Mayflower Theatre Southampton – until Saturday 27th July 2019

Reviewed by Leanne Caplis

5*****

A mix of Benidorm, Love Island and Mamma Mia the 80’s-tastic sensation that is Club Tropicana The Musical hits our stages and continues its tour at the Mayflower in Southampton until 27 Jul 19.

After jilting her fiancée Olly (Cellen Chugg Jones) at the alter Lorraine (Karina Hind) and her friends find themselves jetting off to Spain; why waste a paid for honeymoon!? Who could have envisaged that Olly and his friends also find themselves booking the same resort? A predictable story unfolds with bags of comedy, cheese, campness and well-known pop songs.

Gary (Joe McElderry) plays the camp host at Club Tropicana and needs to ensure that his staff are prepared for the visit of a hotel inspector to be in with a chance of winning ‘Hotel of the Year’. With her nose stuck in the air the inspector Christine (Emily Tierney) is going to prove hard to please. The more Gary tries the more comedy chaos ensues. Can he overcome the hurdles to win the title?

From curtain up this show is a hit with the audience. McElderry wastes no time in getting the audience on their feet to learn the Club Tropicana dance which, if they weren’t already, gets everybody in the mood for the rest of the show.

The comedy moments in this show are genius. The one-liners from Tierney and the many innuendos from the cast members will have you in stitches. Michael Gyngell, the writer of this show, has got it just right.

The stand out star of the show for me was the hotel maid/singer/dancer/cocktail maker Consuela (Kate Robbins). I could not get enough of Robbins and her sign brought tears of laughter from the whole audience. She was intoxicating to watch and from her rendition of Cilla Black, Tina Turner and Margaret Thatcher to her pottering about cleaning the hotel I just couldn’t get enough of her.

The production team are to be commended for their attention to detail for this show. The clothing and props are most definitely a throwback to the 80’s with leg warmers, shoulder pads, the large mobile phones and opal fruits to make your mouth water. With so much activity on the stage it is hard to know where to look which makes the scene changes seamless.

I would have liked to have heard more of Amelle Berrabah’s amazing voice. Playing the hotel manager, she isn’t as prominent on stage as McElderry and Robbins but she shines when with her rendition of Only You. I was also impressed with the voice of Cellen Chugg Jones.

This show is bursting with energy. The whole cast look like they are thoroughly enjoying themselves. What’s not to enjoy when the drinks are free, well just the first one, and you have McEldery sashaying around the stage with a cheeky wink here and his over the top flirtatious ways with audience and cast alike.

So if Girls Just Want To Have Fun (and men too), I’ll give you some help with Making Your Mind Up – book a seat! A pure blast from the past which will leave you singing your favourite 80’s lyrics for weeks to come this is a show not to be missed.

STAR CAST REVEALED FOR WORLD PREMIERE OF BAND OF GOLD

AS TOUR IS ANNOUNCED FOR 2020

Stage adaptation of iconic ITV show to make World Premiere in Leeds

Production will then move to Nottingham before embarking on 2020 Tour

Band of Gold – the premiere stage adaptation of Kay Mellor’s multi award-winning ITV series,that was one of the most watched shows in television history – today announces that Laurie Brett, Gaynor Faye, Kieron Richardson, Shayne Ward and Sacha Parkinson, will star in the production. At the same time it can also be confirmed that Band of Gold will play a UK Tour in 2020, opening at Nottingham Theatre Royal on Tuesday 14 January 2020. Band of Gold will make its World Premiere at Leeds Grand Theatre on Thursday 28 November 2019.

Band of Gold was the ground-breaking crime drama that captivated over 15 million viewers each week when it aired on ITV. This nail-biting, murderous thriller features a star-studded cast includingGaynor Faye, (Emmerdale, Playing the Field, Calender Girls), Laurie Brett, (EastEnders, Waterloo Road, Les Miserables), Kieron Richardson, (Hollyoaks, Heatbeat), Shayne Ward, (Coronation Street, Rock Of Ages, X Factor winner) and Sacha Parkinson (Mr Selfridge, The Mill).

Following the unprecedented sell-out success of Fat Friends The Musical, producer Josh Andrews andKay Mellor have teamed up again for Band of Gold, to be directed by Mellor, which will run fromThursday 28 November to Saturday 14 December 2019 at Leeds Grand Theatre, before embarking on the 2020 Tour. The nail-biting thriller tells the story of a group of women – Carol, Rose, Anita and Gina – as they battle to survive whilst working in a notorious red-light district. When one of their colleagues is murdered, they need to find the killer before they strike again.

First aired on ITV in March 1995,Band of Gold starred (amongst others) Geraldine James, Cathy Tyson, Barbara Dickson and Samantha Morton. The groundbreaking crime drama captivated the nation, with bookmakers taking bets on the identity of the killer before the final episode!

