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MANCHESTER DATE FOR CLASSIC PLAY

KINDERTRANSPORT

Directed by Anne Simon

Designed by Marie-Luce Theis

Lighting Designer Nic Farman

Sound Designer Adrienne Quartly

 

 

Kindertransport – the deeply moving and timely modern classic – celebrates 25 years since the play was written by acclaimed playwright Diane Samuels in 2018 with an anniversary tour visiting the Opera House Manchester from 1 – 5 May 2018.

2018 marks the 80^th anniversary of the Kindertransport, which saw thousands of Jewish children ferried from Austria and Germany to safety.

Set in Hamburg in 1938: nine year-old Eva is forced onto a train by her desperate mother in order to escape the threat of World War II. Arriving at Liverpool Street Station, tagged like a piece of luggage, she’s handed over to strangers.

Manchester 1980: Evelyn, a proud mum, prepares to say goodbye to daughter Faith as she leaves the family home. But what Faith finds in the attic will change her life forever…

This heart-warming play is from the producers of last year’s acclaimed revival of The Crucible. Kindertransport will be directed by Anne Simon and designed by Marie-Luce Theis with lighting design by Nic Farman and sound design by Adrienne Quartly.

Don’t miss a limited chance to see the anniversary tour of this haunting play about a woman’s struggle to come to terms with her past.

Find out more at www.selladoor.co.uk / twitter @KinderTourUK

Book now at www.atgtickets.com/Manchester or by calling the Box Office on 0844 871 3018.

LISTING INFORMATION

 

KINDERTRANSPORT

Opera House, Manchester

3 Quay Street

Manchester

Tuesday 1 May 2018 at 7.30pm

Wednesday 2 May 2018 at 7.30pm

Thursday 3 May at 2.30pm and 7.30pm

Friday 4 May at 7.30pm

Saturday 5 May at 2.30pm and 7.30pm

Tickets from £15.00

Box Office: 0844 871 3018* www.atgtickets.com/Manchester*

Booking/transaction fee applies

(Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge)

The World’s Biggest Pantomime Presents

PETER PAN – An Awfully BIG Arena Adventure

starring

BRADLEY WALSH & MARTIN KEMP

ARENA BIRMINGHAM & THE SSE ARENA WEMBLEY

EXTRA SHOWS ADDED FOR CHRISTMAS 2017

DUE TO OVERWHELMING POPULAR DEMAND!

Tickets on pre-sale 15 November, general sale 17 November

 

Due to huge demand for tickets, the World’s Biggest Pantomime is delighted to announce additional shows in Birmingham and London for PETER PAN – An Awfully BIG Arena Adventure, a stunning new spectacular super-sized Christmas show. The new shows are at 11am on Saturday 23 December at the Arena Birmingham and 11am on Saturday 30 December at The SSE Arena, Wembley.

 

These extra performances are in addition to the seven existing performances at the Arena Birmingham from 20 to 24 December, and four performances at The SSE Arena, Wembley on 29 and30 December. Tickets for the new shows are available by pre-sale Wednesday 15 November and on general sale Friday 17 November.  Tickets are selling fast – book now!

 

PETER PAN – An Awfully BIG Arena Adventure stars Bradley Walsh as Mr Smee, Martin Kemp as Captain Hook and Matt Knight as Peter Pan.

 

Bradley said: “I’m so excited to be appearing in PETER PAN. It really is an extraordinary production, the like of which has never been seen before!  It has a life-size galleon, a 25 foot crocodile, plus a cast of over 100!  It’s a big, bold arena extravaganza and a festive treat with something for everyone.”

 

J.M. Barrie’s original story and characters will be brought to life in PETER PAN – An Awfully BIG Arena Adventure, by a cast of over 100 performers, including a thrilling team of BMX riders, stuntmen and trapeze artists, along with a seven metre long animatronic crocodile! 

