Power, politics, humour and Ancient Egypt: it’s Go! The Musical Tuesday 23rd – Sunday 28th July 2024 Upstairs at the Gatehouse, 1 North Road, Highgate Village, London N6 4BD
With rhyme and rhythm comes this musical retelling of the lesser-known part of Exodus. Ancient Egypt arrives in London this summer, with a cast including Harel Glazer (The Band’s Visit at Donmar Warehouse), Alexandra Doar (Bat Out of Hell, West End), Rushand Chambers (For Black Boys, West End) and Ayesha Patel (Lizzie, Southwark Playhouse). This production, packed with power and politics, follows a prince’s descent into chaos after freeing his people from Pharaoh – aka his ‘mother’.
Having given up his succession to the Egyptian throne to rescue the slaves, Go! The Musical follows Moses, flipping between his royal past amongst palace scribes and astrologers and his battle against bitter disillusionment in the desert. It seems that the prince’s desperate journey is doomed – what happens when the promise of freedom from dictatorship threatens to fade back into oppression? Faced with rebellion by people who want to return to Egypt and caught between two identities, Moses is an embattled freedom fighter who must now decide whether to follow Pharaoh’s advice and crack down hard.
Looking through a modern and humorous lens, Go! The Musical touches on themes of today: politics and the messy reality of political change, differing leadership styles, immigrants and emigrants, the struggle by a generation of unrest to regain equilibrium and what happens when life’s big goal begins to slip away.
Music Director Ben Barrow comments, The central themes of ‘Go! The Musical’ carry so much importance today: the idea that we all contribute to building a world for future generations to live in particularly resonates, given our current political and environmental landscapes. The music of this show combines contemporary ideas with epic musical theatre and integrates spoken word and poetry with driving melodies and cinematic underscore – I’m really excited about how it will sound.
Adam Taylor and co-writer Mikhal Taylor comment, This musical was inspired by the intriguing personality of Moses – a troubled, impulsive, passionate, argumentative character, sometimes ruthless, sometimes self-doubting, very human, no superhero, who never made it to the promised land. In time, the dramatic journey of this beleaguered leader came to seem like an obvious subject for a musical.
A Sheffield Theatres and Evolution Productions co-production
SHEFFIELD THEATRES ANNOUNCES INITIAL CASTING FOR SNOW WHITE
Writer and Director Paul Hendy
Friday 6 December 2024 – Sunday 5 January 2025
Today, SheffieldTheatres and EvolutionProductions announce the principal cast for Snow White at the Lyceum Theatre. Catherine Tyldesley (Strictly Come Dancing, Coronation Street) will be playing The Wicked Queen. Catherine joins legendary Dame Damian Williams, with further principal cast and ensemble to be announced later this year.
Once again, the show will be written and directed by Paul Hendy (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella) and produced by the award winning, Evolution Productions, the same team behind last year’s fabulous panto, Beauty and the Beast.
As always, the Lyceum Panto promises to be top-quality family entertainment packed with laugh-out-loud thrills, stunning costumes, lavish sets, fabulous music and all your favourite jokes.
Damian Williams is celebrating his seventeenth year as Sheffield Theatres’ Dame, whilst Catherine Tyldesley makes her Sheffield pantomime debut.
Beauty and the Beast runs from Friday 6 December 2024 – Sunday 5 January 2025 at the Lyceum theatre, Sheffield. Tickets are on sale now and can be booked through the Box Office in person, over the phone on 0114 249 6000 or at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.
The full company has been announced for Paul Unwin’s new play about the pioneering post-war Labour government, The Promise, premiering at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre from 19 July – 17 August (press night: 29 July), directed by Jonathan Kent.
The cast is: Suzanne Burden (Strike, Shakespeare in Love) as Violet Attlee; Clare Burt (Flowers for Mrs Harris & This Is My Family CFT) as Ellen Wilkinson; Reece Dinsdale (Emmerdale, This House) as Herbert Morrison; Martyn Ellis (Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads CFT, Renegade Nell) as Winston Churchill; Felixe Forde (Romeo and Juliet, Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) as Joan Vincent; Peter Hamilton Dyer (Wolf Hall, The Confessions of Frannie Langton) as Richard Stafford-Cripps; Richard Harrington (Hinterland, Poldark) as Nye Bevan; Allison McKenzie (The Butterfly Lion CFT, Crime) as Jennie Lee; Majid Mehdizaheh-Valoujerdy (Testament, Hollyoaks) as Thomas Merriman; Miles Richardson (Witness for the Prosecution, King Charles III) as Hugh Dalton; David Robb (Downton Abbey, The Audience) as Lord Moran; Clive Wood(Casualty, Antony and Cleopatra) as Ernest Bevin;and Andrew Woodall (The Other Boleyn Girl, South Downs/The Browning Version CFT) as Clement Attlee.