UK Tour Dates

Tuesday 14th – Saturday 18th January

Nottingham Theatre Royal

Box Office: 0115 989 5555

www.trch.co.uk

Tuesday 21st – Saturday 25th January

The Lowry, Salford

Box Office: 0843 208 6003

www.thelowry.com

Monday 27th January – Saturday 1st February

Darlington Hippodrome

Box Office: 01325 405405

www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk

Tuesday 4th – Saturday 8th Feb

Southampton Mayflower

Box Office: 02380 711811

www.mayflower.org.uk

Monday 10th – Saturday 15th February

Birmingham Alexandra

Box Office: 0844 871 3011

www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-alexandra-theatre-birmingham

Monday 17th – Saturday 22nd February

Cambridge Arts Theatre

Box Office: 01223 503333

www.cambridgeartstheatre.com

Monday 24th – Saturday 29th February

New Brighton Pavilion (Liverpool)

Box Office: 0151 666 0000

www.floralpavilion.com

Monday 2nd – Saturday 7th March

Cheltenham Everyman

Box Office: 01242 572573

www.everymantheatre.org.uk

Monday 9th – Saturday 14th March

Milton Keynes Theatre

Box Office: 0844 871 7652

www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/info/

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER AND CAMERON MACKINTOSH

ANNOUNCE

AN EXCITING NEW CAST FOR

“THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA”

AT HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE, LONDON

FROM 9 SEPTEMBER 2019

JOSH PITERMAN TO PLAY ‘THE PHANTOM’

As THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA heads in to its 34th year in the West End, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh are delighted to announce that Australian singer and performer Josh Piterman will play ‘The Phantom’ from 9 September 2019.

Also joining the cast from 9 September 2019 will be Britt Lenting as ‘Carlotta Giudicelli’ and Richard Woodfordas ‘Monsieur André’.

Continuing in the show will be Kelly Mathieson as ‘Christine Daaé’, Ross Dawes as ‘Monsieur Firmin’, Jacinta Mulcahy as ‘Madame Giry’, Paul Ettore Tabone as ‘Ubaldo Piangi’, Georgia Ware as ‘Meg Giry’ and Scott Davies as the standby ‘Phantom’. Danny Whitehead will now play ‘Raoul’, Bridget Costello will now play the alternate ‘Christine Daaé’,

Josh Piterman is an established Australian musical theatre performer and classical crossover artist. As a singer he was part of the international pop opera group, The Ten Tenors and in 2018 released his self-titled debut solo album which went to Number 1 in the Australian Classical Crossover iTunes chart. Josh’s musical theatre credits include ‘Tony’ in “West Side Story”; ‘Jamie’ in “The Last Five Years”; ‘Edward’ in “Blood Brothers”; and ‘Gerry Goffin’ in “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical”, all in his native Australia. He also played ‘Bustopher Jones/Gus/Growltiger’ in the Australian 2016 season of “Cats”, a role for which he won the Green Room Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical. Josh’s UK theatre credits include playing ‘Corny Collins’ in the UK Tour of “Hairspray”. Playing ‘The Phantom’ will mark Josh’s West End debut.

Britt Lenting makes her West End debut as ‘Carlotta Giudicelli’. Britt’s previous theatre credits include ‘Lead Vocalist’ in the UK Tour of Pasha Kovalev’s “The Magic of Hollywood”; ‘Killer Queen’ in “We Will Rock You”; ‘Enid Hoopes’ in “Legally Blonde” and ‘Prudy Pingleton’ in “Hairspray”. Britt has also been seen on television in the Dutch shows “Beat The Best” and “The Voice of Holland” and in the UK on BBC One’s “All Together Now”.

Richard Woodford’s West End theatre credits include ‘Galileo’ and ‘Khashoggi’ in “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion Theatre, ‘Grantaire’/’Factory Foreman’ in “Les Misérables” at the Queen’s Theatre; and ‘Electra’ and ‘Rusty’ in “Starlight Express” at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Richard also appeared in the 25^th Anniversary Tour of “The Phantom of the Opera”, and as ‘Gus/Growltiger/Bustopher Jones’ in the Asian tour of “Cats”, and ‘Greaseball’ and ‘Electra’ in “Starlight Express” in Bochum.

The cast is completed by Zoe Arshamian, Matthew Barrow, James Butcher, Grace Castle, Sophie Caton, Sophie Cottrill, Corinne Cowling, Hadrian Delacey, Morven Douglas, Paul Erbs, Philip Griffiths, Katy Hanna, Ellen Jackson, Adam Robert Lewis,  Kris Manuel, Tim Morgan, Danielle Pullum, Rebecca Ridout, Eleanor Sanderson-Nash, Anna Shircliff, Alistair So, John Stacey, Manon Taris, Andrei Teodor Iliescu, Ben Tyler, Claire Tilling, Victoria Ward and Simon Whitaker.

