YORKSHIRE DANCE TO WORK WITH PEOPLE LIVING WITH PARKINSON’S FOR A NEW PROJECT

 

#ParkinsonsAwarenessWeek

 

 

This week is Parkinson’s Awareness Week and in celebration Yorkshire Dance, the dance development organisation for Yorkshire, is calling for people living with Parkinson’s to join them this weekend as part of a new training programme.

 

 

An Introduction to Dance for Parkinson’s runs this Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th April and is designed for professional dance artists to learn how to structure dance classes for people living with Parkinson’s.

 

“We know through research and practice that dance can be extremely beneficial for people living with Parkinson’s,” explains Adie Nivison, Project Manager at Yorkshire Dance.

 

“This course aims to assist Yorkshire dance professionals in their work and naturally we want to involve the very people that will ultimately benefit to join us for part of the course.”

 

Anybody with Parkinson’s is invited to join the session at Yorkshire Dance’s home on Quarry Hill in Leeds city centre on Saturday from 2pm to 4.30pm.

 

Four taster sessions for people living with Parkinson’s and their carers have already been delivered in Woodlesford, Moor Allerton, Otley & Middleton, and from May Yorkshire Dance will roll out Dance For Parkinson’s – a 12-week pilot programme in Leeds.

Dance For Parkinson’s will take place at Middleton Community Centre every week from Wednesday May 9th and is free, thanks to funding from Leeds Let’s Get Active

 

“Leeds Let’s Get Active aims to provide more opportunities for inactive people to become active,” says Sam Coupland, Development Officer at Active Leeds.

 

“Our aim is for Leeds to be the most active city in the UK and projects such as Dance for Parkinson’s go a long way to ensure that we reach the people that other programmes don’t; it’s a great example of how working in partnership with organisations such as Yorkshire Dance and Parkinson’s UK can help overcome the barriers that stop people getting active.”

 

 

To join An Introduction to Dance for Parkinson’s this Saturday from 2pm to 4.30pm, and for more information on Yorkshire Dance’s work in this area, call Adie Nivison on 0113 243 9867

Following the accidental omission of Sir Peter Hall from the In Memoriam section of Sunday’s Olivier Awards, the Society of London Theatre apologises unreservedly for this serious error. Sir Peter, as founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company and a Director of the National Theatre, was a giant of British Theatre and is sorely missed in the industry.

In recognition of Sir Peter’s phenomenal contribution to British theatre over many decades, and in close consultation with the Hall family, SOLT has taken the decision to rename the Olivier Award for Best Director the “Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director” from next year’s ceremony and in perpetuity thereafter.

SOLT is also reviewing the process by which people are included in the In Memoriam segment for future ceremonies.

You can view an updated In Memoriam video at this link: https://youtu.be/CV6K39ZCwds

WICKED FLIES INTO EDINBURGH IN JUST 4 WEEKS
FOR EXCLUSIVE SCOTTISH ENGAGEMENT
AN INCREDIBLE 65,000 TICKETS ALREADY SOLD
AS SPECTACULAR PRODUCTION RETURNS
TO EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE FROM 8 MAY

WICKED, the spectacular West End and Broadway musical that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, will begin performances in just 4 weeks at Edinburgh Playhouse. With an incredible 65,000 tickets already sold for the tour’s only Scottish engagement, best availability is currently at Monday-Wednesday performances

“The gravity-defying ‘Wizard of Oz’ prequel” (Time Out) will play for five weeks only from Tuesday 8 May to Saturday 9 June 2018. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Edinburgh Playhouse Box Office, online at www.atgtickets.com/shows/wicked/edinburgh-playhouse or by phone on 0844 871 3014.

