DANIEL EVANS ANNOUNCES FINAL SEASON AS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF

 

SHEFFIELD THEATRES

 

Daniel Evans today announces his final season as Sheffield Theatres’ Artistic Director, including the eagerly anticipated news of the Crucible’s Christmas show, Irving Berlin’s whip-cracking musical Annie Get Your Gun.  The season also includes two world premières on the Crucible stage – an adaptation of a classic novel and an exciting new musical set in Sheffield.  A poignant moment in the city’s history is told on the Studio stage along with a heart-warming family tale for the festive period.

 

The season opens in September with Folie à deux Productions and From Ground Up Theatre Company in association with Sheffield Theatres presenting Operation Crucible (Tue 6 – Sat 24 September) in the Studio.  On 12 December 1940 a single bomb reduced the Marples Hotel, which stood proudly in Sheffield’s Fitzalan Square, from seven storeys to just 15 feet of rubble.  Only one of the ten compartments in the hotel’s cellars withstood the blast.  Within it, trapped, were four men.  This highly acclaimed play tells their story, from beginning to end.

Sheffield Theatres continue their award-winning partnership with English Touring Theatre(Translations, Twelfth Night) from Wed 21 September – Sat 15 October with a brand new stage production of D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover.  Banned in the UK until 1960, this tender story shows how three people, reeling from the aftermath of the Great War, struggle to survive in a world which has been blown apart.  Passion, class, love and sexual freedom are at the heart of this modern classic, adapted and directed by Phillip Breen (York Mystery Plays 2016).

Saddle up this Christmas for the wildest of Wild West musicals – Annie Get Your Gun (Thu 8December – Sat 14 January). Sharp shootin’, smart talkin’ Annie Oakley is a force to be reckoned with but when she’s pitched against the charming, fiercely competitive Frank Butler, has she finally met her match?  Paul Foster (Tell Me On A Sunday, Sweet Charity) directs Anna-Jane Casey(Company) soon to be seen in Flowers For Mrs Harris, as Annie. With whip-cracking choreography from Sheffield favourite Alistair David (Show Boat, Anything Goes) and classic songs from the Golden Age of Broadway including There’s No Business Like Show Business, Anything You Can Doand I Got The Sun In The Morning Irving Berlin’s magnificent musical promises fun for all the family.

Sheffield Theatres’ festive season is completed with The Snow Child (Wed 14 December – Sat 7 January) a wintery tale full of warmth from Sheffield Theatres, Unicorn Theatre and Dancing Brick.  This striking visual show with live music and enchanting puppetry is a vibrant and inventive retelling of a traditional folktale that will delight and charm audiences of all ages.

A coming-of-age story with a twist, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Wed 8 – Sat 25 February) directed by Sheffield-born Jonathan Butterell, is a brand new musical with catchy new songs byThe Feeling’s lead singer-songwriter Dan Gillespie Sells and writer Tom MacRae. Jamie New is sixteen.  He’s from Sheffield.  And he has a secret.  He doesn’t quite fit in at school. His Dad’s left home.  He’s about to sit his GCSEs and the future is terrifying.  With his brilliant mum behind him, will Jamie be brave enough to stand up for who he really wants to be?

The best in touring productions also visit the city with shows including the already announced End of the Rainbow (Thu 12 – Sat 14 May) and Chicago (Mon 6 – Sat 11 June) appearing on theLyceum stage.

The Studio hosts some exhilarating and inspiring performances in the new season. On Saturday 21 May, Christopher Brett Bailey brings This Is How We Die, a spiralling odyssey of pitch-black humour and nightmarish prose. In Going Viral (Tue 24 May) an aeroplane flies from Uganda to England where everyone on board is weeping.  Everyone except you.  Is it a strange new disease?  Or has the world become genuinely sad? Then attempt to unpick the truth from the fiction of power ballads in Late Night Love (Wed 1 June) and experience the power of words in Poetry Can F*ck Off (Thu 2 June).  Ventoux (Fri 3 – Sat 4 June) tells the story of champions Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani – whose Tour de France battle of 2000, was the greatest cycling had ever seen, but just how far did they go to succeed?  In Gods Are Fallen and All Safety Gone (Tue 7 June), two male actors explore the emotional and humorous dynamic of the relationship between a thirty-something daughter and her ageing mother.

Dance fans will enjoy a varied programme in the Lyceum Theatre, with Wayne McGregor’s cutting-edge contemporary work Atomos (Sat 18 June), performed by ten incredible dancers in his unique style – sculptural, rigorous, jarring and hauntingly beautiful.  While later in the year, Northern Balletreturn with their modern production of Romeo & Juliet (Wed 14 – Sat 17 September), set to Prokofiev’s stirring score.

Motown’s greatest hits are celebrated in Dancing in the Streets at the Lyceum from Fri 3 – Sat 4 June and the music continues from Tue 26 September – Sat 1 October with the Broadway and West End smash hit Million Dollar Quartet, featuring songs from the legendary Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. Multi award-winning Sunny Afternoon (Tue 25 – Sat 29 October) follows the rise to fame of The Kinks, one of the most influential bands of the ‘60’s and direct from the West End, Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments celebrates soul classics includingKnock On Wood and Try A Little Tenderness from Mon 21 – Sat 26 November.

