FELLINI’S OSCAR-WINNING MASTERPIECE LA STRADA COMES TO THE STAGE

Kenny Wax Ltd in association with Cambridge Arts Theatre & Bristol Old Vic present

The Belgrade Theatre Coventry’s Production

FEDERICO FELLINI’s

LA STRADA

Based on the subject and script work by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano and Tullio Pinelli

Directed by Sally Cookson, Composed by Benji Bower

RICHMOND THEATRE TUE 27 FEB – SAT 4 MAR

One of the true masterpieces of modern cinema, Federico Fellini’s 1957 Oscar-winning film, LA STRADA (The Road), will be brought to life on stage in a brand new adaptation directed by Olivier Award nominee Sally Cookson with music composed by Benji Bower. The production will receive its world premiere at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry on 11 February 2017 where it opens for the start of a 16-week national tour, visiting Richmond from Tue 27 Feb – Sat 4 Mar, prior to its London transfer. On 30 May LA STRADA will receive its London premiere at The Other Palace, the newest addition to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Theatre Group, where it will run for 6 weeks until 8 July 2017. Tickets are now on sale.*

Awarded the honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 1993, Italian director Federico Fellini changed the face of film-making forever with his seminal films such as La Strada, La Dolce Vita, 8½, Nights of Cabiria and Satyricon. Marking 60 years since La Strada, starring Anthony Quinn, won the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ Academy award, Fellini’s cinematic masterpiece, hailed as “one of the most influential films ever made” (the American Film Institute), sees its first ever UK stage adaptation.

A soul-searching story filled with beauty, sadness, humour and acute observation, LA STRADA tells the tragic and tender tale of wide-eyed Gelsomina who is sold by her impoverished mother to the brutish strongman Zampano, a travelling sideshow performer. Their journey through the Italian countryside leads them to a ragtag touring circus where they meet Il Matto the free-spirited tightrope walker, who tries to rekindle Gelsomina’s broken spirit.

Director Sally Cookson says:

“Felini’s iconic film has always fascinated me and the thought of using it as a starting point to make a piece of theatre was one I couldn’t resist. A folk-tale like odyssey – this story sees three lost souls travelling ‘the road’ and searching in different ways to find meaning in their lives. Using physical story telling, music and movement, we will be attempting to find a theatricality to re imagine this story of human suffering, longing and redemption.”

Featuring live music and original songs, LA STRADA brings together a multi-skilled cast of performers and musicians. Audrey Brisson (Cirque de Soleil’s Quidam, Kneehigh’s The Cast of the Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Dead Dog in a Suitcase, The Wild Bride and National Theatre’s The Elephantom) plays Gelsomina, Stuart Goodwin (Sally Cookson’s Sleeping Beauty; Kneehigh’s Tristan & Yseult) plays Zampano and Bart Soroczynski (Cirque de Loin’s The Fool & The Princess; ENO’s Benvenuto Cellini; RSC’s The Merry Wives of Windsor) plays Il Matto. The ensemble cast includes:

Matt Costain, Fabrizio Matteini, Sofie Lybäck, Niv Petel, Niccolo Curradi, Tatiana Santini, Luke Potter and Tee Jay Holmes. Further casting to be announced.

LA STRADA is directed by Sally Cookson, with musical direction and music by Benji Bower, ‘writer in the room’ Mike Akers, set and costume design by Katie Sykes, lighting design by Aideen Malone and sound design by Mike Beer.

Director Sally Cookson is an associate artist of Bristol Old Vic. Together with long-time creative collaborator, composer and musical director Benji Bower, their many productions include: Jane Eyre (Bristol Old Vic and National Theatre), the Olivier Award nominated Hetty Feather (West End, National Tour & Florida USA), Peter Pan (National Theatre), Treasure Island (Bristol Old Vic), and the Olivier Award nominated Cinderella: A Fairytale (Tobacco Factory Theatre), Varmints (Sadler’s Wells).

Multi Olivier award-winning producer Kenny Wax says:

“I have been trying to mount a stage production of LA STRADA for many years. When Sally Cookson told me it was her favourite film, the stars seemed to align more perfectly than I could have ever dreamed. And that is only half the back story.”