The 2018 UK & Ireland Tour of WICKED has already played record-breaking engagements in Bristol and Liverpool and is currently playing a sold out run at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The production has won five-star rave reviews: “you could be in a Broadway theatre! Wicked is one of the best touring productions ever to come to the city” (Bristol Post), “if you want a show to send you soaring into the night, leave you feeling completely bewitched and totally under a spell of musical theatre perfection, then you’d better catch this Wicked tour before it sells out!” (The Reviews Hub, Liverpool) and “it is, by far, the best show on tour in the UK at the moment” (Black Country Radio)

The “fantastic cast” (Birmingham Express and Star) features Amy Ross as Elphaba, Helen Woolf as Glinda, Aaron Sidwell (best known as ‘Steven Beale’ in EastEnders) as Fiyero, Steven Pinder (best known as ‘Max Farnham’ in Brookside) as The Wizard & Doctor Dillamond, Kim Ismay as Madame Morrible, Emily Shaw as Nessarose and Iddon Jones as Boq. Nikki Bentley is Standby for Elphaba

WICKED is already the 15th longest running show in West End theatre history and is now in its 12th year at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it continues an open-ended run. Around the world, WICKED has been seen by 55 million people in 16 countries and won over 100 major awards, including ten theatregoer-voted WhatsOnStage Awards (winning ‘Best West End Show’ on three occasions) and two Olivier Audience Awards. The song ‘Defying Gravity’ was also recently voted the UK’s No.1 favourite musical theatre song by
listeners of Encore Radio

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. Acclaimed as “a thrilling theatrical experience with brains, heart and courage” (Metro), WICKED transports audiences to a stunningly re-imagined world of Oz, providing wonders beyond the imagination…

WICKED has music and lyrics by multi Grammy and Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Disney’s Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enchanted and, for DreamWorks, The Prince of Egypt) 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 (My So-Called Life). Musical staging is by Tony Award-winner Wayne Cilento and 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 & Ireland) Michael McCabe.

Official website: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk
Twitter: @WickedUK | Facebook: /WickedUK | Instagram: @WickedUK

LISTINGS INFORMATION
TUESDAY 8 MAY – SATURDAY 9 JUNE 2018
EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
18-22 Greenside Lane
Edinburgh
EH1 3AA
FOR THE BEST SELECTION OF SEATS AND PRICES, CHOOSE MON-WED PERFORMANCES
Performance Times: Mon – Sat @ 7.30pm / Wed & Sat @ 2.30pm / Thu 2.30pm on 10 & 31 May
Ticket prices: From £22.50
Tickets available from:
In person: Edinburgh Playhouse Box Office
Online: ATGtickets.com/Edinburgh*
By Phone: 0844 871 3014*
Groups: 0333 009 5388**
*Transaction fees apply. Calls cost up to 7ppm plus your phone company’s access charge.
**calls charged at local rate for group bookings only.

WICKED is suitable for a general audience. As a guide to parents, guardians and teachers, it is recommended for ages 7+. All persons entering the theatre, regardless of age, must have a ticket. Children under 3 years of age will not be admitted.

The producers cannot guarantee the appearance of any particular artist, which is always subject to illness, injury and statutory leave entitlement.

Gregory Maguire’s ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ is published by Headline. The book is recommended for readers aged 16+
The Grammy Award-winning Original Broadway Cast recording on DECCA BROADWAY

The Cockpit, Gateforth Street, Marylebone, London NW8 8EH
Wednesday 23 May – Sunday 24 June 2018

After a sold-out run in 2014, All Star Productions – Winner of the Best Producer in the Off-West End Awards 2018 – team up with Trilby Productions and The Cockpit to stage a fresh new adaptation of James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. Directed by Tim McArthur, this production has been given a 21st century twist that promises to both enchant and thrill. This darkly comic masterpiece invites audiences to journey into the middle of the forest where well-known fairy tales interweave to create a magical world

Into the Woods follows a childless baker and his wife as they dream of having a child. In a bid to undo the curse placed on them and other storybook characters, the witch sends them into the woods to reverse this. As act one unfolds, all the fairy tales reach the ending of their tales but does this mean everyone will be happy? This innovative production sees the giant’s wife from Jack and the Beanstalk come down to the kingdom to seek revenge, crushing many characters
on her way. Will the storybook people learn to work together to defeat her?

