Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford – until 29 September, then touring

Reviewed by Antonia Hebbert

4****

Two ageing, failing actors stuck in a trailer with nothing to do but bicker – what could possibly go wrong? Even more than you think, actually, when the trailer is on a shifting Icelandic glacier with a volcano erupting underneath. So far, so much fun in this new play by Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer, who also play the sharp-tongued old luvvies, with Lois Chimimba as their harried assistant.

For those of us of a certain age (ahem), Edmondson and Planer are pretty much comedy royalty, who made their names in the 1980s with The Comic Strip and The Young Ones , the scuzzily brilliant sitcom about life in a student house. This play might as well have been called ‘The Old Ones’ – it has a lot of laughs, but it’s also a rather wonderful look back at lives spent in acting, which becomes more and more thoughtful as the play goes on. There are the reliable, perfectly timed jokes you might expect about acting and actors, but we also get an inkling of what it is actually like to spend your life in that world. And we get to hear Planer and Edmondson sing a little, which is charming in a quiet way.

Meanwhile, the volcano is getting hotter. A round of applause, please, for designer Simon Higlett’s beautifully recreated trailer interior, inconveniently placed on the erupting Eyjafjallajökull. Mic Pool (sound) and Murray Gold (music) provide jolly background effects. Steve Marmion directs.

New production by James Wilton Dance will sweep you off your feet

The Storm

Monday 15 October

Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre, Leeds

theatreleeds.com

James Wilton Dance, one of Europe’s most in-demand dance companies, returns to Leeds next month to present their new production The Storm. From multi-award winning, internationally acclaimed choreographer James Wilton, this is a show guaranteed to blow audiences away, and will be performed at the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre on 15 October 2018 for one night only.

 

Featuring a thundering electro-rock soundtrack and thousands of pieces of paper in a literal storm of confetti, this fusion of acrobatics, breakdance and martial arts is about more than just the weather.Inspired by the psychology of how we process the ‘storm’ of human emotions, seven dancers will explore how we can remain happy and not get swept away by the turbulent, challenging world around us.

 

Choreographed by Artistic Director James Wilton, who is renowned for creating breathtakingly physical dance works, The Storm is set to an original score composed by prog-rock superstar MichałWojtas, with costumes by Sarah Jane Taylor and lighting design by James Wilton.

 

James Wilton says: ‘I have always been fascinated by the inner workings of the human mind, in particular how we process and understand emotions. Physically […] our unique blend of martial arts, break dance, capoeira, acrobatics and dance is continually evolving, and The Storm will be the next step of this. It will be more physical, athletic and energised than anything we’ve previously created, but with more softness and texture.’

 

Tickets for The Storm by James Wilton Dance at the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre, Leeds are onsale now and can be booked online at theatreleeds.com or by calling the Box Office on 0113 220 8008. Tickets are priced at £13.50.

 

 

DADAFEST ANNOUNCE THEIR 2018 FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

VENUES ACROSS THE LIVERPOOL CITY REGION TAKE PART IN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF DISABILITY AND D/DEAF ARTISTS

DaDaFest International returns to Liverpool City Region venues this autumn showcasing a series of high-quality cutting-edge work which challenges stereotypes and celebrate disability and D/deaf cultures.

Comedian Francesca Martinez, theatre-maker and comedian Jess Thom, Stop Gap Dance Company, artists Faith Bebbington, Jonathan Griffith, Simon McKeown and Martin O’Brien, and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Fisher are among the 2018 line-up.

They are part of a busy programme that includes more than 50 exhibitions, performances, talks and workshops by both well-known mainstream audience artists and new emerging artists, all responding to the festival’s theme Passing: What’s your legacy?

 

Artists have been invited to explore the concepts of ageing, death and disability (passing time) and the changing nature of all our journeys and the legacies we leave (passing on).

The festival will also commemorate the end of the First World War as a key moment for modern recognition of disability as a social construct.

Events will be held at a wide range of venues across the city centre and beyond including St George’s Hall, Royal Court Liverpool, the Bluecoat, Tate Exchange, Constellations, the Unity Theatre and World Museum.

 

Award-winning artist Simon McKeown’s interactive No Passengers vintage disability cars installation will be seen at St George’s Hall from 21 November – 8 December.

And this year DaDaFest is also expanding its geographical reach with a performance by the acclaimedStop Gap Dance Company taking place at Storyhouse Chester.

 

Visual art is represented by Gina Czarnecki whose special exhibition of eco-friendly coffins designed by local and national artists Who We Are Now will be staged in the Oratory in the grounds of Liverpool Cathedral from November 1-18.

The Unity will host Jonathan Griffith’s Retrospective throughout the festival period, and the artist will take part in special talks at the theatre on November 20 and in Chester Lane Library in St Helens on November 22.