FIRST MAJOR REVIVAL

CELEBRATING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF Willy Russell’s

SHIRLEY VALENTINE

Starring Jodie Prenger

Directed by Glen Walford

At Richmond Theatre 20-25 March

Willy Russell’s heart-warming comedy Shirley Valentine premiered in 1986 and took the world by storm. In celebration of its 30th Anniversary the first major revival of this national treasure will embark on a UK tour in 2017. Opening on Thursday 2 March in Bromley, Shirley Valentine will star much-loved actress Jodie Prenger as Shirley.

With a career spanning over four decades Willy Russell is undeniably one of the most successful playwrights of his generation. His plays, including Educating Rita, Blood Brothers, Our Day Out and Shirley Valentine, have been performed across the globe and have won countless awards, they continue to be in constant production throughout the world. Shirley Valentine was adapted into an Oscar nominated film starring Pauline Collins and Tom Conti.

Of the revival Willy Russell says; “It’s now thirty years since Shirley Valentine first walked onto the page, into my life and the lives of so many others. Shirley cooked her first meal of egg and chips on the stage of the Everyman Theatre Liverpool before then hoofing it down to London where along with the cooking and talking to the wall she started picking up the string of awards she’d win in the West End, on Broadway and in the film that earned both BAFTAs and Academy Award Nominations. Since those early days Shirley has had an incredibly rich and varied life, appearing in many tongues across the globe in countless productions and being performed by many great actresses. The one thing Shirley Valentine has not done of late is extensively tour the UK. There have been approaches and plans mooted but, somehow, it’s just never quite felt right and so I’ve resisted such efforts – until now! And what has made the difference? When producer Adam Spiegel introduced me to Jodie Prenger I knew in an instant that here was a formidable actress, one who possessed the grit and the warmth, the drive and the vulnerability, the energy and the heart to make Shirley Valentine really live again. How could any playwright resist that or deny the whole of the UK the chance to see Jodie bring Shirley to life?”

Jodie Prenger is perhaps best known for winning the role of Nancy in the West End production of Oliver! through the BBC television series I’d Do Anything. Most recently, Jodie toured the UK in the classic musical Tell Me On A Sunday. She also played the title role in the national tour of the musical Calamity Jane and has starred in One Man, Two Guvnors both in the West End and on tour and as Lady of the Lake in Spamalot. Jodie is also a regular presenter on BBC Radio 2.

Shirley is a Liverpool housewife. Her kids have left home and she makes chips and egg for her husband while talking to the wall. Where has her life disappeared to? Out of the blue, her best friend offers her a trip to Greece for 2 weeks and she secretly packs her bags. She heads for the sun and starts to see the world and herself very differently.

Glen Walford, director of the original production, will direct this major revival. Shirley Valentine is produced by Adam Spiegel Productions (Motown, The Last Tango, The Producers, Dance ‘Til Dawn, Midnight Tango, Love Me Tender, The Mousetrap on Tour).

Bread & Roses Theatre 7 – 11 February.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Natalie Audley’s new play is a little gem. Family dynamics are always rich pickings for writers, and Audley has created a credible love-hate relationship that will strike a chord with the audience.

The two very different sisters come together the night before Abbie’s wedding. Big sister Juliet thinks Abbie is making a mistake marrying the sexist, downright unpleasant Luke, and so the verbal sparring begins. Insults, judgements and recriminations are thrown back and forth with perfect timing, full of witty zingers that reveal the strong loving bond between the sisters. Their responses when they each think they’ve made the other cry are sweet and laugh out loud funny, but the comedy never becomes cartoonish – the dialogue and situations are all extremely credible.

Juliet is a proud non-conformist, conforming EXACTLY to the stereotypical image that conjures. Her own relationship is on the rocks, and she hides behind pronouncements about her moral principles when Abbie questions her. Meanwhile Abbie has always dreamed of a beautiful wedding, is obviously just settling for Luke and a comfortable life, and still has feelings for ex-girlfriend Erin.

