MIRANDA HART TO MAKE WEST END THEATRE DEBUT AS MISS HANNIGAN IN

A N N I E

OPENING AT THE PICCADILLY THEATRE MAY 2017

CHILDREN’S TICKETS HALF PRICE MONDAY TO THURSDAY

Multi award-winning comedy writer, actor and author Miranda Hart, will make her West End Theatre debut as Miss Hannigan in Annie opening in the West End in May 2017.  Previews at the Piccadilly Theatre will begin on 23 May 2017 with opening night on 5 June 2017.  The production, directed by Nikolai Foster, will be produced by Michael Harrison and David Ian.  Further casting will be announced shortly.

Miranda Hart said: “Miss Hannigan is a dream role, and certainly has been for me, but I never thought it would be a reality.  But here we are and I have a newly found musical theatre-esque spring in my step!  I hope people will leave the theatre feeling life is a little better and dreamier and jollier after watching it, as much as we feel that performing it.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some leg-warmers to put on…”

Public booking for Annie opens on Monday 27 February 2017 at 10am with the production initially booking to 6 January 2018.  Children’s tickets will be half price for Monday to Thursday performances (see listings information below).

Set in 1930s New York during The Great Depression, brave young Annie is forced to live a life of misery and torment at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. Her luck changes when she is chosen to spend Christmas at the residence of famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks. Meanwhile, spiteful Miss Hannigan has other ideas and hatches a plan to spoil Annie’s search for her true family…

Annie has book by Thomas Meehan adapted from the comic strip Little Orphan Annie, music byCharles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin.  The West End production will have sets and costumes designed by Colin Richmond, choreography by Nick Winston, lighting by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Richard Brooker and orchestration and musical direction byGeorge Dyer. 

Foster’s production arrives in the West End 40 years after the original Broadway production opened in 1977 and received seven Tony awards including the Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.  The last West End production of Annie opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in 1998. In 1982, Annie was adapted for the big screen directed by John Huston with a cast including Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters and Albert Finney and in 2014 a further feature film was released, directed by Will Gluck, with a cast including Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx.  The much-loved score includes the classics It’s A Hard Knock Life, Tomorrow and Easy Street.

Miranda Hart is best known on television for her hugely successful, semi-auto-biographical and multi award-wining BBC sitcom Miranda which ran from 2009 for 3 series and 2 specials. She was the recipient of a BAFTA nomination, an NTA Award and two TV Choice Awards for her performance as Chummy in the BBC television drama Call the Midwife.  In 2014 she completed her first sell out stand-up arena tour My, What I Call, Live Show culminating in five shows at London’s 02 Arena.  As a best-selling author her first book Is It Just Me? was the biggest selling non-fiction hardback of 2013 winning Non-Fiction Book of the Year at The National Book Awards. She followed this in 2014 with The Best of Miranda and last year released her third book Peggy and Me.  Her theatre credits include Cruising for The Bush Theatre, Come Out Eli for Battersea Arts Centre, All About Me for Soho Theatre as well as multiple appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her film credits include Spy, The Infidel, Magicians as well as upcoming The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018).   

Nikolai Foster is Artistic Director at Curve. Since taking up his post in 2015, he has directed Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey’s Grease, Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Spring Awakening,Legally Blonde, Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s (also Theatre Royal Haymarket and on tour nationally), Roald Dahl’s The Witches, adapted by David Wood, Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Shakespeare’s Richard III, Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing and Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good, a performance to celebrate the reveal of the tomb of King Richard III at Leicester Cathedral.  Foster has also served as an Associate Director at West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds as trained at Drama Centre London and at the Crucible, Sheffield, supported by the Regional Theatre Young Director scheme.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Theatre:                  Piccadilly Theatre, 16 Denman St, Soho, London W1D 7DY

Dates:                    Booking from 23 May 2017 to 6 January 2018

Press night:              5 June 2017 at 7pm

Performances:          Tuesday 23 May at 7.30pm, Wednesday 24 May at 7.30pm, Thursday 25 May at 7.30pm, Friday 26 May at 7.30pm, Saturday 27 May at 3pm and 7.30pm.

