DAVID HASSELHOFF TO STAR IN WORLD PREMIERE AT DARLINGTON CIVIC THEATRE

David Hasselhoff will star in a brand new musical – Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, which comes to Darlington Civic Theatre for one week only from November 23.

A DJ dad, a wild child daughter and a trip to the party island of Ibiza with a pulsating dance track from the 80’s and 90’s. David Hasselhoff, the iconic star of Baywatch and Knight Rider, plays Ross, a hilarious hedonist. He’s Ibiza’s top 80’s DJ who doesn’t realise a new decade has dawned, disco is out, the club scene is in.

He tries to keep up with the times… and with Mandy, his new younger girlfriend, but matters are complicated when his teenage daughter Penny arrives to stay. Father and daughter haven’t seen each other for three years, since a messy divorce, and she is no longer a demure school girl, but a wild child who quickly falls for Rik, the holiday rep.

It’s the story of two generations colliding, as a badly behaved parent tries to control a wild child teenager! This hilarious hit-fest is also a touching father and daughter drama, set against a background of sun, sea, sex, drugs and hits that take us back to the 80’s and 90’s when we wore denim overalls, girls had hair scrunchies and guys played Nintendo Game Boy. Think ‘Mamma Mia’ on speed! ‘Friends’ meets ‘Ibiza Uncovered’, with the soundtrack of our lives.

Underscoring this coming of age tale of love, laughter and friendship is a string of hits from the record number one ‘Everything I Do I Do it For You’ to M. C. Hammer’s ‘Can’t Touch This’ from ‘Ride on Time’ to ‘Things Can Only Get Better’. We dare you not to dance!

From the makers of ‘Dreamboats and Petticoats’ and ‘Boogie Nights’ comes a heart warming and hilarious story promising to be the ‘Mamma Mia’ party night of the year!

Last Night A DJ Saved My Life is at Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday November 23 to Saturday November 28. Tickets* are priced from £23 to £35.

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

*All ticket prices include a £1 restoration levy

London, 18 June 2015. Lord of the Dance, Michael Flatley, is returning to Wembley, not only for his last ever UK performance on 4^th July, but also to immortalise his world record-holding feet, in a cast outside The SSE Arena at Wembley Park.

The world-renowned Irish Dancer set a record breaking run of 21 consecutive shows at London’s legendary Wembley Arena in 1998 and holds the Guinness World Record for a staggering 35 taps per second.

Now Flatley’s famous feet will forever have a place in the ‘Square of Fame’ outside the SSE Arena, amongst the hand prints of other stars including Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Bryan Adams, Lionel Richie and Dolly Parton.

Michael said: “It’s a privilege to have my feet, so integral to what I do and who I am, immortalised here at Wembley Park which has such a rich entertainment heritage.”

“It is the only fitting venue for my final UK performance of Lord of the Dance.”

Matt Slade, MD of Wembley Park, the transformed area around the SSE Arena and National Stadium commented, “To have people like Michael Flatley leaving their mark here at Wembley Park speaks volumes about the significance of Wembley as part of our national heritage. Generations have come to Wembley Park for entertainment and we’re honoured to be hosting Michael’s last UK performance here at the SSE Arena.”

Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games, with a special appearance by Michael Flatley, will hold its last UK tour performance on Saturday 4^thJuly at 8pm at the SSE Arena, Wembley Park, though the London production, starring James Keegan and Matt Smith, will continue at the Dominion Theatre until 5^th September. For tickets at the SSE Arena, Wembley Park visit http://www.ssearena.co.uk/.

For further information on Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games visit http://www.lordofthedance.com/

 

TWO CHILLING TALES TO SEND YOU LOCO… IT’S ELEMENTARY

Arnold Ridley’s The Ghost Train steams into Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 30 June closely followed by Sherlock Holmes and The Ripper Murders by Brian Clemens from Tuesday 7 July.

Talking Scarlet theatre company brings two star-studded casts to Darlington Civic Theatre as part of a spine-tingling summer thriller season.