And Martin O’Brien’s video installation Until The Last Breath is Breathed comes to St George’s Hall from November 21 – December 8. He will also be doing a performance lecture at the same venue on 29 November.

Jess Thom showcases Samuel Beckett’s Not I, the story of a woman’s life told at top speed by a disembodied character, ‘Mouth’, at the Bluecoat on November 23-24.The Touretteshero and Battersea Arts Centre production in association with the Albany sees performer Thom reclaiming Mouth as a disabled character.

Meanwhile laugh-out-loud comedy comes from Francesca Martinez (What the **** Is Normal) at theUnity Theatre on November 23 and to Chester Lane Library in St Helens on November 24. Laurence Clark will also be live at the Unity on November 24 with The Irresponsible Father’s Guide to Parenting.

Finally, DaDaFest team up with Action Transport and Unity Theatre for a seasonal show collaboration, for the highly theatrical and bold retelling of the classic family tale – Beauty and the Beast!

Beauty and the Beast shows that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder and that everyone’s attitude can, at times, be beastly!

DaDaFest Artistic Director Ruth Gould said: “I’m delighted by the programme we’re presenting during DaDaFest International 2018. We have some fantastic, absorbing and thought-provoking work developed by hugely talented artists working across a wide range of genres, from dance to visual art, music to comedy.

 

“The theme of this year’s festival, Passing: What’s your legacy? is a great starting point for conversations, both verbal and artistic, and I’m really looking forward to some exhilarating exchanges of thoughts and ideas over the course of DaDaFest International 2018.

 

“The programme includes moments that affirm, celebrate and inform on the very essence of what it is to live as people who are disabled, Deaf, young, old and the many interactions and happenings that we encounter as we journey through life. We all have stories, we all matter as we all part of the human race.”

See the full programme at www.dadafest.co.uk/eventsFollow @DaDaFest on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook #DaDaFest18

 

DaDaFest International talks and workshops programme will be announced 10 October.

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR

SHEFFIELD THEATRES AND OUT OF JOINT’S CO-PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF KATE BOWEN’S CLOSE QUARTERS

 

STUDIO

A Sheffield Theatres and Out of Joint Co-Production

World Première

CLOSE QUARTERS

By Kate Bowen

25 October – 10 November 2018

Director: Kate Wasserberg; Designer: Max Jones; Lighting Designer: Sarah Jane Shiels

Composer & Sound Designer: Dyfan Jones

Casting Directors: Sooki McShane CDG & Lucy Jenkins CDG; Fight/movement Director: RC-Annie LTD

 

Sheffield Theatres and Out of Joint today announce the full cast for their co-production of the world première of Kate Bowen’s Close Quarters. Kate Wasserberg directs Ruby Barker (Private Sarah Findlay), Bradley Banton(Sergent Adeyemi), Chloe-Ann Tylor (Private Alison Cormack), Dylan Wood (Lance Corporal Brian Armstrong), Sophie Melville (Private Clare Davies) and Kathryn O’Reilly (Captain Anna Sands). The production opens on 29 October, with previews from 25 October, and runs until 10 November.

 

“You were the only folk out of five thousand who got through – you’re legit badass.”

 

Cormack, Findlay and Davies are the elite. They are the first generation of female soldiers to serve in the British infantry in close combat roles, ever. They’ve aced physical tests only 5% of female soldiers can pass; they’ve been trained to shoot, fight and kill. They’ve proven their exceptional skill and discipline – while everyone around them questions whether they should even be allowed to serve. And now they’re about to join the action.

Kate Bowen’s taut, funny and powerful play follows three very different, pioneering young women in the world’s most dangerous workplace.

Kate Bowen’s debut play Shutter Speed was developed and workshopped by the National Theatre of Scotland/Dundee Rep company in 2011. Her other writing includes Super Sunday, a Five Minute Theatre piece for National Theatre Scotland, the audio play The Prize Fighter (part of the Traverse 50 programme at the Traverse Theatre), and The Lawyers for Play, Pie and a Pint’s Three Minute Theatre project in Glasgow. Bowen was winner of the Playwright’s Studio Scotland New Writer’s Award in 2012, awarded a place on the Channel 4 Playwright’s Scheme Bursary to work with Out of Joint throughout 2017, and last year given a place on the National Theatre of Scotland’s Starter for Ten scheme to develop a new project, Stunt.

Ruby Barker plays Private Sarah Findlay. Her theatre work includes York Mystery Plays (York Minster) and Mankind (Hidden Theatre Company). For television, her work includes Wolfblood; and for film, The Banana Dream.

 

Bradley Banton plays Sergent Adeyemi. His theatre work includes The Island (Linbury Studio). His television work includes Vera; and for film, His House and Judy.