Then Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7.30pm, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm

Miranda Hart will be performing the role of Miss Hannigan until 17 September 2017

Prices:                    Tickets from £20 which include a restoration levy of £1.75.  No booking or transaction fees through official sales outlets

Children Go Half-Price (Monday to Thursday performances, top price only, subject to a maximum of 2 children aged 16 or under with each full paying adult, and subject to availability)

Box Office:              0844 871 7630

Twitter:                   @AnnieMusicalUK

Facebook:               AnnieMusicalUK

Instagram:              anniemusicaluk

Website:                 www.AnnieWestEnd.com

Theatregoers invited to experience paranormal encounters at Ordsall Hal

The Woman in Black Ghost Night
The Lowry and Ordsall Hall
Friday 24 March 2017

Following the performance of Susan Hill’s iconic The Woman In Black at The Lowry on Friday 24 March theatregoers are invited to continue their evening with a spine-chilling late-night experience contacting the spirits that haunt Ordsall Hall.

With its own ominous history, Ordsall Hall is home to paranormal encounters which have been experienced first-hand by visitors and staff alike. A medium will guide guests through the Tudor manor, famous for supernatural communication, sudden drops in temperature and sightings of the mysterious White Lady and the figure of a young girl on the stairs.

The Woman In Black Ghost Night Package includes show ticket, a post-show drink, travel to Ordsall Hall and the ghost tour itself.

Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s best-selling novel has terrified over 64,400 theatregoers across its previous seven visits to The Lowry. The show will make its eighth visit from Mon 20 – Sat 25 March 2017.  

Robin Herford’s gripping production is a brilliantly successfully study in atmosphere, illusion and controlled horror.

Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel tells the story of a lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over him and his family by the spectre of a ‘Woman in Black’. He engages a young actor to help him tell his story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul. It begins innocently enough, but as they delve further into his darkest memories, they find themselves caught up in a world of eerie marshes and moaning winds. The borders between make believe and reality begin to blur and the flesh begins to creep.

David Acton will play the role of Mr Kipps and The Actor will be playedMatthew Spencer.

The production’s huge popularity has reached a global level, having toured to the United States, South America, Tokyo and Singapore. In 2012, Susan Hill’s novel The Woman in Black was released as a major motion picture, starring Daniel Radcliffe, which became the highest grossing British horror film in 20 years. The sequel to that film, The Woman in Black 2: Angel Of Death, came out in 2014.

The West End show and tour are produced by PW Productions – the company behind the New Arts Theatre at Leicester Square.

Peter Wilson comments, “Everyone at PWP Is proud to continue presenting this perfect piece of theatre. The 2016/17 tour of The Woman in Black is dedicated to the Herford family who have done so much to support, love and create this landmark production.”

The production is directed by Robin Herford, with designs by Michael Holt, lighting by Kevin Sleep and sound by Gareth Owen.

The UK tour runs concurrently with the West End production.

Listings Info
The Woman in Black Ghost Night Package
Friday 24 March
The Lowry

Details:
7.30pm: The Woman In Black at The Lowry
9.45pm: Post-show drink at Pier Eight
10.15pm: Bus to Ordsall Hall
10.30pm: Ghost Night
2.30am Finish / Return bus to The Lowry if required
PLEASE NOTE: The Lowry Outlet car park will close at 1am. If guests are driving they are advised to remove their car from the car park prior to the Ghost Night.

Tickets: £62.50 (Including booking fees)
Box office: 0843 208 6000
Website

Jonathan Church, Oliver Mackwood and Oxford Playhouse Present

SAND IN THE SANDWICHES

@BetjemanUKTour / #JohnBetjeman

·         EDWARD FOX RETURNS TO THE WEST END IN SAND IN THE SANDWICHES, A PLAY CELEBRATING THE LIFE AND WORK OF FORMER POET LAUREATE, JOHN BETJEMAN

·         WRITTEN BY HUGH WHITEMORE, THE PRODUCTION WILL PLAY MAY 30^th – JUNE 3^rd AT THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET BEFORE CONTINUING ON A UK TOUR

·         TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE VIA WWW.SANDINTHESANDWICHES.COM

Fresh from a sell-out 2016 UK Tour, Edward Fox is to return to the West End in the celebrated one-man play exploring the life and work of John Betjeman, Sand in the Sandwiches, for a strictly limited London run. A journey through memory and verse, the play collates the work of the twentieth century’s most treasured poet. Written by Hugh Whitemore and directed by Gareth Armstrong, it will visit Northampton before its London premiere at Theatre Royal Haymarket between May 30^th and June 3^rd 2017, followed by an extended UK tour visiting Cambridge, Malvern, Woking, Brighton and Bath.