The Ghost Train is the classic comedy thriller that follows a group of travellers (including a newlywed couple, an estranged couple, a self-indulgent young dandy and an elderly spinster with a parrot) stranded in the waiting room of an isolated railway station on a dark and stormy night. They are warned by the stationmaster that they will die if they see the ghostly train that haunts the line. Ridley’s inspiration came after becoming stranded overnight at Mangotsfield station in Bristol, now a disused station on the Midland Railway main line.

The production stars Jeffrey Holland (Hi-de-Hi!, You Rang, M’Lord?, Oh, Doctor Beeching!), Tom Butcher (The Bill, Doctors), Sophie Powles (Emmerdale), Judy Buxton (General Hospital, On the Up) and David Janson (Get Some In!, ‘Allo ‘Allo!, Keeping Up Appearances).

Sherlock Holmes and The Ripper Murders tells of the grisly serial killings in Victorian Whitechapel, dubbed by the popular press at the time as the work of ‘Jack the Ripper’. Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson are drawn into one of the darkest plots ever to shake the foundations of England.

The production stars Andrew Paul (Coronation Street, The Bill), Neil Roberts (Holby City, Coronation Street) and Kim Taylforth (London’s Burning, Brookside).

The Ghost Train runs at Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 30 June to Saturday 4 July. Sherlock Holmes and The Ripper Murders runs from Tuesday 7 to Saturday 11 July.

Tickets* for both productions are priced from £12.60 with a double ticket offer to see both thrillers and save up to £10. To book contact the Box Office on 01325 486 555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk

*All ticket prices include a £1 restoration levy

SEBASTIAN FAULKS
TO APPEAR IN CAMEO ROLE
IN RACHEL WAGSTAFF’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STAGE ADAPTATION
OF HIS NOVEL BIRDSONG

Novelist Sebastian Faulks will be treading the boards in a cameo acting role in Rachel Wagstaff’s adaptation of his play BIRDSONG at Richmond Theatre this summer.

Audiences will be able to see Sebastian Faulks playing the role of a sapper (tunneler) called Wheeler, at evening performances on Monday 29 June, Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 July (the run continues until 4 July).

The producers of BIRDSONG offered Sebastian Faulks the contract of a paid acting job, having seen his performance when he tried out the role for two nights at Bristol Old Vic in May. Sebastian was keen to recreate the role for a final time as he enjoyed himself so much in Bristol, where he delivered all of his lines perfectly to an outstanding response.

Sebastian’s fellow cast members include Peter Duncan, Edmund Wiseman and Emily Bowker who head the cast of BIRDSONG. Also in the cast are Emily Altneu, Max Bowden (most recently seen as Justin Fitzgerald in BBC One’s Waterloo Road), Selma Brook, James Findlay (winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award 2010), Roger Martin, Liam McCormick, James Staddon, Cloudia Swann and Alastair Whatley.

Richmond Theatre is the final venue for BIRDSONG, which has been on a critically acclaimed tour since February.

Touring during the 100th anniversary of the First World War, BIRDSONG tells a mesmerising story of love and courage, before and during the war. In pre-war France, a young Englishman, Stephen Wraysford, embarks on a passionate and dangerous affair with the beautiful Isabelle Azaire that turns their worlds upside down.  As the war breaks out, Stephen must lead his men through the carnage of the Battle of the Somme and through the sprawling tunnels that lie deep underground.  Faced with the unprecedented horror of the war, Stephen clings to the memory of Isabelle and the idyll of his former life as his world explodes around him.

The 2013 and 2014 tours were hugely successful and critically acclaimed, seen by over 130,000 people and receiving 4- and 5-star reviews, with audiences calling the show ‘simply stunning’. Sebastian Faulks was thrilled the show was re-mounted to tour again, and has previously stated: “Both Rachel and I want this to be the definitive version of Birdsong on stage. The audience watch it and think, thank God I have never undergone all of this. These experiences are far outside the lives of most people but there is something about the way the production works which makes people identify and think, it could be me…”

Rachel Wagstaff is currently co-writing two screenplays with Sebastian Faulks, one for Eleventh Hour Productions, and one for Bob & Co. She is also under commission to write a new musical for Vicky Graham Productions/Old Vic Productions, and writing a stage play for The Original Theatre Company. Rachel adapted Sebastian Faulks’s novel, The Girl at the Lion d’Or, for Radio Four (Woman’s Hour), and When I Lost You, an Afternoon Play for Radio Four, co-written with Duncan Abel, was featured on Pick of the Week last year.