Brand new live show Peppa Pig’s Surprise brings family fun from  Fri 9 – Sat 10 September. Fans of comedy will enjoy Alan Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking (Mon 19 – Sat 24 September) starringRobert Powell and Lisa Goddard and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic musical Cats will appeal to audiences of all ages from Mon 3 – Sat 15 October.

Artistic Director Daniel Evans said today, ‘I’m delighted that my final season at Sheffield will combine new and classic plays and musicals. It’s particularly edifying that two of our productions – a new adaptation of the classic novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and a brand new musical, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – will come to the stage after many years of development work. Our Christmas musical, which has become something of a tradition now in Sheffield, will also continue to thrive in the wonderful hands of director Paul Foster and choreographer Alistair David who this year will stage Annie Get Your Gun. We shall soon be announcing news of my successor, but in the meantime, I want to thank everyone at Sheffield Theatres – staff, partners and audiences – for the most joyful seven years.’

 

The new season will go on sale to Sheffield Theatres’ Centre Stage Members on Saturday 12 March and on general sale from Saturday 19 March from 10.00am. For full details of the 2016 season, visit sheffieldtheatres.co.uk or call Box Office on 0114 249 6000.

CURTAIN CALL:
A YEAR BACKSTAGE IN LONDON THEATRE

@crtncll I @johnschwab I @31thirtyone

• CURTAIN CALL ANNOUNCE PUBLICATION OF THEIR INAUGURAL BOOK, CURTAIN CALL: A YEAR BACKSTAGE IN LONDON THEATRE
• THE BOOK FEATURES NEVER SEEN BEFORE BACKSTAGE PHOTOGRAPHY FROM NEARLY 60 LONDON THEATRE PRODUCTIONS FROM 2015/16 CREATED BY PHOTOGRAPHER MATT HUMPHREY AND ACTOR/DIRECTOR JOHN SCHWAB

• THE BOOK INCLUDES EXCLUSIVE PHOTOGRAPHY OF NICOLE KIDMAN, KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS, DAMIAN LEWIS, IMELDA STAUNTON, MARK RYLANCE, MARK STRONG AND MANY MORE STARS OF THE STAGE

• CURTAIN CALL IS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW AT CURTAINCALLONLINE.COM AND AVAILABLE TO BUY IN STORES FROM 28 MARCH

Curtain Call: A Year Backstage in London Theatre is the first in a series of photography books by photographer Matt Humphrey and actor/director John Schwab featuring an extraordinary collection of fly-on-the-wall backstage photography from London theatre productions in 2015/16. Inspired by the 40th anniversary of the Olivier Awards, in addition to exclusive backstage photography, Curtain Call also includes a foreword by renowned actor David Suchetand extended interviews with Chief Executive of The Old Vic Sally Greene, Artistic Director of the Royal Court Vicky Featherstone, casting director Jessica Ronane and actress Kate Fleetwood. The book is now exclusively available to pre-order from www.curtaincallonline.com

Curtain Call is a new company founded and managed by John Schwab and Matt Humphrey, people who work in – and are passionate about – the world of theatre. Matt Humphrey and John Schwab were given unprecedented access backstage in London’s theatres and the book features never seen before photography taken on stage, in the wings and behind-the-scenes from over 50 productions including Hamlet at Barbican Theatre starring Benedict Cumberbatch, American Buffalo at Wyndham’s Theatre starring John Goodman, Damian Lewis and Tom Sturridge andThe Audience starring Kristin Scott Thomas at the Apollo Theatre.

John Schwab said: “I am very grateful to all of the cast, crew, creative, production teams and agents that allowed us into that wonderful space that is backstage during a show. Having spent nearly 20 years on stage in London and around the world, it is an absolute pleasure to invite the public to take a glimpse at this magical world and gain an insight into what it’s like to be a theatre professional backstage during a London theatre show. I look forward to starting something that we hope will become an industry staple for both the theatre fan and professional alike.”

Matt Humphrey said: “The backstage life of a production can be as intriguing, beguiling and choreographed as the show itself. I feel extremely privileged to have been allowed to photograph such an array of productions throughout the year, each of which has their own unique character. It has been a rewarding photographic challenge to shoot in low light and to combine reportage with portraiture. This book is a celebration of the expertise, diversity and extraordinary talent that characterise this thriving industry.”

Matt Humphrey and John Schwab met while working at the Old Vic Theatre in 2009 (John on stage, and Matt backstage). Together they founded Curtain Call in 2015, with a view to celebrating and promoting the work of cast, crew and creatives that work behind the scenes. As well as the book, they have been developing a database and networking website for the theatre industry, populated by exclusive visual and non-visual content.

Curtain Call: A Year Backstage In London Theatre is priced at £45 and available for pre-order from www.curtaincallonline.com. Curtain Call will also be available to purchase at the V&A and National Theatre bookshops from 28 March.

Organisers of the UK’s most spectacular open-air live action night show since the opening of the 2012 Olympics have appointed their first Technical Director to help deliver the epic production which is set to wow audiences in Bishop Auckland this summer.

Eleven Arches has appointed Simon Horsley, who boasts 25 years’ experience in the theme park and entertainment industry, to work alongside Production Director, Damien Boissinot, who is acting as Eleven Arches’ ‘borrowed brain’ from France’s Puy du Fou on which the Eleven Arches concept is modelled.

