CHRIS ELLISON AND ROBERT DUNCAN

JOIN THE CAST OF

RUTH RENDELL’S

A JUDGEMENT IN STONE

ALONGSIDE SOPHIE WARD, DEBORAH GRANT,

SHIRLEY ANNE FIELD, ANTONY COSTA AND BEN NEALON

 

Continuing a successful UK-wide tour throughout 2017, Chris Ellison and Robert Duncan will join the cast of The Classic Thriller Theatre Company’s A Judgement in Stone. Ellison is well-loved for his longstanding role as ITV’s DCI Frank Burnside in The Bill and Burnside and returns to familiar territory as Detective Superintendent Vetch in celebrated crime authoress Ruth Rendell’s multi-million-selling work. Robert Duncan, best known for Drop The Dead Donkey’s Gus Hedges takes on the role of proud patriarch George Coverdale. The production will begin the second leg of its national tour this autumn from Monday 4^thSeptember when it opens at the Oxford Playhouse.

★★★★★

‘A FIVE STAR ‘WHO DUNNIT’

THE GUILDFORD NEWS

Eunice struggles to fit in. When she joins a wealthy family as their housekeeper the very reason for her awkwardness, long hidden and deeply buried, leads inexorably to a terrible tale of murder in cold blood – on Valentine’s Day. Ruth Rendell’s brilliant plot unravels a lifetime of deceit, despair and cover-ups which, when revealed, brings a shocking revelation almost as grizzly as murder itself.

 

★★★★

‘AN EXCELLENT EVENING’S ENTERTAINMENT’

ESSENTIAL SURREY

Building on the phenomenal decade-long success of The Agatha Christie Theatre Company, which sold over two million tickets and continually played to packed houses around the UK, Bill Kenwright presents A Judgement in Stone adapted from one of the most celebrated works of Ruth Rendell often hailed as the successor to Agatha Christie.

Rendell was first published in 1964 and was awarded a CBE in 1996. Her prolific output included film and TV as well as 80 novels and one of the genre’s most famous characters, Chief Inspector Wexford. A Judgement in Stone is loved for its brilliant rendering of character, plot and motive, and is undoubtedly Rendell at her thrilling best.

CHRIS ELLISON has been a familiar face on our TV screens for over 40 years appearing in programmes such as The Sweeney, Dempsey and Makepeace, The Professionals and Minder. In the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s he became a truly national figure playing the iconic Frank Burnside in the long running police drama The Bill. This led on to the spin off series Burnside and also a separate series Ellington about a sports agent. In recent years, Chris has been busy with a stint in EastEnders and several Brit Gangster movies. Chris recently appeared as the guest star on the Christmas addition of Casualty and is about to appear in a Sky movie with David Walliams, having already worked with David last year on Walliams and Friend. Chris is also well known as a Panto baddie having appeared all over the country. He also starred recently as Magwitch in the West End production of Great Expectations.

 

ROBERT DUNCAN is best known for his role as the as jargon-spouting chief executive Gus Hedges in Drop the Dead Donkey. He has played lead roles in theatres the length and breadth of the country including Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre and Frank in Willy Russell’s Educating Rita. More recently, Robert has starred in 12 Angry Men in the West End and on tour. As a member of the Agatha Christie Theatre Company, he starred in Witness for the Prosecution, Verdict and Go Back For Murder and for The Classic Thriller Theatre Company, Rehearsal For Murder.

Continuing in the cast are: SOPHIE WARD who played the beautiful, ill-fated love interest of Young Sherlock Holmes and Dr Helen Trent in long-running ITV drama Heartbeat. She also starred in the acclaimed mini-series, A Dark Adapted Eye, alongside Helena Bonham Carter and as Isabella alongside Juliette Binoche in the 1992 film version of Wuthering Heights.

DEBORAH GRANT has starred in the BBC’s Not Going Out, Bergerac and Roger, Roger. As well as her many TV and film appearances Deborah is a stage veteran; from her first performance on stage at the age of 4, she has performed in many West End and national touring productions and starred opposite Michael Crawford in the West End debut of Barnum at the London Palladium.

Movie icon SHIRLEY ANNE FIELD has had a long and successful career. Her breakthrough role came when she got the part of Tina the Beauty Queen opposite Sir Laurence Oliver in The Entertainer. Her role as Doreen in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning soon followed with her next role as the female lead in the Hollywood title The War Lover opposite Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner. More recently Shirley Anne was in the award winning Beautiful Relics, a short film directed by Adrian Hedgecock, and the touring theatre productions The Cemetery Club and Five Blue-Haired Ladies Sitting on a Green Park Bench.