BIRDSONG is again directed by Alastair Whatley, with set design by Victoria Spearing, lighting by Alex Wardle for Charcoalblue and sound by Dom Bilkey.

BIRDSONG is produced on tour by Alastair Whatley for The Original Theatre Company and Anne-Marie Woodley and Jon Woodley for Birdsong Productions Ltd.

Official BIRDSONG website:  www.birdsongthetour.com

Official BIRDSONG trailer:  http://www.birdsongthetour.com/#/trailer/4581629926

BIRDSONG is suitable for ages 12+.

RICHMOND LISTINGS

BIRDSONG
RICHMOND THEATRE
Little Green, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1QJ
29 June – 4 July 2015 (evenings 7.30pm; matinees Wednesday and Saturday 2.30pm)
Sebastian Faulks* is performing at evening performances on Monday 29 June, Wednesday 1 July and Thursday 2 July (*subject to availability) at 7.30pm.
Booking:  0844 871 7651 www.atgtickets.com/venues/richmond-theatre/
Tickets: £10 – £32.40 (booking fees apply)

 

Made in Corby presents
No Way Back
Created by Frantic Assembly

Taking inspiration from events in our lives that have shaped who we are, No Way Back is a brand new piece of theatre inspired by the stories of the Corby company, and created by a team of artists from Frantic Assembly working alongside this group of local performers.

A collaborative theatre project, No Way Back has brought both Frantic Assembly’s co-founder and Artistic Director Scott Graham and Associate Director Neil Bettles back to Corby, their home town. They will work with six professional performers, lighting designer Andy Purves and video designer Andrej Goulding.

To encourage people to come forward and take part in creating the show, Frantic Assembly began with open taster workshops across the town in May attracting over 70 people. Then in workshop trials that followed, ten non-professional performers from Corby were selected to co-create and perform in the July show. Local performers selected were Natalie Chisholm, Johnny Cruickshank, Maureen Gallacher, Sam Gooding, Nikki Hammond, India Martin, Stacey Miller, Gordon Ritchie, Lisa Shepherd and Louise Slaven.

They will perform alongside Sally Harris who taught both Scott Graham and Neil Bettles drama at Kingswood School in Corby, Steven Miller who recently played Iago in Frantic Assembly’s acclaimed production of Othello, Vicki Manderson who performed in Frantic Assembly’s Beautiful Burnout and was the company’s Associate on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Jonnie Riordan who is a graduate of Frantic Assembly’s Ignition training programme for young men, Sofie Burgoyne and Krista Vuori.

No Way Back is Made in Corby’s second signature commission in a three year programme bringing together the best national and international artists and the Corby community. The aim is for more people to experience and be inspired by the arts, irrespective of where they live or their social, educational or financial circumstances.

Corby is a test bed for increasing arts participation and arts-led regeneration. One of the fastest growing places in the UK, the town is set to double in size by 2030. The last fifteen years have brought about ambitious investment in housing, regeneration, town centre redevelopment and a new civic building and home to The Core at Corby Cube Theatre, with its growing national reputation for work with young people.

Listings
No Way Back
Directed by Scott Graham and Neil Bettles
Lighting Design by Andy Purves
Video Design by Andrej Goulding

Performances will take place at 2pm and 7.30pm on July 9th and 10th.
Post show talks after 7.30pm performance on July 9th and 2pm on July 10th.
Tickets are on sale from The Core at Corby Cube Ticket Office: 01536 470 470 andwww.thecorecorby.com

On Saturday 5th September 2015 The 39 Steps will close after 9 years at the Criterion Theatre.