Edward Fox said “It is lovely to be returning to one of the great theatres of the world and to the role of John Betjeman, even now at the age of 80. All of us involved are working to magnify the voice of one of the greatest minds in England. Betjeman once said that ‘poetry is life’, and I agree. You can’t live without it.”

John Betjeman was the nation’s favourite poet. Sand in the Sandwiches celebrates a man famous not only for light verse and laughter, but for his passions, his sense of purpose and his unforgettable poetry. Through boyhood, his adolescence, to life as Britain’s Poet Laureate, Sand in the Sandwiches presents a hugely entertaining insight into the world of this much-loved irreverent writer. Triple BAFTA winner Edward Fox (OBE) stars in this new one-man play, bringing Betjeman’s poetry and vivacious personality to life.

Edward Fox’s distinguished career counts iconic British films including the Oscar winningGhandi, The Day of the Jackal, A Bridge Too Far, Oh! What a Lovely War, The Dresser, The Go-Between, A Doll’s House, Pride and Prejudice, Robin Hood, Nicholas Nickleby, Force 10 from Navarone and James Bond’s Never Say Never Again. His stage credits include: The Audience, Four Quartets, Hamlet, An Evening with Anthony Trollope, Letter of Resignation and many more. His film credits have won him three BAFTA Awards and in 2003 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to stage and cinema.

Hugh Whitemore, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, is an award-winning writer whose work spans stage and screen. Theatre credits include: As you Desire Me, Stevie, Pack of Lies (which won Judi Dench the Olivier Award for Best Female Actor), The Best of Friends, Breaking the Code, God Only Knows, Disposing of the Body, The Last Cigarette playing at acclaimed theatre across the UK and internationally. His films credits include: Jane Eyre (1996), 84 Charing Cross Road, Stevie, The Return of the Soldier, Bluebird, Man at the Top, and All Neat in Black Stockings. With over 70 television credits, Whitemore has written for broadcasters in both the UK and USA, winning two Writers Guild of Great Britain Awards and two Emmy Awards.

Director Gareth Armstrong specialises in solo performance and has helped to create a dozen such theatre pieces, including Hugh Whitemore’s My Darling Clemmie starring Rohan McCulloch as Winston Churchill’s wife, and his own dramatisation of Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis, calledWilde Without the Boy. As an Associate Artist at Salisbury Playhouse under the Directorship of Jonathan Church, he premiered his own one-man show, Shylock. The play toured for over a decade to more than forty countries and has been translated and performed in Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Hungarian and Mandarin Chinese. Armstrong also co-founded The Made in Wales Theatre Company to premiere new plays and was Artistic Director of Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre.

Sand in the Sandwiches will play at Theatre Royal Haymarket between Tuesday May 30^th and Saturday June 3^rd. This week is available at the theatre due to a pre-contractual, prior engagement, which means that Damian Lewis is unavailable to perform in Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? The producers took the decision to suspend the run of The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? for that week. The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? will recommence performances on 5 June.

Sand in the Sandwiches by Hugh Whitemore is directed by Gareth Armstrong with designs by BAFTA award-winning Fotini Dimou, lighting by double Olivier award-winning Howard Harrisonand sound by Olivier award & Ivor Novello award nominated composer Simon Slater. Sand in the Sandwiches is produced by Jonathan Church, Oliver Mackwood Productions and Oxford Playhouse.

Clockschool Theatre presents:

Grand Opera House York.  Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

Phil McIntyre Entertainments Ltd presents The Commitments at the Grand Opera House, York, running until Saturday 18th February.

