel Coward’s PRIVATE LIVES is a brilliant play – funny, sexy, shocking – and full of bittersweet truths about the complex difficulties of relationships. When I first read it, I was amazed by how modern these characters felt – their contradictions, needs and insecurities feel so recognisable even now. This production will bring it to life for audiences in a way that combines the glamour and screwball comedy thrill of the 1930s with a vibrant, immediate energy that speaks straight to 2025. I’m super excited to be working with this fabulous cast and team to do that.”

The RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award – which honours the memory of RTST co-founder, Sir Peter Hall – offers the winner their first-time opportunity to direct a fully realised, mid-scale production of a classic or modern play in a British regional theatre and to take it on tour.

The Award promotes the RTST’s charitable objectives by supporting up-and-coming directors and British regional theatres. It is also intended to appeal to a wide range of candidates and to play a part in promoting diversity in the theatre, onstage, offstage and among audiences.

Entries have recently opened for the 2025 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award Scheme, with the closing date for applications closing at 6pm on Monday 1^st September 2025. The 2025 Award-winner will win the opportunity to create a brand-new touring production on the main stage at Mercury Theatre in Colchester in a co-production with Rose Theatre in Kingston and Storyhouse in Chester. More information can be found at www.rtst.org.uk.

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR THE WEST END TRANSFER OF

THE MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY’S HIT PRODUCTION OF

MEL BROOKS’ THE PRODUCERS

As rehearsals begin for the West End run, full casting is today announced for the transfer of the Menier Chocolate Factory’s critically acclaimed smash-hit production of The Producers. With a book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, and music and lyrics by Mel Brooks, the production is directed by Patrick Marber.

Joining the previously announced Andy Nyman as Max Bialystock, Marc Antolin as Leo Bloom, Trevor Ashley as Roger DeBris, Raj Ghatak as Carmen Ghia, Harry Morrison as Franz Liebkind, and Joanna Woodward as Ulla, are Alex Lodge (Storm Trooper), Kelsie-Rae Marshall (Hold-Me-Touch-Me), Megan Armstrong, Olly Christopher, Gabrielle Cocca (Dance Captain), Nolan Edwards, Michael Franks, Matt Gillett (Resident Director), Esme Kennedy, Sinead Kenny, Josh Kiernan (Assistant Dance Captain), Kate Parr, Emma Robotham-Hunt, Pierce Rogan, Hollie Jane Stephens, Jermaine Woods and Ryan Pidgen.

www.theproducersmusical.com

Social handles @theproducerslondon

David Babani and Nica Burns & Max Weitzenhoffer, Kevin Salter

Seaview, Creative Partners Productions and 2ontheaisleBDWY

present

The Menier Chocolate Factory production of

THE PRODUCERS

Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan

Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks

Original Direction and Choreography by Susan Stroman

By special arrangement with StudioCanal

At the Garrick Theatre

30 August 2025 – 21 February 2026

Cast: Andy Nyman (Max Bialystock), Marc Antolin (Leo Bloom), Trevor Ashley (Roger DeBris), Raj Ghatak (Carmen Ghia), Harry Morrison (Franz Liebkind), Joanna Woodward (Ulla), Alex Lodge (Storm Trouper), Kelsie-Rae Marshall (Hold-Me-Touch-Me), Megan Armstrong, Olly Christopher, Gabrielle Cocca (Dance Captain), Nolan Edwards, Michael Franks, Matt Gillett (Resident Director), Esme Kennedy, Sinead Kenny, Josh Kiernan (Assistant Dance Captain), Kate Parr, Emma Robotham-Hunt, Pierce Rogan, Hollie Jane Stephens, Jermaine Woods, and Ryan Pidgen

Director: Patrick Marber; Choreographer: Lorin Latarro;Set Designer: Scott Pask;
Costume Designer: Paul Farnsworth; Lighting Designer: Tim Lutkin; Sound Designer:

Paul Groothius; Wigs, Hair & Makeup Designer: Betty Martini.

