CASTING ANNOUNCEMENT

GIGI by Colette and Anita Loos

              Tabard Theatre, London W4         

28^th October– 21^stNovember 2015

The Tabard Theatre in West London plays host to Colette and Anita Loos’ GIGI for a limited run, Wednesday 28^th October – Saturday 21^st November. Last seen in London 60 years ago, this production is directed by veteran New York and London producer/director Mark Giesser.

Paris, 1900. Bright, vivacious Gigi lives the carefree life of a schoolgirl in a family of modest means. She particularly enjoys card games with her much-older friend Gaston, a wealthy playboy. But her life is a bit different from that of an ordinary sixteen-year-old. Gigi is the next generation of a family of courtesans. Her grandmother and Aunt Alicia, the family matriarch, are determined that Gigi succeed where her mother failed. When Gaston notices more about Gigi than her eagerness to play cards, aunt and grandmother set their sights on an arrangement. Gigi has other ideas about her future. Will she prove as adept at romance as at cards?

‘Mark Giesser’s satirical take on the events leading to the infamous Battle of the Alamo … lights up with moments of inspired lunacy.’Time Out (4 Stars) on Good Morning, Alamo!

The cast includes:

DAISY MAY (Gigi) – As You Like It, Arcadia (Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory); A Christmas Carol (St James Theatre); Sam Wanamaker Festival at The Globe Theatre. Film/television: The Last Photograph; Lewis; Whitechapel. 2015 Ian Charleson Award nominee.

RICHARD LYNSON (Gaston) – West End: Rainman; Star Wars Shortened; Complete Bible … Abridged, Complete History of the World … Abridged, Complete Works of William Shakespeare … Abridged (Reduced Shakespeare Company). Regional/Off-West End: The Applecart at Theatre Royal Bath; Scooby Doo in Stagefright (National Tour); How to Build a Better Tulip (Tabard, Mark Giesser).

PAMELA MILES (Alicia de St Ephlam) – Pygmalion (Old Vic); Darker Shores (Hampstead Theatre); Utopia (Soho Theatre); Stroke of Luck (Park Theatre). Film/television: A Fish Called Wanda; The Bill; Casualty; Family Business; Doctors; Midsomer Murders.

PRUE CLARKE (Mme Alvarez) – Film/television: The Wicker Tree; Doctors; Mr Selfridge; Call The Midwife; Breathless; Law & Order UK; Poirot; The Inbetweeners; Holby City; The Bill; Midsomer Murders. Theatre includes Soho Theatre; Bristol Old Vic; Stephen Joseph Theatre.

ZOË TEVERSON (Andree) – Alan Alda’s Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie, Code of the West, Good Morning, Alamo! (Tabard, Mark Giesser); Bell, Book & Candle (Greenwich Playhouse, Mark Giesser); Murderer (Gatehouse); Kent Rep at Hever Castle.

ZOË SIMON (Sidonie) – Alan Alda’s Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie, How to Build a Better Tulip (Tabard, Mark Giesser); Beyond Control (Theatre 503); Silent Partners, The Tragedy of Master Arden of Faversham (White Bear); Edinburgh Fringe.

Colette’s classic story was adapted as a Broadway comedy in 1951 by Anita Loos (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) which then inspired the film and stage musical. This original version of Gigi debuted in the West End in 1955. It returns to the professional London stage under the direction of Mark Giesser, whose production of Alan Alda’s Radiance played a sold out run at the Tabard earlier this year.

‘It works quite beautifully … The hands of the director carry the timing to perfection.’

London Theatreviews on Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie

Mark Giesser has written, directed and produced in numerous theatre venues in both London and New York.  London credits include his plays How to Build a Better Tulip, the UK premiere of Code of the West and the world premiere of Good Morning, Alamo!(Tabard Theatre); the revival of Bell, Book & Candle (Greenwich Playhouse); the UK premieres of the Abbey Theatre’s Blackwater Angel  (Finborough Theatre) and Alan Alda’s Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie. Off-Broadway productions of his plays includeHow to Build a Better Tulip, Code of the West, Hansen’s Cab, The Night they Burned Washington, Pledge of Allegiance.

GIGI is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH LTD.

Casting is by Jenkins McShane.

LISTINGS INFORMATION:

Venue:                    Tabard Theatre, 2 Bath Road, London W4 1LW

Dates:                     Wednesday 28^th October – Saturday 21^st November, 2015

Times:                    Tuesday – Saturday, 7.30pm; Sunday matinees, 2pm on 8^th & 15^th November

Press night:          Friday 30^th October, 7pm

Tickets:                   £18/ £16 (concessions)

Box Office:            020 8995 6035/ www.tabardtheatre.co.uk

Hackney Empire presents
JACK AND THE
BEANSTALK
2015 Pantomime

BRAND NEW IMAGES RELEASED FOR HACKNEY EMPIRE’S JACK & THE BEANSTALKSTARRING CLIVE ROWE & DEBBIE KURUP? OH YES THEY ARE!

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR LONDON’S FAVOURITE PANTOMIME

NEW JACK & THE BEANSTALK ‘CATCH THE COINS’ GAME & EXCLUSIVE TRAILER.

PERFORMANCES WILL RUN FROM 21 NOVEMBER 2015 – 3 JANUARY 2016

Hackney Empire has today announced the full cast of its much-anticipated 2015 pantomime,Jack and the Beanstalk. The full cast will be joining previously announced Olivier Award-nominee Debbie Kurup as Jack, everybody’s favourite dame, Olivier Award-winning Clive Roweas Dame Daisy Trott and Kat B as Snowman. Following their 2014 pantomime which was seen by over 50,000 people Jack and the Beanstalk will run from 21 November 2015 to 3 January 2016.

Joining Rowe and Kurup and Kat B, the cast includes: Jocelyn Jee Esien, Tony Timberlake,Julia Sutton, Darren Hart, Lori Barker, Leon Sweeney, Emanuel Alba, Frances Dee, Jonathan Prestney, Katie Shearman, Dale White and Sharon D Clarke as the Voice of Davina.  The roles of Molly and the Voice of the Giant are still to be confirmed.

Jack and the Beanstalk will be written and directed by the theatre’s Creative Director Susie McKenna with music by Steven Edis. The team has been the creative force behind London’s number one pantomime for over a decade.

In true Hackney style the production will feature a break dancing cow, bonkers baddies and the scariest giant ever, outlandish costumes and glittering sets by Lotte Collett, buckets of silliness, tons of audience participation and full-on show stopping songs performed by a kickin’ live band.

After 15 years of perpetual winter the kingdom of Hackneydale is really feeling the pinch of austerity cuts. McKenna’s production follows two stories, that of young and earnest Jack and of the HUGE scary giant. Whilst Jack is tempted by a mysterious stranger into swapping the family’s trusty old cow for a handful of magic beans, the Giant’s inventions for making gold are destroying the Earth… Can Jack and his crazy mates save the day?

Clive Rowe (Dame Daisy Trott) was nominated for the 2008 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for his role as Mother Goose at Hackney Empire. Rowe’s extensive theatre credits include his Olivier Award-winning performance in Guys and Dolls(National Theatre), The Light Princess, Carousel (for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award), Fuente Ovejuna, Caroline or Change, The Villains Opera, Money, Candide, Peter Pan(all National Theatre), Kiss Me Kate (Chichester and Old Vic Theatre) and The Ladykillers (West End and UK Tour). He is well known for his role as ‘Duke’ in the BBC’s The Story of Tracey Beaker and is soon to be seen in new Disney series The Evermoor Chronicles and Disney’s live action feature Beauty and the Beast. Other television credits include So Awkward, The Kennedys, The Fun Police, All the Small Things, Doctor Who, Dalziel & Pascoe, and The Harry Hill Show. Rowe returns to Hackney Empire for his eleventh pantomime appearance.

Debbie Kurup (Jack) most recently played the role of Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes (UK/Ireland Tour). Prior to this, she played Nicki Marron in the World Premiere of The Bodyguard at the Adelphi Theatre, London(2013) for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical. Kurup has also appeared inChicago (Adelphi), Ben Elton’s Tonight’s The Night (Victoria Palace), Rent (UK Tour and West End), Sister Act (Palladium) and West Side Story (Prince of Wales).

Kat B (Snowman) returns to Hackney Empire after his role as Billy Goose in last year’s production of Mother Goose. He also starred in the title role of Puss in Boots in Hackney Empire’s 2014 production. Previous credits include Dick Whittington, Cinderella, The Wiz, Mother Goose, A Christmas Carol, Aladdin, Jack and the Beanstalk and The Kat and Tameka Show. Kat is best known for his antics on MTV Base where he has presented numerous shows around the world. His film and television credits include Waterland and Street Wise (BBC) andThe Richard Blackwood Show (Channel 4). Kat is also the Artistic Director of Real Deal Comedy Jam and a regular on the Jongleurs Circuit.