Paul Unwin’s new drama is a fascinating, deeply pertinent portrayal of the people who moulded modern Britain and what it cost them.
1945. In a country exhausted and crippled by debt after six years of war, time is up for Winston Churchill’s Tories. With a rallying cry for change, Labour wins an astonishing, landslide election victory.
Clement Attlee may be an unlikely prime minister and his cabinet of competing heavyweights – from the loyal Ernest Bevin to scheming Herbert Morrison – argue furiously about how to realise their manifesto: to make a welfare state, build millions of homes, reorganise dilapidated schools, and most dramatically, create a National Health Service that is free at the point of need.
Driven by the passionate and courageous radical Ellen Wilkinson, and the visionary firebrand Nye Bevan, a very British revolution is in the air. But in the face of bitter opposition, is this an audacious pledge of hope or a promise too far?
Paul Unwin is co-creator of TV’s longest-running medical drama Casualty.
Jonathan Kent, whose previous Chichester productions include Gypsy, Sweeney Todd and Young Chekhov Trilogy, directs.
The Promise has set design by Joanna Parker, costume design by Deborah Andrews, lighting and video design by Peter Mumford, music composed by Gary Yershon, sound design by Christopher Shutt, and casting by Annelie Powell CDG.
THE OLIVIER, TONY® & GRAMMY® AWARD-WINNING BEST MUSICAL
DEAR EVAN HANSEN
BOOK BY STEVEN LEVENSON
MUSIC AND LYRICS BY BENJ PASEK AND JUSTIN PAUL
OPENING AT
NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE ON 9 SEPTEMBER 2024
A MAJOR UK TOUR WILL THEN COMMENCE WITH THE SAME CAST
CHARITY PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MIX ALSO ANNOUNCED
Nottingham Playhouse is delighted to announce the full cast for the brand-new production of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning Best Musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN.
Ryan Kopel (Newsies) will play the iconic role of Evan Hansen, alongside Lauren Conroy (Into The Woods)as Zoe Murphy and Alice Fearn (Wicked, Come From Away) as Evan’s mum, Heidi.
They will be joined by Helen Anker (Mamma Mia!) as Cynthia Murphy, Richard Hurst (The Lion King) as Larry Murphy, Killian Thomas Lefevre(Bat Out Of Hell) as Connor Murphy, Tom Dickerson(Heathers)as Jared Kleinman, Vivian Panka (9 to 5 the Musical) as Alana Beck and Sonny Monaghan (discovered via TikTok) as alternate Evan.
This is the first production of Dear Evan Hansen in the UK to perform the show with an ensemble. The ensemble are Lara Beth-Sas, Will Forgrave, Daniel Forrester, Jessica Lim, Sonny Monaghan and Shakira Simpson.
The casting team collaborated with TikTok during the audition process, inviting TikTok users who were interested in being cast in the production to upload a video of themselves singing any number from the show. The team then reviewed all submissions and invited those they felt could be a part of the cast to participate in the formal audition process. Over 2000 videos were submitted and of those, 36 TikTok users were invited to in-person auditions. Sonny Monaghan was cast in the ensemble, and as alternate Evan (performing the role twice a week, at every matinee performance), as a result of the TikTok collaboration.
Director Adam Penford said “I am beyond thrilled with the talented cast we have assembled. An exciting mix of musical theatre legends and rising stars. It’s been nine years since the original show premiered, and it’s an honour to be the first production to reimagine this powerful story through a contemporary lens.”
The production is also delighted to announce its partnership with The Mix, the UK’s leading digital charity for under 25-year-olds. The show deals with sensitive topics, very relevant to young people today, and this partnership will ensure that anyone affected by the issues explored in the show knows where to find support.
The Mix will provide training to the cast and creative team on how to appropriately respond to queries from the public, both online and offline, and equip them with the knowledge to direct individuals to the right support channels. The partnership also aims to create engaging and informative content to help elevate and empower young people at a time when they need it most. This will include resources and tips on essential life skills for transitioning into adulthood.
Directed by Nottingham Playhouse’s Artistic Director Adam Penford, DEAR EVAN HANSEN will open at the Nottingham Playhouse on 9 September 2024, following which a major UK tour will commence with the same cast. Tour schedule below.
Morgan Large is Set and Costume Designer (Newsies, Sister Act), with Carrie-Anne Ingrouille as Choreographer (Six, Zoo Nation), Matt Daw as Lighting Designer (Pet Shop Boys, Lorde), Tom Marshall as Sound Designer (West Side Story, Sister Act), Ravi Deepres as Video Designer (School for Scandal, Woolf Works), Matt Smith as Musical Supervisor (Dear Evan Hansen, My Neighbour Totoro) and Natalie Gallacher CDG for Pippa Ailion & Natalie Gallacher Casting as casting director (Mean Girls, MJ The Musical, Moulin Rouge), Michelle Payne as Associate Director and Laura Llewellyn-Jones as Orchestral Manager.
Packed with some of the biggest musical theatre songs of the last decade, DEAR EVAN HANSEN has a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Oscar-winning composers for The Greatest Showman and La La Land) and a book by Steven Levenson. Its many awards include the Tony® Award for Best Musical, Olivier Award for Best New Musical and the Grammy® Award for Best Musical Theatre Album.
Today is going to be a good day. And here’s why…
Meet Evan: an anxious high school kid who wants nothing more than to fit in. The thing is, on his way to fitting in, he didn’t tell the whole truth. And now must give up on a life he never dreamt he’d have. As events spiral and the truth comes out, Evan faces a reckoning with himself and everyone around him.
DEAR EVAN HANSEN is presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International.
CAST BIOGRAPHIES:
Ryan Kopel’s theatre credits include Newsies at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, West End productions of The Book Of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theatre and The Inheritance at the Noël Coward Theatre, and West Side Story at the Edinburgh International Festival. He has also performed in The Addams Family concert at the London Palladium and the Billie the Kid concert at the Vaudeville Theatre. His television credits include HBO series House of the Dragon and Wedding Season.
Lauren Conroy’s theatre credits include Babies at the Lyric Theatre and The Other Palace, Bear Snores On at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, The Sound of Music at the Chichester Festival Theatre and Into The Woods at Bath Theatre Royal. On television, Lauren has appeared in Apple TV’s The Buccaneers, ITV’s The Confessions of Frannie Langton and the BBC’s Shetland.
Alice Fearn’s theatre credits include West End productions of Come From Away at the Phoenix Theatre, Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy Theatre, Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre, Woman In White at the Palace Theatre and Shrek The Musical at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. She has also appeared in Into The Woods at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Annie Get Your Gun at the Young Vic, Then, Now & Next at the Southwark Playhouse and Oliver! at The Watermill Theatre, Her film credits include Les Misérables, Sweeney Todd, Alice In Wonderland, Clash Of The Titans, Mamma Mia! and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Helen Anker has performed in many West End and Broadway productions, including Promises Promises at the Broadway Theatre, Parade at the Donmar Warehouse, Oklahoma! At the National Theatre and Lyceum Theatre, Always at the Victoria Palace Theatre, Cats at the New London Theatre, Fame at the Cambridge Theatre and Crazy for You at the Prince Edward Theatre. Her other theatre credits include the UK and International Tour of Mamma Mia!, Candide and On the Town, both at English National Opera. Her film credits include Ted 2, Cinderella and Oklahoma! — The Movie, and television credits include Law and Order, The Good Wife and White Collar.
Richard Hurst’s theatre credits include The Duchess of Malfi and The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich at the RSC, Jane Eyre at the National Theatre, My Night With Reg at the Apollo Theatre and Donmar Warehouse, A Chorus of Disapproval, Worst Wedding Ever and Dick Whittington and his Cat, all at the Salisbury Playhouse, and the UK & International Tour of The Lion King. His television credits include EastEnders, Doctors, Casualty, Look and The Sitcom Trials.
Killian Thomas Lefevre’s theatre credits include West End productions of The Strange Affair of Herschel Grynszpan at The Other Palace and Stick Man at Leicester Square Theatre, as well as Secret Cinema’s Stranger Things in London, the UK and International Tour of Bat Out of Hell, and The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man at Nottingham Playhouse.
Tom Dickerson’s theatre credits include the UK & Ireland Tour of Heathers, the International Tour of The Book of Mormon, Hansel & Gretel at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Alice at the Dubai QE2, But I’m A Cheerleader at MT Fest and The Other Palace, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, both at the Isle of Man Gaiety Theatre.
Vivian Panka’s theatre credits include Heathers the Musical at The Other Palace and the UK Tour of 9 to 5 The Musical. She also appeared in the film of Heathers: The Musical.
Sonny Monaghan’s theatre credits include Turn the Page at The Stables, Carmen at White Rock and TAG Live at COVE Resorts.
Lara Beth-Sas’s theatre credits include Jack and the Beanstalk at The Kenton Theatre, Treasure Island at the Hazlitt Theatre, the UK & Ireland Tour of Friends The Musical Parody, A Christmas Carol and Cinderella at the Groundlings Theatre, and Two and a Half Showbiz Girls at the Doncaster Little Theatre.
Will Forgrave’s theatre credits include the UK Tour of The Sound of Music, The Go-Between at the Apollo Theatre, The Braille Legacy at Charing Cross Theatre, Oliver at the Manchester Palace and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Liverpool Empire.
Daniel Forrester’s theatre credits include West End productions Opening Night at the Gielgud Theatre and Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations at the Prince Edward Theatre, as well as Summer! The Donna Summer Musical at Norwegian Cruise Lines.
Jessica Lim’s theatre credits include the UK Tour of Shrek The Musical, Dark Lord at MT Fest and The Other Palace, Claus The Musical at The Lowry, Zorro The Musical at Charing Cross Theatre, The Musical That Goes Right at The Cockpit and Mario: A Super Musical! at The Union Theatre.
Shakira Simpson’s theatre credits include West End productions of Hairspray at the London Coliseum, The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre and Billy Elliott at the Victoria Palace Theatre, as well as the UK & Ireland tour ofSix The Musical, Legally Blonde at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, and the UK tour of Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World.
DEAR EVAN HANSEN UK TOUR – 2024/2025 TOUR LISTINGS
FIONA HAMPTON, JOSEPH MILLSON AND FLORA SPENCER-LONGHURST
TO LEAD THE WORLD PREMIÈRE
OF NEW TWO-PART STAGE ADAPTATION OF
JOHN GALSWORTHY’S THE FORSYTE SAGA
AT PARK THEATRE
Troupe in association with Park Theatre today announces initial casting for the world première of a new stage adaptation of John Galsworthy’s seminal work, The Forsyte Saga. Leading the company are Fiona Hampton as Irene Forsyte, Joseph Millson as Soames Forsyte and Flora Spencer-Longhurst as Fleur Forsyte. Josh Roche’s production will be staged in two parts The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene and The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur.
The production opens in Park200 at Park Theatre on 19 October 2024, with previews from 11 October 2024, and runs until 7 December 2024.
The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene and The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur will play across alternate nights and run consecutively on matinee days.
Full casting will be announced shortly.
Ashley Cook for Troupe
in association with Park Theatre presents
The world première of a new adaptation of
THE FORSYTE SAGA
By John Galsworthy
Adapted by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan
Director: Josh Roche, Set and Costume Designer: Anna Yates, Lighting Designer: Alex Musgrave,
Sound Designer and Composer: Max Pappenheim
Cast includes: Fiona Hampton (Irene Forsyte), Joseph Millson (Soames Forsyte) and Flora Spencer-Longhurst (Fleur Forsyte)
11 October – 7 December 2024
The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene at 3pm
The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur at 7.30pm
‘’Now I know what Soames did, what my father did, I will never be able to not know it.’’
London, 1886. Wealthy solicitor Soames Forsyte is a man of property, and his beautiful wife Irene is his most prized possession. When he commissions an architect to build him a house in which to keep her, the cracks in their marriage finally begin to show, until something happens so shocking that it tears the Forsyte family apart. Years later, Soames’ daughter Fleur is haunted by the family secret when history begins to repeat itself…
John Galsworthy’s classic story The Forsyte Saga is newly dramatised for the stage in two parts by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan, bringing the unheard female voices to the fore for the first time. Spanning 40 years from the last gasp of the Victorian age to the beginning of the roaring 1920s, this is an epic tale of sex, money and power. The Forsyte Saga was famously televised by the BBC in 1967 and was again serialised by ITV in 2002. Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan adapted the novels for BBC Radio 4 in 2016 under the title The Forsytes.
Novelist and playwright John Galsworthy (1867-1933) was educated at Harrow and studied law at New College, Oxford. The Man of Property (1906) began the novel sequence known as The Forsyte Saga, for which Galsworthy is chiefly remembered, followed by In Chancery (1920) and To Let (1921).The story of the Forsyte family after the war was continued in The White Monkey (1924), The Silver Spoon (1926), and Swan Song (1928), and two interludes A Silent Wooing and Passersby (1927) collected in A Modern Comedy (1929), and a collection of short stories On Forsyte Change (1930). John Galsworthy won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932.
Fiona Hampton plays Irene Forsyte. Her theatre credits include Touching the Void (Bristol Old Vic, Duke of York’s Theatre), Ralegh: The Treason Trial (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse), Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe), Tamburlaine (UK tour), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (New Wolsey Theatre), Private Lives, The Glass Menagerie, Tull, Of Mice and Men, Lighthearted Intercourse (Octagon Theatre Bolton), Playhouse Creatures (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Changeling (Southwark Playhouse), Roar and Clockheart Boy (Rose Theatre Kingston). Her television credits include Summer Lane Drive, The Collection, Switch, Holby City (as series regular Lulu)and The Sarah Jane Adventures; and for film, The Good Neighbour, Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Windmill and Legacy.
Joseph Millson plays Soames Forsyte. His theatre credits include Noises Off (Phoenix Theatre), Betrayal (Bath Theatre Royal), Mary Poppins (Prince Edward Theatre), Keith (Arcola Theatre), Apologia (Trafalgar Studios), The Rover, King John, Much Ado About Nothing, The House of Desires, The Dog in the Manger, Pedro The Great Pretender (RSC), Mr Foote’s Other Leg (Hampstead Theatre, Theatre Royal Haymarket), Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe), Rocket to the Moon, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Pillars of the Community (National Theatre), Twelfth Night, The Borrowers and Henry V (Storyhouse). His television credits include Van Der Valk, The Chelsea Detective, The Last Kingdom, Grantchester, Queens of Mystery, Catch 22, Ransom, Penny Dreadful, 24, Banished, Ashes to Ashes, Harley Street and The Sarah Jane Adventures; and for film, Creation Stories, Dragonheart Vengeance, No Vacancies, Angel Has Fallen, Burning Men, All the Devil’s Men, Tango One, I Give it a Year and Casino Royale.
Flora Spencer-Longhurst plays Fleur Forsyte. Her theatre credits include Amélie (Criterion Theatre), Seagulls, Beryl (Octagon Theatre Bolton), A Pupil (Park Theatre), The Real Thing (Rose Theatre Kingston), The Christmas Truce, Much Ado About Nothing, Love’s Labour’s Lost (RSC), Once (Phoenix Theatre), Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Importance of Being Earnest – The Musical (Theatre Royal Windsor, Riverside Studios), The Beggar’s Opera (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Ghosts, The Member of the Wedding (Young Vic) and Toad of Toad Hall (Birmingham Rep). Her television credits include Oasis, Father Brown, The Bastard Executioner, Leonardo, Unforgiven, Wallander: One Step Behind, The Real Deal, Losing It, The Family Man, Lewis and Dalziel and Pascoe; and for film, The Irish Connection, Say Your Prayers and Walking with the Enemy.
Shaun McKenna’s work for theatre includes The Lord of the Rings for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Musical (Watermill Theatre Newbury, Theatre Royal Drury Lane and Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto – Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Musical), The Paradine Case, Wish You Were Dead, Looking Good Dead, The House on Cold Hill, The Perfect Murder, Dead Simple, Not Dead Enough (UK tours), Maddie (New York Theater Festival and Lyric Theatre), Boy on the Roof (Ted Shawn Theatre, Becket), Ladies In Lavender for which he won a BroadwayWorld UK Award for Best Regional Play (Royal and Derngate and UK tour), Last Dance (York Theatre, New York), Heidi, Heidi and Johanna (Walenstadt – Prix Walo Award nomination), La Cava (Victoria Palace Theatre and Piccadilly Theatre), Only You Can Save Mankind (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Ruling Passions, How Green Was My Valley, To Serve Them All My Days (Royal and Derngate),and Fever (Old Red Lion Theatre). Screen work includes The Crooked Man, Like Father Like Son, The Cuckoo,and Great West End Theatres. Radio credits include The Forsytes, and Home Front (BBC Audio Drama Award for Outstanding Contribution to Radio Drama).
Lin Coghlan’s theatre work includes Kingfisher Blue (Bush Theatre), Apache Tears (Clean Break – Peggy Ramsay Award), Mercy, Waking(Soho Theatre), The Miracle (National Theatre), Bretevski Street (Theatre Centre) and The Night Garden (National Theatre Studio and Northcott Theatre, Exeter). Screen work includes First Communion Day (Dennis Potter Play of the Year Award), Electric Frank (Leopard of Tomorrow Award at Toronto Film Festival), Some Dogs Bite (Audience Award at Nantes Film Festival) and Patrick’s Planet. Radio credits include The Forsytes.
Josh Roche directs. His credits for theatre include The Importance of Being Earnest (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester), My Name is Rachel Corrie (Young Vic – JMK Award), Home (Minerva Theatre, Chichester), Orlando (59E59 Theaters, New York), Radio (Arcola Theatre), It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure (Soho Theatre and Underbelly Edinburgh – Underbelly Untapped Award), Winky (Soho Theatre), No Particular Order (Theatre503), Pennyroyal (Finborough Theatre – BroadwayWorld UK Award for Best Director), Magnificence, A Third (Finborough Theatre), I Feel Fine, Specie, Uninvited (New Diorama Theatre), Plastic (Old Red Lion Theatre and Mercury Theatre Colchester), and This Must Be The Place (VAULT Festival). Associate and Assistant Director work includes Dr Faustus, The Alchemist (RSC at Barbican Theatre), Death of a Salesman (RSC at Nöel Coward Theatre), The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe, UK and international tours), Doctor Scroggy’s War (Shakespeare’s Globe), and Farinelli and the King (Duke of York’s Theatre).
The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene and The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur
Listings
Park Theatre, Park 200
Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP
Friday 11 October – Saturday 7 December 2024
The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene at 3pm
The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur at 7.30pm
Monday to Saturdays at 7.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees at 3pm
The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene and The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur will play across alternate nights and run consecutively on matinee days. For the full schedule, please see the website.
Captioned Saturday 26 October at 3pm (Part 1) and 7.30pm (Part 2)
Audio Described Saturday 2 November at 3pm (Part 1) and 7.30pm (Part 2)
Box Office: 020 7870 6876*
www.parktheatre.co.uk * Telephone booking fee of £3 per transaction applies. All ticket prices are inclusive of a £1.50 building levy.
Ticket Prices
Previews (11 – 18 October 2024): £15 – £29.50
Standard (21 October – 7 December 2024): £22.50 – £47.50
Mon, Thu mat: 65+: £20 – £26.50
Access: £17.50
Concessions available – for further information, please see the website.
Madeleine Morgan is named Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year
Jenna Russell (patron and judge), Oliver Halford (Emil Dale Academy, commended), Madeleine Morgan (Royal Academy of Music, winner), Gavin Rasmussen (LAMDA, runner-up), Bonnie Langford (host) Photo David Ovenden
Madeleine Morgan, a student at the Royal Academy of Music, has been named the Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year.
She was crowned following a tightly fought contest at the Sondheim Theatre.
Morgan, from the Gower in south west Wales, is on a Masters degree course at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM). Last year she played Mary Flynn in the National Youth Music Theatre production of Merrily We Roll Along at Southwark Playhouse and will next play the Baker’s Wife in RAM’s production of Into the Woods.
Gavin Rasmussen (from LAMDA) was runner-up, with Oliver Halford (Emil Dale Academy), commended.
The winner of the award – known affectionately as SSSSPOTY – received a £1,000 first prize, and the chance to headline their own Sondheim-infused cabaret in London. The runner-up was awarded £500. A member of the Stephen Sondheim Society approached Maddie last year after seeing her in Merrily We Roll Along and told her that she must enter the SSSSPOTY competition in 2024.
Maddie said: ‘On my very first day at RAM, my wonderful singing teacher asked me about my goals for the year, and before the question had even left his lips, I blurted out: To get to the final of SSSSPOTY! The girl who played Orphan #3 in Annie is screaming right now!
“Winning the competition after that initial conversation has been quite the journey! To perform on the Sondheim Theatre stage, performing the work of Sondheim who I love so much and who writes so well for women, it is beyond my wildest dreams…
it’s a rare joy to play the complex and emotionally rich female characters created by Sondheim, and that I am so grateful to the Society for providing me with the opportunity to do just that.
“After NYMT gave me such a wonderful opportunity to play Mary, an iconic female Sondheim role, it was another full circle moment for the NYMT team see me win Student Performer of the Year. Maybe there was another potential SSSSPOTY winner on stage during their showcase from their upcoming Into the Woods this summer at Southwark Playhouse!”
Craig Glenday and Tina Foote of the Stephen Sondheim Society said: “This year, as with every year, the competition was fierce. We say that all our finalists are winners – and we see this every year as we watch the careers of those that have taken part in the prestigious competition before. Cynthia Erivo did not win the year she took part – and she has not done too badly…! Our judges came to a unanimous decision – but it was also very close indeed. It is a testament to the talent that we saw on stage. Maddie is such a worthy winner, but Gavin and Oliver were also so impressive. In fact – all our finalists produced noteworthy performances. It was a fabulous afternoon’s entertainment! We thank them all for their contribution to making SSSSPOTY such a success!”
