Tristan Bates Theatre 17 January – 11 February.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Set in a shabby London theatre during the second world war, The Doppel Gang is a charming and atmospheric play. After most of the acts on his bill walk out, theatre manager Lombard struggles on, with double act Doppler and Burke and unconvincing male impersonator Rachel struggling to entertain the dwindling audience. When they happen upon Marx Brothers material, the gang decide to put on a Marx Brothers show, split the money and run.

The set (built by the cast!) is almost another character, with a moveable proscenium arch, doorway and assorted props being wheeled around the creaky wooden floor to shift the audience’s perspective from backstage to auditorium, and the sympathetic lighting creating a sepia toned atmosphere. The set changes could have become tedious, but the jaunty music and movement of the cast as they reposition objects fits right in with the tone of the play. My only gripe is that some of Cyril’s lines get lost when he is performing and we are watching from “backstage”, but that might be my old ears not coping with such speedy delivery.

The first act feels a little like Dad’s Army meets The Producers, with Spivvy Lombard struggling with debts, repairs and having to compere the show – brilliantly inept lines that make you cringe. There’s a taste of the dreadful music hall acts as we get to know snippets about the conscription-dodging and debt-ridden men. The sense of transition, in theatre and world events, is explored with bittersweet whimsy. Director Terence Mann keeps the pace leisurely, trusting writer Dominic Hedges’ fine script and the fantastic cast to draw the audience into this world. The contrast with the second act – mostly taken up by the performance of their Marx Brothers act – works effortlessly, with madcap energy taking over the stage as the cast revel in rapid fire lines and slapstick comedy, interspersed with quieter backstage moments developing the personal stories of the characters.

Jordan Moore is amazing as Cyril/Groucho – capturing the rhythms and presence of Groucho without going over the top. Peter Stone’s Harpo is adorable, Rachel Hartley is wonderful as the strong but loving Rachel, keeping the character sympathetic when it could have got a bit shrew-like. Jake Urry is hysterical as Lombard, and a revelation as Chico. This is truly an ensemble piece, and the cast bounce off each other with an infectious energy and feel for the period.

The Doppel Gang is a wonderful play, unashamedly nostalgic and very, very funny. Well worth a look.

Brockley Jack Studio Theatre 17 January – 4 February.  Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Holding The Man is a beautiful and heart-breaking love story about the relationship between Timothy Conigrave and John Caleo. Based on Conigrave’s book, written for Caleo after his death, Tommy Murphy’s play manages to put the audience through the emotional wringer without losing the uniquely Australian humour.

Tim takes us through his memories of John, from their first sweet flirtation in geography class, university and life together until John’s death. We see their families’ reactions to their relationship, their tentative first steps into gay nightlife, and the effects of HIV. Theatrical Tim – who eventually gets into NIDA (resulting in a brilliant mickey take of drama classes) obviously loves John, but is constantly searching for excitement and new experiences. His sexual adventures are handled uncompromisingly, with Tim narrating each scene with an unapologetic but self-aware matter-of-factness. There are times when you want to scream at John to dump this idiot, but then the next memory portrayed demonstrates the love between the two men and all is forgiven. Christopher Hunter as Tim and Paul-Emile Forman as John are just gorgeous. Forman exudes so much strength through little smiles and looks, and dominates the stage, even when standing silently, while Hunter manages to keep Tim frustratingly likeable, even when he is being a total arse, and his grief and guilt is devastatingly believable in the latter part of the play.

Maria Jane Lynch, Dickon Farmar, Emma Zadow and Sam Goodchild play the characters from Tim’s memories, using minimal costume changes (apart from the club scene – fab-u-lous) and props to great effect. Goodchild’s turn as Juliet’s mother had the audience in stitches before he’d even opened his mouth. The ensemble provides a colourful and engaging world for the story to develop.

The second act, with AIDS related illnesses and John’s eventual death, is necessarily slower paced and darker, but there are still many moments of absurd and gallows humour. The unflinching reality of their illness is constantly present, with medical statistics and diagnoses being thrown at Tim by doctors, but this never strays into preachy or docudrama territory.

Holding The Man is a fantastic piece of theatre, director Sebastian Palka has created a sympathetic and stunning representation of Tim’s memories, and the stellar cast bring a lump to your throat and tears to your eyes. Go and see it. Take tissues.

