The Bread & Roses Theatre announces its Summer & Autumn Season 2016

The Bread & Roses Theatre announces its Summer & Autumn Season 2016

 9th August to 18th October 2016 – www.BreadandRosesTheatre.co.uk

68 Clapham Manor Street, SW4 6DZ Clapham, London

 

“This venue is quickly shaping up as one of the most exciting ones amongst the London pub theatres!”  – RemoteGoat

 

The Bread & Roses Theatre in Clapham has another exciting and diverse season lined up this summer and autumn as it is heading towards the end of its second year.

We continue our series of productions commemorating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, after multiple 5 star reviews in earlier seasons, this season the long established Festival Players present a three-week-run of the Bard’s most famous play, Hamlet (27th September to 15thOctober).  Presented in full costume, an all-male company will bring the excitement of this great thriller; intrigue, ghostly visitations, passion, a play-within-a play, a gripping duel, and humour, in a crystal-clear and fast-paced 2-hour production. Earlier in the season Fentiman Productions also present Will’s Will by Sharon Jennings (9th to 11th August) featuring Shakespeare’s last will and testament, interrupted by his family, friends, colleagues and characters.

Other highlights include LUXE bringing their UK premiere of Pablo Picasso’s Desire Caught by the Tail (17th to 20th August), a rarely produced play about misery, discomfort, anguish, hunger and passion which is caught in the impossibility of its fulfilment. One week runs this season are: Knock Knock by Floyd Toulet (23rd to 27th August), a surprising, powerful and unsettling play which takes you on a journey deep into a mind broken by the past; Bourne West Productions’ Rubyby Jonathan Stephenson (30th August to 3rd September), a story in which a woman’s past and present collide in one evening; The Lettuce Dream Theatre Company’s Our Baby by Eleonora Fusco (6th to 10th September), an eerie tragicomedy set in contemporary times; Kam Theatre London’sGallows Rope by Mamet Leigh (13th to 17th September), capturing the struggles of solitary existence in the overpopulated London in the 21st century; and the London premiere of Wanting the Moon by Rose Collis (18th to 24th September), inspired by real events in the life of Clemence Dane – author, artist and Oscar-winning screenwriter – asked by Noel Coward to revive her acting career and play the famous role he once created for her: the eccentric medium ‘Madame Arcati’ inBlithe Spirit.

As always the season also features a selection of shorter runs and one-off performances including devised piece Don’t Turn the Lights on (11th to 13th August), a scratch performance of Sorry, I Killed Your Cat (14th August), black comedy Thelma and Louise – and Karen (21st & 22nd August), a rehearsed reading of new musical The Curse of Love (11th & 12th September), one-woman-showBefore Ariel (22nd to 24th September), improvisational shows Nighthawks (4th September & 2ndOctober) and C.S.I: Crime Scene Improvisation (9th October) as well as new writing night Spiral(16th to 18th October).

Furthermore, the theatre continues its support for playwrights through the Playwrights Circle (26thSeptember) as well as the launch of The Bread & Roses Playwriting Award 2016 on which further details will be announced later in August.

On Saturday 6th August the theatre invites also everyone along to their Season Launch Party, an opportunity to meet the team and mingle with companies involved in the upcoming season, and on Monday 5th September there will be another Bread & Roses Networking Event, for those interested in bringing their work to the venue.

“We’ve started introducing regular afternoon and late-night slots into our programming this season, which means we can program more work and use our space even more efficiently.” – Artistic Director Tessa Hart

This year so far has been extremely exciting for the theatre and the pub, proving to be one of the finest art hubs in the SW London area.” – Managing Director Rebecca Pryle

SHOWSTOPPER! THE IMPROVISED MUSICAL EXTENDS UNTIL DECEMBER

2016 OLIVIER AWARDS WINNER

SHOWSTOPPER!

The Improvised Musical

 Extends until December!

at the

Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue

Every night the cast of Showstopper! The Improvised Musical pull off something incredibly ambitious; they create a real musical from scratch, not just an improv night with songs but a full story with characters you can care about, a live band of incredible musicians, and seamless choreography.