Based on the Roddy Doyle novel The Commitments. Set in 1987 it’s the story of Jimmy, Andrew Linnie, a young working class music fan who dreams of putting a band together, the finest soul band in Dublin. Despite the criticism of his Da, Kevin Kennedy, fondly remembered as Curly from Coronation Street, he auditions a motley crew of wannabes and somehow turns them into a band, The Commitments.

The first part of the show was too much! Too much shouting, too much bickering, too much swearing and just too many people on the stage, that it was hard to follow what was going on. I could just not get into the story or the characters. I must admit that at this stage I was thinking OH NO!, what a disappointment, I had so much been looking forward to watching this show after being blown away by the film many years ago, especially by the vocal performance of Andrew Strong, now whatever happened to him? I suppose that is another story.

I’m glad to say by the second half things improved massively. Brian Gilligan as the lead singer Deco really comes into his own, and did the vocal part justice. His voice is amazing and he plays his character distastefully well, including the strip tease, if you can call it teasing. We can excuse Deco’s bad behaviour and obnoxiousness because of his great voice. He is supported by The Three Commitmentettes, played by Amy Penston, Leah Penston and Christina Tedders, who all deliver great vocal performances, and the rest of the band can sure paly. This is of course before everything goes pear shape because of Deco’s laziness and selfishness.

The second half is really like going to a music concert, and to be honest was the most enjoyable aspect of the whole evening. I did not really feel that engaged by most of the characters and it was really about the great Soul music. By the end of the show the whole audience were on their feet dancing and singing along, begging for more, including me. At least this meant that we as an audience were left feeling on a high. What more could anyone ask for?

Jack Studio Theatre 7 – 25 February.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Arrows & Traps return to the Jack Studio in triumphant form with Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus’s adaptation of Crime and Punishment. Pared down into a 90-minute production, the psychological punch of this doorstop of a novel is enhanced rather than diluted. There are no filler lines – everything uttered, every single action, is important and revealing.

Raskolnikov’s conviction that extraordinary people can commit crimes for the greater good of humanity crumbles in the aftermath of the murder of the old pawnbroker and her innocent sister. Conversations take place back to back, characters prowl constantly in circles around the set as the isolation and motivations are revealed. The idea of redemption is constantly haunting Raskolnikov as the story of Lazarus and belief in God are questioned and his intellectual theories and morality collide. The fractured timeline, full of memories, dreams and the seemingly benign probing of Inspector Porfiry portrays the darkness and torment of Raskolnikov with chilling and enthralling skill. This is a play that grabs you by the balls and doesn’t release its grip until the cast take their bows.

Christopher Tester is phenomenal as Raskolnikov – capturing the initial intellectual arrogance so well that his final confession and acceptance of his true nature is all the more devastating. Christina Baston multitasks in the female roles with great skill, but it is her pure and self-sacrificing Sonia that is most effecting. The moment she loses herself completely in telling the tale of Lazarus after initially struggling to read it is glorious. Stephen MacNeice also plays multiple roles effortlessly. His charming and dogged Porfiry is basically a prototype Lt. Columbo, with his admiration for the suspect always bubbling away as he tries to catch him out. None of these actors puts a foot wrong – utterly captivating performances.

Director Ross McGregor has a fantastic track record in finding the right atmosphere for a play – the minimal set and masterful lighting design ramps up the confusion and tension, and the musical choices are, as ever just brilliant. From the murder played out in slow motion to Exit Music, to the Doctor Zhivago-esque rendition of modern classics in the bar scenes, this is pitch perfect.

You’ll probably need a drink when you leave the theatre – this play will put you through the emotional wringer. Stunning.

Production images released for Evita

At The Lowry Tue 14 – Sat 18 March

Show images have been released for  Bill Kenwright’s production of the extraordinary musical, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita, set to thrill audiences at The Lowry from Tue 14 – Sat 18 March 2017.

Telling the story of Eva Perón, wife of former Argentine dictator Juan Perón, Evita follows Eva’s journey from humble beginnings through to extraordinary wealth, power and iconic status which ultimately lead her to be heralded as the ‘spiritual leader of the nation’ by the Argentine people.