Musical Supervisor & Dance Arranger: Gareth Valentine; Musical Director: Matthew Samer; Orchestrators: Larry Blank and Mark Cumberland; Associate Director: Lily Dyble;
Associate Choreographer (US): Michaeljon Slinger; Associate Choreographer (UK):

Anna Woodside; Associate Lighting Designer: Harvey Ebbage; Associate Sound Designer: Simon King; Assistant Musical Director: John Reddel; Resident Director: Matt Gillett

Production Manager: Patrick Molony; Props Supervisor: Jamie Owens; Costume Supervisor: Sabrina Cuniberto; Orchestral Manager: James Gorman; Keyboard Programmer: David Chin.

The first major London revival of Mel Brooks’ musical adaptation of The Producers transfers to the Garrick Theatre this Autumn following a sold-out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

Based on the classic cult film, the original Broadway production won a record twelve Tony Awards. Teeming with Mel Brooks’ signature humour, The Producers takes no prisoners as it proudly proclaims itself an “equal opportunity offender!”.

Down-on-his-luck Broadway producer Max Bialystock schemes with timid accountant Leo Bloom to create the biggest flop in theatre history – only to have it backfire spectacularly, and with thunderous applause.

THE PRODUCERS

GARRICK THEATRE

GARRICK THEATRE

2 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0HH

Box Office:  0330 333 4811
https://nimaxtheatres.com/

www.theproducersmusical.com 

Social handles @theproducerslondon

Tickets from £25

30 August 2025 – 21 February 2026

CINDERELLA SET TO ENCHANT AUDIENCES AT SHAKESPEARE NORTH PLAYHOUSE

Full cast now revealed for magical Christmas production at the award-winning Prescot theatre

Enjoy a special ‘early bird’ ticket offer and secure your place at the ball this season

Cinderella is preparing to enchanting family audiences at Shakespeare North Playhouse this Christmas – and today the full cast for the award-winning theatre’s spellbinding seasonal show has been revealed.

Tia Larsen takes the title role in the fairytale favourite which is being given a very special Prescot twist in a captivating new adaptation by writer Nick Lane.

And she will be joined on the Cockpit Theatre stage by Emma Grace Arends, Emma Bispham, Thomas Cotran, Elliott Kingsley and Charlie Mae McKevitt.

Cinderella runs from Friday, 21 November to Saturday, 10 January 2026. Tickets are on sale now with a special ‘early bird’ offer until 8 August.

In the Kingdom of Prescotisia lives a young woman called Cinderella, whose world is turned upside down when her beloved mother suddenly disappears, and her father remarries. Even worse, it turns out Cinders’ new stepmother, Filania, is awful – and so are her two dreadful daughters!

When Prince Flarf of Crosbinia decides to throw a huge party, they are determined to be celebrated as the belles of the ball while Cinderella is left home alone.

But all is not lost because happily, help is at hand in the form of Fairy 23780, better known as Mandy, who is fresh from Fairy Godmother school and excited to be able to assist Cinderella to find her missing mum AND win the heart of the handsome prince to boot. Or rather, glass slipper.

Cinderella is the most popular fairytale of them all.

And packed with magical moments, favourite tunes, lots of laughs and a heartwarming message about family, friendship and self-discovery, this new production is the perfect family show for the festive season.

Tia Larsen returns to the Cockpit stage at Shakespeare North after appearing as swing in Alice in Wonderland last Christmas, where the versatile and talented young actor impressed audiences and critics alike, performing a variety of key roles during the run.

The Rose Bruford College Wigan graduate’s other stage credits include Vignettes at Hope Mill Theatre, The Incident (M6 Theatre Company), Approved (SJT theatre) and Den Festival Manchester and the Royal Exchange.

Emma Grace Arends is Mandy the Fairy. Emma’s theatre credits include The Duchess of Malfi (Greenwich Theatre), The Scouse Jack and the Beanstalk, Scouse Dick Whittington and The Legend of Rooney’s Ring at Liverpool’s Royal Court, Home, I’m Darling (Frinton Summer Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing/Romeo and Juliet for Folksy Theatre, Twopence to Cross the Mersey and Her Benny at the Liverpool Empire and Sleeping Beauty at M&S Bank Arena.