MULTIPLE TONY AND OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY LEGEND
PATTI LUPONE
TO PERFORM LIVE SOLO CONCERT
‘PATTI LUPONE: A LIFE IN NOTES’
AT THE LONDON COLISEUM
SUNDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2025
FOURTH WALL LIVE and AEG are delighted to announce that legendary award-winning Broadway star PATTI LUPONE will return to the UK for the first time since her triumphant Oliver Award-winning turn in Company, to perform her solo show Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes. The concert will take place at the London Coliseum on Sunday 16 February 2025 at 7.30pm and will be LuPone’s only concert in Europe in 2025. Tickets on sale 14 June at [www.londoncoliseum.org]www.londoncoliseum.org
For Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes, Patti will perform an array of songs that are touchstones and reflections on her life growing up in America. The songs range from her youth during the burgeoning rock ‘n’ roll scene of the 1950s, to coming of age in the politically and socially turbulent ’60s, to eventually achieving success with both career and family. The concert will be her biggest ever solo concert in the UK and marks her first London performance since her performance in Stephen Sondheim’s Company in the West End in 2018.
Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes is conceived and directed by Scott Wittman, with music direction and arrangements by Joseph Thalken. Written by Jeffrey Richman.
PATTI LUPONE is a three-time Tony Award winner for her performances as Joanne in Marianne Elliott’s award-winning production of the Stephen Sondheim and George Furth musical Company, Madame Rose in the most recent Broadway revival of the Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim-Arthur Laurents classic Gypsy and the title role in the original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita. Her Olivier Award wins include ‘Best Actress in A Supporting Role’ in a Musical for Company and ‘Best Actress in a Musical’ for Les Misérables and The Cradle Will Rock. Her film work includes Beau is Afraid, The School for Good and Evil (Netflix), Last Christmas, Cliffs of Freedom, The Comedian, Parker, Union Square, Driving Miss Daisy and Witness. TV/Streaming work includes Hollywood, Pose, Mom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Penny Dreadful (Critics Choice Award nomination), Girls, American Horror Story (“NYC” and “Coven”), 30 Rock, Glee, Frasier (Emmy nominated) and four seasons as Libby Thatcher on ABC’s Life Goes On. This fall, Miss LuPone will return to Broadway to co-star with Mia Farrow in Jen Silverman’s comedy The Roommate, directed by Jack O’Brien and will co-star in the new Marvel series Agatha All Along, on Disney+.”
On Saturday 8 June 2024, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA celebrated its 15,000th performance in the West End, making it only the third production in history to reach this milestone after The Mousetrap and Les Misérables. The show premiered at Her Majesty’s Theatre (now His Majesty’s Theatre) on 9 October 1986 and is currently booking until Saturday 29 March 2025.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA currently stars Jon Robyns as The Phantom alongside Lily Kerhoas as Christine Daaé, Joe Griffiths-Brown as Raoul, Kelly Glyptis as Carlotta Giudicell, Matt Harrop as Monsieur Firmin, Adam Linstead as Monsieur André, David Kristopher-Brown as Ubaldo Piangi, Francesca Ellis as Madame Giry and Maiya Hikasa as Meg Giry. At certain performances, the role of Chistine Daaé is performed by Chumisa Dornford-May.
The cast is completed by Hollie Aires,Federica Basile, Corina Clark, Michael Colbourne, Leonard Cook, Colleen Rose Curran, Lily De-La-Haye, Hywel Dowsell,Connor Ewing, Serina Faull, Florence Fowler, James Gant, Eilish Harmon-Beglan, Yukina Hasebe, Samuel Haughton, Thomas Holdsworth, Jacob Hughes, Grace Hume, Janet Mooney, Tim Morgan, Eve Shanu-Wilson, Tim Southgate, Zoë Soleil Vallée, Jasmine Wallis, Victoria Ward, Ralph Watts, Simon Whitaker, and Andrew York.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is widely considered one of the most beautiful and spectacular productions in history, playing to over 160 million people in 46 territories and 195 cities in 21 languages. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s romantic, haunting and soaring score includes Music of the Night, All I Ask of You, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, Masquerade and the iconic title song.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group Ltd. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Charles Hart, and Additional Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Book by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the novel ‘Le Fantôme de l’Opera’ by Gaston Leroux, with Orchestrations by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Musical Supervision is by Simon Lee. The Production Design is by Maria Björnson and the Set Design is adapted by Matt Kinley with Associate Costume Design by Jill Parker, Lighting is by Andrew Bridge with Associate Lighting Design by Warren Letton, Sound is by Mick Potter. The Musical Staging and Choreography is by Gillian Lynne, recreated and adapted by Chrissie Cartwright. Originally Directed by Harold Prince, this production is Directed by Seth Sklar-Heyn.