Now in its 33^rd phenomenal year in the West End, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is widely considered one of the most beautiful and spectacular productions in history. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s romantic, haunting and soaring score includes Music of the Night, All I Ask of You, Masquerade and the iconic title song.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA tells the tale of a disfigured musical genius known only as ‘The Phantom’ who haunts the depths of the Paris Opera House. Mesmerised by the talents and beauty of a young soprano – Christine, the Phantom lures her as his protégé and falls fiercely in love with her. Unaware of Christine’s love for Raoul, the Phantom’s obsession sets the scene for a dramatic turn of events where jealousy, madness and passions collide.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is one of the most successful musicals in entertainment history playing to over 145 million people in 41 countries and 183 cities in 17 languages. It has won more than 70 major theatre awards, including seven Tony Awards and four Olivier Awards.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is the only show in history to have celebrated 30 years on both sides of the Atlantic. In October 2016 the London production celebrated its 30^th Anniversary with a special gala performance at Her Majesty’s Theatre and in October 2011 the London production celebrated its 25^th Anniversary with a spectacular staging of “The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall” which was screened live in cinemas all over the world and subsequently released on DVD. The musical became the longest running show in Broadway history on 9 January 2006 when it celebrated its 7,486^th performance. On 1 January 2018 it celebrated its 13,000^th performance and later that month on 24 January the Broadway production celebrated an amazing 30 years on Broadway.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Charles Hart, and Additional Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Book is by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber,   Based on the novel ‘Le Fantôme de l’Opera’ by Gaston Leroux. Production Design by Maria Bjornson. Lighting by Andrew Bridge. Orchestrations by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Musical Staging and Choreography by Gillian Lynne. Directed by Hal Prince. It is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group Ltd.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is currently showing in London, New York, Prague and Sao Paulo, as well as on tour in the US and Asia. A UK Tour opens at Curve, Leicester on 24 February 2020.

LISTINGS

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Her Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket, SW1Y 4QL

Performances: Mondays to Saturdays at 7.30pm. Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm.

Tickets are priced from £25 – £85 and are available from Her Majesty’s Theatre box office on 020 7087 7762 orwww.thephantomoftheopera.com.

Currently booking until April 2020

Theatre Tokens partners with Tesco to sell in nearly 800 stores UK-wide

Shoppers will be able to buy a night out at the theatre alongside their groceries after Theatre Tokens unveiled a new retail partnership with supermarket giant Tesco to sell national theatre gift vouchers in their stores.

The gift cards, rolled out across 791 Tesco stores last week, can be redeemed to purchase tickets at any of over 250 theatres around the country, including London’s West End.

Since being established in 1984, Theatre Tokens has helped introduce new audiences to the magic of live theatre, with over 350,000 tickets purchased each year through the scheme. They have no expiry date and are produced by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT), a not-for-profit organisation which invests back into the theatre industry.

The partnership with Tesco furthers the mission of Theatre Tokens to showcase the rich range of entertainment on offer at theatres across the UK, raising the profile of theatre and helping it reach as wide an audience as possible.

Theatre Tokens, the only nationwide theatre gift card and voucher scheme for the UK theatre industry, are currently also available to buy online, at participating theatres and on the high street at selected branches of WHSmith and Waterstones.

To buy and register Theatre Tokens, top up a gift card or eGift, check your balance or find out how and where Theatre Tokens can be used, go to www.theatretokens.com

FINAL CASTING & FIRST IMAGES RELEASED

FOR THE TURBINE THEATRE’S PRODUCTION OF

TORCH SONG

WRITTEN BY TONY AWARD WINNING HARVEY FIERSTEIN  

& DIRECTED BY OLIVIER AWARD WINNING DREW McONIE

RUNNING FROM 22 AUGUST – 13 OCTOBER 2019

THE INAUGURAL PRODUCTION LAUNCHING

PAUL TAYLOR-MILLS’

DYNAMIC NEW VENUE AT BATTERSEA POWER STATION

GENERATING NEW WORK.      POWERING PREMIERES.      RE-ENERGISING CLASSICS.

Final casting has been announced for the Turbine Theatre’s inaugural production, Torch Song. Alongside the previously announced Matthew Needham (Arnold), Daisy Boulton (Laurel), Dino Fetscher (Ed)  and Rish Shah (Alan), are Jay Lycurgo (David) and Bernice Stegers (Ma).

The groundbreaking and Tony Award winning story of drag queen Arnold Beckoff (Matthew Needham – Chernobyl, HBO, Summer & Smoke, Almeida/West End) and his quest for true love in 1970s Manhattan is a hilarious and heartbreaking portrait of love, loss, sexual identity and the deep longing for family approval that drives us all forward, and drives us all crazy.

This new revival of Harvey Fierstein’s dizzyingly funny and deeply touching landmark play, is presented by Bill Kenwright and Paul Taylor-Mills for The Turbine Theatre, and is directed by Olivier Award winning Drew McOnie (King Kong, Strictly Ballroom, On The Town). The production features design by Ryan Laight, lighting by James Whiteside, sound by Seb Frost, with casting by Will Burton.

Torch Song runs for a strictly limited season from 22 August – 13 October 2019.

Further productions in The Turbine’s first season will be announced shortly.

LISTINGS

Bill Kenwright presents a Paul Taylor-Mills endeavour, The Turbine Theatre.