Jocelyn Jee Esien (Stomach Bug) has previously performed at Hackney Empire in Aladdin andThe Vagina Monologues. Her previous theatre credits include One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show(Tricycle Theatre), Belong (Royal Court) and Torn (Arcola). Esien is perhaps best known for writing and starring in her own TV sketch show, Little Miss Jocelyn (BBC). Other television credits include Gangsta Gran, Big School, Some Girls, Sarah Jane Adventures, 3 Non Blondes (all BBC) and Strictly Confidential (ITV).

Tony Timberlake (Nasty Bug) returns to the cast after appearing in Mother Goose, Puss in Bootsand Aladdin. His previous theatre credits include Chicago (West End), Jesus Christ Superstar(National Tour), Spamalot (Palace), Les Miserables (West End), Into The Woods (Donmar Warehouse), Singin’ In The Rain (National Theatre) and Hairspray (West End).

Julia Sutton (Mother Nature) has recently appeared in Follies (Toulon Opera). Her previous stage credits include Sister Act (London Palladium), Dirty Dancing, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady,Witches of Eastwick, Martin Guerre, Company, Sherlock Holmes – The Musical and Side by Side by Sondheim (all West End). Her film and television credits include Half a Sixpence (BBC), My So Called Life (BBC) and Upstairs, Downstairs (BBC).

Darren Hart (Clumsy Callum) makes his return to Hackney Empire after starring in Mother Goose. His other theatre credits include Lonely Londoners (National Theatre Studio), Clockwork, Cinderella and Red Riding Hood (all Theatre Royal Stratford East), That Face (Soho Theatre),Absolute Beginners (Lyric Hammersmith), Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 and His Dark Materials (both National Theatre). His television credits include Justin’s House, Gigglebiz, Holby City (all BBC),The Bill (ITV) and Flash Prank (MTV).

Lori Barker (Goldiniah) has most recently starred in Juicy Bits at the Orange Tree Theatre. Her stage credits include Play Mas (Orange Tree Theatre), Hairspray (UK Tour) and Legally Blonde(National Tour).

Leon Sweeney (The Giant) makes his return to Hackney Empire after performing in Puss in Boots, Dick Whittington, Jack and the Beanstalk, Mother Goose, La Variete and The Kat and Tameka Show.

Emanuel Alba (Ensemble) has recently starred in Michael Strassen’s Pacific Overtures at the Union Theatre. His previous theatre credits include Days of Hope (Union Theatre) and Rent(Tabard Theatre).

Frances Dee (Ensemble)  has most recently appeared in Matilda in the West End. Her other stage credits include Mamma Mia (International Tour), A Chorus Line (West End), Ultimate Broadway (Shangai) and Sleeping Beauty (Marlowe Theatre).

Jonathan Prestney (Ensemble) is currently in his third year of training at the Urdang Academy. Whilst at college his credits have included: ‘Bill’ in Me and My Girl and ‘Hewie Calhoun’ inMemphis. Jack and the Beanstalk marks Jonathan’s professional debut.

Katie Shearman (Ensemble) has most recently performed in the UK tour of The Sound of Music.Her previous theatre credits include Girlfriends (Union Theatre) and Cinderella (Compass Theatre). She also recorded backing vocals for Kerry Ellis’ self-titled album in 2014.

Dale White (Ensemble) has most recently starred in Bugsy Malone at the Lyric Hammersmith. His other stage credits include Starlight Express (UK Tour) and Cinderella (Theatre Royal Brighton).

Sharon D Clarke (Voice of Davina) returns to the Hackney Empire after starring in 2014’sMother Goose. Her extensive theatre credits include her Olivier Award-winning performance inThe Amen Corner (National Theatre), as well as her Olivier nominated performances in We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre) and Ghost (Piccadilly Theatre).

Susie McKenna (Writer /Director) has worked as an actress and director touring nationally and in the West End for over 25 years and is currently Creative Director of Hackney Empire. Her directing credits include the critically acclaimed Blues In the Night (Hackney Empire 2014)  A Midsummer Night’s Madness (Hackney Empire, New York and Edinburgh Festival), La Varieté,Once on This Island (Hackney Empire), Sit and Shiver (assisting Steven Berkoff), A Christmas Carol (Arts Theatre, London) and Once on this Island (Hackney Empire, Birmingham Rep, Nottingham Playhouse). Her and Steve Edis’ production of Ian Serrailier’s The Silver Sword opens in Coventry  this week before embarking on a national tour.  Her acting credits include Chicago, Ragtime, Cats and The Witches of Eastwick in the West End and national tours of Hair, The Rocky Horror Show and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Steven Edis (Musical Composer) returns once again to create a magical mix of musical mash-ups, chart remixes and an original score. Steven has worked with the National Theatre, in the West End and on a variety of prestigious projects as composer, arranger and orchestrator. Credits include Volpone (RSC), The Captain of Köpenick (National Theatre), She Loves Me andRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Chichester Festival Theatre), A Chorus of Disapproval, Flare Path and Birdsong for the West End. Steven brings his vast experience to create a musical score that rivals a West End musical.

Tickets are now on sale.

LISTINGS

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK
A Hackney Empire Pantomime
Press Night: Thu 26 Nov, 7pm

Written and Directed by Susie McKenna
Music: Steven Edis
Design: Lotte Collett
Musical Director: Mark Dickman
Choreographer: Carl Parris
Lighting: David W Kidd
Sound Design: Andy Hedges
Assistant Director: Tony Whittle
Creature Design: Scott Brooker

Performances
Sat 21 Nov 2015 – Sun 3 Jan 2016

Tickets prices
Tickets from £34.50 – £10, concessions available
Groups of 10+ discount available at certain of performances
Early Bird offer: Book and pay before 30 Sept and receive best available seats for just £17.50 per ticket. Available at certain performances.

Signed Performances
Sat 5 Dec at 2.30pm & 7pm.
Thu 17 Dec at 1.30pm (schools performance) & 7pm.

Relaxed Performance
Sat 5 Dec at 2.30pm (pre-show meet and greet, 12.45 – 1.15pm)

Box Office: 020 8985 2424
www.hackneyempire.co.uk

Casting has been announced for Blanche McIntyre’s production of The Oresteia, which opens at Manchester’s new Home venue next month.

Heading the cast will be Manchester-born Lyndsey Marshal, whose film credits include The Hours, as Clytemnestra, alongside Simon Trinder, whose stage credits include The Tempest with Pete Postlethwaite, as Orestes.

Joining them will be Gary Shelford (Agamemnon/Electra/Apollo), Hedydd Dylan (Cassandra), Daniel Millar (Leader of the Male Chorus/Servant) and Ronkẹ Adekoluejo (Leader of the Female Chorus).

The production will also feature 53 local non-professional performers, including 16 Manchester Metropolitan University drama students, who make up the Ensemble Chorus.

McIntyre said: “The Oresteia is epic in its themes, experimental in style and contemporary in its impact, and in the current situation of increased political engagement and in the context of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ proposals, it feels right to work on a play in which the right to administer justice is transferred from a small family to the people.”

The production runs from 23 October to 14 November 2015. It will be followed by Home’s Christmas production, an adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s bestselling novel Inkheart, which runs from 4 December to 9 January directed by artistic director Walter Meierjohann.

Mark Jagasia’s comic play Clarion will return to the Arcola Theatre later this year replete with its original cast.

Starring Greg Hicks and three-time Olivier Award winner Clare Higgins, the play is set in the offices of a fictional newspaper and premiered at the Arcola in April.

It will return between 20 October and 14 November 2015, with 500 tickets available at £10.

The new Arcola season also features the premiere of Patrick Marmion’s new comedyThe Divided Laing (25 November-19 December), marking the 50th anniversary of R.D. Laing’s Philadelphia Association.

There will be a Howard Barker double bill – The Twelfth Battle of Isonzo and Judith: A Parting From The Body running from 5 to 30 January 2016.

And the London premiere of Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s new play Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern, directed by Ria Parry, will run from 6 to 30 January 2016.

Christopher Biggins, today launched the 2015 West End Heroes gala concert at the Dominion Theatre with a little help from some military friends….

Dressed as an RAF service woman – just one of the “characters” he’ll play on the night in several big song and dance numbers – he promised a night of surprises, fun and jollity and some rather special flying sequences!

The hugely popular star of musical theatre, screen comedies, panto dame extraordinaire and one of Britain’s best-loved TV personalities, is the host of the 2015 West End Heroes gala concert on Sunday 4 October.

Last year the casts of many of the biggest West End musicals united with the finest UK military bands and musicians in a stunning performance that raised £78,243.01 for the Help For Heroes charity.

He said: “I’m delighted to be able to give my support to West End Heroes by hosting what I know will be a marvellous evening, with some wonderful surprises. It’s a wonderful way for the West End to show their appreciation for all that our lovely service folk do for us and to support such a worthy charity.”

West End Heroes will again unite the country’s top military musicians with even more West End performers and productions in a dazzling showcase of show-stopping numbers, unlikely song mash-ups and stunning choreography and precision drilling.

Confirmed to appear are the West End casts of Elf The Musical, Phantom of the Opera and Memphis. With appearances from Ben Forster, Bradley Jaden, Celinde Schoenmaker, Charlotte Jaconelli, El Ocho, Jamie Raven, Jessica Martin, Joe McGann, John Owen Jones, Jon Robyns, Kimberley Walsh, Maurillia Simpson, Mazz Murray, Rachel John.

Returning to form the centrepiece of the gala and under the baton of Squadron Leader Piers Morrell will be The Central Band of the Royal Air Force, which is widely regarded as one of the finest military bands in the UK and incorporates the celebrated RAF Squadronaires Big Band. There will also be support from The Band of HM Royal Marines, The Band of The Queen’s Division and Ceremonial Fanfares. There will be also a performance by Colchester Garrison Military Wives Choir.

West End Heroes will once again be generously supported by many TV and theatre stars and will feature line-ups from current and past West End Shows. There will again be a performance from the West End Heroes Choir – made up of people working behind the scenes in the West End – led by Stuart Morley and the West End Heroes Dancers, led by Matt Flint.

Help for Heroes offers comprehensive support to those who have suffered life-changing injuries and illnesses after serving our country. This support is provided through grants direct to our Heroes and their families, grants to other charities and through four Help for Heroes Recovery Centres across the UK. A study in September 2014 by Help for Heroes and the Royal College of Psychiatrists found that 75,000 men and women may need long term support following the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Creative Team  for For West End Heroes 2015
Director Tim Marshall
(Festival of Remembrance, Royal Albert Hall)

Musical Director
Squadron Leader Piers Morrell, Director of Music, RAF Central Band

Musical Supervisor Stuart Morley
(We Will Rock You; Night of a 1000 Stars)

Choreographer Matt Flint
(So You Think You Can Dance; Strictly Come Dancing)

Assistant Director Carole Todd
(Carnaby Street, Dreamboats and Petticoats)

Design Tim Soden
(The Lion King; Calendar Girls)

Produced by Dominion Events

LISTINGS
WEST END HEROES
DOMINION THEATRE
Tottenham Court Road
London , W1T 7AQ
Sunday 4 October at 7.30pm
www.westendheroes.com
www.facebook.com/WestEndHeroes
www.twitter.com/WestEndHeroes

Tickets from £32.50
VIP Packages available which include
pre-show reception, premium seat and
access to the concert after-party

West End Heroes
Sunday 4th October 2015 – 7.30pm
http://www.dominiontheatre.com/theatre/west-end-heroes/

Having just become a 2015 Winner of the ICWP 50/50 Applause Award and launched their own Fringe Festival, the Clapham Fringe, The Bread & Roses Theatre is now thrilled to announce their upcoming Autumn Season 2015, which includes the theatre’s First Year Anniversary!

Prodigious all-female troupe Get Over It Productions kick off the season, returning to The Bread & Roses Theatre, following their last sold out success; this time conjuring up some rough magic with their gothic version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest (29th Sep – 3rd Oct), which also had a previous sell-out run at the Camden Fringe. Next South London Productions present their debut production with Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig (6th – 10th Oct) and at the end of October NoHatStand launch themselves onto the fringe theatre scene with new play The Accidental Artist by Darrel Draper (27th – 31st Oct). Meanwhile Universally Speaking (13th – 17th Oct) and Scraping God from the Roof of My Mouth (18th – 20th Oct) will showcase some thought-provoking new short plays.

On November 1st & 2nd The Bread & Roses Theatre will celebrate its First Year Anniversary with a new instalment of their new writing night, The Platform – which has attracted over 500 submissions from writers this time – followed by a reception. November will continue with the premiere of White Feathers by Suzy Gill (Tue-Sun, 3rd – 14th Nov), a provocative new piece, running over Remembrance Sunday, which forces us to re-examine our ideas about the nature of patriotism, the price of love and the borders of friendship. Later in November Claudia Jefferies presents her latest one woman show Syd (15th – 17th Nov) and at the end of the month The Peasant’s Club presents You and Me and the Devil Makes Three by Chesper Harland & Charlie Wolf (24th – 28th Nov), a re-developed play tackling the housing crisis, mental health, and domestic violence in contemporary London.

December features a two week run of The Sun Shining On Her Hands by Cassiah Joski-Jethi (Tue-Sat, 1st – 12th Dec), presented by Trip The Light Theatre. Inspired by Georg Büchner ‘s ‘Woyzeck’ and using real-life accounts of gender discrimination, this explosive, visual and intimate production explores the struggle to be recognised as an individual in our modern world.

Goblin Baby Theatre Co., run by the theatre’s Artistic Director Tessa Hart, also return this season with The Princess Monologues (19th – 22nd Nov), exploring what it even means to be a ‘Princess’ in the 21st Century, as well as new family theatre show (S)Elfish Christmas (18th – 22nd Dec) also written by Hart. Furthermore, the theatre continues to host a variety of improvisational theatre shows, short play nights and rehearsed readings.

Complete Confirmed Line-up for Autumn Season 2015 at The Bread & Roses Theatre:
• 29th Sep to 3rd Oct – The Tempest
• 4th Oct, 9th Nov, 6th Dec – Outsiders – Part I, II & III
• 6th to 10th Oct – Fat Pig
• 11th & 12th Oct – Parting Shots
• 13th to 17th Oct – Universally Speaking
• 18th to 20th Oct – Scraping God from the Roof of my Mouth
• 22nd & 23rd Oct – The Murderettes
• 25th & 26th Oct – A Trilogy of Horrors
• 27th to 31st Oct – The Accidental Artist
• 1st & 2nd Nov – The Platform & First Year Anniversary of the Theatre!
• 3rd to 14th Nov (Tue-Sun) – White Feathers
• 15th to 17th Nov – Syd
• 19th to 22nd Nov – The Princess Monologues
• 24th to 28th Nov – You & Me & the Devil Makes Three
• 1st to 12th Dec (Tue-Sat) – The Sun Shining On Her Hands
• 7th Dec – Being John Barrowman (Reading)
• 18th to 22nd Dec – (S)Elfish Christmas (Family Show)
For details on all listings and more head to www.breadandrosestheatre.co.uk

Glenn Close will star as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, the second production in the partnership between English National Opera (ENO) and the GradeLinnit Company. With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, Sunset Boulevard is produced by arrangement with The Really Useful Group Ltd and is based on the original Paramount film by Billy Wilder.

In March 2015 ENO and the GradeLinnit Company presented the critically acclaimed sell-out run of Sweeney Todd with Emma Thompson and Bryn Terfel in the inaugural production of their partnership.

Lonny Price will direct the strictly limited run of 43 performances at ENO’s London Coliseum which begins on 1 April 2016 with press night on 4 April 2016 at 7.30pm and final performance on 7 May 2016. The full ENO orchestra will appear on stage alongside the cast in this semi-staged production. Further casting will be announced shortly.

Glenn Close, making her West End debut as well as her first reprisal of the role for UK audiences, plays faded silent movie star Norma Desmond, for which she has previously won a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and a Dramalogue Award for the Broadway production directed by Trevor Nunn.

Sunset Boulevard will be presented by ENO with Michael Linnit and Michael Grade for Gate Ventures with Johnny Hon as Executive Producer.

Cressida Pollock, ENO, Chief Executive Officer said: “We at English National Opera believe that the combination of multiple award-winning Glenn Close, making her West End stage debut, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical Sunset Boulevard, will once again pack the London Coliseum with ENO regulars and new audiences for us. We are all looking forward to working on this next thrilling production with the GradeLinnit Company, the team that delivered this year’s hugely successful run of Sweeney Todd.”

Andrew Lloyd Webber said: “I am thrilled that London audiences will at last get a chance to see Glenn’s performance in the role of Norma Desmond which was so hugely acclaimed in the USA.”

Tickets for Sunset Boulevard are £12 – £105, with 400 seats at £25 or less including 100 at £12 for every performance. Priority booking opens for ENO friends (www.eno.org) at 10am on 25 September 2015 with public booking opening at 10am on 29 September 2015.

In her mansion on Sunset Boulevard, faded, silent-screen goddess, Norma Desmond, lives in a fantasy world. Impoverished screen writer, Joe Gillis, on the run from debt collectors, stumbles into her reclusive world. Persuaded to work on Norma’s ‘masterpiece’, a film script that she believes will put her back in front of the cameras, he is seduced by her and her luxurious life-style. Joe becomes entrapped in a claustrophobic world until his love for another woman leads him to try and break free with dramatic consequences.

Based on Billy Wilder’s classic film, Sunset Boulevard originally premiered in London at the Adelphi Theatre in 1993, where it ran for almost four years and played to nearly two million people. It went on to open on Broadway in 1994 to what was then, the biggest advance in Broadway history, $37.5million.

Glenn Close made her professional theatre debut in Harold Prince’s revival of Love for Love on Broadway and will make her West End stage debut with this production. Her other early stage credits include The Crucifer of Blood and The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs, for which she won an Obie Award. She was also the winner of Tony Awards for her performances in The Real Thing and Death and the Maiden, both directed by Mike Nichols. In 2002 she was reunited with Trevor Nunn for his National Theatre revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. Glenn Close returned to Broadway in November of 2014 for the first time in 20 years to lead the cast of Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning A Delicate Balance. Close is a six-time Academy Award nominated actress and has appeared in more than 35 films including The World According to Garp, The Big Chill, The Natural, Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, and Albert Nobbs which she co-produced and for which she co-wrote the screenplay. Close has also produced and starred in nine movies for TV including the Sarah, Plain and Tall series for the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Close won Emmy Awards for her performances in Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story and the TV series Damages, which earned her a Golden Globe Award as well. Close also received a SAG Award for her performance as Eleanor in The Lion in Winter. Her upcoming films include What Happened to Monday, Wilde Wedding and She Who Brings Gifts.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer of some of the world’s best known musicals including Cats, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Phantom of the Opera and Sunset Boulevard. He is currently working on a stage version of the movie School of Rock which will begin previews at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre in November this year. As theatre producer he has presented not only his own shows but others including the Olivier award-winning La Bete, and Daisy Pulls It Off. As composer he has received many awards including seven Tonys, seven Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, two International Emmys, the Praemium Imperiale, the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, a BASCA Fellowship, the Kennedy Center Honor and a Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Requiem, his setting of the Latin Requiem mass which contains one of his best known compositions, Pie Jesu. He owns six London theatres including the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the London Palladium. He was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 1992 and created an honorary member of the House of Lords in 1997. The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation has become one of Britain’s leading charities supporting the arts and music.

Earlier this year Lonny Price directed Sweeney Todd, the first production in the ENO/GradeLinnit partnership. His other directing credits include the stage and film versions of the New York Philharmonic’s production of Sondheim’s Company as well as the Philharmonic’s Sondheim: The Birthday Concert! for which he received a 2011 Emmy Award and the Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts of Camelot, Candide and Sweeney Todd. He also directed the Emmy Award–winning production of Sondheim’s Passion starring Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald and Michael Cerveris which was broadcast on Live From Lincoln Center an-d he won an Emmy for his 2001 production of Sweeney Todd with the San Francisco Symphony. His Broadway credits include110 in the Shade, “Master Harold” … and the Boys, Sally Marr and Her Escorts (which he co-wrote with Joan Rivers and Erin Sanders), Urban Cowboy and A Class Act. His feature film, “Master Harold” … and the Boys, received the Best Director of a Feature Film award from the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. In addition he has directed episodes of ABC’s Desperate Housewives and CBS’s 2 Broke Girls.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Theatre: English National Opera, London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4ES
Dates: 1 April – 7 May 2016
Press night: 4 April 2016 at 7.30pm
Performances: Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm, Tuesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm
Prices: £12 – £105.00, plus booking fee (no booking fee in person at Box Office)
Box Office: 020 7845 9300
Website www.eno.org

Following a successful and ambitious opening season in May 2015, Theatre N16 is returning – but it’s moved south, now residing at The Bedford Pub in Balham. This autumn season’s diverse and trailblazing programme is designed to bring its audience cutting-edge fringe performances of new writing, opera–play reductions, and lesser-known gems, spanning the genres of opera, theatre, and dance, and providing creative opportunities to those specialising in a wide variety of creative disciplines.

“Theatre N16 has very quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with” London Theatre 1

This adventurous autumnal foray, programmed to expand the classical genres of theatre and opera, explores the work of some of the all-time great writers, the current cultural vanguard, and the young talent that Theatre N16 is committed to supporting. Season highlights include a three-week world-premiere production of upcoming novelist and poet Kiran Milwood Hargave’s Boat, directed by Jermyn Street Theatre’s associate director, Max Barton, who is renowned for his work with Stephen Berkoff and Trevor Nunn. Theatre N16 will also present a two-week run of Stephen Thompson’s Spincycle. Thompson is celebrated for his writing credits on Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Upstairs Downstairs.

“There’s a clear passion radiating from the venue’s artistic directors. You can sense they’re not just looking to programme the obvious commercial hits, there’s going to be an element of experimentation to follow – basically, taking a chance on new things.” Views From The Gods

Committed to the development of young artists, the theatre will also host a series of shorts nights, workshops, film screenings, and talks from leading industry professionals about the business of theatre. An initiative devised by Theatre N16’s co-artistic director Ella Marchment will be at the very heart of the autumn season’s cultural programme: combining her passion for both theatre and opera, she will be adapting Wagner’s Die Meistersinger and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin into plays, which will feature the music from the operas when dramatically appropriate, in order to create a more realistic genre of opera–theatre. Marchment is also the artistic director of Helios Collective and her productions have received five-star reviews from leading opera publications, including Opera Magazine.

“… it takes major league cojones to open a new theatre in the capital..” London Theatre 1

Theatre N16 is a trailblazing company founded by young people, for young people. It is London’s newest fringe venue, and its artistic directors and co-founders Jamie Eastlake and Ella Marchment are dedicated to creating a creative hub where new and existing works can be explored and pushed into new realms. They are proud of Theatre N16’s commitment to the welfare of creatives, operating without a hire fee for external companies. This promoting and nurturing of talent means that Theatre N16 is a bastion for development within the context of a society in which the arts are increasingly struggling to stay afloat.

Listings:
• 14 September – 29 September
Theatre N16 present Simon Reade’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful and Luke Barnes’ Bottleneck
• 4 October – 8 October
Red Cape Black Cape presents A Fistful of Honey, Hell and Other People
• 11 October – 15 October
Theatre N16 presents an adaptation of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
• 19 October – 6 November
Strickland Productions presents Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s Boat
• 8 November – 19 November
The Canting Crew presents Stephen Thompson’s Spincycle
• 15 November
Goblin Baby presents The Princess Monologues
• 22 November – 26 November
Bigmouth Theatre Company and Fox Theatre present Superfans
• 29 November – 30 November
Dickinson, Woolf and Parker present Conversations Down the Line and No Offence Theatre presents Torn Apart
• 1 December – 3 December
Secret Opera presents Dorothy
• 6 December – 17 December
Theatre N16 presents an adaptation of Pushkin and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin

Theatre N16, The Bedford Pub, 77 Bedford Hill, London SW12 9HD
Travel: Balham station (2 min walk), Streatham Hill station (20 min walk)
www.theatren16.co.uk / +44 7969138899

For the second year running, Hartshorn – Hook Productions brings its signature Edinburgh Festival sell-out show The Rat Pack – Live to the Arts Theatre for a stunning night of 1950s glitz and glamour.

Ol’ Blue Eyes is Back, 100 years after his birth, so come and revel in the world of Frank, Dean and Sammy live at the Arts as their legendary recordings are brought to life on stage in the most sophisticated evening of razor-sharp wit and silky-smooth swing you’ll see all year.

The evening will feature a full throwback to 60s Las Vegas, with a black tie dress code, red carpet entrance and happy hour cocktails at the world-famous Covent Garden Cocktail Club. At 8.30pm, a 60-minute celebration of the Rat Pack’s music will perform in London’s most intimate West End theatre followed by a live jazz band that will blast the night away in the bar after the show. This isn’t just a quick hour at the theatre, it’s a full night’s experience as we celebrate the golden years of popular swing and jazz.

Having bid farewell to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2014, Hartshorn – Hook’s The Rat Pack – Live has been an annual highlight in the festival calendar, and last year had its biggest and best production yet. For the finale, producers Louis Hartshorn and Brian Hook gathered the creme-de-la-creme of performers from years gone by, as well as some new faces, with the greatest band the show has ever seen.

Since the creation of The Rat Pack – Live in 2007, Hartshorn – Hook have cemented themselves as producers of internationally successful theatre and events, producing over 50 shows at the Edinburgh Festival. As well as The Rat Pack and its sister show, A Tribute to the Blues Brothers – Live, H+H are known for American Idiot (West End Premiere, associate producer), Urinetown (associate producer) Away From Home (national and international tour), I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (starring Julie Atherton and Simon Lipkin, 2015), Woody Sez, Some Small Love Story, Beulah and over 50 more productions around the UK.

Starring
KIERAN SIMS
MICHAEL DUKE
LOUIS HARTSHORN
RACHAEL OWENS
MARIE WILSON

Director: Lily Howkins
Musical Director: James Robert Ball
Lighting Design: Richard Williamson
Producers: Louis Hartshorn and Brain Hook
Assistant Producers: Crystal Noll and Paul Vrides
Gala Night: Monday 19th October 2015, doors 7pm, performance 8.30pm
The Arts Theatre
http://artstheatrewestend.co.uk/