Based on John Buchan’s 1914 spy thriller The Thirty Nine Steps and adapted for the stage by Patrick Barlow (Desmond Oliver Dingle/The National Theatre of Brent), The 39 Steps is directed by Maria Aitken, with design by Peter McKintosh, lighting by Ian Scott, sound by Mic Pool, and movement byToby Sedgwick. The 39 Steps is presented by Edward Snape for Fiery Angel and Tricycle London Productions with the West Yorkshire Playhouse. From an original concept by Simon Corble & Nobby Dimon.

The Olivier, Tony and Whatsonstage award-winning comedy has celebrated 9 years in the West End since it opened at the Criterion Theatre in 2006. By the 5th September, The 39 Steps will have played the 5th highest number of performances of any play in West End history.

Following the incredible adventures of our handsome hero Richard Hannay, complete with stiff-upper-lip, British gung-ho and pencil moustache as he encounters dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents, and, of course, devastatingly beautiful women.

This wonderfully inventive and gripping comedy thriller features 4 actors, playing 139 roles in 100 minutes of fast-paced fun and thrilling action.

Over the past 9 years, the production has seen more than 50 actors tread its boards and between them they have got through over 3,000 pairs of stockings, 530 O/S maps of Scotland, 38 pairs of handcuffs and 16 suspender belts. With the production having performed in 39 countries including Moscow, Shanghai, Tokyo and Paris, an audience of 3 million have seen the production worldwide.

The tongue-in-cheek production opened at London’s Criterion Theatre in September 2006, following short runs at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and London’s Tricycle Theatre. The original cast included Rupert Degas, Charles Edwards, Simon Gregor and Catherine McCormack.

The 39 Steps was also famously adapted for screen by Alfred Hitchcock in what is widely regarded as one of the best films from his early period. The stage production references a number of the legendary scenes from Hitchcock’s 1935 classic movie thriller of the same name including the chase on the Flying Scotsman Train, the escape on the Forth Rail Bridge and the controversial ‘stockings and suspenders’ scene.

Current cast includes Daniel Llewelyn-Williams [Richard Hannay], Kelly Hotten [Pamela/Annabella/Margaret], Mike Goodenough [Man], and Gary Sefton [Man].

www.love39steps.com

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED – NIGEL ANTHONY, ROSALIND AYRES,

NIGEL HAVERS, MARTIN JARVIS,

CHRISTINE KAVANAGH, SIÂN PHILLIPS, CARMEN du SAUTOY, DAVID SHAW-PARKER

STAR IN THE HIT WEST END PRODUCTION OF

At THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

FROM TUESDAY 17^TH TO SATURDAY 21^ST NOVEMBER

Oscar Wilde’s

The Importance of Being Earnest

‘A trivial comedy for serious people’

 

Directed by LUCY BAILEY

Designed by WILLIAM DUDLEY

Starring ROSALIND AYRES, NIGEL HAVERS, MARTIN JARVIS, CHRISTINE KAVANAGH and SIÂN PHILLIPS who reprise their West End performances and are joined by NIGEL ANTHONY, CARMEN du SAUTOY, DAVID SHAW-PARKER.

Full casting has now been announced for The Bunbury Company of Players production of Oscar Wilde’s much loved and witty masterpiece THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, which will embark on a first class regional tour from Autumn this year. The play will be on at the Grand Opera House York from Tuesday 17^th to Saturday 21^stNovember.

Rosalind Ayres (Titanic, Outnumbered, New Tricks), Nigel Havers (Chariots of Fire, Downton Abbey, Coronation Street), Martin Jarvis (Endeavour, Just William, Titanic), Christine Kavanagh (Man and Superman, Vera, Manchild),and Siân Phillips (Marlene, The Age of Innocence, Cabaret) will reunite as The Bunbury Company of Players, an extremely experienced cast of serious comedic actors, to reprise their roles as Miss Prism, Algernon Moncrieff, John Worthing J.P., Cecily Cardew and Lady Bracknell from the West End. They will be joined by Nigel Anthony(Tonight at 8.30, Dearest Nancy, Darling Evelyn, The Shepherd) in the roles of Lane and Merriman, with Carmen du Sautoy (The Man with the Golden Gun, Poor Little Rich Girl, Lost Empires) as Gwendolyn Fairfax, David Shaw-Parker(McQueen, Uncle Vanya, The Muppet’s Christmas Carol) as Rev Canon Chasuble. Dubbed by Wilde ‘a trivial comedy for serious people’, the production delivers an entirely faithful, but completely unique, setting to one of the greatest theatrical comedies.