 

Chloe-Ann Tylor plays Private Alison Cormack. For theatre, her work includes Hansel and Gretel, Trainspotting(Citizens Theatre), The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), The Merchant of Venice (Bard in the Botanics) and Titus Andronicus (Dundee Rep).

 

Dylan Wood plays Lance Corporal Brian Armstrong. For theatre, his work includes Teddy (The Watermill Theatre and UK tour), Electric Eden (Shanghai Arts Festival/Not Too Tame Theatre Company) and Julius Caesar(Edinburgh Festival); and a short film, In the Night.

 

Sophie Melville plays Private Clare Davies. For theatre her work includes Iphigenia in Splott (Sherman Theatre, National Theatre and Edinburgh Festival), Romeo and Juliet (Sherman Theatre), Under Milk Wood (Theatr Clwyd), The Shape of Things, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, See How They Run (Theatre by the Lake) and Romeo and Juliet (Sam Wanamaker Festival).

 

Kathryn O’Reilly plays Captain Anna Sands. Her theatre work includes Arms and the Man (Watford Palace Theatre), Caught, hamlet is dead. no gravity (Arcola Theatre), Rift (Brewhouse Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Trafalgar Studios), Lover on the Tracks (Soho Theatre), Oedipus (national tour), Don Juan (Rose Theatre), and A View from Islington North and Our Country’s Good (Out of Joint). Her television work includes Random, Call the Midwife, Rough Justice and The Watcher; and for film, The Little Stranger, Zebra Crossing and Halal Harry.

Kate Wasserberg is Artistic Director of Out of Joint for whom she has directed Rita, Sue and Bob, Too (Bolton Octagon, Royal Court Theatre and tour). She was the founding Artistic Director of The Other Room in Cardiff, where her directing credits included The Dying of Today, Play/Silence, Sand and Seanmhair. Her other directing credits include The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Glengarry Glen Ross, Roots, Gaslight, The Glass Menagerie and A History of Falling Things (as Associate Director for Theatre Clwyd), All My Sons and Insignificance (Theatre Clwyd), The Barnbow Canaries (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Ten Weeks (Paines Plough), The Knowledge (Dirty Protest at the Royal Court Theatre) and Saturday Night Forever (Aberystwyth Arts Centre/Edinburgh).

www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

Twitter: @crucibletheatre @SheffieldLyceum

TICKETS FOR THE HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL GO ON GENERAL SALE TOMORROW

Book by Jessie Nelson
Music and lyrics by six-time Grammy Award-nominee Sara Bareilles
Based upon the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly
Directed by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus

• Playing at London’s Adelphi Theatre from 8 February 2018
• Waitress serves up the first all-female lead creative team on a West End musical
• Tickets on general sale from 10:00am on Tuesday 25 September via waitressthemusical.co.uk

Tickets will go on general sale for the UK premiere of the Tony Award-nominated Waitress tomorrow, Tuesday 25 September at 10:00am. The smash hit Broadway musical will begin preview performances on 8 February ahead of its official opening night on 7 March at London’s Adelphi Theatre. Currently playing its third year on Broadway, Waitress will bring with it an all-female lead creative team – a West End musical first.

Waitress opened on 24 April 2016 at Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theater. Based on the 2007 motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly, Waitress was the first Broadway musical in history to have four women in the four top creative team spots, with a book by Jessie Nelson, a score by six-time Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, choreography by Lorin Latarro and direction by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus. The production is currently touring the US and has also recently announced it will have its Australian premiere in 2020 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.

Waitress tells the story of Jenna, an expert pie maker in a small town, who dreams of a way out of her loveless marriage. A baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s new doctor may offer her a chance at a new life, while her fellow waitresses offer their own recipes to happiness. But Jenna must find the courage and strength within herself to rebuild her life. This American musical celebrates friendship, motherhood, and the magic of a well-made pie.

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.

Waitress is produced by Barry and Fran Weissler and Norton and Elayne Herrick.

LISTINGS

WAITRESS
The Adelphi Theatre
The Strand,
London WC2R 0NS

Performances from Friday 8 February
Opening night: Friday 7 March

Monday – Saturday evenings at 7.30pm
Wednesday & Saturday matinees at 2.30pm

24 Hour Telephone Booking line:
020 7087 7753

waitressthemusical.co.uk

Twitter: @WaitressLondon
Facebook: Waitress the Musical – London
Instagram: @WaitressLondon

www.carolineorchange.co.uk | @carolinewestend

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR THE WEST END PRODUCTION
STARRING OLIVIER AWARD-WINNER SHARON D. CLARKE

NEW VIDEO FOOTAGE RELEASED HERE

Ambassador Theatre Group, Gavin Kalin Productions, Glass Half Full Productions and Rupert Gavin
In association with Hampstead Theatre 
Present
The Chichester Festival Theatre Production of

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE
Book and lyrics by TONY KUSHNER
Music by JEANINE TESORI
Directed by MICHAEL LONGHURST

Playhouse Theatre, London from 20 November 2018 to 9 February 2019 following sold out engagements at Chichester Festival Theatre and Hampstead Theatre.