Simon will work alongside Damien and the strong technical and design team who have relocated from France to guide the highly complex production which presents a storytelling journey of 2000 years of British history, as seen through the eyes of the North East.  Set on a 7.5 acre stage with a huge lake at its centre, the show will feature intricate hydraulics, water, lighting, audio, video and pyrotechnics’ effects. More importantly, Simon will ensure that the wealth of knowledge invested by the Puy du Fou in Eleven Arches’ success is embedded and built on in years to come.

Previously Technical Manager within the entertainment department at Alton Towers Resort, Simon was responsible for the technical management of large scale special events including the annual fireworks shows, Scarefest, as well the Christmas events.

Most recently, Simon worked as Solution’s Architect within the engineering team at Holovis International, a company that specialises in technical systems for large theme parks and visitor attractions worldwide.

Speaking of his appointment, Simon said: “The role is something that excites me immensely.  Within the UK the Eleven Arches project is truly unique, pioneering, and ground-breaking.  Having been involved with the technical management of live events and entertainment for the whole of my working life, to be involved with such a large scale, technologically advanced, community based project at the outset is a lifelong ambition.

“I have been aware of the world leading reputation of Puy Du Fou for many years, and I’m hugely looking forward to working with their team and also volunteers from the local community to bring the technical elements of the Kynren show to life in 2016, and also for many years to come.

“Not only does the production utilise many technical systems found within traditional theatre and entertainment venues such as lighting and audio systems, but also there are also totally unique scenic elements and special effects which bring even more exciting challenges to the role providing dramatic capabilities and visual impact to the performances not found elsewhere.  I’m looking forward to not only using and sharing my previous technical skills, experience, and knowledge, but also leading, developing, and training the technical team at Eleven Arches.”

Tickets for the Kynren, comprising 14 summer shows getting underway from 02 July 2016, have gone on sale priced £25-55 for adults and £19-41 for children.  For ticket bookings please visit www.kynren.co.uk.

For further information on the show, visit www.elevenarches.org and the Twitter feed #Kynren.

Empire Theatre, Sunderland – 1st to 12th March

The Bodyguard arrives with a bang in to Sunderland Empire.  Based on the 1992 film of the same name starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, the musical has been adapted and updated for the stage and is jam packed full of Houston’s greatest hits.

Playing Rachel Marron is played in Sunderland by North East favourite Zoe Birkett.  No wannabe Whitney Warbler here, she sings the songs which the pitch and tone to match her exquisite voice and the standing ovation for I Will Always Love You was rightly deserved.  

However Stuart Reid’s karaoke version as the bodyguard in question, Frank Farmer, maybe wasn’t the best.  He does smoulder quite well and his interaction with 10 year old Fletcher (T’Jai Adu-Yeboah) shows the tender side of the tough man.

Telling the story of Marron, a famous singer who hires an uncompromising ex-secret service agent, Farmer, to protect her from an obsessed stalker this is a love story between Rachel and Frank, with sister Nicki forced on the sidelines again, despite her own feelings for the bodyguard.

Rachel John is at times a show-stealer as sister Nicki. She gives an emotional performance as the hard-done-by younger sister who is outshone by her famous sibling at every turn, her version of All At Once was outstanding. John has a beautifully clear and soulful voice and the Run to You duet between her and Birkett is the standout scene in the first half, their voices are vastly different, but work incredibly well together

It’s not just the show-stopping numbers that keep the audience gripped, it’s also the thriller of a storyline as the gun-toting stalker edges ever closer to our superstar heroine.  Matthew Stathers is incredibly sinister as the mysterious psychopath. He ratchets up the suspense until we’re on the edge of our seats.  And the shooting scenes as he tries to kill from the middle of the audience are mesmerizing

Don’t be thinking this is a mere jukebox musical, though. It’s a truly stunning theatrical reimagining of the film, with spectacular staging in both the sets and costume design from Tim Hatley.  With Lighting by Mark Henderson, Sound by Richard Brooker and the live band lead by Tom Gearing.  The production is technically brilliant making this a very lavish performance

From the explosive start to the feel good finale, the show dazzles and shines.  It’s a high octane, emotional, enjoyable disco roller coaster ride and well worth the visit to see

12^th Battalion Productions

presents

the world premiere of

 

SYMPHONY TO A LOST GENERATION

The world’s first feature-length fully holographic dramatic production

28 – 31 May, LSO St Luke’s, 161 Old St, London EC1V 9NG

and on tour

The world’s first fully holographic production, a moving depiction of the human tragedy of the First World War. 250 actors and dancers appear beside the Vienna Philharmonic Choir and Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra in Adam Donen’s epic symphony and drama. Its scale and imagination is like nothing you’ve experienced.

Holograms have been used to bring Michael Jackson back to life and allowed Kate Moss to spend a month as part of the Alexander McQueen exhibition: never have they formed the basis of a full stage production until now. Transnational World War 1 epic Symphony to a Lost Generation is the world’s first fully holographic stage production: a visual and aural spectacular with a new symphony by virtuoso young composer Adam Donen at its centre.

Fusing classical music, dance, drama and archival film, Symphony to a Lost Generation is a 3D audio-visual holographic spectacular. It is an emotional and comprehensive artistic treatment of the First World War that presents both the monumental (Gallipoli, the Somme) and deeply personal, treating the entire conflict as the stories of individuals: their passions, their hopes and their struggles.