TORCH SONG

THE TURBINE THEATRE

WRITTEN BY HARVEY FIERSTEIN

DIRECTED BY DREW McONIE

22 AUGUST – 13 OCTOBER 2019

Selladoor Productions, Matthew Townshend Productions, Belgrade Theatre Coventry and Perth Theatre at Horsecross Arts present

CASTING REVEALED FOR UK TOUR OF

NEW DATES ADDED – UK Tour 5 September – 7 March 2020

Scottish screen actress Eilidh Loan is to star in the new theatrical adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, depicting Shelley herself onstage as the author personally unfolding her monstrous tale of creature and creator. With a cast also including Ben Castle-Gibb, Thierry Mabonga, Sarah MacGillivray, Natali McCleary, Michael Moreland and Greg Powrie, the seminal 1818 gothic horror novel adapted by award-winning writer Rona Munro will now run until 7 March 2020 as new dates are added.

A national press night will be held at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry on Thursday 3 October at 7pm.  A Scottish national press night will take place at Perth Theatre on 7 September.

An eighteen-year-old girl, Mary Shelley, dreams up a monster whose tragic story will capture the imaginations of generations to come.

A young scientist by the name of Frankenstein breathes life into a gruesome body. Banished into an indifferent world, Frankenstein’s creature desperately seeks out his true identity, but the agony of rejection and a broken promise push him into darkness. Dangerous and vengeful, the creature threatens to obliterate Frankenstein and everyone he loves, in a ferocious and bloodthirsty hunt for his maker.

Rona Munro’s brilliant new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece places the writer herself amongst the action, as she wrestles with her creation and with the stark realities facing revolutionary young women, then and now.

Ben Castle-Gibb will play Frankenstein, the creature’s creator, making his professional debut. Having trained at Arts Educational Schools, his credits while training include: It Never Happened, Treasure Island, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Radicalisation Of Bradley Manning and As You Like It.

Eilidh Loan will play Mary Shelley, the author unpacking her own horrific tale. Eilidh’s screen credits include:London Kills (BBC, Acorn TV), Doctors (BBC), Clique (BBC) and England’s Forgotten Queen (BBC). Her stage credits include: Me & My Left Ball (Tristan Bates Theatre).

Thierry Mabonga plays Henry/Walton. His theatre credits include: Low Pay? Don’t Pay! (Glasgow Life), First Snow (NTS Canada Tour), Sleeping Beauty (Glasgow Life), First Snow (National Theatre of Scotland), Richard III(Perth Theatre), Brothers Karamazov (Tron Theatre), Titus Andronicus (Dundee Rep), Last Dream On Earth (National Theatre of Scotland), and Skins and Hoods (Cie du Veilleur). His screen credits include The Split(BBC), Trust Me (BBC), The Replacement (BBC), Armchair Detectives (BBC) and Trainspotting 2 (Cloud Eight Films).

Sarah MacGillivray plays Mother/Justine. Her stage credits include: Marie (Perth Theatre/House of Mirth), Beauty and the Beast (Fizzgig Productions), Sinatra: The Final Curtain (Kingdom Theatre), Hex (Strange Town) and A Million Hearts in Stereo (RCS/Arches). Her screen credits include: Outlander (Sony), Glasshouse (Cupla Films) and Flight Risk (Vivid Affect Films).

Natali McCleary plays Elizabeth/Safie. Recent theatre credits include: Cool Dads (Oran Mor), The Dark Carnival(Vanishing Point), Dear Europe (National Theatre Scotland), How To Fix A Broken Wing (Catherine Wheels), Beg Borrow Steal (Oran Mor) and Secret Show 1 (Blood Of The Young, The Tron). Her screen credits include: Shetland (ITV), Long Night At Blackstone (BBC), Hings (BBC), Logan High (BBC) and Country Music (Three Chords Productions Ltd).

Michael Moreland will play The Monster. His stage credits include Knives and Hens and Richard III (Perth Theatre), Democracy (Rapture Theatre Company & Scottish Tour), A Mad World My Masters (English Touring Theatre), All My Sons (Rapture Theatre Company & Scottish Tour), The Roaring Girl, The White Devil and The Witch of Edmonton (Royal Shakespeare Company),  Macbeth (Perth Theatre/Tron Theatre), What Every Woman Knows (Royal Exchange Manchester), The Found Man (Traverse Theatre) and Gagarin Way (Arts Theatre). His screen credits include: Years & Years (BBC), Doctors (BBC), and Shetland (ITV).

Greg Powrie plays Father/Master/Waldman. His theatre credits include: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead(Piccadilly Theatre), The Deep Blue Sea (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Descent and The Cone Gatherers (APA Productions), The Mysterious Death of Netta Fornario and Singing Far Into The Night (Mull Theatre Co.), Blue/Orange (Rapture Theatre), Kevin’s Bed (Borderline) and Relatively Speaking (Northcott Theatre Exeter & Theatre Royal Basingstoke). His screen credits include Last Commanders (BBC), Outlander (Amazon), Taggart ITV), River City (BBC), Still Game (BBC)and Doctor Finlay (BBC).