Emily Amber is a wonderfully strong and spiky Juliet, and Charlie Lees-Massey’s Abbie is a delight – veering from blind panic to calm self-delusion with consummate ease. Their onstage chemistry is fantastic, bringing a true feeling of sisterhood.

During the short running time the sisters brutally and brilliantly psychoanalyse each other, and it becomes clear that all they want is to fix each other’s lives. Audley’s script is tight and smart, and the ending will make you want to cheer, and hope for a sequel – perhaps based around a homebirth? Please?

Production images released for Opera North’s deliciously dark fairy tales

At The Lowry Wed 8 – Sat 11 March

Production images have been released for two of Opera North‘s brand new productions: Humperdinck’s much-loved Hansel and Gretel, at The Lowry on Wednesday 8 and Saturday 11 March, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s rarely-performed The Snow Maiden, at The Lowry on Friday 10 March.

Hansel and Gretel is perhaps the best-loved of all the operatic fairy tales but there’s a dark twist to this story of two children lost in the woods. The music magically evokes the contrasting worlds of the story, from the daily struggle for survival of an impoverished family, to the world of the forest, both idyllic and full of danger; home to the terrifying Witch and her tempting gingerbread house.

In director Edward Dick’s new production, the action on stage includes hand-held cameras and live video; set against this modern technology is Humperdinck’s charming and melodic music, including the dizzying excitement of the ‘Witch’s Ride’ and the serene beauty of the children’s ‘Evening Prayer’. This production features one of Britain’s leading dramatic sopranos, Susan Bullock CBE, in the dual role of the Witch and the children’s mother, alongside Katie Bray as Hansel and Fflur Wyn as Gretel.

The charming Russian folk story The Snow Maiden tells the tale of the daughter of Grandfather Frost and Spring Beauty, the young Snow Maiden, sung by Irish soprano Aoife Miskelly. She wants nothing more than to live amongst humans, after meeting a shepherd boy, Lel (Heather Lowe) but she hides a tragic secret: her heart is made of ice and, if she falls in love, it will melt.
 
Director John Fulljames has reworked The Snow Maiden’s classic storyline in a contemporary setting, blending the boundaries between reality and fantasy. The opera, a Russian favourite, which is being professionally staged for the first time in over 60 years in the UK, features some of Rimsky-Korsakov’s most lyrical music, including the ‘Chorus of the Birds’, and the ‘Dance of the Clowns’.

The third opera in the fairy tale season strikes a romantic note with Rossini’s sparkling comedy Cinderella (La Cenerentola). Dance is woven into the very fabric of the music, and this contemporary new production opens with Cinderella scrubbing the floor of a ballroom dance school. In Rossini’s work, it is music rather than magic that transforms Cinderella into a princess and enables her to deftly outwit her step-father Don Magnifico (Henry Waddington) and two cruel step-sisters.
 
This fresh, witty take on the Cinderella story is directed by multi-talented director and choreographer Aletta Collins, with two young international stars taking the lead roles. Canadian mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta is Cinderella, and fast-rising South African tenor Sunnyboy Dladla is her prince, Don Ramiro.

Production images are yet to be released for Cinderella. 
 
The three fairy-tale productions will share basic elements of a highly adaptable set, designed by Giles Cadle, with the inventive use of video bringing the themes of transformation and magic to the forefront. From live video captured on-stage in real time in Hansel and Gretel, folk-influenced dreamscapes in The Snow Maiden, or a riot of colour and invention in Cinderella, the use of video will enable each of the fairytales to further blur the lines between reality and fantasy.

Listings Info
Opera North
Hansel and Gretel, Wed 8 & Sat 11 March
Cinderella (La Cenerentola), Thu 9 & Sat 11 March (Matinee)
The Snow Maiden, Fri 10 March 
7pm, Sat 2pm
Tickets: £20 – £60.50 (Including booking fees)
Box office: 0843 208 6000 

Full Cast announced for new production of Patrick Marber’s play The Red Lion at Live Theatre, Newcastle

Thursday 6 April to Saturday 6 May 2017

A Live Theatre Production
The Red Lion

Written by Patrick Marber
Directed by Max Roberts

Designed by Patrick Connellan
Starring Stephen Tompkinson, John Bowler and Dean Bone

Live Theatre’s new production of The Red Lion written by Patrick Marber, which runs at the Newcastle quayside based theatre from Thursday 6 April to Saturday 6 May 2017, has now been fully cast.