 

This amazing new show will be performed across three arena stages on a stunning movie-style Neverland set.  The Jolly Roger Galleon will sail around the arena in front of a 10,000-gallon water wall.  From any position in the audience, you are close to the action, with a giant 60 feet-wide LED screen, computer graphic imagery and a live close-up TV-relay ensuring never a moment is missed.

 

PETER PAN – An Awfully BIG Arena Adventure is directed by Jon Conway, designed by Wellington Scenic, with lighting design by Jamie Corbidge and sound design by Dave Shepherd, and is presented by arrangement with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity & Samuel French Ltd.

 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Arena Birmingham performances:

20 December 7pm

21 December 11am & 7pm

22 December 7pm

23 December 11am, 3pm & 7pm

24 December 1pm

 

The SSE Arena Wembley performances:

29 December 3pm & 7pm

30 December 11am, 3pm & 7pm

 

Tickets from £25.00

 

Website:  www.worldsbiggestpanto.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/biggestpanto

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Biggest_Panto

DARCEY BUSSELL, SUSAN CALMAN

& JONNIE PEACOCK

TO JOIN THE STRICTLY LIVE TOUR

STRICTLY COME DANCING LIVE TOUR

19 JANUARY – 11 FEBRUARY 2018

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

 

 

Strictly Come Dancing fans will be thrilled to learn that TV judge Darcey Bussell, comedian Susan Calman and Double Paralympic Champion Jonnie Peacock will all be taking to the road from January next year for the Strictly Come Dancing Live UK Tour.

 

The 2018 live shows will mark the first time that Darcey has appeared as a judge on the tour and she will join fellow judges Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli. 

 

Comedian Susan Calman has wowed fans of the TV series every Saturday night with her dancing, including her Quickstep to ‘Bring Me Sunshine’.  Jonnie Peacock, the first Paralympian to take to the floor in Strictly history, has blown viewers away with his impressive Jive and Paso Doble.

 

The tour will also see the welcome return of reigning Strictly Champion Ore Oduba as host. More celebrities and professional dancers from the hugely popular 15^th series of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One TV will be donning their dancing shoes as they take to the floor for the highly anticipated tour.  Further names will be announced in the coming weeks.

Darcey Bussell said: “I had great experiences touring around the UK as a professional dancer…quite a few years ago now! I am really excited to be able to tour again, this time with the wonderful Strictly company. I can’t wait to meet the fantastic audiences that make Strictly the phenomenon we know and love. See you soon!”

 

Susan Calman said: “This is an absolute dream come true, I can’t wait to continue my Strictly adventure and visit these legendary arenas across the country.  Roll on January!”

 

Jonnie Peacock said: “It’s been an honour to be the first Paralympian on Strictly.  I’m excited to take to the road and meet the fans who have supported me during the TV shows and of course, to keeeeeep dancing!”

 

The tour will open at the Arena Birmingham on 19 January 2018.  It will then visit some of the biggest entertainment venues across the UK, including a return to Belfast at the SSE Arena, following huge public demand.   Other venues the tour will visit include Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena, First Direct Arena Leeds, Manchester Arena, The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena and The SSE Arena Wembley.  The tour culminates at The O2 Arena in London on 11 February.

  

What the critics said about Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour:

  

“An irresistible feast of colour and style built solidly on familiar pleasures.

Revel Horwood’s production is slick”

DAILY TELEGRAPH ★★★★

January 2017

“Get a ticket and you will never be the same, it’s a life changer”

SUNDAY EXPRESS  ★★★★★

January 2017

“It’s a 10!”