Writer Rona Munro has written extensively for stage, radio, film and television. Her recent theatre credits include Lucy Barton, adapted from the novel by Elizabeth Strout and performed by Laura Linney at the Bridge Theatre London in 2018-19. Other credits include The James Plays: a trilogy of award-winning plays produced by the National Theatre of Scotland, the National Theatre UK and Edinburgh International Festival, Scuttlers(Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester), Little Eagles (Royal Shakespeare Company) and Iron (Traverse Theatre, Royal Court Theatre) for which she won the John Whiting Award in 2003.

Her television credits include the BAFTA-nominated Bumping the Odds (BBC Scotland) and Rehab (BBC Two), and her films include Ladybird Ladybird and Oranges and Sunshine. Her work for radio includes several dramas for The Stanley Baxter Playhouse. Rona is the only writer so far to have contributed episodes to both the classic and contemporary series of Doctor Who (BBC One).

The production will be directed by Patricia Benecke, with composition and sound design by Simon Slater, lighting design by Grant Anderson, design by Becky Minto and movement direction by Jonnie Riordan.

www.selladoor.com

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TOUR DATES 2019 – 2020

5 – 21 September (performances vary)                                                       Box Office: 01738 621031

Perth Theatre, Perth                                                                                         Website: horsecross.co.uk

24 – 28 September                                                                                            Box Office: 01227 787787

Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury                                                                        Website: marlowetheatre.com

2 – 12 October                                                                                                    Box Office: 024 7655 3055

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry                                                                            Website: belgrade.co.uk

14 – 19 October                                                                                                   Box Office: 0844 871 7650

Brighton Theatre Royal, Brighton                                                                  Website: atgtickets.com 

21 – 26 October                                                                                                  Box Office: 0131 529 6000

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh                                                                                Website: capitaltheatres.com

28 October – 2 November                                                                               Box Office: 029 2087 8889

New Theatre, Cardiff                                                                                         Website: newtheatrecardiff.co.uk

4 – 9 November                                                                                                  Box Office: 01483 440 000

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford                                                                Website: yvonne-arnaud.co.uk

11 – 16 November                                                                                             Box Office: 0151 709 4776

Liverpool Playhouse, Liverpool                                                                       Website: everymanplayhouse.com

18 – 23 November                                                                                             Box Office: 0844 871 7651

Richmond Theatre, Richmond                                                                        Website: atgtickets.com 

25 – 30 November                                                                                              Box Office: 0844 871 7647

Theatre Royal Glasgow, Glasgow                                                                  Website: atgtickets.com 

13 – 18 January                                                                                                  Box Office: 01684 892277

Malvern Theatres, Malvern                                                                            Website: malvern-theatres.co.uk

20 – 25 January                                                                                                  Box Office: 01332 59 39 39

Derby Theatre, Derby                                                                                       Website: derbytheatre.co.uk

27 January – 1 February                                                                                   Box Office: 01352 344101

Theatr Clwyd, Mold                                                                                           Website: theatrclwyd.com

4 – 8 February                                                                                                     Box Office: 01224 641122

His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen                                                                   Website: aberdeenperformingarts.com                    

10 – 15 February                                                                                                Box Office: 01484 430 528

Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield                                                       Website: thelbt.org

18 – 22 February                                                                                                Box Office: 01463 234 234

Eden Court, Inverness                                                                                      Website: eden-court.co.uk

24 – 29 February                                                                                                Box Office: 0300 303 8633

Middleton Arena, Manchester                                                                       Website: link4life.org 

2 – 7 March                                                                                                         Box Office: 0844 871 7607

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury                                                    Website: atgtickets.com 

Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Tron Theatre Company and Blood of the Young present
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) Full Cast Announced
Written by Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen
Directed by Paul Brotherston
A co-production with Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Leeds Playhouse, Northern Stage, Nuffield Southampton Theatres and Oxford Playhouse 

National Press Night at Bristol Old Vic: Thursday 12 September 2019

The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh along with partners Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Bristol Old Vic,Northern Stage, Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Oxford Playhouse, and new partners Leeds Playhouse, are delighted to announce the cast for the remount of the critically-acclaimed Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), presentedin close collaboration with partners of the original production, Tron Theatre and Blood of the Young.

Playing multiple characters in this rip-roaring and irreverent all-female adaptation, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) brings together again the exceptional original cast, including: Tori Burgess (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Lyceum; Bear Pit, Blood of the Young; Secret Show 1, Blood of the Young & Tron Theatre; Margaret Saves Scotland, Oran Mor, Traverse, Lemon Tree, Marilyn Imrie), Christina Gordon (Glory on Earth,The Lyceum; The Cheviot, The Stag and the Black, Black Oil, National Theatre of Scotland, Dundee Rep;Mancub, Cumbernauld Theatre; Rocket Post, National Theatre of Scotland), Hannah Jarrett-Scott (Glory on Earth, The Lyceum; The Taming of the Shrew, Sherman Theatre, Tron Theatre; The Wolves, Theatre Royal Stratford east; A Bottle of Wine and Patsy Cline, Gilded Baloon), Isobel McArthur (Wendy and Peter Pan, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Lyceum; Cyrano de Bergerac, The Lyceum, National Theatre of Scotland, Citizens Theatre; Daphne Oram’s Wonderful World of Sound, Blood of the Young, Tron Theatre, Scottish Tour;Robin Hood, Manhattan Children’s Thaetre; Avoidable Climbing, Take Me Somewhere, Citizens Theatre), andMeghan Tyler (A Streetcar Named Desire, Lyric Theatre Belfast; Medicine, Off the Middle with The Hope Theatre; The Persians, Oran Mor, Traverse Theatre; Look Back in Anger, Cumbernauld Theatre; Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Guilford Shakespeare Company; Shetland, BBC). They are joined by newcomer Felixe Forde, making her professional debut.

