TaleGate Theatre Productions presents:

Maud Dromgoole presents:

Today, Monday 12 September 2016, Theatres Trust reveals the 36 theatres at most risk across the UK, and Trustee Dara Ó Briain calls on everyone who cares about theatre to join the campaign to protect them.

Of the 36 theatres on the 2016 Register there are 6 new theatres: 3 in England, and 3 in Scotland – these include 3 theatres which have, sadly, returned to the Register.

There has been some fantastic progress for theatres still on the Register, and in this, our 40th year, we’re celebrating those campaign groups who fight so hard to demonstrate their potential viability, and the role that those theatres can play in their communities.

Theatres Trust Trustee, Dara Ó Briain, has lent his support to raise awareness of our campaign by fronting a video introducing some of the excellent work done by community groups around the country, many of whom have submitted video reports highlighting their work protecting the theatres they love.

Dara Ó Briain, said: “As a touring standup comedian I have travelled up and down this country and worked in many of the theatres here and you have a unique and rich heritage of theatres that were built in the last 200 years. But we can’t take that for granted. Local community support is vital in breathing new life into theatres. If a theatre in your community was in danger of being lost forever would you help fight for it?  There are 36 theatres all over the country on our Register at the moment. Please join the campaign to save them or make a donation.”

Rebecca Morland, Interim Director of Theatres Trust, said: “Each theatre on the Register has an important place in its community. Our experience shows us that where    campaign groups are in place, they can make a real difference to the future of these theatres.  The progress that has been made with theatres in Brighton, Burnley and Kirkcaldy – to name but three – is a real testament to this.”

The Trust’s At Risk Register launch is generously supported by theatre insurance brokers Integro. Andy Rudge, Head of Theatre, said: “We have been a long standing supporter of the valuable work Theatres Trust undertake within the theatre industry – the Theatre Buildings at Risk Register is integral to their activities – identifying and providing much needed support to organisations when the sustainability and viability of their venue is threatened. It’s vital this work continues to help maintain the cultural landscape of the UK.”

New on the Register
New to the Register in 2016 is the Broadway Theatre, Peterborough, currently under threat from redevelopment for residential use. It has one of the finest remaining interiors from the Odeon chain, having been converted to theatre use in 2001. In Scotland two Category B-listed theatres also feature. The King’s Theatre in Dundee, the only surviving large touring theatre in the Dundee area, is increasingly deteriorating due to lack of maintenance. Whilst the King’s Kirkcaldy has been dark for 11 years, with various unfulfilled proposals for redevelopment. Both now have campaign groups who see the buildings’ potential and are working to secure their long term sustainable future.

Re-entries
Leith Theatre in Scotland has been placed back on the Register, despite tremendous work by the community group in securing a lease on the premises, due to the amounts of funding still required to secure its future. The Secombeand the Charles Cryer in Sutton were removed from the Register only last year after reopening, but now make a re-entry as the operator has gone into administration, leaving the future of these theatres in doubt.

Future secured
One theatre whose future has been secured however is the Muni Arts Centre in Pontypridd, a Grade II listed former Wesleyan Chapel. Thanks to a local consortium of private, public and charitable organisations, the New Muni is open with volunteer advisory panels informing its future artistic and cultural programming.

Ensuring theatres’ viability
Whilst we passionately believe in protecting theatre buildings for live performance use, their regeneration and future survival hinges on their viability. This year many groups have undertaken studies to show the value that their reopened theatre could bring to their local community.

The number one theatre on the At Risk Register for the last 4 years has beenBrighton Hippodrome. In 2015, Theatres Trust paved the way for a viability study and the local community group have built on that to secure more funding and do more work, with the overall aim of returning this gloriously unique Grade II* listed circus theatre to live performance use.

Another great example is Burnley Empire. Languishing without use for many years, its appearance on the 2015 Theatres at Risk Register led to the formation of an active community group. Their fundraising, together with support from the local Council and Theatres Trust, has led to a viability study which is currently underway, exploring potential uses for the theatre.