This wonderful adaptation of Into the Woods is performed in the round with an ensemble of seventeen larger-than-life characters drawn from modern day Britain. From the Jeremy Kyle Show to William and Kate’s royal wedding, this contemporary revival is complete with a drugusing Rapunzel, a paedophile Wolf and an evil stepmother straight from TOWIE

Tim McArthur comments, My love for Stephen Sondheim began in 1988 when I went to see a production of Follies at the Shaftesbury Theatre. As I grow older, I find myself unconsciously  relooking at Sondheim’s material; its complexity is vast and as an artist, I continue to discover new meanings and feelings about his storytelling. Into the Woods is a magnificent piece of theatre and storytelling and, young or old, it’s full of life and lessons that we can all learn from. When we got the rights to do the show back in 2014, I knew I wanted to do something different
and fresh with the production, now what Into the Woods meant to me 4 years ago has further evolved. The fairy tales are so strong and legendary, so I wanted to use that but reinvent the look of the show for a modern audience

Aaron Clingham, Musical Director of Into The Woods, adds, I am so thrilled to revisit Into the Woods four years after our original production. This show holds a special place for me as it was the show that first introduced me to the work of Stephen Sondheim almost 15 years ago. For a Musical Director, tackling any Sondheim score is always an exciting challenge – the lyrics are often complex with multiple internal rhymes and the musical motifs and melodies are technically challenging. But I can’t wait to share with audiences my newly reduced orchestration for the show which I have scored for Strings and Woodwinds which is based on Jonathan Tunick’s brilliant original parts

As with all fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, Into the Woods imparts the valuable lesson that our actions can affect others and that we must take responsibility for their consequences. Be careful what you wish for!

You will not see a version like this anywhere else (unless the production transfers into the West End – which it certainly deserves to). (★★★★★ West End Wilma)

Into the Woods is performed by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe)Limited.

April 25th – May 12th, Hoxton Hall

Theatre Lab Company bring Molière’s Don Juan, directed by Anastasia Revi to Hoxton Hall. This follows their acclaimed Salome at Hoxton Hall in February 2017, and recent acclaimed production of Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn at the Tabard Theatre

There is nothing so sweet as to overcome the resistance of a beautiful woman; and, where they are concerned, I have the ambition of a conqueror…

Charming… egocentric… atheist… philanderer… recently wed, Don Juan is about to commit adultery against his new wife. Accompanied by his servant, Sganarelle, he sets out in pursuit of his next amorous conquest. Sganarelle challenges his master’s libertine views as the pair engages in a hilarious philosophical debate to defend their equally self-serving moralities. Don Juan is remorseless, unrepentant and has a voracious libido. Sganarelle is clever, pious but ambitious. Set against the backdrop of the Venice Carnival, DON JUAN is a black comedy that follows the last day of the legendary playboy’s life

“Anastasia Revi’s direction grips the attention from beginning to end through the ingenious use of props, movement, sound and character detail” Stage Review on Jamaica Inn

Anastasia Revi won the 2016 Theatre Award for Best Director of the Year for Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the National Theatre of Northern Greece, and the Women’s Award for Theatre in Athens. She was nominated for Greece’s Woman of the Year Award (2017) in the Director’s Category and a finalist in the Greek International Women Awards (GIWA, British Museum, London, 2017) in the Arts & Design category

“a hauntingly choreographed piece of intense physical theatre” The Stage on Salome

Theatre Lab Company is a London based international company renowned for mesmerising imagery, physical performance and visual storytelling. Sponsors include Arts Council England, Awards for All, Secretariat General of Greeks Abroad, and private foundations. The Company has participated in festivals in Avignon, Edinburgh, London, Greece, Belgrade, Dublin, Prague and New York. Recent credits include: Jamaica Inn (Tabard Theatre), Salome (Hoxton Hall & Tour), Dancing with the Devil: A Play about Rudolf Nureyev (Lilian Baylis, Sadler’s Wells), and ancient Greek classics Antigone, The Oresteia, Lysistrata and Medea (Riverside Studios). Their productions have been very successful with steadily growing audiences, sold out performances and some excellent reviews

Performance Dates May 16th 2018 – May 26th 2018, 7.45pm

Tuesday – Saturday, 7.45pm

matinee May 12th, 2.30pm

Running Time 90 mins (no interval)

Venue Hoxton Hall, 130 Hoxton St, London N1 6SH

Age Recommendation 12+/PG

Ticket Price £20 / £16 (concession)

Box Office Hoxton Hall (hoxtonhall.co.uk/don-juan), 020 7684 0060

Travel Hoxton station (6 min walk)

Haggerston station (13 min walk)

Links Company Website (theatrelab.co.uk) Director’s Website (anastasiarevi.co.uk)

THE MULTI AWARD-WINNING JOHN FINNEMORE COMES TO YORK

DATE: TUESDAY 22ND MAY

So, what actually happens in a Flying Visit?