With more than 20 major awards to its credit, and an Oscar winning film version starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita is iconic. Featuring some of the best loved songs in musical theatre, including Don’t Cry for Me Argentina, On This Night of a Thousand Stars, You Must Love Me, and Another Suitcase in Another Hall.

The 2017 UK tour of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s extraordinary musical has already received critical acclaim with The Stage rating it five stars and the Liverpool Echo labeling it “Oh what a show”. This spectacular production promises once again to be the theatrical event of the year.

Taking on the iconic role of Eva Perón is one of musical theatre’s most exciting leading ladies today, Emma Hatton. She recently finished wowing audiences in the lead role of Elphaba in the West End’s production of Wicked. Prior to this she performed the principle roles of Scaramouche and Meatloaf in We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre, and Donna in the West End production of Dreamboats and Petticoats.

Making his UK debut is leading Italian performer Gian Marco Schiarettiwho takes on the role of Che, a character who reflects the voice of the Argentine people – linked to Eva by destiny; he brings conflict to the story of Eva’s rise to fame. Gian Marco Schiaretti most recently played the title role of Tarzan in Disney’s Musical Tarzan, in Stuttgart. Prior to this he played Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet across Italy.

Joining them is Kevin Stephen-Jones, playing Argentine President Juan Perón. He has performed extensively across the UK and Europe in over 20 different operas. His musical theatre credits include Cats, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Love Beyond.

The cast is completed by Oscar Balmaseda, Sarah O’Connor, Natalie Langston, George Arvidson, Lewis Barnshaw, Jessica Ellen, Callum Fitzgerald, Kellie Gnauck, Dominic Adam Griffin, Kate Leiper, Joe McCourt, Jude Neill, Chrissie Perkins, Oliver Slade, Matias Stegmann and Yuval Zoref.

Listings Info
Evita
Tue 14 – Sat 18 March
7.30pm, Wed, Thu & Sat 2pm
Tickets: £28.50 – £49.50 (Including booking fees)
Box office: 0843 208 6000
Website

TRH Productions, Scott Landis and Tulchin Bartner Productions present the Royal Shakespeare Company Production of

QUEEN ANNE

www.RSCQueenAnne.com / @RSCQueenAnne / #RSCQueenAnne

• ROMOLA GARAI AND EMMA CUNNIFFE WILL BE JOINED BY JONATHAN CHRISTIE, MICHAEL FENTON-STEVENS, JAMES GARNON, RICHARD HOPE, HYWEL MORGAN, BETH PARK AND CARL PREKOPP IN THE WEST END TRANSFER OF QUEEN ANNE

• WRITTEN BY HELEN EDMUNDSON AND DIRECTED BY NATALIE ABRAHAMI, QUEEN ANNE WILL PLAY AT THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET FROM 30 JUNE UNTIL 30 SEPTEMBER 2017

• TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE, MONDAY 13 FEBRUARY WWW.RSCQUEENANNE.COM

Romola Garai will star as Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough alongside Emma Cunniffe as the eponymous monarch in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Queen Anne. They will be joined by Jonathan Christie, Michael Fenton-Stevens, James Garnon, Richard Hope, Hywel Morgan, Beth Park and Carl Prekopp with further casting to be announced soon.

After originally opening at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in November 2015, Queen Anne will transfer to Theatre Royal Haymarket for a thirteen week limited run from 30 June until 30 September, with a press night on 10 July. Tickets are now on sale.

www.RSCQueenAnne.com.

Written by Helen Edmundson (The Heresy of Love, RSC) and directed by Natalie Abrahami (Happy Days, Young Vic), this gripping new play explores the life of one of England’s little-known sovereigns and her intimate friendship with her childhood confidante Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough.

1702. William III is on the throne and England is on the verge of war.

Princess Anne is soon to become Queen, and her advisors vie for influence over the future monarch. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, a close friend with whom Anne has an intensely personal relationship, begins to exert increasing pressure as she pursues her own designs on power.

Contending with deceit and blackmail, Anne must decide where her allegiances lie, and whether to sacrifice her closest relationships for the sake of the country.