She is also well-known to young audience members through her roles in the UK tour of Peppa Pig’s Big Surprise, and on the big screen in Peppa Pig My First Cinema Experience – Daisy Sky.

Emma Bispham is Filania. Her stage credits include Blood Brothers (Phoenix Theatre), Taboo in the West End, on tour and in a 20^th anniversary concert at the London Palladium, Macca and Beth, A Thong for Europe, Sisters of Mersey, The Scouse Sleeping Beauty and The Scouse Snow White, all at Liverpool’s Royal Court, Bad Girls – the Musical at West Yorkshire Playhouse and Closer Than Ever (Liverpool Everyman).

As a member of the Everyman Rep Company, she appeared in Paint Your Wagon, The Big I Am and Othello, while she also recently played Goop and Hairy McFairy in the Everyman Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto Rapunzel.

Thomas Cotran returns to Shakespeare North Playhouse after appearing as Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost earlier this year. Here he will play Prince Flarf.

Among his other stage credits are One Man, Two Guvnors at The New Vic, Song of the Sytch for Claybody Theatre, The Great Gatsby and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, The Snow Queen for Wrongsemble/The Albany Theatre, Footloose (UK tour), You Can Bet It’s Christmas for Slung Low, and Raising Agents, Red Sky at Night, Atlanta Forever and A Dogs Tale (all Mikron Theatre Company).

In September he will be in the world premiere of The Grand Babylon Hotel at the New Vic in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Elliott Kingsley will appear as King Dean. Elliott trained through the YEP programme at Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and was part of the Everyman’s Rep Company where he performed in Fiddler on the Roof, The Story Giant and Romeo and Juliet.

His other stage credits include Boys from the Blackstuff at the National Theatre and London’s Garrick Theatre, The Tempest at Royal and Derngate in Northampton, The Wonderful World of Dissocia at Liverpool Playhouse and Drag Nativity at Storyhouse in Chester. He previously performed at Shakespeare North Playhouse in Ira Aldridge: Story Adventure.

And Charlie Mae McKevitt makes her Shakespeare North Playhouse debut as walking understudy. Last season she appeared in the Further Adventures of Peter Pan at the Floral Pavilion.

All other roles will be played by members of the cast.

Cinderella is directed by Nicole Behan who returns to Shakespeare North Playhouse for a second Christmas after acting as Associate Director for last season’s production of Alice in Wonderland.

Nicole is artistic director of Paperwork Theatre which recently developed Lovestruck, an immersive multi-location production which toured to the Liverpool Everyman, Storyhouse and Shakespeare North Playhouse.

Her other directing credits include Pass the Parcel and Stocking Fillers (Liverpool’s Royal Court), My Beautiful Laundrette (Leicester Curve and National Theatre Theatre Nations tour), Come Closer: Memories of Partition (Royal Exchange), Qualified (Hope Mill), You, Me & the Goalpost at Bolton Octagon, and Northern Flight and Deep Blue, both at the Liverpool Everyman. Along with Alice in Wonderland, her associate director credits include Red or Dead at Liverpool’s Royal Court and Ghost Caller for Headlong.

Assistant director is Kate Treadell, while the creative team also includes Abigail Middleton as movement director and choreographer and Rob Green as composer and musical director, with set and costumes by Chloe Wynn and sound design from Ernest Acquah.

Cinderella is produced by Shakespeare North Playhouse and is the Prescot theatre’s fourth Christmas show since it opened its doors in July 2022.

Lisa Allen, CEO and Creative Director at Shakespeare North Playhouse, said: “Cinderella holds a special place in the hearts of so many, and we’re thrilled to be giving it a unique Prescot twist this Christmas. With Nick Lane’s adaptation, a cast brimming with talent, and Nicole Behan at the helm, audiences can expect a show that’s packed with laughter and holiday magic.

“We can’t wait to welcome families and festive theatre lovers of all ages to share in this joyful show at Shakespeare North Playhouse.”

Book on the website on shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk

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