Other theatres on the Register actively considering their viability, working hard on business plans, or undertaking options appraisals, include the King’s Theatre, Dundee who are currently fundraising for their viability study,Mechanics Institute in Swindon, a former social community and staff centre for the Great Western railway, Doncaster Grand, an ornate Grade II listed Victorian theatre, and Dudley Hippodrome, whose campaign group recently secured a 5-year lease for the venue.

Videos
We asked the At Risk theatres campaign groups to provide us with videos highlighting their work in campaigning for the theatres they are passionate about. Included in these reports are: Bradford Odeon, the Mechanics Institute in Swindon, the Theatre Royal in Hyde, Spilsby Theatre in Lincolnshire, Doncaster Grand, Tameside Hippodrome, the King’s Theatre in Kirkcaldy, Burnley Empire, Brighton Hippodrome, the Futurist in Scarborough, Alexandra Palace in London, Plymouth Palace, Colwyn Bay Pier Pavilion, and Leith Theatre.

Support the campaign to protect theatres at risk
www.theatrestrust.org.uk/theatre-buildings-at-risk/tbar-2016

Darlington Civic Theatre is looking for volunteers to assist with the creation of costumes for the forthcoming community production of A Tale of Two Cities, which will be performed in the Dolphin Centre’s Central Hall in November.

The theatre is looking for volunteers with sewing skills of all levels and or knitting skills. The work will involve making period garments and altering contemporary clothes. Making will include full length skirts, bustles, waistcoats, cockades, dirtying down costumes and alterations of garments to fit our cast. All volunteers will work alongside an experienced wardrobe supervisor during the sessions.

Anyone interested should email [email protected] or call her on 01325 405510.

A Tale of Two Cities is at Central Hall, Dolphin Centre, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 November. Charles Dickens considered his novel A Tale Of Two Cities to be the best story he had ever written.

Interweaving one family’s intensely personal drama with the terror and chaos of the French Revolution, it is an epic story of love, sacrifice and redemption amidst horrific violence and world changing events. This will be a promenade performance.

The Touring Consortium Theatre Company, who most recently brought Of Mice And Men, A View From The Bridge and Brave New World to Darlington Civic Theatre are now working in partnership with the theatre to present A Tale Of Two Cities using a cast of community actors.

This new adaptation by Mike Poulton (Fortune’s Fool, Old Vic; Wolf Hall, RSC) will feature a cast of approximately 30 local actors alongside a professional production team led by director Eduard Lewis. The production will be staged in the atmospheric setting of Darlington’s Central Hall, where Dickens himself read on 21 September 1858.

Tickets* are priced £18 for adults, under 16s £10

To book contact the Box Office on 01325 486 555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk

*Includes £1 restoration levy

THE PURR-FECT FAMILY TREAT COMES TO THE LYCEUM THIS OCTOBER

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking Oliver award-nominated musical Cats comes to the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield from Monday 3 – Saturday 15 October, direct from its sell-out seasons at the London Palladium.

On just one special night of the year, all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball where Old Deuteronomy, makes the Jellicle choice and announces which of them will go up to The Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.

Based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the world famous musical is a sparkling fusion of music, dance and verse, and has now taken on a new life for a new generation.

With an outstandingly talented cast, magnificent sets, breathtaking choreography and a stunning score, including the unforgettable Memory, Cats is a magical musical that will thrill the whole family this autumn.

Cats comes to the Lyceum Theatre from Monday 3 – Saturday 15 October.  Tickets can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres’ Box Office in-person, by phone on 0114 249 6000 or online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk and are priced from £23.50 (a transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office, excluding cash).  Concessions and group discounts are available.

Darlington Civic Theatre’s ArtsSpark member Jess Hull accepted into the Phoenix Academy North East.

Darlington Civic Theatre is proud to announce that one of their ArtsSpark members has recently been accepted into the Phoenix Academy North East based in the Trinity Centre, Gateshead.

Seventeen year old Jess Hull has been dancing with ArtsSpark since she was eleven and attended an audition to gain entry into the Academy in June.