 

This  ingenious, unique blend of comedy, musical theatre and spontaneity.

scooped two awards this year – an Olivier Award in the Best Entertainment and Family category and a Chortle Award in the Character, Improv and Sketch category.

 

Following a successful season of Monday night shows at the Lyric Theatre since February  Showstopper: The Improvised Musical has announced three more dates for 2016  – 10 October, 14 November and 12 December.

Highlights from the 2015/2016 West End run have included: ‘Peter Panama’ a redemptive tale of off – shore accounting  and tax avoidance featuring the Guys and Dolls – inspired opening number ‘Bring Out Your Money’; Queen of Spades’, set in the gardens of Buckingham Palace and featuring the show’s first ever call for ‘Oh Calcutta’; ‘These Are a Few of My Favourite Pills’ set in  a Nursing Home , ‘Blatt Out of Hell’ from the Fifa HQ, ‘The Lyin’ King’ set in the Daily Mail newsroom; ‘I never tyre of Georgia’ set in Kwikfit in the Deep South and ‘Bricking It’, the sad history of the Guernsey Lego factory.

What the critics said:

★★★★★

Incredible… so polished, it defies belief.”  Daily Telegraph

★★★★★

“You absolutely have to go”  Mail on Sunday

★★★★

Crackingly creative… a triumph.”   The Times

★★★★

“Astounding” – Daily Express

★★★★

“Brilliant” – Financial Times

★★★★

A success story that could run and run.”   Evening Standard

★★★★

Staggeringly good… a must-see.”   The Stage

★★★★

The resultant show is a glorious mix of shambolic story and genuinely hilarious songs

 – Time Out

  

Prepare to be wowed… Showstopper! might be the only West End show you ever need.”

 Chortle

 

Showstopper! was created by Adam Meggido and Dylan Emery Duncan Walsh Atkins is Musical Director, with design by Simon Scullion, lighting by Tim Mascall and sound by Tom Lishman.

The cast includes Ruth Bratt, Justin Brett, Dylan Emery, Pippa Evans, Susan Harrison, Sean McCann, Adam Meggido, Philip Pellew, Andrew Pugsley, Lucy Trodd, and Sarah-Louise Young; with seven cast members appearing per performance plus a live on-stage band.

 

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical is presented by James Seabright, Julie Clare, Keith Strachan and Ray Cooney by arrangement with Suzanna Rosenthal for Showstopper Productions.

Listings information:

 Showstopper! The Improvised Musical

Venue:                                   The Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London

Dates:                                     Dates : 10 October; 14 November and 12 December

Time:                                      7.30pm

Tickets:                                  From £20

Box Office:                              www.nimaxtheatres.com  /  0330 333 4812

Running Time: 90 minutes plus 20 minute interval
Age Limit: 12+ recommended

Elokay Productions Announce “Musical of the Year”

7b0b3faf-5d3c-471b-8274-97574cfa19d3Elokay Productions Present

Musical of the Year

at the Lost Theatre, October 12-29, 2016

It’s 1955 and college sweethearts Rudy Brown and Lizzy Conlon embark on writing the ultimate award-winning musical.  So begins a 60-year process of adapting the same musical to the styles of My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Cabaret, Les Miserables, Wicked, and virtually every other show in the musical theatre canon.   Will they ever win Musical of the Year?

From the writing team of Stephen Lanigan-O’Keeffe (book, music, and lyrics) and Owain Rose (book), Musical of the Year is being presented for its inaugural theatrical run at The Lost Theatre this autumn. With Direction by Owain Rose (Misterman, Upstairs at the Gatehouse; Silence, The Bull in Barnet), Musical Direction by Stephen Lanigan-O’Keeffe (Beowulf, Travesty Theatre; Fallen Angels, Upstairs at the Gatehouse), and Choreography by Emma Pleass (Cabaret, The Lund Theatre; Scaramouche, the Zany Commedia Musical, Hoxton Hall), the show will run from October 12-29 with a cast of 14 and Design by Frank Turnbull (Blackadder, The Bull Theatre; Frankenstein, Upstairs at the Gatehouse).