Malvern Concert Club very proudly presented the Brodsky Quartet performing all 15 of Shostakovich’s String Quartets. What an undertaking – and prospect!
The cycle was presented mostly chronologically and every quartet was a masterpiece, but several deserve special mention. The third – where Shostakovich found his stride and original voice – was one such. Every movement was played by the renowned Brodskys (Krysia Osostowicz and Ian Belton (violins), Paul Cassidy (viola) and Jacqueline Thomas (cello) with an understanding borne of a lifetime of playing this wonderful music. Their reading was precise, emotional, energetic and had a sumptuous range of dynamics to magically animate the music. The players truly inhabited the score and they were visibly moved, needing some reflective silence at the culmination. Coming just after the D-Day Commemorations, with wars in Ukraine and Palestine raging, what a sad indictment that this anti-war music is still so apt, so current, so now and so needed.
The 5th for its breadth, scope and ambition was another. Coupled with playing that was almost religious in its passionate fervor it was a rare joyful treat. The 8th was a further towering achievement that left me reeling. From 1960, it was the composer’s self penned epitaph. As it finished, the musicians seemed suspended as if weightless, so totally engrossed in the moment that they needed some time to re-acclimatize back into the room.
The real revelation, however, was the last day which (unbelievably) just got better and better! I had heard these works on CD but experiencing them in person was something else entirely. Especially when played this perfectly. The Brodskys probably won’t have realized but next week is “Loneliness Awareness Week” and the timing could not have been more perfect to give us Quartet No. 13. This was billed in the remarkably helpful, informative and entertaining programme notes (written by violist Cassidy) as, variously; “…a troubled soul cannot escape the walls of his tortured mind” and “…ends up alone”. Absolutely spot on. Words feel inadequate to explain fully the performances we witnessed and the emotions they unleashed. For me, this was the highlight of the entire series, closely followed by the last Quartet (no. 15) which was breathtaking throughout.
In The Brodsky’s hands the works positively glowed with vibrant delight! Shostakovich would have been rightly proud I’m sure, especially with readings of such utter conviction. I loved the introductions which gave us an insight into the works, the composer’s life, his methods and thought processes. They increased the enjoyment enormously whilst giving us the chance to get to know our performers. It takes a monumental level of stamina and concentration to play any 15 String Quartets in a marathon session over two and a half days but the Shostakovich cycle demands more than many others. What a phenomenal achievement to have gifted us the opportunity to hear this cycle in all it’s glory. And to have done it with such attention to detail, charisma and affection was an even more remarkable achievement. Thank you all concerned for giving us this life affirming musical experience that will live forever in my heart and memory. Absolutely flawless from first note to last!
York Theatre Royal’s latest production, Moby Dick, is a new adaptation of Herman Melville’s 1851 novel, by Sebastian Armesto. Bought to the stage by Simple8 and Royal & Derngate.
Ishmael (Mark Arends), the narrator of the tale, is desperate to sign on to a whaling ship. On meeting Queequeg (Tom Swale), they both manage to embark on the Pequod. It is a while before we meet its fanatical Captain, Ahab (Guy Rhys). Despite his orders, Ahab’s only mission is to capture the white whale, Moby Dick, who took his leg on a previous encounter, and exact his revenge. He is more and more possessed as the hunt continues.
As soon as entered the auditorium, the atmosphere was set, a mist encapsulating the almost empty stage. With scaffolding on stage, the cast bring on planks of wood, utilising, to create different sets, from ship decks to bars. Pieces of wood were also used to create a whale, or at least an outline. This was visually impressive, with the cast holding the pieces aloft.
The whole cast worked tirelessly throughout the show, with moving the set around, to their glorious sea shanties, which really lifted the show. The musical director, Jonathan Charles was busy as the ensemble, singing and playing several instruments. I would also like to mention William Pennington as one of the standout performers.
I couldn’t fault the acting at all, they were all excellent, but I did find the adaptation was lacking and unfortunately not as engaging as I would have liked. At times the intensive dialogue was a bit too shouty and I did struggle to hear one of the cast, their voice drowned out in the melee.
The show is thought provoking with the subject matter of killing whales, a topic that is still controversial to this day. The most striking part of the show was the end of Act One and the slaughtering of a whale. Visually it was shocking, and stunning how it was depicted, but also hit home how barbaric and bloody this practice is.
A show with some excellent sea shanties, acting, staging and physical theatre, that could have been more powerful in it’s storytelling.