Phoenix Academy North East is based on the hugely successful Phoenix Youth Dance Academy based in Leeds. The Academy offers a high-quality training programme for talented young dancers aged 14-18 years interested in pursuing dance as a career. Students meet twice a week, developing their contemporary dance technique through working with recognised choreographers and Phoenix Dance Theatre’s company dancers. Academy members also participate in intensive courses during the school holidays, with regular performance opportunities at platforms across the UK.

Youth Academy graduates have gone on to successfully audition for numerous conservatoires, including: London Contemporary Dance School, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

Darlington Civic Theatre’s ArtsSpark youth dance and theatre sessions provide a safe, welcoming environment for young people to create, explore and participate in quality theatre activities leading to regular performance opportunities. For full details visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk

Grand Opera House York.  Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

York Stage Musicals present 9 to 5 The Musical at the Grand Opera House, York, running until 17th September.

Based on the 1980 film, this musical comedy, with the music and lyrics written by Dolly Parton, is set in the late1970s and revolves around three office workers, Violet (Julie Anne Smith), Doralee (Alicia Roberts) and Judy (Jo Theaker) exacting revenge on their sexist boss, Hart (Darren Roberts).

The show opens with the iconic 9 to 5 with Dolly Parton streamed “live from Dollywood”. The scene is set, a busy secretarial pool with Violet being passed over for promotion by a younger far less experienced man, Doralee, the busty beauty and Judy the ditched, for a younger model, housewife. Hart, the company’s boss is introduced with Here For You, brilliantly performed by Darren Roberts with all its crudeness and and sexist attitudes towards women.

The women form an uneasy alliance, dreaming about killing Hart and accidently appearing to live out their fantasies. Covering up and coping with their mistakes they manage to transform the company into thoroughly modern and forward thinking company.

The 4 leads throw themselves into their roles and are hard to fault, well supported by the ensemble cast. Both Alicia Roberts and Jo Theaker give outstanding vocal performances with Backwoods Barbie and Get Out and Stay Out. I must also mention Maya Tether who gave a terrific performance of Roz, the office busybody who is in love with the boss.

York Stage Musicals, under the direction of Nik Briggs, have put on a great show, it’s a good night of humorous entertainment, going out on a high with the final rendition of 9 to 5. I encourage all to go and see it whilst you can.

The ReFashioned Theatre, Selfridges 23 August – 24 September.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Commissioned by Selfridges to celebrate Shakespeare400, The Faction’s production of Much Ado About Nothing is as slick and stylish as its surroundings. The ReFashioned Theatre, with its traverse stage, mirrors and lighting, has the feel of a fashion show, and the modern costumes fit right in. The simple military uniforms are a particular triumph.

Much Ado About Nothing does what it says on the tin – Claudio falls in love with Hero, he is tricked into believing her unfaithful, seeks revenge, is tricked again into thinking her dead, but everything ends happily once he realises his mistake. Meanwhile, everyone is plotting to unite Beatrice and Benedick, who love to hate each other.

Streamlining the play to 90 minutes without interval, director Mark Leipacher has cut extraneous characters and scenes, creating a production that is full of energy and impetus.

Hero’s father, Leonato, becomes her mother, Leonata, played imperiously by Caroline Langrishe, giving an intriguingly different feel to Leonata’s reactions on hearing the accusations against Hero. Shakespeare’s best written couple, Benedick and Beatrice, are portrayed with great charm by Daniel Boyd and Alison O’Donnell. Boyd is reminiscent of Lord Percy in Blackadder in his comedy style (but that isn’t a criticism): his sweetly snarky awkwardness works wonderfully here as O’Donnell’s Beatrice is full of fire and definitely wears the trousers in this relationship, and the chemistry and timing between the pair is exquisite. O’Donnell’s Scottish accent seems a little out of place at first, but insults and sarcasm always sound funnier and sharper in Celtic tones.

The scene where Benedick “overhears” that Beatrice loves him is hilarious, with Langrishe showing her playful side, and Boyd displaying masterful physical comedy skills. The corresponding scene, when O’Donnell’s Beatrice hears of Benedick’s feelings, takes the physical comedy even further, and O’Donnell is hysterical.