Romola Garai will play Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Romola is best known for appearing in films such as Amazing Grace, Atonement, Vanity Fair, Inside I’m Dancing, Glorious 39 and Suffragette, and in BBC series such as Emma, The Hour and The Crimson Petal and the White. She has been nominated for a BAFTA and twice for a Golden Globe Award.

In addition to her work on screen Romola’s theatre credits include Calico (West End; Evening Standard Theatre Award Outstanding Newcomer nomination), King Lear and The Seagull (RSC), The Village Bike (Royal Court), Three Sisters (Lyric Hammersmith), and Measure for Measure (Young Vic).

Emma Cunniffe will play Queen Anne. On stage, Emma won the UK Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in The Master Builder in 2000. Her other stage work includes Tales from Hollywood (Donmar), Losing Louis (Hampstead/West End), Women Beware Women (RSC), Proof (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Entertainer (Old Vic), Conquest of the South Pole (Arcola), A Doll’s House (The Lowry), Edward II,  Three Sisters, Major Barbara, Twelfth Night (Royal Exchange), Amongst Friends, The Glass Room (Hampstead). She was nominated for a WhatsOnStage Award in 2011 for her role as Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

Emma has numerous TV credits including Unforgotten, Lewis, Midsomer Murders, George Gently, Waterloo Road, Father Brown, Coronation Street, Moving On, Southcliffe, Good Cop, The Other Child, Doctor Who, Poirot, A Place of Execution, The Genius of Mozart, Clocking Off, All The King’s Men, Great Expectations, and The Lakes.

Helen Edmundson’s plays include The Clearing, (Bush Theatre), Mother Teresa is Dead, (Royal Court), Mary Shelley,(Shared Experience at The Tricycle and on tour), and The Heresy of Love (RSC). Her other work includes Coram Boy (National Theatre and on Broadway), a new version of Calderon’s Life is a Dream (Donmar), a musical adaptation of Swallows and Amazons, written with composer Neil Hannon, (Bristol Old Vic, West End and on tour) and Thérèse Raquin (Bath Theatre Royal and on tour). She has written a number of adaptations for Shared Experience Theatre including Anna Karenina and Mill on the Floss, which toured nationally and internationally, and War and Peace, first staged at the National Theatre.

Helen has recently completed screenplays for See Saw Films and Potboiler Productions and her episodes of the Hat Trick television drama The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher were seen on ITV, as well as the film adaptation of An Inspector Calls on BBC television. Helen is currently working on a new play, commissioned by the National Theatre. She has been the recipient of several awards, including the prestigious Windham Campbell Prize for drama 2015, a John Whiting Award for The Clearing, a TMA Award for Anna Karenina and Time Out Awards for Mill on the Floss and Coram Boy. She is an Associate Artist of Bristol Old Vic, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Natalie Abrahami is a former Genesis Fellow and Associate Director at the Young Vic. Her Young Vic credits include Happy Days, After Miss Julie and Ah, Wilderness! and the short films MAYDAY, The Roof and Life’s a Pitch. As former Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre, London, Natalie’s productions include Vanya and The Kreutzer Sonata which later transferred to La MaMa, New York.  Other credits include: Queen Anne (RSC), How the Whale Became and Other Tales (Royal Opera House), The Eleventh Capital (Royal Court), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Headlong) and Pericles (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre). Natalie was also an Associate Artist at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton between 2013 and 2015 and Associate Director at Hull Truck in 2012 where she directed Yerma and Hitchcock Blonde. Natalie won the James Menzies-Kitchin Award for Directors in 2005 for her double-bill of Play and Not I (Battersea Arts Centre).

Jonathan Christie will play Arthur Maynwaring. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and won the National Theatre’s Michael Bryant Verse Speaking Award in his final year. He was also a runner-up in the BBC Carleton Hobbs Radio Competition. His theatre credits include: Queen Anne (RSC), Love for Love (RSC), Twelfth Night (ETT), Pocket Henry V (Propellor), The After Dinner Joke (The Orange Tree), The Conquering Hero (The Orange Tree), The Song of Deborah (The Lowry), Oh To Be In England (Finborough), First Impressions (Margate Theatre Royal), Madness In Valencia (Trafalgar Studios), My Dad’s A Birdman (Sheffield Crucible), Miss Julie (Albany) and Thinking Aloud (ICA). His film credits include: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Captain Webb, The Green Park, Winterlong, whilst his television credits include: The Halcyon (ITV) and Vera Brittain: A Woman In Love and War (BBC).