DAILY MIRROR

January 2017

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY ★★★★

January 2017

 

 

STRICTLY COME DANCING THE LIVE TOUR 2018

19–21 January                        Arena Birmingham                            www.arenabham.co.uk

(Friday 19^th at 7.30pm, Saturday 20^th at 2.30pm & 7.30pm, Sunday 21^st at 1.30pm & 6.30pm)

23-24 January             Newcastle: Metro Radio Arena        www.metroradioarena.co.uk

(Tuesday 23^rd at 7.30pm, Wednesday 24^th at 2.30pm & 7.30pm)

25-26 January             Leeds: First Direct Arena                   www.firstdirectarena.com

(Thursday 25^th at 7.30pm, Friday 26^th at 7.30pm

27-28 January             Manchester Arena                             www.manchester-arena.com

(Saturday 27^th at 2.30pm & 7.30pm, Sunday 28^th at 1.30pm & 6.30pm)

30-31 January             Belfast: SSE Arena                             www.ssearenabelfast.com

(Tuesday 30^th at 7.30pm, Wednesday 31^st at 2.30pm & 7.30pm)

2-4 February               Glasgow: SSE Hydro                          www.thessehydro.com

(Friday 2^nd at 7.30pm, Saturday 3^rd at 2.30pm & 7.30pm, Sunday 4^th at 1.30pm)

6-7 February               Nottingham: Motorpoint Arena   motorpointarenanottingham.com

(Tuesday 6^th at 7.30pm, Wednesday 7^th at 2.30pm & 7.30pm)

8-9 February               London: SSE Arena Wembley                       www.ssearena.co.uk

(Thursday 8^th at 7.30pm, Friday 9^th at 7.30pm)

10-11 February           London: The O2 Arena                      www.theo2.co.uk

(Saturday 10^th at 2.30pm & 7.30pm, Sunday 11^th at 1.30pm & 6.30pm)

Tickets: £35 – £65 (bands venue dependent)

The O2 prices are £36 – £66 (Inclusive of a £1 per ticket venue facility fee)

All ticket prices are subject to a booking fee

 

 

To book tickets please contact the venue or call 0844 875 8758

For online bookings visit www.ticketzone.co.uk or www.ticketmaster.co.uk

For more information visit: www.strictlycomedancinglive.com

Twitter: SCD_Live_Tour

Facebook: @strictlylive

A Christmas Carol at Windsor Castle

Casting is today announced for Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol at Windsor Castle. Due to popular demand additional performances have been added for the sell-out run, which will be staged in the Castle’s magnificent State Apartments. Tickets for the new performances are now on sale.

Presented by theatre company Watch Your Head, the family-friendly evening performances of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol will take place in the Castle’s two largest rooms, where the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret performed Christmas pantomimes during the Second World War.

The full cast will include John Kay Steel as Jacob Marley, Edward Halsted as Ebenezer Scrooge, Eleanor Brown as Belle, Charlie Ward as Tiny Tim, Oliver Hamilton as Fred, Michelle Hodgson as Mrs Cratchit, Molly Hanson as Belinda and Marlon Moore as Bob Cratchit.

Tailor-made for Windsor Castle and using Dickens’s own words from his public readings of the classic tale, the production will feature live music and immersive elements, transporting the audience into a Victorian Christmas.  Visitors will accompany Ebenezer Scrooge from the Castle gates to the Waterloo Chamber, where Jacob Marley awaits to conjure his haunting dreams of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.  The cast of actors and musicians performing all around will transform the colossal space into Dickensian London, before the audience follows Scrooge into St George’s Hall to celebrate his new-found festive spirit beneath the Castle’s spectacular Christmas tree.

Monarchs have been celebrating Christmas at Windsor Castle since the 12th century, but it was Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who introduced many of the Christmas traditions that we know today.  Prince Albert is credited with popularising the German tradition of Christmas trees while enjoying the festive season at the Castle, and the Queen and Prince Albert were often seen ice skating and enjoying winter sleigh rides in the Castle grounds.

It was during this period that Dickens first published A Christmas Carol in 1843, and it has remained a festive classic ever since.  The work can be seen in miniature in the library of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, built in the early 1920s as a perfect replica of an aristocratic Edwardian residence and housed ever since at Windsor Castle.

Their third collaboration with Royal Collection Trust, Watch Your Head’s latest production follows their recently staged immersive performances of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Castle’s Moat Garden.

A Christmas Carol is directed by Sasha McMurray with an original score by Joseph Reuben, costume design by Annina Pfuel, choreography by Edwin Ray and puppetry design by Jeremy Hamway-Bidgood.

Updated Listings information

A Christmas Carol Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 1NJ

Dates 16 December – 4 January

Press performance 20 December

Performance schedule 16–17, 20–23, 27–30 December, 3–4 January
Entry from 18:00, performance starts 19:00. Performance lasts 90 minutes including a 20-minute interval

Ticket prices  Adults: £30.00; Children (Under 17s): £25.00; Family (2 adults, 3 children): £110.00

Book online www.royalcollection.org.uk/christmascarol

Book by phone +44 (0)303 123 7340

Website www.watch-your-head.co.uk | www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/windsorcastle

Social media Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, #followscrooge

PETER KAY

ANNOUNCES RETURN TO STAND-UP WITH FIRST LIVE TOUR IN EIGHT YEARS

One of Britain’s best loved comedians, the multi award winning actor, writer, director, author and producer Peter Kay, is finally returning to his most successful hobby, stand-up.

His last tour in 2010, which still officially ranks with the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest selling comedy tour of all time, played to over 1.2 million people. So why a return to stand-up now?

Peter says: ‘I really miss it. I know how lucky I am to be making television series and have really loved these past few years working on Car Share but I miss doing stand-up. As terrifying as it is, when it works there’s nothing more fun and exciting. Plus, a lot has happened in the last eight years, with Trump, Twitter and my Nan getting her front bush trimmed at the age of 96. I can’t wait to get back up on stage’

Tickets will go on sale 10.00am Sunday 19th November and are available online or from the booking hotline number. Please note venue facility and booking fees will apply. There will be no Box Office counter sales on Sunday 19th November. Tickets are limited to persons 15 years old or over. Tickets are limited to 8 per person.

2018

Saturday 21 April: Birmingham Genting Arena

Sunday 22 April: Birmingham Genting Arena

Monday 14 May: Glasgow The SSE Hydro

Tuesday 15 May: Glasgow The SSE Hydro

Monday 4 June: Manchester Arena

Tuesday 5 June: Manchester Arena

Wednesday 6 June: Manchester Arena

Saturday 9 June: Manchester Arena

Thursday 13 September: London The O2

Friday 14 September: London The O2

Saturday 15 September: London The O2

Thursday 20 September: London The O2

Tuesday 2 October: Leeds First Direct Arena

Wednesday 3 October: Leeds First Direct Arena

2019

Sunday 13 January: Belfast SSE Arena

Monday 14 January: Belfast SSE Arena

Wednesday 23 January: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena

Thursday 24 January: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena

Friday 1 February: Dublin 3 Arena

Saturday 2 February: Dublin 3 Arena

Monday 11 February: Newcastle Metro Radio Arena

Tuesday 12 February: Newcastle Metro Radio Arena

Monday 4 March: Sheffield FlyDSA Arena

Tuesday 5 March: Sheffield FlyDSA Arena

Monday 18 March: Liverpool Echo Arena

Tuesday 19 March: Liverpool Echo Arena

Visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk or www.peterkay.co.uk to buy tickets.

NEW SHOWS FOR 2018

JERSEY BOYS
UK & Ireland Tour
From 16 December 2017 to 30 March 2019.
JERSEY BOYS is the remarkable true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to stardom from the wrong side of the tracks. Starring Michael Watson as Frankie Valli, Simon Bailey as Tommy De Vito, Declan Egan as Bob Gaudio and Lewis Griffiths as Nick Massi, the show is packed with hits, including Beggin’, Sherry, Walk Like A Man, December, 1963 (Oh What a Night), Big Girls Don’t Cry, My Eyes Adored You, Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got), Bye Bye Baby, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Working My Way Back to You, Fallen Angel, Rag Doll and Who Loves You. JERSEY BOYS is the winner of 57 major awards worldwide including Broadway’s Tony, London’s Olivier and Australia’s Helpmann Awards for Best New Musical.
Duration: 2 hours 40 minutes
www.jerseyboysuktour.com

STRANGERS IN BETWEEN
Trafalgar Studios 2
10 January to 3 February 2018
The West End transfer of the King’s Head Theatre’s production of Tommy Murphy’s coming-of-age dark comedy, which tells the story of Shane, a timid 16 year-old who has fled his rural hometown for the glitz and glamour of Sydney’s King’s Cross, in order to escape his troubled past and attempt to establish an urban family. Directed by the King’s Head Theatre’s Artistic Director, Adam Spreadbury-Maher, STRANGERS IN BETWEEN looks at the importance of friendship and the highs and lows of growing up gay in modern Australia. The cast includes Roly Botha as Shane, Dan Hunter as Will and Stephen Connery-Brown as Peter.
Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
www.atgtickets.com/venues/trafalgar-studios

ALL OR NOTHING – THE MOD MUSICAL
Arts Theatre
6 February to 11 March 2018
Based on the story of the Small Faces, ALL OR NOTHING is written and directed by the award-winning actress Carol Harrison. It follows the story of four charismatic young kids from East London with humour, attitude, passion and, above all, talent. They became the Small Faces and were rocketed into the big time, only to discover the path to success is paved with exploitation, betrayal and, ultimately, tragedy. Starring Carol Harrison as Kay Marriott and Chris Simmons as the older Steve Marriott.
Duration: 2 hours 35 minutes
www.allornothingmusical.com

ART
UK & Ireland Tour
From 14 February to 9 June 2018
UK & Ireland Tour of the Old Vic production of Yasmina Reza’s Olivier, Tony and Moliere award-winning comedy ART, translated by Christopher Hampton. Starring Nigel Havers, Denis Lawson and Stephen Tompkinson as Serge, Marc and Ivan respectively. Based on the original production by Matthew Warchus, ART will be directed by Ellie Jones, with design by Mark Thompson.
Duration:  100 minutes (no interval)
arttheplay.com

SOME MOTHERS DO ‘AVE ‘EM
UK Tour
From 21 February to 28 July 2018
Joe Pasquale stars as the lovable but accident-prone Frank Spencer in the first ever stage production of the classic 1970s TV comedy, SOME MOTHER DO ‘AVE ‘EM. Also starring Sarah Earnshaw (Nativity – The Musical, Travels With My Aunt, Spamalot and Wicked) as his long-suffering wife Betty and Susie Blake (ITV’s Coronation Street and BBC1’s Mrs Brown’s Boys) as his disapproving mother-in-law, Mrs Fisher. Based on the original TV series by Raymond Allen, the stage adaptation is written and directed by Guy Unsworth, with design by Simon Higlett.
www.somemothersdoaveem.com

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
UK Tour
From 24 February to 28 April
Starring Gwen Taylor  as Lady Bracknell and Susan Penhaligon as Miss Prism in Oscar Wilde’s greatly admired and much loved comedy, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, which follows Jack Worthing’s endeavours to marry Algernon’s cousin, the beautiful Gwendolen. But first he must convince the fearsome Lady Bracknell of his respectability. Directed by The Original Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, Alastair Whatley.
www.originaltheatre.com

BRIEF ENCOUNTER
Empire Cinema Haymarket, London from 2 March to 2 September 2018 (preceded by a two-date tour from 2 to 24 February 2018)
Kneehigh’s award-winning production of Noël Coward’s BRIEF ENCOUNTER, adapted and directed by Emma Rice, returns to London’s West End, following short runs at Birmingham Repertory Theatre and The Lowry, Salford. Switching between live action and film, Brief Encounterstars Jim Sturgeon as Alec and Isabel Pollen as Laura in one of the most haunting and heart-breaking love stories ever told.
Duration: 90 minutes (no interval)
www.briefencounterwestend.com

MONOGAMY
UK Tour from 2 to 26 May 2018
Park Theatre, London from 6 June to 7 July 2018
The world premiere of Torben Betts’s new play MONOGAMY, starring Olivier Award-winning actress, Janie Dee (Follies, Carousel, Comic Potential) as Caroline Mortimer, the nation’s favourite TV cook, who has it all. But beneath the immaculate furnishings and studio lighting and away from the glare of the ever-present cameras, Caroline must face the looming collision of living a private life in the public eye. What happens when the cameras turn off and the truth comes out? Directed by the Original Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, Alastair Whatley.
www.originaltheatre.com

THE RINK
Southwark Playhouse
25 May to 23 June 2018
The first London revival in 20 years of THE RINK by the Tony and Olivier Award-winning John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics), the creators of musicals such as Chicago, Cabaret, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and The Scottsboro Boys, and a book by Tony Award-winning Terence McNally (Ragtime, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Master Class). THE RINK is the story of Anna, an Italian housewife who runs a roller-skating rink on the Eastern seaboard, is about to sell it to developers until her estranged daughter, Angel, returns after a long absence, hoping to save the rink and patch things up with her mother. Directed by Adam Lenson and choreographed by Fabian Aloise.
southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

CURRENT SHOWS

THE BAND
UK Tour
Currently touring until 14 July 2018, further dates to be added
The new British musical by Tim Firth with the music of Take That, starring Rachel Lumberg, Alison Fitzjohn, Emily Joyce and Jayne McKenna, along with AJ Bentley, Nick Carsberg, Curtis T Johns, Yazdan Qafouri and Sario Solomon, collectively known as Five To Five, winners of BBC’s Let It Shine, and Faye Christall, Katy Clayton, Rachelle Diedericks, Sarah Kate Howarth, Lauren Jacobs, Martin Miller and Andy Williams. THE BAND is a musical about what it’s like to grow up with a boyband. For five 16 year-old friends in 1992, ‘the band’ is everything. 25 years on, we are reunited with the group of friends, now 40-something women, as they try once more to fulfil their dream of meeting their heroes.
Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes
www.thebandmusical.com

MAMMA MIA!
Novello Theatre
Current booking period: 20 October 2018
From West End to global phenomenon, MAMMA MIA! is Judy Craymer’s ingenious vision of staging the story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs with an enchanting tale of family and friendship unfolding on a Greek island paradise. To date, it has been seen by over 60 million people in 50 productions in 16 different languages grossing more than $2 billion at the box office. In 2017 the show celebrated its 18th London Birthday. The current cast stars Sara Poyzer as Donna Sheridan, Kate Graham as Tanya, Jacqueline Braun as Rosie and Georgina Castle as Sophie Sheridan.
Duration: 2 hours 35 minutes
http://www.mamma-mia.com/

York Theatre Royal – until Saturday 18th November.  Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

3***

Out of Joint, Octagon Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre brings Andrea Dunbar’s Rita, Sue and Bob Too to York Theatre Royal. Having seen this iconic film several times many years ago I was looking forward to this stage adaptation and seeing their take on such a gritty but well-loved story.

The play follows two fifteen-year-old school girls Rita (Taj Atwal, a former York College student) and Sue (Gemma Dobson), being seduced and falling for a slimy, older married man, Bob (James Atherton), after they babysit for him and his wife Michelle (Samatha Robinson).

The opening scene is quite a shocker and shows their first sexual encounter. On the drive home Bob decides to show the two girls the moors where he then parks and asks them if they know what a Durex is and how to put one on. This leads to an awkward threesome with the girls taking it in turns in the cramped confinements of his car. We are “treated” to Bob’s naked jiggling bottom and such talk as about whether to take trousers off, or just one leg out. This becomes a regular occurrence and while illegal because of their age, the girls are more than willing. This was certainly an eye opener and a bit uncomfortable at times. The way it was played out with the great reactions from whichever girl is not currently participating, you couldn’t help but laugh. The frequent casual underage sex is treated casually and if anyone feels abused or traumatised, it is from the limitations of their situation with YTS and little prospects.

Once the news of their shenanigans gets out, it is Rita and Sue who get all blame, labelled as sluts whilst Bob claims it’s his wife’s fault because she doesn’t want him enough and has driven him to go elsewhere. This results in a foul-mouthed exchange in the street involving the whole cast, including Sue’s parents (Sally Bankes and David Walker). Rita and Sue do not deserve the injustice of it all whilst Bob seems to come out of it scot free, his actions excused.

Atwal and Dobson, in her stage debut, bring an innocence to their roles, which highlights their characters age and immaturity. Atherton play his chauvinistic role well and at times is almost like a naughty little boy doing things he knows are wrong but can’t help himself.

The staging was simple but effective, with two tower blocks on either side with a view of Bradford and the moors in the middle. Reclining car seats are wheeled on and off the stage by the lip synching actors as and when needed, along to an 80’s soundtrack, thankfully just my kind of music.

At only 80 minutes, with no interval, it is a short and at times shocking play, but funny at the same time. Once you get over the nudity and foul language, there is a lot, it is a tale that resonates strongly today.

 

Edinburgh Playhouse – until 18 November 2017.  Reviewed by Linda McLaughlan

5*****

This was the first time I had seen Cabaret in the theatre and was unsure of what to expect from the evening. With Will Young and Louise Redknapp headlining I knew I was in for an exciting and exhilarating performance however did not expect the outstanding show I was privileged to watch. The audience was full of a varied mixture of generations with a wide variety of people dressing for the occasion in various bright Cabaret attire.

From the moment the curtain was raised Will Young as Emcee welcomed everyone in song and also dressed in leather shorts and stockings which was an indication of the racy evening ahead. Will Young’s character comes across on a variety of levels, solemn, cheerful and on occasions cheeky which raised a number of laughs from the audience.

During Act 1 we are introduced to Louise Redknapp as Sally Bowles, a well spoken dancer and entertainer who has the audience in the palm of her hand with her dance moves and voice.

Charles Hagerty (Clifford Bradshaw) is introduced as an aspiring writer trying to find the inspiration for that one blockbuster that will set off his career. Hence his trip to Germany to find that story and unknown to him the start of event s that would change history for everyone he meets.

As the story unfolds we meet more key characters with Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz two lonely people trying to get by running a house with rooms to rent and a Fruit and Veg shop respectively and not being able to tell each other how they feel.

Celebrating New Year’s Eve we meet the performers from the Kit Kat Club as they sing, dance and perform in raunchy attire which leaves nothing to the imagination. As relevant to the times the hedonistic performances highlighted the freedom that people felt to be themselves and enjoy what life had to offer, regardless of the risks or consequences. Women and men used their bodies, and drugs to thrill and entice and prostitution was the norm.

In Act 2, the atmosphere changes as the realisation that Nazis are looming in and making changes throughout Germany

Although introduced in Act 1, Ernst Luwig (Nicholas Tizzard) really begins to show his true colours as we discover more about his business with sending Clifford on trips to Paris and his association with the upcoming chancellor Hitler and his feelings towards Jews and their place in Germany.

The theme tune to the show Cabaret is well received and recognised by the audience as well as the famous Money Song.

Overall I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the show and would recommend people go this out-standing performance as they will not be disappointed . Will and Louise showcase how multi-dimensional their talents are as both give award winning performances . A night not to be missed which leaves you considering how the lives of numerous people changed forever.

Outstanding!!!