Cast include: Chiara Brooke, Miranda Colmans, Jamie Fillery, Rebecca Gilliland, Jessica Hern, Simon Hodson, Mark Houston, Colin Kiyani, Domonic Ramsden, Kevin Rodgers, Robbie Smith, Jennifer Tilley, Andrew Truluck, and Victoria Waddington.

For More Information
Tickets available through: http://www.losttheatre.co.uk/
Website: http://www.elokayproductions.com/musical-of-the-year/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/musicaloftheyear/
Twitter: @ElokayProds

Listings
MUSICAL OF THE YEAR
Wednesday 12 to Saturday 29 October
Tuesday-Friday @7:30, Saturdays @ 2:30 and 7:30, Sundays @ 2:30
at The LOST Theatre, 208 Wandsworth Road, London, SW8 2JU http://www.losttheatre.co.uk/
Ticket Prices:
12/13/14 October £15 (previews)
15-23 October £16/£14
25-29 October £18/£16

Disney princess go bad at LOST Theatre in November

Stuart Saint presents:

PRINCESS
November 15th – November 19th 2016, LOST Theatre


In November, revolutionary and critically acclaimed writer/director Stuart Saint brings a ground-breaking interdisciplinary piece of theatre to LOST Theatre inspired by our twisted relationship with the “princess” – shattering the illusion of happily-ever-afters, banishing the storybook fairytale and finding the feminism in Disney.

Because the once pristine and weak-willed princess can now be a kick-ass Ghostbuster or a magical Snow Queen – our world is moving away from the helpless damsel in distress expected to suffer and serve and await to be rescued, and yet it’s at the heart of many a sexual moré. In Princess, Saint creates a lavish spectacle of movement and expression, gig theatre that blends music, dance and video into a new story of good girls gone bad.

“Stuart Saint knows exactly what the show needs, how to do it well, and he’s made every effort to ensure the show is as fun, energetic, and slick as possible” Grumpy Gay Critic on Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens

Stuart Saint is a director, composer, choreographer and writer best known for his innovate and radical adult pantos at the Leicester Square Theatre. He also directed Oscar Wilde story De Profundis and was a director on the award-winning comedy show Newsrevue.

With an uplifting, celebratory electro-pop soundtrack inspired by Soft Cell and Depeche Mode, Saint’s compositions are strongly defined by his pop music career – as is his choreography, with elements of Madonna and The Who alongside such classic influences as Matthew Bourne and Bob Fosse.

All of these elements combine in Saint’s work to create, in Princess, a unique brand of gig theatre, bringing adult themes, dancers and performers that break the traditional mould of today’s global monoculture, to entertain through energetically crafted dance, original song and resurrected video.

“takes all the glorious smut that has come before, gives it a right good polish and rams home a filth-fest of pure titillation” Broadway Baby on Dick!

Bette Midler and Me… at a theatre near you!

9593a36a-1305-46c7-8ede-e00281be1bafAria Entertainment Concerts presents
Bette Midler… and Me

Writer: Chris Burgess    Director: Paul Foster    Musical Director: Sarah Travis    Choreographer: Matthew Cole

Autumn 2016 TOUR
9th SEPT/ Chipping Norton Theatre –
www.chippingnortontheatre.co.uk

16th SEPT/ Bishop Stortford, Rhodes Complex –
www.rhodesbishopsstortford.org.uk

17th SEPT/ Stroud, Subscription Rooms –
www.subscriptionrooms.org.uk

24th SEPT/ London, Finchley Arts Depot –
www.artsdepot.co.uk

25th SEPT/ Manchester, Hope Mill Theatre –
www.hopemilltheatre.co.uk

29th SEPT/ York Theatre Royal –
www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

30th SEPT/ Chelmsford, Cramphorn Theatre –
www.chelmsford.gov.uk/theatres

9th OCT/ Crouch End, London, Arthouse Cinema –
www.arthousecrouchend.co.uk

30th OCT/ Leeds, J Fest

“When I’m on stage – it’s a party!” quipped Bette Midler.  So join in the fun, and catch West End star and leading lady Sue Kelvin’s roller-coaster ride through the Divine Bette Midler’s fabulous career. The show explores how Bette inspired Sue to don seven-inch platform shoes, and become a musical diva herself!  Sue has starred in many West End hits including Wicked, Les Misérables, Fiddler on the Roof and Chicago.