Holograms are used not only to give the illusion of live stage performance, but to allow modes of story-telling never before possible in theatres – a truly original hybrid art form, different from 3D cinema on the one hand and from live performance on the other. This is the first time the technology has ever been used on this scale. This production is the brainchild of 30 year-old Adam Donen who, three years ago, set about creating a new form of ‘total art’ unifying technologies and classical art-forms – music, dance, drama and film – that could travel to audiences outside of major capital cities. Symphony to a Lost Generation, with his new symphony at its core, is the result.

The 400-strong cast list for Symphony to a Lost Generation reads like a roll call of some of the greatest talents performing in the world today: the Vienna Philharmonic Choir, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, the Grammy-winning New London Children’s Choir, Russian soprano Yana Ivanilova (widely considered Russia’s greatest living chamber soprano), prizewinning

conductor Martynas Staškus, Ernesto Tomasini (recently made Eccellenza Italiana for his services to the performing arts in Italy) and legendary butoh choreographer Minako Seki.

All 400 performers will appear as holograms, which will allow the production to tour the UK regions as well as smaller towns and cities across the world. It will be the largest-scale production ever to appear in most of the cities in which it is performed.

Donen’s symphony charts the transition from pre-War tonality to post-War dissonance, returning to tonality in the work’s final (fifth) movement. The first movement is a traditional 19th century sonata, but by the fourth movement, hints of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Chopin’s waltzes are drowned out in a landscape of horror. This is echoed by the dance, which begins with a balletic idyll before making use of butoh, a Japanese “dance of death-in-life”, to depict the lives of those caught in No Man’s Land.

‘With Symphony to a Lost Generation, I sought to show the living presence of the First World War in our time, and the extent to which the world it created continues to reverberate in our lives today. I sought to make use of every art-form and technology at our disposal – holograms in particular – to create a comprehensive picture of that awful time. I wanted to democratise epic art: to create a work on the scale of performances in the great capitals’ opera houses that would not remain trapped in such gilded cages, and could be taken to small towns and cities across the world.’ Adam Donen, composer and director

The production has harnessed the skills of two extraordinary creative talents: visual director Mikael Jaeger Jensen, whose credits include Effects Co-ordinator on Oscar-winning films including ‘Avatar’ and ‘Gravity’, and one of the world’s foremost music producers, Robert Harder. Aside from his Grammy-nominated work with David Byrne and Brian Eno, Harder has worked with both Kylie Minogue and Herbie Hancock.

South African-born Adam Donen is a composer, librettist, and director. Like Elgar and Schoenberg, Donen is a self taught composer. Recent major works include The Bernhard Suite (a 1 hour suite for string orchestra and piano premiered by the world renowned Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn) and Dorian (a libretto for Russian State Ballet). Donen has also released three albums of songs, performed across Europe, written and directed a sellout site-specific puppet opera and lectured at venues including Tate Britain and RADA.

 

Tickets are now on  sale. Further dates to added shortly www.symphonytoalostgeneration.com

 2016 Tour Dates

28 – 31 May                            LSO St Luke’s, 161 Old St, London EC1V 9NG

                                                Time: Sat, Sun, Mon & Tues at 19.30; Sun & Mon matinee at 14.30

                                                Ticket prices: £10-£25

                                                Press Night: Tuesday 31 May at 19.30

                                               Tickets: Barbican Box Office – 0207 63 8891

                                               www.lso.co.uk/symphonytoalostgeneration

6 – 8 June                                Apex Theatre, 1 Charter Square, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3FD

                                                Time: Mon-Weds at 19.30; Tues & Weds matinee at 13.00

                                                Ticket prices: £20 (£10concs)

                                                Tickets: 01284 758000

                                                https://www.theapex.co.uk/whats-on/2016/03

                                                 

21 – 22 June                            Kings Theatre, Albert Road, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 2QJ

                                                Time: 14.00 & 19.30

                                                Ticket prices: £21.50, £19.50 (concs) £7.50 for children/schools/students

                                                Tickets: 023 9282 8282

                                                http://kingsportsmouth.co.uk/whats-on/film/symphony-to-a-lost-generation

8 – 11 July                               Lloyds Banking Hall, 14 Cornhill, London EC3V

                                                Times & Tickets TBA

                                                Tickets: www.symphonytoalostgeneration.com

10 – 11 August                        Pavilion Theatre, The Esplanade, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 8ED 

                                                 Time: 19.30; matinee 11^th August at 14.30

    Ticket prices: £15-£20

    http://weymouthpavilion.com/at-a-glance

The Tabard Theatre presents:

LOCAL STUDENTS TO PERFORM IN CARMEN

Drama students from the North East will perform alongside professional opera singers in the Opera and Ballet International production of Carmen at Darlington Civic Theatre.

Seville comes to Darlington with the hottest ticket in town.

The award-winning opera producer Ellen Kent returns to Darlington Civic Theatre this month with an epic production of Bizet’s Carmen featuring a host of international soloists, highly praised chorus, the support of a full orchestra and ten local music and drama students.

Kent’s operas are renowned for their high production values, stunning set design which truly captures the architectural backdrop of each of the beautiful cityscapes, lavish costumes and incredible pyrotechnic displays and lighting effects which all combine to deliver an exceptional visual and musical masterpiece for audiences.

This dazzling production features Bizet’s unforgettable melodies including The Toreodor’s Song. A stunning new set reflects the architecture of Seville and its main square with Roman and Moorish influences.

The production at Darlington Civic Theatre will also feature ten drama students from Stagecoach Darlington and Yarm. Trudy Hindmarsh, Principal at Stagecoach, said “Rehearsals are well underway and the ten students who got through the two rounds of auditions are feeling very proud of themselves. They are rising to the challenge of singing in French and are already looking forward to the costumes that they will wear.”