No actual flying, sadly. It’s me and the entire cast of my sketch show John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme performing some of our favourite sketches from that show; and lots of brand new ones. Plus, I might even sing. Unless the rest of the cast win their legal battle to stop me.

What’s it like going on tour with the cast? What’s life like on the tour bus?

Oh, it’s everything you would expect from a Radio 4 show cast on tour. Typically, Lawry and I will be doing a crossword, Margaret will be Skyping her kids, Simon will be at work on his cross-stitch of hedgerow flowers… and at the back of the bus, Carrie will be in her jacuzzi full of champagne, trying to drink vodka through a trumpet.

And what made you want to come to York?

I love learning about trains, but I also love learning about Vikings. York is the only city that doesn’t make me choose.

You’re probably best known for Cabin Pressure – what gave you the idea for a sitcom about a tiny airline with only one plane?

My Dad was a pilot, so the inspiration for the show – and indeed for the smooth-talking old sky-god character played by Roger Allam – isn’t very difficult to find. Since then, I’ve written comedies about a nurse (my Mum’s job) and a railway signalman (my Grandad’s).  If I ever stop writing, you’ll know I’ve run out of relatives.

You also performed in Cabin Pressure, alongside Benedict Cumberbatch as Martin. What was it like working with such a huge star?

Well, you’d have to ask him, but I think he coped with it pretty well.

Your character, Arthur the steward, is a cheerful idiot. What made you want to play him?

Idiots in sitcoms get all the best lines. Plus, I’d already been a cheerful idiot on an amateur basis for some time, so it was an exciting  opportunity to take it professional.

Will Arthur be making an appearance in the show?

He certainly will, and he’s very excited about it. Mind you, he’s always very excited about everything.

And apart from him, what else can we expect from the show?

Well, for instance… we will be explaining how Pavlov’s research into conditioned reflexes in dogs was affected by Mrs Pavlova’s invention of a delicious meringue pudding; investigating what turns posh men’s trousers red; and revealing the original design brief for cats: tiny lions that live in your house. As you can see, it’s a very educational show. Bring the kids.

Grand Opera House York

John Finnemore’s Flying Visit

Tuesday 22 May 2018

Tickets from £29

Box Office 0844 871 3024

Online  www.atgtickets.com/york

EVERYBODY SAY YEAH!

THE WINNER OF EVERY MAJOR BEST MUSICAL AWARDSTRUTS INTO GLASGOW

KING’S THEATRE

MONDAY 6 – SATURDAY 18 MAY 2019

 

Kinky Boots, the winner of every major Best Musical award, is coming to Glasgow next year.

Inspired by true events, the production, sound-tracked by songs from by Grammy® and Tony® winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper, will run at the King’s Theatre from Monday 6 – Saturday 18 May 2019.

 

Tickets are on sale to ATG Theatre Card holders now and go on general sale on Friday 13 April 2018.

Kinky Boots at the Adelphi Theatre has become a favourite with UK theatregoers having won three Olivier Awards for Best New Musical, Best Costume Design and Best Actor in a Musical for Matt Henry who played Lola. Kinky Boots also won the London Evening Standard BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical as well as three WhatsOnStage Awards for Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical and Best Choreography.

 

Kinky Boots takes you from a gentlemen’s shoe factory in Northampton to the glamorous catwalks of Milan. Charlie Price is struggling to live up to his father’s expectations and continue the family business of Price & Son. With the factory’s future hanging in the balance, help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola, a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos. This joyous musical celebration is about the friendships we discover, and the belief that you can change the world when you change your mind.

With direction and choreography by two-time Tony® Award-winner Jerry Mitchell (Legally Blonde, Hairspray), and book by Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein (La Cage Aux Folles), Kinky Boots is the winner of every major Best Musical award including three Olivier Awards, three WhatsOnStage Awards as well as six Broadway Tony® Awards.

Composer and Lyricist, Cyndi Lauper said: “It has been a wonderful adventure and a privilege for me, to play a part in creating Kinky Boots. Everyone can relate to this universal story, and I am overwhelmed that people in the UK have embraced it with open arms. I am thrilled that this fabulous show will be touring the country!”