Michael Fenton-Stevens will play Dr John Radcliffe. His recent stage credits include: Love for Love (RSC), Queen Anne (RSC & London), Yes Prime Minister (Apollo & Gielgud) and Stand (Battersea Arts). His long list of television credits includes the regular characters of ‘Sir Henry’ in Benidorm (ITV) and ‘Mr Griffith’ in My Family (BBC). He has also played roles in The Crown (Netflix), Carnage (BBC), Not Going Out (BBC), Parents (Sky), Josh (BBC), Starlings (Sky), Lead Balloon (BBC), Pete Vs Life (Channel 4), Mrs Biggs (ITV), Outnumbered (BBC), New Tricks (BBC), My Hero (BBC), Ladies of Letters (ITV) and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (BBC). His extensive work in radio includes playing ‘Paul Crawford’ in The Archers (BBC Radio 4) and doing 12 series of Old Harry’s Game (BBC Radio 4).

James Garnon will play Robert Harley. James has performed on stage in Richard III (Almeida), The Winter’s Tale, Pericles, As You Like It, ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore, Dr Scroggy’s War, The Duchess of Malfi, The Tempest, Gabriel, Richard III, Twelfth Night, All’s Well That Ends Well, Anne Boleyn, Macbeth, A New World: The Life of Thomas Paine, The Storm, Romeo and Juliet, Dido Queen of Carthage (Shakespeare’s Globe); Down By The Greenwood Side (Brighton Festival), Much Ado About Nothing (Old Vic), King Lear (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Hamlet (The Factory/Bristol Old Vic) and Here Lies Mary Spindler (RSC/Latitude Festival). He has also appeared in the following films: Testament of Youth, The Real American: Joe McCarthy, Anonymous and The Brussels and his television credits include: The Crown (Netflix), Who Killed the Princes in the Tower (Channel 4), Foyle’s War, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies (ITV) and Syntax Era (BBC 4).

Richard Hope will play Sydney Godolphin. He has performed on stage in Queen Anne (RSC), The History Boys (UK Tour), Orlando (Royal Exchange), King Lear (Almeida), Democracy (Sheffield Theatre and Old Vic), Dirty Dancing (West End), and The Swan, The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other, A Prayer For Owen Meany, War and Peace, Pravda, Hamlet, The Government Inspector, Don Juan, Much Ado About Nothing (all at the National Theatre). Richard is an Associate Member of Complicite and his television work includes Poldark (BBC), Broadchurch (ITV), Unforgotten (ITV), and And Then There Were None (BBC). He has been in the following films: Harbour, Mr Morgan’s Last Love, Antonia and Jane, Bellman and True, Bloody Kids, Breaking Glass, Chromophobia, French Lieutenant’s Woman and The Last Post.

Hywel Morgan will play Prince George. Hywel is from Cardiff and played Nye Bevan in This May Hurt a Bit (Out Of Joint) and Tony Blair in A Walk on Part: The Fall of New Labour (Live Theatre & Soho Theatre). For the RSC he has performed in The Alchemist, Love For Love and Queen Anne. Other theatre credits include: War & Peace, Mill on the Floss (Shared Experience) Blithe Spirit, Dancing at Lughnasa (Watermill), Surviving Spike, Our Man in Havana, (Kenwright) ONA$$I$ (Chichester), Indian Ink (Salisbury Playhouse) and The Importance Of Being Earnest, To Reach the Clouds, Feelgood and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (all at the Nottingham Playhouse). Morgan’s film credits include: Page Eight and W.E whilst his television credits include: Hinterland (BBC), The Tunnel (Sky), Skins (E4) Hollyoaks (Channel 4), Holby City (BBC), Casualty (BBC), Doctors (BBC) EastEnders (BBC) Pobol y Cwm (S4C) and Lee Nelson’s Well Funny People (BBC).