LUCY PARHAM PRESENTS

RÊVERIE: THE LIFE AND LOVES OF CLAUDE DEBUSSY

SCRIPTED BY LUCY PARHAM AT RICHMOND THEATRE

FRIDAY 17 FEBRUARY

 

Lucy Parham and Simon Russel Beale will take to the stage at Richmond Theatre for one night only onFebruary 17 to perform Rêverie: The Life and Loves of Claude Debussy scripted by Parham. Reverie evokes Debussy’s complex emotional life through a personal and revealing journal, illustrated by a sequence of his most famous and atmospheric solo piano works.  Simon Russell Beale, described as ‘the greatest stage actor of his generation’ by The Independent, will narrate, as one of Britain’s finest pianists and former BBC Young Musician of the Year winner, Lucy Parham is the solo pianist.

Join us for an exclusive on stage Q&A with Lucy Parham and Simon Russell Beale following the performance.

Celebrated actors who have collaborated with Lucy Parham in composer portraits include Juliet Stevenson, Harriet Walter, Simon Russell Beale, Simon Callow, Jane Asher, Jeremy Irons, Roger Allam, Henry Goodman, Dominic West, Alistair McGowan,  Patricia Hodge, Niamh Cusack, Rosamund Pike,  Tim McInnerny, Edward Fox, Robert Glenister, Greg Wise, Samuel West, Alex Jennings, Martin Jarvis, Timothy West, Charles Dance and Miranda Richardson.

“Lucy Parham’s trailblazing evening concerts in which she fuses music and words with the help of some of our most distinguished thespians, have become one of the must-see events on the musical calendar.” – 5 stars from BBC Music Magazine.

 

Lucy Parham has performed throughout the UK and Europe, South Africa, USA, Canada and Russia. As a concerto soloist with leading orchestras, she has appeared in the UK with the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, RTE, Ulster, BBC Concert, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, City of London Sinfonia, Hallé and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and abroad with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra at the Tchaikovsky Hall and Great Hall in Moscow, Bergen Philharmonic, L’Orchestre National de Lille, L’Orchestre Rencontres Suisse, and on three tours with the Sofia Philharmonic and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2002 she joined the BBC Concert Orchestra and conductor Barry Wordsworth on a six-week 50th Anniversary tour of the USA and she has toured the UK, Mexico and Turkey with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with whom she has now given over sixty concerts. Parhams composer portrait shows include Beloved Clara, Liszt – An Odyssey of Love, Nocturne – The Romantic Life of Frédéric Chopin, Rêverie – the life and loves of Claude Debussy and Elegie – Rachmaninoff A Heart in Exile.

Simon Russell Beale is an English actor, author and music historian. Beale has been described by The Independent as “the greatest stage actor of his generation.” Beale first came to the attention of theatre-goers in the late 1980s with a series of lauded comic performances, that were on occasion extremely camp, in such plays as The Man of Mode by George Etherege and Restoration by Edward Bond at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). He broadened his range in the early 1990s with moving performances as Konstantin in Chekhov’s The Seagull, as Oswald in Ibsen’s Ghosts, Ferdinand in The Duchess of Malfi and as Edgar in King Lear. At the first annual Ian Charleson Awards in January 1991, he received a special commendation for his 1990 performances of Konstantin in The Seagull, Thersites in Troilus and Cressida, and Edward II in Edward II, all at the RSC. He has appeared in Persuasion, The Young Visiters, Dunkirk, The Deep Blue Sea and as Falstaff in the BBC made-for-television films Henry IV, Part I and Part II. He was part of the main cast of Showtime’s Penny Dreadful.

Richmond Theatre is one of the most beautiful of all the Frank Matcham theatres. Built in 1899 as the Theatre Royal and Opera House and refurbished in 1991, it is now operated and managed by The Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd, renowned for its productions and highly successful management and ownership of theatre venues throughout the country. Established as one of the most successful theatres in the country, presenting a wide range of quality drama, record breaking musicals, opera, dance and family entertainment each year, Richmond Theatre welcomes a quarter of a million theatregoers to over 40 outstanding productions annually, performing for about 49 weeks in each year. We also attract up to 400 young people to education events, workshops and summer school activities each year. Tours of our historic building, the auditorium and stage area are available to the general public (and offered free of charge to Friends and Members). Richmond Theatre acts as a venue for local arts organisations and charities to meet, perform and enjoy the theatre.