Stephen Tompkinson, well known for his TV appearances as DCI Banks, and who previously appeared at Live Theatre as the lead in Faith & Cold Reading, is re-united with Harrigan co-star John Bowler. John started his TV career in the film Ha’way the Lads playing Sunderland footballer Jimmy Seed. He then went on to feature in Auf Wiedersehen Pet and has since starred in The Bill, EastEnders and Coronation Street. John, who grew up in Newcastle, will be making his first appearance at Live Theatre. They will be joined by up and coming actor Dean Bone cast as the young football player, Jordan. Dean, originally from Gateshead, has had lead roles in Live Theatre’s recent productions The Savage and The Terminal Velocity of Snowflakes having started in Live’s Youth Theatre.

Stephen Tompkinson, actor, said:

“Performing at Live Theatre in Shaun Prendergast’s Faith & Cold Reading, was one of the best experiences in my career. I am delighted to be back at Live Theatre, in Patrick Marber’s brilliant play The Red Lion.”

John Bowler, actor, said:

“I was attracted to the part of Yates by Max Roberts, Steven Tompkinson, Patrick Marber and football – not necessarily in that order!  I have always been a fan of Live Theatre and the work Max has created over the years so to be invited to work with him opposite the wonderful Stephen Tompkinson in this brilliant play by Patrick Marber proved irresistible!”

Dean Bone added:

“It’s always an absolute privilege to work at Live Theatre. I cannot wait to get started on a project about football, something I feel passionately about. And working with two excellent, experienced professional actors such as Stephen Tompkinson and John Bowler is something any young actor would jump at the chance at!”

Max Roberts, Artistic Director, Live Theatre said:

“I am delighted to be working with Patrick Marber, directing his play The Red Lion. I am also pleased to welcome back Stephen Tompkinson to Live Theatre’s stage, and to have cast alongside him well-established actor John Bowler who will be making his first appearance here, and rising talent Dean Bone who has starred in two recent Live Theatre productions having started here in Live’s Youth Theatre.”

The Red Lion had its critically acclaimed first run at the National Theatre in 2015

Patrick Marber, writer of The Red Lion said:

“I am thrilled to be making my Live Theatre debut. It’s been a great and exciting opportunity to revise the play with Max Roberts at the helm. I’m greatly looking forward to seeing this version of the play in Newcastle.”

Set in the ultra-competitive twilight world of semi-professional football, The Red Lion is a powerful, funny and touching drama that reaches beyond the beautiful game, exploring contrasting ideas about loyalty, ambition and what it takes to win, from three different generations.  If you thought that badge-kissing mercenaries, wide-boy agents and dodgy deals were confined to the Premier League, think again.

‘Marber’s dressing room drama is a remarkable three-hander about a sport he clearly knows intimately’ ★★★★ The Guardian

‘a triumph’ The Telegraph

Patrick Marber will take part in a free Meet the Writer talk after the 2pm performance on Saturday 8 April, in which he will discuss the writing of the play and adapting it for Newcastle, along with Live Theatre’s Artistic Director, Max Roberts. Free, booking essential.

Live Theatre is fully accessible and offers a range of additional assisted interpretation at specific performances of The Red Lion aimed at improving the theatre experience for all audience members. These include British Sign Language Interpretation at the performance on Wednesday 26 April, 7.30pm, Captioning on Thursday 27 April, 7.30pm and Audio Description on Saturday 6 May, 2pm.  A Free Touch Tour on Saturday 6 May, 1pm is a ‘hands on’ tour of the set describing props, costumes, characters and the visual style of the show ahead of the performance with additional audio description especially for visitors with visual impairments.

The 2pm matinee on Thursday 27 April is designated as a Relaxed Performance which allows a more laid back approach to noise or movement from the audience, with audience members being able to leave and come back in again and don’t have to be quiet. This is suitable for young people with special educational needs, or anyone who many benefit from a more relaxed environment.  These services are offered at no extra cost for service users. Performances with extra interpretation should not affect the performance for other audience members, although Relaxed performances may have more noise and movement from other audience members.