ANTONY COSTA shot to fame in chart topping boy band Blue in early 2000 becoming a huge commercial success in the United Kingdom and many other countries, selling 15 million records worldwide to date, including 3.3 million albums and 1 million singles in the UK alone. On Stage Antony has starred in the lead role of Mickey Johnstone in the West End production of the long-running musical Blood Brothers, directed and produced by Bill Kenwright as well as starring in the 10th anniversary tour of Boogie Nights, the 40^thanniversary of The Who’s iconic musical Tommy (Blackpool Opera House), Jack and the Beanstalk (Ipswich Regent Theatre), Popstar: The Musical (UK tour) and recently in TV’s Casualty.

 

BEN NEALON is an Agatha Christie Company stalwart. On television Ben is best known as Lt Forsythe in the popular ITV award winning drama series Soldier Soldier, he also featured in the Oscar-nominated Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. The cast is completed by ROSIE THOMSON, JENNIFER SIMS and JOSHUA PRICE.

 

The production is directed by ROY MARSDEN who is best known as an actor, particularly in his role as Commander Adam Dalgliesh in Anglia TV’s P.D. James series, which he played for 15 years. But he has also been directing plays since he was 15 years old and had two successful West End runs with Noel Coward’s Volcano and Agatha Christie’s (under the pen name Mary Westmacott) A Daughter’s A Daughter. His recent work for Bill Kenwright includes directing a UK tour of Susan Hill’s The Small Hand and the debut production for The Classic Thriller Theatre Company, Rehearsal For Murder, written by the creators of Murder, She Wrote and Columbo, Levinson and Link.

Ruth Rendell who died in May 2015, was an exceptional crime writer and is credited with having revitalised the mystery genre. She won numerous awards in her lifetime, including the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger for best crime novel with A Demon In My View, a Gold Dagger Award for Live Flesh and the Sunday Times Literary Award. She was awarded the Crime Writers’ Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing. In addition to the CBE she became a Life Peer in 1997. Her debut novel From Doon With Death introduced Inspector Wexford who went on to feature in twenty-four of her subsequent novels many of which were adapted for television. A Judgement In Stone was also filmed twice, as The Housekeeper (1986) starring Rita Tushingham and as La Cérémonie (1995), directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Sandrine Bonnaire.

 

BILL KENWRIGHT

PRESENTS

THE CLASSIC THRILLER THEATRE COMPANY

Cast (in billing order)

CHRIS ELLISON

SOPHIE WARD

ROBERT DUNCAN

DEBORAH GRANT

SHIRLEY ANNE FIELD

ANTONY COSTA
BEN NEALON

IN

RUTH RENDELL’S

A JUDGEMENT IN STONE

ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY SIMON BRETT and ANTONY LAMPARD

DIRECTED BY ROY MARSDEN

DESIGNER JULIE GODFREY

LIGHTING DESIGNER MALCOLM RIPPETH   SOUND DESIGNER DAN SAMSON

 

        A JUDGEMENT IN STONE – UK AUTUMN TOUR DATES 2017

 

Mon 4 – Sat 9 September                                  Box Office: 01865 305305

Oxford Playhouse, Oxford                                Website: www.oxfordplayhouse.com

Mon 11 – Sat 16 September                              Box Office: 0844 871 3023

Princess Theatre, Torquay                                 Website: www.atgtickets.com/torquay

Tues 19 – Sat 23 September                              Box Office: 024 7655 3055

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry                              Website: www.belgrade.co.uk

Mon 25 – Sat 30 September                              Box Office: 01322 220000

Orchard Theatre, Dartford                                 Website: www.orchardtheatre.co.uk

Mon 2 – Sat 7 October                                         Box Office: 01284 755127

Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds                     Website: www.theatreroyal.org

Mon 9 – Sat 14 October                                      Box Office: 01253 290190

Grand Theatre, Blackpool                                  Website: www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk

 

Mon 16 – Sat 21 October                                   Box Office: 08448713024

Grand Opera House, Oct York                         Website: www.atgtickets.com/york

Mon 23 – Sat 28 October                                   Box Office: 01271 316063

Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple                          Website: www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/Queens-Theatre

Mon 30 October – Sat 4 November              Box Office: 01753 853 888

Windsor Theatre Royal, Windsor                   Website: www.theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk

Mon 6 – Sat 11 November                                Box Office: 0151 666 0000

Floral Pavilion, New Brighton                           Website: www.floralpavilion.com

 

Mon 13 – Sat 18 November                              Box Office: 0844 871 3018

Opera House, Manchester                               Website: www.atgtickets.com/manchester

 

Mon 20 – Sat 25 November                              Box Office: 01225 448844

Theatre Royal, Bath                                             Website: www.theatreroyal.org.uk

 

Mon 27 Nov – Sat 2 December                         Box Office: 0844 871 7650

Theatre Royal, Brighton                                      Website: www.atgtickets.com/brighton

The five-time Tony Award winning musical

Announces first ever UK & Ireland Tour

Opens in Southampton on 12 April 2018, in the week of Titanic’s 106^th anniversary

In the final hour of 14^th April 1912, the RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, collided with an iceberg and ‘the unsinkable ship’ slowly sank. It was one of the most tragic and infamous disasters of the 20^th Century. 1517 men, women and children lost their lives.