“A great night out”  ***** PUBLIC REVIEWS
“A fantastic tribute”     BROADWAY WORLD
“Top rate musicianship”  **** MICHAEL COVENEY

Sue covers songs such as Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, The Rose, I’m A Woman, From a Distance and Wind Beneath My Wings… Oh, and the show also features an outrageous three minute puppet version of hit tear-jerker movie Beaches… Simply divine!

Sue is accompanied by Tony Award winning musical director (2006 – Sweeney Todd) and long-term collaborator of Craig Revel Horwood (Sunset Boulevard,Chess) Sarah Travis; and is supported by actress and singer Joanna Lee.

“… a show that is heartfelt and hilarious in equal measure.”   BROADWAY WORLD

Twitter:
@BetteMidler2015

a692d4a0-eaca-476d-8f54-a01ec4aede8f

DarlingtonOS offer Spamalot interpreted performance

BSL Interpreted Performance at Spamalot

Director and Choreographer JOANNE HAND

Musical Director JOHN HUDSON

Seven performances only – October 24 to 29

Tickets now available

Local theatre company announce a special British Sign Language Interpreted Performance of their forthcoming production of Spamalot.

In a move to ensure theatre is accessible to as many people as possible, Darlington Operatic Society has announced they will be presenting a British Sign Language Interpreted Performance of their show currently in rehearsal – Monty Python’s Spamalot.

Company spokesman Julian Cound told us “We are delighted to have secured the skills of BSL Interpreter Jenna Johnson to sign a performance of Spamalot. This will truly open up the production to a whole host of people who would otherwise miss out on experiencing live theatre.”

Julian continued “I guess we could have picked an easier show for Jenna to work on than a fast paced musical comedy such as Spamalot, but we are really looking forward to welcoming her to our rehearsals so she can get to know the show inside out before the big day.”

Monty Python’s Spamalot will have seven performances at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium this autumn – Monday 24 to Saturday 29 October at 7.30pm with a 2pm matinee on Saturday 29 October. The BSL interpreted performance will take place on Thursday 27 October.

Monty Python’s Spamalot tells the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and their quest for the Holy Grail. The show features lusty maidens, dancing divas, a killer rabbit and a legless knight. It has been honored with dozens of awards, including the Grammy for Best Original Cast Recording and three Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Tickets are priced £16 for adults and £10 for children (aged 14 and under) and can be purchased online at www.darlingtonos.org.uk, or by phone on 01325 244659.

Monty Python’s Spamalot has book and lyrics by Eric Idle and music by John Du Prez & Eric Idle. Lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail, by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, Spamalot had its Broadway debut in 2005, directed by Mike Nichols.

Joanna Lumley to host National Youth Ballet gala performance

JOANNA LUMLEY TO HOST
SPECIAL GALA PERFORMANCE
BY

THE NATIONAL YOUTH BALLET OF GREAT BRITAIN

AT SADLER’S WELLS ON SUNDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2016

thumbnail_Jill Tookey and Joanna Lumley 

·         The evening will celebrate the legacy of Founder and Artistic Director Jill Tookey, who passed away in March this year

·         Joanna Lumley has been a patron of National Youth Ballet since 1989, and will host the gala in memory of Jill

National Youth Ballet is delighted to announce that Joanna Lumley will host a special Memorial Gala performance at Sadler’s Wells on Sunday 4 September, celebrating the company’s inspirational Founder and Artistic Director Jill Tookey, who passed away in March this year.