Beth Park will play Abigail Hill. Her theatre credits include: Revolt, She Said, Revolt Again (RSC), Queen Anne (RSC), The Harvest (Bath Theatre Royal/Soho Theatre), Exit The King (Bath Theatre Royal); The Dog, The Night and The Knife (Arcola), The Massacre At Paris (Rose Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest (Stephen Joseph Theatre); Gallathea; The Woman in the Moon (Globe at Glastonbury), Bus Stop (New Vic) and Arcadia (Manchester Library Theatre) whilst her television credits include being in Casualty (BBC).

Carl Prekopp will play Daniel Defoe. His recent theatre work includes performing in Bug (Found111), Love for Love and Queen Anne (both RSC), Peter Pan (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), The Rivals (Arcola Theatre), The Saints (Nuffield Theatre), Dealer’s Choice (Royal and Derngate) and Roots (Donmar Warehouse). His other theatre credits include Love On the Dole (Jagged Fence), Ruffian on the Stair (The Orange Tree Theatre), Richard III (Riverside Studios), Calendar Girls (Chichester/Noel Coward Theatre) and Sexual Perversity in Chicago (Norwich Playhouse). Carl has also appeared in the television series Call The Midwife (BBC), Doctors (BBC) and Lewis (ITV Studios).

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The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and THE KOVNER FOUNDATION.

The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by THE DRUE HEINZ TRUST.

REQUIEM FOR ALEPPO

SADLER’S WELLS

SUNDAY 23 APRIL 2017

“Aleppo is no longer – all that is left is its stories” – Anonymous, Citizen of Aleppo

Requiem for Aleppo, a brand new work created and conceived by composer David Cazalet with choreography by Jason Mabana, will premiere at Sadler’s Wells on Sunday 23 April 2017. The night will be introduced by BBC World Affairs editor John Simpson, and all money raised will go to support the work of charities Syria Relief and Techfugees.

The work will contain 12 dancers from across the world. Cazalet’s original music is a combination of Requiem Mass lyrics set to choral music, linked by Arabic poetry from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, also set to music, and interpolated throughout with the voices of people from Aleppo telling their real-life stories – stories gathered from recent interviews and which have fed into the development of the work.

Techfugees, a social enterprise coordinating the international tech community’s response to the needs of refugees, will live stream the show through its social media channels. Livestreamed screenings of the show will take place in cities where the Aleppo Diaspora has found shelter (screenings are being planned in Cairo, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Berlin,  Paris, Barcelona…Each of these screenings will be used to raise further funds).

Syria Relief is the largest Syria focused charity registered in the UK. With a solid network of committed management and logistics staff on the ground inside Syria , Syria Relief operate in some of the most hard to reach areas of Syria, including besieged areas.

With this level of expertise on the ground, Syria Relief implement  humanitarian projects inside Syria in a number of different sector from education, healthcare, livelihood, protection to food security and sponsoring orphans in the most desperate areas. Syria Relief is directly supporting civilians and displaced communities while providing the tools and training to help them become self-sufficient in their altered circumstances. Since their work started in 2011,they have touched the lives of 2 million people distributing more than 75 million dollars work of aid.

David Cazalet said, “I want Requiem for Aleppo to be a reminder, now and ongoing, of the suffering of a people and what the world has lost. It is an appeal to our common humanity – an expression of grief articulated in movement, song and design. It is a refusal to pay silent witness to a humanitarian crisis”. Requiem for Aleppo is written in memoriam for the lives that have been lost, destroyed, dislocated and displaced, it is a lament for the destruction of a city of great sophistication, history and tolerance whose loss is humanity’s loss.”

The dancers taking part are Arabella Scalisi (Italy), Beno Novac (Slovenia), Elisa Chou (Spain), Hae Haeyeon Lim (South Korea), Ines Pinheiro (Portugal), Jessica Eirado Enes (Italy), Naima Souhair (The Netherlands), Raoul Riva (France), Rob Bridger (UK), Sarina Sitinjak (Canada), Simone Zambelli (Italy) and Wennah Wilkers (The Netherlands)