Based on real people aboard the most legendary ship in the world, Maury Yeston and Peter Stone’s stunning musical focuses on their hopes and aspirations. Unaware of the fate that awaits them, the Third Class immigrants dream of a better life in America, the newly-enfranchised Second Class dream of achieving the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and the millionaire Barons of the First Class dream of their mastery lasting forever.

Opening at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton in April 2018, in the same city and same month in which the RMS Titanic set sail, the critically acclaimed, multi award-winning production will transfer straight to Belfast, where the ship was constructed. From there, Titanic The Musical will visit 12 theatres nationwide.

“It’s an evening both shattering and gorgeous…

The day after seeing it, I went back to see it again. It’s that good.”

★★★★★ The Times

Having received its UK premiere in 2013 at Southwark Playhouse, the production returned to London in 2016 for an 11-week season at the Charing Cross Theatre, where it won overwhelming critical acclaim.

Maury Yeston commented on the announcement of the UK tour: “The idea that a troupe of actors will tour this show in the UK, birthplace of the ship, where the workers of Belfast, the cabin boys and maids and stewards from Liverpool, the officers and crew, the stokers and stevedores from the Midlands all created a miraculous floating city, means more to me than I can say.  I am touched that, musically, Titanic will finally be coming home, sung by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of its builders – touched, and forever grateful.”

 

Titanic The Musical has music and lyrics by Maury Yeston (Nine, Grand Hotel, Phantom) and a book by Peter Stone (Woman of the Year and 1776). The pair have collectively won, including their previous works, an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, an Olivier Award and three Tony Awards for their works. The original Broadway production of Titanic The Musical won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.

Titanic The Musical is produced by Danielle Tarento, Steven M Levy, Sean Sweeney and Vaughan Williams, in association with Mayflower Theatre, Southampton.

TITANIC THE MUSICAL – UK TOUR DATES

12 – 21 April 2018                                                                                             Box Office: 023 8071 1811

Southampton, Mayflower Theatre                                                          Website: mayflower.org.uk

23 – 28 April 2018                                                                                             Box Office: 028 9024 1919

Belfast, Grand Opera House                                                                       Website: goh.co.uk

30 April – 5 May 2018                                                                                      Box Office: 029 2063 6464

Cardiff, Wales Millennium Centre                                                             Website: wmc.org.uk

7 – 12 May 2018                                                                                                Box Office: 0843 208 6000

Salford, The Lowry                                                                                          Website: thelowry.com

21 – 26 May 2018                                                                                              Box Office: 0114 249 6000

Sheffield, Sheffield Theatres                                                                      Website: sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

28 May – 2 June 2018                                                                                     Box Office: 0844 871 7648

Glasgow, King’s Theatre Glasgow                                                             Website: atgtickets.com

4 – 9 June 2018                                                                                                  Box Office: 0844 338 5000

Birmingham, Birmingham Hippodrome                                                  Website: birminghamhippodrome.com

11 – 16 June 2018                                                                                             Box Office: 0844 871 3014

Edinburgh, Playhouse                                                                                    Website: atgtickets.com

18 – 23 June 2018                                                                                             Box Office: 01752 267222

Plymouth, Theatre Royal                                                                              Website: theatreroyal.com

25 – 30 June 2018                                                                                             Box Office: 01604 624811

Northampton, Derngate                                                                               Website: royalandderngate.co.uk

2 – 7 July 2018                                                                                                    Box Office: 0115 989 5555

Nottingham, Theatre Royal                                                                         Website: trch.co.uk

9 – 14 July 2018                                                                                                 Box Office: 01253 625252

Blackpool, Winter Gardens                                                                          Website: wintergardensblackpool.co.uk

16 – 21 July 2018                                                                                               Box Office: 020 3285 6000

Bromley, Churchill Theatre                                                                          Website: churchilltheatre.co.uk

Theatre N16 4 – 8 July.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Monkhead Theatre’s production of Dead Souls is an impressive debut, taking the classic novel and giving it a theatrical kick up the backside to create a sharp and witty examination of class and corruption.

Chloë Myerson’s adaptation focusses on the first part of Gogol’s novel, where Chichikov, a lowly civil servant has discovered a loophole in the law and aims to use it to make as much money as possible to become a landowner. The collection of dead souls, the ownership of serfs that have died since the last census, is a delicate issue, and the reactions of the landowners make for some fine comic moments. As Chichikov rounds up his dead souls, wild rumours about his true purpose spread around the town, aided by the idiotic bragging of gambler Nozdryov. The prosecutor is determined to discover Chichikov’s true purpose and see him face justice. The landowners are wonderful caricatures, all played with panache and fine comic timing by Jules Armana and Toby Osmond. Joshua Jacob brings an increasingly steely determination and sense of injustice to Chichikov, particularly fine as he talks into the machine about his plans and motives.