Richmond Theatre

Listings

Little Green, Richmond TW9 1QJ

Friday 17 Feb 2017 at 7.30pm

Tickets: £24.90 – £34.90*

In person at the Box Office:  £22.00 – £32.00*

Online: ATGTICKETS.COM/Richmond*                    Box Office: 08448717651*

*Fees apply. Calls cost up to 7p per min, plus your phone company’s access charge.

Starring Debbie Chazen (Topsy-Turvy, Smoking Room, Psychoville), Sophie-Louise Dann (Bend It Like Beckham, Made in Dagenham, Lend me a Tenor in the West End), Michele Dotrice (Nell Gwynn, The Importance of Being Earnest and When We Are Married in the West End and BBC1’s Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em), Claire Machin (My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Betty Blue Eyes and Memphis), Claire Moore (Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and London Road) and Olivier Award-winner Joanna Riding (Carousel, My Fair Lady).

THE GIRLS is based on the inspiring true story about a group of ladies who decide to appear nude for a Women’s Institute calendar in order to raise funds to buy a settee for their local hospital, in memory of one of their husbands – they have to date raised almost £5million for Bloodwise. Directed by Tim Firth, with musical staging by Lizzi Gee, comedy staging by Jos Houben, design by Robert Jones, lighting design by Tim Lutkin, sound design by Terry Jardine and Nick Lidster and musical direction and orchestrations by Richard Beadle, the musical comedy shows life in their Yorkshire village, how it happened, the effect on husbands, sons and daughters, and how a group of ordinary ladies achieved something extraordinary.

THE GIRLS is produced by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers and The Shubert Organization.

SPECTACULAR TOURING PRODUCTION OF WICKED

WILL FLY BACK TO TEN UK & IRELAND CITIES FROM FEBRUARY 2018

ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION IS CURRENTLY PLAYING IN HONG KONG

WICKED, the West End and Broadway musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, is delighted to confirm that its spectacular, multi record-breaking and critically acclaimed touring production will return to the UK & Ireland in 2018, revisiting the following ten cities:

 

BRISTOL Hippodrome, Tuesday 5 February – Saturday 3 March 2018

Tickets on sale Wednesday 1 February 2017 at 10am (Theatre Card holders 25 January, Groups 10+ 30 January 2017)

LIVERPOOL Empire, Wednesday 7 – Saturday 31 March 2018

Tickets on sale Wednesday 1 February 2017 at 10am (Theatre Card holders 25 January, Groups 10+ 30 January 2017)

BIRMINGHAM Hippodrome, Wednesday 4 – Sunday 29 April 2018

Tickets on sale Tuesday 21 March (Friends 7 March, Groups 10+ 14 March 2017)

EDINBURGH Playhouse, Tuesday 8 May – Saturday 9 June 2018

Tickets on sale Wednesday 8 February at 10am (Groups 10+ 6 February 2017)

LEEDS Grand Theatre, Wednesday 13 June – Saturday 7 July 2018

Tickets on sale Friday 3 February (Friends 27 January, Groups 10+ 30 January 2017)

DUBLIN Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Tuesday 17 July – Sunday 26 August 2018

Tickets on sale Friday 30 June at 10am

SUNDERLAND Empire, Tuesday 4 – Saturday 29 September 2018

Tickets on sale Wednesday 1 February 2017 at 10am (Theatre Card holders 25 January, Groups 10+ 30 January 2017)

SOUTHAMPTON Mayflower Theatre, Wednesday 3 – Saturday 27 October 2018

Tickets on sale September 2017

CARDIFF Wales Millennium Centre, Wednesday 31 October – Saturday 24 November 2018

Tickets on sale Monday 27 March (Promise members 27 February, Groups 10+ 20 March 2017)

MANCHESTER Palace Theatre, Tuesday 4 December 2018 – Saturday 5 January 2019

Tickets on sale Wednesday 1 February 2017 at 10am (Theatre Card holders 25 January, Groups 10+ 30 January 2017)

 

Discover more and sign up for priority information at www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk

 