Introducing Wide’s genius afresh to a new audience, acclaimed director Lucy Bailey, together with comic novelist, Simon Brett, and the innovative theatre designer William Dudley have created a delightful new context for the play which enchanted audiences across the UK last year.

‘Earnest gets a terrific twist’

The Daily Mail

‘Thoroughly likeable…Sparkling fun’

The Times

 

Rupert Gavin, producer for Incidental Colman, said “I am absolutely delighted that in our 34th year as a producing company with a long tradition in comedy, we are reprising our celebratory milestone 100th production – warmly received in the West end – with a U.K. wide tour of that landmark comedy in the English language, The Importance of Being Earnest. For this, we have drawn together an exceptional creative team, a group of brilliant comedic actors, and we bring of course, a twist to proceedings, that you would only expect of us.”

Nigel Havers, said: “This production is very close to my heart and we had a ball doing it in the West End last summer. I’m thrilled we get to do it all again and hope audiences in York will laugh and enjoy watching our twist on Oscar’s brilliant play as much as we enjoy performing it.”

The Importance of Being Earnest elegantly lampoons the hypocrisies of Victorian society and opens as two bachelors, the dependable, John Worthing, J.P. (Martin Jarvis) and upper class playboy Algernon Moncrieff (Nigel Havers), feel compelled to create different identities in order to pursue two eligible ladies Cecily Cardew (Christine Kavanagh) and Gwendolyn Fairfax (Carmen du Sautoy). The hilarious misadventures which result from their subterfuge;  their brushes with the redoubtable Lady Bracknell (Siân Phillips) and the uptight Miss Prism (Rosalind Ayres) result in a plot that twists and fizzles with some of the finest dialogue to be found in theatre.

Director                                Lucy Bailey

Designer                              William Dudley

Company Writer               Simon Brett

 

The Importance of Being Earnest is being produced by Rupert Gavin for Incidental Colman as a Bunbury Company of Players presentation.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

Theatre: Grand Opera House York

Dates: 17 – 21 November

Performance days/times: Tue – Sat 7:30pm; Wed, Thu & Sat mats 2:30pm

Ticket prices: £32, £25, £16, £10

Booking details: In person at theatre box office or call ATG tickets on 0844 871 3024, book online atwww.atgtickets.com/york

Celebrated West End newcomers and ‘Best New Comedy 2015’ Olivier Award winners, Mischief Theatre, bring their new show Peter Pan Goes Wrong to Leeds today. This comedy spin on a timeless classic runs until this Saturday 20^th June.

 

The play introduces ‘The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’ who are attempting to stage J.M. Barrie’s classic tale of Peter Pan, but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong… does, as the accident prone thesps embark on a thrilling adventure to Neverland with hilariously disastrous results. A highly physical comedy packed with finely-tuned mayhem and Buster Keaton inspired slapstick, Peter Pan Goes Wrong delivers a fast-paced show with split-second timing and ambitious daring.

 

Mischief Theatre exploded onto the stage with phenomenal success last year with The Play That Goes Wrong, the first of their ‘Goes Wrong’ hit shows. Starting at the Old Red Lion in London, the production then transferred to the West End where it enjoyed two successive runs at the Trafalgar Studios, exciting critics, audiences and celebrity fans into a frenzy of delight and won ‘Best New Comedy’ at the 2014 WhatsOnStage Awards. Producers Kenny Waxand Stage Presence Ltd picked up the show and produced a two-act version of the play, which enjoyed a sell-out UK tour and swiftly followed with a West End transfer to the Duchess Theatre, where it is currently playing to packed houses and has been nominated for the Olivier Award for ‘Best New Comedy’ 2015*. Peter Pan Goes Wrong first premiered with a small-scale production at The Pleasance London in December 2013. This production has been developed and redesigned for a number one UK tour.