Full casting has been announced for Caroline, Or Change, the celebrated musical written by Tony Kushner, author of Angels in America, with a soaring score from Tony Award-winning Jeanine Tesori, which will run at the West End’s Playhouse Theatre from 20 November 2018 to 9 February 2019.

As previously announced, the cast will be led by Olivier Award-winning actress Sharon D. Clarke in a critically acclaimed virtuoso performance as Caroline Thibodeaux. She will be joined by Naana Agyei-Ampadu, Keisha Amponsa Banson, Alastair Brookshaw, Me’sha Bryan, Angela Caesar, Dujonna Gift-Simms, Sue Kelvin, Teddy Kempner, Ako Mitchell, Abiona Omonua, Vincent Pirillo, Tanisha Spring and Lauren Ward with Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong, Zalika Henry, Laura Medforth, Timothy Quinlan and Teddy Wills.

Nine young performers have been cast in the roles of Noah, Jackie and Joe. Isaac Forward, Aaron Gelkoff and Jack Meredith will alternate the role of Noah, Mark Mwangi, Kenya Sandy and Jeremiah Waysome will alternate the role of Jackie and the role of Joe will be alternated by Josiah Choto, David Dube and Raphael Higgins-Hume.

Directed by Michael Longhurst, this five-star production received phenomenal critical praise when it opened with sold out engagements at Chichester Festival Theatre and again at the Hampstead Theatre.

Louisiana, 1963. Revolution is in the air, though not so much for Caroline, the poorly paid maid toiling endlessly in the sweltering basement of the Gellman household. It’s a fantastical, magical place amidst the piles of laundry and singing washing machines, especially for eight-year-old Noah Gellman who sneaks downstairs to see her whenever he can. Yet a simple gesture to leave more money in Caroline’s pocket is about to test who and how far the winds of change can ever really reach…

Winner of the 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, Caroline, Or Change is a playful, funny, and deeply moving portrait of America at a time of momentous social upheaval, set to an uplifting and profound score of soul, blues, classical and traditional Jewish folk music.

Olivier Award-winner Sharon D. Clarke is to reprise her critically-hailed performance in the role of Caroline Thibodeaux. Clarke has enjoyed a long established stage career with credits including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and The Amen Corner (National Theatre), Ghost The Musical (Piccadilly Theatre), The Life (Southwark Playhouse), Porgy and Bess (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre),Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre) and We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre). On TV, Clarke is known for playing Lola Griffin in BBC’s Holby City and from 7 October 2018 will guest star in the brand new series of Doctor Who.

Naana Agyei-Ampadu’s theatre credits include Avenue Q (Noël Coward Theatre), Che Walker’s The Frontline and Measure for Measure (Shakespeare’s Globe), Been So Long (Young Vic: Evening Standard Award nomination) and Feast (Young Vic).

Keisha Amponsa Banson’s previous West End credits include Motown: The Musical (Shaftesbury Theatre), The Pajama Game (Chichester Festival Theatre/ Old Vic/ Shaftesbury Theatre), From Here to Eternity (Shaftesbury Theatre) and The Lion King (Lyceum Theatre).

Alastair Brookshaw’s previous theatre credits include A Little Night Music (The Watermill), She Loves Me (Menier Chocolate Theatre), The Grand Tour (Finborough Theatre) and De Profundis (Leicester Square Theatre).

Me’sha Bryan is a singer, songwriter and actor whose recent theatre credits include As You Like It (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Desire Under The Elms (Sheffield Crucible), The Lion King (UK tour), The Little Shop of Horrors (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and Ragtime (Piccadilly Theatre).

Angela Caesar’s theatre credits include Orlando and the Three Graces, Clown, and Into the Forest, (Theatre Peckham), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Porgy and Bess (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), The Phantom of the Opera (UK tour) Carmen Jones (Royal Festival Hall), An African Cargo (Nitro Theatre Company). Opera credits include Heart of Darkness (ROH), Knight Crew (Glyndebourne), Varjak Paw (The Old Vic) and The Silent Twins (Almeida Theatre).

Dujonna Gift-Simms made her West End debut in Motown: The Musical.

Sue Kelvin’s theatre credits include Wicked (Apollo Victoria), Private Lives (Gielgud Theatre), Travelling Light and A Streetcar Names Desire (National Theatre), Fiddler on the Roof (Savoy Theatre), Chicago (Cambridge Theatre and Adelphi Theatre),  Beau Jest (Hackney Empire), Oliver! (London Palladium), Assassins (Donmar Warehouse) and Les Misérables (Palace Theatre).