 

Acclaimed as “one of the greatest musicals of our time” (Daily Mail), “a wicked and wonderful vision of Oz” (London Evening Standard) and “one of the West End’s true modern classics” (Metro), WICKED is already the 17^th longest running show in London theatre history and recently celebrated a decade of performances at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it continues an open-ended run. Around the world, WICKED has now been seen by over 50 million people in 15 countries, and won over 100 major awards (including 3 Tony Awards and 6 Drama Desk Awards on Broadway; 2 Olivier Audience Awards, 9 WhatsOnStage Awards and an Evening Standard Theatre Award in London; 6 Helpmann Awards in Australia and a Grammy Award).

 

WICKED played a fifteen-city tour of the UK & Ireland from September 2013 – July 2015, winning five-star rave reviews at every venue. The production, acclaimed by the Northern Echo as “the ultimate Broadway experience for theatre audiences all over the UK”, resumed touring in July 2016, playing a sold out engagement at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford and is currently playing in Hong Kong and opens at The Theatre at Solaire in Manila on 2 February. Prior to returning to the UK & Ireland, WICKED will also play engagements in Shanghai and Beijing.

 

Based on the acclaimed, best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire that ingeniously re-imagines the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, Wicked tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

 

“Prepare to be spellbound by spectacular costumes, thrilling technical wizardry

and a phenomenal score, all wrapped up in a topical tale.”

Metro

 

WICKED has music and lyrics by multi Grammy and Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz(Godspell and Disney’s Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enchanted) and is based on the novel ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire and adapted for the stage by Winnie Holzman. Musical staging is by Tony Award-winner Wayne Cilentoand the production is directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello.

 

WICKED is produced around the world by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone. Executive Producer (UK/International Tour) Michael McCabe.

 

Official website: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk

 

Twitter: @WickedUK  |  Facebook: /WickedUK  |  Instagram: @WickedUK

4000 horses pull Cinders magical coach to Salford this winter

Birmingham Royal Ballet present Cinderella
At The Lowry Tue 1 – Sat 4 March 2017

A fleet of articulated lorries, harnessing the equivalent power of 4000 horses, is set to roll out of Birmingham this month as Birmingham Royal Ballet heads to Salford with its UK tour of Cinderella on a scale comparable to any major rock band’s road trip. The ballet will be at The Lowry from Tue 1 – Sat 4 March.

Broadcast by the BBC as the 2010 Christmas Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s version of Cinderella won the Best Classical Choreography at the prestigious 2011 Critic’s Circle National Dance Awards for David Bintley’s elegant choreographic work.

From its base in the heart of the city, Birmingham Royal Ballet takes its spectacular version of Cinderella around the country on a logistical scale comparable to any major rock tour.

Ten articulated lorries packed with scenery flats, props, lighting rigs, rails of costumes, flight cases of wigs and all the materials necessary to stage this beautiful ballet pound the motorways of Britain.

At each venue the production must adapt its sets to work perfectly on a new and different sized stages and dancers must perform in up to a third less space, taxing the ingenuity and skill of over 50 backstage staff and nearly 40 dancers nightly and, at each venue, the production features the Royal Ballet Sinfonia bringing Prokofiev’s spiky, lush and romantic score to life.

The precision is military, the result magical.

The production requires between two and three days for each build or ‘get in’ and following the final night of the ballet the technical crew work straight on through the night to break down and load up before leaving for the next venue on the tour.

• 10 articulated lorry trailers in total
• 5 scenery trucks
• 1 flooring truck
• 3 lighting trucks
• 1 costume truck
• 31 rails of costumes
• 8 baskets of shoes
• 78 wigs
• 250 hair rollers
• 1000 hair pins
• 174 complete costumes
• 20 fat suits
• 44 tutus
• 2 washing machines and dryers
• 25 core technical staff
• 20 venue staff
• 64 orchestra musicians
• 39 dancers
• 64,688 seats over 27 nights and across 5 venues

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s production of Cinderella premiered in 2010. It is a full-evening (two 1/2 hour) ballet in three acts closely following the traditional Cinderella story of the wicked stepmother, ugly sisters, the fairy Godmother and of course, the slipper.

The music is the complete original score by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev which premiered in 1945 at the Bolshoi in Moscow but the choreography, by Company Director David Bintley, was created for this version. The set and costume designs are by John F. Macfarlane who designed the Company’s famous, and hugely popular, version of The Nutcracker and the lighting is by David A. Finn, who also lit The Nutcracker.

In a break from the character portrayal in Cinderella that has dominated in recent years, David Bintley returned to the original idea of having ballerinas as the two sisters who are ‘ugly on the inside’, rather than being played by two men. He also added a short prologue showing Cinderella and father at her mother’s graveside. This also serves as the introduction of the wicked stepmother who comes to dominate the family.

John Macfarlane’s designs, originated in close collaboration with David Bintley, offer some true coups de theatre including a giant ticking clock and a beautiful carriage described by one critic as being ‘like spun sugar’.

With beautiful choreography and clear narrative the ballet offers ample opportunities for acting and comedy, particularly for the two sisters, Skinny and Dumpy. It also has great family appeal. Not only does it feature traditional ballerinas,  but also roles for dancing lizards, mice and a frog!

Production credits: Music: Sergei Prokofiev; Choreography: David Binley
Production: David Bintley; Designs: John F. Macfarlane; Lighting: David A. Finn

Listings Info
Cinderella
The Lowry
Wed 1 – Sat 4 March 2017
7:30pm, Thu & Sat 2pm
Tickets: £18.50 – £47.50 (Including booking fees)
Box office: 0843 208 6000
Website