The machine looms large over the production – centre stage a mike hangs over a cymbal, creating eerie and unsettling reverberations depending on the cast’s positions. Used as a depository for Chichikov’s own soul-searching, it becomes almost unbearable during his confrontation with the prosecutor, ramping up the tension to great effect. Director Nico Pimparé’s use of projected scene captions works well, introducing each character with a light-hearted touch and minimal fuss. The whole building is used, as characters leave the theatre and are filmed in the pub, and toilets, downstairs, interacting with the drinkers and drawing some bemused looks.

Dead Souls is a fantastic play, full of inspired touches and with fine performances. Monkhead Theatre http://www.monkheadtheatre.com/  is definitely a name to look out for in the future.

YORKSHIRE’S OWN NATALIE ANDERSON JOINS CAST OF FAT FRIENDS THE MUSICAL

 

Emmerdale and The Royal star Natalie Anderson is the latest star to be cast in Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends The Musical, which is set to premier at Leeds Grand Theatre on 7^th November 2017.

Bradford born Natalie, who has appeared in numerous television programmes, including Wire in the Blood and The Biz, also appeared as Nessarose in Wicked in the West End as well as Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet at West Yorkshire Playhouse and Tara in Exposure The Musical at St James’ Theatre. She will perform the role of Lauren in Fat Friends The Musical, originated on screen by Emmerdale co-star Gaynor Faye.

The award-winning TV drama has been adapted for the stage by its creator and one of the UK’s most prolific writers, Kay Mellor, whose extensive television credits include hit series Band of Gold, The Chase, The Syndicate, In the Club and whose stage credits include A Passionate Woman. The award-winning Jodie Prenger will lead the company in the beloved role of Kelly Stevenson. She is joined by Sam Bailey, Elaine C Smith and Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff with further casting still to be announced.

Natalie Anderson said: “I’m so thrilled to be playing Lauren in Fat Friends The Musical. I was a huge fan of the original series and cannot wait to bring it to life on stage. I’m also equally excited to be working with the incredible Kay Mellor whom, from an early age, I have greatly admired and been inspired by.”

 

Kay Mellor added: “I am absolutely delighted to be working with fellow northerner Natalie. I thought of her instantly for the role of Lauren and she brought me to tears at her audition with her acting and singing talent.” 

 

Produced by Joshua Andrews and Adam Spiegel, with original music and songs composed by Nicholas Lloyd Webber, Fat Friends The Musical is packed full of warmth, life and weight loss. The brand-new stage show reunites our favourite foodie friends in an original musical bulging with hopes, humour and heart. Join the infamous group of loveable characters as they are put through their Zumba paces at their local branch of Super Slimmer’s by the lovelorn Lauren, whilst Kelly fantasises about fitting into the wedding dress of her dreams. Fat Friends The Musical offers a generous serving of hilarious fun with a sprinkle of romance on top!

Fat Friends hit television screens in October 2000, following the lives of a group of overweight friends as they struggled with the absurdities of modern dieting. Running for five years on ITV, the show starredAlison Steadman, Gaynor Faye and Lisa Riley, and launched the careers of James Corden and Ruth Jones. The show was nominated for multiple awards including the BAFTA for Best Drama Series.

Fat Friends The Musical is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Monday 7^th Nov to Saturday 2^nd Dec 2017

Tickets are priced from £20 (restricted viewing) to £50

Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700

ALL OR NOTHING

THE SMASH HIT UK MUSICAL THEATRE SENSATION

WRITTEN BY AND STARRING AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS CAROL HARRISON

FEATURING CHRIS SIMMONS

CONFIRMS THIRD MAJOR UK TOUR FROM SEPTEMBER 2017

AS TICKET SALES TOP £1 MILLION

ALL OR NOTHING, the Small Faces musical sensation, will tour the UK from September 2017 on its third major outing. The show, which opened to critical acclaim and nightly standing ovations at the Vaults Theatre in London in March 2016 before heading out on the first of two UK tours, announced this week that total ticket sales had topped over £1 million.

The current national tour finishes in Cheltenham on 29 July and the third Autumn tour begins in September at Greenwich Theatre and ends at Harrogate Theatre on 11 November (full list in Listings Information).

Written and directed by the award-winning actress Carol Harrison, ALL OR NOTHING tells the electrifying yet bittersweet tale of Kenney Jones, Ian McLagan, Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott; four charismatic young kids from East London with humour, attitude, passion and above all talent. They became the Small Faces and were rocketed into the big time, only to discover the path to fantastic success is paved with exploitation, betrayal and ultimately tragedy.

Carol Harrison plays Kay Marriott, at certain performances, with Stefan Edwards as Kenney Jones, Russell Floyd as Don Arden, Josh Maddison as Ian McLagan, Joseph Peters as Jimmy Winston, Samuel Pope as Young Steve Marriott, Chris Simmons as Steve Marriott and Stanton Wright as Ronnie Lane. The cast also includes Daniel Beales, Sophia Behn, Melissa Brown-Taylor, Daisy Darvill, Fran Dearlove, Katie Faye, Alexander Gold and Danielle Johnson.