Teddy Kempner’s theatre credits include Driving Miss Daisy (Theatre Royal Bath/ UK Tour), The Trial and The Bourgeois Gentilhomme (National Theatre),  A Month in the Country, How To Succeed in Business without Really Trying, and Six Pictures of Lee Miller (Chichester Festival Theatre), Pacific Overtures (Donmar Warehouse),  Measure for Measure and Habeas Corpus (Peter Hall Company), Nicholas Nickleby (RSC, London and New York), The Three Sisters, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, The Suicide (all RSC), and Snoopy in Snoopy (Duchess Theatre: Olivier Award nomination).

Ako Mitchell is an actor and filmmaker whose theatre credits include Guys and Dolls and Little Shop of Horrors (Manchester Royal Exchange), The Wild Party (The Other Palace), Ragtime(Charing Cross Theatre), Fences (Duchess Theatre) and the role of Mufasa in The Lion King(Lyceum Theatre).

Abiona Omonua’s theatre credits include Guys and Dolls (Manchester Royal Exchange),Hamlet (Tara Arts), Soul (Royal & Derngate and Hackney Empire), Dessa Rose (Trafalgar Studios), The Color Purple (Menier Chocolate Factory), Legally Blonde (Savoy Theatre), Parade (Southwark Playhouse), Hairspray (original UK tour), and Hot Mikado (The Watermill).

Vincent Pirillo is an actor and Opera singer whose theatre credits include She Loves Me (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Phantom of the Opera (UK Tour), Sweeney Todd (Chichester Festival Theatre), Inherit the Wind (The Old Vic) and Fiddler on the Roof (Sheffield Crucible/ Savoy Theatre).

Tanisha Spring‘s theatre credits include Tina (Aldwych Theatre), Big Fish (The Other Palace),One Love: The Bob Marley Musical (Birmingham Rep) and Beautiful (Aldwych Theatre).

Lauren Ward’s theatre credits include Matilda (Cambridge Theatre and RSC/Courtyard Theatre), The Sound of Music (London Palladium), The Philadelphia Story (The Old Vic), A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Camelot (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), The Winter’s Tale and Pericles (RSC). Broadway credits include Matilda (Shubert Theatre: Tony Award nomination), Follies (Balasco Theatre) and 1776 (Gershwin Theatre: Drama League Award winner, Drama Desk Award nomination).

Ambassador Theatre Group, Gavin Kalin Productions, Glass Half Full Productionsand Rupert Gavin, in association with Hampstead Theatre, present the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Caroline, Or Change. Book and lyrics by Tony Kushner, music byJeanine Tesori and is directed by Michael Longhurst, with designs by Fly Davis, choreography by Ann Yee, musical direction by Nigel Lilley, lighting by Jack Knowles, sound by Paul Arditti, casting by Charlotte Sutton CDG and children’s casting by Debbie O’Brien.

LISTINGS

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE
Book and lyrics by TONY KUSHNER
Music by JEANINE TESORI
Directed by MICHAEL LONGHURST
Starring SHARON D. CLARKE 

Playhouse Theatre
Northumberland Ave, London WC2N 5DE

www.carolineorchange.co.uk | @carolinewestend

Performance schedule:

First performance: 20 November 2018
Final performance: 9 February 2019

Monday to Saturday performances at 7.30pm
Thursday and Saturday matinee performances at 2.30pm
Running time: 2 hours and 35 minutes including one interval

Box office details:

Website: www.carolineorchange.co.uk
Telephone: 0844 871 7631
Prices from £20

 

Pilot Theatre present

NOUGHTS & CROSSES

By Malorie Blackman

Adapted by Sabrina Mahfouz
Directed by Esther Richardson

 

Co-production with Derby Theatre, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Mercury Theatre Colchester and York Theatre Royal

 

DATES:

Opening Venue: Derby Theatre 1-16 February 2019.

National tour: 19 February – 11 May 2019. 

 

“Why love, if losing hurts so much?”

 

Following their critically acclaimed production earlier this year with Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock, Pilot Theatre will premiere in February 2019 Sabrina Mahfouz’s exciting new adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s critically acclaimed young adult novel of first love in a dangerous fictional dystopia – Noughts & Crosses.

 

Directed by Pilot Theatre’s Artistic Director Esther Richardson (Brighton Rock), the new adaptation will premiere at Derby Theatre from the 1-16 February 2019 and will then embark on a national tour until the 11 May.

 

Noughts & Crosses will be the first co-production between Pilot Theatre, Derby Theatre, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Mercury Theatre, Colchester and York Theatre Royal who have recently formed a new partnership to develop theatre for younger audiences.

 

Told from the perspectives of the two teenagers, Noughts & Crosses is a captivating love story set in a volatile, racially segregated society and explores the powerful themes of love, revolution and what it means to grow up in a divided world.