Matthew Byam Shaw, Nia Janis and Nick Salmon for Playful Productions, Tom Kirdahy and Hunter Arnold present Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? Directed by Ian Rickson Damian Lewis and Sophie Okonedo will be joined by Jason Hughes and newcomer Archie Madekwe in the late Edward Albee’s darkly comic play about a family in crisis Ian Rickson’s production of Albee’s Tony Award®-winning late masterpiece will play at the Theatre Royal Haymarket with a first preview on 24 March and opening night on 5 April   Full casting for Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? is announced today. Joining Damian Lewis and Sophie Okonedo, who play husband and wife Martin and Stevie in Ian Rickson’s production, will be Jason Hughes as Martin’s oldest friend Ross and Archie Madekwe as their son Billy. Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? will play a strictly limited 12 week season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from 24 March to 24 June 2017. In the play, a husband and successful New York architect with everything to lose must confess to his wife and son that he is having an affair and face the dizzying, explosive consequences. Ian Rickson will be joined by an Olivier and Tony Award®-winning creative team in Rae Smith (set and costume design), Neil Austin (lighting design) and Greg Clarke (sound design), with an original score by PJ Harvey. JASON HUGHES is perhaps best known for his television work, which includes playing lawyer Warren Jones in the BBC TV series This Life and as Detective Sergeant Ben Jones in Midsomer Murders from 2005 until 2013. A respected stage actor, previous work includes Our Country’s Good and Look Back in Anger opposite Michael Sheen at the National Theatre, Violence and Son and 4.48 Psychosis for the Royal Court and US tour, Way Upstream at Chichester Festival Theatre, Caligula at the Donmar Warehouse and Design for Living at Theatre Royal Bath. ARCHIE MADEKWE makes his professional stage debut as Billy. Prior to this he trained at LAMDA. Previous work includes Fresh Meat and Casualty, as well as the films Legacy and Second Coming. Archie also appeared in National Youth Theatre’s 2013 production of Pope Joan at St James’s Church, Piccadilly. DAMIAN LEWIS OBE won unanimous international acclaim for his role in Emmy® and Golden Globe® award-winning drama Homeland. Lewis starred as Sergeant Nicholas Brody opposite Claire Danes and was awarded the 2013 Golden Globe® for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series and a 2012 Primetime Emmy Award® for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series among other accolades for his role. Most recently Lewis has starred in Showtime series Billions. With an expansive list of diverse film, theatre and television credits Damian Lewis has evolved into one of this generation’s most respected and sought-after actors. Prior to his role in Homeland, Lewis first came to the attention of international audiences in 2001 with his Golden Globe®-nominated performance in the award-winning HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Tom Hanks. He also starred as Soames Forsyte in the acclaimed British production of The Forsyte Saga and Charlie Crews in Life. In 2015 Lewis starred as Henry VIII in Wolf Hall opposite Mark Rylance in the BBC Two television miniseries adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker-Prize winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. Prior to American Buffalo in 2015, Lewis starred as Alceste in Martin Crimp’s 2009 adaptation of The Misanthrope opposite Keira Knightley. After training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Lewis joined the British theatre community and appeared in a number of plays between 1993-98, primarily as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. During that time, he starred as Laertes in Jonathan Kent’s Broadway production of Hamlet opposite Ralph Fiennes. In 2003, Lewis returned to the London stage opposite Helen McCrory in Five Gold Rings at the Almeida Theatre. In 2005 he starred in the National Theatre’s production of Ibsen’s Pillars of the Community. In addition to his illustrious work on stage, Lewis has appeared on film in Julian Fellowes’ adaptation of Romeo and Juliet which starred Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld in the titular roles, The Sweeney, David Gordon Green’s Your Highness, and Werner Herzog’s Queen of the Desert opposite Nicole Kidman. SOPHIE OKONEDO OBE was born in London and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She has worked in a variety of media including film, television, theatre, and audio drama. Okonedo began her film career in 1991 in the British coming-of‐age drama Young Soul Rebelbefore appearing as Wachati Princess in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) and Stephen Frears’ Dirty Pretty Things (2002). She received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Tatiana Rusesabagina in the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda, a Golden Globe® nomination for the miniseries Tsunami: The Aftermath (2006) and BAFTA TV Award nominations for the drama series Criminal Justice (2009). Okonedo made her Broadway debut in the 2014 revival of A Raisin in the Sun for which she won the Tony Award® for Best Featured Actress in a Play. In 2016 she received a second Tony®nomination for her portrayal of Elizabeth Proctor in Ivo van Hove’s Broadway production of The Crucible which also starred Ben Whishaw, Saoirse Ronan and Ciarán Hinds. Okonedo was last on the London stage in Jeremy Herrin’s Haunted Child at the Royal Court in 2011. Previous work at the Royal Court includes Katie Mitchell’s Nightsongs, I Just Stopped by to See the Man, Been So Long and Women and Sisters. At the National Theatre Okonedo has appeared in Troilus and Cressida and Money, and has had roles in numerous productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company including Tamburlaine The Great, The Changeling, A Jovial Crew and The Odyssey. Film work includes Hotel Rwanda; Tom Harper’s drama War Book; After Earth with Will Smith; The Secret Life of Bees alongside Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Dakota Fanning; Stormbreaker and Skin opposite Sam Neill and Alice Krige. Most recently on television, Okonedo starred in Peter Moffat’s political thriller Undercover for the BBC opposite Adrian Lester and played Queen Margaret in BBC One series The Hollow