Book writer, Harvey Fierstein said: “The inspiring story of Kinky Boots will soon complete its full circle journey from Northampton to the silver screen to Broadway and London and now, at last, back home to Northampton as it embarks on a national UK tour. How often does that happen? It’s been an absolute thrill to witness the giant heart of our show raise audiences up out of their seats in clamorous joy night after night in the West End and I am now so glad to experience its homecoming.”

Director and Choreographer, Jerry Mitchell said: “I am delighted to see this big-spirited musical going on tour. Kinky Boots is very close to my heart, and I am really looking forward to taking this British musical all over the UK .”

Kinky Boots is produced by Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig, James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, Playful Productions, CJ E&M, Jayne Baron Sherman, Just for Laughs Theatricals/Judith Ann Abrams, Yasuhiro Kawana, Jane Bergère, Allan S. Gordon & Adam S. Gordon, Ken Davenport, Hunter Arnold, Lucy and Phil Suarez, Bryan Bantry, Ron Fierstein & Dorsey Regal, Independent Presenters Network, Jim Kierstead/Gregory Rae, BB Group/Christina Papagjika, Brian Smith/Tom & Connie Walsh, Warren Trepp, and Jujamcyn Theaters, in association with Cameron Mackintosh.

 

Casting to be announced.

ENDS

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

PRESS CONTACT

Laura Redpath

lauraredpath@theambassadors.com

0141 240 1305

LISTINGS

Kinky Boots

King’s Theatre, Glasgow

Mon 6 – Sat 18 May 2019

Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu: 7.30pm

Fri, 5pm & 8.30pm

Sat, 2.3pm & 7.30pm

www.atgtickets.com/glasgow

0844 871 7648 *calls cost up to 7p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge

The Ferryman
By Jez Butterworth
Directed by Sam Mendes

• Final six weeks of The Ferryman in the West End after winning three awards at the 2018 Olivier Awards
• More than 350,000 people will have seen the production during its year long run of 410 performances, with over 14,000 tickets sold at £12.50 or under
  

Audiences have just six weeks left to see the critically acclaimed hit production of The Ferrymanby Jez Butterworth in the West End. Produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Neal Street Productions and Royal Court Theatre Productions, The Ferryman will play its final performance at the Gielgud Theatre on 19 May 2018, prior to its Broadway transfer.

Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman was the most recognised play at this year’s Olivier Awards with eight award nominations. It went on to win the award for Best New Play, while Sam Mendes was awarded Best Director and Laura Donnelly received the honour for Best Actress.

The Olivier Awards follow successes at The Evening Standard Awards, Critics Circle Awards and WhatsOnStage Awards at all of which The Ferryman was given the Best New Play Award.

The production won widespread critical acclaim when it opened at the Royal Court and was the fastest selling show in the theatre’s history.  This phenomenal success has continued at the Gielgud Theatre where it has been playing to sold-out houses.

The current company includes Dean Ashton as Frank Magennis, Declan Conlon as Muldoon,Rosalie Craig  in the role of Caitlin Carney, Kevin Creedon as JJ Carney, Charles Dale as Father Horrigan, Sean Delaney as Michael Carney, Justin Edwards as Tom Kettle, Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Shena Carney, Terence Keeley as Diarmaid Corcoran, Laurie Kynastonas Oisin Carney, Mark Lambert as Uncle Pat, Catherine McCormack as Mary Carney, Stella McCusker as Aunt Maggie Far Away, Owen McDonnell playing Quinn Carney, Francis Mezza as Shane Corcoran, Glenn Speers as Lawrence Malone and Siân Thomas as Aunt Pat. As previously the full company comprises 37 performers: 17 main adults, 7 covers, 12 children on rota and 1 baby.

The Ferryman in the West End is directed by Sam Mendes, designed by Rob Howell, lighting by Peter Mumford, sound and original music by Nick Powell, with the current cast directed by Tim Hoare and casting by Amy Ball CDG.

Sonia Friedman Productions and Neal Street Productions will transfer The Ferryman to Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 W 45th St, New York) opening in October 2018. Tickets are onsale through Telecharge.com.

Full production schedule, the 30-plus member cast and full creative team for The Ferryman on Broadway will be announced at a later date.