 

Sabrina Mahfouz’s new adaptation is based on Malorie Blackman’s first book in the Noughts & Crosses series for young adults, which has won the Red House Children’s Book Award and the Fantastic Fiction Award among other accolades. A BBC adaptation of Noughts & Crosses is due to be screened in 2019.

 

Noughts & Crosses’ exciting young cast will be led by Heather Agyepong and Billy Harris playing the roles of Sephy and Callum. Heather Agyepong’s theatre credits include Girls (Talawa Theatre, High Tide & Martha Rose Wilson Prod.); So Many Reasons (Fuel Theatre & Ovalhouse Theatre) and Sankara (Next Up Talent; National Theatre Studio).  Heather is an acclaimed visual artist, actor and maker. Earlier this year she was nominated for the 2018 South Bank Sky Arts Breakthrough Award. Billy Harris’ theatre credits include Boots On The Ground (Tangled Feet) and 13 (Tobacco Factory Theatre). Further casting will be announced soon.

On  the casting of the roles of Sephy and Callum director Esther Richardson said:

“We were amazed and honoured to receive over 400 audition videos from those who wanted to put themselves forward for the roles of Sephy and Callum. It was like receiving a 33-hour long digital love letter to the original book. We had videos from everyone from teenagers who had never done any performing before to established actors, and many people in between.

By working in this way, we were able to consider far more actors than would have otherwise been possible. We wanted to find fresh talent and authenticity, and we’ve been brought into contact with some extraordinary young actors who were completely unknown to us’

We are thrilled that Heather and Billy are taking on the roles of Sephy and Callum in Malorie’s much-loved novel and we can’t wait to work with both of them.”

Malorie Blackman has written over 60 books for children and young adults, including the Noughts & Crosses series, Thief and most recently her science fiction thriller Chasing the Stars. Her work has also been adapted for TV with the 6-part adaptation of Pig-Heart Boy winning a BAFTA and Noughts and Crosses currently in production for the BBC. In 2005, Malorie was honoured the Eleanor Farjeon Award in recognition of her distinguished contribution to the world of children’s books, in 2008 she received an OBE for her services to children’s literature and, between 2013 and 2015, she was the Children’s Laureate. Malorie is currently writing for the new Doctor Who series on BBC One and the fifth novel in her Noughts & Crosses sequence, Crossfire, will be published by Penguin Random House Children’s in summer 2019.

Malorie Blackman said about the production

“I’m thrilled that Noughts & Crosses is being adapted for the stage by Sabrina and produced by Pilot Theatre and a talented consortium of theatre makers whose aim it is to develop theatre for younger audiences.”

Sabrina Mahfouz is a British Egyptian poet, playwright, performer and writer from South London, England. Her recent plays have included Offside(co-written with Hollie McNish); With a little bit of luck (Paines Plough) and published work includes poetry, plays and contributions to several anthologies.

 

Sabrina Mahfouz said about her new adaptation

‘As a young adult, Noughts & Crosses showed me the power storytelling can have in highlighting injustice in the world, so it is a complete honour to now be adapting the legendary Malorie Blackman’s words for the stage, alongside the bold vision of Pilot Theatre and partners.’

Noughts & Crosses will be the first co-production between Pilot Theatre, Derby Theatre, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Mercury Theatre, Colchester and York Theatre Royal. From 2019-2022 the consortium will commission and co-produce an original mid-scale production each year. Each production will play in all the consortium venues as well as touring nationally.

Schools workshops and outreach projects, along with free digital learning resources, will be available alongside each of the productions.

Noughts & Crosses will open at Derby Theatre from the 1-16 February 2019 and will then tour to Theatr Clwyd, Mold; The Lowry, Salford; Mercury Theatre Colchester; Bristol Old Vic; Brighton Theatre Royal; Belgrade Theatre Coventry; York Theatre Royal; Theatre Royal Stratford East and Northern Stage.

For more information on Noughts & Crosses please visit https://www.pilot-theatre.comand www.derbytheatre.co.uk

    

2019 NOUGHTS & CROSSES TOUR LISTINGS

OPENING VENUE

1-16 February 2019 –Derby Theatre

Box Office: 01332 593939 // https://www.derbytheatre.co.uk/

Performance times: 7pm (1,2,4,5,8,9,12,15 & 16 February) & 6pm (6,7,13 & 14 February)

Matinee performances: 6,9,13 & 16 February at 1.30pm

Ticket prices: 1, 2 & 4 February £8-£28 and 5-16 February £10-£30

 

TOUR

19-23 February – Theatr Clwyd (tickets on sale soon)

Box Office: 01325 701521 // https://www.theatrclwyd.com/en/

26 February-2 March –The Lowry, Salford

Box Office: 0843 208 6000 https://www.thelowry.com/events/noughts-crosses

5- 9 March -Mercury Theatre Colchester (tickets on sale soon)