Having first opened at Tron Theatre to an overwhelming audience response in Summer 2018, the production will tour to UK venues over Autumn 2019 and Spring 2020, beginning with Bristol Old Vic, where it will open the Autumn season on 12 September 2019.

This is an adaptation like no other. Drawing on over two-hundred years of romantic pop history is Blood of the Young’s unique take on a beloved novel – the hugely acclaimed Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of).

Six young women have a story to tell. You might have seen them, emptying the chamber pots and sweeping ash from the grate; the overlooked and the undervalued making sure those above stairs find their happy ending. Of course, they’ve always been running the show – after all ‘You can’t have a whirlwind romance without clean bedding’ – but tonight, the servants are also playing every part.

Men, money and microphones will be fought over in this loving and irreverent all-female adaptation of Jane Austen’s unrivalled literary classic. Let the ruthless match-making begin.

The Lyceum’s Artistic Director, David Greig, said: “Blood of the Young are a brilliant young voice of Scottish Theatre, and their below-stairs take on Pride and Prejudice is a pitch-perfect blend of reverent homage and mischievous send up. I could not be more delighted to be working with them to bring this show to The Lyceum stage, and out to our partners across the UK.”

Listings information                                                                                                                                                      

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)
By Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen
Directed by Paul Brotherston

Performance Dates: 
Bristol Old Vic
Saturday 7 – Saturday 28 September 2019

Northern Stage
Wednesday 2 October – Saturday 12 October 2019
northernstage.co.uk / 0191 230 5151

Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Tuesday 15 October – Saturday 2 November 2019
Birmingham-rep.co.uk / 0121 236 4455

The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh
Preview: 23 January 2020
Friday 24 January – Saturday 15 February 2020
lyceum.org.uk / 0131 248 4848

Leeds Playhouse
Tuesday 25 February – Saturday 29 February 2020
leedsplayhouse.org.uk / 0113 213 7700

Nuffield Southampton Theatres
Tuesday 17 – Saturday 28 March 2020
nstheatres.co.uk / 023 8067 1771

Adam Blanshay Productions Presents
The Birmingham Repertory Theatre Production of

WHAT’S IN A NAME? 
BY MATTHEW DELAPORTE & ALEXANDRE DE LA PATELLIÈRE
ADAPTED & DIRECTED BY JEREMY SAMS

whatsinanameplay.com

T: @WhatNamePlay | F: /WhatsInANamePlay | #WhatsInAName

• FIRST UK TOUR ANNOUNCED FOR BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE’S PRODUCTION OF COMIC MASTERPIECE WHAT’S IN A NAME? ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY JEREMY SAMS
   
• THE FEROCIOUS COMEDY WILL STAR JOE THOMAS, JAMES LANCE, SUMMER STRALLEN AND ALEX GAUMOND
   
• INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION WILL VISIT GUILDFORD, GLASGOW, YORK, AYLESBURY, CAMBRIDGE, WINDSOR, RICHMOND AND SOUTHAMPTON IN AUTUMN 2019

Adam Blanshay Productions today announces the first UK Tour of What’s In A Name?, adapted and directed by Jeremy Sams from the award-winning French film and stage sensation, Le Prènom, by Matthew Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière. Internationally acclaimed comedy,What’s In A Name? hilariously captures a particularly awkward family dinner party. The cast will star Joe Thomas (The Inbetweeners, Fresh Meat), James Lance (Jeeves and Wooster, Northern Soul), Summer Strallen (Top Hat, Young Frankenstein) and Alex Gaumond (Company, Dirty Rotten Scoundrel, Matilda). Further casting to be announced.

The witty and razor-sharp production, which opened to critical acclaim at the Birmingham REP in 2017, will open at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, from 5-14 September with press night on 12 September, before visiting Glasgow, York, Aylesbury, Cambridge, Windsor, Richmond and Southampton.

Father-to-be Vincent and his partner Anna are invited to dinner by his sister Elizabeth and her husband, Peter. They are joined by childhood friend Carl for a mature and sophisticated gathering.

The meal is lovingly prepared, and wine carefully selected. The friends are prepared for the usual humorous exchanges they’ve come to expect.

But tonight, a startling revelation about the name chosen for Vincent’s and Anna’s expected child becomes the catalyst for a destructive argument which spirals hysterically out of control. Tonight no one is holding back! Egos, childish resentment and unspoken feelings are relentlessly and hilariously exposed for the first time.

Playing Vincent will be Joe Thomas, an actor and writer best known as Simon in the multi-award winning E4 show The Inbetweeners. Following the success of The Inbetweeners (and the two eponymous films that followed) Joe starred as Kingsley in all four series of Fresh Meat, and as George in Chickens, which he also co-wrote. Most recently Joe starred as Nick in the 2018 feature film The Festival and as Martin Lavender in the BBC2 sitcom White Gold, alongside Ed Westwick and James Buckley. Joe has script development deals with Channel 4 and Fudge Park/BBC and was on the latest series of Dave’s Taskmaster.

James Lance will be playing Peter. He has had a huge variety of roles in theatre, television and film, most notably in British television comedies; including BBC Two’s I’m Alan Partridge and Simon Pegg’s Spaced for Channel 4, as well as appearing in Channel 4’s award-winning sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror. James’ film credits include The Bookshop, Northern Soul and Bronson. As well as his many on-screen roles, James has also performed on stage in West End productions such as Tom Stoppard’s adaptation of Pirandello’s Henry IV and Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense, which premiered at the Richmond Theatre and then transferred to the Duke of York’s Theatre. He has also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where he played the character of Terry Gilliam in Pythonesque, based on the comedy group Monty Python.

Playing Anna is Olivier Award-nominated actress Summer Strallen. She most recently starred as Alice in Alexis Michalik’s Intra Muros at Park Theatre and she is best known for leading West End stage roles in Top Hat, The Sound of Music, Young Frankenstein, The Drowsy Chaperone, Guys and Dolls, The Boy Friend, Love Never Dies, Cats, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. On TV, her credits include Hollyoaks in which her character Summer Shaw auditioned for and won the role of Maria Von Trapp in The Sound of Music which Strallen went on to play on stage.

Carl will be played by Alex Gaumond, who most recently received critical acclaim for his role as Paul in Marianne Elliott’s multi-Olivier® award-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company in the West End. Further stage credits include A Christmas Carol (Old Vic), Caroline, Or Change(Chichester Festival Theatre), The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Trial of Jane Fonda (Park Theatre), Into the Woods (Manchester Royal Exchange), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Sweeney Todd (ENO) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, RSC’sMatilda: The Musical, Top Hat and We Will Rock You (all West End). Film credits include The Hustle, My Dinner with Hervé and Hampstead.

Highly respected director Jeremy Sams has adapted and directed multiple celebrated productions. As a director his credits include Oklahoma! (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Wizard of Oz (West End and World Tour), The Sound of Music (West End and Toronto), Noises Off (National Theatre, West End, UK Tour and Broadway) and Benefactors (UK Tour and West End). His credits as an adaptor include The Park (Royal Shakespeare Company), The Rehearsal (Almeida and West End), Beckett (West End) and Les Parents Terribles (National Theatre and Broadway).

The original play premiered in 2010 at the Théâtre Édouard VII in Paris, France, where the production received six Molière Award nominations and ran for over 300 performances. Matthew Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière then wrote the screenplay for the film (2011) which played to over 3.25 million people in France alone. It received widespread critical acclaim, and won several César awards from the French Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques, along with the Grand Prix Hydro-Québec at the Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, and the Radio Canada Audience Award at the Cinéfranco International Francophone Film Festival in Toronto. The Italian translation of the movie went on to receive several prestigious Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalist awards. The play has now been translated into over 22 languages, and has had incredible box office success around the world.

What’s In A Name? is written by Matthew Delaporte and Alexandre De La Patellière with adaptation, translation and direction by Jeremy Sams. Set will be designed by Francis O’Connorand lighting design is by Rick Fisher.

Listings Information

T: @WhatNamePlay | F: /WhatsInANamePlay | #WhatsInAName

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
5 – 14 September
Press Night on 12 September, 7.45pm
01483 44 00 00 | www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk/

Theatre Royal Glasgow
1 – 5 October
0844 871 7647* | www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-glasgow/

Grand Opera House York
8 – 12 October
0844 871 3024* | www.atgtickets.com/venues/grand-opera-house-york/

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
22 – 26 October
0844 871 7607* | www.atgtickets.com/venues/aylesbury-waterside-theatre/

Cambridge Arts Theatre
28 October – 2 November
01223 503 333 | www.cambridgeartstheatre.com/

Theatre Royal Windsor
4 – 9 November
01753 853 888 | theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk/

Richmond Theatre
12– 16 November
0844 871 7651* | www.atgtickets.com/venues/richmond-theatre/

Nuffield Southampton Theatre
19– 23 November
023 8067 1771 | www.nstheatres.co.uk/

Lin Blakley to star in UK tour of
Murder, Margaret and Me
UK Tour: September – November 2019
A Tilted Wig, Malvern Theatres and Churchill Theatre, Bromley production

Lin Blakley (Eastenders, BBC) will be stepping into the shoes of Agatha Christie for the UK tour of Philip Meeks’ critically acclaimed play Murder, Margaret and Me, directed by Damian Cruden (Artistic Director, Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre).