 

 

West End Listings:

Sonia Friedman Productions, Neal Street Productions
& Royal Court Theatre Productions 
with Rupert Gavin, Gavin Kalin Productions, Ron Kastner and Tulchin Bartner Productions

present
The Ferryman
By Jez Butterworth
Directed by Sam Mendes

Designer Rob Howell
Lighting Designer Peter Mumford
Composer & Sound Designer Nick Powell
New Cast Director Tim Hoare
Casting Director Amy Ball CDG

Gielgud Theatre

Shaftesbury Ave, Soho, London W1D 6AR
Until 19 May 2018
Box Office: 0844 482 5130*
*calls cost up to 7p per minute plus your standard network charge
Online: www.TheFerrymanPlay.com

Monday to Saturday 7.00pm, Wednesday and Saturday matinees 1.30pm.

Day seats are available to purchase at £12 for every performance from 10.30am at the Box Office in person
Premium tickets are available

Age Guidance 14+ Contains strong language

Twitter: @TheFerrymanPlay
Facebook: /TheFerrymanPlay
#TheFerryman

IS YOUR CHILD A LITTLE STAR?

A leading young person’s Theatre Company in Leeds is looking for new youngsters to join its Little Stars Group.

On Stage Academy Theatre Arts, whose home is at The Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds City Centre, wants more children aged three to five to join them for their weekly Theatre Class.

“On Stage Academy has been running for 19 years,” says co-founder Liz Coggins. “We started to work with young people aged five to 16 but soon found there was a desire for a class for younger children who wanted to do more than sing nursery rhymes.”

Liz and the Deputy Principal Carolyn Craven, an early years’ specialist, wrote a unique course that would ensure the young students would learn the same strands of theatre as the older ones, but it would be tailored to their age, and in 2010 Little Stars was born.

“Little Stars has been a great success with several students who started with still attending the older classes eight years on,” Liz continues. “We’re now looking for more young students to join us on a Saturday afternoon and start learning about all things theatre.”

Reuben, aged 11, was one of the original Little Stars and has continued with the class to this day.

“I love learning new skills and showing them off,” he says. “I’ll never forget when I performed in the pantomime Aladdin at City Varieties Music Hall – I had to crawl out of a washing machine as a shrunken Wishee Washee!”

Reuben’s more challenging roles have included the Scarecrow in a potted version of The Wizard of Oz at Scarborough Open Air Theatre.

“Each student gets the chance to perform at the legendary City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds and Scarborough Open Air Theatre,” continues Liz. “This gives them early experience of live performance in front of a large audience which is incredibly valuable for any performer.”

The team leading the classes at On Stage Academy is made up of professionals including teachers in dance and drama, a vocal coach, a jazz singer, early years’ professionals, writers and directors; they teach every aspect of stagecraft from props, hair and makeup, costume design, production and choreography to stage management and theatre etiquette as well as performance skills.

But it isn’t just about training to work in the theatre as Liz explains. “The skills we share at Little Stars and On Stage Theatre Arts Academy are skills that are transferable; we help grow confidence, teach teamwork and trust, and show the students how many people work together to create a successful project – all skills that will help as they grow and venture out.”

Savi is ten years old – she started at the Academy in 2011: “At Little Stars we learn really interesting things and I have made some very good friends,” she says. “I want to work with children when I’m older– maybe as a Teaching Assistant.”

Ten year old Aoife also started at the Academy in 2011: “I like being able to rehearse and perform in a real theatre and on a proper stage where so many famous people have been.”

The City Varieties Music Hall has seen many a star take to its boards over the years – from Harry Houdini and Marie Lloyd to David Baddiel and Kate Rusby – and these Little Stars will add their names to the long list, maybe even becoming the Big Stars of the future.

“The new term starts this Saturday 14^th April but we will accept applications over the coming weeks,” concludes Liz. “So if you think your child could benefit from this group, drop me a line.”

To apply for your child to join Little Stars visit www.onstagetheatrearts.co.uk and download an application form, or email enquiries@onstagetheatrearts.co.uk 

 

The Little Stars new term starts this Saturday April 14^th and runs every Saturday from 1 – 2pm at The Carriageworks Theatre, Millennium Square

Renowned Broadway, West End and film actress Caroline O’Connor, recently met up with legendary star of stage and screen, Chita Rivera, to discuss the first London revival in 20 years of Kander and Ebb’s THE RINK at Southwark Playhouse, which will run for a limited season from 25 May to 23 June 2018.