Carmen is one of the most passionate operas ever written. A group of gypsy smugglers are frustrated in their attempts to bring their contraband into the city by Don Jose, an incorruptible officer in the Civil Guard. In order to help her kinsmen, the sultry Carmen seduces Don Jose, persuading him to abandon his post and look the other way. When his infatuation with Carmen leads him to kill a fellow guardsman in order to prevent her arrest, Don Jose becomes a wanted fugitive. The capricious, fickle Carmen resents his possessiveness and leaves him for a famous toreador in Seville. Obsessed and frustrated, a distraught Don Jose follows her to the bullring with tragic consequences.

Carmen is at Darlington Civic Theatre on Monday 21 March at 7.30pm. Sung in French with English surtitles.

Tickets* are £29 to £36, discounts are available.

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

*All prices include a £1 restoration levy

REVIEW: THE BODYGUARD (Sunderland Empire)

March 3, 2016 

For: West End Wilma 

https://www.westendwilma.com/review-the-bodyguard-sunderland-empire/

The Bodyguard arrives with a bang in to Sunderland Empire. Based on the 1992 film of the same name starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, the musical has been adapted and updated for the stage and is jam packed full of Houston’s greatest hits.

Playing Rachel Marron in Sunderland was North East favourite Zoe Birkett. No wannabe Whitney Warbler here, she sings the songs with pitch and tone to match her exquisite voice and the standing ovation for I Will Always Love You was rightly deserved.

However Stuart Reid’s karaoke version as the bodyguard in question, Frank Farmer, maybe wasn’t the best. He does smoulder quite well and his interaction with 10 year old Fletcher (T’Jai Adu-Yeboah) shows the tender side of the tough man.

Telling the story of Marron, a famous singer who hires an uncompromising ex-secret service agent, Farmer, to protect her from an obsessed stalker this is a love story between Rachel and Frank, with sister Nicki forced on the sidelines again, despite her own feelings for the bodyguard.

Rachel John is at times a show-stealer as sister Nicki. She gives an emotional performance as the hard-done-by younger sister who is outshone by her famous sibling at every turn, her version of All At Once was outstanding. John has a beautifully clear and soulful voice and the Run to You duet between her and Birkett is the standout scene in the first half, their voices are vastly different, but work incredibly well together.

It’s not just the show-stopping numbers that keep the audience gripped, it’s also the thriller of a storyline as the gun-toting stalker edges ever closer to our superstar heroine. Matthew Stathers is incredibly sinister as the mysterious psychopath. He ratchets up the suspense until we’re on the edge of our seats. And the shooting scenes as he tries to kill from the middle of the audience are mesmerizing.

Don’t be thinking this is a mere jukebox musical though. It’s a truly stunning theatrical reimagining of the film, with spectacular staging in both the sets and costume design from Tim Hatley. With Lighting by Mark Henderson, Sound by Richard Brooker and the live band lead by Tom Gearing. The production is technically brilliant making this a very lavish performance.

From the explosive start to the feel good finale, the show dazzles and shines. It’s a high octane, emotional, enjoyable disco roller coaster ride and well worth the visit to see.

THE LAST WORD 2016

ROUNDHOUSE                24 MAY – 18 JUNE

Following the success of last year’s THE LAST WORD festival, the Roundhouse announces a thrilling programme for its third season, presenting the best of spoken word, storytelling and live performance, from Tuesday 24 May – Saturday 18 June.

Showcasing the finest home grown Roundhouse talent, alongside the genre’s rising stars and the original trailblazers, The Last Word’s highlights include:

·         Words First Live, a partnership between BBC Radio 1Xtra and Roundhouse, featuring Kate Tempest and six of the hottest young spoken word artists from across the UK

·         Debris Stevenson’s Dirtee Verse

·         Mark Grist & Tim Clare’s Only You Can Save Poetry

·         Burning Eye poets Hollie McNish, Liv Torc and Lydia Towsey present Mum’s The Word

Lucy Atkinson, festival producer says: “This will be the third instalment of The Last Word, the UK’s first festival dedicated to spoken word. Celebrating this exciting and vibrant scene, The Last Word will host the best in young spoken word talent at the Roundhouse Poetry Slam, now in its 8^th year. An exciting partnership with BBC 1Xtra – Words First reaches its one year conclusion in the search for the writing and performing talent of the future. Alongside new shows from John Berkavitch, Mark Grist/Tim Clare and Baba Israel, an audio installation from Talia Randall and the biggest show ever from spoken word/music maestros Tongue Fu.”

 

WRONG by John Berkavitch
24 – 25 May, 8pm

£12.50 / Sackler Space

“I’ve never been as certain as when I was wrong.”

Following on from the critically acclaimed SHAME, Berkavitch and company return to The Last Word festival with a brand new work of spoken word-dance theatre.

Written and performed by poet John Berkavitch and combining poetry, dance and live illustration, Wrong is a story of fatherhood.

Berkavitch is joined on stage by a group of dancers and illustrators, who physically manipulate, interrogate, annotate and enable him to tell a story about having, becoming and being a dad.

Script development from Sabrina Mahfouz. Music by My Panda Shall Fly.

“Berkavitch is a compelling storyteller and there is a chocolatey richness in his language”

The Guardian on SHAME

Developed with support from Arts Council England, Roundhouse Camden, Curve Theatre and Breakin’ Convention.

