The Curve, Leicester has announced its Spring 2016 season with highlights including a new production of Legally Blonde alongside the already announced premiere of Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Pixie Lott.

Legally Blonde The Musical, the award-winning West End and Broadway show, will run from 11 April to 14 May. Nikolai Foster will direct the production, which follows sorority sister Elle Woods who heads off to Harvard Law School to win back her boyfriend.

Under the new creative partnership of chief executive Chris Stafford and artistic director Foster, the season will open with Rupert Goold’s successful King Charles III tour which will run from 26 to 30 January.

Wipers, a Curve commissioned play written by Ishy Din also features in the season. Inspired by the real life story of Khuddadad Khan, the first South Asian soldier to be awarded a Victoria Cross for his bravery at the First Battle of Ypres, the play examines the contribution made by South Asian soldiers in WWI.

The production will run from 8 to 23 April and will be directed by Curve associate director Suba Das.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, starring Lott as Holly Golightly, is directed by Foster and described as a ‘play with music’. It will feature an onstage band and have music composed by Grant Olding (One Man, Two Guvnors). Truman Capote’s novella is being adapted for the stage by Tony and Olivier Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg.

It will run at Leicester Curve’s main house from 3-12 March 2016 before touring the UK. Breakfast at Tiffany’s will culminate with a 12-week West End run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, also starring Lott, from 30 June to 17 September 2016.

Other shows in the season include JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls (17-23 March); Kali Theatre’s The Dishonoured (10-12 March) and Zoonation’s Into the Hoods (14-15 March).

Phillip Jackson’s statue of the legendary theatre director Joan Littlewood was unveiled in London over the weekend.

Celebrities turned out to see the moment where the covers were pulled off the artwork.Barbara Windsor, who worked with Littlewood when her career was starting off, was there to dish out cake.

Ian McKellen also appeared at the unveiling, which took place in front of the Theatre Royal Stratford East, a theatre Littlewood based her pioneering company the Theatre Workshop at during the Fifties.

Murray Melvin, an actor and writer who also worked closely with Littlewood, was also there at the unveiling. He said: “I’m delighted that a sculpture by Philip Jackson will be unveiled in Theatre Square in recognition of her great contribution to the community of Stratford and theatre.”

Littlewood became famous for her work with Theatre Workshop, and productions of musicals Fings Ain’t What They Used T’Be and Oh What a Lovely War, both of which were revived by the Theatre Royal Stratford East recently.

The bronze statue of Joan Littlewood will stand in Theatre Square near the Theatre Royal Stratford East.

BRYAN ADAMS
THE GET UP TOUR
SHEFFIELD ARENA
SATURDAY 14^TH MAY 2016

 
Multi-platinum, recording artist Bryan Adams is set to hit the UK in April/May next year with ‘The Get Up Tour’ in support of his forthcoming studio album ‘Get Up’ (releasing in the UK on 23^rd October).

The 10-date arena tour will include a show at Sheffield Arena on Saturday 14^th May, which will be the 12^thtime Bryan has played the venue since it opened in 1991.

Tickets go on general sale at 9am on Friday 9^th October in person at the Arena Box Office, by phone on 0114 256 5656 or online at www.sheffieldarena.co.uk.

Tickets purchased by phone or online are priced £38.50 & £46.75 (including booking fee).  Tickets purchased in person at the Arena Box Office are priced £36.75 & £44.73 (including booking fee).

Bryan Adams is set to release his thirteenth studio album, Get Up (UMe), on Friday 23^rd October. Produced by famed ELO frontman Jeff Lynne and co-written with his long-time collaborator Jim Vallance, the album features nine new songs and four acoustic versions. Get Up is available for pre-order now via all digital partners and includes instant-grat track “You Belong To Me,” followed by lead track “Brand New Day”, and the final early download, “Don’t Even Try” prior to street date. 

Tickets for Bryan Adam’s Sheffield date go on general sale at 9am on Friday 9th October in person at the Arena Box Office, by phone on 0114 256 5656 or online at www.sheffieldarena.co.uk.

UPDATE ON THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY AT THE BARBICAN

• King and Country: Shakespeare’s Great Cycle of Kings – All four History plays combine to play in repertoire, J.P. Morgan is the Global Tour Premier Partner
• RSC Shakespeare on Screen – A film season in association with Barbican Cinemas to run alongside the shows onstage, giving a unique opportunity to view rarely-seen screen adaptations of RSC productions
• King and Country: Talks Series – A series of talks and debates with leading RSC actors including David Tennant, Julian Glover and Alex Hassell
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• A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play for the Nation will play at the Barbican in May 2016 as part of its National Tour
• The RSC will participate in Play On at the Barbican Weekender, a two-day event inspired by Shakespeare’s work, in March 2016

King and Country: Shakespeare’s Great Cycle of Kings

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) returns to the Barbican in November with Henry V, followed by a major theatrical event in January 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death – with performances of all four productions of Gregory Doran’s history plays in repertoire.

The season brings together the previously production of Richard II (premiered in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in October 2013) with the recent Henry IV Parts I & IIand the new production of Henry V straight from its acclaimed run in Stratford.

Running from 11 November 2015 to 24 January 2016, the repertoire includes the majority of the original cast members. David Tennant reprises the title role of Richard II; Antony Sher and Jasper Britton return as Falstaff and Henry IV respectively in the Henry IV plays and Alex Hassell reprises his role as the young Hal and reaches maturity as King in Henry V.

RSC Shakespeare on Screen
9-31 January 2016
Barbican Cinemas 2 & 3

In January 2016, alongside the work onstage at the Barbican, a special festival of RSC Shakespeare on Screen has been created to complement the King and Country plays.

Curated by John Wyver, RSC Director of Screen Productions, in association with the Barbican, RSC Shakespeare on Screen will uncover highlights from 50 years of Shakespeare in performance. Nine titles have been selected from the huge archive of RSC work captured on stage or reconceived for film and television, and include Trevor Nunn’s iconic 1979 production of Macbeth with Ian McKellen and Judi Dench, originally performed at The Other Place in Stratford-upon-Avon, Peter Hall’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1959) with Charles Laughton as Bottom in a rarely-seen partial recording of Hall’s staging which was filmed on three cameras for American television in the theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, and Gregory Doran’s production of Hamlet (2009) filmed on location in an abandoned seminary in North London, with David Tennant in the title role. Questions about the RSC’s involvement with film and television and the challenges of translating stage productions to the screen will be discussed with current RSC artistic director Gregory Doran and other guests to be announced.

Talks and Debates

A programme of talks and debates explores Shakespeare’s portrayals of Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. Guest panellists will include Alex Hassell, Julian Glover and David Tennant amongst others. The talks will be held in the Frobisher Auditorium 1 in the Barbican.

Further information here: www.kingandcountry.org.uk/events/talks/

Education

An Education programme will run alongside the RSC season, exploring Henry V and the King and Country cycles. RSC Education and Barbican Creative Learning teams will also work with experts from the Museum of London on an active workshop on Shakespeare’s Histories. For more information on the RSC Education workshops visit:http://www.kingandcountry.org.uk/productions/henry-v/education/

Barbican Box 2016

From November 2015

RSC associate directors will be supporting the Barbican Box education programme for schools and colleges. The project involves a portable box containing tools and stimuli to encourage young people in their personal and imaginative approach to the arts. Joining the programme, schools also get mentoring, teacher training courses, tickets to the Centre’s performances and opportunities to perform at the Barbican – among other benefits.

First Encounter: The Famous Victories of Henry V
19 November 2015

Following its opening in Stratford-upon-Avon in June 2015, and its tour to school halls and theatre spaces across the country, The Famous Victories of Henry V comes to the Barbican for one performance only. Directed by Owen Horsley and using Shakespeare’s original language, the production condenses the three great plays of Henry IV Parts I & II and Henry V into a 90 minute adventure for 8 – 13 year olds.

Exhibition

This Realm, This England – the RSC’s free exhibition will be on display in the Barbican Mezzanine Foyer from 6 November 2015 – 24 January 2016. The exhibition features a new lighting installation developed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, inspired by Stephen Brimson Lewis’ design for theKing and Country cycle of plays.

International King and Country tour

Following the Barbican season, Henry IV Parts I & II and Henry V tour to China and are then re-joined by Richard II in Spring 2016 for an exclusive season in New York, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).

J.P. Morgan is the Global Tour Premier Partner for all four productions, and will be supporting the upcoming tour from London to China and the US.

Live from Stratford-upon-Avon

Henry V will be broadcast ‘Live from Stratford-upon-Avon’ to cinemas in collaboration with Picturehouse Entertainment on 21 October 2015. For details on screeningshttp://onscreen.rsc.org.uk/

As well as streaming the shows live into cinemas around the world, the RSC also offers another unique opportunity to schools across the UK to experience the Company’s productions for free in classrooms, with a live Q&A following the screening. Henry V will be screened in schools on Thursday 19 November 2015.

This hugely popular initiative is made possible through collaboration with Ravensbourne College. Alongside the webcast, the RSC has created an extensive package of online resources for use by teachers and students in the classroom, both in the lead up to the broadcast and for use as follow up materials afterwards.

For full cast and production information www.kingandcountry.org.uk

 

Paul Walden & Derek Nicol for Flying Music in association with Adrian Grant for Key Concerts present

Direct from London’s West End

CELEBRATING THE UNDISPUTED KING OF POP

GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

Monday 1 until Saturday 6 February 2016

Direct from London’s West End where it is now in its record breaking 7^th year, THRILLER LIVE is a spectacular concert created to celebrate the career of the world’s greatest entertainer.

Seen by over 3 million people in over 30 countries, THRILLER LIVE continues to moonwalk around the world, taking you on a visual, audio and electrifying journey through the magic of Michael’s 45 year musical history.

 

You will experience over two hours of non-stop hits from pop to rock, soul to disco as the cast play homage to Jackson’s legendary live performances and innovative dance moves executed with flair, precision and passion,  this is a show that you will never forget.

 

Expect your favourite songs delivered by an exceptionally talented cast and band, including: I Want You Back, ABC, Can You Feel It, Off The Wall, The Way You Make Me Feel, Smooth Criminal, Beat It, Billie Jean, Dirty Diana, Bad, Rock With You, They Don’t Care About Us, Dangerous and Thriller plus many more!

What the papers say:

“****  (4 stars) A TOTAL BLAST. The staging and constant brilliance of the musicians keep us riveted. A WONDERFUL SHOW”  Whatsonstage.com

**** (4 stars) “You can’t beat it!” Evening Standard

“AN EXUBERANT BLAST!”  Daily Mail

“This theatrical extravaganza is a breathtaking celebration – QUITE LITERALLY, THRILLING” The Stage

“A glitzy concert of song and dance. THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING” Daily Telegraph

“Dazzlingly well-drilled and brilliantly done” Mail on Sunday

“IMMENSELY ENJOYABLE.” The Independent

Grand Opera House York

1 – 6 February 2016

Performances: Mon – Fri at 7:30pm, Sat at 4pm and 7.30pm

Tickets: £21.75 – £36.75

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york

 

Pick Me Up Theatre present

THE ADDAMS FAMILY

 

The perfect Halloween treat for all the family – Pick Me Up Theatre bring Andrew Lippa’s Broadway musical version of The Addams Family to York’s Grand Opera House

Wednesday 28 – Saturday 31 October

 

The loveable family of creepy kooks is alive and well and living in their super spooky mansion in Central Park.

Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice

Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa

Based on characters by Charles Addams

As the curtain rises, the last dead leaf of autumn falls from the Family Tree, and all is right with the morbid, macabre world of Gomez, Morticia, Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley and Lurch.  They’ve gathered – where else? – in the family graveyard, to celebrate life and death in a yearly ritual to connect with their past and ensure their future.  They seem at peace, not just with each other and their inimitable, unchanging Adams-ness, but with their dead ancestors, too – who emerge from their graves on this night each year to join in the celebration of continuity.

But, at the end of the ritual, Fester blocks the ancestors’ return to their graves. Those unchanging Addams family values are about to be tested. Fester enlists their help to set things right, just in case a new family secret goes terribly wrong.  What’s the secret? Wednesday Addams, that irresistible bundle of malice, has grown up and found love.  So what’s the problem? The young man, Lucas Beineke, is from Ohio, and his parents are coming to dinner to meet the family. Two different worlds are about to collide.  Will love triumph, or will everyone go home vaguely depressed.

Performances: Wed, Thur, Sat 7:30pm, Fri 5pm & 8pm, Thu & Sat mats 2:30pm

Tickets: £11.00 – £25.00

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking:  www.atgtickets.com/york

Cedric Neal (Berry Gordy) and Lucy St. Louis (Diana Ross) will lead the cast in the West End production of Motown the Musical, opening at the Shaftesbury Theatre in February 2016. With music and lyrics from the legendary Motown catalogue and book by Motown founder Berry Gordy, Motown the Musical is directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. London West End previews will begin on 11th February 2016, with press night on 8th March 2016, with the show currently booking to 22nd October 2016.

Casting includes Keisha Amponsa Banson (Mary Wells), Cherelle Williams (Mary Wilson), Cleopatra Rey (Gladys Knight), Cindy Belliot (Anna Gordy), Aisha Jawondo (Martha Reeves), Samuel Edwards (Jackie Wilson), Brandon Lee Sears (Tito Jackson), Joshua Liburd (Eddie Kendricks) and Simeon Montague (Jermaine Jackson). They are joined by Daniel Bailey, Edward Baruwa, Tanya Nicola Edwards, Eddie Elliot, Portia Harry and Simon Ray Harvey. The final full casting will be announced shortly.

Cedric Neal’s (Berry Gordy) US theatre credits include After Midnight on Broadway, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess on Broadway and for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Dreamgirls for the Signature Theatre for which he won a Helen Hayes Award, The Who’s Tommy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Stagger Lee for the Dallas Theater Center. Neal has also worked at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, American Repertory Theater, Zach Theater and was a recurring character on the television series Friday Night Lights.

Lucy St. Louis (Diana Ross) is currently performing in Beautiful – The Carole King Musical at the Aldwych Theatre. Her previous theatre credits include The Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Ragtime for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Peter Pan for the Venue Cymru, Llandudno and Ultimate Broadway for the Shanghai Culture Square Theatre. On film, she will be seen in the upcoming Disney live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.

With just $800 borrowed from his family, Motown founder Berry Gordy, goes from featherweight boxer to heavyweight music mogul, discovering and launching the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many more. Motown the Musical uncovers the true story of the legendary record label that changed music history and created the soundtrack of a generation.
Tony nominated Motown the Musical received its world premiere in April 2013 in New York at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and recouped its $18 million investment by the end of 2014. The first US National Tour opened to critical acclaim last spring in Chicago, grossing $20 million dollars during its standing room only sixteen-week run, and continues to play to packed houses across America.Featuring a sixteen piece orchestra playing 50 Motown tracks including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, I’ll Be There, Dancing In The Street, Stop! In The Name Of Love, My Girl and I Heard It through the Grapevine, Charles Randolph-Wright’s production tells the story behind the classic hits.

Motown the Musical has music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Ethan Popp, co-orchestrations and additional arrangements by Bryan Cook, dance arrangements by Zane Mark and music direction by Gareth Weedon. Choreography is by Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams, scenic design by David Korins, costumes by Esosa, lighting by Natasha Katz, sound by Peter Hylenski and projections by Daniel Brodie. UK associate director is Tara Wilkinson, UK associate set designer is Andrew Edwards and UK associate lighting designer is Alistair Grant. Motown the Musical will be produced in the West End by Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris, Berry Gordy and Adam Spiegel.

Berry Gordy is the founder of Motown, the enterprise that nurtured the careers of, amongst others, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles,​ Diana Ross and The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Four Tops, ​Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5 and more​. Gordy is also a songwriter, producer, director, boxer, innovative entrepreneur, teacher and visionary. Actively involved in the Civil Rights movement, he also released the recorded speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His films include Mahogany and Lady Sings the Blues, which received five Academy Award nominations. He has been inducted​ into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, received ​a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, the Rhythm and Blues Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame Pioneer Award,​ the Grammy Salute To Industry Icon’s President’s Merit Award and was honored by President Barack Obama with a Salute to Motown evening at the White House. Berry Gordy’s unparalleled contribution to music and popular culture is chronicled in his autobiography, To Be Loved: The Music, The Magic, The Memories of Motown.

Charles Randolph-Wright is a director, writer and producer for theatre, film, and television. His theatre directing credits include Motown the Musical on Broadway and the US tour, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Ruined and Sophisticated Ladies at Arena Stage where he is an inaugural resident playwright, the 75th Anniversary international tour of Porgy and Bess, Love/Life at Lincoln Center with Brian Stokes Mitchell, the national tour of Guys and Dolls, They’re Playing Our Song in Brazil in Portuguese, and most recently, the world premiere of Akeelah and the Bee. Randolph-Wright wrote the plays Blue, The Night Is A Child, Cuttin’ Up, Love in Afghanistan, and co-wrote Just Between Friends – Bea Arthur on Broadway. He directed the award-winning film Preaching to the Choir, and has written screenplays for HBO, Showtime, Disney and Fox. His television credits include directing Lincoln Heights, South of Nowhere, Bebe Winans’ special America America, the “Freestyle” football commercial for Nike, and producing and writing the Showtime series Linc’s.

 

Underfoot Theatre’s production Living Between Lies have been chosen from over a thousand acts and artists to perform at the Stockholm Fringe Festival in collaboration with the Swedish National Theatre between the 21st-25th of October 2015. They will be performing Living Between Lies in London at the King’s Head Theatre on the 12th of October at 7pm.

Living Between Lies is a one hour comedy drama written and performed by Underfoot Theatre, directed by Florence Bell. It tells the story about four women living in London who all struggle with loneliness, isolation, self-deception and how women in particular cope with these issues – to varying degrees of success.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Underfoot Theatre is a London based company made up of four women from diverse backgrounds: two Irish, one Swedish and one first generation Polish/English. Who came together, after graduating from Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, with a shared passion for devising and the creation of new work with a particular emphasis on the female voice.

Through devising technique they work to create original and bold theatre productions to entertain and challenge the audience to reflect on society and the status quo of women today.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Orla Sanders Orla completed her MA in Text & Performance at RADA in 2002. Other theatre credits this year include Marlene Dietrich in Toilet Party at the Courtyard Theatre, Lindsey in Living Between Lies at the Camden People’s Theatre and Sinead Dolan in How to make Money from Art in the Phoenix Artists Club. In film this year she has credits on nine short films and world war two feature Our Shining Sword.

Magdalena McNab is an acclaimed Swedish actress who has worked extensively in film over the last 3 years. She can currently be seen in the lead role in the multiple award winning short film When Tears Have Fallen, for which she has been nominated Best Lead Actress In A Foreign Language Film at St-Tropez International Film Festival. During 2015 she can also be seen in the British comedy ’The Five Wives and Lives of Melvyn Pfferberg’. She is currently filming a British series for ITV2.

Joanne Fitzgerald is an experienced project manager by day, and in 2013 wrote and performed the play Family Man at the International Comedy Club Dublin. She has trained for two years part-time at the Gaiety School of Acting, Dublin before moving to London January 2014. She is currently working on new plays for submission to the Bruntwood Prize and the Soho Theatre.

Aleks Grela trained as a ballet dancer and completed her training at Elmhurst in Association with Birmingham Royal Ballet. Here she explored many different styles of dance and gained lots of experience performing. After coming back to London she decided to hang up her ballet shoes and turn to acting and went on to pursue her actor training at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Florence Bell is a freelance film and theatre director with a background in TV and film acting. Since forming in 2012, her company Counter Productions has produced five plays and a short film. She is currently writing and directing satirical live show “The News”, which airs on You Tube his Autumn.

Synopsis

“We all lie. We need the lies to keep us going, because otherwise you might.. do something you regret”

Living Between Lies is the story about four woman struggling with loneliness, isolation, self-deception, loss of control and loss of identity.

Lindsey moved to London to work on her dream project. It sort of took over, it sort of became her baby… and she’s not going to let anyone or anything come between her and her baby.

Alice has the most wonderful life together with Harry – the love of her life and her future husband. He is so perfect she’s willing to sacrifice her career for him and their wonderful future together. But suddenly he’s not around much and he’s working late all the time… But everything’s wonderful, according to Alice.

Kim might have a small drug problem, she can quit whenever she wants. She meets a strange Irish woman, Laura, in a hospital who promises to write her a prescription if she divulges her secrets. But Laura tells some strange stories, suggesting that her relationship with the truth might be as strained as her relationship with her husband

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Production: Living Between Lies

Company: Underfoot Theatre Company

Running time: 1hour

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Written and devised by the company

Director: Florence Bell

Artists: Magdalena McNab, Orla Sanders, Aleks Grela, Joanne Fitzgerald

Press photos: Download on www.underfoottheatre.com

Website: www.underfoottheatre.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/underfoottheatre

Twitter: www.twitter.com/underfootheatre

Contact: [email protected]

Producer +44 (0)7845 593952 [email protected]

Press & Marketing +44(0)7900 566871 [email protected]