Crown: The War of the Roses alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Judi Dench and Phoebe Fox. Other television credits include the role of Winnie Mandela in the BBC drama Mrs. Mandela; Clocking Off; the Doctor Who episodes “The Beast Below” and “The Pandorica Opens”; BBC series Extraordinary Women; miniseries The Slap; Sky1’s Sinbad; BBC One’s Mayday; and The Escape Artist. IAN RICKSON was the artistic director of the Royal Court from 1998 to 2006, where he directed Jerusalem (also West End at the Apollo Theatre), The Winterling, The Night Heron and Mojo (also Chicago), all by Jez Butterworth; Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen and This is a Chair by Caryl Churchill; Dublin Carol and The Weir by Conor McPherson (also Dublin, Chicago, West End and Broadway); The Seagull by Anton Chekhov (also Broadway); Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett; Alice Trilogy by Tom Murphy; The Sweetest Swing in Baseball by Rebecca Gilman; Fallout by Roy Williams; The Day I Stood Still by Kevin Elyot; The Lights by Howard Korder; Pale Horse and Some Voices by Joe Penhall; Ashes and Sand by Judy Upton; Killers by Adam Pernak; Sab by Michael Cook and Wildfire by Jonathan Harvey. In the West End Rickson directed Kristin Scott Thomas, Rufus Sewell and Lia Williams in Old Times by Harold Pinter (Harold Pinter Theatre); Betrayal by Harold Pinter, also with Kristin Scott Thomas, and Keira Knightley and Elizabeth Moss in The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman (both Comedy Theatre); and at the National Theatre, Evening at the Talk House by Wallace Shawn and The Red Lion by Patrick Marber. Productions at the Young Vic include Hamlet starring Michael Sheen, Now We Are Here and The Nest. Work on screen includes Fallout by Roy Williams (Company Pictures for Channel 4) and Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett (BBC4) and on radio includes In Therapy with Susie Orbach (BBC Radio 4). Rickson also works with PJ Harvey and Kate Tempest on their music and poetry shows. EDWARD ALBEE was born on 12th March 1928 and began writing plays 30 years later. His plays include The Zoo Story (1958), The Death of Bessie Smith (1959), The Sandbox (1959), The American Dream (1960), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1961-62, Tony Award®), Tiny Alice (1964), A Delicate Balance (1966, Pulitzer Prize; 1996, Tony Award®), All Over (1971), Seascape (1974, Pulitzer Prize), Listening (1975), Counting the Ways (1975), The Lady from Dubuque (1977-78), The Man Who Had Three Arms (1981), Finding the Sun (1982), Marriage Play (1986-87), Three Tall Women (1991, Pulitzer Prize), Fragments (1993), The Play about the Baby (1997), The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (2000, 2002 Tony Award®), Occupant (2001), At Home at the Zoo: Act 1, Homelife. Act 2, The Zoo Story. (2004), and Me, Myself & I (2008). Mr. Albee was awarded the Gold Medal in Drama from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1980.  In 1996 he received the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts.  In 2005 he was awarded a special Tony Award® for Lifetime Achievement. PLAYFUL PRODUCTIONS – PRODUCER As Producer and General Manager productions include: No Man’s Land (UK tour and Wyndham’s); Kinky Boots (Adelphi); Hangmen (Wyndham’s); American Buffalo (Wyndham’s); The Audience (Broadway, Apollo and Gielgud, which was also a record-breaking, worldwide digital broadcast with NT Live and subsequently resulted in an Executive Producer position on the Netflix TV series of The Crown); Wolf Hall: Parts 1 & 2 (Broadway); Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies (Aldwych); Shrek the Musical (UK & Ireland tour); The Weir (Wyndham’s); South Downs/TheBrowning Version (Harold Pinter); Sweeney Todd (Adelphi); Hay Fever (Noël Coward); Flare Path (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Yes, Prime Minister (Gielgud, Apollo, Trafalgar Studios and three UK tours); Krapp’s Last Tape (Duchess); Enron (Noël Coward); Red (Broadway); Hamlet (Broadway); Mary Stuart (Apollo and Broadway); Don Carlos (Gielgud) and Frost/Nixon (Gielgud and Broadway) and the forthcoming Don Juan in Soho (Wyndham’s Theatre, March 2017) As General Manager productions include: Groundhog Day (Old Vic); Wicked (Apollo Victoria, original UK & Ireland tour and now a further UK & Ireland tour in 2018); Blithe Spirit (Gielgud); Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane); Dirty Dancing (Aldwych, two UK tours and Piccadilly); Shrek the Musical (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane); Million Dollar Quartet (Noël Coward); Clybourne Park (Wyndham’s) and the forthcoming An American in Paris (Dominion, March 2017). www.playfuluk.com TOM KIRDAHY – PRODUCER Tom Kirdahy is currently producing the musicals Anastasia and Bandstand on Broadway and John Kander’s new musical Kid Victory Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre. He was the lead producer of the 2015 Broadway hit It’s Only a Play, the five-time Tony® nominated Broadway premiere of The Visit and the Off-Broadway smash and NYTimes Critic’s pick, White Rabbit Red Rabbit. Tom has previously been nominated for Tony Awards® for Mothers and Sons and After Midnight, as well as his revivals of Ragtime and Master Class. He is also a founding director of Berwin Lee London New York Playwrights, Inc. Kirdahy studied politics and dramatic literature at New York University and is a graduate of NYU School of Law. As an attorney, Kirdahy spent nearly two decades providing free legal services to people living with HIV/AIDS and served for many years on the Executive Board of the NYC LGBT Center. He currently serves as the Chair of the Broadway League Government Relations Committee. HUNTER ARNOLD – PRODUCER Hunter Arnold is the CEO of ARTech Holdings, a company dedicated to bringing best in class technologies to the live arts. He is also a founder of the New Musicals Creative Collective, an organization committed to aiding the development of new musical works from emerging artists. Broadway: Kinky Boots (Tony Award®), Dear Evan Hansen, Disaster!, Allegiance, Deaf West Theatre’s Spring Awakening (Tony® Nomination), The Visit (Tony® Nomination), It’s Only a Play, Mothers and Sons (Tony® Nomination), The Bridges of Madison County, Macbeth starring Alan Cumming, Godspell and Chinglish. Upcoming: Anastasia. Upcoming Film/Television: Hello Again and A Little More Alive.