Box Office: 01206 573948 // https://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/

12 – 16 March – Bristol Old Vic (tickets on sale soon)

Box Office: 0117 9877877 https://bristololdvic.org.uk/

19-23 March – Brighton Theatre Royal

Box Office: 08448717650 // https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/noughts-and-crosses/theatre-royal-brighton/

26-30 March – Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

Box Office: 02476553055 /  http://www.belgrade.co.uk/event/noughts-and-crosses

2-6 April – York Theatre Royal

Box Office: 01904 623568https://www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/event/noughts_and_crosses.php#.W6UMJGhKiUk

24 April – 4 May -Theatre Royal Stratford East

Box Office: 020 8534 0310 http://www.stratfordeast.com/whats-on/all-shows/noughts-and-crosses

7-11 May -Northern Stage (tickets on sale soon)

Box Office: 0191 2305151 // https://www.northernstage.co.uk/

 

Leicester Square Theatre – 23 September 2018 

Reviewed by Meghan Smith

4****

Murder she didn’t write is an innovative show where the entire cast and audience are completely clueless as to what the story line is other than a murder occurs and a detective solves the case. Initially, I was slightly sceptical about the title of this performance and it’s synopsis. This is due to the fact that I had never been a fan of improvised theatre and preferred to sit back and watch someone else show me a story on the stage without me having to get involved. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this afternoon’s show at the Leicester Square Theatre.

Today’s show was decided by the audience to be based on a murder that takes place in a plastic surgery. The murder weapon was decided to be a syringe which is strangely made out of ice. This proved a slight challenge for the performers as their characters were made to be set in the 1920’s when plastic surgery wasn’t as popular as it is in today’s society. This issue was highlighted throughout the show as all of the cast struggled with their ideas at times as they sometimes slipped to and from the 1920’s due to being on the spot in an awkward situation. However, they should have had not acknowledge on the era to aid themselves in their improvisation which is what I felt was lacking in the overall performance.

This was also seen with the inspector who was fashioning a silver, eye-catching nose ring which was slightly off putting due to the fact that it caught the light a lot as well as not being from the era they were setting the piece in.

On the other hand, I believe the actors performed extremely well under the circumstances they had been given as they managed to put on a thoroughly enjoyable show for both themselves and the audience.

One slight issue I did notice is that although their improvisation skills were immaculate at times, they were all concentrating a little too much on trying to be the most comedic on the stage and this sometimes led to their lingo becoming a little taboo for this audience and the time of day. On the advertisements for this show and the information I had been given on it, it never mentioned anything about an age limit which I then imagined meant it was child friendly. Contrary to this, the performers sometimes forgot that there were children in the audience who weren’t yet mature enough for this kind of language.

Other than this slight mishap and overlooking from the cast, they managed to perform a hilarious and hit show which I would recommend to everyone who wants a good laugh and a fun night whilst still being involved with the show and feeling like a part of the cast.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR

THE STAGE DEBUT AWARDS 2018

IN ASSOCIATION WITH ACCESS ENTERTAINMENT

INCLUDING POLDARK’S AIDAN TURNER FOR HIS WEST END DEBUT,

AMARA OKEREKE FOR HER PERFORMANCE IN LES MISÉRABLES

& KATY RUDD FOR HER DIRECTION OF THE ALMIGHTY SOMETHING 

The Stage Debut Awards, in association with Access Entertainment, are thrilled to announce the 2018 winners, following the ceremony which took place at 8 Northumberland Avenue on Sunday 23 September, which was also streamed live on The Stage’s Facebook Page.

Poldark actor Aidan Turner won the Joe Allen Best West End Debut Award for his performance in The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Noël Coward Theatre beating Tina: The Tina Turner Musical star Adrienne Warren, Diversity’s Ashley Banjo and Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston.

Performers and creatives taking home the prestigious awards this year also include: Amara Okereke for her iconic performance in Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre, London, where she made history as the first actress of colour to play the role of Cosette; Katy Rudd for her direction of The Almighty Something at Manchester Royal Exchange; Akshay Sharan for his detailed performance in The Reluctant Fundamentalist and The Yard; Gus Gowland for composing a warm and evocative score for Pieces of String at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester; Louis Gaunt for his impressive supporting role in Oklahoma! at Grange Park Opera; Gemma Dobson for her vivacious performance in Rita, Sue and Bob Too which started life at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton; Andrew Thompson for his ambitious script for In Event of Moone Disaster at Theatre 503; and Khadija Raza for, among other work, her stark staging and costumes for Hijabi Monologues at Bush Theatre.

Upon winning the Joe Allen Best West End Debut award, Aidan Turner said: “Thank you to The Stage for this award and thank you to everyone who voted”.

He offered “a special thank you to Michael Grandage, our director, you made it one of the most incredible jobs I’ve ever worked on and to have you at the helm of the ship was a pretty incredible experience”.