The cast also includes Sarah Parks (Coronation Street, ITV; Richard II, Royal Shakespeare Company) as Margaret Rutherford, and Gilly Tompkins (Gangsta Granny, Garrick Theatre and National Tour; The 3 Emos, Smashing Mirrors Theatre) as the Spinster.

Murder, Margaret and Me is the story of an unlikely friendship between famed actress Margaret Rutherford and world-renowned Queen of Crime Agatha Christie. In the early sixties, these two national treasures were the creative force behind one of British cinema’s most successful franchises. But the Miss Marple movies were almost never made….

Both these much-loved icons were shrouded in mystery; Margaret held a dark family secret, and Agatha mysteriously went missing for ten days, which has continued to baffled conspiracy theorists. Through exploring their tumultuous relationship, the play seeks to pay homage to these two great women and their hidden histories.

Murder, Margaret and Me is a story of the achievement of women in the long lost world of the silver screen.

Having completed extensive research writer Philip Meeks has used original letters from Agatha to Stringer Davies to authenticate his story. He comments, It transpires the two great women had forged a relationship beyond their awkward meeting on the set of Marple. I’ve been able to refer to an amazing archive of letters in this version of the play. It makes me feel even more that what I’ve written is as I intended it to be, a play paying homage to the two great women.

Meeks adds, Theatre is all about collaboration and I’m very pleased my old collaborator Damian Cruden is recreating his production of Murder Margaret and Me with such a great cast. Damian really helped to shape the play and it’s always a joy to work with him.

Fortunately there’s a clued-up sense of respectful inquiry in … Philip Meeks’ reworked murder mystery, that began as an Edinburgh Fringe solo show and now not only brings these two successful women together to imagine how their relationship might have developed from mutual distrust to mutual respect, but also introduces a nosy Miss Marple figure who discovers enough evidence to prove that their creative impulses were informed by a shared sense of vulnerability and sadness (The Stage)

ANNOUNCED TO EXTEND ITS WEST END RUN BY POPULAR DEMAND, WITH TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR

• NOW BOOKING TO 4 JANUARY 2020 WITH TICKETS ON SALE ATWAITRESSTHEMUSICAL.CO.UK
   
• LAST CHANCE TO SEE ASHLEY ROBERTS WHO ENTERS HER FINAL WEEKS IN THE HIT WEST END MUSICAL
   
• NOW IN ITS FOURTH YEAR ON BROADWAY AND CURRENTLY TOURING CANADA, WAITRESS IS ALSO SET TO PREMIERE IN AUSTRALIA, HOLLAND AND JAPAN

Waitress continues a celebrated West End run at the Adelphi Theatre and today announces an extension by popular demand with tickets now on sale for Christmas and New Year through to 4 January 2020. Tickets for the hit comedy musical are on sale now.

Audiences also have just three weeks left to see Ashley Roberts, (The Pussycat Dolls, Strictly 2018 finalist) in the role of Dawn. After joining the company in June, she will complete a strictly limited summer season with her final performance taking place on 10 August 2019. Laura Baldwin will return to the role of Dawn in Waitress on 12 August.

Waitress celebrated its official opening night at the Adelphi Theatre on 7 March and the Tony-nominated musical, brought to life by a ground breaking, female-led creative team and featuring an original score by Sara Bareilles, has received widespread acclaim from critics and public alike.

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

Sara Bareilles became an international star following the release of her debut album Little Voice,featuring Love Song, in 2007 which reached number 1 in more than 20 countries across the world.  Since then she has gone on to release a New York Times best-selling book, Sounds Like Me – My Life (so far) in Song, five studio albums and has earned 7 Grammy® nominations including Best Musical Theater Album for Waitress. The show’s hit ballad, She Used To Be Mine, has inspired countless covers by all sexes and ages across the world, performed by well-known theatrical stars and musicians to young viral sensations, receiving millions of views to date. She has just been announced for a second Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for ‘This One’s For You’together with Josh Groban. Other accolades include the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Awards for her success in Music and her championing of women everywhere at the United Nationsand a 2018 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role in Jesus Christ Superstar Live!

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

Waitress features an original score by 7-time Grammy® nominee Sara Bareilles (Love Song, Brave), a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam) and direction by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Finding Neverland) and choreography by Lorin Latarro.

Waitress stars Lucie Jones as Jenna, Ashley Roberts as Dawn, Marisha Wallace as Becky,Blake Harrison as Ogie, Peter Hannah as Earl, David Hunter as Dr. Pomatter and Shaun Prendergast as Old Joe.

The full company includes Kelly Agbowu, Piers Bate, Nicole Raquel Dennis, Michael Hamway, Peter Hannah, Blake Harrison, David Hunter, Lucie Jones, Stephen Leask,Chris McGuigan, Olivia Moore, Nathaniel Morrison, Sarah O’Connor, Leanne Pinder, Shaun Prendergast, Charlotte Riby, Ashley Roberts, Marisha Wallace and Mark Willshire.

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