 

A LANGUAGE WE BOTH KNOW HOW TO SOUND OUT by Raymond Antrobus

25 May, 7pm

£7.50 / Dorfman Hub

A LANGUAGE WE BOTH KNOW HOW TO SOUND OUT is a series of poems written by London laureate Raymond Antrobus on how he, as a hard of hearing poet, navigates the hearing world.

This is a collaboration with actress and director, Charmaine Wombwell (Deafinitely Theatre).

Directed by Charmaine Wombwell.

DIRTEE VERSE by Debris Stevenson

27 May, 8pm
£10 / Sackler Space

Mashing up the hype of grime with the craft of spoken word, poet Debris Stevenson lyrically reinterprets Dizzee Rascal’s award-winning debut album Boy In Da Corner in her own way – Poet In The Corner.

 

Collaborating with producer Rapsz Katai (JME, Skepta), Stevenson will perform several tracks with Jammz, TrueMendous, Youth Oracle, Eklipse and more.

Dirtee Verse will also feature DJ sets, grime inspired poems, a Clash Money battle between Nottingham based Mouthy Poets and MCs and more. A vybzing skank and hype-ting event, tonight is for lyric conscious, spoken word, poetry and grime-lovers alike. See these art forms clash, collaborate and take over the stage…

BUILDING A VOICE-PERCUSSION GUN TO KILL GLITCHES IN MEMORY by Antosh Wojcik 
28 May, 2pm
£7.50 / Dorfman Hub

 

Antosh Wojcik presents a performance based on the effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s on voice, memory and motor skills, reciting poems over live glitch-drumming to shift rhythms and fluency of his vocal delivery.

A narrative that explores speech dislocated by dementia, constructing a sound-weapon to kill his mother’s inherited Alzheimer’s and questions for a grandmother walking with Alzheimer’s in the afterlife.

Produced by Penned In The Margins.

Testament in association with LittleMighty present

THE PRIVILEGE SHOW 
28 May, 7pm
£7.50 / Dorfman Hub

In the first public performance of material that will form part of his new show, Guinness World Record holding beatboxer Testament fuses together spoken word, loop station theatrics, poetry and rap and to tell a powerful new story of contemporary Britain. Two people head out on a booze-fuelled bender, and are forced to face up to their own prejudices, as Testament tackles issues of race, gender and understanding people who don’t share our point of view.

RAISING LAZARUS written and performed by Kat Francois

28 May, 3pm

£10 / Sackler Space

The critically-acclaimed Raising Lazarus charts the true story of Kat Francois’ relative, Private Lazarus Francois, from the Caribbean island of Grenada, who joined the British West Indies Regiment in 1915 to fight for Britain during the First World War.

Francois weaves a story of how she discovered she was connected to a part of British history that she previously assumed had no relevance to her, whilst exposing a small part of the journey undertaken by thousands of Caribbean soldiers who volunteered for King and Country.

FINDING HOME by Cecilia Knapp
28 – 29 May, 8pm

£12.50/ Sackler Space

Along the cycle paths, alleyways and canals of London comes a coming-of-age story that maps the journey of a girl from a seaside town to the tenements of East London as a 20-something.

 

Writer and performer Cecilia Knapp’s debut piece is a journey through grief, loss and growing up.

Cecilia takes us from her childhood in Brighton to her life in London. She shines a light on how we deal with loss, how we talk about mental health, and explores what it is like to grow up amongst these things. We meet the characters that have influenced her, listen to her old cassettes, hear her story and discover how she found home amongst chaos.

 

Directed by Stef O’Driscoll (Kate Tempest’s Hopelessly Devoted, A Tale from the Bedsit) FINDING HOME is brought to the stage through an evocative collaboration of words, projections, vocals and instrumentals, both classical and contemporary.

 

ALL THE THINGS I LIED ABOUT by Katie Bonna 
29 May, 2pm
£7.50 / Dorfman Hub

 

Would the world be a better place if we were all honest?

Award-winning writer and performer Katie Bonna is doing a TED talk on our passion for dishonesty and the science of lies. Sort of. TED haven’t actually asked her to do one – yet.

From tricking her sister into drinking her wee to monstrous infidelities, Katie charts her family history to confront our fibs.

Part TED talk, part poetry, part comedy – mostly lies.

“Katie Bonna puts in a simply dazzling performance” The Stage

COAT by Yomi Sode

29 May, 7pm

£7.50 / Dorfman Hub

In COAT, Yomi Sode tackles migration and identity using the audience as his counsellor.

An attack at his workplace uncovers various flash points in Yomi’s upbringing that are confusing, at times humorous, and uncomfortable.

Movement by John Berkavitch
Developed as part of RE:Play alongside Lemn Sissay and Polarbear

Spare The Poets presents

MILK TEETH

Double bill with The Roundhouse Poetry Collective

29 May, 3.30pm

£7.50 / Sackler Space

We’ve left the womb, learned words, dipped our fingers in paint, changed shape, passed tests, packed boxes, paid tax… Where are we now?

In their debut show ‘Milk Teeth’, Spare The Poets dig memories from playground sandpits, prise them from sticky night-club floors, and put them under a microscope, asking: When did we stop playing? Will these acne scars ever fade? And whatever happened to our milk teeth?

Spare the Poets hatched during the Roundhouse Poetry Collective 2014/15, by mother hens Bohdan Piasecki and Debris Stevenson. Now, having flown the nest, this exciting fifteen strong collective is making waves in the London poetry scene.

This performance will be a double-bill with a new commission by The Roundhouse Poetry Collective – further details to be announced.

 

ONLY YOU CAN SAVE POETRY by Mark Grist & Tim Clare
31 May – 2 June, 8pm

£12.50 / Sackler Space

 

Modern poetry is amazing, right? Angry strangers shouting your own opinions back at you for money! Literature graduates competing to find the most complicated way of saying ‘I feel sad’! Mark Grist and Tim Clare have been part of this strangely unappreciated scene for years, and believe it’s now time for something different.

Using ground-breaking techniques of data collection and live feedback from the audience they will perform a series of experiments to determine: what is the most erotic line of verse possible? What would the perfect poem contain? And, most importantly: who is best – Mark or Tim?

Mark Grist went from being an English teacher to defeating a grime artist in a ‘student versus teacher’ rap battle that has attracted over five million hits on YouTube. Since then he has appeared on television, toured the country and been hailed as a “poetry standout” (Financial Times), “YouTube sensation” (The Sun) to an “unlikely heart-throb” (Guardian).  Tim Clare is a uniquely original poet; author and musician described as “shrewd and funny” (The Scotsman). He is the creator of the world’s first Poetry Take-Away and the ambitious 101 Poems In A Day where he wrote and published online a 101 original new poems!

POETRY SLAM FINAL

2 June, 7pm

£10-£15 / Main Space

The Roundhouse Poetry Slam Final takes place on the Main Space stage after a complete sell-out last year. The evening features the next generation of spoken word artists and poets aged 16-25 competing for the much-coveted Slam title. Host and judges to be confirmed.

90 SICK EP by Paul Cree

2 June, 7pm

£7.50 / Dorfman Hub

“If you work really, REALLY hard, with a lot of luck, you could get a C… but you probably won’t.”

Writer and performer Paul Cree weaves his way through the tales of two mates, from primary school to adulthood and low skilled employment. Expect tales of football, cars, cress plants, train tracks, Drum ‘N Bass, hash, booze and GNVQ’s.

“His storytelling was thoroughly engaging, layered with experience and iced with wit. I was hungry for more.” Broadway Baby

Burning Eye presents

MUM’S THE WORD

3 June, 2pm

£7.50 / Dorfman Hub

What does it mean to be a mother and poet in the 21^st Century?

For this special afternoon performance, Burning Eye poets Lydia Towsey, Liv Torc and Hollie McNish will entertain parents in need of culture, amusement and adult conversation.

Burning Eye Books is a small independent published in the South West predominantly specialising in promoting spoken word artists. They aim to dispel the assumption that performance poetry does not transfer well to page as well as give emerging and established artists publishing opportunities where they might otherwise be rejected from other traditional poetry publishers.

Parents and babies welcome.

 

TONGUE FU
3 June, 7pm

£10-£15 / Main Space

The UK’s sharpest poets, storytellers, rappers and comedians perform with jaw-dropping improvised soundtracks from the genre hopping Tongue Fu Band and animations from design studio CR&D. 

 

Created and hosted by poet Chris Redmond, Tongue Fu  is one of the UK’s liveliest and largest spoken word shows: a riotous experiment in live literature, music and improvisation.

 

Line-up so far includes Hollie McNish, Buddy Wakefield and Vanessa Kisuule with special guests to be announced

“It’s poetry, but not as you know it…amazing” The Guardian

“Top performance poetry night” The Independent

THE SPINNING WHEEL KEEPS TURNING

Presented by Unfinished Business in association with Baba Israel

3 – 5 June, 8pm
£12.50 / Sackler Space

Steve Ben Israel was a New York jazz musician, poet, stand-up comic, political activist and core member of the iconic ensemble The Living Theatre. He passed away in 2012, leaving behind a legacy of 1960’s countercultural and a son – Baba Israel.

THE SPINNING WHEEL KEEPS TURNING is an international collaboration between New York hip hop theatre artist Baba Israel, Artistic Director of Unfinished Business Leo Kay and musician Yako 440, with video by Richard Ramchurn and Dramaturgy by Talvin Wilks.

Celebrating artistic expression, political activism and intergenerational collaboration it remixes past and present in a fusion of storytelling, projection mapping, hip hop, jazz and spoken word.

Created by Baba Israel, Leo Kay & Yako 440.

 

THE SLEEP SHOW by Rob Auton

4 June, 2pm
£10 / Sackler Space

Comedy-meets-theatre-meets-talking about water in this new show from award-winning writer and performer Rob Auton. Having explored the colour yellow in 2012’s THE YELLOW SHOW, the sky in 2013’s THE SKY SHOW, faces in 2014’s THE FACE SHOW, water in 2015’s THE WATER SHOW, Rob now turns his attention to sleep with 2016’s THE SLEEP SHOW, a show suitable for anybody who has slept or seen someone sleeping.

“Charming, eccentric and uplifting, Auton is a talent to watch” The Independent

“A genuine original. Poetical, philosophical, humane, completely charming and funny to boot”
The Guardian

“Funny, baffling, and deeply moving” The Telegraph

THE SUNSHINE KID by Harry Baker

4 June, 3.30pm
£10 / Sackler Space

Voted ‘Best Spoken Word Show’ of the Edinburgh Fringe 2015, THE SUNSHINE KID follows Harry Baker’s journey from writing Jay Z / maths parodies in school music competitions to being crowned the youngest ever World Poetry Slam Champion and beyond.