 

Joanna Lumley has been a patron of National Youth Ballet since 1989, when she met Jill at one of the company’s performances at Sadler’s Wells. Joanna has since become a huge supporter of the company, and has narrated two of their ballets. Joanna will host the gala performance on Sunday 4 September, where she will be joined on stage by many returning alumni, who now dance for leading companies including Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures.

 

Over three decades, Jill Tookey quietly became one of the industry’s most influential dance leaders, inspiring generations of young dancers and choreographers, many of whom have embarked upon successful professional careers after their time with NYB. Jill was appointed a CBE for services to dance in the 2016 New Year Honours, and in June this will be presented at Buckingham Palace to her ten-year-old granddaughter, and 2016 NYB company member, Gabriella Rummery.

 

The 2016 programme, which also includes performances at the Hawth Theatre, Crawley on Friday 27 and Saturday 27 August, will showcase highlights from National Youth Ballet’s 29-year history through some of Jill’s favourite commissions. These include The Old Man of Lochnagar, a ballet based on the children’s book by HRH The Prince of Wales, choreographed by Olivier Award winner and NYB alumnus Drew McOnie. NYB’s innovative Beyond Ballet platform will also return, showcasing young choreographic talents presenting their own works. The Memorial Gala performance at Sadler’s Wells will also include new commissions and performances from returning alumni including choreographer Andrew McNicol, West End performer Lucinda Lawrence and Birmingham Royal Ballet first artist Ruth Brill.

The 2016 Season is led by Artistic Director in Residence Mikah Smillie, a graduate of the Royal Ballet School’s Teachers Training Course, Associate Artist for Re:Bourne, mentor for NYB’s Beyond Balletchoreographic platform, teacher at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and freelance rehearsal director.

 

National Youth Ballet involves talented young dancers aged 8 to 18 in every aspect of creating a ballet, from the conception of an idea through to performance on stage at a professional level. The Company also encourages children from all walks of life to become involved with dance through schools and community workshops. NYB utilises the skills of students in associated arts and encourages the talents of young designers, costumiers, musicians and student teachers in the preparation and production of all their work. Through the Beyond Ballet platform, the Company also nurtures young choreographic talent, supporting young choreographers in devising and showcasing their own works at professional level. This year 120 dancers from across the country were offered places with the Company, and will perform in the 2016 season.

 

Notable NYB alumni include Drew McOnie (choreographer), Sir Gregory Dean (Principal at Royal Danish Ballet), Jessica Brown Findlay (Actress, Downton Abbey) and Tyrone Singleton (Principal at Birmingham Royal Ballet), as well as many alumni working for leading companies including Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures. Patrons include Carlos Acosta, Sir Matthew Bourne, Darcey Bussell, Joanna Lumley, Dame Monica Mason, Wayne Sleep and Sir Peter Wright.

www.NationalYouthBallet.org

Twitter.com/NYBofGB

Facebook.com/NationalYouthBallet

TRAINSPOTTING, BASED ON THE NOVEL BY IRVINE WELSH, OPENS AT THE VAULTS

James Seabright presents the King’s Head Theatre and In Your Face production of

 

TRAINSPOTTING

Based on the novel by Irvine Welsh, adapted by Harry Gibson

Directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher and Greg Esplin

3rd November – 15th January 2017

The Vaults, Launcelot Street, London SE1 7AD

 

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Irvine Welsh and Danny Boyle’s iconicgeneration defining film Trainspotting, and ahead of the 2017 release of its sequel, a no-holds-barred immersive theatrical adaptation opens at The Vaults in Waterloo on 8th November (previews from 3rd November). To further mark the anniversary, twenty tickets at £20 will be available for every performance.

 

This strictly limited eleven-week transfer follows two sell-out seasons at the King’s Head Theatre for the production, which is directed by the venue’s artistic director Adam Spreadbury-Maher in collaboration with Greg Esplin. Against a dynamic soundscape of 80s dance music, the stories of a group of friends living through the Edinburgh heroin scene – Renton, Tommy, Sick Boy, Begbie and Alison – are brought to life with humour, poetry and provocatively graphic scenes across 75 intense, immersive minutes.