Alistair Smith, Editor, The Stage said: “The Stage is delighted to recognise another great roll call of emerging theatrical talent. The winner of the Joe Allen Best West End Debut Award, Aidan Turner, is already known to many for his work on the BBC’s Poldark, but I have no doubt that our other superb winners will go on to achieve great things in theatre and beyond. They are the West End stars, groundbreaking artists and household names of tomorrow and we can’t wait to see what they all do next”.

The Stage Debut Awards celebrate the very best breakthrough talent in theatre, from actors and directors to designers, writers, composers and lyricists, all of whom have made their professional debuts in the past year. These awards are the first of their kind to recognise outstanding emerging talent.

Leonard Blavatnik of headline sponsor Access Entertainment, said: “Access Entertainment is thrilled to sponsor The Stage Debut Awards this year, recognising and supporting the rising stars of the theatrical world.”

 

THE STAGE DEBUT AWARDS’ 2018 FULL WINNERS LIST

Best Actress In A Play – Sponsored by Audible

·           Kitty Archer for One for Sorrow at the Royal Court, London

·           WINNER: Gemma Dobson for Rita, Sue and Bob Too at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

·           Lorna Fitzgerald for The Shadow Factory at NST City, Southampton

·           Grainne O’Mahony for The Elephant Man at Bristol Old Vic

Best Actor In A Play – Sponsored by Audible

·           Seb Carrington for Summer and Smoke at the Almeida Theatre, London

·           WINNER: Akshay Sharan for The Reluctant Fundamentalist at Yard Theatre, London

·           Chris Walley for The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Noël Coward Theatre, London

·           Alex Wilson for The Elephant Man at Bristol Old Vic

Best Actor In A Musical – Sponsored by Encore Radio

·           Will Carey for It’s Only Life at the Union Theatre, London

·           WINNER: Louis Gaunt for Oklahoma! at Grange Park Opera, West Horsley

·           Toby Miles for Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre, London

·           Simon Oskarsson for Return to the Forbidden Planet at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London

Best Actress In A Musical – Sponsored by R&H Theatricals Europe

·           Teleri Hughes for Spring Awakening at the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

·           Eleanor Kane for Fun Home at the Young Vic, London

·           Rebecca Mendoza for Hairspray, on tour

·           WINNER: Amara Okereke for Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre, London

Best Director – Sponsored by Smith & Williamson

·           Iwan Lewis for One Minute at the Barn Theatre, Cirencester

·           Alexandra Moxon for Wreck at Nottingham Playhouse

·           Oscar Pearce for Great Apes at the Arcola Theatre, London

·           WINNER: Katy Rudd for The Almighty Sometimes at the Royal Exchange, Manchester

Best Designer – Sponsored by Robe Lighting

·           Basia Binkowska for Devil with the Blue Dress at the Bunker Theatre, London

·           WINNER: Khadija Raza for Hijabi Monologues, Spun, and Mixtape, at the Bush   Theatre, London, the Arcola Theatre, London and the Royal Exchange, Manchester

·           Fin Redshaw for Pieces of String and Love Me Now at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester and the Tristan Bates Theatre, London

·           Jasmine Swan for Hyem, The Passing of Third Floor Back, Hanna and The Sleeper at Theatre503, London, the Finborough Theatre, London, the Arcola Theatre, London, and Rialto Theatre, Brighton

Best Composer or Lyricist – Sponsored by Trafalgar Entertainment Group

·           WINNER: Gus Gowland for Pieces of String at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester

·           Kate Marlais for Abandon at the Lyric Hammersmith, London

·           Matt Winkworth for The Assassination of Katie Hopkins at Theatr Clwyd, Mold

Best Writer – Sponsored by InterTalent Rights Group

·           Georgia Christou for Yous Two at Hampstead Theatre, London

·           Kendall Feaver for The Almighty Sometimes at the Royal Exchange, Manchester

·           Natasha Gordon for Nine Night at the National Theatre, London

·           WINNER: Andrew Thompson for In Event of Moone Disaster at Theatre503, London

·           Joe White for Mayfly at the Orange Tree Theatre, London

The Joe Allen Best West End Debut

·           Mohammad Amiri for The Jungle at the Playhouse Theatre

·           Ashley Banjo for Dick Whittington at the London Palladium

·           Bryan Cranston for Network at the National Theatre

·           Michelle Greenidge for Nine Night at the National Theatre

·           John McCrea for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at the Apollo Theatre

·           Kelli O’Hara for The King and I at the London Palladium

·           Joe Robertson and Joe Murphy for The Jungle at the Playhouse Theatre

·           Lucie Shorthouse for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at the Apollo Theatre

·           WINNER: Aidan Turner for The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Noël Coward Theatre

·           Adrienne Warren for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre