CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY:THE IMAGINATION AWARDS OPEN FOR ENTRIES

• Sir Ken Robinson announced as Patron
• Sam Mendes joins judging panel

Renowned educationalist Sir Ken Robinson will be the Patron of The Imagination Awards, a competition launched by the award-winning West End production of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, to champion creativity and inspire the next generation of theatre makers. The awards open for entries today, and close on Monday 6th June. www.imaginationawards.co.uk

The judging panel for the awards will also include:

• Members of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory creative team including: Sam Mendes, Director; Caro Newling, Producer; Mark Thompson, Set and Costume Designer
• Jess Moore, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Warner Bros.
• Roma Agrawal, Structural Engineer, WSP Group
• James Anderson, 18 year old entrepreneur and founder of Thinkspace
• Mark Champkins, Inventor in Residence, Science Museum
• Emily Mulhall, Animator

The deadline for entries is Monday 6th June 2016, with a shortlist announced on Monday 20th June, and winners announced on Friday 8th July.

The Imagination Awards are divided into two separate awards:

• Charlie’s Challenge: a national award for 5-15 year olds (in three age categories, 5-7, 8-11, 12-15), looking for creative inventions and ideas which would benefit a family member. It can be an invention or idea that would help one person, or something that will help the whole family. Judges: Roma Agrawal, James Anderson, Mark Champkins, Emily Mulhall. Prize: The winner will receive an Imagination Pack full of prizes to encourage invention and creativity, plus a VIP trip to London to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The school that submits most entries will receive an Imagination Workshop at their school and a talk from one of the judges.

• The Young Theatre Design Award is open to 16-18 year olds across the UK and is split into two separate categories: Set Design and Costume Design. Young designers are asked to submit an original set or costume design for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Judges: Sam Mendes, Jess Moore, Caro Newling, Mark Thompson. Prize: The winner from each category will be invited to London to meet with the creative team and watch a matinee performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, before experiencing the production from backstage during the evening performance.

Sam Mendes, director of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, explained: “When we were creating Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one of the key things we always wanted to get across was the importance of the imagination. At the start of the show, Charlie Bucket’s world is grey and cold, but he uses his imagination to transform the world into something wonderful. And Willy Wonka and his factory are the embodiment of the power of imagination. Creating something out of nothing is miraculous – that’s what Roald Dahl did, it’s what Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka do, and it’s what we’re celebrating with this prize.”

Charlie’s Challenge has been designed to be inclusive for all young people. The award encourages creativity in the classroom, and champions invention and imagination as valuable skills for any future career. The production will create resources throughout the awards process which will help unlock the doors to the world of theatre, and showcase the opportunities in the arts that exist for young people interested in the process of theatre making and design.

The Young Theatre Design Award will look for those who have already experimented with set and costume design, and also seek out aspiring artists and those with relevant skills who have not yet considered a career in the theatre industry.

Full details of The Imagination Awards and how to enter can be found at www.imaginationawards.co.uk

Since opening in 2013, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has offered teachers numerous ways to explore the show through an educational ‘Page-to-Stage’ resource that includes activities and exercises for students to bring the musical to life in the classroom. January 2016 has seen the launch of the new official Charlie and the Chocolate Factory school workshops in the areas of drama, singing, dance, musical theatre and storytelling.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has also provided ten one-week paid backstage work experience placements and two eight-week paid internships through the Golden Tickets scheme, part of Warner Bros. Creative Talent, a programme of investment in skills and training for the UK creative industries.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory presented its first ‘relaxed performance’ on 19 January 2016. Presented in association with Mousetrap Theatre Projects, the relaxed performance was aimed at families with one or more children with special needs. It was designed to provide an opportunity for people with autism, learning difficulties or other sensory and communication needs, who require a more relaxed environment, to enjoy the show.

Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has quickly become one of the West End’s most popular and successful stage musicals, and recently celebrated its 1000th performance as well as winning a London Lifestyle Award for Theatre Show of the Year, as voted for by readers of the London Evening Standard. It also won two Olivier awards in April 2014, and has broken records at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, where it has been seen by over 1.7 million people since it opened in June 2013. It is currently taking bookings until December 2016.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is directed by Sam Mendes. Featuring ingenious stagecraft, the wonder of the original story that has captivated the world for almost 50 years is brought to life with music by Marc Shaiman, and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, a book by award-winning playwright and adaptor David Greig, set and costume designs by Mark Thompson and choreography by Peter Darling.

The Official Cast Recording album is available on Sony Records, on CD and download.

This world premiere musical is produced by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Neal Street Productions and Langley Park Productions.

www.CharlieandtheChocolateFactory.com

Box Office: 0844 858 8877

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5JF

Booking until December 2016

DOUBLE HELPING OF SINGALONGA SCREENINGS

From the Producers of Sing-a-long-a Sound Of Music and Sing-a-long-a Grease

On Saturday 20 February the team from Sing-a-long-a Productions present two very special screenings at City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds.

The afternoon sees a welcome return for last year’s two-time sell-out Sing-a-long-a Frozen – a full screening of Disney’s Animated blockbuster Frozen with lyrics on screen to help you and your family sing along during the film.   Introduced by a live host who will guide you through this interactive screening by showing you how to use your free prop bag, warm up your singing voices and teach you some dance moves with the help of the Singalonga Princesses.  Watch as the film is brought to life to help you experience it in a whole new light.

On the evening of the same day get ready for the time of your life with Sing-a-long-a Dirty Dancing (15)

The brand new sing-a-long-a screening of the classic film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.

It’s the Summer of 1963, it’s college boys versus dancing hunks, it’s one of the best loved movies of all time and, yes, there is a guy as great as your dad.

Join Baby and Johnny in a fun-filled screening of the1987 dance classic film where YOU are the stars of the show. The Singalonga host will lead a vocal warm up, show you how to use your ‘magic moments fun pack’ and will no doubt have you dancing really dirty…

Fancy dress not obligatory but highly recommended

Saturday 20 February
Sing-a-long-a Frozen (Cert PG) 2pm

Sing-a-long-a Dirty Dancing  (Cert 15) 8pm

Online Booking: www.cityvarieties.co.uk

Box Office: 0113 243 0808

We are one year old and to celebrate we have a fun competition with a mystery prize

Our first “20 Questions with…..” was the insanely talented Anna Jane Casey and to win you just need to answer this question

What is Anna Jane Casey’s favourite theatre?

To enter send an email with your answer, your name and email address to [email protected] please put the word COMPETITION in the subject line

Competition closes at 11.59pm 31 January and the winner will be announced 1 February

Good Luck

PS Remember to like us on Facebook and Twitter too

DAVID ESSEX   JIMMY NAIL   DANIEL BEDINGFIELD

MICHAEL PRAED  MADALENA ALBERTO and HEIDI RANGE

On screen & in 3D holography

LIAM NEESON

Conducted on stage by

JEFF WAYNE

Bill Kenwright and Jeff Wayne present

THE WEST END DEBUT OF THE MULTI-AWARD WINNING MUSIC PHENOMENON

SPECTACULARLY REIMAGINED FOR THE STAGE

JEFF WAYNE’S MUSICAL VERSION OF

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS

Limited Season starts 8 February 2016

Alongside the onscreen appearance of Liam Neeson and the onstage appearance of Jeff Wayne and his magnificent Black Smoke Band and ULLAdubULLA string orchestra, casting has now been announced for the World Stage Premiere of The War of The Worlds at the Dominion Theatre.

Making his West End debut singer-songwriter, actor, musician, and writer Jimmy Nail plays Parson Nathaniel.

Also making his debut will be Daniel Bedingfield, as The Artilleryman. The New Zealand born, British raised singer-songwriter shot to stardom in 2001. He returns to this country from LA for the first time in many years.

The third cast member to make their West End debut is Heidi Range, playing Beth. Heidi is the longest serving member of the BRIT award winning multi-platinum-selling British girl group Sugababes.

Alongside these debutants are two West End regulars: Michael Praed, as George Herbert, whose first major appearance was at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in Joseph Papp’s production of The Pirates of Penzance, and who has since regularly starred in on Broadway and in the West End; and joining him Madalena Alberto, playing Carrie, fresh from her triumph as Eva Peron in Evita at The Dominion last year.

Finally, as The Voice Of Humanity, and completing possibly the starriest cast the West End has seen, is David Essex. One of the original contributors to Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds in 1978, this will be the first time the two men have joined together to work on The War of The Worlds since.

Since its inception in 1978, Jeff Wayne’s original double album has become one of the most ground-breaking and bestselling musical works of all time. With over 15 million copies sold and 330 weeks in the UK Album Charts to date, a number one album in 11 countries, a number-one music DVD, 8 years of world-wide arena tours, and huge critical acclaim across the globe the score includes the two international hit singles The Eve of The War and Forever Autumn.

Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds has won two prestigious Ivor Novello Awards, the Best Recording in Science Fiction and Fantasy Award (the judges included Alfred Hitchcock, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg), as well as winning for Jeff, Classic Rock’s Showman of The Year Award.

Wintershall Players presents
The Passion of Jesus
Trafalgar Square
Good Friday, 25 March 2016
12noon & 3.15pm

On Good Friday, Friday 25^th March, the renowned  Wintershall Players return to the heart of London with their awe-inspiring full scale re-enactment of The Passion of Jesus, performed for free in the shadow of the National Gallery.

The story commemorating the day Jesus is believed to have been arrested, tried and crucified by the Romans, two days before miraculously rising from the dead on Easter Sunday is brought to life by a cast of over a hundred, all in resplendent costumes, along with horses, doves and donkeys. Featuring realistic scenes and a heart moving crucifixion and resurrection, The Passion of Jesus is an unforgettable experience.

The Passion of Jesus has grown since the players first came to Trafalgar Square in 2010.  Since then it has become a highly anticipated fixture of Holy Week, attracting more than 20,000 people to its two performances. As well as Trafalgar Square, the Wintershall Players will perform The Passion in Guildford on Easter Saturday.

‘As Londoners across the capital and beyond celebrate Easter I am delighted that The Passion of Jesus

is returning to Trafalgar Square. It is a wonderful event that brings to life the Christian message

and attracts people of all faiths right in the heart of our great city.’

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson

Directed by theatre producer and Chairman of the Guildford School of Acting, Ashley Herman, and starring the actor and artist James Burke-Dunsmore as Jesus, the rest of the company is made up of eager and committed volunteers from in and around London and the South East.

The Passion’s Christian message embraces all denominations and this is highlighted by the active and continued involvement of the ecumenical Christian charity, Bible Society, as well as two of the country’s principal Church leaders, The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster and the Bishop of London.

The Wintershall Players will be performing the Life of Christ at the Wintershall Estate in Surrey from the 21-26 June and the Wintershall Nativity from the 14-18 December.

LISTINGS INFORMATION:

The Passion of Jesus, Trafalgar Square 
Date: Friday 25^th March 2016
Times: 12 noon & 3.15 pm
Tickets: Free admission

Please note: This is an open air event so clothing appropriate for the forecasted weather conditions should be worn. This performance contains a realistic interpretation of the crucifixion. Parental guidance is advised.

Big screens are used so wherever you are you can see and hear the acting.
BSL interpreters will be available for both London performances.

Trick of Light Theatre Company presents:

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group have today announced that in collaboration with Stage Entertainment, The Phantom of the Opera is to open at the Mogador Theatre in Paris from October 2016.

Following on from the successful season of Cats at the Mogador Theatre, The Phantom of the Opera, one of the biggest musicals of all time, is set to be another smash hit.

The Paris production will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the opening of the show and will be the first time it plays in France and also in French.

Le Fantôme de l’Opéra arrive à Paris!
En collaboration avec The Really Useful Group d’Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stage Entertainment présente l’un des plus grand succès de comédie musicale de tous les temps, Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, adapté du roman de Gaston Leroux, au Théâtre Mogador à partir d’octobre 2016.

La production parisienne célèbrera le 30ème anniversaire de la création du spectacle et sera la première à jouer en France et en français. Venez découvrir ce chef-d’œuvre spectaculaire et romantique au Théâtre Mogador.
http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/paris/

The Phantom of the opera has entertained audiences in over 150 cities, 30 countries and has been adapted in 13 languages for over 140 million viewers worldwide. The Phantom of the Opera was inspired by the famous novel by Gaston Leroux published in 1910 – one of the major novels of the French classical literature.

Stage Entertainment said “The Mogador theater, so close to the Opera Garnier, is the ideal place in which to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the musical. We could not imagine a more appropriate framework for our Phantom than the homeland of Gaston Leroux.”

Priority bookings begin on 11th February 2016.
http://www.reallyuseful.com/news/the-phantom-of-the-opera-to-open-in-paris/

The Phantom of the Opera
Her Majesty’s Theatre
57 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4QL
Evenings: Monday to Saturday 7.30pm
Matinees: Thursday and Saturday 2.30pm
Running Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Age Restrictions: Recommended for ages 10 and over. Under 5s will not be admitted. Parental guidance advised.
Show Opened: 27th September 1986

Nick Moran has been announced to star in a new revival of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre in February.

Moran, who was recently seen in Roaring Trade at the Park Theatre and whose credits include Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, will be joined by Sarah-Jane Potts and Simon Merrells.

The production will be the venue’s first fully in-house production in six years. The theatre stopped producing work in 2009 when it was hit with financial troubles, but new artistic and executive director Paul Jepson reported last year it would begin to self-produce again.

Jepson said he was “delighted to be working with such a fantastic cast”, adding: “Betrayal is a fabulous play. Funny, touching and incredibly balanced. A play about people breaking out and having what they want and then finding out they still aren’t happy.”

Betrayal will run at the Northcott Theatre from 18 February to 5 March.

YORK LITERATURE FESTIVAL

Grand Opera House York

Saturday 12 March 2016

3:00pm         WENDY COPE                  Tickets from £10

7:30pm         ARTHUR SMITH               Tickets from £17

Wendy Cope, one of the UK’s most enduringly popular poets, features in the afternoon.  Wendy is acclaimed for her wryly perceptive love poems and parodies.  Since her highly acclaimed poetry collection Making Cocoa For Kingsley Amis in 1986, Wendy has been at the forefront of the British poetry scene.

Wit, raconteur, playwright, grumpy old man and Leonard Cohen fan – Arthur Smith is one of a kind. His career has built steadily from being part of the alternative scene in the Eighties, and he now describes himself as “semi-professional” comedian.   He describes himself as BBC Radio 4’s “bit of rough”. Support comes from writer,   Private Eye cartoonist and performer Mike Barfield.

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/york