 

I was shocked.. and I wrote the f*cking thing” – Irvine Welsh

A special performance space is being created within The Vaults’ Smiths Arch for the production, with a capacity of just 200 split between immersive general admission where audience members will be seated all around the space amidst the action, and a limited number of traditional theatre seats.  This transfer marks the first collaboration between the King’s Head Theatre and Seabright Productions, the Olivier Award winning commercial producers behind shows such as Showstopper! The Improvised Musical and Potted Potter.

 

“Choose us. Choose life. Choose mortgage payments; choose washing machines; choose cars; choose sitting on the couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing f*ckin junk food

intae yir mooth. Choose rotting away, pishing and shiteing yerself in a home, a total f*ckin embarrassment tae the selfish, f*cked-up brats ye’ve produced. Choose life.”

The cast are Rachael Anderson (June), Chris Dennis (Begbie), Calum Barbour (Mother Superior), Greg Esplin (Tommy), Michael Lockerbie (Sickboy), Erin Marshall (Alison) and Gavin Ross (Renton).

 

Listings Information:

Venue              The Vaults, Launcelot Street, London SE1 7AD

Dates:             3rd November 2016 – 15th January 2017 (Tue to Sun, no performances 24-26 Dec / 31 Dec)

Ticket Prices:   £20 – £35

Box Office:       www.TrainspottingLive.com / 020 7183 5942

Running time: 75 minutes – no interval

Warnings:        Contains nudity, very strong language, heavy drug/needle use.

Age guidance:  16+

Ibsen classic with a modern spin at Theatre N16 in August

Riot Act in collaboration with Theatre N16 presents:

THE LEAGUE OF YOUTH
August 9th – August 18th 2016, Theatre N16

Riot Act unearths a rarely produced piece by Henrik Ibsen for its third professional production in the UK since its 1870 publication.  This blisteringly relevant and razor sharp dissection of cultural and professional revolution where old institutions are forced to face the radical new is here presented in a new adaptation by Ashley Pearson and directed by Whit Hertford, the team behind this year’s fringe sell-out Coverage, a newsroom adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Sten Stensgard is the new guy in the office, but he won’t let that define him. Determined to move up in the world, Sten will do anything to get ahead— blackmail, lie, cheat, and even fall in love. Amidst a controversial office election, ideologies clash in a new version of Ibsen’s dark comedy about the intersection of personality and politics.

“bold, philosophical and avant-garde” Theatrefullstop on The Misbegotten Hope of the Dirty Bird

British-Canadian playwright Ashley Pearson holds an MFA in theatre directing from East 15 Acting School, and a BA&Sc in liberal arts from Quest University Canada. She was an apprentice director at New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Theater Festival, and has studied theatre at GITIS (Russian University of Theatre Arts) and Seacoast Theatre Centre. Her work as a writer includes North [Long-listed for the Theatre503 New Play Prize], Nerves of the Heart [awarded Distinction by QUC], West, and a new translation of Ionesco’s The Chairs. Pearson is an Associate Artist with Riot Act.

The League of Youth is directed by Riot Act Artistic Director Whit Hertford. Hertford is an Associate Director at Theatre N16 and received his MFA in theatre directing from East 15 Acting School – recent credits include his Chekhov adaptation The Misbegotten Hope of the Dirty Bird. The veteran American actor turned London-based Hertford (Jurassic Park, Glee, Raising Hope) recently portrayed cult leader Charlie Manson in the film, Prettyface. Additionally he wrote and starred in the film Wildife, which was an official selection of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival Court Métrage.

Riot Act is a radical band of artists who seek innovation that bleeds and unapologetically aims to incite new writing and breathe oxygen into classic themes and texts. Their acts of excavation, incision and resuscitation have positioned them to be one of London’s exciting new theatre laboratories.

**** “a pleasing blend of earnestness and knowingness” Female Arts on Coverage