The Sunday Express calls it “A smile-inducing night of Mod nostalgia” with The Daily Mail’s Richard Littlejohn adding, “There are some great gags, the music is marvellous” and the Daily Telegraph agreeing that “All or Nothing delivers the goods. At once cheeky and reverential”. “Wow! Just wow! This incredible musical takes your breath away… Harrison directs it beautifully” said The Daily Record.

ALL OR NOTHING celebrates the unique sound of the iconic Mod band. Played live, the musical is packed full of all the timeless hits, including the brilliant Whatcha Gonna Do About It, Tin Soldier, Lazy Sunday, Here Comes the Nice, Itchycoo Park and of course All or Nothing.

In 1964, a new phenomenon exploded on to the dingy British streets. It was the essence of all that was cool. It was Mod. Mods stuck two fingers up at the class-ridden society and its dull redundant culture. They were working-class free spirits who rode sexy streamlined Italian Vespas or Lambrettas. The sharpest Mod of all was known as a ‘face’. The Small Faces encapsulated all that is Mod, a unique blend of taste and testosterone, neat, clothes obsessed, and streetwise. But these cult sophisticates shared another passion, their dedication to ‘Rhythm and Blues.’

Carol Harrison said “It’s a real honour to be able to bring the extraordinary world of the Small Faces back to the fans and to a brand new audience, young and old. Our live band and cast tell the story of the rise and fall of the band, a journey as vivid and colourful as their sound, and get to showcase an amazing catalogue of music – hard edged R&B. This is music which influenced a generation of musicians from Paul Weller and The Jam to Oasis, Blur, The Verve and The Arctic Monkeys, not to mention millions of fans. Book – it’s truly a concert of a lifetime!”

Carol Harrison is an award-winning actress and writer, well known for her theatre and TV work. Carol is probably best known as the exciting, fiery and passionate Louise Raymond in Eastenders. The storyline between her and son-in-law Grant Mitchell gripped the nation and it was for this storyline that Eastenders won the BAFTA for ”Best Soap” for the first time. For seven years she played the incorrigible Gloria in the popular series Brushstrokes, and also starred opposite Ray Winstone as sassy Loretta in the comedy series Get Back. She also starred as Dorothy in two series of London’s Burning. Her latest TV movie Martha, Jac a Sianco for S4C won six BAFTA awards.

Chris Simmons is probably best known for playing the role of DC Mickey Webb for over twelve years in the long running ITV series The Bill. He has also appeared in EastEnders as Mark Garland, a love interest for Kat Moon and in the Tracy Beaker spin-off CBBC show, The Dumping Ground.

The show is endorsed and supported by many of those who feature in its story, including singer P.P. Arnold and Steve Marriott’s daughter Mollie Marriott, who is the show’s vocal coach.

www.allornothingthemusical.com

 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

4-7 September Greenwich Theatre

8-10 September Liverpool Philharmonic

12-16 September Palace Theatre, Southend

18-20 September Wyvern Theatre, Swindon

21-23 September Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal

25-26 September Gala Theatre, Durham

27-30 September Storyhouse Theatre, Chester

2-4 October Stirling McRobert Theatre

5-7 October Dundee Repertory Theatre

10-14 October Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

17-19 October Belfast Waterfront Theatre

20-21 October Dublin Helix

24-25 October Preston Charter Theatre

27-28 October Mayflower Theatre Southampton

30 October-1 Nov Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple

2-4 November Princess Theatre Torquay

6-11 November Harrogate Theatre

ALL OR NOTHING – THE QUOTES

The Daily Star Sunday, “Funny fiery and brave… you’ll have a rocking night out”,

The Mail on Sunday “Entertainingly written… full of energy”.

The Stage, “The group capture that unmistakable mix of anger and arrogance that defined the Mod sound.”

West End Wilma, “If you’re looking for a fun night out and some good old British Pop culture- get your tickets!”

Camden New Journal “Truly memorable”.

UDiscoverMusic.com, “Exuberant, celebratory and enormous fun”

MusicalTheatreReview.com, “It stands proud above the others (despite the band’s diminutive stature)”

CHANNEL 4’s GOGGLEBOX FAVOURITE

SANDRA MARTIN

AND CBEEBIES PRESENTER

NISHA ANIL
TO STAR IN MAIDENHEAD’S MAGICAL PANTOMIME

ALADDIN

AT THE PEARCE SUITE THEATRE, MAGNET LEISURE CENTRE, MAIDENHEAD

PERFORMANCES: SATURDAY 9th – SUNDAY 31st DECEMBER 2017

 

Television favourites SANDRA MARTIN (Channel 4’s Gogglebox) and NISHA ANIL (CBeebies) will star in this year’s family pantomime, ALADDIN, at Maidenhead’s Pearce Suite Theatre at the Magnet Leisure Centre, from Saturday 9th – Sunday 31st December 2017 alongside a cast of West End performers and juvenile ensemble of local young performers.

 

SANDRA MARTIN, who will play the Spirit of the Ring, is much-loved by television audiences for her charismatic appearances on Channel 4’s BAFTA-winning reality series Gogglebox. Since joining Gogglebox in 2013, Sandra has built up a wide following on social media and is known for her big personality and contagious laugh.

 

Sandra said: “There’s nothing I love more than making people laugh so I’m delighted to be joining the cast of ALADDIN, bringing a bit of the Sandra “QueenB” joy to Maidenhead. It’s going to be wicked. I’m so excited.”

 

CBeebies presenter and actress NISHA ANIL will play Princess Jasmine. Nisha is the presenter of the popular CBeebies programme, Same Smile. Nisha’s other screen credits include Strictly Cinderella(CBBC)and Citizen Khan (BBC1). Having trained extensively in acting, puppetry and mime, Nisha’s numerous stage credits include The Grimmest of Grim Tales (Avva Laff Productions), Brown Paper Packages and Addressed to a Friend (both for Kazzum Theatre) and The Winter Giant and The Gift (both for Beautiful Creatures Theatre Company). Nisha sings live with The Herberts, and with Richmond and the Groovolution, and she enjoys performing as a storyteller.

Nisha said: “I’m really excited to be playing the role of Princess Jasmine in ALADDIN – what little girl doesn’t dream of playing a Princess? Also, living locally makes it extra special for me and I’m really looking forward to entertaining the audiences of Maidenhead this Christmas.”

 

Following the exciting re-launch of The Pearce Suite Theatre at Magnet Leisure Centre, Q Productions is delighted to be bringing Maidenhead its first fully-produced professional pantomime with the much-loved family favourite, ALADDIN, which will be packed full of side-splitting comedy, stunning special effects and lavish costumes.

Eddie Dredge, Director of Q Productions, said: “We are so pleased that Sandra and Nisha are joining the cast to bring the Most Magical Pantomime of all, ALADDIN to The Pearce Suite Theatre at Magnet Leisure Centre this December. We’re thrilled to be bringing Maidenhead its very own professional pantomime with a stellar cast to boot. And we have so much planned to wow the audiences including the magical flying carpet! It’s going to be pretty spectacular.”

 

The Pearce Suite Theatre at Magnet Leisure Centre will be converted into a 400-seat theatre space for the whole of December, offering wonderful family entertainment that all ages can enjoy together. And with ticket prices from £10.50-£16.50, it’s a pantomime for all the community! What’s more, with schools and clubs group bookings of 10+ all children within the group receive a free ice cream and every 11th ticket is free.*

Teaming up with Legacy Leisure, Q Productions will ensure ALADDIN will be the best and most welcoming pantomime yet!

 

Audiences will be taken on a magical journey to Old Peking where song, dance and silliness are the order of the day as they follow the hilarious Widow Twankey and her sons Aladdin and Wishee Washee as they fall in love, fall over and get truly covered in foam and gunge! Will they succeed in overthrowing the wicked plans of the evil Abanazar, and will Aladdin win the heart of Princess Jasmine?

 

Jonny Walker, Events Manager at the Magnet Leisure Centre, said: “We are delighted that local family audiences will be able to enjoy a top-quality professional pantomime right on their doorstep this December, thanks to the partnership between Magnet Leisure Centre and Q Productions. The community will be thrilled to see the venue’s magical transformation!”

 

Q Productions, the sister company of The Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts, established to present professional productions throughout the UK, is delighted to be producing theatre in Maidenhead to ensure people in the area have access to the arts.

 

Follow all the latest news about ALADDIN, visit www.themaidenheadpanto.com and follow [@MaidenheadPanto]@Maidenheadpanto on Twitter and @TheMaidenheadpanto on Facebook. 

 

ALADDIN runs from Saturday 9th – Sunday 31st December 2017 (performance times vary, check the website). Tickets, priced from £10.50 – £16.50, are now on sale from the website: www.themaidenheadpanto.com.  

* For Schools and clubs bookings (10+), call the group booking hotline: 01494 917519. For schools and club bookings, all children within the group receive a free ice cream and every 11th ticket is free. The ice cream and free ticket offer is only open to Schools and Clubs (Scouts, Brownies, WI, football clubs etcs) of 10+. Free ice cream offer is only applicable to the children within the group.  

 

LISTINGS

Show: ALADDIN

Dates: Saturday 9th – Sunday 31st December 2017

Times: Various day and evening performances (check Box Office website below)

Venue: The Pearce Suite Theatre, Magnet Leisure Centre, Holmanleaze, Maidenhead, SL6 8AW

Prices: £10.50 – £16.50

Box Office: online at  www.themaidenheadpanto.com

Group Bookings: For group bookings (10+), call the groups hotline: 01494 917519.

 

Lyric Theatre, The Lowry, Manchester – 5th July 2017.  Reviewed by Julie Noller

Tonight was date night with my boy, I shouldn’t say that as its an embarrassing Mum moment. In his younger years he’d read Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox, we’d even been to the cinema to watch the film. He was my perfect plus one choice, so I could canvas his opinion too. I have to say if you head to The Lowry to watch his week you will be enthralled first by Iris, the digital laser show designed by Marsh mellow laser feast. I’ve seen it three times now and my son loved it marvelling at the way the lasers danced reaching out to touch them. I also watched and listened to all the children in the audience squealing with delight, that put a massive smile on my face,how different children react compared to adults.

Fantastic Mr Fox is a fast paced fun, singing and dancing extravaganza. It reminded me during many of the singing routines of Horrible Histories (who doesn’t love that?) the words were funny, had a rhyming appeal and had many adult and child laughing. My son commented on the many accents he noticed throughout, I had presumed it was deliberate so as not to tie the performance down to any one area, to show that the story could be set anywhere, again the strong accents were pretty stereotypical and amused me. But it also helped to differentiate the characters on stage not just by looks but sound too.

The set, we discussed, we liked. It didn’t look like an old oak tree or too much like the inside of a chicken factory but could’ve been like when we played den with an old sheet over the dining table – only I’m sure Tom Scott as Designer and his team would prefer me to point out we thought the turnstyle set genious, it played with our imagination, the same piece had various uses. It kept us concentrated on the centre of the stage where the action was. The movements of each character was well practiced and your eye was drawn to those finer details, Mr Fox (Greg Barnett) so confident, so proud of his exploits and of his tail, Mrs Fox (Lillie Flynn) Mother to be and seeker of adventure. Completing the Fox family is Kit (Jade Croot) swishing her tail and enjoying all those human electronic devices tasking her mind, keeping her sharp, fighting as all youngsters do against being left out because you’re too young and what does she do? Shows her father to trust her, saving the day. Mole (Gruffudd Glyn) with his bad eyesight and love of rocks, Badger (Raphael Bushay) slow and steady and geeky in a badger way. Rabbit (Sandy Foster) without doubt mine and surprisingly my sons favourite character loud and excitable and more than a little naughty with her one liners full of innuendo thrown in, cue children looking confused as to why the adults were laughing at something that wasn’t funny, but they soon joined in laughing anyway. I’m left contemplating if Rabbit’s costume with it’s throwback to Jane Fonda work out video’s, will it make a comeback?

The singing ranges were vastly different (from loud and powerful to spoken) but that meant it never lost the fun element, I thought a musical might be too much for my teenager but he commented he had enjoyed the singing and they were all very good.

There is one moment where I believed the younger children may have nightmares and that reduced my son into laughter, we were introduced to the guard dog, it makes it’s way through the auditorium stopping by many of the seats, its scary the performer is dressed all in black with red eyes lit up like a demon possessed. The saving grace that our heroes all worked together to scare the bully off before it got to work.

Fantastic Mr Fox shows the humanistic side to our beasts and the almost perverse beastly side to our humans. Mr Fox has to learn to be humble and accept help at a time when he felt invincible, losing his precious tail alongside his balance means his family and friends struggle to find food and survive. Its only by working together and helping one another that they overcome prejudice and manage to keep each other warm and fed. The farmers on the other hand end the play cold, hungry and still waiting. I’ve never realised the messages that great stories like these portray before, I know it’s a school night and you might not want your little ones to be up so late, but you won’t regret taking them to see Fantastic Mr Fox, from its brilliant lighting, innovative set design. Not to mention the singing and dancing – I’m sure there’s a few young boys going to be singing about gutting turkeys in the school playground today. They may be tired the next morning but you won’t forget the sound of laughter.

Vaudeville Theatre 4 July – 2 September.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

F Murray Abraham swaps his more sinister TV roles for this light and fluffy play about writing a play. Benjamin Rubin wrote one great play in his mid-20s, but has never been able to replicate his success, instead churning out screenplays as he dines out on his fading reputation. Strapped for cash, he agrees to take part in a mentorship programme, helping a young writer, hailed as the voice of his generation, with his second play. Unfortunately, Martin Wegner has an ego just as big as Rubin’s, and Rubin’s response to his play is not what he’d expected. Christopher Hampton’s translation of Daniel Kehlmann’s play has some lovely lyrical lines, and some laugh out loud moments, but it boils down to pretentious people talking pretentiously about life, art and theatre, with no character understanding anyone else, or their motivations. So, what hope does the audience have of making sense of it all? I just sat back and enjoyed the performances – the cast dynamics are excellent, with Daniel Weyman managing to make the petulant man-child Wegner almost likeable, and Jonathan Cullen showing Rudicek’s hero worship disintegrate into exasperation and downright hatred with minimal lines, both performing some fine physical comedy. Naomi Frederick as Gina Wegner is almost blank until the big confrontation, when she suddenly explodes into a fiery and feisty performance. F Murray Abraham just seems to be having a ball. Rubin is written ambiguously – is his dislike of Wegner fuelled by jealousy, lust for his wife, or simply a generational disdain? Abraham keeps the audience guessing in an impish and energetic performance – this is the definition of stage presence, you can’t tear your eyes away from the man, whether he’s clowning around after tasting cheap whisky, or trying out his best intellectually seductive lines on Gina.

The set is gorgeous, with blossom drifting slowly from the tree centre stage onto some truly awful sculptural garden furniture. The lighting is evocative of lazy days in the country, and the chirruping frogs, tweeting birds and buzzing insects in surround sound become hypnotic. (Although at first there were lots of annoyed glances around the auditorium from people trying to pinpoint the culprit and tut at them.)

The Mentor isn’t a great play, but it is a diverting and entertaining opportunity to see a truly great actor having a blast. F Murray Abraham’s wicked grin will make your day.

Whatever Guise Productions presents

Gin For Breakfast

By Jess Moore

At Tristan Bates Theatre
World Premiere Run
Thursday 28th September  – Saturday 21st October

The World Premiere of Gin For Breakfast, Jess Moore’s debut play, will open at the Tristan Bates Theatre on Thursday 28th September for a strictly limited four-week run, it was announced today by the show’s producer, Whatever Guise Productions.

The play follows childhood friends, Jen and Robbie, who are all grown-up now and galaxies away from where they imagined they would be. With their world-views set on a collision course, and their dreams imploding, Gin for Breakfast explores whether or not they can save themselves, and each other. And, when everything’s just star-stuff, does it matter?

Making his directorial debut is Ryan Gage whose acting credits include The Musketeers and The Hobbit series of films and, on stage, recently, The Miser, directed by Sean Foley. He is joined by Emmy-nominated Erica Hemminger, who will also make her London debut as lead designer. Miss Hemminger is Associate Designer to Derek McLane and has worked on Broadway productions and National and International Tours including Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

Jess Moore studied ‘Advances in Scriptwriting’ led by Stephen Jeffreys at RADA, and the Academy recently commissioned a short film version of her play, Bitter Lemon, which will be shown at the RADA Festival today, July 5th.

Tristan Bates Theatre showcases new writing and contemporary writing and is establishing its reputation as one of London’s most prestigious fringe venues.

The Production will partner with CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) on after-show talks and events around mental health.

The play opens on Thursday 28th September and runs until Saturday 21st October, with previews on the evenings of Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th, and a matinee performance on 28th September. Tickets are on sale at https://www.tristanbatestheatre.co.uk/whats-on/gin-for-breakfast.

July 18th – August 5th, White Bear Theatre

 

A modern day insom-com that focuses on sleep deprivation, existential angst, alternative realities… and sheep.

”London’s a fragile flower, she needs darkness to make her grow, not sunlight. When night falls, she blooms. All kinds of sh*t goes down on her watch”

It’s been twenty-one nights since Dexy last slept. It could be down to his choice of pillow. Duck Down. It could be down the heating in his flat. Nonexistent. Or it could be the fact his girlfriend’s missing, the police are scouring the streets and Dexy’s past is catching up with him.

Ensconced in his third floor flat, over the course of an evening Dexy attempts to cast his mind back and fit the relevant pieces together, but as the blare of the sirens gets louder and night turns to morning the lines between dreams and reality and rational thinking and insanity become ever more blurred.

As if this wasn’t enough, Dexy is visited by three very different people during the night.

Ciaran Lonsdale stars as Dexy (World Mad, Soho Theatre; Glamour Girl, Maltings Arts Theatre; The Santa Suicides Web Series), with James Groom as Leo (Simon Stephen’s Christmas, White Bear Theatre; Robert Dudley Earl in the Channel 5 drama Elizabeth), Niamh Watson as Margot (Amber in Dreamless Sleep, Arts Theatre; Still I See My Baby, Sky or the Bird) and Bruce Kitchener as Vic (Frank in Snapshot, Hope Theatre; Four Thieves Vinegar, Baron’s Court Theatre).

Over the past ten years David Cantor has written for television and the stage and worked on a variety of shows including three of the BBC’s most successful sitcoms, My Family, Two Pints Of Lager & A Packet Of Crisps, and The Green Green Grass. David also wrote the dark comedy Noddyland, which was entered into Channel 4’s Comedy Blap season last year and has contributed to sketch shows including BBC’s That Mitchell & Webb Look, children’s programmes such as CITV’s My Phone Genie and CBBC’s Fit while supplying material for the anarchic game show Shooting Stars. Away from television, David has previously written two stage plays. Stopping Distance had a full cast read through at the Old Vic and is currently in development at The Park Theatre, while I Play For Me was performed at the White Bear in Kennington in 2015.