MORE HORRIBLE HISTORIES UNEARTHED

Two brand new Horrible Histories shows are coming to Darlington Civic Theatre from

Wednesday 24 to Sunday 28 June

Thousands of years after the Ruthless Romans, Savage Saxons & Vicious Vikings stormed ashore on the coast of Britain and the Gruesome Greeks competed in the first ever Olympic Games, you can relive those horribly exciting times by bringing your family to see Birmingham Stage Company’s brand new Horrible Histories stage shows coming to Darlington Civic Theatre from Wednesday 24 to Sunday 28 June.

In INCREDIBLE INVADERS the Celts are crunched when the Ruthless Romans invaded Britain. Can crazy Caratacus save the nation? Hide behind Hadrian’s Wall and witness the Savage Saxons smash their way in. Can you stop King Alfred burning his buns? Discover who’s at Sutton Hoo and survive the Vicious Vikings as they sail into the audience. It’s a thousand year journey with Incredible Invaders!

GROOVY GREEKS takes us from savage Sparta to angry Athens to discover the truth about growing up in Greece. Take on the Trojans and pummel the Persians! Compete in the first ever Olympic Games and appear in the very first play! Meet your match with the Minotaur and be zapped by Zeus! Hold on tight as you gatecrash the gruesome and Groovy Greeks!

It’s history with the nasty bits left in!

Writer and Director Neal Foster said today “I had a hugely exciting time bringing the Groovy Greeks to life in Horrible Histories style and loved shining the spotlight on Celtic, Roman, Saxon and Viking life in Incredible Invaders. Both shows feature special amazing 3D effects that provide a spectacular way for both children and adults to enter these extraordinary historical periods.”

Incredible Invaders and Groovy Greeks look like being BSC’s best Horrible Histories theatre shows yet – designed to both entertain and educate their audiences from ages 5 to 105! Come and goggle at the goings on of those Groovy Greeks and let the Incredible Invaders ignite your imaginations to learn more about our island’s early history.

Horrible Histories comes to Darlington Civic Theatre from Wednesday 24 to Sunday 28 June. Tickets are priced £13 for Adults and £9.50 for Children

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

Civic Theatre, Darlington – 16 June 2015

In 2013 The History Boys was voted “The Nations Favourite Play” and its easy to understand why.  It has all the classic elements needed – happiness and sad, good times and bad.  Characters that you care about and a storyline that draws you in. And a brilliant soundtrack of 80’s music punctuating the different scenes

Typically Alan Bennett, the show is based in Yorkshire, at a boys grammar school in Sheffield.  Set in the early 1980s, the play follows a group of history pupils preparing for the Oxford and Cambridge entrance examinations under the guidance of three teachers (Hector, Irwin, and Lintott) with contrasting styles.

Hector (Richard Hope) is the perfect teacher, loved by all his charges, because he doesn’t believe in any of the nonsense where teachers teach people stuff. His preferred method is to allow them to intuit, experience and feel their way into knowledge

However the Headmaster (Christopher Ettridge) wants results and supply teacher Irwin (Mark Field) is employed.  Irwin represents the antithesis of Hector’s enlightened attitudes. And there are clashes with Hector teaching them for their future and Irwin teaching to the test.

The show is very wordy, and not all of them are in English with a very memorable scene in French.  The acting is superb, with seasoned professionals along side some very young and inexperienced thespians some of which were making their stage débuts in this play.  Multi-talented performers not just acting but singing and playing the piano too.  Steven Roberts (Posner), Kedar Williams-Stirling (Dakin), Alex Hope (Scripps), David Young (Rudge), Patrick McNamee (Lockwood), Sid Sagar (Akthar), Joshua Mayes-Cooper (Timms) breathed life, confidence and fragility in their characters.  And, whilst they weren’t the 16, 17 and 18 year old Sheffield boys who I grew up with they were believable if not realistic

In a play that had its first performance just 11 years ago its become a phenomenal success, but that may be in part to the original National Theatre cast who have since gone on to be world famous stars.

In Darlington until Saturday 20th June and on a UK tour