HACKNEY EMPIRE ANNOUNCES CINDERELLA AS 2017 PANTOMIME WITH TICKETS ON SALE ON 1 MARCH 2017. SUSIE MCKENNA TO CHANGE HER ROLE TO BECOME EXECUTIVE CREATIVE PRODUCER. SLEEPING BEAUTY CLOSED ON 8 JANUARY HAVING BEEN SEEN BY 50,000 PEOPLE WITH A RECORD NUMBER OF FIRST TIME ATTENDERS. Hackney Empire has today announced Cinderella as its 2017 Christmas pantomime. The 2016 production of Sleeping Beauty was seen by audiences from across the globe from countries including Hong Kong, USA, Brazil, Japan and Hawaii but 20% of the audience was from Hackney, an increase of 1% on last year. Other London Boroughs with an increase in audience presence include Islington, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, Brent and Westminster. There were a record number of new attenders to the venue, 64% of the audience were first time attenders and they generated 57% of the final box office income. The venue has also announced that current Creative Director, Susie McKenna, is to change her role becoming Executive Creative Producer. The newly created role will see her develop new, diverse musical theatre for Hackney Empire and partners. In particular she will be exploring new projects that are created by, or feature, BAME artists as well as also looking to develop younger early-career artists.  She will still write and direct the legendary Hackney Empire pantomime, Cinderella in 2017 and the anniversary production in 2018. McKenna has been Creative Director at Hackney Empire for seven years and this new role will also allow her to pursue her freelance career as a writer, director and actor, whilst still developing and creating work for the Hackney Empire stage. In line with the 20thanniversary, McKenna is writing a book to be published by Oberon Books about pantomime and the story of 20 years of her annual show at Hackney Empire. Susie McKenna said: “What a journey! It has been an honour and a privilege to be the Creative Director of Hackney Empire for the last seven years. Alongside Clarie Middleton, I’m proud to have led the team that got the iconic East London theatre back on its feet and with all the artists, creatives, producers and administration team who have worked tirelessly to make the theatre what it is today. The venue has a reputation for high quality popular entertainment and a vast community footprint with an outstanding outreach and artist development programme that has served Hackney and surrounding boroughs. My new role is an exciting opportunity to work with established and emerging diverse talent to tell stories that will celebrate and reflect the melting pot that is our London wide audience.” Clarie Middleton says: “Susie’s passion for Hackney Empire and its communities has always been second to none, and this has been more than amply demonstrated over the last seven years. She has created stunning productions for our main stage ranging from the iconic annual pantomime to a really splendid BLUES IN THE NIGHT; and her work with local young people has been extensive and trail-blazing. We will miss her as Creative Director but look forward to working with her on the projects she will develop in her new role. We wish her all the very best of luck too, with her return to freelance acting, writing and directing. She will contribute loads to anywhere she works.” From starting as principle boy in Nottingham Playhouse pantomimes, Susie McKenna has written and directed critically acclaimed pantomimes since 1998. Her most recent directing credits include The Silver Sword, a musical adaptation of Ian Serraillier’s novel, written by Susie and Steve Edis. Other credits include Blues in the Night, A Midsummer Night’s Madness (Hackney Empire, New York and Edinburgh Festival) and Once on this Island (Hackney Empire, Birmingham Rep, Nottingham Playhouse).  She was nominated for the League of Professional Theatre Women’s Guild/Coigney International Theatre Award for developing international links.  She has also worked as an actor for over 30 years and credits include Chicago, Cats, Ragtime and The Witches of Eastwick in the West End, TV shows such as Mr Bean and Casualty and films such as Cats, Jack and Sarah and Muppets Most Wanted.