The Red Lion is suitable for ages 16+ and is at Live Theatre, Newcastle from Thursday 6 April to Saturday 6 May 2017. Tickets for The Red Lion cost between £10 and £26 with concessions from £6. For more information or to book tickets visit www.live.org.uk or contact Live Theatre’s box office on (0191) 232 1232.

Sonia Friedman Productions, Neal Street Productions

& Royal Court Theatre Productions present

The Ferryman

By Jez Butterworth

Directed by Sam Mendes

• Jez Butterworth’s new play, directed by Sam Mendes, to transfer to the Gielgud Theatre from the Royal Court for 16 weeks from 20 June.

• Paddy Considine is confirmed to play the part of Quinn Carney within a cast of 23 and he will be joined by Laura Donnelly in the role of Caitlin Carney and Genevieve O’Reilly in the role of Mary Carney.

• The Ferryman is the fastest selling play in the history of the Royal Court Theatre.

• Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday 10 February at 9am.

• Over 20,000 tickets for the West End run will be on sale at less than £25, with tickets at all performances from just £12. All tickets for previews will be at reduced prices.

After the short run at the Royal Court Theatre sold out in just one day, the producers are delighted to announce that Jez Butterworth’s epic, new play The Ferryman will transfer to the West End. Multi award-winning actor, director and writer Paddy Considine will be joined by Laura Donnelly and Genevieve O’Reilly in the production directed by Sam Mendes. The cast will also include Bríd Brennan, Turlough Convery, Fra Fee, Tom Glynn-Carney, Stuart Graham, Gerard Horan, Carla Langley, Des McAleer, Conor MacNeill, Rob Malone, Dearbhla Molloy, Eugene O’Hare and Niall Wright with further casting to be announced. The full company comprises 38 performers: 18 main adults, 7 covers, 12 children on rota and 1 baby.

Rural Derry, 1981. The Carney farmhouse is a hive of activity with preparations for the annual harvest.  A day of hard work on the land and a traditional night of feasting and celebrations lie ahead. But this year they will be interrupted by a visitor.

The Ferryman will run at the Gielgud Theatre for 16 weeks from 20 June – 7 October with an opening night on 29 June. Tickets go on sale to priority bookers on Wednesday 8 February and the Box Office opens for general on-sale on Friday 10 February at 9am.

Developed by Sonia Friedman Productions, the premiere of The Ferryman is co-produced with Neal Street Productions and Royal Court Theatre Productions.  The West End production will follow the run at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs which begins 24 April 2017, with an opening night on 3 May.  Jez Butterworth, whose plays include Jerusalem, Mojo and The River, previously collaborated with Sam Mendes on the scripts for Spectre and Skyfall from the Bond franchise. The Ferryman will be the sixth of Butterworth’s plays to be premiered at the Royal Court Theatre and marks his fourth collaboration with Sonia Friedman Productions.

Sonia Friedman, on behalf of Sonia Friedman Productions, Neal Street Productions and Royal Court Theatre Productions said: “We are delighted that we have made it possible to transfer Jez Butterworth’s new play The Ferryman, which will move to the Gielgud Theatre almost immediately after its run at the Royal Court Theatre finishes. 

When it first went on sale at the Court, it sold out in record time. It became clear to us even then that there was a far larger demand to see the play than the Court run could ever accommodate. We have therefore worked at speed to find the production another home as quickly as possible, which is no mean feat, and we are very grateful to the company for helping us make this happen. 

It is thrilling to know that wider audiences will now have a chance to see this extraordinary new work from one of our most important writers. The scope, scale and ambition of Jez’s new play deserves this opportunity and I am delighted that together with Royal Court Theatre Productions and Neal Street Productions we are in the privileged position to make it happen.”

The Ferryman is directed by Sam Mendes, designed by Rob Howell, with lighting by Peter Mumford, and music and sound by Nick Powell.

GREAT STAND-UP COMEDY AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE

***Sean Lock** Count Arthur Strong***Joel Dommett***Jon Richardson***

Not content with bringing the West End to West Yorkshire, hosting World Premieres (Fat Friends The Musical, Casanova), welcoming award-winning drama (National Theatre Productions) and being on the map brand new UK tours (Nativity! The Musical) Leeds Grand Theatre is set to welcome some great comedy to its stage this year in the coming months.

8 Out Of 10 Cats team captain Sean Lock returns to the Grand next month with his show Keep It Light.

Sean’s stand-up is a blend of a finely-tuned hyperactive imagination, surreal imagery and insightful observations on the human condition.

Over the last twenty years Sean has toured extensively with shows including: Lockipedia and Purple Van Man and has regularly been on TV; his cult classic BBC2 sitcom 15 Storeys High was critically adored.

Sean Lock is at The Grand Theatre on Sunday 26^th and Monday 27^th March. Tickets are £27.

Count Arthur Strong is a much-loved character created by Steve Delaney, who coincidentally worked at Leeds Grand Theatre as a stage hand back in the 70s.  The Grand look forward to welcoming him back some 40 years on with his show The Sound of Mucus.

Count Arthur Strong is at The Grand on Sunday 9^th April. Tickets are £22 – £27.50.

Not a month later and I’m A Celebrity’s runner-up 2016 brings his solo show to Leeds:  Joel Dommett: LIVE

Joel has received great critical acclaim for his Edinburgh Fringe shows from where he went on to appear in numerous television shows including Impractical Jokers (BBC3), Reality Bites (ITV2), Russell Howard’s Good News (BBC), Drunk History (Comedy Central), Popatron (BBC2) and Skins (E4) but it is last year’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here that brought him to the fore for many.

Catch Joel Dommett at The Grand on Sunday April 30^th. Tickets are £22.

Hot on Joel’s heels is the other 8 Out Of 10 Cats team captain Jon Richardson with his hotly-anticipated new stand-up tour The Old Man.

An avid supporter of Leeds United, Leeds looks forward to welcoming him back.

Jon Richardson is at The Grand On Sunday 14^th May. Tickets are £24.50.

All tickets are on sale now and are available online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or by calling Box Office on 0844 848 2700

Swipe Right Theatre and the King’s Head Theatre present:

• NEWSIES, THE TONY® AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY MUSICAL WILL PLAY CINEMAS ON 19 FEBRUARY IN THE UK, GERMANY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
• PRODUCED BY DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS AND DISTRIBUTED BY ARTS ALLIANCE DISTRIBUTION LTD, NEWSIES WILL BE RELEASED IN THE US ON 16 FEBRUARY AND IN OTHER COUNTRIES ON OR AFTER 22 FEBRUARY
• BASED ON THE 1992 FILM, NEWSIES BECAME DISNEY’S SINGLE MOST REQUESTED TITLE TO BE ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE

Audiences will be able to experience the Tony® Award-winning musical NEWSIES in cinemas for the first time when it makes its cinema debut on Sunday 19 February 2017 in the UK, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand following the US on 16 February and cinemas in certain other countries on or after 22 February. Disney Theatrical Productions is the international distributor alongside Arts Alliance Distribution, Ltd.

Based on the 1992 film and produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, NEWSIES, the Broadway Musical, features a Tony® Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award® winner Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin) and lyrics by Jack Feldman, Tony Award-winning choreography by Christopher Gattelli, and book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein (Kinky Boots). The fan-following for NEWSIES became a phenomenon over the years since its release on home video, becoming Disney’s single most requested title to be adapted for the stage.

Inspired by the real-life ‘Newsboy Strike of 1899,’ NEWSIES is set in New York City at the turn of the century and tells the tale of newsboy Jack Kelly, a charismatic and rebellious leader of a group of “newsies” who dreams of a life far from the hardship of the streets. When publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack rallies his army of newsies to strike.

Jeremy Jordan (Supergirl, The Last 5 Years) will be reprising his Tony Award-nominated performance as “Jack Kelly”.  NEWSIES played on Broadway from March 2012 – August 2014 and toured the US from October 2014 – October 2016.