Taking poems from his debut anthology that has sold thousands of copies in over 30 countries worldwide; Harry’s 3rd solo show contains the raw honesty, tongue-in-cheek humour and blistering wordplay that has won the hearts and minds of audiences across the globe.

‘Simply put… the greatest performer on Earth’ ★★★★★  Scott Mills Show, BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1Xtra & Roundhouse present
WORDS FIRST LIVE
4 June, 7pm
Free / Main Space

Hosted by BBC Radio 1Xtra presenter DJ Target, Words First Live is an opportunity to come face to face with the future of spoken word.

Over the last 6 months, BBC 1Xtra and the Roundhouse have scoured the country for the freshest aspiring spoken word artists, rappers, MCs and poets. Following a series of workshops across Glasgow, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and London, six artists aged 16-25 were chosen to receive mentoring by some of the leading talent on the spoken word scene.

Join us for an electrifying evening showcasing this new generation of voices in action as they premiere work exploring our different individual, family and global identities.

The final six – Isaiah Hull, Asma Elbadawi, Solomon O.B, Amina Jama, Liam McCormick and Reuben Field – will perform alongside some of the UK’s leading spoken word artists including Kate Tempest and more acts to be announced.

THE HARRY AND CHRIS SHOW! by Harry Baker and Chris Read

4 June, 1pm

£7.50/ Dorfman Hub

See what happens when Harry’s Baker’s award-winning words combine with Chris Read’s jazz/pop/funk musical stylings.

Harry and Chris have performed together since their schooldays and delivering newspapers from the same newsagent at the tender age of 15.

Since then their solo careers have blossomed, and from their debut EP ‘Whaddyawannado’ their first joint show is born. Flight of The Conchords meets Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip.

SPOKEN WORD AND SOCIAL ACTIVISM

4 June, 6pm

£7.50 / Dorfman Hub

Spoken word is being used across the world to galvanise communities and stimulate social activism. This event will feature a range of exceptional performance poets who are working in a range of settings from the criminal justice system and prisons, to gender issues, race issues and experiences of migration, as well as some of the participants they have been working with.

Mixing performance, film, personal stories and provocation, the evening will delve into the power of spoken word in complex social settings.  Featuring poems and stories from Toni Stuart, Zena Edwards, Simon Mole, Femi Martin and Indigo Williams.

In partnership with Free Word.

Nimble Fish presents

LOST IN BLUE written & performed by Debs Newbold

5 June, 5pm
£10 / Sackler Space

Debs Newbold, highly celebrated performer and Shakespeare’s Globe storyteller, delivers a touching, funny, cinematic and surreal one-woman show enhanced by live music technology.

Through the prism of Vincent van Gogh’s recognisable late work, Bedroom in Arles, she explores the phenomenon of living life in a coma and the healing power of art.

 

When she was three years old, Annie’s life was skewed off-course. On her 18^th birthday, it threatens to happen again. What is it like to be in a coma? To love someone in a coma? What would van Gogh say about it if you hung out with him in his room at Arles?  And what does a pigeon called Muhammad Ali eat for breakfast?

 Directed by John Wright.

 

Paines Plough and Latitude Festival present

WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LUCK by Sabrina Mahfouz

14 – 18 June, 8pm

£12.50 / Sackler Space

‘I want to be iconic. I want to be beautiful, reckless, feared, hated, ahead of the times. I want to be different, I want to be dangerous…’

London, 2001. Raves. Revision. Re-election.

Nadia is swept up in one hot summer’s night of love that promises endless possibilities. Drinking, dancing, hope, ambition, lust, greed… and decisions that will determine the rest of her life.

Rhythmically underscored by a live mix of old school UK Garage, award-winning writer Sabrina Mahfouz explores the legacy of a cultural movement that defined the hopes of a generation.

London, 2015. Re-wind.

 

“Fist-pumping euphoria…one of the highlights of Latitude’s sun-stroked 10th anniversary festival… crackle[s] with a rare and unexpected life” The Stage

“Gorgeous genre-melding music and theatre” Exeunt

 

Directed by Stef O’Driscoll

 

THE WHISPER

2 – 4 June
Free entry / Roundhouse Foyer

Step into a labyrinth of whispers.
Listen to a million voices flutter all around you.
Experience a hundred tiny speakers transmitting streams of words that transform as you move around them.

Whether these voices are warped and discordant or harmonious and unified these are words you need to hear. A unique fusion of sound, vision and poetry, The Whisper is a collaboration between Vahakn Matossian and Talia Randall.

“Inspiring. Beautiful. Genuine.”  Electronic Sound Magazine on Vahakn Matossian

 

“Talia Randall was the highlight of the evening” Sabotage Reviews

COMING OUT

2 – 4 June

Free entry / Various locations within the Roundhouse

What is the future of love? Encounter a series of objects that will trigger audio through your own mobile and help you imagine what romance will look like in twenty years’ time. An opportunity for Last Word audiences to sample an upcoming interactive installation that will have its world premiere at FutureFest 2016.

This project is a co-production by Nesta and Roundhouse Radio.

 

LISTINGS:

Dates:     24 May – 18 June 2016

Venue:    Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8EH

Tickets:  0300 6789 222 / www.roundhouse.org.uk

 

 

Balloons Theatre presents: