STRICTLY COME DANCING
THE LIVE TOUR

RETURNS FOR A FAB-U-LOUS NINTH YEAR
SHEFFIELD ARENA
Tuesday 26th & Wednesday 27th January 2016

HELEN GEORGE, JAY MCGUINESS
AND JAKE WOOD

ARE THE FINAL CELEBRITIES ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2016 TOUR!
PROFESSIONAL DANCERS ON THE TOUR ALSO ANNOUNCED

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Call the Midwife actress Helen George and The Wanted’s Jay McGuiness are confirmed to compete in the 2016 Strictly Come Dancing UK tour, together with EastEnders actor Jake Wood who starred in the 2014 TV series. This completes the line-up for the tour, which stops off at Sheffield Arena for two nights on Tuesday 26th & Wednesday 27th January 2016.

Jay, Helen and Jake join Frankie Bridge from The Saturdays, actress Georgia May Foote from Coronation Street, Celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott and TV presenter Anita Rani. They will be joining the 2016 tour host Mel Giedroyc, together with judges Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood (who also directs the tour) and Bruno Tonioli for the live extravaganza.

The professional dancers from this year’s ratings winning BBC One TV series are also now announced and the pairings are:

Frankie Bridge and Kevin Clifton
Georgia May Foote and Giovanni Pernice
Helen George and Aljaz Skorjanec
Ainsley Harriott and Natalie Lowe
Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani
Anita Rani and Gleb Savchenko
Jake Wood and Janette Manrara
Karen Clifton will also join the tour for the professional dances and group numbers.

Helen George is best known for her role of Nurse Trixie Franklin in the multi award winning and hit BBC series Call the Midwife. She has also received critical acclaim for her varied stage credits in productions such as The Woman in White; High School Musical, and also appeared in Paul W S Anderson’s feature film The Three Musketeers.

Helen says: “I had a brilliant time on Strictly, so I’m very excited to continue my journey and have the chance to show off some of my favourite dances to audiences on the UK Tour. I’m sure that it’ll be amazing to dance in front of huge arena audiences with Aljaz! I’m very much looking forward to the audience helping me feel at home on the dance floor each night!”

Jay McGuiness is one fifth of the globally successful band, The Wanted. Since their 2010 debut album was released, they have enjoyed huge success all over the world, including two number one singles in the UK with All Time Low and Glad You Came.

Jay says: “I’m used to performing in front of massive crowds when touring with The Wanted, but performing with Aliona on the Strictly Live Tour will be a totally different experience. I’m loving my time on the TV series, but the idea of being back out in front of live arena audiences is something I’m very much looking forward to.”

Jake Wood has been a part of some of the most memorable storylines on EastEnders for the past decade, performing the role of Max Branning. He impressed the judges and TV audiences alike with his slick dance moves on last year’s BBC One series of Strictly Come Dancing, and now he has the chance to show off his skills to arena audiences on the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour 2016.

Jake says: “I really enjoyed my time on Strictly last year but couldn’t do the tour due to EastEnders’ filming commitments, so it’s great to get the chance to throw myself into the whole experience again as part of the 2016 Strictly tour. I’m so pleased that Frankie is doing the tour as well so we can enjoy reliving it all again together and I’m very happy that I’m being reunited with Janette. I can’t wait to relive some of my favourite dances in arenas across the country!”

Tickets for the 2016 Strictly Come Dancing Live UK Tour, which stops off at Sheffield Arena on Tuesday 26th & Wednesday 27th January 2016 are now on sale.

Tickets purchased by telephone on 0114 256 5656 or online at www.sheffieldarena.co.uk are priced £38.50 – £71.50 (including booking fee). Tickets purchased in person at the Arena Box Office are priced £36.75 – £68.25 (including booking fee).

2016 NATIONAL TOUR AND FULL CAST ANNOUNCED

WILLIAM NICHOLSON’S SHADOWLANDS

THE LOVE STORY OF C.S. LEWIS AND JOY DAVIDMAN

NATIONAL PRESS NIGHT 26 FEBRUARY 2016

The 2016 national tour of William Nicholson’s SHADOWLANDS, directed by Alastair Whatley, will open on 18 February at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, with a national press night on Friday 26 February.

SHADOWLANDS will then tour to Salisbury, Eastbourne, Ipswich, Windsor, Croydon, Malvern, Worthing, Doncaster, Chesterfield, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Cardiff, Exeter and Richmond, with further dates to be announced.

The cast of SHADOWLANDS will be led by Stephen Boxer (Humans, The Iron Lady, Doctors) as C.S. Lewis, Tony Slattery (Peter’s Friends, The Crying Game, Whose Line is it Anyway?) as Major W.H. Lewis ‘Warnie’ and Amanda Ryan (The Forsyte Saga, Shameless) as Joy Davidman. They will be joined by Simon Shackleton as Professor Christopher Riley, Jeffrey Harmer as Rev ‘Harry’ Harrington, Ian Marr as Alan Gregg, Richard Holliday as Dr Maurice Oakley and Shannon Rewcroft as Douglas, with Holly Smith and Alistair Higgins playing multiple supporting roles.

SHADOWLANDS, by William Nicholson, tells the love story of C.S. Lewis, Oxford don and author ofThe Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters, and American poet Joy Davidman. What begins as a formal meeting of two very different minds slowly develops into a feeling of connection and love. Lewis finds his quiet life with his brother Warnie disrupted by the outspoken, feisty Davidman, whose uninhibited behaviour offers a sharp contrast to the rigid sensibilities of the male-dominated university. Each provides the other with new ways of viewing the world, but Lewis’s Christian faith is tested when Joy is diagnosed with cancer.

SHADOWLANDS won the Evening Standard Drama Award for Best Play in 1990 and Nicholson was nominated for a Tony Award when it transferred to Broadway.  The film version, which starred Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger, won Best British Film at the 1994 BAFTAs and Nicholson was nominated for a Best Screenplay nomination.

This major revival of SHADOWLANDS is produced by Birdsong Productions, the people behind the recent critically-acclaimed and hugely successful touring productions of Birdsong and Flare Path, in association with Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.

SHADOWLANDS will have Lighting Design by Alex Wardle and Sound Design by Dominic Bilkey.

Official website:  www.shadowlandstour.com

Twitter: @shadowlandstour 

Facebook: shadowlandsthetour

2016 TOUR SCHEDULE

18 – 27 February           Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford                                   01483 44 00 00 

www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk                                  on sale 11 December

29 February – 5 March   Salisbury Playhouse                                          01722 320 333

                                    www.salisburyplayhouse.com

7 – 12 March                 Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne                 01323 412 000

                                    www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk                                 

14 – 19 March               New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich                             01473 295900

                                    www.wolseytheatre.co.uk                                      

29 March – 2 April         Theatre Royal Windsor                                       01753 853 888

www.theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk                               

4 – 9 April                     Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon                                 020 8688 9291              

                                    www.fairfield.co.uk

11 – 16 April                  Festival Theatre, Malvern                                   01684 892277

www.malvern-theatres.co.uk                      

19 – 23 April                  Connaught Theatre, Worthing                             01903 206 206

www.worthingtheatres.co.uk                                  

26 April – 30 April          CAST Theatre, Doncaster                                   01302 303 959

                                    castindoncaster.com

16 – 21 May                  Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield                     01246 345 222

                                    chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk

31 May – 4 June            Birmingham Repertory Theatre                           0121 236 4455

www.birmingham-rep.co.uk                                    

13 – 18 June                 New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth                         023 9264 9000

www.newtheatreroyal.com     

21 – 25 June                 New Theatre, Cardiff                                          029 2087 8889              

                                    www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk                              on sale 11 January

28 June – 2 July            Exeter Northcott Theatre                                    01392 726363

www.exeternorthcott.co.uk                                     

25 July – 30 July           Richmond Theatre                                             0844 871 7651

www.atgtickets.com/venues/richmond-theatre     on sale 16 December                             

JAMIE RAVEN

GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

Monday 4 July 2016

Jamie Raven burst onto an unsuspecting world during the 2015 series of Britain’s Got Talent. His magic not only amazed everyone, but his humble and charming style also captured the UK public’s hearts. He even made Simon Cowell exclaim, “I now finally believe in magic!”

But it’s not been an overnight success story. Jamie has been perfecting his craft over the past 11 years working as a close up magician for top companies around the world and his ambition was always to take it to a wider audience and BGT finally gave him that chance. His opening audition has now been viewed on YouTube over 12 Million times and over 30 Million people around the world have now seen his BGT video on Facebook, making him one of the most viewed magicians online in the world. On line fans include Ne-Yo, Ashton Kutcher and Drake

Since finishing BGT, as well as being signed to headline in The Illusionists at The Shaftsbury Theatre in London’s West End this Christmas, he’s also about to be launched as the online face for Talk Talk, promoting their latest advertising campaign and in February 2016 he embarks on his own UK Theatre Tour, “Jamie Raven Live”.

So, sit back, relax and let Jamie Raven show you some of the magic that has amazed audiences around the world.

“I NOW ACTUALLY BELIEVE IN MAGIC.” Simon Cowell

“THROW HIM OFF THE ****ING PLANE! YOU SHOULD HAVE WON” Sir Richard Branson

“MR. RAVEN I AM IN AWE OF YOUR GREATNESS!” Ian Wright

The 12^th Annual ‘A West End Christmas’, produced by Theatre MAD in aid of The make A Difference Trust took place on Sunday 6^th December at St Pauls Covent Garden.  A sparkling line-up of stars and song, raised more than £12,000

Featuring some of the West End’s top musicals including The Phantom of The Opera, Wicked, Matilda, and Miss Saigon, the show opened with West End Kids’ homage to the Tiller Girls, a high-kicking routine to We Need A Little Christmas.

There were three songs written especially for the occasion, two by Anderson and Petty and one by Kansley and Lidert, which were perfectly sung by Kieran Brown, Emma Hatton, and The M.T.A and Carolyn Maitland.

With her cool jazz band, Joanna Strand did a Christmas Waltz that had the audience swaying, and Summer Strallen sang a beautiful rendition of The Christmas Song with Oliver Ormson. Sabrina Aloueche and Aaron Sidwell rocked the church, while Ross William Wild sang and played guitar, accompanied by piano and harp, to give a moving version of Hallelujah.

Showstoppers! wowed with their incredible improvisation, and the Blues Brothers donned their shades and shook their tail feathers with the audience clapping along. You can’t keep a good show down, and some of the cast of The Commitments came together to give a hand-clapping rendition of Fairy Tale of New York.

The fabulous piano playing and comedy chat of Worbey and Farrell got the second act off to a fabulous start. The lovely Anton Stephans promised he’d “Be home for Christmas” and Maria Kesselman’s voice soared as she sang The Most Wonderful Birthday of All.

Readings by Michael Pennington, Janie Dee and Michelle Collins complemented the songs beautifully.

Having jumped on the underground, directly from their Sunday show, the cast of In The Heights arrived to close the show. With percussion, brass, guitar and drums they rounded the evening off with a roof-raising, toe-tapping Latin American number Noche De Pas, which was anything but silent.

Originally founded as West End Cares in 1990 and later becoming Theatrecares, The Make A Difference Trust (www.madtrust.org.uk), raises funds for HIV and AIDS Projects that raise awareness and provide care, support and education in the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa.

FIRST NAMES ANNOUNCED FOR

SEASONS OF LARSON

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JONATHAN LARSON

MONDAY 25 JANUARY 2016

THE LYRIC THEATRE, SHAFTESBURY AVENUE

First names are announced today for Seasons of Larson, a one-off concert celebrating the life and music of legendary Broadway composer Jonathan Larson. The concert will take place on Monday 25 January 2016 at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.

Debbie Kurup, Krysten Cummings and Damien Flood, all previous cast members of Larson’s hit rock musical Rent, will perform some of his most iconic and lesser known numbers, and reflect on their memories of the show.

Debbie Kurup played Mimi in Rent, both in the West End and on tour. More recent theatre credits include Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes at Sheffield Crucible, Nicki Marron in The Bodyguard at the Adelphi Theatre, for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for her performance, and Velmi Kelly in Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre.

Krysten Cummings played Mimi in Rent on Broadway, and originated the role in the Canadian and West End productions. Krysten was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in London.

Damien Flood played Roger in Rent, both in the West End and on tour. Damien’s professional singing career has included working with artists including Tom Jones and Professor Green. He has performed in concert at The Royal Albert Hall, and regularly performs at legendary jazz venue The 606 Club. As a singer-songwriter, Damien has released his debut album Lucky 7.

Further names will be announced in January.

On 25 January 1996, the day of the first preview of RENT Off-Broadway, its composer Jonathan Larson died unexpectedly at the age of 35. Tragically he would never live to see the impact his work would have, not only on the face of musical theatre but also on a generation of young artists and performers. Nor would he get to hold the numerous awards he posthumously received. 20 years to the day,Seasons of Larson will explore how Larson become a voice for a new generation on the stage, and celebrate his musical legacy that continues to resonate with people all over the world.

Jonathan Larson is best known for his rock musical RENT, for which he posthumously received the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical. RENT played on Broadway for 12 years, making it the 10^th longest running show in Broadway history, and has since received productions all over the world. His earlier works include Superbia and tick, tick… BOOM!.

Seasons of Larson will be directed by Hannah Chissick (Marry Me a Little, St. James Studio) with musical direction by Gareth Bretherton, design by Adrian Gee and lighting design by Andrew Ellis.Seasons of Larson is produced by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and Guy James, whose recent productions include Tommy (Greenwich Theatre), Jerry’s Girls (Jermyn Street Theatre) and Marry Me a Little (St. James Studio).

www.seasonsoflarson.com

@SeasonsOfLarson

LISTINGS

Monday 25th January 2016, 8.00pm
LYRIC THEATRE, Shaftesbury Avenue
Tickets: From £27.50 (booking fees apply)
Box Office: 0844 482 9674 | www.seasonsoflarson.com
ON SALE NOW

The 12^th Annual ‘A West End Christmas’, produced by Theatre MAD in aid of The make A Difference Trust took place last night, 6^th December at St Pauls Covent Garden.  A sparkling spectacle of stars and song, raised over 12,000 pounds

Featuring some of the top West End shows including The Phantom of The Opera, Wicked, Matilda, Miss Saigon, the show opened with West End Kids’ homage to the Tiller Girls, a high kicking routine to We Need A Little Christmas.

There were three songs written especially for the occasion, two by Anderson and Petty and one by Kansley and Lidert beautifully sung by Kieran Brown, Emma Hatton and The M.T.A and Carolyn Maitland.

With her cool jazz band, Joanna Strand did a Christmas Waltz that had the audience swaying, and Summer Strallen sang a beautiful rendition of The Christmas Song with Oliver Ormson. Sabrina Aloueche and aAron Sidwell rocked the church, while Ross William Wild sang and played guitar, accompanied by piano and harp to give a moving version of Hallelujah.

Showstoppers! wowed with their incredible improvisation, and the Blues Brothers donned their shades and shook their tail feathers with the audience clapping along. You can’t keep a good show down, and some of the cast of the Commitments came together to give a hand clapping rendition of Fairy Tale of New York.

The fabulous piano playing and comedy chat of Worbey and Farrell got the second act of to a fabulous start. The lovely Anton Stephans promised he’d “be home for Christmas” and Maria Kesselman’s voice soared as she sang of The Most Wonderful Birthday of All.

Readings by Michael Pennington, Jannie Dee and Michelle Collins complimented the songs beautifully.

Jumping on the underground, directly form their Sunday show, the cast of In The Heights arrived to close the show. With percussion, brass, guitar and drums they rounded the evening off with a roof raising, tow tapping Latin American number Noche De Pas, which was anything but silent.

Improbable in co-production with West Yorkshire Playhouse and Northern Stage present
OPENING SKINNER’S BOX
Great psychological experiments of the twentieth century

• A brand new production in the year that celebrates the 20 years of Improbable

• Based on the book by Lauren Slater. Adapted by Improbable. Co-directed by Phelim McDermott and Lee Simpson. Designed by Laura Hopkins. Lighting designed by Nigel Edwards. Sound designed by Adrienne Quartly

• 2016 also includes: D&D11 at Birmingham Repertory Theatre; Philip Glass’s Akhnaten at ENO and further projects to be announced  

‘Why do we love?  When would we kill? How do we learn?  Why do we believe in the unbelievable? What is memory?  Why do we keep doing things that hurt us?’

These were religious and philosophical questions until about a hundred years ago; then science joined the conversation. According to science, pretty much everything we think about ourselves is wrong.

Inspired by the fascinating and controversial book by Lauren Slater (published in 2004), Opening Skinner’s Box is a whistle-stop tour of the scientific quest to make sense of what we are and who we are, told through ten great psychological experiments and the stories of the people who created them.

Following recent success with their first ever Shakespeare production, The Tempest, Improbable return to Northern Stage before taking this brand new production to West Yorkshire Playhouse.

The Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University is lead commissioner of Improbable’s Opening Skinner’s Box through its Artist Residency Award programme. The work is co-commissioned by Lincoln Center Festival, New York and the Brisbane Festival where the production will tour later this year.

Improbable is one of the UK’s most inventive companies, from intimate, small scale works such as the seminal 70 Hill Lane, to the pioneering and hugely influential Lifegame and massive outdoor spectacles like Sticky, their work is always highly original and entirely unpredictable. The range of projects in their 20th year shows there is no let up in the search for new and theatrically exciting ways to tell stories making these shows a fitting celebration of their many achievements.

OTHER PROJECTS IN IMPROBABLE’S 20TH YEAR INCLUDE:

AKHNATEN | 4 – 18 March 2016 | English National Opera
Following the huge success of Satyagraha, the Glass / McDermott combination returns to the Coliseum with an opera that explores the life and religious convictions of the Egyptian pharaoh, and forms the last of Philip Glass’s trilogy of ‘portrait’ operas in which he looks at figures from the fields of science (Einstein), politics (Gandhi) and religion (Akhnaten).

D&D 11 | 9-11 January 2016 | Birmingham REP Theatre
Join the conversation about the future of theatre at the annual Devoted and Disgruntled event. This year we’re taking it to the regions, partnering up with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre for the first time ever.

LISTINGS INFORMATION
OPENING SKINNER’S BOX UK DATES:

22 – 30 April: Northern Stage, Newcastle
Northern Stage Barras Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear NE1 7RH
Times: 19:45
Tickets: £14.50 / £12.50 (concs.)
Booking: northernstage.co.uk / 0191 230 5151
Press Night: Thursday 28 April

5 – 14 May: West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds
West Yorkshire Playhouse, Playhouse Square, Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2 7UP
Times: 14:00 /14:30 / 19:45 (see website for details)
Tickets: £10 – £29
Booking: wyp.org.uk / 0113 213 7700
Press Night: Friday 6 May

Opening Skinner’s Box is supported by a Wellcome Trust Arts Award