Harry Lister Smith and Lowri Izzard make a sweet Claudio and Hero, Jude Owusu is a strong but funny Don Pedro, Tala Gouveia is a very millennial Margaret, Jamie Maclachlan is a slimy Borachio and a serene Friar (although he does seem to be officiating the marriage in his dressing gown) and Christopher Hughes is full of malice as Don John, and brilliantly gaping-mouthed stupid as the watchman. Meera Syal appears onscreen as a News reporter, delivering important messages, while Simon Callow and Rufus Hound Are Dogberry and Verges, overseeing the watch on CCTV. This may seem like a gimmick to get big names into the show, but it actually matches the style of the production and slots into the play seamlessly. And let’s face it, any chance to watch Callow, even in this tiny part, is a bonus.

Lighting director Chris Withers’ design is bold, stark and in your face, with the sides of the stage and pillars in green, blue, red or yellow depending on the setting. One fantastic moment involved Don John bemoaning his being “enfranchised with a clog” – here an ankle tag – and sticking his leg over the edge of the stage, triggering alarms and red flashing lights.

The Faction’s production is fast paced and funny, with a fantastic cast. This intelligent and exciting adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing is well worth seeing.

Waterloo East Theatre 6 – 25 September.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

[Title Of Show] by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell tells the story of Bowen and Bell writing the musical [Title Of Show] for the New York Theatre Festival. Never having heard of the show before, I must admit that my heart sunk when I read the press release. A meta-musical – great. But [Title Of Show] is completely lacking in pretention and is full of charm, laughs and memorable songs.

Jeff and Hunter write their musical with the help of their friends Heidi and Susan, accompanied by Larry on keyboards. SR Productions have put together a fine cast that appear to be having a ball on stage. Louie Westwood is hysterically over the top as Hunter – embodying every gay MT stereotype imaginable. Daniel Mack Shand as Jeff is the calmer voice in the partnership, although his passion for the project comes shining through in the second act. Shand’s performance is a little more subtle than Westwood’s, but his comic timing is wonderful, and the pair play off each other brilliantly. The secondary characters (don’t feel sorry for them, they get their own song about that) make wonderful foils for the men. As Susan, Malindi Freeman gets to go completely loony tunes every so often with her frustrated office worker/jobbing actress character, but the bond between her and her ga-nerd friends always seems real. She gets most of the best lines and manages to create sympathy for her thinly written character without losing her kookiness. Chloe Hawkins as Heidi begins sweetly and quietly, but also gets to let rip and show her impressive comedy chops.

The Broadway references come thick and fast, ranging from the historical, through Chess, Rent and Wicked, right up to referencing Sarah Harding’s recent stage venture. The characters stop scenes to pick holes in the writing, correct each other’s pitch and grammar, or just to share knowing glances with the audience. At one point, when asked why she’s being so quiet, Susan replies “I didn’t have a line until now”. Musical Theatre clichés are embraced, with a ridiculous dream sequence, spirit guides providing inspiration (monkeys on speedboats – now THAT would be a musical), and montage numbers all milked for laughs. The writing is camp, bitchy, sweet and passionate. But mostly just funny.

The second act isn’t quite as energetic as the first, focussing on the struggle to get the show to Broadway, and with a very cheesy hint of jeopardy as Hunter begins to fall under the spell of the backers and wants to change the show to make it appeal to a wider audience. Jeff’s response that he’d rather be 9 people’s favourite thing than 100 people’s 9th favourite thing leads to a song (Nine people’s Favourite Thing) about sticking to your guns and not compromising that is corny and inspiring in equal measure. I loved all of the musical numbers, but Die Vampire Die – wonderfully insightful lyrics about criticism and self-doubt – was another that was moving and hysterical at the same time, helped by the insane choreography and Freeman’s biting delivery. Even the obligatory tear-jerking ballad A Way Back To Then, although sung hauntingly by Hawkins, is punctuated with Hunter describing the bizarre shows he put on with his brother when he was 10.

And those voices! With only a keyboard accompaniment there is nowhere to hide in this show, and the cast do a phenomenal job. The harmonies are spot on, and none of the performers lost power or energy as the show progressed.

[Title Of Show] is a fantastic night out – full of laughs and great music. I am definitely one of the 9 people after seeing this production.